[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO DR. JOSEPH J. JACOBS: ENTREPRENEUR, HUMANITARIAN, AND 
           NOMINEE TO RECEIVE THE PRESIDENTIAL CITIZENS MEDAL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2001

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Joseph J. 
Jacobs, an renowned entrepreneur who created the Joseph J. Jacobs 
Engineering Group many years ago. Dr. Jacobs is a chemical engineer by 
profession, who has over the years become an outstanding humanitarian, 
an economist, an educator, a philanthropist, and an author who wrote a 
book in 1995 entitled: The Compassionate Conservative which became the 
by-word of President George W. Bush's Administration. Above all, this 
proud Lebanese-American became a great good friend of mine.
  I have recently written to President George W. Bush asking him to 
award Joseph Jacobs the Presidential Citizens Medal, an award that 
recognizes citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for 
their country or their fellow citizens and one that is awarded at the 
sole discretion of the President.
  Mr. Speaker I ask unanimous consent that my letter to President 
George W. Bush recommending that he award the Presidential Citizens 
Medal to Dr. Joseph Jacobs, be printed hereafter in the Congressional 
Record. On reading this letter, a tribute to Joseph J. Jacobs, my 
colleagues will be reminded of the numerous citizens in the United 
States who are sons and daughters of immigrants, who have worked hard 
to create businesses that in turn create jobs and good fortune for 
themselves and others.
  Dr. Joseph Jacobs, son of immigrants from Lebanon, has used his 
fortune to establish the Jacobs Family Foundation in order to 
perpetually give back to the citizens of the United States through 
education, through humanitarian services for underrepresented groups, 
and through love for his fellow human beings.

                                                   April 17, 2001.
     Hon. George W. Bush,
     President, The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: For many years it has been my distinct 
     privilege to have as a good friend, Dr. Joseph J. Jacobs, 
     Chairman of the Board, Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., in 
     Pasadena, California, who is a great humanitarian who has 
     contributed an abundance to society during his lifetime.
       I am writing to highly recommend a Presidential Citizens 
     Medal for Dr. Jacobs which, in your discretion, you can award 
     at any time during this year should you decide to do so (in 
     accordance with Executive Order No. 11494 issued by then 
     President Nixon).
       The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded in recognition 
     of citizens of the United States who have performed exemplary 
     deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens 
     and is issued at your sole discretion.
       Dr. Joseph J. Jacobs is the founder and chair of the Jacobs 
     Engineering Group of international renown with numerous 
     worldwide divisions, is more than 50 years old. He built his 
     company from a one-man chemical process consultancy to its 
     present status as the leading engineering-construction 
     company in the United States if not the world.
       For many years Dr. Jacobs served as Chairman of the Board 
     of Trustees of the Polytechnic University of New York (1974-
     1984 and 1992 to 1994). The University has named the 
     Administration building for Dr. Jacobs and a chair in the 
     Chemical Engineering Department has been established in his 
     and Mrs. Jacob's names. On April 29, 2001 Dr. Jacobs will be 
     honored for his contributions to the St. Nicholas Home, a 
     non-sectarian, non-profit nongovernmental support residence 
     for the elderly in Brooklyn, New York. His contributions to 
     the education system and humanitarian efforts in the area of 
     his birth, marks Dr. Jacobs as a remarkable leader who gives 
     back to society in recognition of the support he received 
     over the years in making Jacobs Engineering Group one of the 
     finest in the United States
       The recipient of many awards in the Chemical Engineering 
     world, Dr. Jacobs has established the Jacobs Family 
     Foundation, which targets its philanthropy on the issues of 
     community based economic development, youth and families at 
     risk, Arab-American cultural awareness and access to 
     educational and training opportunities for under represented 
     groups. In addition to grant support, the Foundation provides 
     technical assistance to non-profits in the areas of strategic 
     planning, leadership development and fund raising.
       Dr. Jacobs is the author of numerous articles on Chemical 
     Engineering and economics, and was a contributing author to 
     the Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Having made 
     substantial contributions to the study of a number of serious 
     social issues, one resulted in a highly praised PBS program 
     aired in 1986 on ``The Problems of Aging Parents of Adult 
     Children.''
       In 1991, Dr. Jacobs completed his autobiography ``The 
     Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family, Culture and Ethics'' from 
     which we learn that he traces his high standards of morality 
     and ethics back to the ethnic background of his family and 
     the Lebanese American community in Brooklyn, NY where he was 
     born and raised.
       Dr. Jacob's second book reflecting these values was 
     entitled, ``The Compassionate Conservative'' published by 
     Huntington House in 1995, and a second edition was published 
     in December 1999; a book whose title you have made the by-
     word of your Administration.
       It is my profound hope that you will award the Presidential 
     Citizens Medal to Dr. Joseph Jacobs in the coming year, an 
     award that is made solely at your discretion. From the 
     foregoing, and from the attached biography on Dr. Jacobs, I 
     believe that you will agree that he is an exemplary man who 
     deserves your recognition.
       I will look forward to your response to this sincere 
     request on behalf of a wonderful man who has given much to 
     the citizens of the United States throughout a lifetime of 
     hard work and achievement.
       With warm regard, I am
           Sincerely,
                                                Nick J. Rahall II,
                                               Member of Congress.

     

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