Loretta Sanchez

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak today a little bit about school construction, and in particular because my colleague who just spoke, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) spoke a little bit about the school construction bill, and I would like to tell America and my colleagues, so they will sponsor this bill, a little bit about it. The Expand and Rebuild America's Schools Act is H.R. 415. I know quite a bit about it because I am the author of that bill. We put it in last year and we did not get it passed. This year we hope that we will be able to do it. What does the bill do? The bill addresses one of the most crucial crises facing this Nation; that is, where do we educate our children? Now, some people would say that at the Federal level we should not be dealing with school construction. I would say that we deal at the Federal level with those issues that do not get answered at the State or local level. One of the major problems that we have with our schools is where do we educate our children, the room in which we educate our children. I happen to represent a great area, Anaheim, California, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Irvine, the central portion of Orange County. In the next 5 years, our school population will grow by over 25 percent. That is almost twice as fast the rate of growth as the five fastest growing States with respect to school population across the Nation. That means not only is California growing faster in the amount of children who are entering public schools, or Texas, for example, or Florida, or New York, or Illinois, but in central Orange County we are growing at twice that rate. That means that if we take a look at a school district, for example, Anaheim City School District, an elementary school district, kindergarten through 6th graders go there, there are 17,000 children attending that school district. Every year we grow by more than a thousand children. I know about this school district because I attended it as a child, and the very same school that I attended with about 500 or 600 children today houses almost 1,000 children. Those other schools that are patterned exactly like the elementary school that I attended in the rest of the district have 1,000, 1,100, 1,200 children attending in the space that was made for 600 children. How do these kids get there? How is it that we are able to put them in the classrooms? We have portable classrooms. We now have double sessions. That means that some children go early in the morning and others come later in the day, so we have a double session going. We now have year-around school. We do not have the traditional 9 months on and 3 months of the summer off. We actually have 4 different tracks of students going to school at any given time. Now, imagine if you were a mother and you have two or three children, and let us say one of those children is in the middle school or the high school, and they have their own school program going, where they are going 9 months and then 3 months off. And let us say you have two young children also at home, both attending the elementary school. One could be going at 8 in the morning, and the next one would have to be going to school and starting at 10:15. Now, imagine, you are a mom at home and you have these three children, and you are trying to take them around to soccer and to school and to the doctor's appointments and all, and all three schedules are not the same. So if you are a mother who wants to take three children at the same time to the same school, you cannot do that any longer in the city of Anaheim. It is very difficult to do. Then, of course, there are the safety issues of sending our kids like that, kids who go out in the morning because they have a 7:30 or 8 a.m. schedule, and kids who come home late because they are on the late schedule and may be walking home in the dark. Think about the problems that we are creating with respect to the school schedules. Then, of course, there are the portable classrooms that we are now putting onto that school that houses 600 children so we can house more, so we can house the 900 or the 1,000 or the 1,200 children, portables that sit on blacktop and the green grass, where I used to play: less space, double lunches, children going in at 7:30 in the morning so they can have lunch at 9:30. Think about that. We would not do that to ourselves in the business world. Let us talk about business, because I am a businesswoman. If I were to start a small business today, let us say out of my home, like so many people are doing today, how many telephone lines would I have coming into my office, that extra room in my house set up as my office? At least three, do we not think? Let us say it was just you working on a consulting basis or doing things like accounting or what have you. You would have at least three lines. One, you would want to be on the Internet. You would want to have your computer set up; two, you would probably like to have a fax; three, you would probably have a line or maybe two lines where someone could be calling in and you could put them on hold while you talk to somebody else. Well, in these elementary schools in Anaheim, the entire school has only three phone lines to it. Now imagine, you are the principal. You are calling out. There is one phone line. If your PTA was great and was able to raise funds, you would have a fax machine in your office, and you might be faxing some information out to a colleague or somebody else. Then, of course, kids get sick, so in the morning parents are calling in to say, my kid is not coming to school. If you are a parent and calling in and there is one line dedicated to the fax and one that the principal is calling out to talk to a parent or to somebody else, that means there is one line, one line to call in and say your kid is sick. Imagine if there are 40 children sick that day out of 1,200. That could be a possibility. Imagine the busy signals that you would get or the inability to get through. Now, imagine if there was a problem at the school and there was a safety hazard or something was going on and you only had three lines, also. You would not start a business in your own home with less than three lines. Why do we allow elementary schools to have 1,200 children, 10 or 15 staff people, 80 teachers, and only three phone lines? That is the state that our schools are in today. That is why room, the fourth R, is so necessary. That is why at the Federal level we need to be concerned about the rooms in which we teach our children. They should be modern. They should have the technology of the future. They