Hilda Solis

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for the opportunity to shed some light on what I believe my constituents in California are deeply concerned about. Two years ago we passed some major, major HMO reform legislation. This new proposal that is before us will rip apart those very pieces of legislation that were put together very carefully over the past 2 and 3 years through negotiation with the stakeholders, with insurance, with doctors, with patients, with advocates. This legislation now would go back to the heart of our State and take away those assurances that many people in that State right now have protections for. I cannot stand here today as a new Member of Congress and vote for a piece of legislation that is so deadly, because if someone becomes ill under this proposal after 6 years because someone has injected them with tainted blood, they cannot go back and sue that particular health care or insurance group that is providing coverage. That is disastrous. I know that people in my State and this country do not want to stand for that. As one of the new Members of Congress, I ask my colleagues to vote against the Norwood amendment, the proposal that Mr. Bush is putting before us today and our colleagues from the right.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Chairman, this body has a chance to enact a real patient's bill of rights to protect people from the harmful decisions made by their health insurance plans. All of us have heard from constituents who are fed up at being told by their health plans that they can't have access to the health care they need even through they pay their insurance premiums for this care in the first place! So you would think all of us could agree that it's time to do something. Instead, my Republican colleagues want to pass a bill that does nothing. In fact, the bill supported by President Bush would roll back important patient protections already in place in my home state of California. In California, we enacted a law that says to consumers--if your health plan interferes with the quality of the medical care you receive, you have a legal right to stop them through the courts. If you are injured because your health insurance company delays or refuses you health care--you have a legal right to sue them through the courts. It's just that simple. But President Bush wants to take away my constituents' right to have protection from the bad decisions of their health insurance companies. And he wants to call that managed care reform, I call it an HMO Protection Bill. Well that's not right. I urge my colleagues to reject any attempt to weaken the patient's bill of rights and to support real reform of health insurance companies.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Chairman, I rise to applaud the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop) for offering this amendment which establishes a Minority Emergency Preparedness Demonstration Program at FEMA. In my home State of California, we have experienced more than our fair share of natural disasters, earthquakes, floods, fires and what have you, over the past decade. We are still recovering from the pain and devastation created by the Northridge Earthquake back in 1994. Minority communities like the one I represent need more information to help them prepare for these sorts of disasters. After Northridge, many people were left homeless. FEMA did an outstanding job of helping our community, but I think a Minority Emergency Preparedness Program could do even more, if this were funded through FEMA. People in minority communities are often more heavily impacted by these types of disasters. People often live in poorly designed housing and have limited access to emergency preparedness materials that are printed in their own language. It makes sense to have information available to them in their own language. This would provide assistance to Latinos, Asian Americans, and African Americans. Mr. Chairman, I ask my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in remembrance of Carole Jean Thomas Fajardo, who passed away this month. Mrs. Fajardo was born in Pueblo, Colorado, and was a committed activist in the San Gabriel Valley and other areas. She graduated from the University of Texas in El Paso. She is survived by her husband Mr. Richard Fajardo who is a well-known attorney in the Los Angeles area. Her passions included music, art, animals, learning, and community empowerment efforts. And of course, Mrs. Fajardo adored her husband and family. One of Mrs. Fajardo's most powerful traits was her innate passion for social justice. She served as a field deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, and was instrumental in helping empower community members and community based organizations. She was also a Warden's assistant who counseled families and prisoners at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. One of her duties was to assist family members and media representatives during scheduled prison executions. Mrs. Fajardo was also a strong supporter of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and served as executive assistant to MALDEF President Antonia Hernandez. This is where she met and fell in love with her husband Richard Fajardo. Mrs. Fajardo was also a volunteer at the Central American Resource Center. During her years at CARECEN, she helped people in need and served as a strong supporter of immigrant and refugee rights. Mrs. Fajardo will be dearly missed. Let us continue to keep her in our hearts and minds, and follow her example of leadership and caring.