Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, as we start this New Year, I would like to recognize the service of a special and gifted man who has touched the hearts of Mississippi. On July 4, 2004, the congregation of Galloway Methodist Church in Jackson, Mississippi was blessed with Reverend Ross Olivier as he delivered his first sermon. Sunday, January 13, 2008, his tenure ended and he preached his last message. Ross will travel back home to South Africa to be with his family.

Ross Olivier came to Mississippi in 2004 through a partnership with the Mississippi Conference and the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. He entered Methodist ministry in 1980 and at the end of training received the Flowerday Memorial Award as the outstanding ordinand in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. He was appointed parish minister to the Heidelburg Circuit and was responsible for 24 racially and culturally diverse congregations. Throughout this time of ministry he touched and healed a broken community during some of the harshest years of the Apartheid era of Southern Africa. In 1994, he traveled throughout six countries, serving the MCSA with a Journey to a New Land, an initiative to refocus the mission of the church in the post- Apartheid years. Later in 1997, he became senior pastor of Northfield Church serving a congregation of 5,000 members. Two years later he was elected to serve the MCSA as General Secretary of 4,500 congregations and 25 million Methodists in Southern Africa.

This challenging, yet gratifying career path gave him a respect for the differences in culture and the tools along with the expertise he needed to reshape the Galloway Methodist Church community in Jackson. To Mississippi he brought an open and compassionate heart. He strived to form a more inclusive church, one where all are welcomed into the house of the Lord. Through partnerships, he taught that the church could transcend barriers and that the focus should be on economic and social interest, not the color of your skin. He brought transformation, healing, and reconciliation to the state of Mississippi by using the church as a bridge between diverse communities. Reverend Olivier was also very instrumental in bringing about a Faith and Politics Institute pilgrimage to Mississippi. This journey will be co hosted by Congressman Bennie Thompson and myself in late March of this year. It is my hope that Ross will be able to join us then to experience firsthand the fruits of his labor.

Madam Speaker, Reverend Ross Olivier has been an inspiration to Mississippi and to me. He taught a love and responsibility for community; we each have a role that we must honor and uphold. His teachings will be remembered and he will be greatly missed by his congregation and all who knew him. As he journeys back to South Africa to lead a congregation in Pretoria, the lives he touched in Mississippi will remain forever changed and grateful.

Madam Speaker, as we begin to wrap up this year's work in Congress, I wish to recognize a valued Mississippian who recently left my staff to pursue opportunities in the private sector back home in Mississippi. Mike Lipski served as my military legislative assistant and special projects director, and later, as my Legislative Director here in Washington, DC. Mike's heart has always been with his home on the Mississippi gulf coast; now he has returned there and taken a position as director of sector administration at Northrop Grumman. Mike's service to Mississippi and our country spans a lifetime of hard work.

Mike's two-decade service in the Navy stretches from his time as a surface warfare officer on the USS Oliver Hazard Perry to service as a Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer, including time at the Pentagon on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. He brought to my office experience as executive officer of Navy's Engineering Field Activity Southeast in Jacksonville, Florida, as well as a stint as a Navy Legislative Fellow serving on Senator Trent Lott's National Security staff.

On my staff, Mike utilized, promoted, increased, and protected the defense community's value, not only for security, but also as an engine of the economy. He demonstrated his commitment to the needs of our war fighters--past, current, and future--with his work on veterans legislation; support and funding for our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world; and preparation and planning for military training and base infrastructure around Mississippi and specifically at Meridian's Naval Air Station and our National Guard facilities. He served as the point person in my office during the most recent round of BRAC, base realignment and closure. He coordinated statewide efforts of military and community

leaders to effectively communicate the national mission value of our bases and defend them in the face of downsizing and cuts.

In my office, Mike provided calm and reasoned counsel and was a trusted advisor and effective implementer of my legislative agenda and appropriation priorities. He successfully worked with economic development interests to bring new and better jobs to Mississippi and implement strategic community development plans at our universities and industrial clusters. He has a strong vision for our State and creative ideas to reach those goals.

Hurricane Katrina presented unique challenges to all levels of leadership in Mississippi, from alderman to Congressman; from mayor to Governor. As we coordinated emergency response efforts on all levels of government, Mike Lipski served as my liaison to MEMA, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, and slept on a cot at their headquarters for several days, when he wasn't on the coast with a satellite phone making immediate needs assessments and providing logistical coordination and advice. Mike traded his cot and sat-phone for a tie and clipboard and returned to Washington where he worked closely with me in developing and implementing Katrina reform measures: Federal contracting reform, housing and infrastructure policy, Federal relief and emergency recovery funding. His knowledge and experience with the Corps of Engineers provided a unique resource both during reform and in oversight as committees investigated the Government response to Hurricane Katrina.

