John Conyers

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, this has been an important debate, and I would like to take this opportunity to commend the leader of the Republicans in the House, and especially one Member on the Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith. We have had a very civil debate. I think, in the course of the incredible amount of time that we have been allotted for this bill, that we have reached closure on some issues. There are now more things that we agree to on both sides of the aisle than there are things that we may have differences about. I attribute it to the goodwill and the cooperation of my Republican colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee. I also solicit their vote, but I will respect any way that they may choose to dispose of this matter and our friendship will not be diminished or impaired in any way whatsoever. Now, Lamar Smith mentioned the fact that there were other exemptions, and to be perfectly candid, I did not know that there were more than two exemptions, and it turned out that there are. As a matter of fact, there are 27. But many of them--and I haven't researched this yet. Many of them are partial exemptions. Many of them are very small exemptions that are very limited in terms of the economic scope of our reach in the United States. But they, nevertheless, exist. Mr. Smith may remember that the baseball antitrust exemption was given very close scrutiny only 2 or 3 years ago, and it reminded them of the fact that their conduct hadn't always been such that deserved a continuation of the exemption, and I'm hopeful that baseball will still deserve it. But here in the field of health care, I think it's hard to defend any argument that the health insurance industry deserves or requires or needs an exemption, and for that reason I am urging all of my colleagues to examine this two-page bill and scrutinize it. Let's see if we can get a refreshingly large bipartisan vote that could lead the American people to reflect on the fact that we can be liberals and conservatives without rancor or animosity or personalizing our philosophical differences, and that's the appeal that I offer to my colleagues on the other side. There are those that wonder if this would create some kind of a chill or curtailment of creativity if this exemption were removed, and I don't think that that is very logical. We think that the antitrust laws are fairly elementary. They don't conspire against competition. They don't try to reserve creativity. We want competition, and it is the exemption from antitrust liability that this becomes very, very critical. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Frank Kratovil.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, Nancy Pelosi is the first female Speaker of the House in American history. She is the third ranking person in our Federal Government. And we are all honored to recognize her for 1 minute at this time.

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

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1010) celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 30th anniversary of the Stevie Wonder song tribute to Dr. King, ``Happy Birthday,'' and for other purposes.

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material.

Mr. CONYERS. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker and Members, I have been doing this for quite a number of years now, and I asked my chief of staff how many years specifically it's been. But we're here again with the ranking member, Lamar Smith; with John Lewis, the last remaining King disciple that worked with Dr. King longer than any of us. Today, we rise to salute not only Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but also recalling those days when we were marching for a King holiday. We salute Dr. King and Stevie Wonder for the wonderful inspiration he gave us all with his musical tribute to Dr. King, ``Happy Birthday.'' On Monday, we observed for the 25th year the Federal Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday bill that started off 3 days after his assassination when I made this proposal. It also coincides with the 30th anniversary of Stevie Wonder's 1980 song tribute to Dr. King. Stevie's song became the rallying cry for those fighting for a holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. He was one of our greatest advocates. I just wanted to recall--I don't know if John Lewis remembers--the day at that march we got a call from the White House and they wanted Stevie Wonder to come to the White House. Stevie Wonder said, Well, how come they haven't invited you to come to the White House instead of me? I said, Stevie, that doesn't matter. They want you, and this is what we have been marching for. So you come to the White House. He said, No, I'm not going. And we went back and forth. Finally, he didn't come. But later, shortly thereafter, we began the negotiations with Jack Kemp of New York, with the Republicans in the White House, and this agreement was struck: That if the House and the Senate could pass a King holiday bill, the President would sign it into law. We felt we could get it through the House, but the other body was another story entirely. Finally, it did happen. I don't know if you remember the day that Coretta Scott King and all the kids, and Abernathy, Lowery, Julian Bond, we were all over in the other body and the speeches went on and on. Everybody was acclaiming King. You'd have thought he was a native son of all the speakers. It finally ended. They had far more time to consume than we did. A reporter asked me, What took you so long? Everybody seemed to have been for this bill all the time. Of course, I resisted losing my nonviolent disposition to respond to him, because it took 15 years before that bill was finally taken up by the body. But it was because of the people, it was because of the spirit of the people in the public schools and the city councils, the counties. And the States even passed resolutions for us to do that. Finally, the pressure built up so much throughout the country that we finally had the bill passed in the other body. The President then, true to his word, signed the bill. It was a great moment in history. I am still proud to say that we seriously honor King with this third Monday of every January. I will put the rest of my remarks in the Record. House Resolution 1010 celebrates the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and salutes Stevie Wonder for his song tribute to Dr. King, ``Happy Birthday.'' On Monday, we observed, for the 27th year, the Federal Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. This particular commemoration of the King holiday coincides with the 30th anniversary of Stevie Wonder's 1980 song tribute to Dr. King. Stevie Wonder's song became the rallying cry for those fighting for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal holiday, and he proved to be one of the holiday's greatest advocates. And so, 30 years later, it is fitting that we consider a resolution both honoring Dr. King and saluting Stevie Wonder. Today, I would like to touch on three significant points. First, having just observed the King Holiday, we are reminded of the more equal and just society that we live in today as a result of Dr. King's life work. Dr. King's struggle led to the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. From buses to motels, his work brought an end to state-sanctioned segregation and discrimination in public accommodations that were the hallmark of the Jim Crow system. Personally, and I'm sure like many, I pursue my own life's work in the spirit of Dr. King. When I first ran to represent the 14th Congressional District of Michigan in 1963, it was with the endorsement of Dr. King that I won. It was through Dr. King that I got to know Rosa Parks, the mother of the Civil Rights Movement, who would work in my Detroit office for over 20 years. On my second point, despite the great contributions Dr. King made, the pursuit of a Federal holiday in Dr. King's honor was long fought. Significantly, it was Stevie Wonder's song tribute to Dr. King, ``Happy