Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Rosendo Carranco, an upstanding citizen of Laredo, Texas, who was recently awarded the Spirit of Jerusalem Award by the state of Israel.

It is a great honor for me to enter into the Record the accomplishments of Mr. Carranco in tribute to his dedication to the business community, and numerous charitable works that have benefited the citizens of Laredo. After he graduated from Texas A&M University in 1977, he returned to Laredo to start his own accounting firm, Carranco & Lawson, where his wife, Mary, serves as partner. In addition to his work as an accountant, Mr. Carranco works as a real estate developer whose work includes the Cielito Lindo subdivision, and he is also involved in various business ventures that include insurance, oil, and gas. He and his wife, Mary are the proud parents of three children, Andrew, Kathryn, and Robert.

Mr. Carranco is well known in Laredo for his gregarious and outgoing demeanor as well as numerous contributions to community service. He is a beloved coach in the local youth basketball, football, and baseball teams as well as a highly active participant in the Boys and Girls Club, Young President's Organization, United Way, Junior Achievement, Laredo A&M Club, and Daybreak Rotary organizations. His exemplary compassion and his deep commitment to his faith make him a fine role model for young people in Laredo, Texas.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me to honor Rosendo Carranco, recipient of the Spirit of Jerusalem Award by the state of Israel.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Judge Marcel Notzon II, who has admirably served Laredo for the past twenty-three years as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Texas. After such a long and distinguished career, Judge Notzon is retiring this month to spend time with his wife of forty-four years, Nora Lee, and his thirteen grandchildren.

It is a great honor for me to enter into the record the accomplishments of Judge Notzon in recognition of his legal career which has spanned over thirty-nine years, and extraordinary service to the federal judiciary. He served his country as a part of the United States Navy from 1956 to 1960, and was honorably discharged from his service. Following his discharge, he attended Laredo Junior College, and went on to complete law school at St. Mary's University, where he graduated first in his class.

Judge Notzon is well-known in Laredo for his compassion for people, including the defendants that come in front of him in the court. He has made great contributions to the community as well through his involvement with the Boys and Girls Club of Laredo, Little League, and other charities since 1974. Early in his legal career, he joined the Laredo Legal Aid Society, an organization that offers legal representation to those who otherwise could not afford it. It is his exemplary compassion, and his deep commitment to his faith that makes him such a great public servant to the community of Laredo.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me to honor Judge Marcel Notzon II, who has left a lasting impact on the South Texas legal community, and the country at large.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

First of all, I want to thank Mr. Keller and Mr. Miller for the work they have been doing on this particular bill, H.R. 609.

My amendment is a very straightforward amendment that allows the student aid application process to be simple and straightforward and make sure that it complies with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, to make sure that it meets the expectations of today's students.

We want to make sure that we reduce the paperwork, and when we talk about student aid, that we minimize the amount of paperwork involved; and especially when we work on trying to get the free application for Federal student aid paperwork and the other work to make sure that when a student is trying to get this information, we reduce the paperwork and make it as simple as possible.

The second part of the amendment calls for a one-stop center for finding financial aid for students. As Members know, in order to get this information, whether you are talking about students, parents, or counselors across the Nation, it is sometimes difficult to get this information. The more we can enhance the one-stop center so the information is in one place, this will make it easier on the students and make sure that we do one thing, and that is, make student aid opportunities as accessible and as simple as possible for the students, the parents and the counselors.

I believe this amendment is acceptable to both Mr. George Miller and Mr. Keller.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Again, I thank Mr. Keller and Mr. Miller for allowing me to present this particular amendment. This amendment is very simple. It deals with the Pell Grant Plus. The Pell Grant Plus is an excellent program that allows extra financial aid to students that take the extra recommended courses or the college preparatory courses.

Studies show that students who take the college preparatory courses, two things are going to happen: one, their success rate in college increases, and the second part is that the probability or the possibility of those students going off to college will increase. So providing this incentive through Pell Grant Plus to make sure that they take the college preparatory courses is good for all students across the Nation.

This amendment, what it does is instead of just allowing the academic courses from universities, this allows students to take the certificates from universities or colleges across the Nation to be allowed to take this Pell Grant Plus and to be eligible to receive Federal student aid.

