Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4360. H.R. 4360 designates a facility at the United States Forest Service Grandfather Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina the Jason Crisp Forest Service Building after United States Forest Service Officer Jason Crisp.

Officer Crisp and his canine, Maros, were tragically killed in the line of duty on March 12 in Burke County, North Carolina. Officer Crisp was off duty, but nonetheless assisted local authorities in the manhunt for a murder suspect on the loose.

This selflessness is demonstrative of Officer Crisp's commitment to the safety and security of his community, a commitment shared by our many dedicated Forest Service officers.

Designating this building the Jason Crisp Forest Service Building is our way of thanking and honoring Officer Crisp and his family--his wife, sons, parents, sister, and brothers--for his 16 years of service to the United States Forest Service.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4360.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Representative Marcia Fudge, for yielding time to me on this important resolution. I also want to commend her for her leadership on this initiative to pay appropriate commemoration to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Prior to my first election to the House of Representatives, I served in the State government of my native State, South Carolina, in an office charged with administering this landmark legislative achievement.

We, in South Carolina, effectively used provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to enforce fair employment practices. That instrument has had tremendously positive impact on the working men and women of my State and across the country.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, along with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fair Housing Law of 1968, and other initiatives embody the ideals upon which this Nation was founded.

I had the opportunity to expound on this notion at some length when I spoke in Dayton, Ohio, in 1985 as president of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies. At that time I spoke these words:

We are an experimental Nation toying with the idea of

individual rights as opposed to collective control and

tyranny. So far, the experiment has worked, no doubt to the

surprise of many who witnessed its birth over 200 years ago.

It is interesting to speculate why not only has the Nation

survived, but also its ideals and principals. Let me hazard a

few guesses as to why America and its ideals have worked over

all these years. First of all, I do not believe America is

perfect. Neither did the Founding Fathers of the Nation. No

sooner had our Constitution been written than the first ten

amendments were presented and adopted. They were called the

Bill of Rights, and we can all be thankful that they were

included in the package.

I continued on that day:

Americans have never tried to conceal or ignore their

imperfections. For the most part, they have tried to

recognize and correct them. When the enslavement of a race of

people created a conflict which threatened the very

foundation of our Constitution, the Nation went to war with

itself to resolve the conflict and ensure the integrity and

sovereignty of the Constitution. And, a century later, when

it was found that discrimination still prevented millions of

Americans from participating as full-fledged citizens, our

Nation moved to correct the flaw with wide-ranging civil

rights legislation.

This bill that we commemorate today was one of them:

Now, while it is common to say that no nation in the

history of the world has granted more individual freedom, it

is just as valid to say that no nation has ever tried harder

to correct the flaws and impediments in its system. We are

still imperfect, and we are still trying to live up to the

principles to which the Constitution has committed us. The

important message is that this Nation has never stopped

trying, and we would do well not to stop now.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, too many in this country hold the view that the flaws in the system are not worth fixing or no longer need attention. Too often, the view is advanced that the civil rights movement and all of its achievements are things of the past.

I strongly disagree with that view. The work of securing a more perfect Union is never completed. The struggle continues.

I want to thank Chair Fudge for her leadership on this resolution to commemorate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the rotunda of the Capitol.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of a colleague and friend, Butler Derrick, who passed away earlier this month. I had the privilege of serving with Butler during my first term, which was his last.

Although our service together in this body lasted only 2 years, I had the pleasure of working with him in the years before and the years since. I am honored to say he was a friend, and I know I am not alone in saying that he will be missed.

Butler Carson Derrick, Jr., was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1936. His family soon returned to South Carolina, and he grew up in Florence. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and his law degree from the University of Georgia.

He took up the mantle of leadership at an early age, serving as president of the student body at the University of South Carolina and was a legal student leader at Georgia.

After law school, he settled in Edgefield, South Carolina, where he started his own law firm, Derrick and Byrd. Just 3 years out of law school, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, where he served on the Rules and Ways and Means Committees and as a member of the South Carolina Nuclear Advisory Board. It was during these years that our paths first crossed, while I was serving on the staff of Governor John C. West, and we became fast friends.

In 1974, Butler was elected to this body from the Third Congressional District of South Carolina. He quickly distinguished himself among his large freshman class, becoming the first freshman ever appointed to the Budget Committee, on which he served for 10 years in the House, as well as chairing the Task Force on Budget Process for an additional 2 years.

