Eliot Engel

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, George Brown has served as the City Clerk of the City of Mount Vernon since 2009 and before that as Deputy City Clerk from 2004. He is a native son of the City who received his primary education there. He went on to graduate with an Associates Degree in Applied Science from the Business Institute of Westchester and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Manhattan College. He retired from Consolidated Edison to bring his 32 years of corporate experience in Customer Service, Accounting, Conflict Resolution, and Corporate Safety to City governance. He is involved with and received awards from many community and civic organizations. He has volunteered as a Celebrity Chef Cook for the YMCA and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, was Event Co-Chairperson for Mount Vernon Relay for Life of the American Cancer Society, and Team Captain of Harlem Relay for Life of American Cancer Society. He is a District Leader of the Mount Vernon Democrat City Committee, a member of the Black Democrats of Westchester, Past Vice President of the Mount Vernon Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors, Prince Hall Mason of the State of New York, St. Joseph Lodge #117 F&AM, having served 12 years as Grand Lecturer under five Grand Masters. He received the 33rd Degree, the highest degree in Masonry in May 2009. He has been a member of Elejmal Temple #185 of the AEAONMS INC. since 1994 and in December, 2011 was elected Illustrious Potentate of Elejmal Temple #185. George Brown is first and foremost a family man and one who loves laughter. He is also devoutly spiritual and every Sunday you will find him at the Greater Centennial AME Zion Church, where he is a proud member. He is a man of the community, one who is unselfish in giving to his community. It is because of people like George Brown that communities grow and prosper and I am proud to join in honoring him for his service to his community.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank my New York colleague and friend. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 8, which should be more appropriately named the Job Prevention and Recession Protection Act. We always hear talk about tax reform, but the only solution my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have to offer is an extension of the failed policies that skyrocketed the debt and contributed to the current state of the economy. My Republican colleagues say their plan will create jobs. If that's true, why didn't it work during the Bush administration when we lost millions of jobs? The Republican philosophy always seems to be to help the wealthy and give the back hand to the middle class. So let's put this in perspective: at the same time the majority demands we give the wealthiest a break, they cut Medicaid and Medicare, early education programs, title X family planning, and food stamps. The list goes on and on. Madam Speaker, I would laugh if this weren't so tragic. Our government should be about giving everyone a fair chance and making sure that we help the middle class and working people. Unfortunately, the current Republican philosophy seems to make it easier for those who are already ahead and more difficult for everyone else. The Republican proposal would give our military soldiers a tax increase while giving millionaires and billionaires a huge tax break. That's why I strongly support the Democratic substitute introduced by Congressman Levin. Our substitute is in stark contrast to the billion- dollar boondoggle proposed by the majority. Our proposal continues the tax cuts for the middle class and requires the wealthiest to pay their fair share, as well they should. Until we can have a meaningful debate about actual tax reform, the Democratic proposal is the only one worth supporting. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 8 and to support the Democratic substitute.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank my friend for yielding to me, and I rise in strong support of this legislation. I am glad that the Senate and the House finally came together on this very, very important bill. This bill has very, very strong support, as you can tell, on both sides of the aisle, and the reason it does is because Iran has proven itself to be a very, very dangerous player. Iran is the leading supporter of terrorism in the world. Iran supplies and supports the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon. And, in fact, now we see what's going on in Syria. And if it was not for Iran, Assad would not be able to continue his brutal ways and his murdering of his own people. Right now, as we talk, there are Iranian guards fighting on the side of Assad in Syria, and Iran chooses to be, and continues to be, a rogue nation. Iran must not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. She has lied to the world consistently in talking about her purposes of the weapon, but Iran is not fooling anybody. And so what these sanctions do is hits at Iran's oil and natural gas sectors, making it very, very difficult for them to launder money and making it very, very difficult to continue their repressive ways. The world has spoken. This isn't only the United States. These are countries all over the world. And unfortunately, or the blocking of some vetoes in the United Nations, there would already be sanctions in Iran. So I urge my colleagues to support this. I think there's a reason why virtually every Member of Congress on both sides of the aisle supports it.