John Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Democratic substitute. The Republican bill is not the way to go. It is going to take the country down the wrong road. This whole thing is unbelievable. It is unreal. In my 15 years in Congress, I have never seen such a thing. We are now debating the first part of a $2 trillion tax bill, and we are doing it before we have a budget. $2 trillion is a lot of money, especially when it is based on an unreliable 10-year forecast. There are no assurances. There are no guarantees. What if we are wrong? What if the surplus does not happen? The administration, the Republicans, somebody, somebody is not telling the whole story. They need to be honest with the American people, honest about the true cost of the bill, honest about what will happen if the surplus does not materialize, honest about what will happen to Social Security, to Medicare and other priorities. It is time to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. The Republicans are playing with the numbers. It is deceptive. It is a sham. It is a shame. We should be paying down the debt, saving Social Security and Medicare, taking care of the basic human needs of all of our people. The Republican bill is not right for America. It is not fair, and it is not just. I urge all of my colleagues to vote against it and vote for the Democrat substitute.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, like my colleagues, I rise today to pay tribute to the brave and courageous men and women and a few young children that attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery 36 years ago today, March 7, 1965. Just think, Mr. Speaker, 36 years ago, in many parts of the American South, 11 States of the Old Confederacy, from Virginia to Texas it was almost impossible for people of color to register to vote. As a matter of fact, in a State like the State of Mississippi, in 1965 the State had a black voting-age population of more than 450,000 and only about 16,000 blacks were registered to vote. There was one county in Alabama, between Selma and Montgomery, Lowndes County, where the county was more than 80 percent African American; yet there was not a single registered African American voter in the county. In the little county of Selma, only 2.1 percent of blacks of voting age were registered to vote. People of color not only had to pay a poll tax, they had to pass a so-called literacy test. Interpreting sections of the Constitution of the United States, the constitution of the State of Alabama, the constitution of the State of Georgia and the State of Mississippi, there were black men and women teaching in colleges and universities, black lawyers and black doctors being told they could not read or write well enough. On one occasion, a black man had a Ph.D. degree in philosophical theology and he flunked a so-called literacy test. On another occasion, a man was asked to give the number of bubbles in a bar of soap. The drive, the movement for the right to vote came to a head in Selma, Alabama. For many months people had gone down to the courthouse to be turned back. They were arrested. Some were jailed. On March 7, 1965, about 600 black men and women, and a few young children, attempted to march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, to the State capital, to dramatize to the Nation and to the world that people of color wanted to register to vote. They were beaten with night sticks, bull whips, trampled by horses, and tear gassed. That day became known as Bloody Sunday. There was a sense of righteous indignation all across America when people saw what happened to these 600 men and women and young children in Selma. Eight days later, after what became known as Bloody Sunday, President Johnson came to this hall and spoke to a joint session of the Congress, and he started that speech off on March 15, 1965, by saying: ``I speak tonight for the dignity of man and for the destiny of democracy.'' President Johnson went on to say: ``At times, history and fate come together to shape a turning point in man's unending search for freedom. So it was more than a century ago at Lexington and at Concord. So it was at Appomattox. So it was last week in Selma, Alabama.'' And in that speech on March 15, 1965, President Johnson condemned the violence in Selma, introduced the Voting Rights Act; and before he closed that speech he said over and over again: ``And we shall overcome.'' The Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, and it was signed into law on August 6, 1965, 36 years ago. Because of the courage of these men and women and these young children, Mr. Speaker, we have witnessed a nonviolent revolution in America, a revolution of values, a revolution of ideas. Because of this march, because of this attempted march, we are on our way toward the building of what I like to call the ``beloved community,'' toward the building of a truly interracial democracy. By marching, by standing up, these young men and women, these young children, on March 7, 1965, and the Members of Congress back in 1965, helped to expand our democracy, helped to open up the democratic process and let hundreds of thousands and millions of our citizens come in. We live in a better country. We live in a better place because a few men and women and a few young children got in, what I call, the way to make America different, to make America better. Today, Mr. Speaker, I stand here to salute these brave men and women, men and women, with courage, who dared to sail against the wind on March 7, 1965.