[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 7, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H7887-H7894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  AFTEREFFECTS OF SEPTEMBER 11 TRAGEDY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Osborne). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 3, 2001, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) 
is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I do have an opportunity now 
to speak with a sense of appreciation as well as a sense of 
questioning. Many of us have come to the floor of the House in the 
weeks after September 11 to raise many issues to help heal this Nation 
or to help solve the crisis that was created. I am never far from 
thinking of the enormous loss of life that occurred on September 11. 
For that reason, I believe that there is certainly never enough 
commentary and solutions that could be offered to help heal us from 
September 11.

                              {time}  1730

  We, of course, have been told to get on with our lives, to go about 
our business as Americans, to not be intimidated by the terrorist acts, 
and I would add something else, to not turn, if you will, into the kind 
of people who would perpetrate hatred so deep that it would take 
innocent lives. I am very gratified Americans have not done any of 
that, that there is a great deal of charitableness, there is a great 
deal of desire to be involved in how we can be problem solvers. For 
that reason, I see it fitting that we continue doing our work in the 
United States Congress to be problem solvers.
  So to my colleagues tonight, I believe there is a degree of work that 
is yet undone, and we must keep busy to help solve these problems. 
There is work undone with respect to airline security, Federal 
security, federalizing the airline security in our airports.
  We have yet to address the approximately 5.4 percent unemployment, 
the surge in unemployment, the many industries that have been hit so 
hard because of the tragedy of September 11, such as the tourist 
industry, hotels, hospitality, those particular employees, and many 
others.
  I was riding on a plane with a constituent who said that an 
accounting firm had laid off 400 workers. Every day we are finding 
different industries that are being impacted from the events of 
September 11. Is American going about its business? Yes. Americans are 
cheered and buoyed by their values, and they are committed to the 
wonderfulness of this Nation.
  I also see the effort by Americans to draw closer together, as 
diverse as this Nation is, from the many walks of life and many ethnic 
backgrounds that our citizens have come from, and I have seen a renewed 
zealousness around our values, our songs, our spirit, our 
charitableness; and it has been done not with any particular 
negativeness.
  We have overcome or maybe we have spoken about or spoken out against 
the idea of targeting any particular group. We have joined together to 
say that this is not a fight against Islam, this is not a fight against 
the Muslims, but clearly what this is is to recognize that we are 
standing against terrorism. That is why we acknowledge the fact that 
September 11, 2001, left thousands of victims from around the world. 
The attacks killed hundreds from Britain, from Israel, 250 from India, 
and scores of others from Japan, Mexico, Iran and elsewhere. As I have 
said previously and as the mayor of New York City has said, these 
attacks were crimes against all humanity, and much of it was more than 
any of us could bear.
  But I think as we look at our challenges and before this Congress 
recesses this year, there is still work to be done. As chair of the 
Congressional Children's Caucus, I am very gratified that we will have 
an opportunity to debate H. Con. Res. 228 on the floor, and I would 
like to thank my colleagues for

[[Page H7888]]

this opportunity and I ask Members to join me in that opportunity. That 
is legislation to finish one piece of our task, and that is addressing 
the needs of children of this terrible tragedy.
  I introduced Members to the Calderon family just a week ago. They 
have become very real symbols for the 10,000 to 15,000 children which 
have confronted this terrible tragedy, having lost a parent or parents 
or guardian on September 11. The pain is still being felt. The reaching 
out to find these children is still occurring. The need to nurture 
these children is still occurring. The long-term results of the impact 
of this tragedy on these children is still being deciphered. We do not 
know.
  Mr. Speaker, we recognize that children are being deprived access to 
mental health services. We realize, of course, that there is a great 
need. That trauma in children's lives can be implemented, if you will, 
in many different ways. We have yet to determine what those ways will 
be.
  H. Con. Res. 228, with sponsors from around the Nation, is a 
legislative initiative that helps us recognize the plight of these 
children and establishes a quick expediting through Federal and State 
and local agencies the needs of these children. The psychological 
needs, counseling, nutritional and medical counseling, and upon 
determination of death of their parent or parents or guardian, in 60 
days those benefits can be generated for them.
  I want to applaud the opportunity to be able to debate this, which I 
am hoping and looking forward to doing, and I want to applaud the 
bipartisan effort on this legislative initiative.
  This is the Calderon family. This is Naomi, 4, and this is their 20-
month-old son, and they lost their mother.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that I have been joined by a number of 
colleagues on this issue. Again, we are talking tonight about work 
undone, work that we need to carry forth because we have been given 
this very special challenge of September 11. While there are many who 
are still burying their loved ones, they are also requesting that the 
United States Congress moves towards addressing issues dealing with 
children, but also dealing with the question of airline security and 
also dealing with the economic stimulus package.