Examples of certificate programs from my district and across the United States, Palo Alto College provides certificate programs in accounting and electromechanical technology. Texas A&M International University in Laredo allows education certificates in early, middle school and high school education, and other universities also do this. This allows the students who take those certificate programs to be eligible for the Pell Grant Plus.

Again, the Pell Grant Plus is an excellent incentive, and what I am trying to do is make sure that students across the board take those college preparatory courses. This will be good for education in general.

Again, I believe this amendment is acceptable to Mr. Keller and to Mr. Miller also.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Betty Flores, an accomplished mayor from my hometown of Laredo, Texas.

Mr. Speaker, Mayor Flores was elected mayor of Laredo in 1998. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to bring Laredo into the 21st century with success and pride. Whether it be through economic development or the rich culture Laredo is known for, Mayor Flores has been there finding ways to advance the city's agenda.

Last year, Laredo received its highest financial rating in its 227- year history. This is the consequence of Laredo being one of the Nation's largest land ports, with 74 of the Fortune 100 companies and 52 countries conducting international trade via the Port of Laredo.

Mayor Flores has earned many awards including Laredo Times Laredoan of the Year and Texas Women of the Century from the Woman's Chamber of Commerce of Texas. This is Mayor Flores's last year in office, and she will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have the opportunity to honor a citizen like Mayor Betty Flores.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Shannon Allen for her heroic actions Wednesday, January 25, 2006 at Rayburn Elementary School in McAllen, Texas.

At approximately 2:00 pm on Wednesday, an intruder entered the Rayburn Elementary School where Mrs. Allen is the Principal. Maria Tovar, the academic coordinator, escorted the intruder to the administrative office for failure to have a school identification card. Mrs. Tovar discovered the intruder was carrying a handgun and instructed him to place the weapon in a nearby waste basket. Mrs. Allen was informed of the situation and initiated a lock down of the entire school via code over the intercom. When Mrs. Allen approached the intruder he became agitated and attempted to reach for the loaded and cocked handgun in the waste basket. Mrs. Allen, out of concern for the safety of her students and staff, tackled the intruder to prevent him from retrieving the gun.

Mrs. Allen was able to restrain the intruder with the assistance of Coach Jason Duon and custodian Joe Rico. Seconds later, Officer Ed Perez handcuffed and placed the intruder in custody.

Mr. Speaker, Shannon Allen endangered her life to protect her students and staff at Rayburn Elementary School. Given her heroic actions, I rise to honor Shannon Allen.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Mr. Souder and Mr. Cummings, and I also rise in favor of this particular bill. I want to thank Mr. Souder for the leadership he has taken on this very important bill that is so important to us and, again, Mr. Cummings, also for the work you both have been doing, your leadership and your bipartisan approach.

I also want to thank my colleague from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) for cosponsoring this amendment. My amendment to H.R. 2829 directs a study on the incidence of kidnapped, killed, and missing Americans along the United States-Mexican border. Within 180 days, the commission will submit a report to the U.S. Congress with recommendations on how to prevent these types of crime.

According to the FBI, 41 Americans have been kidnapped in Mexico since August of 2004. Two have been killed, some have been returned, but there are still 22 missing Americans that we have not been able to find answers to.

Last year, we witnessed a positive reaction from our country when we mobilized the resources to find the missing American in Aruba. It is my hope that we can also give the same type of attention to the missing Americans along the U.S.-Mexican border where many more people have gone missing.

I fully understand that the Office of National Drug Control Policy is not an enforcement or investigative agency, but I believe, very strongly, that this office can be another group of minds that can help us try to find initiatives to help prevent American citizens from suffering the same or similar fate in the future.

Since I have taken office, I have been asked by many of the mothers and fathers and the children of the missing Americans to help resolve the status of their loved ones. I believe that if we bring in many resources together that we can help to ensure we put a stop to these crimes, and hopefully give the families of these missing Americans some closure.

