José Serrano

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SERRANO. I would just take time from the gentleman to clarify a point. This amendment does not cut any funding from the Border Patrol. My amendment merely shifts funding from one INS account to another, a shift of $44 million that is budget-authority neutral. This shift is necessary to keep this amendment outlay-neutral in total.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague from New York for expressing his support for the Botanical Garden and want to assure him that funding for the new facility is of high importance to me. The Botanical Garden has been instrumental in maintaining our place as a world leader in plant research. Without this new plant research facility, the Botanical Garden may lose its preeminent status in botanical studies, forcing many of its scientists and scholars to conduct that research in countries with adequate facilities. I want to reassure my colleague from New York that maintaining or increasing the $1 million in the Senate appropriations bill for the new plant studies research laboratory is of the highest priority with this Member.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel).

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich), who has been patiently waiting for over 2 hours to speak.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman can take my word for it. They are here if their time comes to speak.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis). (Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. SERRANO. I yield to the gentlewoman from New York.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, any time you have the chairman agreeing, and mathematically he has the votes, you are in good shape, so I will just sit down.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman very much, first of all. This is not the first time the gentlewoman has brought this subject up. This is one subject that the gentlewoman discusses with me often. As I was just saying to a staff member, if we can do something about this, then maybe on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, there will not be that line of 200 people around the block at my district office, people that we welcome but people that certainly are coming there to find out why the backlog exists somewhere else and not in my office. I join the gentlewoman and I surely would join anyone else in trying to solve this problem and deal with it the proper way.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment. The chairman of our subcommittee has very strongly told us over and over again, and I believe him, that our subcommittee has played a major role through some of its actions in reducing crime; and I, as a new member to the committee and as ranking member, I continue to work with him to make sure that that happens, and I have no doubt that his statements are correct, that this subcommittee has played a role. But I think what we have to look at here is that the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), one glance at it, it supports that whole notion that some of us share that the best way to fight crime is to prevent it and that the best way to prevent crime is to supply dollars and create programs that in fact benefit people, especially young people, so that they will not be in a life of crime, and any time, and my colleagues have to understand this, at any time to some of us colleagues speak about spending dollars on building prisons, which is in many cases or in most instances what this ends up being. Well, we feel that too much money in this country is already being spent on building prisons. We spend more money on building prisons than we spend in many instances on education. So I think that the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) is one that we should pay special attention to, especially when he divvies up the money in what I think is a wonderful and a direct way, prison drug treatment, the drug court program, boys and girls clubs. When we do this together, we are in fact being very supportive of the work that governors and other people are doing throughout the States. But the fact of life is, as he points out, that in so many cases there are problems. Twenty-three States did not receive any funds in FY 1999. There is no excuse for that, and something is wrong. He does not want that money to go to waste, and he knows how best to use it. And so I would hope that people would look at this amendment for what it is. It is an amendment that in fact fights crime. It is an amendment that in fact speaks to exactly what some of my colleagues have been speaking about and that we are all so proud of that is happening in this country, and I think that rather than just react to it automatically, the way we always do, we should look at it for what it is worth, and it is worth a lot and we should be supportive of it.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall no. 365, it has been brought to my attention that I was recorded as voting AYE. I seem to recall pressing the red button for a NAY vote. So that there is no misunderstanding of my position, I wish for the record to indicate that I should be recorded as a NO vote.