September 30, 2002 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1691 United States Navy, and to wish him fair winds sity of Northern Colorado. There is no other proof cockpit voice recorders in their aircraft. and following seas as he closes his distin- individual more deserving of a UNC scholar- Commonly referred to as the ‘‘black box’’, guished military career. ship namesake than Senator Brown. cockpit voice recorders are now a critical com- f As UNC’s 11th president, Senator Brown ponent of aviation safety. Black boxes provide has made a profound impact upon the Univer- vital information about the final minutes of air- COMMENDING UNC PRESIDENT sity. He has helped increase admissions line disasters to accident investigators and HANK BROWN standards three times while maintaining the have helped determine the cause of several lowest faculty-to-student teaching ratio of all plane crashes. HON. BOB SCHAFFER four-year universities in Colorado. He has re- As a decorated Air Force pilot, Pucinski OF COLORADO duced the budget for administration by $6 mil- knew that a recording of last minute cockpit IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES lion, redirecting funding to faculty salaries. conversations would provide vital clues to the cause of airline tragedies. During World War Thursday, September 26, 2002 Under Senator Brown’s leadership, the UNC Foundation has doubled and total assets II, Pucinski led his bomber group in the first Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today under management rose from $43.9 million to B–29 bombing raid over Tokyo. He flew 48 to honor a former congressional colleague and nearly $100 million. Additionally, Senator other combat missions over Japan and was good friend, Senator Hank Brown. Senator Brown has secured more than $270 million in awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Brown recently stepped down as president of state support for the building and renovation of Air Medal with Clusters. From his own per- the University of Northern Colorado, a highly educational and residential facilities on the sonal experience as a pilot, Pucinski under- regarded institution of nearly 11,000 students campus, more than what had been received in stood that, in the last few minutes preceding in Greeley, CO. As president of the University, the previous 30 years. an air tragedy, the cockpit crew is far too busy Senator Brown combined his past experiences Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, trying to save their passengers and aircraft to in law, business, politics, and higher education please join me in commending Senator Hank radio formal reports to a ground station. How- to truly transform the school into a leading uni- Brown for his 22 years of public service and ever, a crash-proof tape recorder operating versity. his deep commitment to the students and fac- automatically during flight preserves a record Prior to becoming president of the University ulty at the University of Northern Colorado. It of everything said in the cockpit for accident of Northern Colorado, Senator Brown served a is fitting and appropriate for us to honor this investigators. distinguished career in the Colorado State man upon the establishment of the Hank As a result of Roman Pucinski’s dedicated Legislature, U.S. House of Representatives Brown Scholarship for Excellence Endowment and courageous leadership in the establish- and U.S. Senate. While a U.S. Senator, he Fund. For generations to come, students will ment of crash-proof tape recorders in commer- also taught night classes in political science at benefit from the opportunities presented by its cial airliners, accident investigation and avia- Catholic University and public policy at the lasting legacy. tion safety have been significantly advanced in Graduate School at Georgetown University. I the public interest, and outstanding results for f am honored to follow Senator Brown in serv- the national aviation system have been ing the Fourth Congressional District of Colo- IN RECOGNITION OF FORMER CON- achieved. rado. GRESSMAN ROMAN C. PUCINSKI In addition, Pucinski spent much of his ca- Mr. Speaker, the House will recall Senator reer serving Chicago’s Polish community. After Brown as a remarkable American. His service HON. WILLIAM O. LIPINSKI serving in Congress, Pucinski became the longtime president of the Illinois Division of the to the country was marked by his courage, OF ILLINOIS Polish American Congress, and he led a num- thoughtful deliberative style, his cogent rhetor- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ical manner, and his honest character. Hank ber of rallies in Chicago protesting com- Brown embodied Colorado in the Congress, Thursday, September 