John Shimkus

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, as the delegate from the District of Columbia welcomes us back, she is also going to say good-bye to six residents. I would like to have Lindsey Beck, Matthew Dinusson, Ashley Gallo, Jennifer Hsieh, Gregory Hyde, and Zachary Stanton come on down here. Grab some seats in the front row. Mr. Speaker, as the chairman of the House Page Board, it is my distinct pleasure to recognize these six outstanding pages that are departing today. This year's page class is a remarkable group of students. They came to Washington full of ambition and promise. Little did they know, nor did their friends and colleagues in the back, that they would be witness to such tragic events in history. Far from their families and friends, and so new to Washington that homesickness barely had a chance to ease, this page class refused to let fear chase them away from their dreams of working with Congress. They relied on each other, and on the day-to-day tasks before them; and they knew in their hearts they were working toward a common goal shared by all of us, to prove to our enemies that the American spirit cannot be extinguished. The courage, determination, and sense of purpose shown by this class and their colleagues in the back set an example for us all. They have proven that adversity does build strength and that the human spirit is resolute when it is tested. Mr. Speaker, not only did this group carry on their work as pages, but they did so with enthusiasm, excitement, and as I found out, in good humor, which at such moments in history is kind of hard to do. There is no question that this class has made us very proud. This class is a credit to their families, their communities, and to the page program. The six who are leaving today will be returning home on Saturday. They leave here with our thanks and congratulations. We share in their joy of being reunited with their families and share in their sadness of saying good-bye; but this group probably will not miss those 6:15 breakfasts we have all endured. Mr. Speaker, these pages have left their own indelible mark on the page program, and I want them to know that their shoes will be hard to fill. As they return home with suitcases and boxes, memories and experiences, I want them to take our sincere thanks. I thank Lindsey Beck, Matthew Dinusson, Ashley Gallo, Jennifer Hsieh, Gregory Hyde and Zachary Stanton. I thank them for having the courage and the strength to persevere when others would have given up. I thank them for approaching every day with curiosity and hope, and for encouraging others to do the same. There is no doubt that these six pages will go on to do great things, and we hope they come back and share their accomplishments with us. Mr. Speaker, I wish them a lifetime of success and happiness. And now my colleague on the House Page Board, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), would like to speak.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Dr. Walter Zielonko of Troy, IL, and the great work he has done for his community over the 51 years he has served it. Dr. Zielonko was born on February 10, 1923, and was raised in Detroit, MI. He worked his way up through medical school and unpaid internships, bouncing from town to town until he met his wife, Florence, and eventually settled down in the small town of Troy. There he served for 51 years, interrupted only by a 14-month tour of Korea as a captain of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. During his time as a general practitioner in Troy, Dr. Zielonko-- affectionately known as ``Dr. Z''--served thousands of patients and delivered over 1,400 babies. He has watched the population of Troy grow nine times over, and has participated in many local projects, including the founding of Anderson Hospital. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Zielonko has reason to be proud of the accomplishments in his life--in it he has served both the Troy community and his country. His skills have helped people from the smallest children to the elderly; from birthing mothers to wounded soldiers. His retirement was long in coming and is hard earned; he deserves our thanks and our gratitude. May God bless him and his family on this special day.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, as a sponsor of H.R. 3448, which was introduced in the House on December 11, 2001, I would like to include for the record the following description of the bill: Section 302 would provide the Secretary authority to administratively detain any article of food where FDA has credible evidence or information indicating that such article ``presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.'' The ``serious adverse health consequences'' standard, which is used consistently in Title III of this Act, relates to the situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death. This corresponds to FDA guidance pursuant to Title 21, Section 7.3 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The authority provided under Section 302 may not be delegated by the Secretary to any official less senior than the FDA district director in which the article is located. Under this authority, the article may be detained for a reasonable period, not to exceed 20 days, unless the Secretary requires up to an additional 10 days. Because there is potential for food of limited shelf life to be detained, the ``reasonable period'' may, depending upon the perishability of the food, be significantly shorter than 20 days. The Secretary is required to institute rulemaking to establish expedited procedures for the detention of perishable foods, such as fresh produce, fresh fish and seafood products. The Secretary should promptly complete that rulemaking. Within 72 hours of filing an appeal the Secretary is required to provide opportunity for an informal hearing and render a final decision regarding the appeal. The Secretary's decision regarding the appeal is subject to judicial review consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act, Title 5, Section 706, of the United States Code. There is great need for timely review of an administrative detention order and the Secretary should assure that appeals are resolved in a timely manner. The value of perishable foods may be lost entirely, and even the value of foods that have considerable shelf life may be reduced substantially if administrative and judicial review are inappropriately delayed. While an article of food is subject to administrative detention, the Secretary may order that it be held in a secure facility. Detention of the food in a secure facility is not a requirement. The Secretary should ensure that the food would be held under commercially appropriate conditions of cleanliness, temperature, humidity and whatever other considerations are reflected in industry practice regarding holding