Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2546) to ensure that the right of an individual to display the Service flag on residential property not be abridged.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2546, the Blue Star/Gold Star Flag Act, drafted by my colleague from Ohio, Representative John Boccieri. This bipartisan legislation has 54 Democratic and Republican cosponsors, and I'm proud to be one of them.

The Service flag, which is referred to as either the Blue Star or Gold Star flag, is an official banner authorized by the Defense Department for display by families of members serving in the Armed Forces during a period of war. Each blue star on the flag represents a servicemember in Active Duty, while a gold star signifies a servicemember who was killed in action or who died in service. As authorized by the Defense Department, organizations can fly the Service flag as long as it honors the members of that organization serving during a period of war.

In April of last year, a constituent of Representative Boccieri was asked by her condominium association to remove the Service flag she placed in her window in honor of her son who served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and again in 2003, for his service defending our country in Iraq. Her son suffered injuries not once but twice from roadside bombs. Thankfully, the condominium association later reversed its decision and allowed the woman to display a Blue Star flag.

This thoughtful legislation drafted in response to this incident will make sure no condominium association, cooperative association, or residential real estate management association is able to prevent residents from displaying the Service flag in honor of their loved ones on or around their homes.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boccieri), the chief sponsor of this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers and we are prepared to close, so I will reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 2546 is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that rightfully honors all of our servicemen and women fighting to protect us and the families that support them. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.

I yield back my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1177) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition of five United States Army 5-Star Generals, George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Henry ``Hap'' Arnold, and Omar Bradley, alumni of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to coincide with the celebration of the 132nd Anniversary of the founding of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert any extraneous material thereon.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1177, the 5- Star Generals Commemorative Coin Act. I was pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation last year with my colleagues from Kansas, Representatives Lynn Jenkins, Todd Tiahrt, and Jerry Moran. I appreciate their work in helping to find cosponsors. The legislation now has 300 Republican and Democratic cosponsors, including a very special one of our colleagues that we learned had a very strong connection to this bill after we filed it. I'll discuss his connection in a moment.

H.R. 1177 will authorize the U.S. Treasury to mint a series of commemorative $5 and $1 and half-dollar coins bearing the likeness of five U.S. generals who served during World War II. The coins would honor these 5-star generals:

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, and later President of the United States;

General George Marshall, who was the Army Chief of Staff during World War II, and later Secretary of State and Defense Secretary;

General Douglas MacArthur, who led Allied forces to victory in the Pacific theater during World War II, and later led Allied forces in the Korean War;

General Henry Arnold, who commanded the Army Air Corps in Europe and remains the only person ever to hold the title of General of the Air Force; and

General Omar Bradley, who commanded Allied forces on their march to victory in North Africa and became the first person to hold the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

All five of these 5-star generals either attended or taught at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College located in Leavenworth, Kansas. The commemorative coins would be issued in 2013, and the proceeds would be paid to the Command and General Staff College Foundation to help finance their outstanding work in supporting the college.

Finally, the colleague of ours who I mentioned earlier and who has a very special connection to this bill is my good friend from Iowa, Congressman Leonard Boswell. Like the 5-star generals we honor with this bill, Congressman Boswell attended the Command and General Staff College as a student after his first Vietnam tour in 1968, and later served as an instructor at the end of his service career in 1974. He was recently inducted into the Fort Leavenworth Hall of Fame, and after learning about our bill, worked harder than all of us in rounding up the necessary cosponsors to move this bill forward.

I want to dedicate this bill to Congressman Leonard Boswell's long and distinguished service to our country. To honor Congressman Boswell, our Nation's 5-star generals, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and all of our servicemen and -women who sacrifice so much to defend our country, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Committee on Ways and Means,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, May 17, 2010.

Hon. Barney Frank,

Chairman, Financial Services Committee, Rayburn House Office

Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Frank, I am writing regarding H.R. 1177, the

5-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Act.

