Frank Wolf

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I want to call to the attention of my colleagues today's headlines: Alabama Rejects the Plan for a Lottery, AP. Fifty-four percent of the voters in Alabama rejected a State- sponsored lottery yesterday. The Crimson Tide has rejected a lottery in their State, and perhaps this is a shift that will change the tide of gambling in America. According to news reports, the tide is expected to wash over South Carolina, where a referendum to ban video poker is expected to also pass. I want to congratulate the people of Alabama for standing up and voting against State-sponsored gambling, and I hope others around the country will take note of what has occurred at the ballot box. Mr. Speaker, I would like to, at this point, submit this material for the record. Montgomery, AL. (AP)--Gov. Don Siegelman, who lobbied long and hard for a state lottery to help fund education, watched the measure collapse in defeat at the hands of voters unwilling to cross their ministers. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, 663,988 people, or 54 percent, opposed the lottery referendum Tuesday, and 559,377 people, or 46 percent, supported it. Turnout was estimated at 50 percent. The proposal--a constitutional amendment to allow gambling--had once enjoyed a 20-point lead in the polls but came under increasing fire from church groups who said it would exploit the poor. Other opponents also claimed that a recent traffic ticket- fixing scandal showed that the Democratic governor's administration could not be trusted to oversee gambling in the state. Alabama joins Arkansas, Oklahoma and North Dakota as states that have rejected lotteries at the ballot box. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have approved them. The loss was a stinging blow to Siegelman, who had made the referendum's passage a cornerstone of his 1998 election victory over Republican Fob James. ``In my inaugural address, I said that we would dare mighty things. I said that we would try new things and if they didn't work we would try something else,'' Siegelman said after the votes were counted. He said the results ``only serve to motivate me and to energize me in our fight and our quest to change education in this state forever.'' Along with the lottery proposal, two other proposed constitutional amendments were on the ballot, and voters in Birmingham and Montgomery chose candidates for mayor and city council members. In Birmingham, Alabama's largest city, interim Mayor William Bell led a 14-way race for the mayorship but was forced into a Nov. 2 runoff against City Councilman Bernard Kincaid. In Montgomery, conservative Mayor Emory Folmar led six opponents in his bid for a seventh term but was forced into a runoff against Bobby Bright, a lawyer backed by organized labor. Siegelman had promised that the lottery would generate at least $150 million annually to fund college scholarships, a pre-kindergarten program and computer technology in schools. ``He has put everything on this,'' said Auburn University at Montgomery political analyst Brad Moody. ``He has made it the centerpiece of his campaign and the centerpiece of his first year in office. He has thrown all his political capital away.'' Sheila Bird was among those who voted against the lottery even though her 2-year-old daughter Amanda could have one day benefited from the plan. ``I just feel like it's morally wrong. I feel like it's going to cause problems in lower income families,'' she said. ``I think you can get money other ways.''

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, today I stand up for the 5,374 families who have lost loved ones in truck accidents last year, and to note that the Congress could be about ready to walk away from them. If we take a look at this photo, it is a photo of an accident involving a truck whereby individuals were seriously injured and perhaps killed. This House voted overwhelmingly for the Transportation Appropriations Conference Report, which included a provision requiring change in the way the Federal Government conducts oversight of the trucking industry. Each year, more and more commercial motor vehicles are driving more and more miles and more people are dying. Currently, these vehicles are involved in 13 percent of all traffic fatalities, even though they represent only 3 percent of all registered vehicles in the Nation. Whether one is concerned about this issue or not, I would hope that Congress would direct itself to what activity it may very well be unknowingly doing later on this afternoon. Madam Speaker, 20 percent of the trucks on our roadways today, one in five are so unsafe that if they were stopped and inspected, they would be taken off the road. This problem is equally more serious at our southern borders where, on an average, 44 percent of these trucks are placed out of service. The Department of Transportation's IG has raised serious concerns about the vigor of our Nation's truck safety program. In the past 8 months, he has testified about the poor job that the Office of Motor Carriers has done to oversee truck safety. The Office of Motor Carriers is charged with monitoring and enforcing, and they are not doing a very good job at all. The Federal Highway Administration, which controls the Office of Motor Carriers, has not been effective in inducing prompt and sustained compliance. Seventy-five percent of the carriers sampled did not sustain a satisfactory rating, and after a series of compliance reviews, 54 percent have been taken out of service. I have now been out on three or four truck inspections in the last several months. More than one out of five, sometimes three out of 10 are so unsafe, bad brakes, rusted out, baloney skin tires and many other problems. The compliance reviews are down, meaning the Office of Motor Carriers used to do five compliance reviews per employee per month. Now it has gone down to one. They are trying to get it back up to two. When the IG testified at our hearings, he talked about one trucker who had driven from the West Coast to the State of Virginia in 48 hours, 48 hours, and in the cab there were jars of urine where he did not even stop to go to the bathroom. You wonder why we have such a miserable record, why so many people are dying. And then, in three short months, under NAFTA, trucks are going to be able to cross the border in Mexico and come into the United States. All of these trucks will be able to go into all of the States in our country, and the IG found recently that Mexico has no hours-of-service requirements, no logbooks are required for truckers, no vehicle maintenance standards, no roadside inspections, no safety rating. When the IG conducted a survey of the effects of NAFTA, he found 44 percent of the trucks were in such poor condition that they were taken off the road immediately. So we can see if these trucks now are permitted to come across the border from Mexico in addition to the unsafe program that we now have. Because of these findings, the Department of Transportation's IG has said we should move the Office of Motor Carriers, and the National Transportation Safety Board, and many, many others agree. Today, there may be a vote on the floor under the suspensions calendar that will roll back the efforts that have been made with regard to truck safety. So on behalf of the 5,374 people and their families who have died in truck related deaths, I would hope that Congress would not roll it back. The question is, who controls this place? Will it be the special interests, or will it be the American interests? The Congress took the action it did in the conference report to advance safety. Hopefully, the Congress will not roll it back. Madam Speaker, I ask people to focus, Members back in their offices, look at this and other pictures that I will bring up today to see if we really want to roll back truck inspection safety. I hope not.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, here is a picture that I used earlier today of a truck that killed people in a car. Here is another major truck accident. Today in the House we may very well bring up H.R. 3036, which rolls back truck safety. In 1998, there were 5,374 deaths with regard to trucks. In 1997, there were 5,398 deaths with regard to trucks. It is like a major airplane crash taking place every two weeks. If that happened, the Congress would be up in arms. Why would the Congress now be rolling back what the Congress did with regard to truck safety? H.R. 3036 takes a step backward. If we do this, every time we pick up the newspaper and see that somebody is being killed in a truck accident, we are going to feel very bad. I hope that the Congress votes this down if H.R. 3036 comes up.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill, H.R. 3036, as amended. It provides the authority to the Secretary of Transportation to assess civil penalties against violators of truck safety and to ensure that truck safety receives the scrutiny it deserves. As the House knows, this will make a big difference in the 5,300 annual fatalities that has remained unchanged for several years. The number of annual fatalities equates to a major aviation accident every 2 weeks. A reform of the Office of Motor Carriers to improve truck safety is long overdue. I want to personally thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for this language. I think it is very good. It is very, very responsible. My sense is that because of the effort that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has done, it will actually end up working together to save lives. And so for the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) who is handling that, I want to thank him.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, today I stand up for the 5,374 families who lost loved ones in truck accidents last year and to note that the Congress could be about ready to walk away from them. Last week, Mr. Speaker, this House voted overwhelmingly for the transportation appropriations conference report which included a provision requiring a change in the way the Federal Government conducts oversight of the trucking industry. For the record, the vast majority of truck drivers and trucking companies do their level best to operate safely and efficiently and they are an important part of our commerce. But it is those few on the margins, Mr. Speaker, who last year took the lives of 5,374 people and 5,398 the year before that, a decade high. That is like a major airplane crash taking place every 2 weeks with regard to the deaths in the trucking industry. Section 338 of the bill, which the President is expected to sign soon, prohibits the Department of Transportation from funding the Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety, the OMC, within the Federal Highway Administration. The Federal Highway Administration does a good job at maintaining and building our Nation's infrastructure but they have fallen woefully behind in the area of truck safety. This means that Congress can pass legislation directing the DOT to move the Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety to a better place, or the administration can do it by executive order. Either way, Mr. Speaker, someone has got to do something and the language in the appropriations conference report requires action, action that has been lacking since myself and others have brought this issue to the attention of the Congress over the past year. The status quo where people are dying daily because of truck accidents is unacceptable. Everyone in this Chamber and those who are watching on television, those who will later read the Congressional Record, have experienced the anxiety associated with being around large trucks on our Nation's highways. They are big, they are fast, they are heavy and they are dangerous. And when a truck is involved in an accident, regardless of who is at fault, it is likely someone is going to die or be seriously injured. Plain and simple, I think it is incumbent, therefore, to ensure that trucks are as safe as they can be. Under the current system, I do not think the Federal Government is doing a good enough job to make sure that is the case. As I mentioned, last year 5,374 people died in truck-related accidents. The year before that, 5,398 people died, a decade high. Just think about those figures and let them sink in for a moment. The number of deaths associated with truck accidents is equal to a jetliner loaded with passengers crashing every other week. With an airplane crashing every other week, the Congress would be outraged. People would be calling their Congressmen on the telephones and the Congress would say, ``We're committed to do something about it.'' The Nation would be up in arms. Hearings would be held, accident investigations would be taking place, and grieving families would be on television to illustrate the sorrow of losing a loved one. Why, then, does the issue of truck safety, where over 5,000 people a year have died, not command the same attention? Why is the Federal office responsible for the regulation of the trucking industry, which some say is larger than the aviation industry, buried in the Federal Highway Administration with only .06 of the budget? Could it be because of the lobbyists and others who have been hired by the trucking companies? Last year, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Transportation appropriations conference report included a similar provision. But in the dead of the night and in the waning hours of the Congress, the trucking lobbyists prevailed. As a result of that, since that time in the middle of the night when this provision was taken out, thousands have died on the road. The Department of Transportation Inspector General looked at this issue and found that not only were lobbyists hired working against this proposal, which would force greater scrutiny on truck safety, but several of the employees of the Office of Motor Carriers, which is responsible for regulating the trucking industry, were afraid of this provision and what would be found when we looked at truck oversight, and they, the employees of the Department of Transportation, conspired