should have the computers and the Internet and the telephone lines, but more importantly, they should be a space that our children could learn in. The bill that I am offering is not about taxing people more and sending it to Washington, and then deciding what schools we want to be nice to and sending it back to California or Texas. It is about letting people actually keep the money in their area by not sending it to Washington, by giving tax credits. Schools that qualify would need to have help, they would have to be on a heavy burden list, one like the city of Anaheim, where we need more classrooms, and we can show that we need the growth. Schools would also be required to work public-private partnerships and have businesses working with them, and maybe the businesses would buy the bonds that the local agency issues. Third, the responsibility of deciding to issue bonds in order for the interest to be given as a tax credit by the Federal Government would have to be a local decision. That means that on a local level, a community needs to get together and decide that they are willing to pass a bond issue in order to build a school in their area. Local control, not sending the money to Washington, but giving it back, in a sense, in a tax credit, that is what the Rebuild American Schools Act would do. That is why I hope that when people realize that this is really about putting responsibility on the local level to decide that they are going to do something about it, and the Federal Government stepping in and saying, we are going to help you to do that, we are not going to give it to you, but we are going to help you to solve your problem, that is why this act, this bill, makes a difference and is important. It is a matter of national security. It is a matter of national security that our children learn in a school environment that is conducive to the 21st century, not in what people have to learn in in Anaheim. I know because I used to go there as a child. I have seen the closet where the janitor used to push his barrel with his mops and put them away for the night. That closet has been turned into a classroom for six special ed children and their teacher. This is what we are doing to our children, we are putting them in closets so they can learn. How do we expect them to learn? How do we expect people to learn, children to learn, if they do not have the classroom space? I was talking about portables earlier. The Santa Ana Unified School District, another area that I represent, if we took the portables that sit on its 26 permanent schools and pulled them off and made real permanent schools out of those portable classrooms, there would be 27 new schools built; 26 existing, 27 worth of portable classrooms on those areas. There is no room to play. There is no room for recess. There is no room for lunch. If it is hot, as it gets in Southern California, there is no shade when you are eating your lunch. If it rains, what do children do? There are even some classes that are taught outside without a classroom. This is why the Federal Government needs to get involved, and we get involved in a very specific way, with those classrooms that need to be built by the neediest schools all across the Nation, with responsibility at the local level to decide to build them, and with returning money, not sending money to Washington, D.C., but leaving it in the local level to be invested in local communities. That is why I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting H.R. 415. I know there are many sponsors already who have spoken today on that bill, and I appreciate the time that they have given me, I say to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa).

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. What a century this has been for the advancement of women's rights in America. Women vote, we own businesses, we explore outer space. We fight in our nation's armed services, we represent our fellow citizens in our legislature, courts and state houses, and we have a greater role in U.S. public policy than ever before. But first and foremost among these accomplishments is the ability to control our own economic destinies. I am here tonight to salute women business owners who have helped this remarkable change grow. And in particular, I praise the Women's Economic Summit, one of the first gatherings of its kind. It is planting the seeds for even greater future successes, and I am proud to be a part of that progress. Women everywhere build their success on that of the women who have gone before them. Tonight I salute women business owners for their work in making the American dream available to our friends and daughters.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to pay tribute to Clyde Maddox who was recently elected Commander of the 110,000 member Disabled American Veterans--Department of California at the organization's 1998 State Convention at Concord, California. This distinguished Vietnam veteran is one of our countries heros and is rightfully being honored as such. Clyde Maddox was born in Americus, Georgia where he spent eighteen years of his life. Upon graduating from Sumter County High School, he embarked upon a new career in the United States Marine Corps. After basic training, he served a tour of 13 months in Vietnam and served an additional tour overseas. He served the country with the 3rd Engineering Battalion, 3rd Engineers, and 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam. Mr. Maddox has been repeatedly honored for his exemplary service in the U.S. armed forces. He was presented with a certificate of good conduct medal on January 28, 1988, and was awarded with a Navy Achievement Award Medal for serving as Ground Supply Chief, 3rd Marine Air Wing Fleet Marine from May, 1979 to July 1982. He also received the admirable Meritorious Service Award during the period of November, 1986 to May, 1989. These are only two of his many achievements to reflect the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. On January, 1991, Clyde Maddox officially retired with an Honorable Discharge from the Marine Corps and was subsequently employed by the Disabled American Veterans--Department of California as a Department Service Officer at the Jerry L. Pettis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Loma Linda, California. He was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation on February 4, 1996, and a certificate for Outstanding Service as a Service Officer, showing that he could continue his tradition of excellence through retirement. Clyde Maddox has shown exemplary leadership and service throughout his life. He is truly one of Americas great heros through his great service to many men and women active and retired from our Armed Services. I ask you to join me today in recognizing this remarkable man who has played a most vital role in the lives of many others less fortunate and helped preserve a vital part of America's community.