Heather Wilson

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the recipients of the 1999 New Mexico parents of the year award. This award is administered by the New Mexico Parent's day coalition. As we recognized these parents, I thank them for the role they play in strengthening and restoring the foundation of our country--the family. Bob and Tina Schmitt, Los Lunas; Steve Trujillo, and Barbara Gauna Trujillo, Albuquerque; Kent and Carolyn Cummings, Las Cruces; Ronald and Joy Jones, Albuquerque; David and Rose Ostrovitz, Albuquerque; Robert and Mary McCray, Las Cruces; and Pete and Catherine Powdrell, Albuquerque. Please join me in thanking these parents for their dedication to raising good citizens and their contributions to New Mexico's future.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, as my colleagues know, I have never participated in a pro-life or pro-choice debate on the floor of this House. I am usually the one sitting in the back of the room carefully reading the text, trying to decide what the right thing to do is, but I came here today because I think this one is so clear. I do not understand why we spend so much time arguing about how many angels dance on the head of a pin instead of trying to look at what is right and what is wrong. One can be the most pro-choice person in this body and vote in favor of this bill with enthusiasm because it is not about the unwanted pregnancies; it is about the wanted ones. Most of the women in this House have been blessed with being moms. Those are the children that we prayed for, we waited for, we read books to, we sang to. If someone deprives us of our choice to bring that child into the world, it is wrong; and it should be a crime to do so. We talk about taking attention away from the problem of domestic violence and my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), knows that I am cosponsoring many of those pieces of legislation that she is so strongly in favor of, but it does not make any sense to me to say that caring about the lost child somehow demeans that child's mother. If there are children in this room and something goes wrong, all of us do what is natural and what is also good. We protect the children. We protect the children. It is both natural and admirable and I commend the gentleman for bringing forward this bill.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here today to ask my colleagues to pass Senate 293, the Old Jicarilla Site Conveyance Act of 1999. It does allow the college to be able to administer a piece of unwanted land that is now owned by the Federal Government. For those who do not live in the Rocky Mountain West, you might think, well, gosh, why is no other land available? But in San Juan County, 90 percent of the land is owned by the Federal Government, which is why a piece of legislation like this is needed. This bill passed the Senate in the last Congress but did not pass the House before we went to adjournment. It is a very simple bill and it is just something that is part of the routine business that we have to do and need to get done. I want to thank my colleagues for their work on this, particularly the gentleman from northern New Mexico (Mr. Udall), Senator Pete Domenici, and Senator Jeff Bingaman, who sponsored this in the Senate and passed it last year. With your assistance, we will pass it and make it possible for San Juan College to continue the great education that it provides to so many New Mexicans.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, tonight in Washington, D.C., the country will recognize nine national minority entrepreneurs of the year. Of those nine, two come from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Miguel Rios started Orion International Technologies in 1985 and has grown that company to 140 employees and $9 million in revenue providing engineering and systems integration services for lasers at White Sands Missile Range and Air Force Research Laboratory. He is one of the Nation's top Hispanic high-tech firms. Tito Bonano started Beta Corporation in 1993 to provide radioactive waste management services and has branched into computer services, as well. Both of these national minority entrepreneurs of the year formerly worked at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, and Tito has also had his business named as one of the top 10 of New Mexico's Flying 40, the fastest growing high-tech firms. We are all proud of them as Americans and as New Mexicans and we honor them today.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the outstanding work of Alice Tennison. Alice lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is a constituent of mine. Recently, Alice won the Education's Unsung Heroes Award for mentoring students and founding the Student Mentorship in Education Project. The Student Mentorship in Education Project gives high school students hands-on experience in leading elementary school classrooms. I would also like to thank ReliaStar Financial Corporation and Northern Life Insurance Company for sponsoring the event. A good education helps students achieve their career and life goals. Alice Tennison has helped provide a quality education in New Mexico. Her work touches the lives of our next generation of teachers. Alice Tennison continues to contribute to New Mexico education and I hope she will continue to do so well into the future. Mr. Speaker, I ask that we recognize and thank Alice Tennison for her achievement.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the outstanding work of Judith Taylor. Judith Taylor teaches mathematics at Inez Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in my district. Recently, she received the National Science Foundation 1998 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The award honors 208 teachers from around the country whose work makes them role models for other educators to emulate. Ms. Taylor's unique philosophy and creative approach to teaching math has touched the lives of many students and impressed the judges of the contest. She believes most students' fears about math manifest themselves early because students are uncomfortable with common teaching methods. Rather than forcing her students to memorize rules, Taylor teaches them to look for patterns in mathematics. I am certain most adults can remember a teacher from their school days who was a positive influence not only in their school work, but also in their lives. I thank her for being a positive influence to the students in the first district. Mr. Speaker, I ask that we recognize and thank Judith Taylor for her hard work and dedication in teaching mathematics.