As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains

jurisdiction over bills that raise revenue. H.R. 1177

contains a provision that establishes a surcharge for the

sale of commemorative coins that are minted under the bill,

and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on

Ways and Means.

However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding

commemorative coin bills and in order to expedite this bill

for floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action.

This is being done with the understanding that it does not in

any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the

appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives

on this bill or similar legislation in the future.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 1177, and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Record.

Sincerely,

Sander M. Levin,

Chairman.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa, Representative Leonard Boswell.

(Mr. BOSWELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1177 is a bipartisan measure that honors our 5-star generals, our colleague, Representative Boswell, and all of our servicemen and -women fighting to protect us. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill, and I yield back my time.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my good friend, the late Judge Bill Isenhour, of Mission, Kansas, who died on April 10.

Bill Isenhour was born in Kansas City, Kansas, where he graduated in 1960 from Wyandotte High School. Bill attended Kansas City University, UMKC, where he was student body president, editor of the newspaper, member of the varsity debate team, including being the undefeated regional champions and participation in the National Debate Tournament in West Point in 1964. He graduated with a BA in speech in 1964. He married Karen Kay Peterson on June 26, 1965. While Karen taught school, he attended law school at UMKC, where he was the recipient of the Dean's Merit Scholarship and graduated in the top of his class in 1968 with a J.D. Bill served as law clerk to Chief Judge Arthur J. Stanley, Jr., U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, from 1968-1969.

Bill resigned his clerkship to begin private law practice in Johnson County and practiced law with the firm Soden, Eisenbrandt, Isenhour & Gates--which eventually became Soden, Isenhour & Cox--until 1994. In the early 70s, he served as Municipal Judge in Merriam and Mission, Kansas. In 1994, he was appointed by Governor Joan Finney as District Court Judge in the 10th Judicial District in the State of Kansas, Johnson County. Judge Isenhour served as a civil court judge until 2005, when he became one of the first members of the Johnson County Family Court. He was a member of the Johnson County Bar Association, Kansas Bar Association, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity, the American Judges Association, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, and was a member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. He presented at numerous legal education programs, primarily in the area of family law. In 2008, he received the President's Award from the Heartland Mediators' Association for the work in his court encouraging mediation. Bill retired from the bench in the fall of 2008.

Judge Isenhour was a member of St. Michael and All Angel's Episcopal Church in Mission, where he served in numerous roles, including Sunday school teacher, usher, lector, stewardship chairman, delegate to diocesan convention, member of the vestry, Junior Warden and Senior Warden. He was involved in helping start Breakfast at St. Paul's--a hot-breakfast program for families in KCK--which serves more than 200 persons each week at the church in which he grew up. Judge Isenhour also served on the boards of the Mission Chamber of Commerce, the Milhaven Homes Association, the Saint Michael's Day School and served as secretary of the Johnson County Bar Association.

Bill loved spending time with his family, his friends from church, traveling--particularly to his cabin in the mountains of Colorado, and spoiling his two grandchildren. He is survived by his wife of almost 45 years, Karen Isenhour; his son, Kirk Isenhour and partner Doug Anning of Kansas City, Missouri; his daughter, Stephanie Price and husband Warren of Overland Park; and two grandchildren, Dillon and Katie Price. He is also survived by his three sisters and brother, Diana Patterson (Jeff) of Merriam; Mary Isenhour (Bill Patton) of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Victoria Charlesworth (Jim) of Overland Park; and Phillip Isenhour (Ellen Zipf) of Elm Grove, Wisconsin; three aunts, Mary Clark of Kansas City, Kansas, Kathleen Noe of Alexandria, Virginia, and Dee Isenhour of Manteo, North Carolina, along with many loving nieces, nephews and cousins.

