Cleo Fields

Mr. FIELDS

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson).

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks. What is interesting is when the President signed that executive order to do away with three words: diversity, equity, and inclusion, it sent universities in a tailspin. They didn't know what to do. In fact, the President himself ended a program--and I am glad the gentleman from Illinois serves on the Agriculture Committee. I am glad that you and others wrote letters and he restored the program that gave young scholars scholarships to go to college, 1890 universities. He said that it was a DEI program, and then later he reversed it. It was a program where these kids had to score high scores on the ACT in order to qualify. They had to have high GPAs. Not to mention the impact it has had on businesses. There are businesses that have ended their DEI programs simply because of that executive order.

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, one of the problems I think that many people have with DEI programs--which is one of the same problems they had with affirmative action, if you recall--they viewed it as two parallel lines, where you took a person who was less qualified and you elevated him to the level of somebody who was more qualified. That is not DEI. That was not affirmative action. Instead, people should look at it as a circle and every single person within the circle are all qualified to do the job, but there is just one single problem: There are folks in the circle, although they are qualified, they never get chosen. There are women in the circle who never get chosen simply because they are female. Hispanics, Blacks in the circle don't get chosen simply because of the color of their skin. People need to view it as: Everybody in the circle is qualified, but DEI comes in and grabs people who are not chosen only because of the color of their skin or because of their sex. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to talk about something that happened on January 20. On January 20, the President of the United States took the oath of office at this Capitol. Shortly thereafter, he signed several executive orders. One executive order was Executive Order No. 14151. That executive order ended all DEI programs. The argument that DEI initiatives constitute reverse discrimination fundamentally misunderstands both the history and the purpose of these programs. DEI initiatives emerged as thoughtful, evidence-based responses to documented inequities suffered by rural communities, minorities, women, the poor, and the disabled. These programs represent America at its best, acknowledging our Nation's shortcomings and tireless work to overcome them. The ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868 codified equal protection as a constitutional principle. Yet, Americans soon discovered that simply declaring equal protection didn't automatically create it. The real challenge was in translating these legal guarantees into everyday justice through their implementations. When the landmark Supreme Court decisions in 2023 and 2024 further restricted race- conscious university admissions and workplace policies, they accelerated a retreat from this understanding. The history of DEI efforts in America is not some partisan agenda. It is part of our Nation's ongoing work to ensure that America's promise extends to every American. In 2025, as we face renewed attacks on these principles, we must renew our commitment to this work. Let me be clear: Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not about guarantees and preferences; they are about removing barriers. They are not about lowering standards; they are about ensuring that the standards we apply don't inadvertently favor some groups while disadvantaging others who are equally qualified. When our military, for example, embraced diversity and inclusion, it didn't become weaker. It became the most formidable fighting force in human history. When our businesses embraced diverse talents and perspectives, they didn't become less competitive. They gained access to broader markets and built the strongest economy in the world. When our universities created more inclusive learning environments, they didn't sacrifice excellence. Instead, they became global leaders in research and education. The world is always watching us to see what we will accomplish, but now more than ever before, they are watching us to see who we will become. I still believe in an America where a child's potential isn't limited to his ZIP Code, the color of his skin, their gender, or other factors beyond their control. I believe in an America where we can acknowledge our imperfect past while working together toward a more perfect future. Most of all, I believe in the fundamental goodness and fairness of the American people. When we move beyond slogans, when we truly see each other as fellow citizens on one shared journey, we find that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. While the temptation is great, we cannot let this moment divide us. We were never meant to be the divided States. We were created as and have thrived for over 250 years as the United States. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson), the chairman of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Mr. FIELDS

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the additional time. They are using them to pad their already substantial bottom lines at the expense of working families in Louisiana and across America.

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California, the ranking member, for fighting predatory lending over the years. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose S.J. Res. 18 which would dismantle important protections against predatory overdraft practices. Let me be absolutely clear: Overdraft protection is a profit center for big banks disguised as a service fee. These institutions made over $9 billion from overdraft fees last year alone. When a constituent in my district gets a $35 charge for a $5 purchase, that is not covering bank costs, that is a 700 percent markup designed purely to boost profits. The CFPB's rule only affects banks with assets over $10 billion, institutions that would remain highly profitable without these predatory practices. These megabanks aren't using overdraft fees to stay afloat.

