[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1304-E1306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                64TH NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST: PART TWO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JUAN VARGAS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 20, 2016

  Mr. VARGAS. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, February 4, 2016 I had the 
privilege of co-chairing the 64th Annual National Prayer Breakfast with 
Representative Robert Aderholt. I would like to submit Part two of the 
transcript:


                64th National Prayer Breakfast: Part Two

       Rabbi Jack Bemporad: I think in these few days that we are 
     together, there is such a spirit of love and joy, and 
     affection. A sense that an environment is produced these days 
     that elicits the very best in us and there is a constant 
     struggle in everyone to find a way in which our best selves 
     emerges. And the self that manifests the love of God, and the 
     love of one's fellow human being, and it calls us to 
     something higher, to a calling that gives us the nobility of 
     what it means to be a child of God.
       In this spirit, I would like to read from the book of 
     Isaiah, Chapter 58. It is a reading that is done every Yom 
     Kippur, Day of Atonement, in every synagogue throughout the 
     world. It is a day, incidentally, where Jews fast. And yet on 
     this very day when Jews fast, they read this.
       ``Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a man to humble 
     himself? Is it to bow down his head like a rush, and to 
     spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a 
     fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast 
     that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the 
     thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to 
     break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the 
     hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you 
     see the naked, to cover him and not to hide yourself from 
     your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the 
     dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your 
     righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the Lord 
     shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord 
     will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. If 
     you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of 
     the finger, and speaking of wickedness, if you pour yourself 
     out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, 
     then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be 
     as the noonday and the Lord will guide you continually, and 
     satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones 
     strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring 
     of water, whose waters fail not. And your ancient ruins shall 
     be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many 
     generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, 
     the restorer of streets to dwell in.''
       Thank you.
       The Honorable Julian Castro: Good morning. To President and 
     Mrs. Obama, co-chairs Congressman Vargas and Congressman 
     Aderholt, and to all distinguished guests with us this 
     morning. On this day of hope and of harmony, let us pray.
       Dear Lord, we gather here as one, connected by the strength 
     of our faith, by our pride in this great nation, and by our 
     common bond as Children of God. Let us remember that each of 
     us is beloved equally in the eyes of our Lord, and let us 
     serve as instruments that spread your mercy to our brothers 
     and our sisters. Jesus told the disciples in the book of 
     Matthew that what we do unto the least among us, we do unto 
     Him. So, just as the grace of God provides nourishment to our 
     souls and sanctuary for our spirits, we must provide food to 
     the hungry, care for the ailing, shelter to the poor. The 
     Bible instructs us to find unity in our faith, and compassion 
     for all men and women through the example of Christ.
       And I pray that we will find inspiration from the second 
     chapter of Philippians, which reads:
       ``So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort 
     from love, any participation in the spirit, any affection and 
     sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having 
     the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do 
     nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility, count 
     others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look 
     not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of 
     others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in 
     Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not 
     count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied 
     himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the 
     likeness of men.'' Amen.
       Thank you and God bless.
       U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi: Good morning. Mr. 
     President and Mrs. Obama, all of the distinguished guests 
     gathered here in prayer. I know we all want to thank 
     Congressman Juan Vargas and Congressman Robert Aderholt for 
     their leadership in making this morning's breakfast such a 
     success, and I thank them for giving me the opportunity to 
     read the following from the Gospel of John. In the gospel of 
     John, we see the golden rule that stands at the heart of the 
     gospel. And as we hear these words from John chapters 13, 15 
     and 17 we know that this message, this command of love is not 
     confined to the New Testament. The same message stands at the 
     center of the Torah, and the teachings of the Prophet 
     Mohammed. From the Torah, it says, ``Love your neighbor as 
     yourself.'' And from Mohammed, ``None of you has faith until 
     he loves for his brother or his neighbor what he loves for 
     himself.'' And now from the gospel of John:
       ``Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew 
     that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the 
     Father.. . .
       ``Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into 
     His hands, and that he had come from God and was going to 
     God, rose from the meal, took off his outer clothing and 
     wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water 
     into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying 
     them with a towel.. . .
       ``When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his 
     clothes and returned to his place, `Do you understand what I 
     have done for you?' he asks them. `You call me teacher and 
     Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your 
     Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you should also wash 
     one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should 
     do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant 
     is greater than his master, nor is any messenger greater than 
     the one who sent him. Now you know these things, you will be 
     blessed if you do them.''
       A little while later Jesus said,
       ``As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now 
     remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain 
     in my love just as I have kept my Father's commands and 
     remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may 
     be with you and that your joy may be complete. My command is 
     this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love hath 
     no one than this, to lay down his life for his friend.''
       And finally, listen to Jesus' prayer for us, he went on to 
     say:
       ``My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those 
     who will believe in me through their message that all of them 
     may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. 
     May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you 
     have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, 
     that they may be one as we are one, I in them, and you in me, 
     so that may guide to bring us to complete unity.''
       That is the gospel of the Lord. May the Lord guide us to 
     answer this prayer of togetherness, unity, and love, that we 
     may be from many faiths, we may be united by our service to 
     God and to one another. Amen. Thank you.
       The Honorable Robert Rigsby: Good morning. Mr. President, 
     our First Lady, this is truly the day that the Lord has made. 
     Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Let us pray.
       Thank you, Father, for allowing us to live in a country 
     where we can come together in your precious name. In peace, 
     fellowship, and communion offering you praise, glory and 
     honor. Father, we ask that you watch over our President, 
     Barack Obama, as he literally carries the weight of the world 
     on his shoulders. Continue to lead and guide him, and bless 
     him with the courage of David and the wisdom of Solomon. 
     Bless all of our national leaders from all branches of our 
     government. Father, bless the leaders from around the world 
     who are charged with the great responsibility to bring hope 
     in the midst of hopelessness, calm in the midst of chaos, and 
     peace in the midst of war. Father, infuse in our leaders a 
     call to action to protect those who cannot protect 
     themselves. For as Dr. King said, our lives begin and end the 
     day we become silent about things that truly matter. Father, 
     let our leaders never forget that

