Jackie Speier

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Carol Gutierrez, a teacher in the Hillsborough City School District for 27 years, who is being honored with the Community Care Award from the Associated Parents' Group. This award is given to a non-resident employee of the school district who has made sustained, significant and lasting contributions that have touched the lives of our children and benefited the community as a whole. Carol has taught at West and North Hillsborough Elementary schools and was also a writing enrichment teacher at South for one year. Her love of children and drive to prepare them for the real world and successful lives has earned her the admiration and adoration of her students, their parents and her colleagues alike. The school district is extraordinarily fortunate to have such a top-notch and dedicated teacher. Carol's secret to success is that she teaches students to trust their own instincts and to follow their own passions. The students also learn to share those passions with fellow students in their own classes and in other classes, which creates a wonderful learning environment that nurtures individualism and community at the same time. In her current position as a 2nd grade teacher at North, Carol incorporates art, technology, cooperative learning and exploration time to engage her students. Examples of such activities include Business Day, Design Thinking Challenges and Recycled Art. Her classroom is vibrant, comfortable, welcoming and open. It is with good reason that one of her recent students said, ``School can't get better than this. I love Ms. Gutierrez.'' As a 5th grade teacher at West, Carol and two of her colleagues developed and refined a community service jobs program and a trip to our Nation's Capital. They also differentiated instruction with theme projects, led a math peer tutor program at lunch and promoted interest in world culture by hosting an annual geography bee. Carol also served as a new teacher mentor for the district. Carol was born in East Chicago, Indiana and earned her BA from U.C. Berkeley. She and her husband Michael Gutierrez have three children, Nikolas, Katie and Joseph. In her spare time, Carol enjoys spending time with her family, drawing, cooking and exercising. Mr. Speaker, I ask the Members of the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing an exemplary and beloved teacher in the Hillsborough City School District. Carol Gutierrez brings out the best in every single one of her students and sets them on a path to success and life-long learning.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ruth Waters, a remarkable artist and arts activist who has been sculpting for six decades and supporting the arts on the San Francisco Peninsula for four decades. This week, Ruth will be honored by her peers and the institution that she leads will celebrate its fourth year at its present location in Burlingame, offering art and artist studies to the community. I first met Ruth in the 1980s when I served on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and when Ruth was the founder and director of the Twin Pines Art Center in Belmont. Her passion for the arts and promoting public art in particular, led me to create a County Arts Task Force. Ruth's passion continues to this very day. She is a prolific artist and has exhibited solo in at least 25 exhibits and at dozens of regional and national juried shows. In addition to being a talented sculptor and arts advocate, Ruth is an amazing administrator and organizer. She founded the Peninsula Museum of Art in 2004 and serves as its Executive Director. The museum moved to its current location in Burlingame in 2013. The museum's mission is to enhance the region and enrich lives through art and education. It offers five exhibition galleries, an art reference library, gift shop, and working studios for 30 professional-level artists. The inclusion of the artist studios in the space is a deliberate effort to bridge the gap between the creative community, professional artists and the community at large. The current museum grew from the Twin Pines Art Center, which operated from 1977 to 1985 in Belmont. During this time, Ruth was also the co-founder and president of the Peninsula Sculptors' Guild, and she co-founded and served on the board of the Peninsula Arts Council from 1992 to 2008. The accomplishments of Ruth Waters have been recognized on many occasions, including but not limited to the President's Award from the National Conference of the Women's Caucus for Art, and through her listings in the Dictionary of International Biography, Who's Who in Art, Architecture and Design, and the International Who's Who of Professional & Business Women. Mr. Speaker, it is a rare person who personifies a profession that itself lends beauty to this world. Ruth personifies the world of art and sculpting, and we are fortunate to have the beauty that she continues to create around us. We should all be grateful for her leadership in promoting the arts and art appreciation. Beauty can neither be denied nor muzzled, and in Ruth Water's work we see beauty abound while a passionate voice for the arts proclaims its presence in service to us all.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, 4 years ago, I stood on this same floor and condemned the online bullying of U.S. Marine Corps servicewomen on a public Facebook page. Today I stand before you again, incredulous, angry, and sad, to say that absolutely nothing has changed. This weekend, news broke that the Department of Defense is investigating scores of enlisted marines for compiling thousands of naked photos of other marines--servicewomen--often surreptitiously, and distributing them through Facebook and Google Drive. The site in question is called ``Marines United,'' claiming a membership of over 30,000 people. The photos are being tightly held due to the ongoing investigation, but all indications are they are just as repulsive as what we saw 4 years ago. The report contains samples of the comments posted about female marines, which are too obscene to read on the House floor. Online commentators also reportedly called for the rape of some of the marines portrayed in the photos, which is terrifying, given many of the women are identified by name and base. This is not about sex or fun or boys will be boys. This is about marines deliberately trying to degrade, humiliate, and threaten fellow marines. They encouraged stalking, distributed stolen intimate photos, and reduced their comrades to a collection of body parts. Well, I am here to say that women marines will not be treated like sides of beef. They are warriors and should be treated as such. As one female marine who recently completed the once male-only infantry training said: ``Right now I'm supposed to be able to trust every male marine. And with some of the stuff I see them saying about women, that's just not happening.'' This cultural rot, which has clearly regressed even further since 2013, harms our troops and our readiness. It is abundantly clear that this is not a few bad marines; rather, it is another example of a culture of rot. It is a blight that infects not just the ranks of the enlisted, but also the officer corps. Military leadership has utterly failed in their responsibility to protect their troops, punish those involved, and uphold the professed values of the Corps. That is why the survivors of this latest atrocity did not have the confidence to notify their superiors, for fear of retribution. It took a marine veteran and blogger to blow the whistle, and for that, he has been threatened with death and his wife has been threatened with rape. Back in 2013, then-Commandant General Amos wrote to me saying, ``We share your indignation,'' regarding deplorable images on social media that denigrate women in the United States Marine Corps. They were words--just words. I fear that military leadership will say anything to placate Congress and an outraged public, but then do nothing. I recently had the opportunity to meet with Secretary of Defense James Mattis. I found him to be engaging, thoughtful, and committed to our troops. Secretary Mattis is also a retired marine. Secretary Mattis, I hope that you are deeply disturbed by what we are seeing within the Corps. I hope that you are listening to servicewomen like the one whose private photos were posted in the 2013 Facebook group. One left the service in 2015, and says that just knowing her pictures are still out there has silenced her. She said: ``I wanted to be a positive influence on the community. And this diminished me. It took away everything.'' Secretary Mattis, this must change now. I call on you to hold your leadership accountable for these failures; to establish a culture of dramatic change. That means heads should roll. Talk is cheap. Action is what is needed for the integrity of the military. Survivors must be supported. That will only happen if those bad marines are drummed out of the Corps, with no exceptions.