Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I've been in Congress now-- this is my 14th year.

A lot of people don't know about the quality of some of the people who are here in the Congress. A lot of people in this country find it funny to ridicule elected officials in general--Members of Congress in particular.

I am going to talk to you about a great American, a great human being. But there are many others like him, in a sense, with the patriotism and grace and greatness that he possessed.

Grace, generosity, and greatness: Jack Murtha. This was my fourth year serving on Mr. Murtha's defense subcommittee, and I was wondering how this giant of a man--physical giant, powerful, legislatively powerful man, would accept this guy from Jersey on his subcommittee. But he had such grace. He welcomed me with great civility and gentility. He was tough. He was so generous to me. He was generous to everyone on the committee.

He believed in bipartisanship absolutely, completely and totally, especially when it came to the security of our beloved country, the United States of America. So he took the best ideas from wherever they came--Democrat, Republican, liberal, or conservative. He just wanted what was best for America.

To talk about generosity, he even let me, a New Jersey guy, into the Pennsylvania corner. I was tickled by it. I was honored. For most of my years here when I was not on his subcommittee, I would see him over there in his corner, and I would see the people flocking around him from Pennsylvania and elsewhere, coming as if truly

just to get an audience with just a great man, a great human being, to get advice, to get direction, to get support. He always made you feel as if he was interested in your point of view.

He asked me what books I read. When I told him, he said, I want to read that book, and he did. He made you feel like you were making a contribution.

The greatness of Jack Murtha--aside from being a great husband and father and war hero and devoted representative of the people of Johnstown and his congressional district--part of his greatness was his expectations, his expectations about what it meant to be an American, someone committed to equal justice, equal opportunity, and integrity. His integrity was unquestioned and unquestionable.

I just hope that we remember, Madam Speaker, when we think of this great, gracious, generous, gentle giant, Jack Murtha, we remember not only his expectations for himself, but we remember his expectations for each of us. He had it of his staff, he had it of his committee members, he had it of all of his colleagues of the House that we behave as true American patriots and leave America stronger, freer, more just, and a greater Nation--as great as he believed America to be. He demanded greatness from all of us and that we pass on that legacy for our country, our fellow countrymen and women, for generations to come.

Thank you, Mr. Murtha, for all you have done for us, and we hope to repay all that you have done for us by giving back to our country and creating the kind of country that you fought so hard to make.

We will never forget you, sir. Thank you. God bless you.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of Father Joseph Kukura, President of the Catholic Health Care Partnership of New Jersey, who passed away on February 1, 2010.

Mr. Speaker, Wednesday, November 18, 2009, due to illness, and at the advice of my doctor, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 896: Passage of H. Con Res. 214. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, due to illness, and at the advice of my doctor, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 897: Motion on Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule for H.R. 3791. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, due to illness, and at the advice of my doctor, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 898: Passage of H. Res. 909. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, due to illness, and at the advice of my doctor, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 899: On agreeing to the Perlmutter (CO) Amendment. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, due to illness, and at the advice of my doctor, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 900: On agreeing to the Flake (AZ) Amendment. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, due to illness, and at the advice of my doctor, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 901: On Passage of H.R. 3791. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, November 19, 2009, due to my required participation in a classified national security meeting, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 905: On Passage of H.R. 2781. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, due to my required participation in a classified national security meeting, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 906: On Passage of H. Con. Res. 212. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to mark the beginning of the third annual Blood Management Awareness Week. November 2nd through November 6th has been designated as Blood Management Awareness Week by the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management. This event is dedicated to educating patients and healthcare workers about blood management and blood issues.

Blood management is the appropriate provision and use of blood and its components and derivatives, and strategies to reduce or avoid the need for a blood transfusion. Optimal patient blood management employs technology and techniques to decrease blood loss and to enhance blood cell production. It reduces risks and costs associated with blood transfusion through transfusion-free medical and surgical techniques.

