Mark Souder

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, Abraham Lincoln spent his formative years in Indiana, and as a Hoosier I would like to rise in strong support of this bill providing for commemoration of the bicentennial of his birth. I would like to begin by thanking the bill's sponsor, the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. LaHood, and the gentlelady from Illinois, Mrs. Biggert for their willingness to work with me to include representation from the states of Indiana and Kentucky on the Commission to be formed by this bill. Both states played significant roles in the life and development of Abraham Lincoln, and I very much appreciate their recognition of this history and openness to including citizen members from each of these states on the Commission. The commission will celebrate the bicentennial of President Lincoln's birth in 1809, which took place in Hodgenville, Kentucky. At the age of 7, young Abe Lincoln moved to Southern Indiana, and the family moved to Illinois in 1830. As the National Park Service points out at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, he spent fourteen of the most formative years of his life and grew from youth to manhood in the State of Indiana. His mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, is buried at the site. And even today, what is probably the largest private Lincoln Museum in America is in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in my district. Thomas Lincoln moved the family to an 80 acre farm in Perry County, Indiana after the crops had failed in Kentucky due to unusually cold weather. He bought the land at what even then was the bargain price of three dollars an acre. Just days before, Indiana had become the 19th state in the union. The land was still wild and untamed. President Lincoln later recalled that he had ``never passed through a harder experience'' than traveling through the woods and brush between the ferry landing on the Ohio river and his Indiana homesite. This observation speaks volumes about the nature of the Hoosier frontier. The family quickly settled into the log cabin with which we are all so familiar from our earliest history lessons. Tom Lincoln worked as a cask maker. Abe Lincoln worked hard during the days clearing the land, working with the crops, and reading over and over from his three books: the Bible, Dilworth's Speller, and Aesop's Fables. He also wrote poems. Shortly after the death of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, young Abe attended a new one room schoolhouse. When his father remarried, his new stepmother Sally Bush Johnston brought four new books, including an elocution book. W. Fred Conway pointed out in his book ``Young Abe Lincoln: His Teenage Years in Indiana'' that the future president after reading the book occasionally ``would disappear into the woods, mount a stump, and practice making speeches to the other children.'' Abraham Lincoln also received his first exposure to politics and the issues that would later dominate his presidency while in Indiana. One of his first jobs was at a general store and meat market, which was owned by William Jones, whose father owned slaves in violation of the Indiana State Constitution. This was Lincoln's first introduction to slavery. In addition, he exchanged news and stories with customers and passersby, with the store eventually becoming a center of the community due largely to Young Abe's popularity. Once he was asked what he expected to make of himself, and replied that he would ``be President of the United States.'' Mr. Speaker, Indiana takes pride in its contributions to the life of President Lincoln, and we greatly look forward to the work of the Commission in honoring him and reminding Americans of his legacy. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the occasion of the Tenth Annual Conference on Youth to applaud the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana for its efforts to reduce juvenile delinquency and improve the lives of children through its ``Great Kids Make Great Communities'' campaign, which has greatly benefitted from the efforts of Judge Charles F. Pratt of the Allen County Superior Court. The ``Great Kids Make Great Communities'' campaign challenges adults in the community to abandon their negative stereotypes of adolescents and instead view themselves as potential asset builders in the lives of area youth. This initiative is based on research that has identified 40 developmental assets that all youth need to become responsible, caring and successful adults. These assets include family support, religious activity, commitment to learning, community service and other character traits which reduce the likelihood of delinquency among young people. I strongly endorse the community's commitment to encourage adults to pro-actively build relationships with area youth. It is clear to me that regardless of how well intentioned, federal programs alone cannot deliver the results our youth deserve. I am convinced that only through the combined efforts of parents, the young people themselves, churches, our schools, and other mentoring organizations can society fully equip our young people with the building blocks necessary for success. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following resolution regarding this initiative in the Record. I commend it highly. WHEREAS, research by the Search Institute has identified 40 Developmental Assets that All youth need to grow into healthy productive adults; and WHEREAS, the research demonstrates that children receiving thirty or more of the developmental assets are more likely to excel in school, embrace cultural diversity, resolve conflicts nonviolently, and resist the temptations of drugs and alcohol; and, WHEREAS, the Search Institute has laid the framework for communities to shift their thinking from problem solving to vision building, from seeing the problems some children present to embracing the opportunities we have to improve the lives of the children, from focusing only on troubled youth to focusing on ALL youth; and, WHEREAS, the community should be encouraged to work together to serve as resources to parents and families to secure the 40 assets each child needs; and, WHEREAS, the GREAT KIDS MAKE GREAT COMMUNITIES campaign is Allen County's initiative to communicate the promise and vision of the 40 developmental asset concept in our community; and, WHEREAS, all of the youth of Fort Wayne are important; and WHEREAS, the value our children have to Fort Wayne should be communicated to our children in meaningful ways; and, WHEREAS, the Tenth Annual Conference on Youth is an opportunity for this community to affirm to all youth their importance and value as citizens of this community; Now therefore, all the children and youth of Fort Wayne are great kids and are a part of what makes Fort Wayne a great community.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for yielding me the time. It is hard for me to understand the preciseness of this debate between the majority bill and the minority offering because we really do not have a disagreement about domestic violence and abuse of women. We should definitely be focusing on that in this Congress, and in fact we do on a number of bills. In fact, there is no question we should be focusing on hate crimes, as we do frequently not only against kind of the traditional categories where we have had hate crimes in America and homosexuals and members of racial minorities, but also the religious persecution that we see occurring in a number of cases in this country; and legislation has been introduced in the other body relating to this. I think we all need to speak out against all sorts of different types of crimes. But this is a very particular type of crime. It is not an appendix or a liver we are talking about here. We can argue whether we believe it is a human being, as I do, from the moment of conception or whether it is a developing human being. But it is, at the very minimum, a developing human being inside another person, which puts the mother more at risk; and this bill addresses that, but it also puts the developing human being, or the baby, as I believe, at tremendous risk. In this body, we have not been consistent nor have we been in laws around the country consistent with how to handle this big dilemma. We talk about fetal alcohol syndrome and how babies are destroyed by mothers who become alcoholics and who are alcoholics or abuse alcohol during the time they are pregnant. We have multi-million-dollar media campaigns about fetal alcohol syndrome. We have portions of the population, subgroups who are devastated in many cases by this problem. When we say that the mother when she drinks a bottle of alcohol has that compounded because of the weight of the baby and then turn around and say, oh, but that is not really anything to do with life afterwards, it is silly. When we talk about crack babies and the problems when a parent abuses drugs while they have a baby, or developing baby, at the very minimum, inside their womb, we are acknowledging that there is a difference here that needs protection. Part of this legislation arose because a courageous attorney general in South Carolina pursued this subject there regarding crack babies and whether there was an accountability for a second, at the very least, developing baby, but baby as I believe. It is not an appendix. Otherwise, if it was an appendix, we would not have to have its life thereafter outside the body affected by the behavior of the mother or the behavior, in this case, of others who would do damage outside to the mother. Because it is not the question. It is part of the question of additional risks of the mother, but it is also the long-term either termination of life or damages to the developing baby or, as I believe, the human being inside the womb who can be affected because of the callousness, carelessness, meanness, aggressiveness of other people. We are really, in fact, worrying about two different problems here simultaneously. One, the higher risk to the mother, and also to the developing and the little human being inside who will be forever impacted by the behavior of others.