Member of Congress

Steven Rothman

Role
Former Representative
State
NJ
Party
Democrat

Speeches

30-SOMETHING WORKING GROUP2006-04-05

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. I got another one today.

Mr. ROTHMAN. It was an honest answer, and I thanked him for that. He said that it was wasteful, and he said that is the budget that the President gave me. My subcommittee had a hearing today and we had the Secretary of the Treasury in front of us, Mr. Snow. I said Mr. Secretary, a lot of people say that tax cuts that go to the richest people in the country, people making over a million dollars a year, but if you added up all of the tax cuts, people say that we get money back from the tax cuts and it fills up the government coffers far beyond what we cut in terms of taxes to the rich. Another honest answer, he said, Congressman Rothman, for every dollar we cut in taxes, we only get back to the Federal treasury about 30 or 40 cents. For every dollar we cut in taxes, we only get back 30 or 40 cents. I said, Wait a minute, what about the supply side notion and all this talk about the economic growth generating revenues? He said, Well, that is the consensus of opinion, that for every dollar of taxes cut, we only get back 30 or 40 cents. I said, Wait a minute, we are losing money every time we do a tax cut and then you tell veterans in this budget, the Bush budget, veterans have to pay more for their health care and poor people have to pay more for their prescription drugs. A family who wants to send their child to college has to pay another $2,000 or $3,000 a year. There is money for nothing but tax cuts. He said, Oh, by the way, that deficit that we have, the largest deficit in the history of the United States, the one we have today under this Republican majority and this President, one-third of the deficit said Treasury Secretary Snow today, one-third of the deficit is directly related to the tax cuts.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Here is another interesting statistic. By the way, working people need tax cuts. They need incentives to save and incentives to work even harder than they already do, if that is possible. But people who make over $400,000 a year, people who make over $400,000 a year, God bless them, this is a fact that we in America have to deal with in order to decide is the Republican majority and is the President or are each of them making the right policy judgments. People make tax cuts for people making over $400,000 a year. This year if you add up just those tax cuts, it will be a greater sum than all that we spend on homeland security. And yet the majority and this administration says we can only afford to inspect 5 percent of the containers coming into America, even though in Hong Kong they inspect 100 percent of the containers. This is the priority of this administration. By the way, I asked Secretary Snow, I said, because he was very proud that perhaps tax cuts helped get us out of the recession that was very shallow. I said, Mr. Secretary, the recession is long over. It has been over for 3 years or more. So why do we continue to give tax cuts to the wealthiest people in the country, accounting for a third of our deficit and when we tell working people and veterans and school kids we do not have money for you, in fact we are going to cut your budgets and keep those tax cuts.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, not only is the gentleman absolutely correct that this is what this President and the Republican majority have done for 5\1/2\ years, they want to make this policy permanent. They want to make it permanent. Permanent tax cuts for individuals making over a million dollars a year. Permanent tax cuts for people making over $400,000 a year, the sum of which is greater than all we spend on homeland security, and they want to make it permanent. If we vote against it, you know what they say, there they go again, the Democrats want to raise taxes. We do not want to raise taxes, we want sensible fiscal policy that does not give us the biggest deficit in the history of the United States and does not give the people making millions of dollars a year a million dollar tax cut.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Yes, of course.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Will the gentleman yield? I have a statistic you won't believe. I happen to serve on the House Appropriations Committee.

Mr. ROTHMAN. And we were only inspecting 5 percent of the containers. That was the Republican majority's policy. They were in charge. They made the rule. The majority rules, and they won. We said in the House Appropriations Committee, we said to our colleagues, our Republican friends, if we cut $5,000 from the 80 or $100,000 tax cut, 80 or $100,000 tax cut, depending how much money these folks make, if we just take 5,000 from the 80,000 we are sending them, we could triple the number of containers we inspect from 5 percent to 15 percent. And do you know what every single one of my Republican colleague on the House Appropriations Committee did? They voted against it. And I went to them and I said hey, man, what are you doing? I have nothing against people who are worth a fortune. This isn't class warfare. Do you want to give it to them, or do you want to spend it on inspecting our containers coming into the port? And they said, we are story, Steve. This was the President's directive.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Yes.