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for offering this amendment which would require the Treasury Department to establish a commission to oppose the privatization of Social Security. President Bush and his Commission on Social Security are using scare tactics and misleading claims to sell their privatization plan to American women. Privatizing Social Security will only hurt women, who rely most heavily on Social Security for their retirement. The President's commission would have us believe that women would be better off giving up their guaranteed lifetime benefits for a risky private account. But we cannot afford to gamble the security and independence of our seniors on an uncertain stock market, which is just too risky. Women rely on Social Security in their senior years because they tend to earn less and live longer than men. They are also less likely than men to have private pensions through their employers. And women often spend less time in the workforce, taking almost up to 11\1/2\ years out of their careers to care for their families. Do my colleagues know that in my own district about 58 percent of the Latina elderly women live alone and live in poverty? We should be concentrating on how we can improve Social Security benefits to reduce this deplorable level of poverty and not talking about privatizing schemes that will actually reduce their benefits. I urge support for the Kucinich amendment.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize one of the most inspiring and influential Latino leaders in the United States. Dionicio Morales is the founder and former President of the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF), the largest Latino social-service agency in the United States. Mr. Morales has helped improve the lives of thousands of people, especially Latino youth and the elderly, by providing vital resources such as job training, senior services, naturalization services and child care programs in communities throughout California. The Mexican American Opportunity Foundation has established programs in the San Gabriel Valley, East Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Ana, Oxnard, Salinas, and Bakersfield. Mr. Morales' inspiring life is depicted in his autobiography entitled ``Dionicio Morales: A Life in Two Cultures.'' In the book, Mr. Morales is described as a passionate leader who has led by example and knows first hand the struggles of the poor in detail. For many decades he has tirelessly organized and has fought to protect the rights of these individuals. In the early 1960's Mr. Morales called the White House to request help in establishing programs to help employ and train Mexican Americans. Incredibly, Mr. Morales obtained a meeting with Vice President Lyndon Johnson, who agreed to help Mr. Morales through the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Nearly four decades later, due to that fateful call made by Mr. Morales, the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation now has a budget of over $60 million, making it the largest Latino organization in the United States. Mr. Morales continues to be actively involved in the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation. He is a trailblazer and a true leader. I am privileged to recognize Mr. Morales' incredible life and applaud his work.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, my constituents want a strong and enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights. They are tired of HMOs who deny them the health care that they need. They are tired of insurance company bureaucrats who overrule doctors' decisions. They want a bill like Ganske-Dingell-Norwood and others to protect the patients that they are supposedly required to protect because only this bill gives every American the right to choose their own doctor, the right to see health care specialists, the right to have direct access to an OB-GYN or a pediatrician, and the right to get prescription drugs that their physicians prescribe. Only this bill holds health care plans accountable when they make a decision that harms or kills someone. Only this bill ensures that external reviews of medical decisions are conducted by independent and qualified experts. We should take a chapter out of what happened in California. Our Governor there passed major reforms in HMOs, and I think that this House should take a look at what has happened there. They have done a fantastic job in actually being able to negotiate before they actually have to go to the court house. Mr. Speaker, I ask for the support of my colleagues on this legislation.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, a long time ago the Gabrieleno and Tongva Nation of California occupied the entire LA Basin and the islands of Santa Catalina, San Nicholas and San Clemente, from Topanga Canyon to Laguna Beach, from the San Gabriel Mountains to the sea. It was their land. The California Gold Rush and railroad expansion assured that their land was taken and today is one of the largest urban centers in the world, but some things have not changed. According to the Census figures, California's Native American population of over 309,000 became one of the largest in the State of California. Many of these Native Americans populate the area, making it the city with the largest concentration of Gabrieleno Indians. Yet they are not a federally recognized tribe. It is not because they are not there. They are. They have been there for many centuries. In fact, dating as far back as the 1700s, 1771 to be exact, this Federal Government recognized the Gabrieleno and Tongva Nation. Back in 1851, the U.S. Government sent Commissioner Barbour to establish a treaty with the Indians of Los Angeles but was suddenly called away, so that effort failed. Back in 1852, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, E.F. Beale, noted numerous Indian populations within Los Angeles County. Numerous scholars and academics have also noted the existence of this nation, namely, Helen Hunt Jackson. In the mid-1880s she noted that the Gabrieleno/Tongva were continuing to live in the San Gabriel area as day laborers. At the turn of the century, Hart Merriam and J.P. Harrington indicated that there were some groups of the nation living at the Tejon Reservation. It was further noted that one of the tribes represented at the reservation was the Tongva of San Gabriel. In the early 1900s, the Federal Government allowed nation members, most of whom were \1/2\ Indian blood, to register at the Sherman Indian School in Riverside, California. The United States purchased land for the nation back in 1913, but by 1928 many nation members were still living in their traditional areas of San