Congratulating the City of Chicago for being chosen to represent the United States in the international competition to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and encouraging the International Olympic Committee to select Chicago as the site of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

I thank the gentlelady from Miami.

Mr. Speaker, this is one of the great opportunities that comes along once in a lifetime, the chance to host the Olympics and Paralympic games.

You know, the Olympic movement is something that I have been a part of most of my life, as a wrestling coach, as an honorary vice president of the American Olympics Games, and as one who worked in the trenches over the years to help found USA Wrestling.

I have always said the Olympic movement is a bright light that brings people together through sports. The game celebrates the spirit of sportsmanship, a spread of a message of unity that inspire generations of children all over this world.

I had the honor and privilege of being at the Munich games and the Montreal games and the L.A. games. Chicago is a unique city. As the previous speaker said, it is the ``city of big shoulders.'' It is a city of the crossroads of our Nation, a city of great architecture, of great beauty and of great people. And it is the commitment of people coming together to say we can do this; the will to succeed, the will to be the hosts to the world and showcase what this country is all about, what our athletes are all about, what the American spirit is all about.

We will see the Olympics coming up in places like China, in Beijing, we will see the Olympics in London, but this is our one chance to bring the Olympics back to this country, to be the host of the world and saying folks, we believe in the Olympic movement, we believe in this great opportunity, but we will do the best in the world to make this happen and to make it a success.

I ask also, ladies and gentlemen, that it is understood that this is the work of a lot of people. I want to congratulate our Mayor Daley and all of the others, Pat Ryan and others, who led up that committee to make sure that they can tell the story to the U.S. Olympic Committee so they would get this.

I urge the adoption of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, this is one of those opportunities that comes along once during a lifetime--the chance to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Olympic movement is something I have been a part of most of my life--as a wrestling coach, as Honorary Vice President of the American Olympic Movement, and as one who worked in the trenches to help fund USA Wrestling.

I have always said that the Olympic movement is a bright light that brings people together through sports. The Games celebrate the spirit of sportsmanship, spread a message of unity, and inspire generations of children all over the world.

For the athletes, it is the ultimate level of competition--the opportunity to test themselves against the best the world has to offer in their respective sports.

A Midwestern city has not hosted the games since St. Louis in 1904, so it's a great honor for Chicago to be selected to represent the United States in the competition for the 2016 games.

And in a bit of irony, Chicago was actually chosen as the host city in 1904, but it was later moved to St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot think of a more welcoming, diverse and inspirational place than Chicago and the State of Illinois to serve as host for the 2016 games.

Over 30 million foreign and domestic visitors come to Chicago every year. It's a city with a rich immigrant history, and we all know what a great sports town it can be. In fact, The Sporting News named Chicago as the best sports city in the United States for 2006.

I want to congratulate Mayor Daley on all his hard work and I look forward to working with him and my colleagues in the Illinois delegation and the Congress to make this bid a reality.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 118) congratulating the City of Chicago for being chosen to represent the United States in the international competition to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games, and encouraging the International Olympic Committee to select Chicago as the site of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to commend our colleague from Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, for introducing this important resolution. His efforts to win our Nation the 2016 Olympic games are greatly appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, the 2004 summer Olympic games in Athens unfolded before the eyes of hundreds of millions of people around the world, with some watching in person, but many more on television every night. It is fair to say that the Athens games were a success, despite fears of terrorism or that key Olympic venues would not be ready. Athens was prepared to receive thousands of athletes and officials from around the world. The Olympic spirit thrived as athletes lived out their dreams.

This resolution before the House seeks to bring the summer Olympic spirit we witnessed in Athens here to America for the first time since 1996 in the Atlanta Olympic games. This measure urges the International Olympic Committee to choose the United States entry of Chicago to host the 2016 summer Olympics.

Mr. Speaker, the Olympics bring together people from all over the world. And when they arrive in Chicago, they will find a culturally diverse city ready and willing to host athletes and spectators from every nation.

Chicago already has developed a public transportation infrastructure to ensure that visitors from the United States and abroad can easily get to the Olympic games. Once in Chicago, athletes and spectators alike will be able to move seamlessly through all Olympic venues and practice facilities.

The Olympic games will be held in the heart of Chicago so that everyone can enjoy Chicago's beautiful waterfront and park system. Hosting the Olympic games will also bring important economic benefits to Chicago and position it to hold important sporting events in the future.

Mr. Speaker, Chicago is a beautiful, thriving American city eager to carry on the Olympic tradition. When the International Olympic Committee meets to choose the site of the 2016 summer games, I urge committee members to choose Chicago.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this resolution, and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the member of the Ways and Means Committee from the Fifth District of Illinois, Rahm Emanuel.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

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

I thank my colleague from Miami. I can think of no other city if Chicago didn't have it than Miami. And also my colleague from New Jersey.

You know, both of you have mentioned something about Chicago's

physical beauty. The reason we are so proud, those of us from Chicago, of hosting the Olympics is not only our physical beauty, but I think you will see the character of our people in this greater part of Chicago, not just the city, but the suburbs, the entire metropolitan community, come together and host this Olympics and be the representation for the United States as we go forward in 2009 and try to win for Chicago and the greater Chicago area the ability to host these Olympics.