At the start of his third term, Butler was appointed to the Rules Committee, on which he would serve for the remainder of his tenure in Congress, serving as vice chair from 1989 to 1995.

Butler had a way of bringing people together. The Democratic Caucus in those days was very ideologically diverse, from dyed-in-the-wool Northern liberals to old guard Southern conservatives. Born in Massachusetts and raised in South Carolina, Butler was uniquely able to bridge these divides. In 1986, he was elected to serve as a regional representative to the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.

In 1992, his ascent in the leadership continued when he was named chief deputy whip, the first time that a South Carolinian had been named to a top leadership post in 130 years. I owe him a debt of gratitude for paving the way for other South Carolinians to follow in his footsteps.

While Butler's service in leadership gave him a role in all the issues affecting the Nation, his focus never left the Third Congressional District. He was a tireless advocate for the textile industry, serving as chair of the Congressional Textile Caucus from 1987 to 1994.

With his district containing the Savannah River Site and Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant, he struck a balance between promoting the economic benefits of the industry and ensuring the health and safety of his constituents. Finding the right balance wasn't always easy, but Butler navigated the issue as he did all issues, with a keen intellect and fierce advocacy.

Butler Derrick was a man who did what he thought was right and let the political chips fall as they may. Scott A. Frisch and Sean Q. Kelly, in their book, ``Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars,'' singled Butler out for a special commendation in this regard when it came to fiscal responsibility and environmental protection. It is worth quoting them at some length:

Butler's support of the administration's position might be

considered surprising. Included in the hit list was the

Richard B. Russell lake project which spanned Georgia and

South Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, Butler's service to South Carolina continued beyond his years in Congress. I close by concurring with the late Speaker Tom Foley, who said, upon Butler's retirement, ``Butler Derrick is a true leader.''

While I miss my friend Butler, I am comforted by the fact that he lived a rich and full life, and he will live on through the impact he made in the lives of those he served. He is a model that we will all do well to emulate.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlelady for yielding me this time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the Republican budget and in support of the alternative put forth by the Congressional Black Caucus.

Put simply, the Republican budget is bad for seniors, bad for young people, and bad for America's economic future. It may be a path to prosperity for the investor class in our society, but it is a path to permanent struggle for America's working families.

The Republican budget is a disaster for our senior citizens. It brings back the doughnut hole for Medicare prescription drugs. We eliminated the doughnut hole with the Affordable Care Act, but this Republican budget brings it back.

The Republican budget ends the Medicare guarantee of earned benefits and replaces it with a risky voucher scheme. American workers deserve the guarantee of earned benefits. This Republican budget slashes $732 billion from Medicaid. Mr. Chairman, two-thirds of Medicaid's funds serve seniors and disabled Americans.

The Republican budget is a disaster for our children and young people. It guts Head Start and cuts school lunches and Pell grants.

This budget repeals the Affordable Care Act provision that allows young people to stay on their parents' health plans until their 26th birthday. It allows discrimination against people with preexisting conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and asthma.

This Republican budget rigs the system so that only the children of the well-off and well-connected can get ahead, while the children of the less well-off are consigned to a life of permanent struggle.

This budget rejects the one measure that could immediately unleash more economic activity and grow our economy: comprehensive immigration reform.

In contrast, the CBC budget continues our long history of fiscal soundness and moral responsibility. We

make tough choices to secure our financial future, but we do not believe that the most vulnerable in our Nation should be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.

The CBC budget focuses on eradicating poverty in America through robust investments in education, infrastructure, affordable housing, manufacturing, and small business development. Our budget targets funds to needy communities.

It contains our 10-20-30 initiative, requiring that at least 10 percent of Federal funds in certain accounts are directed to areas that have had a poverty rate of 20 percent or more for the last 30 years.

Mr. Chairman, our budgets should reflect our Nation's values and establish what kind of future we want for our citizens. It is fundamentally unfair that 69 percent of the cuts in the Republican budget come from services to low-income and hardworking Americans.

We can do better. We must do better. The CBC budget is better. We should support it and reject the Republican budget.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a loyal South Carolinian who has dedicated his life to public service.

Billy D. Williams is turning 75 on April 18 and will be celebrating with his wife, Anita Frazier, friends and family on April 5 at Savannah Grove Church.

