Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to S. 397, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. This resolution immunizes the gun industry--including manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms and ammunitions--from civil liability arising from the criminal and unlawful misuse of their products. Advocates of this bill believe that it is necessary to pass in order to prevent the rise of ``frivolous'' lawsuits against companies that manufacture and distribute firearms. Advocates say, the Second Amendment of the Constitution protects the rights of these companies to irresponsibly sell their products without any repercussions for the misuse of their product. I believe there is a delicate balance between the right to bear arms, a right provided by the Constitution, and the need to prevent gun violence. This bill, if passed into law, will unfairly shift the balance. Through the laws vested in the Constitution, every American has been given the responsibility to keep and bear arms, but this resolution will dismantle all progress that has been made toward the fight against crime.

Each year more than 30,000 gun-related deaths occur; a third of these 30,000 deaths are committed with malicious ``intent by customers of the arms industry who exploit their Second Amendment Right. Since 2000, we have witnessed a 9 percent increase in gun-related homicides. In 2003, firearms were used in over 365,000 cases of violent crime. Fifty percent of all the African American youngsters between the ages of 15 and 19, who die, die from gun violence. When guns and ammunitions reach the wrong hands, we must be able to hold accountable the companies that put destructive weapons in the hands of these criminals.

My dissent for this bill focuses around the lack of responsibility required by arms dealers. When the desired intent of a product is to fatally wound an object through legal or illegal means, there will always be the need of a high demand of accountability. For cases of gun violence in which the firearms industry should be held responsible, this resolution does not protect its victims. In past years, State and Federal Courts have found these types of cases to be grounded in such credible legal principles as negligence, product liability, and public nuisance. If this legislation passes, the high demand of accountability and liability required by firearms companies will drastically decrease. For these reasons, I cannot support the bill.

Madam Speaker, let me first of all commend and congratulate the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) not only for their leadership in bringing this resolution, this legislation to the floor, but also for the tremendous leadership that they have consistently provided in dealing with the international affairs and international relationships between our country and how we respond to the needs of many other nations throughout the world. I think that they have both demonstrated exactly what we need in this direction, and I commend them.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation because it is an indication of our leadership responsibility. The Bible says that to those to whom much is given, much is expected in return. We have indeed been a very fortunate Nation, and we are fortunate to be able to provide assistance to others throughout the world.

I have worked very closely with the Indian and Palestinian communities in Chicago and the Chicago area. As a matter of fact, I serve on the board of directors of East-West University, which is a primarily Pakistani-owned university, and have many close friends there.

So I extend condolences to those who have been adversely affected and again commend our leadership.

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

Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 3549, legislation naming a postal facility in Warren, Pennsylvania, after William F. Clinger, Jr. This measure, which was introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English) on July 28, 2005, and unanimously reported by our committee on September 29, 2005, enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the entire Pennsylvania delegation.

A native of Warren County, Pennsylvania, Mr. Clinger graduated from Johns Hopkins University, served in the United States Navy, and obtained a law degree from the University of Virginia before practicing law. He was elected to represent Pennsylvania's Fifth Congressional District in 1979,

serving until 1997. While in Congress, Representative Clinger served as chairman of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, vice chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and ranking member on the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Since retiring from Congress, former Representative Clinger has served on a number of boards and been involved with Johns Hopkins University as a senior fellow with the Political Science Department and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. I commend my colleagues for naming a post office after former Representative William Clinger, and I urge swift passage of this bill.

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

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

As a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join with my colleague, the chairman of our subcommittee, the gentleman from Nevada, in consideration of H.R. 3830, legislation naming the postal facility in Punta Gorda, Florida, after the late Ulysses Samuel Cleveland. This measure, which was introduced by Representative Mark Foley on September 20, 2005, and unanimously reported by our committee on September 29, 2005, enjoys the support and co-sponsorship of the entire Florida delegation.

Mr. Cleveland, or U.S. as he liked to be called, was a native of Punta Gorda, Florida. After serving in the Army, he returned to his hometown where he became the assistant postmaster for Charlotte County. Mr. Cleveland later became the historian for the Punta Gorda Kiwanis Club and charter member for the Punta Gorda and Charlotte County Historic Preservation boards, authoring books on local history.

