E. Shaw

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as I may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gallegly). (Mr. GALLEGLY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make an observation which I think is something that all of us have sort of made reference to, but not particularly in this regard. Some who are looking on today, tuning in on C-Span, probably think they have the wrong channel. This has been, I think, a real landmark in what we can accomplish in this Congress by working together. My good friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), and we use that phrase a little flip around here, because when we refer to someone as our good friend, that is about the time we are about to drop a hammer on them, but we are good friends. We are very good friends. We have been for many years, as I am with the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui). The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) I think has been an incredible chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, and we have brought things together that have made a real difference, and we do come together on things that we can politically agree upon. There should be no disagreement in this country, no disagreement, that people who work their entire working lives, when they reach retirement age, just simply because they have to work beyond that or just simply want to work beyond that, that they should not be penalized. We agree on that. We ought to constantly look out and reach out for things that we agree upon, because it is so important to such an important segment of our population. It is so important. So this bill is going to pass. I am going to ask for a recorded vote, because I want all the Members to have the opportunity to step forward on the Democrat and the Republican side and cast their vote, a recorded vote, to say they are in favor of American seniors. They are working with us, and we are working together to make a better life for the senior citizens of the country. This bill takes effect on January 1 of the year 2000. That means exactly 2 months ago this bill comes into effect. The senior citizens of this country will enjoy the fruits and labor of what we have started here today. I am pleased to say that the President is with us. Yesterday, while we were marking this bill up in the Committee on Ways and Means, the President was in Miami Beach doing a fundraiser for my opponent at a cocktail party. In fact, I thought it was rather ironic, because it was taking place at the exact time we were voting on this bill. That is the way the system works. There is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with Democrat presidents supporting Democrat candidates and Republican presidents supporting Republican candidates. I will tell the Members that I would certainly guess, and as tradition has it, just as we did in welfare reform and other pieces of meaningful legislation that has come out of this Congress, that the President will invite the Republicans down to take part in the bill's signing. That is the way it should be. So many people here can take credit for what is going on here today. I am very pleased and proud that it happens during the Republican majority, but we have come together. We have locked away the social security surplus so we are no longer spending it. This makes America's great pension program available for the seniors without penalty. This is a wonderful thing that has happened. This country has gone through a great transition, and when it comes to working together to make things happen, the best of us comes out when we work together. I want to publicly thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui), and of course, my chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer), and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) for the work that they did in bringing this thing together. This is truly a bipartisan effort. It is truly in the best tradition of the American democracy.

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

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. I think that is something that people sort of miss, that kind of goes over their head, because Social Security, both the employer and the employee's portion of it is part of the compensation of the American worker, so they are paying in, I think it is 12.4 percent of their wages is going into the Social Security Administration. That is plenty high. When you start thinking about it, particularly for low-wage people, we can save Social Security without in any way raising that tax, and it would be wrong to raise that tax. We do not need to tax American workers one dime more and we can save Social Security just by getting busy and doing it.

Mr. SHAW. That is correct.

