Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us calls on the American people to fast

and pray for the United States and the Armed Forces fighting the war in Iraq. Anytime there is any conversation or notion or discussion of a religious nature, there are bound to be different people who have different thoughts and ideas about it. Different people worship different forms of supremacy. As mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, friends and neighbors, and most of all as a peace-loving people, we seek and hope for a quick resolution to the conflict in Iraq.

All those who believe in a supreme being, whether it be God, Jehovah, Allah, Buddha or whether people call their belief Prince of Peace or Rose of Sharon or Lily of the Valley, to me it does not really matter. What matters is that people believe in the supremacy of a being. They believe in the coming together. They believe in a force that is more powerful than anything that we have been able to actually discern or see. It is something that is one of the mysteries, in many ways, of life but a part of the hope that people have, part of the faith.

And so I rise in support of this resolution. I urge that we pray for the men and women who are giving of themselves each and every day, who even may or may not return. I would urge passage, then, of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland).

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

I do not have any other speakers; so I would say, in closing, I would state that I am a strong believer in the first amendment. I believe in prayer, fasting. I believe that we should pray not only for our troops but that we pray to end this conflict as quickly as it could possibly be ended and as peacefully as it could be ended. I pray that the loss of life would be diminished as much as possible and that people who are fighting from the United States as well as those from other countries and other nations would have the power of an Almighty supreme force invoked so that all of us can escape this effort with as much hope, peace, and possibility as we can. I urge support for this resolution.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Cummings-Owens-Kucinich-Lee substitute. The Republican budget contains no specific Medicare or Medicaid cuts, but the fact is it mandates a 1 percent cut in all mandatory spending, which translates to approximately 10-year cuts in Medicare and Medicaid of $215 billion and $93 billion respectively. For Illinois, this means 10-year Medicare cuts of approximately $10 billion and Medicaid cuts of more than $3 billion for the same period. Estimated cuts for my district alone are at least $1.4 billion; cuts in public housing, cuts in education, cuts in veterans' health care, cuts in Justice Department programs.

With the Republican budget, I am afraid that all of the bloodshed we shall see will not be in Iraq. All I am hearing about this budget is cut, cut, cut. I am afraid that when all you do is cut, cut, cut, all that you are going to get is blood, blood, blood. The blood of the American people will be on the hands of those who held the knife.

There are more than 2 million people in jails and prisons throughout the United States. More than 600,000 of them are being released each year. This poses a real threat and a real problem to many communities, especially low-income areas where they come from and return. The Justice Department reports that the cost of crime to victims is $450 billion annually. The proposed Republican House budget cuts Justice programs $4.1 billion below the amount needed to keep up with inflation and $881 million below the President's proposed budget. The Cummings- Owens-Kucinich-Lee budget restores the funding level back up to $3.4 billion for Justice programs and to expand reentry programs for nonviolent ex-offenders to help these individuals transition back into normal life, to get housing or jobs, social service help, to be reconciled with their families and communities, and to cut down on the recidivism rate, which is almost 50 percent.

This is a good budget, a responsible budget, and a problem-solving budget. I am pleased to support the Cummings-Owens-Lee-Kucinich amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of our troops, but on principle must vote against the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my heartfelt support for our men and women who are currently engaged in war with Iraq. Although I disagree with this war, and the policies that have brought us to this point--our troops deserve the full support of America. The more than 200,000 courageous men and women in Iraq represent the best of America. They have made the ultimate sacrifice to serve their country and protect and defend freedom.

The troops are ordinary men and women who are doing extraordinary things. Many of our service people have left family behind to fulfill their commitment to serve. The men and women of our armed services epitomise the biblical proverb: ``No greater love is there than one who would lay down his/her life for their fellow man.''

I want to assure the families of our service men and women that I stand fully behind them. In addition, I will do everything that I can to ensure that they have the best equipment and resources necessary to carry out their mission and provide for their safe return.

While I have no doubt that America will prevail militarily. It is my hope and expectation that we will redouble our efforts to seek collective, nonmilitary solutions to these critical issues. Also, as we engage in war I hope that we take every effort to minimize collateral damage to civilians and innocent people.