Mike's wife, the former Jill Daria Wiltzius, has stood by him throughout his military career and his public service in my office. His transfers around the world have provided them both amazing international experiences but now Mike has convinced his Wisconsin girl to settle in Mississippi. Our State is a better place with the two of them as strong and honorable citizens. Jill is an outstanding educator and hopes to pursue her Ph.D. now that they are settled in Mississippi. I know Mike's family in Long Beach is very proud of him and his successful career is a tribute to his parents: John and Eleanor.

Now Mike will have time to sail, canoe, fly fish, and indulge his outdoor passions, but I have no doubt he will be integral in rebuilding and leading the coast to a full recovery.

Mike Lipski left a formative mark on the shape and operation of my office. We will miss his good nature, warm friendship, determined work ethic, and dry humor. I am proud of his service and the positive difference he has made for our State and the country. I am grateful to call him my friend. I thank him for his service to this office and to Mississippi and wish him the best of fortune in his new endeavors.

Madam Speaker, as we wrap up this year in Congress, I want to honor Mary Mills Ritchie, who left my staff earlier this year to return to Mississippi. She was a dedicated member of my staff who honorably served my office and the people of Mississippi.

Mary Mills came to my office as our staff assistant in 2003, after graduating from the University of Mississippi earlier that year, and Jackson Preparatory School in 1999. She demonstrated her abilities to understand and affect public policy and with her dedicated work ethic, her role grew to Legislative Assistant for health care policy.

She managed this legislative portfolio at a critical time, as we worked with seniors and communities to implement the Medicare Reform Act of 2003 that provides prescription drug benefits to needy Americans. She served as my liaison to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and assisted pharmacists, hospitals, and other health care providers in Mississippi move through the Washington bureaucracies.

Following Hurricane Katrina, she played a critical role as we inserted language in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that provided funds for 8\1/2\ months of Mississippi's state Medicaid budget: $850 million in budget relief at a time when Mississippi was straining under the pressures of disaster recovery.

While working in Washington, she met a young man from Texas named Spencer Ritchie and they married in March of 2005. But rather than carrying her away to the Lone Star State, she converted him into a Mississippian. He is now in law school at the University of Mississippi, where she works in Oxford.

Mary Mills' hard work and success is a tribute to her parents, Sam and Leila Lane. I know they and her brothers, Samuel and Ben, are very proud of her.

Madam Speaker, Mary Mills Ritchie left a formative mark on my health care agenda and on our office. We will not forget her good nature or her eagerness to learn and work. She possesses a rare grace and presence. This unique spirit carries her compassion and commitment to help, teach and serve others. She continues to bless the lives of all who know her. I thank her for her service to this office and to Mississippi.

Madam Speaker, the athletic tradition at Mississippi State University has celebrated the lives and accomplishments of many student and staff leaders over the years. Recently another has been added to this list when Straton Karatassos was inducted into the Mississippi Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame.

Straton has a lifetime of experiences and stories as a manager and trainer of athletic teams. While working with the Georgia Southern baseball team in 1973, he made his first visit to Mississippi State University for a game, and later that year returned as a graduate student. Now, three decades later, Straton has become inseparable from the MSU athletic family. He was named State's head trainer in 1981, later served as assistant athletic director for sports medicine, and now works as assistant athletic director for athletic development within the Bulldog Club.

While he is a native of Savannah, GA, we like to claim him as a true son of Starkville. He and his wife, Harriet, of Batesville, MS, are central to the Bulldog community, and he is as much part of the teams at Mississippi State as are the players.

Madam Speaker, I hope the Congress joins me in congratulating Straton Karatassos for a lifetime of service to sport and saluting him in his induction into the Mississippi Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3541. I, too, want to join in commending my colleagues, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Stearns, and my good friend Congressman Doyle from Pennsylvania. I thank the leadership of the committee, Chairman Dingell and Congressman Joe Barton. Joe has been a good friend, and he has provided the support on our side, and Cliff Stearns, the leadership on our side.

Mike Doyle has been a tireless champion on this, a bulldog, and a great advocate for keeping peace and goodwill through the Christmas season for the citizens of our country as we do something that is common sense and pretty straightforward and simple, and that is to extend the do-not-call.

We do not want the cold calls to fill the stockings. We simply want the good cheer that will come from the time around the dinner table and the Christmas tree and the holiday season that all of us who want to be protected in that sanctuary of home will be, and this bill will do that.

