Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, had I been present for the vote on S. Con. Res. 45 I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a hometown hero and constituent of mine--the distinguished and very funny Philadelphian, William Henry Cosby, Jr.

Bill Cosby has been tickling the nation's funny-bone and prodding its conscience throughout his adult life. He has won a trophy room of honors, but none like this one. Bill Cosby's talents and his insight have earned him the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, awarded by the Kennedy Center on October 26, 2009. The star-studded and laugh-filled presentation will be shown on PBS nationally on Wednesday, November 4, always one of PBS's most popular and acclaimed programs.

Bill Cosby--aka Heathcliff Huxtable, friend of Fat Albert, ``America's Dad''--is no stranger to the nation's viewers and comedy fans. Less well known, but looming large in terms of character and values, is the Bill Cosby who has served as role model, activist, educator, author, anti-violence crusader, fundraiser and valued citizen of his native Philadelphia.

Bill Cosby was born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia into a modest family that valued hard work--the son of a maid and a Navy cook. He was raised in the Richard Allen Projects, attending Channing Wister Elementary, Fitzsimons Junior High, Central and Germantown High Schools, playing various roles as class clown, class president, star athlete, shoe repair apprentice, produce seller, and ultimately Navy hospital corpsman.

As a young adult he began a lifetime relationship with Philadelphia's premier public institution of higher learning, Temple University. Building on his high school equivalency diploma, earned through correspondence courses, he enrolled in Temple in 1961 on a track and field scholarship, also playing fullback. Cosby, telling jokes as he earned a living, interrupted his studies to pursue show business, returned to academia and ultimately received a bachelor's degree from Temple.

Eventually Bill Cosby would become Doctor Cosby. He earned a masters and a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts, a springboard to his later involvement in advocating for educational opportunity. But Bill Cosby, proud alum, has never left the Temple family, happily donning the cherry and white for football and basketball games, cheering on the Owls during and after the tenure of his close friend, Coach John Chaney.

Cheerleading isn't all Bill Cosby has done for Temple. He has endowed scholarships (including one for graduates of Philadelphia schools he attended), established a lecture series, generated the University's Cosby Scholarship Committee of the Provost's office, appeared at numerous fundraisers and alumni functions, and served as the public face for Temple on countless occasions.

Another side of the Bill Cosby Philadelphia Story is his anti- violence work. I have marched with Bill Cosby and my friend Bilal Qayyum through the streets of our city beneath the banner of Men United for a Better Philadelphia to denounce the scourge of violence, murder and gang activity. He has been outspoken--and raised considerable controversy--in denouncing the gang-minded culture and the negative, hateful cultural influences that fan street violence among our youth. He aimed his toughest words at parents, calling on them to step up and take responsibility for their children's education, safety and values.

Education has been another Cosby cause. He and I share the passion for leveling the playing field, providing every child the resources, the quality teachers and the full opportunity to achieve his or her dreams. Earlier this year he donned a T-shirt from Central High School to stand with Governor Ed Rendell and advocate for fairer school funding.

In his famous 2004 ``Pound Cake Speech'' Bill Cosby raised some hackles by telling African American parents they need to do a better job teaching their children morals at home. He chided those who ``had forgotten the sacrifices of those in the civil rights movement'' and declared that many young African Americans put too much emphasis on sports, fashion, and acting tough in the streets.

The controversies raised by Bill Cosby still ripple through communities of color, but the points he raises are valid. And of course he has never lost his sense of humor. In all these ways, Bill Cosby is a worthy recipient of the Mark Twain Prize and the legacy of Mark Twain himself.

I urge my colleagues in the House to join me in congratulating and thanking Bill Cosby, Philadelphian and American, upon this great occasion.

Let me thank the gentlewoman, and let me thank the sponsor of this bill, the gentlewoman from New York.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in one of my proudest moments in the House to support this legislation. As the father of three daughters, I am looking forward to the day I can bring them to the museum here in Washington to learn about the great achievements that continue until this day of women throughout the United States of America in all fields and endeavors.

So I congratulate the sponsor, and I hope for its favorable consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 26, which grants honorary American citizenship to a great hero of the American Revolution whose amazing and admirable story is also, in part, a Philadelphia story.

