Ed Towns

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Chairman, I would like to claim the time in opposition.

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to Mr. Yarmuth, the gentleman from Kentucky.

Mr. TOWNS. I have no further speakers.

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Chairman, I think this legislation is a giant step in the right direction. I would like to thank the chairman of the full committee, Congressman Waxman. I would like to thank Congressman Davis, the ranking member. I would like to thank subcommittee ranking member, Congressman Bilbray from California. Of course, I would like to thank Mr. Cooper for all of his work on this legislation. And I would like to thank the staff for all of their work in terms of making certain that we were able to come today. I want to thank the sponsors for this bill. Mr. Cooper and I and our colleagues across the aisle have been very open to getting input and making changes to this bill. This is what the legislative process is all about, exchanging ideas, sharing information, and trying to improve the legislation. I think the end result in this bill will increase the Office of Inspector Generals and give them the kind of independence that they need to be able to do the efficient work that is so required. I am excited about the possibilities, of course, and I encourage all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the instructions of the House in the motion to recommit, I report H.R. 928 back to the House with an amendment.

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

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, recently, the former Director General of Police of Punjab, S.S. Virk, was arrested on September 9 on corruption charges. Ironically, he was arrested by the government of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who in his previous tenure redefined corruption as ``fee for service''--no fee, no service. Apparently, Mr. Virk managed to collect the equivalent of a billion dollars in assets on a meager police official's salary. I salute the arrest of Mr. Virk and hope he does serious jail time. But Mr. Virk should be arrested for more than corruption. Mr. Virk was Director General when tens of thousands of Sikhs were murdered by the Indian regime in Punjab, Khalistan. Nobody has been brought to justice for these murders nor for the murders of other minorities, such as Christians, Muslims, and others. I call on the Indian government to bring to justice the likes of Mr. Virk, K.P.S. Gill, and the others who were responsible for the atrocities against the Sikhs and other minorities. Until they do so, we should stop our aid to India and our trade with that country. And we should put the U.S. Congress on record in support of freedom for Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagalim, and the other nations seeking to be free in south Asia by means of a free and fair plebiscite on their status. The Indian newspapers gave some good coverage to Mr. Virk's arrest and the Council of Khalistan published an excellent press release about the situation. Former DGP Virk Arrested for Corruption Washington, DC, Sept. 12, 2007.--Former Punjab Director General of Police S.S. Virk was arrested Sunday by the Vigilance Bureau (a state agency of Punjab) for corruption. He had amassed wealth in excess of 100 crore (100 million) rupees. This was far in excess of what he received from his position as DGP. He was also charged with misuse of his official position, making private business deals as a public servant. Virk had arrangements with ``Cats,'' former ``militants'' who turned to working for the Indian regime, to kill Sikhs throughout Punjab. While Virk was amassing this wealth, half of the population of India continues to subsist on less than two dollars per day. Hours after his arrest, he was hospitalized with high blood pressure and gallstones. A case was registered against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Virk had been removed as DGP shortly before the Punjab elections earlier this year. He had been suspended by the Badal government shortly after it came to power in February. Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has openly supported Virk. ``We are amazed that someone of the stature of Captain Amarinder Singh supports the corruption and the killing of Sikhs under S.S. Virk's regime,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan. Virk was quoted as saying that ``everyone in the world'' keeps agents like the ``Cats.'' ``Even if that were true, that does not relieve him of his responsibility,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``No law enforcement agency should be allowed to murder ordinary citizens. If they break the law, they should be tried in the court and punishment should be determined by the courts, not by police officials.'' Virk claimed that his arrest was a ``political victimization and vendetta.'' The Badal family, during their prior term in office, ran the most corrupt government in Punjab's history. They practiced corruption on a grand scale. Unless they were paid a bribe (which they renamed ``fee for service''), no service was provided. Former DGP K.P.S. Gill presided over the murders of more than 50,000 extrajudicial killings, which were exposed by the Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO) in a study begun by Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra, who was picked up by the police in September 1995 and murdered in police custody in October of that year. ``We salute the arrest of S.S. Virk,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan. ``We are glad that he is under arrest. There shouldn't be any corruption in high places,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``When will Badal, Gill, and the others responsible for high-level corruption and atrocities against the Sikh nation be arrested?'' he asked. ``In a free Khalistan, no one would accept those who carry out genocide against the Sikh religion and the Sikh Nation or against any other people. They would all be arrested, not just selectively arrested to cover the corruption of the leaders ordering the arrest'' said Dr. Aulakh. Dr. Aulakh also cited the case of Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi, a ``Cat,'' who was reported as killed. Someone was killed in his place, his identity was changed, and he was used by the police to kill Sikhs. ``Who was killed in Sukhi's place?'' asked Dr. Aulakh. Several years ago, a Sikh man who had been reported as killed by the police went to court to force the government to declare him alive. A report issued by the Movement Against State Repression (MASR) shows that India admitted that it held 52,268 political prisoners under the repressive ``Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act'' (TADA), which expired in 1995. Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. According to Amnesty International, there are tens of thousands of other minorities being held as political prisoners in India. The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir, tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims throughout the country, and tens of thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, Dalits, Bodos, and others. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.'' ``The time is now to launch a Shantmai Morcha to free Khalistan,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``That is the only way to prevent this kind of corruption and allow the Sikh Nation to live in freedom, peace, dignity, and prosperity. The time has come for some pro-Sikh organizations such as Dal Khalsa and others to step forward in Punjab and accelerate our struggle for the liberation of Khalistan,'' he said. ``Religions cannot flourish without political power. We must free Khalistan now.'' [From the Times of India, Sept. 9, 2007.] Former Punjab DGP S S Virk Arrested New Delhi--Former Punjab DGP S S Virk was arrested here on Sunday by Punjab Vigilance Bureau in connection with a case registered against him for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Virk, who was removed as DGP shortly before the assembly elections in Punjab this year, was arrested from Maharashtra Sadan by a team of vigilance officials, senior Bureau officials said. The senior IPS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, who was repatriated from Punjab by the Centre after the Punjab elections, was also charged with having misused his authority by indulging in private business as a public servant in violation of service rules, the sources said. The case was registered against Virk on Saturday under the Prevention of Corruption Act after investigations for the last few months, the sources said, adding the former DGP did not offer any resistance at the time of his arrest. [From Rediff India Abroad, Sept. 9, 2007] Former Punjab DGP S S Virk Arrested Former Punjab Director General of Police S S Virk, who was removed shortly before the assembly poll in the state, was arrested on Sunday on charges of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and misuse of official position. Virk, a senior IPS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, who was arrested in Delhi by a team of Punjab Vigilance Bureau officials, described the charges against him as `false and fabricated.' A case was registered against Virk under the Prevention of Corruption Act on Saturday, Vigilance Bureau Sources said, adding that he did not offer any resistance at the time of his arrest. Soon after his arrest from Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi on Sunday morning, the former Punjab Police chief was taken by road to Mohali near Chandigarh where he was quizzed by vigilance sleuths. He was also medically examined, the sources said, adding that searches were also conducted at a number of places in Punjab in connection with properties owned by the former DGP. The team that arrested Virk included four officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police. Besides allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, the ex-DGP was charged with misusing his authority by indulging in private business as a public servant in violation of service rules. A visibly tired Virk, who was repatriated by the Centre from Punjab after the assembly election, told media persons at a police station in Mohali that all the cases registered against him were false and fabricated. ``It is political victimisation and vendetta,'' said the IPS officer. Virk, the first DGP from the state to be arrested, was suspended by the SAD-BJP government, led by Parkash Singh Badal, soon after it came to power in February this year. He was removed as DGP shortly before the assembly poll by the Election Commission after the opposition SAD leveled allegations of corruption against him. It also charged Virk with helping the then ruling Congress at former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's behest After his removal as DGP, Virk was initially posted as DGP-cum-Chairman Punjab Police Housing Corporation on January 22 and suspended in April. R S Gill, a 1973 batch IPS officer, was appointed DGP Punjab on January 22 after Virk was removed by the Election Commission.