October 17, 2000 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 23047 carry only one. But the point remains: the only Fonoimoana, Junior Seau of the San Diego Mr. Speaker, I call upon the Prime Minister backup piece of equipment that comes on a Chargers, Joe Salvare’a of the Tennessee Ti- of the Independent and Sovereign State of car is a spare tire, and it is there on purpose. tans, Edwin Mulitalo of the Baltimore Ravens, Samoa and the Governor of the U.S. Territory Today’s tires are complex products. They Naomi Mulitauaopele of the Utah Starzz, of American Samoa to declare November 11th are highly engineered devices operating in Marcus Tuiasosopo of the Washington as National David Tua Day. It will be a day one of the most extraordinarily violent environ- Huskies, All-American UCLA discus thrower that will be remembered by Samoans through- ments of any consumer product we use in our Seilala Su’a, Yokozuna Sumo Grand Cham- out the world—the Samoan ‘‘David’’ going up ordinary daily lives. Modern cars develop pion Musashimaru, Ozeki Sumo Champion against the Goliath ‘‘Lennox Lewis’’—and we 100’s of horsepower, 100’s of pound-feet of Konishiki, WWF Wrestling Champion Tuifeai, all know the results of that famous encounter. torque. They also possess extraordinary cor- ‘‘The Rock’’, and heavyweight boxer David I do not know if David Tua is listening to this nering power and a steering capacity unsur- Tua all have in common? Mr. Speaker, they presentation, Mr. Speaker, but I do know that passed in the history of the automobile. To- are all Samoans. Not Somalians. Mr. Speak- David Tua is a humble man—never speaks ill day’s cars also have braking systems de- er—they are Samoan Polynesians who share of his opponents, and I believe the American signed to bring thousands of pounds to a halt the same cultural heritage like the Maoris of people and boxing fans around the world are rapidly. All these forces express themselves New Zealand, the Hawaiians or Kanaka Maoli, going to remember him well for his talents, through four patches, each the size of a Tongans, and Tahitians. and above all, his sportsmanship like conduct. human hand. That tires perform 700 revolu- After the elections Mr. Speaker, I suggest to As we say in the Samoan language, (the tions per mile, mile after mile to 50,000 miles my colleagues and to the millions of boxing gentleman spoke in Samoan) ‘‘Ia pouliuli lou and beyond with such low rates of failure is fans throughout America, to kick back and turn tino, ma ia malamalama ou mata, ma tafe toto extraordinary. their TV sets on to HBO and witness one of ou ala—ou mama na, David Tua,’’ which Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. said, ‘‘great the most historical events that will transpire on means, Mr. Speaker, ‘‘May your body be as cases, like hard cases, make bad law.’’ Con- the evening of November 11th in Las Vegas— invisible as the air and may your eyes be as gress was put under extraordinary pressure to the world heavyweight boxing championship bright as the sun. May you be victorious in act quickly on an extremely complex issue in fight between Lennox Lewis and Samoan battle—all our hopes and aspirations are with developing the TREAD Act. The TREAD Act heavyweight boxer David Tua. you, David Tua.’’ should not be viewed as a panacea for the re- Mr. Speaker, it is against Samoan tradition f cent car tragedies. While the TREAD Act sets to be boastful and arrogant—but as a totally higher standards for tire performance, tires will neutral observer and with all due respect— PAUL HAMM’S 2000 SUMMER OLYM- continue to fail. Because of the imperfect na- Lennox Lewis is going to painfully wake up the PIC PERFORMANCE APPLAUDED ture of the tire, it will take continual attention next morning and count how many ribs he has from the industry, consumer groups, regulators left, and then he will wonder if he was hit by HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA and Congress to assure the safety of tire con- either a dump-truck or a D-nine caterpillar OF WISCONSIN sumers above and beyond the TREAD Act. tractor, after fighting against David Tua. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES While Congress cannot legislate a perfect You see, Mr. Speaker, this guy David Tua— Tuesday, October 17, 2000 tire, this is good law and improves current he has the heart and soul of a true Polynesian safety standards. In spite of the time con- warrior. He’s got a nasty left hook and a dead- Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to straints, intricacy of the issue, and politically ly right hand knockout punch. He only weighs honor an outstanding young man from my dis- charged atmosphere, the TREAD Act sets out about 250 pounds. He has no neck, and his trict who has recently returned from Sydney, realistic standards that improve safety and can legs and calves are like tree trunks—which is Australia, where he represented his country also be reasonably implemented by the indus- typical of Samoan men who also wear what proudly in Olympic competition. In August Paul try and enforced by NHTSA. we here in America describe as skirts, but Hamm, along with his brother Morgan, be- First, the Act requires manufacturers to re- they are actually lavalavas. came the first set of twins to ever qualify for port comprehensive foreign and domestic tire I want to express my personal thanks and the United States’ men’s gymnastics team. At data, such as claims and warranty information, appreciation to the good people of New Zea- 18, the young men from Waukesha, Wis- that will help NHTSA uncover safety problems land—all the pakehas and our Polynesian consin, are also the second youngest male across the world, not just in the United States. cousins the Tangata Maohi for looking after gymnasts in U.S. Olympic history. Second, the Act holds NHTSA accountable David Tua and his family, and for their accept- Paul’s overall performance earned him a for any data it receives from manufacturers. ance of David Tua—and I say to my Maori 14th place finish in the all around competition. The agency must tell Congress how it plans to cousins—‘‘Tena Koutou! Tena Koutou!’’ Thank The Olympics are always a time of pride in analyze the data as well as what systems it you, Thank you! our nation’s athletes, however this was espe- has in place to process the data. This way Mr. Speaker, in describing David Tua’s cially true for the people of southeastern Wis- Congress and the public knows that the infor- physical presence, I am reminded of a poem consin this summer. Paul and Morgan’s story mation will be used to help identify safety that a Hawaiian comedian Frank Delima once gave us all another reason to watch and cheer problems and not filed away behind some reg- wrote about Samoans. By the way, Mr. Speak- for two of our own. ulators desk. er, David Tua’s favorite past time is writing po- Paul has put years of hard work and dedica- The TREAD Act presents a balanced ap- etry. Anyway, the poem, in part, is entitled tion into perfecting the skills that have taken proach to improving tire safety. Because of ‘‘Abdullah Fata’ai’’ and it goes like this: him to the pinnacle of his sport. He has this Act, we can expect that when a problem worked with his coach, Stacy Maloney, since occurs, it is identified, its cause is established, I’m nine feet tall and six feet wide. I got a neck made of elephant hide the age of six to earn the right to compete and consumers are better protected. In the with the best in the world. To reach the Olym- end, we crafted a bill that is a significant I scrape da haoles off the soles of my feet I drive my Volkswagen from the back seat pic stature at such a young age and with rel- achievement and moves toward greatly im- atively little experience in major events is truly proving consumer safety. * * * * * amazing. f I eat green bananas, tree and all Of course Paul would not have been able to My favorite game is tackle football SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF SA- reach the heights that he has attained without I wear a skirt, but you better not laugh a strong support system. The natural competi- MOAN HEAVYWEIGHT BOXER Cause it won’t be funny when I break you in DAVID TUA tion he had with his brother Morgan pushed half them both to be their best. Their parents, I’m as gentle and sweet as a grizzly bear Sandy and Cecily, are to be commended for HON. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA Only difference is he got more hair the sacrifices that they have made to help OF AMERICAN SAMOA * * * * * their sons reach their goals. From the time IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES I got the nicest smile in all the Pacific Sandy convinced Stacy Maloney to coach his Tuesday, October 17, 2000 I got an island home that’s super terrific six year old sons to the trip to Sydney, the Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, what is But I don’t like fight and you don’t like die Hamms have provided their sons with the op- it that Olympian gold-medalist volleyballer Eric So when I say, ‘‘Talofa!’’ you better say, ‘‘Hi!’’ portunity to excel. VerDate Aug 04 2004 01:21 Jan 12, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0689 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR00\E17OC0.000 E17OC0.