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of an accurate Census, and the use of adjusted data to compensate for the chronic undercount of people that occurs in each Census. In 1990, the Census missed almost 21,000 people in my congressional district in Orange County. This is the equivalent of over $54 million lost over a 10-year period. Only nine of California's 52 congressional districts were more undercounted than my own. We lost a lot of money, and we pay taxes. In the city of Anaheim, my own hometown, we were undercounted by over 7,000 people, and as a result, Anaheim lost $1.5 million in Federal funding, job training, law enforcement, emergency shelters. These were all underfunded because we were not getting our Federal dollars. It would have made our streets safer, we would have had shelter for the homeless, we could have trained the unemployed. I urge my colleagues to support the use of adjusted Census data, and challenge them to make all Americans count.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to congratulate Peter R. Villegas, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Orange County for 1998. During his presidency, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce accomplished many goals. The Chamber increased its membership and corporate sponsors, produced many successful events such as the ``Estrella Awards and Installation Dinner,'' Job and Career Fair, Business Finance Forum, Business Without Borders International Conference, and the Business Development Conference. Mr. Villegas has also represented the chamber in many official capacities. He has met with Vice President Al Gore, officials of the Department of State, Members of Congress, State, county, and local officials, as well as leaders of enterprise and industry. Mr. Villegas has provided leadership locally and nationally, by serving on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute based in Washington, DC, as a board member of the University of Southern California--M.A.A.A., the corporate advisory board of the Latin Business Association, and as a board member for the Puente Learning Center. Other memberships include the Challengers Boys and Girls Club, board member of the Chicano Federation of San Diego, and committee member of the Martin Luther King Legacy Association. He is the recipient of the 1997 Minorities in Business Magazines Latin American Corporate Prism Award, and the City of Santa Ana Exceptional Volunteer Award. Mr. Villegas manages regional relationships with key community coalitions, including the WaMu Community Council and regional WaMu Diversity Advisory Group. He is responsible for managing the Corporate Giving Program with a focus on the Community Reinvestment Act qualified grants. He also serves as the regional contact for governmental officials, provides corporate representation in the regional market, and provides leadership in the ethnic market. In addition, Mr. Villegas is the regional manager of Washington Mutuals $120 billion commitment to the community. Colleagues, please join with me today in saluting Peter R. Villegas, an individual who has dedicated his knowledge and expertise to the betterment of the Hispanic community and business relations on every level.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota.

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise to bring to the attention of the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) a matter that concerns the city of Garden Grove and the United States Coast Guard. An oil spill has been detected in the Bolsa Chica wetlands, and the city, unfortunately, has been erroneously identified as the responsible party. The discharge was caused solely by another party, who discharged waste oil product from his truck into the city's catch basin. This party's waste oil passed through the catch basin and into the public storm drain. The circumstances of this case remain ambiguous. The city of Garden Grove cannot accept an open-ended obligation to pay future claims in an unknown and potentially enormous amount. The city's revenues are limited, as the gentleman knows, and it is difficult to expand that tax base. No reasonable public policy is served by having the taxpayers of the city of Garden Grove pay for the cleanup and the spill of a third party. The office of the Orange County district attorney is continuing a criminal investigation into the third party and we hope that we will have results soon with respect to that. I urge the gentleman from Minnesota to recommend to the Coast Guard that it closely monitor the situation and to pursue the true responsible party for the reimbursement of the costs and damages.

Ms. SANCHEZ. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman and appreciate his remarks.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of improving educational opportunities for our children, children that must grow up in and learn about a world which is expanding with information technologies. First, let me say that I have visited our Silicon Valley in the State of California and have also seen firsthand the growing information industry companies that are springing up in my Congressional District. I have seen the exponential growth in high-tech jobs and the shocking lack of a trained work force to fill the positions within that industry. It is a shame that our children are not adequately prepared to fill these jobs and that the high-tech industry has to go outside the United States to satisfy the need for a trained and skilled work force. We must make sure that our children are adequately prepared to face the future. They need to have a safe space in which to learn and sufficient resources that will enable them to learn. That is why I am supporting building more classrooms. I am supporting providing local school districts with increased flexibility, the flexibility to help increase student achievement and to promote innovative school reform as long as there is adequate accountability. I am supporting Ed-Flex and the Miller amendment which strengthens the accountability provisions of Ed-Flex. By enacting smart legislation for our schools, we can improve educational outcomes for our children. I urge all of my colleagues to join with me in supporting Ed-Flex and the amendments offered by my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller).

