John Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask the gentleman, do we expect any late nights next week, any 11 o'clock and midnight nights?

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to inquire of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey) regarding next week's schedule.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert) the Speaker of the House.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I ask the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), the majority leader, if he can tell us what day the tax bill will be on the floor of the House?

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am sure all of our colleagues will be very grateful and appreciative.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask the gentleman, what day will the teacher empowerment act be on the floor?

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I would like to begin by commending Mr. Olver for initiating this important and timely amendment. Africa is in crisis. The continent is home to one out of every ten people on the planet. Yet more than eight out of every ten deaths from AIDS have occurred in Africa. Health officials in Zimbabwe report over 3,000 AIDS deaths each week. This is a country that has a population roughly the size of the State of Ohio. In Kenya, 200,000 people will die from AIDS in 1999. AIDS is destroying not only individual lives, but the social, political and economic fabric of the nations of Africa. In Zambia, more than half of the country's children have lost at least one parent to AIDS. How will these children survive? Africans between the ages of 15 and 40 have the highest AIDS infection rate. Who will remain to support Africa's families and grow Africa's economies? Right now, AIDS is reported to be rampant in the militaries of Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries. How will the political stability of Africa be secured? This crisis demands the attention of the United States Congress. As we debate a bill that intends to strengthen our economic ties with the African continent, this is the right time and the right place for us to begin to think about the impact of AIDS on both the African people and our mutual long term interests. The African Growth and Opportunity Act requires a lot of African countries. We need to hold up our end of the bargain. It is our responsibility to shine a spotlight on the issue of AIDS in Africa and to demonstrate our interest, not only in trade but in the long term stability of the nations of Africa and the health of her people. By making it a Sense of Congress that addressing the AIDS crisis be a central component of our foreign policy in Africa; by recognizing the importance of AIDS prevention and treatment to our long term trade relationship with Africa; and by acknowledging that the African AIDS crisis merits expanded efforts by both public and private institutions as well as Congress to address the issue, this amendment represents an important step. I urge my colleagues to vote for the amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Republican trillion-dollar tax bill is a disgrace. It is the height of irresponsibility. It is a trillion-dollar give-away to the special interests and the high- rollers. The Republican plan does nothing to protect Social Security. The Republican plan does nothing to strengthen Medicare. The Republican tax scheme does nothing to reduce our national debt. We are at a crossroads in America. We have an historic opportunity to preserve and protect Social Security, to strengthen Medicare, and to pay down this awful national debt. We should not, we cannot, and we must not let this historic opportunity pass us by. We have balanced our national budget. We have put our economic house in order. The Republican tax scheme is irresponsible. It does not address our needs, and it will lead us down the road to economic disaster. The Republican plan is a dangerous and dark step backwards. It should be and it must be defeated, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend for yielding me this time. Three weeks ago, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia agreed to comply with NATO's demands to withdraw its forces from Kosovo, ending more than 80 days of hostility. In bringing this conflict to a close, the United States and NATO brought an end to a Yugoslavian campaign of ethnic cleansing, rape and murder. It ended the flood of refugees fleeing Kosovo and gave hope to hundreds of thousands of men, women and children that they would soon be able to return to their homes. More than 2 weeks ago, the Senate passed a resolution commending all those involved in our Nation's successful efforts in Kosovo. We had hoped that the leadership in the House would bring forth a similar bipartisan resolution commending our troops and congratulating President Clinton and other administration officials for their leadership. To date, they have refused to bring up such a resolution. For goodness sake, is the dislike so intense, the hatred so great of President Clinton that the Republican majority cannot bring themselves to commend our troops and congratulate the President for his leadership? Listening to some of my colleagues on the floor this afternoon, I can only conclude that this is the case. These troops under the leadership of the President of the United States and the NATO officials stopped a modern day Holocaust from taking place in eastern Europe. Mr. Speaker, we should overlook partisanship today and vote for the motion to instruct.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui) for bringing this resolution to the floor. I rise to support this resolution and to condemn the acts of hatred and intolerance which require it. Mr. Speaker, we live in a country rich with diversity. It has been described as a melting pot, a mosaic, a tapestry. But what unites us as a Nation and as a people is our belief in our constitutional democracy and the right of all our citizens to live, work and worship in peace. We are black and white, red and yellow and brown. We are Christians, Muslims, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhists and much, much more. More importantly, we are Americans. The attacks on three synagogues in Sacramento, California, last week may have been directed against those of the Jewish faith, but they are not, they are an attack against all of us. They are an attack against America and all that she stands for. They are an attack on our constitution, our liberty and our freedom. Mr. Speaker, if this was an attack against Jews, then I am a Jew, for an act of violence against a synagogue is an attack on the church, an attack on the mosque, an attack on the temple. I, for one, will not sit idly by. I will not sit silent. The people who committed this crime will be caught, and they will be punished. Let the word go forth from this House, from this place, this day that there is no place in our great Nation for hatred, intolerance or discrimination. Let us say today through this resolution that we are one Nation, one House, one family, the American House, the American family.