[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 16, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H6820-H6828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION OF FORMER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 2009 ANNUAL 
                           REPORT TO CONGRESS

  Mr. HERTEL. It is an honor for me to introduce the gentleman from 
Maryland, who for over three decades has provided leadership in this 
House on behalf of the Democratic Party, on behalf of the State of 
Maryland but on behalf of our Nation, most importantly.
  This session of Congress that we are in today has been the most 
productive in my lifetime. We see the many challenges that face us--on 
the economy, the war, on health care, on all the different issues that 
have faced the American public, and the majority leader, who has been 
forging ahead and working in a bipartisan way on these very important 
challenges, has had the time not only to play golf with us yesterday at 
our Wounded Warriors tournament but to come again this morning and take 
some time to welcome us.
  Thank you very much, Majority Leader.
  Mr. HOYER. Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker. You 
know Bob Michel was my Speaker. You've heard my story on going up to 
Ray LaHood and saying, Ray--this is 1995, John--and I said to Ray, who 
was presiding--you know, Ray presided a lot and was an excellent 
presiding officer. I went up to him and told him--we had about 197 
votes at that point in time. I said, you know, I'll get you 197, you 
get 21 and we'll elect Bob Michel the Speaker. He smiled. It probably 
crossed his mind that that was a worthwhile endeavor but maybe he 
couldn't get there.
  But in any event, it's always a pleasure to be with Bob Michel and 
all of you; my former colleague in the Maryland delegation, Connie 
Morella, who is one of your officers in this organization; John Rhodes, 
with whom I served. John, thank you very much for the great service you 
gave to this country and that your father gave to this country and that 
you continue to give to this country. We're blessed by that. And all of 
you with whom I have served over the years. As a matter of fact, most 
of the people as I look around here, it was a great pleasure to serve 
with you. Marty Russo, of course, I served with him as well and that 
was a little more of a trial.
  Marty played golf yesterday. Dennis, he's really feeling badly. He 
shot six under par and he didn't win. He thinks it was fixed that the 
former Members were not allowed to win the tournament. He said, you 
know, what was the worth of playing in it.

[[Page H6821]]

  I'm very pleased to be here with you. I try to join you every year. 
Your ranks seem a little smaller this year than they have in years 
past. Maybe some folks will be coming in.
  I rose on the floor about 3 or 4 weeks ago just before the Memorial 
break and said, Look, when we come back, we're going to be more timely 
in the counting of the votes. We're going to try to keep the votes down 
to somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 minutes as opposed to, they were 
getting to average 25 minutes, which was, you do that over 10, 15, 20 
votes over the course of a day, it really extends the day. The chairmen 
were having people waiting in their committees. We're struggling to get 
there. If I close it out--Alexis Covey-Brandt--Alexis, wave--she is now 
our floor director. And then sitting next to Alexis is someone I think 
probably all of you know, she is the granddaughter of a great American, 
a great Representative in this House, the former Speaker of the House, 
Tip O'Neill, Catlin O'Neill, who represents the Speaker on the floor 
and helps manage the floor. We're pleased to be here with you.
  Dennis, you were very kind about reaching out in a bipartisan way. I 
lament the fact that when Bob Michel was here, we had reaching out more 
in a bipartisan fashion because both sides I think were inclined to do 
so. We had more golf tournaments, Bob, and we played more and spent 
more time with one another. I played golf yesterday with John Boehner. 
I drove the cart. He rode along. He scored well. I tried to stay in the 
hunt. John and I talked about trying to work things in a more 
bipartisan fashion, but very frankly as all of you have observed, the 
confrontation continues in a somewhat strident tone too often in this 
House. That was not so early on when I came here but frankly almost 
every decade it has escalated and that's unfortunate.
  But, on the other hand, I think Dennis is right. This may be the most 
productive 5 months that I've spent in the House. I don't mean that we 
haven't had other productive times--we have--but the agenda that we 
confronted as we took over at a time of crisis, with a brand new 
President, an historic President. 2008, an historic year. I think all 
of us are pleased that we were alive to watch what America did in 2008. 
I thought John McCain's best speech of the campaign was the night he 
lost. It was not only a gracious speech but it was a speech that tried 
to bring the country together in support of our newly elected 
President, and I thought it showed John McCain at his very best. Obama 
gave a speech that showed him at his very best. And frankly I think 
George Bush the next day, on Wednesday, gave a brief speech which 
showed him at his very best. And the three of them together showed 
America at its very best.
  I tell people that one of the proudest days of my service in the 
House of Representatives and of my country was on the day that was one 
of my most disappointing. And that, of course, was January 20, 2001, 
when my side clearly thought it had won the election, had received a 
half a million more American votes than our opponent, George Bush, but 
notwithstanding that, by a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court of the United 
States had brought the election to a close. And so as we sat there on 
the podium, I was about 10 feet from Bill Clinton, about 15 feet from 
George Bush, and within minutes--and it happened in seconds as you 
know--within minutes, the most power in one person that exists on the 
face of the Earth was passed peacefully, notwithstanding the 
extraordinary concerns that the then-incumbent President of the United 
States, who had that power in his grasp--it was in his grasp--
notwithstanding that, he released it peacefully, without a shot being 
fired, without demonstrations in the streets on that day, and America 
showed the world once again that it was a nation of laws.
  That was a proud day, I think, for all of us, a wrenching day for 
those of us who were on the losing side on that day but a proud day for 
our country. All of us in this Chamber have had the opportunity to 
serve in the people's House, the repository of that power to make the 
laws that govern, not of men but of laws.
  And so I always take the opportunity to thank all of you. And we 
lament the fact that we've lost--I'm not sure how many people we've 
lost. John, I am sure there will be a recitation of that and a 
remembrance of those we've lost. But one person with whom I had the 
opportunity and I think most of you had the opportunity to serve, we 
lost. In doing so, we lost a great spirit, not just a great former 
Member of the Congress. I'm not going to read all of it but I remember 
him quoting Teddy Roosevelt on a relatively regular basis. I've got the 
whole quote, but I'm just going to read you a few lines of it:
  ``It is not the critic who counts;
  not the man who points out
  how the strong man stumbles,
  or where the doer of deeds
  could have done them better.
  The credit belongs to the man
  who is actually in the arena.''
  I choose like I choose ``all men are created equal'' to consider 
``man'' in that sense generic--for human beings.
  It goes on to say:
  ``The credit belongs to the man
  who is actually in the arena.''
  And then it concludes:
  ``Who at the best knows in the end
  the triumph of high achievement,
  and who at the worst, if he fails,
  at least fails while daring greatly,
  so that his place shall never be
  with those cold and timid souls
  who neither know victory nor defeat.''
  All of us got in the arena. We put our egos on the line. Sometimes 
those egos can be severely bruised in this business internally and 
certainly externally. But we got in the arena because we knew that that 
is where you could make a difference, for the people that were your 
neighbors, for your family and for your country. And for that, I think 
Americans honor each and every one of you, and I thank you for having 
learned from you, been impressed by you, using in many cases you as an 
example of how we ought to work together.
  It's easier when you get out of Congress, I think, to adopt that 
premise, because you then look not so much on the differences but on 
the similarities. Far too often as human beings we look at the 
differences, that which divides us, as opposed to that which brings us 
together, the values that we have in common.
  John, before you came in, I mentioned the fact that you and I played 
golf together. We had a great time. We spent 4 or 5 hours riding around 
the course together, enjoying one another, learning from one another. 
John's really a student of golf. He was helping me be a little better 
than normally I am. But we need to learn from those experiences and 
learn from people like Bob Michel, who lived life in Congress teaching 
all of us that.
  So I thank you for staying active, keeping the faith, providing 
ongoing examples that simply being elected is not the only way to 
serve. You continue to serve in so many positive roles. I know on 
behalf of the Speaker, I know John will speak for himself, we welcome 
you back to this Chamber which meant so much in your lives and to which 
you meant so much in your service.
  Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
  You know, I read that and of course I hope all of you know the person 
I was referring to was Jack Kemp--who reflected, I think, John--I 
served with Jack on the Appropriations Committee for a significant 
period of time, and Jack always had that positive spirit, that hand 
reached out to include rather than to exclude. We miss Jack Kemp. He 
was a great servant in this House and a great servant of his party and 
a great servant of his country.
  Mr. HERTEL. I want to thank the majority leader for taking the time 
with us. For someone of his stature and experience it means a great 
deal for those of us gone but not forgotten as he comes to see us and 
take the time out of his schedule. Today at noon, Majority Leader Hoyer 
and Jack Kemp will be honored by the Victims of Communism Memorial 
program which is going to take place in the Visitors Center for all of 
their work in triumphing over communism. Leader Hoyer was chairman of 
the Helsinki Commission which did so much to make a difference in this 
world that we have today because they brought down the Soviet Union and 
assisted all those people seeking freedom in Eastern Europe and around 
the globe. The Helsinki Commission's work is one of the most 
outstanding things this Congress has ever

