St. Croix River Crossing Project Authorization Act

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

The bill before the House today, S. 1134, is a controversial bill that represents wasteful government spending, bad transportation policy, and bad environmental policy.

A new bridge across the protected St. Croix River between my State of Minnesota and Wisconsin needs to be built. The aging Stillwater Lift Bridge needs to be replaced and everyone agrees on that, but I support a more affordable and more appropriately scaled replacement bridge.

This bill is controversial because it does much more than authorize a replacement bridge. This bill mandates construction of an exotic and massive extradosed style bridge some 219 feet above the St. Croix River at a cost of $700 million for only 18,000 cars per day.

This $700 million extradosed megabridge will connect Oak Park Heights, Minnesota--population 4,700--and Houlton, Wisconsin-- population 386.

I quote from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, January 25, 2012, about Houlton, Wisconsin, it ``is not big enough for a stop sign on its main street.''

Houlton, Wisconsin, may not have a stop sign, but Congress could give it a $700 million bridge.

This bill is controversial because, if you look at page 2, line 10 of the bill, you will see that the bill dictates the location of this $700 million megabridge, and I quote from the bill, ``approximately 6 miles north of the Interstate-94 crossing.'' In other words, this bill mandates a 65-mile-per-hour interstate freeway bridge connecting a town of 368 people and builds it only 6 miles from an existing interstate crossing on the same river.

What would the Tea Party call an effective and efficient use of taxpayer dollars? Would they call this that? The fiscal watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense calls the bill, and I quote from them, ``A massive misuse of taxpayer money.''

In a letter to Congress opposing this bill, the Taxpayers for Common Sense said:

In an era of trillion-dollar deficits and a $15 trillion

national debt, it is simply unacceptable to spend $700

million on a bridge to carry so few vehicles when an

interstate bridge exists nearby.

This bill is controversial because it is opposed by the Interior Department, which testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on July 28, 2011, opposing S. 1134. I quote from the Director of the National Park Service, when he stated:

The Department cannot support this legislation as the

National Park Service is determined that the St. Croix River

Project would have a direct and adverse impact to the river

and these impacts cannot be mitigated.

To be very clear, I asked Interior Secretary Salazar 2 weeks ago during an Interior appropriations subcommittee hearing a direct question. That was on February 16, just this month. I asked:

Does the Interior Department still oppose S. 1134?

Interior Secretary Salazar responded, saying:

Our position remains unchanged. A wild and scenic river is

a wild and scenic river. The position of the Parks Service as

articulated a year ago is the position of the Department. We

have, as you know, Congresswoman McCollum, met with the

delegations from the two States and Secretary LaHood and I

have offered to work with a work group to see whether or not

an alternative can be found.

Unfortunately, despite opposition from the Interior Department, an offer to work on a compromised solution, Congress will now be voting on a $700 million megabridge.

This bill is controversial because it will directly result in a property tax increase for the residents of Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, a community in which Minnesota's new redistricting map places it in my new congressional district. According to a unanimously passed resolution by the Oak Park Heights City Council, the passage of S. 1134 by Congress will do this to the city of Oak Park Heights. I quote from the city council's resolution:

It will require an estimated $443 in annual property tax

increase for the next 10 years to most city homeowners and

businesses.

A vote for S. 1134 will be a tax increase on Minnesotans.

This bill is controversial because it puts Congress in the position of prioritizing spending of $700 million of taxpayers' money to replace one bridge while Minnesota has more than 1,100 additionally structurally deficient bridges--far less costly--that all are in desperate need of repair or replacement. In fact, dozens of Minnesota State legislators wrote our delegation saying:

We are united in our concern that the current design of the

bridge is far too expensive, particularly in light of much

more cost effective alternatives.

Those State legislators, many from my congressional district, urge defeat of this legislation. Former Vice President and U.S. Senator Walter Mondale, an original sponsor of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, opposes this bill, saying that the passage, and I quote from Vice President Mondale, ``would be a profound mistake.'' He urges a vote against the bill.

This bill was even controversial in the Senate. Senator Jeff Bingaman, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, and Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington oppose S. 1134, saying:

In our opinion, waiving the protections of the Wild and

Scenic Rivers Act for the lower St. Croix is bad policy

and sets a dangerous precedent.

