[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 28, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN RECOGNITION OF THE DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE CAREER OF CURTIS M. 
                                 GRAVES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 28, 2015

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
distinguished public service career of Curtis M. Graves.
  Mr. Graves was one of the first African Americans elected to the 
Texas House of Representatives since the turn of the 20th century. A 
Democrat and political contemporary of Barbara Jordan, Mr. Graves 
served in the Texas legislature from 1967 to 1973, where he championed 
progressive legislation on issues ranging from gun control to criminal 
justice reform. Mr. Graves also spent many years actively participating 
in the Civil Rights Movement, fighting for equal rights of all 
Americans.
  Mr. Graves was born August 26, 1938 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is 
an alumnus of Texas Southern University and Princeton University. After 
serving in the Texas House of Representatives, Mr. Graves had a thirty 
year career at the National Aeronautic and Space Administration--first 
in NASA's Academic Affairs Division and ultimately as its Director for 
Civil Affairs.
  On behalf of the people of Maryland's Eighth Congressional District, 
and in anticipation of his seventy-seventh birthday on August 26, 2015, 
I would like to thank Curtis M. Graves for his lifelong career of 
public service and for his many contributions to our nation. I wish him 
and his family all the best in the years to come.

                          ____________________