Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) for introducing this important resolution. Cancer of the pancreas stands out as a highly lethal disease, with its victims facing the poorest of all likelihood of survival among all of those surviving 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 fifth leading cause of cancer- related mortality in the United States, with an estimated 30,300 deaths attributed to this disease in 2002.

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. This disease is often far advanced by the time symptoms occur and a diagnosis established. As indicated by 5-year survival rates of less than 5 percent, successful treatment is rare.

Men have a higher incidence in mortality rate of pancreatic cancer than women in each racial and ethnic group. Black men and women have incidences and mortality rates that are 50 percent higher than the rates for non-blacks or for Caucasians in this country. Rates for Hispanics and the Asian American groups are generally lower than that of whites.

Cigarette smoking has been identified consistently as an important risk factor for cancer of the pancreas. Other risk factors which have been suggested but not confirmed include coffee drinking and high fat diets.

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

Again, I commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania for introducing this resolution, urge its swift adoption.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week. With the Census Bureau reporting yesterday that the number of people without health insurance shot up last year by 2.4 million, the largest increase in a decade, raising the total to 43.6 million, showing there is no hiding that our Nation is facing a health crisis. The reason behind this remarkable increase has been blamed on soaring health costs and many workers losing coverage provided by their employers. Although it is usually a misconception that those who are uninsured are also unemployed, the number of full-time workers without health insurance rose by 897,000 last year, to 19.9 million. Among people living in poverty, 49 percent of those worked full-time were uninsured. Beside a lack of information and education about mental illness, being uninsured plays a significant role on whether an individual reaches out for help or even receives treatment.

In our Nation, one percent of the population has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, one percent has been diagnosed with manic depression and between 5-10 percent of Americans will experience at least one episode of major depression. This gives us a base number of about 14-24 million individuals. If you add in the millions who suffer with panic attacks or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and include the more than four million who suffer with dementing illnesses, such as Alzheimer's Disease. Then if we include substance abuse and other addictive disorders, we reach a number that includes a quarter to a third of the American public who suffers with some form

of mental illness. During any one year period, up to 50 million Americans, more than 22 percent, will suffer from a clearly diagnosable mental disorder. These numbers demonstrate the need for mental health care and coverage. Yet, instead, services are disappearing and many, specifically minorities, are backing away from the services that still remain.

Minorities in America face severe economic, cultural, linguistic and physical barriers for treatment of mental illness. According to a report from the U.S. Public Health Service, these difficulties prevent thousands from being properly treated. The study explains that minorities are no more likely than whites to suffer from mental illnesses. However factors often keep African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Asian Americans from getting the help they need and when they do, the treatment may be substandard or too late.

For Asian Americans, studies have shown that they underutilize mental health services much more than other populations. The National Research Center found that Asians were underrepresented in the outpatient system, and they were more likely than African Americans, Whites, and Hispanics to have psychotic disorders. Although overall rates of mental illness among Hispanics roughly equal that of whites, young Hispanics have higher rates of depression, anxiety disorders, and suicide. The study also found that Hispanics born in the United States are more likely to suffer from mental illness than those born in Mexico or living in Puerto Rico. With African Americans being overrepresented in populations at high risk for developing mental illness--namely, the homeless, prisoners and children in foster care--the need for mental health treatment is generally higher. All three of these particular cultures have stigmas attached to mental illness along with social battles preventing treatment from being obtained. Even research on the mental health of minorities is sparse considering it was only in 1994 when the National Institute of Health started to require that its funded studies include minorities and that studies indicate a subject's race.

