Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Congressional Record an article in the New York Times announcing a majority African American School Board in Little Rock, AR. This is the first time since Federal troops enforced integration in 1957 that African Americans have earned a majority on the Little Rock School Board. As pronounced in the article, it is good to see that people are looking for a change.

The events that took place in Little Rock still stand as a testament to the spirit of resiliency abiding deeply within the African American community. Similarly, the decision to integrate in 1957 echoes our countries commitment to ultimately ensuring equality among all of our Nation's sons and daughters. In the same way that 1957 remains such a pivotal year in our Nation's history, I hope that these more recent events continue to shape future generations--moving away from things as usual, as the article states, toward viewing issues of importance from the perspectives of the people directly affected rather than by socially engineered categories like race, gender, and class.

Central to the article are the issues faced by students, skin color notwithstanding. It is important to understand that what this article highlights is not simply the need to recognize the gains made by African Americans in winning the majority of seats on the school board but rather the changes in minds and hearts necessary to move to a space where people are voted for because of their desire to preserve and protect the interest of the people they serve.

I applaud the efforts of Little Rock School Board members as well as members of the community.

[From the New York Times, Oct. 13, 2006]

Little Rock School Board Has First Black Majority

(By the Associated Press)

Little Rock, AR.--For the first time since federal troops

enforced public school integration here by escorting a group

of black students into Central High School 49 years ago, the

Little Rock school board has a black majority.

Dianne Curry won a runoff election on Tuesday, meaning four

of the Little Rock School District's seven board members are

black. Ms. Curry defeated Tom Brock, who had been appointed

to fill an unexpired term in February.

The district, which has 26,000 students, has been mostly

black for years, but until now has never had a black majority

on the school board.

Until 1957, Little Rock had operated separate schools for

blacks and whites. Despite an order from the United States

Supreme Court, Gov. Orval E. Faubus sought to prevent nine

black students from entering Central High, but President

Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne to enforce

the court's order.

Federal courts have monitored the desegregation effort

since 1965.

Sixty-eight percent of the district's students are black,

24 percent are white, and Hispanics and Asians make up most

of the remaining 8 percent. The population of Little Rock is

mostly white, and there are many predominantly white private

schools in the area.

The school district has sought to free itself from federal

monitoring, but a judge maintained partial control after

ruling two years ago that the district was not adequately

appraising how well its academic programs helped black

students.

Superintendent Roy Brooks is black, as is Robert Daugherty,

the board's president.

``I think people are looking for a change,'' Mr. Daugherty

said. ``They're tired of things as usual, business as usual.

They want people who are more in tune with the community, and

I think that's what you see now.''

Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public

Service and a former board president, said that a black

majority on the board was ``probably long overdue.''

Students will still come first, said Mr. Rutherford, who is

white.

``I think the board members are going to vote much more on

the content of their character than the color of their

skin,'' he said. ``Most people when they get on the school

board tend to view issues not by color but by what's best for

the students.''

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to submit for printing in the Congressional

Record, pursuant to rule XI, clause 2(a) of the Rules of the House, a copy of the Rules of the Committee on Ways and Means, which were adopted at the organizational meeting of the committee on January 17, 2007.

Rules of the Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives,

110th Congress

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 34, to honor Percy Julian, an American research chemist of international renown, and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs. During his lifetime, Percy Julian received more than 100 chemical patents.

Percy Julian attended elementary school in Birmingham and later moved to Montgomery, Alabama where he attended high school. After high school, Julian applied to and was accepted into DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. At DePauw, he began as a probationary student, having to take higher level high school classes along with his freshman and sophomore course load. He was named a member of the Sigma Xi honorary society as well as a Phi Beta Kappa member.

Upon graduation from DePauw in 1920, he was selected as the class valedictorian. Julian was awarded the Austin Fellowship in Chemistry and moved to the distinguished Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he achieved straight A's, finished at the top of his class and received a Masters Degree in 1923.

Percy Julian proved himself to be a brilliant chemist. Among his many patents, most notable are--a foam fire retardant, a treatment for glaucoma and a low-cost process to produce cortisone. His innovative approach to chemistry helped to make important medicines more accessible to millions.

Please join me in supporting H. Con. Res. 34, honoring the life of Percy Lavon Julian, a pioneer in the field of organic chemistry research and development and the first and only African American chemist to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring to your attention the devastating impact of imprisonment on the lives of rehabilitated ex-offenders and to enter into the Record an opinion editorial in the New York Times entitled, ``Closing the Revolving Door.''

Last week I introduced the Second Chance Act which would provide for the expungement of criminal records of certain non-violent offenders who have paid their debts to society. This ``second chance'' would only apply to individuals who have clearly demonstrated their commitment to turning themselves into industrious members of our communities.

