E36 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks January 7, 2009 

Representative DAVID SCOTT was very engaged on the issue of energy security and 

was successful in offering three amendments 

to the resolution proposed on energy and security. 

The Committee on the Civil Dimension of 

Security also heard a report on energy security and the protection of energy infrastructure, 

along with reports on Kosovo and the future 

stability in the Balkans, and democracy and 

security in Central Asia. The Committee also 

heard presentations on the Balkans and Central Asia. 

On Tuesday, the final day of the plenary, 

the general assembly debated and approved a 

resolution on relations with Russia. The consensus view was that NATO and Russia 

should resume their dialogue and continue to 

find ways to cooperate with each other on critical issues. Also on Tuesday, the Assembly 

elected new officers to serve during 2009. I 

had the honor of being elected President of 

the Assembly and look forward to an interesting and productive year. 

Prior to arriving in Valencia for the NPA Plenary, the delegation traveled to Italy on November 10–13 for bi-lateral meetings in Rome 

and Florence. In Rome, the delegation received a briefing by U.S. Charge d’ Affairs, 

Barbara Leaf and Embassy staff on current relations between Italy and the United States, 

that continues to be strong. After the briefing, 

the delegation, in honor of Veterans Day, traveled to the Sicily-Rome Cemetery in the town 

of Nettuno, just outside the city of Anzio. 

During the Second World War, the critical 

Italian campaign was launched in Sicily and 

proceeded up the coast of Italy. The delegation visited the resting place of almost 8,000 

U.S. soldiers, sailors, and airman who died in 

the liberation of Sicily and in the landings at 

Salerno and Anzio. The beautiful cemetery is 

managed by the U.S. American Battle Monuments Commission. Together, the members of 

the delegation laid a wreath at the cemetery’s 

central monument, ‘‘Brothers in Arms.’’ Members of the delegation also visited individual 

graves of fallen soldiers from their states to 

place a rose in memory of those servicemen. 

This was perhaps the most memorable and 

poignant moment of the delegation’s trip. We 

were deeply honored to visit the cemetery and 

want to thank Ron Grosso of the Commission 

and Joseph Bevilacqua, Cemetery Superintendent, for their hospitality and the fine job 

they do preserving the memory of those U.S. 

servicemen who gave their lives in Italy. 

Upon our return to Rome, the delegation 

visited the NATO Defense College for a tour 

and briefing by the College Commandant, Lt. 

Gen. Wolf-Dieter Loeser. The College was 

created in 1951 at the suggestion of General 

Dwight Eisenhower who argued that military 

officers from the newly created NATO Alliance 

‘‘needed an establishment where they could 

meet and learn to operate together.’’ The 

Commandant briefed us on the work taking 

place at the College and the issues currently 

under discussion in the Fall curriculum. We 

also had the opportunity to meet several U.S. 

military personnel attending the Senior 

Course. 

Following the visit to the Defense College, 

the delegation visited the Italian Ministry of 

Defense. We were briefed by the Deputy Minister of Defense Crosetto and the head of the 

Italian General Staff, General Camporini who 

gave us an overview of the numerous operations that the Italian military were currently 

engaged in. Italy has approximately 8,000 

troops stationed abroad, including 2,200 in the 

ISAF mission in Afghanistan, 2,500 in Lebanon, and 83 engaged in training the Iraqi National Police. This meeting provided a precise, 

focused discussion of how Italy is contributing 

to the global security mission. 

Also in Rome, the delegation was hosted at 

a working lunch by Senator Sergio Di 

Gregorio, President of the Italian delegation to 

the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. We had a 

very animated discussion on issues ranging 

from the U.S. presidential elections, to Afghanistan, to Russia and energy security. At the 

time of our visit, the Italian Senate was in the 

middle of a debate on their defense budget. 

With the global economic crisis affecting everyone, Senator Di Gregorio told us that the 

defense budget for next year would be less 

than 1 percent of the Italian GDP. As a result, 

we were told it was unlikely that Italy could do 

much more in Afghanistan. Following our 

meeting at the Senate, the delegation met with 

Mr. Gianni Letta, Under Secretary of the 

Council of Ministers and close advisor to 

Prime Minister Berlusconi. Mr. Letta covered a 

range of issues but spent some time addressing the impact of the global financial crisis on 

Italy. 

On November 13, the delegation traveled to 

Florence. We were met by U.S. Consul General Mary Ellen Countryman who briefed the 

delegation on the work the Consulate does in 

Tuscany and the surrounding region. Tuscany 

is home to several thousand U.S. citizens, retired, employed, or students studying abroad. 