The research that does exist is startling. About 25% of African Americans do not have health insurance and many who do are more likely to receive care from a primary health provider rather than a mental health specialist or end up in the emergency room looking for help. As I mentioned, African Americans are over-represented in high-need populations that are particularly at risk for mental illnesses. One population group is the homeless, of which African Americans make up about 40% of the homeless population. Another is the prison population that is comprised of nearly half of all prisoners in State and Federal jurisdictions and almost 40% of juveniles in legal custody are African American. African American children and youth constitute about 45% of children in public foster care and more than half are waiting to be adopted. African Americans are also more likely to be victims of serious violent crime. One study reported that over 25% of African American youth exposed to violence met diagnostic criteria for post- traumatic stress disorder. When compared to whites who exhibit the same symptoms, African Americans tend to be diagnosed more frequently with schizophrenia and less frequently with affective disorders. In addition, one study found that 27% of blacks compared to 44% of whites receive antidepressant medication. Moreover, the newer SSRI medications that have fewer side effects are prescribed less often to African Americans than to whites. And while the rate of bipolar disorder is the same among African Americans as it is among other Americans, African Americans are less likely to receive a diagnosis and, therefore, treatment for this illness.

One of the high-risk populations that overly effect the African American population, the prison population, is of an extreme concern of mine. This year an estimated 600,000 exoffenders will be reentering communities across the nation. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, about 283,000 people who are incarcerated on any given day in the United States are known to have a mental illness, with almost 550,000 others on probation. The rate of mental illness in the jailed population is four times greater than that in the general population. The Cook County Jail in Chicago has become, by default, the largest psychiatric facility in the state of Illinois. At least 10% of the Facility's 10,000 detainees are on psychiatric medications. Because the jail is overcrowded, prisoners must be released every day, whether they are ready or not, to make room for new arrivals. Unfortunately, our prison system's purpose is social control, not treatment. This means most of the detainees who have a mental illness are released with just a prescription and the address of a mental health facility and receive very little follow-up.

Mr. Speaker, we have made much progress in mental health awareness-- we are talking about it today, which would have been unheard of 15 years ago. But we have so much to do. In our recent budget crisis, states are cutting mental health funding first and not realizing the cost it will be on our society later. Education and breaking down misconceptions that many cultures face need to be improved. We need to ensure that our citizens are receiving the help they need by providing equal mental health services to all.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Indiana (Chairman Souder) and the gentleman from Maryland (Ranking Member Cummings) for the tremendous amount of work that has gone into the development of this legislation. In addition to that, I want to commend them for the overall work that has been done on this issue. We have attended hearings in many places throughout the country, well attended, as an indication of the tremendous amount of interest that people have in one of the most pernicious issues facing our society.

Out of respect for the bipartisan efforts that have taken place to try and reach agreement, I am very pleased that this legislation is on the floor. I am in agreement with those who suggest that not enough emphasis, though, is placed upon treatment. While all of the components of trying to wrestle with the drug problem are necessary and essential and while they must be balanced, I, for one, believe that we need to place more emphasis and put more resources into treatment for those individuals who are, in fact, addicted. As a matter of fact, I am a proponent of what I call treatment on demand. That is, whenever a person who is addicted presents himself or herself seeking treatment, they ought to be able to receive it.

I am also concerned that in this country, while it is not necessarily a part of this legislation or covered in this bill, that there are individuals who are denied the opportunity to receive a Pell grant to go to college because they have been convicted of a drug offense. While that may seem rational and logical and wholesome and healthy and good because there are never enough resources to go around for everybody in our country to receive what they need, I think there are some situations where, rather than aiding the situation and helping it to change, that we actually retard the growth and development of individuals. Or the fact that there are individuals who, when convicted of drug offenses, can be denied food stamps. While, again, that does not diminish in any way the work that this subcommittee has done or the work that the full committee has done, those are realities of our society and realities of our times and issues that I think must be addressed.

Notwithstanding that, I commend the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Davis), the gentleman from California (Ranking Member Waxman) and, again, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for the work that they have done.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have never really been a Yankee fan. As a matter of fact, I grew up as a Dodger fan; and, of course, the Yankees generally got the best of that competition. But over the past 100 years, the New York Yankees have spun memorable personalities and indelible moments.

The Yankees franchise is defined by team success and excellence. New York has won an American League pennant and appeared in a World Series in every decade since the 1920s, however, that was not always the case.

The Yankee franchise formed in 1901 in Baltimore, Maryland as the Baltimore Orioles. They played their first game on April 26, 1902 in Oriole Park.

