John Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Jackie Robinson, Jackie Robinson, the man, the native Georgian. On this day 50 years ago this son of America, this citizen of the world, broke the color line in professional baseball. He was a good athlete. He succeeded on the field and he was superb off the field. He was able to catch and hit. He was able to steal bases. He was able to run. But his greatest contribution was not baseball, his greatest contribution was to the cause of social justice. Through his actions he inspired hundreds to walk in dignity, to march for pride, to stand up for America by sitting in places where African- Americans had never been able or allowed to sit before. For his action on the field, he opened doors that had been closed for generations. This one man, this one man, Jackie Robinson, continues to inspire men and women, young and old, to strive to do their best. Today, Mr. Speaker, we salute, we pay tribute, to a great American: Jackie Robinson.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, 55 years ago this month, the first sit-in took place. It was at the Jack Spratt Coffee Shop in Chicago, IL. It was conceived, organized, and led by James Farmer. Fifty years ago, in 1947, in followup to the 1946 Supreme Court ruling that blacks could not be forced to sit in the back of buses traveling interstate, Farmer led CORE members in a challenge to the practice of segregated seating. On what he called the journey of reconciliation, they traveled through Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Some members of that group, including Bayard Rustin, were arrested and served 30 days on a chain gang in North Carolina for having violated local segregation laws. These are among the little known but critical events on the road to equal rights and equal protection under the law in the United States. Better known are the Freedom Rides. James Farmer orchestrated them, too. Tireless and committed, Jim Farmer led 13 of us--an interracial group of young men and women whom he had helped train in the Ghandian principles of direct action and nonviolence--on a journey toward freedom, through the deep South. There was violence all around. Our buses were burned. We were beaten. But, we never turned back. The Freedom Rides catapulted Birmingham police commissioner, Bull Connor, onto the front page of major newspapers around the world. The Freedom Rides opened Bobby Kennedy's eyes to the intransigence of Southern segregationists and the need for the Federal Government to intervene in the struggle for civil rights. And the Freedom Rides brought down the white only and colored signs that had been hung over every bus seat, terminal bench, toilet, and water fountain in the South. Although he was one of the ``Big Six'' leaders of the civil rights movement, a planner of the 1963 march on Washington and scheduled to speak at the march, Jim Farmer didn't make it to the march. He was in jail in Louisiana at the time; and, while he could have been released, he chose to stay with the 200 others who had marched in Plaquemine earlier in the week protesting the inhumane treatment of black people in that parish. Almost a month later, the Plaquemine protesters were released. However, the only way Farmer was able to escape Louisiana was in a coffin in the back of a hearse. The State troopers had vowed to find him and kill. Referred to as a ``young negro aristocrat,'' Farmer was born in Texas, where his father was the first black person to earn a Ph.D. degree. Today, he is 77 years old. He is blind. He has lost the use of both of his legs. He is not in good health. He is still teaching at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA, where is he Distinguished Professor of History and American Studies. He continues to inspire his students and all those who come in contact with him to set goals, direct their actions, lead, be creative, have vision and keep the faith. I invite my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to James Farmer, one of our Nation's greatest heros, his work, his legacy, and his life.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, 4 years ago the Democrats were doing the heavy lifting to help hard-working families. The Family and Medical Leave Act, to help working parents, was law by February. The Motor-Voter Act, to bring more Americans into the democratic process, was law by May. But now what are we doing? Nothing. We are not meeting, we are not working, we are not voting. There is no excuse. There is work to be done. Too many of our young people cannot afford a college education. Too many children are dropping out of school. Ten million kids have no health insurance. In fact, while this Congress has done nothing, more than 300,000 children lost their health insurance. Mr. Speaker, show us a bill on education, show us a bill on children health, show us a bill on campaign finance. Where is the leadership? Where is the action? Where is the vision? Where is the beef? It is time to act, it is time to lead.