Byron Dorgan

Mr. DORGAN

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Sarbanes and ask for its consideration.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, let me send the amendments to the desk. I have five amendments that I submit on behalf of Senator Bingaman. Let me ask first that the pending amendment be set aside by consent.

Mr. DORGAN. Let me by consent submit five amendments and ask that they be numbered separately and separately considered on behalf of Senator Bingaman.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendments be dispensed with.

Mr. DORGAN. I ask unanimous consent the pending amendment be set aside.

Mr. DORGAN. I send to the desk two amendments I offer on behalf of Senator Obama and ask for their consideration.

Mr. DORGAN. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendments be dispensed with.

Mr. DORGAN. The amendments have been cleared on both sides. I support their approval.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, while the Senator from Arkansas is on the floor, I want to mention to him how pleased I was to play a very small role in getting funding for this and give him a little background of why I have had a special interest in this. One of the more inspirational things I ever attended was in the East Room at the White House, perhaps some 5 years ago, an event at which President Clinton had invited the Little Rock Nine. There they sat, these nine people, on a riser in the East Room of the White House as part of a celebration of the 45th anniversary of when those then-nine young children marched into the Little Rock school and integrated the Little Rock school. That integration was ordered by Judge Ronald Davies of North Dakota. He was a Federal judge who was from the Fargo Federal district in North Dakota who traveled to Little Rock, AR, and issued the landmark ruling that resulted in the integration of that school. I was privileged to name a courthouse, in legislation, after Judge Ronald Davies about 5 years ago because I wanted North Dakotans to long remember this man. He was a short fellow, 5 foot 2, perhaps. He strutted around with great flair, but was a remarkable Federal judge by all accounts and issued a courageous decision. He was, in fact, required to have security because of threats on his life when he issued the landmark civil rights decision that required the integration of that school. With respect to the story, I want to read a couple paragraphs from Prairie Public Television in North Dakota. They did an interview with the judge's family. It talked about when Judge Davis and Governor Faubus were deadlocked and the nine students were still not in school. There was an injunction that had been ordered. On September 20th, Davies ruled that Faubus used the National Guard to prevent integration, not to prevent violence, and the governor was forced to withdraw the troops. The situation was now in the hands of the Little Rock Police Department. There was a mob of a thousand people outside Central High School when those young students were ushered in. Everyone will recall the Norman Rockwell portrait of a young Black schoolgirl in pigtails and knee socks holding the hand of a U.S. Marshal walking into the Little Rock public school. The crowd learned the students were inside, and out of fear for their safety, the police then evacuated them. President Eisenhower issued a special proclamation that evening, calling for opponents of integration to ``cease and desist.'' . . . The next morning, Little Rock's mayor sent the president a telegram asking him to send troops to maintain order. President Eisenhower sent 10,000 Arkansas National Guard and 1,000 members of the 101st Airborne. Those young students the next day, under heavy guard with substantial military around the city, entered Little Rock Central High School. I tell my colleague that only to say that Judge Ronald Davies, this Federal judge from North Dakota, played a very pivotal role in making that day happen with his ruling and paid quite a price for it at the time, with threats on his life and anger about what he had done. But 45 years after that Little Rock day, sitting in that room with now middle-aged African Americans, to understand the courage it must have taken not just for them, especially them, but their parents, that they forced this issue, not just on behalf of these students but on behalf of all in this country who were similarly situated and similarly mistreated. I could not feel more strongly and feel more inspired about what this center will mean to those nine, to both Senators from Arkansas, but also to the relatives of Judge Davies and so many others who had a role in making this event happen that has literally changed the lives of a good many Americans. I heard the Senator speak and wanted to acknowledge his appreciation and say that we are the ones really who appreciate the opportunity to do this.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, is there an amendment pending that requires a vote?

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I offer an amendment on behalf of Senator Barbara Boxer, for herself, Senator Nelson of Florida, Senators Clinton and Schumer of New York, and Senator Obama of Illinois, and send it to the desk.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I submit the following notice in writing: In accordance with rule V of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby give notice in writing that it is my intention to move to suspend paragraph 4 of rule XVI for the purpose of proposing to the bill H.R. 2361 amendment No. 1059.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of myself and ask for its consideration.

Mr. DORGAN. I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I make a point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. DORGAN. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside.

Mr. DORGAN. I offer an amendment on behalf of Senator Landrieu and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DORGAN. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading of the amendment.