Jim Clyburn

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Chairman, that means that according to my records we have 5 minutes left?

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman from New York for his help in substituting for us as we got to the floor. Let me begin by thanking the distinguished chairman of the Committee on the Budget for all of his hard work and to assure him that we, the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, are very, very aware of the work that he has put into this budget, and we commend him for the work. I would also like to thank the Committee on Rules for working with us and helping us to bring our budget to this floor, because we think that we have some things worth discussing. Mr. Chairman, if we fail to seize this moment to make investments that will allow our great Nation to surge forward in the creation of this new cyber-civilization, then our children and grandchildren will frown on us and will lament the fact that we failed not because we lacked fiscal resources but our failures, our very devastating blunder was due to a poverty of vision. Mr. Chairman, we are the custodians of unprecedented wealth in a giant economy. But we must not allow midget minds and tiny spirits to control our destiny. At a time when positive generosity is possible, such a proposal maximizes great selfishness. The preparation of this budget for maximum investment and growth was guided by a set of 10 principles and assumptions set forth below. Number one. We accept the general direction of the President's budget and the House Democratic Caucus. Families First is a motto we wholeheartedly endorse. However, more resources must be directed toward working families and the unique problems of African American families. Number two. We view the projection of a $1.9 trillion surplus over a 10-year period as an overriding factor for the basic decisions to be made for fiscal year 2001. Common sense dictates that we approach this first year of the decade of budget surpluses with proposals for the most advantageous uses of one-tenth of the projected surplus. Number three. Investment in the CBC-designated priorities should be our number one concern. We support a moderate plan to pay down the national debt. However, the President's blueprint moves too far and too fast with debt reduction at the expense of investment. Number four. The protection of Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare are among the highest priorities of the CBC. Number five. In budgeting for each function, the CBC accepts the principles of a balanced budget. However, increases in CBC priorities must not be inhibited by present budget caps and conventional assumptions. Number six. The CBC accepts the basic thrust of President Clinton's proposal for the distribution of the surplus. However, the CBC will insist that the emphasis in priorities must be shifted. At least 10 percent of the surplus should be devoted to investments in programs for education and a second 10 percent should be allotted for investments which benefit working families and for the safety net programs. Number seven. Tax cuts, which must be taken from the 80 percent of the surplus which remains, are not a high priority of the CBC. Number eight. Within the priorities earmarked by the President's budget in each function, the CBC will strive to target some portion of the proposed allocations to the special needs of working families. Number nine. Budget allocations for necessary programs that currently do not exist are encouraged. And, number 10, the currently stated CBC fiscal year 2001 priorities are education, housing, health, economic development, and livable communities. Mr. Chairman, I believe that serious consideration of this budget is called for at this time. We believe it provides a blueprint for the launching of this new millennium. National Defense (050) Function in brief Function 050 funds the pay and benefits of military and civilian personnel; operations and maintenance; research, development, testing, evaluation, engineering, and procurement of new weapons systems (including nuclear weapons and research provided by the Department of Energy); and military construction, including family housing; and other military-related activities. The CBC believes that the Defense budget, with it current estimates consumes more than one-half of the discretionary spending of the Federal government's budget. While the Caucus wants to ensure that our men and women in uniform enjoy necessary and proper support from sufficient forces and the right equipment, training, and housing, we do not want this reality to prevail at the expense of our nation's other priorities. Function 050: National defense [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001..........................................................255.0 Outlays; 2001..........................................................252.0 Budget Authority: 2002..........................................................262.0 2003..........................................................268.0 2004..........................................................271.0 2005..........................................................286.0 Outlays: 2002..........................................................261.0 2003..........................................................267.0 2004..........................................................270.0 2005..........................................................287.0 International Affairs (150) Function in brief Functions 150 funds the operation of the State Department, embassies and consulate offices abroad, bilateral assistance programs, democracy and free market economies education, multilateral assistance programs, multilateral development banks, and public diplomacy through educational and cultural exchanges. It also funds libraries and broadcasting abroad as well as international security through peacekeeping assistance, non-proliferation and disarmament, foreign military grants and loans, military education and training, and refugee and disaster assistance: Some of the specific programs it funds include: Development Fund for Africa, African Development Fund, African Development Bank, Great Lakes Initiative, Development Assistance, Peace Corps, Inter- American Development, Debt Restructuring, Debt Restructuring (HIPC), Wye and Egypt Supplemental, UN Arrearage Payments, Migration and Refugee Assistance, Peacekeeping Operation (PKO), Child Survival and Disease Fund, Economic Support Fund (ESF), International Development Association, National Endowment for Democracy, World Health Organization, African Crisis Response Force, International Disaster Assistance, Trade and Development Agency and PL 480 Titles II and III. Function 150: International affairs [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................22.0 Outlays: 2001...........................................................20.0 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................22.0 2003...........................................................26.0 2004...........................................................30.8 2005...........................................................36.6 Outlays: 2002...........................................................20.0 2003...........................................................30.8 2004...........................................................36.6 2005...........................................................43.3 General Science, Space, and Technology (250) Function in brief Function 250 provides funding for general science and basic research, including the National Science Foundation; Department of Energy general science programs, particularly the high energy physics and nuclear physics programs; space flight, research and supporting activities. The CBC maintains a significant overall Federal investment in science and engineering research and development while paring back support for those research initiatives which offer minimal public benefits and would be more appropriately financed by private industry. highlights NASA--Funds the International Space Station at the level proposed by the President which allows for space based medical research and breakthroughs in medicine for diseases that greatly affect the African American community. HBCU's--Provides additional funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's) Minority University Research and Education Programs. NSF--Provides additional funding for the Next Generation Internet initiative in order to connect HBCU's and other similarly situated educational institutions to the Internet. Elementary, Secondary and information education--Provides additional funding to the Elementary, Secondary and Information Educational activity of the Educational and Human Resources appropriation of the NSF. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration--Provides additional funding for the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment Program (GLOBE). Function 250: General science, space and technology [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................14.9 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................14.9 2003...........................................................17.6 2004...........................................................20.9 2005...........................................................24.7 Outlays: 2001...........................................................14.9 Outlays: 2002...........................................................14.9 2003...........................................................20.9 2004...........................................................24.7 2005...........................................................28.3 Energy (270) Function in Brief Function 250 provides funding for most of the programs for the Department of Energy, including research and development and energy conservation; the Power Marketing Administrations, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; uranium enrichment; funding for electrification and telephone credit subsidies provided through the Rural Utilities Service; the Tennessee Valley Authority power program; the Nucelar Regulatory Commission and other activities. Function 270: Energy [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001............................................................3.3 Outlays: 2001............................................................1.8 Budget Authority: 2002............................................................2.0 2003............................................................2.7 2004............................................................2.4 2005............................................................2.1 Outlays: 2002............................................................1.5 2003............................................................1.2 2004............................................................2.4 2005............................................................0.6 Natural Resources and Environment (300) Function in brief Function 300 Funds water resources management; activities of the Army Corps of Engineers; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the National Park Service, including recreation programs; the Department of the Interior; conservation and land management; pollution control and abatement. Other agencies under this function are the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, certain agencies within the Department of Agriculture, including the Forest Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in the Department of Commerce. Function 300: Natural resources and environment [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................20.8 Outlays: 2001...........................................................20.5 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................20.8 2003...........................................................20.8 2004...........................................................20.8 2005...........................................................20.8 Outlays: 2002...........................................................20.4 2003...........................................................20.4 2004...........................................................20.4 2005...........................................................20.4 Agriculture (350) Function in brief Function 350 provides funding for agricultural programs, including farm income stabilization, commodity price support programs, crop insurance, export credit guarantee loans, the emergency food assistance program, the Foreign Agricultural Service, the Agricultural Marketing Service, the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, the Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, animal and plant protection, and other agricultural programs and agricultural export promotion. Function 350: Agriculture [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001............................................................8.6 Outlays: 2001............................................................7.1 Budget Authority: 2002............................................................8.9 2003...........................................................10.5 2004...........................................................12.4 2005...........................................................14.8 Outlays: 2002............................................................6.9 2003............................................................8.1 2004............................................................9.6 2005...........................................................11.4 Commerce and Housing Credit (370) Function in brief Function 370 includes funding for mortgage credit rural housing programs, the Census Bureau, International trade and export promotion programs, technology programs, and the patent and trademark program of the Department of Commerce; small business assistance; the U.S. Postal Service; and major regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. Function 370: Commerce and housing credit [Fiscal years, in millions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................12.4 Outlays: 2001............................................................7.6 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................12.7 2003...........................................................13.0 2004...........................................................13.3 2005...........................................................13.6 Outlays: 2002............................................................8.2 2003............................................................8.8 2004............................................................9.4 2005...........................................................10.0 Transportation (400) Function in brief Function 400 includes ground transportation programs, such as the federal-aid highway program, mass transit, rail transportation, and the Interstate Commerce Commission; air transportation through the Coast Guard and Maritime Administration; and related transportation support activities. Rather than cutting investment in the nation's transportation infrastructure, the CBC Alternative Budget maintains investment in these vital functions by funding them at the level of current services through fiscal year 2000. Public investment in transportation produces broad economic benefits, and our nation must have a safe and efficient transportation system for all people if the United States is to compete successfully in the 21st Century. Function 400: Transportation [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................14.5 Outlays: 2001...........................................................12.1 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................14.5 