Anthony Weiner

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, the details of the budget being prepared by the majority are finally beginning to leak out. They include an embracing of the Democratic initiatives on Social Security and $1 trillion in tax cuts. I like tax cuts just as much as the next person, but what was missing from the budget was any mention of Medicare. While Social Security does reach crisis perhaps in the year 2032, Medicare is lacking today. In fact, seniors pay more out of their own pockets for health care costs than they did when John F. Kennedy declared a health care emergency and initiated a Medicare program. Now, the Democrats are proposing and the President is supporting the notion of covering prescription drug and using a portion of the surplus to shore up Medicare for seniors today. Now that the majority has embraced Social Security, perhaps they should embrace Medicare as well.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite my colleagues to pay tribute to the Yeshivah of Flatbush and it's honorees on the occasion of it's 72nd Anniversary Banquet. The Yeshivah of Flatbush has long served as a pillar of strength for my constituents by providing our children with the tools they will need to face the challenges of the twenty-first century. Dr. Mayer Ballas, recipient of the Keter Shem Tov Leadership Award, has dedicated himself to helping members of the community as an advocate and spokesperson for Jewish people in need. He is the founding President of the Council of Rescue of Syrian Jews and has served as a member of the Federation Oversight Committee, the arm of Operation Abraham concerned with the resettlement of the most recent wave of immigrants from Syria. At the Yeshivah of Flatbush, Dr. Ballas sits on the Board of Directors and Board of Education and is a member of the Tuition Assistance Committee. He participates in all school functions and generously gives of himself and his time to the Yeshivah. Hon. Steven Cohn, recipient of the Keter Shem Tov Community Service Award, is staunchly committed to both the Yeshivah and his community. For the past sixteen years, Mr. Cohn has served as the Democratic State Committeeman for the 50th Assembly District. He is the Vice-Chair of the New York State Democratic Party, Secretary of the Democratic Party of Kings County and has served as Parliamentarian to the Democratic National Convention. Working side by side with community leaders, elected officials and neighborhood residents to protect the environment, improve homeless shelters and maintain quality medical care in his district. His affiliation with the Yeshivah of Flatbush parallels his children's education and has strengthened over the years. In addition to working on the Banquet Journal, Chinese Auction and Building Committees, Steve is currently an Associate Treasurer on the Executive Board of Officers and sits on the school's Board of Trustees and Board of Education. Dr. Cheryl Fishbein, recipient of the Alumna of the Year Award, is an alumna of both the Elementary School and the Joel Braverman High School. Throughout her adult life, Cheryl has focused her efforts on serving the community. She is President of the Jewish Community House in Bensonhurst and is currently overseeing its capital building campaign. She serves as the Metro Chair of the Institutional Trustees Campaign for UJA and sits on the organization's Planning and Allocations Committee. Additionally, Dr. Fishbein devotes much of her time to the Board of Jewish Education and serves as a Vice President of its Board of Directors. She also sits on the Boards of Gesher and the National Board of the Jewish Community Center Association. Each of today's honorees have long been known as innovators and beacons of good will to all those they come into contact with. In recognition of their may accomplishments on behalf of my constituents. I offer many congratulations on their being honored by the Yeshivah of Flatbush.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 42, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 43, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite my colleagues to pay tribute to the memory of William (Sonny) Ressel. Sonny Ressel was neither a politician nor someone who took on the responsibility of helping others because of some ulterior motive. Despite working long hours, Sonny Ressel always found time for his family and the community that he loved. Before his untimely death on February 8th, Sonny Ressel served as the Co-President of the New Kensington Neighborhood Association where he strove to improve his neighbor's quality of life. Sonny Ressel was a man of action who dedicated his life to helping others regardless of who they were. Through his efforts, broken streets and traffic lights in Kensington were quickly repaired. In response to a growth in the number of hearing impaired residents in the community, Sonny secured the installation of ``Deaf People Crossing'' signs alerting motorists that some pedestrians would be unable to hear their horns. With his loving wife Ricki, Sonny Ressel helped the old and the infirm of our community. They did this by making people laugh and reminding them that they were not forgotten. Friends and admirers have likened Sonny Ressel to an angel who was put on earth to help others and to spread happiness. I can think of no better tribute for a man who always rose to the challenge of helping meet the needs of others. Sonny Ressel was an innovator and beacon of good will to all those he came into contact with. On behalf of myself and my constituents, I would like to extend my condolences to the Ressel family on Sonny's untimely passing and to thank them for allowing us to share in the bright light that was his life.