September 10, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 153, Pt. 17 24037 Senator Brewster and his wife Judy people benefit from learning with pri- can stories, songs, and theater. Later, Lynn had five children: Gerry, who mary sources such as Lincoln’s mag- in 1991, she founded Tostan, which served in the Maryland legislature, nificent Gettysburg Address, seeing the began offering a community empower- Daniel, Jr., Dana, Danielle, and Founding Father’s notes and revisions ment program that helped Africans ad- Jennilie. On behalf of the citizens of to the Bill of Rights, and exploring dress problems they found in their Maryland and this body, I wish to ex- maps and sound recordings to under- daily lives, while teaching reading, tend our sincere condolences to Sen- stand history and culture firsthand. As math, health, hygiene, problem solv- ator Brewster’s family. He will be the Library developed and focused its ing, and management skills. In 1996, missed by all. massive resources in ways that teach- human rights and democracy compo- f ers could explore and use for their nents were added, with particular at- classrooms, Dr. Billington recognized tention toward ending domestic vio- CONGRATULATING DR. the profound impact of incorporating lence and the exploitation of children, BILLINGTON primary sources into teacher edu- empowering women, and expanding Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, an im- cation. Many of us in Congress recog- health and education for all. portant anniversary will be marked on nized the potential around this idea The Hilton award recognizes Tostan September 14, at the Library of Con- and helped create and fund the Adven- for its ability to empower African com- gress. Twenty years ago, in the Great tures of the American Mind, which is munities, focusing on change from Hall of the Building, now poised to become a national pro- within and from the ground up. Its pro- then-President Reagan presided over gram—Teaching with Primary Sources. gram has helped reduce infant and ma- the swearing-in of Dr. James H. The 10 universities in Illinois that have ternal mortality, improve community Billington as the 13th Librarian of Con- benefited from working with the Li- health care and nutrition, reduce fe- gress. brary have transformed their teacher male genital cutting, and lower rates When he was appointed, Dr. education programs. I have seen first of domestic violence in the nine coun- Billington brought great expertise to hand the programs and curricula that tries where it works. Thousands of the Library, both as the world’s pre- have been created using the amazing women and children have learned to mier scholar of Russian culture and resources from Congress’s Library to read and perform basic math and have history and as director of the Woodrow improve teaching in our Nation’s used these skills to start local coopera- Wilson International Center for Schol- schools. tives, build stoves, and improve health ars. His vision, and the hard work of so Dr. Billington’s energy is unflagging. care. It is not surprising, therefore, many dedicated Library staff members, He has led efforts to launch the World that Tostan has been recognized by has led to continued growth of the Li- , the reinstallation of others for its outstanding work, includ- brary of Congress. He has fulfilled the Thomas Jefferson’s Library in the Jef- ing by UNESCO, which called it ‘‘one of promise made on September 14, 1987— ferson Building, and the Library’s cele- the most innovative educational pro- to make the riches of the Library more bration of the Lincoln Bicentennial in grams.’’ broadly available to ever widening cir- 2009 and beyond. In short, I have valued Tostan’s work deserves to be ap- cles of our society. and look forward to continuing leader- plauded and should receive our contin- At the time, Senator Wendell Ford ship from Dr. Billington. He and his ued support. As one of the world’s rich- remarked that the colleagues at the Library of Congress est countries, we have a responsibility ‘‘represents our nation’s commitment are a tremendous resource to our work to help lift up the large numbers of to a knowledgeable citizenry.’’ Dr. as a legislature. people in our country and around the Billington has upheld that commit- The Library of Congress has bene- world who are still living in poverty. ment by enhancing the Library and fited immeasurably from the first 20 Again, I congratulate Tostan for its making its riches and inspiration years of Jim Billington’s leadership. important work. available to all Americans. Under his We are grateful to him and congratu- f leadership, the Copyright Office, the late him, his wife Marjorie, and his FOREIGN OPERATIONS Law Library, the Congressional Re- family on this milestone of service to APPROPRIATIONS search Service, and the National Li- our Nation. brary have seamlessly worked together f Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last to build the collections and preserve Thursday, September 6, after less than them for future generations. RECOGNIZING TOSTAN 12 hours of debate, the Senate passed The Library’s accomplishments of Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, during by a vote of 81 to 12 the fiscal year 2008 the last two decades are extraordinary. my time in the Senate, I have been a State, Foreign Operations appropria- The collections have expanded by 50 vocal advocate of programs that help tions bill. I think it was the shortest million items, and state-of-the art fa- the nations of Africa improve the liv- amount of time we have taken to de- cilities have been built to ensure their ing conditions of their citizens. Much bate and pass this bill. I also think long-term preservation. The establish- of this work is done through dedicated that on the whole we can be satisfied ment of the Kluge Center for Scholars nongovernmental organizations that with the outcome. It is a bipartisan and the Kluge Prize for Lifetime work year after year on issues of bill, and while neither I nor Senator Achievement in the Human Sciences health, literacy, women’s empower- GREGG, the ranking member of the sub- have enriched not only the scholarly ment, democracy, human rights, and committee who played an indispen- life of Washington but also have en- microfinance lending. Today I wish to sable role in getting it done, supports abled Members of Congress to meet recognize one such group, Tostan, every provision in the bill, that is the thought leaders and benefit from their which recently won the 2007 Conrad nature of the process. perspectives. Also, the Library was a Hilton Humanitarian Prize for its ex- I also know there are things in this pioneer in online collections and serv- traordinary contributions to help al- bill the administration supports and ices, launching American Memory, leviate human suffering in Africa. things they don’t like. I would remind THOMAS, the World Digital Library Tostan means ‘‘breakthrough’’ in the them that our allocation was $700 mil- and resources for teachers, students Wolof language of Senegal. The efforts lion below the President’s budget, and and families across the Nation and of Tostan have truly been a break- the President underfunded a number of world. through in the West African countries programs that have strong bipartisan The Library’s pioneering work in in which it works. Tostan was founded support—the Global Fund to Fight education has had a great impact in by a University of Illinois alumna, AIDS, TB and malaria, to give one ex- my home State of Illinois. The Li- Molly Melching. When Molly arrived in ample. I would hope the White House brary’s educational mission, shaped by Senegal in the 1970s, she began teach- would recognize that we tried hard to Dr. Billington’s vision, is that young ing literacy through traditional Afri- fund not only the President’s priorities

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