Jim Clyburn

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. You and I have been having this discussion for quite a while with our select subcommittee activities. I have not seen the legislation that you make reference to, but I am sure that the majority leader has. And, like you, I am looking forward to his speedy recovery so he can get back into this spot. I am a little more familiar with sparring with you in our select subcommittee than on this floor. But having said that, I think you are aware that the Biden administration has already directed the United States intelligence community to examine this issue, calling on the intelligence community to redouble their efforts to report their findings by August 24 and to keep Congress fully apprised of their work. We have confidence in their ability to conduct a robust evidence- based inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus and will not allow House Republicans to irresponsibly hijack this issue for partisan purposes. We want to see this thing happen, and you and I have had this discussion. And because they have got until August 24--that is, what, 3 months from now, or less--I think we will be in a good place to let the Intelligence Committee do its work.

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I want to assure the gentleman that I am as anxious to know exactly what happened as he is. And the American people want to know exactly what happened. The fact of the matter is, though, we have several committees that are investigating, including the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology have indicated that they intend to look into the matter. Now, like you, I am from the South, and you can get too many cooks in the kitchen. And I am fully aware that to have a plethora of committees stumbling over each other trying to get to the bottom of this will serve no useful purpose. So I want to see things done here as close to regular order as we possibly can have them done, and to let the committees of jurisdiction conduct their investigation, this administration working through its intelligence department doing the investigations, and I am sure they will come up with the kind of information that would do us as citizens and as Members of this great body justice.

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I don't have anything else. I thank the gentleman for allowing me to stand in here today. I say to him that I would hope that as we go forward with this discussion, we will look at this whole issue as the title of the bill indicates: Invest in America. When we make investments, financial investments, the money may leave our coffers, but it comes back sometimes tenfold. So there is a big difference between raising taxes and making investments.

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. The Committee on Appropriations has announced that it will start its process next week with four subcommittee markups. Over the next 2 weeks, and then the week of July 12, the committee will complete subcommittee and full committee markups on all 12 of the annual appropriations bills. We plan to consider the bills on the floor the final 2 weeks of July, when we are in session. That will be the week of July 19 and July 26. Now, I suspect that we will be close to what the gentleman just indicated he would like to see with the schedule. I am certain that the Committee on Appropriations will do everything it possibly can to keep that schedule so that we will complete all of our work before the August break.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a good friend and one of our Nations great military leaders as he transfers command. Brigadier General Milford Beagle, Jr., a native son of South Carolina, has led Fort Jackson in his home state since 2018, and is leaving to take on his next assignment as commanding general of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division (Light) at Fort Drum in New York. A native of Enoree, South Carolina, and a graduate of Woodruff High School, Gen. Beagle is the great-grandson of Private Walter Beagles, who trained at Camp Jackson in a segregated labor battalion in 1918. One hundred years later, Gen. Beagle served three years as commander of the Army base where his greatgrandfather faced discrimination. The twist of fate is not lost on Gen. Beagle, who has said, ``I am a Buffalo Soldier, I am a Harlem Hellfighter--you see, I am what a Black soldier set out to be in the early 1900s and even beyond that point. They wanted to be viewed as equal, they wanted to dispute the myths about Blacks being soldiers. They wanted to prove they were worthy enough to wear the uniform of our nation.'' I believe he has fulfilled the dreams and aspirations of so many Black soldiers who came before him. Gen. Beagle's path to leadership began at my alma mater, South Carolina State University. There he was a track athlete and graduated with military distinction in 1990. He is part of S.C. State's tremendous legacy as one of the largest educators of minority Army officers in the country. He went on to earn two master's degrees from Kansas State University and the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies. During his 31-year career, Gen. Beagle has served with five regiments, the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the 6th Infantry, the 9th Infantry, the 35th Infantry, and the 41st Infantry Regiment, and with five divisions, the 2nd Infantry Division, the 2nd Armored Division, the 5th Infantry Division, the 10th Mountain Division (Light), and the 25th Infantry Division. His key staff assignments include service as a planner and operations officer at battalion and brigade level, and as Chief Plans Branch, G3, Eighth Army, Republic of Korea. On the Joint and Army Staff, he served as the Joint Strategic Planner and later Executive Assistant to the Director, J-7, as well as the Division Chief, J-5, Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. On the Army Staff, he served as the Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. Gen. Beagle's combat and operational experience include tours with Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Gen. Beagle is married to the former Pamela Jones, a native of Blackville, South Carolina. The couple has two children, Jordan and Jayden, one an Army Lieutenant and the other a college student. During his years at Fort Jackson, Gen. Beagle has become a community leader and role model. He helped secure the greater Midlands area the recognition as a ``Great American Defense Community.'' He has earned the accolades of Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin and Columbia Chamber of Commerce CEO Carl Blackstone. I join them in commending his tremendous involvement in the community. Madam Speaker, I ask you and our colleagues to join me in saluting the extraordinary service of Brigadier General Beagle. He has distinguished himself as a leader in the military and in the community. He commands the respect of those he leads and those he serves. I am proud to call him a friend, and I wish him well as he continues his service to this great country.