Congressional Record, Volume 165 Issue 80 (Tuesday, May 14, 2019)

[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 14, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H3732-H3741]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

PROCEEDINGS OF FORMER MEMBERS PROGRAM

The following proceedings were held before the House convened for
morning-hour debate:

United States Association of Former Members of Congress 2019 Annual
Report to Congress

The meeting was called to order by the Honorable Cliff Stearns, vice
president of Former Members of Congress Association, at 8 a.m.

prayer

The Chaplain, the Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, offered the following
prayer:
Lord God of history, we thank You for this day, when former Members
return to Congress to continue, in a less official manner, their
service to our Nation and to this noble institution.
May their presence here bring a moment of pause where current Members
consider the profiles they now form for future generations of
Americans.
May all former Members be rewarded for their contributions to this
constitutional Republic and continue to work and pray that the goodness
and justice of this beloved country be proclaimed to the nations.
Bless all former Members who have died since last year's meeting--24
in all. May their families and their constituents be comforted during a
time of mourning and forever know our gratitude for the sacrifices made
in service to Congress.
Finally, bless those here gathered, that they might bring joy and
hope to the present age and supportive companionship to one another.
Together, we call upon Your holy name, now and forever.
Amen.

Pledge of Allegiance

The Honorable Cliff Stearns led the Pledge of Allegiance as follows:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of
America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Mr. STEARNS. The Chair now recognizes the president of the United
States Association of Former Members of Congress, the Honorable Martin
Frost of Texas, to address the Members.
Mr. FROST. Thank you, Cliff. It is always a distinct privilege to be
back in this revered Chamber and to see so many of my good friends and
former colleagues here.
On behalf of FMC, I appreciate the Speaker's invitation to return to
this wonderful place and to present to Congress FMC's 49th annual
report.
I will be joined by some of our colleagues in reporting on FMC's
activities and vision for the future.
I also am submitting, for the Record, a more detailed review of FMC's
2018 activities.
First, I would like to ask the Clerk to call the roll.
The Clerk called the roll and the following Members answered
``present'':
Mr. Blanchard of Michigan
Mr. Coyne of Pennsylvania
Mr. Carr of Michigan
Mr. DioGuardi of New York
Mr. Frost of Texas
Mr. Gingrey of Georgia
Mr. Goodlatte of Virginia
Mr. Green of Texas
Mr. Hertel of Michigan
Mr. Jones of Oklahoma
Ms. Kennelly of Connecticut
Mr. Kolbe of Arizona
Mr. Konnyu of California
Mr. Kopetski of Oregon
Mr. Lancaster of North Carolina
Ms. Lincoln of Arkansas
Mr. Matheson of Utah
Mr. McMillen of Maryland
Mr. Mica of Florida
Ms. Morella of Maryland
Mr. Murphy of Pennsylvania
Mr. Payne of Virginia
Mr. Rahall of West Virginia
Mr. Slattery of Kansas
Mr. Stearns of Florida
Mr. Tanner of Tennessee
Mr. Weldon of Florida
Mr. STEARNS. The Chair announces that 27 former Members of Congress
have responded to their names.
Mr. FROST. Thank you all for joining us today. As I prepared for
today's report, it brought back many, many happy memories of my 26
years serving in this august body.
For all of us, service in this remarkable building was the pinnacle
of our professional lives, and I know that for each and every one of us
there are memories that will forever remind us of the great privilege
we enjoyed as a representative of our constituents.
For me, these memories include great friendships with colleagues from
both sides of the aisle, working with terrific and talented young
people as a part of my staff, and pushing forward pieces of legislation
that I know have made a huge, positive difference.
By serving in Congress, we were given the opportunity to serve our
country and its citizens. I am very proud that through FMC we can
continue, in a small measure, the public service that brought us to
Congress in the first place.
My colleagues and I will describe later in this report the many
projects through which FMC Members continue to give back.
As you know, every year during our annual meeting we seek to
recognize a colleague for her or his exemplary public service before,
during and after Congress. This tradition was started in 1974, when we
recognized President Gerry Ford with our first Distinguished Service
Award and has continued annually since. Other recipients include Tip
O'Neill, Bob Michel, Jack Kemp, Tom Foley, and many others.

The award rotates between the parties, and this year a Republican
former Member is slated to be recognized.
When our executive committee started considering whom to honor,
immediately Connie Morella of Maryland emerged as the clear favorite,
and, by unanimous consent, we agreed that she should be our 2019
Distinguished Service honoree.
I now invite Connie to join me here at the dais.
Connie, I have a few remarks, and then you will have the opportunity
to say something also.
Connie Morella, former Member of the House of Representatives and
former ambassador, exemplifies like few others a commitment to serving
her community and her Nation.
Her entire career, since earning her B.A. from Boston University, was
focused on public service. Initially, that service was in education as
a secondary school teacher in Montgomery County. Though impossible to
confirm, I would guess that Montgomery County is the place in America
with the highest number of residents able to quote Shakespeare, thanks
to her.
She became active in politics based on an issue that defined her
political career: women's rights.
Little did she know, when she became involved with the League of
Women Voters, that she herself would become a trailblazer, an
inspiration, and a mentor to countless women leaders spanning
generations.
After serving in the Maryland House of Delegates for 8 years, she ran
for

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Congress and commenced a 16-year career in the House of
Representatives. She quickly became known as a thoughtful, energetic,
and pragmatic legislator who was able to forge bipartisan consensus and
bring Members together on even the most difficult issues.
After leaving Congress in 2003, President Bush appointed her our
Ambassador to the OECD, where she served until 2007.
Upon returning to the United States, Connie became active in a number
of issues and organizations, and luckily FMC was one of them.
The years she served as FMC's president, 2012 through 2014, were some
of our most productive, and she lay the foundation for all the success
FMC has enjoyed since.
On behalf of the membership, board of directors, and staff of FMC, it
is with great personal pleasure that I present our 2019 Distinguished
Service Award to an outstanding American and an exemplary public
servant: Connie Morella of Maryland.
Some of you who attended our dinner may remember that someone on the
stage dropped the award, and I am going to be careful not to drop this
one.
Connie, in addition to our award, we also have collected for you a
great many letters of congratulations from your colleagues, and we have
a book of those letters.
Anyone who has not contributed their letter can submit it to the
office, and we will make sure that Connie gets that.
We now would be thrilled for you to share some remarks. But let's put
this down so neither one of us drops it.
Ms. MORELLA. This is beautiful. What a tome. This is great. Thank
you.
I want to thank you very much, President Frost. You reminded me of
something Mae West had said: Too much of a good thing can be downright
enjoyable.
I enjoyed it, but you could have gone on even further, although you
did exceed the time limit.
Thank you very much for the laudatory and generous remarks. I want to
thank you, also, for your leadership in the organization. You are a guy
who has your eye on the objective, on the prize, and you work
unrelentingly until you succeed. And you do succeed. You never retreat.
My special thanks and appreciation to the Association of Former
Members of Congress, to the board, to my colleague Members. What an
outstanding group whose action promotes dialogue, bipartisanship, and
service.
I am very moved and humbled by this great honor, especially because
it comes from my dear friends and colleagues. There is nothing higher
than getting an award from your peers, it means a great deal. And it
means a great deal to me, because it is from people who have served,
many with me, very well in the people's House.
I reflect with awe on the list of previous recipients. Some of them
were mentioned by President Frost: Bob Michel, Lee Hamilton, Lindy
Boggs, Amo Houghton, Ray LaHood, and others. Incredible company, people
I have respected and admired. And I accept the honor for all of you. I
want to thank you for your continuous passion for the people's House
and for your friendship.
I am a lucky, happy camper. I am the daughter of immigrant parents. I
am the first in my family to go to college. I can boast of a wonderful
family. I have been able to serve, as was mentioned, in my State, my
country, here and overseas, and to work with dedicated people, Members
of Congress and former Members who are seeking solutions.