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, in 1972, Palestinian terrorists broke into the Israeli Olympic compound and murdered, in cold blood, 11 Israeli athletes. In the 40 years since, shamefully, the International Olympic Committee has refused to have a minute of silence to commemorate these 11 martyrs. They have rejected it time and time again. And tomorrow, the Olympic Games are starting in London, and they have rejected it again, shamefully. So I will use the rest of my 1-minute to do a moment of silence for the 11 Israeli athletes who lost their lives at the 1972 Olympic Games.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, the tragic events that happened in Aurora, Colorado just shows us in this country that if we don't have sensible gun control legislation, then shame on us; then we're the fools. Nobody is against Second Amendment rights, and nobody is not for giving legitimate people the ability to own guns. But what the shooter was able to obtain on the Internet or in a gun shop, without any kind of background check whatsoever, to me, is unconscionable and makes no sense whatsoever. I think that this Congress has to come together and find out what language we can put in sensible gun control legislation to make sure that when someone buys weapons, they don't have 100 and 200 and 300 and 1,000 times the amount of ammunition that they would need, that a reasonable person would need, for any reasonable event. My heart goes out to the victims in Aurora and to their families. This tragedy should never happen again.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I will yield to the gentleman.

Mr. ENGEL. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. ENGEL. I thank the chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, let me just say very, very briefly, on May 24, 2011, President Obama issued a memorandum on Federal fleet performance that requires all new light-duty vehicles in the Federal fleet to be alternate-fuel vehicles, such as hybrid, electric, natural gas, or biofuel, by December 31, 2015. My amendment simply echos the Presidential memorandum by prohibiting funds in the Defense Appropriations Act from being used to lease or purchase new light-duty vehicles except in accord with the President's memorandum.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank my friend for yielding to me. I rise in strong opposition to the legislation before us to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I won't support legislation which would allow health insurance companies to deny children access to care, which would cause Americans to lose their health care insurance, which would reopen the dreaded Medicare prescription drug doughnut hole, and throw young adults off their parents' insurance policies. Republicans have proudly stated that this is the 31st repeal vote the House has taken. While the economy struggles to recover, it pains me that we have wasted so much time on these symbolic and political votes that are going nowhere. The Republicans wanted the Supreme Court to decide on health care, and now our Supreme Court has spoken and they are still fighting it. It's time that everyone accepts the result of the Supreme Court. This has been a long fight, and now it's over. If there are changes that need to be made to the Affordable Care Act, we should work together to make them; but partisan efforts to repeal the entirety of the law isn't what we should be doing. I don't want insurance companies getting between patients and their doctors. I don't like the current system where the insurance companies deny you coverage or say you have a pre-existing condition or say you have a cap and they won't pay any more. This bill attempts to get health insurance companies, health insurance, away from the insurance companies who try to control everything and back into the hands of the consumers. I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill, and I implore the Republican leadership to turn their focus instead on the economy and on jobs. This health care bill, there have been so many lies spread about it, that it's unbelievable. The fact of the matter is, it's a good bill. It will take the 50 million Americans that don't have health care and reduce it to nothing. It's a good bill for the American people. We shouldn't be wasting our time.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank my friend for yielding to me. I rise in strong support of S. 3187, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012. This is one of these rare occasions these days when Congress is working in a bipartisan manner to get good things done. This bipartisan, bicameral agreement is something of which we can all be proud; and it is a prime example, again, of the good legislative work that can be done by this body when compromises are accepted. In particular, I would like to thank the chairmen and ranking members of the full Energy and Commerce Committee and of the Health Subcommittee for their hard work to finalize this bill in such a timely manner. I would also like to thank them for including the reauthorization of the Critical Path Public-Private Partnerships in this legislation, something for which I pushed for a long time so that needed improvements in regulatory science can continue. I believe this bill will help meet the needs of the FDA industry and, most importantly, of the patients. I look forward to its passage.