In 1903, the franchise moved to New York and was renamed the New York Highlanders. From 1905 to 1919, the club was a regular inhabitant of the second division, seldom posted a winning record and lost 100-plus games twice. In 1913, they were renamed the New York Yankees. In 1923, they moved in to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.

After spending their first 18 seasons, a cumulative 41 games, under the .55 percent, the Yankees swaggered into the Nation's consciousness with their first American League pennant in 1921. The legendary Yankee dynasty of the 1920s and 1930s won 11 pennants and eight World Series championships with players such as outfielders Babe Ruth, Earle Combs, and Joe DiMaggio; first baseman Lou Gehrig; infielder Tony Lazzeri; pitcher Waite Hoyt.

From 1941 to 1947, New York continued its success, winning four pennants and three World Series titles.

Manager Casey Stengel guided the Yankees from 1948 through the 1960s, the team's most overpowering era. During this period, the club won 10 American League pennants and seven World Series championships, including five straight championships from 1949 to 1953, a major league record. The teams Stengel managed featured Joe DiMaggio, catcher Yogi Berra, pitcher Whitey Ford, and outfielders Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. The Yankee dynasty continued through the early 1960s as the team won the American League pennant from 1961 to 1964 and World Series crowns in 1961 and 1962.

The next period of greatness came in the 1970s, after businessman George Steinbrenner bought the franchise and hired former Yankee Billy Martin as manager. Led by outfielder Reggie Jackson, the Yankees won three straight pennants from 1976 through 1978, going on to win the World Series in 1977 and 1978. The Yankees won another American League pennant in 1981. After a relative dry spell, the franchise returned to dominance in the late 1990s, winning the World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000.

Yes, the Yankees are indeed the pride of millions of New Yorkers and millions of Americans who love the game of baseball, the great American pastime. I commend and congratulate them.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), a tremendous Yankee fan and the author of this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) control the rest of the time for this side.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Tennessee for his introduction of this legislation. Though the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) could not be here, I, too, grew up in Arkansas; and I grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry. I grew up as a tremendous fan of country music, but I grew up more of a fan of the gentleman that we revere and discuss today. Because of his ``Folsom Prison Blues,'' as a matter of fact, the fact that here was a gentleman who did, in fact, represent the downtrodden but who took his music into the prisons; and as a result of the ``Folsom Prison Blues,'' it caused people to begin to look at prisons and life in prison in a different way. As a matter of fact, right now, there are more than 2 million people who are incarcerated in this country, almost 1 million of them coming home each year.

Johnny Cash means more than just the music. He means part of a tradition in our country. I think I may not have 70 of those albums, but I must have at least 15 or 20, and whenever I want to really connect, I just sit back and listen. So Johnny has made a tremendous impact on the history and development of culture in our country.

Again, I commend the gentleman from Tennessee for the introduction of this legislation, I urge its swift passage, celebrating the life and legacy of Johnny Cash.

Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. This inherited, debilitating blood disorder affects more than 2.5 million Americans, most of them of African heritage. In fact, it is the most common genetic disease in the United States. In my home State of Illinois, there are more than 3,000 African Americans who live with sickle cell disease every day.

Many adults with SCD have severe physical problems, such as acute lung complications, that may result in death. Moreover, there is an estimated 70,000 or more Americans who have SCD.

The average lifespan for an adult with sickle cell disease is the mid-40s. With proper treatment, many people with sickle cell anemia can lead productive lives and enjoy reasonably good health into their 40s and beyond.

Sickle cell anemia can lead to a host of complications, including stroke, acute chest syndrome, organ damage, blindness and ulcers appearing on the lower legs. Sickle cells can also block blood vessels, which nourish the skin, causing cells to die.

There are a number of treatments and prescriptions designed for this disorder, causing a 40 percent reduction in death. While bone marrow transplantation is a curative therapy for SCD, this therapy is used in only a minority of patients, predominantly because of the high risk of the procedure and difficulty in finding suitable donors. This surgery is painful, yet also traumatic.

Unfortunately, this procedure is expensive. Many insurance carriers do not cover this expense; and sadly to say, many African Americans are less likely to donate bone marrow.

Sickle cell patients and their families may need help in handling the economic and psychological stresses of coping with this serious chronic disease. Sickle cell centers and clinics can provide information and counseling on how to handle these problems.