the article of food under detention. Conditions of the secure storage facility should not erode the safety or quality of a detained article. The Secretary should also take reasonable precautions to protect against an inappropriate release of a detained food. Secured storage requirements should apply if there is a reasonable apprehension that the article of detained foods are likely to be inappropriately released. This section does not impose any obligation on the owner of a detained food to bear the cost of the secure storage facility. This section also permits the Secretary to order a temporary hold for a reasonable period of time, but not longer than 24 hours, of food offered for import if an FDA official is unable to inspect the article at the time it is offered for import and where the Secretary already has ``credible evidence or information indicating that such article of food presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals;'' the same standard employed for administrative detention under this section. The period of the hold is intended to allow the Secretary sufficient time to dispatch an inspector to the port of entry in order to conduct the needed inspection, examination or investigation. The authority to temporarily hold an article of food is not provided to facilitate mere administrative convenience. Instead, it is intended to reflect the physical absence of an inspector at the port of entry, or other situations, that render inspection impossible at the time of entry. The authority to temporarily hold an article of food under this section should not delay or unnecessarily disrupt the flow of commerce, and both the authority to detain foods and the authority to temporarily hold foods under this section are intended to be used to deter bioterrorism and therefore apply to specific instances where particular items of food meet the standard for detention. Section 303 provides authority to the Secretary to debar from importing articles of food, any person that is convicted of a felony relating to food importation, or any person that repeatedly imports food and who knew, or should have known, that the food was adulterated. This section would authorize debarment following a felony conviction regarding food importation. In the great majority of situations permissive debarment authority will be employed in situations involving a felony conviction. In addition, this section includes authority that would allow debarment of a person without a relevant criminal conviction. This authority is intended to bolster efforts to deter bioterrorism. The Secretary should primarily use this authority to debar bad actors that repeatedly and knowingly import food that seriously threatens public health. Most forms of adulteration do not pose a serious threat to public health and many forms of adulteration pose no public health threat at all. When food adulteration occurs, food importers are often innocent purchasers of the food. This debarment authority should not be used against innocent purchasers of food, nor is this authority to be used as an administrative shortcut to act against an importer where criminal prosecution is not sustainable. Section 304 provides the Secretary the authority to inspect and copy all records relating to an article of food if the Secretary has credible evidence or information indicating that an article of food presents a threat of serious health consequences or death to humans or animals. This provision excludes farms and restaurants and is subject to certain limitations including limitations to ensure the protection of trade secrets and confidential information. Section 304 authorizes the Secretary to issue a regulation requiring maintenance of additional records that are needed to trace the source and chain of distribution of food, in order to address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences to humans or animals. This provision excludes restaurants and farms, and the Secretary is provided the authority to take into account the size of the business when imposing any record keeping requirements and tailor the requirements to accommodate burden and costs considerations for small businesses. Section 304 authorizes the issuance of regulations to require the maintenance of so-called ``chain of distribution'' records that would enable the Secretary to trace the source and distribution of food in the event of a problem with food that presented a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals. This authority may not be used to require a business to maintain records regarding transactions or activities to which it was not a party. The Secretary has indicated that chain of distribution records that document the person from whom food was directly received, and to whom it was directly delivered, would sufficiently enable adequate tracing of the source and distribution of food. This records access would not extend to the most commercially sensitive or confidential records, including recipes, financial data, pricing data, personnel data, research data, or sales data (other than shipment data regarding sales). This authority would not permit access to any records regarding employees, research or customers (other than shipment data). Nor does it permit access to marketing plans. Under Section 304 the Secretary must take appropriate measures to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of trade secret or confidential information obtained by the Secretary pursuant to this section. The Secretary shall ensure that adequate procedures are in place to ensure agency personnel will not have access to records without a specific reason and need for such access, and that possession of all copies of records will be strictly controlled, and that detailed records regarding all handling and access to these records will be kept. Section 305 requires all facilities (excluding farms) that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for consumption in the United States to file with the Secretary, and keep up to date, a registration that contains the identity and address of the facility and the general category of food manufactured, processed, packed or held at the facility. This section authorizes the Secretary to exempt certain retail establishments only if the Secretary determines that the registration of such facilities is not needed for effective enforcement. The purpose of registration under this section is to authorize the Secretary to compile an up-to-date list of relevant facilities to enable the Secretary to rapidly identify and contact potentially affected facilities in the context of an investigation of bioterrorism involving the food supply. Enforcement of Section 305 would be delayed 180 days from the date of enactment, and this section requires the Secretary to take sufficient measures to notify and issue guidance within 60 days identifying facilities