We do have a physically beautiful city. Its architecture is world renowned; its lakefront is known to everybody. In fact, Chicago is known as the third coast between both the Pacific on the west side and the Atlantic on the east side. It is known as the third coast in America, sitting on Lake Michigan and part of the Great Lakes. It has a great physical beauty, but its strength comes from the character of the people. And I cannot think of anything better for city that hosts, any time you go to one of its public schools we have across the city 50 some odd languages being spoken, Chinese being spoken in the school, Arabic being taught in the school.

Different languages from all over the world. People come to Chicago. It is the quintessential American city. There is no better place for us to have as our standard bearer for the United States than Chicago for 2016 to host the Olympics. And it is my hope, and great hope, that it would become the city and be the nominee in 2016 in the selection by the Olympic Committee.

You know, Carl Sandburg, the great poet, once said about Chicago, ``Stormy, husky, brawling. We are the city of big shoulders.'' That is Chicago.

We have a great mayor, who is a great mayor of a great city with great people. And you can see it in the pride that everybody felt that we were selected by our colleagues from around the country to be the city to host the 2016 Olympics. Our sports teams, known as the Chicago Cubs, Bulls, Bears, the White Sox, Blackhawks, and the Sky and the Fire, our soccer teams. And I hope, as we go to 2009, that we do have and will receive from the international community the nod to represent the Olympics and show to the rest of the world what all of us know in Chicago and all of those who come to our city know, that we are a great city, with a great mayor, with a great people that will do right by the world in hosting the Olympics.

I want to thank my colleagues for letting me offer this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. I am delighted that I managed to make it here.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and neighbor from the Fifth Congressional District of Illinois, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, for introducing this resolution.

I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 118, congratulating the City of Chicago for being chosen to represent the United States in the international competition to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and encouraging the IOC to select Chicago as the site of the games.

I can speak with some authority on Chicago's qualifications to host those games because I am privileged to represent most of the proposed sites: Soldier Field, the United Center, U.S. Cellular Field, Navy Pier, McCormick Place, Grant Park, Douglas Park, Monroe Harbor, and facilities at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois.

The Olympic Village will rise on land in the Seventh District. And although the site of the future olympic stadium and currently home to the DuSable Museum of African American History, Washington Park is not in my district, it is right adjacent to it.

So with all due modesty, this assemblage of sports facilities is certainly one of the finest in the world. Then you add to that our infrastructure, our world-class architecture, our cultural and historical treasures and our matchless lakefront, and you have yourself the makings of a spectacular set of games.

Now, mix in our sports fan base. The Seventh District is home to the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago White Sox, and the Chicago Blackhawks. Mix in the fact that for the 2006 Chicago Marathon, starting and ending in the district, we had 40,000 runners and 1.2 million spectators. Mix in the fact that Chicago hosted the 2006 International Gay Games. Mix in the fact that Chicago was the first host to the Special Olympics in 1968, and you will understand that our toddlin' town is for sure a sports town.

Mr. Speaker, the Olympic Games are about fierce, all-out athletic competition. But they are also about the greater goals of the Olympic movement: Fairness, peace, education, and friendship. The people of Chicago have a long and proud history of leadership in these struggles, nationally and internationally.

Mr. Speaker, Chicago is ready, willing and able to make America the proud host of the 2016 games. So I join with the mayor of the city, the Governor of the State, all of the business and community leaders in urging passage not only of this resolution, but in urging the Olympic Committee to select Chicago as the site for 2016.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 118.

Last month, the United States Olympic Committee selected Chicago as the official U.S. candidate for hosting the 2016 Olympic games. It's been over 100 years since the Midwest hosted these games, and I am pleased to report that the Nation's heartland is ready, willing and able to do so again.

I have lived in the Chicago area my whole life and I can't imagine a better location for the summer Olympics. The people are welcoming and they are sporting spirit is high. A national hub of water, railroad and air, the ``Windy City'' has a diversity of culture and community that reflects the very best of America. And as host of the 2016 games, Chicago will serve as the Nation's emissary to the world, just as it did once during the World's Fair of 1893.

Director of Works for that historic fair, Daniel Burnham, once famously said, ``Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood, and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans, aim high in hope and work.''

From reversing a river to building the world's tallest tower, Chicagoans have a heritage of big dreams. And in keeping with its motto for the 2016 games, ``Stir the Soul,'' Chicago's visions for the Olympics will be a dream the whole country can share in.

To Mayor Daley, Patrick Ryan, the chairman of the Chicago Olympic Committee and all its members, I would like to extend my personal congratulations. Without their hard work and dedication, securing this nomination would not have been possible.

I thank the gentleman from Chicago (Mr. Emanuel) for sponsoring this resolution and the gentleman from Illinois, our former Speaker Hastert, for his hard work in gaining such attention.

I would also like to thank the efforts of all of our friends on the Illinois delegation, every one of whom helped in this cause tremendously by letters of support and by cosponsoring the resolution before us today.

The International Olympic Committee will be making its final selection in 2009. I invite all my colleagues

from across the Nation to unite behind Chicago and commit to doing our part to bring the 2016 Olympic games back to America.

Mr. Speaker, I support H. Con. Res. 118, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.