Issues of the Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very respected friend from Wisconsin today for yielding. We had our 5-minute speeches cut short, so I appreciate the opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to recognize Dean C. Mathisen for 20 years of service to our Nation and Nebraska's Second District. Dean is retiring from Federal service at the end of the 116th Congress in January 2021.

Dean is a former U.S. Army officer and a combat veteran. He served as a field artillery officer on Active Duty in the U.S. Army during the Cold War, on its front lines in West Germany. He was next assigned as a military police officer who deployed to the desert during the first Gulf war. Dean also commanded a transportation company in the U.S. Army Reserves.

In Nebraska's Second District, Dean served over 12 years as a senior constituent liaison for the Honorable Lee Terry from 2002 to January 2015. During this tenure, he was instrumental in identifying the need and communicating with the Department of Veterans Affairs about bringing a national veterans cemetery to the district. Dean was a key element in finding the resources to enable the first homeless veterans housing project in Omaha to be completed as well.

Dean then crossed the Missouri River in Iowa in 2016 and continued his Federal service in the office of the Honorable Joni Ernst. Here, he continued to use his personal experience to aid him in understanding the needs of our military servicemembers and veterans while solving constituent issues.

In 2017, Dean became a member of my original Omaha district office team as a senior constituent liaison. During this time, he saw the need for and coordinated the efforts to establish a Federal veterans court for the State of Nebraska. In the summer, Dean was promoted to deputy district director.

In his free time, Dean is active in local animal rescue and animal- assisted therapy. He is known in our office to be an avid horseman, hunter, and shooter. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and The American Legion and is known as a great Dane.

I want to offer Dean my sincere appreciation for his years of dedicated service to our great Nation and to Nebraska's Second Congressional District. His retirement is well earned. He should take great pride in his accomplishments in both his military and civil service careers for the citizens of the United States of America and the constituents of the Second District of Nebraska.

Mr. Speaker, I wish Dean all the best in his future endeavors.

Hispanic Heritage Month: Honoring Kathy and Greg Gonzalez

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Mr. BACON. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to commemorate two wonderful people during Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring a husband and wife pair of wonderful police officers from my district in Omaha. They have given lifetime contributions to law enforcement and have engaged in community efforts for our hometown.

Gregory Michael Gonzalez and Katherine Lynn Belcastro-Gonzalez were born in South Omaha in the early seventies to immigrant families.

One of six siblings, Greg grew up in a military environment as his father was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base.

Kathy's mother fled from Lithuania to Nebraska after her grandfather was taken as a prisoner of war. Kathy and her siblings were then raised in the basement of a Lithuanian parish in South Omaha.

Kathy and Greg were high school sweethearts at Omaha South High and went on to become married first-generation college graduates. Greg obtained an athletic scholarship at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Kathy attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln while simultaneously working three jobs. She graduated in 1993 and joined the Omaha Police Department the following year. Greg began his career in law enforcement in 1993 as the only Mexican American in the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

As assistant chief of the Omaha Police Department, Greg now helps oversee the hiring of officers and works to reflect the diverse community it serves, including Spanish-speaking officers. Additionally, Greg is an adjunct police academy instructor and instructs criminal justice courses at his alma mater.

As captain of Omaha's southeast precinct, Kathy oversees one of the most culturally diverse areas in Omaha. In addition, her precinct also manages large-scale events and cultural celebrations, including the NCAA College World Series, events at TD Ameritrade Park, and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.

Athletics are another passion Kathy and Greg share, and they believe competitiveness and teamwork are interpersonal skills that transfer from sports to the rest of life.

The couple was instrumental in expanding the already successful police-led sports program for at-risk and disadvantaged youth in Omaha called the Police Athletics for Community Engagement, or PACE. This program is led by police officers and volunteers and was founded in 2005 by Detective Tony Espejo, a 30-year member of the Omaha Police Department and veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Currently, retired OPD Captain Rich Gonzalez serves as PACE's executive director.

This September, Greg and Kathy celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary joined by their three children, Izabella, Greg Jr., and Alex. Overall, Kathy and Greg believe they would not be where they are today without the support of parents and extended family.

With an extended list of combined accolades and awards locally and nationally, Greg and Kathy Gonzalez exemplify the American Dream and the quintessential rise to success from hardworking immigrant families.

Mr. Speaker, we salute Greg and Kathy. May the future reward them with health and prosperity to continue to serve and protect our communities.

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