[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 26, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H2392-H2398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SALUTING OUR TROOPS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bradley). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) 
is recognized for 60 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, this evening, members of the Congressional 
Black Caucus wanted to take a moment to salute our troops. These are 
men and women who have voluntarily put on the uniform of the United 
States of America to make sure that we maintain our way of life, 
maintain our constitutional rights, maintain our privileges; and they 
have put their lives on the line to keep us safe.
  Mr. Speaker, it gives me great sadness today to start off my remarks 
by having to pay tribute to a great American hero who died in the line 
of duty while serving his country in pursuing the American dream. 
Originally from my hometown of Baltimore, Marine Staff Sergeant Kendall 
Damon Waters-Bey, age 29, was one of the four U.S. Marines who died 
when their CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed near the Iraqi-Kuwait 
border.
  I would like to start off by first expressing my deepest condolences 
to the Waters-Bey family during this very, very difficult time. I mourn 
their loss, along with the other members of the Maryland Federal 
delegation.
  Our prayers are with Sergeant Waters-Bey's 10-year old son, Kenneth; 
his

[[Page H2393]]

wife, Belinda Waters-Bey of San Diego, California; his parents, Michael 
and Angela Waters-Bey; and four sisters, Shernell Waters-Bey, Sharita 
Waters-Bey, Michelle Waters and Nakia Waters.
  This tragedy makes the war in Iraq more personal for all of us. I did 
not have the privilege of knowing Staff Sergeant Waters-Bey, but his 
story is one that is familiar to many of us in Baltimore.
  Fellow Marine and Captain Ray Coleman said that Sergeant Waters-Bey 
viewed the military as a path out of the struggles and challenges of 
urban life. I understand these challenges, Mr. Speaker, as I live in an 
urban area in Baltimore City.
  Not too far from the Capitol in which we stand tonight, many young 
people are confronted with violence, oppression, lack of quality health 
care and lack of equal access to the all-American dream every day. 
Their terror is as real as the terror that the Iraqi people are facing 
right now. For these Americans, it often takes a miracle to climb over 
the barriers.
  Achieving the American dream is often out of reach, but the barriers 
did not stop Sergeant Waters-Bey from reaching his dream. In spite of a 
hard life, friends say that Sergeant Waters-Bey had a jovial spirit. He 
was known for making people laugh with his funny jokes and funny faces. 
While a student at Baltimore's Northern High School, he refused to fall 
into the wrong crowd and chose instead to be an athlete whose 
afternoons were filled with running track and swimming.
  Upon graduation, Sergeant Waters-Bey was determined to make something 
of himself. Since he could not afford to go to college, he enlisted in 
the Marines and worked very hard to succeed as a Marine; and he did. He 
entered the service as a mechanic, but as a result of his determination 
he quickly moved up to crew chief.
  The Marines took Sergeant Waters-Bey around the Nation from Maryland 
to Florida and then to Camp Pendleton in California. But distance did 
not keep him from his family. Sergeant Waters-Bey always made time for 
his 10-year old son Kenneth. Whenever father and son spent time 
together, they would go on fishing trips, watch cartoons or just play 
ball, according to family members. Unfortunately, that shall be no 
more, for he has given his life so that ours might be uplifted.
  The evening before his father's death, young Kenneth was about to get 
a new computer so he could e-mail his dad in the Iraqi desert. Now, 
young Kenneth will never have a chance to send an e-mail to his father.
  Last Thursday, tragically, the helicopter where Sergeant Waters-Bey 
served as a crew chief crashed and killed all who were aboard.
  The other U.S. Marines killed in Thursday's crash were Major Jay 
Thomas Aubin, 36, of Waterville, Maine; Captain Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 
30, of Bloomington, Illinois; and Corporal Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25, 
of Houston, Texas. Our prayers go out to all of them and to their 
families.
  Before I close, Mr. Speaker, I have to bring up the fact that Mr. 
Waters-Bey's family is asking why their son, father and brother died in 
a war that lacks an international mandate. I agree with the Waters-Bey 
family and also believe that our Nation should have continued to pursue 
diplomatic measures to disarm Saddam Hussein's regime before sending 
Sergeant Waters-Bey and other members of our Armed Forces to the Middle 
East.
  I still stand behind our troops. They are our sons, our daughters, 
our fathers, our mothers, our friends; and I salute all of our men and 
women in Iraq and pray for their safe return.

                              {time}  2130

  Finally, I would like to say Sergeant Kendall Waters-Bey was not only 
a hero because he served this country in the Armed Forces, but also 
because he climbed over barriers that were placed before him, so many 
barriers that many of his neighbors were not able to climb. I applaud 
Sergeant Waters-Bey for not only what he did in Iraq, but because of 
what he did right here in the United States. By his example, he was not 
only on a mission to set the Iraqi people free from oppression, but 
also set on a mission to set himself free from the obstacles that keep 
so many Americans from achieving the American dream. God bless Sergeant 
Waters-Bey.


