[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H1231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                       HONORING ALBERT HENDERSON

  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 an exceptional veteran 
in my hometown of Fresno, California, Albert Henderson.
  In this photo, Albert Henderson and I are here at the veterans home 
in Fresno, a wonderful facility that provides a continuum of care for 
those men and women who served our Nation over the years.
  Albert has an incredible story. He is one of the last living 
survivors of the USS Bismarck Sea, which sank 75 years ago this month 
during a World War II battle on the island of Iwo Jima. We all know of 
that historic battle that took place on Iwo Jima.
  His is a story of survival, and it is a remarkable one.
  He joined the Navy as a cook at the age of 17. After learning of the 
attack on Pearl Harbor, like many Americans who decided to selflessly 
do everything they could to protect our country, he began his military 
journey on the USS Bismarck Sea as a chef second class, where he often 
speaks of the difficulties of preparing food for such a large group of 
folks.
  As the ship made its way to the Philippines in 1944, its fate was 
sealed when it was struck by two Japanese kamikaze pilots.
  In the kitchen at the time of the attack, Albert made it topside only 
to discover that all the life rafts and preservers were taken by other 
members of the crew.
  He spent more than 4 hours struggling to stay afloat in the choppy 
waters of the Pacific Ocean, praying for God's help to survive after 
being rescued by a passing U.S. Navy motorboat.
  For his services and injuries, Albert was awarded the Purple Heart 
and the Good Conduct Medal.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues today to join me in recognizing an 
American hero for this remarkable moment in history for a remarkable 
man over 75 years ago.
  Albert, we thank you for your sacrifice and your courage to our 
Nation. God bless.


                     Facing Coronavirus Challenges

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the challenges 
facing our country and the world with the recent outbreak of the 
coronavirus.
  This disease presents a serious threat that I think requires a 
proactive approach in a bipartisan fashion.
  Unfortunately, the mechanisms put in place by the previous 
administration, the Obama administration, to deal with pandemics like 
this have been dismantled over the last year. They were put in place to 
deal with the Ebola crisis and the SARS crisis years ago and to ensure 
that in the future, if possible pandemics occurred, we would be 
prepared.
  In 2018, the President fired the entire pandemic response team. In 
the President's 2021 budget request, he proposed cutting over $700 
million to the Centers for Disease Control. Hopefully, this proposal 
will be dead on arrival. In the face of this crisis, this is simply 
unacceptable.
  We need to be on guard. The social and economic impacts of this 
pandemic could be devastating globally, but the public health crisis 
affects all Americans.
  We have just had the first case, in the last 24 hours, in northern 
California that, it is believed, the cause, the origin, is from here in 
our country, not coming from China.
  We require a robust response. The Congress and the President need to 
work together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure the well-being, public 
health, and safety of the American people.
  Hopefully, the President of the United States' press conference 
yesterday reflects the administration's intent to work together. We 
need to.
  I am committed to joining my colleagues to ensure that we have an 
effective strategy in place to protect all Americans' health and safety 
from this potentially deadly pandemic virus, otherwise known as 
coronavirus.
  We need to be on guard. We need to do everything we can to protect 
the American people.

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