Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the memory of a courageous young man, Private First Class Vorn James Mack of Orangeburg, South Carolina who recently passed away while valiantly serving his country in Iraq.

Vorn Mack was a 2002 graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in Orangeburg, South Carolina. While at Orangeburg-

Wilkinson, Mack, an honor student, was taught by one of my staffers who remembers him as being a very intelligent, well mannered and driven young man. While in high school Vorn had a particular interest in computers, mathematics, and serving in the military. His high school guidance counselor said ``he always had an interest in the military, because he wanted to see the world and because his father and sister had careers in the Army.''

Vorn belonged to a family known for its military service and patriotism. Six of his aunts and uncles are military retirees, and five members of his family currently serve, including his older sister Aquanette who is currently stationed in the Middle East.

After his graduation from high school, Vorn enlisted in the United States Army and underwent basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. After successfully completing basic training, Vorn was sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia where he received advanced infantry training in information systems management. After this training, Vorn was assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado where he served in Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Three months after his arrival in Colorado, Vorn and his regiment were deployed to Iraq.

While in Iraq, Vorn belonged to a force assigned to guard the Hadithah Dam, west of Ar Ramadi, Iraq. This dam was crucial to the United States operation because it provided electricity to a large portion of Iraq and was viewed as a possible target for terrorist acts.

In his obituary, Vorn's family stated ``He had no fear, never afraid to accept a challenge, whether it was work, school, or even in the United States Army, Vorn excelled in every aspect of his short life.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in this tribute to Vorn Mack for the outstanding service and contribution he provided the Nation, the State of South Carolina and his beloved community of Orangeburg. Vorn will always be remembered for his dedication and commitment to freedom.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me

this time and for bringing this amendment forward.

I want to say something about this issue that has to do with the broader impact that it has on the people of my State of South Carolina. If you were to look at the fact that according to GAO about 3 percent of the estimated total taxes that go uncollected for noncompliance compares with the fact that the underreporting of business income for taxes in fraud are over $40 billion a year, which is around $10 billion a year more than the EITC program is all together. I think the program is around $31 billion. Now, if we were to look at this and take into account what kind of fraud is taking place, one of the things we are going to see is what was just talked about, and that is about $70 billion a year going to offshore companies.

I have a real problem with that because in my State one of the industries that the people who are eligible for the earned income tax credits, one of the categories of work that they have relied on for years, working in the textile and apparel industry, has gone offshore to the tune of 50 percent in South Carolina. Ten years ago we had 126,000 textile jobs in our State. Today, 63,000 textile jobs are going offshore. So not only do we see the money going offshore, we also see the jobs that these people have to rely upon going offshore.

So I think this is a very good amendment because it will work to help us focus protection.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a woman who is an exceptional scholar, a renowned literary commentator and a distinguished leader at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Joan Hinde Stewart, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the USC, is leaving in July to accept a position as the 19th president and first- ever female president of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and I ask you to join me in commending her for a job well done.

Dr. Stewart's accomplishments during her tenure at USC have been astonishing. She has led the university's largest and most academically diverse college, and served as a member of the Provost's Strategic Directives and Initiatives Committee that financially restructured the university last year. Dr. Stewart's leadership helped the college boast the highest increase this year in funds attained through research grants at a time when the university is shifting its focus toward technological and biomedical research.

Dr. Stewart's merit not only benefits the university at-large but also touches individual students. As a professor of French, she is known for her extensive historical perspectives on French literature and for bringing her latest analysis of some long neglected writers into her classroom.

Before coming to USC, Dr. Stewart headed the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures for 12 years at North Carolina State University. She has lectured on French literature and culture at numerous universities, including Oxford, Columbia, and Yale, which is where she earned her Ph.D.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Stewart is an extraordinary example of leadership in higher education. She has excelled in academia and administration at the University of South Carolina, and her unique talents will be missed. I ask you and my colleagues to join me in applauding Dr. Joan Stewart's contributions to USC and wishing her the best of luck in her new position at Hamilton College.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to thank my pastor, the Reverend Joseph Darby of Morris Brown A.M.E. Church, for gracing us with his presence here today and for leading this august body in the invocation.

