Ed Towns

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the Senate joint resolution (S.J. Res. 3), ensuring that the compensation and other emoluments attached to the office of Secretary of the Interior are those which were in effect on January 1, 2005.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. TOWNS. I yield myself as much time as I may consume. S.J. Res. 3 is a measure needed to ensure Senator Salazar of Colorado will be able to serve our country as the Secretary of the Interior during the Obama administration. The Constitution provides that no Member of the House or Senate may be appointed to an office in the Federal Government for which the salary was raised during the Member's term. Fortunately, this does not prohibit the appointment of Senators or House Members to positions in the executive branch and will not prevent Senator Salazar from becoming Secretary of the Interior. Numerous historical precedents and Justice Department interpretations hold that such appointments are, in fact, permissible so long as the salary is set at the level it was before the appointee's term began. This long-standing practice dates back at least 100 years and is often referred to as the ``Saxbe Fix,'' referring to the solution which set the salary for President Nixon's nominee for Attorney General, William Saxbe, so that it would reflect the salary level in place before his congressional term of office began. Other Cabinet officials appointed under such arrangement include Secretary of State Edmund Muskie and Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen. The House also passed a similar measure by unanimous consent just last December to ensure that Senator Clinton may serve as Secretary of State. This is a commonsense solution with ample precedent, which I urge all Members to support. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TOWNS. Let me just say to the gentleman that he makes a very good point, and we will review it and see in terms of what we can do to be able to move things along. Also, I'm for saving. Any way we can save, let's do it. S.J. Res. 3 sets the salary of the Secretary of the Interior to the level in effect on January 1, 2005, before the start of Senator Salazar's term, satisfying the constitutional requirements. I urge Members to support the resolution and, of course, look forward to working with my colleague in terms of being able to look at a broader kind of legislation to be able to deal with others who might be moving forward or going into the administration. Madam Speaker, I don't have any other speakers, and I want to know if the minority has any other speakers.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, on that note, I ask my colleagues to be supportive of this legislation because, after all, I think that when we look at the service that is provided and what it is going to do in the days ahead, I think we should be supportive. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 35, the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2009, will restore public access to Presidential records. Identical legislation was introduced in the last Congress and passed the House with strong bipartisan support. The Presidential Records Act of 1978 established that the records of the President belong to the American people, not to the President. It also ensured that these records would be released to historians and to the public in a timely manner. In an executive order issued in November 2001, President Bush reversed the presumption of disclosure in the Presidential Records Act. The order gave Presidents and former Presidents the ability to delay the public release of records even long after their own deaths. For the first time, it gave former Presidents the ability to assert privilege over their own records. Today's legislation restores the intent of the Presidential Records Act. It makes clear that only Presidents and former Presidents, not former Vice Presidents or the descendents of Presidents, can make assertions of privilege over records. It gives former Presidents the authority to assert privilege over their own records, but it requires a sitting President or a court to agree with the assertions in order for those records to be withheld from the public, and it sets strict deadlines for the President and former Presidents to review records before they release them to the public. This legislation will prevent former Presidents from withholding embarrassing records, and will allow historians to tell a complete story about Presidential administrations. I would like to thank the ranking member, of course, from California, Mr. Issa, for his cooperation in moving this measure to the floor very quickly. I would like to thank him for that. I know that we share the same goals of making government more open and less wasteful, and we plan to work together on those goals in a bipartisan manner. I also thank the previous chairman, Congressman Waxman, for his work in the last Congress, who did a marvelous job. Of course, that's the reason why we are able to move very quickly, because of some of the work that he was able to do in the last Congress. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 35) to amend chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, popularly known as the Presidential Records Act, to establish procedures for the consideration of claims of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure of Presidential records.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. TOWNS. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay).

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in order to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. TOWNS. I yield the gentleman 2 additional minutes.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, as we begin a new Congress and a new Presidency, it is time to move away from the policy of secrecy. The President-elect has spoken of a desire for more openness in government. We in Congress share that goal, and this bill is an important step towards a more transparent White House. I want to thank my colleague from California and his staff and my staff for the work that they've done on this bill. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill because this is definitely good government, and I think that we need to be about good government because we cannot afford the luxury of waste, fraud, and abuse. Madam Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, let me just say to the gentleman that I really share a lot of his views, and I'm willing to continue to work with him in seeing in terms of what we might be able to do to strengthen this legislation. At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay).

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, may I ask how many speakers does the minority have left.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 36) to amend title 44, United States Code, to require information on contributors to Presidential library fundraising organizations.

