Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday, March 25th, the people of Greece celebrated the 185th anniversary of their independence from the Ottoman Empire.

As the brilliant Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote in the preface to Hellas in 1821, ``We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts, have their root in Greece.'' Nowhere is this more true than in America, a country crafted to embody the vision and ideals of the ancient Greeks, and home to more than three million citizens of Greek decent.

The building in which we now stand, along with many prominent structures in our Nation's Capital, draws heavily on the architecture of ancient Greece, and is a fitting tribute to the civilization that provided the model for our own democratic experiment. America's founders were deeply inspired by the heroic individualism of Homer's epic poetry, the search for truth embodied by Socrates, and the passion for justice that guided Greek political theory.

The American Revolution was driven by the Greek idea that the authority to govern derives directly from the people, and this successful assertion of autonomy in turn inspired Greece to declare its independence on March 25, 1821, after nearly 400 years of rule by the Ottomans. Weeks later, the Messinian Congress sent a letter to then Secretary of State John Quincy Adams asking for moral support, asserting: ``Your virtues, Americans, are close to ours, although a broad sea separates us.'' In response, stirring speeches by President James Monroe and Daniel Webster led the Congress to send funds and supplies to aid the Greeks and motivated many Americans to fight alongside the Greeks in their struggle for freedom.

Today, history, mutual respect, and shared values continue to strengthen the alliance between Greece and the United States. After fighting side-by-side in every major war of the 20th century, we are now united in the war against terror that poses a threat to liberty and justice everywhere. Together we have stood up to the forces of oppression in conflicts from World War II to the Persian Gulf, we have joined as strategic partners in NATO, and are working to build peace, stability, and democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Unfortunately, not all Greeks are celebrating their independence this week. In one of the most militarized regions in the world, members of the Greek Cypriot community continue to live under conditions of oppression, harassment, and deprivation imposed by some 35,000 Turkish soldiers. I am disturbed that Turkey continues to defy the international community and the U.N. resolutions with its policies towards Cyprus.

If a solution to Cyprus can be finalized it would reshape the eastern Mediterranean and could lead to an improvement in relations between Greece and Turkey. I am saddened by the persistence of tensions between these two neighbors, both of which are strong friends of the United States and vital partners in NATO and the war on terror. I hope that a negotiated agreement will soon be reached, so that Greeks everywhere can realize the inherently human desire for freedom.

I also support the reunification of the remains of one of the most magnificent and best-known monuments in the world: the Parthenon. I welcome the announcement last month that the British and Greek governments have engaged the Director General of UNESCO to lead a cooperative approach to resolving the issue of the Parthenon Marbles. I congratulate both parties for the shift in focus from contentious restitution to cooperative reunification and look forward to the opening of the New Acropolis Museum, where all the Sculptures will be displayed as close to their original position as possible.

The United States' kinship with the Greek people was reflected in the enthusiasm with which America embraced modern Greece's fight for independence 179 years ago. Similarly, the American ideal of freedom has drawn generations of Greek men and women to America's shores. Today we celebrate and give thanks for the contributions Greek Americans and their devotion to family, faith, community, and country that has enriched our Nation.

Through decades of challenge and change, the shared admiration, cooperation, and friendship between Greece and the United States has endured and deepened, and together we have proved the fundamental truth of the Greek proverb, ``The passion for freedom never dies.'' Today we reaffirm that sentiment and our commitment to promoting liberty, democracy, and justice in America, in Greece, and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great joy and admiration that I wish the people of Greece a happy Independence Day and continued freedom and prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Federal Judicial Fairness Act of 2006''--bipartIsan legislation to correct the current inequity in our compensation system for federal judges. I am pleased that Representative Judy Biggert has joined me in this effort, as we both serve as Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on the Judicial Branch.

Mr. Speaker, the federal judiciary is an integral part of our democracy, providing an important check to the other branches and protecting the rights of the American people. However, if certain steps are not taken, we risk compromising the quality of our judiciary. The salary of federal judges has decreased by almost 40 percent since 1969 compared with the private sector. Consequently, judges have been leaving the federal bench in increasing numbers, many before reaching retirement age, and a large proportion leaving to work for private law firms.

Members of Congress, for a variety of reasons, have determined that it would not be appropriate to give themselves pay raises on an annual basis. Since judicial salary increases for justices and judges are linked with the salaries of Members of Congress, federal judges have also been denied a cost-of-living adjustment in the 5 of the last 13 years that Congress voted to deny themselves one.

Several reports over the last few years have specifically recommended that salary adjustments for Members and judicial officials be determined separately. In 2003, a report by the National Commission on the Public Service (the Volcker Commission), cited ``the compelling need to recruit and retain the best people possible'' to serve on the federal judiciary and urged Congress to move on ``an immediate and substantial increase in judicial salaries,'' since ``the lag in judicial salaries has gone on too long, and the potential for the diminished quality in American jurisprudence is now too large.''

