Hilda Solis

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to bring to this House an affordable and guaranteed Medicare prescription drug benefit to seniors. So far, my Republican colleagues have proposed a bill that does nothing to lower the cost of prescription drugs and actually raises seniors' Medicare part B deductible at a rate of eight times higher than their Social Security cost of living increase, which was just 1.5 percent. Perhaps they are not hearing the same message that I hear when I go home and talk to my constituents. In the cities that I represent in East Los Angeles and in the San Gabriel Valley, seniors are telling me that they want an affordable and guaranteed drug benefit, just like the Democratic plan. They do not want a voucher program that dismantles Medicare as they know it. They simply want their medicine, and they want a choice to be able to keep their doctor. Thirty-eight years ago this program was created. So many people in our district, the district that I represent, feel that this is their safety net and here we are attempting to try to privatize it. That is the wrong thing to do while people right now are struggling to make ends meet. Vote down this proposition that is being put forward by the Republican Party.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be here tonight to talk about a very important issue that is resonating across the country, and just recently on my return back from my district, more importantly, the issue of Medicare and prescription drug reform which is impacting largely low-income working families and especially many of the families that I represent in my district in California, Latino working families. The facts are clear, 87 percent of uninsured Latinos come from working taxpaying families. However, nearly 60 percent of Latinos live in families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level. Many of these families, 37 percent, in fact, lack basic access to quality care. Low-income elderly Latinos face incomparable barriers to health care at just about every corner of their lives. Linguistic, cultural, financial burdens continually impede their health access that would otherwise be available to every American. When President Johnson signed the Medicare bill back in 1965 he said, and I quote: ``No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine.'' Medicare was not created to exclude the elderly in exchange to enrich private insurance companies. The Republican proposal as I see it undermines the universal character of Medicare that ensures quality for all seniors. Instead, it provides different benefits to different seniors depending on your income. Figures estimate that the Medicare beneficiaries who spend $4,000 or more out of pocket on drugs are not individuals making less than 100 percent of poverty, not those between 100 and 200 percent of poverty, but those individuals who live with incomes greater than 200 percent of poverty. These are the people we are asking to pay the most for their prescription drugs. The House Republican bill increases costs for seniors by $8 billion and does not offer meaningful benefits, nor does it make drugs affordable for our seniors. How can we even realistically say we are attempting to improve the lives of all Americans when the Latinos and low-income elderly population are the most susceptible for falling between the privatized cracks? There are more than 214,000 Latino Medicare beneficiaries currently residing in the State where I come from, in California, and over 55 percent of those seniors report having little or no information. They do not even know about the bilingual toll-free Medicare phone number. Some do not even have telephones in their homes. Who will care for those beneficiaries when the Republicans impose unaffordable premiums, requiring spending up to $250 before they can receive any help at all? This even prohibits the HHS Secretary from negotiating better prices. I thought he was supposed to be working on our side on behalf of our consumers and our seniors. With private and for-profit managed care plans competing to entice healthy seniors to enroll, traditional Medicare will be forced to raise out-of-pocket costs astronomically for the sickest and most disabled beneficiaries. The holes in the cracks are visible. We are just seeing what has occurred in the State of California where many beneficiaries were dumped and they were left without care. I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to think of the future of these populations, the low-income, taxpaying. Whether they are Latino or not, let us help all the elderly who deserve accessible and meaningful Medicare plans. Let us protect our Nation by caring for all American seniors, and let us begin by working with the program that we know works, that will make a difference for all of us.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Ms. Minnie Lopez-Baffo, the first Latina appointed to serve on the California Contractors State Licensing Board, as she completes her last term on the Board. As a member of the California Contractors State Licensing Board since 1995, Ms. Lopez-Baffo has worked on legislation and consumer education committees utilizing her knowledge and expertise to educate and protect California consumers. While she served as Board Chair from July 2001 through June 2002, Ms. Lopez-Baffo was known as a fair and impartial leader and a dedicated guardian of the rights of consumers. Ms. Lopez-Baffo is an exemplarily leader whose diligent work and dedication to her community inspired others to work hard. I am honored to call her my friend and I commend her for her vision and dedication to advocate on behalf of California's consumers.