Mr. FIELDS

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from Virginia and the gentleman from South Carolina for organizing this Special Order at a very important time. Before the 14th Amendment, I was considered three-fifths of a man. It was not until 1870, through the ratification of the 15th Amendment, that I received the right to vote. It wasn't until 1920, through the passage of the 19th Amendment, that women received the right to vote. Despite all men and women having the full Federal right to vote by 1920, States still devised schemes to impose draconian restrictions to prevent voter registration for people of color. These restrictions were Jim Crow laws. I never understood it, but in 1988, when I ran for office for the first time, I wanted my grandmother to vote for me. I was leading folk to the polls to register to vote, and I tried to get my grandmother to go. I said, ``Grandmother, why in the world would you not go to vote for your grandson?'' She said to me, ``Sit down, son. Let me just tell you a story.'' She went to register to vote, and they gave her a literacy test. She had to state the preamble to the Constitution, my grandmother, in Louisiana. I finally got her to register to vote, and she voted until she passed. They gave them tests like citizen tests, voucher tests. They had to get other people to vouch for them. In Louisiana, we had something called all-White primaries, which meant Blacks could not even vote in primary elections. One of the first successes we have had in the battle of voting rights was in 1944 with the Supreme Court decision of Smith v. Allwright when they outlawed White-only primaries. Following this decision, Black voter registration went up. It moved from 1,000 in 1944 to 120,000 in 1952 and 160,000 in 1956. Despite some legal progress, Jim Crow laws were still alive and well in Southern States. Substantial progress was made through the Voting Rights Act of 1956, 1957, and 1960, which authorized the United States Attorney General to file lawsuits on behalf of Americans who were denied the right to vote and gave them the ability to investigate threats on civil rights. A watershed moment occurred when we passed the 1964 Voting Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which made Jim Crow practices and discrimination illegal. Thank God for subsection 5. I will take a moment of personal privilege to talk about that subsection because it really affected me. Every law that was passed in my State of Louisiana had to be precleared by the Justice Department, and then there was a challenge to that, Shelby v. Holder. Every progress we have made, all the sacrifices all the leaders have made, like John Lewis, Martin Luther King, Shirley Chisholm, and Jesse Jackson, they kept making these pushes because they knew it was a hard time for people. Lastly, let me just tell you, these State laws are real. Last year, I served as a member of the Louisiana State Senate, and several attempts were made to make it more difficult on a State level for people to register to vote: S. 226 dealt with absentee ballots, and it required you to put your mother's maiden name on your voter application or your vote would be thrown out. S. 218 prohibits individuals from assisting elderly people in registering to vote. I say to you, Mr. Speaker, Congress should advance legislation like the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to increase equal access across the voting ballot.

Mr. FIELDS

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart in honor of my friend, my colleague, and my confidant, Sylvester Turner. It is not often one gets the opportunity to serve alongside of a person like Sylvester Turner, one of the finest public servants this Nation has ever known. Each and every day, we worked in this Chamber and sat side by side, center aisle, row five, seat one and two. I called him Mr. Mayor. Sylvester's brilliance was in crafting policy that served the underrepresented and became an inspiration to me. After storms devastated his region, we stood shoulder to shoulder, fighting for disaster relief funds, building recovery plans that now protect millions. As mayor, he transformed Houston's infrastructure, expanded economic opportunity, and navigated the city through unprecedented challenges with grace and determination. In our private moments, Sylvester would say things like: Cleo, let me just tell you, we are not here for titles. We are here for the people who will never walk these Halls. That was the measure of an extraordinary man. As I remember my friend, he was not only just an accomplished legislator and mayor, but a man whose friendship and dedication made America a better place for all of us.

Mr. FIELDS

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the profound legacy of Mr. John Willis Menard, who in 1868 became the first African American elected to Congress. Even after winning 64 percent of the vote, Members of this body denied him the rightful opportunity to take his seat by a vote of 57- 130. Nevertheless, Mr. Menard bravely defended his right to represent the people of Louisiana and became the first African American to speak on this floor. His fight for representation, even when denied his dignity and his seat, paved the way for people like me. While in 1868 there was not a single African American in Congress, today there are 67 African Americans serving in the 119th Congress, a record number, largely due in part to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and heroes like John Willis Menard.

