David Wu

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. I do believe that the oil derricks, as Katrina came through, were evacuated and covered, and the people who were responsible for those rigs did do a good job in Katrina, and I would be happy to concede that to the gentleman. But I also want to mention to the gentleman that experts ranging from the CEO of Exxon to academicians on the topic all estimate that the current price of a barrel of oil should be about $60 a barrel. Instead, it's twice that price. Let me just finish my statement.

Mr. WU. Would my friend care to cite to us the price of a barrel of oil when this administration took power in 2001?

Mr. WU. Would the gentleman care to cite the price of a barrel of oil when the war in Iraq began?

Mr. WU. I was hoping----

Mr. WU. I believe it is a very, very short-term supply.

Mr. WU. It is a very large expanse of land.

Mr. WU. Would the gentleman care to--I mean, we're asking----

Mr. WU. It would be a substantial size.

Mr. WU. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. WU. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. WU. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. WU. I look forward to debating the gentleman from Indiana on this issue. As you know, this Congress has acted on every item that you have cited except for drilling on the Arctic Wildlife Reserve. We've acted on every other single one.

Mr. WU. And most individuals agree that there are three reasons why the price is $128 a barrel rather than $60 a barrel. The three reasons are our presence in Iraq, instead of lowering the price of oil, it increased the price of oil; the permission from Wall Street to speculate on a purely financial basis in commodity futures; and the third reason is the lowering of the value of the U.S. dollar. Two of those policies are intentional policies, and the third policy was passed by the Republican Congress.

Mr. WU. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1195) expressing condolences and sympathy to the people of the People's Republic of China for the grave loss of life and vast destruction caused by the earthquake of May 12, 2008 in Sichuan Province, as amended.

