Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 4720, legislation introduced by Representative John Doolittle designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 200 Gateway Drive in Lincoln, California, as the Beverly J. Wilson Post Office Building.

Beverly Wilson, 65, and a resident of Lincoln, California, was a rural letter carrier for the United States Postal Service. Mrs. Wilson was delivering mail in her postal Jeep when she was rear-ended and killed, ending a 26-year career with the United States Postal Service.

Ms. Wilson was 4 weeks away from retirement. Madam Speaker, I can imagine that oftentimes individuals who do the work that Ms. Wilson did do not have monuments erected or buildings named for them. But delivering the mail is a very important function. People wait to receive it. They need it. They want it. And one of the ways that we honor her, as well as the other thousands of letter carriers throughout the country is by naming this facility after Ms. Beverly J. Wilson.

I urge its passage.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6151, designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 216 Oak Street in Farmington, Minnesota, as the Hamilton H. Judson Post Office.

Hamilton H. Judson was appointed postmaster of the Farmington post office on August 11, 1884, by Postmaster General Walter Q. Gresham. He retired in 1914.

I understand, Mr. Speaker, that this was a unique undertaking in terms of how this became the Hamilton H. Judson Post Office. It is my understanding that a contest sort of took place in town, and that the citizens voted. And after the voting was done, and all of the votes had been counted, Hamilton H. Judson was the name.

That is a unique way of people participating in a public decision. I commend the gentleman from Minnesota for using this approach and urge passage of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5736, legislation introduced by Representative Jeff Miller, designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 Palafox Place in Pensacola, Florida, as the ``Vincent J. Whibbs, Sr. Post Office Building.''

Vincent Whibbs was a member of the Pensacola City Council and former mayor of the city from 1977 to 1991. He passed away this year after having a distinguished career as a public servant. He did indeed serve for a long time as mayor of the city, and I can think of no better way for the city to honor his work and his memory than to name this postal facility in his honor.

I urge its passage

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello), the sponsor of this resolution.

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

If I just might close, I am pleased to join with my colleague from Illinois in this legislation. Katherine Dunham was an academician, a scholar, an activist, an anthropologist, a great dancer, a choreographer, a culturess, I do not know of many things that she was not, a businesswoman, a person who brought life and spirit wherever she was, and she was fortunate to live to a ripe old age.

All of us who have studied her, had the opportunity to see her, to know about her, our lives have indeed been enriched, and I am pleased to join in the sponsorship and urge passage of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

H.R. 1472, legislation introduced by Representative Charles Rangel, was unanimously passed by the Government Reform Committee on September 21, 2006. H.R. 1472 designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 167 East 124th Street in New York as the Tito Puente Post Office Building.

Tito Puente, the great musician known as the ``King of Latin Music,'' was born in 1923. He recorded over 100 albums and was a 4-time Grammy award winner, featured motion picture performer and internationally acclaimed musician. He died in May of 2000, and all of us who have heard the Latin sounds and relaxed as we listened are proud to know that a postal service is being named in honor of this great musician.

I urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, my father used to tell us that he or she who fails to plan, plans to fail. Of course, the same is true when it comes to money management and handling one's finances. This resolution makes all of us aware and reminds us that financial planning is essential to financial security.

I am pleased to join in support of this resolution setting aside and recognizing Financial Planning Week. I urge its passage

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am indeed proud to sponsor this resolution honoring a man who was the epitome of not only excellence but Mayor Sinde was a businessman turned politician. After getting involved in politics, everything that he touched seemingly turned to gold. He ran the park district in his town for 24 years as a volunteer, he was the Little League coach, he was the Girls Softball coach, he was elected mayor five times, he solved the city's water problem, and he was simply an icon.

Everybody in the village knew him, and I was fortunate to have had a great relationship with him. He was a Republican and I was a Democrat, but that never stood in our way. We had some of the most wonderful times that I can imagine.

Mayor Sinde, just before he died, and he was a serious senior citizen by then, last worked as a volunteer crossing guard. After he had retired from being the mayor, and being everything else in the town that one could do, he volunteered as a crossing guard. And so I and I am certain all of the residents of Westchester, Illinois, are very pleased to know that this postal facility will be named in honor of their great mayor and their great friend, and I urge its passage

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am also very proud and very pleased to be the sponsor of this resolution honoring one of Maywood's proud citizens and one of its great leaders. In addition to the Second Baptist Church providing religious services, it also developed social programs, had a program to help those who were needy, developed housing programs, and, in addition, provided motivation.

Out of the Second Baptist Church, under the leadership of Reverend Sykes, has come two mayors of the village of Maywood and the recorder of deeds from the County of Cook, which is the second largest county in the United States of America. So Reverend Sykes is a great motivator, stimulator, activator, and seriously religious man.

I am very pleased to honor him by naming this postal facility in his honor

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, Senate bill 3613, legislation introduced by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, was unanimously approved by the Senate on August 2, 2006. The bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2951 New York Highway 43 in Averill Park, New York, as the Major George Quamo Post Office Building.

Major George Quamo was a highly dedicated and decorated member of the Special Forces Unit in the Vietnam War. He was killed in 1968 when the helicopter in which he was traveling crashed.

Mr. Speaker, we can see by the number of medals and honors and decorations that this soldier earned that he is indeed deserving of this honor. I urge its passage.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, S. 3187, legislation introduced by Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, was unanimously passed by the Senate on July 20, 2006. The bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5755 Post Road, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, as the Richard L. Cevoli Post Office.

The late Richard Cevoli, a decorated Navy commander, fought bravely in World War II and the Korean War and served at Naval Air Station at Quonset Point. His legacy is memorialized in the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, honoring this soldier, this commander, this leader, is certainly appropriate by naming this postal facility in his honor.

Mr. Speaker, I understand this is our last measure. It certainly has been a pleasure for me to work with the gentleman from Texas. I want to wish him a good night's rest as we leave

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 295, a bill to establish September as Campus Fire Safety Month.

As students get back into the full swing of the school year, we all know that the need to be prepared for campus fire is the last thing perhaps on their mind.

Since January of 2000, the Center for Campus Fire Safety has identified 89 fire fatalities in student housing. Almost 80 percent of these deaths have occurred in off-campus housing such as rented houses and apartments.

Last year, a number of States across the Nation issued proclamations for September, and many schools held events on campus to educate their students about fire safety. This summer, the Center for Campus Safety convened a summer conference of college administrators, fire organizations and legislators to further the work and progress of many of the stakeholders. We hope through education and attention to the dangers on and off campus we can reduce the numbers of fires.

H. Res. 295 is the first step in recognizing September as Campus Fire Safety Month on a national level, which is being done in conjunction with many States and colleges and universities across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones), the sponsor of this legislation, and I ask unanimous consent that she be permitted to manage the remainder of our time on this side for H. Res. 295.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleague from Nebraska, one of the most effective, if I might say, advocates for young people that I know anywhere in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague Mr. Osborne for bringing H. Res. 1009 to the floor today, and I join him in support of this resolution that promotes the need for greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the increasing need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for youth in high-risk situations.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution points to an issue that is of great concern to me: young people who have been pushed aside and thrown away, oftentimes by their parents and sometimes by all of society.

The youth who come to these programs represent what some call a lost generation, a generation that holds so much promise and yet sees so few opportunities. When a young person comes to these programs, they often do so out of a need for security, shelter, and comfort that they cannot find at home. And these programs provide that comfort. They provide basic life skills training, job preparation and placement, health referrals and services.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, each year the need for these programs grows. The basic housing needs of our Nation's most vulnerable youth, those experiencing homelessness, are not being met. And continued shortfalls in funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act have increased this need.

Nearly 150,000 young people are served at basic centers and through

transitional living programs. Yet as this resolution points out, many more runaways and homeless youth find themselves without these critical community services. It is appropriate that today we take time out to promote greater public awareness of the needs of these young people and the services that are available to them in the community.

In particular, I want to applaud the hard work of the front line workers who are on the ground working with runaway and homeless youth every day. For many young people, these workers represent the only responsible and caring adults they will have contact with during their time on the streets. Many of these workers are volunteers who make themselves available 24 hours a day. They venture into dangerous situations, providing a lifeline to these young people, and they should be acknowledged for their efforts.

I am mindful of one organization in my neighborhood, the Night Ministry, that has developed probably one of the most effective programs of this type in the country, where not only have they provided a program with adequate shelter, but they have what I call state-of- the-art housing. You can see them at night during the cold winter, driving along the streets, getting out, oftentimes interceding and picking up young people, questioning them about why they are there. And those who know Chicago know that it gets awfully cold during the winter months. So I applaud the Night Ministry.

I thank Mr. Porter for introducing this resolution, and certainly I commend Mr. Osborne for his tremendous work on behalf of young people.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Texas for her statement and for the energy that she puts into everything that she does.

I also want to again commend Mr. Porter for introducing this resolution and thank Mr. Osborne and say that, when he is not here, I am going to miss him tremendously, because he is a real advocate for young people, and I have never seen anyone do it more effectively or do it better.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), who is the sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume to close for our side.