The late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, William Rehnquist, also frequently stated that inadequate compensation seriously compromises the judicial independence fostered by life tenure and risks affecting judicial performance. His views were recently echoed by new Chief Justice Roberts in his Year-End Report where he stated the following:

``There will always be a substantial difference in pay between successful government and private sector lawyers. But if that difference remains too large--as it is today--the judiciary will over time cease to be made up of a diverse group of the Nation's very best lawyers. Instead, it will come to be staffed by a combination of the independently wealthy and those following a career path before becoming a judge different from the practicing bar at large. Such a development would dramatically alter the nature of the federal judiciary.''

The ``Federal Judicial Fairness Act of 2006'' will address this issue and restore equity. Specifically, the bill provides for the following:

1. Termination of Linkage to Congressional Pay--the bill terminates the linkage of congressional pay increase to judicial pay increases, so that Congress's decision to deny itself pay raises will not also place that burden on Federal judges.

2. Partial Catch-Up Increase in Judicial Compensation--the bill increases the salaries of all Federal judges by 16.5 percent, to partially make up for the decline in real pay for judges over the last three decades. In 2003, both President Bush and the late Chief Justice Rehnquist agreed that a pay adjustment of at least 16.5 percent was needed.

3. Annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments--the bill would provide Federal judges with annual cost-of-living adjustments based on the Employee Cost Index, the index already used by the Federal Government to keep Federal salaries in line with inflation.

This important legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senators Feinstein, Leahy, and Kerry. Mr. Speaker, if Congress does not provide reasonable compensation adjustments nor address the growing pay disparity between judges and other members of the legal profession, the quality of our judiciary will be compromised.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) for yielding to me. Once more I thank him for leading these Blue Dog hours each week and for the tremendous job he does in trying to balance our budget here in the Nation's Capital, as well as look out for those constituents back in Arkansas.

I wanted to join the gentleman from Arkansas and raise a number of concerns with the way that we are handling the Nation's budget, talk about some of the reforms that the Blue Dogs have been advocating. Let me just start out by talking about the budget picture. The chart that you have put up, Mr. Ross, really tells the story of the trillions of dollars' worth of debt we have acquired, the fact that for every man, woman and child in the country, we now owe $28,000.

I was out in my district last week talking to a group of school kids. They were asking me, what would I like to see different about the way the country is run. I said, well, for one thing, I would like to see us balance our budget.

Right now, we are spending your money, I told this young man. We are spending so much of your money, that when you graduate from college, if you graduated tomorrow, in addition to your student loans, you would owe the

country $28,000. By the time you actually graduate from college, it will probably be, on the present course, much more than that.

Now, why is it that we have this debt? Well, the bottom line is, we are spending money faster than it is coming in, and you can't vote. We are spending your money, because you cannot object. That just is not right.

Now, how did we get to this situation? I think we got here through some very creative accounting. It used to be that when we calculated our debt, we looked at a 10-year window. But the 10-year picture got so bleak, we decided that, no, we will start looking at, instead, a 5-year window. We won't look at what happens beyond 5 years because the debt just grows so large.

In fact, what we started to do is we started to craft some of the revenue and tax measures here so that they would balloon in the outyears, so the impact on the budget would take place in the outyears, so that if we only looked at the narrow 5-year window, we didn't see how bad the picture got when the full effect of our policies took place 5 to 10 or 15 years from now.

But we did more than that. When the administration, for example, says that their plan will balance or cut the debt in half over the next 5 years, they are taking great poetic license with certain assumptions about what will happen in the next several years. For example, the administration's budget, the one they say that will get us to cut the deficit in half in the next 5 years, ignores the costs of the Iraq war after the end of this year.

That makes an assumption I think we would all like to make that there won't be any further war costs after December 31, but that is not a realistic assumption. Even if the last troops have come home by then, there are still billions and billions of dollars to repair, to maintain, to replace the equipment that has been degraded in Iraq.

More than that, we have to prudently expect that the expenses of the Iraq war are not going to come to an end on December 31. Even if all the troops came home, those expenses would not come to an end then.

What other fictions are we using in the budget process? Well, we are assuming that nothing is done about the alternative minimum tax. This tax that was started in the 1970s and was designed to apply to only a few families in the country was never indexed for inflation.

The basic theme behind that, or the theory of that, wasn't a bad theory, it was that several of the largest, wealthiest families in the country shouldn't escape any form of tax because they used a clever combination of tax loopholes. There ought to be some alternative minimum calculation. What was designed to and did apply only to a handful of families in the 1970s, because it was never indexed for inflation, now is applying to millions of people.

This cannot be left unchecked. If the AMT is not fixed, then all of the tax cuts that were given in the last several years will be completely wiped up and replaced with a very large middle-class tax increase.