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay a heartfelt tribute to Robert L. Ozuna, Chief Executive Officer of New Bedford Panoramex Corporation from 1966 to date has died. Robert Ozuna died Saturday, March 6, 1999 at Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina. He was 69. Robert Ozuna was the oldest of four children born in Miami, Arizona to Mexican-American parents. In 1940, after his father's early death, the family moved to East Los Angeles where he grew up with his mother, brother and two sisters. Robert was required to seek steady work at an early age to assist the family in meeting their financial burdens. Robert Ozuna emerged as one of the leading Mexican-American entrepreneurs in Southern California as Founder and President of New Bedford Panoramex Corporation (NBP). He gained his business experience on the job and his engineering education by attending night school in the California community and junior college system. In 1966, Mr. Ozuna began to build his company with a second mortgage on his residence, a few electrician's hand tools, hard work and entrepreneurial instincts into the thriving electronics manufacturing business it is today in Upland, California. NBP engages in the design, development and manufacturing of electronic communication systems and remote monitoring systems for its primary client, the United States Government. Mr. Ozuna's hard work and dedication has been rewarded by receiving the Department of Transportation Minority Business Enterprise Award for 1987 and again for 1991. He received the Air Traffic Control Association Chairman's Citation of Merit Award in 1994. He continued to be an active member of The California Chamber of Commerce for various cities and a founder of Casa De Rosa Annual Golf Tournament, which he instituted to raise funds for the Rancho de Los Ninos Orphanage in BajaMar, Mexico. As industrious as Mr. Ozuna has been in business, he has been equally involved in sharing his prosperity with many philanthropic activities in his community. He is the sponsor of many events in the Hispanic neighborhood where he grew up, and he was a founding director in the East Los Angeles Sheriff's Youth Athletic Association, which promotes educational, athletic and drug awareness programs for more than 60,000 youths in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. Robert Ozuna is remembered by his employees at New Bedford Panoramex Corporation as a handsome man who had a passion for life. His concern for his employees and their families along with his abundant generosity to them was always present. Robert Ozuna was married for 35 years to Rosemary, who passed way in November of 1998. He is survived by his mother, Amelia Ozuna; his sons, Steven Ozuna and Jeff Dominelli; his daughters Nancy DoSilva and Lisa Jarrett; his sisters, Lillian Gomez and Vera Venegas and his brother Tony Ozuna. He also leaves 8 grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, March 12th at 12:00 noon, at St. Gregory's Church, 1393 E. Telegraph Rd., Whittier, CA. The burial will follow at Queen of Heaven Cemetery. Mr. Speaker, Robert Ozuna epitomized the American dream. It is a dream that promises that any citizen of this country can achieve anything to which he or she aspires, as long as they work hard and play by the rules. Robert Ozuna achieved that dream and he will be missed.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today and urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to an outstanding individual: Professor Doan Viet Hoat of Vietnam. A journalist and a university professor, he has spent the last 19 of 21 years in a Hanoi prison for his efforts to bring freedom of the press and democracy to Vietnam. And despite all efforts by the Vietnamese government to prevent his writings from surfacing, his message continued to reach beyond his prison cell. Professor Hoat instantly became a prisoner of conscience championed by Amnesty International and is a recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and the Golden Pen of Freedom Award. This summer Professor Hoat was finally released after decades of government harassment and repression. Mr. Speaker, today we honor Professor Hoat for his moral courage in the face of absolute tyranny, and I urge all of my colleagues to honor him. I have just brought a resolution to this House, and I hope my colleagues will all help to cosponsor the legislation.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 33 on March 4, 1999, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 31 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 32, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the career of Chief Randall W. Gaston of the Anaheim Police Department. On February 25, 1999, at age 54, Chief Gaston passed away at the Anaheim Memorial Medical Center. Chief Gaston is survived by his wife Linda and has four grown children, Allison, Bryan, Aaron and Debbie and two grandchildren. The Anaheim Police Department is said to have been run as a family under the leadership of Chief Gaston. As a 9-year old, I remember becoming a part of this family when I was named Anaheim Police Chief for the day. I toured the station, met the officers and saw firsthand the inner workings of the department. I remember I felt very welcome. Chief Gaston began working for the Anaheim Police Department in 1965. Randy rose quickly through the Department and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1973. In 1982, Randy graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia and was later promoted to Captain in 1983. On January 11, 1994, Randy was appointed Chief of Police. During his tenure, crime rates fell 12% over the span of 2 years in Orange County. This tremendous achievement has been made possible only through the hard work, dedication to duty and personal sacrifice inspired by Chief Gaston. Randy is remembered as an honest man who often laughed at himself and who enjoyed staying out of the limelight. Yet his community policing program is recognized as a model for American police forces and for safer communities around the world. He will take with him a remarkable ability to integrate local community volunteers into the police force structure to help combat crime. I submit for the record an article from February 26, 1999, of the Los Angeles Times which further describes Chief Gaston's outstanding achievements. While Chief Gaston's leadership will be missed at our Police Department, all citizens of Orange County should take comfort that the Anaheim Police Department will evoke his spirit and legacy through their continued efforts to better our community. I want to thank Chief Gaston for his service to our fine city, and for his bravery and selfless dedication to his career and his community. This man was a genuine community leader. He not only did his job well, he loved it, and the community he served. We are safe because of his sacrifice. [From the latimes.com, Neighborhood News, Feb. 26, 1999]

