John Conyers

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Lofgren], a distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York [Ms. Slaughter]. (Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Scott], one of the great constitutional members of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Cardin]. (Mr. CARDIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi]. (Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island [Mr. Reed], a distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Visclosky]. (Mr. VISCLOSKY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York [Mr. Serrano], an outstanding member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Colorado [Mrs. Schroeder].

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Hawaii [Mrs. Mink]. (Mrs. MINK of Hawaii asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois [Mrs. Collins]. (Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the majority be granted an additional 10 minutes of time for general debate to be controlled by the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Montgomery] and that the minority be granted an additional 10 minutes of general debate to be controlled by the gentleman from Arizona [Mr. Kolbe] which would give each side 40 minutes of general debate.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Massachusetts for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Massachusetts has made the case ably. I would like to just reiterate that the rule on a constitutional amendment before us permits no amendments to be offered, despite the fact that numerous alternatives, both statutory and constitutional, were granted. Instead, the Committee on Rules is making merely in order a motion to recommit, which is more a procedural tactic as it has been used in the House. So the promise on opening day, that the Committee on Rules chairman promised, that 70 percent of the bills would be brought up under open rules, has not occurred. As a matter of fact, almost the opposite has occurred; 62 percent of all the legislation has been brought to the floor under closed or restrictive rules. The irony is this is on a constitutional amendment designed to restrict free rights of the first amendment of the United States.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ordination of Father William T. Cunningham into the priesthood, which he will observe this Sunday, June 25, at the Catholic Church of the Madonna, in Detroit, MI. Father Cunningham has served as pastor there since 1969. Father Cunningham is a life-long Detroiter and has committed his life to social and economic justice in Detroit. In 1968, following the Detroit riots, Father Cunningham founded Focus: HOPE, a civil and human rights organization with the goal of resolving the effects of discrimination and injustice and to build integration in our riot-torn community. Over the years, Focus: HOPE grew to develop the Food Prescription Program, which distributes USDA commodities to 52,000 low- income mothers and children each month, and developed the Food for Seniors Program, which provides a monthly food supplement to 34,000 elderly poor in the Detroit area. Under Father Cunningham's leadership, Focus: HOPE expanded its scope in the 1980's to include manufacturing training. Today three manufacturing technology training programs function for minority youth and others. The latest, and most advanced, is the Center for Advanced Technologies which opened 2 years ago. This national demonstration project offers a 6-year curriculum which combines structured work experience with applied engineering study conducted by a consortium of Michigan universities. Graduates will be engineer/technicians; able to build, operate, maintain, repair, and modify advanced manufacturing equipment at world-competitive levels. Father Cunningham has served on a number of public service boards including the State of Michigan's Task Force on Vandalism and Violence in the Schools, the State and city Task Forces on Hunger and Malnutrition, the State Holiday Commission for Martin Luther King Jr., the Citizens Commission to Improve Michigan Courts, and many others. Father Cunningham's accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. He has been honored with many notable awards including the NAACP's Ira W. Jayne Memorial Medal, the Temple Israel Brotherhood Award, the Bishop Donnelly Alumni Award, the Jefferson Award, the UCS Executive of the Year Award, the Jessie Slaton Award of the Detroit Association of Black Organizations, the National Governor's Association Award, twice, the 1987 Detroit News Michiganian of the Year Award, the Salvation Army's William Booth Award, the Marquette University Alumni Award, and the University of Michigan 1993 Business Leadership Award and honorary membership in the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Father Cunningham has dedicated his life to serving others. After 40 years in the priesthood and more than 26 at the helm of Focus: HOPE, Father Cunningham has touched the lives of thousands. In this day and age, with our city suffering from decades of neglect, it is important to recognize the accomplishments of those who have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of those less fortunate. So I hope that you will all join me in congratulating Father Cunningham for his years of hard work and perseverance. Detroit is a better place to live because of Father Cunningham's hard work and dedication to making Detroit healthier, stronger, friendlier and more prosperous. Father Cunningham is a true hero.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, it is with great pleasure I rise in support of this amendment, admiring the arguments put forth by the gentleman from California [Mr. Dellums] in support of his amendment.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the amendment being offered by my distinguished colleagues, Mr. Dellums and Mr. Kasich, and I ask permission to revise and extend my remarks. I never cease to be amazed how this Congress has been obsessed with cutting government yet it refuses to confront government's most obvious excesses. The B-2 bomber is a perfect example of this absurd double standard. The B-2 is a cold war relic designed to fight a now nonexistent Soviet Union. The General Accounting Office conducted a comprehensive study of the B-2 program over 2 years and found that the Soviet air defense threat that the B-2 was supposed to circumvent was never even deployed. Why are we fighting this ghost of an enemy? Because we can't quit our irrational addiction to military spending. The 20 additional B-2's that are proposed will cost an astounding $31 billion according to the Air Force. I will add, as if it were of little consequence, that the Air Force does not even want this plane. So who does? Perhaps it's the Northrop Grumman Corporation that has told America that it will cost one-third of the Air Force's estimates. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has said this plane is unnecessary. The Secretary of the Air Force, Sheila Widnall, said last fall ``Every program we have in the budget is a higher priority'' than the B-2. The Department of Defense hasn't asked for them. Two independent studies have concluded that our military needs are better met through other means. So why are we funding it? Many people think its worth voting for just because it will create jobs. But we all know that $31 billion spent in education, transportation, or construction creates far more jobs, as the Congressional Research Service found in a study it conducted. Not only does nondefense investment create more jobs, it creates better jobs through a lasting investment in our children and for our country. We'll never have a secure Nation until we stop using national security so loosely, and begin talking about real national security that includes real economic security. The GAO concluded in its study that buying more B-2's would be ``complex, time consuming and extremely costly.'' Well, I maintain that it's not just costly because it's money spent, it's extravagant because that money should be better spent. I think we're calling this the long-range bomber because it's going to cost an arm and a leg in the long range. Let's leave the ``bat plane'' for the movies, and calculate our investments according to our real economic and military needs.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I am delighted to once again support the Congressional Black Caucus alternative budget, along with the Progressive Caucus. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to support the Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus budget and to urge my colleagues to vote in support of this balanced, caring approach to Federal spending. Unlike the Republican budget, which fufills their ``Contract with Corporate America'', this budget fufills our contract with the American people. This budget is a caring budget that does not unfairly balance the budget on the backs of our Nation's children, elderly, poor, or working class. Our budget is evenhanded, it meets the economic and social needs of everyday Americans, and it promotes fiscal responsibility by balancing the budget by 2002. The most important distinction between our budget and the majority's budget is our investment in our future. The majority wishes to balance the budget by 2002 so that our children will not have to pay for our excesses--but then the GOP goes on to deny children the very thing that will allow them to be competitive in the global market: A complete education. We completely reject the notion that eliminating the Department of Education and reducing funds for libraries, Head Start, and the TRIO Program for first-generation college students will improve America--and the American public is on our side. In addition, unlike the GOP budget, our budget does not give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. In fact, our budget cuts taxes for working people and closes corporate tax loopholes. Now is the time to end corporate welfare, and our budget does this. We have also protected important job training and job creation programs, and have proposed targeted increases. It is foolhardy to believe that eliminating job training and creation programs will make our economy stronger. We must continue to dedicate resources toward expanding our economic foundation. Finally, the CBC budget continues the tradition of advocating a saner defense budget. It is immoral to propose cutting education, workers' assistance, and other social programs without making substantive cuts in military spending.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, today's housing for older persons amendment to the Fair Housing Act provides a true measure of relief for those moderate- and low-income senior citizens who have convinced us that some of the compliance requirements of the current Fair Housing Act are too onerous. In this connection, I join with the American Association of Retired Persons in support of this amendment, which eliminates the burdensome significant facilities requirement that senior communities currently have to demonstrate that they have available to be considered seniors- only housing. I would be remiss if I did not state explicitly that I give pause before I support any change in civil rights laws which weakens that kind of a law in any way, but in this narrow case, I believe in the careful balance which the Fair Housing Act must strike between the legitimate interests of our seniors to maintain age-specific communities for themselves and against the need of families to find decent housing, in 1988, this Congress struck the balance a little too harshly against seniors. And all The only concern that I had about a provision in this bill which permits a good faith defense against liability for monetary damages in housing discrimination lawsuits prompted me to offer an amendment unsuccessfully to delete the defense from the bill. I did not succeed in that effort, but I was satisfied with the considerable narrowing of the defense that the Committee on the Judiciary adopted, mainly because of the efforts extended by the gentleman from Massachusetts, the ranking minority member of this committee. So we have an improvement, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development has done a good job of promulgating regulations which clarify the significant facilities requirement as they were required to do in 1988 and again in 1992. The statutory requirement of the significant facilities remains too expensive, too onerous for many of our senior, moderate- and low-income housing communities. It is for that reason that I urge support for this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. CONYERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Thurman]

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, the name of the gentleman from Massachusetts, Barney Frank, has been mentioned many times already in this debate. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank].