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the outstanding work of John Richmond, Gaston DeVigne and Katya Hafich. They are students at Albuquerque Academy, a middle and high school in the First Congressional District of New Mexico. Recently, these three students won the Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association Explora Vision Awards. Toshiba and the NSTA give the award to students who compete in teams of three to predict how a form of technology will develop in the future and how it will look in 20 years. Together, these students produced a video predicting the progress of defibrillator technology. They believe the defibrillators of tomorrow, which are used to help stop heart attacks, will be lightweight and portable, and they will have voice command capability. John, Gaston and Katya displayed the ambition, knowledge and vision to lead America into the 21st Century. These traits helped them to attain success now and will continue to do so throughout their lives. I am honored to be able to congratulate them. Mr. Speaker please join me in congratulating John Richmond, Gaston DeVigne and Katya Hafich for their achievement.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the outstanding work of Janice Ussery. She was recently recognized for her community service to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Janice Ussery volunteers with the Meals on Wheels Association in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is in the First Congressional District of New Mexico. Recently, the Meals on Wheels Association of America named her their Volunteer of the Year. Janice started volunteering with Meals on Wheels in 1981 as a driver delivering hot meals to clients. Her campaign for providing quality meals played a major part in the Albuquerque Meals on Wheels obtaining a kitchen of their own. Through her involvement the quality of home cooked meals delivered to the needy improved. The improvements came, not only from the product, but through creating a friendly working environment for staff and volunteers. Janice Ussery not only brings meals to the needy, she also brings pride to our community. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Ussery for her hard work and dedication and ask that we recognize her.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, 99 times out of 100 my colleague from Oklahoma is right. The best thing for a child is to be in a family where the mother and the father are married to each other. The kids that I worry about, though, are not the healthy infants. They are the foster kids that nobody else wants. They are mentally ill. They are emotionally disturbed. They are physically disabled. They are medically fragile. They are terminally ill. It is those kids who have very few options. We have a chronic shortage of foster parents in this country and in this city. It should not be a surprise that kids are often placed in less than ``Leave it to Beaver'' families. Sometimes they are single. Sometimes they are stable, cohabiting parents. But once done, over time relationships form. And sometimes those kids want desperately to be adopted by the people whom they have come to call mom and dad. It is irrational. It does not fit all circumstances. The gentleman from Oklahoma is right. It may be irrational. Because it is about love. It is not about law. This should not be done by prohibiting the expenditure of funds in the District of Columbia budget. If we want to give guidelines to judges, let us do it the right way, in substantive law, and allow for these cases where a child desperately wants to be adopted by the people who he has come to identify as his parents. At different times in our lives, Mr. Chairman, we see different things in different stories. All of us remember Peter Pan, remember the lost boys who never found their parents.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the outstanding work of Ms. Irene Gerstle, a teacher at Albuquerque High School in my home of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Recently, Ms. Gerstle received a 1999 Toyota Investment in Mathematics Excellence grant award. Many children in our community and throughout America are falling behind in mathematics skills. Ms. Gerstle sees this problem and looks for solutions. She helps her students to excel in math by teaching them in creative ways. I applaud her commitment to improve mathematics education through the development and implementation of innovative classroom projects. Her hard work and creativity supports students at Albuquerque High gain valuable skills they will need and use in the twenty-first century. Irene Gerstle is among the many dedicated teachers we have throughout the First Congressional District of New Mexico and the United States. Please join me in thanking Ms. Gerstle for her contributions to our students and our future.