Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, for 408 hours, the government of the United States of America shut down its facilities and closed its doors. Over the course of that tumultuous time, national parks, museums, and public grounds were barred to visitors. 800,000 Federal workers were sent home from their jobs, and many more were forced to work with delayed pay. Veterans, and active duty military personnel and their families were kept in a constant state of fear, worried about making ends meet. This period of panic was not caused by some foreign aggressor, some archenemy of state, or some ruthless tyrant. No, the crisis that shook the very faith that the American people had in their goverment, was caused by that very body itself. So who is to blame for the government shutdown? Shall we point fingers at Republicans? How about the Democrats? It must be someone's fault right? That is what our political system has taught us isn't it? Well, it appears that recently, that is just what it has done. As the ominous clouds descended upon the capital in the early hours of October the 1st, the government shutdown that took place in the District of Columbia, and all across the country, had effects that will continue to be impactful for years to come.

Model Congress. The word `model' implies a want or desire to replicate, to recreate and imitate. For years now, thousands of students have come to Yale and other conferences alike, and taken pride in acting as Senators, Representatives, Cabinet Members, and Presidents. We have touted our accomplishments on our resumes, shined our gavels and framed our certificates. My question to you tonight is: Do we really, want to model Congress? The body which we have all gathered here tonight to replicate has, over the past several years, produced a stalemate and inefficiency that has rarely been seen in the long and arduous history of both man and this nation. Complete ideological division, refusal to compromise, and the inability to put national interest above self interest has weakened our country, as well as its image both at home and abroad. Why is it as teenagers, we are able to sit down, talk, work out our problems, and come to productive agreements, but as adults, we put our fingers in our ears and stomp our feet on the ground until we get what we want? The roles seem to be backwards if you ask me.

People would like to have you believe that we are naive, we are inexperienced, and we know too little about the world to make decisions on our own. Well I argue the contrary. I think that they are too rigid, they are too closed minded, and they are too pleased with pushing the blame onto others, that they fail to see that the problem is caused by no one else but themselves.

Is this what America is about? Surely the land of the free and the home of the brave is not just some idealistic nonsense that we were told about in second grade, and then by the cruel hand of fate, forced to rule out as anything but true. The American ideal that we all hold dear to our hearts, the feeling of honor that sweeps over our senses and rushes down our spine when we publicly declare, ``I am proud to be an American!'' is only true because our government is about us, the people. We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. We are that posterity.

We have come to this conference to argue for things which we are passionate about, and argue against those which we are passionately not about. We have come to this conference to test each other, and our ability to work together to shape both foreign and domestic policy. We have come to this conference to gain experience, to gain knowledge, and to make progress not only for ourselves, but also for those who feel that their opinion doesn't matter. While most of us came here tonight with distinct political agendas, we have always been able to open our minds, challenge our beliefs, and move together in the hope that we may one day truly create what Ronald Reagan famously described as, ``that shining city on a hill''.

I love what we do here at Model Congress. If you ask me, I don't think we imitate Congress, we act better than it. We don't aspire to be like them, we aspire to be better than them. Here, at this conference, we have come together to act like the body of government that the founders intended. There are no special interest groups, no superpacs, no shady campaign deals, and no political parties. There is only the work we have set out to do, and the goals which we wish to achieve.

As I sat to write this speech, I decided that I wanted to talk about something that really mattered to us, the youth of America. Now, I could have simply gotten up here, shouted a couple of phrases like ``legalize marijuana'', ``Make the playing field fairer'', ``lower taxes'', ``feed the hungry'' and ``help the poor.'' And while I'm sure that I would have gotten a couple of apathetic rounds of applause, I thought that it would be more prudent to get up here, and as I have, talk about something that we, both as citizens and as young adults, are frustrated with in the hopes of bringing about change.

If elected I vow to each and every one of you, that I will help us take those first frightening steps into the obscure and unsure future. I will do my best to lead this conference in a way so that Congressmen, Senators, Governors, and Presidents alike know that we won't accept anything less than that second grade idealistic dream, so that our peers both

here and at home know that we mean business, and so that we may all realize that we must join hands and look into the unknown abyss that is our future, and conquer it with the fearless determination that is so quintessentially American.

