Pete Stark

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for H.R. 5613, the ``Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008.'' This bill stops George Bush's draconian attempt to gut the Medicaid program, which provides medical care to millions of low-income children and families. If we fail to enact this bill, more than $20 billion in vital Federal funding for States will disappear. This is $20 billion that helps schools provide transportation for physically disabled children, allows local governments to contribute to the State Medicaid share, and trains physicians. This President has presided over the greatest transition from boom to bust since the 1920s. As families face foreclosure and rising food and gas costs, States see declining sales tax receipts and greater numbers in need of assistance. Our President would add insult to injury for working families by dismantling their safety net. The seven regulations proposed by the Bush administration would undermine longstanding practices upon which States have built their Medicaid programs. The regulations are opposed by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers; all the Nation's Governors from both sides of the aisle; and a host of public health, physician, and patient advocates. The bill passed unanimously out of the Energy and Commerce Committee. In this day and age, that is a remarkable phenomenon. I am proud to join colleagues from both sides of the aisle to vote in favor of this moratorium and to protect the health care safety net for America's working families.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of legislation that will save thousands of lives around the world. By allowing poor countries to use scarce resources to provide for the health and well being of their citizens rather than to repay debt to wealthy nations, we are doing what is humane, right, and just. Many nations struggling to escape the grip of poverty are imprisoned by debt that siphons off large portions of their budgets. In many cases, any type of debt relief is conditioned on adoption of policies that privatize large sections of the economy and primarily benefit international corporations. Such a ``Hobbesian choice'' undermines sovereignty and exacerbates poverty. There is another way that can lift up nations and allow them to invest in their own citizens rather than sending money to foreign capitols, while maintaining control of their own economies. The ``Jubilee Act'' before us today provides such an alternative. This legislation will expand our existing debt relief program to cancel the debts of the world's 24 poorest countries and provide greater relief to many more without imposing harsh economic conditions. Even under the current limited relief program, numerous countries have made great strides: Mozambique was able to vaccinate 500,000 additional children; Uganda doubled enrollment in public schools; Zambia hired 4,500 new teachers and eliminated health care fees. Imagine the progress that can be made if we pass this bill and bring debt relief within reach of virtually all of the world's most impoverished nations. Debt cancellation under this legislation is not simply a handout that could be used by corrupt regimes to enrich their cronies or build their militaries. This legislation makes eligibility contingent on using the savings to reduce poverty. Countries are ineligible if their government lacks transparency, violates human rights, or spends excessively on defense. We have a moral obligation to help alleviate suffering in our own country and around the world. At a time when much of the world has lost faith in America as a beacon of freedom and compassion, it is also in our self-interest to restore this lost faith and lift countries out of poverty. I hope all of my colleagues will join me in voting for this legislation.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker and my colleagues, as dean of the California delegation, it's my privilege, my honor, and my pleasure to introduce the newest Member of the California delegation, Jackie Speier. Jackie was overwhelmingly elected by the residents of California's 12th Congressional District this week in a special election to succeed our late and esteemed colleague Tom Lantos. Prior to his passing, Tom endorsed Jackie for the seat, and I know he would share our pride in welcoming her today. Jackie first came to Congress with me, with my class, as Chief of Staff for Congressman Leo Ryan, who held the same congressional seat that she has just won. She was in Guyana with Leo helping to investigate the Reverend Jim Jones when her boss was assassinated and Jackie was seriously wounded. She survived and went on to serve as the youngest member ever elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and served 10 years in the State Assembly, another 8 years in the California Senate. She comes to us with an outstanding record of legislative victories, which she will, no doubt, extend in the U.S. Congress. I would like you to join me in welcoming Jackie; her husband, Barry; and her children, Jackson and Stephanie to our congressional family. Welcome, Jackie. Madam Speaker, I yield to my assistant dean, the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier).

