E2224 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks October 3, 2008 

noted the incredible power of the press and 

decided its black-and-white pages desperately 

needed more color. Both as a strategist working to draw minorities to newsrooms, and as 

a groundbreaking journalist in her own right, 

she paved the way for women and African 

Americans in an industry home to few of either 

group. She rose from New York Post copy girl 

to reporter by age 20 and soon thereafter became a member of the New York Times’ metropolitan staff—the youngest and first African 

American woman to do so. There, she covered New York and Washington science, 

health, education, and domestic policy issues 

until 1977. At Long Island University, she 

earned her bachelor’s degree and studied 

journalism, and later, she earned a law degree 

from Stanford University. 

But her love affair with journalism did not 

end at the written word. In 1983, she and her 

husband, Robert C. Maynard, purchased the 

declining Oakland Tribune, which then became the only major daily with African American owners. She and he founded the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, where 

they ran a summer program aimed at training 

minority reporters. Cultivating a broader cultural perspective for American media became 

the cause of her life. She served as a role 

model to aspiring journalists of all colors and 

genders, an exemplar of what dedication to a 

cause and a strong work ethic can accomplish. 

That tenacity and sense of purpose will be 

missed, but because of her work, her dream 

of a diversified newsroom has, and will continue, to concretize. 

f 

CAMPUS SAFETY ACT OF 2008 

SPEECH OF

HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Saturday, September 7, 2008 

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, 

I rise today in support of H.R. 6838, ‘‘Center 

to Advance, Monitor, and Preserve University 

Security Safety Act of 2008’’, introduced by 

my colleague Congressman BOBBY SCOTT of 

Virginia. 

Sadly, this legislation is in reaction to the 

numerous tragedies occurring at colleges and 

universities, including the disastrous events 

that occurred at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. The Virginia Tech shooting 

resulted in the slaying of over 30 members of 

the Virginia Tech family and many others 

being wounded. 

The shooting that occurred on the campus 

of Northern Illinois University on February 14, 

2008 also killed and injured several individuals 

on the campus. Unfortunately, because these 

events were the first of their kind for the 

schools, they were not fully knowledgeable on 

how to respond. 

CAMPUS SAFETY ACT

This legislation will assist all institutions of 

higher education and states receive the best 

information possible on campus safety. 

This legislation establishes and organizes a 

National Center for Campus Safety (Center) 

which will: 

1. Provide quality education and training for 

campus public safety agencies of institutions 

of higher education and the agencies’ collaborative partners, including campus mental 

health agencies; 

2. Foster quality research to strengthen the 

safety and security of the institutions of higher 

education in the United States; 

3. Serve as a clearinghouse for the identification and dissemination of information, policies, procedures, and best practices relevant 

to campus public safety, including off-campus 

housing safety, the prevention of violence 

against persons and property, and emergency 

response and evacuation procedures; 

4. Develop protocols, in conjunction with the 

Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, the Secretary of Education, State, 

local, and tribal governments and law enforcement agencies, private and nonprofit organizations and associations, and other stakeholders, to prevent, protect against, respond 

to, and recover from, natural and man-made 

emergencies or dangerous situations involving 

an immediate threat to the health or safety of 

the campus community; 

5. Promote the development and dissemination of effective behavioral threat assessment 

and management models to prevent campus 

violence; 

6. Coordinate campus safety information (including ways to increase off-campus housing 

safety) and resources available from the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education, 

State, local, and tribal governments and law 

enforcement agencies, and private and nonprofit organizations and associations; 

7. Increase cooperation, collaboration, and 

consistency in prevention, response, and problem-solving methods among law enforcement, 

mental health, and other agencies and jurisdictions servIng institutions of higher education 

in the United States; 

8. Develop standardized formats and models for mutual aid agreements and memoranda of understanding between campus security agencies and other public safety organizations and mental health agencies; and 

9. Report annually to Congress and the Attorney General on activities performed by the 

Center during the previous 12 months. 

The Center will train campus public safety 

agencies, encourage research to strengthen 

college safety and security, and serve as a 

clearinghouse for the dissemination of relevant 

campus public safety information. By having 

this information, institutions of higher education will be able to easily obtain the best information available on ways to keep campuses safe and secure and how to respond in 

the event of a campus emergency. 

TEXAS

The good state of Texas has 214 institutions 

of higher learning alone, with Texas Southern 

University, University of Houston, and Texas 

Technical University to name just a few. 

With so many institutions comes, so many 

different standards of campus safety regulations. 

CONCLUSION

This legislation would consolidate the information from the various colleges and universities so that the standards for collaboration in 

prevention, response, and problem-solving 

methods among law enforcement, mental 

health, and other agencies is consistent 

throughout the nation. What is done at Prairie 

View A&M University is also done at UCLA, is 

done at New York University, and is done at 

the University of Florida. 