Mr. ROTHMAN. By the way, the incomes of the people who were going to have their tax cut reduced by 5,000 were only individuals whose annual income was $1 million or more. And we said, can we take 5,000 from the 80 or 100 or 150,000 they are going to get in tax cuts, take 5,000 to increase our port inspection of our containers. And every Republican said no. Mr. Speaker, that is the priority of this Republican majority and this President.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. ROTHMAN. You know, some people will say, oh, there the Democrats go again, class warfare. There they go again, class warfare. Nonsense. We love rich people. We love poor people. We love middle class people. We love Americans. This is about the choices that America is going to make with their tax dollars. What should we do with the tax dollars that people send to Washington? Should we give them, by the way, the recession is over. We are in the start of the fourth year of the war in Iraq. We are still paying for Katrina and Hurricane Rita. With all of these problems and the recession over 3 years ago, is this the time not only to continue these tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest people making over $400,000 a year, millions of dollars a year? Or should we, in fact, pay off some of the debt, spend down the deficit, pay for college for kids.

Mr. ROTHMAN. And remember this, not only has this been the policy that has put us in the largest deficit in the history of the country, the Republican majority and the President want to make this policy permanent. They want to make their tax cuts for the rich permanent. They will claim we are against wealthy people. Class warfare. Nonsense. We want the money that we send to Washington spent wisely and not given away.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. ROTHMAN. It is important for people to understand that this majority came in saying that we needed to balance the budget and that is why the American people should elect a Republican majority. When I was the mayor of my hometown 25 years ago, a little city in New Jersey, we had to balance the budget every year. And we did. We left them with a surplus, but at least balance the budget. And they said, well, let us make a constitutional amendment. And we said, Why are you amending the Constitution? You are in the majority. Balance the budget. You have the majority. Balance the budget. So in terms of third-party validation, Mr. Speaker, the American people know that the Republican Party has been in power, in the majority, in the House and the Senate for about 5\1/2\ years, with President Bush as our President for 5\1/2\ years. And we have the greatest deficits in history. We are projected to have deficits for the next 15, 20 years with no end in sight, with budget cuts to education, health care, veterans, college loans, the environment, clean air, clean water. Cut, cut, cut, cut everything, except tax cuts for the wealthiest. And, again, I do not want to harp on that because tax cuts for the working people are important. But is this the time to continue that policy ad infinitum and make them permanent? I do not think so.

Mr. ROTHMAN. That is a good idea.

Mr. ROTHMAN. May I just remind the Speaker that today Secretary of the Treasury John Snow said in his testimony before our subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee that the tax cuts of this majority and President Bush account for one-third of the deficit, and that every dollar that is cut for the wealthiest folks in tax cuts, we don't get back more than a dollar in revenue. We lose. For every tax dollar we cut, we only get back 30 to 40 cents. We lose 60 to 70 cents for every tax dollar we cut. Whether that is a good thing or bad thing, the American people can decide. But in a time of war, the biggest deficits in our history, is that what we want to be doing with our money, and should we be making those tax cuts permanent?

