Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, for 6 years now, Washington Republicans have done absolutely nothing to help college students better afford college. President Bush promised to increase Pell Grants during his first presidential election in 2000, but has refused to live up to that promise. The maximum Pell Grant has been frozen for 4 straight years, and now only covers 32 percent of tuition costs.

Inaction was not the problem earlier this year when the Republican Congress raided student aid programs. Our Republican colleagues raided $12 billion from college education programs, forcing the Education Department to raise interest rates on college loans to over 8 percent.

Democrats reject these Republican actions. At a time when college students are confronting skyrocketing tuition costs, we think this Congress should be coming up with creative solutions to help college students better afford their education.

Today, we should pass an improved Labor-HHS appropriation bill that restores the massive cuts in college tuition assistance imposed on this Congress and expand the size and availability of Pell Grants.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an ordinary woman, who has led an extraordinary life. Mrs. Bertha Gardner Bynum turned 107 years old on September 15th, and I ask you to join me in celebrating her long and wonderful life.

Bertha Gardner was born on September 15, 1899 in the Privateer area of Clarendon County, South Carolina. She attended St. James and Bracey Schools. However, the State of South Carolina didn't make the educating of young African American children a priority in the early 20th century. Consequently, when they had exhausted what little formal education that was available to them, Bertha and her siblings had to find work as sharecroppers on local farms to help out the family.

Her family eventually moved to nearby Sumter to find a better life, but Bertha dreamed of much more. Bertha left South Carolina and moved to New York, where she did domestic work. She was later blessed with her only child, Elizabeth Gardner Nelson.

Bertha returned to Sumter and on January 20, 1943 she married Simon Bynum. After Simon's death, Bertha led the life of a very independent woman. She lived alone and traveled almost everywhere she went on foot. She became a member of Jehovah Baptist Church, and later transferred to Salem Baptist. There she served as a member of the Usher Board, and is presently recognized as the Mother of Salem Baptist Church. However, declining health has prevented her from attending in recent years.

Blessed with a long life, Mrs. Bynum has struggled through adversity and witnessed extraordinary changes in the world around her. Today she continues to read her bible and shares advice with all that will listen. She is the last survivor of her 13 siblings and lives with her daughter and son-in-law where she is surrounded by the love of five generations of her extended family.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me today in sending best wishes and Godspeed to the matriarch of the Gardner family. She has shown a true devotion to her faith and her family, and is a living legacy. She deserves our deepest respect and admiration.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend Mr. Thompson for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, 5 years after 9/11, we have still failed to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. We have not destroyed al Qaeda. A new Pentagon report shows that the situation in Iraq is worsening, with the number of attacks against Americans and Iraqis climbing to the highest average per week since the war began; 2,700 United States soldiers have died in Iraq, over 20,000 have been wounded; and United States taxpayers have paid more than $300 billion for the Iraq war. Yet we are spending 4 hours debating a partisan resolution about one of the most tragic days in American history.

Mr. Speaker, now is not the time to divide the country. Slogans and partisanship will not bring us victory. ``Stay the course'' and ``you are either with us or against us'' are not military strategies.

Five years after 9/11, we must be clear: The war in Iraq has distracted us from finding Osama bin Laden, dismantling al Qaeda and fighting the war on terrorism. We must put the future of Iraq in the hands of the Iraqis so we can focus on our primary goal, winning the war on terrorism. We must end the stonewalling and pass the 9/11 Commission recommendations.

But the Republican leadership keeps fighting the wrong battles. They announced yesterday a war against Democrats on security.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation is engaged in a war against a real and brutal enemy who finds pleasure in taking innocent life and who works every day to undermine the freedom and democracy we hold dear. I suggest the Republican leadership focus its energy on fighting that enemy, not their fellow Americans.

As this Nation faces the greatest challenge of our generation, defeating terrorism, our leaders must preach strength and unity, not partisanship and divisiveness.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a community leader, university professor, and accomplished scientist, Dr. Gloria Sanders McCutcheon. After a distinguished career spanning over 30 years, Dr. McCutcheon is retiring from Clemson University. Throughout her tenure in academia, she has blazed trails for future generations and has provided steadfast support to her community.

Renowned scientist Dr. George Washington Carver once said, ``When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention ofthe world.'' Dr. McCutcheon has taken this admonition to heart. Born and raised in Denmark, SC, she is a product of its public schools. She is the daughter of Mr. David Sanders, Sr. and the late Mrs. Hattie Mines Sanders, who taught her the value of hard work, a good education, and a close personal relationship with the Almighty. She completed her secondary education at Voorhees High School, and the bachelor and masters degrees at Clemson University, B.S. zoology and M.S. entomology.