2003...........................................................15.1 2004...........................................................15.6 2005...........................................................16.3 Outlays: 2002...........................................................12.1 2003...........................................................12.7 2004...........................................................12.9 2005...........................................................13.0 Community and Regional Development: 450 Function in brief The Community and Regional Development function provides for a wide variety of urban and rural development programs, including the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), the Economic Development Agency (EDA), the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC, numerous rural development programs administered by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) and the non-power programs of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The function also includes funding for most Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) programs. Function 450: Community and regional development [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................13.7 Outlays: 2001...........................................................13.1 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................13.7 2003...........................................................13.9 2004...........................................................14.1 2005...........................................................14.3 Outlays: 2002...........................................................13.3 2003...........................................................14.1 2004...........................................................14.3 2005...........................................................14.5 Education, Training and Employment Services (500) Function in brief The boldest and most vital proposal contained in the CBC Budget is at the heart of this function: funding for school construction. Responding to the fact that the American people in numerous polls have indicated that their number one priority for federal budget action is Education, each of the budgets being presented offer increases in Education. But only the CBC Budget has chosen to focus on the kingpin issue of school physical infrastructure. While we applaud the President's inclusion of 1.3 billion dollars for ``emergency repairs,'' we deem it to be grossly inadequate. We support school financing via the tax code; however, most of the Local Education Agencies can not borrow money without a lengthy taxpayer referendum procedure. This CBC Budget proposes a 10 billion dollar increase over the President's Budget for school construction. This amount would be taken from the 200 billion dollar surplus. In addition to this five percent for infrastructure-wiring, repair, security, and new construction--the CBC Budget proposes another five percent, 10 billion dollars, to address other education, social service, and employment initiatives. Only ten per cent of the overall surplus would be utilized for the all important mission of investment in human resources. Other projected increases include additional funding for Head Start, Summer Youth Employment, TRIO programs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Community Technology Centers. We oppose the Department of Education's elimination of vitally needed ongoing technical assistance and research programs. OERI projects should not be dumped into a general slush fund. The DOE's weak administration with its bargain basement peer review procedures, is not in a position to mount new programs on a timely basis. A better utilization of existing programs would be more efficient and more effective. For the critically important welfare to work programs administered by the Department of Labor, the Year 2001 Budget assumes a life and death importance. Infant mortality rates in poor communities will continue to rise and families will suffer needlessly unless there is an end to the current federal permissive policy which allows states to pilfer funds from the poor, and to use welfare contracts as political patronage. The CBC proposes greater earmarking of funding connected with the chaotic welfare reform ``measures.'' A better funded and stronger Federal administration and direction is needed to restrain the greed and neglect of state governments. Function 500: Education, training and employment services [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................88.8 Outlays: 2001...........................................................76.8 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................89.8 2003...........................................................77.8 2004...........................................................89.2 2005...........................................................90.7 Outlays: 2002...........................................................85.0 2003...........................................................84.9 2004...........................................................88.7 2005...........................................................89.9 Health (550) and Medicare (570) Function in brief Functions 550 and 570 include funds for health care services, health research and training, consumer and occupational health and safety, and Medicare. The major agency budgets accounts include the Health Resources and Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Health Care Financing Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health and the Office of Minority Health. Function 550: Health [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001..........................................................198.8 Outlays: 2001..........................................................198.0 Budget Authority: 2002..........................................................215.5 2003..........................................................233.6 2004..........................................................253.2 2005..........................................................274.4 Outlays: 2002..........................................................214.7 2003..........................................................231.6 2004..........................................................249.9 2005..........................................................269.7 Function 570: Medicare [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................14.5 Outlays: 2001...........................................................14.5 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................15.4 2003...........................................................12.5 2004...........................................................13.2 2005...........................................................14.0 Outlays: 2002...........................................................15.4 2003...........................................................12.6 2004...........................................................13.1 2005...........................................................14.0 Income Security (600) Function in briefs Function 600 contains programs which help meet the needs of individuals by insuring against loss of income from retirement, disability, death or unemployment of a wage earner, and by assisting those whose incomes are inadequate to meet minimum levels of nutrition, housing or other basic necessities. Major programs within this function include: retirement and disability programs for federal civilian and military personnel; food stamps, school lunch, WIC and other nutrition programs; unemployment insurance; family support payments (AFDC); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); low-income home energy assistance; foster care and child welfare programs; child care; low-income and elderly housing assistance and programs for the homeless; and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Function 600: Income security [Fiscal years, in million of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001..........................................................241.3 Outlays: 2001..........................................................217.2 Budget Authority: 2002..........................................................241.3 2003..........................................................241.8 2004..........................................................242.9 2005..........................................................243.8 Outlays: 2002..........................................................229.7 2003..........................................................240.9 2004..........................................................221.1 2005..........................................................234.3 Social Security (650) Function in brief Function 650 includes Social Security, Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI), and the Disability Insurance (DI) programs. These programs provide monthly cash assistance to more than 42 million beneficiaries. Function 650: Social Security (650) [Fiscal year, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................14.5 Outlays: 2001...........................................................14.5 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................15.4 2003...........................................................12.5 2004...........................................................13.2 2005...........................................................14.0 Outlays: 2002...........................................................15.4 2003...........................................................12.6 2004...........................................................13.1 2005...........................................................16.1 Veterans Benefits and Services (700) Function in brief Function 700 includes compensation for veterans with service-related disabilities; pensions for low-income wartime veterans with non-service connected disabilities; education and training; medical care; and housing loan guarantees. Function 700: Veterans benefits and services [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................44.0 Outlays: 2001...........................................................42.8 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................45.1 2003...........................................................46.9 2004...........................................................47.1 2005...........................................................48.3 Outlays: 2002...........................................................45.4 2003...........................................................48.1 2004...........................................................51.0 2005...........................................................54.0 Administration of Justice (750) Function in brief Function 750 provides funding for the law enforcement and anti-drug abuse activities of the Departments of Justice and Treasury; federal judicial, litigation, and correctional activities; criminal justice assistance grants to state and local governments; and legal services for the poor. The CBC Caring Majority Budget understands the urgency of addressing the rising rate of crime in the United States. All credible research has shown that prevention and early intervention initiatives, combined with a continuum of services aimed at high-risk youth, best serve to reduced crime when compared to incarceration and other punitive approaches. A comprehensive prevention strategy includes an investment in education and training resources as well as research and evaluation of model programs that offer non-punitive methods of crime reduction. Function 750: Administration of Justice [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................24.7 Outlays: 2001...........................................................25.6 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................24.1 2003...........................................................24.6 2004...........................................................25.0 2005...........................................................25.5 Outlays: 2002...........................................................25.6 2003...........................................................25.4 2004...........................................................25.8 2005...........................................................26.3 General Government (800) Function in brief Function 800 provides funding for general overhead costs of the federal government. Function 800: General government [Fiscal year, in million of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001...........................................................14.7 Outlays: 2001...........................................................14.0 Budget Authority: 2002...........................................................14.5 2003...........................................................14.6 2004...........................................................14.8 2005...........................................................15.0 Outlays: 2002...........................................................14.3 2003...........................................................14.0 2004...........................................................14.6 2005...........................................................14.9 Net Interest (900) Function in brief Function 900 provides for interest payments on the national debt. Net interest outlays are determined by the size of the debt, market interest rates, and debt management practices. Function 900: Net interest [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Outlays: 2001..........................................................208.3 Outlays: 2002..........................................................198.6 2003..........................................................189.2 2004..........................................................177.4 2005..........................................................163.6 Allowances (920) Function in brief Function 920 reflects amounts of any budget increase or reduction for which specific funding levels by program or function have yet to be determined. It also includes amounts for contingencies which may affect more than one function. Function 920: Allowances [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001..........................................................200.0 Budget Authority: 2002..........................................................200.0 2003..........................................................300.0 2004..........................................................300.0 2005..........................................................300.0 Undistributed Offsetting Receipts (950) Function in brief Function 950 includes the employer's share of employee retirement costs; government receipts (bonuses, rents, royals) from the sale of oil and gas produced from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS); and receipts for the sale of assets controlled or owned by the federal government. Function 950: Undistributed offsetting receipts [Fiscal years, in billions of dollars] Budget Authority: 2001............................................................200 Outlays: 2001...........................................................45.7 Budget Authority: 2002............................................................200 2003............................................................200 2004............................................................200 2005............................................................200 Outlays: 2002...........................................................49.1 2003...........................................................47.3 2004...........................................................46.9 48.605...............................................................

