Charlie Rangel

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. If this is really the best campaign gimmick the majority can come up with, we are not in as bad a shape as I thought we were. I think it is shameful that we should try to play a hoax on the American people and have them believe that we are going to throw away the Tax Code that the Republicans helped to complicate. And they keep throwing all those papers there that they added 800 pages to it. People used to say that we have to live with death and taxes. Republicans say, no, they can eliminate taxes. And soon, before the election, they may eliminate death. I do not know. It was interesting to see how my friend, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning), explained why in 3 years the majority party just could not pass a meaningful bill, because Mr. Bill Clinton is in the White House. Well, let me say once again, Mr. Bill Clinton is in the White House now and will be in the White House next year and will be in the White House the year after that. It seems to me that if the distinguished Hall of Famer makes sense in terms of saying that the President has prevented them from legislating for 3 years, I do not know what in God's name would make him think that the President is going to yield to him in the next 2 years. In any event, I think what we are saying is that there is going to be a vacuum as to where do we stand in taxes. And one of the Republicans took the well and said it was something like the Boston Tea Party and that we had to be revolutionary about this. The other side really knows how to be revolutionary in terms of closing down the government. They did it once, and they got so good at it they went and did it again. And so, maybe there is a lot of support for this type of way that they run government. If they do not like the tax system, say there are no taxes. If they do not like government, just close it on down.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm). (Mr. STENHOLM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to respond to my friend. It is almost funny. If the gentleman is saying that the Republican majority could not possibly pass any meaningful tax reform legislation because of our distinguished President being in the White House for the last 3 years, then what he is really saying now is, since the gentleman and I know the President is going to be there for 2 more years, that they will not be able to do anything for 2 years. Give me a break. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin). (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner).

Mr. RANGEL. Always being the courteous one, Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to say to the majority leader that he has been providing such strong leadership for the last 3 years, and no one can doubt the leadership of the Speaker, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrich). They have got outstanding leaders on that side of the aisle, intelligent, bright, creative people. Why should we believe, if they have not been able to come up with anything in 3 years, that they are going to come up with anything in the next 3 years, which of course assumes that my colleagues also know that they are going to retain the majority?

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton). (Mr. HOUGHTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, if there is anybody in this body that knows of anyone that has taken money from the government of China, they would be aiding and abetting and involved as an accomplice in a felony unless they reported it to our Attorney General. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kleczka).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I am reminded that when Dr. Frankenstein created his monster, he went immediately to trying to get rid of it. And, so, as the Republicans pass this tax bill, this is the same bill they want to pull up and pull up by the roots. Gentlemen, it is your bill. Do with it what you want. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Kennelly).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott). (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to say to the distinguished gentleman that he keeps referring to that pile there as being something that has been put together by the Democrats. When we had a debate on the rule, I thought he said that this 800 pound tax document was passed by the Republican majority and he voted for it. So I would be glad to go over there and just put this on that pile. The second thing is that, we do not have to be another tax expert to know that the Congress should not be having to be forced to do anything. The majority should not have to force themselves to be responsible. All they have to do is take their consensus from the people and pass a decent, respectable, fair and equitable progressive tax bill. They should not force themselves to do it; just do the right thing. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, this is a historic moment in the history because of our Congress, because I do not think that we will ever live to see a more irresponsible act committed by any Member of Congress. I know that this is an election year and so some leeway has to be given to the majority because, unfortunately, there is no institutional memory of them having passed any legislation this year. Being a politician myself, I can understand how they would like to capture the voters' imagination by doing something dramatic. But just to abolish the Tax Code, just to say that, by the year 2002, no tax shall be imposed by the Internal Revenue code, what a gift to give the American people. You will not have to pay any taxes until the Republicans, and do not laugh, until the Republican majority comes up with an idea as to how they are going to replace it. Let us think this one out. Who has been in charge for the last 3 years? Who had the majority? Who had the opportunity, really, to substitute this complex mess that they talk about? But rather than to come together, as if that is possible, with some type of a meaningful, fair tax code that would increase economic productivity for our great Nation and to continue to propel the prosperity that President Clinton has brought to us, they would rather just pull up the Tax Code by the roots. I assume that, while they are pulling it up by the roots, that this 800 pages of what they call a tax bill last year is mere fertilizer for the Tax Code that they are going to bring to us. Where are these great ideas that you have? Should the American people not have some idea as to where do you meet to come up with a new code? Years ago, Members would go to the Committee on Ways and Means. Now we go to the Committee on Rules. We have people just telling us what they are going to end, but no one is there to tell us what they are going to start. I have served on the Committee on Ways and Means for two decades. Every year, we had a tax bill; some good, some bad. For the last 3 years, we have not had anything that is coming up that is new. I want the Republicans to understand this, if they do not understand anything at all, they are in charge. They have a majority. They have the ability to call their troops together and vote for anything that they want, whether it is good or, in most cases, bad. But for God's sake, just with all due intention I did not bring the Bible, so I did not mean to say that, but for goodness sake, do not end something unless you tell the American people what do you intend to replace it with. We have business people that are planning now for the future. I would want them to call their Congressman, but since this issue is not being dealt with with the Congress, and since we do not know where the Tax Code is going to come from, and since the Committee on Ways and Means has lost jurisdiction, whoever meets with the Speaker should know what he is going to come up with. I would say, if people are planning for the future, whether they are going to have bonds out there, whether the States are going to have municipal bonds, where people want to know how to plan, call the Speaker, because I think he has some good ideas that he will not share with us. Second, if you are a hospital, church, synagogue, charitable organization, there is nothing in this bill that terminates that says you are going to be protected. I know the Republicans are going to protect them, so do not be afraid, but ask them how are they going to be protected. If we own a home and we have mortgage payments and we have been deducting them, we can deduct until the year 2000, and then we do not have to deduct anymore. Now, I do not know what happens, but we can call the Speaker and he will tell us what plans he has for mortgage deductions. And I tell my colleagues that, as complicated as this bill is, as bad as the Republican passed tax bill is, at least we know what we got. The fear is what are they going to come up with when for 3 years they have not even come up with a good idea. So I do hope that in the course of this debate that someone would come up with some kind of a plan that would give us some idea as to what they are going to fill this vacuum with. But I think killing the IRS, pulling it up by the roots, that the American people deserve better than just a bumper sticker. And if people do not like paying taxes and they think this is the solution, then I beg the Democrats in the minority, if they can just pass a law to keep us from paying taxes, why can we not pass a law to stop people from paying their debts? Why not? And if we do not like that, let us pass a law to terminate cancer. Let us think of something more exciting than our irresponsible brothers and sisters over here, and we will just say that if anyone votes against it, it means they support cancer; if they vote against it, they support paying back debts. I am ashamed that this is happening in the House, but I know the United States Chamber of Commerce and the local Chambers of Commerce around this country will study this termination bill and I hope we hear from them much before the election. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, one of the great things about being a Member of Congress is that we follow a real tradition, that our Founding Fathers set up a Constitution which allowed the people to express their concern through us. They did not say that they wanted chairmen of committees to find out what is best for America. They did not say it should be the President or the Supreme Court. They said that in this House of Representatives, the people of the United States of America should speak. And that is why we have only a 2-year term so that, if we misspeak, the voters may not be able to get to the Senate, they may not be able to express their disagreement with the President, they darn sure cannot reach the Supreme Court, but we are here to be held accountable. To protect us, we have a committee system, because it is common knowledge that we were not elected based on our IQ rates. We were elected to find out and to search for the truth. And in most every piece of legislation, we have more than two sides of the issue; and, so, we have hearings and we have experts and we are able to get staff, Republican and Democrat, who are experts to review this so that when the committees report to the House, most of the work is done, the arguments are crystallized, and the Members have an opportunity to vote. For 200 years, the Committee on Ways and Means has had the constitutional responsibility to raise the revenues and to provide the ways and the means for this great Nation to move forward. But under recent majority leadership, it was decided in some back room that we do not need any committees, we do not need any subcommittees, we do not need any committee chairmen, all we need is a Speaker and one good press relations person. And, so, instead of legislation, we get press releases, we get one press release that the whole IRS, the whole code, is going to be abolished not because the Ways and Means Republicans said it, but because the Speaker said it. If he can eliminate our ability to pay taxes with legislation, maybe he can eliminate our ability to have to pay our indebtedness, maybe we can eliminate cancer, maybe we can do a variety of things just by one- shot legislation not going through any responsible committee. Where is the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means? How are we letting the institutions of this House just fall apart? Whether we are for term limits or not, we have an obligation to leave this House in as good a shape as we found it. And now we find that we have an education tax bill coming out of the Committee on Rules because there was an amendment on the Senate floor. I am not here to say anything about the Senate. If they wake up and want to pass an amendment, they can do it. They do not need hearings over there. But it is assumed that when they amend a bill that this House will be responsible and that we would have hearings and we will have experts and when people discuss and our staff discuss what does the bill mean, that we will be in the position to say that it is not a rip-off, it is sound, good tax policy that makes some sense. Ask any American that knows the serious nature of our education problem in this country whether giving them a $2,000 savings account interest free is going to better the education of their kids. If the kid goes to private school, they save 37 bucks. If they are poor enough to have their kid go to public school, they save 7 bucks. And if they do not have $2,000 to save at all, they save nothing. So it just seems to me that far more important than the legislation is the process in which this bill comes to the floor, without hearings, without witnesses, without any of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means, without a liberal point of view, without a conservative point of view. Where are the educators to say, what are we doing to help education? Mr. Speaker, this is a wrong way for the House of Representatives to proceed.