Casimir Pulaski, the son of a Polish count renowned as a military leader in his own right, was forced to flee his native land and traveled to Paris, where in 1776 he met Benjamin Franklin. Franklin gave him a letter of introduction which Pulaski presented to General Washington in Philadelphia in 1777. He showed such bravery and military strategic skill in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown that Washington promoted him to brigadier general and chief of cavalry. Casimir Pulaski fought important battles at Little Egg Harbor, NJ, and along the Delaware River. Later he was sent south to lead troops at Charleston and Savannah, where he was fatally wounded in 1779.

To this day, General Pulaski--along with his compatriot Thaddeus Kosciuszko--is revered by Philadelphia's vibrant and sizeable Polish- American community, and throughout our region. A school is named for Casimir Pulaski in Wilmington, Delaware. His life and accomplishments are honored at Philadelphia's Polish American Cultural Center Museum, 308 Walnut Street. A statue of Pulaski stands in the Garden of Heroes on the west side of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And this past Sunday, October 4, Philadelphia celebrated with the Pulaski Day Parade, an annual Polish-American heritage parade on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The honorary citizenship we are endorsing today in the resolution put forward by Congressman Kucinich and Senator Durbin is long overdue. It is nonetheless welcome and meaningful to Americans of Polish heritage and to all Americans who share Casimir Pulaski's love of liberty and willingness to offer his life for the cause. I urge my colleagues to support H.J. Res. 26.

First of all, I would like to thank the chairman, the ranking member and the professional staff of the committee. A wonderful job has been done, I think, dealing with and grappling with the whole set of issues. But in this $33.5 billion conference report, there are some very significant investments and priorities, $2.2 billion in energy efficiency and renewable energy, everything from solar to biofuels and hydrogen, weatherization grants. We are very, very pleased that they were able to produce that as part of this conference report.

But I also want to say that on the nuclear side, a continuing investment by the committee, some $787 million on a whole range of very important efforts related to nuclear energy so they can be safe and environmentally useful to us to continue to expand, both through the loan guarantee program but also through a number of other investments that are being made in the conference report. And to deal with the President's commitment on nuclear nonproliferation, on the weapons side, a $2.1 billion investment.

I think that Congressman Pastor, who has led this effort, and the staff have done a great job. We had a good process in negotiations with the Senate in our conference committee, which wrapped up yesterday. I encourage the House to favorably report this. I thank my good friend from New Jersey, who has served as the ranking Member and who has done an extraordinary job. This has been a bipartisan effort and is a bipartisan work product that I think moves the country's priorities forward in terms of energy and energy efficiency. I recommend it to the House.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the ambitious and important work being performed every day by students, program staff, parents and teachers to ensure that college dreams become reality for students attending high poverty schools. In particular, I would like to join with GEAR UP programs across the country who celebrated GEAR UP Day on September 18, 2009.

In order to meet the challenge posed by President Obama that ``by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,'' we will need to draw students from communities where high school graduation, let alone college attendance, is the exception rather than the rule. This ambitious goal, and the global competitiveness that comes with it, will require a dramatic increase in college attendance for students who are the first in their families to pursue higher education.

I want to thank the GEAR UP programs who organized these events and the elected officials who participated:

In Fairmont, West Virginia, they hosted a reception to thank the faculty and staff and to highlight the successes of GEAR UP while the Governor declared a West Virginia GEAR UP Day.

In Cleveland, the program received a proclamation from the Governor of Ohio.

In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the Governor proclaimed September 18, 2009 as GEAR UP Day and the program celebrated with a community outreach event.

In Iowa City, a GEAR UP principal gave remarks and received proclamations from the Governor and Mayor.

In Wilburton and McAlester, Oklahoma, they received a proclamation from the Governor.

In Pago Pago, American Samoa, the program received a gubernatorial proclamation and Valasi Lam Yuen was recognized as their Teacher of the Year.

In Portland, Maine, the GEAR UP site also received a gubernatorial proclamation.

In La Grande, Oregon, the mayor officially proclaimed September 18, 2009 GEAR UP Day.

In Waco, Texas, parents, students, faculty and staff were on hand to receive a proclamation from the Mayor.

In New York City they held a National GEAR UP Day breakfast at the partner middle school for parents, students, teachers, and administrators. The middle school scholars sent an oversized thank you card to the Honorable Senator Charles Schumer. The Mayor of New York City, Michael R. Bloomberg has proclaimed September 18, 2009 as National GEAR UP Day.

In Tucson, the Mayor proclaimed GEAR UP Day and students are creating a GEAR UP Wall of Dreams.

In San Marcos, California, GEAR UP received a proclamation from the city.