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise also to express my strong support for the Rangel substitute and to thank the ranking member for his continual struggle for equitable and just tax laws. Just tax laws are fiscally responsible and fairly allocated. Nowhere is this injustice of the Republican leadership better illustrated than in the shrewd treatment of the child tax credit. To ensure at all costs that the rich campaign donors will get the maximum tax credits, Republicans cut out 200,000 military families that they just sent to war, these men and women that are serving abroad. They cut out working families. They cut out single working mothers. They cut out hard working people from all over the world who come to America to seek a better life and play by the rules and pay taxes. I looked at my district in Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley and East Los Angeles, and saw that one out of four families would get no tax relief. In fact, in my own district, I do not even have one single millionaire. So there you go. People pay in but they do not get anything out. And I saw that instead they would be saddled with the huge debts of tax. For years to come their children have to bear this. They would lose essential health care services. And today in our Committee on Energy and Commerce, we are debating the demise, the demise of Medicare, services that are so vital and important to the health of our senior citizens. With less money for infrastructure and environmental protections and Social Security, that is what the Republicans want to talk about. And I am happy that along with my Democratic colleagues, we cried out the last few weeks against this injustice and the country listened to us. In fact, the other body and the President responded by agreeing to restore the child tax credit. But these folks on the other side, they do not want to listen. They think that somehow nobody is paying attention. They use the child tax credit to try to make a $400 billion deficit even bigger. There you go. They take, they take, they take, but they do not give back. I implore my colleagues to please, across the aisle, please support the Rangel substitute.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Task Force and want to call the attention to the imposed impact that the so-called Medicare reform will have not only on the Latino community but across the Nation as well. Minority Medicare beneficiaries including Latinos are among the fastest-growing portions of this population, and they currently represent about 16 percent of the total Medicare population; but by the year 2025, Latinos are expected to account for 18 percent of the elderly population. Yet time after time we ignore the needs of the community by creating packages that help HMOs and the private insurance industry and not necessarily our seniors. Just look at the proposed Republican Medicare prescription drug plan. They want to strip Medicare's foundation by forcing seniors to change plans, change doctors, change pharmacies, and even change the drugs that they take every 12 months. Not only are the enrollment procedures extremely complex, now we are asking our Nation's elderly to make incredible changes that many will feel uncomfortable about making into a program that does not even make drugs affordable for our seniors; and nearly 60 percent of Latinos live with families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level and 87 percent of the uninsured, that means working poor families, Latinos coming and trying to receive some type of health care benefit. Yet how can we even realistically say that we are attempting to improve the lives of all American seniors when the Latino elderly population, which is the fastest growing, will be the most susceptible in this privatized plan? There are more than 214,000 Latino Medicare beneficiaries right now residing in the State of California that I represent. Fifty-five percent of Latino seniors covered under California's Medicare program report having little or no information about Medicare, including access to a toll-free Medicare number; and I say that specifically because we need to improve access to different communities in their respective languages so that we can really access and have the benefit of having all seniors participate in these programs. Who is going to care for these beneficiaries when the Republicans impose unaffordable premiums, require spending of $250 before they receive any help at all? In some cases in my district that would be disastrous. It would mean not being able to pay their rent or be able to buy additional medicine that they need because $250 is a large amount for people in my district. It even prohibits, get this, the HHS Secretary, Secretary Tommy Thompson, from negotiating better prices. Hello? I thought that is what his job was there for. He was supposed to watch out for our interests. We cannot ignore the 25 percent of Latinos compared to 10 percent of non-Latino whites who do not have supplemental insurance along with traditional Medicare, and in my district Latino seniors continuously share with me their concerns about the monthly Medicare premiums and the costs of prescription drugs. We have to make the prescription drug benefit an advantage for all Americans regardless of where they come from and regardless of what language they speak, and we need to help our country's seniors and people with disabilities navigate through an affordable system made easily available and meaningful to them and protecting their benefits. We need to protect the choices that they currently have because that is what really matters at the end of the day. We need to provide physician choice, pharmacy availability, and prescription drug selection. Let us not strip the security from our seniors. Let us work toward a program that helps improve all the lives of our seniors.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Chairman, during rollcall vote No. 268 on the Jackson- Lee amendment to H.R. 1115, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Announcement by the Chairman pro tempore

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Mr. Chairman, I would like to also voice my strong opposition to this bill, H.R. 1115. This bill is worse than what we saw last year, and it would be applied retroactively to pending cases, including those brought by employees at Enron for financial fraud, Dow Chemical for environmental charges, and Wal-Mart for employment discrimination against women. In midstream the bill would strip the rights of plaintiffs in these cases, causing expensive and wasteful interruption of their pursuit for justice and equal treatment under the law. In the wake of corporate scandals, workers in our country have lost well over $175 billion in retirement savings. Let us look at the real facts here. In California alone, workers have lost over $18 billion in retirement savings. At a time when we should be holding corporations more accountable, not less, their bill sends the wrong message. Congress should stand up and protect consumers, employees, pensioners, and not corporate wrongdoers. They call this the Class Action Fairness bill? I am sorry. In my language it is a mentiras. That means it is a lie. I urge my colleagues to please vote for the Sandlin-Conners substitute.