  As I introduce my friend and colleague from Texas, I am going to 
continue to discuss my family that is symbolic of the children who lost 
parents on September 11. That is one unfinished business. How do we 
address their needs, the thousands that have yet been, if you will, 
secured; or if we have not found the kind of resources for them, we 
must do so and establish the bully pulpit to get the government focused 
on them. But we have something that we have been focused on.
  Just this past weekend in Chicago it was determined that an 
individual going through the security check was found to have had a 
myriad of more than utensils, threatening instruments, stun gun and box 
cutter and knives. As I recall the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson), 
we were here last week debating vigorously on the floor and just 
adopting the Senate bill so we would have legislation in place as we 
speak tonight. I consider that unfinished business, and I yield to a 
member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me 
time, and for the significant work she does and her statements 
regarding the children.
  There is, indeed, much work that remains to be done. It goes 
obviously to the heart of people like this family that is exhibited in 
the picture that the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) has been 
talking about and many, many others who lost loved ones, families 
broken apart. Those are hurts and pains that will take literally 
forever to heal, and probably never to be able to be put back together. 
There are things that we can be doing in the House of Representatives 
and in the Congress of the United States to put into place and make a 
difference in people's lives.
  Mr. Speaker, one of those other areas of unfinished business happens 
to be airport security. It is unbelievable to me that we continue to 
have a debate at this late date. The attack occurred on September 11. 
The gentlewoman joined me and others of our colleagues only 5 days 
after September 11 with a specific plan that we discussed at one of the 
major airports in Houston, Texas, and that we discussed at other 
airports in southeast Texas. We came back here, and there was a 
proposal made in the House of Representatives. The Senate took it up 
soon after that, passed a measure unanimously that we could not pass in 
the House of Representatives.
  It seems that our desire and America's desire for us to be 
considerate of all the needs of all of the people and considerate of 
our political differences set partisanship aside; and on so many things 
we have done that. But in too many areas we have broken down in our 
ability to work together.
  I have big concerns about where we are and why we are not able to 
move this forward. We would not dream of contracting out the protection 
that our police provide or the protections that our military provides. 
Why are we having a debate today on whether or not this body would 
attempt to contract out airport security? That is, finally, we hope, 
going to be debated in a conference as soon as the Senate, I think they 
are preparing to name their conferees, as we did yesterday.
  Airport security forces have to be reliable, standardized and 
verifiable. There should be no compromise on this. We should speak to 
the will of the people of this country, 82 percent of whom have told us 
what needs to be done. That is in the Senate's legislation that will be 
discussed between our two Houses, hopefully within the next few working 
days. We should not continue to even think about rewarding the private 
companies who have a proven track record of egregious violations.
  The example about the man carrying knives, Mace, and a stun gun that 
slipped past the screeners, well, slipping past people is not 
acceptable any longer. If we are going to affect the lives of the 
family that the gentlewoman is talking about, and every family happens 
to be dealing with the safety of travel within this country, our 
ability to move about the country and promote economic security and 
development throughout this country relies on safe transportation; and 
that means in the air just as it does on the ground.
  We must move this legislation through the conference committee, and 
do so quickly and effectively. Speak to the will of the people of this 
country and put into place so that the national defense and security, 
which are the charges of the Federal Government, will indeed work to 
keep our skies safe, and it is the responsibility of the Federal 
Government to make it happen.

                              {time}  1745

  It is plain and simple common sense. I hope that everyone in this 
country and certainly everybody in this room tonight asks themselves, 
who do you want protecting you and your family, a Federal security 
force or the lowest bidder? I think that question is real simple on 
almost everyone's minds.
  I thank the gentlewoman from Texas for allowing me to come and speak 
a little bit to this concern, this one particular area of concern that 
I have and the many things that are left to be done, as you are 
graciously taking the opportunity to point out to us and give our other 
colleagues the opportunity to talk about.
  We have an economic stimulus package that is critical for the United 
States of America. We obviously were in an economic slump before the 
attack on September 11, and we certainly are today. We are trying 
tremendously hard to affect the real areas of our economy that can make 
a difference in re-creating the activity that helps so many people 
enjoy some level of quality of life. That does not mean that we have to 
put money out to those businesses that are continuing to lay people 
off. It needs to be put in the hands and the pockets of the people who 
will spend it today because they need it today. They need it to have 
food and clothing and shelter that will make a difference for 
themselves and their families.
  We will pray for the family of the woman whose life was lost in that 
attack, and we will also pray for each and every person in the United 
States of America that we will continue to hold together as we have and 
fight through this war that we are now living in the hopes that we will 
overcome

[[Page H7889]]

terrorism worldwide, that we will not ever face the terrible tragedy 
that we faced in this country on September 11, and the pain and 
suffering of the people like this gentleman and two young kids will 
have to face because of the loss of a loved one. We do not ever, ever 
want to see that happen again. If we will act on these pieces of 
legislation soon, now, we can make a difference in their lives and an 
appropriate one.
  I thank the gentlewoman for allowing me to have the time. I wish you 
well in your continued work as I do for all of us.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Let me thank the gentleman for his 
leadership on these issues. We did draw together quickly in Houston at 
our airport after the terrible incident to hear from our local 
officials but also to address those concerns. We are now here in 
November, and I believe it is extremely important that we move forward. 
You may be aware that the U.S. Conference of Mayors supports 
federalizing the security at the airports.
  Might I just, before I yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from 
California, mention that just yesterday at Dulles Airport, a passenger 
was able to get on with a different boarding pass. That compounded with 
the situation of Mr. Gurung at O'Hare to the extent, I just want to 
call out what it is alleged that he had, seven knives, a stun gun and 
pepper spray. And that he was also released. Certainly we believe in 
civil liberties and respect for the individual's rights, but because 
there were no standards, the individual was released, where he was, if 
you will, able to leave without further determining any associations 
that he might have.
  I yield to you to answer this question. This is not an issue now of 
numbers of employees or who hires employees. I think the American 
people realize this is an issue where we need consistency. We need 
every single person dealing with security, whether they are in a small 
airport in Mississippi or California or a large airport in Texas or New 
York to have the same comprehension of what you should be looking for, 
what the standards are for an individual who may have violated the law. 
You treat them with the respect of the law, but you also treat them 
with the severity of the issue.
  Let me yield to the gentleman. Does the legislation that we are 
trying to propose even with the conference and the fact that the bill 
that the Senate passed 100 to nothing but did not pass the House have 
anything to do with politics or does it have to do with securing our 
Nation?
  Mr. LAMPSON. In my opinion, the ideology difference that we had in 
the House came down to politics. It is clear to me that 49 Senators and 
50 Democrats and one independent coming together in the Senate on one 
bill was not a political statement. It was a statement in belief of the 
American people. When it came to the House, the House was broken on 
ideological grounds and that broke down to party lines. That is 
unfortunate. That is what I am talking about. The biggest concern that 
I had during that whole debate was not that people are not going to be 
hired; people will be hired. We need that experience to be the same 
regardless of what airport it is.
  As you were just saying, the training has to be much more significant 
than what it has been. And if we leave the people in charge of the 
process who have been a part of the process, and I might add that 
before the Transportation Committee just 2 or 3 weeks ago, we had some 
of the major airport security companies represented at a meeting, three 
of the five present were foreign-owned businesses. If we are going to 
allow people working in our airports for foreign-owned companies to be 
in line with our Federal security agencies, with information that is 
critical to the security of the United States of America and allow them 
to come into this loop, I think that is a ludicrous thing. But at this 
point, we just have to have a bill before this President to sign so 
that the country can get back to traveling and feel safe in doing so.