Mr. SHAW. We need them. It is not only what they are entitled to. We need them in the workforce. There is so much talent that we have lost. Go into the hospitals today, go down the corridors, see the age of the nurses that are about to retire. When the baby boomers come through and when they start using the hospitals more, who is going to be there to take care of them? We have a shortage of nurses in this country. The school teachers, some of the greatest teachers that we have are age 65 and older. We need to keep them in the workplace to train our kids. On a construction job, the supervisors are older people and they are there to train the apprentice, the young people coming in. We need to pass these skills down. It is wrong when people are living longer, enjoying life more, want to work or even have to work that we come back and penalize them. That is just so wrong. It is so wrong. We talked earlier about class warfare. What about this one? For so long, if you were wealthy, if you had stocks and bonds, if you had real estate, if you had income that was not what we call earned income, that is stuff that you actually earn by working, you were not penalized. But if you were a working person, whether you had to work or just wanted to work, you were penalized. What kind of class warfare is that? We are getting rid of that. We are getting rid of that. It is an earned penalty whether you are living off of dividends, interest or living off of the sweat of your brow, you are not going to be penalized anymore once you pass retirement age and go on to Social Security.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I say to the gentleman, I think it is also important to note that we have walled off Social Security with the lockbox. That money is out there and held sacred. It goes to pay down the debt if it is not being used to reform Social Security or Medicare. It is money that has been paid in by workers for their retirement years. We quit spending it. The direct answer to the question of why was it not done before: in the old days, the Congress spent that money. They spent it as if it were unencumbered tax dollars. They spent it on all kind of problems. In fact, they spent even more than that, and that is what ran up the national debt. That is why we owe so much money. But things are changed around here. We are living within our means. We are paying done the national debt. We are reforming Social Security. We are not taking Americans' pensions away. We are allowing the older American workers to keep what they have earned. Social security is an earned right of the American people. It is that simple. That is black letter law. And it is not for any Congress to take away any of that or compromise any of those benefits. It is a contract, a sacred contract, between the Government and the people of this country, the American workers. And this is what has to be preserved. You know what I was thinking when I was sitting here managing a portion of this bill today, I sort of felt the spirit of Claude Pepper coming into this area. A portion of my district down in Miami-Dade County was in Claude Pepper's. He would have been very proud of this Congress today and what we have been able to accomplish. Because he was Mr. Social Security when he was there, and I think we are taking his place as Mr. Social Security. Our job is to protect the sacred, contractual right of our American workers.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, let me explain that for a moment. Because that sounds impossible, but it is. What happens when that money is taken away from the seniors in the form of an earnings penalty, it is given back to them very slowly after their 70th birthday, so that their benefits actually increase a little bit in order for them to get some of that money back. And if they live long enough, they get it all back. But the problem with that is that the Government is using their money which they earned, which they are entitled to at the retirement age, which the Congress said is 65 and that is what they are entitled to. So it is wrong, even though they get it back over a long period of time. In the long run, it does not cost anything. In the short run, it does cost something and it is going to cost something. The money is there now. We have walled it off to save Social Security. We have walled it off in the lockbox, which I think most of the Members support. And it certainly passed the House of Representatives with good support from the Democrats as well, but a Republican idea in which we walled it off. We do not spend the Social Security surplus on governmental expense. It is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Mr. SHAW. Well, Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson) first of all, for being so persistent. The fact that that bill is named H.R. 5 shows that that was one of the first filed here, and those first numbers are usually set aside by the leadership to show that these are bills that we really plan to move. The gentleman's having filed that over a year ago to have gotten that number I think really speaks very well of his foresight and his faith in this Congress, and his persistence, in that he filed several of these bills in the past. We had hoped that this H.R. 5 was going to be folded into the Archer- Shaw bill, which was going to be a much larger bill that would have saved Social Security for all time. But when you get into presidential election years, sometimes it is hard to really bring people together and pass good, common sense legislation, as the Archer-Shaw bill is; and it is one that would save Social Security for all time without privatizing Social Security. This is one of the things that really concerns me more than anything else. And I was very concerned to hear the President's last proposal in which he