Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute the outstanding presence in the city of Mount Vernon of Macedonia Baptist Church. Founded 113 years ago, Macedonia has been a bedrock of faith and community service in the African-American community on the south side of Mount Vernon, where I grew up.

The church is led by Pastor Rev. Dr. Darren Morton, also a local Mount Vernon boy, who holds a degree in business administration and a doctorate in education and is a graduate of the Tabernacle Bible Institute and the Manhattan Bible Institute.

The Macedonia family holds weekly Sunday services, Sunday school for young people, Wednesday Bible study every week at 7 p.m., and midweek Lunch with Jesus fellowship discussion over lunch.

As they approach the solemn Christian season of Good Friday and Easter, Macedonia provides a daily 40 Day Lenten Journey series.

Macedonia's outreach into the community as well--feeding those in need, clothing those in need, providing positive outlets for young people, and attention and care for our seniors--helps put their Christian values on display every day to the people of Mount Vernon.

From the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, we salute Macedonia Baptist Church, its lay leaders, and its spiritual leaders for its vibrant presence in Mount Vernon.

Hastings Farmers' Market

Mr. Speaker, along the Hudson River in Westchester County, there is a place to go on a Saturday morning where you can find farm-fresh produce and goods from the Hudson Valley, the Hastings Farmers' Market.

The market supports regional agriculture by bringing these products close to home on alternate Saturday mornings in the winter season and every Saturday throughout the spring and summer seasons, in the winter season from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Hastings Farmers' Market opened the summer of 1998. Now, under the leadership of Ms. Pascale Le Draoulec, it features dozens of vendors with a wide variety of offerings in the strategic location across from the Hastings-on-Hudson Metro-North Railroad station.

The market, along with its sister market in Irvington, the Irvington Farmers Market, which is on Sundays, is convenient to all the Rivertowns residents and the city of Yonkers residents.

The market's mission also includes educating and inspiring the market community about the benefits of local farming and sustainable practices. They invite charitable nonprofits and organizations to participate in the farmers' market, groups from the Girl Scouts of Hastings to the local volunteer fire department.

From the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, we salute the Hastings Farmers' Market as a valuable and estimable community asset.

Saluting Knights of Columbus Father John M. Grady Council 503

Mr. Speaker, I would like to salute the leadership and the membership of the Knights of Columbus Father John M. Grady Council 503 located in Port Chester, New York, for their service to the community.

The Knights, an organization of Catholic men nationwide, are organized into local councils and draw their membership in Council 503 from the parishes of St. John Bosco and the churches within the parish, including Corpus Christi-Holy Rosary, and formerly named Our Lady of Mercy.

The Knights of Council 503, led by Grand Knight Mark Scocchera and Deputy Grand Knight Phil Dorazio, have an active program that works to support the parish with local dinners and fundraising events, programs for the seniors and the veterans of the Port Chester community and the Rye Brook community, and programs for young people, especially through the Scouting troop programs.

They maintain an active Knights of Columbus hall that hosts their events and other events in the village with the ever-present chef, past Grand Knight Charlie Sacco, and his wife, the head of the Ladies Auxiliary, Toni Sacco, in charge. You can join them for Pasta Fridays every Friday night during Lent. It is very affordable.

From the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, we salute the Knights of Columbus Father John M. Grady Council 503 for their service to Catholic values and their service to the local Port Chester and Rye Brook communities.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the exemplary work of The Rye Record, the local newspaper that covers the comings and goings of the Rye community since 1988.

Printed twice each month, The Rye Record features stories about the activities of local government, city council, the planning board, zoning board, and other such agencies.

Chronicles in The Rye Record include programs and services provided by local nonprofit organizations such as the Rye YMCA; the Rye Free Reading Room; the Rye Nature Center; the Rye Historical Society, and much more. It also includes the event and religious services of Rye's houses of worship and the many advanced recreation programs and special events.

The newspaper, owned by the new team of John Elsen and Zach Wydra, has led a group of new and experienced writers working together on local sports, letters to the editor, calendar of community events, articles about Rye's history, school news, and sports.

The Rye Record features reporters Camille Botello, Chris Marshall, and Miranda Ferrante, among many. It also includes contributing writers like longtime Rye residents Paul Hicks and David Hessekiel. They capture it all.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute The Rye Record, another example of local entrepreneurship and media savvy.

