Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman from New York for the time.

Mr. Speaker, this matter of whether to extend the payroll tax for middle class Americans for 160 million Americans is a no-brainer for most Americans. It has to be done. 160 million Americans should get a tax increase because the Republicans don't want to share the sacrifice of cutting spending and balancing our budget? We have to pay for the sins of the Republican majority who want to balance the American budget on the backs of working class Americans, seniors, veterans, and the middle class? That makes no sense. It's not right.

Now, my colleague from the other side of the aisle says that the Democrats want to take money from Social Security to pay for this. That's not true, Mr. Speaker. In my opinion, that is obviously not true. This is from the party, Mr. Speaker, that wanted to privatize Social Security. The Republicans wanted to privatize Social Security, and everyone knows it.

I'm not going to yield.

The Republicans just voted last year to end Medicare.

So the American people are not fooled about whose side the Republicans are on and whose side the Democrats are on, Mr. Speaker. The Democrats are for working people, for the American middle class, for seniors, for veterans, for labor. So the Republicans say, Mr. Speaker, that they want 160 million Americans to have their payroll taxes go up. They want 50 million senior citizens in America to be threatened with the loss of health care because they are going to deny the doctors who treat the seniors full reimbursement for their treatments. And they want to cut unemployment benefits that put food on the table for tens of millions of Americans who are out there looking for work because the Republicans do not want to share the sacrifice. They want to cut spending on

the backs of the middle class working Americans and seniors.

They voted to privatize Social Security. They voted to end Medicare. Who is anybody kidding when they say that this bill to extend unemployment benefits, to keep the payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans, and to keep seniors having doctors care for them because the doctors will still get full Medicare reimbursement has anything to do with seniors? The Democrats are for Social Security, Medicare, and seniors, and everyone knows it.

It's time for our Republican colleagues--I'm a Democrat who voted against TARP and for the car company bailout--to get their priorities straight.

Vote for this continuation of unemployment benefits, for unemployment insurance, and full payment to doctors who take care of our Nation's seniors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my dear friend and mentor, Mayor Gerald A. Calabrese of Cliffside Park, in honor of his 87th birthday. Mayor Calabrese is the longest-serving mayor in the state of New Jersey, having begun his 49th year in office in January.

After first being elected to the Cliffside Park Borough Council in 1955, Gerry was elected mayor in 1959, and has served continuously as the Borough's chief executive since his reelection in 1965. During Gerry's time as mayor, Cliffside Park has enjoyed unprecedented growth, largely thanks to his leadership. He is well-known for gaining many federal, state, and county grants to help his community. Highlights from his tenure include the building of Cliffside Park's current Borough Hall, the public library, and a senior citizen housing development, which was one of the first of its kind in New Jersey to be built using federal grants.

Moreover, Gerry has proven his strong leadership by finding other innovative ways to improve his community while saving the taxpayers money. Under his guidance, Cliffside Park is about to embark on a major redevelopment program by building a joint DPW facility with neighboring Fairview. Cliffside Park and Fairview are the first communities in the state to combine their DPW facilities. Not only was a new facility desperately needed, but by vacating the property the DPW currently sits on, the town made valuable land available for development which will now go on the tax rolls.

In addition to his public service in Cliffside Park, Gerry served in the Navy and is a member of the American Legion Post 126 as well as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the AmVets. He is also a former professional basketball player, having played for the Syracuse Nationals during the 1951 and 1952 seasons. Gerry was inducted into St. John's Athletic Hall of Fame for his years on the basketball team.

Mayor Gerald A. Calabrese is the pinnacle of integrity and effectiveness. It is no wonder that he received two standing ovations during his swearing-in ceremony in January of this year and has been called a ``second father'' and ``iconic public servant'' by so many respected public officials. Mayor Calabrese has been a role model for me, as he has been for so many others in New Jersey whom Gerry has helped during their careers.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate the birthday of my constituent and dear friend, Mayor Gerald A. Calabrese. I join with the grateful residents of Cliffside Park in thanking him for his innumerable contributions to our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my dear friend, County Surrogate Michael Raymond Dressler, for his dedicated leadership and service to our community as the recently re-elected Judge of the Surrogate's Court of Bergen County. Surrogate Dressler has committed himself to a life of public service and I am pleased to recognize him as he continues his distinguished career.

