John Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. This agreement contains the same flawed ``enforce your own labor laws'' provision that we have seen in recent trade agreements. These labor standards simply do not work when we are dealing with countries that lack strong labor laws and practices. Mr. Speaker, before we move forward on this issue, I feel a moral obligation to pose the following questions to my colleagues and to the American people: When negotiating trade agreements, why does this Administration always seem to lose its tenacity and its resolve when it comes to protecting the labor rights of some of the world's most vulnerable workers? What message does America send to the international community, when we will fight to protect pharmaceuticals patents and other intellectual property within our trade agreements, but we will not do the same for human beings? Mr. Speaker, before the Members of the People's House cast their votes on this agreement today, I ask that they take a long, hard look at our priorities and our values when it comes to trade policy. I am convinced that this Administration can do a much better job of negotiating trade agreements that will advance the interests of U.S. business and agriculture, while protecting the rights of workers. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this flawed trade agreement.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, over the years, this Nation has worked hard to take discrimination out of the Constitution, and today, the House is voting to put it back in. I can recall just a few short years ago that there were laws inscribed in some State constitutions saying that blacks and whites could not marry. We changed that. Today, we look back on those days, and we laugh. There will come a time when generations yet unborn will look back on this Congress, look back on this debate, and laugh at us. This is not a good day in America. This is a sad day in the House of the people. This is unbelievable. It is unreal. I thought as a Nation and as a people we had moved so far down the road toward one family, one House, one America. To pass this legislation would be a step backward. The institution of marriage is not begging this Congress for protection. No one is running through the halls of Congress. No one is running around this building saying protect us. Whose marriage is threatened? Whose marriage is in danger if two people, in the privacy of their own hearts, decide they want to be committed to each other? Whose marriage is threatened? Whose marriage is in danger if we decide to recognize the dignity, the worth and humanity of all human beings? The Constitution is a sacred document. It defines who we are as a nation and as a people. Over the years, we have tried to make it more and more inclusive. We cannot turn back. We do not want to go back. We want to go forward. Today it is gay marriage; tomorrow it will be something else. Forget about the politics; vote your conscience. Vote with your heart, vote with your soul, vote with your gut. Do what is right and defeat this amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, before the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, all across the American South very few African Americans were registered to vote. Men and women of color stood in unmovable lines. In Lowndes County, Alabama, between Selma and Montgomery, more than 80 percent of that county was African American, but not a single African American was registered to vote. Many people were harassed, jailed, beaten, and some were even shot and killed. I cannot forget that in 1964, three young men that I knew, James Cheney, Mickey Schwerner, and Andy Goodman, two were white, one was black, they went out to investigate the burning of a church, a church that was to be used to prepare people to pass the so-called literacy test. These three young men were arrested, jailed, they were taken from the jail by the sheriff and his deputy, beaten, shot, and killed. They were killed for trying to help people become participants in the democratic process. During that dark period in our recent past, black men and women who were teachers in public schools, colleges and university professors were told that they could not read well enough and they failed their so-called literacy test. On one occasion a would-be voter was asked to name the number of bubbles in a bar of soap. On another occasion, a person was asked to count the number of jelly beans in a jar. Yes, we have made some progress. We have come a distance. We are no longer met with bullwhips, fire hoses, and violence when we attempt to register and vote. But the sad fact is, the sad truth is discrimination still exists, and that is why we still need the Voting Rights Act. And we must not go back to the dark path. We cannot separate the debate today from our history and the past we have traveled. When we marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, it was dangerous. It was a matter of life and death. I was beaten, I had a concussion at the bridge. I almost died. I gave blood, but some of my colleagues gave their very lives. We must pass this act without any amendment. It is the right thing to do, not just for us, but for generations yet unborn. When historians pick up their pens and write about this period, let it be said that those of us in the Congress in 2006, we did the right thing, and our forefathers and our foremothers would be very proud of us. Let us pass a clean bill without any amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, do we want to be responsible for stabbing the Voting Rights Act in the heart? We must defeat with all that we have, with all of our power, with all of our votes the Westmoreland amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, let me say to my friend and to my colleague from the State of Georgia, it is true that years ago I said that we are in the process of laying down the burden of race. But it is not down yet and we are not asleep yet. The Voting Rights Act was good and necessary in 1965 and it is still good and necessary today. So don't misquote me. Don't take my words out of context.