Maxine Waters

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Yes.

Ms. WATERS. Yes.

Ms. WATERS. He had to sign the check within four hours. And a memorandum went from USDA to the Justice Department that talked about all of the ways they could deny the check. In the final analysis, they found the good old statute of limitations and ruled that they could not go forward.

Ms. WATERS. And if the truth be told, he has not been fully compensated even though he has some compensation, is that correct?

Ms. WATERS. And while they were able to do some compensation, they sidestepped the issue of the statute of limitations.

Ms. WATERS. Statute of limitations.

Ms. WATERS. If the gentleman will wait for one moment, my understanding is that Mr. Ross was not fully compensated. He was the case that helped to highlight this.

Ms. WATERS. I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton).

Ms. WATERS. The gentleman is absolutely right. I would say to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Hilliard), if I may just for a moment, yes, if that happened and we did find a way to get in court, the Justice Department would defend its position. So we would be fighting the very department that is supposed to be getting justice for the farmers. I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Hilliard).

Ms. WATERS. That is right.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, ``The Landlord's Tale, Paul Revere's Ride,'' he describes the will and resistance of those who came from Britain who had fled their mother country and created the 13 colonies seeking freedom and democracy. He described, ``One if by land, two if by sea, on the opposite shore I will be, ready to ride and sound the alarm through every Middlesex village and farm.'' Today we are here sounding the alarm. H.R. 1428 is unAmerican. It is unfair. It is an outrageous attempt to deny immigrants democracy. H.R. 1428 is quite simply a frontal assault on our Nation's essential voting rights. The bill would seriously undermine the Federal laws governing the uniform and nondiscriminatory registration of voters. It is reminiscent of the poll tax and literacy tests, of Jim Crow. This bill would allow local political officials to make arbitrary and potentially discriminatory decisions by selectively targeting groups of voters and forcing them to prove their citizenship, using an incomplete and inaccurate database. Vote down this bill. It is unAmerican. It is unfair. America deserves better than this kind of misguided public policy.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I am delighted to be a part of this very special time that is taken out and directed by a very special man. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stokes) has led this House in celebrating Black History Month and this will be the last year that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stokes) will be here to do this for us. While we are all saddened by the fact that he will not be here to guide us on this and in many other efforts that we have to put forth, we are delighted that he is here once again this evening to make sure that we take time out from our very busy schedules to pay attention to the contributions of African Americans to this society. This year we have as our theme African Americans in business, the path towards empowerment. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join with all my colleagues in celebrating this Black History Month. Each year during the month of February we consciously take time to acknowledge and celebrate the history and accomplishments of African Americans in this country and worldwide. As we reflect on our history, I am more convinced now than ever that economic development through black entrepreneurship is a key to creating jobs, wealth and opportunities in our communities. Our history is rich with African Americans who created economic opportunities for others by owning, operating and building their own businesses. The early trailblazers include black entrepreneurs like Madam C. J. Walker, A. G. Gaston and John Johnson. Madam C. J. Walker, the first woman self-made millionaire of any race built an economic empire starting with $1.50 in capital. In 1905, Madam Walker founded Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, the Nation's first successful black hair care products company. Madam Walker's company trained thousands of black women in her beauty schools and colleges. Her company sales force eventually exceeded more than 20,000 agents in the United States, the Caribbean and Central America. Arthur G. Gaston founded the Booker T. Washington Burial Society in 1923. He parlayed his company, which guaranteed African Americans a decent burial, into a conglomerate of 10 companies that included two radio stations, a construction company, a bank, two funeral homes, a motel and a nursing home. When he died in 1996, he sold several of his