Surrogate Dressler was first elected to be the Bergen County Surrogate Court Judge in 1996. Since then, the public has demonstrated their resounding approval for his work, re-electing him in 2001, 2006, and yet again in 2011. While in office, Judge Dressler has demonstrated his talent for combining innovative community service with reasoned fiscal responsibility. Among many other first's, he created the first Guardianship Monitoring Program in Bergen County, which utilizes volunteers to monitor the work of Court appointed guardians, ensuring they care for the frail and elderly as promised.

Surrogate Dressler also organized the creation of the Surrogate Court's Satellite Office Program in which the services of the Surrogate Court are brought directly to municipalities such as Fort Lee, Ridgewood, Wallington, Norwood and Park Ridge. Surrogate Court employees offer services such as probating of wills and administering estates to those who cannot make the trip to the Surrogate Court in Hackensack. These innovative programs are operated and maintained at no additional taxpayer cost.

Also, as a lifetime advocate for education, Judge Dressler spends a great deal of time promoting awareness of the probate process, the necessity of a Will and other documents, through his speaking tours, addressing numerous civic groups and service organizations. His publication of a comprehensive booklet entitled ``How to Probate a Will in Bergen County,'' is available to all Bergen County residents in English, Spanish, and Korean. These initiatives are just a few of many examples that reflect how his hard work extends well beyond the walls of his office.

As Surrogate, Michael Dressler was elected by his peers and served as President of the Constitutional Officers of New Jersey. He presently serves as a member of the New Jersey Highlands Council. He was honored as the YMCA of Greater Bergen County's Person of the Year in 2009.

Mike Dressler was first elected to public office as Councilman of Cresskill in 1974. In 1983, the people of Cresskill elected him to serve as their Mayor, a position he held until 1991. That same year he was the youngest person ever appointed to the position of Counsel to the County of Bergen--New Jersey's most populous county. His extraordinary dedication to public service serves as an inspiration to us all.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate my dear friend, Surrogate Michael Raymond Dressler, on another re-election. I join with the grateful residents of Bergen County in thanking him for his innumerable contributions to our community. I am confident that his leadership and dedication to service will continue to improve the lives of countless New Jerseyans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my dear friend, Freeholder Bernadette P. McPherson, for her service to our community as an elected member of Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Bernadette has dedicated herself in service to her community, and I am pleased to recognize her as she completes another chapter in her distinguished career.

In 1999, Bernadette was elected Councilwoman in the Borough of Rutherford, serving as the first female Fire Department Liaison. She also served as the Borough's Mayor from 2000 until 2007.

Bernadette was first elected to the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 2002, serving as the Board's Freeholder Chairwoman from 2002 through the 2006 term. She currently chairs both the Law and Public Safety Committee and the Organization and Internal Affairs Committee. Freeholder McPherson is also a member of the Budget and Finance, Cultural and Historic Affairs, Veterans Liaison, and New Jersey Legislature committees.

Bernadette graduated Magna Cum Laude from LaSalle University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and English in 1983. She attended both Seton Hall Law School and then Temple University School of Law where she earned her J.D. in 1986.

Bernadette has lived in Rutherford since 1987 with her husband David, an outstanding and highly-regarded attorney, and their four wonderful children.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate my dear friend and constituent, Freeholder Bernadette McPherson, on her final Freeholder meeting. I join with all her family and friends, as well as the grateful residents of Bergen County in thanking her for innumerable contributions to our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my dear friend, Robert F. Halsch, in honor of his 30th anniversary with the Bergen County Community Action Partnership.

Since 1984, Bob has provided exceptional leadership to this multi- faceted anti-poverty organization. As Executive Director he is responsible for supervising 250 employees who run programs related to health, housing, mental health, substance abuse, education, child care, Head Start, immigration, nutrition, energy, asset development, and economic and community development.