Again, I want to commend and honor the outstanding men and women of our armed services who are carrying out their orders with great distinction.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much. I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) for his steadfastness and his many years of understanding, that sometimes you might have to give out, but you never give up, and even though it appears to be the last minute, right down to the wire, here the gentleman is continuing to speak to the American people, trying to help all of us see the light and see the way. So I thank the gentleman for this opportunity to join with him.

On October 10, 2002, this Congress voted to give the President of the United States broad powers, which he has taken as the right to engage in a unilateral first strike war against Iraq without a clearly demonstrated and imminent threat of attack on the United States.

Our oath of office as Members of Congress, our constitutional charge, the mandate laid upon us by the people does not permit us to delegate the responsibility of engaging the awesome military power of the United States. Our oath of office does not permit us to delegate our responsibilities in placing our fighting men and women on the field of battle.

The Constitution places the power to declare war squarely and solely in the Congress. This issue arises far above partisan politics. President Abraham Lincoln put our Congressional responsibility this way: ``We cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the last generation.''

I opposed that resolution, and I remain opposed, because after all of the information I have seen, and after all I have heard, neither I nor a majority of the residents of my district, the Seventh Congressional District of Illinois, are convinced that the war is our only, our best and our most immediate option. We are not convinced that every diplomatic action has been exhausted.

In fact, diplomacy and inspections have not exhausted their ultimate potential.

I was not convinced, and I am still not convinced, that the resolution would properly guide us to act cooperatively and legally, through the United Nations, with the agreement and the involvement of the international community.

In fact, it has led us to pursue risky unilateral actions in defiance of international law and the United Nations charter.

As the American people are attempting to make sense of this complex situation, it is the duty of the Congress to ask some hard questions. One, is there an immediate threat to the United States? In my judgment, the answer is no. We have not received evidence of immediate danger. We have not received evidence that Iraq has the means to attack the United States, and we have not received evidence that the danger is greater today than it was last year.

Will the use of military force against Iraq reduce or prevent the spread or use of weapons of mass destruction? All evidence is that Iraq does not possess nuclear weapons today. The use of chemical or biological weapons or the passage of such weapons to terrorist groups would be nothing less than suicide for the current Iraqi leadership.

So I join with the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) in hoping that some way there is some resolve, that there is some sliver of chance, some reaction that might lead us out of this chaos and confusion into a peaceful existence, with the United States of America leading the way.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus for yielding, and I also commend the gentleman for the outstanding leadership he has provided and continues to provide not only on this issue but on a myriad of issues affecting this country and affecting our world.

I rise today to discuss the war that is pending, the unfortunate war that we are about seemingly to enter. I make it clear that those men and women who stand ready and are poised and who stand on the front lines and are ready to give every measure of devotion that they have, even in many instances perhaps their lives, are to be commended. They are to be supported. They are to be acknowledged for the tremendous sacrifice they are prepared to make.

I have been told that war is by definition a state of open-armed conflict between nations, states or parties. It is a condition of active antagonism or contention, a concerted effort to combat something injurious. War is also the admission of the failure of diplomacy.

Since the passing of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, H.R. 3162, we have provided funding to intercept and to obstruct terrorism, our peace initiative. Unfortunately, recent failures in American diplomacy have impacted the United Nations' ability to work for a peaceful solution.

In my home State of Illinois, the citizens of my district, as in all of America, have made many sacrifices during these difficult times. The greatest sacrifice has been that there are an estimated 100,000 servicemen and women currently stationed at strategic points overseas to ensure the success of this conflict. Many of them are citizens of my district and of the hundreds of other districts across this great Nation.

There are compelling reasons that may have motivated our President to pursue this course of action. First, we have been told that we have the military might, resources readily available and poised at strategic points across the globe to address what is hoped to be a short-term conflict, and that we have the support of allies, Great Britain and Spain.

The noted Greek historian Herodotus once said, ``In peace, sons bury fathers, but war violates the order of nature, and fathers bury sons.'' The loss of human life in efforts of war, regardless of their country of origin, is unacceptable and should be avoided, as all life is sacred.

While military and human resources may have been committed to this effort, the full cost of this war has yet to be disclosed, especially when we do not have the full support of the United Nations for both the war and the subsequent occupation and rebuilding of Iraq. I see no United Nations-supported Marshall Plan on the horizon.