Mr. Speaker, let me recognize the talented medical research efforts ongoing to combat the scourge of cerebral palsy, an abnormal development or damage to parts of the brain during pregnancy or early in a baby's life, that controls movement, balance, and posture and has a devastating effect throughout that person's life.

There is no known cure for CP. Supportive treatments including physical

therapy, speech therapy, and some medications help, as well. CP is the most common movement disorder in children. Researchers are working every day to identify strategies to address the causes and effects of cerebral palsy.

One such pioneer is Dr. Kathleen Friel, a Westchester resident who herself has battled with CP since birth. She has overcome her own case to achieve master's and doctoral degrees in physiology and neuroscience. She has also written and lectured extensively about the disease and therapies to reduce its impact--all of this personal bravery and effort while this Federal Government blindly and foolishly cuts NIH funding for the very research victims so desperately need.

Mr. Speaker, from the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute Dr. Kathleen Friel for her personal battle with CP and her lifetime commitment to ease the suffering of her fellow individuals who also deal with cerebral palsy.

Celebrating St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church

Mr. Speaker, this Sunday, the congregants of St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church will celebrate their 45th annual parish day, reflecting on their years of heritage and gratitude for parishioners not only from Yonkers, where the church is located, but from those who live across Westchester, the Bronx, and elsewhere in the metropolitan area.

The church dedication dates back to January 25, 1981, with the present house of worship on Morris Street, in Yonkers, established in June of 1990.

This parish has taken on a mission for youth ministry, the Junior Conference for Sunday School Children, and regional activity for youth camps from Connecticut to Pennsylvania.

The church provides its Christian charitable outreach with a community barbecue annually on Memorial Day and clothing drives and giveaways for needy in the neighborhood. Taking their cue from the great apostle St. Thomas, who went from Jesus' side to India to deliver a Christian message of faith, St. Thomas Mar Thoma has delivered a message of service and faith in this current day.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute the clergy and the congregants of St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church on this, the 45th parish day.

Birthday Wishes to Vanessa Gibson

Mr. Speaker, I extend happy birthday wishes this week to Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson as she celebrates another year of service to her Bronx neighbors and friends.

I had the pleasure of serving with Vanessa as a colleague in the New York State Assembly alongside many former assembly colleagues, Joe Morelle, Adriano Espaillat, Paul Tonko, Claudia Tenney, Nicole Malliotakis, Grace Meng, and Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Vanessa Gibson's service in that chamber, exemplary as it was, was a prelude to her subsequent tenure in the New York City Council, where she was elected in 2013 and 2017, and now her historic election as the first female and the first African American to serve as Bronx borough president in 2021, reelected in 2025.

As she celebrates her birthday this Thursday, March 19, we give her a happy birthday shout-out from the floor of the House of Representatives.

Happy birthday to Vanessa Gibson.

Mr. Speaker, let me salute the excellent online news outlet, MyHometownBronxville, which has provided a bedrock of local news and information about the comings and goings of the village of Bronxville since 2007.

Under the leadership of editor and publisher Sarah Thornton Clifford and the original leadership of Marcia Lee, MyHometownBronxville provides the latest news, sports, events, and information about the Bronxville community.

The team in charge attends village meetings and events at the library, schools, houses of worship, and the business community to give a firsthand view of the people and the activities that drive the cultural and community life of Bronxville.

Editor Clifford, a graduate of Princeton and Yale with professional media experience at Time Inc. and Sports Illustrated, is ably abetted by Neely Bower, Sue DeJoy, Jeannie Murrer, and others, and we recognize the past contributions of Allaire Warner in providing the hometown connection that is sadly lacking in so many other places.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we acknowledge the outstanding work of MyHometownBronxville and its dedicated team.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Bruce Frankel, a longtime youth baseball coach and active member of his community in Larchmont, as he celebrates his 73rd birthday this month.

Bruce has been deeply involved in the village he has called home for more than two decades. He currently serves on the village's zoning board, co-chairs the Larchmont Traffic Commission, and is an active member of the Larchmont Temple.

He is best known by Larchmont families for his time coaching in the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Little League and the town's travel baseball program.

Through this program, he has taught hundreds of kids not only the fundamentals of baseball but also the values of hard work, determination, adaptability, and perseverance.

Mr. Speaker, from the floor of the House of Representatives, I wish a happy birthday to Bruce Frankel and thank him for all he has done for our community.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1422.