With hope and faith, we move forward together. With knowledge and determination, we strive, to make a better tomorrow. May God Bless each and every one of you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to bring your attention to a very special person, someone I respect and whose friendship I value. I'm referring to Nicarsia ``Nikki'' Mayes who after 36 years of dedicated public service, will be retiring this December.

Nikki started work here in 1977 as an elevator operator and it was not long before her professional and cheerful manner caught the eye of her superiors. In 1980, she became the first African American woman ever hired by the Office of the Doorkeeper. It was a tremendous achievement then and it remains an exceptional moment in both her personal history and the history of this body.

As her career progressed she joined the Office of the Sergeant at Arms and served as a member of the Chamber Security Division. Her career is a testament to what dedication, hard work and a positive attitude can accomplish.

Mr. Speaker, I don't need to remind you that our work here can be difficult and stressful. But that's what makes Nikki such a treasure. Even when there was tension inside the House Chamber, there was friendship and kindness waiting at the door.

Nikki, I wish you the best of luck as you embark on this next part of your life. You will be greatly missed by me and every one of my colleagues.

I thank the gentleman from Virginia, who serves ably as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Crime. I also want to thank my friend, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble), who truly is a gentleman and who will be missed, for his bipartisan work on this bill. We have worked well together, and I am deeply grateful to the gentleman for that partnership.

Mr. Speaker, in 1988 when we passed the Undetectable Firearms Act, the notion of a 3-D printed plastic firearm

slipped through metal detectors and onto our planes and into secure environments was a matter of science fiction. The problem is that today it is a reality, and in only 6 days the law banning the Undetectable Firearms Act expires, and so we have to act now.

This law was enacted under President Reagan in 1988. It was reauthorized under President Clinton, and it was reauthorized again in 2003 under President Bush. When Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and George Bush agree on something, so should we. This has always been a matter of bipartisanship, and so we should continue that bipartisanship and pass this bill today. It is bipartisanship because it is a matter of common sense that we don't want to make it easy for terrorists and criminals to bring guns past metal detectors onto our planes and into secure environments.

As the gentleman from Virginia stated, in our view this bill is not perfect. I would have preferred to modernize the Undetectable Firearms Act to eliminate some loopholes in the law by requiring that certain metal components be permanent or not easily removed. I would have liked to close that loophole. But, frankly, I believe that even a loophole in a law is better than no law at all. A loophole can be closed down the line; that is a preferred scenario to no law at all.

So I am not going to oppose this first step because we can't get all of our steps. We will step forward and continue to support the modernization of the Undetectable Firearms Act. This for now is a very good step. It is a step that all of our colleagues should support. I again thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his bipartisan leadership, and I thank the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the sixteenth day of the federal government shutdown to submit for the record a satire sent to me by my constituent, Donna Rusinski of Huntington New York. Donna's satire perfectly portrays the current state of affairs in our nation's capital and I am pleased I can share her short story with you today.

So, imagine that the company you work for held a poll, and

asked everyone if they thought it would be a good idea to put

a soda machine in the break room. The poll came back, and the

majority of your colleagues said ``Yes,'' indicating that

they would like a soda machine. Some said no, but the

majority said yes. So, a week later, there's a soda machine.

Now imagine that Bill in accounting voted against the soda

machine. He has a strong hatred for caffeinated soft drinks,

thinks they are bad for you, whatever. He campaigns

throughout the office to get the machine removed.

Well, management decides ``OK, we'll ask again'' and again,

the majority of people say ``Yes, let's keep the soda

machine.''

Bill continues to campaign, and management continues to ask

the employees, and every time, the answer is in favor of the

soda machine. This happens, let's say 35 times. Eventually,

Bill says ``OK, I'm not processing payroll anymore until the

soday machine is removed,'' so nobody will get paid unless

management removes the machine.

What should we do?

Answer: Fire Bill and get someone who will do the darn job.

Bonus: Bill tells everyone that he was willing to

``Negotiate,'' to come to a solution where everyone got their

payroll checks, but only so long as that negotiation

capitulated to his demand to remove the soda machine.