[[Page H6822]]

done and it was led by Majority Leader Hoyer.
  And now it is my great honor to recognize the distinguished minority 
leader, the gentleman from Ohio, our Republican leader, a great friend 
of ours who also took the time to spend with us yesterday at the 
Wounded Warriors golf match, Mr. John Boehner.
  Mr. BOEHNER. As I look around, most of you I know, not all of you but 
most of you, and on behalf of my colleagues and I, I just want to say 
welcome back. Your service here clearly was an honor or you probably 
wouldn't have come back, and clearly all of us have had an opportunity 
to work with you. But we do appreciate your service, we appreciate your 
coming back and appreciate what you do to help this institution that we 
have all had an opportunity to serve in. I think a special 
congratulations is in order for Lou today, having celebrated some 50 
years in public service and will be receiving an award from all of you 
today.
  Steny and I did play golf yesterday. We did have a wonderful time. 
And it really reminded me of kind of a motto that I learned from Bob 
Michel, and that is that you can disagree without being disagreeable. I 
think all of you know that there are some major things happening here 
and clearly there's not quite a consensus on those things moving ahead. 
And so part of my mantra to my colleagues on our side is that to stand 
up and fight the fight but, you know, you don't have to be disagreeable 
in the process. There are plenty of facts to lay on the table.
  I really do appreciate all of you being here and appreciate the work 
you do for our institution and glad to welcome all back.
  Thank you.
  Mr. HERTEL. I want to thank the Republican leader for taking the time 
but also the interest and the leadership in helping us with the Wounded 
Warriors project that was so very important. He's been there the last 2 
years to lead the way and we've been able to raise over $200,000 now 
for the Disabled Sports and Wounded Warriors project. We just can't 
thank our two leaders enough for participating because that will make 
the difference in getting more participation of sponsors and Members to 
come out to that tournament so it can be ongoing and benefit these 
veterans that have done so much for our country.


                          Pledge of Allegiance

  Mr. HERTEL. And now it is my privilege to ask our Republican leader, 
Bob Michel, to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
  Mr. Michel led the Pledge of Allegiance as follows:

       I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of 
     America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation 
     under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

  Mr. HERTEL. The Clerk will now call the roll of former Members of 
Congress.
  The Clerk called the roll of the former Members of Congress, and the 
following former Members answered to their names:
  Hon. Bill Alexander, AR
  Hon. Clarence Brown, OH
  Hon. Nancy Boyda, KS
  Hon. Jack Buechner, MO
  Hon. Bill Burlison, MO
  Hon. Joe DioGuardi, NY
  Hon. Ed Foreman, TX, NM
  Hon. Lou Frey, FL
  Hon. Ben Gilman, NY
  Hon. Dennis Hertel, MI
  Hon. William Hughes, NJ
  Hon. Barbara Kennelly, CT
  Hon. Ron Klink, PA
  Hon. Ernie Konnyu, CA
  Hon. Ken Kramer, CO
  Hon. Martin Lancaster, NC
  Hon. Ron Mazzoli, KY
  Hon. Matt McHugh, NY
  Hon. Bob Michel, IL
  Hon. Connie Morella, MD
  Hon. Jay Rhodes, AZ
  Hon. Phil Ruppe, MI
  Hon. Marty Russo, IL
  Hon. Jim Symington, MO
  Hon. Lindsey Thomas, GA
  Mr. HERTEL. The Chair announces that 26 former Members of Congress 
have responded to their names.
  The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Arizona, the Honorable 
Jay Rhodes, the President of our Association.
  Mr. RHODES. Dennis, thank you. Thank you very much for hobbling in. 
We appreciate the fact that it's not altogether easy for you at this 
particular point in your recovery. We very much appreciate all of your 
service to all of us. You are now in the category of wounded warrior. 
We're happy to see that you are at least making a slow but steady 
recovery.
  I appreciate very much the fact that Mr. Hoyer and Mr. Boehner took 
the time to come and be with us this morning. I think their comments 
were very, very pertinent and to the point. I especially would like to 
associate myself with Mr. Hoyer's comments about the regrettable 
deterioration in relationships between the parties on the floor. It 
does call to mind the days when Bob Michel was our leader and when Tip 
O'Neill was the leader and the Speaker, and also the days frankly when 
my dad had preceded Bob. Mr. O'Neill, Mr. Rhodes, and Mr. Michel, some 
of their favorite stories deal with their relationships off the floor. 
I think it's a shame that the relationships off the floor here don't 
reflect the kind of camaraderie that even was in existence still in 
1986 when Ernie Konnyu and Connie Morella and Jack Buechner and Nancy 
Pelosi and I came into this Chamber. I think that each of us could say 
that things were a lot better in 1986 and we can each say we saw them 
start to deteriorate from that point on. And it's sad. It's not good 
for the institution and it's not good for the country.
  It is a pleasure to be back here and we appreciate the opportunity to 
present the annual report of the U.S. Association. I and some of my 
colleagues will report on our activities and projects that we have 
undertaken over the course of the past year and we will present our 
Distinguished Service Award.
  As you all know, the Association is fiercely nonpartisan, or fiercely 
bipartisan. It was chartered by Congress but you know that we receive 
no public funding, no appropriations, no earmarks, nothing from the 
United States Congress in terms of funding the operations of this 
association. Our purpose is to promote public service and strengthen 
democracy, both abroad and at home. And when I say we promote public 
service, I want to emphasize that when we utilize one of our flagship 
programs, which is the Congress to Campus Program, that our purpose is 
not to go to college campuses and encourage young people to become 
politicians. Our purpose is to go to college campuses and encourage 
young people to consider public service as an honorable profession for 
their lives. And I think that we make a contribution in that regard. 
There are approximately 600 former Senators and Representatives who 
belong to this association. We reckon that there are probably about a 
thousand living persons who have served in the past in either the House 
or the Senate and roughly 600 of them belong to our association. We are 
united to teach about Congress and the importance of representative 
democracy. All the activities which we are about to describe are 
financed either through dues, program-specific grants and sponsors, or 
our fundraising dinner. Our finances are sound, our projects are fully 
funded, and our 2008 audit, which was completed fairly recently by our 
outside accounting firm, comes back to us with a completely clean bill 
of health. We have had a very successful, active, and rewarding year. 
We have continued our work serving as a liaison between the current 
Congress and legislatures abroad; we have created partnerships with 
highly respected institutions in the area of democracy building and 
election monitoring; we have developed new projects which we are in the 
process of expanding, including our webcasting civics education 
program; and we again sent dozens of bipartisan teams of former Members 
to university campuses here in the United States and abroad as part of 
the Congress to Campus Program. I am sure that those of you who have 
participated in that program know that in the majority of the cases our 
members who come back from having participated say almost universally 
that they benefited more, the former Members benefited more than they 
think they brought benefit to the young people that we talked to. That 
is a reflection of the fact that our young population is much more 
sophisticated, much more educated and much more enthusiastic about 
their futures than they generally get credit for.

