Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, Ms. Esther Dolores Wright has dedicated her life to the service of others as an educator for over 40 years. She began her teaching career in Newark, N.J. in 1964, and over the years, she has literally touched thousands of lives in a positive way. Ms. Wright received her Masters of Arts in Education with a concentration in Administration and Supervision from the University of Virginia in May, 1976. She has served the students, parents, and teachers of Maple Avenue School as an Administrator for over 15 years.

During her tenure as Principal of Maple Avenue School, she has presided over many important changes to the school facility and programs, including complete renovations to the school auditorium, gymnasium, and playground area, as well as the establishment of a state of the art science lab and the creation of a computer network, which provides internet access to all of Maple Avenue School's primary and middle school students. They have implemented a distance learning program in conjunction with the New Jersey State Department of Education, which recognized Maple Avenue School with a `Best Practices' award. She has continued to provide support for innovative programs to encourage student achievement such as the Morning, After School, and Saturday Academy enrichment programs; character development programs such as Best Friends for girls and Best Men for boys; the Afternoon and Evening After School Youth Development Programs, which serve the student and community populations; and Project ACCEL, which reduces high school drop out rates and retention rates for students.

In addition, under Ms. Wright's guidance and direction, Maple Avenue School and students have been at the forefront of a number of innovative initiatives such as Law Day, Career Day, Instrumental and Choral Music programs, the Talented and Gifted Program, and a school wide Science Fair. Maple Avenue School students have represented the school in the district Science Fair, Math Fair, and Technology Fair, and have consistently won local and regional Art awards. In addition, their debate team has been City Champion for several consecutive years and their basketball team played in the 2003 District Championship finals.

During Ms. Wright's time as Principal, Maple Avenue School has also been recognized by the district for achievements in Literacy, Science, and Math. Based upon 8th grade GEPA scores for the past two years, Maple Avenue School has been cited as one of the top 5 schools and one of the top 10 schools, respectively, in the district in Literacy. During the same time period, Maple Avenue School has been recognized as one of the most improved schools and as one of the top 10 schools in the district in Science. During the 2001-2002 school year, Maple Avenue School has been one of the top 10 most improved schools in Math, according to ESPA scores, and has been a past winner of the Math Olympics and most recently went to the district semi-finals.

Maple Avenue graduates are accepted into the Newark Public School's Magnet High School Programs; Arts High; Science High; University, Technology, and Essex County Vocational High School; as well as area Private and Catholic High Schools at a rate of 30 percent. Many more participate in Magnet Career Academies, which provide transition into skilled career opportunities after High School.

I salute Ms. Wright for her dedication to the students, parents, and teachers in our community, and I am proud to have her in my district. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Ms. Wright for her lifetime of public service, and I invite my colleagues to join me in recognizing the achievements of the Maple Avenue School.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to recognize an outstanding member of my community, Mr. Michael Roccia. For 63 years, he has been fighting to improve the working conditions and lives of American workers. He has spent 32 years with Local 262 in New Jersey, and has served our community well.

He was Shop Chairman for Local 305, CIO from 1940-1969. During that time he organized 500 employees of the L.S. Branch Co. for Playthings, Jewelry, and Novelty Workers, CIO Local 305. When Local 305 became Local 301, he became General Organizer, and when that merged with Local 262, he continued to work, serving as Business Agent for as many as twenty shops. He would go on to serve as Local 262's General Organizer, and eventually became their President. He has been Vice President of both the IUC and the RWDSU, and has served on the Advisory Committee of the UFCW.

Mr. Roccia has lived the life of a worker and an activist. He has labored on an assembly line, organized workers, walked the picket line, negotiated contracts, handled grievances, argued arbitrations, and fought for health and welfare plans. He has led and inspired the men and women of Local 262 in New Jersey to commit to activism, working early in the morning and late at night to improve labor conditions for all workers.

In his own words, ``The work of a good trade unionist can never be a 9 to 5 job--never an 8 hour day.''