With that foundation, Dr. McCutcheon decided to take a different path in her professional life, becoming a pioneer in the field of entomology. In 1987, she received a doctorate from the University of Georgia, becoming the first African American to earn a Ph.D in entomology from that institution. After returning to her native South Carolina, Dr. McCutcheon became an integral part of the Clemson University faculty.

Dr. McCutcheon currently serves as a research scientist and professor emerita in the Department of Entomology, Soils, and Plant Sciences at Clemson University. Her research has contributed greatly to the decrease in pesticide usage in soybean, cotton, and vegetable production. She has published over 75 papers in scientific journals and extension manuals, as well as two book chapters as Encyclopedia Entries.

She is a Kellogg Fellow and has traveled throughout the U.S. and to South America, Central America, Europe and Africa to study and teach environmental entomology. She has been honored with the Award for Faculty Excellence by the Clemson University Board of Trustees in both 2002 and 2004. She has

served as president of the South Carolina Entomological Society and has served on numerous committees with the Entomological Society of America.

Dr. McCutcheon serves as president of Gamma Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. in Charleston, SC. She has participated in several units of United Methodist Women, UMW, and is currently serving as historian for the UMW at Trinity UMC in Orangeburg. She recently completed 12 years as a member of the Board of Trustees at Columbia College and participated in a Roundtable with Policy Makers televised from Washington, DC in 1995, ``Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America.'' Dr. McCutcheon was awarded the Unsung Hero Award for Outreach by the Congressional Black Caucus for her contributions to the community.

Married to Rev. Larry D. McCutcheon, she continues to grow and share in their ministry at Trinity United Methodist Church. They have been blessed with two wonderful adult daughters: Priscilla is a political scientist and Ph.D. graduate student at the University of Georgia; Carmen is an attorney specializing in health policy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating Dr. Gloria McCutcheon upon her retirement from Clemson University and for her extraordinary achievements. She has stayed true to the vision of her parents and her community service, and has commanded great attention by her words and deeds.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I want to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner, Chairman Watt and Ranking Member Conyers for the tremendous work they have done on getting us to this point with this very important piece of legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I want to address this issue of time. Those of us who have read Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, letter from the Birmingham city jail may recall that King dealt with the question of time. In dealing with that question, he said that he had come to the conclusion that the people of ill will in our society make a much better use of time than the people of goodwill. He thought in his writings that we are going to be called to repent in this generation not just for the vitriolic words and deeds of bad people, but for the appalling silence of good people.

This Congress broke its silence on voting rights violations some 41 years ago. Although the 1964 elections triggered the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act was rooted in 10 generations of slavery, from 1619 to 1863, giving you 244 years. That is 10 generations. Then another 102 years of what we call ``creative devices'' that came into being in 1863 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 got rid of.

These creative devices, when I first ran for office, I ran from Charleston County in something called ``full-slate voting.'' It meant that there were 11 positions available and one African American running, in order for any vote for that African American to count, you had to vote against that person 10 times, because for your vote to count, you had to cast 11 votes for that position. That was the law that this act got rid of.

We also had something called ``numbered posts'' that set up racially polarized voting. The Voting Rights Act got rid of that.

We also had at-large voting, rather than voting from districts. The Voting Rights Act got rid of that.

Now, Mr. Chairman, I heard the gentleman earlier talked about what was going on in Georgia. For some strange reason, nobody is talking about what happened in the 41st year of this act when Georgia put in place voting cards in order to vote. You had to have a picture, government-issued identification card.

That is a creative device that ought to be submitted to the Justice Department. Now, it was; and the Justice Department accepted it. But the courts looked at it and said, this is unconstitutional. All of this is made possible by various sections of the Voting Rights Act. It ought to be extended for 25 years. I plead to the Members of this body to do so.

Mr. Speaker, the genesis of the Voting Rights Act lies in that period of American history just after the Civil War when various creative devices were put in place to prevent and dilute the impact of black voters and votes.