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, Arlene Lowenstein began volunteering for Jewish causes as a pre-teen by standing outside of E.J. Korvettes on Central Avenue in Scarsdale, collecting funds for Israel during the Six-Day War. She has not ceased her support of Israel. Arlene is now Fleetwood Synagogue's Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair. Fleetwood Synagogue is an organization that relies almost entirely on volunteers and Arlene's duties include many that are normally done by an organization's staff, including billing members, paying bills, banking, reporting tax and donation information, and maintaining the synagogue's contact lists. She treats her volunteering activities with absolute seriousness, and ensures that whatever tasks she undertakes are done accurately and in a timely manner. She does not limit herself to just the financial aspects of the synagogue. She has worked on the dinner committee for years, and is particularly adept at editing written material sent out by the synagogue. During the ten years her daughter Tovah attended Stein Yeshiva, Arlene served as the PTA President. In 1993, Arlene and her husband, Jack, were the first parents ever honored at the school's testimonial dinner. Arlene was also active in Rena Hadassah in Mount Vernon, where she chaired the annual Camp Fair which was the organization's most successful fundraiser. She received the ``Hands of Healing'' award from the Westchester Hadassah Region in 1993. Arlene grew up in Yonkers, and is a product of Lincoln Park Jewish Center. She spent a year studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is a graduate of Barnard College. After graduate school at CUNY, she worked as a computer programmer and a proof reader, before her current profession--Travel Agent. She is the manager of Transland Travel Bureau, a family-owned business. Arlene's husband is Co-President of Fleetwood Synagogue. Her daughter is an English teacher at the Moriah School in Englewood, New Jersey. Arlene's dedication to Fleetwood Synagogue is apparent to all who know her. I join with Fleetwood Synagogue in honoring Arlene Lowenstein for the good work she has done in the community for so many years. She is a living mitzvah.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. ENGEL. I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you very, very much. I just want to say, before I sit down, that this is truly a bipartisan effort. And I want to pay tribute to my good friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) who has been working with me on this open fuel standard. We've introduced a bill, H.R. 1687, which requires 50 percent of new automobiles in 2014, 80 percent in 2016 and 95 percent in 2017, to be warranted to operate on nonpetroleum fuels in addition to or instead of petroleum-based fuels. I want to just say that compliance possibilities include the full array of existing technologies, including flex fuel, natural gas, hydrogen, biodiesel, plug-in electric drive and fuel cell, and a catch- all for new technologies. So I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for accepting this. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, on May 24, 2011, President Obama issued a memorandum on Federal Fleet Performance that requires all new light duty vehicles in the Federal fleet to be alternate fuel vehicles, such as hybrid, electric, natural gas or biofuel, by December 31, 2015. My amendment echoes the Presidential Memorandum by prohibiting funds in the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act from being used to lease or purchase new light duty vehicles except in accord with the President's Memorandum. I've introduced a similar amendment to five different appropriations bills in the past, including last year's Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, and each time my amendment was accepted and passed by voice vote. My amendments have also been accepted to the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill for FY 2013, and the Agriculture, Defense and Homeland Security appropriations bills for FY 2012.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month. The area I represent, the 17th District in New York, which comprises areas of the Bronx, Westchester, and Rockland Counties, is home to a significant Caribbean American population that contributes to our State through local businesses, community development and its rich diversity. It has been an honor to learn about the various countries in the Caribbean from where these families come, to experience their cultures, and to observe as they participate fully in all aspects of American society. My support for Caribbean Americans extends well past the boundaries of my district. As the Ranking Member and former Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, I have visited many Caribbean countries and have learned the importance of the region to the United States and the entire Western Hemisphere. In fact, last year I wrote an amendment, which passed the Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously, urging the State Department to place U.S. Embassies in five Caribbean countries that are without a permanent diplomatic post. I strongly believe that bolstering U.S.-Caribbean relations needs to be a priority, and opening these embassies would benefit U.S. ties with the entire region. I also had the honor of joining President Obama earlier this year at the Summit of the Americas where we reinforced our dedication to the Caribbean and, last year, had the unique experience of traveling with a delegation of Caribbean ministers to Israel. My time spent with my Caribbean American constituents and in the great countries that make up the Caribbean has helped me to truly appreciate the influence of Caribbean culture on the U.S. This June, I am pleased to take this opportunity to commemorate Caribbean Americans Heritage Month, and look forward to a future of working closely with the Caribbean American community ensure positive cross-cultural relations.