June 8, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 1205

gift of $100 from their own personal bank accounts to every American citizen, the Democrats would claim this was a ‘‘mean-spirited

cut’’ and an attempt to steal from children

and the elderly. Unfortunately, the media

would support them since you rarely see reporters make a Democrat back up what he

says.

I am not wealthy or influential, and the

only people I see, ‘‘dipping into my pockets’’

are the Democrats. The only chance I see for

the future of America is from the Republicans. If the only arguments against the

Contract With America consist of fear

mongering and lies, what are the real motivations of the Democrats? And just what do

they propose to ensure a prosperous future

for us all? I would really like to know.

DON’T CUT FINANCIAL AID TO

fSTUDENTS

HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY OF MASSACHUSETTS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, June 8, 1995

Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, recently I received a letter from a young woman in my district. She brought up some very good reasons

why Republicans should not cut Federal funding for student financial assistance.

She said: ‘‘College is the best investment in

America’s future.’’ I agree. That only way to insure that America prospers tomorrow is to

make education and training available to our

Nation’s children and young adults today.

These ill-considered Republican budget cuts

are a short-sighted move that will limit America’s future.

While graduates may earn more over their

lifetime than nongraduates, they do so because they master specialized skills and

knowledge demanded in our complex and dynamic economy. While graduates may earn

more money than non-graduates, they don’t

have money to pay tuition and other expenses

this year, before they enter or complete college. The small amount of Federal financial

aid provided through interest subsidies and

grants are essential to allow many students to

attend colleges and universities.

In the words of the same young woman:

‘‘The opportunity to go to college is a privilege

that should be everyone’s right. Every student

with the ability and the determination to work

for a college education should have that opportunity. But suggested cuts in student aid

programs would make financing a college education more difficult for average Americans.’’

She is right. Not only would the cuts mean

that post-secondary education would be more

difficult to obtain for so-called average or middle-class Americans. These cuts would also

make it virtually impossible for less privileged

Americans to gain access to a post-secondary

education.

While we must balance the budget, it is

penny-wise and pound foolish to skimp on one

of the most important investments we can

make—the education of young people or the

continuing education of adults.

This young women from my district and her

peers are tomorrow’s work force. We must

give them the tools they will need—and we all

will need—to compete and succeed in the

global marketplace of the 21st century.

I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the

letter be inserted in the RECORD.

Hon. EDWARD MARKEY,

U.S. House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

DEAR CONGRESSMAN: College is the best investment in America’s future, I urge you to

support continued funding for college loan

and student aid programs.

A college education means increased opportunity—opportunity to advance in a career, to earn more, and to contribute more to

the economy and to society.

The opportunity to go to college is a privilege that should be everyone’s rights, Every

student with the ability and the determination to work for a college education should

have that opportunity. But suggested cuts in

student aid programs would make financing

a college education more difficult for average Americans.

Please don’t cut our future short. Don’t

cut student aid.

Sincerely,

fERICA MARTIN-DOYLE.

TRIBUTE TO FIVE MINNESOTA

IMMIGRANTS

HON. BRUCE F. VENTO OF MINNESOTA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, June 8, 1995

Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, in light of the

antiimmigrant sentiment currently prevalent in

much of U.S. society, I wanted to submit the

following article which appeared in the St.

Paul Pioneer Press newspaper in my district in

St. Paul, MN. This article tells a different story

from those often heard about immigrants. Immigrants to the United States, like the five

people being honored in Minnesota, work hard

to make important contributions to our society.

As we consider changes to immigration law

in Congress, I hope that we will keep in mind

that these five people are a true representation of what immigration means to the United

States.

FIVE MINNESOTA IMMIGRANTS HONORED FOR

ACHIEVEMENT—RIGHTS GROUP AWARD IS

FOR CONTRIBUTION

(By Ann Baker)

The last time Rocky Ralebipi went home

to Pietersburg, South Africa, it was 1992, two

years after Nelson Mandela walked out of

prison.

