Dale Kildee

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3898. Mr. Chairman, I have always worked, both as a teacher and as a legislator, to promote the use of English in this country. The law of necessity, of survival, the law of economic success are enough to motivate people to learn English. We must provide the opportunity to achieve proficiency in English. We need but look at the bill to see that its provisions do not even come close to its intentions: that English is the official language of this country and that its citizens should speak English. It does nothing to reverse the results of 2 years of frontal attacks on the bilingual education program which helps children learn English, and does nothing to strengthen the adult education program which helps adults learn English. In the States and cities which are most heavily impacted by immigrants, new entrants can languish for years on waiting lists to enter English language programs. In Los Angeles there are 40,000 applicants for English language classes. In Washington, DC, the Nation's Capital and the place in which this debate is taking place, 5,000 immigrants were turned away from English classes in 1 year alone. Do my colleagues think these new Americans have in any way demonstrated an unwillingness to learn the language of their new country? No, of course not, but they will be punished anyway. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased that the bill before us today does correct a problem which the gentleman from California [Mr. Cunningham] said he would correct with respect to the Americans With Disabilities Act. This bill before us today provides an exemption for children served under this program. There are, in fact, 10 exemptions to this bill. To me, the fact that we have this many exemptions in the bill reveals that there is a problem with the bill. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to reject this unnecessary legislation. It will not wear well. It does not serve our country well. Let us provide the means for people to learn English in this country.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, last week Bob Dole gave an education speech in Minneapolis during which he said that public schools are being driven into the ground by bureaucrats and teachers. First of all, if Bob Dole wants to know what is going on in public schools he ought to visit a few--and talk to parents and teachers who are struggling to help students become knowledgeable and productive citizens in tomorrow's world. I would like to suggest that he visit Pontiac Central High School where this year a team of corporate engineers, students, and teachers designed and built an innovative robot that won first place in a nationwide competition of 73 teams. If Bob Dole were to visit a school like Pontiac Central High he might not see just problems, he might see what the teachers and the scientific and engineering community of Pontiac see--children with promise. Madam Speaker, Mr. Dole should use his campaign to encourage public schools as they strive for excellence and innovation. He should join with the leaders of business and industry who are calling for a renewed commitment to public schools. Above all, he should not squander that opportunity by condemning the legacy of public education and demonizing those people who commit themselves to educating children in a pluralistic society--our Nation's classroom teachers.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this bill. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to this Republican campaign finance reform bill. Instead of stopping the tidal waive of special interest money into congressional campaigns, the Republican bill opens the flood gates for wealthy individuals to influence the outcome of congressional elections. Mr. Chairman, I also want to set the record straight on the issue of donations by union members to labor PAC's. And I want to use the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees as an example of how unions are responsive to those union members who do not wish to contribute to the PAC. Since 1974, AFSCME members have had the right to receive a refund for that portion of their union dues that goes for political activities. All an AFSCME member must do is send a letter to the union's Washington office requesting the refund. This year alone, about 15,000 AFSCME members will take advantage of that right and receive such a rebate. In contrast, Mr. Chairman, corporate shareholders, the real owners of American corporations, currently have no right to object to the use of their corporation's funds for political purposes. Shareholders do not have the ability to get a rebate on their corporation's funds used to support candidates and parties that they themselves do not support. Retirees who own stock through their pensions, or workers who own stock in their companies--these individuals cannot demand that the company they own give them a refund on the portion of the corporation's funds used to support a political party that is hostile to their interests as retirees or workers.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today before my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to pay tribute to the Newman African Methodist Episcopal Church, that is located in Michigan's Ninth Congressional District. The Newman African Methodist Episcopal Church is recognized as the first African-American church established in Oakland County, MI, and as the birthplace of the Oakland County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The church was organized in 1861 by Rev. Augustus Green. Although Reverend Green and his brethren did not have available to them a permanent home in which to pray, they were determined to worship. The first services were held in a church basement and in a schoolhouse. Eventually, the strength of their collective faith prevailed, and the congregation incorporated in 1868 and purchased their own church building in 1872. That original temple served to enable the congregation to prosper a grow. In 1961, the present house of worship was built and has been a focal point of faith within the community. Mr. Speaker, the work of the church has led to an increased level of worship within the city. There is no doubt that the Newman African Methodist Episcopal Church has played a significant role in Oakland County religious life. Under the leadership of Bishop Basil A. Foley, the current pastor, it continues to be an instrument of positive change in our community. In recognition of its historical importance, a marker will be erected by the State Historic Preservation Office of the Michigan Department of State, that will declare the Newman African Methodist Episcopal Church as a historical site in the State of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor and a privilege for me to rise before my colleagues in the House of Representatives to honor a church and its congregation who have contributed so much to society.