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the awe-inspiring Ravenswood Family Health Center upon the 15th Anniversary of its founding. This clinic is a key provider of quality affordable, integrated healthcare services in the southern cities of my district. Sixteen thousand residents are served annually by its newly-opened, state-of-the-art facility located in the beautiful city of East Palo Alto. Ravenswood opened as South County Community Clinic in 2000 with 13 employees. It currently has a staff of 182 full and part-time employees and contractors. It employs 25 full or part-time medical providers including physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and nurses, six full and part-time dentists, and four behavioral health providers. Seventy-one percent of the clinic's patients are served in their native language, including Spanish and Tongan. Ninety-seven percent of the patients are ethnic minorities. The center's goal is to provide culturally-competent, sensitive primary and preventive care offering dignity to all patients. Often, the ability of a healthcare provider to do his or her job depends upon knowing how the patient's culture will influence the provider's recommendations. It is essential that the whole patient be treated with respect and offered dignity so that their illness or life situation can be competently assessed. The clinic offers a comprehensive scope of care including family practice, adult medicine, teen health, prenatal health, dentistry, women's health, integrated behavioral health, optometry, pharmacy, mammography, ultrasound, x-ray, lab, and health education. Ravenswood partners with Stanford's adult and children's hospitals, the San Mateo County Medical Center and clinics, and Sutter Health. As of 2014, 98 percent of the clinic's patients lived at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which for a family of four is about $24,300. Forty percent of its patients were uninsured, and 51 percent had Medi-Cal coverage. Our community counts on the Ravenswood Family Health Center to provide care to our most vulnerable residents, and 39 percent of the clinic's patients were children. Five percent of patients were homeless and, also as of 2014, 63 of those patients were children. Nearly 25 percent of all East Palo Alto residents are patients, as are nearly 18 percent of all residents of Belle Haven. The Ravenswood Family Health Clinic provides valuable training opportunities for young physicians and allied professionals, and an opportunity to practice cutting-edge community healthcare, most notably chronic disease management, in part through grants from the federal government. While many in America struggle to pay for prescription drugs, the advent of the Affordable Care Act coupled with the clinic's discount pharmacy provides affordable prescriptions to both the insured and the uninsured. The vision of the Ravenswood Family Health Center is also one of stressing control over one's destiny. The vision is: Educated, engaged and empowered patients actively managing their health and becoming advocates for healthy living within their family and the community, inspiring others to value that good health is true wealth. Not surprisingly, philanthropic support of the Ravenswood Family Health Center has been enormous, with tens of millions donated through its capital and operating campaigns. Much of this philanthropic support is due to the outstanding staff led by the clinic's energetic and visionary Chief Executive Officer, Luisa Buada. From its earliest days, Luisa Buada has assembled a team to take on big goals. Starting in trailers with a limited number of services, her team has a stellar record of both expanding services and taking on new challenges. To build on the old saying, it takes a village to take care of the health needs of a community and Luisa has assembled her staff village so that no member of the clinic's community goes without access to needed healthcare services. The clinic's board of directors has steadfastly supported the dream of being more than just a community clinic and to instead become a beacon of hope and advanced medicine. Luisa, her staff, and the board have succeeded. Mr. Speaker, when the history of our era is written it will be noted that America engaged in a decade or more of debate about how best to provide Americans affordable, quality healthcare. What history will not reveal, but what is true, is that the riddle was answered at the Ravenswood Family Health Center. After fifteen years it is a stunning success. Despite its relative youth, the entire organization is very much an adult institution, with adult responsibilities, and an impact that touches and improves the lives of tens of thousands. We wish the staff and patients of the Ravenswood Family Health Center a long and healthy future.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, this morning, the President is being lauded for a speech that stayed on message and was optimistic. Those accolades would be deserved if his actions bore any resemblance to his words. But, instead, we were subjected to a barrage of third grade sound bites, falsehoods, and half-truths, just like always. The President condemned the vandalism at the Jewish cemeteries. Yet, earlier the same day, he suggested that these anti-Semitic acts were a ``false flag'' operation possibly committed by Jews themselves; which is very similar, by the way, to what White supremacist talking points circulated by David Duke are all about. The President also condemned the racist hate crime murders in Kansas of an Indian engineer. But why did it take him nearly a week to break his silence? Didn't this act of domestic terrorism deserve a tweet? He didn't commit to doing anything about it until he was nudged by a tweet by Hillary Clinton. The President says he wants to fix health care, but all the House Republicans can agree on is to kick 30 million people off their insurance. Yes, Mr. Trump, we already knew that health care was complicated. It is good to know that you finally understand it as well. The President said he wanted to invest in women's health, but his own party is committed to defunding Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood offers health care to one in five women in this country. The President said he supports democratic ideals, but he won't advocate them around the globe. He says he supports diplomacy, but his budget cuts the State Department by 37 percent. The President says he wants to invest $1 trillion in infrastructure, but congressional Republicans have already implied they won't give him the money. The President said he supports the rule of law, but he is violating the Constitution's Emoluments Clause every single day. And worst of all, the President says he supports the troops. Then he blames the military for his own botched raid. This disgraceful abandonment of responsibility makes a mockery of the grief of Chief Petty Officer Owens' widow, who wept in front of all the American people watching the speech on TV last night. His comments earlier in the day blaming the military are really indescribable. I agree that we must never forget Ryan Owens' sacrifice, and that is why we must understand the circumstances that led to his death and follow through with his parents' request for an independent investigation. This speech demonstrates that the President can read from a teleprompter that he so derided during his campaign. Last night, he showed a calm and civilized face to the Nation. Was this a one-night stand or a changed man who recognizes the ominous responsibilities of being President of the United States? We have seen the President's Mr. Hyde face in his tweets and his unhinged press conferences. I think the question before us now is: Will a single night of soothing platitudes be sufficient? Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is something we read. What we do know is that Dr. Jekyll could not suppress his dark side. The question is: Can the President?

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a great leader in our Congress, and someone who I admire greatly. The only thing clever about this bill is the title. Everything else about this bill is truly diabolical. The SCRUB Act isn't going to clean anything up. Its toxic suds will just make people sicker, our environment dirtier, and our products more dangerous. Creating an unelected commission to oversee the entire regulatory policy of the United States is undemocratic and unimaginably damaging. Essentially, five people appointed by the President would be able to sacrifice the health and safety of the American public to the altar of big business. Say good-bye to protections from big banks, big polluters, and big pharmaceutical companies; and hello to financial ruin, environmental destruction, and unsafe food and drugs. These Presidential pawns would also have unlimited subpoena power. Now, think about this: they are going to have more subpoena power than the inspectors general in this country. Also, the SCRUB Act's senseless and dangerous regulatory cut-go process would force agencies to choose between maintaining existing protections and responding to new threats to our health and safety. For example, in order to clean up the air, an agency might have to allow a corporation to pollute our drinking water. Talk about death panels--this, my friends, is a death panel. The only thing the SCRUB Act washes away is commonsense governance. This is a diabolical bill; and this, my friends, is what being drunk with power delivers.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership. Madam Speaker, it is very hard for me to listen to the conversation on the other side of the aisle because it is a conversation they are having with themselves, and it is a conversation we are having with ourselves. Let me be really clear. This is not about Planned Parenthood and abortion because we already know that Planned Parenthood gets no funding for abortions in this country, pure and simple. Planned Parenthood gets funding through title X to provide services for breast cancer screenings, cancer screenings, STDs, and contraception. What my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are willing to say is: We just want to make sure Planned Parenthood doesn't get a dime. Just squeeze every dime out of them that may be Federal dollars, even though they provide a really important health service. So I say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, I guess what you are saying is, to the 80,000 women last year who were diagnosed with cancer because they went to a Planned Parenthood facility and of the 800,000 that were screened for cancer, you would rather see them die.