Eleanor Norton

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains on each side?

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this bill is going to be funded, and you can't blame the District of Columbia for wanting the public school and charter school funding that is in the bill. This bill is going to be funded. It was a Boehner bill, now it is essentially a Ryan bill, and I do want that understood. I include in the Record the Council's letter from last year which opposed funding. Council of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, October 8, 2015. Hon. Jason Chaffetz, Chairperson, Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Chairperson Chaffetz: We write as locally elected officials to express our opposition to renewed efforts to expand a federally funded school voucher program in the District of Columbia. We appreciate your interest in providing support to public education in the District. We strongly believe, however, that federal funds should be invested in the existing public education system--both public schools and public charter schools--rather than being diverted to private schools. We support the decision by Congress and the President several years ago to phase out the voucher program. Multiple U.S. Department of Education reports indicate that the program has not lived up to the promises made by proponents. These studies along with two troubling Government Accountability Office reports have also revealed that many of the students participating in the voucher program attend private schools with fewer resources and lower standards than our public schools. The evidence is clear that the use of vouchers has had no statistically significant impact on overall student achievement in math or reading, or for students from schools in need of improvement. We have serious concerns about using government funds to send our students to private schools that do not have to adhere to the same standards and accountability as do public and public charter schools. For example, private religious schools, which 80% of students with vouchers attend, operate outside the non-discrimination provisions of the D.C. Human Rights Act. Moreover, the voucher proposal is inequitable: if fully funded, the authorization would provide many more dollars per student for vouchers than is allocated per student in public schools and public charter schools. Although we believe that students who are already receiving a voucher should have the opportunity to maintain and use that voucher through graduation from high school, we do not support expansion of the program to new students. The District devotes considerable funds to public education, and our local policies promote choice for parents. Indeed, over the past decade the quality of public education in D.C. has increased, as a result of reforms and targeted investment. Families can choose from an array of educational institutions based on publicly--available performance metrics, both within the D.C. Public Schools system and among the myriad public charter schools. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has called the progress of D.C. Public Schools ``remarkable'', while the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has ranked the District's charter sector as the best in the country. Despite such ample evidence that the Congressionally imposed voucher program is ineffective, while D.C. public schools improve every year, some members of Congress continue to see our city as their personal petri dish. It is insulting to our constituents, who vote for us but not for any voting member of Congress, that some of your colleagues push their personal agendas on D.C. in a way they could never do in their home states. Attacking D.C. home rule, including any expansion of the voucher program, is irresponsible governing on the part of Congress. We call on you to respect the wishes of the District's elected officials on the quintessentially local matter of education as you consider this issue. Sincerely, David Grosso, D.C. Council, At-Large, Chairperson, Committee on Education. Charles Allen, D.C. Council, Ward 6, Member, Committee on Education. LaRuby May, D.C. Council, Ward 8. Elissa Silverman, D.C. Council, At-Large. Anita Bonds, D.C. Council, At-Large, Member, Committee on Education. Yvette Alexander, D.C. Council, Ward 7, Member, Committee on Education. Brianne Nadeau, D.C. Council, Ward 1. Jack Evans, D.C. Council, Ward 2.