was going to take the money coming into Social Security and play the stock market with it. I think Americans do not want that. That is something that we on the Republican side are going to oppose. And my guess is that the majority of the Democrats will also oppose it. But we do have to change the way that we view Social Security, but we can do it without increasing the FICA tax, no more burden upon the American worker; and we can do it, too, without in any way, any way, changing the benefits so that the cost-of-living increases stay in the Social Security system. The example that my colleague has pointed out with his constituent reminds me of a call that came into our office. A young lady who works in the office, Elizabeth Richardson, who received the call just in the last day or two. It was someone calling from California. It was not from a constituent. I think it was San Diego or somewhere out on the West Coast. The person wanted an explanation of what it was that we were doing. And she explained to him that we were removing that onerous tax from seniors that takes a dollar out of every $3 of benefits that they receive should they go over the earnings limit. And he paused for a moment, and she heard a little silence; and after she explained it all to him, he said, Would you go give the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) a big hug. Well, we have a policy in my office against young ladies giving the boss a big hug. However, I can say that this shows the gratitude that I think so many of those seniors out there are going to really feel when they really understand what we have done. This is not something that we are delaying until next year. This earnings penalty will be done away with as of January 1, 2000. That is 2 months ago. So the monies that these people have already lost will be given back to them. And it is the right thing to do. That is why we had every Member of this House step up and put their card in the electronic device that we vote on and put their vote up on the scoreboard, which is right here above the press gallery, and I think it shows the widespread support that this has. A lot of people have wondered, how did this possibly get into the Social Security law in the first place. Well, very simply put, the Social Security bill was written during the Great Depression back in the 1930s; and at that time it was the feeling of the Congress, and I believe probably of Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the time, that the older workers should move aside to make room for the younger workers. But remember, we had huge unemployment of 25 percent.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, over the long-run, it does not cost us anything.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I do believe it. But, you know, back then it might have made a little bit of sense when you had unemployment of about 25 percent, people desperately needed jobs. Now we have the other problem. We need more workers in this country. The economy is doing good, and we need more workers. And we particularly need the skills of our seniors. We are losing so much talent. The gentleman from the State of Florida (Mr. Foley) and I have I think it is 81,000 seniors that are going to be directly affected by this. Nationwide it is, as my colleague said, just under a million. It is a little over 800,000 of the seniors that are going to be affected.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, this is just the right thing to do. Now, people have wondered why in the world Congress did not do it earlier. Well, it simply means that that money was being spent by the Congress to run the Government, so they were taking it away from our seniors, taking their pension away, so they could spend the money on other things. That was wrong. It was wrong then. It is wrong now. That is why we have had this great support and the support from the White House that I am pleased to see that we are getting at this point. The President said he did not want to reform Social Security on a piecemeal basis. But I think when he took a good look at this, he said, this is one that I have got to support. It is a great initiative, and I am so pleased the result we have had here in the House.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, we have just received, on our side, a brand new bulletin called the White House Bulletin. It provides in it that ``The White House reveals the Democrat 2000 Agenda.'' It is entitled ``Families First, the 2000 Democrat Agenda.'' The ink on this is not even dry at this particular point, and already we are seeing the marriage penalty being defended. We are hearing a lot about budgets. What about the family budget? I have four kids. All of them are married, all of them have kids, all of them have mortgages, all of them have health insurance to pay. All of them have all of the expenses and all of the payments that we would expect to have all across this country. All of them are getting penalized because they are married, and paying higher taxes because they are married. That is wrong. It is like the earnings penalty. We should not penalize earning under social security. We are going to start with a hearing next week, and we are going to have this done, and it is going to be done with a great deal of bipartisan support. Already we have seen bipartisan support for the marriage penalty elimination. We have had speakers on both sides of the aisle get up. We do not have to have everything exactly the way the President wants it in order to support it. The Democrats are going to have their shot twice for bills that they can put up, but when these bills go down, do not vote against the Marriage Penalty Elimination Act. This is a very important piece of legislation. We have the best crack at changing it; but if that fails, join with us and work together; and we will eliminate this evil tax that we have, the marriage penalty tax. It must be done away with, and I urge all Members to vote on final passage of this bill.