I would also like to recognize the important work of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, which is located in my congressional district, to further the goals and ideals of this important event. The Hospital's Institute for Patient Blood Management and Bloodless Medicine and Surgery is a world-renowned leader in patient blood management. I commend the physicians of the Institute for their commitment to improving patient outcomes and educating the medical community about best practices in blood management.

I thank the chairman.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the conference agreement on the 2010 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill. I want to thank our distinguished chairman, Chairman Price, and our distinguished ranking member, Mr. Rogers, for their outstanding leadership on this bill, and my colleagues on the subcommittee for their outstanding work.

First, I would like to remind my colleagues that I come from one of the most densely populated regions in the most densely populated State in the United States, northern New Jersey. This area contains many high-risk terrorist targets. So I understand, as do my constituents, how vitally important this funding is to our region's and our Nation's security.

The bill provides, for example, our first responders with excellent resources for the training, equipment and personnel we need to keep our communities safe.

It includes $60 million for emergency operations centers, $810 million for local fire departments, and $950 million to protect high- risk urban areas from terrorist attacks. It provides $300 million for port security grants to stop the flow of illegal drugs from coming into this country. It also increases resources for our Customs and Border Protection by over $10 billion to combat drugs and weapons smuggling.

In closing, Madam Speaker, this bill, the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill, honors the commitment we made to provide our first responders with the best training and equipment available to keep our ports safe and our borders safe and all of our citizens safe from the terror that lurks out there by individuals still seeking to do us harm.

Madam Speaker, I would like to submit the following article entitled ``Obama, the Economy and Community Colleges.'' This article was printed in the Bergen Record on September 15, 2009:

[From the Bergen Record, Sept. 15, 2009]

Obama, the Economy and Community Colleges

(By G. Jeremiah Ryan)

If most experts are to be believed, the recession has

bottomed out and we are about to begin the process of

rebuilding our economy. While this is good news, it is hardly

comforting to the thousands of New Jerseyans who are out of

work or underemployed.

That's because although business activity is starting to

pick up, job creation isn't. In fact, the same experts who

are predicting the start of an economic rebound readily admit

that the labor market will continue to deteriorate well into

next year, and they expect the unemployment rate to hit

double digits.

The question, then, is: What can we do to prevent further

erosion in the job market and jump-start employment?

President Obama answered that question back in July when, in

a major public policy address, he unveiled a plan to spend

$12 billion over the next 10 years to help the nation's

community colleges train people for the jobs that will be

needed in tomorrow's economy.

Partnership

By looking to community colleges for help, the president is

harnessing a job-training infrastructure that already exists.

No need to reinvent the wheel. Two-year colleges have been

preparing students for employment for as long as they have

existed. More recently, they have taken the lead in

partnering with government agencies to provide customized job

training for businesses in their communities.

Bergen Community College and the Bergen County Workforce

Improvement Board came together this summer to help

supermarket retailer Whole Foods train 300 of its employees

at stores in Paramus and Edgewater. The board helped arrange

a $1 million training grant from the U.S. Department of

Labor, while the college developed training budgets and

schedules, and located instructors for computer courses, as

well as for classes in customer service and basic

supervision.

Obama is not the only one to recognize the value of

community colleges. The public has, too. This fall, many two-

year colleges saw sharp increases in enrollment. As of the

first day of classes, Bergen Community College had enrolled

16,769 students, a 17 percent increase over last year.

Two-year colleges are also preparing students to join the

workforce in a relatively short period of time. Labor market

experts believe that in the future there will be a strong

supply of jobs for people who have two-year degrees or

occupational certificates. In fact, these so-called ``middle-

skill'' jobs--nurses, hotel managers, paralegals, etc.--make

up about 50 percent of the labor market in New Jersey and pay

above-average salaries. A licensed practical nurse, for

example, earned a median salary of $46,800 in 2006, well

above the $35,838 median salary for all occupations in New

Jersey that year.

Flexibility

To have a lasting impact on the economy, it will be

important to prepare students for jobs in industries that are

growing and have a future. A hallmark of county colleges has

been their ability and willingness to add courses of study

that are in demand by the communities they serve. This year,

Bergen Community College added nine more degree programs in

subjects such as non-profit management, homeland security,

fire science and sports management. When you add them to the

existing curricula, Bergen students have 140 programs of

study to choose from, each leading to a rewarding career.

