Congratulating Joe Paterno on his 400th win as Penn State Nittany Lions football head coach.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1715) congratulating Joe Paterno on his 400th win as Penn State Nittany Lions football coach.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on House Resolution 1715 into the Record.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of House Resolution 1715 which congratulates Joe Paterno for his 400th win as head football coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. Coach Paterno achieved this milestone win on November 6, 2010, when the Lions beat out the Northwestern Wildcats. This victory gave him more career wins than any other coach in NCAA Division I-A history.

For 60 years, Coach Paterno has served Penn State, first as an assistant coach for 15 years and then head coach for the past 45 years. In his tenure as head coach, Joe Paterno has garnered two national championships, seven undefeated seasons, 23 finishes in the Top 10 rankings, and three Big Ten Conference championships. His 73.6 percent career winning percentage is second-best among all active Football Bowl Subdivision coaches.

These tangible accomplishments mirror the accomplishments of Paterno's players off the field, which he has facilitated by bolstering Penn State's educational facilities. Coach Paterno emphasizes the importance of education for all of his players. In 2009, the Lions had a Federal graduation rate of 89 percent and graduation success rate of 85 percent, according to the Department of Education, the top rates for any college football team that year. His tutelage has helped Penn State cultivate 15 Hall of Fame scholar athletes, 44 academic All-Americans, and 18 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners.

Coach Paterno is also a winner off the football field. He contributes immensely to the Penn State community through charitable donations and volunteering. He and his wife Sue have personally contributed over $4 million to various departments and colleges within Penn State.

Many of you may not know that his love for sports extends beyond football. Coach Paterno and his wife have been adamant supporters of the Special Olympics and, in fact, are in the Special Olympics Hall of Fame.

He is also the national spokesperson for the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, a group that raises awareness of CMT, a neurological disorder which affects more than 2 million people worldwide. Paterno uses his star power to encourage donations to this worthy cause. At the ``Honor a Star, Be a Star'' Gala in 2009, Coach Paterno raised a record $350,000 for CMT research.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this resolution and once again congratulate Coach Paterno on his 400th win as Penn State Nittany Lions' head football coach. Coach Paterno has excelled as a well- rounded mentor to young players who continue to translate their skills on the football field to rewarding lives after college.

I thank Representative Thompson for his leadership in bringing this resolution forward.

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

It is clear that Coach Paterno is not only an exemplary coach, but he is an exemplary human being and a model to us all. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a living legend who has walked on the sidelines of Penn State football games since 1950, Coach Joe Paterno.

To many who watch football, his name is iconic. Joe Paterno, or JoePa as he is known by many, is forever linked with rolled up khakis and black shoes and thick, broad-rimmed glasses and traditional plain blue and white uniforms with no names on the back.

Since starting at Penn State as an assistant coach in 1950 and becoming head coach in 1966, other college football programs have seen their coaches come and go. In Paterno's tenure at Penn State, Presidents and Congresses have come and gone, dating back to the Dwight Eisenhower administration.

In his build-up to 400 wins, Paterno began winning before many coaches on other teams were born. He has turned Penn State football into a powerhouse program, one of only seven football programs in history to have more than 800 wins.

But what makes Joe Paterno so different and well respected by his fellow coaches, players and fans is the manner in which he led and built the program. Paterno emphasizes success with honor on and off the field.

When asked what the milestone meant to Joe, his wife, Sue Paterno, responded that the milestones were not important to the Penn State coach; but, rather, the most important thing to Joe was, to quote, ``The young men you develop.''

Under Joe Paterno, Penn State has had one of the highest graduation rates in college football. In 2009, the graduation rate was 89 percent, the highest of all football teams in the Associated Press Top 25. Paterno has also had 15 Hall of Fame scholar-athletes, 34 first-team Academic All-Americans with 44 overall, and 18 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners.

Joe Paterno has donated millions of his own money back to Penn State University and helped raise hundreds of millions more for need-based scholarships and libraries, one of which is now named the Paterno Library. He is heavily involved in the Special Olympics and is also a national spokesperson for the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association.

So today we honor Joe Paterno on reaching a historic milestone, his 400th win. He now has the most wins of any coach in Division I-A Football Subdivision history. Along the way he passed other legendary coaches such as Bear Bryant and Bobby Bowden, both of whom Joe Paterno called friends.

At Penn State there is a saying: ``We are Penn State.'' As an alumnus, I know it well and have heard it echo through Beaver Stadium in State College on game day. But what this one coach has done for one school, one program, thousands of players and coaches and the sport altogether has resonated throughout the country. Joe Paterno is Penn State. Joe Paterno is college football.

I urge my colleagues to commend Joe Paterno on this milestone by supporting this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged concurrent resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.