Christopher Shays

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would add $750,000 to an account that has $1.5 million in it. Mrs. Maloney and I both had legislation adding $1.5 million on top of the $1.5 million to the Civil Liberties Board. Mr. Chairman, it is my understanding that the chairman will accept this amendment at 750, and I advise Mrs. Maloney of that fact. What we want to do, Mr. Chairman, is to support a Civil Liberties Board that hopefully over time will do more than it is presently doing. When we give the executive branch more power, we need to have more oversight, more congressional oversight, stronger whistleblower protection. And the 9/11 Commission suggested a strong Civil Liberties Board. I would like to ask the chairman if this is in fact an amendment that he would accept.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I strongly support the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act and want to thank Chairman Kolbe and Ranking Member Lowey for their hard work, thoughtfulness and dedication to bringing such a well-crafted bill to the floor. There are so many important issues this bill addresses and so many ways in which it positively demonstrates the United States' values as a leader and a responsible member of the family of nations. I am grateful for the full funding of the President's request for aid to Israel and for humanitarian assistance to Sudan, and am thrilled it goes above and beyond the President's request for the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. I appreciate the inclusion of reporting requirements for the protection of children affected by humanitarian emergencies, an issue I've worked with Representative Lowey on, as well as the inclusion of $45 million to support research and development of microbicides as a means of combating HIV/AIDS. I appreciate the chairman and ranking member's support of the Community Action Program in Iraq--known as CAP. The CAP program directly engages Iraqis in reconstructing their own communities, while building a nationwide grassroots constituency for democracy. Typical CAP projects use both U.S. and Iraqi funds and resources to rebuild schools, repair water and sewage lines, build health clinics, as well as a host of other infrastructure and development projects. I have traveled to Iraq 12 times--4 times outside the umbrella of the military--and have seen first-hand how the CAP program improves the lives of Iraqis and, most importantly, how it helps us accomplish our mission of creating a secure environment for the Iraqi people so democracy can prosper. This legislation provides $50 million for the CAP program, and I would urge the chairman to consider, as the bill moves forward, that a higher funding level would certainly be money well spent. Regarding the Peace Corps, I am grateful for the inclusion of $325 million for the Peace Corps, which is an increase of $5 million above the fiscal year 2006 level, but is unfortunately $12 million below the President's request. I wish we could have done better. As the U.S. strives to create a better understanding of America in the world, the 7,800 Peace Corps volunteers serving from Armenia to Zambia are tangible evidence that America cares about its global neighbors. Peace Corps volunteers have worked in every corner of the world, including the Middle East, and demonstrated the ``human side'' of American assistance: promoting friendship, cross cultural understanding along with sustainable international development. Again, I appreciate the hard work that went into this bill and urge all my colleagues to support its passage.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5254, the Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act. Protecting our environment and promoting energy independence are two of the most important jobs I have as a Member of Congress, but before we can begin to consider building more refineries, we must first change our consumption habits. American consumption of oil has been increasing at an unsustainable rate. In 1995, we consumed 17.7 million barrels of oil per day, but today we consume 20.5 million barrels per day. The bottom line is we are not resolving our energy needs because we are not conserving. We'll just continue to consume more and waste more, consume more and waste more, and act like it doesn't matter. We are on a demand course that is simply unsustainable. We need to address rising energy prices by encouraging conservation and this bill fails to do anything to impact that. This bill will not affect gasoline prices or reduce our dependence on foreign oil. To feel relief from the price at the pump, we must focus on decreasing our consumption of oil and looking to alternative energy sources.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of H.R. 5449, which requires the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a contract. If this legislation is not passed, the FAA can impose unilaterally its contract on the union. By passing this legislation, Congress is not choosing sides, but is simply asking the two sides to come to a mutually agreeable contract solution. I believe Congress must encourage employers and unions to come to amicable solutions. I recently introduced legislation to improve the negotiating process at the National Labor Relations Board because many union employees feel that employers have an unfair advantage because they can hold out as long as it takes to get favorable terms in the contract. It seems to me Congress can lead by example by putting the air traffic controller contracting process on a more level playing field. Under current procedures for the FAA and the air traffic controllers, the FAA would have an advantage by holding out because they can eventually unilaterally impose their contract offer. It seems to me this legislation is fair to both sides. Our Nation's air safety relies on the men and women who work in air traffic control towers. I am hopeful both sides will work diligently towards a solution.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, while Rome is burning, we are eating grapes. We waste energy. We consume 25 percent of the world's energy, yet only 2.7 percent of the world's oil reserves are in the United States of America. We are depleting our savings account. The President was right. We are addicted to oil. George Miller and other Members of Congress are right. We are addicted to oil. We are addicted to fossil fuel. We consume fossil fuel at an alarming rate. We need to conserve. Mr. Boehlert is right. The proponents of this bill like to point out that if this legislation had been enacted 11 years ago, ANWR would now be producing oil. But Mr. Boehlert points out if we had higher conservation standards 11 years ago, we would save more oil than we would get from ANWR. The bottom line to me is very clear. ANWR is a national set aside area. It is a pristine area. It is a small part of Alaska and should not be mined. Why don't we mine the rest of Alaska, all the other parts of the northern slope and the rest of Alaska? We have only 2.7 percent of the world's oil reserves. We need to say ``no'' to the mining of ANWR, ``yes'' to exploring other areas, ``yes'' to other energy including, renewable energy, ``yes'' to conservation. Increase the mileage standards of SUVs, minivans and trucks, increase the mileage standards of cars, and we will save far more than we will ever get from ANWR.