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Obey amendment. Unless we adopt the Obey amendment, this bill reduces our commitment to education by an additional $400 million below last year's cut of over $1 billion. Mr. Chairman, there are a host of reasons for supporting the Obey amendment. Let me mention just a few. First, education cuts will hinder our efforts to improve the overall productivity of our economy. The National Center on Education and Quality of the Work Force estimates that each 10 percent increase in education results in an 8.6 percent increase in productivity and that increasing education improves productivity more than increasing capital or increasing hours. In other words, making investments in education benefits the entire Nation. As my colleagues know, one can transfer capital around the world, fluid capital, instantaneously; machinery in a matter of days. One can transfer capital anywhere. What gives us the cutting edge in competition in the global economy is education and training. Second, we expect, Mr. Chairman, significant new enrollments in schools across the country in the next few years. In my own State of Michigan alone there will be 29,000 new enrollments by next year. Schools in my State will need to hire an additional 1,700 teachers. We should not be turning our back on local communities when their needs are increasing, and that is exactly what we will be doing if we do not adopt the Obey amendment. Do not forget that in the last appropriations bill we cut education funding by over $1 billion. Now my colleagues will hear today that this budget merely freezes last year's funding levels. That is not true. It cuts $400 million below last year's levels, but even so, freezing a billion-dollar cut is not something to be proud of. I think it is very unfortunate that in this bill once again the Republican leadership, bowing to pressure from outside, has endorsed the elimination of Goals 2000. I would like to quote one of our witnesses before our committee this year commenting on Goals 2000. That was James Burge, vice president of Motorola. He said ``The business community has been supportive of bipartisan legislation to encourage education reform in the States, beginning with Presidents Bush's America 2000 proposal through President Clinton's Goals 2000 proposal.'' This was a bipartisan concept, Goals 2000. There is only one reason for eliminating this proposal: political posturing and pressure from certain extreme groups in the outside. Goals 2000 is the most voluntary program we have. It is the simplest program, a 1-page application. Forty-eight States are participating in it. The Governor of Texas, the son of President Bush who started this concept, has endorsed and embraced Goals 2000, and why again are we insisting that those 48 States who have embraced Goals 2000, that they are wrong and we are going to pull the rug out from under them? States are beginning to see some real improvements in their achievement levels under Goals 2000. Real, sustainable progress is being made because of Goals 2000. Goals 2000 had its roots with the Governors, was picked up by President Bush. Lamar Alexander frequently visited my office for several months pushing Goals 2000, although he denounced it during his primary election for President. This is no time to pull that rug out. To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who through the years have been supporters of education, I am convinced that the Obey amendment is the most important education vote we can cast. This will assure that the Federal Government will keep its support of education. Education is a local function. We want it to be a local function. It is a State responsibility, a very important State responsibility, but it is a very, very important Federal concern, and to help these States with voluntary programs to improve their educational standards, their delivery system, is something that reflects that Federal concern. I urge support for the Obey amendment.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time to me. Mr. Chairman, as former chairman of the elementary and secondary vocational subcommittee and as a teacher and as a father of a daughter, I stand here to support this amendment very strongly. I support it as a separate program also, not to be buried in another program, because we need to build sensitivity to the rights and abilities of all women, all students. I recall a few years ago when my daughter and my two sons and I were flying, the cabin attendant came by and gave my two sons pilot wings and gave my daughter stewardess badges, and I told the cabin attendant at that time, I am sure my daughter would rather have the pilot wings. That situation exists in our schools yet today, too, where they steer people in a certain direction because of their gender. We have to break down this gender bias, and this program as a separate program is important, because that gender bias still exists in society, and that includes our schools. So it is very, very important that we keep this program as a separate program, not buried in another very good program.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. On this amendment, we are entering the thicket of Indian sovereignty, a very delicate issue. I have read the treaties. I would ask other Members of this body to read those treaties. We are in negotiations. We are trying to work things out. This is in the purview of the Committee on Resources. I would certainly hope that this floor not act precipitously today to enter into an intrusion upon that sovereignty. Let the Committee on Resources study this issue.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Montana [Mr. Williams].

