September 12, 2006 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS, Vol. 152, Pt. 13 17895 IN MEMORIAM OF A SON OF gratitude to Rusty Hammer, who, after 5 fruit- RECOGNIZING TINA BATT FOR HER TEXAS: JUDGE JAMES DEANDA ful years, left his position as president and WORK WITH THE MUIR HERIT- chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Area AGE LAND TRUST HON. GENE GREEN Chamber of Commerce. OF TEXAS In keeping with the chamber’s 118-year his- HON. GEORGE MILLER IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF CALIFORNIA tory, Rusty dedicated himself to improving the IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Tuesday, September 12, 2006 quality of life and economic prosperity of the Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Los Angeles Chamber’s 1,500 members, who Tuesday, September 12, 2006 I rise today in great honor and solemn regret represent more than 600,000 employees Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. for a great son of Houston that passed away throughout the Los Angeles region. Under Speaker, I rise today to invite my colleagues last Thursday. I stand in honor of the late U.S. Rusty’s strong leadership, the Los Angeles to join me in congratulating Ms. Tina Batt, the District Judge James deAnda who passed last Chamber has successfully built partnerships Founding Executive Director of the Muir Herit- week from a battle with cancer. age Land Trust, as she leaves her post after between business, community, labor and civic The son of Mexican immigrants, James eighteen years of dedicated service. deAnda was born and raised in North Houston organizations. These partnerships have rees- Under Ms. Batt’s leadership, the Martinez and graduated from my alma mater, Jeff Davis tablished the chamber as the Los Angeles re- Regional Land Trust grew to become the Muir High School. He went on to graduate from gion’s premier business advocacy organiza- Heritage Land Trust, a powerful force for con- Texas A&M University, but not before he tion. servation in Contra Costa County. She has joined the U.S. Marines and served in the Pa- During Rusty’s tenure, he pioneered many been directly responsible for preserving over cific during WWII. Once returning from service noteworthy projects. For example, Rusty 2000 acres of open space in and around the he graduated from the University of Texas spearheaded the chamber’s effort on local City of Martinez, California. Her passion for School of Law. the environment and dedication to preserving business tax reform and established a highly With a resume of this caliber James deAnda our heritage has translated into a highly suc- could have gone on to private practice and successful workforce development program. cessful fundraising effort that has over the plea cases that would have made him a very His leadership role in creating ‘‘Mobility 21,’’ a years totaled over five million dollars. rich man. Instead he went on to fight for the transportation advocacy coalition, helped se- The Muir Heritage Land Trust has also ex- disproportionate and unrepresented Texans of cure over $2 billion in State and Federal fund- panded its public agency partners to include that time. James deAnda went on to work ing for transportation improvements in Los An- the Bay Area Ridge Trail, the California Coast- cases, pro-bono cases, to fight segregation of geles. By partnering with the organization al Conservancy, California Wildlife Conserva- Hispanics within Texas’ schools, he also won UNITE LA, Rusty helped create a badly need- tion Board, California Departments of Fish and a Supreme Court ruling stating that Hispanics ed and extremely valuable college scholarship Game and Water Resources, the City of Mar- were a separate group deserving of the same program that has provided scholarships, appli- tinez, Contra Costa Fish and Wildlife Com- constitutional protection as other minorities. cation assistance, and college access informa- mittee, East Bay Regional Park District, the While his career was a long and great one, Environmental Enhancement Mitigation Pro- tion to nearly 30,000 students in the Los An- cases such as these serve as witness to the gram, the National Fish and Wildlife Founda- type of character that Judge deAnda was. A geles region. tion, and the National Oceanic and Atmos- man that never sought after the limelight or Under Rusty’s stewardship, the chamber’s pheric Administration. recognition. annual trip to Washington, DC, has become Critical support from well-established public Fortunately for all of us, he did gain recogni- one of the most successful advocacy efforts and private foundations has increased dra- tion 1979, when President Jimmy Carter ap- on behalf of the Los Angeles region and the matically due to Tina’s efforts. The list of sup- pointed James deAnda to serve as Federal porters now includes the Bechtel Foundation, Judge for the U.S. District Court of the South- Los Angeles business community. In addition, his weekly opinion article, ‘‘The Business Per- East Bay Community Foundation, Firedoll ern District of Texas. He later would serve as Foundation, David B. Gold Foundation, Mar- spective,’’ provides an insightful and inform- Chief Judge of the Southern District of Texas. tinez Community Foundation, Gordon and He became the second Hispanic to be ap- ative look at business issues facing the Los Betty Moore Foundation, David and Lucille pointed to a Federal Judge bench. Angeles region. Packard Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund, He served in this role with distinction until Rusty’s talents, innovative strategic thinking the B.T. Rocca, Jr., Foundation, the San Fran- he retired in 1988, he went back to work in the and willingness to work with stakeholders on cisco Foundation, the Charles Schwab Cor- private sector until he began cancer therapy. all sides of the political spectrum have played poration Foundation, L.J. & Mary C. Skaggs Judge James deAnda leaves us with a great Foundation, Strong Foundation for Environ- sense of honor and pride. The footprints that an integral role in the Los Angeles area’s eco- nomic growth. He has truly earned the re- mental Values, Trust for Public Land, the Mor- he has left for us will be hard to follow. Judge rison Foerster Foundation, and the Valley spect, admiration and gratitude of all who deAnda took part in the creation of the Texas Foundation. She also fostered steadfast cor- Rural Legal Aid and he was the co-founder of know him and have worked with him. porate support from Union Bank of California, the Mexican American Legal Defense and While Rusty Hammer will truly be missed in Conoco Phillips, Mechanics Bank, Shell Oil Educational Fund, but most importantly he Los Angeles and at the Los Angeles Area Products, Tesero Corporation, Chevron, Par- changed the law to work for all men and Chamber, we will all continue to benefit from sons Corporation, Shapell Homes, Telfer Oil, women during a time when there were many his many contributions. We are fortunate that Dow Chemical Company, John Muir Health, that were opposed to such change. Overaa Construction, Plumbers & Steamfitters Mr. Speaker I ask for one minute of silence we will also gain from his talents as he con- Union Local 159, Contra Costa Times, Diablo in honor of Judge James deAnda, not only a tinues to work on issues that affect California’s Magazine, East Bay Business Times, and Gal- son and public servant of Texas but also of economy and quality of life. ilee Enterprise. this great Nation. I ask this as his service My husband, Ed, and I are fortunate to have With all of this valued support, Tina Batt has takes place back home in Houston. Rusty and his very special wife, Pam, as dear led the Muir Heritage Land Trust through a f friends. I am proud to join the Los Angeles phenomenal period of expansion. The Trust SALUTE TO RUSTY HAMMER Area Chamber of Commerce in thanking has preserved easements, facilitated acquisi- Rusty Hammer for his great leadership and tion of treasured open space, and ensured the HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD many contributions to the Los Angeles region permanent protection of an important segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, which runs the OF CALIFORNIA and the business community. Ed and I send length of the Franklin Ridge from Martinez to IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES our best wishes and sincere gratitude to Hercules and Crockett. Tuesday, September 12, 2006 Rusty, Pam and his wonderful family. Mr. Speaker, because of Ms. Tina Batt’s Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise many contributions to acquisition and preser- today to offer my best wishes and sincere vation of open space in Contra Costa County, VerDate Sep 11 2014 10:15 May 10, 2017 Jkt 049102 PO 00000 Frm 00207 Fmt 0689 Sfmt 9920 E:\FDSYS\BOUNDRECORD\BR12SE06.REC BR12SE06 ejoyner on DSK30MW082PROD with BOUND RECORD.