[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 18 (Friday, February 9, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO KWEISI MFUME

                                 ______


                               speech of

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 31, 1996

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I want to join my colleagues in honoring 
our colleague, Congressman Kweisi Mfume, as he prepares to leave 
Congress to take over the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People [NAACP].
  I have had the privilege of serving with Kweisi for many years, and 
can testify to the fact that he has had an enormously positive impact 
on the U.S. House of Representatives. He has well represented his 
constituents in Baltimore, and has been an aggressive advocate for the 
causes of human rights and urban development.
  As the former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Kweisi was 
successful in raising the profile of the caucus agenda, and speaking 
for millions of African-Americans who look to the caucus for 
leadership. By becoming chief executive officer of the NAACP, Kweisi 
will continue those efforts and represent that organization with the 
same vigor and competence as he represented his constituents in 
Maryland's Seventh District.
  Mr. Speaker, I know many of my colleagues join me in bidding Kweisi 
best wishes on his new challenge, and will be working closely with him 
on issues of concern to all of us in the future.