May 19, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 1085

after the attack before dying in 1990 of complications from his injuries.

Mark K. Murphy; Sept. 1, 1988. Officer Murphy, a member of the department’s Emergency Services Team, died when shot accidentally by two fellow officers while serving

a search warrant at the Riverdale home of a

suspected drug offender.

Ryan C. Johnson Jr.; April 22, 1992. Cpl.

Johnson was fatally shot in a gunfire with

two teens who tried to rob him in Capitol

Heights. Both youths were convicted of murder in the killing.

Roger P. Fleming; Oct. 27, 1992. Sgt. Fleming was killed while attempting to apprehend suspected car thieves in Cheverly.

Fleming was pursuing the men at high speed

when he lost control of his cruiser and

struck a tree.

John L. Bagileo; Feb. 28, 1994. Cpl. Bagileo

died when he lost control of his cruiser during a high-speed response and crashed into a

utility pole in Seat Pleasant. Bagileo’s name

was inscribed this year on a national memorial to officers who died in the line of duty.

To the families and friends of those fallen

law enforcement officers in Prince Georges

County and throughout this great Nation of

ours, words cannot express the sorrow for

their loss nor the gratitude for their sacrifices.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to share

with my colleagues the policeman’s prayer.

‘‘Oh Almighty God, whose great power and

eternal wisdom embraces the universe, watch

over all policemen and law enforcement officers. Protect them from harm in the performance of their duty to stop crime, robberies,

riots, and violence. We pray help them keep

our streets and homes safe day and night. We

recommend them to your loving care because

their duty is dangerous. Grant them Your

unending strength and courage in their daily

assignments. Dear God, protect these brave

men and women, grant them Your almighty

protection, unite them safely with their families

after duty has ended. Amen.’’

LOUISIANA PACIFIC RECEIVES

DOE ANTIPOLLUTION AWARD

f

HON. FRANK RIGGS OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, May 18, 1995

Mr. RIGGS. Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest challenges we face today is protecting our

environment while sustaining economic

growth. We simply must do both, and when

we see a success story, we have the responsibility to not only tell others about it.

Such is the case with the Louisiana-Pacific

Corp. and its pulp mill in Samoa, CA, in the

First Congressional District which I represent.

As a testament to the company’s forward

thinking and innovativeness, they have developed the only chlorine-free Kraft pulp mill in

North America.

The leaders of the company and mill have

worked for years to improve the effluent from

the plant and now their diligence is being rewarded. The Department of Energy has announced that Louisiana-Pacific has been

awarded a grant under its National Industrial

Competitiveness through Energy, Environment

and Economics project, which seeks to prevent pollution, save energy and produce benefits to the Nation’s economy.

The work undertaken by Louisiana-Pacific

under the grant will implement a closed cycle

system at the Samoa Mill, which will eliminate

effluent from the mill’s bleach plant. It will assure that no bleach plant wastewater will be

discharged into the Pacific Ocean.

The Samoa Mill, constructed in 1964, produces an average of 650 tons of bleached

Kraft pulp per day from waste and wood chips

generated by local sawmills. In January 1994,

the Samoa Mill became the only North American Kraft pulp mill to produce bleached pulp

without the use of chlorine or chlorine-containing compounds on a permanent basis.

Because the mill has converted to totally

chlorine free, or TCF, it has unique opportunities for taking the next steps to achieve closed

cycle operation. The successful commercialization of a full scale TCF closed cycle

Kraft pulp mill in the United States, with its resultant environmental benefits, would have

worldwide implications.

When the award was made, Secretary of

Energy Hazel O’Leary praised LouisianaPacific’s innovative research. It was her belief

that the company’s commitment to pollution

prevention and energy conservation will lead

the pulp and paper industry into the next millennia.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Bob Simpson,

Louisiana-Pacific’s general manager, Fred

Martin, manager of the Samoa Mill, and all of

those who work for this important northern

California employer. I also urge my colleagues

to do their part for the environment and consider using totally chlorine free paper, which is

available from the House Office Supply Service.

