Honoring the Mare Island Original 21ers for their efforts to remedy racial discrimination in employment at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 31) honoring the Mare Island Original 21ers for their efforts to remedy racial discrimination in employment at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, yesterday on the occasion of his birthday people across this country took time to honor and celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. Many of us participated in acts of community service and community rallies or took time out to listen to the

words of Martin Luther King and his speeches. We were reminded that the words and works of this great civil rights leader are still timely today.

In his writings Dr. King often cited examples of how the simple but courageous acts of one or two people to fight racial discrimination had far reaching implications for the future of this country. He talked about the persistence, the relentless persistence of average individuals to fight against discrimination, to fight against injustice, and to fight against inequalities. In his cell from the Birmingham jail, he writes of James Meredith and Rosa Parks, and how the simple but selfless acts of just one person helped change the course of this country. As he saw it, these acts and the destiny of African Americans were tied up with the destiny of America.

The resolution I bring forward today honors a group of men, the Mare Island 21ers, whose destiny was tied up when they bravely took action to end racial discrimination in naval shipyards in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1960s.

The Mare Island 21ers were a group of 21 African American shipyard workers employed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. At that time minorities were mostly working in unskilled positions at Mare Island, as sandblasters, laborers and cleaners, with efforts to keep them out of certain positions. The discrimination was not restricted to withholding promotions and unfair hiring practices, according to one of the workers; they faced discrimination at every turn.

Long time denied opportunity for advancement, these workers decided to organize. Under the leadership of Willie Long, a journeyman pipefitter from Shop 56 who was also a World War II veteran and a Pearl Harbor survivor, the group met in complete secrecy to protect their safety and their jobs.

Not long after the group began to meet, President Kennedy issued his executive order establishing the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities and reaffirming the prohibition against discrimination against any employee of or application for employment by the Federal Government because of race, color, religion, or national origin. The order issued in March of 1961 also created a discrimination complaint process for Federal workers.

Learning of the President's executive order, the 21ers decided to file a complaint with the committee. The complaint covered deplorable conditions for African American workers at the shipyard, including the denial of promotions and access to the apprenticeship program, and general unfair treatment.

In their report they cited that there was an established unwritten practice at the Mare Island Shipyard not to upgrade third step mechanics no matter what the qualifications of the employee are at any given time. As a result, there are Negro employees with 15 or 20 years of experience still in this category while white workers with much less experience and time have moved rapidly up the ladder of promotion. They also said that Negro employees are systemically barred from supervisorial positions although many are entitled to such positions by reason of seniority and experience. There are two Negro lead men and sandblasters and one Negro leading man laborer out of a force of hundreds of supervisors, and the statistics proved this discrimination. He also said that Negroes who take examinations for advancement for the most part are flunked out on later oral interviews even though they passed the previous examination. The board is made up of the top three supervisors within the shop; and so long as this situation exists, Negroes will never be able to advance through examination. Young Negro men are refused the opportunity of apprenticeship training for the most part in Shop 56. No Negro apprentices have been hired in at least 3 years. In over 20 years at Mare Island, no Negro mechanic has ever received a superior accomplishment award, to our knowledge, which included cash bonuses for those who got it. Then, in fact when the time came for apprenticeship programs, they were not given credit for the training related to their jobs and they take on their own orders in advance of themselves. In fact, Negroes are discouraged from taking any training. And, of course, when the fleet started to change in this country and we went to atomic submarines, there were no Negroes who had been selected for the training of this program.