The 1965 act did away with many of those devices, many of which were used in my home State, devices such as full-slate voting, where in order for your vote to count, you had to vote for your choice once and against that choice for as many times as there were vacancies on the ballot, numbered posts which set up racially polarized voting, at-large voting which diluted the impact of black votes. All of these creative devices were gotten rid of with the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

But, Mr. Speaker, I used to teach history, and I always told my students that if a thing has happened before, it can happen again. And I do know that if we do not have the protection of the Voting Rights Act, we can see our States revisiting many of those creative devices.

Mr. Speaker, thank you so much for granting me this time.

As chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer my congratulations to Chairman Sensenbrenner, Ranking Member Conyers, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Mr. Watt, and the chair of the Hispanic Caucus Mrs. Napolitano, for the great work and the significant sacrifices they gave in helping us to fashion a Voting Rights Act renewal that we thought was acceptable for the vast majority of the Members of this body.

We are extremely disappointed, however, that the leadership of the House has decided to pull the Voting Rights Act which we had hoped to be considering this afternoon.

It is my understanding, Mr. Speaker, that the Judiciary Committee had 12 or 13 hearings, and everybody in this body had an opportunity to come before that committee to let their views be known. Everybody in the voting public had ample opportunity to present their views and their emotions to the committee.

After all of this, we thought we had an agreement that this legislation would come before this body on suspension. We can understand why it was necessary for the Rules Committee to allow two amendments to be offered. We understand politics, and we do not have a problem with that. We do, however, have a problem with raising expectations among the people of this great State and having those expectations dashed as they were today.

We are hopeful that the leadership will bring this legislation before this body before we go out for the July 4 break. I do not believe there is any better way to celebrate this Nation's birthday, which we do on July 4, than by saying to the American people that the Voting Rights Act, which was created to get rid of creative devices that work to nullify and dilute the impact of minority voting in our great State.

I am proud to represent the State of South Carolina in this body. I used to teach history to students in that State. I used to tell my students all the time that one of the reasons that we study history is so that we can understand the past so that we will know pretty much how to prepare for the future. And one of the things I used to tell them, Mr. Speaker, is that if a thing has happened before, it can happen again. And I am afraid that the creative devices that were developed in the 1890s and early 1900s in this country under what we call the Black Codes, things like numbered posts, things like at-large voting, things like what we call full-slate voting, would be allowed back into our electoral process if we politicize section 5 that grants review. And if we were to turn that section over to a political appointee to make determinations as to whether or not they allow to be required other forms of exceptions, that is exactly what we will do with that law.

So, Mr. Speaker, I come today to thank the bipartisan group of legislators on the Judiciary Committee for fashioning an acceptable compromise to bring to this body. And I also ask the leadership of the Republican Party to please bring this legislation to this body next week and give us an opportunity to say to the American people that we will celebrate our birthday on July 4 with an understanding that everybody, irrespective of status, will have their votes counted and counted effectively.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Democratic Caucus, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 872) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the historic Mount Pisgah Baptist Church in Orangeburg, South Carolina as it celebrates its 153rd anniversary on June 25, 2006. Mount Pisgah has been a beacon in times of joy and sorrow for the Orangeburg community, and I congratulate Reverend D. Edward Chaney and his congregation on this significant milestone in the life of the church.

Mount Pisgah Baptist Church began as a gathering of a small group of Christian slaves in 1863. Two years later, this group broke off from the First Baptist Church in Orangeburg. They called their new church Sunny Side Baptist. By 1868, the congregation had grown to fifty members, and two years later they changed the name to Mount Pisgah Baptist Church. The renamed church began to grow in size and its ministry. By 1877, Mount Pisgah boasted a congregation of 283 members.

The 20th century was momentous in the life of Mount Pisgah. Remarkably from 1901 until 2000, the church had only three pastors. Reverend Nelson Nix presided over the congregation from 1900-1945. During his ministry, the first church building burned in 1902. However, Reverend Nix and the congregation rebuilt the structure that is still in use today.

Reverend John D. Rhodes served as Mount Pisgah's pastor from 1945- 1968, and was followed by Reverend F.G.S. Everett who led the congregation from 1969-2001. During Reverend Everett's distinguished service, Mount Pisgah was listed on the Registry of Historical Places.

Today, Reverend Chaney presides over a dynamic church that is among the oldest in Orangeburg and South Carolina. The church has added a multipurpose education complex, and more property has been acquired for future expansion. Due to the enormous growth in the church, Reverend Chaney has initiated a Million Dollar Capital Campaign for church improvements and new construction.