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the outstanding accomplishment of Valerie Sandefur. Valerie is a High School student at Albuquerque Academy, in Albuquerque, New Mexico and recently won the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Ladies Auxiliary ``Voice of Democracy'' broadcast scriptwriting contest. The contest asked students to create a speech based on the theme ``My Service to America.'' Her speech was judged the best from New Mexico. Valerie spoke about how she and all of us could better serve our country by re-enforcing the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance. In her speech she said: ``We are no longer a nation indivisible, we are increasingly a nation invisible. My service to America is to put the meaning back into the pledge of allegiance and to create again the idea of `one nation.' However, there are two challenges to regaining our allegiance--apathy and ignorance.'' She continued to describe how apathy leads to a loss of participation and interest in democracy. Valerie then told how ignorance has caused even greater problems than apathy. She said she feels American society is devaluing virtues such as ambition, leadership and heroism, and that Americans are losing their uniquely American character, their sense of nationality and their spirit of patriotism. There are lessons in her speech the entire nation could learn from. Valerie demonstrated the ambition and intelligence needed for success now and in the future. Valerie finished her speech by imploring all of us to strive to put meaning back into the Pledge of Allegiance. I submit the text of her script for the Congressional Record. Mr. Speaker, I thank the VFW for sponsoring the ``Voice of Democracy'' contest and I ask that we recognize Valerie Sandefur for her achievement by striving to do what she has--put meaning back into the Pledge of Allegiance. ``My Service to America''--1998-99 VFW Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition (By New Mexico Winner, Valerie Sandefur) I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands . . . and that's about where I forgot. I was in middle school. Actually it was more like the middle of a muddle. But I was not alone. When asked many students couldn't remember these sacred words, and more significantly they, like most of America didn't understand the true meaning of what they recited each morning. I've heard many of my friends ask--what's the point of learning this `stuff'? For me the answer found is that who we are as a society is based on what they call `stuff'. What I call history. And the history lesson for today is that we are no longer a nation indivisible, we are increasingly a nation invisible. Therefore, my service to America is to put the meaning back into the pledge of allegiance, and to create again the idea of `one nation'. However, there are two challenges to regaining our allegiance--apathy and ignorance. Let us first consider apathy. It is the constitutional right of every citizen over the age of 18 to vote. Yet, in the 1996 presidential elections apathy paralyzed roughly 50% of registered voters. Politicians struggled to recapture the public's fading attention. They failed. As Christopher Hitchens wrote for The Nation magazine it was really a case of the Blind leading the Dumb. Presidential candidates spend $138 million dollars on a public that in many cases, didn't even care enough to show up. . . . But it's not just lack of attendance at the pools that demonstrates our growing apathy. The education of our children has become a diluted and narrow stream that too often focuses on the `real world' of MTV rather than the lessons of the world of the past. Many classrooms no longer have an American flag, and we have stopped teaching the words to the national anthem. In fact at a World Series game this year, Tony Bennett chose not to sing the national anthem. . . . And no one seemed to care. It seems that Mr. Bennett left not only his heart in San Francisco but also his patriotism. But apathy is not the only challenge to our allegiance, my service to America includes confronting ignorance in myself and others. Consider a recent political cartoon in the Washington Post. The first part of this two-fold cartoon shows a young impressionable child in 1958 wearing a cowboy hat and glasses. He fondly dreams about the famous singing cowboy Roy Rogers, who stood for respect, honesty and goodness, sitting of course upon his trustworthy horse, Trigger. The second part of this cartoon shows another young and impressionable child in 1998 with a nose-ring and his baseball cap on sideways. In his ignorance, the child of 1998 thinks of Roy Rogers as the fast food chain out east, not as the great American hero. Oh, and when it comes to `Trigger' all he can think of is the next drive-by shooting. Now it seems the creator of this cartoon has captured the essence of what makes my service to America so important. For young people like this poster-boy of 1998--nationalism has been replaced by an individualism that is self-indulgent. Too many of my peers remain blissfully ignorant of what their allegiance to America really means. An allegiance that requires an informed electorate. But more and more we are less and less informed. One survey revealed that a \1/3\ of all college students firmly believed in ghosts, Atlantis, flying saucers, and yes even Big Foot. Similarly on a quiz of general knowledge, answers came back saying that the Great Gatsby was a magician in the 1930's, and that Socrates was an American Indian Chieftain. While this ignorance might seem some what amusing at first, Gertrude Himmelfarb, a writer for Commentary magazine, argues that this society, which is devaluing virtues like ambition, leadership and heroism, is in danger of losing the character of the people and their sense of nationality and spirit of patriotism. But there is still hope for the future . . . and it begins with my service to America. And with your service. And with the service of every American. We are all responsible for reducing the ignorance and apathy that challenge our ``nation indivisible''. If we are to make the pledge of allegiance meaningful, then we must give full meaning to every word. And that's my service, my pledge of allegiance, my pledge to America. A pledge worth remembering.