Dear Friend,

As Congress moves toward completing health insurance reform and climate change legislation, we are also continuing to work hard on other steps to rescue the economy and get Americans back to work.

This week, I held several meetings with my colleagues regarding another package of bills designed to create jobs quickly. Our goal is to save and create jobs now while positioning the economy for long-term growth.

In fact, everything we have done this year has been geared toward jobs and the economy. Already, we’ve enacted major initiatives to create jobs and build a robust and modern economy. And we’re seeing positive technical indications, like improvements in the GDP, that the recession is slowing. But this recession is different and is the most severe downturn since the Great Depression. Millions of people are still out of work, businesses have shed jobs at faster pace than ever, and furloughs and underemployment continue. The pain being felt by families across America is deep. We need to, and we will, do more to revive the economy and create jobs.

As we put together this next jobs package, we are looking at every possible avenue, including the green energy sector, transportation projects, the housing market, education, public sector jobs, tax policy, and other areas. We have not made any final decisions yet – except that we are committed to moving quickly and forcefully on the jobs front. I’ll keep you posted.

Sincerely,

George Miller

DAY ONE:

With the excitement of passing the health care reform bill still echoing in my ears, I left Washington on Monday night for Pakistan -- my third trip in a year to this region that is so important to American security interests.

Along with three other members of Congress, we came here to review the effort against the Taliban, who continue to attack our troops in Afghanistan, to look into the extent to which the Pakistani government is willing to be helpful to the United States, and to check on the effectiveness of restrictions that Congress put on the use of American military aid by the Pakistan military. The previous Administration was letting Pakistani generals use our money like their personal piggybank. It appears now that there are better controls and the money is being used to train the military and fight the Taliban.

We arrived in Pakistan at 2:00 am Wednesday (local time). We started our meetings with the U.S. Ambassador and American intelligence officials for a briefing on efforts to find and destroy the Taliban in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. We also met with the Pakistani Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to discuss the impact of American efforts in Afghanistan and the impact on Pakistan. There seems to be a split in the government about the likelihood of the success of our efforts. We finished by having dinner with a friend from the lawyers’ movement that took to the streets earlier this year to save democracy in Pakistan from a corrupt Supreme Court and a military dictator. As you may know, they were successful in getting rid the corrupt judges and the dictator. New elections were held, at great personal risk to those involved.

DAY TWO:

Thursday morning we took a helicopter for an hour north of Islamabad to Peshawar to visit a displaced persons camp. Since the fighting began last year almost 2.5 million Pakistanis have been forced to leave their homes due to the violence. We met with refugees and humanitarian workers.

It was very hard to see so many families and children forced to live in such distress. The international aid community does an unbelievable job to help these people. We were fortunate to be able to deliver over $400,000 in medical supplies from the people of the United States for the displaced Pakistanis. We were also able to deliver invaluable medical pressure packs that have been remarkable in savings the lives of our troops and civilians injured by roadside bombs and other explosives. Our delivery came none too soon; as we were doing this, a bomb killed 3 people while we were in Peshawar, a grim reminder of the daily threat to civilians’ lives here.

With additional security we continued our meetings with government officials and then flew back to Islamabad to meet with USAID representatives to discuss building schools for girls and training teachers so young people will have an alternative to the Madrassas (schools) set up by the Jihadists. It was a very long day but we learned a lot and I think we did some good in a tough part of the world with a lot of violence and suffering.

Madam Speaker, regrettably, I rise in opposition to H. Res. 867, a resolution condemning the recently issued “Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict,” commonly known as the Goldstone Report.

I do not believe that the House should be asked to vote on this resolution when it has not come before the Committee on Foreign Affairs for even one hearing and was brought to the House with little notice under procedures typically reserved for non-controversial legislation. Given the subject matter of this resolution and the diverse range of views expressed on it from many organizations and individuals, including individuals in my own congressional district, I do not believe this resolution can be described as non-controversial.

The military conflict in the Gaza Strip last winter resulted in devastating consequences to innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians. It is critical that the international community evaluate the events of last December and January in a factual, unbiased manner. To this end, I am pleased that H. Res. 867 recognizes the numerous problems in the original resolution passed by the United Nations Human Rights Council authorizing the Goldstone Report, as that original resolution wrongly singled out alleged Israeli abuses and ignored the harm caused by Hamas’ rocket and mortar attacks on the Israeli people.

However, I have serious reservations about other aspects of H. Res. 867.

No congressional hearings have been held on H. Res. 867 or the Goldstone Report. On an issue of such importance, Congress must do its due diligence and ensure that we have a full understanding of the facts before being asked to vote to condemn the report and its authors.

Furthermore, I am concerned that H. Res. 867 implicitly criticizes the Goldstone Report because of the initial Human Rights Council resolution. Justice Richard Goldstone, who oversaw the Goldstone Report, is a distinguished jurist with a long record of support for human rights. Most notably, Justice Goldstone was a prominent critic of the abhorrent apartheid regime in South Africa. As H. Res. 867 notes, to his credit, Justice Goldstone extended the original mandate for the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict to include an evaluation of Hamas’ rocket attacks on civilians in southern Israel, among other issues.

Regardless of one’s ultimate evaluation of the report, it is important to recognize the changes that Justice Goldstone was able to make to it and evaluate his report on its own merits.

