Tom Udall

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Chairman, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to offer my remarks today regarding H.R. 975, the so-called ``Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003.'' The issue of bankruptcy reform is extremely important and it is critical that we pass a measure that will both ensure greater personal responsibility of debtors, as well as ensure that credit card companies and other creditors take responsibility for their reckless lending. Unfortunately, this bill does neither. In fact, the bill before us today overly penalizes working families. In fact, the bill before us today takes no action against reckless and predatory lending. Equally frustrating is the process. In what is becoming a familiar refrain on the House floor when vitally important legislation comes before us, I strongly object to the rule under which this bill is being debated. Once again the majority has passed a rule stifling debate and blocking serious and substantive amendments. While they have made in order a substitute amendment to be offered by Mr. Conyers, which I will be supporting, as well as amendments offered by Mr. Sherman and Mr. Gutierrez, there were an additional 6 amendments worthy of consideration by the entire body of the House of Representatives. This continued smothering of the democratic process by the majority is shameful and needs to stop immediately. As to the substance of the legislation, it is no secret that the number of bankruptcies has risen dramatically over the past twenty years. In 1980, there were 330,000 bankruptcies in the United States. In 2001, the number of personal bankruptcies had risen to 1.28 million. Last year 1.45 million filings, up 19 percent from the year 2000, marked a record in the number of bankruptcies filed. In my home state of New Mexico, there was a 7.1 percent increase over 2001 filings, which marked the second consecutive year in which the state set a record in the number of bankruptcies filed. With those facts in mind, I strongly support the principle of increased personal responsibility of debt. However, I do not believe that H.R. 975 is the correct way to achieve this goal. While there are many problems with H.R. 975, I'll name just a few of the more egregious provisions to which I strongly object. H.R. 975 imposes a rigid means test, endangers child support, and allows millionaires to continue to shelter their assets in mansions. These provisions result in an unbalanced and punitive measure that will have a devastating effect on the unemployed, women, Hispanic homeowners, and the elderly. Reform in this bill is skewed towards restricting the consumer's access to relief from overwhelming debt, while making it easier on those creditors who encourage additional unwise borrowing. Mr. Speaker, I recognize that there have been, and likely continue to be, abuses of the bankruptcy law, which was designed to be a safety net. As I've said before, I strongly support increased personal responsibility for debt accrued. However, this should coincide with greater responsibility on the part of the creditors. It is the creditors who often shamelessly target college students and low-income individuals with their credit card applications. It is the creditors who subsequently grant these individuals higher levels of credit at high interest rates. It is the creditors who saddle these individuals with insurmountable levels of debt. In fact, it is estimated that the credit card industry mails out five billion unsolicited credit card offers a year. Taking the 2000 Census figure of 209,128,094 individuals in the United States over the age of 18, that breaks down to 24 unsolicited credit card offers per person per year! I wish this legislation would help break this vicious cycle, but unfortunately it does not. Mr. Speaker, it is well known that bankruptcies are driven by economic difficulties and I think we would all agree that we find ourselves facing economic difficulties today. Unemployment is higher than it has been in over eight years and we stand on the verge of a war. Today is not the time to pass an extremely harmful bill that will have devastating affects on the most vulnerable individuals in our country. I would like to reiterate that I strongly support increased responsibility by debtors, but this legislation does more harm than good. I believe we would be better served if we could fully debate the merits of this legislation, as well as substantive amendments that were disallowed from consideration by the full House. Sadly, once again, we cannot, and I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, along with my cousin and colleague, Representative Mark Udall of Colorado, I am today introducing legislation that amends title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish Federal renewable energy portfolio standard, RPS, for certain retail electric utilities. I would like to thank Representatives Berman, Cardin, Hinchey, Leach, George Miller, Owens, Pallone, Tierney, and especially Representative Henry Waxman who share the vision that we in Congress can develop a national energy policy that is founded on two key principles: renewable energy and energy efficiency. I am especially proud that this is a bipartisan effort. Mr. Speaker there are some who say that a long-term sustainable energy plan is impossible. Or that renewable energy and energy efficiency are pipe dreams, and that the U.S. will never be able to break its reliance on traditional energy sources like oil and coal. I disagree. Now, in the post-September 11th world, and as we are on the brink of war with Iraq, the renewed conflict in the Middle East shows us that we cannot continue to rely on imported oil from that region. When my father, Stewart Udall, was Secretary of the Interior, the U.S. imported 20 percent of its oil. My father argued that we shouldn't import more than 20 percent of our oil on national security grounds. Today, we import 53 percent of our oil, 47 percent of which comes from OPEC countries; by 2020, the United States will import 62 percent of its oil unless we act to change the way we produce energy. Even more frightening, world production is expected to peak some time in the next few decades; some even say as early as 2007. That means that as energy demand increases more and more rapidly, the world's oil supply will be proportionally diminished. While energy production has brought tremendous prosperity and allowed us to grow our economy at unprecedented rates, nonrenewable forms of energy are responsible for many of the greatest environmental threats to America's well-being. Consider this, less than 2 percent of this nation's electricity is generated by non-traditional sources of power such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy. During the period from 1973-1991, smart investments were made to develop new technologies that made our energy use more efficient without affecting economic output. These investments curbed the projected growth rates of energy use in the United States by 18 percent from what they would have been without the investments. Unfortunately, the U.S. spends only one half of 1 percent of its energy bill on research and development. 60 percent of that money is wasted on the country's failed experiment in nuclear energy. Less than \1/3\ of the nation's tiny research and development budget is spent on renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly interested in Renewable Portfolio Standards, RPS, which I believe paves the road for the development and investment in clean energy technologies and local economic development. RPS, in my mind, clearly serves as model for tomorrow's small and medium businesses to draw a profit from their own environmental responsibility. During the 107th Congress, in the Senate version of H.R. 4, there was a provision, which proposed that retail electricity suppliers--except for municipal and cooperative utilities--be required to obtain a minimum percentage of their power production from a portfolio of new renewable energy resources. The minimum energy target or ``standard'' would start at 1 percent in 2005, rise at a rate of about 1.2 percent every two years, and peak at 10 percent in 2019. I applaud the Senate for including an RPS provision in the Energy bill, which the House failed to include in our energy package. However, I believe that we are capable of going further than the 10 percent peak in 2020 and believe we should set the standard higher to around 20 percent. As I mentioned earlier, less than 2 percent of this nation's electricity is generated by non-traditional sources of power such as wind, solar, geothermal, etc. Why is this legislation so important now Mr. Speaker? It's important because the Department of Energy's total energy efficiency and renewable energy budget would remain essentially unchanged at $1.3 billion for fiscal 2004. For example, Biomass and biorefinery systems would see the biggest cut, down 19 percent, to $70 million. Solar is flat at $79.6 million; wind is down 6 percent, to $41.6 million; hydropower is unchanged at $7.4 million; and geothermal is down 4 percent, to $25.5 million. It's important because yesterday Secretary Gale Norton came before the House Resources Committee, of which I am a member, to make the case for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It's important because the House will pass an energy bill, thanks to the help of the Rules Committee, to open the 1.5-million-acre ANWR coastal plain to oil development. Mr. Speaker, we are a nation of ``petroholics.'' Instead of pushing for the exploration of oil development and contributing to this country's addiction to oil, we should be pushing for the exploration of renewable energy development. This is what this legislation does, Mr. Speaker. And I have no doubt that whatever energy bill the majority brings before the House that it will not contain language to promote and expand renewable energy development in this county. Our legislation is the first step toward encouraging greater use of our country's clean and domestic renewable energy resources. Our legislation would: Encourage the use of renewable energy by establishing a nationwide, market-based program that would set fair, achievable and affordable clean energy goals for each state; Give states flexibility to achieve renewable energy goals; Benefit farmers and save consumers money; and Reduce air pollution and the threat of global warming. Our legislation would require that retail electricity suppliers-- except for municipal and cooperative utilities--be required to obtain 15 percent of their power production from a portfolio of new renewable energy resources by 2020 and within 5 years add an additional 5 percent, so by 2025, 20 percent of retail electricity suppliers' power production would be derived from a portfolio of new renewable energy resources. Mr. Speaker consider the following: Wind farms in the Pacific Northwest are producing energy at a price of 3 cents per kilowatt-hour. This is less than the current price of power from natural gas. With a little encouragement, wind energy could become economically viable around the country, and this means a tremendous level of energy self-sufficiency for the U.S. Using wind as an energy source, twelve Midwest states alone could generate three times the total U.S. electricity consumption. Solar power, one of the most well known forms of renewable energy, also has potential for the future. The cost of solar energy has dropped by 90 percent since the early 1970s, and scientists and industry groups predict the price will drop another 66 percent by 2020. Solar energy, if properly developed, could go a long way towards freeing the U.S. from its dependence on coal. Just 10,000 square miles of solar panels would supply all of the nation's electricity needs. And several months ago, the Public Service Company of New Mexico and FPL Energy LLC, based in Florida, signed an agreement to build one of the nation's largest wind generation fields in my congressional district near Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. Harnessed by 136 twirling turbines, wind will be used to create electricity in the first large-scale renewable energy operation in the state. Wind will make up less than 4 percent of the power generated by PNM, and this project has the hope of becoming the first of many wind farms in the state and an example of using and developing new technologies for renewable energy use. A strong RPS makes good economic sense to help states diversify their energy market, increase their work force, and help revitalize communities who have little to no economic development. Even the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is working on passing a Renewable Portfolio Standard for New Mexico that would require electric utilities to generate 10 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2007. Mr. Speaker, our dependence on coal, oil and other traditional energy sources is unsustainable. To protect our environment and our economy, we must turn off the dead end street that our energy non-policy has been leading us down, and start down a path of energy productivity and sustainable, environmentally sound production. I encourage my colleagues in the House to support this legislation and support building solid renewable energy provisions within whatever energy bill comes before the House.