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, once again it is with pride that I rise to pay tribute to the Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade, on its eleventh year of celebrating the culture and contributions of the Puerto Rican community to our nation. The Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade will be held on Sunday, August 1 in my South Bronx Congressional District. The event is the culmination of a series of activities surrounding Puerto Rican Week in the Bronx. This year's parade is dedicated to our children. Under the leadership of its founder, Mr. Angel L. Rosario, and its president, Mr. Francisco Gonzalez, the Parade has grown into one of the most colorful and important festivals of Puerto Rican culture in the five Boroughs of New York City and beyond. The Parade brings together people from all ethnic backgrounds, including Puerto Ricans from the island and all across the nation. It is an honor for me to join once again the hundreds of thousands of people who will march with pride from Mount Eden to 161st Street along the Grand Concourse in celebration of our Puerto Rican heritage. The Puerto Rican flag and other ornaments in the flag's red, white, and blue will decorate the festival. As one who has participated in the parade in the past, I can attest that the excitement it generates brings the entire City together. It is a celebration and an affirmation of life. It feels wonderful that so many people can have this experience, which will change the lives of many of them. There's no better way to see our Bronx community. The event will feature a wide variety of entertainment for all age groups. The Parade ends at 161st and the Grand Concourse, where live music, Puerto Rican food, crafts, and other entertainments await partakers. It is expected that this year's Parade will surpass last year's half-million visitors. In addition to the parade, the many organizers will provide the community with nearly a week of activities to commemorate the contributions of the Puerto Rican community, its culture and history. Mr. Speaker, it is with enthusiasm that I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to this wonderful celebration of Puerto Rican culture, which has brought pride to the Bronx community.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate and to pay tribute to Mr. James Buckley, Executive Director of University Neighborhood Housing Program in my South Bronx district. He was selected to receive a James A. Johnson Community Fellowship from the Fannie Mae Foundation for his significant contributions to the fields of affordable housing and community development. Mr. Buckley is one of only six individuals selected through a national nomination process to receive this fellowship in the inaugural year of this program. Mr. Speaker, James Buckley founded the University Neighborhood Housing program (UNHP) in 1989 and has served as its Executive Director since then. As a Fordham University student in 1975, Mr. Buckley interned with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NBCCC) as a community organizer, and he later served as its Executive Director. As a result of his organizing efforts at NBCCC, the Fordham Bedford Housing Corportion (FBHC) was formed, which has reclaimed thousands of units of housing and presently owns and/or manages 70 multi-family apartment buildings. As the Director of the Reinvestment Project at the NBCCC, Mr. Buckley attracted over $100 million in public and private funds to area neighborhoods, which led to the creation of 1,500 units of safe, sanitary, affordable housing units for community residents. As a result of these efforts, two additional non-profit community housing corporations were created that went on to develop residential properties with tenant or community ownership. Mr. Speaker, the Johnson fellows Program was created to honor the leadership and distinguished service of former Fannie Mae Foundation Chairman James A. Johnson. The Fellows program is designed to reward and recognize outstanding leaders and promote innovation in the affordable housing and community development fields. Each fellow will receive a $70,000 grant and plus a $20,000 educational travel/study stipend to pursue a self-designed course of professional development to enhance the individual's skills and field experiences and to explore new solutions to current affordable housing or community development challenges. Mr. Speaker, being selected for this program indicates that James Buckley has demonstrated that he has the ability and the desire to be an asset and a role model in our community. We are proud of his accomplishments and I know he will take full advantage of the opportunity presented to him. He is a terrific example for community leaders. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mr. James Buckley for his outstanding accomplishments, and in commending the Fannie Mae Foundation for honoring these six outstanding leaders and giving them the opportunity to do even more for their communities.