Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, the chaplain of the day asked God to look over this Congress. I ask God and think the preacher should have asked for direction a little bit further, to look over the Supreme Court, because the Supreme Court has in its hands the Affordable Care Act.

A report was just issued yesterday that said in my home city of Memphis, African American women are twice as likely to die of breast cancer than Caucasian women. That's unacceptable.

Part of that is because they don't get the health care they need. The Affordable Care Act will see to it that everybody gets access to affordable health care, that there won't be a disparity of twice as much for the cost of insurance for women than men, and that mammograms will be offered to people, ladies, without a co-pay.

If the Affordable Care Act passes, that disparity in health between white women and black women in my city and in America will end. That is wrong.

Part of what's happened in my city is a vestige of Jim Crow, and even though those laws have been repealed, we still suffer from them, and there is a lot in the Affordable Care Act that will end those. I hope the Supreme Court rules on the side of life.

Mr. Speaker, filmmaker James Cameron is known for captivating us with his great films like ``Avatar,'' ``Aliens,'' ``The Abyss,'' and ``Titanic.'' But yesterday, he really fascinated and captivated the world. He went down 36,000 feet under the sea to the lowest, deepest part of the world in a ship that he designed over the last 7 years privately--a 24-foot capsule--that took him down to visit and learn about the deep recesses of the sea.

Eighty percent of the world's biosphere is under the sea. We know less about that than we know about the Moon's surface. James Cameron, with the help of National Geographic and Rolex as a sponsor, and his friend, Mr. Allen, took that voyage and showed what man can do when he has curiosity and bravery. His activities that took a 6-hour trip to the bottom of the sea remind me of Charles Lindbergh, an individual who conquered new territories and opened up new vistas.

Before that, nobody had been that deep since 1960. They were there for 20 minutes, and they didn't see much. He was there for 6 hours. He's going to bring back a lot of information about the sea and about sea life. I thank him for his work. I congratulate him. The fulfillment of his dream sparks the imagination of the world and challenges us to explore our own creativity and ingenuity.

I thank Mr. Cameron for his courage, his imagination, and his daring.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate William Evans, PharmD, Director and CEO of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, on receiving the Remington Honor Medal from the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). The Remington Honor Medal was established in 1918 to recognize those who have contributed long periods of distinguished service on behalf of American pharmacy. Dr. Evans was honored by APhA for his innovative research with anticancer agents and pharmacogenomics as well as his work for the advancement of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The Remington Honor Medal is the highest honor bestowed by the American Pharmacists Association.

Dr. Evans received his PharmD from the University of Tennessee in 1975. While at the University of Tennessee, he established the Center for Pediatric Pharmacokinetics and Therapeutics as a Center of Excellence. This program provided training for new investigators and served as a structure to advance interdisciplinary laboratory-based clinical research that addressed questions central to children's health. Dr. Evans continues to make significant contributions to the University of Tennessee as a Professor and the Endowed Chair at the school's Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Dr. Evans has an expansive career with St. Jude Hospital. He served as Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences from 1986 to 2002. From 2002 to 2004, he served as the Scientific Director and Executive Vice President before being named the hospital's fifth Director and CEO. Under his leadership, St. Jude has been ranked the #1 Children's Cancer Hospital by US News and World Report, #1 in The Scientist magazine's best places to work in academia and was listed among Fortune magazine's 100 Best Places to Work.

Dr. William Evans is an active member of the medical community and has amassed an impressive list of awards over the course of his profession. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, the American college of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and has served as President of the ACCP, Chair of AAAS's Pharmaceutical Sciences Section and President of APhA-Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science.

Dr. Evans has received three consecutive NCI MERIT Awards from the National Institutes of Health, several national and international awards including the Rawls Palmer Progress in Medicine Award, the Therapeutic Frontiers Lecture Award, the Volwiler Research Award, and the APhA's Research Achievement Award and Tyler Prize. In addition to his many awards, Dr. Evans is widely published in the field of medical research dating back to 1986. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to join me in congratulating Dr. William Evans on receiving the 2012 Remington Honor Medal.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here in the same spot where I was about 2 years ago, March 23, 2010, to celebrate the passage of one of the most important acts that this body has ever passed: the Affordable Care Act.

On March 23, we will celebrate the 2-year anniversary of that landmark decision. Of course, next week the Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether the individual mandate is permissible or not. Let us hope that the Supreme Court will act according to the law.

