Floor Statements

This is going to be a clear point of demarcation. Eight years of the Bush administration and we lost millions of jobs. Millions of Americans lost their homes, lost their investments. Our schools crumbled. And now as we launch into these 4 and 8 years, we're going to see schools rebuilt, millions put to work, we're going to see the economy turn around, and it starts today.

Now in '93 when we had the Clinton economic plan, not one Republican voted for it in the House or Senate. But we did get 27 million new jobs, we did balance the budget, and pay down the national debt. History has a way of repeating itself.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this act. I join with so many of my colleagues who find it extraordinarily important that we right the wrong of the Supreme Court decision and allow access to the courts for those who have been discriminated against in terms of pay equity.

And Lilly Ledbetter and the act that is before us today, I want to thank Chairman George Miller for his leadership and his hard work on this and his committee for their relentless pursuit of correcting this. It's one of the very first acts of this new Congress, and I just want to rise in support of it and hope that it gains an extraordinary vote in the House today because it will send a message to not only my mother, my wife, my daughters, but to women throughout our country and to others that the United States Congress stands squarely on the right side of history on this critically important question.

Madam Speaker, an extraordinary win-win development has recently expanded and enriched the cultural scene in the City of Philadelphia. And it is thrilling for countless youngsters across our region.

Philadelphia has always been remarkable for its museum experiences, from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, to museums that interpret the history and origins of our nation and liberty, museums that extol the experiences of African Americans, Jewish Americans, Polish Americans and many, many more.

But there is nothing quite like the Please Touch Museum for hands-on, visceral (and subtly educational) appeal to our youngest and most curious citizens. Please Touch has been the must-stop for youngsters and young-at-heart adults since it opened in 1976 not far from Philadelphia's museum-chocked Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Its name was Rule One. Everything was up-close and available. No longer did parents have to tell their kids, ``Don't touch that!'' Please Touch moved and expanded several times, but inevitably, its popularity outpaced every new location.

Meanwhile stately Memorial Hall, grand icon and last vestige of the world-shattering 1876 Centennial Exhibition, stood almost unused and slowly deteriorating in Fairmount Park, a few miles to the west.

Under the leadership of President and CEO Nancy Kolb, the search for a new home for Please Touch began in earnest a decade ago. When a riverfront plan failed to materialize, the search turned to Memorial Hall. A landmark agreement among the City of Philadelphia, the Fairmount Park Commission and Please Touch resulted in an 80-year lease signed in 2005, and the project was underway.

On October 18, 2008, the ``new'' Memorial Hall, fresh from an $88 million renovation, opened its doors as home for the dramatically expanded, 38,000 square foot Please Touch Museum. At the same time, Please Touch won coveted accreditation by the American Association of Museums, one of just 775 institutions out of the nation's 17,500 museums to be currently accredited.

Please Touch now joins the nearby Philadelphia Zoo and other attractions--as well as Fairmount Park itself--in the exciting Centennial District of West Philadelphia. The October 18 official opening drew a record attendance, and the crowds keep on coming--to ride the century-old restored carousel or the monorail, to ``drive'' a kid-size SEPTA bus, to ``shop'' in a scaled down ShopRite grocery store (complete with checkout counters), to float water duckies, to visit Fairytale Garden and Alice's wonderland adventures . . .

And always, always to ``Please Touch.''

Madam Speaker, I invite my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in saluting George A. Beach, a pioneering African-American businessman in Philadelphia, who is being honored for a half-century of achievement in the fields of design, advertising, graphics and public relations.

George Beach is founder and chairman of Beach Creative Communications, the nation's first and oldest African-American owned advertising agency--a firm whose name and motto summarize the Beach ``brand'' for creativity and communication: ``A full service agency providing creative solutions for today's diverse marketplace.''

George Beach has won numerous awards and commissions for his design and artistic flair, his business skills and his broad and generous reach into civic and charitable activities. Now he adds a new honor, as the African-American Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia presents ``A Golden Tribute to George Beach,'' celebrating his 50 years in business, on Friday, November 21, 2008.

George Albert Beach was born in Harlem, New York City, on August 14, 1936. By the age of 10 he had moved with his family to Philadelphia, his adopted home town. His educational background stretches from Gratz High School and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia to Paris, where he studied at the L'Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and L'Alliance Francaise.