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) again for leading us always on these very important issues. I was listening to the comments in my office. It dawned on me that I represent one of the youngest, if not the youngest, district in the Nation. Traditionally, a lot of the discussions in my district are about young people, and, therefore, day care and education and schools; and a lot of times, unfortunately, not enough is discussed about the issue of senior citizens. Yet, it dawned on me also, as I was listening, like the rest of America, my district is aging. We are not becoming the younger district that we were. All of a sudden, this becomes a very serious issue. I just wanted to come down and take just a few minutes to say that I think the President has put before us an excellent plan, and there is no reason why we should not respond to it. But my biggest concern continues to be the same concern I had when I came down last week and joined the gentleman for the discussion on HMOs, managed care. The whole issue of how can we as the greatest Nation on earth continue to dodge, to duck the issue of providing the best, which we are capable of, medical care, the most affordable, which we are not doing but we are capable of, and the most universal medical care. If we had bad medical services in general, if we had bad medicine and we had bad doctors, then maybe the plan would be to keep a lot of people away from it and not make it available to everybody. But that is not our case. So what the gentleman from New Jersey is doing here today, and what I want to join him, is to plea with the American people to join us in alerting Members of Congress to the fact that this time here we are dealing with yet another issue in the whole area of providing medical services. At times, we deal with the millions of young people and Americans who are not covered by medical insurance. At other times, we deal with the whole issue of the people who are not getting the proper services. Here we are talking about people that are covered but who run the risk of having this kind of coverage either end someday or not be handled properly or not be of the quality that it should be. We have before us a proposal that I think makes a major step to address that issue. We have an opportunity to deal with it in a bipartisan fashion. Madam Speaker, I just wanted to take these few minutes to join the gentleman from New Jersey, to thank him again for bringing us together and to tell him to count on me and his colleagues to continue to put this message forward, that this is about saying what a society stands for. If a society cannot take care of its children, and we have spoken about that, cannot take care of its elderly, then it really did not accomplish what it set out to do. This is an opportunity, and we can do it.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Joel Sklar, an outstanding individual who has dedicated his life to public service and education. He will be honored on Thursday, June 24, during the graduation ceremony at Lehman High School in my South Bronx Congressional district for his outstanding contributions to the community. Mr. Sklar, Principal of the Lola Rodriguez de Tio Academy of Future Technologies at Intermediate School 162 will be leaving his current position at the end of this month. He has devoted his entire career of 28 years to bettering the lives of the students in district 7. A graduate of Yeshiva University and the City University of New York, Mr. Sklar began his teaching career in 1970 at P.S. 5 where he was a 6th grade teacher. A year later he moved to the Middle School level and became a science teacher at I.S. 162. While teaching science at I.S. 183, Mr. Sklar demonstrated the active engagement of students as they pursued the challenges of the world of science. After becoming a grade leader at I.S. 183 Mr. Sklar was soon recruited to the District 7 Office where he worked in the Curriculum & Instruction Unit. This led to his becoming the assistant to the Deputy Superintendent in the Office of Funded Programs. Mr. Speaker, Joel Sklar's leadership abilities were fine-tuned during his tenure at the District 7 Office. He soon found his way to I.S. 151, where he helped redefine the instructional program before being appointed principal of I.S. 162 on August 7, 1987. During his twelve years at the helm of the school, he brought the students to the new age of technology. A New York State Magnet School in 1995 led the way to the birth of the Lola Rodriguez de Tio Academy of Future Technologies at I.S. 162. A model middle school for New York City and New York State, it has been the number one choice of middle schools for more than half of all the students graduating from District 7 elementary schools over the past 4 years. The Academy is currently the top middle school in District 7 in both reading and mathematics achievements. Its technology program is one that is being replicated in schools throughout the City of New York, as well as in New Jersey. Mr. Sklar leaves us with many lessons learned in leadership, education and wisdom. A talented leader and educator, Mr. Sklar will continue sharing his knowledge and views with Yeshiva University High School for Boys, his alma mater. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing continued success to Mr. Joel Sklar and in recognizing him for his outstanding achievements in education and his enduring commitment to the community.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield because I want to get that right? He said that $4 million was spent by HMOs and insurance companies to try to get a Member of Congress out of here who supports children and elderly getting their fair share.