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, New Mexico lost a legend recently. Ernie Mills, the dean of New Mexico's political reporters, died from pneumonia on Wednesday, February 26 in Santa Fe. Ernie's career and New Mexico politics were synonymous. There was probably no one else in Santa Fe who knew more about how New Mexico politics worked. Governors, senators, and representatives and a host of elected officials from across the state knew that Ernie and his ``little birdies'' had the scoop on what was really happening in the state's political arena. Ernie first came to New Mexico in 1957 when he became editor of the Gallup Independent. He had started his journalism career in New York where he worked for New York Herald Tribune. In 1958, he became the Capitol Bureau Chief for the Albuquerque Journal. He later opened his own public relations consulting firm in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and was president of the New Mexico Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. In 1968-69, Ernie covered the activities of New Mexico servicemen in Vietnam during two tours of duty. During his tours of Vietnam, he also handed television coverage of the fighting there, first for KOB-TV and later for KOAT-TV. Ernie was probably best known for his participation in one of New Mexico's largest news stories: the 1980 prison riot in Santa Fe. Rioting inmates requested that Ernie--and no one else--be allowed into the prison to negotiate a settlement with them. Fifteen hostages were released after his participation, all unharmed. Thirty-three inmates died in the bloody confrontation. Ernie's career was devoted to his syndicated newspaper columns and radio and television shows. He produced a daily radio commentary Dateline New Mexico that was carried by more than 20 radio stations statewide. He also had a weekly television show entitled Report from Santa Fe that had been produced by KENW-TV in Portales, and that had aired for more than 27 years. He received numerous awards during his career, including Broadcaster of the Year in 1995 from the New Mexico Broadcasters Association. The same organization also honored him for Special Reporting, Best News Coverage, Best Editorial Writing and Radio Newsman of the Year. Ernie Mills is gone, but his impact on New Mexico will be with us forever. He will be remembered for his sense of fair play, his balanced reporting, his unwillingness to report in something without first making sure of his facts, even if it meant that he was not the first to break the news. He always said it right. Yes, he will be remembered for his ``little birdies,'' his ``gatos flacos,'' his ``wall-leaners,'' and his interviews that kept his guests struggling to keep up with him. And we won't forget the ``train wrecks,'' even if we don't remember what they were about. We will remember the man who gave his heart to all New Mexico. There was never a time that Ernie did not put people first. It was their hearts that he was about. When asked about running for office, Ernie was fond of saying, ``I'd like to run for office, but I wouldn't want to serve.'' It was Ernie's way of saying how much he loved being close to the people. A memorial service for Ernie will be held on St. Patrick's Day in the State Capitol. He would have loved this. He was proud of his Irish heritage and it is fitting that he be remembered in the center of New Mexico's political world in Santa Fe. Mr. Speaker, no one can ever replace Ernie Mills. His brand of journalism was unique and exclusively his own. More importantly, Ernie took people under his wing, to love, guide and protect. His heart was bigger than all New Mexico. On behalf of all who knew him, I can confidently say that we will sincerely miss him. I feel as though I have lost a real friend, and I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Lorene and his children, Joy, Ken, Eddie, and Margaret.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 5, the ``Medical Malpractice and Insurance Reform Act of 2003.'' Furthermore, I fervently object to the House Rules Committee's prohibition of amendments to this controversial measure, a decision that does not allow for open objective debate or consideration of any worthy alternatives. The rule governing this measure smacks of partisan politics, favors the corporate insurance industry over the health and well-being of the American population, and effectively subverts our great nation's democratic process. Denying us the opportunity to discuss this openly is absolutely unacceptable and exposes what this legislation is all about. H.R. 5 is purportedly designed to lower the high costs of physicians' medical malpractice insurance rates. We all agree that skyrocketing insurance premiums for medical malpractice are spiraling out of control and demand immediate attention. This bill, however, will not guarantee lower rates for doctors. Instead, it will severely limit victims' ability to recover compensation for damages caused by medical negligence, defective products and irresponsible insurance providers. In other words, H.R. 5 does not fix the problems plaguing the nation's health care system: it rewards insurance companies for bad investment decisions, offers minimal deterrence to doctors practicing bad medicine, and seriously restricts the rights of injured patients to be compensated for their injuries caused by such practices. It is clear that the House leadership is not really trying to help doctors, but rather their friends in the insurance industry. H.R. 5 would usurp the role of the jury by empowering the Congress to determine the rate of compensation due to malpractice victims. The insurance industry often ridicules the rare million-dollar ``windfall'' jury awards given, asserting that the victim must feel like they have won the lottery. Do you suppose the parents of the 17-year-old transplant patient who died after being given the wrong blood type, or the Wisconsin woman who had a double mastectomy, only to discover after the operation that the lab had made a mistake and she did not have cancer after all, feel as if the jury-awarded compensation has enriched their lives? I think not. It is doubtful that any person or family that loses a loved one, or suffers years of pain and suffering because of a medicinal mistake or oversight, feels like celebrating, especially after fighting their way through the court system and finally receiving compensation. The insurance industry continually asserts that recent hikes in malpractice premiums are caused by excessive jury awards, and that the only remedy is to cap damage awards in malpractice lawsuits at $250,000--no matter how egregious or irresponsible the case. Capping damage awards will not lower insurance rates nor address the real problems in the medical liability system primarily for two reasons-- First, the cyclical nature of the insurance industry, that is, raising premiums to recoup losses due to bad investments in the stock market, and second, the number of medical errors made by the medical profession. Instead of enabling insurers, we should reject the one-size-fits-all cap that will restrict the ability of those most severely affected by a medical mistake--Americans who struggle daily to make ends meet--to be properly compensated. I am sympathetic to those good doctors and care givers who must pay soaring insurance bills or be forced to shut down their practices because of the exorbitant cost of liability insurance. Currently, malpractice premiums in my state of New Mexico are relatively low in comparison to those in some other states. However, due to increased concern over other economic and health related issues, we are already feeling the effect of our best physicians leaving the area to work elsewhere. Accordingly, I am extremely sensitive to the impact that increased premiums would present to this already delicate situation. The vast majority of doctors serve the public well. Instead of a real solution for these reputable doctors, the Leadership's plan punishes the innocent victims of medical malpractice, and does not reduce the premiums for good doctors. To reduce the malpractice premiums physicians pay, reforming the insurance industry and implementing programs to reduce medical errors and cracking down on negligent doctors would be a better solution than the liability caps and tort reform initiatives the Leadership supports today, legislation that directly and adversely affects the victims of medical malpractice and their loved ones. As our nation's lawmakers, I firmly believe that we must pledge to continue to work with doctors and patients to find equitable solutions for the numerous problems that plague access to quality health care in this country. We must act now to ensure that our good doctors are not unjustly punished for the malfeasance of others, and that everyone who deserves just compensation for wrongful acts or omissions receives adequate remedy. Regrettably, the Leadership denies us today the opportunity to openly debate the issue or offer alternatives to H.R. 5 on the House floor. Accordingly, I reiterate my opposition to H.R. 5, and state my intent to support a motion to recommit the issue for further consideration.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to introduce legislation which amends the Small Business Act to authorize a Small Business Development Center in an eligible State to apply for an additional Small Business Administration grant to be used solely to provide specified services to assist with outreach, development, and enhancement on Indian lands of small business startups and expansions that are owned by Indian tribe members, Alaska Natives, or Native Hawaiians. I introduced this legislation during the 107th Congress where it passed the House and unfortunately was not considered in the Senate. I am pleased to reintroduce this legislation today and wish to thank Chairman Manzullo and Ranking Member Velazquez for their support of this legislation as well as Representatives Graves, Franks, Renzi, Matheson, Kildee, Hayworth, Mark Udall, Millender- McDonald, Ballance, Christian-Christensen, Gonzalez, Acevedo-Vila, Case, Michaud, Tubbs Jones, Carson, Faleomavega, Bordallo, Napolitano, and Davis for their support. This legislation requires a State receiving a small business development center program grant to request the advice of the governing bodies of Indian tribes, corporations organized pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and other Alaska Native entities, and Native Hawaiian organizations, as appropriate, on how best to provide assistance to such members, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and where to locate satellite centers to provide such assistance. Today we have demonstrated how important small business enterprise is to the health of our economy. But there are still places in this country where economic prosperity has often failed to reach. These areas deserve our attention and assistance. Consider this, nowhere in America has poverty persisted longer than on and near Native American reservations, which suffer an average unemployment rate of 45 percent. However, the number of businesses owned by Indian tribe members and Native Alaskans grew by 84 percent from 1992 to 1997, and their gross receipts grew by 179 percent in that period. This is compared to all businesses, which grew by 7 percent, and their total gross receipts grew by 40 percent, in that period. I would like to continue this growth and expansion of small enterprise with the passage of this legislation. My bill ensures that Native Americans, Native Alaskans and Native Hawaiians seeking to create, develop and expand small businesses, have full access to the counseling and technical assistance available through the SBA's SBDC program. The business development tools offered by the SBDCs can assist Native Americans with the information and opportunity to build sustainable businesses in their communities. In an effort to ensure the quality and success of the program, the proposal requires SBA to include in the application, at a minimum, information requests regarding the applicant's goals and objectives, including the experience of the applicant in conducting programs or ongoing efforts designed to assist the business skills of small business owners and the capability of such applicant to provide training and services to a representative number of Native Americans, Native Alaskans and Native Hawaiians. It is clear we can do more to aid Native American entrepreneurs. Not enough has been done to assist Native American's in building their businesses, which in turn helps benefit, their communities. I hope to change that with my proposal.