Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding me this time.

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. I stand here to pay tribute to my friend, my sister, chairwoman, Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald. I was asked earlier by an interviewer: How would she like us to remember her? A leader, a fighter, a mother, a grandmother, excellence bar none, first class, no shortcuts.

To Jim and Valerie and to the rest of the family, to the grandchildren, just know you have her blood and you can do anything. No limits; be the best.

As chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus, we are honored to have had her with us and teach us and show us the way. Juanita has been special in this body, rising from mayor, city councilperson, the first African American woman to chair the House Women's Caucus, and over the last 11 years serving in this body, a special friend to me personally. We many times talked about our families.

So my sister, Juanita, as you take your rest with the spirit of God, we know you will watch over us and make

sure that we do our due. We know the family knows you are with them forever.

To Jim, it's okay, we're here for you and we always will be.

So let us continue to rejoice. He makes no mistakes. We now have extra protection in heaven.

On behalf of the entire body of the CBC, we are both remorseful and reflective on the life and legacy of Representative Juanita Millender- McDonald.

We are praying with and for her family and dear friends during this season of grief.

Representative Millender-McDonald should be celebrated for her abounding commitment to service and advocacy. During her 7-term tenure as the eloquent voice of the 37th Congressional District, including Long Beach, the industrial suburbs of Carson and Compton and parts of south central Los Angeles.

As a former educator and recipient of a myriad of distinctions, including:

First African American woman to chair a full committee in the U.S. House of Representatives;

First African American woman to serve on the Carson City Council;

First African American woman to render the national Democratic response to President Bush's weekly radio address;

First to be named Honorary Curator of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach;

First Democratic Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues.

Representative Millender-McDonald made certain to pave the way for her firsts to not be the last for African Americans and Americans across the globe.

Therefore, the CBC will continue to carry on the work of Congresswoman Millender-McDonald as we change course, confront crises and continue the legacy.

Mr. Speaker, our country, our Declaration of Independence, and our Constitution are all based on a promise. The promise in the Declaration of Independence is that taxation without representation was, and is, wrong. The promise in our Constitution is that all citizens of this country have ``certain inalienable rights'' and it is the job of Congress to secure those inalienable rights. H.R. 1905, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act, would secure those rights for the hard working, tax paying citizens who, merely because they live in the Nation's Capital, do not have a voting representative in the U.S. Congress.

We enjoy many rights as Americans. The right to vote and the right to equal representation is perhaps the most sovereign right that we as Americans have. In my own personal history as an activist, I was an active and aggressive participant to secure these rights for all Americans. Indeed, some of our colleagues in Congress today were jailed and beaten to protect these civil freedoms. Unfortunately, too many died for this cause. The sacrifices of these individuals and organizations, along with the basic, essential sense of freedom and justice, is a clarion call and underscores our obligation to the more than 600,000 citizens of Washington, DC who pay some of the highest taxes in the Nation, but do not have a vote on those taxes; who have served and died in every war our country has fought, but do not have a vote to authorize a war; and who, in 2007, still do not have a voting representative in the U.S. Congress.

H.R. 1905, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act, will not only add full and unfettered voting power for the Representative from the District of Columbia, it also adds a new Congressional District in Utah. This bill, the manifestation of hard, tough, bipartisan negotiations, finally provides fairness and justice that has been denied for more than two centuries to the citizens of Washington, DC. For more than two centuries and a half, while our country has made democracy our global mantra, citizens in the Nation's Capital have not had a voice. For more than two centuries and a half, citizens in the Nation's Capital have been muted and marginalized. The District of Columbia Voting Rights Act is a step in the right direction, empowers the citizens of Washington, DC, and finally allows for the citizens of Washington, DC to fully embrace and enjoy the fruit of their labor, taxes, and diligence to our country.

I am pleased that the wisdom of 240 of my colleagues prevailed in this vote, and I look forward, like the vast majority of my colleagues, to quick action in the Senate and to President Bush signing this bill into law as soon as possible. I applaud the work of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Congressman Tom Davis, and the collective bi- partisan effort to preserve the principle of fair, equal representation.

Mr. Speaker and Members, I stand here today as chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus to say thank you to America, thank you to the president and CEO of NBC News network, as well as the president and CEO of CBS News network. I had an opportunity to meet with them last week. They did the right thing.

Our country is in peril. We need to bring our country together. Thank you very much for the senior staffs of both of those organizations and for the people of America for standing up and speaking out.

We are in trying times at the moment, and there is much we must do to bring our country together and make our families stronger. Kudos, most gracious love, to the women of the Rutgers' basketball team, 10 young women, all honor students, child prodigies, dedicated and working to make life better for themselves and for America, to get to Rutgers, to stay there, to achieve academic excellence, and, yes, then to excel. Also, kudos to the University of Tennessee women's basketball team, the NCAA women's basketball champions.

