Congratulating Rafael Palmeiro of the Texas Rangers for hitting 500 major league home runs and thanking him for being a role model for the Cuban American community, as well as for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 315) congratulating Rafael Palmeiro of the Texas Rangers for hitting 500 major league home runs and thanking him for being a role model for the Cuban American community, as well as for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 315, introduced by my distinguished colleague from the State of Texas (Mr. Sessions), congratulates Rafael Palmeiro of the Texas Rangers for becoming the 19th player in major league baseball history to hit 500 home runs and thanking him for being a role model for the Cuban American community and, indeed, for all Americans.

On May 11, the Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians in a seemingly ordinary early season major league baseball contest. During the game, he

hit his 10th home run of the year. But this home run, Mr. Speaker, the 500th of his career, forever placed Rafael Palmeiro in a select class among baseball's greatest sluggers of all time.

In surpassing the 500 home run milestone, he affords this House a chance to recognize not only his exploits on the field, but also his selfless community-conscious conduct off the field. Mr. Speaker, Rafael Palmeiro was born on September 24, 1964, in Havana, Cuba. He left Cuba as a young boy in 1971 and moved to Miami with his mother and two of his three brothers in pursuit of political freedom. He attended Mississippi State University where he played baseball. Upon his graduation in 1985, Rafael was first selected by the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the amateur baseball draft. Within a year of being drafted, he was also selected and played in the majors where he has remained ever since.

In addition to the Cubs, Rafael played for the Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles. Rafael has hit 523 home runs and batted in 1,676 runs during his outstanding 18-year career.

In between his big hits on the diamond, Rafael hits home runs off the field by staying involved in the lives of children in his community. Rafael makes regular appearances with children through programs such as Make-a-Wish Foundation of North Texas, an organization that makes individuals' wishes come true for children with life-threatening illnesses. Rafael also works with the Lena Pope Home in Fort Worth, Texas, which has educated, counseled, sheltered, and improved the lives of literally thousands of children each year. Rafael and his wife, Lynne, have donated generously to the Lena Pope Home and have helped the organization recruit foster parents.

In addition, this past spring, Rafael orchestrated a 2-week reading challenge for students in the Dallas area. Over 15,000 people participated in the 2-week program, and those students who read at least 500 minutes during the contest were entered into a drawing to attend the Rangers June 14 game, after which Rafael was honored for hitting 500 home runs.

Mr. Speaker, only 18 other players in major league baseball history have hit as many home runs as Rafael Palmeiro, and that alone is worthy of commendation by this House. But this resolution particularly honors Rafael's selfless service to his community.

Today, the House of Representatives, and indeed the entire Nation, salutes Rafael Palmeiro for his success, for living the American Dream, and for helping so many children to achieve their own dreams. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the adoption of House resolution 315 that honors both the athletic, as well as the philanthropic, achievements of Rafael Palmeiro.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions) for introducing this worthwhile measure.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the Texas (Mr. Sessions), the sponsor and author of this resolution. Play ball.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart), who will be batting clean-up for our team. The gentleman is a good Cuban-American, a baseball fan who follows the Florida Marlins, the Yankees, and now I know, the Texas Rangers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I also have no other speakers.

Again, I congratulate the gentleman from Texas for introducing this legislation, and I urge all Members to support the adoption of House Resolution 315.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express appreciation to my colleagues for passing H. Res. 315 on September 10, 2003. Most will recall this legislation as recognizing the outstanding feat of Rafael Palmeiro, an alumnus of Mississippi State University (MSU), who hit his 500th homerun as a major leaguer at Arlington Park, Texas, on May 11, 2003.

Also, I want to extend a personal thanks to my good friend Representative Pete Sessions for introducing and sponsoring this legislation.

As most of you know, MSU is the flagship university in Mississippi's Third Congressional District. Located in Starkville, it is known throughout the country for its great baseball tradition under legendary Coach Ron Polk, who began his 30th season in 2002 with an 1165-558-1 career record. He is ranked 8th among active NCAA Division I baseball coaches.

It is with pride in the University, pride in Coach Polk, and pride in Rafael, better known to the MSU family as ``Raffy'' that I present these remarks to identify, and further amplify, the many achievements of this great athlete during his college career.

In addition to the achievements specified in H. Res. 315, ``Raffy's'' college career highlights include:

Three-year starter in left field for MSU.

Set MSU & SEC career record for home runs (67), runs batted in (239) and total bases (530).

Led SEC and ranked second nationally with 29 home runs in 1984.

Led SEC and ranked third nationally with 94 RBI in 1984.

In 1984 became the SEC's first Triple Crown winner, leading the league in batting average (415), home runs (29) and RBI (94).

Named Baseball America's Freshmen of the Year in 1983.

Became SEC's first three-time All American in Baseball.

Helped lead MSU to its highest national finish in baseball (tied for 3rd in 1985).

Named to 1983 SEC All-Tournament Team.

Named to NCAA regional all-tournament teams in 1984 and 1985.

First round draft pick (22nd overall) of the Chicago Cubs (June 1985).

Named All-American in 1983, 1984, and 1985.

