[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5] [House] [Page 6299] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]{time} 1445 HONORING THE LIFE OF LOU COSTANTINO The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes. Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank you, Madam Speaker, and I thank you for your leadership. As I begin my special order this afternoon, I want to pay tribute to two great Americans. One is a friend to us all. We know him well as Lou Costantino. We thank him so very much, and we really know him as Lou. We thank him for his friendship. We thank him for his warmth. We thank him for taking care of this place, this House. Lou, you see, was one of the distinguished men and women who stand outside of the House Chamber, works with the Sergeant of Arms, is in conjunction with the Clerk's Office. But really, Lou is part of our family. He attended and was concerned about all of our guests that would come. He was concerned about the Members. He was equally concerned and passionate about America. I consider him a great patriot, a great American. He loved this work because he was serving America. Lou lost his battle just this past weekend, but we are reminded that Lou was with us last week. How truly valiant Lou is in life and in death, and I stand here today to offer my deepest sympathy to his wife, Doris; his daughter, Edie; his son, Lewis, Jr.; and to all of his family members. May he rest in peace and may God bless him. I also take note to acknowledge the happy celebration of the birthday of Maya Angelou, poet laureate, teacher, mentor, resident of Winston- Salem, North Carolina, the author of the 1993 inaugural poem that suggested that those of us who live in the great land must come from underneath the rocks and shout out and be seen for justice. She also wrote the language or the words to a book, ``I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,'' to talk about what it's like to be isolated, to be contained, to be inhibited as a child growing up in the deep south. Maya Angelou can be considered a great American, certainly a great poet, certainly a great mentor of men and women, college students, as she taught me at Yale University. I am honored today to be able to say ``thank you'' to Maya Angelou. I now move, Madam Speaker, to something that has been continuing in this Nation, and very quickly I call upon the Secretary of State and the United States of America to reengage more actively in the negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I now believe fully that the only way that we will have success in recognizing and achieving peace in the Middle East is not through preemptive attacks, but through concern, negotiation, and firmness. We must tell the negotiators what America wants to see and provide them the support. We must insist that we will continue to be a friend of Israel, we will never step away from her, and we stand by Israel's right to exist as a freedom-loving democratic people. Let's say to the Palestinians if they are to move their people beyond the refugee camps, then they, too, must fight for democracy and two distinct separate states. The two-state theory must be put in action, but we can no longer stand by as an objective bystander. We must be engaged, we must roll up our sleeves, we must recognize that we are very much a part of the peace process in the Middle East. I remember very well when the President came in and he said, That's their business. My good friends on the other side of the aisle got up and joined him, That's their business. It's our business. And before the lights go out on this administration, it would do well for us in the name of Prime Minister Sharon, who began this process, to get engaged and to make sure that we can have peace in the Middle East, to have an ally in Israel, safe and secure, and to say to the Palestinian people that you can have good health, you can have housing, you can have education. I think, Madam Speaker, that this is a challenge that the Secretary of State should accept; this is a challenge for the President to accept. America can do no less. I did not say ``battle.'' I said ``engage,'' and be able to be part of the negotiation for peace. There is nothing wrong for being considered a peace-loving Nation that promotes peace. May God bless this Nation and bless our soldiers, wherever they may be, as they stand on the front lines around the world asking us to promote our ideals and our values, and that is peacemakers. ____________________