Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. J.H. Flakes of Columbus, GA, who on Sunday, October 18, will celebrate his 48th year as the Senior Pastor of the Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church in Columbus. I have known Reverend Flakes for many years and feel honored to call him a friend, a constituent, and an inspiration.

Reverend Flakes was born in Phenix City, AL, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from American Baptist College in Nashville, TN. He continued his biblical studies at Morehouse School of Religion in Atlanta, GA, the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education in Houston, TX, and the General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia in Rome, GA. In addition, he has received an honorary doctorate from A.B. Lee Theological Seminary in Jacksonville, FL, and an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater, the American Baptist College.

As the Word says in Proverbs 3:5, ``Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.'' Reverend Flakes has truly lived by this principle. Since his arrival at Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church, he has sought to implement the church's mission to ``obey the will of God through preaching, teaching, witnessing, stewardship and fellowship.''

Reverend Flakes has received numerous awards and recognitions to honor his steadfast commitment to his parishioners and his community, including the Outstanding Personality of the South, Ten Outstanding Ministers in the State of Georgia, the Alpha Phi Alpha Martin Luther King Award, Operation PUSH Martin Luther King Award, as well as the Knighthood Award from the Congress of Christian Education.

With ordained leadership and divine grace, Reverend Flakes has built a church that delivers God's message and works daily to implement God's vision. Reverend Flakes personifies the love of God through his teaching and his way of life. I thank him for his years of service to his parishioners, the Columbus community, Georgia's Second Congressional District, and the Nation. Moreover, I wish him many more fruitful years to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Daniel Simmons and the Mount Zion Baptist Church of Albany, Ga. On Sunday, October 11, the Mount Zion Baptist Church will jointly celebrate Dr. Simmons' 18th year as the Senior Pastor and the church's 144th anniversary. I have known Pastor Simmons for many years

and feel honored to call him my pastor, a friend, a teacher, and an inspiration. Likewise, I have been a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church for 13 years and have found it to be a Christian fellowship of love in action through service to mankind.

Dr. Simmons is a great many things to a great many people. Since I joined Mount Zion in 1996, I have come to know him as a man of character, an humanitarian, a bridge builder, a shepherd, and a leader. Above all, ``Pastor Simmons,'' as he is known, through his own humble and morally strong existence, helps us, as followers of the Word, to strive toward the Spiritual fulfillment graciously offered to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As the Word says in Proverbs 3:5, ``Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.'' Pastor Simmons has truly lived by this principle. Since his arrival at Mount Zion in 1991, he has sought to implement the church's mission to be a ``vibrant church that reaches the world for Christ through evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, and missions.''

Under his leadership, the church has grown to 2,700 members and counting. Financial stewardship has increased substantially. In July of 2008, the church broke ground on a new 67,000 square foot facility to provide the space necessary to continue building upon Pastor Simmons' vision and the church's mission. With all this growth and expansion, it is abundantly clear that God is doing great work at Mount Zion Baptist Church through the ministry of Pastor Simmons.

With ordained leadership and divine grace, Pastor Simmons has built a church that delivers God's message and works daily to implement God's vision. Pastor Simmons personifies the love of God through his teaching and his way of life. I thank him for his years of service to his parishioners, the Albany community, Georgia's Second Congressional District, and the Nation. Moreover, I wish him many more fruitful years to come.

I also recognize and celebrate the body of Christ which is the Mount Zion Baptist Church on the occasion of its 144th anniversary. May it forever utilize the blessings of great leadership and bountiful resources with which it has been provided to the Glory of Almighty God.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Benjamin F. Payton of Tuskegee, AL. Dr. Payton will retire next year after 28 years as the president of Tuskegee University. During his tenure, he guided the university through unprecedented growth and development.

A native of Orangeburg, SC, Dr. Payton graduated Phi Beta Kappa from South Carolina State University in 1955 with a B.A. in social studies. He went on to receive a B.D. from Harvard in political theology, an M.A. from Columbia in the philosophy of religion, and a Ph.D. in social ethics from Yale.