I firmly believe that everyone who seeks office is motivated by a
passionate desire to serve, a reason that would make things better for
all. For me, as was suggested, it was the women's movement that put the
movement into me. I was appointed to a commission for women in
Montgomery County in the seventies, and at that time a Member of
Congress, Martha Griffiths, introduced--not the first time--the Equal
Rights Amendment. She got it passed through a draft resolution.
The discharge petition, remember that?
She passed it. It went through the Senate, signed by the President.
But amendment was needed to approve it to become part of the
Constitution. So I started lobbying for Maryland to pass the amendment,
and, as you know, we needed 38 States. That was when I realized the
inequities, the inequities in education, credit, education. I then
decided I wanted to seek office in the Maryland Legislature to have a
seat at the table.
So, after 8 years serving in the Maryland House of Delegates, I was
elected to Congress, the 100th Congress, with many people who still
serve, like Nancy Pelosi, John Lewis, Fred Upton, and many others who
serve and many who are former Members, some who are here today, Dave
Skaggs, Amo Houghton, Ernie Konnyu.
I served in the House for 16 years: For 8 years, I was a minority in
the minority; for 8 years, I was a minority in the majority. I
represented a highly competitive district, as you all know, and as
Charlie Cook once said: That Morella, she knows her district. She will
go ``to the opening of an envelope.''
And indeed, I did; it is true. That is still being done, but,
unfortunately, more time is being spent raising money. And I must add
something else that usurps time, and that is social media.
Well, it was an active time. We broke barriers as in women's health
research, violence against women, the Americans with Disabilities Act,
and we created opportunities in technology, in STEM. We witnessed the
fall of the Berlin Wall, the Soviet Union, apartheid in South Africa,
but also 9/11.
We also witnessed bipartisanship, working together, seeking
compromise to get results. We respected differences, whether party
label or constituencies, and we got things done.
Indeed, when I would introduce a measure, I would gather together
Democrats to sign on as sponsors, and the Democrats would do the same
thing with me for sponsorship. And why? Bipartisanship got results. In
fact, it is the only way to get desired results, and you establish
trust with your constituents.
It also strengthened the bond of friendship. And there were many
friendships from Members of Congress while I was there and many
friendships with my former Member colleagues.
My hope is that Congress Members will reach out across the aisle to
know each other personally. They will learn of their colleagues'
aspirations, their family, their issues, and, most often, become
friends.
The greatest tool of the diplomat, wherever and in whatever, is to
listen, to learn, and to lead. They will learn the greatest tool is
that. This is the path to forging compromises for our country and to
appreciating and respecting each other.
These ingredients, friends, haven't changed, as you know full well.
George Washington, when he was age 15, wrote ``Rules for Civility and
Decent Behavior.'' Rule number one:

When in the company of others, act with respect for those
who are present.

You can't beat that advice. I am a confirmed political junky. I agree
with W.B. Yeats, who wrote:

I was here to wind the clock. I want to hear it strike.

I agree and I care. And again, my thanks to all of you, my heartfelt
thanks. I have to quote Shakespeare, don't I?

For these great graces heap'd upon me, I can nothing render
but allegiant thanks.

Mr. FROST. And, Connie, I know it may come as a great surprise to
you, but the great State of Texas that Gene Green and I represented was
one of the first States in the country to pass the Equal Rights
Amendment.
Ms. MORELLA. Very good. Thank you very much.
Mr. FROST. I am not sure the current legislature would have done the
same thing, but that was a different era.
Again, congratulations to you, Connie, and thank you so much for all
you have done and continue to do for FMC.
It is now my great honor in my capacity as president of FMC to report
on FMC's activities for 2018 and 2019.
We are one of a very small group of nonprofits that have a
congressional charter, and as such, we are required to report to
Congress every year on our past activities. I will give a broad
overview of our past work and have submitted for the Record a more
detailed written report.

[[Page H3734]]

Now, I must note that the very competent staff member who prepared
these remarks doesn't realize that some of us from the South speak more
slowly than some other people from the rest of the country, so Phil
Gingrey, who will speak later, and I will try to speed it up as much as
we can.
Our association was founded in 1970 and chartered by Congress 13
years later, in 1983. We are completely bipartisan and see our mission
as informing about Congress and bridging the political divide. That
mission is translated into programs that bring former Members together
with student audiences across the Nation, focusing on civics and public
service.
We also further our mission by creating programs and study missions
involving current Members of Congress on a bipartisan basis. This work,
over the years, has been extended to now include congressional staff,
both from the D.C. offices as well as district directors across the
Nation. We are successful because Republicans and Democrats, whether
former Members or current Members, come together in partnership with a
willingness to work together for the common good.

We are proud to have been chartered by Congress, and we are equally
proud that absolutely no taxpayer dollar is earmarked or expended to
make our programs possible. Everything FMC does is financed via grants
and sponsors, our membership dues, and our annual fundraising gala, the
Statesmanship Awards Dinner.
Our colleagues L.F. Payne and Mike Ferguson led our fundraising
efforts for the most recent gala dinner at the Mellon Auditorium, and I
am extremely pleased to report that, thanks to their leadership and the
incredible efforts of a great many former Members, we had our most
successful fundraising dinner when we honored Senator Burr and Senator
Klobuchar, as well as the House Problem Solvers Caucus and the
Lufthansa Group for their corporate philanthropy. My thanks to all our
colleagues who work so hard on this outstanding event.
Thanks to this success as well as our year-round fundraising efforts,
I can report to Congress and the FMC membership that our finances are
sound, our projects are fully funded, and our most recent annual audit
by an outside accountant confirmed we are running FMC in a fiscally
sound, responsible, and transparent manner. And let me stress again
that no taxpayer dollars are earmarked for our work, that everything we
do is self-funded.
Let me stress, also, that we are a volunteer organization, and our
programs have an impact because our members, on a bipartisanship basis,
contribute to us their knowledge and time. We are successful because
former Representatives and Senators come together, across party lines,
for the good of our organization, and they do so on a pro bono basis.
They believe in our mission, and they continue to have the public
servant's heart.
Former Members of Congress, in 2018, donated to FMC over 7,000 hours
of energy, wisdom, mentoring, and expertise without receiving any
compensation for it. Their own remuneration is the knowledge that they
are giving back, that serving in Congress was a unique privilege and it
comes with the mandate to encourage and empower the next generation.
On behalf of FMC, I want to thank all of our colleagues who have
contributed their time and expertise to make FMC such a great success.
We are extremely proud of our nearly 50-year history creating lasting
and impactful programs that teach about Congress and representative
government, at home and abroad. Next year will be FMC's 50th birthday,
and it is truly amazing how much we have accomplished.
Let me give you a brief overview of 2018 and also a vision for 2019
and beyond.
Over the past 12 months, our FMC staff has conceived, organized,
advertised, and implemented almost 100 events to move our mission
forward. This is an astonishing number for a staff of 11 that relies
completely on former Member volunteers for all our projects.
These events ranged from meeting with middle school students right
here in the House Chamber to talk to them about the many
responsibilities a Member of Congress has, to week-long study missions
where current Member delegations, split evenly between the parties,
traveled to countries, including Germany, Japan, and Korea, to study
issues such as trade and security.
Our programming has included hundreds of current Members, former
Members, senior congressional staff, and district directors. Most
recently, we expanded our group of constituents to also include
communications directors of congressional offices. They work with us
because they know we are completely bipartisan, 100 percent
nonadvocacy, and that we seek to tell the positive story of our
extraordinary representative democracy. Allow me to share with you some
highlights of our work.
You will hear more detail about our Congressional Study Groups in a
second, but for 2018, we are proudest of the incredible level of
activity and impact of our newest Study Group: the Congressional Study
Group on Korea. It shows how timely and right from the headlines our
work is.
We launched the Korea program in February of 2018 and have since
sent, to Korea, several current Member, former Member, and
congressional staff delegations under the study group's umbrella. The
Korea program now joins our other longstanding international projects:
the Congressional Study Group on Germany, the Congressional Study Group
on Japan, and the Congressional Study Group on Europe.
In addition to a great many Capitol Hill events, over the past 12
months, we have sent numerous congressional delegations overseas, some
for current Members, others for chiefs of staff, and a number for
district directors, and just last month, our very first communications
directors delegation--all bipartisan.
The purpose of these trips is to educate our participants on specific
issues affecting U.S. international relations--mostly trade and
security questions. An important side effect is the opportunity of
building across-the-aisle relationships and to create a network of
peers that transcends party labels and partisanship. All of these
trips, of course, go through the rigorous process of ethics review, and
we ensure 100 percent compliance with all regulations governing travel
by Members or staff.
These international projects are just one component of our work to
create bipartisan relationships and strengthen our representative
democracy. Domestically, the main focus of our work is reconnecting
citizens with their government, highlighting the responsibilities of
citizenship and dispelling many of the myths that are out there when it
comes to Congress.
First and foremost, we are incredibly proud of our Congress to Campus
program. For over 30 years, we have sent a bipartisan team of former
Members to meet with university audiences across the country. These are
not simple meet-and-greet events where the Members drop in for a quick
speech with some Q&A. Instead, these visits are a 3-day commitment by
our former Members team so that the university can make the best
possible use of FMC as a resource.

