[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 76 (Thursday, June 9, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H4322-H4325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING HOUSE PAGES

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the page class of 2005 
to come down and take seats in the first two rows. While we are doing 
that, I would like to yield to my colleague and friend, the minority 
whip, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who is on a time crunch 
and always likes to say good-bye to our page class.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank my friend, and I thank him for the work that he 
does with the Page Board. His leadership and faithfulness in this 
effort is very much appreciated, I know, by these young people but 
appreciated also by the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.
  I always like to have this opportunity to thank you young people. You 
have had an extraordinary opportunity which millions and millions of 
those your age will never have. You have had an opportunity to see 
firsthand the operations of the people's House, the House that was 
established by our Founding Fathers to reflect, as they viewed it, the 
passions of the people from time to time. That is why we have 2-year 
elections.

                              {time}  1345

  That is why the only way you can serve in the House of 
Representatives is to be elected. You cannot be appointed. You can be 
appointed to the

[[Page H4323]]

U.S. Senate. You can be appointed Vice President of the United States, 
but you cannot be appointed to the House of Representatives.
  You have had an opportunity on a day-to-day basis to help us make 
sure that democracy works. You may not think of what you did as high 
falutin and it perhaps was not, but it was critical to the functioning 
of this House.
  I would ask you as you leave here to leave with a sense of 
responsibility, a sense of responsibility to convey to your classmates, 
to your friends in your neighborhood, to your future college classes, 
your future workers, coworkers, and your families and others and your 
fellow citizens your view of democracy as it is represented in this 
House. It is, of course, not perfect, because it is, obviously, human 
beings that participate in this, and as I know all of you know too 
well, we humans are not perfect.
  However, as Winston Churchill said, while it may not be perfect, it 
is better than all other forms of government that have been tried. And 
I have been here now, this is my 26th year. You were born during part 
of my fifth or sixth term in office. As president of the Maryland 
Senate, I had the opportunity to run the page program in Maryland, and 
I always hoped that they would go back and say, you know what, they 
care, they care about our country, they care about us. They disagree. 
There are deep divisions from time to time, but, for the most part, 
almost everyone is trying to represent what they believe to be the best 
interests of their country.
  Therefore, you will urge your fellow citizens to participate in the 
process, as hopefully you will as well. Having more knowledge than 
they, the more you participate, the better our democracy will be.
  So I thank you for your service, not only on behalf of myself but on 
behalf of the Democratic Members of this House. There is no 
partisanship in the respect and affection that we have for all of you 
outstanding young people who make us proud of the generations that are 
coming and are confident that our country will be better for your 
future service and your service now.
  I thank the gentleman from Illinois for giving me this opportunity, 
and I thank him for his leadership of this page board. Good luck.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I will submit the roster of the 2005 pages 
for the Record at this point.

                           Spring 2005 Pages

       Katy Ake--CA
       Paul Bennett--FL
       Rachel Bentley--OH
       Emily Berger--CA
       Katharine Billingslea--NC
       Lauren Boswell--MD
       Suzanne Brangan--TX
       Stephen Burke--NJ
       Kerianna Butler--CA
       Jon Calvo--GU
       Elsbeth Centola--OR
       Joy Chung--IA
       Daniel Ciucci--CO
       Stella Clingmon--CA
       Stephanie Collard--RI
       Juleah Cordi--CA
       Matthew Cujak--WI
       Awapuhi Dancil--HI
       Ruben Davis--PA
       Lauren DeNunez--CA
       Caroline Dickerson--TX
       Edward Dumoulin--IL
       Timothy Ford--MI
       Adam Hammond--ID
       Lane Hartley--VA
       Alexandra Heard--MD
       Lauren Henley--IL
       Allison Holmer--CA
       Amanda Huth--TX
       Sarah Jaeschke--AR
       Derek Jennarone--NJ
       Holly Johnson--VA
       Krystal Johnson--AL
       Jaclyn Kahn--NJ
       Rosemary Kelley--VA
       Zachary Kirihara--CA
       Dean Ladin--IL
       Thomas Leonard--PA
       Peter Linscheid--MI
       Seth Lloyd--VI
       Anthony Lupo--CA
       Tyson McBride--UT
       Caitlin McGowan--MN
       Conor McManus--FL
       Shannon Magnuson--FL
       Jeremy Moore--MI
       Chelsie Morales--AZ
       Richard Moses--KY
       Lucy Nicholas--CT
       Darren Nowels--MD
       Travis Proctor--KS
       Danielle Raines--AZ
       Rachel Romer--CO
       Taylor Salisbury--MO
       Matthew Sheldon--NM
       Sara Skiles--MS
       Kellie Staab--PA
       Elizabeth Stone--TN
       Joshua Strazanac--MI
       Michael Trummel--WY
       Dustin Tryggestad--WI
       Allison Vanderboll--WA
       Sarah Walker--AR
       Whitley Wallace--UT
       Ginger Wells--KS
       Wesley Williams--MA
       David Wilson--PA
       Kevin Wood--TX

  Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo), 
the delegate from Guam, to address you, as she has a special person 
here from the territory.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Jon Junior Calvo 
for his service as a congressional page in the United States House of 
Representatives. Jon is graduating from the congressional page program 
on June 10, 2005. It is exciting that his parents, Juan and Doris 
Calvo, and two of his siblings, Jonathan and Joni Ree, were able to 
come all the way from Guam, 10,000 miles from Washington, D.C., to 
celebrate this occasion with us. Celebrating with us here in spirit is 
his sister Krisinda.
  The congressional page program brings together a diverse group of 
outstanding student leaders from around the country to work in Congress 
and pursue their studies in the Nation's Capital. It fuses classroom 
learning with real-world work experience, giving students like Jon a 
front row seat as history unfolds.
  I nominated Jon based upon his strong academic record, his 
demonstrated commitment to public service, and for his character and 
leadership in the community. He has lived up to and even exceeded my 
very high expectations for him.
  Jon is the kind of young person that lights up a room when he walks 
into it and makes a lasting impression on everyone he meets. In his 
first month in the program, Jon was recognized with a citizenship award 
that is given to one exceptional student in the program each month. 
Other Members of Congress have even remarked to me on the floor what an 
outstanding young person Jon is.
  Jon has been extremely active in the page program, serving on the 
yearbook staff and handling the public relations for the 2005 spring 
page class play, ``The Black Rose.'' While in Washington, D.C., he was 
also elected incoming president of the National Honor Society chapter 
at Father Duenas Memorial School in Guam, where he will complete his 
studies next year.
  I have enjoyed Jon's frequent visits to our office, and we always try 
and have a little taste of home for him when he stops by, whether it is 
guyuria, Chamorro chip cookies or red rice.
  I thought that coming from Guam Jon might have a rough time adjusting 
to Washington, D.C.'s, cold winter weather, but I think he actually 
enjoyed the snow and the ice.
  Jon has been an excellent ambassador for the people of Guam during 
his time here in Washington, spreading the ``hafa adai'' spirit 
throughout the halls of Congress. As a native speaker of Guam's 
indigenous language, Chamorro, Jon is a role model and example to other 
young people in Guam of the importance of preserving one's culture and 
one's language.
  I always enjoy seeing Jon's friendly face on the House floor, and he 
calls us to let us know that he is going to be on C-SPAN. He will be 
truly missed when he returns home to Guam. I am sure that I will still 
see a lot of Jon, though, considering how active he is in the community 
through his church and school.
  Jon is a young man of many talents, and I am excited to see what he 
will do in life. Whatever he does, I am sure he will continue making a 
positive contribution to our island.
  Before I close, I would like to say congratulations to all the 
wonderful pages that have come from all over the States in our Nation. 
You have been a wonderful group of people.
  Jon, you have made your family, your church, your school and the 
people of Guam proud. Si Yu'os Ma'ase for your service, and God bless 
you.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, this always gives me an opportunity to 
bounce back and forth between the podiums because this is really a 
special time. I will get a chance to address you all tomorrow at the 
departure ceremony, which will be a first for me, although being with 
the page program