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. We are not in the majority, so we cannot set the time and place of the hearing. It is my hope that we will have a hearing, that the leadership of the Congress, the leadership of this House will hold hearings on what happened in Florida. The right to vote, and the right to have your vote counted, is the heart and soul of our democratic process. We just had a discussion a few moments ago about how people suffered, people struggled, people that I knew died for the right to vote. I will never forget in June of 1964, three young men, Andy Goodman, Michael Schwerner, white, Jewish from New York; and James Chaney, black, from Mississippi, were arrested, jailed by the sheriff, then taken over to the Klan where they were beaten, shot and killed because they were there to help people register to vote. Then Jimmy Lee Jackson in Alabama and others.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Joint Resolution 19, which will provide for the appointment of Dr. Walter Massey as a member of the Board of Regents for the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Massey is the ninth president of Morehouse College, which is located in Atlanta, Georgia, my congressional district. Through his work, innovative thinking, and firm leadership, Dr. Massey has made a remarkable contribution, not just to Morehouse College, but to other colleges and universities, and to our Nation. I have no doubt that Dr. Massey will have an unwavering commitment to the Smithsonian Institution, with his deep understanding and appreciation of American history, art, and our diverse culture. I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt), for yielding to me. It is with deep sadness that I stand here tonight to pay tribute to our colleague and friend, Julian Dixon. It is so painful and it is so very hard and difficult. This country has lost a true friend. The State of California has lost a friend. The city of Washington, the Nation's capital, has lost a true friend. Julian was not just another colleague. He was more than the representative of the 32nd Congressional District of California; he was more than a member of the Congressional Black Caucus; more than a member of the House Committee on Appropriations and the ranking member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He was like family to me and to many of us here in the Congress. Julian was a wonderful and kind man. He was a gentleman. Many times in this body we refer to each other as being honorable. This man, this good man, was honorable. He had the ability to calm troubled waters. He had a way of soothing hurt feelings. He was an effective Member of this body who could get things done on both sides of the aisle by mending broken bridges. This man we salute and honor tonight was a builder of bridges, a builder of bridges of understanding and bridges of compassion. Julian Dixon was a voice of sanity in the midst of confusion. Mr. Speaker, as I said before, it is so hard to believe that Julian Dixon is gone; that he will not be here voting with us any more. I do believe that his free spirit, his kindness and his good nature, will always remain in our hearts, in our minds, and in this very Chamber. Julian cared for his colleagues, his friends, the people who elected him, and even the people he did not know. As I said, he loved this city, the State of California, and this Nation. He was wonderful to work with. He never sought the limelight. He just did his work. He was just good to be around. He was a dear friend and he was my brother. Mr. Speaker, for this Member, it is still shocking; a sense of disbelief. It is so unreal and yet it is so painful. We have lost a member of our family. It does not matter whether we are Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. It does not matter whether we are black or white, Asian or Hispanic. We are family. We are one family. We are going to miss Julian. Mr. Speaker, I want to close by saying to Bettye, Julian's beloved wife, that we will keep you and your family in our prayers. Thank you, Bettye, for sharing Julian with California, with all of us, with the American people and the rest of the world. He will be deeply missed. And Julian, I say to you, Sweet prince, take your rest.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), my good friend, for yielding me the time and for all of his help. I also want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood), my colleague and my friend, for all of his help to bring this bill before us tonight. Mr. Speaker, I, along with the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts), the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson) introduced H.R. 3250, the House companion bill to S. 1880. H.R. 3250 passed out of the Committee on Commerce on July the 26. As one of the original authors of H.R. 3250, I want to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues tonight on both sides of the aisle for their dedication and hard work to pass H.R. 3250 and S. 1880. Over the past few decades, we have made great advances as a Nation in science and medicine. However, all of our citizens have not shared in the benefits of these advances. Minority Americans lag behind the rest of the country on nearly every health indicator, including health care coverage, access to care, life expectancy and disease rates. Some striking examples include the African-American infant mortality rate, which is twice that all of U.S. infants; and nearly twice as many Hispanic adults report they do not have a regular doctor compared to white adults. However, health disparities are not limited to minority communities. Nearly 20 million white Americans live below the poverty line and many live in rural areas where high rates of poverty contribute to health disparity outcomes. In the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, the rates of the five top causes of death in the United States all exceeded the national average in 1997. Mr. Speaker, we have a moral obligation, a duty and responsibility to find effective ways to eliminate these health disparities. Equal access to health care is not a privilege, it is a fundamental right. That is why S. 1880 is a good bill. This legislation will take the necessary step to bridge the health disparity gap. The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act is a comprehensive approach to addressing the complex set of factors which surround health disparity. Mr. Speaker, let me close by saying the last century saw our Nation make great strides. We passed laws to address that right, like equal opportunity in employment, education and housing. We also passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, until now, our country has not given health care the same attention. We must focus our attention on bridging the health disparity gap. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote to pass S. 1880, the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, October 31, 2000, the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association will commemorate 50 years of integration in the NBA. The Knick's special guest in Madison Square Garden on this historical evening will be Mr. Earl Lloyd. Mr. Lloyd was the first African American player to participate in an NBA game. Drafted by the Washington Capitols, Mr. Lloyd made his NBA debut against the Rochester Royals on October 31, 1950. There were two other players making their debuts the following day. Chuck Copper was the first choice of Red Auerbach and the Boston Celtics. Nat ``Sweetwater'' Clifton's contract was bought by the New York Knicks from the Harlem Globe Trotters. Earl Lloyd grew up on the other side of the 14th Street Bridge in the shadows of the White House in Alexandria, Virginia. He was an all around athlete at Parker Gray High School. He excelled in football, basketball and baseball. It was on the Banneker and Park View playgrounds in Washington, D.C. that he developed his game. Mr. Lloyd and his friend the legendary running back of Parker Gray and West Virginia State Bubba Ellis would make regular walks across the 14th Street bridge into the Nation's Capital for pickup basketball, D.C. playground style--no holds barred! Mr. Lloyd would graduate from high school with honors and as one of the school's greatest athletes. He would matriculate to West Virginia State on a basketball scholarship. In college he was named to the All- American team and here he would leave a lasting impression on his opponents. Hall of Fame In 1950 Mr. Lloyd was also drafted by another team the United States Army! On Halloween night after serving his military time Mr. Lloyd returned to make professional basketball history. The Washington Capitols would play the Rochester Royals. In the stands that night would be Mr. Lloyd's proud mother. Mrs. Lloyd was sitting directly in front of two fans who acknowledged that Mr. Lloyd was the first black, but could the Nigger play? Without missing a beat Mrs. Lloyd turned and looked the two fans directly in their eyes and said ``Take my word for it, the Nigger can play.'' NBA legendary coach Arnold ``Red'' Auerbach of the Boston Celtics says, ``Earl blocked shots and played defense like there was no tomorrow.'' Red should know. Earl Lloyd led the Syracuse Nationals team that eliminated the Boston Celtics from the 1955 playoffs. The Nationals would go on to capture their one and only NBA Championship. 1955 was a good year. Mr. Lloyd and teammate Jim Tucker would become the first African Americans to play on an NBA Championship team. A 1994 Sports Illustrated Magazine article read, ``In the NBA Mr. Lloyd was In May 1993 he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in Portsmouth, Virginia. In 1998 twenty-eight years after being selected to the 25th Anniversary All-Time Great CIAA Team Mr. Lloyd was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame. Earl Lloyd has always made it clear where the credit belongs for his NBA success story. He says, ``If it had not been for Red Auerbach and the Boston Celtics, we may still be trying to get into the NBA. The Celtics were the first to draft a Black player, the first to put five Black players on the floor at the same time, the first to hire a Black coach and the first to hire a Black General Manager.'' The Boston Celtics are truly equal opportunity employers in professional sports. Halloween night in the NBA would be great if the N.Y. Knicks were hosting the rest of the league's players. They all could learn a little history and then be treated and introduced to a man who does not have a problem with being called a role model. Mr. Lloyd made it all possible for today's NBA black players and thousands of others like them. Earl Lloyd was Number One in 1950 and he is still Number One in the New Millennium 2000.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, we have not done our work. The Republican-controlled Congress has not finished its work. Where is the Patients' Bill of Rights? Where is the prescription drug benefit? Where is the minimum wage legislation? Where are the 100,000 new teachers? Where is the new school construction? Where is the juvenile justice bill? The majority party has not done its work. We have not been fair to the American people. They deserve better. They need our help and Congress has done nothing. We are nearing the end of another do-nothing Congress that has not done anything for the American people. We should be ashamed to leave this place, ashamed to end this Congress until we finish the people's agenda.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, we have not done our work. The Republican controlled Congress has not finished its work. Where is the Patients' Bill of Rights? Where is a prescription drug benefit? Where is the minimum wage legislation? Where are the 100,000 new teachers? Where is the new school construction? Where is the juvenile justice bill? The majority party has not done its work. We have not been fair to the American people. They deserve better. They should get better. They need our help, and Congress has done nothing. We are nearing the end of another ``do nothing'' Congress that has not done anything, not anything, not one thing for the American people. We should be ashamed to leave this place, be ashamed to close this Congress and not to be finished with the American people's agenda. announcement by the speaker pro tempore

