E2312 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks December 14, 2001 IN MEMORY OF PETTY OFFICER cense Policy Act of 2001, and I am hopeful nity of Ignacio, Colorado. J. Paul comes from FIRST CLASS VINCENT E. we, can pass this bill into law this year before a long line of dedicated community activists, PARKER, UNITED STATES NAVY we adjourn. following in the footsteps of his parents, Casey After months of negotiation in this matter, I and Jean, who have recently passed a mile- HON. CHARLES W. ‘‘CHIP’’ PICKERING am glad we have a deal that represents a win stone of their own by celebrating their 50th OF MISSISSIPPI for everyone. It benefits the government by wedding anniversary this year. His own dedi- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES providing ten billion dollars in revenues to our cation to the community is amazing when one Treasury. It benefits the original license holder Thursday, December 13, 2001 considers he has raised a family of four along by preserving the benefit of the bargain it had with his wonderful Debbie, during his service Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, today I rise originally negotiated. It benefits our bankruptcy to the people of Ignacio and the State of Colo- before the House of Representatives to honor code, by preserving the doctrine of the stay rado. Please continue your service to the com- the life of an outstanding American, Vincent E. and the power of the courts to enforce it, even munity J. Paul and good luck in your future Parker. United States Navy Petty Officer First against the government. And it benefits con- endeavors. Class Vincent E. Parker is originally from sumers by permitting the spectrum to come on f Preston, Mississippi. Tragically, Petty Officer the market as soon as possible, fostering Parker was lost on Sunday morning, Novem- much needed competition. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF- ber 18, 2001, along with one of his shipmates, In a very real sense we have reached this FAIRS HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS Petty Officer Third Class Benjamin Johnson point because of the interest and involvement ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2001 while serving his country in the Persian Gulf. of the Judiciary Committee. When the Federal Vincent Parker, noted for his devotion to Communications Commission was seeking to SPEECH OF God and country, grew up in rural eastern unilaterally take away NextWave’s spectrum HON. JERRY MORAN Mississippi. He attended Macon Elementary assets, in violation of the automatic stay, this OF KANSAS School and graduated from Nanih Waiya High Committee weighed in to preserve the integrity IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES School in Louisville. He was a devout member of the bankruptcy code. The FCC was unable of the Assembly of God Church in Columbus, to ram their legislation through and the parties, Tuesday, December 11, 2001 Mississippi, and he grew up in a loving, well- to their credit, continued negotiating. Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I want respected family with five siblings. I am hopeful that this bill will serve as a to thank Chairman Chris Smith for his leader- Like his brother John, he enlisted in the precedent for achieving settlements for other ship this year. Our new Chairman of the Vet- Navy upon graduation from high school. He similarly impacted parties. For example, I erans Affairs Committee has served our Vet- successfully climbed the ladder as an enlisted would note that Urban Communicators PCS erans well. man and was rated as an Engineman First LP, a minority owned enterprise, has also filed I am proud of the bill now before the House, Class Petty Officer. He was serving onboard for bankruptcy and been engaged in a dispute H.R. 3447. It is a compromise that was the USS Peterson. This deployment was to be with the FCC over spectrum rights. I would achieved over several months by the House his last, completing a successful career in the urge the FCC and the Congress to take up and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees. It Navy. His mission on November 18th was to their case on an expedited schedule as well. contains measures from the health care bill enforce the United Nations sanctions imposed f that I introduced earlier this year, H.R. 2792, upon Iraq following the Gulf War. He boarded as well as proposals from a number of Senate Samra, a ship believed to be smuggling oil for PAYING TRIBUTE TO J. PAUL BROWN bills. This bill will provide veterans greater Saddam Hussein. confidence in their health care system, along Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to Petty with higher