We were told that while we acknowledge the strained relationship with North Korea caused by their blatant

confrontational comments and open defiance in the propagation of their own nuclear supremacy agenda, they are not of primary concern. Yet North Korea and its quest for nuclear power is an issue that will haunt us in the future because of our inaction today.

We have also been advised by our President that this war in Iraq is the only means that we as a Nation have to respond to Iraq's 10-year failure to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for their disarmament after the first Persian Gulf war in 1991. The selection of Iraq was not a matter of revenge, unfounded on any principle, but was within the law as ascribed by United Nations Resolution 1441 and will also aid our efforts in the war on terrorism by accomplishing the removal of Saddam Hussein and his lieutenants. This, we have been told, will also ensure the disbanding, if not destruction, of the terrorist cells that are either located in or are supported by Saddam Hussein and his regime.

Mohandas Gandhi, a man praised and revered for his life of peace, said, ``I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary. The evil it does is permanent.''

Mr. Speaker, I am not convinced by any shape, form or fashion that invading Iraq, that a preemptive strike by this country is going to net the results that we are hoping for. But I am optimistic, and I still hope. I hope and I pray that somehow or another before there is a grand holocaust, that peace will be found and peace will prevail. But if not, certainly I stand with the men and women, the young persons from my congressional district who are poised and have left home, who are ready to give of themselves and to give of their lives so that there can be hope for peace and the continuation of the kind of freedoms that we have come to enjoy.

Mr. Speaker, in Chicago, an electrocardiogram is misread and the patient dies of a heart attack. A rare heart disorder is mistaken for a back strain and kidney stone. The patient dies. Both of these cases are about real people and real pain. In both cases, the families were awarded decent sums of money by juries, but I can tell my colleagues, no sum of money will ever replace the loss and suffering of people's lives. Yes, there is a crisis in health care, but this one-size-fits-all $250,000 cap on medical malpractice payoffs will not solve the problem.

I have a profound respect for doctors, nurses, hospitals and other health care professionals who provide services, some 25 of them in my Congressional district, five medical schools, but I am not prepared to leave to chance a $250,000 cap on consumers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 342, the Mosquito

Abatement for Safety and Health Act. With snow on the ground and recent temperatures in the single digits, it is nice to look forward to the summer months but easy to forget the uneasiness that was felt during last summer due to the fear instilled by the West Nile virus.

Illinois was greatly impacted by the West Nile virus. Not only was there fear within parents to let their children go outside to play or to take a walk in the neighborhood in the morning or after dusk, there were the startling numbers of those stricken with the virus. Illinois saw 873 cases of the virus in humans along with 60 deaths, the highest in the Nation according to the CDC.

The Associated Press recently released that the harsh winters that most of the nation has felt does not preclude that the mosquitoes, particularly the ones infected with the virus, have ceased in numbers. The mosquitoes will continue to live and reproduce in sewers and other dark, warmer places were the harsh climates have not affected them. Due to this, the AP is suggesting that this year we will see the West Nile virus spread from coast to coast. Last year, our nation witnessed more than 4,000 individuals become ill and a total of 274 die from the West Nile virus. With the expected spread of the virus and increase number of mosquitoes, we can also then expect these numbers to grow.

Mr. Speaker, to ensure the nation has a sense of safety and security as they go outside in the next few months, I ask for full support of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. John) for yielding me this time. I commend the gentleman and all of the members of the subcommittee, and all of those who have brought this matter to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 399 and the need to continue awareness and education programs for organ donation. I was very pleased recently to be part of the 6th Annual National Donor Day at the Chicago Automobile Show on February 14 with the Illinois Secretary of State, the Honorable Jesse White, and Connie Payton, the widow of football legend Walter Payton. This is the single largest 1- day blood, organ and tissue donation drive in America.

However, we know that the drive and awareness brought to this great need should occur and is needed to occur more than just 1 day during the year. I am proud to represent five of the six world-class hospitals in Chicago that are part of the National Marrow Donor Program's network of transplant centers, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush- Presbyterian, Children's Memorial, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Loyola Medical Center. These hospitals play a major role in not only making the public aware of the great need of donation but carrying out safe organ transplant procedures.