Madam Speaker, Bill Isenhour was my good friend and former law partner. I join with his extended family and many friends in mourning his passing and paying tribute to his decades of dedicated service to our community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Pat All, who will retire as Olathe Superintendent of Schools at the end of this school year and who will be honored at a reception on May 18th at Olathe Northwest High School. My colleagues may have tired of hearing me brag about the excellent public schools in my congressional district. Olathe is one of the districts that set a very high standard for other schools in our area. Olathe does so even though the district has the special challenges of a very rapidly growing district, a diverse population, and a large number of special needs students. During my years in Congress, I have learned to rely on this smart, conscientious educator and her very wise perspective and advice.

Dr. All was chosen to lead the district in 2005, after working as an Olathe educator in various positions since 1979. Dr. All joined the Olathe School District in 1979 as assistant principal of Olathe High School, after 11 years of teaching English and social studies in another district. From 1981 to 1986, she served as principal of Oregon Trail Junior High School, and from 1986 to 1991 was principal of Olathe South High School. Both schools earned U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School recognition during her administration.

In 1991, she was named Director of Secondary Education, and in 1993, she became the Executive Director of Education and Technology. From 1995 to 2002, she was Assistant Superintendent for General Administration, and in 2002 she was named Deputy Superintendent.

Dr. All has been recognized by a number of community organizations for her leadership and service. She was elected to the Olathe Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in 1991 and served as Chairman of the Board in 1994. She served as Chairman of the Convention and Visitors Bureau from 2001-03 and currently serves on the Olathe Medical Center Board of Trustees. She received the Educator Award from the City of Character Council in 2002, the Leadership Olathe Community Leadership Award in 1996, and the Olathe Chamber of Commerce Spirit Award in 1995.

All has a bachelor's degree in education, and master's and doctoral degrees in secondary school administration, all from the University of Kansas.

In announcing Dr. All's retirement, Rita Ashley, Olathe School District Board of Education president, said the board would move forward expeditiously to name a successor after an appropriate search, to ensure a smooth transition. ``Dr. All has been a visionary leader in our district and our community for many years,'' Ashley said. ``She has the rare ability to not only envision the future, but to assemble and inspire the team needed to implement the vision. She truly cares about our community's children, and has devoted her life to improving theirs. ``I believe this school district and the community are fortunate to have someone of Dr. All's stature and integrity as our superintendent.''

Madam Speaker, I want to add my congratulations and best wishes to Dr. Pat All, along with the hope that she enjoys a healthy and happy retirement for years to come, but stays active in the community affairs of our area and state.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to bring to the House's attention today the recent award of ``Social Work Leader of the Year'' by the Missouri-Kansas Chapter of the Society for Leadership in Health Care to Sarah Starnes, of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sarah Starnes received a M.S.W. from the University of Kansas in 1977 and went on to receive a M.P.A. in 1984 from the same institution. After working with the Missouri Division of Family Services, the University of Kansas Upward Bound Program, Project New Pride/Kansas Youth Trust Upward Bound, and Transitional Living Consortium, she has spent the last nineteen years serving the interests of our veterans at the Kansas City VA Medical Center, where she works with them on a daily basis, doing casework, group work program administration, and community organization.

Active in politics during her free time, Sarah represents the best of comprehensive social work practice. As the NASW Code of Ethics states: ``Social Workers should facilitate informed participation by the public in shaping social policies and institutions. Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.''

Sarah Starnes' career has exemplified these principles. I am pleased to have this opportunity to publicly recognize her award and am happy to have the opportunity to place in the Record her remarks upon accepting this award on March 23rd:

Good afternoon. Thank you so much for this most incredible

honor of my lifetime.

This award really goes to all the people who have worked so

hard to achieve this victory on the most significant piece of

domestic legislation since the Medicare law was passed in

1965.

``This is why we elected Barack Obama . . . it used to be

that we'd elect a president and then the lobbyists would

determine what happened. This time it is going to be US who

determine what happens.''

But, I must admit, I had been concerned in recent weeks

that I'd be standing before you today saying, ``We gave it a

good fight, and the fight goes on. . . .''

