November 20, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E2313 

In addition, she managed the coordination 

of all legislative items, approximately 1,000 

per fiscal year, which included House and 

Senate Bills, executive agency proposals, testimony and executive orders. She provided 

consolidated Navy positions on these legislative items to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Office of Management and Budget, 

and Congress, while successfully meeting all 

deadlines and suspense dates. Her effective 

coordination and thorough review consistently 

ensured a concise and well thought out Navy 

message to Congress. 

It is through the commitment and sacrifice of 

Americans like Patricia Boyle that our Nation 

is able to continue upon the path of democracy and strive for the betterment of mankind. 

I am proud, Madam Speaker, as a fellow Virginian, to thank her and her family for her honorable service to our Nation with the United 

States Navy. I wish her fair winds and following seas as she concludes a distinguished 

career of public service. 

f 

VETERANS DAY 

HON. BETTY McCOLLUM OF MINNESOTA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, November 20, 2008 

Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam 

Speaker, I rise in support of Veterans Day. 

This national holiday serves as reminder of 

the enormous sacrifices that brave men and 

women have made for the ideals and beliefs 

that all Americans value. Veterans Day is also 

an opportunity to give thanks to the hundreds 

of thousands of armed forces personnel serving our country to protect our Nation and to 

secure the peace around the world. 

To mark this special holiday, I had the 

honor of attending both a ceremony for Mexican American Post 5, where I learned of the 

hardships faced by American soldiers of Mexican descent, and the Minnesota State Veterans Day program to pay tribute to the men 

and women serving our country in uniform. 

This year, I also had the privilege of visiting 

our troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan to witness the tremendous sacrifice they and their 

families make each day. 

On the battlefield, the U.S. Armed Forces 

pledge to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, 

it must be our promise that when they return 

home, we leave no veteran behind. Fully preparing our troops, and providing the necessary 

healthcare, education, and disability benefits 

to meet the needs of our veterans, is our responsibility and moral obligation. 

The 110th Congress has honored our commitment to veterans by making their needs a 

priority. This Congress passed the largest 

funding increase in the history of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which ensures that 

our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan receive the quality health and mental 

health care they deserve. This year, we have 

also provided tax relief for military families, increased pay for members of our armed services, established a suicide prevention program, improved housing assistances for 

homeless veterans, and helped military families avoid home foreclosure. Lastly, this 

Democratic led Congress passed a GI bill for 

the 21st century that fully restores four-year 

college scholarships for Iraq and Afghanistan 

veterans, on a par with the educational benefits after World War II. 

The men and women of the armed forces 

who have served this country with honor during times of war and peace deserve the best 

this country can afford. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress and President Obama to ensure veterans receive the 

highest level of care and compensation they 

have so bravely earned serving this country. 

This is a commitment to which I hold fast on 

Veterans Day and everyday. 

To all veterans, you have my thanks and 

that of a grateful nation. 

f 

IN HONOR OF THE SERVICE OF 

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR 

THE ARTS CHAIRMAN DANA 

GIOIA 

HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, November 20, 2008 

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I rise 

today to recognize and laud Dana Gioia’s 

service as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Since 2003 when he began 

his service, Chairman Gioia has played a vital 

role in advancing America’s cultural vitality 

and economic prosperity by promoting and expanding access to the arts. As a co-Chair of 

the Congressional Arts Caucus, I am grateful 

for Chairman Gioia’s efforts and look forward 

to his future contributions to the arts in America after he leaves the NEA in January 2009. 

Chairman Gioia has launched a handful of 

national initiatives that have spread the reach 

of the NEA across the country and expanded 

arts education in schools and communities. 

One favorite program of mine, The Big Read, 

provides citizens with the opportunity to read 

and discuss a single book within their communities. The initiative includes innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, 

comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature, an ambitious national publicity 

campaign, and an extensive Web site providing comprehensive information on authors 

and their works. The NEA inaugurated The 

Big Read as a pilot project in 2006 with ten 

communities featuring four books. The Big 

Read continues to expand to include more 

communities and additional books. By 2009, 

approximately 400 communities in the U.S. will 

have hosted a Big Read since the program’s 

2007 national launch. 

Chairman Gioia has democratized the arts. 

Last year, the NEA awarded over twenty-two 

hundred grants totaling over $100 million in 

435 congressional districts. The National Endowment for the Arts is the largest national 

source of arts funding in the United States and 

supports local arts programs in every congressional district across the country. While the 

NEA’s budget represents less than one percent of total arts philanthropy in the United 

States, Chairman Gioia has successfully leveraged NEA grants to have a powerful multiplying effect, with each grant dollar typically 

generating seven to eight times more money 

in matching grants. 

Chairman Gioia is a Renaissance Man. As 

an artist himself, he recognizes that the arts 

are more than just a cultural or emotional enterprise. With his background in business, he 

knows that the arts have immense financial 

and social impact. Creativity, innovation, and 

imagination fuel today’s global economy, and 

America’s artists are a large source of that investment. Chairman Gioia led the NEA with 

this always in mind. When Chairman Gioia visited my congressional district, he brought not 

only great enthusiasm and energy to all of the 

arts organizations he toured, but imparted valuable guidance and advice to these organizations on how to increase their membership, 

spur local investment in the arts, and expand 

their presence in the community. 

As a blues singer myself, I can empathize 

with Chairman Gioia’s decision to return to his 

artistic craft. But despite his departure from 

the NEA, Chairman Gioia will continue to enrich the arts community. Art transcends barriers of language, time, and generation, translating cultural differences, breathing life into 

history, and bridging experiences across cultures. Chairman Gioia’s exceptional writing 

and poetry no doubt enrich the lives of all 

Americans. Chairman Gioia will leave big 

shoes to fill, but I am confident that his leadership has trickled down in the NEA over the 

years. The NEA will continue to drive excellence in the arts with his spirit always in mind. 

f 

THE BUSINESS CLIMATE IN RUSSIA AND THE STATES OF THE 

FORMER SOVIET UNION 

HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS OF FLORIDA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, November 20, 2008 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, 

after the summer recess, the Helsinki Commission, which I chair, was preparing to conduct a hearing on United States and Western 

businesses at risk entering markets in Russia 

and the former Soviet Republics without the 

protections guaranteed by the rule of law and 

government adherence to market principles. 

The hearing had to be postponed due to the 

invasion of Georgia, but it is our intention to 

take up this issue in the next Congress. 

The Helsinki Commission, and the OSCE, is 

fully committed to the development of democracy, civil society, the rule of law and free 

markets in the Russia Federation and in other 

states of the former Soviet Union. We trust 

that Russian President Medvedev shares that 

commitment when he proclaims that ‘‘my most 

important task is to further develop civil and 

economic freedoms.’’ 

Yet we see evidence that Russian authorities continue to selectively prosecute and harass human rights advocates, prominent business leaders and journalists by employing arbitrary and extralegal means to achieve state 

and political ends. This is often accomplished 

through a manipulated court system, thus denying its citizens and foreign investors the impartial application of the rule of law and equal 

justice. 

In June, 1992, the United States and Russia 

negotiated and signed the Bilateral Investment 

Treaty, which grants investors the protections 

and safeguards necessary to conduct business in a fair and transparent environment. 

Unfortunately, Russia has failed to ratify this 

important measure that would ultimately serve 

the economic interests of both our nations. 

Along the same lines, it is regrettable that 

Russia refuses to ratify the Energy Charter 


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