  I hope that the House will quickly consider what the Senate put forth 
and that in our conference, whenever it happens and hopefully it will 
happen very quickly, maybe Monday or Tuesday of next week, that we can 
have a bill that the people of this country will be as happy with and 
feel secure with as they have in the statement that was made very 
clearly that this whole process be federalized. Regardless of the end 
run, we have to have the standard in training and in action and in a 
career path that allow people to keep an interest in the job that they 
are doing in the hopes that because they do a good job at one level, 
they will be able to grow from level to level and on through, so it 
truly becomes a career.
  Through that, I think our country will be safer and more secure in 
their travels, our economy will get back to what it was doing before 
with so much of it being driven by tourism, by hotels and many other 
tourist activities that are involved with air travel. I think these are 
critical pieces.
  My plea to our colleagues is that we set aside partisan politics in 
this matter, do the business that the people of this country want them 
to, and let us get this bill back over here so we can put it on the 
President's desk and let it become law.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I am hoping that is the case. I am very 
pleased that we have also been joined by the distinguished gentlewoman 
from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald), whom I believe is as well on 
the Transportation Committee and the cochair of the Women's Caucus.
  I thank the gentleman from Texas for highlighting for us the 
importance of standards and just how ludicrous it is that we would have 
incidents like this that are occurring. That is why I believe that our 
discussion this evening is so important, work yet done that we have to 
address. I have indicated establishing an expedited process for these 
children to get their benefits so that they can continue on with their 
life, so that schools can be notified in case there is a special 
treatment or special process, a special notice to help them with the 
trauma that they may be feeling; but yet we also have this airline 
security bill. Thanksgiving looms, one of the happiest and joyous times 
when families are going about the country visiting. I want them to do 
so.
  We have been on airlines since September 11. We were leaving to go to 
our district shortly thereafter to hold forums, as I did and as I know 
the gentlewoman did, to hold forums to share with people what happened 
and let them express themselves. At the time, I believe we all 
committed to working on airport security, to looking at the issues 
dealing with Afghanistan, to try to deal with the pain of people being 
laid off. Our work is still yet done.
  I am delighted to yield to the distinguished gentlewoman to talk of 
the work undone and that we must try to finish our legislative business 
so that some of these people who have been so devastated, whether they 
have lost loved ones, whether or not they have not got the full 
confidence of flying, even though we are encouraging everyone, we are 
not trying to scare people, we are just trying to do our jobs, but we 
need to finish these tasks. These are very important tasks, so that we 
can make good on our commitment to the American people.
  I yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from California.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. I thank the gentlewoman so much for yielding. 
Let me commend you on the leadership that you have taken for our 
children around this country, those who have been devastated by the 
horrors of September 11, as we call 911, urgency. Let me also commend 
you on your tenacity to make sure that this House gets in front of it 
the piece of legislation that will help these children to get benefits 
for those horrific things that they had nothing to do with: the loss of 
parents, the loss of loved ones, the loss of even having the ability to 
carry on without counseling. I would like to join you and the Women's 
Caucus to call all agencies to see how soon they can expedite the 
funding, the benefits for these youngsters so we can get counseling 
done so that they can get back on track. I would love to join you in 
those efforts.
  I also commend you for helping us to categorize just what is left on 
this floor, why we are still here this November 7 or 8, I have lost 
count of the dates; but it is because when we rushed to pass an airport 
bailout, I was all for that, being a senior member of the Aviation 
Subcommittee of the full Transportation Committee representing 
California; and I thought this was the proper thing to do, because on

[[Page H7890]]

the day of 9-11, we had to bring in 2,200 flights from the air to the 
ground at the request of the Secretary of Transportation and the 
President and Vice President.

  But little did we know that an airline security bill would be this 
long in coming, for heaven's sake. We thought that after bailing out 
the airline industry, the secondary thing would be to make sure that 
all of our folks who work at the airports and on the aircrafts will be 
secure. Of course we asked for the cockpits to be fortified, and that 
is what was in all bills. We asked for the flight attendants to get 
antihijacking training as opposed to some generic type of training. 
That was put into the bill. We also asked, and I was very dogged about 
this, that you do not remove these screeners until they have the 
opportunity to vie for positions, to take exams and to try to keep 
their jobs. I am livid that that happens and continues to happen. You 
do not just erase thousands of people off a job just to bring out a 
whole new crop. You see how qualified those are who are currently in 
those positions. But the whole thing of federalization comes to be.
  And when we talk about security, that is a national issue when it 
comes to American people. And so I will say to you that I am a little 
disheartened over the fact that we have not passed as yet the people's 
bill, because that is the people's bill. That bill will rush people 
back on to the aircrafts; it will boost our economic stimulus, because 
what it will do is bring back that $6.6 trillion that we see with the 
traveling public. It will bring an additional $6.5 trillion that we see 
in tourism. And so all of those things will help our economic stimulus 
package.
  I am joining the Democrats and especially the Senate side and our 
side, too, in asking for the stimulus package to include a consumer 
interest-type of provision for those who are low-income workers who do 
not have homes but need some type of rebate so that they can go out and 
join the crowds in the mall with this upcoming big holiday. I would 
like to ask for $14 billion for tax rebates to low-income workers, $27 
billion to spur businesses and their investments.
  I would like to also talk about those small businesses that came to 
talk with me. As the ranking member on the Small Business Committee, I 
had about 15 businesspeople from lower Manhattan come to meet with me 
last week. They said, we need some type of stimulus; we need some type 
of push because we are losing our family businesses in lower Manhattan, 
New York.