Then, remarkably, two days ago we had a historic moment in

the life of our democracy, when the majority of our lawmakers

determined that life is more important than profits; that

health care is a right and not a privilege to be enjoyed only

by the healthy and the wealthy. They did this because we

helped them appreciate that this was the morally right and

fiscally responsible thing to do.

I want to dedicate this award to Dean Goering, the brother

of my KU undergrad roommate, Susan Goering. Dean was a social

worker-to-be, who lived in Midtown Kansas City. Dean received

a B.A. in Social Work from Univ. of Central Missouri in 2009,

and was starting the MSW program at UMKC. Dean volunteered at

the Kansas City Free Health Clinic. He hoped to work with

Veterans who have PTSD. But Dean will NOT touch countless

lives as a social worker, due to one of the unconscionable

practices of the health insurance industry. Dean had a blood

clot in his leg about 10 years ago, so, when he recently

started having symptoms like shortness of breath, he reviewed

his health insurance policy, and concluded that it would not

cover another hospitalization for what he assumed was the

same condition, and he tried to tough it out. Dean died at

age 50 of a Pulmonary Embolism, on February 21, 2010. For

Dean and 45,000 other Americans each year, ``health care for

all Americans'' was not just a slogan. It was an unfulfilled

life wish. For Dean, the health care delivery system in this

country was a death sentence. Thank God, many of these health

insurance abuses will end, with the Patient Protection and

Affordable Care Act passed Sunday in the House of

Representatives.

My journey for this health care cause has been going on for

awhile, as has the journey of our entire Nation.

I was blessed to find ``my calling'' early in my life. I

have worked in social services continuously and full-time

since 1973. I received my MSW from the University of Kansas

in 1977, and an MPA from KU in 1984.

I have been passionate about my work with the people in all

the groups with which I have practiced.

Let me explain, before I go on, that I am here on my own

time, representing myself, not my employer. The VA does

provide The Best Care Anywhere and is an extremely effective

government-run health care system, but I'm not here

representing the VA, only myself, and my advocacy for health

care reform was done outside my job.

Another note of explanation--my remarks will be about my

work with one specific American political party, but, if you

find that you can honor the Social Work Code of Ethics and

your personal values via your work with another party,

please, go for it!

Okay, so I have voted in every election for which I have

been eligible to vote, and have written an occasional letter

to an elected official or the editor.

Then, in 2007, my life took on a new and invigorating

avocation.

In 2006, I'd read an autobiography written by a man whose

maternal grandparents were from El Dorado, KS, and Augusta,

KS, where my dad had leased a rock quarry when I was a girl.

The author had been a community organizer in Chicago, and he

later went to law school and then got into politics, to

influence change on a broader scale. His values seemed to be

totally consistent with social work values.

In February 2007, this community organizer announced that

he was going to run for President of the United States.

Now, regarding Social Work values and politics, please

refer back to the NASW Social Work Code of Ethics.

The code says that ``social workers should promote social

justice and social change . . . and should engage in social

and political action that seeks to ensure that all people

have equal access to the resources, services, and

opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs

and to develop fully.''

Until recently, I had viewed politics as a necessarily

dirty, self-serving business. But, in the last few years I've

started paying closer attention to the fact that everything I

try to accomplish in my work, with my family, and in my own

life, is affected by the laws and ordinances made at all

levels of government, and the resulting regulations and

policies. I started more actively wondering how these laws

could be affected, to benefit those who the Social Work Code

of Ethics calls ``vulnerable.''

I gained a heightened awareness that, in our representative

democracy, public policy is accomplished through the people

we elect to hold public office. And I decided that it is my

obligation to do what I could to elect people who will

represent the interests of the powerless, and everyday

people, at all levels of governance.

One person cannot do it alone. We must each duplicate

ourselves. For example, perhaps I can make 50 calls in 2 or 3

hours, but, if I find 5 other callers, we can make 250 calls

in the same time period. Or maybe I can register 50 voters in

an afternoon or a day, but, if I can enlist 10 other

volunteers to register voters, we multiply the results by 10.