               Congressional Black Caucus Salutes Troops

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I will now address the issues that the 
Congressional Black Caucus would like to bring before the Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, at this very hour, this very moment, our servicemen and 
women are literally fighting for their lives. They are doing so with 
unbelievable courage and determination. We stand shoulder to shoulder 
with our military and pledge again tonight that while they are on the 
battlefield, they will have every resource they need to get the job 
done. We pray that they will return home soon to their families and 
loved ones.
  But, Mr. Speaker, I worry about what kind of country our servicemen 
and women will be returning to after the war. What signal and what 
message is the Congress of the United States sending to our men and 
women in the military when we pass a budget like the one that the 
Republican majority passed last week? A budget that cuts veterans' 
benefits, a budget that cuts funding to address the health care needs 
in America, a budget that cuts loan opportunities for college students, 
a budget that cuts school lunch and child nutrition programs, a budget 
that cuts job training programs; and on top of that, the budget does 
nothing to create any new jobs or businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask what kind of America will our men and women 
serving in Iraq come back to and what kind of America will their 
families be living in while they are away? Mr. Speaker, we have to do 
better. We must do better. They deserve better. We must work to create 
an America that every American can be proud of, but most importantly, 
an America that invests in its people.
  We still have an opportunity to do better. Over the next few days and 
weeks, the Congress will have a conference committee on the budget 
resolutions passed by the House and the Senate. This conference 
committee has the opportunity to right some of the wrongs passed by the 
House. In addition, the President announced yesterday that his fiscal 
year 2003 supplemental legislation would be in the amount of about $75 
billion. While we do not know all of the details, much of the money, 
and rightfully so, will go to ensuring that we win the war as quickly 
as possible. Some of the money will also go to helping rebuild Iraq and 
that is understandable, too.
  However, I have a question: When are we going to rebuild America? 
Many of our cities and rural areas need rebuilding today. I am certain 
that Governors, mayors, city and county officials all around the 
country can give us a laundry list of infrastructure needs that the 
American people need right now.
  That is why the Congressional Black Caucus will advocate for the 
inclusion in any supplemental bill monies to help rebuild America. Our 
citizens deserve the best we can give them, and we should do our very 
best.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, when our men and women return home from Iraq 
and any Member of Congress greets them in their State, city or 
neighborhood, I want us all to be able to say we have done our very 
best to invest in their future and in their families' futures.
  Unfortunately, the budget that we passed last week does not invest in 
their future, but we can fix that and I hope that we will.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, it gives me great honor and privilege to yield to 
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson).
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, our Armed Forces are now at war. They are 
performing the duties which they have been preparing for their whole 
careers. They are the best-trained and the best-equipped military in 
the world. We have no doubt that they will prevail, but we also have no 
doubt that their task is perilous and difficult. All of America 
supports them and we pray for their swift and safe return.
  Last week, Members of Congress had the chance to cast a vote in 
support of our troops in the field. I do not refer to the resolution 
congratulating the President. Instead, I refer to the vote on the 
President's budget for this fiscal year. In fact, a vote against the 
President's budget was a vote for our troops. I find it shameful that 
at a time when our dedicated men and women of the

[[Page H2394]]

Armed Forces are in the field fighting, perhaps subjected to attacks 
from chemical and biological weapons, that the President of the United 
States and the Republican leadership have not felt it necessary to 
include in their budget one dime to support their efforts. I cannot 
think of a more stunning vote of no confidence, a bigger slap in the 
face of our troops than to send them into battle and then refuse to pay 
for it.
  It is not that there have not been estimates of what this war might 
cost. Those estimates have been reported in the media for several 
months now, and we now belatedly have a request for this funding from 
the President; but the President pointedly refused to provide us with 
numbers last week so that Congress could include them in the budget and 
make sure the war is paid for.
  Now, I personally find it hard to believe that last week we had no 
idea what the war would cost and that this week we suddenly have a full 
and accurate accounting. Does the price of ammunition fluctuate that 
much? Did the White House really have no sense of the cost of providing 
300,000 troops with resources in the desert?