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt in my mind that one day in the near future Rafael Palmeiro will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. He is a super star par excellence that we all can relate to. He has proved himself as a great athlete, a great and caring American, a great role model among Cuban-American, and an inspiration to all those seeking the American Dream. Because of his love for baseball, his MSU family, and his country, it gives me great pleasure to join with the full House in congratulating Rafael Palmeiro for hitting his 500th homerun and his outstanding baseball career.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I congratulate my colleagues from Texas for putting forward this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, Rafael Palmeiro continues to climb the all-time home run list. On Tuesday, Aug 26, Palmeiro hit his 521st career home run, tying him for 13th place on the list with Willie McCovey and Ted Williams. Palmeiro has 31 home runs this season and is the sixth player in major league history with 30 or more home runs in nine consecutive seasons.

Born on Thursday, September 24, 1964, Palmeiro began his major league baseball career on September 8, 1986, with the Chicago Cubs. However, Palmeiro did not start out as a power hitter. He hit just 25 homers in 258 games for the Cubs before being traded to the Texas Rangers after the 1988 season. In his first season in Texas, Palmeiro hit 8 homers in 156 games and then led the American league with 191 hits with just 14 homers in 1990. Palmeiro had 203 hits, a league-high 49 doubles and 26 homers in 1991.

As he got stronger, Palmeiro learned to pull the ball and the numbers started to build. He had 37 homers and 105 RBI's in 1993. He then left Texas as a free agent for Baltimore. Palmeiro had 182 homers and 553 RBI's in 742 games over 5 seasons in Baltimore before returning to the Texas Rangers. Along with his homers, Palmeiro also has 3 Gold Gloves at first base. He has never been on the disabled list, averaging 157 games a year since 1988.

Rafael Palmeiro is also very active in the community and has hosted the Raffy Readers reading program and is helping to build a youth baseball field in Colleyville, Texas.

I congratulate Mr. Palmeiro for his contributions to the game of baseball and the community.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), one of the co- sponsors and authors of this resolution and an important leader in this body.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), who, along with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions), is the lead author and sponsor of this important resolution.

(Mr. FROST asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), an important leader, not only on this resolution, but in this body.

(Mr. SERRANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I come to join today in celebrating what is a fabulous career and a fabulous human being. Just think of it, over 15,000 people, men have played professional major league baseball and only 19 have hit over 500 home runs. And Rafael Palmeiro has done it, and this is my personal opinion, in a way that is really unique. He is not 6'5". He is not 250. He is not muscular, but he has one of the prettiest swings you will ever want to see on the baseball field.

Every time he connects, somebody my size wonders how is that ball going to take off, and it always manages to take off; but I also come for a special reason.

Through a dear friend of mine, Juan Gonzalez, the Texas Rangers outfielder, I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Palmeiro this summer and sit with him a couple of hours and speak with him about baseball and other things; but I was amazed at how warm and strong he was in dealing with everybody around him, especially when you are sitting somewhere in public and every fan comes over for an autograph, every fan comes over to talk to you; and he took the time to speak to every child, and he took the time to speak to every fan that came over. That meant a lot to me, but a lot of folks just do not want to be bothered when they play ball, and they take the money. So I wanted to come and join this tribute.

Rafael Palmeiro is without a doubt a future Hall of Famer and he has done it in typically following the American Dream, coming from Cuba looking for a better way, a better life for his family, for himself, as a child, graduating from college, being drafted and playing day after day after day. I am always amazed also at the fact that this man does not ever seem to get hurt. He just continues to play and play and play.

I, like so many other Americans, so many people throughout the world, love the game of baseball. It is part of who I am as a person; and to have him play it the way that he does is just absolutely great, and because I got to know him, I got to even enjoy his baseball even more.

So I want to thank the sponsors on both sides of this resolution. This gentleman really deserves this tribute. He is one of the all-time greats. Baseball

is still, in my opinion, the best game and certainly our greatest export throughout the world and Latin America; and I come to celebrate Mr. Palmeiro today on his career and what would certainly be induction into the Hall of Fame very soon.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Rafael Palmeiro of the Texas Rangers for hitting 500 home runs and to thank him for his outstanding contributions to the local community.

Known both for his powerful swing and golden glove at first base, Raffy, as he is known to many fans, joined an elite club on May 11 when he became only the 19th player in baseball history to hit 500 major league home runs.

Mr. Speaker, Rafael Palmeiro has been a constant example of hard work and quiet dedication to his sport. He is a four-time All-Star and was awarded three consecutive Gold Glove awards from 1997 to 1999. Known for his rock solid dependability, he has never spent a day on the disability list and has missed astoundingly few games each season. With the exception of the strike-shortened 1994 season, he has played an average of 157 games in each 162-game season of his career.

He is currently three home runs short of tying Jimmie Foxx's record of 9 straight years with 35 or more home runs. Since 1993, only Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa have hit more home runs.

Mr. Speaker, Rafael Palmeiro has become a role model for people of all ages. Having fled Cuba with his family in 1991, he remains a hero within the Cuban-American community. Additionally, his dedication to the local community, as we have already heard, for his work with foster children and families in Ft. Worth has made him a leader both on and off the field. My wife, Kathy, and I just recently attended a reception at the ball park sponsored by Raffy on his Shoes for Orphans program, a program that he has spent a great deal of his time on recent years.

Mr. Speaker, I have had the honor of watching Rafael Palmeiro play at the ball park in Arlington in my congressional district. He deserves special recognition for his tremendous achievement and I look forward to the day when he will join the likes of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente in Cooperstown at the baseball Hall of Fame. I know my colleagues will join me today in congratulating him and in wishing him continued success in all of his future endeavors.

I would like to add and note to the management of the Texas Rangers ball club. I hope that the management of our great club will find a way to extend Raffy's contract when it runs out at the end of this year so that he may finish his career as a Texas Ranger.