Here in the House, this bill is also controversial. It is controversial because this bill is an earmark, pure and simple. This bill designates a specific project in a specific location and it mandates the construction of a $700 million extradosed bridge design, and it does that all through an exemption to Federal law. Of course, earmarks are banned in the House except when a bill comes to the floor on suspension of rules and all the rules and points of order are waived, just like this one.

This megabridge was highlighted in a New York Times editorial. The editorial highlights my Minnesota colleague and megabridge champion, Representative Bachmann, who has called for a redefinition of what an earmark is to accommodate ``a bridge over a vital waterway.'' Today Congresswoman Bachmann has been successful in bringing this earmark to the floor.

It's not just me. My dear friend from Minneapolis, Mr. Ellison, and other House colleagues and the U.S. Department of the Interior are opposing this $700 million bridge. The bill is also opposed by Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Sierra Club, the National Parks Conservation Association, American Rivers, League of Conservation Voters, former Vice President Mondale, and a whole lot of Minnesotans who care deeply about fiscal responsibility, wise transportation investments, and responsible environmental conservation.

Tomorrow we will vote on this bill. The question is: Will the House give a rubber stamp to a $700 million megabridge or will this Congress reject this bad bill and direct Minnesota and Wisconsin to come up with a smarter plan that would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars?

Every Minnesotan and every Wisconsin Member of this House supports a replacement bridge, none more than me. But I ask my colleagues to reject this fiscally irresponsible bill. Not one dollar of Minnesota transportation funds will be lost.

I have a Minnesota Department of Transportation document in my hand that outlines how hundreds of millions of dollars could be reprogrammed across our State creating thousands of jobs and rebuilding roads and bridges in great need of repair.

S. 1134 is a bad bill, and it should be defeated by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

With that, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall).

In reclaiming my time, I will not yield to the gentleman on my time.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).

In response, I don't think my constituents consider me an outside group.

With that, I would yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva).

Could you please tell me how many minutes I have besides the 2.

I yield myself 2 minutes.

As I said at the beginning of this debate, this bill, S. 1134, is a bad bill. It reflects our irresponsible fiscal policy, bad transportation policy, and bad environmental policy.

The way the law has been structured into making this moment happen specifies only one type of bridge could be built, and it had to be a bridge that went 65 miles an hour. And then the legislation before us today takes it even farther and for the first time puts in that a bridge that is going to be a replacement bridge in a wild and scenic river must be an extradosed bridge. It mandates the size and the scope of the bridge. Ladies and gentlemen, we just could have had a piece of legislation that would have allowed an exemption without the specification that was added in this legislation. I could have stood here and supported it, but I cannot support a $700 million interstate bridge when there is one 6 miles away.

The Stillwater bridge needs to be replaced, but it won't be replaced, actually, because the historic lift bridge is going to be used as a bike and pedestrian bridge which in perpetuity the States of Wisconsin and Minnesota will have to maintain and repair and will continue during the summer to be raised and lifted as boats go through.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to state for the record that I have seven bridges in my congressional district with hundreds of thousands of car trips a day in worse condition than the lift bridge in Stillwater. This mega-bridge also will feed directly into Minnesota State Highway 36. Tens of thousands of my constituents along Highway 36, Oakdale, Maplewood, Roseville, North St. Paul, and Little Canada will be suffering with crippling traffic congestion and higher property taxes to pay to relieve that congestion. This is a bad piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to oppose it.

I would ask how much time I have remaining and of Mr. Petri how many more speakers he has left.

Mr. Speaker, as Representative Bachmann approaches the well, the gentleman from Wisconsin has the right to close, and I would like to know how many other speakers he has.

And are you closing or is Representative Bachmann closing?

I have one other speaker, then, after Mrs. Bachmann.

Is the gentleman from Wisconsin prepared to close after the last speaker that I have on my side?

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as remains to my colleague from Minneapolis, Mr. Ellison, who faced firsthand the tragedy of what happens when a bridge collapses. As I pointed out, I have seven bridges that have hundreds of thousands of cars every day on them in worse shape than the Stillwater bridge.

With that, I yield to the gentleman from Minneapolis.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of February 29, 2012, I call up House Resolution 562 directing the Office of the Historian to compile oral histories from current and former Members of the House of Representatives involved in the historic and annual Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, marches, as well as the civil rights movement in general, for the purposes of expanding or augmenting the historic record and for public dissemination and education, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 562, which directs the Office of the Historian to compile and disseminate oral histories from current and former Members of the House of Representatives involved in the historic and annual Selma-to-Montgomery, Alabama, marches, as well as the civil rights movement in general.

