Jim Clyburn

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Well, I think the gentleman has summarized this adequately and, I think, appropriately.

Mr. CLYBURN. I appreciate that. I do have something I would like to say on that. Dr. King was sitting in jail in Birmingham, Alabama, because he found some injustices there. In fact, in the letter, he said--in responding to those ministers--that a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. And I think that Dr. King, if he were here today, would be speaking out about the threat to justice that the LGBTQ community is now experiencing. I do want the people of that community to know that they are not alone. I do believe that we should all respect human beings. If I may? I thought as you were speaking, Dr. King, in his letter, talked about those who carried the gospel and how they were vilified. I thought about, I believe it is the 11th chapter in the Book of Second Corinthians, Paul, in his writings, talked about all that he had endured--the beatings, the jailings that he had endured--trying to spread the gospel. I thought about those badges of honor--the jailings that Dr. King, John Lewis, and many others endured. I had a few sentences myself, but I thought about that, and these are, in fact, badges of honor. So I want the people of the LGBT community to know that they are not alone in their trials and tribulations, and that at some point in, hopefully, the not too distant future, the good people in this body will rise up and break their silence.

Mr. CLYBURN. I agree. Of course, having served as the majority whip in this body, all it takes is 218. I do believe that there are 218 good people in this body who will vote for these--especially these three pieces of legislation dealing with what I call commonsense, good gun policy. The fact of the matter is that all of us believe in the Constitution of these United States. It is the glue that holds us together as a country, as a people. The fact of the matter is the Constitution--our right to the Constitution--is not unbridled. I am often amused to hear people talk about our First Amendment rights to free speech and to peaceably assemble. Those of us back in the sixties lived and died advocating the First Amendment, but the fact of the matter is our rights under the First Amendment are not unbridled. The Supreme Court has spoken to that with the famous phrase: your First Amendment rights will not give you the right to yell ``fire'' in a crowded theater. That means that the First Amendment is not unbridled. Why is it, then, that we can't look at the fact that the Second Amendment rights that we have to bear arms, we are not taking that right away when we say the background check should be completed? Maybe we will turn up that you are mentally incompetent to have a weapon. Maybe we will find that you at one time, if not another, are on this no-fly list. One piece of legislation we have here deals with it. No fly, no buy. Anyone on the no-fly list, to me, ought not be able to get a firearm. If you are suspicious enough as to pose a threat and be on that list, I don't think you ought to be getting a firearm. If you have been convicted of a hate crime, which is another piece of legislation here, you ought not to be able to buy a gun. Those are commonsense policies that ought to be put into law. And for us to lay prone at the altar of the NRA and not allow just simple, good faith bills to come to this floor, I don't quite understand that. I don't think that the American people will continue to be kind to us if we do not step up and do what is necessary to protect them. Those 49 people who lost their lives in that nightclub in Orlando are deserving of a Congress that will protect them. Also, those nine lives at the Emanuel AME Church. If we had stepped up and not put that loophole in this law, they would have been protected. I am convinced from all that I have seen that those people would still be alive today if that loophole were not in the law.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I am really concerned that we have just today had a moment of silence, and later this week, the 17th----

Mr. CLYBURN. Yes. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly interested about three pieces of legislation that have been filed in this body.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a legendary figure in South Carolina, Fred Sheheen, who recently died in an automobile accident. Fred, a former chair of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, spent his life advocating for South Carolina's colleges and universities. He was instrumental in breaking down barriers to quality education and promoting equality of opportunity for African American students. Fred graduated from Duke University in the late 1950s. After graduating, he worked as a reporter for The Charlotte Observer covering civil rights events. As a founding member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), or ``Snick,'' as we became known, my fellow students and I made sure that Fred--as a young reporter--had plenty of news to cover. Fred later worked as an aide to South Carolina Governor and United States Senator Donald Russell. He served for a decade as Commissioner and Executive Director of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and later taught an honors course on South Carolina State Government for the University of South Carolina. Fred also served on the executive board of UNITED 2000, which was dedicated to bringing the Confederate battle flag down from the State House dome and out of the Senate and House Chambers. His family roots run deep in South Carolina's political community and state government. Fred's brother Austin was a long-time member of Kershaw County Council. Another brother Bob served as Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and his son Vincent, a twice Democratic nominee for Governor of South Carolina, currently serves in the South Carolina State Senate. Fred Sheheen's nearly eight decades on earth were dedicated to the betterment of his fellow South Carolinians and building a brighter future for their children and grandchildren. His untimely death is a tremendous loss for our state and our people, and to me personally. May he rest in peace.