Unfortunately, his home was destroyed during Hurricane Charley in August of 2004. He lost his collection of photographs and historical artifacts. U.S. Cleveland passed away on April 22, 2005, a great citizen, a great historian, a person who is deserving of this honor. I commend my colleague for naming the post after the late Ulysses Samuel Cleveland, and I urge swift passage of this bill.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross).

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution to rename the U.S. Post Office in Parkdale, Arkansas the Willie Vaughn Post Office, and I want to first express my heartfelt appreciation to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) for sponsoring this renaming legislation. I also want to thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Berry), the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman), and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder) for their cosponsorships. It is also my pleasure to extend thanks to the honorable mayor and members of the Parkdale Arkansas City Council for their concurrence in the renaming of their town's post office: Ms. Glenda Wells, mayor; Louis Mitchell, alderman; Mark Hawkins, alderman; Paula Files, alderman; and Evora Parker, all whose families I knew and in some instances grew up with.

Madam Speaker, I stand here this afternoon with a tremendous amount of pride in being able to participate in passing this legislation.

First of all, I was born and grew up in Parkdale, Arkansas and lived there until I graduated from college. The man for whom we are renaming this post office, Mr. Willie Vaughn, whom we fondly called Uncle Dude and who is now 101 years old, was one of my primary mentors and role models and the most outstanding African American figure in that area for many years. Uncle Dude, who technically was not my uncle, he and my mother were stepbrothers, as they would be called, and sisters because their parents got married after his father's wife had died, and yet our families blended so close together until we were much closer than many blood relatives. As a matter of fact, as a result of the blending, my mother ended up with about 25 brothers and sisters.

In addition, Uncle Dude and my father were close associates and the best of friends, and I spent many a Sunday afternoon in their home eating Aunt L.C.'s famous egg pies.

Uncle Dude never had much formal education. My cousin Cora said that he finished the second grade, and yet he has always been one of the smartest and wisest persons that I have ever known. He had what we call a degree in CSTA; that is, common sense, talent, and ambition.

Legend of Folklore has it that Willie as a little boy did not take kindly to farm work, did not practice it, and did not act as though he wanted to learn. Therefore, he was called ``Dude'' and it stuck. However, Mr. Vaughn became self-taught and in many ways self-educated. He could do almost anything on and off the farm. He, like most of his peers, was a sharecropper, but he also owned the molasses mill and made syrup. He was a tailor and measured me for my first tailored suit, which another uncle of mine sent to me from St. Louis when I was graduating from elementary school, and, I might add, it was one of the few tailored suits that I have ever owned.

He was the chief lay person at our church, the Penny's Chapel CME Church, for more than 50 years, drove the school bus after we got one because we did not always have one, and was oftentimes the bridge between the black and white factions of the community in a small, rural southern town. Mr. Vaughn worked hard, acquired property, was a leading advocate for education, and commanded the respect of all segments of the town and of the area.

Uncle Dude was the Sunday school superintendent at our church for decades, and I shall never forget that, as a teenager, he gave me the opportunity to teach Sunday school, which may have been the reason that I eventually became a schoolteacher. Even in our small semi-isolated town, and he and other adults expressed and conveyed a strong appreciation for education, and I remember my cousin Aubry graduating from high school as the only person in his class.

As an avid church leader, Uncle Dude became a member of the general board of the CME Church and expressed great pride in the fact that he was able to vote to change the name from Colored Methodist Episcopal Church to Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

He was born the son of former slaves. Mr. Willie Vaughn epitomizes progress that this country has made. He is indeed a living legend who is still alive, alert, and spiritually as well as intellectually engaged. I would not be surprised to find out that he is watching these proceedings on C-SPAN. And if he is, I say congratulations, Uncle Dude, on a life well spent, a Nation well served, a family well loved, and a faith in God well preserved.

Madam Speaker, it is indeed with great pride that I urge passage of this bill and again thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) for introducing it.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I would take this moment to express appreciation to Speaker Hastert, Chairman Young, Ranking Member Oberstar, and Mr. Mica and Mr. DeFazio for bringing this legislation to the floor and for having an opportunity for it to be heard and to be passed.