Highlights from his tenure include the opening of new Head Start sites, creating a new Federally Qualified Health Center and chartering the first new federal credit union in New Jersey in two decades. Under Bob's leadership, Bergen County CAP was selected as the inaugural recipient of the 1st Annual Charles E. Braithwait Award for Leadership by the National Community Action Foundation (NCAF) for creating new models for economic opportunity for low-income families and the agencies that serve them.

Bob is also the founder and CEO of Community Housing in Partnership, Inc. (CHIP), a HUD certified Community Housing Development Organization created in 1989. This is a New Jersey not-for-profit real estate development company that has developed affordable housing for persons with special needs, homeless persons in transition, older adults, first time homebuyers and low-income renters. Acting as the designated developer for the Jersey City Redevelopment Authority, CHIP recently completed the re-development of a city block in an economically distressed area of the city.

Furthermore, in partnership with the National Community Action Foundation and Southern New Hampshire University, Bob helped initiate a master's program for the benefit of the Community Action Agency Network. Community Action Agency employees from around the Nation have been working toward their master's degrees through this online program.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate my dear friend, Robert F. Halsch, on his 30th anniversary as Executive Director of the Bergen County Community Action Partnership. I join with the grateful residents of Bergen County in thanking him for innumerable contributions to the development of our community. I am confident that his leadership and dedication to service will continue to be a blessing to countless New Jerseyans in need.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about common cents.

Currently it costs more than a penny for the U.S. Mint to make a one cent coin and more than a nickel to make the five cent piece. This problem is currently being examined at the request of the U.S. Mint.

Over the next two years, a Pennsylvania company has been contracted by the Mint to conduct research and development for more economical alternative metallic materials for the production of all circulating coins.

As this study begins, I would like to submit into the Record one possible solution, offered by David L. Ganz, a friend of mine, a member of the Board of Freeholders of Bergen County, N.J., and a former president of the American Numismatic Association.

In an op-ed in the Sunday New York Times from August 21, 2011, Mr. Ganz took on the issue of the penny and proposes a specific solution, which I hope that the study will review along with other alternatives.

[From New York Times, Aug. 20, 2011]

Penny Foolish

(By David L. Ganz)

In this time of fiscal strain, Americans can find some

savings by simply looking in their purses and pockets.

Because of increases in commodity prices, it now costs more

than one cent to make a penny and more than five cents to

make a nickel. The United States Mint, sensitive to the risks

of changing the composition and feel of our coinage, has been

reluctant to revise the composition of these two coins.

But that is precisely what the Mint--which last year

produced 4 billion pennies and 490 million nickels--should

do.

While eliminating the penny has been debated for decades,

it is not a realistic option; the penny has tremendous

symbolic value and removing it would have the effect of

raising prices--particularly for people of modest means, who

use currency the most--because retailers would round up.

Reducing the size of the coins is impractical because of the

cost of recalibrating vending machines and the need to ensure

that the coin is not interchangeable with any foreign coin.

Changing the composition of the penny by using less costly

materials is the only feasible alternative. The Mint, part of

the Treasury Department, has changed the size or composition

of the cent more than a dozen times since 1793. Two of the

most recent alterations were the switch to zinc-coated steel

in 1943, caused by the wartime shortage of copper, and the

switch to zinc with copper plating in 1982, a response to

rising commodity prices.

Past debates have brought forth a variety of unconventional

suggestions: plastic (used as sales-tax tokens--representing

fractions of a cent--in the 1930s, but cheap-looking),

industrial porcelain (Germany and Thailand tried this, but it

breaks easily); and vulcanite rubber (used as currency in

Guatemala early in the last century, but too exotic for

American tastes).

Metallic alloys are probably the best choice for a new-

composition penny and nickel. The precise choice needs to

reflect four values: cost effectiveness, security of supply,

aesthetic acceptability and minimal disruption to vending

machines. (Pennies are not commonly accepted by machines, but

are sometimes inserted anyway; a penny of a different

composition could cause machines to jam.)