[[Page E1305]]

     as a global community, or strength, our dignity, and our 
     humanity are all closely linked to our willingness to help 
     each other. Father, I pray that our leaders are led by faith 
     because our faith lets us know you hear us. Father, because 
     we have been granted this awesome responsibility to lead, we 
     have the legal and moral obligation to strive to better 
     conditions world wide. Father, your word and our faith 
     provide us guidance. The Gospel of Matthew teaches that we 
     must ``first cast out of the beam out of thine own eye, and 
     then shall thou see clearly to cast the moat out of thy 
     brother's eye.'' Father, impress upon our leaders the 
     profoundness of this passage. I pray that our leaders will 
     understand that to earn our positions of leadership, we must 
     constantly sit in judgment of ourselves. This is not an easy 
     or a comfortable task, but it is one that is essential--
     whether it is at a prayer meeting or during times of self-
     reflection--we must examine our actions in the crucible of 
     our faith. In First Kings, Solomon is reminded of the promise 
     that God made to David, that is if our people remain 
     faithful, then when in need, our God would hear them. Father, 
     faith is essential to all we do, and faith has been vital to 
     me. I am so proud to share my faith with our national leaders 
     because this nation has invested so much in me. I am humbled 
     and honored to have served in Afghanistan and Iraq as a 
     United States Army officer. My unwavering faith sustained me 
     while I served in a combat zone away from my wife and my son. 
     But more importantly, my faith sustained me when I was 
     paralyzed shortly after returning from Afghanistan. My wife 
     Anna and I relied on our faith to sustain us and keep us. 
     Without faith, I know I would not be standing here today. I 
     literally would not be standing here today. Father, remind 
     our leaders that you told us to have faith in all we do, not 
     some of what we do, but all we do, not just when it is 
     popular or convenient. Let our leaders know that it is 
     through prayer and faith that our brave soldiers, sailors, 
     airmen, and marines that work to secure our homeland will 
     return home when war will be no more. Father, remind our 
     leaders that faith will sustain them, faith will keep them 
     and faith will guide them. For I know firsthand that it is 
     because my faith and the power of prayer that I stand before 
     you today. I also pray that with continued faith and 
     perseverance, our president will be strengthened, fortified, 
     guided and directed to lead this great nation, and be a 
     beacon of justice and peace around the world. In the precious 
     name of Jesus, I give thanks. Amen.
       Rep. Aderholt: Thank you Judge Rigsby. And thank you God 
     for answering our prayers, and we thank You again for this 
     morning and we offer all of these prayers up to the Father. 
     Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are two of television's most 
     successful producers. They have made over 3,000 hours of 
     American TV that airs in over 70 countries, and have received 
     eight Emmy Awards. You know them from their productions of 
     some of television's most iconic shows, including The Voice, 
     Shark Tank, Survivor, The Bible Series, and their major 
     motion picture, Son of God.
       Mark Burnett is the president of MGM Television and Digital 
     Group, and his wife, Roma is chief content officer of Light 
     Works Media. Many of you also know Roma from her starring 
     role as Monica in the long running hit TV show, Touched by An 
     Angel. And to give you an idea of some of their work, we are 
     going to look at a brief clip from their hit television 
     series, The Bible.
       [Video clip from The Bible]
       Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the first 
     husband and wife couple to ever address this breakfast, Roma 
     Downey and Mark Burnett.
       Mr. Mark Burnett: Good morning, Mr. President, Madam First 
     Lady, Senators, Congressmen, members of our armed forces, 
     esteemed foreign representatives and guests. Roma and I are 
     so grateful to be here this year. We are used to sitting out 
     there, and have for many years and love this prayer 
     breakfast. We are especially grateful this year to be 
     speaking at President Obama's last prayer breakfast, it is 
     such an honor. We are also really, really glad to be here to 
     share with you a little of our story about immigrant, blue 
     collar roots of coming to America.
       Ms. Roma Downey: Yes, it is a great blessing also for us to 
     be here as a married couple and to get to do this together. 
     As we heard, we are the first husband and wife team ever to 
     speak at the National Prayer Breakfast. Mark and I have been 
     working together, side by side for years, and most couples we 
     know can't even do yard work together without arguing. And 
     yet we have been together every day, producing The Bible and 
     AD, and the soon to be released, epic feature film, Ben Hur. 
     And I just have to acknowledge Mr. Morgan Freeman, who is 
     here today, who is one of the stars of Ben Hur.
       Spending so much time together as a husband and wife, is a 
     blessing and a challenge, and perhaps the real miracle is 
     that we are still speaking to each other. As business 
     partners, we have different styles and approaches. I might 
     tap gently on a door, and my husband might kick the door 
     down. And both can be effective, and like all partnerships, 
     we have learned to work as a team. And there is an art, of 
     course, to public speaking. It should feel like a graceful 
     dance, and speaking today, we will try not to step on each 
     other's toes. I am reminded of some of the great dancers from 
     the past, like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and they moved 
     so well together. And remember that Ginger did everything 