I can only vote once in each election, but, ideally, I can

play a role in THOUSANDS of other people voting.

This monumental health care legislation was not

accomplished in the last year. Americans and our leaders have

been yearning and working for universal health care for over

a hundred years--7 Presidents and 7 Congresses have aspired

to achieve this moral imperative.

It took our faith in Barack Obama and his leadership for us

to realize that it was up to US to change the way things,

including the provision of health care, are done in this

country. And the objective reality is that it also took a

Democratic majority in the Congress to achieve these reforms.

I have learned through the process of achieving this major

legislation that we cannot wait on our elected officials to

determine our destinies, essentially throwing them out at the

next election if we decide we don't like them, after their

damage has been done.

Nothing happens unless we take individual responsibility

for change. We know that we simply cannot wait for someone

else to fix things.

Sometimes, when we feel the most defeated and alone, if we

just keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when

we are tired and discouraged and don't think we can go on, we

can achieve amazing results.

If for some reason you are unable to engage in partisan

political activities, there are nonpartisan organizations

with which you can be involved, to accomplish similar ends .

. . these organizations don't ``lobby,'' they ``advocate. . .

.''

I am issuing a call to all social workers present--consider

how you will make a difference--consider running for

political office, or helping someone who is running or

thinking about it. Hold our elected officials accountable.

Let them know what you think, and encourage others to do so.

Educate people about the truth regarding the needs of the

American people and how those needs might be effectively

addressed.

In addition to the people who have worked so passionately

for HC reform, I want to thank God for my health, and for my

husband, Kelvin Walls, and my son, Kel, for their work and

support. Kelvin motivated his doctor friends to speak out on

behalf of their patients and potential patients. Kel put up

with ``all those people I don't know being in our house all

the time'' for phone banks and health care reform events.

They have both sacrificed a lot. During the 2008 election,

they canvassed with me in five states.

I became a social worker and political activist out of my

core believe that the arc of the moral universe bends in the

direction of justice, hope and compassion. And that I need to

help it along.

In conclusion, let me say, ``We gave it a good fight. We

won! And the fight goes on.''

Madam Speaker, Kansas City, Kansas, Chief of Police Samuel F. Breshears was honored as Kansas' recipient of the prestigious 2010 Clarence M. Kelley Meritorious Service Award at the spring conference of the Kansas/Western Missouri Chapter of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy Association in Wichita, Kansas, on Friday, April 9th, 2010.

Chief Breshears' dedication to the law enforcement profession, and to the men and women who make up the heart and soul of the calling of law enforcement, is reflected in his commitment to seeking the best possible training for them. Throughout his career he has taken great interest in making it possible for officers get the best contemporary training, acknowledging that training and policy development are practical tools in fighting crime. He has also continued the organizational philosophy of community policing and recognizes that aggressive law enforcement must remain sensitive to the needs of the community. This philosophy is a benchmark to his core police officer values of establishing and maintaining competent, dedicated and exemplary law enforcement officers.

Since 1999, Chief Breshears has served with distinction on the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training, (KSCPOST), a position he was appointed to by the Governor of the State of Kansas. This body is responsible for certifying Kansas Law Enforcement Officers. Further, Chief Breshears has shown his respect for and lifelong appreciation of the law enforcement field by continuing to expand his knowledge and training in the law enforcement discipline, such as having been invited to attend and participate in the FBI- sponsored National Executive Institute.

In addition to his graduate-level academic achievements and being a graduate of the FBI National Academy in 1994, graduating in the 176th session, he has been a model of community service and volunteerism serving on numerous boards and committees throughout the years. His service record reflects his dedication to an exemplary career in law enforcement: High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program Executive Board; FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Executive Board; FBI HARCFL Executive Board; Kansas City Metro Chiefs and Sheriffs Executive Board; Emerging Threat Analysis Capability Executive Board; and Kansas Peace Officers Association/Governor at Large.

