John L. Mica

Thank you, Mr. Smith, for yielding, and thank you also for calling this Special Order, particularly as Congress, tomorrow, will take up an important issue relating to the unborn.

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, of all the responsibilities given to Congress under our Constitution, none is more important than to protect and preserve life.

Throughout the history of governments, through the entire course of the world as we know it, governments have had the power to decide who dies and who lives. Our Founding Fathers established the United States to ensure the protection of first life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all of our citizens.

As the people's Congress, we pass laws that define life. We pass laws that define life for all Americans, including the unborn. No matter that comes before this Congress or our society is more important than the matter of protecting the lives of our citizens; and, my colleagues, no citizen is more vulnerable or helpless than the unborn.

Our Nation, in respect for life and the unborn, must not waver. Protecting human life at every opportunity must be our only option and certainly our moral responsibility.

As thousands of pro-life Americans express their support for the unborn at our Nation's Capital this week, I welcome them, and I also hope and pray that their voice is heard.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great American, the former City of Apopka, Florida Mayor and a wonderful friend, John H. Land. John passed away Saturday, November 20, 2014. I have had the honor to work with Mayor Land for over four decades during his public service as Mayor.

As Mayor of Apopka for 61 years, John was one of the longest-tenured public officials in the nation. He proudly served his community and was committed over the decades to make a positive difference in the lives of all those he was elected to serve.

Mayor Land was born in Plant City, Florida. He attended the University of Florida until World War II, when he signed up for the Army, serving under Gen. George S. Patton in Europe.

Following his return, John worked in his family's mill, Consumers Lumber and Veneer Company, and later won election in 1949 as Mayor of Apopka, a small Florida city that boasted a mostly rural population of 2,254. Over the next six decades as mayor, Apopka grew to a population of over 45,000 with a diversified tax base.

Over his many years in Public Service, faith was always deeply important in the life of Mayor Land. He loved his family, community and country. He was a spiritual leader and deacon at the First Presbyterian Church. I, and many others, sought his council.

American history was another passion that Mayor Land and I shared. As a fitting tribute to Mayor Land, the Tri-County League of Cities renamed its Lifetime Achievement Award, on the evening before his passing on November 21, 2014, as the Mayor John H. Land Award, of which he was the first recipient.

For his tireless work on behalf of thousands of Central Floridians, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and legacy of Apopka Mayor John H. Land. What a great privilege it has been to work with him. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Betty; their children, Suzanne Larkin, Cathy Waters and John Land, Jr.; and John's many grandchildren.

Mayor John H. Land's final resting place is Greenwood Cemetery in his beloved city. He will always be remembered as one of the key architects who helped lay the foundation for Apopka's growth and success. I asked my colleagues today to join me in paying tribute to John H. Land.

Mr. Speaker, as I rise today, it is my pleasure to announce the birth of Enslie Cole Deck on November 19, 2014 at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia.

Enslie is the daughter of Wiley Deck, my Chief of Staff, and Elizabeth Deck. The former Elizabeth Buckles and Wiley Deck met as staff members in our Washington office. Both of them moved to our Florida District Office in St. Augustine in 2003. They married and had their first child, Emilia Hayward Deck. The Decks returned to Washington, DC in 2011 and now have expanded their family with the arrival of Enslie.

To the Deck and Buckles families, we extend our warmest congratulations and wish them years for continued health and happiness.