Ed Towns

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Joelle Bailey for her accomplishments in the field of business and efforts to improve the manners of all people in our community. Joelle has over 20 years experience in catering, event planning and the restaurant business. Little did she know that a position at Essence Magazine would serve as the impetus for her to enter the food and hospitality industry. At a very young age, Joelle's mom Marie felt very strongly about manners and etiquette and instilled those values in Joelle and her sister Yves. Joelle has taken these values and turned them into a lifetime mission not only for herself but to assist and instruct others in these areas. Joelle has learned through some of the best working positions at the Vista Hilton, Marriot and Plaza Hotels and LSG Sky Chefs. She received her formal training at the French Culinary Institute and Sky Chefs. By 1994, she opened Classic Catering which is a full service event planning and catering business that caught the attention of the New York Times, Daily News, NY Post, 98.7 KISS FM and WOR 710. In June 2004, Joelle was featured in the Daily News' ``Spotlight On Great People'' by Clem Richardson. Publicity aside, Joelle is pleased that her clients and guests approve of her fabulous catering and cooking skills. Currently, Joelle writes several columns, sharing her knowledge on entertaining, etiquette and menu and recipe suggestions. Some of Joelle's most memorable clients have included: The New York Urban League, Diana Ross, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Russell Simmons, Suzanne Taylor, The United Way, Bill Cosby, Children's Television Network, Jackie Robinson Foundation, New York Bar Association, New York University, Columbia University and many more. Joelle shares her love for young people by teaching courses in the art of etiquette, table manners, sophistication, food, nutrition and basic ``101'' cooking skills. She teaches these classes for the community in different schools and also in her home. Each event is sponsored with her own personal finances. Adults are welcome as well. Additionally, her very own etiquette/cookbook will be launched next year and a food show is in the works. On her son Issiah's 3rd birthday March 27, 2004 Joelle launched a not-for-profit foundation called Issiah W. Simms Foundation to help children improve their etiquette and manners. Eight years ago, Joelle realized that she was not satisfied with the etiquette and manners of today's children, teens and even adults. For her, there was a major state of emergency existing in society that needed to be addressed. This concern led her to form the Issiah W. Simms Foundation. Joelle is fortunate to have wonderful and insightful parents Hubert and Marie Valbrun, mentors (stepmother, Rosette Waynne), teachers and friends who are supportive of her work. She has a degree in Liberal Arts from Pace University and an MBA from Liberty University. She dreams of opening a finishing school that would be free to her Brooklyn community. Mr. Speaker, Joelle Bailey has been a leader in our community through her entrepreneurial accomplishments and efforts to create a more civil society. As such, she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Robert Santiago for his dedication to strengthening our neighborhoods and improving the lives of our citizens through his work in various community based organizations. Robert was born in Brooklyn to Norberto and Heriberta Santiago first generation immigrant parents who migrated from Puerto Rico during the mid 1940's. He attended P.S. 285 and 67, Sands JHS 265 and graduated from Eastern District High School. He graduated with honors from Queens College where he majored in Political Science with a minor in Spanish. After a year at the University of Illinois, College of Law, he returned to New York to complete his studies not realizing the journey would take an additional 10 years. He eventually graduated from Rutgers University School of Law in 1986. In between, Robert became an Army officer, did his masters work at Long Island University in economics and found time to raise a family of three sons. Briefly practicing law in Fort Greene, he discovered that his true calling was elsewhere. His employment varied from working in several different New York City agencies to owner and operator of several business ventures. Through the auspices of Colony South Brooklyn Houses, Robert as director of educational programs was able to increase the amount of funding for their educational and day care programs. Educational programs he helped begin for at-risk and homeless youngsters residing in East New York and Brownsville communities remain successful and continue to operate today. He has also served as a consultant on various projects related to community school building and educational development in post-secondary education. Presently, Robert serves as the executive director of Highland Park Community Development Corporation, a community based organization with a mandate to develop programs and projects that will help improve the quality of life in the northern Brooklyn communities in the areas of education, housing, safety, and economic development. Mr. Speaker, the record is clear that Robert Santiago has been a leader in our community through his consistent efforts to improve the quality of life of those in need. As such, he is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Hilma Shannon, who through hard work and determination has realized her dream to teach in the United States, serving a vital role in the education of our diverse community. Hilma was born in the Republic of Panama in the City of Colon to Enos Williams and Lillian Francis. Her education in Panama consisted of training in elementary education in both high school and college. She taught school in Panama for 7 years. In 1971, Hilma married and, now, has one daughter, Gavianna. In 1974, she immigrated to the United States and settled in Brooklyn. Her first job was at the Ace of Suede Leather Cleaners where she worked for 10 years. Hilma's command of the English language needed a lot of work and with the assistance of her daughter, she read and studied constantly to improve her grammar, diction, and general ability to communicate in English. In 1984, she applied for a job with the New York Board of Education to fulfill her dream of teaching again. She was assigned to work as an educational assistant in 1985 at Walt Whitman I.S. 246. Her work included visits to the homes of students who were chronic absentees to encourage their consistent attendance. She took advantage of the Board of Education's Career Ladder program to become a teacher, graduating in 1989 from the College of New Rochelle with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Education and Psychology. In addition, she completed a Masters in Guidance and Counseling and an Advanced Certificate in Guidance and Counseling. Upon completing both degrees she received the prestigious Lester Crow Award and was offered an adjunct position in the Guidance Graduate program. In 1992, Hilma was assigned to Abraham Lincoln High School as a Bilingual Spanish Guidance Counselor and is there today. She has worked with students from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds. She coordinates ``La Herencia Hispana (Lincoln's 1st Spanish Club), the Young Scholars program, The Choice Program, the Liberty Partnerships program with Kingsborough Community College just to name a few. At Lincoln High School, she has also taught Art Appreciation in the after- school program in addition to serving as a full-time Guidance counselor. She participates in Lincoln's Key Club-European Exchange program traveling with the club members to Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, and recently to Denmark. Lastly, Hilma is a Jehovah Witness and dedicates time to helping others understand the Bible. She is the proud grandmother of grandson Kumar, and the mother-in-law of Jerome. Mr. Speaker, Hilma Shannon serves as an inspiration to us all through her accomplishments and commitment to educating our children. As such, she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Phyllis Sherard for her dedication to educating our youth and strengthening our community. One of the best kept secrets about Phyllis is that she was actually born in Norfolk, Virginia, arriving in New York via North Carolina at the age of four. In spite of this, she boastfully claims to be an authentic product of Brooklyn, having resided in this wonderful borough of New York all of her life. As the eldest of six siblings, her parents instilled values and traits in her that have become her trademarks. Many people describe her as a born leader who is capable, responsible, compassionate, dependable, and motivational. No matter how high or wide the obstacles, Phyllis' attitude is always, ``We can handle it!'' In 1985, Phyllis joined the NYC Board of Education. She always wanted to teach but was encouraged to pursue commercial studies while in high school. However, through her experiences, she realized how important it is to get involved in the education of our children. Following the path that she now says was her destiny, she joined the staff of Project 17-- the Drug Prevention Education Program in Community School District 17. Initially, she had second thoughts about the position because she had to take a cut in pay. That was 20 years ago and needless to say, it has been the most fulfilling work of her life. The position opened doors for Phyllis to work with thousands of children, directing, intervening, and changing paths for so many children and their parents. Because of her ability and commitment, she was selected to serve as the Special Assistant to the Superintendent for Parent Involvement. Phyllis is most proud of implementing The First Clergy Conference, a series of Saturday African American Studies for parents, The Cultural Awareness Summer Program for children, the Christmas Toy Drive, Family Literacy Program, Computer Literacy for Parents, youth conferences, and a general equivalency program for young mothers, as well as working with parents to coordinate the first math, science, & technology parent conference. She currently directs drug prevention education programs for Region Six, which is comprised of 109 schools. This has been the most challenging experience for her. She has also implemented an evening counseling program for at-risk students and their families. Phyllis is a graduate of Long Island University, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science and a Masters degree in Supervision and Administration. She is the proud mother of Darryn and Jade-Lynn and the proud grandmother of grandson, Darryn Scott. Mr. Speaker, Phyllis Sherard has been instrumental in strengthening the educational experience for children in our community. As such, she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Ramona Williams for her dedication to strengthening early education for our children and volunteer efforts to strengthen our community. Ramona is a life-long resident of the Bedford Stuyvesant community of Brooklyn and does not plan to move. She attended Public School 297, which her two younger children attend now. She graduated from J.H.S 126 and Eli Whitney High School. She has three beautiful children: Jessica, 14, Vanessa, 9, and Jerome, 5, each of whom have a dream of greatness. Following her high school graduation, Ramona began work as a substitute teacher at Round Table Child Care Center, eventually becoming a head teacher. She enjoys creating curriculum and cultural activities for her students and assisting parents in helping their children. After 16 years of empowering her students, her personal horizon expanded and she accepted a position as Parent Coordinator for Mark Hopkins Intermediate School 33. Ramona works closely with the principal, P.T.A. and as a liaison between the community and school. As a single parent raising three children and working full time, Ramona finds it important to further her education and has enrolled at the College of New Rochelle pursuing a Bachelors of Social Work. She is a member of the Greater Free Gift Baptist Church Inc., where the pastor is the Rev. William Raymond Whitaker, Jr., Th.M, whom she thanks for his spiritual leadership and wisdom. Ramona's concern for her church and community has led her to focus on fundraising and organizing outreach events for teenagers, which included finding them summer employment. She also sings in the Tabernacle Choir. Forever thankful in all areas of her life, personal and community, she is grateful for those who inspire her as she strives to make this a better place for others. Her unconditional love and thanks goes to her parents and siblings, and the sparkles in her eyes-- Jessica, Vanessa, and Jerome (``Jay''). Mr. Speaker, Ramona Williams has been a leader in our community through her consistent efforts to improve the quality of education for all of our children. As such, she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents, I wish to extend to Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian my congratulations on the occasion of the Republic of China's National Day which was celebrated on October 10th. Under President Chen's leadership, Taiwan's economy continues to grow and people continue to enjoy high standards of living. To bolster Taiwan's economy, President Chen has improved Taiwan's trade relations with the People's Republic of China. Moreover, President Chen continues to work for an early breakthrough in Taiwan's dialogue with the PRC. In the meantime, Taiwan's relationship with the United States is becoming ever stronger. Bilateral trade between Taiwan and the United States topped $65 billion last year and Taiwan is our eighth largest trading partner. Taiwan and the United States share many values in common such as attachment to freedom; democracy and human rights. I would like to personally thank President Chen for his support of our war against global terrorism and developmental assistance to a number of African nations. To President Chen I say ``good luck and good fortune''. I remain hopeful that our relations will continue to be strengthened in 2005. Certainly, the able leadership of Ambassador David Lee has helped to further our relations with the government and people of Taiwan.