Mr. FIELDS

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 6.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise, as a 33-year- old retiring Member of this distinguished body, filled with thanks and appreciation. I would first, Mr. Speaker, like to thank each Member of this great and prestigious body. I have never served in a body with such great Members, Members that care about people, Members that care about each other. And I want to thank the Members of this great institution for giving me the opportunity to serve with them. I also, Mr. Speaker, would like to thank my staff, who have worked so hard throughout the 4 years, or 3\1/2\ years, that we have had the opportunity to serve the people of Louisiana. The people on my staff have had the opportunity to solve over 7,000 cases, and we have had over 200 town hall meetings throughout the State of Louisiana. And without the staff that I have, we would not have been able to accomplish those goals. So I tonight, Mr. Speaker, would like to thank the many members of my congressional staff, who have worked so hard to serve the people of Louisiana. I would like to thank the staff throughout this Congress, from the security officers, Capitol Police, to the people who work at the desk to people who just work and do day-to-day things here in the House of Representatives. And I want to give special appreciation to Mr. Charlie Johnson, who is our Parliamentarian, who has worked so hard to keep the rules and regulations, the rules of the House, adhered to. I remember, Mr. Speaker, when I was first elected to this body, I was 29 years of age and I had the opportunity, at the request of Speaker Foley, to serve as Speaker of the House, and Charlie received several phone calls. The phones started to ring off the hook in the Parliamentarian's office, saying that a page was presiding over the House of Representatives. But I thank Charlie. All too often, people who work in the middle of the night, people who are seated in front of me, do not get the recognition that is due. And I want to thank the people of Louisiana. The people of Louisiana have been very good to me and my family. I was elected to office before I had the opportunity to serve in this great body. Nine years ago, the people of the 14th Senatorial District thought enough of me to elect me to the State Senate at the ripe age of 24. I thank the people of Louisiana for giving me the opportunity to serve not only in this Congress but for giving me the opportunity to serve at such a young age in this Congress as well as the State Senate of Louisiana. And I am so grateful that they put their trust and confidence in me at such a young age. So I am very grateful to the many people who have supported me throughout the years. And I want to give a special thanks to the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Before I went out into this Congress, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, that body embraced me and took me under their wings and somewhat taught me the ropes of this great body and the way this body operates. The Congressional Black Caucus has been, and will always be perhaps, the conscience of this Congress, and perhaps it is the conscience of this country. And I want to thank the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus for their leadership. I want to thank my wife and my son for giving me the opportunity to fly to this great place and do the people's business of Louisiana. I want to thank, finally, Judge Leon Higginbotham, who worked so hard to keep me and Members like me in this body and in State legislatures all across this country. I want to thank Leon Higginbotham for taking a case pro bono and trying to defend the civil rights of so many people across this country and also want to thank the NAACP Legal Defense Fund who have worked so hard to preserve civil rights for so many Americans. I want to thank the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights. I want to thank attorney Frank Garvin and attorney Earnest Johnson from Louisiana who fought so hard to keep people like me in elected office and protecting their constitutional rights. Lastly, I want to thank the Members of the Louisiana legislative black caucus who fought so hard for the creation of the district that I have had the opportunity to represent. I want to thank them for their hard work and for all that they have done. This, Mr. Speaker, tonight, is not a permanent retirement. In life, people change professions, some two, some three, some even seven times. This is a change of profession. I have enjoyed my service here in this Congress, and I am ready to move on and do other things. But this should not be viewed as a permanent retirement. It should be viewed as a temporary retirement with a certain return. I am only 33, and in 6 years I plan to join this body again and hopefully I will have the opportunity to do that. Shakespeare once said that life is like a play, we all have an opportunity to go on stage and play our part and perform and do our very best while we are in the spotlight. Then after our act ends, we must exit the stage and let a new act begin. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that I have had an opportunity to do my job on this stage. I thank the people of Louisiana and thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank each and every last Member of this great and distinguished body. I am not bitter leaving here tonight. This body has made me better.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. I thank the gentleman, and I, too, would like to add to the accolades that have been bestowed upon both Tom Bevill and Glen Browder for their years of service. As a young Member of this Congress, I want to thank each of you for the leadership that you have shown on the floor of the House. You have always conducted yourselves in a very professional manner, and I would hope that people outside of this Chamber have had the opportunity to watch the two of you on the floor, and also in committee. Hopefully, the Congress is better served because you had an opportunity, the two of you had the opportunity, to serve. And as a young Member, I say to you, I appreciate the leadership that you have given to others such as myself. I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Jackson] for yielding to me. I want to apologize to the gentleman. I had intended to be a part of this entire hour. I will not be able to participate the full hour, but I want to thank the gentleman for bringing such an important issue to the forefront, and that is affirmative action. Today, the Small Business Committee held hearings which assessed the value and the continued need for the Small Business Administration's 8(a) program--one of the most successful programs for helping the socially and economically disadvantaged to become self-reliant entrepreneurs. It is no surprise that we find ourselves addressing the issue of affirmative action during this political season--for despite what all of the macroeconomic indicators may describe, many in our Nation find themselves dominated by economic anxiety. We know from past experience that in such a climate politicians use the fear-driven dynamic of scapegoating and blame to divide us from each other. We are at a critical juncture in the way our Nation addresses issues of race and gender. The greatest civil rights gains were achieved in the 1950's and 1960's at a time of economic health, prosperity, and growth. Today, as we face the results of the globalization of the economy, the downsizing of Government and corporate America, fear- driven political divisiveness abounds and threatens the gains we have made. There is probably no issue in current political discourse that speaks more to the Nation's acceptance or denial of the existence of race and gender discrimination than affirmative action. After his review of existing affirmative action programs, President Clinton strongly endorsed the principle of equal opportunity and the means to achieve it--strongly and adequately enforced affirmative action programs. Opponents of affirmative action, who use the issue as a wedge to divide society for the sake of political expediency, uniformly deny that discrimination continues to be a pervasive evil--a fact of life for a majority of Americans. Opponents perpetuate the idea of achieving a colorblind society despite overwhelming evidence of discrimination against people of color. When opponents present their rationale for eliminating affirmative action as a remedy for such discrimination, they often take Dr. King's quote about ``judging people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin'' out of context. What Dr. King actually said was that ``He looked forward to the day'' that people would be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. We know that such a day has yet to arrive. In order to understand why we are discussing affirmative action today, it is important to place the development of affirmative action programs in their proper historical context. To this end, today we would like to first trace the history of affirmative action in America. Second, we will attempt to dispel the myths surrounding this complex arena, and finally, we will specifically address the merits of the 8(a) program and the positive effects it has had and will continue to have on our Nation's small businesses if we sustain this valuable program.