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Ernest A. Finney, Jr., who will retire on March 23, 2000, as Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. Ernest Finney moved to Orangeburg, SC, from Virginia as a teenager when his father became the Dean of Claflin College in Orangeburg. He received his undergraduate degree from Claflin, and later his law degree from South Carolina State College. Although an attorney, Mr. Finney began his career as a teacher in Conway, SC, where he supplemented his teaching salary by waiting tables. He attended his first meeting of the South Carolina Bar as a waiter, because blacks were not allowed membership in the state bar association. After practicing civil rights law in my hometown Sumter, of South Carolina for a number of years, Mr. Finney began his distinguished public service career in 1973 when he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, where he served until his election as Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit in 1976. On April 3, 1985, Mr. Finney was elected Associate Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court, becoming the first African American to hold that office since Reconstruction. On May 11, 1994, Justice Finney was elected Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. In addition to his duties on the court, Chief Justice Finney is devoted to his family and community. He is married to the former Frances Davenport and is the father of three fine children--Lynn C., a college professor, Ernest A. III, and Jerry Leo, both attorneys. He is the grandfather of two--Amanda and Felicia. Chief Justice Finney is a dedicated alumnus of Claflin College, where he serves on the Board of Trustees, and is a long time member of Emmanuel United Methodist Church. He has been a role model and mentor for legions of young attorneys. Mr. Speaker, Chief Justice Ernest A. Finney, Jr. guided the Supreme Court of South Carolina and the state judiciary with a steady, balanced hand. I ask that you and my colleagues join me in saluting him on the occasion of his retirement for a job well done.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Mozell H.W. Isaac, who celebrated her 70th birthday on March 4, 2000. A life-long resident of Lee County, South Carolina, Mrs. Isaac has served her community for over fifty years in numerous ways. Through the Clemson Extension Service, the public school system and other civic, religious, and fraternal organizations, Mozell H.W. Isaac has been an advocate for Lee County and its residents. Mrs. Mozell H.W. Isaac was not only an active citizen in the community, but also a mother of four, all of whom maintained close ties with the community and its affairs. One of her sons served two terms on the County Council, another works with youth correction programs in New York, one daughter works with the Guardian Ad Litem program for the county, and another is a paralegal in Columbia. She also is the proud grandmother of six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute to an individual who has been a lifelong public servant, and shown tireless dedication to her community. I wish Mrs. Mozell H.W. Isaac a Happy 70th Birthday and many more returns.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Valentine Burroughs of Camden, South Carolina, an outstanding public servant and friend who passed away suddenly last weekend. Valentine Burroughs was that rarest of individuals who always placed the interests of others before his own. He felt strong duty to help maintain his community, focusing his talent and energy on helping people. Val served tirelessly in the Executive Office of South Carolina's Department of Transportation and other divisions of improve overall opportunities to ethnic minorities, women and individuals with disabilities. Val exhibited strong leadership and he ably represented the interests of fellow coworkers and local residents. He worked with the Human Resources Office to develop a recruitment strategy to identify and attract minorities and women in underutilized professions, with an emphasis on the engineering career field. He proved his dedication and excellence to the community by providing outstanding support to research efforts of the Legislative Black Caucus, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and rural communities. Val has undertook special projects including research special transportation initiatives for Native Americans. He administered the implementation of the HBCU Partnership Program with South Carolina State University and Benedict College, the Summer Transportation Initiative Program, the Cooperative Education/Intern Program, the Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program and the Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program. He was named the agency's Americans With Disabilities (ADA) Coordinator, and the Urban Youth Corps Program Statewide Coordinator for which he leaves an indelible legacy. The Youth Corps Program which began in 1994 now employs over 690 youth throughout the state of South Carolina. When Val was named as the transportation department's Director of Minority Affairs in 1990, he stated, ``I view this is one of the most challenging positions in the agency because of the uniqueness of the highway construction industry and because of the economic importance of minority firms participating''. But he had faced tough challenges before. Fresh out of school and armed with a degree in Sociology from St. Augustine College in Raleigh, N.C. he moved to Washington, D.C.'s troubled inner-city. He began working as a counselor for the Neighborhood Youth Corps, helping the disadvantaged find jobs and offering them alternatives to crime. His community service included Directors of the Triangle Ministry Community Program, the Mission/ Congress Heights Youth Service Center and the Mission of Community Concern, Inc. In 1976, Val moved back to South Carolina to work in the office of Governor James B. Edwards under I. DeQuincey Newman, who was director of the Division of Rural Development, and later became the first Black South Carolina senators since post-reconstruction. There he assisted rural communities through workshops, training programs and resource development. Val remained in Rural Development through the first term of Governor Richard Riley before assuming the position of project information coordinator for the South Carolina State Family Development Authority, an agency that sets up tax-deferred bond programs to assist farmers in building agricultural facilities. In 1987, Val came to the Office of Planning and Program Development in the Division of Motor Vehicles, previously the South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation where he served continuously until his untimely death last Saturday. To Valentine Burroughs, community and public service wasn't an option. It was a responsibility and an honor. Whenever neighbors or coworkers called upon him, Burroughs was always there. There aren't enough Valentine Burroughs in our communities and his absence will be greatly missed. I extend my deepest condolences to Val's wife, Audrey and their two children. To them Val was a loving husband and father, to me he was a friend. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in a tribute to Valentine Burroughs for his selfless dedication to his community and country.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, let me begin by thanking the gentlewoman of the District of Columbia for yielding me this time and to thank the Chair for his comments on behalf of the four people for whom we are naming these post offices today. I want to associate myself with the comments made by the gentleman and thank the gentleman so much. I would like to add just a couple of personal notes, if I may, Madam Speaker. On the Post Office being named for Reverend Layford Johnson in Eastover, South Carolina, Reverend Johnson is now 82 years old and still active in his community and is someone for whom I hold the highest regard and someone for whom the community seems very, very pleased to honor this way. In fact, this is not a personal effort on my part. People from the community, the town of Eastover and surrounding communities came to me and asked that I pursue this on behalf of the community, and we started out on this some 3 years ago, and I am pleased to get to this point today. The second Post Office, the one being named for Richard E. Fields. Richard Fields is now 79 years old. He is now retired from the Circuit Court of South Carolina, a longtime personal friend, one who lives in the community served by this post office and one of the early settlers in this particular community. Richard Fields has been a tremendous asset to the Charleston community and to South Carolina all of his life, and I am pleased to come before the House today as one of the sponsors of this legislation to have this post office honor Richard Fields in this way. The third one, Marybelle Howe, that post office is on East Bay Street in Charleston, South Carolina. My colleagues have heard from the gentleman from Nebraska a lot about Mrs. Howe. It was my great honor at one point in my life to serve as the executive director of the South Carolina commission for farm workers. It was in that capacity that I got to know Marybelle Howe very well, and not just in an appreciation natural way, but in a very personal sort of way. In her resume we will find that she was a journalism graduate from the University of South Carolina and spent a lot of her time writing short stories for friends and family. One of the interesting things about Marybelle is that she had a brother who wrote children's books, and he would send these books to Marybelle, who would then bring them by my house to use my oldest daughter, Mignon, as sort of a guinea pig. She would read these stories to Mignon to see whether or not her brother had hit the mark in his writing of the books. This led to a very personal relationship, and later on Marybelle became very active on behalf of not just migrants, but seasonal full- time workers out in the Sea Islands of South Carolina. Much of her work led to a bit of a social problem for her, because there were those who felt that this kind of work was beneath the dignity of this lady from what we call below Calhoun Street in Charleston, but she never wavered in her commitment to those less fortunate. I do believe that though she has passed on to a greater reward, the people of Charleston and the people of the low country, South Carolina, will do themselves a great honor in honoring her in this way. Finally, Madam Speaker, the Post Office in the community of Eau Claire, just outside of Columbia, in fact, part of the city of Columbia in South Carolina, this Post Office we are pleased to name in honor of Mamie G. Floyd. Mamie Floyd is a unique person. She is now 78 years old, a retired schoolteacher, retired some 20 years ago, but remaining active in her church, Ridgewood Baptist Church, where I worship occasionally with her and her pastor, Reverend Chavis, and other church members. But Mamie Floyd is unique because, as the Chair mentioned, both her sons were stricken with sickle cell anemia, a disease that still befuddles medical experts. But it was one which made Mamie Floyd a greater person. She nurtured her children, and even her husband, who passed some 10 years ago. When I see her today, she still remains a solid citizen, reaching out to others, working with the less fortunate, working on historic preservation projects in her community of Eau Claire. I think that this body will do Mamie Floyd, the community of Eau Claire, the city of Columbia, the State of South Carolina, great honor by passing this legislation. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for his kind words about these four outstanding South Carolinians. Judge Richard E. Fields Richard E. Fields was born October 1, 1920 to John and Mary Fields. He attended West Virginia State College where he received his B.S. in 1944. He then went on to attend Howard University where he received a L.B.B. in 1947. In 1951, he married Myrtle Thelma Evans and together they had two children, Mary Diane and Richard E. Fields, Jr. Mr. Fields served as a judge of the Municipal Court from 1969-1974. He then worked as a judge of the Family Court from 1974-1980. He was elected Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit on March 18, 1980 to fill the unexpired term of Clarence E. Singletary. He was qualified on June 20, 1980 and currently remains in that position.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Eloise M. Rogers, a woman of lasting commitment to service in her community. Just last week, Mrs. Rogers celebrated the happy occasion of her 100th birthday. Born in 1900 in Charleston, South Carolina, Mrs. Rogers was the wife of the late Reverend Preston B. Rogers. Together, they had one son. Not only was Mrs. Rogers a wife and a mother, she was also a homemaker and a farmer. During this time she was active in her community as she served on the Deaconess Board, the Senior Choir, and as the Secretary for the Williamsburg Association. Mrs. Rogers active participation in her community remains as she now resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Currently, she is a member of the Joint Stock Liberty Worth Chapter 171 and a missionary. Aside from being a selfless community servant, Mrs. Rogers is one of the many unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement that should be celebrated and remembered. She was among the first African Americans to register to vote in Williamsburg County of South Carolina, which is in the Sixth Congressional District I am pleased to represent in the House. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me today in paying a tribute to an individual who epitomizes the virtue of being a public servant. She has made her mark in the church and in the political world, and continues to take part in her community. I ask you to join me in congratulating Mrs. Eloise Rogers on her 100th birthday, and wish for her many happy returns.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today on the last day of Black History Month to share with you a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The remarks to follow were given by my good friend and esteemed colleague, Representative John Spratt from the Fifth Congressional District of South Carolina. Representative Spratt's remarks on the late Dr. King bring a very refreshing and much-needed view on the subject of America and where we ought to be heading as we enter the new Millennium. Our home State of South Carolina is involved in a national debate, as I've spoken about recently, regarding the confederate battle flag flying atop the Statehouse in Columbia. Were we all to read Representative Spratt's remarks and take them into close consideration, we might be one step closer to understanding the past and moving towards the future that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned for our nation. Madam Speaker, I submit for the Record the following remarks given by Representative John Spratt on January 17, 2000, at the Mt. Prospect Baptist Church in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--Remarks of U.S. Representative John Spratt, Mt. Prospect Baptist Church, Rock Hill, South Carolina, January 17, 2000 Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929. He was 26, in the pulpit of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church less than two years, when he was drafted to lead the Montgomery bus boycott. He was 39 the night he told the sanitation workers in Memphis that God had taken him up on the top of the mountain and let him see the promised land. ``Mine eyes have see the glory of the coming of the Lord,'' he said. ``I'm not fearing any man.'' He would have been 71 on Saturday, had he lived. But the next day in Memphis, he stepped out onto the deck of the Lorraine Motel, and a gunman, filled with the venom he had tried all his life to pacify, fired a rifle bullet through his jaw, and killed him instantly. American history is pock-mocked with violence, but it is also marked by turning points where God gave us great leaders who steered us in the right direction. George Washington was one. Abraham Lincoln, another. Franklin Roosevelt lifted us out of the Depression, assuring us we had ``nothing to fear but fear itself.'' Martin Luther King, Jr. called us to ``rise up and live out the true meaning of our creed, that all men are created equal.'' There were Americans then, and there are Americans now, who have never understood that Dr. King was speaking to them when he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. But surely everyone can be thankful for this: that when African- Americans demanded their rights, they did not rally behind a leader filled with bitterness and belligerence; they turned to this man who told his followers, ``The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.'' Langston Hughes wrote, ``We too sing America,'' but it was Martin King, Jr. who showed how. He brought audiences to their feet merely by reciting ``My Country `Tis of Thee.'' In a voice that sounded like the trumpet of Gideon, he called on America to let freedom ring, and all who heard it never forgot it. At his funeral, they called him ``a warrier for peace.'' A leader willing to die for his cause but not willing to kill. A protester who was also a peacemaker. A black man, of an oppressed people, who reached out to everyone, even his enemies, because his objective was not to win but to reconcile. He was a Nobel Prize winner who could have become a messianic figure, and preached in pulpits all over the country, but he chose to go to his death marching with the garbagemen of Memphis. His greatest achievement was, in his words, ``a method of struggle that made it possible to stand up against an unjust system and fight it with all your might, yet never stoop to violence and hatred in the process.'' He gave Gandhi credit for helping him understand the philosophy of nonviolent protest. But he believed that this spirit was rooted in the black church, in three centuries of Christian stoicism when African-Americans were gripped in bondage. In the dark days of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Martin Luther King, Jr. told his congregation at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, ``You who protest courageously, yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in the future, the historian will have to say, `There was a great people, a black people, who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.' '' This national holiday is not created out of magnanimity. It is created out of respect for a people who have earned it, to honor a man who belongs with the greatest American leaders. We honor only two other Americans with national holidays bearing their names: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I am proud to say I voted for law designating this day, but I will be first to admit that all it does is make the third Monday in January a legal holiday. This can become just another ``day off'' unless we make it ``a day on,'' a time to reach into our souls and ask what we can do to make the dream a reality. Lyndon Johnson explained why this day matters long before it was ever designated, thirty-five years ago. The week after Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, LBJ addressed the nation on television. John Lewis had been beaten into the ground after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, but he was watching, and as LBJ spoke, his spirit soared. This, he says, was the ``strongest civil rights speech any president ever made.'' LBJ began by saying, ``At times history and fate meet at a single place to shape a turning point in man's unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was a century ago at Appomattox. So it was last week at Selma, Alabama.'' ``Rarely,'' he said, ``in any time does an issue lay bare the heart of America itself . . . But the issue of equal rights for American Negroes is such an issue. Should we defeat every enemy, should we double our wealth and conquer the stars, and still be unequal to this issue, we will have failed as a people and as a nation.'' After thirty-five years, LBJ's words still ring true. The stakes are the same, and failure is not an option. That's why this holiday and what it's about are vitally important, not just to African-Americans but to all Americans. Last spring, I went with my colleague and friend, John Lewis, on a pilgrimage to Selma, and to Birmingham and Montgomery. We prayed in the church in Birmingham, where the lives of four girls were cruelly cut short by dynamite, exploded in the midst of a Sunday morning worship. We sat in the pews at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, and listened to Dr. King tell his congregation during the bus boycott: ``The tension in this city is not between white people and black people. The tension is, at bottom, between justice and injustice, between the forces of light and the forces of darkness.'' and on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, we marched, arm-in-arm, across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. On the way back, a reporter asked why I had made the trip, and I told him I thought everyone should come to Birmingham and Selma. Everyone should know the Edmund Pettus Bridge as well as Concord Bridge in Massachusetts; and everyone should know what happened in Kelly-Ingram Park as well as what happened on Lexington Green. If you fast forward thirty-five years from LBJ's speech, you have to say we have come a long way. Dr. King's mission is far from finished; but that doesn't make the accomplishments of the civil rights movement any less momentous. We should not let ourselves or our children diminish what was achieved in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, or say that race relations are no better now than then. We grew up in the segregated South. We know better. And besides, we have to remember how far we've come because it inspires us to keep going. We should remember Philip Randolph, telling the Judiciary Committee that ``when Negro Americans travel the highways of this country, we are stalked by humiliation.'' And remember how Rosa Parks, a seamstress in Montgomery, helped put an end to that indignity. When we think there is little we as ordinary citizens can do, heroines like Rosa Parks remind us we are wrong. They remind us also that Martin Luther King, Jr. would have accomplished little or nothing, but for those who stood behind him and those who charged ahead, as shock troops of the movement. They were ordinary Americans like Dub Massey and Jim Wells and the Friendship Nine. But it was, in Dr. King's words, ``their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, their amazing discipline in the midst of almost inhuman provocation'' that gave us the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Among the early protesters was a young woman named Diane Nash, an organizer of SNCC. At the time of the Rock Hill sit- ins, SNCC was in dire financial straits, and meeting to discuss how they could keep going. One of the Friendship protesters, Tom Gaither, used the single phone call allowed him at the jail to call SNCC collect in Atlanta. Gaither called to tell SNCC that the Friendship students didn't want bail and wouldn't be asking SNCC for bond money. They were going to serve out their thirty days in jail. This became a precedent for the whole movement, and so inspired SNCC that four of those at the meeting in Atlanta drove to Rock Hill, sat-in at McCrory's, and joined the Friendship Nine in the county jail. Diane Nash was among them, and today, she issues us a caveat. She says that ``the movement made Martin rather than Martin making the movement.'' She says this not to diminish Dr. King, but so that ``young people will not think that this was his movement, and say `I wish we had a Martin Luther King today to lead us . . . If people know how the movement started and why it succeeded,'' says Diane Nash, ``they