A resolution recommending expenditures for an appropriate visitors center at Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site to commemorate the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School.

Madam President, this morning I rise to talk about something that we heard quite a bit about these days. The subject is flip-flopping.

Flip-flopping is kind of an easy thing to identify. During a recent convention, we heard an irate Senator make an angry speech declaring that it is not what you say but, rather, what you do

that counts. You flip-flop when you make promises and fail to fulfill them.

In my 20 years in Washington, there has not been more flip-flopping in a President's office than we have seen in that of President George W. Bush. He calls others flip-floppers, but President Bush needs to look in the mirror, because on issue after issue he has given a new meaning to flip-flop. The President essentially says: Forget what I said the first time, I may change that very soon.

Let's start with one of the earliest and cruelest flip-flops: education. It is cruel because the victims of the President's broken promises are our Nation's children.

The flip was a bold promise of an education bill called No Child Left Behind, with the expectation that the program would produce more money for kids who deserve a quality education.

In July 2001, I quote President Bush when he said he was dedicated to ``increasing funding for public schools.'' Then came a whopper of a flop when he refused to provide the funding promised in the No Child Left Behind Act. President Bush's 2005 budget underfunds education by $9.5 billion.

The next flip was in March of 2001, when President Bush promised our Nation's seniors not to touch the Social Security surplus. In March 2001, President Bush said:

We're going to keep the promise of Social Security and keep

the Government from raiding the Social Security surplus.

Flop: He broke that promise and proposed diverting billions in Social Security surpluses to other programs in the budget.

Flip: He promised to create more jobs for our Nation, but he flopped and has done nothing to create jobs. We are now seeing the first President to have actually lost jobs during the course of his administration since the dark days of Herbert Hoover. His administration ran from 1929 to 1933.

Flip: President Bush has repeatedly promised to pressure OPEC to lower gasoline prices. When he was running for President, Governor George W. Bush said:

What I think the President ought to do is he ought to get

on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to

open your spigots. . . . And the President of the United

States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price.

Flop: Over the course of this administration, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline has skyrocketed from $1.47 a gallon to $1.87 a gallon. President Bush's failure to keep prices down is costing families hundreds of extra dollars per year.

Flip: President Bush pledged to push to renew the ban on deadly assault weapons. In April of 2003, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said:

The President supports the current law, and he supports the

reauthorization of the current ban.

So the flip was that President Bush pushed to pledge to renew the ban on the deadly assault weapons. In April 2003, we heard what Scott McClellan said.

Flop: The ban on assault weapons is set to expire in a few days, and President George W. Bush has not lifted a finger to get Republican leaders to pass the bill in Congress. We know that one in five police officers killed in the line of duty are killed with an assault weapon.

We see the promises here on this chart. On this side are the flips, and we see the flops on this side. It is not just domestic issues that the President has flip-flopped on. When it comes to foreign affairs, the defense of our Nation, our Nation's veterans, President Bush has flip-flopped more than he has stayed the course.

One flip was the Department of Homeland Security. That was designed to protect us at home while we sent our troops abroad to protect us from terrorist activities overseas. President Bush strongly opposed creating the Department of Homeland Security in March of 2002. His spokesman said that a Homeland Security Department ``doesn't solve anything.''

Flop: Three months later, the President said he wants a Homeland Security Department, saying it is critical to protecting the American people.

Of course, those of us who follow this game know the President flip- flopped on this issue and it is part of a political scenario.

Flip: President George W. Bush opposed the creation of the 9/11 Commission. That is right, he opposed it. In April of 2002, President Bush said he was against the creation of the 9/11 Commission.

Flop: After increased political pressure, the President said he supported creating the 9/11 Commission in September of the same year.

The President even flip-flopped on catching the man who murdered 3,000 Americans, Osama bin Laden. In September of 2001, George Bush said he wanted Osama bin Laden ``dead or alive.'' He said, ``I want justice. There is an old poster out West, I recall, that says `wanted dead or alive,' '' when he was talking in September of 2001. But in March of 2002 he said, ``I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him. . . . I truly am not that concerned about him.''

I can tell you that the families of the 700 people from the State of New Jersey who lost their lives thought about Osama bin Laden, and they think about him every day and night--the children who have no father, the spouse who has no mate. That is an outrageous comment.

Of course, then there was the major flip, known as ``mission accomplished.'' If I can interpret that, he said: Rest easy Americans, there will be no more deaths and casualties, no more injuries that will last a lifetime.

The President announced that major combat operations in Iraq were over during a political appearance on an aircraft carrier.