to defeat this measure. The Inspector General noted that employees of the Office of Motor Carriers who regulate the trucking industry had contacted those that they regulated soliciting their help in staving off additional scrutiny. A few employees, these are government employees, paid by the families of the people that have died, then drafted letters for the trucking industry to send to Members of Congress to defeat this proposal. That is right, the regulators at the Office of Motor Carriers, these employees, paid for by the taxpayer, were meeting with the lobbyists for the trucking industry, drafting letters for them to send to Members of Congress to keep this provision from taking place, whereby thousands would continue to die. As a result of these unfortunate circumstances, the Department of Transportation disciplined four people. They were disciplined. One left. A couple are still there, but they were disciplined. Why did top employees of the Office of Motor Carriers, which regulates the industry, work to stymie the move? Because they knew that the state of the trucking industry was in such poor condition that it was they who would be called to account. How do we explain that deaths were up, inspections were down? At the same time that deaths were rising, the number of inspections was decreasing. Three years ago, each safety inspector at the Office of Motor Carriers conducted five reviews per month of the companies. Two years ago each inspector did an average of 2.5 reviews per month. Last year, each inspector did only one per month. When inspections over the course of 2 years dropped from 5 inspections to one inspection per month, something must be wrong and sorely needs to be changed. In fact, the Inspector General found one truck that left California going to Virginia, the State that I live in, made the trip in 48 hours, and when the guy pulled in, the driver, had several bottles of urine in the cab. He had not even stopped to go to the bathroom. Mr. Speaker, I hope that the trucking lobbyists, every time they see an accident where someone dies, think in terms of how they made this happen, and those employees know because of this lack of inspections, that more people are dying. The Office of Motor Carriers knows it. The IG conducted a survey of the Office of Motor Carriers employees asking them if they thought the Office of Motor Carriers should move, and where. Mr. Speaker, less than 20 percent of those employees surveyed were opposed to moving, only 20 percent. Of those people responsible for trucking oversight, only 20 percent wanted the status quo. The employees of OMC deserve credit for the work they do. Most work very hard, and they are very dedicated. Unfortunately, there are some in the management who have not caught the vision. If the employees of the Office of Motor Carriers do not favor the status quo, why should the Congress? In 3 short months, trucks from Mexico may be able to cross the border to the U.S. under NAFTA. The IG recently found that Mexico has no hours of service requirements, no log books requirements for truckers, no vehicle maintenance standards, no roadside inspections, and no safety rating systems. Can we be sure these trucks will not present a safety problem on our highways come January? All of these trucks will cross the border and be able to go throughout the entire United States. Mr. Speaker, we cannot stop the drugs coming across the border on the trucks, and I will tell the Members, those trucks will be unsafe and many, many more people could die. When the IG conducted a survey of the effects of NAFTA, he found today 3.5 million trucks are crossing the border from Mexico, only to designated commercial zones in the U.S. Of those 3.5 million trucks crossing the border, the Office of Motor Carriers only inspected 17,332. Of those inspected, 44 percent were in such poor condition that they were taken off the road immediately. Some of these trucks are intended only to serve border traffic, but many others may be driving on all the highways in America, come January. If the Congress and others feel comfortable about this, allowing this situation to persist, so be it. But I in good conscience cannot. We can no longer sit idly by while thousands of Americans are dying every year on our roads and do nothing about it. If others claim to be concerned about the provision contained in the Department of transportation appropriations conference report, I welcome the company. But do something about it. To this date, more than a year after this terrible problem was brought to America's attention, not one bill bringing relief to this situation has been brought before this House, let alone been signed into law, not one. If Members do not like the provision contained in this year's Department of Transportation appropriations conference report, do something about it, but the status quo is unacceptable. Let me just address for a minute some of the allegations regarding section 338 of the conference report. Some have suggested that this provision harms safety. It is nonsense and they know it. I have been urging improvements to truck safety for over a year now, and I have been out on several truck inspections where, when we go out, we see lug nuts sheared off, bald tires, brakes that are not working. To really let the American people understand this, one out of every five trucks that we see on the highway today is so unsafe that if it would be inspected, it would be taken off the road. The last truck inspection we went out to, we found bald tires. We found air brake systems rotted out and rusted out. There were so many violations, and they then go on and are involved in accidents that kill people. Yesterday the Department of Transportation's general counsel testified that section 338 would prevent the DOT from conducting only two functions in truck safety, the assessment of civil penalties, and protection of migrant worker transportation, which the States have taken the lead on, anyhow. So that leaves DOT with one real shortcoming, which could have been very easily fixed in a minor technical correction bill, the ability to levy civil penalties. DOT can still conduct border inspections, they can still place unsafe vehicles out of service, and they can still conduct an effective oversight program. To suggest otherwise is nothing more than an effort to scare this body in returning to the status quo. Others have said, let us give the OMC time. They will make the necessary changes on their own. This Congress has given them time. If Members think times have changed, every Member should know that they are wrong. Earlier this week, the Office of Motor Carrier Management sent out an e-mail memo to all its employees suggesting that section 338 would prevent the organization from conducting further oversights. Without judging whether the memo was intentionally false or not, it is clear the OMC still does not get it. The memo was 180 degrees inaccurate. Indeed, the Secretary had to order that a correcting memo be distributed. When my staff called the Office of Motor Carriers to clarify the memo's inaccuracies, they were told that the Office of Motor Carrier staff would not take the call. When they asked to speak with the head of the office, which is standard procedure, they were informed that she was out of town. When they asked for who, therefore, was in charge, they were told it was one of those punished for their improper efforts last year. The person that was running the Office of Motor Carriers responsible for the memo to go out was one of the people cited by the Inspector General who was disciplined by the Department of Transportation. When we drive on the highways today, on the Beltway, when we drive on I-81 in the Shenandoah Valley, when we drive on I-95, whether north and south of Washington, think of all those trucks, and think about how some employees who are now running the office which inspects these trucks have been so close to the trucking industry that it has been basically an incestuous relationship, and therefore, they are trying to undermine a provision which will bring about truck safety. In closing, Mr. Speaker, next week the Congress may consider on the suspension calendar a bill to overturn section 338 of the conference report. I urge Members to vote against the bill. If the reorganization of the motor carrier office does not take place, more people will die. We will get into next year, and next year is an election year. The contributions will begin flowing from the trucking industry to the Congress, and they will make up reasons why we do not have time to deal with truck safety. We will also be faced with the trucks from Mexico coming across the border. Some 80 thousand more trucks could enter the market next year than this year. Many families will experience the pain and agony of getting that telephone call to say that a loved one has been involved in an accident with regard to trucks. Mr. Speaker, the bottom line to this entire issue is safety. So if a bill comes up, I urge Members to vote no.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring before the House an excellent conference report on the transportation appropriations bill for the coming fiscal year. We have worked long and hard in truly a bipartisan fashion, and I want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) for that, with the Senate conferees to hammer out a conference agreement which hopefully will easily pass this body. We said earlier that this House would pass individual appropriation bills in a timely manner and send them to the President for signature. We have fallen a little bit behind, but here is a way to get us back on track. This is a bill which provides funding increases for all our vital transportation systems and infrastructure and gives the President another bill he can sign just as the new fiscal year begins. Mr. Speaker, I include the following for the Record. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH01OC99.001 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH01OC99.002 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH01OC99.003 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH01OC99.004 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH01OC99.005 Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the conference report to accompany H.R. 2084, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 318, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 2084) making appropriations for the Department of Transportation and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, and for other purposes.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the conference report. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, before I close, let me just also again thank all the Members for their help and their support in working on this very important bill. We had emphasized safety, which I think has been addressed very, very well. I again want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo), and I want to thank the staff members. John Blazey, who did an outstanding job; along with Rich Efford, Stephanie Gupta; Linda Muir; and David Whitestone from my office; Cheryl Smith from Mr. Sabo's side; Marjorie Duske. Also from the Senate side, because we worked with them, Wally Burnett, Joyce Rose, Paul Doerrer, Peter Rogoff, and Denise Matthews. I just want to thank all of them. It has been a long, hard effort.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Mr. Davis of Virginia, and I are honored to extend our deepest admiration and sincere thanks to the 92 members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team in their courageous response mission to help the people in Touliu, Taiwan, following the massive earthquake there on September 20. Fairfax County is one of the few localities in our country which has trained and authorized a search and rescue team that can be deployed at a moment's notice to deal with crisis situations anywhere in the world. Less than an hour after the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance activated the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department's Urban Search and Rescue Team to assist in the international effort, the team was mobilized and ready for deployment; ready to leave their families, friends and loved ones. We understand that this was the team's ninth mission--nine times they have left their families and homes to answer the ``International 911'' call. What's most remarkable is that the firefighters on this team volunteered to be part of this specially trained unit, which is on the front lines, working round the clock, going into perilous situations-- whether natural disasters or terrorist-inspired--driven by self- sacrifice to help save lives. Each member of this team has shown extraordinary heroism. We are very proud of each and every member of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team. They truly are heroes and deserve to be recognized. The U.S. Congress and all of America salute the following members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team: Chris Bastin, James Bernanzani, William Bertone, Greg Bunch, David Conrad, Sean Evans, Thomas Feehan, Tom Griffin, Mark Guditus, Andrew Hubert, Matt Nacy, Clyde Pittard, Mark Plunkett, Scott Smith, Rex Strickland, Jim Walsh, Kent Watts, Robert Zoldos, Daniel Bickham, Edward Brinkley, Clyde Buchanan, John Chabal, James Chinn, Kevin Dabney, Kurt Hoffman, Joseph Kaleda, Joseph Knerr, Randall Leatherman, Evan Lewis, Craig Luecke, Glenn Mason, Joe Meritt, Gary Morin, Gery Morrison, Dewey Perks, Michael Regan, Michael Tamillow, David Taylor, James Tolson, Jack Walmer, Jerome Williams, Barry Anderson, Donald Booth, Gary Bunch, Carlton Burkhammer, Brian Cloyd, Michael Davis, Jeffrey Donaldson, Michael Istvan, Mark Lucas, John Mayers, Rich McKinney, Wayne Reedy, Bill Reedy, Michael Reilly, Charles Ruble, Mike Stone, Ruben Almaguer, Marilyn Arwe, Joe Barbera, William Barker, Tony Beale, Bill Berger, Jack Brown, Jennifer Brown, Mike Canfield, Paul Carlin, Steve Catlin, Carol Chan, Tom Cole, Robert Dube, Garrett Dyer, Dr. French, Sonja Heritage, Brooke Holt, Gerald Jaskulski, Mike Keeler, Anthony MacIntyre, Paul Majarowitz, Chuck Mills, Susan Mingle, Richard Owens, Dean Sherick, Earl Shuggart, Dallas Slemp, Jim Strickland, Nate Smith, Lorenzo Thrower, Dean Tills, Steve Weissman, Steve Willey, John Tung.