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday May 9th four of our distinguished colleagues together with more than 130 other outstanding Americans were awarded the 1998 Ellis Island Medal of Honor at a gala ceremony on Ellis Island. The ceremony and the medals are sponsored by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, Inc. (NECO), the nation's largest ethnic organization, representing more than 5 million families and hundreds of organizations. The Ellis Island Medals of Honor have been awarded in each of the past twelve years to those Americans who have made outstanding contributions to our nation's identity, while preserving the distinct values and heritage of their ancestors. This year I am especially proud to note that Reps. Gary Ackerman (Eastern Europe), Carolyn Maloney (English, Irish/French), Robert Menendez (Cuban), and Patsy Mink (Japanese) were among the awardees. I am proud to be a Medal recipient, as is President Clinton and five other United States Presidents. The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is aptly named, for the island is a symbol of the diversity of our nation's people--a people whose genius, culture, artistry and thought have joined to form a single mosaic of many cultures and ancestral backgrounds. It is from this diversity that the United States is still a beacon of hope for so many and the greatest democracy the world has ever known. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay a special tribute to the one man who is responsible for the Ellis Island Medals of Honor and someone who has dedicated his life to developing and strengthening bonds between people of all ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds, Willian Denis Fugazy. At this point in the Record, I wish to include the entire list of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients and congratulate each of them. Ellis Island Medal of Honor Awards--1998 Medalists Anthony S. Abbate, President & CEO, Interchange State Bank, Saddle Brook, NJ--Italian; Gary L. Ackerman, Congressman, United States House of Representatives, Bayside, NY--Eastern European; William H. Adkins, President & CEO, Palanker Chevrolet Inc. West Babylon, NY--African; Antigone Agris, Publisher, Hellenic Chronicle, Framingham, MA--Hellenic; Ace (Armando) Alaga, Publisher, Italian Tribune News, Newark, NJ--Italian; John B. Alfieri, Esq. Senior Partner, Alfieri, Frohman & Primoff, LLP, New York, NY--Italian; John A. Allison IV, Chairman & CEO, BB&T Corporation, Winston-Salem, NC--Scottish/Irish; John A. Amos, President & CEO, Halley's Comet Company, Califon, NJ--African; Ernie Anastos, News Anchor, UPN 9/WWOR-TV, Secaucus, NJ--Hellenic; Thomas V. Angott, Chairman, C.F. Burger Creamery, Detroit, MI--Italian; Michael S. Ansari, Chairman & CEO, MIC Industries, Inc., Reston, VA--Iranian; Norman R. Augustine, Chairman of the Board, retired, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, MD-- German; William J. Avery, Chairman & CEO, Crown, Cork & Seal Company, Inc., Philadelphia, PA--Irish/Welsch; Farhad Azima, Chairman, Aviation Leasing Group, Kansas City, MO--Persian; and Brian M. Barefoot, Executive Vice President, Paine Webber Inc. New York, NY-- English/German. Archbishop Khajag Barasmian, Primate, Diocease of the American Church of Am., New York, NY--Armenian; George D. Behrakis, Judge, President & CEO, Muro Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Tewksbury, MA--Hellenic; Joseph W. Bellacosa, Judge, New York State Court of Appeals, Albany, NY--Italian; Francis X. Bellotti, Attorney, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, PC, Boston, MA--Italian; Eric A. Behamou, President, CEO & Chairman, 3 Com Corporation, Santa Clara, CA--French; Michael Berry, Esq., Attorney, Berry, Francis, Seifman, Salamey & Harris, Dearborn, MI--Lebanese; Albert C. Bersticker, Chairman & CEO, Ferro Corporation, Cleveland, OH--German; Elias Betzios, President, Continental Food Products, Inc, Flushing, NY--Hellenic; Frank J. Branchini, President, & CEO, Group Health Incorporated, New York, NY-- Irish/Italian; John G. Breen, Chairman & CEO, The Sherwin- Williams Company, Cleveland, OH--Scottish/Irish; and Duncan A. Bruce, Author & Community Leader, New York, NY--Stottish. Michael G. Cantonis, President, Acme Sponge & Chamois Co., Inc., Tarpon Springs, FL--Hellenic; Louis J. Cappelli, Chairman, Sterling National Bank, New York, NY--Italian; Richard Conway Casey, United States District Court Judge, United States District Court, White Plains, NY--Irish; Robert B. Catell, Chairman, President & CEO, KeySpan Energy Company, Brooklyn, NY--Italian; William Cavanaugh III, President & CEO, Carolina Power & Light Co., Raleigh, NC--Irish; Jerry D. Choate, Chairman & CEO, Allstate Insurance, Northbrook, IL-- English; Christopher Christodoulou, President, Creative Color Lithographers, Inc./Graphic Arts Laboratory/ELAS Travel, Garwood, NJ--Cypriot; Kenneth A. Ciongoli, President, Neurological Association of UT/NIAF, Burlington, VT--Italian; E. Virgil