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise to introduce companion legislation to a bill being introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman in the Senate today. I am extremely pleased to be joined in introducing this legislation, the Indian School Bus Route Safety Reauthorization Act of 2003, by Congressman Jim Matheson of Utah and Congressman Rick Renzi of Arizona, both of whom represent portions of the Navajo Nation in their Congressional districts. This legislation is of great importance to our three states-- specifically to the children and residents of the Navajo Nation, and the counties into which the Navajo Nation's boundaries extend. In New Mexico these counties are McKinley and San Juan Counties, and prior to 1998 they were responsible for maintaining the roads used by county school buses that stretch into the reservation to transport the children of the Navajo Nation to and from the county schools. Although there is nothing unique about counties funding and maintaining the roads in their jurisdiction, this particular case of the counties being responsible for the upkeep of the roads that ran into the Navajo Nation was extremely rare, and seems to be the only situation of this kind throughout the United States. This put an enormous burden on McKinley and San Juan County officials, and oftentimes resulted in impassable roads, which, in turn, resulted in children missing school because the buses were unable to pick them up. In 1998, however, Senator Bingaman was successful in acquiring funds through the Indian School Bus Route Safety Act for the counties in New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona to assist them in facing this particularly burdensome responsibility. Today, we are proud to introduce the reauthorization of this legislation, which is set to expire very soon, to provide further assistance to the counties and children of the Navajo Nation. This bill authorizes funds totaling $24 million for Fiscal Years 2004 through 2009 to be split equally among New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. The breakdown of the total amount of funding is $3 million each year for FY2004 and 2005, $4 million each year for FY2006 and 2007, and $5 million each year for FY2008 and 2009. These critical funds will provide much-needed assistance to the counties, and will help put an end to the shameful situation of children missing school simply because of impassable roads due to lack of maintenance. I am extremely hopeful that we can either pass this measure, or include it as part of the TEA-21 reauthorization bill and provide further assistance to the children of the Navajo Nation and our respective states. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Chairman, I believe that human cloning is dangerous, unethical and needs to be prohibited. The recent reports surrounding Clonaid's supposed first successful human baby cloning, though thus far unverified, provides further impetus for the need to enact a prohibition of this practice. As such, I strongly support banning the practice of reproductive cloning, which is the replication of an individual's genetic material in a new individual. However, as strong as my opposition is to the process of reproductive cloning, my support for continued stem cell research to develop cures for debilitating diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and others, is equally strong. The process of therapeutic cloning, also known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, is the transplantation of a patient's own DNA into an unfertilized egg in order to grow stem cells. Therapeutic cloning does not in any way lead to the creation of viable human life. However, it does allow for continued research in the area of stem cells. Unfortunately as a result of overly broad cloning prohibition language in H.R. 534, the scientific process of therapeutic cloning is also prohibited along with reproductive cloning. Also, as my colleague Mr. Conyers has recently pointed out, H.R. 534 also bans the importation of lifesaving medicines from other countries if their production is in anyway derived from nuclear transfer. Because of these considerations, I will be voting against H.R. 534. I do, however, strongly support the substitute measure being offered by Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Deutsch, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Eshoo, and Mr. Kirk. This measure also bans the process of reproductive cloning, but allows continued stem cell research, which has shown great promise towards finding cures for many illnesses such as Parkinson's disease, juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer's, spinal cord injuries, blindness and sickle cell anemia. Forty Nobel Laureates, millions of patients, former first-lady Nancy Reagan who's husband, as we all know, suffers from Alzheimer's disease, and others, have expressed support for therapeutic cloning. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of the Greenwood substitute and in support of banning the unethical process of human cloning, but at the same time allowing further research into a promising field that could benefit millions of men, women, and children who suffer from devastating diseases.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, which was formed on February 28, 1903. The citizens of Roosevelt County this year are celebrating the many virtues of their wonderful community. Roosevelt County is a good place to call home. It has outstanding schools, safe streets, family oriented neighborhoods, civic volunteerism and community values that make it an exceptional place to live and raise a family. We have much to celebrate on this centennial. Roosevelt County was named for the twenty-sixth President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, who enlisted New Mexican Rough Riders when he climbed San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War. The city of Portales is the county seat. Other communities in the county include: Elida, Floyd, Dora, Causey, Arch, Kenna, Lingo, Milnesand, Pep, and Rogers. Roosevelt County is located on the high plains of eastern New Mexico in the heart of cattle country, with ranching, farming, the dairy industry, and the Burlington Northern/ Santa Fe Railway comprising important components of the community's economic base. Located 11 miles to the northeast of Portales is Cannon Air Force Base, which adds a very important dimension to the character of the area. Roosevelt County was cultivated by ranching, farming, the railroad and related businesses over a hundred years ago. In 1902 a few homesteaders settled in; a year later, the homesteaders were arriving more increasingly in the area around Portales. Settlers were drawn to Roosevelt County due to the access of the railroad and the availability of shallow water. A homesteader could take a pick and shovel and dig a well of about 15 feet deep and would have plenty of water for domestic use. Most other settlers outside the Portales Valley had to haul drinking water from a few wells made by ranchers, until they could afford to drill their own. It is hard to imagine the availability of that much water now, which Roosevelt County considers its most precious natural resource. The name ``Portales'' fits this charming university town even more today than when it was coined in the 1800s. Named for a nearby campsite where spring waters gushed from a series of cave-like porches across pueblo-style houses, Portales, or ``Porches'' in Spanish, is an entryway into New Mexico on the eastern border. Portales Springs is the most famous watering hole on the Old Fort Sumner Trail and often welcomed Billy the Kid and his partners during the infamous Lincoln County War. Agriculture is the major industry of Roosevelt County. The leading crops are Valencia peanuts, alfalfa, cotton, wheat, corn, milo, hay, and potatoes. Valencia peanuts, noted for their sweet taste, are exported all across the United States as well as to several countries around the world. Roosevelt County is home to the only peanut butter manufacturing facility in New Mexico. Additionally, its peanut butter is currently ranked the fifth highest quality peanut butter on the market today by Consumer Reports. Livestock feeding and dairy farming are also important to the local economy. Other industries include soft drink canners, an ethanol production facility, grain storage and shipping, trucking and milk processing. The dairy industry is the second largest agricultural industry in New Mexico, and our state is the nation's seventh largest producer of milk. Portales is the proud home to Eastern New Mexico University, the third largest university in the Land of Enchantment, offering over 50 undergraduate and 15 graduate majors. The university offers a broad curriculum of vocational, technical and academic disciplines and is the center of the region's cultural life. The school has brought many opportunities to graduates since 1934. In conjunction with the city, the university sponsors an annual Peanut Valley Festival that provides excitement and entertainment for the community and attracts hundreds of visitors each year. I had the opportunity earlier this week to meet with the president of the university, Dr. Steven Gamble, to receive an update on the progress the institution is making. The residents of eastern New Mexico are fortunate to have such a fine place of higher learning in their midst. On this grand occasion, I want to express my best wishes to Portales Mayor Orlando Ortega and all the local elected officials throughout Roosevelt County that are determined to make this area an even better place to live and raise families. The elected county officials are as follows: Dennis Lopez, District 1 Commissioner; Charles Davis, District 2 Commissioner; Thomas Clark, District 3 Commissioner; Gene Creighton, District 4 Commissioner; Paul Grider, District 5 Commissioner; Nancy Gentry, Probate Judge; Tom Gossett, County Sheriff; Nancy Belcher, Treasurer; Royene Tivis, Assessor; and Joyce Lee Fraze, County Clerk. I pledge to continue to work with these leaders to promote an atmosphere in which economic development can flourish. The signs of Roosevelt County's progress are evident. President Bush recently approved the fiscal year 2003 Omnibus Appropriations bill containing $250,000 to continue the development of the Ute Reservoir Pipeline, which is critical for the sustained growth and water needs of this area. We have a long way to go on this project, but this funding is a crucial step forward. Citizens have also seen fit to finance the construction of the Roosevelt General Hospital. Costing nearly nine million dollars, this facility is serving the health needs of local residents. The new Portales Junior High School was recently built to replace a decaying 75th year-old facility. A new Communications Center is being built at Eastern New Mexico University, and the local library in Portales has recently been upgraded with new technology and a more modern, usable facility. Finally, there is the new Portales Recreation Center, which will serve scores of local youth and give them a safe environment to have fun and learn. All of these improvements were financed by voters through local elections and other contributions from local neighbors. The people of Roosevelt County have a past to be proud of, and a future that continues to unveil promising opportunities. The pull of the future is only as good as the past that empowers it, and in Roosevelt County a fine and solid history lays a well-lit path for the future. Mr. Speaker, Roosevelt County is one of the finest regions in the State of New Mexico. This area is symbolic of traditional American values. The residents work hard, are dedicated to their families, support their schools and volunteer to help their neighbors. I ask all my colleagues to join me in wishing all its residents continued success as their community enters its second century.