It is preposterous that many states have often been forced to choose between building new prisons or new schools, because of the federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Worse still, the country has created a growing felon caste, now more than 16 million strong and growing, of felons and ex-felons, who are often driven back to prison by policies that make it impossible for them to find jobs, housing or education.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Department of Justice have both concluded that mandatory sentencing fails to deter crime. Furthermore, mandatory minimums have worsened racial and gender disparities and have contributed greatly toward prison overcrowding. Mandatory minimum sentencing is costly and unjust. Mandatory sentencing does not eliminate sentencing disparities; instead it shifts decision- making authority from judges to prosecutors, who operate without accountability. Mandatory minimums fail to punish high-level dealers. Finally, mandatory sentences are responsible for sending record numbers of women and people of color to prison.

I urge your support for H.R. 623, the ``Second Chance for Ex- Offenders Act of 2007,'' which would provide for the expungement of criminal records of certain non-violent offenders who have paid their debts to society.

[From the New York Times]

Closing the Revolving Door

The United States is paying a heavy price for the mandatory

sentencing fad that swept the country 30 years ago. After a

tenfold increase in the nation's prison population--and a

corrections price tag that exceeds $60 billion a year--the

states have often been forced to choose between building new

prisons or new schools. Worse still, the country has created

a growing felon caste, now more than 16 million strong, of

felons and ex-felons, who are often driven back to prison by

policies that make it impossible for them to find jobs,

housing or education.

Congress could begin to address this problem by passing the

Second Chance Act, which would offer support services for

people who are leaving prison. But it would take more than

one new law to undo 30 years of damage:

Researchers have shown that inmates who earn college

degrees tend to find jobs and stay out of jail once released.

Congress needs to revoke laws that bar inmates from receiving

Pell grants and that bar some students with drug convictions

from getting other support. Following Washington's lead, the

states have destroyed prison education programs that had long

since proved their worth.

People who leave prison without jobs or places to live are

unlikely to stay out of jail. Congress should repeal the

lifetime ban on providing temporary welfare benefits to

people with felony drug convictions. The federal government

should strengthen tax credit and bonding programs that

encourage employers to hire people with criminal records.

States need to stop barring ex-offenders from jobs because of

unrelated crimes--or arrests in the distant past that never

led to convictions.

Congress should deny a request from the F.B.I. to begin

including juvenile arrests that never led to convictions (and

offenses like drunkenness or vagrancy) in the millions of rap

sheets sent to employers. That would transform single

indiscretions into lifetime stigmas.

Curbing recidivism will also require doing a lot more to

provide help and medication for the one out of every six

inmates who suffer mental illness.

The only real way to reduce the inmate population--and the

felon class--is to ensure that imprisonment is a method of

last resort. That means abandoning the mandatory sentencing

laws that have filled prisons to bursting with nonviolent

offenders who are doomed to remain trapped at the very

margins of society.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of Father Robert F. Drinan, his enduring faith, and lifelong commitment to human rights. Father Drinan passed on January 28, 2007, at his residence in the Georgetown University Jesuit community in Washington, DC. He was 86 years old and had recently been ill with pneumonia and congestive heart failure.

Father Drinan was an unwavering defender of the civil and human rights of all Americans. His commitment to these principles was anchored by his religious conviction and a fundamental belief in the rights of all people to be respected and protected by their governments and elected leaders. It was this conviction that led Father Drinan to politics in 1970 when he sought a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his tenure in Congress, Father Drinan was an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War and was the first person to call for the impeachment of President Nixon. Father Drinan was re-elected four times, serving from 1971 until 1981. He stepped down in accordance with a directive from Pope John Paul II, barring priests from holding public office.

Father Drinan was the first Roman Catholic priest to serve as a voting member of the U.S. Congress. I had the honor of serving with him on the Judiciary Committee during the Watergate proceedings. He was a man of deep convictions, a passionate leader and a good friend. Long after he left Congress, Father Drinan continued to be a vocal supporter of human rights. Through his words and his actions he demanded morality in our political leadership. Ever committed to his work, Father Drinan spent the past 21 years as a professor

at the Georgetown Law Center where he focused on legal ethics and international human rights.

We all mourn the loss of Father Robert F. Drinan, a man who committed his life to standing up for what he believed. He will be greatly missed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Carlos Lezama, West Indian community leader who left this world at the age of 83 years and to enter into the Record an article in the Daily News by Bill Hutchinson entitled ``West Indian Carnival Founder Carlos Lezama Dies at 83.''

Carlos Lezama was born in Trinidad and spent his formative years on the island. He played the Cello and was nicknamed ``Celloman'' a name and position he enjoyed while working on a passenger ship before migrating to the USA in the early fifties. He joined the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority, in the mid-sixties. At NYTA he moved up steadily for the next twenty years until he became a Machinist. In 1989, he retired from that Agency.