Ms. NORTON. This year, of course, recognizing that they might lose $40 million, there was another bill, and a bare majority said: Give us the money. But I want you to understand what the letter from the District of Columbia said. ``A reauthorization of the SOAR Act would help safeguard $150 million in Federal funds for the D.C. Public Schools and public charter schools over 5 years.'' And they go on to say: ``SOAR Act funding for D.C. Public Schools has been used to support initiatives that reward and increase retention of high performing teachers and principals. The funds also help attract more high quality teachers and principals to D.C. Public Schools and improve the efficiency with which schools are run. ``After years of decline, D.C. public school enrollment is rising for the first time in decades. Schools that previously struggled to fill their pre-kindergarten seats have waiting lists and other schools are attracting families back into the system at grade levels that have historically lost students.'' Clearly, we have a school system--and I cannot help but identify with them--that does not want to lose $40 million for D.C. public schools and D.C. charter schools. I don't ask anybody to change their vote. This program is going to be funded.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives and residents of the District of Columbia to join me in celebrating Stan Kelly and his lifetime achievements in the ballroom dance community over the past 60 years. Mr. Kelly is a proud and distinguished lifelong resident of Ward 4 in the District of Columbia. Mr. Kelly's career as a ballroom dance instructor started in the District of Columbia at the Dunbar Dance Studio in the 1950s. Mr. Kelly combined his passion for the arts and an eye for business, founding his own dance studio--the Stan Kelly Dance Studio. It was the first African-American owned ballroom dance studio in the District of Columbia, which was located at 1867 Kalorama Road NW. Mr. Kelly would also make weekly appearances on Channel 5's (WTTG-TV) Capitol Caravan television show, as well as entertaining and educating the public about ballroom dance as the host of Saturday night mambo sessions at the Caravan Ballroom. Mr. Kelly and his wife, Norma, are both currently members of the Banneker Ballroom Dance Club, where Mr. Kelly served as an accomplished instructor for nine years. Mr. Kelly's work has been instrumental in exposing Washingtonians to modern dance forms. Through his life's work, Mr. Kelly has contributed to the heartbeat of this city, helping to make the District of Columbia one of the great cultural centers of the world. His love for the arts and passion for sharing it with others serve as an example to us all. In coordination with the Friends of Stan Kelly Celebration Committee, Mr. Kelly will be honored at Gallaudet University on Sunday, May 15, 2016. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House, residents of the District of Columbia and all lovers of the arts, to please join me in celebrating Stan Kelly's legacy in the dance community.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in celebrating the life of Ivanhoe Donaldson, who passed on April 3, 2016. Ivanhoe Donaldson was born and raised in the Harlem section of New York City. He went south to join the civil rights movement and became a leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). I first knew Ivanhoe as a young man and a leading civil rights activist. Like several movement activists, Ivanhoe moved to the District of Columbia, attracted by the city's home-rule aspirations. Ivanhoe took risks as an SNCC activist and went on to build a reputation for political savvy in the 1960s and 1970s. He became a leading operative in Julian Bond's bid for a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives, Richard Hatcher's mayoral campaign in Gary, Indiana, and Marion Barry's campaign for office in D.C., which ushered in a new era of black political leadership. Ivanhoe leaves many friends across the country from the civil rights movement to many residents of the District of Columbia. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to please join me in celebrating the life of Ivanhoe Donaldson, who gave the best years of his life to the struggle for civil rights in the United States and to the fight for home rule in the District of Columbia.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Courts and Public Defender Service Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments Act. The bill would make a minor change to the authorities of the District of Columbia Courts (D.C. Courts) and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS), placing these entities in the same position as their federal counterparts for more effective management and operation. The bill would give the D.C. Courts and PDS the same authority federal agencies and federal courts already have to offer voluntary separation incentive payments, or buyouts, to their employees. The fiscal year 2016 omnibus bill already gives D.C. Courts buyout authority--but my bill would make this authorization permanent, and would extend it to PDS in addition to the courts. Buyouts would allow the D.C. Courts and PDS to respond to their future administrative and budget needs, and would provide the flexibility to extend buyout offers to their employees. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has determined that voluntary separation incentive payments may be made only where statutorily authorized. While federal agencies and federal courts have the statutory authority to offer buyouts, PDS and the D.C. Courts have not been expressly permitted to permanently provide them to their employees. PDS and the D.C. Courts seek the same buyout authority in order to manage their workforce as budget conditions and needs change. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Ms. NORTON

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

