John Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I say to my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Riggs), I knew Martin Luther King, Jr., very well. I worked with him for many years. He was my friend, my leader, my hero, my brother. If he was standing here tonight, I tell my colleagues, he would say he believes in a color-blind society, but he would tell us that we are not there yet, and he would not be supporting the Riggs amendment. So I think that it is not right to use Martin Luther King in this manner.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I did not go to Harvard. I did not attend Yale. I could not. I could not even attend Troy State University, just a few miles from my home, because of the color of my skin. For 200 years, millions of African-Americans could not go to college. The doors of higher education, of opportunity, were shut simply because of the color of our skin. Today African-Americans and other minorities are attending Troy State, Harvard, Yale, and nearly every institution of higher learning because of merit and because of affirmative action. Affirmative action opens the door for those who grew up with less hope and less opportunity, because of the color of their skin, because their parents did not go to college, because their family has yet to overcome 200 years of government-sanctioned discrimination. Opponents of affirmative action say they want a colorblind society, but ending affirmative action is not colorblind. It is blind to centuries of discrimination, blind to the racism that is still deeply embedded in our society, blind to the barriers that continue to confront generation upon generation of African-American and other minorities. Mr. Chairman, we have fought too long and too hard and come too far. We cannot let affirmative action be destroyed. People have gone to jail. People have been beaten. People have lost their lives. Now we must fight one more time against those who wave the banner of fairness but really want to slam the door of opportunity in the face of young people across our Nation. Mr. Chairman, I urge our colleagues to stand up for diversity, hope and opportunity by defeating this amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, it has been 3 years since a GAO report found that 1 out of every 3 of our Nation's schools are in need of major reconstruction and repair. Public school buildings are crumbling. Our schoolteachers are dealing with overcrowded classrooms. Many of our schools are fighting a war on drugs and violence. Parents and teachers in my own district tell me about these problems and the lack of resources in the public schools in Atlanta. The GAO report shows that these problems exist nationwide, because overcrowded students attend classes in closets, hallways and even bathrooms. Yet, in 3 years, the Republican leadership has done nothing to address these devastating problems. Nine out of 10 children in America attend public schools. The bill before us does nothing to address the problems that they face. In fact, this bill is nothing new. It is just the latest assault on public schools by the opponents of public education. In the last three years, my Republican colleagues have proposed abolishing the Department of Education, cutting the school lunch program, cutting funding for safe and drug-free schools, for teacher training, and for Head Start. The Republican record is clear. It is anti-public education. And now they have the audacity to propose draining $45 million from the Federal Treasury to send just 3 percent of D.C. students to private and religious schools. The vast majority of students in D.C. public schools, 76,000, will be left out and left behind. Now, the Republicans will have us believe that they care about D.C. public schools and their students. Do not be fooled. Education is a great equalizer in our Nation. For $45 million, we could set up computer labs for every school in the District of Columbia. We could hire teachers, reading teachers for all of the public schools in the District. With adequate funding, with public education as our top priority, we could truly make a difference for the majority of our schoolchildren in this city and nationwide. Madam Speaker, the Democrats have a plan that will rebuild and repair 50,000 of our Nation's schools, put 100,000 more teachers in our Nation's classrooms, reduce the class size to 18 students and strengthen teacher training. It is time for us to take action and move forward to improve American public schools. This legislation is a step backward. It is a step in the wrong direction. Oppose the Republican D.C. voucher scheme and invest in public education for all of our children, so no child will be left behind in the District of Columbia or any place in America.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the scientific evidence is clear. Needle transfer programs can reduce HIV infection and save lives. Needle exchange programs do not increase drug use. Last week, the Secretary of HHS announced that Federal funds would not, I repeat, would not fund needle exchange programs. Local governments can decide whether or not they want to fund these programs. AIDS is a devastating disease. It is a devastating sickness. It is heartbreaking to know someone who is suffering with AIDS. Half of the new AIDS infections come from injection of drugs. We must do everything in our power, must use every resource at our command to reduce the spread of AIDS. We must fund research, we must provide health care, and we must let local governments make their own decisions. If local governments choose to fund needle exchange programs, programs that reduce the spread of AIDS, we should not stand in their way. Leave it up to the City of Atlanta, to the City of New York, to the City of Birmingham to decide. Leave it to the doctors and the scientists. Leave it to the women and men of medicine. This is a matter of public health. I, for one, will not stand in the way of local governments who want to save lives and reduce the spread of AIDS. Stop playing politics with the lives of our people who are living and suffering with HIV and AIDS. I urge my colleagues vote no on this bill.