[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H3445-H3455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO THE LATE HONORABLE RON BROWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Coble). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of May 12, 1995, the gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. 
Clayton] is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority 
leader.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, on the hillside over Bosnia, this Nation 
lost 33 dedicated and committed Americans. Among those lost was the man 
we pay tribute to today, Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown. We pay 
tribute to Secretary Brown because, in the finest tradition of America, 
he gave his life in service to his country, while performing peace in a 
region torn by war.
  This tribute has been organized by those of us who serve on and have 
participated with the President's Export Council [PEC], a bipartisan 
effort with the private and public sector working together for export. 
Secretary Brown was a public sector member of PEC and the driving force 
behind a notable private-public partnership, whose mission is to expand 
the United States' exports abroad.
  At the very first meeting of PEC of February 13, 1995, President 
Clinton attended and Secretary Brown welcomed and swore in the 
appointees. Secretary Brown emphasized that he would regard the PEC 
members as the Board of Directors for America's national export 
strategy, first implemented then in September 1993.
  So, Mr. Speaker, we think it is only fitting that the PEC Board of 
Directors leave a tribute to the person who in our mind was the 
chairman and chief executive officer of America's effort to achieve 
free and fair trade, to give a chance to U.S. businesses of all sizes 
to market their goods and services abroad.
  I am pleased to be joined by several of my colleagues, both Democrats 
and Republicans, and we will alternate as there are Members available. 
We will ask Members to limit their remarks to 2 or 3 minutes.
  Ron Brown was born in Washington, DC, and you will hear more about 
that, on August 1, 1941. He was raised in Harlem by his parents, 
attended

[[Page H3446]]

Middlebury College in Vermont, was commissioned an officer in the army 
and spent time in West Germany and Korea, when certainly the seeds of 
foreign trade were planted at this time.
  He will be especially missed for his work with PEC on behalf of U.S. 
exports and his effort as the Secretary of Commerce. One of his last 
appearances in the United States was at the most recent meeting of the 
PEC. At that meeting, he shared his thoughts and plans on the Bosnia-
Croatia trip, as well as the uncommon insight he had gathered about 
trade around the world.
  From this meeting came the proposed statement of principle concerning 
the Export Administration. Those principles reflected Ron's vision and 
wisdom, declaring export as a right of every American citizen, not a 
privilege, his early vision of the Export Administration. As stated, 
those principles outlined what America's position should be on export 
restriction, seeking to make sure, as Ron always did, that there is a 
level playing field throughout the world; that no one nation could 
assume an unfair competitive advantage in an increasing competitive 
marketplace. Indeed, Ron's work and the work of PEC makes certain that 
business of all types, politics aside, would benefit from the renewed 
trade effort, and they did.
  During his tenure, important groundwork was laid, major breakthroughs 
were experienced, and future prospects for peace and prosperity were 
cemented. While Ron was deeply committed as a Democrat on the matters 
of free and fair trade, he was an American first. Party took a second 
seat to the goals of expanding export.

  That reason and other reasons should cause us, both Republican and 
Democrat, to work together and to honor Ron Brown by committing 
ourselves to the expansion of America's industries in the benefit of 
American workers.
  Mr. Speaker, I am going to yield time to one who has known Ron Brown 
for many, many years, and certainly it extends beyond that of trade, in 
a personal way, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia [Ms. 
Norton].
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina 
for her leadership in organizing this special order and much deserved 
tribute.
  Ron Brown was my constituent and my friend, so that last week I had 
one of the saddest weeks of my tenure as the Congresswoman from the 
District of Columbia. I was, of course, at Dover where the bodies of 33 
Americans came home, and then on another evening at the Metropolitan 
Baptist Church to speak in tribute to Ron Brown, and finally at the 
funeral at the National Cathedral, where there was an outpouring of 
people from all over the world.
  May I first read the names of all seven of my constituents who 
perished on that flight. Ronald H. Brown, Secretary of Commerce; Adam 
M. Darling, confidential assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Commerce; 
Gail E. Dobert, acting director of the Office of Business Liaison; 
Carol L. Hamilton, whose parents I know very well, press secretary to 
Secretary Brown; Catherine E. Hoffman, special assistant to Secretary 
Brown; William Morton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International 
Trade; and Lawrence M. Payne, special assistant, Office of Domestic 
Operations. For all of my seven constituents there is still great grief 
and feeling in the District of Columbia.
  Ron Brown had been a friend for 30 years. When he and I were both 
young and his wife Alma and I were in a club in New York called 
Liaison, and Michael and Tracy were born to them, and Johnny and 
Catherine were born to my husband and me, Michael now has a wife, 
Tammy, and one of the saddest things to see is Ron with these two 
babies, these twin sons who were his grandsons. Ron was a wonderful 
family man. His son, as was said at the funeral, was his best friend.
  Ron was a man of extraordinary determination, energy, and ability. 
Seldom has one American put together so many of the traits necessary 
for success in public life. As both policy spokesman and politician, 
Ron Brown excelled, bringing his party back to life again and helping 
Democrats win; without whom the President said we would not have won 
the Presidency in 1992.
  Yet this was a fund raiser extraordinaire on the one hand, a 
coalition builder on the other. Any one of those would have been much.
  I thank the New Yorker magazine for its comment on Ron in an article 
called ``The Fixer as Statesman.'' Somehow, this article tries to put 
together the two parts of this man that so often are seen as not going 
together.
  The statesman, of course, is the commercial diplomat that Ron Brown 
became, and the fixer is the man who fixed the Commerce Department and 
the man who fixed the Democratic Party.

                              {time}  1700

  The comment by Sean Willents calls Ron silky, shrewd, and supremely 
self-confident. I do think, Madam Leader, that they capture this man we 
knew so well. They say he was not a plaster saint. Would he abhor being 
remembered in that way?
  And they call him wordly and capable. They remember that Ron began in 
the Civil rights movement. So many who have achieved in this country 
today never would have gotten the chance to showcase their talents were 
it not for the civil rights movement. Having seen what he could do, 
because of the opportunity the movement afforded him as the vice 
president of the Urban League, ultimately Ron then went on to become a 
top staffer in the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and leader 
of his party, where he was essentially its titular head for between 
1988 and 1992, articulating policies, bringing people together, 
preparing the way.
  He took the job at the Commerce Department, which was regarded as 
nothing so much as a bureaucracy, and reinvented it into the kind of 
department European and Asian countries have long had, a Department 
that is aggressive in going out and selling the country and the 
country's business.
  Finally, let me say of Ron Brown what is so important to to many. Ron 
simply saw and understood himself to have no limits. I am not sure all 
of us understand what an achievement that is in country where so many 
still feel bound by race, even if in fact if they would fly they are 
not bound by race. Ron said let me try to fly, and then he soared. The 
great tragedy is that had Ron not been killed, there in no limit to 
where he might have flown.
  He simply refused to have an assigned place as a black man. He looked 
around him, saw other places, and went wherever his talent and energy 
could go, and they took him very far. I said at the Metropolitan 
Baptist Church that to many, race is what they believe holds them back. 
To Ron, race was a contest that you ran and won. With that spirit, so 
many youngsters caught in ghetto environments today might find the role 
model for the 1990's.
  For my city, the city where Ron was born, the city where he lived 
when he died, I have asked my constituents not to mourn for Ron. 
Remember Ron was the happy warrior. I have said to my constituents 
living in this troubled city, this seriously troubled city because of 
its financial crisis, to remember Ron as the man who looked to 
impossible missions and made them possible. It is possible for Ron's 
birthplace, for the place where Ron lived, to bloom again, as Ron 
always looked to see what was possible and then went forward. I have 
said to those I represent: Don't mourn for Ron, try to be like Ron. Ron 
came, Ron saw, Ron conquered. So can we.
  I appreciate the time that has been offered me.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. I thank the gentlewoman for her very poignant and 
personal remarks about Ron.
  We have been joined also by one who serves on the PEC, this is the 
President's Export Council, and what we want to do, indeed, is to 
remember him in a personal way but also remember him as forging new 
opportunities for trade, and those of us who had the unique pleasure of 
serving on that feel that certainly there is a particular loss.
  I am going to ask if the gentlewoman from Connecticut, Mrs. Nancy 
Johnson, who is here, if she would make comments. And I understand that 
on her side--I want to say that this is a bipartisan approach that we 
were doing, and I am pleased that the gentlewoman from Connecticut 
wanted to join in this effort, which I think is an appropriate effort.
  Our tribute is that Ron served American industries which gave 
American

