Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, Cyprus and the U.S. share a deep and long-lasting commitment to upholding the ideals of freedom, democracy, justice, human rights, and the international rule of law. The international community has an obligation to stand with Cypriots to reunify their island and take the necessary steps towards reconciliation and peace.

The 34th commemoration of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus reminds us to recognize those who lost their lives in the invasion and to condemn the ongoing Turkish occupation. The solution of the Cyprus problem must be based on a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal State of Cyprus with a single sovereign entity and a single citizenship. This arrangement must comprise of two politically equal communities, as described by the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, and protect the independence and territorial integrity of the nation. It must reunite the island, its people, its institutions and its economy.

The Republic of Cyprus has a long history of working cooperatively with the United States on issues of international concern and it is my belief that the United States Government, including Congress, should work to continue and expand that relationship and work towards a united, peaceful, and prosperous Cyprus.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

In 1976, amidst social unrest and a deep political crisis in Argentina, a military coup there installed the cruelest dictatorship that South America has ever seen. Illegal detention, torture, and summary execution of dissidents became routine.

Cross-country operations to capture and assassinate dissidents were organized in cooperation with Southern Cone military regimes in what is known as Operation Condor.

Over the years, as the victims of the repression increasingly went missing, a new tactic of the Argentine security forces, so-called, was revealed. It is estimated that nearly 30,000 people disappeared in Argentina between 1976 and 1985. Many of these victims, known as ``the disappeared,'' were abducted, tortured, and then dropped out into the ocean.

During Operation Condor, approximately 500 Argentine women were abducted and systematically raped and impregnated by Argentine security forces. Their children were born into captivity and distributed to members

of these Argentine security forces, while the mothers are believed to have been killed. The identity of only 80 of these children have been discovered, but the whereabouts of the majority remain unknown.

My amendment seeks to shed light on the unknown fate of these children, who would be roughly in their late 20s or early 30s at this moment. The amendment would require the Central Intelligence Agency to report to the House and Senate Intelligence panels on information, any information, it has about the human rights violations of the military government in Argentina from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, the rise to power of that government, and the location of any Argentine children born in captivity as a result of Operation Condor.

The amendment also instructs the CIA to include a compilation of declassified documents, as well as any classified material that may exist with regard to this issue.

Given the close relationship with their Argentine counterparts in the intelligent, security, and military community, the documentation of the American intelligence community is likely to contain invaluable information to support ongoing justice investigations and the search for the children of the disappeared.

This amendment is supported by the Argentine Embassy, of course; the National Security Archive of George Washington University, and a wide array of human rights organizations.

I urge you to join me in supporting this contribution to truth and justice and something that is critically important to the future of Argentina, particularly these children.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

I think your understanding is correct. But I would just say this: that there is unquestionably a large amount of information that is available which would be very important to the Government of Argentina with regard to the location of these children. I'll just give you an example:

In 1999 the Justice Department asked for the release of this information. The State Department then released 470,000 documents on this subject; however, there was no release from other entities that contain similar documents, and it's about time that those documents become released.

Mr. Chairman, I want to express my appreciation to the gentleman from Michigan for his statements and for his cooperation with this amendment. I am deeply grateful to him for that.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Chairman, I want to illustrate the importance of this issue which we are dealing with here today and an issue in which I rise in strong support. It is a bipartisan effort to implement the National Park Service's study that Congress mandated back in the 106th Congress. It's an issue that has been pending for some time.

The National Park Service study recommended that we designate as a National Historic Trail this 600-mile route used by the allied armies under General George Washington and French Count Rochambeau in their epic march that led to the victory at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, and the independence of the United States of America.

The trail travels mostly along existing roads, throughways, and publicly navigable waters from Rhode Island down to Yorktown, Virginia. Designating the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route as a National Historic Trail will help spur a greater understanding of our shared history and will help illuminate the important battle of a young country and its French allies against the rule of King George.

I'd like to thank especially Chairmen Rahall and Grijalva for moving this legislation through the hearing and markup process in the Natural Resources Committee. I greatly appreciate their support and assistance and that of their very capable staff.

