Floor Statements

Ms. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the South Lake Memorial American Auxiliary #55 on their Anniversary. Sixty-six years ago this Auxiliary was founded by the brave veterans of World War I and has been serving their community ever since.

Most recently, they were recognized as one of the strongest promoters of the ``Spinoza Bear Program''. This is a compassionate crusade that brings a smile to thousands of grieving children.

Their commitment to public service is renewed every year as they sponsor two young women to attend Girl's State, a wonderful program that has been developed to foster political activism in our nation's youth. They are involved in countless other activities that promote community involvement by their members.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to call the men and women of the South Lake Memorial American Legion constituents, and I ask that you join with me today to congratulate them on their service to our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate an outstanding school in the 5th Congressional District of Florida. Educating our Youth is one of the most important challenges that we as a nation face. The founders of Wider Horizons School have embraced this challenge with a vigor and dedication that has left a strong impression on the community which they serve.

On Friday, March 14th, Wider Horizons School will celebrate its 20th Anniversary. Founded in 1983, Wider Horizons was the brain child of two individuals who cut their teeth in the Peace Corps opening schools in the jungles of Peru. Their formula for success includes a focus on independent learning, international field trips, and instruction in Spanish beginning in preschool.

I am proud to call Mr. and Mrs. Domenick constituents. They and their staff serve as examples to us all of what it means to truly be public servants.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a constituent of mine who fought and died in the Vietnam War and is being honored tomorrow in my district, the fifth congressional district of Florida. In 1968, 19-year-old Berman Ganoe enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent shortly thereafter to Vietnam. On March 24, 1970, Staff Sergeant Ganoe's helicopter was shot down while on a rescue mission in Cambodia. The helicopter that Sergeant Ganoe was aboard was acting as a rescue aircraft for a gunship team engaged in combat on the ground. A fellow army pilot who witnessed the crash of Sergeant Ganoe's aircraft called the rescue mission and the actions of the entire crew ``the most heroic act he had ever seen.''

Shortly after the crash, Sergeant Ganoe was classified as ``missing in action'' and became Marion County, Florida's only Vietnam War ``missing in action'' person. In 1974, the Army changed his status to ``assumed dead.'' In 1998, after an excavation of the crash site, Sergeant Ganoe's remains were returned to the United States but were never positively identified until mid-2001.

He is one of 22 Florida soldiers whose remains were recovered and returned to the United States following the end of the war. When the technology to positively identify years-old remains was developed and perfected, the remains were identified and the families of the fallen soldiers were contacted.

Tomorrow in my district, friends and family of Sergeant Ganoe are memorializing him and honoring his contribution to our country. A bronze memorial of Sergeant Ganoe will be unveiled at a ceremony in Ocala which will follow a private memorial service for his surviving three brothers, four sisters, and numerous friends and extended family members.

Sergeant Ganoe served his country and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom. Further, he died in a rescue mission to save the lives of fellow soldiers. Posthumously, Sergeant Ganoe was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, 16 Air Medals, the Purple Heart, and numerous other medals of valor.

I commend Sergeant Ganoe for his actions and stand here today to honor his life and his sacrifice. I think it is particularly important that we consider the sacrifices of Sergeant Ganoe and of the people who currently are serving in our military today.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 4 and against the substitute.

When I was a Florida senator, we passed welfare reform before the Federal Government did. We certainly adopted the Federal Government's further welfare reform; and what we found was families became families, not welfare families; that women finally had some self-confidence, and self-confidence enough not only to get a job, but to take advantage of their employers' education programs, and they took advantage of their employers' education programs. I happen to know firsthand because I teach college, and many of the young women that I had in college, young and middle-aged women that I had in college had been previous welfare recipients. They were grateful. They were very grateful that we had a situation in America where they could break that cycle. Because guess what? Their mother and their grandmother also in many instances were on welfare.

The bill that we have before us allocates more funding for child care and health care for welfare families ensuring that welfare families are cared for, and that those on welfare have access to health care while trying to secure work. We all know that for many years people stayed on welfare, particularly single women, stayed on welfare because of the health care benefits. We are extending them.

I think it is very important to remember that the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction on this issue held more than 20 hearings reviewing this legislation during the 107th Congress and heard testimony from more than 60 witnesses. It has been adequately reviewed, and it enjoys the support of so many Members of this body but, more importantly, people back home, including those people who had previously been welfare recipients.

I would ask my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 4 to bring the real kind of assistance to people on welfare that they actually need. The substitute would only set welfare reform back.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Heart of Florida Girl Scout Troop 378 in Citrus County, Florida for their service to the Community and to the people of my district.

