[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 9, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today during Teacher Appreciation Week 
to honor America's teachers.
  I still know the names of my first nine teachers at the Houghton-
Kearney Elementary School in Fresno County because they all made a 
difference in my life: Ms. Waiye, Ms. Seely, Ms. Clark, Ms. Piper, Ms. 
Collins, Mr. Garfield, Mr. Weens, Ms. Collins again, Mr. Reed, and Mr. 
Jones, our principal.
  Like so many teachers across our country, these educators dedicated 
their careers to helping generations of students learn and grow. 
Teachers today provide us with the tools we need to achieve our goals 
and to be successful because they understand dedicating their lives to 
this profession educates the future of America, our Nation. It creates 
the foundation that lies ahead that ultimately creates the 
opportunities that we as Americans pursue.
  So I would like to take this opportunity to thank the teachers in the 
San Joaquin Valley and across the Nation, throughout the United States, 
for all that they do. Those first nine teachers who taught me, they saw 
something in me and in thousands of students whom they have taught. You 
know what: they made a difference. They made a difference in thousands 
of lives, as teachers across the country do every day. So we should--it 
is fitting and appropriate--honor the teachers of our Nation.


                      Military Appreciation Month

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Military 
Appreciation Month. This is a time that we dedicate throughout the 
month of May honoring and celebrating those who have served our Nation, 
sacrificed; those of our military servicemembers, their families, both 
past and present, because families are a key part of those who have 
served our Nation. Their courage and their sacrifice, therefore, should 
never, ever be forgotten.
  As a nation, on Memorial Day, later this month, we will honor and 
remember the men and women who have given their lives to serve our 
great Nation. Every year I join in the Memorial Day ceremonies across 
California's San Joaquin Valley. This year I will participate in the 
Memorial Day ceremony at the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in 
Santa Nella. Hundreds will gather there with us. In Fresno, I will be 
speaking both at the Veterans Liberty Cemetery and the Avenue of Flags 
at Memorial Gardens.
  But I believe most Members of Congress weekly--I certainly do--meet 
with veterans. We meet to listen and to hear their concerns, as well as 
men and women serving in Active Duty. Last week, when I was in the 
district, I visited the Veterans Administration clinic in the city of 
Merced to listen to veterans getting their healthcare, to their 
concerns, to their needs, to ensure that they get the care that they 
deserve.
  And just yesterday, I spoke with a group of Valley veterans visiting 
Washington, D.C., through the Central Valley Honor Flight. We have 
these Honor Flights all across the country. It is the 16th Honor Flight 
in 7 years from the San Joaquin Valley. Twenty-two of them were World 
War II veterans, and they also served in Korea and in Vietnam.
  It is appropriate to say ``thank you'' to them and to those men and 
women we see across the country in uniform. I always remember to say 
``thank you.''
  As President John F. Kennedy once said: ``As we express our 
gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to 
utter words but to live by them.''
  With these words in mind, I call on my colleagues and my fellow 
Americans to come together. America wants us to come together, not only 
during this month but throughout the year, and thank those servicemen 
and -women, the veterans, and their families; but also to do more than 
just utter words of gratitude, because we can do better. We must, and 
we should, work to ensure that our servicemembers, veterans, and 
military families receive the resources, the justice, and the benefits 
that they have earned.
  These are our true American heroes.

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