[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 135 (Thursday, October 7, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRATULATING MR. LEWIS E. PLATT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 7, 1999

  Mr. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, today I wish to congratulate Mr. Lewis E. 
Platt, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of 
the Hewlett-Packard Company, who is retiring after six years as 
Chairman of the Board and 33 years of service to the Hewlett-Packard 
Company. A friend and a neighbor in Silicon Valley from the beginning 
of his tenure with HP, Lew Platt has understood the importance both of 
giving back to the community that has given so much to his company and 
of improving the cities in which he lives and does business. In 1996 
Mr. Platt was elected Co-chair, along with San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, 
of the Joint Venture Silicon Valley (Calif.) Network, an organization 
formed in 1991 to strengthen the local economy and make the area a 
better place in which to live.
  Yet by far, Mr. Platt's greatest contributions to my constituents in 
Silicon Valley and to the nation as a whole have come through the 
educational programs he has established and sponsored through Hewlett-
Packard, aiding students at all levels of school. Lewis Platt has 
focused HP's national efforts around three stated company goals: 
significantly improving K-12 science and math achievements, increasing 
the number of women and minorities studying and teaching science and 
mathematics, and ensuring that all children are ready to learn when 
they begin school.
  These platitudes might ring hollow were they not backed by 
substantive action, but under Mr. Platt's guidance Hewlett-Packard has 
established a tremendous philanthropy program in order to truly provide 
help to students of all ages. Because of Lew Platt's efforts and 
commitment, HP currently donates approximately $55 million each year to 
education, with $8 million going towards K-12 education. In my 
district, for instance, Hewlett-Packard has helped sponsor the San Jose 
Diversity in Education Partnership with San Jose State University, East 
Side Union High School District and Alum Rock Elementary School 
District. This initiative aims to increase the number of students who 
are prepared for college and interested in careers in engineering, and 
has worked with HP's Email Mentor Program, another initiative begun 
under Lew Platt, encouraging 5th through 12th graders to remain 
interested in math and science.
  Mr. Platt has also helped establish a partnership between Hewlett-
Packard and Independence, Silver Creek, and Overfelt High Schools in 
San Jose to encourage students to stay in school and continue their 
education after graduation from high school. The benefits of Lew 
Platt's belief in education, however, stretch far beyond the 
neighborhood of Hewlett-Packard's corporate headquarters in California. 
Under the guidance of Mr. Platt, Hewlett-Packard has undertaken and 
funded similar educational initiatives in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, 
Idaho, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, and Massachusetts.
  These broad educational efforts, which have meant so much to my 
constituents and to students across the country, have in many ways been 
a direct result of Lew Platt's vision, and for this all people who care 
about the education of our children owe him a debt of gratitude. Wrote 
Mr. Platt in an open company letter, ``At HP, we recognize that 
supporting education is one of the most important things we can do to 
realize success for future generations, for our company, and for 
society as a whole.'' Lew Platt's corporate achievements at the 
Hewlett-Packard Company will be long remembered, the successes of the 
children he helped educate through HP will remain as an even stronger 
living reminder of the fine work he has done.

                          ____________________