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the right to vote is precious, almost sacred. During the 1960s, working to get a Voting Rights Act, many of us were arrested, jailed and beaten. I was arrested and jailed more than 40 times during the sixties. We stood in unmovable lines on the courthouse steps in Selma, Alabama. We were beaten with nightsticks, bull whips and trampled by horses trying to register to vote or to get others to register to vote. But many of my friends, many of my colleagues died. I will never forget Andy Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner, who were beaten, shot and killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Jimmie Lee Jackson was killed in Alabama. Viola Liuzzo was killed on Highway 80 between Selma and Montgomery. Because of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, we don't have to risk our lives anymore. We don't have to pass a so-called literacy test. On one occasion a man in Alabama was asked to count the number of bubbles in a bar of soap. On another occasion a man was asked to count the number of jelly beans in a jar. On one occasion there was a man in Tuskegee, Alabama who had a Ph.D. degree and he was told that he could not read or write well enough. He failed the so-called literacy test. The Voting Rights Act was good in 1965. It is still good today.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Voting Rights Act was good for America in 1965 and it is good and necessary in 2006. We must strengthen our resolve and complete the job that we began almost a year ago in a bipartisan way and pass the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act tomorrow without amendment. The struggle for voting rights was not so long ago. It was not 75 or 100 years ago. It was 41 years ago that this Voting Rights Act was passed. This is not ancient history. Yet so many Members of the House are too young to remember our very dark history of segregation and voting discrimination. The history of the right to vote in America is a history of conflict, of violence, of struggle for the right to vote. Many people died trying to gain that right. I was beaten and jailed because I stood up for it. The experience of minorities today tell us that the struggle is not over, and that the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act are still necessary. We do not want to go back to our dark past, and we must not go back. Forty-one years ago it was almost impossible for people of color to register to vote in many parts of the American South, in Georgia, in Alabama, and in Mississippi. Forty-one years ago, the State of Mississippi had a black voting-age population of more than 450,000, and only about 16,000 blacks were registered to vote. Just 41 years ago, people of color had to pay a poll tax, pass a so- called literacy test in some States in the South. There were black men and women who were professors in colleges and universities, black lawyers and black doctors who were told they could not read or write well enough to register to vote. They were asked to interpret certain sections of the Constitution in southern States. Some were asked to count the number of bubbles in a bar of soap, others were asked to count the number of jelly beans in a jar. People stood in unmovable lines for the opportunity to register to vote. In some States voters could register only on 1 or 2 days a month; but those lines never moved, and those would-be voters were never registered. People were beaten, arrested, jailed, people even shot and killed for attempting to register to vote. It was a matter of life and death. On March 7, 1965, about 600 of us black men and women and a few young children attempted to peacefully march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery to the State capitol to dramatize to the Nation and to the world that people of color wanted to register to vote. The world watched as we were met with nightsticks, bullwhips, we were trampled by horses, and tear-gassed. Eight days after what became known as Bloody Sunday, President Johnson came to this podium and spoke to a joint session of Congress and began by saying, ``I speak tonight for the dignity of man and for the destiny of democracy.'' And during that speech, President Johnson condemned the violence in Selma and called on the Congress to enact a Voting Rights Act. He closed his speech by quoting the rights of the civil rights movement saying, ``And we shall overcome.'' I was sitting next to Martin Luther King, Jr., in the home of a local family in Selma, Alabama, as we listened to Lyndon Johnson say, ``And we shall overcome.'' Tears came down his face. And we all cried. Dr. King said, ``John, the Voting Rights Act will be passed, and we will make it from Selma to Montgomery.'' Congress did pass the Voting Rights Act. On August 6, 1965 it was signed into law. There was an elderly black man who lived in Selma, Alabama, who after Johnson had signed the Voting Rights Act became registered to vote for the first time. He was 91 years old. He said, ``I am registered now. I can die and go home to my Lord.'' Today, people no longer meet attack dogs and bullwhips and fire hoses as they demonstrate or attempt to register to vote. Today, the tools of discrimination are not poll takes and literacy tests. But make no mistake, discrimination still exists. Look at Florida in 2000. Look at Ohio. The tools of discrimination are much more difficult, but just as dangerous. Today, the discrimination comes in the form of redistricting and annexation plans, at-large elections, polling place changes. In my own State of Georgia, the legislation went back to a period in our dark history by passing a voter ID law that would make it more difficult for the elderly, the poor and minorities to vote. Both a State and a Federal court jurist have called the law unconstitutional and stopped it from taking effect. We can do better. We must do better, and pass the Voting Rights Act without amendment tomorrow.