[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7487-7488]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    JOHN LAIRD, THE HARVEY MILK CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE AWARD RECIPIENT

  (Mr. FARR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and congratulate 
John Laird, a constituent of mine in Santa Cruz, California.
  Today, John is being hosted at the White House as one of the 10 
persons to be presented the Harvey Milk Champions of Change award.
  John Laird is a committed public servant, counting 23 years in 
elective office and 40 years in public life overall.

[[Page 7488]]

  He also happens to be gay. John's years of leadership prove that 
people are people and they have myriad skills to share. Sexual 
orientation doesn't somehow change that desire to serve others.
  Currently, John serves as the California Secretary of Natural 
Resources where he does an outstanding job of overseeing the State's 
vast outdoor resources.
  Again, I say congratulations to Secretary John Laird for being true 
to himself and true to his public calling and all of us in the State of 
California being the ones who benefit from it.

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