John Conyers

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. No.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Scott], ranking member on the Subcommittee on the Constitution, distinguished attorney and former State legislator.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Ackerman], a great legislator. (Mr. ACKERMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Skaggs].

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. Mr. Speaker, I would explain to my friend, the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] who has lectured us about brassiere and pantyhose burning, mailbox bashing, burning of trash, my dear friend, the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant], those are not symbolic speech. They are not protected by the Constitution.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee, an important member of the committee. (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut [Mr. Shays].

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. I ask my studious lunch-giving colleague to stay on the floor. It is wonderful they have courses on constitutional law. It helps us all. Because they take the cases and then they go back and review them and they distinguish between the cases. In the Johnson case that the gentleman cites from 1989, 491 U.S. 397, guess what? They accepted the O'Brien conclusion from the finding in the Johnson case. That is to say, sir, we cannot argue O'Brien about flag burning. We can argue it about something else, like draft cards, but we cannot argue it about flags. And guess what we are dealing with today? Flag burning. So I give the gentleman a passing grade only for his effort.

Mr. CONYERS. Absolutely not.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary. That is why we are here, and it is because the cases favor our side that the gentleman brought this proposed constitutional amendment. I am glad the gentleman did. It does not prove that we are wrong, it proves that the Supreme Court agrees with our position and the gentleman is attempting to change it. My dear friend in the well, one of the most considered constitutional scholars we have, is wrong in trying to argue O'Brien for his side. It does not apply. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. John Porter, the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Paul].

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, and Members of the House, there are two clear schools of thought that have emerged in the annual debate over flag burning. The first school of thought is that we can compel patriotism. The second school of thought is that we cannot compel patriotism. And so, we have heard, I think, a better debate than I participated in in earlier years; and I commend the Members of the Congress on all sides for a debate that I think will be studied and examined by those who will come after us and the American people as well. Because at the same time that we are reminding the Chinese Government of their need to safeguard the civil liberties in emerging Hong Kong, we find ourselves on the verge of modifying our own Bill of Rights to limit freedom of expression in these United States, to limit freedom of expression. By adopting a constitutional amendment that would then allow Congress to prohibit flag desecration, we would be joining the ranks with countries like China, like Iran, like the regimes of the former Soviet Union and the former South Africa. So I believe if we are to continue to maintain the moral stature in matters of human rights, it is essential that we remain fully open to even unpopular dissent that may take the obnoxious form of flag burning. Indeed, the Committee on the Judiciary has been authorized by its distinguished chairman, the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Henry Hyde, to take a CODEL to Haiti at the end of this month. I am grateful to him for that because I will be leading that trip. The law of Haiti on this subject provides that burning, mutilating, or degrading or otherwise profaning their national flag is punishable with forced labor up to life. That is Haiti now. So it is the judgment of many of us that the true test of a nation's commitment to freedom of expression lies in its ability to protect the unpopular forms of expression. It is the most imperative principle of our Constitution that protects not just freedom for the thought and expression we agree with, but for the freedom for the thought we despise. And here we are again. There is no doubt that symbolic speech relating to the flag falls squarely within the ambit of traditionally respected speech. We have talked about that all morning and afternoon. Seven Supreme Court cases, seven, count them. Our Nation was born in the dramatic, symbolic speech of the Boston Tea Party, and our courts have long recognized that expressive speech associated with the flag is totally protected speech under the first amendment. Now most Americans deplore burning of an American flag, as we do. It is our allowance of this conduct that reinforces the strength of our constitutional liberty. In one case, a Federal judge back in 1974 wrote that the flag and that which it symbolizes is dear to us, but not so cherished as those high moral, legal, and ethical precepts which our Constitution teaches. The genius of the Constitution lies in its indifference to a particular individual's cause. The fact that flag burners are able to take refuge in the first amendment means that every citizen can be assured that the Bill of Rights will be available to protect his or her rights and liberties should the