We now average about 30 visits during the academic year, which is
incredible, given that, as recently as 15 years ago, we averaged about
5. Also, many of our Congress to Campus visits now include a visit to a
local high school or even a middle school, so that we are reaching an
even broader audience with our FMC team. Sharon Witiw of our staff, who
runs this program, is to thank for this great expansion.
We work hand in glove with each university so that each visit is
tailored specifically to the school's needs and curriculum. Our
colleagues walk into different classroom settings throughout the day,
sometimes engaging in discussions about U.S. foreign policy, at other
times focusing on questions such as money in politics.
The outcome of each Congress to Campus visit is twofold: to showcase
a partisan, yet respectful debate on the issues of the day; and to
encourage in the next generation a respect for public service that may
translate into future work on Capitol Hill.
We have reached thousands upon thousands of students, and through our
own polling can demonstrate that we are making a positive difference
when it comes to attitudes about Congress and about elected officials.
You will hear more about this and our other civic education initiatives
when I yield

[[Page H3735]]

the floor for that report in just a little bit.
Our work to reconnect citizens with their government takes many
different forms. For example, we have a longstanding partnership with
the National Archives, bringing former Members and other issue experts
together with the public for a conversation about issues affecting all
of us. Our next National Archives panel will be on June 13 for a
conversation about female candidates for office and the extra
challenges women face in the political world.
What I have described thus far is just a small part of the work we
have done on our membership's behalf. And while programs such as
Congress to Campus or the Congressional Study Group on Germany are
longstanding undertakings that we have offered to the public for
decades, they, along with our existing projects, all were infused with
a new energy, vision, and enthusiasm thanks to the extensive strategic
planning process that we briefed you on for the past 2 years.
Let me again thank Mark Sobol, who is here today, a highly respected
expert in the field of strategic planning and organization management,
who donated to us completely free of charge his tremendous expertise to
help FMC achieve the next level of professionalism and impact. He
helped us craft an extremely thoughtful and visionary strategic plan,
which the FMC board approved a little over 2 years ago.
Since then, the effect of this incredibly important exercise can be
felt in all aspects of the organization. We--our board of directors and
the exceptional FMC staff--have made great strides in implementing this
plan, for example, when it comes to branding FMC as a unique authority
on Congress, unparalleled in our expertise and experience.
We now have a much more focused media strategy, have unified our
current Member programming with our former Member programming under one
logo and one recognizable brand, and are much better at pushing out our
message of bipartisanship using social media, for example. Paul Kincaid
is responsible for our message, and I thank him for his good work.
Over the summer, our staff put together an outstanding board of
directors retreat, where we came together to refine and review the
strategic plan and brainstorm about best ways to continue to implement.
One idea that stemmed from the board retreat was the notion that
FMC's board and staff could benefit from additional voices and creative
input, beyond just former Members of Congress. FMC, therefore, created
an Advisory Board comprised of valued members of our Study Groups'
Business Advisory Council. The inaugural group of Advisory Board
members are: Majida Mourad of Tellurian, Nancy Ziuzin Schlegel of
Lockheed, Anna Schneider of Volkwagen, and Dr. David Steel of Samsung.
To round out this group, we were pleased that our long-time consultant
and friend Mark Sobol of Longwave Partners accepted FMC's invitation as
well.
The Advisory Board, committed to bipartisanship and meaningful
conversation and dialogue, will provide FMC with a unique perspective
on the critical issues of the day and suggestions on how we engage our
membership and partners to strengthen and streamline our mission. We
thank each of these great friends of FMC for their commitment to our
mission.
I am also more than pleased to report to you that a brand-new website
showcasing our new logo and look has gone live since the last report to
Congress. This has been a major focus of my predecessor, Cliff Stearns
of Florida, who kept asking: When is the logo going to be up? When is
the website going to be up? And he finally got his answer during his 2
years as FMC's president. I am thrilled that all of his hard work came
to fruition with the new website, which reflects much more accurately
the vibrant and impactful organization we have become.

Thank you, Cliff, for your leadership on this, and congratulations to
our staff member Alia Diamond, who did such a tremendous job creating
our new website.
As I look at FMC's future, some very exciting new initiatives stand
out. We are using our Congress to Campus model to include a greater
outreach into the community. We call this new initiative our Insight
into Congress project. We took the idea for a test run just last week
in Austin, Texas, with Gene Green, who is here today.
Two former Members, Gene Green and Randy Neugebauer, went to Austin
not to meet with a single university, but different aspects of the
whole community. This included several events hosted by Samsung with
their local workforce and executives, as well as high schools, the
chamber of commerce, and others. We think this could be a really
interesting expansion of the work we already do under Congress to
Campus.
Also, late last year, we implemented, for a second time, a new
project as part of our American Democracy and Civics programs. We
brought together a bipartisan group of four current Members, two
Democrats and two Republicans, hosted in his Boston district by Joe
Kennedy, and put a program together for the four of them to meet with
several high schools, universities, and public forums. Again, this is
an exciting expansion of the type of work we do, we already do well via
Congress to Campus, and I congratulate the staff on building on our
obvious strengths.
Last year, we reported to you on the commencement of the Legacy
program, which was conceived to interview retiring Members of Congress
so that, under the FMC umbrella, we can create an oral history of all
those who have served in the House and the Senate.
It is interesting: No one else was doing this on a comprehensive
basis, not the Library of Congress, not the Historian's Office. This is
something I think will have a lasting impact. And once these oral
histories have been transcribed and analyzed, we are donating them to
the Library of Congress, where they will be available for review.
I am pleased to report that we have already surpassed our initial
goal of 30 completed interviews and we are now moving forward with
analyzing the data we have collected, as well as expanding our
interview outreach.
We started with the people, some of whom are in this room, who left
at the end of the last Congress. I, along with five other Members, last
week had the honor of testifying before the House Select Committee on
the Modernization of Congress. When completed, we hope to present our
findings of the Legacy Project to the committee later this year.
I thank Mark Sobol and Lenny Steinhorn for being the driving force
behind this project, ably staffed by FMC's Patricia Ochs.
In addition, we continue to find opportunities for former Members to
travel--I know Members like to travel, both current and former--and be
ambassadors on behalf of our representative democracy.
Just last week, we dispatched a delegation of former Senators to
China. This is the 11th delegation over the past 6 years that we have
sent to Beijing and other Chinese cities so that we can play a small
role in fostering a better dialogue involving the United States and
China. These trips have been made possible thanks to two great
partners, the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation and the Chinese
Association for International Friendly Contact.
The impact of these former Member delegations is enhanced by Capitol
Hill programming, which we have been able to offer in partnership with
the Committee of 100, a U.S. nonprofit made up of the foremost
Americans of Chinese descent.
Later this year, we also will send another former Member delegation
to Korea. This group will be hosted by Jay Kim, a former Member from
California and head of the Jay Kim Foundation. Jay's wife, Jennifer
Ahn, has been instrumental in putting this trip together.
Our other host is the Korea Peace Sharing Foundation. I wish to pay
special tribute to the head of that wonderful organization, Reverend
Kang Suk So, a senior pastor of Sae Eden Presbyterian Church in Seoul.
Reverend So has made it his mission to bring peace to the Korean
Peninsula.
One of the many ways he seeks to accomplish that lofty goal is by
bringing veterans of the Korean war back to Korea for remembrance,
tribute, and recognition. He has tirelessly invested his energy, focus,
and fundraising success in making it possible for countless

