John Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

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

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

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. McKinney).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman). (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I have known Senator Paul Coverdell for many years. We worked together in the city of Atlanta in the Fifth District. He has been very helpful and very supportive over the years. Our prayers are with him at this time, with his family, and we wish for Senator Coverdell a speedy recovery. We ask that the divine hands of the Almighty be with him during this hour.

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

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I will not take 5 minutes, but I rise to support the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters). The world community is crying out for help. The people of the world all over this little planet that we call spaceship Earth are not crying out for bombs, for missiles, for more guns. They are crying out for food, for shelter, for medical assistance, for economic assistance. They are crying out tonight for debt relief. This is the year of Jubilee. This is the year to help, to help our brothers and sisters in need. We have a moral obligation to help. We shall respond to the Macedonian call of old. There are people in need. They are hurting. They are suffering. In Africa, a modern day Holocaust is in the making. Five thousand people will die every single day. We cannot stand solemnly by. If we fail to act and we fail to stand up and help, in the end, we are not worthy of a great people or great nation. The spirit of history will not be kind to us. So, Mr. Chairman, we have a moral obligation, a mandate to do what we can to bring relief to our sisters and to our brothers in other lands. We do not live on this little island, on this little piece of real estate alone. Just maybe, just maybe our foremothers and our forefathers all came to this great country in different ships. But we all are in the same boat now. If we want to live in a world at peace with itself, we must reach out and help those in need. It is Africa. It is a Third World today. We do not know who it will be tomorrow.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for yielding me this time and for all of his help in support of this effort. I also, Mr. Speaker, would like to begin by thanking the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for working with me on this bill. As cochair of the Human Rights Caucus, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter) have led the fight against the use of child soldiers. I would like to thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) and his staff, as well as the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from New York (Chairman Gilman), for working with me to bring this bill to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I have a deep respect for the power of young people. Forty-three years ago, I was but a child myself when I first met Martin Luther King, Jr., and joined the nonviolent struggle for justice in America. So I know, Mr. Speaker, that young people can change the world. That is why the idea of using children as soldiers so disturbs me. As the last remaining superpower, the United States is morally bound to use our strength to protect those who are weak and exposed. Yet, as we stand here, thousands by thousands of children in Colombia, in Sierra Leone, and countless other countries around the world have been forced to kill at one moment and used as cannon fodder the next. Children who should fill rows of school desks, instead fill columns of soldiers. The brutal use of children to fight adult wars must end. The time is now. Our job is simple, to lead the way. In January, the United Nations reached an agreement to ban child soldiers. Last week the President signed this treaty. This resolution calls on the President and the Senate to work together and build support for this protocol. It urges the Congress and the President to establish a fund to help child soldiers reenter society. And most importantly, this resolution calls on the United States to use its moral authority to lead efforts across the globe to put a stop to this brutal practice. Many of us, Mr. Speaker, have fought long and hard for freedom and justice in our own country, but our commitment to human rights, to peace, to nonviolence, to a sense of community, to justice, that commitment cannot stop at the water. It is our moral obligation, our mission, and our mandate to lead the struggle to protect children everywhere from the violence of war. Again, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all of my colleagues for joining in this help, joining in support of this effort to bring this bill to the floor today.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, under the Republican plan, there is no defined benefit. There is no set premium. This is a scheme written by the insurance companies. The Republicans did not like Medicare back in 1965, and they do not like it now. Here they are, once again, trying to privatize prescription drugs for seniors, just like they tried to privatize Medicare. This is nothing but a scheme. The Republican scheme requires low-income seniors to go to the State welfare office. Are my Republican sisters and brothers suggesting that my 86-year-old mother go down to the welfare office to find out whether she can get her prescription medicine? This is a sham. This is a shame, and this is a disgrace. My Republican colleagues, on the other hand, would prefer to give the money away in tax breaks to the wealthy, rather than to offer a sensible and affordable prescription medicine benefit. The availability of prescription medicine should not depend on the size of one's wallet or one's ZIP code. There is no room, but no room in here to play partisan politics. No person in the twilight of his or her life should not have to choose between putting food on the table and getting his or her blood pressure and heart medicine. This is not just, this is not right, and this is not fair. We have a moral obligation, a mission, and a mandate to stand up for our seniors. Our seniors do not want a prescription drug benefit next year, our seniors want it now, and they deserve it now. We can do no less for the seniors of America. Announcement By The Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this bill, H.R. 4762. I want to commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton), my good friends and colleagues, for their work on this important issue. We all know that it is time to fix our broken system of financing elections, and this bill is a good and necessary first step. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4762 would close a huge loophole by requiring simple disclosure by these secret political organizations and groups. The American people have a right to know. They have a right to know who is funding political campaigns in this country. They have a right to know who is trying to influence their votes. The American people have a right to a free and open election process. It is time to close this loophole. It is time to get rid of the secrecy; it is time to fix this mess. So tonight, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. It is the right thing to do. The time is always right to do right. Tonight is the first step down a long road toward political campaign finance reform.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I rise with great sorrow and a heavy heart. The eyes of the world are upon us and the yoke of justice lays heavy upon our shoulders. But today, Mr. Chairman, justice will not be served. On this day, June 22, 2000, another man will die in Texas. He will not pass by the mercy and the grace of God; he will be executed at the hand of the State. I am not here to defend the action of those who sit on death row, but I rise to condemn the taking of life. To kill a man, any man, is not moral, it is not just, and it is not right. The death penalty is not becoming of a civilized society. It is not worthy of a great Nation. Human life is the gift of the Almighty. Who are we to take that gift away? This afternoon, a man will die in Texas. A piece of our humanity will die with him.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Civil Rights Movement is replete with examples of men and women who risked great personal harm and displayed unwavering courage in the face of danger. Men and women whose names many not be as familiar to us as the names of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or James Farmer, but who nevertheless made huge contributions to the struggle for freedom. One such person was LeRoy Collins, former governor of Florida, whose mediation skills and nonviolent nature helped Alabama avoid a second Bloody Sunday. As we all know, the first attempt by marches to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge on that fateful day--March 7, 1965, Bloody Sunday--was met with unconscionable violence initiated by Alabama state troopers. As plans were made for the second attempt, many expected the worst. Dr. King, who would lead the march, met with LeRoy Collins. Collins was the director of the Justice Department's Community Relations Service and was sent by President Johnson to mediate the situation. After speaking with King, Collins struck a deal with state and local officials designed to avoid a repeat of Bloody Sunday. We would be allowed to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge but we could not go on to Montgomery. Later that day, with Alabama State troopers looking on, two thousand people led by Dr. King peacefully marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Once they reached the bottom of the other side they stopped, prayed and sang ``We Shall Overcome.'' The nonviolent nature of our second march was in no small measure a result of LeRoy Collins' courage and prudence. God only knows what harm may have been suffered on that day if a deal had not been brokered. I will never forget LeRoy Collins. He is truly a hero of the struggle.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute and pay tribute to a great American, Earl T. Shinhoster. A 35 year veteran leader of the NAACP, a devoted husband and father, Earl Shinhoster was my friend and my brother. He had a distinguished career of service to the public and to the community which I serve in particular. Indeed, it is as a result of his tireless work for voter education and to ensure voter participation that many of us are here today. Earl cared. He really cared. He cared about voter education and voter participation. He cared about human rights and civil rights. He cared about Africa and Africans. He cared about being empowered and empowering others. He cared about equal access and equal opportunity. He just wanted things to be fair. And, he was always looking for creative ways to break down the barriers that separate us, to make things fair. Earl Shinhoster was Southeast Regional Director of the NAACP for 17 years and served as Acting Executive Director and CEO of the organization from 1995 to 1996. Earl was so energetic, so engaging, so dedicated and so committed. His eyes were always on the prize. He will be sorely missed.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the motion to recommit to be offered later by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett). The motion simply says that section 527 political organizations that fail to disclose their donors will be subject to the gift tax. It is time to fix our broken system of financing elections. This motion is an important step toward that goal. It would close a huge loophole by requiring simple disclosure by secretive political organizations and groups. The American people have a right to know. They have a right to know who is funding political campaigns in this country. They have a right to know who is trying to influence their votes. The American people have a right to a free and open election process. Mr. Speaker, it is time to close this loophole. It is time to get rid of the secrecy. It is time to fix this mess. The other body had the courage and voted with raw courage on yesterday to close this loophole. It is time for the House to do the same. I urge all of my colleagues to support the motion to recommit.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the motion to be offered by my good friend and colleague on the Committee on Ways and Means, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), the motion to recommit. It simply says that section 527 political organizations will not get the benefit of the telephone excise tax repeal unless they disclose their donors. It is that simple. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) had tried to offer this amendment in the Committee on Ways and Means twice, once today and once during the debate on the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights. Both times, the Republicans have voted it down and blocked it from coming to the floor. Every person in America realized the importance and necessity of fixing our system of financing elections. The Doggett amendment is an attempt, but an important attempt, a necessary attempt, to bring about campaign finance reform. It will close another loophole in campaign finance disclosure laws. It will clean up the mess created by section 527 political organizations. These organizations can take unlimited money from almost any source, even foreign money, and make expenditures without any disclosure to anyone. It is a sham, it is a shame, and it is a disgrace. The American people deserve better. The Doggett amendment only requires simple open disclosure by these organizations, these 527 organizations. The American people have a right to know. They have a right to know who is funding political campaigns in our country. They have a right to know who is behind the attack ads. The American people have a right to a free and fair election process. There is already too much money in the political process. There is no room for secrecy too. We need to fix the mess. I urge my colleagues to support the motion to recommit.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the rule and permanent normal trade relations for China. We must stand up for human rights and democracy throughout the world. Where is the freedom of speech? Where is the freedom of assembly? Where is the freedom to organize? Where is the freedom to protest? Where is the freedom to pray? It is not in China. The people of China want to practice their own religion. They want to speak their mind. They want to live in a free, open, and democratic society. If we stand for civil rights and human rights in America and other places around the world, we must stand up for human rights in China and speak for those who are not able to speak for themselves. Today with our vote we have an opportunity to speak for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. I urge all of my colleagues to oppose the rule and PNTR for China. It is not the right thing to do. It is not the right way to go. We are sending the wrong message. Let us stand up for human rights today.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend and my colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Kleczka) for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, I am opposed to granting permanent normal trade relations to China. We cannot reward China with PNTR while she continues to violate the human rights of her people. We are sending the wrong message to the rest of the world. The spirit of history is upon us, and we must be guided by the spirit of history to do the right thing. Granting PNTR allows China to continue the terrible abuses without any consequences. I ask my colleagues, how much are we prepared to pay? Are we prepared to sell our souls? Are we prepared to betray our conscience? Are we prepared to deny our shared values of freedom, justice, and democracy? Where is the freedom of speech? Where is the freedom of worship? Where is the freedom of assembly? Where is the freedom to organize? Where is the freedom to protest? Where is the freedom? It is not in China. Can we forget Tiananmen Square, 11 years ago, June 4, 1989? We cannot forget, and we must not forget. Some of us have worked too long and too hard for civil rights and human rights here at home and other places in the world not to stand up for human rights in China. Mr. Chairman, I believe in trade, free and fair trade. But I do not believe in trade at any price. And the price of granting PNTR for China is much too high. It is a price we should not be prepared to pay. So, Mr. Chairman, I urge all of my colleagues to oppose normal trade relations for China.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), for yielding and for bringing to the attention of this body and to our Nation the life and times of C.B. King. C.B. King possessed a gifted legal mind. He was an amazing member of the bar. C.B. King combined a flare for words with the unique ability to talk to people from all walks of life. He could give simple legal advice to a poor client and a minute later force a judge to dust off his dictionary. Along with other lawyers in his staff like Fred Gray of Montgomery, Arthur Shores and Peter Hall of Birmingham, and Jack Young of Jackson, Mississippi, C.B. King used his gift to bring about a nonviolent revolution under the rule of law. In the struggle for civil rights, even the shield of law was often not enough. Despite intimidation and the attacks, C.B. King refused to retreat from his principles. When a cane-swinging Albany sheriff split his head open for showing up at the local jail to meet a client, C.B. King refused to back down. When his pregnant sister-in-law lost her child after being slapped and kicked by police during a protest in South Georgia, C.B. King refused to back down; and when his brother Preston King was forced to flee the country rather than be unjustly imprisoned, C.B. King refused to back down. C.B. King came by his resolve honestly. He often compared his father's determination to that of Hannibal, the general who led his troops on elephants across the Alps. Like his father, C.B. was driven and he paid little mind to long odds. In 1970, I recall C.B. King became the first black person since reconstruction to run for governor of Georgia. I had the great honor of hosting a fund-raiser for him that summer in the backyard of my home. C.B. King did not win the governor's office but he did win hundreds and thousands of followers and friends, and C.B. King understood that one had to plow the field before they planted the crop. C.B. King plowed that field and the seeds of change were sown in his wake. Today I stand as a Member of Congress with my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), as a living legacy to his struggle. I owe him a great deal of gratitude. I think we all do. So tonight I must thank my colleague, my friend and my brother, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), for offering the legislation to name a courthouse in honor of C.B. King. C.B. King would be very proud of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop) and the way he represents the good people of South Georgia. So it is fitting that the gentleman leads the effort to honor this legend of the Georgia bar, this humane and good man that helped to make our Nation a different place, a better place. I can think of no better tribute than to name a courthouse in C.B. King's honor. The mention of C.B. King's name once prompted an undertaker who was busy burying one of C.B.'s brother to pause, look down at C.B. King's simple headstone and a family plot and say, He was something else. I have to admit I could never have said it any better because he was something else. I thank my friend, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), for holding this special order.