Mr. TOWNS. I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 36, the Presidential Library Donation Reform Act, will require organizations raising money to build Presidential libraries and their affiliated institutions to disclose the identities of their donors and the amount of their donations. Like the records bill just considered, an identical version of this bill was considered in the 110th Congress and passed the House with strong bipartisan support. Presidential libraries are becoming increasingly expensive, and fundraising for their construction begins during a President's term. These are broad campuses with museums, conference centers, and other institutions, some of which are entirely separate from the federally run libraries. According to press reports, it cost more than $80 million to build George H.W. Bush's library and $165 million to build the Clinton library. Press reports have suggested that the fundraising target for President Bush's library is $500 million. Under current law, individuals, corporations and even foreign interests can make anonymous, unlimited donations to these organizations. Such donations can be made while the President is still in office. There is enormous potential for abuse in this system. Special interests could make multi-million dollar donations to a Presidential library foundation in an effort to influence the President, and the public would remain completely unaware. In order to prevent real abuse, as well as the perception of abuse, H.R. 36 would require Presidential library foundations to divulge information about their donors while the President is in office and for the several years after the President's term has ended. I again thank the ranking member, Mr. Issa from California, for his cooperation on this bill and thank the previous chairman, Mr. Waxman, for his work in this as well. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, our President-elect has talked a lot about transparency. He's really interested in transparency. So improving transparency of donations to Presidential libraries, as this bill does, will assure the American people that their Presidents are not being influenced by unknown persons or groups. Open government is an important goal of the Congress and the incoming administration, and I hope today's bill is just the right kind of bill to move forward with that in mind. Let me say, Madam Speaker, this is a good piece of legislation, and I'm hoping that my colleagues join me in supporting this bill. I want to thank the minority for their support, and of course, we will continue to look and see how we might be able to improve the legislation, but I really feel that this is a giant step in the right direction. Transparency is something that we cannot lose sight of.

Mr. TOWNS. On that note, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TOWNS. I'm prepared to close.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and to honor Marshan Mason Gainer. Ms. Gainer began her career as a public high school teacher in Washington, D.C. after receiving her BA degree in English and Secondary Education from the State University of New York at Fredonia and an MA from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Ms. Gainer, in her 30-year career, has been responsible for the development and implementation of sales and management training and the design of multi-media and computer-based training programs. She has administered assessment centers and conducted training programs throughout the United States and abroad. Her areas of responsibility also cover all phases of human resource management for staff located worldwide. Before retiring from her position as Vice President of management services for Save the Children (a relief and development organization operating in 40 countries), Ms. Gainer was responsible for developing and implementing human resource policies and programs for the more than 2,500 staff members in the headquarters, field and overseas offices. A worldwide traveler, Ms. Gainer has visited countries on five continents. Her adventures also included stops in almost every state in America. Ms. Gainer is an active member of the Prince Hall Order Eastern Star and its affiliate groups. She has held several offices, chaired many committees, and was most recently the Grand Worthy Matron of Eureka Grand Chapter, Prince Hall Order Eastern Star Inc., State of New York. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Marshan Mason Gainer for her extraordinary accomplishments on behalf of children across the world. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Marshan Mason Gainer.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and to honor Mr. Israel Velazquez. Mr. Velazquez is the founder and President of Velazquez Associates, Inc., and its subsidiary Velazquez Accounting Services (D/B/A/), a New York-based Accounting and Non Profit Development Consulting firm. Mr. Velazquez, for the past 30 years, has consistently assembled public and private partnerships on affordable housing and economic development projects in urban cities throughout the United States and in several Caribbean islands. Mr. Velazquez has successfully managed to have a major input in various national, statewide and citywide revitalization programs benefiting various disadvantaged communities. His tireless efforts have borne fruit, as evidenced by new ventures in affordable housing, senior citizen housing complexes, community-owned shopping centers and well-recognized youth programs in these communities. Mr. Velazquez has held several executive positions as the first Comptroller for organizations such as the West Harlem Community Organization, Inc., the National Black United Fund, and the Black United Fund of New York, Inc. Currently, Mr. Israel Velazquez serves as Special Project Director for the East New York Development Corporation formulating public and private partnerships in ascertaining corporate giving, public grants, and funding specialized academic and recreation programs/activities for the youth in the East New York community. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Mr. Israel Velazquez for his extraordinary accomplishments on behalf of East New York and elsewhere. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Mr. Israel Velazquez.