Gabriel and identifying themselves as tribal members, as evidenced by the California Indians' Jurisdictional Act. Since 1928, the nation has participated in lobbying Congress via the Mission Indian Federation and was even a plaintiff in the Indian Claims Commission case. Therefore, today I stand here to hopefully recognize and formalize this relationship that Commissioner Barbour was sent to treat back in 1851. Over and over again the Gabrieleno Indians have been the victims of bad timing or unfortunate circumstances, but nevertheless they exist today. The bill federally recognizes the Gabrieleno Indians as a federally recognized tribe that will be eligible for current grants and services awarded to these entities. In a district like mine, this is a very significant and historical piece of legislation. In the 31st District of California, which is where I live and represent many, many constituents who live in poverty, this is no strange thing for us to be here today to recognize this very important tribe. While Federal recognition would not guarantee necessarily food on their table, it would make this community eligible for housing, education, funds to clean the environment, and healthy care grants that would undoubtedly make their lives better. It is important to note that this State-recognized tribe is not interested in gaming. In fact, they have turned away large companies that would have paid for their attorneys to fight for this Federal recognition. The tribe wants what is rightfully theirs, the recognition that they are always and have always been original citizens and we should treat them as such. I ask my congressional colleagues here today to join me in providing Federal recognition of the Gabrieleno/Tongva Indians. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 258 on H.R. 1892, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea''.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 257 on H.R. 2137, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. During rollcall vote No. 259 on S. 408, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I am also here to support the motion to go to conference on the education bill. However, I have to tell you that today I am saddened because I am reading today in the Los Angeles Times that one of my feeder schools in East Los Angeles, Garfield High School, which was known for the movie ``Stand And Deliver,'' where Latino students able to excell and rise to the occasion, is now found to be failing. It is one of the schools that is failing in my district. I would ask the conferees as they begin their discussions on education to remember those low income students, the new face of California and the country. Those students are in need of support because they come from different backgrounds or speak different languages, that we not forget those children. We also need to do as much as we can to help provide prevention funding for dropouts. Because in the Latino community right now we are finding the average number of students that come into the system are leaving at a 50 percent rate. That is disgusting. We need to do more to make sure that our students stay in school, that we have better equipped and credentialed teachers in our school. In my district alone we have an overabundance of teachers who do not have credentials. They do not have credentials because we do not have the funding and support to help provide them that incentive to go on and get those credentials. I would ask the conferees to take a look at what it is we need to do to help provide so that no child is left behind, so that no parent or student feels that this public education systems leaves them woefully behind in this society.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to bring forward legislation that I want to introduce regarding the Lower Los Angeles River and the San Gabriel River Watershed Study Act of 2001. Mr. Speaker, I grew up in the shadow of one of the largest landfills in the country, communities exposed to high levels of smog, and one of the largest Superfund sites in the region. All this has inspired my passion to preserve our remnants of open space. Today, children in my district are still living next to this landfill, and their playgrounds are often small concrete slabs with little green space. With this knowledge, today I introduce the Lower Los Angeles River and San Gabriel River Watershed Study Act of 2001. The bill will study the Lower Los Angeles River and the San Gabriel River and portions of the San Gabriel Mountains for potential inclusion in the National Parks Service system. The bill will direct the National Park Service to study the area and its natural, historic, scenic, recreational, and national significance. If deemed appropriate, I plan to introduce a bill that will officially designate the area. Thus, laying the groundwork for open space preservation, environmental revitalization, curbing urban sprawl, and giving communities of color the option of experiencing more than car horns and skyscrapers. Currently, there are only five national recreation areas near urban centers. Such urban parks combine scarce spaces with the preservation of significant historic resources and important natural areas in locations that can provide outdoor recreation for large numbers of people. The population growth in California, as you know, is projected to double in over the next 40 years. It is of critical importance to plan for the future of open space. Study after study find that open space creates high property values, more community-oriented events, and safer environments for our families. It is estimated that there are less than one-half acre square space per 1,000 residents in low-income areas, and up to 1.7 acres in West Los Angeles. Yet, three to four acres of open space per 1,000 residents is what is recommended by our Park Service. After the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, nearly 77 percent of neighborhood residents when asked what they felt was most important felt that improved parks and recreation facilities was absolutely critical and important to the restoration of their communities. There is a growing