A concurrent resolution directing the Joint Committee on the Library to procure a statue of Rosa Parks for placement in the Capitol.

Mr. President, let me begin by commending my colleague from Kentucky. I am pleased to be the lead sponsor with him on this resolution and he rightly points out that there are a number of colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have been very supportive of this effort. In fact, I think we might leave this open this evening so that others who wish to be cosponsors may do so before this evening is complete.

I want to particularly thank, in this Chamber this evening, Senator Kerry of Massachusetts who was very interested in this issue and announced his strong support early on of recognizing Rosa Parks. I also want to thank Representative Jesse Jackson of the House and others on the House side who are also interested in this issue. The House sponsors have taken a different approach to authorizing a statue of Rosa Parks, but that bill has not yet been brought before the House for debate. The action we take today is one way that we can guarantee that Congress can authorize, and immediately have funds to pay for, the commissioning of this statue. I strongly support the efforts of my colleague, Senator McConnell, to expedite this legislation.

I was honored to attend the funeral services here in Washington, DC for Mrs. Parks. The words spoken that day by numerous people were far more eloquent than anything I could add at this particular juncture. But I was struck by the fact that this woman, who refused to give up her seat, who caused a nation to stand up and take note, was physically a rather diminutive, quiet individual who had a long interest in civil rights. Her nonviolent act of defiance was not just a coincidental act. She had been involved in the civil rights movements and had worked with the NAACP and other organizations for sometime.

But as the Senator from Kentucky points out, on that particular day, she was just not going to tolerate any longer a behavior that was so repugnant to the founding principles of this democracy--that was a denial of everything we stood for as a nation. With full recognition of the consequences, her course of action precipitated a year-long boycott in Birmingham of the public bus system. And that was a great sacrifice for the people of the city at that time. To sustain that effort for over a year is really quite a remarkable and significant effort.

It all began on that day some 50 years ago when this wonderful American lady, on her own, decided to take an action that would awaken the interest and collective conscience of a country to recognize, and acknowledge, the great scar of segregation that still existed in some parts of our Nation. And we realize that we have perhaps not yet reached that perfect union that our Founders intended and that each generation of Americans must be newly challenged to achieve it. Rosa Parks was that challenge for her generation and by her solitary, nonviolent act, she changed the course of human history.

This is a long journey. It has been a painful one for many but because of people like Rosa Parks, we are getting closer to our Founders' goal of a perfect union. And that is why it is not only important to preserve and honor her legacy for future generations, but to hold her up as an example of what can be achieved when we challenge ourselves to do better. She is an example to those oppressed in nations around the world that one person, in standing up for what is just and right, can make a difference.

Nelson Mandela once called her ``the David who challenged Goliath.'' People of nations across this globe owe a debt of gratitude to this remarkable woman for her courage that day, for her determination, and for the inspiration she has provided. Now, when visitors come to the Capitol, they, too, can be inspired by this heroic American whose courageous act sparked the flame of liberty and equality for African Americans and minority groups in this country and around the world.

Oprah Winfrey spoke at the funeral services about what it meant to her as a young black woman to hear about Rosa Parks and what she had done. By honoring Rosa Parks with a statue, placed in the most public places of honor in the Capitol, we will have a living symbol of that hope that Rosa Parks brought to millions of young black children 50 years ago. And so generations of children can pass by her statue and be inspired by her story and courage and identify with her greatness.

We honored Rosa Parks by allowing her remains to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. I was priveleged to have been a part of that most appropriate effort. It was an unprecedented event and the first time that a woman had been so recognized. There have been others who have been so honored because of their service as President, or as a general or distinguished military officer, or some connection to the Congress, but only once before had we honored a private citizen. To recognize this extraordinary lady was a noble act and a proud achievement of the leadership of this Congress. Both Democrats and Republicans took time to honor this symbol of freedom by paying their last respects to her in the most public of places, the Capitol Rotunda. And the American people were invited in to share in her struggles and triumphs and pay their respect to this great American, too.

The statue of Rosa Parks will be placed in a very hallowed location in the Capitol. The site has not yet been established, but it may be that location will be in the National Statuary Hall. This resolution authorizes, and indeed requires, that the Joint Committee on the Library consider that option. But it must be in a prominent place where the public can be inspired by her, where Congress and staff can be reminded of her act of courage and her challenge to our leaders to do better. And each of us will be reminded of the opportunities in our lives to make a difference. Maybe not with the same dramatic results as Rosa Parks achieved with her act, but every single citizen of this country will know that he or she has an opportunity to make a difference, in a moment of challenge, to rise and to be courageous, to stand up for what is right.

It is a wonderful lesson for the younger generation to be reminded that one person can make a difference. I often cite individuals who have made a difference, such as the mother who lost a child as a result of a drunk driver and went on to found an organization in her basement called Mothers

Against Drunk Driving, or Lech Walesa, or now Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks caused this Nation to take note of what it needed to do to end the scourge of segregation. She is not just a national hero, she is the embodiment of our social and human conscience. It is an appropriate and fitting thing that we do here today. I am proud to be a part of it and I hope that generations to come for many, many years will walk past the statue of Rosa Parks in our Nation's Capitol and make a quiet determination to find a moment when they may be as courageous and as noble as this wonderful woman.

Mr. President, the Senator from Connecticut and I wish to address a matter that just passed the Senate a few hours ago.

Mr. President, it is the honor and duty of this Senate to recognize the greatness of extraordinary Americans. I am very proud that we have done so today for Rosa Parks. With the passage of S. Con. Res. 62, the Senate has directed the Joint Committee on the Library to commission a statue of Ms. Parks and place it here in the Nation's Capitol, so that Americans who visit this place 100 years from now can see it, and reflect on how one woman's courage altered a nation.

