[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12452-12453]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING GOVERNOR JAMES HUNT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, I rise today with Congressmen Jones, 
Price, Watt, Etheridge, McIntyre, Miller and Shuler, all of North 
Carolina, to honor and observe the 70th birthday of our four-term 
Governor of North Carolina, the Honorable James B. Hunt, Jr.
  Over the years my long-time and dear friend, Governor Hunt, has 
successfully dedicated so much of himself to public service. He is a 
man of immense vision with an extraordinary ability to implement his 
vision with great results. That vision has often been focused on 
education.
  Governor Hunt's list of accomplishments is long and highly 
distinguished in the area of education. He led efforts to establish the 
State's primary reading program. He also spearheaded the efforts to 
reduce class sizes and prevent students from dropping out of school. 
Governor Hunt assumed the lead role in establishing the State's school 
of science and mathematics, the Microelectronics Center of North 
Carolina, and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
  Smart Start, which was established under Governor Hunt's leadership, 
has become a nationally recognized and award-winning public-private 
partnership that ensures that children enter school healthy and ready 
to succeed. The program helps provide quality child care, health care 
and family support for every child in need, and there are now 14 States 
using this model.
  Governor Hunt also assisted with establishing one of the most 
rigorous approaches to measuring student performance, requiring mastery 
before promotion and graduation, and providing assistance to turn 
around failing schools.
  He did not allow these initiatives, or any of the many others he 
headed, to stand alone after he signed them into law. Instead, he 
demanded follow-through and results, and he got them. A study by the 
RAND Corporation found that our public schools raised their test scores 
more than any other State in the 1990s.
  Governor Hunt's strong-held belief that the key to a quality 
education is great teaching has benefited students well beyond North 
Carolina's borders. In fact, it has benefited students and teachers 
throughout our Nation.
  As the founding Chair for the National Board for Professional 
Teaching Standards, Governor Hunt was a driving force in fulfilling the 
promise of improving student achievement by raising the standards. 
Today, virtually every State and more than 25 percent of all school 
districts offer financial rewards or incentives for teachers seeking 
certification.
  Madam Speaker, the economic value of an education and knowledge was 
well understood by Governor Hunt long before people started talking 
about its central role in the global economy.
  Madam Speaker, Governor Hunt has also led the way in opening up the

[[Page 12453]]

Democratic Party of our State to full participation by minority 
citizens. As Governor, Governor Jim Hunt appointed many African 
American lawyers to the trial bench and appellate court benches to hold 
positions that had been virtually impossible for them to otherwise 
obtain. Many of them now serve as judges with distinction, and it was 
Governor Hunt who made that happen.
  In closing, we are honored today to recognize this great man of 
conviction, principle, and exceptional character on such a joyous 
occasion. I ask you to join us in congratulating the ``Education 
Governor,'' the Honorable James B. Hunt, Jr., on his 70th birthday, and 
in wishing him and his wife, Carolyn, many more years of happiness and 
accomplishment.

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