  I am very pleased now to report on the program work as we've gone 
through this year. Our first report will

[[Page H6823]]

be delivered by the gentlelady from Connecticut, Ms. Kennelly. Over the 
past 4 years, we have made it a priority to put unique capabilities 
inherent in our membership to productive use in the area of democracy 
building overseas and legislative strengthening overseas. I am pleased 
to announce today that we have a major new program to support these 
efforts. We have been awarded a grant by the U.S. Agency for 
International Development so that bipartisan teams of former Members 
can travel to emerging democracies and interact with their legislative 
branches on a peer-to-peer basis. Our teams will work with the 
bipartisan House Democracy Assistance Commission to conduct workshops, 
panels and presentations for the legislative branches of numerous 
countries around the globe. We not only talk to the elected legislative 
representatives but also to their staffs and silently we say to them, 
Do as we say, don't do as we do. But I think that we have lessons to 
impart to legislative branches, both Members and staff overseas, and I 
am very happy to yield to the gentlelady from Connecticut to report on 
this.


                              Benediction

  Mr. HERTEL. Mr. President, we have been joined by the House Chaplain, 
Father Coughlin, and at this moment I would just ask before we go 
further with our report that we ask Father Coughlin, the House 
Chaplain, to give us a benediction.
  Mr. RHODES. I would yield to the House Chaplain, Father Coughlin.
  Rev. COUGHLIN. I am honored to be here with you.
  Let us pray.
  Almighty God, we praise You and bless You as the Lord of our lives. 
Each of us has a story to tell. For each of us this has been a journey, 
a journey with many ups, many downs, many prizes, many rewards, and at 
the same time many sacrifices.
  Bless our constituents who brought us here. Bless all our family 
members who have stood by us at all times. Bless us now. Help us, Lord, 
to meet You at the present moment, for that's where You are always to 
be found. We thank You for all You have given us in the past, we praise 
You now and ask for health and happiness in the present that we may be 
your instruments of bringing good news, power, integrity, justice and 
goodness to this country.
  Bless us that we may serve always, upholding the Constitution that 
holds us all together. Confirm us in liberty and in justice, now and 
forever. Amen.
  Mr. HERTEL. Thank you, Father. Now I do recognize the gentleman from 
Arizona.
  Mr. RHODES. I yield to the gentlelady from Connecticut.
  Ms. KENNELLY. Thank you, Mr. President.
  May I take this opportunity to thank you and our Executive Director, 
Pete Weichlein. These two gentlemen have worked so hard this year and 
as Dennis said, we've had really a very successful year and I think 
we're going into a whole new dimension and my report will show that.
  Thank you, Jay, for your introduction and thank you for your 
leadership in securing the AID grant you just announced. The House 
Democracy Assistance Commission is an undertaking of the House of 
Representatives to strengthen democracy in those institutions by 
assisting parliaments in emerging democracies. One of the objectives of 
HDAC is to provide expert advice to members and staff of the 
parliaments of partner countries. HDAC is chaired by Congressmen David 
Price of North Carolina and David Dreier of California. It is an 
extension of the great work begun by former Congressmen Martin Frost 
and Gerry Solomon as past of the Frost-Solomon Task Force. We are 
pleased to be able to play an important part in this outstanding 
project.
  Via the AID grant, bipartisan teams of former Members will travel to 
six countries in 2009 and 2010. These countries probably will be 
Georgia, Kenya, Kosovo, Liberia, Peru and Ukraine. We will focus our 
projects on areas including legislative strengthening, legal reform, 
constituent representation, oversight and budget capacity. We will 
spend about one week in each country. In addition to meeting with 
legislators, we hope that each visit can include some time spent at 
local universities. It is one of the core beliefs of this organization 
that we need to reach out to the next generation of leaders, whether in 
the United States or abroad, and share some of our experiences and 
visions. This grant is a very exciting development for our organization 
and we look forward to reporting on these missions when we return to 
this great hall next year.
  In addition to the HDAC project, we continue the good work commenced 
by Jack Buechner, former president of this organization. I am referring 
to the International Election Monitors Institute which we created in 
conjunction with our Canadian and European Union sister organizations. 
IEMI takes former legislators from the United States, Canada and Europe 
and trains them in proper election monitoring techniques and a code of 
conduct. To this end, we have been able to put together a 2-day 
training course which we have now administered six times in Ottawa. The 
course, as well as a host of other achievements for the Institute, was 
made possible via a 3-year grant from the Canadian International 
Development Agency. Dozens of United States, Canadian and European 
former legislators have gone through the training and are now well 
versed in the actual set of responsibilities and challenges that come 
with election observation. For the near future, we have identified two 
crucial elections, and these certainly are crucial elections, where we 
hope to have some of our observers present: August of this year in 
Afghanistan and January 2010 in Iraq. Our model is to partner with 
reputable like-minded organizations in the United States, Europe or 
Canada and funnel our trained former Members into their delegations. In 
the past we have used this model quite successfully, for example, by 
working with the National Democratic Institute during their observer 
missions to Morocco and Ukraine. Our colleague Dennis Hertel of 
Michigan is the current president of IEMI and we thank him for his 
leadership.