Mr. Williams was born in Florence, South Carolina where he was the youngest of seven children. He graduated from Wilson High School and attended the Fashion Institute and Design. He is also a graduate of the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government.

As an African American growing up in the deep South just as integration was beginning to take hold, Billy made a commendable choice to take a life of public service in order to better the lives of his neighbors and the communities he has known all of his life.

In 1988, Billy was elected to the Florence City Council, where he served for 23 years. During that tenure, he also served as Mayor Pro Tem. During his time as an elected official, he served in several local, state and national capacities. He was one of the founders of the South Carolina Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials and served as its President for several years. He was a board member of the National League of Cities and the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO), and as a member of the Advisory Board of the National League of Cities.

During his tenure on the Florence City Council, Billy fought for and spearheaded reforms for better housing, improvements in education and access to affordable, quality health care for the citizens of Florence. His accomplishments included the construction of the Cambridge Apartments and Coit Village Apartments, an affordable housing subdivision in Williams Heights, 15 affordable houses in North Florence and several ``Habitat for Humanity'' houses in West Florence.

Billy also served as President of the Wilson High School PTA and was a member of the Wilson High School Alumni Association. He also organized the Latch Key Kids Program of America which is a partnership between Florence School District One and the National League of Cities.

Billy is a member of various social and civic organizations in South Carolina including the NAACP, Hiram Lodge #13 Prince Hall Masons, Pee Dee Consistory and Crescent Temple. He also served as a board member of the Pee Dee Transitional Shelter. He is currently the Vice President of the Pee Dee Healthy Start Board.

Most recently, Billy received the Palmetto Award and the National Service to Youth Award from the Boys and Girls Club of America for his 15 years of devoted service.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating Billy D. Williams on his 75th birthday and decades of dedicated and productive service to human kind. His commitment to his community is exemplary, and his contributions are incalculable. I wish him all the best and many more years of service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Benedict College Harambee Festival, in Columbia, South Carolina, in my Congressional District. One of the largest college-sponsored festivals in the nation, the Benedict College Harambee Festival will celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary on February 22nd. As we observe Black History Month, I believe it is important to highlight this special event for its expression of multiculturalism, inclusion and advocacy of African American Southern history and culture.

In 1988 Benedict College led by Dr. George A. Devlin, Chair of the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, revived its efforts to create a series of events to celebrate and study Black History Month. Originally called the African American Bazaar, the free event was designed to unite the community. The Harambee Festival weathered much adversity in its first few years. Initial attempts in 1989 were ``snowed out.'' Extreme cold and rain in 1991, and again in 1992 greatly affected Festival attendance records.

Organizers have likened lessons of African American history to the Harambee Festival because it teaches that after struggle, success is possible. The Festival has prospered and is today one of the biggest college-sponsored festivals in the United States of America with an average attendance of over 6,000 people. A success story of Benedict College, the Harambee Festival now includes a bake contest, fashion show and a number of live performances alongside historical presentations, as well as community-oriented service activities.

Since 2010, the Harambee Festival Community Choir has performed annually at the Festival, preserving the rich musical tradition of gospel music. The Choir is composed of members of the Benedict College Gospel Choir as well as great singers from choirs in the Midlands, the Pee Dee, and other regions of South Carolina. A number of performers have showcased their talents over the Harambee Festival's twenty-five year history, including national recording star Ms. Angie Stone, Mr. Dwayne Johnson, Jr. from Soul-food Jazz and (former) world champions Double Dutch Forces.

Since its inception, the Harambee Festival has been inclusive in its efforts to bring the community together. A testament of its success, the Harambee Festival sees people and

organizations coming back again and again, year after year. The hard work and dedication of Benedict College and all participating organizations, exhibitors and vendors continues to sustain a long- lasting legacy of commemoration and celebration of Black History Month through the Harambee Festival.

An integral annual event, the Harambee Festival unifies the community and provides an opportunity not only to celebrate but also contribute to a wealth of African American history in our Nation. I sincerely thank the Benedict College Harambee Festival for its commitment to remembering the past while looking to South Carolina's future.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in paying tribute to all who have contributed to the success of the Benedict College Harambee Festival over the past twenty-five years. It has been a great asset to South Carolina and the broader African American community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Brigadier General Calvin H. Elam on the occasion of his retirement from the South Carolina Air National Guard. The first African American general officer of the South Carolina Air National Guard, General Elam currently serves as the Assistant Adjutant General for Air of the South Carolina National Guard at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover, South Carolina.

