Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor one of Florida's heroes, Tonya Mitchell. Tonya Mitchell, a valiant public servant, was abducted on January 31, 2003, while driving a mail truck across northwest Miami-Dade County. Tonya Mitchell, extraordinarily composed, drove throughout Miami North-Dade and Broward Counties at gunpoint while dozens of patrol cars and news choppers followed. For five terrifying hours, including a two-hour standoff, Tonya Mitchell, unlike most people facing a life or death situation, maintained a remarkably calm demeanor until she was finally released to safety.

Tonya Mitchell, a 32-year-old mother of two from Miramar, Florida, is an example of true courage. The target of a very dangerous situation, she overcame fear and convinced her abductor, after the two-hour standoff, not to commit suicide. Because of her committed faith, she persuaded a man who put her life in grave danger to turn himself in to the authorities. Tonya Mitchell, a deeply religious woman, is not only a survivor, but a model of bravery.

United States postal employees have a visible presence in our community. My district, and districts across our country, function more effectively because of their invaluable work. Tonya Mitchell is a three-year veteran of the postal service who often fills in on her colleague's routes. She is a devotee to her community and as seen through last week's experience, a devotee to human kind. Mr. Speaker, the South Florida community is very proud of Tonya Mitchell. Clearly seen through the dedication she has in her work and through her extraordinarily bold composure, she is truly a hero and a role model to us all.

Mr. Speaker, I join with my colleagues in honoring the brave men and women of the Space Shuttle Columbia, in celebrating their lives and marveling at their achievements; in mourning their passing and extending whatever solace and comfort we can to their families and loved ones.

Space travel is important to our country, but it is particularly important to my State of Florida. All Floridians take pride in Cape Canaveral. Thousands of Floridians are part of the team that puts the shuttle together, loads up its space cargo and launches it into space.

Everyone who has ever seen a shuttle launch goes away feeling differently; about our country, certainly, but also about the nature of human beings on this Earth. For we are a curious species.

Our entire history, in countless tales that preceded Jason and the Argonauts, and in countless voyages that followed the voyage of Columbus, is a long, long saga of people trying to go places no one has ever been; seeing things no one has ever seen; and learning things that no one has ever known. And this is the type of people that the men and women of the Columbia were.

As is so often the case in life, we have learned more about them after their deaths than we knew when they were living. But what we have learned is that they were truly remarkable people--people with dreams who worked hard, studied hard, exercised discipline, raised their families, served their communities and their country. Each of these astronauts would be a fine role model for our sons and daughters.

Our hearts and prayers go out to their families. I hope they can take some comfort in knowing how much their strength and the lives of their loved ones have touched so many they have never met.

In the words of Abraham Lincoln, speaking about another great national tragedy at the Battle of Gettysburg, ``It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they . . . have thus far so nobly advanced.''

Mr. Speaker, almost 100 years ago, Orville Wright took off from a launching rail in North Carolina and flew for 12 seconds and a distance of 120 feet. Space shuttle Columbia took off from Florida and flew for 16 days at a distance of 6.6 million miles. Because of the special people that these astronauts were, I marvel to think about how long and how far our great, great grandchildren will fly 100 years from today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in honoring one of Florida's most admired public servants and civil rights leaders, the Honorable Jesse J. McCrary, Jr. This Saturday, February 1, 2003 at 6:00 p.m. at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, a host of friends and admirers will join his family in celebrating the legend that he genuinely symbolizes.

This honoree epitomizes the preeminence of a gentleman and a devout Christian. In 1956, he attended Florida A & M University with a major in political science. He went on to pursue his legal studies at the Florida A & M University as well. He was subsequently honored with unprecedented accomplishments never before achieved by an African- American in the history of our state.

Among his most prominent achievements was his being the first African-American to be appointed Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida in 1967, the first African-American to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1969, the first African-American to sit on a statutory Court of Appeals in Florida's Industrial Relations Commissions in 1971, the first African-American Secretary of State of Florida in 1978, and the first African-American from Florida to be listed in the Best Lawyers in America in 1988.

Ever since I've known this giant of a leader, Mr. McCrary has always been at the forefront of ensuring equality of opportunity for everyone in our community and throughout Florida. At the same time, his untiring advocacy in adhering to the mandate of equal treatment under the law not only in the halls of academia, but also in every segment of government agency, has become legendary. In fact, countless others from every color, creed or gender have been touched by his genuine commitment to their well-being, especially those who could least fend for themselves.