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Forest Restoration and Fire Risk Reduction Act, a bill based upon the collaboration with my colleague and cousin, Representative Mark Udall of Colorado. In the 134 million-acre interior West, scientific assessments indicate that in pre-industrial times, 50 to 80 million acres burned per year. In the 1900's, however, fire suppression became federal policy. A century of fire suppression, excessive logging and overgrazing of livestock has led, in many areas, to overstocked forests of second-growth trees. These forests are extremely susceptible to the damaging effects of high-intensity fire. In terms of resource damage, catastrophic wildfire affects our forest's ecosystems by destroying critical habitat, eroding soil, changing air temperature, moisture content and productivity, while at the same time, facilitating the spread of invasive weeds and non-native plants, and generating air pollution. This matter is complicated further by rising fiscal costs that force the increased population and development of ``wildland/urban'' interface areas. In recent years, the Forest Service generally has expended $500-600 million annually in fire preparedness, suppression, and rehabilitation. Within the past last three years, however, over a billion dollars have been spent. Inseparably related to current forest management practices is the issue of pervasive drought. As we all know, our nation has been suffering from severe drought conditions for several years now, and so far this year proves to be no different. Rain and snowfall in New Mexico and many of our western states is to date far below averages. As a result of the continuing drought in the west, we have also experienced some of the worst wildfire seasons in modern history. The relatively recent Cerro Grande fire in New Mexico, the Hayman fire in Colorado, and the Rodeo-Chediski fires in Arizona illustrate the severity of the situation. These fires were catastrophic in proportion and inflicted grave environmental, social, and economic impacts on the affected local communities. Consequently, these, and other areas affected by the devastating affects of raging wildfires, face years of restorative efforts and depend upon the development and implementation of a viable fire hazard mitigation program on National Forest System lands to avert such disasters in the future. In response to these concerns and those I heard from constituents, I have worked closely with Representative Mark Udall to devise a bill that takes these issues to task. Our ``Forest Restoration and Fire Risk Reduction Act'' refocuses the implementation of the National Fire Plan (NFP) to areas designated as ``wildland/urban interface,'' the critical zones that are of the highest risk to people, property and water supplies, by redirecting NFP funding and hazardous fuels reduction projects through state selection panels. A general consensus exists today that thinning our forests--by controlled bums or mechanical means--will lessen the likelihood of unusually severe fires. However, the Bush Administration contends that to facilitate such thinning projects, the environmental laws and procedures for public comment and participation are obstacles that must be removed. I believe that this contention is incomprehensible and conceptually flawed. The exemption of fire-risk reduction projects from environmental review, public comments and administrative appeals, circumvents established policy of public participation, an important aspect of our democratic process for making decisions affecting public lands. Furthermore, excluding public comment would not assist in developing sound forest management. The bill we are introducing today maintains these sound principles of law and public policy, and makes some relatively innocuous procedural concessions that can expedite the process of resolving appeals. I anticipate that collaboration between state and federal land managers, and local and tribal communities in both decision and implementation activities may contribute to the development of cost- effective restoration activities, empower diverse organizations to implement activities that value local and traditional knowledge, build ownership and civic pride, and ensure healthy, diverse, and productive forests and watersheds. Such collaboration would result in the efficient restoration of areas distressed by wildfires and help protect our homeowners and businesses from future losses. I believe, as all of us from the western United States would likely agree, that it is much better to support proactive preventative maintenance programs to reduce fire risks than it is to wait to do something once a fire occurs. We need legislation that will reduce the potential for catastrophic fires and protect our communities, and aid in the restoration of lands that may meet the same unfortunate fate as did those in the Cerro Grande blaze. The ``Forest Restoration and Fire Risk Reduction Act'' will accomplish these common goals.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Chairman, today we are considering critically important legislation to reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, block grant program for another five years. This is an incredibly important task made even more so in light of the difficult economic circumstances our country is currently facing. In light of the fact that there are over 8 million Americans out of work. And in light of the fact that nearly all of the states are facing serious fiscal crises. Unfortunately, I believe that H.R. 4 fails to take into consideration the particularly difficult times facing some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society and those becoming increasingly more vulnerable in these times of economic uncertainty. Now is not the time to impose more restrictions and costs on states and TANF recipients, yet that is precisely what H.R. 4 does. And it does so without providing any additional funding, which does not fit my definition of compassionate conservativism. Seven years ago, when TANF was created to replace the AFDC program, the bill was funded at $16.5 billion per year. Today we are considering a bill that not only provides only the exact same amount of money as the 1996 welfare reform bill, disregarding inflation, but also increases TANF recipients' required work hours from 30 hours to 40 hours a week. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this provision alone will cost the states $8 to $11 billion over the next five years, and will cost my home state of New Mexico an estimated $100 million to implement the work participation requirements. These additional mandates that lack the funds to accompany them will exacerbate already dire fiscal crises in the states. The combined 2002- 2005 state budget gap is projected to be $189 billion. Add the additional costs associated to implement the work requirements and the states are staring a combined budget gap of $200 billion right in the face. In addition, H.R. 4 also fails to help working mothers with the increasing cost of childcare. Though the bill does include $1 billion in new mandatory child care funding--the only new funding in this legislation--this amount is not nearly enough to help cover the additional child care funds that states would need to implement the child care provisions in H.R. 4. New Mexico alone would require an additional $50 million over 5 years to implement the childcare provisions of this legislation. I do strongly support, however, the substitute legislation being offered by Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Kind, and Ms. Woolsey. Not only does this legislation strengthen current work requirements and provide states with the flexibility and freedom to innovate, but also provides sufficient funding necessary to help states with additional requirements. The substitute being offered today increases work participation rates from its current level of 50 percent by 5 percent a year to reach 70 percent by 2007. It increases the number of work-focus activity hours from 20 to 24 hours, and provides states the option of increasing the number of required hours of work from 30 hours to 40 hours a week if they so desire. However, unlike H.R. 4, the substitute provides the states with the resources necessary to meet these changes. The Cardin- Kind-Woolsey substitutes provides inflationary increases for the TANF block grant, which equals an additional $6 billion over five years, as well as an additional $11 billion for mandatory childcare funding over five years to meet the requirements. Mr. Chairman, as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, and which is engraved on a wall at the FDR memorial not 15 minutes walking distance from here, ``The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.'' Today, as we consider this legislation to provide a safety net for our great country's poorest and most vulnerable population, as the income disparity between the rich and poor continues to grow, this quote from a great man and great leader should resonate loudly throughout the chambers of the capitol and throughout the land. We need to help provide opportunities for people to get out of poverty and off of TANF. H.R. 4 does not do this, but instead imposes unfunded mandates on states. H.R. 4 focuses on caseload reductions, not poverty reduction, which should be the true standard by which a successful welfare program should be measured. I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 4 and support the Cardin- Kind-Woolsey substitute.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, I am pleased that the House is taking action today on H.R. 395, the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act, to help establish a national do-not-call registry. I strongly support this important legislation that will greatly benefit consumers by providing them with a simpler, more effective and efficient way to notify telemarketers that they do not want to receive unsolicited phone calls. According to the FTC, consumer complaints regarding unwanted telemarketing calls increased over one thousand percent between 1998 and 2002. Although telemarketers are currently already required to maintain do-not-call lists, the FTC's decision to create a national do- not-call registry is a critical step towards further decreasing the hundreds of annoying and unwanted telemarketing calls that consumers receive each year. The do-not-call registry would allow consumers to list their phone numbers to notify all telemarketers that they no longer want to receive unsolicited calls, rather than having to contact each telemarketer individually. Among other provisions, H.R. 395 provides a five-year authorization for the FTC to collect offsetting fees from telemarketers to pay for a National ``do-not-call'' registry, which is estimated to cost $16 million annually. It also requires important consultation and coordination between the FTC and FCC to maximize consistency of its rules. both of these provisions, and passage of this bill, are important steps toward making a national do-not-call registry a reality. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this important legislation.