Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, December 1, 1955, became a history-making day, when a brave and courageous Rosa Parks committed one simple act. By sitting down and refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, Rosa Parks ignited a non-violent revolution in America. By sitting down she inspired many of us to stand up and become participants in the modern-day Civil Rights Movement. America is a better country, and we are a better people today, just 50 years later.

The action of the brave and courageous African Americans of Montgomery, under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., ushered in a period of great hope and great expectation in America. During the past 50 years, we have seen unbelievable changes. We have seen the end of segregation in public transportation and in places of public accommodation. And the signs that said WHITE and COLORED have come tumbling down. In 50 years, we have witnessed the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

It is my hope that as we pause and take note of what happened in Montgomery 50 years ago, another generation will be inspired to take a stand. I hope another generation will be inspired to speak up and to speak out for what is fair, for what is right and for what is just in this nation and the world.

Mr. Speaker, Charles R. Adams retired from his position of National Employee Development Center Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Fort Worth, Texas on November 3, 2005.

Adams learned the importance of self-development at an early age while growing up on his family farm in Logansport, Louisiana. His parents, the late Mr. T.C. Adams and Elneva Adams, gave him and his ten siblings firsthand experience in working the land, and he still carries those experiences with him today.

After leaving Logansport, Adams graduated from Southern University at Baton Rouge with a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy. He received his Master's Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachussetts in 1983 and has Ph.D. studies in Urban and Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Arlington.

His impressive career with USDA spans some 38 years, having held some of the top positions in his Agency, including Regional Conservationist for the NRCS Southeast Region, based in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1997-

2004, Director of the National Employee Development Center, based in Fort Worth, Texas, from 1993-97, South National Technical Center Associate Director, also based in Fort Worth, from 1992-93, and Water Quality Coordinator at the center from 1990-92.

Before that Adams served as NRCS's State Conservationist for Arizona, based in Phoenix, from 1988-90, after having been the State Conservationist for Nevada, based in Reno, from 1986-88. He was the Deputy State Conservationist in New Mexico, based in Albuquerque, from 1985-86, after having been the Assistant State Conservationist for Operations at that location from 1984-85.

Adams worked as an area conservationist in Rio Rancho, N.M., from 1983-84, after working as an area conservationist in Flagstaff, Ariz., from 1981-82. From 1978-81 he served as a district conservationist in Edinburg, Texas, following service from 1976-78 as a district conservationist in Eastland, Texas. He was a soil conservationist for the Agency in Abilene, Texas from 1973-76. He began his full-time career with the agency as a soil scientist in Athens, Texas in 1969.

During his tenure with USDA, Charles founded some of the Agency's most innovative approaches to outreach, including the Student Trainees in Agriculture Related Sciences (STARS) program, an initiative to introduce under-served high school students in the Southeast to agriculture, as well as NRCS's American Indian Program Delivery Initiative, an annual conference linking USDA officials with American Indian leaders to promote tribal participation in USDA programs and services.

While working for NRCS Charles Adams has received a number of awards and recognitions. Within the last few years alone he received several USDA Honor Awards, including the Secretary's Award for his leadership of the Southeast Region American Indian Initiative Workgroup and the Sustainable Coffee Production Team, and his work in the Agency's Streamlining and Cost-saving Initiative. He received special recognition through a national volunteer award for his long-standing dedication to the NRCS Earth Team Volunteer Program and was the recipient of the Chief's Workforce Diversity Award which praised his encouragement and promotion of professional development among his employees. In addition, his extensive outreach efforts to minorities and women earned him a nomination for the Agency's highest Civil Rights Award in 2003.

Adams is married to the former Prenella Williamson of Port Gibson, Mississippi. In his spare time, he enjoys raising horses on his ranch in Shreveport, Louisiana, restoring his collection of antique cars, and fishing with his young grandsons.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Rules Committee, to inquire about the schedule for next week.

Mr. Speaker, next Tuesday is Election Day in many States and localities around the country. Given that we are scheduled to be in session and voting, how do you think votes might be structured that day in order to accommodate Members who have elections in their States?

Mr. Speaker, could the chairman tell me what appropriations conference reports we might expect to see on the floor next week?

Does the gentleman have any idea of which days they may go to conference?