The other great benefit, if we're watching our budget around Christmastime as a country and in the Congress, this has no cost. And so for our friends on the Senate side who are known to be frugal, we can tell you this has no cost. It can be passed quickly. It should be passed quickly as a Christmas present for the citizens of the country.

This is good government. It is time. And we can do this together, House and Senate, on a bipartisan basis. It is one of the most widely popular programs that we've had in this country; over 150 million people have signed up. I'm proud to be part of this effort, and I'm proud that I've worked with friends on the other side of the aisle to achieve this.

This is good news, good legislation, and a good effort. And I do wish to commend the committee for their work. I thank Mr. Doyle again for his good leadership.

As I previously stated, the Do Not Call legislation is extremely popular and has been effective in largely eliminating the unwanted intrusions associated with commercial telemarketing calls to the home. We should all be proud of the success of the legislation and I want to commend both the FCC and FTC for their efforts in this area. I am confident that this language will benefit both the American people and industry. FTC and industry concerns were well vetted and fully considered as the bill moved through normal process. We added the reporting requirement to ensure we are providing an accurate database to the telemarketing industry so they are not hindered by making registration permanent.

Since the Do Not Call registry falls within the jurisdiction and enforcement of both the FCC and FTC, I hope there is continued consistent application, direction, and enforcement by both agencies. We have all worked hard to develop and implement the Do Not Call legislation, and we must be cautious in protecting its integrity and enforceability, particularly as it applies to charities and nonprofits. Inconsistent direction or enforcement ultimately will weaken the enforceability of the restrictions and undermine the statutory intent of this successful Government program. Again, I thank the committee and look forward to passage of this legislation.

Would the gentleman yield?

I would be regretful if I did not mention the good work of the staff, as did Mr. Doyle. And for me, on my staff, Hugh Carroll has been tireless and has worked hard, and I appreciate his good work on this effort.

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask unanimous consent to withdraw my name as a cosponsor of H.R. 1201.

Madam Speaker, I was unable to be present for Rollcall vote 948 to H.R. 3648. I would have voted ``yes.'' My vote would not have changed the result, but I want this record to reflect my intention.

Madam Speaker, I was unable to be present for rollcall vote 946 to H.R. 3246. I would have voted ``yes.'' My vote would not have changed the result, but I want this record to reflect my intention.

Madam Speaker, I was unable to be present for rollcall vote No. 876 to H.R. 1852. I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, on Rollcall vote 806 to strike section 726 from the bill relating to the importation of prescription drugs, I voted ``no''. I intended to vote ``aye''. My vote would not have changed the result, but I want this Record to reflect my intention.

Madam Speaker, today I want to recognize a Mississippian who has been a true champion for Head Start for over 40 years. This Friday, on April 27, 2007, the Winston County Complex Mississippi Action for Progress will celebrate the ``Mattie Cooper's Day.'' I join them in expressing my appreciation to Mattie for her love of Head Start. Her colleagues know her as a steadfast advocate with unwavering support for both the mission and the children of Head Start.

Mattie Cooper knows Head Start. She started out as a teacher's assistant and progressed through the program. Currently she serves as the County Administrator for the Winston County Complex Mississippi Action for Progress, in Louisville, Mississippi. Her work is a calling, a mission, and she strives every day to make a difference in the lives of young Mississippians.

Mattie Cooper started her career with the Wesley Education Association (WEA) in 1966. Recognizing her talents, they encouraged her to attend the Tuskegee Institute to obtain teacher certification. Following 5 years at Tuskegee, WEA asked her to participate in classes, workshops, seminars and conferences at various Mississippi universities to obtain her Social Worker's license. She earned her certification and WEA promoted her to Social Services Director. They also named her the Parent Involvement/Volunteer Coordinator. She continued her success in motivating the parents and community with phenomenal results.

When Wesley Education Association joined the Mississippi Action for Progress (MAP), this new and stronger Head Start program promoted Mattie Cooper to Center Administrator. Quickly recognizing her talents and the potential of the Winston County Complex, MAP's executive director promoted Mattie to the highest position for the county: County Administrator.

Mattie Cooper graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1992 and number one in her class with an associate's degree from Mary Holmes College. In 1962, she was valedictorian of her high school. In addition to Head Start, she serves her community and church. She maintains the integrity of elections and confidence of voters in our democratic system as a Winston County Election Commissioner. And for almost 40 years, she has served as secretary for the Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Louisville.

Mattie's dedication to service begins at home. For almost 45 years, she has been a supportive wife to William Cooper. Together, they have a daughter Sharon Cooper Johnson who, with her husband Robert Johnson, Jr., is rearing a new generation of this family in Robert (Tre) Johnson, III.