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of the most successful small business enterprises in the state of New Mexico. February marks a quarter century of quality pizza, salads and sub sandwiches from one of New Mexico's beloved dining establishments, Dion's Pizza. This achievement marks another important chapter in a story of two childhood friends, since the ninth grade, who have formed a lasting friendship and partnership. The owners of Dion's, Jon Patten and Bill Scott, came to Albuquerque from Michigan in 1978 with dreams of opening a restaurant. After purchasing New York Pizza, a small local restaurant in financial trouble located in the Northeast Heights, Jon and Bill proceeded with plans of turning the pizzeria into a Greek restaurant to be called Dionysus. However, the struggling entrepreneurs found that the cost of ordering a sign with all those letters was too costly, but the name ``Dion's'' fit the bill just fine. While waiting for equipment necessary for the preparation of Greek food, the previous owner taught them how to make pizza so they could continue to operate in the interim. After a few weeks, Jon and Bill started serving Greek food along with the pizza. Surprisingly, however, customers continued to order pizza, encouraging Jon and Bill to develop and refine a quality pizza recipe, eventually resulting in today's secret recipe that has made Dion's one of New Mexico's best-loved eating establishments. The success of Dion's is easily documented. It grew from one employee in 1978, to 12 employees in 1979, to over 600 employees today. There are currently 10 Dion's in New Mexico. The company has plans to open a location in Las Cruces later this year and Santa Fe in 2005. The owners tease that their goal is world pizza domination by the year 3000. Cleary, they are on their way. Dion's attributes its success to a set of principles that has helped the chain expand and at the same time maintain a loyal base of satisfied customers. Among those principles are always using the freshest ingredients; never changing ingredients simply to get the cheapest price; only serving food that is presentable and quality; hiring the best people; and giving the customer exceptional quality, service and cleanliness. The company's set of beliefs appears to be working. Dion's has received several awards over the years. The first recognition came in November, 1979, only 19 months after opening the first location. The Albuquerque Tribune named Dion's ``the second best pizza in town.'' According to the owners, that was the last second place finish. Since then, Dion's has accumulated a number of first place awards. I know that Jon and Bill are the most proud of the praise they receive from regular citizens. One of the most admirable aspects of Dion's business philosophy is its dedication to being a family-oriented establishment. None of the locations serve alcohol, and smoking is not allowed. Viewing stands have been constructed in each restaurant to enable children to watch pizzas being made. Additionally, Dion's offers tours to children and other youth groups; approximately 12,000 children tour Dion's restaurants each year. The company is also involved in a host of charitable events in which its contributions make a powerful impact on the surrounding community. I had the opportunity to tour a Dion's in 2000. I was impressed with the quality of employees, many of them high school students starting their first careers, and the ambience that encompasses each Dion's. This company has many employees that have stayed on for years, if not decades, out of loyalty. In an industry that has a high turnover rate, Dion's is obviously doing something right. The company has always paid above minimum wage, and raises are frequent for doing a job well done. As Dion's continues to grow and expand, there will undoubtedly be changes. Over the years, the employee uniforms have changed, as has the list of items on the menu. Jon and Bill are not afraid to be innovative and are always searching for improvements. Dion's has had a number of offers to be bought and be expanded nationally. Today there could be a Dion's on nearly every street corner in America, but instead, Jon and Bill have stayed to protect a creation they both care deeply about. Mr. Speaker, we spent much time in the 107th Congress focusing on a variety of corporate scandals that seriously shook the faith of Americans everywhere. At that time, I tried to stress that there are honest companies out there, and we must not let those isolated cases of gross misconduct spoil our view of average businesses. I believe that Dion's Pizza is an exceptional example of a business that has succeeded because of the devotion of its owners and employees. As this special restaurant celebrates its 25th anniversary, it remains one of a kind. It is unique amongst its peers throughout the country for its philosophy and principles, but, most of all, because it is the product of so many remarkable people and ideas. It is truly part of the communities it serves, and New Mexicans are proud to call Dion's their own. I ask my colleagues join me in congratulating Dion's for its success.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, it is with profound sadness that I rise today to express my sorrow over the loss the seven astronauts on board the shuttle Columbia. At a time when there seemed to be more than enough tragic news to go around, we woke up on a Saturday morning to news reports about a missing space shuttle, and then images of a disintegrating, burning spacecraft streaking across the sky. The memories of the Challenger accident were brought back for all of us, with the same sense of shared sadness. The six American astronauts, together with their Israeli colleague, represented much of the best that our world has to offer. To the honor roll of those who died advancing human knowledge, we add Rick Husband, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, William McCool, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon. President Bush, in his moving tribute to the dead of the Columbia, asserted strongly, and wisely, that space exploration must not end: ``The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on.'' Of these seven brave men and women that we lost, I want to pay special tribute to Dr. Laurel Clark, who spent time as a child in New Mexico, where her father, Robert Salton, still resides. In reading interviews that Laurel gave, both before and during her mission on Columbia, a portrait emerges of an intelligent, determined woman, who managed a successful career, while at the same time being a devoted daughter, wife and mother. She helped open the door further for more women interested in science and space exploration careers. In closing, I want to share a observation that Laurel gave from space in describing what it was like to view a sunset from above the Earth. ``There's a flash--the whole payload bay turns this rosy pink. It only lasts 15 seconds and then it's gone. It's very ethereal and extremely beautiful.'' I believe that Laurel's comment helps all of us have a better sense of who Laurel was. I want to express my deep sympathy to all of Laurel's family and friends. Those who knew her personally will never forget her, and her legacy will live on. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the following article, which appeared in Sunday's Albuquerque Journal, be printed in the Record following my remarks. [From the Albuquerque Journal] Albuquerque Father Recalls ``A Fine Lady'' (By Leanne Potts) Robert Salton had gone into the back yard of his Albuquerque home at dawn Saturday to look for his oldest child in the western sky. His daughter, Laurel Clark, was an astronaut aboard the space shuttle Columbia. It was her first mission, and her daddy had just heard on CNN that people in New Mexico should be able to see the shuttle's trail as it flew over the state en route to its landing in Florida. ``I saw one long contrail in the sky going from west to east,'' Salton said. ``I'm pretty sure that was it. That was her.'' Less than 20 minutes later Salton and his wife, Harriet, heard the news on television: NASA had lost contact with the shuttle. ``Then that TV reporter in Dallas had the footage that showed the breakup,'' Salton said. ``And we knew what had happened.'' The oldest of Salton's four children--the daughter who had made A's in school, gone to medical school on a full Navy scholarship and made the space program while she was five months pregnant--was dead. ``She was just a fine lady,'' Salton said. ``I was proud of her accomplishments, of course, but she was a good person, too.'' Behind him, on a table in his home in a middle-class neighborhood near University -Boulevard and Indian School Road, were photos reminding the retired 69-year-old carpenter of the accomplishments of his golden child. There was Clark and her brother, Jon Salton, an engineer at Sandia National Laboratories, grinning together in a training plane that produces weightlessness. Clark is floating upside down, wearing her blue astronaut jumpsuit; her eyes sparkle like someone who knows her dream is in reach. There was Salton's grandson--Laurel's 8-year-old son, Iain Clark--holding a feather and a bone in some Southwestern canyon. There was a color 8-by-10 of Laurel's official NASA photo, the one where her smile shows her dimples, the one Americans have seen dozens of times since news broke that the space shuttle Columbia blew up 207,000 feet in the air over Texas. On the photo, Laurel had written: ``To a wonderful father-- I wouldn't be where I am without your guidance, support and love.'' The word love was underlined. Ringing phones By 1 p.m. Saturday, the Saltons had turned off their TV. They couldn't watch any more news reports about debris raining from the Texas sky. Their phone rang nonstop. Family called. Friends called. Reporters called. Powerful people called. ``The governor called and left a message,'' Harriet Salton said. ``We heard from that congressman from the southern part of the state, too.'' The phone rang again. ``It's Heather,'' Harriet called to her husband. Robert took the call, but was off the phone in about two minutes. ``Wrong Heather,'' he said. ``I thought it was Heather Salton (his niece) but it was Heather Wilson. I wouldn't have picked up the phone for a congressman.'' The phone rang a few minutes later; Harriet looked at the Caller ID. ``It's Dan Rather again,'' she said. They let the answering machine take it. Very tough lady Clark, 41, was born in Iowa. The Saltons moved a lot, and Clark lived here in Albuquerque two years in 1970s. She went to the fifth grade at Hodgin Elementary around 1971 while Robert Salton worked on a doctorate in American Studies at the University of New Mexico. Clark's mother, Margory, was an RN. The Saltons moved to New York but returned to Albuquerque a year or so later, where Clark attended Monroe Middle School for a year. Her parents divorced, and Clark moved to Wisconsin with her mother. Clark went to high school in Racine, Wis., a city of 84,000 that, according to her official NASA biography, she considers to be her hometown. She was an A-student at Horlick High. ``The only B she ever made was in typing,'' Robert Salton said. She got a Navy scholarship to the University of Wisconsin- Madison, where she got a bachelor's degree in zoology in 1983 and a doctorate in medicine in 1987. Clark joined the Navy and was working as a flight surgeon, based in Pensacola, Fla., when she decided to try out for the space program. Clark didn't make the program the first tryout. ``Then she got pregnant, and I figured that was it for her being an astronaut,'' Robert Salton said. But Clark tried out again in 1996 when she was five months pregnant with her son Iain. She got in. ``She is--she was--a very tough lady,'' Robert Salton said. Clark lived in Houston with her husband, Jonathan Clark, and son, Iain. Her husband is also in the space program. Clark's husband and son had gone to Florida to see the shuttle landing, as had Clark's sister, Lynne Salton of Kansas City, Mo. The rest of the family was watching on television, Salton said. During the Columbia's 16-day mission, Clark had been in contact with some of her siblings via e-mail. ``The kids have been forwarding me her e-mails this morning. She was real excited, talking about watching lightning storms over the Pacific.'' Salton said he saw his daughter for the last time in December, when she came to Albuquerque for Christmas. ``She was pumped about the (shuttle) trip,'' Salton said. ``She was so excited. It was something she had worked for for six or seven years.'' The Saltons said Laurel was aware of the risks involved in space travel, but not worried about them. At least not enough to miss a chance to fly in the stars. ``She was doing what she loved to do,'' Harriet Salton said. ``She fulfilled her dream. Not many of us get to do that.''