need arise. The adoption of the flag desecration amendment would diminish and trivialize our Constitution. If Congress begins to second guess the court's authority concerning matters of free speech, we will not only be carving out an awkward exception into a document designed to last for the ages, but we will be undermining the very structure created under the Constitution to protect our rights. Madison, he warned against using the amendment process to correct every perceived constitutional defect that is the style in this Congress. Dozens and dozens of amendments. Do not like it? Change the Constitution. You do not like it? Well, you could write a statute, but let us put it in the Constitution so they will not be able to take it out. So as a practical matter, this proposed constitutional amendment is not drafted very well, it is poorly drafted, and it will open up a Pandora's box of litigation. The Congress will come back and now make it enforceable. Not only are its terms open-ended and vague, but the resolution gives us no guidance, none, as to its intended constitutional scope or parameter. So while those who supported claims that we are merely drawing a line between legal and illegal behavior, in actuality, we are drawing no line at all, merely granting the Government open-ended authority to prosecute those dissenters, go get them, that use the flag in a manner that we in Congress deem inappropriate. But unlike other open-ended provisions of the Bill of Rights which constrain the power of the state against the individual, the flag desecration amendment represents an unchartered invasion of our liberties rather than a backup mechanism to prevent the Government from usurping our individual rights. So please, there are a few Members in the Congress that have not made up their mind, please, to those few Members, let us show where America's strength really lies. Join us in rejecting this unsound, inappropriate, intemperate, and unreasonable invasion into the Bill of Rights. I urge a ``no'' vote on the matter pending in the House. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to turn to my friend, the gentleman from Chicago, Il [Mr. Lipinski], who made the point that it is expressive conduct, but not free speech, in defining the flag burning situation. I would like to ask the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski] if he has any cases or constitutional theory that would explain how he separated flag burning out of free speech but put it into expressive conduct, which I presume is not covered by the first amendment?

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. [Mr. CONYERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.]

Mr. CONYERS. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Watt], one of the finest legal minds on the Committee on the Judiciary, and I would ask him to yield to me briefly.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to pay tribute to Adolphus Anthony ``Doc'' Cheatham who died Monday, June 2, at age 91, at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC. A native of Nashville, TN, Cheatham would have celebrated his 92nd birthday on June 13. He had just completed an engagement at Blues Alley, a world renowned jazz club. The Nation and the African-American community have lost a major cultural figure. Cheatham was one of the few musicians still active whose career reached all the way back to the beginnings of the jazz revolution in American music. He could count the legendary Joe ``King'' Oliver as a mentor, and the even more legendary Louis ``Pops'' Armstrong as a peer. It was remarkable and quite wonderful that ``Doc,'' as he was affectionately known, was still performing on so demanding an instrument as the trumpet at 91. At the time of his passing, Cheatham was touring with 23-year-old trumpet phenomenon Nicholas Payton. Their performances, as well as their recently released recording, were widely praised in both the general and the jazz press. Washington Post writer Richard Harrington characterized their efforts as a ``cross-generational communion full of timeless verve and abundant joy.'' His colleague Geoffrey Himes noted that ``despite their immense age difference Cheatham and Payton find common ground in their shared affection for Louis Armstrong.'' Whitney Balliet of the New Yorker described Cheatham's playing as ``complete and jubilant.'' Early in his career, Cheatham played saxophone, in addition to cornet and trumpet. In fact, on one of his earliest recordings he accompanied the classic blues singer Ma Rainey exclusively on soprano saxophone. Accompanying blues and jazz vocalists was one of Cheatham's strengths. He was a favored accompanist for such outstanding vocal stylists as Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, and Billie Holiday. For most of his career, Cheatham was highly regarded as a first chair trumpeter. At one point or another Cheatham was associated with just about every significant big band, including those of Chick Webb, Cab Calloway, Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter, Benny Goodman, and Count Basie. He was also active in Latin Jazz, performing with the likes of Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Ricardo Rey, and the great Machito. His small group associations included stints with the Eddie Heywood Sextet, Herbie Mann, and the Wilbur DeParis' ``New'' New Orleans Jazz Band. Late in his career, Cheatham remade himself as a jazz soloist, vocalist stylist, and raconteur. He became a regular on the festival circuit. Among the club venues he frequently played was New York City's Sweet Basil, where he held forth at Sunday Brunch nearly every Sunday for 17 years. He was fond of telling his audiences that he had earmarked on his second career. Cheatham was one of the most beloved figures in Jazz and a true national treasure. He was a link to the beginning, a first person witness who had also been an important practitioner from the very early days of Jazz. He breathed the essence of Jazz through his horn and did so with a great sweetness and humility. The jazz world was fortunate that he was active for so long and that he was able to pass along his knowledge and understanding to artists who will carry the flame of Jazz into the next century.