People who are planning to become parents should know whether they are carriers of the sickle cell gene; and if they are, they may want to seek genetic counseling. The counselor can tell prospective parents what the chances are that their child will have the sickle cell trait or sickle cell anemia.

There is no cure for sickle cell disease. However, H.R. 1736, the Sickle Cell Treatment Act of 2003, which I introduced along with the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), moves us closer to a cure and improves the quality of life for those living with the disease. H.R. 1736 provides funding for sickle cell disease and related services, making it easier for doctors to treat SCD patients by increasing the availability of physician and laboratory services that are not currently reimbursed or under-reimbursed by Medicaid.

In addition, the bill creates 40 sickle cell disease treatment centers through a $10 million grant program for 5 years. Another key component of the bill is that it allows States to receive a fifty-fifty funding match for nonmedical expenses related to sickle cell disease treatment, such as genetic counseling, community outreach, education and other services. In addition, H.R. 1736 creates a national coordinating center, operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to oversee the SCD funding and research conducted at hospitals, universities and community-based organizations in a coordinated effort to educate patients and help find a cure for the disease.

This legislation is about improving patient care and putting patients first. I hope that as we celebrate Sickle Cell awareness Month that we will also find a cure for this terrible disease. I urge support for

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

H.R. 2826 would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1000 Avenida Sanchez Osorio in Carolina, Puerto Rico, as the Roberto Clemente Walker Post Office Building. As a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in the consideration of H.R. 2826, which designates a U.S. postal facility in Puerto Rico after Roberto Clemente Walker. H.R. 2826 was introduced by the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Acevedo-Vila) on July 23, 2003.

Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico, in 1934. A top athlete from his early years where he excelled in track and field, he went on to play amateur baseball in Puerto Rico. From there he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, playing for the Montreal Royals. He later joined the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team as the number one draft pick in 1954. He played 18 years, his entire major league career, with the Pirates.

During his career with the Pirates, Roberto Clemente played in two World Series, he was the National League batting champion four times, was awarded 12 Gold Gloves, and selected National League Most Valuable Player. Roberto Clemente Walker could do it all, and he did.

He was also a very caring man. He was the father of three sons, Roberto, Jr.; Luis Roberto; and Roberto Enrique, and the husband of Vera Cristina Zabala. Sadly, he died in a plane crash in 1972 delivering food, clothes, and medical supplies to an earthquake- stricken Nicaragua.

Mr. Speaker, while we often honor athletes for their great athletic ability, for the number of home runs that they hit, for how fast they can run, how well they can catch, how many touchdowns they may have thrown or how many they may have caught, Roberto Clemente died demonstrating that when you give of yourself, when you give of yourself for others, that is when you truly give. That is really what makes you great. Roberto Clemente died proving that if he could help somebody as he passed along, if he could cheer somebody with a word of song, if he could give his life for the benefit of others, that is the real stuff that heroes are made of. That is really what made Roberto Clemente the hero that we all know him to be.

I commend my colleague for seeking to honor this great American, this great humanitarian, this great man. I urge passage of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Acevedo-Vila), the author of this legislation.

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

Again, I would like to commend the gentleman from Puerto Rico for introducing this legislation. In my community, there is a Roberto Clemente High School that we revere as one of the great institutions in the city of Chicago. I certainly would urge passage of this legislation naming a post office for a tremendous athlete, but more than that for a great humanitarian and a great citizen.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join with my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 2533, which designates a U.S. postal facility in Savannah, Georgia after J.C. Lewis, Jr. H.R. 2533 was introduced by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) on June 19, 2003. Mr. Lewis, the former mayor of Savannah, Georgia, serves on many charitable and community-oriented boards. A given and committed man, he financed the building site for the Savannah Baptist Center, which serves as a recreational and education center in town. He is best known for his work with Union Mission to end homelessness in Savannah. He purchased and donated the Union Mission's main office building and helped to renovate the facility so that needed and necessary health care services could be provided to those in dire straits. Mr. Lewis is currently the honorary chair of Union Mission's capital campaign.