Now, the administration knows this is a problem that has to be dealt with, but it is very expensive to fix this problem. It is going to require that we deal, very frankly, with some of the different budget priorities that we haven't been willing to deal with.

But by ignoring the impending AMT problem, by ignoring the ongoing costs of the war in Iraq, by narrowing the budget window that we are looking at from 10 years to 5 years, by engaging in these kinds of smoke and mirrors, by taking certain costs off the books, we can present to the country a budget picture which is not reflective of reality.

It doesn't show what dire fiscal straits we are really in. It is one of the reasons why I am so grateful for the work you are doing, Mr. Ross, to point out to the country just how bad it has got in terms of our fiscal picture to promote the Blue Dog's 12-point plan, part of which is very simple, that is, when you are in a hole the way we are, stop digging.

That is part of our PAYGO proposal that says that we want to stop the hemorrhaging, that when we agree to new spending on this House floor, we should find a way to offset that cost so that we do it in a revenue- neutral way. When we agree on new tax cuts, we should find a way to do that in a revenue-neutral way, either by cutting spending or raising revenues somewhere else.

PAYGO, pay-as-you-go, basically says there is no free lunch, and, indeed, there isn't, as you can see by the fact that every man, woman and child in this country now owes $28,000. From 2001 to 2003, just a couple-year period, the total government spending soared by 16 percent. We are trying to put a lid on those kinds of increases.

We are trying to urge that the Federal Government simply use accounting practices that the biggest and the best firms in the country have to use. The GAO did a study that showed that 16 of 23 major Federal agencies can't do a simple audit of their own books. Can you imagine, Mr. Ross, if one of the companies back in your district or mine did their accounting, if they were a public company, they did their accounting the way that the Federal Government does, how long it would be before they were indicted before a Federal grand jury? It wouldn't be long at all.

Now, why is it that we can require transparency and accountability and honest bookkeeping among our private firms in the interests of their shareholders, in the interests of their employees, but we don't seem to require it of the country itself? We haven't set aside funds for a rainy day.

It is something that most businesses do, it is something that most families do, so that when these tragedies occur, when we have natural disasters, when we have man-made disasters, we have some reserve to go back to. It makes infinite sense.

The economy is a cyclical phenomenon. We ought to have something stored away for a rainy day for when we are in a down part of the cycle. That is only prudent planning. That is part of the Blue Dog plan. We shouldn't hide the votes on this House floor when we are going to raise the debt.

Most Americans are unaware of the fact that the national debt is a little bit like a credit card debt. When we want to raise the national debt, that is when we want to authorize the administration to borrow more money. We have to vote to authorize it the same away that when people want to borrow more on their credit card they have to contact the credit card company and ask them to raise the limit.

How do we do that around here? Well, do we have an up or down vote where we can force people to go on the record and vote either to raise the national debt or against raising the national debt? No, we do more of that smoke and mirrors. We make it a procedural vote on top of a procedural vote on top of a procedural vote. Unless you are a sleuth, there is no way to find out that we have, in fact, voted to raise the debt on all Americans.

We shouldn't hide those votes. We should be open about those votes. We should be held accountable for those votes; and maybe, maybe, if each and every Member had to come to this House floor and defend a vote to raise the debt, we could compel the adoption of sound fiscal practices like pay-as-you-go.

I would love to see that. I would love to be able to join my Blue Dog colleagues and offer an amendment to a motion to raise the national debt that says, all right, we will agree to a short-term increase in the national debt provided that we adopt pay-as-you-go rules, provided that we come back here in a short period of time, we see what action the administration, the Congress are taking, that we don't raise the national debt by great leaps and bounds that let us off the hook for a year at a time, but, rather, give us only a short leash to get our fiscal house in order to show that we are diligently working on it.

These are some of the reforms the Blue Dogs are advocating. They were good public policy. They would enjoy, I believe, bipartisan support if we had the chance to actually vote on these proposals. And I want to compliment my colleague for all of his leadership on this issue.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Amedee Richards, Jr., a treasured member of the South Pasadena community who died Thursday at the age of 84. He was a great man who served for many years as mayor, councilman, and as a small business owner, and he will long be remembered for his influential leadership and the preservation of South Pasadena.

Dick Richards was one of the first people I sought out years ago to get his advice on issues important to the city. He and I shared a background in law enforcement. He was an FBI agent, and I was a Federal prosecutor and we instantly hit it off. Over the years, I continued to turn to him and always valued his thoughtful counsel.

He led many communities endeavors, founding the South Pasadena Relay For Life, serving as President of the Mission West Association, and later, as a founding member of the New South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. With his wife, Clara, he also opened Family Fair, a gift and candy store, as well as Buster's Ice Cream and Coffee Shop, which both immediately became South Pasadena landmarks. He also helped to start the weekly Farmers' Market in the Mission West District.