[[Page H3447]]

jobs, and we as Americans first rather than you as a Republican and I 
as a Democrat, we are Americans trying to foster the interests of that. 
So I am pleased that she has come to join us.
  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Thank you. I thank my colleague for 
yielding to me. The President and the members of the Cabinet are the 
President and the members of the Cabinet for all Americans, and I am 
privileged to be here tonight to help you celebrate the life of Ron 
Brown and honor him as our former Secretary of Commerce and recognize 
the leadership he provided and the quality of the job he did.
  When I was first elected in 1982, I came here from a district that 
had been devastated by what we called in those days unfair foreign 
competition. Some of it was just a very strong dollar combined with an 
American industry that was not efficient and was not strong. I watched 
Mac Baldrige try to develop the Commerce Department into a fighting 
partner with American business in a developing international market. I 
saw him struggling through, trying to help us see the importance of 
developing a department of trade.
  I saw Mac Baldridge and some of his successors build the capability 
of the Department of Commerce to help American business get into the 
export market, sell abroad, be present in other markets in the same way 
foreign producers were present in our market, provide the same 
challenge in the world market that foreign producers were providing in 
our market. And that opening of vision that started with Mac Baldridge 
culminated in some really remarkable successes under the leadership of 
Secretary Brown. He understood and developed that in a way none of his 
predecessors had. Each of them made unique and remarkable and very 
valuable contributions to beginning to look forward to how the American 
economy could be strong in the decades ahead and serve our children in 
the same way it served us and our grandparents and our great 
grandparents.
  But Ron Brown understood, in a sense, in a more practical vigorous 
way than any of the rest of us the need for the American Government to 
back, to partner, to encourage, to lead, to pressure, to force, to 
incite, to get American business to understand their own power in the 
international market, the quality of their product, the possibilities 
for them, and he got right out there with them. He got right out there 
with them in China at a time when, frankly, the State Department was 
having a little trouble with China. But he understood if you learn to 
produce and you learn to trade, if you force ideas, if you award 
intellectual property, if you reward personal energy, we as a Nation 
will be OK. We will be economically strong and we will be peaceful.
  I remember him talking about that connection between prosperity, 
peace and trade, and in his own way he was as dynamic and as vigorous 
and as committed an individual as the world has ever produced in 
support of business, trade, and the economic strength and prosperity 
that flows from a dynamic business community in an international 
market.
  He got out there with big companies and small. He got out there in 
countries like China. He got out there all over the world. And it is 
tragic but, in a sense, not surprising that he lost his life taking 
business into what was a devastated, war-torn area, because that was 
his idea of giving hope to a people torn, devastated; their goods, 
their economy, their hearts, their minds destroyed by years and years 
of war.
  He understood that the only real bond; that healing would only truly 
take place when there were jobs, when there was an economy, when there 
was competitiveness, when there was strength, and that America could 
not only offer goods but we could offer hope through example. We could 
offer leadership through guidance.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Would the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. I would be happy to yield.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. I wanted to respond to her very, I think, appropriate 
analogy of his going to both big and large companies. He also, 
conversely, understood that small and big companies here in America 
could also experience the value of exports and what that meant to the 
smaller communities as well as what it meant to the big companies.
  As you know, on the export council there are big businesses there, 
but there are also smaller businesses. Maidenform, for example, is 
small. It is not a big company, it started small. So it means in my 
district, its small subsidiary also expands as their products are sold 
abroad, giving jobs to Americans in their communities.
  I think Ron Brown knew what the rest of us have come to understand: 
that for every $1 million of export we already create here $9 million 
of industry. And some of us do not understand that. I for one, 
initially, did not have that same appreciation until I was on the Small 
Business Export Subcommittee and had an opportunity to work with you 
and others, as well as under the leadership of Ron Brown, who opened, 
as you say, the hope, the opportunity. And it was about vision and 
excitement, but also it was about the possibility if people worked 
together.

  And that is why, I think, if we are going to have this expansion and 
tribute to Ron Brown, it should be about us keeping that going. The 
greatest legacy to any of us as we leave is for someone to pick up our 
work and build on it and see the value of it and continue. I just 
wanted to thank the gentlewoman for her pushing that thought in my 
mind.
  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. One of the things that I think is wise 
to remember from the death of a man like Ron Brown is that he was 
extraordinarily capable in many ways, and one of them was that he was 
an extraordinary mentor.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Yes.
  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. I had the privilege to travel recently 
over the recess, and I ran into some of the young people that had 
worked with Ron. And it was really interesting to me because you do not 
see this all the time. Cabinet members are not necessarily either warm 
and fuzzy or mentors. They are important and they do a great job for 
America. They serve an important need. But Ron has inspired many young 
minds, and they are there and they will serve us. And they are both 
parties. Some of them are lifelong, quote, ``bureaucrats.''
  And so he has passed on and was able to pass on a belief and a faith 
in America, in us as a free people, and in us as a governing democracy, 
and felt strongly the need for us to be a part of the international 
community both as an economic force and as a force for democracy.
  I thought it was so interesting to listen to the gentlewoman from the 
District of Columbia [Ms. Norton] talk about how he never saw himself 
as a black man. He saw himself as an American, as a man, as a power, as 
an individual, and as a proud black citizen. But he never felt anything 
stood in his way. If he wanted to do it, he had the intellect and 
resources to do it. And it is that legacy that inspired those he 
traveled with, that made a difference in the countries he went to. And 
it is that attitude that he leaves to those whose lives he touched.
  I thank my colleague for organizing this recognition of former 
Secretary Ron Brown tonight. It is well deserved, and I appreciate 
having had the opportunity to join you.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Thank you for your comments. I appreciate that.
  Mr. BEILENSON. Would the gentlewoman yield? Is it convenient for the 
gentlewoman to yield at this point?
  Mrs. CLAYTON. I promise I will get right back to the gentleman from 
Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter]. We certainly want to have his comments here. 
But we have also been joined by the distinguished gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Dingell] and he wants to make a statement and we would be 
honored to have his statement.

                              {time}  1715

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman for 
yielding to me. I want to commend her for having this special order to 
celebrate the life and the contributions of a great and patriotic 
American, our now deceased Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, who in a 
tragic event about 2 weeks ago lost his life with more than 30 others 
in a tragic air crash in Bosnia.
  In the days that followed it became very clear to our citizens how 
much Ron Brown had accomplished in a very

[[Page H3448]]

short time at the helm of the Commerce Department. To those of us who 
serve in the Federal Government, Ron Brown is a well-known figure, a 
symbol of what is best in our Nation. When you work hard and strive for 
excellence, you attain it.
  I had the privilege of serving with him in matters of concern when he 
was at the Commerce Department and when his agency was answerable to 
the Committee on Commerce of which I was at that time chairman and then 
more recently ranking member.
  He had a distinguished career that included military service, served 
at the Urban League, served at the Democratic National Committee. He 
was successful in the practice of law and advising heads of state. And 
he proved time and time again that skill, adroitness, energy, 
dedication can be an enormous asset in getting the job done.
  I will be inserting into the Record a number of quotes of 
distinguished Americans and American businesses about his contribution 
to our Government. I also want to make the observation that he was one 
who understood what the Department of Commerce should do. It was his 
function, as he saw it, not only to provide extraordinary leadership to 
that agency but also to see to it that it functioned to the fullest and 
that it dealt with the promotion of trade, jobs, market openings and 
expansion of opportunity for Americans through the business of exports, 
because that is where economic success for this country lies.
  He was a great human being, a dear friend, and his wife Alma and he 
were dear friends of my wife Deborah and I. We shall miss him. We shall 
pray for the repose of his soul, and we shall understand that he 
brought excellence to the Department in the great tradition of others 
who had preceded him, first the distinguished Secretary Malcolm 
Baldrige, who was a great friend of mine and also a distinguished 
public servant, as also was Secretary Mosbacher, who was a leader of 
great quality in that agency.
  We shall miss Ron. We can dedicate ourselves to carrying forward the 
practices and principles in which he believed, that market opening and 
trade, that opportunity for Americans lies in the success of that 
Department.
  I want to thank the distinguished gentlewoman for yielding to me and 
for holding this special order.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation suffered a severe blow almost 2 weeks ago 
when it was learned that Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and more than 30 
others lost their lives in a tragic air crash in Bosnia.
  In the days that followed, it became very clear to our citizens how 
much Ron Brown accomplished in a very short time at the helm of the 
Commerce Department. To those of us who serve in the Federal 
Government, Ron Brown was a well-known figure, a symbol of what is best 
about our Nation: when you work hard and strive for excellence, you 
attain it.
  Brown had a distinguished career that included military service. 
During his tenure at the Urban League, at the Democratic National 
Committee, practicing law or advising heads of state, Ron proved time 
and time again to be an invaluable asset to getting the job done.
  Over the past year, many working Americans wrote to me about Ron 
Brown's work at the Commerce Department to promote exports, combat 
unfair trade practices by our international trade competitors, speed 
the dissemination of advanced technologies, and conduct research vital 
to understanding our climate, our weather, and the environment.
  Bissell, Inc. in Grand Rapids, MI wrote that his company frequently 
used the Commerce Department's export programs, and that, ``they have 
proven to increase export sales and thus help the economy of our 
country.''
  Viatec, Inc. in Hastings, MI said that, ``This invaluable program is 
an INVESTMENT that produces returns to the American taxpayers with more 
high-paying jobs, taxpaying citizens, and U.S.A.-purchased materials.''
  A research group in Ann Arbor said the Advanced Technology Program 
is, ``important in transferring the results of fundamental research 
into practical products.''
  Monroe Auto Equipment in Monroe, MI, said that Ron Brown's 
``aggressive trade promotion policies of our government add value to my 
company's efforts to compete in worldwide markets.''
  Perhaps Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer said it best: ``The Department of 
Commerce has been a job-creation machine for the State of Michigan and 
our cities.''
  The last time that Secretary Brown appeared before the Commerce 
Committee, he said the following about his Department: ``I am anxious 
to work very closely with Members of Congress on both sides of the 
aisle to make sure we do what is best for the country, to make sure we 
do what is best to assure long term economic growth and creation of 
high wage, high quality jobs for our people. I think that no department 
in government does that more effectively than the Department of 
Commerce.''
  Mr. Speaker, today Ron Brown is gone. But his life was one which 
touched many people, both here and abroad, and his work has left a 
legacy of accomplishment about the strength of a government that serves 
its people well. We will miss Ron Brown greatly. But his was a life 
that mattered, and his legacy lives on.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. 
Dingell] also for getting comments from the business community, because 
I think that is extremely important, because sometimes we think only of 
politicians or public servants, but Ron Brown also was essential for 
the ongoing expansion of business opportunity. For business persons to 
make that tribute I think is appropriate.