The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Chief Breshears culminate a long and distinguished career in the service of the citizens of Kansas City, Kansas, and reflect great credit upon himself and the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Kansas. Madam Speaker, I know that you join with all members of the House of Representatives in acknowledging his distinguished service to our community.

Congress should have passed something on health care reform 40 years ago. We can't change what didn't happen for 40 years. But this year we had an opportunity to do something, and Congress finally did it.

When people in our country get sick and they don't have health insurance, they stay home, they stay home, they stay home until they're deathly ill. Then they go to the emergency room where they get the most expensive kind of health care there is in our country, and we all end up paying for it. We can and should do better.

We did better this year by passing health care reform for our people and our country. The Congressional Budget Office, CBO, says this will end up saving money on health care for people in our country. They are a nonpartisan entity that provides reliable information to both sides, Republicans and Democrats, and they're saying we can save money by this. We will do that.

We did the right thing for our people and our country by passing health care reform.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Judy Hellman, who is retiring this spring from the Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee of the greater Kansas City area. Judy and this agency have been most helpful to me during my time in Congress and were responsible for sponsoring my visit to Israel in 1999 during my first year in office. My remarks borrow very freely from a letter sent by JCRB/AJC Board Chair Michael Abrams in January 2010 when Judy made her plans public.

JCRB/AJC Associate Director Judy Hellman has devoted her professional career and her personal life to the work of justice and community relations, and to the Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee, first as a volunteer, then as a member of the Board of Directors, and then as staff for decades before her ``first'' retirement over a decade ago. Shortly after that ``retirement'' she started helping in the office on one project, then another, then a couple days a week, and was soon once again an everyday devoted and passionate professional who doesn't stop accepting responsibilities and challenges.

Judy's contributions to the community are significant, and too numerous to mention. Her work to advocate that each person does not have to face injustice has touched countless lives and families. Decades ago she worked for fair housing in Kansas City, and was a leader in the movement to free Soviet Jews from religious persecution. Before the founding of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, Holocaust education was a mission of JCRB, for which Judy did extraordinary work.

Judy continues to be admired for her exemplary and prolific work in interfaith relations, her dedicated relationship work with educators, law enforcement, government and elected officials, and her work vigilantly combating hate groups. Judy has listened to, and discussed and worked with, hundreds of individuals and families regarding their issues, always with great compassion and empathy. Many have seen her on JCRB Agency videos poignantly talking about why she has worked for justice in the public square for the people of Israel, and in recent years been a role model in the community advocating on behalf of those suffering injustice in Africa.

For several decades, Judy and Rev. Dr. Robert Lee Hill have co- chaired the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Interfaith Service every January. Judy has been a longtime officer of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, working with the Rev. Dr. Nelson ``Fuzzy'' Thompson. Judy has been recognized with many awards, and has asked that ``this'' retirement come with little fanfare. In Judy Hellman's case, her achievements are a monument to her work. Judy's life has been dedicated to working for justice. Judy would have devoted her time to working on these issues even if she had not been a staff member of a justice organization.

With a milestone birthday approaching, Judy has decided to give retirement yet another attempt. All who know Judy feel great admiration, gratitude, love, and respect for her. I know that I look forward to continuing to work with Judy, soon as a retired and devoted community member, as she continues to work to make the greater Kansas City area a more just community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a distinguished citizen of Kansas City, Kansas, who celebrates her 100th birthday today.

Myrtle E. Green Thatcher was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on April 22, 1910, to Embridge and Eliza Green. She is a lifelong resident of Kansas City, where she graduated from Northeast Junior High School and Sumner High School. She was married for over 50 years to Nathan W. Thatcher, Jr., the third son of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan W. Thatcher, Sr., who was general manager of Thatcher Funeral Home, which is the oldest black family-owned funeral home in the State of Kansas. The business began operation in April 1912, at 1520 North 5th Street, founded by Mr. and Mrs. Nathan W. Thatcher, Sr.