Mr. Speaker, oftentimes individuals are involved and help raise money and generate money, not always do they give as much of their own money as Mr. Lewis seemingly does. So, Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) for seeking to honor such an individual, and I urge swift passage of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, America is indeed a land blessed with many treasures and foremost among them are people. Some countries, for example, such as Japan, have formal programs to honor citizens which they classify as ``national treasures.'' We have no such formal program, but I take this opportunity to acknowledge such an individual.

This evening I want to highlight one of America's great national treasures who lives in my district, John H. Johnson.

John H. Johnson was born, a descendant of slaves, to extremely modest circumstances in Arkansas City, Arkansas, in 1918. John's father died when he was very young. His mother, Gertrude Johnson Williams, worked as a domestic and levee cook.

It was a time when Jim Crow law defined life in the South. Arkansas schools did not permit African Americans admittance to high school and, under normal conditions of the day, John Johnson's education would have ended with the eighth grade. However, Gertrude Johnson would not accept normal circumstances, and moved with her family to Chicago in 1933.

John enrolled at DuSable High School and became an honor student, class president, student council president and editor of the school newspaper and the yearbook. He taught himself public speaking by standing in front of a mirror at home. Among his classmates at DuSable were Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx and William Abernathy.

He won a scholarship to attend the University of Chicago at night while working for the Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company, owned by African American businessman Harry Pace. His job at Supreme Liberty came as a result of his public speaking talent after Pace heard him speak at an Urban League event.

One of his tasks at Supreme was the collection and organization of news of the African American community into a weekly digest. The black press of the day, such as the Chicago Defender and the Pittsburgh Courier, was a kind of national nerve system, transmitting information to every corner of every community where African Americans lived.

John appreciated the value of the news he was collecting and, in 1942, he launched his first magazine, Negro Digest. The $500 he used as seed money for his new venture came from his mother, who pawned their furniture. The first issue sold 3,000 copies. Within one year, circulation hit 50,000.

By 1945, he launched his second magazine, Ebony, which highlighted the achievements of African Americans. Six years later he began publishing a news magazine of African American politics, entertainment, business and sports: Jet.

Today, Johnson Publishing is headquartered in an 11-story building, located at 820 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago's Loop. The last time I looked, Johnson Publishing had annual revenues of some $425 million and more than 2,000 employees. Ebony now has a readership of more than 11 million, and Jet enjoys a readership in excess of eight million. Together, it is estimated these periodicals are read in half the black households in America.

Today the book division of Johnson Publishing is home to such authors as

Lerone Bennett, Jr. and to such publishing standards as the New Ebony Cookbook. For those who would like to know more about the life and work of John H. Johnson, they also published his autobiography, Succeeding Against the Odds.

The Johnson Publishing empire also encompasses Fashion Fair Cosmetics and Supreme Beauty Products, headed by Mrs. Eunice Johnson. The Ebony Fashion Fair is the world's largest traveling fashion show and raises money for scholarships and charities in the United States and Canada.

John H. Johnson has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Spingarn Medal, the Horatio Alger Award, the USC Journalism Alumni Association Distinguished Achievement Award, the Black Journalists' Lifetime Achievement Award and countless other awards and recognitions.

Awards are nice, but I suspect that Mr. Johnson takes the greatest pleasure in watching as his daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, joins him in managing Johnson Publishing as its president and chief operating officer.

Mr. Speaker, John H. Johnson's dream has profoundly influenced America and its people. We are all impacted for the better by his vision and his implementation of that first of our great freedoms, the freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

On September 26, Howard University will be holding its 136th opening convocation and will celebrate the accomplishments of communications pioneer John H. Johnson. In January, Mr. Johnson made a $4 million contribution to the School of Communication at Howard, which will be renamed in his honor. Mr. Johnson, a firm believer in education, is a great contributor to the United Negro College Fund and many other charities.

