forget deputy goforth's commitment to the community. there will be a memorial, there will be a yearly service, and people will talk about what he meant to the community. i was in the 990 class in lapd and the very first female officer who died in the line of duty for lapd was in the 590 class. our class was taken out of its normal duty of going and learning how to be a professional law enforcement officer and we went to the service for that officer. and it was very similar to deputy goforth. it was a shooting of an assassination. this will always stay with you when you go to a law enforcement officer's funeral. you will never forget it. and see the thousands of people and just like many of them said

today, thousands came from all over the country and the world, come to pay their respects to a law enforcement professional who did everything they could to protect their community. my squad leader in my academy class died in afghanistan. he was a law enforcement officer with lapped. he was a swat officer and did his duty and went to afghanistan and fought for our duty and morals in the united states marine corps. he died in afghanistan doing the same thing he would do, protecting what we believe here in america. i'm horpped to be able to stand and talk about our heroes on the steet, talk about the people who protect our community on a day-to-day basis and put their

lives on the line so we could live the lives we choose. mr. culberson: thank you to your service. and it is so important to remember these young men and women and do it out of the goodness of their heart to help their fellow man who help their communities a better place. thank you for your service. i'm proud to have the congressman from north carolina's ninth district to express the feelings of his constituents. yield to you three minutes. >> we honor and pay tribute to those who defend and protect us. mr. pittenger: i can think of effort fficers officers

and brown who used their own time and money to purchase clothes and toys for the children left behind. they never expected any type of recognition. i think my friend, detective paige who volunteered, who was shot and seriously wounded while attempted to arrest a success pect. earlier this year i met a police lieutenant at carolina's medical center and he was responding to domestic disturb ains and a police l lieutenant was conducting and placed a lifeless baby. the six-month-old was choking to

death. this little girl made a full recovery. every day, thousands of brave superhere oors go to work to protect our children, our homes and our communities. the pay is low. the house are long and often and hit and spit upon and even bitten, yet they show back up to work each and every day. would we? madam speaker, we should than corge greater dial owing twin our police departments and encourage the best possible training and demand accountability because no one is above the law but we should teach our children to have a healthy respect for law enforcement and work hard to recognize the bravery and every day good deeds for america's law enforcement. we expect them to be at their

best when we are at our worst. thank you to america's law enforcement who are committed to serve and protect. i yield back. mr. culberson: robert, we thank you. mr. president, we are waiting for you to step up to tell you how proud you are of our law enforcement and condemn this dangerous rhetoric that is unball ging mentally- apsed people. ile we wait, members are standing here to tell how we are d proud to recognize congressman pete ols own up to three minutes. mr. olson: thank you, mr. culberson. my friends, america has a

problem. i have been here for 52 years and never heard words asass nation, and police officers or sheriff's deputy as i have the past six months. deputy sheriff goforth was assassinated doing his job. as my colleagues mentioned, he was in uniform, pumping gas at a service station in his police cruiser in a very nice neighborhood in houston, texas. gunned down in cold blood, assassinated, the shooter shot and shot and shot and shot and shot and shot and shot and shot nd shot until deputy sheriff

drop dead. he left behind a wife kathleen and two young kids who won't have their father walk down the aisle. i want to go up there and and pray for fellow text anns. i took this picture yesterday at a chevron gas station. as you can see, there are flowers everywhere and notes and stuffed animals, stuffed tedey bears. this was replayed over and over and over. that was just one day. and on the sidewalks, all sorts of colored chalk for the missage for deputy sheriff goforth. we love you.

rest in peace. felt rejuvinated billion america at that moment, but it ot better. i'm coming home to sug areland, texas. that's my neighborhood. 's an outpouring in my hometown. these are six amazing young texans with a lemonade stand for olice that says blue lives matter. these kids get it. they get it. they get it. we should love and praise officers and thank them, thank them, thank them, for their sacrifice.