This need is particularly present in the African American population where African Americans make up less than 10 percent of the 4.8 million donors on the registry. On any given day, more than 80,000 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant. That number continues to rise by a new name every 14 minutes. Each day, 63 people receive an organ transplant, but 16 people will die because an organ is not donated. Fifty percent of those waiting for an organ transplant are minorities. Almost a full third of those waiting for an organ transplant in the United States are African Americans; 35 percent of those waiting for a kidney transplant are African American.

Some diseases of the kidney, heart, lung, pancreas, and liver are found more frequently in racial and ethnic minority populations than in the general population. For example, African Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics are three times more likely to suffer from kidney failure than whites. Native Americans are four times more likely than whites to suffer from diabetes.

Some of these diseases are best treated through transplantation, and others can only be treated through transplantation.

This legislation will allow States to receive grants to assist in organ donor awareness, public education and outreach activities, and programs designed to increase the number of organ donors within States, including living donors. It will assist in getting the word out that if one person does the simple task of signing a donor's card, 50 people will be able to receive an organ donation and begin a new, healthy chapter in their life.

Mr. Speaker, again, I am pleased to support this legislation, commend all of those who had a hand in bringing it to the floor, and urge its passage.

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join in support of this resolution recognizing the bicentennial of the admission of Ohio into the Union and the contributions of Ohio residents to the economic, social, and cultural development of the United States.

Madam Speaker, this year the residents of Ohio will celebrate the 200th anniversary of their State's admission into the Union. They will celebrate the fact that Ohio inventors, including Thomas Edison, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Henry Timken, Charles Goodyear, Garrett Morgan, and Roy Plunkett, created the basis for modern living as we know it.

They will celebrate the fact that Ohio is the birthplace of aviation. It has been home to 24 astronauts, including John Glenn, Neal Armstrong and Judith Resnick. They will celebrate the many distinguished writers Ohio has produced like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Toni Morrison, and James Thurber.

However, one of Ohio's most profound contributions to the economic, social, and cultural development in the United States is the intricate role it played in the Underground Railroad.

Ohio's governing document, The Ordinance of 1787, states that ``There shall be neither slave nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crime.'' The slavery that did occur in Ohio was in the outermost portions of the territory that did not become part of the State of Ohio.

The Ordinance of 1787 not only attracted those fleeing the perils of slavery to Ohio, but also attracted various groups whose idealogy resonated with the State's anti-slavery sentiment. Quakers, Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians were among the groups who found themselves drawn to Ohio due to their opposition to slavery.

The Underground Railroad consisted of stations, places where runaways could hide, eat, and take refuge during the day. It was not a single route. It was a complex web of main and branch routes. Essential to navigating the Railroad were the conductors who served as guides to those travelers making their way to freedom. Ohio was one of the most heavily traveled States along the escape routes of slaves.

In addition to being a reasonable distance from north to south, Ohio provided access to Canada via Lake Erie.

Slaves were able to take advantage of Ohio's first commercial railroad. Many of the staff on the commercial railroads also served as conductors on the Underground Railroad.

Ohio and its citizens have carved out a rich place in American history, well deserving of our recognition. Therefore, I am indeed proud and pleased to join with my colleagues in celebrating the development of this great State as a part of the Union which we know as the United States of America.

Madam Speaker, I do not have any further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the resolution regarding the needs for improved fire safety in nonresidential buildings. This is a major concern with regards to the tragic fire at a nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, on February 20, 2003, which killed over 90 people and injured about 200. It is almost unthinkable and unimaginable that such a tragedy could and would occur.

I also want to recognize a similar tragedy that took place in my congressional district in Chicago on February 17, 2003, at the E2 nightclub in Chicago's south side, where a stampede led to approximately 21 people being killed and more than 50 injured. This was a tragedy that could and should have been prevented if there were better fire and building safety codes implemented like wider staircases, more visible exits, and windows for air circulation.

In recognizing the tragedy in Rhode Island, I would like to take this opportunity also to extend my condolences to the families of the fire victims in Warwick and to the victims of the E2 nightclub in Chicago.

Madam Speaker, as lawmakers, we are responsible for ensuring the safety of our citizens, especially in public places. As a result, we should immediately pass this bill before there is any other tragedy, and I would want to urge all of those who have responsibility for safety in public places to do everything possible to assure that those buildings are, in fact, safe; that there is adequate opportunity for people to exit; and that we protect the lives of our citizens.

