Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, in 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in order to address the nation's wage gap. And yet, 46 years later women still make on average only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men for the same work. But thanks to Lilly Ledbetter, we are going to right that wrong today on the House floor. In 2007, I had the opportunity to meet Lilly. She told me how she had no proof of pay discrimination until someone anonymously slipped payroll records into her mailbox. Anonymously because Goodyear's payroll records were secret. This bill lifts the cloak of secrecy that allows these kinds of unfair pay practices to fester--which is exactly why the House proudly passed this bill last Congress. I urge my colleagues today to once again support fair pay practices, and see that this important legislation becomes law. What you don't know, can hurt you. I thank Chairman Miller and Representative DeLauro for their leadership on this issue. The Paycheck Fairness Act is a bold step forward in righting the wrong of pay discrimination.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support Senate bill 1738, the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008. Mr. Speaker, I don't have to tell you that children today are growing up in a completely different world than we did. Our children have wonderful opportunities to learn in ways that we never had, but there are also dangers our generation never had to consider. The Internet has facilitated an exploding multibillion dollar market for child pornography. Tragically, the demand for this criminal market can only be supplied by graphic new images, and these images can only be supplied through the sexual assault of more children. This bill, like its House companion, H.R. 3845, that passed the House overwhelmingly last November, addresses an issue that is central to the goals and vision of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New Direction Congress, protecting our children. The Internet is a truly wonderful tool. It has opened up the world for our children, but it has also opened up our children to the world. A year ago, in June, I visited with a very special group of parents called the Surviving Parents Coalition, and I was not prepared for what they had to tell me. They shared with me their own horrific stories of how their children were abducted by sexual predators. As we all know, some of these children will never come home. As the mother of three young children myself, their stories broke my heart. And as a Member of Congress, I felt compelled to act. What surprised me most about these brave parents was their message; they told me that if we wanted to prevent predators from hurting other children like theirs, that the way to do it is to go back through the Internet and get them. A 2005 Justice Department study found that 80 percent of child pornography possessors have images and videos of children being sexually penetrated, another 21 percent possess images of bondage, sadistic abuse, and torture. The children depicted in these photos are very young. There are even Web sites that provide live pay-per-view rates of very young children. These images are crime scene photos created by a thriving industry that uses children as sexual commodities. Special Agent Flint Waters of the Wyoming State Police, a highly respected child exploitation investigator, testified at a Judiciary Committee hearing last year that there are nearly 500,000 identified individuals in the United States trafficking child pornography on the Internet. That's half a million people right here in the United States. And law enforcement knows who they are and they know where they are. But what shocked me the most and what compelled me to get involved in this issue is that, due to a lack of resources, law enforcement is investigating less than 2 percent of these known 500,000 individuals. And make no mistake, law enforcement knows where they are, they just don't have the resources to go get them. Even more shocking is that it is estimated that if we were to investigate these cases, we could actually rescue a child victim nearly 30 percent of the time. Think about that. That means there are thousands of children out there in America just waiting to be rescued. Alicia Kozakiewicz, whose testimony at last October's judiciary hearing moved all of us, is a living, breathing reminder of the lives that we can save. Alicia told us how over a period of months she was groomed by a 40-year-old predator pretending to be a teenage girl. When Alicia, who was 13 years old at the time, agreed to meet her cyber- friend in real life, he kidnapped her from her suburban Pittsburgh driveway and held her captive in his Virginia dungeon where he performed unspeakable sexual acts upon her day after day and broadcast it over the Internet. Just when Alicia told us that she had given up all hope, she was rescued by FBI agents. The FBI found her because the Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, or ICAC, had the technology to lift the digital fingerprints of this perpetrator's crimes and to discover the location where he had held her captive chained to the floor. The PROTECT Our Children Act will help provide the safety net that we so desperately need by giving us the resources and the coordination we need to bring these predators to justice. It will create statutory authority for these highly successful ICAC Task Forces, which support State and local law enforcement agencies. It will supplement this new local effort with hundreds of new Federal agents who will be solely dedicated to crimes against children. It will also provide desperately needed forensic crime and computer labs so agents can uncover troves of electronic evidence, locate these perpetrators and bring them to justice. At the October Judiciary Committee hearing, a representative from the FBI told