[[Page H4324]]

for a long time. The work and effort that you have put in, you know 
what you have done, and we really thank you for your efforts and the 
sacrifice you have made.
  You have heard now from two Members of Congress. There are Members 
who you know who always pay a little closer attention to the pages 
because of love and admiration, maybe a history in the program, and we 
have one of those with us. I would invite him to come up and say his 
good-byes.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe).
  Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for 
yielding to me. And it is true, I have a very special affection for the 
page program. I think many of you know it is because I was a page. That 
is how I got started. Most of you also know the dirty little secret 
that it was as a Senate page, that I was over on the other side there. 
That is okay. I was still in the page program.
  It was a very special moment in my life to have spent the time that I 
did here, 3 years. In those days, you could come anytime in your high 
school years and stay as long as your sponsor would let you stay, as 
long as you could keep up your grades so that you did not flunk out and 
leave, and you got to stay around here. I did, and I graduated from the 
page school. So I know what a difference it has made in my life.
  I guess you could say here I am today, I cannot say that the page 
program propelled me to Congress itself. The vast majority of you will 
not ever serve in government at all or in elected office perhaps, but I 
think some of you will. There is no question about that. Some of you 
will, and you will be very successful at all the things you do. But 
whether or not you go into government, whether or not you run for 
office or you enter some other kind of position in the government or go 
into business or a profession, I think you will find that this 
experience will stand you in very, very, very good stead.
  You will find that not only does it give you kind of a sense of 
understanding of the government, which is going to impact your life. It 
does not matter what line of work you go into. Government is going to 
impact your life, and you are going to have a better understanding than 
the majority of people because you will have been there and watched it 
and/or observed for a semester or two semesters.

  It gives you a sense of camaraderie or sense of independence at an 
earlier age than most young people get a chance to be as independent. 
It gives you a sense of discipline. You learn a lot of discipline 
skills. You do not have a parent there at night to study, to do the 
things that you need to do.
  I think that the most interesting thing about the page program as I 
have observed it over the 20 years, 21 years now I have been here in 
Congress, and a number of those I served as the predecessor to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) as the chairman of the page 
board, and it was certainly one of the more enjoyable experiences that 
I have had here in Congress, what I observed is that each class of 
pages has its own personality and develops its own personality.
  So I am not sure exactly how I would describe the personality of this 
class except I would say maybe I do not know you very well. I would say 
it is a little more serious than some of the other classes I have seen, 
a little more reserved, more serious. Maybe that is good. That does not 
mean it is all bad. I know it is probably not that way back in the dorm 
in the evenings and not that way on the weekends with you, but I do 
think this is a class that has had a great deal of seriousness, watched 
a great deal of things happen here on the floor of the House of 
Representatives, and I think you deserve a great appreciation for that.
  There have been classes, of course, that preceded you just 2 or 3 
years ago that experienced the incredible experience of 9/11, of going 
through that horrific Tuesday morning with so many others of us here. 
Each page class has its own kind of experiences that it has, but I just 
want you to know that you are not only appreciated for what you do, but 
in a very real sense we could not do this job if it were not for you. 
You really are the grease that make the place just run a little bit 
more smoothly. You are what make us all feel just a little bit better.
  There are other people that could do the job. There is no question 
about it. We could hire people to do this job. And yet, with a 
considerable effort and even expense because of maintaining a school, 
maintaining a dormitory and all the things that have to be done, the 
question is often asked in the Congress, I have to tell you, and 
certainly by some constituents, why do we do this and keep this 
program? I think the answer is right here in front of me. Because of 
all of you and because of what we see here and because of what you have 
learned from this and what you have been able to do with this and what 
I know you will do with this and how I know this experience will and 
can be a life-changing experience.
  Every year in the summer of another group, we can give 70, 75 people 
to have this kind of experience. It is a very extraordinary experience 
for you, and I think we have changed your lives and you will go out and 
touch a lot of other lives, older people, younger people and your peers 
as well, as you go through life.
  So, again, we thank you for the wonderful job that you have done. We 
want to say farewell but not really farewell. We expect to see you back 
often and hear from you. You have always watched as the former pages 
come into the cloakrooms and onto the floor when we are not in session, 
and so you will be among those. It will be a very special experience 
for you to be able to come back and observe the younger pages that are 
here in the following years.
  So thank you for the wonderful service you have given us. I want to 
wish you all very well in your final year of school and the year of 
school that goes beyond that, because I know all of you are going to be 
successful in whatever you do. Godspeed. Thank you.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on my 1 minute today.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mack). Is there objection to the request 
of the gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, the ranking member of the page program is 
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), who has been on the program 
for decades now. I will not say how many decades. And he has been a 
great help to me in keeping the current environment and the future of 
the page program grounded to the traditions of the previous classes. He 
could not stay to talk and address you all, but he did provide me with 
his comments, and I will submit those for the Record along with your 
names.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Woolsey), a colleague who would like to address the class.