Mr. Speaker, no one in this Chamber should be under any illusions about the nature of the Iranian regime. For decades, Iran has funded terrorist proxies, threatened our partners and allies, supplied training and arms that killed and maimed dozens of American forces in Iraq, and pursued weapons capabilities that destabilize the Middle East and endanger global security.

Congress has long acted in a bipartisan way to confront that threat. One of the most powerful tools available to the United States has been economic pressure, sanctions that deny the regime the revenue it uses to fund terrorism, repression, and regional aggression.

That is precisely what this legislation seeks to strengthen. The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed this bill out of committee almost 1 year ago. The purpose was straightforward: to tighten enforcement against Iran's oil trade and target the global financial networks that allow Tehran to continue selling its petroleum despite existing sanctions.

This bill provides the executive branch with additional tools to do exactly that, although it is unfortunate that some of the sanctions authorities have been watered down at the Trump administration's request.

This legislation expands secondary sanctions authorities to target foreign companies that knowingly purchase, transport, refine, insure, or finance Iranian oil and petroleum products. That includes shipping companies, port operators, insurance providers, and other logistical actors that help move Iranian crude around the world.

Crucially, it focuses attention on the network of foreign refineries and intermediaries, particularly in China, that have become the primary buyers of sanctioned Iranian oil, giving the executive branch clearer authority to penalize those actors and disrupt that trade.

Taken together, these measures are intended to close loopholes in the existing sanctions architecture and make it far more difficult for Tehran to generate billions of dollars in oil revenue.

Unfortunately, the Trump administration spent years talking about maximum pressure. The reality looked very different. In practice, the administration often failed to fully enforce the sanctions authorities already available to it and at times actively undermined them. Last year, President Trump pardoned the founder of Binance, who pleaded guilty to a sanctions evasions crime pertaining to Iran in 2023.

The administration also failed to meaningfully disrupt the Iran-China energy trade or marshal the sustained diplomatic effort required to build international pressure against Tehran's illicit oil exports.

As a result, Iran continued generating billions in energy revenue while the administration's policy drifted. Now we find ourselves in a very different, and far more dangerous, situation.

The United States started a war with Iran that Congress did not authorize and the American people overwhelmingly think makes us less safe. Thirteen Americans have died in the conflict, and over 140 have been injured. The administration started this military campaign without a strategy or an endgame. The regime has not collapsed, but gas prices are up 30 percent. Americans are paying $2 billion each and every day because of this administration's impulsive and illegal war.

Consider the trade-off: The money Trump has already spent on this war could have paid for a full year of ACA premium tax credit extensions for Americans here at home.

What about that price at the pump?

In a ham-handed attempt to fix a problem of its own making, the Trump administration has suspended sanctions against Russian oil used to finance Putin's war machine, while at the same time it dawdles on a peace solution in Ukraine. It is possible that the President will soon declare victory and move on. However, the question of Iran will remain, as will its threats of retaliation and destabilization. It may very well emerge from this conflict damaged, unstable, and led by a leadership even more extreme and vengeful than before.

That is why tools like the ones in this bill remain important. Sanctions can help contain the regime's ability to rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, reconstitute its military capabilities, and restart its nuclear ambitions.

Strong enforcement of these sanctions can also ensure that Iran cannot, once again, finance stabilizing activities across the region through oil revenues flowing into Tehran.

At the same time, the future of Iran is highly uncertain. Only time will tell whether the conduct of the administration will, in the long run, cause more harm than good. However, our responsibility is to ensure that the Iranian regime does not have the resources to rebuild the machinery of repression at home or violence abroad.

This legislation strengthens the tools needed to maintain that pressure for those with the sense to use it.

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation. I urge its support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, this bill will be critical for closing loopholes in our existing sanctions infrastructure against Iran, strengthening the President's authorities to limit Tehran's oil trade. I compliment the bill's sponsor, my colleague from New York.

Last year, after an air attack, President Trump announced that we had obliterated Iran's nuclear capacity, but here we are again. Apparently, the job last year wasn't sufficient.

Trump's war of choice with Iran this year has made this bill even more necessary because while the President may want to move on from this war he started at some point in time, war is a two-way street. Just because he may want to claim victory, as he already has, and even though Iran's capabilities will be reduced, Iran may very well pose an even greater threat now that diplomacy has been taken off the table by this President.

