Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, when we open our hearts to our young people--give generously our support and encouragement--those young people consistently exceed our expectation.

Let me tell you of the story of a dedicated group of students from a tiny island in the western Pacific Ocean, and the teachers who supported and encouraged them. Because on April 20, those students, the Saipan Southern High School Manta Ray Concert Band, exceeding any reasonable expectation, will be performing at one of America's premier musical venues: Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Saipan Southern High School opened just a few years ago, in 2002. Southern was a beautiful new facility, but it needed to be filled with life and with heart. The new students and new teachers quickly adopted the motto ``un eskuela, un korason''--one school, one heart--and began to bring their school to life.

One of the new teachers was William DeWitt. Mr. DeWitt is a wonderful musician himself and his new Saipan Southern music and band students were enthusiastic to learn. But few had any musical training. Yet within a few months of opening, Saipan Southern enjoyed the first performance of its very own band, the Manta Ray Concert Band, and quickly ``un eskuela, un korason'' became more than just a motto because the musical rhythms of the Manta Rays became the heartbeat of Saipan Southern.

The band performed at pep rallies, sports competitions, for the PTA, at graduation. It seemed whenever Saipan Southern had an event, the beat of the Manta Rays provided the musical backdrop. By 2005, the Manta Ray Concert Band had reached a level of proficiency that allowed them to take on the complex Latin rhythms and jazzy dissonances of West Side Story for a production at Saipan Southern.

And their reach extended beyond their school, as they began performing--and entertaining--for the annual Taste of the Marianas festival, Northern Marianas College Charter Day, the Western Pacific Judicial Council Conference, and many other community events. How that heartbeat grew stronger.

In 2008 and again in 2009, the Manta Ray Concert Band captured First Place Gold awards at the Tumon Bay International Music Festival in Guam. Student members of the Manta Ray Concert Band joined the Official Youth Orchestra at the 2008 Summer Olympics and performed in Beijing, China.

Today, the Saipan Southern High School band program has grown to more than 150 aspiring student musicians. The Manta Ray Concert Band has studied under guest conductors from Guam and Japan. They have played for dramatic productions of My Fair Lady, A Winter's Tale, and It's a Wonderful Life. They host their own concerts and perform at others as well. The Manta Ray Concert Band typically presents more than 20 performances annually.

Throughout their exemplary rise, these young musicians and their teachers have struggled with lack of finances, with lack of instruments, with the difficulties of travel for a band of students of various ethnicities and citizenship. But they have not lost heart. Nor have they forgotten that music can fill the hearts of others. When a security guard was brutally murdered at a sister school, the Manta Rays played to raise funds for the grieving family. After a shooting rampage left four dead on the island of Saipan, the Manta Rays raised spirits and funds for those in mourning.

The Manta Ray Concert Band certainly deserves recognition. But they won their most recent distinction solely by virtue of the quality of their music. Still under the dedicated direction of William DeWitt, they auditioned for the right to play at this year's New York International Music Festival at Carnegie Hall. And on April 20, with some of the most accomplished high school and college bands, the Manta Rays will fill the storied venue with their heartbeat.

As usual, they will not be playing for themselves but for others. The band is dedicating its Carnegie performance to Peter Le'au, the first principal of Saipan Southern High School, who, as the Manta Rays' program notes, ``is courageously fighting to recover from a recent illness.''

Mr. Speaker, I hereby submit this tribute to the Saipan Southern High School Manta Ray Concert Band, along with individual names of each band member performing at Carnegie Hall as well as of their esteemed band director and school principal, for publication in the Congressional Record. They are:

Eun Joung Ahn, tenor saxophone

Ken Alvarado, trumpet

Naomi Cabrera, percussion

Scott Cabrera, trumpet

James Camacho, clarinet

Crista Ching, trombone

Joe Ray Dela Cruz, tuba

Anna Rose Deleon Guerrero, percussion/logistician

Mereylen Denora, trumpet

Pedro Duenias, alto saxophone

Kevin Fejeran, baritone

Rodolfo Guiao, Jr., baritone saxophone

Jun Yeop Han, tenor saxophone

Hyun Rock Jang, horn

Joseph Jang, percussion

Chan Young Kang, percussion

Haneul Kim, flute

II Ho (Ted) Kim, trombone

Shin Hye Kwon, flute

John Craig Lamberto, clarinet

Bo Mi Lee, flute

Ji Won (Rebekah) Lee, flute

Trini Macduff, flute

Leagine Mendiola, clarinet

Genevieve Ngiraibuuch, clarinet

Fumi Nimura, clarinet

Momoko Nishikido, trumpet

Maria-Theszaray Omar, flute

David Paek, trombone

Albert Palacios, alto saxophone

Jaynine Parico, percussion

John Park, clarinet

Joshua Roberto, trumpet

Joshua Sablan, horn

Roseanna Sablan, percussion

Elejohn Solomon, clarinet

Min Jung Song, clarinet

So Jung Song, alto saxophone

Jonelie Torres, percussion

Donovan Tudela, bass clarinet

Krysthian Villanueva, alto saxophone

William DeWitt, Teacher

Craig Garrison, School Principal

I thank the distinguished gentlelady from Texas for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the author of House Resolution 1027 to ask Members to join together to celebrate one of the most historic scientific achievements in our Nation's history, and certainly one of the most daringly courageous feats of exploration in all of human history.

Fifty years ago on January 23, 1960, the United States Navy submersible Trieste, piloted by U.S. Navy captain Don Walsh and by Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard, dove 36,000 feet to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest known part of our world's oceans. The Trieste dive--a manned descent into the Challenger Deep--has never been repeated, and on only two occasions has an unmanned vehicle penetrated into this abyss during the last 50 years. Just think about that.

Over the last 50 years, responding to President Kennedy's challenge to put men on the Moon, 12 Americans made that incredible journey, reached that destination and put foot on the lunar surface. We have sent satellite messengers out beyond our solar system to send back word of what is there. We have established a permanent manned presence in the space station circling the Earth. We have placed remarkable robotic vehicles on our neighbor planet Mars, exceeding all expectation and for years exploring that far-off world.

Yet, throughout this period of outer space exploration, the 80 percent of our work covered by the oceans--our inner space--remains virtually unknown and unseen by human beings. Our Nation has stopped in its track to witness the brave exploits of its outer space explorers and lauded them as heroes.

Yet Captain Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard and the team of U.S. Naval personnel who made the dive possible are virtually forgotten. H.R. 1027 aims to correct that. This resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Trieste dive is meant to shine a light on what these brave men and

their support team accomplished. This resolution is meant to inspire us with the example of Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard and reinvigorate the commitment of our Nation and this Congress to unlocking the secrets of the oceans of this Earth, of which we know so little.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Piccard passed away in 2008. But Don Walsh is still alive, and he remains in every way an adventurer. Next month in a series of events, we will honor Mr. Walsh and the memory of Mr. Piccard here in Washington. There will be a dinner at the National Geographic Society, a reception at the Smithsonian, and press tours of the Trieste herself, which is housed just down the street from the Capitol at the U.S. Navy Yards. These events were scheduled for April, not January, because Don Walsh has only just returned home from working and exploring in Antarctica.

I encourage my fellow Members of the House to add to the honors that will be accorded Captain Don Walsh next month by passage of House Resolution 1027.

I also want to thank my colleagues, Ms. Bordallo and Mr. Farr, for their cosponsorship of this resolution. Even more, I want to recognize their continuing leadership in the protection of our oceans and the advancement of the scientific understanding of our marine environment.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to call attention to the newly designated Mariana Trench National Monument. This monument not only contains the Mariana Trench where the Trieste descended, but also three islands of my district--Uracas, Asuncion, and Farallon de Pajaros--as well as a multitude of undersea volcanoes, upwellings of liquid carbon dioxide, and other features believed unique in all the world.

