15064 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS June 24, 1996 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS A BILL TO RENAME PART OF THE Documents were requested from several health care professions as the Health ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE Government agencies, including the Depart­ Sciences Center continues to work toward im­ REFUGE WILDERNESS IN ALAS­ ments of State and Defense, the Defense In­ proving the health status of those who live and KA telligence Agency, and the U.S. Army. While work in Suffolk County, the Long Island Re­ the Department of State has been quite forth­ gion, New York State, and the Nation as a HON. DON YOUNG coming with information, I am told that these whole. other agencies have yet to make information Mr. Speaker, the Health Center at SUNY OF ALASKA Stony Brook has provided an excellent service IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES available to Honduran authorities. The sooner declassified documents can be in the Long Island region. I ask my colleagues Monday, June 24, 1996 released the better as the information they to join me in recognizing the outstanding con­ Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I am contain may serve as evidence in ongoing and tributions this institution has made. introducing legislation today which would re­ future court proceedings against rights viola­ name an existing portion of wilderness in the tions. Prompt declassification will help promote INTRODUCTION OF THE EQUAL Brooks Range of Alaska's Arctic Wildlife Ref­ the independence of the judiciary system and SURETY BOND OPPORTUNITY ACT uge the "Mollie Beattie Alaska Wilderness." strengthen democracy in Honduras. Mollie Beattie, until recently the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, combined ad­ HON. ELEANOR HOLMFS NORTON vocacy in her role as the chief steward of TRffiUTE TO THE HEALTH OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA America's Federal programs for fish and wild­ SCIENCE CENTER AT SUNY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES life with a compassionate belief that people STONY BROOK Monday, June 24,1996 were an inseparable part of the natural envi­ Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today I am ronment. Mollie held a special place in her HON. MICHAEL P. FORBES pleased to introduce the Equal Surety Bond heart for the Brooks Range wilderness area of OF NEW YORK Opportunity Act [ESBOA]. The ESBOA will the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, America's IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES help qualified women- and minority-owned largest. This legislation provides for the nam­ Monday, June 24,1996 businesses to compete in the contracting busi­ ing of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wil­ ness by helping them obtain adequate surety derness established in the Alaska National In­ Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in bonding. In addition, the ESBOA is directed terest Lands Conservation Act-Public Law recognition of the Health Science Center at against barriers many qualified small and 96-487-in her honor. As Mollie's knowledge SUNY Stony Brook. It began in June 1963 emerging construction firms encounter in ob­ of Alaska grew, so did her love for our unique when the New York State Committee on Medi­ taining surety bonding. areas and for the special people who choose cal Education, chaired by Malcolm Muir, Surety bonding is mandatory for bidding on to call Alaska home. I hope that her willing­ issued its reports entitled "Education for the all Federal construction work in excess of ness to try to understand my State better will Health Professions." The report reiterated the $25,000, all federally assisted construction encourage others to grow in the same way. importance of meeting the projected needs of projects in excess of $100,000, and most the health professions over the next two dec­ State and local public construction. Surety ades. It recommended that State institutions bonding requirements, however, are not re­ MORE DECLASSIFICATION NEEDED be expanded and that State institutions co­ stricted to government contracting. Increas­ FOR HONDURAS operate with the expansion planned by the pri­ ingly, private construction contracts also re­ vate institutions to educate physicians and as­ quire surety bonding. As surety bonding has HON. ELIZABElH FURSE sociated health professionals be educated in become a widespread requirement for com­ OF OREGON the concept of comprehensive medical care. petition, the inability to obtain surety bonding IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES As a part of the implementation plan, it was can cripple a construction firm, especially a proposed that a comprehensive health small or nascent one. Monday, June 24, 1996 sciences center be developed as a part of In 1992, Congress acknowledged the impor­ Ms. FURSE. Mr. Speaker, it was a privilege SUNY Stony Brook. tance of this issue when it passed the Small that Dr. Leo Valladares Lanza, human