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank the gentleman from Maryland and I rise in opposition to this bill. It should come as no surprise the Republicans in Congress do not take the budget deficit seriously. When they were in total control during 6 of the 8 Bush years, they did nothing to reduce the deficit. Quite the opposite. Republicans say they're all for cutting spending, just not the spending they like. So here we have an attempt to replace sequestration so that they can continue to destroy the social safety net while protecting defense spending, Big Oil, and the wealthiest in this country, yet again asking the middle and lower classes to bear the cost of cutting the budget. I said when they agreed to the sequester that they'd try to back out of the deal to protect their pet policies and gut the social safety net. And that's what we see in this document: cutting food stamps, cutting SNAP, hurting senior citizens, repealing evidence of health care reforms, hurting Federal workers. I voted against the Budget Control Act because it was an unbalanced budget that put the responsibility of balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class. But at least it was an agreement that put both defense and discretionary spending up for equal cuts. It was an agreement that both parties came to, recognizing the need to cut Federal spending. Now the Republicans are trying to back out of that. And in backing out of that, they are protecting the wealthiest among us, hurting the middle class. This is the wrong way to go. It is a shameful document.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. On May 24, 2011, President Obama issued a memorandum on Federal fleet performance which requires all new light-duty vehicles in the Federal fleet to be alternate-fuel vehicles, such as hybrid, electric, natural gas, or biofuel, by December 31, 2015. My amendment echoes the Presidential memorandum by prohibiting funds in the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill from being used to lease or purchase new light-duty vehicles except in accord with the President's memorandum. Last year, I introduced similar amendments to four different appropriations bills--Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Homeland Security. All were accepted and passed by voice vote. Our transportation sector is by far the biggest reason we send $60 billion per year to hostile nations to pay for oil at ever-increasing costs. But America doesn't need to be dependent on foreign sources of oil for transportation fuel. Alternative technologies exist today that when implemented broadly will allow any alternative fuel to be used in America's automotive fleet. The Federal Government operates the largest fleet of light-duty vehicles in America. According to GSA, there are over 660,000 vehicles in the Federal fleet, with over 41,000 being used by the Department of Justice and another 2,400 with the Department of Commerce. By supporting a diverse array of vehicle technologies in our Federal fleet, we will encourage development of domestic energy resources-- including biomass, natural gas, agricultural waste, hydrogen, and renewable electricity. Expanding the role these energy sources play in our transportation economy will help break the leverage over Americans held by foreign government-controlled oil companies and will increase our Nation's domestic security and protect consumers from price spikes and shortages in the world oil markets. So I ask that you support the Engel amendment. On a similar note, I have worked with my colleagues John Shimkus, Roscoe Bartlett, and Steve Israel to introduce the bipartisan Open Fuel Standard Act, H.R. 1687. I have particularly worked with Congressman Shimkus on this bill in this Congress. Our bill would require 50 percent of new automobiles in 2014, 80 percent in 2016, and 95 percent in 2017 to be warranted to operate on nonpetroleum fuels in addition to or instead of petroleum-based fuels. Compliance possibilities include the full array of existing technologies--including flex fuel, natural gas, hydrogen, biodiesel, plug-in electric drive, and fuel cell--and a catchall for all new technologies. In conclusion, I encourage my colleagues to support my amendment and the open fuel standard as we work toward breaking our dependence on foreign oil. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2072, the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012, the long term bipartisan reauthorization agreement announced last week. As a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I believe that by passing this bill, Congress will give U.S. business the tools they need to compete in the global market place and create jobs for workers here in the United States. H.R. 2072 reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) for three years, giving U.S. businesses the certainty they need, and incrementally increases the exposure limit to $140 billion by fiscal year 2014 in response to the growing demand for Ex-Im financing. I am pleased to say that this legislation is widely supported by Labor and business groups--such as the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, NAM, Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable. This wide array of organizations is well aware of the critical role the Bank plays in supporting American workers by providing credit where it's prohibitively expensive or by neutralizing official foreign credit competition. Just last year, the Bank provided $32 billion in financing to thousands of companies, which supported nearly 290,000 American jobs. However, it is important to