concern that poor planning has resulted in the loss of too much open space in the San Gabriel Valley and in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. The threat of the total buildout of the last remnants of open space has increased concern about the cumulative impacts of that buildout on what little remains of our natural resources. This concern has reached a critical mass, sparking community action to form local conservancies. In fact, I was a partner in helping to establish one of the largest urban conservancies in the State of California effecting well over 6 million people. There is a need out there to provide open space. People in my community and across the country want to see that there is some preservation and some area for families to recreate. As a California State Senator, I was proud to have introduced that piece of legislation last year. There are over 30 local community governments and organizing groups that are now waiting for us to move ahead at the Federal level to create this park service area. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert the following editorial published on May 30, 2001 of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. It is time for the Federal Government to offer the next step for protection and revitalization in the San Gabriel Valley. This study is the first step in accomplishing that venture. [From the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, May 30, 2001] Our View: Bush Should Join Solis Park Plan The president was in town this week visiting Camp Pendleton and meeting with Gov. Gray Davis in Los Angeles on energy issues. Some say President George W. Bush should use this visit to improve his standing on the environment, an issue dear to Golden Staters. Specifically, he should support Rep. Hilda Solis' idea to declare the San Gabriel River--and 2,000 acres around it--a national recreation area. Solis, who has not formalized her idea, but rather is sending it up as a trial balloon, wants to siphon federal dollars into making the river a national park. Last year, $1.38 billion was available through the National Park Service. While we support the preservation and maintenance of more traditional national parks, we believe the feds should change direction and provide for creation of closer-in, urban green spaces. Efforts are under way to restore the 29-mile San Gabriel River, which runs from the Angeles National Forest to the beach. Our river, and our forest for that matter, are visited by just as many people as many national parks--eight million a year visit the Angeles, which includes the river's West Fork and the East Fork regions. Creating more urban recreation areas can be more important than preserving chunks of wild lands in remote parts of the country because these are closer to millions of people who need a green space to de-stress, relax and get away from the burdens of everyday life. In addition, it seems as if the new San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountain Conservancy started by Solis and Sally Havice is stalled, but it's nothing that a little federal momentum could not kick start. We would like to see an education center, more bike trails and more river access for hikers, horseback riders, birders, mountain bikers, picnickers and all. Likewise, to the west, the Arroyo Seco should be restored. The Arroyo Seco Foundation and North East Trees are working on a plan to make the river that runs through Pasadena, South Pasadena to Los Angeles a place of beauty instead of a concrete channel off-limits to visitors. These are projects that are not about saving a species of frog or fish but rather, about saving a quality of life for almost 2 million San Gabriel Valley residents who increasingly spend more time in their cars in traffic than in nature. Many have come here from Mexico, as the new census figures show, living in poorer and middle-class neighborhoods of South El Monte, El Monte, Pico Rivera, Northwest Pasadena, El Sereno, Azusa and Duarte and rarely go beyond the streets where they live. Most do not have the means to travel to Yosemite, Mammoth Lakes and other spots that are favorites of the Valley's more well-to-do population. Hence, more than 75 percent of those who visit the East Fork, Whittier Narrows, Marrano Beach and Santa Fe Dam are Latino. The Bush Administration can't miss this chance to start working on an urban, national park that will benefit Latinos in California. It's an opportunity for Bush to improve his image in the state and at the same time work with Democrat Solis in a bipartisan effort. Sounds like win-win-win to us.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Olver/Gilchrest amendment to strike the provision prohibiting funds from being spent to implement the Kyoto treaty on global warming. The Bush Administration's stance on the Kyoto treaty has called the United States' credibility into jeopardy. Because of this Administration's denial of the Kyoto treaty, the U.S. has become the laughing stock of the world and--more importantly--we have seriously put into question our leadership role on global warming and environmental issues. This amendment would allow for the U.S. to stay involved in negotiations and send a strong message to the world that--although the President has given up on this important agreement--this nation and its other leaders have not. I encourage my colleagues to support his amendment and commend Mr. Olver and Mr. Gilchrest for their important amendment, which will help to ensure the United States' environmental leadership position.