businesses, valued at $34 million, to his employees. John Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson Publishing Company, pioneered one of the Nation's largest black-owned businesses and the world's largest black-owned publishing company. In 1942, with a $500 loan secured by his mother's furniture, Mr. Johnson started his company, which now includes Ebony, Jet, EM, that is Ebony Man, and other enterprises. Today Johnson Publishing Magazines employ over 2,700 people and reach more than 20,000 readers in 40 countries. While C. J. Walker and A. G. Gaston and John Johnson paved the way, Reginald Lewis and Robert Johnson raised black entrepreneurship to another level. They used savvy deal-making and Wall Street financing techniques to create two of the largest publicly traded African American controlled companies in America. Reginald Lewis, a Wall Street lawyer, used his financial and legal savvy to buy Beatrice International Food Company, a global giant of 64 companies in 31 countries. With that acquisition, he parlayed TLC Beatrice into the largest African American controlled business in the United States. In 1992, TLC Beatrice had revenues of $1.54 billion. When he died in 1993, he had a net worth of $400 million. His wife Loida N. Lewis currently runs the company. Robert Johnson also recognized early on the power of Wall Street to create economic opportunities. In 1980, he created Entertainment Television, the largest black cable television and entertainment network. In 1991, BET became the first African American owned and controlled company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. BET has revenues in excess of $132 million. Several African American entrepreneurs and entertainers have continued the legacy of ownership and empowerment for African Americans. These include among others: Edward Lewis, J. Bruce Llewellyn, Earl Graves, Berry Gordy, Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey. Edward Lewis, the publisher, chairman and CEO of Essence Communications, heads one the country's most successful and diverse African American owned communications companies. In May 1970, Lewis and partner Clarence O. Smith published the first issue of Essence Magazine, a fashion magazine for black women. Today Essence Communications Incorporated is synonymous with black womanhood. I cannot go into Mr. James Bruce Llewellyn, Mr. Earl Graves, Mr. Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, and of course Berry Gordy. But I have mentioned them and we shall continue to make this information available to all. I thank the gentleman very much for this opportunity to share the contributions of these wonderful African Americans. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to join my colleagues in celebrating Black History Month. Each year during the month of February we consciously take time to acknowledge and celebrate the history and accomplishments of African Americans in this country and worldwide. As we reflect on our history, I am more convinced now than ever that economic development through Black entrepreneurship is a key to creating jobs, wealth and opportunities in our communities. Our history is rich with African Americans who created economic opportunities for others by owning, operating and building their own businesses. The early trailblazers include black entrepreneurs like Madam C.J. Walker, A.G. Gaston and John Johnson. Madam C.J. Walker, the first woman self-made millionaire of any race, built an economic empire starting with $1.50 in capital. In 1905, Madam Walker founded Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, the nation's first successful black hair care products company. Madam Walker's company trained thousands of black women in her beauty schools and colleges. Her company's sales force eventually exceeded more than 20,000 agents in the United States, the Caribbean and Central America. Arthur G. Gaston founded the Booker T. Washington Burial Society in 1923. He parlayed his company, which guaranteed African Americans a decent burial, into a conglomerate of 10 companies that included two radio stations, a construction company, a bank, two funeral homes, a motel and a nursing home. When he died in 1996, he sold several of his businesses valued at $34 million to his employees. John Johnson, Chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson Publishing Company, pioneered one of the nation's largest black-owned businesses and the world's largest black-owned publishing company. In 1942, with a $500 loan secured by his mother's furniture, Mr. Johnson started his company, which now publishes Ebony, Jet, EM (Ebony Man), and other enterprises. Today, Johnson Publishing magazines, employ over 2,700 people and reach more than 20 million readers in 40 countries. While C.J. Walker, A.G. Gaston and John Johnson paved the way, Reginald Lewis and Robert Johnson raised black entrepreneurship to another level. They