Elijah Cummings

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers, but I just want to reemphasize the fact that this legislation is one that just shows how fast this Congress can move. When we heard about the problems, when the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), our former chairman, was chairman heard about this problem during testimony, we immediately moved to address it. We set deadlines that were met. I think that that is the way Americans want their government to work. This time we have gotten this legislation in early. We will do everything in our power of course to make sure that it moves swiftly through the other body. With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) for his comments. I agree with him. This legislation is extremely important. Although it affects 50 people now and will eventually affect 1,000 people, this is a perfect example of the Congress working in a bipartisan manner to put a face on legislation and to address the problems that these Members of the Federal Reserve System are facing. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I urge the House to unanimously support the resolution. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am pleased that another one of my mentors, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who originally hailed from Baltimore but decided to move to San Francisco, is here. And she, too, is a tremendous baseball fan and an admirer of Joe DiMaggio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. One author said, Mr. Speaker, that when people who are important to us die, when people who have had an impact on our lives pass on, a small part of us dies with him. And there is no question, as I listen to my colleagues today and I listen to the sponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and others, that I realize that we were blessed, truly blessed, to have our lives eclipsed by Joe DiMaggio's and to be touched by his life. I can remember as a small boy hearing about DiMaggio and growing up in a neighborhood where we did not play on grass but we played on glass, as I often say, but the fact is, when we saw heroes and heard about heroes like Jackie Robinson and Joe DiMaggio and others, it made us realize that we could accomplish things too. And as I listen to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), he is absolutely right, Joe DiMaggio was not only a hero for New Yorkers but he was a hero for youngsters in Baltimore and New Orleans and the West Coast, all over our country, and not just this country, Mr. Speaker, but also the world. Paul Simon, in one of his songs ``Mrs. Robinson'' stated these words. He said, ``Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.'' Well, I think it can be safely said that Joe DiMaggio's spirit, his humility, and his grace lives in all of us who have been touched by his life. One author said that when one goes through the difficult times of life and they are unseen, unnoticed, unappreciated, and unapplauded, it is those moments that bring about a certain obscurity but those who work hard in obscurity that are best able to address the fame and the glory of greatness. And I think that, as we have listened and shared our thoughts here today, it is clear that God created a wonderful, wonderful road for Joe DiMaggio to walk but at the same time gave him the humility, the strength, and the power to walk it. And so, Mr. Speaker, I would just simply ask all of our colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Baltimore Orioles' goodwill mission to Cuba. In the past year we have witnessed several historic events that are significant to the evolving debate surrounding Cuba, its citizens and United States efforts to promote democracy. Last year, Cuban citizens were allowed to celebrate Christmas. In January, Pope John Paul II conducted a series of open air masses across the country that were televised. And recently, direct humanitarian charter flights to Cuba and cash remittances to Cuban relatives of U.S. citizens were resumed and the provision of medicine and food was authorized. These initiatives were the precursors to future efforts toward peaceful cross-cultural engagement, including people-to-people contact among academics, media and yes, even athletes. The last major league team to play baseball in Cuba was the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, who held spring training in Havana to insulate Jackie Robinson from the racial hatred so prevalent in the United States at that time. Fifty-two years later, the role has changed. The first major league team to visit Cuba in 40 years, on March 28, 1999, the Baltimore Orioles, will be ambassadors of peace. Sports has historically been an arena in which athlete-to-athlete contact has led to off-the-field or court engagement. Moreover, baseball as the national pastime of the United States and Cuba is the natural choice to promote goodwill among our countries' citizens. It is time that we reach out to the Cuban people with such democracy-building efforts. I am proud that the City of Baltimore is in the forefront of an initiative that will help to chip away the barriers that have isolated the citizens of Cuba from the United States. I applaud Mayor Kurt Schmoke and Peter Angelos, the Orioles owner, for seizing the opportunity to strengthen a historic bond between the Cuban and American people. Let us all take note, democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary times. I urge my colleagues to support the Baltimore Orioles and the City of Baltimore in their efforts.