EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

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Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor.

January 16, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E107 

COMMEMORATING DAVE 

BENGSTON FOR HIS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AS 

MENDOCINO COUNTY AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER AND 

SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 

HON. MIKE THOMPSON OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, January 16, 2009 

Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam 

Speaker, I rise today to honor Dave Bengston 

upon the occasion of his retirement after 37 

years of outstanding service to the people of 

Mendocino County. During his tenure as Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights 

and Measures, Mr. Bengston’s distinguished 

career includes many milestones. 

He was instrumental in the eradication of 

the Ribes mite, which was not previously 

known to occur in North America. Mr. 

Bengston wrote a new quarantine for Grape 

Leaf Skeletonizer to protect the wine grape industry and succeeded in keeping the pest out 

of the county. He instituted an annual countywide pesticide container recycling event. And 

he coordinated a hazardous materials collections process. 

Dave Bengston, born in Modesto, in the 

heart of California’s fertile Central Valley, was 

drawn at an early age toward agricultural pursuits. His first jobs as a teenager were picking 

peaches and working in canneries. While attending Modesto Junior College he developed 

a ‘‘love for botany.’’ From there he attended 

Stanislaus State before transferring to the University of California at Berkeley. 

In addition to his more than fulltime work 

schedule, Mr. Bengston developed a passion 

for mycology. In 1972 he already had a license in Apiary Inspection when he got a job 

with Mendocino County as a weights and 

measures inspector. A benefit to his move to 

Mendocino was the myriad variety of wild 

mushrooms, for which he has become an expert in identification. 

He met his wife Christy, who was the 4–H 

secretary for the University of California Extension Service, in 1974. They were married 2 

years later and have two grown sons, Brett 

and Logan. 

Since 1989, when he became Mendocino 

County’s Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures, Mr. Bengston 

has been instrumental in the success of keeping Mendocino free of such invasive pests as 

the Mediterranean fruit fly, vine mealybugs, 

and the Gypsy moth. He also made contributions to the glassey-winged sharpshooter, national organic, and West Nile virus programs 

and was instrumental in enforcing the ordinance banning genetically modified organisms 

in Mendocino County. 

As is true of extraordinary public servants 

like Mr. Bengston, he also gave back to his 

community. He was a member of the Ukiah 

Kiwanis Club, a board member of the 

Mendocino County Promotional Alliance and 

director and education chair of the Peregrine 

Audubon Society, to name a few. Bengston 

also found time to be a charter member of the 

Dorothy King Young Chapter of the California 

Native Plant Society. He coached youth soccer and basketball and played men’s league 

soccer and was a soccer referee until 1993. 

He also has served as an advisor to the Ukiah 

Association of the Handicapped and the Regional Occupational Horticultural Program. 

Madam Speaker, through his visionary leadership, technical expertise and quiet persuasion, Dave Bengston has made a long-lasting 

positive impact on the resources of the county 

of Mendocino. For these reasons and for the 

widespread respect of his colleagues and 

community, it is appropriate at this time that 

we honor Dave Bengston. 

f 

HONORING THE WORK OF DR. 

KENNETH STOCKING 

HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, January 16, 2009 

Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise 

today with sadness to honor Dr. Kenneth 

Stocking, who passed away on November 17, 

2008, at the notable age of 97. Dr. Stocking 

dedicated his life and his work to education 

and the environment. 

Dr. Stocking was a pioneering environmentalist and professor emeritus at Sonoma 

State University, SSU, who spent nearly half a 

century committed to environmental and political activism. A steward of plants, he was 

lauded for his advocacy work to preserve and 

protect native California species. 

After graduating from the College of the Pacific in Stockton, Dr. Stocking began his teaching career and subsequently taught at several 

elementary and high schools. He later obtained a master’s degree from the College of 

the Pacific and a doctorate degree at the University of Southern California in 1950. 

In 1964, Dr. Stocking began teaching at 

what was then the Sonoma State College. 

Under his nurturing and forward-thinking leadership as professor and chair of the biology 

department, the department blossomed into 

the School of Environmental Studies and Planning. In addition to offering degree and certificate programs, Dr. Stocking’s creation also 

serves as the home for the innovative Environmental Technology Center, ETC, and the Institute for Community Planning Assistance. 

Today, ETC is a model for green design in our 

nation. 

Dr. Stocking’s legacy continues to thrive 

today at SSU. He founded a botanical garden 

in 1973 at SSU to showcase the diverse California plant communities and provide a tranquil place for education and relaxation. In recognition of his plentiful contributions to the environmental sciences, faculty and students, 

this garden is named the Kenneth M. Stocking 

Native Plant Garden. 

During his tenure at SSU, Dr. Stocking was 

appointed by then-Governor of California Ronald Reagan as the central coast representative 

for the California Coastal Commission. He was 

also president of Sonoma County Tomorrow, 

chairman of the Sonoma County Conservation 

Council, board member of the Sonoma Land 

Trust and an active member of the Audubon 

Society, Sierra Club, California Native Plant 

Society and many other organizations. 

Dr. Stocking and his wife of 69 years, Mary, 

who preceded him in death, resided in 

Sonoma County for about 40 years. After his 

retirement from SSU in 1979, Dr. Stocking and 

Mary traveled to England, Europe, Africa and 

Asia. He is survived by a son and daughter, 

grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

Madam Speaker, Dr. Kenneth Stocking’s 

unbridled passion for protecting our environment and commitment to education will continue to inform and inspire residents of 

Sonoma County and beyond. 

f 

CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE 

PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION 

ACT OF 2009 

SPEECH OF

HON. JOHN M. McHUGH OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 

Mr. MCHUGH. Madam Speaker, I rise today 

in support of H.R. 2, the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. 

Given the importance of the State Children’s 

Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to my constituents, I am pleased that the House is working to extend SCHIP through Fiscal Year 

2013. 

Every bill that works its way through Congress has provisions that are less than ideal 

and this bill is no exception. Clearly, if given 

the opportunity, I would write much of this bill 

in a different way. That opportunity, of course, 

will not materialize. 

However, accessibility to quality health care 

is one of the great challenges we face as a 

Nation. It is a particularly acute problem in 

Northern and Central New York, which I have 

the privilege of representing. According to one 

source, there are currently over 400,000 children without health insurance in New York 

State. 

The importance of the SCHIP program to 

my district is hard to overstate. In fact, nearly 

20,000 children in the 11 counties I represent 

are currently enrolled in the Child Health Plus 

as the SCHIP program is known in New York 

State. 

The bill before the House today would 

strengthen and expand the SCHIP program by 

providing an additional $35 billion over the 

next four and a half years. As a result of this 

increase in funding, an additional 4 million 

children—267,000 in New York State—are 

projected to be enrolled in the program, thereby ensuring that a total of 11 million children 


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