Danny Davis

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate November as National Adoption Month. Originating in Massachusetts in 1976 as National Adoption Week under Governor Michael Dukakis, the honor was celebrated nationally by President Ford in 1976 and then extended to the month of November in 1990. It is a time during which we celebrate the families who have shown their commitment to children in need by opening their homes and a time to promote awareness of the need to find permanent homes for our most vulnerable children. Permanency is important in the life of a child; with over 523,000 children in foster care, we must focus our attention on finding permanent, stable, and caring relationships for these children. Approximately 20 percent of the children in foster care have the ultimate end goal of adoption. This equals around 104,600 who are awaiting or working toward adoption. The need for quality, loving and permanent homes for these children is great. Children who age out of the foster care system are more likely to be homeless and more likely to end up in jail than their counterparts. The issue of safe and permanent homes is of particular concern to my district, the Seventh Congressional District of Illinois. The Seventh District has the highest percentage of kinship care providers in the entire United States. I hope that our efforts in the 110th Congress will promote permanency for these children and support them and their families. I urge organizations to continue their hard work advocating for adoption and permanency. Organizations such as the National Council for Adoption, Voice for Adoption, the Child Welfare League of America, the Children's Defense Fund, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children, just to name a few. Parents who adopt face many challenges and deserve our recognition and thanks. These families commit themselves to a child, emotionally, financially and mentally. The bonds they form are lifelong, and, most importantly, they positively affect the life of a child. Mr. Speaker, as John F. Kennedy once said, ``Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.'' We must make sure that all of our Nation's children have hope for their future. To do this, we must ensure them loving, stable, and caring environments. Adoptive parents provide this for thousands of children every year. I thank adoptive parents as well as the numerous organizations dedicated to helping promote permanency for their commitment and sacrifice.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Field Museum of Natural History on its recent award of a $10,000 grant from the Illinois Humanities Council. This grant helps fund the development of public outreach programming related to the Halls of the Ancient Americas exhibition. The Field Museum is a world-class institution dedicated to providing outstanding educational experiences to the millions of people who walk through its doors every year. Founded as the Columbian Museum of Chicago in 1893, the Field Museum's original goal was, ``accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, and the preservation and exhibition of objects illustrating art, archaeology, science and history.'' The Field Museum continues the same goals and objectives today, continuing its commitment to preservation and education. The Field Museum is so much more than a museum, it is a world class education and research facility; the Field Museum also boasts an impressive 250,000 piece natural history collection. In addition, this wonderful institution is committed to giving back to the community through outstanding learning opportunities and important research. I am proud that the Field Museum calls Chicago home. Its impressive exhibits and collections have the ability to educate the people of both Chicago and the world. With important education programs such as the Halls of the Ancient Americas, the Field Museum has the ability to instruct those who walk through its doors on their heritage, culture and history. Once again I would like congratulate the Field Museum on receiving the grant from the Illinois Humanities Council. The Field Museum has served and will continue to serve both Chicago and the nation for decades to come.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, congratuIating WBBM-TV and the Advertising Council for their collaboration to communicate important messages to residents of the Illinois 7th Congressional District and the Public-At-Large. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to note that WBBM-TV has been singled out by the Advertising Council Inc., for its outstanding display of public service through the pro-bono placement and airing of Public Service Announcements. I am also pleased to note that for more than 60 years, the Ad Council has marshaled the resources to deliver thousands of inspirational messages to millions of people. These messages have dealt with under- age drinking, childhood obesity, early childhood development, obesity and urging parents to use booster seats. Mr. Speaker, this collaboration has produced very positive results and I take my hat off to Mr. Joseph Ahrn, Vice President and General Manager of WBBM-TV and Ms. Peggy Conlon, President and CEO of the Advertising Council, Inc. Mr. Speaker, this collaboration and its results are a prime example of what can happen when two well-meaning and well-run business entities team up for the public interest, good things happen.