I want to express my sincere condolences to the entire family. Sadly, that tremendous family lost another member in the last few days. Dick's eldest son, Amedee III, passed away on Monday morning. My heart goes out to the entire Richards family, Dick's wife, Clara, two sons, six daughters and 15 grandchildren.

Dick called South Pasadena a kind of oasis. In this time of immense grief, I hope our community is comforted in knowing that Dick's legacy as a devoted public servant will live on in the vibrant oasis that he helped to create in South Pasadena.

I rise today to honor Amedee ``Dick'' Richards Jr., a treasured member of the South Pasadena community, who died Thursday at the age of 84. He was a great man who served for many years--as mayor, councilman, and as a small business owner--and will long be remembered for his influential leadership in the preservation of South Pasadena.

Dick Richards was one of the first people I sought out years ago for advice on issues important to the city. He and I shared a background in law enforcement (he was an FBI agent, and I was a federal prosecutor) and we instantly hit it off. Over the years, I continued to turn to him and always valued his thoughtful counsel. His work, his family, and indeed his life are tremendous examples of what makes South Pasadena such a strong community.

He led many community endeavors, founding the South Pasadena Relay for Life (an annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society), serving as President of the Mission West Association, and later as a founding member of the New South Pasadena Chamber of

Commerce. With his wife Clara, he also opened Family Fair, a gift and candy store, as well as Buster's Ice Cream and Coffee Shop, which both immediately became instant South Pasadena landmarks. He also helped to start the weekly Farmers' Market in the Mission West District in 1999.

Dick was a man respected and admired by his colleagues and peers. Serving on the South Pasadena City Council from 1989 to 1997, he was admired for both his integrity and courage, always voting his conscience. Dick called South Pasadena a ``kind of an oasis'' and sought to preserve the small town characteristics that made it unique. Those who worked with him considered themselves fortunate, and as current Mayor Odom Stamps has acknowledged, Dick has ``huge shoes that no one person will even remotely fill.''

He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1922 and graduated from Boston University in 1943. He then entered the Naval Reserve, serving during World War II in the Pacific theater as an ensign on a mine- sweeper. After WWII, he joined the FBI working specifically on Mafia cases and investigating the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. He retired from the FBI in 1977, founding Family Fair that same year.

I want to express my sincere condolences to his entire family. And sadly, this tremendous family lost another member in the last few days. Dick's eldest son, Amedee III, passed away on Monday morning. My heart goes out to the entire Richards family, Dick's wife Clara, 2 sons, 6 daughters, and 15 grandchildren.

In this time of immense grief, I hope that our community is comforted in knowing that Dick's legacy as a devoted public servant will live on in the vibrant ``oasis'' that he created in South Pasadena.

Madam Speaker, last week was one of extraordinary triumph for the Nation's space program. On Thursday, NASA announced that the Cassini spacecraft may have found evidence of liquid water reservoirs that erupt in Yellowstone-Like geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus. This stunning announcement was followed the next day by the successful orbital insertion of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter around the Red Planet.

I stand before the House today to celebrate these incredible technological achievements and wondrous scientific discoveries, but most of all, to honor those who made it possible, the men and women of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology, has designed, built and controlled many of America's most successful unmanned space craft. JPL has pioneered our exploration of space from Explorer 1, America's first satellite, to Ranger and Surveyor craft that paved the way for Apollo to the Voyager spacecraft that explore the outer planets and are still continuing to send back data even as they leave our solar system.

JPL missions have increased our comprehension beyond anything even contemplated half a century ago. Every American space probe that has visited another body our solar system was managed by JPL. Through the wonders of technology, we have circled Jupiter with Galileo, sampled a comet with Stardust and rolled across the surface of Mars with spirit and opportunity. Cassini, which has been orbiting Saturn for just over 18 months, has transmitted stunning photographs and invaluable data on Saturn and its moons, while the Mar's Reconnaissance Orbiter, which will begin its science mission later this year, is expected to transmit more information about Mars than all of our previous Mars missions combined.

JPL's spectacular missions have not only brought us incalculable scientific data; they have also sustained American's interest in space flight, especially the Mars missions.

Now, as NASA prepares to accelerate the development of the Crew Exploration Vehicle and moves forward with plans to return humans to the Moon, the space agency and Congress must take care to continue to provide adequate resources to support the robotic exploration of space that is JPL's specialty.

Over the past months, NASA has worked to put into place a comprehensive program aimed at realizing the President's goal of landing an American on Mars. This is an ambitious and worthy goal, but the technological and physiological challenges, not to mention the cost, mean that it may be decades before an American walks on the Martian surface.

In the interim, we can continue to explore the Red Planet and our neighbors with relatively inexpensive probes that are better equipped than humans to survive the extreme hardship of long-duration space travel.

Madam Speaker, as we consider the future of our space program, I urge NASA and my colleagues not to deprive JPL, one of the crown jewels of American science and technology, of adequate resources. The Mars program is one of the centerpieces of JPL's focus and the lab has several exciting missions planned for the next couple decades.