In Kalamazoo, Michigan, they had an all-school assembly which included the Superintendent and Michigan State Representative Robert Jones.

In Cincinnati, students signed promise cards and invited the Mayor and grant partners to participate.

In Baltimore, students, staff and administrators celebrated GEAR UP Day on Friday and will continue their recognition on October 1, 2009.

In Bangor, Michigan, they had an all school assembly at Bangor High School which included a speaker on career opportunities after high school.

In Boone, North Carolina, GEAR UP leaders visited high schools to talk about GEAR UP and preparing for college.

In Brooklyn, students participated in the 9/11 Day of Service.

In Columbia, South Carolina, they recognized all the wonderful teachers, staff members, tutors, and volunteers who work with their GEAR UP students with an ``Energy Breakfast'' and by giving out thank you notes with Life Savers candy to let these people know they are GEAR UP's life savers.

In Columbus County, North Carolina, students and program staff will be celebrating GEAR UP Day this week and will be creating a GEAR UP Wall of Dreams.

In Edinburg, Texas, the GEAR UP site held a press conference to talk about the program, including a video message from Congressman Hinojosa.

In El Paso, Texas, over 3200 GEAR UP students visited the UTEP Don Haskins Special Events Center for the GEAR UP Day Motivating Aspiring Scholars.

In Harrison County, West Virginia, they had daily announcements about GEAR UP and had every 10th and 11th grade student write their goals for the future on a strip of paper. The strips of paper have been linked together into a chain to display in the commons area.

In Jamaica, NY, the grantees hosted a round table discussion and invited Congresswoman Maloney, Mayor Bloomberg and Councilman Peter Vallone.

In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, announcements were made every day last week with facts about college. To continue the celebration, I will be visiting this GEAR UP site next week.

In Lincoln City, Oregon, students participated in sessions on college preparation, overcoming obstacles to higher education, and college and career planning.

In Long Island, students participated in the 9/11 Day of Service.

In Lowell, Massachusetts, they received proclamations from Congresswoman Nicola S. Tsongas as well as Mayor Edward C. Caulfield in recognition of the National GEAR UP Day. The proclamations were read to students on Friday in an assembly. In addition, parents of GEAR UP students prepared and served breakfast to teachers and students to commemorate the 10th year anniversary of GEAR UP.

In Vista, California, the City issued a proclamation.

North Hollywood, CA hosted a bagels and college awareness meeting with teachers, parents and students at GEAR UP schools.

In Passaic, New Jersey student graduates presented to the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education.

In Philadelphia, they recognized and awarded certificates to the current 8th grade students in cohort schools. GEAR UP students received an award certificate, a GEAR UP Banner to display prominently in their schools, and a check in the amount of $3000 to assist with offsetting costs for student support.

In Ponce, Puerto Rico, GEAR UP program staff displayed street banners on the university campus and at participating schools. They also coordinated a television presentation with students to urge their classmates and students in general to stay in school and plan their postsecondary studies.

In Reno, current high school and college students (GEAR UP alumni) are being recognized today at a rally.

In Sacramento, they organized a presentation to the Superintendent, student presentations and campus tours.

In San Francisco, they celebrated with an address from principals, student workshops and an ice cream social.

In Santa Ana, California, GEAR UP conducted outreach and students pledged their commitment to college on cards.

In Syracuse, New York, students participated in the 9/11 Day of Service.

In Yakima, Washington they held an open house, college fair and reception.

In Yonkers, New York, administrators issued a ``call to action'' to the partner schools by requesting teachers and administrators engage students in developing a personal learning plan, help students locate various colleges on a map, teachers and administrators wear their college sweatshirts/t-shirts, talk about college, start a college dream journal with students, take pictures of all activities, and above all make it fun.

In Albany they hosted a GEAR UP Awareness Day in which the GEAR UP students shared their experiences with the program during the announcements. Program information and progress will be placed on tents and set on each table in the cafeteria. Stewarts Ice Cream was provided during lunch periods.

In Jefferson, New York, students and parents visited college campuses.

In Helena, Montana, they celebrated GEAR UP Day during their annual fall conference.

I am proud of all that GEAR UP has done, and will continue to do, to improve life for families and build a stronger, more competitive nation. I encourage my colleagues to join me in this celebration.

Mr. Speaker, there were those who doubted that we would pass children's health care or the budget or the stimulus. Well, I rise today to say that we are going to pass comprehensive health insurance reform because it's so vitally important for our Nation's economy.