Obama's speech was a beginning, a recognition that the path

to improving employment must include community colleges. Many

details need to be worked out, but we have the know-how and

experience to help people get back to work.

G. Jeremiah Ryan is president of Bergen Community College

in Paramus.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life--and mourn the passing--of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) Aviation Director William DeCota.

Bill DeCota was appointed director of the world's largest aviation system in 1999. As Aviation Director for PANYNJ, he supervised the management of a diverse portfolio of airports, from international hubs like Laguardia and Kennedy to Teterboro, a general aviation reliever airport located in my congressional district in New Jersey. Before assuming the position of Aviation Director, Bill served PANYNJ as Deputy Director of Aviation, Assistant Director for Business and Properties, and Manager of Business and Financial Services for the Aviation Department.

In all aspects of discharging his responsibilities, Bill was superlative. He oversaw the largest airport improvement program in the history of the United States, and he brought his keen expertise of airport congestion to bear on one of the Nation's most crowded air corridors. During my time in Congress, I have fought to reduce airport overcrowding and aircraft noise pollution, as well as increase safety at Teterboro and all of our national airports. In that fight, Bill was an ally, partner, mentor, and friend. His institutional knowledge and acute understanding of the difficulties faced by people living near airports, as well as his consistent good humor and positive outlook, made him indispensible. He will be sorely missed.

In the wake of his untimely passing, Bill leaves a legacy of safer air travel and improved quality of life for airport neighbors. He gave back to the community as richly and generously in his personal life as he did in his career, serving--in addition to positions on a variety of aviation-related boards--as president of the Queens Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Madam Speaker, Bill DeCota was a public servant of the highest order; humble, capable and knowledgeable. I rise today to applaud his achievements, mourn his passing, and express my heartfelt condolences to his friends, family and coworkers. New Jersey, and the country, are poorer for having lost him.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong opposition to this amendment. First I would like to thank Chairman Visclosky, Chairman Pastor, Ranking Member Frelinghuysen and all the Energy and Water Subcommittee members for their leadership on this important legislation and their support for this project. This is a good bill, and this is a good project. It will protect America's waterways and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

This amendment that the gentleman from Arizona offers would remove funding for a project that would speed the transition of biotechnology from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Since 1989, Mr. Chairman, the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research has steered more than $122 million towards energy research projects that are chosen on the basis of scientific merit and their importance for building a renewable energy economy, especially from biomass. The consortium works with more than 50 research universities in the United States of America and matches those universities with private entities, which transform their lab work into technology that can be introduced into the economy, creating jobs in the rapidly growing alternative energy sector. This is a picture of a wonderful public-private partnership that so many on both sides of the aisle talk about.

Through the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research, the Federal dollars made available by this earmark are matched 130 percent with non-Federal funds so that for every $1 the government puts in, the private sector puts in $1.30, for a total of $2.30 worth of research.

Recently, Mr. Chairman, Rutgers University in my home State of New Jersey partnered with the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research. Rutgers' work is focused on creating plants that require less fertilizer to grow, the result being less energy used in the manufacture of fertilizer, cheaper crops and easily produced biomass that can be converted into clean energy. The result is tremendously efficient research that is cheaper, that will give us better crops and the next generation of clean, renewable biofuels.

Mr. Chairman, if we're going to combat global warming and break America's dependence on foreign oil, investing in research into the next generation of locally generated, renewable biofuels is crucial. The Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research facilitates exactly that, and I am proud to support this earmark.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

May I ask the Chair how much time is remaining.

I yield 2 minutes to our distinguished chairman, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor).

I thank the chairman. There are good investments, and there are bad investments. I think one would find it difficult and unreasonable to say that in the present world economic climate, as well as energy climate, that the United States doesn't need to do more to become energy independent. We do need to do more. This is a public-private partnership involving 50 research universities in the United States, where for every dollar of Federal money, the private sector invests $1.30 to come up with ways to provide renewable energy in a clean fashion and clean, green American jobs. I urge opposition to this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank my distinguished chairwoman.