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) for his kindness in yielding me this time. I also thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio) for his leadership on this issue and leadership on public education issues more generally in this House. We all know there is going to be a shortage of teachers in America in the next decade. There will be a shortage of teachers in my own home State in New Mexico. It is up to all of us to start thinking outside the box on how we can recruit and retain more great teachers in the classroom. This amendment strengthens this bill in two critical areas which, when I talk to teachers and administrators and people who work in colleges of education have told me are the most important ones. The first is mentoring of beginning teachers. In New Mexico, up to 40 percent of our new teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years of starting out as teachers. Now some of them leave for very good reasons. It just does not work for them. It is not the right career for them. They do not feel comfortable in the classroom. But we have also learned that, if we pair an experienced teacher with a new teacher, we are more likely to retain great teachers who need that professional support early in their careers. The other area that this amendment strengthens and that I am very interested in is the issue of alternative certification. Some folks know when they are teenagers or in their early twenties that they really want to be teachers. Some folks come to that realization later in life when they look at a second career after serving in the military or being a professional scientist. The reality is that that is much harder to do than it should be. People should be able to use their life's experience and bring it back to young people. If we do not make it easier for people to teach in a second career, we will continue to have the current situation where Georgia O'Keefe could not have taught high school art, Tony Hillerman could not teach creative writing in high schools, Bill Gates could not teach computer science, or Dennis Chavez, the great former Senator from the State of New Mexico, could not have taught American government. It does not make any sense, and we should change it. But we are not just talking about great people, the Einsteins of the world. We are talking about good people who have a feeling for children and what they need to do to inspire them and educate them. It should be easier for second-career professionals to enter the classroom. I commend the gentleman from New York for his leadership on this issue and for working with all of us on this fine amendment.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the 35 years of service Mr. Joe Vivian has given to our community of Albuquerque as a coach, mentor and leader. Mr. Vivian coached wrestling for 35 years at six city high schools. He began his wrestling career in the eighth grade when a coach reached out to him and helped him turn his life around. Through his coaching Mr. Vivian mentored many young athletes. Mr. Vivian provided important lessons in staying physically fit, being part of a team, setting and achieving goals and community involvement. People who worked with Joe Vivian describe him as dedicated and committed to the wrestlers he worked with. He coached teams to three state titles and holds over 300 career dual victories. In addition to coaching, Joe Vivian volunteers with Meals on Wheels, Special Olympics and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Mr. Joe Vivian retired from coaching this year. Please join me in thanking him for the positive influence he is in our community and wish him the best in retirement.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the outstanding work of Carol Kreis. Ms. Kreis teaches at La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico and was recently recognized nationally for helping her students to understand the U.S. economy better. The Security Industry Foundation honored her with a Teacher Recognition Award. Ms. Kreis and her students took part in The Stock Market Game, the nation's largest Wall Street educational simulation. Her students gained valuable economic experience and improved their math, writing, and social studies skills because of her. Ms. Kreis received a subscription to the Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition and the Classroom Edition to support the continuation of teaching finance, entrepreneurship and business. Mr. Speaker, we often hear that America's students are falling behind in competitive skills they need going into the next century. Carol Kreis' hard work will benefit students in our community now and into their future. Let us give her our recognition and thanks today.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. I would like to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young), the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Miller), the gentleman from Utah (Chairman Hansen), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-Barcelo) for their support of H.R. 66. I would also like to commend the staff who have worked so hard on this, Allen Freemyer and Gary Griffith, David Watkins and Rick Healy. I would also like to recognize the hard work of Mrs. Susie McComb, the President of the New Mexico Route 66 Association, and Mr. David Knudson, who is the executive director of the National Historic Route 66 Federation, for their support of this bill. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 66, a bill to preserve and protect the cultural resources of the Route 66 corridor, is important to my State and to many others. The gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watkins), the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen), and Senators Domenici and Bingaman of New Mexico and others who live along this historic route have been working on it for more than 5 years now. I would also like it thank my colleague, the gentleman from northern New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his joining on as an original cosponsor of H.R. 66 this year. This version of H.R. 66 addresses the concerns raised by both the majority and the minority on the Committee on Resources. It passed by voice vote in both the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands and on the full Committee on Resources. At a March 11, 1999, subcommittee hearing, the administration testified in support of the bill. H.R. 66 is substantially similar to a bill that the House considered on the floor last year in