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) for the motion because I think if it is carried and it is followed through, it will end up saving a lot of lives. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the motion offered by the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) that instructs the conferees to provide maximum funding within the scope of conference for the Office of Motor Carriers. As the body knows, the House-passed bill provides 70.5 million for motor carriers operations. The level is more than 17 million over the fiscal year 1999 enacted level and 15 million more than the Senate passed bill. These funds are needed for critical improvements in crash data, safety system/data base modernization, census information, incident management, and post accident training. In addition, these funds will provide for additional inspectors to better the enforcement and compliance program and improve motor carrier safety. And lastly, the funds will provide additional resources to address the delay in the backlog of critical safety regulations including those relating to hours of service. In short, these funds are needed, and I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for his leadership to improve the safety of the motoring public and to eliminate unsafe trucks in the Nation's highway. However, Mr. Speaker, this subcommittee has been concerned now for over a year that the Office of Motor Carriers in its current structure and placement in the Federal Highway Administration is not performing an aggressive enforcement and compliance program. It cannot do so within the Federal Highway Administration. A recent Inspector General report found that only 2.5 percent of the interstate motor carriers were reviewed and 64 percent of the Nation's carriers did not have a safety rating. The number of compliance reviews has fallen by 30 percent, 30 percent, since 1995. The amount of fines from unsafe trucking companies has fallen to the lowest level in 1992. Without a more aggressive and effective program, the General Accounting Office predicts fatalities. People will die. It could rise as high as 6,000 next year. Trucking fatalities reached a decade high of nearly 5,400 in 1997 and remained essentially flat in 1998. This equates to a major airline accident every 2 weeks with about 200 fatalities. In comparison, other modes of transportation have seen a decline in fatalities, a rising tide of deaths; and lax oversight of the trucking industry are partially a result of the Office of Motor Carrier Placement within the Federal Highway Administration. Their primary mission, Federal Highway, is to award some 25 billion in highway construction funds to the States not to improve safety. Federal Highway is skilled at building and maintaining roads but done a poor job with regard to an effective and forceful truck safety program. Eclipsed by the agency of over 2,400 staff and 50 division offices, several regional office centers, the Office of Motor Carriers and its safety mission will act as strong focus and is subjugated to second- class status in the Federal Highway Administration. Some personnel within the Office of Motor Carriers have become too close to the trucking industry once they have been charged with regulating. In fact, earlier this year the Inspector General found out the personnel had solicited the trucking industry to generate opposition. It is for these reasons that the committee also included in its version of the bill section 2335 that prohibits funds in the act from being used to carry out the functions and operations of the Office of Motor Carriers within Federal Highway. The Department of Transportation Inspector General, the chairman of National Transportation Safety Board, trucking representatives, the enforcement community, and safety advocates all agree that the Office of Motor Carriers should be moved from the Federal Highway Administration. The committee has included this provision so that the appropriate authorizing committees could report legislation that reforms the Office of Motor Carriers. In closing, Mr. Speaker, the House passed this provision in June. Here it is September 21, and regrettably neither the House nor the Senate has yet to pass a comprehensive reform of the Office of Motor Carriers. Time is running out. More than 18 months have passed since the subcommittee sounded the alarm that the Office of Motor Carriers needed to be reformed. The American public has waited too long. So when we are conferencing with the Senate, we will ask that the conferees seek the highest level of funding, as the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) wisely has sought for the Office of Motor Carriers and also insist on the House position, section 335, to ensure the funding for the Office of Motor Carriers is spent effectively and reduces the deaths on the highways. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) for this and for all of his efforts with regard to safety on FAA, but particularly on this one, and I support the motion.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 2084) making appropriations for the Department of Transportation and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, our colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), nominated Bishop Belo for the Nobel peace prize; and shortly thereafter, I visited East Timor about 2 years ago. I want to read a fax that I just received in my office about East Timor. The man said this is a deliberate, carefully planned operation. The militia are not out of control. They are, in fact, firmly under the control of the Indonesian military. East Timor is an Asian Kosovo. Asian Kosovo; and then he goes on to say that a gentle 80-year-old nun who helped work for Bishop Belo has been shot. Bishop Belo's home has been burned down. Bishop Belo has fled the country. And he ends by saying the neck of a 3-year-old child was wrung while his family watched. This administration has to speak out and deal with this issue, and they have to speak out and deal with this issue before the end of the day. Urgent September 9, 1999. Congressman Frank Wolf, 241 Cannon HOB, Washington, DC. Dear Congressman Wolf: I'm aware of your interest in the people of East Timor and am contacting you because I believe you may not have heard of the massacre at Suai. Details of this event follow later in this message. The East Timorese desperately need outside help and the support of democratic nations, in particular the USA. No less than 78.5% of East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia. Since then, Indonesia has subjected them to a terrible revenge. Militia and Indonesian military have been burning, shooting and looting their way through East Timor for days. The latest estimate (given tonight by the Australian Defense Minister) is that 200,000 East Timorese have been forcibly evacuated to West Timor and elsewhere in the Indonesian archipelago. There is a systematic programme of destruction and genocide taking place--designed to wipe out the East Timorese elite and raze the infrastructure of East Timor to the ground. This is a deliberate and carefully planned operation--the militia are not `out of control', they are in fact firmly under control of the Indonesian military. East Timor is an Asian Kosovo: Indonesian-backed militia and Indonesian police and military are causing terror in East Timor even as you read this message. A gentle 80-year-old nun who helped care for Bishop Belo has been shot, Bishop Belo has fled the country, and there are numerous accounts of children and young men being hacked to death. The neck of a three-year-old child was wrung while his family watched. I'm writing to you as an Australian citizen who is outraged at these events and who cannot believe that the world, and the US in particular, will do nothing to stop this holocaust. There is a desperate, urgent need for immediate outside help for the Timorese, a gentle Christian people, who believed that the world would stand by them. Australia has committed 4,500 troops for a peacekeeping force but has so far failed to get any support from the US. There is a great sense of sadness, anger and frustration here about this. And I must tell you that there is great disappointment at the lack of US interest. Australia has always stood by the side of the United States whenever the US has asked for support--in Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War. This is the first time in more than 50 years that we have asked for US help and we are getting nowhere. Our troops are on standby in Darwin and by coincidence there is a substantial number of US troops and several US warships also in Northern Australia. My guess is that a significant show of force and commitment by the US would turn the tide. Please, Congressman, so what you can to help. Ask your colleagues and President Clinton to take a stand for democracy and against the evil, malevolent forces at work in East Timor today. Yours sincerely, Ian Evans. The following information is from the web site of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and was telecast on ABC- TV tonight (7:00 pm AEST, 9/9/99) UN Confirms Massacre at Suai The United Nations has confirmed a massacre in which approximately 100 supporters of independence were shot or hacked to death by rampaging pro-Jakarta militia members earlier this week. The victims were among more than 2,000 terrified people who had taken refuge from the militia for some weeks in a church in the western town of Suai. Three priests are believed to have been among those killed during the militia attack on Tuesday. The East Timorese head of the Catholic aid agency Caritas, Father Francisco Barreto, is also believed to have been killed. In other reports, six nuns from the Canossian order were reportedly killed in the city of Baucau, 115 kilometers east of Dili. A spokeswoman for Caritas in Australia said priests have been identified as supporting independence because pro- independence supporters had begun seeking shelter in church buildings in the past months.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.J. Res. 58. I do so because I am deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Vietnam which has not improved despite normalization of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam. Religious persecution has continued to intensify. I submit for the Record a recent Reuters story about The Venerable Thich Quang Do, head of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). This 80-year-old Buddhist leader has been in prison for over twenty years. Before we rush down the path of providing U.S. taxpayer dollars to businesses wanting to get into Vietnam, we must consider people like Thich Quang Do. Earlier this year, the Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Fellowship issued a report describing the intense persecution of Christians in the Hmong minority group in Vietnam's Northwest province and as well as members of the Hre and Bahnar minority groups. It has pages and pages of testimony from persecuted believers and edicts from the Vietnamese government regarding its anti- religion policies. The U.S. should be keeping the pressure on Vietnam to improve its human rights record, not rewarding them. Monk Urges Hanoi to Free Buddhist Leader (By Andy Soloman) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Aug. 3 (Reuters)--A dissident Buddhist monk in Vietnam has demanded the country's communist rulers immediately release from detention the aged patriarch of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). Thich Quang Do, head of the UBCV's Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma and a former long-term political prisoner, said 80-year-old Thich Huyen Quang should either be tried or unconditionally released. The patriarch is detained at Quang Phuoc pagoda in central Quang Ngai province. The United Nations and international human groups say he has been held without trial since 1981. Hanoi rarely makes mention of Quang, but routinely denies it detains or jails people for the peaceful expression of religious or political views. ``On what grounds have they detained him for nearly 20 years?'' Do said in a recent interview at the Buddhist monastery where he lives in the former Saigon. ``If he is guilty of a crime he should be put on trial, but they can find no (legitimate) reasons.'' Quang and Do were prominent Buddhists who led protests in the former South Vietnam against the U.S.-backed Saigon regime during the Vietnam War. ``During the night there is nobody, he is alone. We are very worried about his health during the night. If anything happened to him there would be nobody to help,'' Do said. He added that Quang has no official documents or identity papers and is therefore unable to travel. ``All his visitors are checked and questioned. We ask for international help to put pressure and use influence to press the government to release him as soon as possible,'' Do said. Following World War Two, Quang led Buddhists against French colonial forces, but he also opposed the communist Viet Minh, who jailed him from 1952-54. In the years following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the victorious communists banned the UBCV and replaced it with the state-sponsored Vietnam Buddhist Church. Quang, Do and other UBCV activists remained a constant thorn in the side of the Hanoi authorities. In March, 72-year-old Do secretly travelled for his first meeting with Quang in 18 years, but he was detained by police and questioned for hours before being escorted back to Ho Chi Minh City. Abdelfattah Amor, the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Religious Intolerance, in a visit to Vietnam last October, said he was prevented from travelling to meet the patriarch and was physically barred by security personnel from meeting Do. In a report, Amor slammed Vietnam for failing to allow basic religious freedoms--a charge Hanoi rejected. Do, who has spent much of the last 20 years under detention or in prison, was freed under an amnesty last September after serving three-and-a-half years of a five-year sentence for offenses connected with attempts to send relief supplies to flood victims in 1994.