Mr. Chairman, on which day next week might we consider the budget reconciliation bill that calls for more than $50 billion in mandatory spending cuts?

Is the gentleman suggesting that we not call it mandatory spending cuts? You are calling it reduction, budget reduction?

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman.

I would further like to inquire about the majority plan to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. This is an important issue that has had broad bipartisan support in the past, and action is needed because it is scheduled to expire on December 31.

Mr. Speaker, I really want to thank the gentleman for being patient. I understand that our Financial Services Committee Democrats stand ready to work on a bipartisan basis on this, and they have asked for a markup as soon as possible. Since time is running out, I would like to ask my colleague why we could not simply take up H.R. 1153, a bill that is a largely bipartisan product that the Financial Services Committee reported last fall, but never acted upon.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my friend and my colleague from Massachusetts for yielding me time.

Today we should be doing one thing, providing housing for people who need it. I must tell you, Mr. Chairman, I am deeply disturbed that we would add language to this bill to prohibit nonprofit organizations and groups, churches, synagogues, mosques, from engaging in civic participation, activity like nonpartisan voter regulation and get-out- the-vote drives. That is wrong. That is dead wrong.

The right to vote, the right to participate in the democratic process in our country is almost sacred. The churches, the synagogues, religious institutions, nonprofits have a long history of being involved in efforts to get people to participate, to register and to vote.

Many faith-based groups will be prohibited from providing housing to people who desperately need it, simply because part of their moral mission is to encourage people to vote, to become participants in a democratic process. This provision would stifle people and organizations from engaging in their civic responsibilities.

These groups are engaging in lawful, nonpartisan, civic activity, and I cannot believe that in 2005, this is not 1964, this is not 1965, this is not the OEO. This is not going back to the Nixon administration. What are we saying to the people around the world, telling the people in Iraq they can register, they can vote, they can participate, but we are saying here in America that our own people, nonprofit, churches, synagogues, faith-based groups cannot engage in nonpartisan voter registration and voter turnout? What kind of example are we sending for an emerging democracy?

Voter identification, voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities are fundamental activities protected by the first amendment, the cornerstone of our democracy.

To strengthen our democracy, we need to increase voter registration and increase voter turnout. We must promote these activities, not discourage them or penalize people for engaging in them.

This provision will take us back to the dark past. This is undemocratic and unconstitutional. In my estimation, it is dead wrong. We can do better, much better.

Mr. Speaker, there are many today who may not understand today why December 1, 1955, will long be remembered throughout American history. That was the day a quiet, somewhat shy, 42-year old African American seamstress named Rosa Parks was ordered to get up and give her seat to a white passenger on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. For many years, countless times, all day, every day, all throughout the American South, African Americans had submitted to that humiliating demand. But that one December day, Rosa Parks simply refused to get up. It is true, she volunteered for the local NAACP chapter in Montgomery, but she had not planned a protest that day. She was just trying to get home. She was tired, and she had had enough.

Through that one simple act, Rosa Parks displayed nothing short of raw courage. It was dangerous--very dangerous--to defy the customs, traditions, and laws of racial discrimination and segregation in the South. The Brown v. Board of Education decision had been issued by the Supreme Court only 18 months before. In reaction, violence arid intimidation erupted all across the South. There was so much tension, so much hate. In August of 1955, a 14-year-old African American boy, named Emmett Till had been murdered and mutilated by two white men while he was visiting his uncle in Money, Mississippi.

I believe there is a force--call it God or the spirit of history-- that tracks us down and selects us to participate in a cause much greater than ourselves. Rosa Parks followed her own compass that day, and she allowed herself to be used for good. She could have been killed. Instead she was arrested, booked, and taken to jail because she would not give up her seat on a public bus. When the African American community of Montgomery heard what had happened to the demure and beautiful woman they knew as Rosa Parks, the news spread like wildfire. And people began to say, ``If Rosa Parks can do it, so can I.''

