[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 100 (Tuesday, July 7, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7157-S7158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING JOHN GRANVILLE

  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I rise once again to speak about the 
vital role our Federal employees play in keeping America safe, 
prosperous, and free.
  Just days ago, on the Fourth of July, we celebrated the 233rd 
anniversary of our independence. For 233 years, ordinary Americans have 
chosen to give their energy, their time, and their talents in service 
to our government. Many have given their lives.
  All Federal employees, as I have said previously, are bound together 
by a shared sense of duty and willingness to sacrifice.
  When the Founders added their signatures to the Declaration of 
Independence, they did so with faith in their fellow Americans--that 
the 56 names inked on that parchment were joined in spirit by millions 
of others in their own day and for generations to come.
  They knew that building a nation requires more than a handful of men.
  It entails the active participation of citizens from all walks of 
life.
  This is why, a decade later, when the Framers assembled in 
Philadelphia to draft our Constitution, they did so with an expectation 
that regular citizens would be the form and substance of our 
government.
  Indeed, they knew firsthand the value of service above self. This 
virtue would lead countless Americans who had fought for freedom to 
become the first generation of Federal employees.
  The Founders and Framers had good cause to predict such participation 
among citizens beyond their appointed role as electors and jurors. The 
classical history and writings that influenced them are filled with 
praise for the values of duty and sacrifice that inspire public 
service.
  Many educated Americans in 1776 were familiar with the story of 
Horatius the Roman.
  When the armies of a tyrant approached the walls of Rome, the 
citizens of its infant republic were called to arms.
  Horatius ran across the last bridge spanning the Tiber River where he 
alone held off the enemy as his compatriots destroyed the bridge behind 
him. With this personal act of courage, he prevented the capture of 
Rome.
  Horatius was not a professional soldier. He was neither an elected 
leader nor a man of high birth.
  But he defended with pride that title of honor greater than any 
other--citizen. He gave his life so that others could remain free.
  His act is an example of the kind of sacrifices that ordinary 
citizens are willing to make when they know freedom is in jeopardy.
  Americans looked to classical figures like Horatius in 1776, when 
their own liberty was uncertain.
  It is this common willingness to risk safety and personal gain that 
sets apart a commonwealth of citizens from a nation of subjects.
  It is these same qualities that make our Federal employees so worthy 
of praise.
  On the Fourth of July, I thought about ordinary Americans who choose 
to serve their country in often perilous situations. Many of them risk 
harm while defending the liberty and values that infuse our citizenship 
with meaning.
  As I have said before, our Federal employees exemplify the American 
value of service above self.
  Throughout our history, Federal employees have traveled to dangerous 
corners of the globe, in order to represent the American people abroad, 
promote peaceful international cooperation, and provide aid to those in 
need.
  John Granville was one of those who felt called to serve his country, 
even if it meant traveling to places where his own safety was 
uncertain.
  A native of Orchard Park, NY, near Buffalo, John studied at Fordham 
and Clark Universities before joining the Peace Corps. His service in 
the Corps took him to Cameroon, in West Africa, from 1997 to 1999.
  While there, he applied for and received a Fulbright fellowship to 
continue living in that country and conduct research on its society and 
development.
  John, committed to serving his country and helping others, then 
joined the Foreign Service.
  He worked for the U.S. Agency
for International Development--or USAID--in Kenya before heading to 
Sudan in 2005.
  It was a dangerous assignment. That year, the Sudanese Government 
signed a cease-fire to end a long civil war in that country's south. 
John's assignment was to distribute 75,000 radios to rural villagers.
  These radios could be powered by the Sun or by handcrank.
  With democratic elections approaching, these radios would give the 
local Sudanese access to uncensored international news broadcasts.
  As a former member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, I can 
attest to the importance of providing access to free and uncensored 
news. It is a vital part of developing democratic culture and press 
freedom. It also promotes hope and understanding, which help deter the 
spread of extremist views.
  John worked with a dedicated team of USAID officials to distribute 
these radios and other aid to rural south Sudanese. One of his 
coworkers later said that John was ``the glue'' that held their group 
together and that he kept up their spirits throughout the mission.
  On New Year's Day, 2008, John was gunned down by four militants who 
targeted his car for its diplomatic plates. He was only 33 years old.
  His loved ones back home remembered him as an ``unselfish 
humanitarian,'' a ``consummate professional,'' and someone who ``worked 
with energy and imagination.'' John was an active member of the St. 
John Vianney Church community, and he was a mentor who inspired others 
to follow in his footsteps by helping those in need.
  John Granville believed in the importance of service as part of 
citizenship.
  He crossed the ocean and stood on the other side, like the Roman 
Horatius at the far end of the bridge, carrying out the people's work 
and risking his own safety in service to his Nation.
  He had told his mother on several occasions that despite the danger 
of his work, he would not want to be doing anything else.
  There are thousands of Foreign Service officers, USAID workers, and 
journalists and employees with the Broadcasting Board of Governors all 
over the globe.

[[Page S7158]]

  These dedicated men and women leave behind family, friends, and 
communities. Their careers often take them through dangerous parts of 
the world, where the threat from crime, disease, war, and terrorism is 
very real.
  All too frequently their sacrifices and achievements go unrecognized. 
On occasion, they make the ultimate sacrifice.
  Because we just celebrated the Fourth of July, let me return for a 
moment to the founding generation.
  Those first Americans who sacrificed for liberty established more 
than our Republic. They left us with a democratic legacy that reminds 
us everyday of our rights and our duties as equal citizens.
  The descendents of those revolutionaries, when they designed and 
ornamented this magnificent Capitol, enshrined a powerful message. The 
paintings in the Capitol Rotunda, just steps from here, narrate the 
story of how America achieved its greatness.
  They tell not of the force of arms or the achievements of a powerful 
few. Rather, taken as a whole, these eight paintings celebrate the 
evolution of American citizenship.
  The turning point in this narrative is highlighted by Trumbull's 
iconic portrayal of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
  But the last painting in the cycle is the most poignant and recalls 
the climactic movement in the development of our citizenship.
  Washington, at his height of popularity, willingly yields his power 
and authority back to the people by resigning his commission.
  With his sacrifice in that moment, the American people were truly 
free, and those who laid out this cycle of paintings did so to acclaim 
this birth of American citizenship.
  They remind us that our citizenship is a pact between equals, that no 
American should ever rule arbitrarily over another.
  It is this notion of citizenship that governs the relationship 
between the American people and our Federal employees.
  As a commonwealth of citizens, we entrust our fellow Americans who 
work in the Federal Government to perform that noble task so yearned 
for by the 56 men who wrote and signed the Declaration.
  They secure our unalienable rights by constituting a government 
deriving its ``just powers from the consent of the governed.''
  Their hard work and their sacrifices protect our lives, preserve our 
liberty, and enable all Americans to pursue happiness.
  I call on my colleagues to join me in honoring and recognizing the 
immeasurable sacrifice made by John Granville and all civilian Federal 
employees who gave their lives in service to our Nation.
  Their names will forever be inscribed on the eternal Declaration that 
continually secures our freedom.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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