Lezama long ago recognized the cultural significance of Carnival, since he played Mas' in Trinidad. When he came to New York he naturally gravitated towards the Carnival which took place in Harlem. In the mid- nineteen sixties, he directed his efforts to firmly establish Carnival in Brooklyn with his friend Rufus Goring, who brought the celebration to Brooklyn.

Under the stewardship of Lezama, the Brooklyn Caribbean Carnival grew from a five-block affair to the status of the largest outdoor parade in the United States. It attracts in excess of three million people on Eastern Parkway every year on the first Monday in September. Over the years the West Indian American Day Carnival Association has grown to a full-fledged community service organization and provides scholarships and a host of annual calendar events of cultural and educational events.

Lezama has been officially recognized and honored by scores of organizations, four New York State Governors (Govs. Rockefeller, Carey, Cuomo, and Pataki), and numerous awards from Mayors John Lindsay, Abe Beame, Ed Koch, David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani for his efforts in promoting the rich culture of Caribbean people and thus enriching the cultural life of New York City. In 2001, the Carnival route--Eastern Parkway was renamed Carlos Lezama Parkway.

Even though Carlos Lezama passed away on January 22, 2007, his contributions to the diversity of the United States of America will continue to resonate through the Annual Brooklyn Carnival held each Labor Day Monday.

[From the New York Daily News]

West Indian Carnival Founder Carlos Lezama Dies at 83

(By Bill Hutchinson)

Carlos Lezama, who transformed the West Indian American Day

Carnival from a five-block affair into one of the city's

biggest events, died yesterday. He was 83.

Lezama, a retired machinist for the Metropolitan

Transportation Authority, died at Kings County Hospital after

a brief illness.

``Throughout our lives, my siblings, as well as my mother,

have been privileged to share my father with the millions who

are part of the carnival family,'' said Lezama's daughter,

Yolanda Lezama-Clark.

``I am grateful that he has left an impressive legacy of

which we all as Caribbean people can be proud,'' added

Lezama-Clark, president of the West Indian American Day

Carnival Association.

Born in Trinidad, Lezama grew up playing the steel pan and

the cello, garnering the nickname ``Celloman'' while working

on a cruise ship.

When he immigrated to America, he gravitated to the annual

carnival event in Harlem. In the mid-1960s, he and a friend,

Rufus Goring, brought the celebration to Brooklyn, and in

1967 he was elected the first president of the carnival

association.

``He was a major force with respect to the West Indian Day

parade, which now has millions of people,'' former Mayor Ed

Koch said of Lezama yesterday. ``It's really not a parade.

It's a mass of people, having a great time together.''

Former Mayor David Dinkins said it was Lezama's ``vision

and foresight'' that turned the parade into a city cultural

icon.

``I thought he was terrific,'' Dinkins said. ``He had a

drive, he was determined that the parade was going to go off

and he didn't particularly care about the politics of it. I

thought he did a great job.''

Besides his daughter, Lezama is survived by his son,

Kenwyn; four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Wilfred G. Gooden, civic and political activist who left this world at the age of 84 years and to enter into the Record an article in the New York Carib News entitled ``Wilfred G. Gooden, 84, a Real Estate Developer, Philanthropist, Civic and Political Activist.''

Wilfred G. Gooden was born in Jamaica and spent 60 years residing in New York City. His life is one of those rags to riches stories, including a social, charitable, and political side. Mr. Gooden began in 1977 rehabilitating city-owned abandoned apartment houses, under the Federal Government's section 8 housing subsidy program, along the area of 145th Street from Broadway east to Amsterdam, then south along Amsterdam toward 144th Street.

Gooden never forgot his Jamaican roots. He founded the American Friends of Jamaica in 1982 and remained as a director on its board until his death and founded the Concerned Committee For Christian Education, CCCE, which supported two schools, one in New York and the other in Jamaica. He has received several accolades including the Order of Distinction, O.D., for his contribution to Jamaican charities from the Government of Jamaica and an honorary degree of human letters from the Faith Grant College of Alabama.

Even though Wilfred G. Gooden passed away on January 6, 2007, his contributions to Harlem, my congressional district, are ever present in the buildings he rehabilitated in the area. Please join me in extending heartfelt sympathies to his beloved wife, Sybil, and brother, Vibert.

Wilfred G. Gooden, 84, a Real Estate Developer, Philanthropist, Civic

and Political Activist

Dr. Wilfred G. Gooden, O.D., of Riverdale, New York, a

Jamaican American who arrived in New York almost penniless

from Jamaica in 1945, worked hard, saved his money and become

one of Harlem's most successful real estate developers. He

died in Kingston, Jamaica W.I., at Andrews Memorial Hospital

on January 6th, 2007 just weeks away from his 85th birthday.

Mr. Gooden's life embodied not only a rags to riches story,

but he entered the social, business, charity and political

life of the city, and never forgot his Jamaican roots.

