[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 188 (Thursday, November 29, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H9698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RIGHT HONORABLE WINSTON CHURCHILL'S 144TH BIRTHDAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Hill) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, this week Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi 
welcomed members of the Churchill family and the distinguished 
Ambassador from the United Kingdom to the United States Capitol in 
honor of the 144th anniversary of the birthday of the Right Honorable 
Winston Churchill. It is always a touching and fitting ceremony here in 
the people's Capitol.
  I recall well one of the most fateful assignments of our predecessor 
body, the Continental Congress, when a special committee was formed, 
something Congress is great at. That special committee included John 
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, and Jefferson was 
assigned this great task of drafting the Declaration of Independence.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, he completes his work, and he comes back to the 
committee and he outlines his 27 grievances against the King. He has 
worked on it for days. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams review that 
work, and they make 80 changes--80 changes.
  It just shows that, no matter how good the author is, once it is 
turned over to a committee, there will be change.
  Of those 80 changes, about 25 percent of the Declaration of 
Independence that we know today, one of those changes speaks to the 
heart of the friendship, the underlying friendship, between the British 
and American people, for one of their changes was Jefferson's poignant 
lament, which reads as this: ``We might have been a free and great 
people together.''
  So that was taken out of the document, even though Jefferson outlined 
the 27 grievances why America should separate itself from Great 
Britain.
  I like to reflect on that when we fast-forward to Winston Churchill 
coming to America in 1946 and speaking at Westminster College in 
Missouri, when he toasted what he called the fraternal association of 
the English-speaking peoples.
  He said in that talk: ``But we must never cease to proclaim in 
fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man 
which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which 
through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the habeas corpus, trial by 
jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in 
the American Declaration of Independence.''

  So, on this 144th anniversary of the birth of Winston Churchill, 
someone who was of both, American and British, I salute his birth. I 
salute that special relationship between the United Kingdom and this 
great country.


                       Recognizing Alice Andrews

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of 
Alice Andrews, a good friend who was recently awarded the 2018 Neil 
Compton Award for her tireless work in conservation in Arkansas.
  Born and raised in El Dorado, Alice received her undergraduate degree 
in fine arts from Henderson State University, where she fell in love 
with arts and the environment.
  She is more than a 40-year member of the Ozark Society and has served 
extended terms as Ozark Society president and conservation chair.
  Alice has worked for decades to preserve water, air quality, and 
wilderness areas throughout Arkansas. Her lifetime of service to the 
State of Arkansas and environmental conservation will not be forgotten.
  I join all Arkansans in congratulating Alice on this achievement and 
wish her much continued success.


                      Farm Bureau Patriot Project

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Arkansas Farm 
Bureau for participating in the American Farm Bureau Federation's 
Patriot Project. Arkansas is one of only four States currently 
participating in this project.
  The Patriot Project is a program that connects military veteran 
beginning farmers and ranchers who are starting their careers with 
experienced Farm Bureau farmers, who act as mentors.
  The Arkansas Farm Bureau works to identify military veterans and Farm 
Bureau mentors and facilitate long-term educational and professional 
mentorship relationships. The military veterans should be actively 
farming and using their own resources while their mentor guides them 
towards success.
  I thank Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, for his 
leadership in bringing this program to Arkansas, and I extend a warm 
hand of gratitude to the Arkansas Farm Bureau for its worthwhile 
commitment to our veterans.

                          ____________________