Again, congratulations to Mr. Souder for the leadership that he has taken, and Mr. Cummings also, for coming together in a bipartisan approach. I believe this amendment is acceptable to both Mr. Souder and Mr. Cummings.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Yes, I want to thank Mr. Souder and Mr. Cummings once again for their leadership on this very important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Milton B. Lee for his impeccable record of service to the citizens of San Antonio, and whose achievements were recognized by the San Antonio-based Lighthouse Group on January 25, 2006.

Mr. Lee, a lifelong Texan, is a native of Austin, where he accomplished a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1971. After graduating, he quickly launched his career at General Electric, where he oversaw nuclear steam supply systems, nuclear fuel, gas turbine generators and steam turbine generators.

He was one of the formative members of the Texas Public Utilities Commission, and having testified as an expert witness in certification and rate proceedings, he has left his stamp on many of the regulations that govern my home state's electric utilities.

Over the years, Mr. Lee also served as a member on a variety of boards and commissions, including his service in a leadership capacity within the Texas Public Power and American Public Power Associations, university boards, including the Huston-Tillotson University Board of Trustees and the University of Texas at Austin Engineering Foundation Advisory Board, and professional organizations, including the National Society of Black Engineers.

Mr. Speaker, Milton Lee has risen to lead CPS Energy, formerly City Public Service and now the largest municipally owned energy company providing both natural gas and electric service. Serving as General Manager and CEO, Mr. Lee also serves as a much needed positive role model and an inspiration to the youth within our shared communities. Given his remarkable resume and his impressive accomplishments, today I rise to honor Milton B. Lee for his ongoing commitment to service, to scientific research within and outside of his particular field of expertise, and to excellence in everything that he executes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the important contributions of mentoring programs such as the One Star Foundation, an initiative established by the State of Texas, and the program HOSTS, Helping One Student to Succeed, in the Laredo Independent School District, which help students who are at risk of failing reading and or math by mentoring them with members of the community, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas program. The National Mentoring Month is important, and it serves as a guide to us in our communities to reach out to youth, to show them there is another way, that they should not give into despair, but instead give into the hope of a better future.

Every time you reach out and mentor a child, you provide that child with a positive example of what an adult role model should be. Mentoring can be an invaluable resource for single-parent families, and low-income families, and it helps give the children the ability to succeed in school. There are over 156 mentoring programs in the State of Texas, and over 50 mentoring programs in my district working to give hope to children in urban and rural communities. These are excellent examples of how communities should come together to ensure that children have the best chance to succeed in their lives.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have had this opportunity to honor the value of H.R. 660, which supports the goals and ideals of National Mentoring Month.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the sesquicentennial of Atascosa County, which is a county in the 28th district of Texas and was founded in 1856. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Atascosa's beginnings and we will kick off a year long celebration at the annual Tux and Boots Ball on Saturday, January 28, in Pleasanton,

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Clyde P. Selig, president and CEO of Commercial Metals Steel Group, CMSG. CMSG ships around 2.4 million tons of steel a year, employs over 6,700 people and grosses close to $1.3 billion a year in sales.

Mr. Speaker, Clyde Selig attended Clarkson College of Technology and graduated from the University of Maryland. He also served in the U.S. Army in various command and staff positions in Europe.

Mr. Selig has served in many capacities with SMI-Texas including manager of maintenance and engineering, manager of steelmaking, works manager, vice president of operations and general manager before becoming executive vice president of CMC Steel Group Mills. He was appointed President and COO in February of 1997 and CEO in May of 2002.

A strong believer in community support and involvement, Mr. Selig was one of the founders of the Seguin Boys' Club, and is a former president of the Seguin Chamber of Commerce. He also served as vice president of the City/County Hospital Board, including the Citizens Advisory Juvenile Board. Currently, he serves with the Rotarians.

Mr. Speaker, the 28th district of Texas is proud to have such an outstanding civic leader living in San Antonio.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th birthday of Maria de los Angeles Obregon Pena who was born on the 23rd of December, 1905, in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Maria de los Angeles Obregon Pena moved to Laredo, TX in 1910 with her two brothers and widowed mother. Her father, Gumaro Obregon, was the youngest brother of President Alvaro Obregon and was assassinated for political reasons. While in Laredo, Maria has memories of sitting on the rooftops in Laredo and listening to gun fire just across the border in Nuevo Laredo during the 1910 Revolution.