By sitting down, Rosa Parks was standing up, and with her she carried the hopes, dreams, aspirations, and yearnings of hundreds and thousands of oppressed people. She inspired an entire generation to take a stand by sitting-in at lunch counters and restaurants, by standing-in at theaters, by integrating public transportation on the Freedom Rides, and by organizing voter registration campaigns in the deepest and most dangerous part of the South. It was also in response to Rosa Parks' protest that a new, young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. was called upon to be the spokesperson and leader of the movement that would ultimately become the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

That one simple, elegant act ignited a powerful non-violent movement that changed America forever. So when we pay tribute to Rosa Parks, we are saluting more than the mother of the modern day civil rights movement. We are honoring one of the founders of the New America, perhaps ultimately a founder of the Beloved Community, a truly interracial democracy where we lay down the burden of race and class.

The story of Rosa Parks reminds us that we are all one people, one family--the American family, the human family. And she reminds us that the actions of one single person have power, power to inspire a generation to greatness, power to make presidents, governors and members of Congress do what is right, even if they had not intended to. Rosa Parks teaches us that no matter what the challenge, even in the face of death, sometimes each of us is called upon to stand up, speak up, and speak out against the injustice of our day and time. And if we do, maybe, just maybe it might change a nation. And if we are as lucky as Rosa Parks, maybe it might even change the world.

Mr. Speaker, like my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), I rise tonight to salute an extraordinary and gifted American.

John H. Johnson had a vision and used that vision to destroy negative racial stereotypes and to expand opportunities for all African Americans and for all Americans. With a dream and a $500 loan, secured by his mother's furniture, Mr. Johnson began publishing the ``Negro Digest'' in 1942. With very limited resources and his dream, he built an empire that included publishing and cosmetics.

Through his work and his vision, he has made a lasting contribution. ``Jet'' and ``Ebony'' provided a window to the African American community that benefited African Americans and all Americans. ``Ebony'' and ``Jet'' became part of the dialogue. It was a way of communicating. We read it in our homes, schools, and in the barber shops and beauty shops.

There is a saying in the African American community: ``If it is in `Jet,' it must be true.'' In the pages of ``Jet'' magazine, we read the current news that had an impact on the African American community. In the pages of ``Ebony,'' people saw how other people lived; and we aspired to be like the people we saw on those pages. The pages of his magazine inspired and motivated generations of African Americans. It also helped to break down racial stereotypes by offering positive images and stories of African American men and women.

In 1957 and in 1959, he accompanied Vice President Richard M. Nixon on a special goodwill tour to nine African countries and to Russia and Poland. In 1961, he was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as Special U.S. Ambassador to the Independence Ceremonies of the Ivory Coast. And in 1963, he was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as Special United States Ambassador to the Independence Ceremonies of Kenya. In 1996, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

Johnson was solid, dependable, and reliable. He helped to energize the African American community during the height of the civil rights movement. During the struggle for equality, he published the images of the murder of Emmett Till, which galvanized the civil rights movement. His magazines have been an anchor for African Americans and continue to do that today.

His contribution to the African American community and to American life was unique and significant, and tonight we all salute the memory of John Johnson.

Mr. Speaker, as the nation celebrates the 40th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the conflict on the Edmund Pettus bridge, the 40th anniversary of the signing of Voting Rights Act, and the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott this year, I think it is fitting and appropriate that we take a moment to acknowledge the vital role that the press played in the success of the Civil Rights Movement.

I have often said that without the media the Civil Rights Movement would have been a bird without wings. I am not certain where we would be today as a nation, if the American public had not been made to acknowledge the struggles we faced in the American South. The non- violent protests of the sixties used peaceful means to demonstrate the senseless injustice of de facto and de jure segregation, the inhumanity and indignity of the Jim Crow South, and the extraordinary persecution American citizens suffered trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Without the media's willingness to stand in harm's way and starkly portray events of the Movement as they saw them unfold, Americans may never have understood or even believed the horrors that African Americans faced in the Deep South.

That commitment to publish the truth took courage. It was incredibly dangerous to be seen with a pad, a pen, or a camera in Mississippi, Alabama or Georgia where the heart of the struggle took place. There was a violent desperation among local and State officials and the citizens to maintain the traditional order. People wanted to keep their injustice a secret. They wanted to hide from the critical eye of a disapproving world. They wanted to flee from the convictions of their own conscience. And they wanted to destroy the ugly reflection that nonviolent protestors and camera images so graphically displayed. So when the Freedom Riders climbed off the bus in Alabama in 1961, for example, there were reporters who were beaten and bloodied before any of us were.