used savvy deal-making and Wall Street financing techniques to create two of the largest publicly-traded African- American controlled companies in America. Reginald Lewis, a Wall Street lawyer, used his financial and legal savvy to buy Beatrice International Food Co., a global giant of 64 companies in 31 countries. With that acquisition, he parlayed TLC Beatrice into the largest African American controlled business in the United States. In 1992, TLC Beatrice had revenues of $1.54 billion. When he died in 1993, he had a net worth of $400 million dollars. His wife, Loida N. Lewis, currently runs the company. Robert Johnson also recognized early on the power of Wall Street to help create economic opportunities. In 1980, he created Black Entertainment Television, the largest black cable television and entertainment network. In 1991, BET became the first African American- owned and controlled company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. BET has revenues in excess of $132 million dollars. Several African Americans entrepreneurs and entertainers have continued the legacy of ownership and empowerment for African Americans. These include, among others, Edward Lewis, J. Bruce Llewellyn, Earl Graves, Sr., Berry Gordy, William Cosby and Oprah Winfrey. Edward Lewis, the publisher and chairman/CEO of Essence Communications, heads one of the country's most successful and diverse African-American owned communications companies. In May, 1970, Lewis and partner Clarence O. Smith published the first issue of ESSENCE Magazine, a fashion magazine for black women. Today, ESSENCE Communications Inc. is synonymous with black womanhood. James Bruce Llewellyn has built several multimillion dollar companies. He currently is the president of the Philadelphia Coca-Cola bottling companies of one of the largest Coca-Cola Bottling distributorships in this country. The Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company currently employs over 1,000 people. Earl G. Graves, Sr. launched Black Enterprise magazine in 1970. His magazine set the standard for informing African American entrepreneurs ``how to'' start and grow a successful business. Black Enterprise magazine now boasts more than 3.1 million readers and has a controlled subscriber base of 300,000. Bill Cosby is one of the most highly-paid TV personalities in America. After cutting his first comedy album in 1964, Cosby went on to star in several television series, including ``I Spy,'' ``The Cosby Show''--NBC's top-rated program through most of the late 80s and the new sitcom ``Cosby.'' Cosby also is known for his Jell-o commercials with children; as the narrator of the ``Fat Albert'' cartoons and as a producer and creator of other television shows. Cosby and his wife, Camille, have been active in education circles through their donations amounting to over $20 million to black women's colleges. Mr. Cosby's earnings exceeded $33 million last year. Oprah Winfrey, queen of the afternoon talk shows, worked her way up from a local TV reporter to a morning talk show host. Her lively, aggressive, intelligence and streetwise common sense made her a popular television personality who earns top ratings and numerous television awards. Winfrey is also a savvy business woman. In 1988, Winfrey purchased a Chicago-based movie and television production facility that she renamed Harpo Studios. She has used Harpo Studios to produce her own television dramas and series. She made over $200 million last year. We have made tremendous strides in creating black-owned businesses. Between 1987 and 1992, the number of black-owned businesses grew by 46 percent. Revenues also rose by 63 percent from $19.8 billion to $32.2 billion. Black Enterprise reports that the leading black industrial and service firms created more than 4,000 new jobs between 1995 and 1996. However, in 1992, African Americans and other minorities, collectively, owned only 11 percent of all businesses in America. Annual sales receipts for minority-owned businesses averaged only $202,000, compared with an average of $3.3 million for white-owned businesses. To bridge those gaps and build economically sound communities, the development of more black businesses is essential. Economic power today will mean jobs, creation of wealth, and continuing political clout in the future. As Madam C.J. Walker was fond of saying, ``I am not merely satisfied in making money for myself, for I am endeavoring to provide employment for hundreds of women of my race.'' ``I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! That's why I want to say . . . don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come . . . Get up and make them!'' Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus for her statement and her participation in this Special Order. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased now to yield to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Barrett).

