Volume 154, No. 24 covering the 2nd Session of the 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) was published by the Congressional Record.
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.
“LEE BOTTS--” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E181-E182 on Feb. 13, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
LEE BOTTS--
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HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor and pleasure that I stand before you today to honor one of Northwest Indiana's most dedicated, distinguished, and honorable citizens. I have known Lee Botts for many years, and she is one of the most active and involved citizens I have ever known, especially when it comes to her service to protecting the Great Lakes and Lake Michigan's National Lakeshore. Today, Lee is celebrating a milestone, her 80th birthday. In her honor, a celebration will be taking place on Thursday, February 21, 2008, at the Metropolitan Club in Chicago, Illinois.
Lee Botts spent her childhood in Kansas and Oklahoma, and as a young woman, Lee moved with her four children to Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. In Chicago, Lee became active in neighborhood associations, such as the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, and became active in the preservation of the Great Lakes. In 1966, Lee participated in the campaign to acknowledge the Indiana Dunes as a National Lakeshore. While Lee was active in the protection of the lakeshore, she was also a columnist for the Hyde Park Herald, a weekly community publication of which she later became the editor. As well as being active in community press, Lee also established the Hyde Park Garden Fair, which is still held on an annual basis. In the late 1960s, Lee also became a staff member of the Openlands Project in Chicago, an organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing public open space around Chicago and northern Illinois.
In 1971, Lee founded the Lake Michigan Federation, known today as the Alliance for the Great Lakes. The Federation was the first independent citizen organization dedicated to the preservation of a specific Great Lake. As the leader of the Federation, Lee became dedicated to protecting the lakeshore and actively lobbied Congress to tackle issues of environmental protection, focusing on the first federal Clean Water Act. Because of her dedication to the environment, Lee served on the staff of the Environmental Protection Agency for several years when the agency was in its infancy, and in 1977 was appointed by President Carter as the head of the Great Lakes Basin Commission, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Following this position, Lee worked with Mayor Harold Washington and the city of Chicago as a staff member and consultant for the city's newly developed Department of the Environment.
Lee also founded the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center, a summer camp offering children of U.S. Steel employees an opportunity to learn about the environment and the necessity of its preservation. In addition to the numerous organizations Lee founded, she also made time to serve in various capacities at several other organizations, such as the Save the Dunes Council, the Northwest Indiana Quality of Life Council, Great Lakes United, the State of Illinois' Task Force of Global Climate Change, the State of Indiana Water Pollution Control Board, Chicago Wilderness, and the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission.
Madam Speaker, Lee Botts has given her time and efforts selflessly to the protection of our environment and lakeshore throughout her many years of service. At this time, I ask that you and all of my distinguished colleagues join me in commending her for her lifetime of service and dedication to her community. I also ask that you join me in wishing her a very happy 80th birthday.
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