[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 22, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H4071-H4072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING CHANCELLOR LELAND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a true pioneer in 
education at the University of California at Merced, the newest campus 
not only in California but among the newest in the country.
  Dorothy Leland, our chancellor, is retiring, but she has paved the 
way for this newest university.
  Chancellor Leland and her staff have built a community at UC Merced 
that is very special. More than 44 percent of the faculty are women. 
Over the past 5 years, the number of graduate students attending the 
university has increased by nearly 75 percent.
  Probably most impressive of all, I think, is that nearly 75 percent 
of the students are the first in their families to attend university, 
and a majority of these are minorities. It is a majority-minority 
campus.
  As a child of Mexican immigrants herself and the first in her family 
to graduate from college, Chancellor Leland feels a real connection to 
the student body. She is outspoken about DACA students, with almost 600 
DACA students in the university today. She even traveled here to our 
Nation's Capital to fight on behalf of Dreamers.
  She is one of the founding members of the Presidents' Alliance on 
Higher Education and Immigration, a group of more than 200 leaders who 
support policies that help immigrant, undocumented, and international 
students succeed at U.S. universities and colleges.
  In her retirement, she said she wants to work on immigration reform. 
We can use that help.
  But her work for the students and the campus at UC Merced does not 
end there. Arriving in 2011 during the Great Recession, Chancellor 
Leland immediately went to work on developing the university, because 
of the importance of this campus to the San Joaquin Valley, with a 
major construction project. She fought for $1.3 billion in funding to 
help expand the university, including the construction of new dorm 
rooms, research labs, a conference center, and an athletic facility. 
That project has allowed the university to expand from 5,000 to over 
8,000 students and doubled the size of the campus.
  She has also succeeded in graduation rates, which are up by 12 
percent during her tenure. I am proud to say that, last weekend, over 
1,300 students graduated.
  UC Merced has achieved impressive levels of academic and research 
distinction and is developing numerous new patents and leading cutting-
edge research.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to give another shout-out, 
and that is to President Joe Castro and the faculty and the student 
body at Fresno State, home of the Bulldogs.
  This past weekend, Fresno State graduated over 6,000 students, the 
largest in the school's history. Over 25,000 students are enrolled at 
Fresno State, ranked by Washington Monthly last year as one of the top 
25 campuses in the United States.
  Most importantly, more than 60 percent of the graduating students are 
the first in their generation to attend and graduate from university.
  Both these universities are serving our Nation and doing what, in 
fact, they should be doing, which is educating and training our 
Nation's next generation of leaders who will make a difference and who 
will make America a better place.
  I am honored to represent such successful universities in my 
district, and I am proud of both these leaders, the faculties, and the 
student bodies because they represent the future of America.
  Go Bobcats, and go Bulldogs.


      Reconsider Funding Levels for FEMA and California Wildfires

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, let me note that the President's action this 
week

[[Page H4072]]

as it relates to funding for FEMA and California's wildfires, as well 
as the funding for the United States Department of Agriculture in terms 
of where those moneys go for forestry, is wrong. It is wrong; it is 
punitive; and it is painful.
  For the fires in California, 60 percent are on U.S. forestry land. 
Therefore, to be responsible, the United States needs to do its part 
when these horrific fires take place.
  We do the same with hurricanes. We do the same with tornadoes. We do 
the same with floods. So it seems to me that the President ought to 
reconsider his actions toward California.
  We are partners in trying to manage both State and Federal lands not 
only in California but around the country. Therefore, the President's 
actions should be reconsidered.
  It should not be punitive toward California because, through no fault 
of our own, we have had to deal with these horrific circumstances, just 
like other regions of the country have to deal with natural disasters 
that are through no fault of their own.
  Let's reconsider, Mr. President. Let's not be punitive toward 
California because of the tremendous devastation that these fires have 
created.

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