Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Dr. Cora Marrett's career of service to our country--both in government and education. Since 2011, Dr. Marrett has served as deputy director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and I have had the pleasure of working with her as chairman of the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee. I recently learned that she will be retiring next month after an exceptional career in academia and with NSF.

Dr. Marrett has helped lead NSF as its acting director, deputy director, acting deputy director and as the assistant director for Education and Human Resources, where she led efforts on STEM education research and outreach--a key priority for the CJS subcommittee in recent years. I particularly appreciate her leadership on efforts included in appropriations bills at my request to better understand gaps in K-12 STEM education research and to bolster American competitiveness in those fields.

Cora has a long history of service at NSF. She previously served as the first assistant director for the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences directorate from 1992-1996. During that time she earned NSF's ``Distinguished Service Award'' for her leadership. She subsequently served as senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and later the senior vice president for academic affairs for the University of Wisconsin system, as well as a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin- Madison.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Dr. Marrett for her outstanding leadership and service at NSF and wish her and her family all the best for her upcoming retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I want to share two pictures showing the tomb of the prophet Jonah in Mosul, Iraq. The first shows Jonah's tomb as it looked for centuries prior to last week. The second shows the site after it was destroyed by ISIS last week. Thousands of years of Biblical cultural history were erased in a matter of moments by Islamist terrorists.

This ancient site had once been the location of a church and then a mosque famous for its architectural beauty which stood there since the 14th century. The mosque of the prophet Yunus--built around Jonah's tomb--honored a figure who is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Jonah, who was sent by God to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh, is the subject of a book in the Hebrew Tanakh--the Old Testament--and multiple passages in the Koran.

While ISIS has targeted Christians for elimination in its destructive rampage through Syria and Iraq, this atrocity is an offense not just to Christians, but to all humanity. This is more than fundamentalism or extremism. It is nihilism. It is genocide. It is genocide of an entire people of faith in this region.

The world should be outraged at the crime against our shared cultural heritage, including the Islam that ISIS claims to represent. ISIS has destroyed millennia of history by detonating an explosive charge and turning this ancient site of pilgrimage to rubble.

However, it is not just Biblical sites and Christian churches that are targeted by ISIS extermination. It is exterminating the Christian people of this region. The Christian people of this region are being exterminated.

I want to share another picture. Do you see this spray-painted symbol on the wall to the right of the gate? That is the Arabic word ``nun'' which stands for nasara, a pejorative name for Christians. They are singling out Christians. ISIS has been marking the homes of Christians to symbolize their ultimatum: convert to Islam or die.

Similarly, ISIS has used the letter ``raa'' for rawafidh, a slur against Shiites that they also expelled from Mosul.

This is the sixth time in a week that I have appeared on this floor to call attention to the genocide that is taking place right before our eyes. The media is starting to pay more attention, but where is the Obama administration?

It has to make protecting this ancient community a priority. It needs to encourage the Kurds to do more of what they can to protect those fleeing ISIS and provide safe refuge. It needs to ensure that of the resources going to the region, that a portion should be guaranteed to help the Christian community. It needs to have the same courage as President Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell had when they called it genocide in Darfur because this is genocide.

For the sake of these communities and for the sake of the ancient, tangible heritage that is being destroyed daily by ISIS and Iraq, President Obama must speak.

President Reagan consistently made human rights and religious freedom a hallmark of American diplomacy. He famously described the U.S. Constitution as ``a covenant we have made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind.'' He understood that the promises enshrined in that document transcended time and place.

There is no more urgent time and place to speak out than now, given what is happening to Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq. We are seeing, during this Congress where everyone here is serving and during this administration, we are seeing the end of Christianity in Iraq, and soon, we will see the end of Christianity in the Middle East, where it all began.

Mr. Speaker, I submit the following list of Christian churches and institutions in Mosul, Iraq, that have been destroyed by ``Islamic State of Iraq and Syria'' (ISIS) since the Islamist terrorist group captured the city on June 10. According to the Assyrian International News Agency, all of the 45 Christian sites in Mosul have been destroyed, occupied, converted to mosques, converted to ISIS headquarters or otherwise shuttered.

The following is the full list of destroyed Christian sites compiled by the Assyrian International News Agency, grouped by denomination:

Syriac Catholic Church

1. Syrian Catholic Diocese--Maidan Neighborhood, Mosul

2. The Old Church of the Immaculate--Maidan Neighborhood,

Mosul (The church goes back to the eighth century AD)