  Or perhaps there is another more practical reason. Perhaps the 
President is afraid that if the budget reflected the cost of war, 
Americans might ask the President to hold off on a huge tax cut for his 
wealthiest supporters, tax cuts that by themselves cost more than 10 
times what the President thinks it will cost to remove Saddam Hussein 
from power. I think it is scandalous that this administration will send 
our troops into the field and risk their lives and refuse to budget for 
it simply so they can justify huge tax cuts for the wealthy.
  Mr. Speaker, the right thing for us to do now is to reconsider this 
budget resolution to factor in the $75 billion that the President 
estimates it will cost to remove Saddam Hussein from power. We owe 
nothing less to our troops who as we speak are being asked to put their 
lives on the line. If Americans do the numbers, they see that we cannot 
give a tax cut and pay for the war up to this point. I understand there 
will be subsequent proposals given to us to continue our efforts, and I 
understand just today, we are not looking for weapons of mass 
destruction, we are looking for a regime change. So what will be the 
cost of setting a new regime in place? Do we have a Marshall Plan? What 
is our policy? I think Americans should know what their hard-earned tax 
dollars must do in the future.
  Mr. President, please give us the full story, please give us the 
amount that it is going to cost us because the cost in terms of the 
lives of our coalition members and Americans is just too high.
  Mr. President, do the right thing.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bradley of New Hampshire). The Chair 
reminds Members to please direct their remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks.
  I want all people to know that the Congressional Black Caucus 
wholeheartedly supports our troops. When I move throughout my district 
and I have an opportunity to talk to the many men and women in the 
grocery store, the hardware store and simply stopping at a gas station 
and hear Americans talk about their sons and daughters and friends that 
are overseas now fighting for us, my heart definitely goes out.
  Over the last few days we have seen a few of our men and women taken 
as prisoners of war; and every time I see those pictures, I cringe 
because I cannot imagine what they might be going through and what they 
might be feeling. So while we stand concerned about the budget 
situation in our country, while we stand concerned about our cities, 
many of which need that $1.6 trillion like Iraq will need to be 
reconstructed; as we stand concerned about young children who are still 
reading from textbooks printed when Jimmy Carter was President; as we 
stand still concerned about children who can actually go through high 
school without ever looking through a microscope; as we stand concerned 
about so many elderly people who cannot afford prescription drugs; as 
we stand concerned about people who cannot get medical care because 
they simply do not have the insurance; as we stand concerned about the 
National Institute of Medicine's report on ``Disparity in Health 
Care,'' that shows if one is African American you get one type of 
treatment and if you are white you get another type, and Hispanics gets 
another type, and that an African American if they have the same 
insurance, they have the same level of ailment, they are the same age, 
and if they have diabetes, for example, they have a four-times greater 
chance of having an amputation below the waist; as we stand concerned 
about the many homeless people in our Nation; as we stand concerned 
about the many people who unfortunately have tried their very best 
after being put off of welfare and because of our economy are unable to 
find a job; as we stand watching children who should have an 
opportunity to go into Head Start but because of budget cuts will not 
have that opportunity; as we stand looking at so many people who have 
over and over and over again begged us, begged us for the Hope VI 
program which would allow them to have decent housing; as we stand 
where there are schools not very far from here where children sit with 
rain falling on their heads; as we stand here tonight concerned about 
all those things and many, many others, I say we stand for our troops.

                              {time}  2145

  It gives me great pleasure, Mr. Speaker, to say this, that so often I 
think what happens is that we lose a sense of balance. I have often 
said that it is extremely important that we protect ourselves from 
outside forces and that we protect ourselves from terrorists. I think 
that is extremely important, and I know that 9/11 and those planes 
flying into the Twin Towers is embedded in the DNA of every cell of 
America's brains. But the fact still remains, Mr. Speaker, that we must 
not only worry about outside forces and, by the way, some homegrown 
ones, but we must also worry about the implosion of our country from 
the inside.
  So the Congressional Black Caucus comes tonight simply saying that we 
stand for our troops, but we also stand for America, and we stand for 
balance. Because we realize that on 9/11, that horrible day when some 
demented people flew planes into the Twin Towers and brutally and 
maliciously killed so many of our fellow Americans, we understand that 
we have to make sure that that never happens again. But, at the same 
time, we also have to make sure that all the people that I just talked 
about, that we take care of them, too.
  Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to yield to the distinguished 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek), a young man who has come from 
Florida and has already made a name for himself and who is working 
very, very hard to uplift his district and to uplift the American 
people.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for 
his leadership and the members of the Congressional Black Caucus for 
bringing voice to the real level of patriotism that our country is at 
at this particular time.
  I think it is so very, very important, Mr. Speaker, that we make sure 
that all Americans understand the level of integrity when we look at 
our military. When we look at our military, not only the sacrifice they 
are undertaking right now in the theaters of war in other parts of the 
world but it is also the sacrifice that their families are paying. 
Their families are truly paying the ultimate price of giving a loved 
one the opportunity to serve their country and many of those 
individuals like two young men from Florida.
  I just called home, Mr. Speaker, and spoke to my wife; and she shared 
with me that just today in the Miami Herald they had a story of a 
letter of one of our outstanding young patriots who gave his life on 
behalf of this country willingly. He was happy and thought it was a 
great opportunity for him, right out of college, to fight on behalf of 
his country.
  I know in this Congress that many of us do not agree with the rules 
of engagement that we used, especially in Iraq, and we had a resolution 
here on this very floor and many Members were draped up in the flag, 
rightfully so, paying praise to all of our troops that are getting sand 
in their teeth right now. We all understand here in the

