Ed Towns

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Frank S. Folk, a resident of Brooklyn, and to celebrate his 68th birthday. I ask my colleagues assembled here today to please join me in acknowledging Dr. Folk's remarkable life. On this day, October 2nd, in 1932, Frank Folk was born in Vonville, South Carolina. As a young boy, Frank possessed excellence, greatness, the favor of God, love and honor, the law of kindness in tongue, morality and character. As a personal friend of Dr. Folk, I know that I can speak for his many friends and neighbors in commending him on his many years practicing medicine in Brooklyn. While Dr. Folk's professional accomplishments are too numerous to mention, I do want to point out that he has served on the Board of Directors of the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation and on Kingsbrook Hospital Executive Board--two of New York's most important health organizations. As Chair of my Health Committee since 1991, Dr. Folk has demonstrated his commitment to working to improve the health and well-being of all members of our community. He also has been honored by the American Medical Society, which has bestowed the Hektoen Gold Medal and the Hektoen Bronze Medal upon Dr. Folk. As further evidence of his accomplishments, I need only mention that Dr. Folk is certified by the American Board of Surgery, the New York State Medical Board, and the National Board of Medical Examiners. Finally, Dr. Folk serves his community and his Nation as a Colonel with the New York State Army National Guard. Mr. Speaker, my good friend, Dr. Frank Folk, is more than worthy of receiving our birthday wishes today, and I hope that all of my colleagues will join me today in honoring this truly remarkable man.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased that the House approved H.R. 4365, the Children's Health Act of 2000, reflecting a compromise agreement that was reached on a bipartisan basis with the Senate last week. This legislation will establish various children's health research and prevention programs conducted through federal public health agencies. The legislation will amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize additional federal resources targeted at many children's diseases, such as traumatic brain injury, autism, Fragile X, juvenile arthritis, childhood skeletal malignancies, diabetes, birth defects, hepatitis C, and epilepsy. Today, however, I want to specifically make mention of title 22 of the legislation, which mandates increased research by the National Institutes of Health into Muscular Dystrophy. Passage of this title represents the first time that Muscular Dystrophy, and specifically Duchesne Muscular Dystrophy, has been acknowledged in a federal statute. This is long overdue. As a member of the Health Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee, I am greatly heartened by the efforts of the gentleman from Ohio, ranking member Sherrod Brown, to include this title in the legislation. Duchesne Muscular Dystrophy is the world's most prevalent lethal childhood genetic disease, cutting equally across all races and all citizens. To look at the record of research on this disease is to realize that despite our country's enormous resources, sometimes many children are left behind. Today, despite all the advances in medical science, victims of this disease--which afflicts one of every 3,500 boys--have no cures and no effective treatments available to them. Children afflicted with Duchesne Muscular Dystrophy have no ability to produce the protein dystrophin, the protein that binds the muscle cells together. First, they lose their ability to climb and walk, then the disease spreads to their arms, and ultimately pulmonary or cardiac failure results by the late teens or early twenties. It is an exceptionally cruel disease that slowly robs boys of their independence and ultimately immobilizes them, leading invariably to an untimely and early loss of life. Sadly, the federal response to this disease has been exceptionally poor. This year, in a NIH budget of more than $18 billion, research into Duchesne and Becker Muscular Dystrophies totals $9.2 million. Because it is a difficult disease that affects only tens of thousands of children--not millions--there is no current commitment from private drug manufacturers to conduct research on this disease. If you want to understand why there is nothing available to treat these children, you need look no further than the weak federal response to this disease. The gene that is flawed in this disease is readily identifiable, and has been so for 14 years. But astonishingly, the pace of research on DMD actually slowed down after the gene was discovered. It is not that the scientists of NIH do not care about the victims of this disease. Rather, there are significant structural problems that have inhibited leadership at the Institutes in creating the platform for expanded research. Specifically, research into DMD is spread among the institutes of NIH. The National Institute of Child Health and Development does nothing on DMD, even though DMD victims exclusively are children. Of even more concern is the reality that of the more than 100 separate study sections at NIH through which scientists seek grants for research, none are devoted to muscle, the largest organ of the body. The scientists who work in this area are frequently frustrated by the wide array of study sections through which they must apply for grants, and the lack of affinity that the peer review processes afford them. Mr. Speaker, passage of this legislation will improve coordination of research into the various forms of Muscular Dystrophy. This is imperative. But beyond that, NIH should take additional steps to ensure that DMD gets a fair share of federal resources based on the severity and prevalence of the disease. An Office of Dystrophinopathies, or a branch devoted to study of Muscular Dystrophy, is certainly called for. A study section is essential. I believe that the Commerce Committee should conduct ongoing oversight of NIH's compliance with the Children's Health Act, specifically in this important area. While I am neither a scientist nor a doctor, I think it is highly probable that sooner or later gene therapy is going to be able to cure diseases of this nature, particularly those that involve flaws on a single, identifiable gene. Yet the words ``sooner'' and ``later'' have profound consequences in the lives of tens of thousands of American children and their families that are suffering with this disease. With the passage of H.R. 4365, we move a step closer to giving those families hope. Thank you, and I thank the bipartisan leadership of the Commerce Committee for their hard work in producing this important piece of legislation.