This designation is important because we have identified the scope of resources that we need to more effectively commemorate this historic event. In particular, I am thrilled that the expanded involvement of the National Park Service to preserve and interpret the route will highlight to Americans, young and old, our earliest struggles as a country for our independent rule on behalf of all of the people of our country.

The designation also calls for the involvement of State and local historic organizations interested in commemorating the heritage of the American Revolution, with a particular focus on the States of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia. It was on the 16th of December, 1999, that the Revolutionary War enthusiasts supporting a National Historic Trail designation of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route organized themselves at the Washington headquarters in Newburgh, New York.

They advocated for the route essentially defined by the march taken by the Continental Army of General George Washington and by the French Army of Count Rochambeau on their way to their ultimate victory over British forces under the command of Major General Charles Cornwallis in Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. The route also included the march of the French Army in 1782 as it returned back north up to Boston.

In a 1999 interview with the historical magazine ``American Heritage,'' renowned author David McCullough claimed that ``as you are working on the Revolutionary War, as I am doing now, you realize what the French did for us. We wouldn't have a country if it weren't for them,'' David McCullough said. For that America will be forever grateful for the army led by Rochambeau, and this trail will significantly symbolize our appreciation and dedication to our shared history.

I would like to thank all of the Revolutionary War enthusiasts, the National Park Service, and the many Members of Congress whose districts particularly host the route who have cosponsored this legislation. All of these participants helped make this designation possible. It is a designation that will raise to a much greater level the quality of heritage preservation all along the route by providing signage and other commemorative work directed toward linking the Allied encampments along the Revolutionary march with a self-guided auto route, auxiliary hiking trails and appropriate historical signs.

This commemorates one of the most significant events in the history of the United States of America. It is our major victory in the Revolutionary War, which led to the independence of our country, the foundation of our Constitution, the creation of the Bill of Rights, and the leadership that we have provided for the following centuries around the world. I am very much in support of this bill. I hope that every Member of this House of Representatives will vote for it.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy).

I yield 1 additional minute, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I just want to emphasize how the Members on this side of the aisle are completely dedicated to energy independence and doing everything that is possible to achieve that objective. We did much to try to achieve it during the 12 years that our friends on the other side of the aisle held the majority. But they were not interested at all in achieving that objective, or moving forward in any significant way, not even in any real way.

One of first things that we did when we achieved the majority here last year was to pass a very substantial energy independence bill which moves us strongly in that direction. Not as strongly as we would have liked, but we had to be a little less ambitious about it because we were threatened with vetoes as well as opposition from the other side of the aisle.

But what did we manage to achieve? We managed to achieve energy efficiency for automobiles, the first time that had been done in more than three decades. The first time that had been done in more than 30 years. We achieved a great increase in energy efficiency. We wanted to make it more substantial. We wanted to go as high as 40 miles to a gallon, but the President said he would veto anything like that.

What else did we do? We moved towards creating tax incentives for the creation and purchase of other means of energy independence such as direct and indirect solar energy, and we are working very strong on trying to achieve that, in spite of the fact that the White House has said they are not in favor of it, they are opposed to that and would veto that kind of legislation.

They say that we are not in favor of drilling for our own oil off our own coast. Well, the fact of the matter is that we are not opposed to that at all. We recognize that we now have more than 150,000 wells drilled on the land owned by the people of the United States of America on public land, some of it here on dry land in the lower 48 States and up in Alaska, and the rest of it offshore, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico. That's what we understand. In addition to that, we have 68 million acres of land that has been also leased to these major oil companies but because they do not apparently want to produce any more energy because they realize that if they produce more, then the price is going to go down, they are not drilling on those 68 million acres.

So the fact of the matter is we are moving as aggressively as anyone could, as intelligently as anyone could in the direction of trying to achieve greater energy independence for our country.

Recognizing that we possess probably less than 2 percent of the known oil reserves in the world, we are doing everything we can to use that small amount of oil reserves intelligently and reasonably and in ways that are going to last our people for a long, long period of time. And we are saying to the oil companies either use it or lose it. If you are not going to use those 68 million acres of public land on which you already have leases, then give them up and let us give them to someone else. Let us lease them elsewhere. Let's have some responsible people go down and drill those wells and produce the oil we need which will drive down the price.

