E 1072 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 18, 1995

reinvent itself. The leaders of CPB, NPR, and

PBS have been specifically challenged to

come up with new sources of funding to replace tax dollars. Given the realities of the deficit, public broadcasters were strongly encouraged to be innovative and far-reaching in their

thinking, to take full advantage of the tremendous changes now taking place in the telecommunications marketplace and the resulting

opportunities to get public broadcasting off the

Federal dole.

And what have they come up with? PBS

has proposed a trust fund capitalized in part

by fees from commercial broadcasters and in

part by allocations from the Government’s sale

and auction of spectrum, and CPB says that

‘‘no combination of cost savings and new

sources of revenue can fully ‘replace’ the Federal subsidy.’’

Anyway you look at them, the plans rely on

Government funding, slightly repackaged and

devoid of a marketplace solution. Where is the

vision so desperately needed in order to

reinvent public broadcasting for the 21st century? Where is the innovative thinking in proposing an idea that died 30 years ago? Why

should commercial broadcasters subsidize

public radio and television when they themselves are faced with an increasingly competitive marketplace?

It is time for public broadcasting to reach

beyond the tired proposals of bygone days

and look for truly bold solutions for replacing

Federal funding. It is time to look to the marketplace for ideas, alliances, and opportunities. Public broadcasting is a valuable network

of local community institutions which has an

intensely loyal audience. Surely this presents

opportunities for more innovative solutions.

I believe we can find a way to preserve the

educational mission of public broadcasting in

the context of today’s telecommunications

market without relying on Federal funding,

whether is direct appropriations or redirecting

Federal revenues into a trust fund. For public

broadcasting to remain viable, its leaders must

first recognize that the congress will cut the

umbilical cord to the Federal Treasury.

TRIBUTE TO LEROY WESLEY

fWATTS, JR.

HON. NANCY L. JOHNSON OF CONNECTICUT

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, May 18, 1995

Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the memory of LeRoy Wesley Watts, Jr., professor emeritus of social

work at Eastern Michigan University.

Some people are able to reach young people at definitive moments in their lives—and

open new vistas of insight and opportunity to

them. Such a man was Professor Watts. He

served in key academic and administrative

roles within Eastern Michigan University, was

instrumental in the development of the university’s African-American Studies Department,

and advocated for minority and disabled students. Roy sat on the boards of several civic

and professional organizations that focused on

health and social welfare and worked quietly

but ceaselessly to make the world a better

place for us all. He was a friend and mentor

to many students and encouraged them to

continue educational programs that they likely

would not have completed without his intervention. Roy was recognized for his humility,

compassion, and abiding respect for the light

in each of us.

REMARKS OF CONGRESSMAN DICK

ZIMMER COMMENDING THE NEW

fJERSEY STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE BEES PROGRAM

HON. DICK ZIMMER OF NEW JERSEY

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, May 18, 1995

Mr. ZIMMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

pay tribute to more than 80 high school students from Hunterdon County, Princeton and

Trenton who give us hope for our Nation’s environmental future. As part of an innovative

pilot project called Building Environmental

Education Solutions [BEES], these students

have spent the last 2 months examining the

complex public policy choices that we face

when addressing environmental issues.

Focusing on an abandoned industrial site in

Trenton, this diverse group of students explored the many issues surrounding the reclamation and redevelopment of the property.

The students were required to analyze the potential environmental and economic trade-offs,

perform comparative risk assessments and

evaluate the arguments of the various stakeholders.

On Monday, May 22, the students will

present their findings, which I plan to distribute

to each of my colleagues in the hope that we

can learn from such an intense examination of

these very difficult issues.

I would also like to thank and congratulate

the coalition of business, community groups

and government agencies that made the program work, particularly the American Re-Insurance Corp. of Princeton, which spearheaded

the effort. This program is an example of the

type of responsible environmental activism

that benefits all segments of society, but is

most effective when government and business

work together.

Mr. Speaker, through programs like this

one, we can prepare a generation of decisionmakers who appreciate the interdependence

of the environment and the economy. I congratulate the students for their accomplishments and thank them for assuming the responsibility for protecting our precious natural

resources in the 21st century and beyond.

HEAD START

fHON. JOHN W. OLVER OF MASSACHUSETTS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, May 18, 1995

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Head Start.

Head Start is 30 years old today.

Over those 30 years, 13 million low-income

kids have gotten their head start for success.

Parents and staff have worked together to

give poor kids a better chance in school.

But today is not a happy day for Head Start.

On the very day we should be celebrating

30 years of success—funding for Head Start is

about to be slashed.

The budget resolution we vote on today

freezes funds for Head Start for the next 7

years. This translates into a $1.4 billion cut

from current funding. Millions of low-income

children will be cut off.

Why are we denying kids their head start on

life? Because the Republicans want to give

tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, whose

kids will never be at an educational or economical disadvantage.

What an inappropriate birthday present.

Happy Birthday, Head Start.

INDIA SHOULD RELEASE SIKH

fLEADER

HON. DAN BURTON OF INDIANA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, May 18, 1995

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise

today to again speak about the human rights

situation in India, which is deplorable. I want

to speak about two issues today. The first is

the destruction of a centuries-old mosque in

Kashmir. The second is the continued imprisonment of Sikh leader Simranjit Singh Mann.

The half-a-million Indian security forces in

the valley of Kashmir have for years run rampant over the civilian population there. They

have gang-raped women. They have tortured

and murdered political prisoners. They have

shot indiscriminately into civilian crowds, and

they have burned entire villages into the

ground.

Just last week, in the town of Charar-eSharies, the Indian military, with no regard for

the safety of civilians, launched an attack that

resulted in the burning of hundreds of homes

and the gutting of a centuries-old walnut-wood

mosque, one of the most famous religious

sites in Kashmir. The Indian Government, time

and time again, has shown absolute disregard

for basic standards of human rights in Kashmir, Punjab, and other areas. India must be

held to account for the crimes that have been

committed against the Muslims of Kashmir, including the destruction of the sacred shrine of

Charar-e-Sharies. The Indian Government’s

utter disregard for Moslem mosques and other

holy places is shocking and must not be swept

under the rug.

The Indian Government must also be held

to account for the horrible human rights

abuses committed against the Sikhs in Punjab

and the Christians of Nagaland. Few people

know about what is happening in those areas

because the government will not allow the

media or human rights groups into those

areas.

Indian paramilitary forces in Punjab are responsible for thousands of cases of well-documented disappearances and extrajudicial

killings. Thousands of Sikhs are held in prisons throughout Punjab, and human rights

groups have reported that virtually all Sikhs

held in prison are routinely tortured.

Four months ago, I came to the House floor

to talk about the detention of Sikh leader

Simranjit Singh Mann. Mr. Mann is a former

member of Parliament and probably the most

prominent of all the Sikh leaders. He has been

a forceful, but peaceful, advocate of independence for a Sikh homeland called Khalistan. Mr.

Mann was arrested in January after addressing a gathering of thousands and speaking out