[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 116 (Thursday, July 16, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





CONGRATULATING PHIL FRIEDMAN ON RECEIVING PROJECT LEGACY'S U.S. GOLDED 
                        JUBILEE VISIONARY AWARD

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                           HON. MIKE JOHNSON

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 16, 2026

  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. 
Phil Friedman for his distinguished career and philanthropic 
contributions to our country. As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of 
American independence, Mr. Friedman received the United States Golden 
Jubilee Visionary Award at Project Legacy's America 250 Gala at the 
Library of Congress on July 14, 2026. He was recognized for 50 years of 
entrepreneurship and business leadership in the United States.
  A man of humble origins, Mr. Friedman arrived in the United States in 
1976--our Nation's bicentennial year--after 12 tiresome years laboring 
in the electronics industry of the former Soviet Union. He and his wife 
left behind the discrimination and antisemitism of the embattled Soviet 
state to settle in New York City. Phil was driven, ambitious, and 
determined to chart a new destiny for his family, qualities he no doubt 
learned from his parents who survived the horrors of the Holocaust and 
the Gulag.
  Upon arriving in America, Phil found his talents well-suited to this 
land of limitless opportunity and success soon took root. By 1984, Phil 
had launched Computer Generated Solutions with a team of just five 
employees. Under his dedicated leadership, the company grew into an IT 
empire, employing over 8,000 professionals and serving customers in 50 
countries across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, 
Asia, and Africa. Today, he continues to steward this organization as 
Founder and Executive Chairman.
  Throughout his career, Mr. Friedman has matched his entrepreneurial 
success with a steadfast commitment to giving back to the Nation that 
has been his home for half a century. His contributions to the U.S. 
economy have twice been recognized by the United States Congress, as 
well as by the New York City Council. He is active in civic and 
philanthropic life as a member of the Economic Club of New York, the 
Washington Post Intelligence Council, and the Wall Street Journal CEO 
Council, and he serves on the Executive Committee of the Tom Lantos 
Institute in Budapest. He also serves as Vice Chairman and Trustee of 
Yeshiva University, which awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 2011.
  As our Nation marks 250 years of independence, Mr. Friedman's receipt 
of the United States Golden Jubilee Visionary Award is a fitting 
tribute to a life that embodies the American ideals of opportunity and 
free enterprise. His story is a testament to America's promise, and on 
behalf of the United States Congress, I am proud to congratulate Mr. 
Phil Friedman for his distinguished career and his enduring commitment 
to our Nation.

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