Mr. Speaker, John H. Johnson may truly be said to be one of America's greatest living treasures. I congratulate him and his family for their contributions to America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in honor of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

HBCUs are indeed special to me, since it was when I was 16 years old that I left home to attend the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, which was AM&N College at that time. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff ended up being very significant to my entire family. As time went on, my six brothers and sisters also attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, as well as nieces and nephews and a number of cousins. When I look around my office, there are a number of individuals who have attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities, such as Wilberforce, UAPB, Morehouse, Howard, and Jackson State. The reality is that for thousands and thousands of individuals, without these institutions being available, well equipped, ready, and prepared, many of the individuals who have managed to rise above the individuality of their circumstances would have never been able to do so.

Before the Civil War, higher education for black students was virtually non-existent, except for a minor few like Frederick Douglass, who did receive schooling but often in hostile, informal settings or were forced to teach themselves. But as Frederick Douglass said, ``If there is no struggle, there is no progress.'' And progress was made. The Morrill Land-Grant Act gave federal lands to the States for the purposes of opening colleges and universities and with great success many institutions were created. However, only a few were open to African Americans. In 1890, 28 years later, this issue was addressed and the second Morrill Land-Grant Act was passed and specified that states must either make their schools open to both blacks and whites or allocate money for segregated black colleges to serve as an alternative to white schools. A total of 16 exclusively black institutions received 1890 land-grant funds.

Today, there are 103 black colleges, recognized by the Department of Education, because they were founded before 1964. Today, there are about 270,000 students attending black colleges and universities and thousands of students graduating annually from black colleges. The Historically Black Colleges and Universities have produced 35 percent of all black lawyers, 50 percent of all black engineers and 65 percent of all black physicians. No school sends more blacks to medical school than New Orleans' Xavier University, and, while HBCUs constitute only 3 percent of the country's institutions of higher education, 28 percent of all blacks who receive bachelor's degrees earn them from black institutions.

As it is evident by the number of African Americans who receive a degree from one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, these institutions also play an important role in the communities which they serve. Black Colleges are the social, economic and political beacon within the communities in which they are located. For instance, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has a bell tower on the campus, which is the tallest structure in that area. It stands as a symbol of educational opportunity and hope for the African Americans growing up around the University, in that area. HBCUs are necessary, not just for young African Americans, not just for the communities where they are, but also because they are an incredibly important part of American history. During the next few weeks as the Committee on Education and the Workforce address the issue of Higher Education as we reauthorize the Higher Education Act, I shall endeavor to ensure that the Historically Black Colleges and Universities are not forgotten and receive the attention they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, education is the great equalizer, and, in the last few decades, having a college degree has been more than important to finding a job with a livable wage and reasonable benefits. HBCUs have made it possible for thousands of African Americans, including myself, to grasp and take part in seeking the American dream.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with the gentlewoman from Tennessee in consideration of H. Con. Res. 235, celebrating the life and achievements of Lawrence Eugene ``Larry'' Doby.

Mr. Speaker, Larry Doby, who broke the color barrier in the American League in 1947, 3 months after Jackie Robinson became the first black in modern major league baseball, died on Wednesday, June 18 in Montclair, New Jersey. He was 79 years old.

Born on December 13, 1923 in Camden, South Carolina, Larry Doby was also the first player to jump straight from the Negro leagues to the majors. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck. He later integrated Japanese baseball in 1962 and went on to become the sport's second black manager and one of its first black executives.

However, it was in his role as the second black player in baseball that Larry Doby had his most significant impact on professional athletics. Larry Doby was an all-State athlete in football, basketball, and baseball in high school. He then continued his athletic career at Long Island University. When Bill Veeck, who was determined to integrate his team, sought to sign a black player, Larry Doby was his obvious choice. He had led the Negro National League with a batting average of .458 and 13 home runs.

Like Jackie Robinson, Doby faced extraordinary pressures that first season, including open hostility from teammates and opposing players. Larry Doby and Jackie Robinson formed a close relationship through their lifetimes. Doby's debut opened the way for three more blacks to enter the majors within a month, and made it clear that baseball was on a permanent course toward integration. His presence as a player for the Indians also contributed to the more general cause of civil rights for blacks when Washington's exclusive Hotel Statler, formerly whites-only, permitted Larry Doby to room with his team.

