[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13476-13477]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       IN SUPPORT OF H. RES. 171

  (Mr. DENT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I do want to take a moment today to thank my 
colleague from Missouri, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, 
Mr. Skelton, for providing this opportunity today to honor an American 
hero.
  I rise today to discuss H. Res. 171, a bill to recognize the 250th 
anniversary of the birth of the Marquis de Lafayette.
  On September 6, 2007, our Nation will celebrate the 250th birthday of 
one of the truly outstanding and extraordinary people in our country's 
history, the Marquis de Lafayette.
  Born in the Auvergne section of France, Lafayette did not become an

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honorary American citizen until 2002, some 168 years after his death. 
He was commissioned with the rank of major general in the Continental 
Army just shy of his 20th birthday, and he soon became one of George 
Washington's closest confidants. The first foreign dignitary to address 
the House of Representatives, Lafayette was a steadfast supporter of 
liberty, loyalty and democracy.
  You have heard many of my colleagues speak to Lafayette's legacy as a 
military leader. I rise today to offer a different perspective as to 
Lafayette's influence on our Nation's history.
  Lafayette College, located in my district in eastern Pennsylvania, 
was founded in 1826 by the citizens of Easton. And I am here once again 
to commemorate this auspicious occasion and ask that my colleagues join 
me in this celebration.

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