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time. I do have some prepared remarks here, but don't tell my staff that I'm not going to use them. I want to speak just a little bit about what I just heard and what I think some of our challenges are in this great country of ours. And it is a great country. It does not need to be made great again. Our problem is making this greatness accessible and affordable for all of its citizens. I think one of the ways that we do that is to recognize that we have a shared history in this country, but it is a history that is spotted with a lot of inequities, inequalities, and a lot of things that we ought to be about the business of working to try and level off the so- called playing field. One of those, I think, is really about the ability to communicate. When we talk about Juneteenth, I often equate the history of Juneteenth with our country's inability to communicate, because the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862, was to be effective January 1, 1863, freeing all the slaves in the Confederate States not under Union control. Now, when that happened, there was a big meeting down on the banks of a river in Beaufort County, South Carolina, near Port Royal, and 4,000 slaves came to listen to General Saxton read the Emancipation Proclamation. On that day they were free. However, it was June 19, 1865, 2\1/2\ years later before it was communicated to those who were enslaved in Texas. The failure to communicate kept them in slavery for another 2\1/2\ years. The failure to communicate is what seemed to keep us from coming together as one people today. If we learned the lessons of history, as George Santayana once said to us: When we learn the lessons of history, we are bound to repeat them if we don't. So I would hope that as we turn this piece of legislation into law and create a national holiday for Juneteenth, I hope we will keep a couple things in mind. It is not lost on me that this building we all meet in was built by slaves. And one of the little known facts was a man named Philip Reid, who was enslaved in Charleston, South Carolina, and who came, after being bought, to Washington, D.C., worked in the foundry. And when the foundry made the Statue of Freedom, they couldn't get it up on top of the building. All of those learned people who had been free all of their lives could not figure out how to get that statue on top of this building. Philip Reid, enslaved, figured it out, and he showed them how to get that statue on top of this building. He was able to communicate some lessons that he could teach, though he was unlearned. In fact, it was against the law to be able to teach him to read. His name was Reid, spelled a little differently. Now, I would hope that we would pass this law. I suspect we won't do what the Senate did and do it unanimously, though I think it would be a tremendous demonstration of unity for every one of us who vote to pass this law recognizing June 19 as a national holiday.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge unanimous support for H. Res. 398, recognizing the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. As a former history teacher, I often quote George Santayana, who said, ``Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' The Tulsa Race Massacre is a prime example of inflaming issues and ignoring history. They both significantly lead to the inability and failure to learn the lessons that history can teach us. It was the inflammatory reporting of the chance encounter of a young Black man, Dick Rowland, and a young White elevator operator, Sarah Page, that ignited one of the deadliest episodes of racial violence in our Nation's history. On May 31, 1921, the Tulsa Tribune newspaper printed the headline, and I am quoting here, ``Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator,'' and the same edition included a report of a White mob's plan to lynch Rowland. The newspaper account was based on false claims that Mr. Rowland sexually assaulted the White woman, and is cited as the spark that incited a mob to burn and loot 35 blocks in the Black Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa and kill an estimated 300 people. Greenwood was known at the time as Black Wall Street due to its status as one of the most prosperous African-American communities in the country. The devastation wrought by the mob, many of whom had been deputized and armed by local officials, took the lives and livelihoods of many in the Greenwood community. It caused irreparable damage to so many Black families who never received justice for their losses. This horrific incident was erased from collective memory when the Tulsa Tribune destroyed all original copies of the May 31, 1921, edition of the newspaper and removed all copies from their archives. Scholars later discovered that police and State militia archives about the riot were missing as well. We cannot overcome the issues of race that have troubled our Nation since its inception by ignoring the failings of our past. To repair our faults, our country must acknowledge past mistakes and work to ensure that we don't repeat them.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend and a dedicated public servant, Lynette Bryant Fryar. A victim's Advocate at the Colleton County Sheriff's Department and former Chair of the Colleton County Election Commission, Ms. Fryar passed away on April 16, 2021. Her passing has left a huge void in the community. Ms. Fryar was born in 1949 to Leon Bryant, Sr., and Pattie Mae Gruber Bryant. She graduated as the valedictorian from Ruffin High School in Colleton County, and went on to earn a degree in Secretarial Science from Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College. She spent 36 years working for Clemson University at the Cooperative Extension Service in Colleton County. There she worked with youth development and outreach, using her care and concern for her community to build educational opportunities. She was awarded Clemson University's Outstanding Service Award for her exemplary work. Following her retirement from the university, she chose not to slow down, but ramp up her community engagement. She spent three years working for AmeriCorps before becoming a Victims' Advocate at the Colleton County Sheriff's Department. There she continued doing what she did best, serving as a source of strength for those in need. Ms. Fryar was very active politically. She joined the Colleton County Elections and Voter Registration Board in 2005 and served as its Chair. She continued to serve on the elections board until her death to ensure that all residents