To limit the long-term threat posed by Iran, it is critical that we further limit Tehran's ability to circumvent existing sanctions, tighten the screws on its ability to sell oil, and ensure that it does not gain access to the resources it needs to reconstitute either its nuclear program or its weapons capabilities.

This President has put us at considerable risk by starting this war and enabling a regime that is perhaps even more hard-line than the one that preceded it. While we can't close Pandora's box, we can and should take all steps necessary to prevent Tehran from building back the arsenal it now would surely want to use against us.

This bill accomplishes some of that task, and I support it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise to salute the outstanding work of the Greenburgh Nature Center, its professional staff, and its volunteer leadership for providing an environmental oasis for all to enjoy in the middle of a bustling suburb.

The nature center is a 33-acre preserve just steps away from busy Central Avenue that offers hiking trails, demonstration gardens, and a live animal museum with barnyard animals and other wildlife. It provides educational programs, youth camps for kids, and an annual environmental set of events that welcomes the whole community.

The professional team is led by Executive Director Alix Dunn. She had spent decades in environmental work with nonprofits in California before returning home to Westchester.

Alix is aided by Marybeth Cagney, Chloe Digianni, Rosa Van Zandt, Elisabeth Mulder, Greg Wechgelaer, Andrew Michalski, and many others.

The board of directors provides volunteer and community-based support and direction, led by President Dolya Fleck and other leaders: Jackie Feffer, Melissa Jones, Naomi Haber, Jim Blann, and former Town Councilwoman Diana Juettner.

Madam Speaker, from the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute the team at the Greenburgh Nature Center for its constant advancement of this valued community asset.

Recognizing Sound Shore St. Patrick's Day Parade

Madam Speaker, the month of March, with St. Patrick's Day to be celebrated on March 17, is a time to honor those of us of Irish-American heritage.

Across the Nation, much less in Westchester and in the Bronx, there will be parades and festive dinners to salute the Irish experience and accomplishments here in America.

One such event is the 14th annual Sound Shore St. Patrick's Day Parade, scheduled for Sunday, March 22, in Mamaroneck. This loops together the Irish in communities from Larchmont to Rye and Port Chester to New Rochelle.

Tonight, there is the annual Hearts & Shamrocks dinner, which was, for many, the annual scholarship fundraising effort for deserving students. At the dinner, the parade's 2025 grand marshal, Matt McCauley, will turn over his sash to the parade's 2026 grand marshal, Joe Carvin.

Joe is a resident of Port Chester and a former resident of Rye Brook. He is an accomplished business executive, and yet he finds time to work with high school students, a voluntary action. He served as village trustee of Port Chester and as Rye town supervisor.

I regret being unable to join them tonight, but we salute Matt, Joe, and parade leaders Joe Mauro and Michael Murphy as they celebrate together.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, this grandson of Enniskillen in County Fermanagh sends our very best.

Recognizing Ronald Hicks

Madam Speaker, I rise to salute the newly installed archbishop for the Archdiocese of New York, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Ronald Hicks.

Archbishop Hicks has assumed the spiritual leadership of the 2.8 million-member Catholic community that includes Westchester and the Bronx, succeeding the much-loved Timothy Cardinal Dolan, who served for 16 years.

Archbishop Hicks was most recently in charge of the diocese of Joliet, Illinois, and is well known by Pope Leo, also an Illinois native, who made this key assignment.

The New York Archdiocese has 300 parishes and also runs 153 schools with an aggregate enrollment of 49,000 students. It runs a seminary, cemeteries, and links with various Catholic charitable organizations.

A native of Illinois, Archbishop Hicks was ordained to the priesthood in 1994, served in local parishes as a seminary dean, and in an important assignment in Latin America before becoming a bishop.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we welcome Archbishop Ronald Hicks to New York, and we wish him great success in his pastoral services and in his church leadership.

Mr. Speaker, for nearly two decades, Westchester's own Richard ``Dick'' Ottinger walked in these Halls as a Congressman and served in this Chamber, representing his neighbors with insight and energy.

Dick Ottinger was first elected to the House in 1964. He left to seek a seat in the United States Senate in 1970 but returned here in 1974 to serve 10 more years. He was an early leader on environmental issues before they became commonplace, and his advocacy for the cleanup of the Hudson River benefited generations to follow.

In his post-congressional years, he turned to teaching as a professor at Pace University School of Law, with a building being named in his honor.

