To honor the late playwright Arthur Miller and the University of Michigan for its intention of building a theatre in his name.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 216) to honor the late playwright Arthur Miller and the University of Michigan for its intention of building a theater in his name, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 216, the resolution now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 216, which honors the great American playwright Arthur Miller, and also honors the University of Michigan for building a theater in his name. I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Schwarz) for his work on this resolution, and I recognize his contributions to the University of Michigan and its alumni association.

As a talented and brilliant playwright, Arthur Miller was a legend of his time. Most widely known for his work ``Death of a Salesman,'' Miller enjoyed a successful career and earned great celebrity status. Miller's significant contribution to theater and society at large can be felt even today. According to Robert Falls, director of Chicago's Goodman Theater, ``Not a day goes by that, somewhere around the world, one of Miller's plays is not being performed.''

Miller's fame, however, did not come without hard work and an ability to translate the human condition onto the American stage. Throughout his life, he overcame much adversity, and this struggle played out through his many works.

After graduating from high school in 1932, Miller worked in an auto- parts warehouse to earn money for college. Reading great novels by world-famous authors, Miller decided to become a writer. In order to follow this passion, he applied to the University of Michigan in 1934 to study journalism. Ironically, the university initially denied admission to Miller because of his less-than-stellar high school career. He failed algebra three times in high school. (And, of course, that stabs me right in the heart as a scientist!) He gained admittance only after appeal to the dean. After being accepted, however, Miller thrived at the university and won two of the university's prestigious Hopwood Awards for his playwriting.

After graduating in 1938, Mr. Miller returned to New York and launched his career. His first successful play was in 1947 when ``All My Sons'' ran for 328 performances on Broadway. In 1949, Miller won international recognition and a Pulitzer Prize by producing his most famous work, ``Death of a Salesman,'' which is known as one of the major achievements of modern-day theater. The story portrays the tragedy of Willy Loman, a salesman living around the time of World War II, who fails in pursuit of the American Dream. The powerful story is still well known and read today.

Throughout his successful career, Miller maintained his connection to the University of Michigan. He often visited to meet and work with students in the theater program. The university awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1956, and Miller worked with the Alumni Club of New York to establish the Arthur Miller Award for aspiring writers. In 2000, Miller sent a simple postcard to the university allowing it to name a theater after him.

Therefore, it is fitting that Arthur Miller's lasting contributions as a playwright and author will be forever remembered through the Arthur Miller Theater. It is my pleasure to commend the University of Michigan for honoring his memory and impressive accomplishments. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Schwarz), my distinguished colleague.

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

Madam Speaker, I would just like to make a few closing comments. I was struck by the fact that Mr. Miller spent some time working in an auto-parts warehouse. There must be some relationship between that and the University of Michigan because my youngest son also spent some time working at an auto-parts warehouse because he did not intend to go to college or a university. After a short time, he decided to go to college and today is a faculty member in geophysics at the University of Michigan. So for those wishing to succeed at the University of Michigan, they may consider starting to work at an auto-parts warehouse.

I also want to recognize the importance of the preeminent play that Mr. Miller wrote, ``Death of a Salesman.'' Very few works of the theater or cinema have affected me as much as that, simply because it struck me as someone who is a generation removed from the time of that particular play. I was just astounded at the generosity of Willy Loman's neighbor who recognized that Willy was in trouble, tried to help him, and every once in awhile would slip him $20 and say, ``Do not worry about repaying it. Whenever you get it, just give it back to me.''

What struck me about that was there was no widespread social network in those days, and people depended on their neighbors. This is something we have lost today. Handing a neighbor $20 in the 1930s and early 1940s is equivalent to handing them more than $100 today; and how many of us would casually slip $100 to a neighbor and say, Here, do not worry about it, just pay it back when you can. I think that encapsulates the spirit of that era. It was very tough times in the 1930s after the Great Depression, yet everyone helped each other, and that is how we as a Nation survived and became the great Nation we are today.

I have many personal differences with Mr. Miller and his stance and position on various issues, but I think it is appropriate to recognize genius when and where it exists, and it is certainly appropriate for us to honor him today. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to adopt this resolution honoring Mr. Miller and the University of Michigan for its role in naming a theater after him.

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

Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Flint, a fellow University of Michigan graduate, and also another gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).

``After the Fall,'' ``All My Sons,'' ``Death of a Salesman,'' ``The Crucible,'' ``Anatomy of the People,'' ``A View From the Bridge,'' ``The Misfits,'' ``Incident at Vichy,'' ``The Archbishop's Ceiling,'' ``Two-Way Mirror,'' ``The Last Yankee'' and innumerable other works by Arthur Miller, a distinguished graduate of the University of Michigan.

As an individual in the House whose district almost comes up to Ann Arbor, I think I can safely say I represent also the sentiments of the dean of House, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), who represents Ann Arbor, in supporting this resolution.

Arthur Miller was like many students who come to University of Michigan, especially in that era. They came from the eastern part of the United States, came from families that did not have a great deal of wealth, and were extremely hard workers. As alluded to by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), Arthur Miller had an extremely successful career at the university winning the Hopwood Award, an award given to students for the best writing, two times at the university. He graduated and wrote for the Federal Theater Project; and after World War II, he wrote and his magna opus was performed on Broadway, ``Death of a Salesman.''

Subsequent to that, Miller wrote many plays, some made into moving pictures, some performed on Broadway. It is indeed, as the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) indicated, a

very rare day when somewhere in the world an Arthur Miller play is not performed.

As a means of saluting Mr. Miller, then-president of the University of Michigan, now president of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, had the idea that we should build a theater on the University of Michigan campus and name it after Arthur Miller. And as the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) indicated, Arthur Miller, by a postcard to the university, said yes, that would be okay.

So in March 2005, following Mr. Miller's death at the age of 88, the regents of the University of Michigan approved plans to build the Arthur Miller Theater, a 250-seat performing venue on the campus of the University of Michigan; and this resolution honors the late Arthur Miller and the University of Michigan, Mr. Miller for his contributions to American theater, and the University of Michigan, I think, for playing a part in educating Mr. Miller and in recognizing the fact that he indeed was America's greater playwright of the 20th century.

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

Madam Speaker, H. Res. 216 celebrates the life of one of the greatest playwrights of all time. In addition, this resolution rightly recognizes the University of Michigan for naming a theater after this great American.

Arthur Miller was a Pulitzer Prize winner; a recipient of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award; the Nation's most distinguished recognition for the arts, the Kennedy Center Honors. He enriched our country through his great works, including ``Death of a Salesman,'' ``The Crucible'' and ``A View From the Bridge.''

This remarkable man and his remarkable work really took root at the University of Michigan. At age 19 when he came to Michigan, he began to realize his dream was to become a writer. Miller won two of the University of Michigan's prestigious Avery Hopwood Awards while attending the University. Michigan and the entire university were happy to call Arthur Miller one of our most distinguished citizens and alumni.

Madam Speaker, I wanted to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Schwarz) for introducing this resolution. The University of Michigan deserves recognition for naming a theater after this great American. We would be remiss, however, if we did not also recognize the contributions Arthur Miller made to our country and to the world. I urge Members to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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