[[Page H2395]]

Congress that the sacrifice, the sacrifice of family, of friendship, 
the sacrifice of just being an American, few of us have the opportunity 
to put our lives on the line on behalf of this country, but we have 
thousands of Americans that are doing that. Some 43 percent of the 
individuals that are in the theater right now are what we may call our 
volunteer army, reservists, individuals that have given up their 
weekends from their families for years and now they have been called 
upon.
  I think it is important since we have set the stage of saying truly 
that we are here to pay not only respect to those who are fighting the 
war now but it is important that this Congress and members of the 
Congressional Black Caucus feel very strongly about this, that we 
continue to respect those that put it on the line in the past. We know 
that we have a number of these individuals that are serving our country 
right now in a time of war that are going to return back to the United 
States and they are going to need adequate health care, veterans' 
benefits. They will be our new veterans. Some of them will be as young 
as 19 and 20 and 21. Some will be 55 and over 65.
  It was very disheartening when the budget, this Federal budget that 
passed by a very narrow, narrow margin, that we would have a shortfall 
of some $1.9 billion in the 2003 fiscal year. It is good for us to pay 
respect and cry and pray on behalf of those that will return and those 
that will not return. But I think words are inadequate to even describe 
the kind of, how would I put this, I am trying to be a distinguished 
gentleman here, but the kind of understatement, for us to undercut our 
veterans.
  Veterans of wars past right now, in my district, the Miami VA 
hospital, those that have laid it down in different theaters of war, 
some of them in two different theaters of war, have to wait a year and 
a half to see an eye doctor. What do you think after this $1.9 billion 
shortfall that is going to be given to the richest Americans here, how 
is it going to affect that veteran if we allow this huge tax cut that 
the President is trying to pass?
  I commend the Senate for taking half of the responsibility and saying 
that in a time of war, just like in the past, we have never given a tax 
cut. Yes, times are hard, and it is important that we sacrifice.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bradley of New Hampshire). The gentleman 
will refrain from casting reflections on the Senate.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. The Senate did an outstanding job in their 
light. But I think it is important that we pay very, very close 
attention to what our priorities are right now. Our priorities right 
now should be making sure that our men and women return back to the 
States safely, making sure that the Iraqi people receive the kind of 
freedom that they yearn, and also making sure that we treat our 
veterans, even when they return back, back here to the United States, 
treat them with dignity, the dignity that I know this Congress wants to 
treat them with. I urge my colleagues here in the Congress, and I am 
sure the Congressional Black Caucus would like to urge them, let us 
treat our veterans and let us give the dollars toward the veterans that 
we should give toward their health care and making sure that they do 
not have waiting lists as we have right now existing here in the United 
States.
  I came tonight, in closing, to be able to pay respect to those that 
not only are in the theater of war right now but on behalf of those 
patriots of the past. I think it is very, very important that we 
remember, Mr. Speaker, those individuals in such a time as this. On 
behalf of this Member of Congress from the 17th Congressional District 
of Florida, I think it is very, very important, all Americans, that we 
pray for the safe return and we respect and pray for those that have 
provided us with the very freedom that we enjoy this evening.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I listened to the gentleman from Florida 
very carefully as he talked about a person from Florida who gave his 
life. Before he came on the floor tonight, I had talked about a young 
man, not from my district but he lives very close to me, within 
actually about 10 minutes, Sergeant Kendall Waters-Bey, who was one of 
the young men who was killed in the helicopter accident, I guess almost 
in the first 24 hours of this war.
  I am so glad that you said all the things you said. You are 
absolutely right. Our soldiers and their families, they do give a lot. 
Every time I see the news footage of our soldiers going off to sea and 
see the small children tugging on daddy's leg or mother is crying as 
she gets on the bus and has to leave her loved ones behind and not even 
knowing whether they are going to return, and if they do return, 
whether they will be disabled. Every time I see that, it just reminds 
me that we have a lot of truly, truly great Americans.
  I just want to thank the gentleman for what he said, because I think 
so often as we watch what is going on on television in Iraq, that 
sometimes we have a tendency to forget about those families, but the 
gentleman is absolutely right. Those families still have to struggle 
here at home. They still have to do without a parent here at home. 
There have been some situations, I am sure the gentleman is well aware, 
where it may have been a single head of household who then had to have 
loved ones take care of the children.
  To all of them, to the families and certainly to our troops and to 
all of those, as the gentleman said, who were there, we have so many 
veterans who have given so much. We see them all the time in our 
districts, at our town hall meetings, at our veterans meetings, and I 
always try to remind them that we shall never forget them because they 
stood up for this country, they stood up for us when we could not even 
stand up for ourselves so many times. I really appreciate what the 
gentleman said.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. I will tell the chairman, just watching some of 
the news accounts of many of these destroyers, our destroyers leaving 
to go to the Persian Gulf, as an individual that knows the sacrifice as 
it relates to many of my friends who I attended college with that were 
involved in ROTC, that are officers in our military right now, that 
have been shipped off, that e-mail me every now and then about their 
experiences overseas, and they are very proud to be there. I think it 
is very important that as we start to look at those families, someone 
is going to have to pick up the kid after school. Someone is going to 
have to read a story. Someone has to go and minister to a wife or 
husband that is having not only to take the burden on of the family but 
to also take the burden on of having their loved one overseas serving 
our country.
  When we look at this, those families really understand that this is 
not a made-for-TV movie, that this is real, that the possibility exists 
that they may never see their loved ones again. We all pray for that 
not to happen. We had a good day yesterday in Iraq with no U.S. 
casualties.
  But my heart goes out also to those other individuals in our world, 
the Iraqi children, the Iraqi people, that we are trying to provide 
freedom for. I am glad that this country has gone through great lengths 
in trying to preserve life. And so I commend those family members, sons 
and daughters, that are paying a mental and physical, emotional tax 
because a loved one from their family and not even to mention the 
single parents, that the aunt or grandmother or grandfather has to take 
care of the children now.

