Honoring the Department of Justice on the occasion of its 140th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1422) honoring the Department of Justice on the occasion of its 140th anniversary.

I ask unanimous consent all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1422 recognizes the 140th anniversary of the creation of the Department of Justice. Since 1870, the Department has been tasked with enforcing our laws, providing Federal leadership in securing the public safety, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

The Department has long been served with distinction and courage by attorneys, investigators, and prosecutors at Main Justice and in the field. Its divisions and components do important work for the American people in criminal law, civil litigation, environmental law, antitrust law, tax law, and administration of justice-related grants. We especially appreciate the efforts and sacrifices of the law enforcement officers serving in components such as the FBI, DEA, ATF, and the U.S. Marshals office.

I would like to highlight three important points today as we commemorate the 140th anniversary of the Department. First, the Department has played an integral part in promoting justice for all Americans. Since its creation, the Department has handled the legal business of the United States, with control over all criminal prosecutions and civil suits in which the United States has an interest.

Through the Civil Rights Division, the Department enforces Federal law, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status, and national origin. Following the landmark Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s, the Department of Justice used its newfound authority to initiate desegregation of school districts across this Nation. And through its enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Department helped curtail the injustice of African American voters being prevented from exercising what is an American right, the right to vote.

The Justice Department also continues to vigorously enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act, to ensure that people living with disabilities are not discriminated against in employment, by public entities and transportation, or in public accommodations.

The great strides we have made in securing rights for all Americans to attain an education, access the voting booth, and secure jobs and housing, regardless of race, gender, or national origin, are in no small part due to the thanks of the Department of Justice.

Second, the Department has played an important role in protecting Americans from acts of terrorism, whether

foreign or domestic. Since the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in 1993 and at the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 and the attacks on September 11, it's been the Department's highest priority to prosecute and bring to justice perpetrators of terrorism.

However, it is important that, in its effort to combat terrorism, the Department is equally vigilant in upholding justice and in observing the constitutional rights of Americans that it is responsible for enforcing. This means a commitment to due process and transparency, even in the most difficult situations. It also means Congress must be steadfast in its commitment to consistent and thorough oversight.

Third, the Department has taken on an increasingly active role in helping to secure public safety in its 140-year history. Notably, the Department's efforts to support community-based programs have seen dramatic success. For example, the Office of Violence Against Women is charged with providing national leadership in reducing domestic violence through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act. Through 19 Violence Against Women Act grant programs, the Department is helping to develop the Nation's capacity to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, strengthening services to victims and holding offenders accountable, most important work in preserving the integrity of women and our commitment to individual freedoms.

In fiscal year 2009, the Office of Violence Against Women made nearly 1,100 awards. These grants have helped enable communities to develop coordinated responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking--no trivial matters, Mr. Speaker. The grants have helped communities bring together dedicated individuals and advocates from diverse backgrounds to share information and to use their distinct roles to improve community responses to violence against women.

In addition, the Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, also known as the COPS Office, has promoted public safety through local investments, where police are involved in the community and show that policemen are the friends, and get a hold in the community to bring about public safety. The COPS program promotes this community policing by funding efforts by State and local authorities intended to put law enforcement professionals where they are most needed--on the streets. That way they can build mutually beneficial relationships with the people they serve, have a rapport that's necessary.

In closing, I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. James Sensenbrenner, for introducing this resolution. I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution. I couldn't let this resolution go by without remembering former U.S. Attorney Robert F. Kennedy, one of my heroes, who headed the Department of Justice.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I want to thank Mr. Sensenbrenner for bringing this important resolution honoring the Department of Justice, and I should have earlier thanked Mr. Smith and Mr. Sensenbrenner each for their work on the NAACP resolution.

I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I support House Resolution 1422 to honor the Department of Justice on the occasion of its 140th anniversary.

In 1870 Congress passed the ``Act to Establish the Department of Justice.'' President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill into law on June 22, 1870, and the Department of Justice officially began operations on July 1, 1870.

The Office of the Attorney General, created by the ``Judiciary Act of 1789,'' was in need of more attorneys after the Civil War.

The 1870 Act met this need by creating the Department of Justice to oversee federal law enforcement as well as criminal prosecutions and civil suits in which the United States has an interest. The Act also created the Office of the Solicitor General.

While the 1870 Act still remains the foundation on which the Department of Justice stands, the structure of the Department of Justice has changed over the past 140 years.