[[Page H3736]]

Korean war veterans to return to Korea and witness for themselves the
new Korea that they made possible via their sacrifice.
Reverend So is now engaging in a cross-cultural dialogue and is
making former Members of Congress part of that important undertaking.
Thanks to him and the congregation of the Sae Eden Presbyterian
Church, we are able to send former Members of Congress to Korea to
better understand its culture and rich history. His leadership is truly
inspirational.
As Members can see, the future for FMC is incredibly bright. We are
energized, and we are having tremendous success for three reasons.
One I already mentioned, which is the outstanding work our board and
staff have done to solidify our mission plan, put in achievable goals,
and strategize how best to move FMC forward.
The second reason is our amazing group of partners. These are
corporations that donate to us, especially via the Statesmanship Awards
Dinner, because they believe in our purpose and recognize the positive
impact we are having. These partners also include outstanding grant-
giving entities: the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, the German Marshall
Fund, the Hewlett Foundation Madison Initiative, the Democracy Fund,
the Korea Society and the Korea Foundation, and the Japan-U.S.
Friendship Commission, to name just a few. They believe in our
capabilities and are giving us the opportunity to grow and create long-
lasting programming. We appreciate them very much.
The third and most important reason is my fellow former Members of
Congress, who donate to us their time, their expertise, their wisdom,
and their leadership. As I said earlier, the 7,000 hours of combined
former Member time has been donated to us pro bono by our membership. I
thank them for that.
I have to warn former Members, our demand for their time and goodwill
is only increasing. As we all know, there are many challenges our
Nation faces, and FMC can play a pivotal role in bringing people
together. This Nation's strength has always been found in its ability
to unite and move the country forward for the greater good.
FMC, like no other organization, can build bridges between Democrats
and Republicans, build bridges between those being represented and
those doing the representing, and build bridges between one generation
of public servants and the next. To do so will require more and more
commitment to our work, and I am sure former Members of Congress will
rise to the occasion.
In anticipation of former Members' support, I thank them from the
bottom of my heart.
I want to interject one thing, and I am not the only one who fits in
this category. A number of us have former staff members who now sit in
Congress. My former field representative, Marc Veasey, is a Congressman
from the Dallas-Fort Worth area today. I know other former Members have
provided the exact same mentorship to people on their staff and people
whom they knew in their community, and I thank them for that.
As Members have heard, this is FMC's 49th report to Congress, which
means that, next year, we will celebrate our 50th anniversary. This is
a tremendous achievement for a small nonprofit that was originally
conceived as purely an alumni group with the occasional social
gathering.
We have come a long way, and it is thanks to the volunteerism of the
membership that we can look forward to celebrating 50 outstanding
years.
Before getting to the business of electing our new board members, I
do want to recognize two of my colleagues to give just a little bit
more detail about our domestic and international governing.

I first invite Jim Coyne from Pennsylvania to focus on FMC's civic
education program. He will be followed by FMC board member Phil Gingrey
from Georgia to speak about our international programs.
Mr. COYNE. I thank Martin for the opportunity to make some remarks on
a topic that is incredibly important and near and dear to my heart: our
Nation's woeful attitude toward civic education.
In 10 States in the U.S., there is no requirement to take a civic
education class in high school--none. Only nine States require a full
year of civic education, while 31 States require only one semester.
It is no surprise that, in 2017, it was found that 35 percent of
millennials stated that they were losing faith in American democracy.
Just let that sink in for a moment. Over one-third of America's next
generation states that they are losing faith in our Nation's
representative democracy.
How can they support and appreciate it if they don't understand the
background and importance of our system? Civic learning can be the best
vehicle to have young people be active citizens in adulthood.
FMC's well-established civic programs, like Congress to Campus and
Congress to Community, continue to grow to be a part of the civic
learning solution. Thanks to the great work of Sharon White and Haley
LaTourette of the FMC staff, we are doing even more.
In the 2018-2019 academic school year, FMC's Congress to Campus
program has visited 25 schools, garnering the participation of 36
former Members, six of whom participated in two or more visits and five
of whom are newly retired, together reaching thousands of students.
This academic year, we visited 11 new schools, most of which have
heard about the program's success from other schools. The word is
clearly spreading.
The hosting administrators have been stretching former Member
engagement beyond the typical political studies departments to include
classes in business ethics, international relations, media and writing,
feminism, public policy, and many other more diverse curricula. Many
Congress to Campus visits include interviews with students and local
media, as well as open public forums to reach the broader community.
By analyzing surveys that the participating students take before and
after their school's Congress to Campus visit, we have learned that not
only have 82 percent of the students' attitudes toward Congress
improved--maybe that is not too hard--because of our Congress to Campus
program, but the program has left 75 percent of students feeling more
positive about Democrats' and Republicans' ability to work civilly and
productively together.
Almost every school administrator expresses interest in hosting
another Congress to Campus program after they have experienced one
themselves.
We continue to extend former Members' experience and wisdom to high
school and middle school students, particularly in the summer with the
Envision program. This June and July, we have 12 programs scheduled.
Though these speaking engagements are early in the morning, we hope
and deeply appreciate if each former Member here in the D.C. area will
consider donating a couple of hours of their valuable time to speak
with these students at this very spot on the House floor.
We have been engaged in this program for 3 years, and each year, the
students report that the highlight of the week-long experience in D.C.
is hearing from the former Members about their experiences in Congress.
Former Members are having a huge impact and are making a positive
difference, and I guarantee that they will find their meetings with
these students to be the highlight of their week. Sharon and Haley will
reach out to former Members to see if we can sign you up for a visit
with these middle school kids here in the House Chamber.
In addition to these solidly established in-person programs, Congress
to Campus is also expanding virtually. This year, we have had three
different bipartisan pairs of former Members speak to students as close
as Boston and as far away as Germany via Skype and Zoom.
We are striving to expand our internet reach to encompass more
students of all locations and backgrounds by virtually connecting them
with former Members to answer their questions and concerns about
Congress, public service, running for office, and much more.
This year's FMC's newly formed Congressional Study Group on American
Democracy and Civics ran two effective study tours, one to each of the
co-chairs' districts.
The first trip was to Representative Rodney Davis' district in
southern Illinois with Representative Jimmy Panetta from California.
During the 48-

[[Page H3737]]

hour trip, the Members spoke to hundreds of high school students,
community college students, and civics teachers within the region about
the importance of building bipartisan relationships and reaching across
the aisle. They were able to express to these audiences that having
productive and respectful relationships that cross the political aisle
is the only way to accomplish their important work in Congress.
The second trip expanded in size to include four Members of Congress.
Representative Joe Kennedy hosted Representative Davis, Representative
Markwayne Mullin, and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester in his Boston
district. The delegation spoke to hundreds of high school students and
had a public discussion at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the
Study of the U.S. Senate.
The overarching theme that emerged was that good laws come out of
understanding that each Member represents a different group of people,
and the reasons why certain issues are important to that group may
differ immensely from another district's issues.
The presenting Members could not have come from more diverse
districts, from a liberal urban setting in New England to a
conservative rural district in Oklahoma, from a red, blue, and purple
State to a wheat-belt State that has both Republican and Democrat
constituents.
The delegation demonstrated what we all know to be true of Congress:
Members can be respectful, civil, and pragmatic while still advocating
for their districts, constituents, and beliefs.