I said to Reverend Darby just before he came in, I think he may have lucked out today because this is the day the former Members will be meeting, and he will have the opportunity to send the invocation to some warm bodies on the floor. And so I wanted to thank him for being here, thank him for his leadership.

Reverend Darby is more than the pastor of Morris Brown A.M.E. Church. He is the first vice president of the South Carolina branch of the NAACP. He has a leadership style that endears him to those of us who find ourselves in public service. It is one thing to go to church on Sunday and to be a part of a congregation; it is something else to be able to turn to your pastor for the kind of strength that David and Daniel showed as they carried out their good works.

So, Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome not just my pastor, but my good friend, Reverend Darby, here today and thank him for gracing us with his presence and thank him for the leadership he gives to his church, to his State, to his Nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to have had my minister and good friend, Reverend Joseph Darby, deliver this morning's opening prayer. I invited Reverend Darby to join us this morning from Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, because I knew from personal experience that he would provide an inspirational blessing that will be very relevant to the times in which we live.

I told him, as we were about to enter the Chamber, that he had lucked out this morning. That because of the subsequent meeting of the former members, he would get to pray to and be greeted by a number of warm bodies, which is not always the case with the guest chaplain.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Reverend Darby is a fourth- generation minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church with twenty-five years of pastoral experience. His career has been marked by selfless service to others that comes not only from his dedication to the ministry, but his innate passion and compassion.

Reverend Darby has been a vocal advocate for so many who do not have a voice in our society. He has stood up for his beliefs in the face of great obstacles. My father, a minister himself, taught me the strength of David as he faced Goliath and Daniel as he entered the lions' den. Reverend Darby has demonstrated that same strength drawn from his faith in his daily life, and as a result, his accomplishments are great.

He is presently a Board Member for the Reid House of Christian Service and the Family Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit's Drug Court Program, a member of the State Superintendent of Education's African- American Achievement Committee, the Racial/Cultural Advisory Council of the South Carolina School Boards Association, The Long Range Planning Subcommittee of the South Carolina Educational Oversight Committee; South Carolina Educational Television's Advisory Committee for African- American Programming; The Board of Directors of the Daniel J. Jenkins Institute for Children, and is First Vice-President of the South Carolina Conference of Branches of the NAACP. Reverend Darby is First Vice-President of the Charleston A.M.E. and Interdenominational Ministerial Alliances, Chairman of the P.A.S.T.O.R.S. Housing Initiative, and Chairman of the South Carolina Coalition of Black Church Leaders, an Affiliate of the Congress of National Black Churches.

Reverend Darby's honors and awards include South Carolina Business Vision magazine' 1997 South Carolina's 25 most influential African- Americans award, the 1999 South Carolina Christian Action Council's Howard G. McClain Christian Action in Public Policy Award, the 1999 NAACP Southeast Region Medgar W. Evers Leadership Award, the 2001 MOJA Festival Religious Achievement Award, and the 2001 Excellence in Religion award from the S.C. Mechanism of the National Council of Negro Women. He was inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame in July 2002.

Reverend Darby is married to the former Mary M. Bright of Walterboro, South Carolina, a career educator. They have two sons--Jason Christopher, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Allen University, and Jeremy Christian who attends West Ashley High School.

Reverend Darby is a true leader in South Carolina both within and outside the church community, and I wanted to share his extraordinary talents with you. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in welcoming Reverend Joseph Darby to the U.S House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor tonight because I am a little bit concerned about where we are and how we got here. Over the next year, in fact, if I may, next May 17, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. That means that come Saturday we will celebrate the 49th anniversary. Over the next year we will hear a lot about Brown, and, in fact, on May 17, 50 years to the day of that decision, there will be a new park opened in Topeka, Kansas, to honor the case.