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, there has been occasional controversy about drug-testing high school students. Evidence is showing that this is the single most effective way to actually reduce drug abuse at school. The Concordia Lutheran school system in Fort Wayne, Indiana is the largest Lutheran School system in the nation. The following is an excellent summary of their reasons and debate around implementing a drug testing program. I hope other school systems will show the commitment to improving the lives of their students that Concordia has. Fort Wayne Lutheran Association for Secondary Education, Concordia Lutheran High School, Fort Wayne, IN, September 21, 1999. To The Honorable Mark Sounder. Re Substance Abuse Prevention Program Concordia Lutheran High School. Thank you for the opportunity to share information on our newly-instituted program of substance abuse prevention, including the requirement of random drug testing for all students and staff. A bit of the history of this effort . . . The student surveys we have had conducted by research firms in Fort Wayne over the past 5-8 years have clearly confirmed our sense that the problem of student use of drugs and alcohol was in many ways similar to that of other schools. We have never hid from that reality, yet it was not until the spring of 1998 that we finally moved in a significant way to address and ``do something'' about the problem. Two incidents of illegal use and possession were the ``last straw'' for us to act! Our goal was to do something about the problem, not study it. We were beyond further study. The school administration formed a task force comprising students, staff, administrators, pastors, lawyers, professionals in the field, and officials from law enforcement. Judge Charles Pratt was also a member. The question was not, ``Is there a problem?'' Rather, the compelling issue was what can we do about the problem. I chaired the task force because I wanted it to do the right thing and get at the problem. I believed I had to demonstrate the commitment we had to the issue. Their interest and enthusiasm was inspiring, especially when they realized we were serious about this problem and getting at it! The attached brochure outlines the program which was formulated over a period of six months. The Board of Directors of our Association endorsed the effort. The faculty also supported it. It was clearly apparent from the beginning that, if we wanted to do something to impact student use of illegal drugs and alcohol, random drug testing had to be a part of the program. As the professionals indicated, if you are not willing to drug test, we were wasting our time. As a task force, we crossed that hurdle and moved forward in the spring of 1999 with a proactive program of testing and ministry support when a problem occurs. In the spring of 1999 we began a series of parent meetings at which time we shared the very real and dramatic data from the survey results. Then we outlined the plan and informed them that required random testing will begin with the 1999- 2000 school year. We did not survey our parents. We knew we had a serious problem and we needed to act. Quite frankly, it would have muddied the process, resulted in political debate and parent reaction. We were convinced we were doing the right thing and all of the expertise we had totally supported the action plan! The program was built around education, prevention, and treatment [see attached brochure]. There was some opposition from parents who were really bothered by the fact that we were going to conduct random testing of all students, but we concluded that we simply had to do it. Many hours were spent talking with families who expressed concerns. We took the news to the media and made the news ourselves, having concluded that this was the best approach. As you might know, the media made a rather negative issue out of the news, focusing attention only on testing and not the overall program. Publicly it appeared that there were many who objected. Yet there were many who wrote and supported our efforts, including our own students. I did not receive even five negative letters. Since the spring, as people have talked through the issue of testing and considered it, we have had total cooperation from families. To our knowledge, NOT ONE student did not return as a result of this issue. In fact, we lost fewer students over the summer than we normally do in an average year. Every parent signed a release form. We have had no complaint or refusal. The procedures we put in place are carefully laid out and had the input of a variety of professionals. We take all the precautions, and more, of the DOT guidelines on testing. We have a doctor certified as a Medical Review Officer who would first review any positive tests. This takes place prior to the school ever being notified. The testing company in Kansas City has an impeccable record and the percent chance of false positives is scientifically insignificant. We have overcome many fears as a result of careful and thoughtful planning. That, of course, is part of our philosophy of education. The testing is conducted weekly on students whose numbers come up on the randomization computer program. It works smoothly, and most people are totally unaware that it is even taking place! All new employees are tested as a requirement of employment. This includes a cafeteria worker as well as an administrator. We have all staff in a randomization pool and have a plan in place should a positive test arise. Both the proactive plan to assist students and the plan for staff members are based on our approach to ministry, part of what makes our education distinctive. All of the evidence told us that testing WILL reduce the usage among students. That is our prayer and hope, and we have seen and heard evidence that it does. The goal is to deter young people from using illegal drugs and alcohol. Finally, alcohol is a problem more difficult to test and trace. Parties continue to take place outside of school but our testing program will not impact that behavior directly. It is our hope that the overall impact of the program is also having a positive effect on other student behaviors. Only time will tell. In the mean time, our families, students and staff are dealing with the problem in a very real way. The actual testing takes place almost unnoticed during the day. it has simply become a part of our day and we like it that way. I might add that we have a registered nurse on duty every school day, all day. Our program which the clinic has put together is high impact, connecting with our guidance program. We use urine testing as our method. The current cost is $16 per test. A courier picks up the material on its way to Kansas City! It is public knowledge that the son of our head nurse, a good student and athlete, was one of the students arrested in May of 1998, taken away from school in handcuffs, and of course was expelled. He is back in school after one full semester away [our minimum policy] and is doing very well in school. He is a good kid who hopefully learned a huge lesson about selling marijuana! The judge asked us if he could do some of his service hours at Concordia. We agreed and he paid that price in the summer of 1998 leading into his semester away from Concordia. I also recommended to our administrators that we move our annual Cadets In Cadence Auction out of our facility to an off-campus site. The Board of Directors supported that move, but there were many who simply did not ``buy'' the argument that we needed to set the example and not serve alcohol, even to adults, on our campus, even to raise money! We made a once-a-year exception and served alcohol in the building. On December 4, 1999, we have our first off-campus auction at the Coliseum . . . and we believe we can make it an even better event! Concordia took a stand on the issue. We have ``laid the issue on the kitchen table'' of CLHS parents and many other families in Fort Wayne . . . and we hope some lives will be saved and some teenagers will be spared the potential tragedies which accompany the use of illegal drugs and alcohol. We want a drug-free school and want to give good kids another reason to say NO! Thank you for your interest and allowing me to share this testimony. Cordially, David Widenhofer, Executive Director. Treatment We are compelled to provide treatment alternatives when a student is discovered to have used, be in possession of, or be a seller or provider of drugs or alcohol. The identification of those who are involved with drugs or alcohol calls for clear assessment and follow-up. First Positive Test--A parent conference, an assessment by a state-approved drug and alcohol agency, an educational and/ or counseling plan, a 12-month probationary period, follow-up testing, and applicable activity penalties are indicated. Second Positive Test--The student is expelled. A parent conference is held to discuss assistance measures and a plan for re-entry if desired. Student Under the Influence--The student is immediately suspended for a period of 5 school days. A parent conference, an assessment by a state-approved drug and alcohol agency, an educational and/or counseling plan, a 12-month probationary period, follow-up testing, and appropriate activity penalties are indicated. Student Possession/Distribution or Second Under Influence-- The student is expelled. A parent conference is held to discuss assistance measures and a plan for re-entry if desired. Christ-Centered Education We believe that: All students are chosen and redeemed children of God. As parents and teachers, we have a responsibility to them. ``Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.'' Proverbs 22:6. All our hope is in the Lord. ``For I know the plans I have for you,'' declares the Lord, ``plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'' Jeremiah 29:11. As Christians we know that we have a responsibility to take care of the life God has given us. ``Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.'' I Corinthians 6:19-20. We also realize that in a sinful world, we must be prepared to face temptations every day of our lives. We can do this confidently as His faithful