Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, it is under somber circumstances that this body gathers here today. On behalf of the people of Colorado and the constituents I represent in the First District, we send our prayers and compassion to all who are mourning the events of last weekend and trying to come to terms with the grief this incident has caused.

As two of three women in the U.S. House of Representatives from the Rocky Mountain West, Gabby and I spoke often about the sometimes difficult task of staying close with family and loved ones, while shuttling back and forth across long distances between our homes and Washington. She has always been enormously dedicated to her family, and in the wake of this tragedy we see the love her family and community has shown her in return.

While Gabby was the victim with whom I shared a personal connection, the tragedy of last weekend runs far deeper than just reflecting on the attack on our colleague. What happened to Gabby and 19 others on that sunny Tucson morning, happened to all of us--to all Americans. The victims came from all walks of life, each one representing their own unique story, yet each one also reflecting in many ways, people we all know and love. From the young girl with dreams of changing the world; to the dedicated staffer committed to serving his country and helping the people of hometown; to the man willing to give his own life to save the life of the woman he loves; to the federal judge devoted to the cause of justice and law; to the retired woman escaping cold, snowy winters for warmer climes; to the wife of a former Marine quietly living out her Golden Years with her husband--all these brave souls unite us all in the common dreams and blessed experiences we hold as Americans.

Last Saturday, that unity was assaulted as a single, deranged gunman attempted to cut through the very bedrock of our democracy, by attacking an event at which a Member of Congress was performing her most fundamental responsibility--meeting with her constituents. The attack felt particularly heinous against a Member of this institution in which each of us have been asked by voters to serve largely because of its proximity to the people.

And while these events have understandably renewed discussions about congressional security, we must ensure that these efforts do not leave us insulated from our constituents. We each have an obligation to protect ourselves, our constituents, and our staff. But our professional obligation mandates that we remain accessible and inviting, because it is through us that the every American from Tucson, Arizona, to Portland, Maine, has a voice in the corridors of Washington, D.C.

Finally, it is important to remember that these were the actions of one individual clearly in need of mental health assistance. While it is too early to know what motivated him to violence, no one can deny that the level of political discourse in this country is not meeting the standard to which we should hold ourselves, nor meeting the standard our country's founders envisioned for our great nation. Far too often we have failed to find a way to, as Speaker Boehner put it last week, ``disagree without being disagreeable.''

It is my hope that the events of the past weekend serve as a wake-up call for everyone and remind us all that we need to reject extremism and violence, respect those who answer the call to public service, and strengthen our country with our every deed--just as those in Tucson have done since that fateful day.

Gabby is a friend and treasured colleague, and my deepest condolences extend to her family, as well as the friends and family of the constituents and staff members wounded or killed in the unspeakable attacks of January 8, 2011. God bless them; God Bless this Body, and God Bless the United States of America.

``The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.''

Mr. Speaker, today we take the last few steps in the decades-long fight to finally update our nation's food safety infrastructure.

When you consider that the current food safety system has remained largely unchanged since it was first adopted in the 1930s, it is no wonder that each year thousands of Americans fall ill and even die, as a result of tainted food. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that food contaminations cause 76 million illnesses in the U.S. each year, including over 300,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. And the economic cost is equally astounding. A recent report estimates that in Colorado alone over $2.3 billion is spent on the health-related costs of foodborne illness. And of course, the cost to our nation's food industry--from the farmer to the producer to the community supermarket--is often even greater. From Salmonella in eggs to E.coli in cheese, the last few months alone have proven that every day we have waited to pass food safety legislation was one day too many.

As we evaluate this final bill today, I still stand by the stronger traceability provisions I fought for in the bill this Chamber passed last year. While this bill marks an improvement to our current regime, I still believe over the next few years Congress will have to maximize the traceability pilot projects called for in this legislation in order to develop the tools we need to pull tainted products from the shelves or prevent unsafe food products from even getting into our stores and homes. Nonetheless, the mandatory recall authority in this bill means we no longer have to rely on corporations to act in good faith. And greater inspection of imported goods means we can ensure that they are just as safe as what is cultivated and produced domestically.

But the benefit of these changes won't come overnight. So I look forward to working with the FDA as they put this new law to work. This bill could overcome years of intransigence and partisanship that have needlessly exposed people throughout my state of Colorado and across the U.S. to foodborne illness.

Food safety is both a public health issue and an economic issue. This bill represents the best of what the American people sent us here to do--work together on a bipartisan basis to keep their families safe and healthy, while securing the key industries that help drive our economy. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I look forward to the Senate finding a way to send this to the President.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Pallone, the chairman of my subcommittee, who does such wonderful work on these diabetes issues, and also the gentleman from Nebraska. We have served for many, many years together on the committee.

I am very pleased we are able to bring this resolution to the floor while it is still, in fact, Diabetes Awareness Month, November, because diabetes is one of the top public health threats in our country today.

About 70,000 people are thought to have died from underlying causes of diabetes on an annual basis, with tens of thousands more deaths related to the disease. The CDC estimates that right now about 81 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes, and we know many more will get it. With better research, we can determine how people lose their lives to this disease, and we can both, we hope, find a cure for the disease and also mitigate the losses.

As well as a terrible public health threat in this country, diabetes is also an important economic issue, which is why the Diabetes Caucus worked so hard to raise awareness in this body. Diabetes will cost this Nation almost $3.4 trillion through 2020, according to a recent study released by the United Health Group. One in every $10 in health care in this country is attributed to diabetes and its complications, and diabetes takes up more than 30 percent of our Medicare dollars.

What is more disturbing, Mr. Speaker, is that type 2 diabetes is increasing to epidemic levels, and as previous speakers have mentioned, threatens to take up an even bigger part of our budget in years to come and will affect millions more Americans.

Families, like my family, see diabetes up close every day. We have been touched just in my family by type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. This is not uncommon in America, as more and more families have experience with type 2 diabetes. Even though diabetes is increasing so dramatically, though, because of the research that we have done at the National Institutes of Health, at the CDC, and in the States, the personal toll of diabetes is becoming more manageable as we discover ways both to prevent type 2 diabetes and to treat and even find cures for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Advancements in lifestyle interventions, screening, and testing can save money and save even more lives.

This year marked the 60th anniversary of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, which is the leading research organization at the NIH dedicated to tackling this devastating disease. And so six decades later, we continue to find different ways to approach this disease and help the millions of families that are affected by it.

So this year, as we support the goals of National Diabetes Month, let's also pass a bill separate from this bill that many of us have cosponsored to fund a special diabetes program. As with all things, this research must be paid for; but the cost of inaction, both physically and economically, is too high.

Diabetes issues have consistently been addressed by this body with interest and passion on both sides of the aisle, and we expect in the 112th Congress that this will continue. The Diabetes Caucus, which several have mentioned, of which I am the cochair, is, in fact, the largest caucus in Congress, with close to 250 members.

I want to take a moment just now because two of our great leaders in this body on this issue are going to be leaving us at the end of this session. Mike Castle, who has been an extraordinary cochair of the Diabetes Caucus, is leaving, as well as Zack Space, a beloved member of our committee, who is the vice chairman of the Diabetes Caucus. I invite all Members to join this caucus. And also, if anyone is interested in being a cochair, let me know, because it is important work that we do.

In the spirit of the bipartisan commitment that all of us have made, I think we need to come together and not just talk about how important research is but actually commit ourselves in the next session of Congress to working together on legislation. We can work together not just on recognizing Diabetes Month, but also work together on the Special Diabetes Program, which will help to save countless American lives and to not leave this critical initiative on the to-do list again another year.

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize the wonderful life and exceptional accomplishments of a remarkable man. This distinguished citizen possessed an impressive record of civic leadership and invaluable service. His achievements in making our city and state a better place merit our recognition and gratitude. It is to commend this eminent citizen that I rise to honor Walter ``Uncle Walt'' Beckert III.

Walt Beckert, ``Uncle Walt'' to all, devoted his time, skill and energy to making our state and our community a better place. Walt achieved a Masters in Bilingual Education, Curriculum Development and Administration from the University of Colorado. He served in the Peace Corps where he worked in Ecuador on bilingual education and curriculum development.

Walt was a labor leader and political activist who was in the vanguard of those dedicated to economic and social justice. As an AFL- CIO Colorado executive board member, former president of AFSCME Council 76, and Vice President of local 158; Walt was a union man through and through. Anyone who knew him was impressed by his unending spirit, drive and determination. Walt was an example of a true union leader in every sense of the term. Walt cared about all working people, not just those of his organization. His dedication and commitment to the labor movement was without question.

As a long time employee of the City and County of Denver as Director of Denver's Safe City Office, Walt worked to prevent violence by and against youth. His work allowed him to witness families that have fallen on hard times, whether by drugs, illness, or victimization. These experiences gave him a unique perspective in helping youth and were a motivating factor in his community service interests. These interests lead him to be appointed to the Governor's Commission on Community Service.

Walt was an invaluable member of any committee or endeavor. From labor union, to political party to the St. Patrick's Day Parade committee, he was always there with a smile and a hug and an attitude that made everyone want to work harder. He made every job look easy and fun, and with Uncle Walt it was.

Our thoughts and our prayers are with his loved ones. Please join me in celebrating the

life of Walt Beckert, a man who inspired everyone he met by his actions and deeds to make the world a better place for everyone.

Madam Speaker, today, I raise in honor of Dr. Howard W. Jones, Jr., a pioneer in the field of reproductive medicine, whose revolutionary work alongside that of his late wife, Dr. Georgeanna Seegar Jones, led to the birth of the first American baby borne of in vitro fertilization nearly 30 years ago. Together Dr. Howard and Georgeanna Jones, and the procedure they perfected, offered hope and happiness to thousands of American couples struggling with diseases and conditions that stifled their dreams of building a family. Dr. Jones celebrates his centennial birthday this year and here, we salute his accomplished life.

Today infertility affects 1 in 8 couples. But the in vitro techniques developed by the Jones' team, and the subsequent advancements in the field of reproductive medicine, have repeatedly proven to be safe and effective, producing millions of successful pregnancies, happy parents and healthy babies worldwide. Dr. Jones will be recognized at the 66th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine to be held in my state in late October and I am pleased to be able to salute his career here on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today.

As my colleagues know, I have been a strong advocate in Congress for scientific advancement. I have worked to strengthen federal support for scientific research, including embryonic stem cell research, which potentially holds so much promise for the millions of Americans who are living with debilitating diseases such as Parkinson's, diabetes, and spinal cord injury. Federal funding of this vital research is in jeopardy, and I stand ready to work with my colleagues to remedy problems that undermine scientific advancement, just as Dr. Jones was willing and eager to ensure that groundbreaking research in the field of reproductive medicine was developed and employed.

And so I thank Dr. Jones for the optimism and determination he and his wife exhibited in paving a path for scientific advancement and for the contributions he has made throughout his career in improving the lives of those suffering from infertility. Happy 100th Birthday, Dr. Jones.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and exceptional accomplishments of Dr. Evie Garrett Dennis. On August 13, 2010, Dr. Dennis will be honored by the dedication of the Evie Garrett Dennis Campus of the Denver Public Schools. Dr. Dennis served as Superintendent of Denver Public Schools from 1990-1994. She was the first and to date the only African American and woman to hold this position.

Dr. Dennis was born on September 9, 1924, in Canton, Mississippi, the eighth of nine children born to Mrs. Ola Brown Garrett and Rev. Eugene Garrett. A graduate of Cameron Street High School, she married in 1950 and her daughter Pia was born in 1951. After earning her bachelor's degree in Biology from St. Louis University, she worked as a research assistant and associate. In 1958, Dr. Dennis and her daughter moved to Denver, Colorado, where she worked as a researcher and specialist in childhood asthma at the Children's Asthma Research Institute and Hospital, the Jewish National Home for Asthmatic Children, and other medical institutions in the area.

In 1966, Dr. Dennis began her tenure with the Denver Public Schools (DPS) as a math teacher. After earning a Master's degree in education from the University of Colorado in 1971, she worked in the DPS administration. In 1974, she successfully implemented and monitored the U.S. District Court ordered school busing plan. In 1976, she earned a doctorate in education from Nova University. From 1977 to 1989, she served as administrative assistant to the Superintendent of Schools. She was appointed to the position of Deputy Superintendent of DPS in 1989.

In 1990, Dr. Evie Dennis became Superintendent of the DPS. Under her leadership, four innovative educational programs were launched in the district's schools: Expeditionary Learning in partnership with the Upward Bound Program; the Denver School of the Arts; the K-5 International Baccalaureate Program; and the International Studies Program at West High School. She implemented site-based management practices in the system's schools and started the district's educational advisory councils; the Denver Energy, Engineering and Education Program (DEEP); and, the American Israel Student Exchange Program.

Dr. Dennis is also known for the contributions she has made to Denver and the broader world. In 1986 and 1988, Denver Mayor Federico appointed her to the Denver Private Industry Council and the Mayor's Black Advisory Council. In 1994, she received the Nation Builder Award from the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. She received the Russell T. Tutt Award for Excellence in Leadership for Outstanding Leadership in Colorado's non-profit community in 1999 from the El Pomar Foundation.

Dr. Dennis is a multifaceted, dedicated, and talented woman whose contributions to amateur athletics and the International Olympics are recognized internationally. In 1962, she helped to form the Denver All- Stars which became the Mile High Denver Track Club, in order for her daughter to have opportunities to compete in an era before the existence of a girls' high school track program.

The team was a member of the Amateur Athletic Union, which later became the United States Amateur Athletic Union. Dr. Dennis was a member of the Rocky Mountain Association of the Amateur Athletic Union in 1975. In 1978, she was elected the first female vice-president of the national association. Dr. Dennis served USA Track and Field, Inc. for more than four decades in numerous capacities, including as its first acting president. She has served as a member of the board of Trustees for the U.S. Sports Academy and the USA Track and Field, Inc., and delegate to the International Association of Athletics Federations.

She was the first woman vice president of the United States Olympic Organizing Committee (USOOC) and has been involved with every U.S. Olympics team since 1972. She became a manager of the U.S. Women's Track and Field team for the Montreal Olympics in 1976. She served on the United States Olympic Committee's Task Force on Doping and chaired the Women's and Diversity and Leadership committees. She remains a member of the Governing Bodies Council and became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1992.

In 1977, as a member of the USOOC, she presented the successful motion to move the headquarters from New York to Colorado Springs, Colorado, which was accomplished in 1978. In 1980, she received the Congressional Gold Medal along with the U.S. Olympic Team. She served as Chef de Mission for the U.S. delegation at the 1998 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. In 1992, she received the Olympic Order for outstanding service to the Olympic cause. In 2004, she was inducted in to the United States Olympic Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Dr. Dennis has authored several papers and articles on public education and childhood asthma. She is a staunch supporter of Title IX, ensuring access to sports for young women. She has been recognized for her many volunteer contributions to various committees, associations, organizations, foundations, and other groups that focus on the advancement of education and the value of sports in our society.

She is a lifetime member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Dr. Dennis served as president of the Epsilon Nu Omega chapter in Denver and was instrumental in hosting the sorority's national convention in the city in 1972.

Having been inducted into the Colorado Sportswomen Hall of Fame in 1998, Dr. Dennis was then inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2008 as one who exemplifies the best qualities of the people who have built and sustained Colorado.