The people of the Northern Mariana Islands are proud of this environmental treasure and are committed to its protection so that it may be a source of wonder to those who visit and of knowledge to those who come there to explore and discover as Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard did 50 years ago.

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a man who served our country, and who served the Northern Mariana Islands, with great honor and distinction. The Honorable Francisco Castro Ada passed away on March 2nd; and he is being accorded a state funeral this week on the island of Saipan.

Francisco Ada was born in 1934 during the Japanese administration of the Northern Marianas. He came from humble beginnings, but always strove to improve himself--and in the process contributed much to our community.

Following World War II he went to Guam to attend high school. This was before there was any high school in the Northern Mariana Islands. To obtain more than a basic education required leaving home.

Diploma in hand, Mr. Ada returned to Saipan and taught for two years in a public school. But convinced of the need for a college education Mr. Ada secured a scholarship to the University of Hawaii at Manoa and earned a Bachelor's degree in political science. There, he also demonstrated the political skills that would serve him throughout his life: he won election as president of the International Students Association.

Upon his return from college in 1961, Mr. Ada again took up teaching at Saipan Intermediate School, but within a year his education and charisma landed him a position as public affairs officer for the Marianas District Government. The Marianas District was one of the geographical components of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, administered by the United States.

Promotion came quickly. Over an eight year period Francisco C. Ada moved from economic and political programs officer to district political affairs assistant, then to assistant district administrator for public affairs. Trust Territory officials took due regard of Mr. Ada's work ethic, his administrative savvy, and his exemplary leadership skills. And in 1969 he was appointed Administrator for the entire Marianas District, overseeing all the operations of local government.

Arguably his most important and far-sighted achievement during his seven years as District Administrator was building the Saipan International Airport. This modern facility on the capitol island ushered in our next thirty-five years of development, allowing Saipan to grow as a business center and as a destination for tourists from around the Pacific. To manage this critical piece of public infrastructure Ada set up an airport authority, independent of the need for local government support, that continues to be a model in our islands. Fittingly, on the airport's 25th anniversary, it was named Francisco C. Ada International Airport.

Francisco Ada's years as Administrator coincided with a yearning for self-government and a change of political status in the Marianas. People wanted closer political ties with the United States and twice tried to restore the historical unification with Guam. Then, a 1975 plebiscite overwhelmingly approved commonwealth status under the sovereignty of the U.S.

Ada oversaw the subsequent transition from Trust Territory Government to Commonwealth. But he also saw that he could have a place in the newly forming government. He left his post with the Trust Territory and ran, successfully, on the Democratic Party ticket to be the first Lieutenant Governor of the new Commonwealth.

Those early years set the course for the fledgling government. Mr. Ada was an active participant in the passage of new laws; negotiations and agreements with Federal agencies; the design and construction of public infrastructure; and adjustment by all to self-governance.

For the first time in anyone's memory, the islands' prospects for success or failure squarely rested on the shoulders of the people and new leaders of the Commonwealth. Francisco C. Ada lived up to that historical challenge and fulfilled the people's trust.

But it is easy to say of government officials that they served the general good. Let me tell you of my own experience of Francisco Ada working for the good of individuals, as well. I recall Mr. David Indalecio, who worked on Mr. Ada's staff, keeping the office clean and maintained. Mr. Indalecio did not have a high school diploma. Maybe he didn't need one to do his job. But Francisco C. Ada had a commitment to education--for himself and all those around him. Mr. Ada encouraged Mr.

Indalecio to complete his schooling, and with that support Mr. Indalecio did graduate from high school. The story does not end there, however. Because Mr. Indalecio himself then went on to leadership in our community. He was elected to the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council, where he served with distinction.

Francisco C. Ada served the public throughout his career, but he never lost touch with the personal aspect of life--his family. His wife and seven children kept him anchored during the stormiest of times; and he gave them an example and the guidance that make the Ada family one of our most distinguished: a doctor, lawyers, public servants, each leaders in their own right, and in many ways Francisco C. Ada's greatest legacy.