will be more likely to ask the right question, which is: `What can I do?' '' Every community needs stories of sublime courage, discipline, and principle like these. These are our epic poems, and we should be telling them and teaching them because they build respect; they show us we are stronger than we think; they inspire our better selves. Those who want to keep the Confederate flag flying over our Capitol claim it as their heritage. But Confederate veterans served in the General Assembly from 1866 to the early 1920s, and never resolved to raise their old battle flag over the dome of the Capitol. If we want to preserve our heritage, what about the motherlode of heritage in the civil rights movement? In a country where there is too much violence in the home, in the schools, on the streets, here is a rich history of non-violence worth our study. Every school child in South Carolina should know stories like these. They should know the story of those black children in Clarendon County who walked miles to school every day, as busses full of white children passed them by. They should not study South Carolina history without learning the name of Levi Briggs and those brave parents who put their lives on the line to correct this inequity, and went on to the Supreme Court with Briggs v. Elliott. They should know the twisted road to school integration and the quiet heroes, like Matthew Perry and Judge Waring, who helped clear the way. We should teach character, teach it by telling the stories of Rosa Parks and Levi Briggs, John Lewis, and the Friendship Nine. And while we are at it, we should preach persistence, to our children and ourselves. For one of our country's virtues has been our capacity to struggle endlessly with our problems, and never be completely satisfied with our solutions. We have to keep seeking solutions; and even if we never see closure, never give up in the search for a society that matches our ideals and principles. In the realm of racial justice and equality, progress has been slow, and it has been uneven, but we have not just been spinning our wheels in a rut of racism. We have made progress. Look, for instance, at the difference the Voting Rights Act has made. Take the Congress. In 1965, John Lewis was spearheading SNCC, in the streets protesting. Today he is in the Congress, Chief Deputy Whip on the Democratic side. He serves there alongside 38 other African-Americans, Jim Clyburn among them, the first black elected to Congress from South Carolina since 1896. Charlie Rangel of New York is another; if Democrats gain control of the House in the next election, Charlie will take the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, the most powerful committee in Congress. America is better for all Americans, but it is still not what it ought to be; and old symbols, like the flag flying over our Capitol, are too much to be dismissed as mere ``vestiges of the past.'' We stand on the doorstep of America's fourth century, three hundred years from the day the first African slave set foot on this soil, and we cannot say this is the country we want it to be. Dr. King liked to say that he wanted more than ``just physical proximity with no spiritual affinity.'' He wanted a country where ``not only elbows but hearts rub together.'' We cannot say that we are such a society, nor can we say that we will become one by laissez-faire policies, benign neglect, or mere evolution. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned us years ago from his cell in the Birmingham jail that ``human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes from the tireless, persistent efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God. Now that we have reached certain goals, I think we need a higher goal. Americans have always believed that we have, in the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a rendezvous with destiny. At a time when most people in the world lived barely above the level of animals, Americans showed that government of the people is the only government for the people. We showed that when church and state are separated, both fare better. We showed that when people from countries like Ireland are liberated from strife and prejudice, they thrive in a tolerant land. We showed that free education, made available to all, is like a rising tide; it lifts all the boats in a society. We showed that people can come from the simplest backgrounds, like Martin Luther King, Jr., the grandson of slaves and sharecroppers, and give birth to great things. Now that the barriers that segregated us have been removed, our challenge, and I think God's purpose for us, is to show the world--from Belfast to Bosnia, from Cape Town to East Timor, that different races and ethnic groups need not cripple and debilitate a country; they can make a country richer and stronger; that we can not only co-exist, but thrive on our differences. This is our heritage, and it should be our mission, our creed, our high calling. If as a people we can embrace this goal, we can make our country that shining city on a hill that the Puritans set out to build three hundred years ago. We can make our country the country Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of, ``where justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.'' Our goal does not have to be a completely color-blind, totally homogenized society. That's too utopian, and frankly, I think, too bland. I think our richness as a people derives from our differences. I think it is enough to strive for a plural, multi-racial society, where the visible differences of race, color, and culture no longer carry the stigma of somehow not being a full-fledged American. If we make this our goal, we can put the flag flying over our State Capitol in perspective. It's a wedge issue, and we need to be rid of it, so that we can get on with far more important tasks, because time is running short. Halfway through this new century, our population is expected to hit 400 million. Fifty-three percent will be white. Twenty-five percent will be Hispanic, 14 percent will be black, 9 percent Asian, and one percent American Indian. Our existence as a people is moving toward a level of complexity the world has never seen before. In the 21st Century, the United States will be the world's nation; the American canvass will be painted with colors from every shade of the earth. Surely, we do not want this racially more diverse America to be a racially more divided America. Surely, we want the world to look to America in this century, as it did in the last, and see that future works, see many races not only surviving but thriving, richer as a culture and as a country because of our differences. Two years ago, I went to Bosnia to visit our troops in a forlorn place, ripped asunder by ethnic warfare. When I landed at Tuzla, I was met by Major General Morgan, an African-American, who commanded our troops there. When I went to Sarajevo, I was met by General Shinseki, a Japanese- American, who commanded the entire NATO mission. I doubt that any racial message was intended by the assignment of these two officers. But I have to tell you, I was proud to see my country making that statement in that ethnic-torn part of the world. And I believe that America can cast that beacon, that sign of hope, that message of racial harmony, all over the world. How do we plot the route to an interracial society over the next fifty years? Well, there are lots of ways. But on the map of racial progress, education is the name of almost every road. Almost all studies come to one conclusion: education is our best solution and our greatest challenge. For one thing, the public schools right now have a racial or ethnic composition comparable to what the whole nation will look like in 2020. The school age population is 66 percent white, 15 percent black, 14 percent Hispanic, and 4 percent Asian. The future of diversity in this country will depend heavily on how well the schools work out the issues of full and equal inclusion. In saying this, I am not shifting the burden onto teachers and school administrators. I am speaking to all of us as parents, to churches, to people, to the whole community. All of us have to pitch in and make our public schools second to none, up to the challenge of educating every child to the limit of his potential. Which brings me to my last point. Americans need to realize that though we came over here on different ships, we are all in the same boat now. The burden of change should not rest on African-Americans alone. The burden should rest on all of us if we believe our creed. In that connection, let me commend the City of Rock Hill, the Council, and Mayor Doug Echos, in particular, for sponsoring ``No Room for Racism,'' and for your resolution on the Flag. No Room for Racism may be mostly dialogue, but I believe it is dialogue that we need I believe that efforts like this can blossom, so that one day, ours is country where all sing America. And I believe it is God's purpose, Dr. King's drean, and our duty to make it just that.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute once again to a pillar in my hometown, Mr. Mack Willie Rhodes of Sumter, SC. It is with great pleasure that I rise today to congratulate Mr. Rhodes on his 102d birthday. An African-American great great-grandfather, Mr. Rhodes has been a champion in his community for many years. He is continually offering his assistance to neighbors, friends and family in many capacities. Mr. Rhodes is the oldest member of Melina Presbyterian Church, where he has worshipped since 1915. Mr. Rhodes is an Elder in his church and was a Sunday School Superintendent for many years. He also taught Sunday school at the Goodwill Presbyterian Church and has been a member of Masonic Lodge Golden Gate No. 73 since 1948. Mr. Rhodes was born in Sardinia, SC, on February 25, 1898, to Robert and Olivia Williams Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes is the second oldest of 15 children. Family, good values, and good living are Mr. Rhodes' most cherished possessions. At an early age Mr. Rhodes married Annie Elizabeth Hammett Rhodes (deceased). They had 14 children: Calvin Oliver Rhodes, John Tillman Rhodes, Adranna Olivia Cooper, Susanna H. Hannibal, Annie Elizabeth Muldrow, Hattie Jane Burgess, Mack Willie Rhodes, Sam J. Rhodes, Daisy B. Sims, Willie Rhodes, Albert Rhodes, Viola Rhodes Montgomery, MacArthur Rhodes, and Paul Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes later married Mrs. Carrie Smith Rhodes (deceased), who brought two children to their union: Maggie and Johnny Smith. He is affectionately known as ``Papa'' by his 7 children (9 deceased), 41 grandchildren (5 deceased), 48 great- grandchildren (2 deceased) and 10 great great-grandchildren. Mr. Rhodes' favorite pastime is reading the Bible, newspapers and magazines. He also enjoys watching baseball, the news, and news related programs on television. He still takes time to visit the sick in his community to offer any assistance he may be able to provide. His favorite Bible scripture is the 23rd Chapter of Psalms. Mr. Rhodes also lives by a motto, ``Treat others as you would have them to treat you.'' Mr. Speaker, please join me in wishing Mr. Mack Willie Rhodes a prosperous and happy 102d birthday, and the best this year has to offer.