[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 10, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H421-H423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HISPANICS ARE LOSING UNDER RECENT POLICIES ANNOUNCED BY THE PRESIDENT 
                          OF THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight very concerned 
with the state of America under the Bush Administration. On the issues 
of immigration, education and the budget, this President has failed to 
live up to his promises. Too many Americans have been left out of the 
prosperity that this President pledged to them, and his only reaction 
to past

[[Page H422]]

failed initiatives is to introduce a new series of irresponsible 
policies. This President has lost all credibility on his agenda; it is 
clear that his vision is one that is not in line with those of average 
Americans.


                           immigration reform

  Despite an egregious history of failed temporary foreign worker 
programs in the United States that have hurt immigrant and domestic 
workers alike, the President proposes a new, vastly enlarged temporary 
worker program that will do nothing to strengthen protections for 
wages, benefits and other rights of immigrant and domestic workers. The 
President's plan would formalize an even larger class of workers 
accorded only second tier status in American workplaces and will 
exacerbate the decline in job quality and job security for all workers.
  The Bush approach may just create a quasi-permanent class of second-
class citizens in the form of temporary workers whose status is tied to 
their employer. If they quit their jobs, they lose their status. We 
need an assurance that they can maintain their status under new 
employment.
  Reforms to provide legal status to the millions of hardworking, 
undocumented workers living in this country must be comprehensive and 
fair. They cannot and should not be designed primarily to provide a 
steady stream of vulnerable workers for American companies. Instead, 
immigration reform must provide a certain path to legalization for 
workers from around the world who are already living and working in the 
United States; repeal and replace employer sanctions with stiffer 
penalties for employers who take advantage of workers' immigration 
status to exploit them and undermine labor protections for all workers; 
reform, not expand, temporary worker programs; and reform the permanent 
immigration system so that those who play by the rules are not 
penalized by unconscionably long waiting periods.
  The Bush plan does not provide a path for permanent residency for the 
undocumented workers presently in the United States or the new ones who 
will enter the U.S. to participate in the program. They will work in 
temporary status and then be expected to leave the country.
  The Bush proposal leaves it up to Congress to solve the problem of 
backlogs in benefits applications. The Department of Homeland Security 
has a backlog of more than 6 million benefits applications. The Bush 
proposal easily could double that number. How will the new temporary 
worker program be implemented if the applications can't be processed?
  Many people are enduring hardships and inequities on account of 
IIRIRA, the republican immigration reform bill of 1996. Immigration 
reform must address these problems too. The Bush bill does nothing to 
deal with these problems.
  The Bush plan does not address the needs of young, undocumented 
students who have lived most of their lives in the United States. Under 
current law, they cannot get State resident status for college, and any 
employment they take to support themselves would be considered 
unlawful.
  Immigrant advocates have long held that the current admissions system 
does not work for immigrants, their families, their employers, or 
American workers. A comprehensive solution has three main components: 
permanent legal status for undocumented immigrants already here, a 
``break the mold'' work visa program for future migrants, and updating 
the family preference system so that close family members do not face 
decades-long separation from relatives in the U.S. The Bush plan does 
none of these things.
  I encourage Bush to consider advocating several balanced legislative 
approaches to immigration reform that are awaiting action by the 
Republican leadership. These bills include the Dream (Student 
Adjustment) Act (H.R. 1684); the ``Agricultural Jobs Opportunity, 
Benefits, and Security Act of 2003'' (H.R. 3142); and the Restoration 
of Fairness in Immigration Act of 2003 (H.R. 47). These bills are the 
result of extensive cooperation with advocacy groups from varying 
viewpoints and members from both sides of the aisle.


                    Education (No Child Left Behind)