In 1979, Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Thatcher, Jr., affectionately known as Myrtle and ``Snooks'', remodeled the building. In the following year, Nathan died, leaving the family business in the capable hands of their only child, Quintelle Thatcher Davis, who guided the business until finally succumbing after a hard fought battle with cancer in 2007.

Myrtle E. Thatcher has been active in the business for over 50 years. A licensed funeral director, she's been a member of the Missouri-Kansas Funeral Directors Association, the National Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association, and other professional groups. She's been a member of Pleasant Green Baptist Church for over 50 years and is a charter member of Alice M. Browne Chapter #40 of the Order of the Eastern Star. The recipient of numerous community service and professional awards through the course of her career, she is still serving our community, along with the excellent leadership of her grandson, Robert Davis, the fourth generation of her family to join the business, where he serves as general manager, funeral director and embalmer.

This family business will be 98 years old this month. As Myrtle maintains, they will continue to follow founder Nathan Thatcher, Senior's, practice of following the Golden Rule: do unto others as they do unto you. And Myrtle will continue to be very proud of her family, which includes five great grandchildren and three grandchildren: Judy Easterwood, who lives with her husband Robert in Kansas City, Kansas; Robert Davis, and Associate Professor Jacquelyn Hams, the chair of the department of earth science and anthropology of Los Angeles Valley College.

Madam Speaker, I know that you and all members of the House of Representatives join with me in paying tribute to Myrtle E. Thatcher upon her 100th birthday.

Madam Speaker, on April 21, 2010, hundreds of afterschool leaders and youth from more than 100 communities across the nation will visit Washington, D.C., to take part in the National Afterschool Association and Afterschool Alliance's ``Afterschool for All Challenge'', a three-day event which brings together afterschool program staff, parents, senators, representatives, mayors, national afterschool leaders, educators and youth in the name of afterschool care advocacy.

The crowning affair of this meeting is the ``Breakfast of Champions'', a unique event honoring several outstanding state and city leaders for their commitment to expanding afterschool opportunities for kids at all levels. This prestigious and celebratory event will feature a keynote address by a senior representative from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as musical performances from nationally-renowned artists.

I am proud to announce that one outstanding individual from the Third District of Kansas has been selected as a ``Champion'' to be honored at this event. Mr. Wendell Maddox, the President and CEO of the United Way of Wyandotte County, is being recognized for his organization's start up of the All Accounted For project.

The All Accounted For project is an afterschool initiative designed to ensure that all school-aged children have the opportunity to participate in wholesome afterschool activities. This initiative accomplishes these goals by focusing on three primary issues: (1) providing transportation to children who participate in afterschool programs; (2) training and certifying afterschool care workers, and (3) establishing a quality rating system for afterschool program sites.

I congratulate Mr. Maddox on his exceptional achievement as a winner of the ``Breakfast of Champions'' Award, and I thank him, on behalf of the Third District of Kansas, for his tireless efforts to the cause of providing quality afterschool care to our youth.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues, Representative Maxine Waters, Chairman Frank, Representative Greg Meeks, and Representative Spencer Bachus, for their bipartisan work on this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the extraordinary results of January 12, 2010, 230,000 people were killed and more than 1.3 million people were displaced, unable to return to their homes in Haiti. And still today while things are getting better, a desperate need for food, water, and medical care exists. The people of Haiti are facing an enormous struggle to recover from an earthquake at a time when the country was already among the poorest in the world.

This bill supports a humanitarian need through fiscal assistance by allowing our Treasury to cancel the $828 million debt owed by Haiti. This is the decent and humane thing to do, and I ask my colleagues to once again support this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3506) to amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to provide an exception from the continuing requirement for annual privacy notices for financial institutions which do not share personal information with affiliates, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

I want to congratulate the gentleman from Minnesota, Representative Erik Paulsen, a member of our Financial Services Committee, as well as the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee that I chair. I was pleased to introduce H.R. 3506, the Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act, with him and our colleague, Representative Peter Roskam, who originally introduced this bill in the 110th Congress when he served on the Financial Services Committee.

