Extensions of Remarks Section
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March 26, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E783 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS A TRIBUTE TO CYNTHIA Y. the development of their respective annual submitted and received approval for nearly CUMMINGS training conferences. Locally, she is Board 800 projects totaling $2.9 billion, more than 10 member of Brooklyn Kindergarten Society and percent of the Recovery Act highway funds. HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS remains active in the Cornell Black Alumni As- Construction is underway across the coun- OF NEW YORK sociation and involved in the Decatur- try: Silver Spring, Maryland: $2.1 million IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Stuyvesant Block Association. You often will project to resurface and improve safety along see Cynthia greeting you at the door during a 1.1-mile section of New Hampshire Avenue; Thursday, March 26, 2009 the annual Brownstoner’s of Bedford- Syracuse, Utah: $15 million project to widen Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today Stuyvesant house tour. State Highway 108; and Richmond, Vermont: in recognition of Cynthia Cummings, Executive Cynthia has testified before the General $1.7 million project to rehabilitate a bridge Director of Community Parents, Inc. and com- Health and Welfare Committee of the New over the Winooski River. munity activist. York City Council and was a panelist for the In addition, the Federal Transit Administra- Cynthia Cummings is the Executive Director Citizen’s Committee on welfare reform. She tion has awarded grants to the Kentucky, Mis- of Community Parents, Inc. (CPI), a non-profit has presented at The National Center for souri, and Maine State DOTs to purchase community based organization, serving 275 Family Literacy Conference and at the Na- more than 500 vehicles, including trolleys, children and families in Bedford Stuyvesant tional Association for the Education of Young buses, vans, and ferries and construct almost and Far Rockaway. Additionally, she presides Children on the Importance of Family Literacy. 50 bus shelters. over the Administration for Children’s Services As a Johnson and Johnson Management Fel- Amtrak has approved $938 million of capital Head Start Training Institute at Berean Baptist low, she continues her study of organizational improvement projects: including $105 million Church, offering professional, career and cre- management annually at the Anderson School project to replace a moveable bridge over the dential programs. Continuing accomplishments of Business at UCLA. She also continues her Niantic River; and $82 million to rehabilitate 68 include securing and renovating a permanent activism as a participant in the CORO Leader- passenger cars. facility in Far Rockaway. ship NY program. The Federal Aviation Administration has Immediately following completion of her de- She is the recipient of Councilmember An- identified $913 million of the $1.1 billion of air- gree in Human Development and Family Stud- nette Robinson’s Spirited Leadership Award, port projects, including runway, taxiway, ies at Cornell University in 1975, Ms. was honored by the Mid-Bedford Heights apron, and terminal improvements. Cummings begun her career as the Teacher/ Lions Club and Vanguard Independent Demo- All across America, the Recovery Act is cre- Director of Moravian Head Start in Harlem, cratic Association and received a proclamation ating good, family-wage jobs to restore our na- where she developed her administrative skills from Councilmember Albert Vann for her civic tion’s infrastructure and economy. operating the program now known as Arthur efforts. An avid horticulturist, one often will see f and Thelma Adair Community Centers. She her lovingly tending to her home gardens. Her decided to pursue her studies further at New creative, artistic expression further is nurtured H.R. 1746, THE PRE-DISASTER York University in Community Health Edu- through dance training and performing with MITIGATION ACT OF 2009 cation as she worked at SUNY Health Science Mo’ Jazz, a blithe troupe of athletic and cre- Center on the National Study on Sickle Cell ative women over, let’s say, forty. HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR Disease. Her interest and work in the health Cynthia is married to her soul mate, Richard OF MINNESOTA industry resulted in her being included in sev- Cummings, a pianist and composer, and she IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES eral research publications. remains blessed to have in her life, her moth- Thursday, March 26, 2009 She maintained an important connection er, Ellen Lewis, who recently celebrated her with her community as chairperson of Commu- 99th birthday. Representing the ascending Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise nity Parents Head Start, while then employed generation are her two daughters, Diarra, a today in strong support of H.R. 1746, the at Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield. In Columbia University graduate, following