  In addition to partnering with organizations such as NDI, IRI and 
IFES on election monitoring missions, we have just entered a new 
partnership with the State University of New York. SUNY Albany houses 
one of the leading democracy building NGOs in the country--the Center 
for International Development. Our association has entered into a 
partnership agreement with SUNY to compete for a USAID contract which 
we expect will be announced in early 2010. This contract will focus on 
democracy and governance projects from 2010 through 2015 and only 
organizations which have been invited to compete are eligible to submit 
proposals. SUNY has an outstanding track record for these types of AID 
contracts and we are confident that via this new partnership our 
members will be able to engage in an even greater number of democracy 
building projects worldwide.
  Mr. Speaker, we have made it our mission to create these important 
opportunities for our membership. Former Members of Congress can play a 
crucial role in these types of programs and it is quite rewarding that 
we are seeing the beginning of the fruits of our labor. I thank you for 
letting me give this report, Jay, and I say this looks very exciting 
and this organization is really moving.
  Mr. RHODES. Barbara, thank you very much. And you're right--we are 
moving. And it's positive movement.
  I am now pleased to recognize our colleague from Maryland, Ms. 
Morella, in her capacity as representative of the executive committee 
overseeing many of our international programs. We achieve our 
objectives through congressional study groups involving Germany, Turkey 
and Japan. We have arranged multiple special events in the Capitol for 
representatives of the parliaments of those countries, and we continue 
to plan for trips overseas for our congressional staff and for sitting 
Members to welcome sitting parliamentarians and staff people here to 
the United States.
  I am pleased to yield to the gentlelady from Maryland, Connie 
Morella, my classmate, for her report on our study group events.
  Ms. MORELLA. Thank you, Jay.
  Yes, we were members of the 100th Congress and it's a privilege to be 
here with former Members and with good friends who are here. And thanks 
for your leadership, Jay.

[[Page H6824]]

  The United States Association of Former Members of Congress has 
created invaluable opportunities for current Members of Congress to 
engage with their counterparts around the world through programming 
hundreds of special events in the U.S. Capitol for international 
delegations. The Association is pleased to oversee the congressional 
study groups on Germany, Turkey and Japan as well as to initiate the 
first trilateral renewable energy roundtable for lawmakers from India, 
Germany and the United States. The Association's flagship international 
program is the Congressional Study Group on Germany, which has been 
conducted by the Association for over 25 years. The first trip I ever 
took was with that particular study group to Germany in 1987. The Study 
Group on Germany is one of the largest and the most active exchange 
programs involving the U.S. Congress and the parliament of another 
country. It is a bipartisan organization, with approximately one-third 
of the Members of the U.S. Congress participating. The House Chairs are 
Congressman Russ Carnahan of Missouri and Congressman Rob Bishop of 
Utah. The Senate Chairs are Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana and Senator 
Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
  The Congressional Study Group on Germany serves as a model for all 
other study groups under the umbrella of the FMC. The Study Group on 
Germany has three programming pillars: the Distinguished Visitors 
Program, which hosts guests from Germany at the U.S. Capitol; annual 
seminars allowing for in-depth discussions for the lawmakers of both 
countries; and a senior congressional staff study tour in Germany. In 
addition, the Congressional Study Group on Germany is a resource for 
Members of Congress to receive objective information on current U.S.-
German relations. The study group also supports the Congress-Bundestag 
Youth Exchange Program. Nearly every month, the study group brings 
high-ranking German elected officials to Capitol Hill to meet with 
Members of Congress as part of its Distinguished Visitors Program. 
Recently honored guests include: the German Federal Minister for Labor, 
Olaf Scholz; the Chairman of the Bundestag's Foreign Affairs Committee, 
Ruprecht Polenz; and the German Federal Minister for Economics and 
Technology, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.
  The highlight of each programming year is the annual Congress-
Bundestag seminar. Each year, the study group brings approximately 
eight Members of Congress together with German legislators for several 
days to reinforce friendships and examine pertinent topics in 
transatlantic relations, such as NATO, climate change, or trade. The 
parliamentarians are joined by former Members of the Congress and the 
Bundestag, officials of the two federal governments, think tank and 
foundation representatives and members of the German-American corporate 
community. The 26th annual seminar took place at the end of May in 
Berlin and Cologne. Highlights included meetings with Chancellor Angela 
Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. A study tour for 
senior congressional staff is planned for the fall in conjunction with 
the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
  The Congressional Study Group on Germany has received generous grants 
from the German Marshall Fund of the United States which has supported 
it for 25 years. The Association would like to thank Craig Kennedy, 
GMF's President, for his support of the Congressional Study Group on 
Germany. Additional funding to assist with administrative expenses is 
received from a group of organizations whose representatives serve on a 
Business Advisory Council to the study group. The Business Advisory 
Council is chaired by former Member Tom Coleman of Missouri, who served 
as the chairman of the Congressional Study Group on Germany in the 
House in 1989. Current Business Advisory Council members are Airbus, 
Allianz, BASF, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Post DHL, Eli Lilly, 
Fresenius, Lufthansa, RGIT, SAP, and Volkswagen. It's a large group.
  Now there is a Congressional Study Group on Turkey, also. The 
Association established that congressional study group in 2005 and it 
has quickly become a major program for the Association. The Study Group 
on Turkey educates U.S. Members of Congress about the strategic 
relationship between the United States and Turkey and promotes 
increased cooperation between the two countries. Using the successful, 
long-running Congressional Study Group on Germany as a model, the Study 
Group on Turkey has become a highly relevant and unique forum for 
dialogue between U.S. and Turkish legislators and government officials. 
The Study Group on Turkey's House Chairs are Representative Wexler of 
Florida and Representative Whitfield of Kentucky. Congressman Cohen of 
Tennessee and Congresswoman Foxx of North Carolina are the Vice Chairs.
  Turkey is one of our strategic allies and is uniquely positioned to 
work with the United States on many important challenges such as peace 
in the greater Middle East and energy security. The Study Group 
on Turkey brings current Members of Congress together with their 
legislative peers, government officials and business representatives in 
Turkey and serves as a platform for all participants to learn about 
U.S.-Turkish relations firsthand.