Already an artist and designer, George Beach became a young man of business in 1958 when, fresh from college, he founded the Creative Art and Design Studio as a ground-breaking minority enterprise. In another pioneering step, he was the first African American elected president of the Artist Guild of Delaware Valley, a position he held from 1964 to 1967. In 1970, he and two colleagues launched the fully illustrated African American Historical Calendar, which is marking publication of its 40th annual edition.

The Studio evolved into Beach Advertising in 1974, assuming its present name in 2001. The Beach roster of clients and accounts has included Pfizer U.S. Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the University of Pennsylvania, McDonald's, plus health firms, governmental agencies and public utilities.

George Beach's personal artistic work was impacted by the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Pain and joint destruction forced him to set aside painting for a quarter century. But as with everything else in his achieving life, this became a challenge and an opportunity. Today, painting once again, Mr. Beach brings his special expertise to the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NAIMS), where he serves under appointment by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

And his career as an artist flourishes. He has completed a new series of oil on canvas paintings that include ``Indivisible,'' a haunting skeleton of the World Trade Center Towers embracing an American flag under a full moon, which has been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Now, as his varied, productive career continues beyond the half- century mark, with wife Mary and sons Timothy and Matthew, George Albert Beach carries forward with his varied, productive career--always communicating, ever creative. He has earned the gratitude and admiration of Philadelphians and many beyond our city. Thank you, George.

Madam Speaker, as I did on Monday, I rise in support of this bill. What we did not do right, we will find the time and the votes and the courage to do over today.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. Now, I know that we're tempted to see this just as another train wreck of the Bush administration, but we have to look past that to protecting the jobs of our constituents, their 401ks, their pension funds, their ability to own and run and borrow to establish small businesses. We have to see this as a responsibility to protect community banking institutions.

Now, there is a lot at stake in this vote, and there are Members who have varying positions, but I just look at the facts. We have some 9,800 people who are being foreclosed on every day. We have seen 600,000 people lose their jobs since the beginning of this year. We have an economic catastrophe that has taken place on Wall Street and is now showing up in other financial capitals around the world.

We have a responsibility to defend this country and to stand on behalf of our constituents. And I do that reluctantly in some respects, but on this day, I think all of us should rise to the occasion and support this bill. And with those who can't, we understand that you think that there should be a better way. There is a bill in front of us today to stand in the breach, and I stand in favor of it. And I commend Barney Frank for his leadership on it. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it is not so much the next election that will determine our Nation's future. It is the next generation. And this bill focuses on the needs of growing leadership in our country through providing a higher education to our citizens.

I want to commend Chairman Miller and the chairman on the Senate side, Senator Kennedy, and on the Republican side, my good friend, Buck McKeon and Mark Souder, and the ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Mr. Keller. They have done a magnificent job putting together a bill that addresses a whole range of issues that are supported in the higher education and broader business community in our country. It represents the real needs of moving our kids on to college.

I think cutting the FAFSA form from seven pages down to two, increasing the Pell Grant from $4,800 this year to $6,000 in 2009, up to $8,000 in 2014, in terms of authorization, are very important parts of this reauthorization.

But in 1998, when the reauthorization of Higher Ed was signed into law by President Clinton, we established the GEAR UP program. Now, I am credited with being the architect of that program, but the truth is all of us worked together. It was a bipartisan effort, and the House and Senate, Senator Specter and Senator Kennedy, all of us working together.

Now some 2 million young people have been served over the last 10 years. 85 percent of them have graduated from high school, from the toughest schools in our country, and in the most difficult circumstances.

Featured on the front page of Philadelphia's newspaper is a young man, Nicholas Shanks, who, unfortunately, spent years in a homeless shelter, but has graduated at the head of his class, 3.9 average. He is a GEAR UP student, and there are millions of them across country who have done so well.

This is the most successful college awareness program in the country's history. It is reauthorized in this legislation. It is expanded. The appropriation or the authorizing level is doubled.

And I just want to thank the members of the conference committee for its support of GEAR UP. It has proven its worth in some 48 States and in all of our territories, in Guam and Puerto Rico, in terms of developing young people who are economically disadvantaged but academically have every ability to succeed. And we see that in the college-going rates, which exceed the national average for all students and exceed the high school graduation rates for all students.

So it is a great program, even if I am the author of it, and I want to thank the conferees for including it, expanding it, and having it reach more and more young people in important ways through reauthorization.

[From the philly.com, July 26, 2008]

Formerly Homeless Teen Role Model

(By Ashwin Verghese)

Standing in a room full of homeless teenagers yesterday,

Nicholas Shanks was hopeful that he could be a role model.