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, on September 22, the Tribune newspaper of Chandigarh reported that a Sikh woman by the name of Lakhbir Kaur held a press conference to expose the murder of her brother, Kinder Singh, by the Indian police. Kinder Singh was an innocent truck driver. He was killed in one of the fake encounters that continue to plague Punjab and other minority areas of India. Kinder Singh was just 20 years old when ``the world's largest democracy'' snuffed out his life. Apparently, Kinder Singh was a victim of India's policy of paying bounties to police officers for killing ``militants.'' When he was killed, the police claimed that they had killed a man named Jaspal Singh, who had a bounty of Rs. 5 lakh, 500,000 rupees, or about $13,000, on his head. In a country where two-thirds of the populace lives on 40 cents per day, $13,000 is a massive amount of money. Jaspal Singh. the person who was allegedly killed in the encounter, sat right next to Ms. Kaur during her announcement. He is not the first person to have been proclaimed dead by the Indian government who has turned up alive. Several years ago, the New York Post reported on another man who had to sue the government to have himself declared alive. This is not uncommon in India. Also there was Colonel G.S. Sandhu of the Majha Ex-Servicemen Human Rights Front. He detailed how Kinder Singh was pulled out of his truck by the police and killed for no apparent reason except to collect the bounty. This is one of over 41,000 cash bounties that our State Department says the Indian Government paid to police for killing Sikhs. One policeman got a cash bounty for killing a three-year-old boy. Colonel Sandhu demanded that a retired High Court judge conduct a probe into the massive atrocities of the police. He has set up a hotline to report terrorist incidents. We salute Lakhbir Kaur for her courage and we salute Colonel Sandhu for his efforts. I second his call for an impartial probe of the atrocities committed in Punjab. Unfortunately, the repression is ongoing. Even today, people get arrested for acts such as marching, making speeches, and raising a flag. We cannot accept this, Madam Speaker. We need to stop providing financial support for the Indian regime by stopping our aid and trade, and we need to put the U.S. Congress on record in support of self- determination for the Sikhs of Khalistan, the Christians of Nagalim, the Muslims of Kashmir, and all the oppressed minorities of South Asia. Until the people have their freedom and self-determination, atrocities like the one that happened to Lakhbir Kaur's family will sadly continue. I would like to place the Tribune article on Lakhbir Kaur into the Record at this time. Mistaken Identity or Fake Encounter? Amritsar, September 21, 2007: In what could be yet another case of mistaken identity or a planned fake encounter, the sister of a victim here today claimed that the actual ``militant'' the police claimed to have killed was still alive. Lakhbir Kaur alleged that the police killed her brother, Kinder Singh, who was an innocent truck driver, on August 13, 1993, for no reason. Interestingly, Jaspal Singh, who had an award of Rs 5 lakh on his head and was shown killed in police files, was still alive. He was present with Lakhbir Kaur here today. Addressing a press conference, Col G.S. Sandhu, chairman of the Majha ExServicemen Human Rights Front & NGO Aapna Punjab, demanded a probe by a retired high court judge to bring out the truth of fake encounters so that compensation could be given to the families of the victims. ``Kinder Singh of Nagoke (20) was pulled out of a truck in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, and shot dead. The story planted was that militant Jaspal Singh of Nangli, carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh, was shot in a police encounter. Kunan Singh, father of Kinder Singh, sold his 3 acres of land and shifted to UP and the family is now living in abject poverty,'' said Colonel Sandhu. ``Already, leaks from police sources suggest that Kinder Singh and Sukhpal Singh of Kala Afghana were killed as a result of mistaken identity as no reward money was claimed and the records being old have been destroyed as per laid down rules and now it is difficult to pinpoint responsibility at this stage. The issue is why the families of the two victims were not informed about their deaths,'' he questioned. Colonel Sandhu demanded ``the state should not shy away from admitting past mistakes, render apology, provide compensation and bring the guilty to the book.'' He also sought downsizing of the top-heavy police in Punjab. He has also started a terror help line in Tarn Taran.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, on August 4, the Indian newspaper and website Tehelka, which has done significant work exposing corruption in India, published a report on the 1985 Air India bombing, which was the worst terrorist incident involving aircraft until September 11, 2001. In the report, they produce new evidence that the Indian Government was responsible for the attack, which killed 329 innocent people. The new report discusses the interrogation of the late Babbar Khalsa leader Talwinder Singh Parmar, who was considered by the Indians to be one of the masterminds of the attack. It should be noted that Babbar Khalsa was and is heavily infiltrated by the Indian Government and has been pretty much under its control In his interrogation, Parmar points the finger of responsibility straight at the Indian Government. The documents, obtained from the Punjab Human Rights Organization, PHRO, which conducted a 7-year investigation, were supposed to have been destroyed by the interrogating officer, but he secretly kept them all this time. Parmar identifies Lakhbir Singh Rode as a mastermind of the bombing. Rode is head of the International Sikh Youth Federation. According to PHRO, Rode is an agent of the Indian Government. Sarabjit Singh, chief investigator for the PHRO, reports that Parmar was ordered killed to cover up Rode's involvement. Parmar was supposed to have been killed in an encounter with police, but the PHRO pointed out that he had been in police custody for some time at the time he was killed. PHRO reports that there is ``conclusive evidence'' that Parmar was killed in police custody. With this information coming on top of the mountain of evidence produced by Zuhair Kashmeri and Brian McAndrew in their book Soft Target and the report by former Member of Parliament David Kilgour in his book Betrayed: The Spy Canada Abandoned, in which he reports that a Canadian-Polish double agent was approached by representatives of the Indian Government asking him to become involved in a second bombing because ``the first one worked so well,'' there can be no doubt that the Indian Government itself is the real culprit behind this act of terrorism. The links are just too strong. State terrorism is unacceptable whether it is carried out by the Taliban in Afghanistan, by Mr. Ahmadinejad in Iran, by some tinhorn dictator in Latin America, or by the ``world's largest democracy.'' We cannot let this stand. The time has come to stop our aid to India, end our trade, and speak out strongly for self-determination, the cornerstone of democracy, throughout South Asia. Only then will these kinds of abuses, designed to set up one ethnic or religious group as ``terrorists'' so they can be killed, come to an end. I request the permission of the House to place the Tehelka article in the Record for the information of my colleagues and the public. Kanishka Tragedy--Operation Silence (By Vikram Jit Singh) Fifteen years after Babbar Khalsa International leader Talwinder Singh Parmar, one of the two alleged masterminds of the mid-air bombing of Air India's Kanishka airplane, was shown as having being killed in an encounter in Punjab, retired Punjab Police DSP Harmail Singh Chandi, who nabbed Parmar from Jammu in September 1992 and interrogated him for five days before he was killed along with five others, has come forward with the claim that Parmar was killed in police custody on the orders of senior police officers, who also asked his confession record to be destroyed. In his confession, Parmar had named Lakhbir Singh Brar ``Rode'', nephew of the late Bhindranwale and head of the banned International Sikh Youth Federation, as the mastermind of the bombing. Rode, who is now said to be holed up in Lahore, has never figured in the investigations of either the CBI or the Canadian authorities. Chandi has brought forward the entire record of Parmar's confession, including audio tapes and statements, before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the John Major Commission of Inquiry that is reinvestigating the June 23, 1985 blast that claimed 331 lives off the Irish coast. Chandi had been ordered by senior officers to destroy the records but he retained them secretly. The record was brought before the Major Commission due to seven-year-long investigations by the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO), a Chandigarh- based ngo that conducted interviews of Parmar's associates in India and Canada and pieced together a comprehensive report. The PHRO's Principal Investigator Sarbjit Singh and lawyer Rajvinder Singh Bains flew to Canada along with Harmail in June and produced their findings before the Commission's counsels. A Canadian citizen, Parmar was shown as having been killed in an exchange of fire between police and six militants in the wee hours of October 15, 1992, near village Kang Arian in Phillar sub-division. However, evidence brought forward by Harmail (who was then DSP, Phillaur) shows that Parmar was interrogated between October 9 and 14 by senior police officers, where he revealed that the blasts were instigated by Lakhbir Singh Brar Rode. Parmar's confession reads: ``Around May 1985, a functionary of the International Sikh Youth Federation came to me and introduced himself as Lakhbir Singh and asked me for help in conducting some violent activities to express the resentment of the Sikhs. I told him to come after a few days so that I could arrange for dynamite and battery etc. He told me that he would first like to see a trial of the blast . . . After about four days, Lakhbir Singh and another youth, Inderjit Singh Reyat, both came to me. We went into the jungle (of British Columbia). There we joined a dynamite stick with a battery and triggered off a blast. Lakhbir and Inderjit, even at that time, had in their minds a plan to blast an aeroplane. I was not too keen on this plan but agreed to arrange for the dynamite sticks. Inderjit wanted to use for this purpose a transistor fitted with a battery . . . That very day, they took dynamite sticks from me and left. ``Then Lakhbir Singh, Inderjit Singh and their accomplice, Manjit Singh, made a plan to plant bombs in an Air India (AI) plane leaving from Toronto via London for Delhi and another flight that was to leave Tokyo for Bangkok. Lakhbir Singh got the seat booking done from Vancouver to Tokyo and then onwards to Bangkok, while Manjit Singh got it done from Vancouver to Toronto and then from Toronto to Delhi. Inderjit prepared the bags for the flights, which were loaded with dynamite bombs fitted with a battery and transistor. They decided that the suitcases will be booked but they themselves will not travel by the same flights although they will take the boarding passes. After preparing these bombs, the plan was ready for execution by June 21 or 22, 1985. However, the bomb to be kept in the flight from Tokyo to Delhi via Bangkok exploded at the Narita airport on the conveyor belt. The second suitcase that was loaded on the Toronto-Delhi ai flight exploded in the air.'' Sarabjit said the PHRO's probe has shown that Parmar was killed to hide the name of Lakhbir, who was an Indian agent. ``After the Khalistan movement gained in sympathy in the West, especially in Canada, after the 1984 Blue Star operation and the killing of Sikhs in Delhi, a plot was hatched to discredit the Sikh movement. Parmar was roped in by Lakhbir at the behest of his masters. The Punjab Police got orders to finish off Parmar as he knew too much about the main perpetrators. On the