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the African- American entrepreneurs featured in ``Black Enterprise'' magazine's June 1997 cover story honoring six ``Marathon Men,'' who have lead their companies to perennial presence on that magazine's list of the top 100 black-owned businesses nationally. They include Nathan Conyers of Detroit, a Ford dealer; John H. Johnson of Chicago involved in publishing, cosmetics and broadcasting; Herman J. Russell, a general contractor from Atlanta; Edward Lewis and Clarence Smith, New Yorkers engaged in publishing, licensing and entertainment; and Earl G. Graves, Jr., a magazine publisher also of New York City. All have demonstrated a unique blend of faith, determination, patience, perseverance, and just plain guts that have made their businesses successful through the years. The 25 Years of Black Entrepreneurial Excellence nathan g. conyers, president, conyers riverside ford, inc. When auto industry executives at Ford Motor Co. in Detroit went looking for a few good men to start a dealership to quell an economically disenfranchised, predominantly black inner-city, they found one in the Conyers family. The patriarch, John Sr., had spent his working life along the Chrysler assembly line, and his successful lawyer sons, John Jr. and Nathan, were ready to plunk down the needed capital to get the cars rolling. But willingness isn't enough. When Conyers Ford appeared on the original BE 100, then comprised of both industrial service companies and auto dealers, it was one of 13 dealerships. Today, it's the only one left from that first list, making it the oldest black-owned auto dealership in the country. It has been a school of hard knocks, pings and repairs, but the engine is still running strong. Conyers, who assumed responsibility for the dealership in a coin toss with his brother John Jr., the congressman, says there are four vital elements that will give a business, any business, better opportunities for success: location, capitalization, an understanding of the business and a commitment to becoming part of the community you serve. ``For many black dealers, the location was not viable and the auto manufacturers put them in ares that they couldn't put whites,'' he says of the black dealers lost over the years. ``It was a problem to get capital at competitive rates 25 years ago, and it's still a problem today. And, if you're not in the right location, that's compounded.'' Also, many dealers go through a manufacturer's dealer development program, ``often coming from other businesses,'' only to be offered a store in a locale that they know little about in a community that knows little about them--points three and four. Conyers admits his company started at a time when government entities were more inclined to promote minority businesses. He fears those days of government support and private partnership are limited. On the flip side, he explains African Americans can do very well under that kind of pressure. ``If you increase the odds, it increases the will to succeed.'' But he cautions this will come at a price: more successful black-owned businesses in the future, but fewer of them. Conyers has mastered the ``art of the soft sell.'' It is just those qualities that have helped him build a loyal clientele. Part of our mission statement says, ``We're here to serve and earn the business of our community and customers.'' It's a credo he stresses to everyone keep before them. Conyers says the other part of his corporate mission is to train new dealers. To his credit, that mission has spawned 35 African American dealers, many of whom are women, who've moved out of his shop and into their own dealerships. Besides those 35, he's training five children, two sons and three daughters, to take over all facets of the business. His eldest son, Steven, is general sales manager. Daughter Nancy is the business manager for new cars, and son Peter is business manager for used cars. Another daughter, Susan, is the former Quality Commitment Performance manager. Daughter Ellen is an attorney, handles contracts and collections and is currently waiting to get into a dealer training program to buy her own store. A quiet pride exudes from his eyes; the legacy continues. ``The issue of succession is a whole new issue for black businesses now that we have them in some number.'' Conyers says he and his family have been working on a plan for the past five years. ``I have qualified one of my children to be on the dealer agreements so that if something happened to me, they could step into the business,'' he explains. He has also virtually ruled out selling the business. `We've always said no because we've put too much of our blood, sweat and tears into this,'' he asserts. Equally important to Conyers is that more African Americans pick up the banner of entrepreneurship moving into the 21st century. `We need to convince our best and brightest that getting into business for themselves is