As we see the stock market rising and as we see home sales regaining, we see the Richmond Fed report of a very positive manufacturing uptick in the economy, we know with certainty that health care is important. Not only do we need to have a robust private-sector health insurance option for the public, but we need to have an option for patients if they're turned away, so we need a public option.

The previous majority had 8 years to do something on health care and did nothing. We see a lot of energy today in their speeches, but when they were in charge and when they had the White House, they had no concern for the tens of millions of uninsured Americans and for those kicked off of private health insurance because of preexisting conditions.

We're not going to talk about it. We're going to vote about it really soon on this House floor.

I rise in opposition to this amendment, and to support my colleague who has offered this very worthy project that's needed. The Philadelphia Art Museum is the finest art museum anywhere in the world, as far as I'm concerned, because I'm from the city of Philadelphia.

But I think we all know that it's critically important to invest in these needed infrastructure repairs, and I'm very happy that the committee saw fit to include this.

I'd hoped that we would at one point think about the real cost to our taxpayers of these amendments that are being offered. I think we probably have spent more than $750,000 on these amendments attacking earmarks, when in fact this is 1 percent of the bill. Even if this amendment passed, this money would not go against the deficit. This money would go to be spent in some other way.

So the point here is this is a needed project. I support it. I thank the chairman for including it. I thank my colleague from Philadelphia for his very effective fight to get this included in this transportation bill.

I think one thing that this amendment shows is that you're doing your job and working hard. And it benefits, like you said, the entire region.

I thank the gentleman for yielding time.

Mr. Chairman, let me congratulate the chairwoman. I served on this subcommittee for a few years, and this is an extraordinary bill. I think it's the best Foreign Operations bill in more than a couple of decades in this House on a range of issues, but I'm only here to speak about one.

I want to thank the chairwoman for her continued support, and notice in the bill and in the accompanying report the effort around safe blood in Africa, in sub-Saharan Africa. When we began talking about this issue a few years ago, there were no safe blood centers and there are now 35. It wouldn't have happened without the chairwoman's support and understanding the correlation and nexus between malaria and blood transfusions and, therefore, increases in AIDS when you have unsafe blood being used in those transfusions. So I want to thank her and congratulate her on a great bill.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise for a unanimous consent in support of this very important bill on behalf of my four children and for millions of young Americans who we hope never to see another die on a foreign battlefield trying to get oil from some other place in

the world. We need independence in our energy.

Madam Speaker, I thank you for allowing me the time to speak on this topic of paramount importance. Climate change and the problem of rising carbon emissions is one of the most important public policy quandaries that the nation currently faces. Congress needs to take the lead in helping to solve this issue. Therefore, I implore my fellow members of Congress to vote yes and help pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454.

As you well know, H.R. 2454 is a broad-based bill that includes a number of initiatives on clean energy, economic development, and climate change. Taken together, these initiatives will create the national policy framework and all important funding streams that are needed to adequately tackle the threat posed by rising carbon emissions.

Moreover, the incentives contained within H.R. 2454 will help strengthen and support those emerging renewable energy industries to help create jobs that will enable millions of Americans to get back to work. I know that these jobs will be created because I have already seen it happening in my home state of Pennsylvania. I have seen the jobs created by the wind and solar manufactures, and I have spoken to the leaders of local Philadelphia business who have told me how important the clean energy industry is to the Philadelphia region.

Moreover, I have read the studies that show how many jobs will be created if Congress passes H.R. 2454. For example, in a 2008 report published by the Clean Air Council entitled ``Job Opportunities for the Green Economy,'' it was estimated that over 533,000 jobs in Pennsylvania alone will see growth or wage increases by putting global energy solutions to work. As the world moves into a less carbon intensive future, these new industries will allow the country to thrive as they become the new economic engines that power future growth.

I believe that our nation needs a comprehensive energy strategy that makes our nation more energy efficient, decreases our reliance on foreign oil, creates jobs, and helps prevent increases in carbon emissions. I am not alone in my beliefs. People throughout the nation want Congress to get moving on reducing carbon emissions. These Americans understand that climate change is one of the most important issues that face the nation today. They understand that the rapidly changing climate that is due to rising carbon emissions is having a profound impact on the nation's forests, coastal areas, drinking water, and other important ecosystems that human beings rely on.

Therefore, I implore my fellow members of Congress to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Help put our nation on track to a cleaner energy future.