I rise in support of it. As a matter of fact, it commemorates the 10th-year anniversary of the Million Man March which took place some 10 years ago when more than a million, primarily African American, men came to Washington D.C. for a big national town hall meeting. That is what I really think of this as being, a national town hall meeting where people from all across the country will gather on the Mall and have a day of discussions talking about problems, needs, hopes, and aspirations. It is an opportunity for those who will gather to be heard to experience fellowship and camaraderie and also to project for the Nation to see and feel an understanding of their perception of need.

I want to thank all of those who helped to make this event possible. I appreciate the sensitivity and concern displayed.

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join in support of H. Res. 15, supporting the goals and ideals of National Campus Safety Awareness Month.

The first weeks of college are an amazing time for young people in America. As a matter of fact, I was jokingly thinking to myself of a few years ago when I first entered. College represents the culmination of years of hard work by both students and their families.

For most, going to college is a student's first time away from home. Unfortunately, a time that should be full of joy and eager anticipation for college students is also a very dangerous time. This time has been dubbed the ``red zone'' by some because of the risk of becoming a victim of campus crime being so high.

Each year, over 600,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of crimes and accidents on college campuses. In addition, the cost of public and private property damage that results from campus crime is in the millions.

Sexual and physical assaults are particularly rampant on college campuses, placing females at greater risk. Nearly one-quarter of all female college students are victims of either attempted rape or rape during their college years. The majority of these assaults are committed by people those women know. Students are more likely to become victims of crimes or have accidents when alcohol is involved.

Security on Campus, Incorporated, is a national nonprofit organization that works to eliminate campus crime. The organization provides legal advice to victims of campus crime, works to secure campus improvements that reduce safety and security risks, and provides programs that help reduce the abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Fueled by a desire to help secure our Nation's college campuses and by the knowledge that the public is unaware of the scope of safety issues that exist on campuses, Security on Campus, Incorporated, declared September to be National Campus Safety Awareness Month. I support this action as a concerned citizen and as a parent. The need for safer environments in our Nation's colleges and universities is critical to the success of our youth.

Madam Speaker, I support H. Res. 15 because I feel that the issue of campus

safety is of national importance. I want to thank the gentleman from Tennessee for his introduction of this resolution and for his thoughtfulness in making us aware of this issue and raising the awareness around campus safety.

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

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

Madam Speaker, the cancer of the pancreas stands out as a highly lethal disease, with its victims facing the poorest likelihood of survival of all those who survive major malignancies. It accounts for only 2 percent of all newly diagnosed cancers in the United States each year, but 5 percent of all cancer deaths. It is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths.

Only 4 percent of patients survive beyond 5 years. Men have higher incidences and mortality rates of pancreatic cancer than women in each racial or ethnic group. Black men and women have incidences and mortality rates that are 50 percent higher than the rates of whites. Rates for Hispanics and the Asian American groups are generally lower than that of whites. Cigarette smoking has been identified consistently as an important part of the cause.

Most pancreatic cancers arise from the ductal cells of the pancreas. The pancreas, an organ situated deep in the abdominal cavity, serves several critical functions. It produces enzymes that are delivered to the small intestines to aid in the digestion of food, and it controls sugar levels in the body.

The disease is often far advanced by the time symptoms occur and a diagnosis made.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is dedicated to focusing national attention on the need to find a cure for pancreatic cancer. I support this resolution and Pan CAN's efforts to designate November as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

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

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

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the sponsor of this resolution, the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick).

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

Madam Speaker, basketball was invented in December 1891 by James Naismith at the YMCA's School for Christian Workers, now Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. Also, I guess it is also home to the Basketball Museum Hall of Fame and just a great place.

Within months, the game spread across the country through a network of YMCAs. Unfortunately, blacks were excluded from professional sports at that time, when leagues were established in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Unlike baseball, which had the Negro Leagues, basketball had no organized black leagues. Black players responded by participating in barnstorming teams. Barnstorming clubs crossed the country to play wherever a club, black or white, amateur or professional, could be found. Three of the most well-known black barnstorming teams of the 1930s were the New York Renaissance, the Harlem Globetrotters and the Philadelphia Tribunes.