View in Record
RECOGNIZING THE LIFE OF WELLINGTON TIMOTHY MARA2006-03-29

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and achievements of Wellington T. Mara, co-owner of the New York Football Giants. Mr. Mara will always be remembered for his accomplishments with the NFL. However, his legacy extends far beyond the gridiron. He was much more than the successful owner of a professional football team--he was a community leader, a dedicated family patriarch, a devout man of faith, and an outstanding American. Wellington Mara was a devoted husband to his wonderful wife Anne, a loving father to his eleven children, an adoring grandfather to his 42 grandchildren, and a role model to all who knew him. When called to serve his nation, Wellington did so proudly as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy during World War II. Later in life, Mara served his community as a member of the board of the Giants Foundation, an organization that provides important social and financial support to underprivileged youth and their families in the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan Area. Mr. Mara's foresight helped to turn the NFL into the successful American enterprise that it is today. In the early 1960's, Wellington and his brother, Jack Mara, as co-owners of the most profitable team in the NFL, put the league ahead of their team by agreeing to share lucrative television revenue equally among all NFL teams. The current success of the NFL is a tribute to the esteemed character and selfless sacrifice ofthe Mara brothers. They proved to the NFL and to the nation that honorable business practices and teamwork can indeed generate great success. Mr. Mara was well respected within the Giants organization and throughout the NFL. He was extremely loyal to players, coaches, employees, and especially the fans. He treated everyone with whom he came into contact with great respect. Under Wellington Mara's leadership, the Giants appeared in 26 postseasons, won 16 NFL divisional championships and 6 NFL championships, including the remarkable title runs in 1986 and 1990 (Super Bowls XXI and XXV) that captivated the entire New York/New Jersey area. The leadership of Wellington Mara made the Giants a wonderful organization that I am proud to have in my district. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that my colleagues will join with me in honoring the life of this exceptional man. We should all be so fortunate to leave such a tremendous legacy.

View in Record
IN TRIBUTE TO GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY2006-03-29

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in celebration of the 185th Anniversary of Greek Independence Day and in doing so, join millions of my fellow Americans in commemorating the rebellion of the Greek people against the Ottoman Empire and celebrate their declaration of independence on March 25, 1821. The strong and invaluable friendship between the United States and Greece leads me to recognize Greek Independence Day, a day in which we celebrate the Hellenic people's long, but heroic revolt against 400 years of oppressive rule by the Ottomans. Their struggle for independence demonstrates the strong commitment of the Greek people to achieving freedom from tyranny and oppression. We can see this through Greece's steadfast support of the United States in every major struggle for freedom and democracy, including our global fight against terror. The strength of our great friendship with and the contributions to our nation made by the Hellenic community make me proud to honor such an important day in Greek history. Our two nations are committed to the shared values of democracy, justice and freedom. Greek ideals of democracy and freedom inspired our nation's founders and helped shape the very fabric of our democratic government. Greek immigrants have been welcomed to the shores of America for generations, and we are grateful for how they have enhanced our collective culture and contributed to our country. I stand proudly with the many Hellenic-Americans in the 9th District of New Jersey and salute them and their ancestors' struggle for freedom on the anniversary of Greek Independence Day. I welcome this opportunity to celebrate the 185th Greek Independence Day with the Hellenic community. On this day let us remember more than just Greece's independence, but also celebrate Greece as an invaluable ally and longstanding friend of all freedom-loving peoples.

View in Record
PRESENTATION OF THE TOUCHSTONE AWARD TO RICHARD J. KURTZ2006-03-09

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my good friend, Richard J. Kurtz, as he receives the prestigious Touchstone Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, New Jersey. This award is bestowed by the Medical Center to an individual who exemplifies the premier standard for philanthropic endeavors. Richard Kurtz, the founder of the Kamson Corporation in Englewood Cliffs, is a prominent real estate investor, developer, philanthropist, and a good friend to so many. The leadership and unwavering dedication shown by Richard to community service, humanitarian values and charitable causes is well-known, both in northern New Jersey and throughout the Nation. Richard actively serves on many boards including the Jewish Community Center (JCC) on the Palisades, the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, and he serves as chairman of the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center Foundation. He has also given his enthusiastic and generous support to the Boy Scouts of America, Cresskill Athletic Boosters, Walk for Awareness: Our Fight Against Breast Cancer, Quest Autism Foundation and the Jewish Home at Rockleigh. Richard has given generously to his alma mater, the University of Miami, and the Katrina relief efforts. His service to these distinguished boards and causes embodies his belief in and commitment to compassion and caring for others. Richard's devotion to his wife, Patti, his children and their spouses, Pamela Kurtz, Sharon and Jeff Kurtz, and Kimberly and Joseph Spadaccini, and six grandchildren is a reflection of this dedicated family man and community leader. Richard is an extraordinary individual, and he is very deserving of the renowned honor embodied by the Touchstone Award. I am pleased to extend my congratulations to my good friend Richard Kurtz and his family on this wonderful occasion.