                             general leave

  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the subject of my special order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. White). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentlewoman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. We are joined by the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. 
Bereuter]. He has been very active on the President's Export Council as 
well. We are pleased for him to make comments.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, as mentioned already with some examples 
here, Ron Brown was an extraordinarily multitalented man who brought 
great intensity and scope to his interests and his activities. You 
heard about his mentoring activities here and how much he stimulated so 
many Americans, especially young Americans, to take an active role in 
Government. But I did want to focus my remarks on the tremendous 
achievements that Secretary Brown brought during his tenure at the 
Commerce Department to the expansion of our trade and investment 
opportunities abroad.
  On August 4 of last year, when we held hearings in the committee on 
International Relations about the future of the Department of Commerce, 
I said during the course of that debate that I was proud to 
enthusiastically and sincerely commend our late Secretary for his hard 
work and promotion of American commercial interests. Secretary Brown 
correctly realized that if the United States economy is to 
remain strong and vibrant in the 21st century, the United States 
Government must maintain and fund a comprehensive national export 
strategy. And he served as a very competent innovative chairman of the 
trade promotion coordinating committee. In that capacity he recognized, 
of course, and made it clear to many Americans that the United States 
economy is already very dependent on exports. He clearly understood 
that during this decade exports have to account for a much larger part 
of our economic growth.

  Secretary Brown fought tirelessly for American commercial interests, 
both within the cabinet and abroad. Since taking office, Secretary 
Brown hit the ground running and immediately received the wrath of the 
Europeans for an important United States commercial airplane deal with 
Saudi Arabia, 15 high-level trade and investment missions. And billions 
of dollars of U.S. export and investment later, we bid the honorable 
Ron Brown, the former Secretary of Commerce, a fond farewell and thank 
him for his unmatched advocacy and dedication to American commercial 
interests. I think he set an important precedent for the Commerce 
Department and for our cabinet members generally in his focus on 
international trade and expanding our export base.
  As I said, he was a man of multitalented background, a wonderful man, 
sincere in his working with Members of Congress on both sides of the 
aisle. I look back with great fondness at the relationship we had in 
working for expanding the export base.
  I thank the gentlewoman for taking this special order and for 
allowing me to say a few words about one aspect of Secretary Brown's 
life.

[[Page H3449]]

  Mrs. CLAYTON. I do appreciate that. I think the gentleman has 
experienced a working relationship and particularly in that area about 
which he spoke. I want to note again for the Record that is an effort, 
the President's Export Council, to have a bipartisan effort. Both 
Republicans and Democrats should be honoring a great man and that is as 
it appropriately should be.
  I thank the gentleman. I am pleased to yield to my friend, the 
gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Clyburn].
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I first met Ron Brown in the late 1960s, when all of us 
were all about trying to find a way to get ourselves and those people 
that we represented into the mainstream of American activity. I grew to 
admire and respect him, and there was something about Ron that 
compelled him to bring along with him all of the young talent that he 
could muster in order to demonstrate to our great Nation the talent 
that was there for those who, given the opportunity, could make 
significant contribution. That to me is the real legacy of Ron Brown.
  One of these young talents was the granddaughter of my doctor when I 
lived in Charleston, Jerry Irving Hoffman, in the late 1960's and early 
1970's. And I want to join today with everybody in paying homage to 
that great spirit that Ron Brown gave to all with whom he came in 
contact.
  Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday before last, as I sat in the home of Mr. 
Brown sharing with his wife Alma, his son Michael and his daughter 
Tracey, other family members and friends, hoping against hope that 
something, some good news would come of this event, as we sat there, 
watching the television, something occurred that stays with me to this 
day. And it is what I would like to share with all Americans today. 
There came to the camera a gentleman, I think he was from northern 
Virginia, who did not make the trip, a CEO who spoke to the world on 
the fact that for some reason, though he was scheduled to be on the 
trip, he did not make the trip. And he asked a very cogent question, 
and I think all of us ought to ask ourselves today, he said that he 
must now find out why the good Lord saw fit to keep him here. It is his 
job now to find out exactly what it is that the good Lord would have 
him do.

  I think that is something that all of us who call ourselves public 
servants ought to be thinking about today. We are left here; we can 
speak of Ron Brown's legacy. We can pay homage to all that his life 
meant. But I think throughout it all we ought to ask ourselves the 
question now, what it is that the good master would have us do.
  I would hope that as we go about trying to fulfill the dreams and 
aspirations of Ron Brown and others like him that we will keep in mind 
the hope and the aspirations that he gave to so many and the hope and 
aspirations that so many are still left looking to us to help fulfill 
for their futures.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I remember seeing that same executive. He 
said he was not sure what God had in store for him. So part of our hope 
is that God has in store for him to help push what Ron Brown started. 
We are also pleased to have Congressman Shays  from the Great State of 
Connecticut join us, and he wants to be a part of this tribute and we 
are delighted to have him.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I definitely want to be a part of this 
tribute and join with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who 
are here to express their love and admiration for a truly great 
American, a truly fine, outstanding Secretary of the Cabinet, the 
Secretary of Commerce.
  I would first want to express my love and admiration for his wife 
Alma and for his very distinguished son Michael and distinguished 
daughter Tracey. I was not able to be at the funeral for Mr. Brown 
because I had two constituents who also died on that plane. And if I 
could I would like to just express my love and admiration for Claudio 
Elia, who died on that plane, and for his two magnificent children, 
Kristin and Marc, who just were real soldiers during their dealing with 
their grief, and for his magnificent wife Susan, and also for Robert 
Donovan, who also died, and for his truly outstanding two children, 
Kara and Kevin, who just seem to deal with this agony and grief in a 
way that I could not help admire, and for his precious wife Peg, two 
people from the 4th Congressional District who died on that plane 
because they wanted to be with Ron Brown on this very important and, in 
fact, dangerous mission to bring trade and economic growth and some 
sense of hope to people in Yugoslavia, to give them a sense that maybe 
their day would be a little brighter.
  I have admiration for Ron Brown for leading this. I did not have 
direct contact with him in my capacity on the Committee on the Budget 
or the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, but he came to my 
office twice to talk about the importance of the Department or 
Commerce, and I was just struck by his incredible energy, highly 
intelligent man, and just an admiration for realizing that I was 
sitting in the same room with an individual who at the depth, I think, 
of a party challenge, taking on being the chairman of a great party, 
the Democrat Party, taking on the role of trying to select a Democrat 
President, a President, electing a very distinguished Governor and 
thinking that the immense task that must have been as he was talking 
with me and the incredible talent it must have taken to bring all the 
different people he had to bring together to accomplish that task.
  I am here to salute him as a very capable Secretary of the Department 
of Commerce, a very capable individual, someone who I respect as being 
a joyous warrior, someone who I felt instantly I could tell him very 
candidly what I thought and that he would respect me as another 
individual in the same environment he was, a political environment.
  I think the real tragedy is that not just one segment of our society, 
not just the Democrat Party, not just the black community, but all of 
America has the right to truly grieve that we have lost a young man who 
in the last 5 to 10 years was a dynamic force in this country, who 
maybe one day would have been in fact President of this United States, 
who would have been clearly a force in the next decade or two.

