Date: 2007-09-17
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I am honored to be the original sponsor of this bill. However. Mr. Speaker. I would like to make it conspicuously clear that to award this Congressional Gold Medal to the Honorable Michael DeBakey. many other persons are to be thanked. I would like to start by thanking the chairman of the Financial Services Committee. my chairman. Chairman BARNEY FRANK. for helping us to expeditiously get this bill out of committee. I would also like to thank the majority leader. STENY HOYER. for the outstanding work that he has done to get this bill to the floor. my colleagues. Congressman MICHAEL BURGESS and the Congressman who is with H10402 co: me right now. Congressman BURGESS is en route. Congressman * -JOHN CULBERSON. They* have both worked - with me. Mr. Speaker. to help us acquire the necessary votes. 290. and I assure you we have acquired more than 300 votes. to get this bill to the floor. The Texas delegation has worked with us and deserves an expression of appreciation. The 313 cosponsors in the U.S. House. the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives. and of course we would like to thank Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON. and the Members of the Senate for what they have done with this legislation. Mr. Speaker. the Congressional Gold Medal has many judges. In. fact. 535 people act as judges with reference to the awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal. Each Member of the House. 435. and each Senator has a vote. Each one judges the merits of a candidate for a Congressional Gold Medal. I want you and all others to know. Mr. Speaker. and I understand this and I guess I want people to understand that I understand. that it is not easy to get 290 Members of the House and 67 Members of the Senate to agree. However. with Dr. Michael DeBakey. I found that it was a labor of love. and I found all of the Members that we approached to be most receptive to having this medal be accorded the Honorable Dr. Michael DeBakey. Let me at this time explain what a Congressional Gold Medal is. It is the Nations highest and most distinguished civilian award. It was originally awarded to military leaders and later became a civilian medal. It is the congressional equivalent of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Each medal is unique. and it will be coined by the United States Mint and. designed by the United States Mint. There will be duplicates made in bronze. and they will be available for public consumption. The Congressional Gold Medal has been awarded approximately 134 times to approximately 300 individuals. Some noted recipients include the first President of our Nation. George Washington. General Andrew Jackson. the Wright Brothers. Thomas Edison. Sam Rayburn. a former Speaker of this august body. sir Winston Churchill. Robert Kennedy. Lady Bird Johnson. Mother Teresa. Nelson Mandela.- Rosa Parks. Pope John Paul H. the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. and Coretta Scott King. And the last recipients were the Tuskegee Airmen. Mr. Speaker. I want to thank God for Dr. Michael DeBakey. He is truly one who epitomizes the American Dream. Born the oldest of five children. his parents were of Lebanese descent. He was born in my home State. New Orleans. Louisiana. And. Mr. Speaker. I am proud to say that he had his residency at Charity Hospital. the.hospital where I was delivered. and I am curiently researching to find out if it is entirely possible that I might be a person who was delivered by the Honorable Michael DeBakey.