[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 63 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AMERICANS AND THREE RECENTLY RELEASED SOLDIERS OWE REVEREND JESSE 
                             JACKSON THANKS

  (Mr. LEWIS of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, there are three American 
soldiers who are celebrating freedom today. These young men have now 
been reunited with their families and are receiving needed medical care 
in Germany.
  America is very proud of Steven Gonzales, Andrew Ramirez, and 
Christopher Stone. Like so many others now in harm's way, they served 
at considerable risk to their own personal safety. They suffered 
physical harm at the hands of their captors, and they emerged from 
captivity with crisp salutes to their superior officers with their 
heads held high.
  As we celebrate their safety, let us not overlook one fact: These 
soldiers were released through the efforts of Reverend Jesse Jackson.
  While I will continue to support our troops in their actions abroad, 
I applaud any potential avenue for peace. Reverend Jackson is not our 
Secretary of State, but in recent days he has achieved diplomatically 
what had not before been possible. America, like these three young men, 
owes him our thanks.

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