Mount Pisgah currently has 17 ministries that include an outreach radio broadcast that reaches far beyond Orangeburg County into neighboring Calhoun, Colleton, and Dorchester counties. The church is also renowned for its music ministry that performs inspired Christmas and Easter concerts.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mount Pisgah Baptist Church on its 153rd anniversary. This vibrant church has contributed to the rich history of Orangeburg and South Carolina, and I offer my congratulations and wish Mount Pisgah continued success and Godspeed!

I thank Mr. Murtha for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday I visited the Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina. That medical center is named for a young man who is the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor because just out of high school he went off to fight in Vietnam and he threw himself on a grenade to save the others in the foxhole with him.

I went to the hospital last Saturday to visit one of my heroes, Joseph Henry Washington. Joseph Washington was on the USS Arizona on that fateful day at Pearl Harbor. I went because I wanted to report to Joseph Henry Washington on my recent trip to Iraq because he questioned the wisdom of my going there.

I said to Joe that I was very pleased with what I had found militarily in Iraq. I told him that I thought that our military forces were doing an admirable job, and I thought they were meeting with significant success.

But I said to him, Uncle Joe, I am very, very disappointed in what I have found on the domestic front. We are not going to win the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq until we can give them a police force that believes and is committed to law and order, not one that is 80 percent corrupt.

I said to him that I did not think that we were going to be successful in Iraq until we involved the Iraqi people in the reconstruction efforts. We see $9 billion that we can't account for. We see construction going on up in the northern part of the country. But in Baghdad, in and around that part of the country, we see a failed policy. That is what is causing the problem in Iraq. We must begin to involve the Iraqi people in the reconstruction of their country.

Eighty-five percent of the country is without electricity. Almost 60 percent of the country is without drinking water. We are never going to be successful until we tackle these problems, and that is where we are failing because there is no accountability on the domestic front in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, I go back to Charleston the day after tomorrow because we are going to bury Uncle Joe. He stayed alive long enough for me to make my report to him. And for over 45 years in my consultations with him, he never wanted to talk about his experiences on the USS Arizona or his experiences after returning home. Why? Because he was never sufficiently included in the building of this great Nation. And the people of Iraq are not being sufficiently included in the rebuilding of their country. Until we do that, we will never be successful with this policy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a wonderful educator who has devoted her career to giving our young children a literal head start in life. Mrs. Doretha Adams is retiring after more than 35 years of teaching, and I join with those celebrating her extraordinary career.

Mrs. Adams knew when she attended college in Columbia, SC. that children were going to be an important part of her future. She graduated from Allen University in 1965 with a bachelor of science degree majoring in science and minoring in physical education. She also earned a therapeutic recreation degree from Benedict College along with a child development certification. She continued her education at the University of Georgia and South Carolina State University where she completed a master's degree in early childhood education.

Mrs. Adams's career in education began in 1965 at Central High School in Amherst, VA, where she taught science and physical education. She also found time to coach the Girls Varsity basketball team for 3 years.

However in 1969, she returned to Columbia, SC, and served as a substitute teacher in Richland School District One. As a parent, Mrs. Adams found a new career when she enrolled her first child at Ridgewood Headstart Center in 1972 and became a volunteer and the PTA president. Her enthusiasm for the Headstart program was evident, and the following year she was offered a position as a Headstart teacher with the Midland Community Action Agency, which later became the Midland Human Resource Development Commission. There she flourished in the classroom

as she helped prepare young children for the rigors of school and helped mold their characters.

Throughout her life, Mrs. Adams has had a passion for writing. She is well known for her love of poems, many of which have been published. She also shares her poems with family and friends for funerals, class reunions, and family reunions. Currently she is working on a book about her mother's life, which she hopes to have published.

This love of writing led Mrs. Adams to explore another area of teaching and in 1987 she took over the Richland School District One Writing Lab at Eau Claire High School. For 5 years, she enjoyed sharing her love of writing with students; however, the tug of young children soon pulled her back to her roots in the Headstart program.

In 1992, Mrs. Adams became the center coordinator/teacher at the Lexington Headstart Center. She remained in that capacity until earlier this month when she officially retired after an amazing career in education.

Throughout her career, Doretha Adams has enjoyed the support of her family, husband George N. Adams and their three children. Today she has four grandsons and a great grandson.

She has also been guided through life by her faith. Mrs. Adams has been a member of First Nazareth Baptist Church for more than 50 years and serves on the Senior Missionary Society. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Ladies Auxiliary Club at the VFW Post 4262.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mrs. Doretha Adams for her dedication to and love for education. She has been a wonderful role model and good influence on countless young lives, and I offer her best wishes and God speed upon her retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dedicated employee of the State of South Carolina with whom I have had the extraordinary pleasure of working with as she prepares to retire from public service. Mary Lee Williams has served for more than twenty-five years on the staff of the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission (SHAC).

In 1983, during my tenure as South Carolina Human Affairs Commissioner, I selected Mary as the agency's employee of the year. My comments at the time were ``being a receptionist in any office is difficult, but when that difficulty is compounded by having to serve as a first point of contact to people who feel that they have been unfairly treated in the workplace, the job becomes nearly impossible.'' I commented in my recognition that Mary ``has over the years demonstrated that she has the capacity to do the nearly impossible.'' I know the same is true today.

Mary Williams is a native of Richland County and is a product of its public schools. She joined us at SHAC in 1980, where she continues to serve ably as an Information Specialist. Her demeanor is friendly and helpful, and she always treated those seeking the Commission's help with dignity and respect.

Mary draws her strength of character and her strong work ethic from her faith. She has been a member of Bethehem Baptist Church for fifty- three years. There she lends her talents to singing in the Musical Choir, serving in the Women's Ministry, and teaching Sunday School classes.

She has a beautiful voice and has been a member of Columbia, South Carolina's Capital City Chorale for a number of years. The Chorale has performing on NBC's Today Show and I have had the pleasure of sponsoring them in Washington, DC on two occasions. She also shared her talents as a soloist during a Black History Month program I keynoted at the Dorn Veterans Hospital in Columbia, and has been awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the Veterans Administration for her service.

Mary has also found time to serve her community as a volunteer. She has donated her services to the Meals-On-Wheels program for 17 years. For five years, she served on SHAC's United Way Annual Campaign team, She has been an active member of both the National Association of Human Rights Workers and the South Carolina State Employees Association.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mary Ann Williams on her retirement from the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission. She is a wonderful example of a dedicated public servant who has made a true difference in the lives of others. On a personal note, I thank Mary for her friendship and support over the years. I wish her the best and Godspeed in her future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a wonderful educator who is retiring after 34 years of service to our Nation's children. Ms. Martha R. Roberts, principal of Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary School in Columbia, South Carolina, will officially retire at the end of this school year from the very same school where her career began.

Ms. Roberts is a product of Richland School District Two, having graduated from Dentsville High School in 1967. She didn't stay away long, securing her first teaching position after graduating from Winthrop College (University) at Richland Two's Lonnie B. Nelson as a combined fourth and fifth grade teacher. She excelled as a classroom teacher winning awards as Outstanding Elementary Teacher of America in 1975, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Award for School Mathematics Program in 1978, and Lonnie Bee Teacher of the Year in 1979. That same year, she took a position as the Lead Teacher for Lonnie Bee's Math Lab program that gives extra attention to students who need it.

The administration at Lonnie Bee recognized the talent they had in Ms. Roberts, and in 1983, she was named Assistant Principal. In this role, she coordinated the school's curriculum and utilized her classroom expertise to help guide other teachers. During her time as Assistant Principal, Lonnie ``Bee'' earned the distinction as a National Blue Ribbon School Award recipient.

In 1988, Ms. Roberts left South Carolina to pursue opportunities in the Chicago, Illinois area. She consulted first for Kishwaukee Community College and Shabbona School System. She later became principal of Shabbona Schools that served children from preschool (child development) through the 12th grade.

Yet, Ms. Roberts' heart always remained in South Carolina, and she returned in 1992 to Walterboro (South Carolina) High School. Two years later she returned to Richland School District Two in Columbia to serve as principal of Forest Lake Elementary. During her six years there, the school was a National Blue Ribbon School Award winner.

Ms. Roberts later transferred to become principal of Dent Middle School, the former Dentsville High School from which she had graduated, for one year before she retired in June 2001. Her retirement was short- lived.

Ms. Roberts was pressed back into service in June 2002 to serve as a principal trainer at Killian Elementary School in Richland School District Two. The following year, she consulted with the district on creating a comprehensive and effective school choice program. Then in July 2004, she returned once again to Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary School to serve as principal at the very school where she began her career.