I salute Mr. Roccia, the oldest officer in his Union, for his lifelong commitment to serving others. I am proud to have him in my district, and I am honored to call him my neighbor.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Michael Roccia, and I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing him the strength to continue his good work for many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a great deal of respect that I rise to acknowledge the accomplishments made by Dr. Stuart D. Cook during his tenure as president of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). As Dr. Cook steps down from the presidency after six years, the Concerned Citizens at UMDNJ and the UMDNJ-University Hospital are proud of the contributions he has made to this institute of excellence.

During his presidency, Dr. Cook partnered with the Board of Trustees at UMDNJ, faculty, staff and students to create a compelling vision for the future. Through his efforts, federal research support to UMDNJ more than doubled over the past five years. Over the past four years, the university's funding from the National Institutes of Health has increased at a faster rate than the average for all schools and universities in the nation. The National Science Foundation, in its most recent rankings of research universities across the nation, ranks UMDNJ as the number one research university in New Jersey as measured by federal research expenditures and 71st out of the top 100 research universities in the country. This marks the university's highest ever ranking.

Under Dr. Cook's leadership, the university is in the midst of a $535 million statewide capital construction program to upgrade existing space and provide new space for scientists and clinicians. On the Newark campus, which is in the heart of the 10th Congressional District, the University Behavioral Health Sciences Building and the International Center for Public Health have been completed. Additionally, construction of the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School- University Hospital Cancer Center and a second Ambulatory Care Center are underway. Construction of a new clinical building for the UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School will be completed in the first quarter of next year. On the Piscataway campus, a new building housing a research tower for UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and UMDNJ-School of Public Health was opened. In New Brunswick, the steel structure for the Child Health Institute was completed and the new wing of Cancer Institute of New Jersey facility will open in early 2005. On the Stratford campus, the University Doctors Pavilion is open and construction is underway for a new wing of the Science Building.

Complementing these outstanding efforts, other initiatives include, the establishment of a University Professorship Program which has to date, named 15 researchers to the faculty. This program significantly increased the overhead revenues to the University as the researchers brought with them more than $7.5 million in federal funding. The University also created a program that is unique in the nation--the Master Educators Guild--which recognizes teaching excellence. The Guild now has 48 faculty members. Through collaboration with other colleges and universities throughout the state, a school of public health emerged. As a result of this effort and Dr. Cook's leadership, the School of Public Health established the Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities.

Mr. Speaker, as he returns to the faculty at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School to continue his clinical practice and research in multiple sclerosis, I urge my colleagues to commend Dr. Cook for all that he has done in his years as president of UMDNJ.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Providence Missionary Baptist Church on the occasion of the dedication of their new church facilities. Founded in Newark in 1921, this church has been serving and ministering to our community for 83 years, and has long been an institution within my district.

In March of 1921, six families gathered to establish the Rose Hill Baptist Church, calling Rev. B.W. Keith as their first pastor. Though they have moved to various locations around the city of Newark, they have continued to bless our community through their dedication to serving each other, as well as their neighbors, through compassionate ministry.

Providence Missionary Baptist Church continues to reach beyond their own parish to serve the citizens of Newark, establishing a feeding and clothing ministry called Feed My Sheep, Christian Education and Leadership training, an Annual Leadership Conference, and a preschool for the children in the community.

Under the leadership of their current Pastor, Rev. Vincent Grove, they continue to experience growth, adding new members to their

congregation, and renovating and expanding their facilities.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to the members of the Providence Missionary Baptist Church for their contributions to our city. I also invite my colleagues to join me in sending our congratulations as they celebrate the completion of their new church building, and offering our best wishes as they commemorate their 83rd anniversary later this year.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to recognize a respected member of my district, Elder Ellis Smith, Jr., as he and his congregation celebrate the dedication of their church on April 4, 2004. Elder Smith celebrates this event with his beloved wife, First Lady Elresia Smith, their three sons, Ellis Tarique III, Ellis Jerod IV, and Terrell, and their daughter, Jullisa.

Elder Smith was born in Newark in 1961, which makes him my neighbor for almost 43 years and counting. He is a graduate of West Side High School in Newark, Evangelical Bible Institute in Parsippany, and he attended Upsala College in East Orange.