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment, which would provide funding for FEMA to conduct a comprehensive study of its emergency response and disaster relief services as a result of weather- related disasters associated with global warming. There is no doubt in my mind that global warming is happening and that man is contributing to it. Now, it is our responsibility to work to mitigate the impacts of potentially catastrophic climate change. 2005 is currently tied with 1998 for the warmest year on record. However, the warmth in 2005 is remarkable because, in contrast to 1998, it was not boosted by El Nino. And since 1990, we've had the 10 hottest years on record. Hurricanes are getting stronger, heat waves are hitting harder and more often, and the polar ice cap and Greenland's ice are melting. Several weeks ago, the Northeast saw some of the worst flooding in 70 years, and the strength of Hurricane Katrina created a tragedy of Biblical proportions. These examples of what climate change can do tell us we must act now before another disaster hits. We need to address climate change with concerted action and with bipartisan dialogue, regional cooperation and an alliance between industry and environmentalists. The threat from global warming is very real, and we must act now to combat potentially catastrophic climate change. We cannot leave this legacy to our children and grandchildren. We simply will not have a world to live in if we continue our neglectful ways.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I want to call attention to the important and essential role that oncology nurses play in providing quality cancer care. These nurses are principally involved in the administration and monitoring of chemotherapy and the associated side-effects patients experience. As anyone ever treated for cancer will tell you, oncology nurses are intelligent, well-trained, highly skilled, kind-hearted angels who provide quality clinical, psychosoclal and supportive care to patients, and their families. In short, they are integral to our Nation's cancer care delivery system. On behalf of the people with cancer and their families in Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District, I would like to specifically acknowledge Karen Stanley from Greenwich, Connecticut, for her service on the Oncology Nursing Society Board of Directors and her role as president of the Oncology Nursing Society. Through her steadfast leadership and commitment to the Oncology Nursing Society, Karen has advanced policies and programs that reduce and prevent suffering from cancer. I am proud that the Oncology Nursing Society has two chapters in my home State of Connecticut. Located in Berlin and Brookfield, these chapters serve the oncology nurses in the State and support them in the effort to provide high quality cancer care to patients and their families. Since 1975, the Oncology Nursing Society has been dedicated to excellence in patient care, teaching, research, administration, and education in the field of oncology. The Oncology Nursing Society is the largest organization of oncology health professionals the world with more than 33,000 registered nurses and other health care professionals. The Society's mission is to promote excellence in oncology nursing and quality cancer care. I commend Karen and her organization for all that they do in the field of oncology. Cancer is a complex multifaceted and chronic disease, and people with cancer are best served by a multidisciplinary health care team specialized in oncology care, including nurses who are certified in that specialty. According to the American Cancer Society, one in three women and one in two men will receive a diagnosis of cancer at some point in their lives, and one out of every four deaths in the United States results from cancer. This year approximately 17,320 people in Connecticut will be diagnosed with cancer and another 6,990 will lose their battles with this terrible disease. Every day, oncology nurses see the pain and suffering caused by cancer and understand the physical, emotional, and financial challenges that people with cancer face throughout their diagnosis and treatment. Today, more than two-thirds of cancer cases strike people over the age of 65, and the number of cancer cases diagnosed among senior citizens is projected to double by 2030. At the same time, many of the community-based cancer centers are facing significant barriers in hiring the specialized oncology nurses they need to treat cancer patients. We are on the verge of a major national nursing shortage, and it is estimated there will soon be a shortage of 1.1 million nurses. I would like to once again acknowledge and thank Karen Stanley for her hard work and leadership as president of ONS. As a nurse and leader in the field, Karen has made it her life's mission to help others and she should be applauded for all she has done.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I hope I don't use the whole minute, but just to say that as a Republican who believes in free markets, it is one of the big contradictions for me to constantly see some of my conservative colleagues argue for a Depression program, a program from the Depression era. This is a program that costs a billion dollars, it distorts the marketplace, and the reason we are debating it here is because we rarely get an opportunity to debate this kind of issue. It needs to be gone.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1736, legislation to allow judicial branch employees to participate in the Federal leave transfer program in the event of disasters and emergencies. In 1997, Congress authorized the creation of an emergency leave transfer program that allowed employees of the executive branch, as well as the Government Accountability Office, to transfer portions of their annual leave to other executive branch employees who are adversely affected by a natural disaster or emergencies. The 1997 legislation was built upon special procedures that were developed to assist Federal employees in the wake of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts petitioned Congress to consider extending the existing emergency leave transfer program to cover employees of the judicial branch. S. 1736, introduced last September by Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Susan Collins, was passed by the Senate last October. While it may be too late to benefit the approximately 400 judicial branch employees displaced by Hurricane Katrina, this authority will be available to judicial branch employees should disaster strike again. Mr. Speaker, this legislation demonstrates to our hardworking and dedicated Federal workforce that the Congress of the United States is committed to their safety and security. I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I just want to say that I should not have left out Senator Lieberman. Senator Lieberman and Senator Collins both worked very closely on a bipartisan basis to move forward important legislation. I think this is important legislation, and I join with my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), in urging passage of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1736) to provide for the participation of employees in the judicial branch in the Federal leave transfer program for disasters and emergencies.