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. African Americans were not the only group to have suffered at the hands of white male supremacy. White women and women in general did not gain the right to vote until the 19th amendment afforded them suffrage in 1920. Mexican Americans in the southwest were subjected to widespread discrimination in housing, education, and employment. They were murdered, executed without trial, and lynched. Asians were denounced for taking white men's jobs, and the feat of yellow peril led to anti-Asian immigration laws on the books in 1924 and 1945. Japanese Americans were illegally confined to detention cams during World War II and lost most of their property while wrongfully incarcerated. Exclusive affirmative action remained the law of the land until Brown versus Board of Education in 1954. Brown rejected ``separate but equal'' as inherently unequal and laid the legal basis to end segregation across the country. Momentum for this milestone had been building since the 1940's and had its roots in educational opportunity. Following WWII, the GI bill laid the groundwork for the first affirmative action plan in education. Upon their return from the war, veterans of all races were offered home loans, job training and a free college education. Veterans of all backgrounds benefited from the college waiver and lower interest requirements that were given extra points on entrance exams and provided extra help for education. Veterans prospered, and so did the Nation. It was in the spirit of equal opportunity that President Truman 47 years ago desegregated, not integrated, the Armed services in 1948. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, to that end, in 1965, President Johnson issued Executive order 11246, which required all employers with Federal contracts to file written affirmative action plans with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, giving a Federal Government review of one-third of the private work force. Announcing his rationale in his famous ``to fulfill these rights'' speech at Howard University commencement, he stated: You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race and then say, ``You are free to compete with all others,'' and still justly believe that you have been completely fair. He recognized that merely outlawing discrimination and equalizing the law of competition was not enough. He called for ``equality as a result, not as a philosophy.'' In 1967 the order was extended to women. By the end of his administration, LBJ was mired down by the Vietnam War and unable to carry out his enforcement and promise of his economic justice agenda. Interestingly, it was under President Richard Nixon that the parameters of modern affirmative action programs were set. Several hundred large corporations recommended use of a management by objective concept of goals and timetables, not quotas. The order required that employers make a good-faith effort to hire women and people of color by setting targets and timetables to achieve these goals. Penalties were not invoked if employers made good-faith efforts to make their goals, and the Executive order specifically prohibited the use of quotas. This standard remains the state of the law today. In 1973, affirmative action was extended to people with disabilities, and in 1974, to veterans.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk a moment about dispelling the myths of what affirmative action is and what it is not. Today most discussions of affirmative action start at the end, discounting the entire history of affirmative action by claiming that affirmative action really means quotas and preferential treatment. I thought it was important to start at the beginning and not at the end. After 250 years of slavery, 100 years of apartheid, the 1954 decision ending segregation, nondiscrimination laws--negative action to offset negative behavior, and then positive action to overcome the vestiges of a discriminatory past--we are not yet to the day of Dr. King's rainbow. It is a myth that affirmative action is no longer necessary. The Glass Ceiling Report, a study commissioned by the Department of Labor and created by the 1991 Civil Rights Act by a bipartisan majority in this Congress, and a Republican administration, found that women in the largest corporations hold less than 5 percent of the top management posts, while African-Americans, Latinos, and Asian-Americans, hold less than 1 percent of these positions. White males comprise 43 percent of the work force, yet hold 95 percent of these jobs. The unemployment rates of African-Americans and Latinos are twice that of whites. Women are 53 percent of the population, African- Americans are 13 percent, Latinos, 10 percent. Yet, in the 1994 labor market 22 percent of all doctors were women, 4 percent African- American, and 5 percent Latino. Twenty-four percent of all lawyers were women, 3 percent African-American, and 3 percent Latino. Thirty-one percent of all scientists were women, 4 percent African-American, and 1 percent Latino. The well-documented pay gap between white men, and women, and people of color persists. In 1993, on the average, for every dollar a white man earned, an African-American man made 74 cents, a white woman 70 cents, a Latino man 64 cents, and an African-American woman 63 cents.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, academia is not immune to discrimination. A study of faculty hiring practices found that once a hiring goal was met, departments would stop seeking out people of color, pulling their ads from relevant publications, despite the number of vacancies that subsequently arose. People of color, and in particular women of color, remain clustered on the lower tier of professorship as assistant professors and nontenure track lecturers. In 1989, for example, a study showed that 30 percent of all faculty members were women, 26 percent were white, with women of color making up about 4 percent. Without affirmative action, the precarious position of women of color in higher education is seriously threatened. As in most States across the country in higher education, it is the perception or fear, rather than the reality of loss of which make opportunities. And I think that is something we must deal with, because that is what many people talk about today. Even though more African-American, Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans students have enrolled in higher education, whites still constitute 75 percent of the student body nationwide, earn 88 percent of the Ph.D.'s awarded to American citizens, are 87 percent of college administrators, hold 87 percent of full-time faculty positions. The Chronicle of Higher Education, for example, listed the racial composition of 3,400 schools across America and their student bodies. Thirty-two percent of the schools proved to be more than 90 percent majority. Many have claimed that we do not need affirmative action any longer because we still have title VII in the statutes of the Civil Rights Act, and nondiscrimination laws to punish violators. Title VII is good, but it is not enough. It only kicks in after an instance of discrimination is claimed. Affirmative action means taking positive or proactive and preemptive steps to root out the pervasive discrimination as we know exists. Rather than waiting for an after-the-fact lawsuit, it is there to provide an opportunity for people before they are faced with such problems. It provides a far less costly and disruptive alternative to a protracted litigation. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for this special order. I want to thank the gentleman for basically putting together the historical context of affirmative action, because all too often, the gentleman is absolutely right, people view affirmative action as two parallel lines, where you take somebody who is not qualified and elevate them to the level of somebody who is. As the gentleman has stated over and over again, that is not affirmative action, it is a circle. The first requirement is one must be qualified to do the job. People in America must realize this. People do not get jobs because of affirmative action, they only get a chance to compete because of affirmative action. I want to thank the gentleman for this special order today.