Mr. Chair, noise is an environmental hazard similar to air, water, and ground pollution. Too much exposure to noise in an environment has a direct impact on the human body. Children, whose bodies and brains are still developing, more so than adults, are adversely affected by noise. A student's ability to hear and understand speech in the classroom is vital for learning. Unfortunately, noisy classrooms reduce the ability to learn. Noisy classrooms occur when the background noise and/or the amount of reverberation in the classroom are so high that they interfere with learning and teaching. We know that when classrooms are noisy it affects speech understanding, reading and spelling ability, behavior in the classroom, attention, concentration, and academic achievement. Learning in an excessively noisy environment is similar to trying to read in poorly lit room or obstructed by steps while in a wheel chair.

Therefore, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) recommends an appropriate acoustical environment for all students in educational settings. ASHA endorses ANSI S12.60-2002 Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools (ANSI S12.60-2002) as the national standards for classroom acoustics. It is well recognized that the acoustical environment in a classroom or other educational environment is a critical variable in the academic, psychoeducational, and psychosocial development of children with normal hearing as well as children with hearing loss and/or other disabilities (e.g., auditory processing disorders, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders). Inappropriate levels of reverberation and/or noise can deleteriously affect speech perception, reading/spelling ability, classroom behavior, attention, concentration, and educational achievement. In addition to compromising student function, poor classroom acoustics may also negatively affect teacher performance and increase vocal pathologies and absenteeism. Thus, all educational settings have an incentive to develop acoustical conditions that meet national standards. For children with hearing loss and/or other disabilities, the acoustics of the proposed educational setting(s) should be considered and addressed

during the determination of a child's educational needs and placement.

Acoustical factors in a classroom include: (1) the level of the background (ambient) noise in the room; (2) the relative intensity of the information carrying components of the speech signal to the non- information carrying signal or noise (i.e., signal-to-noise ratio [SNR]); and (3) the reverberant characteristics of the environment. To achieve appropriate acoustical conditions in an educational setting, ASHA recommends the following:

(1) Unoccupied classroom noise levels must not exceed 35 dBA.

(2) The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) should be at least +15 dB at the child's ears.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chairman for the time and for his work on this legislation. The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, H.R. 1913, is a long overdue effort to address the scourge of bias motivated crimes in communities across the country. This is not simply about criminalizing violent acts, those are already illegal. This is about recognizing that these crimes affect more than just the individual involved, they are meant to instill fear in whole communities.

Hate crimes in this country have a terrible history. For decades African Americans, particularly those who spoke out for justice and equality, were brutally lynched in communities across the country while law enforcement officials and upstanding members of the community stood by. Murder was illegal then too, but it took the brave efforts of citizens, including Ida B. Wells, for the problem to be addressed. These murders were meant to send a signal to newly freed men and women and often targeted veterans returning from war.

Our Jewish neighbors have been subjected to campaigns of terror with property destruction and symbols of hate sprayed across synagogues and community centers. Irish, Italian, Catholic, Latino, Muslim and Asian Americans have all seen ``disagreements'' and ``displeasure'' expressed with barbaric crimes meant to convey the message that they were unwelcome in this nation of immigrants.

Opponents have suggested that this legislation will affect what can and cannot be said in houses of worship. This is false. H.R. 1913 explicitly recognizes the right of individuals to be ignorant, narrow- minded, or malicious whether motivated out of faith, conscience, or generic hatred. This bill will have no effect on any interpretation of the Bible or religious tradition. They say that they worry there will be a ``chilling effect'' on religious speech. This is nonsense. This bill is about criminal acts, those that are already illegal, and enables law enforcement to carry out responsibilities they already have under current law.

The man whose name is now associated with this bill, Matthew Shepard, was tortured and killed because he was gay. This crime wasn't about him as an individual, it was about what he represented. Every day there are smaller incidences in neighborhoods around the country. Individuals are targeted coming out of certain bars, wearing certain clothes, or walking with too much flair. This is a systemic problem that requires a systemic approach. This bill will go a long way in allowing local law enforcement to do their job and providing Federal assistance where it belongs. It is about time.

Madam Speaker, one of Philadelphia's most distinguished and influential clergymen, Presiding Elder Joseph D. Patterson, Sr. of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, will be honored and feted on May 2, 2009, as he moves from decades of service to his God, his church and the people of Philadelphia into well-deserved retirement.