I do not begrudge the people of Topeka, Kansas, for their new park, but I do have a real problem as a former history teacher with revisionism because Brown took on the name for some very unusual reasons. If we were to go by tradition and name cases based upon the alphabet, this case would have been called Belton, because the case coming out of Delaware, one of the five that led to Brown, was Belton against Gebhart. If the case had taken on the name of the first to file, it would have been called Briggs because Briggs v. Elliot, which started in South Carolina, was first filed on May 16, 1950. Nine months later, the Brown case was filed, February 28, 1951, and 3 months later, May 23, the Davis case in Virginia was filed, and somewhere between January and April of 1951, Bolling against Sharpe, the D.C. case, was filed.

Mr. Speaker, I point this out tonight because the people of Clarendon County, South Carolina, that I am proud to represent here in this body, the birthplace of our current Chair's parents, both his mother and father were born in Clarendon County School District No. 1, where this case originated.

So tonight I wanted to come to the floor to put on the record the exact history of Brown because so much is being said about this case, and very little of it is accurate.

In a 1947 meeting on the campus of Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina, Reverend J.A. DeLaine heard a speech challenging the ministers who were independent from the system to get involved in helping to right some of the wrongs that existed in our society. Reverend DeLaine left that campus that day and went back home to Summerton, South Carolina, where he began to meet with his church members, and in 1947, he asked the parents to petition the superintendent of schools to ask for a school bus.

At that time parents were sending their kids to school having to walk 9 and 10 miles one way. They were denied a school bus, and so they pooled their resources and raised money to buy a used bus to transport their kids to school. Gas was expensive, and the bus was old, and it kept breaking down. So they went to a local farmer, Levi Pearson, and in 1948, Levi Pearson filed a lawsuit asking for his children, who at that time were walking 9 miles one way to school, to be provided transportation.

We have got to understand that all the white kids in that county were riding school buses, but black kids were denied a school bus.

The case was thrown out because Levi Pearson's farm was in both school districts, both the Manning school district and the Summerton school district, and on a technicality they decided that Levi Pearson's house was in the Manning school district and not the Summerton school district. So the case was thrown out.

In 1949, Reverend DeLaine met with the NAACP and petitioned the all- white county school board to provide equality of education for their children. It, of course, was denied. So in October of that year, they all met in the home of Harry Briggs and his wife Eliza.

Anybody that comes into my office today will see on my wall a great picture of Eliza Briggs. For as long as I serve in this august body, Mrs. Briggs' picture will have a prominent place on the wall of my office.

Mr. Harry Briggs was an attendant at a filling station. He was fired from his job for signing the petition. They eventually moved to Florida where they lived out their productive lives, moving back to Clarendon County when they were no longer able to be productive.

In 1950, the school board refused to respond to the petition, and then in February 1951, the State of South Carolina entered the case on behalf of the school board. So not only were these people denied by their county school board, but now they were being fought by their entire State mechanism.

In 1951, the State of South Carolina decided that it would use all of its resources to preserve a separate but equal, inherently unequal, school district.

In 1953, the Supreme Court heard arguments, and on May 17, 1954, 4 years and 1 day from the time the case was first filed in Summerton, South Carolina, these people got what they sought, and that was a decision by the United States Supreme Court that separate but equal was inherently unequal.

I want to share with the folks who are looking in tonight a couple of statements from three descendants of these, I would call, brave, heroic people. They are all here in Washington today, and on yesterday here in Washington, here is what Harold Gibson had to say. He said that ``my mother and father was faced with a choice. Take your name off of the petition or be evicted from your home. They were evicted on Christmas Eve.''

Ms. Annie Gibson, Harold Gibson's mother, her picture is on the wall of

my office, and it, too, will always be there for as long as I am here.

Listen to what the DeLaine brothers had to say about their dad, J.A. DeLaine, whose father spearheaded the case: Our house was burned to the ground. Shots were fired into the new home into which we had moved. When my father fired back, local authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. For their safety, the family fled in 1955 to Buffalo, New York, and it was not until the year 2000, 25 years later, that the State of South Carolina dropped the charges against Reverend DeLaine. Now, it was 45 years later from the time of the charges, but 25 years after his death.