                              {time}  1400

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, thank you for picking and selecting such a 
great group of young people. I am proud that I have gotten to know you 
a little bit. I am so motherly when I run into you on the elevators, I 
see so many of the faces I have asked where are you from, how are you 
liking this and asked question, question, question. And you have been 
so patient and polite with me, and thank you very much.
  Part of growing up is knowing you have to be polite to adults, and 
you hope when you are an adult people will be polite with you, 
particularly pages in the House of Representatives because you 
represent our entire Nation and our territories. You bring such a 
perfect, beautiful face to this. Every one of you, you look like the 
country. That is good for us, and it is good for you, and it is 
certainly good for the diversity of democracy that we uphold here.
  I have learned from you, and I think you have learned from us and are 
taking a lot back; but at the same time you have contributed so much.
  Do not think for a minute you are just here taking. You gave. We know 
that and appreciate that, and maybe we have not always let you know how 
much we appreciate you, but we do. Good luck, good future, and 
congratulations for being just exactly the people you are. Thank you.

[[Page H4325]]

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman. The pages have 
given to this institution and the page program. You have set a bar by 
which we can now challenge other page classes, and I want to thank you.
  Mr. Speaker, also joining us is the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Schiff).
  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time and for all of his work with the page program. I want to thank all 
of the pages for their service and take a moment to brag a little 
because Stella is from my district. I know how great Stella is, and I 
know you know how great she is. We were so delighted to have her join 
us. She has added a great deal to the page class, including directing 
the play ``The Black Rose.'' Stella's folks are here today and are 
going on a tour. So please say hello to them. We are proud of the work 
you did and the work all of you did.
  Mr. Speaker, I had a chance during college to intern here on Capitol 
Hill twice. It was a different experience than the page experience, but 
I hope many of you will come back as interns, as staff, and ultimately 
come back as Members of the House. And if you are lucky, you can become 
lords in the Senate and then we will have to show even greater respect 
to all of you.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank all the pages very much for their work. It is 
tremendously appreciated. I want to wish you, Stella, and wish the 
entire class all the best of luck.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I do not want to steal some thunder from 
some of the words I will mention tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow 
evening, but you know what you have been doing and you know the role 
you have played here and the friends you have made and the 
relationships you have built. You take a unique quality back with you.
  As a former high school history teacher, it is not the book learning; 
you have actually lived it. You are now some of the most informed 
people in the operating of the House of Representatives from the whole 
congressional district in which you reside. You know truth from 
fiction. You know, as the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) said, 
that people come here well intentioned to do the best job they can for 
their districts. You have seen the debates, and you have run out of the 
Capitol. You understand the environment we live in here, that 
representatives try to balance a thousand balls in the air at one time, 
and you have had to do that, too.
  I am also speaking here for the floor staff on both sides of the 
aisle who have worked with you diligently, and you have worked with 
them, whether it is the school program which I applaud you on and your 
efforts in that respect, or it is the dorm staff. You truly have been a 
class that many of the people you have had to work with over the past 
year are honestly saying that they are going to miss you. I cannot 
think of a better tribute to pay to a group of young men and women, 
than for those, especially adults that you have had to work with for 
over a year, to say I am going to miss that class.
  Mr. Speaker, these pages have set the bar. We will challenge the 
incoming classes to try to meet their high standard. I hope they do. I 
hope we will continue to be better for that.
  This period of time is in honor of the pages. You will get to 
celebrate with your families tomorrow night, say your good-byes and 
make America stronger by having well-informed young women and young men 
to get back into the everyday activities of our homes and how to make 
our country better. Thank you, God bless you all, and God bless the 
United States of America.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
express my personal gratitude to all of the pages who have served so 
diligently in the House of Representatives during the 109th Congress. I 
have attached a list of the fine young people who have served this 
House as Pages.
  We all recognize the important role that congressional pages play in 
helping the U.S. House of Representatives operate. This group of young 
people, who come from all across our Nation, represent what is good 
about our country.
  To become a page, these young people have proven themselves to be 
academically qualified. They have ventured away from the security of 
their homes and families to spend time in an unfamiliar city. Through 
this experience, they have witnessed a new culture, made new friends, 
and learned the details of how our Government operates.
  As we all know, the job of a congressional page is not an easy one. 
Along with being away from home, the pages must possess the maturity to 
balance competing demands for their time and energy.
  In addition, they must have the dedication to work long hours and the 
ability to interact with people at a personal level. At the same time, 
they face a challenging academic schedule of classes in the House Page 
School.
  I am sure they will consider their time spent in Washington, DC to be 
one of the most valuable and exciting experiences of their lives, and 
that with this experience they will all move ahead to lead successful 
and productive lives.
  Mr. Speaker, as the Democratic Member on the House Page Board, I ask 
my colleagues to join me in honoring this group of distinguished young 
Americans. They certainly will be missed.