But even as JPL unlocks the secrets of our planetary neighbors, it is poised to begin an ambitious search for habitable worlds around the stars, a search that will help to answer one of humankind's oldest questions: Are we alone in the universe?

SIM PlanetQuest scheduled for launch in the middle of the next decade will precisely determine the distances to stars throughout our galaxy and will probe nearby stars for Earth-sized planets. SIM will open a window to a new world of discoveries.

The Mars program and SIM PlanetQuest are ambitious and resource- intensive missions with long lead times. JPL has also been a leading NASA center for the Explorer that in the past has offered opportunities to carry out small and medium-sized missions that can be developed and launched in a short timeframe.

The Explorer program engages academia, industry, NASA centers and government labs in strong partnerships that provide young engineers, scientists, and managers the opportunity to develop and gain valuable experience on missions from inception to launch.

Unfortunately, as a result of budget cuts over the last few years, this important program is quietly being phased out. But I believe that we must consider the significant and damaging effect this will have on NASA's scientific and technological program.

I am especially concerned about the recent decision to terminate the NuSTAR mission before its interim confirmation review. This action will have permanent damaging consequences as it is causing the scientific community as well as industry to question the reliability of NASA as a partner and the wisdom of investing internal resources in the proposal development process.

The termination calls NASA's commitment to the peer review selection process into serious question and illustrates, in my view, a lack of appreciation of the serious investment made by the team at NASA to date.

While I understand that NASA is facing difficult budgetary decisions, the priorities must be set, it would be a severe blow to NASA science to allow such a low-cost, productive, and unique program like Explorers to be so severely cut. In particular the unprecedented action taken with NuSTAR will have lasting consequences for all future competed missions.

Madam Speaker, the decisions we make this year will have profound implications for the future of America's space program. Even as we celebrate JPL's most recent successes, I urge NASA and my colleagues to work to ensure JPL's leadership in exploring our solar system and the Universe beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Sharon Martinez, of Monterey Park, CA. Each year in March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our Nation's women.

Sharon was born, raised, and educated in Monterey Park. She received her bachelor's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California, and her master's degree in public administration in management from the University of Southern California.

Inspired to help residents find jobs in the community, Ms. Martinez founded SMART Staffing Services, a woman and minority owned employment agency that specializes in clerical, bilingual and promotional staffing, originally opened in Monterey Park and now located in Alhambra. SMART Staffing Services, of which Sharon is president, now serves the greater Los Angeles area including Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura.

Sharon's list of community involvement is impressive. A current councilmember and former mayor of Monterey Park, her past activities include serving as a board member of the Latin Business Association, West San Gabriel Valley YMCA, Monterey Park Art & Culture Commission, Library Board, national vice president of Young Adults of the League of the United Latin American Citizens, and former secretary of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality.

An appointed member of the Los Angeles County Commission on Local Government, Sharon is currently involved in the Monterey Park/Rosemead Soroptimist International, Monterey Park Rotary, San Gabriel Valley Council of Government, Monterey Park Library Foundation, the San Gabriel Valley Animal Control Authority, Boy Scouts of America--Mission Amigos District Board, Monterey Park Chamber of Commerce, and the Monterey Park Hospital Board. Sharon's goal is to have a direct voice in improving the quality of life for our community and especially to see improvements in the employment industry.

Ms. Martinez has received several awards including Assembly Member Judy Chu's 2003 Latina Business Women of the Year, Business and Professional Women's 2003 Business Woman of the Year Award, ``Woman of Promise'' Award, and ``Latina Entrepreneur of the Year'' Award. She was featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the ``20 Up & Coming Latino Women.''

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring an extraordinary woman of Calfornia's 29th Congressional District, Sharon Martinez.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Seta Simonian, of Glendale, California. Each year In March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women.

Ms. Simonian's community involvement demonstrates her devotion to education and art, because she believes in promoting and preserving the treasures and the beauty of Armenian culture and heritage.

Seta was born in Aleppo, Syria, and at age 11 moved to Beirut, Lebanon. Upon graduating from the American University of Beirut at the age of 22, she married Hratch Simonian. The Simonians lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for 8 years, then moved to California in 1985. Since 1987, Seta, her husband, and their two children, Karin and Sebouh, have resided in Glendale, California.

Soon after moving to California, Ms. Simonian cofounded and chaired the Hamazkayin Educational and Cultural Society of Pasadena. She is a current member of Arvest and Artee Cultural Groups of Hamazkayin, and since 1994, has been the chair of the Hamazkayin Music Committee which collaborates with artists in Armenia and releases authentic CDs and classical Armenian music. She is currently an assistant for the Hamazkayin Student Forum held in Armenia every summer. Seta served as an Anchor for Horizon Armenian TV in Glendale for three years. A cofounder of the Committee of Armenian Students in the Public Schools, she is also a member of the Armenian Cultural Foundation, Armenian Educational Foundation, Armenian International Women's Association, the National Education Association, and the California and Glendale Teachers' Associations.