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Madam Speaker, the founding charter of Hamas reads, ``Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors.'' Madam Speaker, when your enemy says he is going to kill you, you better pay attention. The Hamas victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections is of great concern to me and many others and presents a major challenge to the peace process. Hamas ran a campaign primarily based on cleaning out the corruption of the Fatah party. The Palestinian people responded to this pledge, but sadly in the process elected a terrorist government. Unless Hamas recognizes the State of Israel's right to exist, ceases incitement and permanently disarms and dismantles their terrorist infrastructure, there is no hope for peace. The bottom line is neither our government nor Israel can meet with or provide assistance to a government led by this terrorist organization.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Shuster, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Young and Mr. Oberstar. I wanted to defer my opportunity to go before Mr. Lantos because it needs to be clear this began in the heart and mind of Mr. Lantos' wife, and we are merely instruments of her goodness. I rise, in support of H.R. 3858, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, which we do refer to as the PETS Act, which Congressman Lantos and I, as co-chairmen of the Friends of Animals Caucus, introduced. This commonsense bill requires State and local preparedness planners to include plans for evacuation of pet owners, pets and service animals, as has already been described by previous speakers. Hurricane Katrina left so many victims in its wake, including an estimated 600,000 animals that either lost their lives or were left without shelter. Hurricane Katrina taught us the hard lesson that, as we prepare for future emergencies, it is important we incorporate pet owners and their pets in our plans. Many pet owners had to choose between their safety and the safety of their pets, and anyone who owns a pet understands the difficult decisions that they had to make. In order to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, a jurisdiction is required to submit a plan detailing their disaster preparedness plan. The PETS Act would simply require State and local emergency preparedness authorities to plan for how they would accommodate household pets and service animals when presenting these plans to FEMA. Animals do not go before people, but animals will have a place in this plan. The human horror and devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama was a tragedy we are addressing, but it was also heartbreaking to hear stories of forcing evacuees to choose between being rescued or remaining with their pets. This bipartisan legislation is necessary because when asked to choose between abandoning their pets or their personal safety, many pet owners chose to risk their lives and would continue today to risk their lives and remain with their pets. The plight of the animals left behind was truly tragic. This is not just an animal protection issue; this is a public safety issue. Roughly two-thirds of American households own pets. We need to ensure the pets and their pet owners are protected. I urge my colleagues to support passage of this legislation. I, too, want to make reference to that young man; I guess he was around 7 years old. I think of him and think this young man may have lost his home, he may have lost everything he owned, but he had his pet. As long as he had his pet, he could deal with it. To see this pet being grabbed from him, to me it was the height of cruelty that I still have a hard time understanding and appreciating. When my mom and dad moved when I was 8 or 9 years old to another place, our pet dog, Mack, kept running back to the original house, and we lost him. For 2 years, I didn't have a pet, but I grew up with a pet. Then we moved to a new home and my parents could afford nothing else. They told me no Christmas presents. There would be no Christmas presents. My Christmas present was a new home, a brand new room, and I dealt with that. I thought, this year, no Christmas presents. They were gone Christmas Eve day, and they came home that night. They didn't tell me where they had been, which was very unusual. I was with my three older brothers. Then my parents asked me to come down into the garage. As I did, they were walking up holding a beautiful collie pup. That night I slept on the floor with Lance, my collie pup. I will never forget the joy I had. It was the best Christmas I ever had, and it was just one little gift, a pet that remained in our household for years. This is an important bill, and I urge its passage.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment to protect clean water. For more than three decades, the Clean Water Act has been protecting all of our Nation's waters from unregulated pollution, filling and destruction. However, in May 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule that changed the definition of ``fill material'' for both the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The new definition allows waste to be used to fill streams, wetlands and other waters. Allowing coal mining spoil and other types of waste material to be dumped into our waters and wetlands is contrary to the central goal of the Clean Water Act: preserving physical, chemical and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. While there may be a need for some regulatory changes so that the Corps and EPA use consistent definitions of ``fill'' material, this can and should be accomplished by ensuring that both agencies' definitions explicitly exclude the use of wastes to fill our Nation's waters--not, as proposed, to weaken the Corps' regulations to sanction this long- prohibited practice.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the resolution expressing the Sense of Congress that calls for mandatory reductions of greenhouse gas emissions to address global warming. There is no doubt in my mind that global warming is happening and that man is contributing to it. Now, it is our responsibility to work to mitigate the impacts of potentially catastrophic climate change. The year 2005 is currently tied for the warmest year on record with 1998. However, the warmth in 2005 is remarkable because, in contrast to 1998, it was not boosted by El Nino. And since 1990, we've had the 10 hottest years on record. Hurricanes are getting stronger, heat-waves are hitting harder and more often, and the polar ice cap and Greenland's ice are melting. We must act now. We need to deal with climate change with concerted action and with bipartisan dialogue, regional cooperation and an alliance between industry and environmentalists. The threat from global warming is very real, and we must act now to combat potentially catastrophic climate change. We cannot leave this legacy to our children and grandchildren. We simply will not have a world to live in if we continue our neglectful ways.