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, police tyranny in Punjab has reared its ugly head again. Rajiv Singh has been arrested in Amritsar on false charges of robbery and murder. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Randhawa was attempting to hand a petition to Jack Straw, the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, in front of the holiest shrine of Sikhism, the Golden Temple, which was invaded and desecrated by the Indian military in June 1984. The petition asked for intervention of the British government in the matter of human rights in Punjab. Mr. Randhawa was arrested once before on false charges. He has been a target of police harassment since he saw the Punjab police kidnap Mr. Khalra, who was General Secretary of the Human Rights Wing (SAD). Mr. Khalra was subsequently murdered in police custody and no one has ever been charged or otherwise held responsible in the Khalra case. In that light, there is reason to believe that Mr. Randhawa's life and his safety may be in danger. September 6 was the fifth anniversary of the Khalra kidnapping. Mr. Khalra conducted an investigation which proved that the Indian government had kidnapped, tortured, and murdered thousands of Sikhs, then declared their bodies ``unidentified'' and cremated them. No one has been held accountable for these atrocities either. This is merely the latest action by the police against anyone who speaks up for human rights in Punjab, Khalistan. It is clear from this action that General Narinder Singh, a human-rights leader in Punjab, was right when he said that ``Punjab is a police state.'' Amnesty International has issued a press release and an Urgent Action bulletin denouncing the lawless actions of the police. I will be introducing them at the end of my statement, and I urge my colleagues to read these chilling documents. Mr. Speaker, the Indian Prime Minister is visiting the United States to meet with the President and address Congress. Our government must press Prime Minister Vajpayee on the Randhawa case, on human-rights violations, on self-determination, on the release of political prisoners, on nuclear proliferation, and on the Indian government's efforts to construct a security alliance ``to stop the U.S.,'' as the Indian Express reported last year. If the responses are not satisfactory, then we must take action to ensure freedom in South Asia. This Congress should put itself on record in support of a free and fair plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan, in Kashmir, in Nagalim, and everywhere that the people are seeking freedom. We must maintain our sanctions on India and cut off its aid. And we should declare India a terrorist state. Mr. Speaker, I submit the Amnesty International press release and Urgent Action bulletin that I mentioned before into the Record for the information of my colleagues. [From Amnesty International, Sept. 6, 2000] Urgent Action A key witness in the trial of police officers accused of abducting a human rights activist has been arrested by Punjab police. Amnesty International fears this is an attempt to prevent him testifying, and is extremely concerned for his safety in police custody. Rajiv Singh was arrested as he attempted to hand a petition to UK Home Secretary Jack Straw in Amritsar, Punjab, on 5 September. The petition reportedly called on the UK government to persuade the Indian authorities to take action over human rights violations in Punjab. He was held overnight and brought before a magistrate the next day and reportedly charged with the murder of two people who were killed in a bank robbery in Amritsar. He was remanded in police custody until 8 September. This is the third time that Rajiv Singh has been arrested by Punjab police and charged with serious offences. Earlier this year the Punjab Human Rights Commission ruled that police had ``concocted'' previous charges to persuade him not to testify against them. He had been accused in July 1998 of setting up an organization to fight for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan, called Tigers of Sikh Land. The Commission recommended that the police officers involved should face criminal charges and that there should be further investigations. Rajiv Singh was awarded compensation for being illegally detained. Today is the fifth anniversary of the ``disappearance'' of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who unearthed evidence that Punjab police had illegally cremated the bodies of hundreds of people who had been arrested and then ``disappeared''. A number of Punjab police are now on trial for his abduction, and Rajiv Singh is a key eyewitness in the case. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/ express/airmail letters in English or your own language: expressing grave concern about the arrest and detention of Rajiv Singh on 5 September in Amritsar; expressing concern that since the Punjab police have unlawfully detained and charged Rajiv Singh before, to try to prevent him from testifying in the case of Jaswant Singh Khalra, the current charges against him may be false, and that he is at grave risk of further harassment or torture in police custody; calling for an immediate review of the charges against him by a judicial body; and calling for commitments from the authorities in Punjab to ensure that he will not be ill- treated in custody.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Hattie Lee White, a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, and to celebrate with her today her 75th birthday. I ask my colleagues assembled here today to please join me in acknowledging Mrs. White's remarkable life. On this day, September 27th, in 1925, J.D. and Rosalie Carter were blessed with the birth of their daughter, Hattie. As a young girl, Hattie possessed excellence, greatness, the favor of God, love and honor, the law of kindness in tongue, morality and character. Hattie married Dennis White, and their union was blessed with seven beautiful children: Vernice, Jonathan, Gloria, Marilyn, Andre, Denise and Iris. These children have honored their parents with 24 grandchildren, and 23 great grandchildren. All of the amazing blessings bestowed upon Hattie White are the result of a God-centered life, as Mrs. White is a committed member of Zion Shiloh Baptist Church. She also serves as secretary for her neighborhood block association, where she is active in the community in lobbying for issues that affect seniors. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, gardening and traveling. Mr. Speaker, Hattie Lee White is more than worthy of receiving our birthday wishes, and I hope that all of my colleagues will join me today in honoring this truly remarkable woman.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette).