This is the 35th anniversary year of title IX. Title IX is the legislation 35 years ago that was enacted that would make an equal playing field for women in sports and athletics. We will celebrate title IX and have been all year. I have spoken to President McCormick, and the Congressional Black Caucus, the Speaker of the House and others will be welcoming the Rutgers and Tennessee teams as well as the president and coaching staffs to our city of Washington, DC, very soon. We will hold a 2-hour summit and hear from the National Organization For Women, a psychiatrist from Rutgers University, some renowned women and others who speak to the values of America.

Today we had the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in our Appropriations Committee. He came for his budget today. We talked about how do we make America better; how do we shut down some of the smut and other things that are negatively impacting our children. We are a better Nation than that. He has agreed to work with us and together, through this Congress, the FCC will be stronger. We must strengthen some of the things that they must do.

The 1934 law is archaic. The courts have interpreted that law very narrowly. This is far bigger than a person. This is about the strength and success of our families, of our children.

On behalf of the men and women who serve in this United States Congress, and specifically the men and women of the Congressional Black Caucus, let us rise up and build a better Nation for our sisters, our girls, our women, and, yes, our men and boys.

Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Madam Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Madam Chairman, at this time we are very happy to present our Congressional Black Caucus budget for 2008. Our budget is balanced. It takes us to surplus in 5 years. It reduces the deficit, and it invests in America's families.

We are happy today to present to you a budget. The full budget is $2.9 trillion. That would be $3 trillion if it were rounded off.

The Ways and Means Committee that handles the entitlements will handle Medicare for over 44 million seniors' health insurance; Medicaid for over 45 million disabled, low-income seniors' programs; and our veterans programs. Our Appropriations Committee will handle $930 billion of those dollars in our 2008 discussions on this budget.

I am happy to present to you a balanced budget from the Congressional Black Caucus that takes care of our veterans, that invests in the war, that makes sure that our seniors are taken care of, and that our children and their SCHIP program for children's health care is fully funded so that all children in America can have an adequate health care system.

Madam Chairman, the Congressional Black Caucus budget is a good budget. I would urge our colleagues to accept it, to vote for the CBC budget.

Madam Chairman, I am proud that Congress is considering an amendment that I, along with my colleague Robert Scott from Virginia, am introducing that will change course, confront crises, and continue the legacy of not only the Congressional Black Caucus, but of America. This budget changes our fiscal course from a sea of debt, deficit and despair to financial stability and responsibility. The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment confronts the crises faced by our senior citizens who will not have enough money to heat their homes in the winter or cool them in the summer; it will confront the crises faced by our veterans and those wounded warriors who do not have adequate health care, mental health treatment, or physical therapy; the Kilpatrick/Scott amendment to the budget continues the legacy of this Nation's historic mission of caring for the least of our sisters and brothers.

As the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and as an appropriator, I know that the American people demanded a change last year. Rounding out for even numbers, we have a $2.9 trillion dollar budget. Six hundred billion of that spending will go to defense. A little more than 300 hundred billion will go to the people. We can do better. The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment will do just that. It ensures that our Nation is safe; it takes care of all Americans; and it gets America on the path to fiscal stability.

The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment is fiscally responsible.

The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment eliminates tax cuts for the top two income brackets. Studies show that 99.7 percent of the benefits of the tax cuts go to those households with incomes over $200,000, 86 percent go to households with incomes above $500,000, and 65 percent go to households with incomes above $1 million. The CBC budget would rescind those tax cuts and restore the more fiscally responsible tax rates that were in place in 2001 and throughout much of the economic boom of the 1990s. This results in $90.6 billion over 5 years for the American people.

The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment eliminates the capital gains and dividend tax cuts. Again, 70 percent of the benefits of these tax cuts go to households with more than $200,000 in income. This results in $98 billion over 5 years for the American people. The bill applies more than $6 billion to reduce the deficit created by these unfair tax cuts and the war.

The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment, for fiscal years 2008-2012, has a total deficit that is $339 billion less than the President's budget and $107 billion less than that of the House Committee on the Budget. These are savings that not only reduce our debt to foreign nations, but allows more money to be used to the needs of the American people.

The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment protects Social Security.

The Congressional Black Caucus strongly opposes private accounts. Privatizing what is arguably the most successful social insurance program in the world would only divert resources from the Social Security Trust Fund and generate trillions of dollars in new debt over the next few decades. Furthermore, the Congressional Black Caucus is strongly opposed to the use of the Social Security surplus to finance the deficit in the rest of the budget. The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment protects Social Security by opposing the use of the Social Security surplus to finance the deficit in the budget.

The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment fights for our warriors at home and abroad.

The amendment also reallocates $300 million in savings in the Department of Defense, using recommendations from the General Accounting Office. These savings will be used to implement the GAO's recommendations for: health facility renovation upgrades at bases; mental health services for post traumatic stress disease; public school Initiatives, aka the Troops to Teachers initiative; cancer research; tuberous sclerosis research; and Parkinson's disease research.