Presiding Elder Patterson has served the A.M.E. in its ``itinerant ministry'' for 45 years, pastoring and overseeing churches in Philadelphia, the western Main Line, southern New Jersey and Atlantic City.

Presiding Elder Patterson is perhaps best known for his 22 years as Pastor of Hickman Temple A.M.E. Church, where he directed an era of significant growth at Hickman as both a spiritual home and community resource for Southwest Philadelphia. His impact on the community is still felt to this day. He facilitated the building of the Samuel J. Patterson Mercy Wellness Center at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue, which bears his father's name. He was founder and president of the Baltimore Avenue Redevelopment Corporation and past chairman of the $41 million West Philadelphia Empowerment Zone. He was a member of the Council of Trustees at Cheyney University, serving the school he had attended as both an undergraduate and graduate student.

Presiding Elder Patterson has demonstrated strong leadership both within his own A.M.E. denomination and in the broader community of faith. He served as President of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity from 1995-1997, and in numerous other capacities. He is past president of the A.M.E. Preachers Meeting. Since his appointment as Presiding Elder in 2001, he has served two years as Elder of the Philadelphia District and almost six years as Elder of the West/ Mainline District--the post from which he is retiring.

And all along he has been blessed by the love and support of his wife Joyce, mother Ida, and children Joseph D. Jr., Jewell D. and Jocelyn D. Patterson.

Presiding Elder Joseph D. Patterson Sr. will be honored with a special Retirement Service, May 2, 2009, at Mount Pisgah A.M.E. Church, 428 N. 41st Street, Philadelphia, with A.M.E. Presiding Bishop Richard F. Norris of the First District as Guest Preacher. I invite my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in saluting the career of this great man of God and preacher of the Gospel, and to wish him Godspeed upon his retirement.

To my great friend from Arizona, sometimes if you're turning in front of an 18-wheeler, you should hit the accelerator and get out the way. The important point here is that no matter what the cost of education, ignorance costs our country more. What we have is, some who stand in opposition today, they know the cost of everything, but the value of seemingly nothing. It is critically important. And that is why the conscience of the CBC members dictates that this alternative be brought to the floor, that we point a direction, not just complain and recite the problems, but that we offer up real solutions, and that we are required to, as Members of this body, not just go along to get along.

As a major supporter of President Obama's budget and program, I think he is moving our country in the right direction. But it is important for us to show that even more can be done and should be done. And I believe as we go forward, it will be done. We will work together. Republicans have forfeited their right to lead based on the situation they brought this country to. We are prepared to lead. Others need to step aside.

Madam Speaker, I join with fellow members of the Philadelphia delegation in recognizing a milestone that is approaching for a Philadelphia institution that has brought joy and wonder to millions of the young and young at heart who have entered its storied gates while it provides a platform for education, conservation and world changing scientific research.

On March 21, 1859, Dr. William Camac, a legendary Philadelphia physician, led a concerned community of citizens, educators and scientists to charter the Zoological Society of Philadelphia--America's First Zoo--and house it on a bucolic, 44-acre property in Fairmount Park along the West Bank of the Schuylkill River.

Over the past century and a half, the Philadelphia Zoo has emerged as a national and global treasure. The Zoo is recognized as one of Philadelphia's most cherished, enduring and significant educational, scientific and conservation institutions and cultural attractions.

The Philadelphia Zoo was the site for breakthrough research that led to the award of the 1976 Nobel Prize for Medicine. From its inception, the Zoo has acted consistently and successfully to protect, promote, and preserve through its myriad research and curatorial activities numerous rare and endangered wildlife.

It is a venerable institution that has remained ever fresh and vital, constantly opening new and groundbreaking exhibits, acquiring and exhibiting exotic wildlife and pioneering conservation efforts that are the marvel of the zoological world. The Philadelphia Zoo has welcomed more than 100 million visitors--including millions of school children from the greater Philadelphia community over generations--since its landmark gates opened to the public.

Now, 150 years young, the Philadelphia Zoo embarks upon the celebration of its sesquicentennial -- an achievement of historic proportions for Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the nation and the world conservation community. In fact March 21, 2009, has been officially designated in my home town as Philadelphia Zoo Day.

As the Congressman who is honored to include America's First Zoo within my constituency, and as someone who has enjoyed numerous visits as a child, a father and a caregiver, I congratulate the Philadelphia Zoo and extend best wishes for continued success upon the occasion of its sesquicentennial.