Bill is a dope.

I thank the gentlewoman.

Mr. Speaker, this is the latest gimmick in the latest game by people who simply cannot govern, and the casualty will be American families and the risk that they are inflicting on our economy.

Tomorrow in my home State and the ranking member's home State, the Statue of Liberty will be closed. The last time the Statue of Liberty was closed, Mr. Speaker, was when a hurricane struck it. And may I add that the majority refused to pass a bill to provide relief assistance when the Statue of Liberty was closed as a result of the hurricane. This time, the Statue of Liberty is going to be closed by their recklessness and their irresponsibility in order to advance a selfish political agenda.

Mr. Speaker, the American people expect two things from us. They expect the government to stay open and operate efficiently, and they expect their Congress to communicate. Our position is that we should keep the government open and operating efficiently while we communicate and go to conference. Their position is, shut it down, close the Statue of Liberty, and talk later.

The American people want us to talk now, and they want this government to remain open. We have heard over the past several days and over the past 2 weeks our friends on the other side saying, listen to the American people. Our friends on the other side should listen to themselves. They have asked us for a budget today. They said, We want a budget. Take it or leave it. We gave them their figure. They said, Take it or leave it. We said, We'll take it; and they left it.

Mr. Speaker, the Congress of chronic chaos continues every day, every night; and the American people deserve better.

Open the Statue of Liberty tomorrow. Keep Small Business Administration loans going to small businesses. Keep college loans going to kids who need the college loans. Keep middle class families afloat. And communicate while the government remains open.

I thank the distinguished ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, for people who are tuning in to this debate, I want to make sure there is no confusion. This is not ``Saturday Night Live.'' This is the Republican majority at work. Only they are not working--it is a game. It is a game that they have played since day one. This has been the Congress of chronic chaos since day one, and tonight is just another episode, my colleagues, of that Congress of chronic chaos.

Forget ``Saturday Night Live,'' Mr. Speaker. When I grew up on Long Island, I used to watch one of my favorite cartoons, the ``Road Runner.'' Do you remember the ``Road Runner,'' Mr. Speaker? In every episode, another cliff. They have turned governing into an old cartoon of the ``Road Runner.''

This is not a game. The American people deserve better than this. This is

not about the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Speaker. This is not about ObamaCare, Mr. Speaker. This is about whether we govern. This is about whether they are willing to hold this economy hostage to their ideology. This is about whether they are willing to put people out of work because of their extremism--and they use the Affordable Care Act as a subterfuge.

Mitt Romney said they're going too far. Karl Rove said they're going too far. The Chamber of Commerce said they're going too far. The Wall Street Journal said they're going too far. And what are they doing tonight? Going farther. They're doubling down.

The American people have gone from deep disappointment in this dysfunctional majority to absolute outrage with this dysfunctional majority. Mr. Speaker, the American people who are watching this and watching this Congress want reasonable leaders with reasonable solutions and commonsense ideas for this country, not shutdowns, not showdowns, not cliffs, not chaos, not cartoons, which we get tonight and which we have gotten every single night since this majority became the majority. When this government shuts down because of them, Mr. Speaker, Americans are going to have to continue to pay their taxes.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I will be very brief. This is a bipartisan amendment offered by my colleague from New York, the gentleman from the Second Congressional District, Congressman Peter King, and myself, to transfer $10 million to mental health programs within the Department of Defense. It is fully offset.

Madam Chair, 22 veterans every day are committing suicide; 273,000 veterans have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury since 2000; and the pace of post-traumatic stress disorder is going to require new thinking, new innovations, new technologies, new partnerships, and collaborations. That's exactly what this bipartisan amendment crafted by Congressman King and myself does.

This amendment creates new public-private partnerships between the Department of Defense and teaching hospitals and research institutions for the research, the treatment, and outreach on military mental health matters. This is not a matter of partisanship, this is a matter of doing the right thing for our veterans. It was my honor to work together on a bipartisan basis with the gentleman from New York (Mr. King), and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I would just close by thanking the gentleman from Florida, the chair, and the ranking member for their cooperation. This amendment is so vitally important to those who are fighting for our freedom.