Prior to joining Tuskegee, Dr. Payton was program officer of Higher Education and Research at the Ford Foundation in New York City (1972- 81); president of Benedict College in Columbia, SC (1967-72); executive director of the Commission on Religion and Race at the Department of Social Justice at the National Council of Churches in the U.S.A. (1966- 67); director of the Office of Church and Race at the Protestant Council of the City of New York (1965-66); and an assistant professor at Howard University in Washington, DC (1963-65).

Dr. Payton has served Tuskegee since 1981. Among his many accomplishments at the university, he established and developed a number of programs for students in the fields of engineering, health care, bioethics, and business.

Additionally, he has been instrumental in raising funds for various renovation and improvement projects on campus, has helped to increase the endowment almost sevenfold, and has served as a shining example of leadership and moral courage for every student who steps on the Tuskegee University campus.

He has received three Presidential appointments, first by President Ronald Reagan to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, by President George H. Bush to lead the Task Force on Agricultural and Economic Development to Zaire, and most recently by President George W. Bush to chair the Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to recognize Dr. Benjamin F. Payton on the occasion of his retirement and I commend him for his dedication, outstanding leadership and, above all, thank him for his years of sacrifice, hard work, and service to his community and to the United States.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man who I am proud to have called a friend, a constituent, and an inspiration: Dr. M. Delmar Edwards of Columbus, Georgia. Dr. Edwards was the first African-American to practice surgery in the city of Columbus and was one who blazed new trails for those who would follow him. On September 11, 2009, he passed away at the age of 83.

Dr. Edwards was born on December 19, 1926, in the state of Arkansas. He attended Morehouse College and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, in 1948. He received a master's degree from Atlanta University in 1952 and, in 1957, became the fifth black person to graduate from the University of Arkansas Medical School.

In 1964 he moved to Columbus and started his practice on the corner of Fourth Avenue, now Veterans Parkway, and Eighth Street. He eventually led the general surgery section at the Medical Center and served as chairman of the department of surgery. Later, he trained to be a surgeon at the Residency Training Program in General Surgery at the Tuskegee Veterans Administration Hospital.

In the early 1980s, Dr. Edwards was a founding trustee of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, where a scholarship program was eventually named in his honor and has helped dozens of bright, young, aspiring physicians to achieve their goals of becoming a doctor.

In addition to his esteemed medical career, Dr. Edwards found the time to become a mentor to scores of African-American physicians in Columbus and was a driving force behind their decisions to stay and practice within the community. He was also a devoted community leader, becoming the first African-American to serve on the Columbus Housing Authority Board and the second on the Muscogee County School Board.

Madam Speaker, Dr. M. Delmar Edwards served the people of Columbus with honor, respect, and integrity. His lifetime of altruistic care- giving has made him a legend in our community and an inspirational figure for us all. I consider it a privilege to honor his life today and his dedication and lifelong commitment to the welfare of others. He will be missed.

Mr. Chair, I join my colleagues in opposition to the Flake Amendment to H.R. 3183, the Energy and Water Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I believe it is our duty to work with our colleagues across the aisle in crafting a bill that helps our country in times of economic peril. In a political climate where energy sources and technology have become a central focal point, we must do everything in our power to do what is in the best interest of the constituents in our respective districts, and indeed, the nation as well. This amendment, however, is not in the best interest of our constituents.

The Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research (CPBR), Inc., which is based in the State of Georgia, is an organization which specializes in the transfer of plant biotechnologies from the research laboratory to the marketplace, and in the process, provides expanded economic opportunities through university research. CPBR's research programs and activities are undertaken cooperatively with major colleges and universities around the nation, including Albany State University, which is located in my Congressional district.

In its short history, the CPBR has produced over 2.5 U.S. Patents with every $1 million dollars of federal funding provided. Through CPBR, every federal dollar is matched at a rate of 130% with non- federal funds. Additionally, the organization has a commercialization rate on successful projects which is over 210% higher than what universities get on their own.

