August 3, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1443 

they will assume the responsibility of leadership. 

Mr. Speaker, if these young men and 

women are a representation of the future, I 

know our country will remain a nation of fairness, equality and greatness for generations 

to come. 

f 

GRATITUDE FOR THE SERVICE OF 

BENJAMIN STAUB 

HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR. OF MICHIGAN

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to 

take this opportunity to thank one of the most 

dedicated and productive members of the Judiciary Committee staff for his service to the 

House, Benjamin Staub. For six years Ben 

has worked ably and diligently for the Judiciary Committee, and I would like to commend 

him on his achievements. 

After growing up in Greeley and 

Silverthorne, Colorado, and being named a 

Boettcher Scholar, Ben graduated cum laude 

from Yale University. During his time at Yale, 

Ben worked for the Undergraduate Admissions 

Office, taught health in New Haven high 

schools with the Community Health Educators, 

worked at the Blake Street Head Start and 

Calvin Hill Day Care, volunteered in the welfare-to-work early childhood educator program 

at All Our Kin, and served as a Freshman 

Counselor for Davenport College. He served 

as the Executive Co-Coordinator and on the 

Board of Directors of Dwight Hall at Yale—the 

student-run nonprofit for community service 

and social justice with more than 3,000 annual 

undergraduate volunteers. He interned at the 

Paris branch office of the UN Office of the 

High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) 

and wrote and recorded a year-long radio column for Colorado Public Radio about his senior year in college. He earned Yale’s John C. 

Schroeder Prize for social service and the 

Davenport College Prize for Citizenship. 

Ben came to Washington following graduation to work for the political television advertising firm of Murphy Putnam Shorr and Partners, and following the 2006 election, came to 

work for the House Judiciary Committee. 

During his time with the Committee, Ben 

has worked on a host of issues of national significance—principally in intellectual property 

policy, antitrust law, and civil liberties. He distinguished himself as an excellent writer and 

was instrumental in the Committee’s work on 

performance rights legislation and protecting 

intellectual property from digital theft. He authored large portions and supervised the editing and publishing of the Committee staff’s report Reigning in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the 

Presidency of George W. Bush, and always 

stood ready to work on a host of issues at a 

moment’s notice, including voting rights, health 

care, civil rights, immigration policies, and Executive Branch oversight. 

Finally, Ben is well known among his peers 

as a dedicated athlete and began a trend in 

our office to use stability balls as desk chairs. 

On behalf of the Judiciary Committee, its 

staff, and this distinguished body, I would like 

to thank Ben for his exemplary work, generosity, sense of humor, and loyalty. He will 

be sorely missed as a colleague, advisor, and 

friend. We wish him the best of luck and extend to him our deepest gratitude. 

f 

STATEMENT OF INTRODUCTION, 

RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE 

CENSUS 

HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, today I am 

proud to be introducing a resolution supporting 

the importance of census surveys and the 

data they produce. Special thanks to Senator 

JOHN ROCKEFELLER for his leadership on the 

issue and for introducing the Senate companion, and to the House original cosponsors, 

Reps. MICHAEL HONDA, JUDY CHU, KEITH ELLISON, JOHN OLVER, BETTY MCCOLLUM, JOSE ́

SERRANO, LAURA RICHARDSON, EARL BLUMENAUER, FORTNEY STARK, JOHN LEWIS, and 

BARNEY FRANK, for their strong support of census surveys. 

Since our founding, Congress has recognized the value of census surveys to inform 

policymaking and measure our country’s 

progress. By including this modern invention in 

our Constitution, the founders turned a survey 

into a tool of political empowerment. The decennial census is the basis for fair representation and fair distribution of hundreds of billions 

of dollars in federal aid. In recent times, the information is used by the public and private 

sectors for planning purposes and to better 

understand the needs of communities. 

