HONORING TREVER AUBRIA “T.A.” CARTER, JR.
HON. H. MORGAN GRIFFITH
OF VIRGINIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Mr. Griffith. Madam Speaker, I rise in honor of Trever Aubria “T.A.” Carter, Jr., who passed away on December 27, 2020 at the age of 93. T.A. was a veteran, architect, and philanthropist in Virginia’s Roanoke Valley.
T.A. was born on December 20, 1927 to Trever Aubria Carter, Sr. and Pernell Jackson Carter Smith. He graduated from Jefferson High School. After serving in the United States Navy at the end of World War II, he earned a degree in architecture from Virginia Tech.
The properties T.A. helped develop dot the landscape of western Virginia. He launched the Double T Corporation with T.D. Steele and also worked in partnerships with other businessmen. Among the locations T.A. helped develop were Crossroads Mall, the first enclosed shopping mall in Virginia, and Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke, University Mall in Blacksburg, Hunting Hills Country Club, properties for the Marriott hotel chain in Roanoke and Blacksburg, and residential neighborhoods including the Stonegate neighborhood and the Stonegate Swim Club. He was a hands-on developer who visited his projects every day they were under development.
T.A. contributed to the architecture of western Virginia but he contributed in other ways. He advocated for Explore Park in Roanoke and Bedford Counties. As a devotee of his alma mater, Virginia Tech, he established the T.A. Carter Professorship in the College of Architecture, and he supported Roanoke College in Salem as well. T.A. also belonged to the Salem Rotary for many years.
T.A. was known for his kind and charitable nature, taking an interest in the people of his community and his profession and supporting their endeavors. I was a recipient of his generosity. The Stonegate Swim Club which he built and owned had an initiation fee and a membership fee, but he let a single-parent schoolteacher in the area pay the fees in installments for her children so they could use the facility. As one of those children, I enjoyed the opportunity to swim and took it up as a lifelong hobby. I am a member of that swim club to this day.
T.A. is survived by his wife of 71 years, Jeanette Watson Carter; his daughter, Treva Jean Carter and fiancé Alan; his son, Edward Paul Carter and wife Juliette; his granddaughter, Amber Miller Mason; grandsons Jeremy Wyatt Carter and wife Kel and Benjamin Gerald Carter and wife Melissa, and great-grandchildren Maggie, Carter, Wyatt, and Millie. I wish to offer my condolences on the loss of T.A., who did so much for the development and support of the Roanoke Valley.
CONGRATULATING STATE SENATOR MIKE FOOTE ON HIS RETIREMENT
HON. JOE NEGUSE
OF COLORADO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Mr. Neguse. Madam Speaker, today I want to honor an extraordinary leader and colleague of mine who has worked tirelessly for his constituents, Colorado State Senator Mike Foote. After serving 5 years in the Colorado House of Representatives, Senator Foote then served an additional two years as State Senator for District 17 in the Colorado Senate.
The time and effort Senator Foote put into representing his community is a testament to his ability and dedication to his constituency. Senator Foote worked hard to generate bipartisan agreements on legislation, putting his constituents above politics. He worked tirelessly to represent the values of his constituents, especially as a leader in critical efforts to fight climate change and preserve our environment for generations to come.
During the COVID–19 pandemic, he authored legislation that was signed into law to protect consumers from price gouging and other deceptive business practices, and he has long worked to protect consumers all across Colorado.
Senator Foote has been a dedicated public servant to the people of Boulder County for many years, and he has made a tremendous impact on his community. I am grateful for his work, and I am sure that he will leave a lasting legacy in our great state. I thank him for his service and contributions to the state of Colorado and wish him a restful and well-deserved retirement from public service.
SUPPORTING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE OBJECTIONS IN THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
HON. JOHN W. ROSE
OF TENNESSEE
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Mr. Rose. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the objection to counting the electoral votes from Pennsylvania.
Violence today did not prevail. We are back in this chamber, carrying out our constitutional duty by holding this debate and eventually moving forward with our American tradition of a peaceful transfer of power. I want to echo the Majority Leader’s statements tonight that we need to act as Americans, as “we the people,” and that is what I am doing—fighting to ensure the election integrity of this nation so that all Americans can have trust in the process that defines us. I am fighting today to preserve our democratic republic through a thoughtful debate on the obvious flaws of the 2020 election process.
While our actions today may not reverse the blatant failure of some states to properly vet the votes, this is an important venue to discuss the concerns of the many people who are dissatisfied with the 2020 election process.
Serious irregularities and improprieties in several states raise legitimate concerns about the election administration in those states. These documented irregularities were then under reported or ignored altogether by the media.
Although states have long been empowered to administer their elections, when a state or states blatantly fail to a provide a trustworthy process, those states should expect calls for accountability and transparency from citizens, officials, and states nationwide.
This 2020 presidential election has shone a bright light on the fact that states need to step up and properly reform their election processes, where needed, to deliver trustworthy results for all Americans.
Madam speaker, I urge my colleagues today to support this objection and to join me in the fight for election integrity.
DEFENDING OUR DEMOCRACY
HON. MIKE LEVIN
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Mr. Levin of California. Madam Speaker, for the first time since 1814, the United States Capitol Building was breached by an angry mob. More than 200 years ago, it was British troops. This time it was domestic terrorists, inspired and encouraged by President Donald Trump.
I started the day prepared to uphold my oath of office—an oath I took this past Sunday at the launch of the 117th Congress to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
I planned to uphold that oath by voting to certify the results of the Electoral College, and we are getting back to our work and certifying Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as our next President and Vice President. We will do that work thanks to the efforts and bravery of the Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies who have intervened. While there will be many questions about how this security breach occurred, I am incredibly grateful for the men and women who risked their lives to keep us safe today.
As for the domestic terrorists who sought to overthrow our democracy, they must be prosecuted. Their leader must be removed from office as soon as possible and their enablers in Congress must be held responsible for their role in this catastrophe.
Despite 81 million votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, multiple recounts, and more than 60 failed lawsuits challenging the election results, many of my Republican colleagues followed Trump’s lead and pushed outlandish conspiracy theories and baseless claims of voter fraud without any evidence, entirely void of reality.
Many Congressional Republicans are seeking to overturn the results of a free and fair election because they don’t like the results. They didn’t realize—or didn’t care—that their actions could result in a violent coup attempt. That’s exactly what happened today.
The question now is a vital one: where does our country go from here?
For many decades, we have had passionate but peaceful political disagreements—a shining beacon of democracy. We Americans do not support insurrection or mob rule. In short, we are so much better than this.
We are now at a crossroads in our great nation’s history, a moment where we see two divergent paths in front of us. We can continue down a path of hyper-partisanship, divisiveness, and democratic decay, or we can try to heal our country. We can come together to reject the violence we saw today and recommit to upholding the values that unite us as Americans: democracy, justice, and equality. It is paramount that we choose the right path.