So don't say that anybody over here is against drilling offshore. We are very much in favor of it, and we know that they have the leases to do it, and we are doing everything that we can to press them and pressure them to live up to their obligations and responsibilities in the leasing of the public lands that they now control.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to your attention the circumstances of Sergeant Carmelo Rodriguez and the series of extraordinary mistakes the military made which led directly to his death.

In 1997, when Carmelo Rodriguez enrolled in the Marines, a physical performed by U.S. military staff concluded that Carmelo Rodriguez had melanoma present on his right buttock. No action, however, was taken.

In March of 2000, Carmelo marked ``no'' on a medical report indicating he was not aware of his melanoma.

On February 5, 2003, during a prescreening for foot surgery, another military doctor made note of a so-called ``birthmark'' present on his right buttock. Again, no action was taken.

During March of 2005, while Carmelo was deployed in Iraq, he saw another military doctor for a growth or sore on his buttock. He was told to keep it clean and visit the doctor again when he got back to the United States, which would be 5 months later.

On November 11, 2005, Carmelo saw the same doctor and was directed to dermatology to have the so-called birthmark removed for cosmetic purposes.

The next year, several months later, April 2006, while several referrals were ``lost in the system,'' Carmelo's so-called birthmark was bleeding and pussing constantly. He finally succeeded in seeing an appropriate doctor and was told he had stage III malignant melanoma.

Carmelo had three surgeries, received radiation and chemotherapy, but it was too late. The cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, to his liver, kidney and stomach, throughout his body. The doctors told him that if it had been caught earlier, it would have made a big difference.

Carmelo Rodriguez was a young, strong man and a dedicated member of the Armed Forces. At the age of 29, he died of a skin cancer that should have been caught much earlier by the military he was counting on. He left behind a family who loved him deeply, including his 7-year old son.

His family, like so many service men and women and their families, have been left with many unanswered questions. How could the military health system fail in such a significant and painful way? Why, after such a critical failure in health care, has the military not conducted and completed a full investigation into the circumstances that led to Carmelo's death? And how could it be possible that of all Americans, members of the military and their families are left no recourse in the face of such medical negligence?

In California, the wife and two small children of Staff Sergeant Dean Witt want to know why the military can't be held accountable when he died after routine appendicitis surgery.

Christine Lemp, whose husband, James, died after receiving questionable medical care for a stomach virus in Missouri, deserves to know why there is no recourse to holding the military accountable for his death.

Eight National Guardsmen and their families from New York City deserve answers in the face of the medical negligence that occurred after their exposure to depleted uranium.

The Feres Doctrine was a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court nearly 60 years ago that denies service men and women the ability to hold the military accountable for acts of negligence, including medical malpractice. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, Federal prisoners and even illegal aliens in the United States have the ability to seek damage from the Federal Government for medical malpractice, but members of our Nation's military still do not.

What I have done is crafted a piece of legislation to allow members of the military to seek just recourse in cases of military medical malpractice. This bill is about holding our military accountable for its actions and for its responsibility to our military members.

Carmelo's situation and this legislation speak directly to the fact that our military, including the military's health system, is spread thin by the occupation of Iraq. Our military is facing shortfalls of doctors, nurses and other health care staff across-the-board. This highlights just one of the many consequences of the decision to invade Iraq on false pretenses.

Service men and women must be on equal footing as all American civilians. I think Americans will agree that anything to the contrary contradicts the fundamental principles of our Nation. As a military veteran and Member of Congress, I believe we must match the dedication and sacrifice of our soldiers with the adequate health care they deserve and a fair avenue of recourse in the case that they do not receive that adequate health care.

I am hopeful that my colleagues will also agree and join me in support of the Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act of 2008.

Anyone who thinks back just a few years would remember how this administration and the Members of the Congress who were so complicit with them has been able to falsify information and get this country into such deep trouble. The situation in Iraq has got to come to mind. All of the deep problems we have there, based upon the falsification of information. That is what we are seeing here again, falsification of information.

The Republicans are alleging that no one wants the oil companies to be able to drill for oil offshore when the fact of the matter is that the oil companies already have leases on 68 million acres, half offshore, half on the dry land of this country, and they are not using those 68 million acres.