3. The New Church of the Immaculate--Maidan Neighborhood

4. Church of Mar (Saint) Toma--Khazraj Neighborhood

5. Museum of Mar (Saint) Toma--Khazraj Neighborhood

6. Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation--Muhandiseen

Neighborhood

7. Church of the Virgin of Fatima--Faisaliah Neighborhood

8. Our Lady of Deliverance Chapel--Shifaa Neighborhood

9. The House of the Young Sisters of Jesus--Ras Al-Kour

Neighborhood

10. Archbishop's Palace Chapel--Dawasa Neighborhood

Syriac Orthodox Church

1. Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese--Shurta Neighborhood

2. The Antiquarian Church of Saint Ahodeeni--Bab AlJadeed

Neighborhood

3. Mar (Saint) Toma Church and cemetery, (the old

Bishopric)--Khazraj Neighborhood

4. Church of The Immaculate (Castle)--Maidan Neighborhood

5. Church of The Immaculate--Shifaa Neighborhood

6. Mar (Saint) Aprim Church--Shurta Neighborhood

7. St. Joseph Church--The New Mosul Neighborhood

Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East

1. Diocese of the Assyrian Church of the East--Noor

Neighborhood

2. Assyrian Church of the East, Dawasa Neighborhood

3. Church of the Virgin Mary (old rite)--Wihda Neighborhood

Chaldean Church of Babylon

1. Chaldean Diocese--Shurta Neighborhood

2. Miskinta Church--Mayassa Neighborhood

3. The Antiquarian Church of Shimon alSafa--Mayassa

Neighborhood

4. Church of Mar (Saint) Buthyoon--Shahar AlSouq

Neighborhood

5. Church of St. Ephrem, Wady AlAin Neighborhood

6. Church of St. Paul--Majmooaa AlThaqafiya District

7. The Old Church of the Immaculate (with the bombed

archdiocese)--Shifaa Neighborhood

8. Church of the Holy Spirit--Bakir Neighborhood

9. Church of the Virgin Mary--Drakziliya Neighborhood

10. Ancient Church of Saint Isaiah and Cemetery--Ras AlKour

Neighborhood

11. Mother of Aid Church--Dawasa Neighborhood

12. The Antiquarian Church of St. George--Khazraj

Neighborhood

13. St. George Monastery with Cemetery--Arab Neighborhood

14. Monastery of AlNasir (Victory)--Arab Neighborhood

15. Convent of the Chaldean Nuns--Mayassa Neighborhood

16. Monastery of St. Michael--Hawi Church Neighborhood

17. The Antiquarian Monastery of St. Elijah--Ghazlany

Neighborhood

Armenian Orthodox Church

1. Armenian Church--Maidan Neighborhood

2. The New Armenian Church--Wihda Neighborhood

Evangelical Presbyterian Church

1. Evangelical Presbyterian Church--Mayassa Neighborhood

Latin Church

1. Latin Church and Monastery of the Dominican Fathers and

Convent of Katrina Siena Nuns--Sa'a Neighborhood

2. Convent of the Dominican Sisters--Mosul AlJadeed

Neighborhood

3. Convent of the Dominican Sisters (AlKilma Monastery)--

Majmooaa AlThaqafiya District

4. House of Qasada AlRasouliya (Apostolic Aim) (Institute

of St John the Beloved)

Cemeteries

1. Christian Cemetery in the Ekab Valley which contains a

small chapel.

Mr. Speaker, I want to read the following piece that was posted on nbcnews.com yesterday. The headline was: ``Has Last Christian Left Iraqi City of Mosul After 2,000 Years?''

Samer Kamil Yacub was alone when four Islamist militants

carrying AK-47s arrived at his front door and ordered him to

leave the city. The 70-year-old Christian had failed to

comply with a decree issued by the Islamic State of Iraq and

Syria, ISIS.

Yacub's hometown of Mosul had boasted a Christian community

for almost 2,000 years. But then the al Qaeda-inspired

fighters who overran the city last month gave Christians an

ultimatum. They could stay and pay a tax or convert to

Islam--or be killed.

Yacub, 70, was one of the few Christians remaining beyond

last Saturday's noon deadline. He may have even been the last

to leave alive. ``A fighter said, `I have orders to kill you

now,''' Yacub said just hours after the Sunni extremists

tried to force their way into his home at 11 a.m. on Monday.

``All of the people in my neighborhood were Muslim. They came

to help me--about 20 people--at the door in front of my

house. They tried to convince ISIS not to kill me.''

The rebels spared Yacub but threw him out of the city where he had spent his entire life. They also took his Iraqi ID card before informing him that elderly women would be given his house.

Mr. Speaker, this is but one example of what is unfolding in Iraq right before our eyes. The end of Christianity, as we now know it, is taking place in Iraq. This is the fifth time I have come to the floor over the last week to try to raise awareness of what is happening, to talk about the genocide.

It is genocide that is taking place. Yes, genocide: the systematic extermination of a people of faith by violent extremists seizing power in a region. Churches and monasteries have been seized. Many of them have been burned down.

Last week, it was widely reported that ISIS had blown up the tomb of the prophet Jonah.

Christians, threatened with their lives if they do not leave the region, are being robbed as they leave a land they have lived on for more than 2,000 years.

With the exception of Israel, the Bible contains more references to the cities, regions, and nations of ancient Iraq than any other country. The patriarch Abraham lived in the city of Ur. Isaac's bride, Rebekah, came from northwest Iraq. Jacob spent 20 years in Iraq, and his sons--the 12 tribes of Israel--were born in northwest Iraq. The events of the book of Esther took place in Iraq, as did the account of Daniel in the lion's den.

Many of Iraqi's Christians still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. The Pope has spoken out. His Beatitude Ignatius Ephrem Joseph III Younan, the overseer of Syriac Catholics around the globe, has spoken out.

His Grace Bishop Angaelos, general bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, has spoken out. Archbishop Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the world's 80 million Anglicans, has spoken out. Russell Moore, a key leader in the Southern Baptist Convention, has spoken out.

Despite these Christian leaders speaking out about the systematic extermination of Christians in Iraq, the silence in this town, in Washington, is deafening. Does Washington even care? Where is the Obama administration? The President has failed. Where is the Congress? The Congress has failed.

Time is running out. The Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq are being targeted for extinction. They need our help. Literally, during our time, we will see the end of Christianity in the place it began.

Mr. Speaker, another Sunday has come and gone without mass being said in Mosul.

There is no doubt about it; religious cleansing is continuing to occur in Iraq. The churches have been seized and some turned into mosques. Every trace of Christianity is being eradicated in Iraq. The Christians' property has been seized, looted, and given to others.

Canon Andrew White, the vicar of the only Anglican church in Baghdad, Iraq, recently stated, ``Things are so desperate, our people are disappearing. We have had our people massacred, their heads chopped off. Are we seeing the end of Christianity? We are committed,'' he said, ``come what may, we will keep going to the end, but it looks as though the end could be near.''

Vicar White, continuing, said, ``The Christians are in grave danger. They are literally living in the desert and on the street. They have nowhere to go.''

The question remains: What should the world be doing to help the Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq?

The administration has taken a small step, although it needs to do much more. The President of the United States needs to speak out on this issue.

This morning, after a 9-month vacancy, the White House announced the nomination of Rabbi David Saperstein to be the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Rabbi Saperstein is well-respected on these matters and has been engaged on this issue for a long time. I welcome this nomination. It is a good nomination, and I ask the Senate to confirm Rabbi Saperstein quickly.

On Friday, the House passed legislation that creates the position of Special Envoy for Religious Minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia. This was bipartisan legislation that was introduced by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and myself. Our office worked closely with our former colleague, Senator Roy Blunt.

I call on the President to sign this bill quickly and to fill this position as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence. We cannot afford to wait any longer. Christianity, as we now know it, is being wiped out before our very eyes in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, the picture on the front page of this morning's New York Times is about the latest deadly outbreak of Ebola in Africa. This horrible disease knows no borders and has already claimed the lives of 660 people in four countries since it was first detected in March.

