[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 30, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               McINTOSH FAMILY BECOMES AMERICAN CITIZENS

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 30, 1997

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on a matter of 
great personal importance--yesterday was a very bittersweet day in the 
lives of some of my constituents. Sadly, Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago a 
bright, young man who had interned in my office died a tragic and most 
untimely death. Robert McIntosh, a rising sophomore at the University 
of Florida, was on a camping trip with friends in the summer of 1994 
when he was swept over a waterfall near Seattle. Robert was one of the 
most thoughtful and hardworking young men I have ever had the pleasure 
of working with. He, like his parents and siblings, was born in Jamaica 
and came to the United States to pursue the American dream.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to report that yesterday Tomas and Marilyn 
McIntosh--Robert's father and mother--became American citizens. 
Robert's brother and sister, Thomas and Natalie, also became citizens 
yesterday. The McIntoshs' wish was to have their children become 
Americans and live out the American dream. Tragically, there was one 
member of the McIntosh family who will never get that opportunity. 
Robert has been missed and thought about by me and all of those of us 
who cared for him since the day of his death. I come to the House floor 
today because yesterday should have been one of the happiest days in 
the lives of the McIntoshs. Yet, it was bittersweet and that is 
unfortunate.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate four of the newest citizens of 
our country and also to let them know that their son's spirit continues 
to inspire all of us who knew him.

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