Mr. SERRANO. I want to thank the gentleman once again. It has been said quite a few times on the floor, but you always manage to get us involved in discussing the issues that we should discuss. I am reminded of a conversation that I had with the spouse of a foreign dignitary from one of the Latin American countries that I will not mention, not to get into a discussion, a country that is not as advanced as we are, and I did with that spouse what I do with a lot of people. I said, what impresses you the most about our country and what do you find hard to understand? She said, well, obviously your overabundance of food. You have so much food in this country, you hire people to keep food from falling out of the bins in the supermarket. That is how much food you have. I said, ``What touched you or made an impression on you in a negative way?'' She said, ``Well, I got sick and it took me more time to discuss where I was going, who was going to treat me and what was available to me than the time it took me to realize that I was hurting and sick. I can't understand why your country would take such red tape and put it in front of people.'' Obviously that person, as you said, like many of our constituents, just do not understand until we try to explain it to them that there are things that are happening in this industry, this so-called health providers industry, that is just hard to believe, that a doctor, as you just mentioned, that a doctor would not be allowed to do what a doctor does best, which is to advise a patient on what he or she feels that patient should have because they are ordered basically or not allowed by an HMO or the coverage group to present that as an alternative. This is the United States of America in 1999. We cannot seem to get people to understand that you just cannot do that. The whole idea, I mean, sometimes I have watched my wife during the times when we have to sign up here, we, Members of Congress, have to sign up for our health plans, and I have seen my wife sit there at the dinner table with the thought of three children at home ranging in ages from 17 to 10 and trying to figure out which one, is it three from this column and seven from that, if we are covered for this, we are not covered for this. We have to ask permission for this so that we can get that. I join her in that, I say, my God, if this is what we go through and we supposedly get told all the time that we have this fabulous plan, what is everybody else who has no clue as to what they are dealing with are going through? Again it is picking from this column and from that column. I was very proud today, and I can say this with all honesty, when we marched into this Chamber and began to sign that petition to get this bill on the House floor. I have been here now 9 years and on many occasions I have to scratch my head and wonder why the other party in the last few years will not bring a bill to the floor. As I have said, I have stood here and scratched my head, but I have never scratched my head as much as on this bill. I mean, this is something the American people want. This is something that you provide to everyone. This is not partisan in any way, shape or form. This is not something that one party can take and run with and say we did it, this is something we as a House, as a Congress, can say we did it because we did it for our families, we did it for the public, we did it for our friends, we did it for all of us. And yet this resistance, this desire to either say no to bringing a bill to the floor or trying to present other measures which sound like they are addressing the issue when they are not addressing the issue. I think what has happened here tonight and for the next days and weeks is exactly what was mentioned here before by the prior speaker and, that is, to get the American public involved, to get the American public to let us know that their Members of Congress how they feel about this. If there is a parent this evening who is going through the same kind of situations where you are trying to figure out what is the best way to get coverage and you have gone through these experiences where you cannot get the right information or the proper information or the right support from your doctor because his hands or her hands are tied, if you have to spend hours trying to figure out, do I ask for this medicine, do I allow this prescription, am I covered by it, am I not covered, if any of this has happened to you, it is time you wrote, it is time you e-mailed, it is time you visited a web page, it is time you made a phone call, because I do not know of an issue that affects more Americans than this one at this moment. I mean, we have stood on this floor and discussed an issue that we are making some gains on, which was the issue of the uninsured children. The gentleman was the first one to bring this to the House floor, the whole issue of uninsured people throughout this country. We have made some gains on that. But this continues still to be the one area in this country where we just do not want to budge. I do not know who it is we are concerned that we are upsetting. Are HMOs more important than your family doctor? Is your family doctor someone that you are so proud of and then you turn around and you say, ``Well, don't prescribe this and don't prescribe that?'' What are we talking about here? Just a few minutes ago, and I want to close with this, we were debating and we will be debating tomorrow this whole issue of desecration of the flag. I remember my first time here on the House floor when I looked at that flag behind the podium and I said, I wonder if that flag could speak to us, what would it tell us. It may not tell us to protect it from physical abuse. It may surprise us by telling us, ``Why don't you do that which makes me feel good and symbolizes everything I stand for.'' So on the same day that some people here are saying we have got to protect that flag, they reject a notion