The amendment offered by Congressman Flake frankly represents a gross lack of judgment, particularly given the enormous benefits we are continuing to gain as a result of the CPBR's research activities and tangible results being put in practice.

The CPBR has successfully worked with a number of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) through its HBCU and Minority Institutions Research Fellowship Program. This program provides peer reviewed projects at these colleges and universities which, has in turn, sparked development and growth between the faculty and students.

This also broadens its interaction with its private sector partners, who work closely with the CPBR and its researchers, to carry out the transfer research and technology into the production of new and improved agricultural and manufacturing processes and products. Keep in mind, these are new products which were created and developed by students and researchers at Universities around the country.

These industrial innovations create thousands of new jobs and strengthen our national

economy. One example of CPBR's research is the current use of Miscanthus as a feedstock for bio-ethanol and other industrial chemicals--a discovery which is currently used to reduce pollution from petroleum-based products throughout the energy industry. This is a clear example of the contributions which this group has made in moving our nation toward energy independence and improved technological efficiency.

We are all aware that advancing energy technology is one of the most important issues we face today. It is an issue that many feel very passionate about and affects the pockets of all of us and our constituents.

So it is essential that we continue to support activities of worthy organizations such as CPBR.

Mr. Chair, in closing, the enormity and size of the challenges facing communities impacted by the energy crisis is overwhelming. Funding for the work of the CPBR is worthy of continuation, and I would urge my colleagues to oppose the Flake amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 476, which celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of Black Music Month.

Music has long been intertwined with the Black experience, especially in the United States. Its roots stretch back to the rhythms of Africa which were first brought to the shores of America by our enslaved ancestors hundreds of years ago.

Black music also provided the soundtrack to freedom and the Civil Rights Movement. The movement's unofficial anthem, ``We Shall Overcome,'' and other Negro spirituals were sung by civil rights marchers in churches and on the road from Selma to Montgomery.

Today, it is almost impossible to imagine a style of contemporary music that has not been influenced by Black music. Jazz, gospel, rock and roll, rap, hip hop, R&B--all of these styles have become highly influential in the United States and across the globe. African American composers, writers, singers, instrumentalists, and producers also are at the top of many music charts. They have been enshrined in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Musicians such as Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles were inspired by African American artists like Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Smokey Robinson, and others. These talented musicians also have paved the way for African American artists today because their music is a powerful, multigenerational, and creative force.

I want to commend Representative Steve Cohen for bringing this resolution to the House floor today. Black music in all of its genres has both served to instill pride in our culture and bring people of all races together to enjoy its powerful rhythms and harmonies. I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 476 on final passage.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I just want the Members of this House to know that I represent the area where WHINSEC is located, Fort Benning, Georgia. I represented formerly the School of the Americas. I've been involved in this debate year in and year out. This is my 17th year.

The all-encompassing question is whether or not WHINSEC or its predecessor trained terrorists and murderers who did harm. That's an issue. But to create transparency, we want to make sure that this amendment passes so that people on both sides of the issue can get the facts and transparency and know who goes to the school, who teaches at the school, what the curriculum is. Having that be transparent is all we want to do, and the facts will speak for themselves.

I support WHINSEC. It's one of the greatest tools that our country has for democracy in our hemisphere. It's a good opportunity for us to make friends, keep friends, and to cooperate. But we want to make sure that there is no misunderstanding, and I join with the chairman in supporting this amendment and ask my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Chair, I am pleased to co-sponsor this amendment to the FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Act to restore public access and transparency to the names of students and instructors at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, or WHINSEC.

WHINSEC is located in Georgia's 2nd Congressional District at Ft. Benning. I have on many occasions visited the school and have supported the school's efforts to share its civil and military training with our friends and partners in Latin America. WHINSEC is a military and academic institution, the primary effort of which is to promote peace, democratic values, and respect for human rights through inter-American cooperation.