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) for yielding to me. I also want to thank the gentleman for all of his good work. He is a good friend, and he is a great American. Our flag is worthy of the emotion it stirs deep within us. It is worthy of reverence. I love the flag. We all love the flag. Our flag is worthy to stand, by itself, against the attacks of those who seek to denigrate it and all that it stands for. Is our flag so weak that it cannot withstand public desecration and attack? Is our flag so weak that we must pass a constitutional amendment to protect it? No, our flag is greater than that. America, our America, is the free-est Nation on earth. In our America, we have freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of press, freedom of religion. Our Constitution guarantees each of these freedoms. The Constitution is a sacred document. It is the foundation of our democracy. It is the foundation of our freedom. Our flag, Old Glory, is worthy of every word of praise and respect that will be spoken here today, tomorrow, and years to come. Throughout the world, the American flag symbolizes freedom, liberty, and the glory of democracy. Old Glory has served as a beacon of hope and opportunity for generation upon generation, not just in the United States, but throughout the world. But above Old Glory, above a symbol of our liberty, is our sacred Constitution. The Constitution guarantees that we have the freedom to have political belief and express those beliefs openly. An amendment to our Constitution will not protect Old Glory, it will destroy Old Glory. Because Old Glory is nothing without freedom. When freedom is strong, Old Glory is strong. When we persecute our citizens for expressing political belief, yes, even the burning or desecration of the flag, we weaken our freedom. When freedom is denied, Old Glory dies. My colleagues, if Old Glory could speak to us today, she would cry for us. She would weep. Today, on the floor of this House, we are attacking freedom. We are attacking the liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. To honor our flag and all that it stands for, we must reject a constitutional amendment. We must embrace not just a symbol of freedom, but freedom itself. To suppress freedom by passing a constitutional amendment is to make a flag stronger than the people and the Nation it represents. For the sake of our people, our freedoms and our Constitution, I urge my colleagues to reject this well-meaning but unnecessary constitutional amendment. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the chairman, and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo), the ranking member, for their good work on this bill. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 2084. Metropolitan Atlanta is facing a crisis. Declining air quality and bumper to bumper traffic are clouding Atlanta's future. The people who bear the heaviest burden of air pollution--poor people, the elderly, and children--are those who most need our protection. As we speak, Atlanta's hospitals are bracing for a rush of respiratory emergencies as this season's ozone season approaches. Traffic in and around Atlanta is so congested that the term ``quick commute'' has become an oxymoron. Parents spend more time in traffic than attending little league games and PTA meetings. Atlantans now rank traffic, public transportation and air pollution alongside education and crime as their top concerns. More roads will not solve Atlanta's problem. In fact, more roads are not an option. Federal funding cannot be used for road construction because Georgia has not filed the State Improvement Plan required by the Clean Air Act. The best way to improve this situation and the quality of life for my constituents is to expand the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority system. MARTA's Board has identified the western light rail extension as the most cost effective addition to the system. The project would reduce congestion and air pollution, and improve access to educational and employment resources--linking thousands of students to Georgia Tech University and workers to Fulton County Industrial Park. While I realize the severe constraints we face in making responsible decisions about spending our transportation tax dollars, one million dollars dedicated to studying the MARTA west side extension is a sound and responsible investment.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am a member of an African American church. I grew up in an African American church, a Baptist church. I attended seminary, and am a licensed and ordained Baptist minister. But I believe in the separation of church and state. If the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) wants to consider and call the Bill of Rights mumbo jumbo, that is all right, he has that right, but for me and my house, I am going to stand with the Founding Fathers, not with the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong opposition to House Joint Resolution 207. While this resolution is nonbinding and sounds innocent enough, the truth is that this resolution represents an assault on the separation of church and State. The separation of church and State is a concept that underlies our constitutional democracy and dates back to the founding of our great Nation. On the walls of the Jefferson Memorial are inscribed these words: No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinion or belief.'' Yet, House Joint Resolution 207 endorses a law which would compel a citizen through his tax dollars to do just that. The American Community Renewal Act, which this resolution endorses, would change current law and allow the beneficiaries of church-based social services to be proselytized. In some cases this could mean that getting help requires getting saved. Let me repeat that again. In some cases, this could mean that getting help requires getting saved, getting saved. That is not right. It is not fair. It is not just. It is not the role of or government to subsidize the spread of God's word. That is the role of the church, the synagogue, the mosque, the temple. The American Community Renewal Act would also appear to sanction religious discrimination against employees. This bill would override State civil rights laws and allow religious-based employers providing social services to discriminate on the basis of a person's religious tenets or beliefs. There are many religious institutions providing good and worthwhile social services to people in need throughout our Nation. These groups and institutions are to be applauded. But as a government and as a Nation, we should not violate the separation of church and State. It has guided our country for more than 220 years. Our forefathers in their wisdom devised a system of government that protects the religious liberty of all Americans. This Congress should do nothing to undermine this great system of our great Constitution. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat House Resolution 207. (Mr. SOUDER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks, and include extraneous material.)