Birthday,'' that played a large role in galvanizing public support for a Federal holiday. Just four days after the assassination of Dr. King, on April 8, 1968, I introduced legislation to observe the life and work of Dr. King with a Federal holiday. Until it became law in 1983, there was a persistent legislative drive for the King Holiday. Stevie Wonder was one of the leading advocates at the helm during this fight. On September 29, 1980, he released the album, ``Hotter than July,'' containing a song he wrote in honor of Dr. King ``Happy Birthday.'' Mr. Wonder dedicated the album sleeve for ``Hotter than July'' to Dr. King with an inscription, and also encouraged the establishment of a Federal holiday in recognition of Dr. King. Right on the album cover, he wrote, ``I and a growing number of people believe that it is time for our country to adopt King Holiday legislation, both in recognition of what he achieved and as a reminder of the distance which still has to be traveled.'' That growing number of people equated to 6 million signatures in support of the King Holiday, which Stevie Wonder and Coretta Scott King presented to Congress in 1982. On the 15th anniversary of Dr. King's assassination, and the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington, Congress passed King Holiday legislation in 1983, with a vote of 338 to 90 in the House and a vote of 78 to 22 in the Senate. That November, it was signed into law. At the first King Holiday observance, on January 20, 1986, Stevie Wonder headlined a concert in honor of Dr. King. And his commitment to advance the King legacy did not stop there. Stevie Wonder has gone on to address such social and racial ills as apartheid in South Africa, hunger in Africa, and HIV/AIDS. In fact, his musical and social contributions are so significant that I feel Stevie Wonder is deserving of a Congressional Gold Medal. Finally, we must continue the legacy of Dr. King--not just on the third Monday in January each year, but every day. It is each and every day that we should work to advance the ``Beloved Community'' that Dr. King envisioned. Dr. King said, ``Life's most urgent and persistent question is: What are you doing for others?'' Let us ask ourselves this question, and act; and not just today, but every day. I would like to commend my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, John Lewis, for joining me in introducing this bipartisan resolution. I would also like to acknowledge the many Members of the Judiciary Committee that join us in supporting this resolution--in particular, the gentleman from Texas, our Ranking Member, Lamar Smith. I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend Lamar Smith for his significant contribution and his work as a co-leader on the Judiciary Committee for all the other things that we work on as well. I now yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), a gentleman whom I knew before he was a Member of Congress, and he knew me before I was a Member of Congress as well.

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I just want to tell our colleague from Tennessee, Mr. Zach Wamp, that that was the most amazing recapitulation of what happens to people when they go and trace these incredible moments in history that many of us have lived through. I particularly appreciate his recollection and his feelings and how they have impacted on his work here in the Congress. I just wanted to thank him for that myself. And for all of our colleagues, many of whom are submitting statements, I'm going to put into the Record the remarks of President Obama on January 17 as he recalled that day of celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the article in Politico that also recapitulated the history of the struggle that King led, which is not over. And although the raw violence that accompanied that struggle in those days--remember, the men, women and children who were in the struggle were risking their lives. This wasn't a philosophical discussion or a theoretical examination of where they were in history. This was an unbelievably brutal period of our history. We recall that not in bitterness, but in honest reflection. I remember the trilogy written on King. Taylor Branch wrote three volumes on King, and I recommend it strongly to anybody who wants to read it. There have been many, many other records of this part of our history, but to John Lewis and me, Taylor Branch seemed to capture it with the detail and passion that few others were able to summon up. [From the White House, Jan. 17, 2010] Remarks by the President in Remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Praise be to God. Let me begin by thanking the entire Vermont Avenue Baptist Church family for welcoming our family here today. It feels like a family. Thank you for making us feel that way. (Applause.) To Pastor Wheeler, first lady Wheeler, thank you so much for welcoming us here today. Congratulations on Jordan Denice--aka Cornelia. (Laughter.) Michelle and I have been blessed with a new nephew this year as well--Austin Lucas Robinson. (Applause.) So maybe at the appropriate time we can make introductions. (Laughter.) Now, if Jordan's father is like me, then that will be in about 30 years. (Laughter.) That is a great blessing. Michelle and Malia and Sasha and I are thrilled to be here today. And I know that sometimes you have to go through a little fuss to have me as a guest speaker. (Laughter.) So let me apologize in advance for all the fuss. We gather here, on a Sabbath, during a time of profound difficulty for our nation and for our world. In such a time, it soothes the soul to seek out the Divine in a spirit of prayer; to seek solace among a community of believers. But we are not here just to ask the Lord for His blessing. We aren't here just to interpret His Scripture. We're also here to call on the memory of one of His noble servants, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now, it's fitting that we do so here, within the four walls of Vermont Avenue Baptist Church--here, in a church that rose like the phoenix from the ashes of the civil war; here in a church formed by freed slaves, whose founding pastor had worn the union blue; here in a church from whose pews congregants set out for marches and from whom choir anthems of freedom were heard; from whose sanctuary King himself would sermonize from time to time. One of those times was Thursday, December 6, 1956. Pastor, you said you were a little older than me, so were you around at that point? (Laughter.) You were three years old--okay. (Laughter.) I wasn't born yet. (Laughter.) On Thursday, December 6, 1956. And before Dr. King had pointed us to the mountaintop, before he told us about his dream in front of the Lincoln Memorial, King came here, as a 27-year-old preacher, to speak on what he called ``The Challenge of a New Age.'' ``The Challenge of a New Age.'' It was a period of triumph, but also uncertainty, for Dr. King and his followers--because just weeks earlier, the Supreme Court had ordered the desegregation of Montgomery's buses, a hard-wrought, hard-fought victory that would put an end to the 381-day historic boycott down in Montgomery, Alabama. And yet, as Dr. King rose to take that pulpit, the future still seemed daunting. It wasn't clear what would come next for the movement that Dr. King led. It wasn't clear how we were going to reach the Promised Land. Because segregation was still rife; lynchings still a fact. Yes, the Supreme Court had ruled not only on the Montgomery buses, but also on Brown v. Board of Education. And yet that ruling was defied throughout the South--by schools and by States; they ignored it with impunity. And here in the Nation's capital, the Federal Government had yet to fully align itself with the laws on its books and the ideals of its founding. So it's not hard for us, then, to imagine that moment. We can imagine folks coming to this church, happy about the boycott being over. We can also imagine them, though, coming here concerned about their future, sometimes second-guessing strategy, maybe fighting off some creeping doubts, perhaps despairing about whether