[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 7, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONGRATULATING MARIO G. OBLEDO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 7, 2001

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to Honor Mario G. Obledo 
for receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the City of Orange 
Cove. Mr. Obledo received the award at a ceremony held on July 20, 
2001.
  Obledo has an extensive educational background as well as a long 
career in public service. He received a degree in pharmacy in 1957. 
Three years later he earned a Doctor of Law degree. Mr. Obledo served 
as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas, and also served 
as Secretary of Health and Welfare in the State of California. He has 
also served as a member of the faculty at Harvard Law School.
  Along with his time in public office and teaching in the classroom, 
Mr. Obledo is active in several community organizations. He is the co-
founder and president of the National Hispanic Bar Association and the 
Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund. He was national president of the 
League of United Latin American Citizens and co-founded the Southwest 
Voter Registration Project.
  Mr. Obledo has received several prestigious awards. In 1998, he 
received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award 
in the United States. He also received Mexico's highest civilian award 
to a foreigner. He was Pharmaceutical Planning Service, Inc.'s 
Distinguished Person of the Year in 1999 and in the same year was given 
the National Hispanic Hero Award by the United States Hispanic 
Leadership Institute.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Mario G. Obledo for receiving the 
Lifetime Achievement Award from the City of Orange Cove. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in wishing Mr. Obledo many more years of 
continued success.

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