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my colleague for yielding time to me. Mr. Chairman, I stand today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 42. Probably one of the most significant moments of my life was when, back in December of 1997, I went over to Bosnia with the President. There I saw our troops. When we arrived in Bosnia at about 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning, thousands of people had stood all night just to simply say thank you for saving our lives. Thank you for giving us our lives for Christmas. The President is right. We have to act. We cannot just stand aside and allow lives to be lost. The fact is that we have a duty, and we must fulfill that duty. Lest we forget, let us not turn a blind eye. Remember the Holocaust, remember South Africa, remember Rwanda. Our Nation is a very, very powerful nation. The fact is, is that we have to stand up and bring peace and bring life to life. So I stand in support of House Concurrent Resolution 42 and urge all of my colleagues to vote for it.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, Mr. Chairman, and I stand in support of the Scott-Payne amendment.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, if the gentlewoman will continue to yield, I stand in support of the Scott-Payne amendment. And the reason why, Mr. Chairman, is I would have been one who would have come under Title I. Many years ago I was placed in special education and told that I would never be able to read or write. And as I look at this whole bill, the safeguards are not there to address accountability. When the Kildee amendment was defeated, accountability went away. In my district, in many of my schools, most of the children are Title I children, and I am very, very concerned about them. I would just ask the House to support this amendment. Title I is the federal government's way of assuring disadvantaged children have the opportunity to receive the supplemental services they need to succeed, school as reading and math. We must continue this effort to close the academic achievement gap between disadvantaged children and their schoolmates. Unfortunately, the Ed-Flex bill does not include the safeguards to ensure that this happens. With the defeat of the Miller/Kildee amendment this bill will go forth without substantial accountability mechanisms in place. Moreover, the bill itself will allow states to waive the current 50% requirement for Title I. Conceivably, a school could use their Title I funds on a school-wide project that did not take into account special needs of poorer children. My state of Maryland is one of the 12 states that is currently implementing Ed-Flex, with measured statewide success. The majority of children in my District of Baltimore City are Title I eligible. I have serious concerns that with no accountability with regards to Title I funds, monies could possibly be diverted away from disadvantaged students. As my colleague Sheila Jackson-Lee pointed out in the earlier debate, Title I funds can account for up to one-third of a local school system's budget in a disadvantaged area. That is a lot of money with no accountability. That is why I stand here today to support the Scott/Payne amendment which would require that only schools in which at least 35% of the students come from low-income families may seek a waiver to use their Title I funds to operate their school-wide programs. We must not reduce targeted resources available to disadvantaged children. It is a risk we cannot take. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in voting in favor of this amendment.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Read Across America Day. The National Education Association, partnering with some of the Nation's leading literacy education and community groups, is calling for every child and every community in America to celebrate reading today. Reading is critically important as a platform for future learning. As a father of a 4-year-old, I enjoy the positive emotional charge of our reading experience as she soaks in every word and picture. We are forming her pre-reading skills, and she will enter school prepared to read. Unfortunately, there are thousands of children in America who do not have their parents reading to them. Responsible adults must fill this gap for the sake of all of our children. It is important that this Congress do all that it can to support and further child development from the rural communities of the heartland to the inner city of Baltimore, my home district. Today is a perfect opportunity to help all of our children reach their full potential.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Academy of Osseointegration, the world's leading dental implant organization, as they bring together dentists, general practitioners, laboratory technicians, and research scientists in Palm Springs for their 14th Annual Meeting on March 4-6. The Academy of Osseointegration operates exclusively for scientific, charitable and educational purposes to advance the art and science of osseointegration, placing titanium cylinders into the jawbone to support replacement teeth. As a strong supporter of medical research and my own district's work at Johns Hopkins University, I commend this organization and its members, some of whom reside in my district, for their dedication and commitment to finding new medical breakthroughs. Osseointegration is beneficial in replacing lost teeth, restoring hearing, enhancing reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, and correcting craniofacial problems. Dental implants are an answer to many problems associated with missing teeth and offer a high-tech alternative to other forms of traditional dentistry such as bridges, removable partials and dentures that are difficult for some patients. Formed in 1982 by a group of dental clinicians, the Academy of Osseointegration has grown to include more than 4200 professionals in almost 70 countries. Professionals from all specialties have united in a learning experience that provides a refreshing opportunity for an interrelated, interdisciplinary approach to move the field of osseointegrated implants forward. I commend this organization for its dedication to the highest standards in patient care, research and education as professionals ally themselves with the Academy of Osseointegration in approaching the challenges and advances of dental implantation in the 21st century.