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 3866 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1265 Hurffville Road in Deptford Township, New Jersey, as the First Lieutenant Salvatore S. Corma II Post Office Building. Following his graduation from West Point in 2008, Salvatore Corma attained his Ranger badge, serving as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. First Lieutenant Corma was deployed to Afghanistan, where he served as a platoon leader. On April 29, 2010, First Lieutenant Corma tragically lost his life while marking an IED in Zabul, Afghanistan. As his company commander noted when recommending First Lieutenant Corma for a valor award, marking IEDs is usually a soldier task, yet Salvatore Corma displayed not only his bravery, but also his leadership in knowingly putting himself in danger rather than his men. As he once told his mother: ``You have to lead from the front. You can never lead from the back.'' First Lieutenant Corma's selfless leadership should be commended. His military awards include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Mr. Speaker, we all should be pleased to pass this bill to honor the valiant actions and steadfast leadership of First Lieutenant Salvatore Corma, who put the lives of others before his own. I urge passage of H.R. 3866. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Norcross). This is his bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 2928, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 201 B Street in Perryville, Arkansas, as the Harold George Bennett Post Office. Born in Perryville, Arkansas, in 1940, Harold George Bennett followed in his father's footsteps by joining the Army. Sergeant Bennett served with the 82nd and the 101st Airborne Divisions and volunteered to serve in Vietnam in 1964. During his deployment, Sergeant Bennett acted as infantry adviser to South Vietnam's 33rd Ranger Battalion. On December 29, 1964, Sergeant Bennet's unit was airlifted to Binh Gia, a village overrun by the Viet Cong. Upon landing, they were met by enemy forces and a firefight ensued. A selfless man, Sergeant Bennett called off two separate helicopter pilots who attempted to rescue him, refusing to put their lives in danger to save his. With his unit overrun by Viet Cong, Sergeant Bennett was captured. He demonstrated courage and tenacity by participating in hunger strikes and attempting three times to escape captivity. Tragically, following his third attempt, Sergeant Bennett was executed, becoming the first American POW to be put to death during the Vietnam war. Sergeant Bennett was posthumously awarded a Silver Star for his heroic actions, in addition to receiving a Prisoner of War Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, and a Purple Heart. Mr. Speaker, we should pass this bill to commemorate the great sacrifices Sergeant Harold George Bennett made for his country, as he selflessly and repeatedly put the lives of others before his own. I urge the passage of H.R. 2928. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 4605, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 615 6th Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as the Sgt. 1st Class Terryl L. Pasker Post Office Building. Born in Anamosa, Iowa, Terryl Pasker joined the Army in 1990, following his high school graduation. In 1995, he joined the Iowa National Guard, deploying to Afghanistan from 2004 to 2005. Six years later, Sergeant First Class Pasker decided to return for a second deployment with the 34th Infantry Division. During this tour, he mentored Afghan police forces and military leadership. Tragically, Sergeant First Class Pasker was killed at a checkpoint in Panjshir province on July 9, 2011, just days before he was to return home from his combat duty. He was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his sacrifice. Sergeant First Class Pasker is remembered as an active member of his church, who taught karate and served as a mentor to many in his community. A diligent, hardworking carpenter and owner of a contracting business, Terryl Pasker had intended to return to his trade and start a family with his wife, Erica, whom he married in 2006. Mr. Speaker, we should pass this bill to recognize Sergeant First Class Terryl Pasker for the bravery, courage, and selflessness that he exhibited in his 20 years of honorable military service. I urge the passage of H.R. 4605. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) of Washington, DC, a valued organization that has long been a local leader in the struggle for equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Since its founding in April 1971, GLAA has been a respected and tireless advocate for full and equal rights for the District of Columbia, and has been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen enforcement of the landmark D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977. One of GLAA's most significant achievements, on which it worked with coalition partners, D.C. elected officials, and District residents, was enactment of the District of Columbia Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act, which permits same-sex couples to marry in the District of Columbia. GLAA has stoutly defended the District's comprehensive human rights law; has been an outspoken advocate for LGBT youth and seniors; has stood up for the rights of LGBT consumers; has upheld the rights of transgender people, including equal treatment by police and access to culturally competent healthcare; has educated and rated local candidates on LGBT issues; and has built and nurtured coalitions with other constituencies to advance these causes and defend the District's autonomy. At GLAA's 45th anniversary reception on April 21, 2016, the recipients of its 2016 Distinguished Service Awards will be recognized, including: June Crenshaw serves as the chair of the Board of Rainbow Response Coalition. June is one of the original founders and continues to lead this all volunteer coalition. She is a board member and emeritus Chair of Whitman Walker Health. In addition, June is a Board of Governor of the Human Rights Campaign. June was the first African-American woman to co-chair HRC's National Dinner. She was a longstanding member of the Advisory Board of the Mayor's Office of LGBT Affairs. She also previously served on the Community Advisory Board of Lesbian Services Programs and Black Lesbian Support Group. She