And as they were attacked, I saw in them a resolve grow within them that was similar to what those of us in the Movement experienced. I have often said that the first time I was jailed, I felt so free. This Nation had dealt me its worst blow, and I had survived. I knew then that I was committed to the struggle for the long-haul. There were many reporters who felt that same curious strengthening when they too were attacked and beaten. Instead of scaring them away, those injustices created the opposite effect. It bonded them to the Movement, and it steeled their commitment to publish all that they saw.

There are so many moments poignantly depicted for posterity by television and newspaper camera men. It is easy to recall many of these now legendary images--Rosa Parks sitting on a bus in Montgomery in 1955; the bombing of the Greyhound bus outside Anniston, Alabama during the Freedom Rides in 1961; Gov. Ross Barnett of Mississippi and Gov. George Wallace in Alabama denying the entrance of black students to state universities in 1963 and 1964; the speeches on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington in 1964; and the seminal speech President Lyndon Johnson made before a joint session of Congress encouraging the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

There are so many historic moments that were covered by the press, but there are two, which I count as turning points for me. The first is often heralded as the official beginning of the modern-day Civil Rights Movement, that is the photograph of a mutilated 14-year-old boy named Emmett Till who was killed in Money, Mississippi during a summer vacation.

Till's mother Mamie Till Mobley decided not to have a closed casket funeral, but she wanted to leave the casket open and let people see the horrifying injustice that had been done. Jet magazine carried photographs of Till's body and Look magazine published an interview with Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam who admitted to the murder.

I will never forget the way that image affected me. Something changed inside of me and inside of many people across America when we saw the body of Emmett Till. I was only a teenager at the time, but I knew that somehow, someway the injustice of segregation had to come to an end.

Within a year of the Till murder, when I was 15 years old and the son of a sharecropper in rural Alabama, I heard the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. broadcast on an old radio. He was talking about the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and I felt somehow that he was speaking directly to me. That radio broadcast changed my life because that day I knew it was possible to strike a blow at racial segregation and discrimination in America. Those moments captured by the media changed my destiny.

The Civil Rights Movement is deeply indebted to the courage, the strength, the integrity, and the talent of print and broadcast journalists who overcame their fear and decided to tell the American story. America is deeply indebted to these moment-by-moment, modern-day griots who hold up a mirror image of our society for us to see. Without a free press, this Nation would not be, could not be a beacon of justice and equality that has inspired men, women, and children worldwide to try to build a better world.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 5 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening with a heavy heart. What we have witnessed during the past few days in New Orleans and the gulf coast of Mississippi and Alabama is unreal. It is unbelievable.

This did not have to be. We were told by the National Weather Service and by the media that a dangerous storm, a very dangerous storm, was on the way; but something went wrong. Somebody someplace at the highest level of this government fell asleep at the switch.

Our government had time to act, but we failed to move. The strength and the might of the most powerful Nation on Earth, the only remaining superpower, could not defend, could not protect, could not save her people.

Even a mother hen in time of great trouble, in the midst of a mighty wind, would gather her little chick under her wing. Can we do any less?

I do not understand how we can put a man on the Moon, how we can go to the bottom of the ocean, or conduct a war thousands of miles away, yet we cannot save our own citizens here at home.

What happened in New Orleans is an embarrassment and a national disgrace, and it must never ever happen again. Some people are trying to blame local and State officials for this disaster, but as Harry Truman suggested, the buck stops at the top.

What this disaster has showed us is that this Nation is still divided by both race and class. This administration never had an urban policy. It never tried to find a way to help the poor in America.

There were people with very little means who were left out and left behind in New Orleans. They did not have an automobile or an SUV. They could not buy an airplane ticket to go to Dallas or Houston, Chicago, or Atlanta. They were left out and left behind, not just in apartments but waiting in water up to their waists, to their chests, over their heads. They have been trapped for decades in lives of poverty and neglect.

Do not tell me that our government cannot be responsible. Do not tell me that it is hard to respond. When we get ready to go to war, we do not ask two former Presidents to go pass around a tin cup to raise money. We authorize, we appropriate, and that is what we should do now.

Do not tell me that this Nation cannot respond in a crisis when the safety of the American people is at stake.

In 1957, when there was a crisis in Little Rock, Arkansas, at Central High, President Eisenhower sent in the Federal troops.