people. ``God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted. He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.'' I Corinthians 10:13. Lutheran schools impact the lives of young people by providing Christian values through all school activities and programs and by proclaiming God's love. the problem Data provided from several research studies of high school students, including CLHS students, present a picture of the use of drugs and alcohol by our students that resembles that of other states and high schools. Our own experience with young people verifies the existence of a problem that compels a response. We are called ``to minister to students as chosen and redeemed children of God.'' We can no longer avoid confronting head-on this reality of American culture. Teenagers are making poor choices to use drugs and alcohol in every high school in America. As a Christ-centered high school, we must respond to this tragic reality. Our plan is founded on our sincere concern for nurturing Christian faith and healthy lifestyles in our students. We intentionally want to reduce the use of drugs and alcohol and discourage students from making poor choices. We act because we care. Our goal is to maintain a safe, positive and zero-tolerance school environment, conducive to learning and spiritual growth for all students. We have set forth preventive measures to check the student use of alcohol and drugs, especially on the CLHS campus and at CLHS activities. The plan includes education for staff, students and parents so that they understand the realities of the problem and are better able to identify and help students using drugs and alcohol. Our ministry to students calls for providing assistance and treatment options for students who become involved in the use of drugs and alcohol. Prevention We need consistent, fair, firm, enforceable and clear policies regarding the school's position on the illegal use of drugs and alcohol. Clear deterrents are needed so that students and adults know that we are serious about this issue and want to reduce student drug and alcohol use. Zero Tolerance Policy--All use, possession or distribution of drugs or alcohol will have consequences. We will not tolerate those who introduce illicit drugs or alcohol into our school setting. Tip Line--Evening calls to Student Services (471-1996) will be recorded on an answering machine to allow anonymous reporting of information about illegal activity. Surveillance Cameras--These have been installed to observe activity in the parking lot and other high traffic areas of the school grounds. Locker and Parking Lot Searches--Random searches involving the use of police drug dogs will occur as needed. Random Drug Testing of Students--This is the key component that addresses the issue of usage. Urinalysis is the method used and great care is taken to ensure confidentiality of results. Reasonable Suspicion--When reasonable suspicion of drug or alcohol use exists, a breath scan and/or urinalysis will be required. Education It has become clear that many students, teachers and parents do not fully understand the laws dealing drugs and alcohol, the consequences of being caught, the signs of student use of alcohol and drugs (at home and at school), and the very real seriousness of this issue in the lives of youth and adults. We want to emphasize the seriousness of the issues being addressed, the identification of students using or under the influence, the identification of those possessing or selling drugs or alcohol at school, and the legal consequences of alcohol and drug use by adolescents and adults. Curriculum--Drug and alcohol education is a part of the curriculum each year in high school. Student Assemblies--At least once each year an assembly using outside resources is presented to the student body. Staff In-Service--Education and skill-building are a regular part of the staff in-service program. Parent Support Group--This group works with the school administration to ensure that education efforts continue for both students and parents. Parents In-Service--At least one parent in-service activity is planned per semester.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, it has been said that education is the great equalizer. No one can deny that an education unlocks the doors of opportunity. Few have unlocked and held open the doors of higher education more than John W. Burkhart of Indianapolis, Indiana. Burkhart, who died in Indianapolis last month, was a true pioneer in opening up access to higher education. In 1960--five years before the Federal student loan program was established as part of the Federal Higher Education Act--John Burkhart organized USA Funds to privately guarantee student loans. USA Funds later became USA Group, which is now the nation's largest student loan guarantor and administrator. Through USA Funds' and USA Group's loan guarantees, students who would normally be unable to afford high education, can now receive a higher education on credit. The concept of ``college on credit,'' pioneered by Burkhart and other visionaries like him, has spurred a substantial increase in the number of Americans with access to higher education. In 1965, only 1.5 million students entered institutions of higher education. That number increased to an impressive 2.2 million students by 1996. Certainly there are a variety of factors which contribute to such an increase, but the efforts of John Burkhart in fostering educational opportunity cannot be discounted. Burkhart's vision helped pave the way for thousands of college students to improve the quality of their lives. Indeed, as domestic and global economic competition grow, America will greatly benefit from the increased rolls of highly educated Americans. John W. Burkhart not only unlocked the doors of opportunity to higher education for generations of Americans, but he also raised the expectation that future generations might also pass over the door's threshold.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, overheated rhetoric aside, and let me make it clear, I do not think the Justice Department should be teaching evolution or creation. It is not the business of the Justice Department. I, furthermore, do not believe the Justice Department should be advocating or not advocating the death penalty. Studies are not affected here. This is the advocacy. Discriminate against, denigrating. Quite frankly, the word ``otherwise'' here is qualified by discriminating and denigrating. It says otherwise undermine, which is in the English language predicated on the first two definitions. I believe we are chasing a red herring here. Religious freedom is a basic constitutional right in this country, as is freedom of speech. Obviously there are limitations in any right. No right to yell in a theater. No right to sexually harass. One cannot violate other laws. Christians should not use government funds to discriminate or to denigrate Hindus. Muslims should not use government funds to discriminate against or to denigrate Jews. If Christians like myself, joined by nearly every other major religion on these particular points, believe that whatever predispositions one may or may want have, that some behaviors are morally wrong, such as child sexual abuse or alcoholism or spouse abuse, the government has no right to denigrate charasmatics, Catholics, Mormons, Lutherans, Hindus or anyone else who would hold such beliefs. If one practices hate like those evil persons who murdered homosexuals, blacks, Christians, or Jews in our country; like those who have harassed through physical threats or church burnings, one has no protection for illegal and immoral acts here in America or without repentance eternally. But where moral principles differ, the government has no business whatsoever in discriminating against, denigrating, or otherwise undermining religions and religious belief. At a time when America is in a moral crisis, the last thing we need is the government attacking religions.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Kansas for his lead on this amendment. It is just hard for me to understand what kind of debate we are having here. This would be, I am trying to think of equivalents, of trying to battle cigarettes by giving kids free low-tar cigarettes; or trying to battle breast cancer by giving people things that cause heart disease. Perhaps a better example would be to say that we are really worried about some kind of material, theoretically, let us say asbestos that is in the cigarette package, so we are going to give kids packages of cigarettes to smoke while we are going to make sure that the packaging does not damage them. The fact is that heroin is a terrible scourge not only to the individual but to the communities involved. To argue that by facilitating this habit by giving them clean needles to fight another disease is absurd on the face of it. The fact is that studies, quite frankly, have been done more methodologically correct, such as the Montreal and the Vancouver studies, whereas other statistical studies have been assessed by the Statistical Assessment Service as not meeting those standards. I would point out, for example, Montreal: ``We have yet to hear a cogent argument that would allay our concerns that needle exchange programs may facilitate the formation of new sharing groups gathering isolated IDUs, a scenario that is consistent with our findings.'' Vancouver now has the highest heroin death rate in North America and is referred to as Canada's ``drugs and crime capital,'' from the Washington Post in the spring of 1997. UPI had a story last July 29, ``Chief: Vancouver Has Lost Drug War.'' British Columbia's police chief claims the city has lost the war on drugs and now the city is proposing to give heroin addicts free heroin in addition to the free needles. The ONDCP's visit, some of the observations on facts are, for example, that the Vancouver needle exchange program is one of the largest in the world. It has distributed over 1 million needles annually. B. HIV rates among participants in the needle exchange program are higher than the HIV rate among drug users who do not participate. So in the same heroin drug users, it is higher if you participate in the clean needles program in the Vancouver, which is a statistically accurate study, not a random sample picked up to justify something. The death rate due to illegal drugs in Vancouver has skyrocketed since the needle exchange program was introduced. In 1988, 18 deaths were attributed to drugs; in 1993, 200 were attributed to drugs. The very thing that this program is supposed to be helping is accelerating and fixing one disease by enabling and expanding another disease and it is absurd. Mr. Chairman, I include the ONDCP Vancouver Needle Exchange Trip Report for the Record, as follows: Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Washington, DC, April 6, 1998. information--memorandum for the director through: the deputy director; from: strategy (D.B. Des roches) Vancouver Needle Exchange Trip Report 1. Purpose: To provide you with field observations on needle exchange and drug abuse in Vancouver, Canada. 