I commend the gentleman from Rhode Island for introducing this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin), who is the author of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains.

Madam Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to commend both the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin) and the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy) for bringing this great tragedy to our attention.

I also want to join with them in commending all of those who rose to the occasion, the policemen; the firemen; the Red Cross; emergency medical services personnel; mental health centers, crisis counselors; and even undertakers in my town, like Leak and Sons Funeral Home, who buried seven people without cost and greatly reduced the cost for an eighth person; radio stations; Salem Baptist Church, New Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church; the Push Rainbow; WGCI Radio; and all of those who have contributed in setting up educational funds for the children of those whose parents lost their lives in the E2 tragedy.

Our country has a tendency to rise up when there is a special need, and I commend all of those who took note of the tragedy in Rhode Island, as well as the tragedy at the E2 in Chicago.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time, and I too want to join with my colleagues in congratulating Lutheran schools, students, parents, teachers, and members of the congregation for outstanding contributions they have made and continue to make in education.

In my congressional district, they are indeed the mainstay for early childhood education. Lutheran Family Services provides any number of early childhood education programs; and we are fortunate to have one of the top high schools in the State, Trinity Lutheran, in our congressional district, where practically all of the young people who come through end up going to college. It has been, and continues to be, an outstanding institution.

I want to commend and congratulate all of those who are a part of the Lutheran congregations for the outstanding contributions that they have made and continue to make to education.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), the sponsor of this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, the National Visiting Nurse Association of America, VNAA, is the official association for not-for-

profit, community-based home health organizations known as Visiting Nurse Associations. VNAs care for patients of all ages, from infants to the elderly, and offer comprehensive services that begin with maternal- child health programs and end with hospice care. VNAs provide a broad range of essential home health care and support services to patients in the security and comfort of their homes. These services include skilled nursing, rehabilitation, physical and occupational therapies, speech- language pathology, home medical equipment, and behavioral and mental health counseling, to name just a few.

Many VNAs provide homemaker services that help patients remain independent in their home while reducing the burden on family members. These services can include cooking, housekeeping, shopping, transportation, personal care, and a variety of other essential nonmedical services.

These services are critical at a time when the latest projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, published in the November 2001 Monthly Labor Review, estimated that more than 1 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by the year 2010. The U.S. Department of Labor projects a 21 percent increase in the need for nurses nationwide from 1998 to 2008, compared with a 14 percent increase for all other occupations.

Furthermore, according to a July 2001 report released by the General Accounting Office titled Nursing Workforce: Emerging Nurse Shortages Due to Multiple Factors (GAO-01-944), ``a serious shortages of nurses is expected in the future as democratic pressures influence both supply and demand. The future demand for nurses is expected to increase dramatically as the baby boomers reach their sixties, seventies and beyond.''

As baby boomers age, the role of visiting nurses is more important, as patients spend less time in the hospital and demand the same quality of services at home. VNAs contribute to the well-being of the Nation, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution as we pay special tribute to those who come into our homes, into our places of being, and bring not only their technical and professional services, but also bring the individuality of their care.

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I join with the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Doyle) and all Pennsylvanians and all people of good will throughout America as we pay tribute honoring the legacy of Fred Rogers and his dedication to creating a more compassionate, kind and loving world for children and adults. I quote:

``It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood,

A beautiful day for a neighbor.

Would you be mine? Could you be mine?

While singing this simple refrain, Fred McFeely Rogers would change out of his sport coat and into his zip-up cardigan, slip off his dress shoes and slip on a pair of blue sneakers and become Mr. Rogers of ``Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.''

``Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood'' was a daily whisper in children's ears. It whispered peace, serenity, honesty, comfort, and trust into small and developing ears that listened attentively about issues big and small. Mr. Rogers spoke to children about the virtues of civility, sharing, tolerance, obedience, and self-worth.

He talked with musicians, such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, asking questions from a child's perspective, like how he learned to play the cello, had it been too big for him.

As the creator and host of the popular television show, Rogers became one of America's most beloved figures. His evolution as a children's television personality began in the 1950's, many years before public TV station WQED in Pittsburgh produced the first ``Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.'' Rogers had been a puppeteer and voice character on the WQED show called ``The Children's Corner.''