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call upon my colleagues to defeat the previous question and to bring an amendment to this floor allowing a debate on the important issue of campaign finance reform. Every person in America realizes the importance and necessity to address our broken system of financing the election, and yet my colleagues on the other side, the Republican majority, are planning no hearings on this issue, no debate on this floor, and no votes to change the way elections are paid for. It is a shame, and it is a disgrace. There is too much money in the political process. We need to recognize that there is too much money in the political process. Members of Congress are forced to spend too much time chasing campaign funds. Special interests and the wealthy interests have too much influence. These are the problems that need to be addressed. Mr. Speaker, there is a fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans on campaign finance. Democrats believe there is too much money in the political process. Republicans believe there is too little. Let us have a debate on the floor of the House of Representatives. Let the American people decide whether we need more or less money in politics. We should put our votes on the board, let the American people see, rather than bring us back to Washington week after week to vote on do-nothing legislation. Let us address the real problems confronting our Nation. Let us fix our broken campaign finance laws. Defeat the previous question and let the real and serious debate begin. Maybe, just maybe, we should adjourn or recess the Congress and go home for the next few days and visit our citizens, the people that sent us here, like I did last week. Why come back here and vote on do- nothing legislation? Now is the time to act. Defeat the previous question.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this is not a debate that should be occurring in the Congress today. This is not a decision for us, for legislators, for policymakers. We are not men and women of medicine, of science. I am not a doctor; I did not go to medical school. We have no business telling doctors how to practice medicine. No government, Federal, State or local, should tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body. Decisions about health, decisions about medicine, decisions about conscience, are not for us to make. These decisions should be left in the homes, churches, and synagogues of women facing these hard, wrenching decisions. This is an issue between a woman and her family, a woman and her doctor, a woman and her conscience, a woman and her God. Let us not invade the homes of American women, the hospital, and the health care centers. Let us not attempt to play doctor. Let us not attempt to play God. Let us say no to politicians in the bedrooms, the family rooms, and the operating rooms. Mr. Speaker, let us say no to this ill-conceived bill.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague and my good friend from New York [Ms. Slaughter] for holding this special order. Mr. Speaker, in 1965, Congress established the National Endowment for the Arts. The idea behind the endowment was to create a climate for freedom, freedom of thought, freedom of imagination. Congress found that while no government can create a great artist or a great scholar, it is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to encourage freedom of thought, freedom of expression. I believe that we must provide the resources to support these freedoms. Since that time, our Nation has changed dramatically. We have witnessed what I like to call a nonviolent revolution with the civil rights movement. We have seen a technological revolution in all areas of society. We have seen our Nation grow and really change. Mr. Speaker, I grew up in rural Alabama, in an area without a telephone, without running water, without power. My father was a tenant farmer, a sharecropper. He was not allowed to vote or sit in some public places. But today we can fly through the air like a bird and swim through the water like a fish. We put a man on the Moon. We communicate by satellite, by computer on the Internet. These revolutions are social revolutions, our cultural revolutions, our revolutions in science and technology, are the results of our collective imagination as a Nation, our sense of direction and our need for growth and change. Throughout history, as the Nation has grown and changed, it is imagination, it is art, that has uplifted us and guided us and defined us. It is imagination that has made our dreams come true. Just 2 weeks ago I had a great experience, a wonderful experience. I visited an elementary school in Atlanta called Mary Lin Elementary. I was impressed and amazed by all of the students at this little school. Children as young as 4, in kindergarten, 4 years old, but also children of all ages had drawn pictures of what they understood to be the civil rights movement. These young students, these young bright minds, had decorated every hall in every building with their colorful vision, each drawing different, each drawing unique. Every student was involved. Every student understood something about history through their imagination, through art. Just yesterday I had lunch with an art teacher from the Atlanta public schools, Ms. Deborah Laden. She told me that she received less than $100 for each student in her class for art education. It is a shame and a disgrace that in a Nation as rich and as powerful as the United States, in a Nation, yes, that has put a man on the Moon, we do not invest more in our children, in their ability to dream dreams and to share and express those dreams. In the same way children learn through art, we all are inspired by professional artists and others who have taken time to explore human existence and human history. It was President John Fitzgerald Kennedy who once said, Behind the storm of daily conflict and crisis, the dramatic confrontations, the tumult of political struggle, the poet, the artist, the musician, continue their quiet work of centuries, building bridges of experience between people, reminding man of the universality of his feelings and