Bennie Thompson

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment. The provisions on trade and maritime domain awareness it contains are strong improvements to the bill. However, I must express my deep disappointment with one provision in the bill removed by this amendment. In committee, we included language that would have assured that the Coast Guard did not have to use bubble gum, bailing wire, and buckets in the coming years. This language was stripped out of the bill, meaning that we are going to have to make the Coast Guard spend the next two decades fighting a 21st century war on terror with assets built during the Vietnam War. The Deepwater Program must be accelerated if our ports and coastlines are going to be safe. I know that if Chairman King had had his way this would have stayed in, and I thank him for that. I am a strong supporter of this program. As a conferee on the last two Coast Guard authorization bills, I supported more funding for the Deepwater Program each year. At one time during Hurricane Katrina, the Coast Guard used 78 Deepwater assets in Hurricane Katrina relief to save 33,000 people. One would think that the administration would be asking for more money for this type of equipment, not less. The Commandant of the Coast Guard, ADM Thomas Collins, told me in February of this year that the Coast Guard can accelerate the completion of the Deepwater Program if given the funding, and that it would result in a large savings to the taxpayers. I hope this Congress will reconsider accelerating Deepwater in the conference on this bill. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, in support of the amendment, I would like to compliment our chairman on really pulling together a good bill. Even though there were differences, we did the best we could to work those differences out in what I consider a very fair and reasonable manner; and I want to compliment him for that. I was able to in the course of this discussion go to New York and look at some of the fine things going there. So, Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. The gentleman from New Jersey has indicated support for the Deepwater Program, additional monies for the assets. I look forward to supporting that effort. The Coast Guard, as we know, serves a wonderful purpose. We need to make sure they have the assets to get the job done. So I look forward to working with him on that. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of the time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to offer the Stupak amendment at this time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment which will ensure that port security grant funds be used by ports to purchase communication equipment that is interoperable with Federal, State and local communication systems. I have been in countless hearings in the Department of Homeland Security Committee where first responders have told us how year after year they have not been able to communicate with each other. I have also heard testimony from the operators of critical infrastructure such as hospitals affected by Hurricane Katrina who also still cannot communicate with government officials in an emergency. We have not yet had a terrorist attack on a port in the United States, but I do not want to wait until one occurs to find out whether port operators face similar challenges. Allowing port security grants funds to be used by ports to build interoperable communication systems will ensure that if an attack does occur at a U.S. port we are ready for it. As a result, Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak). (Mr. STUPAK asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Connecticut for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, I support the amendment. Many Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee have been asking for a long time why DHS is not more seriously looking at the ICIS system, and we have never gotten an answer from them. The ICIS system proves that we can scan every container leaving for the U.S. without interrupting the flow of commerce. The Markey-Nadler amendment would exactly use technology like this if it had been allowed to have been debated here today. Unfortunately, we could not. We cannot accept anything less than 100 percent container screening coming into this country. So I am in support of Mr. Shays's amendment. This at least moves us forward. It is unfortunate that we have to take baby steps rather than giant steps. But for the sake of moving forward, we support the amendment, and I compliment the gentleman from Connecticut for offering the amendment.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentlelady allowing me to speak in support of her amendment. We absolutely need to work with communities around ports. Those communities, just like other communities, are at risk, not only to what comes into those communities but also many of the people who live in the communities. So we are happy to support the gentlelady's amendment. Citizen preparedness is what we should be about. It is absolutely important. We support the amendment.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge).