``I really do hope I can help them some way, by setting an

example,'' said Shanks, a friendly, soft-spoken 18-year-old

who overcame homelessness in his high school years to become

his class valedictorian.

Shanks, who graduated from Martin Luther King High School

this year with a 3.91 GPA, was at work yesterday as a

counselor at the Traveler's Aid Society's summer program, a

camp for teens who have experienced homelessness. ``It sounds

like some of them really do appreciate what I've done,''

Shanks said of the 45 children in the program at the

Kirkbride Center at 49th and Arch Streets in West

Philadelphia.

What he has done has brought him national and local media

attention in recent days. Just yesterday he was featured in a

segment on Good Morning America.

Two days ago, Shanks got the best news of all: Foundation

Inc., the nonprofit that manages King High, offered to

bankroll his college tuition.

``It was a relief,'' he said of the money. ``I really never

expected to see that happen so fast.''

For his mother, Sherri Newton, the news was the answer to

her prayers.

``I've been praying for this for the longest time,'' she

said recalling how she dropped to her knees in thanks when

Nicholas told her. ``God is so good,'' she added. ``Thank

everybody that's going to be helping Nicholas.''

Shanks plans to matriculate this fall at the Art Institute

of Philadelphia, where he wants to major in animation and

media arts. He hopes to become a video game designer.

Art was an escape for Shanks years ago when he was living

in a crowded homeless shelter. He was 14 when his family

could no longer afford the rent on its Northeast Philadelphia

apartment. The family was forced to take refuge at the Mount

Airy Stenton Family Manor in Germantown, said Newton.

For two years, Shanks, Newton and Newton's mother shared a

cramped gymnasium with about 30 other families, Newton said.

Drawing--``creating worlds,'' as Shanks put it--allowed him

to escape the tiny confines.

``When I was in the shelter, it was boring a lot of

times,'' Shanks said. ``I had a CD player, paper and a

pencil, and that got me through most of the months.''

Shanks and Newton now live in transitional housing in

Kensington. But the family still faces problems. The lease is

up in October, and the family does not have a new place lined

up yet.

Newton, who battled drug addiction and unemployment for

years, said she has been clean for 17 months. She was

recently laid off as a teaching assistant and is looking for

employment.

``It's scary,'' Newton said. ``I just want to know where

we're going to move.''

Her son is relying on the optimism that saw him through

tough times before.

Shanks said he does not often think about his days in the

shelter unless he is around people with a similar history.

``I would not necessarily say I'm reliving my past,'' he

said, ``but if I ran into a situation where I hear something

about a similar past, I might be like, `Yeah, I know how

that's like.' ''

Steven Golden, another teen in the summer program, has a

very similar past. He's known Shanks for three years. The two

are the same age, but, because of academic troubles, Golden

is a year behind in school.

Seeing Shanks has motivated Golden to commit to his

studies.

``He's showed me I need to do this to succeed,'' said

Golden, a senior at Fitzsimons High School in North

Philadelphia. ``Seeing where he's at now, from where we both

were, he has inspired me.''

Mel Monk, director of the summer program, said that once

teens become homeless, ``education is the first thing that

takes a

nosedive.'' The teens deal with embarrassment, he said.

Sometimes losing their home means they have to travel across

the city to get to school.

Shanks was able to persevere, Monk said, because of his

internal drive and the support of the people around him,

including his mother and teachers.

``They've got to have a person in their life telling them

they can do it,'' he added.

Monk hopes Shanks can show the younger children that they

can get into college, too.

``Nicholas is a model example,'' he said. ``He's been

through a lot, but he's maintained.''

Spasoje Jovanovic, 17, a former camper and now the

administrative assistant at the program, which is teaching

the teens about marine biology, said Shanks is an inspiration

to the others.

``He's proof that it's possible,'' said Jovanovic, who is

enrolled at the Community College of Philadelphia for the

fall.

Shanice Johnson, 15, has lived in four different homes with

her family this year alone. She expects to be in yet another

in a few months, she said.

Nonetheless, Johnson has been able to keep a 3.6 GPA. She

said Shanks' story gives her courage to keep working hard at

school through all of the tumult at home.

``He was in transitional housing, I was in transitional

housing,'' said Johnson, who wants to become a surgeon.

``He's someone I look up to.''

Thank you.