The troop recently learned about the importance of voting and about the functions of American government as part of the `I-Count' Voter Education program and each Troop Member participating in the program received a patch upon completion.

Mr. Speaker, as you may know, those in the Girl Scout program measure their accomplishments and award merit based on the number of patches they accumulate. As part of earning this patch, the girls studied intently and listened to a speech I gave about the importance of voting--and how one vote can be the deciding factor in some instances.

It was when I spoke to the girls and had the chance to meet them and hear about all they'd done in the community that I realized the tremendous amount of work they'd done and their intense dedication to the Girls Scout program.

Mr. Speaker, let me briefly mention just a few of the things this group of girls has done throughout their years of involvement with this program.

As Daisies the girls learned to do crafts and learned the Girl Scout promise. They went on campouts, marched in parades and sang at Surry Place Nursing home.

As Brownies, the troop went to nursing homes to sing, volunteered at various events and continued to appear in local parades.

As Juniors, they collected old, unused cell phones to benefit battered women, helped at the local ``Relay for Life,'' which benefits the American Cancer Society, and presented the local volunteer firefighters with cookies to thank them for their work in the community.

Now that the girls are Cadets they are still collecting cell phones and will be continuing

their involvement in the ``Relay for Life'' program. This past Holiday Season they ``Gift Adopted'' a local under-privileged girl, and donated money and new gifts to make her Christmas brighter.

Currently they are saving the proceeds from the sale of their Girl Scout cookies for a trip to Savanna, Georgia to see where Juliette Gordon Low, the Girl Scout founder, was born.

Amber Auth, Nicole Bruno, Melissa Fonczak, Emily Stanton, Rebecca Rose, Kimberly Carbonari, Rebecca Morse, along with troop leader Mimi Rose and assistant troop leader Nora Auth, deserve to be commended for their service and dedication, I am proud to have them as my constituents and am honored to be their representation in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the seven Columbia astronauts the world lost this past weekend. They truly were the best and the brightest that the three countries, Israel, India, and the United States, the best and brightest that these three countries had to offer.

I was at home in my district on Saturday preparing to speak to some Girl Scouts who were earning their badge for voting; and when we learned what happened, we decided not to tell the girls in the audience. This was their day, and it was up to their parents to give them the very sad news.

As I was standing there speaking to the Girl Scouts, the entire Columbia crew was on my mind. As I looked out, speaking to the girls and interacting with them, I realized that one of them could be a future astronaut. I could not help but think how many of them, like these seven astronauts, dreamed of space travel as a child.

President Bush called the astronauts heroes. NASA administrators called them family members. Many children, including the ones I spoke to, as well as adults, called them role models.

Most Americans did not know the astronauts personally until we lost them, but in their loss we as a Nation can recognize the immense dedication by thousands of individuals worldwide to our space program. We can recognize the awe in which the program is held by the rest of the world and the enormous risks and sacrifices that accompany space travel.

As we grieve for the Columbia crew, it is important to remember that America is a Nation that has never shied away from new frontiers and exploration. We will continue to be a leader in space exploration, as the Columbia crew would have wanted. We will continue missions and experiments in space, as they, too, would have wanted. And, of course, we will continue to support a robust, cutting-edge space program that is the pride of this country and of the global community.

We will continue to remember and honor the seven Columbia crew members who died serving their countries, broadening the world's knowledge about the vast unknown we call space and doing what they truly loved to do.

Mr. Speaker, I was never a football fan until I moved to the Tampa Bay area. I think it was the contagious enthusiasm both from my husband and my grandchildren that converted me to become a Tampa Bay Bucs fan.

I rise today to congratulate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their outstanding performance and subsequent victory in Sunday's Super Bowl. The Super Bowl was the most watched Super Bowl ever in history. I do not know whether it is just because every television set in Florida was tuned in or not, but it was the most viewed Super Bowl in history.

The Buccaneers' victory of 48 to 21 over the Oakland Raiders came at long last to very, very patient Tampa Bay Bucs fans such as myself and my family, who endured many, many years of sticking with the Bucs even when they weren't winning. We knew it was just a matter of time, and that time came this past Sunday. The Buccaneer defense scored three touchdowns from five interceptions, and that was a Super Bowl record.

Aside from congratulating the team, I would also like to congratulate John Gruden, the NFL's youngest coach. In his very first year, he took the Tampa Bay Bucs on to victory. We would be remiss if we did not also thank Tony Dungy, the former coach, because he was able to develop that team and develop the team to the point where their defense was so strong.

I would certainly congratulate all of the members of the Buccaneer team and as well to the Oakland Raiders. It was a hard-fought battle. Somebody had to win, and I am just darn glad that it was the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 3, I inadvertently pressed the ``aye'' button. I meant to vote ``nay.''