Seta received her bachelor's degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut, and a master's in education administration from California State University Los Angeles. She has a teaching diploma, a bilingual teaching certificate, and has completed an Armenian Studies program.

A wonderful role model for her students, Seta has been a teacher for over 30 years and is currently teaching math at Wilson Middle School in Glendale.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Seta Simonian.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ms. Pat Maguire Freeman, of San Gabriel, California. Each year in March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women.

Pat was born in San Francisco in 1940. Since her father was a career army officer, she was raised throughout the world, including the Philippines and Germany, where she attended high school. After attending the University of California Berkeley, she married Lee Freeman in 1961 and they moved to San Gabriel in 1965, where they currently reside. The Freemans have 3 children, Noel, Amber, Roger, and Dawn Myers, their foster daughter and seven grandchildren.

Ms. Freeman has been active in many different community organizations. Some past activities include being an Adult Leader for Methodist Youth Fellowship, a Camp Commissioner for Methodist Camp Sturtevant, and a Brownie and Girl Scout Leader. Formerly active in several Parent Teacher Associations, PTAs, for the San Gabriel Unified School District, SGUSD, she has received SGUSD's Golden Apple Award and 3 PTA awards over the years. Pat was a Leader and Steering Committee Member of 4 separate successful School Bond Measures for SGUSD in 1993, 1994, 1998 and 2002.

A member since 1996, Ms. Freeman is currently President of the San Gabriel Educational Foundation, and serves on the School Site Council for Del Mar High School. She is a San Gabriel Valley Medical Center volunteer, a member of the center's Foundation Board and Coordinator of the center's Helping Hands volunteer group. In addition, Pat serves on the San Gabriel Community Coordinating Council, leads their Holiday Basket Committee, and has held various officer positions over the years. She is a member of the San Gabriel Rotary Club, and the Women's Division of the San Gabriel Chamber of Commerce, where she received the Women's Division of the San Gabriel Chamber of Commerce's Woman of the Year Award in 1989.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring a remarkable woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Pat Maguire Freeman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Nancy Donahue, of Temple City, California. Each year in March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our Nation's women.

Nancy is a native Californian, born in Alhambra. She moved to Temple City with her parents when she was just 6 months old. Nancy graduated from Temple City High School where she was a majorette, song girl, Girls League President, and winner of the Daughters of the American Revolution Award for Outstanding Senior. After attending Brigham Young University, she returned to Temple City where she and her husband, Terry, have lived for over 40 years. They have one daughter, Tracy, and two grandchildren, Kody and Haylee.

Ms. Donahue had a successful 22-year career in banking, working at First Western Bank & Lloyds Bank, California. After health concerns determined that she take a different path, she became a ``full-time volunteer'' at Methodist Hospital of Southern California in 1986.

Nancy has been incredibly active with her volunteer work at Methodist Hospital, where she has given over 10,000 hours in service over a 20- year period. She has served on the Auxiliary Board for over 10 years, four times as the Board President, and as an ex-officio member of the Foundation Board. She acts as coordinator of the Methodist Hospital archives, correlating artifacts collected for over 100 years and works in the hospital gift shop twice a week. Nancy has been involved in the annual Holiday Homes Tour at Methodist Hospital, chairing many committees and continuing to help with fundraising efforts.

In addition to her commitments at the hospital, Ms. Donahue is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Huntington Ward, Pasadena Stake and is currently serving as Ward Librarian. Other volunteer activities include the March of Dimes, American Heart Association, Diabetes Association and the American Red Cross. Nancy is past President of Arcadia-Monrovia and Temple City Soroptimist International and a charter member of Arcadia P.E.O. Chapter XL.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Nancy Donahue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Helen Hancock, of Alhambra, California. Each year in March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women.

Helen Hancock was born in Indiana in 1922. She attended Nursing School at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio as well as Redlands University in California. After completing her schooling, she served 2 years in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II. Ms. Hancock moved to California in 1953 and began working at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. In 1959, she moved to Alhambra, California.

Less than a year after her retirement in 1988 from a 35-year career in nursing administration at Huntington Hospital, and 8 years as a Member of the State Board of Registered Nursing, Helen Hancock plunged into community volunteer work. Since then she has used her extensive nursing and administrative knowledge and skills to make a significant difference in the health and well being of countless seniors and their families.