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Chairman, during rollcall vote No. 269 on the Lofgren/ Sanchez amendment to H.R. 1115 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute No. 4 Offered by Mr. Sandlin

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Chairman, during rollcall vote No. 270 on the Sandlin amendment to H.R. 1115 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and remember Sergeant Atanasio Haro Marin, who lost his life in service to our Nation during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Today was his funeral. He came from a city I represent in Baldwin Park. He was a member of Battery C, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division of Fort Hood, Texas. Today I pay tribute to him, to his loved ones, to his family for the safety and freedom and protections that he gave us. Let us not forget the other soldiers that are there that are also protecting our freedoms. Mr. Speaker, I ask that Members of Congress please join me in extending my sincerest sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of Sergeant Atanasio Haro Marin, and would ask that all Americans join me in remembering our soldiers at this time.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and remember Sergeant Atanasio Haro Marin who lost his life in service to our nation during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sergeant Haro Marin was a member of Battery C, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) of Fort Hood, Texas, and was from Baldwin Park, CA. Sergeant Haro Marin exemplified the very best of our great nation. He represents the spirit of the brave soldier, exhibiting courage, selfless service, and honor beyond measure. His heroic actions have contributed to the safety, freedom, and security of our nation, Iraq, and the world. I would like to extend my sincerest sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of Sergeant Haro Marin, and would ask that all Americans join me in remembering our soldiers and their loved ones during these challenging times. Though Sergeant Haro Marin has passed, his spirit remains in the freedom that each and every American enjoys. Through his valiancy, bravery, and fearless commitment to the Armed Services of our nation, many lives have been touched. Our nation is privileged to have service men and women like Sergeant Haro Marin willing to risk their lives for the greater good of our country. I urge my colleagues to join me in remembering the life of Sergeant Atanasio Haro Marin.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today also to join with my colleagues in celebrating Patsy Mink. We are going to honor her by naming a post office after her, but she deserves so much more. She was a wonderful human being whom I had a chance to know in my first term here in Congress. She was a warrior, a warrior in the sense that she fought for those who were voiceless. She was a champion for women's rights, equality, civil rights and environmental justice, someone whom I believe will always be remembered in the halls here of Congress. She was a role model not only to women of color but also to the many, many young women who were striving for equality in the sports field, to even the playing field. Today with much honor, I wear a symbol of shattering the glass ceiling. This pin that I am wearing, this brooch, symbolizes women breaking through and challenging and shattering the glass ceiling. Patsy Mink was one of those warriors, someone who was always constantly testing our tenacity, encouraging us as women and new Members here in the House to step forward. She was tremendous in the arguments and debates that occurred on welfare reform. Even though we did not get what we wanted, she was there. I commend the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case) and the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie), who are paying tribute to her. She is a wonderful individual. I would ask our colleagues to support this measure.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to speak on behalf of future generations of Americans. The needs of these children, and their children, are clear. They need a strong economy, quality education, health care and a clean environment. The $350 billion tax cut passed by House Republicans provides none of this. In fact, the tax cut steals from the future to feed the greedy of today. Last-minute changes made by Republicans will prevent families, like this one, with incomes of less than $26,000, who have 11.9 million children, from receiving the child tax credit. In fact, 1 out of every 4 families in my district in California will get no child tax credit. Working families, like the one pictured here, who told me how hard they are working just to provide basic needs for their children, will get nothing. House Republicans claim they could not fit these families into their tax cut. Somehow they found plenty of room, however, to allow corporations such as Enron to continue to hide $50 billion in offshore tax shelters. How can I go back to my district and tell families such as this one that their children will get no tax relief because Republicans chose to protect corporate tax shelters instead? In the Republican plan to rob the future, millionaires get $90,000 in tax cuts, while working families like this one, who build and invigorate our economy, will get next to nothing. For example, 47 percent of the people in my State of California will get a total tax cut of less than $100. One hundred dollars does not go too far in California, which has some of the highest costs of living in the country; 140,000 of those families in my district will get no child tax credit, and many of these families saw their sons and daughters and fathers and mothers go off to the war. Across the country, there are 250,000 children of active duty military families, such as these, that will receive no child tax credit. These families all sacrifice when we ask them to protect future generations of Americans. How can I go home and tell