[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 25, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1607-S1608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONGRATULATING FOCUS: HOPE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 92 submitted 
earlier today by Senator Levin.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant journal clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 92) congratulating 
     and saluting Focus: HOPE on the occasion of its 35th 
     anniversary and for its remarkable commitment and 
     contributions to Detroit, the State of Michigan, and the 
     United States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise today with great pleasure to speak 
in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of Focus: HOPE and to support 
this concurrent resolution commemorating its many achievements. Focus: 
HOPE has served as an invaluable, multifaced resource for the people of 
Detroit and Michigan and is a model of success for the entire Nation. 
From its inception, Focus: HOPE has been committed to taking 
``intelligent and practical action to overcome racism, poverty, and 
injustice.'' For three and a half decades, Focus: HOPE has worked 
toward that goal.
  In 1968, Father William T. Cunningham, a Roman Catholic priest, and 
Eleanor Josaitis, a housewife, joined to form Focus: HOPE as a positive 
reaction to the devastating Detroit riots the previous year. While 
having few material resources at their disposal, Father Cunningham and 
Ms. Josaitis possessed a singular and indefatigable desire to help 
residents of Detroit take control of their lives. Their faith has been 
matched by a love for all of humanity, irrespective of religion or 
race. That love has helped Focus: HOPE flourish as it seeks to assist 
many in metro-Detroit.
  Focus: HOPE has been involved with myriad activities that address 
both the immediate and long-term needs of our people. In the 1970s, 
Focus: HOPE began several innovative programs to provide nutritious 
food to young children, their mothers and senior citizens. Through its 
USDA Commodity Supplemental Food Program, the largest of its kind, 
monthly supplemental food is provided to 43,000 low-income pregnant and 
postpartum mothers, infants, preschool children and seniors throughout 
Southeast Michigan. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program can now be 
found in 32 States.
  While caring for the basic needs of individuals, Focus: HOPE also 
seeks to lift the dreams and spirits of all who study, work at, or 
visit its 40-acre Detroit campus. Father Cunningham was a firm believer 
in the ability of education and technology to inspire people and bring 
out the best in them. By helping people to harness their dreams and 
imagine what is possible, he sought to develop a series of training and 
educational programs that challenged students to fulfill their dreams 
while learning marketable career skills.
  To achieve this end, Focus: HOPE developed a four-part educational 
and training system that requires that students meet rigorous 
competency standards before they are able to proceed to the next 
academic program. The first two parts, fast track and the Machinist 
Training Institute, opened in the 1980s during a time of radical 
evolution for Focus: HOPE. Fast rack, is a computer assisted course 
which improves the reading and math skills of high school graduates or 
GED holders to prepare them for advanced study in the Machinist 
Training Institute where individuals prepare for careers in advanced 
machining and precision manufacturing. Fast track ensures that all 
those who enter the MTI program have the skills needed to succeed in 
this program and industry. The MTI uses a unique combination of 
classroom instruction and hands-on manufacturing experience producing 
high quality products in industry.

  By maintaining clear and rigorous standards, MTI is able to train 
individuals that industry wants to hire. Since its foundation, nearly 
2,500 graduates have learned high-demand skills and gain access to the 
financial mainstream. One indication of the success of this program is 
that industry often seeks to hire the students ever before they have 
completed their training.
  In 1993, Focus: HOPE expanded its educational programs by adding a 
third education and training program--the Center for Advanced 
Technologies, CAT. At the center, ``candidates,'' as all students are 
called at Focus: HOPE, are able to continue their education by working 
toward an associate's or bachelor's degree in manufacturing 
engineering. Through a unique partnership with several universities, 
CAT students are awarded their degrees in a rigorous process that 
combines hands-on manufacturing experience and academic instruction 
within a leading edge technology environment while working and studying 
at Focus: HOPE. These candidates produce the highest quality and 
precision parts for the auto industry--a very demanding challenge. This 
innovative Focus: HOPE program has been cited as enrolling the largest 
number of African Americans studying manufacturing engineering in the 
Nation.
  In 1999, Focus: HOPE was able to further diversify its training 
resources through the establishment of the Information Technologies 
Center, which provides industry-certified training in network 
administration, network installation, and desktop server administration 
enabling students to gain employment in the growing Information 
Technology sector of our economy.
  These innovative and successful programs have caused Focus: HOPE to 
receive considerable national attention for its efforts. As a result of 
its many successes, Focus: HOPE has been visited by many national, 
State and local officials who wanted to examine this remarkable place 
in person. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton have visited 
Focus: HOPE as well as Energy Secretary Spence Abraham, Army Secretary 
Thomas White, Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, Secretary of Agriculture 
Dan Glickman, Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, the Honorable Colin 
Powell when he served as Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many others. These 
quests quickly learned as I have on many visits there, that the 
achievements of Focus: HOPE can hardly be described in just a few 
minutes or digested in even several visits.
  Focus: HOPE has provided practical and compassionate assistance to 
people of all ages, from young children who receive quality child care 
at their Center for Children, to young adults who receive vital 
training through hands-on manufacturing projects, seniors who are fed 
by the Commodity Supplemental Food Program as well as those who are 
still young at heart who continue to persevere in the never-ending 
fight against racism, poverty, and injustice.
  I have been privileged to witness and support Focus: HOPE's 
extraordinary achievements throughout the years. Like thousands of 
others, I have also been inspired by its positive energy and tireless 
commitment to providing opportunity for all people. For 35 years, 
Focus: HOPE has repeatedly amazed me with its spirit, grace, and 
vision.

