[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 24379]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING DR. MICHAEL E. DEBAKEY

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my 
colleague, Congressman Al Green, in congratulating Dr. Michael E. 
DeBakey for having the Congressional Gold Medal that was passed today 
in the House acknowledge his outstanding leadership.
  Dr. DeBakey is not only a great American, a great Texan, and a great 
Houstonian, but he is a great lover of freedom and peace. He does so by 
evidencing it through his wonderful hands of surgery.
  Dr. DeBakey was in World War II. He established the MASH unit that is 
now saving lives of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. His wisdom 
has been sought by virtually every U.S. President since Harry S. 
Truman. He served on Presidential commissions during both the Kennedy 
and Johnson administrations and thus provided essential support in the 
passage of the landmark 1965 Medicare legislation.
  Dr. DeBakey was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with 
distinction in 1969 and the National Medal of Science from President 
Ronald Reagan in 1987. I want to thank Dr. DeBakey and my former 
colleague, Chris Bell, for initiating the legislation that will allow 
us to award him the Congressional Gold Medal. He is deserving on his 
birthday of September 7 when he reached almost 100 years old. He is 
deserving of this great honor. We in Houston love him and admire him. 
We thank him for the service he has given and all of the lives that he 
has served. This is a great day when we have passed legislation to 
honor Dr. Michael E. DeBakey of Houston Texas, the Texas Medical 
Center, with a Congressional Gold Medal.

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