                              {time}  2200

  So tonight it was more than an honor for me to be a member of the 
Committee on Armed Services to come tonight to pay tribute to those 
families and to those troops and to those veterans that have provided 
the kind of freedom that we celebrate here today. I look forward to 
working with Members of the Congress and also members of the Black 
Caucus as we continue to be the conscience of the U.S. Congress and 
hopefully the world in the future as we start dealing with this new 
level of terrorism that we are having to work and fight against every 
day.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, it was the theologian Swindoll who said it is what you 
do when you are unnoticed, unknown, unappreciated, and unapplauded that 
means so much. And as I listened to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Meek), I could not help but think about all of those people that he 
talked about, people getting sand in their

[[Page H2396]]

teeth, like he said, and sand blowing in their eyes and going through 
very difficult circumstances right now, and our prayers are with them.
  There is another thing that the gentleman talked about, Mr. Speaker, 
and that is balance. And one of the things that we are always concerned 
about in our Nation is housing. Housing is extremely important for all 
of us, and when we look at again that balance that we are talking 
about, supporting our troops, but we also want that balance when it 
comes to making sure that Americans and those soldiers, when they do 
come back, that they have housing. And one of the sad things that has 
happened is that when we look at the President's budget, we have zeroed 
out under HUD the Hope VI program, zeroed it out; and what that means 
to Baltimore, we have been able in the city of Baltimore to tear down 
at least five high-rise public housing projects and replace them with 
beautiful low-rise neighborhoods, and as I said to a friend of mine the 
other day, when I ride through there, Mr. Speaker, I feel like I am on 
``Andy of Mayberry.'' They are so beautiful, right smack dab in the 
middle of the seventh congressional district.
  So when we have a situation where we have a budget that zeroes out 
programs that allow that to happen, it certainly concerns the 
Congressional Black Caucus, and I think it should concern all 
Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure and privilege to yield to the 
distinguished gentlewoman from the great State of Texas (Ms. Jackson-
Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the 
Congressional Black Caucus very much for yielding, and I appreciate 
very much the opportunity to share with my colleagues what I think is a 
very crucial debate. I appreciate very much the leadership of the 
gentleman from Florida who serves us very ably not only on the 
Committee on Armed Services but on the Select Committee on Homeland 
Security, and he has brought a great insight because I know the State 
of Florida, similar to the State of Texas, has a large number of 
individuals who in years past either are drafted but volunteered. That 
does not leave out my good friend from Baltimore, Maryland, one of the 
founding colonies, and certainly no stranger to fighting the wars of 
this Nation.
  I think it is important for some of us to clarify where we have been 
on this question of war and why it is important to have this discussion 
with our colleagues because for some reason there has been an effort or 
an impression that the Congress has become marginalized on these very 
crucial issues. I can assure the Members that members of the Democratic 
Caucus who reached out to our friends on the other side of the aisle, 
members of the Congressional Black Caucus, have been persistent in our 
viewpoints that we should raise our voices even in the specter of war 
as the war winds are raging because that is democracy.
  And I heard one of the generals comment just 24 hours ago, and they 
said that the military does not oppose dissent. The military in fact 
respects dissent. They just want to have it acknowledged, that dissent 
should be thrust toward the policymakers because our brave men and 
women are following orders and risking their lives on behalf of all of 
us. So I would simply say let the word go out, let a clarion call reach 
the ears of all who might hear that there is not one single divide 
amongst us on the love, affection, and respect for United States troops 
who have offered their lives on our behalf so that our values in this 
Nation might be promoted. There is not one single difference in our 
support for those families in terms of our commitment, but there has to 
be a question on our practices.
  I think democracy is all about practice as opposed to words. So I 
think it is important that personally I acknowledge that I have spoken 
quite continuously on my view that war should be the last option, that 
we should have chosen or could have chosen other options other than 
war. But I come to the floor tonight to join the gentleman in my 
concern that we not be silent on issues dealing with the budget, issues 
that will have a devastating impact on the young men and women who are 
now facing harm's way, who we have lifted up in our prayers and where 
we have stood steadfast to interject our respect and our resolve that 
they come home safely.

  Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues today on the floor as a co-sponsor 
of H. Res. 118, the POW resolution that demanded that the Iraqi 
Government comply with the Geneva Conventions and as well demand that 
the Red Cross be able to see these individuals and as well to hold the 
Iraqi Government responsible for any inhumane treatment of our POWs. I 
stand resolved that the Iraqi Government hear us, that we will not 
tolerate this inhumane treatment that we have perceived is occurring.
  As the chairman well knows, there are a number of POWs, a number of 
them from Texas, a number of them from around the country. One in 
particular happens to be a woman, happens to be a single parent. I know 
the families of these individuals, the families of the missing in 
action, the family of the lost Marine corporal in my congressional 
district; and when I say lost, who lost his life in valor, in bravery. 
We owe them something.
  We owe them our undivided commitment, but we also owe them the 
respect to come to the floor and be able to question our colleagues as 
to why they would cast a budget that would in fact cut 28 percent from 
veterans services. Having a veterans hospital that I hope to name after 
Dr. Michael DeBakey, one of the warriors who fought in World War II, 
and when I say fought, was an outstanding physician in World War II. In 
my own congressional district, as we speak today, there are veterans 
who are being de-enrolled or not enrolled. My fear is that some of 
these very brave young soldiers, sailors, and others of all the 
branches will come home and look to the services that are necessary not 
only for them but for their family members, some of them will be 
veterans as they leave this action, and out of being veterans, there 
may be a matter of any number of ailments that they may encounter. We 
are not far away from the Gulf War disease where there are thousands of 
veterans still suffering from an undiagnosed, to some, and diagnosed, 
to some, disease. How many of us remember Agent Orange, and yet we took 
so long to be able to remedy those veterans who had suffered in the 
Vietnam War and now the Persian Gulf.
  Let me say why I am concerned about a budget that barely passed and 
it barely passed, Mr. Speaker, because it should not have passed. The 
budget fails to have a meaningful prescription drug plan. My seniors 
have been waiting and waiting, and this budget only provides $400 
billion. The tax cuts, even what my good friends in the other body did, 
and I applaud an outstanding, very brave Senator, but I would say that 
we do not need any tax cuts, $726 billion with a raging war, with the 
needs of those who are left behind in education and Medicare and 
Medicaid. Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that when we are in times of 
war, I remember it well in the history books, of course, that 
Presidents before us indicated that we must rise to a mutual sacrifice. 
I think the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), my good friend and 
colleague, coined that phrase, ``mutual sacrifice.'' Mutual sacrifice 
does not pretend to have $726 billion in tax cuts when we have a $283 
billion deficit expected to implode into $1 trillion. The tax cut is 
expected to go to $1.3 trillion, and we are expected that the war 
really is costing $100 billion right off the bat and may even cost us 
$1 trillion.
  Mr. Speaker, where are we getting these funds? That was not even 
included in the budget. We know for sure that the Congress is being 
accused of being marginalized, but we are disrespecting the concept of 
the three branches of government. Let me say that what was reported in 
The New York Times, the administration's request, this recent request, 
places most of the war funds in a discretionary fund that would allow 
money to be moved around at will by the Department of Defense. I have 
made a commitment, as I review the emergency supplemental, that I am 
not going to leave the troops that I love and respect without the 
resources that they need; but what we are doing with this discretionary 
fund is turning 200 years of constitutional and congressional oversight 
mandated by the Constitution, and remember now I have argued vigorously 
that only the Congress as pursuant to the Constitution can declare war 
under article I, section 8.

[[Page H2397]]

  The Constitution also dictates that the Congress raises up armies and 
the Congress, the House in particular, has a hold on the purse strings. 
How can that be done with all of this money being put into 
discretionary funds, marginalizing a third branch of government duly 
qualified under the Constitution to be able to assess how these funds 
are used so that we know that if our troops encounter nuclear activity, 
radioactive activity that we should be assured that they have the 
highest quality equipment shipped in immediately, preceding that they 
have enough battalions while we are in this midst even though I am one 
who is advocating peace and would welcome a cease-fire right now and 
will be pressing forward with my position on peace but recognizing 
where our troops are.