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak.) (Mr. STUPAK asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell). (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey).

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

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker, let me say there is no question about it that we have not seen this bill on this side of the aisle; and, of course, if we ask the 435 Members of this body have they seen it, I am certain that about 85 percent to 90 percent of them would say no, we have not seen it. So I think that to legislate in this fashion is not the way to go. This is a very serious issue, very serious matter; and when we look at the people that are against this legislation, I think that is enough to bring about some kind of reservation and pause on the other side of the aisle to say maybe we should stop at this point and do it right. I think when we look at the fact that the Physicians for Social Responsibility, they are against this. The United States Public Interest Research Group, they are against it. And, of course, Friends of the Earth and we can go on and on, Environmental Defense and Clean Water Act Action, they are all against it in the Sierra Club, and the list goes on and on and on. I do not think that we should do this this kind of way. I mean, why should we do it in a closed-door kind of thing? Why do we not open up the process and let us deliberate it and see if we cannot come out with something that is really going to make a difference. I hope that my colleagues would look at that; and then if not, then I will ask our friends who are concerned about small businesses to vote no. This is not it.

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this bill. In this body, we normally consider noncontroversial bills on the suspension calendar. Let me assure you, there is a lot of controversy around this bill, as well as confusion and even misrepresentation associated with the bill. I have letters from the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Business Roundtable, the New York Attorney General and various environmental groups opposing this bill. Mr. Speaker, there is opposition to this bill; yet the proponents of this bill would have you believe otherwise. I suppose anyone could get confused, since many of us on both sides of the aisle have agreed for years that clarification of Superfund liability for small businesses and small contributors to the cost of cleanup is a mutually desirable goal. However, while we may have widespread agreement on the goal, we certainly do not have agreement on H.R. 5175. As my colleagues know, I have been a proponent of Superfund reform. Despite my often-stated willingness to work on this issue, my colleagues introduced H.R. 5175 without any discussion with this side and did not follow the normal committee process for consideration of legislation. This bill was already scheduled for consideration on this suspension calendar when my staff was first invited to provide our concerns about the bill. Unfortunately, the proponents of the bill have chosen to ignore some of our most significant concerns, as well as our suggestions to postpone floor consideration in order to continue our discussion. We want to work with you, but you must give us an opportunity to do so. Given this rush, this closed-door, back-door, whatever process they use, I am not surprised that there are mistakes and problems with this bill. New York Attorney General Spitzer, whom I have great respect for, writes that ``many companies and individuals who knowingly violated hazardous waste laws would receive exemptions from liability.'' I agree with the attorney general that deliberate violators of environmental laws should not be excused from liability, and I believe we should make certain this bill does not produce such results. The attorney general fears that ``hundreds of millions of dollars in costs would be shifted from responsible parties to the State and Federal taxpayers.'' I am very concerned about these statements, especially coming from the primary enforcing authority of our environmental laws in New York. Mr. Speaker, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will once again reach out to my colleagues and ask that we work together in a bipartisan and consensus fashion to craft a bill that is truly noncontroversial and ripe for consideration on the suspension calendar. Unfortunately, this bill is not.