                              {time}  1730

  So I thank you for giving me this opportunity to express my 
admiration for him and for being part of this very important tribute. 
Again, I would close by expressing my love and affection for the family 
and say that, while I was not in Washington to listen to the tribute 
the night before, since I was at a funeral service when his service was 
taking place, but for hours I watched the tribute and wished that I 
could have been there in person to actually enjoy it even the more. I 
thank you for this time.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Indeed it was a celebration of his life that we 
watched, rather than a tragedy.
  Mr. SHAYS. It was a celebration of life, period, and of this great 
country.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. We are also joined by my colleague, the great 
Congressman from Texas, Mr. de la Garza. He has asked to participate as 
well.
  Mr. de la GARZA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for giving me 
this time and to join my other colleagues in expressing our sense of 
loss individually, collectively as a Nation, and even the world, due to 
the loss of our friend, Ron Brown.
  Let me say first that I am mourning his loss because he was my 
friend. But we as a Nation lost a great American. I cannot add to the 
adjectives that have been mentioned or will be mentioned about Ron 
Brown, but I only would like to mention a couple or three of my 
personal remembrance of him.
  One was that he was a man that no task was too small, no challenge 
was too large. He did what he had to do. He did it in a gracious, 
eloquent manner also, always without fault, and I would like to 
remember also that the most minute things and the way that he handled 
items as a person, all we know as Secretary of Commerce, what he did 
and how he did it, and throughout the world and here, but before the 
last Democratic Convention, I called over to the Democratic Committee, 
and this is when he was chairman of that committee, that I wanted to be 
sure that some mention was made of agriculture in the speeches and at 
the convention, and I left it at that.
  The next afternoon I had a call from Ron Brown, which I never 
expected. I

[[Page H3450]]

was just speaking with the people that were organizing the program, and 
he says, ``Mr. Chairman, would you think that I would leave agriculture 
out of this convention?''
  I say, ``No, I wouldn't have thought so, Ron, but I just wanted to be 
sure to remind whoever it was organizing the program.''
  He says, ``Well, agriculture will be addressed, and you will be a 
speaker.'' And so it was. And so it was.
  How it got from the person I spoke to and much lower levels to Ron 
Brown I do not know, but the only explanation is that he was looking at 
everything that was going on. And so I had the great honor of speaking 
at the national convention because of the request of Ron Brown.
  Again, also when we were working so hard on NAFTA, most of you, not 
all of you, remember how he worked on the Hill, how he worked 
throughout the United States. But I wanted to have a joint meeting with 
our friends from Mexico, and I appealed to him, if he could be of 
assistance. His answer to me was, ``When do you want me?''
  So we set a date. We invited his counterpart from Mexico, and they 
met in McAllen and Hidalgo, TX, and we had a great meeting, and there I 
saw him working, the people from Mexico and the people from south 
Texas.
  But one of the most interesting things, and it has been mentioned 
before, he had a way with young people, children. At the meeting that 
we had, open meeting with several hundred people, it was a young person 
that walked up to him and visited with him, and he visited back as if 
that young man or that young woman was the most important person at 
that event that day. And there we had Secretary of Commerce from 
Mexico, the Secretary of Commerce from the United States, assistants, 
needless to say, the local Congressman, but to him at that point was, 
and I recall this very vividly, that young lady that was asking him 
questions about the Department of Commerce and, I think in the end, how 
she could get a job at the Department of Commerce.
  He never flinched or missed a beat, and he says come see me, I will 
be happy to talk to you.
  That is the kind of individual we personally will miss.
  Certainly the country has lost a tremendous American, the world has 
lost a tremendous individual, and I think it has been mentioned before, 
but the legacy of Ron Brown should be what we continue doing that he 
did not have time to do. And I hope that that would be our dedication.
  I extend on behalf of my district and myself my condolences to the 
family, to all his family, and we share because it was our loss and we 
will mourn him. But more so, we should dedicate ourselves to that which 
he tried to do. To him there was no black, no brown, no white, no red. 
Everyone was a creature of God from his beginning to the very end, and 
that he died on a mission trying to enhance U.S. commerce, but yet 
trying to help downtrodden people was probably the major culmination, 
the major thing, of what Ron Brown was.
  There was no small, there was no large, there was no one but the 
individual before him, and I saw him do that, and we will forever 
remember him in that manner. I thank the gentlewoman.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. I thank the gentleman for those very appropriate and 
sincere remarks, and I want to insert that he was indeed a friend of 
agriculture because North Carolina understands that very well, in 
making opportunities in Russia for turkeys and poultry and other places 
that we could have in that area.
  We are pleased to be joined by a Congressman from Indiana, 
Congressman Jacobs. He also wants to be a part of this tribute.
  Mr. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, he was no longer a warrior, but he died in a 
war torn country.
  He died not that others might live, but that others, many others, 
including Bosnians and Americans as well, might live better.
  He was and, in the inspirational sense, remains an authentic American 
hero. ``We shall miss his bright eyes and sweet smile.''
  May God forgive those who were so ready to bear false witness against 
him.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Thank you very much.
  Congresswoman Collins from the great State of Illinois has joined us, 
and she will now make a tribute.
  Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute 
to Secretary Ron Brown and to express my sincere condolences to his 
wife, Alma, and to their family. My heart goes out to them because I 
understand full well what they have gone through, having gone through 
something like this myself.
  Ron was a great man, and we have heard about his strength, his 
vision, and his compassion for people. Tributes have come from the 
broadest possible range of people, including the President of the 
United States and foreign dignitaries, to the lowest ranking workers of 
the Commerce Department. I believe that these statements best serve as 
testimonials. They are the very best testimonials to a man many of us 
had the honor to know and to admire. But let me add just a few 
observations.
  Secretary Ron Brown might best be remembered as a man who saw 
opportunity where others saw none. He will be missed as a crucial 
bridge between the privileged and the underserved in our society. For 
Ron Brown believed, above all else, that the greatest asset America has 
is the diversity of its population. Secretary Brown understood that 
America's prosperity depends on our ability to become more competitive 
in emerging economic markets around the world.
  American exports equal American jobs, and he knew this, and that is 
why he was on the mission that he was on. He knew that developing 
countries needed real economic investments and not handouts, economic 
investment with which to demonstrate that a market economy works; 
economic development, in turn, can lead to real democracy.
  And that is what he was all about. He was about building America, 
about creating jobs, about making sure that democracy is all over this 
world because we all know that it is a system that has worked and works 
well, better than any other in the world.
  It seems to me that those of us who knew him well and have known him 
for so many years understood that. We understood that when he smiled, 
it was a smile of friendship, when he extended his hand, it was a hand 
of welcome from those across the shores to those of the shores of the 
United States of America.
  When we saw him in office all throughout his many achievements 
throughout his short lifespan, we knew that here was a man of great 
thought, of great compassion, of great wisdom.
  I stand here because I know that Ron Brown was my friend, and I know 
in my heart that this country will miss him, a man of his dedication 
and a man of his strength.
  Mr. Speaker, Secretary Ron Brown might best be remembered as a man 
who saw opportunity where others saw none. He will be missed as a 
crucial bridge between the privileged and the underserved in our 
society. For Ron Brown believed above all else that the greatest asset 
America has is the diversity of it population.
  Secretary Brown understood that American prosperity depends upon our 
ability to become more competitive in emerging economic markets around 
the world. American exports equal American jobs. Those emerging markets 
are located in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. America's racial 
diversity could be our most important asset in corporate efforts to 
gain market share in these emerging regions. Ron Brown was harnessing 
our racial diversity in a way that was good for American business, good 
for American jobs and good for developing nations.
  Secreatry Brown knew that developing countries need real economic 
investments not handouts. Economic investment will demonstrate that a 
market economy works. Economic development in turn can lead to real 
democracy.
  While many in the United States are willing to use this approach in 
Eastern Europe and Asia, there is a conspicuous absence of American 
investment in Africa. Secretary Brown was especially concerned about 
the willingness of many in the United States to concede the markets of 
Africa to its former colonizers in Europe. Unbelievably only 7 percent 
of exports to Africa come from the United States while 40 percent come 
from Europe. This makes no sense when the return on investment in 
Africa is 25 percent, outstripping any other region in the world. Ron 
Brown was helping American companies change this equation.

[[Page H3451]]