in closing, these men and women protect us every single day from people who want to hurt us and hurt our families. they deserve our love, support and admiration and know that we always have their backs. i yield back. mr. culberson: thank you, pete. it is a privilege to recognize the people of central indiana, the congresswoman from the fifth istrict, susan brooks. mrs. brooks: we recognize and thank our nation's law enforcement officers. these are the loyal who wake up

ach and every day. and they are always there, always ready to serve. as we heard their fathers and brothers, mothers and sisters. some are friends, some are neighbors and strangers we see every day that we don't even see them. morning on our commutes. they are all around us and answered the call to serve and protect for the safety and welfare. they protect their families for ved ones and protect the

lives. throughout u.s. history, fficers have paid the ultimate sacrifices. hoosiers have lost their lives. this has been an incredibly deadly august. are six officers being gunned down by individuals who need too respect law and order and these officers respect those of their families. and in fact this august, the family of jake lared, an officer who was gunned down in august of 2004. his family and we have to think about the families, held another golf outing in order tore raise money for more protective vests for law enforcement and more equipment for firefighters.

i have witnessed them for firsthand. they are remarkable families. they display courage in the face of adverse it. the families and their commissioners and undiing commitment. we must thank them. the families and the officers. so today i salute the men and union form who head out to the street. they take up again without fail and call to serve and protect and we must be thankful for their service. because without hesitation, we must renew our appreciation to their heroic men and women. please thank a police officer. kneeled back.

ms. foxx: i send to the report. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: a report to accompany house resolution 407. joint resolution, house joint resolution, transmitted to congress on july 19, 2015, related to the nuclear program of iran and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and other purposes. mr. culberson: madam speaker, how much time is remaining. mr. culberson: i recognize my colleague and representing the people of north carolina for uch time as she may consume. ms. foxx: i thank my colleague

from texas, mr. culberson, for organizing and conducting this special order tonight to honor our law enforcement personnel. i do my best every time i see someone in law enforcement to say thank you. i go out of my way to say thank you. and i point out to them whether they are local, state or national people in law enforcement that we owe to them and to our military people the ability that we have to move around this country and do the things that we do every day because of their willing to serve and to put their lives on the line every single day of their lives. and in the past few weeks.

and i ss killings of our hink it's wonderful again my colleagues are here tonight to say thank you and i want to encourage them and i also many of them do to say thank you to our law enforcement every day as they go br protecting our families and i thank their families for the sacrifices they make. thank you, congressman culberson for your efforts. . mr. culberson: thank you. it's now my privilege to gentleman for two

minutes. >> thank you for holding this special order. it's always good to honor those who put their lives on the line. lawlamalfa: whether they're enforcement officers like police, or fish and wildlife, they all put their lives on the line. what's so tragic about what's happening lately is it's coming down to a racial issue so much that the sides are becoming much sharper and sharper as to what america is or what americans are about. we need to get together on this. the enforcement of the law, the upholding the law, this cuts across all lines. indeed i just saw a bit on the news a few minutes ago where a gentleman in florida, his name is george cooper, as i recall he happens to be black, he came to

the defense of an officer who happens to be white who was being beaten in some type of altercation where he was trying to do his job. so there's examples where as the gentleman said in the interview, it isn't a race thing. it doesn't matter who is write or -- who is white or who is black. it's about upholding the law and having safe naineds for all of us, for all americans to be able to thrive. it's tragic that so much is going on, trying to pit americans against each other. yes, we have problems. we have issues that need to be resolved. we have protocols and we need to make sure they're followed and they're prosecuted but it doesn't make all of law enforcement wrong. we're seeing cops are backing off. crime rates are going up. murder rates are going up. this is not what we want. it's not good for the families,

for the mom who was to watch their kids go after the -- go out the door and wonder if their kids are going to come back. i want to share with you something that encapsulates this, from a great american, paul harvey, from some years ago. what are policemen made of? a policeman is a composite of what all men are, saint and sinner, they underscore instances of dishonesty and brutality buzz thea new. what they mean is they exceptional, unusual and not common place. less than one-half of one percent of policemen misrepresent the uniform. what is a policeman made of. he's the most needed and most unwanted. he is sir to his face but pig or fuzz to his back he must be such a diplomat that he can settle

differences so that each side thinks they've won. if a policeman is neat, he's conceited. if he's careless, he's a bum. he must make decisions that would take month farce lawyer to make. f he's hurried, he's careless, if he's slow he's lazy. the police officers must know every gun, draw on the run, hit where it doesn't hurt he must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform and without being brutal. if you hit him, he's a coward. if he hits you, he's a bully. he must know everything and not tell he must know where all the sin is and not partake. a policeman must from a single strand of hair, beible to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal and tell you where that criminal is hiding but if he catches the criminal,