In 1997, when we created GEAR UP in this legislation, it was an idea. Today, after 10 years, some 2 million young people later, it stands as the largest early college awareness program in our country's history, operating in 48 States and in many of our territories. It has been an extraordinary success. Eighty-five percent of the young people graduated from high school, 64 percent going on to college.

I want to thank Chairman Miller and the ranking member, Buck McKeon, Ruben Hinojosa and Mark Souder and the committee for tweaking GEAR UP in a very positive way, taking the language from the GEAR UP and Go Act that I introduced, adding a seventh year to focus on that entry into college and retention issues and also allowing dual and concurrent enrollment, along with a number of anti-dropout prevention efforts at the community college and high school level.

I want to thank the committee. This is a great bill overall, and GEAR UP is wonderful. But the increase in Pell, the simplification of the FAFSA form, there is a lot that could be said. This is a historic piece of legislation, and I thank you for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to especially recognize the good work of GEAR UP students and staff in Philadelphia. Tens of thousands of Philadelphia high school students have been fortunate enough to benefit from GEAR UP, either directly as participants in the State or partnership grants we have been awarded, or indirectly as recipients of the CORE Philly scholarship program which was jump started by GEAR UP. I am proud that Philadelphia has received one of the greatest investments from this exemplary program.

Beyond just the direct benefits of GEAR UP, Philadelphia's students are being raised in communities that are increasingly focused on college and greater opportunities for the next generation. Although not surprising, it is encouraging to learn that when adults (whether teachers, support staff or parents) commit to preparing their students for college, high school graduation rates shoot through the roof. Our students are ready, willing and able to meet the challenges of this new century and the next, we need only prepare and support them.

In Philadelphia we are seeing renewed attention brought to the challenge of abysmal high school graduation rates. I have every confidence that as the educational leaders of our city contemplate strategies to reengage disconnected students and catch those at risk of falling through the cracks, they will look to the national and local successes of GEAR UP.

In the past 10 years, GEAR UP has served millions of students across the country. I look forward to advocating on behalf of the millions more who will benefit in the future and the opportunity to expand this program to even more communities.

Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues and their staff who created this ambitious document. The Higher Education Opportunity Act paves the way for a renewed commitment to the future success of our children and the prosperity of our Nation.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Let me thank my colleague, Danny Davis, for helping to move this bill to the floor out of committee. And I also want to thank all 74 of the additional cosponsors, and this is bipartisan cosponsorship, as this program, GEAR UP, has always enjoyed bipartisan support. I want to thank Mark Souder and Tom Cole. And I also want to acknowledge the great staff work that has been done by William Miles and also the In Step organization which is the major national organization working with GEAR UP. And we will be hosting them here on the Hill.

This acknowledges the great success of this program, over $2.7 billion Federal investment over the last 10 years. We are in the 10- year anniversary. We see graduation rates from high school, for the largest early college awareness program in our country's history, off the charts. Some 85 percent of GEAR UP students graduated from high school, a full 20-plus points ahead of where low-income students unfortunately now graduate from high school. We see this in hundreds and hundreds of programs across our country. In rural and urban areas, on Native American reservations and State programs and in partnership programs, GEAR UP has been a tremendous success, something that in a bipartisan way this Congress can take great pride in.

And as the architect of the original legislation, I'm very proud to come and ask the Congress to support this resolution, naming this National GEAR UP Day. I spoke to the almost 2,000 attendees at the national bureau conference yesterday. I had my wife and my two young daughters, Cameron and Chandler, with me. It was a great occasion to see and meet people from 48 States with, now, GEAR UP programs. And many of our territories also are represented, from Guam and Puerto Rico.

It is a tremendous success to see the college-going rate among this population of GEAR UP students, now over 2 million young people being served at 60-plus percent, 64 percent of them going on to college.

I do want to acknowledge the great work of my colleague from southwest Texas, Ruben Hinojosa, who has led and chairs the subcommittee on Higher Education.

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

I rise today to commend both the chairman and the ranking member. I am in an all-day markup on the Homeland appropriations bill, but I left that markup because I think this is very important to our homeland security. The notion that as a Nation we would finally address some of the shortcomings in our foster care system, I think is so appropriate. I want to thank Chairman McDermott for his leadership on this.

This bill, particularly when we focus on kinship care, when we look at the whole question of aging out and the challenges, we held a forum the other day right here in the Capitol and heard from experts, but more importantly, heard from a former foster child herself about how she was told to leave immediately upon her 18th birthday and all of her belongings put in four trash bags. Now she's getting ready to graduate from one of our finest universities, and she's on the right track, but to think how abruptly she was treated by this foster family.