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of my colleagues the recent announcement by Honda of South Carolina Manufacturing, Inc. (HSC) located in the Sixth Congressional District, to expand its current all-terrain vehicle (ATV) plant in Timmonsville, South Carolina. On January 21, 2000, HSC broke ground on a new $20 million engine manufacturing operation. The new expansion will allow HSC to produce an engine currently made in Japan and will lead to the hiring of an additional 200 associates. HSC began ATC production in July 1998. The expansion will increase Honda's total investment in HSC to more than $70 million. When the new engine operation reaches full capacity in 2001, HSC will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 ATV's and engines and will employ approximately 625 associates. Construction of the 50,000 square foot expansion for engine machining and casting will begin immediately and will be completed by late summer. Upon completion, the plant will total 330,000 square feet. Honda's ATV sales in America grew more than 20% in 1999. In addition, 20% of the products manufactured at HSC are exported to overseas markets including Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Mr. Speaker, please join with me in saluting Honda of South Carolina Manufacturing, Inc. on their newest expansion. The Sixth Congressional District and the State of South Carolina are grateful for Honda's investment in our State and look forward to a long and prosperous business partnership.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman so much for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, today is February 1, the first day of Black History Month. We thought it will be a good time for us to open up some discussion of what we consider to be a very, very important theme for this year's celebration. The theme for the year 2000 is heritage and horizons, the African-American legacy and the challenges of the 21st century. Mr. Speaker, as I think about this theme, I think about two quotations, the first written by George Santayana, who wrote that ``Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' I think all of us remember the past of this great Nation. It is a past that is very checkered. All of us are aware of the history of the African-American experience in these United States, having arrived here as a people in 1619, at a time when they were considered to be property and brought against their will to serve out an existence of 244 years in slavery. That is ten generations. In 1863, our Nation brought an end to that institution. So for the past 137 years, African-Americans have lived an existence in our Nation as free people, albeit at one point upon the institution of freedom we were only counted as three-fifths of a person. When I think about that 137 years since 1863, Mr. Speaker, I think about another quotation that I want to use to lay the foundation for what I would like to say here this evening. It is a quotation from Winston Churchill, who says that, ``If we open up a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.'' So we come tonight not to open up a quarrel between our past and our present. Instead, we come to celebrate a very appropriate theme. We come to understand and appreciate and embrace our past. Just as importantly, we must acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments of today, and address the challenges which we face in this new century, in this new millennium. As we prepare for African-American history month celebrations, I would hope that we will focus on critical issues that cry out for solutions. I would hope that all of us as Americans will look to the future with renewed hope. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to celebrate a portion of South Carolina in this august body. South Carolina has engraved on its great seal the Latin words ``dum spero spiro.'' Translated, that means ``As I breathe, I hope.'' It is with that sort of hope that I come tonight to call upon our citizens the Nation over to think about the challenges that we face as a people, as a Nation, as we celebrate this great history, this great legacy that African-Americans have in our Nation. I want to mention a couple of things before yielding the floor to my good friend, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), that I would hope that we will begin to think about as we think about this legacy. One of the challenges I think that we face this year as we lay the groundwork for this new millenium has to do with the judiciary. We still have in our Nation a problem with fair and proper representation of African-Americans in the judicial arena. For instance, South Carolina is located in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is one of five States, the other four being North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. There are 14 or 15 judges that sit on that court. And as I speak, there are four vacancies on that court. One of those vacancies has been there since 1991, 9 years. And in that 9-year period, we have had four nominations of African- Americans to that court. Four nominations, three different African- Americans. In all four instances, those nominations have not been considered by the other body. Now, four vacancies, four nominations, no consideration. That might not be all that important but for one thing. That is in the long history of this great Nation there has never been an African-American to sit on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. There is something wrong with that picture. I do not think one has to be a rocket scientist to figure out what is wrong. As I speak, there is a nomination pending in the other body. It has been there for more than a year, yet no consideration being given to that nomination. We think that this year will be a good time for us to break with that past. This year would be a good time for us to shut down the quarrel that currently exists between our past and our present so that we will not run the risk of losing our future. Mr. Speaker, if we look beyond the symbolism of judicial appointments and look at the meting out of justice, we find other threats to the credibility of our judicial system. One of them is something we call mandatory minimums. Now, the problem I have with mandatory minimums, and the challenge that it offers for the future, is the fact that many of the offenses that carry the most egregious mandatory sentences are offenses that have historically been looked upon as being those offenses that are more often the antisocial behavior of African-American offenders. Now, the problem with this, Mr. Speaker, is that in an instance such as drug crimes, if we look at the drug of cocaine, we will find that crack cocaine carries a 100-to-1 disparity in sentences over powder cocaine. The scientists have told us that there is no scientific difference between the two. So then the question must be asked why is there such a big difference in the sentences for the two? All the studies have indicated that there is only one difference between these two drug offenses. One of them is that in the instance of crack cocaine, it is more often African-Americans, and powder cocaine, more often white Americans. Here is the problem with that. If we were to look at the penalties for 5 grams of powder cocaine, one will get a probationary sentence and be charged with a misdemeanor. But 5 grams of crack cocaine is a 5-year mandatory jail sentence and a felony. Now, what has been the result of this discrepancy? As I stand here tonight, in the States of Alabama and Florida over 31 percent of African-American males have permanently lost the right to vote. Permanently, over 31 percent. In five other States, that figure is over 25 percent. And in six other States, 20 percent. Some of the experts have predicted by the year 2010 at the rate we are going, 40 percent of African-American men in this country will be permanently without the right to vote. We think that the time has come and one of the challenges for us this year in this new century, this new millennium, is for us to revisit this issue and remove this impediment to citizenship because it is unfair and we ought to correct it forthwith. Mr. Speaker, let me give one other example about this, and then I will yield the floor to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis). Let us take the instance of a 16-year-old who makes the mistake and is arrested for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine. Even if that 16- year-old pleads guilty to avoid, as happens so often, a jail sentence, he or she has just pled to a felony and will have permanently lost the right to vote in at least 17 of our states. Which means that at 36, 20 years later, if this young man grows up and for 20 years lives an impeccable life, generally regrets the mistake, attempts to raise a family and raise children, at 36 in 17 of our states he or she will not be able to vote and would not be able to be a full citizen ever again under our current laws. We think there is something wrong with that. One of the challenges that we must face up to this month, this year during African-American History Month, is to look at these kinds of discrepancies. We have these kinds of discrepancies in the health care field as well. We have them in housing and education, employment and the census. And I call upon all Americans, as we pause this month to celebrate African-American History Month, let us not use it for vacations. Let us not use it to recite poetry, though poetry is great. Let us not use it solely to celebrate the great heritage, the great past that so many have left to us. But let us use this month to accept the challenges that are out there ahead of us. Let us join hands, black and white, young and old, rich and poor, of all walks of life and let us celebrate African-American History Month of the year 2000 by accepting these challenges and doing what we can to get these challenges that form so many impediments to a full quality of life for so many of our citizens removed from our national psyche. Mr. Speaker, with that I yield the floor now to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), whose history we all are proud to celebrate, but whose service here in this body and whose future I think is worth all of our participation.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about an issue that is involving my home State of South Carolina in a national discussion. In recent weeks, the discussion over the confederate flag flying atop the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, has moved from a State issue to a national debate. Of all of the opinions that have been shared throughout this debate, I find the following letter the most cogent and concise on this very emotional issue. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record the following letter written by Michael A. Allen which appeared in the Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday, January 25, 2000. [From the Post and Courier, Jan. 25, 2000] Take Down the Flag As a promoter and preserver of cultural heritage, the South Carolina African American Heritage Council has a keen appreciation and understanding of those who defend the flying of the Confederate battle flag on that basis. The flag in and of itself is indeed a part of South Carolina's heritage. Let's indeed preserve the flag and its legacy, even though that legacy means different things to different people. Also in our position as preservers of cultural heritage, the council board of directors recognizes the fact that there are places inappropriate for the conspicuous display of historic relics. We defend the right of flag supporters to defend the banner as a relic of cultural integrity. However, we contend that it is indeed a historic relic and that its position above the Statehouse and in the House and Senate chambers is indefensible. The Confederate battle flag in question never truly held a place of sovereignty even in the days of the Confederacy in the 19th century, but was carried by troops in battle. This makes it reprehensible and even baffling to the impartial and reasoning mind that such a relic would occupy such a position of sovereignty in 21st- century South Carolina. Not every South Carolinian is a native Southerner. Not every South Carolinian had ancestors who fought, or fought willingly, for the Confederacy in the Civil War. Not all South Carolinians, even native white South Carolinians, believe in the ideas of the Confederacy fought to uphold. And not every South Carolinian feels good about a flag flown by the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other racial and ethnic hate groups also hanging in and flying over the halls of government of their state, as if to give the impression, though the impression may be false, that this flag is who we all are and what we all stand for. Therefore, the South Carolina African American Heritage Council now adds its voice to the evergrowing chorus of those calling for the removal of the Confederate flags from atop the South Carolina Statehouse, from the Senate and House chambers, from the front ground foyer of the Statehouse, and for them to be put in a place more fitting for the preservation of cultural heritage. Michael A. Allen, Former Chairman, S.C. African American Heritage Council.