Maria attended public school until the eighth grade when she was forced to leave to help the family make enough money to sustain itself. Later, on July 10th, 1933, she married Ramiro Santos Pena in Laredo. Together, they had three children, Pauline P. Baclesse of Mexico, MO, Ramiro A. Pena of Holland, TX, and Carlos D. Pena of Clear Lake, TX.

Maria and Ramiro were both active members of the Primera Iglesia Bautista where their children were baptized. Maria credits her outlook on life and her faith in God for her longevity. Laredo is proud to have Maria as a citizen, and is pleased to celebrate her 100th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chance to honor a fine citizen of Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Roy Alonzo Sturges, a deputy in La Salle County which is in the 28th district of Texas, who served bravely in Southern Texas as a Chief Jailor

Mr. Speaker, La Salle County commissioners voted unanimously in November to support the naming of the county detention center in Cotulla, Texas, the Roy Alonzo Sturges Law Enforcement Center, for his efforts to foil an attempted escape by a prisoner.

On April 27, 1973, Mr. Sturges thwarted the attempt by a county prisoner but was injured in the process. Records indicate that Mr. Sturges was struck by the inmate with a wooden board, but the jailor was still able to get a door locked to stop the escape. After Mr. Sturges and his wife, who came to his aid after hearing the scuffle, secured the jail, they drove to the local sheriff's office. On the way, he reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack.

Roy Alonzo Sturges was memorialized in Texas in 1994 as a fallen law enforcement officer. La Salle County is honored to have had such an outstanding gentleman serve the people of the 28th district.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to pay tribute to Roy Alonzo Sturges.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the achievements of Raul Rodriguez who served as Managing Director of the North American Development Bank (NADBank) since October of 2000.

Mr. Speaker, the NADBank, a U.S.-Mexico international institution created under NAFTA and headquartered in San Antonio, works to finance and develop needed environmental infrastructure projects in the border region such as water and wastewater treatment plants.

Under the leadership of Mr. Rodriquez, the North American Development Bank has seen dramatic growth in its portfolio, and in its ability to help communities in the U.S.-Mexico border region improve their quality of life.

Since Mr. Rodriguez took the reigns in 2000, the NADBank has increased the diversity of its programs in order to reach more communities, not only financing water and wastewater projects, but also developing projects in other environmental areas such as water conservation.

Mr. Rodriguez has been instrumental in facilitating a higher level of coordination between the U.S. and Mexico on environmental issues of mutual concern. He is a true friend to the United States and a true advocate of the U.S.-Mexico border region.

Mr. Speaker, San Antonio is proud to have dedicated service from Raul Rodriguez.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the sesquicentennial of Atascosa County, which is a county in the 28th district of Texas and was founded in 1856. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Atascosa's beginnings and we will kick off a year long celebration at the annual Tux and Boots Ball on Saturday, January 28th in Pleasanton,

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the accomplishment of Chris Jones, a

Texas State University senior who was recently sworn in as the newest member of the San Marcos, Texas City Council.

Mr. Speaker, Chris Jones is the first student to be elected to the San Marcos City Council in 33 years. He won the election because of his values, determination and hard work.

Chris Jones was raised in the small West Texas town of Seminole between Lubbock and Midland. He is a graduate of Seminole High School and has completed undergraduate studies in Public Administration at Texas State University.

Councilman Jones ran his campaign on the idea of a better future for San Marcos, one that includes bringing jobs into the city. His service to his community is extensive considering his age. He served as Student Body Vice President at Texas State and currently serves on the Chancellor's Advisory Board. He is an ambassador to the President of the University from the Student Foundation. He also served as President of Black Student Alliance and currently chairs the Student Chapter of the Texas State Alumni Association. On top of all of this, he has interned for Texas Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff and State Representative Patrick Rose. These achievements represent only a portion of his service, contributions that earned him an honor by the Dunbar Heritage Association in 2004 for his service to the community.

Mr. Speaker, Chris Jones is a valuable asset to San Marcos and I am proud to have him in the 28th district of Texas.