September 19, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1569 

HONORING CHANDLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AS A 2012 BLUE 

RIBBON SCHOOL 

HON. JEB HENSARLING OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, today I 

would like to honor Chandler Elementary 

School of the Brownsboro Independent School 

District from the Fifth Congressional District of 

Texas for excellence in education. Chandler 

Elementary School was named to the United 

States Department of Education’s 2012 Blue 

Ribbon Schools Program, which: ‘‘recognizes 

public and private elementary, middle, and 

high schools where students perform at very 

high levels or where significant improvements 

are being made in students’ levels of academic achievement.’’ 

Chandler Elementary School’s performance 

illustrates the commitment and dedication of 

the school board, administrators, teachers, 

and staff who provide students with a quality 

education. The school district, parents, students, and community should be applauded 

for this achievement. 

Mr. Speaker, as the representative for the 

Fifth Congressional District of Texas, I would 

like to commend Chandler Elementary School 

for their continued educational achievements. 

f 

HONORING THE 90TH BIRTHDAY OF 

MARY LYDIA MATTA GARZA 

HON. JEFF FLAKE OF ARIZONA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 

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

commemorate and celebrate the 90th birthday 

of Mrs. Mary Lydia Matta Garza, of Mesa, Arizona. 

Known to her friends and family as Mary 

Lou, Mrs. Matta Garza is perhaps best known 

in the Mesa community as the proud owner 

and operator of the former Matta’s Restaurant. 

Now a Mesa landmark, Matta’s was opened in 

1953 by Mrs. Matta Garza and her husband, 

Manuel. Mary Lou and Manuel opened Matta’s 

with only $1,000, and grossed a mere $25 a 

day in those first few weeks and months of 

getting their small business off the ground. 

Matta’s opened as a small storefront, but its 

family-oriented traditions and atmosphere, and 

of course, its great dishes based on Matta 

family recipes passed down for generations, 

drew larger and larger crowds. The Matta’s 

following grew so much that in 1969, Mary 

Lou and Maneul were able to expand Matta’s 

home, adding enough seating for 350 people. 

Mrs. Matta Garza and her family decided to 

close Matta’s in 2008 after 55 years of serving 

quality Latin fare. But despite its closed doors, 

its traditions, and of course, its great food, 

now live on at Matta’s Mexican Grill in East 

Mesa and Matta’s Grill and Cantina in Northwest Mesa, which are owned and operated by 

Mrs. Matta Garza’s grandchildren. 

While Matta’s was becoming a successful 

business and Mesa landmark, Mrs. Matta 

Garza—in between helping to run the restaurant and raise six children—made many important contributions to the Mesa community 

and the state of Arizona. She launched the 

Mesa-Phoenix and Flagstaff councils of the 

League of United Latin American Citizens, or 

LULAC, and served as LULAC’s regional governor. She volunteered her time at the Southside Hospital of Mesa and Desert Samaritan 

Hospital and served as a board member and 

treasurer of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. 

For her many efforts to give back, Mrs. Matta 

Garza was named Mesa Woman of the Year 

in 1973. 

In her 90 years, Mary Lou Matta Garza 

raised her six children, saw the birth of 21 

grand children, 23 great grandchildren, and 

even one great-great grandchild. She ran a 

profitable business that became a pillar of 

Mesa. And she gave much of her time, effort, 

and love to her community. Mrs. Matta Garza 

is fond of saying that giving back in this way 

will ‘‘reward you tenfold.’’ As a Mesa resident, 

I feel rewarded to have had her as an integral 

part of our community. Thank you, Mrs. Matta 

Garza, for all you have done and continue to 

do for our town and our home. 

f 

EXAMINING THE ROLE OF 

RWANDA IN THE DRC INSURGENCY 

HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I 

held a hearing that examined U.S. policy toward Rwanda following the release on June 

26th of a United Nations report confirming 

Rwanda’s support of rebels who have ravaged 

the provinces of North and South Kivu in 

neighboring Democratic Republic of the 

Congo, or DRC. In the aftermath of the 1994 

genocide until the issuance of this report, the 

international community declined to comment 

on Rwanda’s interventions in the DRC. We 

need to better understand the devastation 

caused by these interventions and gauge how 

the United States can play a helpful role in 

bringing this crisis to an end. 