Madam Speaker, thank you for this time to remark on the honorable and much esteemed Francisco Castro Ada. He will always be remembered for his dedication, fairness and tireless capacity to make the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands a better place for all.

God bless him and his family.

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a man who served our country and who served the Northern Mariana Islands with great honor and distinction.

The Honorable Francisco Castro Ada passed away on March 2. His state funeral is on Wednesday.

Mr. Ada pulled himself up by his own efforts, but his efforts always pulled up others as well.

He had to go to Guam to get a high school diploma, but he returned home to teach others. He went to Hawaii to earn a college degree, and again, he returned home to help his community.

He served as district administrator for the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, overseeing the Northern Marianas' transition to a Commonwealth of the United States. Then he was elected as our first Lieutenant Governor. Though a public figure, Mr. Ada never lost touch with his family.

His guidance shows that the Ada family is one of our most distinguished--a doctor, lawyers, public servants--each leaders in their own right and, in many ways, Francisco C. Ada's greatest legacy.

Mr. Speaker, they say only the good die young. I don't know if only the good die young, but I do know that Antonio Manglona Borja from the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands was a very good man, and I do know that Antonia Manglona Borja has died much too young.

Tinian is a small island with a small number of families. Everyone knows everyone. And no one who lives there can fail to touch the lives of others. But some people have an impact on the community that is outsized, that makes their presence--and their absence--of greater significance.

Antonia Borja made his presence felt in so many ways: as an officer of the Department of Public Safety; as someone deeply involved with youth and adult sports; as a public representative on boards and commissions. Most of all, he was always there to give a hand to friends and neighbors in need.

Antonia Manglona Borja, Mr. Speaker. He was a good man. He died too young. And we all will miss him.

Mr. Speaker, They say only the good die young. I don't know if only the good die young. But I do know that Antonio Manglona Borja from the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands was a very good man. And I do know that Antonio Manglona Borja has died much too young.

So I rise today to honor him on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in the hope that knowing that Antonio was recognized in this way will give some comfort to his parents--Elias Manibusan Borja and Rosa Manglona Borja, to his wife--Bernadine Palacios Borja, to their children--Anthony Silvestre, Kristine, and Dennis--and to all Antonio's many friends and family members who miss him.

Mr. Speaker, Tinian is a small island with a small number of families. Everyone knows everyone. And no one who lives there can fail to touch the lives of others

But, of course, some people have an impact on the community that is outsize, that makes their presence--and their absence--of greater significance.

Antonio Borja made his presence felt in so many lives. As an officer of the Department of Public Safety, he helped to keep the peace on Tinian. He was there in moments of crisis and trauma for his community. He helped others and held them safe, when they were most in danger, most in need.

Mr. Borja learned the job of Public Safety Officer from the ground up, beginning as recruit in 1985 and quickly moving up the ranks to Captain in just nine years time. And Mr. Borja took what he learned as an officer and continued to contribute to the welfare of his community after his retirement nine years ago.

He was deeply involved with youth and adult sports. He served on the board of public corporations. Most of all, he was always there to give a hand to friends and neighbors in need.

Antonio Manglona Borja, Mr. Speaker. He was a good man. He died too young. And we all will miss him.

Mr. Speaker, here is a worthy New Year's resolution. ``Try to remember to praise people at the time of their praiseworthy performance, instead of years afterwards, or, as is

often the case, after they've died. We should let people know that we appreciate them, that their efforts are noticed, while it still makes a difference to them.'' These wise words are from the pen of Ruth L. Tighe, citizen, librarian, environmentalist, community activist, and newspaper columnist in the Northern Mariana Islands.

I would like to take Ruth's advice and not wait for the new year by telling Congress about Ruth Tighe herself. She is a person whose efforts have been noticed and noteworthy for more than three decades in the Marianas. She has made a difference, and I want her to know how much she is appreciated.

