Bud Cramer

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Alabama State Senator Tommy Ed Roberts. Senator Roberts has represented Limestone, Madison, and Morgan Counties in the Alabama State Senate since 1994 and served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1974 through 1982. Senator Roberts recently announced his retirement from public service and in April concluded his final legislative session. I consider it a privilege to have worked with Senator Roberts on a wide variety of issues facing Morgan County. He has done a great deal to help further the quality of life for all individuals in our community. During his many years of service in the State Legislature, Senator Roberts' peers elected him to numerous legislative leadership positions. He served as the Chairman of the Senate Business and Labor Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. Senator Roberts' well known legislative accomplishments include his work to create Alabama's identity theft protection laws and his bill to allow Morgan County to give a portion of its sales tax to help fund volunteer fire departments. In addition to serving Morgan County as a State Legislator, Senator Roberts was a champion of economic development and expansion. He served as Executive Director of the Morgan County Industrial Development Association and the Decatur-Morgan County Port Authority for many years and is credited with helping to create over 14,000 jobs. He played a large role in successfully recruiting the Boeing Delta IV Rocket Plant and Nucor Steel plants to Decatur, Alabama. Mr. Speaker, Senator Roberts is well respected throughout our local community and the entire State of Alabama. On Saturday, September 23rd, the North Alabama community will gather to honor and celebrate all of Senator Roberts' achievements. I rise today, to join in their celebration and to thank Senator Roberts for his many years of dedicated service.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the alumni, students, faculty, and friends of Alabama A&M University, I rise today to congratulate Dr. Robert Jennings on his inauguration as the University's tenth President. Alabama A&M is a prestigious 131-year old land-grant university located in Normal, AL. Its faculty and students are nationally recognized for their work in and out of the classroom. A&M selected Jennings as President in January of 2006. A graduate of Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, Dr. Jennings is a Fulbright-Hays Fellow and a highly respected and accomplished professor and administrator. Prior to his appointment at A&M, Dr. Jennings served many years as a professor and administrator at Atlanta University Graduate School. Dr. Jennings has also held positions at Norfolk State University, Albany State University, and North Carolina A&T State University. Most recently, he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Wake Forest University's Future Focus 2020, a program designed to encourage urban communities to more actively participate in discussions about the future of the country. In addition to his impressive academic record, Dr. Jennings is a distinguished diplomat and civil servant. In 1999, he represented the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. State Department as a consultant and trainer at the University of Naimey in Niger, Africa. He also previously served as a Loaned Executive to the Office of the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as an Equal Opportunity and Employee Development Specialist and Lead Trainer for the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission. Mr. Speaker, during the week of September 11th, the Alabama A&M community is celebrating Dr. Jennings' inauguration. I believe that his impressive resume and numerous academic accomplishments have more than prepared him to lead Alabama A&M University to new heights. I look forward to working with him and all of the faculty, students, alumni, and staff to build on the University's proud tradition of excellence.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor one of my constituents, Ms. Anne-Marie Gnacek upon her retirement after 50 years of managing, designing, and developing simulations to evaluate our Nation's ability to intercept and destroy foreign missiles. Beginning in 1956, Ms. Gnacek worked for a variety of defense related engineering companies. With the exception of choosing to stay at home to raise her two sons in the 1960s, she has worked continuously on developing software simulations to help develop our Nation's space and missile development programs, including the Navy's Polaris missile and the development of our National Missile Defense initiative. Most recently, Ms. Gnacek was involved in the independent verification and validation testing of the Ground Based Midcourse Defense System's Battle Management Command and Control and In-flight Interceptor Communications systems, and development of simulation training aid for the soldiers who will operate the system. Ms. Gnacek also led a team of engineers that developed real time simulations of mission experiments and activities to train astronauts for NASA's SPACELAB 1 and 2 shuttle missions. Mr. Speaker, this month, Ms. Gnacek will retire after 50 years of exceptional service. Throughout her career, she has devoted herself towards improving our Nation's space and missile development programs and has diligently worked to enhance these vital systems to meet the ever-changing needs of our country. I rise today to join her colleagues, family, and friends in congratulating her on a job well done. I wish her and her family the very best for the future.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and thank Dr. Richard Amos, Deputy to the Commanding General of the Army Aviation and Missile Command, for his continued service to the defense of our country. Mr. Speaker, the contributions of the Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) at Redstone Arsenal cannot be overemphasized. As a leader in defense technology research and development, the Command has been on the forefront of new and emerging technology for our armed services. It has done a great deal to ensure that the men and women on the battlefield have the most up-to-date war fighting capabilities and the tools they need to safely accomplish their mission. Dr. Amos, a native son of Huntsville, has been the Deputy to the Commanding General of AMCOM since 2004. Earlier this year, Dr. Amos was awarded the 2005 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive for his work as Deputy Commanding General. This was a much-deserved honor as he has diligently led efforts with Redstone's Commanding General James Pillsbury to ensure that Redstone and the entire North Alabama defense community are continuously evolving to meet the demands of today's warfighter. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Amos' dedication and leadership is well respected throughout the North Alabama community. On behalf of the United States Congress and the people of North Alabama, I proudly rise today to commend him on his service and wish him the very best for the future.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents in North Alabama, I rise today to pay tribute and thank Redstone Arsenal's Commanding General, Major General Jan1es Pillsbury, on the service he continues to provide to our national defense. General Pillsbury was named Commanding General of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as well as the Army Aviation and Missile Command, which is located at Redstone, in December of 2003. In addition to the Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone is the home of, among others, the Missile Munitions Center and School, the Redstone Technical Test Center (RTTC), and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. As Commanding General, he has worked to ensure that the entire North Alabama defense community is engaged in efforts to meet the future needs of the Army and the warfighter. In addition, he and his wife Becky, have established a non-profit organization, Still Serving Veterans, which continues to recognize the sacrifice and look for ways to repay the numerous veterans living in North Alabama for their service. The Pillsburys' community outreach and dedication to the entire region have made the North Alabama community a better place to work and live. Mr. Speaker, the Army has rewarded General Pillsbury's leadership and commitment at Redstone with an extension on his service in North Alabama. His contributions have prepared our community for additional roles and responsibilities. I rise today to commend him on his service and wish him the very best for the future.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I too stand in strong support of this bill. I want to compliment the chairman of the Judiciary Committee for giving us this opportunity. My colleague, Mark Foley, who just spoke, he and I cochaired the Caucus for Missing and Exploited Children. Prior to my time here in Congress, I was a district attorney, and I saw too many children victimized by predators that had slipped between the cracks, predators that lived in neighborhoods. Neighbors didn't know it. Schools didn't know it. We can tighten this net of safety around children and families, but only through this bill can we do that. I joined with John Walsh in the early 1980s in an effort to form a stronger network of child abuse intervention programs that we built around the country called the National Children's Advocacy Center programs. They exist in 700 or 800 communities around this country, and they are one-stop service centers where child abuse victims and their families can come to get help and support. But in establishing centers like this, in bringing network teams together in communities, we found out that that safety net to protect those children and families simply did not exist, and that was because the registration and notification system was practically nonexistent. And even though we, from the 1990s forward, have done everything we can to improve that, we still kept the notice factors in that too private, too available to only a certain select few so that neighbors and communities and schools did not know what they needed to do. I want to congratulate John Walsh and his wife, Reve, as well for making sure that they are establishing the next chapter in honor of Adam Walsh. John and Reve have given so much to the rest of this country in making sure that children are protected. We need to pass this bill today in Adam Walsh's memory.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the organizers, participants, and patrons of the 25th Annual W.C. Handy Music Festival, which begins on July 21 and lasts until July 30. The W.C. Handy Festival is named after Florence, Alabama, native William Christopher Handy. Mr. Handy, who is remembered today as the ``Father of Blues,'' was born in 1873 in a log cabin that his grandfather built. He left Florence in 1892, settling in Memphis, Tennessee, where he penned his most recognized composition, ``St. Louis Blues.'' Before his death in 1958, W.C. Handy wrote over 150 songs and his widespread appeal is credited with popularizing blues music into America's cultural mainstream. Mr. Speaker, beginning with the birth of Mr. Handy and continuing today, the Shoals Region of Northwest Alabama has a storied musical history. The Shoals area is also the birthplace of the ``Father of Rock and Roll'' Sam Phillips, who discovered artists such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The region is also the home of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, as well as generations of musicians, composers, songwriters, and internationally recognized recording studios and producers. Over the last 50 years, musical legends such as Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, and some of today's musical superstars have recorded many of their biggest hits in the area. Each year, the Music Preservation Society organizes this unique festival to pay tribute to W.C. Handy's legacy and the area's rich musical heritage. Thousands of musical patrons are entertained through more than 200 events at locations throughout the Shoals. Musical acts range from a wide variety of blues, jazz, gospel, R&B, soul, and country acts. The artists perform live in local restaurants, nightclubs, theatres, parks, libraries, art galleries, churches, malls, museums, and street corners throughout the region. The Festival, which began in 1982 featuring jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie, has continued to grow each year. Past headlining acts have included Clarence Carter, the Manhattan Transfer, and Percy Sledge. In its 25-year history, National Geographic, the Southeast Tourism Society, Travelocity.com, the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, and the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel have recognized the festival as one of the top events in the South. Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today to congratulate and applaud the efforts of the Music Preservation Society Board of Directors and staff, and the festival's volunteers and musicians who make this celebration of the cultural heritage of northwest Alabama a reality each year.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. I thank the chairman of the subcommittee. I have been a member of this subcommittee since the subcommittee was formed, and I was a member of the VA-HUD Subcommittee before then. And, as a matter of full disclosure, I come from an area that has one of the NASA centers, the Marshall Space Flight Center. But the gentleman's amendment is not well designed. This would kill, this would kill the core of NASA. This would redefine what NASA is all about, and I urge the Members to oppose this amendment. We have balanced carefully, the chairman and the ranking member of this subcommittee, within the confines of this budget, to order what we could do for NASA versus what we could do for COPS programs, Justice programs, and NOAA and other programs in here. This is a good debate to have, because we don't have enough money and we don't have enough room in this budget. But this is a bad amendment, and I urge the Members to oppose it.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for this time. I am a member of his subcommittee, and I appreciate his leadership and the leadership of the ranking member as well. I rise in opposition to this amendment, and it troubles me to do that. I was a district attorney prior to my time in Congress, and so I know a little bit about law enforcement and what law enforcement needs. These programs that are the object of the Weiner amendment, they are important programs, there is no doubt, but the chairman and the ranking member have worked together in a bipartisan manner to restore $1.1 billion in proposed cuts to State and local law enforcement programs. Now, that is not as much as it should be, but that is a good-faith effort within the budget allocation to get money here. This is the wrong offset. Please vote against the Weiner amendment.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Scottsboro Police Chief Keith Smith, who recently announced his retirement after 35 years of public service. Chief Smith started his career in law enforcement as a Military Police Officer in the United States Army in 1966. After serving 1 year in Vietnam, he was honorably discharged before joining the Scottsboro Police Department in 1971. He was named the Chief of Police in 1980 and has served in that position ever since. Mr. Speaker, as Police Chief, he continually modernized and upgraded the department's technologies and methods of crime prevention. Through his leadership, the City of Scottsboro has maintained a low crime rate and has established itself to be a great place to live, work, and raise a family. I consider it a privilege to have worked with Chief Smith on a variety of issues facing the City of Scottsboro and all of Northeast Alabama. His unique ability to serve the public and work with a number of elected officials over his unprecedented 26 year term is quite remarkable. Mr. Speaker, Chief Smith is well respected throughout our local community. On Sunday, June 25th, the Scottsboro community will gather to honor and celebrate all of his achievements. I rise today, to join in their celebration and to thank Chief Smith for his many years of dedicated service.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. I do rise in support of the Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act of 2006. I want to make a statement on behalf of the farm families of this country. When I came to Congress in the early 1990s, my farm families told me stories over and over again of their problems encouraging the next generation to farm the land that they farm. This is not a rich person's estate tax bill. This is a reasonable compromise. A lot of us on this side of the aisle have worked long and hard in a bipartisan effort to make sure we had an opportunity to bring that voice of those farmers, to bring the voice of small businesses in this country into alignment with the Federal Government so we could pass for them estate tax reform, estate tax relief that will give them some permanency. We made a step toward that, but that step has a huge gap in it. It is not permanent. So we have done something of a helping hand, but we have also made this a lawyer's mecca here. Estate tax planning is something they cannot do because they don't have the ability to know exactly what is going to happen. Is everything in this bill that I want in this bill? No. And there are a lot of Members who didn't get everything in this bill that they want, but this is a reasonable compromise. I have cochaired a coalition of folks who want to eliminate the death tax, but I am here to say this is a reasonable alternative, and Members should support it.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend from Florida; and I want to say to my colleagues, while this sounds like a complicated issue, this really is not a complicated issue. I rise in strong opposition of the Deal amendment; and, first, I want to congratulate the chairman and the ranking member of this subcommittee and say that the language that you have put in this bill is fair. What we are after here today in Alabama and in Florida and in those other States as well is fairness. What we want is the opportunity to settle this dispute. We are in court. The court knows that we have been in court. The corps comes in with a last-minute attempt to revise their manual, asking for money to do that at the same time that the court is taking this very issue up. That is not the way to do it right now. The President's budget did not include money for this. The chairman and the ranking member saw fit, in fairness to both sides, to keep this language in here. So what we are asking today is defeat the Deal amendment and support the base bill itself. If current conditions are used by the corps, if this amendment were to be allowed and current conditions are used to revise this manual, then that is being done at a time that would be of great disadvantage to the parties involved here. So this issue is very critical to Alabama and to Florida. We must defeat the Deal amendment.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. I thank my colleague from Alabama and also my colleague from Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the Tierney-Holt Amendment. I do so reluctantly, because I respect the two gentlemen, and we serve on the House Intelligence Committee together as well. This amendment would reduce the Missile Defense Agency's $9.38 billion roughly by half. And now is not the time to do that, to say the least. We have been involved in sensitive briefings lately on the Appropriations Committee and the House Intelligence Committee that talk about the threats that we have got to invest our technology in. In 2005, there were 60 launches that involved short-range ballistic missiles, 10 involved medium- and intermediate-range missiles, and about 10 involved long-range ballistic missiles. We have already invested heavily in several key programs to defend against this threat, and the programs are just now providing the kind of technology that has got to be refined in order to defend us. We have got sensitive intelligence issues, sensitive defense issues against this country. The negative impacts that this amendment now would have on the budget cuts would be drastic. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Judge David Bibb, of Morgan County, Alabama. Judge Bibb recently retired as Morgan County District Judge on April 21, 2006. After a successful law career with A.J. Coleman and David Cauthen, Judge Bibb was appointed to the Morgan County District Court in 1981. He subsequently won election to the bench in 1982 and he continued to serve in that capacity until his retirement. Mr. Speaker, throughout Judge Bibb's judicial career, he was well respected in the local community and the entire State of Alabama. He was known for being a fair judge who worked diligently to uphold the law, making our community an even better place. He has remained active in the Morgan County community, serving on numerous advisory boards and task forces. Most notably, he is a member of the Morgan County and Alabama State Bar Associations, the District Judge Association, and a member of the Alabama Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. He has also been a lecturer at the Alabama Judicial College and for the Alabama Child Support Association. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, April 21, Judge Bibb's family and friends gathered to celebrate his long and distinguished judicial career. I rise, on behalf of everyone in North Alabama to thank him for his service and join his colleagues, family, and friends in congratulating him on a job well done.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), a member of the committee.

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ruppersberger).

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from California, and I want to congratulate you on your leadership in this committee, along with the chairman as well. I have been on this committee for several terms now, and as the chairman stated and the ranking member stated, we bend over backwards to work in a bipartisan way. This hasn't been easy, and this hasn't been an easy year. And I say to both of you, congratulations for trying to help us work through this very difficult year. This is not a perfect bill, and I am disappointed that several of the amendments were not allowed in order. I think the chairman is, too. I think there are some of the issues that were ruled out, particularly Mr. Boswell's issue, that we can work through together, and so I look forward to the chairman and ranking member's leadership. I do stand in support of H.R. 5020. This bill does address many of the issues surrounding the way in which the intelligence community is being restructured. I say to my friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), thank you for the leadership you have enjoyed with me and with this full committee over the Oversight Subcommittee. We haven't always had an Oversight Subcommittee, and this makes sense that we now have the opportunity, particularly as we have stood up the DNI, to engage the new people at the DNI, the new leaders at the DNI that we are looking to to lead this country into a new era of intelligence management that we haven't had. This is our opportunity to hold their feet to the fire. The stand-up of the DNI has been slow, and it has been frustrating, but we have been working together, Mr. Thornberry and I, to bring information back to the full committee from the DNI and the relevant agencies. We have taken on the tough issues, interrogation, detention operations, information sharing, overall management structure of the DNI, and we have done this in ways that the committee hasn't worked before. We have done it by having briefings; we have done it by going to their turf, their sites, sitting with their personnel, leaving the country, talking to our people in sensitive parts of the world that are doing brave and noble things for this country, and then we have brought that information back into the subcommittee and into the full committee as well. This is the way I enjoy working. Also in this bill there is an investment in an analytical initiative that draws on the expertise resident at three centers, the Missile and Space Intelligence Center, which just happens to be in Huntsville, Alabama, my home district; the National Air and Space Intelligence Center in Dayton, Ohio; and at the National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. These centers collaborate and they work to analyze weapons that we bring back that could be threats to this country and to our aircraft and to our personnel as well. So those people in those locations get a reinvestment in their work through this bill. All in all, I think this is a good bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a point for the benefit of the members of the committee. Mr. Thornberry and I have been aggressively involved in standing up to DNI and we have been concerned, the committee has been concerned, that we do not establish a new set of regulations and reporting requirements for our intelligence agencies. Would your amendment have that kind of impact? Could you explain that to us?