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, during the last 20 years, important medical breakthroughs such as tissue typing and immunosuppresent drugs have allowed for a larger number of successful organ transplants and a longer survival rate for transplant recipients. Certain organs, such as a single kidney, a lobe of a lung, a segment of the liver or a portion of the pancreas, can be transplanted from living donors, making it possible for them to save the lives of family members, coworkers, and friends. Currently, federal employees may use up to 7 days of leave in each calendar year to serve as an organ or bone marrow donor. Yet, experience has shown that an organ transplant operation and post- operative recovery for living donors may take as long as six to eight weeks. In order to address this disparity, I worked with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in drafting this legislation to increase the amount of leave that may be used for organ donation to 30 days. The amount of leave that may be used for bone marrow donation will remain at 7 days because that is generally adequate for recovery from bone marrow donations. Under this legislation, donors will not have to be concerned with using their personal sick or annual leave for these vital medical procedures because the leave granted is in addition to what they routinely earn. The bill passed the House during the last Congress but the Senate failed to act on it before adjournment. I reintroduced this bill at the beginning of the 106th Congress in the hope that there will be ample time to win its enactment. The Organ Donor Leave Act has the support of the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the largest professional transplant organization in the United States. In a letter expressing its support, the ASTP stated, ``. . . a lack of leave time has served as a significant impediment and disincentive for individuals willing to share the gift- of-life. Since the first kidney transplant in 1954, hundreds of patients have received successful transplants from living donors. Yet, each day, while 55 people receive an organ transplant, another 10 people on waiting lists die because not enough organs are available. A new name is added to a waiting list every 18 minutes in the United States. In 1997 only 15,000 people donated organs, leaving 35,000 people desperately in need. Currently, over 58,000 are waiting for a life saving organ transplant. One lung can help another person breathe. One kidney can free someone from dialysis. A portion of a liver could save the life of a patient dying from disease. One's bone marrow could help repair another person's damaged joints. This legislation will give federal employees who may consider becoming organ donors the assurance that they will be granted an adequate amount of time to recuperate from the life saving process that they voluntarily undertake. It will also serve as a guide and encouragement to other employers, public and private, to provide similar benefits to their employees. I urge all members to give it your support.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Higginbotham, a noted civil rights defender who went on to become one of the country's most prominent African-American judges, recently died in Boston after suffering several strokes. He was 70. Throughout his life, as a judge and scholar, Mr. Higginbotham was known as a passionate defender of civil rights. The late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once called him ``a great lawyer and a very great judge.'' A native of Trenton, N.J., Higginbotham earned his law degree at Yale Law School. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy named him to the Federal Trade Commission, making him the FTC's first African-American commissioner. Higginbotham served as president of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1960-1962. In 1964, Higginbotham was appointed to the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, becoming the third African-American federal district judge. Four years later, President Lyndon Johnson appointed him vice chairman of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, to investigate the urban riots of the 1960's. The resulting Kerner Report blamed the growing polarization between blacks and whites for the violence. Higgonbotham again broke new ground in 1969 when he became Yale's first African-American trustee. In 1977, he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as judge of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1989, he became chief judge of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. He retired from the bench in 1993 and became a public service professor of jurisprudence at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. At the request of South African leader Nelson Mandela, Higginbotham became an international mediator for issues surrounding the 1994 national elections in which all South Africans could participate for the first time. Mr. Higginbotham was awarded the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995, a year after he was honored with the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Award. In 1995, the American Association of University