General Elam's retirement marks the end of 25 years of service in the Air National Guard. Commissioned in December 1988 when he graduated from the Air National Guard's Academy of Military Science, he has served in numerous capacities, including as Commander and Deputy Commander of the 169th Mission Support Group, Commander of the 169th Maintenance Squadron, and Chief of Supply of the 169th Logistics Readiness Squadron. Prior to his commissioning, he spent six years on active duty; culminating in his service as a Contracting Specialist. He is highly decorated, having earned, among several other awards and commendations, the Legion of Merit and Meritorious Service Medal.

A native of Greenwood, South Carolina, General Elam is a graduate of the University of South Carolina's Darla Moore School of Business, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Marketing. Now residing in Irmo with his wife, Mary, and their three children, General Elam is a pillar of the community. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Elam Financial Group, conducting retirement planning, wealth management, and life and estate planning. He also serves on the Claflin University Board of Trustees and is Chairman of the Board's Budget and Finance Committee.

While General Elam's military service is coming to an end, I have no doubt that his service in other spheres will continue apace.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating General Elam on this milestone and wishing him well in his much- deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, when President Lyndon Johnson declared a war on poverty in his 1964 State of the Union address, the poverty rate in this, the richest country on Earth, was 19 percent. His Great Society legislation, a continuation of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and President Harry Truman's Fair Deal, launch a plethora of programs and priorities to serve and protect the neediest and the most vulnerable among us.

At the time, President Johnson cautioned that the war on poverty would be long and difficult. But by 1973, only 9 years later, the poverty rate had been brought down to 11 percent. We were definitely winning the war on poverty. Unfortunately, many politicians found success, creating myths about the poor and inventing phantoms like the so-called ``welfare queen.'' They popularized a narrative that the war on poverty was not worth fighting, but nothing could be further from the truth.

For example, Medicare and Medicaid, both war on poverty initiatives, have made a tremendous difference in the health and security of older Americans and all Americans of modest means. These two very successful anti-poverty programs, when they were initiated, the poverty rate among seniors was over 30 percent. Today, the poverty rate among seniors is under 10 percent. By what measure can one conclude that these two programs are failures?

In addition to Medicare and Medicaid, President Johnson signed into law the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. This law launched VISTA-- Volunteers in Service to America--Head Start, TRIO, and a slew of other very successful community-action programs. TRIO did not fail. In fact, many Members of this body on both sides of the aisle would not be here today were it not for Upward Bound, Talent Search, and the Special Students Concerns programs.

Lest we forget, about 6 months after President Johnson launched the war on poverty, Congress responded to his call and passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a year later the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. These two vital laws created educational and employment opportunities for women and minorities that allowed many of us to fulfill our dreams and aspirations. In the communities many of us grew up in, many Americans were able to vote for the first time in their lives. There is no better way to wage a war on poverty than their freedom to choose and unfettered access to the franchise.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose 85th birthday we celebrate today, once famously said:

Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is

the most shocking and inhumane.

The record is pretty clear that, in recent years, the number one cause of bankruptcies to American families has been health care expenses. That is why I often call the Affordable Care Act, the civil rights act of the 21st century.

This groundbreaking new law is already having a positive difference. It is giving all American families the security of quality, affordable health care. We still have much work to do. Persistent poverty continues to be a serious challenge, and we in the Congressional Black Caucus are serious about meeting that challenge. Our 10-20-30 initiative targets communities of need for effective economic development through infrastructure investments that create jobs and lay foundations for long-term economic growth. The 10-20-30 approach, which this body authorized in the rural development section of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, proved highly successful.

This effective poverty-fighter should be expanded to other sections of the budget as we continue the long, and often torturous, search of a more perfect Union.

Mr. Speaker, in 1964, when President Johnson declared war on poverty, this, the richest Nation in the world, had a poverty rate of 19 percent. By 1973, 9 years later, that rate had been brought down to 11 percent. We were definitely winning the war on poverty.

Unfortunately, too many politicians found success running down the achievements of the war on poverty. Scapegoating ``welfare queens'' furthered a narrative that the war on poverty was not worth fighting. But nothing could be further from the truth.