  Thanks to funding from the Economic Policy Research Foundation of 
Turkey, a nonpartisan foundation established by the Turkish business 
association TOBB, the German Marshall Fund of the United States and a 
group of corporate sponsors making up the Business Advisory Council, 
the Study Group on Turkey can carry out its mandate to strengthen 
cooperation between the United States and Turkey. The Business Advisory 
Council members are Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly, Philip Morris and the 
Turkish-American Business Council.
  The Congressional Study Group on Turkey runs a Distinguished Visitors 
Program for Members of Congress featuring visiting dignitaries from 
Turkey. Recent guests for roundtable discussions include Turkish 
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Chairman Mercan of the Turkish 
Grand National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee. The Congressional 
Study Group on Turkey also conduct an annual U.S.-Turkey seminar. In 
2008, Representative Steve Cohen from Tennessee hosted the annual 
seminar in Memphis. United States Members of Congress and Turkish 
parliamentarians participated in the seminar and discussed topics that 
included U.S.-Turkish trade relations, the integration of immigrants 
and energy security. The seminar is a conference for U.S. members of 
Congress to discuss areas of mutual concern with their legislative 
counterparts in Turkey. This year's U.S.-Turkey seminar is scheduled to 
take place during the first week of September in Ankara and in 
Istanbul. Members of Congress and their counterparts in the Turkish 
Grand National Assembly will discuss such issues as stability in the 
Middle East and prospects for Turkey's accession into the European 
Union.
  There are other study groups. I would like to mention that the 
Association serves as the secretariat for the Congressional Study Group 
on Japan. Founded in 1993 in cooperation with the East-West Center in 
Hawaii, the Congressional Study Group on Japan is a bipartisan group of 
Members from the House and the Senate. The Congressional Study Group on 
Japan arranges opportunities for Members of Congress to meet with their 
counterparts in the Japanese Diet in addition to organizing discussions 
for Members to hear from American and Japanese experts on U.S.-Japanese 
relations. The House Chairs for the Congressional Study Group on Japan 
are Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington and Congresswoman Shelly 
Moore Capito of West Virginia. In the Senate, Senators Jim Webb of 
Virginia and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska take an active role in study 
group programming. The Congressional Study Group on Japan is funded by 
the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission.
  Finally, the Association is excited about the launch of a new 
program. Together with the Alliance for U.S. India Business, the 
Bertelsmann Foundation, the Robert Bosch Foundation, and TERI North 
America, we will hold the first Trilateral Renewable Energy Roundtable 
for lawmakers from Germany, India and the United States at the 
beginning of July. All three countries are major democratic economies 
from crucial regions of the globe that have a stake in world GDP as 
well as

[[Page H6825]]

environmental sustainability. Lawmakers from each country will have the 
opportunity to exchange their policy views to find common approaches 
for promoting renewable energy. The House leadership for this new 
project is Congressman Jay Inslee of Washington and Congressman Michael 
Burgess of Texas.
  The Congressional Study Groups on Germany, Turkey and Japan as well 
as the Trilateral Roundtable demonstrate the important role that the 
Former Members Association plays in assisting current Members in their 
foreign relations portfolio. I think the former Members can be very 
proud of the work they do to make these study groups possible and the 
opportunities they are in, and I consider it a privilege to participate 
in many of those activities.
  I thank you for listening to this lengthy report that indicates some 
of the very important work being done by the Former Members 
Association. Thank you.
  Mr. RHODES. Thank you, Connie. I think we can be proud of our 
excellent programming offered by our Congressional Study Groups.
  Another program which our association and its members hold in very 
high esteem is the Congress to Campus Program. This wonderful program 
has been administered for the past 2 years internally by our staff. We 
have made the program grow and we have expanded it internationally. 
We've also reached out to community colleges and high schools. This 
growth was due to a large extent to a grant we received from the Joyce 
and Donald Rumsfeld Foundation. Let me take this opportunity to thank 
Secretary Rumsfeld for his invaluable support, which we really 
appreciate. We continue to work with the Stennis Center for Public 
Service, but all administration of this program is now done in-house by 
our staff.
  I am very pleased to yield to a former president of our association, 
the Honorable Matt McHugh of New York, who chairs the Congress to 
Campus Program.
  Matt, thanks for all your work.
  Mr. McHUGH. Thank you very much, Jay. It is always a pleasure to be 
here with our friends and colleagues.
  Before giving my report on the program, I want to say it's a special 
pleasure to be here this year because we're giving our annual award to 
Lou Frey. I had the privilege of serving as vice president during Lou's 
tenure as president and he was a tremendously strong leader for us in 
those days and has since then been a leader of our association. I think 
no one really deserves the honor more than Lou and I note that he has 
Marcia his wife with him and many of his beautiful family members. And 
so we're delighted to be with you today, Lou, and to give you this 
long-deserved honor.
  As Jay said, the Congress to Campus Program has been administered by 
the Association in cooperation with the Stennis Center for 2 years now. 
During that time, the program has experienced a marked growth and has 
expanded for the first time to include community colleges across the 
country. As most of you know, this program is the flagship program for 
our Members. It sends bipartisan teams of former Members to colleges, 
universities and high schools across the country to educate the next 
generation of leaders on the importance of civic engagement. The 
participating students benefit, we think, from the interaction with our 
association members, whose knowledge and experience are truly a unique 
resource. Our members, as Jay said, benefit through their continued 
involvement in public service and the ability to engage young people on 
issues of importance to them.
  During each visit, our bipartisan team conducts classes, meets 
individually with students and faculty, speaks to campus media, 
participates in both campus and community forums, and meets with local 
citizens. Institutions that we visit are encouraged to market the visit 
to the entire campus community, not just simply to students who major 
in political science, history or government. Over the course of 2\1/2\ 
days, hundreds of students are exposed to the former Members' message 
regarding the significance of public service.
  The program has made both domestic and international visits this 
academic year, including two separate visits to campuses in the United 
Kingdom and one in Canada. Over the 2008-2009 academic year, the 
program has made 20 campus visits, including visits to institutions we 
had not previously visited, such as the U.S. Air Force Academy, the 
University of Montana, and a number of community colleges as I have 
mentioned. More than 30 former Members participated this year, and I 
want to thank all of you who took the time from your schedules to do 
so. I would also like to encourage those of you who have not had the 
opportunity to seriously consider participating. It's truly a great way 
to continue our public service after Congress.

  I also want to extend our thanks to the faculty, the staff members 
and students who worked so diligently on each of these visits. Without 
their hard work, these visits would simply not have been possible. We 
rely heavily on the universities to take the lead in coordinating 
logistics related to each visit and appreciate the time they devote to 
ensuring that their students receive the full benefit of the program.
  We have continued our relationship with the Stennis Center for Public 
Service, as Jay mentioned earlier, in the administration of this 
program and I think we owe a special debt of gratitude to Tracy Fine of 
our staff and to Brother Rogers of the Stennis Center for their fine 
work on this program. Our two staffs work very closely together to make 
the program such a success and we appreciate the continuing financial 
support we also receive from the Stennis Center. We look forward to 
working with the Center in the years ahead.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to second Jay's note of 
thanks to the Joyce and Donald Rumsfeld Foundation for its generous 
financial support for the program during this past year. The 
Foundation's generous grant enabled the program to reach an even wider 
array of students, including those at the community colleges that 
participated for the first time this year.
  In addition to the expansion of the program to community colleges, 
the program has also commenced a concerted effort in partnership with 
the University of Central Florida and the Lou Frey Institute of 
Politics and Government to reach out to high school students via a 
series of webcasts, another example of the kind of work that Lou does 
consistently with younger people. These programs focus on specific 
issues and are designed as a tool for teachers to showcase the 
legislative process and encourage involvement in government. During the 
fall, the first in the series was piloted to high schools in Florida, 
and in 2009 and 2010 it will expand its reach to high schools in other 
States. Using this technology, the Association can reach a much larger 
audience and can make an even greater contribution to civics education. 
While these ``virtual'' visits cannot replace the person-to-person 
experience of a traditional Congress to campus visit, they can play an 
important supplemental role in teaching about representative democracy 
at the high school level.
  We have also continued our working relationship with the People to 
People Ambassador Program which brings young people to our Nation's 
capital for a week of events centered on the concepts of character and 
leadership. These students are younger than those who participate in 
the Congress to Campus activities but they have already demonstrated a 
commitment to the ideals that Congress to Campus seeks to promote. The 
Association's involvement in this program allows our members living in 
this area, the Washington area, to speak to these younger students on 
the importance of public service and to answer their many questions 
about our government and our country. A number of our members continue 
to work full time, but this program permits them to continue their 
public service in this way. The events are typically held in the early 
morning at suburban locations, and I want to thank my colleagues who 
have participated in this program.
  As some of you may know, the Association also partners with the 
Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars to organize 
panels of former Members of Congress to meet with students who are 
interning in the area, and to participate in seminars that address 
current issues and the relationship between the administration and the 
Congress. During the past academic year, the Washington Center and

