[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25396]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         HONORING GIL CORONADO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, October 28, 2000

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I honor the achievements of a fellow Texan 
who has been serving as a key appointee in the Clinton Administration 
for the past six years. Gil Coronado is one of San Antonio's favorite 
sons, and is currently serving as the ninth Director of the Selective 
Service System. He is also the first Hispanic Director in the Agency's 
60-year history.
  Since his nomination by President Clinton and Senate confirmation in 
October 1994, Director Coronado has been leading this small but vital 
Federal agency into the 21st Century with unprecedented modernization 
and innovation, through the institution of on-line registration and 
registration by telephone. Nearly three-quarters of a million men have 
registered on-line to date.
  More than half of all registrations today are electronic and the 
ratio of electronic registrations vs. paper registrations increases 
monthly, making it faster and easier for America's young men to comply 
with the registration requirement. These improvements also make it less 
costly to administer, something for which this body has a great 
appreciation.
  Gil Coronado's influence as Director extends beyond Texas and 
Washington, D.C. Through his tireless advocacy in encouraging state and 
local government support of the Federal registration program, the 
number of states enacting laws that directly support the Military 
Selective Service Act has risen from 18 to 28 since 1994. This year two 
states--Oklahoma and Delaware--became the first states to link 
Selective Service registration with application for state drivers' 
licenses.
  Gil Coronado is dedicated to making sure that our nation's young men 
are reminded about their civic and legal obligation to register.
  Gil Coronado is a tremendous role model. He was born in Corpus 
Christi and grew up in the barrios of San Antonio. Orphaned at the age 
of five, his youthful years sometimes found him on the wrong side of 
the law. He dropped out of high school and was a member of Hispanic 
gangs. But he soon followed a more productive path in life, leading to 
great personal achievement and dedicated public service.
  He enlisted in the military when he was only 16 by being more 
patriotic than honest about his age, earned a GED diploma, a college 
degree, and devoted a total of 30 years to a distinguished Air Force 
career, retiring as a Colonel with over 35 awards and decorations 
including the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star. A long-time crusader for 
Hispanic issues, he advocated creating National Hispanic Heritage 
Month, designated by the Congress in 1988.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting the service and 
accomplishments of one of its most effective appointees, Selective 
Service System Director Gil Coronado. His selfless contributions to our 
great nation, from his years as a very young airman to the approaching 
conclusion of his current assignment as the longest serving SSS 
Director since General Lewis B. Hershey, are inspirational to us all. 
In every respect, Gil Coronado is a patriot, a good friend, and a great 
American.

                          ____________________