Mr. FIELDS

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, it was with mixed emotions that I announced last December 11, my decision to retire from the House at the conclusion of my current term. As I explained at the time, the decision to retire was made more difficult because of the loyalty and dedication of my staff, both past and present, and because of the genuine friendship I feel for them. Each one of them has served the men and women of Texas' Eighth Congressional District in an extraordinary way. Today, I want to thank a former member of my staff--Harry F. Burroughs III, who worked for me in a variety of capacities for 14 years--for all he's done for me and my constituents over the years. Harry served as my legislative director from 1981 to 1985--the same position he held for our former colleague, Richard Schulze of Pennsylvania from 1977 to 1980. During my critical first two terms in the House, I relied on Harry's experience, advice, and expertise on a host of issues and legislative business. Beginning in 1985, Harry served as my Counsel on the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee--a committee critical to the economic well-being of my district. When local residents asked me to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to devise a flood control plan for the Upper White Oak Bayou and Buffalo Bayou; when funds were needed to widen and deepen the Houston Ship Channel; and when Federal assistance was needed to solve a serious water pollution problem in Lake Houston, I turned to Harry to make sure that these urgent proposals moved forward. With the start of the 103rd Congress, i was privileged to serve as the ranking minority member of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee--and, naturally, I asked Harry to serve as the committee's minority staff director. As my right arm on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, Harry played a crucial role in enacting into law the African Elephant conservation Act of 1988; the Oil Pollution Act of 1990; the Abandoned Barge Act of 1992; the Rhino and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994; and other legislation designed to protect our Nation's marine environment, strengthen our Nation's merchant fleet, and maintain our country's vital commercial waterways. With the unfortunate abolition of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee in the current 104th Congress, our colleague, Don Young of Alaska, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, asked Harry to serve as the staff director of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. When he is not working, Harry enjoys spending time with his lovely wife, Gayle, and their two sons, Rick and Chris. A resident of Warrenton, VA, Harry serves as a committee chairman of Boy Scout troop 175, in which his sons are members. For the past 7 years, Harry has volunteered as a Babe Ruth baseball coach, and he is a former member of the Fauquier County Youth Baseball Commission. Harry Burroughs is one of those hardworking men and women who make all of us in this institution look better than we deserve. He certainly did that for me in the years he served on my personal and my committee staff, and I appreciate this opportunity to publicly thank him for the dedication, loyalty and professionalism he exhibited over the years I have had the opportunity to work with him. Mr. Speaker, I know you join with me in saying ``thank you'' to Harry F. Burroughs III for his years of loyal service to me, to the men and women of Texas' 8th Congressional District, and to this great institution. And I know you join with me in wishing him and his family many years of happiness and good fortune in the years ahead.

Mr. FIELDS

Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, it was with mixed emotions that I announced last December 11 my decision to retire from the House at the conclusion of my current term. As I explained at the time, the decision to retire was made more difficult because of the loyalty and dedication of my staff--and because of the genuine friendship I feel for them. Today, I want to thank one member of my staff--Kathryn O'Brien, my staff assistant in my Conroe district office--for everything she's done for me and my constituents in the almost 4 years that she has worked in my office. When Montgomery County was first added to the 8th Congressional District in 1993, I asked friends, business leaders and political leaders in Montgomery County if they could recommend someone to head up the Conroe office. Kathy came highly recommended as someone whose people skills and dedication to getting the job done would be a major asset to me as I worked to represent the men and women of Montgomery County in Congress. Prior to working in my Conroe office, Kathy had worked as a legal secretary in the Montgomery County Attorney's office, where she handled a wide variety of legal duties. Her professional skills and her enthusiasm were widely recognized, and her skill at dealing with people was very much appreciated. Kathy has used those skills effectively in my Conroe office, where she has assisted constituents throughout Montgomery County who have experienced problems with Federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Through her efforts, lost Social Security checks have been located, immigration problems have been resolved, overdue military medals have been presented to veterans and disaster aid has reached those who needed it. Kathy has represented me at events in Montgomery County I was unable to attend, and has relayed the concerns of constituents in Montgomery County to my district and Washington staff. For 10 years, Kathy served with distinction in the U.S. Air Force as a communications specialist in Germany and Texas. With a top-secret clearance, Kathy helped prepare and transmit a variety of communications from her duty station. In the Air Force, she earned the Vietnam Era Service Award, the Expert Marksman Award, as well as her telecommunications certification. All of us appreciate the dedication to her country that Kathy exhibited as a member of the U.S. Air Force. Kathy has lived overseas for much of her life, and has traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States. Kathy has yet to make a definite decision about what she wants to do in the years ahead. But I am confident that the skills and the personal qualities she has demonstrated as a member of my staff will lead to continued success in the future. Kathy O'Brien is one of those hardworking men and women who make all of us in this institution look better than we deserve. She has done that for me, and I appreciate this opportunity to publicly thank her for the dedication, loyalty, and professionalism she has exhibited as a member of my staff. Mr. Speaker, I know you join with me in saying thank you to Kathy O'Brien for her years of loyal service to me, to the men and women of Texas' 8th Congressional District, and to this great institution. And I know you join with me in wishing Kathy, her son Cesare Antonio, and her daughter, Valerie Anne, all the best in the years ahead.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Or if you use the excuse that I am not from Illinois or from Chicago, I am only here for school. You live there, and you will be living there for the next 2, 3, 4 years.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. They set this up, and then I have to sign it or something?