We need to look at, through all of these challenges, how we can better reform these systems. Hundreds of thousands of young people and their life chances are impacted. I join the ranking member and the chairman as a cosponsor of this bill. But this is just the beginning. There are other issues raised in the Invest in Kids Act; there are issues, and we have raised them in the bill that I have offered, to create a White House conference on children so that we can focus anew on what we can do to improve our entire foster child system.

I thank you for this time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and work of an important Philadelphian who will long be remembered.

When one looks up the definition of a leader they will find these words, `someone who guides or directs others.' Alongside that designation should be a photo of one of Philadelphia's most revered citizens, Samuel L. Evans.

Evans was an imposing figure standing tall among the politically powerful even as he reached out to those in need. He was both influential and inspirational, an activist and advocate. Evans was a warrior in the civil rights movement, and a mentor for countless aspiring politicians, educators and entrepreneurs.

Sam Evans was a complex man, one who never compromised when it came to his principles, a trait admired by some and criticized by others. Evans' unwavering dedication to the success of African American boys and girls in Philadelphia brought him legions of admirers among those he assisted. They are among the most prosperous and socially active citizens serving in leadership positions throughout the city and the nation.

A man of courage, strength and dignity, Sam Evans will be remembered for his tenacious spirit and admired for his unyielding loyalty.

Madam Speaker, the City of Philadelphia, its arts community and in fact all citizens who cherish our rich cultural environment are in mourning at the untimely loss of Anne d'Harnoncourt, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Anne d'Harnoncourt was, as described by her countless friends and admirers, a world class leader of the arts who developed, led and leaves as her legacy a vibrant, world-class institution.

Director of the Museum since 1982 and the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer since 1997, she led the institution with greatness and grace, overseeing a massive project to reinstall all of the European collections in more than 90 galleries; renovation of 20 galleries of modern and contemporary art followed in 2000. Last September, another dream of hers was realized with opening of the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, a neighboring landmark, with greatly expanded, state-of-the-art facilities for specialized Museum collections. As a special gift to the people of Philadelphia, this annex opened admission free for its first four months.

Anne d'Harnoncourt's fund raising prowess was legendary. She led the Museum through two major capital campaigns: the Landmark Renewal Fund, which raised $64 million between 1986 and 1993; and the 2001 FUND 125th Anniversary Campaign which concluded in 2004, exceeding its goal and raising over $246 million.

H. F. ``Gerry'' Lenfest, Chairman of the Art Museum Board of Trustees, offered the following comment to the media as the Museum broke the sad news: ``Anne's death is a severe loss to our beloved Museum, to the world of art and to those who knew and loved her. I have never known a person with more human attributes: she was learned, a gifted speaker, had an effervescent personality, was a great director and, above all, a deeply caring person. We will miss her greatly.''

It is important to note that Anne d'Harnoncourt's contributions and impact go far beyond the Art Museum's sturdy walls and its towering structure that overlooks the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a thoroughfare described as Philadelphia's Champs Elysees. Under her leadership, the Art Museum has served as the anchor for arts, culture, music and civic celebration for all Philadelphians. The museum has become increasingly accessible to Philadelphia's diverse communities, both in its admissions policies, its community outreach and in its choice of showcase artists, such as the Henry Ossawa Tanner retrospective in the early 1990s that saluted the great Philadelphia raised African-American artist.

I was proud to have Anne d'Harnoncourt as a friend. I extend my condolences to her husband, Joseph J. Rishel, her legions of admirers and friends, and I urge my colleagues to join in honoring her memory.

Madam Speaker, a distinguished preacher and spiritual leader in Philadelphia, the Reverend Doctor Albert F. Campbell, the pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church, is observing a milestone that provides his congregants, his many followers and admirers along with friends and family, an opportunity to celebrate his long and productive ministry.

Pastor Campbell has been a rock in West Philadelphia, as a man of God, a man of the people, a leader of the community and a role model for all of those in his sphere.

He has presided over Mount Carmel Baptist--``a revolutionary church engaged in revolutionary services''--for 42 years, succeeding the Reverend Doctor Dennie W. Hoggard. A passionate and inspiring young preacher from Beulah Baptist Church of New York City, Reverend Campbell arrived in Philadelphia with his wife, Ruth Price Campbell, and their sons, Albert Jr. and Milton K., to step into the pulpit at Mount Carmel on May 22, 1966. Each year, a Sunday in late May is celebrated as the anniversary of his installation, and this year is no exception--with Pastor Appreciation Day May 25, 2008.