The White House needs to pull together the CDC, NIH, State Department, USAID, the World Health Organization, and other Western governments to stave off this outbreak before it spreads further. I am concerned that there is not a sufficient plan in place, either in Africa or in the event that it spreads to the U.S.

We live in a global world. We need a clear plan and strong leadership now. We cannot wait until a case shows up in the United States.

Madam Speaker, Pope Francis has spoken about the conditions in Iraq for Christians.

Now His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, said the following today:

As the widespread violence and aggression facing Christians

and minority groups in Mosul, Iraq, intensifies, it is

increasingly evident that the fundamental right and freedom

to practice one's faith and belief is--and continues to be--

grossly violated.

We are currently witnessing an unacceptable widespread

implementation of extremist religious ideology that threatens

the lives of all Iraqis who do not fit within its ever-

narrowing perspective. While this situation stands to

eradicate centuries of coexistence and culture in the region,

it also threatens to significantly and negatively impact

these communities for generations to come. If left

unchallenged, it is not Iraq alone that is at risk, but the

potential is intensified for the replication of this ideology

as a viable and legitimate model for others across the Middle

East.

He then thanked the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies and its chairman, His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, for expressing his concern about the current situation in Mosul.

Everyone--the President, the Congress, religious leaders--should speak out on the eradication of Christianity in the Middle East.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), which helps provide civil legal aid to low-income Americans who otherwise would be unable to afford legal representation. LSC was created in 1974 through a bipartisan effort by Republicans and Democrats in Congress and was signed into law by President Nixon.

Today, LSC provides funding to 134 local legal aid programs, which operate nearly 800 offices in every congressional district around the country. Funding provided through LSC supports low-income Americans, including women seeking protection from abuse, mothers trying to obtain child support, families facing unlawful evictions or foreclosures that could leave them homeless, veterans seeking benefits duly earned and seniors defending against consumer scams, among other cases. LSC-funded attorneys help parents obtain and keep custody of their children, assist parents in enforcing child support payments and help women who are victims of domestic violence. In fact, three out of four legal aid clients are women, and legal aid programs identify domestic violence as one of their top priorities.

As chairman of the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee from 2001-2006 and again since 2011, I have worked closely with the LSC leadership to support these programs and ensure that funding is spent efficiently and appropriately. I have also worked with my colleagues in Congress and LSC leadership to mitigate partisan issues that undermine support for this program. Through these efforts, we have been able to ensure that LSC funding is focused on supporting legitimate civil legal aid needs by those Americans who need it most.

Over the past several years, I have encouraged LSC to do more to engage law firms and bar associations to expand pro bono services in coordination with the corporation. In response, the LSC board created a Pro Bono Task Force in 2011 and produced a comprehensive report with innovative ideas to bolster national pro bono efforts. I want to credit LSC Board Chairman John Levi and LSC President Jim Sandman for their leadership on this project, which has the potential to further extend LSC's support for low-income Americans.

Forty years after its creation, the LSC fills a critical gap by providing low-income Americans with legal assistance they wouldn't otherwise have access to. I want to commend the Legal Services Corporation and the attorneys working in our communities for the work they do every day on behalf of Americans who need qualified counsel.

Mr. Speaker, ``Imagine if a fundamentalist Christian sect captured the French city of Lyon and began a systematic purge of Muslims. Their mosques were destroyed, their crescents defaced, the Koran burned, and then all Muslims forced to flee or face execution. Such an event would be unthinkable today, and if it did occur, Pope Francis and all other Christian leaders would denounce it and support efforts by governments to stop it.

Yet that is essentially what is happening in reverse now in Mosul, as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham drives all signs of Christianity from the ancient city. Christians have lived in Mosul for nearly 2,000 years, and today they are reliving the Muslim religious wars of the Middle Ages.''

These are not my words. These are the words of the first two paragraphs of an editorial from The Wall Street Journal earlier this week.

Now, I want to read parts of an email I received yesterday from someone on the ground in Iraq:

All Mosul churches and monasteries are being seized by

ISIS. There are around 30. The cross is being removed from

all of them. Many of them are burned or destroyed and looted.

Many of them are used as ISIS centers.

The religious Sunni, Shiite, and Christian tombs are being

destroyed in Mosul. This destruction is endangering the very

ancient sites, including Jonah's tomb.

It has been widely reported that the ISIS soldiers have painted ``N'' on the doors of Christians to signify that they are ``Nasara,'' the word for Christians.

Shiite homes were painted with the letter ``R'' for ``Rawafidh,'' meaning rejecters or protestants.

Christianity, as we now know it, is being wiped out. With the exception of Israel, the Bible contains more references to the cities and regions and nations of ancient Iraq than any other country.

I believe what is happening to the Christian community in Iraq is genocide. I also believe it is a crime against humanity.

Where is the West?

Where is the Obama administration?

Where is this Congress?

The silence is deafening. The West, particularly the church, needs to speak out.

The Obama administration needs to make protecting this ancient community a priority. President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry need to have the same courage that President Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell had when they said genocide was taking place in Darfur.

The United Nations has a role. It should immediately initiate proceedings in the International Criminal Court against ISIS for crimes against humanity.

The Congress needs to hold the administration accountable for the failure to act.

I will close today by reading the final two paragraphs of The Wall Street Journal editorial. It said:

Today's religious extremism is almost entirely Islamic.

While ISIS' purge may be the most brutal, Islamists in Egypt

have driven thousands of Coptic Christians from homes they

have occupied for centuries. The same is true across Muslim

parts of Africa. This does not mean that all Muslims are

extremists, but it does mean that all Muslims have an

obligation to denounce and resist the extremists who murder

or subjugate in the name of Allah. Too few imams living in

the tolerant West will speak up.

The Wall Street Journal went on to say: ``As for the post-Christian West, most elites may now be nonbelievers. But a culture that fails to protect believers may eventually find that it lacks the self-belief to protect itself.''

William Wilberforce, the British parliamentarian and abolitionist who abolished slavery, famously told his colleagues, as I tell this House and this administration: ``Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say you did not know.''