Fred Rogers made his first on-camera appearance in the 1960's while working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto. It was there that he produced a 15-minute daily program called ``Misterogers.'' By the mid 1960's, the shows were lengthened to 30 minutes and were moved to Pittsburgh. A Washington Post article on Rogers stated that ``Rogers often said he was guided by listening to children, discovering who they were and what was important in their lives. By providing answers to children's questions and addressing their uncertainties in their expanding world, he sought to aid their emotional development as individuals.''

As the Nation stands on the brink of war and the threat of terrorism as a constant reminder of the cruel world in which we live, who is listening to the children and addressing their uncertainties? Who on national television will be that reassuring and calming presence for the next generation of children?

On February 27, Fred Rogers, the gentle and soft-spoken host of ``Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' died of stomach cancer at his home in Pittsburgh at the age of 74. Rogers received four daytime Emmy awards, a Peabody award, a lifetime achievement award of the National Academy of Television and Sciences, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and more than two dozen honorary degrees for doing what too few of us have sought to do, make a commitment to enrich the lives of children. He was truly a gentle giant, and I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 111, ``Honoring the Legacy of Fred Rogers.''

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

Mr. Speaker, ``O, let America be America again, the land that never has been yet, and yet must be; the land where every man is free. The land that's mine, the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, me, who made America, whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, must bring back our mighty dream again.''

Mr. Speaker, those eloquent words of celebrated African American poet and writer Langston Hughes resound today as we celebrate Black History Month 2003. On February 1, 2002, Mr. Hughes joined the other 24 prominent African

Americans distinguished by having a stamp issued in their honor as part of the United States Postal Service's Black Heritage Stamp series.

There was certainly a time in our not-so-distant past when this would not have been possible, issuing stamps depicting prominent African Americans. Indeed, this was the case in February 1926, when renowned African American educator and scholar Carter G. Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of African American History and Life, designated a week in February coinciding with the birthdays of two great Americans, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, as Negro History Week. Mr. Woodson hoped that the contributions of African Americans would be studied as integral to our shared American history. Fifty years later, in 1976, the observance was expanded to embrace the entire month of February, and here we are again today commemorating yet another Black History Month.

In 1926, the landscape in this country for African Americans was demonstrably different than it is today. At that time, separate but equal, a doctrine that afforded Black Americans second-class citizenship, was the law of the land, albeit an immoral one. Through the heroic efforts of many Americans of all races, legalized discrimination became a thing of the past. This body passed landmark legislation, most notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. However, the story of racial discrimination did not end in 1965.

Here we are in 2003, and we must continue to ask the question: Is race still a factor in quality of life in America? And is racism dead? African Americans, despite our robust laws, face a daily dosage of humiliation as a result of racism. Thousands of African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities have been the victims of racial, ethnic or national origin profiling: targeted, identified, stopped, questioned and searched by law enforcement officials under the guise of committing a crime, when in reality the only crime was the color of their skin or their country of origin. Young black and Latino men are particularly prone to DWB, driving while black or brown. And since September 11, law-abiding Arab-American citizens have been targeted for profiling by law enforcement officials.

Racial profiling violates the equal protection provisions of our great Constitution. Not only is it un-American, it is also bad law enforcement. Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, states that most Americans think that the most blatant forms of discrimination and segregation have ended; that we are now dealing with a much more complex, often more subtle, form of discrimination. Yet incidents like the ones we are discussing now seem to belie that point. They seem to suggest that even the more blatant forms of discrimination, though not as institutionalized as they once were, are still occurring, and I think stand in mockery of the perception that America has become a color-blind Nation.

Since June of year before last, the End Racial Profiling Act of 2001 has been pending in this body. This 108th Congress could put an end to racial profiling by passing this act and sending it to the President for signature. Then we would have another dimension as we celebrate Black History Month and as we come closer to ending racial profiling.

So I end, Mr. Speaker, as I started: Let America be America again, the land that never has been yet, and yet must be. The land where every man is free, the land where every man and woman has his or her chance, his or her golden opportunity to become whatever their manhood or womanhood talents and ambitions combine to make them. That, Mr. Speaker, is the promise of America, and that is our hope as we end the observance of this Black History Month celebration.

