[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 25]
[House]
[Page 34001]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 THE STUDENTS OF NORTHPORT HIGH SCHOOL: TEACHING US ABOUT INVESTING IN 
                          THE RIGHT PRIORITIES

  (Mr. ISRAEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ISRAEL. Madam Speaker, in the closing days of this session, we 
are going to debate our key priorities, whether we should invest more 
in researching illness and disease or whether we should cut funding.
  I hope we will learn the lessons about the right priorities from a 
group of high school students in my congressional district at Northport 
High School. Two of their teachers, Mr. Pendergast and Mr. Deutsch, 
were afflicted by ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS strips people of their 
ability to speak, to swallow, to walk, and in many cases to breathe 
independently.
  Now, these students could have ignored their plight. These students 
could have said we have other priorities. These students could have 
said it's not my problem, not our problem. Here's what they did: They 
raised over $400,000 on their own for ALS research and advocacy. They 
didn't just turn away from this problem; they became part of the 
solution. On January 16 they are going to gather at their Midwinter 
Night's Dream and raise even more money.
  These students have become our teachers. I hope that we will learn 
their lessons about investing in the right priorities, about caring and 
showing compassion for those who need help. They have taught us a 
critical lesson, and I hope that we will listen carefully to the 
students of Northport High School.

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