day of the Kanishka blast, an explosion took place at Japan's Narita airport, where two Japanese baggage handlers were killed. The plot was to trigger blasts when the two aircraft had de-embarked their passengers but the 1 hour 40 minute delay in Kanishka's takeoff led to the bomb exploding mid-air,'' Sarbjit said. What gives credence to Sarabjit's charge is the Source Report (in Tehelka's possession) prepared by the Jalandhar Police soon after Parmar was killed. Based on information provided by Parmar--though not attributing it to his interrogation--the report makes no reference to Lakhbir. Interestingly, Lakhbir, accused in many acts of terrorist violence, is wanted by the Indian Government in only a minor case registered in Moga, Punjab. The Red Corner Interpol notice, A-23/1-1997, put out by the CBI against Lakhbir states: ``OFFENCES: House breaking, theft, damage by fire.'' The PHRO told Canadian authorities that conclusive evidence existed of Parmar being killed in police custody and not in the ``encounter'' shown in FIR No 105 registered at Phillaur police station on October 15, 1992. The PHRO report, AI Flight 182 Case, states ``On October 14, 1992, a high-level decision was conveyed to the police that Parmar had to be killed . . . The contradiction in the FIR and post-mortem report (PMR) is too obvious. As per the FIR, Parmar was killed by AK-47 fire by SSP Satish K Sharma from a rooftop. The PMR shows the line of fire of the three bullets is different. It cannot be if one person is firing from a fixed position. The PMR is very sketchy and no chemical analysis was done. Moreover, the time of death is between 12am and 2am according to the PMR, whereas the FIR records the time of death at 5.30am.'' Then Jalandhar SSP and now IGP, Satish K Sharma, denied the charge. ``It was a clean encounter. The RCMP is bringing this up because they botched their investigations and failed to get convictions,'' he said.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, as I stated here a couple of months ago, I believe very strongly that whatever our policy is on other types of gambling, we need to maintain a firm line against any form of sports gambling. Gambling on sports events undermines the integrity of American athletics. It can create corruption or the appearance of corruption, and it taints the image of sports as wholesome, family- friendly entertainment. I also stated that I opposed legalization of online sports gambling in H.R. 2046. It is not enough to allow sports associations to say ``not on my game'' if Congress is sending the message to the public that sports gambling is fine. If we are going to consider any loosening of laws against online gambling, we need to say ``not on sports, period.'' But yesterday I received a letter from Stuart Eizenstat, a very well- respected trade expert who was formerly U.S. Ambassador to the European Union and Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, writing on behalf of the National Football League. Ambassador Eizenstat's letter informs me that, under the present circumstances, even ``not on sports, period'' could leave the NFL and other great American athletic institutions vulnerable to assault by the offshore gambling interests who want to make money off the popularity of these games. According to Ambassador Eizenstat's letter, a law that legalizes most online gambling but includes limited exceptions, such as a sports gambling exception, will be vulnerable to attack in the World Trade Organization. If the WTO rules against the U.S. law, the U.S would have to choose between eliminating the exception--feeding our treasured sports to the gambling wolves--or paying billions in compensation to our trading partners. I, for one, think we should avoid having to decide which of these is the lesser of two evils if we can. It appears that the U.S. does have a way out, by withdrawing any commitments to free trade in gambling. The U.S. Trade Representative is currently in the middle of negotiating this withdrawal. But this requires compensation too, for taking away market access from our trading partners. How much compensation? Not much at all, given that almost all Internet gambling is illegal. But if we make it legal, even if sports gambling is excluded, then there is a big legal market for which we will owe compensation. As Ambassador Eizenstat says, ``withdrawal negotiations should be brought to a conclusion before Congress passes any new gambling legislation.'' In the interest of protecting American athletics, I plan to take this advice to heart. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to enter Ambassador Eizenstat's letter into the Record. Covington & Burling, LLP, Washington, DC, September 24th, 2007. Hon. Edolphus Towns, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Representative Towns: I am writing on behalf of the National Football League, NFL, to urge you to oppose H.R. 2046, the ``Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act,'' which would legalize Internet gambling. Along with all other major U.S. professional and amateur sports associations, the NFL is very concerned about protecting the integrity of American athletics from the adverse effects of sports gambling. As the recent National Basketball Association referee scandal shows, this is a very real concern. From a trade perspective, H.R. 2046 is fundamentally flawed. This bill, and any other legislation legalizing Internet gambling, also may have the unintended consequence of giving foreign service suppliers greater access to the U.S. market in a range of services sectors. H.R. 2046 reverses 50 years of U.S. public policy by endorsing and legalizing sports betting, and it vastly expands access to all forms of gambling. Although the bill allows sports leagues and states to opt out of this gambling legalization scheme, these exceptions may be successfully challenged in the World Trade Organization, WTO, under existing trade rules. While the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services permits a complete gambling prohibition that is ``necessary to protect public morals,'' a patchwork approach that legalizes most gambling and includes limited opt outs may be difficult to defend. Indeed, Antigua's WTO counsel, emboldened by Antigua's successful challenge to current U.S. laws that prohibit gambling, already has stated his belief that the opt out provisions in H.R. 2046 are inconsistent with the United States' WTO commitments. Given Antigua's past success in challenging U.S. anti-gambling statutes in the WTO and Antigua's current demands for $3.4 billion in compensation, the stakes are high. Passage of H.R. 2046 could well lead to further WTO litigation. After losing the gambling dispute with Antigua, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) took the important step last May of notifying the WTO of its intent to modify its WTO commitments to explicitly exclude gambling and betting services. The USTR is now in the process of negotiating with eight WTO countries who claim that they are adversely affected by this withdrawal. These withdrawal negotiations should be brought to a conclusion before Congress passes any new gambling legislation. This is especially so since passage of H.R. 2046 would, for the first time, create a legal American market for Internet gambling, significantly complicating ongoing negotiations and making it much more costly to withdraw the U.S. commitment on gambling services. Specifically, as part of the withdrawal negotiations, the United States has to make ``compensatory adjustments,'' i.e., further open the U.S. services market to foreign suppliers to compensate for the withdrawal of the gambling services commitment. Currently, given that remote gambling services are largely illegal in the United States, the access that foreigners will get to the U.S. market as a result of the gambling commitment withdrawal is minimal. Passage of H.R. 2046 will create a large, legal gambling market in the United States. Foreigners will then be able to demand far greater access to the U.S. market in the ongoing withdrawal negotiations. Greater market access demands could conceivably impact the U.S. financial services sector, the telecommunications sector, and others. The negative impact of H.R. 2046 on U.S. industries and U.S. trade negotiations could be significant. This bill--and, in fact, any bill that authorizes Internet gambling of any kind--will greatly complicate the USTR's efforts to withdraw the United States' gambling commitment by providing foreign countries with leverage to demand greater access to the U.S. services market. Furthermore, under the current WTO rules, the bill's opt out provisions for sports leagues and states could very likely be challenged in the WTO, potentially leading to a situation where foreign gambling companies could provide gambling services to Americans over the objections of the NFL, other sports leagues, and state governments. For all of these reasons, I urge you to oppose H.R. 2046 and any other proposals to legalize Internet gambling in the United States. Sincerely, Stuart E. Eizenstat.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, recently, Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon, Chairman of the Sikh Educational Trust and Managing Editor of the international Journal of Sikh Affairs, wrote to President Bush. He noted that ``Sikhs live in peace and harmony in every democracy in the world; India is the only exception.'' In his excellent letter, Dr. Sekhon outlines the tyranny and abuse the Sikhs have been subjected to in India. While India talks and talks about being ``the world's largest democracy,'' it continues to commit atrocities against the Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, and other minorities. Madam Speaker, the essence of democracy is self- determination. As if the murders of 250,000 Sikhs by the Indian government (the number comes from the Punjab State Magistracy and human-rights groups) wasn't enough, Sikhs from outside India must get the formal permission of the Indian government to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the seat of Sikhism, equivalent to the Vatican of the Sikhs. Suppose that Catholics were barred from Vatican City without permission of the Italian government. Do you think the world would be up in arms about that? Yet, the equivalent condition is imposed upon the Sikhs and nobody says a word. That is how deeply India's propaganda about being ``the world's largest democracy'' has permeated the world's perceptions, thanks to massive amounts of money spent to propagate this viewpoint through lobbying and media manipulation. It is time to wake up. Madam Speaker. It is time to call India on the carpet for its persecution of minorities. If the tyranny against the Sikhs were all that India was doing, that would be bad enough. But it is compounded by the persecution of Christians and Muslims, as well as other minorities such as Assamese, Bodos, Dalits, Manipuris, Tamils, and others. In Gujarat, 2,000 to 5,000 Muslims were killed in riots that a policeman told the newspapers were planned and organized by the Indian government. It has killed over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir while refusing to give the Kashmiris self-determination via a free and fair plebiscite on their status, as India promised the United Nations in 1948. Christians have been prime targets of Indian persecution. Churches have been burned. Nuns have been raped and forced to drink their own urine, to the cheers of militant Hindu organizations such as the pro- Fascist Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), which produced a booklet on how to implicate Christians and other minorities in false criminal