Honoring the life of Frank McCourt for his many contributions to American literature, education, and culture.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 743) honoring the life of Frank McCourt for his many contributions to American literature, education, and culture.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and add any extraneous materials.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present House Resolution 743 for consideration. This resolution honors the life of Frank McCourt for his many contributions to American literature, education and culture.

The measure before us was introduced on September 14 by my colleagues, Representative Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Mr. Joseph Courtney from Connecticut, and was favorably reported out of the Oversight Committee on October 29, 2009 by unanimous consent. Notably, this measure enjoys the support of over 50 Members of Congress.

At this point, I would like to yield 5 minutes to one of the lead sponsors of this resolution, Mr. Courtney of Connecticut.

Mr. Speaker, the measure before us, as eloquently reported by the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) and also cosponsored by Chris Murphy, honors Francis ``Frank'' McCourt who was born on August 19, 1930, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn where his Irish immigrant parents had hoped to make a better life. In the midst of the Great Depression, Mr. McCourt and his family relocated to Limerick, Ireland, when he was 4 years old, only to sink deeper into poverty.

As noted by Mr. McCourt, his family's circumstances were so dire that he often dreamed of becoming a prison inmate so that he would be guaranteed three meals a day and a warm bed. The death of three of Mr. McCourt's six siblings in early childhood, his father's abandonment, and his family's continued poverty are only some of the hardships that plagued Mr. McCourt's childhood at the age of 19, when Mr. McCourt took his savings and boarded a ship for New York.

Following a number of jobs, Mr. McCourt joined the United States Army and was subsequently stationed in Germany during the Korean War. While his formal education ended at the age of 13, Mr. McCourt nonetheless gained admission to New York University and earned a degree in English education in 1957 on the GI bill. One year later, Mr. McCourt began teaching at the age of 28 at Ralph McKee Vocational High School on Staten Island, thus beginning his 30-year career teaching in the New York City public school system.

After earning a master's degree in English from Brooklyn College in 1967, Mr. McCourt began teaching creative writing at Manhattan's highly selective Stuyvesant High School in 1972 where he remained until his retirement in 1987. Through his popular teaching style and his initial literary endeavors, Mr. McCourt became a beloved teacher at Stuyvesant and was known throughout the school as someone that you needed to meet if you wanted to become a writer. The fact that several of his former students went on to become writers stands as a testament to the impact of Mr. McCourt's teaching.

In 1977, Mr. McCourt and his brother, Malachy, adapted their series of autobiographical sketches into a two-man play that opened off Broadway, and they subsequently took the play to several other cities. This project motivated Mr. McCourt to continue his reflections on his past, and he put pen to paper and began work on his childhood memoirs following his retirement from teaching.

1996 marked the publication of Mr. McCourt's Pulitzer-Prize winning memoir, ``Angela's Ashes.'' Detailing the challenges and impact that his childhood had on his life and the life of the people of Limerick, Mr. McCourt's beautifully written and honest tale struck a powerful chord with people of all ages and backgrounds.

The book's most famous passage begins with Mr. McCourt saying, ``When I look back on my childhood, I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: The happy childhood is hardly worth your while.''

Not only did his story have an effect on his readers, it also touched Mr. McCourt himself. He said of writing ``Angela's Ashes'' that he ``learned the significance of my own insignificant life.'' He followed ``Angela's Ashes'' with two more books detailing his life, including ``Teacher Man'' about his life as a public school teacher.

Regrettably, Mr. McCourt passed away on July 19, 2009, at the age of 78. He is survived by his wife, Ellen Frey McCourt; his brothers, Malachy, Alphie and Mike; his daughter, Maggie McCourt; and his three grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, let us remember and honor Frank McCourt for inspiring and influencing millions with his works and for his contributions to education through the passage of this resolution.

I urge all my colleagues to join us in supporting House Resolution 743, and I reserve the balance of my time.

At this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop).

I thank the gentleman from Utah for his kind remarks, and I want to thank both the gentlemen from Connecticut, Mr. Courtney and Mr. Murphy, and also the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop) for their wonderful work and leadership on this resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for his efforts to bring this resolution to the floor today honoring a great American, a great writer and a great human being. As the cosponsorship indicates, there is a Connecticut thread through this resolution because at the time of his passing, Frank lived in Roxbury, Connecticut, where a memorial service was held just a few weeks ago. Congressman Chris Murphy attended that service and would have liked to be here but had some business back in his district, so I want to at least convey his strong support for this resolution because of the strong feeling within northwestern Connecticut where Frank resided and just the love and affection that the people of that State, which was kind of his adopted State, had for Frank.

As the resolution indicates, Frank had an amazing American life. He was born in the U.S. but moved as an infant back to Ireland. He was raised in Limerick which became the subject of ``Angela's Ashes,'' a book that won prizes from all over the world, was translated into 17 languages and was read in over 27 countries. He later moved back to the U.S., served in the U.S. Army, actually through the GI bill got his education, became a teacher, and then, again, an amazing story of becoming an undiscovered pearl as a writer late in life when he published ``Angela's Ashes'' in his sixties, and again became an internationally acclaimed author.

It's a book that's about a very sort of small slice of humanity. It is a story about childhood poverty in Limerick, a relatively small to medium size city in Ireland back in the 1950s. You would think it would have a very small audience. But because of Frank's amazing gifts, he was able to write a story that really touched people from all over the world about the challenges that families face under the most difficult circumstances. And ultimately, although a very harsh account of his life, it is an inspiring book as well about his mother, Angela McCourt.

He then wrote a second book called ``Tis'' which was a story really about immigration coming back to the U.S. really as almost a native Irish citizen at the time and fending his way through America. Again, it is a story which was full of some pretty rough scenes, but at the end of the day, it really is an American story about

someone coming to this country, being able to have the opportunity to pursue their dreams and to have the tools and opportunity, again, to become an extremely successful teacher.

