mr. cohen: i look at him and mr. smith, i think about my weekend trip this past weekend. i went to austin, texas. when i was in austin, i was at the barber jordan airport and the baggage area on the ground floor there's a statue of barbara jordan, what a great member of the naacp she was. and a great american. with that i yield back the balance of my time and ask -- ms. watson requests some time. we'd be pleased if she'd contribute. i yield her as much time as she needs. spoim the gentlelady is recognized. ms. watson: mr. speaker, and to the authors and co-sponsors of this resolution, i just want to add to the testimonies that you have already heard in support of this resolution, commending the naacp, that many of us would not be here if not for the work and the support of others of the naacp. i am a case in point. i remember being elected as the first african-american woman to the second largest school board in the united states, that's l.a. unified school district, and in the california state

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. house concurrent resolution 242 honors one of our nation's oldest and most esteemed civil rights organizations, the national association for the advancement of colored people, known as the naacp, also known as the conscience of the united states congress. this year the naacp celebrates % its 101st anniversary and its ongoing efforts to produce justice and equality for all americans, not just americans of color, but all americans. i support the gentleman from texas, mr. green, the sponsor of this resolution, and the former president of the houston branch of the naacp for his continued commitment for recognizing the naacp for its historical and contemporary civil rights contributions. as we celebrate the organization on this the 101st anniversary, i'd like to reflect on a few bits of history concerning the naacp. first, acknowledging its history which began february 12, 1909, when the organization was formed by ida wells-barnett, w.e.b. dubois, henry moscowitz, mary white ovington, oswa

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. back in february when washington has slammed with record-breaking snowstorms, many of my colleagues made scientific conclusions that there was not climate change. many republicans seem to suggest that vice president gore come and build an igloo on the white house. well, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration has released information that says we have the warmest january to april ever, the warmest january to april ever since they started collecting data in 1880. and what do we get from our republican colleagues? more drilling, more drilling, not safeguards but more drilling. they go out and hold a press conference and ask for more offshore drilling. rather than that, they should call for more solar investment, rebates for americans to have solar technology and get us away from fossil fuels that are ruining the gulf and causing the greatest disaster in the gulf and the worst ecological disaster we've known on this earth. what we can do to prevent future catastrophes is clea

the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentman from tennessee, mr. cohen to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1422, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1422, resolution honoring the department of justice on th occasion of its 140th the speaker pro tempore: the unfinished business is the volt on the motion of the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen to suspend the rules and agreto house concurrent resolution 242 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 242, concurrent resolution honoring and praising the national association for the advancement of colored people on the case of its 101st anniversary. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution. mbers will record their votes by electronic device. we have 15 minutes for this vote. [ctioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., i

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. there's great news for seniors, and i think they'll be receiving it in the mail soon. the notorious doughnut hole is going to be closed and starting this week the part d doughnut hole where seniors have to pay for their drugs at an immense amount that hurts them will be started to fill because of the health care bill we passed in this house because of a single -- without a single republican vote that made it law. the one-time rebate checks will go out this week to seniors who were in the doughnut hole. they will start to be mailed out tomorrow, june 10. seniors who fall in that hole can expect a $250 tax-free check in their mailbox to help them cover those costs, part of the democratic bill that reformed health care, that didn't have a single republican vote to help it become law. there were 217, 218 democratic votes up to make that law. eventually the doughnut hole will be eliminated, but we start with these $250 checks. i'm proud to have supported it, proud to have voted for it. tha

cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. tony awards we ork presented d i wavery proud tse"memphiss awared st musical and ce three oeriefor best book, best scre and best ortration. hey a eat ayn broadthat talks about racial renciltionnd city that has are deal of love d muin ithat comes to the screeanwon a tony. it's a gatonor, but i urge ee the igalas we are ty enrtainment and al hg, onciliation. memphi tene t spirit,e origina jump oirplane come ohome. tnkoumr. ke the speaker pro tempofor what purposes gelewomafromloridaeek rognition ros-lehtpermsion to addrs thhouse r one minu. so plsed recognize uth florida nonprofit grou committedpring free mecal care and assistanceo nc patients thattherise would t haveheecry nancl resocetoht sua diicbattle. since , organization has served mre than r50,000 coividuals the posive impt that thi orgazation has h on our community is withquestion and we suld all be grateful for i efforts. his month, teae hoed its premier event raise canc awareness and unding for the cure. residents swed t ca, p

cohen. all of these people and many others along with our staffs -- and i'm particularly grateful to my staff, mr. president, for the work that they have done here led by colin mcinnis in my office did a remarkable job of pulling this together to see to it that we work with our counterparts and many others of my staff as well i should be mentioned. neil from my office here of course deserves great credit as well for his work. it has been a great pleasure to work with rick kessler, shannon winters, allen mikulski, ranking member richard shelby along with his talented counsel john o'hara, margaret roth warren, a brilliant detail-oriented legislative counsel who spent weeks on end here working with my staff and us to make this hopefully the most comprehensive and effective sanctions legislation that we can -- that we can include. i believe i have hopefully mentioned all of the appropriate members of the staff. if i have left anyone out, i will ask permission to revise these comments to include others. there is always the danger of leaving someone out,, and i dont want to do that. they have worked ve