Conway, Chairman, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York, NY--Irish; Takey Crist, President and Medical Director; Honorary Consul, Crist Clinic for Women; Republic of Cyprus, Jacksonville, NC--Cypriot; and Karen Davis, President, Commonwealth Fund, New York, NY--Swiss/ German. Diane H. Dayson, Superintendent, Department of Interior-- National Park Service, New York, NY--African; Theodore Deikel, Chairman & CEO, Fingerhut Companies, Inc., Minnetonka, MN--Russian; George J. Delaney, President, Summit Resources, Inc., Briarcliff Manor, NY--Irish; Gustave Diamond, United States District Judge, United States District Court, Pittsburgh, PA--Hellenic; Jim Donald, Chairman, President & CEO, Pathmark Stores Inc., Carteret, NJ--Irish; Lewis Robert Elias, MD, Cardiologist, Senior Member, South Florida Cardiology Associates, Bal Harbour, FL--Lebanese; Victor Elmaleh, Chairman, World-Wide Holdings Corporation, New York, NY--Moroccan; Pamela Fiori, Editor in Chief, Town and Country Magazine, New York, NY--Italian; Brian T. Gilson, President, Minnesota Diversified Industries, St. Paul, MN-- Norwegian/German/Italian; Richard H. Girgenti, Esq., Principal, KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, New York, NY--Italian; and Bernice Gottlieb, President, Hudson Shores Realtors, Irvington, NY--Austrian/Hungarian. Charlie N. Hall, Sr., President, Local #108 R, W & D Store Union, Irvington, NJ--African; James F. Hardymon, Chairman & CEO, Textron, Inc., Providence, RI--English; Derek C. Hathaway, Chairman & CEO, Harsco, Camp Hill, PA--English; William Hetzler, President & Owner, Bill Hetzler Holding, Atlantic Beach Estates, NY--German; John A. Holy, President, Slovak American Publishing Co., Clifton, NJ--Slovak; Vahak S. Hovnanian, Chairman & President, V.S. Hovnanian Group & Hovbilth--Armenian; Darrell Edward Issa, President & CEO, Directed Electronics, Inc., Vista, CA--Lebanese; Robert M. Johnson, Chairman & CEO, Bowne & Co., Inc., New York, NY-- Swedish/English; Mitchell J. Joseph, Chairman & CEO, The Joseph Company, Laguna Niguel, CA--Italian; Thomas Peter Kazas, President, Hometown Coffee Company, Pittsburgh, PA-- Hellenic; John F. Keenan, US District Judge, U.S. District Court, New York, NY--French Canadian/Irish; Andrew Sokchu Kim, President, LISA Page/Codwell Communications Inc., Roslyn, NY--Korean; A. Eugene Kohn, President, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, New York, NY--European; Alexander R. Koproski, CEO, Al Koproski Realty, Stamford, CT--Polish; Haralambos S. Kostakopoulos, Ph.D., President & CEO, First Savings Bank of Little Falls, Little Falls, NJ--Hellenic; and Thomas C. Kyrus, President, Kyrus Enterprises, Naples, FL-- Cypriot. Vincent V. LaBruna, DDS, President, Vincent V. LaBruna DDS, PC, New York, NY--Italian; Lee Liu, Chairman & CEO, IES Industries Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA--Chinese; Dr. Pamela Loren, Chairman & CEO, Loren Communications Intl., Ltd., New York, NY--Argentinean/English; William Losapio, President, Gregory's Restaurant, White Plains, NY--Italian; Alan Barry Lubin, Executive Vice President, NYS United Teachers, Albany, NY--Russian; Leon Machiz, Chairman & CEO, Avnet Inc., Great Neck, NY--English/Irish/French; Carolyn B. Maloney, Congresswoman, United States House of Representatives, New York, NY--English/Irish/French; Joseph L. Mancino, Chairman, President & CEO, The Roslyn Savings Bank, Roslyn, NY-- Italian; Frank G. Mancuso, Chairman & CEO, Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer Inc., Santa Monica, CA--Italian; John Willard Marriott Jr., Chairman & CEO, Marriott Internatinal, Inc., Washington, DC--English; Anthony A. Massaro, Chairman & CEO, The Lincoln Electric Company, Cleveland, OH--Italian; Fernando Mateo, Founder & Chairman, Goods for Guns Foundation, New York, NY-- Hispanic; and Joseph M. Mattone, Esq., Chairman & CEO, Mattone Group, Ltd., College Point, NY--Italian William Surles McArthur, Jr., Colonel, NASA, Houston, TX-- Scottish; Linda Eastman McCartney, (posthumously) Photographer, Animal Activist, Writer, Singer, Musician, AZ, CA, UK; Michael R. McCoy, Executive Vice President & COO, Geotek Communications Inc., Montvale, NJ--Irish; Bryan N. McGuire, General Manager, ``21'' Club, New York, NY--Irish; Josie Anderson McMillian, President, New York Metro Area Postal Union, New York, NY--African; James R. Mellor, Former Chairman & CEO, General Dynamics, Falls Church, VA--English; Robert Menendez, Congressman, House of Representatives, Washington, DC--Cuban; Arthur L. Mercante, Deputy Commissioner, Town of Hempstead, Garden City, NY--Italian; Lee Miglin, (posthumously) Former Chairman, Miglin-Beitler Company, Chicago, IL--Lithuanian; Alan B. Miller, President & Chairman, Universal Health Service, Inc., King of Prussia, PA--Russian; Patsy