The measure of Reverend Campbell's greatness is evident upon a visit to the church, at 5732 Race Street, to the surrounding community and even to its Web site, which lists no fewer than 61 separate ministries. While the church dates back 126 years, it has grown immensely in the four decades plus of Reverend Campbell's pastorate.

The Reverend Campbell had directed and managed Mount Carmel in an inspirational manner while preaching the word of God to a ``People in Pilgrimage,'' bound for the destination of which God said, ``I will give it to you''.

With a keen eye for management as well as a heart filled with the word of the Lord, Reverend Campbell has guided the Church to prominence in the faith and civic life of the City of Brotherly Love. His vision for Mount Carmel has encompassed all facets of the Church and its work. He has expanded Mount Carmel's ministries, its outstanding youth and educational programs, and its civic and community development outreach across West Philadelphia, impacting its neighbors, reaching out to those in need and to those searching for spiritual fulfillment. Musical programs have been a specialty, and in an especially proud moment, the Mount Carmel orchestra was once invited to perform at the White House.

And so upon this joyous occasion of the 42nd anniversary of his installation, I invite my colleagues to join me in extending congratulations, best wishes and continued success in the Lord's work to the Reverend Doctor Albert F. Campbell, my pastor and a pastor who has served tirelessly for the betterment of all Philadelphians.

Madam Speaker, the Philadelphia Award is my hometown's most prestigious award for service to the community. Its winners, since 1921, have included scientists, educators, industrialists, religious leaders, orchestra conductors, mayors, authors, philanthropists, and more.

This past Sunday, May 4, 2008, the Philadelphia Award was presented, on its 87th anniversary, to Marciene S. Mattleman, the founder and developer of programs to advance literacy, promote mentoring and college scholarships for low income youth, develop after school programs in underserved neighborhoods, and generally improve the lives of children in Philadelphia. Her triumphs include the Mayor's Office for Literacy, Philadelphia

READS, Philadelphia Futures, and currently the After School Activities Partnerships. Remarkably, her pattern has been to launch such worthwhile projects, build them as self-sustaining and successful, then move on to her next initiative.

Marciene Mattleman's persistence is legendary in Philadelphia--and it was the subject of much merriment at the Philadelphia Award ceremonies held at Temple University. The keynote speaker, Ralph Smith of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, described the experience of having Ms. Mattleman doggedly seeking support and resources from a public official, foundation or opinion leader as being ``Marciened.'' Governor Ed Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter said in such meetings it was best to say ``yes'' quickly, because no one was ever able to say no to her visionary requests.

As an elected official who has come to know and respect Marciene and her initiatives, I extend my congratulations to her and thanks to the Trustees of the Philadelphia Award for their wise and popular selection. For a full measure of Marciene S. Mattleman's accomplishments and unique style, I encourage my colleagues to consider the profile included in the Philadelphia Inquirer on May 4, 2008, which I have submitted into the Record.

Anyone in Need Can Join Her Club

(By Melissa Dribben)

Today's Philadelphia Award winner uses her pull to give

kids--and others--a push. Marciene Mattleman is kind of a big

deal.

You'd never know it if you came across her at 7 a.m. in

Society Hill, walking her ritual two miles in 30 minutes as

she has almost every day for 14 years.

Or chatting up Ken, the concierge at the front desk of the

condominium where she and her husband, Herman, have lived for

12 years.

Or getting takeout at the deli next to her Center City

office, where she spoons out a demure serving of chicken and

broccoli from the buffet, but accidentally takes two

Styrofoam containers, which the cashier notices and repacks

without properly closing the lid. So by the time Mattleman

sits down for a conference with her staff to organize an all-

night chess marathon for city kids, brown sauce has pooled in

the bottom of the plastic bag.

Watching Mattleman in these settings is like the papparazzi

catching Meryl Streep yawning in one of those ``see,

celebrities are normal, just like us'' photos.

Don't kid yourself.

That deceptively delicate-looking woman with her white hair

brushing against her shoulders is no ordinary grandmother out

for a power walk. She's a gifted educator, canny social

entrepreneur, and tireless fundraiser who has operated for 30

years in a decidedly higher realm than the rest of us

earthlings.

Today, in recognition of her contributions to

Philadelphia's underprivileged youths, Mattleman will receive

the Philadelphia Award, the city's highest civic honor.