I agree with my esteemed colleague, Mr. McGovern, that the school should provide the names of Latin American and U.S. military personnel who attend or teach at the school, as well as the curriculum taught at the school.

This amendment brings back the former policy of disclosing attendees, faculty members and course offerings. Allowing this information to become public will protect the school from attempts to discredit its efforts to develop partnerships and the principles of democracy.

It will also demonstrate to the nations of Latin America that the lessons learned at WHINSEC are ethnical, promote human rights, and provide a civil/military framework of building democratic governments.

Please join me in supporting this effort to ensure that the institutions we entrust to promote democratic principles are open for review and discussion. I urge you to support the amendment to H.R. 2647, the FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Act.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 2647, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. In short, my amendment would provide the Department of Defense, and in particular, the Office of Economic Adjustment, the authority to financially support the development and construction of public infrastructure in communities which are directly impacted by the expansion and growth of military installations.

Mr. Chair, the last Military Base Re-alignment and Closure initiative, which occurred in 2005, coupled with the ongoing transformation of the Army and re-positioning of troops world-wide, has had a tremendous impact on the local communities which house our nation's military installations and facilities.

In its FY2009 Budget Justification, DOD estimated the total one-time cost for the most recent BRAC round in 2005 at nearly $32 billion, of which nearly $23 billion will be for military construction. For FY2009, DOD's budget request was $9.07 billion, while Congress approved $8.77 billion. And just yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee, of which I am a member, approved at total of $7.49 billion for BRAC construction activities.

The Muscogee County School District for example, which is located in my congressional district in Georgia, is estimated to receive 5,000 to 9,000 additional school-aged children as a result of the planned growth and expansion of Ft. Benning. DOD's most recent projections put the number of new school aged children at approximately 3,000 to 4,000. But no matter what the number, there is a consensus that several thousand new children will be attending a school system which currently does not have the facilities to house them.

According to some estimates, nearly 25 local school districts nationwide could be required to accommodate tens of thousands of additional military dependent school-aged children due entirely to DOD actions and decisions. The financial cost to school systems

across the county resulting from the latest round of DOD initiatives could exceed $2 billion over the course of the next several years. This includes the communities surrounding Ft. Bliss [Texas], Ft. Bragg [North Carolina], Ft. Carson [Colorado], Ft Lee [Virginia], as well as several other facilities where major growth is envisioned by DOD.

By providing DOD the authority to develop public infrastructure, including local schools, as provided in my amendment, we begin to address this challenge by providing the Department with expanded authority to assist select communities in addressing their local facility needs.

There is precedent. During Word War II, the Korea and Vietnam wars, our National leaders saw fit to partner with local education agencies to build schools to accommodate children of the military, defense employees and contractors who worked on the military installations. Likewise, the Department supported the construction of schools as a result of the expansion and growth of the military's Kings ay installation.

Mr. Chair, in closing, the enormity and size of the challenges facing communities impacted by DOD personnel movements is overwhelming. This amendment is an important step in providing the Department with the authority to begin to work with these communities in addressing their infrastructure needs--needs which have been created by the Department's own actions.

I urge the House's support for this amendment.

Madam Speaker, I regret that I was unavoidably absent Friday, June 19, on very urgent business. Had I been present for the ten votes that day, I would have voted the following way:

I would have voted ``aye'' on H. Res. 559, rollcall vote No. 409;

I would have voted ``aye'' on H. Res. 559, rollcall vote No. 410;

I would have voted ``aye'' on H. Res. 560, rollcall vote No. 411;

I would have voted ``aye'' on H.R. 2918, rollcall vote No. 412;

I would have voted ``aye'' on H.R. 2918, rollcall vote No. 413;

I would have voted ``present'' on rollcall vote No. 414;

I would have voted ``aye'' on H. Res. 520, rollcall vote No. 415;

I would have voted ``aye'' on H. Res. 520, rollcall vote No. 416;

I would have voted ``aye'' on H. Res. 520, rollcall vote No. 417;

I would have voted ``aye'' on H. Res. 520, rollcall vote No. 418.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Reverend Joseph Roberson of Columbus, Georgia, who has for the past 15 years served with unwavering love and devotion as the Senior Pastor of South Columbus United Methodist. On June 17, 2009, Reverend Roberson will resign his pastoral duties to serve as the Statesboro District Superintendent, where he will minister to 82 churches and 53 pastors.