Mr. Speaker, I submit a July 9 column by Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times. I have appreciated Mr. Kristof's advocacy on human rights issues over the years, particularly regarding the genocide in Darfur and ongoing violence in Sudan over the last decade. In this recent column, ``Religious Freedom in Peril,'' he cuts through the empty gestures that often surround discussions of religious freedom abroad, and points out that the Muslim world is tragically disproportionate in apostasy and blasphemy laws, limits on religious activities and other constraints on religious freedom.

Of course, religious freedom is at risk throughout the world, and Muslims themselves face dire religious persecution from Burma to China to India. But recent news, including the advance of Islamic extremists in Iraq and the ongoing case of alleged apostate Meriam Ibrahim in Sudan, reminds us that citizens of many countries with Muslim majorities still deserve far greater justice and equality under the law.

I urge all my colleagues to read Mr. Kristof's column and keep it in mind as they consider ongoing events in the world.

[From The New York Times, July 9, 2014]

Religious Freedom in Peril

(By Nicholas Kristof)

A Sudanese court in May sentences a Christian woman married

to an American to be hanged, after first being lashed 100

times, after she refuses to renounce her Christian faith.

Muslim extremists in Iraq demand that Christians pay a tax

or face crucifixion, according to the Iraqi government.

In Malaysia, courts ban some non-Muslims from using the

word ``Allah.''

In country after country, Islamic fundamentalists are

measuring their own religious devotion by the degree to which

they suppress or assault those they see as heretics, creating

a human rights catastrophe as people are punished or murdered

for their religious beliefs.

This is a sensitive area I'm wading into here, I realize.

Islam-haters in America and the West seize upon incidents

like these to denounce Islam as a malignant religion of

violence, while politically correct liberals are reluctant to

say anything for fear of feeding bigotry. Yet there is a real

issue here of religious tolerance, affecting millions of

people, and we should be able to discuss it.

I've been thinking about this partly because of the recent

murder of a friend, Rashid Rehman, a courageous human rights

lawyer in Multan, Pakistan. Rashid, a Muslim, had agreed to

defend a university lecturer who faced the death penalty

after being falsely accused of insulting the Prophet

Muhammad. This apparently made Rashid a target as well, for

two men walked into his office and shot him dead.

No doubt the killers thought themselves pious Muslims. Yet

such extremists do far more damage to the global reputation

of Islam than all the world's Islamophobes put together.

The paradox is that Islam historically was relatively

tolerant. In 628, Muhammad issued a document of protection to

the monks of St. Catherine's Monastery.

``No compulsion is to be on them,'' he wrote. ``If a female

Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place

without her approval. She is not to be prevented from

visiting her church to pray.''

Anti-Semitism runs deep in some Muslim countries today,

but, for most of history, Muslims were more tolerant of Jews

than Christians were. As recently as the Dreyfus Affair in

France more than a century ago, Muslims defended a Jew from

the anti-Semitism of Christians.

Likewise, the most extreme modern case of religious

persecution involved Europeans trying to exterminate Jews in

the Holocaust. Since then, one of the worst religious

massacres was the killing of Muslims by Christians at

Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It's also true that some of the bravest champions of

religious freedom today are Muslim. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, an

Iranian lawyer, represented a Christian pastor pro bono,

successfully defending him from charges of apostasy. But

Dadkhah was then arrested himself and is now serving a nine-

year prison sentence.

Saudi Arabia may feud with Iran about almost everything

else, but they are twins in religious repression. Saudis ban

churches; it insults Islam to suggest it is so frail it

cannot withstand an occasional church.

Particularly insidious in conservative Muslim countries is

the idea that anyone born Muslim cannot become a Christian.

That's what happened in the case I mentioned in Sudan: The

court considered the woman, Meriam Ibrahim, a Muslim even

though she had been raised a Christian by her mother. The

court sentenced her to die for apostasy; that was overturned,

and she is now sheltering with her family in the United

States Embassy in Sudan, trying to get permission to leave

the country.

A Pew Research Center study found Muslims victims of

religious repression in about

as many countries as Christians. But some of the worst abuse

actually takes place in Muslim-dominated countries. In

Pakistan, for example, a brutal campaign has been underway

against the Shiite minority. Likewise, Iran represses the

peaceful Bahai, and similarly Pakistan and other countries

brutally mistreat the Ahmadis, who see themselves as Muslims

but are regarded as apostates. Pakistani Ahmadis can be

arrested simply for saying, ``peace be upon you.''

All this is a sad index of rising intolerance, for

Pakistan's first foreign minister was an Ahmadi; now that

would be impossible.

I hesitated to write this column because religious

repression is an awkward topic when it thrives in Muslim

countries. Muslims from Gaza to Syria, Western Sahara to

Myanmar, are already enduring plenty without also being

scolded for intolerance. It's also true that we in the West

live in glass houses, and I don't want to empower our own

chauvinists or fuel Islamophobia.

Yet religious freedom is one of the most basic of human

rights, and one in peril in much of the world. Some heroic

Muslims, like my friend Rashid in Pakistan, have sacrificed

their lives to protect religious freedom. Let's follow their

lead and speak up as well, for silence would be a perversion

of politeness.

Mr. Speaker, the international legal definition of the crime of genocide is found in article II of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.

It says:

Genocide means any of the following acts committed with

intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,

racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the

group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of

the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of

life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in

whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent

births within the group; forcibly transferring children of

the group to another group.

I believe that what is happening to the Christian community in Iraq is genocide. I also believe that it is a ``crime against humanity.''

Last Thursday, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, more commonly referred to as ISIS, gave the few remaining Christians in Mosul until Saturday to leave or be killed.

From The New York Times, it reads:

Some went on foot, their cars having been confiscated.

Others rode bicycles or motor scooters. Few were able to take

anything of value as militants seized their money and

jewelry. Some--just a few because they were not healthy

enough to flee--submitted to the demands that they convert to

Islam to avoid being killed.

ISIS is systematically targeting Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq for extinction.

I will submit for the Record the complete article from The New York Times and an editorial from today's Wall Street Journal for history to see what is happening.

[From the New York Times, July 21, 2014]

Concern and Support for Iraqi Christians Forced by Militants to Flee

Mosul

Baghdad.--A day after Christians fled Mosul, the northern

city controlled by Islamist extremists, under the threat of

death, Muslims and Christians gathered under the same roof--a

church roof--here on Sunday afternoon. By the time the piano

player had finished the Iraqi national anthem, and before the

prayers, Manhal Younis was crying.