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Kennelly) for yielding. Mr. Speaker, 60 years ago, Franklin Roosevelt, a Democratic President, worked with a Democratic Congress to create a Democratic program to help retired workers, Social Security. For 60 years, the Social Security system that Democrats created has provided retirement security to hundreds of millions of Americans. Social Security is founded on a simple principle: Every worker contributes to and is part of a common system. We all pay into this system together; and when we retire, we all receive benefits together. For 60 years, Social Security has provided peace of mind to millions of workers and retirees. We must not destroy this peace of mind. We must not destroy the sense of common good created by Social Security. Providing a privatized Social Security system would destroy this trust. It would take security out of Social Security. Do not believe the fearmongers who tell us that Social Security would not be there for us. They want to end Social Security as we know it. The enemies of Social Security will have us believe that the problems are too big. But the sky is not falling. We can fix Social Security without destroying our covenant with the American people. Mr. Speaker, I will vote for this bill because I believe we must first save Social Security, but I would not support efforts to privatize Social Security. I will not support efforts to destroy the peace of mind Social Security provides millions of retirees and millions of our workers. As a Democrat, I will remain true to the Democratic legacy of Social Security, the legacy of people coming together as one to provide a basic livable pension for every American no matter how rich, how poor, how young, or how old. I will fight efforts to divide the rich from the poor and parents from their children. Mr. Speaker, Democrats will fight to save Social Security first because Social Security is a sacred trust with the American people, and we must never, ever betray this trust with the American people. Protect Social Security first.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I would ask the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady) to explain to the body the purpose of the legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation of objection, I first heard of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1955 when I was 15 years old growing up in rural Alabama. Three years later, in 1958, 40 years ago, I had an opportunity to meet Martin Luther King, Jr. It was the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship. He was my friend, my leader, my brother, my hero. Martin Luther King, Jr., must be looked upon as one of the Founding Fathers of the new America. He used the philosophy and the discipline of nonviolence to bring about a nonviolent revolution in America. Martin Luther King, Jr., with the use of nonviolence, had the power, the ability, and the capacity to bring the dirt and the filth from under the American rug, out of the cracks, out of the corners into the open light in order for us to deal with the problem of racism and segregation. We live in a better nation, in a better place. We are a better people because Martin Luther King, Jr., lived. In my estimation, 30 years later, we must look upon Martin Luther King, Jr., as one of the founding fathers of the new America. He not only freed and liberated African Americans, but he freed and liberated all Americans. So it is fitting and appropriate that we pause tonight to commemorate the life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise against this rule. Under today's budget constraint, $218 billion is simply too much. It is too much asphalt, too much money to take away from our children, the elderly, our veterans, and the needy. This bill busts the budget by $26 billion. Money does not grow on trees. It must come from somewhere. This bill will force us to cut valuable government programs like Head Start, school lunches, low income housing, health care, veterans, and environmental protection. This bill is not the bridge to the 21st century. It is not a bridge to our future. We are moving down the wrong highway. Are we prepared as a great Nation to choose concrete over children, bridges over books, pavement over people? Do not get me wrong. We need Federal transportation programs, but $218 billion is simply too much. Beginning with the Democratic budget in 1993, we have put our fiscal house in order. Now we have a balanced budget. We have money for schools. We have money for children. We have money for veterans, the elderly, and the needy. This bill will end all of that. It puts our fiscal house in disarray. It busts the bank. Because this bill does not pay for itself, it makes no hard choices. It is easy to vote for a $20 million road project in our district. But how do we tell little children there is no money for schools, no money for books, no money for teachers? Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this rule. I am not willing, I am not prepared to sacrifice education, health care, the environment, and community development to $218 billion worth of asphalt and urban sprawl. It is simply too much.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I was deeply saddened and chagrined to read in the paper the remarks of our colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the Majority Whip, regarding slavery and the President's remark on the subject. According to my colleague, and I quote, ``Here is a flower child with gray hair doing exactly what he did back in the '60s. He is apologizing for the actions of the U.S.'' While there is nothing wrong with apologizing, that is not what the President did. What President Clinton did on his recent trip to Africa was express his regret over slavery. He said slavery was wrong, something we should all be able to agree on. At a time when the President and others are trying to nurture racial healing and reconciliation, it is unfortunate that there are those who would use the issue of race as a wedge to divide us. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) owes this House, the American people, and the President an explanation and an apology. He has said that the President cannot tell the truth about his mistakes and own up to them. Mr. Delay should admit his own error of judgment and apologize.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, there is no question that family planning has promoted the health and survival of women and children in undeveloped nations. For over 30 years, the United States has been a leader and a healer with family planning aid throughout the world. We have led an international crusade to promote child survival in the world, decrease maternal and infant deaths, and end the spread of disease. We have saved the lives of young girls by encouraging them to postpone childbearing. Because of our aid, our help, the size of the average family in poor countries has dropped from six to three. This reduction in family size has helped millions escape poverty. It has increased the prospects of an education and a richer, healthier life for women and children. It has given thousands of families a way up and a way out and helped them survive and thrive. Despite all of our success, despite the distance we have traveled, there are some who do not understand the importance of our work. This legislation effectively cuts funding for family planning. It has a chilling effect on our family planning efforts abroad. This legislation is a step backward, it is a step in the wrong direction. Let me be clear. Not one penny of U.S. family planning aid has ever been used to fund an abortion abroad. Our laws prevent it. We are not trying to change that. We are simply trying to continue a successful program that saves human lives. It is cruel and barbaric to stand in the way of poor families getting basic information about their health in this country or some distant land. I urge my colleagues to support healthy families worldwide and vote down this destructive and mean legislation. Mr. Speaker, I think it is unfortunate this legislation is coming to us today when 16 Members of our body, black Members, are in African countries, and I wish it could have been postponed and come up some time later.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this bill is a thinly veiled attack on America's organized workers. It is a Republican retribution bill. If one disagrees with the Republican majority, it will not be long before they are under investigation or under attack right here on the floor of the House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, this bill is not just an antiunion bill, it is un- American. This bill will allow employers to discriminate against and deny employment to workers based solely on their connection with a union. What happened to freedom of speech? What happened to freedom of assembly? What happened to freedom of association? This bill is a naked attempt to intimidate American working families. It is a shame, it is a disgrace, and it has no place on this House floor. I urge my colleagues to kill this bad un-American bill. Get it off of the floor, and send it to the trash heap dump right now.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, here is what the New York Times has to say about the campaign finance reform bill Republicans will bring to the House floor this week: ``Newt Gingrich has a plan to snooker Americans yearning for a cleanup of their corrupt election finance system.'' Here is what the Republican bill will do, among other things. It would increase the amount of money rich individuals could contribute to a candidate from $1,000 to $2,000. It would increase the amount of money a rich individual could contribute to a political party from $20,000 to $60,000, and it would increase the total amount a rich individual could contribute to candidates and parties from $25,000 to $75,000; $1,000 to $2,000, $20,000 to $60,000, $25,000 to $75,000. That is the Republican campaign finance reform. If you think there is not enough money in politics, this is the campaign finance reform bill for you. This bill is a scam, it is a sham, it is a shame and a disgrace. The Republican majority ought to be embarrassed to bring this bill to the floor.