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to MFN. I know it is a difficult vote for a lot of Members and there is a lot of soul searching, so I just want to tell people why I am strongly opposed to MFN. For me it is an issue of the soul; it is an issue of conscience; it is an issue that 10 years from now when I look back, I want to know that I did maybe not what was right, maybe people differ, but what I think my God told me to do. Now I think we maybe in a situation similar to the Parliament in the 1930's in Great Britain when Winston Churchill tried to alarm people about what was taking place, and yet they still wanted to trade with Nazi Germany, and Nazi Germany went on to do horrific things. My sense is, and I hope I am wrong, but that is what is going to happen today with China. And I would say to my friend from Indiana, they are the evil empire and they are the evil empire like Ronald Reagan said in 1983 with regard to the Soviet Union. There are 13 Catholic bishops in jail in China today. I would change my vote if they set those bishops free. Bishop Su, who has been in jail because he gave holy communion to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith); he has been in jail for over 20 years. Thirteen Catholic bishops, a large number of Catholic priests are in jail. There is the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). He can tell my colleagues; go up and ask him. Bishop Su is in jail because of giving him holy communion. So the next time on Sunday the call comes to go forward to the rail when colleagues take holy communion, think about Bishop Su. I hear all these missionaries quoted. Does anyone ever quote Bishop Su any more? Does anyone even ask to see Bishop Su any more? There are a large number of Catholic priests in jail. There are a large number of evangelical house church people that are in jail. Muslims in China are being persecuted like my colleagues will not believe. I have a letter talking about electric volts and shocks being used on the Muslims. Then there's Tibet. I am the only Member of Congress who has been to Tibet for years. When I was there, and we came in not as a Member of Congress, but as a tourist, I was told of unbelievable persecution. Lhasa is a Chinese city. It is no longer a Tibetan city. The Chinese government has destroyed 4,000 monasteries, not 4 monasteries, but 4,000 monasteries. There are more slave labor camps in China today than when Solzhenitsyn wrote the book Gulag Archipelago. The book was a best seller. We all went out and hailed it, and it broke the world open. There are more gulags, more gulags in China today than there were when Solzhenitsyn wrote the book on the evil empire in Russia. If you don't believe it, call the CIA; they can share the pinpoint maps. Then there are forced abortions. They track women down and throw them on the table. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) can tell my colleagues about forced abortions. In some respects this ought to be a major pro-life vote. Steve Mosher of the Population Research Institute told me the other day there were 12 to 15 million abortions last year in China, and it is basically the abortion capital of the world. I do not understand, frankly, why this is not a pro-life vote. Then there is slave labor. There are Chinese workers, slave laborers, in Sudan building a pipeline, and in Sudan every major terrorist group in the world, Abu Nidal, Hamas are all there. What would my colleagues tell Bishop Su if we could see him today? I want to tell him that I know we will not take away MFN, but I wanted to send a message with my vote. I urge my colleagues to talk to the Romanian people. When we took MFN away from Ceausescu, the people told us that they heard the news on Radio Free Europe, and I want to send a message to the Chinese people on Radio Free Asia that the Congress stood with them on behalf of the persecuted church in China. There are good and decent men and women on both sides. For me, this is a vote of conscience and I urge support of the Rohrabacher resolution. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.J. Res. 57, the resolution disapproving normal trade relations (NTR)--formerly called Most- Favored-Nation (MFN) status--with the People's Republic of China. I commend my colleague from California, Representative Rohrabacher, for sponsoring this legislation. I also want to applaud the valiant and always steadfast efforts of Representative Nancy Pelosi. She is a consistent voice for freedom in China and a true advocate for human rights around the world. Today, while we debate this issue on the floor of the House of Representatives, the Chinese government is suppressing and persecuting practitioners of Falun Gong. In the past several weeks, China has been engaging in one of the largest crackdowns of a group of people since the Tiananmen massacre of 1989. Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners, including many of its leaders and government officials, have been arrested. It is estimated that over 40 million people in China practice Falun Gong, many of them poor or unemployed. They are not involved in politics, but the Chinese government has chosen to crack down harshly on this movement. This illustrates perfectly why I continue to oppose NTR for China. Many argue that the way to improve human rights in China is to keep giving China NTR status. The problem is that this has been our policy for the past ten years, but human rights have not improved. China's human rights record is as bad today as it was in 1989, when the Chinese government killed and injured hundreds of students who were peacefully demonstrating for political reform on Tiananmen Square. The persecution of the underground Christian church continues. Many Protestant pastors, Catholic bishops and priests are still being arrested, fined, beaten and imprisoned. Some have been in prison for many, many years--even decades. I will insert for the Record a partial list of Chinese Christians currently detained or imprisoned for religious reasons. House church Christians and laypeople are still being arrested, fined, beaten and imprisoned. Churches are still being destroyed. Bibles are still being confiscated. The Tibetan culture and religion are still being systematically destroyed. Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns are being arrested and tortured. Tibetan Buddhist monasteries are still being controlled by cadres of Chinese communist security officials. The Tibetan people are still being deprived of their freedom, their livelihood and their culture. I have seen the repression in Tibet with my own eyes. It is frightening. Muslims in the Northwest portion of China are still being persecuted--Amnesty International issued a comprehensive report on persecution of Muslim Uyghurs earlier this year. Uyghurs are being arbitrarily detained. Thousands of Uyghur political prisoners are in jail and are being tortured. Recently, a group of Uyghurs shared with the Congressional Human Rights Caucus how they had been tortured in prison. I am submitting for the Record the testimony of Mr. Abdugheni Musa, who was arrested and tortured in 1995 for organizing a peaceful youth rally. Democracy activists are still being watched, arrested, imprisoned, held under house arrest and sent to reeducation through labor camps. Scores of individuals associated with the Democracy Party have been arrested and given long sentences just in the last few months. Over one hundred Tiananmen Square protesters are still in prison. Those wishing to remember the 10th anniversary of the tragic events of spring 1989 when hundreds of protesters were brutally massacred at Tiananmen Square were prevented by the Chinese government from doing so. The families of the dead, wounded and exiled who are demanding an apology from the government of China for its actions in 1989 are being persecuted. The Chinese government allowed and encouraged protesters to destroy the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. They bused in people. The Chinese Ambassador insulted the intelligence of the American people on Sunday talk shows with his demands. China still runs a massive system of gulag slave labor camps--the laogai. The State Department's 1998 report on human rights in China said 230,000 people were detained in ``re-education through labor camps'' in China at the end of last year. People are sent to re- education through-labor camps without a trial or any kind of judicial proceeding. China still has a program in which the kidneys, corneas and other organs are taken from executed prisoners and sold to foreign buyers for tens of thousands of dollars. Some of these organs are being peddled in the United States, against U.S. law. It still engages in coercive population practices--including forced abortions and sterilizations. There are 7 to 15 million abortions a year in China, 6 to 12 times more than in the United States. According to the Population Research Institute, most of these abortions are performed under duress, with threats, bribes and sanctions--and sometimes outright force--used to elicit compliance. So nothing has really changed with regard to human rights in China. Our policy has done nothing to improve China's behavior regarding proliferation. According to Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, China remains a ``key supplier'' of technology inconsistent with our nonproliferation goals--particularly missile and chemical technology to Pakistan and Iran. On April 15, 1999, the Washington Times cited intelligence reports that the Chinese are continuing to sell weapon technologies. Finally, our policy has resulted in no improvement in ending China's unfair trade practices. The U.S. trade deficit with China continues to skyrocket (approaching over $60 billion), U.S. goods are shut out of China's market and U.S. jobs continue to be lost to cheap Chinese labor. In 1989, at the time of the Tiananmen massacre, our trade deficit with China was only $6 billion. today it is 10 times that. This year a new element has been thrown into the mix that should make this Congress think twice about continuing our business-first policy-- undisputed evidence of China's espionage in U.S. nuclear labs and its acquisition of knowledge about some of America's most advanced nuclear warheads. As I look at this issue and the Cox report, I am concerned that the United States will be providing China the economic means through trade to develop missiles on which to attach advanced nuclear warheads designed with information stolen from the United States so these missiles can then be used to hit our grandchildren, or even our children. the report of the bipartisan Select Committee on National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China chaired by Representative Chris Cox found clear evidence that design information stolen from the United States will enable China to build thermonuclear warheads and attach them to ICBM missiles sooner than would have otherwise been possible. It said ``the PRC has the infrastructure and the technical ability to use elements of U.S. warhead design information in the PLA's next generation of thermonuclear weapons. . . . The PRC could begin serial production of such weapons during the next decade. . . .'' It also concludes, ``The Select Committee judges that elements of the stolen information on U.S. thermonuclear warhead designs will assist the PRC in building its next generation of mobile ICBM's, which may be tested this year.'' China's mobile ICBM missiles will have the ability to hit the United States. We are giving China the economic means to develop these weapons. While it may be painful for some if we restrict China's ability to trade on favorable terms with the United States, China is now a greater threat to the U.S. national security than it has ever been in the past. We also need to remember that China has deliberately tried to influence our political process through illegal campaign donations. Our current policy has yielded very little progress on issues that the American people care about. Some 67 percent of Americans surveyed by Zogby earlier this year said that they would like the U.S. to put increased restrictions on trade with China because of China's human rights abuses. Many Americans are concerned about China's nuclear espionage as well. It is interesting to note that in years past, when the Chinese government actually feared that MFN would be taken away by this Congress, people were released on their treatment in prison improved. Wei Jingsheng, one of China's most noted dissidents, wrote in a recent message to Congress, ``Although the lack of willpower and consistency in U.S. policy have prevented effective pressure on China to democratize, the effectiveness of the use of the MFN issue to improve conditions for political prisoners and limit arrest of dissidents has been clearly shown.'' He has a personal example. In late 1993, after serving 14 years in jail, he was released from prison at a time when China wanted to be selected to host the year 2000 Olympics and President Clinton had publicly threatened now to renew MFN again unless human rights improved. He was arrested again in early 1994, but kept in a guest house where he was free to go out for dinner with a police escort. Once President Clinton assured the Chinese privately that he would delink trade from human rights in 1994, Wei was moved to a harsh prison where conditions were very bad. He as kept there until he was released on medical parole in 1997 after intense international pressure. I submit for the Record a copy of his statement. Nobody has been released in the last few weeks in China. Quite the opposite. China is engaged in one of the harshest crackdowns on dissent this decade. China knows they have nothing to fear from this Congress. Beijing is confident that trade will trump everything else and the American government will continue to make any concessions