2. General; You had directed that Dr. Adger and I visit the Vancouver Needle Exchange in light of the high incidence of HIV among needle exchange participants and the skyrocketing death rate due to drug overdose in Vancouver. Jane Sanville of ODR joined the trip because of her expertise in the field of AIDS. We spoke with law enforcement and public health officials, as well as with the scientists who studied the needle exchange and those who run the needle exchange. (Trip Schedule at TAB 1). Our visit to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at Blaine raised separate issues, which will be reported under separate cover. 3. Observations--Facts: A. The Vancouver Needle Exchange Program (NEP) is one of the largest in the world--it has distributed over 1 million needles annually for the last ten years, and close to 2.5 million needles last year alone. B. The HIV rates among participants in the NEP is higher than the HIV rate among injecting drug users who do not participate. C. The death rate due to illegal drugs in Vancouver has skyrocketed since 1988, the year needle exchange was introduced. In 1988, 18 deaths were attributed to drugs; in 1993 200 deaths were attributed to drugs. The Provincial Coroner told us that in March they were averaging more than 10 deaths due to drugs per week, and were on pace for 600 deaths province-wide in 1998--mostly in Vancouver. D. With the implementation of NAFTA, the Vancouver Port Police was disbanded. Vancouver is the most active Pacific port in North America. E. The highest rates of property crime in Vancouver are within two blocks of the needle exchange (See maps, TAB 2). 4. Observations--Statements: A. The single most striking point, which all interviewees stressed, was the lack of adequate drug treatment capacity in British Columbia. The head of the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board stated: ``I can have all the needles I want, but they won't give me a single drug treatment bed.'' Other health care professionals noted the fact that governmental responsibility for drug treatment has been shuffled among various ministries, and has never been a priority. B. Every interviewee stated that the most abused injection drug in Vancouver is cocaine. This was cited repeatedly as a major reason for the failure of needle exchange to prevent HIV: cocaine abusers typically inject much more frequently than do heroin abusers. C. Every interviewee cited the geographic features of the Downtown/Eastside (the major drug abuse area and the location of the needle exchange) as an exacerbating factor. Bounded by railyards and docks on two sides, it is an isolated and distinct area that contains most of the serious injection drug abuse and the drug trade, as well as associated prostitution and property crime. The area has a large number of single residence occupancy hotels, which all said contributed to the ``massing effect'' of addicts. D. Every interviewee said that the average age of IV drug users has decreased in recent years. E. Every interviewee save the Coroner pointed to the lack of turnstiles on the skytrain (elevated light rail system) as an aggravating factor, as it increased ingress for the destitute to the Downtown/Eastside area from other parts of the city. F. The Vancouver Police interviewees stated that they had been called by other interviewees and asked what they were going to say. G. The Director of the NEP stated that ``it is ridiculous to propose that we hand out 10 million needles a year.'' 10 million is the number he estimated would be required to accommodate the injecting cocaine users in Vancouver with one needle per injection. H. Every interviewee stated that the primary reasons for the increase in drug abuse was the available supply of cheap drugs, and that the needle exchange had either no effect or a marginal effect on overall drug abuse. I. The Vancouver police stated that there are inadequate drug treatment beds in the criminal justice system. Court mandated treatment is not a reality. J. The Vancouver police stated that there was a 24 hour drug market and similar open drug injection activity in the area immediately adjacent to the needle exchange. During a drive-around with a detective from the Vancouver Drug Squad, we observed multiple instances of drug users injecting and purchasing drugs. A one block long alley typically had three or four people injecting, preparing to inject or moving from injecting drugs. While walking around the area, we frequently encountered discarded syringe wrappers and protective tips. 4. Observations--Reporter Notes: A. Everyone save the police clearly wanted needle exchange to be a success (the police seemed to feel it was a facilitator for drug use, but officially supported it), and felt that the failure of needle exchange to stop the spread of HIV was due to three factors: (1) The NEP was set up for heroin users: the prevalence of cocaine injection (which is much more frequent) meant that the NEP would be inadequate. (2) Vancouver suffers from a ``nutbowl effect''--the homeless, migrants, counterculture types and disaffected, at- risk personalities tend to migrate there from around the country. Everyone pointed to social policies in other Canadian provinces, especially Alberta, which encouraged socially marginal people to move to British Colombia (by providing bus tickets). (3) Vancouver was on the trailing edge of the AIDS epidemic: some stated that the NEP was founded just as AIDS began to surge. It was frequently asserted that ``it would have been much worse without NEP.'' (Note--it might be interesting to evaluate other NEPs in this light--generally, NEPs in America were established on the trailing edge of the epidemic. Any claimed reduction in HIV incidence might be attributable to the normal course of the disease). B. All the ONDCP participants were amazed at the lack of treatment capacity in Vancouver. When we asked interviewees about this, they too were outspoken about inadequate treatment. Apparently, there is a requirement for addicts to abstain for three months prior to entering one of the few treatment spaces. Catch 22 is not just an American invention. C. The academics who studied the NEP seemed extremely concerned by the increase in HIV among NEP participants, and devoted much of our time together to explaining how NEP frequent users were a much more marginalized and at-risk segment of society than were infrequent NEP users. When asked if there were any studies comparing NEP users and non-NEP users, the study director responded that they had no way to interview non-NEP users. D. Property crime of all sorts in Vancouver seems to be highest in the areas around the NEP building. This is sort of a chicken-egg thing: it's hard to gauge cause and effect. E. Public support for needle exchange seemed to exist, but only so long as the NEP was confined to Downtown-Eastside. Expansion of the NEP (by vans) was opposed at a public meeting on the day of our departure. F. All interviewees save the police referred to the NEP's efforts to maintain relations with the community, and their efforts to keep discarded needles away from schools, etc. However, in a private interview, an elementary schoolteacher said that children at area schools are not allowed outside at recess for fear of needles. I was unable to verify this statement. 5. Conclusions: A. There has been a trade-off between needle exchange and drug treatment. This is the single most important lesson learned in Vancouver. The trade-off was not explicit, and was probably not deliberate. It may have resulted from normal bureaucratic politics, or the shuffling of responsibilities among ministries. Nevertheless, it has evolved and is allowed to persist. (1) Absent any mandate for drug treatment, NEPs will focus on what they can afford and do best--exchange needles. (2) Once the NEP was instituted, there seemed to be no imperative for the establishment or expansion of drug treatment. All interviewees stated that NEP was not a ``silver bullet,'' but reality suggests that it is treated as such. B. In the absence of treatment, the potential benefits of needle exchange programs are marginalized for the most at- risk. The single most common explanation given for the prevalence of HIV among NEP participants was that the NEP participants were at a greater risk than non-NEP participants. Harm reduction believes that by giving addicts the means and knowledge to safely use drugs (i.e. needles), most of the negative effects of drug abuse can be alleviated. Yet this approach still requires that the addict responsibly use the needles he is given; the HIV statistics show that he does not. For an at-risk population paternal approaches which--as a last resort--can supplant irresponsible behavior will probably be more effective. With an at-risk population, without access to drug treatment, needle exchange appears to be nothing more than a facilitator for drug abuse. C. High-purity cocaine and heroin is becoming increasingly prevalent and will pose challenges across the board. Vancouver is literally swamped with drugs. Large seizures appear to have no effect at the street level. This influx of high-purity heroin and cocaine is a major cause of both the high HIV rates in Vancouver as well as the high death rate. We should examine high-purity drugs as a separate threat, and consider a national initiative along the lines of our methamphetamine initiative.

