[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 122 (Wednesday, July 26, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H7794]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         PRESERVING AND PROTECTING SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise for two purposes 
tonight, first, in response to the last gentleman who spoke.
  I think it is important the House note that it was the Republican 
Congress that led the way to roll back the unfair 1993 tax on senior 
citizens' Social Security, and it is the same Republican-held Congress 
that has also called for increases in income eligibility for senior 
citizens who now are capped at $11,380 a year. Under the Republican 
legislation, they will be able to make up to $30,000 a year without 
deductions from Social Security.
  We will work in a bipartisan fashion to make sure we preserve and 
protect Social Security and Medicare. What we will do with Medicare is 
to make sure, through our preservation task force, to come up with 
options to make sure we eliminate the fraud, abuse, and waste which 
exists in the system. That is the core of the problem.

                              {time}  2310

  I also rise tonight, Mr. Speaker, to pay tribute to a Norristown 
community leader from my district, Frances Joyner, someone who gave so 
much for her community. She died at the age of 53, and this has 
certainly shortened the life of someone who was a great American, a 
great community volunteer.
  Mr. Speaker, she contributed much in her time, much more so than you 
might expect for someone of such young years. She was an outstanding 
employee at the Norristown State hospital, an active employee at the 
U.S. Post Office. But more important than her regular job was what she 
did in her community.
  She was active in her church, she was active in civic organizations, 
and she helped start many youth programs in her community in 
Pennsylvania. She was a member of the board of directors and treasurer 
of the Norristown Jaycettes, and she was active with the Montgomery 
County Junior Miss Pageant. She was the founder of the Miss Essence of 
Ebony Pageant.
  She was on the board of directors of the YMCA. She was director of 
the Foster Parents of the Children's Aid Society. She was a member of 
the Montgomery County Opportunities Industrialization Center as a 
director, a judge of elections for Norristown's Eighth Ward. She 
received the award of the Chapel Four Chaplains at Temple University in 
Philadelphia, PA. She was a member of Ebenezer A.U.M.P. Church for more 
than 40 years.
  She was a Sunday school teacher, and one of the organizers of the 
Junior Missionaries. She was a Past Matron of the Eastern Star, and the 
list goes on, Mr. Speaker.
  What she was for us, Frances Ella ``Sissy'' Joyner was a leader of 
the church, a leader of the community, an inspirational humanitarian, a 
role model for her community. She loved children and worked to help the 
community become better, and I hope that those who will read and hear 
about Frances Ella Joyner will in fact be inspired by her life's work 
so that they reach out to the community and show the kind of volunteer 
spirit that has made America so great.


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