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection and Cybersecurity, who did a lot of work on this bill, particularly the section improving the C-TPAT process. Many of the provisions in this bill also come from a provision introduced by the gentlewoman, H.R. 4355, introduced in the 108th Congress.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman) who is one of the original co- authors of this bill and has worked tirelessly to get us to the floor here today.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chairman, first, I would like to thank Chairman King and Chairman Lungren for working with me and other members on the committee to produce the bill before us today. I especially want to commend my colleagues, Ms. Loretta Sanchez and Ms. Harman, for their hard work on this bill and on port security in general. Many provisions in this bill came from legislation they have introduced over the last 2 years, and for that I thank them. They have been leaders on this issue, and we need to give them credit before we discuss the full ramifications of this bill. Madam Chairman, this bill represents an important step toward improving our port security, but it is only a step. We need to do more to get it right. I could talk about the good things in the bill; but with this limited time, I would like to focus on what is not in the bill. These are the things that are going to keep us up at night after today's votes are over. Yesterday during Rules, it was said by folks on the other side that we need to look at where threats exist and do something that makes us a little safer. ``A little safer'' is simply not good enough after 9/11, and the threats left undone by this bill are significant. I worry that unsecured nuclear materials, and there is a lot of that wandering around the Russian countryside, will be shipped here hidden in a cargo container that sails into Miami, New York, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles or Oakland. From there, the cargo container will be put on a train or truck headed to places like Chicago, St. Louis, Austin, Milwaukee, or Detroit. As the train or truck passes by our schools, homes, or who knows what else, what is going to stop a terrorist from detonating it. If this happens, what will my colleagues across the aisle recommend Congress tell Americans, we didn't know it would happen? After 9/11 when terrorists surprised us by using our own airplanes against us, we cannot say we did not expect the unexpected. We must do better. It is our job to prevent disaster from happening, not react after the fact. We had the opportunity to do that today. We could have voted on my amendment increasing the number of Customs and Border Patrol officers at our ports, but the amendment was not allowed on the floor. All the talk on border and port security means little if we do not have the boots on the ground to check what is coming into our Nation before it arrives here or before it leaves a foreign port. And we could have ensured that more than the 5 percent of our cargo entering the country is scanned by voting on the Markey-Nadler amendment on cargo screening. Madam Chairman, 5 percent does not make America a little safer; but the 95 percent of cargo left unchecked leaves us a lot less safe. This is not rocket science, Madam Chairman. Technology exists to scan cargo. It is being used in Hong Kong as we speak. It can be bought over the counter, and the amendment offered by my colleagues would have given DHS up to 5 years to get it right. This bill is a good first step, but we need to start making giant steps to keep up with the terrorists. Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for allowing me to speak against this rule. Mr. Speaker, I do not support this rule as it flies in the face of bipartisanship shown by the Homeland Security Committee. It is inexcusable to not allow an up or down vote on many of the amendments that appeared before the Rules Committee, including my amendment increasing the number of Customs inspectors assigned at seaports, the Nadler-Markey amendment advocating 100 percent phase-in screening of cargo, and the Langevin amendment on radiation portal monitoring. Silencing debate on port security and not allowing Republican and Democrats of this House to consider those amendments on the floor keep all of us from doing our jobs constituents put us here to do. If those who refuse to allow these amendments to be considered by the House did so because they were afraid that they were not going to pass, then I ask them to think about this: maybe these amendments would have passed because they are sound policy and the types of things that we need to do, serve and protect the American people. If they were refused because the majority did not want to take hard votes that their constituents might disagree with, I implore those who make these decisions to put America's safety first before politics. We must remember that homeland security is not a Democratic or Republican issue, it is an American issue; and those in this House must treat it as so. If our ports are attacked, if a cargo container is blown up, those affected will be all stripes, colors and political affiliations. It is about time this House started legislating as such. Mr. Speaker, let us look at the amendments the Rules majority refused to give an up or down vote on. First, my amendment authorized $67 million for 400 Customs and Border Patrol inspectors to be assigned at seaports over the next 4 years. With all of the talk of how we need to shore up our ports here and abroad, why not put our money where our mouth is and get enough people to do the job? One of the major deficiencies of our port security is that we do not have enough inspectors at U.S. and foreign seaports. Second, the rule rejects Mr. Langevin's amendment which increases radiation portal monitors, increases funding by $117 million. What is the majority afraid of? That the American people may discover that this country spends 57 times the amount of money on a missile defense system that does not work? Finally, this rule does not include the amendment offered by Representatives Nadler, Markey and Oberstar, requiring 100 percent container scanning phased in over 5 years. Currently, only about 5 percent of that cargo is screened; 95 percent is not. This amendment would have fixed that. Let's stop playing politics with America's security. Let's have an open exchange of ideas. It is about time that we stopped hiding behind rules that leave America less secure.