View in Record
HONORING THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PEACE CORPS2006-03-02

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the Peace Corps, and the wonderful volunteers who enable this great institution to provide invaluable humanitarian service throughout the world. Forty-five years ago this week, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to ``promote world peace and friendship.'' That message has never been more important than it is today. At a time when America's image abroad needs all the help that it can get, the Peace Corps provides us with the magnificent opportunity to demonstrate to the world that we are not only a nation of great prosperity, but great generosity as well; not only a nation of incredible might, but tremendous compassion. Since 1961, more than 182,000 volunteers have served in 138 countries. Peace Corps volunteers serve as community leaders, business advisors, ecological conservationists, information technology consultants, health and HIV/AIDS educators, agricultural workers, and school teachers. President Kennedy said of these fine women and men: ``For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps--who works in a foreign land--will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace.'' Today there are nearly 8,000 volunteers serving in 75 different countries. I would especially like to recognize the eight current volunteers from New Jersey's Ninth district: Julie Castner, Lucia Chan, Adam Kaufman, Suzanne Lee, Joseph Maggio, Reuben Man, Domenick Piccinich, and Troy Wolfe. You have made me and the people of New Jersey very proud. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me today in commending the thousands of Americans who serve and have served as Peace Corps volunteers. They are I a great credit to our country.

View in Record
RECOGNITION OF 2006 WINTER OLYMPIC ATHLETES2006-03-02

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize all of the Olympic athletes who competed last month at the Winter Games in Turin, Italy. The Olympic Games have always sought to bring people together in peace to respect universal moral principles. They give the finest athletes in the world the chance to compete with pride and honor. I am proud that three of my constituents from East Rutherford, New Jersey, in my Ninth Congressional District, competed among the world's best at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, and Brian Rafalski were all members of the Men's United States Olympic Ice Hockey Team. Mr. Speaker, I would like to especially honor these three young men who have distinguished themselves in the sport of ice hockey, and proudly represented the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.

View in Record
TRIBUTE TO MR. FRANK CUTRONA2006-02-01

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Frank Cutrona, a resident of the Ninth District of New Jersey and the San Ciro Society's Man of the Year for 2006. The San Ciro Society, located in Garfield, NJ, is an organization comprised of New Jerseyans of Italian-American descent that makes contributions to many worthy charitable causes each year. Locally, it provides students with scholarships to continue their education. On the international level, the society has sponsored foster children in Africa. Frank Cutrona was born in Marineo, Italy on February 18, 1956. At the age of 13, his family moved to America to realize the American dream and settled in Garfield, NJ. Frank grew up in Garfield and worked as a truck driver for Dorwin Manufacturing, located in Elmwood Park, NJ, for 26 years. He now lives in Carlstadt with his beautiful wife, Rosa, where they run their own deli and where Frank works part-time for the Carlstadt Board of Education. The couple has two wonderful children, Joseph and Christina. Frank has been a devoted member of the San Ciro Society for 15 years and has served as its secretary of finance for 7 years. Today, I would like to recognize Frank Cutrona's dedication to the San Ciro Society and send the Garfield, NJ's San Ciro Societa Religiosa my best wishes for their upcoming 97th annual Dinner Dance. Viva San Ciro.