As a senior herself, Ms. Hancock desired to help other senior citizens enjoy their retirement years and began volunteering at Huntington Senior Care Network (HSCN); a Huntington Hospital community- based program that helps seniors maintain their independence. Her interview skills have added to the success of a National Council on Aging project of HSCN to enhance the health of frail seniors through increased physical activity. Helen has been a tireless advocate for seniors as a long-term care ombudsman for the Department of Aging for nearly 15 years. For nearly 25 years, she has been a resource for caregivers of Alzheimer's patients at a weekly support group, and she continues to promote Alzheimer's disease education, as well as senior services and elder abuse education, through membership in several community coalitions.

Helen is a faith community nurse coordinator for All Souls Catholic Church, as part of a program sponsored by Methodist Hospital of Southern California and All Souls Catholic Church, to improve the health of the community. She and her team conduct events that include blood pressure screenings, blood donor drives and health education presentations to reach members of their parish.

Last year, Helen was among 26 older adults honored as Outstanding California Senior Volunteer leaders by the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring a remarkable woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Helen Hancock.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Sandra E. Thomas, of Altadena, California. Each year in March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our Nation's women.

Dr. Sandra E. Thomas is a powerful and fearless leader whose personal service motto

is ``Brighter Hope, With a New Vision.'' Highly visible in the community as a civil rights advocate, she has a way of saying what must be said without offending those around her--she always has a smile and a kind word for all who pass her way.

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Dr. Thomas received her Bachelor of Arts and a Masters Degree from the University of Kansas and her Ph.D from Columbia University. After retiring as an engineer at Pacific Bell-SBC, she began a pilot program geared to attracting at-risk high school students to the field of engineering.

For 28 years, Sandra served as a youth counselor at the Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church, where her husband, Reverend A.D. Thomas, is Pastor Emeritus. She is currently an instructor and consultant for young adults. A foster mom for over 2 decades, Sandra was named ``Outstanding Mother of the Year'' at Altadena Elementary School in 1977 and Pasadena High School's ``Mother of the Year'' in 1979.

Dr. Thomas, a Life Member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has been affiliated with the organization for 55 years, and serves simultaneously at all levels of the NAACP organization. She is currently an NAACP National Trainer, a Regional Officer, a California State Director and the President of the Altadena Branch of the NAACP, where she has been successful in implementing many positive changes in the Altadena-Pasadena community.

In addition to her NAACP activities, Sandra is an Altadena Town Council member, the founder and CEO of the ``Quality of Life Community Center,'' Chairperson of the Pasadena/Altadena African-American Leaders Community Coalition, a member of the Pasadena Junior League, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, Leadership Pasadena, the Pasadena Unified School District Non-Violence Team, and the Altadena Community Center Board of Directors.

Dr. Thomas and her husband, long-time Altadena residents, have 3 children, Michael, Vincent, Rosalyn and 6 grandchildren.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring an extraordinary woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Dr. Sandra E. Thomas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Beth Marcus, of Burbank, California. Each year in March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women.

Dr. Marcus is a family physician in La Canada Flintridge, where she has practiced for over 10 years on the medical staffs of both Verdugo Hills Hospital and Glendale Adventist Medical Center. After completing her Family Medicine residency, she went on to complete a Fellowship in Adolescent Medicine, where she worked with adolescents struggling with poverty, family estrangement, drug abuse, homelessness and other issues.

Her patients cross the lifespan from infants to geriatric patients. Knowing that excellent medical care means going far beyond a diagnosis and a prescription, she has a remarkable capacity to bring compassion and empathy into the care she provides. She is an active advocate for patients, educating them and assisting them in obtaining social services and other sources of support to help them navigate the challenges of illness.

Beth is a member of the California Academy of Family Medicine, was the Secretary/Treasurer of the Los Angeles Chapter from 1995-2000 and a delegate to the house of delegates during those years. She is a member of the American Medical Women's Association and the Society of Adolescent Medicine. For several years she was a volunteer at the University of Southern California teaching a course titled Introduction to Clinical Medicine.

As Burbank Temple Emanu El's social action chair, Dr. Marcus has coordinated various campaigns for helping others in the Burbank, Glendale, North Hollywood area. She has arranged blood drives, collected shoes and clothing for impoverished children, gathered donations for tsunami victims and hurricane victims, filled backpacks with school supplies, assembled items for homeless women, and made sandwiches for the hungry. In addition, she volunteers in fundraising efforts for the Parent Teacher Association at Emerson Elementary School in Burbank, and is planning to implement a nutrition program at the school called Food is Elementary.

In addition to her professional and civic involvement, Beth is busy as a wife and mother, raising 2 twin boys, Adin and Jonah. She and her husband of 11 years, Dr. Jeff Ring, reside in Burbank.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Dr. Beth Marcus.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Betty Wang, of South Pasadena, California. Each year in March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our Nation's women.

Betty Wang was born in China in 1947 and moved to Taiwan with her family in 1948. She came to the United States in 1969 in order to pursue higher education at the University of Illinois. Upon graduation she and her husband, Eddie Wang, worked in Chicago for a few years, and then moved to South Pasadena in 1978.