                              {time}  1800

  That is what we are talking about, making sure that small businesses 
get their rightful stake in this stimulus package.
  Lastly, I would like to see the $24 billion that is being requested 
by Senator Daschle and others who are working on this stimulus package 
to be for health care and unemployment benefits. If we are going to 
rush people off of jobs, 100,000, we certainly should have the funding 
to give them unemployment benefits that they rightfully deserve. We 
should be able to try to give health care to the over 11 million 
children who are uninsured and the 44 million adults who are uninsured.
  So I thank the gentlewoman tonight for allowing us to bring into 
focus for the American people the unfinished business, the business 
that is truly the people's business that is going undone.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman very 
much for her leadership on this very important issue, and I might ask 
and pose a question to the gentlewoman as well on this question of 
unfinished business: Can we do any less?
  First, I want to thank her for her leadership, as I indicated, as 
Chair of the Women's Caucus, and also her work in the Committee on 
Small Business as well her work on the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure. All of that seems to be lodged right here.
  The gentlewoman raised a point that I think is very important, and I 
hope in the conference, if they change anything in the bill, they will 
address the question or at least make known that there are some 
qualified individuals who are presently working for private contractors 
who should be given the opportunity to apply. What we are saying is 
that there are no standards, there is no training, and we are also 
saying that these private companies have erred toward not paying money, 
not paying benefits, undermining the quality of the employee so that 
they can get the cheapest bid.
  We know that one of those companies was engaged in O'Hare, and in 
fact, we have run into that same company engaged in some other 
activities that brought about tragedies. I think it is well-known and 
they have been published. So they are really an example, if you will, 
of the need for not promoting self-interest, if that may be the case, 
of worrying about what private contractors may be eliminated, and 
really talking about the public interest, the national interest, of how 
we can create standards. So I want to applaud the gentlewoman for that.
  I think if there is anything else they fix in the conference while 
they place federalizing the security as a priority out of that 
conference committee, taking it out of the Senate bill, would be also 
the eliminating of this super-citizenship, which means you have to be a 
citizen for 5 years. We respect the fact that there are difficulties in 
dealing with people who are not citizens, and I have raised that 
concern.
  I have another concern on that issue, but I am going to focus just 
tonight on making sure if you are a citizen, then there is no reason to 
put a number of years on it. I do not think we need to do that.
  But my question to the distinguished gentlewoman deals with the 
economic stimulus package, and that is that we are about to enter into 
the holiday season. We have been charged and challenged by the 
President to go on with our lives. If there is ever a season where 
families are out, when consumers present the final indicators of how 
the economy is doing, it is the Thanksgiving through the holiday 
season, the many names that the Christmas holiday season is called, 
whether it is for the different faiths. But it is a holiday season.
  I cannot for the life of me understand why we cannot immediately move 
an economic stimulus package that goes to the consumers, small 
businesses, to provide for health care and unemployment benefits, not 
just for the airline workers, but as we are coming to understand, 
workers around the Nation.
  What I believe is so important is getting this message out to the 
American people of how we need to move on that package.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the gentlewoman. As 
I have said, and I will reiterate, in order to move any economic 
stimulus package, you must have people buying into the economy, and in 
order to do that, you must give low-income workers a rebate so that 
they can provide the toys and those other types of things that we 
provide for our children. We can ill afford not to do that.
  I also would like to say that when you talk about the private 
companies engaging in the screening and screeners, we know that those 
private companies were in violation over millions of dollars. But if we 
are talking about national security, we have to be careful of how we 
disseminate information that we want to do now, that we are talking 
about the integration of information.
  We have to be careful how we are going to integrate information 
coming from the CIA and FBI to some private company, especially 
foreign-born companies. So we have to be very clear and very careful on 
that.

  Secondly, when you talk about federalizing workers, as a former 
personnel director, we had a merit system in place in the Federal 
Government. You will have a merit system, and you cannot just do an 
exodus of employees without them having their due diligence and 
fairness. So this is why we need the federalization of those screeners.
  I thank the gentlewoman so much for having us come today to talk 
about this.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the distinguished gentlewoman. The 
important point she raised was, first of all, the disseminating of 
information. When we are looking to secure our airports, share 
intelligence, would it not be more appropriate to have these particular 
workers under the Federal auspices, under Federal law enforcement, 
under the Department of Justice?
  Then, with the economic stimulus package, does it make sense to give 
billions of dollars to corporations, and the

[[Page H7891]]