T. Mink, Congresswoman, United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC--Japanese; and Senator George Mitchell, Chairman, Peace Talks in Northern Ireland, Washington, DC--Lebanese/Irish. Tita Scandalis Monti, President & Founder, Don Monti Memorial Research Foundation, Sands Point, NY--Hellenic; William D. Moses, President & CEO, Recovery Network, Santa Monica, CA--Syrian; Mary Murphy, Anchor and Correspondent, WPIX-TV New York, NY--Irish; Thomas J. Murphy, Chairman, NYS Dormitory Authority, Albany, NY--Irish; John Francis, O'Brien, President & CEO, Allmerica Financial Corporation, Worcester, MA--Irish/Italian; Timothy Stuart O'Leary, USN, Director, United States Navy Office of Information, East, New York, NY--Irish/Croat; Harry J. Pappas, President & CEO, Pappas Telecasting Companies, Visalia, CA--Hellenic; Carl F. Pascarella, President & CEO, Visa, USA, San Francisco, CA-- Italian; Nicholas Anthony Penachio, President, Nick Penachio Co., Inc., New York, NY--Italian; and James George Petheriotes, Co-Owner, Petheriotes Brothers Coffee Company, Houston, TX--Hellenic. William G. Poist, President & CEO, Commonwealth Energy System, Cambridge, MA--German; Dith Pran, Photojournalist, The New York Times, Woodbridge, NJ--Cambodian; Leslie C. Quick, III, President, United States Clearing Corporation-- Fleet Securities Inc., New York, NY--Irish; Bradford J. Race, Jr., Secretary to the Governor, State of New York, Albany, NY--Irish/English; John G. Rangos, Sr., USA Waste Services, Pittsburgh, PA--Hellenic; Michael T. Reddy, Chairman & CEO, EDS Global Securities Industry Group, New York, NY--Irish; Ronald K. Richey, Chairman, Torchmark Corporation, Birmingham, AL--Swedish/Scottish/Irish/German; P. Anthony Ridder, Chairman & CEO, Knight-Ridder, Miami, FL--German/ French; John J. Rigas, Chairman, President & CEO, Adelphia Communications Corporation, Coudersport, PA--Hellenic; Eddie Robsinson, Senior Advisor to the President for Institutional Advancement, Grambling State University, Grambling, LA-- African; and Edward J. Robson, Chairman, Robson Communities, Sun Lakes, AZ--English. Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, Ph.D., Chief of Surgery, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD--Eastern European; Robert J. Rotatori, Esq., Attorney, Gold, Rotatori & Schwartz Co., Cleveland, OH--Italian; Dr. John W. Ryan, Chancellor, State University of New York, Albany, NY--Irish; Philip Adeeb Salem, MD, Director of Cancer Research, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, TX--Lebanese; Joseph D. Sargent, CLU, President & CEO, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY--Irish/English; George D. Schwab, PH.D., President, National Committee on American Foreign Policy, New York, NY--Latvian; Steven Seagal, President, Seagal-Nasso Productions, Inc., Los Angeles, CA--French Canadian/Italian; Tosano J. Simonetti, Vice President of Security, MacAndrews & Forbes, New York, NY--Italian; Richard Sklar, United States Representative for United Nations Management, United States Mission to the United Nations, New York, NY--Russian/ Hungarian; Orin R. Smith, Chairman & CEO, Engelhard Corporation, Iselin, NJ--English; and Philip J. Smith, President, The Shubert Organization, Inc., New York, NY-- Irish. William S. Stavropoulos, President & CEO, The DOW Chemical Company, Midland, MI--Hellenic; Michael R. Steed, Senior Vice President ULLICO, Inc., Washington, DC--Irish, Pergrouhi (Najarian) Svajian, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY--Armenian; Laszlo N. Vauber, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.I.C.S., Clinical Professor of Surgery, Chairman Emeritus of Surgery, Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Alexandria, VA--Hungarian; Nicholas Tsoucalas, Senior Judge, United States Court of International Trade, New York, NY--Hellenic; 1998 United States Olympic Women's Hockey Team, USA; and Vincent Viola, Owner & CEO, Pioneer Group, New York, NY-- Italian. Randi Weingarten, President, United Federation of Teachers, New York, NY--Russian/German; Melvyn I. Weiss, Esq., Senior Partner, Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach LLP, New York, NY--Russian/Hungarian; H. Daniel Wenstrup, President & CEO, CHEMCENTRAL Corporation, Bedford Park, IL--Danish; Siggi B. Wilzig, Chairman & CEO, The Trust Company of New Jersey, Jersey City, NJ--German/Prussian; Margaret W. Wong, Managing Partner, Margaret W. Wong & Associates Co., Cleveland, OH--Chinese; John B. Yasinsky, Chairman & CEO, GenCorp, Fairlawn, OH--Lithuanian; Zachariah P. Zachariah, MD, Director of Cardiology, Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale, FL--Asian Indian; and Robert Thomas Zito, Senior Vice President of Communications, New York Stock Exchange, New York, NY--Italian.