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Schiff for putting this Special Order together to give us an opportunity to talk about real security from the Democratic standpoint. As you know, unlike my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, we have a plan. That plan is very simple. If we can get additional support, we can make this country safer. But for this hour, let us talk a little bit about homeland security. First of all, I want to take you to the notion that as a grandfather, I spend a lot of time reading children's stories. It may be because I am the ranking member on the Homeland Security Committee, but recently I was reading the ``Emperor's New Clothes,'' and I could not help but think about the Department of Homeland Security. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, it is about a ruler who loved to dress up in the finest threads. One day some folks came by and promised to make him the finest suit he had ever seen. As they made it, they kept asking him what he thought about the beautiful cloth and the fine design. Not seeing anything but feeling a little naive, the emperor said it was beautiful. When the day came for him to wear the suit out in public, he called a big parade and put on the so-called outfit. Everyone ``oohed'' and ``aahed'' until one small child spoke out and said those magic words, ``He doesn't have anything on.'' Why does that story remind me of the current administration's homeland security efforts? Because DHS is like the naked emperor. Despite the Department's many press releases of success, the agency's efforts are not enough to cover our Nation's critical parts. Like the citizens of the emperor's town, we all want to believe what we are hearing and seeing is sufficient. But let me tell you, it is not. If you have any doubts about this, just look at the government's response to Hurricane Katrina last year. As Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general of the Department has said, if Katrina was a dress rehearsal on how the U.S. would respond to a terrorist attack, we are not prepared. A lot needs to be done to ensure homeland security is covered. Our security gaps at our borders must be eliminated. Our trains and subways must be protected so we do not have a London or Madrid attack. Our ports must be secure, and our Coast Guard must be well funded. That means we must work with our partners internationally to protect our ports by screening 100 percent of the U.S.-bound containers at their points of origin rather than waiting until they arrive at our port communities. Those flying the friendly skies should be safe as they are carried to their final destination. That means we must secure our passenger airlines by requiring 100 percent screening of air cargo that travels on the same plane with the passengers. We must have commonsense security at chemical and nuclear plants. The private sector is looking for guidance from the Department. We need to be sure that they have it. We must ensure that hazardous cargo is carried safely through our communities. Also, we must guarantee that our local cops, firemen, and EMTs have the training, staffing, equipment, and technology they need so that they can talk to each other during an emergency. As you know, we saw with 9/11 that a lot of the individuals involved in that situation could not communicate with each other and many of them lost their lives because of it. Now, when the small child called the emperor out, he knew the child was right, but thought the procession goes on. He carries himself proudly and his assistants acted like they were keeping his invisible robe off the ground. The Department's procession absolutely cannot go on. I ask my colleagues across the aisle to stop carrying this invisible robe and join us in recognizing that the Department of Homeland Security has been without clothes for way too long. It is about time that we outfitted the agency so that it can fulfill its mission. Our Nation and its citizens deserve no less.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Well, it is not. And what we find is there are a substantial number of containers that come to this country, as you know, without any inspection. To inspect it when it gets to our shores, if it is a dirty bomb or anything like that, is unacceptable. We have to do the inspections or the screenings at a minimum at the points of origin rather than when they get to this country. If we don't, we are in for a rude awakening. The other point I want to make, and I want to thank you for this time, is we clearly have to support financially the safeguards that are required. We have the technology. We have to make sure that we put the resources to support the technology.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. None of it makes sense. The other thing is, we have the technology available to us to do many of these things. We have to have the will to produce the resources necessary to acquire the technology in order for that to occur. We have tried in our committees to fully fund all of the screening programs, not just at airports, but we are talking about screening cargo coming into our country. But we can't get the support on the Republican side of the aisle to move in that direction. We have two government agencies, Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security, charged with radiation screening of certain activities. We can't even get support to merge the two programs. They are operating in ports separate and apart. So clearly, there are a number of things, Congressman Schiff, that we need to do.