Professors appointed Higginbotham to its panel to investigate the University of California Board of Regents' decision to end race-based affirmative action. Recently, Mr. Higginbotham urged the House Judiciary Committee not to impeach President Clinton. ``Perjury has graduations. Some are serious, some are less,'' he testifed. ``If the president broke the 55-mph speed limit and said under oath he was going 49, that would not be an impeachable high crime. And neither is this.'' Mr. Higginbotham is also acclaimed for his multivolume study of race, ``Race and the American Legal Process.'' In those books, he examined how colonial law was linked to slavery and racism, and examined how the post emancipation legal system continued to perpetuate oppression of blacks. At the time of his death, Higginbotham was working on an autobiography. He leaves his wife, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, a professor of history and Afro-American studies at Harvard; two daughters, Karen and Nia; and two sons, Stephen and Kenneth.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton, I am pleased to introduce this important legislation that will provide long-term care insurance to federal employees. Long-term care refers to a broad range of health, social, and environmental support services and assistance provided by paid and unpaid caregivers in institutional, home, and community settings to persons who are limited in their ability to function independently on a daily basis. The need for long-term care insurance is evidence as the population ages and older Americans need assistance for their daily living. The number of Americans over 65 will leap from 34 million in 1995 to 60 million by 2025. Americans will find it impossible to afford nursing home care which will increase from $40,000 today to $97,000 by 2030. Under current law, a family would have to deplete all their financial resources to qualify for medicaid which would only pay for a portion of needed long-term care services. By offering long-term care as a benefit option for its employees, the federal government, as the nation's largest employer, can set the example for other employers whose workforce will be facing the same long-term care needs. The ``Federal Employees Group Long-Term Care Insurance Act of 1999'' would authorize the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to purchase a policy or policies from one or more qualified private-sector contractors to make long-term care insurance available to federal employees and retirees, and family members whom OPM defines as eligible, at group rates. Coverage would be paid for entirely by those who elect it. OPM will select a single or a very small number of carriers based on quality, service and price to offer a high-quality benefits package to eligible participants. This benefits package would be consistent with the most recent National Association of Insurance Commissioners standards. OPM will be open to various financing arrangements proposed by the carrier(s), such as the use of consortia or reinsurance arrangements to ensure the financial stability of the program. OPM would have broad flexibility to determine appropriate benefits and to contract competitively for benefits with one or more private carriers, without regard to section 5 of title 41, United States Code, or any law requiring competitive bidding. OPM needs the flexibility to capitalize on complex market factors to procure the best value for federal enrollees. OPM will ensure that resulting contracts are awarded on the basis of contractor qualifications, price, and reasonable competition to the maximum extent practicable. Qualified carriers shall: (a) be licensed to do business in all States and the District of Columbia to offer long-term care insurance; (b) agree to provide coverage for all eligible enrollees consistent with requirements for qualified long-term care insurance contracts and issuers enacted under subtitle C of Title III of the HIPAA; (c) propose rates which in OPM's judgment reasonably reflect the cost of benefits provided; (d) maintain funds associated with the federal employees contract separate and apart from the carriers' other funds; and (e) agree to all risk. The contract or contracts would be for a duration of 5 years, unless terminated by OPM. OPM will issue regulations to provide for opportunities to enroll and benefit portability. With this statutory and regulatory authority, OPM will have the flexibility needed to administer the program as the market for long-term care services and protection evolves over time. The program would be available to federal employees and retirees, and other spouses; a former spouse who is entitled to annuity under a federal retirement system; parents, and parents-in-law. All participants other than active employees would be fully underwritten as is standard practice with products of this kind. Coverage made available to individuals would be guaranteed renewable and could not be canceled except for nonpayment of premium. Though each participant would be responsible for paying the full amount of premiums, based on age at time of enrollment, group rates will save an estimated 15-20 percent off the cost of individual long-term care policies. OPM will be responsible for the administrative costs of the program, which is estimated to be $15 million over a 5-year period. Initial year costs include developing and implementing a program to educate employees about long-term care insurance, procuring a contract or contracts, and validating the reasonableness of rate proposals. Employee and annuitant premiums would be withheld from salary or annuity and transmitted directly to respective contractors, and those enrollees could also elect withholdings for coverage of their spouses. Any eligible enrollees shall, at the discretion of OPM, submit premiums directly to the appropriate contractor. As with the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the bill would require participating contractors to provide benefits when OPM finds the individual is entitled to benefits under the terms of the contract. Participating carriers would be required to reimburse OPM's expenses for adjudicating claims disputes. The proposal would provide a substantial benefit to federal employees and retirees by providing access to quality long-term care insurance products at cost savings, group premiums. I urge members to support this important legislation.