I rise today in strong support of this bill. First, I would like to thank Chairwoman Lowey for her amazing leadership, and as well our ranking member, Kay Granger, who is not with us, and my fellow subcommittee members, including Congressman Kirk, who is taking the lead on the floor today for the great leadership efforts that they have shown in ensuring that this bill puts partisan differences behind, and that this bill makes sure that we promote our Nation's foreign policy and national security interests by funding economic development, health, and education around the world, and diplomacy.

This bill also includes in particular language that would improve transparency and accountability, Mr. Chairman, at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East, commonly called UNRWA. For almost 60 years, UNRWA has provided humanitarian services to Palestinians living in refugee camps throughout the Middle East.

Unfortunately, as UNRWA has grown over the years, it has not taken nearly enough steps to ensure that it does not employ, affiliate with, or provide benefits to known terrorists. The problem with UNRWA is fundamental. There is a remarkable lack of available information.

That is why I am so grateful to Chairwoman Lowey and our ranking member and my colleagues for including in the bill requirements that the information available regarding textbooks being used to teach the next generation of Palestinians be provided, and more money being provided for that information, and to require the State Department to undertake a review of those educational materials and UNRWA schools to ensure that there are no calls for hatred or intolerance, including anti-Semitism, in these textbooks provided by UNRWA to the Palestinian refugees.

In addition, the legislation requires the State Department to report on whether UNRWA is complying with current U.S. law, which states appropriately that no American taxpayer dollars be directed to terrorists or to further terrorist propaganda.

I stand in strong support of this bill. I thank my distinguished chairwoman and my colleagues for this wonderful bill and I urge its passage.

I yield to the ranking member.

I thank the chairman.

First, I would like to thank Chairman Price and Ranking Member Rogers and my fellow subcommittee members for their leadership on this entire Homeland Security legislation and for their support for this project. As you know, the Department of Homeland Security reviewed this project and had no objection to it. This is a good bill and a good project.

Mr. Flake's amendment would remove funding for this project that would otherwise help local, State, and Federal emergency response agencies better communicate and coordinate in the aftermath of a terrorist attack or natural disaster.

My district is across the river from what were the Twin Towers in New York City, and we know firsthand the difficulties that arose in that terrible tragedy because of the inoperability, the lack of communication technologies working together amongst police, fire, and other emergency services.

There was a landmark publication, ``Why Can't We Talk,'' which was produced in the wake of 9/11 by a national task force of 18 associations representing public safety and elected officials. It noted five key reasons why first responders struggle to communicate sometimes with their own agencies.

This $1 million project would support specific initiatives established in the National Emergency Communications Plan delivered to Congress in July 2008 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency Communications. Working in partnership with that office, the National Institute for Communications Interoperability would address the most critical issue facing the first responder community today, their ability to command and control emergency resources in response to terrorist attacks, natural disasters and crimes through interagency communication.

This project will not only help to make our Nation safer by demonstrating how various regional emergency responses can better coordinate, but it will help to ensure that local, State and Federal tax dollars that have already been allocated in previous Homeland Security measures and in previous budgets throughout the United States are used more wisely. The primary goal of this project is to ensure the best possible use of taxpayer money by public safety officers and first responder organizations.

Federal, State, and local governments have invested a substantial amount of capital, as they should have, on first responder equipment, emergency plans, and safety personnel. It makes sense for Congress to support a project that will help to coordinate these efforts and maximize the return on these essential investments.

I urge the defeat of this amendment.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

May I ask the gentleman to yield for a short question?

Is the gentleman aware that there will be five areas across this country that will be supported by this program as determined by this organization which has been established by 50 States and the territories?

Will the gentleman yield for one more question?

I thank the gentleman.

