[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 24, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING WILLIAM GATES, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 23, 2008

  Mr. INSLEE. Madam Speaker, almost 2.5 billion people live on less 
than $2 per day. Malaria kills over 1 million children every year. 
Nearly 40 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS and almost 2.8 
million people die from it annually. Madam Speaker, the great State of 
Washington is blessed to be home to many of the top minds in the world 
tackling these heart-sinking problems. And while it is easy to feel 
small and insignificant in the face of the enormity of these 
challenges, William Gates, Sr. has never been a wallflower.
  While he is perhaps most well-known for being the father of the 
founder of the Microsoft Corporation, he is truly a powerhouse unto 
himself and a beacon of what a life driven with purpose and compassion 
can achieve. Mr. Gates currently serves as the chair of the Bill and 
Melinda Gates Foundation, but as the people of our great state know, 
that is an encore on top of a prominent legal career and record of 
community leadership that spans from school levy campaigns to the 
United Way to a place on the University of Washington Board of Regents.
  In his role as chair at the largest philanthropic organization in 
world history, Mr. Gates has applied the same devotion that he has 
carried with him throughout his life to improving the lives of those 
less fortunate. Through his work we are seeing amazing results in our 
schools, our libraries, and our villages.
  Mr. Gates believes that every life is valuable, that every person 
deserves the opportunity to learn, and that the power of knowledge can 
change our lives. He continues to challenge us to redefine how we think 
of our neighbor and to extend the same compassion to our global friends 
as we would the elderly widow down the street. His work exemplifies the 
good we can achieve when that compassion is coalesced with the energy, 
determination, and resources to concentrate on targeted results-driven 
projects that are held accountable to achieving their goals.
  We are fortunate in our State to have such an extraordinary example 
for the young and the old among us of what we might achieve when we 
answer the call to civic action. For his lifelong commitment to 
improving our communities, for his never failing to embrace the have-
nots, and for his visionary leadership on global health and education, 
William Gates, Sr. deserves the highest accolades.

                          ____________________