Elder Smith formed Siloah Church in 1997 and had the first services at his kitchen table at his Parsippany residence. Sunday afternoon services were held for a brief period at Rouzeu's Manor in Orange. The Smith family eventually converted the family room of their residence into a Sanctuary, where Sunday morning services and Bible study continued until they acquired a site in East Orange in early 2001, changing the ministry's name to The Love of Christ.

From its nascency, assembled around his kitchen table, to its full emergence as The Love of Christ Ministry, Elder Smith has nurtured this growing gathering of the faithful. As they celebrate and dedicate this special event, I hope that he will be encouraged as he sees the fruits of his labors and will be refreshed to continue his ministry with excitement and vigor.

It is my distinct honor to join with his congregation and our community in offering our encouragement and support as they celebrate the dedication of their church. I hope that this will be a time of great blessing for him and his family.

We are all grateful for his leadership and vision, as well as his community involvement through the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network and the Coalesce Youth Organization.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Elder Smith for his years of pastoral ministry, and I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing him the strength and grace to continue for many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a distinguished member of my community, Grand Master Thomas P. Caldwell. An admirable citizen and resident of Newark, Mr. Caldwell will be honored on Saturday, April 3, 2004, and I wish to acknowledge his contributions to my district.

Mr. Caldwell was born in Charlotte, North Carolina to Mattie and Melvin Caldwell and is one of eight children. He is married to Glenda Dodd, and they have one daughter, Melody. He graduated from Shaw University with a B.S. in Political Science and continued his educational experience at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey and Fairleigh Dickerson University in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

He has been a faithful employee of the New Jersey Department of Labor since 1972, and has held several positions of increasing responsibility there, now serving as Assistant Director of Programs and Services. He is a member of the International Association of Personnel in Employment Security, where he has served on the International Board of Directors and led a Labor exchange to the Republic of China and Japan. He also received the Association's highest award, ``The President's Award'' in 1989.

Mr. Caldwell is dedicated to community service, assisting in the development of the Vailsburg Block Association, and serving as the President of the PTA of St. Mary's Elementary School, Louise A. Spenser High School, and University High School. He has been an active supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, participating in many Walk-a-Thons to help raise money to increase awareness for the fight against this disease.

He is a member of the NAACP, the Second Ward High School National Foundation, the George E. Cannon Lodge #858 I.B.P.O.E. in Vaux Hall, New Jersey, and the Vailsburg Block Association Council. He has also been very active in the Prince Hall Masonic Organization, enjoying their fellowship and providing for them an excellent and well-respected leader.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Mr. Caldwell for his service to my community, and I invite my colleagues to join me in sending our sincere congratulations and best wishes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a devoted and inspirational member of my community, Rev. Dr. Gadson L. Graham, on the occasion of his 45th Pastoral Anniversary.

Dr. Graham will be honored this month by the members of the Canaan Baptist Church of Paterson, New Jersey, and I am honored to join with them in extending my best wishes to this man who has dedicated his life's work to serving others. He has ministered to our community as a preacher, a teacher, a mentor, and a counselor.

In 1975, Dr. Graham founded the Haitian Project, Canaan Baptist Church's first foreign mission program, and has extended this global outreach to many other countries, including Liberia, Senegal, Benin, and Uganda. His global ministry has offered him the opportunity to meet with members of the British Parliament, the Honorable Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, and His Excellency Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe.

Dr. Graham serves on the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and serves as Advisory Board President of the Rutgers School of Nursing, both in Newark, New Jersey. Among his many honors and awards, he was named Pastor of the Year by Brothers in Blue, a Policeman's Fraternal Organization in the City of Paterson; was the first African American minister to mentor African American students at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck; and was the recipient of the Z-HOPE HONOREE Award, given by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., State of New Jersey, and Rho Tau Zeta Chapter of Paterson for his humanitarian pursuits to uplift women and their families in Haiti, Africa and other countries.

