[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 137 (Thursday, September 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5637-S5638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be 
in morning business for 1 hour. The majority will control the first 
half and the Republicans will control the final half.
  Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of 
H.J. Res. 66, which is a joint resolution regarding Burma sanctions and 
the legislative vehicle for additional FEMA funding. The filing 
deadline for all first-degree amendments to the substitute amendment 
and to H.J. Res. 66 is 1 p.m. today. I filed cloture on the substitute 
amendment and on H.J. Res. 66 last night. If no agreement is reached, 
there will be a cloture vote on the substitute amendment on tomorrow 
morning. We hope to reach an

[[Page S5638]]

agreement to complete action on the joint resolution as well as FAA and 
highway extension today. Senators will be notified when votes are 
scheduled.


                   Remembering Senator Malcolm Wallop

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming is a man with whom 
I served in the Senate for approximately 10 years. He represented the 
State of Wyoming. During that time, I can remember the work he and Alan 
Simpson did together--Alan Simpson, another retired Senator from 
Wyoming. Senator Wallop died yesterday. He was 78 years old.
  Senator Wallop was a fine man. His roots in Wyoming stem back to 
pioneer ancestors in the Big Horn. Although he was born in New York, he 
served his country admirably in the Army and then worked for many years 
as a cattle rancher and businessman before running for office. He was 
extremely good friends with the great Nevadan Paul Laxalt.
  There were occasions when Malcolm and I didn't agree on political 
issues, but he was always an agreeable man, a very fine man. I honor 
his service today, both as a soldier and a Senator, and certainly will 
miss him, as everyone in Wyoming will and all of his colleagues who 
worked with him here in the Senate.


                        Hispanic Heritage Month

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, in my office right across the hall, I have a 
wonderful picture painted by a Nevadan. It is a big painting, and it 
shows this handsome young man on this horse with all the trappings of a 
horse that is really nice, a nice horse and a beautiful saddle, and all 
the adornments on this man's clothes are good. I am sure the painting 
didn't take into consideration how he really looked when he arrived in 
the Las Vegas Valley because this man, Rafael Rivera, was the first 
non-Indian to see the Las Vegas Valley, and I am sure he was worn out 
and tired because he was basically lost. He was part of a Spanish 
expedition, and he left them almost 100 miles from where he wound up in 
Las Vegas. But for us, Rafael Rivera is the person who founded Las 
Vegas. He was able to see this beautiful place in 1829, and as a result 
of that, we have a number of facilities named after Rafael Rivera, as 
well they should be, in Las Vegas Valley.
  The picture is painted perfectly. It shows Las Vegas Valley's Sunrise 
Mountain. The difference is, there are no people there. Now there are 3 
million people in Nevada, and we have little Sunrise Mountain there. In 
the painting, there is no one or anything around it, but of course now 
there are buildings and hotels and lots of activity there.
  Today, though, Mr. President, I join more than 50 million Hispanic 
Americans in the United States in marking the first day of Hispanic 
Heritage Month. This celebration of history and culture lasts through 
October 15. So I look forward to the opportunity of bringing Hispanic 
heritage and all it has to Nevada and the rest of the country to honor 
the contributions of a population that is such an integral part of our 
national identity. For hundreds of years, Latinos have helped shape the 
face of this Nation.
  I wrote a history of my birthplace, Searchlight, NV, and one of the 
interesting things I found in my research is that the railroad was 
built into Searchlight in the early 1900s, it is 26 miles, and it was a 
difficult railroad to build, but it was basically built by Mexicans who 
had come to the United States to do the labor that it took to do that. 
Some 7,000 of them built that railroad. It is not very long--26 miles 
long--but it took a lot of work to get it done.
  So everyplace you go in America, everyplace especially you go in the 
West, you find contributions made by Hispanics. They have made 
contributions in the battlefield, in the workplace, and the classroom. 
They have spurred progress in the laboratory, playing field in all 
athletics, and, of course, in the halls of justice. They have shaped 
the way we farm and the way we do business. They have influenced our 
art and our literature. Construction sites of casinos and shopping 
centers around the State of Nevada--they have contributed mightily to 
that work that is being done and has been done.
  The language has even influenced the name of the State of Nevada, 
which means ``snow covered.'' Las Vegas means ``the meadows'' in 
Spanish.
  Hispanic Americans have also played an important role in this 
Nation's Armed Forces, as I mentioned just a minute ago. They have 
served in every conflict since the Revolutionary War. Nearly 30,000 of 
them have fought for our country in Iraq and Afghanistan and are still 
fighting. I thank them for their brave and dedicated service.
  Every year, Latinos help propel contributions to our economy. More 
than 2.3 million Hispanic-owned businesses employ millions of Americans 
and provide crucial goods and services.
  Mr. President, before leaving the subject of veterans and the good 
things they do, I want to make sure the Republican leader recognizes 
that we all celebrate a Kentuckian who today is going to be awarded the 
Medal of Honor, for this 23-year-old boy, in the fields of Afghanistan, 
saved the lives of about 40 soldiers--1 person. They had a wonderful 
piece on public broadcast today about his courage and what he did--of 
course wounded himself, but he carried people to and from battle and 
saved the lives, as I indicated, of a couple score of people. His name 
is Dakota Meyer. So I congratulate the Republican leader for having 
such fine people come from the State of Kentucky.
  Today, the Senate recognizes the commitment of more than 50 million 
Hispanic Americans, family, community, and country. And that is the way 
it should be.

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