Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, as we resume our business I want to pause for a moment and note the death of a giant in American political history. On December 10, 2005, the Honorable Eugene Joseph McCarthy, former Representative and Senator from Minnesota, departed this life at age 89. Although many Americans, especially the young, may not know much of McCarthy's career or his role in our country's history, we are all fortunate that he chose public service and once trod the halls of this Capitol as a Member.

In the days following the Senator's death here in Washington of the effects of Parkinsonism, much has been written about him. Born on March 29, 1916, McCarthy grew up in Watkins, Minnesota, where, he once said, the culture revolved around baseball, the church, and the railroad. After earning a master's degree at the University of Minnesota, following initial diversions through study for the priesthood and a semi-professional baseball career, McCarthy became a college professor. He worked in the War Department during

World War II and married, having three daughters and a son. In 1948, the historic election ultimately featuring the erroneous Chicago Tribune headline ``Dewey Defeats Truman,'' McCarthy won a seat in the U.S. House, representing St. Paul. Taking his seat in 1949, Eugene McCarthy embarked on a solidly liberal voting record in the House, whose Members included John F. Kennedy, Gerald R. Ford, and Richard M. Nixon.

It immediately became clear that Eugene McCarthy had uncommon political courage. During his first term, another McCarthy, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, created an uproar in a February 1950 speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, by waving around an alleged list of Communists in the State Department.

Joe McCarthy's subsequent Red-baiting rampage through the early 1950s thus began, destroying numerous peoples' careers and intimidating countless more. In 1952, Eugene McCarthy, then a second-term Congressman of the minority party, had an opportunity and the courage to confront the author of ``McCarthyism'' in a nationally broadcast television debate, one of the earliest of its kind. Observers of the ``McCarthy vs. McCarthy'' debate considered the outcome a draw--in reality, a tremendous victory for the mild-mannered Congressman from Minnesota.

After five terms in the House, during which he helped to found the Democratic Study Group, an organization committed to advancing liberal public policies, Eugene McCarthy successfully challenged the incumbent conservative Republican Senator Edward Thye. For Democrats, the 1958 election yielded spectacular results, and McCarthy joined a large class of new Senators, one of whom, the distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, serves to this day.

In the years to follow, the new Senator McCarthy continued his solidly liberal voting record, supporting civil rights, anti-poverty legislation, and the creation of Medicare. He decried racism and the ills of poverty, and supported most proposals of the ``New Frontier'' and the ``Great Society'' during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

Of course, the momentous event of Eugene McCarthy's 22 years in Congress was his courageous, insurgent campaign for the 1968 Democratic Presidential nomination, which changed the course of history for America and the world.

Like 87 other Senators, Eugene McCarthy had voted for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in August 1964, which gave President Johnson authority to wage war in Vietnam. The climate in which that vote had occurred, a few days after an alleged attack by North Vietnamese patrol boats against two American destroyers, made the resolution virtually impossible to oppose. But Senator McCarthy, who served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, came to regret his vote when it became clear to him that the Johnson administration would expend vast sums and thousands of lives in a conflict that even the President himself, we now know from taped telephone conversations, doubted could be won.

McCarthy believed the war was not only unwinnable, but morally wrong. Defying the administration, he urged a new course and called for a negotiated settlement in Vietnam. By the time he announced on November 30, 1967, that he would seek the 1968 Democratic Presidential nomination, more than 15,000 American service men and women had died, along with tens of thousands of Vietnamese, with no end in sight.

Senator McCarthy's decision to challenge President Johnson shocked and divided the Democratic Party and the country. But dissatisfaction with the war policy had found a champion. Senator McCarthy argued that the billions of dollars being spent in Vietnam could be better put to work, and that withdrawal from Vietnam would not hurt American national security. He launched a campaign focusing on four States scheduled to hold Democratic primaries, beginning with New Hampshire.

In addition to others eager for change, the McCarthy campaign attracted the support of thousands of college students from across the country, many of whom flocked into the State and rang doorbells in support of the Senator, explaining the problems with the war and his vision for a rational solution. To respond to the charge that only ``hippies'' and ``communists'' opposed the war, young men shaved their beards and went ``clean for Gene.'' Ben Shahn and other famous artists painted campaign posters, entertainers, including singers Peter, Paul and Mary, who remained the Senator's lifelong friends, wrote and performed.

