[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H2533-H2534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            PRESSING ISSUES

  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, this evening I wanted to share 
my thoughts with my colleagues on some of the pressing issues that I 
think we have missed, particularly with the schedule that we now have. 
I think the world is crying out for this Congress to act and to act 
constructively and productively. There are several issues, both 
international and domestic, that we simply have failed to address.
  I want to associate myself with the remarks of my good friend and 
colleague, the gentleman from the great State of Washington (Mr. 
McDermott) on the progress that India and Pakistan have made. I have 
congratulated both Ambassadors from Pakistan and India personally for 
the great leadership shown by the Prime Minister of India and the 
President of Pakistan, two countries that have been known to be in 
conflict, sitting down around the table of friendship, talking about 
energy resources, opening consular offices, solving problems such as 
Kashmir, working with cultural exchange.
  Why should this Nation not applaud them? I hope my colleagues will 
join me in a resolution that will support and applaud the works of both 
the President and the Prime Minister of the respective nations. I agree 
with my good friend from Washington, why should we, with our politics 
against Iran, eliminate the opportunities for two nuclear giants to 
begin to solve their energy problems and maybe, by chance, both of them 
striving towards democracy, having a positive influence on Iran?
  So I hope that my resolution offered to the Congress and signed on by 
a number of my colleagues will be on the floor of the House to 
emphasize peace.
  Today completed the 60-city tour of the President of the United 
States regarding the issue of Social Security. I am glad, however, that 
we joined many thousands on Capitol Hill to emphasize that Social 
Security does not belong to the debate of one single party. In 
actuality it is an American debate. That debate requires an open mind, 
but particularly we need to focus the American people on what Social 
Security is and is not. It is not the private savings account or the 
bank account for Wall Street. It is not the proof that we are in a 
capitalist society. It is an insurance program. It provides survivor 
benefits, disability benefits for those disabled Americans who want to 
live independently.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to stop going on the road. Come back to 
Washington, sit down at the table of negotiation with Democrats and 
Republicans talking about one issue, and that is how to make Social 
Security solvent. We did it in 1983 with President Reagan and Tip 
O'Neill, and it was solvent for now 42 years.
  There is no reason why we cannot sit down and solve the problem with 
Social Security without a private savings account that dips into your 
pocket, takes the money to Wall Street and provides the hugest deficit 
that you could ever imagine. In fact, to make a private savings 
account, you need to take $1.7 trillion out of the Social Security 
account. We are already in terrible straits with the deficit that is 
spiraling down and creating a burden on our children and grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to speak very quickly about the work that we need 
to do on the Committee on the Judiciary. We need to protect our State 
courts and Federal courts. We had a very informative hearing before our 
committee today, but we need to work to ensure that there are more U.S. 
marshals and Federal laws that will protect and prevent violence 
against State courts and Federal courts; new laws,

[[Page H2534]]

new mandatory sentences to do it, but real preventative measures, which 
more law enforcement, more training does.
  I would also say I have asked the Committee on the Judiciary today to 
hold a hearing on a horrific video that I saw, a 5-year-old being 
handcuffed in Florida. A 5-year-old who does not have the intent, 
cannot go into a court of law and even be judged to have the 
appropriate intent to be prosecuted or to be able to testify. Two large 
police officers, one large teacher, and I love teachers, but this, 
excuse me, administrator, I believe this was a deputy principal, could 
not handle a 5-year-old. A mother, a working mother on a job that could 
not get there quickly, but got to school and they would not let her see 
her 5-year-old. What an outrage.
  I believe that school system and that district and the State of 
Florida needs to be penalized for the kind of reckless, irresponsible 
stigmatizing of a 5-year-old. You could have called the mental health 
authorities. You could have waited. You could have given her a toy and 
a television set to calm her down; but yet two big police officers put 
her in the police car with handcuffs for a little girl who was 
disruptive. What an outrage.
  I think we can do better than this and I am going do write 
legislation to punish school districts who do not understand how to 
deal with 5-year-olds, particularly those who do not understand that 5-
year-olds do not need to be handcuffed. Did she have a gun in her 
hands? A knife in her hands? A 5-year-old.
  I hope we can do further work on prescription drugs and meth labs, 
since even in my local schools we are facing that, Mr. Speaker.
  Finally, let me conclude by saying, Mr. Speaker, I think the national 
ID, the bill that will pass in the Senate that gives us a national ID 
card with a driver's license, which the 9/11 Commission did not say, we 
need real immigration reform. Giving national ID cards does not keep 
the terrorists from the border. We need to protect the borders. We need 
more border patrol agents. That is how we secure the homeland, not 
national ID cards invading the privacy of Americans.

                          ____________________