required to register. This section also requires the Secretary to promulgate adequate guidance, where needed, to enable facilities to determine whether and how to comply with these registration requirements. The Secretary is encouraged to utilize the notice and comment process as an appropriate method for notifying potential registrants of their obligation to register and to receive advice and assistance from registrants on how best to develop a registration system that is both workable and cost-effective. In many instances, additional steps may be needed since the notice and comment may not be adequate to inform small businesses and other importers who may not have the resources or capabilities to research and track federal regulatory notices in a timely manner prior to the expiration of the 180-day enforcement bar. This section does not impose a registration fee, and calls for a one- time registration. In other words, once a facility is registered it will only have to amend its original registration in a timely manner to reflect any changes. This section also allows and encourages electronic registration to help reduce paperwork and reporting burden, but registration would also be permitted using a paper form. The Department should work in a cooperative manner with facilities in terms of their obligations to register, and should be reasonable in situations where facilities are making good faith efforts to comply. Registration should be made as simple as possible (such as permitting both electronic and paper registration, as well as permitting a headquarters to register on behalf of all establishments of a company) and the Secretary shall promptly complete a rulemaking regarding exemption from registration requirements for various types of retail establishments. As part of this rulemaking the Secretary should look broadly at the various types of the food establishments in order to ascertain whether they should be exempted and shall exempt from registration those facilities that are not necessary to accomplish the purpose of this section. The Secretary should assure that implementation of this section does not unnecessarily disrupt the flow of commerce. Section 306 requires the Secretary to promulgate a rule to provide for prior notice to the Secretary of food being offered for import. The prior notice is to occur between 24 and 72 hours before the article is offered for import. In circumstances where timely prior notice is not given, the article is to be held at the port until such notice is given and the Secretary, in no more than 24 hours, examines the notice and determines whether it is in accordance with the notice regulations. At that time, the Secretary must also determine whether there is in his possession any credible evidence or information indicating that such article presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals. This determination by the Secretary should not delay or unnecessarily disrupt the flow of commerce. Section 306 is not intended as a limitation on the port of entry for an article of food. In some instances, such as inclement weather, routine shipping delays, or natural disasters, a shipment of food may arrive at a port of entry other than the anticipated port of entry provided on the notice. When such situations arise, arrival at a port other than the anticipated port should not be the sole basis for invalidating a notice that is otherwise in accordance with the regulations. Also, the importer of an article of food is required to provide information about the grower of the article of food, if that information is known to the importer at the time that prior notice is being provided in accordance with the regulations. This provision only requires the importer to provide any information he has in his possession at the time that prior notice is being provided. The Secretary shall closely coordinate this prior notice regulation with similar notifications that are required by the U.S. Customs Service with the goal of minimizing or eliminating unnecessary, multiple or redundant notifications.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the students and staff of Beckemeyer Grade School in Hillsboro, Illinois, and the heartwarming project they undertook to bring comfort to the victims of the recent tragedies. The attacks of September 11th were a horrible shock to everyone in the United States, but to none were they more devastating than to the victims and their families. American hearts went out to those who would now have to struggle on without the light and laughter of their loved ones who had died. The outpouring of support for these families was enormous, like a bright light of kindness that shone out through the darkness of the disaster. Money, well-wishes and prayers poured in from all across the nation. Mr. Speaker, the students and staff of Beckemeyer Grade School were part of that outpouring. They purchased several thousand small, glass figurines, called Comfort Angels. These beautiful angels were meant to bring hope and well-wishes to all who viewed them. The people of Hillsboro, lead by their coordinator Pamela Hopper, then set an ambitious goal: to distribute an angel to the families of every victim of the tragedy. They have come astonishingly close to that goal--thousands of Comfort Angels have been distributed to families all over the world. They have found their way to embassies, fire stations, Congressional offices, and homes in New York and Washington. Two thousand of them were distributed by the Salvation Army alone, at the Memorial for the Pentagon on October 11th. And the results have been equally amazing. Letters have poured into Hillsboro, filled with thanks and touching stories. Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that the terrorists of September wished to divide and demoralize our country. Instead, in many ways they have energized us and brought us closer together. The amazing success of the people of Beckemeyer Grade School is a wonderful example of this--their faith and hard work has allowed them to make a difference in many lives, and they deserve my thanks and the thanks of these chambers.