July 22, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1875 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

HONORING MARGE TRACEY thousands of lives he touched and a commu- Request Member: Rep. JO ANN EMERSON nity reborn. Bill Number: Fiscal Year 2010 Transpor- HON. STENY H. HOYER Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to tation, Housing and Urban Development Ap- propriations Bill OF MARYLAND join me in remembering Frank Mickens. f Account: Surface Transportation Priorities IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Requesting Entity: Missouri Department of Wednesday, July 22, 2009 WILLIAM BENEDICT JAMES Transportation Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, Marge Tra- RESSLER Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West cey, who retires this year, first came to work Capitol P.O. Box 270 Jefferson City, MO as a secretary at the AFL–CIO over 35 years HON. SAM GRAVES 65102–0270 Description of Request: Provide an earmark ago. She has spent her working life at the OF MISSOURI of $500,000 for the expansion of four-lane AFL–CIO advancing the interest of America’s IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES working families. During that time, she has highway south of Poplar Bluff, Missouri to Wednesday, July 22, 2009 been an integral part of every fight over the south of Route 160. The funds would also be last three decades on labor law reform, min- Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I proudly used to rehabilitate dangerous intersections on imum wage, trade, health care, retirement se- pause to recognize William Ressler of Kansas Route 67 at U.S. 160, as well as Missouri curity, and more. She has been witness to and City, Missouri. William is a very special young Highway 158. The State of Missouri will pro- a key part of many chapters of labor and Con- man who has exemplified the finest qualities vide 20% match. All federal funds received will gressional history, often working behind the of citizenship and leadership by taking an ac- be spent on this project and will not be trans- scenes, but always an integral part of tive part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop ferred to another project. progress. 215, and earning the most prestigious award Requesting Member: Rep. JO ANN EMERSON Bill Number: Fiscal Year 2010 Transpor- So on the occasion of her retirement, I join of Eagle Scout. tation, Housing and Urban Development Ap- with her family, her friends, and all of her col- William has been very active with his troop, propriations Bill leagues at the AFL–CIO in congratulating her participating in many scout activities. Over the many years William has been involved with Account: Surface Transportation Priorities and expressing deep appreciation for all of her Requesting Entity: Missouri Department of dedicated work. Marge Tracey has lived a re- scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his fam- Transportation markable life of service to working men and Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West ily, peers, and community. He was also the re- women, and I wish her all the best in the Capitol P.O. Box 270 Jefferson City, MO cipient of the Eagles Soaring High award. years to come. 65102–0270 Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join f Description of Request: Provide an earmark me in commending William Ressler for his ac- of $500,000 to rehabilitate the Chester Bridge A TRIBUTE TO REMEMBER FRANK complishments with the Boy Scouts of Amer- which transverses the Mississippi River from MICKENS ica and for his efforts put forth in achieving the Perry County, Missouri to Randolph County, Il- highest distinction of Eagle Scout. linois. The bridge is vital to the region’s trans- HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS f portation needs. The State of Missouri will pro- OF NEW YORK EARMARK DECLARATION vide 20% to match the federal contribution. All IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES federal funds received will be spent on reha- Wednesday, July 22, 2009 bilitation of the Chester Bridge and will not be HON. JO ANN EMERSON transferred to another project. Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today OF MISSOURI Requesting Member: Rep. JO ANN EMERSON to remember Frank Mickens, the celebrated IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Bill Number: Fiscal Year 2010 Transpor- former principal of Boys & Girls High School. Wednesday, July 22, 2009 tation, Housing and Urban Development Ap- Mr. Mickens took over as principal of Boys propriations Bill & Girls in 1984. At the time, it was considered Mrs. EMERSON. Madam Speaker, pursuant Account: Economic Development Initiatives one of the worst high schools in New York to the House Republican standards on ear- Requesting Entity: Washington County, Mis- City. Cutting class was rampant, students marks, I am submitting the following informa- souri were often robbed, and there were few con- tion in regards to the Fiscal Year 2010 Trans- Address of Requesting Entity: 102 N. Mis- sequences for misbehavior. portation, Housing and Urban Development souri Street Potosi, MO 63664 Mr. Mickens was undeterred by the chal- Appropriations Bill. Description of Request: Provide an earmark lenge. He understood that education meant Requesting Member: Rep. JO ANN EMERSON of $300,000 for renovations to make the more than just teachers and tests. He was out Bill Number: Fiscal Year 2010 Transpor- Washington County, Missouri Building acces- to change the culture of the school, to give his tation, Housing and Urban Development Ap- sible to individuals with disabilities. The Wash- students and faculty the supportive learning propriations Bill ington County Building is outdated and many environment they needed to excel. Account: Surface Transportation Priorities sections are inaccessible to individuals in Mr. Mickens cared deeply about the well- Requesting