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, we are in a constitutional crisis. Make no mistake about it. Yes, the National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned. Yes, he should have resigned, but he is just the tip of the iceberg. A glacier of Russian interference is plaguing our country right now. In his resignation letter, General Flynn wrote: ``I have always performed my duties with the utmost of integrity and honesty to those I have served, to include the President of the United States.'' I believe General Flynn. I believe he did precisely what the President of the United States asked him to do. General Flynn is a military man. He is accustomed to the chain of command. He did not do anything that he was not asked to do. He was not a rogue agent, but had the complete knowledge and cooperation of his Commander in Chief. We have all heard Donald Trump boast of how smart he is and how he calls his own shots. Why then should we believe that, when it comes to national security, he prefers to be kept in the dark? A President can't be both in charge and out of the loop. The only way we can ever hope to know what happened is if there is a thorough investigation. I believe it should be an independent investigation, an independent commission. But if we are going to go down the route of having it be a congressional investigation, then it needs to be a comprehensive investigation and one that has the resources to do the job. I am calling on Chairman Nunes of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to schedule hearings immediately. We heard 14 hours of testimony from Secretary Clinton about her emails. I think we can agree that foreign infiltration of our government at the highest level is at least as important as using a private email server, especially, I might add, when President Trump and his team used unencrypted cell phones during their North Korea strategy session at Mar-a-Lago in a dining room with many other guests. Today, an Active Duty, four-star general said publicly that ``our government continues to be in unbelievable turmoil'' and that he hopes ``they sort it out soon, because we're a nation at war.'' He continues: ``As a commander, I'm concerned our government be as stable as possible.'' It is critical that Congress takes heed of this unprecedented public warning and act. I am well aware this is a partisan institution. I also know that there have been times in our proud history in the United States Congress when Members have pushed partisanship aside in search of the truth. The Warren Commission, following the assassination of President Kennedy, is one example. The 9/11 Commission after the terrorist attacks in 2001 is another. In the Senate, at least three Republicans have directly called for investigations into this matter and several more have acknowledged that these questions must be answered. I wonder, will one House Republican Member come forward and say we must investigate? Colleagues, I urge you to think this through. Vladimir Putin ordered agents to meddle in our election. Did he do it out of love for Mr. Trump? I doubt it. More likely, he did it so he could do to a democracy what we and our allies did to communism, send it to the ash heap of history. If America's elections can be hacked, what chance is there for budding democracies to make it? Don't believe me? Look at what Putin has done in just 3 weeks of this new administration. He had government agents poisoned. He sent a political rival to prison. He sent $12 million to Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-right candidate for the President of France. His latest move was to launch a cruise missile that is in direct defiance of treaties. Putin's Russia is playing chicken with President Trump, and what is our President's response? A tweet complaining about leaks within his administration and, according to the latest reports, pressuring the Prime Minister of Japan to forge closer relations with Russia. President Trump's ``bromance'' is dangerous. It undermines our democracy, and it is destabilizing the globe. What does Putin have on President Trump? What does President Trump owe Putin? We will not know until we exercise U.S. Code section 6103. A vote yesterday in Ways and Means was a totally partisan vote. We deserve to know what his tax return shows us. We deserve the truth.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, I and many Americans watched in horror as our President continued to wax poetic on TV about the bromance with President Vladimir Putin. When the host noted ``But he's a killer,'' our President came back with: ``There are a lot of killers. You think our country's so innocent?'' While our country has made many mistakes, we have not yet seen an authoritarian regime brazenly assassinate its political dissenters. The same cannot be said for Putin and the growing list of murder victims and dissenters in Russia, including liberal politician Boris Nemtsov, former Press Minister Mikhail Lesin, former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, and journalist Anna Politkovskaya, to just name a few. There is no moral equivalency between the United States and Russia. We are not yet an autocracy. We are not like Russia, and the President needs to stop relying on alternative facts.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, three centuries ago, Hans Christian Andersen wrote a fairy tale about a king who was so vain and insecure that nobody dared challenge him. Andersen wrote: ``He cared nothing about reviewing his soldiers, going to the theater, or taking a ride in his carriage except to show off his new clothes.'' Sound familiar--a leader so vain and insecure that those around him are afraid to challenge him? a man who thinks he is so smart that he can ignore intelligence briefings and who thinks he is so powerful that he can attack an entire religion without respecting the Constitution, consulting Congress, or even his own Cabinet? The White House claims its ban on Muslims entering our country is about ``keeping America safe.'' Don't be fooled. It is about keeping America scared. I am not naive. There is good and evil in this world. My argument is that the administration has the two sides confused. On Saturday, a 5-year-old Maryland boy was held for hours at the Washington Dulles International Airport while his frantic Iranian-born mother waited outside. Meanwhile, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, alt- right provocateur Steve Bannon reassured the President that their extreme vetting was protecting us from evil. Okay, Mr. Bannon. Let's talk extreme vetting. Before refugees make it to America, they are first vetted by the U.N. Commission for Refugees. Then the State Department investigates and interviews them overseas, checking them against databases with data from battlefields, email intercepts, intelligence, and other interviews. If they make it this far--and many do not--they are fingerprinted and investigated again by the FBI. This process can take up to 2 years, and everyone is vetted--in fact, extremely vetted; but no extreme seems extreme enough for the extremists who are currently in the White House. And how did they choose the seven countries to target? In the past 40 years, there hasn't been a single terrorist act in America by someone from Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, or Iraq. Of course, that is not all these countries have in common. They are also nations in which The Trump Organization has no business. Meanwhile, the homes of every one of the 9/11 hijackers--Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon--were left off the list. The Trump Organization has holdings in three out of the four. Last weekend, at the San Francisco International Airport, an Afghani interpreter for our military was detained--held--and questioned after risking his life for our country. In Chicago, Sahar Algonaimi traveled from Syria to care for her dying mother. Despite having a valid visa, she was put back on a plane and sent home. Before she left, her sister said she was coerced into signing papers that canceled her visa. Other detainees say they were asked their views on the current President. What does that have to do with anything? If having a negative view of the man in the White House is cause for getting kicked out of the country, we are going to need a lot more planes. Since Friday, hundreds have been detained and thousands of legal residents and visa holders are in limbo overseas. ISIS is rejoicing, and American troops and travelers are in danger. So how does the White House describe the results? `` . . . a massive success story . . . on every single level.'' If this is the Trump administration's idea of success, God help us all when they fail. At the end of his famous story, Hans Christian Andersen's foolish emperor parades naked down the street while those around him marvel at his magnificent clothes. Andersen wrote: ``No costume the Emperor had worn before was ever such a complete success.'' Then a child cried out: ``But he hasn't got anything on.'' We all know how the story ends. Just like in the fairy tale, sometimes it takes a child to show us the truth.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership. Madam Speaker, President Trump once said his favorite book is the Bible. I think he is writing a new book for the Bible called the ``Apocalypse of Women.'' It is a reverse Genesis. In the beginning, he divided the country in half with rightwing dog whistles in his inaugural address. On the second day, he ignored millions of people who marched across America and the world. On the third day, he pondered changes to NAFTA and which women's rights to trade away. On the fourth day, he reinstated and expanded the global gag rule, risking women's lives worldwide. Today he and his House mouthpieces are blocking access to domestic reproductive health coverage trumpeting alternative facts about legal abortions that have been somehow prevented, some 2 million of them. Well, prove it. I shudder to think what will happen tomorrow, and I doubt on the seventh day it will be devoted to rest. Madam Speaker, we must fight this madness and oppose H.R. 7.