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, tonight I am joined by one of our colleagues, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Jackson], who will talk along with me on the subject of HBCU's, historically black colleges and universities. Mr. Speaker, on September 23 of this year, historically black colleges and universities all across the country will celebrate Black College Day, and on that day many colleges across the country will recognize some of the great contributions of historically black colleges and universities. But to put this whole discussion of HBCU's in the proper perspective and the proper context, I would like to talk about the history behind historically black colleges and universities. HBCU's are defined as any historically black college or university established prior to 1964 whose principal mission was and is the education of black Americans and is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary of Education. There are 103, Mr. Speaker, historically black colleges and universities; only 3 percent of all colleges and universities in this country. They are located in the Southeast, in the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. They include 41 public 4-year colleges and universities, 8 public 2-year universities, 46 private 4- year schools, and 8 private schools with 2-year curriculum. Most of our colleges are more than 100 years old. Cheyney University of Pennsylvania being the oldest, founded in 1837. Historically black colleges and universities enroll only 16 percent of African-American undergraduate students, however they graduate about 30 percent of all African-American students nationwide. To show the contributions that these schools, colleges, and universities have had and the impact they have had to the African- American community and to societies as a whole, with marginal resources HBCU's have been able to accomplish a lot. Federal moneys for research and development to HBCU's in 1990 was $101 million; only 1.1 percent of the total Federal money dedicated to research and development across the Nation. But yet in spite of the lack of resources, these colleges and universities still were able to produce doctors and lawyers and scientists and engineers. However, with limited resources, 37 percent of all the students attending HCBU's come from families with incomes of less than $25,000. Retention and graduation rates at HCBU's are higher than non-HCBU's in this Nation. Enrollment has grown, Mr. Speaker, at historically black colleges and universities from 70,000 overall in 1954 to 200,000 in 1980, and from 239,000 in 1988 to 257,000 in 1990. So you see the trend of HCBU's, the enrollment rather, on these colleges and universities. HCBU's also noted an increase in transfer students from other institutions. Seventy-three percent of all transfer students in the fall of 1993 went to historically black colleges and universities. This shows the quality of these schools across the country. Many students are transferring to these colleges and universities across the country. On the graduate level, from 1977 to 1990, the amount of doctoral degrees awarded by HCBU's increased by 214 percent. In sciences, 44 percent of the bachelor degrees awarded to blacks were from historically black colleges and universities; 41 percent of the math degrees awarded were awarded from HCBU's; 38 percent of the computer science and life sciences degrees; and 25 percent of the engineering degrees were awarded to blacks by HCBU's. In my State, Xavier University in New Orleans ranked second in placing black students in medical school. In fact, over the last 10 years, 93 percent of all of Xavier graduates who entered medical school received their medical degrees. Remembering that HCBU's enroll only 17 percent of all black college students nationwide, this statistic is very encouraging. Moreover, HCBU's maintain low tuition. The average tuition with fees in 1992 and 1993 was $5,008, less than half of the average cost of private colleges and universities nationally. Historically black colleges and universities educate almost 40 percent of the country's black college graduates, 75 percent of all black Ph.D's, 46 percent of all black business executives, 50 percent of all black engineers, 80 percent of all black Federal judges, 50 percent of all black attorneys, 75 percent of all black military officers, and 85 percent of all black doctors. So you see the impact of HCBU's as relates to the medical community and the black community as well as engineers, doctors, lawyers, and military officers alike. For example, many individuals who serve in government today, in public office, graduated from HCBU's. In the Congressional Black Caucus, for example, 16 of the Congressional Black Caucus members in this Congress serving today graduated from historically black colleges and universities. The gentlewoman from Florida Corrine Brown, graduated from Florida A&M, the gentlewoman from North Carolina, Eva Clayton, North Carolina A&T; the gentleman from South Carolina, James Clyburn, graduated from South Carolina State; the gentleman from Maryland, Elijah Cummings, Howard University; the gentleman from Tennessee, Harold Ford, Howard University; the gentleman from Florida, Congressman Alcee Hastings, graduated from Florida A&M and Howard University; the gentleman from Alabama, Congressman Earl Hilliard, graduated from Morehouse College as well as Howard University; the honorable distinguished colleague who is with me tonight, the gentleman from Illinois, Jesse Jackson, Jr., graduated from North Carolina A&T; the gentleman from Louisiana, Congressman William Jefferson, graduated from Southern University; the gentleman from Georgia, Congressman John Lewis, Fisk University; the gentlewoman from Florida, Congresswoman Carrie Meek, graduated from Florida A&M University; the gentleman from Mississippi, Congressman Bennie Thompson, Tougaloo College and Jackson State University; the gentleman from New York, Congressman Ed Towns, graduated from North Carolina A&T; the gentleman from Maryland, Congressman Albert Wynn, Howard University; and, of course, I graduated from an HCBU as well. I graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge, which so happens to be the largest historically black college in the entire country, with a system of over 14,000 students with colleges located in Baton Rouge, Shreveport and New Orleans. It is the largest historically black college in the country. And in a real sense, for all of the public HCBU's, Southern University to some degree set the tone in terms of what will happen to other colleges and universities as relates to Federal funding and as relates to State funding as well. I am pleased tonight to be joined by a very distinguished colleague of this House, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., who graduated from North Carolina A&T, who will enter into a colloquy with me to further talk about the need to preserve historically black colleges and universities and I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I include the following material for the Record: Appendix--Some Prominent HBUC Alumni Leaders of the Past Nobel Laureate Martin Luther King, Jr. (Morehouse), Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (Lincoln and Howard), educators W.E.B. DuBois (Fisk), Mary McLeod Bethune (Scotia Seminary [Barber-Scotia]), Lucy C. Laney ([Clark] Atlanta), scientist-educator Booker T. Washington (Hampton), Urban League leader Whitney Young (Kentucky State), NAACP leader Walter F. White ([Clark] Atlanta), writer Ralph Ellison (Tuskegee), poet-lyricist James Weldson Johnson ([Clark] Atlanta), and activists Medgar Evers (Alcorn State) and Rosa Parks (Alabama State). And the Present Writers: Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison (Howard), Alice Walker (Spelman), Nikki Giovanni (Fisk), the late Alex Haley (Alcorn State and Elizabeth City State), and Imamu Amin Baraka (Leroi Jones) (Howard). Opera singers: Jessye Morman (Howard and Leonryne Price (Central State). Historians: John W. Blassingame (Fort Valley State and Howard) and John Hope Franklin (Fisk). Political leaders: Jesse Jackson (North Carolina A&T), former ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young, Jr. (Dillard and Howard), former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder (Howard), former New York Mayor David Dinkins (Howard), former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson (Morehouse), former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton (LeMonye-Owen), Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary (Fisk), former Surgeon-General Joceyln Elders (Philander Smith), former Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan (Morehouse), and many others such as * * * and NAACP leader Benjamin Hooks (Howard). Enterainers: film director Spike Lee (Morehouse); actor- television host Oprah Winfrey (Tennessee State); actors Ossie Davis (Howard), Tim Reid (Norfolk State), Phylicia Rashad (Howard), director-actor Kenny Leon (Clark [Atlanta]), Esther Rolle (Spelman); musicians Roberta Flack (Howard), Lionel Ritchie (Tuskegee), Erskine Hawkins (Alabama State), Billy Eckstine (Howard), Billy Taylor (Virginia State), and Branford Marsalis (Southern). Also journalist Carl Rowan (Tennessee State); astronaut Ronald E. McNair (North Carolina A&T); architect Tarlee Brown (Tuskegee); founder of a literary journal, Charles H. Rowell (Alabama A&M); kidney transplant specialist Dr. Samuel Lee Kounta (University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff); president and chief executive officer of Atlanta Life Insurance, Jesse Hill, Jr. (Lincoln); educator Marva Collins (Clark [Atlanta]); the first Black woman member of the American College of Physicians, Dr. Margaret E. Grisby (Prairie View A&M); jurists Joseph W. Hatchett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Florida A&M) and Henry E. Frye of the North Carolina Supreme Court (North Carolina A&T), and coaches John Chaney (Bethune-Cookman), Clarence Gaines (Morgan State), Art Shell (University of Maryland Eastern Shore), and Eddie Robinson (Leland). Military leaders: the late Daniel James (Tuskegee), the first Black four-star general; Russell C. Davis (Tuskegee), first Black Air National Guard general; Dr. Marion Mann (Tuskegee), medical corps general; Air Force Generals Lucius Theus, Tirus Hall, James F. Hamlet, Rufus L. Billups, and Charles B. Jiggets (all of Tuskegee); Army generals Eugene R. Cromarie (Florida A&M), Julitis W. Becton, Jr. (Prairie View A&M), Edward Honor (Southern), Guthrie L. Turner (Shaw), Henry Doctor, Jr., James R. Klugh, and George Price (all of South Carolina State); and Army nurses corps general Clara Adams-Ender (North Carolina A&M).\1\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ This list, by no means comprehensive, was compiled from information obtained by AAUP Committee L from the institutions listed, and from Christa Brelin, ed., Who's Who Among Black Americans, 1992-93 (7th ed.). Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1993, and from Leadership and Learning, An Interpretive History of Historically Black Land-Grant Colleges and Universities, 99-111. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Historically Black Colleges and Universities alabama Alabama A&M University Alabama State University Bishop State Community College Concordia College Fredd State Technical College Lawson State Community College Miles College Oakwood College Selma University J.F. Drake Technical College Stillman College Talladega College Trenholm State Technical College Tuskegee University arkansas Arkansas Baptist College Philander Smith College Shorter College University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff delaware Delaware State University district of columbia Howard University University of the District of Columbia florida Bethune-Cookman College Edward Waters College Florida A&M University Florida Memorial College georgia Albany State College Clark Atlanta University Fort Valley State College Interdenominational Theological Center Morehouse College Morehouse School of Medicine Morris Brown College Paine College Savannah State College Spelman College kentucky Kentucky State University louisiana Dillard University Grambling State University Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge Southern University at New Orleans Southern University at Shreveport/Bossier City Xavier University maryland Bowie State University Coppin State College Morgan State University University of Maryland Eastern Shore michigan Lewis College of Business mississippi Alcorn State University Coahoma Community College Jackson State University Mary Holmes College Mississippi Valley State University Rust College Tougaloo College missouri Harris-Stowe State College Lincoln University north carolina Barber-Scotia College Bennett College Elizabeth City State University Fayetteville State University Johnson C. Smith University Livingstone College North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Central University Saint Augustine's College Shaw University Winston-Salem State University ohio Central State University Wilberforce University oklahoma Langston University pennsylvania Cheyney State University of PA Lincoln University south carolina Allen University Benedict College Claflin College Clinton Junior College Denmark Technical College Morris College South Carolina State University Voorhees College Tennessee Fisk University Knoxville College Lane College Lemoyne-Owen College Meharry Medical College Tennessee State University Texas Huston-Tillotson College Jarvis Christian College Paul Quinn College Prairie View A&M University Saint Phillip's College Southwestern Christian College Texas College Texas Southern University Wiley College Virginia Hampton University Norfolk State University Saint Paul's College Virginia State University Virginia Union University West Virginia Bluefield State College West Virginia State University U.S. Virgin Islands University of the Virgin Islands Federal Agencies Supporting HBCUs Under Executive Order 12876 U.S. Departments of: Agriculture Commerce Defense Education Energy Health and Human Services Housing and Urban Development The Interior Justice Labor State Transportation Treasury Veterans Affairs Agency for International Development Appalachian Regional Commission Central Intelligence Agency Environmental Protection Agency Equal Employment Opportunity Commission National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Credit Union Administration National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Humanities National Science Foundation Nuclear Regulatory Commission Small Business Administration United States Information Agency

