E1398 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks August 3, 2012 

and her colleagues. Always ready with an encouraging word, Autumn harnessed her passion for the law and traditional Christian values by handing the legislative portfolio of values issues. As her zeal for these issues deepened, she felt the Lord calling her to serve in 

this capacity fulltime and so she will serve as 

spokeswoman for the Minnesota for Marriage 

campaign this fall. 

Autumn has worked hard for the people of 

Colorado. Her conservative and Christian values are needed today more than ever. So 

while I will miss her greatly, I know God will 

bless her in her future endeavors. 

f 

CONGRATULATIONS TO 

LOUISBURG COLLEGE 

HON. RENEE L. ELLMERS OF NORTH CAROLINA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Mrs. ELLMERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 

congratulate Louisburg College on their 225th 

anniversary as an institution of higher learning. 

Throughout its tenure, Louisburg College 

has continued to prosper and educate students during its 225 years, attracting students 

from 42 states and 15 countries. 

In four different centuries, students from 

Louisburg College have excelled in many 

areas of our economy, including business, 

government, politics, education, sports, and 

the military. Today Louisburg College has over 

700 students and nearly 14,000 alumni. 

I thank those who have played a role in the 

success of Louisburg College and join the administration, faculty, students, alumni, Town of 

Louisburg, and the County of Franklin in celebrating the 225th anniversary of Louisburg 

College. 

May God continue to bless Louisburg College, the students, teachers, and families that 

make it a great place to learn. 

f 

HONORING PEDRO LUIS RUSTAN 

HON. MIKE ROGERS OF MICHIGAN

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I 

rise today to honor a true American Hero, a 

man whose focus, drive, intellect and leadership were responsible for spawning innovative 

systems that have saved lives and ensured 

the security of our great nation. 

Pedro Luis Rustan, known as ‘‘Pete’’ to all 

within the Intelligence Community, was an extraordinary American. His passing leaves a 

void within the Intelligence Community and for 

all his family and friends. 

Pete may not have appreciated my remarks 

because he was never concerned about who 

received the credit, only that the job was 

done. However, he was a man who was grateful for the gifts that God gave him and he 

could think of no greater use for these gifts 

than service of the Nation that had blessed 

him and his family with freedom. 

Pete was born in 1946 in a small city 40 

miles from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay. In August 1967, he made a dramatic escape from Communist Cuba with his 

father, two sisters, and brother-in-law. They 

fled to a railway, climbed inside a railroad boxcar and jumped from the moving train as it approached the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo. 

Pete and his family swam and waded through 

a snake-infested swamp before reaching multiple tall security fences topped with barbed 

wire. Pete carried his younger sister on his 

back over the fences. After being picked up by 

a Navy patrol craft they sought and received 

political asylum. 

In the early 1970s Pete studied electrical 

engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and was quickly drafted into the Air 

Force. In the Air Force he served first as an 

enlisted man, and then successfully completed 

Officer Candidate School, becoming a U.S. Air 

Force officer. He eventually went on to graduate school at the University of Florida, from 

which he received a doctorate in electrical engineering in 1979. 

During his 26-year career with the U.S. Air 

Force, Pete ran several advanced technology 

space programs and was mission manager for 

a joint NASA—Defense Department project, 

the Clementine mission, a small, low-cost 

spacecraft that made history by mapping the 

surface of the Moon and discovering ice at its 

south pole. Daniel Golden, a former NASA director, said that Pete always ‘‘seemed to take 

on things that were impossible.’’ He retired 

from the Air Force in 1997 with the rank of 

colonel but continued to deliver intelligence 

systems that accomplished the seemingly impossible with National Security technical systems. 

After retiring from the Air Force, Pete consulted on commercial space ventures and for 

federal intelligence agencies. He was on an 

advisory board that recommended changes at 

the National Security Agency, one of the country’s largest intelligence agencies. As Michael 

V. Hayden, a former director of the National 

Security Agency said of Pete, ’’He was handsdown the most valuable member of that board. 

He was creative. He was energetic. He was 

candid without ever being caustic or unkind.’’ 

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, 

Pete returned to the government, leading research efforts in satellite reconnaissance for 

the Defense and Intelligence Communities. He 

held numerous positions at the National Reconnaissance Organization, NRO, including 

Director of the Advanced Systems and Technology Directorate, Director of the Ground Enterprise Directorate, Director of Small Satellite 

Development and most recently, Director of 

the NRO’s Mission Support Directorate. He retired from the NRO officially in October 2011. 

In each instance he enhanced the capability of 

the organization and demonstrated his well 

earned reputation as a technical innovator and 

advocate of streamlined acquisition principles 

in space programs. He was a true asset to the 

NRO and to our country. 

Pete contributed to improving the world outside of work as well. He personally led missions to a small impoverished town in Honduras where he provided shoes, developed 

aqueducts and tilapia fish farms. In his private 

and personal life he also was one who accomplished the seemingly impossible. 

On June 28, Pedro ‘‘Pete’’ Rustan lost his 

battle with cancer but won his eternal reward 

after 65 vibrant years, passing away at his 

home in Woodbridge, Virginia. He is survived 

by his wife, Alexandra, and children, Peter and 

Amy. He leaves behind a legacy of intelligence systems and people whom he 

mentored to continue to achieve the seemingly 

impossible in his memory. He will be greatly 

missed in the Intelligence Community and by 

the House Permanent Select Committee on 

Intelligence. 

f 

RECOGNIZING HARCUM COLLEGE’S 

NONPROFIT BUSINESS OF THE 

YEAR AWARD 

HON. JIM GERLACH OF PENNSYLVANIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Mr. GERLACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 

congratulate Harcum College of Montgomery 

County, Pennsylvania on receiving the Nonprofit Business of the Year Award from the 

Main Line Chamber of Commerce. 

Harcum College is an outstanding, independent, two-year, co-educational college that 

seeks to prepare students for meaningful careers by offering majors in over twenty disciplines. Enrollment has risen over 70% in the 

past six years, reaching new levels every semester since 2009, and is currently at a record 

high of 1,615 students. Harcum employs 140 

full-time faculty and works with many organizations on the Main Line, including the Main 

Line Chamber of Commerce, the Red Cross, 

Main Line First Fridays, Montgomery County 

Dental Association, and the Shriners. 

Harcum has been the recipient of over $1.3 

million in federal funding over the past five 

years which has been used to update and improve classrooms, technology, student programs, and training for secondary school 

teachers. And Harcum College has been a 

Main Line Chamber member for almost 60 

years. 

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join 

me today in congratulating Harcum College of 

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on receiving the Nonprofit Business of the Year Award 

from the Main Line Chamber of Commerce. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO DR. ED BRIDGES, DIRECTOR OF THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND 

HISTORY 

HON. JO BONNER OF ALABAMA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor 

Dr. Ed C. Bridges, longtime Director of the 

Alabama Department of Archives and History, 

which is the oldest state archives agency in 

the United States. After 30 years of service in 

this position, Dr. Bridges will be retiring at the 

end of the current fiscal year. 

Dr. Bridges is a graduate of Furman University, where he achieved both the Woodrow 

Wilson and Danforth Fellowships. He went on 

to receive his Masters and Doctorate in History from the University of Chicago. This fervent pursuit of knowledge eventually translated into a lifelong career. 

Before holding his current position as Director, Dr. Bridges wore many hats in the academic world; including, teaching at the high 

school level in South Carolina, teaching at the 


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