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Joelle Bailey for her accomplishments in the field of business and efforts to improve the manners of all people in our community. Joelle has over 20 years experience in catering, event planning and the restaurant business. Little did she know that a position at Essence Magazine would serve as the impetus for her to enter the food and hospitality industry. At a very young age, Joelle's mom Marie felt very strongly about manners and etiquette and instilled those values in Joelle and her sister Yves. Joelle has taken these values and turned them into a lifetime mission not only for herself but to assist and instruct others in these areas. Joelle has learned through some of the best working positions at the Vista Hilton, Marriott and Plaza Hotels and LSG Sky Chefs. She received her formal training at the French Culinary Institute and Sky Chefs. By 1994, she opened Classic Catering which is a full service event planning and catering business that caught the attention of the New York Times, Daily News, NY Post, 98.7 KISS FM and WOR 710. In June 2004, Joelle was featured in the Daily News' ``Spotlight On Great People'' by Clem Richardson. Publicity aside, Joelle is pleased that her clients and guests approve of her fabulous catering and cooking skills. Currently, Joelle writes several columns, sharing her knowledge on entertaining, etiquette and menu and recipe suggestions. Some of Joelle's most memorable clients have included: The New York Urban League, Diana Ross, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Russell Simmons, Suzanne Taylor, The United Way, Bill Cosby, Children's Television Network, Jackie Robinson Foundation, New York Bar Association, New York University, Columbia University and many more. Joelle shares her love for young people by teaching courses in the art of etiquette, table manners, sophistication, food, nutrition and basic ``101'' cooking skills. She teaches these classes for the community in different schools and also in her home. Each event is sponsored with her own personal finances. Adults are welcome as well. Additionally, her very own etiquette/cookbook will be launched next year and a food show is in the works. On her son Issiah's 3rd birthday March 27, 2004 Joelle launched a not-for-profit foundation called Issiah W. Simms Foundation to help children improve their etiquette and manners. Eight years ago, Joelle realized that she was not satisfied with the etiquette and manners of today's children, teens and even adults. For her, there was a major state of emergency existing in society that needed to be addressed. This concern led her to form the Issiah W. Simms Foundation. Joelle is fortunate to have wonderful and insightful parents Hubert and Marie Valbrun, mentors (stepmother, Rosette Waynne), teachers and friends who are supportive of her work. She has a degree in Liberal Arts from Pace University and an MBA from Liberty University. She dreams of opening a finishing school that would be free to her Brooklyn community. Mr. Speaker, Joelle Bailey has been a leader in our community through her entrepreneurial accomplishments and efforts to create a more civil society. As such, she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Rosa Calhoun in recognition of her accomplishments in her field of business and commitment to the community. Rosa was born in Brooklyn, New York, the second child of Ruby Calhoun. Her daughter, Saretta, and her son, Dominique, are Rosa's pride and joy. Rosa graduated from Clara Barton Vocational High School where she enhanced her talent in hair care by specializing in weaving and hair cutting. She has received many trophies because of these specialties. Rosa has been in business for 30 years and participated in many fashion shows as ``Top Hair Designer''. She worked with and received many awards and certificates from The Hilton, Leviticus, Coliseum, and the Bronner Brother in Atlanta for her outstanding expertise in the field of hair styling. She was featured in 1986 ``Shop Talk'' and the 1998 ``Essence'' magazines. Rosa has an active member of the Berean Baptist Church for 7 years. She is a member of the Berean Choir and the Hospitality Committee. In addition, Rosa is a member of the Aurelia Chapter #724 Order of Eastern Stars. She is a potential candidate for the Central Brooklyn Lions Club and the Negro Business and Professional Women's Inc. where she plans to serve as a member. Today, Rosa continues to strive for excellence in hair care. She enjoys working within the community where she grew up. Her love for hair styling has led her to achieve and attain all of her goals in her professional career. Mr. Speaker, Rosa Calhoun, a Brooklyn native, has been a consistently positive force in her community through her business efforts, church and other civic activities. As such, she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Lydia Patricia Irby for her spiritual leadership and varied efforts to strengthen the community. Lydia Patricia Irby was born on December 11, 1952. She has been married 26 years to Minister Willie H. Irby and is the proud mom of her ``royal court,'' 3 beautiful princesses, Kiwana Yiesha Simon-Garcia, Nikkia Latanya George-Caquias, Kristina Dawn Irby and one handsome prince, Adam Benjamin Irby. She is also proud of her grandchildren, the lovely Jordan Lydia Garcia, and her handsome grandsons Taiwan Michael Simon, Christopher Todd Caquias, and Jeremiah Justin Caquias. They are ``the sweetest sugars in her life''. Lydia answered the call of God upon her life 27 years ago, when she was filled with the Holy Spirit and called into the ministry of Missionary and Evangelist. She has carried the word of the Lord throughout these United States, Canada, and Jamaica. She is a faithful member of Brooklyn Miracle Temple under the anointed leadership of Pastor Jimmy Talton and Lady Daisy Talton. The ``Voice of God'' and the BMT experience have brought her to another level of ministry. Lydia and her husband are the visionaries for a thriving clothing and food ministry, which meets the needs of people in the community. Lydia is a very industrious woman, ``true to her biblical name.'' She is an international millinery designer, a parent coordinator, conflict resolution specialist, and coordinator of student activities at the Brooklyn High School of the Arts. She has worked in successful partnerships with Principal Robert Finly for the past five years. She also has a diverse educational and occupational background and training including work as a licensed stockbroker for 12 years through the New York State Institute of Finance, seven years in licensed real estate management in the City of New York, certification in conflict resolution and mediation at Long Island University and successful completion of academic requirements as a Bible teacher at The Total Truth Institute. However, when is its all said and done Lydia's heartfelt desire is simply to live a life that is pleasing and acceptable to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Her motto is: ``I will leave the life of everything and everybody that I touch better than when I found it.'' Mr. Speaker, Lydia Patricia Irby has been a leader in our community through her spiritual leadership and civic participation to improve the quality of life in Brooklyn. As such, she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Booker T. Johnson for his nearly three decades of public service to the citizens of New York City and his continued commitment to improving our community. Booker is the son of Booker T. Johnson, Sr. and Piccola Tyler Johnson. He was born in the State of Virginia and received his education in South Carolina where he graduated from Scotts Brance High School in Summerton, S.C. In 1957, Booker relocated to New York. He married Roxie Carter Johnson in 1961, and they are proud parents of Booker T. Johnson, Jr. and Deron Johnson, and proud grandparents of Booker T. Johnson III. Booker joined the New York City Police Department in 1968 receiving several commendations during his 28-year career. He retired in 1995. From 1975 to the present, he has been the owner and operator of B & D Florist on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn that serves many churches, business organizations, and the public. In 1970, he joined Tuscan #58 F&A.M. (PH) Masonic Lodge becoming Master of the Lodge in 1980 and served as Grand Junior Warden in 1986. In 1978, he became a member of Fidelity Chapter #54 O.E.S.,P,H.A. In South Carolina, he was a member of St. Phillip Church and joined Brown Memorial Baptist Church upon moving to Brooklyn, New York. Booker's motto is to, ``treat everyone as you wish to be treated.'' Mr. Speaker, Booker T. Johnson dedicated his professional life to protecting New York's and he continues to be committed to strengthening our community. As such, he is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Geraldine Scott for her dedication to our community and commitment to mentoring our youth. Born in Queens, raised in Brooklyn, Gerri has dedicated her life to the service of others. She was educated in the New York City public school system and graduated from Hunter College in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. She is the granddaughter of Rudell Howell, the daughter of Ethel Owens and the proud mother of Bernard Isaiah Scott. Professionally, Gerri has worked for the Topps Company, Inc. for more than 15 years. Initially employed as a Credit Coordinator, she has received numerous promotions and, as of 2000, was promoted to the position of Office Service Supervisor. As Office Service Supervisor, Gerri manages a staff of employees and oversees various functions and operations for Topps, including building services management. Her responsibilities also include Buyer Coordinator, Telecommunication Analyst for all Topps locations, and Communications Coordinator for the U.S., Canadian and UK offices. Personally, she has been actively involved in her community and the Berean Baptist Church for over 25 years, serving her church through membership on various ministries, including but not limited to: the Junior Usher Board, Youth Lay League, Young Adult Choir, Young Adult Ministry, Sunday School, and Bible Study. She served her community by working with the elderly at the Kingsboro Senior Citizens home and tutored children as well as adults in math and reading. She joined the Girl Scouts at the age of 5 and eventually became a Scout Leader. Having served as a leader for over 10 years, Gerri enjoys her work in supervising girls of all ages. She has served as Service Unit Manager for the North Brook #3 area for 4 years, during which time her scouting unit experienced tremendous growth. She implemented new programs and worked diligently with her girls, affording her the opportunity to listen, witness, and attend to their many needs. Gerri also coordinated a summer job and volunteer program for her Senior and Cadette Scouts to provide them with a ``real world'' experience in a work environment. One of Gerri's greatest pleasures is a visit from one of her former Girl Scouts. Gerri says, ``When a Scout comes back and shares their experiences and accomplishments with me, I feel as if I have made a difference in their life.'' She works tirelessly and selflessly as a mother, manager, and community leader. She truly cares about her fellow man and considers it an honor to be able to help shape and mold her son into the man that God has called him to be and for the opportunity to positively affect the lives of the girls she works with through the Girl Scouts. She lives her life encouraged and empowered by her favorite scripture, Philippians, 4:13, ``I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'' Mr. Speaker, Geraldine Scott has been actively involved in strengthening our community through her various volunteer efforts at her church, a senior home and with the Girl Scouts. As such, she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw your attention to an event in Latin America that underscores the region's instability and warrants international attention. Over the last few months highly- regarded Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos has been fighting for his political survival as charges of corruption against him have led to calls for his impeachment. During Bolanos' three years in office he has proven himself a capable and popular leader, unafraid to fight against corruption within his government. The president and his supporters allege that Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) leader Arnoldo Aleman, currently imprisoned for corruption, and