``I can't feel my identity as an Iraqi Christian,'' she

said, her three little daughters hanging at her side.

A Muslim woman sitting next to her in the pew reached out

and whispered, ``You are the true original people here, and

we are sorry for what has been done to you in the name of

Islam.''

The warm scene here was an unusual counterpoint to the

wider story of Iraq's unraveling, as Sunni militants with the

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria gain territory and persecute

anyone who does not adhere to their harsh version of Islamic

law. On Saturday, to meet a deadline by the ISIS militants,

most Christians in Mosul, a community almost as old as

Christianity itself, left with little more than the clothes

they were wearing.

The major players in the Iraq and Syria crisis are often

both allies and antagonists, working together on one front on

one day and at cross-purposes the next.

Some went on foot, their cars having been confiscated;

others rode bicycles or motor scooters. Few were able to take

anything of value, as militants seized their money and

jewelry. Some--just a few, and because they were not healthy

enough to flee--submitted to demands that they convert to

Islam to avoid being killed.

``There are five Christian families who converted to Islam

because they were threatened with death,'' said Younadim

Kanna, a Christian and a member of Iraq's Parliament. ``They

did so just to stay alive.''

On Sunday, outrage came from many corners of Iraq, and

beyond.

In a public address, Pope Francis expressed his concern for

the Christians of Mosul and other parts of the Middle East,

``where they have lived since the beginning of Christianity,

together with their fellow citizens, offering a meaningful

contribution to the good of society.''

He continued: ``Today, they are persecuted. Our brothers

are persecuted and hunted away; they have to leave their

homes without being allowed to take anything with them.''

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, released

a statement condemning ``in the strongest terms the

systematic persecution of minority populations in Iraq'' and

particularly the threat against Christians.

And Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who is struggling

to remain in power as Iraq's political factions negotiate to

form a new government, said Sunday, ``The atrocities

perpetrated by ISIS against our Iraqi citizens, the

Christians in Nineveh Province and the attacks on the

churches and houses of worship in the areas that fall under

their control, reveal without any doubt the terrorist and

criminal nature of this extremist group that poses a

dangerous threat to the humanity and the heritage and legacy

that has been preserved over centuries.''

He called on the ``whole world to tighten the siege on

those terrorists and stand as one force to confront them.''

That was perhaps a reference to the influx of foreign

fighters into Iraq, many of whom have also fought in Syria's

civil war. On Sunday, ISIS issued a

statement claiming responsibility for two suicide attacks in

Baghdad on Saturday, and said that one had been carried out

by a German citizen, and the other by a Syrian.

The gathering on Sunday at St. George Chaldean Church,

built in 1964 and situated in a Shiite Muslim neighborhood,

was as much about Iraqi solidarity as it was a gesture of

condemnation for the persecution of Christians. In many ways

Iraq's struggle today is the same as it has been since the

country was founded nearly a century ago, at the end of World

War I: how to establish a national identity larger than a

particular faith or ethnicity.

In the pews Muslims and Christians alike held signs that

read, ``I'm Iraqi. I'm Christian.'' Muhammad Aga, who

organized the event over Facebook, spoke, and listed Iraq's

many narrower identities: Christians, Arabs, Kurds, Shabaks,

Turkmen, Yazidis, Sunnis and Shiites. ``All of those people

who carry Iraqi identity,'' he said.

The church's patriarch, Louis Raphael Sako, said, ``I carry

every Iraqi in my heart.''

After the service, two men, cousins in their 60s, stood in

the church courtyard. They grew up in Mosul, and moved to

Baghdad as teenagers. They have witnessed much of Iraq's

traumatic history of coups, revolutions, wars and sectarian

cleansing, and have stayed the whole time.

``You have to be angry,'' said Faiz Faraj, 65, a retired

teacher. ``You must cry.''

But, he said, ``Iraqis have suffered for a long time, but

this will pass.''

His 9-year-old granddaughter, Lana Fanar, recited at the

service a poem written by a well-known Iraqi poet in 2006, as

Iraq was in the grip of sectarian killings. Its words could

be spoken of any of Iraq's previous traumas, or today:

``I cry for my country. I cry for Baghdad. I cry for the

history and the glory days. I cry for the artists, for the

water, for the trees. I cry for my religion. I cry for my

beliefs.''

With the exception of Israel, the Bible contains more references to the cities, regions, and nations of ancient Iraq than any other country. The patriarch Abraham came from a city in Iraq called Ur. Isaac's bride, Rebekah, came from northwest Iraq. Jacob spent 20 years in Iraq, and his sons--the 12 tribes of Israel--were born in northwest Iraq. A remarkable spiritual revival as told in the Book of Jonah occurred in Nineveh. The events of the Book of Esther took place in Iraq, as did the account of Daniel in the Lions' Den.

Monday's New York Times' piece also quotes a Muslim woman at a prayer service on Sunday at a church in Baghdad, whispering to a Christian woman sitting in the pew next to her: ``You are the true original people here. We are so sorry for what has been done to you in the name of Islam.''

On June 16, for the first time in 1,600 years, there was no mass said in Mosul.

Pope Francis on Sunday expressed concern about what was unfolding in Mosul and in other parts of the Middle East, noting that these communities since the beginning of Christianity have ``coexisted there alongside their fellow citizens, making a significant contribution to the good of society. Today, they are persecuted,'' the Pope said. ``Our brothers are persecuted. They are cast out. They are forced to leave their homes without having the chance to take anything with them.''

The United Nations released a statement attributed to Ban Ki-moon that, in part, said: ``The Secretary General reiterates that any systematic attack on the civilian population or segments of the civilian population because of their ethnic background, religious beliefs or faith may constitute a crime against humanity, for which those responsible must be held accountable.''

Where is the Obama administration?

In June, 55 Members of Congress--Republicans and Democrats--urged the Obama administration to actively engage with the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to prioritize additional security support for especially vulnerable populations, notably Iraq's ancient Christian community, and provide emergency humanitarian assistance to these communities.

I want to read the last lines of our letter: ``Absent immediate action, we will most certainly witness the annihilation of an ancient faith community from the lands they have inhabited for centuries.''

It is happening, Mr. Speaker. They are almost all gone, just as we predicted.