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I almost feel guilty taking this time to say something about my friend, Ron Dellums. Just a night or so ago, I had the opportunity to introduce him, and I took 17 minutes in the introduction, and enjoyed every minute of it. I could not let this moment pass, despite the fact I took 17 minutes to introduce him and say a lot of things that I wanted to say about him. I want my friends out there in America, however, to know how I feel about Ron Dellums. Ron Dellums is my friend, he is my colleague, and he is a man that I have admired for many, many years. I do not know exactly when I first came to know Ron Dellums. It seems as if I have known him all my life. I do know that over 20 years ago, I was so moved by his courage and his commitment, so moved by what he stood for, I called his office and said, I want to do a fund-raiser for Ron Dellums, because I heard that someone is going to attempt to oppose him. And so I remember the joy that I experienced putting that fund- raiser together. I did not go simply to our friends in the African- American community or in the civil rights community; I went to my friends in Beverly Hills and other places who were involved in the peace movement, and we had a wonderful venue and a wonderful home, and that gathering was like much of what I am seeing here today. It was a real rainbow gathering of the rich and the not-so-rich, of whites and blacks, Latinos, Asians, it was a mixture of people who represented America, people who too were attracted to Ron Dellums, because of his commitment and his courage and what he had done for all of us. We were able to raise some money for Ron Dellums, but my life came in contact with his after that time in so many different ways. Ron Dellums defended me on the floor of one of our State conventions where we were fighting to keep Mr. Ziggy Arrowitz off the delegation because of what he had done on the question of affirmative action and some other kinds of things. Ron Dellums and I have worked together in many ways. I was inspired by his 15 years of work trying to dismantle apartheid. I carried the counter bill in the State legislature, and we were able to prevail after Ronald Dellums was able to lead this country and this Nation to dismantle apartheid by way of sanctions. I sat with Ron Dellums in South Africa at the inauguration of Nelson Mandela, and I watched his face as the leaders of the world paraded past us, and I watched his face when the military did the great formations in the airplanes that went above us, and I watched his face when Nelson Mandela took the podium. I know that Ron Dellums could not help but feel proud of his contributions of the work that he had done on behalf of his constituents and this Nation. I come today, along with people like the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), who is sitting here on the floor, waiting to speak about Ron Dellums. Maxine Waters on the left, Mr. Cunningham on the right, and those in the middle. What a testament to a man's work; what a testament to what he has been able to contribute. This speaks more than any initiative the President could have about race and race relations. This speaks more than the President can ever talk about when he talks about his vision for peace, or any President, for that matter. This man has done it. I would like to close with a quote from Ron Dellums when he was asked in 1984 in a response to an invitation from Harper's to draft an acceptance speech as though he were the Democratic presidential nominee that year. He said a lot of things, but this is what I will always remember and what moves me. Ron Dellums said, I offer a new agenda: An agenda for world peace and for a just and compassionate society here at home. It is an agenda that proposes a foreign policy of nonintervention and international cooperation, an agenda that redefines our legitimate national security interests as the defense of the United States, an agenda that rejects any attempts to control the internal affairs of other sovereign nations through economic extortion, political intimidation, or overt or covert force. True peace entails more than the absence of war. It requires an unceasing effort to eliminate militarism, racism, and social and economic injustice and to promote personal freedom and human dignity. That really says it all. Let me wrap it up by saying to those who used to say to Ron Dellums: We want you to be President; we want you to be the Secretary of Defense. Ron Dellums would simply say, I do not want to be the President, I do not want to be the Secretary of Defense; I want to be the Secretary of Peace, and I guess that says it all. Ron, we love you, we will never forget you. Most of us will always aspire to be like you, to have the integrity that you have shown, that you have demonstrated. Most of us would always want to be what you have shown us we could be and what we should be. We love you today and we will love you forever.