Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to an organization with a great record of service to the Sacramento Region. For the past three decades, the Asian Pacific State Employees Association has worked tirelessly to protect and advance the interests of Asian American state employees. As the Asian Pacific State Employees Association hosts its 30th Anniversary celebration on April 28, 2005, I ask all my colleagues to join me in saluting the Asian Pacific State Employees Association, one of the Asian Pacific Islander community's most important service organizations.

The Asian Pacific State Employees Association, formerly known as the Asian State Employees Association, was founded in 1975 for the purpose of working toward achieving equal opportunity within the state work force through professional development and community empowerment. The Association's vision is one of Asian Pacific state employees serving, enhancing, and leading state government and their community.

Objectives adopted by the Association include advocating for Asian Pacific Islander state employee interests; providing an Asian Pacific network for its members and employers; advancing personal and professional development of its membership; consulting with members facing adverse action or other employment problems; working with the community to promote career opportunities, professionalism, cultural pride, self-esteem, and citizenship; and providing services and interchange with community, academic, and business groups.

Benefits and services offered by the Association include employee development, networking, scholarship opportunities, communications, and celebration of Asian Pacific contributions. At the present time, the Asian Pacific State Employees Association has over 1,000 members statewide, which includes the Southern, Central Valley, and Bay Area chapters, and officers frequently serve on legislative fact-finding committees, and provide testimony before the legislative committees regarding advocacy and affirmative action policies.

I would like to acknowledge and congratulate the evening's special honoree, Assemblywoman Judy Chu. Judy's distinguished career and her commitment to advocate for the interests of Asian American state employees make her a most deserving recipient of special praise and recognition

Mr. Speaker, the Asian Pacific State Employees Association has evolved into a leading organization within the state, a dynamic force striving to improve the quality of life of its members and the general community. I am confident that the Asian Pacific State Employees Association will continue to do great work and yield tremendous benefits to the Asian Pacific Islander state workers of California. I ask all my colleagues to join me in wishing the Asian Pacific State Employees Association continued success in the future.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in tribute to a man with a distinguished career in education. Dr. Robert Harris's vision and hard work have made Sacramento City College one of the preeminent junior colleges in Northern California. The longest tenure of any president since the college was founded in 1916; Dr. Harris will soon retire from the post of President of Sacramento City College after 18 years of wonderful service. As his family, friends, and colleagues gather to celebrate Dr. Harris' great career, I ask all my colleagues to join me in saluting one of Sacramento's most respected and successful educators.

President Harris is well-known for his resolve to foster positive changes, which has resulted in many improvements to the Sacramento City College campus, including the restoration of the Auditorium, renovation of the City Cafe, and construction of a Child Development Center, Center for Physical Excellence, and the Learning Resource Center, ``a grand and gleaming hightech wonder.''

Since the beginning of his presidency, he has had the vision and drive to push for the development of light rail directly to the City College Station; and under his leadership, Associated Student Government students presented a Resolution in Support of Regional Transit to the Los Rios Board of Trustees, which resulted in a student vote of the Universal Transit Pass fee and a Regional Transit Pass that allows students to use all public transit bus and light rail systems in Sacramento, Yolo, Folsom, EI Dorado and Elk Grove.

During his presidency, Sacramento City College co-sponsored the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. event. In 1996 inaugurated an annual Capital Shrine Bowl to raise awareness and funding for Shriners Hospitals for children. It was also under Dr. Harris' stewardship that Sacramento City College, in partnership with Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region, expanded its Associate Degree Nursing Program and Sutter has committed more than $16 million through 2010 with the goal of educating 450 registered nurses.

Dr. Harris also helped establish Beta Eta Psi, a campus chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. He helped to create a $7,500 scholarship to pay the induction fee for students who need assistance, and was one of only 24 college presidents honored with the prestigious Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction which recognizes college presidents for outstanding efforts in promoting the goals of Phi Theta Kappa at the chapter level. Also, a decade ago, President Harris supported the creation of Susurrus, the college literary journal, which has twice won first place in the national Community College Humanities Association Annual Literary Magazine Competition.