The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment will take care of our veterans, by fully funding the construction of new and improved VA hospitals, providing more funds for more VA workers, and the local clinic initiative for non-urban areas. It is simply shameful that those who have volunteered or were drafted to fight for this country cannot have the best in health care our country has to offer.

The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment improves the international stature of America.

Our reputation as an international savior has taken a significant hit over the past 6 years. The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment addresses our stature and improves our relationship with our global partners. As you know, the Congressional Black Caucus has focused on issues of interest on the continent of Africa. The fact

that we have not addressed the issues of Darfur, global AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is a shame on America and the Congress. The Kilpatrick/Scott amendment addresses these challenges with more than $3 billion going to the Darfur Initiative; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Child Survival and Health, and International Family Planning Programs.

Darfur Initiative..........................................+$50,000,000 Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria......+1,000,000,000 HIV/AIDS--Latin America and the Caribbean...................+50,000,000 Child survival and health................................+1,040,000,000 Migration and refugee assistance............................+80,000,000 Contributions to international peacekeeping................+600,000,000 International family planning programs.....................+100,000,000

Madam Chairman, the Congressional Black Caucus does not raise taxes, the budget does not, and it protects Social Security and will not privatize it.

I would like to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the chairperson of our Congressional Black Caucus.

Madam Chairman, at this time, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the medical doctor in our caucus, the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

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

Madam Chair, I yield myself 20 seconds.

The Congressional Black Caucus does not raise taxes. I would like to remind the gentleman that if it were not for the permanent tax cuts for 1 percent of the wealthiest and the cost of this ill-advised war, we could fund all the major programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the Congresswoman from Dallas, Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

Madam Chair, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes at this time to the Congresswoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Madam Chairman, I would now like to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to our first Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, the gentlewoman from Oakland, California, Congresswoman Lee.

Madam Chairman, I would like to yield myself 2 minutes.

This bill does not raise taxes. This bill does rescind the permanent tax cut

for the 1 percent of the wealthiest Americans and then reinvests that money into American families.

This bill balances the budget. We reduce the deficit that the other party got us in over the last decade, the highest budget deficit in the history of our country.

This budget takes care of our troops, protects Americans. This budget is fiscally responsible. We make sure, in our budget, that we invest in health care for all the children of America. We also take care of those seniors who find themselves in need of adequate health care. Yes, and we fund and make sure Medicare, the health insurance for 44 million seniors, and Medicaid, programs for low-income and disabled Americans, are taken care of.

Have we spent too much? No, we haven't. Is the budget in balance? Yes, it is. We want to make sure in our Congressional Black Caucus budget that we are leaders. We come here as 43 Members of Congress representing 26 States and 40 million Americans. Ten of our Members have districts that are not majority African Americans. We represent Asian Americans, Latino Americans, European Americans, Indian Americans.

We are the conscience of the Congress. We bring to you a budget that, we believe, is balanced. It is the best budget, and we ask for your support.

Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I would like to yield the balance of our time to the gentleman from Virginia, Congressman Bobby Scott, the chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus budget, the gentleman who has worked tirelessly with our staff, with the Members, is a member of the House Budget Committee, and knows the needs of our country.

Madam Speaker, such are the favorite words of proclamation that characterized the ministry thrust of presiding Bishop, Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson, whom our Heavenly Father has seen fit to release from the cares of this life, and move from labor to reward. We must, in humble submission, yield to the infinite wisdom and divine will of God who does all things well.

Whereas, Bishop G.E. Patterson was born of humble means in Humboldt, Tennessee to Bishop W.A. and Mrs. Mary Patterson on September 22, 1939. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee before moving to Detroit, Michigan with his family in 1952 and preached his first sermon at age 17 and was ordained an Elder in the Church of God in Christ by Bishop John Seth Bailey in Detroit in 1958. Bishop Patterson moved back to Memphis in 1961 to assist his father at Holy Temple Church of God in Christ and subsequently established a new congregation in 1975 named Temple of Deliverance, the Cathedral of Bountiful Blessings, in Memphis, Tennessee, and . . .

Whereas, Bishop G.E. Patterson led Temple of Deliverance to outgrow its first church location within three years and built a new $1.2 million 1,200-seat sanctuary to become the first church in Memphis, Tennessee to be built by black workers that cost more than a million dollars. Additionally, in 1999 Bishop Patterson's visionary leadership moved Temple of Deliverance to purchase a $13 million campus that featured a 5,000 seat worship center which now houses a membership of 13,000 members, and . . .

Whereas, Bishop G.E. Patterson rose to international prominence as the charismatic leader, Presiding Bishop and Chief Apostle of the Church of God in Christ and was instrumental in increasing the denomination membership ranks to more than 6.5 million members in 58 countries, as well as overseeing a global media empire that included television, radio, internet, recording, and publishing divisions; time will not remove the treasures carried in so many hearts, nor dim the shining thoughts and memories that linger as a result of Bishop G.E. Patterson's humble spirit, sage counsel, visionary leadership, anointed preaching, and spirited worshipper of God, and . . .