After working briefly for a major insurance brokerage firm handling risk management for corporate clients, Betty retired in 1978 to take care of her son, Timothy. This also marked the beginning of her career as a ``professional volunteer.''

Betty has been involved in various community activities over the years. She began by assisting teachers in the South Pasadena Unified School District classrooms; then became involved in the Marengo Elementary School Parent Teacher Association where she volunteered in sports activities such as soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming and water polo. She was also involved with the parent organizations at Polytechnic School and was a Den Mother for the Boy Scouts of America. In addition, Ms. Wang is a long-term member of Mandarin Baptist Church in Alhambra.

Ms. Wang has been active in the South Pasadena Chinese American Club for many years, as a board member since 1989 and President in 1992. Much of the South Pasadena Chinese American Club's efforts go toward helping the South Pasadena Unified School District. She served on the Board of the Friends of South Pasadena Public Library for the past 6 years and was the President during her last year. She has continued her volunteer service to the library by serving on the Community Facilities Task Force. Betty was involved in South Pasadena's City Streetscape Committee during the Gold Line Station construction. Her latest volunteer effort is to serve on the President's Council for the Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens, where she is helping to raise funds for the construction of one of the most beautiful and unique botanical projects at the Huntington Library.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Angelita ``Angie'' Mont O'Brien, of Pasadena, CA. Each year in March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our Nation's women.

Born in Los Angeles, where her parents had emigrated from Spain, Angie attended Los Angeles and Pasadena public schools. She received a bachelor of arts from the University of California Los Angeles in 1953, a master's degree from California State University Los Angeles in 1963, and a California Elementary Teaching Credential.

Angie taught in the Pasadena Unified School District, PUSD, for over 40 years. During her long career, she was an elementary school teacher, a guidance counselor, a Curriculum Resource teacher and an Opportunity Room counselor. A founding member of PUSD's Adopt-A-School District Advisory Committee, she initiated and implemented the Tutoring and Homework Assistance Program for PUSD and served on many PUSD committees.

When Ms. O'Brien volunteers for an organization, she jumps in wholeheartedly, whether it's chairing a fundraising dinner, designing invitations, developing long-term plans, or helping to oversee a school bond measure. Her list of community involvement is impressive. Past activities include serving as president of the Pasadena Parent Teacher Association,

PTA, Council Board of Directors, vice president of Glenn's Hope, a Pasadena Foothill Valley YWCA board member and Altadena Christian Children's Center board member. She was a Pasadena city commissioner on the Commission on the Status of Women and the Human Services Commission. Some of the current organizations she serves include as a board member of Child Care Information Services, Pasadena City College Measure ``P'' Bond Oversight Committee, Women at Work, Pasadena Beautiful, Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women, Pasadena Planned Parenthood, and Delta Kappa Gamma. Angie is the vice president of the San Rafael Library Associates and the president of the Rose Bowl Bruins Board of Directors.

Angie has received many awards over the years for her service to the community, including four from the Pasadena PTA, the 1985 Pasadena Council of Women's Clubs Volunteer of the Year Award and the Pasadena YWCA Second Century Award in 1985.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring an extraordinary woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Angelita ``Angie'' Mont O'Brien.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Blinn House in Pasadena, California. This year, the Blinn House will celebrating its 100th Anniversary.

Edmund Blinn, an Oak Park, Illinois native enjoyed Pasadena when visiting with his wife Kate and their four children. In 1905, the Blinns decided to leave Oak Park for the warm climate and beauty of Pasadena. They hired George W. Maher to design their California home in the Midwestern Prairie School Style in 1906. Maher designed the interior of the house using harmonious natural materials with a repeated theme of wisteria vines. In his design for the Blinn house, Maher used a segmental or broken-arch theme throughout the house. Tiffany inspired leaded-glass windows with a wisteria vine motif artfully border the broken-arch windows.

At the turn of the last century a group of prestigious Chicago architects led the world in the advancement of new ideas in the design and construction of commercial buildings. Their work is better known as the Chicago School of Architecture. One of the architects, Louis Sullivan, embellished his building designs to incorporate simple repetitive patterns taken from nature. Young architects such as George W. Maher and Frank Lloyd Wright admired Sullivan's work, and while working in a community with other Midwestern architects founded the Prairie School of Architecture. The Prairie School architects created a uniquely American style of architecture which brought natural elements of the countryside to the cities.

The Blinn House was designated a Pasadena Cultural Heritage Landmark in 1977. In 2001, it was placed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. In 2002, the Blinn House Foundation was formed for the purpose of maintaining and preserving this Pasadena legacy. Home to the Women's City Club since 1945, the Blinn House continues to serve the Pasadena community as a meeting place for women's civic, cultural, and educational activities.

I am proud to recognize the Blinn House upon its 100th Anniversary and I ask all Members to join me today in honoring this historic house.