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans' plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act should be entitled repeal and collapse, because it will generate, in this country, a financial and healthcare meltdown for tens of millions of people. In fact, if we repeal the ACA, 30 million Americans will lose their health insurance. States and hospitals will be on the hook for $1.1 trillion in uncompensated care, and rural hospitals will close. It will cost the country 3 million jobs. All of this is to give the top one half of 1 percent an almost $200,000 tax break and costs middle class families as much as $6,000 more a year. Once again, the Republicans are taking care of the richest while imposing tax hikes on hardworking Americans. As this chart shows, the ACA has caused dramatic reductions in every age group across the entire marketplace in terms of uninsurance, a 50 percent reduction in uninsured in America. So what does this mean to the average American? For my constituent, Penny Floor, it could return her to a time when she lived with no health insurance whatsoever. Here is a picture of Penny. She works for the San Mateo Community College District and is one of the 27 percent of Americans under the age of 65 who have a preexisting condition. She is now at risk, thanks to the GOP's reckless ideological agenda, to lose her health insurance. This is Penny's story in her words: I tried to buy health insurance in my thirties and in my forties, and both times I was turned down and was told I was ineligible. Basically, I didn't lie on the portion of the form that asked if I had ever been hospitalized for mental illness. I said I was treated for depression when I was 17, and for that I was denied the ability to purchase health insurance. For a long period of my adult life, I had no health insurance. I worked for a nonprofit childcare center and had no coverage. I got married in my forties, and both my husband and I went to graduate school and were covered then. But when we received our degrees, the coverage ended. My husband was working as a freelance computer programmer. He ended up taking a corporate job that wasn't his dream job so we could be insured. He is still there today. He is 62, and I am 60, and we live in fear he will be laid off. I am holding my breath that there will be some coverage through Medicaid if that happens, or if we make it to retirement. When I was younger, I was lucky enough to have incredible health. I didn't go to the doctor or the dentist for 10 years. I was constantly terrified that I would be in a car accident and would be sued. And I was afraid my family would be bankrupt trying to take care of me. Thank God for Planned Parenthood and access to birth control. It is the only medical attention I received during that time because their sliding pay scale was the only thing I could afford. Now I am 60, though, and I do have health issues. I was hospitalized earlier this year for blood clots in my legs and lungs. It was scary and expensive, but we had good coverage. But if the ACA is repealed and Medicaid is affected, I don't know what we will do. We are educated, not poor, very productive members of society, and we are scared. These are the words of a real American, my constituent, Penny Floor.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor John Avalos for eight years of exemplary service on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. John has demonstrated remarkable leadership and collaboration in his efforts to improve the quality of life for all San Francisco residents and particularly those in District 11. He has been a tireless champion of affordable housing, social services, infrastructure and clean energy. Representing District 11, one of San Francisco's most vibrant and diverse districts, John began his work on the board in 2008 at the height of the Great Recession. He served as the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee leading San Francisco through the daunting process of closing a billion dollar budget hole while saving jobs and essential services for seniors and children. His commitment to jobs didn't stop with those early years. One of his recent pieces of legislation provided thousands of living wage jobs to San Francisco residents, earning him the reputation as a protector of working-class families. John also introduced legislation protecting tenants of foreclosed properties and providing rental assistance for low-income families. His bill creating a real estate transfer tax has brought in $50 million in annual city revenue. In his current role as the Chair of the Transportation Authority, Supervisor Avalos oversees the analysis, design and funding for long- term transportation planning for the city. In the City challenged by ever-increasing traffic congestion, John understands the impact on the quality of life and the necessity to create solutions. He is a staunch advocate of alternative modes of transportation and introduced the strongest employee bike access law in the country, the Bicycle Access and Safety Ordinance. It allows employees to bring their bikes into the office, creating an opportunity for thousands of people to ride their bicycles to work easing congestion, cutting emissions, improving air quality, and maximizing public transportation. It was at John's urging that the Employees' Retirement System divested almost $600 million in holdings from the top 200 fossil fuel companies. He authored Citizens United Measure Prop G, a policy opposing corporate personhood which was overwhelmingly approved by voters. He has taken on financial fraud, launching an investigation in 2013 into the London InterBank Offered Rate fraud scandal and its impact on San Francisco. Supervisor Avalos has been a fighter for justice, equality and fairness. As a third generation Mexican-American, one of seven siblings, and one of the first generation in his family to attend college, you can trace John's drive and ambition back to his early years. He moved to San Francisco in 1989 and immersed himself in education, organizing and protecting the rights of others. He earned a Master's Degree in Social Work from San Francisco State University and began his career as a counselor through the San Francisco Conservation Corps and the Columbia Park Boys and Girls Club. He then worked for Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth and for the Justice for Janitors Campaign of the Service Employees International Union. During his time on the board of supervisors, John continued his work with many outstanding community groups in District 11 such as the OMI Community Collaborative, Excelsior Collaborative, Communities United for Health and Justice, and Coleman Advocates. He firmly believes that real change starts at a grassroots level. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to recognize Supervisor John Avalos for his outstanding public service to the residents of San Francisco, in his district and beyond. This champion of the people may leave San Francisco City Hall, but he will no doubt continue to shape life in the City for years to come.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Karen Ervin who served on the Pacifica City Council for four years, including 2015 as the mayor of this picturesque coastal town of about 40,000 residents. As a Pacifica native and lifelong resident, Karen understands and feels the pulse of her town. Even before her time on the council, she always volunteered and gave back to the community. It has been my privilege to work with Karen and to call her a friend. During her term on the council, Karen served as the liaison to the Economic Development Committee, the Beautification Committee, Pacifica School Volunteers, Emergency Preparedness Task Force, and the Pacifica Resource Center. She also served as a member of the C/CAG Legislative Committee and the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, an Association of Bay Area Governments delegate, and a member of the San Mateo County Jobs/Housing Gap Task Force. One of her top priorities was to improve the fiscal health of the city. Her experience on the Financing City Services Task Force helped her tackle the difficult task of balancing the budget and making it possible to fund numerous projects such as the acquisition of a property to finish the Devil's Slide Trail, the Pacifica Resource Center and the Pacifica Beach Coalition. An ERAF reserve fund was also essential in responding to severe damage Pacifica suffered during El Nino storms in the winter of 2015, damage that drew worldwide attention. Karen loves her hometown and pursues every opportunity to improve the quality of life of all residents. She has been one of the main drivers to create a beautiful downtown along Palmetto Boulevard and to let the world know that Pacifica is a wonderful place to live, work, play, eat and thrive. As in every small town, city council members serve because they are dedicated to public service. It requires countless hours of meetings, homework and visits in the community for very little compensation. Karen has always managed to make time for her council duties despite her very demanding full-time job as a Senior Research Associate and Project Manager at Genentech in South San Francisco where she has worked for 15 years. Her experience, work ethic and resourcefulness have continually benefited her colleagues and all residents of Pacifica. On a sunny August Day in 2015 while Karen was mayor, traffic came to a standstill on Highway 1, Pacifica's major thoroughfare, for the entire day. Two car accidents and major roadwork by Caltrans brought out the worst in motorists who were stranded for hours. They crashed the city's Nextdoor page and jammed phone lines. Feeling her constituents' pain, Karen fielded calls on her cell phone and gave advice and updates from her personal Facebook page. She effectively became the communications center and traffic officer. Before joining the city council, Karen volunteered her time and energy on PTO Boards and in classrooms for 15 years. She was one of the individuals starting the Ingrid B. Lacy and Terra Nova Crab Feeds supporting the schools' PTOs and Booster clubs. From 2006 to 2010, she served on the Pacifica School District Governing Board, and for the last five years she served on the Board of Directors of Pacificans Care, a non-profit that is essential in supporting social services organizations in the community. Karen is a member of the American Association of University Women and the co-chair of Tech Trek in Pacifica which sends three third grade girls to Stanford to experience college life. Somehow she still manages to find enough time to continue her volunteer work with the Pacifica Beach Coalition. You can often find her cleaning up beaches, trails or creeks. Karen's family moved to Pacifica in 1965. She grew up in the back of Linda Mar Valley and attended Oddstead Elementary School, Ortega Middle School and Terra Nova High School. She earned her BS in Microbiology and Genetic Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She married another Pacifica native, Mike Ervin, and they raised two now-grown children, Zach and Aly. After retiring from the council, Karen is looking forward to spending more time with her family and friends, and running and hiking with her two dogs. Mr. Speaker, I ask the members of the House to join me in recognizing the contributions outgoing City Councilmember and former Mayor Karen Ervin has made to her beloved home town, Pacifica. The residents are very fortunate that she continually dedicated her passion and skills to improving the lives of all Pacificans.