[[Page H6826]]

the Association convened six separate panels of former Members to speak 
with the students. Since last year was an election year, the Washington 
Center held seminars at each of the party conventions at which former 
Members of Congress spoke to the students about the party platforms, 
the nomination process and other issues that the students were 
interested in. I also want to thank my colleagues who participated in 
these panels throughout the year.
  Finally, I want to say again how really grateful we are to those who 
have made the Congress to Campus Program such a success and to strongly 
encourage all of my friends and colleagues to participate in the 
program either by making a visit to a school or by recommending a 
school to host the program. As all of us know, a democracy can prosper 
only if its citizens are both informed and engaged, and as former 
legislators we have a particular opportunity and responsibility to 
encourage such involvement. This program gives us a good chance to do 
so, particularly with our young people. Again, I thank those who have 
been part of it and encourage all of us to continue to participate.
  Thank you very much.
  Mr. RHODES. Thank you, Matt. I appreciate the time that you spend for 
the Association and for our projects and especially Congress to Campus 
which is one of our finest undertakings and at this point in time at 
least is the face of this organization publicly. That's where we are 
seen the most. I hope you will have a chance to read the article that 
was in Roll Call yesterday which should give you an indication in 
conjunction with the earlier reports about some of our international 
programs that we are going to try to expand the face so that it is 
recognized in areas other than the College to Campus Program. But 
College to Campus is clearly our flagship at this point and we really 
appreciate all the help we get, especially from Matt.
  Now I need to talk to you a bit about the Statesmanship Dinner. 
Incidentally, in the Roll Call article, the only slight error that the 
reporter made in that the article was the implication that this is my 
swan song as president and that Dennis is taking over immediately after 
this meeting. I'm sorry to report to you, that's not true. You're stuck 
with me for another year. And Dennis is stuck up in that chair for 
another year. But next year he'll be up here lecturing you on how great 
we all are. We are chartered by Congress and receive no funding. The 
Association is responsible for finding our money to conduct our 
programs and one of the ways we do this is through our annual 
fundraising dinner. As part of this dinner, we recognize former and 
current Members of Congress for a particular achievement through our 
Statesmanship Award. In March of this year, we honored former and 
current Members who preceded their service in Congress with their 
service in the military. The very first Congress included veterans of 
our revolutionary war and veterans have played a key role in the 
Congress ever since. This Congress in particular includes veterans from 
the Iraq war, and there are probably going to be some after the next 
election from the Afghan war. These are fine men and women who deserve 
our recognition. During the course of this dinner, four individuals, 
Representative Buyer, Senator John McCain, Congressman John Conyers and 
Senator Daniel Inouye represented the different generations of Members 
who went from service in uniform to service in Congress. It was a very, 
very successful evening. It was very well received. And it was a 
successful fundraiser. This was our 13th fundraising dinner and the 
13th time Lou Frey has chaired the undertaking. He deserves a special 
thanks for his tireless efforts on our behalf for this dinner. Lou is 
responsible for more ulcers amongst his dinner committee than he 
probably cares to acknowledge. A hard taskmaster he is, but he's a 
tremendous leader. He is outgrowing his own ulcers while he's making 
ours prosper as well. And he has promised me that he will not resign as 
dinner chairman while I am on the bridge. He is very disappointed to 
realize that there is another year, that he's got to do it another 
year. It's a solemn pledge.
  Proceeds of the dinner help us with many of our projects. One of them 
is to collect the wisdom and experience of our members in book form. We 
have published one book called Inside the House, Former Members Reveal 
How Congress Really Works. It was heavily censored, but it has been 
widely received by political science departments in colleges and 
universities across the country. In a few weeks, we will be publishing 
volume 2 which is called Political Rules of the Road. This book 
collects various and sundry experiences and words of advice from people 
such as every single one of us in this room who has been through the 
caldron and have special stories to tell either because they are 
interesting or amusing, entertaining or enlightening. I am looking 
forward to seeing this book. We understand that 200 former and current 
Members participated and there are some 500 anecdotes contained in the 
volume. Another effort that we have undertaken is our annual golf 
tournament. Now we have had the annual golf tournament for 35 some 
years and it always involved sitting and former Members of Congress. 
Last year we expanded it to have a charitable role and we partnered 
with the Wounded Warriors Disabled Sports Foundation. Yesterday was the 
second tournament which involved the wounded warriors. As Dennis Hertel 
mentioned, we have been very successful in raising money for the 
Wounded Warriors Disabled Sports Foundation. We receive no proceeds 
from this tournament. And we have raised approximately $175,000 over 
the 2 years for the Wounded Warriors Disabled Sports Foundation.
  There are many other things that we have been doing. We are running 
short on time. We need to move to one of the major reasons for being 
here, which is to honor Mr. Frey. We have continued the Life after 
Congress Seminar and we have sent a former Members delegation to Canada 
and our members had a chance to interact with colleagues in Ottawa, to 
strengthen that bond and that bond is very strong. We are organizing a 
similar mission to travel to Eastern Europe later this year. We will 
have a continuing relationship with the Web site project and next 
month, July, and I believe July 15 is the drop dead date, and I do mean 
drop dead date, for launching our new Web site. After July 15, I invite 
you to log on to www.usafmc.org and learn more than you probably want 
to know about all of us and all of you.
  It is now my very distinct pleasure to present our 2009 Distinguished 
Service Award to our colleague from Florida, Mr. Frey.
  For those of us who have known Lou for quite a few years, we can say 
without reservation, few people have the energy and the dedication that 
Lou commits to everything that he does. Few people have the boundless 
enthusiasm and his devotion to the task at hand and to the people he 
works with. He loves his country. He loves this institution. From the 
day he walked onto the House floor until this minute, he has always 
looked for ways to teach about Congress, to encourage the next 
generation of leaders, to help citizens become involved in their 
communities and in public service and in government. His work before, 
during and after his service has been distinguished and has made us a 
better and stronger institution and a better and stronger country. In 
addition, he has taken on a number of leadership positions within this 
organization, most of which have been alluded to. He has been our 
president, he has been our board member, he has been our taskmaster. We 
most of the time really, really appreciate him and when we don't, we 
are really, really not appreciating him. But most of the time we--I 
would not say, Lou, that you are the indispensable man, because we both 
know there is no such thing, but you are fairly close. Would you join 
me.
  On behalf of the U.S. Association, it is my pleasure to present to 
you the 2009 Distinguished Service Award with plaque which is inscribed 
to Lou Frey. It says Congressman Lou Frey but ``Congressman'' is 
superfluous--it's just good old Lou--for his lifetime of exceptional 
public service. Both in and out of Congress, Lou Frey has demonstrated 
his great love of country and the democratic process. Renting the State 
of Florida, he served in the leadership of his party in the House of 
Representatives. He dedicated his congressional career to the youth of 
America, for example, by sponsoring legislation