necessary to ensure favorable conditions for trade. This Congress must stand up for the values of freedom and democracy. We must be on the side of those fighting for freedom, not standing with the oppressors. The hundreds of political and religious prisoners in jail in China today are counting on this Congress to speak out for them. It may be the only thing that saves their life or wins their freedom. Trade has not brought freedom to China despite ten years of unconditional NTR, but this debate and vote is not actually about restricting trade with China. We all know that at the end of the day the status quo will not change. But if the House were to disapprove NTR for China, it would send a powerful message to Beijing--one the Chinese government will not forget. Let's change our course--let's vote for one year not to renew NTR. Think about the Catholic bishops, the Catholic priests, the Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns, the Falun Gong practitioners, the Uyghur Muslims, the democracy activists and the many, many others who are sacrificing their freedom for their beliefs. Think about them when you cast your vote. Our current policy has done nothing to help them. This vote may be the only hope they have. Personal Testimony Dear honorable congressmen and congresswomen, Today I thank you very much for giving me this precious opportunity to testify before you. My name is Abdugheni Musa. I am a Uyghur from Ghulja City in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of P.R. China. I want to testify on the brutal torture methods of the Chinese government through my personal accounts of suffering in the Chinese prison. In February 1995, some young Uyghur businessmen and I organized The Ili Youth Mashrap, a traditional Uyghur cultural event, in order to improve morality, say no to drugs, strengthen our religious faith and build local economy. This traditional event had a very strong social impact on the Uyghurs in Ghulja City and was welcomed everywhere. However, the social impact of Mashrap shocked and worried the Chinese authorities. Thus, it became the very reason for the Chinese government to suppress the Mashrap and its participants. First of all, the Chinese government labeled Mashrap as illegal and then started arresting the Uyghur youth that organized and participated this event. The Ghulja municipal police arrested me on June 7, 1996 and detained me in Yengi Hayat prison. In jail, I constantly and repeatedly faced physical and mental torture from the Chinese prison guards. Two days after my arrest at 12:30 a.m., the Chinese prison guards dragged me into a basement interrogation cell and started interrogating and torturing me. Since then, the Chinese guards started a habit of torturing me every night. All of these Chinese guards spoke very good Uyghur language. These Chinese guards put me in the electric chair for seven times. For five times, they put a high voltage electric shocker on my head that caused extreme convulsion all over my body. My heart irregularly pounded and my eyes blackened. I fainted several times during the tortures. Exactly on the seventh day of my arrest, again the Chinese guards dragged me to the basement for confession in the middle of the night and inserted a wire with horsehair on top into my genital. The more the guard inserted the more he wound it. This caused severe damage to my urinary system. As a result, my genital swelled up and I urinated blood for more than a month. During the torture, one of the Chinese guards pointed his finger at me and said, ``We will castrate the inferior masculinity of your turban-heads and prostitute your girls. What can you turban-heads do to us great Chinese nation? With our spit, your will all drown.'' Then, they used electric club and knocked me down again and again. For three times, the Chinese guards allowed the Chinese inmates to brutalize me. For many times, the Chinese inmates kept me standing awake for several days. I fainted almost every time when they did this to me. They forced me to squat and put my hands back to kiss the wall from a meter apart. The Chinese inmates kicked me, hit me and punched me whenever I failed to kiss it. I bumped into the wall and my nose started bleeding. The Chinese prison guards seriously tortured, brutalized and severely injured me for more than one and a half-month. In the end, I collapsed because of fever, coughing with blood, sweating, frailty, lung problems and genital pain. I could stand and go to the restroom only with the help of others. I was bedridden for many days in the cell. On July 20, The Chinese prison doctor came to see me. He was shocked to know my physical problems. Then, for fear of my death in jail, he ordered the jail to send me to the municipal military hospital on July 25th. I stayed for only a week in the hospital. And then I escaped the hospital on August 3. Later, I successfully escaped to Kazkhstan via Korghas border on August 5. While I was in Chinese prison, the Chinese police but six of my Uyghur friends and me into the same jail. Like me, all of them faced serious tortures from the Chinese prison guards to confess. We were all forced and tortured to confess that Mashrap was organized to carry out anti-Chinese government activities and separating Xinjiang from China. However, in the face of extremely painful tortures, all of us denied these charges. On July 5, the Chinese guards dragged all of us into the basement interrogation cell and forced us to confess our crimes. We told the guards that we had nothing to confess since we didn't break any law. The angry Chinese guards stripped Yusuf naked and forced him to confess. Since he denied all the criminal charges and said Mashrap was a traditional and cultural Uyghur event aimed at improving moral and social values. The Chinese guards couldn't find a way for him to confess, and also hoping to teach all of us a lesson, brought in two German shepherds in the cell and started using the dogs to bite naked Yusuf. One of the dogs viciously attacked him and bit his genital. He fell and crawled on the floor holding his private area. But the ruthless Chinese guards continued to molest him with the dogs hoping to annihilate our will of resistance. Yusuf and I were put into the same cell at that time. Today he is still serving prison terms in the Chinese prison. To get his confession, the Chinese guards tortured my friend Abdusalam Keyim on a high voltage electric chair. Then he was stripped naked and forced into an extremely low degree freezer. Later, the Chinese guards nailed metal sticks into his fingers and pulled out his nails one by one. In the end, they hit the back of his head with an electric bar and permanently damaged his brain. Since then, be became mentally insane and released from the jail. Abdusalam was from the Watergate neighborhood in Ghulja City. My friend Muhammad Eli Mamatimin faced the most brutal torture in jail. One day he was forced to confess his crimes by the Chinese guards. He denied every single charge. To punish him, the guards put a wine bottle into his anus and kicked the bottle every time he denied one charge. Immediately he internally bled and fainted. Then, we has taken into the cell. We was what the Chinese guards did to him and all of us cried. Since then, Muhammad couldn't sit or sleep on his back and walk straight. The most shocking and heinous crime the Chinese prison guards committed in jail is that they allowed the Chinese inmates to rape the Uyghur girls by taking turns. On 27 in June 1996, the Chinese prison guards brought Peride, a 21- year old pious Uyghur Muslim girl, from the ladies cell into the men's jail. The Chinese guards striped her naked and told her to ask her God to save her. Later, they put her naked into a cell with six Chinese inmates. These six Chinese criminals took turn and raped her one by one. We heard Peride's painful cries coming out of the Chinese cell. We yelled, cried, kicked the metal bars and the wall. Instead of punishing the Chinese inmates, the guards furiously rushed into our cell and beat us up with electric bars. Then, they held Peride out of the Chinese cell since she was already fainted. Peride was from the Konqi neighborhood in Ghulja City. When I escaped to Kazakhstan, a friend of mine who was put in this jail told me the following account. One day in January 1997, the Chinese prison guards stripped Rena, a 23- year old Uyghur girl, naked and put her into Chinese cell. Like Peride, Rena was group-raped by the Chinese inmates. Rena was from Kepekyuzi village at the Jilyuz County. Now I want to give a list of names of my Uyghur friends and acquaintances that suffered and continually suffered in the Chinese prisons. Some of their whereabouts are still unknown or missing today. 1. Turghan Tursun, 27, religious student, arrested on February 5, 1997 as a ``separatist''. He was sentenced to 5- year in jail. Currently, Turghan is serving his prison terms in Ili Prefecture Jail. He was from Ghulja tannery. 2. Iminjan, 29, teacher, arrested after February 1997 as a ``separatist''. He was sentenced to 15-year in jail. Currently, Iminjan is serving his prison term in Ili Prefecture Jail. He was from Ghulja tannery. 3. Yusufjan Eysa, 29, private businessman, arrested in January 1997. He was missing for one year. Later found by his father in Qapqal jail. Yusufjan was sentenced to 5-year in jail. Currently, he is serving his term at Ghulji municipal prison. 4. Seydehmet Yunus, 24, religious student, arrested in April 1998 as a ``separatist''. He was from Erkin Street in Ghulja City. He is still missing. 5. Ablet, 26, religious student, arrested in April 1998 as a ``separatist''. He was from Mashrapbay Street in Ghulja City. He is still missing. 6. Tursun, 26, religious student, arrested in April 1998 as a ``separatist''. He was from Totdukan neighborhood in Ghulja City. He is still missing. 7. Kahar, 26, religious student, arrested in May 1998 as a ``separatist''. He was from Totdukan neighborhood in Ghulja City. He is still missing. 8. Ablikim Muhammadjan, 24, religious student, arrested in April 1998 as a ``separatist''. He was from Dong neighborhood in Ghulja City. He is still missing. 9. Mirzat, 25, religious student, arrested in April 1998 as a ``separatist''. He was from the Watergate neighborhood. He is still missing. 10. Zulpikar Mamat, 26, religious student, arrested in March 1998 as a ``separatist''. He was from Aydong neighborhood in Ghulja City. He is still missing. 11. Ilyar, 26, religious student, arrested in May 1998 as a ``separatist''. He was from Urumqi Nenming neighborhood. He is still missing. 12. Dawud, 28, religious student, arrested in May 1998 as a ``separatist''. He was from Azatyuz village at Jeliyuz County in Ghulja. He is still missing. 13. Ablet Karihaji, 53, a religious mullah, arrested in December 1996 as a ``separatist''. He was sentenced for 20 years. He was from Kepekyuz village at Jeliyuz County in Ghulja. Due to severe torture, he was taken out with a handcart to meet his wife and kids when they came to visit him in prison. 14. Muhammadjan Karim, 29, religious teacher, arrested in June 1997 as a ``separatist''. He was from Topadeng neighborhood in Ghulja City. He is still missing. 15. Sultan Tursun, 25, religious student, arrested in February 1997 as a ``separatist''. He was Dong neighborhood in Ghulja City. Dear ladies and gentlemen, all of these people are my good friends. The Chinese government has imprisoned a person from almost every Uyghur family in Ghulja City since 1996. At present, the Chinese government is still arresting hundreds of Uyghurs and mercilessly torturing them in the prisons. The Chinese human rights violation of the Uyghur people is nowhere to be found in the world. It is my sincere hope from the bottom of my heart that the United States, the United Nations, and the international community take necessary measures to guarantee the fundamental human right of the Uyghur people and help free all the Uyghur political prisoners in the Chinese prisons. Thank you, Abdugheni Musa.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I am submitting for the Record an article from the recent Washington Watch by the Family Research Council about Bishop Macram Max Gassis, a Roman Catholic bishop from Sudan. Over the years, Bishop Macram has tirelessly fought for justice for his people--the people of Southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains who have suffered and died in great numbers during the war that has plagued the country for the past fifteen years. Over 2 million people have died in Sudan--more than in Rwanda, Kosovo, Somalia and Bosnia combined. They often feel they are forgotten by the world. Bishop Macram reminds us that these men, women and children must not be forgotten. He reminds us of their brave spirit, their hope in the midst of suffering and their quest for justice. He reminds us of our responsibility to speak out, take action and do what we can to help the people of Sudan. I have been privileged to know Bishop Macram over the years. A Gentle Giant of Faith (By Bill Saunders) In Sudan, just south of Egypt, where the church traces its roots to Apostolic times, a radical Islamic government is waging war on its own citizens--torturing and murdering Christians. In this war, the government regularly bombs innocent civilians, destroys their food supplies, poisons their only sources of clean water, desecrates their churches, supports the taking of their children as slaves, and forces non-Arab, non-Muslim people into refugee camps where they must convert to Islam or starve. For years, the world has done little to help. The U.N. has allowed the Sudanese government to dictate where it can provide relief (thus, the most needy people starve). Until recently, the U.S. focused little diplomatic effort on the problem, despite Sudan's strategic position as a bridge between black Africa and the Middle East, and despite the Sudanese government's avowed aim of exporting radical Islam throughout the world. Only recently, the House of Representatives passed a stinging resolution, finally and fairly condemning these practices by the Sudanese government. Senator Sam Brownback has introduced