We lost Dick Ottinger on February 16, and he joins in our memories the great House Members from New York who we have recently lost, Charlie Rangel and Nita Lowey.

Dick, like them, is a role model for all of us who serve here today.

Please join me in a moment of silence to honor him.

Mr. Speaker, the guarantee of free and fair elections is the very bedrock of our democracy. However, from the moment this term began, he has made every effort to subvert the electoral process for political gain. We continue to hear the big lie about the 2020 election and pressure lawmakers across the country to redraw congressional districts for political purposes. We saw insurrectionists pardoned.

Most recently, he has called for the party to nationalize voting in the United States. That is why, this week, I introduced the POINT Act, because our elections must remain insulated from bad-faith actors who seek to undermine the will of the voters.

This bill would prohibit the President and senior members of his administration from knowingly engaging in election interference or using Federal resources to interfere with an election. It prohibits: the deployment of our military and Federal officers, if such is likely to disrupt an election; postal confiscation of all mail ballots; and ICE or National Guard from looming at the polls.

Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that we strengthen the guardrails of our democracy against anyone who seeks to abuse power for political gain.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the magnificent jewel located in the heart of the village of Mamaroneck, the Emelin Theatre.

The Emelin is a nonprofit organization that brings world-class performing arts to all of Westchester, as well as nearby Connecticut. The events at the Emelin cover all genres of music, comedy, dance, family theater, and film. In the next few weeks alone, there will be performances highlighting Motown, flamenco dance, southern rock, jazz, cabaret standards, and numerous community events that will be hosted in their spacious environment.

The professional staff, led by Taryn Sacramone, ably directs and manages all of the component parts of the Emelin's mission, and community commitment to the Emelin is exceptional, led by Mark Ettenger, board president.

The generosity of the board of directors and the Friends of the Emelin provide the additional resources needed to keep this asset thriving decades after its inception.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we recognize the tremendous presence of the Emelin in our Westchester world.

Recognizing New Rochelle Bar Association

Mr. Speaker, in this Chamber, we speak of this American experiment in democracy that is 250 years in the making under principles forged in our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the laws of the judicial rulings that have followed. Yet, these principles will die on the vine of history if they aren't taught and absorbed by each new generation of Americans.

One effort to keep those ideas alive is found in the New Rochelle Bar Association's unique outreach in the New Rochelle school system, the Lawyers in the Classroom program.

The New Rochelle Bar has signed up members skilled in all elements of the law to speak to elementary and middle school students in the nearly 10 schools in the district and make constitutional principles come alive--amendments with numbers that represent important principles: the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and the 10th Amendment--helping young people understand, in everyday language, what these principles mean in everyday life.

In addition to the educators at the schools of Trinity, Jefferson, Columbus, Barnard, Webster, Davis, Ward, Albert Leonard, and Isaac Young, let me recognize some of the long list of lawyers who have dedicated time for this project: Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Andy Spatz, Suzanne Berger, Jennifer Pasquantonio, Regina Matos, David Lacher, Artem Djukic, Adam Sattler, Laurie Korngold, Jeffrey Levin, Michele Tombini, Barry Salman, Stephanie Vetch, Susan Kettner, Frank D'Onofrio, Michael Schiffer, Julie Kattan, Christina Hall, Milton Kreppel, and so many more--a real all-star lineup on the frontline team for democracy.

Congratulating Barry and Barbara Reiter

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate a dynamic couple, Barry and Barbara Reiter, as they plan to celebrate their 70th birthdays together later this month.

Barry and I were in Mount Vernon High School together all those years ago. He is a tad younger than I am, but he and Barbara have given years of community service over and above their professional careers and in raising their family. Their service in volunteer emergency services for their town and Barry's service on the town council are just two examples.

Mr. Speaker, take it from one who knows that age 70 is an achievement in life and an opportunity to continue to serve, and Barry and Barbara will.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, happy birthday to Barbara and Barry Reiter.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the outstanding work of the men and women who lead the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce.

Every month, they hold a Zoom meeting for all of their members and provide the latest information of value to the businessowners and retailers who provide goods and services to the people of Mount Vernon. The guest speakers cover substantive topics such as access to capital, tax preparation, availability of grant programs, healthcare, personnel issues, tariffs, and much more.

Every month, I join in virtually to give a Federal issues update. The same is true for county officials such as County Executive Ken Jenkins and Shari Rosen Ascher.