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Honors College Program at Columbia College, a first class institution of higher education located in my Congressional District in Columbia, South Carolina. The Columbia College Honors Program was chartered in 1984 to recruit, retain, and develop high-achieving, motivated, talented students. At the heart of the program is the belief that the outstanding student should challenge her intellectual limits, working creatively and seriously to reach her highest potential as a scholar, reflective learner, individual thinker, risk taker, and influential leader. The program requires a selection of pedagogically innovative and rigorous courses across disciplines and a culminating thesis or project designed to make honors learning meaningful and practical. The program's senior seminars--with a study-travel component--have engaged students in the value of experiential, global learning in sites such as Paris, Berlin, Dublin, Belfast, New York, Orlando, Miami, London, and others. The stimulating classroom atmosphere of honors--steeped in the liberal-arts tradition--encourages development of critical thinking, writing, and other skills vital to an education in the twenty-first century. Fostering a culture of serious undergraduate research and faculty development, the program also continues to make its mark in other professional arenas by promoting and supporting opportunities for student and faculty scholarship across disciplines. Honors students have earned degrees from Princeton, Rutgers, NYU, Emory, Duke, Columbia, MUSC, Wake Forest, Elon Law School, Drew, NY School of Art, Syracuse, Georgetown, University of Oklahoma, University of Tennessee Knoxville, University of Florida, Ohio State University, University of Central Florida, University of Maryland, USC, George Washington, Howard, Texas Women's University, North Carolina State University, among others. The impact of the program on teaching excellence at Columbia College is revealed by the fact that all ten South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) Outstanding Teacher Award recipients have been honors faculty or project mentors, and thirty of thirty-three Columbia College Faculty Excellence Award winners have taught in honors. Honors faculty have also garnered awards from the American Association of Higher Education, South Carolina Humanities Council, Methodist Board of Higher Education, South Atlantic Association of Departments of English, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, National Association of Developmental Education, South Carolina Psychological Association, Carolina Communications Association, Project Kaleidoscope, and others. Most significantly, the program's director, Dr. John Zubizarreta, is a Carnegie Foundation/CASE U.S. Professor of the Year, the only professor ever from any institution in South Carolina to receive the nation's most prestigious teaching award. In the National Collegiate Honors Council--which this year celebrates five decades of providing diverse students with superior educational experiences for academic and professional careers--the Columbia College Honors Program enjoys an enviable reputation, built from the numerous presentations by students and faculty at yearly conferences, the service of several students on the NCHC and Southern Regional Honors Council Board of Directors, the director's election as NCHC and SRHC President, two students' recognition as National Honors Student of the Year and one as runner-up, thirteen student participants in NCHC Honors Semesters, four student participants in Partners-in-the-Parks programs, and more. Mr. Speaker, the Honors Program is widely regarded as the premier, internationally acclaimed academic program at Columbia College, and ask you and my colleagues to join me in paying homage to them.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mrs. Donella Brown Wilson, a trailblazing educator and community leader. Today is her 107th birthday. Born May 24, 1909, in Fort Motte, South Carolina, Mrs. Wilson grew up on the land where her great-grandparents had worked as slaves. As a young girl, she realized that she wanted to teach others to read. She started by teaching herself, studying the pages of the Sears & Roebuck catalog by the light of an oil lamp. Mrs. Wilson achieved this goal in 1933 when she earned her teaching credentials from Allen University in Columbia. She embarked on a long teaching career, mostly in rural parts of the state, retiring in 1971. In 1931, she married Reverend John R. Wilson, Sr., who was also an educator. They purchased a home in the historic Waverley community of Columbia, where they became community institutions. Mrs. Wilson is a life member of the NAACP, South Carolina Education Association, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and Union Baptist Church. She is a past national superintendent in the United Order of Tents, Inc. In recent years, Mrs. Wilson has become the unofficial historian of Waverley, and her willingness to recount her life experiences has enriched many of us of subsequent generations. The changes Mrs. Wilson has seen over the last 107 years have been remarkable. She played a big part in bringing them about when she was involved in the landmark case Elmore v. Rice in 1947, which successfully challenged the legality of the whites-only Democratic primary in South Carolina. Treasuring this victory and fully understanding the crucial importance of the ballot, she has voted in every election since. Six years ago, I honored Mrs. Wilson's request that I accompany her as she cast her first vote for me after turning 100. She said in 2012, ``Those of us that live to see how you graduated from and came up the ladder makes us feel that our days, that our prayers and our working in the fields and what not, was not in vain.