Mr. WU. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume. For the past week, the world has been shocked and saddened by the aftermath of the horrendous earthquake that struck the Chinese Sichuan Province last Monday, May 12. Chinese news reports now confirm that the 7.9 Richter scale magnitude earthquake has claimed the lives of over 40,000 people. The number of fatalities climbs higher each day as the full scale of the devastation unfolds. Chinese authorities estimate that, despite strenuous rescue efforts, in the end as many as 50,000 people could have perished from the earthquake and its aftermath. Particularly heartbreaking are the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children who were killed as their schools collapsed on them. These young lives were cut far, far too short, and it is so tragic that had the earthquake occurred just 2 or 3 hours later, or had the schools that the children were in met applicable building codes, these young lives would have been spared. We are all deeply moved by the images of parents overwhelmed by grief at the side of the limp, lifeless body of their child. As we speak, hundreds of parents are sifting through the wreckage with desperate hope that their child may still be alive under all that schoolhouse rubble. Rescue workers continue to work tirelessly, day and night. Stories of heroism and miraculous survival are interwoven with tales of loss and devastation. Doctors and nurses tend to injured victims around the clock, as hospitals handle many times their normal number of trauma injuries. This earthquake is the most devastating natural disaster to strike China since 1976, and sadly, as major aftershocks continue to hit the area, the turmoil continues. Just yesterday, Chinese media reported that more than 200 rescue workers were buried and killed by mudslides while they were repairing roads in Sichuan Province. While the 1.3 billion people across China unite in grief for 3 days of mourning, it is fitting that this body expresses our deepest sympathies for the people of China. With this resolution, we offer our condolences to the people of China as they cope with this awful tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. House Resolution 1195 also vows the full support of the House of Representatives to the people of China and expresses our confidence that they will succeed in coming together to help those in need and overcome this terrible disaster. Finally, the House also extends its condolences and support to members of the Chinese American community here in the United States who have relatives and friends in the affected areas of China. I urge strong support of this resolution, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in doing the same. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his leadership and always caring about the people of China. I include the following news article from the Portland, Oregonian: [From the Oregonian, May 20, 2008] Boeing May Be the Ticket for Relief Supplies; China Quake--New Jets Are Scheduled for Delivery, and Oregon Agencies Hope Their Aid Can Hitch a Ride (By Richard Read) Oregon aid agencies aim to piggyback on Boeing's booming sales to China, loading earthquake-relief supplies in new jets being delivered to Chinese airlines. Managers of Medical Team International are negotiating to send $470,000 worth of supplies that Mercy Corps would help distribute to earthquake victims in China. A Boeing spokesperson says the aircraft manufacturer has entered similar deals in the past, but rarely in urgent response to humanitarian disasters. Boeing and the relief workers are reviewing 15 aircraft that have been ordered by Chinese airlines, said Barbara Agnew, spokeswoman for Tigard-based Medical Teams International. The jets are scheduled for delivery to six Chinese cities, she said. ``None of these destinations are actually hubs that are near the disaster site,'' Agnew said. ``So they're going back to specific airlines and saying, `Would you be able to take this cargo to a closer hub?' '' The Boeing deal is one of several the humanitarian organizations are feverishly negotiating as disaster estimates grow in both China and cyclone-hit Myanmar. The aid agencies are forming partnerships to overcome government restrictions and other obstacles in the two countries. Mercy Corps plans to load items ranging from school kits to rubber gloves in Portland for delivery in Seattle to DHL International. The global delivery company plans to fly the supplies for free to Bangkok, Thailand, for distribution in Myanmar and perhaps China, also providing warehouse space. DHL is also working with Mercy Corps on a charter flight to carry pharmaceuticals from the United States to China. ``Something like this would be impossible for us to do on our own,'' said Susan Laarman, a Mercy Corps spokeswoman, saying the charter otherwise could cost as much as $1 million. In Myanmar, where the government has kept foreign relief workers out of hard-hit areas, Portland-based Mercy Corps expects to team with Merlin, a British organization already working inside the reclusive country. As with the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Mercy Corps will most likely launch cash-for-work programs, paying local people to repair roads, clear debris and rebuild houses. Already Mercy Corps has helped Merlin secure boats to carry emergency medical kits to Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, which took the brunt of the May 2 cyclone. Four Mercy Corps aid workers have managed to get into Myanmar--also known as Burma--but not beyond the capital, Yangon or Rangoon. Michael Bowers, Mercy Corps Northeast Asia regional program director, departed Portland on Monday for Chengdu, China. There, too, the agency plans to team with local organizations. ``We think we'll focus particularly on youth and vulnerable women who may have been affected by the earthquake,'' said Bowers, adding that Chinese officials were easing access. ``The authorities in this disaster took a pause before they went down the road of Burma.'' Medical Teams International has no relief workers in either country yet, but a doctor on its staff plans to depart Wednesday for Myanmar. The first choice of the organization, formerly called Northwest Medical Teams, would be to send one of its volunteer medical-worker teams to Myanmar. ``The numbers are just speaking so loudly in Myanmar,'' Agnew said. Myanmar is hardly a big aircraft buyer, but China is a giant Boeing customer, which could work in the aid agencies' favor. Boeing forecasts that China will require 3,400 new airplanes worth about $340 billion over the next two decades. But arranging on short notice to pack antibiotics, bandages and pain relievers into new airplanes is a complex project, requiring sign-offs by numerous managers even within Boeing. Chinese customs inspectors also must approve the unusual shipments. A Boeing spokeswoman confirmed Monday that negotiations were progressing on the program. ``It's something that we're considering,'' she said. Just today, Richard Read of The Oregonian printed that, ``Oregon aid agencies aim to piggyback on Boeing's booming sales to China, loading earthquake-relief supplies in new jets being delivered to Chinese airlines. ``Managers of Medical Teams International are negotiating to send $470,000 worth of supplies that Mercy Corps would help distribute to earthquake victims in China.'' Medical Teams International and Mercy Corps are domestic organizations, and they can be assisted directly by private parties. ``A Boeing spokesperson says the aircraft manufacturer has entered similar deals in the past, but rarely in urgent response to humanitarian disasters. ``Boeing and the relief workers are reviewing 15 aircraft that have been ordered by Chinese airlines,'' and Medical Teams International said that they're trying to get space. ``The jets are scheduled for delivery to six different Chinese cities.'' None of these cities are actually hubs that are near the disaster site so they're going back to specific airlines and asking the Chinese airlines: Would you be able to take this cargo to a closer hub? The Boeing transaction is one of several that these humanitarian organizations have been feverishly negotiating as the disaster estimates grow in China. Michael Bowers, Mercy Corps Northeast Asia regional program director, departed from Portland, Oregon, for Chengdu in China. A Boeing spokesperson confirmed on Monday that negotiations were progressing on the program, and that, ``It's something that we're considering.'' We commend to the Boeing Corporation that it seriously, deeply and quickly consider this, and we are grateful for their consideration. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WU. I understand that we have a couple of additional speakers who are on the way to the floor, but they are not here at this time.