these families that their own and future generations will get nothing because Republicans would not even sacrifice a few thousand dollars of the millionaire's $93,000 tax cut? Families in my district and across the country suffer from rapidly increasing rates of asthma and respiratory disease. How can I tell them the pollution that compromises their health will only get worse because Republicans made room for $100,000 tax breaks for the largest, most polluting SUVs? These same families, along with families of 9.2 million children across the country, already cannot get relief for their children because they have no health insurance. How can I tell them that we could have provided this coverage, but instead Republicans chose to create a $350 billion tax cut that goes mostly to the wealthy? Everywhere we look we see future generations in peril. We have schools that need $300 billion in maintenance and repair, a No Child Left Behind Act that is short $9.7 billion, 44 million people with no health care, basic water infrastructure in critical decline, and 9 million people unemployed. With a $400 billion deficit and 100,000 jobs lost from the economy each month, we have few resources and little time to deal with this problem. Yet Republicans spend our time forcing through a tax plan that primarily helps millionaires, offshore tax haven, and large SUVs. This is nothing short of a crime. The future has been stolen from future generations, like this family.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to introduce a bill designating a post office after Francisco Martinez Flores, a courageous and dedicated Marine from the city of Duarte in California in my congressional district. Lance Corporal Francisco Martinez Flores demonstrated his courage and his love of our country when he lost his life serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom just 2 weeks before gaining his U.S. citizenship. I take this opportunity not only to pay tribute to Lance Corporal Martinez Flores as a brave and self-sacrificing Marine, but also to remember him as a loving son, brother, a friend to those living in California's 32nd Congressional District. Known affectionately by his friends and family as ``Panchito'', Lance Corporal Martinez grew up in the city of Duarte, having emigrated with his family at the age of 3 from Mexico. He attended Duarte High School, where he displayed both his artistic and athletic talents by participating in the high school football team and jazz band. After graduating from high school in June of 2000, Francisco enlisted in the Marines and was assigned to the First Marine Division Marine Corps Air Ground-Combat Center at Twenty-nine Palms in California. On January 23, 2003, Lance Corporal Martinez Flores was sent abroad to fight in Operation Iraqi Freedom. While only 2 weeks shy of gaining his U.S. citizenship, he was killed in the line of duty near Nasiriyah, Iraq, on March 25, 2003. After his death, Lance Corporal Martinez Flores was granted posthumous U.S. citizenship on April 6, 2003. He was one of those thousands of lawful permanent residents who volunteered their service to protect the United States by joining the U.S. military. Lance Corporal Martinez Flores was a strong, noble, valiant man who lost his life to ensure the loved ones he left behind could live in a safer and more secure world. His mother, Martha, stated, ``He loved the United States so much. He was from Mexico, but he was fighting for America and its ideals.'' My heart and my prayers go out to the family and friends of Lance Corporal Martinez Flores, as well as to all those who have lost their loved ones during these turbulent times. The mayor and city council of the city of Duarte have also expressed their support for naming the post office located at 1210 Highland Avenue in Duarte, California, after Francisco A. Martinez Flores. I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the American ideals of hero Lance Corporal Francisco Martinez Flores, who fought for and defended the spirit that we embody here in this House. I also want to provide attention to his family, because his family is a working-class family. They work very hard to put food on their table, and I could see where they are going to need a lot of comfort and help and support by this Federal Government. I hope, too, that by the end of the week we also can pay them with the child tax credit that they would need that they would not be eligible for at this time. So I would ask Members to remember a soldier who gave his life, a soldier who represents a working-class family who dedicated himself to the freedoms that we have. Let us not forget our men and women who serve us and those that are giving their lives as we stand here tonight.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Ms. Maria Elena Durazo who is receiving the 2003 Paul Wellstone Citizen Leadership Award for her outstanding service to the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union of Los Angeles. As President of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (H.E.R.E.) Ms. Durazo has helped the union emerge as a vital force in the life of Los Angeles residents, representing over 250,000 workers in the hospitality industry in the U.S. In 1996, she also became the first Latina to be elected to the national leadership of the H.E.R.E. International Union and has long served as a role model for other Latina leaders. Ms. Durazo has worked tirelessly to obtain justice for the mostly immigrant-based union in Los Angeles, adopting a policy of bilingualism for its union meetings and newspaper. Furthermore, she has empowered countless bilingual employees to acquire positions and benefits they deserve. Under her leadership, the union has been widely recognized as one of the most active rank and file unions in southern California, striving to build valuable coalitions among community, church, academic, ethnic, and political organizations throughout the local area. Maria Elena has further advanced the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union by securing and improving citywide hotel contracts, increasing wages and benefits for thousands of hotel workers in downtown Beverly Hills and the Westside. Maria Elena now serves as National Director of the Immigrant Workers' Freedom Ride, campaigning to improve immigration laws in the United States. With these accomplishments, it is fitting that she will receive the Paul Wellstone Citizen Leadership Award. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring Ms. Maria Elena Durazo for her diligent work in improving labor conditions for the workers of southern California.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I also wish to rise and express my outrage that, in the passing of an irresponsible tax cut, Republicans deliberately prevented families with incomes under $26,625 from receiving a child tax credit. Here is a family that I represent in my district. They also happen to be a family that sent one of their sons to war. He is still in Iraq. He would not even qualify for a rebate. It is outrageous that 31 percent of California families right now will not be eligible for any tax credit, child tax credit. That is 2.4 million children in California alone, a State that I represent. In my district, one out of every four families will get no child tax credit. Families like this work hard, pay their taxes, are expecting to get some help from the government, and get nothing. They do not want a handout; they just want to be treated fairly. Yet somehow Republicans found $90 billion to give to 200,000 millionaire families. I do not even have one millionaire family that lives in my district. This is the wrong thing to do. We need to not declare a war on working-class people.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to voice my strong opposition to this rule. There is a lot of talk about what the recent tax cuts would do for our economy and for working families, and I would like to talk a little bit about what they will not do. The $350 billion in tax cuts leaves out working families, in particular, families that make anywhere between $10,000 and $26,000. They will not qualify for a child care tax credit. I ask my colleagues to look at this photograph that I have here. This is a working family, a representation of a family that lives in my district. They make $24,000 a year. They will not get a rebate. They have a son that is serving in our war, that is serving in our war in Iraq; but he will not get any benefit from this tax cut. Let us really talk about working families and what they do for our economy. They do pay Social Security taxes, they do pay sales taxes. In fact, they are taxed so much that they are looking to us as representatives of this House to do the right thing. One million children in military families, like these families, will get no tax break or credit. This is wrong. We know that somehow the Republicans found $90 billion to give to 200,000 millionaire families. Imagine that. That money will not make it to my district because I do not have a single millionaire that lives in my district. We have people that make less than $20,000, so they do not get the benefit of that money. Republicans say this is class warfare that we are discussing. Look at the facts. The money does not come home to the districts that send money here to Washington because our Republican colleagues are sending it to their friends. In fact, in California, 31 percent of California families will not receive any child tax credit, and that includes 2.4 million children in California alone. Forty-seven percent of those Californians will get a total tax credit of less than $100; $100 does not even help to pay rent in my district, where an apartment goes from $800 to $1,000. I urge Members to vote ``no'' on the rule. Let us do a child tax credit that is fair for working families.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time, and I also would like to thank the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the ranking member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson- Lee), and others who helped to put forward this piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I was moved to put forward legislation on this issue because we have several young soldiers that are in my district that are serving now, but one in particular, Francisco Martinez Flores, who actually lost his life. He lost his life just 2 weeks short of becoming a U.S. citizen. Most of his family is here legally, with the exception of his father. Without this piece of legislation, his father is out there on his own for the time being, and it would take a while for him to become a U.S. citizen. I am very appreciative of the work that has taken place on the bill. Thirty-seven thousand legal permanent residents will be eligible, through this legislation, in 1 year to become citizens, and their family members. That is first and foremost in my mind in terms of what we need to do for the families. I had a chance to meet with several of those families in my own district, many of whom are waiting, wanting their children to come home and hoping they do come home. The fact we are moving in this direction today to provide opportunities for them to continue to support our country is something we can all take pleasure and pride in today. I also want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost) for putting forward legislation that is also incorporated in this piece of legislation, for having the foresight to put forward his idea even before the conflict began. There are many different angles and parts of this bill that I could speak on. I know I have limited time here, but I do want to say that we should make some corrections. One piece that is amiss in the bill that I put forward was to try to allow for parents that are not here with appropriate documentation to be allowed to become legal permanent residents even if their son or daughter is serving and may be a fallen soldier. We need to look at that and continue to work on this legislation to make sure that we take care of those family members because there are many, many that are not here, that are in Mexico or Central America waiting to hear about their children.