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

Mr. Speaker, as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Civil Service, Census and Agency Organization, I want to first of all thank the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis), the chairman of the subcommittee, for her cosponsorship of this resolution and for helping to quickly move it to the House floor for action.

House Concurrent Resolution 36 encourages the people of the United States to honor and celebrate the 140th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and commends President Abraham Lincoln's efforts to end slavery.

Though a man of humble beginnings, Abraham Lincoln rose to become the 16th President of the United States of America and became the man who attempted to end the heinous act of slavery while preserving the Union.

On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It was an historic act, because it freed many slaves and made a statement about the cruelty of slavery. The premise of the Emancipation Proclamation can be linked to a speech Lincoln made at Gettysburg in which he stated, ``Four score and 7 years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new Nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.''

President Lincoln's proclamation did not end slavery. The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution did that on December 18, 1865. The 14th amendment established Negroes citizens of the United States, and the 15th amendment granted Negroes the right to vote. It was the Emancipation Proclamation, however, that paved the way for these amendments to the Constitution.

Our citizenship and privileges of blacks were always questioned and, in many situations, denied until passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This was 39 years ago that Jim Crow laws were subjugating and denying Negroes the right to vote in certain southern States, the imposition of poll taxes, the segregation of schools, housing, bus and train transportation, restrooms, and other public accommodations. Since the struggle of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, many African Americans are still seeking economic emancipation, equality in education, employment, business, housing, health care, and access to capital. Although African Americans as a people have made great strides in America, we still have a long way to go to achieve and live up to the creed of America's Founding Fathers that all men are indeed created equal.

When it comes to equality in homeownership, the rate among white households is about 74.2 percent, compared to 47.1 percent for African Americans. This huge gap between white and black homeowners will continue to be the primary factor that will undermine

the growth of African Americans and their family structure to obtain wealth, capital assets, and better neighborhoods.

When it comes to equality in education, the number of whites who possess bachelor's or higher degree is about 34 million compared to 2.6 million for blacks.

For post-secondary education, whites are about 72 percent compared to 11 percent for blacks who are attending degree-granting colleges and universities.

As for poverty, there are 32.9 million poor people in America. The poverty rate is about 22.7 percent for blacks compared to 9.9 percent for whites. The unemployment rate for whites is 3.3 percent compared to 6.3 percent for blacks who are continuing to seek employment.

When it comes to crime and justice, America is 5 percent of the world's population, but 25 percent of the world's prison population is in U.S. jails and prisons. The United States incarcerates 2,100,146 persons. Whites are about 36 percent compared to 46 percent for blacks in prisons. As some of us know, about 70 percent of the prison population is attributed to drug convictions. The law is not equally applied when it comes to drug offenses involving crack and powder cocaine. Five grams of crack cocaine brings a mandatory sentence of 5 years, compared to 5 grams of powder cocaine which has no sentencing requirements, and the possessor of powder cocaine may get probation. Mr. Speaker, 89 percent of the blacks are sentenced for crack cocaine possession, compared to 75 percent for whites who possess powder cocaine. Yet, 59 percent of the users of crack cocaine are white.

Equality is the principle and spirit of the Constitution where all men and women are seen as God's children created in His image. And if this was accomplished, then African Americans would have 2 million more high school diplomas, 2 million more college degrees, nearly 2 million more professional and managerial jobs, and nearly $200 billion more in income. And if America practices equality in housing, then African Americans would own 3 million more homes. If America had equality in access to capital and wealth, then African Americans would have $1 trillion more in wealth.

Mr. Speaker, although we passed the Emancipation Proclamation and although we have come a great distance, there are still some roads to travel. So I encourage all of my colleagues to embrace and support this resolution as a tool to reflect the spirit, strength, and legacy of freedom, justice, and equality for all people of America and to provide an opportunity for all people of the United States to learn more about the past and know how we can build a better future.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that I have any other requests for time, but I would indicate that I am again pleased and proud to live in the State of Illinois, the home of Lincoln, the man who signed the Emancipation Proclamation and made a great movement towards freeing the slaves in this country.

I also want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), for his comments, and again thank the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis), the chairman of the subcommittee, for her co-sponsorship and swift action on moving this resolution to the floor; and I urge all of my colleagues to support this concurrent resolution.

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