Rosa Parks did not set out to become a hero on the evening of December 1, 1955. She was, like millions of other Americans, merely on her way home after a long day's work. She was a seamstress in Montgomery, AL. But her simple, profound act of civil disobedience was the spark that ignited the modern civil rights movement.

I say to my friend from Connecticut that I was a teenager at the time, living in Augusta, GA. The first 8 years of my life I lived in Alabama. In those days, I think the stereotypical reaction to white southerners was that they all must surely have been against what began that evening with Rosa Parks's appropriate act of defiance. My parents are both deceased, but I remember how inspired they were as white southerners by the act of Rosa Parks. As I make my remarks tonight and listen subsequently to the remarks of my good friend from Connecticut, I remember my parents, who were white southerners born into southern culture who realized that this was not right, and who admired greatly not only Rosa Parks's act of defiance, but the later civil-rights bills that were to come.

For far too many African Americans at that time, America did not live up

to its promise of liberty and justice for all. But thanks to Rosa Parks, America was forced to look itself in the mirror, admit its failing, and recommit itself to its founding ideals.

Rosa Parks was headed home that winter night on the Montgomery City bus system, which was segregated. Front-row seats were reserved for white passengers. Blacks were restricted to the back of the bus, and sometimes the middle. But if a white passenger demanded a black person give up his or her seat, they were required to do so.

But on that first day in December 50 years ago, the white bus driver demanded that four African Americans give up their seats so a single white man could sit. Three of them complied. Rosa Parks did not.

``If you don't stand up, I'm going to call the police and have you arrested,'' said the bus driver. But Rosa Parks had had enough. She replied to the driver, ``You may do that.''

With this simple refusal, Rosa Parks set into motion a crusade that would eventually awaken the conscience of our country.

Perhaps the time was right for a nation like America to erase the stain of segregation. But it was not preordained that the struggle would start on that day, in that town, lit by one woman's courage and conviction. We will always thank Rosa Parks that it did.

Rosa Parks' life proved that one American with courage can unshackle millions. Her passing on October 24, just a few weeks ago, left us with sadness, but also with deep gratitude for the gift she left all of us. By honoring her in the Capitol, we show our gratitude.

I wish to thank my many colleagues who cosponsored this bill on both sides of the aisle, and particularly my good friend from Connecticut, Senator Dodd, with whom I have collaborated on a number of issues over the years.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote that ``human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men.''

This bill helps ensure that Rosa Parks' efforts will never be forgotten.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, it is important that today the Senate is honoring a true national hero, Mrs. Rosa Parks. As you know, I introduced legislation to honor Rosa Parks with a statue in National Statuary Hall. I thank the chair of the Rules Committee, Senator McConnell, and the ranking member, Senator Dodd, for amending their legislation to designate Statuary Hall as a venue for a tribute to this great American. I think it is important we ensure that the memory of Rosa Parks is honored by placing a statue of her in the U.S. Capitol so future generations can understand her monumental efforts for civil rights and know the importance of living by her example still today.

I thank Senators McConnell and Dodd for working with me and amending their resolution to ensure that Statuary Hall is considered as a possible location for the statue of Mrs. Parks. I also thank the numerous Senators who supported my legislation, S. 1959. I am supporting Mr. McConnell's and Mr. Dodd's measure today because I believe it is paramount that we honor Rosa Parks in our Capitol, but I want to be very clear that her statue should be in Statuary Hall.

On November 3, 2005, I introduced legislation to place a statue of Rosa Parks in Statuary Hall in the Capitol. This is a location of great significance, particularly on this occasion and particularly with this individual. While there are memorials for prominent African Americans in the Capitol Collection, none of those are located in the hall that gives a state-by-state account of our country's history. In the struggle for civil rights, some were called to stand up to Bull Connor's fire hoses and police dogs--some to stand up to Klan terrorism--and some to stand up to state sponsored acts of violence. But some were called simply to sit down--at lunch counters in Greensboro and Nashville and Atlanta--or on a bus in Montgomery. This simple action of peaceful opposition to existing rules had a significant impact on the lives of all Americans. Her act of courage on December 1, 1955, inspired a movement that eventually brought about laws to end segregation, ensure voting rights, end discrimination in housing, and create a greater equality throughout this Nation.

It should be noted that I have been working closely with my colleagues in the House of Representatives, particularly with Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. from Illinois, whose bill has over 175 cosponsors to honor Rosa Parks in Statuary Hall. It is identical in content to my original bill, S. 1959, to ensure that Mrs. Parks' statue is placed in Statuary Hall. When the House passes Representative Jackson's bill, it is my intention to bring that legislation up for a vote in the Senate to ensure that her memory is enshrined in the most hallowed halls of our Government.

This week, Representative Jackson and I began a national week of action to pass our legislation honoring Rosa Parks with a statue in National Statuary Hall. Our goal is to have Congress pass both bills by December 1, 2005--the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' courageous decision not to move to the back of the bus.

Rosa Parks was one of our greatest American heroes, a woman whose quiet courage changed a country. She deserves the highest honors this country can give. I can think of no better way to honor the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' brave act against injustice than by passing legislation that ensures that schoolchildren, Members of Congress and presidents visiting the Capitol can see how highly our Nation thinks of her, and that we need to follow her example of refusing to go quietly to the back of the bus.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Con. Res. 62.

I ask unanimous consent that the amendment at the desk be agreed to, the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.