While in Florence we also visited the European University Institute which operates a 

campus comprising doctoral students from all 

over Europe. We were warmly welcomed by 

EUI President Yves Menv, faculty and students. A lively discussion followed on the U.S. 

elections and its impact on transatlantic relations, the differences between the European 

and U.S. views of the world, and the future 

role of NATO, relations with Russia, and the 

conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Our visit to Italy concluded that evening at 

a dinner hosted by New York University which 

operates a campus outside Florence for American students studying in Italy. Our dinner was 

hosted by Ms. Ellyn Toscano, Director of the 

Campus. Ellyn is no stranger to the House of 

Representatives where she served for several 

years as the chief of staff to our colleague, 

JOSE ́ SERRANO. 

Madam Speaker, the NATO Parliamentary 

Assembly provides a unique opportunity for 

Members of Congress to engage in serious 

discussions on critical issues with our colleagues from other NATO member states. I 

believe our delegation, and thus this Congress, benefits greatly from the information we 

exchange and the personalities we meet during these meetings. I look forward to a very 

productive Assembly during 2009. 

In conclusion, I would like to acknowledge 

the hard work and dedication of our Embassy 

staff in Rome and Madrid, our Consular services in Florence and our entire military escort 

group from the United States Air Force, including the pilots who took us to Europe and back 

for the NPA sessions. Our diplomatic corps 

and military personnel provide a quiet but invaluable service in ensuring safety and an efficient schedule for U.S. congressional delegations, and this group of diplomats, servicemen 

and women was no exception. I thank them 

for their hard work and their dedication to 

duty. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO MUNSON’S 

CHOCOLATES 

HON. JOE COURTNEY OF CONNECTICUT

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 

Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise 

today to honor Bob Munson and the employees of Munson’s Chocolates which is 

headquartered in Bolton, Connecticut. 

During the recent holiday season, I had the 

privilege of visiting Iraq and Afghanistan with 

a Congressional Delegation led by Representative GENE TAYLOR of Mississippi and witnessed first hand the important work being 

done by the men and women of our armed 

forces. Our group spent time meeting with civilian and military leaders serving on the 

ground in each country. The holidays are always a difficult time for the men and women 

of the armed forces as they are away from 

their loved ones. One of the things that they 

will tell you makes this time of year a little 

easier is to enjoy some of the comforts of 

home. 

Thanks to Bob Munson, President of 

Munson’s Chocolates of Bolton, the men and 

women of the 890th Engineer Battalion and 

the 926th Engineer Brigade, Multi-National Division currently serving in Baghdad were able 

to enjoy a sweet reminder of home. A few 

days before Christmas Congressman TAYLOR

arranged for 2,000 pounds of shrimp gumbo to 

be served to the battalion and Munson’s donated almost 600 Connecticut made chocolate 

bars for dessert. This gift is just another example of the generosity of the Munson family, 

who for generations has been active supporters of the military community. 

The Munson family of employees is no 

stranger to the heartache families endure 

while their loved ones are serving overseas. 

During my visit to the Munson factory, I had 

the honor of meeting Kay Doherty. Kay’s son 

Stephen recently returned from a tour in Iraq. 

As Kay can attest, the holidays are an extremely difficult and trying time for military 

families which is why this generous gift is so 

timely. 

f 

HONORING JADE MOORE, THERE 

WAS NO BETTER FRIEND OF 

TEACHERS 

HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG OF FLORIDA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Madam Speaker, 

Pinellas County, Florida lost one of the pillars 

of our community and our teachers lost their 

greatest advocate December 16th with the 

passing of Jade Moore. 

Jade served for 34 years as Executive Director of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association. In that role, he was the champion 

for teachers, but he was also the champion for 

the students they taught. 

Jade Moore was a tough but fair negotiator, 

one who earned the trust and respect of all 


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January 7, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E37 

those with whom he came in touch. He grew 

up in Pinellas County and was a product of 

Pinellas County schools having graduated 

from Clearwater High School. 

His advice was eagerly sought not just by 

this Congressman but by Governors, legislators, school board members and community 

leaders. And it was just not advice on educational issues. In fact, Jade was just completing a difficult term as the Governor’s appointee to the Florida Taxation and Budget 

Review Commission. 