the thing to do. Before, it was getting a factory job, then into the professions--teachers, government workers--then into the corporate world. Now we need to look at the entrepreneurial world.'' john j. johnson, ceo, johnson publishing co. When John H. Johnson started the Negro Digest 55 years ago, it was the predecessor of what would become Ebony magazine, which would spawn Jet, and this would lead to other, now defunct, spin-offs. But those failures would lead to his most recent successes--Ebony Man, and Ebony South Africa, which marked the company's foray into international publishing. Along the way, Johnson bought and sold three radio stations, started a book publishing division and produced the former syndicated television show, Ebony/Jet Showcase, and now produces the annual American Black Achievement Awards for television, which first aired in 1978. Johnson also created two beauty care lines--Supreme Beauty Products and the world- renown Fashion Fair Cosmetics. While he is loath to consider himself an old man at 79, Johnson had run the gauntlet for some 30 years before the first BE 100s list was ever published. When it was, he was listed second only to Motown Industries. For that, he's the veteran iron man in black-owned business--always fighting, always finishing at the top among the BE 100s companies. But like most, he's faced his share of hurdles. ``The first 25 years were difficult, trying to get circulation and to break through in advertising to get large companies to recognize that black consumers had money and would respond to advertising directed to them,'' Johnson says. `The first 20 years or so in business, we couldn't get a bank loan. Even the largest businesses in the world need bank loans at some time or must have some other way to access capital.'' The second 25 years have been easier. Johnson has seen the company mature, circulation double, start new businesses and change the method by which its flagship properties are handled. `You have to meet the new challenges [of the 21st century], so in 1993, we took all three magazines--Ebony, Ebony Man and Jet--desktop. Now we can send them to the printer via e-mail, and in South Africa, it's the same thing,'' explains Johnson. The legendary publisher says the hurdle for black businesses in the next 25 years will continue to be the same--``money, money, money,'' he scoffs. But if you have the staying power and wherewithal, that is assuming you have a good product and market to sell to, you'll be successful.'' Johnson's mission over these next years is to see the company survive and grow. To do so, he says that he will take advantage of all new opportunities and embrace new technology to get there. ``Never say never about new things,'' advises the venerable publisher. Johnson has no plans to retire. ``I enjoy myself, I don't work. When you love something, it's not work. I don't know anything that gives me the same amount of pleasure.'' But he began putting a succession plan in place when he brought daughter Linda Johnson Rice on board. ``I see her playing an increasing role in the management of the company and myself, a lesser role, but never disassociated,'' says Johnson of his daughter who is now president of the company. ``Parents never give up their children, and this is my child,'' he adds. He also has no plans to sell his company or take it public. And he says his daughter couldn't agree more. ``I could sell it and get a lot of cash, but I don't see that I could do anything else that would bring me as much fulfillment as this. I've spent 55 years being my own boss; I'm too old to have another. ``If you go public, the stockholders, the board of directors, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) are all your bosses and you've got to listen to them,'' he says. ``We only have three board members: Linda, her mother [Eunice Johnson] and I. Linda will succeed me. Even now, I don't do anything that she doesn't agree on, and she me. There's a mutual love and respect, so it's a joint venture now.'' herman j. russell, ceo, h.j. russell & co. Herman Russell says he started on the entrepreneurial path as an eight-year-old shining shoes. He has his own paper route by 10 and bought his first piece of real estate for $125 at 16. That real estate deal became the base of the H.J. Russell Construction Co., buying and developing real estate and working as a major minority contractor on most projects built south of the Mason-Dixon line. Post-'60s and after the hotbeds of the riots, there were 10 construction firms on the original BE 100s list. Forty years later, Russell's company is the only one left from the original list, one of the few black-owned construction firms on the current list, and the largest minority-owned general contractor in the U.S. ``You must make a decision early about what you want in life,'' says Russell, whose dad taught him to save something out of everything he made. ``The competition is keener now and you have more qualified people competing for the jobs,'' he explains. Russell says the biggest hurdle to staying in his line of business, ironically, has not been capital, but training and developing the people he needed for the jobs, and then getting them to stick around. ``Most people are not willing to wait or to pay the price as an individual to develop. When you do, you have more to bring to the table,'' he explains. Russell has spent the time developing both his company and his craft. But even when the first list was launched, Russell Construction was a seasoned business. Many of Atlanta's neighborhoods have residential homes and commercial buildings