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, 34,000 lives lost, not in the Far East, not in Eastern Europe, not in Africa, but right here in America on our streets, in our neighborhoods, on our playgrounds; 34,000 lives lost, lost to gun violence last year. What would it take before we act, another Littleton, another Paducah, another Conyers, another Jonesboro? Thirteen children a day lost, lost to gun violence. We need courage, nothing but raw courage, to protect the lives of our children. I am sick and tired of going to funerals of young children. How many more times must I hold a weeping mother in my arms? How long, how long before we act to stop this senseless violence? During another period in our history we have sung, where have all the children gone, in some graveyard one by one? Thirty-four thousand lives gone; lost; dead; buried because of gun violence. Joshua of old says, ``Choose you this day whom you will serve.'' Will we serve the NRA or will we serve our people, our Nation, our children? As for me and my house, I will cast my lot and my vote with the children. Close the gun show loophole. Defeat the Dingell amendment. Vote for the McCarthy amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce the Environmental Justice Act. This legislation would help address the concerns of poor and minority communities throughout our nation who may be disproportionately exposed to incinerators, toxic waste dumps, and other forms of pollution. As many of you know, back in 1992, then Senator Al Gore and I introduced the first Environmental Justice Act. Even back then, we knew about the dangers of toxics and other forms of pollution. We heard the stories of Love Canal, Cancer Alley and Chicago's Toxic Donut. We knew that poor and minority families, and children in particular, were getting sick. Children were getting cancer. Parents were dying of rare diseases. Something was going on. The Environmental Justice Act seeks to establish the link between environmental pollution and the communities that were riddled with cancer and other diseases. This legislation also would provide help to these communities. It would restrict the siting of new polluting facilities and provide basic health services to residents. As I have always said, people have the right to know what is in the air they breathe, the water they drink, the food they eat. We have the right to know if the chemical plant down the street--or that incinerator around the corner--is poisoning our families. Each and every one of us has that right. And if that chemical plant, or incinerator, or toxic waste dump is killing our neighbors, our children, our communities--then it is time for the killing to stop. Protecting the health and well-being of our families is a matter of justice. It is a fundamental human right--just like freedom of speech--just like freedom of press--just like the right to vote. The Environmental Justice Act is an important step toward guaranteeing this right. I am hopeful that my colleagues will lend their support to this legislation and will help ensure that all Americans grow up in, and live in, a healthy environment.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Alabama, my native State, for yielding me this time. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks sat down on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama and refused to give up her seat to a white man. By sitting down, Rosa Parks was standing up. With dignity, with pride, and with one simple defining act, she began a nonviolent revolution in the American south, a nonviolent revolution that swept across America and swept aside segregation and the laws that divided us into two nations, one black and one white. As a 15-year-old boy growing up in rural Alabama, 50 miles from Montgomery, I was deeply inspired, moved and touched by this simple act of civil disobedience. Rosa Parks taught me and an entire generation the power that one individual can have in standing up for what is right and for what is just. The history books of the civil rights movement will recall Rosa Parks as one of the founders of the new America. This woman, this one woman, was tracked down by the spirit of history. She saw indignity and she exposed it. She saw inequality and she confronted it. She saw injustice and she defeated it. So, Mr. Speaker, it is fitting and appropriate that we honor Rosa Parks by awarding her the Congressional Gold Medal. By honoring Rosa Parks, we honor all of us. We honor America. We honor unborn generations.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to praise courageous fire fighters in the City of Atlanta. On Monday afternoon, members of the Atlanta City Fire Department fought a raging fire through the historic Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill in southeast Atlanta. Mr. Ivers Sims was trapped on a crane 220 feet in the air. As I watched this human drama unfold from my office, my heart stopped. Demonstrating extraordinary courage and skill, fire fighter Matt Moseley and helicopter pilot Capt. Boyd Clines lifted Mr. Sims from his dangerous perch like angels from the heavens. They saved his life. This brilliant rescue has made the City of Atlanta, the State of Georgia, and our Nation proud. The fire fighters and Mr. Sims have my profound respect for their raw courage and extraordinary calm and determination under the most dangerous of circumstances. Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to praise fire fighters throughout the Nation who put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve our communities.