In the New Hampshire Democratic primary, the Senator received an astounding 42 percent of the vote, to the President's 49 percent, leading the President to withdraw from the race later that month. The McCarthy campaign continued, exhilarated by the result. But after Senator McCarthy demonstrated the vulnerability of the President and overall dissatisfaction with the war, Senator Robert Kennedy entered the race also on an anti-war platform, and fellow Minnesotan Hubert Humphrey, the Vice President, entered as the ``establishment'' Democrat after President Johnson's withdrawal. Following the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, who had endorsed Senator McCarthy in the California primary, and Senator Robert Kennedy, Vice President Humphrey amassed the delegates needed to win the nomination, and nearly defeated Richard Nixon in the general election.

After leaving the Senate in 1970, McCarthy remained a vital force in American politics, offering an independent point of view on issues, especially campaigns and elections. He wrote dozens of books, poetry, and continued making his unique contribution to our culture until his death.

Mr. Speaker, although the Senator's wife Abigail and their daughter Mary preceded the Senator in death, their daughters Margaret and Ellen survive, along with son Michael. In a personal note, as many of our colleagues know, daughter Ellen McCarthy serves on the Democratic staff of the Committee on House Administration. Every day, Ellen skillfully helps our Committee, other Members and their staffs to navigate the maze of rules, regulations, and other issues they confront in the course of their work here in the House. Speaking for the Committee, we are grateful that Senator McCarthy's dedication to public service led to Ellen's work with us, and we share not only her loss, but also her intense personal pride in her father's accomplishments in this world.

Mr. Speaker, all Members of this Congress, and indeed every American, should give thanks for the life and career of Eugene McCarthy. He had the wisdom to see a wrong, and the courage to act when it mattered, all at great political peril, and ultimately, sacrifice. We have too seldom seen his like before, and I fear we shall not soon see his like again.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman and the ranking member for this time that they have allotted to recognize an American icon, a woman of great distinction, of grace, of courage, one whom I have known for a long time because she was my soror, an AKA. And we met many times to talk about issues of women, women's suffrage, we talked about sexual exploitation of women around this world and human indignities.

As I heard about her passing I could not help but to reflect on the many times that we have spent together and on the courage that I drew from her and the strength that I drew from her, because this woman showed us so much, so much class, so much leadership, and so much strength in moments of tragedy.

And this is why I come together with my friends from across the aisle, and on both sides, to talk about the legacy of Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the aptly named first lady of the civil rights movement. She was the embodiment of a living soul who chose to help others without regard for self. Coretta Scott King was her husband's most ardent supporter during his darkest days and his most shining triumphs.

She spent the years after Dr. King's tragic assassination as the beacon of life toward equality and human rights for women and for all Americans. Fighting alongside her husband, however, through the many blessed years of their marriage, Coretta Scott King faced hardships, derision and physical violence.

In 1956, Mrs. King was in her home with her baby daughter when someone attempted to end her life and her husband's life, who was on a crusade. They threw a bomb into their home. The bomb did not injure her nor her child, but she could have rightfully ended her involvement on that particular issue at that time.

Thirteen years later her husband was brutally murdered in his quest for a social revolution.

Mrs. King stood strong only days later and led thousands of people marching in her husband's honor. The world is a better place, Mr. Speaker, because she was a giant of a woman, a crusader for justice and a courageous woman in the face of enormous adversity and tragedy.

Coretta Scott King campaigned tirelessly wherever she saw oppression or injustice. She celebrated Dr. King's legacy and created one of her own. Women's rights groups, people who fight against hunger, unemployment, disenfranchisement, and racism owe her a debt of gratitude. She embraced her husband's method of peaceful resistance and applied it in her crusade against the violence that corrupts our Nation.

Coretta Scott King was an activist, an icon, and a great wife and mother. America was so influenced by her, Mr. Speaker. She will continue to live in our memory and in our spirit as we further her work of nonviolence.

Mr. Chairman, I am deeply concerned about a bill of this type ``The Border Security Act of 2005'' coming to the floor of this chamber.

This bill does not adequately achieve our common goals of a comprehensive immigration policy that protects our borders while humanely seeking to address the many workers who are already in this country.

We realize that 9/11 taught us that our nation must address our national security along our borders from the north, south, east and west. Unfortunately, this bill is not the way to go in addressing this very important issue.

Statistics have shown that barrier fences have never worked to deter migration. The fences proposed in this legislation would be disastrous to the environment. It would destroy half of our national park land and many endangered species would be at risk if a massive fence was built in this territory.

This is why I have joined with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Nursery & Landscape Association, and Americans for Tax Reform, Associated Builders and Contractors, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, Small Business & Entrepreneurs Council, Society of American Florists and the American Bar Association in opposing this bill.

For centuries, America has prided herself on welcoming those who felt that our country could give them a better way of life. The statue of Liberty in the Harbor of New York was that symbol of hope. Where is the promise and hope in this legislation?