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr) for yielding this time to me. This is not about health care. The word medicinal in front of this is so disgusting. Marinol, a subpart of marijuana, can be used to treat, and it is legal, and if the only way you can do it is through smoke marijuana, one can go to HHS, and there is an appeal process for those rare cases. This is a national drug battle being funded by a few individuals, and it is a back-door way to legalize marijuana. Every year, we go through a drug certification process for other nations. When I go down to Columbia or to Mexico or to Peru and Bolivia and other countries, they always say, ``What's your standard in the United States?'' If in our Nation's capital, we are going to relax our drug laws and allow the back-door legalization of marijuana in our Nation's capital, a violation of federal law, then we should not be here, we should not be doing the drug surveys. We ought to just acknowledge that we are going to allow the toleration of marijuana because that is, in fact, where we are headed here, that this is like saying that a subcomponent of arsenic can be helpful to somebody, therefore, we are going to encourage the use of arsenic or some other substance that can be fatal, that marijuana is the gateway drug along with tobacco and alcohol to the heroin, to the crack and in and of itself, as we have heard in numerous drug hearings, from abused mothers. We had an abused mother in Arizona who told how our husband got on marijuana, mixed it with alcohol, was beating her, and she was in constant fear of her life. It is not just harder drugs, it is also the marijuana. We had multiple wrecks in the last year in my district where students who were on marijuana or those older than students were on marijuana who had automobile wrecks that terminated the lives of other people. We cannot in our Nation's capital where the Constitution specifically says to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district especially when it is a national law. This law applies to every State. The States that went through these referendums are, in fact, being prosecuted in courts to resolve this. There is absolutely no reason to implement such a law in District of Columbia. It would be an abomination to our country.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, my friend from Pennsylvania is one of the great Members here to try to work out different compromises. I commend him for that, and in many pieces of legislation we can. When we get to the issue of abortion, it is very difficult to divide a baby, particularly if you believe, as I do, that it is a human life and it is either going to be alive or dead. For many of us, this is a very deeply held position. We believe, as my colleagues heard in the earlier debate, that this is directly fungible money, that these organizations have hidden goals to them, and while I respect very much my friend from Pennsylvania's attempt to come up with compromise language, there are just too many loopholes in this language, it is too duplicative in other parts, and I believe that it would not in fact stop international abortion funding. I do not believe in the end that we can split a baby.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. First, Mr. Chairman, let me say that we hear a lot of passionate speeches, but I think they are almost like on a different subject. The fact is that we have brought democracy and freedom to most of Latin America when it used to be a sea of totalitarian dictatorships. Some still have further to move, but part of it is because we have tried to reform their military, to understand the principles of George Washington stepping aside; that the militaries are not supposed to usurp and dominate the political powers of their countries. To some degree, we are refighting the eighties that are over. Furthermore, as I have been at Fort Benning, as well as visiting in Peru and Bolivia and Colombia and Mexico, and with many people who have gone through this program four times in the last 4 years, they have learned that you cannot just go in and shoot down people who disagree, you have to try to reach them. Where did they learn that? From us. The Clinton administration in the last few years, I will grant, has been more aggressive in teaching human rights, or criticizing their own administration as they have tried to broaden out. As to this argument about the Jesuits, quite frankly, that was a terrible tragedy. We should never have been any part of anything to do with it. But let us make something clear, the United States government did not do that and did not authorize that. I feel terrible for the people Ted Bundy killed, but I do not blame the University of Washington, where he went. I do not blame the Unabomber for having attended the University of Michigan. I do not blame the Trinity College, Cambridge University, for Kim Philby, Donald McLean, Burgess and Blunt, all traitors. I do not blame Bronx Community College for the Son of Sam. I do not blame Ohio State University for Jeffrey Dahmer. Just because they went to universities and might have even learned skills that quite frankly helped them do their terrible crimes, writing, communicating, and so on, does not mean that the purpose of those universities was to teach them the things that they did wrong. It is insulting to this government, because the whole case that all this spins around is one document that supposedly was used in one classroom that somebody brought in that was in Spanish, and when we found it, we took it out, and do not even know that it was used in the classroom. The second part of the case are people who committed crimes, and they have attended the school. We have tried to work with the school to do better tracking, to do better screening. That is what we need to be addressing. Ironically, this is one of the only ways, through the Spanish language, to reach the lower educated and low-income parts of their military in their country. We do training, but we do training in other bases of officers. We do not reach out to the masses who are in fact in debatable practices, sometimes, in non-narcotics areas. But basically, we are teaching them that they have to do it better and follow procedures. We are not teaching them to violate human rights. I find it insulting. One last comment is that I think that this is arguably the centerpiece of our antidrug war in the world, because we cannot patrol the entire world. What we can do is teach people how to do a better job following the principles of democracy and human rights, the limitations of the military around the world. While I have skepticism about our government, I think it is demeaning to this President and the Vice President, the people in our Armed Forces, to think that they are actually training people for the deliberate purpose of killing others, outside the normal procedures of war.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, yesterday Congressman Ernie Fletcher introduced an amendment, which allows teacher training funds to be used for character education training, to the Teacher Empowerment Act. It was adopted with my strong support. In the mid-1980s I served as the Republican Staff Director of the House Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families. I visited numerous creative character education programs across this nation including in St. Louis, Miami and Baltimore. Each school system had involved the local community in the development of their program. Each was having a positive impact on the students in their schools. And, importantly, each program was done differently. It is important that we continue to encourage such creative flexibility. Currently, there are a number of character education efforts in my district in northeastern Indiana. One of the best is a program called ``Character Counts'' which I have discussed with Garrett-Keyser-Butler Community School system superintendent Alan Middleton, as well as others in the Garrett system. We need to encourage efforts to implement such programs. By allowing--leaving it up to the school districts themselves but allowing--teacher training to include character education training is an important advance for character education. Congressman Fletcher's amendment made it clear that funds can be used for such training. What follows is some basic information from the Garrett community school system's ``Character Counts'' program, which gives some idea of the approach of one character education initiative. It is important to note the emphasis on community participation as well as the specific themes that are stressed. What? The Character Counts! Coalition is a national partnership of organizations and individuals involved in the education, training and care of youth. They have joined in a collaborative effort to improve the character of America's young people based on six basic standards of character. Six pillars of character: Trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, fairness, caring, citizenship. The Garrett-Keyser-Butler School Corporation this last year became a member of the national CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition. The program's development was based on a 1992 summit meeting of educators, youth leaders, religious leaders and ethicists who worked together to identify those basic characteristics that they could all agree on as being essential to the development of good character. These became known as the Six Pillars of Character. The CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition hopes to combat violence, irresponsibility and dishonesty while strengthening the character of the next generation. The program is not associated with any particular religion or ideological agenda other than that of promoting good character through ethical decision making. The membership list includes many well respected national organizations such as American Red Cross, the United Way of America, USA Police Activities League, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, 4-H, Little League Baseball, YMCA of the USA, the National Association of State Boards of Education and National Association of Secondary School Principals to mention a few. We at the GKB School Corporation have made a commitment to work through the CHARACTER COUNTS! program in an effort to improve the character of our young people. We believe that CHARACTER COUNTS! in personal relationships, in school, at the workplace, and in life. Who you are makes a difference! Mission Statement: The Garrett-Keyser-Butler School Corp., is committed to the development of a program which unites the whole community in promoting trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. We believe these ethical traits are essential for the success of young people in all areas of their life--in school, work, and personal relationships. The Coalition is comprised of about 100 national and regional organizations that together reach more than 40 million young people. Coalition includes: YMCA, BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS, 4-H, BIG

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding time to me. In opposing this amendment, I think he is absolutely correct. We allow school districts who believe that sabbaticals are important and want to supplement their existing funds to do so. But it is really important to remember, and we cannot repeat this enough, this is not an appropriations bill, this is an authorizing bill. This is where we set policy. To say we are setting aside new money for this is in fact not true. It sets a cap for it, but the Committee on Appropriations will have to then subdivide. All afternoon we have been listening to people come to the floor from the other side who oppose the bill that say, oh, we are taking things from class size reduction. We have been arguing that local school districts ought to have the flexibility, between class size reduction, special ed teachers, and teacher quality, and let them make that decision. The other side has been arguing, at least up until now, that this money should be used for class size reduction, but this amendment would in fact take money, as a practical matter, because this is an authorizing bill, not an appropriations bill. When the appropriators say, oh, it is new grant money, a grant program, the money would have to come out from somewhere. Presumably it is going to come from the class size reduction and the teacher training, because we do not have the ability in this bill to spend new money. That is an appropriations decision. So I am kind of confused as to what the priorities are here, because that is the net impact. The plain truth of the matter is that, as the chairman so eloquently said, any school district who wants to use this money for teacher training during a period of sabbatical can do so. The only fundamental debate here is, are we going to say that Washington says they must use it for a sabbatical out of limited funds, rather than that they may use it for sabbatical.

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, first let me say to my friend from New York that this does not touch title I which is a massive program which I and many others favor, because many States did not in fact pay enough attention to the lower income areas of this country. Some States deliberately wiped out their property tax so that minorities would not have sufficient schools and went to private schools, and because of that the Federal Government stepped in and said those who are in low- income areas are going to need some help; just like as we had special- needs kids around this country that led to the development of IDEA. There is no question that there is a role, some role, for the Federal Government in education. The question is, is fundamentally who do we trust the most? This rule gives us the flexibility to debate a number of the different options and to really highlight again today the differences as to how the bulk of education should be run in this country, not the exceptions. We are not abandoning what we are putting into low-income students or into IDEA. But what we are saying is that rather than say, we know best here on the floor of this House what the school districts in my district in northeast Indiana or anywhere in the country should do, some of them work to lower their class size and some of them rather than getting it down to 18 might want to have 19 in the class size and have better teachers for effectiveness. Others may want and need more teachers in IDEA which is the biggest financial drain in the local school districts because they cannot take care of many of these students that the courts have ordered them and Congress has ordered them to take care of. Each school district has their own funding flexibilities, each State has their own funding flexibilities and priorities they have to work. Who are we to say that they have to go a certain direction? Once again, let me repeat, this bill, while there are nuances in the additional spending proposed in the 100,000 new teachers and other programs, does not touch the basic funding mechanisms of which we have tried to put into low-income students.