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, our guest chaplain for the morning is the Reverend Doug Tanner. Doug Tanner is a Methodist minister, native of the great State of North Carolina, a man of great faith, a man of dedication, a man of commitment. Doug Tanner was inspired by God Almighty to do what I call get in the way. Somehow and some way he was touched, not just by the spirit of history, but by the spirit of the Almighty to find a way to bring Members together, both Democrats and Republicans, both Members of the House and Members of the Senate. Doug was inspired to become the founding father of Faith and Politics. Through this organization, through this effort, he has been a blessing to many of us. So, Reverend Doug Tanner, we want to thank you for being here today, but we want to thank you for helping all of us to become better people of faith. Many of our colleagues may not know that many of us get together with you from time to time to put our faith in action. You have led many of us to go back to Alabama and visit the historic sites of the civil rights movement; to go to Tennessee and do likewise; to go to Farmville, Virginia; to go to South Africa. Again, we want to thank you for helping us to be reconciled to others. When historians pick up their pen and write about this period during this part of our congressional lives, they will have to say that the Reverend Doug Tanner made a lasting contribution to the cause of justice, to the cause of freedom, and made each one of us better human beings and better legislators and better individuals of faith. I thank the Reverend.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man and a moment in history. The U.S. Congress has been blessed by the vision and the faith of the Reverend Douglas Tanner, and we have been deeply moved by his invocation today. Mr. Speaker, it takes wisdom to lead the leaders of men. It takes faith to hear the voice of the spirit through the rush and tumble of the U.S. Congress. But the Bible says that ``many are called, but few are chosen.'' God knew that the humility and the faith of Rev. Doug Tanner would serve as a powerful witness among us. As the founder and leader of the Faith and Politics Institute, he has led us on a moral mission. He has led us on a journey of the soul through meditation and prayer. He has led us through the pilgrimages through Alabama, Tennessee, and Virginia. He has helped to remind us that our faith is the key to all that we can accomplish here. Mr. Speaker, when historians pick up their pens and write the story of this Congress in the latter part of the 20th century and the first part of the 21st century, they will have to say that one man, who was not chosen by men, but was chosen by God, led Democrats and Republicans, Members of the House and the Senate to understand that the way of peace, the way of love, the way of non-violence is the more excellent way. Doug, we are deeply indebted to you for all that you have done to help build Beloved Community. We are deeply grateful for your vision, for your courage and your faith.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, the right to vote is precious, almost sacred, and one of the most important blessings of our democracy. The Stearns amendment is an attack on the voting rights of millions of American citizens. It is a modern day literacy test. This is not about illegal immigration. These are American citizens we are talking about. If the Stearns amendment becomes law, what message are we sending to the Apache, to the Navajo Nation, to the Native Alaskan, to Vietnamese Americans, to Russian Jews, who are all citizens? These are our neighbors. They are taxpayers. They are Americans. We should be opening up the process to each and every American. Let them come in and participate. Instead, this amendment will return us to the dark past. I don't think we want to go back as a Nation and as people. Vote ``no'' on Stearns.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, Mr. Rangel, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today because I am sick and tired of the greed that is prevailing in this House. The Republican majority today will help millionaires with their estate tax cut while forgetting hardworking Americans, millions of them, by refusing to increase the minimum wage. This is unbelievable. It is immoral and it is wrong. The majority must wake up and see the struggles of minimum-wage workers. They work hard every day to feed their families. People cannot afford health care. People are struggling to fill their cars with gasoline. Many people live in poverty. They live paycheck to paycheck, and they have not seen an increase in the minimum wage in 9 years. This Congress should be ashamed. Be ashamed. When will we stop helping the superrich? They do not need our help. They are not begging for our help. They are not calling us, they are not sending letters or e-mails, they are not petitioning us to help. When will we start to take care of the least among us? What would the great teacher say, what would the great teacher say when he comes into the Chamber and sweeps the money out of the Chamber? Franklin Delano Roosevelt says that ``the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.'' We are failing this test and we are failing the American people. This is not progress. This is not helping the least among us. This is greed and it is disgraceful. I urge my colleagues to defeat this bill.