The chamber is led by Omar Fields, chairman of the board; Anita Hunt, board secretary; and former Mount Vernon Councilwoman Lisa Copeland, who serves as president. They do a tremendous service to the people and to

the businesses of the city of Mount Vernon.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Speaker, February is Black History Month, when we take special note of the historic achievements of African Americans who have helped shape today's America. Black history is American history and for decades has been ignored by racism. Now, as we identify and remember both those famous and some unfamiliar names from decades past, there is today a movement to whitewash history and to minimize those names.

However, there are efforts to ensure we never forget the role played by our Black sisters and brothers. Bronx Councilman Kevin Riley is sponsoring one such effort, the fifth annual Black History Month Living Legends Luncheon honoring our neighbors on Wednesday, February 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Mall at Bay Plaza food court.

It will highlight Black leaders from Co-op City, Edenwald, Wakefield, and other parts of the north Bronx who have helped the community and thereby made history.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Councilman Riley for making Black history come alive for today's generations in the Bronx.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize the community service provided by the men and women of the Yonkers-East Yonkers Rotary Club. Every day, they live out their voluntary efforts of the Rotary Four-Plus-One Test, ensuring truth, fairness, good will, benefit, and fun in their activities under the banner of service above self.

Recently, the club raised needed funds for their community service projects, completing a 25-hour-plus marathon filibuster, assisting families in need.

The club is led by President Alan Gray, President-elect Anne Murphy, Vice President Jeffrey Landsman, Immediate Past President George John, and other key officers: Greg Arcaro, Christian Fassetta, Philippe Charles, Matt Koppe, Alix Schnee, and many more.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute the Rotary Club of Yonkers-East Yonkers, and I wish them continued success in all of their good works.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a milestone in the life of Derrick Thompson, city council president of the city of Mount Vernon on his 50th birthday celebrated this week. He will be doing the celebrating on Saturday night of his journey so far. He is a graduate of the Mount Vernon Public School System and now a professional in education in that very same school system. Twice-elected to the Mount Vernon City Council, he is serving for the second time as its presiding officer.

Happy Birthday to Derrick. There is much more ahead for him and the people he serves. We salute Derrick from the floor of the House of Representatives.

Saluting the Community of White Plains

Mr. Speaker, the city of White Plains, Westchester County's seat of government, is a dynamic city of over 60,000 people, with major corporations headquartered there, such as Heineken USA, Atlas Air, and Danone North America; a shopping mecca with major regional businesses; as well as small businesses and large national stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, and Nordstrom's. There is a vibrant community with restaurants, entertainment, and more.

There is also a vibrant network of neighborhoods that link the residents of the community: Battle Hill, Fisher Hill, Gedney Farms, Rosedale, Reynal Park, Highlands, North Street, Carhartt, Gedney Meadows, and more. They are linked by an organization that is the envy of other communities in Westchester: the White Plains Council of Neighborhood Associations. The group meets monthly to discuss the concerns of each of the diverse neighborhoods, and they meet with local elected officials to address the issues that arise. They link together for the active and festive elements of community life, and it reaches into the larger whole.

Let me salute the current leaders of the association: President Michael Dalton, Vice President Sharon Woodford, Treasurer Tom Osbeck, and Secretary Michael Sanchez, along many other active local association presidents.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute their community-minded activism.

Recognizing Tajian Nelson

Mr. Speaker, I want to salute and recognize Ms. Tajian Nelson, who is Westchester's first African-American female commissioner of the County Board of Elections as she celebrate her 50th birthday this week. Tajian has been long active in government and the public arena in various leadership positions, and at her tender age she has many more years of advancement and achievement in success ahead of her.

Congratulations to Tajian. We are all part of her fan club right here on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to salute the outstanding work of The Woman's Club of Larchmont, Inc., for their fine contributions to the Larchmont community.

Celebrating their 100th year last year, they have embarked on their second 100 years with programs to promote education, literature, the arts, to provide philanthropic financial support to nonprofits and charities, and engender a healthy public dialogue on local critical issues.

This year, The Woman's Club is led by Anne McAndrews, a former mayor who serves as club president. Other top leadership posts are held by Joyce Callahan, Ronnie McGovern, Sophie Kent, Theresa Fanelli, Marsha Kirchoff, Jenny Carter, and so many other outstanding women of the community.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we recognize the outstanding achievements of The Woman's Club of Larchmont, Inc.