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, first I rise to thank everyone who has worked so hard on both the brownfields and Superfund business liability relief provisions. Today we have an opportunity to pass landmark legislation which has a very real chance of becoming law. The first portion of this bill deals with Superfund small business liability relief. This issue first came to my attention when a landfill in Quincy, Illinois was declared a Superfund site. Quincy is a small community of 42,000 people located in my district of the banks of the Mississippi River. The residents of this town have experienced firsthand the unfairness of the Superfund law to innocent small businesses punishing them for legally disposing their trash. Greg Shiering, a franchisee of two McDonalds was asked by the EPA to pay $47,000 for disposing of hamburgers and french fries into the town dump. Mike Nobis, part owner of a 30-year owned family business, JK Creative Printers was asked to pay $42,000 for legally sending trash to the dump in the 70's and 80's. One hundred fifty nine small businesses in the community were offered settlements with the EPA totaling $3 million. The EPA based these payments purely on volume of waste, not on whether there was hazardous material in the waste. If the business did not settle, they would be open to lawsuits from six large companies. Court costs alone could bankrupt some of these small mom and pop shops that were targeted. Today we have the opportunity to make sure what happened in Quincy does not happen in other communities. Any many times in my statements in debate of this bill, I just warn my colleagues that this scourge would visit their congressional districts some time sooner or later. I encouraged them to join me to make sure that this does not happen and I am pleased to say that we are almost there. We are almost there. So other members will not have to go through this problem of what has affected their small businesses. I would also like to commend my colleagues' work on brownfields reform. This legislation is an important first step in addressing problems with the brownfields program. However, I do look forward to the opportunity to address this program again. I am really excited and concerned about the finality provisions and I think they could be made a little bit stronger. We will address that sometime in the future. Tighter finality will encourage this business to clean up brownfields in order for the program to be as successful as possible. I also support the fact that we have not increased but we have just certified current law as far as the Davis Bacon provisions. It has been successful and it has brought together this great bipartisan agreement to move this legislation forward and I think everyone benefits from it. At this late hour I am pleased to be here to speak on support of this bill in the floor and thank the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), the ranking member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) and then the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gillmor). I thank them for their help. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), I appreciate your diligent efforts on this behalf.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I already mentioned the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert) and his work, but I would also be remiss if I did not mention the staff on both our side and the minority side for their great work in working out the difficulties and differences. Because of their efforts, we are able to be here on the suspension calendar and pass this bill. I also want to mention my colleagues who were personally engaged in this. One is going to speak on the floor in a minute, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), who is a fervent supporter of many issues, and this is one of them. I appreciate his help and friendship. I also want to recognize the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield), who also had some vested interests involved in this, the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson), who was very engaged, and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Largent), who all took an active role in working with us to craft legislation that would be acceptable to the whole body. This is a good product, and I urge its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on my colleagues' thank-you's to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Louisiana (Chairman Tauzin); the ranking member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell); the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton); and, of course, managing on the minority side, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher), for their great work in helping us move this bill expeditiously.

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first let me pay tribute to our former colleague on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Speaker Hastert, who has put much time into this legislation. His support and help is greatly appreciated. Mr. Speaker, this legislation will authorize the Federal Government, pursuant to title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, to continue to pay its share of decommissioning and remediation costs for a thorium site in West Chicago, Illinois. The thorium facility was utilized extensively by the government during the development of our country's nuclear defense program, including the Manhattan Project. Under title X of EPACT, the Department of Energy determined that the government was responsible for 55.2 percent of West Chicago cleanup costs, reflecting the portion of tailings attributable to government contracts. Remediation activities in West Chicago involve the decommissioning of the original factory site as well as remediation of certain vicinity properties. Cleanup of the original factory site is expected to conclude in 2004. Congress has been fiscally responsible in adjusting the thorium payment limitation to match actual remediation activities. EPACT initially set this authorization ceiling at $40 million in 1992, which was a reasonable approximation of known estimated costs at that time. In 1996, as additional costs were incurred, this cap was raised to $65 million. Again in 1998 as cleanup activities proceeded, the cap was raised to its current level of $140 million. We have taken great care in the past to adjust this level only in conjunction with demonstrated needs. The $225 million adjustment in this bill will further increase the thorium cap consistent with identified costs at the West Chicago site. It is also important to note that this increased authorization will continue to be subject to the annual appropriations process. What we are seeking to do is provide authority for the Federal Government to meet its obligations. Today, there is already a shortfall in authorized funding for the Federal share of West Chicago cleanup cost of more than $60 million. The $225 million reauthorization requested by this bill will allow the government to begin meeting its obligation to reimburse those costs, which will be after verification and auditing by the government. Equally important, this legislation will provide the authorization necessary to fund the government's share of all West Chicago decommissioning and remediation costs. During the committee markup, an amendment was agreed to that attempted to address issues that were raised by both Democratic and Republican members. The amendment included language directing a Comptroller General audit of the D&D fund to see if the fund is capable of meeting the expected cleanup costs of all the facilities that receive, or will receive, funding from this program. All Members of this body are supportive of cleaning up contaminated facilities. This audit will give us a better idea of just exactly what we are up against. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3343) to amend title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I want to continue reading from the list of names that my colleague, the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis), has been reading into the Record, those who fell in the September 11 tragedy: John P. O'Neill; Peter J. O'Neill; Sean Gordon Corbet O'Neill; Ken O'Reilly; Kevin M. O'Rourke; Robert W. O'Shea; Patrick J. O'Shea; Timothy F. O'Sullivan; James A. Oakley; Dennis Oberg; Jefferson Ocampo; Douglas Oelschlager; Takashi Ogawa; Albert Ogletree; Philip Paul Ognibene; John Ogonowski; Joseph J. Ogren; Samuel Oitice; Gerald M. Olcott; Christine Ann Olender; Linda Mary Oliva; Elsy Carolina Osorio Oliva; Edward K. Oliver; Leah Oliver; Eric Olsen; Jeffrey James Olsen; Steven John Olson; Barbara Olson; Marueen ``Rene'' L. Olson; Toshihiro Onda; Betty Ong; Michael C. Opperman; Christopher Orgielewicz; Margaret Q. Orloske; Virginia ``Ginger'' Ormiston-Kenworthy; Ruben Ornedo; Juan Romero Orozco; Ronald Orsini; Peter K. Ortale; Jane Orth; Paul Ortiz; Sonia Ortiz; David Ortiz; Emilio ``Peter'' Ortiz, Jr.; Alexander Ortiz; Pablo Ortiz; Masaru Ose; Elsi Carolina Osorio; James Robert Ostrowski; Jason Douglas Oswald; Michael Otten; Isidro Ottenwalder; Michael Ou; Todd Joseph Ouida; Jesus Ovalles; Peter J. Owens; Adianes Oyola; Angel ``Chic'' Pabon; Israel Pabon; Roland Pacheco; Michael Benjamin Packer; Diana B. Padro; Chin Sun Pak; Deepa K. Pakkala; Thomas Anthony Palazzo; Jeffrey Palazzo; Richard Palazzolo; Orio Joseph Palmer; Frank Palombo; Lynn Paltrow; Alan Palumbo; Christopher Panatier; Diominique Lisa Pandolfo; Jonas Martin Panik; Paul Pansini; John Paolillo; Edward J. Papa; Salvatore Papasso; James Pappageorge; Marie Pappalardo; Vinod K. Parakat; Vijayashanker Paramsothy; Nitin Ramesh Parandker; Hardai ``Casey'' Parbhu; James W. Parham; Debra ``Debbie'' Paris; George Paris; Gye-Hyong Park; Philip L. Parker; Michael A. Parkes; Robert Emmett Parks, Jr.; Hashmukhrai C. Parmar; Robert Parro; Diane Parsons; Leobardo Lopez Pascual; Michael Pascuma; Jerrold Paskins; Horace Robert Passananti; Suzanne Passaro; Victor Antonio Martinez Pastrana; Dipti Patel; Manish K. Patel; Avnish Ramanbhai Patel; Steven B. Paterson; James M. Patrick; Lawrence Patrick; Manuel Patrocino; Clifford L. Patterson; Bernard E. ``Bernie'' Patterson; Cira Marie Patti; James Robert Paul; Patrice Sobin Paz; Sharon Cristina Millan Paz; Victor Paz- Gutierrez; Stacey Lynn Peak; Richard Pearlman; Durrell Pearsall; Thomas Pecorelli; Thomas E. Pedicini; Todd D. Pelino; Michel Adrian Pelletier; Anthony Peluso; Angel Ramon Pena; Jose D. Pena; Robert Penniger; Richard A. Penny; Salvatore Pepe; Carl Allen Peralta; Robert David Peraza; Marie Vola Percoco; Jon Anthony Perconti; Ivan A. Perez; Nancy E. Perez; Anthony Perez; Alejo Perez; Angela Susan Perez; Angel Perez; Berry Berenson Perkins; Joseph Perroncino; Edward Joseph Perrotta; John William Perry; Glenn C. Perry; Emelda Perry; Franklin Allan Pershep; Danny Pesce; Michael J. Pescherine; Donald A. Peterson; Jean Hoadley Peterson; William Russel Peterson; Davin Peterson.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule. This is great work done by the ranking member and the chairman. I want to point out one provision in this that I really am appreciative of, which is a self-executing provision in this rule that does address the disabled community, especially the blind and the visually impaired at the voting booth. Everyone should have a right to cast a truly secret ballot. Unfortunately, with current voting methods, the visually impaired have to rely upon others to help them cast their votes. New voting technologies can enable the blind to complete their own ballots without assistance. The language included in this bill requires nonvisual access to be an essential component of any new voting machines designed for Federal elections. It also provides financial assistance to help local election officials pay for the cost of these machines. I know the election officials in downstate Illinois have been doing a great job in ensuring that elections are run smoothly and that everyone who wants to vote is given the chance to do so. I am pleased that this amendment helps make voting easier for the visually impaired voters. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ehrlich), along with the Ranking Member Hoyer and Chairman Ney for working on this issue and helping to get this provision included in this bill. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record a letter from the National Federation of the Blind supporting this bill. National Federation of the Blind, Baltimore, MD, December 11, 2001. Hon. Robert Ney, Chairman, Committee on House Administration, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to express the support of the National Federation of the Blind for the Help America Vote Act of 2001 (H.R. 3295), including language we requested to address the needs of people who are blind. Thanks to your efforts and understanding, this legislation points the way for blind people to vote privately and independently. While the 2000 election demonstrated significant problems with our electoral system, consensus regarding the solution has been much more difficult to find. Nonetheless, it is clear that installation of up-to-date technology will occur throughout the United States. This means that voting technology will change, and devices purchased now will set the pattern for decades to come. Therefore, requirements for nonvisual access must be an essential component of the new design. With more than 50,000 members, representing every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, the NFB is the largest organization of blind people in the United States. As such we know about blindness from our own experience. The right to vote and cast a truly secret ballot is one of our highest priorities, and modern technology can now support this goal. For that reason, we support any legislation that will accomplish this objective. Thank your for your assistance in addressing this concern as part of the Help America Vote Act of 2001. Sincerely, James Gashel, Director of Governmental Affairs.