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague, Mr. Murtha, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, it is time for us to close this very grim and dark chapter in American history, a chapter that is leaving a dark stain on the moral fabric of our Nation and compromising our credibility among the communities nations. As Gandhi once said: ``Liberty and democracy become unholy when their hands are dyed with innocent red blood.'' Mr. Speaker, we have buried 2,500 of our Nation's mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, husbands, wives, brothers and sisters. The lives of 18,000 men and women have been changed forever. Some have lost their arms, their legs, and their sight in this unnecessary conflict. Mr. Speaker, war is messy. War is bloody. It tends not only to hide the truth, but to sacrifice the truth. While we may have won some military victories, those do not erase the mistake of a preemptive war. They will not silence the questions that are troubling the minds of the American people. They know today that Iraq did not pose an immediate threat. There were no weapons of mass destruction, and they see that we are deeply involved in a misguided conflict. Mr. Speaker, I deeply believe that the American people want us to bring our children home. We are not safer today than we were before we went to war. This war is not the answer, so we must find a way out of no way to bring our young men and our young women home. Bring them home.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, there is a time when a politician must put politics aside. There is a time when we must stand up and meet our moral obligation as servants of the people. Millions of Americans are struggling today. They work hard. They are just trying to make ends meet. They are trying to make a way out of no way, and they are looking to Congress for a little bit of light, a little bit of hope after a hard day's work. They do not want a handout; they just want a fair shake. But with this tax bill, we have abandoned our responsibility to the people who elected us. We have shut the door in their faces. We have told them there is no room in the inn. In this bill, you cut off the orphaned, the old, the poor, the weak, and the sick. In this bill, you cut Medicaid, Medicare, veterans benefits and housing programs all in the name of financial discipline. Then how can we in good conscience pass a tax bill that helps the rich get richer and drives millions of our citizens into financial despair? We are asking the poor and the middle class to sacrifice. Shouldn't the rich sacrifice, too? Where is the mercy, where is the compassion, where is the fairness? Our tax policy should be fair. I ask you, Mr. Speaker, is it right to have a tax bill that saves hardworking American families only $10 a year while millionaires save thousands and thousands? With $10 you cannot even fill a tank full of gas. You can't pay the light bill. You can't put food on the table or clothes on your children's backs. Mr. Speaker, this bill is not right. It is not fair. It is not just. It demonstrates shameful disregard for the people of this Nation. As a Nation and as a people and as a Congress, we must do better and we can do better. I ask my colleagues to vote against this tax bill.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to inform fellow Members about a recent academic competition featuring some of the nation's sharpest young minds. The 17th annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC) in Orlando featured students from the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This year, the team from Morehouse College, which is located in my Congressional District, won the competition. I want to offer my sincere congratulations to Dr. Anderson Williams, Coach of the Morehouse team, along with Jordan A. Harris who was captain of the winning team. In addition to the sense of personal satisfaction the Morehouse team gained from winning, they also received a $50,000 grant for their school. The runner-up, North Carolina Central University, took home a $25,000 grant. The remaining 62 teams earned grants ranging from $3,000 to $15,000. Through the program, more than $300,000 in institutional grants are awarded annually to participating schools. For 17 years, HCASC has celebrated the academic and cultural benefits offered by the HBCUs while honoring African American cultural icons. Since Honda founded this program in 1989, more than 50,000 HBCU students have participated, and Honda annually awards educational grants to participating HBCUs. More than 320 college students from 64 HBCUs across the country competed in the 4-day round-robin format tournament. The top two teams from each of eight divisions advance to the ``Sweet 16,'' in a single- elimination playoff. The final two teams then compete for the National Champion title in a best 2- out of 3-final series. Nearly 100 HBCU presidents, educators, alumni and community volunteers attended the event, themed ``Your Challenging Spirit'' to support the participating students. The theme speaks to the spirit the students have exhibited to get to this point and may have to call upon throughout their lives. Influential PBS Talk Show Host and radio personality, Tavis Smiley, kicked off the event with a keynote speech at the welcome dinner. In addition to winning institutional grants, the one-of-a-kind competition gives HCASC students the chance to exercise teamwork and establish long-term relationships through unique networking forums. The Morehouse team included: captain Jordan A. Harris (Senior, Economics), and players Mark A. Bernard (Senior, Chemistry), Anthony Christopher Smith (Senior, Political Science & Pre-Law), John Ramsey Clarke (Senior, Economics) and Alvin McNair (Freshman, Undeclared). They were coached by Dr. Anderson Cornelius Williams (Professor; Elberton, Ga.). The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is the only competition of its kind and was established by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., in 1989. Since the inception of the program, more than 50,000 HBCU students have participated, and Honda has awarded more than $5 million in grants to HBCUs to improve campus life through facility improvements and increasing academic resources. Below is a list of the 16 playoff teams which qualified for the ``Sweet 16'' playoff round in Orlando. Congratulations to all the participating teams and thanks to Honda for sponsoring such a wonderful event. 