The Affordable Care Act will change the landscape of our Nation's health care delivery system for the better. I hosted a telephone town hall last night with my constituents on the Affordable Care Act and was joined by the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, Bill Corr, to answer questions from folks in my district about how it will affect them.

We listened to comments and stories about people who have been in the doughnut hole, seniors, that cost them a lot of money. We told them about the fact some of them knew that once they go into the doughnut hole--after they spend about $2,500 or $2,700 and up to about $5,000 you go into that hole--that the moneys will be paid for, for generic drugs, with a 50 percent discount because of the Affordable Care Act. That is extremely important for citizens and others with high drug prices.

Children will be able to stay on their parents' insurance, if they choose to, up to the age of 26, which didn't happen before; and that's so important for young people and for parents to know the security that their children will be insured if they have a health care crisis.

Doctors will be able to see seniors for preventative care without cost. That's happening right now for those on Medicare and will happen for everybody in 2014 when the law goes into effect for all-- mammograms, colonoscopies, shots for children, vaccinations, et cetera.

The insurance companies will no longer be able to have lifetime limits on how much people can use their insurance in case of illness.

There will be a consumer-friendly exchange where you can shop for prices for insurance and compare insurance policies to get what's best for you.

You can't arbitrarily be dropped from coverage by your insurance company simply because you get sick, and preexisting conditions will no longer be a basis to deny somebody insurance. Already today, for children up to the age of 19, preexisting conditions cannot stop you from getting insurance.

I had polio when I was a child. I would not like to think of any child that gets an illness such as that today, whether it be diabetes or cancer or any other illness, to be denied insurance because of a preexisting condition. That, because of the Affordable Care Act, will not occur in the future in this country.

Insurance companies have taken people off of insurance because they've used too much in a year or too much in a lifetime, and that's going to stop.

The idea of getting preventative care, which Medicare provides now and all will have in the future, will lead to lower health care costs because, if you catch illnesses early, it's much more cost efficient to treat them, and lives will be saved as well.

Insurance companies are required to spend at least 80 percent of their moneys on treating patients, not on executive pay, advertising, administrative costs, or other such costs to the consumer; and if they go over that in any way whatsoever, the consumer will get a rebate. Insurance companies must now publish justifications for any premium increases they are seeking of more than 10 percent on the Internet, and outside experts will evaluate whether those increases are justified. The consumer will be protected.

The doughnut hole ending, which I talked about earlier, has helped 3.6 million seniors receive discounts of $2.1 billion, each senior saving an average of $604.

The preventative care services I mentioned under Medicare, 32.5 million seniors have already received one or more of those preventative services; and youngsters have received them as well because they get preventative care in their vaccinations without having to have a copay, which might stop their parent from taking them to the doctor to get those vaccinations which can prevent illnesses later.

Seniors are now receiving free annual wellness visits under Medicare, and 2.3 million seniors in traditional Medicare have already taken advantage of the new annual wellness visit.

Young adults stay on their insurance, as I mentioned; 2.5 million additional young people have gained insurance over the last year.

Paul Krugman wrote in yesterday's New York Times that what is called by the Republican Party ObamaCare--which really, if you think about it, is a good thing, Obama cares, but it's not intended to be by them as, really, Obama-RomneyCare, because the plan we adopted is based upon what Mitt Romney did in Massachusetts to make sure that the people of Massachusetts bought insurance and the burden was shared in an appropriate way.

Thank you, Mitt Romney. Thank you, President Obama. Thank you, United States American Congress.

Madam Speaker, I came here to speak about a topic which I will address shortly, but I couldn't not take the moment to reflect on the passing of a great man who served in this Chamber since 1989, Representative Donald Payne of New Jersey, who passed away this morning. Representative Payne sat in this section, was a quiet, righteous, courageous man with whom I had the good fortunate to travel at the request of and sponsorship of CARE and the Gates Foundation to Rwanda and to the Congo last August.

He cared about children greatly. He cared about education. He cared about people, and was very upset some years back when Don Imus, the radio shock jock, said some wrongful things about the Rutgers women's basketball team that cost Mr. Imus his position. And that brings me to what I was going to speak about today.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I slept well on my Sleep Number bed, and I slept well on my Sleep Number bed last night because they canceled their advertising on the Rush Limbaugh show. I mentioned that advertisers are accessories to the crime when radio people go too far and destroy someone's character, or try to, and make libelous statements. Limbaugh did that when he called Sandra Fluke some names, said she did some things or whatever, that were wrong, totally wrong.