I bring this out tonight because when I went to work for John West in 1971, John West, the Governor of South Carolina, received a letter from Reverend DeLaine. Reverend DeLaine wrote Governor West and said that he was getting up in years, his health was beginning to fail, and he wanted to come home to South Carolina to die. John West asked me to look into the case and to plan a homecoming for Reverend DeLaine. He wanted us to have a ceremony that would mark an end to this episode and to be a new beginning for the State of South Carolina.

We could not bring Reverend DeLaine back home because there living in Clarendon County was one of the original people who swore out the warrant, and in spite of the Governor's pleadings, the law enforcement officers' pleadings, he refused to drop the case.

So Reverend DeLaine came back as far as Charlotte, North Carolina, where he eventually died and is buried.

Now, the case of Briggs. Listen to what Nathaniel Briggs, says: ``My father worked at a gas station. It was owned by the mayor of Summerton. He lost his job and my mother lost her job at the local hotel.''

Mr. Speaker, I want to close my comments by thanking our Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus for organizing this Special Order tonight, and to close on this note. As historic as this is, the fact of the matter is we have not gotten there yet. In fact, come August, the State of South Carolina will be hearing a case in the same courtroom where the Brown case started as Briggs against Elliott. In that courtroom, we will be listening to arguments over whether or not it is constitutional to still underfund school districts with high populations of black students.

In South Carolina today, the law is that we in the State are required to provide a public education, but we are not required to provide an adequate education. And, therefore, schoolchildren in school districts with high black populations are not being funded to the same level as school kids in other districts. And I want to point out, as I close, the inequity. Today, in South Carolina, school districts with higher percentages of African American students have 313 fewer State and local dollars, fewer than students with school districts of low levels of African Americans. This inequity translates into a gap of $8,000 a year per classroom and more than $1 million a year per school. That tells the story.

So though Brown is now 49 years old, equal educational opportunities have not come to Clarendon County or South Carolina yet. Hopefully, this case that will be heard in August will be decided before May 17, 2004, and decided by law and equity, so that, hopefully, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Brown, we can celebrate the beginning of equitable education for black people in Clarendon County, South Carolina, and our Nation. I thank the chairman for allowing me this time.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 170, 171, and 175, had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 172 and 176, had I been present, I would have voted, ``yea.''

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. Yesterday, it was choice. Today, it is options. Tomorrow, there is no telling what we will call it. But by whatever name we may call it, however we may cloak it, this is about vouchers.

I believe, Mr. Chairman, in innovations, but not innovations that supplant the due process clause of the United States Constitution. That is exactly what this amendment will accomplish.

Let us take, for instance, just the issue of choice, if I might use that term today. I know that the proponents of this amendment talk all the time about providing choice for parents and teachers. This amendment provides little choice for parents and students, but provides the ultimate choice to schools and administrators.

It allows these schools to cream, if I might use that term, off all of those children that may be a little bit disabled; but those children whose parents would like to have them participate who may be a little more disabled than the schools would like to tolerate, this amendment will allow those children to be rejected, and take away any choice or any option from those children to participate.

So, Mr. Chairman, I believe that it is in the best interests of public education and choice for parents that we reject this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a native South Carolinian, a close personal friend, and exemplary public figure in the State of South Carolina and his community, Senator Kay Patterson. On April 17, 2003, the Columbia Housing Authority will honor Senator Patterson's lifetime of achievements by placing his likeness on its Wall of Fame. This recognition comes on the heels of BellSouth's recognition of his accomplishments by honoring him on its 2003 African American History Calendar.

Born in Darlington County, SC, Senator Patterson was raised by his grandmothers, Meta B. Patterson and Emma Joseph. After graduation from Lincoln High School in Sumter, South Carolina, he enrolled at Claflin College for two years before leaving to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps and rose to the rank of buck-sergeant. Upon completing his military service, Senator Patterson returned to South Carolina and matriculated at Allen University where he earned a B.A. Degree in Social Sciences. Several years later, he would earn a Masters Degree in Education from South Carolina State University.

Like myself, he started his professional career as a middle school teacher. His commitment to educating our youth provided the foundation for Senator Patterson's illustrious career. His 14 years of service as an educator at W.A. Perry Middle School, C.A. Johnson High School and Benedict College and 16 years as a UniServ Representative for the South Carolina Education Association are testimony of his willingness and tenaciousness on behalf of students and teachers.