``I've had a huge amount of support, both emotional and

financial, that enabled me to follow my instincts and act

with independence,'' Mattleman says. ``There is an enormous

satisfaction to help other people get what they want from

life.

``When you have a kid go to college who never thought they

could, or learn to read, or win a chess tournament, and shake

the winner's hand, it's wonderful to see.''

She was chosen, says Happy Fernandez, chairman of the award

commission, to honor her work this past year organizing

after-school activities for the city's children, and

recruiting thousands of volunteers to lead chess clubs and

debate teams and teach hip-hop and yoga. But the prize is

also an acknowledgment of her life's considerable

accomplishments.

A partial accounting: Founder of Philadelphia Futures, the

mentoring and scholarship program for underprivileged kids.

Founder of Philadelphia READS, a literacy program for

underprivileged kids. Founder of ASAP After School Activities

Partnerships. Appointed to boards and commissions by

President Bill Clinton, Gov. Rendell, and Mayors William J.

Green and W. Wilson Goode. Longtime trustee at the Free

Library and Community College of Philadelphia. Member of

Mayor Nutter's transition team. Author of scholarly articles

and books.

When the awards ceremony is held this afternoon at Temple

University, where Mattleman, 78, earned three degrees and

taught education for 18 years, you can just imagine the kind

of clout that will be seated in the audience.

And, of course, standing for the ovations.

They will rave about her dedication. Her drive. Her knack

for inventing small, efficient programs to help children make

the most of their lives.

They will talk about her family--the three children and six

grandchildren, who have all followed her lead by doing public

service. And her 57-year marriage to Herman, a former

president of the Philadelphia School Board, who won the

Philadelphia Award 17 years ago.

All impressive.

But if you want to know what makes Marciene (pronounced

mar-SEEN) Mattle-

man truly extraordinary, here's one man to ask.

Ken Leeman, that guy who works the front desk in her

apartment building.

``She's pretty generous,'' Leeman says. ``She pretty much

took my son under her wing.''

She got the 16-year-old boy involved in chess tournaments

and arranged a full summer of activities at the Samuel S.

Fels Community Center in South Philadelphia.

``She'd also take him to her office and take him on

trips,'' Leeman says. ``She set him up pretty good.''

This is what Mattleman does for just about anyone in need

who crosses her path.

``There is no kid or adult who possibly needs help that

she's not willing to reach out to,'' says her daughter

Barbara, executive director of the humanitarian Operation

Understanding. ``For years, we'd lose our cleaning ladies.

She'd either get them into school or find them better jobs.

She always believed if you're smart and you want to do

something, there should be no barrier.''

In the last 25 years, Mattleman has built a network of

contacts so dense and influential that there is almost no one

in city government or business she can't call to ask for a

favor. Favors, invariably, that involve helping someone.

``It's hard to say no to her,'' says Pedro Ramos, a partner

at Blank Rome. ``When she calls to ask you for something, I

don't think the word ever gets out.''

Pushy?

That's one way to look at it, says Ramos. He prefers

``persistent, perpetually energized and directed.''

``When she starts a conversation, she's already three or

four steps ahead,'' he says. ``She's already thought through

how you can be helpful.''

One of her closest friends, retired Superior Court Judge

Phyllis Beck, recalls the genesis of Philadelphia Futures in

1989.

``She's amazing at getting an idea and then bringing that

idea into reality,'' Beck says. ``When she first thought

about Philadelphia Futures, we talked about it as just an

idea in her head, what the name should be, and before I

turned around--there was the organization.''

Ten years later, Mattleman resigned.

Unlike others who start nonprofits, stay for decades, and

try to expand them to the fullest extent, Mattleman believes

in creating small and efficient operations, then setting them

free to live an independent life.

``She needed an interim president, so she asked me,'' Beck

recalls. ``I didn't have the time. I couldn't possibly have

done it. But you don't say no to Marciene. You try, but it's

practically impossible. When she calls you at 7 a.m. and

you've said no three mornings in a row . . .''

Beck laughs. ``You know why you can't say no to Marciene?

Because if you needed her, or you needed Herman, you know

they would do anything for you.''

Beck, who has known the couple for 30 years, says she

thinks of the two as one entity. Their romance, which began

at Tel Hai Camp in Bucks County when she was 16 and he was

20, appears to be perpetually sweet and symbiotic.

