[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5285]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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             TRIBUTE TO A GREAT NEW MEXICAN: J. PAUL TAYLOR

 Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to come to the floor 
today to express my gratitude to J. Paul Taylor--a man of great passion 
for his wife and children, art and culture, education, border health, 
progressive politics, and last but definitely not least, improving the 
economic, social, and spiritual well-being of the people in the Mesilla 
Valley in southern New Mexico.
  J. Paul Taylor has touched the lives of so many of the people 
throughout our great State of New Mexico, but what is most remarkable 
is that he has done so in so many different facets of life. News 
articles about him have never really captured but one small piece of 
his life, as they focus on: J. Paul Taylor: The Artist; J. Paul Taylor: 
The Historian; J. Paul Taylor: The Educator; J. Paul Taylor: The 
Politician; J. Paul Taylor: The Father of Border Health; J. Paul 
Taylor: The Advocate for the Poor; J. Paul Taylor: Children's Advocate.
  Only J. Paul Taylor could be honored in the wide array of ways he 
has, including having New Mexico State University establish the J. Paul 
Taylor Endowment in the College of Education, the New Mexico Human 
Needs Coordinating Council establishing the J. Paul Taylor Legislative 
Champion Award to honor other legislators, the New Mexico Library 
Association naming him a ``New Mexico Library Treasure,'' getting the 
Lifetime Achievement Award with his wife from the New Mexico Historic 
Preservation Division, receiving the Voice for Children Award from the 
New Mexico Voices for Children, and the awards go on and on.
  Representative Taylor was recently honored by his legislative 
colleagues in the New Mexico Roundhouse, both Democrats and 
Republicans. As the Las Cruces Sun-News reported, ``Taylor was 
described as `the great gentleman of New Mexico politics,' and `a 
populist advocate for the poor and disenfran-
chised.' He was also lauded for his effort to create the Office of 
Childhood Development and for the donation of his home in Mesilla, to 
be converted into a museum following the death of Taylor and his wife, 
Mary.''
  Earlier this month, J. Paul Taylor was unanimously confirmed as a 
member of the New Mexico National Hispanic Cultural Center and the 
awards and recognitions just keep on coming.
  I am so pleased to have worked closely with J. Paul Taylor for the 
good of New Mexico and the people of the Mesilla Valley throughout my 
career and think words are impossible to express my gratitude to him 
for all that he has done for the people of New Mexico. He embodies the 
very best of our State--its culture and its heart and soul.

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