In 1948, he batted an impressive .301 with 14 home runs and 65 runs batted in. He led the Indians to a victory over the Boston Braves in the World Series, becoming the first black to play on a World Series championship team. He later led the American League in home runs in 1952 and again in 1954. When he retired after 13 seasons with the Indians, White Sox, and Detroit Tigers, he had a formidable career batting average of .285 and 253 lifetime home runs. For his achievements, he was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1998.

Doby became the Indian's manager in 1978 and later became a special assistant to Dr. Gene Budig, the President of the American League. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, when blacks were welcome on the baseball field and in the stands but not in the front office, Larry Doby continued to push for expanded opportunities for people of color.

Lawrence Eugene Doby was a great American and his life and achievements make him worthy of this recognition today. I would like to commend the sponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), and I urge swift passage.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from Paterson, New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), where Larry Doby played much of his ball.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank everybody who

participated in this debate. Larry Doby was indeed a great athlete but an even greater American.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the march on Washington, August 28, 1963 marks a cornerstone in American history and especially in African American history. It was a movement towards civil rights whose purpose was to embrace freedom and justice for all.

The civil rights movement has had a long and difficult journey from slavery to today. Part of this journey in history towards equal justice is highlighted with Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President of the United States. On January 1, 1863, he signed the Emancipation Proclamation document that declared many slaves to be free, but it did not end slavery. It took the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution to end slavery on December 18, 1865. It took the 14th amendment to establish Negroes as citizens of the United States on July 9, 1868, and the 15th amendment to allow blacks to vote in this country on February 3, 1870.

Our citizenship and privileges were always questioned and in most situations denied until the march on Washington led to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was 39 years ago that Jim Crow laws were subjugating and denying blacks the right to vote in certain southern States, the imposition of poll taxes, segregation of schools, housing, bus and train transportation, restrooms and other public accommodations.

The march on Washington of 1963 was originally initiated by A. Philip Randolph, who was an activist and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He, 22 years earlier, had planned a march on Washington in 1941 with the purpose to focus the attention of the American public and the world that African Americans needed more jobs and equal protection under the law.

This march was extremely close to occurring until just before the day of it. Mr. Randolph met with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and he agreed to issue an executive order declaring that ``there shall be no discrimination in employment of the race, creed color or national origin.''

Executive Order 8802 represented the United States Government's most stringent civil rights action since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.

In return for this agreement with President Roosevelt, Mr. Randolph called off the protest march.

Mr. Randolph and his colleague, Bayard Rustin, met with labor and civil rights leaders to plan the march on Washington that included nine demands. I think it is important that we remember those.

One, passage of a meaningful civil rights legislation at this session of Congress with no filibustering.

Two, immediate elimination of all racial segregation in public schools throughout the Nation.

Three, a big program of public works to provide jobs for all the Nation's unemployed, including job training and a placement program.

Four, a Federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in hiring workmen, either public or private.

Five, $2 an hour minimum wage across the board Nationwide.

Six, withholding of Federal funds from programs in which discrimination exists.

Seven, enforcements of the 14th amendment, reducing congressional representation of States where citizens are disenfranchised.

Eight, a broadened Fair Labor Standards Act to include currently excluded employment areas.

Nine, authority for the Attorney General to substitute injunctive suits when any constitutional right is violated.

Mr. Speaker I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), the sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) who has been referred to as one of the ``big six'' in 1963, but he is even bigger in 2003.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), another person who was at that march and has been marching since.

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

Mr. Speaker, I know that the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson- Lee) had all intended to be here to make comments on this resolution. Unfortunately, they were not able to make it, but I wanted to make sure that their hopes and aspirations were entered into the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) for an opportunity to work with her as we brought this resolution to the floor. As has been indicated, September of this year, as we look back 40 years ago to August on that great day, none of us who are around will ever forget that march. None of us who were alive can forget the vibrancy that there was in the air, the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations. It is a day to long remember as we continue to march, not one day but to continue to march until freedom, justice, and equality exist for all in this great Nation.

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), in consideration of S. 678, the Postmasters Equity Act of 2003.