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6838 

and ensure that our colleges and universities 

are safe places for our young people to study 

and learn. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO ELLEN LANER 

HON. DENNIS MOORE OF KANSAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I 

rise today to pay tribute to my good friend and 

constituent, the late Ellen Laner of Mission 

Hills, Kansas, who passed away on September 28th. 

Ellen Laner led a long and productive life, 

which served to make Johnson County, Kansas, a much better place for her neighbors 

and friends. Ellen was a committed and passionate community volunteer who also was 

very politically engaged. She was named Citizen of the Year by the United Community 

Services; twice named Volunteer of the Year 

by the Johnson County Mental Health Association; received the Hannah B. Solomon 

Award from the National Council of Jewish 

Women; awarded the Stand Up, Speak Out 

Award from the Mainstream Coalition; helped 

in the establishment of Johnson County Community College and served as a member of its 

Board of Trustees; had many years of service 

in the Kansas League of Women Voters, 

eventually serving as President; was very active in the establishment and growth of the 

Mainstream Coalition and served as President; 

volunteered as a Board Member of the Johnson County Library Foundation; was an active 

volunteer for Planned Parenthood of Kansas 

City and Western Missouri, working as its Resource Development Director and for a short 

time was its Executive Director; and was a 

founder of the Johnson County Coalition for 

Prevention of Child Abuse, now known as 

Sunflower House. 

Ellen Laner was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, the daughter of Noland and Isabel Blass. 

She came to the Kansas City area in 1950 

after her marriage to S. Harvey ‘‘Bud’’ Laner, 

who preceded her in death in 1980. She was 

a member of the New Reform Temple and 

Oakwood Country Club, and loved golf, 

bridge, dogs, and professional sports. She is 

survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Joel 

and Marsha Laner, and their three children, 

Allison Laner, Blass Laner and Duncan Laner 

of Kansas City, Missouri. She also is survived 

by her brother and his wife, Gus and Patricia 

Blass of Little Rock, and their children, Gus 

Blass, III, and his wife, Becky; by her sister 

Constance Blass O’Neill and her husband, 

Chris; her sister-in-law, Barbara Phillips of Little Rock and her children, Beverly Wittenberg 

and Peter Phillips and her great-nieces and 

nephews. 

Ellen Laner’s civic accomplishments range 

far and wide, and our community owes her a 

great deal for her leadership in making Johnson County the strong and caring community 

that it is today. I was a part of the same generation of many young women, educated in 

colleges across the Nation in the 1960s, who 

ended up in Johnson County as the wives of 

the young men who worked in various professions and businesses in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Motivated by the political turbulence of the 1960s, we wanted to do more for 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REMARKS
October 3, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E2225 

our community and Nation, in addition to raising our families. Ellen’s leadership in the 

League of Women Voters inspired both men 

and women to use our education to volunteer, 

seek public office, and take leadership roles in 

improving our government, our libraries, and 

our public schools, and the lives of those who 

were not as fortunate as us. Many of the 

women who have served Johnson County so 

exceptionally well as mayors, city council 

members, school board members and legislators were motivated, supported and inspired 

by Ellen Laner. 

Madam Speaker, we were fortunate to know 

Ellen Laner, and we are so very grateful for 

what she contributed to our lives. I am grateful 

to this House for giving me the opportunity to 

share this tribute with my fellow Members of 

Congress and with the American people. 

f 

THE WEBCASTER SETTLEMENT 

ACT OF 2008 

SPEECH OF

HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Saturday, September 27, 2008 

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I would like 

to make clear that no provision of H.R. 7084 

should be construed to opine on what entity or 

entities can be considered a ‘‘receiving agent’’ 

under 17 U.S.C. Section 114(g)(4). I understand that there is ongoing litigation pertaining 

to the qualifications of a receiving agent and 

I would not want H.R. 7084 to influence a 

court’s ultimate decision on this matter. 

f 

EARMARK DECLARATION 

HON. VITO FOSSELLA OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. FOSSELLA. Madam Speaker, I submit 

the following: 

Bill Number: H.R. 2638. 

Account: Military Construction, Army Reserve National Guard. 

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: New York 

National Guard. 

Address of Requesting Entity: 330 Old 

Niskayuna Road, Latham, NY 12110. 

Description of Request: $2.955 million will 

be used for the establishment of an additional 

Civil Support Team. This team, located within 

the New York City metropolitan area, ensures 

that the top terrorist target in the country, New 

York City, has an immediate and prepared 

asset, ready at a moments notice, if a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, high explosive, CBRNE, incident were to occur. 

f 

LETTER TO REPRESENTATIVE 

MCCOTTER FROM THE LITHUANIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE 

UNITED STATES, AUDRIUS 

BRU ̄ ZGA 

HON. THADDEUS G. McCOTTER OF MICHIGAN

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. MCCOTTER. Madam Speaker, today I 

rise to place into the RECORD a letter from 

Ambassador Audrius Bru ̄zga of Lithuania regarding House Concurrent Resolution 255. 

EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA TO THE UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA, 

Washington, DC, September 29, 2008. 

Congressman THADDEUS MCCOTTER, 

House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR CONGRESSMAN: I am aware that on 

September 25, 2008 the United States House 

of Representatives passed the House Concurrent Resolution 255: Expressing the sense of 

Congress regarding the United States commitment to preservation of religious and cultural sites and condemning instances where 

sites are desecrated. 

I write to express my astonishment and 

utter surprise that such a Resolution was 

submited for vote at the time when the process of finding a solution to the issue of the 

former S ̆ nipis ̆ke ̇s Jewish cemetery is at its 

final stages and all the interested parties are 

in agreement of the necessary steps and actions. 

You may well be aware that on June 25 

through July 5 geophysical investigation was 

carried out by a contractor company from 

Israel Geotec on 14 chosen areas. Alongside 

with the geophysical investigation, archeological investigation was carried out by the 

Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Department. 

On September 22nd, based on the results of 

the said investigations the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitieku ̄ nas, 

Head of the Government working group for 

the preservation of the former Jewish cemetery in S ̆ nipis ̆ke ̇s, presented recommendations to the Government of Lithuania on further steps regarding the preservation of the 

former S ̆ nipis ̆ke ̇s cemetery. One of the recommendations of the working group is for 

the competent Lithuanian institutions— 

Vilnius City Municipality, Governor Administration of Vilnius County, the Ministry of 

Culture—with the participation of the representatives from the Jewish community and 

the owners of the territory of former cemetery—to organize an open international competition for the monumentalization of the 

former S ̆ nipis ̆ke ̇s Jewish cemetery site. 

Furthermore, the former Jewish cemetery 

in S ̆ nipis ̆ke ̇s has gained legal protection in 

compliance with the decision of the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture. The Register of Cultural 

Heritage of the Republic of Lithuania guaranties the permanent preservation of the 

former cemetery site. 

During the whole process, the Lithuanian 

Government has demonstrated commitment 

to resolving the controversy over former 

Jewish cemetery in S ̆ nipis ̆ke ̇s by involving 

Lithuanian and international experts, historians, geophysical survey experts, cartographers and archeologists, and International 

Jewish communities, as well as allocating 

appropriate resources for research and analyses. The Government of Lithuania has 

worked closely and will continue to work 

with the representatives of the Committee 

for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in 

Europe and with other Jewish organizations, 

in search of a mutually acceptable solution. 

Mr. Congressman, Jewish culture, history, 

sacred sites and traditions are part of Lithuania’s national heritage. Sadly, during the 

period of Nazi and Soviet occupations (1940– 

1991) much of this has been lost or decimated. It takes time and painstaking efforts 

to undo the damage. Allow me to assure you 

that the Government is committed to the 

preservation of all of the cultural heritage in 

Lithuania and is doing so in a manner which 

is consistent with rule of law and justice. It 

is disappointing when this is not appreciated 

by the colleagues in the U.S. 

Lithuania and the United States are close 

allies. We share the freedom agenda and we 

stand together in defence of our shared values. I am certain that we will continue to 

cherish our strong bonds of partnership. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew 

to you the assurances of my highest consideration. 

Yours sincerely, 

AUDRIUS BRU ̄ ZGA, 

f 

Ambassador. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE IMMIGRATION OVERSIGHT AND FAIRNESS 

ACT, H.R. 7255 

HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Madam Speaker, on 

any given day, roughly 30,000 immigration detainees are held in a mix of federal, state, 

local and private detention facilities. Explosive 

growth in the number of non-citizens in immigration detention across the country has resulted in sometimes shameful conditions of 

confinement and repeated incidents of detainee abuse. 

Although federal immigration authorities 

adopted detention standards in 1998 and 

2000, you wouldn’t know it today. These nonbinding standards, which cover access to 

medical care, the separation of violent and 

non-violent suspects, and access to a lawyer, 

have not been enforced. 

It is long past time that Congress make the 

federal government abide by its own detention 

standards. That is why today I am introducing 

the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act of 

2008. 

The bill establishes long-overdue legally 

binding detention standards for all immigration 

detention facilities. 

The Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act 

also establishes legally binding standards for 

Customs and Border Patrol stations which, 

though not technically detention facilities, 

house immigrants for a few hours or a few 

days before their transfer to immigration authorities. 

Finally, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act treats those detainees who a judge 

determines are not a flight risk or a threat to 

society in a more humane and rational way. 

Under this bill, these individuals would be 

placed in a proven program of supervised release instead of in a detention facility where 

the federal government must expend enormous resources to feed, house and watch 

over them. 

Madam Speaker, I look forward to the 

House considering these critical reforms of the 

immigration detention system in the next Congress. 

f 

ATCHISON COUNTY COURTHOUSE 

HON. SAM GRAVES OF MISSOURI

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I proudly 

pause to the Atchison County Courthouse 

which will recognize the 125th Anniversary of 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REMARKS