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Honorable Senator Gwen Margolis from Aventura, FL, who will be honored on March 4, 2000, by her synagogue, Both Torah Adath Yeshurun and by the Northeast Dade community at-large. Senator Margolis began her public service career in the Florida Legislature when elected to the House in 1974. She was subsequently re- elected to the House for three consecutive terms. Her career in the Florida Senate began in 1980 where she was appointed Chair of the Finance, Tax and Claims Committee and subsequently the Appropriations Committee where she assisted in leading the state out of recessions and budgetary crises. On November 20, 1990, she was sworn in as President of the Florida State Senate, making her the first woman in the United States to serve as President of any Senate. She spearheaded the passage of landmark legislation touted as the toughest ethics legislation in the nation, as well as a constitutional amendment that opened all government records and meetings to the public. She currently serves as Chairperson of the Miami-Dade County Commission, appointed by Mayor Alexander Penelas, and is the first woman to serve in this position. Senator Margolis also serves on the Board of Directors of the Holocaust Documentation Center at Florida International University. Her name appears in Who's Who of Women in the World, Who's Who in Business and Industry, and Megatrend for Women. In addition to her outstanding career in public service, which she devotes a full time schedule, Senator Margolis was also a successful Real Estate Developer and Business Executive in her private, professional business career. She has received numerous awards for her leadership and dedication to the community in which she serves. She was named ``Woman of the Year'' by the North Dade Regional Chamber and Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce. She has also received the Florida Chamber of Commerce ``Legislator of the Year'' award, and the Dade League of Cities ``Good Government'' award to name a few. Although Senator Margolis and I were once opposing candidates, I am glad to call her my friend and colleague, and am equally delighted to share in this celebration in her honor.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. Today, America's seniors will be able to breathe easier and worry less about their health care. Why? Because with the passage of the Medicare Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999, health care providers who have been struggling under the burden of money-saving regulations imposed in 1997 will now be getting some much-needed relief. For several years Medicare Providers have been caring for Medicare patients day in and day out--often for Medicare payments that are not adequate to cover their costs. In my district, for example, the Sylvester Cancer Hospital was losing approximately $700,000 a year caring for Medicare cancer patients. Until now. This bill will give cancer hospitals the opportunity to break even. Hospices, which care for the most vulnerable Medicare patients will also benefit. They will get the help they need to provide the newest medications to comfort their patients. In the last year I have worked with Chairman Thomas, who I want to thank for his efforts in addressing the many concerns that have been brought to my attention by Medicare providers and beneficiaries in my district. The result of that work is this bill. While it doesn't provide all the Medicare fixes that are needed--it does address the most urgent needs immediately.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is about work. Its goal is to help individuals with disabilities work and support themselves and support their families. Today only three in ten adults with disabilities work, compared with eight in ten adults without disabilities. A big reason is Government programs take away cash and medical benefits if disabled individuals find and keep jobs. That must change. And it will change under this bill that is before us today. No one should be afraid of losing benefits if they do the right thing and try to work. We should reward and help especially those who struggle to overcome their disabilities. That is why we are offering the new tickets disability individuals can use to obtain whatever services they need in order to work. But we do not stop there. We extend health care coverage for a total of 8\1/2\ years so that no one has to fear losing their medical coverage if they go to work. Some may still not risk going to work for fear of having to wait months or even years to get back on the benefits if their health begins to once again decline. So we ensure disabled individuals can quickly get back onto the rolls if they try to work but their health deteriorates. That is the right kind of safety net, one that encourages work and protects those who need help along the way. From providing more help, finding and keeping a job, ensuring health care coverage, to strengthening the safety net to those who cannot stay on the job, this legislation does the right thing. This is another historic step to ensure that everyone can know the dignity that comes with work. I urge all Members to support this bill.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote number 596, that was the temporary continuing resolution, my vote was recorded incorrectly. I was present on the floor and I did vote ``yes,'' and as a matter of fact I checked the board to double-check to see that I was recorded and saw the green light next to my name. It has been brought to my attention that my vote was incorrectly recorded as voting ``no.''