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. I would like to commend the sponsor of the legislation, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) who just spoke, and thank her for her work on this. This legislation honors the Capitol Police, who we all know and work with on a daily basis, for their outstanding work and dedication during the period of heightened security needs on the day of September 11, 2001, and thereafter. It really should not take a national emergency for us to thank those who serve and protect us on a day-to-day basis, but it is an important act to do so today. The Capitol is an important symbol of freedom and democracy, across this country and throughout the world, and those who safeguard the Capitol safeguard that freedom and democracy. Thousands of people visit the Capitol each day to observe and learn the workings of a democratic process. The horrific events of September 11 have created a difficult environment to work in, prompting extra alertness and some strain among Members, Staff and visitors. The Capitol Police Force has responded to this challenge quickly and courageously, especially during the evacuation of the Capitol complex during the attacks of September 11. Many people like to boast about how many hours they work during the day, and we as elected officials and politicians put in a lot of hours during our day, sometimes 12 to 18 hours. I would challenge any people to try doing that for an extended period of time. It is personally wearing and draining. Our folks here in the Capitol Police have had to do 12 to 18 hour days, 6 to 7 days a week, for weeks on end, before we finally got some relief through the bringing in of the National Guard folks. One of the great benefits of being a Member of Congress is the chance to have access to the Capitol at all times. Many times we are working at some pretty weird hours. We have all been here at 3 a.m. in the morning, 6 a.m., 9 p.m., 2 p.m., 10 p.m., up until midnight, working. Among the granite walls and marble statues and the ghosts of the past history of this country stands a living memorial to freedom and democracy. Our first responders to our symbol of freedom are our Capitol Police. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank the Capitol Police Force for their hard work in protecting the Capitol complex, staff, Members and visitors.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Deborah Ervin of Edinburg, Illinois, and her effort to honor all those who gave their lives for the United States of America. Ms. Ervin is a woman with a cause. Like so many brave young Americans, her brother in law was killed while serving his country in the Vietnam war. Sometime after this tragic event, Deborah decided to fly a flag in his honor--only to find that no flag specifically honoring those who died in combat existed. Not to be deterred, Ms. Ervin decided that if such a flag did not exist, that she would just have to create it. It was a long process, but I was lucky enough to be presented with the results: a beautiful flag meant to honor all those men and women who have died for their country. The flag portrays an American eagle in flight to represent the strength and freedom of America; above the eagle is a blue cross that is meant to represent the sacrifice of those who have died. Both the eagle and cross are within the outline of a solemn tombstone, with a background of red and white stripes. Ms. Ervin wished me to fly the flag in honor of her brother, and I have honored her request--it now stands proudly outside of my office. In addition, she also wished us to forward a second flag on to Mayor Giuliani in New York. This we have done in honor of the brave policemen, firefighters, men, women and children who lost their lives to terrorism on September 11th. Mr, Speaker, in creating this flag Ms. Ervin has done us all a great service. Recent events have served to remind us that we can remain free only because our people are willing to defend that freedom, and this flag is a fitting tribute to them. Ms. Ervin deserves our thanks, not only for creating such a heartwarming symbol, but also for her patriotism and devotion to her country. May God bless her, and may God bless the United States of America.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. No, Mr. Speaker, I do not. The gentleman knows that I am involved with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which as legislative members we gather, and they are the NATO countries, and it is a kind of oversight what our folks do. And a lot of times we will visit the EU, and what is the EU doing? They are establishing, and a lot of these are our allies, they are establishing a common market and reducing trade barriers so that they can trade across country lines with no barriers. Does the gentleman know what else they are doing? A common currency. Talk about a competitive advantage: Knocking down the trade barriers is definitely having a common currency, and then we are in. That is why this administration is looking for a Western Hemisphere in trade in response to our western allies who want to get the benefits of efficiencies and lower taxes and a single monetary system. That is what we are up against in this world. Do we shy away? Do we go and cower in the corner? Or do we say, all right, if our allies are doing that to us, we will gather our allies in our Western Hemisphere, and, man, we will go show them, and dare they not come to our area, because we are going to strike some pretty good deals with these emerging countries that really want our assistance, and we can grow together.

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I do. I serve on the Subcommittee on Telecommunications of the Committee on Commerce; and we deal with broad band, cellular, cell phones and all the like. A lot of these countries, Third World countries, they are not going to deploy telephone lines like we have all over the place. They are going to come in with the next generation and they are either going to have direct satellite broad band services provided by the United States or they are going to expand the cellular industry, hopefully provided by us. But if we are not there to negotiate, they will get it. But guess who will be providing it? Our competitors. Because we are just not at the table. I want at least mention one other thing in this environment, especially with the international arena that we are in today. We are asking our friends, some staunch allies, some good allies and some who have not been very good allies of ours in the last couple years, to come to the plate and help us fight international terrorism. They are making sacrifices. They are giving us intelligence, they are working with us on basing, they are providing us maybe soldiers, transport, and the like. How can we tell these people who are asking for help that we do not want to sit down and trade with them, we do not want to negotiate with them, we do not want to strike a deal with them, we do not want to be on a level playing field and work out and both benefit from increased trade? I just find it very, very sad that in this environment, when we are asking our international allies to be there for us, I am afraid we are not willing to be there for them in international trade.

