Donald M. Payne: “let me first of all commend my friend and colleague, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Owens], for calling this special…”

“let me first of all commend my friend and colleague, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Owens], for calling this special order tonight. I appreciate having the opportunity to participate in this with him. Through our service together on the House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, we have worked together many years on issues and projects, on educational issues, on issues of jobs, and I have always admired the gentleman's strong stand and his conviction and his willingness to stand up for what he believes in. So it is with that pleasure that I participate in this special order tonight and also to reiterate, as he said, that the Congressional Black Caucus held a retreat where we talked about the state of black America where we discussed issues that confront us as a people and this Nation as a country. One of the issues that continually came up and the issue that we overridingly talk about was the fact that the summer youth employment is an extremely important, critical and key issue to us in our communities. Tonight I am proud to join with him in standing up for young people in our communities. There is one concept now which all Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle can agree. It is the importance of instilling in our young people a strong work ethic. That is what made this country great; that is what made America what it is today. And a sense of personal responsibility.…”