Senator Patterson began his successful odyssey toward high achievement as a politician in 1974, when he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. He would serve in the House until 1985, when he was elected to his current position in the South Carolina Senate. Renowned as a fiery and inspirational orator, Patterson has been a dynamic force in promoting change in his native state. He represents the constituents in Richland County Senate District 19 on the Senate's Banking & Insurance, Corrections & Penology, Education, Finance & Transportation Committees. In addition, Senator Patterson currently serves as Chairman of the Richland County Legislative Delegation.

Among Senator Patterson's numerous civic activities are membership in the North Columbia Civic Club and life membership in the NAACP, and I am proud to claim him as my brother in the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., to which he became a member while enrolled at Claflin.

Senator Patterson was elected by the South Carolina House Education Committee to serve on the University of South Carolina's Board of Trustees in 1983. He was elected Chairman of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus in 1990, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from South Carolina State University in 2000. And on a personal note is Chair of Friends of Jim Clyburn, my political organization.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have been asked to deliver the Keynote address at Kay's induction ceremony and ask you and my colleagues to join me in applauding Senator Patterson for a lifetime of lofty achievements. My most sincere congratulations go out to him for his endless accomplishments, and loyal and dedicated friendship.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a native South Carolinian and multi-talented dignitary in the entertainment industry, Angela L. Stone. By proudly representing her home state in her enormously successful recording career, Ms. Stone will be inducted to the Columbia Housing Authority's Wall of Fame on April 17, 2003.

Like so many successful recording artists, Ms. Stone began her singing career in the church. At the age of 11, she performed her

first gospel solo, ``The Harvest is Plentiful,'' at First Nazareth Baptist Church in Columbia. Recognizing his daughter's precocious ability, her father inspired his only child by taking her to gospel performances by the likes of the Singing Angels and the Gospel Keynotes.

While starring as a basketball player at C.A. Johnson High School, Stone spent much of her spare time nurturing her artistic talents by writing poetry. Upon graduation, she turned down college basketball scholarship offers to pursue her passion and embarked upon a career in the music industry.

Ms. Stone saved money to record her demo at a Columbia studio called PAW. Shortly thereafter, her self-taught keyboard skills along with her naturally melodious singing voice would quickly garner the attention of the music industry. Her professional career took off in the mid-80s when she joined the rap trio Sequence. After the group disbanded, she began collaborations with rap group Mantronix and rock singer Lenny Kravitz. She then formed the neo-soul trio Vertical Hold, who first reached the R&B charts in 1988 with ``Summertime.'' The group's 1993 single, ``Seems You're Much Too Busy'' reached number 17 on the charts.

Ms. Stone signed a contract with Arista Records in 1997. While with Arista, she recorded her first album, Black Diamond, in 1999. The title of the album's first hit single was ``No More Rain (In This Cloud),'' was inspired by a phrase her father would use when Stone would ask for money: ``There's no more rain in this cloud.''

Several movie soundtracks feature Ms. Stone's talent. They include ``Disappearing Acts,'' ``Bamboozled'' and ``Love & Basketball.'' She released her second album, Mahogany Soul, in 2001. The album made Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 list of albums for that year. Ms. Stone was also a 2003 Grammy Nominee.

Ms. Stone made her ``big screen'' debut in the movie Hot Chicks. She has recently completed filming of her second movie, The Fighting Temptations starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. She can currently be seen in Coca-Cola and Gap television commercials, and is preparing for her first appearance on Broadway in the musical, Chicago.

Mr. Speaker, I plan to be present for Ms Stone's induction ceremony on Thursday April 17th, and ask you and my colleagues to join me in commending Angela L. Stone for her achievements in the entertainment industry. Her status and visibility in music and film is worthy of much praise and pride from her family, friends, and all in her native state of South Carolina.

Mr. Speaker I rise today to pay tribute to a native South Carolinian and an outstanding member of our community, Colonel Walter L. Watson, Jr. For his more than 25 years of service to our country and to the field of Aerospace Science, the Columbia Housing Authority will induct Colonel Watson into its Wall of Fame on April 17, 2003.