This was the kind of discrimination that this brave group of men who had to meet in secret, who had to be very careful that anybody at the workplace would not know that they were discussing this with their fellow workers when they met at home, they said, with all of the shades drawn, this is the discrimination that they were living under in the Naval Shipyard at that time and this is the discrimination that they cited to President Kennedy's employment board. It was a complaint among many that were received by the Committee on Equal Employment in the early days of its existence. Finally, the Navy was forced to pay attention to the long history of discrimination felt by the workers at Mare Island. In August of 1963, almost 2 years after the initial complaint was filed, the Navy put policies in place to affirmatively take action on behalf of minority workers. These heroic men included Willie Long, Boston Banks, Jr., Matthew Barnes, Louis Greer, Jake Sloan, Charles Fluker, Clarence Williams, James Davis, Thomas King, Robert E. Borden, James O. Hall, Matthew Luke, Herman Moore, Jimmy James, John L. McGhee, James J. Colbert, Virgil N. Herndon, Eddie Brady, Brodie Taylor, W.J. Price, Levi Jones, Herbert H. Lane, Kermit Day, and Charles Scales.

The actions of the Mare Island 21ers resulted in new employment opportunities for African Americans at other naval bases all across the Nation.

Despite these pioneering steps, their early civil rights efforts remained in obscurity until recently. The group's surviving members still talk about the movement, but the full story was buried in the 1960s and only recently came to light as a result of a series in the newspaper articles by the Vallejo Times Herald reporter Matthias Gafni.

Mr. Speaker, in tribute to these men and their fight to end racial discrimination in the workplace, it is proper for Congress to formally recognize the Mare Island Original 21ers and thank them for their heroic actions and their gift to this Nation to end discrimination in the naval shipyards.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for his comments and appreciate his support for this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), a member of the committee.

(Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his support of this.

This naval shipyard, it has been closed and it is going through the reused process, and it is a very, very exciting economic development plan for the city of Vallejo. It is in my district. And just down the way, down the river to San Francisco Bay is the Rosie the Riveter historic site. And at Rosie the Riveter, they talk about the various sites where we assembled the great American armada to carry supplies and troops to the Pacific during the Second World War.

In the town in which I was born, in Richmond, California, the Second World War and the Kaiser shipyards being located there overnight completed integrating the city. And of course we all know the story of women who went to work, women of all races went to work in those Kaiser shipyards; blacks went to work alongside white shipyard workers. Then they moved on, the shipyard, in peacetime at Mare Island, and that is where this discrimination took place.

Because of the actions of President Kennedy, because of the actions of people like the Mare Island 21ers and a lot of other brave people, today we look back at this as part of history in terms of workplace discrimination, certainly the Federal Government, one of the integrated workforces in the country. It is because of these kinds of actions that we can now speak of this, for the most part, as part of our historical past, but never losing sight of the sacrifice and the courage of ordinary people to move the dial toward integration from discrimination.

It wasn't easy in these communities; it wasn't easy in these workplaces. So when we see actions like this taken, I think it is quite fitting that the Congress would recognize this by passing this resolution commending the actions of courage of these 21 African American workers in the shipyard.

I thank my colleagues for support of this resolution. I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for his words in support of this resolution. I would hope that the House would adopt it unanimously.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 39) commending the University of Florida Gators for their victory in the 2006 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and for winning the national college football championship, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Let me begin by thanking my colleague, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz, for introducing this resolution, and also to congratulate her and her fellow alumni for the Gators' win last week in the 2006 Bowl Championship Series.

A week ago Monday marked the University of Florida's second national football championship when they defeated Ohio State University Buckeyes. College football fans, student athletes and the general public were treated to an exciting national championship game, an end to the college football season.

I want to extend my congratulations to head coach Urban Meyer, athletic director Jeremy N. Foley, University of Florida president J. Bernard Machen, and Florida's student athletes for attaining the unprecedented achievement of holding concurrent Division I national championships in football and men's basketball.

I also want to extend my congratulations to the Ohio State University Buckeyes and their student athletes for a great season. Ohio State won all of their games during the regular season and produced the 2006 Heisman trophy winner, Troy Smith. Winning concurrent championships has brought national acclaim to the University of Florida, and I know the fans of the university will remember this very special moment for many years to come.