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Marina Fraser for her 13 years of exemplary public service on the Half Moon Bay City Council, including three years as mayor of this picturesque coastal town that I am very proud to represent in Congress. Marina has been a tireless advocate for coastside residents, in particular children and seniors. I am honored to have worked with Marina for more than a decade and to call her a close friend. During her tenure on the council, she served on the San Mateo County Council of Cities, the San Mateo County Joint Powers Authority, the San Mateo County Congestion Relief Alliance, the San Mateo County City- County Association of Governments, the San Mateo County Emergency Operations Center, and the Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside. Marina was instrumental in restoring Half Moon Bay's fiscal health. The Great Recession combined with a multi-million dollar land use settlement put the city at the brink of bankruptcy. Through strategic decisions, collaboration and meticulous work, Marina and her fellow councilmembers managed to balance the budget and placed the city on solid financial footing. Today, Half Moon Bay is a thriving community and destination for people from all over the Bay Area and the country. Main Street is filled with a wide variety of small businesses and restaurants. It even features bike racks to make it user-friendly for bicyclists and pedestrians. Marina deserves credit for obtaining the funds for the racks. Soon, Half Moon Bay will have a state-of-the-art library, thanks in large part to Marina's tenacious work. First considered in 2000, Half Moon Bay finally celebrated the library's ground breaking this summer. It will provide much needed community space and bring Silicon Valley technology to the coast to prepare the next generation for 21st century jobs. It may be called the Half Moon Bay library but in my mind it will also be called the Marina Fraser Half Moon Bay Library. Marina also worked hard with my office and state and local agencies to replace the crumbling Pilarcitos Creek Bridge with a beautiful aluminum and cedar plank bridge in the winter of 2015 while she was mayor. She was one of many important negotiators in a very creative and complicated program that became locally known as the Three-Way Land Swap. It involved an exchange of properties between the City of Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County and Peninsula Open Space Trust and resulted in restoration of a recreation field, the creation of affordable senior housing, and the preservation of bluff tops as open space. You can surmise from these accomplishments that Marina, a learning and development consultant by training, is not afraid to take on difficult and large projects and to see them through. Marina is a person who doesn't give up. Even if she is defeated, she will try again. She first ran for the city council in 2001 and lost. I wrote her a letter encouraging her to run again, reminding her that Abraham Lincoln ran and lost many times before he succeeded. Sure enough, she won her seat on the council in 2003 and has served the residents of the coastside very well. In addition to her council duties, Marina is always looking for ways to give back to the community and improve the lives of others. She has created activities and services for youths and seniors and volunteered with Friends of the Library, the Half Moon Bay Spanish Town Historical Society, and the Cougar Boosters. Mr. Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to join me in honoring the public service of Councilmember and Mayor Marina Fraser on the Half Moon Bay City Council. While she may be leaving the council, her contributions will continue to shape life on the coastside for years to come and I have no doubt that she will remain an important voice in our community.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Councilman David Canepa who is leaving the city council of Daly City to assume a new position as a member of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors from District 5. David's service to Daly City began in the fateful year of 2008 when he was first elected to the council. As we all know, 2008 and the next few years were financially difficult for many Americans. The budget of Daly City was not spared this stress. Working with his colleagues, David helped craft budgets that were balanced and that included difficult choices, including a reduction in city hall work days, while preserving essential life, health and safety services. As a C/CAG representative, David Canepa represented Daly City as cities throughout San Mateo County joined together to resolve issues involving transportation funding, congestion management, and storm water management. C/CAG also establishes the public policy position of 21 cities and the County of San Mateo. While serving as Vice Chair of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, Councilman Canepa helped prioritize hundreds of millions of dollars in transportation projects throughout San Mateo County. This responsibility went hand-in-hand with his service on the Bay Area Regional Air Quality Management District where he again represented county cities in deliberations over air quality regulations and violations of the law by emitters. David Canepa served as mayor in 2014 and was overwhelmingly re- elected to the city council in 2014. He is a fourth-generation resident of San Mateo and was born in Daly City. He graduated from nearby Skyline College and the University of San Francisco. He and his wife, Ana, live in Daly City. In his early career, he served as an aide to a state legislator. Through his work with the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust (HEART) and Housing our People Effectively (HOPE), Councilman Canepa has worked to create affordable housing for San Mateo County residents, many of whom are in a crisis because of skyrocketing rents and wages that cannot keep pace. He also served as a director of the North San Mateo County Sanitation District. In Daly City, he is known for his efforts to improve public safety, spur economic development, and to preserve both neighborhoods and the environment. Mr. Speaker, Daly City is a remarkable place in San Mateo County. Its residents are friendly and the city has always been family oriented. Daly City is now losing a leader in local government, but it will gain an advocate at the county. The interests of the city will be joined to those of South San Francisco, Brisbane, Colma, Broadmoor and San Bruno which together with Daly City form District 5. From criminal justice to healthcare to environmental protection to transportation and dozens of other quality-of-life concerns, District 5 will have an important voice for residents in David Canepa. I wish him well as he seizes the opportunities to serve his constituents in the years ahead.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Mary Ann Nihart for her eight years of service on the Pacifica City Council. Her tireless commitment to her community has improved this wonderful coastal town for residents and visitors alike. Her service even helped shine a national spotlight on Pacifica. I am proud to count Mary Ann as a constituent, colleague and friend. Mary Ann was first elected to the council in 2008 and served as mayor in 2011 and 2014. She was also the C/CAG representative to Pacifica, the Fog Fest Liaison, and she served on the North Coast County Fire JPA. Her council committee assignments included the Financing City Services committee, Economic Development, the Beautification Advisory Committee, and the Articulation Committee. Pacifica's quality of life was greatly improved through her representation on the San Mateo County Transportation Authority and at the Association of Bay Area Governments. As mayor, Mary Ann re-instituted Mayor's Walks to personally connect local business owners with the city government and city staff. She also reinstated the Economic Development Committee to develop an economic plan for Pacifica. She helped her town receive transportation funding for shuttle services and street paving. She initiated and led the Beautification Task Force which designated 25 sites for make-overs. To date, nine of them have been completed. Among her proudest accomplishments was a city-wide effort to have Pacifica designated as one of the most scenic cities in America. The town was one of six finalists in the country. Another of Mary Ann's priorities has been environmental protection. She initiated the process to designate Pedro Point Headlands as a priority conservation area and worked to complete the coastal trail from Pacifica to Devil's Slide, a San Mateo County Park with some of the country's most phenomenal ocean bluff views. She helped ban plastic bags and foam containers in Pacifica and supported protections for the Western Snowy Plover, a tiny shore bird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. During her tenure, Mary Ann continually strove to bring community members together and to heal divides. This may be explained by the outstanding professional experience she brought to the council. Mary Ann is the Clinical Director and Chief Nurse of Mental Health Services at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System. She holds a BSN and two Masters degrees in Nursing and in Clinical Psychology. Her passion to help veterans is noteworthy. There are thousands of veterans who owe their mental health in part to her management of outstanding psychiatric mental health treatment at our VA. Through her efforts and those of her colleagues, lives are saved each year. Mary Ann is also an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and a past president of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association which honored her with the Psychiatric Nurse of the Year Award in 2012. Mary Ann speaks nationally and internationally on the integration of biology into psychiatric nursing care, crisis intervention and de- escalation. She brought those skills to the coast after two tragic police shootings of mentally ill individuals in Pacifica and neighboring Half Moon Bay. She worked with local law enforcement to provide additional education and to amend the training for officers encountering mentally ill individuals in violent situations. As you can surmise from this long yet incomplete list of accomplishments, Mary Ann Nihart is incredibly capable and gets things done. She will retire from the city council due to a flaw in federal law that I intend to fix. I for one will miss working with her on issues that connect local and federal jurisdictions, such as human trafficking, sea level rise and veterans' health. Mr. Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to join me in honoring an outstanding professional and public servant who has left her mark on the community she loves. A leader with a big heart and a welcoming smile, Mary Ann Nihart's work is tightly woven into the fabric of Pacifica, a coastal community that I am very fortunate to represent.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Sal Torres, a departing member of the City Council of Daly City and a friend who has never ceased to serve the people of his community with distinction during his twenty years on the council. Sal Torres has, during these past two decades, become the symbol of this prosperous town filled with talented, industrious residents from around the world. In 1996, Sal made history by becoming the first Latino to win a seat on the City Council of Daly City and, in 2000, became Daly City's first Mayor of Latino descent. This year he will be finishing his public service as Mayor. It is difficult to fully describe the impact of Mayor Torres upon Daly City, but it has been enormously beneficial. Over his 20 years in office, the city changed from a typical suburban community south of a major U.S. city, into a thriving commercial center with major new office buildings adjacent to a regional mass transit station. Sal was part of a team that evaluated and approved the rebuilding of Westlake Shopping Center into a modern, thriving retail hub. Today, this center is so essential to the constituents of Mayor Torres and to surrounding communities that it's probably easier to find a parking space in downtown Manhattan than in the garage and lots of Westlake Shopping Center. Social justice is a core belief of Mayor Torres. Long before his ascension to the council, he earned recognition during his undergraduate years at UCLA for his outstanding contributions as a volunteer in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Throughout all of 1984, Sal worked with the Southwest Voter Registration & Education Project and helped to successfully register over 120,000 new Latino voters for the 1984 general election. He is still the only graduate in the history of the University of San Francisco School of Law to be awarded, in the same year, both the Judge Harold J. Haley Award given by the faculty for outstanding scholastic achievements and the Student Bar Association Award given by his peers for exceptional contributions made to and on behalf of the graduating class. Sal was a founding member of the non-profit Housing Endowment and Regional Trust (HEART) of San Mateo, a provider of affordable home loans to community residents, and an advocate for new construction of affordable housing. Daly City has always played a vital role in providing affordable housing in San Mateo County. Sal understands the linkage between human dignity and housing and between economic security and owning a home. Life is more than hard work and housing. If residents in north San Mateo wish to enjoy a summer afternoon, they can see a movie at a major metroplex that Sal shaped as part of a team that revitalized areas east of Highway 280. They can also play on city sports fields that he voted to support because he views recreation as vital to the physical and spiritual health of city residents. With all of these public accomplishments, one might reasonably wonder if Sal Torres had time to earn a living. He certainly did. As an accomplished attorney, he's worked on behalf of the California School Employees Association, Arysta Life Science Corporation, LSI Logic, Marvell Technology Group, and Equinix, Inc., among many clients. He also hosted and co-produced a popular talk show on the UPN-TV affiliate, KBHK Channel 44, El Amanecer (``Daybreak''), which addressed social, political and cultural issues in the Latino community. In 2000, Sal was selected as one of California's ``Top 20 Lawyers under the age of 40'' by California Law Business. At times through the year, the sun sets off the shoreline of Daly City and into the Pacific. It is a scene that is at once stunningly beautiful and yet a brutal reminder that we are transitory figures in history. Sal Torres has never been a public servant who sought immortality through public works with his name in concrete, nor has he been a flamboyant personality in the city's life. However, as a humble servant of his community, he has shown a relentless dedication to public wellbeing. Whereas the Pacific erodes the city's cliffs and the freeway divides its corpus, Sal built its community spirit through a dedication to collegiality that created lasting bonds, and a love of Daly City by its residents, equal in strength to any steel and certainly more enduring than the boundary of the city with the sea. Sal will be missed at the dais, but ever-present in the hearts and minds of his community. In the end, this is a monument that is far more enduring than a name in concrete. Sal Torres loves Daly City, and Daly City treasures Sal Torres.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor John Muller, better known as Farmer John, for his 10 years of public service on the Half Moon Bay City Council, including one year as mayor. As a farmer, John has deep roots in the community and always strives to nurture the quality of life of all residents of the coastside. I am very grateful to have worked with him for more than three decades and to call him a dear friend. While on the council, Councilman Muller served on the Chamber Government Affairs Committee, the Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside, the League of California Cities Coastal Cities Issue Group, the San Mateo County Airport Land Use Committee, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the City County Association of Governments. John was instrumental in restoring Half Moon Bay's fiscal health. The Great Recession combined with a multi-million dollar land use settlement put the city at the brink of bankruptcy. Through strategic decisions, collaboration and meticulous work, John and his fellow councilmembers managed to balance the budget and placed the city on solid financial footing. Today, Half Moon Bay is a thriving community and destination for people from all over the Bay Area and the country. Main Street is a colorful collection of artisan stores, sustainable restaurants and small hotels. Signature events, such as the Pumpkin Festival, Farm Day, Nights of Light, the Seafood Festival, and Pacific Coast Dream Machines, show off the best that Half Moon Bay has to offer. In addition to his duties on the council, John served on the Regional Water Quality Control Board for 21 years, 13 of them as chair, having been appointed by four California governors. He is also a former member and chair of the Coastside County Water District Board, former chair of the Society of American Florists Government Relations Committee, former member of the Secretary of Agriculture's Special Committee to streamline management of the USDA, and a past president and current member of the San Mateo County Farm Bureau. He still serves on the U.S. EPA's Local Government Advisory Committee, the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Fruits and Vegetables, and the California Agricultural Education Foundation. With his council duties and the additional volunteer work, it is somewhat of a miracle that Farmer John still manages to do his day job. He is the owner of Daylight Farms and John's Pumpkin Farm in Half Moon Bay. He and his wife of 47 years, Eda, are also fixtures at the Half Moon Bay Farmers Market every week. I've had the pleasure of seeing John's connection to the land when he is tending to his pumpkins, produce and chickens in his fields. Not only does he grow beautiful decorative pumpkins that my office purchases for my annual senior conference, he also grows monster pumpkins that he enters into the World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay. John and Eda are true stewards of our planet. They were honored with the U.S. EPA's Presidential Volunteer Service Award for their leadership in sustainable, urban agriculture and with the Agriculture Water Quality Alliance award for exemplary efforts to protect water quality within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. John was born in Palo Alto in 1946 and served in the U.S. Navy from 1963 to 1966. He graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy in 2007. Mr. Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing John Muller for his dedication to public service and his lifelong commitment to our community and country. John is a man with a big heart who loves to share. He deeply cares for all the people on the coast and quietly and with great humility helps them out in any way he can--no fanfare, no attribution. He is a true Good Samaritan and a one of a kind leader. How lucky we have been to have him in elected office for a decade. I admire him and Eda more than they will ever know.