View in Record
URGING MEMBER STATES OF THE UNITED NATIONS TO STOP SUPPORTING RESOLUTIONS THAT UNFAIRLY CASTIGATE ISRAEL2005-12-06

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for his leadership on all these issues and for yielding me time. I would also like to thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros- Lehtinen) for all of her support for reforms at the U.N., as well as support for the State of Israel, what is right, and my dear friend and colleague on the House Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), who has worked with me on a number of issues relating to reforms at the U.N. and various other issues that we hold very near and dear to our hearts. Mr. Speaker, what if I were to ask you the following question? Maybe would you possibly guess what is the answer. As you know, the United Nations has about 190 countries in it, 190 countries in the United Nations. What if I told you that over the last 30 years, about on average one-third of each of the resolutions each year at the United Nations for the last 30 years, about one-third of the resolutions relate to criticizing one country, every year, one-third of the resolutions of the General Assembly of the U.N. You would say, wow, one country gets one-third of the resolutions at the U.N.? What country deserves the attention, the energy, the money, the hot air of the U.N. and the condemnation of that world body? Well, you would say, maybe had to do with the slaughter in the Sudan, the genocide in Rwanda or Cambodia or Bosnia, or the actions of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Maybe those nations. Well, we are only talking about one, so it cannot be all of them. Would one of those be the one that for 30 years has gotten one-third of the resolutions condemning a country? What if I told you that the country that for the last 30 years was condemned with 30 percent of the resolutions at the U.N., the only country, was the State of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East? They get one-third of the resolutions of the U.N. addressed to it, the State of Israel, condemning it. You would say, wow, what did Israel do to deserve that? Is it because Israel is a democracy and the world does not like democracies? The U.N. is against democracies, so they attack the only democracy in the Middle East? Or maybe you are more cynical and you say, ah hah, the Arab world does not like the State of Israel, so since the Arab world has all the oil, maybe that is why the U.N. devotes one-third of its resolutions every year to criticizing Israel, because they have no oil and the Arabs do not like Israel. Or maybe it is because Israel is America's best friend in the Middle East, its most reliable and trusted ally in the Middle East, and maybe that is why the U.N. does not like Israel. Or maybe you might say maybe it is because Israel is the only Jewish state in the world. Maybe that is why the U.N., of the 190 nations, singles out Israel for one-third of its resolutions a year, every year, for the last 30 years. The 5 million Jews in Israel deserve castigation and condemnation, out of the 6 billion people on the planet, and we pay American taxpayer dollars to finance the U.N. to do that? It is absurd. It is immoral. It is shameful. Yet just last week, the United Nations again passed six more resolutions condemning the State of Israel. And if it is on target for each of the last 30 years, this year the United Nations will expend one-third of its resolutions criticizing one nation in the world, the tiny state, the only democracy in the Middle East, the only Jewish state in the world, the State of Israel. Something is terribly wrong, Mr. Speaker, and this resolution that the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) and I have put together, with the help and support of the leadership of both parties, on the IR Committee and in the House, simply says to the United Nations that they should stop supporting these resolutions, wasting their money attacking America's best friend, the only Jewish state in the world, and instead use their energy, if they want to focus on the Middle East, how about the slaughter going on in all the dictatorships in the Arab world? Why does the U.N. not spend its money more constructively if they want to be a legitimate help in resolving issues in the Middle East? Maybe they want to introduce some pro-democracy movements in all of the Arab dictatorships in the Middle East, or maybe they want to introduce some resolutions about the torture in Arab nations around the world, or the genocide going on in every continent of the world. But I must tell you this: The American taxpayers are sick and tired, as are the Members of this House of Representatives, of the United Nations wasting our taxpayer money to attack our best friend for no reason with double standards. It is shameful, it is fraudulent, it is slanderous. There is no way to describe their lies being offered up as truths. And we are paying for it as a member nation of the U.N.? That is wrong. The U.N. must stop its double standard against the State of Israel, wasting one-third of its resolutions for the whole year attacking Israel, or they are going to have to deal with the consequences.