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of talk about what the recent tax cuts will do for our economy, and I would like to talk to Members about what they will not do and who they will not help. The $350 billion in tax cuts leaves out the working poor, and many, in the State of California, working families. Republicans rejected a Democratic attempt to try to get child tax credits to low-income families earning less than $10,500. To add insult to injury, last- minute changes made by Republicans also will prevent families with incomes between $10,500 and $26,625, and that includes about 11.9 million children, and they will not receive any kind of a child tax credit or be eligible for one. One out of every four families in my district in California will get no child tax credit. Families like this one pictured here, who live in my district in East Los Angeles, Ruben and Teresa, whose son is proudly serving us right now in Iraq, this family makes $24,000 a year. They will get no tax break, no tax break. Yet somehow Republicans found $90 billion to give to 200,000 millionaire families. That money will not make it to my district, no way, since 99 percent of the families there earn less than $200,000. Republicans left out all of these families to accommodate tax cuts on dividends that go mostly to rich and wealthy people. The tax cuts leave out married tax filers who happen to be living in poverty. The Republicans postponed marriage penalty relief under the earned income tax credit which is claimed by many working families earning $34,000 or less. This means that working-class married tax filers are treated as second-class citizen. The tax cuts leave out the people of California, and although California suffers from the largest budget deficit in the country, it is ranked at 43rd in terms of per capita State aid allotted by the Republican tax bill. Mr. Speaker, 31 percent of California families are not helped by the child tax credit. That is 2.4 million children in California alone, and I mean all children; and 47 percent of Californians will get a total tax cut of less than $100. That is barely enough to take them to the movies, buy a pizza and maybe have some extra spending money to buy book supplies, if that. Mr. Speaker, 28 percent get nothing at all. It is a sign of a grossly skewed priority by Republicans that would leave a lot of people out, yet they give $100,000 tax breaks to the largest SUVs, which pollute our air, keep us dependent on foreign oil, and spew out greenhouse gases. So while the typical millionaire gets over $93,500 in tax cuts and another $100,000 break for their huge SUVs, working-class people are left sitting in the smog with almost nothing in their pockets. If we had only given those millionaires $88,000 instead of $93,000, we could afford to give the child tax credit to all families. That means 140,000 hard-working families in my district would have gotten some kind of tax relief. Democrats tried to offer an economic stimulus plan with an immediate increase in the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief for all, and the expansion of the 10 percent tax bracket, and Democrats tried to put money in the pockets of working-class people. These are the people who would stimulate our economy, pull it out of the tailspin it has been in ever since this President took office. With more than 2.7 million jobs lost in the last 2 years, we in Congress should be declaring war against poverty. Instead, Republicans have declared a war against working families, families like this who send their children to serve in our wars. We need to change that, and we need to support and extend benefits for those hard-working Americans, especially families like this that right now are hoping that their son will come home, and even he would not be eligible for a tax credit because he makes less than the amount required under this bill that was passed by the Republicans.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise also today to express my outrage in passing an irresponsible tax cut that Republicans gave. They gave $100,000 tax breaks to the largest and most polluting SUVs and left out millions of working-class families. The $350 billion tax cut left out the working poor, left out a lot of Latinos in my district and a whole lot of people in the State of California. That is because Republicans prevented families that I represent in my district that make under $26,625 from receiving a child tax credit. Thirty percent of Latino families in my district will not be able to claim any child tax credit at all; that is 1.6 million Latino families in the State. By contrast, only 17 percent of Latino families will see any benefit from the dividend tax cut. Thirty-one percent of Californian families also are not being helped by any child tax credit, and that is 2.4 million children in California alone, all children. So while SUVs continue to pollute our air, keep us dependent on foreign oil, spew out greenhouse gases and get a big tax break, working families get nothing.