us two things that boggled my mind: First, that the number of agents being exclusively assigned to these cases was actually shrinking, and second, that they are giving millions of dollars that Congress had appropriated to combat child pornography to programs that have nothing to do with child protection. This bill will set us on a new course by creating a National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention. And although I preferred the special counsel provision in the House bill, I am proud to support this measure because this national strategy will ensure that the Federal Government's efforts in this era are no longer disjointed or haphazard. Instead, there will finally be a person in charge at the Department of Justice who will report to Congress and be responsible for real results. I want to thank my House cosponsor, Ranking Member Joe Barton, for his leadership, his concern, and his compassion for our children and their safety. And thank you, Senator Biden, for your capable staff and for your tireless work in the Senate. Your skilled negotiations helped us arrive at this moment. Thank you to NCMEC President Ernie Allen and my good friend and colleague from Houston, Congressman Nick Lampson, for your improvements to the bill with the SAFE Act. And honestly, thank you, Oprah Winfrey and all of your viewers for every letter, every telephone call, every fax and every e-mail. You helped break the Senate logjam and proved that Congress is responsive to the people. Thank you, Erin Runnion, Ed Smart, Mary Kozakiewicz, names that are far too familiar to Americans because of the travesty that happened to their children, and to all the founding members of the Surviving Parents Coalition. When this bill got mired in petty partisan politics, they helped us remember what our effort was really about. It is about Samantha, it is about Elizabeth, and it is about Alicia. It is making sure we rescue every child we can and that we leave none behind. And thank you to Flint Waters for developing the software to locate predators and rescue children. Your work and the work of the ICAC Task Force agents across this country from Broward County, Florida to Wyoming, who wake up every morning, work long hours each day, only to go home at night knowing they don't have the resources or staffing power to rescue every child. The angst that must cause is unimaginable. Last and certainly not least, I want to commend the inexhaustible determination of Grier Weeks, Camille Cooper, David Keith and all our friends with the National Association to PROTECT Children. They kept our noses to the grindstone and our eyes on the prize. And we would never be here without their effort. They have shown us what we can do when Congress comes together and puts partisan differences aside.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to ask the Members to join me in paying a special tribute to one of the most respected and knowledgeable staffers here on Capitol Hill. After more than 30 years of Federal service, Chuck Turner is retiring from the Appropriations Committee today. Chuck is one of the finest examples of a public servant that we have in this institution. He has worked tirelessly on the Legislative Branch Subcommittee for more than 20 years, and leaves behind a record of integrity and service to this institution that few can match. The tremendous expertise and insight he has brought to the day-to-day oversight of the House of Representatives and the entire legislative branch will be sorely missed. I have gotten to know Chuck over the past 2 years in my role as Chair of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee. We owe Chuck a deep debt of gratitude for the great contributions that he has made, and this rookie Cardinal owes him a tremendous personal debt. Chuck, we will miss you. We thank you for your service, and wish you good luck with all of your future endeavors. Godspeed.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6625, the Veteran Voting Support Act. I want to thank my colleague, Chairman Brady, for sponsoring this important legislation. We have a special duty to make it easier, not harder, for all our citizens to participate in this great democracy. I was utterly appalled to learn that earlier this year, the Department of Veterans Affairs was blocking non-partisan voter registration organizations from its facilities. Congressional and public outrage forced the VA to revise its policy. However, their ``new'' directive still falls short of providing the voting assistance our veterans deserve. This is simply unacceptable. H.R. 6625 requires the VA to actively offer voter registration and assistance opportunities to our veterans. Every day our soldiers risk life and limb to protect our liberties and defend our freedoms. When they come home, we owe them the most sacred of freedoms--the right to vote. We must do everything in our power to help them register and participate in this historic election.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today in memory of Mitchell Appleman, a south Florida veteran of World War II and President-Emeritus of the Hallandale Jewish Center. Mr. Appleman was a well-known member of our community, involved with numerous causes and organizations. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Princeton University before enlisting and fighting in General Patton's army in Europe during World War II. Upon his discharge from the U.S. Army, Mr. Appleman made a living in architectural woodworking, lending his skills to schools, hospitals, courtrooms, and religious institutions. After retiring to south Florida in 1976, he began his second career of service in his new community. Mr. Appleman became active at the Hallandale Jewish Center, serving as its longest acting president for many years and most recently as Chairman of the Board and its President-Emeritus. He was also Treasurer of the South Florida Chapter of Friends for Life. Through his work at the Hallandale Jewish Center, Mr. Appleman went on to support Jewish day schools in the south Florida community, American Friends of Bar-Ilan University, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Jewish Federation. In addition to his wife of 12 years, Riki, Mr. Appleman is survived by his two children, Nanci Vassil and Mark Appleman, and their spouses Nick and Billie; his grandchildren, Aslan, Michael, Layla and Jason; his great-grandson, Brighton; and a very close cousin, Howard Appleman. Mitchell Appleman was a kind, wonderful man whose presence will be greatly missed.