More than 700 people turned out this past 

Saturday to memorialize Jade Moore and pay 

tribute to his life as a husband, a father, an 

educator, a community leader, a Sunday 

school teacher, and a friend to many. Following my remarks, I will include an article 

‘‘Boisterous and fitting farewell’’ by Thomas 

Tobin and Donna Winchester of The St. Petersburg Times on January 4, 2009 which 

talks about the very moving and uplifting memorial service. Also, I will include a December 

20, 2008 column by Jon East of The St. Petersburg Times which describes Jade as a 

tough but friendly advocate. As Mr. East says 

in concluding his column, Jade Moore ‘‘honestly believed in saving one soul, one child, at 

a time.’’ 

Madam Speaker, at a time when our Nation 

looks to its elected leaders to come together 

and put politics aside to do the people’s business, Jade Moore should be an enduring example of how we can serve our constituencies 

and express our views with respect rather 

than conflict. We have lost a great leader in 

Jade Moore, but we must not lose those lessons from a lifetime of leadership he leaves 

behind. 

[From the St. Petersburg Times, Jan. 3, 2009] 

BOISTEROUS AND FITTING FAREWELL

(By Thomas C. Tobin and Donna Winchester) 

CLEARWATER.—He loved roses and Broadway musicals. He stunk at golf, though he 

had a whale of a time playing it. 

He was an optimist, active in his church, 

strong in his views. He was a reader and a 

smiler, a pundit, a partier, a people lover. 

And when it came to teachers, Jade Thomas Moore—the executive director of the 

Pinellas teachers union for 34 years—was no 

pushover. 

‘‘He fought hard for them and he loved 

them,’’ Tim Moore said at a memorial service for his brother Saturday. ‘‘If you want to 

remember Jade, remember that love for 

teachers.’’ 

Pinellas County’s education and political 

communities turned out in force to remember Mr. Moore, who died Dec. 18 at age 61 

after suffering his second stroke in a year. 

More than 700 people jammed Trinity Presbyterian Church in Clearwater for an 

hourlong service that recalled his success as 

a family man, his long career as an educator 

and the outgoing personality that endeared 

him to allies and adversaries alike. 

The congregation included state and county officials, legislators, judges, lawyers and 

school system employees of every stripe— 

from support workers and teachers to top administrators and school board members. 

In keeping with Mr. Moore’s love of food 

and celebration, hundreds of mourners reconvened at union headquarters in Largo for an 

evening of eating, drinking, tears, laughter 

and toasts. 

Guests arrived to a massive potluck 

spread, a full bar and a chance to talk about 

Mr. Moore for up to three minutes. 

A DJ played Broadway hits, popular songs 

from the 1950s and ’60s and Mr. Moore’s favorite, Blue Moon by the Marcels. 

‘‘The noise is what Jade would want to 

have happened,’’ his wife, Sue Moore, told 

the crowd. ‘‘He would want us talking to 

each other and drinking a whole lot.’’ 

She offered a toast: ‘‘To the best man I’ve 

known and the best man I will ever know.’’ 

Said U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D–Tampa: 

‘‘He believed in the power of education. He 

believed in the power of teachers. He believed we could take this state forward.’’ 

Kim Black, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, said Mr. Moore 

served with her and 12 other presidents during his tenure. 

‘‘Jade has adapted to every one of us,’’ she 

said. ‘‘He has been the constant. When we 

were weak, he was strong.’’ 

She said his favorite part of the job was 

visiting schools. Black and Mr. Moore had 

been to 40 so far this year and planned many 

more visits in the upcoming semester. 

‘‘He was about bringing joy to the workplace,’’ Black said. ‘‘He was about bringing 

joy to everybody he knew.’’ 

County Commissioner Susan Latvala recalled her time on the Pinellas School Board 

from 1992 to 2000. 

‘‘I don’t know if I would have survived 

those eight years without Jade,’’ she told the 

crowd. ‘‘He would call me to say, ’Susan, 

why don’t you come over to the office and 

we’ll have a drink.’ It was never a 15-minute 

conversation.’’ 

Upstairs at union headquarters Saturday, 

Mr. Moore’s office remained as he left it on 

Dec. 15, his last day of work. 

An avid reader who would polish off a 

dozen books during vacations to North Carolina, he had three books on his desk. 

The titles: I Haven’t Understood Anything 

since 1962, Educational Conflict in the Sunshine State and The Language of God. 

Mr. Moore was known in Pinellas and 

across the state for his knowledge of Florida’s budget and politics. He took tough 

stances, including pushing for a teacher raise 

this year even as the district plunged into a 

deep economic hole. But he maintained a 

collaborative style and an optimistic outlook. 