So what the Republicans want to do, at the request of this White House, is to continue to do what this administration has been doing since the meeting of Dick Cheney with the heads of the big oil companies in this country to continue to have an energy policy that is not in the interest of America but in the interest of the big oil companies.

What they want them to do is to be able to get more land, more land, more public land, and hang on to that public land and not produce anything on it.

What we are saying in this bill is use it or lose it. You already have the leases on 68 million acres of public land. Start using it. You want to drill, start drilling. We want you to drill. Drill on the leases that you already have. Don't pretend that you have nothing on which you can drill. You have 68 million acres.

What the Republicans want to do is just put more public land in the hands of the oil companies so that they can more completely and over a longer period of time control all of the energy resources, oil and natural gas, that the people of our country own and possess. They want the oil companies to possess them for long periods of time, not to use them. They are not drilling on what they have.

So pay attention to this bill, and vote for it. Use it or lose it.

Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Reverend James Childs for a distinguished career in the ministry that has spanned 50 years. As Reverend Childs transitions from head pastor to his role as Senior Pastor of Pointe of Praise Family Life Center in Kingston New York, I would like to recognize and thank him for his tremendous leadership as one of our region's most respected and passionate men of faith. I also wish to congratulate him on the occasion of his 70th birthday, another significant milestone.

Raised by his grandparents, Jim graduated from Kingston High School and began his professional career with IBM. His drive, determination and unwavering faith helped him to advance from mail clerk to department manager. During the ensuing years, Jim served his country, married his lovely wife Dorothy, became a father, deepened his spirituality and found the strength to enroll in the Nyack Missionary College to pursue his devotion to God.

I have even had the distinct pleasure of watching as Reverend Childs has grown even beyond his eloquent sermons and commitment to ideals to become a man of action. His involvement in our community is extensive. He has worked tirelessly to address disparity in many segments of our society including housing, education, and healthcare. He has served on numerous boards and his ministries have assisted migrant workers, food pantries and the youth of our towns and neighborhoods. Reverend Childs has been a tremendous force, powered by his sense of deep commitment to being a living example of what he preaches.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to congratulate Reverend Childs and his family on his 50 years in the ministry. I offer my very best wishes to him and his wife Dorothy as they begin this new chapter in their lives, along with my deep appreciation for his inspiration, dedication and hard work for the past 50 years. As the new Senior Pastor of Pointe of Praise Family Life Center, I am confident Reverend Childs will continue to contribute in many ways to the church and community as a whole.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor posthumously Mrs. Mary Bailey Whittington ``Whitt'' Davenport for her invaluable contributions in the areas of education, the arts and historic preservation in Ulster County, New York. For more than 70 years, Whitt Davenport was the epitome of generosity and benevolence. Her pioneering spirit is directly responsible for the creation of a consolidated school system in the Rondout Valley and the construction of Marbletown Elementary School. One of her most notable efforts was advocating for the establishment of Ulster County Community College, where her husband went on to serve as its first president.

Whitt Davenport was born in Greenwood, Mississippi on June 3, 1911 to William and Anna Whittington. Her father, a lawyer and cotton planter, also had the distinct honor of being a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 28 years. Whitt met Kenneth Davenport during her tenure as a student at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. They married shortly after her graduation in September 1933.

Once the Davenports took up residence in their historic home in Stone Ridge, Mrs. Davenport quickly become an active member of her newly adopted community. As a native Southerner, she retained her distinctive accent and brought a sense of Southern charm to all of her endeavors. Over the years, she opened her home for the many parties needed to support her philanthropic efforts and was often honored for her volunteerism.

Whitt Davenport was well known for her interest in books and volunteered at the Stone Ridge Library, going on to serve as both a librarian and president of the library board. Her commitment to the arts remains unparalleled, and she has even been called ``Queen of the Arts.'' She served on the Board of the Ulster Performing Arts Center, Music in the Mountains, and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. After the death of her husband in 1982, she, along with her family, established the Kenneth Davenport National Competition for Orchestral Works.

Her drive and determination helped save the landmark Luke Kiersted House in Kingston's Stockade District from the threat of Urban Renewal demolition and she planned the restoration of the gardens at the Senate House Historic site. Mrs. Davenport gave her time to many other organizations, lending them her sense of purpose, strength, and wisdom.