desires and despairs, and reminding him that the forces that unite are deeper than those that divide. President Kennedy went on to say, I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision. Today, more than 35 years later, these words are more important than ever. We are in the midst of the information age. Our workers must be able to learn quickly. They must be imaginative thinkers and creative individuals. They must handle the tools of technology with a sense of philosophy, a sense of history, a sense of vision, a sense of community. With a modest investment, just a little bit, a modest investment, we can help fill in the gaps of American education and encourage art education in our schools. With a very modest investment, we can help decorate every hallway of every school in every State with creative vision of our youngest minds, uplifted and inspired by their own imagination and the imagination of each other. These young children, because of art, because of their imagination, may grow up to be visionaries, to be scientists, artists, doctors, lawyers, ministers. These young children will lead us into the 21st century. Some of my colleagues today may ask if we can afford to invest in the arts. Our answer must be, how can we afford not to? Free the artists, provide the necessary resources, let the imagination, the minds run wild. It is what our country, it is what our society is all about. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman again for holding this special order on the arts.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great man and a great institution, Robert Paschal, the founder and owner of Paschal's Motor Hotel and Restaurant, who recently passed away. Mr. Paschal moved to Atlanta at a young age and opened a soda fountain and a hot dog stand. The small stand grew into an Atlanta institution, an establishment famous for its fried chicken. He helped build a business the old-fashioned way, the hard way, through hard work. My first meal in Atlanta was at Paschal's during the civil rights movement. This man practically fed the entire movement. Paschal's was one of the few places blacks and whites could socialize and discuss the order of the day. It was there we talked about the Selma march, the Poor People's Campaign, and the Mississippi summer project. It was there we checked the pulse of the movement. Paschal's was referred to as the Paschal precinct, and to this day it is a meeting place, a gathering place for all Atlanta. So when Robert Paschal left us, we lost a part of Atlanta, part of our history and our hearts. He will be missed by our city and our State.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague and friend from the great State of South Carolina for yielding. I want to thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia [Ms. Norton] for organizing this special order in honor of our friend Arnold Aronson. It is fitting and appropriate that we gather here on the floor of the House of Representatives to pay tribute to this great man on this, the occasion of his 86th birthday. I want to personally wish Mr. Aronson a happy, a very happy birthday. As Americans, we owe a debt of gratitude to Arnold Aronson. We live in a better country, a better society, and a better world because of the work of this civil rights pioneer. I would not be here, I would not be a Member of Congress but for the hard work, dedication, and commitment by Arnold Aronson and others like him. These were people who took up the cause of equal rights and civil rights long before they became politically popular, before they became the fashion of the day. Arnold Aronson was one of the original founders of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and for this he should be commended and remembered. But Mr. Aronson was more than that, I can tell you. He was the glue that held the civil rights movement together. I remember many meetings during the 1960's, many meetings here in Washington during some heated discussion, sometimes heated debates. It was always Arnold Aronson that held us together. In order to have people and individuals, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia [Ms. Norton] will remember, the gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Clyburn] and others, to have an A. Philip Randolph, a Martin Luther King, Jr., a Roy Wilkins, a James Farmer, a Bayard Rustin, and the young people from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and others in the same room, it was a great deal to try to control. This man, this good man, was a soldier of conscience, a warrior in a nonviolent crusade to bring equality to America. While the civil rights climate ebbed and flowed in the course of his 60-year career, Arnold Aronson stood like a mighty oak planted by the bank of the river. He never swayed, he never wavered, he never faltered. He knew what was right and he worked every day to make that vision a reality. Under his day-to-day leadership as secretary of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Arnold Aronson lobbied and fought successfully for the passage of the 1957 and the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. To this day he remains an active member of the Leadership Conference. Due in part to his leadership and his ability, his capacity to build a coalition, the Leadership Conference today includes 180 viable organizations and groups and fights against all forms of racial, religious, national origin, gender, and sexual orientation bigotry and discrimination. Tonight, Mr. Speaker, I want to note in particular the vital and historic role that