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to introduce companion legislation to a bill being introduced by Senator Bingaman of New Mexico in the Senate. I am also very pleased that my colleagues Mr. Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mr. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, Mr. Mac Thomberry and Mr. Silvestre Reyes both of Texas, and Mr. Steve Pearce, one of my colleagues in the New Mexico delegation, have joined me in introducing this legislation. This important bill seeks to designate U.S. Highway 54 as a high priority corridor on the National Highway System. The corridor would be known as the Southwest Passage Initiative for Regional and Interstate Transportation Corridor, or the SPIRIT Corridor. U.S. 54 runs from the border with Mexico at El Paso, Texas, through New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, to Wichita, Kansas. I am very hopeful that this legislation will help improve transportation infrastructure and stimulate economic development in the communities and states through which U.S. Highway 54 passes. Mr. Speaker, those who live in the eastern United States know that communities are more compact and the commutes much shorter. For the intermountain west, on the other hand, it is not unheard of for people to have to commute 80 miles to work and 80 miles back home. That is just one of the reasons designating U.S. 54 as a high priority corridor is so important to improving the transportation infrastructure and promoting economic development. Safe and efficient highways are critical to all types of traffic, whether it be tourists visiting or goods being shipped from point to point. Designating U.S. 54 as a High Priority Corridor will make it eligible for additional federal grants and transportation funds, which will, in turn, help upgrade the highway and improve its safety and efficiency. As Congress prepares to reauthorize TEA-21, I strongly urge the House and Senate to support this bill and add the SPIRIT Corridor to the list of high priority corridors in our National Highway System.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, Sunday February 2nd marked the 155th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This is a treaty between Mexico and the United States guaranteed former Mexican citizens who remained in the United States certain property rights. One essential promise was to secure and protect the property rights of Mexican and Spanish citizens that had been given land grants from the Spanish and Mexican Governments. In turn, the United States paid Mexico $15,000,000, and among other things, agreed to recognize prior land grants issued by Spain and Mexico to individuals, communities, and indigenous pueblo people. Thus, during the 50 years that followed the signing, numerous procedures were developed to evaluate and validate the land grants. However, the 1848 change in sovereignty brought together two different legal systems--the Spanish/Mexican and the Anglo-American. These competing legal systems resulted in the inability of the United States to properly recognize and honor the important role that custom played in preserving the lands and waters in accordance with Spanish and Mexican law. My good friend, then-Representative, now New Mexico Governor, Bill Richardson introduced legislation that would create a Presidential Commission to study the claims of the land grant heirs. In the 107th Congress, my predecessor, Mr. Redmond, introduced similar legislation in this body. With tremendous bipartisan support, the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Act of 1998 passed overwhelmingly. Its supporters and co-sponsors included not only the current Speaker of the House, but former Speaker Gingrich and members of the leadership of both parties. With the passage of this bill, the House of Representatives sent a clear message that it was time to undo 150 years of injustice. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the legislation never made it through the Senate. During the 106th and 107th Congress I picked up the mantle that my predecessors carried in the House of Representatives to remedy the situation and to correct these injustices. I was pleased that I had the full support of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in this regard. Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman, along with myself, asked the GAO in 2001 to undertake a study of whether the United States fulfilled its obligations under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with regard to land grants made by Spain and Mexico. Although I had intended to introduce this legislation again today to coincide with the 155th Anniversary, I am withholding this important legislation until the GAO study regarding the treaty is released. Mr. Speaker, the issues that have evolved from the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo center on the concept of fairness and justice. Thus, I ask that all Americans acknowledge the 155th anniversary of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, by recognizing the many issues that remain to be properly addressed in order to assure a fair evaluation of the land grant claims. Once the final GAO report is released and all stakeholders have had the opportunity to review and comment on the findings I look forward to working with the entire New Mexico Congressional Delegation and stakeholders in starting the long process to resolve these disputes and to bring our government in line with its treaty obligations.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to introduce legislation, which I originally introduced in the 107th Congress, that declares that the United States holds certain public domain lands in trust for the Pueblos of San Ildefonso and Santa Clara in New Mexico. Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman sponsored the Senate companion bill during the 107th Congress, and were successful in incorporating it into S. 2711, the Indian Programs Reauthorization and Technical Amendments Act of 2002, which I strongly supported, during the closing days of the 107th Congress. However, the House was unable to take up this legislation prior to its adjournment. I would also like to note that both Senators are reintroducing, in the Senate today, the companion to this bill. Accordingly, today I reintroduce this legislation, which will formally restore control and tribal authority of nearly 4,500 acres of culturally significant ancestral lands. Located in the eastern Jemez Mountains, roughly 2,000 acres of land located within the aboriginal domain of the San Ildefonso Pueblo will be transferred to that Pueblo; similarly, approximately 2,484 acres of Santa Clara Pueblo's aboriginal lands will be transferred to that Pueblo. This transfer is the result of years of negotiations between the two Pueblos, and between the Pueblos and the Department of the Interior, and the Bureau of Land Management. The Pueblos intend to maintain the natural quality of the land and restore the health of the ecosystem of their traditional ancestral lands. In addition, the lands will be used for ceremonial and other traditional purposes. Finally, Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties in New Mexico, the National Congress of American Indians, and the National Audubon Society's New Mexico State Office, the Quivira Coalition and the Santa Fe Group of the Sierra Club support the acquisition and transfer of these lands. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Resources Committee to pass this important legislation for the people of San Ildefonso and Santa Clara.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, although with great hesitancy, I rise today in support of this overdue legislation to extend unemployment benefits. I had greatly hoped that Congress would have passed this extension prior to adjournment of the 107th Congress. I also am very disappointed that the bill before us today does not extend 26 weeks of extended benefits to all unemployed workers. However, I will vote in favor of S. 23 because we must expedite the extension of unemployment benefits. As we all well know, and as I hope the American people are aware, last year, before the 107th Congress adjourned, and fully cognizant that the expiration deadline of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation, TEUC, program was fast approaching, the majority refused to act on a good compromise bill that the Senate had passed unanimously. As a result, the TEUC program expired on December 28, 2002, and with it so did federal unemployment benefits for more than 800,000 jobless Americans. In New Mexico, that delay meant 2,200 families lost their benefits. S. 23 is certainly a step in the right direction. It is imperative that we extend these benefits as the sluggish economy struggles to regain the vibrancy and growth it experienced under the previous administration. The unemployment rate has climbed from 4.2 percent when President Bush was inaugurated to 6.0 percent today. Additionally, there are now 8 million unemployed Americans. However, while the bill before us is a good start, I vow to continue fighting for passage of the comprehensive unemployment Federal benefits bill offered by Representatives Rangel, Cardin, and Levin, that would guarantee at least 26 weeks of extended benefits and would expand access to unemployment benefits for workers who are low- wage earners or work part time. I am greatly disappointed that the rule stipulating the guidelines for debate over this legislation precluded us from debating Mr. Rangel's substitute. It is worth noting, that during the recession of the early 1990s the first President Bush signed into law the unemployment benefit extensions. It is estimated, however, that 800,000 more workers than during the 90s are expecting to exhaust their benefits this year. As such, it is clear to me that there is a need to extend the benefits beyond the 13 weeks provided by this bill. Nevertheless, I will vote in support of S. 23, but do so with the hope that the leadership of the House and Senate will take up additional legislation to further extend unemployment benefits during this slow economic growth period.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon) for all he has done in organizing these words today on the floor for Wayne Owens. His untimely death was unfortunate and a real loss to this country. Wayne Owens was a fine public servant. Many will talk and some already have about his tireless efforts for peace in the Middle East, but Wayne had an extensive legislative record here in the House of Representatives. During his term, he helped secure funding for the large-scale Colorado River Storage Project that is the main source of water for Utah and other Western States. He continually fought for wilderness designation to protect vast expanses of Utah's mountains from development. Wayne was not afraid to take a stand for what he believed in. For example, in 1987 he introduced legislation to reintroduce wolves into Yellowstone National Park to help save the threatened species. He was the only member of the Utah congressional delegation to vote against giving former President Bush the authority to go to war against Iraq in 1991. No matter the issue, Wayne voted his conscience. The issue that I specifically would like to talk about today is his bringing justice to the Colorado plateau uranium miners. Wayne saw this as a situation with the Colorado uranium miners that had to have justice be brought to the situation. And what happened is these uranium miners went into mines on the Colorado plateau, worked in very dangerous, dirty air mines. There were high radon levels, as the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon) knows. He has worked on this very issue. The government knew these levels were very high. Government doctors did reports and doctors issued studies, but nobody told the uranium miners that there was really a problem. And so many years they continued to work in these uranium mines, 10 or 15 years in these dirty air mines. As many of us know, when you contract radon in a uranium mine and it is at high levels what ends up happening is 10 or 15 years down the line you get lung cancer, and that is in fact what happened on the Colorado plateau, an epidemic of lung cancer. Lawsuits were brought on behalf of these uranium miners but many of them were unsuccessful. My father was one of the ones, Stewart Udall, that brought many of the lawsuits and represented the miners. He just told me the other day when we learned of Wayne's death, he said, if it had not been for Wayne at that particular point when the miners lost their lawsuits, when the families were discouraged, when they thought there was going to be no justice, it was Wayne Owens that picked up the fight. And he went out and held hearings and he involved Ted Kennedy and Barney Frank and the Committee on the Judiciary and brought justice to this situation by helping pass a piece of legislation known as the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. And many families today in Utah and across the Colorado plateau are now in much better shape because of Wayne Owens' efforts on that piece of legislation. In closing, I want to say that Wayne genuinely loved people and was extremely generous with time and resources. He was a wonderful and caring husband and father. His wife, Marlene, five children and fourteen grandchildren always knew of his unconditional love. He had boundless energy and reached out to everyone he met. He treated everyone with respect. Perhaps there is no greater way to be remembered than that. It is my privilege to pay tribute to Wayne Owens for his commitment and service. I send my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and the State of Utah. When I reflect upon the lives of men such as Wayne Owens, who dedicated his life to serving others, I am reminded of the principles of public service.