For example, Medicare and Medicaid, two poverty programs, made a difference, a tremendous difference, in the health security of older Americans. These two antipoverty programs have reduced the poverty rate of our senior citizens from over 30 percent to less than 10 percent.

The Congressional Black Caucus' 10-20-30 initiative targets communities of need with effective infrastructure investments. This proven approach was pioneered in the Recovery Act of 2009. Expanding this effective poverty fighter should be our next step in the long march of the war on poverty.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, when President Johnson stood in this Chamber 50 years ago and declared war on poverty, the richest country in the world had a poverty rate of 19 percent. President Johnson cautioned us on that evening that the war on poverty would be a long one and not an easy one. Yet, 9 years later, in 1973, the poverty rate in this country had dropped to 11 percent. We were most definitely winning the war on poverty.

Unfortunately, after its initial success, many politicians found success running down the achievements the war on poverty had on many Americans. Politicians scapegoating so-calling ``welfare queens'' furthered a narrative that the war on poverty was not worth fighting. Yet, I can show you firsthand examples in my home State of South Carolina where the war on poverty did, in fact, succeed.

For example, Medicare and Medicaid, both war on poverty initiatives, have made a tremendous difference in the health security of older Americans and those of modest means. In fact, at the time of the institution of Medicare, the poverty rate among seniors was over 30 percent. Today, the poverty rate among seniors has dropped to beneath 10 percent.

It is important to remember that, a year after President Johnson made that speech, we passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That, to me, was to empower poor people, to empower people of color to go to the polls, to get registered and to vote to make their own statements as to how to fight the war on poverty.

Today, we in the Congressional Black Caucus have been calling for our government to do across the board what we did in our so-called ``stimulus bill,'' and that is to institute a 10-20-30 initiative to direct funds to targeted areas so that 10 percent of all of this money can go into those communities where 20 percent or more of the population have been locked beneath the poverty level for the last 30 years. If we were to begin to target these persistent poverty counties, we would, in fact, eliminate poverty, and we would see all of our people who are living in poverty get beneath the 10 percent that we think will be tolerable over the next 10 years.

Mr. Speaker, let me thank my friend, Mr. Van Hollen, for yielding me this time. I want to thank him and Mrs. Nita Lowey for the tremendous work they did in keeping this effort moving forward in a very positive way.

I also want to thank Chairman Ryan for the great work he has done on this and the manner in which he got his work done.

We don't talk a lot on this side of the Capitol about the other side, but I also want to thank Senator Patty Murray for all of her work. I had the great privilege of working with her on the supercommittee and we didn't get much done. I was on the so-called ``Biden Group'' along with Mr. Van Hollen, and we didn't get anything done. But I am pleased at this time of year to say that the third time seems to be the charm.

This is not the product that I would have written if I were writing it, and I am sure that it is not the product that any of my Democratic colleagues would write. I am always concerned by the ``meat ax'' approach to dealing with the budget. This effort takes that away and allows us to approach spending in a way that is much more conducive to running the government. We

didn't get everything, and nobody gets everything they want in trying to reach common ground.

It is important for me to note at this time some things that were taken off the table. There are no cuts to Social Security, there are no benefit cuts to those receiving Medicare or Medicaid, there is no targeting of Federal employees for additional cuts, and the relief from the sequester in both defense and essential services is very real and significant.

It is also important to note what this bill does not do. I am very concerned about the fact that we were not able to make unemployment insurance a part of this effort.

And I am hopeful when we get back here after the first of the year that we will move and do as we have done in the past, pass unemployment insurance, make it retroactive to January 1 so those people who find themselves unemployed through no fault of their own can find some relief going into the next holiday season. Hopefully, we will do something on the minimum wage. These are things that I think we need to do coming back after the first of the year.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Thank you very much. You are very kind.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember and pay tribute to Mr. Andrew J. Lewis, a pillar of the Columbia, South Carolina community. As an elementary school teacher, assistant principal, and principal, Mr. Lewis touched the lives of countless students over many decades.

Mr. Andrew Jackson Lewis was born on June 2, 1917 in Sumter County, South Carolina, the oldest of eleven children of Sam and Rosa Lewis, Sr. He married Margaret Pearson Lewis on Valentine's Day 1942; they remained married until her death this past April. He leaves behind a daughter, Andrea Lewis Jones, two grandchildren, and three great- grandchildren.