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize an African American pioneer, Willie Carson, Greenville's first African- American police officer. I submit the following article by Bill Johnson of the Delta Democrat Times. Greenville--Another Delta Pioneer Has Passed Willie Carson, the first African-American police officer in Greenville, died Friday evening. He was 86 years old. Carson forged the way for other black law enforcement officers to follow in the early 1950s, working as a beat officer on Nelson Street. ``Those were some really rough days back then,'' said his wife of 20 years, Delilah Carson. She recalled some of the many stories told by her husband of his early experiences in uniform from their Fairview Extended home. ``At that particular time, a lot of blacks were killing each other on Nelson. Back then, it was not so much with guns but knives and their fists,'' she said. ``It was a real war zone out there at the time. ``C.A. Hollinsworth was the chief at that time. And he knew that changes were coming and a new day was ahead,'' she reflected. ``Winchester Davis was very instrumental in helping Willie get on the force. Willie played guitar for Davis' band, and they traveled a lot. He knew Willie had a family with children and needed a good job with benefits, and made a way for him.'' Carson took his oath to uphold the law, and he made sure that everyone on his beat abided by the law. He was smooth and quiet in manner but when necessary made a firm stand. ``A lot of people have come up to him over the years and thanked him for changing their lives.'' Carson said. ``If need be, he could get down and dirty right along with them. And sometimes it was necessary.'' While rumors abounded about the reasons Carson was given the Nelson Street beat, she was told by Willie that it was a matter of support. ``Hollinsworth knew that if anything went down on the Nelson Street beat, someone would speak up for Willie and give support for him. But remember, this was the early '50s still, and not many whites were going to go against another white person's word if they were arrested by a colored officer. So it was the best choice for the times,'' Carson said. Willie Carson was also really good friends with former police chief and mayor, William Burnley. They spent a lot of time together and even called each other brother. ``They had a very unique relationship,'' Delilah recalled. Joe Tinsley, a long-time Nelson Street business owner, also recalled Carson's tenure on the beat. ``He was a true pioneer in police work, being a black man back in those days,'' Tinsely said from his barber shop on the corner of Nelson and Edison. ``And boy what a heck of a guitar player.'' Tinsley recalled Carson as a hard-working man who always had several jobs along with playing his guitar for a variety of bands, including Ike Turner, Winchester Davis, Big Joe, and others. ``He had a rocky road those early years, with the name calling and all. But he broke through the ice and opened the door for all black law enforcement officers to follow,'' Tinsley said. ``And as time went on, Carson was very much respected. They wouldn't raise any hell or cuss around Officer Carson. It was tough on him, but he was the right man for the job and he made it work.'' Carson is remembered by his family as a good husband, father and provider who loved his family and children; a man who believed in being in line with the law. He was the type of fellow who was known for a good joke and appreciated a better one. He was the go-to guy during the boycotts at Mississippi Valley State College in 1969, where he served as chief of campus police, telling his men, ``We are here to protect these students and the faculty. And that's what I expect you to do.'' There were no major injuries on his watch, even when meeting face to face and at odds with members of the Black Panthers organization. Carson was also the first black housing inspector in Greenville, and served as the grand marshal of the 2003 Christmas Parade. In later years, Carson served with the Washington County Sheriffs Department from 1989 until his retirement in 2000. He was never a bitter man and was considered rather jolly and outgoing. ``He tried to find the best in even a bad situation,'' Delilah said, adding that he would often tell his children, ``Sometimes you can't get around a problem, but you can always make good choices.'' Officer Willie Carson's career and faithful service to the community is a testament to his character. Carson's first probably will not be noted in history books, but it is his service and men and women of similar character that has paved the way for other outstanding African Americans to outfit our public services. It is with great honor, I recognize Officer Willie Carson, a true pioneer.