S. 678 was introduced on March 20, 2003, by Senator Daniel Akaka. This measure would amend chapter 10 of title 39 to include postmasters and postmasters' organizations in the process for the development and planning of pay policies and benefits.

S. 678 is cosponsored by 39 Senators, including the chairman and the ranking member of the Senate Government Affairs Committee, Senator Susan Collins and Senator Joseph Lieberman. On July 25, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously approved S. 678, the Postmasters Equity Act of 2003.

The bill was amended to substitute the language of the House bill, H.R. 2249, sponsored by me and the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh). H.R. 2249 had been reported earlier out of the Committee on Government Reform by voice vote. During the 1996 Congress, President Carter signed into law legislation creating a fact-finding process for resolving disputes over pay and benefits and to make recommendations to the Postal Service. It did not provide for arbitration of the disputes, and the recommendations were not binding on the Postmaster General. However, the law only applied to postal supervisors, not postmasters.

S. 678, like its House counterpart, H.R. 2249, would extend to the postmaster the option of a fact-finding panel to make nonbinding recommendations to the Postal Service. Currently, when pay and benefit discussions between the Postal Service and postmasters fail, postmasters have no recourse and have to accept what is offered by the Postal Service. Passage of S. 678 would bring consistency in the manner by which the two categories of postal managers negotiate with the Postal Service over pay and benefits.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have been a sponsor of this legislation. I urge swift adoption of this bill and commend Senator Akaka for all of his hard work on behalf of postmasters.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, Governor O'Bannon was in my congressional district when he passed away. Certainly I would want to extend on behalf of all of the people in Chicago and the people of Illinois our sympathies to his family and to the people of Indiana.

Mr. Speaker, Frank O'Bannon, the 47th Governor of Indiana, died last week at the age of 73 from a stroke. After serving 18 years as Lieutenant Governor to Evan Bayh, Frank O'Bannon was elected Governor of Indiana November 5, 1996, and was reelected on November 7, 2000.

Frank O'Bannon's two inaugurations as Governor made history. After he was elected in 1996 he invited Indiana's fourth grade history students to witness his inauguration, something no Governor had ever done. Despite sub-zero temperatures that day, hundreds of Hoosier schoolchildren for the first time ever watched as their Governor was sworn in.

After his 2000 reelection, Governor O'Bannon repeated his invitation to the fourth grade history students. This time, however, the festivities were moved inside the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. More than 25,000 students and visitors from across Indiana watched as the Governor was sworn in, making it the largest gubernatorial inauguration crowd in Indiana history.

Although Governor Frank O'Bannon was sometimes criticized by other lawmakers for not being more assertive, he followed his own instincts for achieving consensus quietly. Born on January 30, 1930, in Louisville, Kentucky, Frank O'Bannon devoted his entire life to public service and to the people of the State of Indiana.

Education, health care, building communities, promoting public safety and economic development are the hallmarks of Frank O'Bannon's legacy as Governor of Indiana. He taught those fourth grade students a valuable lesson in leadership, integrity and good works.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the Governor's Congresswoman, the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished Democratic whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hill).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. Therefore, I urge swift passage of this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Committee on Small Business, I want to commend the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Manzullo) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) for their leadership on small business matters.

Mr. Speaker, for the past 40 years, the President has issued a proclamation calling for the celebration of Small Business Week. I rise in support of the Small Business Administration's designating the week of September 14 through 20, 2003, as National Small Business Week. This celebration will honor the estimated 25 million small businesses in America who have created three out of every four new jobs and generate more than 55 percent of America's innovations.

Small Business Week recognizes outstanding small business owners for their personal achievements and contributions to our Nation's economy. One outstanding entrepreneur is named to represent each State as the State's Small Business Person of the Year. From this group, the National Small Business Person of the Year is chosen.

Small businesses employ half of our workers and account for half of our gross domestic product. Small businesses have and will continue to pull the U.S. economy out of recession. They anchor our neighborhoods, employ and train our workers, and take care of our families. They are the reason that the United States economy has consistently been known as the strongest in the world.

Today, we honor our small businesses and entrepreneurs for their efforts and what they mean to America.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Manzullo) and the ranking member, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), for their leadership and urge passage of this resolution.