[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24297]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  TRIBUTE TO DR. PEDRO JOSE GREER, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 5, 1999

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a true 
humanitarian, an outstanding Cuban-American physician, a genuine hero, 
Dr. Pedro Jose Greer Jr., whose love for mankind, especially for the 
poor and homeless, is an admirable example for contemporary American 
society.
  My uncle and aunt, Alfredo and Isabel Caballero, recently sent me a 
book authored by Dr. Greer with the cooperation of another admirable 
Cuban-American: Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Liz Balmaseda. The 
book is titled, ``Waking Up In America'', and I highly recommend it to 
you, Mr. Speaker, and to all my colleagues.
  Dr. Greer courageously denounces how society neglects millions of 
Americans who lack adequate health care. Dr. Greer is the medical 
director and one of the founders in South Florida of the Camilus Health 
Concern, a free clinic for the poor, and the San Juan Bosco Clinic for 
the poor. He has won a MacArthur Fellowship ``Genius Grant'' and was 
recognized by Time Magazine as one of Fifty Top Young Leaders Under 40 
in 1994. Dr. Greer has also been honored by two U.S. Presidents.
  Dr. Pedro Jose Greer Jr. was brought up in a family with a tradition 
of love and service for our fellow man, formed by his father Dr. Pedro 
Greer, a prestigious Cuban gastroenterologist, and his mother, Mrs. 
Maria Teresa Medina Greer. Dr. Greer's great-grandfather fought for 
Cuba's freedom in 1898.
  I would like to express my gratitude and congratulations to Dr. Pedro 
Jose Greer Jr. for his love and work for America and also extend this 
congratulatory message to his proud parents, his wife Janus Munley 
Greer, his children Alana and Joey and his sister and brother in law, 
Sally and Brian Belt.

                          ____________________