that Herman Russell has worked on. And when it came time to build a new municipal airport under then first black mayor, Maynard Jackson, Russell, a neighbor, was poised and primed for the roughly $19 million job. He was also a primary subcontractor on projects during last summer's Olympics in Atlanta. It's these blue-collar jobs that proved to be the foundation of black middle-class America and the early source of black economic progress. Russell says that emphasis is now missing--to African Americans' detriment. ``There's a generation now that when they were coming along, we didn't emphasize the trades, only white-collar jobs, and we missed the boat. You don't have to have a white-collar job to be successful in life,'' he adds. ``When I walk out on a construction job and it's 25% Latin Americans working all phases of the job, I'm concerned. I remember when I was serving my apprenticeship, most were black Americans, but we don't see that today.'' Going forward, Russell has tried to prepare his children, H. Jerome Russell, president/chief operating officer and head of the housing and property management division, and Michael Russell, vice president and manager of the construction division, to take over the company's reigns. But he says they're not quite ready to take on the challenges of a firm with international projects and consulting on many more. To wit, he's brought in an outsider to get the firm over his progeny's learning curve. In November 1996, Russell appointed R.K. Sehgal chief executive officer and vice chairman to report to him as chairman of the board. ``They're working me harder, and there's more to do now with the new CEO getting lots of my input, but as the months go by, I'm hoping to go from 14- to eight-hour days and have more time for myself,'' Russell says. Like his CEO/chairman counterparts, Russell says he wouldn't sell his company outright, but confesses that one day, it will go public, probably soon. ``I'm almost sure the family will keep the majority share of it, but we'll probably go public within five years.'' With its diversified holdings, including construction and management, property and real estate management and development, and airport concessions, it would make an attractive IPO. But whatever happens, Russell says ``whoever becomes the next CEO must be prepared to take on and carry on the business.'' edward lewis, ceo, publisher clarence smith, president essence communications inc. When the Hollingsworth Group (now Essence Communications Inc.) launched its magazine for black women in May 1970 with a portrait-sized closeup of a brown-skinned woman wearing a high, round 'fro, nothing could have shaken the publishing world and white and black America more. Twenty-seven years, two less partners and four editors-in-chief later, co- founders Edward Lewis and Clarence Smith have pushed Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) from a magazine to a diversified brand name synonymous with African American womanhood. On the publishing front, there's its flagship property, Essence magazine; then there's Income Opportunities, a general market magazine targeted to start-up businesses; and two years ago, it started Latina, a magazine aimed at the Hispanic women's market. There's a licensing division with a collection of items from eyewear and hosiery to children's books and a mail-order catalog. Finally, there's its entertainment division, which once produced a weekly syndicated television program and now focuses on an annual awards show and three-day festival. Success has been manifest, but not without a tough start. ``We thought we'd be a lot further,'' says Smith, president of ECI. ``We didn't anticipate how much resistance there would be by marketers to an African American women's magazine,'' he says. Just getting out of the starting block posed challenges. ``We had a business plan that called for $1.5 million in capital; we opened with $130,000,'' adds CEO Lewis. Smith says they underestimated the struggle it would take for not only cash and advertisers, but even newsstand space. ``We also had to overcome the inexperience of not running our own businesses before. We learned that we could do with less,'' explains Lewis. Start-up pains and racism aside, the key to the company's growth has been its diversification, pushing the balance sheet upwards. But to remain successful into the next decade, the company ``must be leaner, nimble and able to take advantage of opportunities globally to continue to grow,'' says Lewis. ``There will be more opportunities to expand this brand, especially in West and South Africa, and this will continue to be the direction the company heads in,'' adds Smith. To that end, ECI still faces a number of challenges, namely financing for future projects. ``There are absolutely more avenues, but it is still difficult for small and minority businesses to get the capital they need. And with the mergers taking place in banking, these banks are not geared to small business; we're going to have to seek out other banks and venture capitalists for money,'' Lewis says. While neither partner has plans to sell the company, neither would rule out that option. ``Anything's possible,'' added Lewis, ``but we have to see how the world is conducting business and be mindful of our shareholders' interests.'' The other cornerstone is developing the company's next generation of leaders. While neither partner would say whether they have a succession plan, Lewis has no children and Smith's two sons are not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company. But that has not stopped them from tapping