The group reflected on what seems lost in today's society, that
listening and understanding a colleague's position helps everyone find
common ground.
The students responded positively, treating the delegation like rock
stars, with raucous applause and waiting after the presentation to ask
more questions or just grab a selfie.
The next study tour is planned for early September to Representative
Markwayne Mullin's district in Oklahoma.
Our former Members are also helping to strengthen civic education at
the State level. FMC has been working with the CivXNow Coalition to
connect former Members of Congress with civic learning communities and
individual States to improve and strengthen State-level policies and
practices in civic education.
We began with Pennsylvania. Former Member Jim Gerlach leads a
bipartisan group of eight Pennsylvania former Members who are working
with the State Department of Education and local civic education
organizations to update their civic curricula and requirements.
We are now forming groups for former Members to work together on
promoting and improving civic education in the great States of Texas
and California. FMC hopes to add more States this coming year. We hope
everyone will consider helping.
This is our eighth year of continuing a strong partnership with the
National Archives. Just before last November's midterm elections, we
hosted a panel discussion on ``Voter Discontent During Wave Elections''
with a bipartisan panel of former Members who either rode in or were
swept out with a wave during one of their elections. The discussion
examined the impact of previous elections and Presidential elections on
the competitiveness of a congressional seat.
Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 13, at 7 p.m., when we will
hold our next panel discussion to examine the unique challenges that
women face when running for office.
This past year, we have continued our outreach beyond the beltway to
the congressional family through engaging dozens of district directors.
Last summer, FMC connected with the district directors that came to
D.C. for their fly-in retreat with a reception hosted by one of our
Diplomatic Advisory Council members. Over 100 Republican district
directors learned more about FMC at a reception at the home of the
Embassy of Germany's DCM, and several dozen Democratic district
directors were hosted by the Ambassador of Finland.
We continue to see the great value of working with district
directors. FMC has also brought dozens of district directors on study
tours, both domestically and internationally. Under multiple of FMC's
international Congressional Study Groups, delegations of district
directors visited Germany, Japan, and Korea. Through a grant from the
Democracy Fund, we were able to bring delegations of district directors
to Ireland to examine the challenges and impact that Brexit may have
and what lessons Brexit may hold regarding NAFTA, as well as to Puerto
Rico to examine the devastation that Hurricanes Maria and Irma have
caused the island.
Next week, we will bring a bipartisan delegation of district
directors from all over the country to Nashville to better understand
America's current state of healthcare, with a particular focus on the
opioid crisis.
Later this summer, we will bring another delegation of district
directors to Canada to take a closer look at our relationship with our
northern neighbor, concentrating on new trade deals and border issues.
In the fall, we are bringing together all the district directors we
have met for a 2-day symposium to examine more constituent issues and
encourage solutions that help their districts regardless of parties.
None of this important work would be possible without the support of
outstanding partners. We would like to thank the Hewlett Foundation,
the Democracy Fund, the Stennis Center for Public Service Leadership,
the VF Foundation, and the National Archives for trusting in our work
and empowering us to truly make an impact across the country. I thank
you all.
Martin has asked me to yield some time at this point to Phil Gingrey
from Georgia to share with the membership an update on our
international work. I therefore thank Members for their attention and
now yield the floor to Mr. Gingrey.
Mr. GINGREY. I thank Jim for yielding some of his time. Primarily, I
will report on the Congressional Study Groups program.
As a Member, I had the honor of co-chairing the Congressional Study
Group on Germany for, I think, 4 years. It was absolutely one of the
highlights of my 12 years in Congress.
Today, as we stand in this well, hundreds of Members of Congress will
shuttle back and forth from committee hearings to constituent meetings
to the call time that we all loved so much. For a small part of their
day, they will take in as much information as they can on the issues
they and their committees are focused on.
All of us remember the days when we served here, and information was
served 24 hours a day from a seemingly endless firehose. For most of
us, and for most of them, that information did not concern American
foreign policy or trade or our allies overseas.
Our colleague John Dingell once said of his committee's jurisdiction,
``If it moves, it's commerce. If it doesn't, it's energy.'' Looking at
the United States today, we may still be made up of energy and
commerce, but the impact, and our knowledge of that impact, cannot be
limited to our own Nation. We have become the keystone of a global
economy.
In 1983, our colleagues saw that globalization was coming, and they
realized that a fire hydrant of information was not going to include
what was happening with our allies, our adversaries, our trading
partners, and developing nations, except for those few Members who were
on the Armed Services Committee or the Foreign Affairs Committee. Thus,
the Congressional Study Groups were born.
In the past year, we have continued that mission through the
continued program impact of the Congressional Study Groups on Germany,
Japan, Europe, and, most recently, Korea.

Small, informal programs on Capitol Hill and travel opportunities
bring the realities of these countries and our relationships with them
as Americans into sharper focus. We also introduced Members and staff
to their peers overseas, and we create for current Members and current
congressional staff the opportunity to network with each other.
FMC understands that bipartisan cooperation doesn't just magically
appear, and it doesn't always begin at work or in the committee rooms.
Often, it starts informally at dinner, at

[[Page H3738]]