the movement in which they had placed so many of their hopes--a movement in which they believed so deeply--could actually deliver on its promise. So here we are, more than half a century later, once again facing the challenges of a new age. Here we are, once more marching toward an unknown future, what I call the Joshua generation to their Moses generation--the great inheritors of progress paid for with sweat and blood, and sometimes life itself. We've inherited the progress of unjust laws that are now overturned. We take for granted the progress of a ballot being available to anybody who wants to take the time to actually vote. We enjoy the fruits of prejudice and bigotry being lifted--slowly, sometimes in fits and starts, but irrevocably--from human hearts. It's that progress that made it possible for me to be here today; for the good people of this country to elect an African American the 44th President of the United States of America. Reverend Wheeler mentioned the inauguration, last year's election. You know, on the heels of that victory over a year ago, there were some who suggested that somehow we had entered into a post-racial America, all those problems would be solved. There were those who argued that because I had spoke of a need for unity in this country that our nation was somehow entering into a period of post partisanship. That didn't work out so well. There was a hope shared by many that life would be better from the moment that I swore that oath. Of course, as we meet here today, one year later, we know the promise of that moment has not yet been fully fulfilled. Because of an era of greed and irresponsibility that sowed the seeds of its own demise, because of persistent economic troubles unaddressed through the generations, because of a banking crisis that brought the financial system to the brink of catastrophe, we are being tested--in our own lives and as a nation--as few have been tested before. Unemployment is at its highest level in more than a quarter of a century. Nowhere is it higher than the African American community. Poverty is on the rise. Home ownership is slipping. Beyond our shores, our sons and daughters are fighting two wars. Closer to home, our Haitian brothers and sisters are in desperate need. Bruised, battered, many people are legitimately feeling doubt, even despair, about the future. Like those who came to this church on that Thursday in 1956, folks are wondering, where do we go from here? I understand those feelings. I understand the frustration and sometimes anger that so many folks feel as they struggle to stay afloat. I get letters from folks around the country every day; I read 10 a night out of the 40,000 that we receive. And there are stories of hardship and desperation, in some cases, pleading for help: I need a job. I'm about to lose my home. I don't have health care--it's about to cause my family to be bankrupt. Sometimes you get letters from children: My mama or my daddy have lost their jobs, is there something you can do to help? Ten letters like that a day we read. So, yes, we're passing through a hard winter. It's the hardest in some time. But let's always remember that, as a people, the American people, we've weathered some hard winters before. This country was founded during some harsh winters. The fishermen, the laborers, the craftsmen who made camp at Valley Forge--they weathered a hard winter. The slaves and the freedmen who rode an underground railroad, seeking the light of justice under the cover of night--they weathered a hard winter. The seamstress whose feet were tired, the pastor whose voice echoes through the ages--they weathered some hard winters. It was for them, as it is for us, difficult, in the dead of winter, to sometimes see spring coming. They, too, sometimes felt their hopes deflate. And yet, each season, the frost melts, the cold recedes, the sun reappears. So it was for earlier generations and so it will be for us. What we need to do is to just ask what lessons we can learn from those earlier generations about how they sustained themselves during those hard winters, how they persevered and prevailed. Let us in this Joshua generation learn how that Moses generation overcame. Let me offer a few thoughts on this. First and foremost, they did so by remaining firm in their resolve. Despite being threatened by sniper fire or planted bombs, by shoving and punching and spitting and angry stares, they adhered to that sweet spirit of resistance, the principles of nonviolence that had accounted for their success. Second, they understood that as much as our Government and our political parties had betrayed them in the past--as much as our nation itself had betrayed its own ideals--Government, if aligned with the interests of its people, can be--and must be--a force for good. So they stayed on the Justice Department. They went into the courts. They pressured Congress, they pressured their President. They didn't give up on this country. They didn't give up on Government. They didn't somehow say Government was the problem; they said, we're going to change Government, we're going to make it better. Imperfect as it was, they continued to believe in the promise of democracy; in America's constant ability to remake itself, to perfect this union. Third, our predecessors were never so consumed with theoretical debates that they couldn't see progress when it came. Sometimes I get a little frustrated when folks just don't want to see that even if we don't get everything, we're getting something. (Applause.) King understood that the desegregation of the Armed Forces didn't end the civil rights movement, because black and white soldiers still couldn't sit together at the same lunch counter when they came home. But he still insisted on the rightness of desegregating the Armed Forces. That was a good first step--even as he called for more. He didn't suggest that somehow by the signing of the Civil Rights that somehow all discrimination would end. But he also didn't think that we shouldn't sign the Civil Rights Act because it hasn't solved every problem. Let's take a victory, he said, and then keep on marching. Forward steps, large and small, were recognized for what they were--which was progress. Fourth, at the core of King's success was an appeal to conscience that touched hearts and opened minds, a commitment to universal ideals--of freedom, of justice, of equality-- that spoke to all people, not just some people. For King understood that without broad support, any movement for civil rights could not be sustained. That's why he marched with the white auto worker in Detroit. That's why he linked arm with the Mexican farm worker in California, and united people of all colors in the noble quest for freedom. Of course, King overcame in other ways as well. He remained strategically focused on gaining ground--his eyes on the prize constantly--understanding that change would not be easy, understand that change wouldn't come overnight, understanding that there would be setbacks and false starts along the way, but understanding, as he said in 1956, that ``we can walk and never get weary, because we know there is a great camp meeting in the promised land of freedom and justice.'' And it's because the Moses generation overcame that the trials we face today are very different from the ones that tested us in previous generations. Even after the worst recession in generations, life in America is not even close to being as brutal as it was back then for so many. That's the legacy of Dr. King and his movement. That's our inheritance. Having said that, let there be no doubt the challenges of our new age are serious in their own right, and we must face them as squarely as they faced the challenges they saw. I know it's been a hard road we've traveled this year to rescue the economy, but the economy is growing again. The job losses have finally slowed, and around the country, there's signs that businesses and families are beginning to rebound. We are making progress. I know it's been a hard road that we've traveled to reach this point on health reform. I promise you I know. (Laughter.) But under the