In March of 1965, a defining 3-week period of the civil rights movement culminated with a historic 54-mile

march from Selma to Montgomery. Led by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., it was the last of three marches that resulted in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 recognizing the right of all Americans to participate in the electoral process.

On March 7, 1965, our colleague from Georgia, Mr. John Lewis, and the Reverend Hosea Williams led 600 civil rights activists in the first march from Selma to Montgomery to protest the shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson, killed just a few weeks earlier by State troopers while doing nothing more than registering African Americans to vote. The march lasted only six blocks before coming to a violent end on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. In what has become known as Bloody Sunday, troopers used tear gas and clubs to beat the protesters back from the bridge. The upsetting, horrifying images of peaceful marchers being brutally assaulted by authorities brought national attention to the plight of African Americans in the South and greater resolve to those seeking equality for all.

Two days later, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., led a second symbolic march where 2,000 participants returned to the Edmund Pettus Bridge and proceeded to kneel and pray.

On March 21, this time with protection from Federal authorities and the Alabama National Guard, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., led a 54-mile march to the State capitol building. Three days later, the group that started with 3,000 participants and grew to 25,000 strong, arrived in Montgomery, where Dr. King proclaimed:

We are on the move now. Like an idea whose time has come,

not even the marching of mighty armies can halt us. We are

moving to the land of freedom.

Mr. Speaker, the magnitude and importance of this historic event is undeniable, and its significance to American history must never be forgotten.

To commemorate these marches, Congress in 1996 created the 54-mile- long Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail along the route of Dr. King's march, starting at the Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma and ending at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery.

Since 1998, Members of Congress have participated in an annual civil rights pilgrimage on the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. In March of 2009, I had the privilege of participating with my wife in this event. We marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and we were inspired by those with firsthand experiences from the events of 1965.

Documenting and sharing the experiences of Members who participated in historic and annual marches from Selma to Montgomery is critically important to the recognition and preservation of the achievements of the American civil rights movement. As I understand it, Mr. Lewis from Georgia and the majority leader whip, Mr. McCarthy, will lead the 2012 congressional civil rights pilgrimage starting tomorrow. It is fitting that we are here today with this resolution as another group of Members begin their journey.

I want to thank my colleagues from Alabama, Ms. Sewell and Mrs. Roby, for introducing this important resolution.

I strongly urge all of my colleagues not only to support the resolution but also to take part in the annual congressional Selma to Montgomery march.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri), a distinguished member of the Committees on Education and the Workforce and Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Alabama (Mrs. Roby), a member of the Committees on Armed Services, Agriculture, Education and the Workforce, and she cosponsored this resolution.

(Mrs. ROBY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, at this time it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence), a member of the Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees.

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

I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman.

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

Mr. Speaker, although obviously the efforts in the civil rights movement were the culmination of efforts by people of all faiths, I find it instructive that this march takes place during the period of Lent, that in the Christian faith is a period of reflection and sacrifice as we prepare for Easter Sunday.

Last Sunday, in my home parish out in California, I recall the readings at the first Sunday of Lent were about the temptations of Christ in the desert. And we received a remarkable sermon at our church in which the theme was expressed with the words ``the crown without the cross,'' that the essence of the temptation of Christ was whether He, as God-made man, was able to make the decision or was tempted to make the decision to accept the crown without accepting the cross, that is, to accept the kingship as Godhead without going through the demands, the terror, and the death of the cross.

I'm reminded of that today because I think of that question that John Lewis and others had as they crossed that bridge, as they reached the crest and they saw the troopers at the other side: Do you turn back and do you not accept the cross that is coming in order to achieve that which needs to be done to redeem this country and its promise of equality of all as contained in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence?

I would say that I was inspired as I was there with my wife and others on the march several years ago, Steny Hoyer leading those on the Democratic side and John Lewis, of course, being a regular Member. And he wrote to those of us who reflected on that period that perhaps the most magnificent piece of literature that came out of the civil rights movement, in my judgment, is the ``Letter From the Birmingham Jail'' by Dr. King. I would commend to my colleagues and to others who might hear our words that they go back and take time to read those words.

Dr. King, sitting in jail, without access to any texts, wrote a magnificent epistle of his generation and our generation to the conscience of the American people. And he found no difficulty whatsoever in utilizing his heartfelt religious values and principles in extending the promise of that Christian message and the religious values that are found in our Judeo-Christian tradition to the underpinnings of our Constitution and challenged us to understand the difference between just and unjust laws and our responsibility to ``render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.''

