E1486 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks September 12, 2012 

colleagues to help make women aware of the 

potential warning signs to prevent future 

deaths. 

September is National Ovarian Cancer 

Awareness Month—an important time during 

which ovarian cancer organizations, advocates, and others will be helping to raise 

awareness about the disease and its symptoms. As a member of the bipartisan House 

Cancer Caucus, I urge my colleagues and 

their staff to join me in recognizing September 

as National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month 

and to join us year round in working to increase public knowledge about this deadly disease and work towards a cure. 

f 

TAIWAN OBSERVER STATUS IN 

THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL 

AVIATION ORGANIZATION 

SPEECH OF

HON. PHIL GINGREY OF GEORGIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, September 11, 2012 

Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, as 

one of the Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Taiwan Caucus, I rise in strong 

support of S. Con. Res. 17. I particularly want 

to commend Chairwoman ROS-LEHTINEN and 

Ranking Member BERMAN for bringing this 

concurrent resolution to the floor. Additionally, 

I would like to applaud the work and leadership of our other Co-Chairs—Ms. BERKLEY of 

Nevada, Mr. DIAZ-BALART of Florida, and Mr. 

CONNOLLY of Virginia—for their work supporting our relationship with Taiwan. 

Since its inception in 1947, the International 

Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, has been a 

great resource for the international community 

to develop and foster the most efficient and 

safest means of airline travel across the world. 

In the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks 

11 years ago today on September 11, 2001, 

it was the ICAO that convened a conference 

to endorse a uniform international strategy to 

ensure aviation safety throughout the world. 

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, our friends in 

Taiwan have been excluded from participation 

in the ICAO since 1971. Not only has that diminished Taiwan’s ability to stay at the cutting 

edge of aviation, it has also presented obstacles to the international community as a whole 

because the ICAO cannot completely fulfill its 

mission to meet the needs of all people in efficient and safe air travel. 

Taiwan has a very large footprint within 

commercial aviation that warrants its inclusion 

within the ICAO. The Taipei Flight Information 

Region covers airspace of 176,000 square 

nautical miles and provides air traffic control 

services to over 1.3 million flights annually. 

Additionally, there are over 174,000 international flights carrying more than 35 million 

passengers that fly in and out of Taiwan each 

year. With this high volume of air traffic, Taiwan certainly deserves to have a seat at the 

table of the ICAO—at least as an observer. 

Mr. Speaker, this is precisely what this concurrent resolution seeks to accomplish. Providing Taiwan with meaningful participation at 

the ICAO only benefits both the Taiwanese 

and the international community as a whole. 

Due to our longstanding relationship and respect for our friends in Taiwan, I urge all of 

my colleagues to support S. Con. Res. 17. 

HONORING THE UNIVERSITY OF 

NOTRE DAME DU LAC ON THE 

OCCASION OF ITS 170 YEARS IN 

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA 

HON. JOE DONNELLY OF INDIANA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 

Mr. DONNELLY of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I 

rise today joined by members of the Indiana 

delegation, Senators DAN COATS and RICHARD

LUGAR, Representatives LARRY BUCSHON, DAN

BURTON, ANDRE ́ CARSON, MIKE PENCE, TODD

ROKITA, MARLIN STUTZMAN, PETE VISCLOSKY, 

AND TODD YOUNG to honor The University of 

Notre Dame du Lac on the occasion of its 170 

years in South Bend, Indiana. The University 

has made significant contributions to the 

United States of America since its founding in 

1842 by Rev. Edward F. Sorin, C.S.C. Fortified by a deep faith in God and an unwavering commitment to the common good, the University has impacted the Nation’s history, its 

educational accomplishments, and its outreach 

and ministry to the vulnerable and the poor. 

As Fr. Sorin sought to bridge the education 

gap in the expanding frontier, he began a history that intertwined with and influenced the 

history of our Nation. During World War II, 

Notre Dame established a Naval center that 

trained 12,000 officers in South Bend, Indiana, 

an episode that is commemorated yearly in a 

respectful football rivalry. 

Notre Dame has been a leader in promoting 

diversity in higher education and American 

culture, especially the pioneering work of Fr. 

