E796 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 14, 2002 I am pleased to rise today to honor six he- continues to be an event of great significance. Mr. Spetzler also has provided vision and roic and dedicated men and women who re- This year, Bronx Borough President Adolfo leadership in the development of collabora- sponded to this call of greatness. These six in- Carrion, Jr. proudly proclaimed May 11, 2002 tions that support the health of rural commu- dividuals have dedicated their lives to helping as ‘‘Bronx Community College Hall of Fame nities at the local, state and national levels, in- others in need by working in the emergency 10K Race Day.’’ Each year, amateur and pro- cluding the California State Rural Health Asso- medical and ambulance services profession. fessional runners alike from all five of New ciation, Community Health Alliance, California Whenever we face a medical emergency, York’s boroughs and the entire tri-state area Primary Care Association and North Coast whether it is a family member, a friend or co- come together to run the Bronx. Participants Clinics Network. worker, the first thing we do is call for an am- include teams from municipal agencies along Mr. Spetzler has earned distinction as Presi- bulance. According to some estimates, there with faculty, staff and students of Bronx Com- dent of the Humboldt Child Care Council and are almost 960 million ambulance trips made munity College and other nearby schools. founder of the Northern California Rural each year in the United States. It is indeed one of the Bronx’s most antici- Round Table for Health Care Providers. He is And the first people to respond to these pated yearly events and has contributed to a highly esteemed for his successful efforts to emergencies are the millions of emergency strong sense of community within the Bronx. develop high quality facilities to meet commu- medical professionals whose skills and training The race also places an emphasis of physical nity health care needs with a focus on health significantly improve the survival of the patient. fitness and achieving athletic goals. Histori- education, access to care and prevention As a result of their selfless acts, these coura- cally, its mission has been to highlight the Hall Mr. Spetzler has also served the people of geous and devoted men and women save the of Fame for Great Americans, a national insti- California as Statewide Chair of the Expanded lives of thousands of Americans each year. tution dedicated to those who have helped Access to Primary Care Committee. He is a While these professionals do not expect to re- make America great. This year, along with up- member of the Statewide Primary Care Advi- ceive recognition for their work, they deserve holding that mission, the race will take on an- sory Group to the State Health Director and a our sincere gratitude. other important function, The 2002 race’s member of the Rural Health Care Forum Advi- I am fortunate to have met with a number of theme, ‘‘Running Against Asthma’’ is particu- sory Group to the Office of Statewide Health medics from Oregon and have heard firsthand larly important to South Bronx residents where Planning. He is a member of the Advisory accounts of their tireless efforts to serve their the rate of asthma among children is twice the Task Force for State Facilities Financing Au- communities on a daily basis. They are truly national average. It is wonderful that Bronx thority and a Board Member of the California America’s health care safety net. Community College is focusing on this impor- Human Service Organization. Mr. Spetzler is For the past nine years, the American Am- tant issue and raising awareness. esteemed by his colleagues as a leader and bulance Association (AAA) has recognized The 10K race tradition continues under the innovator in the field of health care. those emergency, medical and ambulance stewardship of Dr. Carolyn G. Williams. Dr. Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate at this time service professionals who exemplify what is Williams has endorsed the race since her in- that we recognize Herrmann Spetzler for his best about their field, and bestow upon them auguration and has not only continued the tra- vision, leadership and commitment to healthier the Stars of Life award. These appropriately dition started by Dr. Brown to promote phys- communities and for his extraordinary record designated Stars of Life have been selected ical fitness and highlight higher education, but of public service to the people of the North by their peers to represent them in Wash- has added the raising of awareness of impor- Coast of California. tant community issues. ington, DC as part of pre-National EMS Week f activities. The highlight of their visit to our Na- I can recall the high level of energy and tion’s capital is an awards banquet where they community involvement when I ran the Hall of BBC EXPOSES MILITANT HINDU are presented with this prestigious award. The Fame 10K race. The race has attracted well VHP American Ambulance Association is honoring over 400 runners each year and I’m sure this 113 Stars of Life this year. year will see an even larger number of partici- HON. DAN BURTON pants. People of all ages and physical ability Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that, of these OF INDIANA will be able to take part in the Bronx Commu- 113 Stars of Life, 6 are from my congressional IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES nity College events on May 11, 2002. Along district in Oregon. Tuesday, May 14, 2002 They are: Victor Hoffer, Randy Johnson, with the 10K race, there will be a Hall of Fame Dawn Poetter, Candy Schneider, Frank Excalibur One Mile Boys and Girls Youth Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the Wallender, and Bill Wildman. Challenge and a 2 Mile Fitness Walk. British Broadcasting Company recently ran an Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me Our Nation is blessed by people like Victor, expose of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), in recognizing the individuals and participants Dawn, Randy, Candy, Frank, and Bill who a fundamentalist, militant Hindu nationalist or- who are making the Bronx Community Col- made a decision to devote their lives to help- ganization. The VHP is an organization, which lege’s 24th Annual Hall of Fame 10K run pos- ing other people and serving their commu- operates under the umbrella of the pro-Facist sible. nities. Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). The I am immensely proud of all of their accom- f RSS is the parent organization of the ruling plishments. I hope that they are also beaming HONORING HERRMANN SPETZLER, BJP. with pride in what they have achieved. Oregon HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CALIFORNIA The BBC notes that the VHP has promoted is privileged to be protected by such devoted Hindu supremacy and has engaged in violent and courageous men and women. HON. MIKE THOMPSON acts against minorities. These acts include the Dr. King reminded us that everyone can be murder of missionary Graham Staines and his OF CALIFORNIA two young sons while they slept in their jeep. great. These six individuals have lived it. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES f The report states that the VHP, which it Tuesday, May 14, 2002 identifies as ‘‘a hardline Hindu outfit,’’ rarely TRIBUTE TO BRONX COMMUNITY Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, makes a ‘‘distinction between fellow (Muslim) COLLEGE I rise today to recognize Herrmann Spetzler, citizens of the present and (Muslim ‘maraud- Executive Director of Open Door Community ers’ of the past.’’ It further reports that ‘‘the HON. JOSE´ E. SERRANO Health Centers in Arcata, California, and ambition of establishing a resurgent Hinduism OF NEW YORK honor him for his 25 years of service to the by inculcating what some historians call a IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES health care needs of the people of Humboldt carefully constructed common ‘Hindu spirit’ is and Del Norte Counties. very much central to the VHP.’’ Moreover, it Tuesday, May 14, 2002 Herrmann Spetzler has provided extraor- exposes the VHP’s support for a militant Hin- Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with joy dinary leadership in directing the growth of dus’ project to build a Hindu temple on the site that I rise today to once again pay tribute to Open Door Community Health Centers. The of the most revered mosque in India, which Bronx Community College, which will hold its clinic has grown from a part time clinic staffed was destroyed by the BJP. 24th Anniversary Hall of Fame 10K Run on by volunteers to a system of eight licensed fa- Since the BJP is also part of the RSS um- Saturday, May 11, 2002. This year the theme cilities and medical mobile programs serving brella, it is critical to help ensure the rights of of the race will be ‘‘Running Against Asthma.’’ more than 35,000 individuals throughout the minorities in India. Tens of thousands of Sikhs The Hall of Fame 10K Run was founded in two counties and specifically in the commu- and other minorities have been held in illegal 1978 by Bronx Community College’s third nities of Crescent City, Smith River, custody as political prisoners for many years. president, Dr. Roscoe C. Brown and today McKinleyville, Arcata and Eureka. Tens of thousands of minorities have been

VerDate 112000 04:57 May 15, 2002 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A14MY8.033 pfrm12 PsN: E14PT1 May 14, 2002 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E797 killed by the Indian governments regardless of The dalits, for centuries beholden to the registered hospitals located throughout the the political party in power. It is time to stop upper castes, outraged Hindu hardliners by United States. In 1999, America’s hospitals American aid to India and to support self-de- daring to convert at all, and moreover, con- discharged roughly 35.5 million people. This vert to Islam. termination for all the people of South Asia in The VHP saw this as a serious threat to its staggering workload is handled by highly the form of a plebiscite on independence so notion of Hinduism. qualified professions and volunteers who have that their rights are not subject to the whims It proceeded to whip up Hindu support for dedicated their lives to helping others. of militant Hindu nationalists. a re-defined communal force, organising a I fully support National Hospital Week and Mr. Speaker, I would like to place the text series of religious meetings, cross-country extend my warmest expression of gratitude to of the BBC report into the RECORD at this marches and processions through the 1980s. the staff and volunteers who work in our na- time. This phase coincided with the launch of an tion’s hospitals. electoral strategy by the BJP to corner and [The British Broadcasting Co., Mar. 8, 2002] hold on to the ‘‘Hindu’’ vote. f PROFILE: THE VISHWA HINDU PARISHAD TEMPLE CONTROVERSY PAYING TRIBUTE TO LUCILE (By Rajyasri Rao) Following the success of their campaign, SUGDEN The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) was senior VHP leaders announced at a religious founded in 1964 by a group of senior leaders meeting in 1984 their programme to ‘‘lib- HON. MIKE ROGERS from a hard-line Hindu organisation, the erate’’ a site in Ayodhya from an ancient Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to mosque to make way for a temple to the OF MICHIGAN give Hindus what they believed would be a Hindu god Ram. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES clearly defined sense of religious identity SOME ‘MODERATE’ HINDU LEADERS SUPPORT Tuesday, May 14, 2002 and political purpose. THE VHP Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor HINDU HARDLINERS HAVE GROWN MORE VOCAL Analysts say this announcement heralded the accomplishments of Mrs. Lucile Sugden of Its founders felt the need to present Hin- a turning point in the history of the Hindu Lansing, Michigan, who will be honored on duism in a rigorous though simplified form nationalist movement. which would be comparable to most other The VHP has since then claimed that the Sunday, June 2, 2002, by South Baptist world religions. site belongs rightfully to Hindu worshippers Church and the Lansing community for her The superiority of other faiths was be- who believe that the mosque stood on the years of service, including 75 years of faith- lieved to stem from their being far less dif- birthplace of the god, Lord Ram. Although fully serving as a Sunday School teacher. fuse and more uniform than Hinduism. the claim does not stand up to substantial For 35 years, Mrs. Sugden and her late But its critics call the VHP a hardline archaeological or historical scrutiny, the husband, Dr. Howard Sugden, ministered to Hindu outfit with unmistakably close ties to VHP and BJP are seen to have made possible the members and community of South Baptist its parent organisation, the extremist RSS, the creation of a shared Hindu symbol that Church in Lansing. During her years of serv- whose objective to ‘Hinduise’ the Indian na- cuts through most divisions in Hindu soci- tion, it shares. ety. ice, Mrs. Sugden’s witness has inspired and Central to the RSS ideology has been the motivated many Christian families. belief that real national unity and progress f Even today, Lucile Sugden, who celebrates will come only when India is ‘purged’ of non- IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL her 95th birthday on May 31, 2002, continues Hindus, or, when members of other commu- HOSPITAL WEEK to teach a weekly Sunday School class at nities subordinate themselves ‘willingly’ to South Baptist. She also leads a weekly Bible ‘Hindu superiority.’ study at her apartment complex. LINKED GROUPS HON. PATSY T. MINK Described by those who know and love her The VHP has tended to tone down the rhet- OF HAWAII as a true Woman of God, Mrs. Sugden is a oric of Hindu supremacy and even make an IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES role model for staying active in our golden occasional distinction between fellow (Mus- Tuesday, May 14, 2002 years. She swims regularly in a local pool and lim) citizens of the present and (Muslim) even evangelizes those she meets in the hot ‘marauders’ of the past. Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I rise tub. She has also been seen each summer in But the ambition of establishing a resur- today in support of National Hospital Week, a recent years zipping around on a jet ski gent Hinduism by inculcating what some his- yearly event that focuses public attention on watercraft on Lake Michigan. torians call a carefully constructed common the numerous contributions hospitals make to Long before her jet ski days, Lucile Sugden ‘Hindu spirit’ is very much central to the our communities. VHP. became a dedicated Tiger baseball fan. Twice National Hospital Week began in 1921 when THE TEMPLE PROJECT ENJOYS A LOT OF honored at Tiger games in Detroit, she is a magazine editor suggested that more infor- SUPPORT fiercely loyal and devoted to her Tigers. mation about hospitals might alleviate public This is also something it shares with the Today, we extend our admiration and re- fears about ‘‘shrouded’’ medical institutions Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which cur- spect to Lucile Sugden of Lansing, Michigan. rently leads the Indian Government at the that used ‘‘unusual’’ equipment and proce- Her life truly reflects the direction of II Timothy centre. dures. 2:15 which tells us: ‘‘Study to show thyself ap- This year’s National Hospital Week theme, Earlier known as the Bharatiya Jana proved unto God, a workman that needeth not Sangh (BJS), the BJP was established in 1951 ‘‘Where Miracles Happen Every Day,’’ recog- to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of as a political wing of the RSS to counter ris- nizes health care workers, volunteers, and truth.’’ ing public revulsion after the revered inde- other health professionals dedicated to making pendence figure Mahatma Gandhi was assas- hospitals open to our communities 24 hours a f sinated by a former RSS member. Some commentators say the party came day, 365 days a year. INTRODUCTION OF THE close to obliteration in the 1960s with the In my state of Hawaii, the health care work- CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION BILL Congress led by the charismatic and secular force was one of the few sectors of the econ- Jawaharlal Nehru, leaving little room for omy that grew in the 1990’s. Due to the dra- HON. DAVID WU hardline communal politics. matic growth in this area, one out of every 15 OF OREGON But a political emergency announced by employed Hawaii residents works in the health IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi, in 1975 en- care industry. The State of Hawaii has 2.5 abled the BJS leaders, Atal Behari Vajpayee physicians per 1,000 residents (compared to Tuesday, May 14, 2002 and LK Advani among them, to gain near stardom after serving brief prison sentences. 2.1 nationally). Unfortunately, the number of Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, September 11 Many women have joined the hardliners’ nurses declined during the nineties, and they showed us the horrors of this world. But it also campaign. now shoulder an even larger burden as they showed us the good in human nature. Ameri- But it didn’t really emerge as a political work to help everyone who must visit our hos- cans have been incredibly generous with their presence until the early 1980s. pitals. time and money in response to the terrorist at- A series of events in that decade including As a result of the hard work by these peo- tacks. Numerous charitable organizations were the mass conversion of lower-cast Hindus to ple, my state has achieved a health status that started within hours of the attacks to help the Islam pushed the BJP’s close affiliate, the families whose lives were suddenly torn apart. VHP, to the forefront. is the envy of many other states. The State of Historians say the VHP-led Hindu right Hawaii has longer life expectancies, lower People took time off from work to assist with considered the mass conversion of ‘‘dalits’’ rates of cancer, and lower hepatitis rates. feeding the emergency rescue crew digging or lower-caste Hindus to Islam to be an un- The same dedication to improving the health through the rubble. And over $1 billion dollars forgivable insult. of our nation can be found at the nearly 6,000 has been raised to assist in these efforts.

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