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/4\ minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Borski). (Mr. BORSKI asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel). (Mr. ENGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Bishop Ricardo Henry, Pastor of the True Vine Glorious Church of God in Christ. I honor Bishop Henry today to celebrate with him his 67th birthday, which occurred last week, on September 2, 2000. Mr. Speaker, Bishop Henry is deserving of our praise on his birthday because he has served as a pillar of our community, having devoted his life to serving the needs of others. Born on September 2, 1933 on the island of Old Providence, Colombia, Bishop Henry was blessed with excellence, greatness, the favor of God, love and honor, the law of kindness in tongue, morality and character. All of these amazing attributes are the result of a God-centered life. At the age of 7 months, he migrated to the Republic of Panama, where he received his elementary education at the Escuela Pablo Arosemena. He obtained his high school education at Colegio Abel Bravo and, upon graduation, he pursued his formal Christian training at Bible School in Panama from 1957 to 1958. In 1963, he immigrated to the United States and became a member of the Evergreen Baptist Church. In 1965, he moved his membership to the Sacred Heart Christian Church, where he was ordained as a minister of the gospel by Bishop Roden James. He was later consecrated as a Bishop by Bishop Charles DeGilio and Bishop Trevlen Williams. In 1986 he became a member of the Glorious Church of God in Christ, and served as an Associate Minister to Bishop Perry Lindsay, Sr. Appointed by Bishop Perry Lindsay, Sr., in 1997 he became Pastor of the True Vine Glorious Church of God in Christ. Mr. Speaker, Bishop Ricardo Henry is more than worthy of receiving our birthday wishes, and I hope that all of my colleagues will join me today in honoring this truly remarkable man.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, next week Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is coming to visit the United States. He will meet with several American leaders, including President Clinton and perhaps both major-party Presidential candidates. When he meets with these leaders, they must bring up the issue of human rights and self-determination. India claims to be a democracy, but in truth there is no democracy in India. It is a militant Hindu fundamentalist state. Christians, ,Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits, and other minorities suffer severe oppression and atrocities at the hands of Hindu fundamentalists. Just last month, a priest in Gujarat was kidnapped, tortured, and paraded through town naked by militant Hindu nationalists. The Indian government has refused to register a complaint against the kidnappers. This is the latest act in a campaign of terror against Christians that has been going on since Christmas 1998. This campaign has seen the murders of priests, rape of nuns, Hindu militants burning a missionary and his two sons to death in their van, the destruction of schools and prayer halls, and other anti-Christian atrocities. Most of these activities have been carried out by allies of the government or people affiliated with organizations under the umbrella of the RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP, which was founded in support of Fascism. Recently, Bal Thackeray, the leader of Shiv Sena, a coalition partner of the ruling BJP, threatened to engulf the country in violence if he is held responsible for his part in hundreds of murders in 1992. In India, democracy apparently requires making coalitions with killers. The Christians are not the only minority that is being oppressed. When President Clinton visited India in March, 35 Sikhs were massacred in the village of Chithi Singhpora in Kashmir. The Indian government killed five Muslims, claiming that they were the individuals responsible for the killings. Later they were forced to admit that these Muslims were innocent. Now the Indian government has arrested two more people on the claim that they are responsible for the massacre. Yet two independent investigations have clearly established that the Indian government itself was responsible for the massacre. How can a democratic nation justify these actions? The Sikhs have declared their independence from India, forming the new country of Khalistan in 1987. The people of Kashmir were promised a plebiscite on their future in 1948, and India promised the United Nations that this referendum would be held as well. The people of predominantly Christian Nagalim seek their independence. There are several other freedom movements within India's borders. It seems to this Member that the best, fairest, and most democratic way to settle these issues is to conduct a free and fair plebiscite on the question of independence in these minority nations. In addition to our legitimate nuclear-proliferation concerns, it is important that as the world's only superpower, our leaders press the government of India to live up to the democratic standards they proclaim by allowing all people within their borders to enjoy basic human rights and self-determination. If they do not do so, we should cut off U.S. aid to India and put this Congress on record with a resolution in support of human rights, self-determination, and nuclear nonproliferation for all the people of South Asia.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, next week the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation will host its 30th Annual Legislative Weekend. For the first time in the history of this event, we will be without our beloved friend, and former CBC Foundation Chairman and board member, H. LeBaron Taylor. LeBaron died from cardiac arrest on July 19th. LeBaron was both Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Sony Music Entertainment and Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Sony Software Corporation. His responsibilities ranged from government and public affairs issues to corporate responsibilities including equal opportunity employment and minority development and corporate philanthropy. LeBaron's impact on the entertainment industry, however, far exceed his formal titles or positions within the Sony corporate structure. From his entry in the music industry as a broadcast engineer as well as an on-air personality and program director at WCHB in Detroit to a stint