He was a founder of The American Friends of Jamaica in 1982

and remained as a director on its board until his death. The

Government of Jamaica honored him with the ``Order of

Distinction (O.D.) for his contribution to Jamaican charities

and the Faith*Grant College of Alabama presented Mr. Gooden

with an Honorary Degree of Human Letters, He also founded The

Concerned Committee For Christian Education (CCCE) which

supported two schools, one in New York and the other in

Jamaica.

It was not unusual to walk into his home and find

Congressman Charles R. Rangel and former Mayor David Dinkins

in good active conversation. In Jamaica he counted at least

three former Prime Ministers as good friends, The Most Hon.

Michael Manley, Edward Seaga and P.J. Patterson.

His Christmas season trips were legendary on behalf of The

Concerned Committee For Christian Education (Seventh Day

Adventists) when he distributed clothing, books, toys and

blankets to the children of families in need.

Mr. Gooden is survived by his beloved wife Sybil and a

brother, Vibert who is 93 years young of Atlanta, Georgia.

In Lieu of flowers, please make contributions to Concerned

Committee For Christian Education (CCCE) Box 683, New York,

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Yvette Clarke, newly-elected Representative of the 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York and to enter into the record an article in the New York Carib News by Tony Best entitled ``Brooklyn Celebrates Yvette Clarke's Assumption of Duties as Representative for 11th Congressional District, Hundreds Attend Community Event at Brooklyn College.''

Yvette Clarke was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is the daughter of Leslie Clarke, father, and former Brooklyn councilwoman Una Clarke. The Clarkes migrated to the United States before Congresswoman Clarke was born. Clarke attended New York City public schools and received a scholarship to Oberlin College in Ohio.

Yvette Clarke was elected to the New York City council in November 2001 as the representative for the 40th District in Brooklyn. Clarke was overwhelmingly re-elected to office in November 2003 and November 2005. She succeeded her pioneering mother, the former city councilmember, Dr. Una Clarke, making them the first mother-daughter succession in the history of the council.

In November 2006, Clarke was elected to represent the 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York. Clarke, a life-long Flatbush resident, will continue to ably represent her mostly working- class constituents in her district the same way she did while sitting on the council, particularly as Congress takes up immigration reform and long-deferred issues of economic fairness.

Yvette Clarke has the reputation of being a good listener and a true leader. She distinguished herself as a strong negotiator and has a record of getting things done to meet the needs of the residents of her district. I look forward to working closely with Yvette on the issues facing the American people and I ask you to join me in welcoming Congresswoman Clarke into the 110th Congress of the United States of America.

[From the New York CaribNews]

Brooklyn Celebrates Yvette Clarke's Assumption of Duties as

Representative for 11th Congressional District; Hundreds Attend

Community Event at Brooklyn College

(By Tony Best)

After one of New York City's big political flash points: a

brutal election campaign to fill a Congressional seat once

held by the iconic figure Shirley Chisholm, it was time for a

community celebration.

And the emotional atmosphere that encased the ceremonial

swearing in of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke was punctuated

with music, dance, prayers, poetry, glowing tributes by

prominent elected officials, tears of joy and the obvious

satisfaction of the Clarke family that one of their own had

made it to the halls of the U.S. House of Representatives.

``She got there the old fashioned way, she earned it,''

asserted U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat of New York

and one of his party's major architects of the successful

mid-term election which resulted in the ousting of the

Republicans from control of Capitol Hill.

``We are proud of Yvette,'' he told a cheering crowd. ``She

worked hard to get elected. She didn't rest on her laurels.

It's a great day for Brooklyn, a great day for the Clarke

family, and a great day for the United States.''

Actually, the ceremonial taking of the oath of office

followed the official swearing-in which had taken place in

Washington a week earlier, and when Brooklyn Civil Court

Judge Sylvia Ash asked the freshman member of the House to

pledge to carry out her duties in accordance with the

country's constitution, members of the audience joined in

responding in the affirmative as if they too were going to

the nation's capital.

Clarke won the 11th Congressional District election last

September when she defeated three other candidates in the

Democratic Primary. Among the competitors was the well-

financed Jewish City Council member David Yassky who had

moved into the District just before launching his campaign

with the clear and opportunistic goal of capturing the white

votes while leaving the Blacks to split their support from

the Hispanic, Asian and Black majority. Yassky had raised

almost $2 million for his campaign war chest, more than the

combined funds raised by the other three candidates. But it

didn't work.

The seat had become vacant when Major Owens who had

occupied it for at least two decades after succeeding

Chisholm in the 1980's decided to retire. He had hoped that

his son, Chris Owens, a community activist would succeed him.

But like Yassky's plans, that goal failed.

Clarke went on to win the November election with about 90

percent of the vote.

``She worked hard,'' said U.S. Representative Anthony

Weiner, who shocked the political establishment when he

endorsed Clarke in the Primary campaign and campaigned

with her, instead of backing Yassky. ``She shares the

values of the community and understands its needs,'' he

told the audience.