2006 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge Sweet 16 Playoff Teams 1. Alabama State University. 2. Benedict College. 3. Central State University. 4. Clark Atlanta University. 5. Elizabeth City State University. 6. Florida A&M University. 7. Harris-Stowe State University. 8. Howard University. 9. Mississippi Valley State University. 10. Morehouse College. 11. Morgan State University. 12. Norfolk State University. 13. North Carolina Central University. 14. Spelman College. 15. Tennessee State University. 16. University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, he who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Words from Proverbs. Mr. Chairman, the Republican budget is unfair to the neediest and most vulnerable Americans. In addition to being unfair, the Republican budget is also immoral. Through its cuts to CDC, NIH and veterans health care programs, this budget ignores the health care crisis that our Nation faces today. Mr. Chairman, the Republican budget is not only unfair and immoral, it is also unreasonable. Pell grants and public school programs get no new funding. Assisting our neediest and most vulnerable Americans is not a choice, it is a moral obligation. By reducing funding for public housing and food stamps, the Republican budgets falls short of this moral obligation. The Republican budget is unfair, immoral and unreasonable. Both the Democratic and the CBC alternative budgets provide a better way, a more excellent way to help all of our people. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the Democratic and CBC alternatives, to vote ``no'' on the Republican budget resolution.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, 38 years ago Martin Luther King, Jr., was taken by from us by an assassin's bullets. He had gone to Memphis, Tennessee to call for economic justice for working people in America and for the sanitation workers there. Mr. Speaker, it is difficult for me to find the right words to express my feelings about Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a man, my friend. He was my inspiration, my leader, my colleague, and my brother. Martin Luther King, Jr., more than any other American of the 20th century had the power to bring people together to do good, black and white, rich and poor, young and old, Protestant, Catholic and Jews. He could inspire with his words, with his vision, and his leadership. He could fill ordinary people with the extraordinary vision that they had the power to build a new, more fair, more just America. His message was love. His weapon was truth. His method was creative nonviolence. And his goal, Mr. Speaker, was the Beloved Community, a community of justice, a Nation at peace with itself. In a sense he spoke a strange language, a philosophy of passive resistance to evil and the use of nonviolence in the struggle for good. He was far too advanced in his concepts of love and peace for the violent times in which he lived, perhaps too advanced for us to understand even today. But, Mr. Speaker, the assassins of Martin Luther King, Jr., did not kill the dream of peace. They did not kill the dream of an open society. They did not kill the dream of a Beloved Community. The movement that Martin Luther King, Jr., led was too right. It was too necessary to be buried with his body. We know that his voice was stilled 38 years ago today, but his message of love, of peace, and of the good society continue to resonate all around the world. Mr. Speaker, we here in the people's House, we know that Dr. King's dream has not been fulfilled. But that is why it must be our task to renew our commitment to the values of his vision, the values of peace, love and justice. If Dr. King were here today he would say we must find a way to support courageous legislation, legislation that will redirect the priorities and the tremendous resources of this Nation, not to oppress but to uplift, not to divide but to bring together, not to enslave but to set free. He would say we must use the resources of this great Nation, our talents, our minds, and our votes to work for the good of all humankind. Through the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., through his noble efforts, he injected new meaning and new dignity into the very veins of our society. We are a better people. We are a better Nation because he lived.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2006. This legislation misses a critical opportunity to provide students from moderate and low income families, access to the American dream. This legislation further depletes our already under-funded Federal student aid programs, placing post-secondary education even further out of reach for the students who need it the most. To be sure, I share the concerns of my colleagues and my constituents, about the rising costs of college and the difficulties of obtaining student aid. However, I am convinced that H.R. 609 fails to adequately address these issues. Mr. Chairman, my concerns with H.R. 609 extend beyond the fact that it squanders an opportunity to enhance America's economic competitiveness, by providing a future generation of highly skilled workers. I have serious concerns about additional provisions contained within the bill. I am terribly concerned about the rising costs of college tuitions across the Nation, and I commend the