[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 13, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2349-E2350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, RAY MILAM

                                 ______


                          HON. DONALD M. PAYNE

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 12, 1995

  Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the 
attention of my colleagues a unique individual who was honored this 
past weekend with a surprise appreciation dinner. That person is 
Raymond Milam. This tribute focused on Mr. Milam's role in the 
education of the children of New Jersey, especially those children 
living in urban areas.
  Ray Milam coordinates the professional services of the New Jersey 
School Boards Association's Technical Assistance Unit. The unit helps 
the 30 special needs school districts identified in a New Jersey 
Supreme Court decision on the State's school funding laws. In addition, 
the Technical Assistance Unit services the remaining 32 urban boards of 
education in 17 of the State's 21 countries. Ray Milam is an active 
advocate and service provider for parents, children, and urban 
educators. Mr. Miram is a graduate of Hampton University. He received 
his graduate degree from the University of Iowa. Throughout his 
professional career he has been a teacher, consultant, trainer, local 
school district administrator, and State Department of Education 
director.
  During his tenure with the New Jersey School Boards Association, Mr. 
Milam has had the opportunity to impact on our urban school districts 
in many positive ways. Understanding the special needs of our urban 
young people, he has been able to develop training programs that have 
helped sensitize members of school boards, as well as school 
administrators and faculty. More importantly, he has used his position 
to recommend and introduce highly qualified professionals to urban 
school districts which were looking for candidates to fill important 
vacancies. He has been particularly successful in matching school 
boards with superintendents in many urban districts around the State.
  I wish I had the opportunity to share personally with my colleagues 
the wonderful thoughts, remembrances and sentiments that filled the 
program and ``Memories to Cherish'' booklet. It was evident from these 
expressions of friendship--personal and professional, respect, 
gratitude, and love that Ray Milam has truly earned and deserves the 
recognition he received on Saturday, December 9, 1995. What was 
mentioned time and time again was the gentleness of a man who has been 
able to consistently and clearly focus on the problem at hand and 
develop a solution where all are able to rededicate themselves to 
working for the benefit of our school children. When we talk of the 
measure of the man; in the case of Mr. Raymond Milam it is his strong 
commitment to helping our children prepare for responsible and 
productive citizenry in the 21st century.
  Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleagues will join me as I congratulate 
Raymond Milam for an outstanding career in the field of education and 
wish him and his family: his wife Jean Stewart Milam; his children 
Pamela, Maria and Kenneth; and his grandson Damon all the best in the 
future.

[[Page E2350]]


       UNREASONABLE SHIPPING RATE PROVISION HARMS OFFSHORE AREAS

                                 ______


                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 12, 1995

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my concerns with 
the maritime provisions of H.R. 2539, legislation to abolish the 
Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Maritime Commission. As 
the conferees meet on this legislation, I urge them to strike the 
section defining a ``zone of reasonableness'' for rates.
  This provision would allow carriers to raise their rates 10 percent 
per year, plus 7.5 percent in the version passed by the other body. 
Such increases would be deemed reasonable and no challenge would be 
allowed. It does not matter if costs decrease, the price of fuel is cut 
in half, more efficient ships can do the job at half the price, labor 
costs are significantly lowered, or economic factors cause all other 
prices to decrease.
  To call this a zone of reasonableness is an oxymoron. I know of no 
other industry which is guaranteed a yearly increase of 10 percent plus 
inflation. I know of no other law that guarantees in statute a formula 
for increasing prices year after year. Such a guarantee is not a move 
toward deregulation of the transportation industry as the legislation 
is designed to do.
  For those of us who receive a majority of our goods by ocean carrier, 
this provision would significantly impact our economy. We do not have 
other transportation options. If enacted, this legislation would 
encourage businesses on Guam to buy fewer goods from the mainland 
because of the unprecedented increases in rates. It would result in an 
increase in the importation of goods from foreign nations because we 
would have no other choice. People on Guam want to buy goods from the 
mainland, but not if the shipping costs make consumer prices increase 
at an astonishing rate.
  As the conferees meet on H.R. 2539, I urge the conferees to consider 
the economic effects of enacting such an anti-competitive provision, 
under the mantle of deregulation, and the dangerous precedent it sets. 
I encourage the conferees to strike this provision.

                          ____________________