[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E887]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    HONORING KEEP HOUSTON BEAUTIFUL'S 2D ANNUAL NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 1997

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the efforts of Keep Houston 
Beautiful and the success of the second annual neighborhood cleanup in 
making Houston a better--and cleaner--place to live.
  On May 3 more than a thousand volunteers across the city committed to 
improving the quality of life in Houston in wrapping up the 1997 
neighborhood cleanup effort. Boy Scouts, students from area schools, 
parents and children worked side by side at the Thank You Celebration 
at the Fondren YMCA. It was quite an experience. For almost 2 months, 
thousands of people all across the city of Houston bagged thousands of 
pounds of trash and gathered hundreds of tons of recyclables, all in an 
effort to make their community a better place to live. Because of the 
efforts of these volunteers, our neighborhoods are cleaner, our parks 
are more fun, and our environment is safer.
  Each and every person who took time to participate in the Keep 
Houston Beautiful effort understands the importance of community, that 
it thrives on involvement and starves from apathy. They understand that 
it is our government, our schools, our churches and our neighborhoods 
that they make better when they take the time to get involved. They 
understand that, when they take an hour, a day, or a week to clean up 
their community, the effects are felt for much longer. They are setting 
an example for others to follow, sowing the seeds for the success of 
future cleanup efforts.
  This year, Keep Houston Beautiful launched its biggest attack on 
litter yet, enlisting nearly 35,000 volunteers in their effort to get 
trash off our streets. Keep Houston Beautiful has done a tremendous 
service to the people of Houston by organizing a neighborhood cleanup 
event in our community. Working with the city of Houston, the Board of 
Realtors, and civic and neighborhood groups, Keep Houston Beautiful is 
doing its part to make a long-term difference in Houston.
  But neighborhood clean-up is not just occurring in Houston. Now 
entering its 12th year, this program is America's largest organized 
cleanup effort, involving 1 million volunteers in 100 cities 
nationwide. These volunteers have collectively removed more than 178 
million pounds of debris from public lands so far.
  I commend the great work of Keep Houston Beautiful and their efforts 
to cleanup our city through community cleanup events. And I 
congratulate the thousands of volunteers who gave their time to clean 
up their neighborhoods and make Houston an even better place to live 
and raise a family.

                          ____________________