Today the Department of Justice comprises seven litigating divisions and 93 United States attorneys and thousands of assistant United States attorneys who enforce our civil and criminal laws, including tax, environmental, and immigration laws, and defend the United States from claims.

The Department also oversees a number of federal law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Among recent examples of the Department's work, we could look to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' establishment of the Violent Crime Impact Team (VCIT) initiative in 2004. Since then, more than 14,000 violent criminals were arrested, including gang members, drug dealers, and felons in possession of firearms.

The Department is also combating gang and gun violence through programs like ``Project Safe Neighborhoods.'' Since its inception in 2001, $2 billion has been committed to ``Project Safe Neighborhoods.'' Funding has been used to hire new prosecutors, support investigators, and promote community outreach and education.

In another area of great interest, during the past decade the Department secured approximately 1,300 convictions for financial crimes.

The Department has also been successful in combating crimes against children, drug trafficking, and counterterrorism efforts.

In 2006 the Department introduced ``Project Safe Childhood'' to combat predators who use the Internet to sexually exploit our children. Along with the FBI's ``Innocent Images National Initiative,'' programs like these help break up networks of online pedophiles and rescue children who are victims of sexual exploitation.

With regard to drug trafficking, just this month the Department's ``Project Deliverance'' resulted in more than 2,200 arrests and the seizure of approximately 74 tons of drugs and $154 million. This was the result of a 22-month operation. The Drug Enforcement Administration has been instrumental in bringing to justice those organizations and principal members responsible for the manufacture and distribution of illicit drugs throughout the United States.

Finally, the Department has played a key role in a number of operations to protect Americans from terrorist threats. The passage of the Patriot Act in 2001, its reauthorization in 2005, and various other counter-terrorism tools have proven helpful toward this end.

This resolution commends the work of the men and women in the Department of Justice who pursue and have pursued the administration of justice for the people of the United States. The essence of democracy is the rule of law. The Department of Justice hopefully stands as a defender of the rule of law.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives recently considered H. Res. 1422, honoring the 140th anniversary of the Department of Justice. I voted against this resolution

because of the Justice Department's history of violating individual rights.

It is the Justice Department that leads the ongoing violations of the fourth, fifth, ninth, and tenth amendments in the name of the ``war on drugs.'' It is Justice Department agents who perform warrantless wiretap, and ``sneak-and-peak'' searches under the misnamed PATRIOT Act. It is the Justice Department that prosecutes American citizens for violating unconstitutional federal regulations even in cases where no reasonable person could have known their actions violated federal law.

Some like to pretend that the Justice Department's assault on liberties is a modern phenomenon, or that abuses of liberties are only carried out by one political party. However, history shows that the unconstitutional usurpations of power and abuse of rights goes back at least almost a hundred years to the ``Progressive'' era and that Justice Departments of both parties have disregarded the Constitution and violated individual liberties.

During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson's Justice Department imprisoned people who dared to speak out against the war. Following the war, the progressive assault on the first amendment continued with the infamous ``Palmer raids,'' named for Wilson's Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer. Just as President Wilson's policies of foreign interventionism and domestic welfare served as a model for future presidents, Attorney General Palmer's assaults on civil liberties served as a model for future attorneys general of both parties. Think of Robert Kennedy authorizing the wiretapping of Martin Luther King, Jr., John Mitchell's role in the abuses of civil liberties by the Nixon administration, Ed Meese's assault on the first amendment with his ``pornography commission,'' Janet Reno's role in the murder of innocent men, women and children at Waco, and the steady erosion of our rights over the past decade. In addition, it is the attorney general and the Justice Department that defend and justify violations of constitutional liberties by the President and the other federal bureaucracies.

Many civil libertarians were hopeful the new administration would be more sympathetic to civil liberties than was the prior administration. But the current administration has disregarded campaign promises to restore respect for civil liberties and has continued, and in many cases expanded, the anti-freedom policies of its predecessors. For instance, the current administration is supporting renewal of the policies of warrantless wiretapping and other PATRIOT Act provisions. The administration, despite promising to be more open and transparent, is also continuing to use the claim of ``state secrets'' to shield potentially embarrassing information from Americans. According to the New York Times, the current administration is even outdoing its predecessors in the prosecution of government whistleblowers. It is little wonder that the head of the American Civil Liberties Union recently said he is disgusted with the administration's record on civil liberties.