View in Record
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING'S OVERSIGHT OBLIGATION2005-11-17

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, during this debate on the Conference Report for the Fiscal Year 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, I want to call attention to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's (CPB) obligation to ensure unbiased and objective programming. The U.S. Congress provides the CPB with approximately $400 million each year. CPB then allocates these funds to the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio, and other recipients. It does so, as the Telecommunications Act makes clear, with the responsibility to ensure that recipients demonstrate ``strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.'' CPB also must see to ``maximum freedom of the public telecommunications entities and system from interference with, or control of, program content or other activities.'' These two obligations do not contradict each other. Rather, together they circumscribe the lawful activity of tax-supported public broadcasting programmers and program providers. Public broadcasting should enjoy ``maximum freedom'' from outside ``interference or control'' so long as it simultaneously demonstrates ``strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.'' Mr. Speaker, there should be no confusion. These obligations reinforce each other. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting must implement both on behalf of Congress and the taxpayers. I commend CPB for creating a new unique office, the Office of Ombudsmen, as a step towards ensuring that these standards of fairness and independent reporting are upheld. Guaranteeing that basic journalistic requirements of objectivity and balance are maintained in public programming is hardly interference. In fact, I strongly believe that the public's trust in public broadcasting rests on just such standards and I will continue to fight to see that they are maintained.

View in Record
REMEMBERING ROSA PARKS2005-10-26

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a courageous American hero, Rosa Parks. Mrs. Parks passed away on Monday evening at the age of 92 in her home in Detroit, Michigan. On February 4, 1913, Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. The daughter of a carpenter and a teacher, Rosa was home schooled until the age of 11 when she attended Industrial School for Girls in Montgomery. She obtained her high school diploma from Alabama State Teachers College, while caring for her ailing grandmother. Rosa married Raymond Parks in 1932 and volunteered for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP from 1943 to 1966 while she worked as a seamstress and housekeeper. She and her family eventually moved to Detroit and joined the staff of Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) in 1965, where she worked for 23 years. Mrs. Parks' finest hour occurred on December 1, 1955, when four black passengers on a bus were asked to give up their seats for a single white man. Three of the passengers complied, one did not. It was at that moment that Rosa Parks changed the course of history forever. What seemed like a simple gesture made a huge impact on the character of our Nation then--and continues to affect our lives now. Following Mrs. Parks' brave gesture, residents of Montgomery then began a boycott of the city's bus system, in order to protest the treatment as second class citizens that African-Americans were subjected to on segregated buses. Her courage, and the 380-day Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott that followed her heroic stand, culminated in the United States Supreme Court decision in Browder v. Gayle, which declared segregation on buses to be unconstitutional. Her refusal to ``move to the back of the bus'' ultimately helped spark the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which achieved stronger civil rights guarantees for Americans in all areas of life, including housing, employment, schools, and places of public accommodation. One of Mrs. Parks' main concerns was her desire that Americans understand their rights. The day she refused to give up her seat, she was fed up with being treated as an inferior human being and simply wanted to be treated with dignity. She taught us that we must always defend our rights. We must continue the great work spurred on by Mrs. Parks. As she said later in life, ``[W]ithout courage and inspiration, dreams will die--the dream of freedom and peace.'' On May 21, 1983, as Mayor of the City of Englewood, New Jersey, I had the distinct honor to meet Mrs. Parks and personally bestow upon her a key to that city. In addition, two of our Nation's highest honors have been awarded to Rosa Parks. In 1996, President Clinton bestowed upon Mrs. Parks the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which recognizes meritorious service and outstanding contributions to American life. Three years later, I had the privilege to vote for the bill that awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, our Nation's highest civilian honor, to Mrs. Parks on June 15, 1999 for her ``quiet dignity [that] ignited the most significant social movement in the history of the United States.'' I have also supported two recent pieces of legislation that pay tribute to Mrs. Parks. I voted in favor of H. Con. Res. 208, a resolution which commemorates the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on the bus and the subsequent desegregation of American society. This resolution was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives on September 14, 2005. Another resolution that I support, which will be introduced this week by my colleague, Congressman Mike Rogers, will honor the 50th Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which resulted from Mrs. Parks' heroic actions and ultimately led to the Supreme Court decision in Browder. It is my hope that this bill will also be unanimously approved. Mr. Speaker, I rise with sadness today as our Nation has lost a cherished historical figure and civil rights hero. However, we can all take comfort in knowing how much Rosa Parks changed the course of history and, by doing so, improved the lives of us all.

View in Record