John Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 seconds to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) on intervention.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, another man is gone. Another human being is gone. How long will we continue to travel down this inhumane road? The death penalty is not worthy of a great Nation. It is barbaric, it is uncivilized. What do we want, retribution, to get even, or to have revenge? I happen to believe that in every human being there is the spark of the divine, and no government, not State or federal, has the right to destroy that spark. That right is reserved for the Almighty and the Almighty alone. How can we appeal to our people, especially our young people, not to use an instrument of violence to settle their disputes, and then sanction killing, sentencing someone to death? It is time for us to join with the majority of the world and put an end to this form of barbaric punishment. It is time to put an end to the death penalty. Enough is enough, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), for yielding and for bringing this resolution before this body. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution in honor of our dear friend and colleague Joe Moakley. He was a good and decent man. Some would say he was too good, he was so good. He was a tireless worker and fighter for the people of his district and for all of the citizens of our country. He had a deep concern for human rights, for civil rights, for those who had been left out and for those who have been left behind. He will be deeply missed by the people of his beloved Boston, and he will be missed by all of us here in this House. Mr. Speaker, our friend, our colleague, Joe Moakley, took to heart what Horace Mann said when he said we should be ashamed to die, we should be ashamed to leave this world until we have made some contribution to humanity. Joe Moakley made more than a contribution. When we look at Boston, look at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, when we look at America, when we look at our world, we live in a different place, we live in a better place because of the work, the commitment, the dedication and the vision of this one man.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, the Republican tax bill is not the way to go. It is going to take the country down the wrong road. What if we are wrong? The Republican tax bill is based on a 10-year forecast that we know probably will not happen. In fact, the people who made the forecast have said that it is not going to come true. According to them, there is only a 10 percent chance that their forecast will be correct. We cannot afford to be wrong on this one. We are locking ourselves into a 10-year plan when we are not even sure that the money would be there. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), does he know what this would be like? It would be like counting the chickens before the eggs hatch. That would not be fair for the American people. What if we are wrong? What if the surplus does not happen? The administration, the Republicans, somebody is not telling the whole truth. They are not telling us the whole story. They need to be honest with the American people, honest about the true costs of the tax bill, honest about what will happen if the surplus does not materialize, honest about what will happen to Social Security, honest about Medicare and other priorities. We have an obligation, a mission, and a mandate to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The Republicans are playing with the numbers. It is deceptive, it is a sham, and it is a shame. We should be paying down the debt, saving Social Security and Medicare, taking care of the basic needs of all of our people. The Republican bill is not right for America. It is not fair and it is not just. We should vote down this bill. We should do it for the American people. We have an obligation to vote it down.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Calvin ``Cal'' Darden on his election to the Board of Directors for United Parcel Service. Mr. Darden, senior vice President of all U.S. operations for UPS, is the highest ranking African-American ever to serve at UPS. As a person who has invested a great deal of my life working to break down the racial barriers that divide our society, I commend him for his success. Through the success of Mr. Darden and others like him, we continue our journey toward a truly integrated society, toward what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called ``the Beloved Community.'' Jim Kelly, the UPS Chairman of the Board, also appreciates the contributions of Cal Darden, albeit for different reasons. ``Cal Darden has devoted his professional life to making this company what it is today. It is due in no small measure to his efforts in the arenas of operations and customer service that Fortune Magazine just recognized UPS for the 18th consecutive year as `America's Most Admired' transportation company.'' Cal Darden joined UPS in 1971 as a part-time package handler while attending Canisius College. In 1972, he graduated from college and began his climb up the UPS corporate ladder as he was promoted into management. In addition to his successs at UPS, Mr. Darden has been active in the community as a member of the National Urban League's Board of Directors, 100 Black Men of North Metro Atlanta, and his work with the United Way. Congratulations and best wishes, Cal Darden. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, this entire process is unbelievable. It is unreal. It is a sham. It is a shame. It is a disgrace. The tone in Washington has not changed and this reconciliation process proves it. We are passing this bill today so we can rush the Republican tax bill to conference. We are rushing to pass a $1.35 trillion tax bill. That is a lot of money. That is a great deal of money. We cannot afford to be wrong. Somebody needs to tell the American people what would happen if we are wrong. The Republican tax bill is based on a 10-year budget projection that may be wrong. It is going to jeopardize our ability to provide for our senior citizens, jeopardize our ability to invest in priorities like education and prescription drug benefits for all of our citizens, and jeopardize our ability to pay down the national debt, save Social Security, and protect Medicare. We should be taking care of the basic needs of all of our people and not just some of our people but all of our people and not rushing to pass a tax bill that we cannot afford. This Republican bill is not right for America. It is not fair and it is not just. And this entire process is rotten to the core. Where is the bipartisanship that we hear from the White House, that we hear from the other side? It is not here with this bill. It was not here last week and it is not here today. We have wasted an important opportunity to work together on a bill that is good for all Americans. I urge all of my colleagues to vote against it and vote for the Democratic substitute. If we want clean water, if we want clean air, if we want safety in the workplace, then support the Democratic substitute.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, like my colleagues, I strongly support marriage penalty relief and tax benefit for families. That is why I support the Democratic substitute. It provides married couples and families significant tax relief, but it does it in a way that is good for all Americans and allows us to prepare for our future. H.R. 6 may seem small today, but we cannot ignore the fact that it is only part of a $3 trillion Republican tax plan. That is a lot of money, especially when it is based on an unreliable surplus projection. There are no assurances, no guarantees. What if we are wrong? Mr. Speaker, the Republican $3 trillion plan puts at risk our ability to prepare for our future. What we should be doing today is paying down the national debt, saving Social Security and Medicare, and taking care of all of the basic needs of all of our citizens. The Republican tax plan is not right for America. It tends to move us in the wrong direction. And I say, Mr. Speaker, this plan is not fair, and it is not just. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote against it and vote for the Democratic substitute.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I submit the following article for the Record. (By Roy E. Barnes, Governor, to Georgia House of Representatives) Forty years ago, faced with court orders to integrate and with demonstrations by Georgians who wanted the University of Georgia and the state's public schools closed instead, the people who stood in our places did the right thing. The schools stayed open. And Governor Ernest Vandiver told the General Assembly that, unless Georgia faced up to the issue and moved on, it would ``devour progress--consuming all in its path--pitting friend against friend demoralizing all that is good--stifling the economic growth of the state.'' We have a great deal to be proud of as Georgians--our history, our heritage, our state's great natural beauty--but nothing should make us prouder than the way Georgia has led the South by focusing on the things that unite us instead of dwelling on those that divide us. While the government of Arkansas used the armed forces of the state to prevent nine black students from enrolling at Little Rock's Central High School, while the Governor of Alabama stood defiantly in a schoolhouse door, Georgia quietly concentrated on growing our economy, on the goals that bring us together rather than those that can tear us apart. And, in the process, Georgia established itself as the leader of the New South. Forty years ago, Birmingham was about the same size as Atlanta, and Alabama's population and economy were almost as big as ours. Georgia moved ahead because its leaders looked ahead. Anyone who doesn't realize that's why Georgia has become the fastest growing state east of the Rocky Mountains does not understand economic development. I am a Southerner. My wife is named May-REE. I like collard greens with fried streak-o-lean, catfish-- tails and all, fried green tomatoes, cat head biscuits and red eye gravy. My heart swells with pride when I see a football game on a crisp fall Saturday. I still cry when I hear Amazing Grace. My great grandfather was captured at Vicksburg fighting for the Confederacy, and I still visit his grave in the foothills of Gilmer County. I am proud of him. But I am also proud that we have come so far that my children find it hard to believe that we ever had segregated schools or separate water fountains labeled ``white'' and ``colored.'' And I am proud that these changes came about because unity prevailed over division. Today, that same effort and energy of unity must be exercised again. The Confederate Battle Flag occupies two-thirds of our current state flag. Some argue that it is a symbol of segregation, defiance, and white supremacy. Others that it is a testament to a brave and valiant people who were willing to die to defend their homes and hearth. I am not here to settle this argument--because no one can-- but I am here because it is time to end it. To end it before it divides us into warring camps, before it reverses four decades of economic growth and progress, before it deprives Georgia of its place of leadership--in other words before it does irreparable harm to the future we want to leave for our children. As Governor Vandiver said four decades ago this month: ``That is too big a price to pay for inaction. ``The time has come when we must act--act in Georgia's interest--act in the future interest of Georgia's youth.'' And, as Denmark Groover--Governor Marvin Griffin's floor leader and the man who assured adoption of the current flag in 1956 told the Rules Committee this morning: ``This is the most divisive issue in the political spectrum, and it must be put to rest.'' Denmark Groover is right. It is time to put this issue to rest and to do so in the spirit of compromise. This morning the House Rules Committee passed out a bill to make Georgia's flag represent Georgia's history--all of Georgia's history. Both personally and on behalf of the people of Georgia, I want to thank Calvin Smyre, Larry Walker, Tyrone Brooks, and Austin Scott for their work to bring the people of Georgia together. The Walker Rules Committee substitute takes the original Georgia flag--the Great Seal of Georgia set against a background of