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus to bring to the attention of my colleagues the distinguished cultural achievements of Milt Jackson. Milt Jackson was born in Detroit, MI, in 1923. Milt started playing the guitar when he was 7 and by the time he was in high school he was proficient in a number of instruments, including drums. He played in both the marching band and symphony orchestra. As a young man in 1941, Milt Jackson heard Lionel Hampton at the Michigan State Fair and decided he wanted to play the vibraharp. Milt started playing with Clarence Ringo and the George E. Lee band. In 1942, he met Dizzy Gillespie. Through Dizzy, he got an opportunity to join Earl Hines' big band, with whom Gillespie was playing. Later, Milt was drafted and served in the Air Corps. Milt returned to Detroit in 1944 and organized a group called ``The Four Sharps.'' The Four Sharps performed for about a year until Dizzy came to Detroit, sat in one night, and persuaded Milt to go to New York. Explaining why Jackson has such a fine sense of rhythm, Gillespie once exclaimed, ``Why man he's sanctified!'' Ironically, like Gillespie, Milt had grown up in a sanctified church. In 1952, he joined John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke, all members of the Gillespie band, to form the modern Jazz Quartet, a group with a unique collective sound which, in the words of Whitney Balliett, ``recused jazz from the banality of the endless solo and the rigidity of conventional arrangements.'' Milt Jackson is the perennial winner of practically every popular poll taken by jazz fans and critics--he has gotten used to being described in superlatives. Because he has performed in so many contexts, both within and without the Modern Jazz Quartet, he is now among the five most recorded artists in jazz history. Milt's unique sound on the vibraharp gave it an entirely new direction and style--distinct from the contributions of other players such as Red Norvo and Lionel Hampton. He also became one of the principal proponents of bebop almost from its inception, and was one of the fathers of modern jazz while working with the famous sextet which included Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, pianist Al Haig, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Stan Levy. Mr. Speaker, during the 100th Congress, the House passed a resolution I authored, House Concurrent Resolution 57, which declared jazz ``a rare and valuable national American treasure.'' On the occasion of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Tribute Concert to Milt Jackson on April 8, 1995, I am honored to call to the attention of the Members of the 104th Congress, a living testament of this national treasure, Milt Jackson.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes, to make it clear that the gentlewoman from California has made a very important point here. There were two ways that we could have moved in this area. One is to direct the U.S. Sentencing Commission to increase penalties for child obscenity violations. The other was to go into the underlying statute of some of these antipornography laws and attempt to increase the penalties there, but we might have gotten into a wide area that would infringe on civil liberties questions and other highly technical questions, and this bill would not have come up. What I am recommending to the committee is that we do not consider this matter ended because of what we are doing here today. This matter should and has to be revisited. I would strongly suggest that we examine ways to directly increase the statutes without getting into a tangle of other problems that would not have prevented the speedy passage of this bill. This is one of the few bills during this first 100 days that, by moving with some dispatch, we have not offended any sensibilities or precluded anyone from participating in the method that we used here in terms of recommending that the Sentencing Commission itself increase criminal penalties. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.