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to our Nation's law enforcement officers; to thank them for risking their lives every single day to keep my family and my community safe. I have had the fortunate experience of meeting many of my local officers, because they are spending more and more time in our neighborhoods, and it is through the success of Community Oriented Policing that we have helped thousands of local police departments getting their cops out on the beat and away from their desks. The COPS program has hired, redeployed and retained over 100,000 more police officers who are now more recognized and are active members of their community. But more than that, Community Oriented Policing has proven its effectiveness in the fighting of crime. For example, in my district there is one agency that has seen crime rates drop 58 percent just over the last 5 years. That is more than half of the crime dropping. Now that the COPS program has reached its goal of placing 100,000 more cops on the beat, it is time to take the next step in crime fighting, and that is through using the most advanced technology to make our police more effective, more efficient and more responsive. I know a lot of Americans probably watch all of these police officer programs on television and they see all these high-tech types of things going on, computer databasing, et cetera, in which they are able to get the bad guy because of this. But the reality is much different in what is happening across the Nation. For example, I was in the other day with one of my police departments where they told me it takes them almost a year to check fingerprints because they have no forensic lab right in their own police department. They sent off a pair of fingerprints that used to take 6 to 12 minutes to check, and they called back and were told it would take about a year before they could get the results back. They said, well, this is a very important case. And the woman on the other line said, well, if it is a very important case, we could probably make it faster. He said, well, how about the homicide of a policeman; is that important enough? And she said oh, yes, I think we can do that in two months. Meanwhile, the bad guys keep going on and doing the bad things. The President has proposed $1.3 billion for the new 21st Century Policing Initiative. Part of that initiative includes giving law enforcement access to the latest crime fighting technologies. This past week I had three or four departments come in and show me some of the prototypes that they have for working with computers with analysis. One of my local police departments, Santa Ana Police Department, is eagerly awaiting to see such a Justice Department program come to fruition. Santa Ana PD has already developed plans for a crime analysis unit which would map and analyze crime patterns. The work of the unit would survey crime trends and patterns to more efficiently allocate police resources and to more quickly apprehend career criminals and predict crime problems. In the 21st century our greatest tool to fight crime is information. When departments have detailed data on crime statistics or arrest reports they can then achieve a better understanding of each city's crime problems and how to best respond. More importantly, crime analysis contributes to the COPS' philosophy by reducing administration and investigation work for our police officers. With Santa Ana PD's excellence in community policing, and their foresight in developing a modern advanced technology to fight crime, they can develop a crime analysis unit that departments across the country can use as a model. Let's work together to make the next step in law enforcement work. I urge my colleagues to support the 21st Century Policing Initiative and to support funding programs like the Santa Ana crime analysis unit.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the President again for including school construction tax credits in his fiscal year 2000 budget. The bond proposals that he has offered are based on concepts included in the legislation I just introduced. When our Nation is facing the most rapid student enrollment increases ever in our history, we must ask, are our schools prepared? I remember education being a top priority for candidates and incumbents in this past election season. Well, let us keep those promises from the election. Let us make education our number one priority. I have been on this floor a number of times recounting the horror stories from my own district, about teachers working in closets, about 50 kids in every classroom, about those portable classrooms littering our playground blacktops. The stories that I have told just are not happening in Orange County, California; I know they must be happening in your districts also. So I encourage the Speaker and the leadership and the Democrats to find a solution to this problem. Please, cosponsor H.R. 415 and support school construction tax cuts. Our children need it.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce school construction legislation that I spearheaded in the 105th Congress. The Expand & Rebuild America's Schools Act is a progressive step forward to resolve America's ever-expanding school overcrowding crisis. I was disappointed to see the 105th Congress end without the passage of meaningful school construction legislation. The President, myself, and other members of Congress offered beneficial and positive measures to renovate and improve America's schools, but we were blocked every step of the way by a Republican leadership unwilling to commit needed resources to our education agenda. I hope our new Speaker will use the opportunity of a new Congress to do more, and to prove to the American people that we care about our schools and our children. School overcrowding remains a tremendous obstacle in my congressional district and, I am positive, all across America. The Secretary of Education annually releases a Baby Boom Echo report which highlights trends in school populations across the country. The dismal scenario we saw in the 1997 report became even more bleak in 1998. This year total public and private school enrollment will rise to a record 52.7 million, and over