In 1961, when there was a crisis during the Freedom Rides, Americans were beaten and brutalized, President Kennedy placed the city of Montgomery under martial law and sent in the National Guard to protect the lives of local citizens.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson did not hesitate. He used his capacity, he used his power as Commander in Chief to call out the Federal troops to protect Americans as they marched from Selma to Montgomery.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we are the most powerful Nation on Earth; and we are able, we are able, we have the ability, we have the capacity to respond in a crisis. We have the means. Now we just have to find the will.

A great nation is defined by the methods it uses to defend the dignity of humanity. This hurricane has put us to the test, and it is my hope and my prayer that some good can come out of this very bad situation.

People have lost their lives. Families are broken. Mothers are here. Fathers are there. Children and grandchildren are someplace else. We may never really know how many people died because of this disaster. There are people suffering from dehydration. People cannot get their medicine. They are stranded for days and cannot get food to eat or water to drink. A great Nation, a proud people should be able to do better.

The American people have taken the lead. They have poured out their compassion and come to the aid of their fellow citizens. They have expressed a sense of righteous indignation. They have called us on the telephone. They have e-mailed us. They are demanding action. They want to know why this has happened; and Mr. Speaker, it is the role of their government to respond.

We must deliver Federal support to help rebuild New Orleans, to help rebuild the gulf coast of America. We must deliver Federal support to help rebuild the lives of thousands of American people and help them find their way back home; and if we do anything less, if we fail to act, then I am afraid the spirit of history will not be kind to us.

Mr. Speaker, not so long ago, 40 years ago, in many parts of the American South, it was almost impossible for people of color to register to vote. Just 40 years ago, people of color had to pay a poll tax and pass a so-called literacy test in some States in the South. There were black men and women who were professors in colleges and universities, black lawyers and black doctors who were told that they could not read or write well enough to register to vote. People were turned away from the courthouse when they attempted to register. Some were jailed.

Forty years ago, on March 7, 1965, about 600 black men and women, and a few young children attempted to peacefully march from Selma, Al, to Montgomery, to the State Capital, to dramatize to the world that people of color wanted to register to vote. And the world watched as we were met with night sticks, bull whips; we were trampled by horses and tear gassed.

Eight days after what became known as Bloody Sunday, President Johnson came to this very Chamber and spoke to a joint session of Congress. He started off that speech on March 15, 1965 by saying: ``I speak tonight for the dignity of man and for the destiny of democracy.'' President Johnson went on to say: ``At times, history and fate come together to shape a turning point in a man's unending search for freedom. So it was more than a century ago at Lexington and at Concord. So it was at Appomattox. So it was last week in Selma, Alabama.''

And during that speech, 40 years ago, President Johnson condemned the violence in Selma, and called on Congress to enact the Voting Rights Act. Echoing the words of the civil rights movement, he closed his speech by saying ``And we shall overcome.''

Forty years ago, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, and on August 6, 1965, it was signed into law.

Because of the action of Congress and the leadership of a President and the courage of hundreds and thousands of our citizens, we have witnessed a nonviolent revolution in America, a resolution of values, a revolution of ideas. The passage of the Voting Rights Act helped expand our democracy and open up our democracy to let in millions of our citizens.

We still need to keep the voting rights act strong. The Voting Rights Act must be reauthorized. Not just reauthorized, it must be renewed and strengthened. The vote is the most powerful, nonviolent tool that our citizens have in a democratic society, and nothing, but nothing, should interfere with the right of every citizen to vote and have their vote count.

Mr. Speaker, the history of the right to vote in America is a history of conflict, of struggling for the right to vote. Many people died trying to protect that right.

For millions like me, the struggle for the right to vote is not mere history; it is experience. The experience of minorities today tells us that the struggle is not over and that the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act are still necessary.

I am proud to be the sponsor of H. Con. Res. 216, a resolution commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which I introduced with my colleagues from the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Chabot and Mr. Nadler. In that resolution, we pledge to ``advance the legacy of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by ensuring the continued effectiveness of the Act to protect the voting rights of all Americans.''

I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to protect the voting rights of all Americans.

Today we celebrate how far we have come. We celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great disappointment that I submitted a statement for the Record yesterday, instead of going to the floor, as originally scheduled, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. The Republican Leadership has decided that the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act is less important than leaving a day early for the Congressional August Recess.