Educated in Sumter County Public Schools, Mr. Lewis was valedictorian of his class at Lincoln High School. He graduated cum laude from Benedict College with a degree in mathematics. At Benedict, he was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, which means I am proud to call him a brother. He went on to receive a Master of Science degree from my alma mater, South Carolina State University. He also served honorably in the U.S. Army Air Forces, earning the rank of Technical Sergeant.

Mr. Lewis's professional career began at Celia Saxon Elementary School in 1946. He later became Assistant Principal at W.A. Perry Middle School and then Principal at Greenview Elementary School, a position he held for 16 years until his retirement in 1982. My three daughters attended Greenview Elementary School, and I saw firsthand the positive impact he had on them and all of the students under his charge. He was held in such high regard at Greenview that after his retirement, the school was renamed the A.J. Lewis Greenview Elementary School.

A devoted member of Chappelle Memorial AME Church, Mr. Lewis served on the Steward Board under three different pastors, worked diligently on the Budget and Finance Committee, and chaired the Men's Day programs for ten years. With this level of dedication, Mr. Lewis was given the well-deserved honor of ``Man of the Year'' by the church in 1985.

Mr. Lewis was widely involved in the broader Columbia community as well. He was a member of the Capital City Lodge #47 (Price Hall F&A Masons), the Columbia Transportation and Advisory Committee, the Columbia Municipal Elections Committee, and the Richland County and South Carolina Retired Educators Associations. He served as chaplain of the Benedict Columbia Alumni #2 Club, president and vice president of the Columbia Luncheon Club, president of the United Martin Family of South Carolina, as vice president of the Shandon Neighborhood Council, and as a member of the committee that renamed Valley Park the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park.

In recognition of this impressive record of service to the community, Mr. Lewis received the O.P. Taylor Humanitarian Award and the Living the Legacy Award as an outstanding educator from the National Council of Negro Women. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in remembering this distinguished educator and community leader. Mr. Lewis will be sorely missed, but his contributions will live on in perpetuity.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an innovative program taking place to incentivize students at a Jasper County, South Carolina middle school. Hardeeville-Ridgeland Middle School is in a rural, persistent poverty county where more than 20 percent of its population has lived below the poverty line for the last 30 years. Eighty-eight percent of the students who attend Hardeeville-Ridgeland Middle School qualify for free or reduced lunch. Yet the Jasper County School Superintendent Vashti Washington is working hard to encourage students in this school to focus on their academics raise their self esteem and dream of better of futures.

I am pleased the James E. Clyburn Research and Scholarship Foundation is underwriting the cost of Dr. Washington's program to provide school letters and pins to students at Hardeeville-Ridgeland Middle who meet certain criteria established by the school. Students will be awarded letters and pins for certain levels of achievements in the classroom, on PASS tests, and several other extracurricular activities, just as many schools do for athletics. These letters and pins are intended to set up healthy competition among students and to recognize and incentivize their achievements and performances.

I want to highlight four of the students who have demonstrated the drive and dedication needed to earn this recognition. All four of these students have received ``exemplary'' in at least four areas of PASS testing, which assesses the knowledge of students in the core academic areas of writing, English, math, science, and social studies.

Amber Crosby is an eighth grader who scored exemplary in all five areas of the PASS test. She is an award-winning artist who attended a Visual Arts Summer Academy, and she is also working on her first novel. She is on the principal's honor roll and attributes much of her success to the values instilled in her by her parents who taught her the importance of her diverse heritage, which includes Polish, Russian, Irish, British and Native American descendants. Amber aspires to be an artist or work in veterinary medicine.

Lorena Escobar is an eighth grader from Hardeeville who takes her academics very seriously. An honor roll student, she is currently enrolled in Algebra I Honors, English I Honors and Spanish I. She enjoys drawing and music, and spending time with her parents and her younger sister. Lorena is passionate about eliminating bullying.

Kaleb Frazier is a seventh grade honors student. His favorite subjects are writing and math. He is also very athletic and plays linebacker for the school football team. In his spare time he writes rap music and spends time with his family. Kaleb hopes one day to be an attorney or a computer engineer.

Cynthia Simental-Parra is a seventh grade student from Hardeeville. She loves math and history and describes herself as ``artsy.'' She enjoys singing, drawing and sewing, and is a member of band and chorus. She is also active in track and soccer. Cynthia would like to become a singer, but if that doesn't work out she would consider running for President of the United States.