My friend from Arizona does not, Madam Chairman, dispute the validity and the importance of coordinating emergency communication throughout the United States, nor does my friend from Arizona dispute that this project represents five pilot projects across the country. So I find it difficult to believe that there would be any objection to this very valuable program that has already met with success and that is deserving of additional new outreach to the first responders emergency personnel across the country.

I thank the gentleman for the time.

Mr. Speaker, today, we consider legislation that is an important step in protecting our young people as they come to explore this amazing world that we live in.

First, I want to take time to thank my friend, the Education and Labor Chairman George Miller. Earlier this year, Chairman Miller took time from his schedule to meet with Phylicia Moore's parents, Lola and Douglas Moore, and with Phylicia's brother, Christopher. Chairman Miller heard their heartbreaking story. The legislation we have before us today is a testament to his leadership and to his compassion.

I also want to acknowledge the role played by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. He also personally met with the Moores. He and his staff have suggested several important improvements to the bill. I am deeply grateful for his personal involvement.

I would also like to thank Ranking Member McKeon and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for their bipartisan support of this very important legislation.

I would also like to recognize and to express my gratitude for the endorsements of the National Parent Teacher Association, the National Education Association and the National School Boards Association for this important bill.

Phylicia's Law bears the name of a young woman from my district who was taken from us much too soon. Phylicia Moore was an 18-year-old high school student from Teaneck, New Jersey, who died in April 2007 while on a school-sponsored trip to Ghana.

Today, however, is not about the past. We are here to talk about the future and what we can do to help ensure that no more parents endure what Douglas and Lola Moore have gone through. It is the culmination of the Moores' hard work, the dedication to their daughter and to her memory, and their desire that no other parents suffer as they have that brings us to this moment on the floor of the United States House of Representatives.

As a parent myself, when I send my children to school, I expect them to be safe. I expect them to be just as safe when the school takes them on a field trip off school premises. Public school districts are now required to have safety plans and security procedures in place for the physical campus of their schools. However, there are no such requirements when schools take students off campus for field trips or for any other reason. Phylicia's Law will fix this dangerous omission.

Phylicia's Law will require school districts to develop a safety policy for overnight school trips. However, the bill as written still gives individual schools the leeway to determine their own plans and procedures, which parents will then be able to review before the parents decide if the school district has the right security plan for their child sufficient to allow a parent in good conscience to let their child take this off-campus school trip.

Given that schools already know how to devise their security plans for on-

campus events, this new requirement for off-campus events should not be overly burdensome. On the contrary, I think this new requirement should be welcome as a plan and set of procedures that will help protect everyone on their trip.

With plans and procedures in place, there will be a blueprint for chaperones, for their trip leaders, for students, and for parents, all of whom will want to know what individual roles and responsibilities there are on this trip and what will happen should tragedy strike. We need Phylicia's Law to not only keep children safe but help schools to continue to offer important off-campus learning activities.

Off-campus school trips are an important part of the educational experience of our Nation's students. Each year, millions of our young people enjoy these trips. They provide students with invaluable learning opportunities outside the classroom. Keeping our students safe is paramount, but we also need to continue to provide these essential off-campus educational experiences.

Phylicia Moore was in Ghana on a goodwill trip. She was there to help others. She was a good, caring person. She was brave. She was filled with light. When speaking with Phylicia's parents, Douglas and Lola Moore, it is easy to see how much loved Phylicia was. Douglas and Lola's love helped make Phylicia the wonderful young woman she had become. It is with a heavy heart that I stand here today because nothing will bring this wonderful young woman back. But I commend Phylicia's parents, Douglas and Lola Moore, coming to me about Phylicia's Law, for caring about other parents and children, and I hope that we can get Phylicia's Law passed for them, for their daughter, and to make sure that parents across the country never have to face the pain that the Moores will continue to live with.

I urge my colleagues to stand up for students and parents across this country by supporting this bill.

I thank the gentleman.