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, one of the fundamental liberties of our country is freedom of religion. The right to exercise our religious beliefs free of government coercion. The Federal Government must not force a citizen to act against his or her religious beliefs. Because of their strong religious convictions, some Americans do not pay their taxes. They do not pay their taxes because their religion forbids them from supporting war. Seventeen cents out of every tax dollar received by the Federal Government is spent on the military. This military spending is inconsistent with the religious beliefs of hundreds and thousands of Americans. Because of their strong beliefs, these people would rather disobey their government than disobey their God or their beliefs. As a disciple of Ghandi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, preachings on nonviolence, I understand the difficult choice these Americans face. That is why I am introducing this legislation. The Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund would allow religious and conscientious objectors to pay their taxes without violating their religious beliefs. These taxpayers would have their tax payments placed in the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund. Money from this fund could not be spent for military purposes. Religious objectors would be assured that their tax payment would not increase military spending--that paying taxes would not violate their religious beliefs. The Joint Committee on Taxation has determined that the Religious Freedom and Peace Tax Fund legislation is a slight revenue raiser. The bill will not reduce military spending. It simply will allow thousands more Americans to pay their taxes in good conscience.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to praise courageous fire fighters in the City of Atlanta. On Monday afternoon, members of the Atlanta City Fire Department fought a raging fire through the historic Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill in southeast Atlanta. Mr. Ivers Sims was trapped on a crane 220 feet in the air. As I watched this human drama unfold from my office, my heart stopped. Demonstrating extraordinary courage and skill, fire fighter Matt Moseley lifted Mr. Sims from his dangerous perch like angels from the heavens. They saved his life. This brilliant rescue has made the City of Atlanta, the State of Georgia, and our Nation proud. The fire fighters and Mr. Sims have my profound respect for their raw courage and extraordinary calm and determination under the most dangerous of circumstances. Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to praise fire fighters throughout the Nation who put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve our communities.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Let me thank my friend and colleague and each of you for all of the kind words and everything that you have said tonight. But you must keep in mind, I was only one participant in a struggle. It was a community of participants, not a leader but just one individual in a community of individuals participating in a movement. I think our trip has brought us closer together. I ran into Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. last Sunday at church. She said to me, ``John, I was so moved, I was deeply moved, I can never tell you how moved, to see all those Members of Congress in Selma, Alabama during the first weekend in March.'' I think that is why we have to go back. I am glad our colleague, Congressman Earl Hilliard from Alabama, has extended an invitation for us to come back for the 35th anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery. We must go back. Because I think in this process, we help America to become a circle of brothers and sisters, what I like to call, really in the movement what we call a band of brothers and sisters, a circle of trust. We build a sense of community. We move toward that period and that place of laying down the burden of race. I think as we move into the next century, we have to be the leaders, saying that as a Nation and as a people, we must lay down the burden of race. It is too heavy a burden for us to bear. I think what we have displayed tonight with the help of our good friend Doug Tanner and Faith and Politics, that it is something that we can share, not just with each other but back in our districts, in our States and for the whole Nation. If we can build just pockets of the beloved community, here on Capitol Hill, here in Washington, maybe we can build it around America, and maybe we can bring peace to the world community. Madam Speaker, I think we got to keep it going, and this should not be the end, it should be just the beginning.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) my friend, my brother, and my colleague, for being the co-leader of this delegation traveling from Washington to Birmingham where we had an opportunity to visit the Civil Rights Museum, the Sixteenth Street Church that was bombed on September 15th, 1963, where the four little girls were killed, and to visit the park where they used the dogs and the fire hoses against little children. We then traveled, as the gentleman suggested, on to Montgomery and then to Selma. During that entire trip in the State of Alabama, we were in the district of the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Hilliard) and we should take the moment to thank him for his hospitality and thank all of our colleagues. This trip was sponsored by Faith and Politics, a group that comes together here in Washington where we have been meeting for some time discussing the whole question of race, having a dialogue on race. We have been doing it here, in our districts, in our offices, in our homes. We did it on this trip and we are going to continue to do it. So I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) for bringing us together tonight. Maybe the gentleman from Alabama would have something to say, since we were in his district in Alabama.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am a man of peace, not of war. I am a believer in the philosophy and the discipline of nonviolence. I am a disciple of the teachings of Gandhi, Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr. But there comes a time when force and military might become necessary to put an end to madness. It was Gandhi who said, ``Noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.'' Mr. Speaker, we cannot sit idly by while thousands of people are murdered in Kosovo. Today, President Clinton took bold, forceful, and decisive action to stop the slaughter of innocents in Kosovo. We have a moral obligation, a mission and a mandate to prevent a modern day holocaust. I am hopeful that our military action will be swift and sudden, that it will be compelling, and that it will persuade the Serbs that peace is the more excellent path. Mr. Speaker, my thoughts and prayers today are with our men and women in uniform. May they return home to their friends and families safe, sound and secure in knowing that, through their actions, they have saved the lives of countless men, women and children. Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution.