Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, last week the American people voiced their strong opposition to the handling of the war in Iraq. On the day after the election, it appeared that President Bush had finally gotten the message when he removed Secretary Rumsfeld, the man who bears a great deal of responsibility for the failed Iraq policy. However, there is now some doubt whether the President fully comprehended the magnitude of the quagmire his administration created and continues to defend.

The situation in Iraq is getting worse, not better. October was the deadliest month for American troops in over 2 years, and they continue to play referee in a civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites.

It is clear after last week's election that the American people want a change in strategy. It is time for the Iraqi people to take control of their country and to stop the sectarian violence that has made it impossible to bring stability to that nation. American troops cannot do it for them. They have got to do it for themselves.

Therefore, it is time to begin redeploying our troops out of Iraq so that we can better protect our Nation. The President's own intelligence agencies say the war in Iraq is making us less safe.

When Democrats take control of Congress next year, we will advocate for a phased redeployment so we can better protect the homeland from terrorist attacks.

Mr. Speaker, in August 2006, I visited Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam in Kaliti prison in Ethiopia. Though it was saddening to see him in that kind of situation, I was nevertheless thrilled to have had the opportunity to pay my respect to a man I have known for over a decade. Professor Mesfin is one of the most dedicated and true champions of human rights. He chose to dedicate his life to studying famine and food security, writing about and promoting human rights and bringing to light issues often ignored and forgotten by many.

I first met Mesfin in the early 1990s, shortly after he founded the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, EHRCO, the most effective human rights organization in Ethiopia. I was with several Members of Congress on an official visit to Ethiopia. We decided to go to EHRCO's office and hold our meeting with Professor Mesfin in order to show our support for EHRCO and to underscore the significance of their valuable work. It was a memorable meeting and the opportunity to learn of their monumental undertaking was very valuable.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Mesfin is in prison. He has paid dearly over the decades for standing up for what he believes in and for exposing systematic abuses and sometimes neglect as the case may be over a period of several decades. What is amazing about this incredible human being is his sharpness and focus even in prison. This is a dedicated human being who chose to stay in his native Ethiopia to stand up for, and educate the helpless and the neglected, even though he had plenty of opportunity and offers to live comfortably elsewhere.

In April 2006, his three children wrote about their father stating: ``Many months have passed since Mesfin Wolde Mariam, the father of all three of us, and grandfather of Semra, Kristos, Kokeb, Tinsae and Oscar has been incarcerated. We miss him terribly and would love to see him home. No less important is our utmost respect, concern and commitment for the principles he has so staunchly promoted for longer than anyone of us has been around.''

I was thrilled to learn that the New York Academy of Sciences decided to recognize Professor Mesfin for ``his leadership in advocating for the disadvantage and in promoting human rights, civil society, and a peaceful transition to democracy.'' Professor Mesfin deserves this recognition and I thank the New York Academy of Science for its leadership and efforts.

Mr. Speaker, we all remember the heady days when the Communist bloc collapsed on its own weight and the peoples of Eastern Europe came out of the dark days of totalitarianism and into the light of freedom. The collapse was so abrupt and so spontaneous that few people had the luxury of taking stock of the heroic efforts made by so many people over a period of 70 years that proceeded the days of freedom; and there were heroes in every country of Eastern Europe throughout the dark days of communist terror.

From all countries of Eastern Europe none was so isolated and its people more oppressed than Albania. The Enver Hoxha regime was the last one to collapse, and just a few days after its demise, over one million Albanians crossed the borders of neighboring countries in search of food and freedom. This particular regime thrived in its splendid isolation and the knowledge that if no one was allowed to enter or leave the country, then no

one would tell the true story of a suffering people. But there were idealists who never forgot the Albanian people and found ways to expose the regimes' sins. I rise today to pay tribute to two such idealists who have been ignored in our hastiness to absolve all former communists if they would just declare themselves democrats, no questions asked. I must refer to two such individuals with unbound idealism, one whom lives among us, the other made the ultimate sacrifice. They are the Stavrou brothers, Gregory and Nikolaos.

Gregory, at age 23 assumed risky intelligence missions into Albania for the Greek service. In his last mission, aimed at restoring a vital network that the British traitor Kim Philby betrayed he, too, was betrayed, captured, tortured, tried before a military tribunal and executed on September 3, 1953. It appears he was Philby's last victim in Albania. I am told that Gregory's last words to the military judges were, ``I will do it again, if I have another chance.'' His heroism gave hope to the Albanian people that they were not forgotten. For his bravery, Gregory was posthumously decorated by Decree of the Greek Government on September 19, 1991 with the Medal of Exceptional Deeds for his courage and unparallel heroism.''

Dr. Nikolaos A. Stavrou, his brother and prominent professor in International Affairs at Howard University continued his brother's work by other means. His testimony before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and his appearance before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights earned him the wrath of the Hoxha regime. Dr. Stavrou was among the few scholars in the West who regularly exposed Albanian atrocities and Hoxha's vast gulag. His articles appeared in the Washington Post. Outlook Section, the Manchester Guardian, To Vema (Greece), Borba (Yugoslavia), The World and I, World Affairs, and many other journals. For 12 years, he was the analyst of Albanian Affairs for the Hoover Institution's Annual Review of World Communist Movement. He annoyed the Tirana regime so badly that it condemned him to death in absentia.

For 15 years since the collapse of the Albanian Communist regime, Dr. Stavrou sought quietly the help of the Albanian Govermnent to locate, exhume and retrieve Gregory's remains and give him a decent funeral. He approached this truly human tragedy quietly and away from public fanfare and nationalistic overtones until now. Two Albanian Prime Ministers and a Speaker of the Albanian parliament promised him to conduct an inquiry into his brother's death but ultimately nothing came of it. As an American citizen, Dr. Stavrou sought the help of the State Department and again was disappointed. Though he never gave up searching for his brother, he was stymied in every step of the way. The evidence is overwhelming yet the Albanian Government has been less than forthcoming in helping Professor Stavrou honor a hero of the Cold War who happened to be his brother. I have also called upon our Department of State to use its good offices with the Albanian Government and to solve a humanitarian issue but never received a satisfactory answer. The least we can do is honor this family for the sacrifice they made for freedom. I am among those who consistently supported the cause of the Albanian peoples to gain their freedom and develop their country. However, our support should not be taken for granted. I hope the government of Prime Minister Berisha would be more respectful of those who gave their lives for freedom.

Mr. Speaker, in August 2006, I visited Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam in Kaliti prison in Ethiopia. Though it was saddening to see him in that kind of a situation, I was nevertheless thrilled to have had the opportunity to pay my respect to a man I have known for over a decade. Professor Mesfin is one of the most dedicated and true champions of human rights. He chose to dedicate his life to studying famine and food security, writing about and promoting human rights and bringing to light issues often ignored and forgotten by many.

I first met Professor Mesfin in the early 1990s, shortly after he founded the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), the most effective human rights organization in Ethiopia. I was with several Members of Congress on an official visit to Ethiopia. We decided to go to EHRCO's office and hold our meeting with Professor Mesfin in order to show our support for EHRCO and to underscore the significance of their valuable work. It was a memorable meeting and the opportunity to learn of their monumental undertaking was very valuable.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Mesfin is in prison. He has paid dearly over the decades for standing up for what he believes in and for exposing systematic abuses and sometimes neglect as the case may be over a period of several decades. What is amazing about this incredible human being is his sharpness and focus even in prison. This is a dedicated human being who chose to stay in his native Ethiopia to stand up for, and educate the helpless and the neglected, even though he had plenty of opportunity and offers to live comfortably elsewhere.

In April 2006, his three children wrote about their father stating: ``Many months have passed since Mesfin Wolde Mariam, the father of all three of us, and grandfather of Semra Kristos, Kokeb, Tinsae and Oscar has been incarcerated. We miss him terribly and would love to see him home. No less important is our utmost respect, concern and commitment for the principles he has so staunchly promoted for longer than anyone of us has been around.''

I was thrilled to learn that the New York Academy of Sciences decided to recognize Professor Mesfin for ``his leadership in advocating for the disadvantage and in promoting human rights, civil society, and a peaceful transition to democracy.'' Professor Mesfin deserves this recognition and I thank the New York Academy of Science for its leadership and efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Johnson & Johnson and Tibotec Therapeutics on its entry into the HIV/AIDS market with the launch of Prezista. On June 23, 2006 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the anti-HIV medication PrezistaTM (darunavir) tablets. Prezista, a protease inhibitor previously known as TMC114, was developed by Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and will be marketed in the U.S. by Tibotec Therapeutics. Prezista is indicated for treatment-experienced adult patients, such as those with HIV-1 strains resistant to more than one protease inhibitor.

I am pleased that a company in my home state of New Jersey has responded to the HIV/AIDS crisis in a time when new innovations are essential in order to provide life saving medications to HIV/AIDS patients.

Mr. Speaker, as you may know, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has granted accelerated approval to the anti-HIV medication PrezistaTM (darunavir) tablets. Prezista, which is a protease inhibitor previously known as TMC114 was developed, by Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

The FDA accelerated approval procedures allow for earlier approval of drugs that provide a meaningful therapeutic advantage over existing treatment for serious or life-threatening diseases. This approval is based on the 24-week analysis of HIV viral load and CD4+ cell counts from the pooled analysis of the TMC114-C213, POWER 1, and TMC114-C202, POWER 2, studies.

One of the most challenging obstacles in the care for HIV is finding proper therapies for treatment-experienced patients. Prezista is an important new option for the thousands of people with HIV in the United States who are resistant to more than one protease inhibitor.

Additionally, the Fair Pricing Coalition believes that Tibotec Therapeutics has priced Prezista responsibly. This is a particularly thoughtful move on the company's part since it recognizes the crisis of federal funding constraints faced by payers in and out of government and the health care system. I am pleased to see that the spirit of philanthropy has not eluded the makers of this much needed drug by putting the needs of patients first.

Johnson & Johnson recognizes the unparalleled global challenge posed by the AIDS epidemic and our response to collaborate in the international response to HIV, particularly through providing access to our HIV medications. For sub-Saharan Africa and Least Developed countries, Johnson & Johnson is actively pursuing licensing and technology agreements in order to enhance the affordability of Prezista. They are in negotiations with generic manufacturers and anticipate that by working with generic manufacturers, Prezista/ darunavir can be offered at substantially reduced prices.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the makers of this drug and encourage more companies to follow in their footsteps.

Mr. Speaker, middle-class Americans are feeling more and more squeezed by the economy that values productivity, but not enough to reward it with an increase in pay. Wages are simply not keeping up with inflation, making it more difficult for families to afford monthly bills.

One of the most daunting bills families face today is the bill for their children's college education. The average cost for a 4-year college at a State university is $40,000 and the cost for private colleges top $107,000.

Democrats want to help families better afford these ever-increasing costs. Republicans, on the other hand, refuse to join us in making college more affordable. Earlier this year, they actually made college more expensive for our Nation's students when they cut $12 billion from the higher education budget, forcing college kids to pay more interest on loans.

Valuable dollars for college assistance are being siphoned off by the war in Iraq, which this administration chose to wage rather than to devote dollars not only to domestic priorities but to finding Osama bin Laden.

Thank you, President Clinton, for telling it like it is and making the administration more accountable for their lack of vision and failed policies.

Mr. Speaker, at the end of last week Forbes Magazine released their annual list of the 400 richest Americans. For the first time ever, this list was comprised entirely of billionaires. Not one millionaire made the list. 400 billionaires.

These are the types of people who benefited from the massive tax cuts pushed by President Bush and his Republican rubber-stamp allies here in this Congress.

The giveaway to the wealthiest Americans stands in stark contrast to the plight of millions of working people in my home State of New Jersey and throughout the Nation who have actually seen their wages fall by over $3,000 over the past 6 years if you take inflation into account.

How are working Americans supposed to realize the American Dream when their wages remain stagnant, when all of their monthly bills are steadily rising? Over the past 6 years, the cost of health care has risen by 71 percent and the tuition of public colleges has gone up 57 percent. We must stop this. Let's stop benefiting the billionaires.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, a bill which I have worked on for more than a year with many others. I am glad to see it come to the floor again for final passage.

Let me just say that the bills that are being discussed today, H.R. 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006; H.R. 723, calling for the President to take immediate steps to help improve the security in Darfur; and H. Res. 992, urging the President to appoint special envoys for Sudan; really speaks out that we are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

We continue to say to Khartoum that they must stop the genocide. It will not be tolerated. President Bashir, the National Congress party officials, Janjaweed commanders and murderers, and others responsible for genocide must be held accountable and will be brought to justice. This bill is just the first step.

I want to thank Chairman Hyde for working with our Democratic members of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations.

I also would like to repeat what Congressman Wolf said, that Congressman Lantos has been a steadfast leader on issues of genocide. And as he being a genocide survivor, a Holocaust survivor, we know of his strong passion for this issue, and so we really appreciate his leadership.

There are key provisions in this legislation, Section 7 and Section 8. We want to first say that a peaceful resolution must happen in Darfur, and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement we think is a step towards that to happen.

Section 8 of the legislation exempts the south and the three marginalized areas, deals with a number of issues that have been summarized in the bill.

But let me just conclude by saying that there was an additional provision in the original bill, though, that I just would like to mention briefly, of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, which dealt with States having the ability to withhold pension funds from businesses that are operating in Sudan.

Unfortunately, this was removed by the Senate. We hope to see this legislation, this language put back in, because we believe that States should have the right to divest from companies doing business, international companies doing business in Darfur; and we will continue to work towards that end.

And so, Mr. Speaker, I thank the leadership for moving this bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, let me once again thank Mr. Lantos for House Resolution 723, calling on the President to take immediate steps to help improve the security situation in Darfur.

Let me just say that things are getting worse. Increased rapes, 500 rapes over the summer in one camp alone; renewed attacks; 12 humanitarian workers killed, including two of the last 6 weeks; 26,000 Sudan armed forces headed to the Darfur region for major offensive; renewed aerial bombings; the Darfur Peace Agreement not being held to by the government of Sudan; continued integration of the Janjaweed into the Sudan armed forces.

United Nations Security Resolution 1706 says that 17,300 U.N. troops and 3,300 policemen should go into Darfur. I think we should urge the U.N. to fulfill this mandate.

President Bush did not ask Aideed to go into Somalia. President Clinton did not ask Milosevic to go into Bosnia. We should not wait for a murderous leader like Bashir to invite us in.

We should even create no-fly zones where we would do as we did in Iraq. A no-fly zone means you don't go in and you don't go out. We were able to protect the Kurds in southern Iraq through all those years of the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

We can do the same kind of no-fly zone. You don't use one single human being in a no-fly zone when you use drones and other kinds of sophisticated weaponry. We have to take out some antonovs, destroy some helicopters, and let Bashir know we are not playing.

I think if we sent that message there, you would see that this opposition to the United Nations would simply disappear. They are only bold when they are with unarmed civilians, weak women, small children, elderly men. That is when they show how strong and powerful they are. I think that we should go in.

The United Nations already has U.N. troops in the Sudan. It is simply expanding the mandate that is already there. I commend the President for appointing Andrew Natsios as the Presidential Special Envoy, and I think that is even more significant than the special envoy in the past. I urge passage of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, let me thank the Members who have participated in the dialogue on what is going on in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Let me thank our leader, Leader Pelosi, for her participation, Chairman Watt of the Congressional Black Caucus from North Carolina, Congresswoman Kilpatrick from Michigan, Congresswomen Lee, Watson and Waters from California, Congressmen Rush and Davis from Illinois, Congressman Green from Texas, Congresswoman Moore from Wisconsin, and Congressman Jefferson from Louisiana for their participation this evening.

Let me also acknowledge other Members who were not here tonight but have been real troopers in this battle for justice. Congressman Capuano from Massachusetts, and on the other side of the aisle, this is indeed not a partisan issue, because there is no person who has fought harder for the last 20 years or so on Sudan than Congressman Wolf from Virginia. He is there all of the time.

Congressman Tancredo from Colorado, Congressman Royce from California, Congressman Smith from New Jersey, all Members of the House who have said that enough is enough, that we must do more. And so 2 years ago, we declared genocide in Darfur. And that was 10 years after the world ignored Rwanda when genocide went on.

And had the world done something in Armenia in 1916, when the so- called young Turks came in and had genocide on the Armenia population, perhaps this would not have happened today. Or in 1939 as the German Nazis went through Europe and created the Holocaust, perhaps this would not have happened.

If in Cambodia when Pol Pot and his regime killed millions of people, perhaps this would not have happened. If in Rwanda, when we saw the genocide happen, perhaps it would not be happening in Darfur. But we looked the other way in all of those instances and genocide is still here today. We must stop the genocide.

There is no reason for people to still be slaughtered as they are being. You have heard the figures, and I will not repeat them. But the National Congress Party, formerly the National Islamic Front, cannot and should not get away with this campaign of murder and terrorism.

This government under President Bashir came to power in a bloody coup d'etat in 1989. The NIF Government harbored Osama bin Laden for 5 years, from 1991 to 1996. From there his operatives planned the assassination attempt on President Mubarak of Egypt. The NIF Government never was held responsible for harboring terrorists.

They were responsible for millions of deaths before and they continue now to do this in Darfur. We must hold them accountable. There has been an authorization of 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers to go into Darfur. The government says no. We must, as President Bush said at the United Nations yesterday, we can no longer allow this to go on.

The U.N. must go into Darfur to help the 7,000 AU troops who cannot handle this job alone. I was quite pleased that President Bush was forceful in his remarks yesterday at the 61st United Nations General Assembly.

President Bush said, ``If the Sudanese Government does not approve this peacekeeping force quickly, the United Nations must act.''

He then stated that, ``the UN's credibility was on the line.'' President, Mr. Bush, I agree. And we must add that the credibility of the United States Government is also on the line. We cannot allow genocide to continue.

I welcome the appointment of Andrew Nazios as the Presidential envoy for Sudan. We look forward to working with him. But he must have a robust mandate. He must have the proper staff. He must have access to the White House. He must have leadership in the State Department if we are going to have a success.

Finally, countries with influence in Khartoum must be used to urge the Government of Khartoum to stop the genocide.

China, who our country, with the balance of trade to them, have made them a robust country with 500 million middle-class people as a result of their selling their products to us, must tell the Government of Sudan that they must stop what they are doing.

We should be able to force China to get involved and say that enough is enough. And Russia must continue, must be stopped from selling arms to Sudan.

The Arab League must step up to the plate. And Egypt that gets $2 billion a year from the United States taxpayers must stand up and tell their neighbors, their friends, the Government of Sudan, that enough is enough. We must hold our so-called friends accountable.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate having the opportunity for us to have this discussion. We look forward to our government stepping up to the plate. Once again, enough is enough. It should really be ``never again.''

Let me just conclude by thanking the Metro West and the Jewish community in the State of New Jersey and throughout the United States who have come up and have been so supportive. And we are getting many more groups getting involved.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of my Special Order tonight.

Let me thank the gentleman from Connecticut for taking this special order and let me acknowledge your great leadership as a leader in the Democratic Caucus. Let me also commend Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey for their leadership as cochairs of the Progressive Caucus where they have continually talked about progressive issues in this country and, in particular, the question of Iraq; and to commend Congresswoman Woolsey for her record of maybe 100 days consecutively speaking out against the war, day in and day out.

Five years ago, on September 11, we had a tremendous amount of sympathy around the world. Everyone was with us. People throughout the world said this was a dastardly act. Seven hundred persons from my State perished. Flight 93 that left Newark Airport, including Ms. Wanda Green, a delightful African American woman, a flight attendant who traded with a friend who asked her if she could take her duty because of a conflict and she would switch and take Ms. Green's original duty which was not on 9/11. Ms. Green passed away on that infamous Flight 93. I met with her two children at the church in Linden where she lived. They are college-age students. Ms. Green was a divorcee and was the one taking care of the family.

So this is very personal with all of us. From my house as I moved out to the corner and looked over, the World Trade Centers were both visible, the twin towers were very visible. I could see them very clearly. So it is very personal to us, all Americans, but especially to those of us who were so constantly involved in that area.

When the President decided, though, to make Saddam Hussein a person that he felt should be dealt with and connected him to 9/11, it was actually criminal. Osama bin Laden, as we know, was in Afghanistan. We had a limited number of troops there. But just think of what position we would have been in today if our troops were sent to Afghanistan in the numbers that we have sent to Iraq. By this time I am sure Osama bin Laden would be behind bars or not alive at all.

We could still have Iraq contained with the no-fly zone because they could not come in or go out. We had Predators watching. We knew where Saddam Hussein had lunch every day. It was bombed one day, but he left a few minutes early. They were going nowhere in Iraq.

Osama bin Laden, in fact, talked as badly about Saddam Hussein as he did about the United States' leaders. But what did we do? Hans Blitz and the inspectors were given full range of the country. And when that announcement was made by the Government of Iraq, President Bush said, Get out in 48 hours.