[[Page S1608]]

  Although Focus: HOPE lost a great mentor in 1997 with the passing of 
Father William Cunningham, Eleanor Josaitis continues to inspire and 
lead Focus: HOPE as its co-founder and chief executive officer. Today, 
I am pleased to offer my congratulations to Ms. Josaitis and her 
colleagues on the 35th anniversary of Focus: HOPE. I am sure that my 
colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives will join 
Senator Stabenow and me in commemorating this invaluable resource by 
supporting the passage of this concurrent resolution.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or 
debate, and that any statements relating to this measure be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 92) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 92

       Whereas Focus: HOPE began as a civil and human rights 
     organization in 1968 in the wake of the devastating Detroit 
     riots, and was co-founded by the late Father William T. 
     Cunningham, a Roman Catholic priest, and Eleanor M. Josaitis, 
     a suburban housewife, who were inspired to establish Focus: 
     HOPE by the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE is committed to bringing together 
     people of all races, faiths, and economic backgrounds to 
     overcome injustice and build racial harmony, and it has grown 
     to one of the largest nonprofit organizations in Michigan.
       Whereas the Focus: HOPE mission statement states: 
     ``Recognizing the dignity and beauty of every person, we 
     pledge intelligent and practical action to overcome racism, 
     poverty and injustice. And to build a metropolitan community 
     where all people may live in freedom, harmony, trust and 
     affection. Black and white, yellow, brown and red from 
     Detroit and its suburbs of every economic status, national 
     origin and religious persuasion we join in this covenant.'';
       Whereas one of Focus: HOPE's early efforts was to support 
     African American and female employees in a seminal class 
     action suit against AAA, resulting in one of the finest 
     affirmative action commitments made by any corporation up to 
     that time;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE helped to conceive of and develop the 
     Department of Agriculture's Commodity Supplemental Food 
     Program which has been replicated in 32 states, and through 
     this program Focus: HOPE helps to feed 43,000 people per 
     month throughout Southeast Michigan;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE has revitalized several city blocks in 
     central Detroit by redeveloping obsolete industrial 
     buildings, beautifying and landscaping Oakman Boulevard, 
     creating pocket parks, and rehabilitating homes in the 
     surrounding areas;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE's Machinist Training Institute has been 
     training individuals from Detroit and beyond for careers in 
     advanced manufacturing and precision machining since 1981, 
     and has sent forth nearly 2,500 certified graduates, 
     providing an opportunity for primarily under-represented 
     minority youth, women, and others to gain access to the 
     financial mainstream and learn in-demand skills;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE, with assistance from Michigan, the 
     Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other 
     generous private and public partners, has within the last two 
     years invested over $10 million to complete the renovation of 
     the industrial building housing its Machinist Training 
     Institute;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE has recognized that manufacturing and 
     information technologies are key to the economic growth and 
     security of Michigan and the United States, and is committed 
     to designing programs that would contribute to the 
     participation of under-represented urban individuals in these 
     critical sectors;
       Whereas, in 1982, Focus: HOPE began a for-profit subsidiary 
     that was initiated for community economic development 
     purposes and is now designated with Federal HUBZone status;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE created two pioneering programs--FAST 
     TRACK and First Step--designed to help individuals improve 
     their reading and math competencies by a minimum of two grade 
     levels in 4-7 weeks;
       Whereas these programs have graduated over 7,000 
     individuals since their inception, a new offsite training 
     facility in Detroit's Empowerment Zone in southwest Detroit 
     has been established to reach out to individuals in other 
     parts of the city, and the success of the programs has 
     inspired Michigan (in its State-wide FAST BREAK program) and 
     other States to replicate the efforts of Focus: HOPE;
       Whereas, in 1987, Focus: HOPE reclaimed and renovated an 
     abandoned building and opened it as a Center for Children, 
     which has now served over 5,000 children of colleagues, 
     students, and neighbors with quality child care, including 
     latchkey, early childhood education, and other educational 
     services;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE, through an unprecedented co-operative 
     agreement between the Departments of Defense, Commerce, 