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, we are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of former Mayor Coleman Young this past Saturday. Mayor Young was a political icon who gave leadership both at the local and national level. We will miss him greatly. When he won office in 1974, Mayor Young was one of the first African Americans to become Mayor of a large metropolitan city. We will remember him for his twenty years of dynamic leadership of the City of Detroit. He took over the reins of a city in 1974 that was steeped in racism and discord. During his tenure, he attempted to open economic opportunities for all people in the city. He provided a special sense of pride and empowerment to Detroit's black community and he had a special place in all of our hearts. We will mourn his passing, but remember his many contributions to our history. It was his input that helped President Jimmy Carter formulate a public policy program for America's urban areas. His efforts were responsible for building the renowned Museum of African American Art. May it comfort his family to know that so many share their loss. And may it comfort the people of Detroit to know that people from across the country acknowledge his contributions. Maxine Waters, chair; Earl Hilliard, first vice-chair; Eddie Bernice Johnson, second vice chair; Corrine Brown, secretary; Sheila Jackson- Lee, whip. Members John Conyers, Jr., William Clay, Louis Stokes, Ronald Dellums, Charles Rangel, Julian Dixon, Major R. Owens, Edolphus Towns, Floyd Flake, John Lewis, Donald M. Payne, Eleanor Holmes Norton, William Jefferson, Eva Clayton, Sanford Bishop, James Clyburn, Alcee Hastings, Cynthia McKinney, Carrie Meek, Bobby Rush, Robert Scott, Melvin Watt, Albert Wynn, Bennie Thompson, Chaka Fattah, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Juanita Millender-McDonald, Elijah Cummings, Julia Carson, Donna Christian-Green, Danny Davis, Harold Ford, Jr., Carolyn Kilpatrick and Senator Carol Moseley-Braun.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support the fiscal year 2000 $300 million dollar funding level for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting contained in this bill. That is a $50 million dollar increase over last year, an amount which only partially offsets the three consecutive years of recision of public broadcasting funds. The American public has sent a clear message to Congress that it supports a public broadcasting system. The House Appropriations report concerning CPB funding specifically supports the commitment made by CPB in 1994 to formalize partnerships among the organizations of the National Minority Public Broadcasting Consortia, television stations and other public broadcasting organizations to maximize resources to increase the amount of multicultural programming on public television. That 1994 agreement was over a year in the making, but unfortunately, it has never received any funding. I trust that $50 million dollar increase will make it possible to fund the Principles of Partnership Initiative, and would encourage CPB to see if they can find fiscal year 1998 and fiscal year 1999 funds to get this Initiative of collaboration under way. The Minority Consortia organizations--Pacific Islanders in Communications, National Black Programming Consortium, National Latino Communications Center, National Asian American Telecommunications Association, Native American Public Telecommunications--have provided Public Broadcasting's program schedule hundreds of hours of programming addressing the cultural, social, and economic issues of the country's racial and ethnic communities. Additionally, each consortium has been engaged in cultivating ongoing relationships with the independent minority producer community by providing program funding, programming support, and distribution assistance. They also provide numerous hours of programming to individual public television and radio stations. I would like to point out that the newest Consortia member, Pacific Islanders in Communications, is headquartered in Hawaii and has already had major responsibility for several award winning public broadcast productions, notably ``Storytellers of the Pacific'' which was co- produced with Native American Public Telecommunications, and ``And Then There Were None.'' I look forward to an increasingly productive partnership between public broadcasting and the National Minority Public Broadcasting organizations and the communities they represent.