And that was the third book, ``Teacher Man,'' which is a story about him going into the public school system of New York City. His story about his first day in the classroom is something that every teacher I have ever talked to has described as one of the most amazingly accurate accounts of the fear that you feel walking into a classroom and trying to figure out a way to connect and in his instance, again, someone with a heavy Irish brogue, a kind of a timid soul going into a tech school to teach creative writing and English composition, it is hilarious. I recommend it to anyone who has the time to read that amazing story.

Frank, again, as someone who had a second career in life as a writer, was somebody who shared that experience. He raised money for charities all over the U.S. He supported people in the community like Chris Murphy and myself out on the campaign trail.

I would just close by saying that one of my most vivid moments as a new Member of Congress is the day we invited Frank to come to the Hill. We set up a little breakfast at the Members' dining room and invited Members to come. He sat there in a room with complete strangers. Obviously, Members of Congress have pretty big egos and like to talk themselves. But you could have heard a pin drop. He told stories, told jokes and charmed people for an hour and a half. And it was just magic.

That really was what Frank was. He was somebody who because of his amazing imagination and his humanity and sense of humor was able to walk into a room full of strangers and just completely charm them and transform them. It's a memory that I think the Congress does well to memorialize and honor today. As we deal with issues like immigration and education, his example, I think, is an inspiring one for all of us who are involved in these challenges. His life really tells us that we are a great country and we can succeed if we give people the opportunities to blossom and show what they are really made of.

With that, I urge support of the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 743 which honors the life and work of accomplished Pulitzer-prize winning author Frank McCourt. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this important resolution.

Frank McCourt was an exceptional author and educator whose contributions are valued throughout America. He is remembered for his great literary masterpieces, including his well known autobiography, ``Angela's Ashes,'' which tells his story of growing up in the slums of Brooklyn, New York and Limerick City, Ireland.

Frank McCourt's life is the story of a true American Dream. As a child of Irish immigrants, McCourt grew up during the depression and faced many grave challenges. McCourt was abandoned by his father, who was an alcoholic, at an early age. The family had seven children, three of whom died from disease. McCourt found himself struggling to hold down a job in order to feed his mother and surviving siblings. He worked to provide a stable and healthy environment for his family during a time of worldwide economic depression.

McCourt dropped out of school at the age of 13 and worked a series of janitorial jobs in New York hotels. After serving in the United States Army, Frank McCourt was granted a formal education at New York University even though he never received the required high school diploma.

Frank McCourt's professional career began as an educator in 1958 when he landed his first job teaching English at Ralph R. McKee Career & Technical High School (McKee) located in my district of Staten Island, New York. McCourt went on to teach in the New York City Public school system for 27 years. McCourt always had a passion for creative writing and storytelling, and it was through his work at McKee high school where he developed the idea for ``Angela's Ashes.''

Frank McCourt was once quoted in an interview saying that, ``children are the most precious material we have in our country.'' McCourt was a great example of a dedicated teacher and was an outspoken advocate for education. McCourt viewed teaching as the single most important profession in the country because teachers pave the way for our children's future and enhance their lives.

When Frank McCourt passed away earlier this year, our Nation lost a great man, teacher, author, and friend. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 743 to honor the life, work and contributions of Frank McCourt.

I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding, and I thank the authors of this resolution.

Frank McCourt is justifiably known to the country and to the world primarily as a writer. I knew him as a teacher. Prior to coming to the Congress, I was the provost of South Hampton College of Long Island University, and we offered a master's in the fine arts program in creative writing. We hired Frank McCourt to teach in that program. He taught in that program every summer from 2002 through 2008, and he was preparing to teach in the summer of 2009 when he died.

To describe him as a great teacher is to not do him justice. He was an extraordinary teacher. He was inspiring,

he was inspired, he was engaging, and he was incredibly effective. The workshop that he offered was called Memoir Writing, and it was always the most heavily subscribed of all of the workshops we offered. There was always a waiting list. Alan Alda worked on his memoirs as a student in Frank McCourt's memoir writing class. Anne Bancroft, prior to her passing, was a student in Frank McCourt's memoir writing class.

That class was really a textbook in how much to teach, how to engage students, how to turn them on to a subject matter, and how to get the most out of them--the very essence of teaching--and he did it with enormous humor, with great charm, and was almost effortless in his ability to connect with students.

So I certainly hope that the Congress will unanimously pass this resolution. He was a man richly deserving of any accolade that he might receive. He will be terribly missed. He serves as an example of what good teaching is and how valuable good teaching is to our Nation's students.

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

Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join us in honoring the late Frank McCourt, best remembered for his Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, ``Angela's Ashes.''

Born in 1930 in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. McCourt was actually a public school teacher for nearly 30 years who taught English. He was a veteran, drafted into the Army during the Korean War, and used the GI bill to enroll in New York University. He also earned a master's degree from Brooklyn College.

Throughout his nearly 30-year career teaching, Mr. McCourt taught at McKee High School in Staten Island, Stuyvesant High School in New York City, at New York City Technical College and at the City University of New York.

It was only in his mid sixties that Mr. McCourt finally sat down and chronicled his childhood memories. Despite Mr. McCourt's insistence that it was ``a modest book, modestly written,'' ``Angela's Ashes'' became an overnight, word-of-mouth success. It was made into a motion picture in 1999. Mr. McCourt received the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critic Circle Award for his work.

Mr. McCourt passed away this past July 19, and today, we honor the contributions he made not only to America's educational system but also to American culture and American literature.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no additional speakers, but I would urge the passage of House Resolution 743. It's an honor for me to participate in these proceedings, and I urge the adoption of this resolution.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.