Furthermore, this bill does nothing to address judicial review. As it now stands, the current detention practices are extremely expensive. The overall cost for detention is over $1 billion a 2 year. On average over 22,000 detainees are in custody each day. Detaining members of vulnerable populations who are likely to appear for hearings and are not a threat to society is a misguided use of taxpayer's dollars. Using detention as the only way to ensure compliance is a costly practice. A formal hearing would expedite the process and save time and money.

Finally, if this bill is enacted provisions of this legislation would deny citizenship to babies who are born in this country by parents who are not citizens and would become law. These are not the principles of America.

As a Nation we need to address serious comprehensive immigration issues. As a Congress, we need to get to work and complete a bill that reflects the needs and concerns of the entire country.

I would be happy to vote for an immigration bill that actually protects the interests of the American public, small businesses and makes our Nation secure. H.R. 4377 is not that bill.

I urge a no vote on the Border Security Act of 2005.

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

I thank my chairman for his words for this delightful woman who has served so admirably in this House.

I am very pleased to first acknowledge Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, whom Ms. Sewell is her constituent, and she has sent a note to say that because of a scheduled event here in the District, she is trying to arrive here in time to offer remarks honoring Ms. Helen Sewell, a longtime Washington, D.C. resident.

Mr. Speaker, this long-serving and dedicated staff of the House deserves recognition of the Members of this House and the public alike.

I would like to express my appreciation to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, my dear friend Mr. Curt Weldon, for providing the opportunity today to praise Helen Sewell for her long, loyal, and dutiful service. She deserves being singled out for recognition, and the gentleman from Pennsylvania has captured that in this resolution, and I am sure his words will also be reflective in that as we speak of her service to the House, not only her but her father. So certainly she and her father were and are House institutions.

Having served since she was 15 years old, she has served admirably following those 87 years of her father. We look at the woman when she was young and is still young in spirit to see that she has served almost 7 decades, has been here, has been here as it was said by the reader, during the attack of Puerto Rican nationalists on March 1 of 1957 and has had personal relationships with many persons and including Presidents Ford, Nixon, and George H. Walker Bush. She has provided much friendship and nourishment to the Members of this House and has had an extraordinary endurance and strength in her long-working years. I would like to say that she deserves this recognition. It is a fitting tribute, and it speaks volumes of the type of institutional dedication that is all too hard to find in our world today.

However, she is a representative of others who labor in this House during the people's business by supporting us policymakers as we carry out our constitutional roles. So Ms. Sewell will be retiring on December 31 after many long-serving years. But there are other staffers who are retiring and who have served admirably as well. While we honor Ms. Sewell on the occasion of her retirement, let us also take this opportunity to thank and to honor the other House officers and staff who will follow her into retirement after serving this House for more than 30 years. Kudos to all of those great folks.

Mr. Speaker, all Members wish her good health and good fortune, and we want her to start a new chapter of her life.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

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

Mr. Speaker, let me again thank Representative Curt Weldon for a great tribute to this outstanding woman. What a great Representative you are in bringing this to the floor today and to display all of the beautiful pictures that you have shown to us today in honor of this great lady.

Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives honors Ms. Sewell on the occasion of her retirement and expresses its gratitude for her many years of service. We thank you, Ms. Sewell.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am happy that tonight this House will pass a bill that enjoys strong bipartisan support of 221 cosponsors that honors the contribution of another woman suffragist-- Sojourner Truth. Sojourner Truth was a towering figure among the founders of the movement for women's suffrage in the United States.

Over 1,000 civic, religious, political, cultural, fraternal, business, and labor organizations and the National Congress of Black Women (NCBW), support this legislation.

Specifically, this legislation directs the Joint Committee on the Library to accept the donations for a bust depicting Sojourner Truth and to display it in an appropriate location within the Halls of Congress.

One of the initial proponents of the ``Honor Sojourner Truth'' initiative, was the late Dr. C. Delores Tucker and past President of the NCBW, who fought for Congress to pass this legislation.

Recognition of Sojourner Truth as one of the great women's rights leaders is well deserved.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure working with you on this very important legislation, and the sponsors of this legislation, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, who worked tirelessly for the passage of this important legislation and to fulfill a promise made to Dr. Tucker.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Chris Smith for his tireless efforts in bringing this very important lifesaving legislation forward and getting me to work with him to get the Senate to do the right thing and put this forward.

I would also like to say I supported the stem cell research bill also because I feel it has a broader significance to lifesaving measures. In this 21st century, we cannot afford to not look at both of these as provisions for helping to save the lives of American people. This is why I stand before you today in support of H.R. 2520.