of protecting one of the things that the flag stands for, which is providing basic care to our children, to our women, to our elderly, to our working families in this country. And so what a better way to honor and respect the flag this week than for the Republicans to agree that they will bring this bill to the floor and discuss that issue here and give people the opportunity to get the coverage we deserve. We are the greatest country on earth, we are the wealthiest country on earth, we are the greatest democracy on earth, but there are still a few pieces missing that we have to put together to fulfill our full potential. One of them right at the top is this inability we have to deal with this issue without worrying about who we upset, because we are not going to upset children, we are not going to upset the elderly, we are not going to upset the American people, and if we upset a few insurance companies, if we upset a few HMOs, we are not out to kill anybody. We will work, and all we want is dialogue and the ability to give people their right. At the same time we protect the industry. Our job here is not to destroy one to save the other; it is to protect that which is right. So I want to thank the gentleman once again. I know that he will be on the floor at other times with this issue again, and I will be glad to join him then as I have joined him today and in the past.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2084, the bill making appropriations for the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies for the fiscal year 2000. As a new member of the Subcommittee, it has been a pleasure to be part of such a fair, bipartisan process. I particularly commend our Chairman, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and our Ranking Democrat, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) for the good work they have done in developing this bill and the attention they have paid to fairly distributing funds among the various modes of transportation, and to balancing the needs of the nation with the needs of individual members and their districts. And I would be remiss if I did not express my appreciation and thanks to the staff, Cheryl Smith and Marjorie Duske on our side, John Blazey, Rich Efford, Stephanie Gupta, Linda Muir, and David Whitestone. They are thoroughly professional and dedicated public servants. Given the stringent budget constraints facing the Subcommittee, this bill is quite an accomplishment. Of considerable importance, the bill fully funds the highway and transit programs as called for in TEA-21, so that projects many of us worked hard to achieve can proceed without interruption. But it also provides the resources needed to continue the safe and efficient operation of our nation's transportation system. This system has been described as the circulatory system of America, without which our economy would clog and slow. Again, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Mr. Wolf and Mr. Sabo and all the other talented people who have worked so hard to develop this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Lora Lucks, an outstanding individual who has dedicated her life to public service and education. She will be honored on Thursday, June 17 for her outstanding contributions to the community during the end of the term party at PS 48 in my South Bronx Congressional district. She is retiring after 23 years as Principal of PS 48. Born and raised in Brooklyn and a graduate of CUNY Brooklyn, Lora Lucks started her teaching career at Mark Twain Junior High School. She also attended St. John's University and Fordham University where she majored in Education Administration. Thirty two years ago she joined P.S. 48 in the Bronx where she started her supervisory career. For the past 23 years she has served as Principal at P.S. 48 and played a prominent role as a true educational leader. She is responsible for the education and well being of a student body of over 1,100 children and a staff of over 150. Mr. Speaker, in addition to the daily educational services she provides to the students, Mrs. Lucks has been the Project Director of the Hunts Point Cultural Arts Center for the past 16 years. This after- school program nurtures the artistic talents of and fosters a sense of pride and accomplishment in students within the South Bronx Community. Having forged a strong alliance with businesses, organizations, and foundations, Lora has been able to bring much-needed resources to the school and the children of Hunts Point. The Y.M.C.A.'s Pathways for Youths Program and District 8 sponsored programs are just a few of the wonderful activities offered by the school after school hours. During the course of her principalship, Lora has made Public School 48 the pride of District 8 schools. Through her years of service she has been given many awards. In 1992 she was honored as the District 8 Supervisor of the year and in 1993 she was the recipient of the Reliance Award for Excellence in Education. Although not a resident of Hunts Point, she is very active in community affairs. Lora has become a member of the Bronx Borough President's Solid Waste Advisory Board and the Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation. Mrs. Lucks leaves us with many lessons learned in community service, leadership in education, and wisdom. A talented leader and educator, Mrs. Lucks will continue sharing her knowledge and views with her family and friends. Mrs. Lucks is married and has two sons, Stuart and Robert, two grandchildren, Arie and Megan, and a daughter-in-law, Charlotte. Her husband, Solomon, is a retired New York City educator and supervisor. He served as the chairman of the Technology Department at Bayside High School for 27 years. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing a happy retirement to Mrs. Lora Lucks and in recognizing her for her outstanding achievements in education and her enduring commitment to the community.