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in wishing Mrs. Wilson a very happy 107th birthday. It is a remarkable milestone befitting a remarkable woman. I wish her good health and Godspeed.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Winston Thomas, a distinguished public servant in the states of South and North Carolina. Born August 20, 1942, Winston was a native of Detroit and a graduate of its prestigious Cass Tech High school with a concentration in Electrical Engineering. He came to South Carolina to attend Benedict College in Columbia, graduating with a degree in Chemistry. He was a gifted athlete, attending Benedict on a football scholarship and also competing in basketball, baseball, and track, where he was part of a record-setting 4x200 relay team. While Winston passed up a professional athletic career when he declined a free agent offer from the Philadelphia Eagles, sports remained his lifelong passion. He participated in three all-state softball teams, was a member of the first all-black team to play in the Columbia Softball League, and competed in the United States Softball Association State Championship. At Benedict, Winston was an athletic institution, working as an assistant basketball coach, helping to start a swim team, and creating an Athletic Hall of Fame (into which he was deservedly inducted). Even more impressive than Winston's athletic accomplishments was his tenure in public service. His career began as a science teacher and a coach at Booker T. Washington High School. He subsequently served as Director of the Aging Program at the Columbia Urban League and as a Representative for the South Caroline Deferred Compensation Commission. From 1983 to 1988, he served as a Program Information Coordinator on the staffs of two South Carolina governors of different parties. Democrat Richard W. Riley and Republican Carroll A. Campbell. The fact that he was trusted by leaders on both sides of the aisle is a testament to his diligence and public-spiritedness. I had the great pleasure of seeing these qualities firsthand in 1988 when he became my Executive Assistant at the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission. Winston played an instrumental role in the Commission's work, and countless South Carolinians benefited from his service there. Though he left the Commission and moved to Charlotte shortly before I left the Commission to serve in Congress, our region continued to benefit from his commitment to public service, with stints at the Urban League of Central Carolina and 100 Black Men of Greater Charlotte, which was selected as chapter of the year three times under his leadership. After leaving 100 Black Men in 2004, Winston started another career as an antique store owner, his store MAMALU, named after his mother, Lula Ballard, was recognized as a North Carolina Treasure. Winston's love of sports and community leadership was synthesized in the Rudolph Canzater Memorial Classic, an annual golf tournament which we started over 30 years ago and renamed for our mutual friend Rudolph Canzater. That tournament is sponsored by the James E. Clyburn Research and Scholarship Foundation to raise money for college scholarships for students in South Carolina. Thousands of young people are grateful for Winston's generosity, as am I. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in offering condolences to Winston's daughter, Alanna Thomas of Baltimore, his cousins, Wesley Ballard and Angela Dixon of Detroit, and all of the rest of his family and many friends. He will be sorely missed, but he lives on in the countless people whose lives were improved by his selfless service and loyal friendship.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, as the nation pauses to celebrate 25 years of federal recognition of National Police Week, I rise to pay tribute to law enforcement officers in South Carolina and across the country who serve and protect our families and communities every day. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to speak at a prayer breakfast in my hometown of Sumter, South Carolina. The prayer breakfast was hosted by the Sumter County Sheriff's Department and the City of Sumter Police Department. I am grateful Sheriff Anthony Dennis honored me with his invitation to speak at the prayer breakfast. The theme for the event was, ``Badge of Honor,'' which is fitting because when our brave men and women serve our communities day in and day out, they bring great personal honor to their duties. Police work is often dangerous and too frequently thankless, so I think it's important for those of us in elected office to pause and say sincerely, thank you. Mr. Speaker, in recognition of National Police Week, I want to say thank you to the law enforcement officers and their families in South Carolina and throughout this great land.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Make no mistake about it: a vote against this motion is a vote to continue flying the Confederate battle flag and allow discrimination at a military college. I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney), my good friend.