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, some might wonder when it became a partisan issue to support our children and our schools. If you recall after World War II there was truly a bipartisan spirit in this country that we needed to invest in education at all levels. We built more schools in communities all around this country, we encouraged more people to go into teaching, and we hired tens of thousands of new teachers. We need to do the same type of bipartisan plan now that the Cold War has ended, now that we have realized that our battles that we are going to be fighting in the future will be on the economic battlefield, not the military battlefield, thank God. Now we have to do the same: we have to invest in modernizing those schools, we have to invest in hiring more teachers. We have to take that kind of approach. I think that we can all agree that it should be a bipartisan effort. When a youngster in PS 254 in my district, which is dramatically overcrowded, is trying to figure out why they are learning in a gymnasium and a lunchroom, they are not thinking because it is a Democrat or a Republican, they are thinking because we simply need new spaces. This is the kind of thing we must do. We need to hire teachers, modernize schools, and make college tax deductible. We should do it in a bipartisan fashion.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite my colleagues to pay tribute to the Queens County St. Patrick's Day Parade & Cultural Committee's 24th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, the second largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York State. This parade is not only a festive happening, it is a chance for all of us in New York City to celebrate and pay tribute to Irish culture. This year's honorees represent the best of what our City's political, educational and religious leaders have to offer. Grand Marshal Geraldine D. Chapey is a member of the New York State Board of Regents and is the past President of Community School Board 27. Fellow Grand Marshal Chief Bernard (Buddy) Sullivan is the founder of the ``New York Sanitation, Emerald Society, Pipe and Drum Band'' and an active member of the New York City Department of Sanitation Emerald Society. Honorary Grand Marshal Monsignor Martin T. Geraghty has served as the pastor of St. Francis de Sales parish since 1988. Fellow Honorary Grand Marshal Janet Timlin Fash is the president of the Rockaway Action Committee and works as a media teacher for Community School District 27. The Parade's seven Deputy Grand Marshals, Harold Rochelle, J.P. Farrell, Frances Sheehan, William W. Whelan, Margaret Clarke Keating, Ann Barbera and Senator A. Waldon, Jr. have each devoted themselves to making the Rockaways a better place to live by helping their friends and neighbors regardless of the circumstances. Parade Founder and Chairman James Conway Sullivan and Vice Chairman Michael A. Benn have consistently been recognized for their efforts at bringing together New York's Irish-American community. Through their dedicated efforts, they have helped to improve my constituents quality of life. Each of today's honorees have long been known as innovators and beacons of good will to all those they come into contact with. In recognition of their many accomplishments on behalf of my constituents, I offer my congratulations on their being honored by Queens County St. Patrick's Day Parade & Cultural Committee.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I would invite my colleague to visit some of the schools in my district in Brooklyn and Queens. I think what they will find are some great teachers and some eager students. They will probably find them not only in classrooms, but they will find them in gymnasiums, they will find them in storage closets, they will find them in lunch rooms, stuck in nooks and crannies in virtually every building. Why is that? It is because in places like Community School District 24 and 27 in Queens, Districts 21 and 22 in Kings County, we have populations in those schools in the neighborhood of 120 to 140 percent of capacity. This is an extraordinary blessing. These students represent the best hopes for our country and best hopes for our community. But with that blessing comes a certain responsibility that we must face, not only in localities but here in Washington. That is to support school modernization. If we can build roads that go by these schools, we should be able to build roofs and extensions on these schools and make sure they are wired for the Internet. School modernization represents our national defense for