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate Mr. Alphonso ``Al'' Maldon, Jr., for his confirmation as the Assistant Secretary for Force Management Policy at the Department of Defense. Many of us here in the House of Representatives know Al Maldon for his tireless dedication to the United States Government in his capacity as Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs and White House Congressional Liaison to the Senate and House of Representatives. In this capacity, he provides policy making and strategic advice to the President. Although Mr. Maldon is indirectly involved with a myriad of legislative issues, he is directly responsible for those issues in both the House and Senate involving Trade, Defense, International Affairs, Intelligence and Veterans Affairs. In March 1993, Mr. Maldon was appointed as a Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. He subsequently served as the first African-American to be appointed as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Military Office. In this capacity he managed and directed a large staff of over 1,900 personnel--providing operational, logistical, and state-of-the-art communications support to the President. Prior to joining the Administration, Mr. Maldon enjoyed an outstanding military career. He entered active duty service as a commissioned officer in the United States Army in August of 1972. His assignments included tours in Europe, Korea, and various posts throughout the United States. Some of his highly visible positions included assignments as the Executive Officer, Armed Forces Staff College; and as Admissions and Public Liaison Officer at the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY. His career progressed through increasingly responsible positions as a Field Artillery and Adjutant General Corps Officer. He completed his military career as a Colonel with an assignment to the United States House of Representatives as the Deputy Director for Army Legislative Affairs in February 1993. Mr. Maldon holds a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Oklahoma in Human Relations and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Florida A&M University. He also graduated from various military schools and colleges, including the Command and General Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College, and the Army's Organizational Effectiveness Management Consultant School in Monterey, CA. He is the recipient of numerous military decorations including the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters), the Army Commendation Medal and the U.S. Army Staff Badge. In addition, Mr. Maldon is a recipient of the United States Congressional Award for Leadership and Patriotism, and he is listed in Who's Who in America. He has been blessed with a loving and caring family including his wife Carolyn and their daughter Kiamesha Racha'el. The family resides in Fairfax Station, VA. As Assistant Secretary for Force and Management Policy, Mr. Maldon will be responsible for policies, plans and programs for military and civilian personnel management, including recruitment, education, career development, equal opportunity, compensation, recognition, discipline, and separation of all Department of Defense personnel, both military and civilian. Mr. Speaker, Al Maldon's dedication to public service, both as a civilian and as a member of the United States Army serves as a model to us all. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing him the very best in his new assignment and his continued service to the citizens of the United States. I am proud to count him as a friend.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Tommy J. Dorsey for his outstanding contributions to his community, particularly through the Meharry Medical College Benefit Golf Tournament. The Meharry Medical College Benefit Golf Tournament began in Orlando, Florida, in December of 1991 to raise funds to support Meharry Medical College and its needy students. With golf participants in its first event, the tournament raised $10,000 for the college. In its second year, the tournament drew 120 golfers, and continues to grow yearly. To date, the tournament has raised over $100,000 for the college and its students. Dr. Dorsey is one of the very distinguished alumni of the Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry. He graduated from Jones High School in 1961, and attended Fisk University where he received a B.A. in Biology. He then attended Meharry Medical College for 4 years where he received his D.D.S. Dr. Dorsey served as a Lieutenant in the Navy from 1969-1971, and was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal in Human Relations. After his stint in the service, Dr. Dorsey served as the Chief Family Dentist at the Neighborhood Family Health Center of Miami for 4 years. In 1975, Dr. Dorsey went into private practice in Orlando, where he continues to work today. Dr. Dorsey has held many positions in his community, and has been recognized for his service and dedication on many occasions. He founded and served as Executive Director of the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association in 1991, he has served as the Vice Chairman of Orange County Membership Mission and Review Board, a member of the Community Development and Youth Service Board, President of the Orlando Alumni Chapter of Meharry Medical College, member of the Board of Trustees at Meharry Medical College, and was chosen as the 1994 Alumnus of the Year from Meharry Medical College. Dr. Dorsey also received the Winter Park Alumni Chapter Community Service Award from Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., in 1996, the Omega Psi Phi Outstanding Service Award in 1997, the Tiger Woods Foundation and The Minority Golf Association Recognition Award in 1997, the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association Martin Luther King, Jr. Award in 1998, the Orlando Alumni Chapter of the Year Award in 1998, and the Star 94.5 Home Town Hero Recognition. Dr. Dorsey is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., he is a Prince Hall Affiliated Mason, a member of the Noble of the Ancient and Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine, and a member of BETA XI BOULE--Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join with me in honoring Dr. Tommy J. Dorsey for his outstanding community involvement, and in wishing him continued success with the Meharry Medical College Benefit Golf Tournament.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a basketball pioneer and a leading force in desegregating collegiate and professional athletics. I rise today to pay tribute to the extraordinary John B. McLendon. Although Coach Mac, as he was affectionately known, was diminutive in stature, his influence was gigantic in the game of giants. For most, 40 years in coaching with a career record of 523-165 is an outstanding achievement. For Coach Mac, it is only the beginning of the story. On the court, he led the men's basketball programs at North Carolina Central, Hampton, Tennessee State and Kentucky State. During that time he became the first coach to win three straight NAIA Championships. He also amassed four conference and two district championships. But it was his moves off the court that demonstrate Coach Mac's true grit. When he began his career as a basketball coach, the game was strictly segregated, including national championship competitions. In 1950, he initiated and planned the mechanics for integrating black colleges into the NIAIA national tournament. During the first integrated national tournament in 1953, his Tennessee State team won the first NAIA District 29 Championship. In 1954, the same team became the first NBCU to participate in a National Invitation Tournament. Just 3 years later, his team won its first NAIA Championship. The success of his team and other HBCUs forced the NCAA to desegregate its national tournament. As a pioneer, Coach Mac blazed a trail of ``firsts'' that are unrivaled. Among those accomplishments are his distinctions as: the first black to coach a professional basketball team, the first black to coach a predominantly white collegiate team, the first black coach on the Olympic coaching staff, and the first black coach to author a book on basketball. He also escorted Earl and Harold Hunter to tryouts with the professional Washington Caps in 1950, and they became the first black players to sign NBA contracts. Up until the day of his death, October 9, 1999, Coach Mac was pursuing his latest achievement, the establishment of the HBCU Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame. Just this year, Durham, NC was chosen as the site for this facility. He certainly will be one of its first inductees. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in honoring John B. McLendon. A towering figure in a profession of giants.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Christopher Nietch for his excellence in coastal and marine study. Through dedication and hard work, Mr. Nietch has found unique methods and helped create new equipment to aid in the study of coastal marshland research. Mr. Nietch's research focuses on the nutrient and carbon biogeochemistry of marshes. He is aiding resource managers in determining the effects of land use and is exploring possibilities of unorthodox methods which hones the maximum possibility regarding the usage of coastal wetlands. His work is on the edge, not only exploring, but pushing coastal marshland science to maximize the usage of marshlands. Using different methods, Mr. Nietch aided in the creation of new equipment that makes the measurements necessary to study some 15 different marsh sites within four separate estuaries in South Carolina not only economical, but also practical and accurate. His findings have been circulated widely among his peers and colleagues within the coastal stewardship, which in effect allows other researchers, coastal resource managers, and policy makers to easily access his findings. Mr. Nietch's work is a benchmark for future studies that would measure how much potential and access coastal wetland marshes have to offer society. His work has contributed to both the overall public awareness of how sensitive and valuable the coastal wetland marshes are and the necessity to further research and study the long-term management of these priceless resources. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join with me and my fellow South Carolinians as we pay tribute to Christopher Nietch for his diligent work and hours of effort in researching coastal wetland marshes. He is a role model, and I wish him continued success in his new ventures.