Eleven advertisers have pulled their advertising because they don't want to, in the future, be accessories to such conduct. Talk radio has gone way over the top in this country, doing anything for ratings and money.

It came to my attention that two radio stations have dropped Rush Limbaugh, and it's not just advertisers but it's radio stations that are accessories to the fact of this type of crime. It's not like we don't know it's coming because it's been out there for people to see for years, and they've sat by as this type of lies and hateful speech and wrongful speech has taken place on the radio, Rush Limbaugh being the main violator of people's rights.

I decided last night in my elections to come--and I've got a primary and a general--I've always bought billboard advertising, and Clear Channel almost has a monopoly in my city on billboards, and they have Rush Limbaugh on their network, that until they drop Rush Limbaugh, I'm not going to buy billboards for my campaign.

I'm also going to discontinue radio advertising on Clear Channel, which I've done in the past. It might hurt me a little bit politically, but it's the right thing to do. That type of conduct should not be advanced on the airwaves that are supposed to be for the public good. It's interesting to note that Don Imus' comments were about women, and Rush Limbaugh's comments are about women. It seems to be fair game sometimes for men on radio to take on women and cast aspersions.

Don Imus learned his lesson, and he said that Rush Limbaugh's apology was inadequate and weak and cowardly, and indeed it was. He hasn't called the lady. He hasn't come to Georgetown University and made amends to all those women whose character he impugned in misogynist statements, and he hasn't given a proper apology. He said he used inappropriate

words. He was on an inappropriate topic. And Mitt Romney certainly didn't rise to the occasion when he said they weren't the words he would have used. It wasn't an area that anybody should have brought up or even thought about.

Limbaugh said that the woman wanted to be paid for sex because she, in his thoughts, wanted contraception so she could have sex without the fear of pregnancy. It's funny, Rush Limbaugh never questioned anybody getting a vasectomy, for what's the use of a vasectomy, that's covered by insurance, but to have sex without the fear or possibility of pregnancy. He said because she wanted sex paid for by the taxpayers that he ought to be able to watch it. Well, I wonder if he wants to watch all the men who had vasectomies have their sex.

There's something wrong in the country, and the advertisers and the radio stations are responsible, and they need to take appropriate moral and ethical action and not continue to be accessories to the fact and support such trash.

This week is National Breakfast Week, which offers an opportunity to talk about the importance of a healthy breakfast for America's children. Breakfast, as we've all heard, is the most important meal of the day. Studies have shown that breakfast can help boost a child's academic performance and can also improve classroom behavior, reduce absences and tardiness, as well as increase mental focus and physical performance. However, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one in five children live in homes where food is not always available, making breakfast often hard to come by.

I want to commend Kellogg's, which has a cereal plant in my district, and Action for Healthy Kids for starting the Share Your Breakfast program which provides grants directly to school or school districts to help them increase participation in school breakfast programs. Our children need to receive a holistic, well-rounded education, one that includes staying active and fit and, most importantly, starts off with a healthy breakfast.

I'm off to lunch.

Thank you, Mr. Roe. I appreciate the time.

Everything has been said just about Congressman Payne, and by such wonderful gentlemen and gentleladies who pay tribute to the man. I had the opportunity to meet him early in my entry into the Congress, and he made me feel at home from day one. He was, indeed, a gentleman, quiet but with a marvelous record for peace and for justice for the downtrodden people who needed a helping hand.

I had the opportunity through the auspices of CARE and the Gates Foundation to travel with Congressman Payne, his brother and others to Rwanda, to Goma and to Congo this past August; and I saw how he was beloved among people in Africa where he would travel on many occasions before. We shared the experience of going to the memorial to the victims of the genocide there, and Congressman Payne told me some stories about when he'd been there with President Clinton, and President Clinton had gone back and expressed his regrets of not having done more earlier to prevent the genocide, but was strong in supporting the nation of Rwanda and the people getting their country back together.

Donald Payne had a progressive record. He was respected and loved by all. I was fortunate that my life intersected with his for he made me feel at home. And as so many other Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have done, he made it to where it wasn't necessary to be a member of the Congressional Black Caucus to be with the Congressional Black Caucus. I value my time with him.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Frank Marmaduke Norfleet. Mr. Norfleet was born in Memphis, TN on November 27, 1918 and became a philanthropist as well as an outstanding civil and business leader.