HONORING LORETTA AVENT

fHON. BILL RICHARDSON OF NEW MEXICO

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, May 18, 1995

Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, there has

always been a special relationship between

our Federal Government and the more than

500 recognized Indian tribes in our Nation.

Each of the tribes is a sovereign nation and

each has the right to conduct business directly

with the Federal Government bypassing State

and local governments. While Indian people

have this right in theory it is sometimes difficult for each of the tribes to have a substantive relationship with the executive branch.

But thanks to an extraordinary public servant in the Clinton White House, Indian people

for the first time are comfortable with and understand they have a direct link with the administration. Loretta Avent serves as Deputy

Assistant to the President. Although AfricanAmerican, Mrs. Avent has a unique and close

relationship with Indian country. She has

opened the door for Indians and is rightly

adored by tribes.

I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring

Mrs. Avent for her service to this country and

for her outstanding service to our native Americans. The following article which appeared in

the February 5, 1995 edition of the Arizona

Republic is a great tribute to Mrs. Avent.

[From the Arizona Republic, Feb. 5, 1995]

CLINTON LIAISON IS ADORED BY TRIBES

(By Jeff Barker)

WASHINGTON.—They give her dolls, rings,

shawls, baskets and necklaces. They pray

she won’t leave them.

To Native Americans, Loretta Avent is a

godsend. She takes them places they have

never been.

Avent, 52, is a deputy assistant to President Clinton. In her two years at the White

House, the Phoenix native has forged an extraordinary relationship with Indian Country.

Tribal leaders say the effervescent former

lobbyist has become, quite simply, the most

important federal contact they have ever

had.

They say she is helping renew their faith

in government, which has been so long a

source of frustration and broken promises.

‘‘I’m almost 73 years old, and I will tell

you that never in my lifetime have we in Indian Country experienced a person so dedicated to tribal rights,’’ said Sue Shaffer,

chairwoman of the Cow Creek Bank of Umpqua Indians in Roseburg, Ore.

‘‘She’s been a guide, mentor, catalyst,

grandmother,’’ said Paul Ojibway, an Ojibwa

tribal member who is the Los Angeles archbishop’s Native American liaison. ‘‘Being

people who hold people and symbols dear, she

gives us the feeling that we are included and

don’t have to come hat in hand to get noticed.’’

An African-American born in rural Virginia, Avent acknowledges that her relationship with tribes ‘‘is beyond what’s the norm

for me.’’

‘‘They feel that I’m chosen. They give me

heirlooms. They give me what I call ‘heart’

gifts,’’’ she said.

She tells visitors that her office was occupied 23 years ago by John Dean, former

President Nixon’s counsel during the Watergate scandal.

‘‘He was a man who had a chance to help

this nation, and he didn’t,’’ Avent said.

OPENED DOOR FOR INDIANS

She hopes her legacy will be that she

opened the doors of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

to a group that has never quite felt welcome,

even though its members are descendants of

the first Americans.

Avent’s contributions are both symbolic

and substantive. She organized a historic

meeting in April with Clinton and several

hundred tribal leaders. She also invited

urban Indians and tribes not federally recognized—two groups that often feel particularly overlooked by the government—to

their own White House events.

‘‘Never before has there been this type of

accessibility,’’ and Albert Hale, president of

the Navajo Nation.

When tribal leaders believed they were

being ignored by the Census Bureau in August, they wrote to Avent. They also contacted her when Arizona was resisting Indian

gaming and when they wanted Clinton to

grant executive clemency for Leonard

Peltier, the American Indian Movement

member convicted of killing two FBI agents

20 years ago.

‘‘There’s nothing that they do—nothing—

that doesn’t come to me, Avent said. ‘‘The

president said he wanted an administration

that reflected the country. Until we bring

them (Indians) to the table, then it’s not the

right reflection of America, because America

looked like them first.’’

Avent emphasizes that she does not perform the Indians’ work by herself. She merely puts them in touch with people who can

help.