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I think that we need to pause here for a moment. There is a songwriter who wrote a song that says, give me a higher love. Mr. Speaker, the Framers of the Constitution did not entrust this House with the power to impeach the President of the United States in order to establish this body as a court of personal morality. Impeachment was supposed to be a constitutional shield, not a moral or political sword. For all of these reasons, we should step back from this edge of this dangerous cliff. Serious crimes have been committed that this Congress needs to address. Every morning children across the Nation go to school and sit in overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating and crumbling facilities, and Congress turns a blind eye. That is a serious crime. Every afternoon people find themselves lacking access to affordable health care, trying to figure out how to afford the prescription drugs they need. People are suffering, and even dying, even as we debate today. That is a serious crime. Every evening people sit at their dinner tables wondering how they will afford a college education for their children, whether they need or even if they will be able to get a second job. That is a serious offense. We should be leaving personal and moral sanctions to the courts, the branch of government where they properly belong. We should be doing the job we were elected to do. The wisdom of history, not the passions of this moment, must guide our actions. As David cried out to the Lord in the Book of Psalms--``For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight, so that thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgement.'' The President has asked for the forgiveness of his family, his God and the American people. Let us not continue to persecute a person who has sought to make his peace. I pray to God that wisdom will prevail.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us is to honor George Washington. Next year will be the 200th year of his death. Many of the Nation's children will not and do not know that he is the first President of the United States. In a document promoting the celebration of Washington's bicentennial, it states that, quote, 200 years after Washington's death, the importance of his leadership has not dwindled. But our knowledge of and respect for Washington has declined to an incredibly low level. In just four decades, Washington's coverage in history textbooks has been reduced so dramatically that some teachers complain that he has been relegated to ``footnote status.'' Educators admit that the teaching of history is woefully inadequate and that only 2 out of 10 students graduating from high school can be described as proficient in history. Today we have reached an agreement on a budget bill that includes over $1 billion for 100,000 new teachers to reduce class size in the early grades. Statistics have shown that smaller class sizes contribute greatly toward a student's learning as a result of which their knowledge of math and science will be greatly enhanced and so will their knowledge of our Nation's great history and its leaders. With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this very, very important resolution honoring President George Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a somber heart and a troubled soul. I rise today to grieve the loss of a young man. Matthew Shepard was a 21-year-old college student majoring in political science because he--like many Members of this body--wanted to fight for civil and human rights. But Matthew will never join this fight because Matthew died on Monday. Matthew's death was no accident. It was a conscious act of hate and intolerance taken to such an extreme that a 21-year-old man was brutally and savagely beaten, strapped to a fence like an animal, and left to die. Matthew was murdered for one reason: Hate. Hate directed at Matthew because he was gay and he dared share that fact with others. Mr. Speaker, this body must share in the responsibility and the guilt for Matthew's brutal murder. We are fostering a culture of intolerance and hate in this body with words and even legislation that denies equal standing and protection under the law to others due solely to their sexual orientation. Matthew's death at the butt of a .357 magnum is the result. In 1962, on the acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said ``Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.'' Mr. Speaker, I make a plea that we in this body heed Dr. King's words and work for a culture of tolerance. In the name of Matthew Shepard we must finally act on and pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a bill which I have proudly co-sponsored.