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I wish to insert in the Congressional Record the following statement by Joseph Verner Reed, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Viewpoints: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan will step down from his position as Secretary-General when his second five-year term ends on December 31. The search for a successor to Secretary-General Annan promises to create differences within the U.N. Security Council. Russia and China back the customary procedure of rotating the post among the world's regions, while the U.S. and Britain are questioning the need to do so. Since the United Nations was established in October 1945, the post of Secretary-General has been held by Trygve Lie of Norway (1946-1953); Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden (1953-1961); U Thant of Burma (1961-1971); Kurt Waldheim of Austria (1972-1981); Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru (1982-1991); and Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt (1992-1996). Kofi A. Annan, who is from Ghana, has served since January 1997. The list of candidates widely discussed in the international press include: Aleksander Kwasniewski, former Polish president; Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Latvian president; Kemal Dervis, Turkey, currently head of the U.N. Development Program; Surakiart Sathirathai, Thailand's deputy prime minister; Shashi Tharoor, India, U.N. under-secretary-general for Communications and Public Information and an award- winning journalist/novelist; Ban Ki Moon, South Korea's foreign minister; Jose Ramos-Horta, foreign minister of East Timor and a 1996 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Jayantha Dhanapala, Sri Lanka, served as U.N. undersecretary-general for disarmament and as ambassador to the United States; Goh Chok Tong, former prime ministr of Singapore; and Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Jordanian ambassador to the U.N. The list is not exhaustive and the selection of a dark-horse candidate cannot be discounted. The BBC (February 14) reported, ``Analysts say there is much support for an Asian leader among U.N. member states, in line with an informal tradition that rotates the role on a geographical basis. But Washington's U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton said last month that Kofi Annan's successor should be selected on merit alone.'' There have been calls for a Woman as Secretary-General. Woman's groups have begun lobbying for a woman to succeed Secretary-General Annan. Their campaign has taken on new urgency with the recent announcement that Secretary-General Annan's deputy, Louise Frechette, appointed in 1998 partly because she was a woman, will leave in April to return to her native Canada. As the campaigns move forward it is to be noted that there are no established qualifications for the post, no search committees, no interviews, no background checks, no campaign rules and no forums for showcasing aspirants and their ideas. If history is a guide, it is likely that none of the discussed candidates will emerge the winner and that the person who does is not being publicly discussed. Wang Guangya, China's Ambassador (the PRC holding a Permanent seat on the Security Council) at a recent reception said China would support only candidates from Asia, a polite way of saying the PRC would threaten to veto candidates from elsewhere. The current Chief of Staff for the Secretary-General is Mark Malloch Brown, recently Head of the UNDP (United Nations Development Program). He will take the post of Deputy Secretary-General in April. Meanwhile, the Secretary General has presented a far- reaching report with proposals for an overhaul ranging from setting up a 2,500-strong core of mobile peacekeeping professionals to multimillion-dollar invesments in training and technology. His far-reaching report ``Investing in the United Nations: For a Stronger Organization Worldwide,'' focuses on ensuring efficiency and accountability in a way that reflects the fact that more than 70 per cent of the $10 billion annual budget now relates to peacekeeping and other field operations, up from around 50 per cent of a $4.5 billion budget ten years ago. ``Our current rules and regulations were designed for an essentially static Secretariat, whose main function was to service conferences and meetings of Member States, and whose staff worked mainly at Headquarters,'' the Secretary-General said as he presented the report in the General Assembly Hall. ``Today thanks to the mandates that Member States have given us, we are engaged directly in many parts of the world, working on the ground to improve the lives of people who need help.'' In the 16 years since the cold war ended, the Organization has taken on more than twice as many new peacekeeping missions as in the previous 44 years and spending on peacekeeping has quadrupled. Over half of its 30,000 civilian staff now serve in the field--not only in peacekeeping, but also in humanitarian relief, criminal justice, human rights monitoring, supporting national elections, and in the battle against drugs and crime. The Secretary-General's comprehensive reform blueprint was called for in the Outcome Document adopted by national leaders at last September's World Summit in New York. It builds on a package of reforms Mr. Annan launched last year to enhance ethics and accountability and address weaknesses exposed by the Indepdent Inquiry on the Oil-for-Food Programme as well as evidence of sexual exploitation in certain peace eping operations. In the report, the Secretary-General urges Member States to seize the moment for change. ``This is an opportunity, which may not occur again until another generation has passed, to transform the United Nations by aligning it with, and equipping it for, the substantive challenges it faces in the twenty-first century,'' he writes. ``It is a chance to give Member States the tools they need to provide strategic direction and hold the Secretariat fully accountable for its performance.'' While the report identifies a number of areas of potential cost savings and efficiencies, the primary financial message is that it is time to reverse years of underinvestment in people, systems and information technology to address operational deficiencies and ensure that the UN can reach the level of effectiveness expected by Member States. The Secretary-General said that although the UN had made a number of major organizational changes in recent rears to keep up with the increasing expectations of Member States, these efforts had only addressed the symptoms, not the causes, of the Organization's shortcomings. ``It is now time to reach for deeper, more fundamental change,'' he said. Along these lines, the proposals encompass a revamped version of how to recruit, contract, train, assign and compensate staff, with an emphasis on bringing conditions for field-based personnel up to par with those at other