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ysabel ``Mac'' Arrendondo Ortiz, who proudly served his county in Korea. Although he was listed as Missing In Action on Dec. 2, 1950, his family never gave up hope that he would return home. In January of 1954 his mother, Concha, received notice that Corporal Ysabel A. Ortiz had been awarded the Purple Heart Award posthumously for making the supreme sacrifice for his county. Cpl. Ysabel was born and raised in the 31st Congressional District city of El Monte, California. He was a third generation El Montean. His grandfather, Longino Ortiz, came to America in 1915 to look for a better life for his family and escape the troubles of the Mexican Revolution. He arrived in El Monte and sent for the rest of the family from Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. Ysabel A. Ortiz, or Mac as his friends and family knew him, attended school in El Monte at a time when Mexican-American children were segregated from white school children. Mac attended school up to grade 5 at Lexington School and then Columbia school from grade 6 through 8. He attended El Monte High School and then enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 18. Mac's service to his country has not gone unrecognized. His name appears on a bronze plaque honoring our nation's war dead at the El Monte Historical Museum. Mac's photo also hangs in the La Historia Society Museum/ Museo de Los Barrios Veterans Exhibit, which is also in El Monte. To this day, Cpl. Ysabel ``Mac'' A. Ortiz's Purple Heart is proudly displayed by his sister Chata. Mac Ortiz was survived by his mother, Concha Ortiz (now deceased); his father, Ysabel M. Ortiz, Sr. of West Covina, CA; his brothers Harold Ortiz (now deceased) and Jose Lucio Ortiz, of Oklahoma; his sisters Esmeralda ``Chata'' Ortiz Ureno of Covina and Jennie Sanchez of Whittier; his step-brothers Manuel Ortiz of El Monte and Rudy Ortiz of Bakersfield; and his step-sisters Rose Soto of West Covina and Ana Sanchez of Arcadia. Mac Ortiz's loving memory lives in the hearts of Chata and the entire Ortiz family. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mac Ortiz's contributions to our great nation.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, today we have a very important issue before us: campaign finance reform. I want to talk about two amendments that are going to be coming up before us. One is known as the Linder-Schrock amendment, and it bans the use of funds that unions and corporations would give to communicate with their members and stockholders. How ridiculous. In California we had a similar proposition, and it failed miserably; and that proposition was known as Prop 226. I am glad to say that the residents and those that voted in that election defeated that overwhelmingly. Let us make sure that we defeat that amendment here also. Another amendment that I believe is egregious would also restrict and limit legal immigrants from making contributions to Federal candidates. Again, we are limiting their ability to voice their opinions. This is known as the Bereuter-Wicker amendment, which would preclude individuals from communicating with people and ideals that they support. If this is truly America, then we have to stand up for all legal immigrants that are tax-paying, that serve our country, that are playing by the rules, and that are maybe one step away of becoming citizens. Let us do the right thing and defeat these two amendments.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the retirement of Mr. Herb Oberman, who will step down from his job as a Los Angeles County social worker on July 12, 2001. A dedicated public servant, Herb has served the people of Los Angeles County for the past 35 years. Herb has proven that he truly cares about protecting children's rights. He received his Master's Degree of Social Work from the University of California Los Angeles in 1966 and spent seven years dedicating himself as a Children's Service Worker in the Foster Care Program. In 1973, he participated in the formation of Community Service Centers. Herb has served on the board of directors of several social service organizations. He is the past president of the Santa Clarita Valley Girls and Boys Club and served on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank between 1973-1993. Herb Oberman's contributions have received recognition for his programs, which include the Los Angeles Efficiency and Productivity Program administration of the Los Angeles Citizenship Assistance Campaign; the Ford Foundation's ``Innovations in State and Local Government'' award in 1986 for his administration of the county's Federal Food Commodities Distribution Program; and the Parents Fair Share Project, a national demonstration project which helps noncustodial parents find employment and pay. As Herb moves on to new pursuits, I would like to thank him for his remarkable work. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring his hard work and extraordinary contributions and wish him luck on his retirement.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to let our colleagues know that today in the State of California, one of our newest generators just went online. Governor Gray Davis has done a tremendous job in trying to make sure that the energy and our lights do not go out in the State of California. He visited with us last week and met with the Senate Committee on Energy Oversight and talked about all the earnest effort that he has made, and Californians, to conserve energy. Now, we deserve more attention and support by FERC and this administration. We should provide more energy funding for renewable energy, for conservation, and obviously provide relief for those ratepayers, the people that pay the bills. We expect to see a refund. Maybe it will not be the $9 billion that Gray Davis is asking for, but surely the people of California and the Western States that are suffering from this energy crisis deserve the very best attention. They are grappling with this problem. They need to have our support. Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members today to sign the discharge petition, because it is necessary for us to send a message to all citizens of the United States that we are with them on the energy conservation measures.