the waning days of the 105th Congress. The Senate companion to my bill, which was H.R. 4513, garnered a majority of support, but there were some objections because it did not go through the normal hearing process. The bill is supported by the National Parks and Conservation Association and the National Park Service, and enjoys bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. H.R. 66 authorizes the National Park Service to support efforts of State and local, public and private persons, nonprofit Route 66 associations, Indian tribes, State historic preservation offices, and others for the preservation or restoration of structures or other cultural resources, of businesses and sites of interest along Route 66. The Park Service would act as a clearinghouse for communication among Federal, State, and local agencies, as well as nonprofit entities, and would participate in cost-sharing programs and make grants not to exceed $10 million over 10 years. That is what the bill is about. I think it is more important what Route 66 is about. Route 66 is 2,448 miles long. It crosses eight States and three time zones stretching from Chicago all the way to L.A. It is firmly rooted in Americana. Almost every child in America who studies English in high school reads ``The Grapes of Wrath'', where John Steinbeck writes, ``Highway 66 is the migrant road. 66--the long concrete path across the country, waving gently up and down on the map, from the Mississippi to Bakersfield--over the red lands and the gray lands, twisting up into the mountains, crossing the Divide and down into the bright and terrible desert, and across the desert to the mountains again, and into the rich California valleys. ``66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and shrinking ownership, from the desert's slow northward invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness to the land and steal what little richness is there. From all of these the people are in flight, and they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads, 66 is the mother road, the road of flight. ``Two hundred and fifty thousand people over the road. Fifty thousand old cars--fifty thousand wounded, steaming. Wrecks along the road, abandoned. Well, what happened to them? What happened to the folks in that car? Did they walk? Where does the courage come from? Where does the terrible faith come from? ``The people in flight from the terror behind--strange things happen to them, some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that the faith is refired forever.'' Route 66 is a part of our history and a part of our literature and a part of our culture. Even though it was decommissioned in 1985, it continues to be a part of our lives from Chicago to L.A. There are Route 66 associations in almost every State. In New Mexico, the Route 66 Association is alive and well and a strong supporter of this bill. There is a little elementary school in Moriarty, New Mexico, in the East Mountains of my district. It is called Route 66 Elementary School. Last year, I showed the House a hubcap that the students of Route 66 Elementary School had given to me. After that speech, I received several letters from the students who were at Route 66 Elementary School about their school and how it is designed around the Route 66 theme. I would like to read one of those letters from Kelsey Byrne in Ms. Trujillo's fourth grade class. It says, ``Honorable Congresswoman Wilson, our principal told us about the hubcap. It is an honor to have had you show it on television. I am very glad to get part of my education here at Route 66. It is historical, you know. I believe that this school will go on for generations. People use their school education all the time, even us kids. That is why I think everyone deserves a good education. Route 66 is very important to me. It is old, but it is in very good shape. I would like to thank you for supporting us and good luck.'' Unlike today's interstate highways, Route 66 is a collection of roads tied together by highway signs. It is a collection of stories, stories about migration and war and the automobile and the Depression and the Dust Bowl. But it is also a story about dreams and about courage and about strength and sadness and faith. It is a means to an end and an end in itself. It is now decommissioned, but it remains a preferred means of travel for those who want to get off the beaten path. When America entered World War II, traffic on Route 66 slowed to a trickle because of gas rationing. Military convoys began to travel across the highways with men and machines, renewing the need for a fast, complete corridor from the heart of the country to the coast. It starts in the home of the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois; passes the Chain of Rocks Bridge in Missouri; the Jesse James Wax Museum in Missouri; in Galena, Kansas, the site of the 1935 United Mine Workers strike that erupted into violence; the Will Rogers Museum in Oklahoma and on into Texas; and then of course into New Mexico through Tucumcari and Santa Rosa to Moriarty, the home of Route 66 Elementary School, and into Albuquerque, my hometown, where Route 66 is no Central Avenue. One can drive it from one end to the other looking at old motor courts and the curio shops, most of which still operate, and have lunch at the Route 66 Diner. Finally, it goes on into California, the home of Ray Crock's first McDonald's in San Bernardino, and then on down the long route to Pasadena along the route of the Tournament of Roses Parade. The year 2000 will mark the 75th anniversary of Route 66. H.R. 66 will help all the States through which Route 66 passes to celebrate this anniversary, to preserve its unique culture, and to preserve this corridor that is so much a part of America and American history.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and conclude by saying that I believe we will turn the corner on juvenile crime in this country when organizations like Methodist Youth, or the Baptist Choir, or the Boy Scouts of America start growing exponentially in the neighborhoods where my colleagues and I are afraid to go at night. We will turn this country around one kid at a time, and that is what this amendment offers. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I have listened to the debate over the last 2 days, and we have read the underlying bills and the amendments. They do a lot of the things that government does well. We have enhanced sanctions and built prisons. We have authorized States to use this $1.5 billion in block grant money to hire judges, more probation and parole officers and prosecutors, and buy metal detectors and buy computers and computer systems and all of the things that government is pretty good at. But for all the talk about litigation and gun control, there is one very simple thing that I think we overlooked; and that is the essence of this amendment. The amendment that I am proposing authorizes States and local communities to use monies for mentorship in partnership with organizations that have established programs for mentorship, whether they be nonprofits or business organizations or faith-based communities, to reach out to kids who are in trouble with the law. It is not a very glamorous thing, mentorship. It takes a lot of time and a lot of commitment. But it is really the only thing that helps a child turn their life around. I used to be the cabinet secretary of the State of New Mexico responsible for the juvenile justice system. I want to share with my colleagues some things about the kids that I met there. Most juvenile delinquents have lives that are outside of our experience. I know a boy who was 14 years old. We used to have a program, and we still do in New Mexico, where kids who are about to be paroled go to dinner with a business person from the community just before they get paroled. They usually go to a steak house or someplace nice for dinner, and the business person buys their dinner, and dinner usually for a boy. Ninety percent of our juvenile delinquents are boys. A friend of mine went to this dinner and was with a 14-year-old boy from eastern New Mexico. He watched him struggle with a steak. Most of our kids have never had steak before, and he had not. But the thing he was struggling with was how to use a knife and a fork. I was at the New Mexico Boys School in Springer in one of my many visits there and was being toured around by one of the boys, as I often did. He was a member of a gang, and I asked him about it at the end. He had a 2-year-old son. I said, ``When you leave here, are you going back to the gang?'' He said, yes, he was. He explained that his father had been in the gang, and he was in the gang, and it was part of his life. I said, ``What about your son?'' He said, ``No, it has to stop somewhere.'' But the father is the role model for the son. Seventy percent of the kids who are incarcerated in this country have little or no contact with their fathers. We would all hope that the parent is the positive role model that they need, that one caring adult in their lives. But so many of these kids do not have that, and it is up to us to find those positive adult role models who can teach a child how to use a knife and a fork, how to become a good man, even if maybe they were not such a good boy. That is what this amendment is about, Mr. Chairman, is authorizing those kind of programs that bond a community with young people so that they do not throw their lives away and send all of us the bill. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Madam Speaker, I rise to respond to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost). He talks about embarrassment of the leadership in pulling a rule from the floor. As one of the Members on this side of the aisle who had concern about the rule last week, I want to respond to this and explain what I think leadership means. I think that leaders listen. I think that leaders build consensus. I think that leaders reach out to others, of whatever party or whatever persuasion or whatever part of the country, to pull people together. I think leaders recognize when they have made little mistakes and make corrections of those mistakes. I think we have a pretty good coach on this side of the aisle. He coached wrestling, but most of us watch football. When the quarterback sees a broken play, a good quarterback will call a time-out and pull things back together. That is what leadership means, and that is why I am proud to be a part of this great House.

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment before us today, and I wanted to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks), as well as the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher), the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) and their staffs for this hard work on this amendment over the last month. This is a serious effort by serious people who spent considerable time and thought on this problem, and I thank them for their efforts to make our laboratories safe from our Nation's adversaries. Let me say a word or two about these laboratories. Millions and millions of people here and abroad now enjoy personal and political freedom because these labs, employing some of the greatest minds in the world, have allowed us to defend ourselves against the enemies of freedom. The list of Nobel Prize winners from America's national labs is staggering. The number of scientific breakthroughs is breathtaking. The number of seminal discoveries is unparalleled in any other group of institutions in the world. These labs are treasures for science and for freedom. It should not surprise us then that these laboratories have been the target of systematic, relentless assault by the People's Republic of China. Over the last few months, through the investigation of the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) and his committee, we have seen the breakdown of institutions of government. We have seen one hand of government not know what the other hand of government was doing. There were errors and omissions and miscommunications and failures of policy and procedure. In all of this, one fact remains: With only one exception