of Colleton County had access to the ballot box. Ms. Fryar had an incredible ability to connect with people and was my MVP (most valuable proponent) in Colleton county. She believed strongly, just as I do, that we must all find something to do for which we are not paid. Her volunteer efforts were extensive, and all were focused on serving her beloved Colleton County. Her commitment to the community includes serving as a member of the S.C. Department of Education Personal Pathways Committee, the Keep Colleton Beautiful Committee, the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Futures Task Force Committee, the Lowcountry Food Bank Board, and many other boards and commissions. She was the former Director for Youth Leadership Colleton and the former Coordinator for Backpack Buddies in Colleton County. She held leadership offices with the Colleton County Branch of the NAACP, Colleton County Improvement Collaborative, the HCA Hospital Board of Trustees, the Colleton County School Board of Trustees, the American Cancer Society (Colleton County), the American Cancer Society Rehabilitation Committee (Colleton County), and the South Carolina Association of Cooperative Extension Secretaries. Ms. Fryar remained dedicated to her alma mater and served as the liaison for Ruffin High School and the Colleton County Vocational Center. She also served on the Colleton County Transition Committee for the merger of Ruffin High School and Walterboro High School. She was also devoted to her church and served as several capacities including as a minister to the congregation. She was married to David L. Fryar, and they are the parents of three daughters, Katrina Fryar of Columbia, South Carolina, Ronda Cropp (Jeffrey) of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Muriel Fryar of Atlanta, Georgia. She also had two grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Madam Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in celebrating the life and legacy of Lynette Fryar. Her passion for Colleton County's people and places was unparalleled and her impact on her community will endure forever.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, last March, as the tragic failure of the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic was becoming very apparent, the House Democratic Caucus held a conference call to discuss the crisis. Recalling the lessons of history, like the aftermath of World War I, the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, and World War II, that it is usually the least of these among us that are the hardest hit during the crises and the last to recover after these crises are over, if they are able to recover at all; I expressed at that time to the Caucus that the legislation before us offered a tremendous opportunity to restructure things in our vision. I was referring then, as I often do, to the vision expressed in our Pledge of Allegiance to our Nation's flag of liberty and justice for all. Shortly after the media reported these comments, Senator McConnell, the majority leader of the Senate, derided them on the Senate floor. Referring to me by position, he declared: ``This is not a political opportunity. It is a national emergency.'' I wholeheartedly agree with the now-minority leader of the Senate that the coronavirus pandemic was and remains a national emergency. But because the previous administration and Senate Republicans failed to address it with appropriate urgency and a vision of liberty and justice for all, the American people, through the political process last November, entrusted Democrats with an opportunity to build back with a better and more equitable vision for the future of our great country. The American Rescue Plan has begun that process, and it is enjoying widespread, bipartisan support across the entire spectrum of the country. It did not get a single Republican vote in the House or the Senate. Because of the use of the budget process commonly called reconciliation, Republicans were not able to block by filibuster the American Rescue Plan, and that is proving to be a good thing. But the Senate minority leader and several of his colleagues seem to be hellbent on using archaic Senate procedural rules to allow the minority in the Senate to block any legislation designed to protect the voting and civil rights of our country's minority citizens as we continue our pursuit toward the fulfillment of liberty and justice for all. We have been here before. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Senate filibuster was used to kill civil rights legislation and protect Jim Crow laws. Today, Senate Republican leaders are employing the same tactics to obstruct voting rights and civil rights legislation. Their efforts are designed to gain power for their party by suppressing political participation by minorities. The minority leader has threatened that if Senate Democrats modify the filibuster rules to do to him as he did to President Obama, he will resort to scorched-earth tactics. This threat of scorched-earth tactics by the Senate minority leader in defiance of American democracy is reminiscent of ``Mississippi Burning,'' which highlighted the lynching of three civil rights workers who were simply registering Black voters in Mississippi in June 1964. They were murdered by the KKK, with the cooperation of law enforcement officials, to keep them from assisting minority citizens who simply wanted to vote. It was 44 days before their bodies were located and four decades before anyone faced legal consequences for their deaths. Today, Republicans are using the big lie about the 2020 elections as a pretext to advance a litany of minority voter suppression laws. They know that our vision of liberty and justice for all enjoys majority support among voters, so they seek to suppress enough votes so that their oppressive policies and bankrupt ideas can prevail. The minority leader wants to allow a minority of his minority to block measures that would prevent a return to bygone days. To confront this threat, the Senate must eliminate the 60-vote threshold to end a filibuster on voting rights and civil rights legislation. Just as Mississippi Burning was met with the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, the threat of scorched earth must be met with the For the People Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. I didn't march in the streets and spend nights in jail as a young man to find myself fighting the same battles generations later, but it appears the minority leader and his Republican colleagues are preparing to retread old ground, and I am prepared to stand my ground. To the minority leader and his colleagues, I say: This is not a political opportunity. This is a national emergency. Since this country's inception, equal rights for people of color have been restricted by those in power who seek to hold on to power by using their power to deny the greatness of this country to those who do not look like them. Extending debate on legislative issues is one thing, but when it comes to rights rooted in the Constitution, the filibuster has no place. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, the American Rescue Plan enjoys overwhelming public support because it addresses critical needs exasperated by COVID-19. It is supported by 75 percent of the American people, 71 percent of independents, and 60 percent of Republicans. This legislation is transformative. It specifically provides $1.6 billion for HBCUs and additional funds through the United States Department of Agriculture, which is now authorized to increase its support of our 1890 land grant institutions. The Washington Post reports: A little-known element of this ``package would pay billions of dollars to disadvantaged farmers, benefiting Black farmers in a way that some experts say no legislation has since the Civil Rights Act of 1964.'' The New York Times says: ``Researchers predict it could become one of the most effective laws to fight poverty in a generation,'' and would ``cut the child poverty rate in half.'' The Associated Press declares: ``Several million people stand to save hundreds of dollars in health insurance costs'' in ``the biggest expansion of Federal help for health insurance'' since the Affordable Care Act. I call upon my Republican colleagues to stop their March madness and show some compassion for their constituents who are less than wealthy.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague on the other side. I still think about the night of June 17, 2015, when at about 9:00 in the evening, I received a phone call informing me that something had happened at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, a church that I know very well and the members I know very well. Much to my dismay, I learned later in the evening that a Bible study that was taking place at that church had welcomed in a stranger. I grew up in a parsonage, and I grew up learning that which we find there in the book of Hebrew, the 11th chapter: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. These people were practicing their faith, a faith that taught them to welcome in a stranger. A stranger came to their door, and they welcomed him into their Bible study. They sat down, and he sat with them for an hour. In the further practice of their faith, as they concluded their Bible study, they rose to pray, and with bowed heads, only to open their eyes to the sound of gunfire. The stranger that they had welcomed in opened fire and killed nine of them, one of whom was the pastor, a former intern of mine. Now, we later found out that the gentleman who perpetrated this crime was a white supremacist that studied the history of that church; and because it was the most historic African-American church in South Carolina, he targeted that church and its worshippers. However, he should not have had the gun. The reason he had the gun is because when he went to purchase it, and the 3 days expired, as current law allows, they had not been able to verify the information he had given them and, therefore, could not complete the background check. But under the law, they had to sell him the gun after the 3 days, only to find out several days later that the wrong information had been put into the record. I sincerely believe that this gentleman's sophistication, he knew he was not to have a gun. Now, I ask: Did he give the wrong information intentionally? I think so. When they found the error, it was too late. Nine souls had perished. Now, the gentleman said that he is lucky that the gun didn't go off, and these laws would not have prevented that. This law would have prevented that gentleman from getting a gun. Now, I don't know why the other side continues to misrepresent what we are trying to do here. All we are saying is if at the end of the 3 days, it ought to move to 10 days. And if the 10 days expire, you can ask for expedited search. And if that expires, you still have 10 days. The maximum is 30 days. Nobody is keeping a gun away. Everybody should be able to wait 30 days.

Mr. CLYBURN. I ask the other side: Is a wait of 30 days worth the death of nine unsuspecting souls? That alone ought to instruct them on legislation like this.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an important anniversary that brings the actions of my youth full circle to my service in this esteemed body. Sixty years ago, a student-led march took place in South Carolina's capital city protesting state laws designed to maintain de jure segregation of Blacks and whites in my home state. The arrests that day, March 2, 1961, resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark breach of the peace ruling. The case, Edwards v. South Carolina, is still taught in law schools today. I was among the student protestors arrested that day for seeking equal justice and civil rights, and I am proud of the role this event played in protecting the right to protest peacefully in this country. On that momentous day, approximately 200 high school and college students from all over South Carolina gathered at Zion Baptist Church in Columbia and marched to the State House to protest racial discrimination. As a 20-year-old student protest leader at South Carolina State College (now University), I left Orangeburg with several of my classmates to join in the march. We divided into groups, and I agreed to lead a contingency of students from my high school Mather Academy toward the State House grounds. When we approached the State House, law enforcement officers ordered us to turn around. It had been my intention to do just that, but the students I was leading wanted to press on. We marched on singing hymns and patriotic songs. 191 protestors were arrested for breaching the peace and spent the next three days in jail before being released on bail. There were four separate bench trials that March and 189 students were convicted in Magistrate's Court despite the exemplary representation of NAACP attorney Matthew J. Perry and his colleagues, Lincoln Jenkins II and Donald Sampson. All but two of the protestors appealed their convictions, which were upheld by the South Carolina Supreme Court. On December 13, 1962, the Edwards v. South Carolina case, named for Benedict College protestor James Edwards, was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court by Matthew Perry. On February 25, 1963, the high court ruled eight to one in favor of the student defendants, reversing their convictions. Justice Potter Stewart wrote in the majority opinion that a state cannot ``make criminal the peaceful expression of unpopular views.'' Since that ruling, Edwards v. South Carolina has been cited as the precedent in more than 70 breach of the peace cases. Madam Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me today in recognizing the contributions of the student protestors in Edwards v. South Carolina as we remember their protest 60 years ago. As one of the young people involved in this historic event, I can attest that we were committed to the fight for civil rights, and had no idea that our actions would contribute to preserving the right to peacefully protest for future generations. Today similar tactics are being employed in movements like Black Lives Matter. I applaud their efforts and thank the City of Columbia, Historic Columbia and the University of South Carolina for the monument they have erected to memorialize this momentous event.