the ballpark, or on trips such as the ones conducted by the
Congressional Study Groups.
Creating that bipartisanship is part of our calling at FMC, and I am
proud to say that it is a goal we consistently seek when planning
events for the Congressional Study Groups.
I would like to share a little bit about what each of our
Congressional Study Groups has done this year and what we will do in
the coming months, both to advance this mutual understanding and to
advance toward FMC's strategic goals. Let me thank FMC's outstanding
programming staff, led by Lorraine Harbison, for their tremendous work.
The first Congressional Study Group founded was the Study Group on
Germany. This year marks the 35th anniversary of our Congress-Bundestag
Seminar, which alternates between bringing the German Bundestag members
to the United States and then taking U.S. Members of Congress to
Germany.
In election years, Bundestag members traditionally travel to the
U.S., and this year was no different. An engaging, diverse group of
German legislators from several different political parties joined FMC
in Washington, D.C., for a day before trekking off to Nashville and
Chattanooga, where they toured Volkswagen's plant, which has become a
huge part of that community. They met with cultural and educational
leaders and got an opportunity to see the Tennessee Senate and
Governor's race in full swing just as early voting began in the
Volunteer State.
The Study Group on Germany also welcomed a new co-chair this year in
the House as Congresswoman Susan Brooks from Indiana joined Congressman
Ted Deutch from Florida as co-chairs. Both co-chairs welcomed
Ambassador Emily Haber at a dinner for Members of Congress following
her appointment as Ambassador to the United States from Germany.
Our congressional staff engagement continues to grow, with a number
of roundtables on the Hill and continued involvement of chiefs of staff
and district directors in our study tours to Germany.
This year, the Congressional Study Groups also received funding from
the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy to organize a new
study tour aimed at bringing nearly a dozen communications directors,
chosen on a bipartisan basis, to Germany for substantive exchanges on
issues relating to the transatlantic relationship.
As with the district director programming made possible by this
grant, engaging communications directors has allowed us to tap into a
previously underserved and impressionable group of congressional staff.
This year's two study tours saw FMC and the study groups bring 16
individuals on their first-ever visit to Germany. In this group, we see
tremendous potential to create new advocates both for the German-
American partnership and for the efforts undertaken by the
Congressional Study Group on Germany.
Further communications director and district director study tours
will take place in 2020. We look forward to engaging with this new
group of congressional staffers next year and to continuing the
excellence in programming for which our FMC study tours are known.
Patrick Egenhofer of the FMC team does just an outstanding job running
the Congressional Study Group on Germany.
The congressional study tour to Japan for Members is always the
highlight of the Congressional Study Group on Japan's year. This year
was no different, as study group co-chairs Billy Long and Diana DeGette
accompanied six of their colleagues to Tokyo where they met with Prime
Minister Abe and then to the Tohoku region--I hope I pronounced that
correctly--which was so badly damaged by the 2011 earthquake and the
subsequent tsunami. Members of Congress had the opportunity to view the
Fukushima power plant and to see the exclusionary zone around the
facility, where some residents have actually returned but which most
have abandoned.
A similar agenda was created for chiefs of staff, as well as our
first district director trip for the Study Group on Japan, bringing
directors from across the Nation on a bipartisan basis. The trip
continued the district director outreach that has now spread to three
of our congressional study groups.
The similar agenda allowed us to see our meeting partners from the
perspectives of three different parts of our congressional family--
Members, senior D.C. staff, and district staff--to engage, and for
former Members of Congress to create a ``deep dive'' to really grow a
full understanding of the governmental and civil society roles played
both in Tokyo and in the recovering area of Tohoku.
Domestically, Japanese Government officials and our Japanese Business
Advisory Council were very interested in the 2018 mid-term elections,
and, as a result, FMC provided several opportunities for both groups to
meet with both current and former Members of Congress and staffers
before and after the election, learning more about the critical issues
and expectations going into the election and the likely changes that
would take place in a Democratic-led House following the election.
The Congressional Study Group also welcomed a new Ambassador from
Japan to the United States this year. After several years of
outstanding cooperation between the Embassy under Ambassador Kenichiro
Sasae, he elected to retire and was succeeded by His Excellency
Shinsuke Sugiyama. The Study Group on Japan was able to host a dinner
for the new Ambassador at his residence in Washington, allowing Members
of Congress to learn more about the important issues surrounding the
U.S.-Japan alliance.
The Study Group on Japan also continued one of the best-received
programs we have created recently, with our Chief of Staff Colloquium.
This weekend retreat for congressional chiefs of staff allows for a
``deep dive'' into issues concerning the United States, Japan, and the
entire Indo-Pacific region.
More than 20 experts in Asian issues conducted discussion sessions
for ten chiefs of staff at the retreat held in Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore's proximity allows chiefs who live in Washington to ``get
away'' from the hustle and bustle of Capitol Hill, while remaining
close enough to not feel out of touch. This provides an excellent
learning experience for the staffers, as well as a great opportunity
for FMC to engage with congressional staff who may be interested in our
Study tours.
For years now, we have benefited greatly from the expertise and
professionalism of FMC staffer Alexis Ayano Terai for all things Japan
related. We will miss her greatly when she starts her full-time studies
at Georgetown to earn her master's degree.
The Congressional Study Group on Europe was active this year as well,
primarily focusing on events here in Washington, D.C. The European
Study Group has been heavily focused, recently, on district director
programming, encouraging these critical senior congressional staff to
become more engaged in the transatlantic relationship. This year,
Ambassador Kirsti Kauppi of Finland was kind enough to welcome dozens
of Democratic district directors to the Finnish Embassy for a reception
and a discussion on Finland, Scandinavia, and the role Northern Europe
plays in both NATO and in our trading relationships. We expect to
continue this relationship between FMC, our district directors, and
European embassies this year and far into the future.
Europe was also exceptionally interested in the 2018 elections in the
United States, and FMC worked with the Swiss Embassy to create an
opportunity to hear from former Members, including President Martin
Frost and Vice President Charles Boustany, regarding the results of the
November elections here in the United States. This discussion session
was heavily attended and allowed our friends from Europe to better
understand what a divided legislative branch meant for the 116th
Congress and what 2020 could potentially mean for the United States and
its relationship with Europe.
Finally, our Congressional Study Group on Korea completed its first
full year of activities and was a constant source of pride for FMC.
After only having a small delegation of Members of Congress travel to
Seoul last year, this year's group was larger and was complemented by a
district director study tour, which recently returned from the Republic
of Korea, in addition to a former Members delegation that traveled in
February.

[[Page H3739]]

We also hope, later this year, to bring a chief of staff delegation
to the peninsula. Members of Congress were able to meet with key
government officials, reporters, and business leaders and, traveling to
the Demilitarized Zone between the Republic of Korea and North Korea,
were able to learn more about American defense standing in the region
from our own military leaders. Each of the delegations also met with
local college students in Korea, allowing a candid discussion on both
domestic and transpacific issues that are important to the next
generation of Koreans.
The Study Group on Korea was also active on Capitol Hill. As we
welcomed both our new Senate co-chairs, Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii
and Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Ambassador Cho Yoon-je, the
Ambassador from South Korea to the United States, hosted a dinner in
their honor, along with several of their House and Senate colleagues,
to discuss important U.S.-Korean issues, particularly focused on trade,
energy, and defense.
As well, the Study Group on Korea welcomed several governmental and
business leaders to Capitol Hill for informal, organic roundtables with
Members of Congress and their staff to better create an understanding
of this critical alliance and relationship, particularly among Members
focused on trade with Korea in their districts who are not able to
address these issues through their committee assignments.
Thanks to the efforts of the Congressional Study Group on Korea, the
South Korean National Assembly, our counterparts in Seoul, will be
mirroring our efforts, as they create the Parliamentary Study Group on
America. We wish them luck in that endeavor and look forward to working
with our friends in Seoul to further the U.S.-Korean alliance. And we
very much appreciate all the hard and good work of FMC staffer Dongwon
Kim as he implements Korea-focused programming.
The Congressional Study Groups continue to work on better ways to
communicate with our stakeholders, adding conference calls on important
issues, featuring our frequent meeting partners, that allow Members of
Congress, their staff, the business community, our supporters, and the
diplomatic community to participate in Study Group programming without
having to leave their office.