‘‘All of us knew that Jade meant what he 

said, that ... his views were in support of the 

many, not of the few, and that he would always, no matter what, stand by his beliefs,’’ 

said the Rev. Victoria ByRoade, a local Presbyterian pastor who eulogized him Saturday. 

‘‘Jade Moore was a man we could trust.’’ 

[From the St. Petersburg Times, Dec. 20, 

2008] 

A TOUGH, FRIENDLY ADVOCATE

(By Jon East) 

What made Jade Moore such an institution 

in Pinellas public education was also what 

made him such an invaluable source to those 

of us who watched from the sidelines. Moore, 

who died Thursday after suffering a stroke, 

knew his stuff. He believed in what he was 

doing, and he would never let education ideology cloud his plain assessment of right and 

wrong. And, yes, Moore would speak his 

mind, usually with blunt, sometimes profane and often comic effect. 

Moore ran a union with 8,000 teachers and 

could throw a punch with the best of them. 

He retaliated to legislative cutbacks in 1991 

by stuffing what was then called the Florida. 

Suncoast Dome with 15,000 educators and 

supporters holding signs imploring, ‘‘Don’t 

$hortchange our Kids.’’ He skewered a 

Pinellas School Board that in 1998 voted to 

seek an end to the federal court order on desegregation, and then fought a choice plan 

for student assignment that he viewed as a 

retreat. But Moore became a force in education policy for three decades in part because conflict was not really in his genes and 

was never his first impulse. 

School boards and superintendents from 

other locales would marvel at the relationship between the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association and the school administration. Most contracts through the years were 

signed after friendly collaboration, not 

threats and mediation. Moore came to respect most of the superintendents with 

whom he worked, though he remained partial to Scott Rose for his inspirational style 

through the 1980s. Moore managed to develop 

such strong bonds with school officials that 

former superintendent Clayton Wilcox made 

the unfortunate mistake upon his arrival in 

2004 of seeing Moore as part of a good ol’ boy 

network that needed to be rooted out. Moore 

remained as Wilcox left. 

The Moore persona was a tapestry of color 

and contradiction. He would cuss enough to 

make the timid blush. But he also was a 

Sunday school teacher who really did live by 

the Golden Rule. Nothing got him angrier 

than to see teachers be made scapegoats for 

political causes or to be publicly humiliated 

for private and personal transgressions. But 

he would avoid like the plague defending any 

teacher who he believed didn’t belong in the 

classroom. He was an unabashed liberal 

Democrat, but he befriended so many Republicans that he even managed an appointment 

from Gov. Charlie Crist to a constitutional 

taxation review panel. He could describe, in 

detail, the district cost differential multiplier in the Florida Education Finance Program but—much preferred to settle budgetary policy over a bottle of bourbon. 

Back in the early 1990s, when tensions were 

high with then-superintendent Howard 

Hinesley, Moore was persuaded by a former 

PCTA president to lobby School Board members for the four votes necessary to remove 

Hinesley. He failed, and to the day he passed 

away he seemed to regret what he had done. 

Guerrilla politics were never Moore’s style, 

and the failed attempt nearly severed his relationship with Hinesley. ‘‘I’ll never go there 

again,’’ he would say. ‘‘I won’t do it.’’ 

The lesson was never lost, and Moore even 

found himself taking friendly fire as a result. 

A splinter group calling itself TUFF-Teach 

emerged In 2001, condemning what it saw as 

too much coziness between PCTA and school 

administrators and state lawmakers. But 

Moore was unyielding and argued that cooperation, not confrontation, is more productive in the long run. In his characteristic 

style, he said: ‘‘You don’t score points by 

taking a dump on these guys.’’ 

What I always saw in Moore was an 

unfailingly sentimental view of public education. He would speak wistfully of his own 

days at Clearwater High School and the way 

such schools can be a gathering place for 

children from different walks of life. Nothing 

got him more emotional than to talk about 

a teacher who had made a difference in a 

child’s life. That was the Sunday school 

teacher in Jade. He honestly believed in saving one soul, one child, at a time. 

f 

RECOGNIZING ROSE RUSSO OF 

SPRING HILL, FLORIDA 

HON. GINNY BROWN-WAITE OF FLORIDA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 

Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. 

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Rose 

Russo of Hernando County, Florida. Rose will 

do something later this year that all of us 

strive to do, but that very few of us will ever 

accomplish, celebrate her 100th birthday. 

Rose Russo Was born April 11, 1909 on 

63rd Street and 1st Avenue in New York City, 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with REMARKS