President Harris deserves special recognition for his unwavering support of programs that provide services and encouragement to underrepresented and non-traditional students. It is fair to say that the Sacramento City College Classified Senate would not exist without his encouragement and his support. President Harris' views on participatory governance promoted an unprecedented level of collegiality on campus.

In 2004, directly as a result of Dr. Harris' leadership, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges reaffirmed Sacramento City College accreditation without conditions--the highest level of accreditation a college can receive.

Mr. Speaker, as Dr. Harris' friends, family, and colleagues gather to celebrate his great career, I am honored to pay tribute to one of the Sacramento Region's most successful educators. Dr. Harris' leadership is a true testament to making a positive impact to the lives of others. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in wishing Dr. Robert Harris continued success in all his future endeavors.

Speaker Hastert, Leader Pelosi, Chairman Lewis and Mr. Stark, thank you very much and all the distinguished Members and friends here for welcoming me here today.

As I look around this Chamber, I see so many of you who have been my friends throughout these years. And now today I have the honor of calling you my colleagues. The last time I was here in this Chamber was December 23. Obviously, the House was out of session then. But Bob was so excited because he was going to bring Anna on the floor to witness his swearing in for his 14th term. So that morning of the 23rd we decided to do a practice run, and we brought Anna here on the floor of this awe-inspiring Chamber to get her used to it. After that, we went back to his office and we just happened to take a picture of Anna sitting on her grandfather's lap behind a desk with the Capitol behind. The next day, Bob fell ill and was hospitalized. And he tried so hard to get well, because he wanted to be here with his colleagues and with Anna.

As you all know, he loved this body. He loved coming to work here. And he loved all of you. But he did not win that battle. In the days since, I spent a lot of time talking with the people of Sacramento, and I have come to appreciate even more what Bob maintained all along, that his commitment to equality, his dedication to ensuring dignity to the elderly, his work to make Sacramento even a better place to live and work and to raise a family, and his driving desire to make America stronger for each successive generation, those things were not about him at all. They were about us. They were about our future.

And so I take this oath today with a heart both heavy and hopeful that we can all work together to build that better future. The challenges facing the people of Sacramento did not end with my husband's service. I know that Bob made all of you aware, in some cases painfully aware, how important the issue of flood control is to Sacramento. For many, many years, probably a couple of decades, my husband bent your ears on that. You will not be surprised to hear that that pain in your ear is not going to go away until we get it done.

This is truly the people's House, and that is why Bob loved it so. And I realize as I was talking and listening to the people of Sacramento how important it is to connect with the people. As I was talking with them in the grocery stores and the coffee shops, at the service stations, I heard from many people. Bob's high school teacher came up to me one day and said, Doris, please, please make sure that Social Security is secure. I ran into a young mother at the grocery store who stopped me as I was picking up a can of peas and said, Mrs. Matsui, I lost my husband a year ago, and I need those Social Security benefits for my son and myself.

When I was in a coffee shop, a young man rolled over to me and said, Mrs. Matsui, I really need those disability benefits, because I don't want to have to depend on my parents. I talked to the hardware store owner and I listened really hard because he wants to provide health care benefits for his employees, but finds it to be very difficult.

Social Security, health care, the war in Iraq, these are all local issues. We happen to talk about them here, but they are all local issues. And on these issues and so many more, I look forward to working with all of you to find common ground and achieve common good.

I mentioned earlier the photo of Anna sitting on her grandfather's lap. One of our other family treasures is a photo of Brian here at age 6 witnessing his father's first swearing in. He sat right there. He is sitting there now. He is sitting there with his own daughter, Anna. Seeing him there and seeing Anna is a reminder that despite tragedy and heartbreak, life indeed does go on. And I know that somewhere Bob is looking down and smiling, knowing that Anna was here on the floor having watched her grandmother being sworn in.

Life does go on. And so it is with Bob's example and Anna's inspiration of future generations and with the hopes and dreams of the people of Sacramento, I take this honor and I have taken this oath to join you today as a colleague. And I truly, truly appreciate being here.

Thank you so very much.