26, 2002 munism in Poland. He supported Poland’s Sol- and he still does today as Citizen Brown. He Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to idarity labor movement, and over the years he represented his state and country throughout pay my respects to a former colleague and helped to raise $1.5 million as the movement the world with clarity of purpose and a noble dear friend, Mr. Roman Pucinski. Mr. Pucinski, gained international prominence. vision steeped in the nation’s glorious history. who passed away in Park Ridge, Illinois, on Roman Pucinski’s legacy will surely include He was and remains an authentic statesman. September 25, 2002, represented the north- his lasting contribution to aviation safety and Coloradans are forever grateful for Senator west side of the City of Chicago in the U.S. involvement with the Polish American commu- Brown’s contributions to the state, for his lead- House of Representatives from 1959 to 1973. nity, but it will also show him as a caring and ership, and for his compassion. He’s a Colo- Pucinski grew up in a heavily Polish neigh- dedicated leader. His daughter, Aurelia, has rado hero. borhood now called Wicker Park. His youth said of him ‘‘He understood that in order to get Mr. Speaker, I have the great honor to know was shaped by his father’s abandonment of things done for ordinary people, you had to be Senator Brown as a friend and mentor. From his mother and siblings when he was a child in the position where people would listen to the time I served in the Colorado State Sen- and by the Depression in his pre-teen years you. He loved the problem solving part of it. ate, while Brown was my Congressman, I re- when he wore govemment-issued shoes, said That energized him. He loved meeting people, lied on his counsel, wisdom and example. As his daughter Aurelia, who followed her father loved wading into a room of strangers to find his successor in Congress, I continue to be into politics and served as Cook County Cir- out what they were thinking, identify with driven by his legacy in hopes that I might cuit Court clerk from 1988 to 2000. them, and have the chance to represent come close to achieving even a portion of Pucinski, articulate and never at a loss for them.’’ Senator Brown’s accomplishments on behalf words, had an early interest in public affairs. Mr. Speaker, Roman Pucinski was a com- of the people of Colorado. The agenda he es- After graduating from Northwestern University, mitted public servant and was revered and re- tablished for his constituency has clearly en- he worked as a reporter, as a bombardier dur- spected by nearly all who knew him. I ask our dured. It is a plan for freedom, liberty, and ing World War II and as a bilingual chief in- colleagues to join me in honoring the memory prosperity that has been followed by Senator vestigator for a special House subcommittee of such a dedicated and courageous man. He WAYNE ALLARD, and me, and I am confident investigating the Katyn Forest massacre of will be greatly missed. that my replacement here will likewise follow thousands of Polish military officers by the So- f in the Hank Brown tradition. He is one of the viets during the war. Urged by Mayor Richard IN HONOR OF MS. DORELLA BOND most decent people I know. Moreover, I am J. Daley to run for Congress, Pucinski entered continually assured by our colleagues who the 11th District race on the Northwest Side in HON. MARTIN FROST served with him that he earned from all in this 1958 and won. OF TEXAS Capitol the greatest degree of respect and ad- From the start of his tenure in Congress, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES miration. Hardly a day goes by without some- Representative Pucinski (‘‘Pooch’’ to col- one saying, ‘‘Bob, please say ‘hello’ to Hank leagues and friends) mounted a one-man ef- Thursday, September 26, 2002 for me.’’ fort to require airlines to install crash-proof Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in On October 18, 2002, Senator Brown will be cockpit voice recorders in airplanes. Despite honor of Ms. Dorella Bond, from my district in honored at a roast on his behalf to benefit the organized opposition from the major airlines, Grand Prairie, Texas. On October 2nd of this Hank Brown Scholarship for Excellence En- Pucinski kept the pressure on and in 1964 the year, Ms. Bond will celebrate her 50th anniver- dowment Fund. The Endowment Fund will as- Federal Aviation Administration issued an sary working for Lockheed Martin Missiles and sist countless students in attending the Univer- order requiring air carriers to install crash- Fire Control and its predecessor companies. VerDate Sep<04>2002 02:59 Oct 01, 2002 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A26SE8.057 E30PT1.