he's lucky. if he doesn't, he's a dunce. if he gets promoted he has political pull if he doesn't, he's a dullard. he must stake out 10 nights to tag one witness who saw it happen and refuses to remember. he must be a diplomat a tough guy and a gentleman and of course he'd have to be a genius to feed his family an a policeman's salary. this is just a sample of what officer go through across this country where they, giving of themselves in service many times, especially in this present environment, feel like they're somehow made wrong for having done so. we're here to uphold that tonight and tell them, you're doing it right, we support you and appreciate the thin blue line. i appreciate my colleague, mr. culberson, and i yield back. mr. culberson: thank you, doug. may i inquire how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has five minutes remaining. mr. culberson: i thank congressman la mall expressed it

well. officers are expected to do they're job perfectly every time and in so many ways we can't even imagine. the work they do to help keep us safe, the work they do to improve our communities, to -- the sacrifices they make on a personal level. they are counselors, they are mentors, they are enforcers and above all, they are preservers and protectors of our liberty because without law enforcement there is no liberty and that responsibility is vested in one person in our constitution, only the president of the united states is charged by our founders in the constitution with faithfully taking care that the law be faithfully executed system of we're still waiting, mr. president. we're still waiting for you to step up as we are here tonight to say how proud you are of our men and women in blue who protect us every night, every day, who do their -- must do their job perfectly, as doug lamalfa just told us.

every man and woman who wears the uniform who would step in a -- step in front of a bullet for each and every one of us, we're still waiting for you to condemn the violent rhetoric, to tell the men and women across the nation who defend us every day on the streets of america how proud you are, mr. president. we need you to step up and tell them. tell us all. how proud you are of their sacrifice, of their service, of their dedication. and to tell all the widows and the children of darren goforth and all the other officers who have lost their lives that their fathers' loss, their mother's loss, their sacrifice was not in vain. as dr. ed young told us all last friday at 11:00 a.m., the sacrifice that darren goforth made galvanized the people of houston, the people of texas, and we see it across the nation from california, to missouri, to indiana, to the east coast.

the people of america stand behind our law enforcement officers. we're proud of you, we love you, we respect you. we recognize what a sacrifice you've made for not enough money to protect us. we know all you do. we understand the burden that you and your family carry. as karen goforth said in her statement of her late husband, there are no words for this. darren was an incredibly intricate blend of toughness and gentility. he was always loyal, fiercely so. darren was ethical. the right thing to do is what guided his internal compass, she said. darren was good. if people want to know what kind of man he was, this is it. darren was who you wanted for a friend a colleague, and a neighbor. however, it was i who was bless sod richly that i had the privilege of calling him my

husband and my best friend. we're immensely proud of every man and woman who wears the uniform and we will not forget the sacrifice that darren -- of darren goforth or all the other men and women who preserve our liberty and protect our lives and put their lives on the line for us every day. we're immensely proud of you. if the president of the united states won't say it, we will here in this house. we stand behind you, we're proud of you, we pray for you every day. and we've got your back. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. under the speaker's announced -- members are reminded to address their remarks to the chair, not to a perceived viewing audience. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2015, the gentleman from california, mr. garamendi, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the

minority leader. mr. garamendi: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank our republican colleagues for reminding us that this nation is dependent upon those men and women that serve as police officers, as deputy sheriffs and in other positions. i certainly -- it's absolutely important that the deaths we have seen, the murders we have seen are a tragedy and they cannot go without our notice. i don't, however, think it's the president's fault. let us move on here. i want to think about -- i want to talk about something that's coming up here in the next couple of days. extremely important issue for all of us. while violence in america is important, and violence against police officers is important, this issue is also extremely important. the congress of the united states is going to take up the issue of the iran deal.