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

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

Mr. CLYBURN. I am opposed in its current form.

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. This amendment would fight discrimination in the military, which erodes obedience, unity, commitment, and esprit de corps. The Supreme Court highlighted these four essential attributes in explaining the military deference doctrine, under which this amendment is constitutionally sound. The first section of the amendment would prohibit senior ROTC programs in any institution that displays the Confederate battle flag. This objectionable banner, which has never been the official flag of the Confederacy, is a symbol of hate, racial oppression, resistance to the rule of law, and White supremacy. Any doubt as to this flag's meaning was erased by the perpetrator of last summer's horrific shootings at Emanuel AME Church. Regrettably, the Confederate battle flag still flies at the Citadel, just 2 miles away from Mother Emanuel. I happen to disagree with the Citadel's board members' belief that they are barred from removing the flag until the South Carolina State Legislature acts to revise or repeal the so-called Heritage Act. But it is clear that this hateful symbol will not be removed until pressure is brought to bear on those with the authority to remove it. In recent days, Citadel alumni have reached out to me to express their support for this effort. One of these alumni, Dr. Larry Ferguson, was a member of The Citadel class of 1973, the first class with more than one African American. Dr. Ferguson desegregated the band, but was subsequently kicked out of the band for refusing to wave the Confederate battle flag and play the song ``Dixie'' at sporting events. I received another letter from a group of 17 alumni. They write that the Confederate battle flag ``is representative of an ideology of hate and privilege, and is an abuse of power that still persists in the life of the school and in the State's halls of power and influence. ``The fact that, in 2016, the Confederate Naval Jack flag hangs in a public place of worship, on the campus of a public college, and is protected by an unjust law is clear evidence of this reality.'' These letters make abundantly clear how the glorification of such an odious symbol at a military college undermines obedience, unity, commitment, and esprit de corps in our future military officers. I will include in the Record both letters, and I urge my colleagues to heed the voice of these Citadel alumni so that no more cadets will have to struggle in the shadow of this oppressive banner. May 16, 2016. Dear Congressman James Clyburn, I am writing to inform you of my support of your efforts to limit ROTC funding to The Citadel because of the displaying of the Confederate flag in the Summerall Chapel. I am Dr. Larry J Ferguson a 1973 African-American graduate of The Citadel. When I entered The Citadel in the summer of 1969 our class was the fourth year of desegregation at The Citadel. But the class of 1973 is the first class that had more than one African-American in it. Nine of us entered The Citadel in 1969 and six of us graduated in 1973. I was the first African-American to desegregate The Citadel's Regimental Band Company. In 1970 as a young 18 year old sophomore I informed the administration that I would not play the song ``Dixie'' or participate in the celebratory waving of the Confederate flag at our sporting events. I was subsequently removed from the band and the administration threatened to take away my academic scholarship despite my having good grades. Thanks to my parents and attorney Daniel Martin, Sr. they successfully argued for me to keep my scholarship. Thanks also to Maj Clarence Richardson U.S. Army (Ret), I was able to transfer to C Co. where he was the tactical officer. I had a bitter/sweet 4 years at The Citadel. There were a few of my white class mates who went against the grain and let me know that I could count on them to be my friend. But the overwhelming tension always present around me was that I was only tolerated at The Citadel because of my race and because I stood up for racial justice. One of the beginning ways to establish racial justice is to repudiate all symbols of racial oppression. The majority of African-Americans and many other people of various ethnicities find the Confederate flag and the song ``Dixie'' offensive because the flag and the song have long been associated with hate groups. These hate groups used the Confederate flag and the song ``Dixie'' as symbols directly connected to their culture of terrorism and hatred for African-Americans and for anyone who supported racial integration. These Confederate symbols cannot de divorced from the hate groups that created a system of racial oppression and bigotry in these United States of America and as such they should only remain in places of historical reference--not public platforms of adulation. Let us teach our future generations that bigotry and racism are vigorously opposed in our society and that symbols that are directly connected to bigotry and racism are not to be celebrated in any form or fashion. As a lifetime member of The Citadel Alumni Association and as a past member of The Citadel Board of Visitors I want to thank you Congressman Clyburn for addressing this issue. Recent history teaches us that 50 years ago it took external pressure to make The Citadel desegregate its Corps of Cadets. This legislation will exert appropriate pressure on state authorities so that the Confederate flag will be removed from Summerall Chapel thus allowing everyone who enters to be able to worship in dignity and solemnity. Yours Truly, Larry J Ferguson,