Mr. SHIMKUS. I thank my colleague from Texas, and I am honored to join this group. Illinois is an exporting State, whether it be manufactured goods from Deere and Caterpillar or high-tech goods from Motorola. Of course, I represent a strong agricultural district, and no one can argue with the importance of agriculture to central and southern Illinois. It is the bulwark in keeping our small communities alive and vibrant. Rural America has fallen on tough times for the simple reason we produce more than we can consume. It comes down to this basic equation: we produce much more than we as a Nation can consume. So the prices, at times, in my time here in Congress, we have had prices at Depression- era lows for some products. You cannot operate family farms on that return. There is no return. It is a negative return. So what occurs is the government, because we understand the importance of the agriculture section and understand the importance of the small family farms, is we end up coming in with some emergency aid. My producers, they really do not want the help. What they want to do is to sell their product. That is why this bill is so important, because we have missed out on 125-some-odd trade agreements, because this President and the past President did not have Trade Promotion Authority. So we are not at the table, so we cannot work diligently to lower tariffs, and we cannot get our foot in the door in some of these markets. So we continue to produce more than we consume. Our local farmers then lose money producing food, and large corporate farms are developing to try to develop the efficiencies to make it profitable and get some return on investment. Illinois is the Nation's second largest soybean producer. We are the Nation's second largest feed corn producer. We rank sixth in all 50 states with agriculture exports with an estimation of $3 billion; and you can understand how exports help the family income, the family farm. The demand for our agriculture products is growing. But we cannot negotiate if we are not in the room when these countries want to negotiate a deal to buy our products.

Mr. SHIMKUS. It goes back. The gentleman from Texas was not a Member during the last passage of the agriculture bill, and I was not a Member then, but there were promises made to the agriculture sector, and the promises said we want to ease the regulatory burden. It did not happen. They said we are going to open markets for you, so that they then planted for the market and did not plant based upon government intervention, a centralized control system. We have not kept those promises. A vote on this bill is a move forward in keeping the promises that were made in the last agriculture bill. And we are on the verge of a new agriculture bill. As the gentleman knows, the gentleman from Texas, the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, visited my producers at their annual meeting on Monday, and exports is the key for their survival. That is why it is so important. Again, I also mentioned other parts of the economy, whether it be heavy industrial equipment, it could be high-tech equipment. It could be that even small businesses reap tremendous benefits. I have a statistic, and I am not one that likes to throw out statistics all the time, but from 1992 to 1998, the number of Illinois companies exporting increased 50 percent, and more than 86 percent of Illinois' 14,231 companies that export are small- and medium-sized businesses. One of the things that I have talked about over my time as a Member of Congress and even before I was running is how small business has created the job growth over the past 10 years. If we look where the action is, the action is in small business. Even when we have a downturn, we find many people who are aggressive, and they leave their current large employer. They strike out on their own. How many stories of success have we heard in operating and starting a new business? Well, a lot of these new businesses that are successful are tied to the export community, and the job benefits are just notable.

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman speaks to an issue that is pretty near and dear to my heart, because I have great friends across the aisle, I have great friends who are strong labor supporters, and I have somewhat of a pretty good record as a Member of Congress in an attempt to be very responsive and open and be there at times when I can really justify the position with organized labor. The concern I have always had is there is job loss going on always in this country, and it is sometimes part of a normal business cycle. These job losses and some of this movement of the industrial workforce is occurring without trade negotiating, Trade Promotion Authority. For the life of me, I find it hard to understand, how do they think the job loss will be any less? We lower tariffs, we make our manufactured goods more competitive. We had our other colleagues here who spoke of industrial manufacturers. Again, I can talk to Deere; I can talk to Caterpillar. Does my colleague know what? They want to be able to compete. They want Illinois workers and an Illinois company producing strong, durable goods that we can sell overseas. And lowering barriers to trade, i.e., tariffs, will do that. But we have to accept the premise that there is job loss and there is winners and losers. They addressed that issue in past bills, and we have been able to use successfully NAFTA transitional assistance to help provide a floor of support to help in retraining, reeducation, moving the displaced workers from the unemployment line to, many times, even some better jobs. And the NAFTA transitional assistance has been very beneficial. I am glad it was part of the last trade agreement. That is why I am very pleased with the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) and his additional push at the urging of many of us that understand that there are winners and losers, trade adjustment assistance and a push to help protect our workers and a push to help get them the training, the education, the experience to be able to move them quickly from one sector of the economy into another sector of the economy, whether they want to move and be another employee or whether they are going to venture out and be one of these small businesses that I have talked about that really have created all of the jobs. Mr. Speaker, when we cannot negotiate with a competitor or a country and we have problems, and in my area I have been a vigilant opponent of dumping of steel in this country. We know it goes on. We cannot stop it. We are not at the table. We cannot negotiate. And by the time this President, President Bush, enforces section 201, which is to go after and penalize these countries, guess what? We have already lost the jobs, because the past administration did nothing. So it is this Republican administration that is seeking to go after the countries that are abusing trade by using government subsidies to undercut the price of steel. How much better if we are negotiating and at the table so that we can bring up those issues.