I am grateful for Dr. Graham's leadership in the community, and I value his commitment to meeting the needs of his brothers and sisters in Paterson, the United States, and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending thanks to Dr. Graham for 45 years of pastoral ministry; and I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing him the strength and grace to continue for many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a valued member of my district, Mr. Connie Richard. Mr. Richard has been a respected educator and administrator in the Newark Public School System for 35 years and will celebrate his retirement on March 26, 2004.

Mr. Richard was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but moved to Newark as a young child with his parents and sister. During his teenage years, he and his sister, Belita, were active participants in the Newark YMCA/ YWCA programs that I directed. His sister, Belita, was one of the two Newark High School teenagers selected to participate in a YMCA- sponsored international travel program, which included a 3-week tour of Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. His dedication to his studies and his academic achievements earned him a scholarship to study at the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico. He returned to Newark after graduation and began his career with the public school system.

For the past 35 years, he has worked tirelessly within the Newark Public School System as both teacher and administrator. He has served as Project Coordinator of Elementary Reading Centers, District Title I Coordinator, Central Office Title I Coordinator, Chapter I Supervisor, Director of Special Projects, and Special Assistant to SLT Assistant Superintendent.

Never content to end his day when working hours were over, he has been an active volunteer with the Sussex Avenue Recreation Program, the Alexander Street School Aerospace Club, and neighborhood athletic and leadership programs. He is a member of the New Jersey Education Association, the New Jersey Minority Caucus, the Association of School Administrators, the New Jersey Association of Federal Program Administrators, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Association of Federal Program Administrators, the National Coalition of Title I/Chapter I Parents, the New Jersey Congress of Parents and Teachers, and the Organization of African American Administrators.

I can assure you that his retirement will be as active as his working life, full of time spent with family and friends, enjoying camping, athletics, and great jazz music, traveling to destinations both familiar and uncharted, and honing his woodcarving skills. I salute Mr. Richard for his dedication to the students, parents, and teachers in our community. I am proud to have him in my district, and I am proud of the legacy he has left for our public school system. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Mr. Richard for his lifetime of public service, and I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing him a happy, fulfilling retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway's Foundation as they honor two outstanding members of my district. I would like to add my praises to theirs as we celebrate the work of Dr. John and Mrs. Christine Kline, who have dedicated their personal and professional lives to serving the members of our community.

Dr. Kline has been a member of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway's Medical/Dental staff since 1972, serving as the organization's President from 1995 to 1996. He has been a member of the Credentials and Executive Committees, served as Chairman of the Department of Surgery, and is currently Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics. He is a founding member of the Rahway Independent Physicians Association and has served as their President for over 8 years. Dr. Kline has long been a trustee of the RWJUH Rahway Foundation, serving as Second Vice-chairman and Chairman, and is a member of RWJUH Rahway's Board of Governors, The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, New Jersey Orthopaedic Society, New Jersey Medical Society, the Arthroscopy Associates of North America, and the Union County Medical Society.

Christine Kline has been a member of the RWJUH Auxiliary for over 20 years, serving as past Vice President and current President, and is a trustee of RWJUH Rahway Foundation, presently serving as Vice-Chairman. She is a member of the Foundation's Fashion Show Committee, and has been the Chairman of the Foundations' Rose Ball Committee for the past 6 years.

She has served as Vice President of the Union County Unit of the American Cancer Society, Chairman of their Tobacco Task Force, and in 1997, was the recipient of their Volunteer of the Year Award. She has served as the President, Finance Officer, Washington Legislation Officer, and Parliamentarian of the Medical Society of New Jersey Alliance. Currently, she sits on the Board of Directors of New Jersey Breathes and is President of the Union County Medical Society Alliance. She was instrumental in the formation of a national program on domestic violence through the American Medical Association Alliance, has served on the Fund Raising Committee of the YMCA of Eastern Union County's battered women and children's shelter, and chairs a statewide Annual Teen Health Seminar that teaches high school students about real life choices.