volunteered for over five years with Heartly House. Professionally, she is PMP certified and has worked over 19 years as a project manager. Monica Palacio has served as Director of the D.C. Office of Human Rights since March 2014. In that capacity, she directed a six-month study in 2015 that revealed anti-transgender job bias at 48 percent of District employers. Monica brings 20 years of experience in civil rights, strengthening communities in crisis and coalition building for social justice. She previously directed the District's Language Access Program, and served as a commissioner on the D.C. Commission on Human Rights. She holds a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from Fordham University. Monica has lived in the District for 25 years and was born in Bogota, Colombia. Sterling A. Washington served as director of the Mayor's Office of LGBT Affairs for two years ending in January 2015. Prior to that he was Resource and Grant Development Manager for the Center for Black Equity; worked on grants, newsletters, and community relations at Us Helping Us, People into Living, Inc.; and led the Bisexual, Lesbian and Gay Organization of Students at Howard. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from The George Washington University and a bachelor's degree in music history from Howard University. He is a tenor soloist and section leader at National City Christian Church. I ask the House to join me in honoring the recipients of GLAA's 2016 Distinguished Service Award and in celebrating GLAA's 45 years of contributions to the LGBT community in the District of Columbia.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in congratulating the DC Gray's baseball team for being accepted to run Major League Baseball's (MLB) Reviving Baseball in the Inner City (RBI) Washington, D.C. program. The new initiative, ``DC Grays RBI,'' will be a free middle school summer baseball and softball program for kids living in underserved communities in the District of Columbia. The DC Grays is a talented collegiate summer baseball team that, in addition to competing in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, strives to engage inner-city youth and their families with baseball. Their mission is to be ``ambassadors for baseball'' in the District by running summer baseball camps and clinics for D.C. youth. The DC Grays' partnership with MLB will further help its mission of providing disadvantaged youth an opportunity to learn and enjoy the game of baseball. The programs help motivate young players to stay in school and pursue secondary education. MLB's RBI program helps teach youth not only the importance of success on the field but also in the classroom and the community. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to join me in commending the DC Grays for the important work it has done and continues to do in the community. We wish it luck in continuing to inspire and engage disadvantaged youth.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, Saturday is Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia. It marks the day, April 16, 1862, when 3,100 slaves in the District of Columbia led the way to freedom, securing their freedom 9 months before the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves nationwide. Isn't it ironic that, because Emancipation Day comes on a Saturday, the American people are going to have 3 extra days to file your income taxes? Even though it is not a national holiday, it is a very special day for those of us who live in the District of Columbia because we are trying to get our full rights, the same rights as every other American. While I vote in committee representing the people of the District of Columbia, I cannot vote on this floor. Others can vote on this floor on matters affecting my district and my district only, yet the District has more residents than two States and as many residents as about seven States in the United States. We outnumber Vermont and Wyoming. There on this poster you see the District, Vermont, and Wyoming, yet Vermont, Wyoming, and every other State in the United States have two Senators and at least one Representative. About seven States have one Representative who votes on this House floor. I do not vote on this House floor. The people I represent have earned every single right that every other American has. Here on this poster are D.C.'s casualties in the major 20th-century wars, where the District of Columbia outpaced many States in casualties during those wars: World War I, more casualties than three States; World War II, more casualties than four States; the Korean war, more casualties than eight States; and the Vietnam war, more casualties than ten States. These are American citizens who went to war for their country, died without a vote, did not come home, and their relatives today still do not have the vote on this House floor and have no vote in the Senate of the United States. The largest irony of all, however, is shown on this poster. The people I represent here in the Nation's Capital pay more taxes per capita--more--than any residents of any State in the United States. They pay the highest taxes--$12,000 per person--and there are almost 700,000 people here. Who pays the lowest taxes in the United States per capita? It turns out to be Mississippi. But wherever they come from, American citizens pay fewer taxes, less in taxes, than the people who live in their Nation's Capital, even though the people who live in the Nation's Capital live in a city that is among the oldest American cities, whose citizens still do not have their full rights as American citizens. This is in violation of a treaty the United States signed in 1992, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United States has been found to be in violation of that treaty because the U.S. does not give the residents of the District of Columbia the same rights as other Americans. Ours is the only capital city in the world where those who live in their capital do not have the same rights as others, yet, as you saw in the District's casualties, this city has given and then given again. The District wants to become the 51st State of the United States of America. That is the only way we can keep the Congress from interfering in our local affairs. The District has to bring its own local budget to the Congress. We raise $7 billion in the District of Columbia. Our budget has to come here for the Congress to sign off so that we can spend our own money. What kind of autocracy is this? Of course, what is most frustrating to us is that most Americans think that we who live in your Nation's Capital have the same rights as every other American. After all, they see me on the House floor and they see me vote in committee. The greatest frustration, of course, to us is that most Americans do not know we do not have the same rights as they, and they would not countenance for a moment that there are in our country any Americans who are treated as unequal citizens.