Madam Speaker, I had the pleasure of knowing Whitt Davenport over the course of many years. Her work on behalf of her community was inspiring and commendable. In fact, Whitt Davenport was a force to be reckoned with. It is with sorrow that we mark her passing and with pride and gratitude that we remember her grand accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, as the initiator of this resolution, I would first like to take a moment to thank Chairman Dingell for supporting the resolution and for bringing, being instrumental, rather, in bringing it to the floor today.

I would also like to thank Speaker Pelosi and Mr. Hoyer for their determination in bringing this measure to the floor during National Women's Health Week, despite the very crowded legislative schedule.

I would also like to thank Chairman Pallone and all of the fine members of the Health Subcommittee and their resolve in getting this through the committee and to the floor.

Finally, I'd like to thank my good friends, Congresswoman Lois Capps and Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack for taking the lead with me on this resolution for the third time in a row.

This resolution has the bipartisan sponsorship of 114 Members of this House. Also, the National Council of Women's Organizations fully endorsed this bill on behalf of their 230 member organizations who represent 11 million women across our country.

National Women's Health Week begins annually on Mother's Day. This

year marks the 9th Annual National Women's Health Week.

National Women's Health Week is a week celebrated across America. During this week, families, communities, businesses, government, health organizations and other groups work together to help educate women about steps that they could take to improve their physical and mental health, and to prevent various disease.

This week is also used as an opportunity to educate our population about important health issues that women face.

This resolution recognizes the importance of several things, including preventing diseases that commonly affect women; federally funded programs that provide research and collect data on common diseases in women, and it also calls on women to observe National Women's Checkup Day by receiving preventive screenings.

It is vitally important that women have knowledge about the health risks that confront them, and that they know they can greatly reduce those risks through preventive measures such as a healthy lifestyle and regular medical screening.

Healthy habits should begin at a young age. It is imperative that we take the time to educate young girls on the benefits of exercise and eating right. If these habits start at a young age, it is more likely that they will continue through their life.

It is important and essential we do everything we can to prevent disease. In this spirit, I encourage women to use this week to focus on the necessary checkups and preventive screenings from their health care providers so that they can live long, healthy and productive lives.

I urge full support and passage of this very important measure on behalf of the women of our country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Sister Ann Sakac, president of Mount Saint Mary College, in Newburgh, New York, as she prepares to retire on June 30 after 31 years as president, and nearly 40 years of service to this excellent college and to the Hudson Valley region of New York State.

Over the past four decades, Sister Ann has nurtured and enhanced the educational environment of Newburgh and the Hudson Valley. The Mount Saint Mary College board of trustees appointed her as the fourth president of the college in March 1977; she had been named acting president the previous August. When she became president, enrollment stood at 877; today some 2,600 men and women attend and benefit from the college.

Sister Ann is a member of the Dominican Sisters of Hope, formerly the Dominican Sisters of Newburgh, who founded the college in 1959. She came to the Mount Saint Mary College in 1969 to teach English. She also served as assistant dean of students.

During her presidency, the college has added programs in accounting, business management and administration, computer science and communication arts as well as graduate programs in education, nursing, and business. The Mount has incorporated technology into the classroom, its library and the operation of the college. Under her leadership, the college has engaged in an extensive building and renovation program for new academic, residential and recreational space, including a new Mathematics, Science and Technology Center, the William and Elaine Kaplan Recreation Center, the renovation of Guzman Hall and Founders Chapel, the construction of a mid-rise student residence and the renovation of the College Courts residence halls. Mount Saint Mary College has invested more than $75 million in its campus since 2002 and seen its annual operating budget expand from $3.5 million in 1977 to $54 million today.

Sister Ann has also made a tremendous impact off campus. Many organizations have absorbed her wisdom and expertise for their boards. She served as president of the Associated Colleges of the Mid-Hudson Region and is former chair of Pattern for Progress, Inc. She was a trustee of St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital from 1981-1999 and served on the board of trustees of the Commission of Independent Colleges and Universities. She has received many awards, including an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities from Providence College in 2003. The New York State Senate named her a Woman of Distinction in 2006.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to honor and thank Sister Ann for her distinguished career as president of Mount Saint Mary College and for her service to higher education and the community. I congratulate and salute Sister Ann, who has become synonymous with the identity of Mount Saint Mary College, on her dedication to teaching and her commitment to improving the lives of so many individuals.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi; and to Chairman John Dingell for bringing to the floor of this House of Representatives the most productive and forward-looking piece of energy legislation that we have seen in this Congress now in 30 years.