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, how can words adequately describe someone who is larger than life? Stephanie Tubbs Jones was a change- maker and a risk-taker. As a woman, she helped blaze a trail for generations to follow, first in her role as a prosecutor, then a judge, then as Ohio's first African American female Member of Congress. To me personally, Stephanie was a mentor and a role model. Someone who didn't hesitate to pull me aside when I first came to Washington and give me advice, from my wardrobe to my hair, Stephanie kept it real, because that is exactly what she was in every sense of the word. Above all else, though, Stephanie was my friend, and one of my first friends here in Washington. Her room-filling energy, her passion, her dedication, her voice for the downtrodden, all of these will be missed by the people of Ohio. Her intelligence, her expertise, her counsel will be missed by all of us here in this Chamber. And me? Well, Mr. Speaker, I will miss my friend.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, in 1963 President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in order to address the wage gap, and yet 45 years later, more than my entire life, women still make on average only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men for the same work. Last summer I had the opportunity to meet Lilly Ledbetter during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. When she worked for Goodyear, she had no proof of pay discrimination until someone anonymously slipped payroll records into her mailbox. When Lilly took her case to court, the Supreme Court failed her, telling her she should have known all along she was being discriminated against, even though Goodyear's payroll records were secret. This bill lifts the cloak of secrecy that allows these kinds of unfair pay practices to fester. I urge my colleagues today to support eliminating discriminatory pay practices. Let's create an America where our next generation of daughters get paid for their worth equally, regardless of their gender. My congratulations to Congresswoman DeLauro and Chairman Miller for their leadership on this issue. The Paycheck Fairness Act is a bold step forward in righting the wrong of pay discrimination.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Chairman, I rise to support the NASA authorization act and to thank Chairman Gordon and Representative Udall for their leadership and exceptional work on this bill. On May 31, I experienced the thrill of attending the most recent shuttle launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida. As I witnessed the intense brightness of the rockets' afterburners and felt the rumble of the Earth as the shuttle lifted off, I could feel the pride and strength of American innovation and technological leadership. I have to tell you that I was surprised at how emotional I felt watching the shuttle hurtle towards the sky, and my heart really burst with pride in the American spirit and our ability to move forward generation after generation. The continuity of the space program is critical to maintaining this leadership. The space shuttle is scheduled to retire in just 2 years, yet a lack of funding has delayed its replacement until at least 2015. Without adequate funding, not only would we lose jobs, but we would be forced to rely on Russia to access the International Space Station. The economic return on our investment in the space program is far greater than many realize. In fact, NASA's budget accounts for less than six-tenths of 1 percent of the Federal budget, and yet the benefits of space exploration are vital to our daily lives. Our TVs, cell phones and computers, as well as the military and weather forecasters all rely on satellite technology developed through space exploration. Last year, Speaker Pelosi announced ``The Speaker's Innovation Agenda,'' an action plan to keep America as the leader in global science and technology. This agenda includes educating a new generation of innovators and committing to research and development. By supporting NASA today, we are committing to innovate, to create new opportunities and markets, to drive discovery, and to push the boundaries and limitations that are before us. It is vital that we instill this curiosity and drive in the next generation. I know it was instilled in the next generation that I'm raising because my son announced to me after he saw the shuttle launch, he said, ``Mom, I want to be an astronaut.'' And for me, as the National Chair of the Women's High Tech Coalition and co-chair of the Young Women's Task Force, I want to express particular support for the Hodes amendment, which establishes a scholarship program in honor of Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who died in the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster. The scholarships will go to women pursuing degrees in mathematics, science, and engineering, and would further support women seeking careers in fields related to NASA's mission. We really need to expand the young women's and young girls' interest in the science and mathematical fields. As leaders and legislators, we must work to harness the talent, intellect, and entrepreneurial spirit of Americans. I urge my colleagues to support this bill to ensure that NASA has the resources to continue to promote American competitiveness.