23438 Hon. Don Young Hon. Jim Gibbons Hon. Elijah E
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23438 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS October 20, 2005 leadership, the Bank of Guam became the first ON THE RETIREMENT OF MRS. TRIBUTE TO THE 75 YEARS OF local company to go public when its stock was CHRISTINE KENNEDY SERVICE THE DEPARTMENT OF offered for trading on the Pacific Exchange in VETERANS AFFAIRS HAS PRO- August of 2000. VIDED Mr. Leon Guerrero’s public service includes HON. DON YOUNG tenures as chairman of the Guam Economic HON. JIM GIBBONS Development Authority and the Guam Council OF ALASKA OF NEVADA on the Humanities. He served on various gov- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ernment boards and commissions including IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the University of Guam Board of Regents, the Thursday, October 20, 2005 Thursday, October 20, 2005 Guam Political Status Commission, the Guam Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I rise Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor Waterworks Authority, the Hagatna Restora- to commemorate the 75 years of service the tion and Redevelopment Authority, the Pacific today to honor Christine Kennedy, the Admin- istrator and Chief Clerk of the House of Rep- Department of Veterans Affairs has provided Islands Development Bank Board of Gov- to the servicemen and women of this great ernors and the Micronesian Regional Tourism resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Mrs. Kennedy has served the Nation. Council. He served on civic boards and orga- May we never forget, and continue to honor, nizations including the Guam Chamber of House of Representatives with distinction since 1972. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kennedy will those who made a commitment to protecting Commerce, the Guam Bankers’ Association, the security of our Nation by joining the Armed the Catholic Education Council Board of Trust- be retiring at the end of this year and will be Forces. We owe our veterans a tremendous ees, the American Cancer Society, Goodwill starting a new and I am sure equally reward- debt of gratitude for this commitment, and Industries, the Agana Restoration and Rede- ing private life. I know that she is looking for- commend the VA for their pledge to ensure velopment Corporation, the Congressional His- ward to spending more time with her daughter, that they continue to receive support and as- panic Caucus Institute, Pacific Islanders in Lauren. sistance. Communication, the Young Presidents’ Orga- I have known Chris since I came to Con- nization and the Financial Services and Infor- The men and women of the VA are dedi- gress. Chris started her career with the Fed- cated each and every day to meeting the mation Technology Committee, Saipan. eral Government in 1972 as a clerk at NASA. Tony Leon Guerrero was truly a leader in needs of the millions of veterans who have She joined the staff of the Committee on Inte- defended our Nation’s freedom. the business community. Although he was an rior and Insular Affairs in 1974 becoming the innovator and consummate entrepreneur, the Nearly a quarter of a million veterans reside Administrator and Chief Clerk in 1995 of the in our great State; a number that continues to island spirit in him never changed. Despite his Committee on Resources which was the suc- many accomplishments, he was still just grow. The VA ensures that these men and cessor Committee to the Committee on Inte- women, who were dedicated to defending our ‘‘Tony’’ to those who knew him best. The re- rior and Insular Affairs. spect that people felt for him in his profes- Nation, receive the services they rightly de- sional life was equaled only by the love they When I moved from the Chairmanship of the serve. As a nation, we owe these great Ameri- felt for him in his personal life. He was dedi- Committee on Resources to the Chairmanship cans a debt of gratitude for their sacrifice for cated to the island in which he lived and of the Committee on Transportation and Infra- our Nation’s freedom and security. worked. The Bank of Guam is often referred to structure, I asked Chris to take the position of With an ever growing population of vet- as ‘‘The People’s Bank,’’ and Tony was a Administrator and Chief Clerk of the Com- erans, may we always be reminded of Abra- leader in the business community and a con- mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure. ham Lincoln’s philosophy and principles that science for social activism. He understood that Thank goodness, she agreed to do so. guide the Department of Veterans Affairs: ‘‘To with great talent comes great expectations, Chris is one of those people who often is care for him shall have borne the battle and and he exceeded the expectations of his fa- unheralded and unseen but who is essential to for his widow and his orphan.’’ ther and his business associates as the Bank the workings of this institution. She is one of I join in thanking the Department of Vet- of Guam grew and prospered under his watch. the most organized and efficient people I erans Affairs for their continued work and Tony was an advocate in the community for know. You know that if Chris is on the job, the service for 75 years to our Nation’s heroes. the revival of pride in the Chamorro culture job will get done and will be done well. She is May God bless Nevada, America, and our and the cultures of the indigenous peoples thorough and has a detailed knowledge of the veterans. throughout Micronesia. His bank invested in procedures and processes that keep the Com- f indigenous arts and crafts and the bank’s mittee operating. RECOGNIZING THREE FALLEN branches are themselves centers for the dis- SOLDIERS SERVING IN IRAQ play of Pacific cultures. As chairman of the In addition, she is loyal and generous to her board and CEO, Tony ensured that the Bank colleagues, her friends, and to myself and my of Guam lived up to its commitment to our is- wife, Lu. We have relied on her in so many HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS land’s development and steered the bank ways over the years to insure that our work OF MARYLAND through the difficult years of an economic re- with Committee, including the many codels IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES and field hearings conducted by the Com- cession. The bank’s solid performance and Thursday, October 20, 2005 success is a testament to his business acu- mittee have been done in full accordance with men and his vision. The sense of loss in our the Rules. Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today island and throughout our Pacific region is a I want to express to her my deep apprecia- to pay tribute to three fallen American soldiers testament to a great humanitarian and com- tion for her hard work and for her support of who sacrificed their lives while serving our munity leader. my efforts as Chairman of two Committees. country. I am deeply saddened by this loss and Without her efforts, our Committees would not On October 14, 2005, while conducting con- know that the many people on Guam and have a record of accomplishment that is un- voy operations in the Al Taji area in Iraq, three throughout the Pacific are mourning as well. matched by any Committee. Maryland Army National Guardsmen, 20-year- My thoughts and prayers are with his mother old Specialist Samuel M. Boswell, 23-year-old I know that I speak for my wife, Lu and for Eugenia A. Leon Guerrero, his wife Mari Flor Specialist Bernard L. Ceo, and 36-year-old Herrero, and his three children, Maria Euge- the Members and Staff of the Committee and Sergeant Brian R. Connor, were tragically nia, Alexandra and Jesus. My condolences for the many friends that she has made as a killed when their Humvee was accidentally hit also go to his brother Jesse A. Leon Guerrero member of this Congressional family in wish- and caught fire. and his wife Deirdre, his sister Senator Lou ing her all the best and many years of happi- Assigned to the 243rd Engineer Company Leon Guerrero and her husband Jeff Cook, ness in her new life. based in my district of West Baltimore, these their families, and the entire Leon Guerrero She will be missed in so many ways, but we remarkable young men had only been sta- extended family. Although he will be missed expect that she will continue to be a member tioned in Iraq since mid-August. They were the by his family, friends and business associates of our Congressional family in the years to first Maryland National Guardsman to be killed throughout the Pacific, his legacy of service come. Best wishes to a good friend and an while serving their country overseas since will live on in our community. outstanding staff member. World War II. VerDate Sep 11 2014 10:38 Mar 01, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00184 Fmt 0689 Sfmt 9920 E:\FDSYS\2005BOUNDRECORD\BOOK17\NO-SSN\BR20OC05.DAT BR20OC05 ejoyner on DSK30MW082PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE October 20, 2005 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 23439 Words cannot express the sense of loss felt We must find a way to bring our troops Information Agency, he was in recent years by the Maryland community when not one, but home on a timetable that is consistent with our senior scholar at Freedom House, a non- three of our own is taken from us in an in- nation’s commitments to the Iraqi people. partisan, pro-democracy think tank. stant. I offer my deepest condolences to the Mr. Kemble believed in a robust inter- By the end of this year, the Iraqis should nationalism in the tradition of former sen- Boswell, Ceo, and Connor families during their have their constitution and government in op- ator Henry M.