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Mollohan], the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Sawyer] and the gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Maloney] and all of those who have worked so hard to try and make sense out of all of this. I know it has been difficult. I know that they were trying to do everything that they possibly could to see to it that we get a better count, because we have had an undercount, almost 4.8 million people undercounted, and we all know and believe that sampling could correct that. I understand what they had to do. But what I think most people do not understand is this: In an attempt to work out the fact that there are people who want sampling, people who do not want sampling, none of us have realized that really sampling would help us all. It would help Democrats. It would help Republicans. We would get a better count. This would inure to everybody's benefit. But because Republicans are so afraid of sampling and getting a better count, they were willing to literally go into the back room and form a deal that, in the final analysis, is not in their own best interest, and they do not even know what the deal is. The fact of the matter is what has been agreed upon is that there will be a way by which we can do sampling in the rehearsal, and they will not interfere with that, in exchange for some bad language that we allowed them to have that basically said that sampling is unconstitutional maybe, and that somehow it is not in the best interest of the American people. And then we gave standing to the Speaker, or his representative, to go into court and the money to go along with it to say, now they can go and fight us, and we are going to let them fight us because we believe we can beat them in the court. Well, in my estimation, it is a bad deal for everybody. I do not like these schemes. I do not like these schemes because I think this bad language that we allow them to put in the bill could be used as intent language in the court, and they could say, ``Well, they voted for something that they said you thought that it was not constitutional.'' I do not like this language, because I do not like the idea of giving the Speaker all the resources he would like to have in order to go in and fight us on sampling. But let me tell my colleagues some other things I do not like. I do not like the way this board is constructed. I do not like the idea that we are about to set up and design a confrontation. We are going to give the board resources and the ability to have confidential information. We are going to kick up the arguments. And the debate and confrontation, all of the radio talk shows are going to be talking about sampling versus nonsampling. What we are going to have is a great big nasty fight in America over sampling. And we have one side, my side, who is saying, ``Trust me, we could beat them in court.'' And we have the other side saying, ``Give me standing, and we will beat them in court.'' Let me tell my colleagues what I think. I think that the Supreme Court has ruled on this more than one time, and the Supreme Court said sampling is fine. But further, the Supreme Court has said that the Secretary has the right to use any statistical method he or she deems necessary in order to get a good count. If it was left up to me, I would let my colleagues do whatever they would want to do, and I would take the findings of the court, and I would go in court and I would proceed, and I would defend my position in court, and I would enjoin any language that they would attempt to have legislatively to say that it interferes with my ability as Secretary to get the job done. I would fight them head on. I would not have this diabolical scheme where most Republicans do not know what is in the deal, most Democrats do not know what is in the deal, and we have good people who are guessing at this and saying, ``Trust me, trust me, trust me.'' I do not want to lose, and I think a head-up fight is a good fight. I think we take all of the schemes out of it, and we go at it in court straight up. I would ask for a no vote on this. I do not like the deals that were made in the back rooms that Republicans should be afraid of and Democrats alike.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, let me just say that in the State of California, when I was in the California State assembly, I had a piece of legislation that was signed into law that appropriated dollars for capital outlay for Boys and Girls Clubs. We discovered that the roofs were falling in, that they needed more space, that they needed air conditioning, et cetera, et cetera. And we were able to do that. We got matching grants from the private sector that helped to expand the Boys and Girls Clubs and their ability to provide the services to the young people that they are organized to do. So this reminds me of that bill when I was in Sacramento and what we were able to do with capital outlay. This goes even further than that. I would like to thank Members on both sides of the aisle and my Republican friends that I can call friends today, maybe not tomorrow, but today for this bill. I thank them all very much.