Please join me in paying tribute to Dr. Evie Garrett Dennis for her life's work as a distinguished educator, remarkable sportswoman, and global community servant.

Madam Speaker, Hamlet ``Chips'' Barry, the nearly 20- year head of Denver Water, was a dynamic man and a true visionary for Denver and the West. Throughout his tenure at Denver Water, he not only transformed the agency but taught legions of legislators, myself included, the elements of water law and its fundamental importance to Denver and the West.

Chips grew up in the Montclair section of east Denver and attended Denver Public Schools. In 1966, he graduated cum laude from Yale College, where he majored in American Studies and was a member of the tennis team. In 1969, he earned a law degree from Columbia University Law School.

After law school, Chips worked as a VISTA volunteer lawyer in rural Alaska, served as a law clerk to Judge Robert McWilliams on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, and was a legal services lawyer in Micronesia.

Upton his return to Colorado, he became heavily involved in civic activities, including work on the first statewide water plan under Governor Dick Lamm and serving as a member of the Board of Governors for the Colorado Bar Association. He then served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources for Governor Roy Romer from 1987 to 1990, after which he was named manager of Denver Water in January 1991.

At Denver Water, Chips' open-door policy made him accessible to employees throughout the organization. He was well respected for his willingness to negotiate and his ability to avoid conflict. Through his personal efforts, Denver Water also improved relationships with many entities on Colorado's Western Slope.

During his tenure at Denver Water, the utility implemented a conservation program that is nationally and internationally recognized as a model of success. He built a recycled water distribution system, invested millions of dollars in treatment facility improvements, monitored recovery from several devastating wildfires in Denver Water's watershed, and was the leader in the recovery work from one of the worst droughts in the city's history. His ``Use Only What You Need'' campaign has helped Denver residents cut their use of water by 33 percent, easily below the national average.

Chips was the creator and founder of the Western Urban Water Coalition, which represents all the major water utilities in the semi- arid West and has become a respected voice in Washington on such issues as endangered species and federal regulation of water. In 2009, he won the President's Award from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies for his leadership on local and national levels regarding the drinking water industry.

Chips owned a macadamia nut farm in Hawaii and planned to retire and work his farm. He enjoyed tennis, squash, skiing, and golf. He collected old Saabs, foreign paper money, and books about Micronesia and Alaska. Chips was famous for his boundless sense of humor and never-ending joke supply, and his bushy moustache. He occasionally dressed as Teddy Roosevelt to entertain friends. His immense personality and remarkable vision for Western water will be deeply missed, but never forgotten.

Madam Speaker, Hamlet ``Chips'' Barry, the nearly 20- year head of Denver Water, was a dynamic man and a true visionary for Denver and the West. Throughout his tenure at Denver Water, he not only transformed the agency but taught legions of legislators, myself included, the elements of water law and its fundamental importance to Denver and the West.

Chips grew up in the Montclair section of east Denver and attended Denver Public Schools. In 1966, he graduated cum laude from Yale College, where he majored in American Studies and was a member of the tennis team. In 1969, he earned a law degree from Columbia University Law School.

After law school, Chips worked as a VISTA volunteer lawyer in rural Alaska, served as a law clerk to Judge Robert McWilliams on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, and was a legal services lawyer in Micronesia.

Upton his return to Colorado, he became heavily involved in civic activities, including work on the first statewide water plan under Governor Dick Lamm and serving as a member of the Board of Governors for the Colorado Bar Association. He then served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources for Governor Roy Romer from 1987 to 1990, after which he was named manager of Denver Water in January 1991.

At Denver Water, Chips' open-door policy made him accessible to employees throughout the organization. He was well respected for his willingness to negotiate and his ability to avoid conflict. Through his personal efforts, Denver Water also improved relationships with many entities on Colorado's Western Slope.