consumers are left holding the bag? I would like to say to her, I would 
like to take her up on that offer in trying to reach out to Federal and 
local and State agencies to see how they are doing with our children.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be able to yield now to the 
distinguished gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton).
  When I mentioned to her that we were on the floor today to talk about 
unfinished business, knowing her work in the Committee on the Budget, I 
know she has great insight into what we need to do with the budget, on 
how we need to balance the needs for securing this Nation, and also her 
experience. Both of us have experienced terrible natural disasters, 
when she had to single-handedly work to help save her hometown and 
local community of Princeville, and I just experienced Tropical Storm 
Allison. You have to get busy and finish the job because people are in 
pain.
  I want to thank the gentlewoman for her great leadership on the 
Committee on the Budget and on the Committee on Agriculture and her 
knowledge about rural areas.
  As I yield to the gentlewoman, no one has really mentioned the last 
plane fell in Somerset, Pennsylvania. I imagine that was a rural area. 
We do not know what kind of impact it had, we have not made a 
determination. There is a lot of work we need to do.
  I am delighted to yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from North 
Carolina (Mrs. Clayton).
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to join the 
distinguished gentlewoman from Texas. Again, I want to join my 
colleagues in thanking you for arranging this special order so we can 
talk about the unfinished work that we should complete prior to the 
holidays or the work we should complete in the next few days or 
certainly in the next few weeks.
  The gentlewoman mentioned the issue of airline security that has been 
talked about by both of my colleagues who preceded me, being on the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and having interest in 
the airlines.
  I serve on the Committee on the Budget, and today we had a homeland 
security hearing. At that homeland security hearing we were privileged 
to have the Director of GAO share with us a number of reports that they 
had performed throughout, I guess, the last 2 years.
  But the latest report that the government is using comes from the GAO 
audit, which actually was released the very day that President Bush 
came and spoke to the combined House here in the House of 
Representatives when he spoke to the Nation. It basically talked about 
the threats that may affect our homeland security and looked at what 
the roles of the government should be.
  Obviously, there are things we could do now, not only because of that 
report having been identified, but things we have undertaken on this 
floor that have not been finalized. As flawed as the transportation 
piece is that came from the floor, we are hoping that during the 
conference meeting it will be improved. You have already mentioned some 
things perhaps it ought to consider.
  But we had our opportunity at bat over here, and most honestly, we 
missed a few balls. But, as they say in the ball game, ``It ain't over 
until it's over,'' and it is not over until indeed we have finalized 
the conference bill. So there is hope.
  I think we do need to federalize the security. I think it is 
unthinkable. We would not think of not federalizing the Border Patrol. 
Those workers are under a certain standard. The idea that we cannot 
find ways of dealing with them in a fair way, in recruiting those who 
are among the contractees now who possibly could qualify is to suggest 
that we do not know how to recruit people. So I think that is a bogus 
argument that we cannot control, or we do not know how to dismiss them 
or discipline them.
  We know how to discipline our military. They are federalized. They 
have a certain standard. We know how to discipline our CIA. They have a 
certain standard. It is the same thing with them. We know how to 
recruit and employ and discipline the FBI. They are all federalized.
  So the intelligence, the military, in fact, the Capitol Police 
officers, are employed by the Federal Government with certain 
standards. So to suggest that we need to have a different structure 
because it is unmanageable does not bear well on the consistency of how 
we protect ourselves.
  I want to spend my time, though, talking about your idea of what we 
do in terms of children, and I want to parallel some opportunities.
  I think in homeland security, as well as national security, we need 
to take every opportunity to look at our communities in holistic ways. 
We need to take opportunities as we look at these threats, again 
referring to the Committee on the Budget, the threats on our water 
system, threats on our food program, bioterrorism, chemical threats, 
low-tech threats, all of the information, cyberterrorists, all of these 
are potential threats that we need to find ways to handle.
  But we have an opportunity before we leave in the next few days to 
make sure we find resources to make it available to our local health 
departments, our local front-line defenders, to give confidence.
  What we have as a result of September 11, America is really feeling 
great fear and anxiety, more anxiety about the homeland threat than 
they are about our national threat, to be most honest. Not only with 
the attack on September 11, but since that we have had the anthrax 
attacks; and all of those have just raised the level of anxiety and 
fear and increased the lack of confidence in our infrastructure being 
capable of responding or protecting us.
  The first responsibility a government has is to protect its citizens. 
The next one, it seems to me, is to give a sense of freedom and 
opportunity that they can bring their children up or their families can 
grow and be provided for. We need to make sure that we are providing 
those necessary resources to shore up our health departments, to shore 
up our first-line responders, to give them the tools, the information, 
the technology, the collaboration.
  I am pleased that President Bush has appointed someone to focus on 
that. Governor Ridge has that responsibility, and I am very pleased 
that that has happened. But that will not do it, just to have a 
spokesman. He needs to have the authority, plus the local people who 
will be working with him, whether State or local, need to have the 
capacity to respond to give our communities that kind of response.
  The whole idea of homeland security is, not only have we been 
threatened physically, but our economy has been threatened, our way of 
life has been threatened. So we need to give confidence back to 
families that the government will respond to them in their hour of 
need.
  Yes, we did pass the airline reassurance, or bailout, whatever you 
want to call it, and perhaps they needed those monies. But I thought it 
was grossly unfair to put them ahead of people. I thought both of them 
needed to be helped. I did not think that the big dogs needed to eat 
before the little dogs. I thought all of them needed help. Children and 
unemployed people need to have that opportunity.
  So we have an opportunity still to make sure we extend those 
resources, make sure health care is there, and to provide for families 
to do that.
  Finally, I want to parallel children in foreign countries as well. We 
have made a military response to the attacks, and they were horrific. 
They were unacceptable and there is no excuse for it. There may be 
causes, but it is still unacceptable.

                              {time}  1815

  So it was a terrorist act without justification. But nevertheless, in 
those countries, there is the instability that gives opportunity for 
terrorists to grow. In those countries are families and children who 
are suffering. In Afghanistan itself, it is reported as of this last 
week, 6 million people, most of them women and children. Let me say 
that again, Mr. Speaker: 6 million people. We are dropping more than 1 
million packages of food which will feed for one day. It will not at 
best respond to more than 1 million. Already they cannot get the food 
in certain areas. So we need to find ways of working with our allies to 
bring, in parallel with our military, a humanitarian approach.

[[Page H7892]]