that we know about, the employees of the laboratories remained loyal Americans, putting the Nation's interests above their own. That is why this amendment is so important. It recognizes that the problem is not the people; it is the system, and this amendment addresses the problems in the system, across a broad spectrum of activities. It directs a review of the organizational structure of our nuclear weapons complex; it establishes an office of counterintelligence and foreign intelligence within the Department of Energy; it requires each lab to have a counterintelligence program; and it establishes a counterintelligence polygraph program; it enhances civil and monetary penalties; and deals with the issue of foreign visitors in a way that protects our national secrets, while allowing our scientists to be engaged in a broader scientific community. It also addresses the emerging problem of computer security, ensuring there is an annual evaluation, an operational evaluation, of national laboratory computer systems. I want to commend the select committee on its analysis and its identification of the serious problem of our failure as a Nation to protect our national secrets. This amendment goes a long way toward beginning the restoration of that security.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, I find parts of this amendment to be difficult to understand, at least in the real world and the way the laboratories operate. Sandia National Laboratory in my district is a multi-program laboratory. Yes, it does nuclear defense work, but it also does a whole lot of other things. This amendment would prohibit foreign visitors from sensitive countries to any facility on Sandia National Laboratories, and the only exceptions are for when it is necessary for national security. This means we are no longer going to have any foreign visits that deal with the solar energy farm or the micromachines program or nuclear fusion or semiconductors or lithography, or a whole range of scientific developments arrayed with computing. We need our scientists to be engaged in the most advanced science in the world, and the reality in this country today is that half of the graduate students in engineering in American universities are not American citizens. We need to stay on the cutting edge of science, and we would make a mistake if we cut ourselves off from that science.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention the following students from the First Congressional District of New Mexico who are graduating from high school and have been awarded the Congressional Certificate of Merit. These students have excelled in not only their academic endeavors, but also in community service, school and civic activities. They represent the leaders of tomorrow and it is my pleasure to recognize these select students for their outstanding achievements. I, along with their parents, teachers, classmates, and the people of New Mexico, salute them. Certificates of Merit Award Winners 1999--Adam Chamberlin, Menaul School; Jacob Dopson, Valley High School; Jessia Einfield, Hope Christian High School; Jodie Ellis, Del Norte High School; Geralyn Espinoza, Cibola High School; Jose Fernandez, Rio Grande High School; Kozina Gallegos, Evening High School; Lisette Graham, Manzano High School; Lindsey Kasprzyk, St. Pius High School; Suzanne Martinez, Bernalillo High School; Laura Matzen, Sandia Preparatory High School; Karissa McCall, Albuquerque High School; Christina Muscarella, La Cueva High School; Catrina Padilla, Mountainair High School; Amanda Pepping, Eldorado High School; Kate Sandoval, Academy High School; Jolianna Schultz, New Futures High School; Eric Stanton, Sandia High School; Olivia Tenorio, Estancia High School; Erin Ullrich, Moriarty High School.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the ranking member and the staff for their hard work on this authorization bill. I would like to take a few moments to talk about Chinese espionage directed at the Department of Energy and at our national laboratories, including Los Alamos and Sandia, which are in my home State of New Mexico. Since the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) completed their extensive review of this issue last fall, we have been reviewing the evidence, and listening to experts and thinking about what we should do. Some facts are clear. First, the Chinese have obtained classified information on our nuclear weapons program that has endangered American national security. Second, while public attention has focused on a few individuals and principally Los Alamos National Lab, this was not a single instance of a lucky break by the Chinese. It is just one piece in a mosaic of Chinese espionage activity. Likewise, the failure to protect these secrets was not just a failure of an individual, but of institutions, lousy communication between agencies, lost files, weak procedures, inadequate resources and just plain poor judgment show up again and again in the history of this incident. Now it is up to Congress to begin to correct these failures, and let us be clear from the beginning. There are not going to be any simple solutions. There are several elements of this authorization bill that begin to address these deficiencies. The bill includes additional funds to subject the China-Taiwan Issues Group at the CIA to rigorous external competitive analysis, to challenge thinking more aggressively, and to report to the Congress biannually on this effort. Second, the committee is recommending a substantial funding increase to the Department of Energy for analysis of foreign nuclear weapons programs. Special emphasis will be on the Chinese and Russian programs as well as proliferation. The bill authorizes substantial increase in funding for the DOE Office of Counterintelligence, including new counterintelligence computer information security programs, and we increase funding for the FBI for counterintelligence and investigative training. Finally, the committee has added substantial funding for language training to correct a serious shortage of linguists in the intelligence