It is an inspiration to me now, and it has been an inspiration to me my entire life.

I would say to anyone who wants to understand the civil rights movement, to understand the promise of America that was not fulfilled and will never perfectly be fulfilled but is certainly in a better state today than it was prior to the civil rights revolution, they should read those words of Dr. King and understand how that animated the civil rights movement and gave us heroes such as our colleague from Georgia, John Lewis.

And with that, I reserve the balance of my time.

At this time, it's my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia, the majority leader, Mr. Cantor.

May I make an inquiry as to whether the gentleman on the other side, Mr. Lewis, has additional speakers?

And how much time do we have?

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to echo the words of my friend, Mr. Lewis. Let us have all Members vote for this resolution. It is a recognition, a simple, straightforward, symbolic resolution recognizing the efforts of so many, as embodied in the gentleman, Mr. Lewis, and others who worked so hard to change this country for the better.

I'm honored to be here on the floor with Mr. Lewis today. I appreciate the chance I had to be with him in this march several years ago.

I encourage all Members to take part in that, either this year or in the future, and I ask all Members to support this.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise in support of this important legislation and commend Ms. Sewell and Mrs. Roby for their leadership in chronicling an extraordinary time in our march toward a more perfect Union. It seems altogether fitting, on the eve of the anniversary march commemorating what history records as Bloody Sunday and at the end of Black History Month, that we consider this resolution which will create a process for preserving the valuable oral history of those Members of Congress who were early leaders in the American civil rights movement.

There are very few giants these days in public life, but John Lewis is among them. Let me say what a privilege it has been for me these last 11 years to serve and to befriend my colleague, Congressman John Lewis, and I thank you for your leadership on this resolution.

There's also an effort in this resolution to give Members of Congress who have participated in the annual pilgrimage to Selma and Montgomery to reflect on their experiences, and I'll be very humbled to be a small part of that. I was honored to serve as the coleader of the 10th Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage sponsored by the Faith & Politics Institute in March of 2010, and I can say, as my colleague Mr. Lewis knows, it was a life-changing experience for my wife, Karen, and our three teenaged-children, and I'll forever be grateful for the experience.

We started the weekend at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, the home church of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We sat in the pews as we heard Dorothy Cotton and others talk about their years in that church and how their faith in Christ sustained the cause of liberty and the cause of civil rights.

We made our way to the Civil Rights Memorial to honor and remember those who had lost their lives in the struggle for equality. But the next day, traveling with my colleague, John Lewis, to Selma to mark the anniversary of a day that changed his life and changed his Nation, March 7, 1965, known as Bloody Sunday, we will always remember.

The night before, John had recounted that momentous day. He told how he and several hundred courageous activists had crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. But it was actually being a part of the reenactment that most touched our hearts as a family. We had gathered at the Brown Chapel in Selma before we made the march, and then, along with thousands, we made our way the few short miles to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. For my part, John and I walked with Dr. F.D. Reese, pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Selma at the time.

As we strolled that historic route, I was enthralled as Dr. Reese, 80-some-odd years young, recounted the day as if it had been the day before. He told me how the Edmund Pettus Bridge crests at the middle, so it was not until you all reached the top of the bridge that you knew what was waiting on the other side. And he described to me what they saw. He said, ``All you saw was a sea of blue'' when they crested the bridge.

I thank the gentleman.

I turned to Dr. Reese, and I said to him, ``Did you think about turning back?''

He said, ``No. We had prayed at the Brown Chapel, and we decided to go on regardless.''

And so you did.

It's just extraordinary to think of the beatings that took place that day. Our own colleague experienced a notorious beating at the time. But as the march that day, the reenactment came to an end, I extended my hand to Dr. Reese and I thanked him for not only what he had done for the civil rights movement, for what John Lewis had done for the civil rights movement, but for what they all had done for America. And he put his hand on my shoulder, Dr. Reese did, and he said, ``Mike, God did something here.''

And so He did.

Through these extraordinary and courageous Americans, we forged a more perfect Union.

And so I rise in support of this resolution, commend my colleagues who will participate this weekend in Montgomery and Selma in this historic reenactment. I commend Congressman John Lewis, Dorothy Cotton, F.D. Reese, and all of those great Americans who on that day made the sacrifices necessary to further perfect this last best hope of Earth.