In 1941, Mr. Norfleet joined the Army, serving as a cavalryman and tank officer in World War II. A decorated veteran, Mr. Norfleet was awarded the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the French Croix de Guerre for fighting in The Battle of the Bulge and the Silver Star for Valor. After leaving the military, he returned to Memphis in 1946 and began working at Parts, Inc., an automotive ``aftermarket'' company and eventually led it to significant growth as its Chairman and CEO. In 1959 he cofounded and became the president and director of the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association. In 1969 he assumed the same role with the Automotive Information Council of New York, another company that he cofounded. In addition to this, he served as a director of First Tennessee Bank for 18 years and at CSX Corp.

In 1978, Mr. Norfleet founded Forum for a Better Memphis, a short- lived organization that encouraged and supported political candidates who sought to effect positive changes for the city. That year, I ran for County Commissioner and became the forum's first beneficiary of their support. It was at that time that I had the good fortune of meeting and developing a friendship with Mr. Norfleet.

Mr. Norfleet worked closely with Memphis health organizations and in 1980, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center named its annual healthcare forum in his honor. When he was inducted into the Memphis Society of Entrepreneurs in 1997, Mr. Norfleet commented, ``Being an entrepreneur not only offers opportunities for personal financial success but of equal importance is the entrepreneur's ability to give others employment and, in many cases, opportunities to make charitable gifts to those in need and less fortunate.'' Furthermore, in 1999, Mr. Norfleet was honored by the State of Tennessee for his long history of giving back and working to improve Memphis and Shelby County.

Mr. Norfleet's list of civic involvements is just as extensive. In addition to serving as an elder at Second Presbyterian Church, he was a founding member of both the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis and the Economics Club of Memphis. He also served two six-year terms as Justice of the Peace for the Shelby County Quarterly Court. Mr. Norfleet's other involvements included raising money for Rhodes College, the University of Tennessee, Memphis University School, and Presbyterian Day School. He also enjoyed his work with the Memphis Zoological Society, Elmwood Cemetery and the Memphis Opera Theater where he served as the director.

Friends and family remember Mr. Norfleet as a man of great intelligence and enthusiasm. According to his son-in-law and former colleague, Alex Thompson, his success stemmed ``not from ambition, but the way he was wired and the gifts God gave him.'' Others describe him as a mentor who was willing to share his knowledge and experience. Pearson Crutcher, the executive director of the Memphis Entrepreneurial Society said that Mr. Norfleet ``was one of those people who made your life better because you knew him.''

Mr. Norfleet passed away surrounded by his family at his home on February 17, 2012 at 93 years of age. He is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Jean Flanigan Norfleet, three daughters, Janet Sheahan, Jean Laughlin, and Frances Thompson, 7 grandchildren, and 9 great- grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, last night, I rested very well on my Sleep Number bed knowing that the company had pulled its ads from Rush Limbaugh's show.

In light of Limbaugh's recent misogynistic attack on Georgetown student Sandra Fluke's fight to obtain affordable, legal birth control for women, I have been drawn to the important part that advertisers play in politics.

The use of airwaves to spread hatred of women is wrong. Those advertisers who support broadcasters who do so are nothing less than accessories to the crime. Advertisers' money keeps these vitriolic and hateful shows and hosts on the air.

Talk radio has gone too far, and it's long past time that advertisers take the initiative and recognize that shows they support often spread lies and hateful speech. I commend those advertisers who pulled their ads from this show, and I await those who follow. Companies like Sleep Number will keep my business, and my next order of flowers will come from ProFlowers.

But this isn't just about Mr. Limbaugh's recent, as he called it, ``insulting word choices'' as his substandard apology stated; it's about every advertiser who chooses to endorse the spread of hateful words and misinformation on America's airwaves.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had the pleasure of having some gentlemen from the railroad industry come and visit my office, and they let me know how their business has improved over the years.

One of the indices of an improving economy is the number of railcars filled, and that has gone up and up. Warren Buffett said it was the best indicator of how the economy is doing. The railcars are being filled, and a lot of it is because of automobile distribution and automobile production.

The automobile industry in our Nation was saved because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the work of President Barack Obama and the TARP, all of which have helped our economy get better and lower our unemployment rates.

As I think of the good work President Obama has done, I read yesterday about an al Qaeda arrested and stopped in Cairo, Egypt. Besides Osama bin Laden, other members of al Qaeda have been eliminated and our country is safer.

The Dow went over 13,000, which is another indicator of a burgeoning economy that is getting out of the Bush recession.