Mr. SOUDER. I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. SOUDER. Reclaiming my time, all of these things are a balance; that in fact research shows that teacher quality. Now, if the class size is 30 versus 18, but the class size differential, 19 or 20 compared to the teacher quality; depending whether you have computer access in your schools, if the schools are falling down, if you have inadequate textbooks and the parents cannot afford the textbooks. Different schools have different problems. I agree that if there is a wide disparity, but at the margins, and what I have seen in my district, in foundations around our country and so on is that we have seen, compared to the past, an amazing advancement in the local school boards and in particular State education associations in trying to improve the quality of education. We need to give them more flexibility. And when they fail, we step in like we did with title I and IDEA.

Mr. SOUDER. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. SOUDER. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, there has been a little bit of confusion that I wanted to try to clear up. The Chairman's bill, and I congratulate him for his initiative, has a first-year authorization of a little bit over $2 billion. The substitute of the gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez) has $3 billion. But we should not be confused here. We are not the Committee on Appropriations. These questions will be resolved in the appropriations debate later. For those who are concerned about the particular dollar amount, they ought to join the Committee on Appropriations. This is the policy committee. The authorizing committee sets the thrust of the policy of how we are going to approach. We had to come up with an initial number in order to have it be scored so we could go into the budget process without it distorting and becoming, in fact, a money debate. Right now the Republican dollar amount there is far greater than the Committee on Appropriations appropriates anyway. And, quite frankly, if at the end of the year, as we have many other years, a final number is determined, the Committee on Rules puts a waiver in to adjust the dollars. This is not a money debate, and efforts to confuse outside groups by getting endorsements and saying this is a money debate, and by coming to the floor and trying to make this a money debate distorts the issue at hand. The question is not whether we favor class size reduction, because in fact this bill allows all the dollars to be used in class size reduction. The question is do we trust our local school districts, our local teachers, our local principals to make decisions as to whether they need to improve the quality of the teacher or whether they have special-needs kids or whether they need to make other decisions similar to that within a very narrowly defined context in order to have some flexibility. Some Members have spoken almost with disdain about their local teachers and schools as far as their ability to make these decisions, whereas I have great confidence in my local schools and local school boards that, in fact, they know whether they need better teachers rather than reducing from 19 to 18 their class size, or whether they need a better qualified teacher, or maybe they have special-needs kids who are not being covered and that is where their money is and they decide that rather than diverting other funds rather than use these funds. I trust them to make that decision. This is not about money; this is about policy.

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, my question is, there is nothing in this bill that says that class size reduction cannot be a part for the schools that the gentleman is mentioning. My understanding is that a school district can decide that class size reduction is absolutely the most important.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, tonight is a historic night. It is by no means an exaggeration to say that the Apollo 11 lunar landing 30 years ago was one of the most significant events in human history. To me, it is still the most significant single historic event in my lifetime that I recall. In fact, I remember watching it on TV. I was in St. Louis at the time, and it was just a little bit later time than this evening. The Apollo program not only was and still is one of our most significant technological accomplishments, but also marked the first time that mankind left the planet to explore another celestial body. As Neil Armstrong said just last week, ``The important achievement of Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this planet. Our visions go rather farther than that, and our opportunities are unlimited.'' The Apollo program demonstrated that it is possible for Americans to accomplish anything if they have a dream and a vision and work to make it come true. Today, as we have more and more technology and ability, we somehow seem to have less and less of that vision that Neil Armstrong talked about. As astronaut Walt Cunningham said, ``Today, we fail not because of our inability to do something; we fail today because of our unwillingness to tackle it in the first place. We are unwilling to take a chance, stick our neck out and go and do some of these things.'' The Apollo astronauts have continued to stand as living monuments to that drive and vision. Many of today's adults were not even born at the time of the Apollo landings, even though they and their children hold the potential to be the generation that first steps foot on Mars. The vision is still a living vision, however, because it is rekindled by the Apollo astronauts who continue to bear witness to the possibility of making even seemingly outlandish dreams come into reality. Just last week, however, we had another sad reminder of just how precious these men are with the death of Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad, who was laid to rest yesterday in Arlington National Cemetery. Four of the twelve men to have set foot on the Moon have now passed away. A total of seven of the Apollo astronauts are no longer with us. Just outside this chamber stands the newest addition to Statuary Hall, a statue of Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert of Colorado, who was elected to the House but was never able to serve. Despite the contemporary accolades given to the Apollo astronauts in the 1960s and 1970s, America has never provided a fitting tribute to these men for their bravery and historical accomplishments on behalf of this Nation. Today, I am introducing a bill which would direct NASA to present an Apollo exploration award to each of the Apollo astronauts or their families, all 32, to commemorate their historic and singular contributions to history and to provide a fitting thanks from a grateful Nation. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon), who represents the space coast of Florida, has introduced this legislation with me. It would contain an authentic Moon rock recovered on the Apollo missions by the work of these men. In my view, there could be no better recognition for these heroes, nor a better way to rekindle the accomplishments of Apollo in the public imagination. The only fitting commemoration for those who have touched the Moon or made that great achievement possible could be a piece of the Moon itself, and such recognition is long overdue. Let me point out that NASA has recovered more than 2,000 different samples of the Moon in six landings. So the rocks required for the presentation would be a minuscule portion of our total holdings. My bill also maintains careful control over the lunar rocks, preventing them from being sold or transferred to anyone besides the astronaut, his family, or a museum. The lunar material, 80 percent of which has not been researched yet, could be recalled by NASA if needed for scientific research and then promptly returned. Mr. Speaker, America was founded on the principle of exploration. We have it in our power to continue this great tradition as a spacefaring Nation. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to help stimulate the continuation of the vision of Apollo in modern times. I would hope that this legislation is something that all of us, Republicans and Democrats, House, Senate and the President can agree upon unanimously, and as soon as possible. It would be a fitting closing tribute to this 30th celebration of the Apollo Moon landing.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, it would be a great tragedy if this amendment passes. It would be a tragedy to every Civil War buff in America, everybody concerned about the preservation of the artifacts. I very much respect the chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and it has been an honor to serve under him and his tremendous outline of the history on this. Also, as a member of the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands, I have great respect for the gentleman from Utah (Chairman Hansen), and I know his frustration was also expressed by the gentleman from California (Mr. Miller), the frustration about a lot of the processes that go on with the Park Service. But I spent 3 hours listening to the hearing and to the concerns of the local community, and I understand some of their concerns, that business may drop off if the visitors center is moved a half to three- quarters of a mile away from the downtown business district. But I do not agree. The studies do not show that. As a retailer myself, I think the business is actually going to go up. There is no business argument, and I believe their concerns, as are always there when there are changes, but they in fact are not anchored in economic reality. A new visitors center will be a boost to tourism and to those very businesses that are concerned. It may extend the length of stay. But more importantly, Gettysburg is a national site. Nine hundred Americans were killed, wounded, or captured at the very point where the current visitors center sits. It is on the critical fishhook of the Union Army, and the establishment of that fishhook was critical to the preservation of the Union. The visitors center sits smack in the middle of that. The traffic is so high that when one visits there, as I did a few weeks ago, they have more park rangers right now trying to handle the overflow parking on the grass as you try to tour the battlefield than they have park rangers at Antietam, which was the bloodiest single day, because we do not have adequate parking facilities. The compromise, the fantasyland area sometime ago where they proposed to put the new visitors center, is in an area that is part of the Park Service now, but was not part of the battle. Jeb Stuart, in the Confederate Army, took on the calvary over in a side battle because he was not where he was supposed to be. The main battle was over here. By putting the visitors center down in between, people can move around to the cemetery where Lincoln spoke and gave the Gettysburg address. The fishhook will now be available to walk around and see as part of the critical battlefield line, so you can see how the battle actually worked. Now you stand there, there is a big tower, a cyclorama building, a visitors center, cars all over the place. You cannot get the line of sight. There are trees there that are not supposed to be there. There is a peach orchard. One thinks, why did he hide there? The trees are fairly young yet. If we really believe in historic preservation, in appreciating this site, it is not enough to just talk about a visitors center, because quite frankly, we do not have enough money to keep up our sites. Every park we go to, whether it is a natural resource or a cultural resource, they do not have the budget to even keep the things from falling down in our primary parks in the United States. We can talk about preservation, but it is not occurring. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep some of these rifles in historic condition, and they are in non-humidified areas where they are not even preserving some now because we do not have adequate facilities. We can argue about this, but one of the fundamental things, in addition to the importance to every Civil War buff in America and every person who is interested in historic preservation in America, is a fundamental premise here. If we do not have enough money to keep things as they are, are we going to allow public-private partnerships in the parks? It is a fundamental question that is undergirding this debate. If we can extend public dollars through nonprofit corporations, I favor that. That is one of the fundamental fights here. It is very hard, when we go through years and years and years of delay and arguing, to come up with figures. It is hard for a private developer to come in and said, okay, I want this size bookstore, this size gift shop, this size restaurant. Then they come back after the hearing and say, no, you cannot have the restaurant, it has to be scaled back to this; the gift shop has to be scaled back to this. Legitimate arguments, but then it is a little cute to argue that there were not financial projections that were consistent all the way through because the gentleman is forcing the alternate projections on the cost. This is the realistic way, a legitimate way to get the visitors center, to preserve the cyclorama that is wrinkling, that is going to start to crack if we do not start this project immediately. If this gets stopped, to come up with an alternative plan, by the time an alternative plan could be executed, if we ever have the funds here in Congress, the cyclorama will be cracked, articles will be destroyed, and we will not have the fishhook for all the tourists who are going through there. For years it will delay the process another couple of years. This is a realistic alternative. It may have problems. Perhaps the Federal dollars will have to pick up some of the gap, but our alternative is, as the chairman of the committee full well knows, is the public is going to pick up all the costs of the visitors center. So for those who are really looking for creative solutions to the national park dilemma, this is one. It would be a tragedy if this amendment passes.