It takes a great deal to assemble a world-class football team. It takes dedication of the young men who are playing on the team. It takes support from the alumni. It takes patient and accomplished coaching. It takes support from the community. A winning football team can bring an entire community together. It brings pride to the individuals on the team, but it brings joint pride to the community in general.

And so although many people say why is so much emphasis put on sports, I think that it is one of the tools that brings us together that has the esprit de corps that makes America great. As a former, simply, high school coach, I know the hard work and the time and effort and the sacrifice, really, that it takes for the players, that it takes for the coaches being away from their families, their children, away on weekends. It is a real sacrifice. And so I once again commend the university and once again say, to have the number one football and number one basketball team in the country in the same year is a great achievement.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I appreciate the gentleman's support for this resolution.

Madam Speaker, as we indicated, the unique victory in that very important game tied in with the fact that their men's basketball team exceeded themselves in the Final Four and won the championship game of the NCAA college men's basketball, combined with this outstanding effort for the football team shows that the University of Florida, in addition to having great academic programs, preparing young Americans for the future, dealing with the current challenges to keep America strong, to keep America on the cutting edge, to keep America ahead for technology and for other technological advances, we really are very pleased that this university stands head and shoulders.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would thank all of the speakers who participated. I think it is really a great achievement, and I want to commend the sponsor of this resolution, Representative Wasserman Schultz, for her outstanding leadership and how much she has done to support that great athletic institution. I would wish the Gators success in the future as they have done in the past.

General Leave

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days to insert materials relevant to H. Res. 39, and the previous bill, H. Con. Res. 31.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

I thank my distinguished colleague from Florida. My colleagues, I also rise to praise the University of Florida, the Gators, for not only winning their second football national title but on their many off-the-field accomplishments as well.

With their 41-14 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes, as mentioned earlier, the Gators became the first Division I school to hold a national championship in men's basketball and football at the same time.

Coming into this game, many of the experts did not give the Gators any chance of defeating the previously undefeated Buckeyes. However, once they took the field, the Gators were not intimidated. In fact, the Gators held their own and held Ohio State to only 82 yards of total offense, the fewest number of yards in BCS history.

Notwithstanding this event, as my colleague on the other side mentioned, Ohio State had a very great season; and I congratulate and commend this wonderful football team and its coach

and all its players for a very successful season.

My colleagues, the Florida Gators are excellent representatives of both the university and I believe the great State of Florida in their tenacity, spirit, and their willingness to try to succeed. I take great pride in representing the University of Florida and congratulate Coach Urban Meyer and the entire university on this great accomplishment.

The university's accomplishments extend beyond the field or on the courts in the sports arena. UF boasts a 91 percent graduation rate among its athletes, including all of its sports, making it only one of four programs in the National All-Sports Top 10 to achieve a graduation success rates that is above 90 percent. Furthermore, in 2002-2003, UF placed a record 193 student athletes on the SEC academic honor roll, marking six consecutive years UF placed 100 or more UF student athletes on the SEC Honor Roll.

The University of Florida's accomplishments go well beyond athletics. It is ranked fifth among Kiplinger's Top 10 Public Colleges. UF's faculty are among the best and most decorated in the world, winning awards such as the Fields Medal, two Pulitzer Prizes, NASA's top award for research, and the Smithsonian Institution's conservation award.

University of Florida is also the first university in the world to be designated a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary for its agriculture faculty's commitment to environmental and wildlife management.

Enrolling almost 50,000 students annually, UF is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. During the 2005-2006 school year, UF was awarded $519 million in sponsored research. This research includes diverse areas such as health care and citrus production, including the world's largest citrus research center.

My colleagues, one example of this innovative research is veterinarian Julie Levy, who is one of the worldwide leaders of research into a revolutionary, humane drug option for spraying and neutering cats and dogs. As it is now, the only way to permanently sterilized these animals is surgically. What if this process were as simple as a vaccine? Dr. Levy, at the University of Florida, is working on this research project today.