note that the work of the Bank is done at no cost to the taxpayer, as it is self-sustaining: the Bank covers all of its operating expenses and loan loss reserves through the fees it charges users of the Bank. In fact, the Bank returns money to the Treasury, and since 2008 it has returned almost $2 billion. I, therefore, urge you to support job creation and vote for the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank the gentleman from California, and I rise in strong support of this resolution. I want our colleagues to hear what's been going on here on the House floor. At a time when Congress has been derided as not being able to get its act together, when people say Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on anything, when people say that Congress doesn't know how to work together and meet in the middle, what are we hearing? We're hearing Democrats and Republicans alike expressing strong bipartisan support for Israel, expressing strong bipartisan support for the U.S.- Israel relationship. We know that the United States and Israel have so much in common. We have common feelings of democracy. We have common mores. We have common people who understand what democracy is all about. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and faces threats from terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Israel is willing to sit down and negotiate with the Palestinians with no preconditions. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that many, many times, and he has been rebuffed by the Palestinians, who want all kinds of preconditions before they will even sit down and talk with Israel. And of course Iran looms large. Iran must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Iran is not only a threat to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, as that lunatic Ahmadinejad has said, but Iran is a threat to the West, to the United States, and to NATO as well. So, what are we doing here this afternoon? We're rising in strong support of H.R. 4133, the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act. This important bill reaffirms that Congress stands shoulder to shoulder with Israel as it faces numerous challenges in the weeks and months ahead. It restates U.S. policy that America must provide Israel with the capability to defend itself and preserve its qualitative military edge. It increases military and civilian security cooperation between our two nations in order to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability. It supports a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two-state solution. It encourages Israel's neighbors to recognize the Jewish state, and Israel must be recognized as a Jewish state. As importantly, though, I think this bill also shows that, even as partisanship runs through Congress, support for Israel remains rock solid and bipartisan. Democrats and Republicans, as I said before, are here on the floor together saying that we need to support the U.S.- Israel relationship and defending Israel's inherent right to self- defense. With more than two-thirds of Congress cosponsoring this legislation, I think the message to Israel's detractors is clear: The United States will stand with the Jewish state for now and forever.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, a poignant episode in the Chumash reveals a strength of character few can claim. Leah's seemingly odd response to Rachel's request for the Dudaim, ``Is it not enough you took my husband? Now you want these too?'' begs a question. Didn't Leah know what Rachel did for her? Meforshim explain, Rachel must have given Leah the simonim in a way that concealed the truth. Doing for others is certainly praiseworthy; doing inconspicuously and with great personal sacrifice warrants the crown called ``a good name''. In this regard, Ohavei Torah is especially proud to honor its parents, Eli & Chedva Treitel, with the Keser Shem Tov award. Few positions are as thankless as that of Shul Gabbai. How remarkable it is that the diverse mispallelim of Monsey's Ateres Rosh feel unanimously blessed to have a true ``Yehoshua'' caring for all the needs of their shul: material, emotional and spiritual. The secret lies in one word: respect. The unparalleled kovod that Eli shows each person and every single shul need never fails. He keeps track of every aliya and chiyuv, buys and sets up Seudah Shlishis each week, sits on the board of directors and locks up the shul each night. For over 10 years, he does it all, notwithstanding his demanding position as Loan Officer for Meridian Capital, one of the largest Mortgage Brokers in the country. A talmid of Ner Yisroel, Eli's personal avoda reflects equal dedication. It is unheard of for him to miss his early Daf Yomi. Together with Chedva, they share an uncanny ability to make everyone comfortable, traversing all community sectors and ages. Recently, a young man felt reassured enough to open up to Eli about a misunderstanding with his Rebbe. Eli's insight and empathy helped the teen mend the rift, prompting the Rebbe to remark that such helpful advice must have come from an exceptional advisor. Like her husband, Chedva pursues shalom and chesed. Active in her children's schools and shul functions, her main priority remains always being vigilant about the feelings of others by seeing everyone in a positive light. Her soft-spoken, friendly and unassuming manner belies how much she actually accomplishes, often anticipating needs before being asked. Nothing is too difficult--extra driving, rearranging her schedule, full course dinners for neighbors in need and of course, quality time for each of her children. As Rabbi Pechter