We should always safeguard this history, cherish it, and emulate their courage and bravery, so help us God.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 562, offered by Ms. Sewell of Alabama. I wish to extend my deep appreciation to Ms. Sewell, a native of Selma, Alabama, for introducing this timely resolution.

As we close Black History Month and near the anniversary of ``Bloody Sunday'' and the Selma to Montgomery, Alabama civil rights marches, it's important to remember the sacrifice of those who went before us nearly half a century ago and shed blood so that freedom could continue its march in the hearts and minds of so many Americans.

To that end, thanks to a resolution offered by Congresswoman Terri Sewell from Alabama, the U.S. House of Representatives is acting to preserve the valuable oral history of those Members of Congress who were early leaders in the American civil rights movement. The resolution will also document the experiences of many Congressmen and Congresswomen who have participated in the annual pilgrimage from Selma to Montgomery. It is a fitting honor of that momentous day in 1965 when my friend and colleague, Congressman John Lewis, the legendary civil rights leader, along with Hosea Williams, led 600 brave souls across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

I was deeply honored and humbled to serve as the co-leader of the 10th Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage sponsored by the Faith and Politics Institute in March of 2010. My family and I will never forget that experience.

We started the weekend at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, the home church of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sitting in the front pew we heard from Dorothy Cotton about her years working with Dr. King. She spoke of the faith that sustained their work and the historic importance of music and singing to the movement.

We then made our way to the Civil Rights Memorial to honor and remember those who had lost their lives in the struggle for equality. The nearby museum tells the personal stories of segregation by those who lived it and peacefully fought against it. Hearing firsthand accounts of how African Americans in the South were systematically denied the right to vote, intimidated, beaten and even killed fighting for that right will never leave us.

The next day we traveled with John Lewis to Selma to mark the anniversary of a day that changed his life and America: March 7, 1965, also known as ``Bloody Sunday.'' John was personally recruited by Dr. King as a college student and his courage and moral authority continue to inspire millions.

As John recounted that momentous day, he told of how he and several hundred courageous activists crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma during a march on the state capitol and were beaten by state police waiting on the far side of the bridge. The images of that day were transmitted around the world and would sear the conscience of the Nation. It set the stage for more protests and was the catalyst for Congress to enact the Voting Rights Act later that year.

We gathered for worship at Brown Chapel in Selma, and after a rousing service, we left the church to walk to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I had the privilege to walk the entire way alongside John Lewis and Dr. F.D. Reese, pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Selma.

As we strolled the historic route, surrounded by thousands, I was enthralled by Dr. Reese's description of that fateful day. He said that when they reached the crest of the bridge and could see the other side of the river, the first thing they saw was the state police waiting to stop the march. He said, ``All you saw was a sea of blue.'' But still they marched.

I asked if they thought of turning back when they say the array of police. He smiled and said, ``No, we had prayed at the Brown Chapel and decided we would go on regardless.'' And so they did.

After pausing at the base of the bridge for prayer, he told me how the tear gas and the beatings with nightsticks overtook the crowd. My friend John Lewis was among those most severely beaten.

As our march came to an end, I extended my hand to Dr. Reese and thanked him not only for what he had done for the civil rights movement, but also for what he, John Lewis and others had done for America that day. Dr. Reese replied humbly, ``God did something here.'' And through these brave Americans, I believe that with all my heart.

Every American should know the story of Montgomery and Selma. Thanks to courageous Americans like Dr. King, Congressman John Lewis, Dorothy Cotton and F.D. Reese, these cities have become an integral part of the American story in our nation's unrelenting march toward a more perfect union.

Today's resolution further safeguards this valuable history so that it may endure throughout future generations, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, as the Representative of Alabama's Seventh Congressional District and a Selma native, I am proud and humbled that I could introduce this bipartisan resolution with my colleague, friend, and fellow Alabamian, Representative Martha Roby. Acknowledging the historic significance of the Selma to Montgomery marches by adding the voices of Members of Congress, current and former, to the history of the civil rights movement, we are preserving an important part of the legacy that is the civil rights movement, a legacy that is important not only to black history but to American history and, thus, to world history.

It is truly a full circle moment for me. Personally, I stand here today before this august congressional body as a Member of Congress and a native of Selma, Alabama. I ask my colleagues to support House Resolution 562. I am humbled because I know that my election last year would not have been possible had it not been for the courage of Members of Congress, present and former, like Congressman John Lewis. For that, I say thank you.

This resolution directs the House Office of Historian to compile oral histories from current and former Members of Congress involved in the monumental Selma to Montgomery marches as well as the civil rights movement. These documents will be used for the purpose of extending and augmenting the historical record for public dissemination and education. The historical accounts of current and former Members of Congress are living history. They offer an important perspective on the events of the 1960s.

The State of Alabama played a critical role and an integral part of the fabric of the civil rights movement and American history. It is a painful part of Alabama's history. But today, we stand, opening arms and welcoming the commemoration of those events, because without those events and the brave men and women who traveled all across this Nation to come to the State of Alabama during the 1960s to bring about the change that we all enjoy, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, coming together in order to make sure that we had a more perfect Union and that America lived up to its ideals of democracy and civil liberties.

I can't imagine what it was like to be Congressman John Lewis as he walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I grew up in Selma. I lived my life in Selma, Alabama. My mom and dad are still in Selma, Alabama. I cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge every time I go home to visit them. It stands as a symbol for the world of what's possible when brave white men and black men, women, and children decide to change the fate of history and, in doing so, bring about significant changes for this country.

I'm proud to represent Selma, Alabama; Birmingham, Alabama; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; the State of Alabama in this Congress. I do so humbly because of the courage and bravery of former and current Members of Congress who did the unthinkable.

I can't imagine being Congressman John Dingell from Michigan who first took office in 1955. He sat in this very Chamber and voted for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 against amazing opposition from his own constituents in Michigan. He did the brave thing about voting in favor of these historic legislations.

He was not the only one sitting in this Chamber in 1965. Representative John Conyers, a black Congressman who was elected in 1965 and who still serves in this Chamber, was in this room and cast that vote for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

We need to remember and record the history of Congressman Lewis, Congressman Dingell, and Congressman Conyers, and so many Members of Congress, current and past, who are alive today and preserve that history for future generations to come.

Over the next 3 years, Congressman Lewis, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of so many of those events of the 1960s. In fact, the mayor of the city of Birmingham is declaring 2013 the Year of Birmingham because we will be celebrating 50 years since the bombing

of 16th Street Baptist Church when four little black girls gave their lives so that I could enjoy the freedoms I enjoy today, so that we all can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy today.

Over the next 3 years, it will be 50 years for a lot of significant 1960 events, and I am honored to join with my colleague, Martha Roby, who represents Montgomery and is a native of Montgomery. Alabama has two women Members of the congressional delegation for the first time ever. Our elections in 2011 were only made possible because of the courage of so many people who sat in this body and made tough votes. To the people of this Chamber who decided that it was time to make a difference in America, I'm honored to share the cosponsorship of this legislation with Martha Roby. We share a common history as proud Alabamians, a history that should be recorded for posterity.

Now, this weekend, I get the opportunity, as well as Congresswoman Martha Roby and Congressman Spencer Bachus, to co-host with Congressman John Lewis the Faith & Politics Institute's annual pilgrimage back to Alabama. We will start this coming Friday, tomorrow, in Birmingham. We will visit the historic site of the 16th Street Baptist Church. We will walk in Kelly Ingram Park with Congressman John Lewis and walk in his footsteps. We will visit the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, and then we will travel on Saturday to Montgomery, Alabama, and we will see Dexter Avenue Baptist Church where Martin Luther King was a young pastor.

We will also enjoy in the evening a dinner, a dinner in the State capitol, Montgomery, Alabama, in the State capitol. Could you imagine that almost 50 years from 1965 that white Members of Congress and black Members of Congress would be able to sit and break bread with the Governor of the State of Alabama? We will do that on Saturday. And on Sunday, I get to welcome a delegation to my hometown, Selma, Alabama; and we will reenact that great march.

We will go to my home church, Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, where I have been a member for 30 years, where my mother is on the board of trustees. We will sit in that church. We will partake and experience that which people did 50 years ago. Then we will march hand in hand across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

I know that I would not be here if it weren't for the fact that people marched, people died, and people prayed for the opportunity that we enjoy today. I could not imagine as a little black girl from Selma, Alabama, that I would be the first black Congresswoman from the State of Alabama. But I can because they marched. I can because they died. I can because people prayed.

I ask my colleagues to join me, Congresswoman Martha Roby, Congressman John Lewis, and so many others in supporting this House resolution today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 562, ``Directing the Office of the Historian to compile oral histories from Members of the House of Representatives involved in the historic and annual Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, marches, as well as the civil rights movement in general, for the purposes of expanding or augmenting the historic record for public dissemination and education.''