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, tomorrow, at noon, the city of Columbia, South Carolina, Historic Columbia, and the University of South Carolina will unveil a monument that will mark the 60th anniversary of the landmark case Edwards v. South Carolina. That case resulted from the protest march of almost 200 college and high school students from across South Carolina who came to Columbia to protest segregation, discrimination, and what amounted to apartheid. Madam Speaker, 192 or 193 of us were arrested on that day, and 189 were convicted. Two years later, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned those convictions in this historic and landmark case against South Carolina, which rendered an end to any State passing laws to subject protest marchers to anything but what they were. Madam Speaker, tomorrow, I will submit a full statement, thanking those for doing so.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 264, which will designate the post office located on Charlotte Street in Georgetown, South Carolina, as the Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post Office Building. I am proud to join with the bill's lead sponsor, Congressman Tom Rice, and the other members of the South Carolina congressional delegation in cosponsoring this important legislation. This action builds on our efforts in the last Congress to honor the life and legacy of Joseph Rainey by naming H-150, the former House Committee on Indian Affairs room in the Capitol, in his honor. These are just two of the long-overdue actions needed to amplify the historical significance of the first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives. Congressman Rainey was a trailblazer whose story and place in history have been overlooked. As a former history teacher who believes knowing our history is instructive so that we don't repeat the mistakes of our past, I would like to share with you my fellow South Carolinian's legacy. Joseph Rainey, as you heard, was born enslaved in 1832 in Georgetown, South Carolina. His father was able to buy his family's freedom with earnings he made as a barber. As a freedman living in Charleston, Rainey was conscripted by the Confederacy in 1862. Rather than fighting to preserve slavery, he and his family fled to Bermuda, where he worked as a barber until the end of the war. Rainey returned to South Carolina after the Civil War and served, as you heard, as a delegate to the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention. He was elected to the State senate in 1870. Later that year, he was elected to Congress in a special election and was sworn into Congress on December 12, 150 years ago, becoming the first Black to serve in the House of Representatives. He was the first of several African-American Members of this body during Reconstruction, when the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were enforced, however imperfectly, by the power of the Federal Government. But Reconstruction was short-lived. Jim Crow laws and white supremacists dismantled multiracial democracy with voter suppression, nullifications, and violent insurrection. Federal troops were withdrawn from the South following widespread white supremacist violence during the 1876 election and the subsequent election of Rutherford B. Hayes as President. Joseph Rainey spoke out against the removal of Federal protection of voting rights, but in 1878, he lost reelection to former Confederate officer John Smythe Richardson in a district that was, like South Carolina, majority Black. Severe gerrymandering reduced the number of Black South Carolinians in Congress to one in the 1890s. When George Washington Murray lost his bid for reelection in 1897, South Carolina's representation in Congress was again all White and remained all White for the next 95 years. Segregation and Black disenfranchisement were the law of the land until the 1960s. But thanks to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its 1982 amendments, I was elected to this august body in 1992. Today, Congress is still grappling with racial issues, voter suppression, and, as we witnessed last month, domestic terrorism. It is fitting and proper that we are taking this step as we are celebrating Black History Month. I believe we would do well to learn some of the lessons of American history through Joseph Rainey's experiences, and I hope today's action will help illuminate his story and cause us all to reflect on his legacy. We must not allow the progress we have made toward racial equity since the 1960s to retrogress, as it did after the 1860s. To truly honor the contributions of Joseph Rainey and all African Americans, we must build on this progress by working together to address our country's longstanding racial inequities and fulfill the promise of liberty and justice for all.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Article of Impeachment. Last Wednesday, we gathered to follow the Constitution's simple instruction: To count the electoral votes that have been tallied by the States and submitted to us. This President refused to accept those results. Instead, he sought to overturn them by inciting a violent insurrection. But we were not deterred from doing our constitutional duty. Today, we must do our constitutional duty once again. While the President failed in his attempt to upend our democracy, last Wednesday's events declared that if we do not hold him accountable and remove him from power, a future attempt could very well be successful. The survival of our democracy depends on defeated candidates accepting their defeats, as has been the case in every President's election since 1864. Our January 6 joint session is a vital part of the transfer of power, not the contest for power. Vice President Gore understood this, accepting and certifying the 2000 election result in which he was defeated. Vice President Biden understood this, accepting and certifying this President's victory in the 2016 election. This President's refusal to participate in the peaceful transfer of power and his role in the incitement of last week's violence posed an existential threat to our constitution of democracy. This threat must be extinguished immediately. This President must be impeached and convicted, and he must be prevented from ever attempting to seize power again.