She cooks; he does the dishes. They talk six times a day on

the phone. He listens faithfully to the weekly education

reports she has been broadcasting on KYW radio for 10 years.

She gently chides him for buying too many books but,

honestly, wouldn't have him change a thing.

``June 25, we'll be married 58 years,'' Mattleman says,

showing off the picture of the two of them on a boat on the

Delaware near their country house in Bucks County. ``It seems

just incredible to me. We really think of ourselves as kids.

I know that sounds silly.''

Their children say the storybook love affair is genuine.

``They are an amazing team,'' says Barbara, who remembers,

as a child, watching them dancing in the living room and

getting the whole family to sing together. ``I did the same

with my family.''

The feistiness, she says, was also part of their legacy.

When she was in high school in Merion during the Vietnam War,

she and her mother went to a protest outside the local draft

office.

``I thought it was going to be a rally, but when we got

there, it was just the two of us. We marched in circles

singing antiwar songs.''

Years later, she reminded her mother of that day. ``She had

no idea what I was talking about. Or what an incredible

impact that had on my life, learning that it didn't matter

how many people were there, you did what you believed was

right.''

Mattleman's other daughter, Ellen, vice president and

policy director for the Committee of Seventy, says her

parents set high standards for behavior.

``She's a tough act to follow. When the phone rings at

midnight or at 6 a.m., I don't get alarmed. I know it's my

mother calling to talk about something she's been thinking

about. Someone with that kind of energy can be pretty

daunting if you're her kid.''

However fiercely she may work for the public good, Ellen

says, her mother's greatest devotion is to her family.

``When I heard that she got this Philadelphia Award, I

welled up. I was so happy for her to get this honor.''

Then Ellen called her to congratulate her.

``Did you cry when they told you?'' Ellen asked.

``No,'' Mattleman said. ``I only cry when I burn the

meat.''

``That's true,'' Ellen explains. ``Because if she burned

the meat, it would mean she wasn't doing something wonderful

for her

family. . . . She is very, very wonderful as a grandmother

and mother, and sometimes that gets lost in all the stuff she

does.''

Last week, Mattleman met with her staff in the conference

room to work out the final details of a marathon youth chess

tournament that would begin Friday evening and last through

all day Saturday.

On the wall hang photographs of children engrossed in chess

games, a picture of a city councilwoman practicing yoga with

two school kids, and a whiteboard scrawled in red,

``Congratulations Marciene!''

The staff wanted to hold a party for her early last month

as soon as they learned she was winning the Philadelphia

Award. But the announcement had come within days of a family

tragedy.

Mattleman's great-nephew had died of cancer, and as the

matriarch of the family, she had been shuttling back and

forth to New York during the last weeks of his illness and

then for his funeral.

The youngest of three girls and the only surviving sibling,

Mattleman says she was brought up believing in the importance

of family and the personal imperative to help the less

fortunate.

She grew up on Woodcrest Avenue in Wynnefield, where her

father, a businessman, served as president of his synagogue.

``They used to remind me that Anne Frank was my age. . . .

There but for the grace of God . . .''

One of her sisters was a psychologist, the other ``a

wonderful, good-hearted woman.'' She is the only one who

maintained a compulsion to keep working, well past retirement

age, for the public good.

``I have my father's energy and drive,'' she says. ``He

lived to 95. I hope I do, too.''

For the chess marathon, Mattleman planned to take the

Friday night shift, ``from 7 until whenever.'' She wanted to

make sure there would be enough children--and sponsors--to

keep the event vibrant even in the odd hours.

``The leaky chicken and broccoli has left a puddle on the

table. `I'll clean it up,' '' she says, and disappears for a

minute.

In her absence, her staff, who are mostly in their 20s and

30s, say working with Mattleman is like earning a master's

degree in nonprofits. An experience both inspiring and

humbling.

``When we're at a fund-raiser and someone is talking slow,

she'll kick me and say, `We've got to get going. I have

things to do!' '' says Justin Ennis, a 23-year-old graduate

of the University of Pennsylvania who is working for

AmeriCorps. She can't stand having to wait for an inefficient

speaker to get to the point.

``We call it the ninth circle of hell for her,'' says

Ennis.

Any signs that she's slowing down?

None, says Ennis, shaking his head. ``It's terrifying.''

Mattleman returns with a napkin. Wipes the table clean.

``There!'' she says, then leaves to get on with business.

Madam Speaker, had I been present for the vote on H.R. 2634, the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation Act, I would have voted ``aye.''