Whereas, we the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus extend our deepest expression of sympathy to the entire COGIC Denomination, may God's uplifting power carry each of you through your hour of bereavement.

Therefore, be it resolved, that we Celebrate, Rejoice, Praise and Thank God for the example of Bishop Patterson's devoted and faithful life of ministry to humankind, his unselfish dedication as a world-wide spiritual leader to the saints everywhere, and especially within the Church of God in Christ.

Be it further resolved that the Patterson family will remain in our thoughts and prayers with the reminder that Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, understands all that transpires in our frail, human lives.

Be it finally resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family and a copy be placed in the records of the Church.

I first want to commend Speaker Pelosi for her leadership and tenacity, for doing the right thing for America; to Chairman Obey and Chairman Murtha for working together to bring this bill to the floor.

In my 30 years of public service, this is probably one of the most difficult votes I will make, but it is the right vote. I will vote ``yes'' to support the supplemental.

This war has lasted longer than World War I and World War II. More than 3,200 young men and women have lost their lives, over 30,000 amputees and the like, mental health services that we don't yet know we will have to endure from this ill-advised war.

It is a good supplemental. Is it perfect? No. But it does begin to change course, to change course that this Nation needs that we begin to invest in America, to take care of our children, to bring our soldiers home. I wish we could bring them home tomorrow, but there is a process, and this bill begins that process by using the President's own benchmarks that the Iraqis would rise up and take care of their own country, their own people. This is a civil war; we ought not be in it.

I ask you to vote ``yes'' on the supplemental.

The Americans who live in the 13th Congressional District of Michigan want our women and men in our military home now. As a Member of Congress who has opposed the war from the very beginning, so do I. In my three decades of public service to the citizens of Michigan and all Americans, this is one of the most difficult votes I have had to cast as an elected official.

As you know, I voted against the resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq. I did not support the pretext nor the context for our involvement in Iraq. I felt then, and I feel now, that we did not exhaust all of our diplomatic,

political or military options. Regrettably, I have been proven correct.

In January of this year, we will have been involved in Iraq longer than we have been involved in World War I and longer than we were involved in World War II. We will have lost over 3,200 lives, over 25,000 women and men wounded and maimed, and over $500 billion dollars in a conflict that, as of today, is only getting worse and worse day by day. I want our women and men fighting in Iraq home now.

Three decades of public service teaches you that Americans do not do revolutions, Americans do evolutions. As steadfast, as earnest, as honest as I, and the vast majority of my constituents, want our troops home immediately, I support this bill and will support this bill enthusiastically. Why? This bill does three things--first, it finally establishes and demands that the President of the United States be held accountable for our troops in Iraq and how our tax dollars are being spent. Second, it has a deadline for our troops to come home. Third, it provides some emergency support for some of the programs decimated by the permanent tax cuts for the rich and by the fiscal demands of the war.

As my colleagues who have been to battle in Iraq and who have borne the burden of war and its concomitant issues, I am not merely anti-war; I am anti-failure. This bill will get our women and men home, and it will require that Iraqis bear the responsibility for ultimately managing the country that is theirs.

Under this bill, the President will have to send troops to war under the same rules, regulations and guidelines established by the Pentagon. Rules that say that troops need adequate rest between tours of duty. Rules that say that no soldier or Marine will be sent without adequate training, equipment, or supplies. Rules that allow infantry commanders to have the final say in the welfare and safety of their troops. If the President chooses not to follow these long-established rules, he is to let Congress and the American people know why not following these rules is a national emergency.

Under this bill, accountability is demanded from contractors who are in Iraq. It cuts all of their contracts by ten percent, to allow Congress to see if taxpayer dollars are being spent on what these contractors say they are. For four years, there has been no accountability, no oversight, no responsibility in how the $500 billion that has been spent in Iraq--currently, we are spending an estimated eight billion dollars per month in Iraq--and finally, this bill establishes that accountability. As a Member of the august Appropriations Committee, this is not only my privilege, but my responsibility, to all of the taxpayers of America.

Under this bill, by July 1, 2007, the President must certify that Iraq is making meaningful and substantial progress in meeting political and military benchmarks, including a militia disarmament program and a plan that equitably shares oil revenues among all Iraqis. If the President does not provide this certification then U.S. forces must begin an immediate redeployment to be completed no later than December 2007, or 180 days.

This bill does not ignore the fact that it is everyday Americans who have also paid a price for this war. Senior citizens who could go without heat in the winter or air conditioning in the summer. Children who could go without health care. And it has been 191 days since Katrina landed, and over half of the houses, hospitals and businesses have still not been rebuilt. As much of an emergency as Iraq is, these are equally important emergencies.