     Fred did, but she did it backwards and in high heels. Of 
     course you may be able to tell from our accents, I am Irish, 
     my husband is English--but we don't hold that against him.
       Mr. Burnett: Okay, I admit it. I was born in England but I 
     am very lucky now, as is Roma now, to be an American 
     citizen--so we can officially celebrate the 4th of July. I do 
     know I am also lucky; I am the only person in the room who is 
     married to an actual angel. Yeah, I know what you are 
     thinking. Yes, I have been touched by an angel. Well, we are 
     married.
       Ms. Downey: I was born and raised in Derry City, Northern 
     Ireland near the bog side section, and Derry is the second 
     city of the North and as you all know it was home to a great 
     deal of violence and unrest, particularly in the 1970s and 
     1980s. Our city was divided by a river, which flowed through 
     the middle segregating the communities; and Catholics lived 
     on one side, Protestants lived on the other, and never the 
     twain did meet. We hardly ever crossed the river to the other 
     side. Those were scary and often dangerous times when 
     shootings and bombings became a way of life. When I was just 
     10 years of age, my mother died and I remember going to visit 
     her grave when a fierce gun battle broke out in the cemetery. 
     I narrowly missed being shot, the bullet hole singed the coat 
     I was wearing and missed my head by inches. Surely I must 
     have had an angel watching over me that day. Through my 
     teenage years I can remember sitting in my little bedroom on 
     the street where we lived, looking out at the rain and 
     listening over and over to one of the only cassettes that I 
     owned. It was Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits and I loved 
     the lyrics, for they created a poetic world where you could 
     hear the sounds of silence and it seemed possible that you 
     could really build a bridge over troubled waters. The lyrics 
     painted a picture for me, a picture of America and a seed was 
     planted. The American dream represented freedom, and 
     opportunity, and there as a young Irish teenager, an American 
     dream was born in my heart. Like so many immigrants before 
     us, this great country has provided us with the opportunities 
     to make our dreams reality.
       Mr. Burnett: Yet we both came seeking that same American 
     dream. Thirty years ago, I left the British Army Parachute 
     Regiment and I moved to Los Angeles with zero skills, but I 
     did need a job and a place to live and I had a friend from 
     home who lived in Beverly Hills and worked as a chauffeur for 
     a rich family. He suggested a chauffeur might be a good job--
     at least I could drive a car--but there were no chauffeur 
     jobs available. But there was a job advertised and it sounded 
     great. It was a live in position in Beverly Hills; got paid 
     125 dollars a week and the job did come with a room, a car, 
     and even cable TV. The trouble was there were two words right 
     at the front of the job description, which made no sense for 
     a guy from the parachute regiment. Those two words were: 
     child care. My friend Nick told me it was a waste of time 
     even going to the interview but I remember him saying ``Mark, 
     come on, how are you going over being the commando yesterday 
     to Mary Poppins tomorrow, really?'' But I knew I was 
     desperate. So I showed up that night at 624 North Beverly 
     Drive in Beverly Hills for a job interview. It was crazy. 
     Keep in mind I was 22 years of age, I had just come out of 
     the army. Irving, the husband, began by asking what on earth 
     I was doing there. Here he had a 3 year old from this 
     marriage, a 17 year old and a 19 year old from the previous 
     marriage, and what did he possibly need another 22 year old 
     kid for? What Earl said he needed was a nanny and a 
     housekeeper. Just then his wife, Patty cut him off and said 
     ``Wow, you have an accent, where are you from?'' I said 
     ``Ma'am, I'm from London.'' She said ``Oh, we love London.'' 
     Earl did not crack a smile, he was just annoyed so he started 
     drilling me to get rid of me. He said, ``This job isn't just 
     about chasing a 3 year old around a Beverly Hills estate--you 
     need to do some cleaning. Can you clean Mark?'' I said ``Sir, 
     I just left 4 years in the British army. They came around 
     with a white glove to inspect our lockers every day. No one 
     ever found a speck of dust on my locker.'' Patty smiled and 
     Earl got even more annoyed. Then he asked me ``Okay, can you 
     do laundry?'' I said ``Sir, laundry? We have to do all our 
     own washing and ironing, I could iron a shirt with a crease 
     so sharp you could shave with it.'' Patty was loving this. 
     But then Irving finally got me when he said ``Mark, can you 
     cook?'' I said ``Sir, I'm British. My mom can't even cook.''
       Anyway, I thought I wasn't getting the job--but a few hours 
     later, Patty called the number I had left where my friend 
     Nick lived and said, ``It's a very soft sell, but you got the 
     job. Can you start tomorrow?'' And then I began the next day 
     in America as a domestic help/nanny/housekeeper at 624 North 
     Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. This was really amazing. Last 
     year, Roma and I, as a lot of you know, merged our company 
     into MGM, which made me the president of MGM Television. And 
     I was given an office on the top floor of MGM, right next to 
     Gary Barber, the Chairman and CEO of MGM. I walked in there 
     and looked at this incredible view of Los Angeles--the 
     Hollywood sign, Beverly Hills and it dawned on me. The 
     address of this building is 245 North Beverly Drive. I looked 
     out the window up Beverly Drive and I could actually see the 
     house where I was a nanny at 624 North Beverly Drive. You 
     have to know, this can only happen in America. It's the 
     American dream.