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon) for all he has done in organizing these words today on the floor for Wayne Owens. I just wanted to rise today to say a few words about Wayne Owens and his service to the United States of America. He was a fine public servant. Many will talk and some have already about his tireless efforts for Middle East peace, but Wayne had an extensive legislative record here in the House of Representatives. He fought tirelessly to restore endangered species across the West. And the issue that I specifically would like to talk about today is his bringing justice to the Colorado plateau uranium miners. Wayne saw this as a situation with the Colorado uranium miners that had to have justice be brought to the situation. And what happened is these uranium miners went into mines on the Colorado plateau, worked in very dangerous, dirty air mines. There were high radon levels, as the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon) knows. He has worked on this very issue. The government knew these levels were very high. Government doctors did reports and doctors issued studies, but nobody told the uranium miners that there was really a problem. And so many years they continued to work in these uranium mines, 10 or 15 years in these dirty air mines. As many of us know, when you contract radon in a uranium mine and it is at high levels what ends up happening is 10 or 15 years down the line you get lung cancer, and that is in fact what happened on the Colorado plateau, an epidemic of lung cancer. Lawsuits were brought on behalf of these uranium miners but many of them were unsuccessful. My father was one of the ones, Stewart Udall, that brought many of the lawsuits and represented the miners. He just told me the other day when we learned of Wayne's death, he said, if it had not been for Wayne at that particular point when the miners lost their lawsuits, when the families were discouraged, when they thought there was going to be no justice, it was Wayne Owens that picked up the fight. And he went out and held hearings and he involved Ted Kennedy and Barney Frank and the Committee on the Judiciary and brought justice to this situation by helping pass a piece of legislation known as the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. And many families today in Utah and across the Colorado plateau are now in much better shape because of Wayne Owens' efforts on that piece of legislation. All of us here in the House of Representatives, I believe, miss Wayne very much and miss his contributions. We want to give our heartfelt condolences to his wife Marlene and his family, and we want to thank Wayne for his service, his great service to the country.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce legislation that amends title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish Federal renewable energy portfolio standard for certain retail electric utilities. As we in Congress have attempted to develop a national energy policy, some say that a long-term sustainable energy plan is impossible. They say that renewable energy and energy efficiency are pipe dreams, and they say the U.S. will never be able to break its reliance on traditional energy sources like oil and coal. I disagree. Now, in the post-September 11th world, the renewed conflict in the Middle East shows us that we cannot continue to rely on imported oil from that region. When my father, Stewart Udall, was Secretary of the Interior, the U.S. imported 20% of its oil. My father argued that we shouldn't import more than 20% of our oil on national security grounds. Today, we import 53% of our oil, 47% of which comes from OPEC countries; by 2020, the United States will import 62% of its oil. Even more frightening, world production is expected to peak some time in the next few decades, possibly as early as 2007. That means that as energy demand increases more and more rapidly, the world's oil supply will be proportionally diminished. While energy production has brought tremendous prosperity and allowed us to grow our economy at unprecedented rates, nonrenewable forms of energy are responsible for many of the greatest environmental threats to America's well-being. Consider this, less than 2% of this nation's electricity is generated by non-traditional sources of power such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy. During the period from 1973-1991, smart investments were made to develop new technologies that made our energy use more efficient without affecting economic output. These investments curbed the projected growth rates of energy use in the United States by 18% from what they would have been without the investments. Unfortunately, the U.S. spends only one-half of 1% of its energy bill on research and development. Sixty percent of that money is wasted on the country's failed experiment in nuclear energy. Less than one-third of the nation's tiny research and development budget is spent on renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly interested in Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), which I believe paves the road for the development and investment in clean energy technologies and local economic development. RPS, in my mind, clearly serves as model for tomorrow's small and medium businesses to draw a profit from their own environmental responsibility. In the Senate version of H.R. 4 there is a provision, which proposes that retail electricity suppliers (except for municipal and cooperative utilities) be required to obtain a minimum percentage of their power production from a portfolio of new renewable energy resources. The minimum energy target or ``standard'' would start at 1% in 2005, rise at a rate of about 1.2% every two years, and peak at 10% in 2019. I applaud the Senate for including an RPS provision in the Energy bill, which the House failed to include in our energy package. However, I believe that we are capable of going further than the 10% peak in 2020 and believe we should set the standard higher to around 20%. As I mentioned earlier, less than 2% of this nation's electricity is generated by non-traditional sources of power such as wind, solar, geothermal, etc. My legislation would add an additional 10% on top of the 10% set to peak in 2020, and would achieve this goal within 5 years. Consequently, 20% of retail electricity supplier's power production would be from a portfolio of new renewable energy sources in 2025. Consider the following: Wind farms in the Pacific Northwest are producing energy at a price of 3 cents per kilowatt-hour. This is less than the current price of power from natural gas. With a little encouragement, wind energy could become economically viable around the country, and this means a tremendous level of energy self-sufficiency for the U.S. Using wind as an energy source, twelve Midwest states alone could generate three times the total U.S. electricity consumption. Solar power, one of the most well known forms of renewable energy, also has potential for the future. The cost of solar energy has dropped by 90% since the early 1970s, and scientists and industry groups predict the price will drop another 66% by 2020. Solar energy, if properly developed, could go a long way towards freeing the U.S. from its dependence on coal. Just 10,000 square miles of solar panels would supply all of the nation's electricity needs. And just a few weeks ago, the Public Service Company of New Mexico and FPL Energy LLC, based in Florida, signed an agreement to build in my congressional district one of the nation's largest wind generation fields near Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. Harnessed by 136 twirling turbines, wind will be used to create electricity in the first large-scale renewable energy operation in the state. Wind will make up less than 4 percent of the power generated by PNM, and this project has the hope of becoming the first of many wind farms in the state and an example of using and developing new technologies for renewable energy use. A RPS makes good economic sense to help states diversify their energy market, increase their work force, and help revitalize communities who have little to no economic development. Currently, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is working on passing a Renewable Portfolio Standard for New Mexico that would require electric utilities to generate 10% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2007. Mr. Speaker, our dependence on coal, oil and other traditional energy sources is unsustainable. To protect our environment and our economy, we must turn off the dead end street that our energy non-policy has been leading us down, and start down a path of energy productivity and sustainable, environmentally sound production.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, for the past year, Congress has debated legislation to establish a Department of Homeland Security. This has been an extremely important debate considering that any legislation we pass in this regard will result in the largest federal government reorganization since World War II. Yet, despite this fact, we are not only on the verge of passing flawed legislation, but in what seems to have become the norm for any vitally important legislation before us in the House, we are on the verge of passing it with little opportunity for deliberation, and no opportunity to amend it. Several of my colleagues have come to the floor to highlight provisions that have been inserted into this legislation at the last minute. I share many of their concerns. It is unfortunate that we are not allowed an opportunity to offer amendments to a piece of legislation with such far-reaching implications for government reorganization, and more importantly, for the safety of our country. In addition to the process, however, I have several concerns regarding the substance of the legislation. While I firmly support the President in the war against terror, I strongly believe that it must be achieved by striking a proper balance between cracking down on terrorists while simultaneously preserving many of the liberties and freedoms that we enjoy as citizens of the United States. In securing our borders and preserving our way of life, it is imperative that we protect civil liberties, oppose efforts to gratuitously protect irresponsible corporations including those that incorporate offshore to avoid paying their fair share of the war on terrorism and those who knowingly make faulty products, and ensure that the new department will have the best possible workforce, while maintaining civil service protections. The majority has also slipped into this bill a provision to protect the pharmaceutical industry, The majority also has extended the deadline for our airports to have their security standards at the highest levels. In these and many other areas, H.R. 5417 falls short. As a result, I will reluctantly vote against this bill. I still believe we can and must create an effective Department of Homeland Security that simultaneously protects us at home, protects workers, and protects our basic freedoms and civil liberties.