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of our Nation's premier Latino labor leaders, Dolores Huerta. Growing up in a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Southern California, I often looked to my community leaders for lessons in how to live and how to treat other people. One of the most influential role models continues to be Dolores Huerta, preeminent civil rights leader who has fought for the rights of underserved laborers for more than 40 years. Born in Dawson, New Mexico, on April 10, 1930, Dolores Huerta was raised along with her four siblings in the San Jaoquin Valley town of Stockton, California. While there, she witnessed firsthand the poverty that local farm workers endured, but also saw the generosity her mother showed them in the form of free meals and lodging. Although she earned a teaching degree from Stockton College, Dolores Huerta left the profession because she could not stand to see her students, children of farm workers, arrive at school hungry, without shoes and food. Rather than just teach, she decided to organize the farm workers to help them fight for their civil rights as well. So in 1955 she founded the Stockton chapter of the Community Service Organization, a community organization designed to educate, organize, and assist these poor families. Her dedication to farm workers continued and, in 1962, Dolores Huerta joined with Cesar Chavez to establish the National Farm Workers Association. The group was a precursor to the United Farm Worker Organizing Committee, for which she served as secretary-treasurer. But Dolores Huerta has done much more than just organize farm workers. She has also fought for health benefits, higher wages, and disability insurance for those people who work in the fields. Without her, today's farm workers would not enjoy the fair treatment and safe working standards that they enjoy now in the State of California. Dolores Huerta's dedication, though, is not just confined to farm workers. She fought hard for the rights that we all hold dear, women's rights, environmental justice, civil rights, and free speech. In fact, in the 1960s, Dolores Huerta launched a campaign for environmental justice. She began to advocate against the use of toxic pesticides that harmed farm workers and consumers. Her vehement lobbying and organizing led growers to finally stop using dangerous pesticides such as DDT and Parathyon in their fields. Dolores Huerta has also been visible in the political spectrum. As a legislative advocate for the labor movement, she has led farm worker campaigns and various political causes. In fact, she is probably most remembered standing beside Robert F. Kennedy as he acknowledged her help in winning the 1968 California Democratic presidential primary moments before he was shot in Los Angeles. She has also worked tirelessly to make sure that all people, including those that only speak Spanish, have the opportunity to be heard. She has helped to establish Spanish language radio communications organizations with five Spanish radio stations, and has participated in numerous protests to highlight the plight of farm workers throughout the country. Although most of those demonstrations were peaceful, Dolores Huerta herself has endured physical harm and more than 20 arrests for peacefully exercising her right of free speech. Her dedication to farm workers and people of color across America has earned her numerous accolades, including the American Civil Liberties Union Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award, the Eugene Debs Foundation Outstanding American Award, the Ellis Island's Medal of Freedom Award, and induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Today, my colleagues, we have the opportunity to honor Dolores Huerta, not only for her unwavering dedication to farm workers but to her commitment to creating a better environment for all Americans. This resolution that I am presenting today marks the first time in recorded history that Congress has chosen to honor a Latina labor leader. I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, for centuries immigrants from all over the world have helped make the United States one of the most powerful and wealthiest nations in the world. I am proud to represent a congressional district that is home to a large and vibrant immigrant community. I am very concerned about the lack of access to health care for immigrants. A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation states that low-income immigrants are twice as likely to be uninsured as low-income citizens. Almost 59 percent of our nation's 9.8 million low-income non- citizens had no health insurance in 1999, and only 15 percent received Medicaid. We need to do more to ensure that our nation's immigrants obtain quality health care. Preventive measures are much more cost effective than allowing individuals to become seriously ill due to lack of access to adequate healthcare services. We can and must provide better outreach to immigrant communities in their languages in order to reduce the barriers that currently make it difficult for immigrants to access health care. Immigrants pay millions of dollars in local and state taxes and they deserve some form of health care. In fact, according to the National Academy of Sciences, immigrants pay approximately $1,800 per year more in taxes than they use in services, yet they never access public health services. I support the ``Healthy Solutions for America's Hardworking Families'' Agenda which will remedy some of the problems faced by immigrant communities. That agenda includes the Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act (H.R. 1143), which will give states the option of allowing low-income legal immigrant children and pregnant women access to Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). This bill has wide support in Congress, as well as from the American Medical Association and the National Governors Association. Allowing children and pregnant women access to federal health care programs is simply sound public health policy. The Women Immigrants Safe Harbor Act is another key piece of legislation. This measure would allow legal immigrants who are victims of domestic violence to apply for critical safety net services such as medical and food assistance. Immigrants who are victims of domestic violence are frequently economically dependent on their abusers and isolated from their support networks. Immigrants are even more dependent and isolated because of restrictions passed in the 1996 welfare reform law, which prevent a battered immigrant from access to the resources she needs to leave the abuser. I also support the Nutrition Assistance for Working Families and Seniors Act (H.R. 2142) which would restore food stamp eligibility for low-income legal immigrants and improve the food stamp program overall. Many tax-paying legal immigrants work low-wage jobs and they need the additional support that food stamps provide. We must not leave the immigrant community behind, especially the women, children, and elderly who so desperately need appropriate health care. I encourage my colleagues to support the ``Healthy Solutions for America's Hardworking Families'' Agenda to help the immigrant community. Our great country, as you might recall, was founded upon the great sacrifices that immigrants made for our democracy and economic prosperity.