as station manager at WDAS in Philadelphia to his move into the record business with the creation of Revilot Records in 1967, LeBaron was a pioneer in the promotion of Black music. He would later move to Atlantic Records in New York City before joining CBS Records in 1974. Black Enterprise magazine noted that LeBaron ``defined black music in the '70's.'' LeBaron's unique relationships with artists led to his position with CBS Records as the head of their marketing department for Black music. Under his leadership, CBS Records' Black music Marketing department became the model for the entire industry. Three years later, he became the company's first vice president of Black Music Marketing, with the added responsibility of Jazz/Progressive Music Marketing. LeBaron was recognized by Ebony magazine as one of the ``Top 50 Black American Executives in Corporate America'' and, most recently, as one of the top Blacks in the entertainment industry. Throughout his career, he received numerous awards for his public service activities and his pioneering efforts in Black music marketing. A two-time recipient of the Congressional Black Caucus Chair Award, LeBaron also received the Chairman's Humanitarian Award from TransAfrica Forum; the NAACP Corporate Image Award; and awards from the National Urban League; the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters; The Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Hall of Fame, the White House Conference on Small Business and The Business Policy Review Council among many others that are too numerous to mention. His civic activities included board membership with organizations such as the CBC Foundation, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Board of Governors and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Characteristically, the accomplishment of which LeBaron was most proud was his recognition by the Black Employees Organization of CBS Inc. for mentoring and fostering the growth and development of minorities within the company. A native of Detroit, LeBaron graduated from Wayne State University and recently was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama. He was also a board member of the Grand Boule Foundation of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and chaired its Social Action Committee. He is survived by his wife, Kay Loverlace Taylor, Ed.D. and four children: Eric and Tiffani from his first marriage and his stepchildren, Laura and Jason, from his second marriage. His first wife, Yvonne passed away in January of 1997. The CBC Foundation's Annual Legislative Weekend will be forever changed by the absence of LeBaron Taylor not only because of his dedication to our Weekend's activities, but also because of his lasting contributions to the public service work of the Foundation, his friendship and support for CBC Members and his contributions to the Black music industry.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I recently joined with 20 of our colleagues in a letter to President Clinton urging him to declare India a terrorist state because of its repression of Christians Sikhs, and other minorities. Today in India, Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, and others are being subjected to a reign of terror at the hands of the Indian government. Since Christmas Day 1998, there has been a wave of persecution and terrorism against Christians in India. Churches have been burned, Christian schools and prayer halls have been attacked, nuns have been raped, and priests have been killed. Earlier this month, two more churches were bombed in the Indian state of Karnataka, according to a report from Newsroom.org. These attacks came just a month after a Catholic church was bombed in Bangalore. This is a frightening reminder of the resistance to civil rights in the South of the 1950s. Late last month, a Hindu woman poured boiling oil on a group of militant Hindu nationalists who were attacking her tenant, a Catholic priest. Four Christian missionaries were beaten last month, one so severely that he may lose his arms and legs. These missionaries were beaten for distributing Christian religious literature and Bibles. The RSS, a Fascist organization that is the parent organization of the ruling BJP, has published a booklet on how to implicate Christians in false criminal cases. On Easter, a group of nuns on their way to Easter services were run down by Hindu fundamentalists riding motor scooters. In March, a Sikh family saved some nuns whose convent was attacked by Hindu fundamentalists. Last month, a women's prayer meeting was bombed by militant Hindu fundamentalists. In April, fundamentalist Hindus attacked a Christian group and burned biblical literature. These are, unfortunately, just the latest incidents in a pattern of oppression of Christians. The pattern has been long term. Last fall, Hindu fundamentalists aligned with the ruling BJP abducted a nun named Sister Ruby and forced her to drink their urine. Hindus chanting ``Victory to Hannuman,'' a Hindu god, burned missionary Graham Staines to death along with his 8- year-old and 10-year-old sons, while they slept in their jeep. The violence has been carried out by the RSS and other allies and supporters of the BJP government in India and no one ever seems to be punished for these acts. Sikhs and Muslims have also been targeted, and we should take note of that. In March, while President Clinton was visiting India, 35 Sikhs were murdered in the village of Chithi Singhpora. Two independent investigations have shown that the Indian government carried out this massacre. This, too, is part of a pattern of genocide. India's campaign of terror against minorities is clearly designed to wipe out the minorities. It is time to declare India a terrorist state and it is time to cut off American aid to India to help strengthen the hand of human rights there. And we should support self-determination for all the minority nations seeking their freedom from India. The predominantly Christian nation of Nagalim, which India holds, is about to begin talks with the Indian government on their political status. I hope that these talks will be the beginning of freedom not just for the people of Nagaland but for all the minority peoples and nations of South Asia. Strong action must be taken. We should cut off India's aid until human rights are respected. We should demand self-determination for the people of Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagalim, and