the next decade public high school enrollment is expected to increase by 11 percent! Twenty states will have at least a 15 percent increase in the number of public high school graduates, with a 78 percent increase projected for Nevada, 39 percent for Hawaii, and 38 percent for Florida. Largely because of the high school enrollment increase, the total number of new teaching positions for public and private high school teachers is expected to rise by 115,000--a 9 percent increase. The Secretary of Education also anticipates that 6,000 schools need to be built in the next ten years to accommodate school population increases. We can no longer ignore these facts. School overcrowding is a national dilemma that needs a nation wide solution. The Expand & Rebuild America's Schools Act, H.R. 415, is that solution. This bill is focused, effective, and tax-payer friendly. H.R. 415 develops a pilot bond program to help our local schools save money on bond initiatives. Through the creation of a new class of bonds, the Federal Government will provide a tax credit to lenders equal to the amount of the interest that would otherwise be paid by schools. Schools will save millions of dollars in interest costs by having to repay only the principle amount of the bond. To be eligible for the bond program, local school districts must have rapid growth rates and high student-teacher ratios, a problem facing the majority of suburban schools in this nation. Schools must also seek out partnerships with local businesses and the private sector for donations of equipment or funding, volunteer work, vocational training, or however a school and business sees fit. Encouraging our schools to develop these public/private partnerships will only enhance the impact of the bond initiative. The Expand and Rebuild America's Schools Act aims to reward schools that have high standards and are working hard to solve their overcrowding problems. This bill is also simple and easy to administer. Schools can apply directly to the Secretary of Education for these bonds, bypassing state bureaucracy and cutting red tape. And, my bill does not create any new government program or agency. This legislation gives local school districts the incentive they need to float and pass local school construction bonds. It provides the stimulus for the private sector to step up and help their local communities. This is a bill that both Republicans and Democrats can support. Within a week of the bill's introduction, we have gained 27 bipartisan co-sponsors, and the numbers keep growing. My bill is supported by the Administration, and even the President has included $25 billion in school construction bonds in his FY 2000 budget. Organizations such as Cal Fed and the Coalition for Adequate School Housing have endorsed the bill, and I have also held numerous community wide forums and hearings in my Congressional district to highlight the benefits of H.R. 415. Our schools are waiting for the Federal Government to act. And, we must act in a bipartisan and cooperative manner if we are to truly make a difference. The passage of school construction legislation is possible, but we must work together to achieve this goal. We cannot let the American people down. Help relieve America's bulging classrooms! This public/private partnership is the answer. I encourage my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 415. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I would like to include the following materials into the Record. Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, October 16, 1997. Hon. Loretta Sanchez, House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Loretta: I am writing to tell you how pleased I am that you are interested in introducing legislation to expand the education zone bond program that was enacted as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Like you, I believe that program was a needed first step and that we should look for opportunities to expand it. I hope to have the opportunity to offer an amendment on the Floor to expand that program in connection with the consideration of H.R. 2646. That legislation would permit taxpayers to contribute $2,500 per year per child to an education savings account. Earnings from that account would be tax-exempt if used to pay expenses of primary and secondary education. I oppose that legislation because I feel that it is a diversion of scarce resources for the benefit of a small group of wealthy families with children in private schools. I believe that those resources should be devoted to the improvement of our public school system. Therefore, I intend to offer a substitute that would expand the education zone bond program. My substitute would increase the size of the program from $400 million per year for the next two years to $4 billion per year for those years. In addition, my substitute would permit the use of those bonds for school construction. My substitute is very similar to your proposed legislation and I hope that you will support my substitute. Again, I welcome your interest in the education zone bond program and look forward to working with you on this issue in the future. Sincerely, Charles B. Rangel, Ranking Democrat.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I must introduce a private relief bill for the Boyd family. This legislation will clarify the status of Joseph Samuel Boyd as a public safety officer for purposes of payment of death benefits by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Joseph Boyd, the dedicated and highly decorated Rangemaster for the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), tragically died on-duty while testing an illegal firearm. I wholeheartedly support awarding the Boyd family death benefits under the Public Safety Officers' Benefit Program due to the contributions Rangemaster Boyd made to the Santa Ana Police Department and our community. Joe Boyd was not only a committed husband and father, he was a critical component of the Santa Ana police force. In 1995, the Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded SAPD a grant under the Firearms Trafficking Program. The Santa Ana firearms program, along with the Santa Ana Weapons Inspection Team (WIT) has developed into one of the nation's premiere firearms trafficking programs as a result of this grant. Joe was an integral part of this Weapons Inspection Team, and as part of his duties, Joe examined and tested firearms to confirm their nomenclature and help prove the elements of a crime. Joe Boyd was an indispensable resource to the investigators assigned to the Team and he performed exceptionally in his duties. At the time of his death, Joe was assisting the SAPD, in conjunction with the firearms program, in testing a fully automatic MAC-11 weapon. The faulty construction of this weapon led to his untimely death. As we come upon the one year anniversary of Joe's death, we can recount with pride the innumerable contributions he made to SAPD and the city of Santa Ana. The unusual circumstances surrounding his death call for the Boyd family to be compensated for their tragic loss. While this legislation may not make the loss of Joe Boyd any less painful, it will honor his work and legacy as a man dedicated to the safety of his community and his fellow officers. Thank you Mr. Speaker, and I would like to add the following materials to the Record. Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, August 4, 1998. Ashton Flemmings, Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Washington, DC. Re: Claim for benefits--Joseph Samuel Boyd, File #98-185 Dear Mr. Flemmings: I am writing to you on behalf of the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) and the Boyd family. In January of 1998, Rangemaster Joseph Samuel Boyd died while on-duty. Although Joseph Boyd was not a sworn peace officer at the time, he contributed his expertise and dedication to the Santa Ana firearms program. I highly advise and fully support awarding Joseph Boyd's family benefits, under the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Public Safety Officers' Benefit Program. It is my understanding that the Santa Ana Police Department has already submitted the Report of Public Safety Officer's Death and a Statement of Circumstances, and the Boyd family has submitted a Claim for Death Benefits. At the time of his death, Joseph Boyd was assisting the Santa Ana Police Department, in conjunction with the firearms program, in testing a fully automatic MAC-11 weapon. The poor construction of this weapon led to his untimely death. In 1995, the BJA awarded SAPD a grant under the Firearms Trafficking Program. The Santa Ana firearms program has developed into a national success made possible by a grant offered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Rangemaster Joseph Boyd, a civilian, was an integral part of SAPD's Weapon Inspection Team (WIT). As part of his duties, he examined and tested the firearms to confirm their nomenclature and help prove the elements of the crime. Joseph Boyd was an indispensable resource to the investigators assigned to WIT and performed exceptionally in his duties. Joseph Boyd's contributions to the Santa Ana Police Department and the BJA grant enforcement program are innumerable. Therefore, I respectfully request that the BJA award death benefits to the Boyd family. If you have any further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me or Aylin Kuyumcu of my staff at (202) 225-2965. Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to your response. Very truly yours, Loretta Sanchez, Member of Congress.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to Mexico's greatest living muralist, the highly acclaimed artist, Maestro Raul Anguiano. It is also my great pleasure to welcome the Maestro to The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA, where he will place the first brush stroke on a mural for the Museum. The Maestro is known throughout the world as Mexico's ambassador of art. He has exhibited in major museums and galleries around the world including the Palace of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Prints and the Museum of Plastic Arts in Mexico City, the Museum of Man in San Diego, the Carnegie Art Museum, the Institute Italo, Latino Americao (Rome), Casas Reales Museum (Santa Domingo), and the Armand Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. His solo exhibits include Moscow, Leningrad, Peking, Rome, Assissi and Venice. HIs work has also been exhibited at the Santora Arts Center in Santa Ana, CA. His works are included in permanent exhibits in many major museums around the world. Most recently his painting the ``Crucifixation'' was accepted by Pope John Paul II and is now in the collection at the Vatican. Raul Anguiano was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, February 26, 1915. He began painting at the age of twelve. As a child, he would paint or draw on any space available; his creativity and genius could not be contained. His mother, Abigail, recognized her son's early signs of genius and encouraged him by providing him with sketch books. The young Raul was driven by sheer talent and desire to create the visions that were given to him. Along with his contemporary, Diego Rivera, Maestro Anguiano has influenced other Mexican artists here in the United States. R.C. Gorman has credited Anguiano with his ``aesthetic influence as well as subject matter.'' Maestro Anguiano has given to the world a precious gift of beauty that will live on forever by creating a mural for the permanent collection of the Bowers Museum. I commend Maestro Raul Anguiano for his significant artistic contribution to the history of art and his impact on contemporary artists around the world.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great sadness. My heart is heavy because I know what it is like to be the target of a blatantly partisan investigation. Remember, I spent the first year and a half here defending my congressional seat from a very partisan investigation over the outcome of my election. They tried to undo that election, and now they are trying to undo the President's election. But an overwhelming majority of Americans want this President to stay, and I can only echo my colleague and friend, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), when he says, ``Beware the wrath of the American people, beware. You will have only yourselves to blame when Americans rise up and hold you accountable for what you are doing today.'' What is going on is unbelievable. Make no mistake about it. This is a partisan effort to remove the duly elected President of the United States from his office. One can only fear the harm that they are doing to the presidency today. Every American should be very concerned about the wisdom of impeaching our President without bipartisan support. Mr. Speaker, I am sad today because I know that in 20 years from now we will look back and say that we have weakened our Constitution and we will be remembered for failing the American people.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote 539, I was unavoidably detained with business in my district. Had I been present I would have voted ``aye.''