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I think this particular deacon, as head of the deacon board, he made a great contribution, and I think when historians pick up their pens and write about this period, they would have to say that this one man had the insight, the vision, to go to Atlanta, as the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) suggested, and convince Dr. King not to go to Chattanooga, Tennessee, but to come to Montgomery, Alabama. That is something I think from time to time in human history, call it what you may, it may be the spirit of history, that tends to track one down, and so Martin Luther King, Jr., was there at the right time in the right city to change not just Alabama, the South, but the Nation. I think because of what happened in Montgomery, in Birmingham, in Selma, we have witnessed what I like to call a nonviolent revolution. We live in a different country, a better country, and we are a better people. I think we saw that. We saw the changes in Selma. We saw it in Birmingham when a middle-aged man walked up to me and said, I want to apologize for what happened here a few years ago. I am sorry. And I think that is very much in keeping with the philosophy and the discipline of nonviolence which was very much a part of the movement.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I called a special order tonight with a bipartisan delegation, Members of Congress that traveled from Washington to Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma during March 6 through the 8th. Along with Members of the Congress that included Amo Houghton, Earl Hilliard, Sherrod Brown, Tom Barrett, Karen Thurman, Fred Upton, Diana DeGette, Eliot Engel, Sheila Jackson-Lee, we also had the head of the National Democratic Committee, Roy Roman, and Jim Nicholson, the Republican National Committee chair. This trip was to be part of a dialogue on race, which was sponsored by Faith and Politics Institute under the leadership of Doug Tanner. These Members decided to travel to Birmingham to the site of the 16th Street Baptist Church and visit the church where four little girls were killed by a bomb on September 15, 1963, and from there to visit the Civil Rights Museum and to see some of the historic sites that changed America. From there we traveled to the City of Montgomery, where we had an opportunity to visit the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church that Martin Luther King, Jr., was called to pastor in 1954 and where he led the successful Montgomery bus boycott. We had an opportunity while we were in Montgomery to visit former Governor George Wallace and to talk with him, to shake his hand, to tour the capitol in the City of Montgomery, to visit the Civil Rights Memorial there and travel from Montgomery on early Sunday morning to the City of Selma, where we attended service at the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church. And later we had lunch that was sponsored by the mayor of Selma, Mayor Smitherman. In 1965, 33 years ago, in the City of Selma only 2.1 percent of blacks of voting age were registered to vote. In one county between Selma and Montgomery, Loundes County, that we traveled through on our way to Selma, in 1965 that county was more than 80 percent African- American. There was not a single registered African-American voter. But today in Selma in Loundes County in the State of Alabama we have witnessed unbelievable changes. It is a different State. It is a different place. What I would like to do now, Mr. Speaker, is to yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton), my colleague and the co-chair of the Faith and Politics Institute and one of the real leaders of this whole Dialogue on Race.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) for those words. I think this is only a beginning toward us building that beloved community and moving toward laying down the burden of race. That is why the dialogue must continue. I yield to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), who was also part of our trip to Selma.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Barrett).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Let me just add before the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Hilliard) speaks, just to thank him again for being such a great host. We were in his district the entire time in Birmingham, in Montgomery, in Selma. We want to thank the gentleman.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, one of the deputy sheriffs.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, he told him to go to his own church and pray; do not pray for me.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Hilliard).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Karen Thurman).

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for those words and for taking the time to participate in this. She added so much. I think what we all are saying tonight is that we must continue the dialogue, continue to talk to each other, continue to move to create the beloved community, an interracial democracy; continue to do what we can to lay down the burden of race. It is ongoing. We do not necessarily have a blueprint, a road map. We are going down this road for the first time. I think if we can do it in the Congress, we can do it in the larger society. We are the leaders. We should go out and help get our districts and our States to talk about race, and do not be afraid to bring the dirt and the filth from under the American rug, out of the cracks and corners so we can see it, so we can deal with it. I know the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Jay Dickey) was unable to go on the trip, but he had attended several of these meetings. I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Dickey).