By his passionate advocacy for due process and the rule of law, he won landmark cases he argued before the Supreme Court. The most memorable cases that now emblazon his legal triumphs are the right to have a jury of less than twelve persons and the prohibition for the state from dismissing jurors on the basis of race alone. The decisions handed down by the Court now form part and parcel of the history of our state's legal precedents.

Aside from his role as our state's legal luminary, Mr. McCrary has been the consummate activist who abides by the dictum that those who have less in life through no fault of their own deserve to be helped by the government, be it at the local, state, or federal level. It is no wonder that the numerous accolades with which he has been honored by various organizations saliently represent an unequivocal testimony of the utmost respect and admiration he enjoys from our community.

Imbued with a down-to-earth common sense, he has also been gifted with the rare wisdom of being able to discern the strengths and limitations of those empowered to govern. This brand of leadership has been tested time and time again during his stint as Chairman of the Florida Correction Review Commission, the Florida Education Standards Commission, the Select Committee to Review Competency Testing in Florida, the Gubernatorial Commission for the Study of Capital Punishment and Judicial Reform, and the Constitution Revision Commission.

The acumen of his intelligence and the depth of his sensitivity were felt at a time when Miami needed to put in perspectives the agony of disenfranchised African-Americans and other minorities yearning to belong and participate in the fruition of the American Dream. When government and community leaders met to douse the still-burning embers of the Miami riots in the early 1980s, Mr. McCrary was the leader whose firm voice of reason and understanding succinctly articulated his credo that one has got to learn and live with one another in the community, or shamefully reap the grapes of wrath from those who have been left out of the ambiance of the rule of law and due process.

He thoroughly understood the accoutrements of power and leadership, and he sagely exercised them alongside the mandate of his conviction and the wisdom of his conscience, focusing them upon the good of the community he has learned to love and care for so deeply. This stewardship motivated by his Faith in God defines the authenticity of his public service as exemplified by what he learned as a child that: ``. . . it is better to give than to receive.''

His word is his bond to those of us who know him. He has exuded this bond not only in moments of triumphal exuberance toward helping many a wayward youth turn the corners around, but also in his quest to transform Miami-Dade County into a veritable mosaic of vibrant cultures and diverse races converging to symbolize the noble idealism that is America.

As my community honors Jesse F. McCrary, Jr., Esquire, I praise the decent man and devout Christian that he is. My pride in sharing his friendship is only exceeded by my deep gratitude for all that he has sacrificed on behalf of all Floridians. This is the magnificent legacy with which he will always be honored.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of our nation's unsung heroes, the late Mr. Samuel J. Simmons, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Caucus and Center on Black Aged, Inc. (NCBA). His untimely demise on Sunday, January 12, 2003 leaves a gaping void in our nation's quest for quality service to our low income and minority senior citizens.

My district and the entire state of Florida will surely miss him for the longevity of his genuine commitment to the well being of our elder constituency under the aegis of the Center he so ably led. When I think of Mr. Simmons' consecration to our senior citizens, it is clear that it virtually parallels much of this nation's history as it struggled through the countless challenges of gender and racial equality.

I first came to know him when he served as President of the National Center for Housing Management (NCHM), which trains individuals to manage housing and services for the nation's low-income population. He also served as the Assistant Secretary for Equal Opportunity of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Director of Field Operations for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He also worked for 16 years from 1978 to 1994 as a Director of the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) Corporate Board of Directors and the FNMA Foundation Board of Directors.

Prior to this tragedy that has befallen our Black and minority senior citizens, this dynamo of a public servant came in our midst to give hope and courage to the underserved and disenfranchised constituents from our nation's inner cities. He urged them to stay informed and become knowledgeable of the various legislations proffered by Congress, along with the impact these initiatives would have upon their lives. Time and time again, he managed to prod the key leadership in Congress, particularly the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as the top officials in the administration, by focusing their attention on the needs and concerns of the burgeoning population of our elderly population. He urged them to strengthen Social Security benefits under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, prescription drugs, housing initiatives and the like. He forged his vast institutional memory and experience into a veritable force that compelled the various agencies of our government to respond accordingly to the agenda of the NCBA in a manner that immensely benefited its constituency.

Mr. Simmons was a multi-dimensional public servant, a civic activist par excellence, and an indefatigable community-builder who is completely unselfish in all his endeavors. The authenticity of his stewardship on behalf of our nation's Black and minority senior citizens was buttressed by his utmost consecration to his vocation as God's faithful servant, bringing hope and optimism to thousands of ordinary folks whose lives he touched so deeply, never holding anyone at arm's length.