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Pretty much our whole lives.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Yes, they seem to believe that the President's drill more and veto policy is the right way to go when it comes to our energy policy. And I'll tell you, as I often call myself, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Ryan, a minivan mom because I have three young kids, I spend most of my time, when I'm home, driving them from diving practice to baseball games to gymnastics, and it consumes quite a bit of gas. So when I'm home and have to go and fill up that gas tank, which I did just last week before I came back to Washington, it cost me $76, Mr. Ryan. And we've done 30-something in the last few weeks, and I think the last time I was here it cost me $62 to fill up my gas tank, the last time we talked about this. And we've gone from $62, I'm at $76. The week before last I was at $72. The week before that, I was at $68 to fill up the tank. I mean, so now we're talking about real money. Seventy-six dollars is what a very small amount of groceries cost. And that's money that is the difference between someone being able to buy the groceries in the supermarket or put gasoline in the tank or make sure that they can take their kids to the doctor and make that copayment for the doctor's appointment. I mean, we have record gas prices now that are hurting, cutting people to the quick. And the Republicans, our good friends on the other side of the aisle, what is their solution? First of all, before we became the majority and began to even put this issue on the front burner, it wasn't an issue for them. The last action that they took, when they were in charge, was to give $14 billion in subsidies to the oil industry, which is the most profitable industry in America. Now, what does that mean? We've heard a lot of us talk about those $14 billion in subsidies. What it means is that the Federal Government gives the oil industry permission, they are allowed to drill for oil on Federal lands and in exchange they are supposed pay royalties to the Federal Government to do that. We forgive those royalties, that's what the $14 billion is. And what we have proposed is, because we want to truly wean ourselves off of our addiction to oil--and not just foreign oil, we need to wean ourselves off of our addiction to oil period because oil is a finite resource. We need to really invest in renewable energy sources, in biofuels. And what we would like to do is repeal that $14 billion in subsidies, require the oil industry to pay the royalties--because they're pulling oil out of the ground on land that they don't own, on land that is owned by the Federal Government, they're profiting from that and paying nothing for the privilege--we want to take that $14 billion in subsidies and invest it in alternative energy research. Because, you know, growing up, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Ryan, I remember during the Carter administration, I remember the energy crisis. I remember sitting in the back seat of my parents' car on gas lines. And I remember in elementary school seeing all the conservation efforts that they started doing all the way down to, you know, to the public school and elementary school level. We had signs next to the light switches that suddenly were put on there that said, you know, ``turn the lights off.'' There was a big national energy conservation effort that just fizzled once Ronald Reagan became President. And we never invested in alternative research like we should have. The conservation efforts went by the wayside, and we went back to the same old story, oil, oil, oil. And look, right now, the Republicans are talking about needing to drill for more oil in ANWR, pulling oil out of shale, this 68 million acres available now that they are not drilling on, 68 million; I mean, it's absolutely ridiculous. They need to be utilizing the turf that they've got now, and they're not. So we need to make sure that it's clear to the American people--and that's why we come out here every night--who's for solving this energy crisis and who's all talk. And I think the Republicans have clearly proven that through their actions and their lack of stewardship when they were in charge. And I yield to the gentleman.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Thank you. By the way, to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, that was a very impressive top-of-mind overview, and your command of the facts is truly incredible. So thank you very much for that very articulate overview. We also want to stress that, in addition to laying out the problem and the shock that we have in reaction to the solution of our good friends on the other side of the aisle to drill and veto, we have not stood idly by and just said, ``Well, unless we repeal these $14 billion in subsidies, then we're not going to be able to do anything.'' We have a series of bills that we have passed, and I think it would be helpful for us to go through those and to tell people the efforts that we're making--some short-term, some long-term. This is a difficult problem to solve in the short term. It is very difficult to dramatically bring down gas prices through legislation in a short-term way, but one of the things that we did was to pass the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act. What that does is it says to the President that he is not to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and that was something that the President had previously opposed. He was threatening to veto it until he realized that the increase in gas prices was so politically painful for both his administration and for his Members of Congress that he had no other choice but to finally relent and agree to sign it. There were still 25 Republicans who voted against