The Congressman was on a list of speakers, mainly members

of the state legislature in Albany and the City Council in

Manhattan, who joined Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough

President and others in extolling the qualities which

catapulted Clarke from City Hall to Congress, a feat which

eluded her mother, Una Clarke, several years ago when she

sought to replace Major Owens in a hard fought race.

New York State Assemblyman Nick Perry alluded to that

election battle when he told

the crowd that while he had political differences with the

Congresswoman's mother it didn't stop him from vigorously

backing ``Yvette'' and helping to raise money for her.

``I feel like I won too,'' said Perry who dropped out of

the Congressional race early last year and then threw his

support behind Clarke. ``She will do great things for

America. She is young and bright.''

State Senator John Sampson was another of the elected

office holders, who at the urging of both ``Yvette'' and her

mother, not only backed her drive for the House but

contributed campaign funds and material support. He became

philosophical when he invoked the presence and role of the

Almighty God in people's lives and reminded the

Congressperson that prosperity and success breed many friends

but ``adversity proves them.''

State Senator Kevin Parker, who had declined to back Clarke

during the Primary, supporting Karl Andrews, at the time a

State Senator from Brooklyn instead, said that he too was

confident ``Yvette'' would succeed in Washington. In his

brief remarks, the Borough President, who sat out the

Congressional race by opting not to endorse any of the four

candidates, said the new House member was ``committed to

public service.''

Dr. Kendal Stewart, a City Councilman, joined in the chorus

of praise, saying her victory was a reminder to immigrants

and their children, ``those who came by plane or by boat''

that they too could succeed and perhaps follow in

``Yvette's'' footsteps.

Dr. Edison Jackson, President of the highly successful

Medgar Evers College, put it differently, describing the

lawmaker as a worthy ``advocate'' of the community that sent

her to Capitol Hill.

When the time came for Clarke to respond after wiping away

tears, she spoke out against the Iraq war and the Bush

Administration's misplaced priorities which had resulted in

$130 billion needed to fix schools in the 11th Congressional

District and elsewhere in the City, State and country being

diverted to the Persian Gulf to finance a conflict ``we don't

want.''

She said that as a member of the House's Committee that

monitors the work of the Department of Homeland Security, she

had already backed a measure, which would bring more funds

into the City for the Police and Fire Departments as well

as the Emergency Medical services.

Congresswoman Clarke insisted that the City urgently needed

funds, federal dollars, for its schools, drug treatment

programs and other social services. She took time out to

thank the community, the hard-working campaign volunteers,

staff and others who ``came together'' and worked to place

her in Congress.

``I am thankful,'' she said.

She spoke about her parents, Leslie Clarke, father, and Una

Clarke, mother, for the way they raised her, and the rest of

the family from Jamaica who instilled core values in her.

With the Rev. Barbara Lucas as ``the officiating minister,

the celebration featured a mix of ecumenical blessings

offered by a variety of religious ministers, including a

Jewish Rabbi; dances by young performers of different

cultural backgrounds; inspirational songs by a plethora of

artistes, among them was Brooklyn Temple Seventh Day

Adventist mass choir; steelband music by members CASYM, a

youth orchestra; and a celebratory procession by the

Panamanian Marching Band. Dr. Harold Robinson, Trinidad and

Tobago' Consul-General, summed up the situation when he said

that the Caribbean, the source of Congresswoman Clarke's

early strength, might consist of countries with different

languages but ``we are all one.''

Cynthia Brown-Franklin, Panama's Vice Consul-General, said

afterwards ``great things are expected of the Congresswoman

and she will deliver on those dreams.''

Madam. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to my dear friend, Simeon Booker, on the occasion of his retirement as Washington Bureau Chief of Jet magazine. One of our nation's greatest journalists, his legacy is that of trailblazing reporter, radio commentator, author, and most of all, selfless and courageous advocate and defender of his people.

Simeon, whom I have known since coming to Washington in 1971 at the time of the founding of the Congressional Black Caucus, was almost single-handedly responsible for informing the nation of our presence in the United States Congress and our fledgling role in the governance of the country. With his weekly column, he made it known to Black America that they too had a voice in national politics which spoke for them in the formulation of policies that affected their lives. The Caucus has grown from the original 13 to 43 members, one of them running for President. Simeon Booker has more to do with that than he would ever admit.

Trailblazer that he was, Simeon never made himself the story. Forever humble, his great, and only, mission was to advocate for and record the history of African Americans. Bravely, he covered the Emmett Till lynching, despite threats to his life by a local white sheriff; reporting the first freedom ride from Atlanta to Birmingham, he had to use his Washington connections to get Justice Department protection from an angry mob. He marched with Martin Luther King through the hisses and catcalls from hostile white crowds. He covered the Little Rock 9 as they entered the Arkansas school house protected by federal troops. He traveled to Africa with Vice President Nixon and others as that continent threw off the yoke of European imperialism.