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Joseph Silva for his 20 years of service on the Colma City Council, two of them as vice mayor. At 1,400 residents, Colma is the smallest town in San Mateo County on the San Francisco Peninsula. While Colma is best known as the City of Souls because it is home to 16 cemeteries, locals will point out its architectural charm created by Spanish-Mediterranean motifs, its modem infrastructure, including a BART station, and its central location that makes it easily accessible from anywhere in the Bay Area. Colma is a small town where residents and businesses happily coexist. Joe Silva has been instrumental in creating or restoring the town's iconic buildings and structures. During his tenure, the town built the 5,500 square foot Colma Community Center that houses the restored historical museum and railroad depot, the Sterling Park Recreation Center and the Colma Police Department. He is also heavily involved in keeping the current renovation of the historic Town Hall on track. Councilmember Silva and his fellow councilmembers are always striving to maintain a harmonious balance between old and new. Brick paved residential streets with ornamental street lights coexist with Interstate 280. The historic Town Hall and Community Center coexist with the modern Metro Center and Serramonte Shopping Center. While on the council, Joe served on the Grand Boulevard Task Force, the Peninsula Clean Energy Board of Directors, and the C/CAG Board of Directors. He cares deeply about his community and improving the quality of life for everyone. Joe has a ``roll up your sleeves'' and ``can do'' attitude. This was evident during the recession that started in 2008 when he helped strengthen the town's retail base by finding ways to entice people to shop at Colma's businesses and car dealerships. He collaborated with the Daly City-Colma Chamber of Commerce to think outside the box and come up with creative ideas. Joe's optimism and determination were instrumental in guiding his home town through one of the most challenging times since the Great Depression. Joe also finds time to volunteer for good causes such as the Lutheran Hope School in Daly City, Habitat for Humanity, the North Peninsula Food Pantry and Dining Center of Daly City, and Club Dust, an organization building homes for extremely poor families in Mexico. He has participated eight times in the AIDS/LifeCycle Ride to End AIDS, a seven-day, 545 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles that raises money and awareness for HIV and AIDS. If you do the math, that's 4,360 miles. For his continued dedication to the AIDS ride, he received the distinguished San Mateo County Mayors' Diversity Award in 2012. Joe grew up in the Bay Area and attended Jefferson High School in Daly City. He moved to Colma 30 years ago and has lived here ever since with his wife, Cynthia. They have raised two daughters, Sandra and Nicole. Mr. Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Councilmember Joseph Silva for two decades of service to the residents of Colma. While he is leaving the council, I have no doubt he will remain an active member of our community for many years to come.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my congratulations to Pietro Parravano as he retires after 21 years of distinguished service on the board of the San Mateo County Harbor District. Pietro is as much an institution at the district as the docks, hoists and loading ramps that make the facility such a community treasure. His thoughtful guidance during his time on the board assured the public of good stewardship and a perspective based upon hands-on experience. Pietro was first appointed to the harbor district board in 1995 and won re-election every four years thereafter. It is easy to see why he has earned the confidence of the public. Pietro commercially fished the Anne B. out of Pillar Point Harbor for many years and remains a fixture at the Half Moon Bay farmers market. He knows the sea, the fishing industry, and the long-term needs of both. He is also sensitive to other public needs, such as the need for recreation and visitor-serving facilities at the two ports. Pietro, originally from Princeton, New Jersey, moved to the West Coast in 1966 when his father spent a sabbatical at Stanford University. He began his career as a teacher but dedicated most of his life to commercial fishing and environmental advocacy. He served as President of the Half Moon Bay Seafood Marketing Association from 1988 to 1995. In 1997, he was one of two U.S. delegates to the World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers in New Delhi. From 1992 to 2004 he was a member of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen. In 2005, Pietro started the San Mateo County Food Alliance. He currently serves on the Joint Oceans Commission Initiative, the Institute for Fisheries Resources, and the Culinary Institute of America/Singapore which brings students from Singapore to the Bay Area to learn about sustainable food sources. His community service is legendary in Half Moon Bay and beyond. In 1996, Pietro was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce for his Community Service, and in 1999, he was recognized as an Environment Leader when he was president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen. In 2008, Pietro was the fisheries representative at the opening of Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. In 2013, he was awarded the Margi Grant Heart of Hospitality by the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau. In sum, he is the ``go-to'' person in San Mateo County for sustainable food and good fishing policy. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Pietro Parravano for two decades of public service and a lifetime of dedication to our oceans and sustainable fisheries. While Pietro is retiring from the Harbor District Commission, his contributions will continue to shape life on the coast and I have no doubt that he will remain active and an important voice in our community.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, let me first say what a joy it has been to work with my colleague Mike McCaul on this issue, and with Chris Van Hollen as well. Their passion, compassion, and commitment to this issue is one that I have not seen replicated many times. Let me comment by talking about the letter I received from Sylvia DeCourcey in my district. Her son Tyler has been battling stage 4 neuroblastoma for about a year. She had written to me the following: ``As a parent of a pediatric cancer patient, I wanted to say thank you for introducing the Childhood Cancer STAR Act. This has the potential to make a huge difference for my son Tyler and his fellow warriors. In August we lost two little buddies to the neuroblastoma monster. To think that if this act was already in place, that may not have happened, and the heartaches of their families and friends could be prevented. I hope and pray that my son will beat this. Thank you again for sponsoring the STAR Act. . . .'' On Friday I received a follow-up email from Sylvia, and it still sends chills up and down my spine. Tyler has officially been in remission for 2 weeks. It is only fitting that today we are taking up the STAR Act. The STAR Act would not have been possible without the perseverance of families like Sylvia and Tyler and of the young people who are living with the cancers. There have been more than 50 organizations that have worked on this issue. Together they have managed to push even a gridlocked Congress into action. I would like to take a moment to highlight the personal importance of the survivorship provisions of the STAR Act, which I have been working on since 2011. Fifty years ago, only 4 percent of children with cancer survived more than 5 years beyond their diagnosis. Today the cure rate has increased to over 80 percent. It is a remarkable accomplishment. Now we have some 500,000 young people who have survived childhood cancer. But, as many families know, the fight against childhood cancer doesn't end with remission. As many as two-thirds of childhood cancer survivors experience secondary cancers, and that is why this particular provision of the bill is so important. It is imperative that the STAR Act has a strategy to improve their care and quality of life, and it would not have happened without the guidance of Susan Weiner and Sue Emmer of Children's Cause for Cancer Advocacy. I would also like to thank the staff of all of our offices who worked so hard on this measure: Thomas Rice, Jessica Nalepa, Austin Carson, Kelly Cotner, and Andy Taylor with Congressman McCaul; Ziky Ababiya and Erika Appel with Congressman Van Hollen; Jill Brimmer with Senator Reed; Dana Richter with Senator Moore Capito; Adrianna Simonelli with Chairman Upton; Waverly Gordon with Ranking Member Pallone; Kelly Dixon with Majority Leader McCarthy; Charlene MacDonald with Democratic Whip Hoyer; Holly Gibbons and her team at the NIH; and Molly Fishman on my staff as well. I want to thank my colleagues for the time, the leadership, and for giving us an opportunity to do something to improve the lives of these children living with cancer and their parents who are advocating for them.