that bill. What the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act is designed to do is to bring gas prices down in the short term. During the rest of this year, we expect that bill to affect gas prices in the short term. We have the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act. That is a bill that will extend and expand tax incentives for renewable energy, the type of energy that we would like to go in the direction of, instead of the finite sources that the Republicans always talk about. What that bill would do is generate hundreds of thousands of green jobs, spur American innovation and business investment, and cut taxes for millions of Americans. What the provisions of that bill will do is preserve hundreds of thousands of good-paying, green-collar American jobs. A recent study showed that allowing the renewable energy incentives to expire would lead to about 116,000 jobs being lost in the wind and solar industries alone through the end of next year. Yet 159 Republicans voted against that legislation. That's how latched to the oil industry they are. How about the OPEC and Big Oil companies accountability bill? We passed a bill that would combat record gas prices by authorizing lawsuits against oil cartel members for oil price-fixing as well as created an antitrust task force to crack down on oil companies that are engaged in anticompetitive behavior and market manipulation. You still had 84 Republicans vote against that bill. We also passed legislation, historic legislation, Mr. Murphy, for the first time in 35 years we have passed legislation that will require the automobile manufacturing industry to increase fuel efficiency standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. That is the first congressional increase in more than three decades. Ninety-six Republicans voted against that legislation. It was signed into law on December 19, 2007, so we will over the long term see fuel efficiency standards improve, which, of course the automobile industry could have done years and years ago on their own. But, unfortunately, we had to cajole them along a little bit. There are two more bills I want to highlight, simply because of the shockingly large number of Republicans that voted against those as well. You have the Renewable Energy and Conservation Tax Act. That is the bill that included the repeal of this $14 billion in subsidies. It also would invest in clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency and also address a reduction in global warming. It included provisions that would generate, again, hundreds of thousands of green jobs by investing in solar energy and biodiesel jobs and protect an additional 75,000 wind industry jobs. And 174 Republicans voted against that bill. Lastly, one of the things that we wanted to make sure we protected against when it came to our energy policy was price gouging, so we passed the Energy Price Gouging Prevention Act, because it is a little bit suspect that all of these retail establishments and all of the entire oil industry suddenly and dramatically all increase prices at the same time. What a coincidence. So we thought it was important in order to provide immediate relief to consumers to give the Federal Trade Commission the authority to investigate and punish people and entities that artificially inflate the price of energy, and we wanted to ensure that the Federal Government had the tools it needed to adequately respond to energy emergencies and prohibit price gouging, particularly like, for example, when you have natural disasters like my State faces which we often struggle with. And 140 Republicans voted against that bill. So it is just really important that we highlight these stark differences in our policy versus the Republicans, what we support and the actions that we have taken and what the other side supports. The other side is married to the oil industry, and we would like to move, again, in a new direction, so we can invest in renewable energy.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Murphy, I might need a little help with this so I can be bipartisan. Let's spread this out here. It is always better in the 30-Something Working Group when we give visual examples of what we are talking about. We walked through the agenda of the New Democratic Congress on our initiatives to try to affect the cost of energy in the short-term and the long-term. Here is a visible example. Next to here are the names of the entire Republican leadership, and here are the four major pieces of legislation that we have moved through the Congress. Not allowing OPEC to price fix, making sure that our constituents are not gouged by prices, ensuring that we invest in renewable energy and repealing those $14 billion in subsidies, and ensuring that we have energy security going into the future. There are no yeses on this entire grid, the entire Republican leadership. What is objectionable about making sure that we don't have price gouging when it comes to gasoline? Should we allow OPEC to fix prices? Is that okay? I am just not sure which of these bills was objectionable. It is one thing for them to say that we should do some other things as well, but if we are going to try work in a bipartisan spirit and approach this problem and find a solution together, voting no on anything that doesn't prop up the oil industry is just insensitive and callous and doesn't recognize that this is a real problem that is affecting Americans in a significant way. Thank you, Mr. Murphy. I would be happy to yield back to Mr. Murphy.