The Obama administration has to make protecting this ancient community a priority. It needs to encourage the Kurds to do what they can to protect those fleeing ISIS and provide safe refuge.

It needs to ensure that, of the resources going to the region, a portion be guaranteed to help the Christian community. It needs to have the same courage as President Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell when they said genocide was taking place in Darfur.

The United Nations has a role too. It should immediately initiate proceedings in the International Criminal Court against ISIS for crimes against humanity.

The time to act is now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Ed Hatrick, who served as superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools for 23 years before retiring on June 30.

Ed spent his entire career in Loudoun County, starting as a high school English teacher in 1967. He also served as a principal, director of special education, director of instruction, supervisor of guidance and foreign languages and assistant superintendent for pupil services before becoming superintendent in 1991.

As superintendent, Ed has watched Loudoun grow from a rural farming community with 8,000 students into a suburban community with a student population of 70,000 students. Since 1991, Loudoun County has constructed 54 new schools and renovated 33 more.

Ed has served as president of the Urban Superintendents Association of America and president of the American Association of School Administrators. He also has served in numerous professional and community offices and has been recognized for his work by the General Assembly of Virginia. He received an honorary doctor of humanities degree from Shenandoah University for his community service.

I am pleased to submit the following article from Leesburg Today on Ed's career and retirement. I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating him for many years of distinguished service to our nation's youth.

[From Leesburg Today, June 24, 2014.]

Superintendent Hatrick Honored as ``Uncommon Common Man''

(By Danielle Nadler)

Even at 9:30 p.m. on a Friday, Edgar B. Hatrick III

couldn't help but teach.

Standing in a sprawling ballroom with some of the

commonwealth's most influential individuals at his retirement

dinner, the 23-year superintendent and former high school

English teacher launched into a metaphor.

He said, as geese fly in formation they offer encouragement

to the lead goose through their honking, and when the lead

goose tires, another pulls forward to take the lead. The

story left many in the room chuckling. They'd heard it

repeated at staff meetings and back-to-school orientations

over the years.

Hatrick laughed with them, before finally interrupting the

chatter to say, ``That's what being in Loudoun County Public

Schools has been all about.

``I have felt the warmth, the support and the understanding

that has led me to say if I had to do it all over again--the

whole 47-and-a-half years--I would not change one thing,'' he

said, fighting back tears. ``It has been just that wonderful

to be able to work with you to build up this school system.''

Hatrick, 68, retires Monday as the region's longest serving

superintendent. More than 500 people crowded the National

Conference Center ballroom Friday to thank Hatrick for his

service to help shape the learning experiences of hundreds of

thousands of students in Virginia.

Politicians and fellow school administrators praised

Hatrick for his influence on public education on a national

and even global scale. He drew attention to Loudoun when it

was the fastest growing school system in the country, opening

50 new schools to keep up with enrollment that has increased

by 53,637 students during his tenure. And as former president

of the American Association of School Administrators, he

united superintendents to advocate better measures of

schools' effectiveness than the federal No Child Left Behind

model.

AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech described him as ``a

recognized brand for education around the world.''

But it was the stories of Hatrick, from as early as his

high school years when friends knew him as Skip, that best

illustrate what he's been to Loudoun County, an individual

the Loudoun Education Foundation called an ``uncommon common

man.''

His former classmate Karolyn Whitely and Evan Mohler,

former assistant superintendent for Support Services,

described Hatrick as the student teachers wanted in

their classes, and the teen who set the bar on test scores

and class projects.

``As a teenager, he was very focused and very

hardworking,'' Whitely said.

``He was shaping education in Loudoun County back in

1962,'' Mohler said, ``and here we are 52 years later--he's

still setting the standard of excellence.''

He spent his entire educational career in Loudoun's public

schools, first on the payroll as a school bus driver during

his senior year in high school. He graduated from Loudoun

County High School in 1963 and returned to his alma mater

after four years of college to teach English.

He especially loved teaching British literature, former

Broad Run High School teacher Jo Ann Pearson recalled. So

much so that he required one of his senior classes to

memorize the bulk of the Canterbury Tales Prologue in Middle

English.

Hatrick commented on this bit of leaked information later

in the evening, saying, ``In my defense, I listened to each

of them recite it.''

He served as assistant principal at Broad Run High School

from 1969 to 1970, and as principal of Loudoun County High

School from 1975 to 1978. He moved up the administration

ranks to positions that had him overseeing special education,

foreign language, instruction, planning and pupil services

before he was named superintendent in 1991.

He served as superintendent under five school boards, and

three former School Board members--Joe Vogric, John Andrews

and Robert DuPree--did not hesitate to say that the

superintendent was stubborn when it came to fighting for

funding for public education.

Whether board members wanted it or not, he gave them his

opinion, Vogric said, ``and it wasn't always done in a way

that we liked it . . . . but it was about setting policies

and taking actions to ensure the best education of our

children.''

Most of the stories shared well beyond dinnertime Friday

described Hatrick as a colleague, a mentor and a friend.

Whether a custodian or a principal loses a loved one, the

superintendent can usually be seen at the funeral. Plays,

football games, science fairs, club dedications, essay

contests and, yes, retirement dinners, he's been there.

``We always knew that he cared about us,'' Pearson said.

``There's still a family feel about this district because

that's how he wants it to be,'' Sharon Ackerman, who worked

alongside Hatrick as assistant superintendent of instruction

for 15 years, said.

W. John Brewer, principal at Dominion High School, joked

that the school administration office, while called the Taj

Mahal or ``the palace'' by some, ``from time to time it's

simply the woodshed.'' He said Hatrick didn't scold

principals or teachers but he used those moments to teach.

``He helped us grow personally and professionally,'' Brewer

said. ``We've become better educators, and we've become

better people.''

Whitely, who attended high school with Hatrick and later

taught under his leadership, told a story about the

superintendent's impression at their class's recent 50-year

reunion. After a friend greeted Hatrick, she leaned over to

Whitely and said, ``You know, success hasn't spoiled him one

bit. He's still Skip.''

Eric Williams will officially take the helm of the school

system as superintendent Tuesday.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on the occasion of its centennial anniversary. For 100 years, the experts at CRS have worked to provide Members and staff with timely information and research to help them serve their constituents, develop legislation and conduct strong oversight.