Reality flopped him there--a tragic reality. Since declaring ``mission accomplished'' on May 1, 2003, we have lost 864 people in Iraq. Tell those families that the mission is accomplished. Tell them they have nothing to worry about. What they have is an empty home and an empty heart. Tell those families that the danger is over.

On the war on terror, President Bush flip-flopped again. One day in the same week he said he doesn't think we can win the war on terror. I believe that was a Monday. A day or two later, he flopped and said: Oh, no, we can win the war on terror.

What is it, Mr. President? Can we win or can we not win? Don't disrupt the morale of the people serving over there by discouraging comments such as we cannot win and then boldly say, heck, why did I say that?

He flip-flops on veterans issues as well. Just this month, he told the American Legion:

All our Nation's veterans have made serving America the

highest priority of their lives, and serving our veterans is

one of the highest priorities of my administration.

But what has the President quietly done? His plan for 2006, which is out there already--the budget year--is to cut veterans health care by $910 million after the election. None of this came out publicly before. You have to search to find it. The evidence is in an OMB memo that reveals the President's budget plan for 2006. President Bush has also doubled copays for prescription drugs for many veterans.

I served in a war a long time ago, and I say to my fellow veterans across the country: President Bush is talking the talk, but he doesn't walk the walk. Just as he failed to answer the call to combat during Vietnam, he is failing our veterans as President.

Behind the scenes here in Washington, President Bush is undermining veterans health care, and one thing that particularly enraged me was when I tried to make flag-draped coffins available to be photographed by the news media for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefields of Iraq, who deserve a last tribute from their country, a flag on their casket to tell their families they died honorably, President Bush would not allow it. He refuses to allow the public to see the flag-draped coffins arrive on our shores, such as in Dover, DE. That is where the bodies are brought back home.

I will never forget President Reagan's funeral, the deliberate care the honor guard took when they folded the flag crease by crease, and finally the last person in the line put it into a triangle and walked stiffly over to Nancy Reagan and gave her the flag. She was beaming.

I was at Arlington National Cemetery, where a young soldier was being buried. I joined his family. It was the same way: The honor guard folded the

flag crease by crease, and finally gave the triangular-folded flag to the young man's mother. Although she was crying, she was beaming with pride that this last tribute was given to her son. But the White House is saying: No, we do not want the American people to see those flag- draped coffins because it tells the truth about the cost of this war. The administration wants those images hidden because it is not good for reelection.

President Bush uses a lot of broad language and imagery when he speaks. It makes him sound determined and decisive, but when you get behind that facade and look at the actions, you see flip-flop. Make no mistake about it, George W. Bush knows exactly what flip-flopping is. It takes one to know one.

I close with the comment about an election that took place a few years ago in Georgia when a beloved comrade of ours--no legs, one arm left after his tour of duty in Vietnam--lost an election because he was declared to be soft on defense. The words almost were unpatriotic, and he lost an election because he was soft on defense--three limbs left behind in Vietnam, an American tragedy of the worst order.

Now the same thing is happening with our colleague, Senator John Kerry, in trying to paint him as soft on defense, unwilling to support the soldiers, unwilling to buy the material that is needed to protect themselves. It is an insult not just to those veterans but to every American. Those are the actions of a chicken hawk. I had a drawing of a chicken hawk here. A chicken hawk is someone who makes wars for other people to serve.

We know President Bush's record is very hard to come by. It is all obscured with was he there or wasn't he there. We know one thing, he wasn't there more than he was there.

Vice President Cheney had five deferments and said, during that war when Americans across our country were being called on to fight to perhaps sacrifice limb or life, he had other priorities. It is a bad game, but I hope the American people will be aware of what is taking place.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, easily one of the most significant legal decisions in American history. But today I want to talk about another anniversary that is rapidly approaching, and that is an anniversary that flows directly from the Brown decision. I am speaking of the Little Rock Central High desegregation crisis which occurred in 1957. The 50th anniversary will be here in a couple of years, 2\1/2\ years, in 2007.

I come to the floor today to speak on behalf of the so-called Little Rock Nine and to share their story of determination and opportunity. I come to the floor also to urge my colleagues to join me in this effort to help fully support the planned Little Rock Central High Museum and Visitors Center and get it back on track so it will be up and running to host the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock Central High crisis.

Let me remind my colleagues that it is just as important today that we spend time understanding the civil rights struggle and the civil rights movement in this country as it was in 1957. I am thrilled to have the support, the encouragement, and the assistance of the Congressional Black Caucus chairman, Elijah Cummings.

