March 5, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE S2827
our fellow student, Morris Dees. Together,
they would go on to form a lucrative
direct marketing business selling
cookbooks and other items. This
business would make Millard a millionaire
by the time he reached the young
age of 29. When his work and devotion
to monetary success began to threaten
his personal relationships, however,
Millard and Linda made the decision to
simplify their lives by selling their
possessions and dedicating their lives
to their Christian values.
In 1965, Millard and Linda moved to
Koinonia Farm in south Georgia. It
was there that Millard and Linda met
and became close friends with the
farm’s founder, Clarence Jordan. Clarence
and Millard had much in common
and together they developed the concept
of a housing program that would provide no-interest loans to people to
build modest homes. This idea eventually
grew into Habitat for Humanity.
In 1976, from a tiny house in Americus,
GA, Millard and Linda established
Habitat for Humanity. Today, the organization
has built more than 300,000
houses around the world, providing
more than 1.5 million people in more
than 3,000 communities with safe, decent,
affordable shelter. In April 2009,
Habitat for Humanity’s Alabama State
Support Organization will celebrate
the completion of its 1,500th house.
Millard is loved and will be missed by
his wife Linda and their four children. He will also be missed by the thousands of volunteers who found inspiration
through his dedication. It is because of
Millard that thousands of people across
the world have a place to call home. I
ask this entire Senate to join me in
recognizing and honoring the life of Millard Fuller.
HONORING MAINE OXY
Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, at a time
when our Nation is involved in a global
war on terrorism, thousands of lives
are disrupted as members of our armed
services head off to war. One aspect
that is often overlooked is the profound
impact a deployment can have
on a servicemember’s civilian career. I
wish today to commend a small business
from my home State of Maine
that has made a veritable commitment
to ensuring that those serving our
country are seamlessly reintegrated
into the workforce upon their return
from Active Duty, and their families
taken care of while they are gone.
Maine Oxy is an Auburn-based company
that specializes in welding, as
well as industrial and specialty gases.
A third generation family managed
firm, Maine Oxy was founded in 1929 by
Joseph W. Albiston as Maine Gas Service,
which at that time provided sales
and service to home propane customers.
Six years later, Maine Oxy
began providing welding supplies and
industrial gases for customers throughout
Androscoggin County, in central
Maine. Since that time, Maine Oxy has
expanded to serve three States in eight
locations, including a state-of-the-art
acetylene production facility. It has
also established a cutting-edge Spec
Air gas manufacturing laboratory, as
well as the New England School of Metalwork,
with programs in welding and blacksmithing, as part of its sustained
growth.
As a company that truly looks after
its own, Maine Oxy has excelled in assisting
its employees who serve in the
military. Three such members from
Maine Oxy’s Auburn Facility —Robert
Smith, Kirby Touchette, and Scott St.
Pierre—were all recently called up to
Active Duty as combat engineers. During
their deployment, Maine Oxy assisted
the servicemembers by sending
them care packages, and also aided
their families by helping them with
various chores, including chopping firewood
for one the families that needed
it. Even now, Maine Oxy continues to
send dozens of care packages to troops
in Iraq.
Upon their return, the three deployed
employees were encouraged to make
use of their maximum allocated 90-day entitlement of time off before returning
to work. Moreover, the company
was flexible in allowing for follow-up
medical appointments. Finally, the
firm rehired the employees and promoted
them to new positions, thereby
allowing their replacement workers to
maintain employment as well.
Maine has one of the highest percentages
of veterans in the country at
roughly 16 percent of the State’s population.
Our State is seeing hundreds of
new veterans each year returning from
combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. As
such, it is heartening to see companies
like Maine Oxy standing ready to assist
its veteran employees in such a
broad and altruistic manner. Thank
you to Bruce Albiston, Maine Oxy’s
Chief Executive Officer, and everyone
at Maine Oxy for their selfless support
of their colleagues, and best wishes for
their future success.
MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE
At 10:30 a.m., a message from the
House of Representatives, delivered by
Mrs. Cole, one of its reading clerks, announced
that the House has passed the
following bill, in which it requests the
concurrence of the Senate:
H.R. 1127. An act to extend certain immigration
programs.
MEASURES DISCHARGED
The following measure was discharged
from the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources by unanimous
consent, and referred as indicated:
H.R. 44. An act to implement the recommendations
of the Guam War Claims Review
Commission; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
MEASURES PLACED ON THE
CALENDAR
The following bill was read the second
time, and placed on the calendar:
H.R. 146. An act to establish a battlefield
acquisition grant program for the acquisition
and protection of nationally significant
battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary
War and the War of 1812, and for
other purposes.
EXECUTIVE REPORTS OF
COMMITTEES
The following executive reports of
nominations were submitted:
By Mr. LEAHY for the Committee on the
Judiciary.
David S. Kris, of Maryland, to be an Assistant
Attorney General.
Elena Kagan, of Massachusetts, to be Solicitor
General of the United States.
Thomas John Perrelli, of Virginia, to be
Associate Attorney General.
(Nominations without an asterisk
were reported with the recommendation
that they be confirmed.)
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
The following reports of committees
were submitted:
By Mr. LEAHY, from the Committee on
the Judiciary, with an amendment in the nature
of a substitute:
S. 386. A bill to improve enforcement of
mortgage fraud, securities fraud, financial
institution fraud, and other frauds related to
federal assistance and relief programs, for
the recovery of funds lost to these frauds,
and for other purposes.
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND
JOINT RESOLUTIONS
The following bills and joint resolutions
were introduced, read the first
and second times by unanimous consent,
and referred as indicated:
By Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr.
SCHUMER):
S. 527. A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to
prohibit the issuance of permits under title
V of that Act for certain emissions from agricultural
production; to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
By Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr.
LEAHY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FEINGOLD,
Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr.
KERRY, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. HARKIN,
Mr. DODD, Mr. BROWN, and Ms.
KLOBUCHAR):
S. 528. A bill to prevent voter caging; to
the Committee on Rules and Administration.
By Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr.
BROWNBACK, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico,
Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. KERRY, and Ms.
SNOWE):
S. 529. A bill to assist in the conservation
of rare felids and rare canids by supporting
and providing financial resources for the
conservation programs of countries within
the range of rare felid and rare canid populations
and projects of persons with demonstrated
expertise in the conservation of
rare felid and rare canid populations; to the
Committee on Environment and Public
Works.
By Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself
and Mr. MARTINEZ):
S. 530. A bill to extend Federal recognition
to the Muscogee Nation of Florida; to the
Committee on Indian Affairs.
By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and
Ms. MURKOWSKI):
S. 531. A bill to provide for the conduct of
an in-depth analysis of the impact of energy