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Dr. Robert A. Copeland, Jr. a leading American ophthalmologist who helped the profession deepen its understanding of disparities and broaden its international reach. Dr. Copeland was the founding chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Howard University College of Medicine, the position he held at the time of his untimely passing on the evening of Monday, April 11, 2016. He is survived by his wife Candie, whom he married May 24, 2008, and children Kennedie, Robert III, and Lucas. Dr. Copeland was widely admired as an advocate for the prevention of eye disease, a mentor to countless students, and an expert and attentive physician. His advocacy reached Capitol Hill, where I had the pleasure of working with him on patient issues. Dr. Copeland was scheduled to come to my office for a meeting in conjunction with the American Academy of Ophthalmology on April 14, the week of his passing. Robert A. Copeland, Jr., was born on December 13, 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His interest in the condition of the eye arose during his first week as a Fisk University undergraduate in 1973. Copeland was injured playing football and had to be treated for blunt trauma to the right eye at Meharry Medical College. After completing his studies at Fisk, Copeland earned a medical degree in 1981 from Temple University School of Medicine. He subsequently completed an internal medicine residency at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1982, an ophthalmology residency at Howard University Hospital in 1985, an external disease/cornea fellowship at Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1986, and a cornea, external disease, and uveitis fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco in 1989. Dr. Copeland contributed more than three decades of service to Howard University. In 1982, he arrived at Howard University Hospital as a young ophthalmology resident. Four years later, he joined the Howard University Department of Surgery, Division of Ophthalmology, as an instructor. He was elevated to assistant professor in 1988 and to full professor in 2010. He served as interim chief of the division from 1993 until his campaign to make ophthalmology a stand-alone department was successful in 2000. He was named chair in the document ratifying creation of the Department of Ophthalmology by the Howard University Board of Trustees. Dr. Copeland wrote multiple papers on corneal and external diseases, uveitis, and other diseases of the eye. His research focused on conditions affecting the eye, as well as the socioeconomic and gender disparities in cataract surgery, including factors such as insurance coverage, transportation, and other barriers to access. In 2012, in conjunction with a Duke University professor, Dr. Copeland published Copeland and Afshari's Principles and Practice of Cornea, a definitive textbook on the cornea. The two-volume work is over 1,500 pages long, includes 119 chapters, and weighs over 14 pounds. Dr. Copeland also traveled throughout the world to perform humanitarian services for underserved populations. He served the people of Haiti, Saint Lucia, Ghana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Chile, Liberia, Nigeria, and India. Over the years, Dr. Copeland's work drew numerous awards and accolades. He was frequently honored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, garnering the Distinguished Service Award, Achievement Award, Council of Appreciation Award, Surgery by Surgeons Award, and the Secretariat Award. He was frequently listed as a ``top doctor'' in major publications. In 2008, Dr. Copeland received the Professional Service Award from the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington, and in 2013, he garnered an Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society nomination. At Howard University, Dr. Copeland was honored at the Ninth Annual Spirituality and Medicine Seminar in 2005--he was a member of Washington's historic Shiloh Baptist Church, where he was a deacon. Howard also honored Dr. Copeland with a Citation of Achievement Award in 2008. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in remembering this barrier-breaking physician. Dr. Copeland was a leader in ophthalmology who used his expertise to help the underserved. His wisdom and compassion will be sorely missed, but his contributions will live on through all those who learned from him.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Lillie Alma Patton Devlin, a lifetime resident of Greenwood County, South Carolina, on the occasion of her upcoming 100th birthday. Born April 13, 1916 into the Jim Crow South, Mrs. Devlin overcame obstacles that often seemed insurmountable to lead a remarkable life. She and her late husband, John C. Devlin, raised their family with strong determination that their children would have a better life than they had experience and enjoy a greater slice of the American dream. It is very clear that they were successful. Six of their surviving children, earned college degrees, three of them have earned Masters' Degrees and one has earned a doctorate. These accomplishments were made possible by the selfless sacrifices and perseverance of Lillie and John. Throughout her life, Mrs. Devlin has maintained an unwavering faith, which has emboldened her through good times and sustained her through difficult periods. She has combined her faith with works, serving her beloved Mount Sinai African Methodist Episcopal Church with unwavering dedication, and boundless energy. She continues to serve as a Sunday school teacher, steward, and trustee. Mrs. Devlin has been equally committed to serving her community. During her tenure as the delegate to the State Education Association from the former Promised Land Elementary School, her reports to the PTA were meticulous, informative, and engaging. When Lillie Devlin embarks upon any task, she completes it enthusiastically and with excellence. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in wishing Mrs. Devlin a very happy 100th birthday. It is a remarkable milestone and she is a remarkable woman. I wish her continued good health and Godspeed.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3004, a bill that makes a technical change to the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act. Gullah/Geechee is a blend of African and European language, culture, and traditions found along the coast and sea islands of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, where former slaves began their freedom in isolated and remote communities and nurtured unique cultural traditions. The Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act, signed into law in 2006, created the Gullah/Geechee Heritage Corridor to preserve and protect the remaining vestiges of this living culture, which has been threatened by development in these coastal communities. Called Gullah in the Carolinas and Geechee in Georgia and Florida, these enclaves of language and culture provide a significant link to African American heritage. As a former history teacher and historic preservation advocate, the establishment of the heritage corridor is one of my proudest achievements in Congress. This bill before us corrects a technical issue by extending the authorization of the Commission created by the original legislation to coincide with the heritage corridor, which runs to 2021. Without this change, the heritage corridor would continue to exist but would need to be managed by a new entity, eroding the progress the current Commission has made toward implementing its management plan. Enacting this legislation will ensure continuity in the management of the corridor so that its mission is carried out as efficiently and effectively as possible. I want to thank the chairman and ranking members of the Committee on Natural Resources and Subcommittee on Federal Lands for their support of this bill and for moving it swiftly to the House floor today for consideration. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support its passage.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of President Obama's announcement today to fight the growing epidemic of gun violence in America and make our families more secure and communities safer. It is just common sense that background checks should be required before an individual is allowed to buy a firearm, yet Congress refuses to pass legislation to close loopholes that allow gun sales to proceed before background checks are completed. Under the so-called Charleston loophole that contributed to the mass murder of nine of my constituents, sales can proceed after 3 days, even when the background check is not complete. That is just wrong. My bill, the Background Check Completion Act, will ensure that background checks are completed before sales take place. I thank the President for his leadership today, and I call on my colleagues, many of whom seem to default to ``no,'' no matter how reasonable the proposed legislation may be, when all else fails, employ common sense.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong opposition to H.R. 1694, which was debated by this House under the suspension of the rules yesterday. H.R. 1694 purports to be about fairness to veterans. Well, Mr. Speaker, there is nothing fair about pitting veterans against women- and minority-owned businesses for an already meager goal of 10 percent of Federal highway and transit construction contracts. If the sponsor of H.R. 1694 really wanted to create a new veterans preference system at the Department of Transportation, he would have worked with Mr. Cummings and Ms. Norton when offered the opportunity to do so over a year ago. If my colleague really wanted to create a new veterans preference system, he would have cosponsored legislation to establish a specific and separate contracting goal for veteran-owned small businesses through the creation of a veteran-owned business enterprise program. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has done neither. Instead, he chose to put forth legislation that threatens to inflict irreparable harm on the entire Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program by opening it up to additional legal challenges and undermining its core purpose. The DBE program was created by Congress to combat discrimination against minority- and women-owned small businesses. It is and must remain narrowly tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest in order to withstand the Supreme Court's test of strict scrutiny. While I support the sponsor's stated goal of helping veterans and, more specifically, helping veteran-owned businesses compete for Federal highway and transit construction contracts, I reject the notion that the best way to do so is by undermining the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. Mr. Speaker, this is not a zero-sum game. We do not need to pit these two constituencies--both of whom continue to suffer through disproportionately high unemployment rates--against each other. We can and should help both veteran and disadvantaged businesses succeed. That is why I joined Representatives Cummings, Norton, Brown, and Bustos in sponsoring H.R. 3997, legislation that would create a new veteran-owned business enterprise program at the Department of Transportation that is wholly separate and apart from the existing DBE program. It is the better and more direct way of helping veteran-owned businesses compete for Department of Transportation contracts, and it does so without harming the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 1694.