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. (Mr. SOUDER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great Hoosier from Fort Wayne, the late Fred Zollner, who was just selected for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Too often we forget our history. Fred Zollner moved the Zollner Pistons Company from Duluth, Minnesota, in 1931 to the east side of Fort Wayne. During the 1930s the piston plant doubled in size, aided by hefty government military contracts because of war preparations. Sports Illustrated described Zollner this way: ``He is short and stocky, a dapper man sporting peak lapels, a silk shirt, a constant tan, and an unruly coiffure that suggests he is about to mount a podium and conduct Beethoven's Ninth. He is the sort who would not harm a fly. Rather than swat one, he would catch a cold holding the door open until the fly got ready to leave.'' In 1938, Mr. Zollner had formed a company softball team for a local industrial league. In 1945, the Pistons instigated the National Softball League, which they hoped would open the way to major league softball. They won multiple national championships. Players were celebrities. By the late 1950's as I was growing up, softball was no longer as significant, but I remember my dad talking about Leo Luken and Bernie Kampschmidt as if they were Nellie Fox and Ernie Banks, my baseball heroes. After having success in softball, in 1939 Zollner fielded a team in a Chicago industrial league tournament and never looked back. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, now known as the Detroit Pistons, were not Fort Wayne's first pro basketball team. The Fort Wayne Knights of Columbus, the Caseys, and the Fort Wayne Hoosiers were. And the Fort Wayne General Electrics played in the NBL, the National Basketball League, in 1937. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons left Fort Wayne at the end of 1957 but continue today as the Detroit Pistons. There were many eventful years in Fort Wayne. For most of the Fort Wayne era, the Pistons played at the North Side High School gym. The enthusiastic fans and confined quarters gave the Pistons a significant homecourt advantage. Minneapolis Lakers' star Slater Martin was quoted on the courtside seating at North Side: ``I never really saw the fans get physical with the players. But I did have them pull the hair on my legs.'' Fred Zollner was a key in keeping the National Basketball League solvent. Carl Bennett, whose personal history with the Pistons is so intertwined with Zollner as to be inseparable, said that Zollner never wanted anyone to know how he kept the league--and pro basketball-- alive. He was constantly upgrading his team which eventually led to repeat national titles. The Zollner Pistons were multiple times national champions. Two of their famous players were ``Mr. Basketball,'' Bobby McDermott, who had long set shots from past half-court; and Paul ``Curly'' Armstrong from Fort Wayne. These are some of the late 1940s cards that I have in my collection. They were also responsible for the invention of the 24-second clock, because George Mikan, who was not only a giant at 6'10'' but a talented athlete as well, had this huge height advantage. They tried a different way to win. In Minneapolis, as the crowd hollered, they stalled. It remains, and always will, as the lowest scoring game in NBA history, 19-18. But the Zollner Pistons won and the league said this will never happen again. Fred Zollner, along with Carl Bennett, met then with the people from the BAA in Fort Wayne and merged the leagues which then became the NBA from the leagues in Fort Wayne. Fred Zollner's vision for Fort Wayne was for the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons to be to the NBA what Green Bay was to professional football. But, alas, that was not to be. Fort Wayne was just too small. He saw the writing on the wall in the mid 1950s, but the final event was when they made the national championship, the NBA playoffs, but the Fort Wayne Coliseum had booked the national bowling tournament so the Pistons were booted out of the auditorium and had to play their games in Indianapolis. The next year they moved to Detroit. To quote a couple of the long-term people associated with this, Carl Bennett, who crusaded to get Fred Zollner into the Basketball Hall of Fame, said: ``If somebody would have asked me when I was a kid what I wanted to do with my career, I would have told them exactly what I did for Fred Zollner's organization. It was fun and extremely rewarding.'' There are two books out. Indiana had three of the original members of the NBA. ``Pioneers of the Hardwood'' refers to that. The other is the Zollner Piston Story by Roger Nelson. George Yardley, a Hall of Famer, said about Fort Wayne: ``My wife and I didn't know what to expect when we got to Fort Wayne. We had never seen snow before. Major league sports to Fort Wayne was the Pistons. They were great basketball fans. But more importantly, they were great people. They wanted you to know that Fort Wayne was a great place to live, and they did everything they could to illustrate that to you. To this day I believe that Fort Wayne has some of the coldest weather and warmest people in the country.'' In Fort Wayne we no longer have the Pistons basketball team, but we do have nearly 1,000 Zollner Pistons jobs that are part of the backbone of our community. We have the pride of having been there in the early days of the NBA, the first meetings occurring in Fort Wayne, and now having one of our community leaders being honored by his selection into the Basketball Hall of Fame. And we still have some of the coldest weather and the warmest people in America. I rise today to pay tribute to a great Hoosier from Fort Wayne, the last Fred Zollner, who was just selected for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Too often we forget our history. Fred Zollner moved Zollner Pistons from Duluth, Minnesota in 1931 to the east side of Fort Wayne. During the 1930s the piston plant doubled in size, aided by hefty government military contracts because of war preparations. Sports Illustrated described Zollner this way: ``He is short and stocky, a dapper man sporting peak lapels, a silk shirt, a constant tan, and an unruly coiffure that suggests he is about to mount a podium and conduct Beethoven's Ninth. He is the sort who would not harm a fly. Rather than swat one, he would catch a cold holding the door open until the fly got ready to leave.'' Holiday magazine said: ``Zollner is a soft-voiced, curly-headed manufacturer, a friendly man with a taste for expensive, striped suits, and the engaging knack of making them look as if he'd worn them to bed.'' In 1938 Mr. Zollner had formed a company softball team for a local industrial league. In 1945 the Pistons instigated the National Softball League, which they hoped would open the way to major league softball. They won multiple national championships. Players were celebrities. By the late 50s, as I was growing up, softball was no longer as significant but I remember my father talking about Leo Luken and Bernie Kampschmidt as if they were Nellie Fox and Ernie Banks, my baseball heroes. After having success in softball, in 1939 Zollner fielded a team in a Chicago industrial league tournament and never looked back. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons were not Fort Wayne's first pro basketball team-- the Fort Wayne Knights of Columbus (the Caseys) and the Fort Wayne Hoosiers were. And the Fort Wayne General Electrics played in the NBL (National Basketball League) in 1937. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons left Fort Wayne at the end of 1957 but continue today as the Detroit Pistons. There were many eventful years in Fort Wayne. For most of the Fort Wayne era, the Pistons played at the North Side High School gym. The enthusiastic fans and confined quarters gave the Pistons a significant homecourt advantage. Minneapolis Laker's star Slater Martin was quoted on the courtside seating at North Side: ``I never really saw the fans get physical with the players. I had them pull the hair on my legs through.'' Fred Zollner was key in keeping the NBL (National Basketball League) solvent. He gave direct financial aid to other teams, he purchased players for cash to help keep teams afloat, and did other things to keep the league going. Carl Bennett who's personal history with the Pistons is so intertwined with Zollner as to be inseparable said that Zollner never wanted anyone to know how he helped the league--and pro basketball--alive. Zollner treated his players well, being known throughout the league as a generous owner. He was the first owner to purchase a plane for the team. He did this even though he did not like to fly. It gave the Pistons such an advantage--players weren't as tired from traveling-- that the league re-configured its schedule to the disadvantage of Fort Wayne. Zollner was constantly upgrading his team--which eventually led to repeat national titles. The nation knew he was serious when he signed ``Mr. Basketball''--Bobby McDermott of the New York Celtics, then the most famous player in all of basketball famous for the towering two- hand set-shots typically from half-court--or beyond. Paul ``Curly'' Armstrong was another favorite. The Zollner Pistons were also responsible for the 24-second shot clock. When George Mikan, who was not only a giant of his day at 6'10'' but a talented athlete as well, changed the nature of basketball with his huge height advantage, the Pistons decided to try a different way to win. In Minneapolis, as the crowd hollered, they stalled. It remains--and always will--as the lowest scoring game in NBA basketball history. 