I requested that the Committee add $1 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); along with the Chairman, I was able to get $400 million. I requested that the Committee add $1 billion in funding to rebuild houses in the Gulf region; the Committee was able to commit $2.9 billion to Katrina relief. The bill also ensures the long term health of our warriors at home and abroad. It adds funds for those veterans who are disabled by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; it provides for the hiring of more staffers at the Veterans Administration to speed up medical claims; it ensures that those veterans who have severe brain injuries have the therapy and care that they need; and it makes sure that Walter Reed Hospital remains open and that Walter Reed, as well as other VA hospitals, receives the funds they need to take care of our warriors.

Thirty years as a legislator will teach you that no bill is perfect, and that compromise and negotiation is the hallmark of this country. If this bill fails, the President is further empowered to do what he has been doing for the past 4 years--a process of failed promises, fratricide among warring factions in Iraq, and fomenting doom. Compromising your tactics is not compromising your principles. My principle is to bring all of our troops home as soon as possible; end this war; and rebuild America's reputation as the standard for human rights, freedom and dignity.

It seems ludicrous to this Member of Congress that our President has threatened to veto legislation that contains his own benchmarks for success in Iraq, ensures our troops have the training they need, and supports our veterans. For months, conservative and Republican commentators and elected officials asked ``what is the Democratic plan for Iraq''? Ladies and gentlemen, this is that plan. While Democrats have offered a plan to support our troops and change direction in Iraq, Republicans are preparing to oppose legislation that funds protection and equipment for our troops and supports our veterans. Instead of working to change direction in Iraq, opponents to this bill are turning their backs on our troops and our veterans, and backing the stay-the- course strategy in Iraq.

I am a warrior for peace. I am a supporter of our women and men who serve our military throughout the world. I will vote for this bill because it provides emergency help to our Nation's senior citizens and children, who have borne a different burden from this war; it brings our troops home; and it demands, for the first time in four years, accountability, credibility, and responsibility from our President.

Mr. Speaker, due to official leave of absence, I was unable to vote on three bills considered today under suspension of the rules. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on final passage of H. Res. 64, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government of Bangladesh should immediately drop all pending charges against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury; ``yea'' on final passage of H. Res. 228, Recognizing the 186th anniversary of the independence of Greece and celebrating Greek and American democracy, and ``yea'' on final passage of H. Res 222, Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the Good Friday Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, as a blueprint for a lasting peace in Northern Ireland, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and salute the 80th anniversary of the Black Press, and issue the following statement in support of the National Newspaper Publishers Association:

Whereas, the Black Press has been a main recorder of the history of Black people in America and has courageously told the violent and often painful history of Blacks in their struggles for freedom and equality in America;

Whereas, the first Black newspaper, Freedom's Journal, was published in 1827, in which this abolitionist paper served as a catalytic agent in support of the anti-slavery movement;

Whereas, one of the most famous and effective fighters against the inhumanity of American slavery, Frederick Douglass, published The North Star as a voice of American Blacks crying out in the wilderness of slavery for freedom and justice;

Whereas, Black newspapers led the fight against lynching and other cruel acts against Black people at the turn of the century;

Whereas, Black editors and publishers, as leaders in their communities, joined the NAACP, National Urban League, the Black church, and other organizations in pushing for the Federal Government and the U.S. Congress to take decisive steps to protect and expand the civil rights of African American citizens;

Whereas, reporters of Black newspapers risked their lives in covering the Civil Rights Movement, including the Emmett Till trial, the violent integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Freedom Rides, and lunch counter sit-ins, in the South;

Whereas, the Black Press produced a long list of outstanding publishers such as John H. Murphy, Sr., Robert S. Abbott, Robert V. Vann, John H. Johnson, John S. Sengstacke, Claude A. Bennett, Louis Martin, and Dr. Carlton Goodlett;

Whereas, the Black Press continues to serve as a vital source of information about the lifestyle, culture, achievements, activities, and ongoing struggles of African American citizens for equal opportunities in education, employment, housing, and healthcare in order to live a quality life in America's democracy.

I know that my colleagues will join me in giving special recognition to what has become a great American institution, the Black Press, on its 180th anniversary in this year of 2007, especially during its annual celebration of Black Press Week March 14 through March 16. We commend the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade group for more than 200 Black newspapers across the country, for organizing an annual observance of Black Press Week. We celebrate the thousands of publishers, editors, and staff of the Black Press who have documented the stories of Black Americans and continue to make sure the world is aware of the African American experience. Finally, we appreciate the struggle, the challenge and the success that is the unique contribution of the Black Press and the NNPA during this week.

Madam Speaker, due to official leave of absence, I was unable to vote on three bills considered today under suspension of the rules. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on final passage of H.R. 85, the Energy Technology Transfer Act; ``yea'' on final passage of H. Res. 136, Commending the Girl Scouts of the United States on the Occasion of their 95th Anniversary, and ``yea'' on H.R. 89, Establishing the Sense of the House of Representatives that a day should be established as Dutch-American Friendship Day.