He was the Founder and Treasurer of the Summit Health Coalition, the national lobbying arm for African Americans on healthcare reform and was a Board Member of the International Federation on Aging, the national nongovernmental organization concerned with issues of the elderly throughout the world. He also served as a Board Member of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), the major advocacy for housing and living arrangements for older people, and the Leadership Council on Aging Organizations (LCAO), a coalition of all major organizations concerned with issues affecting the elderly.

For all his efforts of advocacy for the elderly, he was feted with a number of citations, including the Arthur S. Fleming Award from the Joint Conference on Law and Aging, the Distinguished Service Award by AAHSA, and the Senior Advocate Award granted by the United States Health Cooperative.

This remarkable leader was a friend and confidante in his pioneering mission to help establish the Congressional Black Caucus Aging Braintrust under the aegis of Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek, my mother. Indeed, we are deeply saddened by his death. At the same time, however, he will forever be an indelible reminder of the noble commitment and awesome power of public service on behalf of the less fortunate. His faith was deep and genuine, and his love for our low-income population of senior citizens defined his dynamic friendship and understanding. No one who knew Sam Simmons--and having been struck by his sunny disposition and eternal optimism--went away not acknowledging the towering presence of a caring and compassionate leader.

His life was truly akin to that of a burning candle, the ritualistic symbolism of our Christian faith. Just as a candle's lifelong service is to shed its light to illuminate the darkness of pessimism and hopelessness until it is fully consumed, so too did Sam Simmons consecrate his life by serving his God through his outreach efforts to our nation's elders. This authentic trailblazer was a superlative example of the depth and nobility that inclusiveness brings to once- exclusive rights that only belonged to a privileged few. He will be remembered long after many others of his era are gone and forgotten. At a time when there is a rapid upswing in our unprecedented economic successes and technological advancements at the national, state and local levels, his persevering stance about the glaring gap between the haves and the have-nots in our nation still reverberates in our low- income communities and serves as a timely warning to those charged with advancing the common good of all Americans. It is truly his commitment in this arena that will most assuredly characterize his profile in courage. Though his voice is now stilled, let us not allow its echoes to disappear in our midst.

Last Monday, January 20, 2003, at the People's Congregational Church in Washington, D.C., I joined our nation's advocates for the low-income and minority senior citizens to memorialize this great leader whose vision is as relevant today as it was during his stewardship over the National Caucus and Center on Black Aged, Inc. Having a strong faith, Mr. Samuel Simmons would remind us that his death does not represent an irrevocable termination or a grim finality. He would rather have us firmly believe that he shall live on in the good deeds he amply left behind, and he will carry on through the wonderful thoughts and memories we all have of him.

Like the God whom he served faithfully during his earthly sojourn, he came and lived among us so that we may have life--and have hope more abundantly. This is the magnificent legacy Sam Simmons will leave behind. And this is the gift with which he will bless us. May Almighty God grant him eternal rest!

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 23, which will finally provide for a 5-month extension of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002.

I say ``finally'' because this legislation is long overdue. We all knew for months that on December 28th, in the middle of the holiday season, an estimated one million people out of work would be cut off from receiving unemployment benefits. Yet neither House Republicans nor the President took action to help suffering Americans provide for themselves or for their families.

Mr. Speaker, our economy continues to weaken. The latest figures show that unemployment claims in my district, which includes part of Miami- Dade County, reached a record high of 80,554 during October 2002. In only one year, unemployment claims were up an overwhelming 30%.

The unemployment rate in Miami-Dade County, a major international trading and tourist hub of the Americas, has climbed to an outrageous 8.0%, considerably higher than the national average. In Broward County, which is also a part of my district, the unemployment rate has reached a national rate of 6.0%.

Last week alone, there were more than 13,000 new jobless applicants filing for unemployment benefits. It is no wonder that Americans are enraged. The House has waited until today, 11 days after the expiration, to provide benefits to jobless Americans.

When a building is on fire, does a fire rescue team wait 11 days to put the fire out? When a patient is seriously ill, does a hospital wait 11 days to attend to this patient? In a crisis situation, we act immediately. The House has waited too long, putting Americans in fear.

My district and the country are in an unemployment crisis. Everyday, more and more of my constituents join the hundreds of thousands of Americans in my colleagues' districts in the unemployment line.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we help displaced American workers today. It is terrible that we have waited so long to do so.