legislation I will sign into law, insurance companies won't be able to drop you when you get sick, and more than 30 million people--(applause)--our fellow Americans will finally have insurance. More than 30 million men and women and children, mothers and fathers, won't be worried about what might happen to them if they get sick. This will be a victory not for Democrats; this will be a victory for dignity and decency, for our common humanity. This will be a victory for the United States of America. Let's work to change the political system, as imperfect as it is. I know people can feel down about the way things are going sometimes here in Washington. I know it's tempting to give up on the political process. But we've put in place tougher rules on lobbying and ethics and transparency-- tougher rules than any administration in history. It's not enough, but it's progress. Progress is possible. Don't give up on voting. Don't give up on advocacy. Don't give up on activism. There are too many needs to be met, too much work to be done. Like Dr. King said, ``We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.'' Let us broaden our coalition, building a confederation not of liberals or conservatives, not of red states or blue states, but of all Americans who are hurting today, and searching for a better tomorrow. The urgency of the hour demands that we make common cause with all of America's workers--white, black, brown--all of whom are being hammered by this recession, all of whom are yearning for that spring to come. It demands that we reach out to those who've been left out in the cold even when the economy is good, even when we're not in recession--the youth in the inner cities, the youth here in Washington, D.C., people in rural communities who haven't seen prosperity reach them for a very long time. It demands that we fight discrimination, whatever form it may come. That means we fight discrimination against gays and lesbians, and we make common cause to reform our immigration system. And finally, we have to recognize, as Dr. King did, that progress can't just come from without--it also has to come from within. And over the past year, for example, we've made meaningful improvements in the field of education. I've got a terrific Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. He's been working hard with states and working hard with the D.C. school district, and we've insisted on reform, and we've insisted on accountability. We we're putting in more money and we've provided more Pell Grants and more tuition tax credits and simpler financial aid forms. We've done all that, but parents still need to parent. (Applause.) Kids still need to own up to their responsibilities. We still have to set high expectations for our young people. Folks can't simply look to government for all the answers without also looking inside themselves, inside their own homes, for some of the answers. Progress will only come if we're willing to promote that ethic of hard work, a sense of responsibility, in our own lives. I'm not talking, by the way, just to the African American community. Sometimes when I say these things people assume, well, he's just talking to black people about working hard. No, no, no, no. I'm talking to the American community. Because somewhere along the way, we, as a nation, began to lose touch with some of our core values. You know what I'm talking about. We became enraptured with the false prophets who prophesized an easy path to success, paved with credit cards and home equity loans and get-rich-quick schemes, and the most important thing was to be a celebrity; it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you get on TV. That's everybody. We forgot what made the bus boycott a success; what made the civil rights movement a success; what made the United States of America a success--that, in this country, there's no substitute for hard work, no substitute for a job well done, no substitute for being responsible stewards of God's blessings. What we're called to do, then, is rebuild America from its foundation on up. To reinvest in the essentials that we've neglected for too long--like health care, like education, like a better energy policy, like basic infrastructure, like scientific research. Our generation is called to buckle down and get back to basics. We must do so not only for ourselves, but also for our children, and their children. For Jordan and for Austin. That's a sacrifice that falls on us to make. It's a much smaller sacrifice than the Moses generation had to make, but it's still a sacrifice. Yes, it's hard to transition to a clean energy economy. Sometimes it may be inconvenient, but it's a sacrifice that we have to make. It's hard to be fiscally responsible when we have all these human needs, and we're inheriting enormous deficits and debt, but that's a sacrifice that we're going to have to make. You know, it's easy, after a hard day's work, to just put your kid in front of the TV set--you're tired, don't want to fuss with them--instead of reading to them, but that's a sacrifice we must joyfully accept. Sometimes it's hard to be a good father and good mother. Sometimes it's hard to be a good neighbor, or a good citizen, to give up time in service of others, to give something of ourselves to a cause that's greater than ourselves--as Michelle and I are urging folks to do tomorrow to honor and celebrate Dr. King. But these are sacrifices that we are called to make. These are sacrifices that our faith calls us to make. Our faith in the future. Our faith in America. Our faith in God. And on his sermon all those years ago, Dr. King quoted a poet's verse: Truth forever on the scaffold Wrong forever on the throne . . . And behind the dim unknown stands God Within the shadows keeping watch above his own. Even as Dr. King stood in this church, a victory in the past and uncertainty in the future, he trusted God. He trusted that God would make a way. A way for prayers to be answered. A way for our union to be perfected. A way for the arc of the moral universe, no matter how long, to slowly bend towards truth and bend towards freedom, to bend towards justice. He had faith that God would make a way out of no way. You know, folks ask me sometimes why I look so calm. (Laughter.) They say, all this stuff coming at you, how come you just seem calm? And I have a confession to make here. There are times where I'm not so calm. (Laughter.) Reggie Love knows. My wife knows. There are times when progress seems too slow. There are times when the words that are spoken about me hurt. There are times when the barbs sting. There are times when it feels like all these efforts are for naught, and change is so painfully slow in coming, and I have to confront my own doubts. But let me tell you--during those times it's faith that keeps me calm. (Applause.) It's faith that gives me peace. The same faith that leads a single mother to work two jobs to put a roof over her head when she has doubts. The same faith that keeps an unemployed father to keep on submitting job applications even after he's been rejected a hundred times. The same faith that says to a teacher even if the first nine children she's teaching she can't reach, that that 10th one she's going to be able to reach. The same faith that breaks the silence of an earthquake's wake with the sound of prayers and hymns sung by a Haitian community. A faith in things not seen, in better days ahead, in Him who holds the future in the hollow of His hand. A faith that lets us mount up on wings like eagles; lets us run and not be weary; lets us walk and not faint. So let us hold fast to that faith, as Joshua held fast to the faith of his fathers, and together, we shall overcome the challenges of a new age. (Applause.) Together, we shall seize the promise of this moment. Together, we shall make a way through winter, and we're going to welcome the spring. Through God all things are possible. (Applause.) May the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King continue to inspire us and ennoble our world and all who inhabit it. And may God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. (Applause.)