In the last Congress, Mr. Speaker, this legislation was included in a bank and thrift regulatory bill I introduced, which was later included in a comprehensive regulatory reform measure this House approved by voice vote. But as is too often the case, the Senate failed to act.

The legislation we consider today will help minimize confusion consumers have about their privacy rights regarding two conflicting provisions of two prior laws. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act specifically prohibits subject companies from sharing personal information with third parties. Yet the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act still requires these firms to provide annual privacy notices that allow consumers to opt out of having their information shared with third parties. Since this practice is already prohibited by law, these annual notices only confuse the consumers that receive them.

H.R. 3506 will amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt from its annual privacy policy notice requirement any financial institution which meets several criteria and are already prohibited by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act from sharing personal information with third parties. Waiving the privacy notice requirement will reduce confusion for consumers who may incorrectly think, by receiving the notice, that the companies have the right to share their personal information with third parties.

This should not be confused with the privacy policy financial institutions must provide to consumers when they open an account, which will be unaffected by this bill.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3506, and I reserve the balance of my time, Madam Speaker.

I want to thank the gentleman, Madam Speaker, for his very kind comments.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield myself 1 minute.

Madam Speaker, again, I commend the gentleman from Minnesota for his work on this bipartisan legislation, and it is bipartisan legislation. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3506.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I want to read to you an email I just received from one of my staffers back in Overland Park, Kansas, my Congressional office there. It came at 11:55 a.m.:

``When I leave this job and have to seek new insurance, I will be largely uninsurable due to my preexisting condition, breast cancer, whether I show any remaining signs of the disease at that time or not.

``I was so fortunate last year to have this job and Federal employee insurance. The cancer treatment I received cost over $50,000. My husband and I would have lost every penny we had and then some if we had not had this quality coverage.

``Without a bill like this one, I will likely not have access to that kind of coverage ever again due to my cancer diagnosis at the age of 24. Without quality coverage, and if, God forbid, I should ever have to go through this again, it would undoubtedly break us that time around.

``We must have reform.

``Thank you, Dennis.''

This, folks, is what it's all about, people like this around the country. We've got to do something and reform our health insurance system, our health care system.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the incomparable Mary Ann Flunder of Kansas City, Kansas.

A longtime elected member of the Kansas City, Kansas Community College Board of Trustees, Mary Ann has given a lifetime of service to the Kansas City community. A tireless community activist, she has long served as one of my most important advisors and sounding boards. I place this statement in today's Congressional Record, however, in recognition of her upcoming receipt of an award from the Kansas City Business Magazine, which will recognize her at an event on March 11th as one of the most influential businesswomen in the Kansas City area in 2010.

The March 2010 issue of KC Business includes a brief profile of Mary Ann Flunder, which I include below. I thank you, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to pay public tribute to unique, irreplaceable, longtime Kansas City, Kansas community leader Mary Ann Flunder.

Mary Ann Flunder: Business Consultant

Mary Ann Flunder has spent her life empowering others to

achieve their academic, career and life goals. She has done

so by assisting more than 100 entrepreneurs with business

startups, by helping existing businesses achieve licensing

and government funding, and by lobbying for legislation that

advances small businesses. A tireless worker and champion of

others, Flunder takes it upon herself to connect those who

need connecting. A well-known advocate in the community, the

sage-like Flunder has a reputation for stepping up to the

plate and making things happen by expending her own time,

money and other resources. Flunder participates on several

boards, maintains an interest in the education of youth and

runs a side business that sells Watkins products primarily to

senior citizens. Flunder received an Excellence Award at the

2009 National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People Freedom Fund banquet.

Madam Speaker, on February 22, 2010, due to weather delays on my flight from Kansas City, I did not cast a recorded vote on H.R. 4425 or H.R. 4238. If I had voted, I would have voted ``yes'' on both.