  Does this make any sense that we put all these moneys in 
discretionary funds in violation of our duty? It includes $150 million 
for the DOD to fund indigenous forces, Mr. Speaker, throughout the 
globe without any input from Congress; and while the administration may 
argue that it will require such latitude, the fact is that during World 
War II, Mr. Speaker, with D-Day about us, with Pearl Harbor behind us, 
with troops raging all over the European theater, Congress passed 11 
supplemental requests in just 2 years, thus preserving the oversight 
vote. How can we do this in this time when our troops need us to 
eliminate the authority and responsibility of Congress?
  Mr. Speaker, I think this budget also fails because it calls for at 
least $265 billion over 10 years in cuts to mandatory public benefits. 
Right now in my State with a $12 to $15 billion deficit, we are looking 
for ways to cut people off Medicaid, the most vulnerable people. Mr. 
Speaker, right as I speak, we have closed doors with the mental health 
services, hundreds of employees laid off, but more importantly 1,500 
clients or patients not being able to be served or marriaged into 
another clinic that now serves 3,000 clients.

                              {time}  2215

  Nine thousand people calling in for help on the help line, and 2,000 
people on the waiting list in my community trying to get mental health 
services.
  This budget fails to address the mutual sacrifice that is needed, Mr. 
Speaker. While I believe that this Congress and Members should still be 
engaging in ways of resolving the conflict, working with the 
administration, talking prospectively about how we keep the peace; we 
must support our troops, and that includes ensuring that they have the 
resources.
  To do that, Mr. Speaker, it includes their families. We do not know 
the magnitude of need. We do not know how many will come back not able 
to work. We already know that we have lost young lives. We already know 
they are resolved to fight on our behalf.
  But as we do that, Mr. Speaker, we have another challenge; and that 
challenge, of course, is to ensure the safety of the home front. I 
believe it is extremely important that the supplemental is not 
addressing the amount of money that we would need for grants.
  Already my first responders are looking for the money that they were 
promised in 9/11. New Yorkers are looking for the money promised after 
9/11. And the way to get money to the local cities and governments is 
to ensure that we have dollars for grants to our local responders, to 
our HAZMAT teams, those hazardous material teams.
  Likewise, let me say that we have a lot of money missing out of the 
Coast Guard, the Customs Service, the border community, meaning the 
border security that is needed. We were meeting today with members of 
the Canadian Government, and they are concerned that we are treating 
our neighbors differently. We can do better than this. We can have a 
joint partnership on security and must not be discriminatory with our 
northern neighbors and our southern neighbors.
  We can be secure without violating civil liberties or requiring 
Canadian citizens, one white, one Muslim, the Muslim fingerprinted, the 
white not fingerprinted. The Canadians are raising their voices. They 
are saying we are all Canadians. The same thing with civil liberties in 
this town.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, as I listen to the gentlewoman, I cannot 
help but think about the fact that we do have to make sure that during 
this time of war and this time of terrorism, since 9/11, that we make 
sure that we preserve the rights that are granted to our citizens under 
the Constitution of the United States of America.
  I have often said that although we are facing very difficult 
circumstances, we do not want to be in a situation where, when all the 
dust settles and the war is over, that we have given up so many rights 
that we, the country, do not even look like a pre-9/11 country.
  So I agree with the things the gentlewoman has been talking about and 
bringing to bear. The gentlewoman has been a staunch supporter of the 
Constitution and making sure that we stick to it and that we do not 
allow it to be set aside in these difficult circumstances to collect 
dust, and then later on, for generations yet unborn, they look back and 
say, what did you all do under your watch.
  I just want to applaud the gentlewoman for that.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment the 
gentleman for his leadership, because most people would be frightened 
to raise such a matter during this time of raging war. When I say these 
matters, issues that the Nation and the Congress should be addressing, 
civil liberties, civil rights, the question as to whether or not 
homeland security has been fully funded.
  The gentleman was brave enough to bring us to the floor to announce 
our dedication to the troops, to announce our patriotism, to announce 
the fact that we have lost constituents, neighbors, that there are 
family members we know that are mourning now; and we do not want to 
make light of the very seriousness of this and the sensitivity of it. I 
hesitate. I have not called the name of the constituent that I lost. I 
will not do so until I share with the family. I have not called the 
name of the young woman who is a POW on the floor of the House, out of 
respect for those family members.
  But it is important, because they are risking their lives, that we 
come and argue for them now, so that they do not come back broken and 
beaten, if that is the case. Some will come back valiant and standing, 
God bless them, but others will need us.
  I want to applaud the gentleman for coming down to Houston this 
weekend to talk about an issue that has to do with this country's 
values, civil rights, affirmative action. Some would fault us for 
raising these issues now; but I believe, as a general said, that our 
military does not want us to be silenced. They are not afraid of 
dissent. And I have said this once before today, Hubert Humphrey said 
we need critical lovers of America, the kind of patriots who will work 
to improve America.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, the interesting thing is that that is what 
I hope, and I know that they are fighting for. They are fighting for 
that Constitution. They are fighting for the things that this country 
is all about. They are trying to make sure that those rights that we 
have are protected, not just for us, not just for our children, but for 
generations yet unborn.
  I think it is quite appropriate that we stand here and make sure that 
they are not fighting in vain.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. The gentleman is absolutely right. I have 
been among veterans and the military personnel. Many of us had the 
honor, and I call it the honor, of visiting our troops on their 
respective bases in Germany, in Italy, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan; and 
I have saluted, as I have been instructed, and I have indicated to them 
that we have the greatest respect for what they do.
  I think there should be other words we could capture out of the 
dictionary to express the affection we have for these young men and 
women. These are young people who have volunteered.
  I happen to be supporting the reinstatement of the draft, and I have 
a young man in my family, my son, 17 years old. That is a challenge for 
me to even say it. Probably I would want to step away from those words. 
But I do think we should let these volunteers know that we know what a 
sacrifice they are making, and that we believe in mutual sacrifice.
  That is why, Mr. Speaker, I say to the chairman, I am hoping that we 
can fight together against this tax cut and that we can work to bring 
dollars home