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. In recent days, it has become indisputable that this President is unable to uphold his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. On the contrary, he seems only capable of attacking the Constitution. Never before has a President sought to overturn a fair and secure election, threatening State officials to manufacture fraudulent votes. Never before has a President incited mob violence to block certification of his opponent's victory. Never before has a President refused to condemn and demand the cessation of an attack on our country. The devastating bruises on our Nation's soul can only begin to heal by removing the weapon used to bludgeon us. The Vice President must invoke the 25th Amendment to immediately remove power from this dangerous President. And if he doesn't, we must vote to impeach.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, while today's vote to provide relief to families who are suffering due to circumstances far beyond their control is welcome, it is long overdue and insufficient to fully meet their needs. Democrats put forth our priorities last May to bring relief to those who are sick, unemployed, homeless, and hungry. Republicans instead chose to ignore and obfuscate the widespread suffering. This short-term package will provide direct payments and unemployment benefits extension and some assistance to help families afford rent, food, water, and broadband. I applaud our Speaker for negotiating these critical provisions and my colleagues who came together in a bipartisan way to drive this compromise, but this package must be viewed only as a downpayment. Most of us can hardly wait to begin the new year with renewed hope. Our resolve as we come into 2021 with a new Congress and a new administration is to provide the leadership and support Americans need and deserve to get us beyond this pandemic. There can be no greater pursuit in 2021.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my appreciation to this august body for unanimously passing H. Res. 1253. I also want to thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for their support of the passage of this resolution. This resolution honors the life and legacy of Joseph H. Rainey, a fellow South Carolinian, who, on December 12, 1870, became the first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives, blazing the trail that provided the path that I am honored to be on today. With the passage of this resolution, the House permanently recognizes Congressman Rainey's remarkable achievement 150 years ago from Saturday. They are honoring him by renaming H-150 on the first floor of this building, which is the room in which he met at the time he was a member of the Committee on Indian Affairs, on which he served from 1873 to 1875.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Butterfield for yielding to me to talk on this very momentous occasion. I thank him for bringing attention to this issue, the 155th anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Now, having not listened to all of the discussion before, and I hope I am not too repetitive here, but I want to bring to the attention of all here this evening and our listeners two conflicting events. Now, we often hear talk of the Emancipation Proclamation. The fact of the matter is, there were two Emancipation Proclamations, the first one freeing the formerly enslaved living in the District of Columbia, and that became effective upon its signing in 1862. The second one, also written in 1862 and signed by President Abraham Lincoln, was to become effective January 1, 1863, and that was to free the other enslaved people in the former slave States, which meant that in those States that did not have officially sanctioned slavery but did have slaves, in order for them to be free and in order for the descendants of those from the District of Columbia and those affected by those two proclamations, we needed a constitutional amendment, because as we know, executive orders could very well change with the next executive. So Abraham Lincoln set out to lay the groundwork for the Thirteenth Amendment, and so we are here celebrating the 155th anniversary of that. But we also this week will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of another momentous event. 150 years ago come Saturday, we will commemorate the swearing in to this august body the first African American to serve in the United States Congress, Joseph H. Rainey. Joseph Rainey was from Georgetown, South Carolina, and early in his life moved to Charleston. He worked as a barber. His father was a barber, and he took up the barbering trade, and made enough money as a barber to purchase his and his family's freedom. Now, the interesting thing about this is that I often talk about the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville, who came to this country in the 1830s to study our penal system, but while here, he saw what he considered to be a certain magic about this country. Back around 1836, he wrote a book, a two-volume book, called ``Democracy in America.'' Now, de Tocqueville, in trying to figure out what it was that he considered to be magical about this country, wrote in those books this little phrase: America is not great because it is more enlightened than any other nation . . . Just think about that, not more enlightened than any other nation, because we had slavery. This was the 1830s. That was not an enlightened institution. But, he said: . . . rather, because it has always been able to repair its faults. Just think about that. De Tocqueville said that this country is great because it is able to repair its faults, writing that at a time when we had slavery in this country in the 1830s. It was some 30 years later when slavery was abolished. Now, the thing that I like to point out is the fact that we talk about all of these things that happened during Reconstruction, and most times the things we are talking about did not happen during Reconstruction, they happened after Reconstruction. Reconstruction was ushered in by the freeing of slaves in 1863. It came to an end in 1877 when Rutherford B. Hayes removed all of the Federal oversight and this country lapsed into a period that we call the Jim Crow era starting around 1877 and lasting all the way up to Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Now, I wanted to point that out tonight as we celebrate these milestones in our history, the 155th anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment and we will be celebrating this week the 150th anniversary of the first African American to come to this august body. But I want to point out something interesting about that. The last African American to serve in that century, to serve in this body, left Congress