On both the field and in the classroom, the students, faculty, and administration of the University of Florida are champions. I am honored that this world-class university is in my congressional district and I look forward to many great things in the future.

As they say at the university, Go Gators!

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 39, recognizing the achievements of the University of Florida Gators. Last week, the University of Florida won the Division I-A college football national championship with a decisive 41-14 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes.

As a Floridian, I am very honored to be recognizing the Gators' accomplishments, and I would be remiss if I did not offer my condolences to our distinguished minority leader, Mr. Boehner, and to my former colleague on the Education Committee, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Tiberi).

The University of Florida's victory in the BCS championship game capped a remarkable 13-1 season and win of the Southeastern Conference Championship. This national championship is the Gators' second, with their first occurring a decade ago in 1996. The University of Florida also won the 2006 NCAA Division I men's college basketball national championship. Florida is the first university to hold both of these titles at the same time.

I hold up the cover of Sports Illustrated this week showing our MVP, Chris Leak, quarterback of the Florida Gators with the title ``Gator Raid.'' It points out that there was history in Gainesville with the first simultaneously men's basketball and football titles in 1 year. There is a lot of pride all of us have from the State of Florida, understandably.

In addition to these athletic achievements, the University of Florida is consistently recognized as one of the country's best public universities. I would like to extend recognition to Dr. Bernard Machen, president of the University of Florida; Mr. Jeremy Foley, the athletic director; head football coach Urban Meyer; and the many other members of the university community that contribute to the institution's academic and athletic excellence.

I also extend my congratulations to the University of Florida, in particular its football team, for this latest national championship, and also to the University of Florida fans worldwide who have supported the Gators, the good times and bad.

I thank my colleague from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) for bringing this resolution forward. I also want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns), who represents the University of Florida.

I urge all of my colleagues to join us in recognizing this achievement and supporting House Resolution 39.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns), who represents the University of Florida.

(Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I will close by saying that after the winning the national championship in football and basketball, the baseball team has to be feeling some pressure right now down in Gainesville.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H. Res. 39.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res 31.

First, I would like to thank the gentleman from California, my friend and our committee's new chairman, for bringing this important legislation to the floor of the House.

Madam Speaker, the British political philosopher and statesman Edmund Burke famously observed many years ago that, ``The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.''

Forty-five years ago, at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, there was such a group of good men who chose not to do nothing, but instead to do something. These men whom today we know as the Mare Island Original 21ers took a brave step by coming forward and raising complaints about how they felt they were being treated and about the discrimination they faced based on their race.

Madam Speaker, we lived in a different time then. The year was 1961, and there was no Civil Rights Act protecting Americans from discrimination in the workplace based on race or color. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which today works to ensure that our workplaces are free of discrimination, did not yet exist. Indeed, then- President Kennedy had only just established the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and the things we take for granted in our society today. That the color of one's skin, whether in a boardroom or a boiler room, simply does not matter was not yet ingrained in our national consciousness.

Now, the Original 21ers' complaint did not immediately serve to address all of the issues they faced. As with all struggles, they faced backlash and challenge. In the end, though, they prevailed.

Today, I can state with authority from firsthand experience as a former United States Marine that our Armed Forces are a model of integration and

nondiscrimination, that in today's military it truly is one's skills, talents, ability, and merit that allows men and women of any color, race, or creed to advance to the highest levels of leadership. That is exactly how it should be.

I would also echo the gentleman from California's comments with respect to the importance of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the continued good work done by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the hundreds and thousands of employers and businesses in this country who have worked to ensure that the workplace of 2007 is free from discrimination on any racial or any other grounds.

Today, as our military looks forward and continues to prepare itself for the challenge of the 21st century and beyond, we pause for a moment to look back and remember some of those who took brave first steps. The Mare Island Original 21ers are among those courageous men, and it is proper that Congress today should pause to commemorate their efforts.

I thank the gentleman from California for his leadership and initiative on this issue.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of our colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.