pro- ‘‘Pre-Disaster Mitigation Act of 2009’’, a bill to 1991, her predecessor passed the torch and fessional ballet and modern dance associa- reauthorize the Federal Emergency Manage- Ms. Cummings relinquished the chair of CPI to tions, and Imani a graduate of The University ment Agency’s (‘‘FEMA’’) Pre-Disaster Mitiga- assume the role of Executive Director. The of Tampa, who now resides in sunny Cali- tion (‘‘PDM’’) program, a program to help com- program grew under her leadership, achieving fornia currently pursuing a second career in munities across the nation protect against nat- the NAEYC accreditation and expanding its acupuncture. ural disasters and other hazards. I thank services into Far Rockaway, Queens. Concur- f Ranking Member MICA, and the gentlewoman rently, Ms. Cummings has spearheaded many from the District of Columbia (Ms. NORTON) partnerships to improve quality and to en- TRANSPORTATION CONSTRUCTION and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. DIAZ- hance services for Head Start children and UNDER THE RECOVERY ACT BALART), Chair and Ranking Member of the families. CPI was selected as a promising Subcommittee on Economic Development, practices site for the National Head Start Fam- HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR Public Buildings, and Emergency Manage- ily Literacy Project and was featured in News- OF MINNESOTA ment, for joining me in sponsoring this bill. week Magazine. The organization was fea- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The Pre-Disaster Mitigation program pro- tured as one of 14 programs selected by the vides technical and financial assistance to Administration for Children’s Services New Thursday, March 26, 2009 state and local governments to reduce injuries, York City Head Start Best Practices sites. Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise loss of life, and damage to property caused by Most recently, in collaboration with Bank today to report that the American Recovery natural hazards. Examples of mitigation activi- Street College, the agency was selected as an and Reinvestment Act is getting construction ties include the seismic strengthening of build- Emotionally Responsive Practices site for con- workers off the bench and back on the job. ings, acquiring repetitively flooded homes, in- tinued research on best practices. The Recovery Act provides $64.1 billion for stalling shutters and shatter-resistant windows Among her professional affiliations are, transportation and infrastructure investments in hurricane-prone areas, and building ‘‘safe chairperson of DC 1707 Local 85 Head Start within the jurisdiction of the Committee on rooms’’ in houses and buildings to protect Employees Welfare Fund, representing the in- Transportation and Infrastructure. Nearly $40 people from high winds. terests of approximately 3,000 members. She billion of those funds have been distributed to Action on this bill today is crucial because, also is a trustee of The Head Start Manage- States by existing highway, transit, and clean under current law, the Pre-Disaster Mitigation ment Welfare Fund. Additionally, she is an ac- water statutory formulas. Of the $27 billion program will sunset on September 30, 2009. tive member of the National, Regional and provided for highway infrastructure formula Therefore, Congress must take quick action to State Head Start Associations contributing to funds, in the past three weeks, 33 States have continue this vital program. ∑ 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 04:33 Mar 27, 2009 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\K26MR8.001 E26MRPT1 jbell on PROD1PC69 with REMARKS E784 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks March 26, 2009 In 1988, the Committee on Transportation to FEMA, the 1997 mitigation investment the winter months. Without them, steel mills and Infrastructure authorized FEMA’s Hazard saved $24.6 million. That investment rep- would shut down for want of iron ore and elec- Mitigation Grant Program. This effective pro- resents a return of 107 percent after just one trical generation would halt for want of the gram provides grants to communities to miti- flood. coal necessary to power generators. People gate hazards, but only provides grants to Another success story comes from Story could not just lose their jobs—but their lives. ‘‘build better’’ after a disaster. At the time, no County, Iowa. There, six homes that had been During the 2006–2007 winter season, trans- program existed to help communities mitigate flooded in 1990, 1993, and 1996 were bought portation of 10,400,000 tons of iron ore on the risks from all hazards before disaster strikes. out with $549,662 in FEMA mitigation grants. Great Lakes supported 100,000 jobs at Min- In the 1990s, under the leadership of FEMA In 1998 when a flood struck again, FEMA esti- nesota and Michigan iron ore mines and lower Administrator James Lee Witt, FEMA devel- mates that $541,900 in damages to the homes Lakes steel mills and 300,000 jobs at supplier oped a pre-disaster mitigation pilot program was avoided. This mitigation project paid for industries.