During her busy career, Ms. Roberts found time to complete her Masters in Education at the University of South Carolina, and do postgraduate work at USC, The Citadel and Northern Illinois University. She has also raised her son, Chris, and is now the proud grandmother of Chris and his wife, Stephanie's son, Chandler.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating Martha Roberts for her exemplary commitment to educating young children. She has demonstrated a tremendous talent and love that has helped nurture countless students during her 34-year career. I applaud her dedication to public education, and extend best wishes and Godspeed upon her retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an individual who serves as a great illustration of all the good that is being done in our public school systems. Daryl C. Brown is the principal of Carvers Bay High School located in Hemingway, South Carolina, one of the schools I proudly represent in this body.

Renowned educator and native South Carolinian Mary McLeod Bethune once said, ``Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.'' The continued success of our public schools requires not just a financial investment, but also an investment in the lives our young people. Mr. Brown's work exemplifies Dr. Bethune's mandate. Charged with the challenging task of combining two rival high schools, he so successfully managed the consolidation that the biggest obstacle was selecting the school colors. On the first day of school, he held an assembly where he showed students a newspaper article predicting that the school would not be a success. He forcefully disputed that assertion, saying that Carvers Bay would become a blue ribbon school, a prediction that was met with a rousing ovation from students and staff. Well on its way to that distinction, the school has made impressive gains on test scores, added AP classes, and started an ROTC program considered one of the best in the area.

An innovative leader who is often the first in the district to experiment with new strategies, Mr. Brown created a Freshman Academy to ease the transition from middle school, even designating a separate wing for the program. He also began an initiative to provide breakfast for all of his students, making Carvers Bay one of the few high schools with such a program. Though his students have dubbed him ``Papa Bear'' after the school mascot, the profound transformation he has led at Carvers Bay is no fairy tale.

Mr. Brown's dedication and commitment have not gone unnoticed. The Milken Family Foundation awarded him this year with one of the most prestigious awards in teaching--the Milken Educator Award. Referred to as the ``Oscars of Teaching,'' by Teacher Magazine the Milken Family Foundation's National Educator Award is given each year to approximately 100 of the most outstanding teachers and principals in states across the country. This prestigious recognition, which began in 1987, comes with a cash award of $25,000 for each recipient. These awards pay homage to the importance of quality teachers and to the significance of the teaching profession.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in honoring the enormous public service of Mr. Daryl C. Brown. We also congratulate him on his recognition as a Milken Family Foundation National Educator. Our Nation prospers because of individuals like him.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a truly exemplary student and constituent as she prepares to graduate from C.A. Johnson Preparatory Academy on May 23, 2006. Not only is Katherine Rose Myers valedictorian of her high school, she is a student leader among leaders and an outstanding example for all young people.

Katherine is the daughter of Kenneth Myers, Sr. and Emma McGraw Myers of Columbia, South Carolina. She has grown up in the same home where her mother was raised. However, she made a different choice than her mother regarding her high school education. Katherine's mother helped integrate a nearby high school during the early days of desegregation. Although Katherine could have chosen to attend any high school in her school district, she chose to go to C.A. Johnson, the neighborhood school. She felt very strongly about her choice, telling the local newspaper ``It's my community and it's a nurturing environment.''

It is certainly an environment in which Katherine thrived. Academically, she earned a 4.93 grade point average and has been recognized as a National Achievement Finalist, Palmetto Fellow Scholar and an Academic All-Star. Outside the classroom, Katherine has been a student leader as well. Her peers elected her to serve as Student Body President, and she is on the leadership team of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She is a varsity member of the Lady Hornets Basketball team and the track team. During the summer of 2005, Katherine was chosen to attend the prestigious Palmetto Girls State where she was chosen by her peers to serve as Governor. To honor this significant accomplishment Columbia City Council proclaimed October 5, 2005 Katherine Myers Day and awarded her the key to the city.

Despite all of these accomplishments, Katherine still finds the time to contribute to her community. She is the former state vice president of the L.M. Atkinson Federated Youth Club Ladies of Essence and a Senior Cadette in the Girl Scouts Council of the Congaree Area. She also sings in the W.H. Neal Youth Choir at First Nazareth Baptist Church in Columbia.

This fall, Katherine will attend Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina as the recipient of the Herman W. Lay Scholarship, and will study political science. Prior to beginning her college experience, Katherine has already been selected to be one of ten Furman incoming freshmen to study in China for three weeks in July.

Mr. Speaker, I invite you and my colleagues to join me in commending Katherine Rose Myers as a leader of tomorrow. She has demonstrated that she will be a young person to watch in the coming years, and I will certainly be following her progress.