Even before arriving in the Mariana Islands, Ruth was living a remarkable story. Born in Germany in 1931, Ruth emigrated to the United States with her family in 1934. She grew up in upstate New York, became a naturalized citizen and worked her way through school, eventually earning a master's in library science from Columbia University while raising five children as a single mother.

It was as a professional librarian that Ruth came to our islands. She was there to help the people of Guam, the Northern Marianas and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands prepare for the first-ever White House Conference on Libraries and Information Science held in 1979. Ruth fell in love with the Pacific and soon returned, working for the Marianas Department of Education. She has trained school librarians and raised public awareness about the importance of reading and enriching the quality of our lives.

Ruth eventually turned from managing the written words of others to writing her own. She became a reporter and editor of one of the Marianas newspapers. She also established her signature column, ``On My Mind.'' Over the course of her many years of commenting on island issues, Ruth has always strived to be fair, objective, informative and entertaining. Judging by the popularity of her column, today a much- read and respected blog among people from many diverse backgrounds and walks of life, I believe she has succeeded.

Never afraid of challenges, at the age of 50, Ruth took up scuba diving and has since accumulated a record of over 400 dives. Enamored with the rich coral reefs and colorful marine life Ruth encountered under water, Ruth became a fierce defender of all the natural environment. She has advocated for the protection of coral reefs and native forests, stricter clean-water regulations, the cleanup of PCB contamination in the village of Tanapag, protection of the historic Sugar Dock Beach, and the creation of the national marine monument in the Northern Mariana Islands. Ruth has drawn others to the cause, helping form several community-based environmental groups, including the CNMI Organization For Conservation Outreach, Beautify CNMI, the Friends of the Monument, and the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance.

Here is another familiar view of Ruth. Approaching the microphone at a public hearing and introducing herself, Ruth Tighe, citizen. Through her writing and through her own active participation, Ruth has been an advocate for good governance and a model of informed citizenry. Always, Ruth offers constructive solutions that seek to benefit the islands and all the people, rather than her own personal or professional gain. Among many causes, Ruth has campaigned for the advancement of women's groups, a transparent and accountable government, and a more humanitarian approach to immigration and labor reform.

Ruth's weekly column and other writings have also helped foster and strengthen our sense of community. Often this takes the form of praise to people and organizations in the Marianas for jobs well done, including resourceful teachers, local newspapers for insightful reports, businesses that provided excellent customer service, community volunteers, and numerous individuals who wrote articulate columns or letters of their own.

I feel glad to be able to turn the light back on Ruth herself for the praiseworthy person that she is. Today Ruth is valiantly battling cancer of the lung, successfully, it would appear.

But I want to take her advice and say loud and clear, and on behalf of the people of the Northern Mariana Islands, thank you, Ruth Tighe, for all you have done, and, we pray, will continue to do for years to come to make the Northern Mariana Islands a wonderful place to be.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation can never say ``thank you'' too frequently to the men and women who put their own lives at risk in military service. So I rise today as the sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 199 thanking the men and women of Company E, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment for their service, their dedication, and their sacrifice.

I ask that the House adopt House Concurrent Resolution 199 honoring Company E--Echo Company, as we call it in the Northern Mariana Islands--in this year, the 10th anniversary of this distinguished band of soldiers. This year also marks the completion of Echo Company's second tour of duty in Iraq where they have distinguished themselves for their fortitude and bravery, always living up to the company motto, ``Go for broke.''

I appreciate the support of the distinguished gentlelady from Guam and the other 25 members of the House Armed Services Committee who are cosponsors of House Concurrent Resolution 199. I also want to thank the additional 29 Members of this House from both sides of the aisle, including my good friend, the distinguished gentleman from Florida, who stepped up to say ``thank you'' to Echo Company.