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to commend the Ad Council and WCPX-TV for creating a program and using valuable airtime to improve the quality of life for people in my Congressional District and wherever the influence of their work can be felt. I also commend the Ad Council for being the stimulus behind this action. I am pleased to know that for more than 60 years the Ad Council has marshaled the pro bono resources of the advertising agency and media communities to deliver thousands of inspirational messages for the American people. I am indeed pleased to know that during 2005, the media donated an unprecedented 1.8 billion dollars in free airtime and space. My hat is off to Mr. Tony Cannata, Business Manager, WCPX-TV and Ms. Peggy Conlon, President and CEO, The Advertising Council Inc. I commend them both for this very effective collaboration and look forward to their continuous work.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, each year the Columbia College Arts, Entertainment of Media Management Department pays tribute to those who support, the business of culture with its Arts Entrepreneurship award. The Maywood Fine Arts Association has been a unique entity for many years which offers an environment where children can develop skills and appreciation for the arts. To develop and sustain what is essentially a grassroots cultural and arts group is no easy task and yet Lois Baumann has been able to generate community support sufficient to keep this effort alive and on course. She and her family have worked day in and day out, they have scrubbed, patched and painted, to make the center a great place. They have given of their own time, energy and resources to make this program and to make this center work. I commend Ms. Lois Baumann and her family for making the Maywood Fine Arts Association a real program for Maywood and its surrounding communities.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I express congratulations to Ms. Kenya Ray for her outstanding achievement in the area of screenwriting. I also applaud the initiative by Scenarios USA and their collaborative partners, BET and the Kaiser Family Foundation, in creating a national story and script writing contest that attracted 500 youth across America who addressed issues dealing with the topics ``What's the Real Deal, on Growing Up in the Age of AIDS?'' I am filled with pride that one of my constituents developed the award-winning script--a story about three young women trying to survive and sustain themselves amidst an environment filled with danger and pain. I am anxious to read Kenya's story about these three women creating and maintaining strong and lasting bonds with each other and members of their families. Our community needs real stories that show real heroes conquering adversity and having happy and healthy lives. I also want to commend the village of Maywood for supporting this project and I look forward to professional film-makers shooting footage in the Maywood community. I am delighted that Kenya will work directly with professionals in making her script ``come alive.'' Furthermore, it is exciting to realize that Kenya's feelings and perceptions will be seen on BET next February and will be shared with young people across America via Rap-It-Up curriculum kits promoted through cable in the classroom.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Rev. C.T. Baker the Pastor of Holy Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church located in Chicago, Illinois. This Sunday Rev. Baker will celebrate 32 years as Pastor of Holy Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church. Rev. Baker has come a long way from his birth in Lexington, Kentucky. He has served in the ministry now for more than 45 years. Rev. Baker has served as a beacon of light and a ray of hope throughout Chicago. Rev. Baker is not only a great preacher, but he has also been blessed with a great singing voice. After preaching on Sunday's he can be found singing God's praises in Dr. Willie Wilson's Singsation Choir. The choir is in a different church ever Sunday afternoon. Rev. Baker really epitomizes the scripture found in the sixth Chapter of the Book of Micah. In that chapter the writer asks the question-- what does God require of man? The response that was given--God requires that man do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. When Hurricane Katrina struck and thousands of people were displaced--it was Rev. Baker who helped lead the effort on behalf of Dr. Willie Wilson and Ministers throughout Chicago to provide relief. Rev. Baker, Dr. Willie Wilson and others personally went to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans--while there they handed out more than $300,000 dollars to people who were displaced by the storm. Rev. Baker is a compassionate man with a big heart. He received his formal training in the ministry from Moody Bible Institute and The Chicago Baptist Institute. He is a family man, father of his own children and he and his wife Mrs. Diane Baker are parents to many others. On behalf of the constituents of the Seventh Congressional District I join with those paying tribute to Rev. Baker for his 32 years as Pastor of the Holy Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 6075, legislation sponsored by Representative Joseph Pitts, was unanimously passed by the Government Reform Committee on September 21, 2006. The bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 East Gay Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania, as the ``Robert J. Thompson Post Office Building.'' Robert Thompson, a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate since 1995 and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, passed away in January of 2006. Madam Speaker, Robert Thompson was a distinguished citizen who gave much of himself and much of his life to public service, and one way of recognizing and remembering the contribution that he made is to name this postal facility in his honor.