Theodore Hesburgh as the guiding voice of 

the Civil Rights Commission that crafted the 

framework to end segregation with the Civil 

Rights Act of 1964. An association with the 

Peace Corps goes back to the agency’s 

founding in 1961, when the first volunteers 

were trained on campus under the strong support of Fr. Hesburgh; since then, more than 

800 Notre Dame graduates have entered the 

Peace Corps, more than from any other 

Catholic college or university. 

Notre Dame’s dedication to educational excellence is reflected in its highly ranked Mendoza College of Business and Law School in 

addition to a well-regarded School of Architecture. Its research programs have made great 

contributions to national science and health 

over the years, ranging from the discovery of 

synthetic rubber by Fr. Julius Nieuwland in the 

1920’s to the mapping of the mosquito genome in this century as a way to prevent the 

spread of malaria and other diseases. More 

recently, the Nuclear Science Laboratory 

began construction on a new nuclear accelerator, the first accelerator the National 

Science Foundation has funded in nuclear 

physics in nearly a quarter century. 

The University encourages research and innovation as evidenced by Innovation Park at 

Notre Dame which connects aspiring 

innovators with Notre Dame faculty, students 

and resources, collaborates with industry experts, and supports entrepreneurs. 

Notre Dame continues to build on its inspiring legacy of service which has left a positive 

and lasting impact on the soul of this Nation 

for over 170 years. Its Summer Service Learning Program has provided some 4,000 undergraduate students with a scholarship to perform eight weeks of community service in the 

communities of Notre Dame alumni clubs 

across the Nation. The Alliance for Catholic 

Education, ACE, sends nearly 200 recent 

graduates each year to teach in about 100 

understaffed Catholic schools across the 

country. 

The administrators, faculty, students and 

graduates, have provided leadership that has 

helped shape our Nation—and the world—with 

approximately eighty percent (80%) of Notre 

Dame students active in social service each 

year through the University’s Center for Social 

Concerns. In addition, the Notre Dame family 

contributes more than 400,000 hours of volunteer service each academic year. 

The University’s mission is to cultivate in its 

students not only an appreciation for the great 

achievements of human beings, but also a 

love of God and a disciplined sensibility to the 

poverty, injustice, and oppression that burden 

the lives of so many. Its aim is to create a 

sense of human solidarity and concern for the 

common good that will bear fruit as learning 

becomes service to justice. Notre Dame 

makes our Nation stronger and deserves our 

deepest appreciation. 

Once again, we offer congratulations to the 

University of Notre Dame and join the Northern Indiana Center for History as they celebrate Notre Dame’s 170 years of vision, leadership, and engagement in the community, the 

State, the country, and the world. 

f 

HONORING THE LIFE OF J.R. 

‘‘DICK’’ BIRDWELL 

HON. BILL FLORES OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 

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

pay tribute to J.R. ‘‘Dick’’ Birdwell, a proud lifelong Aggie and former City Councilman of College Station, Texas, and Mayor and City 

Councilman of Lake Jackson, Texas. He 

passed on April 4th at the age of 81, only two 

days after he and his beloved wife Joyce celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary. 

Dick Birdwell was born in Stephenville and 

moved to College Station in 1945. He graduated from A&M Consolidated High School 

and went on to receive his undergraduate and 

masters degrees from Texas A&M University. 

While at A&M he was a member of the Ross 

Volunteers and a battalion commander in the 

Corps of Cadets. 

Birdwell was a longtime Dow Chemical 

Company employee in Houston; Brisbane, 

Australia; Lake Jackson, Texas; and Baton 

Rouge, Louisiana. After retiring he returned to 

College Station. 

Mayor Birdwell served the citizens of Lake 

Jackson as Councilman and Mayor from 1979 

to 1982, he also served as Councilman of College Station for three terms, serving two consecutive terms from 1988 to 1992, and a third 

term from 1996 to 1998. 

While serving on City Council, Birdwell was 

known to extensively study the issues and 

was not shy about expressing his ideas. He 

was always well prepared for council meetings 

and showed pride in serving his community. 

While residing in College Station, Birdwell 

would begin to serve his community through 

numerous engineering organizations, as a mediator for the Dispute Resolution Agency of 


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