Sandinista National Liberation Front leader Daniel Ortega reached a political agreement to oust Bolanos from power, secure their parties' control of key political institutions and gain eventual amnesty for Aleman, a former Nicaraguan president. While Ortega has recently changed his mind and announced that his party will not pursue impeachment, the Sandinistas and the PLC are continuing efforts severely limit Bolanos' presidential powers. Efforts to remove or reduce his presidential prerogatives can only undermine the democratically-elected president and have little to no constitutional basis. They also go against the will of the people, the majority of whom have pledged their full support to their embattled head of state, putting democracy in Nicaragua in jeopardy. Since the Nicaraguan president has little political support in the National Assembly and the opposition controls key democratic institutions, the international community must actively involve itself to ensure the nation's democracy. The following research memorandum about Nicaragua's crisis was authored by Research Associate David R. Kolker with additional research provided by Research Fellow Alex Sanchez, both of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA). Founded in 1975, COHA is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, taxexempt research and information organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being ``one of the Nation's most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers.'' On October 7, Nicaragua's Comptroller's office called on the National Assembly to remove President Enrique Bolanos from office for failing to disclose the origin of $7 million used in his 2001 presidential campaign. The following day, the country's two major parties, the conservative Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) and the left-of-center Sandinista National Liberation Front, announced that unless Bolanos submitted his resignation, they would move to impeach the 76-year old president. The resulting crisis, which underscores the fragile political stability of Nicaragua as well as a number of other Central American nations, demonstrates how easily personal vendettas can manipulate the political process, ignore the will of the people and endanger democracy by undermining a competent and democratically- elected head of state. Bolanos as President Enrique Bolanos, a moderate conservative who has often been described as an honest chief executive, but lacking charisma, was sworn into office in January 2002. As a former PLC Vice President under President Arnoldo Aleman (1996-2001), Bolanos went mostly unnoticed in his nation until his role as coordinator of the economic aid effort following 1998's devastating Hurricane Mitch displayed his leadership and earned him the wide base of support needed to run for president in 2001. He subsequently won the general election, carrying 56 percent of the vote compared to Sandinista party leader Daniel Ortega's 42 percent. Soon after his victory, however, his crusade to purge corrupt officials from even the highest echelons of government earned him many enemies. This campaign led to his virtual ouster from the PLC by Aleman's friends after the party leader and former president was charged and then last December found guilty of corruption and sentenced to twenty years in jail. Bolanos' severe criticism of the Sandinista government's ties during the 1980s to Fidel Castro, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Miguel ``Tirofijo'' Marulanda, commander of Colombia's leftist insurgent force FARC, also infuriated and deeply alienated Ortega. As president, Bolanos has emphasized economic modernization for his underdeveloped nation and has achieved some successes. Besides fighting corruption and pursuing a transparent government, he has raised teachers' salaries, assisted farmers, begun destroying the military's stockpile of shoulder-fired missiles and upheld the 1990 peace accords signed after more than a decade of civil war between the Sandinistas and the U.S.-backed contras. Despite his accomplishments in office, opposition groups have continuously targeted him, making him the scapegoat for the nation's multiple problems and accusing him of being Washington's puppet because of his controversial support for the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The Enemy Within Bolanos has accused his main political rivals, Aleman and Ortega, of orchestrating the efforts to remove him from office. According to an October 19 article in the Miami Herald, the Nicaraguan president ``has repeatedly alleged since his campaign financing scandal erupted in late 2002 that Ortega and Aleman were trying to forge an agreement that would impeach the president and leave Aleman under house arrest.'' Indeed, a Nicaraguan government official confirmed to COHA the accuracy of the supposed Aleman-Ortega pact: in exchange for enacting constitutional reforms granting Aleman immunity, the Sandinistas would gain control of the judiciary, allowing the ``two caudillos (strongmen) . . . to fill the key positions of the Comptroller's Office, the Supreme Court of Justice, the Supreme Electoral Council and the Prosecutor's Office with their allies.'' While the PLC (41 seats) and Sandinistas (38 seats) currently control more than the two thirds of the 92-seat National Assembly needed to impeach the president, it seems unlikely that a vote will ever take place. The Nicaraguan official also explained to COHA the highly questionable nature of such proceedings, making it clear that impeachment is unrealistic: ``No piece of legislation existing in Nicaragua gives power to the Comptroller's Office to order the removal of the President'' and as a result, the resolution to impeach Bolanos ``is unconstitutional, clearly exceeds the Comptroller's office powers and jurisdiction, and represents a clear violation to the due process (Art. 10 num. 17; Art. 172, Law of the Comptroller's Office, Decree 625-1980 as amended).'' Additionally, ``neither the Constitution nor any piece of legislation authorizes the National Assembly to take action on [the resolution] (Nicaraguan Constitution Art. 138, Faculties of the National Assembly).'' While impeaching Bolanos would clearly be unconstitutional, it was not until Ortega's November 6 announcement that his party, which always follows his lead, would not pursue impeachment that the president's job appeared to be safe. However, Ortega's decision may be little more than the result of the Sandinistas having found a way to leave Bolanos in office, albeit with severely limited powers. In early November, a bill was proposed in the National Assembly that would revoke the president's power to appoint cabinet ministers, vice-ministers, diplomats and directors of state agencies. If both the PLC and Sandinistas support the bill, which seems likely, it would have more than the sixty percent of the vote needed for it to pass and cripple the president. Regardless of whether Bolanos is removed or marginalized, the will of Nicaraguans, the majority of whom believe the charges against their beleaguered president are unfounded, is being completely ignored. According to a poll published on October 19 in the Nicaraguan daily La Prensa, 69 percent of Nicaraguans back Bolanos and think the corruption charges against him are a ``political trap,'' while 66 percent believe he holds international credibility. Only 22 percent think that the charges are grounded in truth. Clearly, the average citizen is supportive of Bolanos and wants him to remain in power. Yet as long as the PLC and Sandinistas pursue their own agendas and not those of their constituents, democracy in Nicaragua will be jeopardized. Can the OAS Save Bolanos? Before Ortega pledged not to purse impeachment, it seemed that the president's only hope for survival in office would be through the direct intervention of the Organization of American States (OAS). Aside from eight party deputies in the legislature, Bolanos has virtually no political support in the National Assembly. However, he has received noteworthy backing from abroad. In an October 16 press release, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher expressed the Bush administration's strong support for the besieged Nicaraguan president, stating, ``We deplore recent politically motivated attempts, based on dubious legal precedent, to undermine the constitutional order in Nicaragua.'' He also praised Bolanos' ``efforts to eradicate corruption and promote democracy'' and called on the OAS to come to his aid. In a mid-October meeting in Managua of Central American leaders, the presidents of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, as well as the Panamanian vice president and the foreign ministers of Costa Rica and Belize, requested intervention by the OAS to prevent Bolanos' removal. Representing this significant bloc of neighboring nations, Salvadoran President Antonio Saca said, ``We agreed to instruct the permanent representatives of the countries in the Central America System of Integration before the OAS to immediately convene the (OAS) Permanent Council to debate the threatening political and institutional situation.'' Moreover, as scandals inundate the region, some critics believe these leaders' support of the Nicaraguan president is a way to guarantee that they will not lose power if a crisis like the one Bolanos is now facing occurs in their respective countries. Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco, former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo and former Honduran President Rafael Callejas all have been recently investigated for corruption. Additionally, former Guatemalan Vice President Francisco Reyes is currently imprisoned and ex- Costa Rican President and former OAS Secretary General Miguel Angel Rodriguez is under house arrest, both on corruption charges. Regional leaders are also surely keeping an eye on the developing crisis in Ecuador, where President Lucio Gutierrez's cabinet is rapidly resigning as he faces dismissal for the alleged misappropriation of campaign funds. From October 18-20, acting OAS Secretary General Luigi Einaudi and Permanent Council Chairman (and former Panamanian president) Aristides Royo led an OAS delegation to meet with Bolanos and his political opponents. According to an October 22 OAS press release, the delegation was ``not mounted to support the president or his government, the visit was instead intended to support `democratic institutions.' '' While the OAS has not yet released a full report on the delegation's findings, the London based LatinNews website reported that on October 24, Bolanos said the OAS ``agreed with him that the move to impeach him was illegal.'' In any case, OAS efforts to assist the president may be hindered by internal problems. The October 15 resignation, after less than three weeks in office, of Secretary General Rodriguez as a result of a corruption scandal in his native Costa Rica cost the OAS much credibility. Prior to the OAS delegation's arrival, PLC Deputy Enrique Quinonez captured many people's sentiments when he proclaimed to La Prensa, ``Now Bolanos' employees say that they will turn to the OAS, by God! . . . the new Secretary General of the OAS resigned for corruption.'' The OAS delegation was formed under the auspices of the OAS's Democratic Charter. Signed in Lima in September 2001, that document states that ``when the government of a member state considers that its democratic political institutional process or its legitimate exercise of power is at risk, it may request assistance from the Secretary General or the Permanent Council for the strengthening and preservation of its democratic system.'' If Bolanos is ousted, according to Article 21 of the Charter, the most the OAS can do is suspend Nicaragua's membership. However, such a move would likely result in international condemnation of those responsible for ousting the president and possibly hinder the disbursement of desperately needed international aid to the country. While the World Bank and International Monetary Fund forgave Nicaragua's $5.1 billion debt last January, aid remains of crucial importance in a country where it is estimated that in 2001, 50 percent of the population lived in poverty. On October 21, Nicaragua suffered a major setback as a result of the Bolanos crisis when Taiwan, which provided the country with nearly $200 million in aid between 1997 and 2003, announced it would cease sending aid until the national crisis is resolved. light at the end of the tunnel The PLC and Sandinista plan to oust the president, or at least strip him of much of his power, has largely ignored the sentiments of the average Nicaraguan. As Rodolfo Delgado Romero of the Managuabased Nicaraguan Studies Institute told COHA, ``Nicaragua must overcome the vicious cycle of crises and have the capacity to learn from errors that date back to the 19th century'' so it is no longer a country ``where the majority of the population is excluded from the decision- making process . . . a nation controlled by relatively exclusive elites for most of its history.'' Nicaragua is in desperate need for politicians who work on behalf of and truthfully represent its citizens. The power struggle currently being witnessed in Nicaragua also demonstrates that the region is still plagued by corruption and political pandering. Such behavior invariably leads to unstable rule, which carries the potential for serious conflict and underscores the need for a corruption- free OAS that can act decisively as an arbiter to uphold democracy in the hemisphere. It is disconcerting to note that despite his three years of painfully-achieved economic progress in a nation wrestling with stifling underdevelopment, Bolanos is on the verge of falling victim to manipulations by self-serving political opponents. While it appears likely that President Bolanos will narrowly survive to finish his term, the events of the last two month have cast an almost impenetrable shadow over Nicaragua's troubled democracy.