I have known Mattie Cooper for over a decade and she makes her dedication to Head

Start and her community evident and a priority in all her work. I hope Congress joins me in honoring this Mississippi servant-leader and commending her work at enhancing her community, supporting her church, training the children of Winston County, and nurturing her family. She is a tremendous pillar of Louisville and deserves the honor given her this Friday.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act.

As the original cosponsor of the STOP Stroke Act, I would like to extend a special thanks to my colleague and the bill's sponsor, Congresswoman Capps for her tireless efforts to move this important legislation.

Despite significant advances in its diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, stroke remains the nation's number three killer and a leading cause of long-term disability. An estimated 700,000 U.S. residents have a new or recurrent stroke each year, and about 160,000 of them die, according to statistics compiled by the American Heart Association. On average, every 45 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, and someone dies of a stroke every 3 to 4 minutes. Stroke is the number four killer in my home state of Mississippi. In 2004, 1,651 people in Mississippi died of stroke. Mississippi ranks first in the nation for the highest death rate from heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.

Today 5.7 million Americans are stroke survivors. As many as 30 percent of them are permanently disabled, requiring extensive and costly care. It is expected that stroke will cost the nation $62.7 billion in 2007.

Prompt treatment of patients experiencing stroke can save lives and reduce disability, yet thousands of stroke patients do not receive the care they need. Additionally, most Americans cannot identify the signs of stroke, and even emergency medical technicians are often not taught how to recognize and manage its symptoms. Even in hospitals, stroke patients often do not receive the care that could save their lives. Rapid administration of clot-dissolving drugs dramatically improves the outcome of stroke, yet fewer than 3 percent of stroke patients now receive such medication.

The STOP Stroke Act is a first step toward removing these barriers to quality stroke care, thereby saving lives and reducing disability. The legislation addresses a number of significant hindrances to quality stroke care including low public awareness, lack of necessary infrastructure, low awareness among medical professionals, and lack of adequate data collection.

The legislation will coordinate these various components. According to the American Heart Association, developing coordinated systems of care is essential to improving prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation for stroke patients.

The STOP Stroke Act authorizes a national public information campaign to educate the public about stroke, including how to reduce risk, recognize the warning signs, and seek emergency treatment as soon as symptoms occur.

This legislation also authorizes the Paul Coverdell Stroke Registry and Clearinghouse to collect data about the care of acute stroke patients and foster the development of effective stroke care systems. The clearinghouse will serve as a resource for States seeking to design and implement their own stroke care systems by collecting, analyzing and disseminating information on the efforts of other communities to establish similar systems.

The STOP Stroke Act also provides grants for public and non-profit entities to develop and implement continuing education programs in the use of new diagnostic approaches, technologies, and therapies for the prevention and treatment of stroke. Stroke support can be delivered to smaller, underserved facilities by relying more heavily on innovative telemedicine approaches that overcome the boundaries of time and distance to help rural hospitals tap into otherwise unattainable resources.

Finally, this bill authorizes a telehealth stroke treatment pilot project to support states' efforts to develop comprehensive networks to improve stroke prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. These grants will allow states to identify stroke centers, improve communication networks that bring stroke care to rural areas, and decease response time.

The time has come for a bill such as the STOP Stroke Act. In fact, the time is past due. We are in a situation where stroke rates are on the rise, and we must address the issues that are going to help us match resources with the growing need to prevent and treat this devastating illness.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in both Chambers to promptly move this legislation that has actually passed previously in both the House and the Senate.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 118 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution.

As we look back through our Nation's history, and we look back at all

the great chapters, there were moments, decisive, critical moments, where our Nation could have given up, or given in, could have withdrawn, could have surrendered, and those moments that make us most proud are those chapters in our history where we did not give up, retreat, surrender.

If we had a mission, we completed it. If we look to Lincoln's message at one of those turning and tipping points in our history at Gettysburg, when this Nation was in the midst of its bloodiest civil war, Lincoln said, We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this Nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom.

We have a new Nation trying to grasp its first breath of freedom, to form a more perfect union of freedom and equality and democracy.

Lincoln's second inaugural address: With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness and the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

Today I took a couple on a tour of this great Capitol, and we walked into the Rotunda under the magnificent dome, the place where if you put the Statue of Liberty, it would still have room within that dome.

The dome was finished and constructed during our Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was questioned during that time, Shall we devote our time and our resources and the labor to the completion of the dome, or should that go to the war effort? And Lincoln said, No, that is a symbol of our union, and we will complete the work of the dome.