the generations to come. We should support it heartily on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join the members of the Emerald Society of the New York City Board of Education in honoring and saluting the accomplishments of Hon. Dr. Geraldine M. Chapey and her daughter, Dr. Geraldine D. Chapey on the occasion of their Annual Scholarship Dinner Dance. Dr. Geraldine M. Chapey possesses a wealth of administrative and teaching experience and serves as a leader in the field of education not only in New York City, but throughout the United States. Her research in gifted education, communications, administration, supervision, business partnerships, and special education has been widely published and she is the editor of the national refereed journal, Leadership in Education. Her contributions to our community are not limited to the field of education, however: she is the founder and chairperson of the community based Trinity Senior Services, an organization that raises money to provide services to over 1,500 senior citizens. She has also served for 9 years as a member of the Board of Outreach Project, a rehabilitation program for children ages 8 to 16, with alcohol and drug problems. Dr. Geraldine D. Chapey's accomplishments rival those of her mother. She is currently a member of the NY State Board of Regents and of School Board 27. She presently serves on the Governor's Advisory Council and on the Board of Directors of the Association of Teachers of New York. For her significant contributions to education, she has received a number of honors including Woman of the Year and Educator of the Year. Because of her achievements and her strong commitment to quality and innovative education, Dr. Chapey has been invited to serve on task forces and committees for the United States and New York Departments of Education. The distinguished Doctors Chapey have long been known as innovators and beacons of good will to all those they come into contact. In recognition of their many accomplishments on behalf of my constituents and the people of our country, I am sure I speak for all of my colleagues in offering my congratulations on their being recognized as the ``Irishwomen of the Year'' by the Emerald Society of the New York City Board of Education.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Madam Speaker, there is now reaching a point of consensus that 62 percent of the surplus in the budget should go to save Social Security and preserve it at least to the year 2055. With God's good graces, we will all be here to enjoy that extended life of Social Security. What the President has also proposed is equally important, perhaps even more so, and that is that 15 percent, almost $700 billion, be put away also to help improve Medicare today, and that includes extending prescription drug benefits to seniors. As much as we have heard about the proposals for tax cuts, an across- the-board tax cut will not get an average senior even through a single year covering their prescription drug costs. Yet, on the other the other side of the aisle, we hear nothing about improving Medicare for today's seniors. Instead, 37 percent of their plan goes to a tax cut, 1 percent goes to defense, and nothing else goes for things like prescription drugs. My colleagues, with the cost of living adjustment for seniors this year being only 1.2 percent, we need to recognize that today's seniors, not those a generation from now, need prescription drugs covered.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, this is indeed a day of extraordinary high honor for me, taking the oath to join this most distinguished body. It is also my great fortune and great honor to be designated by my colleagues on the Democratic side to serve on the Committee on the Judiciary. I was particularly moved by the words of our new Speaker this morning, and the minority leader, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), and how closely they agreed on what the mission of this body should be; that we should follow the high ideals of bipartisanship, of hard work, in trying to keep as much as possible our ears to the ground to hear where the folks we represent are directing us. I think that that spirit is embodied in the freshman class of the 106th Congress on both sides of the aisle. As we convened, coming into this first day, we repeatedly said to one another, let us get back to work, let us try to work together, let us try to put some of the divisiveness behind us. I would say to my colleagues in the freshman class, and all of my colleagues, that this is an opportunity. Why should we not take it. This is an opportunity for us to get back to work. This is an opportunity for us to clear the decks of many of the distractions, particularly those of us who know of the great work of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), and how important it is that we get back to the work in the Committee on the Judiciary. This is an opportunity for us to take that step by not reappointing the managers. I would also point out that the precedence on this case are not so clear. We do have an opportunity to put this case behind us by voting ``no'' to reappointment.