The statistics gathered through the Census 

Bureau give politicians, researchers, urban 

planners, educators, and other interested 

Americans, a regular and measurable snapshot of the growth and the socio-economic 

status of our Nation. Census programs like the 

American Community Survey and the Economic Census provide vital data to federal, 

state, and local governments, to all sectors 

and industries, and to all geographic areas 

across the country—from rural to urban to 

suburban neighborhoods. 

These surveys are a fundamental building 

block for how our country measures itself; the 

value of these statistics cannot be underestimated. They let us know how we are doing as 

a nation, identifying areas where we could 

grow, where we could be more economically 

efficient, and how best to compete globally. I 

urge my colleagues to support this resolution. 

f 

IN MEMORY OF SHERMAN 

HEMSLEY 

HON. CORRINE BROWN OF FLORIDA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise 

today in honor and memory of my friend, actor 

Sherman Hemsley. This man was best known 

as the iconic and central figure, George Jefferson, in the sitcom, ‘‘The Jeffersons’’ who became one of the most enduring, beloved characters in television history. 

Much of that credit belongs to Mr. Hemsley, 

the gifted character actor who gave life to the 

blustering black Harlem businessman on ‘‘The 

Jeffersons’’, one of the longest-running sitcoms with a primarily black cast in television 

history. 

With the gospel-style theme song of ‘‘Movin’ 

On Up,’’ the hit show depicted the wealthy 

former neighbors of Archie and Edith Bunker 

in Queens as they made their way on New 

York’s Upper East Side. The show often dealt 

with contemporary issues of racism, but more 

frequently reveled in the sitcom archetype of a 

short-tempered, opinionated patriarch trying, 

often unsuccessfully, to control his family. 

Despite the character’s many faults 

Hemsley managed to make the character endearing, part of the reason it stayed on the air 

for so long. Hemsley’s Jefferson loved his 

family, his friends (even the ones he relentlessly teased) and had a good heart. His performance was Emmy and Golden Globe nominated. The show’s producer Norman Lear said 

that when Hemsley read for the part ‘‘the 

minute he opened his mouth he was George 

Jefferson.’’ 

This man, the son of a printing press-working father and a factory-working mother, 

served in the Air Force and worked for eight 

years as a clerk for the Postal Service. 

Having studied acting as a teen at the Philadelphia Academy of Dramatic Arts, he began 

acting in New York workshops and theater 

companies, including the Negro Ensemble 

Company. For years, he kept his job at the 

post office while acting at night, before 

transitioning to acting full-time. Sherman embodied the American dream, to ‘‘move on up’’. 

He had many other production credits other 

than playing George Jefferson. He made his 

Broadway debut in 1970’s ‘‘Purlie,’’ a musical 

adaptation of Ossie Davis’ Jim Crow-era play 

‘‘Purlie Victorious.’’ (He would later star in a 

1981 made-for-TV version of ‘‘Purlie,’’ as well.) 

It was while touring the show that he was approached by Lear about playing a character 

on the sitcom that would become ‘‘All in the 

Family.’’ 

In an interview Hemsley said his show business career actually began in childhood. 

‘‘Making people laugh was automatic,’’ he 

said. ‘‘I was in a play in elementary school 

and had to jump up and run away. I was nervous and tripped and fell down and everyone 

laughed. Their laughter made me relax, so I 

pretended it was part of the show.’’ 

When we visited with each other, I was truly 

impressed with his good-spirited personality 

and optimism that could brighten the mood of 

any room he entered. He was a fun man with 

a good heart. He once said, ‘‘I always told my 

mother I wanted a job where I could have a 

lot of fun and have a lot of time off. She asked 

me where I was going to find that, and I said, 

’I don’t know, but it’s out there.’ ’’ 

Sherman Hemsley will forever be remembered as the loud and boisterous yet goodhearted family man whom he played for almost 10 years. The world is a little less funny 

today, and we should all celebrate the memory of Sherman Hemsley. 


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