a similar resolution in the Senate but it remains to be seen whether the House will vote to take substantive action. In the midst of this man-made hell on earth, one man stands out as he fights for justice. That man is Catholic Bishop Macram Max Gassis. Born in Sudan of ethnically mixed parents and educated in England, Italy, and the United States, the Bishop is an articulate modern-day prophet. The only Sudanese bishop born in the northern (Arab) part of the country, he is fluent in the Arabic language and understands those in the North who see all blacks as ``slaves'' and all Christians as ``infidels''. Unlike so many others, he refuses to pretend the horror does not exist. He has spoken out before the European Parliament, the U.S. Congress, and the United Nations Human Rights Commission. He travels regularly to the West, particularly to the United States, to expose the evil in his country. His witness has inspired many, from Senator Brownbeck to Congressman Frank Wolf. He, like St. Paul, has spoken the truth to kings and governors. In Sudan, the people revere Bishop Gassis for his courage. The government, angry that he has called it to account, has branded him a criminal. Whenever he travels back to his country, he risks being captured and possibly executed. Undaunted, he returns to his diocese because his people need him. His presence inspires them. Every time he returns, he smuggles desperately needed supplies through enemy lines. In many areas, he is the only one providing assistance. Despite his tribulations, the Bishop remains a gentle man, firmly committed to Christ. He has a special affection for children, particularly those children who were formerly enslaved, and is raising several hundred of them, orphaned by the raiders who abducted them. These children need food, clothing, shelter, education, and counseling, and he provides it. Because of this expression of Christian love, the children are joyful and, like Bishop Gassis, full of hope. Christianity in Sudan, its ancestral home, is alive and growing. The church, through heroes like Bishop Gassis, refuses to be silenced. As he says, ``though we in Sudan are being crucified, after every crucifixion, there comes a resurrection.''

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) for his leadership on this, and all of the Members. There are so many, their names cannot be mentioned, but for the faithful necessary. I visited East Timor about 2 years ago, the sites, the scenes, the stories of slaughter and death which apparently is still taking place, even in a greater amount. This resolution will help, and I would hope, and I call on the administration, Assistant Secretary Roth to take a high-level official from our DOD to go to Jakarta and also to go to East Timor to tell the Indonesian military that if the violence continues, there will be no support at all from the United States for their military. The gentleman's language I think sets up a good system whereby we can send that message. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) and all of the Members, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) and may others for their faithfulness. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment being offered by Representative Doug Bereuter condemning ongoing violence in East Timor. I visited East Timor in 1997 and found the island to be in a state of siege. The people with whom I spoke were afraid to look me in the eye. I heard stories of young people being dragged away from their homes at night and could sense the massive military presence that had kept the aspirations of the East Timorese in check since 1974. I met with one young man whose ear had been cut by security officials and heard story after story of violence. This year brought signs of hope when President Habibie announced in January of his intention of allow for a referendum on the status of east Timor. For the first time, the people of East Timor would be able to make their views known in a legitimate process monitored by the United Nations and a secret ballot. This was a very positive step forward and I personally wrote President Habibie commending this action. But once again, forces of darkness are conspiring to prevent a referendum from taking place. Paramilitaries, widely believed to be armed and financed by the Indonesian military, are roaming the island, threatening leaders who are calling for independence and terrorizing the population. Tens of thousands of East Timorese have been forced to flee their homes and are hiding out in the hills and forests. Many people continue to die. I enclose for the record a recent article from the Washington Post describing this situation. It is terrifying. The United Nations mission has been attacked. U.N. monitors are restricted to the capital city of Dili and have not been allowed into the countryside where much of the violence is taking place. Several months ago, Congress heard the testimony of one young man who survived a massacre in the village of Liquica on April 5-6. He spoke of the violence, intimidation, terror and abuse that was taking place at the hands of the pro-integration paramilitary units in Timor. More than 200 people died. He barely survived after being beaten over the head with a concrete block by his attackers. The police and plain clothes members of the Indonesian government stood by and watched this attack take place. I enclose a copy of his testimony for the record. The Bereuter amendment condemns paramilitary violence in East Timor, urges the immediate disarmament of all paramilitary units and urges that international human rights monitors be given free and open access in order to prevent violence in the weeks leading up to the United Nations sponsored referendum. This amendment is very, very important. Indonesia must get the message that its relationship with the United States will not be fully restored until a free and fair referendum takes place in East Timor. For Jakarta, this could be a win/win situation. The recent elections in Indonesia showed tremendous progress and signs of hope. The international community, and the American people, are ready to move forward into a new era of U.S.-Indonesian cooperation. But, the United States should not fully embrace Indonesia until it does everything possible to comply with the terms of the United Nations agreement set forth earlier this year and cooperate with the United Nations mission in East Timor (UNAMET). The military leaders in Indonesia must recognize that the people of East Timor have a legitimate right to peacefully make their views known about their political future. The Indonesian military must become a force for peace, rather than violence. Personally, I strongly oppose the resumption of a cooperative military relationship between the U.S. and Indonesia until there is a free, fair and bloodless referendum in East Timor. Congress has denied Indonesia the right to participate in the International Military Exchange Training Program (IMET) and the Joint Combined Exchange Training Program (JCET) because of its concern about ABRI's role in East Timor. We did this over the objections of the administration. I, and I know many of my colleagues share this view, do not support resuming either of these programs until after the referendum takes place. This message must be relayed regularly and forcefully by high-ranking administration officials. I enclose for the record a copy of my recent letter to Stanley Roth urging him to visit East Timor before the referendum. I have suggested that he take with him a high-ranking military officer, such as Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet Admiral Blair, so that there is no doubt in the mind of the General Wiranto and the rest of the Indonesian military about our intentions. The message must be clear: there will be military cooperation between the U.S. and Indonesia until a free and fair referendum takes place in East Timor. This amendment is a step in that direction. I support the Bereuter amendment and urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it. [From the Washington Post, July 20, 1999] Thousands Flee Homes in E. Timor (By Keith B. Richburg) Faulara, Indonesia.--Army-backed militias have forced tens of thousands of East Timorese villagers from their homes-- shoving some over the border into other parts of Indonesia-- in a campaign apparently aimed at influencing the outcome of next month's United Nations-sponsored referendum on independence for the territory. The United Nations, human rights groups and aid agencies have estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 people have been driven from their homes, with thousands being held in town centers as virtual hostages to the militias, who hold indoctrination classes instructing them to vote against independence. The militias have confiscated radios to ensure that the villagers have no access to outside information about the ballot, say U.N. officials, aid workers and some of the displaced people. Some of the people have fled into the surrounding hills and forests where they are suffering from lack of food and medicine and outside the reach of aid agencies. Many of those in the forests and camped along roadsides said they fled after being told they would be killed if they did not join the militia, known in this area as the Besi Merah Putih (BMP), which means Red and White Iron, after the colors of the Indonesian flag. ``They came and said you all have to become Besi Merah Putih or you die,'' said Laurendo, 28, interviewed along the road in the Sarai area in the western portion of the territory, which is now home to about 3,500 displaced people.``Some joined, because they didn't want to die. Some ran into the hills. Others were killed. They just killed them right there, and left the bodies for others to collect.'' Ian Martin, head of the U.N. mission in East Timor, known as UNAMET, said the issue of displaced people is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome in ensuring a free and fair vote next month. He said they numbered ``ten of thousands. The nature of the problem is such that you can't hope to put a number on it.'' Another relief agency, whose officials asked that their names and organizations not be published, put the number of displaced at ``58,000 or more,'' including 11,000 who have sought refuge in the territory's capital, Dili. The three western districts where the BMP holds sway are East Timor's most populous provinces. The militias rule with virtual impunity here, and U.N. workers have been attacked and threatened. And it is here that the anti-independence militias have threatened to carve off the western provinces and partition the territory, if East Timor votes for independence. Last May, Indonesia signed an agreement at the United Nations setting up the August referendum that most analysts say is likely to lead to approval of independence, almost 24 years after Indonesian troops invaded the territory and began a violent occupation that has killed about 200,000 people. But even while agreeing to hold the ballot, the Indonesian military since the beginning of the year has been arming and supporting as many as 13 militia groups like the Red and White Iron, which have been terrorizing and trying to intimidate people into voting to remain a part of Indonesia. ``On the face of it, it seems they want to force people to vote for autonomy [and against independence], so they use violence, terror, even money,'' said Aniceto Gutteres Lopes, a Timorese lawyer who heads the Legal Aid, Human Rights and Justice Foundation in Dili. Gutteres said his group has data putting the number of displaced people as high as 60,000. ``People are unable to stay in one location,'' he said. He also said his office has received consistent reports of displaced people, mostly women, children and the elderly, who have been forced out of East Timor, across the border to the town of Atambua, in West Timor, which is part of Indonesia. The men, he said, ``are left behind and forced to join the militia.'' Villagers appeared to confirm reports of a campaign to prevent large numbers of East Timorese from voting. Santiago, 20, wearing a ripped white T-shirt, shorts and a herded-band, and armed with a machete, recalls how 30 people from his village were headed away--including his mother and father. ``They took them away in an army truck,'' he said. ``All the men were killed. Only the women and old people were spared.'' He said the militiamen told them their relatives were being moved across the border. And now Santiago and his friend, Maumeta, where standing along the road, on watch for any sign of militamen approaching. Dan Murphy, an American doctor working in Dili, was on the only aid convoy that went into the area to find displaced people. The convoy, including several U.N. vehicles, was attacked by a militia outside Likisia on the return trip. ``The militias destroy any radio,'' he said. ``You've killed or punished if you listen to a radio. The only information they want you to have is what they tell you.'' ``Western [East] Timor is decimated,'' Murphy said. ``The entire population has just spread, running through the jungles . . . You can argue about the numbers, but the fact is, the population has been decimated.'' A trip to the region by three journalists confirmed the extent of the depopulation. Dozens of houses have been burned to ruin along a 30-mile stretch of road between the towns of Likisia and Sarai. The area now seems largely empty of people. One village, called Guico, appeared especially hard hit; all that remained from a militia attack were the frames of buildings and a few collapsed corrugated tin roofs. On the wall of one burned-out shell of what may have been a guard shack, a scrawled line of graffiti reads: ``Goodbye, Guico-- you are a village that will always be in my memory.'' Some who fled have become so hungry and weak after months in hiding that they have begun the trek back home, despite the risk of encountering the militia. This reverse movement is what aid groups and others say has made a precise count of displaced people difficult. The journalists last week encountered a group of 11 families making the return trip, after hiding in the forest since February. They came along the road with their belongings tied to their backs, piled in wheelbarrows, and strapped on horseback--plastic containers and wicker mats, machetes for cutting wood and a few burlap sacks. Among the group was a 28-year-old woman named Akalina, traveling with her husband, and a 1-month old baby who was listless and underweight. ``If we stayed in the forest any longer, we wouldn't have enough to eat,'' she said. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan decided to allow voter registration to begin July 16 despite the problem of the displaced people. Even taking the lowest estimates, they represent more than 10 percent of the voting population of around 400,000. To make sure the displaced are not left out, the world body is considering mobile voting registration teams that will seek them out. If they have lost their identity cards or other documents, the refugees will be able to sign an affidavit when they register. In addition, the Japanese government has given 2,000 portable radios to UNAMET, and David Wimhurst, the U.N. spokesman in Dili, said some of those will be allocated to the displaced people. For the moment, the displaced people here at Faulara are interested mainly in survival, and that means staying alert, being ready to move when necessary, and keeping one step ahead of the militias.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, traffic congestion and lack of mobility threatens not only our nation's prosperity, but quality of life and the family unit. That is why today, I am introducing the ``National Telecommuting and Air Quality Act,'' a bill designed to reduce both air pollution and traffic congestion. Efforts around the country to widen existing facilities and construct new bridges and highways and improve mass transit are essential. However, improved and expanded use of new technologies is also essential to meeting transportation needs. Telecommuting is also part of the answer to reducing traffic congestion and air pollution and easing the strain on families trying to find time to raise children and make ends meet from one payday to the next. It's also part of good environmental stewardship and energy conservation. Many jobs can be performed as well or better at home through the use of computers, faxes, email, and telephones than at an office or in other work centers. Mr. Speaker, telecommuting, by large numbers of employees, has many positive bi-products to which I would like to draw my colleagues' attention. Traffic congestion: In cities such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. (Numbers 1 and 2 on the gridlock list), telecommuting could reduce peak commuter traffic. According to research, 40 percent of the nation's workforce have jobs which are compatible with telecommuting. This reduction would come without paving one more lane of highway or adding one more bus or subway car. That saves money and makes everyone's life better. Air pollution: Automobiles produce about 30 percent of urban smog. Telecommuting could take a large bite out of air pollution (including nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, lead, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide). The result helps now and leaves a better world for our kids. Family wellness: Telecommuting gives workers more time to spend at home. Parents could care for infants or small children while they work. The stress of what to do with an ill relative--an older parent afflicted with Alzheimer's disease, for example--can be lessened. Working moms and dads could be better and more nurturing parents without having to leave the workforce. Instead of choices, there are good choices. Benefits to the handicapped: People with handicaps who lead productive and useful lives, but decide that the hassle of getting to and from work just isn't worth it, could be in the mainstream of the workforce through telecommuting. Energy conservation: Our nation remains heavily dependent on foreign oil, which is directly related to our culture of two- or more- car families and daily driving habits. Replacing the daily commute with telecommuting would reduce national oil consumption and help reduce dependency on foreign oil. Telecommuting is the information age's answer to traffic congestion, environmental stewardship and strengthening the family. Studies have shown that telecommuting works to increase both employee productivity and morale, which in turn helps the business bottom line. The concept is a win-win proposal for reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality--at virtually no cost to the federal government. Problems of employees shortfalls are also eased--people leaving the workforce for personal reasons would be less inclined to do so. But outside of the communications industry and some participation in the high-tech community, American businesses have not yet caught the vision-and the benefits of telecommuting. I believe the ``National Telecommuting and Air Quality Act'' can help. The idea is to develop pilot programs to urge employers to encourage and allow their employees to telecommute. That, in turn, helps reduce regional traffic congestion and air pollution, and also enables the region to build new bridges and parkways within clean air regulations. The goal is to provide an incentive for the public and private sectors to use telecommuting. The centerpiece of the telecommuting pilot project is a voluntary pollution credits trading program to explore the feasibility of using ``profit incentives'' to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. The idea works like this: millions of people nationwide get in their cars each morning and drive to work. This causes air pollution, and urban smog (nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxides, etc.) often referred to as ozone precursors. Yet there is little incentive for the private sector to become involved to reduce air pollution causing traffic. There is no monetary value placed on reducing this source of air pollution from a private sector business standpoint. The pilot program would establish an air pollution credits trading program in which small and large businesses, non-profit organizations, federal and state governments, schools and universities, or any other employer, can acquire credits by voluntarily participating in an employee telecommuting program. Participating employers receive pollution credits for a portion of the reduced pollutants which they can then sell on an exchange similar to a commodities exchange. Manufacturers and utility companies are currently regulated under the Clean Air Act and under increased pressure to reduce air pollutants from both the federal government and states which are struggling to develop implementation plans that improve air quality while allowing economic growth. Pollution credits trading is in practice today with sulfur dioxides (SOXs), which were mandated to be reduced under the Clean Air Act. Trading occurs between utility companies and manufacturing operations. If the air pollution credit trading program were in place, a participating employer which allowed its employees to telecommute on a regular basis would receive a pollution reduction credit for keeping those cars off the road and would be able to sell a portion of those credits for cash on a trading exchange. The size or value of the credit would be determined by the estimated pollution reduction. Any number of groups could buy the credits including utilities or other regulated entities under the Clean Air Act. Even environmental groups might want to buy pollution credits and hold on to them. The net result is reduced air pollution and traffic congestion, and most importantly an improvement in quality of life--more time with the family and less time on the road in traffic. And if all the studies are correct, these gains will be made with no loss of worker productivity. In fact, studies indicate telecommuting increases productivity. The bill provides a grant to the National Environmental Policy Institute to work with the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy to develop, in conjunction with regional businesses and local governments, a telecommuting clean air credits trading program in major metropolitan regions in the country confronted with significant traffic congestion. Included in the pilot will be the Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California, metropolitan regions, the top two most congested regions in the nation, and several other heavily congested areas. Mr. Speaker, the reason for the pilot program is two-fold. First, as chairman of the House Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee and as a representative of one of the fastest growing regions in the country, I understand today's serious transportation needs. Loudoun County, Virginia, in my district, is the third fastest growing county in the nation. Between 1976 and 1997 Loudoun County's population has shot up 175 percent. Those of you familiar with Tysons Corner may be interested that in 1976 it had 3.5 million square feet of office space. Today there is more than 21 million square feet of office space, a 500 percent increase. With this rapid and sustained growth, it should be no surprise that Washington is the second most traffic congested region in the country. Spending an hour and a half commuting each way to work is typical for many area residents. Also, I have long been an advocate of ``family-friendly'' workplace policies, particularly with the federal government. Families today are under so much daily stress and are faced with too many difficult challenges. Perhaps the most frustrating part of an hour and a half commute is that in many cases it could have been avoided. I think it is even more frustrating when both parents are working. Today's moms and dads are challenged to race home and get a hot meal on the table so they can sit, eat and talk together as a family. In the 101st Congress, I was a part of a successful effort to authorize and fund a metro-wide federal telecenter program which now boasts a total of 17 regional federal telecenters. There are seven telecenters in Northern Virginia, including one of the first telecenters to open in the Shenandoah Valley TeleBusiness Center in Winchester, Virginia. The centers are up and running with the latest technologies and technical support staff on hand. The next logical step is to get the public and private sectors involved in a wider telecommuting effort for their employees who can take advantage of cutting-edge technology to work from home. I have talked with leaders in the high-technology community about this telecommuting and air quality project. I have urged participation of industry leaders such as ATT, Litton Corporation, AOL, Orbital, and Science Application International Corporation and would encourage them to join in a symposium this fall on telecommuting initiatives for the Washington metropolitan region. The symposium would be part of the TeleWork America initiative spearheaded by the International Telework Association and Council. Any weekday morning, you can see the traffic back up along the Dulles Toll Road with high-tech buildings dotting the landscape along the corridor. If anyone can show how successful telecommuting can be, these are the businesses to lead the way. Clearly, as we are poised to enter the 21st Century--the ``Information Age''--telecommuting has a place. I have heard it said that work is something you do, not someplace you go. A pollution reduction credit trading program will provide the incentive for the private sector to lead the way in the telecommuting effort. Mr. Speaker, I hope our colleagues will look at this bill and consider signing on as a cosponsor of this proposal to promote cleaner air and less traffic congestion.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Weldon-Barr amendment. It continues previous law which prohibited the Department of the Interior from using Federal funds to approve tribal gambling which was not approved by a host State. Keep in mind, and I know other Members can tell about this, one tribe came to my congressional district and was going to buy a ski lift and create a gambling casino in that district. I know a tribe was going to Cape May, New Jersey, and do the same thing. There is danger here if this amendment is not adopted. I would also call the attention of my colleagues to the gambling commission study which was reported out 2 weeks ago or 3 weeks ago. The commission said, and I quote, ``Policymakers at every level may wish to impose an explicit moratorium on gambling expansion because it is running rampant in the country.'' Mr. Chairman, it has been found that more than 15 million Americans are problem or pathological gamblers. Half of them are children. Rather than going into a lot of statistics, to put it in words that we can understand, there are currently more adult and adolescent problem and pathological gamblers in America than reside in New York City. There are six times as many adolescent problem or pathological gamblers in America, 7.9 million, than men and women actively serving in the combined Armed Forces of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Air Force. Our Nation's youth is disproportionately impacted by gambling. And so the current Department of Interior regulations preempt States' rights. And without prejudging, and nobody can say without implicating, the Secretary of Interior is currently involved in a litigation in a State in the Midwest with regard to an issue with regard to Indian gambling. Mr. Chairman, I would urge that the Weldon-Barr amendment is a good amendment. I think it is the intention of what the Congress wanted to have, and I think it is one that gives us the pause that the commission recommended. And I might say that all the Members of this Congress, except for those who are freshmen, voted for this commission. The fact is, there was such unanimous support and anxious desire to have this commission that there were actually no votes on the floor in opposition to it. It was a voice vote. With that, I urge support of the Weldon-Barr amendment.