rights SUNY accepted the committee's rec­ Business Credit Crunch Relief Act and in­ ombudsman for the nation of Honduras, was ommendation and included in the 1964 SUNY cluded legislation to study the problem of dis­ here in Washington, DC, earlier this month. master plan, the creation of a health sciences crimination in the surety bonding field, Public He was the featured speaker at a briefing center as part of the University Center being Law 102-366, that I had introduced. The sur­ hosted here on Capitol Hill by the Congres­ developed at Stony Brook. vey provision required the General Accounting sional Human Rights Caucus, of which I am a The Health Sciences Center at Stony Brook Office [GAO] to conduct a comprehensive sur­ member. stands as a testimony to the vision and hard vey of business firms, especially those owned The Honduran Government, through its Na­ work of State and University leaders who con­ by women and minorities, to determine their tional Commission for Human Rights headed tributed to the creation of this outstanding in­ experiences in obtaining surety bonding from by Dr. Valladares, is making a concerted effort stitution. Over a very short period of time, the corporate surety firms. to identify and prosecute those persons re­ Health Sciences Center at SUNY Stony Brook The GAO completed the requested survey sponsible for human rights violations in their has established itself as an outstanding center in June 1995. The survey found that of the country in the 1980's. for research and education, and a major pro­ 12,000 small construction firms surveyed, 77 The Clinton administration is making strides vider of health care services to Suffolk County percent had never obtained bonds. In addition, in beginning the process of declassifying doc­ and the broader Nassau/Suffolk region. minority- and women-owned firms were more uments that no longer need to remain secret. To recognize this accomplishment, the likely to be asked for certain types of financial In response to a request submitted to the Health Sciences Center will hold a symposium documentation. Further, minority-owned firms United Sfates Ambassador in Tegucigalpa by entitled, "A Retrospective of the Health were also more likely to be asked to provide the Honduran Government on August 1 of last Sciences Center at the State University during collateral and meet other conditions than the year, this administration agreed to expedite the past Four Decades" on June 18, 1996. It firms not owned by minorities. the declassification of documents relevant to is hoped that this will also energize the partici­ The ESBOA bill I am introducing today is Honduras. pants to meet the challenges confronting the modeled on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. June 24, 1996 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 15065 of 1968 which prohibited discrimination in coaches Jim Stokes, Rich Hawks, Don household. Moreover, 81 percent of single credit practices. The ESBOA requires notifica­ Vandgrift, Richie Wyman, Sherm Blaszczyk, mothers work full time to support their chil­ tion of a contractor of the action taken on his Dennis Lankford, and Jim Dawson. Pleasure dren. or her application within 20 days of receipt of Ridge Park Principal Charles Miller, Athletic With more dual-income families, it is harder a completed bond application. If the applicant Director Russ Kline and Assistant Athletic Di­ for parents to get time off to meet with teach­ is denied bonding, the surety would also be rector Jerry Smith should be especially proud ers or attend their children's soccer games. In required, upon request, to provide a written of their team. a survey of PTA leaders, 89 percent cite the statement of specific reasons for each denied lack of time as the biggest roadblock to paren­ request. According to the National Association tal involvement. of Minority Contractors [NAMC], many minority THE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT Under the bill, parents can take leave to contractors reported being turned down for a LEAVE ACT participate in or attend an activity that is spon­ bond without an explanation. When expla­ sored by a school or a community organiza­ nations are not proffered, a perception of dis­ HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER tion. Parents with children in child care crimination in the surety industry is created. OF COLORADO through high school are eligible. Parents will This perception drives minority contractors to IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES have the flexibility to take leave a few hours obtain sureties outside the mainstream, often Monday, June 24, 1996 at a time or longer. Federal employees are at significant additional expenses and fewer also covered under this bill. protections, placing themselves, their sub­ Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, today With all of the Federal cuts in education, the contractors, and the Government at greater am introducing the Parental Involvement question is how can we help families that want risk.