[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 8, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H1935-H1936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE NECESSITY OF THE HOUSE TO BALANCE ITS PRIORITIES AND MOVE FORWARD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2001, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this morning I wish to address 
the necessity for this House to balance its priorities and to begin to 
move forward its legislative agenda. Before I do that, let me associate 
myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) and 
thank him for bringing to the floor and dropping today legislation that 
will allow the printing of a book honoring Asian Pacific Islander 
Americans in Congress, particularly as we celebrate the history of our 
Asian American friends. This is a diverse country and we reflect the 
wonderfulness of that diversity.
  As we do that as well, Mr. Speaker, let me say that I am disturbed 
and concerned. Today we will rush to judgment, having missed two pages 
of the budget last week and having to delay it until Tuesday, to 
support a budget resolution that includes an enormous tax cut but fails 
to include $294 billion for what we have all come to know as a very 
important issue, and that is the education of our children. With this 
budget, we know that we will be invading the Medicare and Social 
Security Trust Funds by the year 2011.
  I would have hoped that we would have been more timely with this 
budget, giving us more time to debate it and focusing on issues like 
making sure that uninsured children and uninsured Americans have health 
care, providing prescription drug coverage the way it should be, and 
including the $294 billion for our educational needs, collaborating 
with our local governments and local school boards.
  Tragically, another violent act at school occurred in an Alaska 
elementary school. This is Children's Mental Health Month and I am 
delighted to be able to focus on the need for mental health services 
for all of Americans, but as well to focus on the needs of our 
children. I would like to see more in-school health clinics for our 
children to be able to access services for both their physical health 
needs, immunizations, but as well, their mental health needs.
  I believe that as we move forward to address the question of our 
foreign authorization bill, we will need to seriously debate the 
question of the loss of the United States' seat on the Human Rights 
Council in the United Nations. Many of my colleagues will rise in 
distress and anger, saying that we should no longer be associated with 
the United Nations. We should be cautious, and certainly we should be 
understanding of the fact that the United Nations now stands as the 
only entity where so many countries of so many diverse and disparate 
viewpoints actually can talk to each other.
  Even though it is a very disturbing act to have lost the seat, we too 
have to look at the policy of the United States as it relates to the 
nonpayment of its dues and its actions over the last couple of months 
that suggest that its world associates are unhappy, but we must not 
step away from fighting for human rights and we must insist that human 
rights becomes the call of the day for all nations, including China and 
Sudan and many others.
  I want to thank and congratulate Senator Ellis and Representative 
Thompson of the State of Texas for getting through the Senate and the 
House a hate crimes legislative initiative, and I raise that point 
because it is long overdue for the United States of America's Congress 
to pass real hate crimes legislation to say and make a statement to 
those who would do heinous acts on the basis of someone's difference 
that we will not tolerate that in America. It still goes on in Texas. 
It still goes on in States across this Nation, and I think that we are 
long overdue for getting hate crime legislation to the floor.
  We do understand that there has been movement in the Cincinnati 
occurrences, the tragedy of having had 15 African American males shot 
by the police since 1995. I think it is important that the Attorney 
General has now indicated that there will be a civil rights 
investigation, do it expeditiously and quickly, and begin to heal and 
solve those problems by insisting that the police department and the 
community work closely together.
  Finally, let me say, Mr. Speaker, there are several enormously 
important issues that we are dealing with as it relates to the energy 
crisis. We are not doing enough in this Congress. We are not doing 
enough in the administration by simply saying, handle it yourself; it 
is not going to go away. I believe it is time to help Americans with 
gasoline prices. I believe it is time to be able to provide dollars for 
those who will be overheated in the summer. With more additional 
funding for LIHEAP dollars in the State of Texas in 1998 and 1999, we 
lost 130-plus citizens because of the heat and not being able to 
provide the dollars they needed for utility costs or even having air-
conditioners. I think certainly we should be helping with the 
brownouts. Conservation is important. Exploration is important within 
reason, but we must have emergency relief now for those who are 
experiencing the energy crisis, because it is here.
  Mr. Speaker, I think that we can focus on a lot of priorities and we 
are not doing so. Even as we watch the various layoffs of individuals 
across this Nation, they are asking for the Congress to act. Do not 
look at the layoffs and ignore them and say it is not in my State, just 
like we should not look at the energy crisis and ignore it and say it 
is not in my State. I believe we have priorities. We should act on 
them.

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