the nuclear deal between the p-5 plus one, china, russia, germany, france, the united kingdom and the united states. negotiated over the course of two-plus years and a-- an agreement with iran that would block iran's ability to create a nuclear weapon. prior to this agreement, the iranian government, in secret, was rapidly blufing -- moving toward the development of a nuclear weapon. they had created an infrastructure that included the various centrifuges to concentrate the uranium into low enriched uranium and then on into highly enriched injure rain yum, which is the uranium necessary for a nuclear weapon. they were also in the prosofse building a heavy water -- in the

process of building a heavy water reactor that would be capable of producing plutonium, the other route to a nuclear weapon. this was done in secret over many years, dating back probably 15, maybe 20 years. for the last 10 years, the united states has placed sanctions on iran to try to convince them that they should not be developing a nuclear weapon. that there would be significant economic sanctions and other sanctions imposed on the country. those sanctions did not go successfully. congress of the united states added sanctions. i was -- together with many of my colleagues here, i think almost unanimously on the floor of the house, voted to impose those ever harsher sanctions. but it didn't work. until the p-five plus one got together.

secretary kerry -- secretary clinton at that time, three years ago, four years ago, worked -- worked with those countries to persuade them to sit down at the table with the yeats to see if it was possible to negotiate an agreement with iran that would prevent iran from ever having a nuclear weapon. this spring, the agreements began to come together and in june, july, the agreements were culminated. i want to talk tonight about those agreements and what they mean to the united states, to he northeast and to the world. a very short way of saying this is that this agreement is the most recent and most significant nonnuclear proliferation agreement in the last decade, maybe even longer. iran was very, very close to a nuclear weapon. so much so that it was believed

that they could have a nuclear weapon very soon. perhaps in three to five months they could have material for perhaps nine weapons. and be able to perfect those weapons into a bomb that could be delivered through their missile systems or through some other mechanism system of where are we today? we're going to vote. i think there's a rule that just came across the desk a few moments ago that would put us in line to vote up or down on the iranian agreement. i understand that that vote will be taking place on friday of this week. very, very significant moment in the history of nuclear proliferation or nonproliferation. so let's take a look at where we are. first the agreement came about as a result of six nations, the largest economies in the world, sitting down and negotiating with iran system of what do

those countries think about the deal that they signed onto? this isn't just the united states. this deal was signed onto by the united kingdom, france, germany, russia, china, and the united states. so if the united states congress , house or -- house and senate, ere to trash this agreement, what do those countries think? we don't have to guess what they think, they actually have said categorically their position on the deal. . we agree to this deal and here's what we think if the united states congress negates this eal. so, let's start with france.

our french embassy deputy cheeve of missions said this, in meetings with the united states senate, and i understand that we'll be meeting with these representatives of these countries later this week, so the position of the french is, the world powers have secured the best deal possible with iran. the best deal possible. how about germany. the german government's position , as stated by the acting ambassador to the united states before the u.s. mat and again in the foreign policy mag zeen,

their position is, the prospect of the rejection of a deal makes us nervous. it would be a nightmare for every european country if this deal is rejected. and then there is the united kingdom, again "foreign policy" mag zeen and perhaps the same words were said, if congress rejects this good deal and the u.s. is forced to walk away, iran will be left with an unconstrained nuclear program th far weaker monitoring requirements and the current international consensus and international unity and pressure iran would be seriously

undermined. signed 5 plus one all onto the agreement and all but the united states has said cat gorlically, therefore, the agreement and not looking to negotiate. the members of congress have to decide whether to stay with the agreement that was agreed to and confirmed by the european union and the nations. so where do we go. the senate and the house reject the deal. will these countries come back to the negotiating table? the information we have fl meetic with the united states senators is that no, they aren't going to go back to the negotiating table.

i don't think china and russia were at that meeting. but the word is they aren't going to go back to the negotiating table, so we will have negotiate by ourselves. we attempted to do that for many, many years. only after these countries got together and they decided to come to the table and make the agreement which is now before the congress. let's go about that deal. what is it? basically what it is here. the deal blocks for at least 15 years and quite possibly indefinitely into the future, iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon. i'm going to come back to this timeline, but i want to go here

first. so, no deal. without a deal. united states congress and this eek and next week's votes to deal away the deal. iran has low-enriched uranium and the ability to -- in other for weapons-grade uranium nine nuclear bombs. a number of centrifuges that they have is some 19,000 september try fugse and that ould complete the enrichment process and highly enrichede uranium, a couple of months, two, three months. presumably under the precision under no deal, iran would be able to move forward as they

have been in the past whether full investment of nuclear developments within a matter of months. that is not a good situation. however, with a deal, where are we? iran's low-enriched uranium and the amount of highly-enriched uranium would be reduced to to be insufficient to make one nuclear weapon and there would be verification procedures to ensure they wouldn't make them. the number of september try fugse are old, and sore 6,000-plus and all, all four pathways to a nuclear bomb are blocked. that's the choice we have. that's the choice we have.