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, today I rise in strong opposition to the fiscal year 2007 House budget resolution, a resolution that shortchanges our critical homeland security programs. The funding provided under this measure leaves dangerous gaps in our Nation's border, ports, mass transit, aviation, and critical infrastructure security. It also fails to address the preparedness and response deficiencies laid bare by Hurricane Katrina. When Katrina struck the gulf coast, it was a frightening wakeup call to our Nation that we could not handle a response to a major incident, regardless of whether it was a terrorist attack or natural disaster. Regrettably, the House budget resolution, like the President's budget request, continues a 4-year trend of underfunding the Department of Homeland Security and homeland security programs across the Federal Government. The most egregious cuts and eliminations are to programs that assist our local and State officials in preparing for and responding to emergencies. The budget slashes first responder funding by $570 million. The Local Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program is completely eliminated. Communities across the Nation have come to rely on the program to help with information sharing among local law enforcement agencies as well as counterterrorism and security planning. Like the President's budget, this budget unjustifiably cuts critical firefighter grant programs. The SAFER Act firefighter hiring program is eliminated. The FIRE Act grant program is cut by 50 percent. Together these programs are critical to ensuring that our local fire departments can recruit and retain firefighters and give them the tools they need to respond to emergencies and disasters. These programs should be increased, Mr. Chairman, not decimated. Another grant program that is slashed under the budget is the Emergency Management Performance grants. This program is the singular Federal program for State and local all-hazards preparedness and readiness. Communities use this money to develop disaster plans, sheltering strategies, and evacuation routes. In 2004, even before the name ``Katrina'' became synonymous with misery and loss, NEMA reported that this program faced a $260 million shortfall. Just 2 days ago, expert hurricane forecasters told America to prepare for another bad hurricane season. They predicted that the east coast chances of being hit this year had doubled to more than 60 percent. Yet here we are today considering a budget that slashes Emergency Management Performance grants. I hope the forecasters are wrong; but if they are right, Mr. Chairman, I for one do not want to be standing here 6 months from now if New Jersey, Long Island, or some other populated east coast center is hit, saying we could have done something. Not only does this budget shortchange our communities, Mr. Chairman, but it also turns its back on them when it comes to covering the cost of keeping dangerous and criminal aliens incarcerated. The President's budget calls for the elimination of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. This resolution before us today does nothing to remedy that. With all the President's tough talk on border security, you would think that he would want to at least keep the most violent and dangerous illegal immigrants off our streets. Instead, this budget cuts the one program dedicated to helping our local cops and sheriffs put behind bars those who are breaking laws. Even Republicans last year disagreed with the President and joined Democrats in approving $405 million for the SCAAP program. What has changed this year? They no longer want the criminals off the streets? The budget also ignores the wakeup calls that came in 2004 and 2005 when terrorists executed coordinated rush hour train and bus bombings in Madrid and London. The budget does not provide dedicated funds to close known gaps in rail and mass transit systems to protect 14 million Americans, who use nearly 6,000 public transportation systems each day. Under this budget, State and local transit agencies, which have already spent $2 billion to enhance security and emergency preparedness since 9/11 attacks, continue to be left largely to fend for themselves. We are shortchanging the Coast Guard in this budget. That agency, which did the right thing in Hurricane Katrina, is using ships from the Vietnam era. In using these Vietnam-era ships, we put our Coast Guard at risk. This budget will ensure one thing: that the Coast Guard with need a lot of bubblegum, bailing wire, and buckets to stay afloat if it is approved. Speaking of maritime security, this budget does little to ensure that ports can make the physical security improvements they need for high- risk containers coming to America. I call on my colleagues to reject this budget for these reasons. Congress should no longer ignore the fact that homeland security begins at home, in our communities, towns, and in our cities. Let us do the right thing by the American people. Let us put a budget together that protects our Nation.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Coach Thomas Billups, head coach of the State Champion, Lanier High School Boys Basketball Team. I submit the following article by Bill Spencer of the Clarion Ledger Newspaper of Jackson, Mississippi. Fiery Coach Thomas Billups has created a dynasty. Thomas Billups doesn't want to come off as boastful, even though his success may be unmatched in the history of Mississippi high school boys basketball. He's a staunch believer in his methods, however, and who can argue with the veteran Lanier coach's incredible run? ``I'm not saying I'm the greatest coach ever,'' said Billups, whose Bulldogs (34-3) won their final 19 games and finished No. 1 in The Clarion-Ledger Super 10 rankings for the second consecutive year. ``There are a lot of good coaches out there. I'm not saying everything I do is right. But what I'm doing . . . there's been some good in it. Because look at what we've done.'' In 15 seasons, Billups has coached in 12 state finals, including eight in a row. Last