the talent of the company's limited partners and employees, most notably, its highly recognized and respected editor-in-chief, Susan L. Taylor. Lewis says he doesn't see himself running the magazine daily in 25 years. ``We intend to encourage others and prepare middle managers to move forward and run this business. Black women will continue to be in the forefront.'' Adds Smith: ``I think we have one of the best-known brands in the world and the future for our shareholders, associates and employees is very, very good.'' earl g. graves, ceo, earl g. graves ltd. Imagine--or remember--the surprise many Americans, black and white, got after the disturbances of the '60's when they opened their mailboxes during those hot, hazy summer days of August 1970 and found a copy of Black Enterprise magazine. Inside, publisher Earl G. Graves had assembled a prestigious board of advisors made up of black leaders in business and politics of the day addressing the question, ``Why Black Enterprise?'' It put the civil rights movement into perspective--now that we've got the right to vote, would we be free to pursue a slice of the American economic pie? Fast forward three years. Graves decided it was time to quantify and qualify the kind and size of black businesses in America and produced the first Black Enterprise 100, listing the top 100 black-owned businesses in the United States. In a letter to his father on the Publisher's Page of the June 1973 issue, Graves wrote: ``We have arrived at a point in history where we can identify thousands of black-owned and black-controlled businesses--many still embryonic and still struggling for survival--that have been and are being established across this country. These are humble beginnings. But they are significant.'' Fast forward again to 1997 and Graves, now older and a lot wiser, reflects on the early years. ``I was trying to run a business myself, while telling others what they needed to know about trying to start or run their businesses,'' he says. ``It was like being the teacher and reading five chapters ahead of the class, like a student-teacher.'' Assisting him in the process was his wife Barbara, who gave up her job as a teacher to help her husband pursue his goal. The magazine set out to tell readers ``how to'' do it. In the process, its circulation has grown from a controlled subscriber base of 100,000 to a current list of 300,000 and 3.1 million readers. Along the way, Graves bought and sold two radio stations and a marketing research firm, and established another division of the company, Black Enterprise Unlimited. This new brand is responsible for the Entrepreneurial Conference and the B.E./Pepsi Golf and Tennis Challenge. He also entered into partnership with PepsiCo to purchase Pepsi-Cola of Washington, D.C., L.P., a soft drink bottling franchise, and is a general partner of Egoli Beverages, L.P., a Pepsi-Cola franchise in South Africa. In the process, the magazine has set standards of professional and entrepreneurial achievement with its lists of the 25 Best Places for Blacks to Work, 40 Most Powerful Black Executives, and Top 25 Blacks on Wall Street, while coining vernacular like BUPPIE (Black Urban Professional) and Kidpreneur TM. But many of the challenges posed to black businesses and professionals in 1972--access to capital, corporate glass ceilings, disparities in service and the perceived value of the African American market and its dollars--remain in place today. ``Since I wrote that letter to my father 25 years ago, we've made enormous progress, but not enough has changed,'' Graves points out. For the man with the signature mutton chop sideburns, knocking on closed doors and inviting himself in, much like Fred. ``The Hammer'' Williamson did in his films, Graves has called on corporate America to give equal access to African Americans in banks, boardrooms and businesses. ``The challenge in the next 25 years is to eradicate the stereotype of us as the underclass,'' he says. ``America is the greatest country in the free world. Our best history is in front of us if we are willing to accept the reality that African Americans must share in its bounty.'' To wit, Graves has served on many corporate boards, most recently, AMR (the corporate parent of American Airlines), Aetna, Chrysler Corp., Federated Department Stores Inc., and Rohm & Haas Corp. Unlike some of his entrepreneur peers who have not outlined a clear succession plan for their businesses, Graves has, ``The future bodes well for us because business is really people--the people you have handling it--and our young people are good,'' he says, referring to a list that includes his three sons, Earl ``Butch'' Jr., executive vice president/COO of Black Enterprise magazine; John, senior vice president business ventures and head of B.E. Unlimited; and Michael, vice president/general manager of Pepsi-Cola of Washington,