what does this mean over time? over time, over time for a long ime, 25 years or more, implementation of additional protocols, commitments to reprocess plutonium and the non depreements remain in place indefinitely into the future, way beyond 25 years. the nonprofferings treaty, they have -- once more, agreed to it again. granted they weren't paying attention to it in the past but now we have verification procedures. secondly, there would be continuous surveillance of iranian mines and mills. what are they doing with it. what are their mills doing? and that would continue for 25

years. there would be continuous surveillance of. and you don't make highly enrichede uranium and procedures other than procedures unless you go to advanced procedures which we don't believe iran can do and though procedures that are vailable are are monitored for 20 years. stockpile, ched which is several thousand sillo grams would be reduced and capped at 00 kilo grams and no firlt enrichment for new highly enrichede uranium beyond a very small amount beyond research water and the heavy

reactor would be unable to produce plutonium and that would go for the next 15 years . and in the next 10 to 15e years and the procedures that prevent the place would be in place. this is how you block the path. all of these procedures are in place. scientists,er generals and others have looked at this and come to the conclusion that this works, this will block iran from developing a nuclear weapon for 15 years, probably 20 years and assuming that we are able to hold them to the agreement 25 years and beyond. that is the nonprofferings treaty. now. all of this is, of course, dependent upon verification.

we don't trust iran. we don't need to trust iran. in fact, we should go into this not trusting iran and therefore, do we have sufficient procedures in place to hold iran to the deal? the answer is yes. he international atomic energy gency, iaea, united nations' watchdog for the nonprofferings treaty. they have been to iran in the past. and vr observe cheating. however, under the new agreement, the doors are open to all of the facilities that are known to be involved in the nuclear production and nuclear bomb activities and there is an

additional procedure in 24 days should there be an indifficult case be involved in nuclear activity, the iaee would be able to observe what is going on at that site. the see crote sites of the past. would have the iaea observing, monitoring that the agreement is being held to its standards. we also have other methods of knowing what is going in iran. nuclear material leaves a radiation signature. we have the capability of reading those signatures and understanding in detail what is going on until particular site, both past, present and into the

future. the verifications are built upon the fact that we do not trust iran and therefore these verification procedures are the most robust, comprehensive in any proliferation treaty. so that's in place. what if they do cheat? if they do cheat and do not honor the agreement. we will know that is the agreement is all. it is agreed by the united kingdom, that's britain, france, germany, france, china, the u.n. and the european union that should there be a breach of the procedures in this deal that the sanctions, the toughest of them would automatically snap back

into place and would continue to apply the economic social pressure on iran that brought them to the negotiating table in the first place. can we trust these countries to snap back? i believe we can. it's an agreement they have made not just with the united states with you but with each other. if they don't, we still have our own sanctions that provide us th an ability to provide pressure on iran .but nonetheless, those sanctions are always available to us now and into the future should iran should reneg on this deal. a couple of other things that we need to consider. there's a lot of talk that this ofl would free a vast amount

oney that iran has has equestered and the numbers are $150 bill i don't know and been said by the treasury department and by the secretary of state that the amount is closer to $100 billion. that's a lot of money and there is great fear and i think appropriately, that iran would use that money to advance, enhance and increase its support of trime around the world in the middle east and against israel. i suppose that is a possibility. when an false analysis is done, that money is owed to other countries and other entities ows of iran. as soon as that sanction is removed and that money is

available and $40 billion of the 100 billion isn't available it is in other country's hand. the remaining money could be used for support of terrorist activities. we should keep in mind that iran has been heavilyly hit by the existing sanctions so much so that their economy is terrible. woefully arena is inadequate and not capable of significant production. so they are going to need to invest money. how much money would be available for terrorism? far more than we would want. . therefore we need to be certain that our support for those