Mr. Speaker, I regret that due to official business, I was unable to vote on Tuesday, March 6, 2007. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote 121, Final passage of H. Res. 98 as amended, Honoring the Life and Achievements of the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior and Reaffirming the Continued Commitment of the House of Representatives to a Just and Lasting Peace in the Republic of the Sudan, and ``yea'' on rollcall vote 122, Final Passage of H. Res. 149, Supporting the Goals of International Women's Day.

Mr. Speaker, due to official business I was unable to vote on Monday, March 5, 2007. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on Final Passage of H.R. 995, To Amend Public Law 106-348 to Extend the Authorization for Establishing a Memorial in the District of Columbia or Its Environs to Honor Veterans Who Became Disabled While Serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, and ``yea'' on Final Passage on H.R. 497, the Brigadier General Francis Marion Memorial Act of 2007.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

I stand here today in support of House Resolution 63, a long time coming, but as it is always said, it is right on time. I stand here to speak for the millions of Americans today who have had enough, who have had enough of this war, its unjust nature, its over $500 billion that has been spent there in Iraq and Afghanistan and not spent in our own country.

I stand here today in support of H. Con. Res. 63 because this war has lasted longer than World War II. My 87-year-old father fought in the Navy at Pearl Harbor during World War II. One of my political mentors, a great man, Mayor Coleman Alexander Young, a former Tuskeegee Airman, fought during World War II. It is time to bring our troops home. It is time for us to change the course.

As we celebrate this Black History Month, the theme of the Congressional Black Caucus during these times are change course, do something different, act, speak, donate, join, confront the crisis, the crisis of the war which is why we are here today, and then continue the legacy that has brought this country to greatness.

Many of my Congressional Black Caucus members have served in the military. John Conyers, Charlie Rangel, Ed Towns, Bobby Scott, William Jefferson, Sanford Bishop, all able men who have fought and served in our military over the years.

We come to you, tonight, this evening, as members of the Congressional Black Caucus, proud Americans. We love our country. We serve our people. And we want to remain the strongest Nation in the world.

Who speaks for the American people in this time of crisis? They spoke to us last November when they said enough is enough. The first military man who died in wars for our country's independence was Crispus Attucks, who fought in the Revolutionary War, an African American man who gave his life because he loved this country, could not vote at the time, could not own property, but again he fought in a war because, again, this was the greatest country in the world.

So what do we do today as we discuss H. Con. Res. 63? It is time to engage in a diplomatic solution. We cannot win this war militarily. The generals, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have spoken out against the escalation. What is the plan, Mr. President? How do we bring our soldiers home, redeploy them on the periphery, and make our country safe, and, at the same time, invest those dollars in Americans' lives, in their children's lives?

Dr. King wrote a book, ``I Have the Strength.'' I have the strength to stand before you today for the American people. I have the strength to let you know that we as a Nation can be all that God wants us to be. That in fighting wars, and wars will come from time to time, this is the time to bring this one to the end.

I will protect and speak out for the over 3,100 families who have lost young men and women, over the tens of thousands who are blinded and amputees, and over the many hundred thousands we do not yet know who will be in need of mental health services as our mental health capacity in this country has been shredded.

Those dollars have to be invested so that we take care of our veterans. I have the strength to stand here before you this evening because it is time, as we debate H. Con. Res. 63, that we rise up as a Nation and speak out and continue our legislative responsibilities, as I stood before you, took my oath of office that I would protect this country, our Constitution, against both domestic and foreign intimidation.

I stand before you tonight as one of 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus during this African American History Month, who love our country, who want us to invest in America's families. H. Con. Res. 63 will begin that discussion. It will make it available that we might change course, do something different, listen to the American people.

We love our troops. We served in those troops. Our families served. We want the strongest military that we have available. We are now having in Iraq equipment shortages. If we spent over $503 billion, why is it that equipment is not adequate for our soldiers to engage in battle?

Accountability. The Inspector General recently reported $9 billion is unaccounted for. That is $9 billion as part of the $500 billion that could be invested in American families. So I say as I stand here, H. Con. Res. 63, vote ``yes.'' Let's change course.

I am honored and blessed with the understanding of a power greater than that of any singular or even collective Membership of this Congress. That power has allowed Congress to finally debate the most pressing question of our time--the War in Iraq. As I prepared myself to speak in support of H. Con. Res. 63, a very simple and very clear declaration that Congress supports our troops, but we oppose the escalation of this war, I reflected upon the words of one of the greatest warriors for peace this world has ever known, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A prolific author, Dr. King wrote a book entitled, ``Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?'' In it, Dr. King writes that ``we are faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity.'' Congress lost our opportunity for real debate on this war a little more than four years ago. Congress has that opportunity now.

As this is the height of Black History Month, I also speak to America today because of the investment that my ancestor put through 4 centuries of slave labor, 4 centuries of lynchings, 4 centuries of Jim Crow laws, 4 centuries of sitting on the back of the bus, 4 centuries of combined discrimination. And despite 4 centuries of second class citizenship, African Americans have always heeded the call to arms in defense of a country that did not always defend them.