Founded in 1923 by Bob Douglas, a British West Indies native, the New York Renaissance became one of the first dynasties in basketball. Named after the Harlem Renaissance Ballroom which served as the team's home court, the Rens played for 27 seasons and compiled a 2,588-539 record by playing each day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Due to the racial climate during the 1930s, the Rens faced discrimination away from home. While on the road, the Rens often were refused lodging and food. The team ate cold sandwiches and often slept on buses when excluded from hotels. In the Midwest, the team would use Chicago or Indianapolis as its base. The team would drive as far as 200 miles to play a game, drive back to Chicago or Indianapolis to sleep and do it all over again the next day.

Barnstorming was not limited to men's teams. There were two women's black teams, the Chicago Romas and the Philadelphia Tribunes.

Whether it was the Rens, the Chicago Romas or the famed Harlem Globetrotters, they were competitive and dedicated to the sport despite the discrimination they faced.

I also would urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I, too, would join the gentlewoman from Detroit in acknowledging the prowess of the Detroit Pistons in terms of winning their championship and being the runner-up. But of course, they have never really been a match for the Chicago Bulls, who reside in my district, the Seventh District of Illinois.

But not only are the Bulls there, but the Reinsdorfs, who own the Bulls, are great civic and community leaders, being involved in activities that stretch from education to community development to providing atmosphere and environment. My district has also been a prolific developer of NBA stars, people like Mark Aguirre, Isaiah Thomas, Doc Rivers, Randy Brown, who my wife taught in high school at the George W. Collins High School, Michael Findley, Mickey Johnson, Kevin Garnett, who came from the Farragut high school where I used to teach, Tim Hardaway, Terry Cummings, Dwayne Wade, just to name a few.

And so, basketball has indeed been a godsend for many young athletes, allowing them to not only get a good education as a result of their athletic prowess, but also to become mainstays in a professional environment where they could earn a livelihood.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

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

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

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

Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 3439, legislation naming a postal facility in Smithfield, North Carolina, after Ava Gardner, an illustrious actress often remembered as the most beautiful in Hollywood history. This measure, which was introduced by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) on July 26, 2005, and unanimously reported by our committee on September 15, 2005, enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the entire North Carolina delegation.

Ava Lavinia Gardner was born in the small town of Grabtown, North Carolina, as the youngest of seven children. Ava Gardner's film career began at the age of 18 when an MGM agent saw her photograph in the window of her brother-in-law's New York City photograph studio. Her prolific film career includes roles in Mogambo (1953), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress; The Barefoot Contessa (1954); The Sun Also Rises (1957); On the Beach, (1959); The Night of the Iguana (1964), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; and Regina Roma (1982).

Ava Gardner was married to three legendary Hollywood actors, including Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra. She died in London on January 25, 1990, of pneumonia at the age of 67 and was buried in Smithfield, North Carolina, in the Gardner family plot near the Ava Gardner Museum.

Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague for speaking to honor Ava Gardner, who rose from humble roots to become one of the most famous actresses in film history.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3864, which provides needed assistance to individuals with disabilities who are affected by the recent hurricanes. The bill requires the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration to give preference to States affected by Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita with respect to the re-allotment of funds for vocational rehabilitation services. This provision is a necessary step in channeling monies to enable individuals with disabilities affected by either hurricane to participate in reconstruction or other major disaster assistance activities.

A strength of this legislation is that it permits affected States to use these re-alloted funds to pay for vital vocational rehabilitation services. This includes important activities such as training, mentoring, or job shadowing that contribute to the economic growth and development of communities. H.R. 3864 also grants needed flexibility to the States in providing the vocational services to individuals with disabilities by allowing the Commissioner to waive a state's matching requirement for funds from non-Federal sources.

These proposals will help the affected States as well as individuals with disabilities. The affected States will not have to draw upon their already depleted funds to pay for these critical services, and individuals with disabilities will be able to participate in the rebuilding of their towns and cities, which in turn will gain from the valuable services that individuals with disabilities can provide.

In my district I have seen the amazing work that disabled individuals are capable of. The Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind employs blind individuals to build clocks for the Federal Government. I am glad to support a bill that recognizes and encourages the contributions of this population.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Barbara T. Bowman, who tonight will receive the prestigious Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. Professor Bowman is co-founder and former president of Erikson Institute, and currently serves as chief officer of the Chicago Public Schools' Office of Early Childhood Education.