blue--and adds a banner showing all of Georgia's other flags. It has the National Flag of the Confederacy and the Confederate Battle Flag, as The bill also has a provision preserving Confederate monuments and says our current state flag should be displayed in events marking Georgia's role in the Confederacy. To those who say they cannot accept this because the Confederate flag is still in the banner, you are wrong. The Confederacy is a part of Georgia's history. To those who say they are opposed to this because it changes the current flag, you are wrong also. The Confederacy is part of our history, but it is not two-thirds of our history. It is time to honor my great grandfather and the Georgians of his time by reclaiming the flag they fought under from controversy and division. The Walker Rules Committee substitute preserves and protects our heritage, but it does not say that, as Southerners and as Georgians, the Confederacy is our sole reason to exist as a people. Defeating this compromise will confirm the worst that has been said about us and, in the process, dishonor a brave people. Adopt this flag and our people will be united as one rather than divided by race and hatred. Adopt this flag and we will honor our ancestors without giving aide to those who would abuse their legacy. Georgia has prospered because we have refused to be divided. We have worked together, and the nation and the world have taken notice. We are where we are today, the envy of other states, because decades ago our leaders accepted change while others defied it. In the long run, it has paid us handsome dividends. Today, the eyes of the nation and the world are on us again to see whether Georgia is still a leader or whether we will slip into the morass of past recriminations. I have heard all the reasons not to change the flag and adopt this compromise: ``it will hurt me politically''; ``this is how we can become a majority''; ``this is our wedge issue''; ``this is the way we use race to win.'' Using race to win leaves ashes in the mouths of the victors. If there is anything we should have learned from our history, it is that using racial bigotry for political advantage always backfires. Sometimes in the short run, sometimes in the long run. Often both. And if you allow yourself to be dragged along in its raging current--even if only briefly--you will live the rest of your life regretting your mistake. I know. Seventeen years ago this General Assembly debated whether to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. a state holiday. Many of the arguments I heard then I hear again today. ``What will they want next?'' ``You know you can't satisfy them.'' The argument that gave the most political cover was ``Martin Luther King was a great man, but we already have enough holidays, and we don't need any more.'' I was a young state senator, and my calls and constituents, for whatever reason, were against the King Holiday. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I was so worried about my political future that I did what many legislators do: when the vote came up, I had important business elsewhere. 1 knew instantly I'd made a mistake. So when the bill came back to the Senate for agreement, I voted for it. I was immediately besieged by constituents; so on final agreement, I voted against it. There is not a day that goes by that I do not regret that vote. Fortunately, there were enough leaders in this General Assembly then with the wisdom and the fortitude that I lacked as a young legislator. Don't make my mistake. Each of you knows the right thing to do. You know it in your heart. You know it in your mind. You know it in your conscience. And, in the end, that is all that matters. When the dust settles and controversy fades, will history record you as just another politician or as a person of conscience? Make no mistake, just as with me and a vote almost 20 years ago, history will make a judgment. Robert E. Lee once said ``it is good that war is terrible, otherwise men would grow fond of it.'' This is not an issue upon which we should have war. Our people do not need to bleed the color of red Georgia clay. This is an issue that demands cool heads and moderate positions. Preserving our past, but also preserving our future. And not allowing the hope of partisan advantage to prohibit the healing of our people. Like most of you, I am a mixture of old and new, of respect and honor for the past, and of hope for the future. The children of tomorrow look to us today for leadership. If we show them the courage of our convictions, they will one day honor us as we honor the true leaders of decades past. Do your duty--because that is what God requires of all of us.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I take a Special Order today with my colleague, my friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton). We co-chair an organization, a group called Faith and Politics. It is truly a group that is bipartisan in nature. For the past few years, we have been engaging in what we call a dialogue on race. We have been taking Members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, back on a journey, a journey of reconciliation, back to places in Alabama: Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma. Just a few days ago, to be exact, on March 2, 3 and 4, we had an opportunity as a group to travel again, a learning experience for many of us, so I thought it would be fitting to come to the House floor this afternoon and talk for a few moments about what we saw, what we felt and what we came away with from this trip to Birmingham, to Montgomery, to Selma. Mr. Speaker, I think it is fitting and appropriate for us to have this dialogue today, this discussion, for today, exactly 36 years ago today, March 21, 1965, 2 weeks after Bloody Sunday, 700 of us, men and women, young children, elected officials, ministers, priests, rabbis, nuns, American citizens from all over the country, walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on our way from Selma to Montgomery to dramatize to the Nation and to the world that people of color wanted to register to vote. Just think, just a few short years ago in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, it was almost impossible