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate the 155th anniversary of the start of the Civil War today, my colleague Representative Donna Edwards joins me to introduce a bill to recognize and preserve the Civil War Defenses of Washington located in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. The defenses of Washington, including forts, unarmed batteries and rifle trenches, created a ring of protection for the nation's capital during the Civil War. This bill would redesignate the 22 Civil War Defenses of Washington currently under National Park Service jurisdiction as a national historical park, and allow other sites associated with the Civil War Defenses of Washington that are owned by a unit of state governments to be affiliated with the national historic park through cooperative agreements. This bill would also require the Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the storied history of the Civil War for both the North and the South, including the history of the defenses of Washington and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, being assembled, arrayed and conveyed for the benefit of the public for the knowledge, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Civil War Defenses of Washington were constructed at the beginning of the war, in 1861, as a ring of protection for the nation's capital and for President Abraham Lincoln. By the end of the war, these defenses included 68 forts, 93 unarmed batteries, 807 mounted cannons, 13 miles of rifle trenches, and 32 miles of military roads. The major test of the Civil War Defenses of Washington came with the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, when Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early, directed by General Robert E. Lee, sought to attack the nation's capital from the north, causing Union Forces threatening to attack Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, to be withdrawn. General Early was delayed by Union Major General Lew Wallace at the Battle of Monocacy on July 9, 1864, and was stopped at the northern edge of Washington at the Battle of Fort Stevens on July 11-12, 1864. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign ended when Union Lieutenant General Philip Sheridan defeated General Early at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, on October 19, 1864. Nearly all the individual forts in the Civil Defenses of Washington-- on both sides of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers--were involved in stopping General Early's attack, and the Battle of Fort Stevens was the second and last attempt by the Confederate Army to attack Washington. Taken together, these battles were pivotal to the outcome of the war and the freedom and democracy that the war represented for this country. It is therefore fitting that we recognize these sites by redesignating them as a national historic park as we commemorate the 155th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Art Ping Lee, who has spent his career advocating on behalf of the overseas Chinese community. Born in Taishan County, Guangdong Province, Mr. Lee immigrated to the United States in 1936. After the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, only a year after Mr. Lee's arrival in his new home in the District of Columbia, Mr. Lee began national fundraising efforts to support the Chinese army to resist the invasion of Japan. After World War II, Mr. Lee worked tirelessly to assist Chinese families affected by the war. Many Chinese families were kept from being reunited with their loved ones due to U.S. immigration laws and immigration quotas. Mr. Lee was one of the founding members of the National Chinese Welfare Council, in 1957, which campaigned aggressively for lifting of immigration quotas. As a result, 40,000 Chinese immigrants were allowed to enter the U.S. every year. Mr. Lee has also advocated to enhance and strengthen the relationship between the United States and Taiwan. Mr. Lee is a founder of several organizations, including the Chinese Youth Club of Washington, D.C., the Washington, D.C. Lodge of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, and the Lee Federal Credit Union. Mr. Lee, who turns 102 this year, continues to contribute to his community, where he serves as an Honorary Elder of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Washington, D.C., a Senior Advisor to the Overseas Community Affairs Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and an Honorary Elder to The Lee Family Association in the United States. He has received the Hua Kuang Medal, First Class, which is given by Taiwan to Chinese people who have made special contributions in overseas Chinese affairs. Mr. Lee has an impressive record of service and leadership to overseas Chinese communities throughout the United States, particularly in the Washington metropolitan area. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Mr. Lee and his lifetime of service to the Chinese American community in the District of Columbia and for his continued contributions and care for the people he serves.