House Education & Workforce Committee for attempting to address this issue. In fact, I believe that some of the provisions addressing the rising costs of college could aid in addressing this issue. However, I believe that we must tread carefully when setting price controls on college tuitions. It is imperative that we do not infringe upon the independence of our Nation's private and religious institutions. Mr. Chairman, I also am concerned with provisions contained in H.R. 609 that would allow states to function as an accrediting body. If we are going to legislate a deviation from the existing quasi-independent programmatic and institutional accrediting bodies, we must remain cognizant of the potential for major conflicts of interest and the emergence of divisions among public and independent institutions. Politics, demographics, higher education strategies, and economic incentives are among the factors that could contribute to the unintended result of compromising the independence of our nation's private colleges and universities. Mr. Chairman, last month the Republican majority of the House of Representatives voted to raid Federal student aid programs of $12 billion, in the budget reconciliation bill. As you may recall, all of my Democratic colleagues voted against that misguided legislation. Once again I encourage my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to stand up for the children of America's hard working families and support increased access to higher education for all students. I urge my colleagues to vote against final passage of H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2006.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 4011.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution, H.R. 1259, to authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress, collectively, to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces. The Tuskegee Airmen, formed from 1,000 pilots, bombardiers and navigators, overcame segregation and racial discrimination to become national heroes and advanced our society by desegregating our armed forces. While in combat, the Tuskegee Airmen completed 15,000 missions and never lost an Allied bomber under their escort. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first people of color in U.S. military history to see air combat. This group of brave soldiers became one of the most respected Army Air Corp Fighter Groups of World War II. In joining the fight to save Europe and the world from a cruel and heinous regime, the Tuskegee Airmen fought for freedom that they could not enjoy in their own country. In taking to the air during the launch of military aviation, these brave men were also fighting a war against bigotry and racism at home. Thus, they deserve the kind of recognition that the Gold Medal will give them. The Tuskegee Airmen are now in their 80's, so we must pass this bill immediately to honor these WWII heroes so these medals will not be a posthumous honor.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 415.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in vehement opposition to the proposed elimination of National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) funding, contained in the President's Budget Request, for the second year in a row. I am concerned that some of my colleagues may not understand the severity of the situation that NYSP is facing. If Congress does not provide full FY07 funding for NYSP, the program will be forced to close its doors. This will result in 75,000 of our nation's most vulnerable youth, being left behind next summer. NYSP uses sports instruction and competition, as a vehicle to enhance self-esteem and respect, among boys and girls from low-income households. Established in 1969, with a $3 million funding commitment from the White House, NYSP has provided over 2 million participants with instruction in career and educational opportunities, and exposure to the college environment for nearly four decades. Because I have witnessed, firsthand, the difference that the NYSP program has made in the lives of under served youth in my Congressional District I cannot, in good conscience, sit idly by as this essential program is dismantled. In my Congressional District, Morehouse College has done an outstanding job of running the NYSP program for nearly four decades, serving over 10,000 children throughout Atlanta. The Morehouse College NYSP program is unique, because it has taken great pains to maintain a balance between athletics and academics. Similar to NYSP programs throughout the nation, Morehouse College offers instruction focusing on sports. However, it also includes additional instruction in areas such as: nutrition, drug awareness and prevention, creative writing, and leadership development. The NYSP program has a tremendous impact on the youth that it serves in my Congressional District. By placing NYSP participants in academic settings, where they receive hundreds of hours of exposure to the benefits of higher education, the participants begin to believe that they, too, can succeed in college and beyond. Furthermore, the mentoring relationships established between the teaching/coaching staff, college student volunteers, and NYSP participants, have resulted in hundreds of former NYSP participants returning to work in the program at Morehouse College as student volunteers. Mr. Speaker, NYSP is not asking for a handout from Congress. In fact, in 2005 NYSP secured two-thirds of its operating expenses from other public and private sources, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the 202 selected institutions of higher education with which it partners. The Administration knows that NYSP works. Congress knows that NYSP works. Institutions of higher learning in 47 states and the District of Columbia know that NYSP works. Most important, over 2 million NYSP participants, and their families, know that it works. I strongly encourage all of my colleagues, especially those serving on the budget and appropriations committees, to reject the President's proposed elimination of the NYSP program, and provide full funding for FY07.