During his tenure at Denver Water, the utility implemented a conservation program that is nationally and internationally recognized as a model of success. He built a recycled water distribution system, invested millions of dollars in treatment facility improvements, monitored recovery from several devastating wildfires in Denver Water's watershed, and was the leader in the recovery work from one of the worst droughts in the city's history. His ``Use Only What You Need'' campaign has helped Denver residents cut their use of water by 33 percent, easily below the national average.

Chips was the creator and founder of the Western Urban Water Coalition, which represents all the major water utilities in the semi- arid West and has become a respected voice in Washington on such issues as endangered species and federal regulation of water. In 2009, he won the President's Award from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies for his leadership on local and national levels regarding the drinking water industry.

Chips owned a macadamia nut farm in Hawaii and planned to retire and work his farm. He enjoyed tennis, squash, skiing, and golf. He collected old Saabs, foreign paper money, and books about Micronesia and Alaska. Chips was famous for his boundless sense of humor and never-ending joke supply, and his bushy moustache. He occasionally dressed as Teddy Roosevelt to entertain friends. His immense personality and remarkable vision for Western water will be deeply missed, but never forgotten.

Madam Speaker, along with Representative Ed Perlmutter, I would like to recognize the exceptional endeavors and notable undertakings of an extraordinary public hospital system in Denver, Colorado. It is fitting and proper that we recognize this outstanding institution for its innovation in the health care field and for its enduring service to care for the people of our state. It is to commend this outstanding and distinguished institution that we rise to honor Denver Health on the occasion of its 150th Anniversary.

Since 1860, Denver Health has been providing essential, quality health care services for the metropolitan area. It is astonishing to think about what an integral role Denver Health has played over the last 150 years. It has been a community institution since Abraham Lincoln was elected President; sixteen years before Colorado even became a state. Denver Health has been here since the days of duels and horse-drawn ambulances; since before the Civil War even began. The hospital began in a small log cabin and has transformed into the extraordinary institution we know today, serving twenty-five percent of Denver residents and one in every three Denver children. Last year alone, Denver Health provided approximately $350 million in uncompensated care to the uninsured and medically needy.

The first sentence in Denver Health's mission statement is a testament to its commitment to the health of our citizens. It reads: ``Provide access to the highest quality health care, whether for prevention, or acute and chronic diseases regardless of ability to pay.'' Serving as the safety-net provider for the community, Denver Health faces obstacles year after year as the uninsured population continues to increase. Denver Health's pioneering leadership has been innovative in developing tools to reduce cost, curb waste, and improve quality for our most vulnerable populations.

In addition to its role as our primary safety-net hospital, Denver Health provides a number of other services to the surrounding communities and region. Denver Health operates the city's school based health centers, Denver's 911 emergency response system, provides correctional facility care, and houses the Denver Public Health Department. Denver Health also serves the surrounding region by housing the regional Rocky Mountain Poison Control Center, Rocky Mountain Center for Medical Response and the Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center. Denver Health is truly a system of integrated care.

Denver Health's physicians, leadership, and medical professionals have received an array of local and national accolades for their innovation and commitment to achieving the highest quality of patient care. Denver Health leads the way in innovation and improvement in quality and efficiency.

Please join me in commending Denver Health on the occasion of its 150th Anniversary. It is the vision, innovation, and commitment of Denver Health that continually enhances the lives of our citizens and builds a better future for Coloradoans and for all Americans.

Madam Speaker, when you build a house, you have to first put down a foundation. Today, we are laying a foundation for a health care system that will provide every American with access to high quality health care; a foundation that will immediately ban insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick, people like my childhood friend who lost his insurance when he got prostate cancer and later died too young; a foundation that will, beginning this year, give tax credits to small businesses so they can offer affordable coverage to their employees; a foundation that will now give parents of young adults the ability to keep their kids on their policies while they start their careers; a foundation that will finally give adults with preexisting conditions the ability to buy affordable insurance. And starting right away, insurance companies cannot exclude children, like my own young daughter, Francesca, who have chronic conditions such as diabetes or asthma, from coverage.