Too many members of the minority population live with life- threatening diseases. We must provide them with the benefits of cord blood stem cells. Cord blood stem cells can be used for bone marrow reconstitution by transplantation to recipients with certain abnormalities such as leukemia and lymphoma, genetic disorders such as sickle cell anemia, and acquired diseases.

The promise of using stem cells for medical treatment has been the focus of research projects that are showing encouraging results. Cord blood stem cells have been triggered to differentiate into neural cells, which could lead to treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. They have also proven their ability to turn into blood vessel cells, which could someday benefit treatment for heart disease, allowing patients to essentially grow their own bypass.

We need the hope that cord blood stem cells can bring. Sickle cell anemia is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting 70,000 to 80,000 Americans. The disease occurs in approximately one in 500 African American newborns. People with sickle cell disease have a diminished quality of life and greatly enhanced fatality rate.

The suffering has gone on far too long. We must use every resource at our disposal to cure this and other blood-related diseases. In my district, I have a lot of young children who have sickle cell disease. These cord blood cells would certainly help in furthering their lives.

I ask all my colleagues to please support H.R. 2520. I believe it should pass today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Pension Protection Act of 2005. This Act does not protect the American worker. In fact, this bill places the future of today's American worker in jeopardy.

Even worse, this bill places those who have put in the years and worked hard at the mercy of bad management decisions.

Furthermore, pensions are a financial safety net that many Americans and businesses pay into. Pension programs are an important factor when workers choose a job and it plays a large part in financial planning.

Many people go their entire career thinking they will have this money upon retirement and regularly contribute even when they could use the money to take their family on vacation or buy their children clothes. Instead, they place earnings into their pensions as much in the short run as they will need in the future.

Pension plans are as much about personal responsibility as they are about good financial planning.

The American worker's pension should not be a pawn for businesses to navigate bankruptcy. I am especially concerned about the adverse affect this bill has on women.

As a Member on the Aviation subcommittee and a frequent flyer, I have worked for years with airlines and flight attendants.

Many, many airline employees are women. Many of those women are single mothers. Without a guaranteed source of retirement income, it is almost impossible for these women to stay in the employ of the airlines--and worse yet, many of these women have already put in years of hard work and have already lost upwards of 75 percent of their pensions.

Mr. Speaker, my office has received a towering pile of heartbreaking letters from people whose pensions have been lost.

How do we as Members of Congress tell these people that after all these years of paying into a pension--working toward a retirement--they have to make other plans for their golden years.

We have an opportunity to do some real good. We have an opportunity to strengthen the commitment between the employers and workers, however this bill further drives a wedge between the two.

Vote no against this bill today and let us pledge to come back during the second session of the 109th Congress and do this right.

We owe it to the American people to take their financial future as seriously as they do. Vote no on the Pension Protection Act of 2005.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman, for his dedication and commitment to this issue, along with my friend the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member, for his ongoing support of this piece of legislation, and Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to address this issue that is incredibly important to all Cambodian Americans.

The tragic history of over 1.7 million Cambodian men, women and children who died during the Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 is unconscionable. The inhumanity of the Khmer Rouge regime and the harrowing events of the killing fields there still touch every Cambodian American family. They live each day with the indelible scars of lost mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and other loved ones.

While the tragedy can never be reversed, America's recognition of the 1.7 million lives lost is important to the hundred of thousands of survivors that now call America home.

My legislation, H. Con. Res. 238, commemorates the victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide.

In 1975, a large-scale insurgency took place, resulting in the forced removal of local Cambodians from their villages and into labor camps in an attempt by the Khmer Rouge to restructure society.

The Khmer Rouge maintained control by mass public tortures and executions. Families were separated by sending men, women and children into various labor camps, scattered throughout that country. Famine and disease were epidemic between April of 1975 and January of 1979. Cambodians watched hundreds of thousands of their loved ones die by starvation and thousands more by torture.

When the Khmer Rouge was overthrown in 1979 by Vietnamese troops, thousands of Cambodians fled to nearby refugee camps in Thailand and to camps in the Philippines and Indonesia. As many as 145,000-plus courageous Cambodians made their way to the United States.

With the assistance of the Federal Government, State, local and voluntary agencies, Cambodians were resettled in communities across America. Despite the tremendous loss of family members, homes and parts of their heritage, Cambodians have shown enormous resiliency.

Their culture and contributions to America continue each day to enrich our society, and I am immensely proud that the largest Cambodian presence in the United States resides in my district.

Cambodians have been awaiting justice for over a quarter of a century, and it now seems that the opportunity will soon arise. The United Nations has taken steps to establish an international tribunal in 2007 to bring justice to the perpetrators of the Cambodian genocide. The government of Cambodia seems poised to proceed.