Again, I want to commend the gentlewoman from New York for her introduction of this resolution. I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 478, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Lights on Afterschool!, a national celebration of after-school programs.

Lights on Afterschool! is a project of the Afterschool Alliance. As many of you may know, the Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of after- school programs for all children. The Alliance was created to conduct this public awareness and advocacy work and to serve as a national voice for after-school programs.

Consistent with the work of the Alliance, they have created the Lights on Afterschool! projects that will host nationwide celebrations this October. These celebrations are a way of highlighting and bringing attention to the importance of after-school programs.

I think every single Member of Congress here can speak to the importance of these programs. I myself have seen the important and necessary role that after-school plays, especially in the everyday lives of working families. Nationwide, 14.3 million children take care of themselves after the school day ends. Of these, 6.5 million children are in after-school programs.

We all know that these programs provide not only a place for young people to be after school but also provide a tremendous benefit. Some of us have probably even visited after-school programs in our district. We appreciate the role that they have played and will continue to play in providing a safe place for our youth to be after school and provide them with the opportunity to grow and to learn.

Every statistic that you can look at and find generally depicts the fact that when young people get in trouble the most it is when they are without supervision, have nothing meaningful to do and are left to their own environs.

As a matter of fact, my parents used to say it differently. They used to say that an idle mind is the devil's workshop. I guess what they really meant was that if young people did not have something created for them to do, that we would create our own things, and oftentimes those things would not be in the best interests not only of our individual development but not in the best interests of the communities where we were.

So when the gentlewoman from New York introduces such a resolution, she is really doing all of America a great favor by helping us to remember that if we do not provide positive things for young people to do, oftentimes they will create the negative. So I thank Mrs. Lowey for her introduction of this resolution and strongly support it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Erikson Institute of Chicago on its 40th anniversary. The Erikson Institute is an innovative institution dedicated to cultivating superior early childhood educators of minority and low-income children. The Erikson Institute was founded as a response to increased government programs for early childhood education. With the inception of the Head Start program in 1965, three esteemed child advocates--Maria Peirs, Lorraine Wallach, and Barbara Taylor Bowman--recognized the need for quality early child educators, especially those trained to teach minority and low-income children. Erikson Institute, with financial help from Irving B. Harris, opened its doors in 1966 and has upheld its commitment to excellence throughout the past four decades.

Erikson's mission of ensuring that every adult who works with young children is knowledgeable, aware, and skilled is more important now than ever. Early childhood education is especially important to low- income children. Therefore we know that prekindergarten programs have a positive impact on the cognitive performance of children living in poverty. A critical component in the process of educating young children is having well-trained teachers. In 2001, 72 percent of all urban public school elementary students in prekindergarten programs came from families classified as low-income by the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. This study also found that roughly half, 51 percent, were minority students. In Chicago there are 19,053 pre-school students, 2,659 of which are special needs children. The 7th District of Illinois, my congressional district, is home to 11,966 pre-school students. Clearly, there is a need for quality early childhood educators. The Erikson Institute fulfills an important role in training these instructors.

Graduates of the Erikson Institute have learned every aspect of childhood development. Not only does the Erikson Institute provide a superior education, they also conduct important research on the needs of young children. Professors and researchers at Erikson are committed to sharing their knowledge with both the academic community and the general public. The Erikson Institute is dedicated to outcomes-- understanding what works and how--as well as the repetition of successful models. The Erikson Institute's formula for success has greatly benefited numerous programs in the Chicago area, including: Early Head Start; Chicago Public Schools; Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Early Childhood Unit; and Children's Place Project to name a few. Their impact is felt nationwide with over 2,500 graduates a year working in various regions of the country.

Mr. Speaker, as W.E.B. DuBois once said, ``We must insist upon this, to give our children the fairness of a start which will equip them with such an array of facts and such an attitude toward truth that they can have a real chance to judge what the world and what its greater minds have thought it might be.'' It is my great honor to commend the Erikson Institute on four decades of excellence in training those who educate our youngest children.

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

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 4768, which names a postal facility in Beaver, Pennsylvania, after Robert Linn. H.R. 4768 was introduced by Representative Melissa Hart on February 16, 2006. This measure, which has the support and cosponsorship of the entire Pennsylvania congressional delegation, was unanimously reported from our committee on May 4, 2006.

Robert Linn, a native of Pennsylvania, was mayor of Beaver Borough for 58 years until his death on August 22, 2004. He is remembered for his success in making improvements on Main Street, renovations of historic buildings, and preservation of the history and charm of his city.

Anyone who serves a city as its mayor for 58 years unequivocally and without a doubt had its interest at heart. And I can think of no more appropriate way of recognizing his impact than to name this facility in his honor.

I strongly support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.