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I rise to join with all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Is it not wonderful to have something on the floor that we can all agree on? I do not need to tell my colleagues about all of the advantages of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. But I first need to stop and thank Denzel Washington. Denzel Washington is one of the finest artists- actors in Hollywood, and he is the national spokesperson for Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He is the national spokesperson because his life was changed because of the attention he received from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America in his neighborhood when he was growing up. So I get to thank him on this floor today and say to him that his leadership is what helps to bring us to this kind of movement, where we have Democrats and Republicans together to say that it is about time we pay attention to our young people. It is a good thing that we do here today to invest in our young people. We talk about children and young people all the time, but seldom do we really put the money where our mouths are. Today, we agree on resources. We agreed that $100 million will be given to Boys and Girls Clubs back in 1996, with $20 million for 1997, $20 million for 1998, leading up to the year 2000, when we should have appropriated the entire $100 million. I am very pleased and proud to be on the floor today not arguing against something, not fighting with somebody about something, but rather joining hands with both sides of the aisle to say, this is for the children, this is for the boys and girls of America, inner city, rural America.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves in a rather unfortunate situation. This is the most cynical kind of public policy-making that I have ever witnessed. I cannot understand for the life of me why the Haitians would have been left out from consideration. As I understand, the Immigration and Naturalization Service reports that, as of September 30, 1996, applications for asylum were pending for about 18,000 Haitians, 21,000 Nicaraguans, 118,000 Guatemalans, and 191,000 Salvadorans. How can they just drop the Haitians? It does not make good sense, and then they place it on the D.C. appropriations, where we are desperate to try and get a little justice for the District of Columbia, and they pit people against each other in the most unfair way. There is no rational reason for it. They should not put the gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Meek] in the position of standing up here asking for a no vote on the rule for the District of Columbia, when they know how desperate the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia [Ms. Norton] is. As a matter of fact, if they had any decency at all, they would pull this rule from the floor and go back and put the Haitians in. These Haitians were promised. I have got letters here from Haitians whose parents were killed right before their eyes. They are seeking asylum because they were under political massacre from the Haitians down there. And my colleagues would stand here and allow this situation to develop. This is unconscionable. It is unreasonable. It is unfair. It is unjust. It is unkind. It is everything that I can think of when I look at what they are doing. I cannot stand hear and say, do not support the D.C. rule. At the same time, we have these Representatives from Florida who are sitting here in pain because of what they are doing. The gentleman from Florida [Mr. Diaz-Balart] and the rest of my colleagues who negotiated this deal, they should stand up like men and women and undo it now and do the right thing.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pride to stand before this House this afternoon and say a few special words about my friend, Floyd Flake. I am not pleased that he is leaving. As a matter of fact, when he first told me I was standing back near the door, and I literally slid down the wall, because I understood immediately, this House cannot afford to have this man of substance part from us at this time. We in the Congressional Black Caucus love him, need him, respect him, and we have worked with him in some very special ways. But beyond that, the Democratic Caucus will miss him, because of what he has been able to add to the debate and the discussions and the direction of this House. Well, you saw on the other side of the aisle who took this time out on the floor, so this man is not only important to the Democratic Party, but also to the Republican Party. We are going to miss him because he became one of our fine experts on the Committee on Banking and Financial Services. If the financial institutions of America are ever going to invest in inner cities, comply with CRA, and do what we want them to do, it will be because of the work of Floyd Flake. He has shown that there is not just one way to do things, he has gotten them to do more than all of us who have beaten up on them time and time again. He has caused the development and proliferation of housing for poor people in this country, having developed capacity through nonprofits and their ability to use the resources that we have put forth so that they could take care of the poor in this Nation. I am going to miss him, but I will see him even though he is not here. I am going up to Allen Church. He has invited me before, and I certainly expect him to invite me again. I am going up to Allen Church to be with his church family and to look at that community that he has developed up there, all around the church. You will see commercial development all around the church. You will see housing. You will literally see a community that has benefited from the knowledge, the expertise and the caring of this man. We are going to miss you. We really do hate to see you go, but this place is a much better place because you have been here. Thank you very much.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Chairman, my intent is not to defeat the legislation. My intent is to surface this problem that I have run into in California. Even if they are not receiving Federal assistance, I do not know if they are or not, you can perhaps not have this loophole in your legislation that would allow this kind of pass-through.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Chairman, I do not rise to speak for or against charter schools. As a matter of fact, I tend to think that I could be supportive of charter schools. However, for many years now, I have been involved in trying to stop the rip-off of our Pell grants and Stafford loans by private postsecondary schools. I have worked with some people on the opposite side of the aisle. Well, lo and behold I have discovered in the Los Angeles area some wise crook has found a way to rip off this charter school. Let me tell Members what they have done. An organization that is organized as a nonprofit charter school has a relationship with the Victorville School District out in the desert near San Bernardino. They have come into the inner cities from Victorville, this Cato Institute, which has the relationship with Victorville, and it has gone to the already private schools in Los Angeles where my grandson is enrolled in one of these private schools, and have worked out an arrangement with the owners of the school to allow these children to be signed up to the Victorville School District by way of the Cato Institute. Of course, the dollars that are derived from the Victorville School District are being shared through the Cato Institute with the private schools. My grandson and the other children remain in the private schools, their parents are paying tuition fee for them every month, so now what we have is we have government funds going through the charter school to help support private students. We cannot have that. I do not know how this has happened. She has checked with the State of California. They said nothing that they know of envisioned this kind of thing happening, but it is what I worry about, when we allow the proliferation of any kind of school, whether it is charter schools or what have you, I worry about the crooks being able to come in and take advantage. In this case, there is no reason why the government should be paying for my grandson whose mother is paying for him in private school. But this institute is getting the money from the Victorville School District, and sharing it per pupil with this private school, and promising that they will support them with resource materials, a sophisticated library access and maybe even computers. This is wrong, it is not right, and this is not what I think you intended for the charter schools. I have talked with the gentleman from California [Mr. Riggs] about it. I want to fix it.

Ms. WATERS. I yield to the gentleman from California.