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

Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I would like to also thank people from the department who played a very important role in this: Judy Heuman, Tom Hehir, Carol Cichowski, Paul Riddle, Patricia Leahy, Theta Zwesa, Susan Craig, Judy Wurtzel, Connie Garner, and Susan Leonard. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Roemer].

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3268, the IDEA Improvement Act of 1996, and urge my colleagues in the House to do the same. This is a relatively young law. In fact, we have recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the historic enactment of this bill. It seems almost impossible to imagine, Mr. Speaker, that just two short decades ago children were routinely excluded from one of our most important institutions in this country, public schools. IDEA and the improvements we are proposing to make in this reauthorization are among the proudest legacies of this Congress and our committee. And let me say to my good friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Goodling], that although this has been sometimes a very difficult process, it has been a very productive process, and I want to thank the gentleman for his patience and his determination, that we designed a reauthorization bill that could gain bipartisan support. I would also like to thank my subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from California, Mr. Duke Cunningham, who is tireless in his desire to find common ground between a myriad of conflicting viewpoints and approaches. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the participants of the IDEA consensus group for their remarkable devotion to the children and families served by this law. This law is as virtuous as it is because of them, and I thank them for the hundreds of hours they committed to helping us fashion a proposal which we have before us today. I would like to say a word about one of the improvements in this bill. When this bill is signed into law it will require new interagency agreements that will provide a means of improving related services to disabled students by sharing costs across the widest possible fiscal base. There are many Federal, State, county, and municipal agencies that could provide related services for disabled students, but currently do not. The principal reason why all appropriate agencies do not provide such services is that those served by special education are considered the sole responsibility of the public school system. I think that it makes both fiscal and programmatic sense to involve all services providers while maintaining the current seamless delivery systems in schools. Public school systems now shoulder the fiscal responsibility for special education. As the cost of health care has continued to rise, the absence of an effective cost-sharing mechanism has unfairly focused attention on the costs of special education. Relying on local school budgets for the cost of health, mental health, and social services causes needless conflict with parents over the scope of services and the cuts in programs for both disabled and nondisabled students. According to a recent editorial in Education Week, special education costs now are about $35 billion nationally. By some estimates a full 6 billion of those costs could be shared. That is only a fraction of total local, State, and Federal spending on health care and social and mental health services, but it is a huge amount for local schools. And before I yield, I want to thank the administration for providing the blueprint for this proposal. Importantly, the bill will refocus the provision of services under IDEA towards improving educational results by promoting greater participation in the general curriculum an the assessments that measure student progress and by affirming that school reform efforts must include children with disabilities. The bill also promotes improvements in teaching and learning in two ways: through a strong commitment to providing teachers and families with the tools and training they will need to improve achievement; and, second, by reducing administrative burdens at all levels and increasing administrative flexibility. We are sending a signal to schools that we want better results for children, not unread paperwork. I want to thank the chairman for his great work on this bill, and I want to thank also the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from California, Mr. Duke Cunningham, and I want to thank their staff also, especially, Sally Lovejoy, Todd Jones, and Doris Husted, along with Sarah Davis and Melissia Benton on our staff. Their prodigious effort really has been instrumental and essential in writing this bill. We at times had points in this bill where we thought we could go no further, but because of their patience and their tenacity and that of Duke Cunningham and the good work between our staffs, we were able to write a bill that we can be proud of, and I want to thank all those involved in that. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Clay]. (Mr. CLAY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Tomorrow night we will bid our formal good-byes, farewells, but you will come back to the pages who have served us so well in the 104th Congress. I see them standing back there with the former Clerk of the House, Donn Anderson, who still wears his page ring with great pride. The pages here operate in three different areas, here on the floor of the House on Capitol Hill; in the school in the Library of Congress; and in the dorm. The pages have operated very well in all three of those areas this year, and I am very, very proud of them. The pages really see Government like no one else sees government. As a matter of fact, they see through eyes that I have not seen. I have talked to pages before, and they observe things that I would not have observed had I not talked to some of the pages. They have seen Congress at its best and its not so best at times. They have seen Government close up, more close