[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 75 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E689-E690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS OF U.S. AND CANADA CELEBRATES 100 
                                 YEARS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. COLLIN C. PETERSON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 12, 2016

  Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand before 
you and offer my heartiest congratulations to the professional 
musicians and leadership of the American Federation of Musicians of the 
United States and Canada (AFM). This year, the union which represents 
more than 80,000 professional musicians will convene and celebrate its 
100th Annual International Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 20, 
2016. Many members of Congress maintain a close personal relationship 
with the professional musicians of this storied organization many of 
whom live and work in your respective districts. I know you like I wish 
them another 100 years addressing the complex issues that drive the 
American music industry.
  For more than 119 years, the AFM has represented the interests of 
musicians working in America's major and regional symphony orchestras 
like the Washington National Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, 
Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and many others. The 
organization also represents jazz, country and pop greats such as 
Winton Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, and Willie Nelson to 
name a few. AFM musicians for decades have performed the sounds movie 
goers around the world have been privileged to hear in such epic 
American films as Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Sponge Bob Movie, 
the Wolf of Wall Street, and Trumbo to name a few. These incredibly 
talented American musicians have performed under the batons of such 
distinguished American internationally recognized composers and AFM 
members as John Williams, Clint Eastwood, Lennie Niehaus, and others.
  The AFM also has a unique set of accomplishments on Capitol Hill, 
successfully representing musicians in the areas of performance rights, 
copyright, intellectual property, federal appropriations, immigration 
reform, Department of Transportation regulatory reform, Department of 
the Interior regulatory reform, as well as work in the area of tax 
reform.
  Mr. Speaker, no other national instrumental music organization has 
the tenure and reach of the American Federation of Musicians having 
affected legislation and regulations that have helped more than one 
million professional musicians, students and amateur professionals 
create uniquely American music.
  The AFM's longevity is so storied that the United States Department 
of Labor recognizes it as one of a few American labor organizations 
that has existed for more than 100 years and proudly displays a plaque 
in honor of that accomplishment in the corridors of the Department of 
Labor.
  As a performing musician myself, I understand the nature of the music 
business and recognize that the work of the AFM has benefited more than 
its own members but has been a driving force in the advancement of 
America music recognized the world over as some of the most progressive 
and entertaining domestic product in great demand around the globe.
  So, I ask members of congress to join with me in celebrating a unique 
American institution comprised of some of the best musicians recognized 
across the globe. Our hats are off to those who make American music 
great.

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