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Chairman, I compliment the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson) for her work as well as the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin). I would have to agree wholeheartedly with my Democrat friend that, when we do work together as Republicans and Democrats, we can do some great things and solve some tremendous problems in this country. One-third of the children born today are born to single moms, one- third. I would wager that most of them, most of those children were fathered by a father that grew up without a father in the home. It is hard for many of us to think of growing up without two parents. Experience shows us that the father shows up for the delivery, hands out cigars, and then, all too often, is never seen again. Oh, one may see him hanging out on the street corner, but he has been left behind. We have done great things in this country with welfare reform, but it has created an imbalance that has to be addressed, and this legislation is a great first step in addressing the balance. We are training the moms to become breadwinners, and we have done some wonderful things; and the children now look up to their moms as role models, but there is still that great vacancy in the home because there is not a father, and all too often the father is anything but a role model. In our society, today, we cannot afford to leave large masses of people behind. We have to work with all the people in our population and not give up on any of them, and that is what this legislation addresses; and this is what it comes down to. It teaches fathers to be fathers. As ridiculous as that may sound, if a young boy grows up and is never in a home where there is a father and his neighbors do not have fathers either, he may very well not have a clue as to what it is to be a father, the responsibility, and also the love that is possible and can be generated just by getting in and having some bonding between human beings. We know that these kids that grow up without fathers are much more likely to get in trouble with the law, they do poorly in school, in most cases, and they will have problems for the rest of their lives. And then they will grow up and they will have children out of wedlock, and this cycle goes on and on. We have to break this cycle. This is great legislation. It is a pilot program, admittedly, but it is one whose time has come; and I am very, very pleased to see that we are joining together on both sides of this House and bringing forth this tremendous legislation. It is going to save a lot of human beings, and it is going to be great for today's kids.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, I stand in opposition to the amendment. I am afraid that this would have a chilling effect upon the application of an otherwise very, very fine bill. We are going to need a lot of help from a lot of areas in order to be able to get through and to accomplish the goals that all of us have with regard to this legislation. The Supreme Court, in its decisions, is not a static entity. It is a living entity. It is one that shifts and goes back and forth in accordance with the facts of the various cases and the changing times. It is time that we looked to other organizations, non-traditional organizations, to help out. This bill is not going to promote any religious activity. It would be grossly unconstitutional if this is what it was. But the churches and synagogues and other religious institutions can be very valuable in reaching out and getting these fathers and bringing them in and do exactly what the intent of this bill is. I stand in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, today I rise, as I think every Member of the House on both sides of the aisle does, in strong support of H.R. 3075, the Medicare Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999. This is a bill that is of critical importance to the citizens of my district, my State, and, indeed, all across the United States. I would like to commend the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer), chairman of the full Committee on Ways and Means, for expediting this effort to restore desperately needed funds to Medicare providers, who have been caring for Medicare patients day in and day out, often for Medicare payments that are not adequate to cover the cost of providing these services. In my district, for example, the Sylvester Cancer Hospital is currently losing approximately $700,000 a year caring for Medicare cancer patients and hospices which cares for the most vulnerable terminally ill Medicare patients are unable to provide newest medications to comfort these patients under the current Medicare reimbursement level. I have been hearing from many, many concerned citizens--nursing homes, physical therapists, home health providers, physicians and hospitals regarding the importance of acting quickly to restore some of the 1997 BBA cuts that are already detrimentally impacting patient care. I thank my good friends the Health Subcommittee Chairman Bill Thomas and Full Committee Chairman Bill Archer for moving this important Medicare rescue bill so quickly. I urge my colleagues to unanimously support H.R. 3075--it doesn't provide all the Medicare fixes that are needed--but begins to address the most urgent needs immediately. Mr. Speaker, there are many things we have to do next year and work on, one is the question of drugs, and we will certainly look forward to working, hopefully in cooperation with the minority, in order to come up with a good bill to give our seniors further relief.