countries fighting terrorism in the middle east and beyond have the full support of the united states government, people, and our treasury. going to cost us some money. but this is -- this is something we're going to have to do. we must make certain that israel has whatever it needs to counter whatever terrorist threats there may be and whatever threats there may be in the more conventional military sense. already we're preparing to ship to israel our most advanced fighters, the f-35 which is just now coming off our production lines and there'll be a lot of other equipment made available and certainly with regard to intelligence and surveillance reconnaissance, we'll continue to work with israel very closely as we have for many, many years, in fact, decades. all of that is there. we also need to be aware that the other gulf state countries and other countries in the area that have been subject to

iranian attacks and trouble need our support and we should also be willing and, as we have in the past and as we are committed to now, to provide them with the support they need to push back, not only on terrorism but overt iranian military activity. o here we are. deal-no deal. no deal, is there a better deal? highly unlikely that the p-5 plus one will ever come back together again to negotiate a better deal system of we probably, almost certainly have to do it by ourselves and we have proved in the fast before the p-5 plus one went into existence that we were not skelve alone negotiating a geale with iran. -- negotiating a deal with iran. our sanctions from our country alone were not sufficient. as a global community we were

sufficient. that's where the p-5 plus one and listen carefully to what those countries are saying about a renegotiation. not likely. so where are we? i believe we have to support this deal that was put together by these six major countries supported by the european union and the united nations. this is the path that would block all paths to a nuclear weapon that iran might be able to pursue for at least the next 15 years and beyond. i ask my colleagues to look hard at this. unfortunately, a lot of newspapers are portraying this as a partisan fight. i don't believe it is. i know that many of my colleagues on the democratic side and certainly what appears to be most republicans, if not all, are opposed to the deal. and i'm certain many of them have their own reasons for that

opposition. but i think when you take a comprehensive look at this deal, when you look at all the elements, that is what happens if there is no deal and iran can immediately restart its nuclear weapons program, you go, whoa. that's not a good thing. on the other hand if this deal holds, then iran will be prevented from having a nuclear weapon for at least 15 years. quite probably 20 years. and should they continue to honor the nonproliferation treaty then it would go on indefinitely. that's a good thing. and therefore i support this negotiated deal and i ask my colleagues to do the same. with that, mr. speaker, i have completed my time on the floor. i notice that two of my colleagues are here to speak to the passing of one of our

members of this house who served here for many, many years and with permission of the chair i'd like to yield my position of this hour to marcy kaptur so she can speak in memorial to one of our past colleagues. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur is reniked for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the minority leader. ms. kaptur: i would like to extend deepest thanks to congressman garamendi for sharing his time with us and also for congresswoman eddie bernice johnson who has been waiting almost an hour to share her memories of a very great american. we are here this evening, mr. speaker, we rise to honor the ill lust res you career of a -- i'll lustrous career of a dear friend -- i'll lust res you

career of aer -- illustrious career of congressman stokes. our hearts are heavy but immense pli grateful for his life and service. as the first african-american member of congress elected to serve from ohio, he wrote new history for america, for ohio, every day of his life. rising from the public housing projects of cleveland he and his brother carl became revered as they built a more inclusive and representative america. what courage and passion that required. a proud, personable, and gracious man, whose fashion and manner exuded dignity. it was actually never his aspiration to be a politician. he opted instead oserve the local neighborhood of cleveland where he grew up after returning from three years of service in

the u.s. army during world war ii. after using his g.i. benefits to go to college, he served in the veterans administration and treasury department before attending law school. he loved the law. he loved being a lawyer. and he loved writing laws here. his enlightened leadership moved america forward socially, economically, and legally. in congress, his gentlemanly demeanor and sharp intellect allowed him to chair, again as the first african-american, the appropriations subcommittee on veterans, housing, and urban development and independent agencies. as a much newer, younger member of congress, i had the great privilege of serving under him as he chaired that important committee. he also chaired the house select committee on assassinations and served on the house select

committee to investigate covert arms transactions with iran. his agile, legal mind was evident in the investigations he conducted. the people of cleveland and ohio have been blessed throughout his life and hold abiding gratitude for his ex-troirtnary accomplishments and -- extraordinary accomplishments an generous spirit. i can still hear his laugh. i am privileged actually to have served with congressman stokes for almost a quarter century and hold lasting memories of his deep love for his wife, for his mother, for his brother, for his children, and his grandchildren. his indefatigable efforts to gain respect and equal justice in the law for all of our citizens and he saw progress, great progress, in his own lifetime, though we have so far to go. i witnessed his perseverance in building america's communities

