E18 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks January 6, 2009 

who were honored to know him. While we will 

miss him in this life, we know that his residence today is far better than ours is here. 

And we will be satisfied in that knowledge until 

we meet again. 

f 

HONORING BISHOP ROBERT J. 

CARLSON 

HON. DALE E. KILDEE 

OF MICHIGAN

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 

Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today 

to pay tribute to Bishop Robert J. Carlson, 

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, as 

he celebrates the 25th anniversary of his Episcopal Ordination. The Diocese is celebrating 

this event in honor of Bishop Carlson at St. 

Stanislaus Kostka Church in Bay City, Michigan, on January 11. 

Bishop Carlson is a native of Minneapolis. 

He was ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 

1970, for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and his Master of Divinity 

degree from Saint Paul Seminary. He continued his studies at Catholic University of America, receiving his Licentiate in Canon Law in 

1979. 

On January 11, 1984, Bishop Carlson was 

ordained as an auxiliary bishop for his home 

archdiocese. In 1994 he was appointed the 

Bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He 

served at this post until Pope John Paul II directed he become the Bishop of the Diocese 

of Saginaw. He was installed as the fifth 

Bishop of the Saginaw Diocese on February 

24, 2005. 

Currently Bishop Carlson serves as co-chair 

of the Mission Advisory Committee of the Institute for Priestly Formation, as a member of 

the Canon Law Society of America, a member 

of the Board of the International Dominican 

Foundation, as a member of Board of Sacred 

Heart Seminary, a member of the Board of 

Los Cabos Children’s Foundation, a member 

of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors. In 2004 he founded the Messengers of Peace Religious Community in Colombia. 

Bishop Carlson’s pastoral letters, speeches 

and publications reflect his commitment to the 

Catholic Church, priestly formation, the sanctity of human life, and evangelizing. He has 

written on the Sacraments and the role of 

Bishops in the Church. 

Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me and applaud the 

work of Bishop Robert J. Carlson. His motto 

is, ‘‘Before the Cross there is no Defense,’’ 

and expresses his deep faith in Our Lord, 

Jesus Christ. The cross on his coat of arms 

represents his commitment and mission to the 

faithful entrusted to his custody. Bishop Carlson has devoted his life to the care and nurturing of people of the Catholic Church and all 

humanity. The best testament to his life’s 

achievement is the love, respect and spiritual 

growth they reflect back to him. 

TRIBUTE TO WILLIS ‘‘SNAKE’’ 

MURRAY 

HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK 

OF FLORIDA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, 

today I rise to pay tribute to the life and legacy 

of the late Willis ‘‘Snake’’ Murray, an outstanding Floridian who is one of the most unsung leaders of our Miami-Dade County community and Florida. 

A native of Miami, Mr. Murray was born to 

Willis and Mazie Murray on October 9, 1923, 

in Sanford, Florida. One of the distinguished 

members of Booker T. Washington’s Class of 

1943, he went on to obtain his bachelor’s and 

master’s degree from Florida Agricultural & 

Mechanical University, and attended postgraduate studies at Barry University and University of Miami. 

An avid football fan, Mr. Murray especially 

enjoyed attending Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University and Miami Dolphins football games throughout football season. 

Mr. Murray was a volunteer for the Alliance 

for Aging advocating for seniors, the American 

Cancer Society and the Miami-Dade County 

Public Schools Youth and Elderly Against 

Crimes Task Force. He was also a strong advocate for seniors. Each year he participated 

in the American Cancer Society Relay For 

Life, which raises money for cancer research 

and programs. 

Mr. Murray was a staunch believer who 

abided by the dictum that those who have less 

in life, through no fault of their own, should be 

helped by the government, regardless of their 

race, creed, age, or gender. As a community 

activist, Mr. Murray had a penchant for being 

at the forefront of African-American and other 

minority struggles in their quest for justice and 

equality. The unabashed and exemplary service demonstrated by Mr. Murray was evident 

in his desire for youth academic excellence 

and political empowerment for disenfranchised 

Americans. His commendable political activism 

has motivated countless others from all political and philosophical persuasions throughout 

Florida to follow his example of unrelenting 

defense of the ‘‘forgotten man.’’ Moreover, his 

charitable actions toward others served as the 

quintessential embodiment of the Judeo-Christian faith. 

Throughout Mr. Murray’s commitment as a 

community activist, he remained devoted to 

his family. He will be missed by all who knew 

him. I offer my heartfelt condolences to his 

family—his brother, James Murray; daughters, 

Barbara Walker and Karlar Arthur; and four 

grandchildren. 

Madam Speaker, I ask that my distinguished 

colleagues join me in recognizing Mr. Murray’s 

contributions to South Florida. Mr. Willis 

‘‘Snake’’ Murray’s life was a triumph. He was 

blessed with a loving family who took pleasure 

in every aspect of his life and his interests. He 

will be remembered as a true pioneer and 

community activist. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE MEDIKIDS 

HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 

HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 

reintroduce the MediKids Health Insurance Act 

of 2009, legislation to provide universal health 

coverage to our Nation’s children. 

During the campaign, President-elect 

Obama spoke of the need to mandate coverage to ensure that every child receives 

needed health care services. MediKids is the 

simplest, most effective means of achieving 

that goal. While it is critical that any reform 

proposal meet the special needs of children, I 

want to be clear that I am not suggesting we 

start with children or stop with children. I am 

looking forward to working with the new Administration and Congressional colleagues on 

a health reform effort for which the goal is assuring comprehensive care for everyone. I am 

open to other proposals and believe that we 

have to look across the board at various options. However, I submit that MediKids contains many elements that could be useful in 

the upcoming debate. 

Nearly 9 million children in this country still 

lack health insurance coverage. The majority 

of these children live in families with at least 

one full-time worker. Often, their families are 

not offered coverage by their employers at all 

or they cannot afford the premiums. These 

simple, but sobering, statistics speak to the 

need for change. Our system is fundamentally 

broken when a working parent cannot get 

health coverage for his or her children. 

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I think we 

should build on what works. When Congress 

created Medicare more than 40 years ago, our 

Nation’s seniors were more likely to be living 

in poverty than any other age group. Many 

senior citizens were unable to afford needed 

medical services and unable to find health insurance in the private market, even if they had 

the resources. Today, as a result of Medicare’s success, seniors are much less likely to 

be shackled by the bonds of poverty or to go 

without needed health care. 

Sadly, children are now the group who are 

most likely to be living in poverty. Kids in 

America are nearly twice as vulnerable to poverty as adults. This travesty is morally reprehensible, and it has grave consequences for 

the future of our country. Our future rests on 

our ability to provide our children with the 

basic conditions to thrive and become healthy, 

educated, and successful adults. Poor children 

are often malnourished and have difficulty succeeding in school. Untreated illnesses only 

worsen their chance to become productive 

members of our economy. Healthy children 

are the key to our economic future. 

The MediKids Health Insurance Act would 

create a new Federal health insurance program for children. Modeled after Medicare, 

MediKids would provide comprehensive benefits appropriate to children, simplified costsharing, prescription drug coverage and mental health parity. 

Every child in America would be automatically enrolled in MediKids at birth and maintain 

that eligibility through age 23. The cost, adjusted for income, would be applied to the 

family’s annual tax bill, unless they opted for 


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