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. I thank the gentleman for his comments. The gentleman is right, not only is one inspired at an HBCU or can be inspired at an HBCU, but taking a moment of personal privilege, it also builds leadership. I often wonder today, had I not had the opportunity to attend Southern University and had the opportunity to be freshman class president and president of an entire student body and had to manage a budget in excess of $150,000 as a young college student, or had the opportunity to travel abroad, representing a student body of 10,000 students and then having the opportunity to compete to serve on the board of regents as the student representative, but for that foundation at Southern, I do not know if I would have had the opportunity to serve in the State senate at a very young age and serve now in Congress at a very young age. Southern, that HBCU was a place to prepare me to be a young leader or to be a person who was able to be elected to public office, and the same thing it did to you and for you and for other Members of the CBC. That was really my first elected office. We had to run a campaign and you had to be responsive to constituents, the students, and that was a learning place for me. That is why I would like to see CBC Members, you and I, as we have worked with the CBC, Congressional Black Caucus, to make this HBCU day, the 23d of this month, make it a significant day not just having a good program on a black college in this country but also show leadership among students where students register to vote in the hundreds of thousands across this country on September 23. I am glad that this gentleman decided to initiate this program with the Congressional Black Caucus. I am glad that members of the Congressional Black Caucus, through your leadership and others, will be on college campuses across this country on black college day and certainly I urge SGA presidents, for example, to participate and get students registered to vote, because you have a civic responsibility on a college campus and young people who are sitting in a classroom on a historically black college need to know that there is a responsibility that goes along with that.

Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. It is so simple now because of what this Congress did. It is so simple now to register to vote. There are organizations like Rock the Vote, for example, who travel all across the country and have a 1-800 number where a student in a dormitory room can get on the phone and dial 1-800-register and be a registered voter. The motor-voter law did so much to encourage participation, particularly young participation in the process where young people could register to vote. So certainly a part of our effort with the CBC members traveling all across the country on September 23, actually participating in black college day, we will urge students to register to vote. I will give you a scenario, something that happened to me when I was student body president at Southern. Southern's budget, there is so much power in the vote and that student vote, that vote of 10,000 students sitting idly on a college campus can impact not only local policy but national policy as well. College students, HBCU or not, all across America, young college students can have a serious impact on elections and the outcomes of elections, if they simply exercise that constitutional right to vote. When I was president of the student body at Southern University, there was a bill in the legislature to cut funding at Southern University by almost 20 percent. It was unbelievable and the student body, we had a meeting with the student senate and the student senate met and we all said, what we will do is we will march to the State capitol and in record numbers. And we will protest on the steps of the capitol and we will demand our legislators to come out of the session and speak to us and address this issue of higher education, not only at Southern but colleges all across Louisiana were being cut because the budget was tight and lawmakers saw fit to fund other areas and cut higher education across the board. So we marched, about 5,000 students, and other college campuses met us on the steps of the capitol. We had 7,000 students on the steps of the State capitol in Louisiana protesting and demanding that legislators come out and address our concerns and also reconsider this across-the-board cut on higher education. We could not get a legislator to come out and address us. And when we regrouped at the end of the day, college students and college presidents from all over the State, and we talked, why would not legislators address us, because politicians we thought look at three things, reelection, reelection and reelection. And then it dawned on us, how many of us are registered to vote? Of the 7,000 students we marched from all across the State to the capitol, we probably had 200 of them registered to vote. So we were talking loud and saying nothing, because we failed to use the power of the vote. So what we decided to do was to think smart. We decided to have massive voter registration drives on all college campuses across the State of Louisiana and eventually presidents and Greek organizations, if they had a party, they had the party for a purpose, you had to be registered to vote to enter. We registered thousands upon thousands of students. Then it was not that easy because you had to actually take students, according to Louisiana law, back then to the registrar of voters office to actually register the student to vote. So we had to use resources like buses and use moneys to rent buses to take students to register to vote. We registered 5,000-some odd students just on Southern's campus alone. And then the Governor and the legislators started calling the SGA presidents and wanting to know what they wanted in the appropriations bill. So it just goes to show you the power in the student vote. Had we not exercised that power to vote we still would be marching, talking about saying nothing. So you know I am just so excited that you are part of this HBCU Day where we encourage young college students on Black College Day, on the 23d, not just to have a program and talk about the significance of black colleges and universities in this country, but have the gall to be willing to protect them and stand by them by registering to vote and using that significant power by voting in all the elections. I mean that is just something that students all across this Nation should and must do.