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to return to Washington, DC, today in time to cast my vote in favor of the House Resolution supporting our military operations and personnel in the current action against Saddam Hussein. The Majority Leadership in the House failed to inform Members of the scheduling of a recorded vote until it was too late for me to catch any flight last night from my district to Washington. I fully support our military service men and women as they carry out their duties in support of President Clinton's order for an air and missile attack of Iraqi weapons-producing and military targets. Now is the time for our nation to support the Commander in Chief who was forced into this decision after United Nations arms inspectors reported that Baghdad continues to obstruct the will and mandate of the U.N. Again, had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on the resolution of support.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, this year I joined the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) in establishing the formation of the ``Adopt a Voice of Conscience in Vietnam Campaign'' in this House of Representatives. We established this task force to bring attention to the human rights violations in Vietnam and to generate pressure for the release of all prisoners who have been in house arrest, in prison or in other forms of detention. As Members of Congress, it is our responsibility to highlight what is going on in Vietnam against religion and freedom of speech. We need to focus the public attention on Vietnam's repression against freedom of expression so that it becomes a part of the United States policy towards communist Vietnam. With Members of Congress adopting prisoners, we can successfully advocate for religious prisoners suffering persecution at the hands of this Vietnamese government. Well, Mr. Speaker, we now have evidence that our efforts are working. On September 2, the Government of Vietnam released over 5,000 political and religious prisoners. Included in the release was Mr. Tran Huu Duyen, a Buddhist monk who is a member of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church located in my district. I have been notified that he is now at home in Vietnam with his family, but in very poor health. Well, what crimes did he commit to have spent the last two decades in prison? After the communist takeover, Mr. Huu was arrested and charged with plotting to overthrow the People's Government and for participating in a political party that was affiliated with his church. Despite his 78 years of age, he was forced to do hard labor eight hours a day. By adopting these prisoners, Members of Congress can generate constant pressure on the Vietnamese authorities to release those who really have been detained for no reason, just because they choose to speak up against this government or just because they want to practice their religion. This is an important date for all American-Vietnamese citizens, and it represents another major step in the fight to provide liberty to all political prisoners around the world. I urge my colleagues to join us in this effort.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding to me. The last Republican that was up here talking spoke about how wonderful this bill was and how there might be a few problems in this large bill but that if we would read it, we would understand that there is more good than bad. Apparently he has been able to read it, because I do not know about my colleague from New Jersey, but we have actually been asking for 24 hours to be able to get a written bill and to be able to go through it and see what is in the bill. So hopefully the Democrats will have their wish honored by the other side and will actually get a copy of this bill that is supposedly being written right now, because I would like to vote on something, and I would like to have at least read the bill once before I need to take a vote on it. I sit on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. I have gotten to see the struggles between both sides about what is important. Let me tell you, these guys were not for 100,000 teachers in the classroom, just as a few years ago they were not for 100,000 cops on the streets. We have seen that to be one of the most effective programs that the President has been able to push in this country, and we have neighborhood after neighborhood asking for more of this neighborhood policing that is going on. At least that is the way it is back in Anaheim and Garden Grove and Santa Ana. One of the issues I want to talk about tonight is this whole idea about school modernization. Because while we will now get our 100,000 teachers program, the fact of the matter is, probably the most important thing that you have in the classroom is a teacher that is eager to teach, one that is eager to help students, one that makes that comfort zone, that nurturing that must happen with the student in order for that light bulb to go on and for a student to say, I can make something of myself. I am really interested in these science projects and I can work on this. But the other issue is also about what type of a classroom they sit in when they are getting that instruction. And I will tell you, from personal experience, I am one of those fortunate Members that get to represent their own hometown. That means that the schools that I represent, the children and where they go, those are the schools that I attended. And it is a shame to see what is going on in California. First of all, California is one of the five fastest growing student enrollment States across the Nation. While that is over 15 percent over the next 5 years, the fact of the matter is that the school districts that I represent are almost twice that growth rate with enrollment. That means we have a lot of kids coming through the system and still the same number of elementary schools that existed while I was going through the system over 30 years ago. So there is a major problem. We need to look not only at modernizing those elementary schools and middle schools and high schools that we have in our town, but also creating more, because we have such a large enrollment coming on. In fact, in Anaheim alone, we grow at over 1000 students in the elementary school system a year. That is the equivalent of at least one elementary school. So it is really important that we address the modernization and the new construction of new classrooms. I go back to schools, and when they built the schools in my town, they built the elementary schools all off the same pattern. So the same elementary school had the same pattern as any of the others that you would go around to in town. I have been to them. And that place where the custodian used to wheel his wheelbarrow full of mops and brooms for the night is now a classroom for 6 special ed children and a teacher. The broom closet is a classroom for students in my school district. Or worse, where we used to walk through the silent tunnel to get between classes so we would not have to go all the way around the entire school building, that now has a wall slapped up and a door and that has become a large classroom for students. We are really looking for more space. For example, there were four portable, we used to call them bungalows when I went to that elementary school, there are now more. And they are sitting right there on the blacktop where I used to play tether ball and on the grass where we used to play football and dodge ball. This keeps going on and on in almost every single elementary school in Anaheim and in Santa Ana and, yes, even in Garden Grove. And so it is a real problem, the facility needs that we need. I hope that before this budget deal is cut that we will be able to find the monies that we need to help local school districts with their modernization and their new schools.