All of this great work being done by the Congressional Study Groups
could not continue without the support of the members of our Business
Advisory Council, BAC, and the institutional funding partners that we
have. With that in mind, it is important that we thank Ambassador Jim
Zumwalt and Ms. Junko Chano at Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Ms. Paige
Cottingham-Streater at the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, Dr. Karen
Donfried at the German Marshall Fund, Ms. Minjeong Kim and Mr. Kiho
Jang at the Korea Foundation, and Ambassador Thomas Byrne at the Korea
Society.
The members of our BAC who are so committed to the transoceanic
relationships fostered by the Congressional Study Groups include
Hyundai, Samsung, KITA, POSCO, CJ, SK, Gale International, Michelin,
Tellurian, Allianz, BASF, Bayer, B. Braun Medical, Daimler, Deutsche
Telekom, DHL, Evonik Corporation, Fresenius Medical Care North America,
Fresenius SE, Lufthansa German Airlines, RatnerPrestia, Representative
of German Industry and Trade, Volkswagen Group of America, Aflac, ANA,
Honda, Itochu, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, JR Central,
Hitachi, Lockheed Martin, Marubeni, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries, Mitsui, Mizuho, MUFG, NEC, Nissan, Nomura, Panasonic,
Sojitz, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Toyota. We are deeply grateful to
all of these organizations for their support of our work.
As with the rest of FMC, the future of the Congressional Study Group
is strong and vibrant. I look forward to watching the incredible
programming and travel opportunities that they provide to continue
FMC's goal to truly create an effective, nonpartisan avenue for
effective legislative and knowledge exchange between the congressional
family and our friends and allies abroad.
I appreciate the opportunity to make these remarks. It is my
understanding that we have some membership business to accomplish, and
I, therefore, yield to FMC's president, Representative Martin Frost of
Texas.
Mr. FROST. Thank you, Jim and Phil, for your reports and for your
outstanding leadership of these important FMC programs.
I would note for the Record that, since we called the roll, several
people have come into the room. I notice Barbara Kennelly, former
president of our organization--I don't know if she was here when the
roll was called--Blanche Lincoln, a former Member of the House and a
former Member of the Senate from Arkansas; John Tanner from Tennessee;
and, also, Jim Jones, a former Congressman and a former Ambassador.
I also would like to recognize several representatives of the
Congressional Federal Credit Union, and I thank them for their many
years of partnership and support.
Normally, at this juncture in our report, I would highlight each FMC
staff member, briefly describe their areas of responsibility, and add a
personal note since I have worked so closely with each of them over the
past several years. I cannot do so this year simply because our team
has grown so much. We are now up to 12 FMC staff members, so there is
just not enough time anymore to recognize each individually.
However, I do want to highlight two names. First, our CEO, Pete
Weichlein. As you may know, he has been with FMC in various positions
since February 1, 1999, which means that, earlier this year, he
celebrated his 20th anniversary with us. Pete is brimming full of
ideas. He is energetic and he is thoughtful. My job as President is to
point out the one or two of his ideas that may not be quite as good as
the others. He really does an extraordinary job for us, and I want to
thank him.
The other staff member I want to salute is our COO, Sabine Schleidt.
She joined FMC over 8 years ago and has been the driving force behind
so much of our tremendous growth and success. Now, I know Sabine was
here. She must be working on the next piece of our business, the next
event.
Sabine is extraordinary, for those of you who haven't worked with
her. She oversees all of our international programs, and she also--
which I know L.F., as one of our dinner chairs, was grateful, and I, as
president, was grateful--raises a lot of money for us. She is really
very good, and we are very fortunate to have her.
At this point, let me also recognize a representative of the Canadian
Association of Former Parliamentarians. As you know, our closest
working relationships are with our colleagues in Ottawa and our
colleagues in Brussels.
We have enjoyed, over the years, many joint projects, such as
election monitoring. The Canadian Association is a wonderful partner
and resource to us, and we are thrilled that one of its board members,
Eleni Bakopanos from Quebec, is with us here this morning and
throughout the day.
Thank you so much for joining us.
By the way, she is from Montreal, and if any of you need to know the
best Greek restaurants in Montreal, you should check with her before
you go.
As a personal note, several years ago, our organization sponsored a
joint mission, a joint visit to the Normandy Battlefield with former
Members of the Canadian Parliament. It was an extraordinary trip. Not
only did we visit our battlefield sites, but also the Canadians, both
from World War I and World War II.
Canada, per capita, lost an extraordinary number of soldiers during
those two wars. We will be forever grateful for their partnership then
and their partnership now.
I thank you so much for joining us. I hope you enjoy the rest of the
program. This is a friendly group. I am sure they will come up and
visit with you.
Every year at our annual meeting, we ask the membership to elect new
officers and board members. I, therefore, will now read to you the
names of the candidates for board members and officers. They are
all running unopposed, and I, therefore, ask for a simple ``yea'' or
``nay'' as I present to you the list of candidates as a slate.

For the Association's Board of Directors Class of 2019, the
candidates are:
Ann Marie Buerkle of New York,
Bob Clement of Tennessee,

[[Page H3740]]

Donna Edwards of Maryland,
Phil Gingrey of Georgia,
Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas,
L.F. Payne of Virginia,
Tim Petri of Wisconsin, and
Nick Rahall of West Virginia.
Some of these are repeat board members. They have served previously.
We are glad that they will continue to serve.
All in favor of electing these seven former Members to FMC's board of
directors, please say ``yea.''
Not hearing any ``nays'' they are elected.
Next, we will elect our Executive Committee. Charles Boustany serves
as our vice president. He and I were elected last year to a 2-year
term, and we, therefore, are not up for reelection.
Cliff Stearns automatically remains on the Executive Committee in his
capacity as immediate past president.
The secretary and treasurer are each elected to a 1-year term, with
eligibility for another 1-year term. The candidates are:
Ann Marie Buerkle of New York for treasurer, and
L.F. Payne of Virginia for secretary.
All in favor of electing these two former Members to FMC's Executive
Committee, please say ``yea.''
Any opposed?
Hearing no opposition, the slate has been elected by the membership.
I thank you all for volunteering to serve on our board, and I very
much look forward to working with you again over the next year.
It is now my sad duty to inform the Congress of those former and
current Members who have passed away since our last report.
As you know, FMC has commenced a beautiful tradition, which is to
recognize via a separate memorial service in Statuary Hall all those of
our colleagues who have passed away in the previous 12 months. It is a
truly wonderful and fitting tribute to which we invite the families of
these Members, and I hope you will join us in September as we do so
again this year.
I would note that we have patterned this after a very similar service
conducted by the Canadian Parliament. I had the privilege of
representing this organization at the annual meeting of the former
Members of the Canadian Parliament and got to see this ceremony
firsthand, and thank you for that, too.
It is a truly wonderful and fitting tribute to which we invite the
families of these Members, and I hope you will join us in September as
we do so again this year.
We also want to pay tribute to these Members by making sure their
names are read here in the House Chamber and they are included in
today's Congressional Record. I, therefore, will now read the names,
and I ask all of you, including the visitors in the gallery, to rise as
I read their names. At the end of the list, we will pay our respect to
their memory with a moment of silence.
Thank you.
We honor these Members for their service to our country. They are:
Birch Evans Bayh of Indiana
Leonard Boswell of Iowa
Bill Broomfield of Michigan
George H.W. Bush of Texas, a former Member of the House of
Representatives
Michael ``Mac'' Collins of Georgia
Ronald Dellums of California
John Dingell, Jr. of Michigan
Ralph Hall of Texas
James Hansen of Utah
Margaret Heckler of Massachusetts
Ernest ``Fritz'' Hollings of South Carolina
Walter ``Dee'' Huddleston of Kentucky
Walter B. Jones, Jr. of North Carolina
Paul Laxalt of Nevada
Marilyn Lloyd of Tennessee
Richard Lugar of Indiana
John McCain of Arizona
Guy Molinari of New York
Jim Moody of Wisconsin
Dick Nichols of Kansas
Ed Pastor of Arizona
Elizabeth Patterson of South Carolina
Ellen Tauscher of California
Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania.
Please observe a moment of silence.
Thank you.
I notice in reading this list that I served with a number of these
Members, as did, I think, most of the people in this room. I hope you
will join us in September when we officially mark this occasion.
Thank you. That concludes the 49th Report to Congress by the Former
Members of Congress. On behalf of FMC, I wish to thank the Speaker and
minority leader for giving us the opportunity to return to this very
special place and report on FMC's activities.
I also wish to share with you how incredibly honored I am to be
serving as the president of this outstanding organization. We do
wonderful work, and our membership's commitment is a testament to how
dear you all hold this institution.
I would mention, and I think you have all gotten a copy of this, that
we have a program for most of this day. I hope that many of you will
attend these events.
We have a reception in the Rayburn House Office Building starting at
9:30 and then a program about space policy, 50 years after Apollo 11,
also in the Rayburn Building. Then we adjourn to the National Archives,
and our colleague, Jim Blanchard, is chairman of the board of the
National Archives. We appreciate everything you are doing to help us.
Mr. DioGUARDI. I am former Congressman Joe DioGuardi. I would like to
introduce, in the spirit of bipartisanship and emerging democracies,
guests from Southeast Europe. If you don't mind, I would like to
welcome them.