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, on May 28, 2004, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, together with the United States, signed a free trade accord whose underlying principle is the aggressive protection and expansion of individual and corporate investor rights. These privileges come at the expense of environmental protection, legislative independence, and a nation's right to autonomously determine social and economic policy. Despite the assurances of its proponents, the Central America Free Trade Accord (CAFTA) is not likely to translate into a significant improvement for the region's atrocious labor rights record because it does not institute the fixed penalties and incentives required for such a profound change. The absence of such provisions is especially distressing in Central American societies that, in a twisted and deadly caricature of respectable collective bargaining, have historically witnessed hundreds of labor leaders gunned down and intimidated by hired hands on the payrolls of land owners and factory managers. The agreement's limited and unbalanced scope is a result of a heavily delimited negotiating process that lacked any sense of transparency and only involved government-sponsored experts. Numerous NGO's, civic organizations, trade unions groups and political figures in both Central America and the U.S. have expressed their opposition to the agreement. In its present form, CAFTA represents a very significant undermining of the traditional sovereign rights of nations and exposes a lamentable deference on the part of Central American governments. This clearly demonstrates their intent of mainly serving privileged elements of their societies at the expense of the generality of their populations. Once implemented, CAFTA will, in fact, likely condemn the area's agricultural, service and industrial workers to further marginalization, with the accompanying risk that they might fall into abject poverty. Most likely, comparable Central American enterprises will be hard-pressed to successfully compete with foreign competitors because they lack the economies of scale, investor control, access to low interest loans, investor pool and an outreach to skilled management which is readily available to transnational commercial entities. uneven ground If and when CAFTA is ratified, it will represent a momentous victory to business sectors in the U.S. and in Central America. The five Central American nations that are taking part in the agreement constitute a relatively underdeveloped region whose total GDP equals only $152 billion, or a negligible fraction of the U.S.'s $11 trillion economy. CAFTA fails to adequately consider this facet of the signatories' asymmetrical relationship. According to renowned Nicaraguan academic Rene Oscar Vargas, ``CAFTA is a vehicle for an increase of U.S. exports and an opportunity to maximize the potential of its basic industries: information technology, telecommunications, the service industry, agriculture and intellectual property.'' On another occasion Vargas commented, ``What is CAFTA but an agreement between unequal partners.'' The principle that states that free trade is beneficial to all those involved is misleading and simplistic as it disregards the fact that with unfettered access, the advantage almost always lies with the powerful. In its current format, CAFTA is the economic equivalent of a 220-pound heavyweight being allowed to step into the ring against a 112-pound flyweight. Although international trade and foreign investment are necessary components of any economy, it is a state's responsibility to prioritize the interests of all its citizens, not just the privileged few, and certainly not that of transnational corporations. For the CAFTA agreement to be ratified, it must be approved by the legislature and signed by the president of each signatory country. A full and transparent reexamination of its costs and benefits, and who will be the winners and losers, is imperative because renegotiation of contested clauses will be all but impossible once the agreement is ratified. A look at Mexico's experience with NAFTA, and its unsuccessful attempts to renegotiate agriculture-related provisions, underscores the serious implications of ratifying CAFTA. Free-trade agreements are not in themselves pernicious instruments. However, they must prove beneficial to both parties, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement, in its current format, does not satisfy this overriding requirement. If this agreement is implemented without alterations, it could very well demonstrate that unscrupulousness and greed will prevail over the best interests of the citizens directly concerned. foreign investment is the panacea Behind the rhetoric used to tout CAFTA's virtues--that it promotes a win-win scenario--the reality is that it will provide already well- heeled international and domestic corporations and investors with lucrative incentives, protections, and almost plenary immunity from prosecution. In Article 10.28 of the agreement, the definition of an investor is purposefully vague as it encompasses any individual involved or considering participation in a business venture. If CAFTA is ratified, any investing individual or corporation will have the vested right to challenge a nation's national or local policy, regulation, or law which they perceive as an impediment to their business dealings, and can call for it to be voided before a supranational dispute panel. This ability to circumscribe constitutionally enacted national legislation and regulation, or seek monetary compensation for their enforcement, gives rise to a new class of parties who essentially will be above the rule of local law. Like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) ratified by Mexico, the U.S. and Canada and put into effect in 1994, this accord would provide private parties a protection that today is not in conformity with existing U.S. law. In addition, CAFTA does not clearly and reciprocally address a nation's legitimate course of action when a corporation is thought to have participated in unlawful behavior within its boundaries. To enforce its bylaws, CAFTA will create an unaccountable supranational body bestowed with the authority to redress any so-called infringement on a foreign corporation's or investor's economic interests. Not only is the burden of proof in these cases placed upon the respective government, the plaintiffs face little consequence if they submit a frivolous complaint. Past experience with NAFTA suggests that environmental regulations will be the object of most of the infringement suits that will be filed because, despite Central America being the second most biodiverse region in the world, sustainable development is not a central tenet of CAFTA. In fact, the mere threat of legal action, and the accompanying litigation costs, should discourage the region's economically-strapped nations from aggressively enforcing environmental regulations. The optimistic contention made by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in an August 2003 Interim Environmental Review, that ``CAFTA may have positive environmental consequences in Central America,'' is disputed by Dr. Angel Maria Ibarra, president of the Salvadoran Ecological Unit (UNES). She notes that ``a simple reading of the text and its relationship to other chapters reveals its essentially cosmetic nature. CAFTA is a custom-made agreement for transnational corporations.'' This is a thesis that U.S.-based private environmental organizations, such as the Center for International Environmental Law and the Sierra Club, have consistently reaffirmed. In negotiations with the Central American countries, Washington pushed for and succeeded in institutionalizing a mechanism that suborns the very tenets of a country's sovereignty. There is no doubt that CAFTA will hinder the ability of the region's citizens to propose, discuss, and implement the rules of conduct which they may consider to be desirable and appropriate. The pact, therefore, challenges the very essence of using legislative action as a legitimate vehicle to achieve economic and social redress. Interestingly, whereas Washington refuses to participate in many supranational bodies, like the International Criminal Court and the Kyoto Protocol, citing their need to protect national interests, such fears are hypocritically brushed aside when lucrative private business transactions involving the state are at stake and the possibility of unfavorable rulings against enterprises are most likely to be minimal. handcuffing the state The restrictions which CAFTA imposes on Central American governments will extend well beyond the capacity, or lack thereof, of states to bind companies to comply with domestic laws. In simplest terms, CAFTA will prohibit states from determining and implementing economic and social policies which their branches of government believe are most suitable to their developmental needs, thus forcing them to adhere to a ``one size fits all'' liberalizing recipe that does not account for the unique particularities of a given country. Under this system, the agreement's provisions substitute for an objective cost-benefit analysis of the beneficial or negative impacts a particular policy, regulation, or law would have on society. If, for example, Costa Rican authorities decide that they wish to encourage an emerging and possibly lucrative sector of the economy through tariffs and incentives, as Ireland and the much-lauded Asian Tigers most successfully did with their information technology and manufacturing industries, respectively, CAFTA provisions could be used to prohibit them from doing so. In addition, the eventual elimination of all tariffs will expose essential domestic industries to potentially devastating competition from multinational corporations that enjoy a tremendous advantage based on their economies of scale or, as is the case with white corn, Washington-subsidized production. Even government procurement, a mechanism that the U.S. government itself utilizes in certain instances to offset market inequities, will not be exempt from CAFTA's strict regulations. According to Chapter Ten of the pact's text, foreign actors must be guaranteed the same treatment, in both the public and private sphere, as a nation's citizens. This begs the question of who the Central American negotiators were in fact representing when they agreed to these stipulations, because they demonstrably will not benefit the majority of their own citizens. In the long term, the region's severely underdeveloped economies can be expected to fall prey to the natural forces of the market and will undoubtedly incur heavy domestic job attrition, the displacement of thousands of small and medium scale farmers and a more skewed distribution of wealth to the benefit of the nation's privileged capital-holding minority. Salvador Arias, a Salvadoran legislator with the Faribundo Marti Liberation Front (FMLN), told La Nacion USA, a Washington D.C. area daily, that his country alone would likely lose upwards of 54,000 agricultural jobs during the first year of CAFTA's implementation. no new labor protections CAFTA's proponents assure critics that the agreement will encourage a marked improvement in labor rights for Central American workers. The chapter in CAFTA that addresses this issue, however, seems much more concerned with ensuring a level playing field for U.S.-based corporations than protecting the region's workers. The real aim of the agreement's provisions appears to be the ability to retain the excessively low costs of production that grossly unsatisfactory working conditions help maintain without appearing to do so. In this respect, even though Article 16.2 states that Central American governments must ``strive to ensure'' compliance with their domestic labor laws and guarantee not to ``encourage trade or investment by weakening or reducing the protections'' these laws provide, this, and other passages like it, fall far short of constituting a sturdy defense of labor rights and make the chapter's overall lackadaisical tone one of the agreement's most grievous deficiencies. In a March press release, Human Rights Watch (HRW) strongly criticized the agreement's glaring reliance on current Central American domestic legislation that, until now, has been ineffective in curbing labor rights abuses. In addition, that organization maintains that real change will not come about unless CAFTA adopts strong ``procedural guarantees for [their] enforcement.'' Without clearer mechanisms that redress worker abuse (which ideally would be equal to those that CAFTA would provide to investors) only blind optimists foresee anything more than a marginal improvement of the currently often corrosive, if not deplorable and inhumane, labor rights situation in Central America. In fact, the question of whether CAFTA, in its current format, will improve the overall standard of living of the region's inhabitants is highly debatable at best.