as new york senator, i want to rise publicly and congratulate ken mitchell for his act of bravery and heroism. as a parent myself i know what it's like to send kids off to school in the morning and hope and prayer they'll come back safely. it is people like ken mitchell that make it easy for parents to know that their kids are in good hand when they wave goodbye to the school bus and send their children off to school. ken mitchell is a reminder that every minute of every day americans are engaging in personal quiet acts of heroism and bravery which we should all be grateful. i'm proud he is from my state and i am proud if even for one moment i can give him some of the recognition he deserves. i'm sure that superintendent mitchell is back at work right now at if nothing happened. however, superintendent ken mitchell, on behalf of all new yorkers, all americans, and parents everywhere, we say, "thank you, it's americans like you that make us proud." i yield the floor and once again thank my colleague from oregon for yielding. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley:

however it is heartening to realize that someone like ken mitchell is standing in their way. the dedication shown by mr. mitchell to the children should be be an example to all. our nation has witnessed too many deaths of our children in their schools. the people of the south orange town school system and the community as a whole owe him a huge debt of gratitude. hero is an overword today in today's world, but i can think of fewer situations which more warrant than word than protecting children in their classrooms, ken mitchle is truly a hero. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? mr. cao: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cao: madam speaker, although we live in the 21st century, many people today are still deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of love by governments that lack the rule of law. one such government is the socialist republic of vietnam. about 10 years ago the vietnamese ministry of labor and soc