In this amendment, we defend the defenders and we protect the protectors, and I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their support for this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, with so many challenges in the world today-- student loan rates, turmoil in Egypt and in Syria, and jobs at home--I think it's important for us to remind ourselves of the resilience of our faiths.

Recently, in New York, I joined Monsignor Brendan Riordan and the congregation of the St. Aloysius Church in Great Neck to celebrate their centennial jubilee.

St. Aloysius was established in 1876. In 1913, ground was broken for the beautiful church that stands today. It stands today with 1,200 families, worshiping in English, in Spanish, and in Korean, with food banks and immigration counseling and human services and interfaith partnerships.

I am privileged to represent St. Aloysius Church in Great Neck, Mr. Speaker, and I am especially privileged to talk about it on the floor of this Congress today.

Mr. Speaker, in 5 days, the student loan interest rate will double. It will go from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. That is a $4,500 increase for many college students. At a time when they're struggling to make ends meet, struggling to pay their tuition and their housing expenses to prepare to join the workforce and build careers and at a time when they're struggling to pay their debts, we're going to increase their debt.

I want to commend to my colleagues a report that just came out from the Joint Economic Committee staff that talks about how student loan debt has skyrocketed over the past several years. Here's how the study concludes:

The increasing debt burden presents challenges for recent

graduates just beginning their careers and poses a potential

risk to the economy, since individuals who shoulder heavier

debt balances may delay purchasing a home, buying a car,

starting a family, and saving for retirement. On average,

recent graduates left college with student loan debt of 60

percent of their annual income.

Mr. Speaker, 60 percent of their annual income will be spent paying back their debts from college. And if we don't compromise, it's going to be even more than that.

I've always believed, and I know many of my colleagues have always believed, that you build an economy by building the middle class. And you expand the middle class by making sure that middle class families can afford college and that college is accessible. I do not understand an economic strategy that says that you make it harder and more expensive for the middle class to go to college; nor do I understand an argument that we cannot afford to keep the interest rate low, but we can spend $40 billion subsidizing the five richest oil companies in America who do not need those subsidies.

The middle class deserves those subsidies. Middle class students trying to get into college deserve subsidies. But to say that they cannot have those subsidies and that we're going to double the interest rate on them while preserving a $40 billion subsidy to the richest oil companies on Earth is not only bad policy; it's ruinous economic strategy.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know why anybody in this body would want to make it harder and more difficult for students to go to college at a time when we are competing with China and South Korea and other countries around the world to continue our strength and power over the next several decades.

It is essential that we find a compromise, Mr. Speaker. There is an unquenchable thirst by Americans for compromise in this body. I, for one, as well as members of the House Democratic Caucus, am ready, willing, and able to compromise over the next 5 days. We just need somebody to compromise with. We need a compromise that is fair to the middle class, puts middle class families first, puts college students first, puts college affordability first, and puts partisan politics aside.

Mr. Speaker, since March of 2011 in Syria, 90,000 people have been killed, millions have been displaced internally, hundreds of thousands have fled, and between 100 and 150 people have been murdered by Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons.

We can debate what we should do and how far we should go, but there is one thing that we can all agree on, and that is legislation that my colleague from Oklahoma, Congressman Tom Cole, and I have introduced on a bipartisan basis that would bring Bashar al-Assad to the International Criminal Court where he will be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is an example of bipartisan cooperation and accord on a challenging foreign policy crisis.

I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the Cole-Israel resolution and pass it immediately.

I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Madam Speaker, under House practice and procedure, is it not customary for someone on the committee of jurisdiction to manage time on the floor, or is it because the Republicans have no women on the House Judiciary Committee that the gentlewoman from Tennessee manages the time on the floor?

Mr. Speaker, we who serve too often overlook the hard work and dedication of those who serve with us, the members of our staff. Today, I rise to recognize the dedication of Jack Pratt.

Jack is my chief of staff. Today, he departs for new responsibilities. I hired him on my very first day in Congress 12 years ago, and he rose through the ranks. More than almost anyone I know, I have depended on Jack in good times and in bad, through thick and thin.