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Moina Shaiq, the 2008 Woman of Achievement award recipient designated by California's Tenth Senate District. Moina is an exemplary community leader in the 13th Congressional District. She will receive her award on Saturday, April 5, 2008, from California State Senator Ellen Corbett. Moina and her husband, Mohammed, have been residents of Fremont, CA, for the past 25 years and are the parents of four children. She has bachelor degrees in economics and psychology. Moina was a small business owner from 1991 to 1997. After the birth of her daughter, Samah, she chose to stay home and become more involved in community affairs. She has since been involved in a major way and has contributed tireless hours, making a positive difference in her community. Numerous organizations continue to benefit from Moina's commitment, expertise and talents. She is a co-founder of the Muslim Support Network, established to improve the health and well-being of elders in the Muslim communities of Union City, Newark, and Fremont; serves as chair of the Fremont City Human Relations Commission; is a member of the Washington Hospital Foundation; and was a founder of the Muslim Spiritual Care Program for Kaiser Permanente. Moina serves on the board of the Tri City Elder Coalition, coordinates the Community Ambassadors Program for Seniors and volunteers her service to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation's Citizens Advisory Committee, the Tri-City Interfaith Council, the Fremont Alliance for a Hate Free Community and the American Cancer Society. I join the family, friends and admirers of Moina Shaiq who will gather on April 5 to commend her for her tireless volunteer efforts. The honor she will receive as the 2008 Woman of Achievement award is well deserved. She continues to set the standard for community service and is a model to follow.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, Dr. Cecil C. Cutting, the pioneering physician who served as the first Executive Director of The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) died Sunday, March 2 at the age of 97. His death came one day after the physicians of TPMG came together to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the group, and to honor his contributions and the Medical Group's achievements. Dr. Cutting was the first physician hired by Dr. Sidney R Garfield when Dr. Garfield joined forces with Henry J. Kaiser to provide prevention-oriented, prepaid care for the workers building the Grand Coulee Dam in 1938. When the U.S. entered World War II, and Henry Kaiser was awarded the contract to build Liberty ships in the shipyards in Oakland and Richmond, Drs. Garfield and Cutting moved the innovative health care program to Richmond, California. They provided medical care for Kaiser's 200,000 workers at wartime shipyards in Richmond, California; Vancouver, Washington; and Portland, Oregon, as well as at Kaiser's Steel Mill in Fontana, California. Based on the quality of care they were able to provide to the shipyard workers, Henry Kaiser's shipyards set records for the speed with which seaworthy Liberty ships were completed in support of the war effort. The program was so successful, and the care delivered of such high quality, that the unions representing the workers convinced Drs. Garfield and Cutting and Mr. Kaiser to open the program to the public when the war ended in 1945. On February 21, 1948, Dr. Cutting, Dr. Garfield and five physician colleagues founded The Permanente Medical Group, and selected Dr. Cutting as the first Executive Director, a role he held for 20 years. Under his extraordinary leadership, and in the face of serious opposition from organized medicine at the county, state, and national levels, a firm foundation was laid that set TPMG on course to become the largest and most successful medical group in the country, and Kaiser Permanente the largest non-profit private health care program in America. Dr. Cutting was born in 1910 in Campbell, California. He received his A.B. and MD degrees from Stanford University, and completed his residency at Stanford Lane Hospital and San Francisco County Hospital in surgery and orthopedics in 1938, just as Dr. Garfield began recruiting physicians to provide care for the workers at the Grand Coulee Dam site. Despite a warning from then Stanford Medical School Dean Loren Chandler, who felt that he ``could never permit Cecil to get mixed up in such an operation,'' and opposition from physician colleagues in the Bay Area who argued that prepaid group practice was ``unethical,'' Dr. Cutting was attracted by the idea of combining prepayment, prevention, and group practice, and envisioned an opportunity to redefine health care delivery based on those precepts. He joined Dr. Garfield at Grand Coulee, and formed a collegial and professional partnership that would span more than 40 years, and have a profound impact on care delivery in the United States. Together they built an ethical care delivery system founded on the precepts of integration, prepayment, prevention, and multispecialty group practice, and committed to quality care, stewardship of member resources, and community benefit. Dr. Cutting ensured that the physicians of The Permanente Medical Group would be responsible for the organization of medical services, and would have the freedom and independence collectively to manage and take responsibility for both the quality and value of the care and service provided. He established robust investments in health education and health promotion, began a research program which led to the establishment of the Division of Research, and established the first medicine and surgery residency programs in Kaiser Permanente. Throughout his life, he was one of the country's leading advocates for the benefit to society, and to the profession, of prepaid group practice. ``We wanted to create a medical environment in which the doctors' work would be interesting and stimulating, where they would have reasonable income and security, and very importantly . . . fit into the accepted framework and code of ethics of American medicine, while at the same time develop an effective and efficient alternative to fee- for-service practice,'' he once said. Speaking at the White House Conference on Health in 1965 he challenged health care policy makers to shift the emphasis in public debate toward keeping people well: ``We ought to promote an enthusiasm for taking care of ourselves.'' That same year he addressed the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and forecast the arrival of the electronic medical record, encouraging his peers not to feel threatened by computers. In the dawn of the computer age, he predicted that ``All [medical] histories and findings would be recorded by computers and made available to the physician,'' Dr. Cutting told AAAS. ``This mechanization must not be construed as an impersonalization of the relationships between the physician and his patient. The challenge is to do quite the opposite. By increasing the physician's knowledge of the patient . . . his time with the patient should be much more constructively utilized to know the patient as a person and to guide him through sickness.'' Above all else, Dr. Cutting is remembered for his loyalty to The Permanente Medical Group, and his commitment to the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program. Dr. Robert Pearl, the Executive Director and CEO of TPMG, noted that ``the organizational DNA which Dr. Cutting helped to create 60 years ago can be seen today in our outstanding quality outcomes and our national leadership in disease prevention, cardiovascular care, genetic research, deployment of advanced IT systems and health care policy.'' In 2007 TPMG established the Cecil C. Cutting Leadership Award, to recognize outstanding physician leaders, and in recognition of Dr. Cutting's extraordinary contributions as Executive Director of The Permanente Medical Group, and the contributions he made to improving health care in the United States.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the House's changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, Amendments Act. After 8 long years of watching Republicans kowtow to the President's tyrannical policies, I am only too happy to stand by a bill that will hold his administration accountable to some of their past actions and prevent future administrations from abusing our civil liberties. Our government was designed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people. But under President Bush, it has been a government of the executive branch, by the executive branch, and for the executive branch. The Administration's so-called ``security measures''--tapping phones, obtaining personal records, and spying without warrants--have undermined basic freedoms and diminished trust in government. It will take a great deal of time to clean up the mess left by this administration. We can take an important step forward today by giving telecommunications companies their day in court and establishing strict restrictions to prevent the government from spying whenever and on whomever it pleases. By voting for this bill, we make it clear that we won't let the President make a quick escape from Washington without bringing his transgressions to light. Rather than hide behind the threat of terrorism to justify illegal activities, as past Congresses have done, we will defend the constitutional rights of our constituents. The Bush administration has tried its hardest to convince us that our country's most basic tenets are unattainable. It believes that in order to protect life, we must sacrifice liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That line of thought is wrong, President Bush is wrong, and I encourage my colleagues to support this bill and show that they are above the executive branch's scare tactics.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to engross the bill, H.R. 3361, in the form of the bill that I have placed at the desk.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, do I have the right to close this section? Then I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am happy to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Patrick J. Murphy).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Carney).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. It's an important day, and we've been working to achieve mental health parity for decades. We finally have a bill before us to achieve that goal for more than 160 million Americans. And as my colleagues know, this bill is named for one of its chief proponents, the late Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, a true champion for all people, especially those suffering from mental illness and addiction disorders. I would like to recognize the efforts of Paul's son, David Wellstone, who has been commuting from California to lobby Members of Congress to help get this bill enacted. His dad would be proud. Wellstone Action is one of the hundreds of groups supporting this legislation. Here in the House, our colleague from Minnesota, Jim Ramstad, and our colleague from Rhode Island, Patrick Kennedy, have been lead advocates. They've done a stunning job getting 273 cosponsors, including 41 Republicans, a real bipartisan feat in this day and age. Enough of the accolades. The real reason we're bringing forth this bill is to end discrimination in health insurance for people with mental illnesses and addiction disorders. It's not a new concept. We took a baby step back in '96, but it wasn't enough. This bill does for our constituents what we already receive through the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan. We also passed the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act last summer which would extend mental health parity to Medicare beneficiaries. That bill is still pending in the Senate. Last year, this legislation went through multiple hearings, five markups in three major committees, and the issues are straightforward. Those who oppose true parity may engage in scare tactics or offer red herrings to distract from the underlying issues, but one thing is clear, the bill is better for patients than the Senate bill, yet the cost is almost exactly the same. The passage of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act simply finishes the work we have begun. I look forward to negotiating with the Senate so we can get a bill to the President's desk soon. Tens of millions of Americans are counting on us. I urge support for this overdue legislation.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am happy to recognize the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen) for 2 minutes, a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, could I find out how much time remains on both sides.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel). Pending that, I yield myself 15 seconds to remind the distinguished gentleman from California that the hospital that closed in Redding was the one that killed 167 people by unnecessary cardiac procedures, and we were glad to be rid of it.