cases. Priests have been murdered, schools and prayer halls have been vandalized, and more than 300,000 Christians have been killed in Nagaland at the hands of the Indian government. Missionary Graham Staines was killed by a mob of Hindu militants along with his eight- year-old son. The killers poured gasoline over their jeep, set it on fire, and chanted ``Victory to Hannuman.'' Missionary Joseph Cooper, an American, was expelled from the country after he was beaten up so badly that he had to spend a week in an Indian hospital. A Christian religious festival on the theme ``Jesus is the Answer'' was broken up by police gunfire after people there distributed religious literature. In several Indian states, there are laws prohibiting anyone from converting to any religion but Hinduism. Madam Speaker, this is unacceptable. We must support the rights of these minorities by stopping American aid to India and stopping our trade with India as well. It's clearly not benefitting the Indian people. Two thirds of the population lives on less than half a dollar a day. We must also demand a free and fair vote on independence for the Sikhs of Khalistan, the Christians of Nagalim, the Muslims of Kashmir, and all the various peoples seeking their freedom from India. Madam Speaker, I would like to add Dr. Sekhon's excellent letter to the Record at this time. The Sikh Educational Trust, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, July 30, 2007. Re: violation of religious and political rights of Sikhs in India. Hon. George W. Bush, President, United States of America, The White House, Washington, DC. Honourable President, I am writing this letter to seek your intervention in the religious affairs of the Sikhs, especially the Diaspora Sikhs in North America, Europe and other continents. The Sikhs live in peace and harmony in every democracy in the world; India is the only exception. In fact, the Sikhs are treated as slaves even in the Punjab, which is the holy and historic homeland of the Sikhs. This is because the ruling class consists of Brahmins--who are only 4 percent of the population along with 10-11 percent of Hindus of other castes. Although a majority in the Punjab, the Sikhs are 2.5 percent of the huge population of India that is approximately 1.1 billion. It is because of the denial of the right of self-determination in our land that India is able to marginalized the Sikhs as a small minority. The Hindu-Brahmin rulers have pursued their anti-human agenda: (i) practice of unsociability against the native majority who are 65 percent of the population, and (ii) persecution of mono-theistic faiths--the Sikhs, the Christians and the Muslims, by maintaining an environment of fear and of crushing poverty. In June 1984, even the facade of Secular Tolerance was discarded when the Indian Army assaulted the holiest shrine of the Sikhs--the Darbar Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple) including the Supreme Seat of Sikh Polity, the Akal Takht Sahib, killing tens of thousands of devotees inside the temple. The Indian administration has ever since maintained heavy presence of its intelligence and armed personnel in the state. No Sikh from outside India can visit his/her holy place and the seat of Sikhs' polity without having a formal `visa' endorsement in their passport from the Indian Embassy or Consulate. Mr President, this constitutes a violation of the Sikhs' religious rights. Pilgrimage to pay respect to Gurus is a right that should not depend on the caprice of a government. It certainly should not depend on the goodwill of a state that has not just failed to protect but has actually been an instrument of our persecution and destruction of our holy sites by wanton bombardment. Mr. President, India is interfering in my religious affairs. As a free citizen of a free country. I cannot approve of the way the Sikhs are treated in India; I cannot condone the assault of the Indian Army on Darbar Sahib in June 1984; I cannot support that the Sikhs relinquish their right to self-determination. I am required to do all this in order to get a visa. And if I did any of these things, I would not be a Sikh. That means, in order to get an Indian visa, I am required to renounce my faith. That cannot be acceptable. Mr. President, no Roman Catholic needs a visa to visit the Vatican, no Jew is prevented from visiting Jerusalem, a visa cannot be denied to a Muslim to go to Mecca, why do the Sikhs need to have India's Hindu/Brahmins (neither a religion nor a culture), permission to visit their holiest shrine? Indian administration's control of the Sikhs' shrines constitutes an intervention into their religious affairs. That's why, Honourable President, none of the elected representatives of the Sikhs accepted/initiated/endorsed the Indian Constitution of 1950. Under Article 25 of that Constitution, the Sikh faith and national identity was `de-recognized'. The Sikhs were constitutionally `exterminated'. Because of this blatant injustice, the Sikhs, elected representatives--Sardar Hukam Singh, MP; Sardar Bhupinder Singh Maan, MP; and Sirdar Kapur Singh, ICS, MP, MLA and National Professor of Sikhism--`Rejected' the Indian Constitution of 1950 and its Article 25, in its draft and final forms, every time it was put to vote in the Indian parliament--in 1948, on 26th November, 1949, in 1950 and on 6th September, 1966. Honourable President, the question is why we, the Sikh citizens of the United States and Canada, of Europe, Far East, and other continents should need a `Visa' or the permission of the predominantly Hindu-Brahmin administration. Especially after the June, 1984 assault on Darbar Sahib Complex--which is the Sikh Vatican--and an `undeclared' war on the Sikhs ever since. This undeclared war has taken a heavy toll. The ``Operation Bluestar'' of June, 1984 was blessed by the government of a so-called `democratic' state. The desecration of their holy places and wanton massacre of the Sikhs was carried out for no reason other than their demanding the right of self-determination honouring the pledges made to the Sikhs by Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. More than 250,000 innocent Sikh (majority of whom were infants, children, youth, females and the elderly have been killed by Indian security forces. This is the hallmark of a fascist oligarchy, not a democracy. In recent months, the arrests of Simranjit Singh Mann, Chief of Akali Dal Amritsar, Mann's vice president, Daljit Singh Dittu and the arrest warrants of an Editor and academic, Dr Sukhpreet Singh Udhoke, provide further evidence that repression of the Sikhs continues even in the Sikh majority state of the Punjab, the administration of which is headed by a Sikh, Prakash Badal. The former two are being tried, along with 30 other Sikhs, on charges of `treason'. Treason against who? How does the Indian Constitution apply to the Sikhs when the Sikhs' elected representatives `rejected' it repeatedly? Mr. President, there is great anxiety among the Sikhs in Diaspora over the denial of their religious and political rights and repression of dissent. If India is not restrained by the international community and its leader--the USA--peace and security in the whole region would be undermined. In retrospect and historically, India was never a country; it was an empire (the British Empire). In its belly there are many peoples with legitimate right to self-determination--in Kashmir (mainly Muslim) in the Punjab (mainly Sikhs) in the states of Assam (mainly Christian) who are not a part of the Indian nation. The issues relating to the native majority-- the children of lesser gods--encompass a huge section of humanity, as many as 700 million people. All this cannot be swept under the carpet or buried under slogans like `India Shining'. The Sikhs want their own sovereign state--as they had been (1799 to 14th March, 1849, under a Sikh monarch Ranjit Singh) before the British take over, as an ``annexed'' state, of the Punjab in 1849. Until then, we want unrestricted access to our holy places. No Sikh should need a visa to go to the Punjab. And peaceful dissent should not just be tolerated; it should be respected and honoured. Is dissent not the hall mark of democracy? I shall look forward to hearing from you. With regards, Respectfully submitted, Awatar Singh Sekhon.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, as I stated here a couple of months ago, I believe very strongly that whatever our policy is on other types of gambling, we need to maintain a firm line against any form of sports gambling. Gambling on sports events undermines the integrity of American athletics. It can create corruption or the appearance of corruption, and it taints the image of sports as wholesome, family- friendly entertainment. I also stated that I opposed legalization of online sports gambling in H.R. 2046. It is not enough to allow sports associations to say ``not on my game'' if Congress is sending the message to the public that sports gambling is fine. If we are going to consider any loosening of laws against online gambling, we need to say ``not on sports, period.'' But yesterday I received a letter from Stuart Eizenstat, a very well- respected trade expert who was formerly U.S. Ambassador to the European Union and Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, writing on behalf of the National Football League. Ambassador Eizenstat's letter informs me that, under the present circumstances, even ``not on sports, period'' could leave the NFL and other great American athletic institutions vulnerable to assault by the offshore gambling interests who want to make money off the popularity of these games. According to Ambassador Eizenstat's letter, a law that legalizes most online gambling but includes limited exceptions, such as a sports gambling exception, will be vulnerable to attack in the World Trade Organization. If the WTO rules against the U.S. law, the U.S would have to choose between eliminating the exception--feeding our treasured sports to the gambling wolves--or paying billions in compensation to our trading partners. I, for one, think we should avoid having to decide which of these is the lesser of two evils if we can. It appears that the U.S. does have a way out, by withdrawing any commitments to free trade in gambling. The U.S. Trade Representative is currently in the middle of negotiating this withdrawal. But this requires compensation too, for taking away market access from our trading partners. How much compensation? Not much at all, given that almost all Internet gambling is illegal. But if we make it legal, even if sports gambling is excluded, then there is a big legal market for which we will owe compensation. As Ambassador Eizenstat says, ``withdrawal negotiations should be brought to a conclusion before Congress passes any new gambling legislation.'' In the interest of protecting American athletics, I plan to take this advice to heart. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to enter Ambassador Eizenstat's letter into the record.