I salute these two caring individuals who have served our community so well, and I am proud to call them my neighbors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a valued member of my district, the late Ira Resnick. The city of Montclair recently experienced the loss of this dedicated public servant who devoted his professional life to serving his neighbors through community organizing.

As the chief operating officer at the Community Foundation of New Jersey, Ira worked to build the Neighborhood Leadership Initiative into a year-long, statewide training fellowship for community leaders.

He has also been involved with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the Indiana Citizens Action Coalition, the Paterson Interfaith Communities Organization, the United Passaic Organization, the Jewish Fund for Justice, the Neighborhood Small Grants Network, the Center for Social and Community Development of the School of Social Work at Rutgers University, and the National Housing Institute's Conference on Families and Civil Society.

My district is fortunate to have citizens such as Mr. Resnick, who quietly go about the work of improving the quality of life within our neighborhoods, seeking service rather than recognition, and accomplishment rather than reward.

My district will long be the beneficiary of his life of hard work and dedication to community values. I extend my sympathy and prayers to Ira's wife, Ellen, and to their two sons, Robert and Caleb; and I thank Ira for his years of service.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to recognize a valued institution in my home city of Newark, New Jersey, WBG0 Jazz 88, as they celebrate 25 years of service to our community. Founded in a time when there were no New Jersey-based public radio stations, WBG0 recognized the opportunity to use public radio as a means of engaging the community and raising cultural awareness. They saw that they could play a role in uniting people who were divided from years of racial and social unrest, as well as helping to rebuild a city that was in great need of revitalization.

Newark Public Radio is one of 12 New Jersey cultural organizations that has been designated a ``Major Impact'' arts organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. WBGO has been awarded this distinction for each of the past thirteen years. Within public radio, WBGO is regarded as a leader for its ground-breaking work in community and volunteer involvement, special events, and the presentation of jazz (including collaboration with local artists).

WBGO has made it their mission ``to champion jazz . . . through radio, other technology, and events.'' Through education and entertainment, they preserve the rich heritage and cultural achievements of jazz, ensuring its place as an institution of American culture.

Jazz music has been shaped by multiple influences and cultural experiences--a fusion of European and Caribbean elements--but has emerged as a uniquely American art form. Embedded in the African- American experience, jazz tells a story of the American experiment from a new perspective.

WBGO Jazz 88 brings this story to 15 of the 21 counties of New Jersey, all five boroughs of New York, and portions of Connecticut, reaching an estimated 405,000 listeners each and every week.

I salute WBGO for their dedication to the arts, to public radio, to our community, and to jazz. I am proud to have them in my district, and I wish them continued success as they endeavor to bring the truly magical, truly American legacy of jazz to the 21st Century.

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, for calling this Special Order; and let me commend my colleagues, each of them, who gave eloquent speeches and for their involvement.

We have an issue here that the Black Caucus stands united on. We are together. This is an issue that is extremely serious, because the people of Haiti have endured more than their share of struggle, unrest, and bloodshed.

This January marks the bicentennial of the independence of Haiti in 1804, the world's first black republic and the second country in the Western Hemisphere to gain its independence, a country that defeated the mighty armies of Napoleon, where Napoleon sent his own brother to fight in Haiti and Haiti defeated the great French military. And in their defeat of the great French military, the French government became poorer. They needed funds. They expended tremendous amounts of money on the war. Secondly, Haiti produced more income for the French republic than all of the 13 Colonies in the United States put together. What they exported, what was taken out of Haiti were valuable items.

So we have a nation very strong and proud and important. We had a nation that Simon Bolivar lived in. He was a liberator of South America. He was in Haiti, and he lived there and he studied the valiance of the Haitian Army and went back and fought the Spanish and South America and Bolivia became an independent country. We have Haiti that caused the French, as I mentioned, to lose their financial resources and, therefore, had to sell to the United States the Louisiana Purchase, the Louisiana territory which was controlled by the French. That opened up the west. The Lewis and Clarke expedition started in St. Louis and went and explored the United States of America, once again Haiti's connection to the growth and development. In the battle of Savannah, 800 Haitians fought in the Revolutionary War for our independence from Britain. As a matter of fact, the United States would not recognize Haiti for over 50 years until after the Civil War because they always had a fear that Haitians would come through Florida and then, because there were more black people in the South than whites, they thought that this Haitian Army could lead liberations through the States of the South of the United States of America, so they would not recognize Haiti because they did not want a Haitian diplomat to come to the United States. It was not until after the Emancipation Proclamation, after the Civil War, that the United States Government appointed Frederick Douglass to be the council general to Haiti. The U.S. waited until they felt comfortable that a black diplomat could come to this country.