[[Page H2398]]

to the homeland security frontline individuals. We need to be able to 
have a system where we can all communicate together. Just imagine in 
the course of our work of securing the home front that we have 
difficulties because we have systems that are different. Work needs to 
be done in this area, and we cannot do it with a budget that clearly 
does not give credence to the two important responsibilities we have 
now: the home front juxtaposed or right next door to the raging winds 
of war, and then the domestic agenda of people who are now suffering 
with, I understand, some 200,000 service jobs being cut, unemployment 
still at a peak, and people in need.
  This is an important discussion. I am hoping that this budget process 
that shows such enormous cuts, and allow me to say two others, the 
veterans benefits, billions have been cut from pensions and safety net 
programs, such as SSI, where $62 billion over 10 years has been cut 
from the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is one that we have been very 
supportive of. Then the environment has been cut, and health care.
  So I would simply say, Mr. Speaker, that our voices need to be heard, 
because we need to get to work and uphold the constitutional duty of 
this Congress to have oversight over war spending and the 
constitutional duty as well to be engaged in the budgeting process as 
we lift up monies for armies; but we need to deal with this budget to 
help the people we represent all over America.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman. I just wanted to 
say this to the gentlewoman: I just wanted to say, Mr. Speaker, the 
Congressional Black Caucus stands behind our troops, but we also stand 
for a very strong America. We stand for our Constitution, and we want 
it to be well. We also stand for that flag that is up there behind you. 
We stand for the little children that tomorrow morning will put their 
little hands up to their little hearts and say, ``I pledge allegiance 
to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for 
which it stands, one nation under God.''
  That is why we have come here today, to just remind America, and beg 
America, to pray for our troops, to lift their families up in their 
prayers, but also to be vigilant, to be vigilant for the rights and the 
privileges that we have as Americans.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, just to close, I would simply 
say we were praying in our churches this past week. I was at the 
Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church with Pastor Willie Davis; 
and we prayed, and we prayed across Houston and the Nation. I believe 
we have the freedom to pray. No one is forced to pray. We wanted to 
pray, our different faiths. And I agree with the gentleman, we pledge 
ourselves to a united Nation, and we pledge our resolve for our troops 
to come home. But we also pledge, as the youngsters at Forest Brook 
High School said, will there be an opportunity for me to be educated? 
That is why we are here on the floor today, to insist that we stand 
united for the troops, but also united for the people of America, for 
the opportunities for them in the future.
  I thank the gentleman for allowing me to be here this evening.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in strong support of our troops.
  Today, American men and women are putting their lives on the line in 
the service of their country. I deeply mourn the deaths of our troops 
and hope and pray for the safe return of all of their comrades in arms. 
I mourn as well the deaths of innocent civilians, especially children, 
who have been or may be caught in the crossfire of this conflict.
  Some Americans are now held as prisoners of war and they hold a 
special place in our thoughts and prayers.
  As the daughter of a career army officer, my heart goes out 
especially to the families of our service men and women as they 
anxiously await word from their loved ones. That waiting is its own 
kind of torment.
  Thousands of National Guards and Reserves are serving in the Middle 
East today, honoring their commitment and abandoning their civilian 
lives to answer this call.
  We honor their service and sacrifice as well as that of all the 
personnel in our armed forces.
  It is my deepest hope that our troops will soon be home with their 
friends and families. I wish them Godspeed and hope that peace is both 
rapid and lasting.
  In closing, let me once again reiterate my support and admiration for 
our troops who are in harm's way.

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