It is my sincere hope that the Cambodian tribunal, once it is up and running, will ensure that justice is finally served, and that those who perpetrated the genocide against innocent Cambodians will finally be punished for their heinous acts. Mr. Speaker, the 10s of thousands of Cambodian Americans who lost loved ones to the killing fields deserve no less.

So I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution, and again, I thank both the chairman and the ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of a colleague, a friend and someone whose judgment I respect. John Murtha had seen a lot of battles before he came to Congress. A decorated Vietnam Veteran with two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star in 37 years of service in the Marines.

I did not know him then, but I know him now. He is a Member who carries with him a full life lived, a perspective shaped by experience and understanding. He has accrued wisdom, which is seldom seen in a person who carries it in such a dignified and unassuming manner.

He was one of the first gentlemen of the House to support the ``Women In Military Service For America Memorial.'' I asked him for his support on this project, but I did not have to explain it. He understood the contributions women and other minorities have made in the military. He takes a comprehensive and inclusive view of situations. This man's actions define who he is. I find this refreshing. He speaks from a position of knowledge. I say this because tonight we are debating a severely amended version of the Murtha Resolution.

If we are going to seriously debate the war in Iraq, we must do so in the scope that represents the full spectrum of the American people. This resolution tonight is not the debate the American people have asked for or need to hear. The American people want a comprehensive and inclusive debate that reflects the complexity of the situation our country finds itself in.

While agreeing with the Murtha Resolution, I do so primarily because he has given this situation great thought and because I trust that the author had every intent of fully debating his resolution whether members agreed to it or not--and is willing to listen constructively. We should follow his lead on opening up this debate--not smothering it. Mr. Speaker, I ask that on this Friday night before we adjourn for the Thanksgiving season to be with family and mends to give thanks, let us give dignity to a true debate about this war in Iraq.

The American people deserve better.

Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio to explain the purpose of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I rise to join the chairman in support of this resolution which would allow a statue of the late Rosa Louise Parks to be placed in the U.S. Capitol. I would first like to congratulate my colleague from Illinois, Jesse Jackson, Jr., and his partner, Mike Rogers, for their hard work in building the ground swell of support which this bill has as well as thanks to the chairman of the Committee on House Administration, my colleague, Mr. Ney; the Speaker; and the distinguished Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, for working so diligently with me to bring this bill to the floor.

Rosa Louise Parks was a great woman who simply sat down in order for us to stand up here today. I believe that it is only fitting that we honor this great American by placing a life-sized statue of her in the U.S. Capitol

for all to see. I urge my colleagues to bestow upon Rosa Louise Parks this honor and include among the collection of statues here in the Capitol the very first statue of an African American woman. Support this resolution in honor of the mother of the civil rights movement, Rosa Louise Parks. Once this bill has been passed by Congress and has been signed into law, I look forward to my role as a member of the Joint Committee on the Library in overseeing the commissioning of the statue. It will be a high honor for me to be part of this effort to further pay tribute and honor to this heroine of mine and to all Americans who is also from my home State of Alabama.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to now yield to the distinguished Democratic leader, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi.

Thank you so much, Madam Leader.

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I yield to the godfather, the Honorable John Conyers.

Mr. Speaker, I would now like to yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

It is an honor to see a new generation emerge, one who is walking in the footsteps of his own father. It is great to have the co-author of this legislation here. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson).

Mr. Speaker, this shows that the future generations will have hope now in this young Member of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I rise in strong support of this bill to honor an individual who chose to assert her civil rights and her human rights at a critical moment in our history and by doing so she has changed America forever.

I would like to thank my chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) for his devotion, his steadfastness, his

dedication, and his commitment to all people. I would like to thank all of those, the leadership of the House on both sides, for ushering this bill to the floor.

Rosa Louise Parks richly deserves this honor.

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored tonight to stand here to honor a great American. Last month, America lost a visionary leader, and those of us in Congress lost a dear friend with the passing of the late, great Congressman Edward R. Roybal.

Ed Roybal was a forward-thinking, progressive Latino politician long before there was something called the Chicano movement. He was born in February, 1916, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the age of 6, he moved with his family to the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. After earning degrees at UCLA and Southwestern University, he joined the Army in 1944 and went off to fight in World War II.

Upon his return to Los Angeles in 1945, Ed worked as the Director of Health Education for the Los Angeles County Tuberculosis and Health Association. In 1949, he became the first Mexican American elected to the Los Angeles City Council in nearly a century, and it would be his springboard to greater accomplishments.