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

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank one of the most dedicated and productive members of the Judiciary Committee staff for her service to the House, LaShawn Warren. For 2\1/ 2\ years, LaShawn served as Oversight Counsel for the Committee on the Judiciary. LaShawn graduated magna cum laude from Savannah State College in Savannah, Georgia. She earned her law degree from Howard University, where she served as co-editor-in-chief of the Social Justice Law Review and rose to the leadership ranks of many of the law school's societies and associations. In addition to her law degree, she earned a certificate in non-profit management from Georgetown University's Center for Professional Development. Prior to joining the staff of the Judiciary Committee, LaShawn served as Legislative Counsel for Civil Rights for the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU. As Legislative Counsel, she prepared congressional testimony for the U.S. Congress and the United Nations Human Rights Council, UNHRC, and lobbied Members of Congress, UNHRC members, and their respective staffs on voting rights, education equity, racial profiling, employment, housing, domestic violence policy, welfare reform, privacy, international human rights, and civil rights enforcement. She chaired advocacy and legislative coalitions, worked with national and local media, and served as the lead strategist for the civil rights community's successful effort to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act in 2006. Prior to her tenure at the ACLU, she served as a legislative analyst for the Seattle City Council and as an Assistant Attorney General for the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. During her time with the Judiciary Committee, LaShawn led the Congress' investigation into the enforcement of Federal civil rights laws, hiring practices, and resource management issues in the Civil Rights Division, CRT, of the Department of Justice. By the end of the 110th Congress, her work had exposed massive politicization of the CRT's operations, including its hiring practices and case-prosecution decisions. Cleaning up that division--so central to the equal rights of all Americans--is a great legacy of LaShawn's work at the Committee. She additionally served as the Committee's lead counsel on voting issues and conducted investigative and legislative work related to voting, employment, housing, predatory lending, bankruptcy, civil rights and criminal law enforcement, international law compliance, and civil rights in immigration policy. She authored large portions of the Committee staff's report ``Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush'' and supervised the drafting and editing of the Committee's bipartisan amici brief in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Eric H. Holder (2009). On behalf of the Judiciary Committee, its staff, and this distinguished body, I would like to thank LaShawn for her service and for her unwavering commitment to protecting and advancing civil rights and liberties for all Americans. We are losing a dear colleague, mentor, and friend--her generosity, optimism, professionalism, and warmth shall be sorely missed. We wish her the best of luck and extend to her our deepest gratitude.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to introduce a resolution celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 30th anniversary of the Stevie Wonder song tribute to Dr. King, ``Happy Birthday.'' Joining me in this effort is the gentleman from Georgia, John Lewis, and I would like to acknowledge him at this time. For over 40 years, we have commemorated the life and work of our nation's greatest civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Since 1986, we have recognized Dr. King with a Federal holiday in his honor--a holiday that I worked hard to achieve. As we approach this year's King Holiday, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of Stevie Wonder's song tribute to Dr. King, ``Happy Birthday,'' I am honored to introduce this resolution for a few reasons. First, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for pursuing a dream of equality that made our nation a more free and just society. In his short life, Dr. King laid the foundation for a society that could live up to the ideal that ``all men are created equal.'' It is on the shoulders of Dr. King and others at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, that we are here today, able to acknowledge that much of Dr. King's dream has been realized. Our 44th President, President Barack Obama, is a testament to Dr. King's pursuit and struggle for equality. At his Inauguration, President Obama acknowledged that he was a product of Dr. King's legacy, when he expressed that the historic day be explained by ``why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.'' Second, we are able to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the third Monday in January every year because of the commitment to continue Dr. King's legacy by people like Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder's 1980 song tribute to Dr. King, ``Happy Birthday,'' became a rallying cry for those supporting the campaign to honor Dr. King with a Federal holiday. It was that song that led to the collection of 6 million signatures in support of a Federal holiday that Stevie Wonder and Coretta Scott King presented to Congressional Leadership in 1982. After legislation providing for a Federal holiday in honor of Dr. King had been enacted in 1983, and was first observed in 1986, it was Stevie Wonder that headlined a concert during that first official commemoration of Dr. King. Significantly, Stevie Wonder's work to advance the legacy of Dr. King did not end here. Mr. Wonder went on to address such racial and social ills as apartheid in South Africa, famine in Africa, and the AIDS epidemic. Finally, I introduce this resolution commemorating the life and work of Dr. King during this 30th anniversary of ``Happy Birthday'' because, while the legacy of Dr. King lives on in Stevie Wonder and so many of us, we must realize that we still have work to do to live up to the ideal that ``all men are created equal.'' Advancing Dr. King's mission of equality means eliminating the disparities that exist in so many aspects of our society, like healthcare, housing, employment, and education. Advancing Dr. King's mission of peace means encouraging our nation to be a peaceful democracy. Therefore, it is with this resolution that I ask the people of the United States to renew pledges to advance those principles and actions that are consistent with Dr. King's dream, those principles of equality, freedom, peace, courage, and compassion. Let us allow Dr. King to live on in each of us, not just on the third Monday in January, but every day.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the people of Haiti who have lost family, friends and loved ones in yesterday's earthquake. I understand that the island as a whole has been devastated, and that the capital city of Port-au-Prince was particularly severely hit. I greatly appreciate the efforts of the Administration and many non-governmental organizations who are working tirelessly to provide emergency aid and assistance. However, as I have long worked in partnership with Haiti to assist in the development of the country, I strongly believe that the Administration's efforts to ameliorate the damage suffered by Haiti should not be limited to simply initial emergency response and aid. The recovery of Haiti will be a lengthy process, particularly since yesterday's earthquake served to further exacerbate the existing humanitarian crisis that was the result of crippling damage inflicted by four hurricanes and tropical storms in late 2008. In this environment, Haiti is simply not in a position to adequately provide for the safety of Haitian nationals upon their return to the country from the United States. Therefore, I will, along with a bi-partisan group of Members of Congress, be asking the Administration to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. TPS will allow Haitian nationals currently in the U.S. to remain until this time of crisis has passed and Haiti is adequately able to handle the safe return of its nationals. I hope that the Administration recognizes that TPS designation for Haiti will be a significant step towards rebuilding after yesterday's tragedy. Again, I would like to extend my most sincere condolences to the Haitian people, and reassure them that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the U.S. government will provide any and all necessary assistance towards the rebuilding of Haiti.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, the Judiciary Committee's Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Karen Wilkinson for her work with the Committee for the past 2 years. Karen came to us as a detailee from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. At the end of December, Karen will return to Phoenix, Arizona to continue her work as an Assistant Federal Public Defender representing indigent clients in federal criminal cases, where she worked for eight years before coming to the Committee. Prior to that, she clerked for the U.S. District Court for Arizona and then joined the law firm of Brown & Bain. Karen graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University Law School, received a Masters in Business Administration from NOVA University and her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan. Karen's accomplishments during her tenure with the Committee include a number of bills that are very important to improving our country's criminal justice system. During the 111th Congress, she was responsible for guiding several legislative measures to approval on the floor of the House of Representatives, including: H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2009; H.R. 632, the National Silver Alert Act 2009; H.R. 748, CAMPUS Safety Act of 2009; H.R. 908, the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program Reauthorization Act of 2009; H.R. 1333, which amends chapter 40 of title 18 of the United States Code to exempt the transportation, shipment, receipt, or importation of explosive materials for delivery to a federally recognized Indian tribes; H.R. 1727, the Managing Arson Through Criminal History, MATCH, Act; H.R. 1933, a Child is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act; S. 1289, the Foreign Evidence Request Efficiency Act of 2009, and H.R. 2661, the Court Security Enhancement Act of 2009. In addition, she is shepherding several very important bills pending before the Judiciary Committee, such as: H.R. 503, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009; H.R. 3327, the Ramos-Compean Justice Act of 2009; H.R. 2289, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009; H.R. 2095, the Restitution for the Exonerated Act; H.R. 1149, the Child Protection Reauthorization Act of 2009 and H.R. 1422, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Reauthorization Act of 2009. Karen is also developing the Literacy Education and Rehabilitation Act, LERA, and the Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, legislation that would require a criminal defense representative to be appointed to the United States Sentencing Commission, as well as bills that would correct the firearm recidivist sentencing guidelines and the computation of good time credit in federal prison system. We would like to thank the Administrative Office of Courts and the Federal Public Defender's Office of Phoenix for their generosity in allowing such a dedicated, responsible, and committed person to become such an integral part of our team. We are deeply grateful to Karen for her service, professionalism, and friendship during the past 2 years. She possesses that rare balance of humility, warmth, wit, and passion without a trace of ego, and she will be sorely missed. We wish her the best of luck and give her our thanks.