  Secretary Brown was also a tenacious fighter and advocate. As the 
ranking minority member of the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight, I worked with Secretary Brown in opposing efforts to 
dismantle the Commerce Department. When many political pundits on 
Capitol Hill were predicting the imminent demise of the Commerce 
Department because it had become a favorite target of the new majority, 
Ron Brown never wavered in his eloquent defense of the Department and 
its employees.
  Secretary Brown used his considerable skills to clearly and 
forcefully articulate the folly of eliminating the Commerce Department 
at a time of economic globalization. When the central governments of 
countries like France and Japan are promoting their businesses, the 
United States Government cannot afford to abandon its efforts to 
identify and win export opportunities abroad.
  Under Ron Brown's leadership, our Government developed a national 
export strategy to help small, minority, women-owned, and large 
companies, win export sales abroad. His efforts paid off in more than 
$80 billion of foreign sales for American firms that supported 
thousands of high-paying jobs for American workers.
  While Secretary Brown was always open to exploring new export 
opportunities abroad, he was also never afraid to stand up for the 
rights of U.S. business in foreign markets. When foreign steel 
producers dumped steel in the U.S. at below fair market prices, it was 
the Commerce Department under Secretary Brown that took the action 
which led to the imposition of duties on foreign steel.
  Secretary Brown was also one of the strongest defenders of the United 
States movie, computer software, and recording industries rights 
against intellectual property rights violation in China. Secretary 
Brown firmly believed America's economic strength greatly depends on 
our ability to safely and freely market intellectual property in 
foreign markets.
  Secretary Brown's efforts were not focused on foreign markets alone. 
He played an instrumental role in directing funds so that small town 
throughout our country could gain access to the information 
superhighway. He insisted that the new telecommunications law, ensure 
universal service and open access for all communities in our country, 
including inner city areas. For Ron Brown, the information superhighway 
represented future social and economic growth. He was determined that 
all Americans would benefit from these historic changes.
  Finally, for African-Americans Ron Brown served as an important role 
model. His life demonstrated to many young African-Americans that they 
can thrive in non-traditional roles. As the first African-American 
chairman of the Democratic National Committee he was the one person 
most responsible for the election of President Clinton. As the first 
African-American Secretary of Commerce in our Nation's history, Ron 
Brown was by any objective standard the most effective Secretary of 
Commerce I have ever witnessed in my 23 years in the Congress. Ron 
Brown was a shining example that African-Americans can lead this Nation 
and the world into the 21st century.
  His life was also a caution to African-Americans that your efforts to 
move beyond traditional roles may be met with resistance. The rules for 
you will be different than the rules for anyone else. Therefore, if you 
are to succeed, you must be willing to out perform others. You will 
need to work harder, and smarter in order to be successful. But if you 
stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize, and are given the 
opportunity, Ron Brown's legacy demonstrates that there is nothing that 
African-Americans cannot accomplish.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Thank you very much.
  We are also joined by the Congresswoman from Maryland.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Thank you. I do want to thank Congresswoman Clayton for 
doing this. I think it is very important that we pay tribute to a man 
who has died too young, who served his country so well, and I know 
others will join by memorializing Secretary Ron Brown by virtue of 
submitting statements.
  I just want to say that there is a vacuum in the world, there is a 
vacuum in the country, there is a vacuum in the hearts of country men 
and country women because of the untimely loss of Ron Brown. He is a 
man who is dedicated to his country, to his community, to his 
profession to a ``T'', to his family especially, and certainly to his 
friends.
  I became acquainted with Ron Brown because as somebody who is 
involved with the technology subcommittees, as chair of it, under our 
jurisdiction is the National Institutes of Standards and Technology and 
the Technology Administration, and obviously all of this is part of the 
Department of Commerce. I have never found anybody who would work so 
perseveringly, indefatigably, and with a tremendous sense of humor and 
with a tremendous ability for what he believed.
  As a matter of fact, today we were originally to have had a 
groundbreaking of a chemistry building on the campus in Gaithersburg of 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology and a field hearing 
at the same time because of the passing of Secretary Ron Brown and the 
high esteem in which he is held by all of those people who are employed 
not only in all of the facets of commerce and especially the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology. This has now been postponed for 
a later date. People were grieving so, that they really felt that they 
could not go on with another undertaking of that nature. Certainly 
there will probably be a dedication in a time when it does indeed take 
place.
  I found him to be a man who did have a sense of humor and a sense of 
commitment, defended his Department very well and could work on both 
sides of the aisle. There was no real aisle when it came to performing 
what he truly believed in, and I had the opportunity a week and a half 
ago to go to India, and I spoke to Americans who were engaged in 
enterprises in India as well as the Indian nationals who were involved 
in industry and business.

                              {time}  1745

  They mourned, they mourned greatly the passing of Ron Brown. It 
occurred at that time, because there had had a very successful trade 
mission just last year which opened all kinds of avenues and markets 
for America to participate in the great world market.
  Mr. Speaker, I simply feel that, as Shakespeare said, the force of 
his own merit led his way, and indeed it did. He will be missed. He 
will, however, go on, live on in love, and I hope he will be an 
inspiration to us. I offer my condolences, obviously, to his beloved 
wife Alma, and to his two children, Michael and Tracy.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, we also join with the gentleman from the 
Virgin Islands [Mr. Frazer] who will join in this tribute to Ron Brown.
  Mr. FRAZER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the distinguished gentlelady 
from North Carolina for holding this special order for the late 
Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown.
  Secretary Brown served our Nation with distinction, service, and 
honor. He provided the vision, and the leadership to promote American 
business abroad. He understood that in order for American business to 
succeed abroad they needed to have the full support of the U.S. 
Government. He used his office to open doors and provide opportunities 
for large and small businesses. This support is characteristic of how 
Secretary Brown served this Nation and American business with 
distinction.
  Secretary Brown was accessible and available to the people of the 
Virgin Islands. He sent his Assistant Secretary for Economic 
Development to assess the rural economic development needs of the 
Virgin Islands and to map out a strategy. It was Secretary Brown who 
understood how vital the U.S. tourism business was to the Virgin 
Islands and was working with us to help promote tourism through the 
international trade administration.
  Secretary Brown elevated the Commerce Department to a new standard of 
honor--where business and government can work together for the good of 
the Nation. Today, the Commerce Department is at the international 
vanguard for American business. This stature is due to Secretary Ronald 
H. Brown's vision, leadership, and astute business intellect.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, we will ask the gentleman from Georgia 
[Mr. Lewis] if he will share also. I have been advised that we have 3 
minutes remaining, unfortunately, to all those who would participate in 
our tribute.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay honor and 
tribute to our late Secretary of Commerce, Ronald H. Brown. No words I 
can utter on this House floor today can do justice to this great man, 
patriot, and public servant. I want to personally express my great 
sense of loss at the passing of this good and decent man and extend my 
condolences to his family: to his wife Alma, his son Michael, and his 
daughter Tracy. Their loss, Mr. Speaker, is our loss, our party's loss, 
and our Nation's loss.

[[Page H3452]]