In 1959, he founded the Mexican American Political Association, one of the first organizations formed to improve the social, economic, cultural, and civic advancements of Mexican Americans and all Spanish- speaking Americans through political action. This organization has become a premier leader in our Nation, fighting for the rights of all Americans.

Later, he also formed the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. He knew the importance of a political system and wanted to ensure Latinos made their voices heard through this process.

In 1963, he again broke down barriers by becoming the first Mexican American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 20th century.

When he took his seat in Congress, Ed Roybal never forgot his roots and those he represented. But not only did he represent Latinos. I saw him as a leader representing all of us. He worked tirelessly to ensure that all people, Latinos and others alike, were fairly represented and that their interests were not diluted during redistricting. Sadly, he often stood alone in these efforts.

Ed Roybal was also a strong advocate for the elderly and the working poor. We have heard how he served as chairman of both the Select Committee on Aging and the Subcommittee on Health and Long Term Care, moving legislation on health care, Social Security, housing, and other human services. What a great man he was.

He was indeed a New Deal Democrat who was known as a legislator's legislator for his ability to craft and pass landmark legislation. In the 1950s, he stood up against the loyalty oath of the McCarthy era. In the 1960s, he became an early congressional critic of the Vietnam war. And throughout his life, he was a strong advocate of workers' rights.

Ed Roybal opened the doors for a new generation of Latino elected officials; and, in my opinion, he opened the doors for all folks, including his great daughter and our friend and colleague, Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard. She will now carry the torch of her great father. Other Latino leaders, such as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, owe a huge debt of gratitude to this unassuming, yet powerful figure in American politics. He was a trailblazer and an icon of the Latino community. We all owe a debt of gratitude to this great distinguished American who saw a wrong and tried to right it.

I called upon Congressman Roybal at a time when I was in the State legislature, and I had an issue in the city of Compton. I did not know the man, but I called on him because he had shown such compassion for those who were the downtrodden. I called on him, and he came to my aid and with such compassion helped me through the turmoils that I had in my district. I will never forget this very compassionate, powerful, unassuming but great man.

In 1976, he co-founded the Congressional Hispanic Caucus along with others and helped to expand Latino representation across this country. Following his leadership and example, Latinos are today represented in Congress in State legislatures, as governors, and in many other leadership positions, and they lead many of our most populous cities. Yes, he paved the way to political power for today's Latino leaders and all Americans who care about fair and representative elections, and we can be grateful for the path that we crossed with this great man. His service to our country will not be forgotten. His stellar leadership will be with us for always.

The condolences of my constituents of the 37th Congressional District of California are extended to the Roybal family. God bless them all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House about a bill that I have introduced recently--The National Emergency Family Locator System.

We talk a great deal about being prepared as a Nation for when disaster strikes. Yet the images of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina are still fresh in our minds.

Prior to Katrina, the dialogue in Washington was focused on preparedness in case of a terrorists attack.

However, given the number of missing children, what is becoming more and more apparent is that our government needs to have the capacity to assist in reuniting families after disaster strikes.

We must have a National Emergency Family Locator System. This bill, which is a companion bill to Senator Obama's Senate bill S.1630, will take us in that direction.

This legislation directs the Department of Homeland Security to create a national service, so that after an emergency, displaced individuals can call one phone number or go to one website, and post their location or to be able to use this same secure, centralized system to check the status of missing loved ones.

Finally, this bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to create a Family Preparedness Education program that encourages families to sit down and discuss how the family will reunite if disaster strikes their community.

These are not pleasant conversations, but they are conversations that our Nation's families need to be having given the climate we now live in.

I ask my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation and I look forward to working with the Department of Homeland Security in implanting these important programs.

Mr. Speaker, this week, Lifetime Television is airing a miniseries that can only be described as ``Must See TV'' for all of us in the United States Congress.

``Human Trafficking'' tells a story that we cannot afford to ignore any longer. The movie depicts the plights of 4 young victims ranging from a single mother from the Czech Republic tricked into selling herself into slavery, to a 12-year-old girl from New Jersey kidnapped while on vacation with her parents. Their stories are horrific, but they are far from fantastical.

Each year upwards of a million people are trafficked within countries and across borders all over the globe. Human trafficking affects men, women and children, but women and children represent an unfortunate lion's share of trafficking victims. Selling people into forced labor and prostitution cannot be called anything other than slavery. The people and organizations that perpetrate this travesty are criminals of the lowest order and deserve to be brought to justice.

The practice of trafficking in persons must be of paramount concern to the U.S. Administration, Congress, and the international community. We cannot sit idly by while this nefarious practice continues and criminals continue to make enormous profits at the expense of innocent victims.