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Congressional Record the attached statement by the American Jewish Committee, which appeared in The New York Times on October 10, 2000. Assuming Responsibility for Peace After the dead have been buried, the sirens silenced, and the rubble swept from streets where rioters rampaged, what lessons will have been learned from these recent days of bloody confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis? Two are essential: When mobs are incited to violence by Palestinian media and political and religious leaders, chaos ensues. And when Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation breaks down because Palestinian police and militiamen join in the mayhem and turn their guns on Israelis, the level of conflict crosses a terrible threshold, and the toll of suffering soars. We grieve for the victims of the senseless violence that has erupted in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. We pray for the safe return of the Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah marauders who stole across the international border from Lebanon. We reel from the desecration and of destruction of Joseph's Tomb, a holy place, on the Sabbath, by a Palestinian mob and the murder of a pious Jew trying to save sacred Torah scrolls. We yearn for the peace that will end for both peoples this cycle of needless pain. With Israel and the Palestinian tantalizingly close to agreement in talks aimed at resolving their bitter conflict, these days of violence fomented by the Palestinians needn't have happened. Innocent blood needn't have been spilled. It wouldn't have--if Palestinian political and religious leaders had not deliberately overblown a visit by an Israel politician to Jersusalem's Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site, and launched a furious campaign of attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers. It wouldn't have--if a sermon during Friday prayers at Al- Aqsa mosque hadn't called on the Muslim faithful to ``eradicate the Jews from Palestine'' provoking assaults on Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall and eliciting a defensive response by Israel. It wouldn't have--if the Palestinian Authority hadn't emptied its schools, where Israelis' status as the enemy is continually taught, so that children could be bused directly to confrontations with Israeli forces and into harm's way. It wouldn't have--if Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat's Fatah lieutenants in Gaza and the West Bank hadn't ordered waves of armed strikes by paramilitary forces against Israeli targets. It wouldn't have--if Palestinian Authority radio and television hadn't bombarded the airwaves day after day with calls to rise up against Israel. Finally, the conflict that engulfed Israelis and Palestinians wouldn't have happened if Chairman Arafat had assumed that responsibility of leadership and acted to calm rather than inflame his people. In the end, there can be no other path for Israel and Palestinians than the path of negotiated peace, based on compromise and the need to bring their conflict to an end. Acceptable alternatives simply do not exist. For the Palestinians and for Arab leadership across the Middle East, there is no choice but to grasp the long-outstretched hand of Israel, and assuming responsibility for peace.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), for holding this special order and paying tribute to our friend, our colleague, and our brother, Bruce Vento. Madam Speaker, I came to the Congress in 1987 when I first met Bruce Vento. I was more than lucky but really truly blessed to serve on the old Interior Committee with Bruce. Bruce was our Chair, the Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands; and it was a delight and wonderful to serve with this wonderful, gifted, talented human being. He loved America. He loved open space, the land. He wanted to do as much as possible to preserve some of this beauty and leave it a little cleaner for future generations. I had an opportunity to travel with Bruce on one occasion, I will never forget, for a hearing we held in Minnesota at the State Capitol, dealing with protecting the Mississippi. While I was there, I am not sure whether it was on a Monday or a Tuesday, but it was a Taste of Minnesota Day. Bruce took me out of the State Capitol, and the members of the subcommittee. We went out on the grounds and we tasted all of this wonderful food that Bruce introduced me to. He was very delightful in introducing a poor guy who grew up in Alabama, now living in Georgia, to this very special and wonderful food in Minnesota. I had an opportunity to invite Bruce to come to Atlanta, and he came to Georgia. We held a hearing on the Martin Luther King Historic Site, and I would say today if it had not been for our friend and colleague, Bruce Vento, neither the Martin Luther King Historic Site in Atlanta, nor the historic trail, Highway 80 from Selma to Montgomery, would be in existence. Bruce never gave up. He had a vision of making America better, saving the land, saving the forests; and I truly believe when historians pick up their pens and write about this period in our history they will have to say this man, our colleague, our friend, Bruce Vento, made a difference. So on behalf of myself and my wife, Lillian, that Bruce would ask me about from time to time, how is Lillian, I want to say to Bruce's family, his wife and children, you have our sympathy. You will be kept in our prayers; and we will never, ever forget the likeness of this one giant among us. He will be deeply missed.