We are increasingly dependent upon energy from outside of America. In our country, we possess less than 3 percent of the known oil reserves around the world; yet on a daily basis, day after day, year after year, we are using 25 percent of that which is used, and that number is increasing. As a consequence of all of that, the price of energy has gone up to heat American homes, making it more and more difficult for the economic circumstances of families all across America and for transportation.

Over the course of the last 7 years, the price of gasoline has increased by more than four times. It has more than quadrupled over the course of the last 4 years. And a lot of that has to do with the energy legislation that has been produced by the minority party over the course of that time in connection with the White House.

This legislation begins to alter all of that. It begins to move us to a point where we can begin to be more energy independent by focusing our attention and our resources on renewable, alternative forms of energy, particularly solar energy.

It's interesting that Thomas Edison, one of the first energy producers in our country, made the observation that solar energy is the most productive, the most sustainable, and the one that we are going to have to depend on. And he said that an awfully long time ago. It ought to be clear to us now--he was right then, he is more right now.

And that's what this legislation does. It moves us toward energy independence. It allows people and corporations to produce energy through alternative means, particularly solar. That, in and of itself, is going to mean a huge economic improvement for our country and the production of hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Let's all pass this legislation. It is very much needed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Independent Living, Inc., based in Newburgh, New York, as it celebrates the

twentieth anniversary of its founding. For the past two decades, Independent Living has championed the cause of equal rights, access, and opportunity for persons with disabilities, and has worked throughout the Hudson Valley region to enhance the quality of life for these individuals and their families.

Founded in 1987, Independent Living currently provides services and assistance to more than ten thousand people annually. Through the hard work, vision and leadership of founder and Executive Director Douglas J. Hovey, Independent Living has continued to develop and expand its programs and advocacy for persons with disabilities, increasing its staff to more than two hundred.

Independent Living continues to make progress towards the goals of eliminating physical and attitudinal barriers for all persons with disabilities and ensuring that these individuals have universal access and opportunity in every aspect of community life. The organization's programs include information and referral services, peer counseling, individual and systems advocacy, and independent living skills training. Independent Living provides critical assistance with housing, education, employment, medical needs and personal attendant services, as well as advocacy for needed public policy changes at the local, state and federal levels of government.

Independent Living has systematically worked to reduce barriers for persons with disabilities by consulting with and educating family members, educators, service providers, public officials and representatives from the business community. The organization is operated by people with disabilities who clearly understand such barriers and can work effectively to resolve these obstacles. Through their diverse programs for individuals with disabilities, Independent Living also has helped to foster motivation, independence, self- direction, employment, social integration, and community participation.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to honor Independent Living for its 20 years of committed and distinguished service. I congratulate and salute Doug Hovey, the board of directors and the staff and supporters of this organization for their very positive and lasting impact on the lives of so many individuals and families. I offer my appreciation to Independent Living, Inc., which continues to serve as a strong model for similar efforts throughout our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the State University of New York's (SUNY) dual diploma program in conjunction with the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YOK). This unique and highly successful international higher education effort has partnered nine top-tier Turkish institutions with nine SUNY campuses. Two of which, SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Binghamton, are located in the district that I represent. This program and others like it are particularly important in the face of our country's current challenges in the Middle East and throughout the world.

The SUNY system, comprised of 64 campuses, provides first-class higher education for over 417,000 students and is the largest comprehensive university system in the nation. Tasked with increasing the number of international students on SUNY campuses, SUNY's Office of International Programs has initiated a broad series of programs to prepare students for an increasingly interconnected world. The dual diploma program with Turkish universities highlights SUNY's commitment and leadership in international education.