Along with Professor Bowman, Sharon Lynn Kagan and Ellen Moir are being honored during an awards ceremony at the New York Public Library. They have been chosen to receive the prestigious 18th annual award for their work in early childhood education and teacher professional development. They have brought academic innovation, as well as a tireless focus in preparing students and teachers for success.

Professor Bowman is a lifelong proponent of higher education for those who teach and care for young children, and a pioneer in building knowledge and understanding of the issues of access and equity for minority children. She co-founded Erikson Institute in 1966 to educate preschool teachers to work with children from low-income families in the Head Start program. Today, largely because of Bowman's leadership, Erikson's educational programs reach more than 2,500 students and, through them, hundreds of thousands of children.

Professor Bowman and her husband are residents of the Hyde Park Community in Chicago, and they are well known for their community, civic, and political activities. They represent the best of citizenship and what it means to live in a free and democratic society.

I salute Professor Bowman and the other honorees for their outstanding contributions to education. These individuals have dedicated themselves to improving education in this country and their accomplishments continue to make a difference today.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I know that there are many people who believe that good teachers are good teachers and wherever good teaching takes place learning will also occur. And I believe that teaching is the most noble of all professions that exists on the face of the Earth, because when you teach, you bind yourself to someone else and they often bond and bind themselves to you and a transference of learning often takes place that way.

My amendment addresses the fact that there are so few African American and Latino males teaching Head Start and we need to do something about that. My amendment instructs the Secretary of HHS to develop a recruitment and training program to help get rid of this absence of male African American and Latino teachers.

I have observed that many African American and Latino boys go through all of elementary school never having access to a male black or Latino teacher. As a result of that, many of them grow up with the idea that education is not for them, that it is a female thing, that it is a woman thing, that it is a girl thing. And they drop out at third and fourth grades because psychologically and emotionally and experientially they have decided that this is not the way to go.

This amendment need not cost a great deal of money at its onset; but it will, in fact, prevent a rise in drop-out rates. It will, in fact, prevent many of the ills and social problems that we encounter today as a result of the high number of boys who drop out of school.

I would urge support for this amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume time to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey).

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for supporting this amendment. We

have had a very good process I think in the Committee on Education and the Workforce in moving toward the reauthorization of Head Start. It is a good group of people to work with. It is a committee that I enjoy working with.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of the America's most outstanding citizens, the late Mr. John H. Johnson, founder and chief executive officer of the Johnson Publishing Company, who died August 8 of heart failure at the age of 87.

Mr. Johnson was recognized and renowned as an emblem of the American dream, an embodiment of the civil rights movement, and a revolutionary businessman.

Given the breadth and impressiveness of his contributions to American society and to African American culture, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation will honor him later this week with its Phoenix Award.

He was perhaps best known for launching the twin publications Ebony and Jet magazines. These sister magazines were started by Mr. Johnson specifically to engage the African American community. He also published numerous books, owned Fashion Fair Cosmetics and several radio stations, as well as held a majority ownership stake in Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company. Mr. Johnson earned tremendous influence and success in his lifetime, but by no means were any of his accomplishments given to him.

He was born a child of meager means, but left this earth as one of America's wealthiest businessmen. Mr. Johnson personified the idea that hard work and determination can lead to success. He simply refused to accept anything less.

Born January 19, 1918, in Arkansas City, Arkansas, Mr. Johnson was raised by his widowed mother. She moved the two of them to Chicago in 1933 after saving her money over several years so that he could have the chance to go to high school, as his own hometown offered no education for blacks beyond primary grades.

After thriving in high school as the class president and student council president, an honor student, and the newspaper and yearbook editor, Mr. Johnson won a scholarship to the University of Chicago. He took classes at night while working as an office boy at the Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company where he was in charge of compiling stories about the black community and sending them to the president of the company.

It was while working in this position that Mr. Johnson realized that there were no magazines or publications specifically designed for America's black population. This inspired him to create his own magazine, the Negro Digest. Started in 1942, with only $500 from a loan secured with the assistance of his mother, the magazine began to draw followings when Mr. Johnson sent out letters asking for donations to fund its publication. Three thousand people donated $2 each, and within a year the magazine was selling 50,000 copies a month.