These are just four of the outstanding students that will be recognized with a school letter from Hardeeville-Ridgeland Middle. It is my sincere hope that they will continue to be wonderful examples to their classmates and that they encourage others to earn their letters as well.

Mr. Speaker, I offer my great appreciation to Superintendent Washington for implementing this visionary program at Hardeeville- Ridgeland Middle School. It is my hope that through such positive reinforcement these and other students will work hard and attain their dreams.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a tremendous leader in South Carolina's capital city as he prepares to step down as president and CEO of the Greater Columbia Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Donald G. ``Ike'' McLeese has led the Columbia Chamber for 19 years, and has done a remarkable job encouraging cooperation among business, civic, and governmental leaders. His service is greatly appreciated and will be sorely missed.

Ike McLeese is a native of Anderson, South Carolina and earned an associate's degree from Anderson University in 1964 and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of South Carolina in 1967.

He began his career in the political arena working on the staff of the venerable U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings. I got to know Ike when we were both young men working for South Carolina Governor John West in the early 1970s. He was the governor's Commissioner of Narcotics and Controlled Substances, and was one of the youngest commissioners in the State's history, and I was the first African American to serve as an aide to a sitting South Carolina governor. We were idealists hoping to make our mark on the world, and I am pleased to say that Ike did just that.

As a government insider, his knowledge was in demand. After the West administration ended he served as vice president for Marketing and Government Relations for the architectural and engineering firm LBC&W. Ike then worked for two Columbia public relations firms: Cook & Ruef, Inc. and Newman Saylor & Gregory, and ran political campaigns locally and around the country.

In September 1994, he was tapped to lead the Greater Columbia Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. At the time, the chamber was $3.2 million in debt. He turned the organization around and made it a vital part of the capital city's power structure.

Ike played a key role in protecting Fort Jackson, McEntire Air National Guard Base and Shaw Air Force Base from the base realignment taking place in Congress, and instead helped those bases grow as other military installations were closing. He cites those

successes as his proudest professional accomplishments.

He has shared his expertise as a lecturer at the University of South Carolina's College of Journalism and Mass Communications and at the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government at Clemson University. He is also a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, from two different governors, which is the highest civilian honor that can be awarded by the State of South Carolina.

Ike is married to the lovely Sue Smith Curran. They have a blended family of five children and four grandchildren. Having spent his entire career in Columbia, he is also a diehard Southeastern Conference (SEC) sports fan.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in recognizing the extraordinary contributions of Ike McLeese. I, like so many others in the greater Columbia, South Carolina area, are proud to call him a friend. He has dedicated his career to serving this community and our state's capital is a much better place because of his service. I wish him well as he steps down from the chamber's helm, but know that his pride and passion of and for South Carolina and Columbia will allow him to continue being a powerful force in Columbia.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak on this bill because I have worked very hard over the years helping to put together various farm bills, and this is one that I felt very, very good about from the outset. I even felt okay when the bill came back from the Senate. Although I had some issues with the Senate version, I thought that what we were doing made some sense.

But we have reached a point with this bill--$40 billion in cuts to the food stamp program--that will not only impact negatively those people who would receive those stamps in fighting off poverty or hunger, but it would do tremendous harm to various community outlets-- stores, family-owned markets--where so much of the income of small businesses depend upon this program and what it will do to help further the economy in various communities.

I am also very concerned that in this legislation, we treat the recipients of food stamps as if they are responsible for what may or may not have taken place with respect to drug addiction to children or to siblings. I think there is something erroneous about drug testing in order to receive food stamps. I

think that if you are going to have drug testing to get Federal assistance, then we ought to test all those people who get farm subsidies and see whether or not they are deserving of such assistance from the Federal Government.

Then I saw some reference as to whether or not people who may have been convicted of a felony, what it would do to their qualifications, as well as their family qualifications. At one instance--I hope this is out of the bill--we talked about barring for life a person who may be convicted of a felony. That is not the kind of treatment our society ought to be visiting upon anybody who may or may not have made a mistake early on in their lives.

So, Mr. Speaker, I do believe that there is much in this farm bill that ought to be supported, but I really believe these extraneous things ought to be taken out of this bill. We can't do it now, but I would hope when it gets to conference that those cooler heads will prevail, and we will have a compassionate piece of legislation that all of us can support.

Parliamentary Inquiry