Evolving from initial talks held in 2000, the first cohort consisting of 33 Turkish students arrived on SUNY campuses in 2003. These students spend half their undergraduate education at a SUNY campus, half at a Turkish university, and receive a diploma from both. Through committed efforts and diligence, the program now boasts more than 1,500 students in 24 programs and has graduated 100 students. This year the Institute of International Education recognized the program with the Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education Partnerships.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to acknowledge SUNY's leadership, the Office of International Programs, SUNY and Turkish partnership institutions, and all those who have worked to ensure that New York State's system of higher education provides the international components that are critical to higher education, our nation's competitiveness, and our image abroad. Furthermore, I am deeply honored to represent two of SUNY's host institutions, SUNY Binghamton and my alma mater, SUNY New Paltz. Each of these universities' contributions in education and efforts at globalizing their campuses benefit their communities in many broad and profound ways and it is my pleasure to recognize them during International Education Week 2007.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my longtime staff member and dear friend, Wendy Darwell as she prepares to embark on the next adventure in her life. Wendy has served the people of New York's 26th and now 22nd congressional district with great distinction for the past 13 years, holding several positions of responsibility in my office, most importantly as my chief of staff. Wendy's tenure in my office has been defined by a deep commitment to serving the people of New York and a dedication to the operation of our organization, working to ensure efficient and effective service to the residents of my congressional district and the people of our country.

Wendy Darwell originally hailed from the Village of Tivoli in Dutchess County, New York. She attended American University here in Washington and began working in my office as an intern while taking undergraduate courses in 1995. Wendy quickly established herself as an effective member of my staff and quickly worked her way through many positions in my office; first as a legislative correspondent, then as a legislative assistant, press secretary and finally, for the past seven years, as my chief of staff. She is well-known for her grace under pressure, her leadership, and her professionalism and courtesy. Wendy has overseen many significant projects and initiatives that have benefited the country as a whole. But most importantly, she embraced every opportunity to improve the lives of the constituents I represent and did so with compassion and energy. I would not have been able to serve the people of the New York congressional districts I have represented as effectively without the extraordinary leadership and skill contributed by Wendy Darwell.

Madam Speaker, it is with a deep sense of gratitude that I rise today to thank Wendy Darwell for her many years of dedicated service to me, to the people of New York's 26th and 22nd congressional districts, and to this country. She leaves behind a long list of accomplishments and a staff and a congressman who will miss her deeply. I wish her well in her new endeavors and look forward to staying in close contact with her.

Madam Speaker, I am deeply saddened by the news that one of America's greatest thinkers has passed away, my friend and constituent William T. Golden. Although his name may not be well known to many Americans, his influence on our government, scientific community and countless charitable causes is broad and deep.

Mr. Golden was born in New York in 1909, the son of a wool trader who later went on to become a banker. He was raised in Washington Heights, but left New York to study English and biology at the University of Pennsylvania with the intent of becoming a physicist.

After finding that he disliked mathematics, he attended Harvard Business School for a year and then followed his father's footsteps to Wall Street. He went to work with a Harvard acquaintance, Harold Linder, who became a lifelong friend, neighbor and colleague.

In an interview with the New York Times, Mr. Golden said of this period of his life, ``The idea was to make a lot of money on Wall Street and then do interesting things.'' He set about achieving that goal with great zeal.

On the brink of World War II, he joined the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, spending most of the war in Washington where he developed a reputation as a great strategic thinker, as well as an inventor. He spent time at sea testing a device of his own invention that controlled antiaircraft machine guns. After the war, his experience in government led to his appointment as assistant to Lewis Strauss, a member of the fledgling Atomic Energy Commission. He served in that capacity for three years, traveling around the world to atomic test sites, bringing together the finest minds in American science, and becoming a skilled operator in how to get things done in government.

These efforts led to perhaps his greatest achievement in government, the creation of a national science advisor to the president. In 1950, on the eve of the Korean War, Mr. Golden was asked to advise President Truman on the reactivation of the wartime Office of Scientific Research and Development. In a pattern often repeated in his storied career, he set out to gather the information from the most distinguished scientists in the public and private sectors, traveling across the country and interviewing more than 150 people. Upon returning to Washington, he concluded that a new OSRD would be an impediment to the work of the many new research-oriented agencies established in the post-war period, including the AEC, the Office of Naval Research and the National Institutes of Health.