accountability for the VA. Officer Vincent Parker for his 19 years of serv- HON. SCOTT McINNIS Important Provisions of this bill: ice to the United States of America and the OF COLORADO Enables VA nurses to pursue advanced de- United States Navy. He is also to be com- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES grees while continuing to care for veterans. mended for his life-long devotion as a son, Thursday, December 13, 2001 This aids recruitment and retention of nurses husband, brother, father and citizen. Petty Of- Mr. MCINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to within the VA health care system, and pro- ficer Parker is survived by his parents, Mr. and take this opportunity to recognize J.Paul motes higher quality of care for veterans. Mrs. Glenn D. Parker Jr. He is survived by his Brown for his contributions to the community Mandates Saturday premium pay to certain wife, Charlotte, and their two children, Vincent of Ignacio, Colorado. J. Paul’s civic involve- VA patient care staff, such as licensed voca- Jr. (age fourteen) and Rachel (age twelve). He ment in the community spans over twenty tional nurses, pharmacists, and respiratory, leaves behind his sister Ruth Marie, and his years and involves the areas of agriculture, physical, and occupational therapists. This four brothers, Glenn, Andy, Steven, and John. education, planning, and economic growth. I provision will ensure that the VA remains com- Vincent was known onboard the Peterson am proud to recognize him for his hard work petitive with other providers. not only for his Naval leadership, but also for and dedication in the following achievements. Requires the VA to develop a nationwide the example he set as a citizen and man of J. Paul graduated from New Mexico State policy on health care staffing to promote safe God. He was simply known as ‘‘Butch’’ to his University with honors in 1975. In that same and high quality care for veterans. friends. He enjoyed the simple pleasures in year, J. Paul became a rancher and entered Establishes a 12-member National Commis- life such as family and deer hunting. He will the cattle and sheep market, a business he sion on VA Nursing that would enhance the most be remembered for his devotion to God, still runs today. In 1978, he began his civic recruitment and retention of VA nurses and country, and family. service and was elected to the La Plata Coun- strengthen the nursing profession in the VA Mr. Speaker, I ask our colleagues to join me ty Farm Bureau, serving later as President of and nationwide. in remembering an American hero, Petty Offi- the organization. He served on the State Authorizes service dogs to be provided to cer First Class Vincent E. Parker. Our sincere Board of Directors for the Colorado Farm Bu- severely disabled veterans suffering from spi- prayers and thoughts are with the Parker fam- reau, President of the Colorado Wool Grow- nal cord injuries, other mobility diseases, hear- ily at this difficult time. May God bless the ers, and was honored as the Colorado Wool ing loss or other types of disabilities that hav- Parker family, and may God continue to bless Grower Of The Year in 1996. ing a trained service dog would assist. the United States of America with heroes like J. Paul continued his service to the commu- Modifies VA’s system of determining ‘‘ability Vincent Parker. nity and state as a member of the La Plata to pay’’ for VA health care services by intro- f Planning Commission, Sergeant of Arms for ducing an index used by the Department of INTRODUCTION OF SPECTRUM Colorado Counties, Inc., and as Chairman of Housing and Urban Development to determine LICENSE POLICY ACT the Region 9 Economic Development District. family income thresholds. This would reduce As a father and firm believer in education, J. hospital co-payments by 80 percent compared HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR. Paul was elected to the Ignacio School Board to current law, for near-poor veterans who re- quire acute hospital inpatient care. OF MICHIGAN of Directors. His performance led him to the Strengthens the mandate for the VA to IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES honor of being one of only five members in the state to be nominated for the State School maintain capacity in specialized medical pro- Thursday, December 13, 2001 Board. grams for veterans by requiring each network Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize J. of VA facilities to maintain a proportional share be an original cosponsor of the Spectrum Li- Paul Brown and his dedication to the commu- of national capacity in specialized health care