[[Page E1306]]

       Ms. Downey: Yeah, there are certain things that could only 
     happen in America. Back when I emigrated from Ireland, I 
     lived in New York City, and the very first job I had there 
     was checking coats in a very fancy Upper West Side 
     restaurant. The meals were lovely but so expensive and I 
     never could have afforded to eat there myself. When I checked 
     a coat, I used to get maybe a quarter a coat or sometimes a 
     dollar on average. One night I checked the coat of Regis 
     Philbin. He was the very first celebrity that I ever met, and 
     he gave me a 20 dollar tip and I thought I died and went to 
     heaven. Just a few years later, I was living in Los Angeles, 
     starring on a TV show called Touched by an Angel and the show 
     had millions of viewers each week and it was a big hit on 
     CBS. Soon I was invited to fly back to New York and be a 
     guest on the Regis Philbin Show. Checking coats one moment, 
     starring on television the next--only in America. And I 
     remember I told Regis that story and he laughed, and he 
     laughed, and he was just so glad that he hadn't stiffed me.
       Anyway, for almost 10 years I had the privilege of playing 
     the angel, Monica on television opposite the great Della 
     Reese, and we were undercover angels who showed up at a 
     crossroad in people's lives, often when they had hit the 
     bottom, and in their brokenness, they had reached out to God 
     for help. Every week I got to deliver a message of God's love 
     on national television to millions of people. As a believer 
     myself, this was such an honor to share with the audience 
     that there is a God, that he loves us, and that he wants to 
     be part of our lives. Before we filmed these angel revelation 
     scenes each week, we would pray a very simple prayer, ``Less 
     of me, God, more of you; less of me, more of you.'' And we 
     prayed because we hoped we would be used to touch people's 
     hearts and to open their lives to God--and thankfully that 
     happened thousands of times. Both Mark and I have been so 
     blessed with our careers here in the United States, and we 
     are both so fortunate and incredibly grateful.

                          ____________________