Seeing tank-like army vehicles called

‘‘hippos’’ patrolling her family’s segregated

black neighborhood, she couldn’t shake off

the memory of a 1977 police raid on the university where she was a student. Classmates

suspected of conspiring against the apartheid

government were beaten to death and flung

out of 10th-story windows.

It’s a memory the College of St. Catherine

librarian will never forget.

Tonight, Ralebipi and four other immigrants who live in the state will be honored

at the Minneapolis Hilton by Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights for their outstanding contributions to Minnesota’s economy

and community life.

Nazie Eftekhari, Jose Lamas, George Meredith and Viet Ngo, who with Ralebipi are immigrants from four different continents,

teach, invent, create and manage businesses

and operate communication networks. All

but Meredith came to Minnesota as students.

‘‘These individuals are not unique,’’ said

Nancy Arnison, deputy director of Minnesota

Advocates for Human Rights. ‘‘They represent what immigrants bring to this country.’’

Arnison points to local surveys showing

that Minnesotans tend to believe immigrants

brought more harm than good, even before

California’s Proposition 187 barred undocumented immigrants’ families from free

school and vaccinations.

In the meantime, anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise nationally, with welfare

reform bills in the U.S. House and Senate

proposing to deny numerous federal services

to legal immigrants who are waiting to become naturalized.

Eftekhari, who is from Iran, founded and

directs one of the first managed-care health

corporations in the United States, called the

Araz Group. Recipient of the 1995 Bloomington Small Business Person of the Year

award, she has 115 employees.

‘‘It’s the strength of this country that people can come here and accomplish their

dreams,’’ she says.

Lamas left Mexico for California by himself six years ago at age 14, supporting himself with restaurant jobs. He graduated from

Worthington Senior High School on Monday,

and has published three editions of a six-page

Spanish language newspaper, supported by

advertisements, for the Worthington area.

In the fall he plans to enroll at Gustavus

Adolphus College in St. Peter to study prelaw. He also likes to tinker with inventions,

especially auto safety devices. He has legal

immigration papers now and hopes to become a citizen in three years.

Meredith, a 28-year veteran of 3M, came

here on a job transfer from South Wales

eight years ago. He is an executive vice

president in charge of the company’s life

sciences division, which produces medical,

pharmaceutical and dental products.

Now a U.S. citizen, Meredith lives in Grant

township, which he calls ‘‘a satisfying place

to live from a community standpoint.’’ He

enjoys the outdoors, fishing, skiing and sailing on the St. Croix.

Ngo, an engineer and sculptor who came

from Vietnam in 1970, founded and operates a

sewage treatment company, Lemna Corp. of

Mendota Heights. He creates parks out of

ponds with floating duckweed, packed into

wire mesh to cleanse the effluent. His method is praised as cheap, natural and esthetic.

‘‘And I’m as American as chow mein,’’ he

says.

‘‘We’re trying to dispel the myths that immigrants are flooding our shores, taking

American jobs, draining the welfare system

and failing to assimilate,’’ said Arnison.

In fact, she said, immigrants, who have

been entering at the ‘‘hardly a flood’’ rate of

1 million a year, make up 8 percent of the

population, compared with 15 percent in the

early 1900s. Together, they earn $240 billion a

year and pay back $90 billion in taxes. Only

9 percent of immigrant households are on

welfare.

Next week, Ralebipi, who now directs the

College of St. Catherine’s health sciences library, will return to South Africa, this time

to teach library technology for a year to students at her alma mater, the University of

the North.

This time she is excited, not scared. She is

confident that in South Africa freedom has

become ‘‘really real’’ and she is eager to help

build the newly integrated society.

CONTRACT FROM AMERICANS

fHON. RANDY ‘‘DUKE’’ CUNNINGHAM OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, June 8, 1995

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, last week

my constituents sent me a Contract from

Americans. The first line of this contract says