Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Sunset Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in West Columbia, SC. This small business has become a living legend of fine food and a valued social center for the Midlands of South Carolina.

The stalwarts of this spirited enterprise are the owner Betty Jackson and the manager Gladys Crews, who since opening day have enthusiastically welcomed and served the public with quality country cooking including the specialty of catfish stew. At breakfast and lunchtime the 250 seats of the restaurant are filled with a cross- section of citizens ranging from U.S. District Judges to work crews on their way to the building site.

Well-known as a people's place, political candidates of all parties have made a sausage biscuit breakfast or an open-seated luncheon a ``must stop.'' In June 1999, Texas Governor George W. Bush launched his successful effort to carry the South Carolina primary at the Sunset and in November 2002 the Sunset hosted the final public reception for U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and Gov. Mark Sanford. Other memorable events for South Carolina officials with some broadcast live by television and radio, were held for Congressman Ed Young, Congressman Floyd Spence, Lt. Governor Bob Peeler, Attorney General Charlie Condon, Gov. Jim Edwards, Gov. Carroll Campbell, and Gov. David Beasley.

The Sunset Restaurant is a testimonial to the significance of small business as the backbone and foundation of the American free enterprise system built upon the philosophy of hard work and high integrity, promoted by limited government.

Madam Speaker, the Department of Defense has designated April as the Month of the Military Child.

Today, thousands of fathers and mothers are halfway around the world from their children making tremendous sacrifices to defend freedom and liberty. Some sons and daughters will see their parent come home wounded and, in some cases, the military parent will not return at all.

Military families make enormous sacrifices on a daily basis so that our soldiers have the support they need. It is up to Americans and communities throughout our great Nation to support these families, even by simple food, clothes and toy donations for the children.

I urge all Americans to reach out to military families in their communities by contacting their local military base, National Guard and Reserve armory, and public affairs offices to find out how they can best help.

In conclusion, God bless our troops.

Mr. Speaker, no one has been more civically active in the Midlands of South Carolina than Charlie Cole, who was recently honored as the 2003 Ambassador of the Year by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

Charlie Cole, who is the Regional President of Wachovia Bank, is passionate about business and community development. Charlie serves as chairman, on the board, or as a member of over a dozen community organizations.

Not content to just have his name on these committees, Charlie has taken an active leadership role, as he helped raise half a million dollars for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation over the past year.

Charlie is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserves, and a dedicated elder at Eastminster Presbyterian Church. His acts of generosity and kindness have

endeared him to his neighbors, and Charlie Cole stands as a wonderful role model of community involvement.

In conclusion, God bless our troops.

Mr. Speaker, we live in extraordinary times. Never in history has the public been able to experience a war so vividly, watching battles unfold on their television screens as the heroes of our military secure freedom and liberty for the people of Iraq and rid the world of the threat of Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction.

As these battlefield images can fill us with anxiety, it is now more important than ever to take time to pray for God's protection over our valiant soldiers and that he would grant wisdom, guidance, and strength to our Commander in Chief, President George W. Bush, and his team.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the proposal of the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin), House Resolution 153, to designate a national day of prayer and fasting. As it is written in the book of Psalms: ``God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.''

May God bless our troops and may God continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

It is a great honor for me to be the author of this particular bill to name the postal facility of the city of Lexington, which is located in the Red Bank community, which is the central part of Lexington County. It is very appropriate, and I want to thank my colleagues, the balance of the South Carolina delegation, Mr. Brown, Mr.

DeMint, Mr. Barrett, Mr. Spratt and Mr. Clyburn, for joining with me as cosponsors of this bill.

It is very appropriate that the Lexington Post Office be named in honor of Congressman Floyd Spence. The reason is that he was the favorite son of Lexington County. He ran for public office in the 20th century and was elected and reelected more times than any other elected official in our county and actually in our region in the midlands of South Carolina.

Additionally, he, by becoming Chairman of the Committee on National Security, which is the Committee on Armed Services, he achieved the highest position in national government of any person ever from the midlands of South Carolina. We are very grateful for his service; and it is just so appropriate, again, to give him this recognition.

Congressman Spence was born April 9, 1928, in Columbia, our capital city, and he passed away on August 16, 2001. He was the son of James Wilson Spence and Addie Jane Lucas Spence of Lexington County. He was married to the late Lula Hancock Drake of Drake, South Carolina, in Marlboro County in 1952; and they had four sons, who are all outstanding in our community, David, Zack, Benjamin and Caldwell.