Madam Speaker, this bill is just a foundation. We need to build on it, but it's a strong foundation.

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and exceptional accomplishments of Mrs. Marie Louise Anderson Greenwood. On January 15, 2010, Mrs. Greenwood will be honored by the Denver business community at the 25th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Business Social Responsibility Awards where she will receive the ``Trailblazer Award'' in recognition of her tireless commitment to education, community and moving beyond racial barriers.

She was born in Los Angeles, California on November 24, 1912, the only daughter of Joseph and Sarah Anderson. In search for better opportunities, her family moved to Denver, Colorado, where Marie attended Denver West High School. Marie graduated third in her class in 1931 and received an honorary four-year state scholarship which she used to attend the Colorado Teachers College, now The University of Northern Colorado. As an African American student, Marie faced racism and was prevented from living on campus or joining student organizations. However, she sought membership in the Alpha Kappa chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first national sorority founded for college educated African American women, and solidified her commitment to education.

Marie excelled at the Colorado Teachers College. She was recruited to teach in Denver Public Schools in 1934, a year before she was slated to graduate. Despite the opportunity to be the first African-American teacher in Denver Public Schools, Marie chose instead to finish her studies and graduate with the class of 1935. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education in hand, Marie was hired as the first to receive a probationary contract as a first grade teacher in the school system. In 1938, she accepted the offer of permanent tenure at Whittier Elementary School as the first teacher of color in the Denver Public Schools.

Marie continued to teach first grade at Whittier Elementary School until 1945 when she

took a leave of absence to raise her four children: Louise, Richard, William Jr. and James. As her family moved to a new home in 1950 near the Newlon School, the Greenwoods initiated the integration of the neighborhood. Their children became the first African Americans to attend Newlon and Marie and William R. Greenwood, Marie's husband, created the framework at that school for what we now know as a Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Marie organized a preschool program and became the first PTA president. In 1953, she returned to teaching as a primary grade substitute teacher with the desire to teach full-time at the Newlon school.

In 1955, in spite of the administration's alleged discrimination against minority teachers and their practice of assigning African American teachers only to schools in the then predominantly African American neighborhood of Northeast Denver, Marie obtained a regular teaching position at Newlon School. This was due, in part, to the PTA mothers who recognized Marie's proficiency as a teacher and advocated on her behalf. Her keen ability to relate to both students and teachers, along with her belief that every child can learn, earned her recognition as one of the best teachers in the Denver Public Schools. Marie retired from teaching in 1974, but completed her book ``Every Child Can Learn'', which looks back on her 30 years of experience and discusses the challenges she faced during that time.

The Denver community is fortunate to have such a strong role model and leader in Marie Louise Anderson Greenwood. She continues helping children and promoting literacy through the ``Read Aloud'' program, which has adult volunteers reading books to young children both in Denver Public Schools and at Denver Public Libraries. She has maintained her dedication to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for more than 75 years. Marie is also still active in her church. At 97 years old, her exuberance and spirit are reflected in her active involvement in the liturgical dance ministry of Shorter AME Church of which she has been a member since 1927.

Marie has been recognized by several organizations for her many years as an educator and overcoming prejudice throughout her career. She was honored in 1997 as a pioneer in her field by The University of Northern Colorado Alumni Association, where a teaching scholarship has been established in her name. In 2001, the Denver Public Schools even built a school and named it the Marie L. Greenwood K-8 school in her honor. Race relations in America have not improved as quickly as we would ever hope, but without pioneers like Marie Greenwood leading the way, barriers would never be broken and dreams would never become reality. In advance of our annual commemoration of the life and lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., please join me in paying tribute to Marie Louise Anderson Greenwood for her life's work as a distinguished educator, public servant and social trailblazer.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. on Friday, January 15, 2010; and further, that when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, for morning-hour debate.