A native of Columbia, Colonel Watson attended public schools in Richland County School District One. Upon graduation from C.A. Johnson High School in 1967, Watson enrolled at Howard University where he would earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1971. In addition, he earned a commission through Reserve Officers Training Corps and entered the Air Force as an avionics maintenance officer.

In 1973, Colonel Watson was selected for aviation training, beginning a career that would take him around the globe. His many assignments included flight instructor, flight commander in tactical fighter and strategic reconnaissance squadrons flying F-4C/D/E, F111 D and SR-71 aircraft. Colonel Watson was the first and only African American to qualify as a crewmember of the SR-71, a super secret aircraft that set altitude and speed records that still stand today.

Holding a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management from Chapman College, Colonel Watson is also a graduate of Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Humanitarian Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster.

Colonel Watson's steadfast commitment to educating our youth is evidenced by his current position as the Senior Aerospace Science Instructor for the C.A. Johnson High School Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) unit. Under his tutelage, the unit has experienced an increase of more than 8000 percent in funds for unit operations. Computer and technology assets have also increased by more than 700 percent.

Colonel Watson was recently selected as an Outstanding Senior Aerospace Science Instructor during the 1997-98 and 2001-02 school years. He was also chosen as C.A. Johnson High School's Teacher of the Year in 1998-99.

Mr. Speaker, I plan to be on hand for Mr. Watson's induction and ask you and my colleagues to join me in recognition of Colonel Watson's lifetime of high achievement. I congratulate him on his induction, and wish good luck and Godspeed to him and his family.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and the ranking member, and I especially thank the ranking member for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill honors the life and accomplishments of a consummate country doctor, the memory of a decorated Korean War veteran, the heroism of a courageous American, and the fearlessness of an outstanding South Carolinian, Dr. Roswell Nathaniel Beck, Sr.

Dr. Beck was born in Georgetown, South Carolina. After completing high school, he left the safe confines of his home and matriculated at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he received a bachelor of arts degree. After completing his course work at Fisk, Dr. Beck attended Meharry Medical College where he received his medical degree. After finishing his medical residency requirements in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Beck returned to South Carolina in 1948 and began practicing in Florence. He took great pride in addressing the medical needs of his community.

In 1951, Dr. Beck left South Carolina once again, but this time it was to answer the call of his country and serve in the Korean War. Dr. Beck performed valiantly in the medical corps and was awarded the Bronze Star for service in war.

Upon his return to South Carolina, Dr. Beck sought to not only confront the physical ailments of his community but set his sights on the social malignancies that afflicted so many of his patients. Dr. Beck was courageously and very fearlessly thrust into the vortex of the civil rights activities in South Carolina. He served as the chairman of the Voter Education Project for the sixth congressional district, where he tirelessly promoted the importance and the need for citizens to register and vote. He organized the Florence Committee for Community Affairs and was instrumental in bringing the first Head Start program to Florence, South Carolina.

In addition to his courageousness, Dr. Beck was fearlessly following his heart throughout his career. He also had a keen sense of history. Mr. Speaker, in 1972, when Shirley Chisholm made her courageous history-making run for the Presidency, the record will show that she received two delegate votes from South Carolina. Dr. Beck was one of them and I the other.

During his distinguished career, Dr. Beck also served on the boards of the South Carolina Commission on Human Relations and the South Carolina Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the Medical University of South Carolina. He was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by Governor Richard W. Riley of South Carolina and named Medical Doctor of the Year by the intercounty Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Association.

Dr. Beck holds an esteemed place in the hearts of many South Carolinians. I am particularly proud of and owe a great deal of debt of gratitude to him. His work as a physician, humanitarian, community activist, and family man has touched the lives of multitudes. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that I would be standing here today were it not for the courageousness and fearlessness of this man, who so many of us consider a hero.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Beck has received many recognitions and awards; and I am honored that this august body is about to bestow upon his memory and his family yet another. Mr. Speaker, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1901 West Evans Street in Florence, South Carolina, as the Roswell N. Beck Post Office Building is not only fitting but proper.