In November of 1945, Negro Digest evolved into Ebony, a magazine modeled after Life magazine. Ebony focused on successes and achievements within the black community. Today, this magazine reaches about 42 percent of all African American adults, with a paid circulation of about $1.7 million. Mr. Johnson also founded Jet, another highly successful magazine aimed at the black community.

Mr. Johnson also sought to publish with a conscience. He published the highly controversial photographs of the open casket of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Chicago boy who had been beaten to death by white men in Mississippi. While the images were thoroughly disturbing, Mr. Johnson felt that they simply needed to be published and seen by the public. ``I decided finally that if it happened, it was our responsibility to print it and let the world experience man's inhumanity to man,'' he said.

A philanthropist, Mr. Johnson donated to many worthy causes, including a gift of $4 million to historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C. The university would thank Mr. Johnson by later renaming its school of communications in his honor.

Although Mr. Johnson attended the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, he never completed a degree. However, during his lifetime he received honorary degrees from 31 schools, including Harvard, Howard, and Northwestern universities.

In 1982, Mr. Johnson had the honor of being the first African American to be included in Forbes Magazine's list of ``The 400 Richest Americans.'' His 1989 autobiography ``Succeeding Against the Odds,'' was a national best-seller.

Indeed, Mr. Johnson's initial loan of $500 for his first magazine, he would later grow and develop that initial investment into an empire worth close to half a billion dollars.

We owe Mr. John H. Johnson a great debt of gratitude. His name may not have been known to every household in America, but his 60-year-old publications have had an important and unmistakable impact on American history and culture. His legacy has touched countless African Americans, including myself, and his inspiration and example will continue to be felt for generations of blacks to come.

Both his wife, Miss Eunice Johnson, and daughter were his business partners, and his daughter, Miss Linda Johnson Rice, has succeeded him as chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson Publishing Company. A great man, a great humanitarian.

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

Mr. Speaker, Hurricane Katrina first made landfall on August 25, 2005, on the southeastern tip of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane. Hurricane Katrina then moved into the Gulf of Mexico and steadily made her way towards the Gulf Coast, intensifying to a Category 5 storm.

On August 29, 2005, the hurricane was a Category 4 storm which sustained winds of 140 miles per hour and a storm surge over 20 feet when she devastated the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Katrina swept along the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. Two of the levees that protect the city of New Orleans from the waters of Lake Pontchartrain gave way under the enormous pressure of the flood waters that Katrina left behind.

Overnight, much of the city of New Orleans was filled with water. Many residents of the Crescent City, who had thought the worst was over, were confronted by nearly 25 feet of water in the streets and in their homes.

One of the worst natural disasters in United States history, Hurricane Katrina has resulted in economic losses that include property damage to homes, cars, ports, refineries, and public property. It is estimated that Hurricane Katrina has cost at least $125 billion in economic damage and could cost the insurance industry up to $60 billion in claims. No dollar figure, however, can be placed on the pain and suffering Katrina has wrought on those who stood in her path.

The American people and the international community have responded overwhelmingly to this tragedy. They are donating money, lending their time, sharing expertise, making many innumerable sacrifices of their own in order to be helpful.

On August 31, 2005, Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a day of prayer in Louisiana and asked that all Louisianans pray for the victims and their rescuers that day. On September 16, 2005, the National Day of Prayer will be observed in recognition of the many lives lost and the countless lives forever changed by Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Speaker, I am so proud of the way in which my own State, the Land of Lincoln, the State of Illinois, reacted to this tragedy. I take this opportunity to commend the Governor for opening the doors of the State, the county board president for extending physicians and nurses and other personnel to the affected areas, to the mayor of our city and especially to the people of my congressional district and all over the country who have given continuously in order to show that they, too, experienced the same devastation and that their hearts, their minds and their resources go out to the victims.

I would urge all of us to support a day of prayer.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kansas City, Missouri (Mr. Cleaver).

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

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

Let me just state that I agree wholeheartedly with the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) that prayer is the highest form of human communication; that it has a way of making things different. So I would simply urge passage of this resolution and thank him for its introduction.

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