A resolution recognizing the historical significance of Juneteenth Independence Day and expressing the sense of the Senate that history should be regarded as a means for understanding the past and solving the challenges of the future.

Mr. President, I am submitting a resolution to designate Sunday, November 26, 2006, as Drive Safer Sunday.

Motor vehicle travel is the primary source of travel in the United States and statistics show that the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest highway traffic day of the year. Too many holidays end tragically due to the careless and reckless behavior of motorists and I hope that this resolution will raise awareness and help save lives. It should also serve as a reminder to those traveling over Thanksgiving holidays and all year long to be vigilant, alert, and careful.

Steve and Susan Owings are constituents of mine in Atlanta, GA. In 2002, their son Cullum Owings was in a fatal crash on the Sunday after Thanksgiving while traveling back to college. This resolution is in honor of Cullum, and designed with the hope that other families like the Owings, will not have to suffer such a tragic loss.

According to the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety, our Georgia roads had 348,040 crashes with 1,744 fatalities in 2005. Two of the major contributing factors to the loss of life in these crashes were speeding and unrestrained passengers.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration,

An estimated 15,434 lives in 2004 and 15,632 lives in 2005 were saved as a result of passengers wearing their seatbelts.

Safety belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent.

Six out of 10 children who died in passenger vehicle crashes were unbelted.

At least 4 percent of automobile crashes are the result of distracted driving.

An average 119 people died each day as a result of motor crashes in 2005--an average of one every 12 minutes.

From 1975 through 2005, an estimated 211,128 lives were saved by safety belts.

From 1975 through 2005, an estimated 7,896 lives were saved by child restraints.

In 2005, 68 percent of pickup drivers killed in traffic crashes were not using a safety belt.

With families traveling to see relatives and students nationwide trying to get back to school, America's highways and interstates are highly congested and present many opportunities for dangerous or fatal accidents. This resolution encourages automobile drivers, truckers, passengers, and law enforcement agencies to work together to make the highways a safer place this Sunday after Thanksgiving. It also encourages all Americans to slow down, wear their seatbelts, use signals, and be aware of all the other cars and trucks on the road. It is my hope that we can all work together to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities that result from car crashes while keeping families happy and together.

Mr. President, today marks the anniversary of a joyous day in our Nation's history. It was on this day in 1865 when word finally reached the farthest corner of the Southwest that all slaves were free. More than 2\1/2\ years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, this was the day freedom became a reality. After hundreds of years of servitude and oppression, this was the day that former slaves claimed their rightful place as equal citizens. Juneteenth was the day our Nation reclaimed its dignity.

Today, Juneteenth is still a celebration of freedom. It is an opportunity for engagement and self-improvement, a time to reflect and recommit ourselves to the pursuit of justice and equality. Juneteenth is about acknowledging where we have been as a Nation, looking honestly and critically at our past, and gaining a fresh understanding of the challenges we face as we look toward the future.

Half a century after Brown v. Board of Education, this is a day for us to assess the quality of education we are providing to our children. Forty years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, this is a day for us to think of the injustices that must be overcome, the millions without health care, the families without jobs, and the disparities that continue to divide us.

Juneteenth should be a reminder to all Americans that we must not resign ourselves to waiting for a better time to do what we know is right. This is the day we honor previous generations for the great strides they have taken toward creating a more just society. This is the day we honor future generations by undertaking with determination the work that is yet to be done.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 516, which was submitted earlier today.