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1054, to honor the service and achievements of women in the Armed Forces and female veterans. I want to thank my colleague and good friend, Chairwoman Susan Davis, for sponsoring this resolution. Next Monday, we will observe Memorial Day, which honors the brave men and women who have courageously served and died in uniform. Women have voluntarily served in support of U.S. military efforts since the Revolutionary War as nurses, cooks and laundresses. Now, women have risen through the ranks and occupy the roles of generals, commanders, pilots, and drill sergeants. American women have served this country selflessly and with great courage. Today, I recognize the nearly 800,000 women who have served and the hundreds who have been killed or taken prisoner of war. Their service demonstrates that women are fully capable and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. They are an example to all women and men who will follow in their footsteps.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, it doesn't really surprise me that our good friends on the other side of the aisle have yet another drilling solution to our energy problems. Because it seems that with every energy problem, they have never found an energy problem that drilling won't solve. When will our colleagues in the minority get it into their heads that we cannot drill our way out of our energy problems? What I think is amazing is that they have actually finally realized that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Some of them have finally acknowledged that global warming is a problem. But they still refuse to let go of the tired direction that they continue to want to travel in, which is to prop up their wealthy corporate interests, prop up the oil industry, which is the most profitable industry in this country, with billions of dollars in oil subsidies. And today's solution, in this motion to instruct, is that we should drill for more oil in a pristine environmental track in Alaska, go off the coast of Florida and the Outer Continental Shelf, drop some oil drills so that we can really severely negatively impact the tourism across the coastal regions instead of trying to make sure that we can truly invest in alternative energy research. Which part of ``No, we need an alternative'' don't they understand? Well, consistently the voters have said they want to move this country in a new direction. They want to make sure that we invest in alternative energy research and wean ourselves truly off of our dependence on oil. Not just hear more talk about it. Mr. Speaker, drilling is not the answer. It is inappropriate to suggest that we should have more drilling in ANWR, in Wyoming, off the coast of Florida. We need to make sure that we can finally step up and make a bipartisan commitment that we will invest in alternative energy research so that we can finally end this energy crisis that we find ourselves in. I'm glad to see that the Republicans finally acknowledge it's a problem.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I too rise to recognize the 60th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel, and to reaffirm the steadfast friendship between our two strong democratic nations. Sixty years ago today, on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel declared sovereignty and independence as a homeland for the Jewish people. With little resources and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Israel has become a thriving and prosperous democracy, and has made worldwide contributions in technology, medicine, agriculture and environmental innovation. When we speak about Israel, too often we focus on Israel's troubles and not on her beauty and her spirit. But what I want to focus on today is her resolve. Since independence, Israel has continually overcome every conceivable roadblock. She has beaten back hostile neighbors during war, and now endures terrible emotional and economic hardship from terrorist cowards who perpetrate hideous violence against innocent victims. As a critical partner in the fight against terror, and as the only democracy in the region, Israel's strength and security is paramount. Therefore, I encourage this House to continue to pass bipartisan bills in support of Israel and her ability to protect herself from antagonistic neighbors. The blossoming of a nation that grew from desert sand into a thriving example of democracy, economic progress and cultural diversity is a magnificent achievement for this strong and vibrant country. I congratulate Israel on all she has achieved in just 60 years, and I look forward to a bright future for this extraordinary nation.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to remove my name as a cosponsor of H.R. 2054, the Universal Service Reform Act of 2007. My name was listed due to a clerical error.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1086, recognizing this week as National Nurses Week. I thank Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson for her leadership in sponsoring this Resolution so that Congress can honor the nearly 2.9 million hard working nurses across the country. As we celebrate the fine women and men on the front lines of our health care system, we recognize that registered nurses are vital to quality health care for all Americans. Nurses care for patients at every level--from critical care, chronic disease, to preventative and wellness care. They work in hospitals, doctor's offices, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, schools and provide in-home care throughout the community. Nurses routinely perform some of the most important duties of a patient's treatment. In this National Nurses Week, I also want to pay special tribute to nurses in my district and throughout South Florida. From our elder population, to working men and women, to our children, nurses help my constituents every day. To honor all that they do, on May 9th, nurses in South Florida will participate in a program entitled, ``Nurses Making A Difference Every Day.'' I can tell you that nurses do make a difference every day and I thank them for their service. I hope that this program, and the national attention we give to the good work of nurses will encourage more people to consider this noble profession. It is projected that the need for registered nurses will grow dramatically in the coming years, and we must do all we can to support this vital field. Madam Speaker, nurses exemplify some of the best that this country has to offer. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to highlight their value to our communities and the important role nurses play in providing quality health care to all of our constituents.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 952, to honor and recognize our Nation's teachers. I want to thank my colleague and good friend, Congressman Ron Klein for sponsoring this resolution. Today marks the beginning of National Teacher Appreciation Week, but America's teachers deserve more than a week of recognition for their investment in our country's most precious resource, our children. Too often teachers are overworked and underpaid. They spend long hours in the classroom, many hours after the school day coaching our kids and leading their extracurricular groups, and then go home to spend more time grading papers. They invest their own lives in the lives of our children, and every day they empower young people with the knowledge and tools they need to be successful and confident. America's future is in the hands of our children, and we owe our teachers a universe of thanks for their hard work.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Thank you, Mr. Altmire. And thank you for really making America's military, veterans as well as the troops currently serving, a high priority for yourself and your agenda and the issues that you champion on behalf of the people in the district that you represent in Pennsylvania. I want to turn now to another Pennsylvanian who served in the United States Navy for 31 years and rose to the rank of three star Admiral. His battle group conducted combat operations in Afghanistan and precursor operations to the war in Iraq, and he is one of our caucus' foremost experts on the issues that are important to military families and that are important to us as we try to wrestle with this very difficult issue of how we're going to extricate ourselves from this war in Iraq. And our caucus has tremendous respect for your service. And it's my pleasure to yield to Congressman Joe Sestak.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, we appreciate the opportunity tonight in the 30-Something Working Group to talk about an item that is extremely important to America and particularly important to America's military families, and that is the effects of troop deployment on the children, families and communities of military personnel. Speaker Pelosi has been so supportive of the notion that we need to make sure that we shape our policy, particularly around our Nation's veterans, in support of our military families. The extended troop deployments, the tour after tour of duty, I know that so many of us as Members have met with soldiers' families and met with individual troops who have said they are on their third and fourth tour of duty, that they are having extended deployments, that they are having a much shorter than they are supposed to time between deployments. Normally they are supposed to go through about 365 days between deployments. Those times have not been respected and they have been sent back much sooner. Since October 2001, approximately 1.6 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Deployed family members are leaving behind parents, children and spouses to provide a selfless patriotic service to our country. However, families are also asked to make great sacrifices when dealing with the stress and anxiety of multiple deployments, limited and infrequent communications, and the separation of a family member. In this Month of the Military Child, we thought it was only appropriate that we show our support for those that themselves provide so much support to our soldiers and discuss the consequences of these prolonged separations. I would like to begin, Mr. Speaker, with a story of the Lopez family. The Lopez family is right here. They were profiled in the Sesame Workshop Talk, Listen, Connect Series. Ten-year-old Ernesto, who is the little boy right here, and 6-year-old Jennifer, live with their mother and baby brother on Fort Bragg in North Carolina, which is home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces and one of the largest military bases in the world. Their dad, Staff Sergeant Ernesto Lopez, is in Iraq on his third tour of duty. Look how little these children are. The daughter is 6 years old. If he is on his third tour of duty, and most of these tours of duty, Mr. Speaker, are, as you know, about a year each, that means that he has missed half of Jennifer's life already. Half. It is just unbelievable. Jennifer keeps a special calendar in her room to mark the days until her dad comes home. Ernesto sleeps with a duplicate of the small ball that his father carries, a soft army ball with a molded helmet and a soldier's face, onto which Ernesto drew a heart that means ``we love each other,'' in his words. Even baby Elan, who was born 2 days before his father was deployed, has a soft-sided photo album filled with pictures of his dad that his mother hopes will ease his recognition when he returns. Imagine. It is going to be incredibly difficult for this family to go through the restoration of bonding that military families inevitably go through. I can't imagine having just given birth and having to leave to go across the world and not know whether or if I would see my family again. That is what our men and women that are fighting for us in Iraq are going through every single day. And as Ernesto, Jennifer, Elan and Mrs. Lopez know so well, when a parent is deployed, the entire family is deployed. The Lopez children are an example of the 1.2 million children under the age of 10 who have a parent or parents on active military duty or in the Reserves, which is more than at any other time since World War II. Tonight, Mr. Speaker, we are going to be discussing the burdens of deployment on the children, families and communities of the brave men and women that serve us in uniform. Families and communities of military personnel are making huge sacrifices every day for the protection of this country, and we must be prepared as a Nation to ensure the well-being of military families, welcome home our brave soldiers at the end of their tours, and provide for their safe reintegration into their communities. At this time, I would like to recognize the gentleman who suggested that the 30-Something Working Group take up this subject during our weekly hour. He is a tremendous leader when it comes to the issues important to veterans and military families, Chairman Bob Filner, the gentleman from California.