[[Page H6827]]

that made higher education more financially attainable. After his 
tenure in Congress, he continued reaching out to America's high school 
and college students by establishing multiple programs that teach civic 
education. Thanks to Lou Frey, a new generation of leaders has become a 
better educated and engaged citizenry. Washington, D.C., June 16, 2009.
  And it's got a gavel in it. I hope you don't think you're going to 
use that.
  It is also my pleasure to give you a scrapbook of mementos from your 
friends and colleagues. I am happy to yield such time as he may 
consume, so long as it's not more than 10 minutes, to the Honorable Lou 
Frey.
  Mr. FREY. Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, all my friends. 
It's so great to see all of you and so many in the 91st Club back. I am 
so proud of my family who have helped so much. I guess there's 15 of 
them here. I hope you've had a chance to see them before. If not, 
they're up in the gallery and my bride is here which I'm not allowed to 
introduce but I will, anyway.

  I went back before I looked at these remarks and read the speeches of 
Bob Michel and so many great people and what they felt about the House. 
I just can't match it. No way that I can match the eloquence of the 
words, Bob, that you and the other people did. So I thought what I 
would do is sort of talk about what I really care about and what I've 
been working on. I think we as former Members have a unique opportunity 
to do something that no one else can do because we're better at it 
where we sit in life right now than anybody, and that's the dream I had 
of young people and young people understanding what we've been given. 
It's amazing what our country has been given and it's amazing what we 
don't know about it. I guess I first ran into that when I started an 
intern program where young people come up and live with me or stay with 
Marcia and I, eight at a time. We would have them chaperoned. We'd go 
back and talk about it. And most of them were like me. I never went to 
my first political meeting until I was 25 years old. In school I had 
one course in civics. I never met a Member of Congress or a member of a 
State legislature basically until I started to run for office. I ran 
for office because I didn't want to be a State legislator and that's 
about all I knew. I got going on that path, I'm in Congress, and gee 
whiz, now what do you do, Coach? My leader wants me to play shortstop. 
What else can I do? I found as I got into it and spent more and more 
time that really our country is civically illiterate. Just plain and 
simple, we don't know what the devil we have. So what we tried to do in 
Florida as a pilot program is figure out what we could do about it 
rather than just saying it really doesn't work.
  If you go back and you look at Jefferson, we were at the monument the 
other night and the quotes. I went back and I found a letter he wrote 
in 1816. He said, ``If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a 
state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.'' 
This is going back pretty far, to 1816. When we look at our national 
landscape, there's a lot of studies that have been done, polls that 
have been out. A guy in Texas at the LBJ School looked at young people, 
and he said that the ``lack of civic engagement and civic literacy 
among American youth is widespread. They know very little about even 
the basic of the American constitutional system and have no historical 
perspective on the development of the nation and its relations with the 
rest of the world.'' I'll use my State as an example but, let me tell 
you, your States aren't much better and some may even be worse. But 
I'll pick on Florida a little bit. Senator Graham and I started a joint 
center of civics. We had some surveys done. Florida, of the 50 States, 
is 47th in the average rate of volunteerism, 49th in the percentage of 
people who attend public meetings, and 40th in the percentage of 
citizens who work with others to solve a problem. And overall of the 50 
States, Florida is 47th from the top in terms of civic literacy. But, 
let me just add to that, we've had some national tests done, surveys 
done. These statistics really blow you away. Seventy-three percent of 
the students in fourth grade could not identify the Constitution from 
among four choices as the instrument that contains the basic rules. 
That's 73 percent of the students in fourth grade. Seventy-five percent 
of the students in fourth grade can't identify the three parts of the 
Federal Government out of four possible choices. Ninety-four percent of 
students in grade eight couldn't give two reasons why it would be 
useful for a country to have a Constitution. And on and on.
  The studies that really make you cry are, for instance, the studies 
that were done by the University of Connecticut who tested 14,000 
freshmen and seniors. The average grade of the senior in civics was 53 
percent. Fifty-three percent. These are seniors in school. A Florida 
bar survey found out that 41 percent of adults in Florida couldn't 
identify the three branches of American government; 54 percent couldn't 
correctly describe the meaning of separation of powers; 39 percent 
couldn't describe the meaning of checks and balances. We have two U.S. 
Senators living in my hometown. Ninety percent of the kids couldn't 
name one of them. But they haven't been indicted, so that sort of takes 
away from it, I guess, a little bit.
  In the Florida primary in '06 which nominated a Governor and a 
Senator, the effective winning vote was 5.1 percent of the total 
Florida population. Really not a great turnout. Now there has obviously 
been a better turnout in the Presidential race. It was a nice spike. 
But when we surveyed the people there, they said, Well, we're not going 
to really do much after it. We don't intend to really do much. Over 
half the people said, yeah, they were going to vote and everything but 
they weren't going to do anything after it because politics just stunk.
  So what you're looking at is a situation where really as a country 
we've been given this incredible gift and we don't know what we have 
and it's getting worse each year. It isn't getting better. We've been 
privileged to be here. There's been about 11,000 people who have ever 
served in the House. That's about half as many as you get at a national 
ball game these days. Not really very many people have ever had the 
privilege that we have here. We have an opportunity that is unique. 
Because as a Member of Congress you don't have any credibility. Right 
now there's a lot of fussing going on and so forth and so on and when 
you go out and teach in that, it's tough because as a Member of 
Congress you're rightly caring about your party and, you know, are you 
going to get reelected, are you going to get your party to stay in 
power. You have all these other things going. We've been in the big 
leagues. We've made it. All of us have been a product of the toughest 
system going and we've served in the greatest legislative body in the 
world. But our goal is different now. If our party's in, okay, fine. If 
it isn't, okay, we're going to survive it. We're not running for 
election. We are running, though, to change the young people and change 
what they believe and what they can do. Let me tell you, young people 
care. We've got a symposium. We've had 13 of them. We get about a 
thousand kids that come every 6 months to it. We put it on the 
Internet. Kids care if you give them a chance. We have a civics academy 
for high schools, for colleges and for elected officials, for local 
officials we have. We've created a civics academy in Leon County where 
for 3 years we're going to teach civics. We're trying to change the law 
in Florida so civics will be taught not just once but three or four 
times as we go along. People will come. Young people will come. And as 
former Members with what we're doing with the programs we have, 
University Press is here today with a new book coming out, with the 
program we're starting on the Internet which is going to reach across 
the country, there are a lot of things that we can do. We don't have to 
take second place to anybody. Because we are on the frontlines and we 
can do it better, we have more knowledge, we've been through it, but we 
don't have a dog in the fight in terms of where it comes out. We just 
want young people, young Americans, to be exposed to what it is. We're 
not telling them to vote Republican, vote Democrat but we are telling 
them, look at what we have, look at the Constitution, look at what 
we've been given. It would be a shame to let this go away. And if we 
don't reach out to the young people, the young people coming along, it 
is going to continue to go away. And I think that's the challenge.