Most of all, I want to thank Chairman Skelton and Ranking Member McKeon for their leadership and their commitment to our men and women in uniform and for working with me to bring this resolution to the floor today.

As the first person to have the honor to represent the people of the Northern Mariana Islands here in Congress, one of my duties, I believe, is to educate this House about the people I represent. One distinguishing trait of the people of the Northern Mariana Islands is our devotion to the United States of America. We're unique, I believe, in modern times to have chosen as a society to become a permanent part of the United States. We could have become an independent nation, but instead, we chose to be part of this Nation.

Perhaps nothing exemplifies our commitment to serve our new Nation more than our participation in military service. Thirty percent of our graduating class from our public high schools enlisted in military service this year. And obviously, of course, with this out-of- proportion participation in our military, there is an out-of-proportion level of risk. Our community, our small community of some 65,000 people, has suffered the loss of 12 of our people in military service since the commencement of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is certainly one of the highest per capita rates of death in service of any community in our Nation.

I would like to read their names and honor them today: Army Sergeant Yihjya ``Eddie'' L. Chen; Army Sergeant Jesse J. Castro; Marine Lance Corporal Adam Q. Emul; Army Specialist Leeroy A. Camacho; Army Private First Class John D. Flores; Army Private First Class Victor M. Fontanilla; Army Specialist Joe G. Charfauros, Jr.; Navy Seaman Anamarie San Nicholas Camacho; Senior Airman Audra P.M. Winkfield; and, finally, the three members of Echo Company who gave their lives in combat for their country: Army Staff Sergeant Wilgene T. Lieto, Army Specialist Derence W. Jack, and Army Staff Sergeant Julian F. Manglona.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to say that by honoring specific individuals or a specific unit of the military, we in no way are forgetting all the men and women from communities all across our Nation who serve in the armed services. There are, in fact, many people from the Northern Mariana Islands who are not members of Echo Company in service throughout the world today. My prayers go out to them today and my thanks.

But Echo Company is the only unit from the Northern Mariana Islands composed solely of people from the Northern Mariana Islands and a platoon from Guam. So as the Representative of the Northern Mariana Islands and especially because this is the 10th anniversary of Echo Company in the Northern Mariana Islands, it is my honor and responsibility to take the floor and say ``thank you.''

Mr. Speaker, I also want to recognize and am honored to have Representative and Senator-elect Ralph Torres of the Northern Mariana Legislature in the gallery today. Mr. Torres is here to join me in paying respect to our troops.

I would like to submit this letter of support from Representative and Senator-elect Ralph M. Torres into the Record.

Saipan, MP,

December 5, 2009.

Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Sablan: I am proud and honored to write

this letter of support for H. Con. Res. 199, the concurrent

congressional resolution recognizing the outstanding efforts

of Company E, 100th Battalion, 442 Infantry Regiment for

their second deployment to Iraq; and to recognize

their 10th Anniversary of being located on the Commonwealth

of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

As a current Representative and Senator-Elect in the CNMI

Legislature, I appreciate your efforts to honor the

dedication of our troops, and for recognizing the commitment

and challenges the spouses and families face when their loved

ones are deployed.

Company E not only preserves our freedoms, but is a

valuable part of our community. They participate in many

community events, such as every July 4th as part of Island

Liberation Day, provide all funeral details on the CNMI and

participate in the Go for Broke baseball and canoeing teams.

Go for Broke is the motto of Company E, and they live that

way in all they do and I am proud to support H. Con. Res.

199.

Sincerely,

Ralph Torres,

Representative and Senator-Elect.

Godspeed to Company E, to all our men and women for your sacrifice and for all that you have done for our people and for the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. The need for health care reform has never been greater nor more urgent. This is true for my district, as it is for our Nation. We cannot wait another day. We must seize the moment and pass a law that will go a long way toward providing quality, accessible, and affordable health care for all Americans.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a Chamorro soldier, Michelle Wilmot, for receiving the 2009 Outstanding Woman Veteran Award.