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I was distressed to learn that the United Nations invited Sonia Gandhi to speak on nonviolence next month. She is the leader of the Congress Party, which has presided over massive atrocities against Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, and other minorities. Mrs. Gandhi is Catholic. How can she speak on nonviolence when her party presides over a country in which nuns have been raped and forced to drink their own urine, priests have been murdered, Christian schools have been burned to the ground, and prayer halls have been vandalized? It was Mrs. Gandhi's party that carried out the Golden Temple massacre that killed so many thousands of innocent Sikhs, including young boys ages 8 to 13. Her party presided over the Delhi massacres in which over 20,000 Sikhs were murdered while the Sikh police were locked in their barracks. It was Beant Singh, a Congress Party Chief Minister, who presided over the murders of over 50,000 Sikhs while he was in office. No one from that party has the moral authority to speak on nonviolence, especially when there are so many better spokespersons, such as the Dalai Lama, who will be in America to receive an award right after Mrs. Gandhi's speech. Madam Speaker, the Council of Khalistan wrote an excellent letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which follows. Council of Khalistan, September 12, 2007. Hon. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammerskjold Plaza, New York, NY. Dear Secretary General Ban: It has come to my attention that you are having Sonia Gandhi speak to the United Nations on nonviolence on October 2. Mrs. Gandhi has no moral standing to be discussing this subject. I urge you to find someone else. Perhaps the Dalai Lama, who will be in the United States the following weekend to receive an award, would be a good choice. There are other people more qualified than Mrs. Gandhi, as well. How could you pick the head of India's Congress Party for this talk? India is one of the most violent countries in the world. According to the Punjab State Magistracy, over 250,000 Sikhs have been murdered at the hands of the Indian government. Between 1993 and 1995, according to the United States Department of State, the Indian government paid out over 41,000 cash bounties to police officers for killing Sikhs. A report by the Movement Against State Repression (MASR) reveals that over 52,000 Sikhs are being held as political prisoners without charge or trial. Some have been in illegal custody since 1984! Amnesty International reports that tens of thousands of other minorities are being held as political prisoners as well. In addition, the regime has kil1ed 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, more than 90,000 Kashmiri Muslims and tens of thousands of Muslims and Christians in the rest of the country, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits (the dark-skinned aboriginal people of South Asia, referred to as ``Untouchables''), Manipuris, Tamils, and others. The Gandhi family were perhaps the most cruel of Indian rulers; it was Mrs. Gandhi's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, who suspended democracy and imposed martial law (dictatorship) on the country. It was the Congress Party under Indira Gandhi, then under Mrs. Gandhi's husband, Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister, that the government carried out the brutal attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the center and seat of the Sikh religion, in June 1984, as well as 224 other Gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship) throughout Punjab. Sikh leaders Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, General Shabeg Singh, and others, as well as over 20,000 Sikhs were killed in these attacks. The Sikh holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, written in the time of the Sikh Gurus, was shot full of bullet holes by the Indian Army. Over 100 young Sikh boys ages 8 to 13 were taken out into the courtyard and asked if they supported Khalistan, the independent Sikh state. When they answered with the Sikh religious incantation ``Bole So Nihal'' they were summarily shot to death. After Indira Gandhi was killed, Rajiv Gandhi said, ``When a tree falls, the Earth shakes.'' Then he locked the Sikh Police in their barracks while the government murdered another 20,000 Sikhs in Delhi and the surrounding areas in the massacres of November 1984. Sikhs were burned alive, Sikh businesses were burned, Sikhs were chained to trucks. The driver for Baba Charam Singh, a Sikh religious leader, was killed by tying his legs to jeeps which then drove off in different directions. Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra looked at the records of the cremation grounds at Patti, Tarn Taran, and Durgiana Mandar and documented at least 6,018 secret cremations of young Sikh men ages 20-30. These young Sikhs were arrested by the police, tortured, murdered, then declared unidentified and secretly cremated. Their bodies were not even returned to their families. They have never officially been accounted for. The Punjab Human Right Commission estimates that about 50,000 such secret cremations have occurred. For exposing this horrendous atrocity, Sardar Khalra was abducted by the police on September 6, 1995 whi1e he was washing his car, then murdered in police custody. The only witness to his kidnapping, Rajiv Singh Randhawa, has been repeatedly harassed by the police. Once he was arrested for trying to hand a petition to the then-British Home Minister, Jack Straw. in front of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Police SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna tortured and murdered Akal Takhl Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke and has never been punished for doing so. K.P.S. Gill, who was responsible for the murders of over 150,000 Sikhs in his time as Director General of Police, is still walking around scot-free. He was even involved in leading the Indian Olympic field hockey team. His trip to the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 was protested by the Sikh community in the United States, which is over half a million strong, but he was allowed to come to the Olympics on an Olympic Committee visa. Immediately after the Olympic hockey game, he was shipped back to Punjab as a threat to peace and an affront to the Sikh community. 50 members of the U.S. Congress from both parties wrote to the President protesting his appearance in the United States. Unfortunately, other minorities have also suffered greatly under the boot of Indian repression. In March 2002, 5,000 Muslims were killed in Gujarat while police were ordered to stand by and let the carnage happen, in an eerie parallel to the Delhi massacre of Sikhs in November 1984 in which Sikh police officers were locked in their barracks while the state-run television and radio called for more Sikh blood. Christians have suffered under a wave of repression since Christmas 1998. An Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two young sons, ages 8 and 10, were burned to death while they slept in their jeep by a mob of Hindu militants connected with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), an organization formed in support of the Fascists. The mob surrounded the burning jeep and chanted ``Victory to Hannuman,'' a Hindu god. None of the mob has ever been brought to justice; instead the crime has been blamed on one scapegoat. Mr. Staines's widow was thrown out of the country after the incident. An American missionary, Joseph Cooper of Pennsylvania, was expelled from India after being beaten so severely that he had to spend a week in the hospital. None of the persons responsible for beating Mr. Cooper has been prosecuted. Churches have been burned. Christian schools and prayer halls have been attacked and vandalized, priests have been murdered, nuns have been raped, all with impunity. Police broke up a Christian religious festival with gunfire. Amnesty International has not been allowed into Punjab since 1978. Even Castro's Cuba has allowed Amnesty into the country more recently. What is India hiding? My organization, the Council of Khalistan, is leading the Sikh struggle for freedom and sovereignty. Working with the Congress of the United States, we have internationalized the struggle for freedom for Sikhs and all the people of South Asia since the Council of Khalistan's inception on October 7, 1987, the day that the Sikh Nation declared its independence from India. We have worked to preserve the accurate history of the Sikhs and the repression of minorities by India by preserving the information in the Congressional Record. We continue to work for freedom for the Sikh Nation. Self- determination is the essence of democracy. We cannot accept the leader of the Congress Party, the party that carried out the bulk of these atrocities, speaking to an organization like the United Nations on a subject like non-violence, especially when there are much better spokespersons available. I cannot urge you strongly enough to cancel this appearance. Thank you in advance for your attention to this situation and helping the people of South Asia. Sincerely, Dr. Gurmit, Singh Aulakh, President, Council of Khalistan.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, recently a Sikh named Dr. Ranbir Singh Sandhu was stopped at the San Francisco airport as he tried to board a flight and forced by agents of the Transportation Security Administration to take off his turban. Dr. Sandhu, who is around 80, was on his way to a funeral in Vancouver. He refused to take off his turban and was barred from the flight, forcing him to make a 20-hour drive to get to the funeral. This is unacceptable. I certainly understand and support wanding the turban for security reasons in this day and age, but forcing a Sikh to remove his turban is an insult to his religious identity. TSA does not make Jewish passengers take off their yarmulkes and that is right. They shouldn't. But they require Sikhs to take off their turbans. That is unfair, discriminatory, and wrong. Airport security is important. We were just reminded of that again by the passing of another anniversary of the September 11 attacks. But we must not let that be used as an excuse to violate the religious liberties or the civil rights of anyone. We should stop asking Sikhs to remove their turbans. The Council of Khalistan recently wrote to President Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff, and the TSA Administrator, Kip Hawley, asking that this policy be changed. September 12, 2007. Hon. Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, Washington, DC. Dear Secretary Chertoff: I am writing to you today about the Transportation Safety Administration's practice of making Sikhs remove their turbans in order to travel. Recently, Dr. Ranbir Singh Sandhu of California, a retired engineering professor who is around 80 years old, was stopped at San Francisco International Airport on his way to Vancouver for a funeral. He was ordered by TSA security workers to remove his turban. When he refused he was not allowed to board his flight and he wound up having to drive 20 hours to Vancouver to get to the funeral. Asking a Sikh to remove his turban in public is worse than asking someone to remove his pants in public. No one would even think of making such a request, yet the TSA thinks nothing of asking Sikhs to remove their turbans in public. I salute TSA for not asking Jewish people to remove their yarmulkes in public. This is because they are religious symbols. Jewish people are required to wear them in public. By the same principle, Sikhs are required to wear their turbans. Wanding the turban should be enough and would be understandable in light of security concerns, but forcing a Sikh to remove his turban is unacceptable. It is a strike against his Sikh religion and his Sikh identity. I respectfully but strongly urge you to take action to prevent what happened to Dr. Sandhu from happening to any other Sikh traveller. Please order the TSA workers to respect the religion and identity of Sikhs and not to force them to remove their turbans. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President, Council of Khalistan.