‘‘She doesn’t do things for us,’’ said Ivan

Makil, president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. ‘‘She sets up the

meeting, and after that, we’re on our own.

She makes sure we get an opportunity to get

to the table.’’

In Peltier’s case, Avent referred inquiries

about clemency to the Justice Department.

E 1086 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 19, 1995

From prison, Peltier heard about Avent

and wrote her a note on the inside cover of

a book about Native Americans’ legacy.

‘‘All my sources indicated to me that you

are the most powerful influence in the White

House speaking for Native American issues,’’

Peltier wrote.

He said he appreciated that someone of her

‘‘stature’’ would read about his case.

Much of Avent’s outreach is personal. She

fields as many as 60 calls a day from Indians

and continues dispensing advice long after

the workday has ended.

‘‘Tribes have gotten so used to being ignored for so long that they could not believe

someone is so king to them;’’ said Bunty

Anquoe, a Washington-based reporter for Indian Country Today newspaper.

Avent invites tribal leaders to White House

dinners and receptions and, when she can, to

the president’s box at the Kennedy Center

for the Performing Arts.

‘‘Thank you a million times over for taking me as your guest to the White House last

night,’’ began a recent letter to Avent from

Suzan Shown Harjo, president of the Washington-based Morning Star Institute, which

promotes Indian cultural rights.

‘‘My parents will be so thrilled that I was

able to tell the president and first lady how

very much they are admired and what they

hope to offer for those of us Indian people

who are the poor and mostly forgotten and

left-out folks that the Democrats stand for.’’

CREDITS DAD FOR HER VALUES

Avent credits her work values to her father, who reared her alone after a divorce.

He is a former elevator operator in one of the

U.S. House office buildings.

A longtime resident of the nation’s capital,

Avent lobbied for the National Association

of Counties, U.S. Conference of Mayors and

other groups. She also ran a political consulting firm whose clients included the Clinton-Gore campaign.

She moved to Phoenix in 1988, mostly at

the insistence of her husband, who said the

laid-back lifestyle and weather would add

years to their lives.

Avent’s husband, Jacques Avent, a Phoenix

deputy city manager, said his wife has been

reaching out to ‘‘underdogs’’ most of her life.

‘‘She does the underdog causes; those are

the one that turn her on,’’ he said.

In Phoenix, she helped coordinate the Harmony Alliance, which works at bringing disparate groups together.

Avent and her husband have known the

Clintons for 20 years.

As a deputy assistant to the president for

intergovernmental affairs, she is a liaison to

Indians and local elected officials around the

nation.

She admits being torn between her commitment to Indians and her sadness at being

away from her husband.

‘‘I can’t be just a holiday spouse, nor do I

want to be. I was only going to do this a

year,’’ she said.

But her job has become part of her.

Returning recently to her birthplace in

South Hill, VA., Avent found herself thinking of her Indian friends.

‘‘I was looking at where I grew up,’’ she

said. ‘’I was born in the same house my father was. It made me understand what Indian people mean when they talk about

Mother Earth.’’

IN RECOGNITION OF CARMEN

TURNER

HON. FRANK R. WOLF OF VIRGINIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, May 18, 1995

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for

me to rise today to recognize an outstanding

individual and public servant, the late Carmen

Turner.

Many of you may remember Carmen from

her days as the general manager of the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, more commonly know as Metro, and as

Under Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

However, you may not know how hard Carmen worked to turn her dream into reality.

Born in New Jersey, Carmen and her family

moved to Washington, DC, during her childhood. Carmen went on to graduate from Dunbar High School and then attended Howard

University for 2 years before she left school to

marry Frederick Turner.

Those of use, though, who knew and loved

Carmen know she never left any task unfinished. Carmen went back to Howard to complete her undergraduate degree. Even more

impressive is that she did this while working

full time at the Department of the Army and

raising two children. Following a stint at the

U.S. Department of Transportation, Carmen

joined Metro in 1977 and was promoted to

general manager in 1983.