So Haiti is involved with us. Our Marines went there in the 1900s and controlled, and we ran the country and we allowed dictators, Papa Doc and Baby Doc, to run that country.

So we have a responsibility. We should be there currently. We should be there to tell those thugs and drug dealers and the former soldiers of Generals Cedras and Biambraz and the former police chief Michel Francois who was one of the coup plotters when President Aristide was sent out of the country, those thugs and criminals and drug dealers are coming back into the country. Who could we negotiate with when we see bans of thugs running down the street and President Aristide, who speaks six languages, French and Spanish fluently, he will speak in Spanish or in English and Patois, his own language, and Latin? We are saying that he is a person that we cannot negotiate with and we are going to deal with drug dealers and thugs and gangsters and murderers and former people from the old army?

The answer is clear. We need to stand up now. We need to send resources into Haiti. We need to join with the international community, the French, the Canadians, the Venezuelans, the friends of Haiti who will come together, the Jamaicans, the South Africans. We must act; we must act now.

Mr. Speaker, a tragedy is occurring off our shores. A duly-elected government in Haiti, President Jean Bertrand Aristide's government, is in jeopardy. He is being challenged by the former FRAPH, a paramilitary group of outlaws and bandits, the former military leaders who are across the border in the Dominican Republic and drug dealers who have taken over parts of that country, using their influence to corrupt the citizenry.

On the other hand, we have a person who is duly elected, President Aristide. I cannot understand why our Nation that stands for democracy all over the world stands idly by while we let thugs who are burning and raping and looting take a free hand.

The French have said we are willing to go in. We have 4,000 troops, as a matter of fact; and they even said, as a matter of fact, U.S.A., we do not need you, just support us.

I urge our government to help the people of Haiti by coming up with a diplomatic solution to the problem in that country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise before this body of Congress and this Nation today to pay tribute to the passing of a man who spent his lifetime seeking to expand trade and investment ties between the United States and Africa. David H. Miller, of Silver Spring, Maryland, and originally from the state of Michigan, passed away on February 2 following a year-long battle with cancer. As his family, relatives, and friends mourn their loss, I would like to recognize a few of his many achievements here today.

The son of Mr. and Mrs. William P. Miller of Farmington Hills, Michigan, Mr. Miller received a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from George Washington University and a Masters degree in Business Administration with a concentration on finance from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Mr. Miller worked for the public relations company of Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly as a Research Associate and for Congressman Mark Siljander as a Legislative Assistant for Foreign Affairs. Thereafter, Mr. Miller was the Desk Officer for South Africa, Angola, and Namibia at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Mr. Miller then served as the Senior Associate for Africa at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), where he led over 140 U.S. companies on investment missions to 16 African countries.

Mr. Miller helped to create the Corporate Council on Africa, and served as its first Executive Director from May 1993 to June 1999. At the Council, Miller was the principal liaison between the Council staff and more than 210 corporate and individual members. Mr. Miller was responsible for advising member companies on trade and investment activities in Africa; outreach to African government and private sector leaders; U.S. executive and legislative activities relating to African issues; and projects before international financial institutions such as the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank. Under his direction, the Corporate Council on Africa grew from an organization with six members, a limited budget, and one employee to an organization of over 210 members, an annual budget in excess of $3 million, and fourteen employees.