Mr. WOLF. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, keep in mind that the case down in Cape May, a tribe came into Cape May, and clearly perhaps there was at one time a tribe in Cape May, but they were no longer there and they had not been there for hundreds of years. They were going to buy several acres of land and establish a gambling casino there where there was no basic record of them having been. So I think the Weldon-Barr amendment is a good amendment. It brings us to where the country I think should be.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to our colleagues' attention a remarkable public servant who lost a heroic battle with cancer on June 24. Charles W. Gilchrist, a Democrat, served as the county executive in Montgomery County, MD, from 1978 to 1986. I never knew Charlie Gilchrist, but I followed his career because just by chance, we happened to be on the same train to New York City after Election Day in 1978. He was celebrating that day his victory as the new Montgomery County executive. I was getting away for a few days with my wife after having lost the election to be the representative for Virginia's 10th Congressional District. I never spoke to him on the train, but I saw his joy and followed his career from my vantage point across the river in Virginia. And what impressed me the most about this courageous politician is that in 1986 he walked away from elected office to a higher calling. There was no doubt this popular man would have been reelected and probably could have gone on to other elected positions. But when his second term ended, he announced he would leave and study for the priesthood. And for the rest of his life cut short by cancer, he served God. He worked in the inner city Chicago helping recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Most recently, he devoted his energy to working on public housing problems in central Baltimore. I would like to share with our colleagues two articles from the June 26, 1999, edition of The Washington Post which give more insight into the life and work of this unique man. [From The Washington Post, June 26, 1999] The Miracle of Charlie Gilchrist A Humble Man, He Turned From Politics to the Ministry (By Frank Ahrens) In 1984, Charlie Gilchrist--halfway through his second term as Montgomery County executive and seemingly poised to run for governor--shocked everyone around him by announcing that he was training to become an Episcopal priest. Once ordained, he lived in the lost neighborhoods of Chicago and Baltimore, ministering to the wretched, walking streets that had no trees but plenty of guns and drugs. He was so happy in the Lord's service, he was sometimes described as ``beatific.'' Over the past 35 years, Gilchrist transformed himself from a tax lawyer into a politician, then from a politician into a priest. Over the past few months, he was trying to become a recovering cancer patient. He didn't quite make it. On Thursday night, at around 11, Gilchrist lay in a bed at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and quietly exhaled one final time. He was 62. Phoebe, his wife of 37 years, was at his bedside, along with his sister, Janet. No one was kidding himself--everyone knew Gilchrist was terminal when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February. He was so weak that doctors suggested hospice care for the dying cleric. Since then, though, Gilchrist had responded well to weekly chemotherapy treatments, which bought him some time and comfort. But last week, death accelerated toward Gilchrist with a shuddering velocity. I last saw Gilchrist 10 days ago, when a Post photographer and I visited his new art studio, inside a sturdy brick building in a south Baltimore neighborhood called Pigtown. A dynamic St. Alban's high school art teacher had unlocked young Charlie's talent for painting. Now, he had rented this high-ceilinged, plank-floored space and was preparing to paint again. He hoped to render the children of Sandtown, the neighborhood where he and Phoebe had lived and ministered for the past three years. We began to climb the stairs to Gilchrist's second-floor studio. Without saying so, we all wanted him to go first, so we could back him up. But he was having none of it. He propped himself against the door jam and shooed us past. One foot was in the alley outside; the other was on the door sill, a good 12 inches higher. ``Go on, go on.'' he said, in a soft, weary voice. ``I can make it.'' We filed past--first me, then the photographer, then Phoebe; all of us reluctant to leave him. ``Charlie . . .'' his wife began. He was getting impatient now. ``Go on!'' ``Okay,'' Phoebe said, with a practiced combination of cheer and exasperation. ``Do what you want.'' Up we went. Toward the top of the dark stairs, I turned and looked down at Gilchrist, a silver-thin silhouette backlighted in a shadowy doorway. He was rocking back and forth, readying to vault himself up into the door. He was all angles and lines and fierce concentration. I turned away, unable to watch, and kept climbing. I flashed back to a similar scene a couple of weeks earlier in the same stairwell. Coming down the stairs that day, Gilchrist's left foot had overshot the last tread and lunged through empty space. The next two seconds were an agonizing eternity. Before anyone could reach for him, he was headed for the floor. The air rushed from Phoebe. Though he had not strength to stop himself, he contained the fall and landed on all fours. ``Damn!'' he cursed, under his breath. ``Oh, Charlie!'' Phoebe blurted. ``I'm all right,'' he said, still down. I reached down to pull him up, putting one hand under each armpit. I felt: The corduroy of his tan jacket. And ribs. Nothing else. I lifted him as if he were a papier-mache man. This time, though, he made it up the stairs without help. At first, he was probably proud that he'd made it by himself, then immediately furious that his life had been reduced to such tiny victories. This was a man who jogged during his lunch hour; who was personable and charming but exited lazy conversations that had no point. His whole life had been about ``do''; now, he could not. One wall of the studio was filled with his artwork--ink drawings of street scenes in Chicago and Baltimore, charcoal sketches from a drawing class, an acrylic self-portrait of a sober-looking Charlie. ``You look so happy,'' Phoebe teased. He smiled. Their marriage was about quiet smiles. They had locked eyes across a Harvard Christmas party when Gilchrist was in law school. ``Who's that?'' he asked his buddies. On the other side of the room, she was asking the same thing. More than once, Phoebe was asked how she put up with all of Gilchrist's career changes, all the moves, the ever-declining income. When you get annoyed with someone, she said, you remember what brought you together in the first place. Once, Gilchrist was as tall, sturdy and handsome as a Shaker highboy. Now, so thin, so frail. His glasses, even, too big for his face. Phoebe Gilchrist saw the desiccation, but she saw more. What was it, she was asked, that attracted you to Charlie? ``Well,'' she said, smiling. She looked across a cafe table at him and saw the face she saw four decades ago. ``You can look at him.'' When his friends looked at him, they saw this: ``A good man.'' That was the first thing everyone said about Gilchrist. They also called him a private man who shunned publicity. I went with Gilchrist to his church in Sandtown and to the National Gallery. I watched them pump poison into a valve in his chest during a chemo treatment. Friends wondered why he was giving a reporter so much access during such a difficult time. So I asked him. ``I guess I just want people to know that `cancer' doesn't mean the end of everything,'' he said, smiling. ``That you can still be productive.'' Gilchrist lived the last months of his life the way he lived most of the years before--by constantly questioning his own behavior. Sometimes, friends considered it self- flagellation. ``Charlie would always say, `If they say I'm guilty, I must be guilty,' '' recalled Montgomery Circuit Court judge and longtime friend Paul McGuckian. ``He was always lashing himself on the back for something he had never done.'' More than a lot of people, Charlie understood damning hubris--the inability of humans to humble themselves before others and God. Through intelligence and will, Charlie had transformed himself many times. He had accepted that he would soon die. Any other thought would have been arrogant. I prodded Gilchrist once. Why don't you shake your fist at God? Is this the thanks you get for turning your life over to Him? Gilchrist refused to take the bait. If he was made at God, he would not tell. He once said, ``I've never seen a miracle.'' He did not expect one for himself. Instead, he simply shrugged his shoulders. ``People say to me, `Why you?' '' Gilchrist said. ``I say, `Why not me?' ''