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about H.R. 333, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. I had strong reservations about the measure, and voted in favor of every attempt to improve the bill during House consideration of H.R. 333. I voted for a Democratic alternative which would have made a number of technical improvements to the bill and modified some of the most burdensome provisions on lower income debtors. I also voted in favor of the motion to send the bill back to the Judiciary Committee in order to make improvements. This motion would have prohibited credit card companies from issuing credit cards to minors who cannot show sufficient income to repay the line of credit. Although these measures failed, I voted in favor of the bill in order to move the legislation along in the hopes that the bill would be improved when it was sent to the Senate. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The bill passed by the Senate maintains the House bill's onerous provision concerning the means test to determine a debtor's ability to repay debts. The means test is inflexible and does not take into account individual family needs for public transportation, rent and food. The Senate bill also fails to ensure that child support payments will come first, ahead of the commercial creditors. I will be closely monitoring the efforts of House and Senate negotiators to draft a compromise bankruptcy bill. Should the resulting bill include the anti-consumer provisions of the House passed bill, I will vote against the measure when it comes back to the House and encourage my colleagues to do likewise.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to talk about the importance of workers' rights. I want to tell my colleagues a little bit about my own personal history. My parents came as immigrants to this country. Because they became a part of working America, they were also involved in the union movement. Because of that, we had protections for our family, seven brothers and sisters. Because of that protection, my father lives a better life. He lives on a fixed income with a retirement, a pension plan. My mother is well. But the fact remains that before the union came into their place of work, they suffered quite a bit. My father, in fact, was exposed to very hazardous and toxic materials and as a result became involved with the union to provide protection so that other employees there, immigrant employees who could not speak English could have clothing, appropriate clothing and even an oxygen mask that would help prevent them from being exposed to harmful chemicals. My mother worked for many years, 20 years exactly, on her feet almost 10 hours a day and now suffers from arthritic problems and severe varicose veins. She was lucky, though, that she had the union to fall back on, to provide her protections, medical coverage not only for herself but for her seven children and I as one of those. It has not been an easy road for them, and I thank the unions for providing that safety mechanism for them and my brothers and sisters. But the movement of the union effort needs to go on. In fact, I was very privileged as a member of the State Senate to run the industrial relations committee where I was very much involved in helping to raise the minimum wage. I am sad to report that in the Federal Government, our minimum wage is much lower than the State of California. In fact, it is at $5.15 an hour. In California, it is $5.75. It is still below the poverty level. In fact, if we were to raise it up a bit, we would still have to give a boost of $1.24. We still have a long way to go. Working America needs a break. In my opinion, we have much to do to protect women, particularly many of those that are forced to work two and three jobs at minimum wage to raise their families. Many of them have children. Many of them sorely need insurance, health coverage and many other protections that are provided to union people. Many of those individuals are seeking to organize and have not been successful because many anti-union companies or businesses are trying to erode any support so that they can collectively bargain for their rights. I want to put my support behind efforts that I was recently involved in in California in the city of Vernon with a particular organization there that was trying to organize women and immigrants that were working to sew mattresses and blankets. Some had worked there for 30 years at the Hollander Home Fashion in Vernon and were not given any kind of retirement benefits or any kind of pension plan. Thirty years at minimum wage and not one increment. I went out there and met some of those workers. Thank God that the employer there came to his senses and they were able to work out an agreement. They now have a collective bargaining agreement that will provide protections for the some 200 or 300 workers that I saw there in Vernon. I cannot say that about an ongoing effort right now with Pictsweet Mushrooms in California where farm workers are trying to get also a better medical plan, a pension plan, and the one that is being offered right now by the employer is much too small and it would require a much greater premium on the part of the worker. The California Agricultural Relations Board has upheld an unfair labor practice charged against Pictsweet by the United Farm Workers. The United Farm Workers won that, but we still need to do more. I stand here now in support of what the Pictsweet Mushroom employees are working on. We have a long way to go for working families, especially those that are new immigrants, that are coming to this country with the realization that they want to share in the American dream. I would ask this House and body to put forward a minimum wage bill to provide protections for all workers and to work to provide more sufficient coverage in terms of OSHA, because we know that there are many, many thousands of workers that lose their lives, that go to work thinking that they are going to have some protections in place and find out that they cannot even go home because something happened at work. I would ask this Congress, this body, to please take note of these issues.