up than those who have participated in a program called by that. Albert Einstein once said that 100 times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend upon the lives of others, living and dead, and that I must exert so I may give in the same proportion as I have received. You really have received a great deal and you have given a great deal here in the floor of the House. But I also ask you when you go back home to give and share that experience which you have had here in the House of Representatives. You have seen heads of State, you have seen the President of the United States, you have seen changes in Government, changes here in the Congress of the United States that are historical. I commend you to go back and do that. Because at the beginning of the third millennium, which will start just 5 years from now, in the year 2001, at the beginning of that third millennium, you, the pages of today, will begin to take control of the institutions in this country and in this world. It is very, very important. You will be beginning to reach out and take control. Some day some of you may return here. You may be involved in science and in business, but whatever capacity, looking at you, I know that you are the ones who can take control and shape the future of this country and of this world. Franklin D. Roosevelt about 60 years ago uttered these words and I think they are as appropriate today as they were when he uttered them years ago. He said, this generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny. I have look at you, talked with you, and I am confident that you, the pages of the 104th Congress, can meet the challenges of that rendezvous. You give me great hope for the future. Thank you very much and God bless you.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in paying tribute to the great accomplishments of the members of the U.S. First Team. The team consists of 32 students and 7 faculty members from Pontiac Central High School, that is located in my district. The U.S. First Team, is also comprised of 28 engineers from Delphi Interior Lighting Systems. I am proud to inform my colleagues that the U.S. First Team, from Pontiac Central High School, received the coveted National All Star Rookie of the Year Award, during the 5th Annual U.S. First Competition, in Orlando, FL. The team has also been honored by receiving the Worchester Polytechnical Institution [WPI] design innovations scholarship. The hard work and dedication of the team is reflected in the fact that more than 96 teams from all over the country were involved in the national competition. Their success is a remarkable display of what can be accomplished when people work together toward a common goal. Mr. Speaker, I am truly honored to be able to recognize the outstanding achievements of each of the members of the Pontiac Northern High School U.S. First Team. They deserve the title of national winners. I know the entire U.S. House of Representatives joins me today in honoring this fine group of Americans.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, and I will not object, I yield to the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Hastings] to enable him to explain the legislation.

Mr. KILDEE. Further reserving the right to object, I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota. (Mr. GUTKNECHT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, further under my reservation of objection, like many tribes, the Prairie Island Community has realized the many shortcomings of the BIA's 1930's policy of encouraging tribes to incorporate under the Indian Reorganization Act. I think that it is a good thing that we are finally beginning to shed some of the paternalistic vestiges of those times. I hope that we keep this in mind as we deal with future legislation affecting Indian tribes. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the amendment offered by Mr. Young to strike title III from this legislation. Madam Speaker, the bill before us today is an affront to the sovereignty of Indians in our country. This provision was written without any consultation of the Indian tribes. Members of both sides of the aisle on the House Resource Committee, which has sole jurisdiction over the Indian Child Welfare Act, recognized that this law has worked well over the years. In my home State of Michigan, which has one of the largest native American populations in the midwest, the Indian Child Welfare Act has been successful by motivating courts and agencies to place greater numbers of Indian children into Indian homes. Madam Speaker, there may be a need to fine tune this legislation--we don't pass perfect legislation on Capitol Hill. It is my understanding that tribal and adoption groups are currently meeting to develop recommendations to make the adoption process better for all children. It is my understanding that these recommendations will be ready next month. Madam Speaker, before we rush to judgment, let's carefully and sensitively review the Indian Child Welfare Act--and do what is best for the children.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to share with my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives the contributions to our community by two committed spiritual leaders. Sister Joanne M. Chiaverini, of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Father Philip A. Schmitter are the two codirectors of the St. Francis Prayer Center. Sister Joanne and Father Phil have ministered to the spiritual, economic, and health needs of the people of northern Flint for many years. Sister Joanne Chiaverini, a sister for 39 years, founded the St. Francis Prayer Center in July 1974 to be a spiritual oasis for persons of all denominational, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. She insisted the center be located where ``the poor could walk'' and has fostered a place that has provided programs, retreats, and classes for nurturing a healthy self image. She has lead the center to be a spiritual organization that ministers with and to the poor in roles of referral, initiation, and