The gentleman has expressed, I think, an important concern with regards to those powers that are not deemed already provided to the Federal Government with regards to the State should not be expanded. However, there are many, many instances--whether it be clean water standards or clean air standards or seatbelt standards for cars; the list is endless--to protect the public safety and good health of our people that the Federal Legislature, made up of 435 of us from all over the country, provide the minimum standards of safety that we wish to have in each of the 50 States.

But recognizing the general intention of the gentleman's objection, we changed the law to make it even more local community friendly this way. We said, We're not going to tell the local school districts what plan to have. Whatever plan they come up with is fine, period. All we require them to do is to have a plan or not have a plan but simply tell the parents, We have no plan, or, Here is our plan. This is to empower parents to make an informed judgment as to whether they want to put their children's safety in the hands of this particular school district if and when the school district decides they want to go on a school trip. I think that's why it has received bipartisan support.

I'm a former local mayor, former judge myself, and I'm very sensitive to too much intrusion in the local decisionmaking. This simply says to the school districts have a plan or don't have a plan, but you have got to tell the parents and let them make their judgment on the validity of the plan so that they can decide, as a parent, then, whether they want to go forth.

This is not just a tribute to Phylicia, although it is in some part. It is an effort to prevent these tragedies from happening again. That's why the National Parent-Teacher Association, the National School Boards Association, and the National Education Association, as well as colleagues on both sides of the aisle, have supported it.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the 100th birthday of Levonia ``Tiny'' Chaney. Levonia was born on June 16, 1909, in the rural community of Brookman, Georgia, to Henry and Laura (nee Boston) Bailey. Her father was a successful farmer, blacksmith, barber, community activist, and chairman of the Deacon Board at New Zion Baptist Church.

Levonia Bailey Chaney migrated from Savannah, Georgia, in 1934, to Hackensack, New Jersey, where she met and married her late husband, Arthur Chaney Sr. They were blessed with three children, Arthur W. Chaney Jr. M.D.; Carol Tunstall, retired music educator; and Dewey Chaney M.D. Her mother was a dressmaker. She watched her mother sew from the scraps that her father brought from the mill whenever he went to town to sell his produce. Levonia looked forward to helping her mother make clothes for the family. After the death of her mother, she became dressmaker, hairdresser, and barber for the family. She was baptized at an early age and joined the New Zion Baptist Church in Brookman, Georgia. She was salutatorian of her class at Seldon Normal Industrial Institute in Brunswick, Georgia, where she majored in home making. As a teenager she was an active member of the Girls 4-H club of America. She won numerous awards, including ``Champion Dressmaker of the State of Georgia.'' She is the oldest living PTA president in the city of Hackensack. She and her late husband were recognized in 1970 by the Hackensack Negro Professional Women's Club as ``Parents of the Year.'' In 1999, Mount Olive Baptist Church, under the pastorate of Rev. Gregory J. Jackson, recognized her 69 years of faithful service. She is a charter member of the Emeritus of the Nurses Unit.

Levonia, affectionately called ``Tiny,'' arrived in Bergen County in 1934 where she united with the Mt. Olive Baptist Church of Hackensack under the pastorate of the late Rev. T. W. H. Gibson. She shared her gift of sewing by making choir robes, altar skirts, covers for chairs, the nurse's uniforms, and whatever else the church needed. She is still an active member of the church for 75 years now, under the pastorate of Rev. Gregory J. Jackson. After 41 years of service, Tiny retired from International Ladies Garment Workers Union. The community also benefited from her skills creating bridal party gowns and garments for members in the church and community.

She enjoys reading with great excitement, doing search and find word puzzles, playing games, exercise time, movies, arts and crafts, celebrating each other's birthday, singing and dancing at the Martin Luther King Center in Hackensack. She looks forward to a new MLK center that would provide friendship, sense of purpose, uplifting and a host of other cultural and educational activities. She is a Past Matron of Pride of the East Order of the Eastern Star, PHA Hackensack and has been honored for her dedicated service for over 60 years.

``Tiny'' the matriarch of the Bailey family has three surviving sisters, Vera Brewer, Gussie B. Langston and Susie Richardson. She is the grandmother of seven, Arthur Chaney III, MD, Kip Chaney, Gina Chaney, Corey Chaney, Craig Chaney, Shanda Tunstall-Charles, and Harvey Tunstall. She is the great grandmother of six. She has one living fraternal aunt, Genevieve Scott of Brunswick, GA.

On behalf of myself and the people of the 9th Congressional District of New Jersey, I wish Levonia very best as she celebrates her 100th birthday.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 50th anniversary of Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church of Ridgefield, New Jersey.

On May 19, 1957, a community's dream began to take shape. On that day, ground was broken for what was then known as the Armenian Apostolic Church of New Jersey. In two short years, the Armenian American community of Bergen County came together and raised the necessary funds to realize the dream of building a church.

On May 3, 1959, the church was consecrated by His Eminence Archbishop Khoren Paroyian, Nuncio of His Holiness Zareh I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.

Sts. Vartanantz today stands as a beacon of Armenian American community life in Bergen County with its Sunday school, the Nareg Saturday Armenian School, the ladies guild, the men's club, the seniors groups, and several cultural, youth, educational, and fraternal organizations working to perpetuate the Armenian faith and heritage.

I extend my congratulations to the pastor, Rev. Fr. Hovnan Bozoian, the Board of Trustees, and all members and friends of Sts. Vartanantz and wish them many more years of growth and service to the Armenian American community.

I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sts. Vartanantz Church for its contributions to the Armenian American residents of Bergen County, as well the larger Armenian American community in the United States.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the 100th birthday of Mrs. Sally Matthews, which will take place on May 30, 2009. Sally, a lifelong resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, is the proud mother of two sons and six grandchildren. Throughout her life, Sally has been an outstanding public servant and professional. She worked for the New Jersey State Board of Children's Guardians from 1925 to 1942. Sally was subsequently employed as a legal secretary, receiving the distinction of being the Hudson County Legal Secretaries Association's Legal Secretary of the Year in 1970. Sally has always taken the time to give back to her community, having volunteered at St. Aedan's Rectory in Jersey City and having been a charter member of St. Aedan's Golden Club, 41 years ago. As Sally and her friends gather on June 1st to celebrate her 100th birthday, I wish her, on behalf of myself and the people of the 9th Congressional District of New Jersey, the very best as she reaches this exciting milestone in her life.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Alfred E. Zampella, recipient of the Jersey City Heights Legend Award. This award honors my Hudson County Director, good friend and constituent, Al Zampella, for his lifelong commitment and dedication to the Jersey City community.

A lifelong resident of Jersey City, Al Zampella was born on February 8, 1923, the youngest of five boys. Coming from an iconic family in Jersey City, Al and his siblings all have made significant contributions to our community in their respective occupations. Al began his commitment to public service on the battlefields in World War II as a Lieutenant and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his heroism during sea combat in the Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations. He earned his undergraduate degree from Seton Hall University and an M.A. in Education Administration and Supervision from New York University.

Al served as Principal of Jersey City Public School No. 27 for 27 years, as a guiding, trusted force in the lives of thousands of students, encouraging them to remain in school and use their formal education to succeed in life. Al retired in 1990 and on November 7, 1996 received the great honor of having Public School No. 27 formally dedicated to him, and renamed the Alfred E. Zampella P.S. No. 27. Today the school continues the important work he started and has received many prestigious honors and awards recognizing its success.

Al's commitment to his community continued outside the walls of Public School No. 27. Not only is Al a member of many boards and organizations in Northern New Jersey, he also continues to serve the people of Jersey City as the Ninth Congressional District's Hudson County Director. But above everything else, Al Zampella is a family man. He and his wife Jaclyn have three exceptional sons: Edward, Walter, and Gary. And their grandchildren, Bailey, Evan, Lauren, Matthew, Francesca, and Juliana, are the light of their lives.

I cannot imagine the Heights section of Jersey City without this true legend: Al Zampella. My very best wishes go to Al and his family and I offer my sincerest and deepest appreciation and congratulations to him on his receiving the Jersey City Heights Legend Award.