Indeed, when it comes to war, the very first person, black, white, Asian, Pacific Islander, or Native American to die for this country was an African American, Crispus Attucks, who did not even have the right to vote, the right to buy property, the right to be recognized as a human being. He wanted the right to love our country. Like the hundreds of thousands of African Americans who have followed his footsteps in the military, I honor and I appreciate the service of all our women and men in the military of all ethnicities. I support all of the women and men who serve, without glory but with honor, efficiently and effectively protecting all of us, never hesitating to pay the highest price any human being could pay for our freedom.

I speak to America today because Americans have had enough, as best selling author Frank Rich illustrates, of the ``decline and fall of the truth.'' Of what decline and fall do I speak? Of ``Mission accomplished.'' Of ``bring 'em on.'' Of ``shock and awe.'' Of ``dead or alive.'' Of ``uranium coming from Africa.'' Of ``smoking guns becoming mushroom clouds.'' Those Americans who have had enough are not just the Democratic majority. They are not just the senior citizens, the working class women and men who punch a time clock every day, or the liberals of America. They conservatives, my Republican colleagues in Congress and elsewhere, people in the red States and blue States, business owners, military women and men and their families.

My father served this country honorably as a member of our military, as have many of my relatives. Many members of the Congressional Black Caucus have also served this country in our military. Just off of the top of my head, my colleagues Chairman John Conyers, Chairman Charles Rangel, Congressman Ed Towns, and Congressman Bobby Scott, among others, have worn the uniform. My political mentor and hero, the late, great mayor of Detroit, Michigan, Coleman Young, was one of General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.'s understudies as a Tuskeegee Airman as a bombardier and navigator. During the Vietnam war, African Americans served despite the opposition of Dr. King and other groups opposed to the Vietnam war. They did it for the same reason why I serve this country as a Member of Congress--because I love our country.

The investment that began when African Americans set foot in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 and continues to this very day is the reason why I stand in support of this resolution that is but the first step, to resolve the challenge that is Iraq. I am not a military expert, and I don't pretend to be a military expert. But, as noted genius Albert Einstein once said, ``insanity is doing the same over and over again and expecting different results.'' Over and over, Congress has spent over $503 billion in Iraq. Over and over, America's finest have died, with more than 3,000 women and men, in Iraq. Over and over, women and men are wounded or maimed, some for life, with more than 25,000 today. Today, we still cannot safely fly planes on a reliable basis in and out of Baghdad. This is progress?

Progress is what Americans want. I know that war can be messy, amorphous at times, and brutal. After a war that has lasted more than the United States involvement in World War II, our military women and men deserve progress. Our taxpayers deserve progress. Our current course, and this surge, is not what Americans want, this is not what Congress wants, this is not what I want.

Historians have generally acknowledged that the debate on the war in 1991 was one of the high marks of this institution. Congress did not cede its role then to a popular President. Instead, Congress and the White House worked together to achieve a worthwhile goal. It was difficult. Both sides had to compromise. But guess what? That is how a democracy works.

Unfortunately, Congress did not have this debate over 4 years ago in a war that has now lasted longer than the United States was involved in World War II. Thank God, we have that debate now. Thank God, we have heard the voice of the American people. Thank God and the American people, it is time for a change.

After this debate, after this resolution, I hope that this is the beginning of our country, and our world, to begin to choose between chaos and community. As Dr. King once wrote, ``we have a choice today-- nonviolent coexistence or violent co annihilation.''

Dr. King wrote another book entitled ``Strength to Love.'' It is because I have the strength to love my country, the strength to love our troops, the strength to love the oath I took for this office--that I will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic--that I have the strength to support this resolution. We need to be smarter about our policy in Iraq to include diplomatic and political solutions rather than repeating the same military policies that have not worked, but continue to put the finest of our women and men in harm's way. Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, working together, can arrive at a solution that establishes a stable democracy in Iraq, protects American interests, and increases the role and responsibility of the Iraqi people to fend for themselves.

Instead of ``bring them on,'' I hope that my colleagues agree that Congress can start to ``bring them home.'' I will vote in strong support of H. Con. Res. 63, and hope that Congress can quickly work to bring stronger, binding legislation to the floor soon.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me the time.

Madam Speaker, I am an avid football fan, an avid basketball fan, as well as hockey. Michigan and Detroit proper are always part of that game.

Championships. Unfortunately, two other great teams are in the Super Bowl, one of the most exciting sports activities happening this weekend in Miami, Florida as we have seen since the last Super Bowl was held in Detroit, Super Bowl XL. And I am honored to stand here, as some of my previous colleagues have said, to just pay respect to the National Football League. This is not my first association with them. We have run a coaches' clinic with the National Football League now for some time. They work with high school coaches to develop their skill so that their athletes and graduates will matriculate into the NFL as they go through their college years.

So I am honored to, first of all, thank the NFL for working with us and with the men across this country, that the young men become strong in their character, in their competitiveness and in their nature as they win Super Bowls.