     Education, and Labor, established a National demonstration 
     project--the Center for Advanced Technologies--in which 
     candidates earn associates and bachelors degrees in either 
     manufacturing engineering or technology, and engage in hands-
     on manufacturing with-in-real world conditions, producing 
     parts for DaimlerChrysler, Detroit Diesel, Ford Motor 
     Company, General Motors Corporation, the Department of 
     Defense, and others;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE has caused over $22 million to be 
     invested in renovating a previously obsolete building to 
     house the Center for Advanced Technologies, transforming the 
     building into a model facility for 21st century advanced 
     manufacturing, education, and research;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE has made outstanding contributions 
     toward increasing diversity within the traditional 
     homogeneous science, math, engineering, and technology 
     fields, and 95 percent of currently enrolled degree 
     candidates are African American, representing perhaps the 
     United States' largest producer of bachelor-degreed minority 
     graduates in manufacturing engineering;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE's unique research and development 
     partnership with the Department of Defense has resulted in a 
     nationally recognized demonstration project, the Mobile Parts 
     Hospital, whose Rapid Manufacturing System has recently been 
     deployed to Kuwait in support of the Armed Forces' current 
     operations in Afghanistan and Iraq;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE began a community arts program in 1995, 
     presenting multicultural arts programming and gallery 
     exhibitions designed to educate and encourage area residents, 
     while fostering integration in a culturally diverse 
     metropolitan community, and over 43,000 people have viewed 
     sponsored exhibits or participated in this program;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE established an Information Technologies 
     Center in 1999, providing Detroit students with industry-
     certified training programs in network administration, 
     network installation, and desktop and server administration, 
     and has graduated nearly 475 students to date, and has 
     initiated, in collaboration with industry and academia, the 
     design of a new bachelors degree program to educate 
     information management systems engineers;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE's initiatives and programs have been 
     nationally recognized for excellence and leadership by such 
     organizations as the Government Accounting Office, the 
     Department of Labor, the International Standards 
     Organization, the National Science Foundation, the Cisco 
     Networking Academy Program, Fortune Magazine, Forbes 
     Magazine, the Aspen Institute, and many others, and former 
     Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton have visited 
     Focus: HOPE's campus;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE is currently led by Eleanor M. 
     Josaitis, its co-founder and chief executive officer, and she 
     has received honorary degrees from 11 outstanding 
     universities and colleges, was named one of the 100 
     Most Influential Women in 2002 by Crain's Detroit 
     Business, has been inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall 
     of Fame, has received the Detroit NAACP Presidential 
     Award, the Arab American Institute Foundation's Kahlil 
     Gibran Spirit of Humanity Award, as well as many other 
     awards;
       Whereas through the generous partnerships and support of 
     individuals from all walks of life, Federal, State, and local 
     government, and foundations and corporations across the 
     United States, the vision of Focus: HOPE will continue to 
     grow and inspire;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE has been blessed with an active board 
     of directors and advisory board from the senior most levels 
     of corporate and public America, and has benefited from an 
     annual average of 25,000 volunteers and countless colleagues;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE has been a tremendous force for good in 
     the City of Detroit, the State of Michigan, and the United 
     States for the past 35 years;
       Whereas Focus: HOPE continues to strive to eliminate 
     racism, poverty, and injustice through the use of passion, 
     persistence, and partnerships, and continues to seek 
     improvement in its quality of service and program operations; 
     and
       Whereas Focus: HOPE and its colleagues will continue to 
     identify ways in which it can lead Detroit, the State of 
     Michigan, and the United States into the future with creative 
     urban leadership initiatives: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) congratulates and salutes Focus: HOPE for its 
     remarkable commitment and contributions to Detroit, the State 
     of Michigan, and the United States; and
       (2) directs the Secretary of the Senate to make available 
     enrolled copies of this resolution to Focus: HOPE and Ms. 
     Eleanor M. Josaitis for appropriate display.

                          ____________________