I fully support efforts to provide clarity, honesty and accuracy to the debate about the conflict in Gaza, just as do many of my constituents who have contacted me this week urging me to oppose this resolution. Hastily voting on a resolution to condemn this report without the ability to properly evaluate its findings does not serve this purpose.

Also, I do not believe that this resolution aids the important effort of achieving a two-state solution to help end the ever-present violence and strife in the region. President Obama has taken admirable steps to bring the two sides to the negotiating table, after years of neglect under the Bush Administration. Yet, this resolution today does not aid the Administration in that effort or further the peace process. In fact, I believe this resolution undermines the ability of the United States to further push both sides toward serious peace negotiations.

The House can play a constructive role in promoting peace and understanding in the Middle East and I look forward to supporting such efforts. Regrettably, due to the concerns I have stated above about specific aspects of this resolution and the process under which it has been brought to the House, I must oppose the resolution.

Rep. George Miller and Judge George Carroll at the renaming ceremony of the Richmond Courthouse. The courthouse was renamed in honor of Judge Carroll, the first African American Judge to be appointed in Contra Costa County.

Read more about the event in the Globe.

Miller also entered the following remarks into the Congressional Record:

George Carroll was born on January 6, 1923 in Brooklyn, New York. He served in the United States Army during World War II and was stationed in Italy. Judge Carroll subsequently used his GI Benefits to attend college and law school, graduating from Brooklyn College in 1943 and Brooklyn Law School in 1950. Following his admittance to the New York Bar, he ran a private practice in New York from 1951 – 1952.

In 1953 Judge Carroll moved to Richmond, California and his trailblazing legacy began. The same year he moved to Richmond, he became the city’s first African American lawyer to practice law; serving in private practice until 1965. Judge Carroll continued to break racial barriers in 1961 by becoming the first African American elected to the Richmond City Council. From 1964 – 1965 he served as Richmond’s first African American Mayor, a position previously unprecedented in any large American city. And finally, Judge Carroll became the first African American County Supervisor for Contra Costa County, California. Governor Edmund G. (Pat) Brown appointed Judge Carroll to the Contra Costa Municipal Court in May 1965 making him the first African American Judge to be appointed in Contra Costa County, where he served until his retirement in 1985.

Judge Carroll is a founding member of the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association and a lifetime member of the NAACP as well as the Sigma Pi Phi and Omega Psi Phi Fraternities. He is a former member of the Charles Houston Bar Association, California Judges Association, American Bar Association, American Judicature Society, World Association of Judge of the World Peace Through Law Center, Board of Governors of the United Bay Area Crusade, Richmond Boys’ Club and the Neighborhood House of North Richmond.

Madame Speaker, as a result of Judge Carroll’s leadership, advocacy and promotion of equal rights, we as a community have benefitted tremendously. I am delighted to have this opportunity to recognize Judge Carroll’s tireless efforts and ask all Members of the House to join me in congratulating him as the Richmond Courthouse is officially renamed The George D. Carroll Courthouse.

MADAME SPEAKER, I rise to recognize the Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center, an invaluable institution in the San Francisco Bay Area that will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary on October 19, 2009.

Founded in 1969 by the late Andy Baltzo, the Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center was initially known to most residents of Contra Costa County as simply, “The Peace Center.” Its goal was to provide residents of the East Bay with a voice against the escalating war in Vietnam as well as a focal point for issues of social justice.

After our troops returned from Southeast Asia, members of the Peace Center recognized that the quest for peace and justice is never ending. The Center turned its attention to issues of nuclear arms reduction, military disarmament, and avoidance of U.S. entanglement in the conflicts in Central America.

Instrumental in the early development of the Peace Center was the work of a core group of committed peace activists including Arne Westerback , Louise Clark, and Sheila Pedersen.
Over the years, the Center expanded its focus to include a wide range of programs that addressed raising peaceful children and race awareness. The larger community continued to have a voice through the Peace Center and has benefited from organized non-violent protests against military conflicts, including most recently the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These protests take the form of peace marches, demonstrations, and a unique war memorial known as The Crosses of Lafayette. Much national and even international attention was focused on the local community when multi-denominational memorials were erected on a highly visible hillside – one for each American military service member who has died in the current conflicts. It’s a silent but powerful reminder to all who pass by of the human toll of war.

The Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center also provides inspirational classes in non-violence that continue to benefit the community as a whole. With its access to nationally known speakers, educational forums, and film series, the Center is able to promote peace and justice through a variety of mediums. Students, parents and teachers have access to a wide range of programs that include the Art and Writing Challenge and Youth in the Military, a counseling service for young people on national service alternatives to the military. Through local food collection and distribution, The Center also addresses the needs of the poor living in our local community.
As our world becomes seemingly smaller, the Peace Center is once again broadening its program. Currently, plans are underway for an International Peace Youth Camp which will bring outstanding teen leaders from around the world to the Center. Once at camp, they will have the opportunity to get to know each other and learn new methods of co-existence through cultural exchange.

Today, dedicated Peace Center leaders such as Barbara and Ed Tonningsen and Bob Hanson continue to bring the lessons of non-violence to our community and beyond.

I applaud the Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center for its strong, principled, and ongoing voice on the issues of peace and justice and I am proud to bring this organization to the attention of my colleagues. Congratulations to past and present members who have kept the Center viable and dynamic throughout the decades. As you celebrate 40 Years of Peacemaking, I wish you continued success.