When the Congressman was elected in 1970, Lu was so special. She truly raised the four boys. In fact, their home was known as Lexington, District of Columbia. She, in effect, really with the four sons had virtually on the shores of Lake Marion a recreation center where she was the surrogate mother for dozens of young people in our community; and she was quite beloved until she passed away in 1978.

Then Congressman Spence married 10 years later Deborah Ellen Williams of Lexington. Debbie Spence indeed is another very dear lady; and she has been given such due credit as being the person who helped Congressman Spence in his recuperation from a very historic operation, being a double lung transplant.

Mr. Spence is believed to be the fifth person in the United States to have this experimental operation, and it is due to her loving care that he recuperated and continued his service in Congress.

Congressman Spence began his leadership career very early. He was president of the student body at Lexington High School. He then went to play All-State Football. He was on the South Carolina Shrine Bowl team, and he went to the University of South Carolina where he was president of the student body. He was recognized by ODK Fraternity as one of the great leaders of the school. He received the Algernon Sidney Sullivan Award as the outstanding male graduate. He was on the football and basketball teams and was captain of the track team. He was also a member of Kappa Sigma Kappa fraternity. He then went on to the University of South Carolina Law School where he achieved the highest position available at the law school, and that was to be editor of the law review.

His military service includes service in the U.S. Navy during the Korean Conflict. Then he returned to South Carolina and became the commanding officer of all Naval reserve units in South Carolina. He retired in 1988 as a captain in the U.S. Navy, but still devoted to the Reserves.

He was a former church councilmember and Sunday school teacher at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Lexington, he was the first president of the Lexington Historical Society, and he was chairman of the Lexington County Mental Health Association.

In his political career, he was first elected in 1956 as a very young person, as a Democrat to the House of Representatives in South Carolina. Then in 1962 he switched to the Republican Party beginning a very historic realignment and political revolution in South Carolina. He was the first elected official to switch parties. This was very historic and brave on his part in that in the 20th century prior to his switching parties, there had only been one Republican in the House of Representatives in the entire 20th century, and that was in 1961, Charles Boineau was elected to the House of Representatives from Richland County in a special election. And so by his switching parties, he immediately doubled the number of elected Republicans in public office.

That has led to the realignment which was completed this year where now the Republican Party in South Carolina has a majority in the State House, the State Senate and Governor for the first time since 1877, and many of us credit the late Congressman Floyd Spence and his integrity in switching to the Republican Party.

In the General Assembly, he ultimately was elected to the State Senate in 1966 and served for 4 years. He was a leader in establishing the technical college system in South Carolina, which has been so instrumental in our efforts to recruit industry to South Carolina and provide good jobs for the people of South Carolina.

Additionally, he was one of the lead authors of the bill which established the Lexington Medical Center, which is one of the largest hospitals in all of South Carolina. In Congress, he was elected in 1970. He was very proud of his service on the Committee on Veterans Affairs. He worked very hard as the ranking member of the House Committee on Official Standards, which is the ethics committee. I remember so well his feeling so strongly about serving on that particular committee which gets no real public attention.

Then of course we were so proud he was selected and elected as the chairman of the Committee on National Security, which is now the Committee on Armed Services, where he led the effort to warn against terrorism. He pointed out that steps needed to be taken. He was a leader on that effort, and he was also a leader in promoting a ballistic missile defense system, working very closely with President Reagan.

In terms of his community service, we are pleased he was active with the Boy Scouts. At the age of 17, he was a scout master. He was awarded by Governor Jim Edwards and Governor Campbell of South Carolina the highest honor of a citizen of South Carolina, being the Order of Palmetto.

He received a Doctor of Law degree from the Citadel in Charleston and also a Doctor of Public Service degree from the University of South Carolina.

When I think of Congressman Floyd Spence, I think of the political courage he had and also the personal courage. In 1988, he had a double- lung transplant. He had been suffering from a disease which had affected his lungs to the point he was near imminent death; but thanks to a wonderful doctor, Dr. Seshadri Laju, of Jackson, Mississippi, Congressman Spence was the beneficiary of a double-lung transplant. He survived from this and then in fact in the year 2000 had a kidney transplant. In South Carolina, we are very proud of Congressman Floyd Spence as the miracle Congressman, and it is with great pleasure that I urge adoption of the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, as a parent of three sons who are in the military, I rise in support of the resolution being offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), chairman of the Committee on Armed Services.

In particular, I had the opportunity just last month of going on a delegation to visit our troops in Kuwait. It was an extraordinary opportunity. The delegation was led by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins). We went to encourage the troops, but actually while I was there, they encouraged me. We saw the troops of the 82nd Airborne, the 3rd Infantry Division, neighbors of mine from Fort Stewart, Georgia; I was able to see the troops from the 1st Marine Division.

At each stop we were encouraged by the high morale of the troops. We could see that they had the best equipment in the world. They have the best training in the world. They have the finest military leaders in the world. My greatest concern for the troops was the threat of chemical and biological weapons.

I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton), chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities. Yesterday we had a presentation which revealed to us the extraordinary technology which is being provided our troops, the lightweight protective gear, the wonderful modern gas masks, the 20,000 chemical detection devices. Each one of our troops is well protected against chemical and biological weapons.

We have 44 allies involved in the coalition that is facing Saddam Hussein at this time. In the Persian Gulf there were 41. Two countries in particular I want to thank. I have had the opportunity to be with Ambassador Elena Poptodorova of Bulgaria. Bulgaria has provided troops. It is providing the first American air base in the history of their country at Burgas. I also thank Ambassador Sorin Ducaru of Romania. I met with him 2 days ago. It is just extraordinary the services they are providing as they support the war against terrorism and the war against Saddam Hussein.

I conclude, God bless our troops.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in concern about a troubling issue. Young Sikh boys are suffering from physical abuse, harassment and verbal taunting in some American schools. This is due to a lack of knowledge of the Sikh faith.

Sikhism is the world's fifth largest religion and has existed in India for more than five centuries. Many Sikhs in India play important roles in both the State and Federal Governments, and Sikhs are an integral part of the Indian American community in this country.

As part of their faith, Sikh men leave their hair uncut and wear turbans. Students see images of the Taliban and mistake Sikh youth for extremists. As a result, many Sikh boys have been harassed. As the Republican cochair of the India Caucus, I ask school administrators to work with members of the Sikh community to educate all young people about the importance of respecting other people's faith. No child should ever fear for their physical safety inside an American school.

In conclusion, may God bless our troops.

Mr. Speaker, the debate about Iraq has ended. Saddam Hussein has failed to disarm. Today men and women who have volunteered to protect freedom and liberty stand ready to take action against the corrupt and evil regime of Saddam Hussein. America is not eager to go to war, as we have sought peace through diplomacy for 12 years.

Yet Saddam Hussein is not a peaceful man who can be reasoned with. He is a blood-thirsty dictator willing to kill and torture his own people in the pursuit of power. Saddam has aggressively pursued weapons of mass destruction and harbors and supports terrorists. We cannot wait until another September 11 tragedy before we take action to disarm this threat. Thankfully, we have a President in George W. Bush that clearly understands the threat to the American people. As we face possible conflict and as the father of three sons in the military, I want our troops and their families to know that our prayers are with them and that we are ever thankful for their service and patriotism. May God bless our troops.

Mr. Speaker, over 250 economists have urged Congress to repeal the unjust double taxation on dividend income. This is an excellent opportunity to dramatically boost our economy and create jobs for Americans.

There is an urgent need to pass President Bush's plan. On March 11, the widely respected Charles Schwab wrote in The Washington Post, and I quote, ``If we are going to stimulate the economy, we need a tax policy that bolsters confidence, improves corporate governance, unlocks the stagnant capital inside companies, and lifts the stock market across the board. Only the elimination of the double tax on dividends achieves all these goals. Congress ought to act quickly.''

That is why I have introduced H.R. 225, the Double Taxation Elimination Act of 2003, and I ask my colleagues to join me in ending this unfair double tax on dividends which has been championed by the House Policy Committee chaired by the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) and which has been promoted by the Committee on Ways and Means chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas). With this plan we can stimulate the economy and create jobs.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, God bless our troops.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with the great honor of introducing a bill with the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) to recognize the 60th anniversary of the historic rescue of 50,000 Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust and commending the Bulgarian people for preserving and continuing their tradition of ethnic and religious tolerance.

As the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) just mentioned, this indeed is a special day for me. It is a special day because I am so happy to tell the people of the world about the wonderful people that I have had the opportunity to be associated with in the Republic of Bulgaria. It is a special day because my daughter-in-law, Lauren, is in Bethesda right now. She is in labor awaiting the birth of our first grandchild. This is an extraordinary day on behalf of my son, who is an ensign in the U.S. Navy, Addison. We are indeed looking forward to the birth of Addison Graves Wilson, III. In fact, my wife is with the other prospective grandparents. My wife, Roxanne, and Julie and Craig Houston of West Columbia, South Carolina, are on I-95 as we speak coming up for the blessed event. We are just very grateful.

My association with Bulgaria, it is a bit unusual for someone from South Carolina to have an association with a country which does not have significant immigration to our State. It really started, and I need to give thanks to the late Lee Atwater, chairman of the Republican National Committee. He appointed me to be an observer for the first democratic elections that had occurred in decades in Bulgaria on June 10, 1990. I had the extraordinary opportunity of visiting Bulgaria. I do not want to give anybody the impression I am a world traveler, because it was my first visit to Europe. It was an extraordinary opportunity, though, for me.

I had gone to Bulgaria fully expecting to find the most slavish Soviet satellite. It was a country that was marked with a bitter dictatorship and a loyalty to the former Soviet Union that was unparalleled among the satellite countries of Eastern and Central Europe. When I arrived, it was, in fact, significantly different. It was like a country frozen in time. I found people who were really back to about 1939. It was an extraordinary circumstance of a country where the people were just terrific. They were very friendly, they

were very open, they were excited about the efforts that Ronald Reagan had made of peace through strength, the liberation of Eastern and Central Europe. I also found a country which I could identify with coming from the southeastern part of the United States, which is in the southeastern part of Europe.

I found a very friendly meteorological climate. The people were friendly. The geography was remarkably similar to my home State of South Carolina. They have beautiful beaches to the east on the Black Sea, there is a midlands very similar to where I represent in Congress, and then there are mountains to the west. It was a time to really feel at home. I met wonderful people. The first person who greeted me was a candidate for the National Assembly, Stefan Stoyanov. Stefan ultimately was elected to their parliament, the National Assembly. Then I had the good fortune of hosting him to observe our elections in November of 1990. This was hosted by various civic organizations: the Rotary Clubs, the Kiwanis Clubs, the Optimist Clubs, the Lions Clubs of the central part of South Carolina, the midlands of South Carolina. They raised money for Assemblyman Stoyanov to come visit. At that time it was an extraordinary election victory for Governor Carroll Campbell, who was reelected. Governor Campbell took the Bulgarian assemblyman to the stage for recognition on election night at the victory party. It was an extraordinary event.

I then had the opportunity to visit later that year with the democratically elected members of the National Assembly, thanks to the Free Congress Foundation and Mr. Paul Weyrich and, in particular, the late Dr. Bob Krieble, who is the founder of the Krieble Institute, which has worked so well to establish democracy in the formerly- Communist countries. It was an extraordinary opportunity to be what Dr. Krieble called an agent of influence, and it was positive influence, to promote democracy.

I then returned several years later and saw remarkable change. Through the sister city program of the Columbia International Affairs Association, we have a sister city relationship with Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria. Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, is very fortunate to be associated with this ancient city. It was known as Philippopolis. It was known as Trimontium. I found the history of Bulgaria to go back to Roman and Greek times. It is just a phenomenal experience of wonderful people. I was very fortunate at that time to have my son with me, Addison, Jr., who then left that next week to be a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy.

In the particular bill today, I am very grateful for the leadership of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the Committee on International Relations. I want to thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe. And of course, somebody near and dear to me, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), who has been a real leader. And the professional staff has been so helpful.

The rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust. In the spring of 1943, a period when Jews across Europe were subjected to total extermination in the Nazi death camps, the Bulgarian people, politicians and civic leaders through a series of resolute actions succeeded in protecting their 50,000 Jewish compatriots from deportation to the death camps. Bulgaria was the only country in Europe to increase its Jewish population during World War II. This happened despite Nazi pressure and the fact that Bulgaria was officially an ally of Hitler Germany as part of the Axis from March 1941 until September 1944.

Despite the anti-Jewish legislation and the heavy restrictions of the rights of the Jewish population adopted by the Bulgarian Government and Parliament in 1941-1942, anti-Semitism was never morally accepted by the Bulgarian society. King Boris III and the majority of the members of Parliament only reluctantly followed Hitler's official policy, resisting the implementation of the anti-Jewish legislation and regulations in their entirety. As a result of Nazi pressure, in February 1943 a secret agreement was reached to start the secret deportation of Jews by cargo trains in the first days of March 1943.

Due to the prompt public reaction and the resolute intervention of a group of active citizens, church leaders and politicians, led by Deputy Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly Dimitar Peshev, the Minister of Interior Gabrovski was forced on 9 March 1943 to cancel the deportation orders for the Jews from several Bulgarian cities. The trains, which had been waiting to be loaded with Bulgarian Jews and sent to the concentration camps in Poland, did not depart. Unfortunately, about 12,000 Jews from Aegean Thrace and Macedonia, who did not at that time have Bulgarian citizenship and had been already driven out of their homes by the special forces of the Jewish Commissariat, could not be saved and were deported through Bulgarian territory to Germany. The horrible sight of train compositions packed with Jews from Thrace and Macedonia crossing Bulgarian territory had a tremendous impact on public opinion in Bulgaria and strengthened even more the popular resistance against deportation.

Later, in March 1943, 43 members of the Bulgarian Parliament from the ruling majority, led by Deputy Speaker Dimitar Peshev, addressed a bold and decisive letter to the then Prime Minister Filov in which they called a possible deportation of Jews an inadmissible act with grave moral and political consequences for the country. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church played a crucial part in mobilizing public support against the deportation and exerting its influence on the government. Metropolitans Stefan in Sofia and Kiril in Plovdiv actively contributed to the campaign against state discrimination of the Jews.

The broad popular and civil movement in defense of the Bulgarian Jews culminated in May 1943 when the plan of deportation was finally aborted. King Boris III played a decisive role in this decision by not ceding to Hitler's increasing pressure and not allowing the deportation to happen. The King resisted Hitler's demands with the argument that the Bulgarian Jews were needed as a workforce in Bulgaria. At the end of May 1943, about 20,000 Jews from Sofia were sent to work camps in the countryside where they were assigned heavy labor duties and lived in miserable conditions; but they survived. Many other political and professional organizations and groups of intellectuals joined actively in this national effort. The credit as a whole belongs to the Bulgarian people who showed courage and strength in defending their fellow Jewish countrymen. Bulgarians today feel proud of the courage of their predecessors to save from deportation and death nearly 50,000 Bulgarian Jews.

I have seen firsthand the good will of the Bulgarian people as an observer of Bulgaria's first democratic elections in 1990, and I have witnessed the progress of Bulgaria's democracy away from communism. I commend the efforts of patriots like Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg- Gotha, Ambassador Elena Poptodorova, Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi, Defense Minister Nikolai Svinarov, Deputy Chief of Mission Emil Yalnazov, and Bulgarian Ambassador to Greece Stefan Stoyanov for continuing important reforms and for leading their entry into NATO.

We are proud of our allied Bulgaria. As cochairman of the House Caucus on Bulgaria along with the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher), it is my privilege to introduce this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 77.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 29, 30, 31, and 32, on February 13, 2003, I was unable to cast my vote because I was on Speaker-authorized travel with CODEL Collins to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait.

Had I been present, I would have voted the following:

Rollcall 29, the Motion to Recommit on the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act, I would have voted ``nay.''

Rollcall 30, on Passage of the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act, I would have voted ``yea.''

Rollcall 31, the Motion to Recommit on the Making Further Continuing Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2003, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``nay.''

Rollcall 32, on Passage of the Making Further Continuing Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2003, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank my colleagues and the American people for supporting our men and women who have volunteered to stand in harm's way. While no one desires to go to war, the threat to America posed by Iraq and international terrorism is real, and many of those in the Armed Forces may be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice.

I am especially appreciative of our servicemembers because I recently served on a delegation led by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) to visit the courageous troops in Kuwait, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Already nearly 170,000 members of the National Guard and Reserves have been called up for deployment. These brave people have volunteered to leave their jobs and families to help secure our liberty.

Many of our military families struggle to make ends meet, and I ask Americans to reach out to them. Every helping hand is greatly appreciated, even if just a word of encouragement. I ask everyone across this great land to support our troops by assisting their families while they are defending freedom.

Mr. Speaker, Earl F. Brown, Jr. has been a true leader in South Carolina for decades, with a long history of service to his community and country. I want to commend him for his tireless work and take a look at his history.

From 1973 to 2001, Mr. Brown was employed with the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, SCHAC. While at SCHAC he served as Executive Assistant to the Commissioner for External Affairs, Director for Community Relations and Director of Compliance and Investigations.

A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Mr. Brown was educated in the public schools of Duval County. He was accepted at Savannah State College on a basketball scholarship and played the point guard position on the 1952 Southeastern Athletic Conference Championship Team. After completion of the Bachelor of Science in Political Science, he was drafted in the U.S. Army and served as a military aide to Brigadier General Frank F. Bowen, Jr. He received an Honorable Discharge in 1956.

Upon leaving the military in 1956, he joined the staff of the Afro- American Insurance Company in Jacksonville, Florida as an Insurance Counselor. Mr. Brown began his community activities as a volunteer in 1957 with the local NAACP as its Public Relations/Chairman of the Voters Registration Drive for Duvall County and later served on the statewide voter registration team. He served as a community organizer and community leader for eight years in the struggle for equality and employment.

In 1964, he enrolled in Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina and received an A.B. Degree in Social Science and Psychology in 1966.

Mr. Brown's career as a public servant took flight when in 1966, he assumed the position as a public school teacher at W.A. Perry Junior High School. In 1967, he was offered a position as Probation Officer and Counselor for the Richland County Family Court System. In April 1969, he was awarded a Ford Foundation Scholarship to study at the Duke University Institute of Developmental Administration and Management System. In 1971, he completed Harvard University's Institute of Educational Management program. In 1977, he received a MCJ Degree from the University of South Carolina with a concentration in ``Court Administration''.

Mr. Brown is a 1987 graduate of Leadership Columbia, a graduate of the Governor's Leadership School of South Carolina in 1988, a 1996 graduate of the Executive Institute, and a Certified Labor Arbitrator by the South Carolina Labor Department.

Earl Brown's professional and civic activities as well as his awards and honors are numerous and have included: Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; Chairman of the Board of Commissioners--Richland County Airport; President, Capital Senior Center, Inc.; Southern Regional Vice President-National Association of Human Rights Workers; Chairman of Cooperative Ministries of the Midlands (SC); Vice-President of The Brookland Foundation; Chairman of Board of Directors-Central Midlands (SC) Councils of Government; President of Richland/Lexington (SC) Chapter State Employees Association; Chairman of American Red Cross Blood Service, Board of Directors for South Carolina Region; Chairman of Columbia Housing Development Corporation, Inc.; President of College of Criminal Justice Alumni Association, University of South Carolina; Member of United Way of Midlands (SC); Member of Richland County School District 1 (SC) Education Advisory Committee; Member of American Arbitration Association; Outstanding Citizen Award from the National Council of Negro Women (1980); President's Award for Outstanding Service to Savannah State College (1980); The Southeastern Providence Achievement Award 1971 ``Man of the Year''; Elected to ``Who's Who in America'' 15th Edition (1975); and President's Award for Outstanding Services and Leadership to the American Red Cross Blood Services for the South Carolina Region (1995).

Mr. Brown is a member of Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia, South Carolina. He is the father of two children, Kim and Felton.

I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Mr. Brown for setting an example for reaching out to a community in need, and working to make the lives of those around him better. He is an inspiration to South Carolina and the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Miguel Estrada who has been nominated by President Bush to the Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. Estrada has an outstanding record. He graduated magna cum laude in 1986 from Harvard Law School where he was editor of the Harvard Law Review. He has clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court and served in a high position for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office. He has practiced constitutional law and argued 15 cases before the Supreme Court.

Miguel Estrada's credentials prove that he is ready to be a Federal judge.

As the Washington Post said in a February 17 editorial, ``The arguments against Mr. Estrada's confirmation range from the unpersuasive to the offensive.'' Some say he is too young or lacks judicial experience, and some have even disgracefully inferred that he is not a real Hispanic.

It is time for these shameful antics against Miguel Estrada to end, as he is well-qualified to be a Federal judge. I stand beside the President in support of Mr. Estrada.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of Earnest A. Finney, Jr.

Raised by his father after his mother died following his birth, Earnest Finney went on to graduate from Claflin College and from South Carolina State University School of Law. Finding it difficult to earn a living as an attorney, Finney became a teacher and waited tables to make ends meet.

Finney then settled in Sumter, South Carolina, with his family and became South Carolina's leading defender of civil rights, representing more than 6,000 clients. In 1963 Finney served as chairman of the South Carolina Commission on Civil Rights and in 1972 was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was then elected as judge of the Third Judicial Circuit in 1976.

Later, in 1994, Ernest Finney, who was once denied membership in South Carolina's lawyers association because of his race, became the first African American chief justice of South Carolina's Supreme Court since Reconstruction. I am extremely honored to have been Justice Finney's first Republican supporter in the State Senate. Since then, Justice Finney has retired and was named interim president of South Carolina State University in 2002.

Justice Finney remains a bright and shining star; and I thank him for his service, integrity, and commitment to making South Carolina and America a better place.