Thursday, he guided the Bulldogs to a second straight Class 4A state championship, tying him with Gulfport's legendary Bert Jenkins for the most Mississippi High School Activities Association boys state titles with seven. Lanier won again despite the graduation of McDonald's All- American Monta Ellis, who jumped to the NBA. Billups, 53, has built a hoops machine on Maple Street in Jackson. Not even Jenkins--who won 866 games in 28 seasons-- coached in eight consecutive state finals. With a 463-73 record shouting orders from Lanier's bench, the demonstrative Billups has averaged more than 30 victories per year and won an astounding 86 percent of the time. Billups' latest gold ball may be his most satisfying. Although senior point guard Al Graham, junior guard R.L. Horton and senior forward Kalauso Williams entered this season with some experience, most of the Bulldogs were new faces. ``We were young, but these kids wanted to be just like these Lanier teams that came through here,'' Billups said. ``They do everything I ask them to do to win a ballgame.'' Lavel Johnson, the Mississippi correspondent for the recruiting magazine Hoop Scoop, believes Billups will cherish this state crown the most. ``This was his top coaching job,'' said Johnson, who has watched Jackson basketball for 20 years. ``This title is very satisfying for him because for so many years, people have said he wins because of his talent and not because he's a good coach. If anything dispels that belief, this does.'' Billups' in-your-face style is relentless. During games, he alternates between chewing on referees and yelling at his players. Rarely does he sit. He paces the sidelines, roaring like an angry, nattily attired bear. Sometimes, he'll stop, arms folded, and scowl, staring at a striped shirt--or player--who has done him wrong. He plays no favorites, either, and will berate a player for a mistake in a flash, whether the Bulldogs are leading by two points or 20. ``Whatever goes for one player goes for all of them,'' Billups said. ``You've got to let kids know that there's only one way, the coach's way. In my case, it's Billups' way. My style of coaching is not going to change. Kids need to know that I'm going to be in their face every practice, every game, screaming and hollering.'' Horton has come to appreciate Billups' tactics. ``He puts you through a lot,'' said Horton, who averaged about 25 points per game, scoring a career-high 50 twice. ``He makes you feel like you almost want to quit. Players ahead of me like Monta used to tell me to stick with it because it's going to make me better. He sees a player's potential before they ever see it. He brought a lot of stuff out of me that I didn't ever think I could do. He makes players work their hardest.'' For all of his bluntness, there's also a gentler side to Billups, whether he's attending church with his team or hosting a Super Bowl party. Many have noticed, including Lee Vance, a Jackson Police Department veteran of nearly 19 years and Lanier alumnus, Class of 1976. ``The greatest tribute I've ever seen or read is what his players and former players said about him publicly, the father-figure and nurturing comments that have been made,'' said Vance, JPD's Precinct 2 commander. Former Lanier coach N.Z. Bryant, who won one of the Bulldogs' 15 state titles in 1969, said Billups enjoys a special bond with his players. ``Coach Billups has control of his players and they respect him,'' said Bryant, now deputy director of the MHSAA. ``Young players nowadays have a tendency to have their own mind. Those kids are going to run exactly what he says.'' Coach Thomas Billups has built a winning tradition and legacy in Jackson's inner-city. The high-level, high-profile programs that Billups has put together have ignited the competitive fancies of the other inner city teams making for some of the most competitively rivaled basketball in the State. I take pride in recognizing Coach Thomas Billups and the dynasty that he has built with some of our most talented inner-city young men.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of defeating the previous question so that we may offer a proposal to ensure that America's ports remain safe. As we all know, a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates is attempting to purchase another company that runs several port terminals throughout the United States. Even though the law requires an extra 45 days to investigate a contract like this if there is even a chance that it could threaten national security, the Bush administration chose to approve the deal without the extra investigation. The administration approved the deal, even though we now know that a classified Coast Guard report said the deal might be a security risk. The President and the UAE company have now voluntarily agreed to an extra 45-day investigation. But that is no longer good enough. We simply cannot trust this administration to get it right. If we defeat the previous question, we will offer a bipartisan bill that I have introduced along with chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Peter King, giving Congress the authority to prohibit the deal if the President decides to let us go forward when the investigation is over. Mr. Speaker, an extra provision has been added to Chairman King's bill to ensure that congressional leadership cannot prevent Congress from taking action. The UAE deal is just further proof that we cannot get our port security right with this administration. The 9/11 Commission said that the threat to our ports is as great, if not greater, than the 9/11 attacks. And how has this administration responded? It has not dedicated enough personnel and resources to the two programs, CSI and CT-PAT, that are designed to secure our ports. As a result, high-risk container shipments enter the U.S. unchecked. It has not created standards for container security to keep terrorists from tampering with our cargo. It has only deployed radiation detectors to equip 25 percent of the Nation's seaports. It only screens about 6 percent of the cargo that comes into this country. Mr. Speaker, we have a problem. Our ports are not secure. By defeating this measure, we will give an opportunity for this Congress to vote on securing our ports.