[[Page H6828]]

  Tom Brokaw, when he gave Ford's eulogy, talked about the Greatest 
Generation who enlisted in the war and they went and they fought and 
they came back and they reenlisted. They reenlisted in this country. 
That's what I'm asking us to do, all of us. Let us reenlist like they 
did and make a difference and we can do it.
  Thank you so much. I'm obviously humbled by the award. Everyone here 
could get, I recognize that. I thank you for it. I want to thank 
especially my family whom I dearly love and who has been with me all 
the way.
  Thank you very much.
  Mr. RHODES. Lou, thank you. It's leadership that our young people are 
looking for. With the efforts of people such as you and the people that 
you work with and the people you work with here, hopefully we are 
positioning ourselves to be able to assist in providing that 
leadership. A lot of the programs that you have instituted which we 
have been privileged to participate in, and I am particularly speaking 
of the civics education program and the webcasts, I think we have a 
very, very unique opportunity to reach young men and women who really 
are hungry to be told, not what to do but why they are free and why 
they have the opportunities that they have. And it is because of you 
and efforts of people like you that we are going to make that effort.
  We thank you very much.
  I now have a portion of the program that we will go through. It's not 
a happy one, but I will read to you the names of our former colleagues 
who have passed away during the course of the past year. Each of us 
probably knows at least some of these names, and some may know all of 
them. During the past year, the following individuals have gone to a 
greater reward:
  Glenn Andrews of Alabama
  Robert Cornell of Wisconsin
  Tim Hall of Illinois
  Frank Harrison of Pennsylvania
  Jesse Helms of North Carolina
  Jack Kemp of New York
  David King of Utah
  Horace Kornegay of North Carolina
  Dan Kuykendall of Tennessee
  Raymond Lederer of Pennsylvania
  Clem McSpadden of Oklahoma
  Bill Orton of Utah
  William Patman of Texas
  James Pearson of Kansas
  Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island
  Carl Pursell of Michigan
  Matthew Rinaldo of New Jersey
  Paul Rogers of Florida
  John Seiberling of Ohio
  Paul Todd of Michigan
  Stephanie Tubbs-Jones of Ohio
  Lionel Van Deerlin of California
  Jerome Waldie of California
  Lyle Williams of Ohio
  Wendell Wyatt of Oregon.
  I ask all of you, including those in the gallery, if you would rise 
for just a moment of silence to pay respect to their memories.
  Thank you.
  A new addition to our annual meeting is a memorial breakfast where we 
will further celebrate the lives and contributions of our past former 
colleagues. The breakfast is tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. at the Capitol 
Hill Club. Chaplain Coughlin will join us and it would be very nice to 
see as many of you there as possible. We are going to give 
opportunities for us to share memories, if we will, of some of those 
with whom we were particularly acquainted who have gone on.
  Before I conclude, I need to make mention of the fact that we have 
two former parliamentarians from Canada who have joined us. Lou Duguay 
is my counterpart in the Canadian Association of Former 
Parliamentarians and Murad Velshi is a former member of the Ontario 
legislature. We are honored that you have joined us and hope that you 
will participate in the rest of our programs.
  I want to thank other members of our executive committee: Vice 
President Hertel; Treasurer Morella; Secretary Kennelly; and our 
immediate Past President, Jim Slattery. I also want to pay special 
recognition to our special immediate Past President, Jack Buechner. 
When Mr. Slattery left Washington to go back to Kansas to run for the 
Senate, we were lacking an immediate Past President who is a valuable 
member of the executive committee, and we were able to prevail upon 
Jack to fill in, which he did, he did very ably and contributed very 
much to the Association's efforts during the course of time that Jim 
was not here. As we know, Mr. Slattery fell short in his campaign for 
the Senate and has returned to Washington and has resumed his duties as 
immediate Past President. But, Jack, thank you for your help. We needed 
it and we appreciate it.
  I think that it would be appropriate for me to take a moment to 
recognize our staff. These are very, very talented professional, 
hardworking, dedicated people, and they work for us and they work very, 
very well for us. A lot of the things that we get accomplished we 
couldn't do without the assistance of our five staff personnel. They 
are:
  Esra Alemdar, Jr., Program Officer
  Whitney Novak, Member Services Manager
  Tracy Fine, Democracy Officer
  Sudha David-Wilp, International Programs Director
  Pete Weichlein, Executive Director.
  Our thanks to all of you for everything you do for us.
  That is the end of my report. I want to thank Leader Hoyer and Leader 
Boehner for giving us the opportunity to be here on the floor today and 
Speaker Pelosi for making the Chamber available to us.
  Mr. HERTEL. The Chair wants to thank the president of our 
association, the gentleman from Arizona, for all his hard work and 
leadership, especially in these difficult times. He does have this 
extra burden to carry since the gentleman from Kansas ran for the 
Senate and it's been in difficult times, especially in this economy. 
It's much harder to get the people to volunteer to contribute money. As 
we thank Lou Frey for his leadership all these years, it goes to such 
wonderful programs as our Congress to Campus Program but to Jay Rhodes 
for carrying this heavy load.
  I also wanted to recognize Mr. Buechner who has done such a wonderful 
job as President and Past President in leading our group and with 
advice. And also Matt McHugh, our former President of the Association 
who is here; and Phil Ruppe from my State of Michigan. Because of all 
these gentlemen, we've had such a great opportunity. We have also had 
women before as Lindy Boggs, one of our outstanding Presidents before 
of our association. What a difference they have made in getting people 
to participate and bringing these programs to fruition. I have to also 
thank Barbara Kennelly, our treasurer, and Connie Morella for all their 
hard work and all the time they devoted, especially in this last year.
  The Chair again wishes to thank all the former Members of the House 
for their presence here today. Before terminating these proceedings, 
the Chair would like to invite those former Members who did not respond 
when the roll was called to give their name to the Clerk for inclusion 
on the roll. The Chair wishes to thank the other former Members of the 
House for their presence here today and all of their work in 
contributing to all the programs that we have been talking about for 
the last hour and a half. As Lou Frey said, it's only with the former 
Members that we can continue to participate and have these programs 
work internationally and in over 40 campuses around our country. And 
now with the Wounded Warriors addition to make that disabled sports 
program so successful. Thank you again. We appreciate all the work that 
you have done.
  The meeting is adjourned.

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