                           Spring 2005 Pages

       Katy Ake--CA
       Paul Bennett--FL
       Rachel Bentley--OH
       Emily Berger--CA
       Katharine Billingslea--NC
       Lauren Boswell--MD
       Suzanne Brangan--TX
       Stephen Burke--NJ
       Kerianna Butler--CA
       Jon Calvo--GU
       Elsbeth Centola--OR
       Joy Chung--IA
       Daniel Ciucci--CO
       Stella Clingmon--CA
       Stephanie Collard--RI
       Juleah Cordi--CA
       Matthew Cujak--WI
       Awapuhi Dancil--HI
       Ruben Davis--PA
       Lauren DeNunez--CA
       Caroline Dickerson--TX
       Edward Dumoulin--IL
       Timothy Ford--MI
       Adam Hammond--ID
       Lane Hartley--VA
       Alexandra Heard--MD
       Lauren Henley--IL
       Allison Holmer--CA
       Amanda Huth--TX
       Sarah Jaeschke--AR
       Derek Jannarone--NJ
       Holly Johnson--VA
       Krystal Johnson--AL
       Jaclyn Kahn--NJ
       Rosemary Kelley--VA
       Zachary Kirihara--CA
       Dean Ladin--IL
       Thomas Leonard--PA
       Peter Linscheid--MI
       Seth Lloyd--VI
       Anthony Lupo--CA
       Tyson McBride--UT
       Caitlin McGowan--MN
       Conor McManus--FL
       Shannon Magnuson--FL
       Jeremy Moore--MI
       Chelsie Morales--AZ
       Richard Moses--KY
       Lucy Nicholas--CT
       Darren Nowels--MD
       Travis Proctor--KS
       Danielle Raines--AZ
       Rachel Romer--CO
       Taylor Salisbury--MO
       Matthew Sheldon--NM
       Sara Skiles--MS
       Kellie Staab--PA
       Elizabeth Stone--TN
       Joshua Strazanac--MI
       Michael Trummel--WY
       Dustin Tryggestad--WI
       Allison Vanderboll--WA
       Sarah Walker--AR
       Whitley Wallace--UT
       Ginger Wells--KS
       Wesley Williams--MA
       David Wilson--PA
       Kevin Wood--TX

                          ____________________