The first Black reporter at the Washington Post, he gave up the job to focus on covering the civil rights movement for the Black press. He was the first to win the Newspaper Guild Award, the second awarded the prestigious Nieman Fellowship to Harvard, and the first ever named to the pool of reporters covering the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

I congratulate and commend to my colleagues Simeon Booker, a preacher's son born in Baltimore, and his dear wife, Carol McCabe, who has stood by him. In the pantheon of American journalism, he stands in the first tier.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 58, to honor Muhammad Ali, global humanitarian, on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Mr. Ali was crowned ``Sportsman of the Century'' by Sports Illustrated in 1999 and has traveled around the world working for hunger and poverty relieve, supporting education efforts of all kinds, and encouraging people to respect and better understand one another.

Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville, KY, on January 17, 1942, and was named Cassious Marcellus Clay, Jr. He later changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam and subsequently converted to Sunni Islam in 1975. He won the World Heavyweight Boxing championship three times, and won the North American Boxing Federation championship as well as an Olympic gold medal.

Ali received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on November 9, 2005, and the prestigious ``Otto Hahn peace medal in Gold'' of the United Nations Association of Germany in Berlin on December 17, 2005, for his work with the United States civil rights movement and the United Nations.

Ali, since retiring from boxing, has devoted himself to humanitarian endeavors around the globe. It is estimated that he has helped to provide more than 22 million meals to feed the hungry. He travels, on average, more than 200 days per year to promote his humanitarian efforts. Please join me in support of this bill honoring Muhammad Ali and extending best wishes to him and his family on the occasion of his 65th birthday.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record my strong support for H.R. 61, in observation and celebration of the birthday, life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; his life of service in promoting peace and justice for all people of every nation, and the preservation of his legacy in our continued efforts to ensure peace and justice to every man, woman, and child.

In celebrating the birthday of Dr. King, we are reminded of his sacrifice and leadership in ensuring that this great nation live up to its highest potential by acknowledging and practicing the self-evident truth ``that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.''

As we are engaged in a war that has taken the lives of thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, we must revisit Dr. King's stance of nonviolence and his opposition to the Vietnam war; a war that oppressed the poor and voiceless, a war that obstructed the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Dr. King would have us on the frontlines of the anti-war movement, questioning whether our actions in Iraq and around the world are doing more than just creating more chaos and violence. He would ask us to attack the root causes of poverty, building bridges between the private sector and non-profits to provide educational and work opportunities to everyone. He would challenge us to put the fate of our brothers and sisters ahead of property and profit, to invest in people and ideas, not guns and violence.

On April 4, 1967, a year to the date of his death, Dr. King addressed the Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City, condemning the Vietnam war and urging his fellow citizens to break their silence. His message echoes the plight that we face today in Iraq; his words, etched in history, serve as a guide that we must heed.

Dr. King stated that ``. . . Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.''

One need only substitute the word Vietnam with Iraq to recognize the analogous gravity that our Nation is engaged in. We must embrace Dr. King's legacy to achieve equality for the poor and to promote peace.

The invasion of Iraq has led the poor in our country to bear the brunt of military responsibility, while the children of government officials and the wealthy make no sacrifice. Dr. King's remarks serve as a mirror to this country's unwillingness for all to make a sacrifice in engaging in war. He said ``perhaps the more tragic recognition of reality took place when it became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home. It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population. We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem.''

We must take this day to get our national priorities back in order. We must recognize our obligation to the citizens of this country, and our responsibility to promote peace around the world.

Now is the time to grab a comfortable pair of shoes for a new journey of activism. If we truly want to honor our king, we must renew our commitment to the world congregation that he loved. To follow footsteps as large as his is definitely difficult, but not beyond our hearts and minds. The task may well prove to be easier if more of us can take them together.

I want to especially thank the Baptist Ministers Conference, the National Action Network, and the 16th Council District's Annual MLK Memorial for allowing me to honor the life of Dr. King with them, and to follow in his footsteps.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Jane Bolin, the first African-American judge in the United States, who left this world at the age of 98 years and to enter into the Record an article in the New York Times by Douglas Martin entitled ``Jane Bolin, the Country's First Black Woman to Become a Judge, Is Dead at 98.''

Jane Bolin was born in Poughkeepsie, NY, daughter of the late Gaius C. Bolin and the late Matilda Emery. Her father was the first black graduate of Williams College, had his own legal practice and was president of the Dutchess County Bar Association. She grew up enamored of her father's shelves of leather-bound books on the law and went on to be the first Black woman to attend Yale Law School, after graduating with honors from Wellesley College.

Bolin was appointed to Domestic Relations Court--now the Family Court--of New York in 1939 by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, where she served with distinction for 40 years. As judge, two major changes she accomplished, along with Judges Justine Wise Polier and Hubert Delaney, were the assignment of probation officers to cases without regard for race or religion and a requirement that private child care agencies that received public funds had to accept children without regard to ethnic background.