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the departure of a key member of my staff, Frank Molina, a field representative in my El Monte office who is leaving this Friday to pursue his life-long dream of attending law school. The single child of working-class parents, Frank became one of the first members of his family to earn a college degree when he graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles last year. Armed with a major in International Development Studies and minors in Latin American Studies and Spanish Literature, Frank set out to give back to the community that had already given him so much. He started as a field representative in my California State Senate office in August 2000 and moved to the U.S. House of Representatives in January. Beyond helping constituents with casework, Frank assisted with higher education, transportation, immigration and economic development issues in my district office. The residents of my district are better off because of him. Frank's fluency in Spanish was an extremely important asset for our office. He routinely communicated with constituents in their native tongue and wrote many of my Spanish-language speeches and position papers. His biggest asset, though, was his dedication to the residents of the 31st Congressional District. Day after day, Frank worked to ensure that small businesses prospered in our area, that recent immigrants settled into their new community and that high school students benefitted from the advantages of higher education. And now Frank is hoping to reap those same benefits. He plans on spending these next few months studying for the Law School Admission Test and hopes to attend an Ivy League university for law school. Although I and the constituents of the 31st Congressional District will miss Frank, we wish him the best.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I am representing a district in Los Angeles County, California; and a week and a half ago I had my first experience going through a blackout. One would think that in a community like mine, in the city of El Monte, that our readiness would be there; that we would have substantial support to be able to help our community out. What I found going through 30 minutes of this blackout was that I was unable to use my cell phone because there was no capacity to make calls. All the electricity went out. All our lights went out on our streets. And no one was notified in advance. This is a serious problem that we are going through, and it was not even 80 degrees in California. So we are talking about a very severe problem that is affecting many residents throughout California. I happen to represent an area where we have a large number of people who are on fixed incomes, low-income people and senior citizens. They are not going to get a tax break, they are not going to get $300 or $600, but they are going to get in return a big utility bill. In addition, they also have to pay more for gasoline, $2.12. That is what it is. They are looking for leadership from FERC and from this administration.

Ms. SOLIS

Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the achievements of Adolph A. Solis, who recently retired from his position as City Clerk of Azusa, California. He had served as City Clerk since July 1974, and was a positive role model in the Azusa community, located in California's 31st Congressional District. Mr. Solis was born on January 17, 1931, in the San Gabriel Valley. He graduated from Citrus Union High School in 1948. He later joined the United States Navy and served as a deck hand on the USS Missouri during his first tour to Japan and Korea. After returning from his first tour in 1951, he went on to service school training in Norfolk, VA. Later, he rejoined the USS Missouri and went on a second tour to Cuba, Haiti, and several other islands in the Caribbean. Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Solis was Honorably Discharged in June 1954 at the Brooklyn Naval Station. Mr. Solis returned to Azusa in 1954. Upon returning to Azusa, Mr. Solis married Ofelia Rico in 1955. He had proposed to her in 1951 on a two-week leave from the USS Missouri during his Far East tour. Mr. Solis says, ``I only saw her personally for five days between my proposal and our wedding.'' It was true love, which produced two wonderful children, William and Aida. After his active duty, Solis worked as a file clerk for the Navy's Aerojet facility between 1954 and 1956. He then worked as an accountant until 1974. Mr. Solis recognized the importance of education. He began his studies at Mount San Antonio College in the fall of 1955, then transferred to Citrus College in the spring of 1956, and then I went on to Pasadena City College. Mr. Solis transferred to California State University Los Angeles and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in English in 1961. Mr. Solis taught English as a Second Language from 1966 to 1969 for the Azusa Unified School District Adult Education Evening School. In 1969 he won a seat on the School Board, and in 1973 he was reelected. I recognize Mr. Solis for his tireless efforts to improve the City of Azusa and for his commitment to public service. On behalf of California's 31st Congressional District, I wish him a wonderful retirement and thank him for his decades-long service to our community.