  Now, the United States has done well in terms of providing food for 
needy countries, but we can do far more. Our strategy must be one that 
says our military will always be strong; but our strategy has to be, if 
we do not want our homeland security and our national security 
continuously threatened by terrorists who come from unstable 
situations, we have to be smart enough to try to prevent the cause of 
that, as we indeed defend militarily anyone who is killed or maimed or 
brought harm to the American citizen. So we have an opportunity here in 
this country, both to respond to corporate America, but we also have to 
respond to the average citizen and children. We also as a great Nation 
have an opportunity, an obligation to defend our country. So military 
strategy has to be involved, but at the same time we ought to be doing 
humanitarian strikes.
  So we have an opportunity as we close these last few days, yes, to do 
the final version of the airline security; and hopefully, they can work 
out a compromise that will improve what we have, and we certainly need 
to do more on the stimulus. The stimulus program that we passed in this 
House is really shameful when we understand the needs of the 
unemployed, the needs of the children, and the needs of those who do 
not have opportunities for other resources, and giving them a tax break 
is not the response that they need for shelter, for clothing, for food, 
and yes, also for Christmas and toys. They need some basics, and we are 
not providing that as a great country; and I think we can do that.
  Again, I want to thank the gentlewoman for her leadership and her 
vision to challenge all of us that in these waning days, we have an 
opportunity, but more than that, we have a challenge and an obligation 
to make sure we take care of the American people and take care of all 
of them, not just part of them, all of them. Our humanitarian efforts, 
our responsiveness to the whole community requires us to look at our 
infrastructure, requires us to look at our health and education needs, 
and requires us to look at security of our airlines. But nationally, 
the reason we have trouble in our homeland security is that we are 
threatened by those who dislike us enough to kill us. Whether that is 
reasonable or not, we have to find how we change that. Not to suggest 
that we ever give up our military response, but we are very 
shortsighted as a country if that is the only approach. Because what we 
will be doing is fighting this war sometime next year, the next year 
and the next year, because what we are doing is giving opportunities 
for new terrorists to attack us.
  So our homeland security and our national security is tied almost the 
same way in that our policies do matter. There are consequences of our 
foreign policy and there are consequences from our domestic policy. To 
the extent that we do patchwork, we get that kind of response. So we 
have an opportunity to respond to the holistic need and the 
vulnerability that my people back in my district feel, both physically, 
but also economically, and the vulnerability that we see that is 
nationwide is also one of military strength, but also of diplomacy and 
humanitarian. So we have opportunity.
  Again, I thank the gentlewoman for allowing me to participate.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank 
the gentlewoman for bringing her insight to the floor of the House this 
evening, particularly since the gentlewoman just came out of a very 
important budget hearing on the question of how we prepare long range.
  As the gentlewoman well knows, we have formulated a Homeland Security 
Task Force that has just presented a report that our caucus has 
received and reviewed; but what the gentlewoman is highlighting, and I 
want to yield to the gentlewoman on this question, is that we now have 
the opportunity. We are here now. This is November. Our work is not yet 
finished; appropriations bills are yet unfinished. But we need a new 
bill from the administration and we need the Committee on the Budget 
engaged so that we can address these issues head-on with a plan. The 
Committee on the Budget provides the plan, the vehicle, and I know that 
with some sense of humor; but we will not make light of this. There are 
always some vigorous debates sometimes between our budget legislators 
and our appropriators, but we have been working together.
  The gentlewoman has seen now what the long-range plans need to be. It 
does not seem like the economic stimulus package that has been proposed 
by this House that so many of us opposed took into account the dollars 
that we might need for long-range planning, and I am going to pose that 
question to the gentlewoman. As we move through the appropriations 
process, this economic stimulus package is sort of a part of that; but 
it has no plan to it, because none of us can comprehend billions of 
dollars going back to large corporations on tax rebates to them dated 
back to 1986. My son was born in 1985. It almost looks like we are 
burdening people with monies that have been long given and really are 
not at this point the appropriate utilization of precious Federal 
dollars.
  The other point I would like the gentlewoman to be able to comment 
on, and I thank the gentlewoman for that, I am not sure how we can 
approach this; but the gentlewoman has highlighted a very important 
point. What is happening in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan is 
that children are being sent to these terrorist schools, these schools 
that are training them for lack of something else to occur in their 
lives, and they are being led to believe that we are bad and they are 
good.
  Unless we deal with the needs of people, the starving people in 
Afghanistan, the starving people around the world; in the Sudan, there 
are tragedies happening there between religious groups; but unless, as 
I hear the gentlewoman saying, we address the pain of starving, 
millions of starving Afghanis, millions of starving people who are 
innocent, the terrible cold that is going to be approaching, and we can 
certainly salute our military.
  By the way, I want to salute them. We are approaching Veterans' Day. 
I want to thank all of the men and women who are protecting us all over 
the world who are part of the United States military. But unless we 
address the question of the pain in this country, and that we take 
these children away from these kinds of terroristic training, we take 
them away from being brick makers at 8 years old. I do not know if we 
know that Afghan children are working at 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 years old 
to bring home 50 cents a day, 50 cents a week, making bricks. I think 
the gentlewoman knows that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Solis) 
is doing a briefing on Afghan women. We have agreed to join her to do 
one on a separate day on Afghan children. But as I hear the gentlewoman 
saying, we have to wake up and address those issues.
  I yield to the gentlewoman.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, first I think it is almost shameful that 
we ask the local policemen and the firemen to sacrifice their lives, 
and yet we give GM and these big corporations big tax breaks, but we do 
not give the families of these people those kinds of breaks. Just to 
use the comparison in that stimulus. There are some principles in the 
stimulus, and the Committee on the Budget might not agree on both 
sides, but they agree on the principles. The stimulus needs to be 
short-lived. The stimulus needs to have an effect that it would cause 
people to have confidence, and also the stimulus would be the one that 
would bring no harm in terms of increasing the deficit. Also the issue 
of Afghanistan and what we must do in that area, I think the 
gentlewoman is right.
  I think to the extent we fail to speak to the great gap between 
societies, we are creating those vacuums where dictators and terrorists 
come and fill that void. That is what bin Laden did in Afghanistan. 
That is what we find in other countries where they are harboring 
terrorists or governments that are unstable. So there is value in 
America spreading democracy or trying to stabilize those communities 
for our own selfish interests. It is in our interests to have stability 
in the Middle East. It is in our self-interests to have stability in 
Afghanistan and Pakistan, if no more than to keep down the potential of 
a threat of terrorists; but it is also in our interests in the long run 
to have trading partners. So we want to secure those.
  So both of those questions are very important. Again, I want to thank 
the

[[Page H7893]]