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of resolution (H. Res. 655) honoring the life and accomplishments of Mrs. Coretta Scott King and her contributions as a leader in the struggle for civil rights, and I also express my heart felt condolences to the King family on her passing. As the wife of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Mrs. King was recognized by many as the ``first lady'' of the Civil Rights movement. Born and raised in Marion, Alabama, Coretta Scott graduated valedictorian from Lincoln High School. She received a B.A. in music and education from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and then went on to study concert singing at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music, where she earned a degree in voice and violin. While in Boston she met Martin Luther King, Jr. who was then studying for his doctorate in systematic theology at Boston University. They were married on June 18, 1953, and in September 1954 took up residence in Montgomery, Alabama, with Coretta Scott King assuming the many functions of pastor's wife at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. During Dr. King's career, Mrs. King devoted most of her time to raising their four children: Yolanda Denise (1955), Martin Luther, III (1957), Dexter Scott (1961), and Bernice Albertine (1963). She performed a series of Freedom Concerts which combined prose and poetry narration with musical selections and functioned as fundraisers for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the direct action organization of which Dr. King served as first president. In 1957, she and Dr. King journeyed to Ghana to mark that country's independence. In 1958, they spent a belated honeymoon in Mexico, where they observed first-hand the immense gulf between extreme wealth and extreme poverty. In 1959, Dr. and Mrs. King spent nearly a month in India on a pilgrimage to disciples and sites associated with Mahatma Gandhi. In 1964, she accompanied him to Oslo, Norway, where he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Even prior to her husband's public stand against the Vietnam War in 1967, Mrs. King functioned as liaison to peace and justice organizations, and as mediator to public officials on behalf of the unheard. In 1969, Coretta Scott King published the first volume of her autobiography, My Life with Martin Luther King Jr. In the 1970s, Mrs. King maintained her husband's commitment to the cause of economic justice. In 1974 she formed the Full Employment Action Council, a broad coalition of over 100 religious, labor, business, civil and women's rights organizations dedicated to a national policy of full employment and equal economic opportunity; Mrs. King served as Co-Chair of the Council. In 1983, she marked the 20th Anniversary of the historic March on Washington, by leading a gathering of more than 800 human rights organizations, the Coalition of Conscience, in the largest demonstration the capital city had seen up to that time. Mrs. King and three of her children were arrested in 1985 at the South African embassy in Washington, DC, for protesting against apartheid. Mrs. King led the successful campaign to establish Dr. King's birthday, January 15, as a national holiday in the United States. By an Act of Congress, the first national observance of the holiday took place in 1986. Dr. King's birthday is now marked by annual celebrations in over 100 countries. Mrs. King was invited by President Clinton to witness the historic handshake between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Chairman Yassir Arafat at the signing of the Middle East Peace Accords. Mrs. King devoted much of her energy and attention to developing programs and building the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change as a living memorial to her husband's life and dream. Situated in the Freedom Hall complex encircling Dr. King's tomb, The King Center is part of a 23-acre national historic park which includes his birth home, and which hosts over one million visitors a year. In 1995 she turned over leadership of the King Center to her son, Dexter Scott King, who served as Chairman, President & CEO until January 2004. On that date, Mrs. King was named interim Chair and her eldest son Martin Luther King, III assumed the leadership position of President & CEO. She remained active in the causes of racial and economic justice, and most recently devoted much of her energy to AIDS education and curbing gun violence. A woman of wisdom, compassion and vision, Coretta Scott King has tried to make ours a better world and, in the process, has made history. I am saddened by the loss of our ``First Lady''. She met the challenge of preserving the memory of her husband head on. Her tireless work in keeping the dream alive has been invaluable not only to civil rights, but to human rights. Mrs. Coretta Scott King kept the torch burning and as opposed to passing the torch, she lit torches along the way. She is a true inspiration to us all.