I introduced House Concurrent Resolution 216 with my bipartisan colleagues from the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Chabot and Mr. Nadler. On Wednesday, I had planned to join my colleagues in debating the resolution on the floor, but at the last moment, the Republican Leadership decided to pull the solution from consideration in order to consider CAFTA. Thursday morning, the resolution was listed for consideration, but by late morning, it was brought to my attention that the Republican Leadership had decided to reduce debate on this resolution to a mere 5 minutes, down from the customary 40 minutes allotted to consideration of resolutions under suspension of the rules. Furthermore, they planned to package the suspensions together under condensed time and they were also adding to that package an additional controversial suspension bill without allowing any debate. This important resolution was being treated as insignificant. The Minority Leader opposed giving this important resolution such short shrift, and in response, the Republican leadership pulled the legislation from consideration all together.

Today was the last opportunity for us to celebrate this important Act before the anniversary on August 6. This has become an unacceptable pattern for the Republican Leadership. The Republican majority promised after the 1994 elections to manage the House in a way that fostered ``deliberative democracy,'' which they defined as the ``full and free airing of conflicting opinions through hearings, debates, and amendments.'' They also pledged in their Contract with America to ``restore accountability to Congress.'' Instead of sticking to their word, they have broken their promises, and flaunted and abused their power. They have abandoned the principle of procedural fairness or democratic accountability.

There is no reason that we could not debate this resolution this week, particularly when the Republicans will conclude business early in the day today. I am disappointed in my Republican colleagues for again derailing debate, particularly when it comes to issues related to voting and the Voting Rights Act.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast rollcall votes 336 and 344 on June 29, 2005. I had planned to be present for most of these votes and had planned my flight

according, but because of the Capitol evacuation which postponed votes, I was unable to be present. I was required to be in the district the following morning to participate in the Base Realignment and Closure hearing and there was no other flight available. Had I been present I would have cast the following votes:

On rollcall 336, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall 337, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall 338, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall 339, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall 340, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall 341, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall 342, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall 343, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall 344, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast rollcall votes 241 and 242 on June 13, 2005 because I was attending to an unavoidable personal matter. I was also unable to cast rollcall votes 288 through 321 on June 21, 2005 through June 24, 2005 because I was attending to a family emergency. Had I been present I would have cast the following votes:

On rollcall No. 241, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 242, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 288, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 289, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 290, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 291, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 292, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 293, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 294, I would have voted no.

On rollcall No. 295, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 296, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 297, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 298, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 299, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 300, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 301, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 302, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 303, I would have voted no.

On rollcall No. 304, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 305, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 306, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 307, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 308, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 309, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 310, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 311, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 312, I would have voted no.

On rollcall No. 313, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 314, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 315, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 316, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 317, I would have voted no. On rollcall No. 318, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 319, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 320, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 321, I would have voted no.