community. These efforts are only the beginning of what must be done to improve our national counterintelligence activity. I believe that we need further comprehensive legislation to remedy this problem and have been working in a bipartisan way with my colleagues to begin the drafting of that legislation. There are at least a dozen recommendations that we have developed thus far, and I will include those recommendations at the appropriate point for the Record. Mr. Chairman, we will be dealing with the consequences of this situation for a long time. The bill before us is the beginning of that process. I look forward to working with my colleagues to that end. 1. We must create a special set of security requirements for DOE and DOE contractor employees who have access to nuclear information. Those who have physical access to sensitive area must all be investigated, cleared and readily identifiable. As difficult as it is to believe, there are people with rather superficial background checks that have physical access to sensitive facilities who are not allowed to have access to the information in them. 2. The FBI, no contractors, should handle all Q clearances background checks. 3. Sensitive employees, as a condition of clearance must agree to take polygraphs, which would then trigger further investigation if the polygraph indicates deception. 4. The government must be allowed to monitor e-mail and telephone traffic into and out of the national laboratories an nuclear weapons plants. 5. The FBI must be allowed to search ad monitor computers and telephones within national laboratories, something we don't allow now, as incredible as that sounds. 6. Compel the FBI to inform the DOE office of counter-intelligence and the Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs within fifteen days of the initiation of an espionage investigation of any DOE or DOE contractor employee. In one of the Los Alamos cases, no notification was made for four years. 7. Require the DOE official responsible for Q clearances to be informed of all issues that might impact the issuance of a clearance, even when such issues fail to rise to the level of an indictment. 8. Improve timely communication of all such matters to the leadership of Congress and the appropriated committees of jurisdiction. 9. Set clear conditions and procedures for unclassified and classified visits to our national laboratories by foreign visitors from sensitive countries. 10. Require that DOE develop and maintain a comprehensive counterintelligence plan which must be reviewed and certified as adequate annually by the FBI to the President and the relevant committees of the Congress. 11. Establish vulnerability assessment group with responsibility or assessing and evaluating the vulnerability of DOE and the labs to espionage, including conducting classified operational tests of lab security. The group will report annually to the relevant Congressional Committees. 12. Establish in law a special assistant for counter intelligence reporting to the Secretary of Energy with responsibility for management and oversight of the DOE counter-intelligence program. This individual must have professional experience in intelligence and counter- intelligence matters. The bill that is before us today is the beginning of that process. Mr. Chairman, we will be dealing with the consequences of this situation for some time. It is my hope that we can develop a bi- partisan consensus bill in the House that will provide real protection of America's secrets. We have a serious problem and we need to address it. But, at the same time, we must be careful. The national laboratories are tremendous national assets which employ some of the most brilliant scientific talent in America. In our eagerness to solve a problem, we must make sure that we do not damage that which we are trying to protect. I look forward to working with my colleagues to that end.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention a young man in our community, Matthew Copus, who has been named one of New Mexico's top youth volunteers for 1999 in The Prudential Spirit of Community Award. Matthew's volunteer efforts truly reflect the spirit of community. For the past two years he has volunteered at All Faiths Receiving Home, a home for abused and neglected children. Matthew has worked hard to earn the trust of the children. His efforts include art projects, games and activities to encourage the children to communicate and regain social skills that have been damaged by abuse. Beyond his own volunteer time, Matthew has recruited other young people to volunteer and has raised money to help pay for supplies needed for projects. Matthew is committed to reducing child abuse and spreads the word through speaking engagements in the community. One of the most important factors in a child's life is a person who cares. Matthew makes a positive difference in the lives of many children and in our entire community. He is one of America's top youth volunteers. Join me in thanking Matthew Copus for the positive impact he has in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Mrs. WILSON

Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to your attention a young woman in our community, Pamela Cruz, who has been named one of New Mexico's top youth volunteers for 1999 in The Prudential Spirit of Community Award. Pamela's volunteer efforts truly reflect the spirit of community. She visits a local nursing home twice a week to arrange entertaining activities for the residents. Pamela recognizes that the residents have contributed to our community and should not be forgotten. By showing affection and being consistent with her visits, she has gained the trust of the nursing home residents. Further, Pamela has recruited other young people in Albuquerque to volunteer at the nursing home. She is a wonderful example of reaching out to others to make our entire community a better place to live. Pamela is definitely one of America's top youth volunteers. Join me in thanking Pamela Cruz for her contributions to old and young alike in Albuquerque, New Mexico.