A concurrent resolution recognizing the importance of Ralph Bunche as one of the great leaders of the United States, the first African-American Nobel Peace Prize winner, an accomplished scholar, a distinguished diplomat, and a tireless campaigner of civil rights for people throughout the world.

Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of the centenary celebration of Ralph Bunche's birth

Ralph Bunche was an extraordinary man whose success was a definitive accomplishment in the history of America.

His grandmother was born into slavery.

His father was a barber in a shop for whites only.

His mother was a musician.

When his mother and father died his grandmother took him to California where her influence and the perspective she gave him on life and liberty shaped his future and, to some extent, the history of the Nation.

He was a brilliant man, a musician, debater, athlete, a summa cum laude student and valedictorian. A loving husband to Ruth and father of Joan, Jane and Ralph Jr.

He went to Harvard, taught at Howard University and earned his doctorate comparing French rule in Togoland and Dahomey.

And when the civil rights movement came he spoke out loudly and his message was clear: ``Segregation and democracy are incompatible,'' he said. ``Racial prejudice is an unreasoned phenomenon without scientific basis in biology or anthropology.''

But Ralph Bunche did not want to be remembered for his race. He wanted to be remembered for his accomplishments and his competence, for his dedication to service and his commitment to the recognition of the fundamental rights of men and women to live in harmony and peace.

He came from a generation of Americans who believed that it was wrong to recognize a man for the color of his skin, that we should, instead, recognize men and women for the power of their ideas and the contribution they make to the community.

Ralph Bunche did not want to be remembered as the first African American who was the first to graduate from University of California at Los Angeles as valedictorian or the first to graduate from Harvard with a Ph.D. in government and international relations, or the first to become Chief U.N. Mediator.

Least of all, the first to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He wished to be remembered simply as an American who answered his country's call of duty.

That is not a shortcoming . . . It is not a slight to any man or woman of color in our society . . . it is, however, a statement of hope, the hope I grew up with, that we can one day be a society that judges us not for our differences but for our accomplishments and the fact that we, as human beings, made a difference.

Ralph Bunche was one of those human beings who made a difference and left an extraordinary legacy.

By tailoring the language in the 11th and 12th Chapters of the U.N. Charter, Bunche made it possible for the United Nations to recognize the peaceful self-determination of those being exploited by colonialism, and through sheer force of will he recovered from an assassination attempt which killed 4 of his colleagues to negotiate an armistice agreement ending the first Arab-Israeli war.

With an eye for the future he presided over the conference which finalized the statues for the International Atomic Energy Agency.

And in response to an international crisis he established the foundations for the first international peacekeeping operation in Egypt.

This legacy is manifest in his dedication to the United Nations, and to the cause of peace for which we will always remember him.

His words were perhaps prophetic when he said: ``If today we speak of peace, we also speak of the United Nations, for in this era peace and the United Nations, have become inseparable. If the United Nations cannot ensure peace there will be none.

``If war should come it will be only because the United Nations has failed.

``But the United Nations need not fail.

``Surely every man of reason must work and pray to the end that it will not fail.''

Those are not popular words today but they are truthful words, a heartfelt notion from a man whose life and work centered on a way to bring people--all people--together to solve problems.

In concluding his Nobel Lecture, he said: ``There will be no security in our world, no release from agonizing tension, no genuine progress, no enduring peace, until, in Shelley's fine words, reasons voice, loud as the voice of nature, shall have waked the nations.' ''

Today we honor this visionary man of peace as an accomplished scholar, a distinguished diplomat, a tireless campaigner for the civil rights of all people in every nation, and as one of the 20th centuries foremost figures and a role model for every young man and woman, black or white, Christian, Muslim, or Jew.

I ask all my colleagues to join with me in recognizing the life and work of Ralph Bunche by passing this resolution.

Madam President, I rise today to congratulate French President Jacques Chirac for having taken resolute steps to stop attacks on Jewish sites in France and, more broadly, to address some of the causes of anti-Semitism among Muslim youths in that country.

As you know, Madam President, France has a large Muslim minority population. In the past, I have been strongly critical of President Chirac, the French, and other Europeans for not having been sufficiently attentive to the cancer of anti-Semitism that still exists in Europe, and in the United States to some extent.

Some have ignored the insidious way criticism of some Israeli policies has been conflated into pure anti-Semitism. Others have shied away from meeting the problem head on because of fears of provoking more violence in Europe. Still others have refrained from speaking out for fear of alienating domestic electoral constituencies.

Whatever their motives, until recently, precious few European leaders have demonstrated very much leadership with regard to combatting anti- Semitism, which is on the rise.

Last Saturday, a Jewish school near Paris was destroyed by an arson attack. Two days later, President Chirac convened a meeting attended by Prime Minister Raffarin and other top officials to react to this latest outrage. The result of the meeting, as reported in the New York Times, was a package of measures including beefed-up policing and prosecution of anti-Semitic violence, and also an earmark of nearly $8 billion worth of investment in urban renewal to clean up neighborhoods that breed Islamic fundamentalism.

President Chirac was quoted as saying: ``Anti-Semitism is contrary to all the values of France,'' and that Jewish Frenchmen and Frenchwomen are at home in France just as are all other groups.

Last month, the Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on anti-Semitism in Europe, which revealed the shocking extent of the problem. Recent public opinion polls in Europe have confirmed our hearing's testimony.

One of the most important weapons in the fight against anti-Semitism is political leadership. Or as Justice Holmes said: The best disinfectant is the light of day. The best disinfectant is light, and shedding light on the anti-Semitism in Europe, and criticizing it, can only be done effectively by Europe's political leadership.

France's measures are, to be sure, only a beginning of a long struggle to eradicate this disease from the European body politic. I have been critical in the past when European leaders have not responded. Now President Chirac should be complimented for having had the courage to forcefully show the way. He deserves credit, and I hope it is the beginning of a process.

(The remarks of Mr. Biden pertaining to the submission of S. Con. Res. 82 and S. Con. Res. 83 are printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

Madam President, I thank my friend from New Jersey. We use that phrase very loosely around

here, but he is my friend, and I thank him for his courtesy.

I yield the floor.

I thank the Senator.

(The remarks of Mr. Lautenberg pertaining to the introduction of S. 1882 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I thank the Chair.

(The remarks of Mr. Specter pertaining to the introduction of S. 1888 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

(The remarks of Mr. Specter pertaining to the submission of S. Res. 267 located in today's Record under ``Submission of Concurrent and Senate Resolutions.'')

I thank the Chair. In the absence of any other Senator on the floor, Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 82 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to this concurrent resolution be printed in the Record.

Madam President, before the Senator from Delaware leaves the floor, I commend him for his arduous effort here on behalf of reminding the French Government that anti-Semitism is antithetical to a democratic society and to those with whom we have relationships.

Senator Biden has worked on this for several years, and he is a voice they will listen to. We commend him again for his thoughts and his remarks.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.