recognitions Congressman McIntyre had a strong relationship with the African-American community, and he was one of only two congressmen known to both host and sponsor his own event in recognition of Black History Month. Each year he would honor African-American elected officials from all levels of government throughout his district, and he would invite a colleague from the Congressional Black Caucus as his special guest of honor to come to southeastern North Carolina for the celebration, which regularly drew hundreds of attendees over the years. McIntyre also obtained appropriations for expansion of the African-American cultural center in Robeson County, where many of the celebrations were held. He was honored for his work by several African-American churches and communities through the years. Lumbee recognition bills McIntyre was a well-known champion of the fight for federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe, which has its tribal headquarters in his home county of Robeson and is the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River. Twice McIntyre successfully shepherded federal recognition bills through Congress, putting together a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, liberals, moderates and conservatives, after he personally lobbied his colleagues one-by-one. McIntyre argued that recognition for them was a matter of dignity and respect and would help the tribe with funding for education, health care and economic development. The House passed the bill he introduced in 2007 by a veto-proof margin (despite the Bush administration's opposition) of two-thirds of the House. The bill passed again in 2009 and was supported by the Obama administration. Both times, however, the Senate failed to bring the measure in that chamber to the floor for a vote. Prayer caucus leadership McIntyre was Co-Chairman of the Congressional Prayer Breakfast, which had over 100 members. The caucus met regularly on the first night of each week that Congress was in session—just across the hall from the House chamber to pray for wisdom for decisions to be made that week and to pray for constituents' needs in their communities back home. McIntyre also had the opportunity to serve as Co-Chairman of the Congressional Prayer Breakfast, which is for current and former Members of Congress. This weekly breakfast is a time when these individuals get together to pray for each other and to hear testimony from a colleague in Congress. In this capacity, McIntyre has also spoken briefly at the National Prayer Breakfast, which has occurred every year with every President since