Of course, Mr. Speaker, Congress bears ultimate responsibility for the Justice Department's actions, as it is Congress that passes the unconstitutional laws the Justice Department enforces. Congress also fails to perform effective oversight of the Justice Department. Instead of honoring the Justice Department, Congress should begin to repeal unconstitutional laws and start exercising congressional oversight of executive branch agencies that menace our freedoms.

Madam Speaker, on September 17, 2009 I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 710, concerning H.R. 3221. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``no.''

On September 23, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 732, a motion to adjourn. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``no.''

On September 30, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 744, concerning H.R. 1771, the Chesapeake Bay Science, Education and Ecosystem Enhancement Act. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On November 7, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 880, concerning H. Res. 877, expressing support for Chinese activists. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On December 16, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 980, concerning H. Res. 973. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On January 27, 2010, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 25, concerning H. Res. 1020. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On February 22, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 49, regarding H.R. 4425. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On February 22, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 50, regarding H.R. 4238. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On February 23, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 53, concerning H. Res, 1059. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On March 4, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 85, concerning H. Res. 1086. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On March 21, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 168, concerning H. Res. 1099. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On March 21, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 169, concerning H. Res. 1119. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On March 23, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 172, concerning H. Res. 1205. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On April 14, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 199, concerning H. Res, 1236. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On May 13, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 271, concerning H. Res. 1338. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On May 13, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 272, concerning H. Res. 1337. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On May 20, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 290, concerning H.R. 5128. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On May 24, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 292, concerning H.R. 1017. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On May 27, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 306, concerning an adjournment of the House of Representatives. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On May 27, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 313, regarding H.R. 5136. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On June 16, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 366, regarding H. Res. 1422. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On July 22, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 464, concerning H.R. 5341. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On September 23, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall 535, concerning H. Res. 1640. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the Department of Justice. The Judiciary Act of 1789, which was passed by the First Congress and signed into law by President George Washington, created the office of Attorney General, which eventually became the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal Government.

The Department of Justice began its work on July 1, 1870, through an act of Congress, with the Attorney General at its head. Since then, the Department has evolved into the world's largest law office and the central agency for the enforcement of Federal law.

Today, the Department strives to meet four goals in its pursuit of justice: First, protecting the public against foreign and domestic threats; second, ensuring the fair administration of justice in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution; third, assisting both State and local law enforcement agencies; and, fourth, defending the United States and its foreign interests.

Over the past decade, the Department has made significant efforts to protect the children of America. In 2006, through the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, the Department of Justice created a national sex offender registry to better protect children by organizing sex offenders into three tiers. The act also created a nationwide DNA database and allows law enforcement to monitor dangerous sex offenders through the use of GPS technology.

Recognizing the dangers of technology-assisted exploitation crimes against children, the Department of Justice launched Project Safe Childhood, an effort that resulted in record numbers of arrests and prosecutions of individuals seeking to commit sexual crimes against children.

The AMBER Alert system, a Department of Justice directive, works to protect and save the lives of abducted children. Since the expansion of the system in 2003, more than 500 missing or exploited children have been safely recovered. Alerts are broadcast over the Internet, television and radio programming, electronic highway signs, lottery tickets, and text messaging.

Shortly after the September 11 attack, I introduced the USA PATRIOT Act, which afforded the Department of Justice new tools to detect and prevent terrorism, organized crime, and drug trafficking. The provisions of the act updated laws to reflect new threats and new technologies, facilitate better cooperation amongst government agencies, and updated and increased penalties for convicted terrorists. Since the act's passage in October 2001, the numbers of terrorist convictions and prosecutions by U.S. attorneys have soared. Make no mistake, the USA PATRIOT Act has contributed to the prevention of another large-scale terrorist attack on American soil.

The Justice Department has also made a commitment to protect Americans residing in areas riddled with gun and gang violence. It responded to the significant increase in the number of firearms-related crimes in small geographic areas by creating the Violent Crime Impact Team initiative.

Since 2004, it has arrested more than 14,000 gang members, drug dealers, felons in possession of firearms, and other violent criminals, including more than 2,800 who have been identified as the ``worst of the worst'' criminals.

I applaud the work of the Department of Justice in its efforts to defend the American people and to administer justice while respecting and ensuring the rights and dignity entitled to all.

I encourage my colleagues to support House Resolution 1422.

I yield back the balance of my time.