Bolin served on the board of the Wiltwyck School for Boys, the Child Welfare League of America, the Neighborhood Children's Center, the New York State Board of Regents, and took an active role in the local and national NAACP. Judge Bolin has received honorary degrees from Morgan State University, Western College for Women, Tuskegee Institute, Hampton University, and Williams College.

Even though Jane Bolin passed away on January 8, 2006, her contributions to the practice of law brought revolutionary changes to New York's legal bureaucracy and her legacy will live through all those families she touched throughout her years on the New York family court bench.

[From The New York Times]

Jane Bolin, the Country's First Black Woman To Become a Judge, Is Dead

at 98

(By Douglas Martin)

Jane Bolin, whose appointment as a family court judge by

Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia in 1939 made her the first black

woman in the United States to become a judge, died on Monday

in Queens. She was 98 and lived in Long Island City, Queens.

Her death was announced by her son, Yorke B. Mizelle.

Judge Bolin was the first black woman to graduate from Yale

Law School, the first to join the New York City Bar

Association, and the first to work in the office of the New

York City corporation counsel, the city's legal department.

In January 1979, when Judge Bolin had reluctantly retired

after 40 years as a judge, Constance Baker Motley, a black

woman and a federal judge, called her a role model.

In her speech, Judge Motley said, ``When I thereafter met

you, I then knew how a lady judge should comport herself.''.

The ``lady judge'' was frequently in the news at the time

of her appointment with accounts of her regal bearing,

fashionable hats and pearls. But her achievements transcended

being a shining example. As a family court judge, she ended

the assignment of probation officers on the basis of race and

the placement of children in child care agencies on the basis

of ethnic background.

Jane Matilda Bolin was born on April 11, 1908, in

Poughkeepsie, NY. Her father, Gaius C. Bolin, was the son of

an American Indian woman and an African-American man. Her

mother, the former Matilda Emery, was a white Englishwoman.

Mr. Bolin, who was the first black graduate of Williams

College, had his own legal practice and was president of the

Dutchess County Bar Association. His daughter grew up

enamored of his shelves of leather-bound books on the law.

But her comfortable girlhood was profoundly shaken by

articles and pictures of lynchings in Crisis magazine, the

official publication of the N.A.A.C.P.

``It is easy to imagine how a young, protected child who

sees portrayals of brutality is forever scarred and becomes

determined to contribute in her own small way to social

justice,'' she wrote in a letter at the time of her

retirement in December 1978.

She attended Wellesley College, where she was one of two

black freshmen. They were assigned to the same room in a

family's apartment off campus, the first instance of many

episodes of discrimination she said she encountered there.

At her graduation in 1928, she was named a Wellesley

Scholar, a distinction given to the top 20 students of the

class.

When she broached the subject of a law career to a

Wellesley guidance counselor, she

was told that black women had little chance. Her father also

discouraged her at first, saying that lawyers had to deal

``with the most unpleasant and sometimes the grossest kind of

human behavior.''

But Mr. Bolin did not know she had already been admitted to

Yale Law School, and he eventually agreed to her career

choice.

At Yale, Ms. Bolin was one of three women in her class and

the only black person. In an interview with The New York

Times in 1993, she said that a few Southerners at the law

school had taken pleasure in letting the swinging classroom

doors hit her in the face. One of those Southerners later

became active in the American Bar Association and invited her

to speak before his bar group in Texas. She declined.

After graduation, she practiced for a short time with her

father in Poughkeepsie. She then married a lawyer, Ralph E.

Mizelle, and the two practiced in New York. He died in 1943.

In 1950, she married Walter P. Offutt Jr., a minister; he

died in 1974. In addition to her son, she is survived by a

granddaughter and a great-granddaughter.

In 1937, six years after her graduation from Yale, she

applied for a position in the New York City corporation

counsel's office. An assistant there was initially

dismissive, but the counsel, Paul Windell, walked into the

office and hired her on the spot. She was assigned to

Domestic Relations Court, renamed Family Court in 1962.

On July 22, 1939, she was told that Mayor La Guardia wanted

to see her at the New York City building at the World's Fair,

which had just opened. She worried that she was going to be

reprimanded. Instead, she was sworn in as a judge. The

ceremony made news around the world.

In an interview with The New York World-Telegram the next

day, she said she hoped to show ``a broad sympathy for human

suffering,'' adding, ``I'll see enough of it.''

Her cases included homicides and other crimes committed by

juveniles; nonsupport of wives and children; battered

spouses; neglected children; children in need of supervision;

adoptions; and paternity suits. She chose not to wear

judicial robes in order to make children feel more

comfortable.