I want to say that I'm proud to support President Obama, his jobs plan, his efforts to maintain the automobile industry strong in America, and to support him in Libya and root out Qadhafi and al Qaeda in other places.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank also Representatives Sewell and Roby for sponsoring this resolution and Congressman Lewis for his life.

This is a historic resolution, for the work and the memories need to be preserved. I, like Congressman Sewell, am here because of the work of Congressman Lewis and other civil rights leaders, making this for a better America.

I didn't think I needed to go on the pilgrimage because I'm from Memphis and I've been to the Mason Temple where Dr. King made his last speech; and been to Lorraine Motel, the national civil rights museum, on many occasions; and AFSCME hall where he rallied workers, now named for Jerry Wurf.

But when I went to Birmingham, when I went to Montgomery, when I went to Selma, I realized that there was much more history that I needed to know, and there was a way to be filled with the spirit of the civil rights movement, which one is when one goes to the Rosa Parks Museum, the Dexter Street Church, the 16th Street Church, the Civil Rights Institute, and the bridge.

It's hard to fathom the way the world was in 1965, but that was only a short number of years ago. This country started with a history of slavery, and it was accepted by the Founding Fathers and others as the way things were. The Founding Fathers were great men, and they wrote words that were great, but they were without absolute meaning because they accepted, as a given, that African Americans should be slaves and women shouldn't have equality. It took a civil war to change some of that, and then it took John Lewis and civil rights workers to change the Jim Crow laws that followed up, that didn't accept the outcome of the war and continued a segregated society that said African Americans weren't equal, couldn't go in public places and public accommodations and public restaurants and transit, just like others.

Well, that changed, and the people who changed that, the civil rights workers, the marchers, the sit-ins, the Freedom Riders--Bob Filner was a Freedom Rider and was arrested, a Congressperson--those people made the promise that was given fulfilled.

It's still a work. I introduced and this House passed in 2007 an apology for slavery and Jim Crow. It took till 2007 for this House to pass it, and I appreciate the fact that when I did introduce it and it passed, that there were two Republican sponsors, but there were just two Republican sponsors.

This year, I have H.R. 3866, which recognizes all civil rights workers with a Congressional Gold Medal. I'm sorry to say that, to this date, there's not a single Republican sponsor. There should be. Civil rights is as Republican as it is Democrat. The party of Lincoln, as did the party of Kennedy, provided civil rights. And in 1965, when that Voting Rights Act passed, there were people like Everett Dirksen who cast important votes.

I urge my Republican colleagues to support this resolution, to support H.R. 3688, and honor the civil rights workers who had to fight their country for their rights and privileges.

Mr. Speaker, this weekend many of us watched the Oscars, and among the winners of an Oscar was a documentary film called ``Undefeated.''

``Undefeated'' was about a football team at Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee, and a gentleman named Bill Courtney, who was a volunteer coach there. He went to Manassas during their 2009 2010 season to try to help the kids, help them get through and have a better life. It's in a tough part of the city--a lot of poverty and a lot of one-parent households and a lot of things to overcome.

They had a football player named O.C. Brown, who was an outstanding offensive tackle. He got a scholarship eventually, because of this, to go to Southern Mississippi. He's a great ball player. Coach Courtney worked with him and others to make sure that he got an opportunity to advance.

It's a lot like ``The Blind Side,'' except that it was a story about Coach Courtney and O.C. Brown of Manassas. It won an Oscar, and it deserved it. It's about people not giving up and making a success of things. In just under half a semester, O.C. Brown was able to achieve a 3.0 grade point average and get that scholarship at Southern Mississippi.

Manassas High School is filled with talented young people. We wish them good luck.

This hat belonged to Isaac Hayes, a proud alumnus of Manassas High School.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the life and work of Danny Thomas and of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is located in Memphis, Tennessee.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of St. Jude's hospital and what would have been the 100th birthday of Danny Thomas. Commemorative postage stamps are one of the most visible and enduring ways that our Nation honors organizations and people. Today, the United States Postal Service will be celebrating the life and work of Danny Thomas with the commemorative stamp in my district of Memphis, Tennessee, at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Danny Thomas was born on January 6, 1912, in Deerfield, Michigan. After saving enough money, he moved to Detroit to take up a show business career. One of his first jobs was on a radio show called ``The Happy Hour Club,'' which is where he met his wife, Rose Marie Mantell. He met her on the show, and he escorted her home for 3 years, traveling together on a streetcar. Finally, he proposed. They were married in 1936, and they had three children whom the world pretty much knows-- Marlo, Tony, and Terre.