Now, with a new baby in his life, he opens up a new chapter of his life. I wish him well and his wife, Kristin, and two kids, Callie and William.

Thank you, Jack Pratt, my chief of staff and my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Roslyn High School student, Alain E. Sherman, from Roslyn, NY, in my Congressional District, who has been named a Presidential Scholar. Dedicated and talented young people like Alain reflect the exemplary work by the next generation that will lead our nation into the future. I am so proud to recognize him today and it is an honor to represent him in Congress.

I want to applaud Alain for his hard work and dedication, but also want to recognize his family and teachers, who have surely played a critical role in making this achievement possible. Only 141 students from across the country are given this esteemed honor of the thousands upon thousands of high school students nationwide.

Alain serves as Vice President of the Roslyn High School Honor Society and also sits on the school's Model Government Executive Board. During his senior year at Roslyn High School, Alain was a member of the competitive ``Partners for the Future'' program hosted by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Alain spent ten hours each week conducting biomedical research with a mentor scientist at the lab. Alain's hard work is truly emblematic of what it means to be a Presidential Scholar. I look forward to seeing what breakthroughs result from Alain's research in the future.

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, appointed by President Obama, selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as demonstrated community service, leadership, and commitment to high ideals. Of the three million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 3,300 candidates qualified for the 2013 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT and ACT exams, and through nominations made by Chief State School Officers or the National YoungArts Foundation's nationwide YoungArts competition.

The 2013 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and from U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large and 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts.

Since its creation in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored more than 6,000 of the nation's top-performing students with the prestigious award given to honorees during an annual ceremony in Washington, DC. The program was expanded in 1979 to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, literary and performing arts.

Mr. Speaker, I again urge my colleagues to join me in commending Alain for all of his accomplishments and I look forward to seeing his continued academic success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a number of talented and dedicated high school students from my Congressional District who have won National Medals from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 2013. The Scholastic Awards are the largest, longest-running scholarship and recognition program for creative teens and are presented annually by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. These talented students are creative thinkers that will lead our nation into the future and I am so proud to recognize them today.

I am honored to represent Long Island and Queens which are home to many top notch schools with dedicated teachers guiding talented young students to success. Specifically, I want to recognize the following students that I have the honor to represent here in Congress: Megan Basaldua of Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School; Michela Bentel of the Choate Rosemary Hall; Lindsay Bu of Stuyvesant High School; Max Carol of Syosset Senior High School; Michelle Chen of Hunter College High School; Soohyun Cho, Seungeun Ha and Min Soo Kim of Oogie Art; Yirang Choe of Ashcan Studio Art; Alexandra Deplas, Megan Fox, Lauren Goldstein and Danielle Pestyner of Jericho Senior High School; Patrick Fahey of Manhasset Secondary School; Meagan Fontanes, Brianna Martin and Julia Tannenbaum of Northport Senior High School; Samantha Rose Klainberg and Kaiqi Zhu of Great Neck South High School; and Nicole Lee of High School Art & Design.

Only 1,900 works of art and writing, from the initial pool of 230,000 submissions, earned a National Medal. These students and their teachers should be commended for excelling and achieving such great success. They will be honored at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Friday, May 31. Artwork from the award-winning students will be featured in an exhibition at Parsons The New School for Design and the Pratt Manhattan Gallery. A selection of students receiving awards for writing will have their work published in the annual anthology The Best Teen Writing of 2013.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to applaud the families, teachers and students that have made these achievements possible. I urge my colleagues to join me in commending you for all of your successes and I look forward to seeing your continued contribution to the arts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jack and Violet Harounian, Dinner Chairpersons of the Aleh Foundation Awards Dinner.

Aleh Foundation's distinguished Dinner Chairperson Jack Harounian was born in Teheran, Iran in 1928. Jack had hoped to attend Teheran University Medical School to help the local Jewish community but was accepted in Dental College. Because of the outbreak of World War II and the very difficult day to day economic situation, he was not able to attend. At age 18, after passing exams, Mr. Harounian became the youngest staff member of the Imperial Bank of Iran office in Teheran. At age 20, he volunteered to attend the War Faculty and became a Battalion Officer of King Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. In that position Jack served for 18 months in ``Padeghan Jay'' near Mehrabad Airport in Teheran. He then returned to the bank at a higher position until Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mosadegh nationalized the banking and oil industry in Iran. Jack got married in 1957 to his lovely bride Violet Ohebshalom at the age of 29 in Tehran and they enjoyed a honeymoon in Israel in 1957. Today they are blessed with two daughters, one son and 11 grandchildren.