I want to thank Lifetime for its courage in bringing this issue to the forefront of this Nation's conscience. Aiming for similar results, I recently introduced a resolution, H. Res. 490, which encourages the United Nations to establish a commission that will look into the atrocities of human trafficking, exploitation and slavery. I hope you will all join me in support of that resolution. When we as a body and as a Nation infuse this issue with the bright light of our collective disbelief and horror that in the year 2005 the crime of slavery still afflicts our world, we will be that much closer to seeing its end in the coming years.

Lifetime, with the premier of this movie has made the necessity of our action so much more apparent and for that they deserve our commendation.

Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) to explain the purpose of this concurrent resolution.

Mr. Speaker, under my reservation I too rise in support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 61, authorizing the use of the U.S. Capitol rotunda for the remains of Rosa Louise Parks to lie in honor on October 30 and 31 of 2005.

I stand as a very proud African American woman who stands on the shoulders of this great lady who was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She became a household name on December 1, 1955.

After leaving her job as a seamstress, Rosa Parks boarded a racially segregated Montgomery, Alabama, bus for home and took a seat directly behind the white section. She was asked to yield her seat to a white man by a bus driver who had evicted her from a bus 12 years prior because she had refused to enter via the rear door after paying her fare. What happened next would change America forever.

This humble, soft spoken woman refused to give up her seat and was arrested and taken to jail. While in jail, Rosa Parks did not call for her lawyer. She called for her minister. It was the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who immediately came to her aid. The move kicked off the Montgomery bus boycott and the beginning of a civil rights movement.

Because of Rosa Parks, the black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama, who comprised more than 70 percent of the bus company's business, refused to ride

the bus until the laws were changed. The Montgomery bus boycott lasted for 381 days. When the case was taken to the United States Supreme Court, the Justices declared that segregation of the Montgomery buses was illegal and officially desegregated them on December 20, 1956.

Rosa Parks and her husband, Raymond, whom she married in 1931, were fired by their employers and harassed by angry whites. They moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 1957. It was then she went to work for our beloved and dear colleague, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), and later formed the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute.

Mr. Speaker, surely a woman as significant as this and who meant so much to not only African Americans but to all Americans deserves to be honored right here in the rotunda of the United States Capitol, the very place where in July of 1999 President William Jefferson Clinton awarded her the Congressional Gold Medal, the Nation's highest honor given to a civilian.

This concurrent resolution we are considering today is required so that both Houses may concur in the use of the rotunda, which is controlled by the Congress. This procedure was last used in 2004 following the death of the late President Ronald Reagan.

I urge my colleagues to bestow upon this great lady, Rosa Louise Parks, one last honor and make her the first nongovernmental official, first woman, and the first African American woman to lie in honor in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

Please support this resolution allowing America to pay its final respects to the Mother of the civil rights movement, the great Rosa Louise Parks.

Mr. Speaker, I will be happy now to yield to the few Members who are here to speak on this resolution, the first of whom will be the gentleman who is the dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, who knew her so well and who served with her so admirably.

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers).

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) so much for his leadership and for the greatness that he has shown during the sadness.

Mr. Speaker, the next speaker we will bring forth is the vice chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and one who is now in the process of getting a Federal building named after this great lady.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick).

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I thank the gentlewoman so much for that extraordinary tribute to such an extraordinary woman.

Mr. Speaker, the next speaker that I am asking to come forward is the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, one who spoke the other night of how he was inspired by the works that she had done.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).

Mr. Speaker, that was beautifully said by the gentleman.

Further reserving the right to object, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green), one of the present members of the Congressional Black Caucus, one who has served as a judge and who recognizes the laws as they were applied during the civil rights era.

Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve the right to object, I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson), who saw the need to bring forth this great lady to give her a Congressional Medal of Honor because of the honor she bestowed on this country.

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I thank the gentlewoman for her insight in bringing her this Congressional Medal of Honor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), who is also a drum major for justice. His name is in the history books already. He walked with her and talked with her and helped in the development of the civil rights movement.

Mr. LEWIS from Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding to me.

I am pleased to rise today in support of this resolution. I think it is fitting and so appropriate that Rosa Parks be honored in the rotunda of the United States Capitol. By sitting down almost 50 years ago on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was standing up. It was very dangerous, very dangerous, to do what Rosa Parks did on December 1, 1955.

I grew up only 50 miles from Montgomery, not too far from Tuskegee. I was 15 years old in 1955. I saw segregation. I saw racial discrimination. I saw

those signs that said white men, colored men; white women, colored women; white waiting; colored waiting. And if it had not been for Rosa Parks, I do not know where many of us would be today. I do not know where I would be.