VerDate 112000 05:22 Dec 15, 2001 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A13DE8.078 pfrm04 PsN: E14PT1 December 14, 2001 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E2313 programs, guaranteeing that these programs TRIBUTE TO HOOPS SAGRADO and billboards advertising a Burger King and will be there if disabled veterans need them. (SACRED HOOPS) a Domino’s Pizza. ‘‘That’s straight, joe!’’ They get to the ancient and picturesque I am pleased to report that the bill estab- city of Antigua close to midnight, and as lishes a program of chiropractic services in HON. HAROLD E. FORD, JR. they stroll the historical streets, their minds each network of VA facilities. It authorizes the OF TENNESSEE are fixed on things such as finding a burger VA to employ chiropractors as federal employ- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES or a hip-hop disco, They encounter neither. They are more than 3,000 miles from ees as well as to contract for these services. Thursday, December 13, 2001 home—in body, perhaps, not in spirit. This Also, it creates a VA advisory committee on Mr. FORD. Mr. Speaker, once in a while on trip is supposed to show them that there’s so chiropractic health care. this floor, we have the privilege to leave poli- much beyond the ‘hood, but they’re still Thank you Chairman Rockefeller, Senator tics behind and recognize the outstanding looking for home. The ancient colonial arch in Antigua is Specter and Senator Daschle, as well as Mr. achievements of Americans. compared to McDonald’s. They it look at Filner and Mr. Evans, who worked with me to So today I would like to pay tribute to a stunning examples of centuries-old Spanish achieve this compromise for an effective new group of young Americans—very close to my architecture and Antonio ‘‘Biggle’’ Dupree, program of VA chiropractic health care. heart—that have become ambassadors of the 18, asks: playground. ‘‘Is that a church? That’s big, dog!’’ His Requires VA Secretary to assess special In 1999, my friend Bryan Weaver founded a friends call him Biggle because he looks like telephone services made available to vet- non-profit group named Hoops Sagrado. one of their idols, the late rapper Notorious erans, such as ‘‘help lines’’ and ‘‘hotlines,’’ Hoops Sagrado is a cultural exchange pro- B.I.G.—except Biggle has a baby face and a with a report to Congress. soft voice. gram that is using the game of basketball to He walks through a small plaza lined by Provides authority for Secretary to study, help bring a better life to two groups with grand 16th-century ruins—convents and then if found feasible, obtain a personal emer- seemingly little in common, young adults from churches toppled in 1773 by an earthquake gency-notification and response system for the urban center that is Washington, DC, and that forever changed the face of this former service—disabled veterans. young Mayans from the rural western high- Central American capital. But looking at the massive stone walls with small, high-set win- Authorizes critically necessary construction lands of Guatemala. Despite the difference in cultures, the group dows, Biggie says, ‘‘Imagine what it would be project at the Miami, Florida VA Medical Cen- share a common passion: They both love like to be in one of these Guatemala jails.’’ ter. playing basketball. Hoops Sagrado is named A GRAND VISION In summary, Mr. Speaker, this bill will im- after a Native American belief that all races That night was the first in a three-week prove veterans’ health care programs as well are connected through the sacred hoops of journey to the lush highlands of western as assist the VA’s health care personnel to life, and must live in balance with one another Guatemala, a country of spectacular beauty and stark oppression, poverty and hunger. provide quality care to our nation’s veterans, to survive. Group members came to play hoops, but they especially those most seriously disabled and These young men and women are doing had been told they would do much, much least able to help themselves. their part to fulfill what Dr. Martin Luther King more. Veterans of our armed forces deserve a de- said was ‘‘Life’s most persistent and urgent These African American teenagers—nine from the District, two from Montgomery pendable and innovative system of health care question is, what are you doing for others?’’ For the last two years I have had the great County—were to see some of the country’s and benefits. This bill increases our ability to privilege of serving as an honorary chair of the most cherished sites, take Spanish classes, meet the needs of veterans, who have sac- Hoops Sagrado project, and was thus espe- conduct daily basketball clinics for Mayan rificed to meet ours. children and repair basketball courts for a cially pleased to see that last week the Wash- poor, mountainside school. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of ington Post devoted a Metro Section series to They had come as representatives of Hoops the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Hoops Sagrado’s mission in Guatemala. The Sagrado (Sacred Hoops), a fledgling non- Care Enhancement Act of 2001, and I want to series highlighted the hope that Hoops profit group whose leader hoped that such an thank the other Members and staff who have Sagrado brings to these young people from experience would instill leadership skills and worked hard to finish this bill in the first ses- Guatemala and America, a disproportionate a sense of community service in disadvan- sion of this Congress. I particularly want to portion of whom are raised by single mothers, taged youths through playing and coaching and touched by the scourge of violence. basketball. For the players, it was a free recognize my friend, Mr. FILNER of California, trip, a chance to get out of Washington, to and Susan Edgerton and John Bradley, our With great pride in the achievements of see things, to enjoy themselves. Their leader Staff Directors of the Health Subcommittee, as Hoops Sagrado, I urge all Americans to follow had a grander mission in mind. well as Bill Cahill and Kim Lipsky, professional their example in touching young people, and Bryan Weaver founded Hoops Sagrado in staff members of the Senate Committee on review the Washington Post series published 1996 after his first visit to Guatemala, when Veterans Affairs. These and other staff have during the week of November 25, 2001 and he was struck by the role that hardscrabble worked closely with us to achieve this legisla- describing how they overcame hardship to basketball courts played as social centers of indigenous Mayan villages. He returned in tion on behalf of America’s veterans. build bridges of friendship. Finally, I would like to thank them and their 1999, bringing one of the African American kids whom he coached in youth leagues in f sponsors Ben Cohen, Phil and Jan Fenty of Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. Last Fleetfeet, and The National Basketball Asso- year, he brought three. He was convinced REMOVAL OF MRS. BIGGERT’S ciation for the important and honest work they that African American and Mayan kids could NAME AS CO-SPONSOR OF H.R. 3295 did as ambassadors on behalf of this country. learn valuable lessons from each other. They [From the Washington Post, Nov. 25, 2001] are unalike racially, culturally and linguis- tically, but they face the same problems of Ambassadors of the Playground bigotry, street violence and relegation to the HON. ROBERT W. NEY By Sylvia Moreno margins of their societies. OF OHIO Two vans stuffed with tall, gangly teen- Bryan expected members of his group to agers, oversize suitcases and boxes of basket- grow in self-confidence from coaching kids IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES balls wend sluggishly westward from the and to realize that they were not alone with Guatemala City airport on a muggy summer their problems—that others might have even Thursday, December 13, 2001 night, the riders seeing this new world harder lives. And the Mayan youngsters, he through the prism of the one they just left. figured, would benefit from the court moves Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, the House printing ‘‘This looks like Georgetown,’’ says 17- his players could teach and be inspired to deadline prohibited me from removing the year-old Max Costa as the van he rides in strive for more in their lives than a sixth- gentlewoman from Illinois, Mrs. Biggert, from passes a few blocks of small shops and bou- grade education and recycling the meager the list of co-sponsors of H.R. 3295. Mrs. tiques. lives of their parents, grandparents and Biggert’s name was added as a cosponsor of Moments later, whoops and hollers greet great-grand parents. To help the Mayan kids, H.R. 3295 in error. Had I not been precluded the sight of a Wendy’s, one of several fast- Bryan also started a scholarship program to food restaurants on the outskirts of the cap- help keep girls in school past sixth grade, from doing so, I would have taken to the floor ital. when free public education ends in most in- to correct this situation and ask unanimous ‘‘This looks like the Adams Morgan part of digenous villages, unlike in the cities, which consent that her name be removed from the town,’’ Max announces excitedly, as they get enough resources to pay for public edu- co-sponsor list. pass strip malls punctuated with neon signs cation through 12th grade.

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