in 1897, George Washington Murray, the last from South Carolina. Now, I know G.K. Butterfield will get up and tell you about 1901, when Mr. White left the Congress and left with that great speech, Like the Phoenix, but in South Carolina, the first State to give an African American to this body, the last one, George Washington Murray, left in 1897, and there was not another person of color to represent South Carolina until I got elected in 1992, 95 years later. Why? Because of something called voter suppression. I think that a lot of these former slave States have gone back into history and ripped out the textbooks, and we are seeing voter suppression being practiced today much like it was practiced back in the 19th century when they successfully removed all people of color from elective office. So I want to thank G.K. Butterfield for bringing attention to this today. It gives us an opportunity to ask the people of the country to really think about this period of time and think about what we are experiencing today. Think about what is going on in the State of Georgia today, when we see interposition and nullification falling from the lips of the President of the United States in trying to overturn an election, much like they did that ran all Blacks out of Congress and much as they did that took Blacks out of elective office, took Blacks out of schools to be educated, all those things, and made it illegal for people of color to even get an education. I would hope that during this period of time, the people of this country will think a little bit about what is going on around us and just remember there is precedence for what the President of the United States is doing today.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, the Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis has been working to ensure that our response to this pandemic is effective, efficient, and equitable. The Heroes Act will make this outcome possible. The Select Committee has heard from public health experts that testing, tracing, and targeted containment are needed to safely reopen. This bill includes $75 billion for these public health measures. We heard from essential workers risking their lives, doing their jobs during this pandemic. Mayors of both political parties told us significant Federal assistance is needed to prevent sharp cuts to jobs and vital services. This bill includes $436 billion for State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to support our heroes and those they serve. It protects workers by directing OSHA to issue an effective infection control standard. The Select Committee's investigations have found that PPP and other relief programs need to be improved to reach the most vulnerable businesses. The Heroes Act sets aside funds for the smallest businesses, struggling non-profits, and second loans to the businesses that have suffered the most. The bill would assist restaurants and airport concessionaires who have been especially hard hit. Educators and public health experts advised us how to safely reopen schools. This legislation provides robust funding to enable schools to educate students while minimizing health risks. Mr. Speaker, the current Federal Reserve chair and his two immediate predecessors told us that Congress must provide additional fiscal support for a strong recovery. This bill extends enhanced unemployment benefits, provides additional direct payments, expands food assistance, and provides housing support. Finally, voting rights advocates and infectious disease doctors alike, told the Select Committee that to ensure a free, fair, and safe election, we must follow science-based recommendations for expanded mail-in voting, early voting, and polling places. The Heroes Act provides the funds for election administration and the Postal Service needed to safeguard our democracy. Mr. Speaker, I always say that if the difference between me and an opponent on any issue requires five steps, I don't mind taking three of them. But I hope the other side will meet us by taking two.

Mr. CLYBURN

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

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend and the retiring Mayor of my hometown of Sumter, South Carolina. Joseph T. McElveen, Jr. is a dedicated public servant and an ardent advocate for Sumter. His leadership will be missed, but I know he will continue to be an active part of his beloved community. Joe McElveen and I share the hometown of Sumter and are blessed to have had entrepreneurial parents to teach us. His father, John, owned a bicycle shop and ice cream parlor on Liberty Street across from my mother's beauty shop. The two of them created a partnership that resulted in my brothers and me spending our summers selling his ice cream from our mother's push carts in our neighborhood. I am grateful that the relationship between our families developed into a lifelong friendship between us. Joe attended public schools in Sumter and graduated from The Citadel in 1968. He was a Gold Star student and a Distinguished Air Force Student and Graduate. Following college graduation, Joe went on to attend the University of South Carolina Law School, where he served on the Editorial Board of the South Carolina Law Review and published two articles. He graduated and was admitted to the Bar in 1971. After law school, Joe served in the U.S. Air Force as an administrative officer for the 728th Tactical Fighter Support Squadron. When his active duty service ended, he continued in reserve duty as a Staff Judge Advocate until 1977. During that time, Joe joined the Bryan Law Firm and became a partner in 1975. His legal career focused on family law and workers' compensation. Joe served on the House of Delegates and Board of Governors for the South Carolina Bar Association, and as a board member of the Workplace Litigation Group. He also received the Gold Compleat Lawyer Award by the South Carolina School of Law in 1996. In addition to his success as a lawyer, Joe is also dedicated to serving his community. He has served on the Sumter County Drug Abuse Council and as a member of the City of Sumter Zoning Board of Adjustments and the City/County Planning Commission. He has also served as president of the Sumter Jaycees, the Sumter Optimist Club and the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the board of the Sumter Family YMCA and was recognized for his service by the March of Dimes and the Heart Association. Joe has also held elective office. He was elected to Sumter City Council for two years, serving from 1984 to 1986. In 1986, he began representing Sumter County in the South Carolina House, where he served on the Judiciary and Rules Committee. He also served two terms as Majority Leader and left the State Legislature in 1996. In 2000, Joe ran for and was elected Mayor of our hometown. With his retirement this year as Mayor of