mr. payne: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 285. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will read the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 285, concurrent resolution recognizing the important role fathers play in the lives of their children and famelies and supporting the goals and deals of the year of 2010 as the year of the father. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. payne, and the gentlelady from washington, mrs. mcmorris rodgers, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes he %- gentleman from new jersey. mr. payne: i request five legislative days in which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on house concurrent resolution 285 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. payne: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. payne: mr. speaker

the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from new jersey, mr. payne, to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 285, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 285, concurrent resolution recognizzng the important role that fathers play in the lives of their children and families and supporting the goals and ideals of designating 2010 as the year of the father. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 423 the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmat

mr. speaker, i'd like to begin by thanking the committee chairman, howard berman, and the chairman payne and my good friend, congresswoman watson. i also thank congresswoman clarke and congressman royce on their constant leadership on african issues. this year, mr. speaker, 17 african nations are celebrating the anniversary of their independence. 1960 was an important year when the french, british and italian colonies. they won hard-fought victories that led to independence on january 1, a nation of cameroon and -- in 1960 was a nation of mauritania securing its independence from france. the resolution i'm bringing to the floor today will honor the sacrifices of the fallen fathers of these african nations. little did they know then that the u.s.a. would enter into its nation's permanent history the tribute to the thousands of unsung men and women who gave their lives based on the simple game of freedom and a desire to assert necessities from a nation . we in the u.s. of a know something about that freedom and that determination. chief of all, these visionary african leaders are in cameroo