Under Reverend Joseph Roberson's leadership these past 15 years, South Columbus United Methodist has grown from 45 members to now more than 800 members. It established a Hispanic Ministry and added an Associate Pastor to the church leadership team. Reverend Roberson has touched many lives through his ministry at South Columbus United Methodist. To his parishioners, he is a pastor, an evangelist, a prophet, a teacher, a counselor, and a friend.

A native of Waynesboro, Georgia, Reverend Roberson first joined the ministry in 1978 with the Statesboro District of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC). Over the next 16 years, his career took him from there to the West Point Parish (1980- 1983), Speedwell UMC in Savannah, Georgia (1983-1985), Council on Ministries (1985-1991), the National Black Methodists for Church Renewal in Dayton, Ohio (1991-1994), and finally to the South Columbus UMC in 1994.

I appreciate the impact that Reverend Joseph Roberson and the South Columbus United Methodist Church have made on the city of Columbus. The church has become a spiritual pillar of the Columbus community reaching out to those in need and comforting those who are suffering.

I am truly honored to be able to call Reverend Roberson a fellow Georgian. His faithfulness and dedication are rare traits. I thank him for his years of service at South Columbus United Methodist and I wish him Godspeed in the next phase of his life.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, it often takes loss to remind ourselves of our unwavering appreciation and unfaltering gratitude for those few extraordinary people who, despite their ability to enjoy tremendous success and reward for themselves, instead commit their energies and talents to the betterment of the world.

Millard Fuller of Americus, Georgia, was one of those extraordinary few. He passed away February 2nd, leaving behind a wife and family, but, more importantly, a legacy that is all the evidence one needs to believe in the power of the human spirit to inspire hope and lift the burdens of poverty and despair from the shoulders of one's fellow man.

Throughout his life, Millard Fuller's talent and passion were put on display in no small number of ways. He grew to be a great entrepreneur, founding a marketing company that made him a millionaire before he was 30 years old. He was a great lawyer and headed the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. He was a great Christian, one who walked away from his hard-earned wealth to pursue a life of service and philanthropy through the founding of the tremendously successful Habitat for Humanity.

Millard led the organization for more than three decades, and through the application of what he called the ``economics of Jesus,'' helped to provide over 300,000 homes to the destitute and downtrodden across the globe.

However, more than any of these things, Millard was a great man. His selflessness serves as an inspiration to people throughout the Nation and all across the world.

Born to a grocer in Lanett, Alabama, Millard refused to allow his modest beginnings to define the course of his life. Although he attained great fortune from his tireless efforts as a businessman, he soon found that in order to live a life of fulfillment, he had to dedicate himself to a simple life of devotion and service to a higher purpose.

He traveled to Africa in order to observe what he could do to improve the lot of the impoverished. He became a staunch advocate for aid to Africa's poor and traveled the United States for assistance in his efforts for Africa.

After moving to Americus, Georgia, which is located in the Second Congressional District of Georgia, which I'm proud to represent, Millard and his supporters founded what would become the most visible and effective manifestation of his desire to make a difference, an organization dedicated to providing housing and support for the poor, Habitat for Humanity.

For more than 30 years, Habitat for Humanity, with the help of countless volunteers, ranging from the average citizen to former President Jimmy Carter, built hundreds of thousands of homes for the world's disadvantaged. Its mission has reflected a simple philosophy best expressed in Millard's own words. He said, ``We want to make it socially, morally, politically and religiously unacceptable to have substandard housing and homelessness.''

