11844 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 155, Pt. 9 May 6, 2009 Federal agencies, but often the rank- at the Social Security Administration b 1615 and-file, who could testify as to what and has helped to upgrade the capacity He received both the NASCAR Award they were doing, their commitment of the Web site that serves bene- of Excellence and the NASCAR Life- and their dedication. And I want to sa- ficiaries, these are people who are on time Achievement Award, and he has lute the members of the Federal work- the cutting edge and providing cutting- come to be known as the dean of Amer- force for what they do day in and day edge services. And they are an example ican motorsports. out. of the innovation that you can bring Truly, Chris is one of the most influ- We couldn’t be living in a more im- into the public service workplace. And ential journalists in the history of mo- portant time, a more exciting time, so I want to salute all of those people torsports, and is the greatest ambas- when it comes to public service. And that make that contribution every day sador for motorsports that has ever President Obama has issued a call for and celebrate with others in this lived. His level of institutional knowl- public service, and people are respond- Chamber Public Service Recognition edge is unparalleled. Not only is Chris ing to that across the country. The Week. most knowledgeable, he imparts or ar- most immediate opportunity that we f ticulates his vast knowledge better have seen was with the passage last than anyone else in the business ever week of a new Service Corps bill, Serve RECOGNIZING CHRIS ECONOMAKI AND THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF has. And he does it with integrity, he America. Senator KENNEDY on the Sen- does it with kindness, he does it with ate side was very involved with this, ‘‘NATIONAL SPEED SPORT NEWS’’ poise, he does it with aplomb, is a word GEORGE MILLER here in the House and that he has often used to describe peo- many others. It upgrades the capacity The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a ple with a lot of class, and he has it. of AmeriCorps and other Service Corps previous order of the House, the gen- In Florida, we recognize the day of programs, increases the number of op- tleman from Florida (Mr. POSEY) is rec- the Daytona 500 every single year as portunities that are going to exist, and ognized for 5 minutes. Chris Economaki Day since the gov- it creates new dedicated Service Corps Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, I would ernor first declared it in 2005. programs. So on this week of recog- just like to take a few moments today As a stock car racing fan and a par- nizing public service, we ought to sa- to recognize the 75th anniversary of ticipant, it is a great privilege to stand lute Members of this House and Mem- ‘‘National Speed Sport News’’ and the here and offer this salute to Chris bers of the Senate and the President of man whose commitment to auto rac- Economaki, a man so many admire and the United States for putting that bill ing, journalism and broadcasting has who has done so much for a sport that into place and for providing those op- not only kept this publication alive has pushed the envelope in the ad- portunities. and thriving throughout all these vancement of automotive technology, It is so critical right now to encour- years, but has kept racing fans glued to brought families and friends together age the next generation to come into their seats during some of the biggest on weekends, and kept the American public service. And there are many moments in motorsports history, Chris competitive spirit alive for decades, ways that we can do this. One is to talk Economaki. Chris Economaki. about the very good benefits and oppor- Born October 15, 1920, in Brooklyn, f tunities that exist, particularly in the New York, Chris was the son of a very Federal workforce. And I tell that successful businessman whose family TWO-STATE SOLUTION story every day to try to encourage lived a very good life until the unfortu- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a people to make that decision. Sec- nate crash of 1929, when they lost ev- previous order of the House, the gen- ondly, we have strengthened the loan erything and were forced to move into tleman from New York (Mr. ENGEL) is forgiveness opportunities that are his grandparents’ home in New Jersey. recognized for 5 minutes. available to people. I was pleased to be As a kid he could hear the roar of the Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I want to able to author, in the last session, the race car engines from a nearby track, talk about the events in the Middle Education for Public Service Act, and he often found himself sneaking in East, particularly the Israeli-Pales- which now says that if you commit 10 under the fence to watch the races. tinian conflict. years to public service, defined as gov- At the age of 14, Chris started selling We all know what the end game ernment service or nonprofit service, copies of ‘‘National Speed Sport News’’ should be: two states, two states living during that 10-year period, you get re- on weekends to fans during races, and side by side in peace and security, a duced monthly payments on your Fed- he wrote a regular column while he was Palestinian Arab state and an Israeli eral loans or federally guaranteed loan, still in high school. But he quickly no- Jewish state. But there is a problem. and at the end of 10 years of public ticed that the success of his paper de- There is a problem because the Pal- service, you get whatever is still owed pended largely on the event’s an- estinians have a divided government. forgiven. What a tremendous oppor- nouncer. So he started announcing at And in the West Bank, Mahmoud Abbas tunity for people who want to go into races and found that he had a real tal- and his party runs the government. But public service and want to stay in pub- ent for that. Suddenly, Chris began in Gaza, the government is run by the lic service. So that is another thing we getting requests to announce from all terrorist group Hamas. can do to bring people in. A third thing over and to deliver the commentary at Hamas believes that terrorism will is to increase flexibility in the work- the races. He became one of the most get them where they want to be. place. I’m glad to have worked with competent and respected announcers in Hamas refuses to recognize Israel’s many in the House to lead an effort on the history of motorsports. Chris was right to exist. Now we are apparently promoting telework within our Federal later made editor and publisher of the going to appropriate $900 million in agencies to signal to people that we are paper he sold and wrote for as a kid. funding for the West Bank in Gaza. I willing to be flexible and work with On July 4, 1961, Chris did his first live am glad that Secretary of State Clin- those who are looking for these kinds telecast on ABC’s ‘‘Wide World of ton has confirmed that the United of kind of job opportunities. That is an- Sports’’ for their Firecracker 250 at the States will not provide funds to any other way to pull people in. new Daytona International Speedway. Palestinian government that includes But the most important way is to Since then he has announced for CBS, Hamas members who do not accept the emphasize the cutting-edge opportuni- ESPN and the Indianapolis 500 to name three internationally backed principles ties that exist in public service. I went just a few. of recognizing Israel’s right to exist, to the Partnership For Public Service In 1993, Chris Economaki was in- number one; renouncing terrorism, luncheon today, and the people they ducted into the National Sprint Car number two; and committing to all of saluted and gave awards to, including Hall of Fame. In 1994, he was inducted the agreements, previous agreements, Tim Evans from my district, from into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of signed by Palestinian leadership, num- Owings Mills in Maryland, who works America. ber three. 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