What happened in Selma 45 years ago, is an opportunity to remember and embrace our history and its evolution. A single day in 1965 would become known as Bloody Sunday. I am proud to serve with Mr. John Lewis who led 600 brave Americans on that day, on a peaceful march for their equal rights to vote. They were met with unspeakable violence and put their lives on the line for the right to vote. This resolution will ensure that future Americans will not forget the sacrifices made by brave, courageous, Americans seeking only to have full participation in our fine Democracy.

I have had the honor of participating in the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage with Mr.

Lewis. I had the opportunity to see history come alive during my pilgrimage to Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma. I left with further appreciation for all the efforts that African-Americans have accomplished over the years.

The events that took place in Alabama were pivotal in our nation's civil rights movement. Dr. King's ``Letter from a Birmingham Jail,'' the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and the Bloody Sunday march were crucial experiences to America's collective psyche.

Two weeks after Bloody Sunday, under the protection of the Alabama National Guard, Dr. King was able to lead the march successfully, and in August of that same year President Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Dr. King and his committed supporters forced our nation to acknowledge the injustices committed against African- Americans.

This legislation will ensure the 54 mile route, beginning at the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma and ending at the State Capitol Building in Montgomery, is never forgotten.

With the support of this body, generations to come can know and appreciate those early steps in the civil rights movement that began the road to making the Constitution of this country extend its rights and protections to all of its citizens.

The painful lessons learned in Montgomery, Birmingham and Selma continue to be experienced by minority populations all over the United States. The struggle for political recognition and participation continues not only in the African-American populations, but now in the fast-growing Latino community. In addition, many of the gains that can be traced back to the civil rights era are currently being targeted. We must be ever vigilant to ensure that we do not turn back the clock and instead keep moving forward to protect the rights of minorities in this country.

A long, bitter, and bloody struggle was fought for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 so that all Americans could enjoy the right to vote, regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Americans died in that fight so that others could achieve what they had been forcefully deprived of for centuries--the ability to walk freely and without fear into the polling place and cast a voting ballot.

Efforts to keep minorities from fully exercising that franchise, however, continue. Indeed, in the past thirty years, we have witnessed a pattern of efforts to intimidate and harass minority voters including efforts that were deemed ``Ballot Security'' programs that include the mailing of threatening notices to African-American voters, the carrying of video cameras to monitor polls, the systematic challenging of minority voters at the polls on unlawful grounds, and the hiring of guards and off-duty police officers to intimidate and frighten voters at the polls.

Most Americans take the right to vote for granted. We assume that we can register and vote if we are over 18 and are citizens. Most of us learned in school that discrimination based on race, creed or national origin has been barred by the Constitution since the end of the Civil War.

Before the 1965 Voting Rights Act, however, the right to vote did not exist in practice for most African Americans. And, until 1975, most American citizens who were not proficient in English faced significant obstacles to voting, because they could not understand the ballot.

Even though the Indian Citizenship Act gave Native Americans the right to vote in 1924, state law determined who could actually vote, which effectively excluded many Native Americans from political participation for decades.

Asian Americans and Asian immigrants also have suffered systematic exclusion from the political process and it has taken a series of reforms, including repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, and passage of amendments strengthening the Voting Rights Act three decades later, to fully extend the franchise to Asian Americans. It was with this history in mind that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was designed to make the right to vote a reality for all Americans.

And the Voting Rights Act has made giant strides toward that goal. Without exaggeration, it has been one of the most effective civil rights laws passed by Congress.

In 1964, there were only approximately 300 African-Americans in public office, including just three in Congress. Few, if any, black elected officials were elected anywhere in the South.

Today there are more than 9,100 black elected officials, including 43 Members of Congress, the largest number ever. The Act has opened the political process for many of the approximately 6,000 Latino public officials that have been elected and appointed nationwide, including 263 at the State or Federal level, 27 of whom serve in Congress. And Native Americans, Asians and others who have historically encountered harsh barriers to full political participation also have benefited greatly.

We must not forget the importance of protecting this hard earned right. Preserving our past and honoring those who put their lives on the line for change is the right step toward ensuring that history does not repeat itself.

Again, I thank Mr. Lewis for his leadership. I thank him for having the courage both 45 years ago and today to be a champion of change.