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, it has been quoted as saying that war is hell. We mourn the reported deaths of our soldiers in Afghanistan. We know the risks of combat. We know that wars are fought and won on the battlefield, and it is only on the rarest of occasion that in warfare we do not lose some of our own. The military accepts these risks, the military and our government. We do not like it, but it is reality. To serve and protect, that is what they do. Duty, honor, country. Our liberty is paid for by the blood of our sons and daughters. I pause to thank those who are serving in the military and those who have served in the past.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the students of South Fork School System in Kincaid, Illinois, and their important and heartwarming efforts to help those affected by terrorism. On October 11, 2001, President Bush made a request of the children of America. He challenged each of them to earn and send in one dollar. This money, sent by the kindness of the children of the United States, will be used to reach out to the unfortunate children in far off Afghanistan. The students of South Fork School heard and met that challenge. I recently received a check of $533.00, made out to America's Fund for Afghan Children--that's more than one dollar for each student in South Fork, and more than our President requested. The students, parents, faculty, and members of the Kincaid community should be recognized for this fine effort. The terrorists believed they could accomplish their goals with the murder of American innocents; but the American citizens have responded with aid to the innocents of Afghanistan. Nothing else could better show how utterly Al Qaeda has failed. Mr. Speaker, as President Bush said in his announcement of the Fund for Afghan Children, ``One of the truest weapons that we have against terrorism is to show the world the true strength of character of the American people.'' The children of South Fork have shown that character, and they deserve our thanks. May God bless them, and may God bless the United States of America.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the students of Memorial School in Taylorville, Illinois, and their important and heartwarming efforts to help those affected by terrorism. On October 11, 2001, President Bush made a request of the children of America. He challenged each of them to earn and send in one dollar. This money, sent by the kindness of the children of the United States, will be used to reach out to the unfortunate children in far off Afghanistan. The students of Memorial School heard and met that challenge. The students of Memorial raised over $160.00 for the Fund for Afghan Children. Two students--Brandom Reber and Robbie Spurling--headed up a fund raising drive that collected donations from every single student in the school. In all, they received over $160 dollars for the fund to help the children of Afghanistan. The students, parents, faculty, and members of the Taylorville community should be recognized for this fine effort. The terrorists believed they could accomplish their goals with the murder of American innocents; but the American citizens have responded with aid to the innocents of Afghanistan. Nothing else could better show how utterly Al Qaeda has failed. Mr. Speaker, as President Bush said in his announcement of the Fund for Afghan Children, ``One of the truest weapons that we have against terrorism is to show the world the true strength of character of the American people.'' The children of Memorial School have shown that character, and they deserve our thanks. May God bless them, and may God bless the United States of America.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the children of Good Shepherd Lutheran school in my home town of Collinsville, IL, and their heartwarming actions in the wake of the September tragedy. Roughly 2 months ago I received a package of letters from the students at Good Shepherd. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, the children were scared and confused; but the teachers calmed them, and asked those who wished, to put their thoughts on paper. The result was truly inspiring--over seventy cards, hand drawn by the children with pictures of crosses and flags and hearts. Inside them were notes of support and caring, as the children put their faith in God, America, and Congress to make things right in the world. As one young girl wrote, ``We will pray to Jesus that Congress makes the right decisions. God bless America.'' Mr. Speaker, some of these cards I shared with the Members from New York; the others I placed on the wall in my office. There they serve as a powerful reminder to me, not only of the faith that some people place in us as Representatives, but also of exactly for whom we are fighting this war. It is my sincere hope that when these children grow up and look back on this time, they will feel their faith in us was justified. It is my hope that we will have left them a better world. Mr. Speaker, the students and the faculty of Good Shepherd School deserve our thanks--not only for their cards, which have touched my heart and the hearts of other Congressmen and women, but also for their great spirit as Americans. Their faith in God and Country is admirable; their faith in us as a legislative body is humbling. May God bless them, and may God bless our country.

Mr. SHIMKUS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is why we have government. We have government to protect these rights, and more importantly, the rights of those who are the most innocent and the most vulnerable. Mr. Speaker, on July 31 the House passed the bipartisan Weldon-Stupak Human Cloning Prohibition Act by a large majority. Advanced Cell Technologies of Massachusetts threatens human lives; and if government does not act, we are co-conspirators. To produce one live cloned sheep, Dolly, scientists created 277 sheep embryos; 276 died in different stages of development or were discarded. The head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Illinois, said that human cloning does not treat any disease but turns human reproduction into a manufacturing process by which human beings are mass produced to preset qualifications. It is time for the other legislative body to move and prohibit human cloning.