advocacy. Father Philip Schmitter's commitment to the poor led him to move into HUD's River Park Apartments--a public housing complex--in 1978. He also became a full-time codirector of the St. Francis Prayer Center in 1978. Sister Joanne, Father Phil, and the St. Francis Prayer Center have worked with neighborhood residents, civil rights groups, and environmentalists to raise awareness of the need for environmental equity. They have challenged the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan's Department of Natural Resources to do more to defend environmental quality in predominantly minority neighborhoods. As a result of their hard work, the EPA has selected Flint as one of nine sites across the country where violations of environmental equity are being investigated. Flint was selected as the first site of the nine due to the well organized grass roots appeal initiated by Father Phil and Sister Joanne. Mr. Speaker, the city of Flint is a better place to live in because of the good work of Sister Joanne, Father Phil and the St. Francis Prayer Center. They continue to stand as a symbol to all of the spirituality of St. Francis who saw all of us as part of the good gift of God's creation, to be kept clean, unpolluted, and preserved from exploitation.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise before you today to pay tribute to two great Americans, Stanley and Gwen McCracken. In recognition of their exemplary service as the DAV and DAV Auxiliary State commanders of the great State of Michigan, their many friends and colleagues will join in honoring them during a Joint Testimonial Dinner to be held at DAV Chapter 129 Memorial Home, located in Utica, MI on Friday, April 26, 1996. Commander McCracken is a veteran of both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force, serving both services with honor and distinction. He enlisted in the Army in 1958, serving as an infantryman. In 1963, Stanley decided to reenlist in the Air Force. He was assigned to the Strategic Air Command, Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico. His tour of duty included and encompassed many responsibilities, including being attached to the 42nd Bomber Wing, Combat Support Group. While at Ramey, he was assigned to a Recovery Team, as well as being an integral member of a ground crew, and finally assuming the duties of crew chief aboard a B-52 bomber. Stanley McCracken earned the stripes of staff sergeant along with numerous decorations and awards for his outstanding military service before he was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1967. Commander McCracken has been elected to, and successfully held every chapter level office, including chapter commander for two terms. He has also been an active member of the St. Clair County, MI, Allied Veterans Council for several years, in addition to being a member of DAV Chapter 51. Mr. McCracken accumulated extensive experience before assuming the State commander's job. He was an elected member of the State Administrative Board for 4 years before he was picked by the membership as a department line officer. He ultimately progressed his way through the various chairs, of the department, and was elected as State commander of the DAV in June 1995. Equal in service to the DAV, Mrs. Gwen McCracken was elected to serve as commander of the Disabled Americans Auxiliary, Department of Michigan, in June 1995. Gwen McCracken has a long, outstanding record of service to her community. She has been a driving force in a number of organizations that are committed to improving the quality of life for those who are less fortunate. Mrs. McCracken was instrumental in helping to found Volunteers Assisting the Disabled, an organization that provides summer camp opportunities to adult MDA patients, who would otherwise, simply because of their age, be exempted from participating in camp. Gwen McCracken is a life member of the Corporal Ian M. Gray Unit 51. She has been an extremely active member of the DAVA, eagerly accepting the duties and responsibilities of the many positions and offices of the organization that she has held including; state chaplain, senior page, first vice commander, and senior vice commander. The McCrackens, through their collective energy, enthusiasm, and zeal, have stood like sentinels on behalf of not only disabled veterans, but on behalf of all veterans and their families. Their many years of combined service have helped to preserve and protect the promise that was made to care for those who have borne the battle, their widows, and their children. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I stand before you today asking that you and my fellow Members of the 104th Congress join me in honoring Stanley and Gwen McCracken. They have spent their lives in dedicated service to their country and community. I am pleased to have this opportunity to join with their family, friends, and colleagues to extend my deepest thanks for their tireless efforts on behalf of Michigan veterans.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to rise in support of this legislation that I cosponsored with my friend, Bill Goodling. Ten years ago, I worked with Bill Goodling, and a number of other Members, to create the Institute of American Indian Arts. The Institute was to provide a place of study and instruction in the culture, history, and arts of the native American people. Mr. Speaker, the Institute has been very successful in accomplishing this mission, as the gentleman from Georgia has pointed out. Today, the Institute offers degree granting programs in a variety of fields, and has served a vital purpose in helping educate people on the native American culture. The policy of the Institute is set by a 13-member voting board, which is appointed by the President of the United States. The problem that brings us here today, is the appointments to the Institute's board of trustees have not been made in a timely fashion. As a result, the board of trustees does not have the ability to function in the best interest of the Institute. This legislation, very