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Ms. Rachelle F. Jamerson, this year's National Minority Female Entrepreneur as chosen by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency. Ms. Jamerson is most deserving of this award and I am pleased to count her among the constituents of South Carolina's Sixth Congressional District. Before finishing high school, this ambitious entrepreneur put her talent for sewing and fashion design to work. Because no bank would take a gamble on a 16-year-old seeking to start a business, she raised her own capital by designing clothes, producing fashion shows, and creating a line of Greek paraphernalia. She attended Winthrop College in Rock Hill, SC, and graduated with a bachelor of science in Fashion Merchandising. In further developing her entrepreneurial interests, Ms. Jamerson also attended a summer design session at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 1988. By the age of 33, Ms. Jamerson had parlayed her early success in designing and selling women's wear into a diverse business that includes a nail salon, travel agency, financial counseling service and a deli. This ``one-stop shopping'' vision grew out of a need Ms. Jamerson perceived in her hometown of Orangeburg, SC. The name of her business ``Rachelle's Island'' is a reflection of her vision. Her concept is that every visit to her store will seem like a mini-vacation. The idea has caught on and the number of ``vacationers'' visiting Rachelle's Island continues to increase. Ms. Jamerson's reported sales exceeded $500,000 in 1998. I applaud her ingenuity for turning a sewing skill into a diverse business. Such talent and vision are the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur. Ms. Jamerson has demonstrated that she has an abundance of both. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me today in honoring Rachelle Jamerson for her outstanding achievements as an entrepreneur. Her hard work and dedication should be commended by this House.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, this Saturday, November 6, 1999, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History will dedicate a historic marker to honor Levi Pearson, a leader in the civil rights movement in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Mr. Pearson personified great courage, leadership and perseverance in his role as a plaintiff in Pearson v. County Board of Education (1948) which led to the historic May 17, 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing separate and unequal schools. Recordings of the civil rights movement in South Carolina rank him among the state's most outstanding pioneers for equality in education. Many local and national events, news articles, books and television documentaries recognize his role in the struggle which led to the Supreme Court's decision. Simple Justice by Richard Kluger and Stepping Stones to the Supreme Court by Benjamin F. Hornsby, Jr. are two publications that depict many of the details of Mr. Pearson's trials. For background, Mr. Speaker, I wish to enter for the record information from an article which was written as a tribute to him when he was inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame: ``An obscure country farmer, Levi Pearson never dreamed that his legal action on behalf of black children in Summerton, South Carolina would figure in the historic May 17, 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing separate and unequal schools. They are role models and an inspiration to all who value freedom and justice. As a partner, in the Clarendon County insurrection led by the Rev. Joseph Albert Delaine, Levi Pearson had unshakable faith in the victory of justice over an entrenched social order that seemed all but immovable. Black children in Summerton attended ramshackle Scott's Branch School, while white children attended classes in a modern facility. White school board officials said white folks paid most of the taxes, so white people were therefore entitled to better schools. There were 30 school buses for whites in Clarendon County. None for Blacks. Some black youngsters had to make their way for nine miles across an arm of newly-formed Lake Marion. One child drowned as they paddled a boat. Appeals to schools officials for transportation such as that offered white failed. The school officials even refused to buy gas for an old bus the blacks bought. Farmer Levi Pearson, father of three children at Scott's Branch School (Daisy, James, and Eloise) was persuaded to bring a suit on behalf of his son, James. A black man suing white folks * * * no such thing had happened before in the memory of blacks living in Clarendon County. Levi Pearson was an instant hero among his people. But a threat to the white establishment. His credit was cut off by every white-owned store and bank in the county. He had enough money to buy seeds for the cotton, tobacco, oats and wheat he planted, but not enough for fertilizer. He had to cut timber to sell for cash, and borrow from hard-pressed blacks to buy fertilizer. That Autumn he couldn't rent a harvester from a white farmer, so he sat and watched as his harvest of oats and beans and wheat rot in the field. Three months after he filed the lawsuit, it was thrown out because of a technicality that he paid taxes in School District Five, while his children were going to school in District 26 for the high school and District 22 for the Grammar School. Another pupil's parent, Harry Briggs, Sr., filed suit a year later. He and Pearson had to flee for their lives many times. Briggs and his family lived in Florida and New York for 20 years before returning to Summerton in the 1970's but Mr. Pearson never left. Ultimately, their case was consolidated with similar cases from three other States in an action known as Brown vs. Board of Education, upon which the door to equal education opportunity was opened in the Supreme Court's Decision of May 17, 1954.'' Mr. Pearson never sought fame or notoriety, but stood up for what he felt was right. I am reminded of the speech the late Dr. Martin Luther King gave about the ``Drum Major Instinct.'' A few excerpts go like this: ``* * * everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant. ``* * * Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator--that something we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. and I don't think of it in a morbid sense. Every now and then I ask myself, ``What is it that I would want said? And I leave the word to you this morning. ``* * * If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody he's traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain. If I can do my duty as a Christian ought, if I can bring salvation to a world once wrought, if I can spread the message as the master taught, then my living will not be in vain. Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right side or your left side, not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your best side, not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition, but I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.'' Mr. Pearson, and Mr. and Mrs. Briggs are now deceased. However, Mr. Pearson's widow still vividly remembers his struggles and this historic period in our Nation's history. Mr. Pearson lived a Christian and committed life for justice and we all know that his living was not in vain. Mr. Speaker, thank you and my colleagues for joining me in honoring the Levi Pearson who increased educational opportunities for children across the country.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Clente Flemming for nearly 30 years of service in the banking industry. Through dedication and hard work, Mr. Flemming rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President overseeing Personnel for Bank of America in North and South Carolina. At the end of this year, he retires from that impressive career to launch a new consulting venture in which I am sure he will enjoy similar success. Clente Flemming began his career in 1970 as a third shift clerk at what was then Bankers' Trust. From there he quickly became a shift supervisor and then moved into the auditing department in 1974. But Mr. Flemming realized that to further his career he must pursue academic achievements beyond his work at Palmer Junior College. He enrolled in the University of South Carolina and earned a B.S. in Business Administration in 1979. After that, his career with the bank took off. He joined the personnel department and became Vice President of Employee Relations. With that move, Mr. Flemming became the bank's first African American Vice President. In 1990, he was elevated to Senior Vice President Carolinas Personnel Executive, a position he will hold until the year's end. Mr. Flemming has utilized his position to hire and train other talented African Americans. When he joined the banking industry, it was not very diverse. However, he has been in a position to serve as a mentor and expand the ranks of minorities at all levels. Once officially retired from Bank of America, Mr. Flemming plans to use his expertise in personnel matters to help small businesses with their personnel policies and benefits. As a consultant he plans to help others achieve success. In addition to those efforts, Mr. Flemming has plans to open an employment agency focused on finding jobs for the underemployed. Clente is married to the former Ojeta Irving and they have a daughter, Joy, and a son, Eric. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join with me and my fellow South Carolinians as we pay tribute to Clente Flemming for 30 years of blazing a trail for African Americans through the banking community. He is an excellent role model and we all wish him continued success in his new ventures.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Claude C. Stewart, Jr. Although he is no longer with us, his life stands as a testament to the value of hard work and a strong commitment to family. However, ``June,'' as he is fondly known, liked to believe that he led an ordinary life. He was born on September 7, 1923 in Union County, South Carolina. He was the 18th child of Claude C. Stewart, Sr. and Janie Means Stewart. Other than a 22 month stint serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, June spent most of his childhood and adult life in Columbia. For more than 40 years, he worked for Johnson's Funeral Home and Palmer Memorial Chapel. However, ``June'' is best remembered for his service to the Columbia, South Carolina, Fire Department. In 1953, he was selected one of the first eight African Americans to work at the department. Hard work and dedication enabled June to rise through the ranks and become the first black Engineer, Captain, Battalion Chief and Assistant Chief. In June 1989, he retired as Assistant Chief after 36 years of service. Outside work, ``June'' was a dedicated member of Second Calvary Baptist Church were he served on the Deacon Board. He was also a member of Masonic Lodge #47 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Until his death, June was married to Bertha Williams Stewart for 46 years. They had two children. Their son, Claude David, predeceased his father. Their daughter, Claudette, married Leonard Hampton and has one son, Terrance Claude Hampton, whom ``June'' affectionately called his ``Man.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join with me and my fellow South Carolinians from the Columbia area as we pay tribute to Claude C. Stewart, Jr. ``June'' showed us how to turn the glory in an ordinary life into the extraordinary. He will be sorely missed.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained in a meeting of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Had I been present on the vote, I would have voted in favor.

Mr. CLYBURN

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) for yielding to me, and I too would add my voice to the accolades that are being paid our good friend, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek). I first met her some, and she may not want me to tell how long ago, 25 or 30 years ago, and I got to know her. I followed her career over the years, and my friends in the State of Florida all have said to me what a great person that she was there in the Florida legislature. When I came here in the class of 1993, it was a great pleasure for me to be here and to have the opportunity to serve with her. It has been a service that I have enjoyed tremendously, and I can truly say that I do not believe that I would be standing here as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus had it not been for the great support and guidance that I received from her since being here in this body. The people of Florida should be very proud of her. I am pleased to see it here that her hometown newspaper has paid her such a tremendous tribute. It is one that is well deserved.