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, As you know there is considerable concern that the state drivers' licenses no longer can be said to meet standards of reliability we have come to expect from documents upon which we must rely to authenticate the identity of an individual. The ease with which such documents may be counterfeited, or even procured through lawful channels, by those not entitled to them gives me pause. Recently I read a thoughtful and provocative Op-ed in the Nov./Dec. issue of Digital Transactions by Mr. Joel Lisker. Mr. Lisker, a former FBI supervisor, federal prosecutor & senior Senate Counsel, who led MasterCard International's Global Security and Risk Management department for 16 years, takes a close look at the current troubling state of such licenses and the need to upgrade them to a reliable, proven state-of-the-art platform. These are, after all, the de facto U.S. national identity cards, whether we choose to refer to them that way, or not. Mr. Speaker, I ask that the complete text of the article be included in the record, and I commend its reading to my colleagues. Time to Overhaul the Drivers' License This commomplace piece of plastic has by default become the national identification card. Adding readily available advanced technology, such as integrated-circuit chips, can make it more reliable for a post-9/11 world--and pave the way for chip-based payment cards, to boot, says Joel Lisker. What is the most valuable piece of paper/plastic in your possession? One that can have a huge impact on the quality of your life; maybe even save your life. Is it your health-care Card? Social Security card? Medicare card? Credit card? Nope. It's that little piece of low-end plastic with your photo and a few personal details issued by your State Department of Motor Vehicles, in hundreds of versions, with a variety of features. The few standards that do apply to these cards have been deliberately set at the low end for reasons of cost, because in fairness, not too long ago, the drivers' license was just that. As a consequence, operational quality, functionality, security, consistency, and currency vis-a-vis state-of-the- art technology have not been factors, Yet now, these are the very cards that increasingly say with authority who we are, and, most important, that we are who we say we are. In fact, the ubiquitous, poorly designed and equally poorly crafted drivers' license is the de facto national identity card But we need something better--and urgently. Why? In the aftermath of 9/11, government at every level has struggled with the challenges generated by the life-or-death need to make us more secure--no easy task. Several meaningful steps have been taken, but what is lacking, at the core, is a single, self-authenticating piece of identification upon which authorities may rely. So what's the problem? The problem in a word is reliability. The drivers' license has become the primary means of identification that government has come to regard as reliable at a time when counterfeit and fraudulent applications are rampant. For example, we may question the abilities of the Transportation Security Administration and now private screeners to authenticate drivers' licenses, given that they are called upon to examine hundreds of different licenses on any given shift. I submit that several excellent solutions now exist that can be implemented, without adding great cost to already strained state and federal budgets. Some of these solutions, if applied in volume to drivers' licenses, would have the added benefit of creating economies of scale for chip-based payment cards in North America. catching fraud Let's examine a relevant private-sector initiative. Most banks submit all new U.S. credit card applications to a database to check prior use of key data elements. Two of those elements are the Social Security number (SSN) and address. I envision a similar database of all license holders and applicants that would also contain these two data elements. These could be compared with an SSN/current-address file maintained by the Social Security Administration, kept current based on information furnished by the Internal Revenue Service and contained on the Form 1040. When a criminal steals a Social Security number, he will always use an address different from that of the true account holder. This process would catch most of the cases of attempted fraud while revealing no other 1040 information. A follow-up mailing to the address listed would confirm that a license using that address had been issued. The drivers' license itself need's work. For example, it can now be enhanced using readily available and very secure integrated-circuit technology, in use in some markets by the payment card companies, combined with optical memory card technology, now in use on all U.S. permanent resident or ``green'' cards, Southern Border-crossing cards, Canadian ``green'' cards, and an increasing number of Canadian drivers licenses. In fact, these technologies would permit the security screener to simply swipe or insert the license in a secure reader, the same as a credit card, thereby allowing for authentication of the document as validly issued and currently in force. It could not be effectively copied or skimmed. Thus, not only could the card be authenticated, but, by using biometric information such as that derived from fingerprints, a validation of the cardholder could also be achieved while protecting the privacy of the licensee's data stored on the card in their possession. This process would be far superior to the current ``hit or miss'' system, which depends entirely on the ability of the TSA Screener to discern a false document. beware that cell phone This optical-memory card approach, with up to 2.8 megabytes of data per card, would allow for all 10 fingerprints, an iris template, facial template, or just about anything else you might want. This would be entirely consistent with the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission contained in Section.12.4 of its report. Moreover, the deployment of the IC feature of the new drivers license, numbering more than 100 million units, would pave the way for the rapid deployment of a financial payments industry IC card. on a very cost-effective basis. How would government support the additional costs associated with some of the enhancements described here? I submit that a modest increase in the cost of the drivers' license would more than cover this expense. The TSA portion, which would result from the deployment of card-reading terminals at each point of access, could be funded with a modest tax on each airline ticket, one that most air travelers would gladly pay. To those who would argue against such enhancements on the grounds that they will bring us closer to the dreaded ``national identification card,'' allowing the tentacles of government to slither even more deeply into our lives and privacy, I say this: You better take another look at that GPS cell phone of yours. And what about that OnStar service or EZ Pass? Your ATM Card? The drivers' license, in its present form is a seriously flawed de facto national identification card. We have cost- effective, proven, secure technologies at hand. Let's use them.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of David J. Manning for his dedication to Interfaith Medical Center and continued community efforts. David was elected Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs of KeySpan Energy in April 1999. He is the Senior Officer reporting to the Chairman, with responsibility for public affairs, government relations, internal and external communications, community development and altruism, corporate brand strategy, and environmental policy and operations. Before joining KeySpan Energy, Mr. Manning had been President of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) since 1995. From 1993 to 1995, he was Deputy Minister of Energy for the Province of Alberta, Canada, the source of approximately 14 percent of the natural gas used in the U.S. From 1988 to 1993, he was Senior International Trade Counsel for the Government of Alberta, based in New York City. Previously, he was in the private practice of law in Alberta, Canada. Mr. Manning is eligible for admission to the New York Bar. KeySpan Energy is the 4th largest natural gas distributor in the United States, serving much of New York City, Long Island, Boston and New Hampshire. It is also the largest investor owned electric power generator in New York State, and operates the LIPA electric system on Long Island under contract. David is past Chairman of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Vice Chairman of the Long Island Housing Partnership Board, and Coordinating Committee Co-chair of the current National Petroleum Council Natural Gas Study. Most recently, for his community service and contributions to the Interfaith Medical Center, David is receiving the Spirit Award for Excellence in Community Service from the Center. Mr. Speaker, David J. Manning has used his position as a national leader in the energy industry to strengthen and improve our community. As such, he is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Dr. Nisarul Haque for his dedication to Interfaith Medical Center and excellence in patient care. Legendary for his gentle and caring manner, Dr. Haque has been affiliated with Interfaith Medical Center for nearly his entire medical career, joining as a medical resident in 1966 at one of Interfaith Medical Center's predecessor hospitals, Jewish Hospital and Medical Center of Brooklyn, or ``Brooklyn Jewish.'' He has been married to Lois Haque for 38 years and they have two sons, Kamaal and Jameel. Dr. Haque came to the United States from Pakistan on July 4, 1964, arriving to see Independence Day fireworks from a helicopter, which was shuttling him from JFK Airport to New Jersey to start his American medical career at Perth Amboy General Hospital. After completing his Rotating Internship at Perth Amboy, Dr. Haque went to Kingsbrook Medical Center as a first year resident in Internal Medicine. Dr. Haque says he finally found the right place when he came to Brooklyn Jewish for his second and third year residencies in Internal Medicine from 1966 to 1968 and Chief Medical Resident from 1968 to 1969. He joined the Medical Staff in 1971, worked as a part-time attending physician in the medical clinic in 1976 and was named to his current position as the Medical Director of the Department of Psychiatry in 1985. Dr. Haque is Board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Geriatrics and is a member of the Kings County Medical Society and Medical Society of the State of New York. He graduated in 1960 from the Khyber Medical College of the University of Peshawar, Pakistan. He did his internship at Lady Reading Hospital and served as Medical Director at the Cantonment General Hospital, both in Peshawar. For his long-time commitment to the Interfaith Medical Center and its patients, Dr. Haque has received the 2004 Spirit Award for Excellence in Patient Care from the Center. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Nisarul Haque has dedicated his professional career to serving patients in the Brooklyn community at Interfaith Medical Center. As such, he is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of the gentleman from New York, my colleague in the New York delegation, Amo Houghton. After eighteen years of distinguished service, Amo is leaving the Congress. Amo was widely known as one of the most thoughtful and highly regarded members in the House from both sides of the aisle. He was also a tireless representative for his constituents in the western portion of upstate New York. As the fifth-ranking Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Amo has been an invaluable member for the entire State of New York. After the tragedy and destruction of September 11, 2001, Amo was instrumental in enacting the Liberty Zone Act, which provided $5 billion in tax breaks and incentives to help New Yorkers rebuild lower Manhattan. He has also been a leader in furthering U.S. diplomacy around the world. He is a member of the International Relations Committee where he is Vice Chairman of its Subcommittee on Africa. He was appointed Co- Chairman of the Canada--U.S. Interparliamentary Group, serves as Chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum, and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the Congressional Delegate to the 58th General Assembly of the United Nations. Additionally, he sponsored the Clean Diamond Trade Act, which was signed into law last year. The bill requires that the President ban the import of rough diamonds coming from any country that has not made an effort to control their trade in diamonds in accordance with the internationally negotiated ``Kimberley Process.'' I would also like to recognize that Amo's service to our country goes all the way back to his youth. At just 18 years old, he volunteered for service in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was trained and deployed as part of a Marine Security Detachment on the cruiser USS Macon in the Atlantic theater. Houghton was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps as a Private First Class in 1945. Mr. Speaker, I think the record is clear that Amo Houghton has been a devoted patriot whose service will be missed by his constituents as well as all of us who had the pleasure of working with him. We wish you all of the best in the future.