Michelle was a member of Team Lioness, the first female Army team attached to Marine infantry units to conduct operations such as raids, checkpoints, and personal searches for weapons and explosives. She also served as a medic and a retention NCO during her 8-year stint.

As a member of Team Lioness, she was featured in a documentary film entitled Lioness, and in a chapter of Kirsten Holmstedt's book, The Girls Come Marching Home. Michelle holds a bachelor of science degree in political science and speaks Arabic and six other languages.

Having personal understanding of the difficulties facing soldiers returning from war, she was chosen as program director of the Northeast Veteran Training and Rehab Center in Gardner, Massachusetts. The center specializes in treating veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

On behalf of the people of the Northern Mariana Islands, I want to congratulate Sergeant Michelle Wilmot, winner of the Massachusetts 2009 Outstanding Woman Veteran Award.

Madam Speaker, in the Northern Mariana Islands, as in any developing area of the world, there are very few people who achieve the highest of academic distinctions, the doctorate degree. Even fewer are the individuals who reach this achievement and then are willing to return home with their knowledge and skills. So it is a sad day, indeed, and a terrible loss to the Northern Mariana Islands when death takes from us such a person.

Dr. Rita Hocog Inos was born on the island of Rota. She grew up in Songsong Village there, attending elementary and junior high school. At the age of 18, she began teaching at Rota Elementary School. It was not uncommon a generation ago for persons without college degrees to be teachers in the Northern Marianas. We had to make do and lift ourselves up by our own bootstraps.

But Rita Inos was not satisfied to be an educator lacking in education. After 4 years of classroom teaching, she returned to school as a student and completed her bachelor of arts degree in bilingual education at the University of Hawaii of Manoa in 1979.

She brought her new education and skills home, working as principal in Rota schools for 10 years. At the same time she continued her own education with a determination that was an inspiration to all who knew her. By 1983, Rita Inos had completed her course work towards a master's degree in educational anthropology from California State University and had been awarded the master of arts in school administration and supervision degree from San Jose State University.

Throughout this time she was, of course, a role model, not only to the students of Rota but to her professional colleagues as well. Rita Inos seems to have had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and an undeterrable determination to reach the highest level of education and achievement. That was clear to all.

Her influence spread. She was asked to first work for the Center for Advancement of Pacific Education and later in the Pacific Region Educational Laboratory in Honolulu, beginning as director of programs and services and then becoming deputy director of PREL overall as a whole.

Of course, all the while, Rota Inos was pursuing her doctorate. She earned

that coveted final degree in 1994. The University of Southern California bestowed on her the title of doctor of education in educational planning, policy, and administration.

Dr. Inos immediately placed those three areas of expertise in the service of students and the educational system in her home. The newly minted doctor of education became commissioner of education responsible for all of the public schools in the Northern Marianas.

Her list of accomplishments in that position is considerable.

She established a data-driven assessment system of student achievement that anticipated the requirements of No Child Left Behind.

She implemented a standards-based curriculum and method of instruction, and set rigorous graduation requirements for students in the core curriculum areas.

She secured the funding to build new schools--Sinapalo Elementary, Dandan Elementary, Chacha Oceanview Junior High, Saipan Southern High and Kagman High--in response to a 30 percent growth in student population.

She helped found two alternative education settings for Marianas students, the Advanced Development Institute at the three Saipan high schools and the Linala Malawasch Academy at Hopwood Junior High School. And she set the guidelines for the public school system that continue in use today: high student performance, safe and orderly schools, quality teachers, administrators and staff; and effective and efficient operation.

Dr. Rita Hocog Inos was an incredible source of good for the Northern Mariana Islands and for every student in our public schools, throughout her life and surely for many years to come. She left us too soon. But she left us so much, including one final gift, for in her final days, Dr. Inos had returned to her first love, preserving the indigenous language of the people of the Northern Mariana Islands. Even as her body failed her, her mind remained sharp, and her will unbending. I am told that she learned the revised Chamorro dictionary that was her final project was ready for publication the day before she died. And, I am told, then she was at peace.

Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago I came to the floor to offer my condolences to the people of American Samoa and to their far-flung families who were still reeling from the initial shock from the tsunami and from the many losses suffered. Today, we meet in a more formal manner to broaden the expression of these condolences to include this House and all the people we represent from across our Nation.

I said before that the people of the Pacific, though separated by thousands of miles, feel that we are part of one family. We understand the vulnerability and isolation of life on an island in the midst of a sea, a vast sea. That shared understanding makes us one.

Today, I rise that all Americans, though separated by experience and culture, by language and distance, are part of one family. It is inexplicable how this may be so, but this evidence makes clear that it is so. When many of us are in need, as American Samoa is and will continue to be, then we find we are not alone. Then we remember we are all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 800, expressing sympathy for the citizens of the Philippines, dealing with Tropical Storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma.

These natural disasters have laid waste to much of the northern Philippines. Thousands of Filipinos have not only suffered the losses of their loved ones but of all of their worldly possessions. Images of Filipinos carrying their dead and dying out of the wreckage and attempting to start life anew have dominated our news coverage in recent days.

In the Northern Mariana Islands, the disaster is a personal tragedy to the one-half of the population who are from the Philippines and who are directly impacted by the disasters. These are family; these are friends; these are neighbors. Their loss is also our loss.

Yet there has also been hope. Many local and charitable institutions from around the world, including those in the Northern Mariana Islands, have stepped up to answer President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's call for help from the international community. I am proud to say that the Northern Mariana Islands community has been quick to respond where our Governor, our bishop, our people, and many community organizations, such as the United Filipino Workers and CREAM, to name a few, have made great efforts to assist with the disasters in the Philippines by sending both money and other donations to the victims.

I hope we follow their examples and continue to support the Philippines in their time of need.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3689) to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3689, sponsored by the chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, the gentleman from West Virginia, Mr. Nick Rahall, and the committee's ranking member, the gentleman from Washington State, Mr. Doc Hastings, will extend the time during which the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is authorized to establish a visitors center for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial here in Washington, D.C.

Better known as the Vietnam Wall, the memorial is among the most visited sights in Washington and is an international symbol of reflection and healing. Establishing a visitors center for the memorial is critical and more time is needed to complete the extensive planning, design, and approval processes required for such a sensitive project. This bipartisan legislation extends the authorization through 2014.

Chairman Rahall has been intimately involved with the development of this visitors center, and I join him, along with Representative Doc Hastings, in urging our colleagues to support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, but I would like to inquire of the minority if he has any additional speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1593) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of Illabot Creek in Skagit County, Washington, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1593 would designate a segment of Illabot Creek in Skagit County, Washington, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Systems.

The Forest Service studied Illabot Creek for potential Wild and Scenic River designation in conjunction with the National Forest planning process. The study found that the creek possesses outstandingly remarkable values. For example, the river is home to a bald eagle communal night roost and is important habitat for bear, beaver, and spotted owls, to name a few.

Mr. Speaker, we commend our distinguished colleague Representative Rick Larsen for his hard work and dedication to this legislation. We support passage of H.R. 1593, and urge its adoption by the House today.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time. I would inquire of the minority whether they have any additional speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3537) to amend and reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act of 1994.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, Congress passed the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act in 1994 to connect

children with nature through science and art. This act promotes the education of students from kindergarten through high school about migratory waterfowl and the habitats through the distribution of educational materials and the promotion of a wildlife art competition.

Today, more than 27,000 students participate in the Nationwide Junior Duck Stamp art contest, and the winning design is reproduced as the Federal Junior Duck Stamp. The pending measure will simply reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp Program.

I commend my good friend, Congressman Solomon Ortiz from Texas, for his leadership in reauthorizing the Junior Duck Stamp Program, and we urge our colleagues to support passage of this measure.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.