gentlewoman for the opportunity, and I want to wish her well in pushing 
her bill and that we should consider that.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman. I 
thank all of my colleagues who have taken the time to address the 
question of unfinished business. I started out by saying that 9-11 was 
a day in infamy, it was a day of pain. It was a day where many of us 
have said, let us go on with our lives, we do not want to talk about 
it; but it is the responsibility of those of us in government to talk 
about it and act upon it to heal the American people.
  Let me just summarize what I think our unfinished business is. It is 
to deal with the children. As I started out, I want to thank the 
leadership of this House that I understand will possibly be giving us 
an opportunity to debate this resolution, and I am very pleased with 
that. I think the Members of the House realize the importance of the 
long-range impact on the children that lost a parent or guardian or 
parents on that day. They are going to need foster care assistance, 
adoption assistance, medical, nutritional, psychological care, 
educational services and other services.
  We realize that those children who are separated from family members 
are going to need the kind of direction from government, or at least 
the impetus of government, to encourage that these children get with 
relatives, close relatives; and then we are going to need to give those 
relatives the financial support based upon benefits that are due these 
children. This resolution will address local and State government and 
the Federal Government to get those benefits out, not handouts, but 
benefits due these children in a 60-day period from within the 
determination of the death. We think this is something we can do. I 
applaud the leadership of the House for the appearing opportunity to do 
this.
  Airline security must be done now, and it must be federalized. The 
Attorney General said about a private contractor even before this 
terrible incident in Chicago, an astonishing pattern of crime that 
potentially jeopardized public safety described one of the private 
contractors doing Federal security. My friends, let us restore the 
faith of the American people back into the travel industry, and in 
particular our airlines, on the brink of this holiday season. I am 
flying. We are all not trying to create hysteria; but it is long 
overdue for us to be able to check and to screen checked bags, to be 
able to train and have standards on people who are checking us into the 
airport. We do not mind being checked. We just want to make sure that 
they check us the same way in Atlanta that they do in Chicago; that 
someone is not just looking at you in Chicago and screening you and all 
that you have in Atlanta. Standards are extremely important for 
federalizing.
  I plan to offer a bill, it has been in the drafting stages, to outlaw 
once and for all the idea of knives and such instruments being carried 
on to planes. I think if the American people know you cannot carry them 
on, you will be subject to criminal penalties, they will adhere to 
that; and I believe that is extremely important.

                              {time}  1830

  And then it is crucial in the economic stimulus package that we take 
care of those individuals who have been laid off through no fault of 
their own because of this enormous tragedy; that we provide 
unemployment benefits and health benefits; that we get help to the 
small businesses that are out there struggling, as they are the 
infrastructure, the backbone of America; the concessions in the airport 
are suffering as well; that we provide a rebate to those low-income 
workers and moderate-income workers who will take those dollars and put 
them back into the economy as we move toward the holiday season.
  Let us not get into any kind of warfare about what large corporations 
deserve funds and which do not. Let us attempt to do the job, Mr. 
Speaker; finish our business and provide for the American people 
through a real stimulus package; with airport security, federalize it 
and let the conferees do the bidding of the American people.
  Then let me be grateful for the fact that we are going to work to 
help our children. We have not forgotten this family. I would simply 
say that we have work to do. Let us get it done.
  Mr. Speaker, the tragedies of September 11, 2001 left thousands of 
victims from around the world, killing hundreds from Britain, more than 
130 Israelis, more than 250 from India, and scores of others from El 
Salvador, Iran, Mexico, Japan and elsewhere. Indeed, these attacks 
against all people, and against all humanity are, as Mayor Rudolph W. 
Giuliani correctly noted, ``more than any of us can bear.''
  But perhaps the greatest victims of these tragedies are the yet-to-be 
counted children whose parents or guardians never came home on 
September 11, 2001, and never will.
  As Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I call on Congress 
to recognize the uncounted victims of these tragedies: the children. 
Their slain parents and guardians were the passengers and crew of 
Flight 77, Flight 11, Flight 93, and Flight 175. They served our great 
Nation at the Pentagon, both as civilians and military, and they were 
the thousands of innocent civilians and rescue workers killed or 
injured at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
  Today, six weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks, there is still 
no official overall count of the bereaved children. Speculation as to 
just how many children have lost at least one parent or a legal 
guardian range in the area of 10,000 (based on various news sources and 
cited last week on National Public Radio by Senator Hillary Rodham 
Clinton) to 15,000 (cited in an editorial in The Times on September 26, 
2001), to the conservative estimate of 4,000 who qualify as ``orphans'' 
under the Twin Towers Orphan Fund. Finally, the early estimate of 1,500 
children left by the 700 missing Canter Fitzgerald employees alone is 
strong evidence that the projections of children affected should be 
interpreted quite liberally.
  Whatever the actual number, one thing is clear--as Members of 
Congress we must address the needs of our children, the most vulnerable 
of all Americans, first and foremost.
  My resolution before us today, H. Con. Res. 228, addresses this great 
need. It expresses the sense of the Congress that the children who lost 
one or both parents or a guardian in the September 11, 2001, World 
Trade Center and Pentagon tragedies (including the aircraft crash in 
Somerset County, Pennsylvania) should be provided with all necessary 
assistance, services, and benefits and urges the heads of Federal 
agencies responsible for providing such assistance, services and 
benefits to give the highest possible priority to those children.
  This resolution is non-controversial. It merely prioritizes the 
delivery of Federal benefits currently available under Federal law to 
children who have lost their parent(s) or guardian in this horrific 
tragedy. These should include: (1) foster care assistance; (2) adoption 
assistance; (3) medical, nutritional, and psychological care; (4) 
educational services; and (5) such additional care or services as may 
be necessary in light of this tragedy.
  Additionally, we urge such agencies, to the maximum extent possible, 
to take such steps as necessary to ensure that such assistance, 
services and benefits are provided within 60 days of the date of the 
determination of the death of the child's parent or guardian.
  Much of the funds that would be utilized for services in this 
legislation would come from the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). The 
SSBG is a flexible source of funds that states may use to support a 
wide variety of social services activities.
  In FY 1999, the largest expenditures for services under the SSBG were 
for child day care, foster care for children, and prevention and 
intervention services.
  There are no federal eligibility criteria for SSBG participants. 
Thus, states have total discretion to set their own eligibility 
criteria (with exception of the welfare reform law's income limit of 
200% of poverty for recipients of services funded by TANF allotments 
that are transferred to SSBG). States also have wide discretion over 
the use of these funds. Federal law establishes the following broad 
goals toward which social services must be directed: Achieving or 
maintaining economic self-support to prevent, reduce, or eliminate 
delinquency; achieving or maintaining self-sufficiency, including 
reduction or prevention of dependency; preventing or remedying neglect, 
abuse, or exploitation of children and adults unable to protect their 
own interests, or preserving, rehabilitating or reuniting families; 
preventing or reducing inappropriate institutional care by providing 
for community-based care, home-based care, or other forms of less 
intensive care; and securing referral or admission for institutional 
care when other forms of care are not appropriate, or providing 
services to individuals in institutions.
  Federal law also provides the following examples of social services 
that may relate to these broad goals: Child care, protective services 
for children and adults, services for children and adults in foster 
care, health support services, and services to meet special needs of 
children, aged, mentally retarded, blind,