43. Specialist Philip D. Brown

44. Specialist Isela Rubalcava

45. Specialist Chase R. Whitman

46. Specialist James J. Holmes

47. Sergeant Rodney A. Murray

48. Private First Class Andrew L. Tuazon

49. Specialist Kyle A. Brinlee

50. Specialist Jeffrey R. Shaver

51. Lance Corporal Jeremiah E. Savage

52. Private First Class Brandon C. Sturdy

53. Private First Class Brian K. Cutter

54. Specialist Philip I. Spakosky

55. Sergeant Brud J. Cronkite

56. Command Sergeant Major Edward C. Barnhill

57. Private First Class Michael A. Mora

58. Sergeant James William Harlan

59. Staff Sergeant Rene Ledesma

60. Senior Airman Pedro I. Espaillat, Jr.

61. Second Lieutenant Leonard M. Cowherd, Jr.

62. Specialist Carl F. Curran

63. Specialist Mark Joseph Kasecky

64. Lance Corporal Bob W. Roberts

65. Staff Sergeant Joseph P. Garyantes

66. Specialist Marcos O. Nolasco

67. Staff Sergeant William D. Chaney

68. Private First Class Michael M. Carey

69. Specialist Michael C. Campbell

70. Sergeant First Class Troy . . Leon'' Miranda

71. Private First Class Leslie D. Jackson

72. Corporal Rudy Salas

73. Staff Sergeant Jeremy R. Horton

74. Lance Corporal Andrew J. Zabierek

75. Staff Sergeant Jorge A. Molina Bautista

76. Specialist Jeremy L. Ridlen

77. Specialist Beau R. Beaulieu

78. Private First Class Owen D. Witt

79. Private First Class James P. Lambert

80. Private First Class Richard H. Rosas

81. Sergeant Kevin F. Sheehan

82. Specialist Alan N. Bean, Jr.

83. Private First Class Daniel Paul Unger

84. Corporal Matthew C. Henderson

85. Lance Corporal Kyle W. Codner

86. Corporal Dominique J. Nicolas

87. Lance Corporal Benjamin R. Gonzalez

88. Specialist Michael J. Wiesemann

89. Private First Class Cody S. Calavan

. 90. Lance Corporal Rafael Reynosasuarez

91. Specialist Charles E. Odums II

92. Private Bradli N. Coleman

93. Sergeant Aaron C. Elandt

94. Private First Class Nicholaus E. Zimmer

95. First Lieutenant Kenneth Michael Ballard

96. Captain Robert C. Scheetz, Jr.

97. Lance Corporal Dustin L. Sides

98. Private First Class Markus J. Johnson

99. Corporal Bumrok Lee

100. Lance Corporal Todd J. Bolding

101. Specialist Christopher M. Duffy

102. Sergeant Frank T. Carvill

103. Specialist Justin W. Linden

104. Sergeant Justin L. Eyerly

105. First Lieutenant Erik S. McCrae

106. Specialist Ryan E. Doltz

107. Sergeant Humberto F. Timoteo

108. Sergeant Melvin Y. Mora Lopez

109. Private First Class Melissa J. Hobart

110. Sergeant Jamie A. Gray

111. Lance Corporal Jeremy L. Bohlman

112. Captain Humayun S. M. Khan

113. Private First Class Thomas D. Caughman

114. Specialist Eric S. McKinley

115. Private First Class Shawn M. Atkins

116. Sergeant Arthur S. (Stacey) Mastrapa

117. Specialist Jeremy M. Dimaranan

118. Major Paul R. Syverson III

119. Specialist Thai Vue

120. Private First Class Jason N. Lynch

121. Private First Class Sean Horn

122. Staff Sergeant Marvin Best

123. Staff Sergeant Gregory V. Pennington

124. Lance Corporal Pedro Contreras

125. Corporal Tommy L. Parker, Jr.

126. Lance Corporal Deshon E. Otey

Mr. Speaker, it is so strange. It is so ironic. It is almost eerie that Edgar Ray Killen was convicted today exactly 41 years to the day that James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner, and Andy Goodman were found missing in Philadelphia, Mississippi. I knew these three young men, these brave and courageous fighters for freedom. They did not die in Vietnam. They did not die in the Middle East. They did not die in Eastern Europe. They did not die in Africa or South America; they died right here in the United States. And they were killed simply for helping Americans exercise their constitutional right to vote.

They were killed, not just by vicious members of the Ku Klux Klan, but they were also killed by an evil system of tradition and government that perpetuated segregation, racial discrimination, and deliberately and methodically denied African Americans the right to vote. Their murder was a sad and dark hour for the whole Civil Rights Movement, and especially for those of us who participated in the Mississippi Summer project. When we realized that these three young men were missing, it broke our hearts, but it did not destroy our determination to continue the struggle to gain the right to vote.

For more than a thousand young people who risked their lives in Mississippi that summer, and for the mothers and the families of James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner, and Andy Goodman, maybe, just maybe, what happened today will offer some degree of closure. It took a long time to bring some resolution to this case, but justice is never too late. I hope that this conviction will have a cleansing effect on our nation's dark racial past.

I also hope that the state of Mississippi and the American people will do more. I hope that we will seek and find appropriate ways to honor the sacrifices of these three young men. I hope that as a nation and as a people we will always remember that the struggle for civil rights in America is littered by the battered and broken bodies of countless men and women who paid the ultimate price for a precious right--the right to vote. We must not take that right for granted. We have a mandate from these three young men who gave their lives for our freedom in the red clay of Mississippi. We must continue the struggle for justice in America and around the world.