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, the right to cast an unfettered vote is central to our democracy. When the United States Supreme Court invalidated key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, it invited Congress to update the formula that determines which jurisdictions should be covered. Unfortunately, while Congress has failed to act, we have seen jurisdiction after jurisdiction all across this country attempting to erect impediments to the right to vote. The Voting Rights Advancement Act, introduced in this body and the body across the Hall, responds to the Supreme Court's invitation. That is why we have labeled our legislative outreach strategy #restorethevote; and because elections are held on Tuesdays, today we are launching #restorationtuesday to organize Member activities online, on the House floor, and throughout our communities.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated between the United States, the permanent 5 members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, the European Union, and Iran. I support this deal because it is the best available option to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, an outcome that all of us agree must be prevented. The opponents of this agreement say that Iran supports terrorism. I don't disagree with that. This deal, however, is about only one issue--the issue that the entire world agrees is by far the most pressing--preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. It is precisely because Iran is so nefarious that this deal is so important. As dangerous as Iran is and may remain, Iran would be far more dangerous if they acquired a nuclear weapon. This deal is the best way to prevent that unacceptable outcome. The opponents of this agreement say that we can't trust the Iranians to abide by the agreement's strict restrictions on their nuclear program. That may be true. And I wouldn't be supporting the agreement if it required us to trust the Iranians, but it doesn't. This deal is built around the strictest verifications ever devised. If Iran tries to dash toward a bomb, we will be more likely to catch them using the verification procedures under this deal than we would be without it. With this deal in place, if you do catch Iran dashing toward a nuclear weapon, all options will be on the table to stop them. But military force must always be a last resort. I have not heard any of the opponents of this agreement present any realistic diplomatic alternative that would be anywhere near as likely to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and if we reject this deal, military action will become more likely. Whenever we send Americans into harm's way, we must be able to look them and their families in the eye and honestly tell them that we have exhausted every other option. This deal is a diplomatic option we must exhaust. This deal's opponents present no other. The late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, said: ``You don't make peace with friends. You make it with unsavory enemies.'' We are now faced with three choices: this deal, a drastically increased likelihood of military confrontation, or a nuclear Iran. I support this deal, and I ask my colleagues to join me in doing so.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my congratulations to the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Masons as they celebrate their 151 years of service. The Scottish Rite Masons is a national organization of individuals that strive to enrich the lives of their members and enhance the communities in which they live. The Scottish Rites' first Supreme Council was founded in Charleston, South Carolina in 1801, and a second Supreme Council was created in New York in 1806. The Scottish Rite Masons' mission proclaims that they ``emulate the principles of brotherly love, tolerance, charity and truth while actively embracing high social, moral and spiritual values including fellowship, compassion, and dedication to God, family and country.'' They also produce a strategic plan that displays five objectives, including offering Masonic knowledge, establishing a public relations department, supporting philanthropic activities, providing a framework for effective leadership and providing financial stability for a long- term success of the Fraternity. The Scottish Rite Masons have been instrumental in assisting youth in their academic pursuits and have made generous contributions to the American Heart Association, American Cancer Foundation, YMCA, NAACP and a myriad of other non-profit entities. Mr. Speaker, The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Masons have improved the lives of many and continue to make outstanding and a wide- range of contributions to our society. I ask that you and my colleagues join me in congratulating them on this celebration.