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Marta I. Bookbinder, an outstanding educator, communicator and counselor, who is retiring after 17 years as the Collaborative Projects Coordinator of the adult and youth programs at the Community Learning Center in South San Francisco. Marta is the last original founding member of the Community Learning Center which opened doors to countless preschool to adult learners. CLC is a program of the South San Francisco Public Library in the heart of the historic downtown area, easily accessible to the great number of immigrants from around the world. The center is an irreplaceable gem of the community and a perfect reflection of the values Marta has embraced her entire life and career. In close partnership with the school district, CLC offers English and computer classes and Spanish language literacy tutoring for adults and homework help classes for elementary school students from the surrounding schools. Adults learn to maneuver education, health, transportation, employment, financial and voting systems, giving them the tools to help themselves and to make progress. Having completed her own education in the U.S. and Latin America, Marta was perfectly positioned to become a global educator. She holds an M.A. in Counseling Psychology, a B.A. in International Relations, an A.A. in English and Psychology and a teaching credential for English as a Second Language, Citizenship and Conversational Spanish. She is fluent in English and Spanish and competent in Italian. Marta began her career as a program assistant at the job placement and career center at Skyline College in 1989. She moved on to the College of Notre Dame as a staff assistant in 1993 and to the Family Council of Half Moon Bay as the director of parent services in 1997. While she held that position, she also became an adult education instructor at the Cabrillo Unified School District. From there she moved on to the San Mateo Union High School District in 1998, and to the South San Francisco Unified School District in 1999, teaching adult education. She will continue her work as an instructor and CBET coordinator of adult education at the South San Francisco Unified School District. Marta never ceases to develop innovative ideas to improve the lives of others, a fact noted in the community. She has received numerous awards including the Employee of the Year and the Mayors Diversity awards from the city of South San Francisco, the San Mateo County Governing Board Association KENT Award for innovation in educational programs, the Julie Billiart Alumna Award for outstanding community service from Notre Dame de Namur University, and the KQED & Kaiser Permanente Bay Area Local Hero Award. In her well-deserved retirement, Marta is looking forward to spending more time with her husband of 45 years, David N. Bookbinder, and their two daughters, Tamara and Tatiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to join me in honoring a friend and colleague, Marta Bookbinder, for creating empowering programs at the Community Learning Center that have turned hundreds of lives around. She is a role model for teachers in South San Francisco and beyond.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Steve Nakajo who has served as the executive director of Kimochi, Inc. for 45 years and has grown the organization into one of the most precious senior service organizations in the Bay Area. Steve is a sensei in every sense of the word: a respected person who has achieved a high level of mastery in his skills. He leaves behind an incredible legacy which frankly few of us do. I am honored to call him a friend and colleague for over 20 years. Steve co-founded Kimochi in 1971 to bring social services to non- English speaking, first generation Japanese Americans in San Francisco's Japantown. Today, Kimochi provides 3,000 seniors from San Francisco and surrounding communities with services including transportation, nutrition, day care, housing, referral, consumer education, social services, and in-home care every year. The creation of Kimochi Inc., which means feeling in Japanese, was inspired by the feeling for elders, first generation Japanese Americans or Issei, by third generation Japanese Americans or Sansei. The Sansei recognized that language and cultural barriers prevented the Issei from accessing every-day services, so they helped them to apply for government services or health benefits, they offered transportation and walking escorts, and they made sure seniors could safely leave and return to their homes. The appreciation of the elders' sacrifices and hardships is integral to the organization's philosophy and Steve has been the embodiment of that philosophy. Respect, gratitude and love for the elders are expressed through the services that allow each generation to age with dignity, pride, support and friendship. Steve's commitment to Kimochi has been unwavering and recognized around the world. In 1999, he addressed the Japanese National Conference on Aging in Tokyo on the history and philosophy of Kimochi, Inc. as the only U.S. delegate invited to the conference. In 2002, he addressed the San Diego Nikkey Elderly Forum. In 2007, he joined Mayor Gavin Newsom in Osaka to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco--Osaka Sister City relationship. In 2013, he was honored by the San Francisco Consul General of Japan for Kimochi Home's 30th anniversary. Earlier this year, it was my honor to help cut the ribbon on the new Kimochi House San Mateo, yet another grand vision of Steve Nakajo. For the last 45 years, Steve has also been an instructor and lecturer in Japanese American and Asian Studies, sociology, social work, critical thinking and ethnic sensitivity training at San Francisco State University, San Jose State University and City College of San Francisco. His teaching career started in the Japanese American Studies Program in SFSU's School of Ethnic Studies. His co-instructors were the late Edison Uno and Dudly Yasuda. Uno, a civil rights advocate, was best known for his opposition to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Dudly was a psychology professor who was tragically murdered by one of his former students. Steve has further contributed to the community by being one of the original organizers of the San Francisco Nihonmachi Street Fair and by being active with San Francisco's Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival for 46 years. He has also been on the San Francisco Fire Commission for 20 years and served on the San Francisco Arts Commission. Steve, originally from Salt Lake City, received his education in San Francisco. He attended Morning Star School and Sacred Heart High School and earned his Bachelor's degree in Social Science and his Master's degree in Social Work from SFSU. He and his wife Etsie have three children--Devon, Tracey and Lexus--and four grandsons--Yuki, Kai, Kyle and Jaden. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring a remarkable man and teacher who has helped shape the fabric of San Francisco for almost half a century. Steve Nakajo may be retiring today, but his contributions and philosophy will resonate for generations to come.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Lennie Roberts, a tireless advocate for our open spaces and wild creatures, a conscience for elected officials on the local, state and federal level for all things environmental and a personal friend for over 35 years. Lennie will be honored today with the extremely rare ``Guardian of Nature Award'' from the Sierra Club's Loma Prieta Chapter for her four decades of exemplary service. This is only the second time in the chapter's 83-year history that this honor will be bestowed. There is no one who comes close to Lennie Roberts in vigilance of our environment. Lennie served on the original California Coastal Commission after it was established by voter initiative in 1972. In 1974, she was a founding docent for Stanford University's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. Whether as policymaker or docent, Lennie Roberts seems to advocate and educate because the laws of nature command her to these tasks. One of Lennie's greatest accomplishments was her fight against construction of a six lane freeway at Devil's Slide, a treacherous stretch of Highway 1 along California's beautiful coast. Instead, Lennie Roberts had the audacity to proffer to Caltrans a pair of tunnels. These tunnels now connect communities long threatened with periodic isolation when massive rock and debris slides, or the loss of the roadway, occurred during storms. Construction came after a decades-long, hard-fought battle by the so- called tunnelistas. A handful of visionaries saw that San Mateo's beautiful coast could be protected and the public's safety ensured. Vast stretches of the Santa Cruz mountain range from San Mateo through Santa Clara counties have been preserved because Lennie and her friends established, with voter approval, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Working with local philanthropists such as Tom Ford and the Peninsula Open Space Trust, Lennie's vision of a permanent mechanism to identify and preserve precious tracts of land has given the Bay Area a crown jewel: huge Redwood forests, hundreds of miles of walking and riding trails, recreational opportunities for people and pets, and habitat that nourishes endangered and threatened species. In part because of Lennie's advocacy, local farmers and ranchers now transition agricultural lands into permanent conservation, often permitting sustainable agriculture to remain on the property even when the land is in public ownership. Lennie's interests are not simply in the mountains. The coast and coastal waters, and streams that serve as endangered species habitat, are all enriched and preserved through her efforts. Vast stretches of open space along the coast have been preserved by a local ordinance, passed by voters, that was inspired by Lennie's direction and standards. The Yosemite Trust is an important steward of Yosemite National Park, and Lennie is an active member of the trust's board of directors. The planning and long-term vision for John Muir's most precious place on earth is in skilled hands through Lennie's thoughtful advocacy. Some say that Lennie Roberts knows every square inch of rural San Mateo County. I can tell you that she certainly knows every square inch that is worth preserving. At the same time, she is also willing to support thoughtful development and this includes using land within already-developed areas for housing and public services. In short, she is a public steward and compromise is often offered but only with the public's best interests in mind. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representative to join me in honoring San Mateo County's version of a Mount Rushmore figure, Ms. Lennie Roberts. Where Caltrans once proposed to carve a bypass, we might carve her visage although she would undoubtedly oppose such a sacrilege against the pristine nature of our coast, and perhaps file a lawsuit, if anyone seriously made such a proposal. The Sierra Club's Loma Prieta Chapter may be honoring Lennie Roberts with a Guardian of Nature Award, but in truth they are only stating the obvious over the past many decades. Mother Nature has no greater local and regional guardian, and we are all honored to call her friend and leader as she is honored on October 1st for her lifetime of achievement in service to this nation's environment.