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Coyne) for yielding me this time. I rise today in support of the amendment of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) that the Republicans voted down in committee and blocked from being offered to the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights today. Every person in America realizes the importance and the necessity of fixing our system of financing elections. This amendment is an important step toward campaign finance reform. It will close another loophole in the financial disclosure laws. It would clean up the mess created by section 527 political organizations. These organizations can take unlimited money from almost any source, even foreign money, and make expenditures without any disclosure to anyone. It is a sham, it is a shame, and it is a disgrace. The American people deserve better. Much better. The amendment requires simple disclosure by these organizations. The American people have a right to know. They have a right to know who is funding political campaigns in our country. They have a right to know who is behind the attack ads. The American people have a right to a free and fair election process. We need to end the pollution of the political process in our country. There is already too much money in the political process. There is no room for secrecy. Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed that the Doggett amendment will not be included in this bill. We need to fix the mess and we need to fix it now. I urge all of my colleagues to vote for the Doggett amendment when it finally comes up for a vote on the House floor.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and my colleague, who is really my friend and my brother, for yielding and for hosting this special order tonight, along with my friend, my colleague, and my brother, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood). I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for those wonderful words and for being part of this journey, this dialogue, this trip, this privilege to Alabama. In my position here in the Congress, but as an individual, as co- chair of an organization, Faith and Politics, with my good friend and brother the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton), this was our third trip to Alabama. We felt it was necessary for us to travel as Members of Congress with our spouses, with our staff members, and with our friends to go, to see, to feel, to travel the roads where other travelers 35 years ago and more to go back to Birmingham, as my colleague stated, to visit the church, to visit the park where the dogs and the fire hoses were used, to visit the city of Montgomery, visit Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s church, to visit the memorial to the civil rights martyrs, to travel to Selma and to visit the Brown Chapel AME Church, to walk across that bridge across the Alabama River one more time. I think it was not just a trip, but it was an opportunity for us to bond, to become brothers and sisters, to become, yes, a band of brothers and sisters to engage in a meaningful discussion, a meaningful dialogue about race. Because I think what the struggle was all about 35 years ago, and still today under the leadership of Doug Tanner and the good people of Faith and Politics, to bring us together to that point where we can lay down the burden of race and build a truly beloved community, to build a truly interracial democracy in America, where committee can forget about race and color and see people as people, as human beings. I think that is what is so meaningful about a group of us coming together not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans, as men and women, who believe somehow and some way that we can find a way to create a sense of community, to create one house, one family, the American house, the American community. So I am so thankful and grateful tonight to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for taking the time out to have this special order to share with our colleagues and share with our friends this journey to Alabama, this journey of reconciliation, this journey on understanding.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this morning I rise with a heavy heart. Yesterday, another child, another baby, lost her life to gun violence. This sad day, this great tragedy is made worse by the fact that this little girl was killed by another child. How long will we tolerate gun violence? How long will we tolerate children killing children? Mr. Speaker, how long will it take for this House to demonstrate raw courage and pass real gun control legislation. This morning, as we take a moment to consider our failure and to grieve this family's loss, we must not forget to take the time out to teach our children the way of peace, the way of nonviolence, to teach them the way of love.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Negro History Bulletin, the Journal of Negro History, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Black History Month--these were the creations of Carter G. Woodson. Carter G. Woodson said we must know and celebrate our history. And, he made it his life's work to see to it that we do. From his home, Dr. Woodson ran the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. At his home, Dr. Woodson trained the scholars and staff that researched, collected, catalogued and preserved the history of a people. I rise in support of the designation of Dr. Woodson's home as a national historic site. There is no fitting tribute to the man and his work * * * and to the understanding and appreciation of a people that more than any other has made our Nation what it is today.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. There is still history to be made. Mr. Speaker, what I would like to do now is to yield to my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from the great State of North Carolina, from the city of Charlotte (Mr. Watt).