When Rose Marie was about to give birth to their first child, Marlo, Danny Thomas was torn between his dedication to work and his responsibilities to his wife and his newborn daughter. Desperately, he sought relief in prayer. He knelt before the statue of St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes, and begged for a sign. Should he or should he not remain in show business? He promised that if St. Jude showed him the way he would erect a shrine in his honor.

Danny went on to become one of the best loved entertainers of his era, starring in many TV shows and movies. From '53 to '64, he received five Emmy nominations for a starring role in ``Make Room for Daddy,'' winning Best Actor Starring in a Regular Series in '53 and '54. The show also received an Emmy for Best New Situation Comedy

in '53 and Best Situation Comedy in '54. He also produced comedy programs: ``The Dick Van Dyke Show,'' ``The Andy Griffith Show,'' ``The Real McCoys,'' and ``The Mod Squad.''

Yet he never forgot his promise to build a shrine to St. Jude. He had conversations with his close friend and mentor, a native of Tennessee and archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Samuel Stritch. Cardinal Stritch was the cardinal in Toledo when Danny Thomas was in church, and they became close. Cardinal Stritch, who served time in Memphis at St. Patrick's church after he was in Nashville, which was his home, told Danny that the shrine to St. Jude should be a hospital where children should be cared for regardless of race, religion, or ability to pay. He told him that the hospital should be in Memphis, Tennessee.

Cardinal Stritch was a great man for many, many reasons, but this was one of them--the creation of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with Danny Thomas. The hospital, located in Memphis, is one of the world's premier centers for research and treatment of pediatric cancer and for other catastrophic children's diseases. It is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.

Children throughout the United States and from around the world come to Memphis and in through the doors of St. Jude for treatment. Thousands more have benefited from its research, which is shared freely with the world global community. No child is denied treatment because of an inability to pay. The hospital has developed procedures that have pushed the survival rate for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent when the hospital opened to 80 percent today. By U.S. News and World Report, it ranks as the number one children's cancer hospital in the United States. It was the first completely integrated hospital in the South, a condition demanded by both Danny Thomas and Cardinal Stritch. Black doctors treated white patients, and white and black patients were together in the same rooms.

As one of Memphis' largest employers, St. Jude has more than 3,600 employees, supported by a full-time fund-raising staff of almost 900 at ALSAC, which is the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. The Shadiac family has a great history in running that charity. ALSAC/St. Jude, the fund-raising organization of St. Jude, is the third largest health care charity in America, and it raises money solely to support St. Jude.

Danny Thomas was presented with a Congressional Gold Medal in 1983 by President Reagan in recognition for his work with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He died in 1991 at the age of 79. His great accomplishments and altruism make him an American hero worthy of the honor a commemorative stamp imparts. His life perfectly illustrates how the American Dream can be within the reach of anyone, even an immigrant son of Lebanese parents with a humble upbringing.

Mr. Thomas was an extremely compassionate man who certainly deserves nationwide recognition for his dedication to St. Jude and all the children that the hospital has helped over these 50 years. To this day, Danny Thomas is still a part of every child's experience at St. Jude. Children rub the nose of Danny's statue for good luck prior to every treatment, sure proof that he will always be a source of hope and inspiration.

I was pleased to support this effort by leading a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, and I commend the United States Postal Service for selecting Danny Thomas.

I urge everyone to contribute and to visit the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I congratulate St. Jude and the family of Danny Thomas for this honor and for all that they do for children of the world.

Madam Speaker, this is Black History Month, and I introduced recently a proposal to have a Congressional Gold Medal issued to a cumulative group, the individuals who marched for freedom, sat in, brought about civil rights in our Nation, all the civil rights leaders and workers.

In this Nation, to make it the country that Thomas Jefferson and our Founding Fathers wrote about, it took civil rights workers to protest and demonstrate and sometimes go to jail to change this country's path and see to it that all people were created equal, and that all people had equal opportunities in this Nation. I think those people deserve recognition because they made America's promise its reality.

To date, we've sent out a letter asking for cosponsors three times to every Member of Congress, and yet we don't have a single Republican with us. This should be a bipartisan effort, and I would ask all my Republican colleagues to ask their LA's to sign on to the Congressional Gold Medal for civil rights workers. It's something we should come together with in a bipartisan fashion because it's as American as apple pie.