Mr. Aronson played in uniting the black and Jewish communities in the struggle for civil rights. It is a bond and a friendship that continues to this very day. For example, in my city of Atlanta and many other cities, there is a black-Jewish coalition working together due in large part to the road paved by our friend Arnold Aronson. As I said when I started, it is more than fitting and appropriate that we gather here today. Few Americans have done more to bring us together, more to unite us as a nation and as a people than has Arnold Aronson. My late mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., talked during the 1960's of building a beloved community, a nation at peace with itself, where people were judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Arnold Aronson has done as much as any man in this Nation to help build that beloved community. For that he will always be, in my heart and in the hearts of millions of others, beloved. Thank you, Mr. Aronson. Thank you for your hard work.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am dismayed that in our great country, there are children who do not have health insurance. There are 10 million children. That is not right. That is not fair. That does not make sense. Our country is too rich, too powerful, too strong to have children without health insurance. We cannot call ourselves truly great when we do not provide for our most vulnerable and most precious, our children. This is a problem that we can fix and we must fix. As a nation we made a commitment to educate our children. We do this because it is good for them and it is good for all of us. Now we must make another commitment. It is time to keep all of our children healthy. Each and every child, rich and poor, black and white, in the big cities to the suburbs of rural America. Each and every child should be able to see a doctor, to get medicine when they are sick, to have medical care when they need help. A sick child cannot go to school, cannot learn. A sick child cannot build for the future. A healthy child can study, work, and dream. Mr. Speaker, there is no one right way to solve this problem, but we must solve it. We must focus our collective energy, the House, the Senate, and the White House, to solve this problem for the sake of all of our children. Let us come together and make a real commitment to find a solution. Let us put aside partisan differences, and let us join together to help each and every one of our children. None of our children, not one, should be left out or left behind. We can, we must work together to provide health care for all of our children. The future of our children and the future of our Nation depends upon it.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am once again pleased and honored to introduce legislation honoring the Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, Jr., leader of the National Poor People's Campaign of 1968. My legislation would authorize the construction of a memorial on the National Mall in honor of the Reverend Abernathy and the thousands of individuals who participated in the Poor People's Campaign. During the 1960's, I was honored to be a part of the civil rights movement--a movement that changed the face of our Nation. People from throughout our Nation--old and young, black and white, rich and poor-- joined the nonviolent revolution that made our country a better, fairer, more just Nation. During this time, I was fortunate to get to know Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his partner in the movement--Dr. Abernathy. Dr. Abernathy was an inspiring and committed leader from the earliest days of the movement. When Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to stand in the back of the bus while there were empty seats in the white section of the bus, she inspired the Montgomery bus boycott. As ministers of the two leading black churches in Montgomery, AL, Dr. King and Dr. Abernathy worked together to organize and sustain that boycott. Thus began the strong bonds of friendship and commitment that would last as long as the two men lived. Dr. Abernathy had a lifelong commitment to securing and protecting basic civil rights for all Americans. I marched with him many times throughout the South, including Selma and Montgomery. After the assassination of Dr. King in 1968, Dr. Abernathy assumed leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and worked to carry on the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After Dr. King's death, Dr. Abernathy continued to organize and lead marches and other events, including the Poor People's Campaign, a massive demonstration to protest rising unemployment, held in Washington, DC. The Reverend Abernathy passed away 7 years ago. Today, I am introducing a resolution authorizing the construction of a memorial to the Reverend Abernathy and the Poor People's Campaign on the National Mall. I invite my colleagues to join me in supporting this effort. The monument will celebrate the achievements of the past, commemorate those who marched alongside us many years ago, and pay special tribute to the sacrifices and the contributions of Dr. Abernathy and others who participated in the Poor People's Campaign. Thousands of people participated. Some had small roles, others large roles. The Reverend Ralph David Abernathy had many roles, often at the same time. He was a teacher, a leader, an organizer, a soldier, and a friend. Many were inspired by his spirit, his good humor, and his guidance. Today, I invite my colleagues to join me in celebrating his legacy and his life.