for people of color to register to vote. You had to pass a so-called literacy test in the States of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. On one occasion a black man was asked to give the number of bubbles in a bar of soap. If you failed to cross a ``t'' or dot an ``i,'' maybe you misspelled a word, you flunked the so-called literacy test. Well, because of the action of the Congress and the leadership of a President, 36 years ago, and the involvement of hundreds and millions of our citizens, we have come the distance. And so tonight we want to talk about what has happened and the progress. Mr. Speaker, I want to yield to my friend and my colleague, the co- chair of the board of Faith and Politics, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, I want to thank you for going on the trip and for participating in this Special Order. Mr. Speaker, I now yield time to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge), our colleague and friend. Announcement by the Speaker pro tempore

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jefferson), my colleague and my friend.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, let me recognize the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I would like now to yield to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Emerson).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kind words, and let me try to respond to his kind question. I notice several of my colleagues are here, and I want to give them an opportunity to say something. But any time we see racism, bigotry, see people discriminated against because of the color of their skin, because of their race or national origin, because of their sex or sexual orientation, for whatever reason people are kept down or kept out, we have an obligation, all of us as citizens of America, as human beings, to speak out and say something, to get in the way, to not be quiet. When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me do not get in trouble. But as a young person I got in trouble, and I saw many young people getting in trouble by sitting down. President Kennedy once said back in 1960, by sitting down on those lunch counter stools, we were really standing up. So by marching for the right to vote 36 years ago, we were helping to make America something better. So from time to time, we all have to get in the way.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Let me thank the gentlewoman for those kind and wonderful words. She added so much to the trip. We will always be grateful for her involvement. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the Democratic leader who made the trip to Alabama.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I thank the leader for those kind and extraordinary words. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield time to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), who has been very active in Faith and Politics and has made these trips to Alabama.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), my friend and brother, thank you for all your good work and for being so supportive of Faith and Politics and making those trips to Alabama. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. The gentlewoman is making me a little younger, but I did have all my hair then.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps), so much for going on the trip and participating as a wonderful person on that trip and participating in this Special Order. Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Deacon Nesibitt was the deacon who brought Martin Luther King, Jr. to the church in Montgomery.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much for participating as part of this trip to Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I yield time to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson- Lee).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). I thank her so much for participating, and not only on the march, the journey of reconciliation, the dialogue, but for participating in this Special Order today. I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership. Now, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield time to the gentlewoman from the State of California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jefferson), my friend and my colleague, for those kind and extraordinary words. I think we all can come together and help build up a loving community and really help build the truly interracial democracy in America. We are really one family. We are one house, the American house, the American family or the world house or the world family.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, let me just thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), my friend, my colleague, my brother, and thank the gentleman and his wife for making the trip. It is my hope and my prayer that we will continue, all of us, to work together to make real the very essence of our democracy, the idea of one person, one vote, not only that people must have a right to vote but also have their vote counted.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), my friend and my colleague, for yielding and for going on this trip. I want to also take the time to thank all of the staff of Faith and Politics, staff from the Capitol, the Capitol Police, and others that assisted us in making this trip a very successful trip. We have come a distance in the past 36 years toward laying down the word on race, toward creating a truly interracial democracy. We are on our way toward the building of the beloved community. We are not there yet; but during the past 36 years, we traveled such a distance. Those signs that I saw in Selma that said ``white men,'' ``colored men,'' ``white women,'' ``colored women,'' they are gone. They will not return. Today, in Selma, Alabama, in Montgomery, in Birmingham, you have biracial government, black people, white people working together to create a sense of community, to create a sense of family. If there is anything we learned from this trip, even here in the House, the people's House, the House of Representatives, we can create a sense of family, one family, one House, the American House, the American family.