[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3841-3842]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Madam Speaker, I rise today, on March 21, a 
very special day, to celebrate the many contributions of those with 
Down syndrome, also known as trisomy 21. Today, March 21, has been 
officially designated by the United Nations as World Down Syndrome Day. 
The date is significant in and of itself because the origins of Down 
syndrome and the underlying cause is a duplicate 21st chromosome. We 
are all born with 23 pairs, an X and a Y. Those with Down syndrome have 
an extra 21st--therefore, three and 21. And today is March 21. The 
reason it's called Down syndrome is because these characteristics were 
discovered by a doctor by the name of Dr. Langdon Down. He had a 
wonderful heart, a caring heart, for those with disabilities; and, 
therefore, we call it Down syndrome today.
  Five years ago, my husband, Brian, and I gave birth to a beautiful 
little baby boy whose name is Cole, and he was born with that extra 
21st chromosome. Cole has given me a whole new perspective for being a 
mother and also for being a Member of Congress. Cole's birth has given 
me a whole new purpose for serving in Congress, and he reminds me every 
day of the significance, the tremendous positive impact that every 
single person has on this world. And the fact that he has Down syndrome 
today only makes me more curious as to the impact he's going to have 
both on our lives and this world. He is an inspiration, and he makes me 
a better person.
  Through Cole, I've been introduced and welcomed by the disabilities 
community, a wonderful group of people in America who every day also 
celebrate the tremendous impact and the potential of every life in this 
world.

                              {time}  1040

  I find myself grateful to so many who have walked this path before me 
and have improved the opportunities that Cole, as well as anyone with 
disabilities, is going to have. Today, there's greater opportunities 
through early intervention, education, advanced education, and lots of 
opportunities for independent living. However, there's so much more 
that needs to be done, and so today is my turn to help carry the baton 
to help work to unleash the potential of all those living with 
disabilities.
  I'm proud to cochair the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus with 
Representative Pete Sessions, Representative Chris Van Hollen, and 
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. We are committed to working on policies 
that are going to enhance the quality of life for those living with 
Down syndrome and other disabilities. It's within the walls of Congress 
that we will do just that. We're working to pass legislation, hold 
briefings, and promote policies that will help those with Down syndrome 
all across the country.
  So today is World Down Syndrome Day. A few minutes from now at the 
United Nations headquarters there's going to be a poem read. It's 
called, ``Welcome to Holland.'' The author is Emily Perl Kingsley. I 
thought I wanted to read it to all of you today.


                           Welcome to Holland

  I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with 
disability--to try to help people who have not shared that unique 
experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like 
this:
  When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous 
vacation trip--to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your 
wonderful plans: the Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in 
Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very 
exciting.
  After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack 
your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The 
stewardess comes in and says, ``Welcome to Holland.''
  ``Holland?'' you say. ``What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for 
Italy. I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going 
to Italy.''
  But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in 
Holland and there you must stay.
  The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, 
disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence,

[[Page 3842]]

famine, and disease. It's just a different place.
  So you must go out and buy new guidebooks, and you must learn a whole 
new language, and you will meet a whole new group of people you would 
never have met.
  It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less 
flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you 
catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that 
Holland has windmills and Holland has tulips. Holland even has 
Rembrandts.
  But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and 
they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And 
for the rest of your life you will say, ``Yes, that's where I was 
supposed to go. That's what I had planned.''
  The pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away because the 
loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss. But if you spend 
your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to go to Italy, you may 
never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about 
Holland.

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