She was reappointed to 10-year terms by Mayors William

O'Dwyer, Robert F. Wagner Jr. and John V. Lindsay. When she

resigned in December 1978 because she had reached the

mandatory retirement age of 70, she complained, ``They're

kicking me out.''

After her retirement, she was a volunteer reading

instructor in New York City public schools for two years, and

was appointed to the Regents Review Committee of the New York

State Board of Regents.

She was outspoken on civil rights issues of many kinds.

When she returned to her hometown of Poughkeepsie in 1944 as

a judge and something of a local heroine, she pointed out

that the city government, schools and hospitals remained

segregated.

``Poughkeepsie is fascist to the extent of deluding itself

that there is superiority among human beings by reasons

solely of color, race or religion,'' she said in an interview

with The Poughkeepsie New Yorker.

In 1958, speaking on women's rights, she said, ``We have to

fight every inch of the way and in the face of sometimes

insufferable humiliations.''

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 66, I call up the bill (H.R. 6) to reduce our Nation's dependency on foreign oil by investing in clean, renewable, and alternative energy resources, promoting new emerging energy technologies, developing greater efficiency, and creating a Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve to invest in alternative energy, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record my support for the H.R. 3, Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007. This bill will enable continuing scientific research on embryonic stem cells that will provide enhanced treatments and potential cures for the millions of Americans afflicted with chronic and debilitating diseases.

The benefits that stem cell research promises can dramatically enhance the quality of life for people suffering from spinal cord injuries, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, among many others. It will allow these Americans and their families the opportunity to enjoy healthier and more fulfilling lives.

Stem cell research has the support of over 100 million people suffering from these diseases, medical professionals, and the American people. With over 200 health organizations, research universities, advocacy groups and scientific societies supporting stem cell research, it is the responsibility of the United States govemment to listen and actively ensure progress in the field of medicine in saving people's lives.

In the Republican controlled 109th Congress, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 was passed in the House, later to be vetoed by President Bush. This administration cannot continue to impede the efforts of sound scientific research based on ideological beliefs. In an age of tremendous technological and scientific advances, we must allow the medical community to engage in research that will benefit all Americans.

This legislation provides strict ethical guidelines for the usage of embryonic stem cells to further medical research. The stem cells will be donated from in vitro fertilization clinics that have an excess of stem cells from individuals no longer needing fertility treatment. Individuals that sought fertility treatment were consulted before the donation of stem cells, and it was determined that these stem cells would never be used in future treatment and would thus be discarded. In addition, individuals donating stem cells did so with written informed consent and were not paid any monetary compensation or given any other incentives to do so.

These individuals have offered their support in enhancing further research through their donations, and we ought to follow by ensuring that their contribution to stem cell research help those who suffer.

The medical and science community see the potential of this research to treat people with damage to the spinal cord, heart, brain and skeletal muscles. Those who suffer from genetic diseases, those whose life depends on organ transplants, and those who are ravaged by the affects of degenerative diseases will benefit from the research performed on embryonic stem cells.

It is our responsibility to support legislation that will provide the resources to improve the lives of Americans who suffer everyday. I commend my colleagues for readdressing this issue, and urge you to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that I wish that we had had more time to have gone into the details of this proposal, but I want to point out that we have an opportunity to allow the administration to decide how we can best reduce the price of drugs for all people and to give him the discretion to use every tool that we have in the Congress. Now, some people on the other side have indicated that this is price control and the free marketplace should work its will. It appears to me that common sense and judgment would say that the Secretary should have every available tool that he or she thinks is necessary in order to reach this common goal that we want to reach.

Just saying that the power to negotiate prices, which you have to admit sounds like it makes good sense, would be restricted and prohibited by the person responsible for reaching the goal of lower prices makes no sense at all. If indeed some of the objections that have been raised by those who don't have the responsibility that the Secretary has, if they truly believe this is an impediment to reach that goal, then I think that all of us in the Congress have the responsibility to change the law and to do whatever is necessary in order to reach that goal.

To say that someone is prohibited from participating in the reduction of that price, the price of the drugs when they can buy in quantity defies common sense and reason. This is especially so since we would like to assume that the pharmaceutical industry would be partners with us in getting the maximum amount of medicine necessary to those who need it. And even if we had no knowledge of the facts at all as to what works and doesn't work, the protest that is coming from the pharmaceutical industry should indicate that there is something wrong with the system if they do not trust the Federal Government to negotiate fairly.

So for all of those reasons, I hope that those who have a problem with the bill would recognize that this is just the beginning of a process to improve upon what we already have and that if there are any problems, that we will be coming back to the committee to try to make those adjustments that would be necessary.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask unanimous consent to yield the balance of my time for purposes of controlling the time on this bill to Mr. Stark, who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health and who spent a tremendous amount of time on this.

And, believe me, there is no politics involved in it. We all want to achieve a common goal, and I think this just removes the restriction on the Secretary so that together we can be of assistance.