June 12, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1225 HONORING LINDA DARNELL IN HONOR OF THE MOST no secret that inconsistent Federal support THORPE ON THE OCCASION OF VENERABLE THICH HO GIAC has hampered Amtrak’s ability to replace HER RETIREMENT equipment necessary for it to provide service. HON. AL GREEN These capital grants will help Amtrak make HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO OF TEXAS additional capital improvements and mainte- nance over its entire network. In addition, the OF CONNECTICUT IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES operating grants authorized under the bill will IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, June 12, 2008 help Amtrak pay salaries, health costs, over- Thursday, June 12, 2008 Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, time pay, fuel costs, facilities, and train main- this Father’s Day, I wish to celebrate the life tenance and operations. These operating Ms. DELAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to join the and ministry of the Most Venerable Thich Ho grants will also ensure that Amtrak can meet many family, friends, and colleagues in paying Giac, who currently serves at the Phap Luan its obligations under its recently negotiated tribute to my dear friend, Linda Darnell Buddhist Culture Center in Houston, Texas. labor contract. The Amtrak reauthorization bill also does Thorpe, as she celebrates her retirement after He was born on January 14, 1928 and is now much for intercity and high speed passenger 36 years of dedicated service as an educator 80 years old. He does not have any biological rail in this country. The bill creates a new with the New Haven Public School System. children of his own, but he is still a father fig- State Capital Grant program for intercity pas- She has been a teacher that is not only loved ure and mentor to many in the Buddhist faith. The Most Venerable Thich Ho Giac has senger rail and capital projects. It also rec- by her students, but respected by her col- committed his life to religion and service. He ommends that the United States establish a leagues—a reflection of all that we hope and was admitted to monastery life when he was high-speed rail network for the entire country. expect our educators to be. five years old. He was ordained as a bhikkhu The bill authorizes $1.75 billion for grants to A native of New Haven, Linda was educated in 1948. He came to the United States in 1982 States and Amtrak to finance the construction locally earning a B.S. in education from South- and became a United States citizen in 1988. and equipment for 11 authorized high-speed ern Connecticut State University as well as an He has two leadership titles: Supreme patri- rail corridors. M.S. from the University of Connecticut. She arch of Buddhist Sangha and President of the However, Amtrak still has many hurdles to began her career at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Overseas Office of the Unified Buddhist overcome, the biggest of which is its $3.17 bil- School where she taught second grade. She Church of Vietnam. lion worth of debt. Although Amtrak has taken spent 24 years at MLK, teaching two genera- Madam Speaker, on this Father’s Day, I ask great steps in reducing its debt by almost tions of students—literally having the oppor- my colleagues and the people of Houston to $600 million since 2002, it still has a long way tunity to teach some of the children of the honor the Most Venerable Thich Ho Giac for to go. As a result, this bill explicitly helps Am- young people she first taught at the beginning his seventy-five years of service and leader- trak manage its debt by authorizing $345 mil- of her career. She has spent the last 12 years ship in the Buddhist faith. lion each year for debt service through at the Edgewood Magnet School where she f FY2013. has taken on the challenge of educating a Mr. Chairman, I am particularly pleased and more diverse group of fifth and sixth grade PASSENGER RAIL INVESTMENT grateful to the committee, under the leadership students. AND IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2008 of Chairman OBERSTAR and Chairwoman I have often spoke of our nation’s need for BROWN, for including a provision that calls for SPEECH OF talented, creative educators ready to help our a report on Amtrak’s utilization of the Beech children learn and grow. Throughout her ca- HON. ANDRE´ CARSON Grove repair facility in my congressional dis- reer, Linda has been just that kind of teacher. OF INDIANA trict. The report will also include an examina- She is well-known among her colleagues as IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES tion to determine the extent that Amtrak is always being the first to arrive in the morning maximizing the opportunities for each facility, Wednesday, June 11, 2008 and one of the last to leave in the evening. including any attempts to provide maintenance Linda would arrive 6 o’clock in the morning The House in Committee of the Whole and repair to other rail carriers. As the largest and, on more than one occasion, would have House on the State of the Union had under Amtrak maintenance facility in the country, it is to return home when it was announced that consideration the bill (H.R. 6003) to reauthor- my belief that the Beech Grove facility is un- ize Amtrak, and for other purposes: school would be closed on a snow day. derutilized and that Amtrak can bring more Linda’s deep commitment to education is Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, I maintenance work to this facility. best reflected in the success of her students. rise today in strong support of H.R. 6003, the Mr. Chairman, this piece of legislation is Her enthusiasm and energy combined with her Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement long overdue and much needed. It is time for belief that children learn best when they are Act of 2008. As this country’s sole provider of us to give Amtrak all the funding and opportu- active in the learning process created an envi- regularly scheduled intercity passenger rail nities it needs to become a more efficient and ronment where children not only wanted to service, Amtrak’s importance and necessity to effective travel alternative for Americans. I am learn, they had fun doing so. The myriad of all Americans is clear. In the face of contin- pleased that we are bringing this bill to the accolades, awards, and commendations that ually rising gas prices, overloaded highways floor and I urge all my colleagues to vote in she has received throughout the years are and congested airports, many Americans are favor of this legislation. testimony to the positive impact she has had being forced to make difficult financial deci- f on her students. Her students were excited to sions regarding their modes of travel. Amtrak be in her classroom and inspired to succeed. has become an ever more viable transpor- COMMEMORATING THE LIFE AND That was her gift to them. For an educator, tation option at such a time, and continues to LEGACY OF DARRENT there is no greater legacy one could leave. be a practical option for many of those people DEMARCUS WILLIAMS OF FORT In a career that has spanned four decades, searching for an efficient and economical trav- WORTH, TEXAS Linda has touched the lives of thousands of el alternative. young people. She has helped to shape their Mr. Chairman, as you know, Amtrak carried HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS education and their character—preparing them almost 25.8 million passengers and posted ap- OF TEXAS with the tools and skills they need and building proximately $1.5 billion in ticket revenue in IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES a foundation on which they will enjoy future 2007. This is a gain of 10 percent over FY06 success. She has also served as an inspira- ticket revenues, and is the third consecutive Thursday, June 12, 2008 tion to her colleagues. Today, as she cele- year that ticket revenues have increased. It is Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise brates her retirement and reflects on her ca- through a combination of increased profits and today to recognize the life of Darrent ‘‘Dee’’ reer, I am proud to join her longtime com- a reauthorization bill that proposes $14.4 bil- Williams and his legacy, the Darrent Williams panion, Stanley Welch, her grandson Vinston, lion dollars over the next five years that Am- Foundation. and all of those gathered today in extending trak will have an incredible opportunity to Darrent Williams, a constituent of TX–D26, my sincere thanks and appreciation for her thrive and flourish. was a Fort Worth native and O.D. Wyatt grad- outstanding and invaluable contributions. H.R. 6003 does much to aid in the contin- uate who died tragically January 1, 2007. Linda Darnell Thorpe is an extraordinary ued growth and vitality of Amtrak. The bill au- Though his most important roles were as son, woman, teacher, and friend and we are all thorizes $4.2 billion to Amtrak for capital father and role model to many, he was also a better for having the opportunity to know her. grants and $3 billion for operating grants. It is star NFL player for the Denver Broncos. With VerDate Aug 31 2005 06:15 Jun 13, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A12JN8.047 E12JNPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC60 with REMARKS E1226 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks June 12, 2008 a magnanimous heart, a desire to excel and MERIDA INITIATIVE TO COMBAT water fountains, Mrs.