The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“RECOGNIZING CHANCELLOR LELAND” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H4071-H4072 on May 22, 2019.
The Department is primarily focused on food nutrition, with assistance programs making up 80 percent of its budget. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department implements too many regulations and restrictions and impedes the economy.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING CHANCELLOR LELAND
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 a true pioneer in education at the University of California at Merced, the newest campus not only in California but among the newest in the country.
Dorothy Leland, our chancellor, is retiring, but she has paved the way for this newest university.
Chancellor Leland and her staff have built a community at UC Merced that is very special. More than 44 percent of the faculty are women. Over the past 5 years, the number of graduate students attending the university has increased by nearly 75 percent.
Probably most impressive of all, I think, is that nearly 75 percent of the students are the first in their families to attend university, and a majority of these are minorities. It is a majority-minority campus.
As a child of Mexican immigrants herself and the first in her family to graduate from college, Chancellor Leland feels a real connection to the student body. She is outspoken about DACA students, with almost 600 DACA students in the university today. She even traveled here to our Nation's Capital to fight on behalf of Dreamers.
She is one of the founding members of the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a group of more than 200 leaders who support policies that help immigrant, undocumented, and international students succeed at U.S. universities and colleges.
In her retirement, she said she wants to work on immigration reform. We can use that help.
But her work for the students and the campus at UC Merced does not end there. Arriving in 2011 during the Great Recession, Chancellor Leland immediately went to work on developing the university, because of the importance of this campus to the San Joaquin Valley, with a major construction project. She fought for $1.3 billion in funding to help expand the university, including the construction of new dorm rooms, research labs, a conference center, and an athletic facility. That project has allowed the university to expand from 5,000 to over 8,000 students and doubled the size of the campus.
She has also succeeded in graduation rates, which are up by 12 percent during her tenure. I am proud to say that, last weekend, over 1,300 students graduated.
UC Merced has achieved impressive levels of academic and research distinction and is developing numerous new patents and leading cutting-
edge research.
I would also like to take this opportunity to give another shout-out, and that is to President Joe Castro and the faculty and the student body at Fresno State, home of the Bulldogs.
This past weekend, Fresno State graduated over 6,000 students, the largest in the school's history. Over 25,000 students are enrolled at Fresno State, ranked by Washington Monthly last year as one of the top 25 campuses in the United States.
Most importantly, more than 60 percent of the graduating students are the first in their generation to attend and graduate from university.
Both these universities are serving our Nation and doing what, in fact, they should be doing, which is educating and training our Nation's next generation of leaders who will make a difference and who will make America a better place.
I am honored to represent such successful universities in my district, and I am proud of both these leaders, the faculties, and the student bodies because they represent the future of America.
Go Bobcats, and go Bulldogs.
Reconsider Funding Levels for FEMA and California Wildfires
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, let me note that the President's action this week as it relates to funding for FEMA and California's wildfires, as well as the funding for the United States Department of Agriculture in terms of where those moneys go for forestry, is wrong. It is wrong; it is punitive; and it is painful.
For the fires in California, 60 percent are on U.S. forestry land. Therefore, to be responsible, the United States needs to do its part when these horrific fires take place.
We do the same with hurricanes. We do the same with tornadoes. We do the same with floods. So it seems to me that the President ought to reconsider his actions toward California.
We are partners in trying to manage both State and Federal lands not only in California but around the country. Therefore, the President's actions should be reconsidered.
It should not be punitive toward California because, through no fault of our own, we have had to deal with these horrific circumstances, just like other regions of the country have to deal with natural disasters that are through no fault of their own.
Let's reconsider, Mr. President. Let's not be punitive toward California because of the tremendous devastation that these fires have created.
____________________