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of New Life Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York in commemoration of its 50th anniversary and spiritual and community leadership. God placed a vision for New Life Baptist Church on the heart of E.F. Jacobs and Mother Martha Jacobs, and on February 7, 1954, the church began its mission at 214 Howard Avenue. The first members were sister Gladys Blackman, Sister Delores Hite, Sister Mae G. Mills Mazyck and Sister Geneva Wonsley. They received letters from Pilgrim Baptist Church to become members. Temporary officers were Rev. E.F. Jacobs, moderator and Sister Gladys Blackman as church clerk. These members were extended the right hand of fellowship by the Council on September 17, 1954 making them the New Life Baptist Church. Pastor Jacobs adopted the motto: Lift up Jesus and give the devil battle. Under his continued leadership, the church continued to thrive. In 1962, God blessed its members with a new home for the church at 931 Dumont Ave in Brooklyn. In 1967, Rev. Holness came to work with us. On December 30, 1968, the church elected Rev. Clifford L. Johnson as its assistant pastor. On May 8, 1973, Brother Marshall Rowe received the call to the ministry and was the first minister to receive a license to preach by New Life. He was followed by Rev. Melvin Ward, who was elected to serve as the second pastor of New Life on May 1, 1978. In the summer of 1983, New Life mothered its first church, Victory Baptist Church. On October 24, 1983, Rev. John H. Marshall was elected as the third pastor of New Life. Under his leadership, the church has received many blessings. Sister Carolyn Plaines preached her trial sermon and on August 18, 1991 was licensed to preach the gospel. In April 2, 1995, Brother Akin Royall also preached his trial sermon and received his license to preach the gospel. With Rev. Marshall's guidance, the church also improved the church's physical surroundings. It built a new sanctuary, holding its first baptism there on October 5, 1996. Three years later, the church renovated its fellowship hall, kitchen and bathroom and officially dedicated its new sanctuary. New Life also conducts several community outreach programs including the Annual Vacation Bible School event, clothing and food give-outs and in 2001 it assisted with the ``Feed the Children'' campaign, which provided food for more than 2500 families in the community. New Life also undertakes a ``Back to Christ Crusade'' each year that draws community participation. Mr. Speaker, New Life Baptist Church has been a source of community and spiritual leadership in Brooklyn for 50 years. As such, it is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable congregation.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of the gentleman from New York, my colleague in the New York delegation Jack Quinn. After 12 years of distinguished service, Jack has chosen to leave the Chamber. But he can do so knowing that he was an effective and tireless representative for his constituents in the Buffalo area. Jack has successfully opened and closed over 10,000 cases on behalf of the people in his district, which I believe speaks volumes about the type of care and concern he showed his constituents. Jack is the only New York State Member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and has been a vital resource for our veterans in New York and across the country. In April 1996, he was awarded the prestigious AMVETS Silver Helmet Award for his work on behalf of our Nation's veterans. As chairman of the Railroads Subcommittee, Jack has been a strong and consistent voice in fighting hard for preserving Amtrak. Amtrak remains a critical part of our transportation infrastructure, especially in New York and along the Northeast corridor. Jack's leadership on this issue has greatly benefited all of us who rely on this important national passenger rail system. In fact, his commitment to this issue earned him the ``Golden Spike Award'' from the National Association of Railroad Passengers. Safety on railways is another key issue for Representative Quinn. Mr. Speaker, Jack Quinn will be missed by his constituents as well as all of us who had the pleasure of working with him during the last 12 years. We wish you all of the best in the future.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Milton Marshall in recognition of his service to New York City and his country. Milton was born and raised in Harlem, New York; he is the brother of two younger sisters Arnelle, a New York City police officer, and Patricia. After graduating high school, Milton served 4 years in the United States Air Force. Milton married his wife, Marjorie and became the proud father of three beautiful children: Eric, Cheryl, and Deborah. He is also the grandfather of Kimberly, Gregory, Cherenia, and Kortaney. He received his associate degree in applied science from New York University. Milton has proudly served his country and has been recognized accordingly for his efforts. He worked for 22 years with the New York State Labor Department as a veterans service representative. In recognition of his work, Milton received an award from Mayor James Garner of the Village of Hempstead for dedicated service to veterans. He also received a certificate of appreciation from Governor Mario Cuomo, and a certificate from the United States Department of Labor for completing the NVTI Veterans Benefits Training Course at the University of Denver. Milton is a valuable community activist. He served as a Prince Hall Mason in 1980 and Senior Warden of Lebanon Lodge #54. He is a Past High Priest of Royal Eagle Chapter #27 Holy Royal Arch Mason. He served as Illustrious Commander in Chief for 2 years (L.I. Consistory #61). Milton served as the Past Illustrious Potentate of Abu Bekr Temple #91, and as the Past President of the Long Island Shrine Club. Mr. Speaker, Milton Marshall has dedicated his life to serving his country and his community through his active participation in a vast array of civic organizations. As such, he is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of New Lots Community Church in Brooklyn, NY, in commemoration of its 180th anniversary and spiritual leadership in the community. Around 1667, the area of New Lots, originally known as Eastwoods, was reportedly purchased by the Dutch from the Canarsie or the Rockaway Indians. The town of New Lots extended from what is now Highland Park on the north to Jamaica Bay on the south and from Rockaway Avenue on the west to Elderts Lane on the east. During the early years of the settlement, the most important highway in the area was the New Lots Road frequently noted in historical accounts of the Revolutionary War. In all this vast acreage of New Lots, there was no church. The residents had to travel by horse and wagon to Flatlands or Flatbush churches for services, marriages, and baptisms. New Lots was part of a collegium of six churches sharing a ministry: Flatbush, Flatlands, Brooklyn, New Utrech, Bushwick, and Gravesend. These churches are still part of the Brooklyn Classis. An elder and deacon from New Lots served on the Collegiate Consistory. Consistory meetings consisted of one minister serving six churches with a widely scattered membership. Rev. Malcom Evens in his historical sketch written for the 140th Anniversary Celebration retells how New Lots was built. In 1821 an ``Act of God,'' as hurricanes are often called, hastened a decision by the residents of New Lots to build their own church. The hurricane toppled many oak trees. The Dutch, noted for being a frugal and prudent people, accepted God's gift of lumber. After the wood had seasoned for about a year and a half, they began to cut, hew and saw the trees in preparation for building their house of worship. Abraham and Cornelia Van Siclen deeded over to the building committee one-quarter acre of land on New Lots and Schenck Avenue. In 1832 a fundraiser was held and volunteer workers and well wishers came from near and far. Through the united efforts of the congregation, this House of God was reportedly built for somewhere between $25 to $35. This small colonial clapboard structure, unique in New York, was designated an official city landmark in 1966. Wooden pegs secure this building of colonial architecture with timber notched and joined. It stands today as a tribute to the soundness of the craftsmanship of the Dutch people. In 1972, in order to meet the growing needs of the community, the church built the educational complex next door--The New Lots Family Center. Within the last year and a half an entire renovation of the Family Center was undertaken. Over the years, the church building began to lean and a large wooden truss broke in the ceiling. In 1990, the congregation was compelled to vacate the sanctuary and have worship in the New Lots Family Center until repairs could be made. Upon completion of the renovations, the sanctuary was rededicated in 1991. The original and official name is the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in the town of New Lots. However over the years, the church has gone through several name changes. In the early 1980s, the church obtained the current name of the New Lots Community Church, R.C.A. to be used as an assumed name. Today within these hallow walls, sons and daughters of slaves boldly bear witness to God's Amazing Grace. In 1975, the Rev. Dennis A. Westbrook became the first African American pastor of New Lots Community Church, R.C.A. In 1979, the Rev. Dr. William T. Coles became the second African American pastor of this great historic church. He labored in the vineyard for 20 years ministering to members, friends, and the community of New Lots Community Church. In 2002, the Rev. De'Lafayette Awkward became the third African American pastor. Under his leadership, the church is currently embarking on new and exciting ministries. New Lots Community Church has always been a beacon of hope in the community and remains actively involved in the community as they continue to strive for excellence in their mission to win souls. Mr. Speaker, New Lots Community Church has been a source of community and spiritual leadership in Brooklyn for 180 years. As such, it is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable church and its congregation.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Reverend David K. Brawley for his spiritual guidance and dedication to improving our community. Rev. Brawley cultivated a relationship with God's Word when he was quite young. At the age of sixteen, he responded to God's will and was ordained by Rev. Winfred Pippen. He became the youth minister at First Baptist Church of Deer Park, New York, where he maintained his membership for thirteen years. Rev. Brawley began his full time career in the ministry in 1994 at St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York. An integral part of church leadership, Rev. Brawley is the coordinator for the Men- in-Training for the Board of Elders, and an on-call teacher to the congregation. Currently serving as the assistant pastor, Rev. Brawley is the principal assistant to senior pastor Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood in a variety of capacities such as pastoral counseling, officiating at sacred events such as weddings, baby dedications and funerals, leading worship services, teaching and community organizing. In particular, Rev. Brawley's organizing efforts play a dynamic role in the church's community development activities. He is a member of the Governance Board of East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC) and the EBC Strategy Team. In his position at EBC, Rev. Brawley has been an outspoken advocate for public school reform, and has addressed issues such as public safety, housing and quality of life concerns on behalf of neighborhood residents. Rev. Brawley's community involvement also encompasses his role as Vice President of EDIFY Communities of East New York. EDIFY seeks to increase the vitality and value of urban communities by pooling resources and charitable funds. In October 2004, Rev. Brawley joined the ranks of distinguished alumni of the Faith Seminary in Tacoma, Washington, having earned his Master's degree in Theological Studies. Rev. Brawley plans to continue his studies at Faith and plans to obtain a Doctor of Ministry degree. As Rev. Brawley contemplates the growth of ministry, his four priorities are creating a vibrant worship experience, edifying God's people, community organizing, and economic development. As a pastor, Rev. Brawley possesses the gifts of exhortation, inspiration, motivation and encouragement. He shares these gifts not only in worship services, but also with the community in a variety of venues, such as men's conferences, revivals and youth groups. Rev. Brawley resides in Brooklyn, New York with his wife Debra and their two children, Rhonesha and Michael. Mr. Speaker, Reverend David K. Brawley has been a leader in our community through his spiritual guidance at St. Paul Community Baptist Church and consistent efforts to improve the schools, housing and overall quality of life in Brooklyn. As such, he is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of W. Don Cornwell for his dedication to Interfaith Medical Center and continued community efforts. Don is the founder of Granite Broadcasting Corporation and has been chairman of the board and chief executive officer since 1988. Prior to founding Granite, Mr. Cornwell served as a vice president in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. Granite Broadcasting Corporation owns and operates nine television stations in geographically diverse markets. Don is also the chairman of the board of the Telecommunications Development Fund, which provides financial capital for small and minority telecommunications businesses. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors of Avon Products, Inc.; Pfizer, Inc.; CVS Corporation; and the Wallace Foundation. He is also a trustee of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of NYC. Most recently, for his humanitarian efforts and contributions to the Interfaith Medical Center, Don is receiving the Spirit Award for Excellence in Humanitarian Service from the center. Mr. Speaker, W. Don Cornwell has used his position as a national leader in the investment and telecommunications industries to strengthen and improve our community. As such, he is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable person.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw your attention to a shift in U.S. military strategy towards Latin America that has largely gone unnoticed. In the last few years the nation has been increasingly preoccupied with fighting terrorism, and defense and budgetary appropriations have overwhelmingly focused on the Middle East. Yet the U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom), encompassing the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the Atlantic Ocean and monitoring 33 countries to our south, has quietly expanded its traditional counter- narcotics mission to that of counter-terrorism operations. All of this is occurring in a region more or less devoid of the fundamentalist Islamic terrorists currently threatening America. This change in approach has gone so far as to redefine terrorism, with drug-runners being termed ``narco- terrorists.'' As a result, the U.S. is subsequently increasing its assistance to Latin American militaries. Since many nations in the region are young and relatively fragile democracies, their strengthened armies have raised fears about a possible reemergence of limits on free speech, human rights violations or even a return to military governments. The following research memorandum about Washington's post-transition political and economic strategy for the region was authored by Eleanor Thomas and Lindsay Thomas, research associates at the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs. The Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, founded in 1975, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being ``one of the nation's most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers.'' U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom) Struggles to Justify Its Role in the War on Terror This analysis was prepared by Eleanor Thomas and Lindsay Thomas, COHA Research Associates. After decades of U.S. meddling in the Western hemisphere in the course of its Cold War crusade and subsequent War on Drugs, Washington has found a new justification for its heavy-handed intervention in the region. While there is little evidence that the rest of the hemisphere is a breeding ground for anti-American terrorist networks, the U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom) is attempting to promote such a misinterpretation to further its own self-serving agenda and above all, to guarantee its funding. Under its current commander, General James Hill, SouthCom has linked drug trafficking and armed leftist Latin American political movements to terrorist threats against U.S. national security. By extending the definition of terrorism to cover every bellicose act, the White House has rendered the term practically meaningless; it has become the definition du jour to provide Washington with an opportunity to continue its interventionist tactics based upon its antiterrorist crusade. Terrorism Discovered Two years ago, SouthCom received Congressional approval for a ``mission expansion.'' Previously largely limited to counter-narcotics activities and the promotion of ``regional cooperation,'' its duties are now increasingly being framed within the War on Terror. According to Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director of the Latin American Working Group, SouthCom is ``clearly using rhetoric to justify [its] budgets.'' In November, General Hill will relinquish his command to Lieutenant General Bantz J. Craddock, but not before ensuring that SouthCom remains at the forefront of Washington's War on Terror. Through the distortion of the definition of terrorism, the term has become little more than a rhetorical device. By invoking the word ``terrorism'' on Capitol Hill, General Hill and his successor are pursuing additional resources for future expanded military initiatives that will likely strengthen Latin American military establishments, which are too often infamous for their long records of violent oppression during the 1970s and 1980s. This maneuvering can be seen as a purely self-interested tactic that will stress the importance of Latin American armed forces throughout the region. A New Twist to a Familiar Mission Since September 11, 2001, national defense priorities and budgetary appropriations have concentrated on U.S. concerns in the Middle East. SouthCom's area of responsibility-- encompassing all of Central and South America and the Caribbean--has remained of secondary importance as Washington has increasingly defined its international strategy according to the War on Terror. With al Qaeda seen as the gravest threat to U.S. national security, and with Latin America seemingly not a major claimant to such terrorist cells, aside from the tri-border area, SouthCom's operations are not a priority for the Pentagon. Perhaps because of this reduced role, Congress in 2002 granted SouthCom approval to expand its mission priorities. Military aid and training in Latin America, which previously were focused on counter-narcotics operations, have now been re-tasked as counter-terrorism responsibilities. Preying on the terrorist fears that are currently dominating Washington's defense plan, SouthCom claims that it is now pursuing narcoterrorists to justify its expanded congressionally- approved budget. redefining terrorism SouthCom's new shift towards terrorism is more ominous than it first appears. In March, General Hill gave his annual report on SouthCom's activities before the House Armed Services Committee. According to his testimony, the commander reported that the U.S. must be alert to two ``growing threats'' to national security: the ``traditional'' danger of ``narcoterrorists and their ilk,'' and the ``emerging'' menace of ``radical populism'' that taps into the ``deep- seated frustrations of the failure of democratic reforms.'' Hill's somewhat skewed assessment of the Latin American situation suggests that ultimately any political opposition, arguably a necessary element in any healthy democracy, can be seen as a threat to American national security. The Bush administration over the past years has instructed its ambassadors to Bolivia, Nicaragua and El Salvador to inform local authorities that although Washington respects free elections, it will not necessarily respect electoral results if the ``wrong'' people are elected. Former SouthCom commander General Charles Wilhelm told COHA that while ``I don't think any Latin American countries pose a specific threat... there is a threat to the U.S. if existing democracies are being undermined.'' However, by characterizing the region's struggles for social and economic equality as threats to U.S. security, SouthCom not only could be viewed as erroneously dismissing the importance of such movements, but could also divert attention away from the actual terrorist threats currently directed at the U.S. southcom's history of counter operations SouthCom's official priorities have historically ranged from ``counter-drug operations'' and ``engineering and medical exercises'' to ``security assistance'' and ``military-to-military contact.'' By aiming to strengthen militaries in the region, SouthCom under Hill has left behind a controversial legacy in Latin America. General Hill's recommendations to Congress and Lieutenant General Craddock's statements during his Senate confirmation hearing showed a firm commitment to ``maintain and broaden our consistent military-to-military contacts as a means of irrevocably institutionalizing the professional nature of those militaries with which we have worked so closely over the past several decades.'' Because U.S. law prohibits the direct training of foreign armed forces, the U.S. military's involvement in such matters is often classified as ``security assistance.'' However, there are no safeguards in place to ensure that the Pentagon provides Congress with detailed information regarding its participation in current military-to-military interaction. Nor does Congress hold SouthCom closely accountable for its commitment to instruct Latin American militaries in the institutionalization of respect for human rights. It was this existing accountability loophole throughout the 1970s and 1980s that allowed the Pentagon, through the infamous School of the Americas as well as bilateral SouthCom missions, to both directly and covertly train the commanders of the death squads associated with Argentina's ``dirty war'' and the brutal contra campaigns that oppressed Nicaragua's civilian population during that country's unforgiving conflict. The strengthening of Latin American armed forces to more effectively control drug trafficking, gang violence and so- called political insurgents has recently been used to justify SouthCom's new terrorism priorities. This could create a dangerous precedent for the reemergence of the de facto limits on free speech, human rights violations or even a return to the grim days of military rule that so traumatized the region in recent decades. Although violent crime plagues much of Latin America, defining it as a U.S. national security concern, and therefore justifiable as a valid SouthCom mission, will only continue the questionable trend of expanding U.S. military aid, cooperation and training throughout the hemisphere. While many Latin American militaries are still struggling to overcome the bitter effects and damaged reputations resulting from decades of human rights abuses and institutionalized corruption, it may be dangerous to instruct them in anti-terror tactics that could later be used to suppress their own citizens. Without a well-established commitment to protecting civil rights and proper limitations on the autonomy of military institutions, any renewed U.S. effort to fund and train rogue militaries could lead to an expansion of their power and an abuse of their authority, which could hinder the democratic process. Moreover, some Latin American nations have not yet reached a level of political maturation nor have maintained a commitment to democratic principles that are necessary to ensure such abuse will not occur. colombia--latin america's supposed terrorist hotbed According to General Hill, the ``narcoterrorists in Colombia remain the largest and most well known threat in our region.'' However, Hill fails to support this claim that narcoterrorists pose such a direct security threat to the U.S. In fact, the term narcoterrorist, while full of threatening implications, is rarely clearly defined by the U.S. government and its military agencies. At his confirmation hearing, Lieutenant General Craddock did attempt to define the highly dubious concept: ``the terms insurgents or guerrillas are less applicable today than in the past. I believe the term narcoterrorists is more appropriate, given the fact that the center of gravity for these groups is the incredible financial support they get from illicit drug trafficking.'' The lack of clarity in Craddock's explanation inadvertently reveals how SouthCom arbitrarily reclassified the country's leftist armed political opposition, denominated as guerrillas during the Cold War and drug traffickers in the 1990s, as a blanket terrorist threat. In an attempt to link the situation in Colombia to Washington's global mission, Craddock explained, ``supporting the government of Colombia's efforts to defeat illicit narco-trafficking also directly supports the global War on Terror.'' This assertion is a convenient attemot to validate this new allusion without any supporting evidence. The government's arbitrary use of inflammatory language and its efforts to rationalize Washington's allocation of $1.5 billion for Plan Colombia have failed to overcome its disappointing achievements in the War on Terror as Colombia had played no part in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For the past four years, the U.S. government has funded Plan Colombia as part of a patently ineffective War on Drugs. Even the head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy John Walters, upon returning from a recent South American visit, reported that Washington's anti-drug strategy has failed. Despite SouthCom's dubious reports of its strategy's success, Plan Colombia's failures are numerous. Colombia's supply and the U.S.' demand for drugs remain essentially unchanged. While U.S. armed forces are already overextended, SouthCom is now seeking to further involve U.S. military personnel in Colombia's protracted civil war by requesting an increase from 400 to 800 military officers and from 400 to 600 private contractors allowed to be present in the country. Critics contend that the now militarized Plan Colombia has failed to effectively address the country's armed forces' proclivity for human rights violations. Additionally, in its own annual human rights report, the State Department has maintained that the U.S.