When Lee met Grant at Appomattox, it is said that Lee's first question to Grant was, Have they finished the dome yet? They had just finished it in the spring of 1865.

Today that dome defines and symbolizes the strength of our Nation and of our democracy. Many in the world probably thought during that time that we would never survive, and the real question for many of us today as a Nation at war that is spiraling in civil war, can that civil war end? Can a nation be unified? Could the hatred and the violence be stopped and then reconciliation bring unity?

There are many on the other side who believe that it is futile, that all civil wars will never end, that these ancient hatreds will not stop. But if we look to our recent history in Bosnia, there was a President of the other party who stood and said, We can intervene. We will give our military and our diplomatic resources to bring about an end to civil war.

He was successful, and history judges him well for that. To be honest, many on this side of the aisle did not stand in support of that President at that time. But our Nation remembers and are glad that we had a leader who intervened and brought stability to a critical region of the world, and new democracies emerged.

We started this effort together after 9/11. We all remember standing on the steps and singing ``God bless America.'' We can remember going to the cathedral, the National Cathedral, and praying for our guidance and for our unity. We authorized the war together. We adopted a policy of regime change together, overwhelmingly.

And now, 4 years later, when it is difficult and grave doubts rise, will we give up, or will we complete the work and finish the work in which we can be proud?

Lieutenant Joshua Trapp, who flies Apache helicopters in Iraq, deployed this spring after his marriage to Elizabeth of only 3 weeks. He now believes and hopes that he can complete his mission.

I rise today in Joshua Trapp's name, and all of those other Mississippians who have given their lives, that their life may not have been in vain, and that their mission may be supported in this body in this time and this place and that it is a chapter we in this place will remember as we age and grow old that we did not walk away, retreat, surrender, but we finished the mission.

Mr. Speaker, an enduring member of Mississippi's healthcare community will soon be retiring from his position as Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. Dr. Albert Randel Hendrix has contributed decades of time, energy, and passion into serving his community, State, and individuals with mental heath needs. Mississippi will miss his service.

Dr. Randy Hendrix is a native Mississippian, born and educated in Panola County. He served in our armed forces in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970. Following his Army discharge, Dr. Hendrix returned to Mississippi to complete graduate studies at the University of Mississippi, where he completed his Master's Degree in 1971, and at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he completed his doctoral degree in 1979. Dr. Hendrix has completed the Executive Education Program at Duke University, the Executive Development Institute of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, and the Certified Public Managers Program.

He began his professional career with the Department of Mental Health at Ellisville State School in 1971. In 1975, Dr. Hendrix was appointed Director of the North Mississippi Regional Center in Oxford, Mississippi. At the age of 28, he was the youngest director of a major facility in the Nation. While in Oxford, he was also a professor of Special Education and an adjunct professor in Healthcare Administration at the University of Mississippi. In November of 1986, Dr. Hendrix assumed responsibilities as Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, the State's largest agency. Dr. Hendrix is the longest serving Executive Director of Mental Health services in the Nation and will be retiring soon.

During his career with the Department of Mental Health, Dr. Hendrix has served on many Boards and Commissions including Chairman of the Mississippi Developmental Disabilities Council, member on the Governor's Council on Aging, and is currently the chairman and longest serving member of the mississippi Board of Rehabilitative Services, past chairman and member of the State Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth with Severe Emotional Problems, Member of the Mississippi Disability Resource Commission, Children's Trust Fund Advisory Council and Statewide CDC Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Planning Advisory Committee. He is a member and former officer of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Association on Mental Deficiency, Board Member of the Association of Mental Health Administrators since 1987, and has served as Executive Director for the Mississippi Arts Fair for the Handicapped since 1980.

Dr. Hendrix was selected as State Administrator of the Year, Herman C. Glazier Award Winner in 1990, recipient of the Agency Leadership Award of the National Association of Superintendents of Public Residential Facilities for the Mentally Retarded in 1992, recipient of the Governor's Stennis Award for Excellence in Government in 1994, and selected for Honorary Membership in Pi Alpha Alpha in 1997. Dr. Hendrix is also a member of the Honorary Scholastic Organization of Phi Theta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Delta Kappa.

Dr. Hendrix and his wife, Sandy, are the parents of 4 children, Jo Ellen Hendrix Townsend, Sarah, Randel, and Sandra and the grandparents of Grace, Jessica and Jeffrey Townsend.

For over 30 years, Dr. Hendrix has used his talent, knowledge, and skills to make Mississippi a better place and enhance the care of individuals with mental health concerns. We thank him for his service and know that even after his retirement, he will continue to be a pillar of his community and his State.