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Can I ask you a question on that? Given your expertise and your professional background in psychology; obviously posttraumatic stress disorder is incredibly stressful on families, and I just want to bring up some statistics and maybe have you comment on them. We have documentation that servicemembers who are given a diagnosis of PTSD were significantly more likely to perpetrate violence toward their partners, with more than 80 percent committing at least one act of violence in the previous year, and almost half at least one severe act. And that source, the third-party validator we have on that is the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, and that was back in 2003 that they cited that. The stress on families, beyond the deployment, which is obviously incredibly stressful. When they come back and they are suffering from PTSD, that has to have an incredibly horrific impact.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Filner, your leadership on the Veterans' Affairs Committee has just been second to none. Your commitment to our military families has been so incredibly important in trying to make sure that we can highlight their needs and the struggles and difficulties that they go through; and the policy that you are shaping in your committee to make sure that we can improve their lives. Look at the statistics there. The statistics there show just exactly what the impact is on our military families. The dark green shows 2003 to 2005 what you had in infidelity, it was about 4 percent. Fast forward to 2007, and we are at 15 percent. You go to divorce. We are at 11 percent 2003 to 2005, and you are up to 20 percent in 2007. And then look at any other problem. And of course the military families have problems just like anybody else, but look at the explosion of problems that military families have had in terms of their marital problems. In 2003 to 2005, it was 12 percent and they are at 27 percent now. Granted, war is a stressful situation, Mr. Chairman. But, my gosh, we need to do more. And I know that your committee is committed to doing that.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. And in this Month of the Military Child, we want to make sure that we highlight the impact on our military members' families, because they are the ones that end up forgotten. And I thank all of you for coming this evening, because you all have some unique experience and involvement, unique constituencies who are significantly impacted by our troops' deployment in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And someone who in particular has a specific family member who has inspired him is Congressman Jerry McNerney, who actually was inspired to run for Congress by his son, Michael, who in response to the attacks from September 11 sought and received a commission in the United States Air Force. And Michael suggested that his dad serve his country, too, by running for Congress. And when they pulled together as a family, Congressman McNerney decided that that was what he needed to do. And we were so pleased when your victory became clear on election night in 2006, and it is with a deep sense of duty and your family's support that I know you are serving here and serving admirably. So, the gentleman from California (Mr. McNerney).

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 60th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel and to reaffirm the steadfast relationship between our two strong democratic allies. May 14, 2008, marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the sovereign and independent State of Israel. With little resources and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Israel has become a thriving and prosperous democracy, and has made significant worldwide contributions in technology, medicine, agriculture, and environmental innovation. Additionally, eight Israelis have been awarded the Nobel Prize. When we speak about Israel, too often we focus on Israel's troubles and don't focus enough attention on her beauty and her spirit. But what I want to focus on today is her resolve. Since its independence in 1948, Israel has continually overcome every conceivable roadblock placed in her way. She has beaten back hostile neighbors during war and now she endures terrible economic hardship from terrorist cowards who perpetrate hideous violence against innocent victims. As a critical partner in our fight against terror and as the only democracy in the region, Israel's strength and security is paramount. Therefore, I encourage this House to continue to pass bipartisan bills in support of Israel and her ability to protect herself from hostile neighbors. The blossoming of a nation that grew from desert sand into a thriving example of democracy, economic progress, and cultural diversity is a magnificent achievement for this strong and vibrant country. I want to congratulate Israel on all she has achieved in just 60 years, and I look forward to the future of this extraordinary Nation.