Mr. CRAMER. If you would continue to yield, I think you clearly raise issues that we need to continue to address, and this is information that we should continue to have. I would support your amendment and would urge my colleagues in the committee to do the same thing.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery for his instrumental role in assuring equal rights for all Americans. Dr. Lowery, who has been called the ``dean of the Civil Rights Movement,'' was the cofounder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr. Lowery was born in Huntsville, AL, on October 6, 1921. During the 1950s, he led the Alabama Civic Affairs Association, an organization dedicated to the desegregation of buses and public places. In 1957, Dr. Lowery joined Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders from throughout the Southeast to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization renowned for its nonviolent approach to ending segregation. He would eventually lead the SCLC from 1977 until 1997. Dr. Lowery also organized and led the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March. This march was a key moment in the civil rights movement and a strong influence on the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Dr. Lowery's work and influence spreads outside of our country as well. He led a group that began protesting the South African Apartheid in the 1970s and continued until the successful election of Nelson Mandela in 1994. Although officially retired, Dr. Lowery remains active and is an influential voice encouraging African Americans to vote. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, December 16, through Sunday, December 18, Dr. Lowery will be honored by his hometown community, with the placement of a historical marker near the site of his childhood home. I rise today to join in that celebration and to thank Dr. Lowery for all he has done on behalf of all Americans.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 798, the Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act. I am a member of the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamines and an original cosponsor of this legislation. Before coming to Congress, I was the District Attorney of Madison County, Alabama. It was in that capacity that I learned that meth is not only a danger to adults who use the drug, but also a great danger to people who live in the homes where meth is used or manufactured, especially children. Unfortunately, the effects the exposure to meth is something that we are still learning more about. I support today's legislation because I believe it is important for our communities to understand these residual effects. H.R. 798 addresses the environmental and second-hand impacts of methamphetamine abuse. It specifically establishes research programs through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to: identify the harmful chemicals associated with meth labs; discover the impact exposure to these chemicals have; and identify any residual effects of methamphetamine labs. Additionally, this legislation creates guidelines for the clean up and decontamination of contained meth lab sites. It also requires NIST to develop and standardize methamphetamine detection methods. I would like to thank Congressman Gordon for his leadership in addressing this often-overlooked battle in the fight against methamphetamines. I encourage my colleagues to approve this bill.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Frank Collazo and all of the employees of the COLSA Corporation on the company's 25th anniversary. Mr. Collazo founded the COLSA Corporation in his home in Huntsville, Alabama. Today COLSA has locations in Huntsville; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Orlando and Shalimar, Florida; San Diego, California; and Washington, D.C. Mr. Speaker, COLSA has been recognized as a leader in the defense industry. It works with a number of governmental agencies including NASA, AMCOM, SMDC, MDA, MSIC, the NSA, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Air Force. COLSA's employees provide a wide variety of services to its clients including IT Services, Complex Systems Integration, Software Engineering and Analysis, Business Management Solutions, and Modeling and Simulation. They also provide Test and Evaluation Support, Security Solutions, Intelligence Support, Advance Algorithms Services, and Engineering Services. Despite its short history, COLSA has received the Department of Defense's Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year, the James S. Cogswell Award for Security Excellence, and the American Business Ethics Award, among others. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate Frank and the entire COLSA team for their hard work and dedication towards strengthening our military and intelligence capabilities and I congratulate them on 25 years of service to our country. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States House of Representatives and everyone in North Alabama, I would like to thank the COLSA Corporation for its commitment to the war fighter and the security of our nation.

Mr. CRAMER

Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Amy Burks for receiving the 2005 Newton B. Powell Award. This award is given by the Morgan County Democratic Party for dedication and leadership within the party. Mrs. Burks is the Alabama representative to the Democratic National Committee Executive Committee and has been active in Alabama Democratic Party politics for more than 40 years. Additionally, Mrs. Burks has served as vice chair for the Alabama State Democratic Party since 1991, and is also the senior Vice President of the Association of State Democratic Chairs. She also serves on the Morgan County Executive Committee. In addition to her work with the Democratic Party, Mrs. Burks has had 19 years of experience as a teacher, working with students at Madison Cross Roads and Hazel Green and was the assistant principal at Madison Elementary. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, where she is responsible for overseeing the institute's comprehensive education and rehabilitation system that serves children and adults who are deaf, blind, and multidisabled. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Burks has done a great deal to help strengthen and grow the Democratic Party throughout our State, our Nation, and our community. She has been a helping hand and an integral part of many of our democratic colleagues' campaigns in Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join her husband Larry, daughters Lisa and JoLynn, and the entire North Alabama community in congratulating Amy on this much deserved award and to thank her for all that she continues to do on behalf of Morgan County and the State of Alabama.