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3196, the Foreign Operations Appropriation Act which includes new provisions which would provide full funding of almost $1.9 billion for the Wye River Agreement. I would like to thank Chairman Young for his leadership in ensuring that the United States maintains its international leadership around the world, but particularly in the Middle East. The history-making Wye River Agreement itself will not ensure a lasting peace and stability without the United States continued engagement and support. This amendment offered by Bill Young, my friend from Florida will enable Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt to continue the difficult negotiations to which they have already committed so much. We are all aware that many difficult issues remain to be resolved, and that each of these nations will have to give even more. I am especially grateful to some key Jewish leaders and prominent citizens in my district who have never wavered in their commitment to the Wye River Accord. They have been keeping me informed about the delicate negotiations and the need for continuing United States leadership in this very important region of the world. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3196 and the Young amendment.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to the Miami-Dade County Fire and Rescue team for their efforts and contributions in international disaster responses. The team was created in 1985 to respond with search and rescue efforts following the earthquake that rocked Mexico City. Since then, the team has been called upon for disaster assistance throughout the world including Armenia, the Philippines, and El Salvador. They have also responded to emergencies closer to home including the bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City, Hurricane George, and Hurricane Mitch. Most recently the Miami-Dade County Fire and Rescue Team has assisted in earthquake disaster relief in Turkey and in Taipei, Taiwan. The Miami-Dade County Fire and Rescue Team has specialized equipment and K-9 units trained to find people trapped in collapsed buildings. Their technical response team members are experts in vehicle extrication, confined space rescue, and rope rescue. Additionally, their department maintains a mass casualty bus and mobile command vehicle for large scale incident response. The contributions of the Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Team to the humanitarian relief community are invaluable. I know the House will join me in paying tribute to this outstanding team of people and wish them continued success in their endeavors.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, today is the final day that Mr. John Lombardi will serve in his capacity as president of the University of Florida. Throughout the last 10 years he has served as not only a president, but as a teacher, mentor, historian, innovator, and architect of educational improvement throughout the State of Florida. I am honored to include him among the great leaders of my State. Though Mr. Lombardi's presidency has been characterized by conflict, it is through this conflict that he has exuded his abilities as an exceptional leader. Before Mr. Lombardi even began his term in 1990, he found himself in the midst of a a racial conflict on campus. Mr. Lombardi not only mitigated the crisis, but used it as a platform for promoting racial equality at the University of Florida. From that ordeal, he committed his administration to making UF more comfortable and accessible to minority students. While Mr. Lombardi's term of service can be characterized by challenges, it can also be characterized by innovation. Under Mr. Lombardi's administration, the University of Florida has excelled in technology and education. He has instituted an Integrated Student Information System (or ISIS) that allows students to on-line information on their personal finance, housing, grades, and curriculum. He has also created the UF Bank--a paradigm for collegiate financial processing, as well as an Integrated Healthcare System, Genetics Institute, Brain Institute, and numerous combined degree programs. When considering Mr. Lombardi's initiatives, one must also consider his university development at the University of Florida. President Lombardi has overseen and initiated the building of new dormitories, a student recreational center, Gator Dining, and buildings for chemistry, physics, veterinary medicine, and cancer research. His fundraising efforts have brought more than half a billion dollars to the university for further initiatives. Mr. Lombardi's most impressive characteristic, however, may be his ability to lead. Mr. Lombardi is a charismatic leader, a visionary, responsible for the actions of himself and his administration and adept at the often harrowing necessities of his occupation. When the Legislature of the State of Florida set forth budgetary restrictions that many thought would hinder the universities, Mr. Lombardi effectively managed to save 41 of 44 new programs to the astonishment of his peers at universities throughout the State of Florida. He has often dealt directly with the State legislature to serve the needs of the University of Florida. Mr. Lombardi has said that, ``to succeed we must perform, we must be efficient and we must produce first-rank quality in all that we do.'' His statement is certainly indicative of his tenure as president of the University of Florida. He has brought honor to his university, to his State, and to his country through his term of office.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. The gentleman is absolutely correct.