forward, in dedication to meeting our nation's obligations to veterans, to advance space science and to catapult cleveland's health and human services to the top rung of national assets. i have so many memories of congressman stokes. i can remember one time in a subcommittee, he had the head of arlington cemetery come up and he had these big volume he is brought with him of who were the veterans who were interred there and congressman stokes pointed out to the entire committee, go down and read the rosters. and the roster said no name, no name, no name, no name, and congressman stokes informed us that in fact those were african-americans who had died in service to our country but they were buried no noim at arlington and he made sure that thatter a -- that that area was especially recognize and he was writing history for america. for the first time. -- -- ht, wow, this is

this wasn't 1870. this was in the 1980's and 1990's. he was a great teacher. shall sorely miss his dogged determination, easy smile, keen and measured counsel and persevering nature. the last time we were together was at a fair housing meeting in cleveland, ohio, a few months ago an looking become on his nerous attendance at age 90, and looking in really great shape, i think it was his way he hadn't told anybody yet, what was ailing him but i think his -- it was his way of saying good-bye. what a gracious gentleman he was. what a gifted leder has lived among us. and i'm going to place in the congressional record, with the permission of the clerk, special story that was in the "cleveland plains dealer" entitle lou

stokes the congressman, leading lawyer and towering political presence. written by brent larkin, tom deher and sabria eaton of the northeast ohio media group. though i won't read the entire article into the record tonight, let me read a few sentences. we have been blessed as a family with a legacy we can always be proud of, lou stokes said. together with carl, his brother we made a name that stood for something. what greater honor could have come to two brothers who grew up in poverty here in cleveland. and he tells the story about his mother, who he would always get tears in his eyes when he would talk of his mother. he she -- she had become ill at one point, he went to visit her. he said, i took her hand to give her some comfort and when i felt those hard, cold hands from scrubbing floors in order to give me an education, i began to

understand what her life was about. what her life meant. and that piercing memory lou carried with him every day of his life. beginning in junior high school, stokes took jobs delivering the cleveland news, shining shoes and working in a small factly that -- factory that made canned whipped cream. when he was 16 a man hired him to perform odd jobs at his army-navy surplus store on lower prospect avenue. seeing something in the youngster, he ignored the risk to his business in those days and hired stokes as a salesman. when speaking of his early years, stokes always remembered to mention the kindness demonstrated to him by a man who sort of acted like a father to me, congressman stokes said. stokes graduated from central high school in 1943 and with

world war ii rage, he joined the army was assigned to a segregated unit that remained stateside mainly in the south. stokes recalled a layover his unit once had in memphis where a group of german prisoners of war in a train station restaurant retreated -- were treated better than the black soldiers. louis stokes embody sod many memories and so much progress that he helped not just cleveland, not just ohio, but our country and people everywhere to persevere no matter what the odds. i shall miss him. what a gifted leader has live aid among us and i know all of the people of ohio join me as do our colleagues in saying may the angel carsry him a deserved peaceful rest, close to the heart of god. there are other members that wish to speak this evening and i just feel very honored to be

here. i can still see lou in the cloakroom in the back with his good friend bill clay and some of the guys, we weren't always included as women in those conversations, but he was also cordial he stood halfway turned to say hello to those members going by he had a special gracious manner about him. i would like to yield some time to congresswoman eddie bernice johnson of texas who i know was a very, very dear friend of congressman stokes, and i thank her so much for joining us this evening. ms. johnson: thank you very uch. congresswoman marcy kaptur, i'm delighted to join you and delighted to share some sentiments. mr. speaker, i stand in recognition of the late

congressman louis stokes, a dear friend and a tremendous patriot. who dedicated his life to serving our great nation. he was dedicated to expanding political and economic opportunities for all americans. and he was determined to transcend the culture of discrimination and injustice. louis stokes rose from humble beginnings in the local housing project of cleveland, ohio, to serve 30 years in the u.s. house of representatives. e was first elected in 1968. re-- reluctant to enter the political arena, he was persuaded to run for office by his younger brother, carl b. stokes, the first african-american mayor of a major american city. elected in 1967. prior to serving in congress, mr. stokes served as a civil rights lawyer and he was the