  Education Department figures report that over 7.9 million Hispanic 
children are currently of school age. The Hispanic community is the 
youngest and fastest growing segment of America, and the number of 
Hispanic school age children is expected to increase by 60 percent over 
the next 20 years. The number of black school-aged children is expected 
to rise by 3 percent over the next 20 years. By 2100, about 64 percent 
of children are expected to be from minority groups.
  Education is a top-tier priority for the Members of the CHC, with 
funding priorities outlined in The Hispanic Education Action Plan 
(HEAP). HEAP encompasses programs such as bilingual education; migrant 
education; Migrant and Seasonal Head Start; English as a Second 
Language (ESL) programs for middle and high school students; aid for 
Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and the national dropout 
prevention program. The majority of HEAP programs did not receive 
additional funding from the previous year and the Nation's dropout 
prevention program budget was sliced from $5 million to zero, 
eliminating the program.
  Despite stressing the importance of the No Child Left Behind Act 
(NCLB) during the State of the Union Address, the President underfunds 
the program by $9.4 billion, leaving many local school districts and 
students without necessary funding for educational success.
  Budget analysis shows that educational programs designed to improve 
Hispanic and low-income students' performance received no additional 
funding despite an increased need for these programs.
  The Bush budget also freezes the maximum Pell Grant at $4,050, enough 
to cover just 34 percent of the average annual cost of college, despite 
the nationwide rise in college tuition. Many Hispanics, including those 
in my district in Texas, rely on these Federal funds to pay for 
college; these caps will create yet another roadblock in the Hispanic 
community's access to higher education.
  President Bush shortchanges education for the third year in a row 
with historically low Federal investment. President Bush provides a 
meager 3 percent increase ($1.7 billion) in education funding over last 
year, despite rising enrollments and a shortage of resources to meet 
our education needs. President Bush also eliminates dozens of key 
programs, reducing the Federal investment in education by $1.4 billion.
  President Bush denies critical services to millions of disadvantaged 
children. President Bush shortchanges his own No Child Left Behind Act 
(NCLB) by $9.4 billion--including $7.2 billion for Title I. The 
President breaks his promise to provide $20.5 billion for Title I under 
NCLB. His Budget will deny nearly 5 million disadvantaged children 
critical education services, such as extra help to become proficient in 
reading and math.
  President Bush freezes or cuts college aid, forces taxes on students, 
and fails to stop tuition hikes. Not only does the President fail to 
address the rising college tuition, but he also makes college even more 
expensive by freezing or cutting student aid and taxing students.
  President Bush jeopardizes aid to children of military families. The 
Bush budget freezes all Impact Aid funding at the fiscal year 2004 
level, jeopardizing programs and services for children of military 
families.
  President Bush breaks his NCLB promise on afterschool programs. The 
Bush budget freezes funding for afterschool programs. As a result, 
nearly 1.3 million children will be shut out of afterschool programs.

  President Bush adds new money for private school vouchers while 
shortchanging students at public schools. The Bush budget proposes $50 
million in private school vouchers. At a time when our public schools 
are trying to meet the challenges of NCLB, the Administration is 
diverting resources away from public school students and local efforts 
to improve public schools.
  President Bush makes certain that full funding of special education 
will never happen. The Bush budget proposes a $1 billion increase for 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This marks the 
4th year in a row President Bush has proposed this exact level of 
increase, placing disabled students at an even greater disadvantage. At 
this rate of increase, we will never reach full funding of IDEA.
  President Bush cuts $316 million from vocational education and 
community colleges--again. The Bush Budget would cut $316 million, or 
nearly 25 percent, from vocational education. On top of this, President 
Bush has cut more than $1.5 billion out of job training and vocational 
education programs since he took office. In addition, the budget 
proposes to turn this program into a block grant to States, eliminating 
accountability and targeting of resources to disadvantaged students and 
programs.


                    fiscal year 2005 national budget

  I am once again disappointed with this Administration's efforts to 
truly represent the values of average Americans. President Bush's 
latest effort in the form of his 2005 national budget continues his 
irresponsible economic policies that have resulted in so many Americans 
suffering. This Administration has a credibility crisis. President Bush 
has said his tax cuts would act as a stimulus for our flagging economy 
and create jobs; this clearly has not happened. Instead of adopting 
more inclusive policies this President has decided to give even more 
tax cuts to benefit the wealthy. This Administration has misplaced 
priorities that are leaving average working Americans in a bind.


                                deficit

  The most disturbing aspect of President Bush's flawed budget proposal 
is the soaring deficits that will result from his policies. This 
administration has tried to say that deficits don't matter; we know 
that that is simply not

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true. History has proven that chronic deficits threaten our economic 
strength by crowding out private investment, driving up interest rates, 
and slowing economic growth. Indeed foreign investment in the United 
States has dried up because foreign investors have no confidence in the 
Bush economic agenda. This Administration's irresponsible budget 
policies have turned a surplus into a large deficit that is choking off 
growth in the American economy.
  President Bush likes to say his budget is geared towards tax cuts for 
all Americans. When in fact the average American won't receive a 
substantial tax cut, but will instead be hit with a tax hike  in the 
form of an ever-growing deficit. A large deficit means taxpayers have 
to shoulder the costs of paying the interest on this new national debt. 
The end result will be a debt tax on the great majority of Americans. 
This will be a tax on lower and middle class Americans; it will be tax 
on our heroic war veterans; it will be a tax on the elderly and, most 
unfortunately, it will be a tax on our children. The truly sad part of 
the President's budget is that, while it is bad for America today, it 
is even worse for future generations of American taxpayers.