[[Page H7894]]

emotionally disturbed, physically handicapped, alcoholics and drug 
addicts.
  My legislation, H. Con. Res 228, would express to the States that 
these funds be expeditiously distributed to the proper Agencies so that 
needed services for the children who lost parents or a guardian during 
the attacks of September 11 may be rendered.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution is greatly needed now.
  Foster Care and Adoption Services: These services are crucial to any 
child who has lost their parent(s) or guardian. The importance of 
providing such services expeditiously cannot be underestimated, 
particularly in light of compounding emotional trauma endured by these 
children.
  At a recent Congressional Children's Caucus briefing held on October 
12th, 2001, Cindy Freidmutter, Executive Director of the Evan B. 
Donaldson Adoption Institute in New York spoke to this issue. She noted 
that after September 11, the Adoption Institute proposed the Permanency 
Project to minimize further trauma and uncertainty in the lives of 
children who lost one or both parents in the attacks.
  This project is needed due to the uncertain future faced by children 
who have lost their parent(s) or guardian. For many of these children, 
extended family members become decision-makers and permanent caregiver 
for these children. Some children, however, may not have a relative or 
friend to assume parental responsibility and eventually enter the 
public welfare system. Other children find themselves moved around from 
relative to relative.
  Best practices and research in the fields of adoption and child 
welfare dictate that two considerations should be paramount in offering 
crisis services to these children and their families/caregivers. First, 
it is critical to quickly institute and support a stable family 
structure because repeated changes in caregivers for displaced children 
can cause irreparable harm. Second, children who have lost their parent 
benefit by having a permanent caregiver who is a family member or close 
family friend, and when possible, it is beneficial for such children to 
remain with their siblings. Separation from remaining biological family 
members can cause these children significant additional trauma.
  This resolution recognizes these needs, and to the greatest extent 
possible, provides for services that best serve these children.
  Medical and Nutritional Services: Without a parent or guardian to 
provide regular medical and nutritional services, children face 
worsening situations still. This resolution ensures that such services 
are available.
  Psychological Services: According to the National Mental Health 
Association, children who experience such trauma are at extreme risk of 
mental disorders, particularly in situations such as this, where 
ongoing trauma exists due to the loss of parents or a guardian. For 
example, children who lost a parent in the Bosnian War still experience 
chronic depression, post traumatic stress disorder, and grief, even 
years after the Bosnian War ended. These children have been further 
deprived of a normal grieving process due to difficult and painful 
thoughts in the way in which their loved one died. As a result, these 
children needed and continue to need intensive and long-term mental 
health services.
  Importantly, the trauma that the Bosnian War children endured closely 
parallels that of the children who lost parents or a guardian in the 
September 11, 2001 tragedies because the circumstances and violence of 
the loss is analogous.
  The combination of witnessing and experiencing traumatic events and 
multiple environmental and family factors further contributes to 
various mental health problems. Statistics indicate that only one in 
five children with a serious emotional disturbance receive mental 
health specialty services. That's why I introduced H.R. 75, the ``Give 
a Kid a Chance Omnibus Mental Health Services Act of 2001'' to promote 
mental health among all children and their families and to provide 
early intervention services to ameliorate identified mental health 
problems in children and adolescents. This legislation is greatly 
needed, but the resolution before us today, H. Con. Res. 228, 
effectively address the issue of mental health in our children in light 
of these tragedies.
  Mental health is indispensable to personal well-being, family and 
interpersonal relationships, and contribution to community or society. 
This resolution recognizes the need for such services and makes them 
available.
  Educational Services: Clearly, children displaced from their homes, 
communities, and families must be stabilized as soon as possible, 
before further damage is done. One of the most important factors in 
providing such stability immediately, and in preventing further de-
stabilization is maintaining the level of education that existed prior 
to the loss of the parent(s) or guardian. This resolution provides for 
such services.
  Other Services: Finally, other services may be deemed appropriate in 
light of the situation as it progresses. While it is impossible to 
anticipate and enumerate every conceivable situation calling for the 
need for such services, this resolution recognizes the need for common 
sense and discretion in determining what services are needed given the 
particular situation as it applies to children.
  Update on Mr. Calderon and His Children: Mr. Calderon is 39 years old 
and moved to New York City from the Dominican Republic 7 years ago. He 
and his children currently reside in the Washington Heights 
neighborhood of Manhattan.
  At an October 12 briefing sponsored by the Congressional Children's 
Caucus, Mr. Calderon spoke about his wife Lizie Martinez-Calderon, who 
is still missing from the attack at the World Trade Center.
  Lizie was employed with Aon Financial Group, which was located on the 
100th floor of Tower 2. They were married in 1996.
  The Calderons have two young children, Naomi, 4 years old, and 
Neftali, 20 months, Mr. Calderon is a school bus driver, but was force 
to take a leave of absence in order to care for his children.
  As a result of that briefing, which included a panel of experts whose 
agencies deliver services to families, Mr. Calderon is now able to 
provide for his children. The American Red Cross, with the personal 
assistance of Ron Houle, presented Mr. Calderon with 2 months rent, and 
will be providing food and winter clothes for his children shortly. Mr. 
Calderon is also expecting financial assistance from the Red Cross to 
help with living expenses and to help secure a future for his children. 
Because of this greatly needed assistance, Mr. Calderon is able to 
return to his job in a few weeks.
  Afghan Children: While H. Con. Res. 228 specifically speaks on the 
children who lost parents during the September 11 attacks, there are 
millions of children in Afghanistan who will lose a father and/or 
mother as a result of the War Against Terrorism. A generation of Afghan 
children is at risk. We cannot forget these children and they will be 
the focus on an upcoming briefing co-sponsored by the Children's 
Caucus.
  As Members of Congress, we bare the great burden of providing and 
protecting these children. This is perhaps our greatest and most sacred 
responsibility. So today I urge us all to come together as parents, as 
leaders, and as Americans to provide these children with the services 
and benefits that they so desperately need are entitled to.
  Thank you. God bless the Children, and God bless the United States of 
America.

                          ____________________