As was said a little bit earlier, Chicago Bears, one of my favorite teams, and thank you, Coach Lovie Smith and the front office and all of you who have brought the Bears this far, to the players, to the wives, to the families for the sacrifices that you have made. We honor you, Chicago Bears; and we wish you the best, Coach Smith.

And also Coach Tony Dungy. I have followed his career for many years. The tragedy that he had last year, we all prayed for him in this Nation, and our prayers are with you as well.

Indianapolis, Chicago, Super Bowl XLI in Miami, just a few hours from now; and for the first time in the history of the sport, which started in 1869, we have not one, but two African American men, Lovie Smith being a protege of Tony Dungy, leading two fantastic teams in one of the greatest sports of mankind.

So I stand here to thank the NFL and to thank the coaches, the players, their families and the institution. It was the NFL who started, in 1987, the Minority Coaches Fellowship that allowed many offensive coaches and defensive coaches to become head coaches. Today, we have three head coaches who graduated from that program and actively working with their sports to bring them this far.

Over the years, and in 2002, the late Johnny Cochran and Cyrus Mehri put forth a program known today as the ``Rooney Program'' after Dan Rooney, who I had an opportunity to meet, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers just last year in Detroit during the Super Bowl, which allows and asks that NFL teams consider achievement and expertise, that they might move forward and present championship coaches as has been had right now as we begin to celebrate Super Bowl XLI.

It is a great day that is coming in the next few days. Thank you to the league, as well as to our heroes, Coach Tony Dungy, Coach Lovie Smith. And I don't want to stand here and pick a winner; I like the game too much. Unfortunately, the Detroit Lions won't be there, but we like you, too, Detroit Lions. Just do better next year, okay? But for the rest of the world, and as this sport will be watched across the world, congratulations to the first two African American coaches to reach the Super Bowl.

May the best team win, and we will be hollering and screaming for you all Sunday evening. God bless

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution. The Delegates vote in committees. They are assigned the task. They spend the hours, and they deserve the vote in the full House. There is no reason, except for an act in 1995 that caused them to lose that right to vote in committees, Committee of the Whole, and here this resolution talks about voting in the Committee of the Whole.

We need their vote. They are citizens of our country. They work, they pay taxes, they fight our wars. There is no reason that they would not be allowed, not just the Committee of the Whole, as was mentioned just earlier, they also need that final vote on legislation. When you fight wars, and we are in some now, and some of their people are fighting, they ought to be represented and have a voice in this Congress.

At the same time, and I don't want anybody to mistake, the District of Columbia, who has over 700,000 residents, more than some of our States who have two Senators and a Congressperson, not being allowed the right to vote? Something is very wrong with that in this country where we live. And I believe that this is the first step to regain what they lost earlier, but it is certainly not, I hope, the final step.

It is important as we go forward and as we acknowledge Congresswoman, as I call her, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, my good friend, Congresswoman Donna Christensen and the Representatives from Puerto Rico and Guam and Samoa Islands, that they fight our wars, they pay taxes in D.C., and they serve in our Congress. So I rise to support it, and Members of the Congressional Black Caucus take a unanimous position that we support this legislation. We ask for its immediate passage, and we come back and give D.C. statehood that they have earned and should have.

Citizens from Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. have paid taxes and have protected the Constitution of this country in our military. Some of our colleagues who have been fortunate enough to serve Americans in this august body have protected it as Members of Congress. It is now time for us to protect the rights of those citizens to at least be able to vote in the Committee of the Whole. It is a first step toward equity, equality and egalitarianism for so many people who have given so much but have received so little with regard to having a voting representative in the United States Congress.

Right here, in Washington, D.C., citizens were not allowed to even vote for President until the adoption of the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution in 1961, but which actually occurred in 1964. Right here, in Washington, D.C., citizens were not even allowed to vote for their own Mayor or local form of government until 1974. Right here, in Washington, D.C., as I face the setting sun, thousands of white tombstones, honoring some of the souls of individuals from Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. face us as immortals. These citizens, about six miles away from where I stand at Arlington National Cemetery, have paid the highest price for freedom any individual will ever pay. These citizens--hard- working, women and men, some of whom have served and are still serving our country in Afghanistan and Iraq--two centuries and thirty-one years since the Declaration of Independence, do not have the right to full representation in Congress. I applaud my colleagues for beginning the process that, I hope, will ultimately allow the citizens from Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. full voting representation in Congress. This is but a small step, but it is a step in the right direction. It is right, it is just, and it is time.

Mr. Speaker, personal reasons require me to remain in the district, and I am unable to be present for legislative business scheduled for today, Monday, September 25, 2006. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on H.R. 5059, the New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 2006 (rollcall No. 471); ``aye'' on H.R. 5062, the New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 2006 (rollcall No. 472); and ``aye'' on H.R. 6102, designating the Captain Christopher Petty Post Office Building in Vienna, VA (rollcall No. 473).