It was dangerous to do what Rosa Parks did. Just think about it. A few months earlier, Emmett Till had been murdered in Mississippi, a young African American from the city of Chicago visiting Mississippi during the summer. So much violence, so much hate, so much fear. And this brave, courageous spirit ignited a movement not just in Montgomery but a movement that spread like wildfire across the American South and the Nation. She inspired some of us to sit in at lunch counters to bring an end to segregation and racial discrimination. She inspired some of us to stand-in at theaters. She inspired some of us to kneel-in at churches, and she inspired others to integrate libraries and parks and desegregate schools.

By this one simple act, Rosa Parks helped to usher in a nonviolent revolution in America, a revolution of values, a revolution of ideas.

I knew Rosa Parks. We met together at Highlander Folk School in Mount Eagle, Tennessee. In Montgomery, in Selma, in Atlanta. She served on the SCLC board, the board that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked me to come and serve on when I was 22 years old, in 1962. So I saw a great deal of her. She came back from Detroit 40 years ago, in March of 1965, dressed so beautifully, so quiet, dignified, so proud; and she walked with us across the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the right to vote.

Many have said, others have said, that Rosa Parks was the Mother of the modern-day civil rights movement. Yes, that is true. But she was more than a mother of the modern-day civil rights movement. She should be looked upon as one of the founders of the New America, one of the founders of the beloved community, a truly interracial democracy. This woman, this one woman, this beautiful soul planted by the spirit of history by God Almighty, not to move, changed my life, changed America. I thank Rosa Parks.

Mr. Speaker, I support the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I thank the great gentleman from the State of Georgia for his comments.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson- Lee), one who was a former judge and who also had to interpret those laws that were made during the civil rights era.

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman for her comments.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of Illinois (Mr. Rush), one who placed his marker on the path of civil rights in the 1960s.

Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation, the last speaker that we have today is one who was a former Governor of American Samoa. As has been said, Rosa Parks did not just impress those of us who are African Americans, but she inspired all Americans.

I yield to the honorable gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).

Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I rise in strong support of this concurrent resolution to honor an individual who chose to assert her civil rights and her human rights at a critical moment in our history and, by doing so, changed America forever. I, as an African American woman, lived in California for 50 years, although I was born in Birmingham, Alabama, along with Condoleezza Rice and Alma Vivian Johnson Powell. We all grew up together. My father, Reverend Shelly Millender, who was part of the ministers who walked with King, taught me to love and not to hate; and that is the premise by which I have built my life.

Rosa Louise Parks richly deserves this honor to be placed in our rotunda for those days for all Americans who stood up as she sat down to honor her.

Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) so much for yielding, and I am absolutely privileged to stand here today on the shoulders of a woman who stood so proud, though her frame was so small. One act, infused with courage, changed this world.

Her act was a spark that ignited a movement that altered the course of history for America. She sat down in order for America to stand up and look at itself, look at herself, and to see the atrocities that they were doing on a group of people, we African Americans.

I am so privileged to have had the opportunity to meet this great woman. She came to California; and while she came to California, she and I both hailed from Alabama. Yes, she was a native Alabaman and so am I.

Rosa Parks, a seamstress who refused to get up from her seat to give to it a white man, that is the type of courage that she displayed; and yet she did not want anyone to showcase her. In California, when we showcased her in the State legislature, she said, I do not want all of this. I said to her, I am sorry, you have all of this, because you have made this country a better country because of one act that you did.

All Americans should be standing up at this point, praising Rosa Parks for what she did, not only for a group of people but for this country. She raised the consciousness of this country and brought it to its knees in terms of segregation.

I am looking at the Washington Post Style, and they say: ``Appreciation. The Thread That Unraveled Segregation.'' Indeed, she did. What a mighty force she was, a woman who used threads to make a living, and yet when she was about to make a dress for one of her persons, a person who was really not of her ilk, they told her, you have made this wedding dress so beautifully you should come to the wedding. She says, well, I would like to come to the wedding. But then officials at St. John's Episcopal Church told Lucy, the young woman for whom she was making the wedding dress, that if Rosa Parks was to attend this wedding, she would have to wear a uniform like a servant or sit in the balcony. She refused to do that. She was a woman of such great spirit, great soul.

I know the time is passing, but I just want to say to my dear sister, she has made us all proud. My daughters met her. I am sorry my granddaughters Ayanna, Ramia, and Blair did not meet her, nor my grandson Myles; but they will know her because their grandmother will tell them how she stood tall in spite of her small frame.

So thank you, Rosa Parks, for the distinction of becoming the mother of a civil rights movement and having the courage to act on behalf of all man- and womankind.