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to pass legislation that would give a real prescription medicine benefit to our Nation's seniors. The Republican plan failed to meet the real problems that face our Nation's seniors. Our seniors have been receiving a bad deal when it comes to prescription medicine. Now is the time to give our seniors a good deal, a better deal, a fair deal. The American people need and want a meaningful benefit that is voluntary, universal, affordable and accessible to all of our seniors. There is no room here to play partisan politics. No senior, but no senior should have to choose between putting food on the table and getting his or her heart medicine. This is not just, this is not right, and this is not fair. My Republican brothers and sisters, this is our moral obligation, to do what is right.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Conyers) for yielding the time to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the motion to instruct conferees. Hate is hate. Hate is hate. It is based on race, on color, on religion, national origin or sexual orientation. No one, but no one is born hating. Little babies do not know hate. They do not know sexism. They do not know racism, but our society will change the little babies before they become adults. We teach people how to hate, to hate someone because of their color, because of their race, because of their religion, because of their sex or sexual orientation. As I said before, nobody, Mr. Speaker, is born hating, but too many people in our society grew up hating, and they get involved in hate crime against someone because of their religion, because of their color, because of their sex or sexual orientation. There is no room in our society to hate or be violent towards someone because of their race, their color, their national origin, their religion or sexual orientation. With this legislation, Mr. Speaker, we will send a strong and powerful message that we are one family, one people, one Nation. I urge all of my colleagues to support the motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Thomas) and the ranking member, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), for bringing this legislation before us today. I want to thank my friend and my colleague, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts), for being the chief sponsor of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, when we walk through the halls of this building, we do not see anything that tells the story that African-American slaves helped build this magnificent building: no drawings, no murals, no paintings, no statues, nothing. Slavery is part of our Nation's history of which we are not proud. However, we should not run away or hide from it. The history of the Capitol, like the history of our Nation, should be complete. As the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts) pointed out, it was not until this year, 200 years after the opening of the Capitol for the first session of Congress, that records were uncovered which prove what many of us have already known or maybe some of us assumed, that African-American slave labor was used in the building of the United States Capitol. These men, these slaves, laid the very foundation of our democracy. Yet, they were denied the right to participate in our democracy. Indeed, generations of their offspring were denied the right to vote. Mr. Speaker, with this resolution, H.R. 368, we will honor the slaves who helped build the Capitol. We will study the history and contributions of the African-Americans who helped construct one of the greatest symbols of democracy in the world, this building, the United States Capitol. Mr. Speaker, we will have a fitting and lasting tribute to these men, black men, slaves, in a permanent place here in the United States Capitol. I urge all of my colleagues to vote for the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 368.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I join my fellow colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus to salute and pay tribute to Curtis Mayfield, a great American songwriter, singer, guitarist, producer, and film composer. He was indeed a poet who wrote lyrics of hope and profound optimism. He was a philosopher and balladeer of the people seeking social action and commitment to the civil rights struggle of the 1960's. Curtis Mayfield stood on the mountaintop of American music. As a native of Chicago, he was the architect and builder of what has become known as ``Chicago Soul.'' His roots were purely American--originating in the gospel music of his boyhood church. But the heart and soul of his music reached around the world. At the age of 57, after years of fragile health from a near tragic accident, he died on December 26, 1999, during the waning days of the 20th century. Yet, he gave us four decades of song beginning with the formation of The Impressions in the late 1950's, writing soul hits in the 1960's, composing a provocative and memorable soundtrack for the film ``Superfly'' in the 1970's and recording the Grammy-nominated album ``New World Order'' in the 1990's. During the 1960's, his music tapped into the consciousness of a generation. With songs like ``It's All Right,'' ``People Get Ready,'' and ``Keep on Pushin','' his call to social action was undeniably clear: he urged us to care about a nation whose great promise was so dear yet woefully denied to people of