UN agencies operating in the field. This will include proposals for converting 2,500 existing short-term peacekeeping positions into a new flexible and mobile core of dedicated specialists who can be deployed rapidly in urgent peacekeeping and special political missions. ``Increasingly complex mandates require staff with different skills,'' the Secretary-General told the Assembly. ``We need to be able to recruit and retain leaders, managers and personnel capable of handling large multidisciplinary operations, with increasingly high budgets. ``As things stand,'' he added, ``many of our staff, especially the field staff who serve with great idealism and integrity, often in situations of hardship and danger are demoralized and de- motivated by lack of opportunities for promotion, and by the frustrattons of dealing with a bureaucracy that can seem both excessive and remote.'' The report calls for consolidating reporting to address logjams associated with the current system, where over 100 senior UN officials are directly answerable to the Secretary- General. It also proposes the formal delegation of responsibility for management policies and overall operational matters to a redefined post of Deputy Secretary- General to help free the Secretary-General to focus on political and policy issues. The report also proposes significant investment to overhaul the Organization's information and communications infrastructure by replacing current antiquated, fragmented technology systems with an integrated global platform that should be led by a dedicated Chief Information Technology Officer. Separately, the report identifies significant opportunities to realize cost savings and efficiency gains, recommending that the Secretariat explore options for alternative service delivery, including the potential for relocating core functions from Headquarters to lower cost duty stations and possible outsourcing of less central functions such as printing. One area where investment could yield substantial savings is procurement, where the report outlines change that would improve transparency and realize up to $400 million. A number of the proposals fall under the direct authority of the Secretary-General, who said he intends to immediately carry them out. But most of the fundamental changes, particularly with regard to budget and personnel issues, require approval from Member States. To help ensure momentum for this agenda through the end of his term and to help equip his successor to follow through, the Secretary-General also proposes creating a Change Management Office that would seek to work closely with Member States to drive the implementation of the reforms. In the report, Mr. Annan cautions against complacency, stressing that the proposals must mark the beginning of a process that will be carried over the next several years. ``One of the weaknesses of the old culture is precisely the view that a report or a vote in itself represents change,'' he notes. ``In practice, reports and votes enable and authorize change, but change itself is the long march that follows.'' Last week the international community took an important step forward in the fight for global human rights by way of the General Assembly voting to adopt a new Human Rights Council. The new Human Rights Council represents a significant improvement over the old, discredited Human Rights Commission because it includes a number of new provisions and characteristics that will significantly strengthen the UN's human rights machinery and prevent human rights violators from participating in the Council. The President of the General Assembly, Jan Eliasson, has done a masterful job of diplomacy, as demonstrated by the broad support that exists among governments and non- governmental organizations. His proposal was made considerably stronger through pledges by a large number of countries. These recent pledges will help ensure that countries with dubious human rights records will not be elected to the new Council and that countries under Security Council sanctions are prevented from participating in the Council. The new commitments significantly enhance the proposal and set the stage for additional efforts to strengthen the new body as it is formed and made operational. Countries committed to human rights must know that leadership and diplomacy can continue to improve the Council as it gets up and running and into the future. While this unfortunate that the United States found itself virtually alone in New York and was unable to join consensus, it is a positive sign that the United States did not abandon the Council altogether. Result of the GA resolution on Human Rights Council: 170 in favour; 44 against (U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau); and 3 abstained (Venezuela, Iran, Belarus). Building on these principles, the U.S. should participate actively in the next phase of the Council, exercising leadership and summoning enlightened diplomacy to advance the Council and the cause of human rights. The creation of this new Council--which was mandated by world leaders in last September's summit at the UN--also fuels the momentum in the ongoing reform process at the UN. The Secretary-General attended the World Economic Forum in January of this year and addressed the Plenary Session: ``A New Mindset for the United Nations'' ``Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends: ``Some of you may remember me coming to Davos nine years ago, as a freshly minted Secretary-General. ``Since then I have attended all but three of your annual meetings--including the memorable one in 2002 when you came to show confidence in New York, after the attack on the World Trade Center. ``So I did not hesitate one minute, Klaus, before accepting your kind invitation to come here once more, at the beginning of my last year in office. And I was also very happy to accept the title you suggested for this session--`a new mindset for the United Nations'. ``Why? because it expresses something I have striven to achieve throughout these nine years, and something in which Davos itself has played a part. ``In 1999, when I came here and called for a `global compact' between the United Nations and the private sector, many of my colleagues in the Secretariat--and many representatives of member States--would hardly have been more shocked if I had proposed a compact with the Devil. ``It is the mindset that I have been seeking to change throughout my time in office--the mindset that sees international relations as nothing more than relations between States, and the United Nations as little more than a trade union for governments. ``My objective has been to persuade both the member States and my colleagues in the Secretariat that the United Nations needs to engage not only with governments but with people. Only if it does that, I believe, can it fulfill its vocation and be of use to humanity in the 21st century. ``That's why, in the year 2000, I used the first words of the UN Charter, `We the Peoples' as the title of my report setting out the agenda for the Millennium Summit, at which political leaders from all over the world came together to assess the challenges of a new century, and adopted a collective