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution. Iran must be condemned for following the path of nuclear proliferation. This past Tuesday, February 14, 2006, Iran announced that it has resumed uranium enrichment efforts, sending a signal to the world that it is taking steps to arm itself with nuclear weapons. Iran said it will no longer allow international inspectors to access its nuclear facilities. Therefore we must work to ensure that Iran is unsuccessful in the path that it has chosen. Nuclear weapons are the most dangerous and most horrible weapons man has ever invented. These weapons pose a threat to human kind; and an even graver threat when in the hands of a nation that supports terrorism. We need to work to reduce the numbers of nuclear weapons in our world. Iran must join the community of nations and lay down the instruments for the development of nuclear weapons. We must encourage all nations to lay down the burden and instruments of the most destructive weaponry known to human kind. There is enough madness on this little planet that we do not need to add more. There is not any room in our society for more nations to arm themselves with weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this resolution. We must unite the community of nations and use all diplomatic means to rid our world of rogue nuclear threats.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, Coretta Scott King was a radiant symbol of the best that the American South and this nation have to offer. She was beautiful, charming, graceful and dignified. She was a shining light who had the ability to brighten the dark places, to bring hope where there was hopelessness. I first met her in 1957 when I was a 17-year-old student in Nashville. She was traveling around America, especially in the South, telling the story of the Civil Rights Movement through song. I will never forget it. She looked like an opera star standing on stage. She wore a lovely pearl-white dress with layers of cascading ruffles falling gently around her. She would sing a little and then talk a little, and through her singing and talks she inspired an entire generation. She was more than the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. She was a leader in her own right. She was the glue that held the Civil Rights Movement together and the strength that sustained one of the most charismatic leaders of our time. Long before she married Dr. King, she was an activist for non-violence, traveling to a conference in Europe with Women Strike for Peace to discuss the dangers of atmospheric nuclear testing. Though she tasted the bitter fruits of segregation and racial discrimination, Coretta Scott King was prepared for a privileged life. She was well-educated and married a gifted minister from a prominent family. Just like any other mother she wanted to raise her four children in peace. But when an opportunity came for her to actualize the philosophy of non-violent change, she did not ignore her convictions. Along with her husband and the more than 50 thousand black people of Montgomery, she responded to the courage of Rosa Parks, who on December 1, 1955, refused to give up her seat on a city bus in Alabama. That simple act launched the modern-day Civil Rights Movement and changed Coretta King's life forever. Her commitment to non-violence led her to trade her privilege to live under the constant threat of brutality. Her home was bombed, her husband was repeatedly jailed, people she knew were killed, her husband's life was always in jeopardy. And finally one day he was assassinated by a gunman's bullet. She did not become bitter or hostile. She did not hide in some dark corner, but she drew on her faith in the transformative power of peace. And a few days after the assassination, she led striking workers through the streets of Memphis. All the days of her life, she would travel throughout the South, America, and the world urging respect for the dignity of humanity. She went all out to create a living memorial to her husband called the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change, one of the most visited landmarks in Atlanta. She met with President Reagan, who was not inclined to sign the legislation, but in the end he could not deny her. She used her prominence to mobilize the American people and built a bi-partisan coalition in Congress to make her husband's birthday a national holiday. Because of her efforts, generations yet unborn will learn his message of peace, and they will hear about his struggle for equal justice in America. I loved Coretta Scott King. She was so warm, so genuine, so caring. For 20 years, she always sent me a card or a book on my birthday. I will cherish those mementos always. I will remember Coretta Scott King as a dear friend. But the historians will remember her as one of the founding mothers of the new America, for through her noble acts, she helped liberate us all. This nation is a better nation, and we are a better people because she passed this way. However, she was not only a citizen of America, she was a citizen of the world, a world still yearning to build the Beloved Community, a world still yearning to make peace with itself. Above all, Coretta Scott King personified the beautiful, peaceful soul of a non- violent movement that still has the power to transform America, that still has the power to change the world.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the life and accomplishment of Mrs. Coretta Scott King. The passing of Coretta Scott King is a tragic loss for the movement of peace, justice and equality around the world. She was a leader in her own right. She was the glue that held the civil rights movement together. Long before she married Dr. King, she was an activist for peace and nonviolence. Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult for me to speak about this beautiful, charming, graceful and dignified woman who became the personification of the best that America had to offer. She grew up as I did in rural Alabama where segregation and racial discrimination were real. She tasted the bitter fruits of racism, but she did not give up. She did not give in. She did not give out. She received a very good education at Antioch College and the New England Conservatory School of Music. She met Martin Luther King, Jr. while they were both studying in Boston. She fell in love. They got married and they returned to the South, the capital of the old confederacy, the City of Montgomery. He became the pastor of a little old church, the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. This little red brick church stood in the shadow of the Capitol building of the State of Alabama. Dr. King thought he would live the life of a Baptist minister, and Coretta thought, well, she would be a preacher's wife. But they decided to respond to the courage of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955, when she refused to give up her seat on a city bus in Montgomery. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as a leader in the modern day civil rights movement and Coretta was by his side every step of the way. I first met Mrs. King in 1957 when I was only 17. I was a student in Nashville, Tennessee. She was traveling around America, especially in cities of the South telling the story of the Montgomery movement through song. She was so beautiful, so inspiring, she would sing a little, and she would talk a little, and through her singing and talks she inspired an entire generation. At times when Dr. King could not be present or had another commitment, Coretta was there to speak, to sing, or to encourage. She marched with us in 1963 at the march on Washington. In 1965 she marched with us from Selma to Montgomery. She was not just a celebrity. She was a very, very warm person. She had the ability, she had the capacity to forget about her own circumstances and get involved in the circumstances of others. For the past 20 years she has sent me a birthday card on every single birthday, or she might send me a book or note. I still have every single one of those cards and the books. I will cherish them always. After the assassination of her husband she did not hide in some dark corner. She did not become bitter or hostile. A few days after the assassination she led more than 50,000 people through the streets of Memphis, and later she would travel with many of us through the South, through the heart of the deep South, through the Black Belt of Alabama, through the Delta of Mississippi, through southwest Georgia, through North Carolina and South Carolina, urging people to register and to vote. She went all out to create a living memorial, a living monument to Dr. King called the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. She lobbied the Congress. She organized and mobilized the American people to make Dr. King's birthday a national holiday, and because of her effort generations yet unborn will learn of his message of peace, and they will hear about his struggle for equal justice in America. Mr. Speaker, Coretta Scott King must be looked upon as one of the founding mothers of the new America, for through her action, through her deeds, she helped liberate us all. This Nation is a better place because she passed this way. But Coretta Scott King, my friend, my big sister, and sometimes she acted like she was my mother, must be looked upon not just as a citizen of America, but as a citizen of the world. This world is a better place because of Mrs. King. Mr. Speaker, she will be deeply missed. I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong opposition to Section 3145 of the House reconciliation bill that will deny health care to our poorest Americans who desperately need and deserve it. This provision would require people who apply for Medicaid to prove that they are citizens, by producing a birth certificate or a passport. This may not sound like a difficult task to some, but the reality is much, much different. Many older Americans do not have birth certificates because their parents did not have access to hospitals, and so, they were born at home. This was true in rural America, and is still true in some places today. Also, in the last century, all over the south, because of segregation and racial discrimination, many hospitals would not take minorities. Many minorities, including African Americans, were born at home and don't have a birth certificate. These people were kept out of the health care system when they came into. the world. To keep these same people off of Medicaid and further deny these men and women health care is yet another slap in the face. The health system failed these people once, and it should not fail them again. This rule is arbitrary. It is dangerous. And it is wrong. Even the Department of Health and Human Services agrees that it is unnecessary. There is no evidence that illegal immigrants are getting Medicaid illegally. This is very dangerous. If this becomes law, state and county officials will decide how to enforce this rule. Therefore, anyone with dark skin, or an accent or who looks like an undocumented immigrant will be at great risk for discrimination. American citizens, particularly the poor, minorities, and the very old, who are eligible for Medicaid, will be denied the health care that they need. All for a misguided attempt to keep undocumented immigrants from receiving health care. It is unjust and it is wrong. It is un- American and I ask my colleagues to join me in opposing this provision.