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to a man who has dedicated his life to improving opportunities for others. He is Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, who served as President of the National Federation of the Blind from 1968 to 1986 and as the Federation's President Emeritus until his death on October 12, 1998. In these capacities, Dr. Jernigan has become widely recognized and highly respected as the principal leader of the organized blind movement in the United States. Mr. Speaker, I have been proud to represent Kenneth Jernigan and his wife, Mary Ellen, since coming to Congress in 1996. But more than being my constituent, Mr. Speaker, Dr. Jernigan has been my friend. In fact, as he did with so many others over his lifetime of leadership, he encouraged me and helped me to believe in myself. Born blind in 1926, Kenneth Jernigan grew up on a small Tennessee farm with little hope and little opportunity. But in the story of Kenneth Jernigan, from his humble beginnings in the hills of Tennessee to his stature as a national--and even an international--leader, the story of what is right with America is told. Dr. Jernigan may have been blind in the physical sense, but he was a man of vision nonetheless. As a leader of the National Federation of the Blind, he taught all of us to understand that eyesight and insight are not related to each other in any way. Although he did not have eyesight, his insight on life, learning, and leading has no equal. Mr. Speaker, for those who knew him and loved him, for the blind of this country, and for the National Federation of the Blind--the organization that he loved and built--the world without Kenneth Jernigan will be different. But the world he left in death is a far better world because of his life. The legacy which Dr. Jernigan has left behind is visible in the hundreds of thousands of lives that he touched and will continue to inspire through the programs and projects that will live on in his name. This will be the case for many generations to come. Kenneth Jernigan will be missed deeply by his family and friends, and his loss will be shared by all of us because he cared for all of us. With the strength of his voice and the power of his intellect, he brought equality and freedom to the blind. As he did so, Kenneth Jernigan taught us all to love one another and live with dignity. This is the real and lasting legacy of Kenneth Jernigan. Mr. Speaker, on September 24, 1998, an article entitled, ``Friends Pay Homage to Crusader for the Blind. Jernigan Still Working Despite Lung Cancer'' appeared in the Baltimore Sun. Because it presents a fitting tribute to Dr. Jernigan's life and work, I insert the text of this article in the Record at this point. Friends Pay Homage to Crusader for the Blind Jernigan Still Working Despite Lung Cancer (By Ernest F. Imhoff) A steady stream of old friends--maybe 200 in the past months--have been visiting Kenneth Jernigan at his home in Irvington. Pals who followed the old fighter for the blind as he tenaciously led fights for jobs, for access, for independent living, for Braille and for civil rights have come to say thank you and goodbye to a dying blind man they say expanded horizons for thousands of people. James Omvig, a 63-year-old blind lawyer, and his sighted wife Sharon flew from Tucson, Ariz., to visit with the president emeritus of the National Federal of the Blind (NFB), who is in the latter stages of lung cancer. ``The wonderful life I've had is all due to Dr. Jernigan,'' Omvig said. In the 1950s, he ``was sitting around at home'' in Iowa, after learning chair-making, until he met Jernigan and began studying Braille and other subjects. Omvig then graduated from college, got a law degree, became the first blind person hired by the National Labor Relations Board and later developed programs for the blind at Social Security in Baltimore, Alaska and elsewhere. One topic of conversation among the friends has been Jernigan's latest project, a proposed $12 million National Research and Training Institute for the Blind for NFB headquarters in South Baltimore. Last week, Larry McKeever, of Des Moines, who is sighted and has recorded material for the 50,000-member federation, came to chat and cook breakfast for the Jernigans. Donald Capps, the blind leader of 58 South Carolina NFB chapters, called to congratulate Jernigan on being honored recently at the Canadian Embassy for his Newsline invention that enables the blind to hear daily newspapers. Floyd Matson, who is sighted and has worked with Jernigan for 50 years, came from Honolulu to be with ``my old poetry and drinking buddy.'' A dramatic example of the high regard in which blind people hold Jernigan came during the annual convention of 2,500 NFB members in Dallas in July. A donor contributed $5,000 to start a Kenneth Jernigan Fund to help blind people. Quickly, state delegations caucused and announced their own donations. The result: pledges of $137,000 in his honor. Jernigan, 71, who was born blind and grew up on a Tennessee farm with no electricity, learned he had incurable lung cancer in November. In the past 10 months, Jernigan has been almost as busy as ever. He has continued projects such as editing the latest in his large-type ``Kernel Book'' series of inspirational books for the visually impaired. But his focus has been the proposed four-story institute, for which $1 million has been raised. It will house the nerve center of an employment program; research and demonstration projects leading to jobs and independent living; technology training seminars; access technology, such as applications for voting machines, airport kiosks and information systems; and Braille literacy initiatives to reverse a 50 percent illiteracy rate among visually impaired children. In fighting for the blind, Jernigan has frequently been a controversial figure. Before he moved to Baltimore in 1978, the Iowa Commission for the Blind, which he headed, was the subject of a conflict-of-interest investigation by a gubernatorial committee. In the end, Gov. Robert Ray felt the committee's report vindicated the commission. The governor and the committee described the commission's program for the blind as ``one of the best in the country.'' ``There are good things in everything, even this illness,'' said his wife, Mary Ellen Jernigan. ``You expect to hear from old friends. But in letters and calls, we hear from hundreds of people we don't know.''

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, it is interesting that the Wright Brothers are two brothers that I talk about often in speeches to young people when I talk about the misfits of life. Misfits. I tell a little story that there was once a gentleman who had come home from war, and he was marching down Pennsylvania Avenue with the troops, and his mother came out with a friend. The mother said, look at my son. Look how great he is. And so the friend says, he does not look too great to me. He is out of step. And the mother said, that is why he is so great. The Wright Brothers are misfits. They are wonderful misfits. I can imagine that when they went around and said one day that man would be able to fly around in a piece of metal, folk looked at them as if they were crazy. But the fact is that they were misfits. They believed in what could be done. They could not see it, but they knew it. So today this legislation is very significant to commemorate two great misfits, folks who believed what others could not see. Madam Speaker, I would urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this very important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I congratulate the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) for this bipartisan piece of legislation. They were the sponsors of the House version, and we just heard the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) eloquently talk about the significance of this legislation and the significance of the Wright Brothers, and what part they played in our Nation's history. We now would like to hear from the distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones). The Ohio link, of course, is the fact that the Wright Brothers are from Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Tony Hall).

Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, this bill will establish a commission to commemorate the centennial of powered flight, and the achievements of the Wright Brothers. Wilbur and Orville Wright manned the first successful controlled and sustained powered flight. The Wright Brothers, originally bicycle store owners from Dayton, Ohio, moved to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for the hills, the strong and steady winds, and soft sandy ground, essential ingredients for successful flight. They went back to Dayton and built a 6-foot wind tunnel to conduct experiments with over 200 different wing models. They developed the first reliable tables on the effects of air pressure on curved surfaces, the principles that we use today and that we see on every airplane. In 1903 the Wright Brothers completed the construction of a larger plane powered by their own lightweight gas-powered engine, and returned to Kitty Hawk. On December 17th, 1903, four men and a boy witnessed the first flight, a flight which dramatically changed the course of transportation, commerce, communication, and warfare throughout the world. Madam Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this legislation. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Spottswood W. Robinson, III. Judge Robinson died in his Richmond, Virginia home on Sunday, October 11, 1998. He was 82 years of age. Spottswood W. Robinson, III was a federal appeals judge, law school dean, civil rights attorney, husband, father, son, friend, and HERO. The world is less one phenomenal individual, and I rise because I must pay tribute to his life and his many accomplishments. As a Howard University Law School graduate, I was inspired by those civil rights giants who also inspired and taught Judge Robinson. It is upon the back of Judge Robinson on which I rise. A graduate of Virginia Union University in Richmond, Judge Robinson entered the Howard Law School in 1936, at age 20. His arrival came at a time when Charles Hamilton Houston, a pioneering black lawyer, was building the law school into a think tank for civil rights. According to U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Harry Edwards, ``Robinson graduated from Howard Law School with what is still reputed to be the highest scholastic average in the school's history.'' He received his law degree in 1939 from Howard, magna cum laude. Originally planning to return to practice law with his father in Richmond, he accepted a two-year teaching fellowship at Howard, which, due to World War II, turned into eight years. In 1941, Oliver W. Hill, Martin A. Martin and Spottswood W. Robinson III formed the law firm of Hill, Martin and Robinson. Mr. Robinson taught full time and practiced law part time. Mr. Robinson became a full-time lawyer in 1947. The law firm of Hill, Martin and Robinson had been handling some civil rights cases when they received a letter in 1951 from two black high school girls in Prince Edward County, VA, who said their school was inadequate and that 450 students refused to attend classes. The decision to take this case led to their historic involvement in Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954. The Virginia case was combined with Brown and other cases from South Carolina and Delaware. The Supreme Court's decision in Brown vs. Board of Education declared that segregation in public schools violated the constitution. When the court handed down its decisions, the justices also ruled on the four other cases. Since Robinson had become legal representative of the Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Virginia in 1948, he was charged with arguing the constitutional history of the 14th Amendment before the Supreme Court during the Brown case. Robinson's view was that the 14th Amendment had envisioned the establishment of complete equality for all people, regardless of race. Equality was denied to blacks, he held, as long as their children could not go to white schools. Continuing his civil rights advocacy, Mr. Robinson helped lead the 1956 fight against Virginia's so-called NAACP Bills, a set of laws passed by Virginia legislators attempting to cripple the activities of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The U.S. District Court in Virginia eventually threw out the laws in a decision that called them unconstitutional. Judge Robinson was also an instrumental force in the following landmark civil rights decisions: McGhee vs. Sipes and Hurd vs. Hodge, 1948 (decided along with Shelley vs. Kraemer) in which the Supreme Court ruled that court enforcement of race-based restrictive property covenants is unconstitutional. Morgan vs. Virginia, 1948 where the Supreme Court ruled that State- enforced racial segregation in interstate transportation is unconstitutional. Chance vs. Lambeth, 1951 in which the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled and the Supreme Court upheld that carrier-enforced racial segregation in interstate transportation is unconstitutional. Department of Conservation and Development vs. Tate, 1956 where the 4th Circuit ruled and the Supreme Court upheld that the denial of state park facilities on racial grounds is unconstitutional. In addition, from 1949 to 1951, he was part of an NAACP team that defended the Martinsville Seven, a group of black men accused of raping a white woman in Martinsville, VA. The men eventually were executed. President John F. Kennedy appointed Robinson to the United States Commission on Civil Rights where he served from 1961 to 1963. In 1964, he was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first black to serve as a judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington. Judge Robinson was also the first black to serve as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and, was chief judge of the appellate panel from 1981 until 1986. At the courthouse, Judge Robinson was known to friends as ``Spots.'' A self-effacing and kind man whose conscientious matter led him to once fill a 43 page opinion with 403 footnotes. Judge Robinson was bestowed with many honors during his life for his work in civil rights and commitment to community. In his home State of Virginia, the Old Dominion Bar Association gave him its President's Award in 1988. The National Bar Association honored him with its Wiley A. Branton Award in 1993. In 1995, Mr. Robinson was honored in the Virginia Power/North Carolina Power ``Strong Men and Women, Excellence in Leadership'' educational series. He also received an honorary doctorate of laws in 1986 from New York Law School, for his efforts ``to achieve true equality under the law for all Americans'' and addressing ``the conscience of the nation.'' In his personal life, Judge Robinson was an accomplished woodworker and an amateur architect who designed his own split-level home in Richmond. He loved fishing so much that the built his own fishing boat in his basement in 1953 and utilized it for 25 years. Judge Robinson is survived by his wife, Marian Wilkerson Robinson; a son, Spottswood W. Robinson IV of Richmond; a daughter, Nina Govan of Greenbelt, MD; and a sister, Mrs. Isadore Burke of Freeport, Bahamas. Judge Spottswood W. Robinson, III, is gone, but his legacy shall remain. His hard work and dedication paved the way for those of us who came after him. As an African-American male, an attorney, and an elected member of this esteemed body, it is incumbent upon me to honor Judge Robinson for allowing me to tread mightily in his footsteps.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration. The EDA reauthorization has been a long time coming and I commend this Congress for finally taking a strong stand in support of local community economic development. Baltimore city and Baltimore county are currently working with EDA as the recipients of several EDA grants. In fact, communities in my district have been working with EDA throughout it's tenure. These grants have proven to be unparalleled in the assistance they provide the communities in my district, in my state and across the country as they work towards economic stability and equality for their citizens. I thank the EDA for it's efforts. The EDA plays such a crucial role in local economic development because it is guided by the basic principle that distressed communities must be empowered to develop and implement their own economic development and revitalization strategies. This respect for local input and participation makes EDA unique among federal agencies and an organization most worthy of our continued and sustained support. Mr. Speaker, many areas of this country and individuals in our districts are not receiving all of the benefits of the latest economic boom. The EDA is one of the few federal agencies that has and continues to play a major role in helping these communities help themselves to build a strong and lasting economic base in the face of difficult circumstances. Furthermore, the EDA has enacted numerous necessary and highly beneficial reforms over the past several years to make it a more focused and efficient organization. Today's legislation will aid the agency in this process and ensure that it becomes an even more effective agency in the future. I commend the members of the Committee for this legislation and I strongly support its final passage.