Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge four students in my district, Amanda Prunty, Samantha O'Rourke, Cedric Wilson, and Allison Menditto, from Bay Shore High School.

These students will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, they wrote their own rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Amanda, Samantha, Cedric, and Allison for their academic and personal achievements and congratulate them upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a student in my district, Tiffani Jones, from Central Islip High School.

Tiffani will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, she wrote her own rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Tiffani for her academic and personal achievements and congratulate her upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge two students in my district, Arianna Pantin and Janai Clark, from Deer Park High School.

Arianna and Janai will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, they wrote their own rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Arianna and Janai for their academic and personal achievements and congratulate them upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge two students in my district, Ashley Moreno and Jamilah Lindo, from Amityville High School.

These students will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, they wrote their own rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Ashley and Jamilah for their academic and personal achievements and congratulate them upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge five students in my district, Alfred Muller, Arosa Arshad, Dimitri Jones, Ebonee Padilla, and Estefonia Yactayo, from Brentwood High School.

These students will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, they wrote their own rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Alfred, Arosa, Dimitri, Ebonee and Estefonia for their academic and personal achievements and congratulate them upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge two students in my district, Valerie Kutzler and Audrey Zamichaw, from East Islip High School.

Valerie and Audrey will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, they wrote their own rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Valerie and Audrey for their academic and personal achievements and congratulate them upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a student in my district, Christina Caputo, from Half Hollow Hills West High School.

Christina will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, she wrote her own rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Christina for her academic and personal achievements and congratulate her upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge five students in my district, Emily Smith, Alda Yuan, Jaime Zahl, Alyssa Griffin, and Stephanie Schneider, from Islip High School.

These students will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, they wrote their own rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Emily, Alda, Jaime, Alyssa, and Stephanie for their academic and personal achievements and congratulate them upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a student in my district, Lindsey Lefeber, from Northport High School.

Lindsey will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, she wrote her own rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Lindsey for her academic and personal achievements and congratulate her upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a student in my district, Corey Anderson, from Sayville High School.

Corey will receive the Honoring Our Future Leaders Award on February 27, 2010. To win this award, Corey wrote a personal rendition of the ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am proud to honor Corey for outstanding academic and personal achievements and congratulate Corey upon the receipt of this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a young woman in my district, Amanda Ferrandino.

Ms. Ferrandino has been selected to receive a prestigious Fulbright award. The Fulbright Program is an international exchange program that is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Recipients of this award are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership in their chosen fields. Ms. Ferrandino plans to study Anthropology in Bangladesh.

I congratulate her on this accomplishment and applaud her contribution to global education and international relations.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a young woman in my district, Renee Ahlers.

Ms. Ahlers has been selected to receive a prestigious Fulbright Award. The Fulbright Program is an international exchange program that is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Recipients of this award are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership in their chosen fields. Ms. Ahlers plans to teach English as a Foreign Language in Mexico.

I congratulate her on this accomplishment and applaud her contribution to global education and international relations.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my sincere congratulations to my constituent, David Cohen, upon being awarded the Dick Steinberg Good Guy Award. This honor is given to a Jewish individual who best demonstrates the good aspects of sportsmanship.

Like the award's namesake, David has earned the distinction in the sport of football. Dick Steinberg was the Vice-President and General Manager of the New York Jets for six years. He was widely regarded and was one of the most respected men in football. As Head Coach of the football team at Hofstra University, he has exemplified the behavior and character that the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum believes deserves to be recognized.

I hope that he continues to act as a leader in our community and carry on the legacy of Dick Steinberg. Congratulations to David upon this receiving this great honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. I am very proud to have sponsored it. I am very proud to serve as a co-Chair of the Congressional Cancer Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, this year 21,500 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer; 14,600 will have lost their lives. Some of those women who will have lost their lives could have been saved with advanced diagnosis of their ovarian cancer. This is a silent killer, and the sad fact is that if you are fortunate enough to receive advanced diagnosis of ovarian cancer, the survival rate is as high as 90 percent. But if you receive your diagnosis in the latter stages of the disease, the survival rate falls to less than 45 percent.

Mr. Speaker, in addition, 75 percent of all ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed in the latter stages of the disease, and that is too late for too many women in America today.

Mr. Speaker, several years ago I sponsored similar legislation and ran into a woman at a rally. She said: Congressman Israel, I am in stage 4 of ovarian cancer. Your resolution may be too late for me. I am here because I hope it is not too late for my daughter.

Mr. Speaker, no mother in America should have to think in those terms, and this resolution provides women with the tools they need to recognize ovarian cancer, to get an advanced diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and to be educated about it.

I want to thank Chairman Towns for his support of this resolution; the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) who is an ovarian cancer survivor; the principal cosponsors, the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa), the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton); and the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance for their critical help with this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to the life and legacy of Keith Romaine, Brookhaven Councilman who we lost too soon on November 14, 2009 at the age of 36.

Keith will be remembered by family, friends, and constituents as a devoted public servant who worked tirelessly to improve his neighborhood and community. I offer my support to his family and friends upon the loss of a bright, intelligent, and dedicated community leader who will be sorely missed by the people of Long Island.