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 694, the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act of 2007. Before I go any further, I want to take this time to personally thank my colleague, Randy Forbes of Virginia, for his longtime support and hard work on this bill. This bipartisan bill seeks to improve technology instruction and enhance the communication network systems of minority serving institutions, many of which are located in poor, rural and isolated areas. Further, this important legislation seeks to deal with systemic disenfranchisement within minority communities by providing a means for partnership between MSIs and K-12 schools through teacher education, including the provision of preservice teacher training and in-service professional development. Under this legislation, MSIs are given an opportunity to further focus on disparities in access to quality higher education opportunities and the communities they serve. Mr. Speaker, as public schools scramble to open for the fall term, principals and superintendents are frustrated by the stress of not having qualified math and science teachers. Just last week, the New York Times published an article entitled: Schools Scramble for Teachers Because of Spreading Turnover, and reported how tough it is to find good qualified teachers to teach science and math in low income neighborhoods. My bill, H.R. 694, will help to produce a new generation of world-class teachers of science and, mathematics and engineers. Minority Serving Institutions play a unique role in the education of our diverse American workforce. According to a July 2005 House Committee on Science report, 21 percent of all college degrees and certificates awarded to African American, American Indian and Hispanic students are conferred by Minority Serving Institutions. Minority Serving Institutions also help underrepresented students succeed in all disciplines, science, mathematics, and engineering in particular. For example, of African-Americans earning bachelor's degrees in science, math, engineering or the technology field in 1996, 31 percent received them at an HBCU. Similarly, Hispanic-Serving Institutions produced 20 percent of science, math, engineering or technology bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics in 1996. Minority Serving Institutions have special skills in serving their communities, which include large numbers of low-income or first generation college students. In fact, I am a graduate of North Carolina A&T, as are many of my colleagues here today in support of this bill are graduates of HBCUs and MSIs. Unlike other, larger institutions of higher education, MSIs typically have small or nonexistent endowments and few wealthy alumni. As a result, the ability to purchase and pay for the upkeep of the technology that will prepare these students for the workforce is especially challenging for many MSI. Developing an educated and technologically literate workforce is an important part of our efforts to compete in an increasingly technology and information-based, global economy. Whether technology should be used in schools is no longer the issue. Rather, the current emphasis is on ensuring that technology is available and used effectively to create new opportunities. For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 694, the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act. In closing, I want to especially thank the higher education community who over the past 8 years have tirelessly worked to make this bill become a reality. Specifically, I want to thank Dr. Michael L. Lomax of the United Negro College Fund, Lezli Baskerville of the National Association of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, Antonio Flores of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Gerald E. Gipp of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the Telecommunications Industry Association, Alcatel Lucent, and the many other advocates who have worked on this issue.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Therman E. Evans. Internationally recognized as ``Mr. Inspiration'', Dr. Evans is a rare combination of accomplished physician, ordained pastor, radio personality, academician, and business innovator. His management consultancy firm, Whole Life Associates Inc., has revolutionized health awareness in boardrooms and workplaces across America. Dr. Evans began his medical studies at Howard University, earning his B.S. in 1966 and his M.D. credentials in 1971. From there he joined the staff of the Health Manpower Development Corporation as a physician, designing programs to expand healthcare access to disadvantaged minorities in the Washington, DC region. Throughout his career, Dr. Evans has always promoted health education and wellbeing through bold, pedagogical methods and initiatives, including a $1 million, 15,000- square-foot, state-of-the-art fitness facility managed by CIGNA. Today, Dr. Evans serves as the Chairman and CEO of Whole Life Associates Inc., a fount of creative solutions to promote America's health. The center directs a wide variety of educational programs ranging from public lectures to training seminars to consultancy services. Perhaps Dr. Evans is most well-known for his riveting and inspirational lectures. He is the pastor of the Morning Star Community Christian Center, Inc. of Linden, NJ, a non-denominational parish where more than 800 active members are inspired weekly by sermons promoting physical and spiritual health, protecting the environment, and building enduring human relationships. He also hosts ``Lifeline'', a weekly radio show on WHAT in Philadelphia. Dr. Evans is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including three honorary doctorate degrees from Rust College in Mississippi, Bethune Cookman College in Florida, and Meharry Medical College in Tennessee. He also received the Distinguished Service Award as the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in 2003 from Howard University's College of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Evans has graced countless publications with articles on a whole range of medical issues. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Dr. Therman E. Evans as a paradigm of community service and dedication. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to a man who raises the level of health awareness and healthy living for all Americans.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Ninth Tabernacle Church on its 100th anniversary. The Ninth Tabernacle was established September 1, 1907 in Jamaica, New York by Prophet Williams S. Crowdy. During that time, members met at the home of Deacon Henry and St. Rachel Blount. Deacon Henry Blount presided over the services in the Borough of Queens until the Tabernacle was officially established by Elder Richard Briggs. Elder Briggs became the first local Pastor of the Ninth Tabernacle during the years 1907 to 1927. In 1927, the Ninth Tabernacle was led by Evangelist-at-Large Nathaniel B. Nelson who established it as an icon of community service and fellowship in the Borough of Brooklyn. Previous local pastors have included: Elder James Nelson; Elder Judah N. Roberts; Evangelist Moses Farrar; and Rabbi Jesse E. Brown, Jr. The current Pastor, Evangelist Joseph R. Turner is also the Executive Leader of the international religious organization Temple Beth-el. Since 1907, the congregation of the Ninth Tabernacle has worshiped at various locations throughout the Borough of Brooklyn. One of the most memorable locations was 590 Gates Avenue which the congregants of the Ninth Tabernacle were forced to leave due to construction of new housing. In 1974, the Ninth Tabernacle Trustees purchased a former synagogue at 85 Fountain Avenue where members began a 30-year tenure of spiritual revitalization and growth. The Ninth Tabernacle has been a beacon of community service in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York areas. They have established food and clothing donation programs; emergency services for the neighborhoods; and the Fountain Avenue Community Development Corporation, which is a non-profit social service agency that provides parental effectiveness training, computer literacy training, and workforce development initiatives to Brooklyn residents. The Ninth Tabernacle also provided emergency counseling services immediately after the events of September 11, 2001 and continues to work with homeless shelters and substance abuse programs in New York. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize the Ninth Tabernacle's 100 years of service and their selfless contributions to the residents of Brooklyn. Madam Speaker. I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Ninth Tabernacle on its 100th anniversary.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I would like to call attention to a letter that I and my colleagues received this week from the professional and collegiate sports associations. It alerts us to the fact that, at this time when the reputation and integrity of American athletics are keenly threatened by gambling-related scandals, proposals to legalize and sanction sports gambling are being advanced here in the House of Representatives. I have long been concerned about protecting American athletics from the taint of gambling. I cosponsored the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, when arrested the growth of state- sponsored sports betting. As Congress said then, ``Sports gambling threatens to change the nature of sporting events from wholesome entertainment for all ages to devices for gambling. It undermines public confidence in the character of professional and amateur sports.'' Now H.R. 2046 threatens to let offshore online gambling operators do through the backdoor what PASPA shut off to states through the front door. And the proponents of sports gambling are making the same arguments that they did in the early 1990s: legal sportsbooks have the technology and incentive to identify suspicious activity and prevent actual corruption of the game; people are going to gamble on sports anyway, so the government might as well capture tax revenue on the activity. Congress rejected those arguments then, and they should reject them now. The fundamental issue has never been whether the technology existed to prevent abusive sports gambling. The fundamental issue is this: regardless of what happens between friends or on the black market, Congress should not be in the business of encouraging people to gamble on sports. And sports gambling should be off limits from further exploitation as a ``revenue enhancer.'' This is an essential principle, that gambling and sports do not mix. Even though H.R. 2046 says sports leagues can ``opt out'' of allowing gambling on their sport, Congress would still be sending the wrong message about sports gambling. Moreover, the sports associations have very serious concerns that the ``opt-outs'' could be struck down by U.S. courts or international tribunals, leaving their sports completely unprotected. As their letter says, ``the harms caused by government endorsement of sports betting far exceed the alleged benefits.'' Therefore, I will not support any movement on H.R. 2046 so long as it poses any threat to the integrity of American athletics. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to place in the Record the letter signed by the General Counsels of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 30, 2007. Dear Member of Congress: Sports betting is incompatible with preserving the integrity of American athletics. For many decades, we have actively enforced strong policies against sports betting. And the law on this point is consistent. Federal statutes bar sports betting, especially the 1961 Wire Act and the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Enforcement of these laws against sports betting was also a significant motive for enacting the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). Accordingly, we urge you to reject current proposals to legalize Internet gambling, such as H.R. 2046 sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank. This legislation reverses federal policy on sports betting and would for the first time give such gambling Congressional consent. The bill sends exactly the wrong message to the public about sports gambling and threatens to undermine the integrity of American sports. On a related point, we believe the Congress should not consider any liberalization of Internet gambling until the U.S. Trade Representative successfully resolves our trade disputes in this area. A rush to judgment on this subject could result in irreversible damage to U.S. sovereignty in the area of gambling regulation, including the capacity to prohibit sports bets. Though Internet gambling on sports has never been legal, easy access to offshore Internet gambling websites has created the opposite impression among the general public, particularly before Congress enacted UIGEA last fall. UIGEA emerged from more than a decade of Congressional consideration, in which stand-alone legislation aimed at restricting Internet gambling passed either the Senate or the House in each of five successive Congresses, each time by overwhelming bi-partisan votes. UIGEA also enjoyed a broad array of supporters, including 49 state Attorneys General and other law enforcement associations, several major financial institutions and technology companies, dozens of religious and family organizations, and of course our sports organizations. Enactment of UIGEA was grounded on concerns about addictive, compulsive, and underage Internet gambling, unlawful sports betting, potential criminal activity, and the wholesale evasion of federal and state laws. When it passed the House a year ago, the vote was 317-93, including majorities of both caucuses and with the affirmative votes of both party leaders. The final product was a law that did not change the legality of any gambling activity--it simply gave law enforcement new, effective tools for enforcing existing state and federal gambling laws. UIGEA and its predecessor bills could attract such consensus because they adhered to this principle: whether you think gambling liberalization is a bad idea or a good one, the policy judgments of State legislatures and Congress must be respected, not de facto repealed by deliberate evasion of the law by offshore entities via the Internet. By contrast, H.R. 2046 would put the Treasury Department in charge of issuing licenses to Internet gambling operators, who would then be immunized from prosecution or liability under any Federal or State law that prohibits what the Frank bill permits. The bill would tear apart the fabric of American gambling regulation. By overriding in one stroke dozens of Federal and State gambling laws. this would amount to the greatest expansion of legalized gambling ever enacted. This legislation contains an ``opt-out'' that appears to permit individual leagues to prohibit gambling on their sports. But regardless of the ``opt-out,'' the bill breaks terrible new ground, because Congress would for the first time sanction sports betting. That is reason enough to oppose it. In addition, the bill's safeguard opt-out for sports leagues as well as the one for states may well prove illusory and ineffectual. They will be subject to legal challenge before U.S. courts and the World Trade Organization. In addition, this legislation would dramatically complicate current trade negotiations concerning gambling. In 1994, the United States signed the General Agreement on Trade in Services, which included a commitment to free trade in ``other recreational services.'' In subsequent WTO proceedings, the United States has claimed this commitment never included gambling services. The United States has noted that any such ``commitment'' would contradict a host of federal and state laws that regulate and restrict gambling. The WTO has not accepted this argument. Accordingly, the U.S. Trade Representative has initiated negotiations to withdraw gambling from U.S. GATS commitments. Before withdrawal can be finalized, agreement must be reached on trade concessions with interested trading partners. Few concessions should be required because there was never a legal market in Internet gambling in the U.S. If Congress creates a legal market before withdrawal is complete, the withdrawal will become much more complicated and costly. Therefore, we oppose any legislation that would imperil the withdrawal process. Finally, we have heard the argument that Internet gambling can actually protect the integrity of sports because of the alleged capacity to monitor gambling patterns more closely in a legalized environment. This argument is generally asserted by those who would profit from legalized gambling and the same point was raised in 1992 when PASPA was enacted. Congress dismissed it then and should dismiss it now. The harms caused by government endorsement of sports betting far exceed the alleged benefits. H.R. 2046 sets aside decades of federal precedent to legalize sports betting and exposes American gambling laws to continuing jeopardy in the WTO. We strongly urge that you oppose it. Thank you for considering our views on this matter. Sincerely, Rick Buchanan, Executive, VP and General Counsel, National Basketball Association. Elsa Kircher Cole, General Counsel, National Collegiate Athletic Association. William Daly, Deputy Commissioner, National Hockey League. Tom Ostertag, Senior VP and General Counsel, Major League Baseball. Jeffrey Pash, Executive VP and General Counsel, National FootbaIl League.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, as I have discussed recently, the Punjab Government has issued an arrest warrant against Dr. Sukhpreet Singh Udhoke for the crime of writing about Sikh freedom and criticizing the chief minister. Mr. Mann's crime was placing a picture at the statue of the brutal late chief minister, Beant Singh. The Council of Khalistan has recently written to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to demand the withdrawal of the warrant against Dr. Udhoke and the release of Mr. Mann. We should join in that demand, Madam Speaker. We should stop aid and trade with India to support rights for everyone and we should demand a free and fair vote on freedom for Khalistan, the Sikh homeland, for Nagalim, for Kashmir, and for the other nations seeking their freedom. I would like to add that letter to the Record, Madam Speaker. Council of Khalistan, Washington, DC, June 28, 2007. Hon. Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab, Chandigarh, Punjab, India. Dear Chief Minister Badal: I am writing to you regarding the recent arrest warrant for Dr. Sukhpreet Singh Udhoke and the arrests of Sardar Simranjit Singh Mann and his associates. As you know, both were involved in peaceful political action, which is protected under the Indian constitution, at the time the warrants for their arrests were issued by your government. Dr. Udhoke's offense was publishing articles critical of you. Sardar Mann's was protesting and placing a picture of a Sikh martyr at the statue of the brutal, genocidal Beant Singh, who presided over the murders of over 50,000 Sikhs. Mann had previously been arrested for the dangerous crimes of making a speech and raising a flag. You have been in opposition. You have engaged in political activities while in opposition. What would you think if you were arrested for those activities? That is exactly what your government is doing to S.S. Mann and proposes to do to Dr. Udhoke as soon as you can find him. When did the right to protest peacefully disappear in Punjab, Khalistan? Are you determined to prove the late General Narinder Singh right that ``Punjab is a police state''? On behalf of the 25 million strong Sikh Nation in Punjab, in India, and around the world, I am writing to demand the withdrawal of the arrest order against Dr. Udhoke and his associates and the immediate release of Simranjit Singh Mann and his associates. I do not do this for political reasons; Mann has been a vocal critic of this office and has cooperated with the Indian government. But if you truly believe in democracy--the system that put you back in power earlier this year--then you cannot in good conscience arrest people for dissent. Indeed, Mann's arrest shows what can happen to a Sikh even if he cooperates with the Indian government, as you have done throughout your political career to the detriment of the Sikh Nation. One day, your utility to them will be exhausted and they may then have you thrown in jail for a peaceful political activity--simply because you are a Sikh. Who will you turn to defend you then? To this office? Yet while you seem intent on prosecuting peaceful dissent, you are unwilling to take action against those who commit murder and other serious crimes. Is that because of your alliance with the BJP, which is the political arm of the pro- Fascist, militant Hindu nationalist, anti-Sikh RSS? When you were elected in 1997, you promised the Sikhs of Punjab that you would appoint a commission to inquire into the atrocities in Punjab and prosecute the police officers who murdered Sikhs. Instead, you protected SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna, who murdered Akal Takht Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke. Just recently, Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh was fraudulently dressing as Guru Gobind Singh, performing baptisms that are reserved for the Panj Piaras, and advertising it in the newspaper. This was a desecration of the Sikh religion and a fraud. Yet you met with Ram Rahim to ask for his political support. But you couldn't even succeed in persuading this corrupt baba to support you! Yet when he perpetrated this fraud, you protected him until the political pressure to prosecute him got too intense. He still has not been arrested, nor has an arrest warrant been issued. I guess the jails are too crowded from holding the likes of Dr. Sukhbir Singh Udhoke and Simranjil Singh Mann. In 1978, during your Chief Ministership, the Nirankari cult had a meeting and desecrated the Guru Granlh Sahib. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his supporters peacefully protested outside. Your police fired on the protestors, killing 13 of them, then your police escorted the Nirankari leader, Gurbachan Singh, safely out of Punjab. Apparently, you were not through trying to destroy Sant Bhindranwale. According to letters reprinted in the book Chakravyuh: Web of Indian Secularism, you, along with Harcharan Singh Longowal and the late Gurcharan Singh Tohra, invited the Indian government to attack the Golden Temple in June 1984 to kill Sant Bhindranwale. 