January 14, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E91 

Dr. Smithdas’ commitment to education prepared him for his lifelong service to the deafblind community. Having worked in several 

management capacities at IHB, Dr. Smithdas 

played a crucial role in offering the kind of rehabilitative services necessary to expand the 

horizons of succeeding generations of deafblind individuals, including the development of 

appropriate legislation. With Helen Keller herself and deaf-blind community advocate Peter 

Salmon, Dr. Smithdas played a vital role in 

helping to enact the Vocational Rehabilitation 

Act, which sanctioned the creation of the 

Helen Keller National Center. 

Leading by example, Dr. Smithdas has 

demonstrated that with rehabilitative training, 

deaf-blind individuals can be active members 

of our society, and that they have much to 

contribute. Dr. Smithdas’ numerous national 

awards and achievements include being 

named both The Poetry Society of America’s 

‘‘Poet of the Year’’ and ‘‘The Handicapped 

American of the Year’’ by the President’s 

Committee on Employment of People Who 

Are Disabled, as well as being inducted into 

the National Hall of Fame for Persons with 

Disabilities. 

Dr. Smithdas’ impact on the lives of the 

deaf-blind—both those he has met and those 

who have just benefitted from his good 

works—is truly immeasurable. And those who 

have had the privilege to read his works, attend his lectures, and take advantage of the 

programs he developed know that he is a truly 

exceptional American. I ask my colleagues in 

the United States House of Representatives to 

please join me in honoring and thanking Dr. 

Robert J. Smithdas for his lifetime of dedication to the American deaf-blind community. 

f 

RECOGNITION OF KOREANAMERICAN DAY 

HON. SCOTT GARRETT OF NEW JERSEY

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 

Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Madam 

Speaker, I rise today in recognition of KoreanAmerican Day, which was celebrated yesterday. Korean Americans have played an essential part in shaping our country into its current form. Ever since the signing of the first 

treaty between the United States and Korea, 

the Jemulpo Treaty in 1882, our two countries 

have engaged in an important relationship. In 

addition, Korean Americans have helped 

shape the United States into a powerful and 

influential Nation. 

The history of Koreans in America is a 

proud one. When Koreans first started immigrating to the United States, they worked in 

places such as farms and railroads. These 

were hard workers who came to this country 

to seek new opportunities and a better life for 

their children. At that time, they could not have 

imagined the amount of success Korean 

Americans would enjoy over time—nor how 

large their community would become. After 

years of steady immigration, which blossomed 

in the 1960’s, Korean Americans became one 

of the top 5 immigrant groups to the United 

States. Today, there are about 1.5 million Korean Americans living across the country. 

In the past Congress, we passed several 

pieces of legislation to strengthen the U.S.-Korean relationship. The first was H.R. 5443, the 

U.S.-Republic of Korea Defense Cooperation 

Improvement Act, which granted South Korea 

the same preferential treatment enjoyed by 

members of NATO. Another important bill 

passed in the 110th Congress was H. Res. 

295. This legislation expressed appreciation to 

the Republic of Korea for its contributions to 

international efforts to combat terrorism. A 

final, integral bill was H.R. 1, which supported 

efforts to include South Korea in the U.S. Visa 

Waiver Program. 

As we move forward in the 111th Congress, 

I trust that we will keep the Korean-American 

community in mind. Korean Americans play an 

important role in shaping American culture and 

Korean-American Day is a celebration that I 

am proud to recognize. 

f 

RECOGNIZING ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO 

DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST ATTACKS FROM GAZA 

SPEECH OF

HON. JOE BACA OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, January 9, 2009 

Mr. BACA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 

urge my colleagues to support Israel, our 

strongest ally in the Middle East, during her 

time of need. Israel’s unstable situation continue to get worst. Since 2005, Israel has attempted to promote peace with the Palestinians by withdrawing its civilians and soldiers 

from Gaza in hopes of lessening day to day 

conflicts. 

Now for more than two weeks, the Hamas 

leadership in Gaza continues to hold Palestinian civilians as hostages to its terrorist 

agenda and Israelis now find themselves within range of Hamas rockets. The bloodshed 

and conflict of this situation will only lead to 

more devastation. Every day more innocent civilians on both sides of the Gazan border are 

suffering. 

The United States supports Israel and all efforts to promote a cease-fire and a durable 

and sustainable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I urge my colleagues to remember that our strongest ally in the Middle East 

is Israel and we must support her efforts towards peace during this time. 

f 

SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS 

Title IV of Senate Resolution 4, 

agreed to by the Senate on February 4, 

1977, calls for establishment of a system for a computerized schedule of all 

meetings and hearings of Senate committees, subcommittees, joint committees, and committees of conference. 

This title requires all such committees 

to notify the Office of the Senate Daily 

Digest—designated by the Rules Committee—of the time, place, and purpose 

of the meetings, when scheduled, and 

any cancellations or changes in the 

meetings as they occur. 

As an additional procedure along 

with the computerization of this information, the Office of the Senate Daily 

Digest will prepare this information for 

printing in the Extensions of Remarks 

section of the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD

on Monday and Wednesday of each 

week. 

Meetings scheduled for Thursday, 

January 15, 2009 may be found in the 

Daily Digest of today’s RECORD. 

MEETINGS SCHEDULED 

JANUARY 21 

10 a.m. 

Finance 

To hold hearings to examine the nomination of Timothy F. Geithner, of New 

York, to be Secretary of the Treasury. 

SD–215 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

Organizational business meeting to consider committee’s rules of procedure 

for the 111th Congress, and any pending 

nominations. 

SD–430 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

To hold hearings to examine the financial crisis and the breakdown of financial governance. 

SD–342 

JANUARY 27 

9:30 a.m. 

Armed Services 

To hold hearings to examine challenges 

facing the Department of Defense. 

SD–106 


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