color and the poor. Wherever people were, wherever they lived, whatever they did, Curtis Mayfield made people think. You could not listen to his songs without being stirred to tears of hope. It was like he knew the soul of America because his music changed us in some way. He lifted our spirits and opened our minds with a sharp-edged social commentary on America in the 1960's. Whether you listened to his powerful songs in a beauty shop in Harlem or on a sunny afternoon at a midwestern university, without his music, the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without song. Simply, Curtis Mayfield wrote the soundtrack to the civil rights movement. With his songs, he demanded and we accepted his challenge to not rest until we build a new America based on peace and justice. We are lucky. We are more than lucky to have been touched by the creative genius of Curtis Mayfield. He has fed our hearts and minds with spiritual food. He has moved the feet of a nation toward a better society. He has never left us in spirit because his music still inspires us to remember his optimism, his hope, his sense of righteous indignation, and his abiding faith in a better America. Another great songwriter and musician, Stevie Wonder, once said of Curtis Mayfield: For as long as there is romance in love, the joy of pride, the power of words, the teaching of right, and songs with haunting melodies there will always be a need for the music of Mayfield. As we honor this great American, the legacy of his music is still alive. A new generation of musicians are writing and performing new songs, but they stand on the shoulders of Curtis Mayfield, who created a powerful vision of America through word and song. Like the men and women before him, who shed blood and tears for a better America, Curtis Mayfield was, above all else, a founder of the New America. His music was inspiring, profoundly creative and courageous. And as a civil rights activist, his contribution to the cause in music will never be forgotten.

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. 4892.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida, (Mrs. Fowler), formerly from the State of Georgia.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 558) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It is with profound sadness that I rise today to offer a resolution of condolences on the passing of Senator Paul Coverdell. Paul Coverdell was the senior Senator from the State of Georgia and, more importantly, he was a dear friend. It is with deep sadness that we say good-bye to our good friend, our colleague and our brother, Paul Coverdell. Paul Coverdell's unexpected death is so sad and so hard. I have known him for many years, almost 30 years. As young men, we both campaigned for an open congressional seat in 1977. Later, we both came here to Washington to represent the people of Georgia. Over the years, we shared many rides together back and forth to Washington. We would often see each other here and in Georgia, and we spent a lot of time talking about life and about what is good for the people of Georgia and for the people of our Nation. Paul was not just another colleague. He was like family to me and to so many of our colleagues. His passing, his death, hurts. It is painful. It is more than sad. We have not just lost a friend, but we have lost a member of our family. Paul Coverdell's intelligence, commitment, ethics and leadership stood out. He was a friendly, peaceful man. He cared for his colleagues, his friends, the people who elected him, and even people he did not know. He was wonderful to work with, to be with, to travel with. He was good to be around. A wonderful man. One of the good guys. He was my friend, Mr. Speaker. He was my brother. We occupied different sides of the aisle, and we did not always agree, but always had the utmost respect and admiration for this man. For three decades, as a Georgia lawmaker, Peace Corps director, United States Senator, Paul Coverdell was a man who could be trusted to get the job done. He focused on the war on drugs, worked to improve education, and fought for the farmers and small business people of Georgia. He was always prepared to help out and take on any task that was required. But Paul Coverdell never sought out the limelight. He never sought the headline. He would never grandstand. He worked hard behind the scenes without seeking any recognition. In today's political climate, Paul Coverdell was an unusual and extraordinary man who will be forever missed from among our midst. When Paul was director of the Peace Corps, he would come in to see me from time to time after he had just come back from a trip abroad. He was so enthused about what he saw and what the Peace Corps was doing, whether in Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, Central America or South America, that his enthusiasm rubbed off on me during those meetings. I looked forward to talking with him and working with him on those concerns. He wanted to help people meet their basic needs, food, water, shelter, and he wanted to stop them from having to struggle. I admired his commitment and his work with the Peace Corps. Paul Coverdell will be remembered not just as a citizen of Georgia, an American, but as a citizen of the world. Mr. Speaker, his death is a tremendous loss for the members of the Georgia delegation, for the people of Georgia, and a personal loss for me. We are all very sad, not just the people of Georgia, but all of his colleagues in the Senate and in the House. He will be deeply missed. My heart and prayers go out to Paul's wife, Nancy, to the other members of the Coverdell family, and his staff here in Washington and in Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Linder), a member of our delegation from the State of Georgia.