37 other Gurdwaras were attacked simultaneously. Over 20,000 Sikhs were killed in those attacks. Their blood is on your hands, Mr. Chief Minister. Furthermore, your government in your previous term was the most corrupt in Punjab's history. You creatively invented a new term for bribery; ``fee for service.'' No fee, no service. The sale of government offices was standard operating procedure. Your wife even developed the handy skill of being able to tell how much money was in a bag just picking it up. Furthermore, your operatives are calling this office repeatedly and harassing me about my website because it exposes you. You may be able to suppress the freedom of Sikhs in Punjab, but you cannot stop the Sikh diaspora from exposing your brutal and corrupt acts. Remember that Sikhs have a long memory of those who are traitors and murderers and who cooperate with the oppressors of the Sikh Nation. K.P.S. Gill's turban is still preserved in Belgium. When Khalsitan is free, it will be on display so that the Sikh Nation will never forget those who committed atrocities against us. Punjab's water is being taken away by non-riparian states without compensation. At least your predecessor, who is from the Congress Party, the enemy of all Sikhs, tried to do something about it. He cancelled the water agreements. The bill passed by the Legislative Assembly expressly affirmed the sovereignty of Punjab. Under your rule, the economy of Punjab is deteriorating. Sikh farmers are committing suicide because they cannot make a living, due to the fact that your friends in Delhi force them to pay exorbitant prices for fertilizer and seeds, but forces them to sell their crop at substandard prices. And you, who as Chief Minister and head of the Akali Dal are supposed to protect the interests of the Sikhs, sit there and kowtow to these criminals. Even though the government of Pakistan said it would build a road to Kartapur, where Guru Nanak went to his heavenly abode, with no visas, your government has refused to build the Punjab side of the road so that Sikhs can go freely to this sacred site. From these actions, it is clear where your loyalties lie, and they are not with the Sikh Nation or with the Sikh religion or with the people of Punjab, but with the violent, pro-Fascist, murderous Hinducrat thugs from Delhi who sponsor you and your career. But remember the warning I gave you earlier; when they are through with you, when you no longer have any usefulness to them, they will dispense with you as they have dispensed with so many other Sikhs who have served them. That is why it is incumbent on every Sikh to engage in the ``long struggle'' to free Khalistan. Only then will Sikhs such as Dr. Udhoke, Sardar Mann, and even the likes of you be protected from the violent and brutal whims of the oppressive Hindustani regime. It is crucial to protect the Sikh religion and the Sikh Nation from this oppression by liberating Khalistan today, in accord with our declaration of October 7, 1987. For your good, Mr. Badal, I urge you to get on the right side of history today. Or would you rather be remembered as an enemy of the Sikh Nation? Sincerely, Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President, Council of Khalistan.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have a good bill that will help provide needed health insurance for 5 million more low-income children, that helps us reduce health disparities, equalizes payments under Medicare to allied health professions, acknowleges the role of schools in health care service delivery and protects senior citizens from deceptive and aggressive marketing tactics by private Medicare sales people. I applaud the inclusion of health information technology in this bill. I have a draft bill in this area related to connecting medically underserved communities to reduce health disparities and I believe this bill could further that process. I applaud this bill for making a number of efforts to collect racial and ethnic health data. Numerous groups including the Rand Corporation, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Kaiser Family Foundation and others have stressed that efforts to reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities cannot proceed without comprehensive data collection. I am pleased that this bill creates payment fixes under Medicare for a number of allied health professions, including midwives and marriage and family therapists. I had hoped a similar provision for physicians' assistants could have been included. However, this bill can address the ability of physicians to delegate hospice care to physicians' assistants without any further cost considerations. I am particularly pleased that the overall tone of the bill is to help children improve their lives and their health by offering a guaranteed dental benefit and helping States enroll and retain more eligible children, including the children of legal immigrants. I am fully supportive of the idea of allowing ``qualifying States'' to use their CHIP allotments for Medicaid if that will cover more kids. I believe that the attempt to categorize this bill as cutting Medicare is nothing more than a sham. Thousands of seniors who need part ``D'' assistance will benefit from easier enrollement procedures. Almost 550,000 seniors in my State will be protected on limitations to out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. Companies have for 3 years overcharged Medicare from 19 to 70 percent and have told seniors that cutting these over payments will cut their benefits. That is simply not true. It is not necessary to choose between funding health care for children and health care for seniors. This legislation does both. Urban and rural districts will benefit from the proactive approach in this bill to reach out to ``hard-to-reach'' communities to spread the word about enrolling in SCHIP. That makes good sense and is supported by a wide range of groups in our community, including the National Medical Association. My city, State and many stakeholder groups are also fully supportive of simplifying the applications process and speeding up and streamlining eligibility determinations. In addition, States like New York that fund SCHIP beyond 200 percent of Federal poverty levels are appreciative of the ability to earn bonus payments available to States that have implemented 5 of 7 practices that would increase outreach, enrollment, and retention efforts. In addition, I am supportive of the option to enroll children who would otherwise age out of Medicaid or CHIP. The majority tried very hard to include all medically necessary services, but cost factors did not make that fully possible. Indeed, I am appreciative that you were able to include dental and mental health services in this bill as a State mandate because these services are predictors of good health status. In fact when these services are not readily available it can be tragic. We witnessed the unfortunate demise of young Deamonte Driver in Maryland from a tooth abscess this past winter, preventable by extracting a tooth at the cost of about $80. Instead, he suffered a brain infection that cost the system $250,000 in surgery bills and Deamonte his life because he could not receive treatment in time. This bill will help avoid these types of tragedies. I am very supportive of the creation of the Children's Access Payment and Equity Commission because I believe that with a good balance of commissioners, including those from medically underserved communities, we can more closely monitor access to care from these communities. Other features of this bill that I fully support include: coverage of pregnant women; the increase for allowable resources for asset testing; continuous enrollment and the encouragement of culturally appropriate enrollment and retention practices. I do, however, have a number of concerns. I am very concerned that New York's public hospital system stands to lose up to $350 million if the moratorium on intergovernment tax transfers is not extended. In addition, our State and city will lose even more than that if we eliminate graduate medical education payments. I hope that we can work together to prevent this tragedy, not rust for my own State and city, but for others as well. I am still concerned that we need to give a date certain to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to begin an additional compendia to support coverage of off-label uses of cancer drugs. I am concerned that the freeze on payments to the home health industry will continue to have negative effects in my State and city. I am also concerned that Medicare beneficiaries will not receive all of the necessary treatments available to them. Further, I would prefer they have the broadest formulary coverage so that seniors are not forced to switch to other medications which are not rated as therapeutic equivalents.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook. Rev. Cook is the pastor at the Believers' Christian Fellowship Church, which she founded in 1996 after serving as pastor of the Mariners' Temple Baptist Church in downtown Manhattan for 13 years. In 2002, Rev. Cook became the first woman elected president of the 10,000-member Hampton, Virginia, University Ministers Conference, which represents all the historically African American denominations. Her list of other ``firsts'' includes: first woman appointed Chaplain of the New York Police Department and the first female baptist minister from the Bronx to receive a White House fellowship. A woman of promise, passion, diligence, and determination, Rev. Cook is the author of eight successful books. In 1997 Rev. Cook was featured by Ebony Magazine as one of the Nation's top 15 women in ministry. Rev. Cook has toured nationally with Bishop T.D. Jakes and the ``God's Leading Ladies Conference.'' Her motto is ``If I can help somebody, then my living is not in vain.'' A faculty member and graduate of Harvard University, she also received a doctorate of ministry degree from Union Theological Seminary, a master of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary, and a master of arts degree from Columbia University. Rev. Cook is married to Ronald Cook, and they reside in New York City with their two sons. Dr. Cook is a powerful orator and was recently described in the New York Times as ``Billy Graham and Oprah rolled into one.'' Her mentoring and leadership skills have now charged her to form The Woman in Ministry International Summit, which supports and advocates for women church leaders. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize this magnificent minister, scholar, and dynamic leader, and urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to this outstanding member of the clergy.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me point out when complaints are not promptly resolved, frustrated customers seek redress in different agencies or at different parts or level of the same agency, resulting in duplicate effort and compounding costs and a waste of time. Just as costs rise when citizens do not receive reliable information in a timely manner, trust also erodes as citizens become frustrated with a nonresponsive bureaucracy. Indeed, there has been a cumulative erosion of public confidence in government. Please, let's work together to create a more responsive and more accountable government. So I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I would also like to thank some folks. I would like to thank Congressman Waxman, who is the Chair of the full committee, in terms of his support and what he has done to help move this legislation forward. I would like to thank the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Davis from Virginia, in terms of all of his support and help in moving it. I also, I think, indicated earlier on my colleague, Mr. Duncan, who has worked very hard to make this a reality. And, of course, I would like to thank Congressman Bilbray, who is the ranking member on the subcommittee, for all of his support as well, and all the staff members who worked so hard, along with Congressman Cuellar from Texas, along with Congresswoman Foxx. There have been a lot of people that really put a lot of time and energy into this to try to strengthen this bill. It might not be perfect, but I think it is a giant step in the right direction. I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), who has worked very hard on this legislation. And let me also add, it has been a delight to work with him and his staff to bring this legislation to the floor.