Mr Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a native South Carolinian whose love of family and faith in God have blessed her with a rich and full life. On February 20, 2003, Mrs. Inez Williams Brown will celebrate her 90th birthday, and in marking this important occasion, I believe it is important to highlight a few of the contributions she has made.

Mrs. Brown, the granddaughter of slaves, was born on the Blake Plantation in Colleton County. Her father, Burton, was the youngest of five children born to Sally Prince. At an early age, he married Mamie Daily, and they had five children. Inez, the youngest, was born on February 20, 1913. Before she reached her first birthday, Inez's mother died in childbirth. Her father attended South Carolina Normal Institute. He was an ordained Baptist minister and also taught school.

Inez met and married Willie Williams, also a minister. They began their lives together in Hendersonville, South Carolina, and later spent four years in Georgia. They settled in Charleston, South Carolina in 1940. They had eleven children. After the death of Reverend Williams, Mrs. Williams raised 10 children by herself with the help of her eldest son, Alfred Williams and a brother-in-law, Elijah Williams. Her dedication to her family is reflective of the strong commitment exhibited by many African-American mothers.

After all but two of her children were adults, Inez Williams married Mr. Ed Gadsden, who died two years later. And in 1981, she married Robert Brown, who passed away in 2000.

Mrs. Brown's legacy is in the family she raised nearly on her own. Her eldest son, Alfred, is the Pastor of Canaan Baptist Church with a membership of over 800 parishioners. Mozell Myers is a retired schoolteacher, and a leader among ministers' wives in the A.M.E. Church. Luethel McNeil is an insurance professional and an ordained minister in New Jersey. Mildred Williams is a schoolteacher and writer in Oakland, California. Lelia Mae Daniels is in law enforcement in El Paso, Texas. Isaac ``Ike'' Williams, is a former S.C. Field Director of the N.A.A.C.P. and presently serves on my District Staff. Ike's twin, Rebecca Small, is a speech therapist in Newark, New Jersey. Bessie Simmons is an Executive Assistant and Director of Quality Assurance for

Quovadx, Inc., an information technology provider for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She is also an internationally renowned poet. Gloria Edwards is a retired secretary for pediatric clinics at MUSC. Susie Manning is Director of Adult Treatment Services for Richland County Behavioral Health Center of the Midlands, LRADAC. The youngest, Leon Williams, is a retired Warehouse Manager for the Columbia, South Carolina Housing Authority.

Mrs. Brown has been active with the NAACP, the Senior Citizens program in Union Heights, and an avid Voter Education and Participation activist. She is the Mother of her church, Canaan Missionary Baptist Church, where she has been a member for over 60 years.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in saluting this great woman on her 90th birthday. Her unbounded love and extraordinary maternal sacrifice and dedication are legendary. This granddaughter of slaves has demonstrated with great fervor, her commitment to her family, her community and her God.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to celebrate a unique international exchange that continues to enrich this institution and The Other Body annually.

Australia is half a world away from this chamber and my constituents in the Sixth Congressional District of South Carolina. Yet Australians and Americans are close international allies and, in many ways, exceptionally close cousins in our democratic institutions, in our multiculturalism, and in the value we place on friendship.

Since 2000, a select handful of Australian university students have made the journey, at great personal expense, from Adelaide in South Australia to spend six-weeks full-time in very welcoming congressional offices. This year was my first such opportunity to host such an entrepreneurial student in Alison Cupper, who is originally from the neighboring Australian state of Victoria.

Alison has been a tireless assistant since the moment she arrived. She is here to study, which she has done daily in her enthusiasm to

learn all she can about the American system of government and in how even a brief visitor from overseas can help serve the people of South Carolina.

Alison is by no means alone in this adventure. Whether it has been Grant Harvey-Mutton in the office of Senator Chuck Hagel, or Briony Whitehouse in the office of Sen. Christopher Dodd, or Tamara Gale with our colleague Alcee Hastings, or Joshua Bolton in the office of Jerry Nadler--each of the students has brightened our days with their curiosity, humanity, and the demeanor of the best tradition of polished diplomats.