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in celebrating Dean Claudio Grossman and his 21-year tenure at American University's Washington College of Law (WCL). As WCL's first Latino dean, and lifelong advocate for human rights, he brought his unparalleled commitment to diversity and support for students of color. Dean Grossman, a native of Chile, spent many years in political exile in Europe after serving in the administration of democratically-elected President Salvador Allende, before finally coming to the United States. His legal scholarship is focused on international human rights and he has served in several roles within the United Nations, most notably in the United Nation's Committee Against Torture, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Dean Grossman has also served as the chair of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies and board member of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights. He is one of the few Latino law school deans in the country, and the first to serve in that capacity at WCL. He will be succeeded by Camille Nelson, the first black dean at WCL and the first woman in that role in the last 60 years. He leaves large shoes to fill. As dean, he has made great contributions to the legal profession through his work expanding WCL's LL.M. program, semester abroad programs, and clinical programs that advocate for immigrants and the disabled. He has also presided over WCL's new Tenley Campus expansion. Previous honors for Dean Grossman's work on human rights and international law include the Rene Cassin Award from B'nai B'rith International in Chile and the Harry LeRoy Jones Award from the Washington Foreign Law Society. Since becoming dean of WLC, Dean Grossman has received a host of honors, including: Outstanding Dean of the Year by the National Association of Public Interest Law (now known as Equal Justice Works) in 2000, the Inter American Press Association's Chapultepec Grand Prize 2002 for his achievements in the field of human rights, the Charles Norberg International Lawyer of the Year Award from the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Inter-American Bar Association, the Lifetime Leadership Award from the Hispanic National Bar Foundation, and the Leadership Award from the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Dean Claudio Grossman's remarkable efforts across his 21- year tenure at WCL. Dean Grossman has dedicated his life to human rights and international law, serving as an exemplary leader. His contributions to the legal profession have laid a foundation for generations.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Casilda Luna, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Wednesday, April 6, 2016. A native of Sanchez, Dominican Republic, Casilda Luna is often referred to as a pioneer in the Hispanic community. Casilda Luna moved to Washington, D.C. in 1961, and was one of the first Hispanic activists in Adams Morgan. Casilda organized weekly social gatherings that evolved into community discussions, which addressed social problems in the community. She then became involved with the Latin American Festival organizing committee and the Latino Affairs Office of the District of Columbia. Casilda was the co-founder of the Hispanic Festival and the Mayor's Office of Latino Affairs, where she helped to promote the inclusion of Hispanics in the Metropolitan Police Department. She also founded Mujeres Unidas Latinas en Accion (MULA), which helped Hispanic women who were new to the District of Columbia by bringing them together through community activities. I ask the House to join me in recognizing her 90th birthday and her more than 50 years of activism in the national capital region. Casilda Luna is a special woman whose service to our community is greatly appreciated.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Promoting National Service and Reducing Unemployment Act, to address one of the greatest workforce tragedies resulting from today's economy--our unemployed young people--and to spur economic growth and alleviate strain on state and local governments. This tragedy is not only hurting our young people, it is costing our government $25 billion each year through lost tax revenue and other costs. Unemployment has reached a new low of 4.9 percent, but my bill targets the 2.2 million young people who have not had a fair chance to ever use their high school and college education, which this nation has strongly urged them to get. What is particularly disappointing is the high unemployment rate for young people who heeded our advice to graduate from high school and college, only to try to enter the workforce in the worst economy in generations. The total unemployment rate is currently 10.6 percent for young adults aged 16 to 24, and hundreds of thousands now compete for unpaid internships wherever they can find them. By significantly expanding AmeriCorps, my bill would need no new administrative structure or bureaucracy, and would allow unemployed young people to earn a stipend, obtain work experience, and develop a good work history to help them secure future employment. The net cost of the expansion would be low, because these young people would be providing urgently needed local services that are being dropped or curtailed because of federal, state, and local budget cuts, such as after-school programs, tutoring, and assistance for the elderly. The bill would significantly expand job opportunities for young people who have played by the rules but despite their best efforts remain unemployed in this economy. Participants receive a living allowance and are also eligible for an education award equal to the value of a Pell grant, for school-loan forbearance, health care benefits and child care assistance. By expanding the AmeriCorps program, we would reduce the number of unemployed young people, provide them with work skills and experience, and help cash-strapped states and local governments provide services that they would otherwise have to cut. For some time, it has been clear that policies to address the most stubborn forms of unemployment need to be targeted in order to be effective. Without significant targeting, young graduates will continue to face their first years as adults without jobs and with no way to acquire work experience. They deserve better. I ask my colleagues to support this urgently needed targeted assistance for young, unemployed Americans.