[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 17 (Tuesday, February 11, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H411-H412]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THOMAS ALVA EDISON

  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of 
one of our Nation's foremost technology pioneers, Thomas Alva Edison. 
In Ft. Myers, FL, the site of his winter home for some 45 years, we 
hold the annual Festival of Light celebrating his remarkable 
contribution to modern society.
  With more than a thousand patents, Edison was certainly a prolific 
inventor, but more importantly his inventions revolutionized our 
everyday lives. The light bulb. The phonograph. Wax paper. An 
electronic voting machine that we use here in-house. As he put it, ``I 
find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and try and invent it.'' 
What a refreshing thought.
  The enduring spirit of the independent inventor was brought to life 
by people like Thomas Edison. I join the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. 
Gillmor] today in introducing legislation to authorize a commemorative 
coin whose

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proceeds will support the historical organizations dedicated to Thomas 
Edison's legacy. I hope all of my colleagues will support this bill.

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