As you know, Brown did not erase the hatred and the prejudice that Black families face in this country. One of the most dramatic examples of that occurred on September 24, 1957, when President Dwight Eisenhower ordered Federal troops to Little Rock, AR, to allow nine Black children to attend the all-White Little Rock Central High School.

In fact, if one looks back on 1957, the two largest world news stories that year were Sputnik and the events surrounding Central High School in Little Rock. The Little Rock Nine changed the course of American history by claiming their right to receive an equal education.

These students were Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Carlotta Walls Lanier, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, Thelma Mothershed Wair, and Melba Pattillo Beals.

Of her experience, Melba Pattillo Beals recalls:

I had to become a warrior. I had to learn not how to dress

the best, but how to get from that door to the end of the

hall without dying.

These are very serious times. Another one of the Little Rock Nine, Ernest Green, explains why the Little Rock Nine sacrificed their innocence for a chance at a better education. He said:

We wanted to widen options for ourselves and later for our

children.

Well, Mr. Green went on to become the first black student to graduate from Arkansas Central High. He later served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs under President Jimmy Carter and as vice president of Lehman Brothers.

Without his courage and determination and those of the Little Rock Nine in 1957, those opportunities would never have been available to him.

Turning opportunity into achievement is what civil rights pioneer Daisy Bates had in mind for the Little Rock Nine when she encouraged them to do the unthinkable. As a story, Little Rock Central High has all the elements of a great story, starting with the premise in the Declaration of Independence where it says all men are created equal.

Those words, penned by Thomas Jefferson, resonate throughout American history, but in 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court came down with the Brown decision where it said that separate but equal is not constitutional, and we need to change our American educational system ``with all deliberate speed.''

There was a Governor in my State who was committed to States rights, and he was determined to stop any changes at Little Rock Central. There was a President who was seeing his duty as one of having to enforce Federal law even against a State's will. There was a nation torn apart by race and searching for a new and sound public policy and public philosophy for civil rights for all Americans. There was a city, a State, and a region that got caught up in the events, and the emotions ofttimes, and there were dozens of local leaders who were working at odds and at cross-purposes, many with their own personal and political agendas, some trying to build and some trying to destroy.

Then, of course, in the center of the hurricane there were the nine black children, showing superhuman courage, facing incalculable odds but striking a severe blow at one of the worst injustices in American history.

I recommend to my colleagues that if they want to read more about this crisis, they can read Harry Ashmore's history of Arkansas, or Roy Reed's ``Faubus.'' Both give an excellent coverage.

Little Rock Central High School today is a symbol. It at the same time symbolizes the best and the worst in American history. It simultaneously stands as a living monument to our dark past and to our bright future. It also stands for progress because Little Rock Central High School has been a remarkable school since 1957. It is consistently acknowledged as one of the best American high schools that we have in this country today.

In fact, I had the privilege in the late 1970s of attending Little Rock Central High School. I think I am the only Member of Congress who actually went to that school. I am very proud of being there and proud of all of the things that school stands for.

Little Rock Central High was designated as a unit of the National Park Service in 1998. In fact, in 2002 more than 24,000 people visited this historic site. They expect probably 60,000 by the year 2007. Unfortunately, the interim visitors center is only 500 square feet. One can slice it or dice it however they want to say it, but it is simply too small to house the significant history there and tell all the stories. In fact, if it was jam packed, it would only have room for about 35 people.

I was there for the 40th anniversary of the Central High crisis when President Bill Clinton and Governor Mike Huckabee symbolically opened the door for the Little Rock Nine. We are going to have another commemoration in 2007, the 50th anniversary of the crisis. I want to invite my colleagues to help join me in making sure we get the extra $5.8 million necessary to make this museum and visitors center a reality.

The last thing I would like to say is it took nine young high school students to prove to our Nation that all men are created equal and that the rule of law is paramount in democracy of the United States. Today, children all over America have the right to learn because of the courage and sacrifice the Little Rock Nine made, and I am here today asking for my colleagues to help us all recognize what

the Little Rock Nine did and acknowledge them by allowing this visitors center to be built.

I am submitting a resolution as we speak, and I ask my colleagues to sign on if they would like to. Also, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Lincoln be added as the first original cosponsor.

I ask unanimous consent that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 420 and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record, without further intervening action or debate.

Madam President, how much time do I have remaining?

I thank the Chair.

(The remarks of Mr. Pryor pertaining to the submission of S. Res. 420 are located in today's Record under ``Submission of Concurrent and Senate Resolutions.'')