[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1087]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             IN HONOR OF THE BIRTHDAY OF MRS. HELEN GINGREY

  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of 
order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take my time this evening 
to address the House regarding a very important person, someone who has 
meant so much to me and without whom I could not be here today. Mrs. 
Helen Gingrey turned 88 today, February 8, 2006. I know that you, Mr. 
Speaker, along with all Members of this Chamber, Republicans and 
Democrats, will want to join me in wishing Mom a happy birthday.
  It is important in this day and age for children to grow up in a 
strong family environment like the one my parents provided for me. And 
I would hope that as I continue my time in the United States House of 
Representatives representing the people of Georgia's 11th Congressional 
District, that my colleagues and I would always keep an eye on how our 
actions will affect the American families who are struggling to raise 
their children and to make ends meet.
  Mr. Speaker, my mother has had a great life and has been a blessing 
to both her community of Kalmia Landing and Aiken, South Carolina and 
her family. Helen Gannon Gingrey is the daughter of Irish and Scottish 
immigrants. She was born in New York. She grew up in Astoria, Queens 
before marrying my father and moving to Edgefield, South Carolina.
  My father, James Franklin Gingrey, Jimmy, a native South Carolinian, 
had moved to New York as an impoverished 16-year-old with little means 
of support. Several years later he had the good fortune of meeting my 
mom while he was working his way through New York City night school, 
and they married 8 months later. Shortly thereafter, Mom and Dad headed 
south with my 3-month-old brother in tow. While neither of my parents 
had the opportunity to obtain a college education, they worked hard in 
several small family businesses to assure that each of their three 
sons, myself, my brothers, Bill and James, got that college education.
  Mr. Speaker, my dad and my mother were married for 44 years until his 
death in 1980. The ideals my parents instilled in me are ones of hard 
work, good education, personal responsibility, respect for others, love 
of family and country, and love of God. These are not only good 
principles for rearing a child, but they are also good guidelines for 
the initiatives we will continue to work on here in this 109th 
Congress.
  Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge the House to use the example and the 
principles of Mrs. Helen Gannon Gingrey and all loving mothers like her 
to set an agenda that will work to strengthen and support the most 
vital components of our great Nation, the American family.

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