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 6078, legislation introduced by Representative Kevin Brady of Texas was unanimously reported by the Government Reform Committee on September 21, 2006. The bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 307 West Wheat Street in Woodville, Texas, as the ``Chuck Fortenberry Post Office Building.'' Chief Warrant Officer Chuck Fortenberry and his gunner, Chief Warrant Officer Shane Colton were killed in action in Iraq on April 11, 2004, when they responded to an urgent call for help from an Army field convoy pinned down by enemy fire near Fallujah. Madam Speaker, two individuals who have given their life in such a manner as to demonstrate not only courage but also commitment, I can think no better way of honoring Mr. Fortenberry than to name this postal service in his honor in his hometown

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 4720, legislation introduced by Representative John Doolittle designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 200 Gateway Drive in Lincoln, California, as the Beverly J. Wilson Post Office Building. Beverly Wilson, 65, and a resident of Lincoln, California, was a rural letter carrier for the United States Postal Service. Mrs. Wilson was delivering mail in her postal Jeep when she was rear-ended and killed, ending a 26-year career with the United States Postal Service. Ms. Wilson was 4 weeks away from retirement. Madam Speaker, I can imagine that oftentimes individuals who do the work that Ms. Wilson did do not have monuments erected or buildings named for them. But delivering the mail is a very important function. People wait to receive it. They need it. They want it. And one of the ways that we honor her, as well as the other thousands of letter carriers throughout the country is by naming this facility after Ms. Beverly J. Wilson. I urge its passage.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 3187, legislation introduced by Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, was unanimously passed by the Senate on July 20, 2006. The bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5755 Post Road, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, as the Richard L. Cevoli Post Office. The late Richard Cevoli, a decorated Navy commander, fought bravely in World War II and the Korean War and served at Naval Air Station at Quonset Point. His legacy is memorialized in the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame. Mr. Speaker, honoring this soldier, this commander, this leader, is certainly appropriate by naming this postal facility in his honor. Mr. Speaker, I understand this is our last measure. It certainly has been a pleasure for me to work with the gentleman from Texas. I want to wish him a good night's rest as we leave Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am indeed proud to sponsor this resolution honoring a man who was the epitome of not only excellence but Mayor Sinde was a businessman turned politician. After getting involved in politics, everything that he touched seemingly turned to gold. He ran the park district in his town for 24 years as a volunteer, he was the Little League coach, he was the Girls Softball coach, he was elected mayor five times, he solved the city's water problem, and he was simply an icon. Everybody in the village knew him, and I was fortunate to have had a great relationship with him. He was a Republican and I was a Democrat, but that never stood in our way. We had some of the most wonderful times that I can imagine. Mayor Sinde, just before he died, and he was a serious senior citizen by then, last worked as a volunteer crossing guard. After he had retired from being the mayor, and being everything else in the town that one could do, he volunteered as a crossing guard. And so I and I am certain all of the residents of Westchester, Illinois, are very pleased to know that this postal facility will be named in honor of their great mayor and their great friend, and I urge its passage Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am also very proud and very pleased to be the sponsor of this resolution honoring one of Maywood's proud citizens and one of its great leaders. In addition to the Second Baptist Church providing religious services, it also developed social programs, had a program to help those who were needy, developed housing programs, and, in addition, provided motivation. Out of the Second Baptist Church, under the leadership of Reverend Sykes, has come two mayors of the village of Maywood and the recorder of deeds from the County of Cook, which is the second largest county in the United States of America. So Reverend Sykes is a great motivator, stimulator, activator, and seriously religious man. I am very pleased to honor