E 1170 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks June 7, 1995

Correspondence Between Martin Luther King,

Jr. and Malcolm X.’’ Will took took the original

approach of creating a series of letters between these two men that express an understanding of their philosophies. In reality, King

and Malcolm X did not correspond so the content of the letters reflect the research done as

well as critical analysis by Will.

This outstanding student and Mrs. Sorenson

are a tribute to our public school system which

remains the finest in the world. Although this

student lives in a community of less than

5,000 people located 200 miles from a major

library or university, he completed extensive

research in his subject area and was highly

competitive with students from the large metropolitan area including Los Angeles County,

San Bernardino County, and Riverside County. It is also remarkable that under the guidance of Mrs. Sorenson, a total of sixteen students made it all the way to the final State

competition and exhibited their knowledge in

seven of the possible eight categories.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me, our colleagues, and friends in recognizing the fine

achievement of these individuals, Their work is

a reflection of education at its best. It is fitting

and appropriate that the House of Representatives pay tribute to them today.

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE

MAJOR APPLIANCE CONSUMER

fACTION PROGRAM

HON. DAVE CAMP OF MICHIGAN

HON. BART GORDON OF TENNESSEE

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, this year marks the

25th anniversary of the creation of the Major

Appliance Consumer Action Program

[MACAP]. I rise today, with my colleague,

Representative BART GORDON, to offer appreciation to those who have voluntarily served

on the panel to promote communication between consumers and industry for the past 25

years.

On January 8, 1969, President Lyndon B.

Johnson appointed a task force to investigate

guarantees and servicing problems for major

home appliances. He recognized the need for

a greater, coordinated effort to serve the interest of consumers. President Nixon reactivated

the task force on October 30, 1969, and called

for a report of progress made by the appliance

industry in implementing report recommendations. It was in early February 1970 that this

industry launched a bold, new initiative called

MACAP.

MACAP serves three primary purposes:

First, to provide consumers with unbiased mediation of their unresolved major appliance

complaints, second, to counsel the industry on

ways to improve its customer relations practices, and third, to prevent consumer appliance problems through public education of

proper appliance purchase.

The MACAP panel consists of professionals,

independent of the appliance industry, representing various disciplines including family

law and economics, technical knowledge of

appliance operation and design, and the relationship of water/temperature/materials in

laundry and dishwashing and consumer advocacy. Remarkably, the average time needed to

bring a complaint to closure is about 60 days.

The panel meets 10 to 12 times a year

through face-to-face meetings and conference

calls and reviews about 25 individual

consumer complaints at each meeting. The

panel’s review of consumer complaints identifies trends and patterns that call for specific

educational messages to the public.

Since MACAP’s inception 25 years ago, the

program has processed over 45,000 complaints with 80 percent reaching a resolution

that was accepted by the consumer and the

manufacturer.

We commend this very competitive industry

for first recognizing a common problem that

required the cooperation and dedicated interest of all the appliance companies. We are

pleased to offer our expressions of deep gratitude and appreciation to the panel for their

voluntary untiring efforts and devoted service

and to the manufacturers for their visions, discernment and cooperation.

TRIBUTE TO OLGA S. LAW

fHON. DONALD M. PAYNE OF NEW JERSEY

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker,

today I rise to pay tribute to a very special

lady. Mrs. Olga Sharpe Law of Merry Hill, NC,

celebrated her 87th birthday on May 25 and

was honored at a birthday celebration by the

church family of Zion Bethlehem Baptist

Church in Windsor, NC.

Mrs. Law, one of four children who was

born in Portsmouth, VA, in 1908, has devoted

her life to the service of others. After she

graduated from Elizabeth City State Teachers

College, now Elizabeth City State University,

she taught 5 years in Virginia and then remained with the Bertie County school system

for 39 years. As a former teacher myself, I can

confirm that it takes a great deal of dedication

and love to make a 39-year commitment to

the children in her community. I can also confirm that Mrs. Law possesses these qualities

in abundance. Her joy came in teaching the

three R’s—reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic. However, she got greater joy in teaching her students to respect themselves, and others.

Many of her students still approach her to

thank her for being a wonderful and inspirational teacher.

But teaching for Mrs. Law did not end with

the school day. She has and continues to

serve as an adult Sunday School teacher,

Bible study teacher, a deaconess, and a missionary. In between all of this, she regularly

attends three churches pastored by her late

husband.

Mrs. Law is well known in the community for

extending her hand to whomever is in need,

and her deeds speak for themselves. Everyone knows that you do not have to call upon

her for help, she often offers it.

On June 4, 1992, because of her love for

the church and its congregation, her soft-spoken voice and firm manner, the Rev. John W.

Barnes bestowed her with the honor of ‘‘The

Mother’’ of Zion Bethlehem Church.

Mrs. Law remains very active in the woman’s auxiliary to the West Roanoke Association and the Tri-County Minister’s Wives and

Widows’ Association, both of which she has

served as President. She has also served as

worthy matron of the North Star Chapter Order

of the Eastern Star No. 332 of Merry Hill.

Mr. Speaker, all too frequently, we do not

take the time out to recognize people who

have made significant contributions to our

communities until it is too late. However, Mr.

Speaker, today, I am proud to rise in honor of

a woman who has served her community with

distinction and tenacity, and also with great

humility. Mrs. Law epitomizes the tenet of lifetime service to her community and to others.

She often says, ‘‘If I can help somebody—then

my living will not be in vain,’’ and fortunately

for us all, it hasn’t.

DRUG LEGALIZATION—THE MORAL

EQUIVALENT OF GENOCIDE

f

HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, our Nation’s

top drug enforcement official, Lee Brown, recently gave an important speech on drug legalization. While some liberals and libertarians

would have you believe that legalization is a

viable alternative to the war on drugs, Mr.

Brown makes it very clear that drug legalization will never occur in the United States.

LEE BROWN’S ‘‘WHY THE U.S. WILL NEVER

LEGALIZE DRUGS’’

When we look at the plight of many of our

youth today, especially African American

males, I do not think it is an exaggeration to

say that legalizing drugs would be the moral

equivalent of genocide.

Making addictive, mind altering drugs legal

is an invitation to disaster for our communities

that are already under siege.

Without laws that make drug use illegal,

some experts estimate that we could easily

have three times as many Americans using

cocaine and crack—the proponents of legalization would have us believe that crime would

go down if drug use was legal, but an honest

look at the facts belie this argument.

Statistic tell us that almost half of those arrested for committing a crime test positive for

the use of drugs at the time of their arrest.

Making drugs more readily available could

only propel more individuals into a life of crime

and violence. Contrary to what the legalization

proponents say, profit is not the only reason

for the high rates of crime and violence that

are associated with the drug trade * * * drugs

are illegal because they are harmful—to both

body and mind.

Those who can least afford further hardship

in their lives would be much worse off if drug

were legalized.