[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 144 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H9044]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       LT. COMDR. ROBERT CURBEAM

  (Mr. ROGAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROGAN. Madam Speaker, we Republicans in Congress are fighting to 
return rigorous academic standards to the public classroom. However, 
something just as critical is also missing from public schools: 
teaching our children virtue, patriotism, and citizenship. A shining 
example of those qualities was presented in my district last week when 
Lt. Comdr. Robert Curbeam, U.S. Navy, joined me in visiting four 
schools in the 27th Congressional District of California. For 6 
straight hours, Bob Curbeam shuttled from Burbank to Glendale to 
Pasadena to Altadena. Bob went from classroom to classroom, and 
assembly to assembly talking to hundreds of children--many of them at-
risk children--about his experiences as an astronaut aboard the NASA 
space shuttle Discovery, mission STS 85. I wish every Member of this 
body could have seen the faces on these children when they were able to 
see and listen to Bob Curbeam talking about the importance of studying 
hard, staying away from drugs and gangs, and believing in themselves.
  The final school we visited was a school for emotionally disturbed 
children. Many of them live at the school because no suitable family 
homelife is available to them. At the end of Bob's speech, two young 
wide-eyed boys walked up to him and said, ``when I grow up, I want to 
be just like you.'' What a wonderful tribute that was to a wonderful 
role model. That is what heroes are all about. That is what patriotism 
is all about. That is what Robert Curbeam is all about. I am proud to 
count him as a friend; I am grateful for his service to our country; 
and I am deeply thankful that there are role models for young children 
like Bob Curbeam. As long as America produces leaders like him, we can 
continue to look forward to the future of our country with great 
confidence.

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