response, known as the `Millennium Declaration.' ``And that was why last year, in my report called `In Larger Freedom', I urged governments to accept that security and development are interdependent, and that neither can be long sustained without respect for human rights and the rule of law. ``That report was intended as the blueprint, not only for a far-reaching reform of the United Nations itself, but also for a series of decisions that would enable humanity to realize the aims of the Millennium Declaration, particularly in the light of new challenges that had arisen since. ``How far the blueprint will be translated into reality, remains to be seen. But in the meantime the United Nations has not stood still. Far from it! This has been a decade of rapid change. Let me give you a few examples. ``When I took office there was a widespread perception, based on the tragic events in Bosnia, Somalia and Rwanda, that UN peacekeeping was a failed experiment, and that henceforth this task would have to be handled by regional organizations. ``Peacekeepers, especially in countries where conflict is still raging--where there is literally no peace to keep-- continue to face immense challenges. Even so, today we have 85,000 people serving in 16 UN peacekeeping operations, spread across four continents. Most of these operations are not static observers of a truce, but active participants in the implementation of peace agreements, helping the people of war-torn countries make the transition from war to peace. ``Certainly, in many parts of the world regional organizations play an important role, and so they should. But most often they do so in partnership with the United Nations. The UN has become, in effect, the indispensable mechanism for bringing international help to countries recovering from conflict--and member States have now recognized this by agreeing to set up a Peacebuilding Commission, within the UN, to manage this highly complex process. ``The last decade has also seen growing use of United Nations economic sanctions. These are now used to influence or restrict the activity not only of recalcitrant States, but also of non-State actors, such as rebel movements or terrorist groups. At the same time, the Security Council has developed more sophisticated and humane types of sanctions, aimed at individuals rather than whole societies--travel bans, for instance, and the freezing of bank accounts. ``The same philosophy of punishing individuals rather than communities has driven the work of the UN criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia--one of which was the first international court to convict people of genocide (including a former prime minister) and of rape as a war crime, while the other has become the first to indict and try a former Head of State. ``This in turn has led to further innovations, including the mixed tribunal in Sierra Leone and, of course, the International Criminal Court. The latter is not an organ of the United Nations, but the UN convened and serviced the conference, which adopted its Statute in 1998. ``Over 100 States have now ratified the Statute--which means that the Court's jurisdiction is now recognized by well over half the UN's membership. ``Another way the UN has changed is the increasing focus on human rights--which is reflected in the recent decision by member States to strengthen the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. That office is now a dynamic operational entity, which deploys and supports hundreds of human rights workers around the world. And I hope that within the next week or two we may see agreement on a corresponding change at the intergovernmental level, with the establishment of a more authoritative Human Rights Council, to replace the now widely discredited Commission. ``One more example of change: the United Nations has responded to the growth of international terrorism. Even before `9/11', the Security Council had imposed sanctions on Al-Qaida, and set up a special committee to monitor its activities. Immediately after the attack, the Council went much further, with its historic resolution 1373, which imposed stringent obligations on all countries, established a list of terrorist organizations and individuals, and created the Counter-Terrorism Committee to monitor member States' compliance and help them improve their capacity to enact and implement anti-terrorist legislation. ``In short, I believe the United Nations is proving itself an increasingly flexible instrument, to which its member States turn for a wider and wider array of functions. ``For instance, within the last five years the UN has been asked: to shepherd Afghanistan's transition from the anarchic wasteland of the Taliban and the warlords to the nascent democracy--still struggling, but hopeful--that it is today; to help establish the Interim Government of Iraq, and to help organize the referendum and elections there--as it has supported democratic elections in half the world's nations over the last 12 years; to verify the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and carry out, for the first time ever, a full criminal investigation into the assassination of a former prime minister; to coordinate global relief efforts after the tsunami, and again after the earthquake in Kashmir; and to take the lead in raising global awareness, as well as funds, to protect the world's peoples against avian flu. ``What all these activities have in common is that they involve the United Nations not simply in relations among its member States, but also in the lives of their peoples. To carry out such tasks, we must engage not only with governments but with all the new actors on the international scene. ``That includes the private sector, but it also includes parliamentarians; voluntary, non-profit organizations; philanthropic foundations; the global media; celebrities from the worlds of sport and entertainment; and in some cases labour unions, mayors and local administrators. And it includes less benign actors such as terrorists, warlords, and traffickers in drugs, illicit weapons or--worst of all--the lives and bodies of human beings. ``That is why I have repeatedly urged all the organs of the United Nations to be more open to civil society, so that their decisions can fully reflect the contribution made by groups and individuals who devote themselves to studying specific problems, or working in specific areas. ``It is also why I myself have cultivated contacts with scholars, with parliamentarians, with practitioners of all sorts, and with young people--seeking to learn from their views and also encouraging them, whatever sector they work in, to use their talents for the public good and to keep the global horizon in view. ``It is one of the reasons why I have worked constantly to make our Organization more transparent and comprehensible to the public, and thereby more genuinely accountable. ``And, of course, it is why I launched the Global Compact, to which the international business community--including some of you in this audience--has responded with such enthusiasm that it is now the world's leading corporate citizenship initiative, involving more that 2,400 companies, in nearly 90 