David Scott

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, this amendment, while I'm sure well-intended by the gentlelady, would strike a section of the bill waiving the ban against dissemination of public diplomacy materials within the United States to make the film, ``A Fateful Harvest,'' available for public viewing. Mr. Chairman, the Voice of America's Afghan service has produced this 52-minute documentary examining the narcotics industry in Afghanistan, including poppy growing, opium production, trafficking, law enforcement efforts, and the harmful health effects of drugs. It documents the challenges facing the Afghan Government as well as our own. Financed by the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, the film has aired inside Afghanistan in Dari and Pashto. A low-resolution version of the film has been available on Voice of America's Web site and in six separate parts on YouTube. Mr. Chair, Voice of America has received several requests for a clean copy of the documentary in its original high resolution and in one single piece for viewing at U.S. venues because of the film's educational value. Among those seeking access to this single clean copy are the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies Center on Politics and Foreign Relations and an Afghan students' group at the University of Virginia. On the area of cost that my good friend on the other side pointed out, there is no cost. Any additional copies of the film will be made available for purchase, which would cover the cost of copying, however small it may be. Mr. Chair, on many occasions during the history of USIA and the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Congress has passed legislation to waive the domestic dissemination ban, known colloquially as Smith- Mundt, to make a film available for public viewing in the United States. It is a simple matter with many precedents. This should be one of those occasions. And in reference to not having it done before, on three different occasions, Mr. Chair, three different authorizations, section 203 of the U.S. Information Agency FY 1990 and '91; section 204 in 1988 and '89; section 205 in FY97, different occasions when this has happened before. So with due respect for the lady from Florida, we certainly respect her; but we oppose the amendment. Mr. Chair, I now recognize for 2 minutes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Klein).

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the historic city of Jonesboro, Georgia on the occasion of its 150th anniversary. Officially founded as a town in 1859, Jonesboro existed as a small rural community until the rise of industrialization during the mid-19th century. Named after Colonel Samuel Goode Jones, an engineer who organized the construction of the first paved roads in town, Jonesboro continued to prosper until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. The legendary Battle of Jonesboro will always be remembered by our nation as one of the more significant milestones of the American Civil War. Because of the defeat of Confederate troops at the Battle of Jonesboro, General Sherman's army was successful in occupying the city of Atlanta, an event which directly contributed to the surrendering of the Confederate army in 1865. Following the end of the Civil War, Jonesboro began an arduous and trying period of reconstruction, along with the rest of the American South. The town of Jonesboro persevered through these numerous challenges and is known today for its extraordinary commitment to re-growth. Furthermore, the publication of Margaret Mitchell's internationally renowned novel, Gone with the Wind, has forever sealed this beautiful town and its remarkable past into our nation's cultural cannon. Madam Speaker, I am honored to represent such a remarkable city, a city which has played such an integral role in the history of the United States. I congratulate Jonesboro on this date, the 150th anniversary of its town's formation, and grant my sincerest wishes for its prosperity and success in the years to come.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I certainly again want to commend Mr. Burton for showing the leadership and at the same time showing the greatness of America, which has always been the timely response to other nations in their moment of great need and crisis.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 76) mourning the horrific loss of life in January 2009 caused by a landslide in Guatemala and an earthquake in Costa Rica and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should assist the affected people and communities, as amended.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank Congressman Dan Burton for introducing this very important and timely resolution, which mourns the terrible loss of life caused by two natural disasters that occurred 4 days apart in Central America in January of this year. The first was a landslide that occurred on January 4, 2009, in Guatemala. The second was an earthquake on January 8, 2009, in Costa Rica. The resolution before us conveys the deepest condolences of Congress to the families of the victims and urges that the United States Government maintain technical assistance to Central American countries regarding disaster management and mitigation. On January 4, 2009, millions of tons of earth fell onto a road in the Alta Verapaz area, north of Guatemala City in Guatemala. Apparently, a geological fault triggered the movement of earth, sending 10 million tons of mud and rock down a hillside onto a road that runs from San Cristobal Verapaz to Chicaman, north of Guatemala City. At least 38 people were confirmed dead and up to 60 were missing, many of whom were coffee workers in the region. Four days later, on January 8, 2009, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook the capital region of San Jose, Costa Rica. The earthquake's epicenter was 20 miles from San Jose at a depth of 21.7 miles, and the shaking continued for 40 seconds. Twenty-three individuals were confirmed dead, over 100 were treated for injuries, and nearly a dozen went missing, including many buried by resulting landslides. Guatemala and Costa Rica have been frequently impacted by significant natural disasters including those in the aftermath of Hurricane Stan in Guatemala in 2005 that led to hundreds of deaths. I agree wholeheartedly that it should be the policy of the United States to continue technical assistance to governments in the region at the national, provincial, and local levels in the area of the disaster management coordination. It is also essential that the United States take a long-term view with its regional partners and help them improve disaster mitigation techniques. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this very important and necessary and timely resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this very important resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, last month, President Obama delivered a very important video message to the Iranian people and to Iran's leaders, coinciding with Iran's Festival of Nowruz, a 12-day holiday marking the new year. Mr. Speaker, I support President Obama's spirit of engagement, and I share his view that the United States and the international community should try to persuade Iran, through both diplomacy and economic sanctions, to comply with its legal obligations under the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty and under numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Robert Levinson, a retired agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, disappeared in Iran over 2 years ago. There is no better time than now, in the spirit of engagement with Iran, for the Government of Iran to share the results of its investigation into Mr. Levinson's disappearance with the FBI. Indeed, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in an interview with NBC on July 28, 2008, stated that the Iranian Government was willing to cooperate with the FBI in the search for Mr. Robert Levinson. Iranian officials also promised their continued assistance to his relatives during the Levinson family's visit to Iran in December of 2007. This resolution under consideration urges President Obama and our allies to raise the case of Mr. Levinson with the Iranians at every opportunity. Indeed, this process has already begun. During a March 31 conference in The Hague, Ambassador Richard Holbrook handed an Iranian diplomat a diplomatic letter asking Tehran to ensure the quick and safe return of Mr. Levinson, as well as freelance journalist Roxana Saberi and student Esha Momeni, both of whom are being held in Iran. The resolution also urges the Government of Iran to fulfill its pledge to cooperate with the FBI. Both of these requests are more than fully appropriate. Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the Levinson family. And we remain deeply committed to learning Mr. Levinson's fate in Iran and, if possible, hopefully returning him home safe and sound. I strongly support this resolution, and I urge all my colleagues to do likewise. And I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler) for introducing this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this is a very important and timely resolution. As we have spoken to it, I think we all see its urgency, its humanitarian nature, and the very important challenge to the people of Iran and the leaders of Iran to do the right thing in this case.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 36) calling on the President and the allies of the United States to engage with officials of the Government of Iran to raise the case of Robert Levinson at every opportunity, urging officials of the Government of Iran to fulfill their promises of assistance to the family of Robert Levinson, and calling on the Government of Iran to share the results of its investigation into the disappearance of Robert Levinson with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as amended.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. I thank very much the gentleman from South Carolina. Let me just be very, very brief. I want to take a moment to point out the fallacies in the Republicans' plan. First of all, the Republicans' plan is based on the weakest effort to try to deal with an economy that is receding. It is of little value to base your plan on tax cuts at a time when the economy is in recession, at a time when the economy is, in many cases, in a depression. We are losing, on average, 620,000 jobs every month, Madam Chair. That's 21,000 every day. How in the world are we going to make an economic policy based upon tax cuts, which are based upon income, when the income levels of our country is going down? There's a reason why this country supports what the Democrats are doing under this Democrat President by over 60 percent. And that is because we understand what this economy needs now is growth--and the best way to get this economy to grow is to invest in the American people. And when you invest in the American people, the best way to do that is in education--to get our people educated and strong, to be able to get them retrained to get the kind of jobs that we will need in a new, restructured economy. In terms of health care--not only to provide it in terms of lowering the cost, but to create jobs in the health care area. Nowhere is that need any greater in terms of jobs than in energy dependence. That's why the American people are supporting the Democratic initiatives on this, and I urge a positive vote for this budget resolution.