Sumter, Joe leaves as the longest serving Mayor in the city's history. He also leaves a legacy of making the City of Sumter a better place. I was pleased to work with the Mayor to secure federal funding to renovate an old warehouse into a much-needed Intermodal Transportation Center. Later the Regional Transportation Authority honored me by naming the Center in my honor and I was present for its dedication in 2008. We also worked closely together to bring resources and services to economically distressed communities through three HOPE (Harvest Opportunity and Promoting Empowerment) Centers in the federally designated Sumter Columbia Empowerment Zone. As Mayor, Joe also oversaw a revitalization of Sumter's historic downtown. The Sumter Opera House was restored as a center for entertainment, a new Public Safety Complex was opened, and public parks including Memorial Park, Palmetto Park and Swan Lake Iris Gardens have been upgraded. During his tenure, he encouraged Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in new construction and renovations to public buildings to promote sustainability. He also expanded sports and recreational opportunities by opening the City of Sumter Aquatics Center and the Palmetto Tennis Center. Joe also led the initiative to decrease vacant properties by more than 22- percent and developed the PRIDE program to help 564 owners clean up blighted properties. His efforts to improve Sumter, were recognized when the City was recognized as a Top 20 finalist in the 2019 All American City Competition hosted by the National League of Cities. Joe is a longtime member of The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) and was elected to the 28-member USCM Advisory Board. He also serves as Chair of the Veteran Affairs Task Force and Vice Chair of the Membership Committee. He is married to the former Kathy Watson. They have two children, Thomas (Bronwyn) and Kate Price (Nick), and two grandchildren Adelaide and Joe McElveen. The family attends First Presbyterian Church, where Joe has served as a deacon and an elder. Madam Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me wishing Mayor Joe McElveen a happy and healthy retirement from public life. He has demonstrated through this lifetime of service that he is motivated by his love of his community and its people. He has given his time and his talents to ensure Sumter continues to grow and thrive. It is a better place because of his service, and that is a tremendous legacy of which he should be extremely proud.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend and a true public servant. Senator John Wesley Matthews, Jr. is retiring after 46 years of service in the South Carolina State Legislature. He is renowned for his commitment to education and job creation especially in Berkeley, Calhoun, Colleton, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties, which he proudly serves. His leadership and tireless dedication will truly be missed. John, a son of South Carolina, was born to Reverend John Wesley, Sr. and Victoria Williams Matthews. He is a graduate of South Carolina State College (now University), Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, and Lincoln Electrical Institute. John began his career as a public-school teacher and rose to become a school principal. He was also a small business owner. These experiences led him to seek elective office and he ran for the South Carolina State House. He served as a State Representative from 1975 to 1984, when he ran for the State Senate. He has held the Senate District No. 39 seat since 1985. While in the Senate, John served as a member of the Senate Education, Finance, Banking & Insurance Committee, the Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee, and the Ethics and Interstate Cooperation Committee. He currently serves as the Assistant Minority Leader in the State Senate and as Chairman of the Orangeburg County Legislative Delegation. He has previously served as Chairman of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus and as a member of the Southern Regional Education Board, the Education Oversight Committee, a member of the 2016 Democratic National Platform Committee and a member of the Governor's Middle Grades Task Force. In 2004, I was proud to be on hand, when the Orangeburg County Council named a 500-acre site at the intersections of U.S. Highways 301 and 176 the John W. Matthews Industrial Park. Our alma mater, South Carolina State also honored John in 2006 with the naming of the John W. Matthews, Jr. 1890 Extension Building. Last year, the South Carolina Senate unveiled a portrait of their colleague, currently the longest serving South Carolina State legislator. The portrait hangs in the Chamber. These honors are richly deserved and represent the impact that John has had on his native state. In addition to his service in the General Assembly, John has served his community in many other capacities. He has served as a member of the South Carolina Education Association, the Orangeburg County Education Association, the Clemson University Board of Visitors, the Medical University of South Carolina Board of Trustees, the Winthrop Board of Visitors, the Human Affairs Commission Board of Trustees, the Voorhees College Board of Trustees, and the Claflin University Capital Campaign Steering Committee. John has received numerous awards over the years including induction into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame and being named Minority Business Advocate of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and South Carolina Primary Health Care Legislator of the Year. He is also a recipient of the South Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities Legislative Champion Award, the Wilkins Legislative Leadership Award, the Ernest Finney Chairmen's Award, the Orangeburg Chapter NAACP Exceptional Legislative Service Award, the Congressman Clyburn and Congressman John Spratt Public Service Award, the SC Alliance for Mobile Infrastructure Elected Official of the Year Award and the National Trends and Services Award of the Orangeburg Chapter of the Links, Inc. He has received honorary doctorates from South Carolina State University, the College of Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina. John was married to the late Geraldine Hillard Matthews, and the couple had five children. He attends Pineville United Methodist Church and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Madam Speaker, I ask that you and our colleagues join me in celebrating the tremendous service John W. Matthews has provided to the State of South Carolina. He embodies the true definition of a servant leader, and his longevity in the South Carolina General Assembly has left a lasting mark on the State and its citizens. We are all better for his service, and I know he will continue to serve his community for years to come.