In 1996, President Bill Clinton recognized Millard's dedication by awarding him The Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 2005, Millard also founded the Fuller Center for Housing, a nonprofit housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing worldwide by providing the structure, guidance and support that communities need to build and repair homes for the impoverished among them.

It is my great honor to sponsor H. Res. 385, which celebrates the life of Millard Fuller and the impact that he had on so many. As this resolution is voted on today, let us seek to emulate Millard Fuller's passion for the good and the just and his selfless spirit of a better, gentler world.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution to honor the life and the memory and the legacy of Millard Fuller.

Mr. Speaker, America's Civil Rights movement was a great step forward for all of the citizens of this great nation. This movement has brought us one step closer to an America where one's race does not serve as a barrier against greater opportunity. This movement has allowed our great country to reach a point where any child--black or white, girl or boy, rich or poor--can dream of becoming President of the United States.

The Civil Rights movement is what allowed many of us in this chamber to be here, myself included. We, and the rest of America, owe a debt of gratitude to this movement and its courageous leaders. Many lived through this movement and fought for it. Others grew up surrounded by its stories.

Unfortunately, as the years go by, we are slowly losing some of our courageous Civil Rights leaders. Just recently, we have lost Civil Rights pioneers such as Mrs. Coretta Scott King and Mrs. Rosa Parks. It is vital that we preserve the stories of these heroes so that future generations will know of the struggles and sacrifices made on their behalf. For this reason, I am urging the passage of H.R. 586, the Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009.

This bill provides for the collection of oral histories from those individuals who were involved first hand in the struggles of the Civil Rights movement. This collection will be organized by the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Library of Congress.

Now is the time for us to embark on this project. If we wait, we may lose this chance forever. The recorded retelling of these stories will provide a rich history for future generations. It will bring future students of this momentous era closer to the people who shaped it. The voices of the Civil Rights movement--voices which were lifted up in the cause of justice--deserve to be preserved for years to come.

Although the Civil Rights era was a tumultuous time for our country, it is also a time where the nation came out stronger as a whole. The Civil Rights Oral History Project will celebrate this history and pave the way for future generations to realize what is possible when people come together.

Mr. McCarthy of California.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, if there ever were a genuine personification of those treasured values which we call scholarship, commitment, and leadership, Professor John Hope Franklin was it. Franklin, who passed away last month at a youthful ninety-four, lived these values everyday of his distinguished life as one of the twentieth century's most accomplished historians. His celebrated work reflected the trials of his own life and his own race, so that the people of the United States, and the citizens of the world, could better appreciate, better understand, and better embrace our tumultuous--yet always forward-marching--journey.

John Hope Franklin's career began over sixty years ago when, despite rejection from the University of Oklahoma due to the color of his skin, he earned a degree from Fisk University. Franklin then went on to receive a doctorate in history from Harvard University at the age of twenty-six. From there, he entered teaching, seeking to share his deep knowledge of the American experience with his students. Eventually, his acumen as an historian and skill as an instructor led Brooklyn College to name him as the nation's first African-American Chair of a major history department, a position which earned him the respect and prestige he had been denied years previously. John Hope, as his friends knew him, had achieved the notoriety he had worked hard to deserve.

From Brooklyn College, John Hope Franklin would go on to teach at the University of Chicago and Duke University. He would be honored at the latter institution with the distinction of James B. Duke Professor of History, eventually reaching ``emeritus'' status in that position. Furthermore, Franklin was the recipient of such honors and accolades as the John W. Kluge Prize in the Human Sciences, a Jefferson Lecturer of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and, in 1995, was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by President William Jefferson Clinton, for his contributions and service to American society.

Mr. Franklin's honors and titles are impressive and indeed well- deserved. Yet, they do not tell the entire story of this man's extraordinary impact. As an historian, John Hope Franklin sought to tell the story of his fellow men of color, to instill within our nation an understanding of the struggle over race that has defined so much of our history. His seminal work, From Slavery to Freedom, remains to this day a timeless and signature examination of African-American history. It served to illustrate how the history of the United States and the history of racial tensions are so deeply intertwined. Along with the rest of his extensive academic work, From Slavery to Freedom constitutes a tremendous educational legacy for which our nation will always remain filled with gratitude to have received.