Mr. Miller formed AfricaGlobal, and served as its Managing Director and Director of Government Affairs. He was responsible for handling the government clients and the governmental affairs of AfricaGlobal's corporate clients. Mr. Miller advised government clients on how to best communicate and create positive relationships with the international private sector and political leaders. Mr. Miller had extensive experience in corporate affairs and communications, and was the speechwriter for AfricaGlobal's clientele.

Mr. Speaker, David H. Miller worked with great dedication in advancing relations between African nations and the United States, and is certainly deserving of praise before this body today. He is survived by his wife, the former Kyung Hee Cho; his children Max, Audrey, and Han; his parents; his brothers Bill and John, his sisters Anne and Mary; other extended family members; and a host of friends both in Africa and in the United States. Our thoughts are with them during their time of bereavement. To his family, friends, and the many people in the community who knew him, David H. Miller will be missed deeply.

Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of H. Con. Res. 264, I am very pleased to join in this effort to honor the life and accomplishments of Constantino Brumidi. An Italian immigrant of partial Greek descent, his beautiful works of art grace our greatest symbol of democracy, our Capitol building where we gather to conduct the nation's business and where we welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world each year.

Constantino Brumidi spent 25 years of his life, from 1855 to 1880, painting, decorating and enhancing the beauty of the United States Capitol. This talented artist was born in Rome, Italy to Stauros Brumidi from Greece and Anna Bianchini Brumidi of Rome on July 26, 1805. He was trained as an artist and painted in Rome and at the Vatican. He arrived in New York City as a political refugee on September 18, 1852 and became an American citizen in 1857. He began painting in the U.S. Capitol on February 19, 1855 and spent more than 25 years of his life painting, decorating and beautifying the corridors, committee rooms and the Rotunda of the Capitol. Brumidi created many magnificent paintings and decorations depicting the history, inventions, values and ideals of the United States, thus enhancing the dignity and beauty of the Capitol and inspiring tens of millions of visitors. In 1865, he painted in just 11 months his masterpiece, The Apotheosis of Washington in the canopy of the eye of the Capitol dome. In 1871, Brumidi created the first tribute to an African American in the Capitol when he placed the figure of Crispus Attucks at the center of his painting of the Boston Massacre. He died on February 19, 1880, exactly 25 years to the day that he first began work in the Capitol.

Brumidi also painted in Catholic churches in cities along the east coast, including Washington, DC (St. Aloyisus Church), Baltimore, Md., Philadelphia Pa. and most especially, in St. Stephen's Catholic Church in New York City. Brumidi is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, DC. His grave marker there was authorized and paid for by the U.S. Congress in 1950.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the Constantino Brumidi Society, and its Chair, Joseph N. Grano, for all of their hard work in promoting a deeper appreciation of the works of this great artist. The Constantino Brumidi Society was organized in February 2000 by individuals with a special interest in the U.S. Capitol and Italian culture for the purpose of educating the public about the life and work of Constantino Brumidi.

The lofty goal of the Constantino Brumidi Society is to make Americans more familiar with his works of art in the Capitol and elsewhere, and to encourage an appreciation for the fine art traditions of the Italian High Renaissance and Baroque which Brumidi studied and employed. They also aim to support and encourage the preservation and conservation of Brumidi's paintings and frescoes in the Capitol and elsewhere, particularly at Our Lady of the Scapular and St. Stephen's Catholic Church in New York City.

In forming this organization, it was also their hope that by celebrating Constantino Brumidi's life and art, this Italian immigrant and American citizen who did so much to beautify the most important building in his adopted country would become a household name, and that every American would come to know this wonderful story. His life story should be seen as emblematic of all the millions of immigrants who came to the United States to better themselves and in consequence enormously enriched their new homeland. In the moving words of Brumidi himself, ``I have no longer any desire for fame or fortune. My one ambition and my daily prayer is that I may live long enough to make beautiful the Capitol of the one country on earth in which there is liberty.''

The Society has as its special focus the year 2005, which will be the bicentennial of Constantino Brumidi's birth, the 150th anniversary of his commencing work in the Capitol and the 125th anniversary of his death.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to honor a man who has secured a special place in our history and in our hearts, both as an extraordinary artist and an outstanding patriot.