-trained Colombian military continues to associate with illegal rightwing paramilitary groups-- Colombia's prime human rights violators. This subject is continually under-addressed in SouthCom's public statements. Following in the footsteps of the U.S. Patriot Act, the Colombian Congress has passed anti-terror legislation that allows the military to arbitrarily conduct searches and tap the telephones of citizens without a warrant. U.S. support, along with high funding for Colombia, has contributed to a flawed domestic policy in the South American country. The latest attempts to recast the nation's perpetual unrest as a terrorism problem that threatens U.S. national security not only represents little regard for the facts and a twisting of reality, but is simply the latest stage in the repeating of a foreign policy project that has never worked. guantanamo bay--southCom's contribution to the war on terror SouthCom's insistence that it is engaged in responsible security practices and upholds human rights values awaits final judgment, especially considering its jurisdiction over the terrorist detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Since its creation as a prison facility in 2002, Camp X-ray has faced consistent criticism from groups such as Amnesty International (AI) which claim U.S. officials have sanctioned illegal practices at the facility. Prisoner testimony and photographs have established that suspected al Qaeda detainees have been held without trial or proper legal representation and may have suffered some of the same torture tactics that took place at the now infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. AI alleged in its report that ``despite public commitments to the humane treatment of detainees, it subsequently has been revealed that the U.S. administration's decision not to apply provisions of the Geneva Conventions to those being held in Guantanamo may have been motivated by a desire to apply harsher interrogation techniques than it perceived would be allowed under the Geneva Conventions.'' Though SouthCom officers may be just one link in the chain of command, the detention facility is ultimately located within its region of responsibility. While SouthCom continues to lobby Congress for increased funding, Camp X-ray remains a glaring black mark that contrasts with SouthCom's professed support for legal procedures and human rights practices. finding the causes, not just the terrorists In the tumultuous history of U.S.-Latin American relations, Washington has developed a strategy wherein various political and military means have been used to deal with a range of challenges and security threats posed by its southern neighbors. As the world leader in the war on Communism, the United States carried out regime change in Latin America with singular tenacity. This included the training of the Nicaraguan contras, the support of brutal dictatorships in Guatemala, the endorsement of General Augusto Pinochet's repressive regime in Chile, and the backing of the particularly savage Argentina military junta after it came to power in 1976. In an attempt to adapt to its post-9/11 anti-terrorism focus, the U.S. has amalgamated drug trafficking and ``radical populism'' into its terrorist fighting tactics. This has been particularly evident in its policy formulations regarding Colombia, Bolivia and Venezuela. While the previous eras, inspired first by the Cold War and then by the War on Drugs, turned out to be based on a very sketchy rationale, they were more solidly rooted than the current War on Terror. Domestic conflicts throughout Latin America do not arise out of thin air. The urgent social conditions and volatile political environs that went unacknowledged by the U.S. in previous decades account for the instability that the region is currently experiencing. The causative agents behind the new threat of terrorism are no different. As the Latin American Working Group argues in its report on terrorism, ``while law enforcement action against terrorists is essential, the most sustainable way to combat broader support for terrorist activities is to address the conditions that foster it--poverty, lack of social and economic development, and undemocratic and repressive regimes that leave their citizens scant hope of bettering their lives, and hence open space for those offering extreme alternatives.''

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw your attention to the wave of criminal violence, much of it targeting women and children, now engulfing America's neighbors in Central America. In Guatemala, human rights organizations have recorded an appalling 16,788 violent crimes between January and June of this year and report that one woman is murdered every day in a country smaller than the state of Tennessee. Unfortunately, violence is hardly a recent development in Guatemala, where citizens and leaders continue to grapple with a legacy of fifty years of political violence and humanitarian atrocities during the Cold War era that claimed more than 200,000 innocent lives. Sadly, Guatemala's recently elected President Oscar Berger has been able to do little to curb the violent crime threatening his people or to punish those responsible for past human rights violations. Ironically, Berger has had to rely upon those very human rights violators still serving in the police and military to combat the current wave of violent crime. The frustration of the Guatemalan people with the ineffectiveness of their new leader in addressing the situation was painfully evident in the massive demonstrations in Guatemala City last August to protest the growing tide of criminal violence. The violence now plaguing Guatemala and other Central American countries should be of great interest to this congress because, as law and order deteriorate in the region, many Central Americans, out of desperation, will seek refuge abroad, with many immigrating illegally to the United States. The following research memorandum about the criminal violence which plagues Guatemala was authored by Eleanor Thomas, a British research associate at the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, an independent, non-profit, non partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization founded in 1975. It has been described on the Senate floor as being ``one of the nation's most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers.'' Guatemalans Speak Out Against Violence On August 13, over 12,000 people took to the streets of Guatemala City to protest the horrific wave of violent crime currently engulfing the country. The march was organized by the Human Rights Protector's Office (PDH) and supported by 560 of the country's civil associations. PDH Director, Dr. Sergio Morales, said in an interview with COHA that the main purpose of the march was to draw attention to the ``plight of women and children'' who have been the most severely affected by the violence. The march in Guatemala built upon similar demonstrations in Argentina, where 130,000 people took to the streets in April to petition Congress for stiffer penalties against criminals. Mexico City also witnessed at least 300,000 people march through the capital protesting the high levels of violent crime and kidnapping that have plagued the country in recent months. The overriding message to come out of the march in Guatemala is that newly-elected President Oscar Berger must take bigger steps to tackle the endemic problem of violence that could swamp the country's most vital institutions if redress is not achieved. Skyrocketing Levels of Violent Crime Violent crime rates in Guatemala have risen to astronomical levels. According to the PDH, there have been 16,788 incidents of violence between January and June of this year, 15 percent more than the 14,606 cases recorded during the same period last year. Of this total, 1,662 people have been shot, 254 have been stabbed and 108 murdered with blunt instruments; there were also 43 strangulations and five lynchings. While an international outcry was mounted over the infamous murders of 300 women in the last decade in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, little attention is paid to the fact that one woman is murdered every day in Guatemala. To strike a sardonic note, in the same month that the PDH announced these hideous statistics, Guatemala celebrated the 50th anniversary of the CIA-sponsored invasion that ousted democratically-elected Jacabo Arbenz president. This wanton act of intervention on Washington's part plunged Guatemala into a bloody civil war that pitched government forces against guerrilla commandos, resulting in the brutal murders and disappearances of more than 200,000 people over the decades. The impact of the war was so extensive that it militarized every aspect of society. Despite the arrival of a nominal peace agreement in 1996 with the UN-peace accords, the country has struggled to deal with its oppressive violence. Alfonso Portillo (2000-04), the first to be elected president after the peace accords, paid little better than lip service to the accords while allowing impunity to reign and endemic corruption to flourish, especially when it came to the special treatment he afforded the country's most notorious human rights violator, the infamous General Rios Montt. New President, But No New Solutions When President Berger took office on January 14, a new opportunity for peace and reconciliation seemed to present itself. During his election campaign, Berger portrayed himself as a man firmly committed to democratizing Guatemala. He pledged to fight crime, corruption and poverty and to apply the still dormant provisions of the peace accord. However, since taking office, his policies have been somewhat less than coherent. The cornerstone of his reforms has been a commitment to implementing the international community's recommendations; especially those aimed at reducing the size of the military, the institution that was responsible for many of the worst human rights atrocities during the country's 36-year-long civil war. Although Berger was seen as substantially reducing the military from 27,000 to 15,500 active members as well as spearheading a campaign to close 13 of the country's 60 military bases, these statistics are somewhat misleading. While his moves to demilitarize the country generated immediate praise from the international community, Marvin Perez of the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation asserted that more than 6,000 of these soldiers never actually existed. They were ``ghost soldiers,'' the result of creative auditing by the previous administration to siphon money away from the government for alleged salaries and food parcels for senior personnel. Moreover, of the remaining 5,663 soldiers who agreed to take early retirement, 99 percent were infantry recruits. This means that the high-ranking members of the officer corps--those who were subsequently found responsible for 93 percent of the atrocities committed during the civil war--are likely to still be on active duty. Unsuccessful Plan of Attack Berger's latest plan to stop the wave of violence has been to triple the number of soldiers and police officers on joint patrol in danger zones termed ``red areas.'' Yet, the plan only makes it more likely that those who are now patrolling Guatemala's streets are the same military personnel who raped, tortured and murdered some 200,000 people during the civil war. At a recent meeting in Washington, Vice President Eduardo Stein told COHA that the reason violent crime has reached a ``level never seen before was because organized crime was reacting very violently against the reforms the government has enacted.'' Yet placing the blame on organized crime is too simplistic an answer to a complex question. Senior officials in the army and police force stand accused not only of being involved in this crime network, but of actually orchestrating criminal activities. If the government intends to blame today's increasing violence in Guatemalan society on shadowy networks of crime cartels, it must be willing to accept the involvement of its own functionaries in the country's burgeoning law and order calamity. Guatemala's historic tradition of violence will not be solved by simply increasing the presence of security forces on the streets. The problems are rooted too deeply in Guatemalan society for such superficial measures alone to be truly effective. Looking to the future Berger is clearly vulnerable in the eyes of the Guatemalan population. His public approval rating has slipped from 83 percent (the level recorded at the time of his inauguration) to 48 percent according to the latest CID-Gallup poll published in El Periodico. This is further compunded by the significant protest of thousands of anti-government marchers--it is clear that Berger must take more assertive acton if he wants to retain the populace's backing. If the president wants to combat the situation, he must create an environment where every Guatemalan is equal in the eyes of the law. He needs to purge the military of not simply infantry soldiers, but also of those officers of superior rank who, as junior officers, planned and carried out unspeakable atrocities.