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time just to suggest that while costs have been an issue, basically the Senate bill, as I understand it, would be the preferred vehicle for the opposition to this bill, and I would like to just remind my colleagues that the Senate bill and the House bill cost the taxpayers the same amount of money. There is no cost difference between the Senate bill and the House bill. We are talking about a cost to employers, if they pay the entire cost of insurance, of 2 cents out of every $10, hardly a phenomenal cost when you think that the savings in productivity, human lives, and the billions of dollars that we would save in lost time and additional costs from the results of addiction and mental illness would be a bonus for which we don't get scored under our scoring procedures. This is a bill that was first introduced in the Ways and Means Committee, as I recall, almost 20 years ago. I wasn't able to do much with it in 20 years, but my distinguished friends Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad have been able to do it, and I just want to repeat how proud I am of their tireless work. I hope that we will end the day today for the under-65 population of this country with mental health parity, and that we could come back again later this year or next year to finish this for us older guys in Medicare, so that we can also extend parity for the rest of the Americans. I want to thank all the staffs who have worked so hard, my colleagues on the Health Subcommittee of Ways and Means, my colleagues on Energy and Commerce, my colleagues on Education and Labor. This went through three committees, a feat in itself in this Congress. I think it is a bill that the time has come. We can set aside what minor differences there are, go and negotiate with the Senate for the final bill, and I look forward to its passage. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join with my colleagues to once again support legislation that would take a modest first step towards a rational energy policy. By ``rational,'' I mean that this bill employs the revolutionary concept that legislation should be crafted with the American people in mind, rather than huge multinational oil companies. By ``modest,'' I mean that we have much more work to do to confront global warming and wean our Nation off our addiction to fossil fuels. The headlines tell a somber story of an economy on the brink. Earlier today, oil reached an all-time high of $102 a barrel. The International Herald Tribune reported that we can expect to see gas cost more than $4 a gallon this spring. And the Washington Post this morning quoted an economist who announced that ``We're in stagflation, and it's going to get worse.'' Not everyone is singing the blues, however. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Exxon Mobil once again set the record for the highest profits ever recorded by a single company, with a net income of $40.6 billion. As reported by the Times, Exxon made $1,287 of profit per second in 2007. Through loopholes in our tax code, taxpayers subsidized much of that profit. I support the tax portion of this package that ends the over $16 billion in tax breaks for companies like Exxon-Mobil. Today's bill also closes a ridiculous loophole that allows business owners to claim $25,000 deductions for each gaz-guzzling Hummer they purchase. The savings generated are then invested in developing clean energy. The bill before us today makes important progress and I once again urge my colleagues to support it. Tinkering with the tax code, however, will only get us so far. We must be prepared to take bold action to combat global warming by engaging with the rest of the world and adopting either a progressive carbon tax or a robust cap and trade policy.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the Speaker, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, Tom will be remembered as a passionate advocate for human rights around the world and a strong voice for better schools and a cleaner environment. The obituaries and my colleagues tonight will fill in many details and have much praise for the wonderful job that Tom did in his period here. I just tried to pick out a few things that he will be remembered for. As the Speaker mentioned, he worked to give a voice to the voiceless in Burma, Tibet, wherever oppression raised its ugly head. In Congress, as in life, he was a doer, a leader, a fighter. Two years ago, Tom was arrested in front of the Sudanese Embassy for protesting the genocide in Darfur. He swam every morning at 5:30 until recently. He was a man who enjoyed and lived life to its fullest. As has been mentioned, he is survived by a large and wonderful family he loved, and they loved him. Without saying, our sympathy goes to Tom's wife and childhood sweetheart, Annette, their two daughters, Annette and Katrina, and their many grandchildren and great grandchildren. To appreciate, I guess, all that Tom accomplished, we ought to think a little bit about his life before joining us here in Congress. He grew up in Hungary and survived Nazi labor camps. He arrived in the United States in 1947 on an academic scholarship. And at Customs, you think it is a problem to take off your shoes now, at customs he was greeted and they immediately confiscated his only possession, a Hungarian salami. So they were as thorough then as they are now. He married Annette in 1950, and he also received bachelor's and master's degrees in economics and then moved on to San Francisco. He received those at the University of Washington in Seattle. He moved to San Francisco and began a 30-year career teaching economics at San Francisco State. In 1953, he received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. Tom was elected in 1980. Three years later he cofounded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. Last month, he announced to us that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would not seek reelection. In that announcement he said, and I quote him here, ``I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.'' Similarly, this House and our country will never be able to fully express our gratitude for Tom's decades of service. He will be missed by his colleagues, constituents, family, and the people whose basic human rights he fought for every day. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the balance of my time be controlled by the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman).

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my distinguished colleague from California (Mr. Dreier) have half of my time to manage.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, as dean of the California delegation, it is my sad responsibility to make the formal announcement to the House of Representatives about yesterday's passing of our good friend and colleague, Tom Lantos of California. I ask that we observe a moment of silence to honor Tom's legacy of service to his constituents, the House of Representatives, and the people around the world for whom he sought human rights. He will be sorely missed.