  I first met Ron Brown more than 30 years ago while vacationing on 
Martha's Vineyard. I was immediately struck by his boundless energy, 
charisma, sophistication, and style. Even back then, one only had to 
spend a little time with Ron to know that he was a rising star. And so 
I was never surprised as I followed Ron's career and watched this man 
grow and develop, first as a young lawyer, then as a leader in the 
National Urban League in New York and later here in Washington, as the 
chief counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee and later as a partner 
in a prestigious Washington law firm and as the chairman of the 
Democratic Party.
  Ron Brown was born in Washington, DC, and raised in Harlem, NY, and 
though he worked his way to the heights of the business and political 
worlds in our Nation, he never forgot where he came from. He never 
forgot how to speak with people. He never forgot who it was that needed 
help and hope and opportunity. Ron spent his life and gave his life 
creating opportunity for those less fortunate, for those who had not 
yet climbed up the economic ladder.
  Ron Brown was a bridge-builder. Through his actions and his words he 
was working to build what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called the 
beloved community, a community at peace with itself, where people are 
not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their 
character. Ron believed in creating opportunity for all Americans and 
he used his position as Secretary of Commerce to promote American 
business abroad and economic development in communities where it was 
desperately needed.
  Robert Kennedy was fond of quoting George Bernard Shaw: ``Some men 
see things as they are and ask why,'' Shaw wrote, ``I dream of things 
that never were and ask why not.'' Ron Brown did dream of things that 
never were and ask why not. He dedicated his life and gave his life to 
promote the country that he loved and to better the lives of the people 
of this country.
  Ron Brown will live in the annals of American history, not just as 
the first African-American Secretary of Commerce, but as perhaps the 
best, most effective, and most accomplished Secretary of Commerce in 
the history of our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I, like so many others will miss Ron Brown. His energy 
could light up a room. His enthusiasm could inspire people to reach 
their greatest God-given potential. His vision and foresight returned 
the Presidency to his party. His counsel and guidance and wisdom will 
be sorely missed as we tackle the problems that face our Nation. One of 
what President John F. Kennedy called our best and our brightest has 
been taken from our midst.
  Those of us who knew Ron Brown were more than lucky, we were blessed.
  Again, I want to extend my condolences to the Brown family and thank 
you, Mrs. Clayton, for arranging for this special order.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, on a hillside over Bosnia, this Nation 
lost 33 dedicated and committed Americans.
  Among those lost was the man we pay tribute to today, Secretary of 
Commerce Ron Brown.
  We pay tribute to Secretary Brown because, in the finest tradition of 
America, he gave his life, in service to his country, while promoting 
peace in a region torn by war.
  This tribute has been organized by those of us who serve on and who 
have participated with the President's Export Council [PEC].
  Secretary Brown was a public sector member of PEC, and the driving 
force behind a notable private-public partnership, whose mission is to 
expand U.S. exports abroad.
  At the very first meeting of PEC, on February 13, 1995, President 
Clinton attended, and Secretary Brown welcomed and swore in the 
appointees.
  Secretary Brown emphasized that he would regard PEC members as the 
board of directors of America's National Export Strategy, first 
implemented in September of 1993.
  And so, Mr. Speaker, we think it only fitting that the PEC ``Board of 
Directors'' lead a tribute to the person who, in our minds, was the 
chairman and chief executive officer of America's effort to achieve 
free and fair trade and to give a chance to U.S. businesses of all 
sizes to market their goods and services abroad.
  Ronald Harmon Brown was born in Washington, DC, on August 1, 1941.
  He was raised in Harlem by his parents, attended Middlebury College 
in Vermont, was commissioned an officer in the Army and spent time in 
West Germany and Korea--surely the seed of foreign trade was planted at 
this time.
  When he left the Army, he joined the National Urban League as a 
welfare caseworker, evidencing early in his career a dedication to 
public service. At night, he attended law school.
  Shortly after law school came his first foray into politics, when he 
was elected district leader of the Democratic Party in Mount Vernon. 
Immediately, he became known as one who could build bridges and close 
divides.
  In 1973, he moved back to Washington, DC and, following a series of 
public and private-sector positions, on February 10, 1989, he was 
elected by acclamation as the first African American chair of the 
Democratic National Committee.
  The rest is history, as Ron went on to help elect President Clinton 
and to be asked to serve as Secretary of Commerce.
  In a relatively short period of time, he made giant strides, 
distinguishing himself, making his mark in many places, leaving his 
permanent imprint on the sands of time.
  Neither race, nor color, nor religion, nor background, or any of 
those false barriers stood in his way. We could always count on him to 
fight another fight, to write another chapter, to run another race. 
Secretary Ron Brown will be sorely missed.
  He will be especially missed for his work with PEC in behalf of U.S. 
exports and his efforts as Secretary of Commerce. One of his last 
appearances in the United States was at the most recent meeting of PEC. 
At that meeting, he shared his thoughts and plans on the Bosnia/Croatia 
trip, as well as uncommon insights he had gathered about trade around 
the world.
  From that meeting came the proposed PEC ``Statement of Principles'' 
concerning export administration. Those principles reflected Ron's 
vision and wisdom--declaring exporting as a right of every American 
citizen, not a privilege, as early versions of the Export 
Administration Act had stated.
  And, those principles outlined what America's position should be on 
export restrictions, seeking to make sure, as Ron always did, that 
there is a level playing field throughout the world and that no one 
nation could assume an unfair competitive advantage in an increasingly 
competitive marketplace.
  While those proposed principles reflected Ron's views, they were 
shaped and will be reshaped by all members of PEC, public and private, 
and certainly included the view of those business and corporation 
representatives who served.
  Indeed, Ron's work and the work of PEC made certain that businesses 
of all types, politics aside, could benefit from the renewed trade 
efforts, and they did.
  During his tenure, important groundwork was laid, major breakthroughs 
were experienced, and future prospects for peace and prosperity were 
cemented. And, while Ron was a deeply committed Democrat, on the matter 
of free and fair trade, he was first an American. Party took a second 
seat to the goal of expanding exports.
  Ron knew what many of us have now come to know. For every $1 million 
we make a available to finance exports, we generate a $7 million 
return, and, more importantly, we create new jobs.
  In the First Congressional District of North Carolina alone, there 
are more than 450 companies that manufacture goods of foreign markets--
and nearly two-thirds are small- and medium-sized businesses, employing 
less than 100 people.
  All in all, eastern North Carolina ships more than $1.3 billion of 
goods overseas each year. Indeed, in 1994, 270,000 new jobs were 
attributed to North Carolina, exports, generating some $13.7 billion in 
revenue, a 21.7 percent increase. In 1994, North Carolina ranked 10th 
in the Nation in exports.
  More and more, the economic well-being of our region and our State 
depends on our ability to sell our products to other countries.
  Clearly, our ability to generate good jobs in the future is tied to 
exports and the ability of local companies, small and large, to exploit 
opportunities in other countries.
  As a member of the Subcommittee on Procurement, Exports, and Business 
Opportunities of the House Small Business Committee and an appointee of 
PEC, I have learned a great deal about the relationship between exports 
and better jobs.
  I have come to appreciate eastern North Carolina's unique combination 
of harbors at Wilmington and Morehead City, a strong interstate system, 
and a state-or-the-art air shipping facility at the proposed Global 
Transpark in Kingston which makes our area particularly well-suited to 
be involved in the export boom.
  I've been working with community leaders to have the proposed Global 
Transpark designated a free-trade zone, which would make it a hub for 
international shipping. If we are successful, the seafood caught off 
our shores

[[Page H3453]]

in the morning could be someone's dinner in Japan the next day.
  According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, for every $1 billion in 
exports, 20,000 jobs are created.
  U.S. exports of goods and services can reach $1 trillion by the 
beginning of the next decade and can produce over 6 million new jobs. 
This could mean, by the year 2000, more than 13 million Americans who 
will be earning their living as a direct consequences of exports.
  But businesses, large and small, usually face three challenges when 
they begin to look to other lands, gaining access to the capital needed 
to open new product lines or modify existing ones for overseas 
consumers, attaining technical training vital to dealing with other 
governments, and finding the information about regulations, American 
and foreign, and trade practices in other countries.
  Secretary Ron Brown, through the Department of Commerce and the 
President's Export Council had undertaken, like never before, to remove 
those barriers to exporting, to overcome the challenges.
  Mr. Speaker, the greatest tribute we can give to Ron Brown and those 
32 other Americans who perished in Bosnia, is to keep their work going 
and make their dreams come true. That is a tribute in which Democrats 
and Republicans, small, medium, and large businesses, and Americans of 
all stripes can join.
  Growth in real incomes and living standards depends heavily on trade.
  Secretary of Commerce designate Mickey Kantor recently noted that 
expanding trade is critical to creating good, high-wage jobs.
  The 11 million Americans who owe their jobs to exports are earning 13 
to 17 percent more than those in nontrade jobs. Ron Brown had the right 
idea.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in keeping that idea burning and in 
creating a living legacy for a man who lived his life in sacrifice so 
that millions of his fellow citizens could live their lives in pride.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor the memory of 
the late Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown. A true leader. A 
successful, fearless man who loved the big things: his family, his 
friends, his country, his work, his African-American heritage. And 
those are the important things. He was passionate and devoted to each. 
To his wife, Alma and his children, Michael and Tracey, please known 
that no man could have lived a more blessed and successful life. God be 
with you.
  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the late Ron Brown. 
Secretary Brown's tragic death on April 3 robbed our Nation of a highly 
distinguished and talented leader. Throughout his career, Ron Brown 
made the most of every challenge that confronted him. As Secretary of 
Commerce and in his other work, he dedicated himself to creating 
opportunities for others.
  I first met Ron when he ran Senator Edward Kennedy's 1980 
Presidential campaign. But I didn't begin to fully appreciate Ron's 
talents until 1991, when, as chairman of the Democratic National 
Committee, he asked me to join him as treasurer of the DNC.
  In that capacity, I witnessed first hand Ron's vision and leadership. 
He had an uncanny ability to bring disparate factions together and a 
capacity of persuasion that was literally unparalleled. I believe it 
was Ron's early work on the Presidential campaign of 1992 that enabled 
then-candidate Bill Clinton to emerge from the Democratic Convention 
with the momentum and resources that ultimately resulted in his 
victory.
  Another of the many distinguished legacies that Ron Brown leaves is 
the dramatic results of his tireless advocacy on behalf of American 
businesses in his 3 years as Secretary of Commerce. Ron worked closely 
with businesses large and small to identify new opportunities and to 
promote American products. He recognized the tremendous potential that 
foreign markets held and knew that American firms must seize this 
opportunity if our Nation was to thrive as it entered the 21st century.
  He worked effectively as a peer with the most powerful business 
leaders in our Nation, yet Ron Brown never lost his ability to identify 
with and related to average Americans. He was greatly beloved in his 
boyhood home of Harlem and left strongly positive impressions among the 
people he came into contact with while traveling throughout the 
country.
  Ron's leadership, keen intelligence, and passion will be greatly 
missed by all those who knew him personally and his loss will continue 
to be felt by many more whom he impacted through his work. I am a 
better person for having known Ron Brown, and I deeply mourn his 
passing.
  Mr. DIXON. Mr. Speaker, we are all horrified by the untimely death of 
the Honorable Ronald Harmon Brown, a man of incredible ability who was 
loved and respected across the globe. In searching for words to 
appropriately honor him, I recalled the following tribute, which I had 
the privilege of inserting into the Congressional Record on August 4, 
1995.