In a 1976 study of the penny, the Research Triangle

Institute rejected chromium, tin, titanium, copper-aluminum-

nickel-zinc derivatives and zinc mixtures. At current prices,

none of these would be cost-effective. In practical terms,

that leaves two basic metallic groups: an aluminum alloy,

which is better, heavier and stronger than the pure aluminum

cent proposed in the 1970s, but still expensive, and steel,

which is the clear favorite for affordability and security,

but poses technical challenges.

The best approach is to meld the two. Aluminized steel is

ideal because it is available coiled--squeezed by rollers and

then put into a lasso-like form that can be fed directly into

a coining press. It would work for the penny and the nickel--

and the dime, if it is ever threatened.

Let's use a new aluminized-steel alloy that allows the Mint

to produce an affordable penny. Ideally, this would be

accompanied by a redesign, and a collector's-edition one-cent

coin made of gold and silver. This would complement the

success the Mint has had with the state quarters program and

with collectors' coins made of precious metals.

Contrary to the song, pennies do not come from heaven. Ours

come from the Mint, which must supply them now and in the

future. Let's reintroduce the penny as a coin that matters,

and put its production on a sounder financial footing.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Sungbae Ju, for his exemplary public service and devotion to the performing arts.

Dr. Sungbae Ju is the President of both the Garden State Opera and The Figaro Group, and is an accomplished musician. He holds a Masters Degree from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, a Doctoral Degree from the Yeshua Theological Seminary and an Honorary Doctor Degree from the Universidad Christiana De Bolivia. He has experienced unmatched levels of professional success, including performances at notable New York and New Jersey performances venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the New Jersey and Bergen Performing Arts Centers. He has also performed in operas including ``The Barber of Seville'' and ``Rigoletto'' with singers from the Metropolitan Opera.

Dr. Ju and his family are members of the New Jersey State Opera, and are widely renowned and respected for their numerous recitals to benefit worthy causes throughout the nation. Dr. Ju has always tried to use music as a tool for improving and developing communities. With that in mind, Dr. Ju and others formed the Garden State Opera, Inc., a non- profit organization that aims to unify the community with music in order to aid those in our global community who live without food, hope, human rights and with the threat of disease, terror, poverty and war.

In addition to the Garden State Opera, Dr. Ju and his family have volunteered their musical talents and services at over 130 events, including various holiday concerts and Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Celebrations at the NJ State Association of Chiefs of Police, NJ State Police, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Air Marshal Service in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Labor Department, Bergen County Public Safety Institute, Honor Legion Police Department and for many Asian and Korean-American communities.

Dr. Ju is also involved with many other cultural organizations throughout Bergen County including his positions as Chairman of the Korean American Day in New Jersey, Event Chairman of Northern-Eastern Korean Festival at New Overpeck Park, and Board Member of the Multi- Cultural Committee in the Bergen County Sheriff's Department. Additionally, he has received a multitude of awards from Members of Congress, the New Jersey State Senate and General Assembly, the Newark and New York divisions of the FBI, the DEA in New Jersey, the TSA, the Federal Air Marshall Service, the U.S. Labor Department, the NJ State Association of Chiefs of Police, the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association, the Ambassador of Taiwan Consul General, and the Bergen County Public Safety Institute.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate Dr. Sungbae Ju, and thank him for his devotion to the performing arts, the Korean-American community, and the American community at large, both in the great State of New Jersey and across the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for the repeal of ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell.''

Today, we are one step closer to our nation's promise of liberty and justice for all people. The repeal of this misguided policy has ensured that our country's laws are applied equally and that gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve their country. It will also enhance our national security.

As a member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, I believe that one of my most important jobs is to ensure that the U.S. armed forces remain the best equipped, best prepared, and most powerful in the world. By sending home more than 13,500 motivated and qualified patriotic service members since 1994, who were willing and fit to serve this country, ``Don't Ask Don't Tell'' has without a doubt weakened our military. I was privileged to have had the opportunity to vote in favor of its repeal.

Today, all those in our society who are ready, able, and willing to serve in the U.S. military will be guaranteed their right to do so. The U.S. Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendment, requires the government to apply our laws equally. Now, only negative conduct, not one's sexual orientation, will be grounds for dismissal from our nation's military. Investing many millions of dollars to train these individuals and then dismissing them, in the absence of bad conduct, has wasted many millions of precious taxpayer dollars and compromised our national security.

As we celebrate this major milestone, many formerly discharged service members will reenter the armed services to serve alongside their friends and military family. We must ensure that the U.S. military treats all of our service members equally. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals must have access to the same rights as their hererosexual peers. Anything less is unacceptable and utterly un- American.

I thank my distinguished chairman and the ranking member for this conversation.

Madam Speaker, Congress has found the money over the years for disaster relief for all other parts of the country time and time again, whether it was forest fires in the West, droughts in the Southwest, flooding in the Midwest, tornados in the South. Now the Republican majority in the House of Representatives says that when the Northeast suffers devastating flooding as a result of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, you won't get enough to cover all of your damages and we're going to have to cut other investments in programs that create manufacturing jobs in America. That's simply outrageous.

I saw firsthand the devastation that occurred in my district in northeastern New Jersey. Thousands of my constituents lost their possessions, were forced to evacuate from their homes or were without power for days, and critical infrastructure was damaged. Recovery efforts are beyond the means of the State and local governments. Our neighbors, our local communities, our local businesses need Federal help to rebuild and they need it now in full, just like every other part of the country in all the years past.

This is not a partisan matter in the Northeast. My Republican Governor, Governor Chris Christie from New Jersey, said our people are suffering now and they need Federal support now, and he was right.

It is time to meet the disaster needs of American citizens in New Jersey, in northeastern United States of America, to do so now and in full. And the Republican majority should get rid of the bill it has now--which I'm going to vote against--and give full relief to the American people from New Jersey. We've been paying the tab for others for a long time. We need the help now.

Madam Speaker, the Jewish State of Israel is essential to America's national security. The Jewish State of Israel guards the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, and helps us with the oil and other activities in the Persian Gulf near Iran. Our relationship is mutually dependent, and so extremely important to both countries' vital national security.

But what's happening this week at the U.N., the Palestinians are going to the U.N. to avoid negotiating a peace agreement with Israel. The Palestinians want the U.N. to do what they won't do, negotiate a peace agreement.

Yet the Palestinians are made up of Hamas and Fatah. Hamas is a terrorist group with the blood of innocent Americans on their hands. Hamas' charter says they will never recognize Israel's right to exist.

Fatah is coming to the U.N. through their President Abbas, even though President Obama and the Congress have said, Go negotiate peace with Israel. Why would the Palestinians do that to the United States' vital national security interests and America's best friend in the region, the Jewish State of Israel? Because they are refusing to make an agreement to live in peace with the Jewish State.

The Congress has spoken. We will withdraw aid from the Palestinians, and the Palestinian people will suffer. The Palestinian leadership must withdraw from the U.N. and go to the negotiating table without pre- conditions with the Jewish State of Israel.

I oppose the Republican default bill because it will lead to drastic cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Also, I oppose the Republican default bill because it protects tax breaks and loopholes for those Americans who make millions and billions of dollars in income per year. I oppose the Republican default bill because it calls for another default summit, another default crisis, in 6 months, thereby undermining the certainty that American businesses, investors, and families need to create jobs and move our country forward.

With only a short-term increase under the Republican default bill, the full faith and credit of the United States will once again be held hostage to the differences in Washington. The Republicans' short-term plan that creates uncertainty will result in billions of dollars in increased interest rates that will hurt every single American and will hurt our country.

I urge my Republican colleagues to join with the Democrats, to join with President Obama in creating a balanced plan with shared sacrifice that solves our debt crisis and eliminates this cloud hanging over our economy.

I thank my ranking member, Mr. Davis, for his work on this bill. I would like to thank the chairman for all of his support as well. It is very greatly appreciated by all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a true American hero, Marine Sergeant Matthew Fenton of Little Ferry, New Jersey. At just 24 years of age, Matthew Fenton made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. It happened during his service in Iraq's al Anbar province in 2006. Matthew was struck by shrapnel after alerting his comrades to the presence of a suicide bomber. All of them escaped except for Matthew. He passed away 9 days later at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, as a result of his wounds, a day after he received the Purple Heart for his bravery.

I attended Matthew's funeral in 2006, and I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that 5 years later I still vividly recall the pain and deep sadness of his parents, his family, friends, and, yes, the entire community over the loss of this wonderful young man. Matthew represented the best our country has to offer.

Matthew planned to return home to Little Ferry, as has been said, after his service in the Marine Corps. He wanted to continue serving his community as a police officer. There is no doubt in my mind that just as Matthew was an outstanding marine, he would have made an outstanding police officer. Recognizing this fact, the Little Ferry Police Department made Sergeant Fenton a member of the Little Ferry police force after his untimely death, and then they permanently retired his badge number--number 44.

It is a humbling privilege for me to have played a small part in honoring Marine Sergeant Matthew Fenton, having sponsored the legislation naming the post office in his hometown of Little Ferry, New Jersey, the ``Sergeant Matthew J. Fenton Post Office.''

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and join me in ensuring that Marine Sergeant Matthew J. Fenton is recognized for his selflessness, his courage, and his patriotism, and that he will always be remembered.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 37th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and to remember this tragic event for the Greek Cypriot people.

The commemoration of the 1974 Turkish military invasion of the island of Cyprus serves as a solemn reminder for all freedom-loving people to mourn those who lost their lives in the invasion and to condemn the ongoing Turkish occupation. For the past 37 years, Cyprus has endured the illegal military occupation of over one third of its territory by the Turkish armed forces, an occupation which stands in violation of more than 75 U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for the withdrawal of Turkish troops. Despite this unjust infringement upon Cyprus, both the United States and the Cypriot governments remain committed to achieving a peaceful resolution of this dispute through diplomatic negotiations.

The strong relationship between the United States and Cyprus is not based solely on a shared interest in ending the Turkish occupation of Cyprus, but also on the fact that both countries share a deep and abiding commitment to upholding the ideals of freedom, democracy, justice, human rights, and the international rule of law. The United States and the rest of the international community have a moral obligation to stand with Cypriots as they work to reunify their island and end the Turkish military occupation.

As a friend of Cyprus, I will continue to work with my colleagues to realize a reunification of the island as a bi-communal and bi-zonal federation that will protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots. However, any solution must include a prompt withdrawal of Turkish occupation forces. Cypriot President Demetris Christofias remains committed to negotiating a just, viable solution to this problem in accordance with the many U.N. Security Council Resolutions adopted on this issue since 1974, with the High Level Agreements of 1977 and 1979, and on the basis of the ideals and principles upon which the European Union was founded.

Mr. Speaker, today I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 37th anniversary of this violent invasion that brutally divided the island nation of Cyprus, and to encourage Turkish Cypriot leaders to negotiate in good faith with their Greek Cypriot counterparts to settle this dispute and to develop a plan for reunification that addresses the serious concerns of all Cypriots. The reunification of Cyprus must remain a priority for this Congress and for the international community. On this important anniversary, we mourn the deaths of those killed in the invasion and the lost opportunities for reunification over the years, but we look forward to a future of a reunited and peaceful Cyprus.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my dear friend, Eva Lynn Gans, outgoing president of the Jewish Center of Teaneck and a dedicated leader of the Jewish community in northern New Jersey.

Throughout her tenure as president, Eva's inspired leadership and unwavering devotion has been instrumental in strengthening the Jewish Center of Teaneck and moving the synagogue toward a bright future. She has guided the center's transition from what was an independent traditional/conservative Jewish congregation to a fully Orthodox congregation, which puts the center in a great position to benefit from exciting new growth in the Teaneck community. With nearly 80 years of serving the community, the Center is Teaneck's first and oldest Jewish house of worship, and Eva is its first-ever female president. She is no stranger to this particular accomplishment, having also been the first woman to serve as president of the Endowment Foundation of the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation of Bergen County and its successor organization, UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey; as well as the first female Campaign Chairman for the Bergen County Federation. Additionally, Ms. Gans has served as the Women's Division President of the United Jewish Communities (UJC) of Bergen County.

Eva Lynn Gans is a proven local leader, yet she also works to strengthen the Jewish community on the national level and abroad. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Jewish Federation of North America, as well as several national committees. She has traveled to Israel an impressive 26 times since

1970, including 14 UJA Israel missions during which she has worked to continue the strong and vibrant relationship between Israeli and American Jews. Her deep personal connection to and involvement with the State of Israel is one of the many reasons Ms. Gans has been a successful leader in the Jewish community.

Eva has received numerous accolades and distinctions from the grateful organizations which have been privileged to have her involved in their causes. These include the Gates of Jerusalem Award from Boys Town Jerusalem, the Woman of Valor Award and the Award of Honor from Bergen County Israel Bonds Women's Division, the Woman of Vision Tribute from Women's American Organization for Rehabilitation through Training (ORT) Northeastern New Jersey Region, the Lion of Judah Award from Israel Bonds, and selection as an Honoree at the United Jewish Community Women's Division Spring Luncheon. Additionally, Ms. Gans was the first woman in Bergen County to receive the Shofar Award from the Boy Scouts of America's Jewish Community on Scouting, Bergen Council.

A resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, Eva Lynn Gans and her loving husband Leo have raised three wonderful sons, who have enriched her life with five amazing grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate my constituent and dear friend, Eva Lynn Gans, on her successful tenure as president of the Jewish Center of Teaneck. I join with the grateful members of her synagogue in thanking her for innumerable contributions to the northern Jersey Jewish community and American Jewry at large. I am confident that her involvement in Jewish life and leadership will continue to strengthen this special community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to propose that the 2016 Democratic Convention be held in Northern New Jersey. With easy access to a wide variety of transportation options, many local tourist attractions, and a proven record of successfully hosting large- scale events, Northern New Jersey is an ideal location and I urge my Democratic colleagues to join me in support of our bid to host the 2016 Convention.

Northern New Jersey has everything that a large-scale, high-profile event requires in order to go off without a hitch. Multiple airports provide access for visitors arriving from all across the country, while those traveling along the Eastern Seaboard have the option of taking Amtrak or one of several bus lines--all of which are particularly convenient to visitors from Washington, DC. Whether hosted in my district at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, at the Prudential Center in Newark, or both: our convention facilities are brand new, state-of-the-art, and well-equipped to host large events. Northern New Jersey boasts many hotels and tourist attractions for visitors, as well as proximity to other exciting locations; convention- goers would be just across the river from New York City and just up the Jersey shore from Atlantic City. Even as our national economy struggles to bounce back, tourism in Northern New Jersey has continued to flourish over the past few years, due in no small part to the infrastructure and facilities that our region has to offer visitors from across the Nation.

Most recently, the city of Newark hosted the 2011 NCAA East Regional Championship at the Prudential Center. Visitors, players, and league administrators alike were impressed and pleased with their newly chosen host city, with top NCAA officials noting that they are definitely on board with a future hosting bid. Looking toward the future, Super Bowl XLVII will be held at the New Meadowlands Stadium in 2014, and over 100,000 visitors from across the country are expected to travel to Northern New Jersey for this historic game. Both of these important events of national importance were brought to Northern New Jersey because of everything we have to offer, and I am confident that delegates and Convention participants alike would be pleased with the choice to hold our party's most important meeting here as well. A highly diverse region, Northern New Jersey is emblematic of the many cultures, ideas, and priorities that make up our great Nation, and I believe this is a fitting backdrop for the selection of our party's nominee for the 2016 Presidential race.

Mr. Speaker, today I ask my colleagues to consider Northern New Jersey as the site for the 2016 Democratic Convention. I know that we would host a memorable and well-executed Convention and I urge the Democratic Party to explore this option for 2016.