Since its founding in 1914, CRS has evolved from a small agency providing basic reference services to a group of nearly 600 expert, highly-trained and collaborative professional staff members who are dedicated to supporting the work of the Congress.

I can attest from my time in Congress that the objective, nonpartisan work of CRS is essential to the legislative process. When we face difficult policy problems or international crises, we turn to CRS for reliable information and analyses. CRS enables the Congress to make informed decisions for the United States and its citizens.

I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating CRS for all of its accomplishments over the last century, and I look forward to strongly supporting the institution as it embarks on its next century of service to our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership's ``Living Legacy Tree Planting Project.''

This project is an ambitious effort to plant one tree for every one of the 740,000 soldiers who died during the Civil War along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway, which runs from Monticello, Virginia to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When completed, the byway will become the world's first 180-mile landscaped alley. More importantly, it will serve as a living memorial to those who died during our nation's most difficult trial and a sober reminder of the enormity of its cost.

Each tree planted will be dedicated to an individual Civil War soldier and will be ``geotagged'' to make a number of historical resources, such as the soldier's pictures and personal writings from the war, electronically available to visitors and researchers. The project has drawn enthusiastic volunteers from communities around the country and has recently partnered with Ancestry.com to supplement the quality of the information provided on each soldier.

I submit the following article from the Washington Post and ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the important efforts being made by the Journey Through Hallowed Grounds Partnership to honor those who paid the ultimate price for freedom and liberty.

[From the Washington Post, July 9, 2014]

A Living Tribute to Civil War Soldiers

(By Wesley Robinson)

The newest trees along U.S. Route 15 come with stories of

Civil War troops.

One freshly planted rising sun redbud in Leesburg, Va.,

honors Joseph T. Bosworth, a young man from Massachusetts who

fought with the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry. He died at the

Battle of Antietam.

A young sassafras nearby was dedicated to Daniel M.

Barringer, who joined the Confederate Army in Corinth, Miss.,

fought with the 17th Mississippi Company and is buried in

Union Cemetery in Leesburg. He was wounded at the Battle of

Fredericksburg and died about a month after he was

discharged.

They are among 1,413 trees that have been planted so far to

commemorate the Civil War dead through the nonprofit Journey

Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG) Living Legacy Tree Planting

Project. Though organizers acknowledge that the $74 million

plan is ambitious, their aim is to plant a tree for each of

an estimated 740,000 troops killed in the War between the

States.

Cate Magennis Wyatt, founder and president of the Journey

Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, said the trees--each

funded by a $100 donation--are being planted along a 180-mile

stretch from Thomas Jefferson's Albemarle County estate,

Monticello, to Gettysburg, Pa.

Visitors can search an interactive online map that shows

each tree and includes details about the person it honors.

The tree-planting project came about after then-Gov. Robert

F. McDonnell asked communities to plan an unusual way to

observe the sesquicentennial of the war, which was fought

from 1861 to 1865, Magennis Wyatt said. She said her group,

which is dedicated to historic preservation, wanted to do

something other than a ``flagpole or another monument,''

eventually arriving at the idea for the tree allee.

``My joke was that God had spoken to her through a burning

redwood bush,'' said Peter Hart, an arborist and volunteer

with JTHG.

When the project began, Magennis Wyatt noted, the number of

Civil War dead was estimated at 620,000. Now historians put

it at 740,000. Organizers said they are considering tagging

existing trees to advance the goal of recognizing as many

troops as possible. At a dedication ceremony last month, at

Oatlands Historic Home and Gardens in Leesburg, Magennis

Wyatt noted that there was not nearly enough room to plant a

tree every 10 feet along the entire 180-mile route.

Many of the trees are redbuds, but the project is also

using a variety of maples, eastern red cedars and flowering

dogwoods. Hart, who took part in the selection process, said

they picked colorful variations but also hearty trees that

can flourish next to a well-traveled roadway, where they must

withstand heat from the pavement, high winds and road salt.

Christopher Shott of New Bedford, Mass., said he came

across the project online and decided to donate a redbud to

honor Bosworth.

Shott doesn't have any direct family ties to the Civil War;

his relatives came to the United States later. Still, he felt

a kinship with Bosworth because they had lived in the same

town, Swansea, Mass.

``He made me feel like I have a connection to the Civil

War,'' Shott said.

One of the challenges the project faces, organizers said,

is collecting information about the slain troops. Magennis

Wyatt said about half of the soldiers died anonymously. She

said there was no American Red Cross, government-issued dog

tags or comprehensive registry. Wartime contributions of

Native Americans, African Americans and women went largely

unheralded.

The project has joined with Ancestry.com and Fold3.com to

provide biographical sketches of the troops. It is uploading

biographical information to the Web site and trying to verify

information with descendants, historians and others.

At last month's dedication ceremony, for 500 recently

planted trees, Jimmy Cunningham, 14, presented his research

on Barringer. Jimmy, who lives in Leesburg, has attended a

JTHG summer camp for the past three years and will serve as a

junior counselor this summer. He was asked to participate in

the research project by the JTHG staff and teamed up with his

grandmother to investigate Barringer's life.

Jimmy found that Barringer was injured in battle but died

after he had been discharged. The death was attributed to

``leprosy'' and ``disease of the head.'' Jimmy also learned

that Barringer's father was a wealthy man, which raised

questions about why he went to war.

``It stimulated a lot of conversation in our home,'' said

MaryKirk Cunningham, Jimmy's mother.

Cunningham said her son's research also helped him become

interested in family history. An ancestor on her side,

Briscoe Goodhart, was a member of the Loudoun Rangers, a

partisan cavalry unit that fought for the Union in the Civil

War.

``For us, it's really great. . . . He went beyond our

family but stayed connected to his nana through our family,''

Cunningham said.

Michelle Kellogg, director of the JTHG National Heritage

area, said the stretch where the trees are being planted,

rich with historic sites, is a fitting place for such a

tribute. She noted the region's nine presidential homes and

high concentration of Civil War battle sites.

``This region is essential in helping Americans and

visitors understand our history,'' Kellogg said.