Why would you do that? They knew that they didn't have weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The bluff was over. So Saddam Hussein decided to let them go anywhere because I don't have them. And, therefore, they will see that the bluff is over. No, the President ordered the strikes.

I will conclude because there are other Members here and I could go on and on and on. However, I was the one who controlled the 2-day debate where we debated giving the President the authority to having an attack on Iraq, a preemptive strike. I was convinced we should not choose war, we should choose diplomacy. Just think, Afghanistan would have been settled and we could have contained Saddam Hussein, but it was decided that we should go to war. Mission accomplished.

We are losing lives every day. It was wrong. We need to come up with a sane plan to conclude this civil war that is in Iraq and move on to making our country a safer place.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Education and Workforce Committee, I am shocked at the difference between Presidential rhetoric and economic reality. Every time the President speaks about the state of our Nation, it becomes apparent just how out of touch he really is.

Last month, after meeting at Camp David with his economic team, the President told reporters that things are good for the American worker. Let me ask: What exactly is his economic team telling him?

The reality is that American workers are suffering, while corporate profits soar. Productivity in our Nation has increased, but the workers who are putting in the extra effort have no piece of that wealth they are helping to create. In fact, wages and salaries are at their lowest proportion of the economy, while corporate profits are at the highest level since 1960.

What that means for the average American worker is that they are working harder without receiving any real pay increase. Meanwhile, the companies they work for are reporting record profits. Something is wrong. We need to turn it around and have that reality work for the working people.

Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to welcome to the United States House of Representatives today's guest chaplain, Monsignor Robert Sheeran, a friend and an innovative leader who serves as the 19th president of my alma mater, Seton Hall University, which happens to reside in my 10th Congressional District of New Jersey.

After studying at Seton Hall as an undergraduate, Monsignor returned to the university in 1980 to serve as rector of St. Andrew's College Seminary. In 1987, Monsignor Sheeran was appointed assistant provost of the university.

Under his leadership, the school saw a marked decrease in undergraduate attrition.

After completing Harvard University's management development program in 1989 and being promoted to the assistant provost in 1991, he was selected as a fellow of the American Council on Education. Upon his return to Seton Hall, he was appointed executive vice chancellor, a post he held until his appointment as president 2 years later.

Under Monsignor Sheeran's leadership, Seton Hall has moved forward technologically, with the distinction of being named one of the most connected college campuses in the United States by Forbes magazine. Under construction is a new science and technology center which will help train graduates to compete in the workforce of the future.

In addition, the White House School of Diplomacy and International Relations has formed an innovative partnership with the United Nations, which is of special interest to me as a member of the House International Relations Committee and one of the two congressional delegates to the United Nations serving in the House.

I hope that Seton Hall will play a constructive role in confronting the many foreign policy challenges our Nation faces. I know my colleagues join with me in welcoming Monsignor Sheeran and thanking him for his devoted service throughout his life.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues here in the House of Representatives to join me as I rise to honor the memory and legacy of Irene L. James who passed away on Tuesday, July 4, 2006. Her death leaves a deep void in the Greater Newark community.

Irene was known for her caring spirit and her service to others. She was creative, passionate and intelligent. Her intellect led her to Rutgers University in Newark where she earned both her under-graduate and law degrees. Over the years, she would hold several roles that allowed her to utilize her talents to enrich the lives of others. A prolific writer, Irene was able to secure grants and/or technological enhancements for many programs and institutions. In fact, Irene is credited with procuring a three million dollar grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create a ``fighting back'' sight in Newark. This program's mission was to help decrease the demand for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs for women and children. Irene served with distinction in administrative positions at Essex County College, CHOICES, Inc., Newark Welfare and Newark Fighting Back.

During her life, Irene touched many lives with her kindness, thoughtfulness and humor. She will be remembered for making a difference in the lives of those fortunate enough to benefit from her years of public service. Irene was a profound believer in social justice and was able to associate with many others who felt likewise.

As Irene's life was celebrated during her ``Home going'' service on Wednesday, July 12, 2006, many recalled the impact she made in the community, her competency and professionalism. They remembered that she came from a family of achievers, including my Chief of Staff, Maxine James, her father, Mack James, sister, Jeanette Parham and her brother, Michael James.

Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues join me in letting Irene L. James' family, friends and associates know that her memory will always be honored and cherished.