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this legislation. Although H.R. 911 is well intentioned, it will do nothing to encourage increased voluntarism, it will unnecesarily preempt traditional State law, discriminates against women and seniors, and it fails to adequately protect against abuse by hate groups. Simply put, I believe we can encourage voluntarism without encouraging negligence. h.r. 911 will do nothing to increase voluntarism We all want to increase voluntarism in our communities, but this bill doesn't amount to a hill of beans in that respect. No witness has been able to identify a single case whose outcome would have been altered had H.R. 911 been law at the time of the case, and we've found no evidence of any case filed during the last 7 years whose outcome would have been altered by the legislation. There is absolutely no empirical evidence showing that this bill would do anything to increase voluntarism. h.r. 911 unnecessarily preempts state tort law To the extent there is any problem with volunteer liability, the States are fully capable of passing their own laws protecting volunteers from personal civil liability. As a matter of fact, every State in the union now has a law specifically limiting the legal liability of volunteers or nonprofit organizations. Moreover, by mandating these provisions on the States, we invite legal challenges to congressional authority to legislate in this area, particularly under the Supreme Court's recent decision in United States versus Lopez. The Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel has similarly expressed concern that the bill would invite constitutional challenges because its coverage is not limited to volunteer organizations that engage in interstate commerce or liability that arises by reason of volunteer services affecting interstate commerce. Arguments that the so called opt-out provision protects State prerogatives because it allows them to elect not to have the provisions apply miss the mark. Not only does this require affirmative action in the statehouse and senate as well as the Governor's signature, many States only meet on a biennial basis and couldn't even consider electing to opt-out for several years. In addition, the opt-out provision is unduly narrow in that it would only allow States to preserve their laws if all the parties are residents of the State. This is in direct contravention of traditional conflict of law principles, which typically apply a State's law to outsiders so long as the injury occurred within a State. h.r. 911 fails to protect against abuse by hate groups While there is a limited provision relating to hate groups in the bill, this does nothing to insure that State law does not unnecessarily immunize such persons. For example, if a particular State provides across the board immunity to volunteers, H.R. 911 continues to allow a member of a militia or hate group who negligently entrusts a gun to a child--who in turn harms an innocent victim--to avoid responsibility for the negligent entrustment. It is because of the bill's failure to provide full protection against harm perpetrated by hate group members that the Southern Poverty Law Center has chosen to oppose the legislation. Morris Dees, there chief trial counsel has written: Under this legislation . . . a state could maintain or reinstate protections for volunteers of white supremacists, neo-Nazi and violent militia groups--the types of organizations the Southern Poverty Law center has crippled over the past ten years through the use of both federal and state tort laws . . . Without two-way preemption, ensuring that volunteers connected with hate groups are never insulated from liability, we would oppose H.R. 911. h.r. 911 discriminates against women, children, and elderly Because H.R. 911 limits recovery for noneconomic damages--the loss of a limb, the loss of reproductive capacity and other pain and suffering--by saying that tortfeasors are not jointly and severely liable for such damages. Losses incurred by a wealthy CEO who is a victim of negligence are easily translated into economic losses which are not limited by this bill. By contrast, losses incurred by a women who loses her reproductive capacity, or a senior, or child who loses a limb, are more likely to be considered noneconomic damages which are limited by the bill. conclusion Instead of enhancing volunteerism or helping our poor and underprivileged, H.R. 911 creates a complex and inconsistent new overlay of limitations, confusing a system of State tort law that has served this Nation well for more than 200 years. I urge a ``no'' vote on this legislation.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Under the legislation, if a 14-year-old commits conspiracy, they can be tried as an adult. That is the other part of this. Not only do we nail a kid on conspiracy, but under the McCollum bill, the base bill, he will be tried as an adult. Guess what kind of sentences we are talking about when an adult gets nailed for conspiracy? Mandatory minimums kick in. Nice going, nice going.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Rhode Island [Mr. Kennedy].

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This amendment is probably fundamental to the whole juvenile justice bill because now we are going to take the last resort of prosecutors: When there is nothing left, you cannot get any substantive case, you can always tack on a conspiracy charge, always. Now we are going to go to 13-year-olds and 14-year-olds to nail them. Well, one picks up his big brother's phone, and it is a drug something going on, and the kid picks up the phone. The phone is tapped. He is brought in with his brother. He says: Well, I do not even know what you are talking about. They say: Well, kid, you were not in on the drug deal but you were in on the planning of it because we have got your voice on the phone. Get him out of that, Mr. Chairman. We cannot get him out of that because the prosecutor does not have anything else to get him on. Now we are stooping to the lowest statutory tactic that prosecutors frequently, not all of them, but frequently use. How could we not support the amendment of the gentlewoman from California? Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. I am, in its current form.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.