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor George C. Elliott for his two years of dedicated service to the Committee on the Judiciary. As a detailee from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), George spent a year with the Committee in 2007 and was gracious enough to come back for another year when I requested him again in 2009. George will be returning to the USPTO at the end of 2009, where he will resume his duties as a Director. George came to work for the Committee to support Congress' efforts to pass patent reform legislation. George's knowledge and experience in patent law proved invaluable to this endeavor. In the 110th Congress, George's tireless work in advising and crafting policy options contributed greatly to passage of the House of Representative's patent reform legislation, H.R. 1908. His dedication to this task continued in the 111th Congress, where he has played an equally important role in advancing patent reform legislation. In addition to patent reform, George has worked on a variety of other intellectual property policy and legislative matters, including patent settlements, technology transfer, gene patents, and USPTO appropriations. George's expertise, work ethic, and friendly nature have earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues. He has become a fixture of the Committee's staff and a valued member of the Committee's intellectual property team. We were privileged to have this opportunity to work with George and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce, on behalf of myself and my colleagues Dan Lungren of California, Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas, and Alcee Hastings of Florida, the National Emancipation Commemoration Act of 2009. This legislation will establish an 18-member National Emancipation Commemoration Commission to provide for an appropriate national observance of the 150th anniversaries of the Emancipation Proclamation in 2013, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 2015, and related events, and to conduct a study exploring why modern slavery continues to exist in the United States and elsewhere. Our Nation's history is unfortunately intertwined with the story of slavery and the slave trade. For hundreds of years, men, women and children were captured and taken from Africa and enslaved in the American colonies. Yet alongside the history of slavery in the United States, we also remember the stories of those who fought against the abhorrent practice--some with the pen, and some with the sword. The work and lives of historical figures like Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman are familiar to our classrooms and history books. Other abolitionists are less well-known, such as Levi and Catherine Coffin, a Quaker couple in Indiana who helped over 3,000 slaves escape to freedom. The struggle for freedom for all Americans reached a new height on January 1,1863, when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. With it, he declared ``that all persons held as slaves'' within the States rebelling against the Union ``are, and henceforward shall be free.'' As the Union Army advanced on the Confederate territory, thousands of slaves gained their freedom each day. Shortly after the war ended, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was adopted, prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States. Despite these milestones, slavery has not yet been relegated to the pages of history. An estimated 27 million people are still in servitude worldwide--including an estimated 50,000 or more people enslaved in the United States. The National Emancipation Commemoration Commission's work is two- fold. It will advise the Attorney General on making grants available to government and non-profit entities for activities and programs related to the commemoration. These activities may include the publication of scholarly research, production of a commemorative stamp or coin, and the development of informational displays and programs at National Parks and historic sites related to slavery, the Underground Railroad, and the Emancipation throughout the United States. The Commission created by this bill is also tasked with connecting the commemoration of Emancipation with the problem of modern slavery in the United States and around the world. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is a living promise of freedom that places a duty on all of us to prevent involuntary servitude. In support of that duty, the Commission will conduct a study addressing why slavery in all its forms still exists, analyzing the persistence of modern slavery in the United States from 1865 to the present, and make recommendations to address issues and concerns highlighted by the study. For as long as there have been slaves in this country, there have been justice-minded individuals and groups dedicated to the abolition of slavery. It is appropriate that we commemorate their work and the 150th anniversaries of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, and in so doing, renew our commitment to ending modern slavery in the United States and around the world.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3326, the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. The President's announcement last week came as no surprise to me and many of my colleagues; he has consistently stated throughout the Presidential campaign and during his first year in office that he is committed to shifting military resources from Iraq into Afghanistan. Nonetheless, I am disappointed the President has moved ahead with, what I believe to be, an incorrect course of action. As we move forward in this process, it is imperative that the House consider all options about how to best succeed in Afghanistan. It is in this spirit today that I want to announce the creation of a new ``Peace and Progress in Afghanistan Caucus'' that will give Democrats and Republicans a place to organize and advocate for a new strategy that recognizes the need to redeploy our troops, while strengthening our civilian and diplomatic approaches. The presence of military troops in Afghanistan is having a detrimental effect on our efforts to secure a lasting peace in the region and diffuse the threat of international terrorism. Our military presence only inflames anti-American resentment. Only by pursuing a wide-ranging policy that focuses on reorienting the United States' commitment to the Afghan government and people by emphasizing indigenous reconciliation and reconstruction strategies, rigorous regional diplomacy, and swift redeployment of the US military, will we ultimately succeed in Afghanistan.'' I was extremely heartened that two of the three prongs of the President's new strategy focus on a civilian surge and on diplomacy with Pakistan. It is a shame that the funding in this bill will not support these worthy approaches. The President believes that the United States can transform resentment into hope by working with our humanitarian and local government partners on the ground to give the Afghan people access to education, strong civic institutions, and a sustainable, legitimate source of income. I believe that a new focus on a civilian surge should also empower local NGOs and initiatives that directly benefit the Afghan people, like the highly successful National Solidarity Project, an Afghan-run community development program. Similarly, if the Pakistani people understand that we are committed to helping secure their safety and prosperity, they will step up their efforts to combat terrorism within their borders. Additionally, I believe we must expand our thinking beyond Pakistan to include other actors and countries that affect the greater region. One of the least discussed aspects of this conflict is the role India must play in promoting regional peace. For years, the Pakistani military and intelligence services have been hesitant to crack down on Taliban militants operating in the tribal regions because they fear the establishment of an Afghan government that would be susceptible to Indian influence. Such a worst case scenario, in their view, would give one of their traditional regional foes a foothold on both their northern and southern borders. In order to secure a long-term regional peace, the President must engage India and Pakistan to seek a final political agreement on Kashmir. Only when Pakistan feels secure in the south, will the Pakistani army be able to focus its efforts on defeating the Taliban who dwell along the Afghan border. I look forward to working with the President to promote and expand these critical approaches to securing victory. The President has committed to ending the war in a responsible manner. Although we disagree on the means being employed to reach that laudable goal at the moment, I believe that I and other pro-peace, pro- national security Members of Congress can help him can craft a successful policy that will bring our troops home as soon as possible. In the meantime, I will continue to oppose funding a war that emphasizes a heavy military footprint. No amount of additional troops can bring a war with no military solution to an end.

