November 15, 2013 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1677 INTRODUCING THE ‘‘HONORING an executive at many companies in the indus- is not a serious attempt to level the playing OUR FALLEN HEROES WITH DIG- try and eventually became President of Flynt field or to curb real abuses. Instead, it puts NITY ACT OF 2013’’ Amtex, where he retired at age 65, but contin- Congress’ thumb on one side of the scale of ued serving on their board of directors. justice. HON. JIM McDERMOTT Jim’s friends and family will remember him I urge my colleagues to vote against this OF as a level headed and dispassionate man who bill. could bring a lighthearted sense of humor to IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES f every situation. He took pride in his profes- Friday, November 15, 2013 sion, cared deeply about his family, and en- HONORING RIVERDALE HIGH Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today joyed golfing with his friends. SCHOOL AND H2O FOR LIFE to introduce the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Mr. Speaker, I extend my deepest condo- with Dignity Act of 2013. lences to Jim’s wife Daryl, his son James, his HON. EARL BLUMENAUER This act protects the rights of families to daughter Jill, his great grandson Brayden, his OF OREGON leave small keepsakes at the gravesites of brother David, and his nephew James in this IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES time of difficulty. It saddens me to know that servicemembers buried in Section 60 of Ar- Friday, November 15, 2013 lington National Cemetery, many of whom the world is missing an honorable and dedi- bravely served their country in and in Af- cated man, but I am humbled to know that he Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today, I ghanistan. is now in a better place. would like to take a moment to honor an indi- During the summer of 2013, officials at Ar- f vidual who, for the last four years, has been lington National Cemetery came through Sec- inspiring the next generation of global water tion 60 and, without providing advance notice LAWSUIT ABUSE REDUCTION ACT activists. to families, threw away mementos left behind OF 2013 Riverdale High School teacher Laurie for the heroes buried in Section 60. LePore began teaching the ‘‘H2O for Life’’ SPEECH OF Teresa Arciola, a mother whose son was course as a way to introduce a service-learn- killed in Iraq in 2005, cried when she found HON. JARED HUFFMAN ing component to her students’ education. out that the mementos she left at her son’s OF At the beginning of each H2O for Life gravesite had been removed. ‘‘It was like no IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES course, students select one or two schools currently lacking a proper, healthy, water one cared anymore,’’ she told The Washington Thursday, November 14, 2013 Post. source. The class is then divided into five stu- The act would allow mementos to be left on Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in oppo- dent-led groups, each tasked with their own the top of and immediately next to grave sition to H.R. 2655, the so-called ‘‘Lawsuit jobs to do, working together to raise funds for markers in Section 60 of Arlington National Abuse Reduction Act.’’ the building of wells, water purification sys- Cemetery as long as they did not interfere This is a misleading title and a misleading tems, and restrooms for schools in need. Lau- with normal operations and maintenance pro- bill. A plaintiff courageously seeking to stand rie also educates students about water issues cedures, such as mowing the grass. up to civil rights violations, equal protections in my home state of Oregon, including dam The items can not be a health or safety haz- violations, or voting rights infringement IS NOT breaching, overfishing, and the impact of bot- ard, be permanently affixed to gravestones, abusing anything: she’s exercising her rights tled water. and can’t interfere with normal operations of enshrined in the Constitution. This year, her class is assisting two elemen- the Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery. When I practiced law in California, I know tary schools in South to raise $5,000 to At end of each month, items left on the grave that those I represented—from victims of bring water, sanitation, and hygiene projects stone will be collected, cataloged, and stored. workplace discrimination to women athlete and practices to their schools—benefiting a f scholars looking for equal opportunities— total of 2,086 students. At the end of the year, would have been hurt by this bill, and their eight schools from Africa, the Philippines, and HONORING JAMES BRYON ADAMS, cases may never have been heard. India will have first-time access to water and JR. Ordering sanctions should be at the discre- sanitation facilities thanks to the H2O for Life tion of the judge, not Congress. This bill would class and Mrs. LePore’s dedication. HON. PHIL GINGREY reverse the good judgment and counsel of the Bringing water and sanitation into schools is OF GEORGIA Judicial Conference of the and an essential part of having an effective edu- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the Supreme Court, both of which rec- cation system. Without adequate sanitation fa- ommended the change twenty years ago. cilities, young girls are embarrassed to attend Friday, November 15, 2013 Our Courts are a great equalizer; the court- school and too often stay away as a result. If Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I room is often the only place that a plaintiff can there isn’t water in their place of learning, rise today to celebrate and honor the life my find a fair and equal footing with employers, many children are forced to choose between dear friend James ‘‘Jim’’ Bryon Adams, Jr.— corporations, and even their government. providing water for themselves and their family an exemplary American citizen, husband, fa- This bill would have a chilling effect on the or their education. When it’s a matter of life ther, and grandfather. ability of Americans to find justice for civil and death or learning, school always loses On November 10, Jim passed away peace- rights violations, employment discrimination out. fully at his home in Greensboro, North Caro- claims, privacy suits, equal protection viola- As the lead sponsor of the 2005 ‘‘Water for lina at the age of 70. tions, voting rights claims, consumer protec- the Poor Act’’ and the current ‘‘Water for the Born and raised in Atlanta, Jim was the old- tion claims, and so much more. World Act of 2013,’’ I applaud local efforts to est son of the late James Byron and Marie The changes proposed in this bill would highlight this ongoing challenge and am deep- Black Adams. After graduating from Druid Hills negatively impact cases where the bulk of the ly appreciative of the impact this program has High School, he attended Georgia Institute of evidence rests with one party, disproportion- and will have not only on her students, but for Technology and joined Sigma Nu fraternity, ately impacting plaintiffs in civil rights and con- the thousands of children they’ve helped where we became friends. Jim was a reliable sumer protection litigation. around the world. friend and fraternity brother. And on top of This bill would also negatively impact civil f that, he was a dedicated leader in whatever cases that involve new legal theories, meaning organizations he joined. While I knew him, he that landmark cases in our nation’s history PERSONAL EXPLANATION was a Rush Chairman of our fraternity, Cap- may never have made it to the Supreme tain of the Varsity baseball team, President of Court; cases like Brown v. Board of Education, HON. KEITH ELLISON the Rambling Wreck Club, and a member of Griswald v. Connecticut, Massachusetts v. OF MINNESOTA the ANAK honorary society. EPA. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES After finishing his degree and a short stint If my colleagues are serious about reform- with the Cubs minor league team in ing the legal system, I would be very inter- Friday, November 15, 2013 Washington State, Jim joined Deering ested in working with them. There are abusive Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, on November Milliken—presently Milliken & Company—in litigation tactics by both plaintiffs and defend- 12, 2013, I missed rollcall votes No. 571 and New York City which began a long and suc- ants, and we could work in a responsible, bi- 572 for district business. Had I been present cessful career in the textile industry. He was partisan manner to address those. But this bill I would have voted ‘‘yes’’ on both.

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