Both the U.S. and Australian governments have been strong supporters of this exchange, and rightly so. It is an effort I hope continues on a small staple of US-Australian relations.

Late last month, Mr. Speaker, the Roll Call newspaper offered a small portrait of the program and its participants. I offer that text here to you and our colleagues so that we may all celebrate the value of this exchange, which is so delightfully focused on the students, and from which we can reinforce the values we hold dear about ourselves and about the world in which we live. Mr. Speaker, please join me and my colleagues in thanking everyone involved in creating and shepherding this internship program from its initial concept to the thriving institution it has become. They have done this nation and the Australian people numerous proud acts of public service, which I hope will continue for many years to come.

[From Roll Call, Jan. 27, 2003]

Far From Home; Australians Brave Snow, Strong Dollar for Internships

(By Raya D. Widenoja)

Coming to Washington is always an adventure, but just

imagine coming from the other side of the world. Five

students from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia,

have, braving the elements for a back-stage look at American

politics.

``It's just so bloody cold,'' commented Grant Harvey-

Mutton, who recently left high summer in Adelaide to intern

in Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) office on the 4-year-old

program arranged by former Democratic Hill aide Eric

Federing.

Federing, who is now the director of business public policy

and government affairs for KPMG, was motivated to start the

program after traveling and lecturing in Australia. He runs

the program on a pro bono basis with professor Don DeBats of

Flinders' American studies department. ``The idea is to put

good people in good places with good people,'' Federing says

of his organizational philosophy. ``[The students] learn

stuff by being here that they couldn't possibly know

otherwise . . . and some have parlayed this experience into

good jobs in the Australian government.''

Accompanying Harvey-Mutton are Joshua Balfour of Adelaide

in Rep. Jerrold Nadler's (D-N.Y.) office; Alison Cupper of

Mildura in Rep. James Clyburn's (D-S.C.) office; Tamera Gale

of Yacka in Rep. Alcee Hastings' (D-Fla.) office; and Briony

Whitehouse of Adelaide in Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-Conn.) office.

Their internships will last until Feb. 14, with a reception

in their honor at the Australian Embassy on Feb. 5.

The program is as much about bridging the cultural gap

between the United States and Australia as it is about

politics, says Federing. Although the countries are very

similar in some ways, he says what the Australians call ``the

tyranny of distance'' encourages a mutual ignorance.

The students haven't been here long--arriving on Christmas

Day--but they already have interesting tidbits to share about

the differences in political culture.

``I was surprised at how polite the Members are to each

other [in the chamber ],'' said Balfour. Members of

parliament in Australia are much more ``irreverent'' when

they address one another, Federing explained, and their

remarks are generally ``less scripted.''

Gale said one of the most interesting things she has

noticed is the seating arrangement on the House floor. In

Australia the two main parties literally ``face off'' in

opposing rows, so it was odd for her to see the Members all

facing the Speaker.

Cupper, who studies law as well as international relations,

said she was surprised to see how individualism manifests

itself in U.S. culture and to observe the comparative

weakness of organized labor movements. In Australia, one of

the two main parties is called the Labor Party.

The program has garnered high praise from its start. In

March 2000, after the first students left, Rep. Loretta

Sanchez (D-Calif.) submitted remarks for the Congressional

Record praising the program and her intern, Estee Fiebiger,

who, among other things, helped Sanchez's office analyze

human rights in Vietnam. Back in Australia, Fiebiger was

inspired by her experience to start an internship program of

her own in the Labor Party.

According to Federing, at least twice as many Congressional

offices have expressed interest in hosting the interns than

are available. He is considering expanding the program, but

despite growing interest among Flinders students--in part

because even domestic political internships are uncommon in

Australia--few students actually qualify so far.

The students must major either in American studies or

political science, but it's the program's cost that really

narrows the field. The students' airfare and housing is

subsidized, but their out-of-pocket expenses add up to about

8,000 Australian dollars, which translates into $4,500 for

the six-week program.

``Interns would be beating down your door,'' Harvey-Mutton

said, ``if it weren't for the cost.''