Mr. Harounian moved the family to the U.S. in 1970. After he started a business importing woolen piece goods, then shifted to become an exporter of handmade oriental rugs. After three decades he became one of the largest rug exporters in the U.S. At age 20, when the State of Israel was established, and later, at the time of their honeymoon, Jack began to think how he could help the people of Israel and Jews around the world. Some 25 years ago he decided to help hospitals and upgrade the quality of health-care services in Israel. In, 1980 he organized and led fund raising efforts on behalf of Magen David Hospital in Calcutta, India.

In 1990, Violet miraculously survived a very serious illness. In the words of Jack, ``G-d gave me back my wife.'' In appreciation, he agreed to become the International Chairman of Iranian Friends of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. In that position, Mr. Harounian began to raise funds for Shaare Zedek, not just in New York but across the country and around the world. In all of these trips he had the warm support and encouragement of Violet who is deeply proud of her husband's efforts to care for the sick and disabled in Israel.

He has worked tirelessly on behalf of Shaare Zedek, year after year, putting in countless hours of time each week. At his own expense, Mr. Harounian has placed ads in all major Persian language news media in New York and Los Angeles as well as in the Jewish Week and Jerusalem Post. Jack takes his responsibility as International Chairman very seriously. On behalf of Shaare Zedek he has travelled to Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago, Miami, and overseas to Germany, Switzerland, France, Australia, New Zealand, England and Spain to meet with members of the local Persian Jewish community. Jack has personally paid for all hotels and air expenses for himself and his wife.

In recognition of his exceptional activities which have greatly benefited the health and well-being of the people of Jerusalem, Jack was honored at the Iranian Community Solidarity Gala Dinner Dance in celebration of Jerusalem's 2000 birthday in 1996, sponsored by Shaare Zedek.

This was followed two years later by Mr. Harounian being designated by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a ``Trustee of the City of Jerusalem'' at festivities in Jerusalem celebrating Israel's 50th birthday. This is a special, rare honor of distinction that is presented to those individuals outside Israel who have made an exceptional contribution toward the betterment of the people of Jerusalem.

Because of his widespread reputation as a philanthropist supporting Israel, Jack was approached by the Aleh Foundation in 2001. He was deeply moved to hear about the dream of building a Rehabilitation Village. The estimated cost of the project was a daunting $45 million.

After visiting the Aleh Center in Jerusalem and meeting with our special children and talking with the exceptional staff, Mr. Harounian threw himself wholeheartedly into this endeavor. Jack was kind enough to open his beautiful home in Kings Point for a fund-raising event that featured Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as the guest speaker. Mr. Harounian is an esteemed honorary board member. He makes it a priority to participate in all of the Aleh Foundation's fund raising events in NY and in Israel and spends an enormous amount of time introducing friends, neighbors and business associates to the vital work of the Foundation.

Over the years Mr. Harounian has devoted countless hours of his time, energy and money to helping Aleh expand its extraordinary facilities while continuing his wonderful work for Shaare Zedek and many other worthy causes in Israel. When asked why he worked so hard on behalf of the Aleh Foundation, Mr. Harounian replied, ``It is wonderful that 12,000 parents can go to work each day with peace of mind, knowing that the Aleh Foundation, with its excellent and caring staff is taking care of their disabled children.''

Mrs. Violet Harounian, besides warm support and encouragement, donated a very special ambulance to Magen David Adom in 1900 to Israel. She is active, in many other non-profit organizations in Israel such as Hadassah and Ort and so on. It is a distinct honor and a privilege to have Jack and Violet serve as Dinner Chairpersons of Aleh Foundation Awards Dinner celebrating 29 years of service to disabled children in Israel.