The ivory towers and rolling lawns of academia, however, could not confine the enlightening force of John Hope Franklin's talents. In 1954, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and a talented lawyer named Thurgood Marshall took up a lawsuit in the United States Supreme Court against the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Franklin joined this team, utilizing his knowledge and understanding of race relations and the African-American experience to help Marshall win a court decision that forever changed these United States, serving as the first stone tossed in the pond of injustice, releasing countless ripples calling for social equality and civil rights.

Whether examining the history that had been written by others, or working to write the next pages himself, the potency of John Hope Franklin's impact on the understanding of our journey as a nation, and of our identity as a people places him among the giants of American historical study. His exposure and exploration of the path our nation has taken as it has encountered the struggles of racial strife are lasting contributions to the fulfillment of our nation's promise, and will serve to forever shine a light on the darkness of misunderstanding and ignorance.

It is with heartfelt gratitude and unwavering appreciation toward the accomplishments and contributions of the venerable John Hope Franklin, that I therefore urge my colleagues to join me in support of House Resolution 302, so that we may honor this man who embodied and embraced lasting values of scholarship and service, and who told the story of the United States--our story--with such eloquence and poignancy; a story of which he himself was frequently a resounding character.

Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 187 on H.R. 1256, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Chair, I want to say a few words in support of the Fiscal Year 2010 House Budget Resolution. This important legislation builds on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create jobs and strengthen the American economy for the long-term. It also restores honesty and transparency to the congressional budget process and puts our nation on a clear path to recovery.

I want to especially commend House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, and the leadership of the Blue Dog Coalition for their outstanding work in crafting this budget. As a Blue Dog, I am pleased that the budget incorporates many of the Coalition's principles--namely, commitments to statutory Pay-As-You-Go budget discipline, deficit neutral health care reform, eliminating $50 billion in waste and abuse in government spending, and cutting the deficit in half by Fiscal Year 2013.

Concerning the deficit, it is important to recall that America's fiscal house was in order when the Bush Administration took office eight years ago. There was a projected ten-year budget surplus of $5.6 trillion. The nation would have had the resources then to pay down the national debt, protect Social Security for future generations, and accommodate tax relief for hardworking American families.

In a few short years, the surplus disappeared and the national debt mushroomed. Rather than a $5.6 trillion surplus, Congress is now confronting a record $1 trillion deficit in 2009 alone. In fact, the nation is facing deficits in 2009 and 2010 that would be greater as a share of the economy than in any year since World War II.

According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, the current recession ``is compounding the underlying long-term fiscal pressures resulting from rapidly rising health care costs, the aging of the population, past tax cuts, and war costs. If we continue current policies . . . the nation is on a path to amass $10 trillion in cumulative deficits over the next decade, during which time the deficit will not fall below 5 percent of GDP.'' Both as a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and, more importantly, as an American citizen, it was troubling to see that our nation's commitment to fiscal discipline was being so recklessly squandered during these eight years.

This budget resolution finally puts America's budget house in order. In addition to ensuring budget discipline, it makes vital investments in a number of areas. The House Budget Resolution strengthens education by providing additional funding for new initiatives in early childhood education and raising the Pell Grant award. It includes provisions to reduce health care costs while improving access to quality medical care.

The House Budget Resolution also supports veterans by increasing Veterans' Affairs funding by 11%. Finally, it increases our investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency by 18% in 2010 to promote clean energy technologies, industries, and jobs.

The House budget makes many of these investments at a lower level of nondefense discretionary funding than President Obama's original request. I also am pleased that it includes tax relief for middle- income taxpayers and small businesses, as well as an accurate accounting of the costs of our military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This budget is good for Georgia and good for America. I am pleased to support it and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of its adoption.