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[Page H1231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING ALBERT HENDERSON
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an exceptional veteran
in my hometown of Fresno, California, Albert Henderson.
In this photo, Albert Henderson and I are here at the veterans home
in Fresno, a wonderful facility that provides a continuum of care for
those men and women who served our Nation over the years.
Albert has an incredible story. He is one of the last living
survivors of the USS Bismarck Sea, which sank 75 years ago this month
during a World War II battle on the island of Iwo Jima. We all know of
that historic battle that took place on Iwo Jima.
His is a story of survival, and it is a remarkable one.
He joined the Navy as a cook at the age of 17. After learning of the
attack on Pearl Harbor, like many Americans who decided to selflessly
do everything they could to protect our country, he began his military
journey on the USS Bismarck Sea as a chef second class, where he often
speaks of the difficulties of preparing food for such a large group of
folks.
As the ship made its way to the Philippines in 1944, its fate was
sealed when it was struck by two Japanese kamikaze pilots.
In the kitchen at the time of the attack, Albert made it topside only
to discover that all the life rafts and preservers were taken by other
members of the crew.
He spent more than 4 hours struggling to stay afloat in the choppy
waters of the Pacific Ocean, praying for God's help to survive after
being rescued by a passing U.S. Navy motorboat.
For his services and injuries, Albert was awarded the Purple Heart
and the Good Conduct Medal.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues today to join me in recognizing an
American hero for this remarkable moment in history for a remarkable
man over 75 years ago.
Albert, we thank you for your sacrifice and your courage to our
Nation. God bless.
Facing Coronavirus Challenges
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the challenges
facing our country and the world with the recent outbreak of the
coronavirus.
This disease presents a serious threat that I think requires a
proactive approach in a bipartisan fashion.
Unfortunately, the mechanisms put in place by the previous
administration, the Obama administration, to deal with pandemics like
this have been dismantled over the last year. They were put in place to
deal with the Ebola crisis and the SARS crisis years ago and to ensure
that in the future, if possible pandemics occurred, we would be
prepared.
In 2018, the President fired the entire pandemic response team. In
the President's 2021 budget request, he proposed cutting over $700
million to the Centers for Disease Control. Hopefully, this proposal
will be dead on arrival. In the face of this crisis, this is simply
unacceptable.
We need to be on guard. The social and economic impacts of this
pandemic could be devastating globally, but the public health crisis
affects all Americans.
We have just had the first case, in the last 24 hours, in northern
California that, it is believed, the cause, the origin, is from here in
our country, not coming from China.
We require a robust response. The Congress and the President need to
work together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure the well-being, public
health, and safety of the American people.
Hopefully, the President of the United States' press conference
yesterday reflects the administration's intent to work together. We
need to.
I am committed to joining my colleagues to ensure that we have an
effective strategy in place to protect all Americans' health and safety
from this potentially deadly pandemic virus, otherwise known as
coronavirus.
We need to be on guard. We need to do everything we can to protect
the American people.
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