            Tribute to Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown

       Mr. Speaker, as we prepare to return to our districts where 
     many of us will be meeting with community and business 
     leaders concerned about economic development opportunities in 
     our neighborhoods, I want to use this occasion to salute the 
     outstanding accomplishments of a gentleman who has worked 
     tirelessly to promote the cause of business and economic 
     opportunity throughout the United States and abroad. The 
     Honorable Ronald H. Brown, our distinguished Commerce 
     Secretary, is to be applauded and commended for the 
     outstanding job that he has done in serving as the 
     administration's enormously adept ``Pied Piper'' of economic 
     opportunity and empowerment.
       Ron Brown is the 30th United States Secretary of Commerce. 
     In nominating him to this auspicious post, President Bill 
     Clinton noted that ``American business will know that the 
     Department of Commerce has a strong and independent leader 
     and a forceful advocate.'' Those of us who have been 
     privileged to know Ron can attest to his outstanding 
     leadership acumen and his tenacity and considerable powers of 
     persuasion. He is a skillful negotiator and an indefatigable 
     advocate on behalf of America's economic interests abroad as 
     he seeks to expand and open markets for American-made 
     products around the globe.
       Ron's career has been structured around public service and 
     helping to make America a better place for all of her 
     citizens. A native Washingtonian, he grew up in New York 
     where his parents managed Harlem's famous Hotel Theresa. He 
     attended Middlebury College in Vermont and received his law 
     degree from St. John's University. He is a member of the New 
     York Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and is admitted to 
     practice before the United States Supreme Court.
       A veteran of the United States Army, Ron saw tours of duty 
     in Germany and Korea.
       Secretary Brown has had an eclectic career. He spent 12 
     years with the National Urban League, serving as Deputy 
     Executive Director, and General Counsel and Vice President 
     for the organization's Washington operations. He also served 
     as Chief Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a 
     former partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Patton, 
     Boggs, and Blow. And who among us does not remember the 
     brilliant job that he did as the Chairman of the Democratic 
     National Committee and 1993 Inaugural Committee.
       As Secretary of Commerce, Ron has traveled extensively, 
     promoting the administration's trade policies and forging 
     sound private/public sector partnerships. Following the Los 
     Angeles, Northridge earthquake in January 1994, Ron was one 
     of the first cabinet officials on the scene, working with 
     local, State, and Federal officials to identify and earmark 
     funding sources for businesses severely damaged and/or 
     destroyed in the quake. He has since returned to the quake 
     damaged areas on several occasions to survey the progress 
     made by programs implemented under this aegis.
       Ron maintains a schedule that would tire men half of his 
     age. Yet he is always prepared to go wherever he is needed, 
     and he always does it with aplomb and with a spirit of 
     unyielding optimism that inspires all around him to achieve 
     the same level of commitment.
       In addition to his weighty responsibilities as Commerce 
     Secretary, Ron serves on several presidential boards and 
     councils. He is a member of the President's National Economic 
     Council, the Domestic Policy Council, and the Task Force on 
     National Health Care Reform. He serves a Co-Chair of the 
     U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, the U.S.-
     Russia Business Development Committee, and the U.S.-Israel 
     Science and Technology Commission.
       Secretary Brown is also a member of the Board of Trustees 
     for Middlebury College and is chair of the Senior Advisory 
     Committee of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy 
     School of Government at Harvard University.
       Mr. Speaker, I am proud and honored to have this 
     opportunity to commend my good friend, Secretary Ronald H. 
     Brown, on the fine job that he is doing as our Secretary of 
     Commerce. He has led an exemplary career, and I have no doubt 
     that he will continue to lead and inspire. Please join me in 
     applauding him on an outstanding career, and in extending to 
     him, his wife Alma, and their two children, attorneys Michael 
     and Tracy, continued success in the future.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to note 
with appreciation the many achievements and inspirational life of 
Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. With his constant good will and hard 
work, he was able to build bridges where there once were valleys and 
hope where there was once despair. Secretary Brown used the power of 
the Commerce Department to find ways to give opportunity to ordinary 
Americans, to generate jobs for the American economy, and to build 
futures for American citizens.
  One could look at Ron's life as a series of firsts. That would be a 
disservice, for in fact, his life was a series of first place and solid 
accomplishments. Ron Brown always believed that we would succeed. 
Whether as a student at Middlebury, staff person to Senator Kennedy, or 
top campaign aide to the Senator, Ron was a success. As chairman of the

[[Page H3454]]

Democratic National Committee, Ron was a success. A lawyer, a skillful 
negotiator, a pragmatic bridge builder, and past highly successful 
chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Secretary Brown strongly 
believed in the promise of America and aggressively advanced polices 
and programs to accelerate the Nation's economic growth and create new 
jobs and opportunities for all American people.
  Under his leadership, the Commerce Department became the powerhouse 
envisioned by President Clinton. Secretary Brown promoted U.S. exports, 
U.S. technologies, entrepreneurship, and the economic development of 
distressed communities throughout the Nation.
  He led trade development missions to five continents, touting the 
competiveness of U.S. goods and services. During his tenure, U.S. 
exports reached a record high, America regained its title as the 
world's most productive economy, and exports and technology were key 
contributors to the millions of new jobs created during the first 3 
years of President Clinton's administration.
  Mr. Speaker, my prayers go out to his wife Alma, son Michael, and 
daughter Tracy. Their strength and courage were displayed during 
Secretary Brown's funeral service and they should be forever proud of 
their husband and father.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to honor the memory of 
former Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown, an American pioneer, 
patriot, and hero. Secretary Brown was also a dear friend. I am sure 
that my sense of loss is shared by many who work, or have worked, on 
Capitol Hill. In 1979, Secretary Brown became the first African-
American to serve as a chief counsel for a standing Senate committee 
when he took over the Senate Judiciary Committee. As was the case 
throughout his career, his service on the Hill helped to chart a new 
course of participation for African-Americans within the corridors of 
political and public policy decisionmaking.
  Being the first, being the only, being a pioneer, was the former 
Secretary's calling card. He was the first African-American to join a 
social fraternity during his undergraduate days at Middlebury College. 
An Army officer, he was the only African-American officer in his unit 
during his tour of duty in Germany. He was the first African-American 
partner in the law firm of Patton, Boggs & Blow. He was the first 
African-American to head a major political party. Finally, he was the 
first African-American to head the Department of Commerce.
  Upon nominating Ron Brown to be the 30th U.S. Secretary of Commerce, 
then-President-elect Clinton declared, ``American business will know 
that the Department of Commerce has a strong and independent leader and 
a forceful advocate.'' The President could not have been more 
prescient, nor could have made a more brilliant appointment.
  Under the leadership of Secretary Brown, the Commerce Department 
became one of the major success stories of the Clinton administration. 
He launched a national export strategy predicated on the very basic 
idea that American exports translate into jobs and opportunities for 
American business and working people. In the pursuit of this strategy, 
Secretary Brown conducted trade mission after trade mission abroad. He 
traveled most often to what he liked to call the big emerging markets 
of Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
  The trip on which Secretary Brown and his 34 colleagues lost their 
lives was typical of his missions. It was visionary in the most 
practical sense of the word. It was practical in the most visionary 
sense of the word. He had the vision to see that beyond the horrors of 
war wracking Bosnia and Croatia, lay opportunities for American 
business to be of service, as well as to engage in commerce. He was 
grounded enough in the realities of that conflict to understand that 
the road to peace lay in the rebuilding of those shattered communities.
  When Secretary Brown's plane crashed into that mountain on the way to 
Dubrovnik, an American patriot became an American hero. He is no less a 
hero because he died in an accident. He is no less a hero because some 
persons serving in this Congress have spent an inordinate amount of 
time besieging him and undermining the Department he led so 
brilliantly. He is a hero because he died in the service of this 
Nation, pursuing its interests at the cutting edge of diplomacy and 
peacemaking.

