[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 57 (Thursday, April 29, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E706-E707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR JOHN VASCONCELLOS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 29, 2004

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the members representing Silicon 
Valley, including Representatives Stark, Lantos, Lofgren, Honda and 
Farr, I rise to honor California State Senator John Vasconcellos, one 
of the most highly respected legislators in California, who is retiring 
this year after representing Santa Clara County in the California 
Legislature for nearly forty years. Senator Vasconcellos will be 
honored on Friday, April 30, 2004 by the Santa Clara County Democratic 
Party for his extraordinary public service career.

  John Vasconcellos is a graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory in 
San Jose and the University of Santa Clara, where he was the first 
person in the history of the institution to graduate as Student Body 
President, Valedictorian and recipient of a medal given to the 
outstanding member of the senior class. After two years in the Army, he 
returned to attend Santa Clara University Law School where he again was 
Class President and a top student. He practiced law in San Jose and 
served in the Administration of Governor Edmund G. ``Pat'' Brown.
  John Vasconcellos was first elected to the California State Assembly 
in 1966, where he served for 30 years before being elected to the State 
Senate. During his tenure in the Assembly, he served as the Chairman of 
the powerful Assembly Ways and Means Committee where he earned a 
reputation as a masterful negotiator and conciliator, and for the 
superior legislation he produced.
  In 1996, John Vasconcellos was elected to the California State 
Senate, where he has served on the Budget, Public Safety, and Energy, 
Utilities and Communications Committees and as the Chair of the 
Committees on Education, Economic Development, Preparing California for 
the 21st Century, and the Internet Caucus. He founded the California 
Task Force to Promote Self Esteem and Personal

[[Page E707]]

and Social Responsibility. He has been called ``the conscience of the 
Legislature'' and ``the Johnny Appleseed of Self Esteem.'' He has made 
a commitment to recognizing California as the leader in the development 
of new technologies, the global economy, and to meeting the challenge 
of realizing the promise of our multicultural democracy, with every 
person being given the opportunity to fulfill her or his full potential 
his mantra.
  Mr. Speaker, we're proud to call John Vasconcellos our friend and our 
colleague in public service. This pragmatic idealist and visionary is a 
source of great pride to the Democratic Party, to our mutual 
constituents, to all Californians and to our entire nation. We ask our 
colleagues to join us in honoring and thanking Senator Vasconcellos for 
his lifetime of extraordinary service to California and our country. 
Because of him and his distinguished service, we are unmistakably a 
stronger, better and more decent nation.

                          ____________________