[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3] [House] [Pages 4111-4112] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]WELCOMING THE HONORABLE ANDRE CARSON TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 1 minute. There was no objection. Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I know Julia Carson, who was a beloved Member of all of us in this body, is looking down from heaven today and is very, very proud of Andre. He was the apple of her eye, her grandson, and if there was one thing she wanted, she wanted him to succeed her in the Congress of the United States. I am sure she is very, very happy today. Andre has a background in law enforcement. He worked with the State police, he worked with Homeland Security in the area of terrorism watching and controlling. He is a past member of the City-County Council of Indianapolis, and I presume they are going to have to pick somebody else to fill your seat now. He will be a welcome Member of this body. We congratulate you on your election and we look forward to working with you. Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from Indiana (Mr. Buyer). {time} 1500 Mr. BUYER. Madam Speaker, I would like everyone to know that we all enjoyed Julia very much. But I want you to know this, what just happened in the well is Andre responded to the Speaker with two words that would make Julia very proud. His first two words as a new Member of Congress, he turned and said, ``Yes, ma'am.'' Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Andre's wife, I presume, is here with him today, Mariama. They are the proud parents of a 1-year-old daughter, Salimah. I am sure when she is a little older, she will be very proud as well. I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky). Mr. VISCLOSKY. I appreciate the gentleman yielding, and I appreciate the biographical information. That is very important for all of us to recognize as far as Andre's achievement. I do think today as he is sworn in, he is probably best known as Julia Carson's grandson. Henceforth, he will be Andre Carson, Member of Congress, and we welcome you. Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I yield to our new Member of Congress. Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, my fellow colleagues, thank you for your warm welcome. Today, I want to thank the people of Indiana's 7th Congressional District. I am truly and extremely humbled by [[Page 4112]] the trust they have placed in me, grateful for their support, and committed to serving them each and every day. I want to thank my wife, Mariama, who has stood with me every step of the way, and our 1-year-old daughter, Salimah, who inspires me to serve. I also want to thank and honor and salute a great leader who I wish were here, my grandmother, Congresswoman Julia Carson. Thank you. For 11 years, she came to this floor as the people's champion. I am committed to building on her accomplishments and service to the people of the 7th Congressional District and the City of Indianapolis. I can think of no better way to honor her memory than by rolling up my sleeves and getting to work on day one. Our working families, our seniors, our children and our troops are counting on us to stand up and take responsibility for the changes we need in our country. In Indianapolis and across America, working families are struggling in our failing economy. As we are all painfully aware, in February alone, 63,000 Americans lost their jobs, many of them in the great Hoosier State of Indiana. Overseas, we must honor and care for our brave troops. And the best way to honor them is to change our direction in Iraq, end this war, and bring our troops home. Solving these problems won't be easy, but together we can make real changes and offer real solutions. We can start by giving middle-class families property tax relief. That is why I am proud that today, as my first official legislative action, I am signing on to my colleague Congressman Baron Hill's bill to provide property tax relief. This will help families in Indianapolis and those who have been hit hard with high taxes. As we move forward, I look forward to meeting with working with all of you, Republicans and Democrats, to strengthen our economy, create good jobs, and invest in our children. Thank you, Indiana; thank you, 7th Congressional District; and thank you all. God bless. ____________________