  I would be remiss if I did not comment on Secretary Brown's meaning 
to me as an African-American public servant. Secretary Brown could not 
be mistaken for anything else than what he was, an African-American. He 
did not deny that fact, nor did he allow that fact to limit his 
personal or professional horizons. To be sure, Secretary Brown did 
everything within his power to help African-Americans. Beyond that, he 
did everything he could to find points of convergence between the 
interests of America, African-Americans, and Africa. But he never 
allowed himself to be the black Secretary of Commerce, nor, for that 
matter, the black head of the Democratic National Committee, or the 
black anything else. Ron Brown was the Secretary of Commerce, in the 
service of each and every American, hyphenated and unhyphenated.
  It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I agree, a 
thousand and sometimes more. The picture that I have in mind is that of 
President William Jefferson Clinton presenting an American flag to Mrs. 
Alma Brown at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, April 10, 1996. 
That picture says it all. Secretary Brown's life was a life of service 
in the public arena in the pursuit of justice and opportunity. It was 
the life of an American pioneer, patriot, and hero.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this 
opportunity to pause with my fellow colleagues to remember our friend 
Ron Brown. As many have already said, Ron Brown was an exceptional 
person with a deep love for his family, friends, and country. Today, I 
would like to honor his memory by celebrating some of his achievements 
as Secretary of Commerce.
  Our record in international trade will ultimately define the future 
prosperity of our Nation. The ability of our work force to meet the new 
challenges of the global economy and compete for high-skill high-wage 
jobs of tomorrow will be critical. No one understood these principles 
more than Ron Brown
  As Commerce Secretary, Ron Brown expanded our international role by 
reaching out to countries all over the globe, and by strengthening the 
foundations of our domestic economy. His work to improve our trade 
balance, increase overseas opportunities, and create domestic jobs 
helped to prepare the United States for the next century. In my State 
of Rhode Island he genuinely made a difference.
  Last summer, Secretary Brown visited with me in my office to discuss 
the many programs at Bryant College that focused on improving our 
State's economy by investing our resources in international business. 
We talked about Bryant's existing initiatives like the Rhode Island 
Export Assistance Center and their innovative International Trade Data 
Network [ITDN]. The purpose of ITDN was to help create and distribute 
practical information and data that will enable businesses to 
effectively and realistically target their export efforts to actual 
opportunities. For Rhode Island, the programs at Bryant were a way to 
reduce the effects of defense downsizing and struggling economy.
  Secretary Brown saw the impacts that international trade could have 
on local economies and later visited Rhode Island twice to see Bryant 
College and various other initiatives first hand. He took the time to 
investigate our latest ideas and offer the support of this Department. 
Truly, Ron Brown led by example.
  In the end, Ron Brown died as he lived: a dedicated patriot who 
selfessly give his all for friends and country. As a nation we are 
forced to continue without him, but his time with us all will be 
remembered as a time of progress, learning, and achievement.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, today I join with my fellow colleagues to 
pay tribute to a truly great American, the late Secretary of Commerce, 
Ron Brown. To many of us, Ron Brown was not only a cabinet member with 
an impressive record of accomplishment, but he was also a dynamic party 
leader, a trailblazer in the business world, a ferocious advocate for 
the business community as well as those in need, a role-model for 
blacks and whites alike, and a dear friend.
  I will remember Ron for his charming and captivating persona, for his 
astute mind, and for his love of country. Ron Brown was full of energy 
and enthusiasm in each endeavor that he undertook. As Chair of the 
Democratic National Committee, Ron utilized his skills in bringing 
people together and motivating them to work toward a common goal, and 
that propelled the Democratic party to victory in 1992.
  In his capacity as Commerce Secretary, Ron Brown was masterful in 
seeking out and opening up new markets to U.S. businesses. I know 
firsthand of his tremendous talent in bringing together the public and 
private sectors in partnerships. A perfect example of this is in my 
home district of Rochester in which Ron displayed his immense support 
of Eastman Kodak Corporation's efforts to halt unfair trade practices 
that were detrimental to Kodak. Upon Ron Brown's insistence, the 
International Trade Commission concurred and steps were taken to 
address the inequities.
  Ron was such a wonderful and unique leader because he recognized his 
role as Commerce Secretary was broader than simply promoting American 
business and trade in foreign lands. He also used his position to help 
ensure the peace and stability that would provide the foundation for a 
stable economic base in tormented nations such as Bosnia and Croatia.
  Ron died in the midst of an important mission. And he died doing what 
he did best: building bridges between people and building bridges 
between nations.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my colleagues in extending my 
deepest sympathies

[[Page H3455]]

to Alma Brown, Ron's children, and all of the family and friends of 
this extraordinary man. His presence will be sadly missed by the entire 
Nation.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, in the few days since Ron Brown's death, 
it has already become a cliche to speak of his brilliant political 
career--of his pioneering role as party leader, and his efforts to 
almost single-handedly redefine the Commerce Department and its 
influence on the American economy. For those of us who considered Ron a 
friend, it is reassuring to know that the country remembers him as 
fondly we do. But when there are so many tangible achievements to 
celebrate in a man's life, it becomes harder to recognize what is less 
tangible, but perhaps more important.
  To me, there is a reason that Ron Brown broke down so many barriers 
in so many aspects of his life, and shattered so many preconceptions 
about politics, race, and America's place in the world. For all his 
practical and political talents, Ron Brown was an idealist, pure and 
simple. His goals for himself, his party, and his country were always 
based on what should be, and not on what others thought could be. That 
is a rare quality in a politician, and a rare quality in a human being. 
But it is why people loved and respected Ron Brown, and were so often 
willing to abandon their own goals and egos to work with him for that 
higher purpose.
  I first began to work closely with Ron when he became chairman of the 
Democratic National Committee in 1989, around the same time that I 
became House majority leader. It may be hard to remember just how bad 
prospects seemed for the Democratic Party at that point, and how few 
people believed that our party could ever again capture the hearts and 
minds of the American people. Ron Brown was not only an unfailing 
optimist--often the only voice of optimism at those early meetings and 
strategy sessions--but a man who believed so strongly in the bedrock 
principles of the Democratic Party, he refused to accept any reason why 
America would not rally around Democratic ideals and candidates.
  There is no question in my mind that Ron Brown was the driving force 
behind Democratic victories in both the 1990 midterm elections and the 
1992 Presidential election--and that he worked and sweated for those 
victories not out of some desire for narrow political gain, but because 
of his unshakable faith in the Democratic Party as the party of 
progress for average, working Americans. He never forgot where he had 
come from, and who he wanted to help.
  Much has been said in recent days about Ron Brown's ability to heal 
divisions, to reconcile warring factions, to focus on what united 
people as Democrats, or business leaders, or Americans. He truly 
believed that you could always accomplish more by working together--by 
bringing others along with you. That may be why he established a unique 
precedent in working so closely with congressional leaders as party 
chairman. He really did bring the Democratic Party together--sometimes 
almost one person at a time. To see the depth of his empathy and 
understanding--to see how far he would go to understand divergent 
people and opinions, and then to find the common ground between them--
was to see the very essence of leadership.
  As Commerce Secretary, Ron Brown dramatically expanded his mandate, 
reinvigorating the Foreign Commercial Service, and becoming a booster 
of U.S. exports on a scale that had never before been seen. He poured 
his energy and passion into his work at Commerce, much the way he had 
done so at the DNC. I admired the aggressive manner in which he led 
that department, even in the face of partisan political pressures to 
play a lower profile.
  Our country could use another Ron Brown. For he pushed boundaries and 
broke down barriers almost instinctively, intuitively, as if he simply 
refused to acknowledge they were there in the first place. Perhaps, in 
that sense, we can find some shred of meaning in Ron's terrible death--
because no risks and no naysayers could ever have kept him from 
exploring new terrain, reaching for new challenges, and trying to 
redefine the world in which we live. That he managed to do all those 
things in so few years is a powerful legacy indeed.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join members of the 
President's Export Council today in paying tribute to Secretary Ron 
Brown. Ron Brown was a personable individual and a master of the art of 
politics. He served his country and his party with distinction. I 
worked with the Secretary during his tenure as Secretary of Commerce 
and was always impressed with his dedication to economic growth and 
jobs. We shared the goal of promoting U.S. exports, as Ohio has become 
a leader in the export of goods to other countries. The objective of 
his final mission was again to facilitate the movement of U.S. goods 
into overseas markets, thereby working to keep good jobs here in the 
U.S. I extend my sympathies to Secretary Brown's family and friends.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in both sadness and mourning to 
extend the condolences of myself and my family to Mrs. Alma Brown, 
their two children Michael and Tracey, and to the entire Brown family. 
Your husband, father, and mentor was indeed a unique man who graced the 
institutions which he diligently served.
  He was a man committed to the service of his country and to the 
fulfillment of a promise he had made to himself and the community that 
surrounded him in his youth. It was a promise that compelled him to 
demonstrate time and time again that America's diversity was a strength 
and not a weakness. It was a promise that elevated him from his 
beginnings in Harlem to the position of Secretary of Commerce where he 
served with distinction and ultimately died in that service. And above 
all, it was a promise that drove Secretary Brown to tirelessly break 
down the barriers that divided people.
  Ron Brown was a lawyer and skillful negotiator who became the first 
African-American chairman of the Democratic National Committee. 
Secretary Brown strongly believed in the promise of America and 
aggressively advanced policies and programs to accelerate the Nation's 
economic growth. He also became the first African-American to hold the 
office of U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and through his outstanding 
inspiration, vision and force of will, left an indelible stamp upon the 
Department of Commerce.
  His list of achievements reads longer than the endless accolades that 
have adorned his passage from this world into the next.
  Secretary Brown worked endlessly to champion the role of civilian 
technology and technological innovation as the means to ensure American 
job creation, economic prosperity, and a higher standard of living. 
Under his tenure, he worked to establish a nationwide network to help 
small businesses. He led trade development missions to five continents, 
touting the competitiveness of U.S. goods and services. Under his 
leadership, U.S. exports reached a record high.
  Ron Brown worked vigorously to remove outdated government-imposed 
obstacles that hindered U.S. exports, and he strongly believed in the 
competitiveness of American business. His dream was to make America 
stronger, and he remained steadfast to this commitment. Under Secretary 
Brown, United States exports to Japan increased by one-third. He 
advocated for $80 billion in projects and supported hundreds of 
thousands of U.S. jobs. His vision and leadership included his 
understanding of the vital link between our economy and the integrity 
of our environment. He furthermore understood the critical importance 
of protecting intellectual property worldwide, and to this purpose he 
negotiated with countries around the world.
  There was a purpose to Secretary Brown's commitment that found 
fruition in his constant struggle to transcend all barriers. It is 
indeed befitting that this dedication will serve as his legacy; a 
befitting legacy that will outlive the demise of its creator. His 
passing will not detract from the quality of his achievement, but will 
rather inspire us all to achieve more from ourselves.
  His premature departure not only leaves a void, it also leaves a 
tradition that has taught America how to face and overcome adversity. 
His passing compels all of us to take note of his outstanding 
determination and pay respects to his commendable achievements. On this 
day, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a man who served his 
country faithfully in both life and in death.

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