E220 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- Extensions of Remarks February 9, 2009
ish Harlem and Puerto Rico, which declared three days of mourning and ordered flags to be flown at half staff.
Once again, I pay tribute to Jose Torres, a trailblazer for his people and a renaissance man who made a positive impact in boxing, literature and civil rights. Those of us who had the opportunity to observe and experience his example consider ourselves blessed.
f TRIBUTE TO GREGORY LEE THOMAS HON. JOE BACA OF CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Monday, February 9, 2009 Mr. BACA. Madam Speaker, I stand here today to honor a loving father, supportive husband, caring brother and cherished son, Gregory Lee Thomas.
Born in Fontana, California, Gregory moved with his family to San Bernardino where he grew up to become a valuable member of the community. Having always held an interest and fascination with cars, working on them in his spare time, he eventually became a Service Advisor for Toyota and resided with his family in Redlands. However, it was the compassion and love for his family that really made Gregory shine. This is what made him the dedicated and devoted husband and father that will always remain in our hearts.
Gregory is survived by Angela Thomas, his wife of 15 years, and his two children, Alexia and Michael. He will be sorely missed by his father, Bill, step-mother, Jaennie, brother, Jeff, and sister, Danette as well as all of Gregory's combined nieces and nephews.
As a friend of Gregory's father, Bill, I would like to express my greatest sympathies for his family's loss. Gregory was extremely loved and will truly be missed. Let us take a moment to remember this great man, a positive role model to us all. The thoughts and prayers of my wife Barbara, my family and I are with Bill and his family at this time.
God bless Gregory Lee Thomas for love of country and mankind.
f TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA FROM KAZAKHSTAN HON. SHELLEY BERKLEY OF NEVADA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Monday, February 9, 2009 Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, as cochair of the Friends of Kazakhstan Caucus, I would like to submit the following op-ed article, ``Hoping for the Better'', to the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. This article, written by Kazakhstan's Secretary of State Kanat Saudabayev, expresses the continuing sense of solidarity between the United States and Kazakhstan as we enter into a new chapter of history with the inauguration of President Barack Obama. I look forward to working with President Obama as we continue to build our positive and productive relationship with the Kazakh people.
[From the Washington Times, Feb. 3, 2009] SAUDABAYEV: HOPING FOR THE BETTER (By Kanat Saudabayev) The inauguration of Barack Obama as U.S.
president has opened a new page in the history of America and the world. Great hopes
of job classifications allows the FDSA to represent both sworn and support personnel throughout the enforcement side of the Fresno Sheriff's Office.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the Fresno Deputy Sheriff's Association for their commitment to serving the personnel of the Fresno Sheriff's Office. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing the organization many years of continued success.
f TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF JOSE TORRES HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL OF NEW YORK IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Monday, February 9, 2009 Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to former light-heavyweight boxing champion Jose Torres, who sadly passed away on January 19th this year. Mr. Torres was an extraordinary man who achieved a life that advanced the cause of civil rights, community empowerment, and equality of opportunity. Of Puerto Rican descent, Mr. Torres was fiercely proud of his heritage and made New York his home for 50 years.
Mr. Torres learned to box in the Army and captured the light-middleweight silver medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. After that, he served as a sparring partner for Sugar Ray Robinson. Mr. Torres boxed professionally from 1958 to 1969, sporting a record 41 wins, three losses, and one draw. He was a lightheavyweight champion, successfully defended his title three times, and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997.
He captured the light-heavyweight crown in 1965 by defeating then undisputed champion Willie Pastrano. His victory sent an outpouring of joy and pride into the streets of Spanish Harlem which held a parade in his honor, and he dedicated his title to the people of Puerto Rico.
Mr. Torres had a passion for civil rights and became a voice for the Latino. He joined Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 Presidential campaign to serve as a liaison to the Puerto Rican community. After boxing, Mr. Torres began his journalism career as a columnist for the New York Post. He became the first Hispanic columnist for a major English-language paper, writing about politics and life in the neighborhoods of Spanish Harlem. He also wrote for the Spanish-speaking New York newspaper El Diario La Prensa. His was a powerful voice because people trusted him. You could not find any one in New York who would not talk to him. Mr. Torres' literary interests extended to authoring the celebrated biographies of boxing legends Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.
In the mid-eighties, Mr. Torres served as the chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, becoming the first former professional boxer and first Latino to head the boxing oversight agency. He understood the social disadvantages that many boxers faced and vowed to promote educational opportunities for fighters ``at least so they can read their contracts.'' Mr. Torres dedicated his life to helping others professionally and personally. Over the decades, he befriended and nurtured aspiring journalists and up-and-coming fighters. Mr.
Torres is revered among the people of Span
Security to coordinate and streamline the process of appeal for individuals who believe they have been wrongly placed on a government watch list and consequently remanded to secondary screening.
This office would then create and share a ``Cleared List'' of individuals who have gone through the redress process and that list would be disseminated to all components of DHS-preventing the same individuals from being stopped by multiple government agencies.
My home state of Michigan is home to the first and second busiest border crossings on the northern tier of the nation, where thousands of people cross the border into Canada every single day.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport is also a hub for Northwest Airlines and is one of the busiest airports in the nation.
When you combine the fact that southeast Michigan is home to one of the largest Arabic populations in America, the vast majority of whom are law abiding and patriotic Americans, with the important international travel corridors that exist in our community, far too many of my constituents have been needlessly inconvenienced without the goal of security being advanced.
Unfortunately, my office has been contacted by numerous people who were mistakenly detained, often at gunpoint, because their name mistakenly appeared on the terrorist watch list.
Now, American citizens will have a process to permanently clear their names, and spread that information throughout the DHS and others who use the watch list. And that will make it a more effective tool to keep our nation safe.
We must ensure that our CBP officers and TSA agents spend their limited time, manpower and resources on genuine threats to our security; scrubbing the watch list is an important first step to making sure that happens.
f HONORING FRESNO DEPUTY SHERIFF'S ASSOCIATION HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH OF CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Monday, February 9, 2009 Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the Fresno Deputy Sheriff's Association for their commitment to serving the City and County of Fresno, California.
For over thirty years the Fresno Deputy Sheriff's Association (FDSA) has maintained the goal of working for the rights and protection of law enforcement, as well as to serve the citizens of Fresno County. Originally the FDSA was organized to give deputy sheriffs the opportunity to collectively bargain with the county for wages, benefits and working conditions. Once fully operating, the FDSA was able to establish better labor conditions for the deputy sheriffs and began actively participating in the community. The FDSA donates time and monetary resources to various charitable organizations. It is also active in the state association, the Peace Officer's Research Association of California.
Today the FDSA represents over five hundred active employees. The membership includes deputy sheriffs, dispatchers, community service officers, identification technicians, criminalists and deputy coroners. The variety
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