countries. ``This new mindset must also extend to the domain of international peace and security--so that we think of security not only in conventional terms, focusing on prevention of war between States, but also as including the protection of the world's peoples, against threats which, to many of them today, seem more immediate and more real. ``One of those threats is the threat of genocide and other crimes against humanity. I called the General Assembly's attention to this in 1999, warning that such mass atrocities can never be treated as a purely domestic affair. Being rightly called crimes against humanity, they demand a collective response from humanity, which should be organized and legitimized by the United Nations. ``More recently, the High-Level Panel that I appointed in 2003 has identified a broad range of threats, including: poverty, infectious disease and environmental degradation; conflict within States, as well as between them; the spread of nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons; terrorism; and transnational organized crime. ``My `Larger Freedom' report built on this re-definition of global security, drawing it together with the detailed recommendations of the Millennium Project for achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015--which in itself would rescue many millions of people from the threats of poverty and disease. ``But my report also included a third dimension: human rights and the rule of law. Without these, any society, however well-armed, will remain insecure; and its development, however dynamic, will remain precarious. ``Member States took the report as their starting-point in negotiating the outcome of last September's world summit. I won't say that that document fulfills all my hopes. But it does contain many important decisions--from the creation of a Peacebuilding Commission and Human Rights Council, through the commitments to advance the Millennium Development Goals, to the acceptance, by all States individually and collectively, of the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. ``Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, ``The United Nations cannot stand still, because the threats to humanity do not stand still. Every day the world presents new challenges, which the founders of the UN 60 years ago could never have anticipated. Whether it is a looming crisis over Iran and its compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, continuing atrocities in Darfur, or the threat of an avian flu pandemic, people all over the world look to the United Nations to play a role in making peace, protecting civilians, improving livelihoods, promoting human rights and upholding international law. I have worked long and hard to transform the United Nations so that when called upon, as we are every day, we will deliver what is asked of us--effectively, efficiently and equitably. That is the true objective of the changes I have sought to bring about, and it will be the true measure of my success or failure. ``And my successor--since I understand several members of this panel may be interested in the position--need not worry. Changing the mindset of the United Nations, so that it can both reflect and influence the temper of the times, is a never-ending challenge. There will be plenty more work to do in the years and decades to come.'' I have worked for three Secretary Generals and been at post for some 20 years. I am honored to have worked for the House of Peace. As we approach the new era of a new Secretary- General I say it is time for renewal.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, before the gentlelady leaves, I want to thank her for I think just a very moving and important message about what Israelis are faced with. I just thank her for that message. Mr. Speaker, I would like specifically to talk about Iraq and to say that in the 12 visits I have had to Iraq, when I ask Iraqis what their biggest fear is, it almost always is this: ``That you will leave us.'' Then they might say, ``That you will leave us before we can grab hold of democracy.'' Well, I have to say, frankly, that is one of my biggest fears. I am not afraid that we will see the war in Iraq lost in Iraq. I am most fearful that we will see the war in Iraq lost here at home. It would seem a little surprising to say that I have seen significant progress in Iraq, because people see the way we were in April 2003 and they think it was so exciting, and they compare it to April 2003. But, unfortunately, after April 2003 there was a significant decline in what took place in Iraq. First we allowed the looting. And to Iraqis, they would ask me when I would go there, why did you allow people to trash our country? These were not all Iraqis who were doing it. These were people who were looting. And Americans were just standing by and allowed this to happen. And they believed, frankly, that we wanted it to happen, because they believed that we could have prevented it had we wanted to. And then we proceeded to disband their army, their border patrol and their police and leave 24 million Iraqis totally and completely defenseless in a country the size of California. And then what did we do? We said to 150,000 coalition forces, primarily Americans, some Brits, that you had to be the police, the border patrol and the army in a country the size of California with 24 million people. That was basically an impossible task. And so what I saw happen in April 2003 is that things just kept getting worse. They were worse in December 2003. And even worse by April 2004. But then, at that point, we had started to reverse the slide. We reversed it by beginning to train their police, their border patrol and their army. And we began to see a change when we transferred power in June of 2004. And Iraqis started to take ownership. And so when I kept going back every 3 to 4 months, I kept seeing progress. And then by 2005, I was there for the elections when they took place in January of 2005. It is just historic and moving, every time I think about it. Iraqis came out and voted. The Sunnis did not, but the Shiias and the Kurds did. They formed a government, and they created a constitutional convention and invited Sunnis in. They did not participate in the voting, so they were not represented, but they were invited in. And they created a constitution. They voted on that constitution by October. And I was told by the UN that it would be one of the fairest elections with the best participation, put our elections to shame, and frankly it did. Mubarak of Egypt, the president, said they would not accept their constitution. 