[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 133 (Monday, September 10, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1857-E1858]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ELEONOR VELASQUEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 10, 2007

  Ms. SOLIS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize Eleonor 
Velasquez, an intelligent and hard-working woman who has been on my 
staff from June 2003 until August 2007. During her tenure in my office, 
Eleonor was an asset to me and the constituents of the 32nd District of 
California. Eleonor's hard work, dedication, and skills are the reasons 
why I promoted her twice during her time in the office: from staff 
assistant to legislative correspondent in 2004 and from legislative 
correspondent to legislative assistant in March 2005.
  Eleonor immigrated to the United States from Peru when she was just 
13 years old. Her experience as a young woman assimilating to the 
United States provided her an invaluable perspective on issues such as 
immigration, education, trade, and Latino issues. Eleonor's fluency in 
Spanish has been of great service to my office since over half of my 
constituents do not speak English as their first language at home.
  Eleonor has demonstrated a keen grasp of the complex issues involved 
in the ongoing immigration debate in the House of Representatives. 
Eleonor coordinated a number of sign-on letters and drafted Dear 
Colleague letters about immigration, trade, and education. Recently, 
Eleonor drafted a letter to President Bush expressing deep 
disappointment regarding the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' 
(USCIS) increased fee structure for naturalization and asking him to 
work with Congress to create a fairer system.
  During her time in my office, Eleonor spearheaded two pieces of 
legislation: H. Res. 721 (109th Congress), a resolution supporting the 
goals and ideals of a Salvadoran-American Day (El Dia del Salvadoreno); 
and H.R. 5161 (109th Congress), a bill to establish a commission to 
study the removal of Mexican-Americans to Mexico during 1929-1941. H. 
Res. 721 recognized all Salvadoran-Americans for their hard work, 
dedication, and contribution to the stability and well-being of the 
United States, and was co-sponsored by 55 Members of Congress. The 
resolution was passed by the House of Representatives on July 18, 2006. 
H.R. 5161 was not considered in the 109th Congress, but its 
introduction was very important to the families of the 2 million 
individuals of Mexican ancestry who were forcibly removed to Mexico 
during the Depression, as many as 1.2 million of whom were United 
States citizens.
  As the liaison in my office to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus 
(CHC), Eleonor has gained a wealth of institutional knowledge about 
issues important to the Caucus over the past 4 years. Eleonor began her 
tenure on Capitol Hill as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 
(CHCI) fellow in the office of Congressman Jose Serrano. She has been 
an active member of the CHCI alumni association and mentored other 
Latino young men and women who came through the program to work on 
Capitol Hill and in the private sector on public policy issues.
  While I am sad to see Eleonor leave, I am confident that the future 
will bring her much success. I wish Eleonor and her family good health 
and best wishes. I join my staff in my Washington, DC, El Monte, and 
East Los Angeles offices in wishing Eleonor the best of luck in all of 
her future endeavors. Buena suerte, Eleonor!

[[Page E1858]]

                       SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

  Title IV of Senate Resolution 4, agreed to by the Senate on February 
4, 1977, calls for establishment of a system for a computerized 
schedule of all meetings and hearings of Senate committees, 
subcommittees, joint committees, and committees of conference. This 
title requires all such committees to notify the Office of the Senate 
Daily Digest--designated by the Rules Committee--of the time, place, 
and purpose of the meetings, when scheduled, and any cancellations or 
changes in the meetings as they occur.
  As an additional procedure along with the computerization of this 
information, the Office of the Senate Daily Digest will prepare this 
information for printing in the Extensions of Remarks section of the 
Congressional Record on Monday and Wednesday of each week.
  Meetings scheduled for Tuesday, September 11, 2007 may be found in 
the Daily Digest of today's Record.