the other minority nations under Indian rule in the form of a free and fair plebiscite on the question of independence. That is the way democratic nations do it. Is India the democracy it claims to be or not? I would like to place the Newsroom article of July 10 into the Record for the information of my colleagues. I urge my colleagues to take a look at it. Two Churches Hit With Bomb Attacks in India July 10, 2000 (Newsroom)--Bomb blasts damaged two churches in India's southern Karnataka state over the weekend as Christians across the nation staged marches and rallies to protest sectarian violence. Early on Saturday a low-intensity bomb exploded at the doors of a Protestant church in Hubli, about 270 miles north of the state capital, Bangalore. Police the blast occurred between 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church in Hubli's Keshavapura area, which has a 15,000-strong Christian population. The explosion damaged the church's steel gates and its belfry, but no injuries were reported, police said. On Sunday an explosion left a small crater and shattered windows in the St. Peter and Paul Church in Bangalore. The attack in Hubli came exactly one month after a bomb blast shook a Roman Catholic church in Wadi in the north Karnataka town of Gulbarga. Three other bomb attacks on churches occurred on June 8, in the coastal town of Goa and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Police say that the attack on Saturday is similar to the June 8 blasts, which are still under investigation. The federal government blames sympathizers of the Pakistan intelligence agency ISI (Inter Service Intellegence) and claims the neighboring nation is out to destabilize India and drive a wedge between Christians and Hindus. Church leaders allege, however, that right-wing Hindu groups are behind a series of attacks against India's 23 million Christians, and may be responsible for the latest church bombings. Christians believe many of the Hindu groups are closely connected to near the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the federal government's ruling coalition. A number of marginalized social groups have been victims of radical Hindus who go unpunished by the regime, said Sajan George, national convenor of the Global Council of Indian Christians. ``It becomes clear from these attacks that whether it is Christians, Muslims, or Dalits, the attacks never end; they are part of the continuing spiral built into the sectarian ideology, out to justify acts of blatant violence and denial of fundamental rights to life, equality before the law, freedom of religion, and freedom of expression,'' George said after the Hubli church bombing. In the BJP-ruled northern state of Uttar Pradesh a Roman Catholic priest was murdered last month as he slept in the town of Mathura, near the Taj Mahal. One of the key witnesses to the murder, a cook called Ekka, died mysteriously under police custody. Bangalore was one, of several state capitals where Christians marched on Saturday in remembrance of victims of religious persecution and in protest of continuing violence. At a rally in Hyderabad on Sunday the president of the All India Christian Council, Joseph D'Souza, read a list of demands to which a crowd of some 100,000 expressed agreement by raising their hands. The demands included state protection for church property and arrest and prosecution of all who openly engage in hate campaigns against Christians. The Deccan Herald of Bangalore reported Monday that city police had been directed by the Congress Party-led Karnataka government to step up security churches and other places of worship.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, a group of 21 of us wrote to President Clinton last month asking him to declare India a terrorist country due to its terror campaign against Christians and other minorities. Since Christmas of 1998, there has been a wave of terrorist attacks against Christians, Christian churches, and Christian institutions throughout India. No one is ever held accountable for these actions. In fact, Bal Thackeray, leader of Shiv Sena, recently threatened to engulf the entire country in violence if he is held accountable for his part in the 1992 murders of thousands of people in Bombay. Mr. Thackeray's party, Shiv Sena, is a coalition partner of the ruling BJP and both parties are member organizations of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), a Fascist organization with a program of ``Hindu, Hindi, Hindutva, Hindu Rashtra''--in other words, Hindu rule. BJP leaders have been quoted as saying that everyone who lives in India must be Hindu or must be subservient to Hindus. Is this democracy or theocracy? Recently, a group of four missionaries were beaten by Hindu nationalists for their religious work. They were peacefully distributing religious literature and Bibles. Now one of them may lose his arms and legs. A Catholic priest who came under attack from militant Hindus recently was saved when his landlady, a Hindu, poured boiling oil on the Hindu mob that was attacking him. There have been so many incidents. After the recent murder of another priest, the only eyewitness was picked up by a police official who was under suspension. The witness was hanged in his jail cell. The Indian government ruled that he hung himself, but it seems to be a murder by the police. Hindus chanting ``Victory to Hannuman'' burned Graham Stuart Staines, an Australian missionary, and his 8 and 10 year old sons to death as they slept in their jeep. Nuns have been raped, priests have been murdered, churches have been burned and schools have been destroyed. All of these acts, and more, have been done at the hands of militant Hindu nationalists allied with the RSS. No one has been punished for any of these atrocities. Mr. Speaker, Christians are not the only ones. The Indian government massacred 35 Sikhs in Kashmir during President Clinton's visit to India, then tried to blame Kashmiri ``militants.'' Two extensive investigations have confirmed the Indian government's responsibility. These latest victims join over 200,000 Christians, more than a quarter of a million Sikhs, over 70,000 Kashmiri Muslims, and tens of thousands of other minorities who have been killed in the Indian government's genocide. Tens of thousands of Sikhs are held without charge or trial, as political prisoners in ``the world's largest democracy.'' Well, if India is really a democracy, it must allow all the peoples and nations under its rule, including the Christians of Nagaland, the Sikhs of Khalistan, the Muslims of Kashmir, and the others, to enjoy self-determination and freedom. Given its past and present conduct, India must be declared a terrorist country and we should stop giving American taxpayers' money to the Indian government until its religious terrorism and its killing of minorities end and all the peoples and nations of South Asia live in freedom. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert our letter to President Clinton into the Record, and I hope my colleagues will read it. It will be very informative. Congress of the United States, Washington, DC, June 15, 2000. Hon. Bill Clinton, President of the United States, The White House, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. President: We are deeply concerned by the ongoing repression of Christians in India. A wave of violence against Christians and that has been going on since Christmas 1998 has intensified recently. On May 21, a prayer meeting of a Christian women's group was bombed. An investigation by the All India Christian Conference shows that the Sangh Parivar, a branch of the Fascist RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP, carried out the bombing, which injured 30, four of them very seriously. Also in May, six Christian missionaries who were distributing Bibles and religious literature were beaten by militant Hindu fundamentalists. One of them may lose his arms and legs due to the savage beating. On April 21 in Agra, a group of Hindu militants affiliated with the Bajrang Dal attacked a Christian group and burned Biblical literature. The Bajrang Dal is a wing of the RSS. In Haryana, three nuns were run down by a motor scooter while they were on their way to Easter services. The RSS recently published a booklet on how to implicate Christians and other minorities in false criminal cases, the Hindustan Times reported. Missionary Graham Staines was burned to death along with his sons, who were 8 years old and 10 years old, while they were asleep in their jeep. The killers chanted ``Victory to Hannuman.'' Hannuman is a Hindu god with the face of a monkey. Hindu nationalists have murdered at least four priests, raped four nuns and kidnapped another, whom they forced to drink her own bodily fluids. More than 200,000 Christians in predominantly Christian Nagaland have been killed by the Indian government. No one is punished for any of these acts. India has also committed similar acts of terrorism against its Sikh and Muslim minorities, among others. It has killed over 250,000 Sikhs. In March, the government massacred 35 Sikhs.in the village of Chatti Singhpora. According to the State Department, between 1991 and 1993, India paid out more than 41,000 cash bounties to police officers for killing Sikhs. India has killed more than 70,000 Kashmiri Muslims and destroyed the most revered mosque in Kashmir. Tens of thousands of Sikhs, Kashmiris, Christians, and others are being held as political prisoners. Mr. President, America cannot just watch these atrocities happen. We call on you to declare India a terrorist nation. We further urge an end to U.S. aid to India until human rights are enjoyed by all people there. And we ask the United States to support self-determination for all the peoples and nations of the subcontinent. Let the light of freedom shine everywhere in South Asia. Sincerely, Edolphus Towns, M.C., and 20 others.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Belle Demby as she celebrates her 106th birthday. Ms. Demby is a native of North Carolina who moved to Brooklyn as a teenager when her father got a job building the Fourth Avenue subway line. When she first arrived in Brooklyn, you could still find fresh chickens in open air markets on Third Avenue and Myrtle Avenue. She worked for $1.50 a day sweeping the platforms of the BRT subway line and probably never earned more than $12 a week throughout all of World War I. For entertainment, she listened to music. As she recently told a New York Times reporter, ``I listened to the radio. What do you call them, Victrola? All I can tell you is it was a big box that had music in it.'' When the stock market crashed she and her husband both lost their jobs. To make ends meet, Ms. Demby worked in factories, laundries and anywhere she could get a job. She recalled recently how ``longshoremen were walking back and forth to the waterfront to see if a ship came in so they could get work.'' Belle Demby now lives near the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the Ingersoll Houses. Family and friends take turns reading her passages from the Bible. Although she is blind, she is still able to attend Bethel Baptist Church every Sunday with her daughter who is 87 and a grandson who at 69 is a grandfather himself. Please join me in acknowledging the remarkable life of Belle Demby on her 106th birthday.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by first thanking the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) and, of course, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) for bringing this bill forward. It is a very important bill, with the way things are going today in this Nation. I support the Ryan White CARE Act of 2000. We should pass this legislation, which is so vital to this Nation and its future. Approximately 19 percent of the AIDS cases are in New York State. That means one in five living with AIDS reside in New York State. There are 8,200 living AIDS cases in Brooklyn, the borough that I represent, alone. Seventy-five percent of the cases are minorities and 25 percent are women. This is just the beginning. I have yet to talk about the 100,000 people estimated to be living with HIV disease who may or may not know their status. These numbers are truly staggering, and they show the importance and need of reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act. I will not stand here and say that this bill is perfect because it is not, but it does represent a balance and I congratulate my colleagues again for their creativity and strong leadership. However, I must admit there are some things that I would like to see modified, and let me name them; namely, the hold harmless provision in title I of the bill, which my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo) framed so well during the markup in the full Committee on Commerce. I think the point that she made should have been accepted. All the EMAs should be held harmless and brought up to a higher funding level. There are many good provisions in this bill. It increases consumer participation on the planning council and ensures that the consumers are representative of the epidemic in that particular area. This change will enable the councils to be proactive when it comes to the disease, and the bill moves in the direction of counting HIV not AIDS cases. In addition, I would like to highlight the Congressional Black Caucus' AIDS initiative language within the Committee Report. The initiative is intended to be a critical component of the strategy of the Department of Health and Human Services to comprehensively address HIV/AIDS. It focuses on the communities hardest hit by the epidemic, and that is the most effective way to tackle the problem. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support this act.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation to grant Harriet Tubman veteran status for her service in the Union Army from 1863 to 1865. With a letter from governor John Andrews of Massachusetts Harriet Tubman reported to General David Hunter at Hilton Head, South Carolina in 1863 where she worked as a nurse, scout, spy and cook for the Union Army. In the spring of 1865 she worked briefly at a freedman's hospital in Fortress Monroe, Virginia. Harriet Tubman recruited Union Army soldiers in the South. On March 6, 1863 the Secretary of War was informed that seven hundred and fifty blacks who were waiting for an opportunity to join the Union Army had been rescued from slavery under the leadership of Harriet Tubman. After the Civil War Mrs. Tubman married Nelson Davis, a private in the US Colored Infantry Volunteers. He died in 1888 and Mrs. Tubman received a pension as his widow. Mrs. Tubman applied for an increase in her pension. H.R. 4982, of the 55th Congress, was never enacted but it proposed that Mrs. Tubman be given a pension as a veteran of the Civil War at her request. Senator William H. Seward of New York, the Secretary of the State under Lincoln during the time of the Civil War and knew Mrs. Tubman personally. Mr. Seward advocated Mrs. Tubman's placement on the pension roll, for her service in the war as a nurse in the United States Army. Mrs. Tubman lived the remainder of her life after the Civil War in Auburn, New York. She is buried in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn with military honors. Prior to 1863, Harriet Tubman was a conductor on ``The Underground Railroad.'' After escaping from slavery in 1849, she returned to the South repeatedly freeing other slaves before joining the war effort in 1863. She is reported to have personally brought over 300 slaves to freedom including her brothers, sisters, and elderly parents. In 1913 Harriet Tubman died of pneumonia without being formally recognized as a veteran of the Civil War. I propose that Harriet Tubman be awarded veteran status through this bill posthumously.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Lavinia T. Dickerson, an Executive Vice President of the Institute for Student Achievement, Inc., a not-for-profit organization. She is a psychologist and an educator with more than 20 years of experience working with children, youth and families in low-income communities. In July 1995, the New York State Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Education appointed her a member of the State Oversight Panel of Roosevelt School District. She is the principal designer of the Institute's academic enrichment, counseling and personal development school-based programs designed to help low performing students succeed through middle school, graduate from high school and go on to higher education. Chief among these programs are COMET (Children of Many Educational Talents) for middle school students, and STAR (Success Through Academic Readiness) for high school students. The programs help students improve their academic, and behavioral problems, develop good character and concept of self, improve their performance, and successfully finish school on time. A published author, whose works have appeared in both academic and literary journals, she also directed the San Francisco Children's Workshop in the Western Addition section. She has conducted workshops across the nation for educators, counselors, and human service professionals on collaborative school-based program development for children and at-risk youth. Lavinia Dickerson is a member of American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and serves on their Federal Policy and Legislative Committee. She is also a member of the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the Association of Black Psychologists, the National Black Child Development Institute, and the National Alliance of Black School Educators. She also is a member of several community-based organization boards. She is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California at Berkeley and the Wharton School of Business. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and all of my colleagues to join me in recognizing the lifelong efforts of Lavinia Dickerson, and wish her continued success in her future endeavors.

Mr. TOWNS

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Stephen Weiss, Jr., a man who has been very instrumental in assisting hundreds of Brooklyn residents in the transition from apartment renters to first time homeowners. Mr. Weiss, a graduate of Yale University, is an executive with Flintlock Construction Services, LLC, as well as with several other property development companies. Mr. Weiss is also actively involved in the operations of a property management company. Mr. Weiss joined these various firms in 1980, with the goal of using his positions with them to develop and construct primarily affordable housing, both for rental and for sale. Mr. Weiss also used these enterprises to develop much- needed medical centers, to further benefit the community. With his partner, DeCosta Headley, Mr. Weiss has developed and built hundreds of affordable apartments in East New York, Brownsville and Bedford Stuyvesant. Many of these homes, built to house working people, were rebuilt out of abandoned shells that used to blight these neighborhoods. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and all of my colleagues to join me in recognizing the lifelong efforts of Stephen Weiss, Jr., and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.