The Hallowed Grounds partnership was created several years

back by Magennis Wyatt, a former Virginia secretary of

commerce, and others worried about development's effect on

the historic area. They were motivated, in part, by Disney's

attempt in the 1990s to create a historic theme park in the

region and by proposals to build a casino in Gettysburg and

condos near Monticello.

``It was apparent that we were taking a lot for granted,''

Magennis Wyatt said, ``not just the bricks and mortar but the

people who lived on this land and created this country.''

Ellen Vogel, a landscape architect with the Virginia

Department of Transportation, said another challenge of the

project is finding enough space for the trees in the

corridor, about half of which is in Virginia. She said VDOT

worked to provide the necessary guidance and flexibility.

``It's great that Virginia has a scenic byway. There are so

few of those across the country,'' Vogel said. ``But we have

a lot of history here. I think it's fitting.''

Hart's great-great-uncles Charles and William Davis and

Jason Hart were killed in the war. His great-great-

grandfather James Hart was wounded twice but survived.

``You combine my love for my family history and my love for

trees and this living legacy project has captured me,'' Hart

said.

Shott, who flew to Virginia for the ceremony last month,

said he visited Bosworth's grave in Sharpsburg, Md., early

that Sunday to pay his respects before going to see the

rising sun redbud planted in the soldier's honor.

``I just try to understand why they did what they did to

the point they'd die for something they believed in,'' Shott

said. ``The least we can do is remember them.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Rick Leonard of Winchester, Virginia, who has served as superintendent of Winchester Public Schools since 2009. Mr. Leonard retired from his post at the end of June after 34 years of service to the school system.

After graduating from James Madison University in 1980, Rick began his teaching career when he accepted a job teaching biology at Handley High School. During his time at Handley, he served as a coach, assistant principal and principal of the school.

Mr. Leonard worked his way to superintendent of Winchester Public Schools, assuming this role on July 1, 2009. He held that post until his retirement last month. It's my understanding that he hopes to enjoy some personal time before returning to teach in higher education or run a small business.

I am pleased to submit the following article from The Winchester Star on Mr. Leonard's retirement and I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating him for many years of distinguished service to our nation's youth.

[From the Winchester Star, June 27, 2014]

Retiring City Schools Leader Credits Mentors

(By Rebecca Layne)

Winchester.--During an Army exercise in 1991, Rick Leonard

and George Craig discussed their futures while leaning on the

hood of a jeep.

A biology teacher in the Winchester Public Schools, Leonard

was in the interview process to become the assistant

principal at Handley High School.

But could he hold down the new job and remain in the

Virginia Army National Guard?

Craig, now a coordinator of curriculum and instruction in

the city school system, thought his friend could do it.

Leonard, however, chose to focus his sole attention on one

task.

``If he was going to be the assistant principal, they were

going to get everything he had,'' Craig said. ``He had a

very, very promising career in the Army. But he chose

schools. He wanted to give the schools all of his time.''

Leonard, 56, stuck to his promise, and more than 20 years

after that conversation, he will retire at the end of the

month as the division's superintendent, a job he held for

five years.

Despite the hefty title, Leonard said, he has never left

the classroom.

``I'm retiring as a public school teacher,'' he said. ``I'm

still an educator. I'm a teacher for other adults who work

directly or indirectly with students, parents and the

community.''

Leonard started his stint in the classroom when he was a

senior at Warren County High School and took on the role of

night custodian.

From there, he went on to the College of William and Mary

and later transferred to James Madison University, where he

was team captain and an academic All-American in football.

He graduated in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in biology

and became a part-time military officer in the Army National

Guard.

Also that year, he was hired as a biology teacher at

Handley and through the years has served as a teacher, a

coach, an assistant principal and a principal--all in the

Winchester Public Schools. He has held his superintendent

post since July 1, 2009.

``You can always rely on Rick to give a straightforward,

honest, thoughtful answer to whatever you're working on,''

Craig said. ``I don't know if I've ever seen Rick not smiling

and not positive and enthusiastic about what we're doing.

When he leaves [your desk], you're a better person. It's been

a good conversation and you know things will be OK.''

Leonard said his biggest accomplishments are the successes

of the students and the ``highly qualified and

compassionate'' teachers and staff members who guided the

division through a lack of adequate funding, an increase in

testing rigor, a more diverse student population and

increasing poverty rates--a ``perfect storm of challenges.''

``We were still able to weather the worst recession since

the Great Depression of the '30s with a rich curriculum, high

standards and schools meeting state and federal

requirements,'' he said.

Leonard also had a role in getting the new $20 million John

Kerr Elementary School project off the ground (it is

scheduled to open in fall 2016), along with improving

recruitment strategies to attract teachers; expanding the

Career and Technical Education

program; and creating a part-time, temporary workforce of

credentialed teachers to support struggling learners through

the Response to Intervention program.

He credits former superintendents Glenn Burdick and Dennis

Kellison as his mentors along the way.

Despite his employment in the division for 34 years,

Leonard doesn't think he's changed. He says he still talks

way too fast and veins still pop out on his neck when he

believes in something strongly, such as making sure all

students have a chance to be successful.

``I still have the same drive and belief in all students,''

he said.

Craig said his colleague's ability to make thoughtful

decisions and to be active and decisive is unchanged, but his

perspective has expanded.

``He thinks on almost a global perspective with the

schools,'' he said. ``Now he has the vision to be able to see

the whole system and the challenges that could come later

on.''

Lynda Hickey, director of the instruction department, said

Leonard always stayed the course in promoting the school's

mission and vision of learning for all, challenged the staff

members to be the best they could be and made students the

heart of every decision.

Leonard's executive assistant Bonnie Stickley has worked

with him for five years. She considers him a class act, funny

and positive.

``I'm going to miss him,'' she said. ``Not just as a boss,

but as a friend.''

Leonard said no single reason has spurred him to retire.

``I'm running out of energy,'' he said. ``I want to leave

at a time when my heart is still full of what my life's work

has been: helping children, helping the next generation.''

Leonard said he might eventually like to teach in higher

education or help to run a small business in the private

sector, but first he will spend a lot of time in waders.

``The first thing I'll do is fish for a while,'' he said.

``And exercise a lot. Then I'll get back in the game. I just

haven't decided what game that's going to be yet.

``For me, it's not necessarily retirement. It's more of a

sabbatical.''

Leonard and his wife Patty have three sons.