Unfortunately, our previously scheduled Administration witnesses—Assistant Secretary of 

State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson and 

USAID Assistant Administrator for the Bureau 

of Africa Earl Gast—are unable to testify this 

morning due to events in the world involving 

heightened security for U.S. embassies and 

aid missions. This would have been an opportunity to present a full statement of the Administration position on what has happened in the 

DRC and what needs to be done to more effectively address the root causes of the ongoing conflict there. We expect that they will be 

available to speak publicly on these matters at 

a later date. 

We had a distinguished private panel that 

was more than able to shed light on the crisis 

in the DRC, as well as Rwanda’s involvement 

in the ongoing rebellion in eastern DRC. The 

crisis in the DRC is both tragic and complex, 

and the ethnic cleavages have developed over 

more than a century, although they have been 

heightened in recent decades. The first significant recorded influx into the DRC of Rwandan 

Tutsis and Hutus dates back to the 1880s. 

Other ethnic groups in DRC (then known as 

Zaire) began to fear the influence of the 

Rwandans, especially in the East. The HutuTutsi conflict in Rwanda led to the 1994 genocide there, but Hutu-Tutsi animosity also 

spilled over into the DRC. Hutu militiamen, 

who fled Rwanda after the genocide, have repeatedly attacked Rwanda, and fighting involving Tutsis and Hutus inside the DRC have terrorized the inhabitants of the eastern part of 

the country. 

As one of our witnesses today, Congolese 

Bishop Ntambo Ntanda, told us, six million 

people have lost their lives in the DRC as a 

result of recurring conflict. Far from resolving 

ethnic disputes, the interventions by Rwanda 

in the DRC have exacerbated tensions among 

the ethnic groups who live there. 

In the wake of activity by Rwandan troops 

or militias that they create or support, Tutsi 

and Hutu people living in the DRC have become targets as a result. Rwanda has been 

engaged in armed intervention in the DRC for 

at least 17 years. If this is the most successful 

method to halt cross-border attacks into 

Rwanda by Hutu rebels operating from DRC 

territory, why is there continued devastation in 

the region? Why do Tutsis and Hutus living in 

the DRC seem more hated today than they 

have been previously? 

During the summer of 2008, the National 

Congress for the Defense of the People 

(CNDP), a Congolese rebel group, reportedly 

was backed secretly by Rwanda. It was initially led by Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda, an 

indicted war criminal. A March 23, 2009, 

agreement between the DRC and Rwanda led 

to the arrest of Nkunda, but replaced him with 

Bosco Ntaganda, even then a suspected war 

criminal for whom the International Criminal 

Court (ICC) had issued an arrest warrant in 

2006. When the CNDP judged that DRC 

President Joseph Kabila had broken the 2009 

accord, Ntaganda led a mutiny that named 

itself M23 for date of the broken agreement 

and began a reign of terror in eastern DRC. 

In June of this year, a United Nations Group 

of Experts report confirmed that Rwandan Defense Minister James Kabarebe and other top 

Rwandan military officers played a central role 

in organizing, funding and arming the mutineers in eastern DRC. The report also stated 

that Rwandan military officers engaged in efforts to convince Congolese businessmen, 

politicians and former rebels that had joined 

the Congolese army to join the M23 mutiny in 

order to wage ‘‘a new war to obtain a secession of both Kivus.’’ The report further charged 

that Rwanda was protecting Ntaganda from 

arrest. Meanwhile, Nkunda remains in Rwanda—immune from prosecution for his crimes. 

Aside from ethnic divisions and allegations 

of breach of faith in agreements, another 

source of conflict has been the abundant mineral wealth in DRC, including 70% of the 

world’s coltan (used to make vital components 

of cell phones and other electronic equipment), 30% of the world’s diamond reserves 

and vast deposits of cobalt, copper and bauxite. The UN report stated that rebels in the 

East export precious minerals for profit to fund 

their continuing mayhem and that Rwandan 

officials also were benefiting from DRC’s mineral wealth. 

We have held this hearing to begin the 

process of finding a way to address the factors that have caused Rwanda’s armed intervention in hopes that the U.S. Government 

can offer a lasting solution to the long crisis in 

the DRC. 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with REMARKS