                                Tax Cuts

   I want to highlight some of the most egregious examples of this 
Administration's misplaced priorities. President Bush believes we can 
spend tens of billions of dollars a year to provide $66,000 tax cuts to 
the top 1 percent of tax payers, but he does not feel we can afford 
many vital programs, some of which are even tied to our national 
security.
   Perhaps the most blatant example of this Administration's 
irresponsibility is the fact that the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) 
budget was actually cut. At a time when our national security is under 
such great scrutiny, I cannot think of too many agencies that face 
greater pressure than the FAA to keep our Nation safe. How can this 
President spend so much time and effort stressing the importance of 
homeland security and then cut the budget of the agency on the front 
line of stopping terrorists from attacking our Nation? The 
irresponsibility does not stop there; the President's budget fails to 
provide the U.S. Postal Office with $779 million needed for 
biodetection technology that guards against anthrax-like attacks. After 
the Ricin incident in the Senate Office Buildings a week ago, how can 
anyone in this body in good conscious approve a budget that does not 
address our vulnerability for bioterrorism attacks through the mail? 
This is where President Bush lacks credibility; he has taken drastic, 
and some would say unconstitutional, measures in the name of national 
security, but now when it comes to fully funding our most sensitive 
security concerns he decides it is more important to appease the 
richest 1 percent of Americans with irresponsible tax cuts.
   Unfortunately the misplaced priorities do not stop with out national 
security. I point again to the ``No Child Left Behind'' initiative that 
has been left underfunded by $9.5 billion--a full 27 percent less than 
Congress authorized. In addition, funding for America's veterans will 
be cut by $13.5 billion over the next five years. It's truly sad how 
this President not only doesn't fully fund sensitive security issues, 
but is also cutting funding to two of our most sensitive 
constituencies: Our children who are our future and our veterans who in 
the past have sacrificed so much so that we may live freely. Instead of 
supporting those constituencies, this President believes that the 
richest 1 percent of Americans deserve yet another tax cut. These 
misplaced priorities are evident throughout the President's budget and 
demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding about the needs of the 
average American.
  President Bush's budget is threatening to so many deserving American 
interests. We have seen how this budget continues his failed policies 
and in fact this budget will further the damage that this President has 
already done. Because of President Bush's insistence on making the tax 
cuts permanent, many central programs will be cut. This President will 
have no problem cutting Medicare to our seniors. It is also clear that 
this Administration's goal is to privatize Social Security. These 
policies will deeply affect my constituents in the 18th Congressional 
District of Texas. So many of my constituents in Houston rely on these 
programs, and this President has decided to take advantage of the trust 
they had placed in him to protect their interests. The more I go 
through this budget the more I realize it's bad for my constituents in 
Houston, it is bad for the people of Texas, and we cannot allow 
ourselves to stand idly by while this President continues an 
irresponsible agenda that's just simply wrong for America.


                                Job Loss

  President Bush has been one of the worst Presidents ever to take 
office when it comes to job creation. Simply put, our economy can never 
truly be considered successful until Americans who want jobs can find 
jobs. This is simply not the situation that the average American faces 
today. Under the Clinton Administration job growth continually 
improved. In contrast, under the Bush Administration the rate of 
unemployment has soared. In his State of the Union Address the 
President stated that jobs are on the rise; unfortunately the rise in 
employment he spoke of amounted to 1,000 jobs created in the month of 
December. At that rate of job growth, it will take 192 years and 8 
months for the economy to return to the number of jobs at the beginning 
of President Bush's term of office. We are 8.4 million jobs behind 
where we are supposed to be at this point. That is a staggering number 
and it should be unacceptable to every Member of this body. The Bush 
Administration assured the American people that tax cuts would result 
in job growth. The American people are still waiting to see this 
growth; too many of them are waiting unemployed and fearing for their 
prosperity. This Administration has argued that deficits do not matter 
and that job growth is not an economic priority. I can't think of too 
many Americans who would agree with that assessment. This President is 
not in touch with the needs and aspirations of the American people. 
This budget continues to reflect his irresponsible agenda based on a 
few special interests.


                          Iraq and Afghanistan

  It's unfortunate that this Administration does not understand the 
necessity of proper planning and vision. It has become painfully 
obvious to many of us in this body that this President did not have a 
plan to deal with post-war Iraq and Afghanistan. That point is 
exacerbated by the fact that in this entire budget there is no funding 
included for the 2005 costs of ongoing military operations in Iraq and 
Afghanistan. This is truly irresponsible; our brave fighting men and 
women are risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and this 
President cannot even provide figures for the costs that these military 
operations will incur. Does this President want us to believe that the 
costs for this War on Terror have disappeared? Or is he telling us that 
he plans to pull our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan? Once again, 
this President's irresponsible agenda is being exposed; he does not 
have the credibility for us to allow yet another flawed budget to pass 
this body.


                                  nasa

  I was there a few weeks ago at the White House when President Bush 
announced his new NASA initiative to return America to the moon and 
eventually manned missions to Mars. The funding for NASA has been 
increased in this budget, but it only begins to pay for future 
exploration efforts; a detailed plan on how the President plans to 
achieve his NASA initiatives is still needed. I believe the President 
when he says he has the aspiration to get America back to the moon, 
it's just unfortunate that he does not have the proper planning to do 
so. His actions in Iraq and Afghanistan leave him no credibility in 
this body to believe that he can achieve his ambitious agenda. This 
entire budget in fact is riddled with false promises and underfunded 
ambitions.
  This President has consistently asked for patience from this body and 
from the American people to allow time for his policies to start 
showing progress; unfortunately time has run out. Too many Americans 
are suffering and it is clear that President Bush's vision for America 
is not one that coincides with that of the average American. I hope we 
will continue to stress the danger of this budget; together we will be 
the ones to push the true interests of our constituents, to push for a 
real vision of America.

                          ____________________