                           MEETINGS SCHEDULED

                              SEPTEMBER 12
     9:30 a.m.
       Commerce, Science, and Transportation
       Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism Subcommittee
         To hold hearings to examine the Federal Trade Commission 
           Reauthorization.
                                                            SR-253
       Rules and Administration
         To hold a hearing to examine the nomination of Robert 
           Charles Tapella, of Virginia, to be Public Printer for 
           the Government Printing Office.
                                                            SR-301
     10 a.m.
       Appropriations
         Business meeting to mark up H.R. 3222, making 
           appropriations for the Department of Defense for the 
           fiscal year ending September 30, 2008.
                                                            SD-106
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To hold hearings to examine S. 2017, to amend the Energy 
           Policy and Conservation Act to provide for national 
           energy efficiency standards for general service 
           incandescent lamps.
                                                            SD-366
       Finance
         Business meeting to consider an original bill entitled, 
           ``The Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Indian Health Care 
           Improvement Act of 2007, H. J.Res. 43, increasing the 
           statutory limit on the public debt, and revising 
           subcommittee assignments for the 110th Congress.
                                                            SD-215
       Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
         To hold hearings to examine the nomination of Julie L. 
           Myers, of Kansas, to be Assistant Secretary of Homeland 
           Security.
                                                            SD-342
     11 a.m.
       Appropriations
       Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee
         To hold hearings to examine enhancing the safety of toy's 
           relating to lead paint, the Consumer Product Safety 
           Commission, and toy safety standards.
                                                            SD-192
       Judiciary
         To hold hearings to examine regulatory preemption 
           relating to federal agencies usurping congressional and 
           state authority.
                                                            SD-226

                              SEPTEMBER 18
     10 a.m.
       Commerce, Science, and Transportation
         To hold an oversight hearing on the National Football 
           League retirement system.
                                                            SR-253

                              SEPTEMBER 19
     9:30 a.m.
       Veterans' Affairs
         To hold oversight hearings to examine information 
           technology.
                                                            SD-562

                              SEPTEMBER 20
     9:30 a.m.
       Veterans' Affairs
         To hold joint hearings with the House Committee on 
           Veterans' Affairs to examine the legislative 
           presentation by the American Legion.
                                              345, Cannon Building
     2:30 p.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To hold hearings to examine S. 1377, to direct the 
           Secretary of the Interior to convey to the City of 
           Henderson, Nevada, certain Federal land located in the 
           City, S. 1433, to amend the Alaska National Interest 
           Lands Conservation Act to provide competitive status to 
           certain Federal employees in the State of Alaska, S. 
           1608 and H.R. 815, bills to provide for the conveyance 
           of certain land in Clark County, Nevada, for use by the 
           Nevada National Guard, S. 1740, to amend the Act of 
           February 22, 1889, and the Act of July 2, 1862, to 
           provide for the management of public land trust funds 
           in the State of North Dakota, S. 1802, to adjust the 
           boundaries of the Frank Church River of No Return 
           Wilderness in the State of Idaho, S. 1803, to authorize 
           the exchange of certain land located in the State of 
           Idaho, S. 1939, to provide for the conveyance of 
           certain land in the Santa Fe National Forest, New 
           Mexico, and S. 1940, to reauthorize the Rio Puerco 
           Watershed Management Program.
                                                            SD-366

                              SEPTEMBER 25
     9:30 a.m.
       Veterans' Affairs
         To hold oversight hearings to examine Persian Gulf War 
           research.
                                                            SD-562
     10 a.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To hold hearings to examine S. 1756, to provide 
           supplemental ex gratia compensation to the Republic of 
           the Marshall Islands for impacts of the nuclear testing 
           program of the United States.
                                                            SD-366

                              SEPTEMBER 27
     9:30 a.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To hold hearings to examine hard-rock mining on federal 
           lands.
                                                            SD-366
       Veterans' Affairs
         To hold hearings to examine the nomination of Paul J. 
           Hutter, of Virginia, to be General Counsel, Department 
           of Veterans Affairs.
                                                            SD-562