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, today I join my colleague Congressman Mark Udall in introducing the Environmental Justice Act and commend my colleague, Congressman Mark Udall for his work on this issue. The Environmental Justice Act will make permanent an environmental justice Executive Order 12898 issued by President Bill Clinton in 1994. It attempts to address environmental injustice within existing federal laws and regulations by prohibiting discrimination in programs that receive federal funds. This issue has been one of my priorities as a public servant because I have seen the damage--first hand--that environmental injustice can bring to poor and minority communities. I grew up in the shadow of one of the largest landfills in the country. As the landfill grew, so did other regional pollution. Today, the area, which is 63 percent Latino and where 15 percent of families live in poverty, suffers from water pollution from Superfund sites and the gravel pit industry. In the Los Angeles area, it is estimated that over 71 percent of African Americans and 50 percent of Latinos reside in areas with the most polluted air, while only 34 percent of whites live in highly polluted areas. But we are not alone. Environmental injustices are happening nationwide. Consider the plight of the people of South Omaha, Nebraska where descendants of immigrants who labored in the city's meatpacking plants are fighting to restore city parks and stop the health risks posed by unsanitary conditions at the plants. Or consider the people who live in Livermore, California near one of the nation's principal nuclear weapons research labs, and who are fighting radioactive contamination that has caused many cancer cases. In the past we might have accepted our fate but today we chose to fight back. Hardly a day passes without the media informing us about a neighborhood that is fighting a landfill, incinerator, chemical plant or some other polluting industry. This was not always the case. Just three decades ago, the concept of environmental justice had not registered on the radar screens of most environmental, civil rights or social justice groups. In 1996, I had the honor of introducing the first piece of environmental justice legislation in the country. Since that time, 30 other States have adopted similar laws, policies or other statues that protect and recognize the importance of environmental justice communities. Today, we enjoy a greater ability to connect with the public through grassroots organization and the media but our laws still offer few protections to disadvantaged communities. I am committed to changing this and look forward to working with Congressman Udall and others to make sure that environmental protection starts with environmental equality. This bill is one step in that fight.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the outstanding achievements of the Imagen Foundation. Since its establishment sixteen years ago through the leadership of Helen Hernandez, the Imagen Foundation has led the fight to increase career opportunities for Latinos and Latinas in the entertainment industry and transcend the stereotyped media roles Latinos have been pigeonholed into. The Imagen Foundation has helped to positively influence the role of Latinos in the media. It is critical for our community to be accurately portrayed because of the influential power the media holds in forming public opinion. Unfortunately, our community is underrepresented and misrepresented throughout all major media networks. Reports show that only 4 percent of people on prime time TV are Latinos, and Latinos who hold more permanent roles only make up 2 percent of actors. It is important to expose the world to the reality that Latinos are also doctors, lawyers, business executives and Members of Congress, and refute the stereotypes perpetuated by the entertainment industry. Through various tools such as education, mentorship opportunities and workshops, the Imagen Foundation has created openings for Latinos in the entertainment industry. I have had the privilege of attending several workshops and I have seen the incredible talent that exists in the Latino community. The Imagen Foundation has been an amazing force working to develop, showcase and honor the talent in our community. It is my privilege to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Imagen Foundation. Through groups such as the Imagen Foundation and people like Helen Hernandez, more doors are beginning to open for Latinos in the entertainment industry. While much has been accomplished, we cannot stop here. There is still much to be done and we need to continue to work together. Hispanics are a fundamental part of this nation's history, a significant part of our present, and will play a vital role in the future success of this country's collective prosperity. I know that this is just the beginning, but with institutions such as the Imagen Foundation, who are committed to fighting prejudices and are concerned with bringing truth and a cultural sensitivity to television and society, I look forward to the accomplishments that are yet to come.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise also to express my strong opposition to the recent vote that was taken today by the FCC. The three-two vote by the commission will allow for the concentration of media ownership in the hands of the very few and privileged and will reduce the diversity of viewpoints. This does not sound too American to me. The decades-old rules that will be altered under today's vote were intended to provide for multiple media owners and voices in our market. Today's vote that was taken will reduce the assortment of voices and opinions that are essential to our healthy democracy. Allowing one company in a city to control the most popular newspaper and TV station will give the company excessive control over the local news and the information that the public sees and hears. It would also reduce the diversity of cultural and political disclosure in our communities. Studies that I have seen indicate that, under these rules, mergers will be allowed in 140 local concentrated markets. In as many as 100 of these local markets, representing nearly half of the national population, there will probably be one dominant newspaper. A merger between a dominant newspaper and a large TV station would create a local news giant that would threaten alternative views and news. Today's decision will have a detrimental impact on minority communities, including the Nation's fast-growing Latino population, the Spanish-language population. It will dramatically reduce competition in Spanish-language media and opportunities for Latino media ownership. Dominance in the Spanish-language media by one corporation can have the same negative effects for many Latinos as the dominance of English- language media