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, today, I inadvertently cast a ``yea'' vote during rollcall vote 985. My intention was to cast a ``nay'' vote on H.R. 3326, a bill making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madan Speaker, I rise in support of passage of the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010. I believe this legislation is one of the most cost effective ways to provide cities across this country with desperately needed federal funding to help create and stabilize jobs, assist families who need their unemployment benefits extended, and to ensure that they can keep their health insurance. Passage of the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010 is critically important for America's working families, and unemployed individuals, given the current economic status of this country. The Nation is experiencing extreme difficulties leading to high unemployment rates, especially in my home State of Michigan. Passage of this bill will provide real tangible relief for those who are depending on the Federal Government to help them survive in a time of financial crisis--not empty rhetoric and promises that help nobody. The Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010 will help reduce these problems by stabilizing and creating jobs through infrastructure investments, an increase in public service jobs, and provide emergency relief for families hurt by the economy. The bill will provide billions of dollars to create or save jobs with targeted investments for highways and transit, school renovation, hiring teachers, police, and firefighters, small business, job training and affordable housing which are essential elements in promoting economic growth. However, passage of the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010 is just the beginning of the process to put America back to work. We must act quickly to establish a full-employment economy, where every American who wants a job should be able to find one; and at a livable wage. This can and must be done if America is ever going to become a truly productive country. During the depression, President Roosevelt put millions of Americans to work by creating public service jobs such as building roads, national parks, and rural electrification systems. We can do the same by creating a 21st century public works jobs program for America that can quickly employ the millions of citizens in this country who simply cannot find employment in the private sector. The passage of this legislation will help put our Nation on the road to recovery. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Chair, as the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I would like to highlight some of the contributions made by our Committee to this important legislation. The Committee considered over the course of several months a range of legal issues posed by this legislation, and held two days of hearings this fall on its bankruptcy and antitrust law ramifications--on October 22 in the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, and on November 17 in the Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy. Below is a summary of some of the more significant provisions added to the legislation, or revised in it, at the request of the Committee. Bankruptcy Law The bill's new emergency procedures for dealing with financial institutions posing imminent toxic danger to our Nation's financial system is an exemption from the bankruptcy laws in favor of a receivership managed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). While appreciative of the need for the government to be able to act with dispatch when the stability of the entire financial system is in jeopardy, and while respectful of the considered judgment of the Treasury Department, the FDIC, and the Financial Services Committee to devise an approach outside the Bankruptcy Code for this purpose, the Judiciary Committee believes it is important to remain mindful of fundamental due process and equitable considerations that are embodied in bankruptcy procedure. The Committee has accordingly limited the availability and extent of this bankruptcy exemption. First, because this departure from well-established bankruptcy procedures and protections is justified only in the exigencies of an extraordinary emergency threatening stability of the financial system, the Judiciary Committee added a new ``purpose'' section to the emergency dissolution title to mandate that there be a ``strong presumption that resolution under the bankruptcy laws will remain the primary method of resolving financial companies, and the authorities contained in this subtitle will only be used in the most exigent circumstances.'' The Treasury Secretary is required to explain any determination that such an extraordinary emergency exists, to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, along with other committees. Our Committee also added provisions ensuring that bankruptcy remains available as the preferred option. There are new provisions authorizing the FDIC, at any time, with the approval of the Treasury Secretary and after consultation with the Financial Services Oversight Council, to convert an emergency receivership into a case under either chapter 7 or chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, while clarifying that doing so will not affect any of the FDIC's powers with regard to any bridge financial company created under the receivership. Upon its appointment, and periodically during the receivership, the FDIC will be required to report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, as well as to other committees, why a receivership is necessary rather than using bankruptcy, and the consequences for the rights of other creditors. The Committee also added amendments to the Bankruptcy Code to clarify how a case brought by the FDIC proceeds, including authority for the FDIC to serve as trustee, with accommodations to certain trustee obligations in order to make it feasible for the FDIC to serve. The Committee also adapted a number of key protections from the Bankruptcy Code into the FDIC's new dissolution procedure. These protections include: Priority protection for unpaid wages and benefit plan contributions for employees of the financial company, who do not have the same recourse against their employer as business creditors have against the company. Protection of collective bargaining agreements from repudiation by the FDIC, unless the FDIC determines repudiation is necessary for the orderly dissolution of the financial company, taking into consideration the cost to taxpayers and financial stability of the U.S. Appointment of a consumer privacy advisor to protect the privacy of consumers whose personal information is in the possession of the financial company. The Committee also directed the Government Accountability Office to undertake two studies and reports: The first is a report in the event a financial company is taken into emergency receivership and assets are removed by the FDIC, on the extent to which claims against the company for violations of the Truth in Lending Act have been satisfied. The other is a report on the ``safe harbor'' provisions for derivatives, swaps, and securities under federal law, that excludes them from bankruptcy and receivership proceedings, on how they have affected the ability of businesses to reorganize. Antitrust Law One major impetus of this legislation is to address the problem faced last year by financial institutions that were deemed ``too big to fail.'' The emergency efforts to deal with those institutions led to infusions of billions of federal dollars, and federal guarantees of billions more, putting the Treasury at significant risk. But ``too big to fail'' has another aspect that places our nation at significant risk--and that is the potential danger to competition when the marketplace becomes concentrated in the hands of so few competitors that consumers