Entity: Missouri Department of wheelchairs. The federal funds would provide being of every student. He spent his time mo- Transportation the means for Washington County to bring the tivating students in need of encouragement. If Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West building in compliance with the Americans with a student needed lunch, often Mr. Mickens Capitol P.O. Box 270 Jefferson City, MO Disabilities Act. would give him the money to buy it. And if a 65102–0270 Requesting Member: Rep. JO ANN EMERSON student did not own a tie, Mr. Mickens had a Description of Request: Provide an earmark Bill Number: Fiscal Year 2010 Transpor- closet full of ties for him to choose, teaching of $650,000 for an environmental study, engi- tation, Housing and Urban Development Ap- him how to tie it if necessary. neering design work, and construction work on propriations Bill His years of tireless dedication paid off. Route 25 in Jackson, Missouri. The funds will Account: Surface Transportation Priorities When Mr. Mickens retired in 2004, Boys & be used to alleviate traffic and dangerous con- Requesting Entity: Missouri Department of Girls was known as the ‘‘Pride and Joy of ditions on Route 25 between Jackson Trail Transportation Bed-Stuy’’. The graduation rate had improved and the city limits of Jackson, Missouri. The Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West dramatically and was now sending its students State of Missouri will provide 20% match. All Capitol P.O. Box 270 Jefferson City, MO to some of the country’s best universities. federal funds received will be spent on Route 65102–0270 Frank Mickens has left behind a living leg- 25 in Jackson, Missouri and will not be trans- Description of Request: Provide an earmark acy to his lifetime of achievements: The many ferred to another project. of $500,000 for right of way improvements and

∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor.

VerDate Nov 24 2008 06:41 Jul 23, 2009 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A22JY8.001 E22JYPT1 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REMARKS E1876 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks July 22, 2009 engineering design to the narrow portion of Defector testimony, satellite images and in a complete information blockade on its popu- Route 63 in Phelps and Maries Counties. This depth reporting have left no doubt about the lation, increased traffic across the border with project will improve the overall safety of the camps’ existence and the horrors of life there. China, the growth of an exile population of de- roadway. The State of Missouri will provide The real question is what do we do about this fectors that has now reached 16,000 from al- 20% to match the federal contribution. All fed- abomination? What do we do about the re- most zero less than a decade ago, and even eral funds received will be spent on right of gime that sustains and perpetuates this evil? local uprisings as the regime has tried to sup- way improvements and engineering design. Because North Korea possesses nuclear press informal markets that have emerged as None of these funds will be transferred to an- weapons and threatens not only to use them a way to cope with the famine and economic other project. against neighboring countries but also to hardship. Requesting Member: Rep. JO ANN EMERSON share nuclear weapons technology with such He pointed out that what makes the North Bill Number: Fiscal Year 2010 Transpor- rogue states as Burma and Syria, the inter- Korean system especially vulnerable is the ex- tation, Housing and Urban Development Ap- national community, the U.S. included, has istence just across the southern border of a propriations Bill tended to ignore the horrendous human rights free, successful and affluent South Korean so- Account: Transportation & Community & abuses in North Korea in the interest of trying ciety. For decades now the regime in System Preservation Requesting Entity: Mis- to negotiate through the so-called six-party Pyongyang has told its population that the souri Department of Transportation talks an end to its nuclear program. people of South Korea live in hell while they Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West But nothing has been achieved by these ne- live in a communist paradise. As the popu- Capitol P.O. Box 270 Jefferson City, MO gotiations and North Korea has formally with- lation learns that the truth is exactly the oppo- 65102–0270 drawn from the six-party process. site, they will become increasingly restive, re- Description of Request: Provide an earmark And so while efforts continue, the diplomatic sentful, and rebellious, he noted. of $500,000 to improve shoulders, as well as process on the nuclear front appears to have In his talk Mr. Gershman quoted from a re- widen and straighten curves along Route 34 in reached an impasse. port by a senior researcher for the Korea Insti- Cape Girardeau and Bollinger Counties. This Frankly, I don’t expect much to come from tute for National Unification which spoke of the segment of Route 34 is heavily traveled by these efforts. The possession of nuclear dormant reality of ‘‘cracking the myth of per- commuters and there are serious safety con- weapons is simply too important to the North manent stability in North Korea’’ and pointed cerns with the roadway. The State of Missouri Korean regime, if only to deflect attention from to the ‘‘danger of minor clashes to play a role will provide 20% to match the federal contribu- its cruel and oppressive system of camps and of a primer for mass protest against excess of tion. All federal funds received will be spent on the famine that it has brought upon its people governmental indiscretion.’’ improving Route 34. None of these funds will at an estimated cost of anywhere from one to Mr. Gershman said that the NED, with the be transferred to another project. three million lives. support of the U.S. Congress, would continue f Human rights activist and 2008 Seoul Peace to support organizations in South Korea set up NORTH KOREA’S HARD-LABOR Prize Laureate Suzanne Scholte recently by North Korean defectors to reach back into CAMPS wrote in the Korea Times that both the Clinton North Korea by providing information to the and Bush administrations ‘‘intentionally side- people. He urged the U.S., in the absence of HON. FRANK R. WOLF lined human rights concerns, making them a six-party process, to convene the other secondary to addressing North Korea’s nu- members of those talks (South Korea, Japan, OF VIRGINIA clear ambitions.’’ China, and Russia) to discuss with them not IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The young Obama administration appears just the security situation, but to prepare for a Wednesday, July 22, 2009 to be in status quo mode, adopting the same possible collapse in North Korea by consid- Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, Monday’s failed approach. ering now what would need to be done to aid Washington Post featured a comprehensive This approach hasn’t succeeded in curbing the reconstruction of the country. piece by veteran reporter Blaine Harden head- North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. And it hasn’t I agree that this would be a good starting lined, ‘‘N. Korea’s Hard-Labor Camps: On the brought relief to the thousands that languish in point for the administration as would appoint- Diplomatic Back Burner,’’ documenting the unimaginable conditions. A new North Korea ing a special envoy on North Korea human horrific nature of North Korea’s gulag system, framework is long overdue. Ignoring or rights as is mandated by Congress. and the failure of this administration to raise downplaying the human rights situation for one Further, any future talks with the North Ko- this issue with the North Korean regime. I sub- more day is unconscionable. reans, be it the six-party process or some mit the article for the record. Ronald Reagan negotiated with the Soviet other forum, must include human rights on the We have known for some time about the Union to reduce nuclear weapons throughout agenda. true nature of the cruel and inhuman system the 1980s, but that did not stop him from Additionally, the administration ought to be of labor camps maintained by the totalitarian speaking about human rights, calling upon the pursuing a policy which places a high priority regime in North Korea. And yet somehow, al- Soviets to tear down the Berlin Wall, and pre- on working with other countries in the region most inexplicably, these horrific camps have dicting that communism would end up on the to champion the rights of North Korean refu- failed to inspire collective outrage on the part ash heap of history. His outspoken support for gees. China is among the biggest obstacles. of the West, and have been sidelined to the human rights had an effect, accelerating the Its current policy of repatriating North Korean point of irrelevance in successive U.S. admin- demise of communism and, in the process, refugees violates China’s international treaty istrations’ dealings with North Korea. making it easier to resolve nuclear and secu- obligations. A grim fate awaits those who are The U.S. Committee for Human Rights in rity issues, since the main cause of Soviet ag- returned to North Korea. North Korea published a report in 2003—six gressiveness was the communist system it Similarly, if North Korea continues to refuse years ago—about these camps. It was written was intended to defend and extend. Further it U.S. food aid, the administration should urge by David Hawk, quoted in Monday’s article, reminded those living behind the Iron Curtain those countries that do provide aid, which and called The Hidden Gulag: Exposing North that America was a friend, not an enemy, de- again includes China, to press for International Korea’s Prison Camps. It contains a full de- spite Soviet propaganda to the contrary. Red Cross access to the camps and monitors scription of the camps, the worst of which are We should be doing the same thing with from the World Food Programme to ensure called kwan-li-so, which is translated as ‘‘polit- North Korea today. that the aid goes to its intended recipients. ical penal-labor colonies,’’ and where, accord- Just last week my good friend Carl Ultimately, we need to look forward. The ing to the Committee’s report, scores of thou- Gershman, the president of the National En- North Korean regime will not be there forever sands of political prisoners—along with up to dowment for Democracy, spoke at the Korean to oppress its people. Just like the gulags and three generations of their family members— Embassy’s KORUS House in Washington the regimes in Nazi Germany and the Soviet are banished without any judicial process and about North Korea. His talk was titled, ‘‘Con- Union, that preceded it, this evil empire, too, imprisoned, typically for life-time sentences of tending with the North Korean Dictatorship: A will fall. slave labor. Perspective from the National Endowment for In the meantime we must champion the The report also contains prisoners’ testi- Democracy.’’ Mr. Gershman acknowledged the rights of the people who wither under this re- monies and satellite photographs of the diplomatic impasse with North Korea, but he gime. I’ll close with the words of Anne camps, whose very existence continues to be didn’t stop there. He said that in his view the Applebaum in the hope that they inspire the denied by the North Korean government, North Korean totalitarian system was under- administration’s approach to North Korea mov- which is why the committee described the going an inexorable process of erosion, ing forward. She writes in the introduction of gulags as ‘‘hidden.’’ marked by a sharply reduced ability to impose The Hidden Gulag, ‘‘This is not to say that

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