mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
unfortunately , i think that in the past there may have been some politics involved . 
i understand that one of my colleagues on this side had achieved the requisite number of signatures for a commemorative gold medal for the columbia 107 in the last congress , in the middle of the last congress , and that was never awarded . 
so i do not know why . 
i do not know if there was any reason for that , when the requisite number of signatures were given , that that bill was not taken up in the committee and that member was not successful in getting that award to the columbia 107 . 
why that was not done , i do not know . 
i do not know if politics was part of that . 
maybe someone can answer that question . 
but therein lies the problem , that from time to time , quite possibly there is politics involved as to why some individuals receive the gold medals and others do not . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