79 percent ratified it. It was extraordinary. And now they had this constitution and a third election in just 11 months. And 76 percent of 100 percent of the eligible voters voted. Now if you get 65 percent voting in our country, that is 65 percent of the two-thirds that bother to register. So it was an amazing event. They chose a government. But Jafari, the prime minister who was selected by the Shiias was not liked by the Sunnis and the Kurds, and the minority said no to the majority, and the majority said we rule. And the minority side minority rights. And they went back and forth, and for 3 months we had this standoff. The minority was able to demonstrate minority rights, and the majority was able to say we accept your minority rights. That is maturity taking place. Now you have a new prime minister, and this new prime minister is reaching out to Sunnis, Shiias and Kurds. When I ask a Kurd if they are a Kurd or a Shiia, or Shiia if they are Shiia or Sunni, they will say, I am a Sunni, but I am married to a Shiia, or I am a Shiia and my son is married to a Sunni. And if I ask a Kurd, they will say I am Kurd, but you do not seem to understood. Kurds are Sunnis. We tend to divide them up more than they do. My biggest fear is that in spite of the progress that is being made, huge progress, in spite of the fact that Sunni radicals tried to ignite the country in sectarian violence, you only saw that sectarian violence in two places, Baghdad and Ramadi, and actually Basra. They held off. This is an amazing thing that we are seeing take place. The Iraqis deserve our staying the course with them. They did not attack us, we attacked them. We disbanded their army, their police and their border patrol. It is absolutely imperative, absolutely imperative that we not leave before they have their police, their border patrol, and their army to protect themselves.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Madam Chairman, protecting our environment is one of the most important jobs I have as a Congressman. Unfortunately, the legislation before us today would hurt, rather than protect, our forests by speeding up destructive logging projects in national forests impacted by natural disturbances. H.R. 4200 would limit critical environmental reviews and excludes the public from the decision making process. Basic protections for streams, critical wildlife habitat, old growth forests, roadless areas, fragile soils, and other essential natural resources would be removed under this legislation. Science suggests logging harms damaged forests and impedes their recovery, and can actually increase the likelihood and severity of future forest fires. A study by researchers at Oregon State University has shown allowing forests to recover naturally after a fire increases forest regeneration and decreases the risk of future fires. I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation. Congress can and must do a better job protecting our environment. We simply will not have a world to live in if we continue our neglectful ways.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. SHAYS. It is my understanding that the chairman, if we can close this debate quickly, will gladly accept it. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Slaughter/Shays/Dicks/Leach/ Price amendment which will increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities. As Dana Goia, the NEA Chairman, said ``A great nation deserves great art.'' How we prioritize the arts and humanities and their impact on our society and children's education says a lot about us as Americans. Support of the arts should come from so many sources--individuals, foundations, arts consumers, and, yes, taxpayers. In a bill where we are spending $29.5 billion on various government programs, I believe spending $275.3 million on cultural programs is well worth the investment. It is a moderate amount of money that can have a big impact because today's economy is driven by ideas and innovation. In fact, nationwide, there are 548,000 businesses involved in the creation or distribution of the arts and employ 2.9 million people. The fourth District of Connecticut is home to 2,841 arts-related businesses employing 14,711 people. The Federal investment in the arts is the smallest part of arts funding. But we have a role--an important one. A stabilizing one. And one that we should continue. I grew up in an arts family. My parents--both performing actors--met in the theater. Listening to my father play the piano each night and hearing stories from their days on the stage gave me a profound appreciation for creative expression--an appreciation that I know so many of the constituents I represent share. I thank the Chairman Taylor and Ranking Member Dicks for their continued support of the arts and humanities. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 751, recognizing American Ballet Theatre as a cultural and educational resource for our Nation. Over the last 65 years, American Ballet Theatre has elevated the artistry and talent of classical dance in the United States, and has brought a greater appreciation and understanding of the arts to countless people in all 50 States and around the world. American Ballet Theatre has developed a special relationship with Connecticut through the award-winning Make a Ballet Program. Since 2002, ABT has been offering this program at The Waterside School, an independent, private day school in Stamford, which introduces low-income children to ballet. ABT Teaching Artists come to the school twice a week and provide a thorough introduction to the arts and high-quality dance instruction. This long-term, in-depth exposure to the arts leaves indelible impacts on the students, instilling a sense of confidence and accomplishment, and planting seeds that will reap appreciation for the arts for years to come. American Ballet Theatre also holds a Ballet for the Young Dancer program at the YWCA in Greenwich each year, providing children between the ages of 5 and 12 with weekly ballet classes with some of the finest dancers in the world. While the grand performances that American Ballet Theatre presents have established it as one of the world's great ballet companies, it is the interactions with local communities across America that truly distinguish ABT as a national treasure. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the consideration of this amendment, which I believe is very reasonable and will help ensure our government is taking proper steps to protect the health of our troops. Like many heavy metals such as lead, depleted uranium is harmful when the resulting particles from a burned round are inhaled or ingested. The use of these munitions, however, also provides a significant advantage to our soldiers because they have the speed, mass, and physical properties to penetrate exceptionally well against highly armored targets.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Davis amendment which would lift the ban on personally funded abortion care provided at overseas military bases. Since over 200,000 women serve overseas in military bases and are denied the right under Roe v. Wade to terminate a pregnancy, we need this legislation. This legislation would restore the right of a female service member who has been stationed overseas to use their own funds to obtain an abortion as they would be able to do if they were back home. I urge adoption of this amendment. And I speak adamantly against our present policy that while allowing women who have been raped or been impregnated by a family member or whose life is in danger because of an unhealthy pregnancy to have an abortion, they have to pay for it themselves. That is wrong. While we are not addressing this issue today at least we can move forward with the Davis amendment.