describes, ``The respect and warmth they afford to everyone is unparalleled.'' This type of humility, honesty and gentle demeanor make their son Lippy a pleasure to have as a talmid at Ohavei Torah as well. Both Eli and Chedva's parents model the midos that make their children and grandchildren so well-liked. Eli's parents have upheld the tzarchei tzibor in LA for 50 years: Barbara Treitel as the beloved Hebrew reading specialist at Yavneh Hebrew Academy, now teaching her third generation and Stanley Treitel who tirelessly works on multiple political projects and community affairs on behalf of Klal Yisrael. Chedva's parents, Reuben & Sandra Botnick, noted attorney and real estate broker, respectively, are part of the founding family of Toronto's orthodox community. Eli and Chedva's children are a great source of pride to their family and community: Lippy, a senior at YOT, Rachaeli, a freshman at Ateres Bais Yakov in Monsey and Michal and Chaim, who attend Yeshiva of Spring Valley. Just as the Treitel Family carries the responsibilities of the community, may the they merit to carry their Keser Shem Tov with overflowing brocha, ad meah v'esrim shana. I proudly join with Yeshiva Ohavei Torah in honoring this wonderful couple.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, to watch Parents of the Year, Martin and Wendy Mayer is to suggest a concept described by a valet of Britain's royal family. ``Working for aristocracy,'' he said, ``is like being a swan. On the surface, you must look like you're gliding effortlessly, but underneath, you're paddling like crazy.'' The Mayers' chesed for our Mamleches Cohanim looks easy, but their earnest sharing and resolving the tzoros of others is deliberate and thorough. The catering company provides the perfect venue for their unassuming communal service as they take care of many food needs for organizations and individuals behind the scenes, always seeing the world through the eyes of others. Professionally, the sensitivity and attentiveness at Menagerie Caterers has earned its reputation as the premier caterer in the greater metro area, from the smallest simchas to large, gala affairs. Midos like this come from hard work. Martin absorbed the essence of his East Side neighborhood--no shtick, no embellishments, just pure erhlickeit and yashrus. He's the capable friend and reliable confidant that everyone needs. As part of East Side's Hatzolah, Martin had the zechus of regularly attending to Rav Moshe Feinstein zt''l, imbibing from his lofty midos. Martin's own parents, z''l, and their courageous strength also deeply affected his life. Joining together from opposite sides of concentration camp fences, Staff Sergeant Herman (Hanoch) Mayer of the US Army Air Corps won medals and citations as a WWII hero who helped liberate the camps. With his own money, he bought medicine, food, and blankets for survivors, even transporting one woman to a hospital for immediate care. Martin's mother, Mrs. Freida (Elizabeth) Mayer survived Auschwitz and Birkenau on less than substandard rations, because she gave of her food to her weaker sister who also survived. Her intense care for her family continued, as she raised her children with unbounded love, often carrying hot lunches to them in school. Martin and his sisters' beloved esteem for their parents prompted them to establish various memorial tributes: The Bais Medrash of the Agudah of Passaic (HaRav Sacks), the Bikur Cholim room of Englewood Hospital, which Martin supplies, a Sefer Torah written for them and more. Martin's fondest quotes from his Dad pertain to ``if you're going to do something, do it right.'' It was unthinkable for Herman Mayer to be late for shul. For her part, Wendy's gracious warmth keeps the home running smoothly despite Martin's erratic catering schedule. Besides working in real estate, Wendy tirelessly supports every need for their shul, yeshivos or business. Her selflessness moves her to host communal events and family simchas, create extraordinary cakes or sew decor for school productions, down to every beautiful detail. A caterer's wife might well use her husband's resources for large crowds, but Wendy makes everything herself. The only thing more inviting than her kindness is her fragrant fresh challah. Like her parents, Barbara & Nathan Finkel, Wendy's simchas hachaim and winning smile make everyone feel welcome. Doing for others flows into the next generation as YOT graduating talmid, Moshe and YOT alumnus Aryeh are known around town as helping hands and smiling big brothers to neighborhood kids. May the honor they bestow upon their parents, as well as their support of Ohavei Torah and other institutions, be a continual source of brocha and hatzlocha for the entire Mayer family. I am grateful for the opportunity to join with Yeshiva Ohavei Torah in honoring Martin and Wendy Mayer as Parents of the Year.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou on his reelection, and on his second inauguration, which takes place on May 20, 2012. This is a great achievement for President Ma, and for Taiwan--a country that held only its fifth direct Presidential election since it began doing so in 1996. I take pride in the fact that Taiwan, an ally of the United States, is serving as a beacon for democracy in Southeast Asia. Through his term, President Ma has maintained strong ties with countries in the region, including a constructive relationship with China, and has continued the democratic traditions which have allowed Taiwan to prosper. I call on my colleagues to join me in congratulating President Ma, and wishing him the best of luck as he undertakes four more years as the leader of Taiwan.