can have for the general population. Today's ruling by the FCC means less diverse programming, news sources, and smaller points of view. We need to look only at the radio industry to see the ill effects that today's vote will have on the diversity in media. Since the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the overall number of radio station owners has decreased by at least 30 percent. And according to a study by the Department of Commerce, in the year 2000 minorities owned 248 AM stations and 178 FM stations. That represented 4 percent of the country's 10,577 commercial AM and FM stations. I am especially disappointed that the public, the very people who own the airwaves, were not offered the time to express their concerns about this very important issue. How undemocratic of the FCC to keep the public in the dark on this very critical matter and not to afford the American people of this country, whom we represent, the opportunity to comment directly on the impact that the new specific policies will have on competition, localism, access to multiple sources of information, and minority participation. Unfortunately, the amount of network coverage on this important issue has been minimal. We could not even get people from the media to show up to cover a press conference that we had last week to disclose what was happening with this vote that was taking place today. The public is largely unaware of the possible impact these changes will have on their lives; and it is discouraging, especially when millions of Americans have reacted in recent days with amazement at the FCC's plans. The FCC should have listened to the public, not the megacorporations. Liberals and conservatives alike, consumer groups, labor groups, the National Rifle Association and others, have rallied around the cause and urged the FCC to allow more time for the public to comment on this critical matter. When it comes down to it, today's vote was just another example of the Bush administration's catering to corporate greed. It is one more example of corporate welfare. It is a Bush-backed gift to the major corporations and their bank accounts. At the expense of whom? The public. The FCC was created to serve the public interest and to ensure diverse voices in it. The commission failed on both accounts today. I urge this Chamber to consider legislation to reverse the commission's ruling and to allow the public greater opportunity to learn about this critical issue and weigh in with their important thoughts.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleague, Congressman Ciro Rodriguez, in introducing the Hispanic Health Improvement Act of 2003. Every 24 hours in this country, over 2,700 people are diagnosed with diabetes, just one of the multitude of diseases and illnesses plaguing our Nation. And of these 2,700 daily new cases of diabetes, minority groups like Latinos are disproportionately affected. But diabetes is not the only illness that burdens Hispanic communities more than non-Hispanic populations. Diseases like asthma, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, obesity and cancer consistently plague Latino communities at rates that are simply unacceptable. As many of you will recall, in 1999, Congress petitioned the Institute of Medicine to conduct a report to assess the extent of racial and ethnic disparities in health care and the resulting disease outcomes. We have been given our answers. Some of the top research institutions in the country continually report that the health of Hispanics in the U.S. is deteriorating and must be addressed. For example, 37 percent of non-elderly Latinos are uninsured--a rate twice that of non-Hispanic whites, and most come from working families. The incidence of AIDS among Hispanics is around 200 per 100,000, while it is only 60 per 100,000 among non-Latino whites. list goes on and on. Latinos are now 16 percent of the total population, so it is imperative that we address the increasing trends in poor Latino health. The need to act on behalf of our Latino communities is great, and today we are being presented with the opportunity to help. The Hispanic Health Improvement Act is our chance to respond to the data and to commit to the health of our Latino communities across the U.S. This bill is a comprehensive measure focusing exclusively on improving the health among Latino populations. This bill expands the important State Children's Health Insurance Program, S-CHIP, to cover low-income pregnant women and parents, and it gives States the option to cover any individual below 100 percent of poverty under their Medicaid program. It provides for an enhanced 90 percent Federal matching rate to States through Medicaid and S-CHIP to provide language services--like oral interpretation, or translation of written materials--for individuals with limited English proficiency. These services are extremely critical when one third of Latinos and over 40 percent of Spanish-speaking Latinos report having problems communicating with their health care provider. The bill also addresses health disparities by establishing programs and grants to respond to diabetes, cancer, asthma, HIV infection, AIDS, obesity, oral health, mental health, and other illnesses. It also recognizes the need to strengthen the diversity in our health care work force by supporting Hispanic-serving health professional schools and training health providers in cultural competency. As you can see, this legislation is the critical pivot point whereby we can reverse the sliding health of our Latino population. In conclusion, I want to applaud the leadership of my good friend Congressman Ciro Rodriguez in championing this bill for several years. I am pleased to be part of this effort and I urge my colleagues to seize this opportunity to protect the future health of Latinos--and all Americans--by cosponsoring this bill.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 208 on H. Res. 247, providing for consideration of H.R. 1588, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''