simply, will allow the board to appoint an individual to the board if the President does not act within 2 months of the expiration of a sitting member's term. This legislation will allow the board to operate in a more effective and efficient manner, as the gentleman from Georgia has pointed out. I believe this legislation makes good sense, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson]. (Mr. RICHARDSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise before my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize Mr. Charles C. Williams. Mr. Williams is retiring after many years of dedicated public service. A retirement dinner in his honor is to be held on March 29, 1996 in Flushing, MI. Throughout his 40-year career, Mr. Williams worked diligently to improve the lives of those who were less fortunate, and who were most in need. Mr. Williams proved to be a tireless advocate for children and played a vital role in helping to develop and advance programs dedicated to the preservation of one of the most important resources, the family. His work on behalf of his community has earned him the respect of not only his colleagues, but also the countless people whose lives were touched by him. Mr. Speaker, Charles C. Williams has worked selflessly to make his community a better place in which to live. I know that his retirement dinner is not meant to celebrate his departure from the Department of Social Services, rather, the dinner is meant to show him the deep and abiding love and respect his colleagues, his family, his friends, and his community have for him. I ask you and my fellow Members of the 104th Congress to join me in paying tribute to such a dedicated public servant, Mr. Charles C. Williams.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today before my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to pay tribute to a student of outstanding academic achievement, Jeffrey Wharff. It is my deepest pleasure to bring to your attention good news, Mr. Jeffrey Craig Wharff of Rochester Hills, MI, was conferred the honor of a Doctorate of Philosophy in the discipline of economics by The American University on January 28, 1996. Mr. Wharff graduated from Rochester Adams High School in 1980. He then went on to attend Oakland Community College in Auburn Hills, MI. After four semesters he, encouraged by his success, applied and earned entrance to the American University in Washington, DC. Immediately, Jeffrey found his intellectual passion for economics. Following completion of his undergraduate degree in 1987, he swiftly earned his Masters of Arts and has now demonstrated his devotion to the field with a Ph.D. On behalf of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan Wharff of Rochester Hills, MI; brother Bradley Wharff of Rochester Hills, MI, wife Terri; James Lambert and Mary Matson, his close friends; and Uncle and Aunt, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Richard of Bloomfield Hills, MI, I am pleased to convey their pride and deepest contentment of his outstanding achievement. We must commend not only Jeffrey's private endeavor but, also, those Michigan educators, elementary through post-secondary, for their interest and commitment which shaped a bright young mind into perpetual curiosity and tenacity of purpose, and provided him with the foundation to find delight in the complex. His accomplishment is a testament to their success and the success of the public educational system. Mr. Speaker, it is indeed an honor and pleasure for me to rise today to pay tribute to this outstanding student. I know that Jeffrey Wharff will pursue his interests with the same zeal as he did his academic achievements. I wish him well in his future endeavors.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to ask that you and my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives join me in paying tribute to Mr. Daniel J. Cady of my hometown Flint, MI. Mr. Cady is being honored today by his many family members and friends for 36 years of service to the Flint Community School District. Mr. Cady began his career with the Flint Community Schools in 1960, and has held numerous positions to include Community School director; coordinator instructor--Associate Community School Director Program; director of the Mott Program leadership training; consultant for staff development and leadership training; coordinator for staff development and leadership training; and director of Community Education Programs and Services; a position which he held until his retirement on January 31, 1996. Mr. Cady's dedication to his profession has been much more than just doing a job. Over the 36 years that he has worked in the field of community education his leadership has been an inspiration for others at the local level, and also the State and national levels where he served as the president of both the Michigan Association of Community and Adult Education and the National Community Education Association. Additionally, he traveled throughout the United States assisting others as they learned the power of involving the people of their community in both education and Government. During the 1930's, Charles Stewart Mott and Frank Manley began this program of opening school buildings to the community, and from there the formation of the community education concept. Over the years there have been a number of different individuals who have been leaders in this movement; Dan Cady is one who has carried on the responsibility of those before him by serving as a role model for many. Mr. Cady now is moving on to a new challenge as the director of the National Center for Community Education. I know he will provide the same dedication and commitment to his new position as he has to all previous. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and all my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in congratulating Daniel J. Cady on his retirement from 36 years with the Flint Community Schools and also wish him well in his new position as director of the National Center for Community Education.