[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 31, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H4867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE KaBOOM! CORPORATION AND NASCAR FOR THEIR PUBLIC SERVICE 
                             CONTRIBUTIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2001, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, last night about 10 hours ago this Congress 
passed the VA-HUD appropriations bill for the year 2002. In so doing, 
we have appropriated billions of dollars to assist low- and moderate-
income Americans in the purchase or rental of their housing.
  Mr. Speaker, 13 years ago when George Herbert Walker Bush, the former 
President of this country, made his acceptance speech, he made a speech 
about the ``Thousand Points of Light,'' those Americans who go 
unnoticed every day but do so much good for their fellow man without 
credit or without compensation.
  Today in Washington, D.C., a point of light will shine brightly. 
Under the auspices of a not-for-profit playground construction company 
known as KaBOOM! In the Jetu Washington apartment complex where over 
500 children reside, a new playground will be dedicated to improve the 
quality of life and the environment for those children, a safe, 
attractive and accessible playground. The KaBOOM! Corporation, over the 
course of many years, has built 270 playgrounds in America for 
disadvantaged children and assisted in the renovation of 1,200 such 
playgrounds.
  They do so by partnering with the private sector to provide the 
manpower, the resources and the funding. I am pleased today to 
acknowledge the Home Depot Corporation and NASCAR, who have partnered 
to provide the manpower, the funding and the resources for the 
playground that will be built today.
  I particularly want to pay tribute to the Home Depot Corporation. Its 
founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, when they started their 
company not too many years ago in their first store, insisted on 
community participation on behalf of their employees, and themselves 
were philanthropic in the gifts of their money to support good causes.
  Last year alone the Home Depot Foundation donated $75 million in 
America for our at-risk youth, for their recreation and their quality 
of life, and for their health care. They truly are points of light that 
make our community better.
  So as last night we celebrated the expenditure of billions of dollars 
in taxpayer money to assist Americans, let us also pay tribute today to 
the untold billions of dollars in manpower, man-hours and actual money 
donated by those points of light in America who for no reason but the 
goodness of their hearts make the quality of life for the less 
fortunate better.
  Today in Washington, D.C. that will happen at the Jetu Apartment 
complex thanks to the not-for-profit company, KaBOOM!, the for-profit 
companies of NASCAR and Home Depot, two points of light that will make 
a difference in the lives of hundreds of children.

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