19-18. But the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons won. But the league said never again. Fred Zollner, coordinated by his able basketball specialist Carl Bennett, was key in creating the NBA as we know it today. The NBL and the BAA (Basketball Association of America) were competing for players in a market in which few were able to make money. The BAA had franchises in big cities with big arenas (Madison Square Garden for example) but few fans and not the best players. The NBL was a mixed bag but had four very strong teams--the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, the Rochester Royals (later moved to Cincinnati in Hoosier Oscar Robertson days), George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers (now the Los Angeles Lakers-- ever wonder where the lake was in LA?), and the Indianapolis Krautskys (named after local grocery store owner Frank Krautsky). These teams actually dominated the NBA for most of its first years. Maurice Podoloff, the Commissioner of the BAA, came to Fort Wayne to Carl Bennett's home. After preliminary discussions, they were joined the next day by Fred Zollner and then the Indianapolis Krautsky's owners in Fort Wayne. The agreement to pull the four teams from the NBL and join with the BAA was the start of the NBA. Additional changes occurred over the next few years but the core remains until today. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons brought many thrills to northeast Indiana, including one of the early NBA All-Star games which features such stars as George Mikan (whose 1948 basketball card is the most valuable of all time), Bob Cousy and Dolph Schayes. The then brand new Allen County War Memorial Coliseum was a showpiece arena, packed to the ceiling with over 10,000 fans. Over 8,000 came to see the Zollner Pistons defeat the Boston Celtics, during Bill Russell's first visit there. Fred Zollner's vision for Fort Wayne was for the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons to be to the NBA what Green Bay was to professional football. But, alas, it was not to be. New York, Chicago, Boston and other cities had millions of people to draw from whereas Fort Wayne had less than 200,000. But Fred Zollner not only brought big-time basketball to a smaller size city, but he was instrumental in the founding of the NBA and much of its development. Zollner saw the writing on the wall in the mid-fifties. He knew that the big-city teams weren't thrilled to come to Fort Wayne. What may have finally pushed him over the edge, according to long-time sports broadcaster and Fort Wayne civic leader Hilliard Gates, was a situation that developed in 1955. Fred Zollner wanted badly to win an NBA championship. The Zollner Pistons made it to the finals. But the Fort Wayne Coliseum had booked the national bowling tournament so the Pistons were booted out of Fort Wayne for the NBA finals. Now bowling was big in Indiana--bowling still is very popular in Indiana--but it probably wasn't the wisest move. The Fort Wayne Pistons lost four games to three, so the record should show that they did win all the games played in Indianapolis. Dick Rosenthal, who played as a Piston and later was the University of Notre Dame's athletic director, said about Fred Zollner: ``He was a man of vision. Fred nurtured professional basketball from a very iffy proposition to a major business venture. He embodied the soul of the organization and the league. Professional basketball had come a long way. The game owes a great deal to the pioneer spirit of an owner like Fred Zollner.'' Carl Bennett, who crusaded to get Fred Zollner into the Hall of Fame, and who for most of the years of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons did most everything from coaching to managing to player personnel decisions, said: ``If somebody would have asked me when I was a kid what I wanted to do with my career, I would have told them exactly what I did for Fred Zollner's organization. It was fun and extremely rewarding.'' For basketball buffs, there are two books that most of this special order was based upon. Rodger Nelson has written the Zollner Piston Story, covering both the basketball and softball teams. Todd Gould has written a book titled Pioneers of the Hardwood, about not only the Pistons but other early pro Indiana basketball teams as well. Indiana, in the second year of the merged leagues, had 3--three--of the NBA teams. Let me close with several quotes from the Pioneers of the Hardwood, from former Fort Wayne Zollner Piston basketball stars. Frank Brian: ``Whenever I hear the song `Back Home Again in Indiana' I get real nostalgic, because Indiana was like a second home to me. The fans were so congenial and really loved their basketball. Basketball was its own special culture there. When anybody ever asks me about the fans in Indiana, there's only one word I can say--unbelievable. Yes, sir, unbelievable. It was great.'' Hall-of-Famer George Yardley, the first Piston and the first NBA player in history to score 2000 points in a season, said, ``If it's wintertime, and it's Indiana, it must mean basketball. The fans there were really wonderful. I loved it, truly loved it. It was the greatest experience in the world.'' Yardley, a California boy and Stanford grad, also said about Fort Wayne: ``My wife and I didn't know what to expect when we got to Fort Wayne. We had never seen snow before. Major league sports to Fort Wayne was the Pistons. They were great basketball fans. But more importantly, they were great people. They wanted you to know that Fort Wayne was a great place to live, and they did everything they could to illustrate that to you. To this day I believe that Fort Wayne has some of the coldest weather and warmest people in the country.'' In Fort Wayne we no longer have the Pistons basketball team. We still have nearly 1000 Zollner Pistons jobs that are part of the backbone of our community. We have the pride of having been there in the early days of the NBA and now having one of our community leaders being honored by his selection into the Basketball Hall of Fame. And we still have some of the coldest weather and warmest people in the country.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1218, the ``Child Custody Protection Act'' which would make it a federal offense to transport a minor across a state line for an abortion if this action circumvents a state law requiring parental involvement in that minor's abortion or circumvents a requirement of a judicial waiver. This legislaiton does not manate parental involvement but requires obedience to state law. This bill deals with the narrow but important question of the interstate transportation of minors to circumvent existing state laws which places pregnant girls at risk and ignores parental rights. In a widely publicized 1995 case, a 12-year-old Pennsylvania girl became pregnant after involvement with an 18-year-old man. Pennsylvania law requires parental consent or judicial bypass for an abortion to be performed on a minor. However, the man's mother took the pregnant girl for an abortion in New York, which has no parental involvement law. The girl's mother did not even know that she was pregnant. When Pennsylvania authorities prosecuted the woman for interfering with the custody of a child, she was defended by a pro abortion group which argued that the woman's action were like those of ``thousands of adults who each year aid young women in exercising their constitutional right to an abortion''. The fact is that many abortion advocates advertise and refer young girls to neighboring states to avoid these laws. This reality is not in the best interests of these children. Exceptions already exist when the pregnant girl's health is genuinely at risk and judicial bypass procedures exist for situations where abusive parents or guardians are involved. The fact is that for the vast majority of cases it is the parents or legal guardians--not the boyfriends, strangers, or meddling in-laws--who are generally best able to weigh the risks of various courses of action in the light of their often unique knowledge of the girl's medical history, psychological makeup, and other crucial factors. Schools require parental involvement for field trips, medications, early school release, and academic decisions such as sexual education classes, yet with reckless disregard for state laws, a stranger can legally transport a minor across state lines and have her undergo a potentially life-threatening procedure. Parental notification laws were signed into law this month in both Florida and Texas. Twenty other states already have these laws on the books. The Child Custody Protection Act is supported by a vast majority of Americans since it works to strengthen the rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit by enforcing state laws which require parental involvement in a decision bearing serious medical and emotional consequences to their daughters. The legislation passed the House with a vote of 276-150 last year. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this critical legislation and request that the President sign it into law.