him by naming this postal facility in his honor Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. H.R. 1472, legislation introduced by Representative Charles Rangel, was unanimously passed by the Government Reform Committee on September 21, 2006. H.R. 1472 designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 167 East 124th Street in New York as the Tito Puente Post Office Building. Tito Puente, the great musician known as the ``King of Latin Music,'' was born in 1923. He recorded over 100 albums and was a 4-time Grammy award winner, featured motion picture performer and internationally acclaimed musician. He died in May of 2000, and all of us who have heard the Latin sounds and relaxed as we listened are proud to know that a postal service is being named in honor of this great musician. I urge its passage. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Senate bill 3613, legislation introduced by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, was unanimously approved by the Senate on August 2, 2006. The bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2951 New York Highway 43 in Averill Park, New York, as the Major George Quamo Post Office Building. Major George Quamo was a highly dedicated and decorated member of the Special Forces Unit in the Vietnam War. He was killed in 1968 when the helicopter in which he was traveling crashed. Mr. Speaker, we can see by the number of medals and honors and decorations that this soldier earned that he is indeed deserving of this honor. I urge its passage.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, my father used to tell us that he or she who fails to plan, plans to fail. Of course, the same is true when it comes to money management and handling one's finances. This resolution makes all of us aware and reminds us that financial planning is essential to financial security. I am pleased to join in support of this resolution setting aside and recognizing Financial Planning Week. I urge its passage

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I would yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, this bill creates, for the first time, a matching grant program administered by the National Archives for the construction of a private Presidential library. I am pleased that the Woodrow Wilson Library Foundation is expanding, and I hope it can develop into a vital research center. While I fully support the private Presidential libraries and will not oppose this bill, I do, however, want to raise two concerns about this method of funding these libraries. First, I want us to be clear that we are not establishing a precedent here. Private Presidential libraries have always sought funds from private donors and have been successful in doing so. I do not want passage of this bill to encourage them to turn away from these sources of funding in favor of the Federal Government. The Federal Government simply does not have the resources to support all private Presidential libraries. Secondly, I have been concerned that this grant would cut into the operating funds of the Archives. The National Archives is the Nation's depository of all valuable and preserved documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the Federal Government. This is a huge responsibility that must be met with its limited budget. The bill before us is different from the introduced version, and I want to thank the sponsors of the bill for revising the bill to give the Archivist discretion regarding the provision of the grant. This provision ensures that any grant made to the Woodrow Wilson Library Foundation does not jeopardize any of the Archives' important work because it ensures that any grant to the library must be from funds appropriated specifically for that purpose. Mr. Speaker, with these expressions of concerns and provisions, I would support this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. If I just might close, I am pleased to join with my colleague from Illinois in this legislation. Katherine Dunham was an academician, a scholar, an activist, an anthropologist, a great dancer, a choreographer, a culturess, I do not know of many things that she was not, a businesswoman, a person who brought life and spirit wherever she was, and she was fortunate to live to a ripe old age. All of us who have studied her, had the opportunity to see her, to know about her, our lives have indeed been enriched, and I am pleased to join in the sponsorship and urge passage of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello), the sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6151, designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 216 Oak Street in Farmington, Minnesota, as the Hamilton H. Judson Post Office. Hamilton H. Judson was appointed postmaster of the Farmington post office on August 11, 1884, by Postmaster General Walter Q. Gresham. He retired in 1914. I understand, Mr. Speaker, that this was a unique undertaking in terms of how this became the Hamilton H. Judson Post Office. It is my understanding that a contest sort of took place in town, and that the citizens voted. And after the voting was done, and all of the votes had been counted, Hamilton H. Judson was the name. That is a unique way of people participating in a public decision. I commend the gentleman from Minnesota for using this approach and urge passage of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.