As general manager, Carmen played a substantial role into making Metrorail into the

state-of-the-art subway system it is today.

Under her leadership, Metrorail opened new

stations in suburban Virginia and Maryland, as

well as finalized plan for the Green Line,

which will run through the heart of the District

of Columbia. Her hard work paid off in 1990,

as Congress passed legislation authorizing

$1.3 billion for the completion of the Metrorail

system. Her service did not go unnoticed. In

fact, in 1988 the American Public Transit Association [APTA] gave Carmen their Outstanding Achievement Award, and in 1989 named

Carmen the Transit Manager of the Year.

Sadly, Carmen was taken from us far too

soon, in 1992 at the age of 61. She is sorely

missed by so many of us. However, the legacy will live on, as it should. On May 12,

Metro dedicated a memorial at the Smithsonian Metrorail Station in Carmen’s memory. It

is a fitting tribute that her memorial will be at

a station where so many people enjoy the

convenience of Metrorail. While here absence

will always be felt, like many others I am

proud that Carmen has been memorialized in

this fashion. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join

in celebrating Carmen Turner’s life and career

and recognizing her many accomplishments.

HONORING MORTON BLEETSTEIN

fHON. GARY L. ACKERMAN OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, May 18, 1995

Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise with

great pleasure today to join with those most

compassionate and dedicated people of the

New Hope Community as they honor one of

their most esteemed members, Morton

Bleetstein.

I first met Morty when I started a small business, and Morty was a third-generation insurance broker. But I soon learned that he has

other interests and talents that would significantly impact on others. In the fields of hope,

compassion and concern, there are few to

equal Morty Bleetstein.

As parents of two disabled children, Morty

and his wife, Pat, took up the life challenge

fate had thrust upon them, and embarked

upon creating a service record of almost four

decades on behalf of all disabled youngsters.

Morty’s early involvement led to the passage

in New York State of legislation known as the

Greenberg bill, which provides education for

all disabled children.

As his own kids grew, so did his dedication:

the Bleetsteins became original founders of

the New York Association for Brain Injured

Children. Morty Bleetstein also has proudly

served as president of the New Hope Community Parents Group, and as a board member

and fund raising chairman for New Hope.

Mr. Speaker, Morton Bleetstein has honored

all humanity with his selfless dedication and

perseverance on behalf of those who have nowhere else to turn. On May 20, the New Hope

Community will honor Morty at a gala benefit

in Flushing, Queens.

I ask all my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join with me now in paying tribute to a true humanitarian, Morton Bleetstein,

and in extending to him the great appreciation

of a most grateful nation.

TRIBUTE TO CLAIRE SCHULMAN

fHON. THOMAS J. MANTON OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, May 18, 1995

Mr. MANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

join the Kiwanis Club of LaGuardia Airport in

paying tribute to Queens Borough President,

Claire Schulman. Since 1986, Claire

Schulman has served the people of Queens

with distinction.

Mr. Speaker, Claire has been a tremendous

instrument in ensuring that Queens continues

to be one of the strongest communities in our

country; her efforts are endless. Some of her

greatest accomplishments as borough president include: Being a staunch advocate for the

rights of the elderly and the children of

Queens, ensuring quality health care for the

residents of Queens, helping to buy Queens

West, fighting to rebuild the Queens library,

and ensuring city services are provided to the

Borough of Queens.

Claire received her bachelor of science from

Adelphi University; she was also awarded an

honorary doctor of laws degree. In 1993, she

received an honorary doctorate of sciences

degree from the College of Aeronautics. In addition to these prestigious doctorates, she has

also been honored with the Queens College

Medal and the LaGuardia Community College

Medal.

Mr. Speaker, Claire Schulman has not only

served our community as a political leader, but

as a health care provider, mother and wife.

Before coming to politics, Claire served as a

registered nurse at the Queens Hospital Center, where she also met her future husband,

Dr. Melvin Schulman. Claire Schulman boasts

a tremendous career as well as a spectacular