Bill Golden offered President Truman an alternative: the establishment of a presidential science advisor, who would coordinate all of this groundbreaking work and make direct recommendations to the commander in chief. Although meeting initial resistance from the National Science Foundation--an agency that he was instrumental in founding--and the Pentagon, he employed his political skills to pacify the objectors, expanding his original proposal to make the president's science advisor the chairman of a committee that would include the heads of the existing research agencies. The presidential science advisory committee went on to become extremely influential in the 1950s, providing critical information to President Eisenhower on the Cold War arms and space races.

Although Mr. Golden left government and returned to New York after this achievement, this was not the end of his contributions to government and science. Among his accomplishments, he is responsible for decades of service to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where he established a congressional fellowship program to send scientists to Capitol Hill and whose headquarters are named for him. As a leader of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology and Government, he orchestrated private, biannual meetings of the science advisers of the G7 nations. He also remained, throughout his life, a strong supporter of his brainchild, the presidential science advisor, and published numerous books and articles about science policy over the years. For all of these efforts, Mr. Golden is credited as a key figure in the development of our national research triumphs in the 20th Century. As John Gibbons, science advisor to President Clinton, told the New York Times, ``Without people like him, there would be no infrastructure, no research.''

Mr. Golden, of course, was not content to rest on his laurels. As his financial career flourished, so did his philanthropy. He was an active and engaged leader of nearly 100 nonprofit organizations and institutions. Among those to which he was most devoted were the American Museum of Natural History, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, which he helped to establish, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the New York Academy of Science and the Hebrew Free Loan Society, which had lent his Lithuanian immigrant father money to get started in America.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Mr. Golden because of his love of the great outdoors, which led him to purchase a weekend home in Olivebridge, New York, in the district I represent. He continued his activism there, donating land for a local park and becoming involved in the community. One of the great achievements of his later life was saving from development the Black Rock Forest in the Hudson Highlands, which is now preserved in perpetuity as a field station for scientific research, education and conservation.

I consider it a great privilege to have known and had the opportunity to work with Bill Golden, one of the greatest minds of our time and one of the most important figures in American science. Although he will be truly, deeply missed by his hundreds of friends and colleagues, and most especially by his wife, Catherine Morrison and his daughters Rebecca and Pamela, his legacy lives on.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my dear friend and constituent John C. (Jack) Macauley on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday. Jack has dedicated most of his adult life to serving his country and his community. It is with great pride and respect that I join in recognizing Jack's accomplishments and celebrating this amazing milestone.

Jack Macauley was born in Brooklyn on October 23, 1917. Like so many young men of his generation, he enlisted in the military in March 1943 and was assigned to duty in the 17th Airborne Division, 513th Parachute Infantry, Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion. Jack served with distinction and was ultimately promoted to platoon staff sergeant. During his tour of duty in the European theatre, Jack participated in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity, fought in the German Rhineland and throughout Central Europe and, during a critical campaign, parachuted into Wesel, Germany. Jack was honorably discharged on October 20, 1945 after earning his Paratrooper Wings, Combat Infantryman Badge, three Silver Stars, a Bronze Arrow, Purple Heart, Bronze Star and a Presidential Unit Citation.

After serving with distinction in the Army, Jack returned to the United States to continue his service to his country. In 1946, he joined the New York City Police Department where he was eventually promoted to Detective, Second Grade. In the course of 20 years of service in the NYPD, Jack was recognized for outstanding performance on many occasions, earning him the Combat Cross, three Honorable Mentions and thirteen other citations. Jack's career in the police department was highlighted when he was voted ``Policeman of the Month'' in November of 1953.

Jack retired from the New York City Police Department in 1966 and took a civilian job as a manager with the United States Postal Service, where he served with pride until his retirement in 1981.

Jack is fortunate to be married to Cecelia Marr Macauley. Together they've had three children, three grandchildren and three great- grandchildren.

Earlier this year, Jack attended the final reunion of the 17th Airborne Division as part of a ``Farewell to a Distinguished Association''. Jack joined many of his surviving brothers in arms to celebrate the heroism and accomplishments of the 17th Airborne and all of the brave men who served our Nation during World War II.

Madam Speaker, it is with great pride and admiration that I rise in this chamber to honor my good friend, Jack Macauley, for a lifetime of heroism and accomplishment and to wish him well as he celebrates his ninetieth birthday.