From Albania, we have Monika Kryemadhi. She is the first female to
run a political party in Albania. She is joined here by her chairperson
for the Foreign Policy Committee of that group, Klajda Gjosha, and the
chief of staff, Eriol Braimllari.
We also have Faton Bislimi, a Harvard graduate. He is from Kosovo.
We have from Presevo, a part of southern Serbia that has 100,000
Albanians, we have the mayor of Bujanovac, a majority Albanian city,
one of the three in Presevo, in southern Serbia. We have Ragmi Mustafa
and Ardita Sinani.
I just wanted to be sure that they know they are welcome. I know
Shirley and I have been pushing, because we represent a nonprofit
called the Albanian American Civic League, an advocacy group. We are
volunteers; we don't get paid; but we are pushing for an Albanian study
group.
The Albanians are the least understood people in Europe, Southeast
Europe, and they were divided unfairly, after World War I, into six
different countries to, clearly, politically keep them weak.
By the way, the honoree today, we know, Connie Morella. What you
don't know and I found out through the Former Members Association, like
my dad, she comes from a family that has Albanian roots. My dad came
here in 1929 speaking only two languages--he was 15--Albanian and
Italian. He comes from the people who were driven out of Albania in the
15th century by the Ottoman Turks and occupying for 425 years until
World War I. Connie's family spoke Albanian, her grandparents, and so
did mine.
Mr. FROST. And unlike many people in this room, I have actually been
to Albania--it was an interesting experience--years and years ago, when
I chaired a special task force of the House of Representatives to help
the parliaments of Eastern and Central Europe after the Berlin Wall
opened.
And I believe we now turn this back over to Cliff.
Sometimes we have leadership of both parties that come and speaks to
us. I don't know if they were planning to come by today, but we are
actually ending a little bit early.
So if we miss them, we are sorry. We had hoped that they would come
by. They have done it in the past.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. President, thank you, Martin.
I think, as you pointed out, we were waiting for both the majority
leader, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and the minority leader, Kevin
McCarthy, between 8:45 and 9:00, and they might have had different
schedules/commitments. So we will probably be here, in effect, if they
come by.
Mr. FROST. Next is our distinguished minority leader, Kevin McCarthy
from California.
Mr. McCARTHY. It is an honor to be with you. A lot of you I have
admired greatly. Some of you I have never gotten to meet. But part of
the reason I ran, I watched you in public service,

[[Page H3741]]

and it is an amazing occupation, and we should honor it every chance we
get.
There are days when we honor our democracy, so I am just going to
tell you a quick story. If any of you have time and you want to come by
my office--it is no longer in the majority side, but it is in the
minority side over here. At one time it was the Speaker's office, whom
some of you served, so you can find where it is.
In there I put paintings, and there is a reason why each painting
that I put in there is from a different artist. I put my favorite
Presidents, Lincoln and Reagan, and then I have the one of ``Washington
Crossing the Delaware.'' And this is the story I will tell you today.
When I look at the paintings, I always wonder what advice Lincoln
would tell us. If you think about it, he was a Member of the House.
My favorite part whenever I give a tour is to go to Statuary Hall,
stand right where Lincoln's desk is, and have my guests look back at
the clock. I ask them to tell me what time it is because it is the
exact same view and the exact same clock that Abraham Lincoln looked
at. I am sure he did, and that is an opportunity to have.
But what would Lincoln tell us today? Lincoln would tell us to
believe in the exceptionalism of this country; that we are different
than any other country before us. And the reason why I believe that is,
is the Gettysburg Address.
You all know it. ``Four score and seven years ago our Fathers brought
forth on this continent a new Nation, conceived in liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.''
There has never been another country like ours. Conceived in liberty
and dedicated to the proposition that we are all equal. There is
something about democracy that that brings forth.
When you think about the world today, Saudi Arabia just now allows
women the right to drive, and it makes you think about where we have
come from.
But the painting that I want you to look at, and some of you have
served with me and you have been in that room, is ``Washington Crossing
the Delaware.'' You know of that painting. You know that it hangs in
New York, but did you know the history of who actually painted that
picture? It wasn't even an American. His name was Emanuel Leutze. He
had lived in America. He was an immigrant.
He lived here for a number of years and went back to Germany, and
painted a picture based upon the belief that he wanted to inspire the
Germans to have a revolution because he believed America was more than
a country, that America was an idea. And he wanted the revolution in
Germany to inspire the idea of freedom and democracy.
So he doesn't get it historically correct, but we don't blame him,
right? The Delaware looks like the Rhine, but he is German, so we live
with that.
He puts 13 people in a row boat. Why would he put 13? 13 colonies,
right? But he only shows you 12 faces.
He gets it historically incorrect, because people will tell you
Washington either crossed in a Durham boat or on a barge, but he just
makes it a row boat. But he puts Washington in a ceremonial uniform,
standing up, crossing the Delaware on Christmas, at night.
We think that probably is not true, but when you look at Washington,
you would say, ``I bet that man has never lost a battle.'' Well,
history tells us he had not won yet; that was our first victory when we
surprised the Hessians, right?
But what I want you to do when you look at the picture, I want you to
see who is in the boat. And this is the story of why democracy matters.
If you look at the second person, he is wearing a beret; he is
Scottish.
If you look at the person directly across from him in the denim
jacket, he is African American.
You come down the boat to the midsection, in the red is a woman. And
in the very back, is a Native American.
I don't know if they were in the boat that night, but this young
immigrant, that is who he believed--having lived in America--would have
been in that boat.
But the second to last person is a farmer, and he has hand across his
face. It is the hand of the 13th person nobody sees.
And what the young artist was saying, Here we are as a young nation--
not even a nation yet, but an idea for a nation--an idea that we can
self-govern, an idea about democracy, that we are willing to risk
everything, having never won before, and do it on our holiest of
nights: Here is a hand. Would you get in and join us?
I believe that is as true today as it was then.
It is not guaranteed, you have to earn it through each generation.
And the service that you have provided actually passed the torch to the
next.
I came here in 2007. I admired an individual, Connie Morella, who I
watched stand up. She belonged to my party. And the part that I looked
at is, I grew up in a family of Democrats, but I was a Republican based
upon belief. And my belief was that an individual can govern
themselves.

And I watched Connie stand up not only to things she disagreed with,
but to things even within her own party. And she inspired people.
People would say she inspired a lot of women; she also inspired me.
And the idea that after she left this House she continued to work for
democracy says a lot about who she is and why she was elected in the
first place.
So it is an honor for me to be here today to say thank you for your
service. And thank you, all of you, for what you contributed to this
country.
Mr. STEARNS. We thank the distinguished minority leader.
And with that, let me close by saying, the Chair again, wishes to
thank the former Members of the House and Senate for all of your
presence today.
And before terminating these proceedings, the Chair would like to
invite those former Members who did not respond when the roll call was
called to give their names to the reading clerk for inclusion in the
roll.
I think Tom McMillen came in. Is there anyone else to add?
If not, the Association of Former Members of Congress and the report
to Congress is closed.
The meeting stands adjourned.

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