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate an exceptional high school choir in my district, Pebblebrook High School Performing Arts Chamber Choir of Mabelton, Georgia, which has been chosen to perform at New York City's legendary Carnegie Hall on March 20, 2009. Pebblebrook High School Performing Arts Chamber Choir was selected out of dozens of high school choirs across the country for this performance. The concert will feature 200 students from four states, and is the capstone of Carnegie Hall's yearlong National High School Choral Festival. The concert will be conducted by Dr. Craig Jessop, esteemed Director of the Utah State University Music Department and former director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, who has been working with the choirs and their conductors throughout the year. Apart from their world-renowned performances, Carnegie Hall brings innovative music education programs to students across the nation. I am delighted that these young constituents have been given this opportunity. Led by George Case, the Pebblebrook High School Performing Arts Chamber Choir performs works from all periods of classical music with a strong emphasis on 20th- and 21st-century compositions with a focus on choral/orchestral masterworks. The Choir has shared the stage with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Cobb Symphony Orchestra, and has entered numerous competitions and adjudications at which they have consistently received superior ratings and awards. Choir members are actively involved in extracurricular performances and are given the opportunity to work with top professionals in the arts from the Atlanta area and throughout the United States. I am honored to have one of the four schools in the nation chosen for the Carnegie Hall National High School Choral Festival residing in my Georgia district. They should be proud not only of their musical achievement, but their embodiment of the quality musical education the State of Georgia provides. I commend these students and their leaders for their success, and wish them the best of luck on March 20 when they perform at Carnegie Hall.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on February 12, 1909, exactly 100 years ago this month, a group of 60 persons came together as a result of a race riot in Springfield, Illinois, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln; very ironic, the emancipator of this Nation. It is very important for us to recognize that these groups of people came together, 60 in number, to make amends and to address the racial conditions in the United States at the turn of the century and as a result of this riot in Springfield, Illinois. But it's also important to note that of these 60 individuals, 53 were white people and seven were black people, headed up by W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida Wells Bennett, strong Americans who rose to the occasion. You know, one of the great NAACP writers, Langston Hughes, put it best when he was describing the condition of the African American people when he wrote that, ``Life for me (African Americans) ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it and splinters, and boards torn up, no carpet on the floor, bare. But all the while I've been a climbin' on and reaching landings and turnin' corners, and sometimes going in the dark where there ain't been no light.'' But in February of 1909, there came a light, and that light was the NAACP. What an extraordinary story. And no greater testimony can be given to the NAACP than to recognize that on this very evening, for the first time in American history, an African American, the President of the United States, will address a joint session of Congress. What an extraordinary tribute on the very time that we are here to celebrate 100 years of the NAACP founding. So on this occasion we say, happy birthday, NAACP, and thank you.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Thank you very much. Madam Speaker, this is no joke. To my friends on the other side of this aisle, this is a very serious matter. We've lost 3,673,000 jobs in the last year alone. Madam Speaker, that is 10,000 jobs every day. Now, what we have here is plain and simple. Our economy has leaks and holes in it all throughout. That's why you've got 1,000 pages there because it's big. Our economy is big. You say you haven't read it. I would say you have read it. You've come down here and poked holes about it, said this is what's wrong with it and that's what's wrong with it. How do you know that if you haven't read it? The other point is this, Madam Speaker: last November the people of the United States made a decision and that decision was to put Barack Obama as President, because they wanted a new direction. He has pleaded, he has cajoled, he's gone all across this country asking for help. I say, Madam Speaker, let us give him the help, let us come together, and let us go ahead and pass this bill without delay. The American people are counting on us.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. I was up until 3 o'clock this morning reading it. If you had done this, Mr. Dreier, you were here debating it last week----

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. We have had the pleasure of having the distinguished guest chaplain for today from my district in Georgia. Each year, the Reserve Officers Association presents a Chaplain of the Year Award, which is selected by the Chief of Chaplains of each military service. And the award goes to a chaplain--a special chaplain--with special qualities. He is selected for extraordinary contributions to the welfare, the morale, and effectiveness of the Military Reserve Services. This year, the award went to Military Chaplain Major James Boren Higgins, who delivered our wonderful prayer this morning. Dr. Higgins graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1983. He earned his master of divinity degree in 1986 from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his doctor of ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. And he has received the following outstanding awards. And, America, listen to these rewards. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal. He is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal. Dr. Higgins is a recipient of the Army Commendation Medal. He is also the recipient of the Army Achievement Medal. And he is the recipient of the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. And for his distinguished duty in Iraq, he received the Iraq Campaign Medal. What an extraordinary minister. Not just a minister of God, but a minister of the world. A minister to bring peace and comfort to his fellow soldiers at a time of great stress on the battlefields, as well as here at home. Reverend Higgins currently lives in my district in Powder Springs, Georgia, with his lovely wife Pam and their three children. Reverend Higgins is the senior pastor and chief executive of the 3,200 member McEachern Memorial United States Methodist Church in Powder Springs, Georgia. We are so proud to have Pastor Major James Boren Higgins as our guest chaplain of the day for the United States Congress. What an extraordinary individual at an extraordinary time, who has given an extraordinary service. We are so proud to have him serve as our guest chaplain of the day.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise on a very, very joyous and celebratory occasion, an occasion to wish happy birthday to an extraordinary person, a great American, and a leading world citizen, and that is home run king Hank Aaron. For on February 5th of this month, Hank Aaron will celebrate his 75th birthday, and I am sure all of us in this Congress and across America and around the world would love to take this opportunity to say, ``Happy birthday, Hank.'' Hank Aaron was born in 1934 in the midst of the Depression in Mobile, Alabama. In that same year, a gentleman by the name of Babe Ruth swatted his last home run for the New York Yankees. Who would have thought that this young, black kid in Mobile, Alabama in 1934 would one day beat the record that many said never would be broken? Then World War II comes along; Pearl Harbor is bombed. While Hank Aaron's father is in the shipyards of Mobile, Alabama, fixing up the boats and the ships to help win World War II, Hank Aaron is playing his very first ball game as a 7 year old in Mobile, Alabama. Then 1947 comes around, and Jackie Robinson comes on the scene, and Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier, and creates a great gleam and hope and inspiration in the heart of this young 13-year-old kid, Hank Aaron, to think that, one day, I can play Major League Baseball because Jackie Robinson is with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He grows up in 1951, and at the tender age of 17, this young man signs a contract, Hank Aaron. His mother packs his suitcase and sends him off to play in the Negro league for the Indianapolis Clowns. What an historic and extraordinary life. Two years later, three years later in 1954, when the Supreme Court brings down that great decision in the Kansas Board of Education to integrate the schools and to start America on the movement to where we have seen this crowning achievement this year to elect the first black President, Hank Aaron signs with the Milwaukee Braves. In 1957, he has shown such skill, such tenacity to be one of the leading players, star players, in all of Major League Baseball in just 4 short years, and he leads the Milwaukee Braves to their first and only world championship, and he gets the crown as the Most Valuable Player in the 1957 World Series. Then in 1966, the South beckons. We want a major league team. The South is in the major leagues. Atlanta beckons. Mayor Ivan Allen makes a trip to Milwaukee, not to talk to the mayor, not to talk to the general manager or to the owner but to go knock on the door and to sit in the living room of Hank Aaron in 1965 and say, ``We are building a stadium, but we need a team.'' Hank Aaron says, ``Let's go south, boys,'' and history was made, and the South becomes a part of Major League Baseball because of this great American, Hank Aaron, in 1966. In 1974, the night is April 8, and then we flash back to that year 1934 and remember the great bambino strikes his final home run the year Hank Aaron is born. 714, they said, would never be broken, but on that night on April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron shatters Babe Ruth's record and hits 715. It is the shot heard around the world and the accolades. A great achievement. One of the greatest sports achievements in history. In 1976, he hits 755. All America join me in saying, ``Happy birthday, Hank Aaron, on your 75th birthday.''

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Does the gentleman have more time to yield?

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, bipartisanship is important, and we are reaching out for it. There is no President in history that has reached out and has done more to reach out and to show them than President Barack Obama. He has done so. On our side, the amendments that you wanted, many of those were included by Chairman Obey, Chairman Rangel and the other chairmen in this. There were some objectionable items.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Well, thank you very much, I can certainly use it. Because of this, this country is looking for us to provide the kind of leadership that is needed. They don't want us to hang around the docks like little boats. They are looking for us to go way out where the big ships go. We must think big and bold. Our economy is crumbling around us. Let me speak for a moment about what we need in Georgia. I don't know about your States, but Georgia's economy is crumbling and is in need. We will get just more than $6 billion in construction, and these are ready-made construction projects. Let me read what we have in the law. It says these new starts and priority projects would be under construction, and, we would be able to award contracts at least within 120 days so that we are moving forward and making sure that these jobs are created in the areas that are needed most. Now, we don't have a choice in this. The wrong thing for us to do is to do nothing. We have got to act big, we have got to act bold, and the American people are looking to us. We have got to move with confidence.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. I would yield.