no longer have meaningful choice, and the healthy influence of competition on price, quality, and innovation are lost. It is important to the Judiciary Committee, as the Committee in charge of the laws protecting our economic freedoms against monopolization and other anticompetitive restraints of trade, that should our nation ever be faced with a similar financial system emergency in the future, that antitrust protections remain in place to ensure that our response does not leave us, when the dust clears, with an even more concentrated market, with companies that are even bigger, with more market power, and less responsive to the consumers they are supposed to serve. Accordingly, the Committee revised the emergency FDIC dissolution procedures for financial institutions posing imminent toxic danger to the broader financial system, to ensure that any proposed sale of significant assets to a competitor that occurs after the initial urgency has passed would be subject to effective pre-merger antitrust review when warranted, under the procedure developed for reviewing sales of assets during a bankruptcy proceeding. This procedure expedites the initial review, while permitting the antitrust enforcement agency to extend the period when more information is needed to make its assessment. The Committee also clarified that the federal antitrust enforcement agencies would retain their legal authority to challenge a merger or acquisition that would harm competition in violation of the antitrust laws. These changes balance the need for expeditious transfer of assets from a failing financial company to a safe new home with the imperative of preserving our competitive free market system. The Committee also revised provisions in the title of the bill dealing with regulation of over-the-counter derivatives markets. Provisions in the legislation as introduced sought to prohibit entities involved in the derivatives markets from engaging in or facilitating anticompetitive conduct. These entities included derivatives clearing organizations, swap dealers, major swap participants, swap execution facilities, clearing agencies, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants. There was language in these provisions that appeared to create exceptions, and that the Committee was concerned might potentially be read to create exemptions from the antitrust laws. The Committee revised these provisions to make clear that no antitrust exemptions are intended. In two instances, in parts of the derivatives title amending the Securities Exchange Act, the provisions were removed entirely. In three instances, in parts of the derivatives title amending the Commodity Exchange Act, the exception language was removed to make clear that the prohibitions apply without exception, and to further clarify that the antitrust laws remain fully in effect with respect to any conduct involved. Practice of Law The Constitutional freedoms and legal rights we enjoy as Americans are ultimately protected in our courts, through the advocacy of attorneys who are licensed to practice before them. In keeping with these critical responsibilities, the activities of these ``officers of the court'' are regulated by the States, through government bodies, generally overseen by the State's highest court, with specialized expertise in the duties imposed by the code of legal ethics. Accordingly, the Judiciary Committee revised the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act title to clarify that the new agency is not being given authority to regulate the practice of law, which is regulated by the State or States in which the attorney is licensed to practice. The Committee further clarified that this is not intended to preclude the new agency from regulating other conduct engaged in by individuals who happen to be attorneys or acting under their direction, as long as the conduct is not part of the practice of law or incidental to the practice of law. Other Contributions Other contributions by the Judiciary Committee include revisions to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency's new investigative authority to bring it closer into conformity with the Antitrust Civil Process Act, on which it is modeled; clarifications to the new revised procedures for FTC rulemaking in the unfair and deceptive acts or practices area, to bring them closer in line with the Administrative Procedure Act, as intended; clarifications to the FDIC's new rulemaking authority to ensure it is used in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act; and revisions to the new authority for nationwide service of subpoenas by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure that the authority will be exercised consistent with due process.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 894) honoring the 50th anniversary of the recording of the album ``Kind of Blue'' and reaffirming jazz as a national treasure.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Today we honor Miles Davis, the trumpet player, and his sextet, recognizing the 50th year of the recording of one of the legendary jazz tunes, one of the most important too of the 20th century, that was an album called ``Kind of Blue.'' It was recorded in New York, a Manhattan church turned recording studio--and there were six other people with Miles Davis: John Coltrane; Julian ``Cannonball'' Adderley; Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, pianists; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, the drummer--and made musical history and changed the artistic landscape of this country and in some ways the world. At the Congressional Black Caucus event this past September, we honored the only living artist of that recording date, Jimmy Cobb, the drummer, who was there and who performed, as a matter of fact. It was a great time for a great event that occurred 50 years ago. The reason that it was great was that each one of these artists-- Coltrane, Adderley, Davis, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb--all became musical leaders in their own right. And they were experimenting with what was once called bebop, now progressive jazz, and some went on to modal jazz, which I'm still finding out what that's all about. They'd usually take chords of a song, sometimes a ballad or a popular song, and then substitute chords, and then you'd get this creative improvisation of what their interpretation of a song means to them. And that's what modern jazz is, of course, all about. So with the event that the Congressional Black Caucus had with the only living musician from that historic recording, this gives us a chance and an opportunity to understand what this contribution to music means to the American cultural scene. Jazz is celebrated all over the world. I introduced a concurrent resolution on jazz, H. Con. Res. 57--I have forgotten what year now, but it was passed in both the House and the Senate--and it celebrated this contribution, this musical contribution that's been appreciated, reinterpreted all over the world. Whenever and wherever I travel, I always try to locate the musicians, whether it's in Norway or Jamaica or Germany. This music is still going on and it's something that we celebrate, and I'm glad to bring before the House today this resolution, 894, for passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to one of the people who knows a little about this music and who has come a long way from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute merely to say that I appreciate the gentleman from Tennessee because an earlier jazz started in his State, in Memphis and in Nashville. The roots of it were embedded in the modern jazz of the music that we reaffirm today as a national treasure. Before I yield back the balance of my time, because I studied music as a young person, I owe these musicians a debt of gratitude because it was they who recommended that I go to law school, so I am grateful to them for helping my career.