Mr. WU. If the gentleman is prepared to close, then I would be prepared to close with the caveat, if additional speakers show up, that I be permitted to recognize them.

Mr. WU. I want to recognize the hard work put in by staff on both sides of the aisle, particularly Elsa Tung on my staff, and Cobb Mixter on the Foreign Affairs staff. I want to thank their counterparts on the Republican side. I want to thank Members on both sides of the aisle for signing aboard this resolution, bringing it to the floor quickly, permitting its markup in committee very, very quickly last week, and having it here on the floor within 8 days of this terrible humanitarian disaster. I ask all Members to support this resolution.

Mr. WU. At this time, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from California, Barbara Lee, of the Ninth District of California.

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

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop) for his leadership in education. I rise in support of this temporary extension of the Higher Education Act and also rise to associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Florida. Our hearts and prayers go out to Senator Kennedy, his family, friends, and many supporters around the country, and look forward to his return to the other body as the lion of the Senate, with teeth and claws and roar completely intact. I also look forward to the new Higher Education Act, which we are close to completing in conference with the other body, and the many provisions that my colleague from New York referred to. I just wanted to point out three. One is a substantial expansion of financial aid, especially to the neediest students in America. Second, a late but very appropriate recognition of the role of community colleges in higher education, and in particular the encouragement of articulation agreements between community colleges and their peers and 4-year colleges. What articulation agreements would basically permit would be students to seamlessly go between community colleges, and between community colleges and 4-year colleges, because what we have found in Oregon is that students study and learn in a different way today, so that someone may take a class at a community college in the morning, work, and then take a class at a 4-year college at night. We want that system to work for the students and want the institutions to work together so that students do not need to fill out two financial aid forms, two entrance forms, and multiple other forms. These articulation agreements are very, very important. It's a little bit technical. But it will serve the modern education need very, very well. Finally, I want to point out one area addressed by this higher education bill, and this is a topic on which my office has received the most mail of any topic that we have worked on in my decade in Congress, this is mail from all around the country, from college students, and that is the textbook fairness pricing issue. Sometimes you will find a book in the college book store here selling for $150. If you go on Amazon U.K., you will find the same textbook being sold, in English, the same textbook in the U.K. for $50. In this Internet era, with a highly motivated, highly educated consumer group, namely college students, this kind of pricing unfairness just can't stand the test of either fairness or propriety anymore. We have some minimal provisions in the House version of the higher education bill to bring some fairness, some openness to college textbook pricing. Currently, students are cooperating, professors are cooperating, bookstores are cooperating, but the textbook industry is fighting this particular provision very, very hard. I just want to say that we will not give up on this issue. We will insist on the House language because college students who can make a difference, who will make a difference, will insist upon this. We look forward to the new version of the higher education bill and support this temporary extension.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and some of the things I want to talk about are personal and some are of a public policy nature. I never cease to admire the courage of my parents in bringing our family to this country, to a new country, a new language, a new culture. And interestingly enough, I have never been really able to say that to them in person across the kitchen table, and it's easier for me to say it right here on the House floor. There are other lessons that are important, and one of them has been referred to earlier, the internment of the Japanese Americans during World War II. It is not an old, cold, dead issue. We passed the Military Commissions Act just before the 2006 elections. It substantially restricted habeas corpus for all Americans. And just as we apologize to Japanese Americans for the internment during World War II, someday we'll be apologizing for actions taken under the Military Commissions Act. So some of the lessons learned from the Asian Pacific American experience are positive ones, and others are cautionary ones that we should continue to remember.