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, last month New Mexico lost a real hero. Richard Rocco, an Army Medic in the Vietnam War who received the Medal of Honor for rescuing severely wounded fellow crewmen from the wreckage of a downed helicopter under enemy fire, died of cancer on October 31 at his home in San Antonio, Texas. He was 63. On May 24, 1970, Mr. Rocco, a sergeant, was aboard a medical evacuation helicopter that was shot down on a mission to remove wounded South Vietnamese troops besieged near the village of Katum. Mr. Rocco suffered back injuries, a broken hip and a broken wrist, and the other four crew members were shot. Brave and determined, Mr. Rocco went back to the helicopter and carried the co-pilot, the crew chief and another medic to cover, one at a time, crossing 20 yards of open ground under a hail of fire, his hands and face burned by flames engulfing the helicopter. The next day, two American helicopters were shot down trying to evacuate the crewmen, who had called in artillery and air strikes on their own position to turn back an assault by North Vietnamese troops. However, all five crew members were rescued on that second day. The commander of the First Cavalry Division visited Mr. Rocco at the hospital and told him he had been recommended for the Medal of Honor. He heard nothing else about it until 1974, when he was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and was told he would receive the medal, the nation's highest award for valor. Mr. Rocco had not known that the co-pilot he saved, Lt. Lee Caubarreaux, had been lobbying in his behalf. In March 1971, while Mr. Caubarreaux was preparing for a medical retirement in Texas, the Medal of Honor recommendation was mailed to him by a warrant officer in the First Cavalry Division awards office in South Vietnam who had found it in a desk drawer. Mr. Caubarreaux appealed to Army authorities to approve the award, and then recounted Mr. Rocco's efforts to Senator Russell Long of Louisiana, Mr. Caubarreaux's home state. Those efforts finally prevailed when President Gerald R. Ford presented the Medal of Honor to Mr. Rocco on December 12, 1974. The medal requires even generals to salute its recipients. Louis Richard Rocco, a native of the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque, retired from the Army as a chief warrant officer in 1978 after 22 years of military service. He reenlisted in 1991, in the Persian Gulf War, and spent six months at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, recruiting military personnel. Mr. Rocco worked extensively as a veterans counselor. In 1978 he started the Vet Center on Fourth Street which created a host of services and programs for veterans. Besides the Vet Center, Mr. Rocco started a shelter for homeless veterans, a nursing home in Truth or Consequences and tuition waivers for veterans attending state-run colleges. During the administration of New Mexico Governor Toney Anaya he was named the director of the Veterans Service Commission. In recent years, even as his health failed, he also spoke to schoolchildren about drug abuse on behalf of Vietnam Veterans of America. As a testament to the impact that Mr. Rocco has had on his fellow New Mexicans, on October 12 of this year a South Valley Park next to the Westside Community Center was named after him: The Richard Rocco Medal of Honor Park and a stone monument placed there in his honor. Plans are also underway for a bronze bust of Mr. Rocco to be made and placed inside the old Armijo School near the park--where he went to school growing up. Although seriously ill, Mr. Rocco came to the ceremony organized by veterans throughout New Mexico. He called the naming of the park ``an honor that I hold above presidents and legislators, because these are my people. For them to honor me, it makes me feel so good.'' In addition to his wife, Maria, three children, five grandchildren, his mother, one brother and four sisters survive Mr. Rocco. I extend my deep condolences to the Rocco family and all who knew him. My thoughts and prayers are with them. Mr. Speaker, as the only member of the New Mexico congressional delegation serving on the Veterans Affairs Committee, I wanted to inform my colleagues about this heroic and extraordinary man. Richard Rocco's historic and noble acts have given New Mexicans reason to hope, reason to be proud, and reason to champion the veteran. I ask my colleagues to join with me to pay tribute to Richard Rocco for his courageous actions, on that day so long ago.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding New Mexican, journalist and entertainer, Nelson Martinez. He will be leaving KOAT-TV, where he has worked for nearly two decades, to pursue other professional opportunities in early December. Born in Chimay[oacute] and raised in northern New Mexico, Mr. Martinez has enjoyed a multi-faceted career of more than 35 years in the broadcast business, as a radio disc jockey, worldwide videotape editor, reporter and news anchor. New Mexicans are always so proud to see one of their own scale grand heights, as he has. His announcing skills began in New Mexico in 1964 with a Spanish radio show on Espa[ntilde]ola's KDCE Radio, when he was a Los Alamos High School Senior. He later worked for KABQ Radio in Albuquerque, and KVSF in Santa Fe, before serving in the U.S. Navy between 1967 and 1969. In Cleveland, Ohio, he earned a First-Class Federal Communications Commission License in Engineering. In 1971, he joined Cleveland's local NBC affiliate, WKYC, where he grew in experience for six years. In 1977, NBC Network News employed him for three years from the Latin American News Bureau based in Miami. In Florida, he covered assignments to India, Belgium, Teheran, as well as throughout Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Cuba, Peru, Columbia and many more. During his seven years with NBC, Mr. Martinez also worked in the San Francisco and Boston NBC bureaus covering news events from the Pacific Northwest to Canada. Mr. Martinez returned to New Mexico in 1985. He began working for the local ABC affiliate, KOAT-TV, as a reporter and weekday morning news anchor. In 1987, Mr. Martinez left for a weekend news anchor position with ABC affiliate WTNB-TV in New Haven, Connecticut. One year later he returned to New Mexico to become one of the principal weekday anchors on KOAT-TV. The rest, as they say, is history. Throughout his years with the station, Mr. Martinez has helped Channel 7 build on its reputation as a station for credible and informative journalism. He insisted on the highest standards for the station. I know that he has also taken many younger reporters at the station under his wing and mentored them. He has offered advice and criticism to these KOAT. I know how much his colleagues and thousands of loyal KOAT viewers who invited him into their home daily will miss him. On a personal note, I was touched by the emotion that Mr. Martinez displayed during the devastating Cerro Grande fire in 2000. He watched with disbelief as his old stomping grounds, filled with rich memories, burned to the ground. Trees turned to ash and homes vanished in the blink of an eye. He even wrote a beautiful poem about the travesty that comforted many of my constituents that had to endure the blaze. What makes Mr. Martinez unique as a television journalist is the entertainment career he has managed to shepherd on the side. He is the singer on six mariachi CDs he has completed, and has appeared in some movies. He also served as host on a recent documentary exploring churches and missions throughout the nation. He also intends to work on a book about his memories of growing up in Chimay[oacute] that will offer advice for young people at the crossroads of life. As he told a reporter in July, ``I thought, when I was growing up, that I was poor. As I look back, I choke up to think how rich I really was.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in wishing Nelson and his family luck in all their future endeavors. His contributions to New Mexico cannot be understated and I am pleased to have been able to honor him here today. While Nelson and his lovely wife, Gina, embark on a new chapter in their life, I want them to know that New Mexico is and always will be their home. Nelson, thank you for your service and professionalism to New Mexico.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3450, The Health Care Safety Net Improvement Act which amends the Public Health Service Act to increase authorization for health centers. Reauthorization of this bill will help to improve, strengthen and expand delivery of health care services for community health centers (CHC). I am particularly in favor of this bill because CHC's have been pivotal towards improving access to health care for my uninsured and disadvantaged constituents of New Mexico. Without these centers, too many New Mexican's would go without essential preventative health care and primary care services. Recent studies have demonstrated that the disparity in access to health care has contributed to poorer health and shortened life span of the uninsured. Often, the reason for not seeking medical attention is because the cost of treatment is too expensive. Therefore, these patients forgo the preventative and often life saving treatment because they cannot afford it. Instead, only in extreme life or limb cases do they seek treatment. Sadly, only after the disease has advanced and progressed into precarious stages leaving little opportunity for a healthy recovery. Time and again they seek treatment in a hospital setting hoping to temporary ameliorate their condition so they can continue to live their normal lives. Not once thinking about how they will control their condition upon discharge because they know that they are uninsured and cannot afford ongoing treatment of their condition. So they settle for a temporary bandaid to alleviate the pain. There are too many Americans with inadequate access to health care. Whether they are uninsured or come from disadvantaged backgrounds, these individuals should have the right to access to quality health care. That is why I support community health centers. These safety-net health care centers provide health care for predominately uninsured individuals, Medicaid beneficiaries and other vulnerable patients regardless of their ability to pay. Without CHC's many of my constituents that suffer from chronic disease like diabetes or cardiovascular disease would not have access to health care. They would not have the eye and foot exams to prevent blindness or amputation or the medications to help them control their blood glucose levels, blood pressure or cholesterol levels. Pregnant women would not have access to prenatal care and children would not have the vaccinations they require. Until we can find a solution to universal health care, we must continue to support other systems of care that treat vulnerable populations. Safety-net health centers provide the essential preventative and clinical healthcare treatment services aimed at controlling and preventing the onset of chronic diseases, cancers and other anomalies that continue to plague New Mexican's in growing numbers.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Regina Fisher Oriol, who died in May of this year. She was a loving and caring wife and mother and a tireless champion in the fight to eliminate drunk-driving. Born into a military family, Regina's primary home was Kentucky, where her Army career father was stationed at Fort Knox. Upon graduating from high school, she became a welder, a rare profession for a woman, and rose to the top of her field. Sadly, she was exposed to poor working conditions and developed ``metal fume fever,'' which left her lungs permanently damaged. Deciding to end her career, which now included college welding instruction in western New Mexico, Regina become a full-time wife to husband, John, and a stay-at-home mom to son, Raymond, and daughter, Margaret. In 1996, Regina's retired father, Franklin, was tragically killed by a drunk driver and, soon after, five others, from one family, were killed in the same manner in the Four Corners area of northwestern New Mexico. Determined to make a difference in the state's DWI fatality rate, Regina created the DWI ``Victims' Remembrance Wall,'' which displayed photographs and stories of victims of drunk drivers, and she was instrumental in the Wall becoming a traveling exhibit that raised public awareness. The display was placed on view several times in the state Capitol Rotunda in Santa Fe, drawing the attention of the governor, other state officials, and state legislators. Regina's DWI eradication efforts continued. Because of assistance from her and many others, drive-up liquor windows were closed during my tenure as New Mexico's Attorney General. Regina also worked with state officials in implementing a state highway sign program to remind motorists not to drive while drinking. Over 130 signs now stand in various areas of New Mexico that both warn drivers of DWI and offer tribute to specific victims. The same program has been adopted in other states. Regina was subsequently named the first ``Traffic Safety Ambassador of New Mexico'' by the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Regina's dedication was not limited to DWI-related events. She became a public servant volunteer with the local Child Support Division of state government, where she offered remedies to problems related to child support collection and distribution. Regina's efforts helped to increase funding for staff increases, procedure updates, and security enhancements. Tragedy again struck Regina and her husband, John, in 1999 when both their son, Raymond, two days short of 17, and daughter Margaret, 11, were killed by an inattentive driver while passengers in a friend's car. Even though devastation and a broken heart were now constant companions, Regina continued to work faithfully on the causes in which she so passionately believed. Regina Fisher Oriol was a generous, compassionate and remarkable individual, whose humanitarian efforts will never be forgotten. I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing the life of this extraordinary woman.