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Commuter Choice Act, legislation that would help the environment while giving commuters greater choices in how they get to work. Too often, our tax code subsidizes commuting by cars at the expense of other forms of transportation. Under current law, an employer can provide its employees free parking valued at up to $170/month. The employee does not include this benefit as income, and the employer may deduct the cost of providing the parking when computing its own taxes. However, if the employer provides its employees subsidized transit passes, the employee must include the benefit as income if it exceeds $65/month. In other words, if you commute by car, you can receive the equivalent of $170/month tax free. If you commute by bus or subway, you can only receive the equivalent of $65/month tax free. The code discriminates even more against those who walk, car pool or commute by bicycle. Suppose that, in addition to parking and mass transit, an employer wants to give its employees the choice of receiving a commuting stipend. In other words, an employee could choose between a parking space, a transit pass or $20/month to cover other commuting expenses. Current tax law dictates that the cash stipend by included as income and taxed. In addition, if the employer offers employees the OPTION of a commuting stipend, then all employees must include the value of the cash stipend as income. In other words, the employees would have to pay taxes on the value of the cash stipend, even if they chose a parking space or transit pass. This tax treatment provides a huge disincentive for employers to offer a commuting stipend in lieu of a parking space. My legislation would level the playing field among commuting choices. First, it would increase the value of transit subsidies that an employee could receive tax free to $170/month, the same value as the parking space. In addition, it would allow employers to offer employees the choice of a commuting stipend. Finally, it would require employers to offer employees the option of a cash stipend of at least $15/month. The result is that all commuting benefits are treated more equally. This bill can help reduce congestion and combat air pollution, and it does so without raising taxes or creating new environmental regulations. It simply gives commuters a choice.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I want to add my voice to those that have spoken today in support of international family planning. Mr. Chairman, there is no question that funding for family planning has promoted the health and survival of women and children in developing nations. The United States has taken a leading role in promoting child survival in the world, decreasing maternal and infant mortality, and ending the spread of deadly disease, including the AIDS virus. And, yes, Mr. Speaker, we have helped reduce the practice of abortion through this program. Today, abortion is widespread in many nations--Russian women have on average 7 to 8 abortions in a lifetime. Family planning is helping to reverse this epidemic--to end the trend, not to begin it. We have heard it said on this floor today, and I will say it again: not one penny of family planning aid goes to support abortions. Not one penny. This vote is not about supporting abortions abroad--it is about ending them. It is about about saving the lives of women and children. It is about saving the lives of women who, in many cases, are children. Family planning is helping to end the spread of the AIDS disease--a disease who know no borders. It is helping couples in developing nations reduce the size of their families so they can stay out of poverty, become educated, survive, and thrive. Family planning has limited the number of births in the developing world on average from 6 to 3. And to my colleagues who suggest that family planning funds will support abortions, let me say, and let me beg of you--there is enough misinformation about family planning in the world today. There is enough disease. Enough people have died. Enough women and children have suffered. Family planning from the United States is provided for one purpose and one purpose only: to end the spread of misinformation about family planning--to end the death, poverty, and disease that comes from the spread of myths and lies. Family planning does not support abortions, It saves lives. I urge my colleagues to support the release of family planning funds--funding which has already been appropriated and approved. Do it now. Do it today. The lives of women and children depend upon it.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, once again I am introducing a bill to establish an African-American Museum on the Mall in Washington, DC as part of the Smithsonian. I submit this bill during Black History Month to highlight the significance, urgency and importance of such a museum. The story of black people in America has yet to be told in its entirety. African-American history is an integral part of our country, yet the richness and variety of that history is little-known and little-understood. As tourists from all over the world come to visit our Nation's Capital, they will not be able to learn the full history of black people in America. This museum presents a great opportunity-- to showcase our history in its diversity and breadth, and to make the understanding of American history more complete. Did you know that Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was a pioneering heart surgeon that played a vital role in the discovery of open-heart surgery? And that Ernest Everett Just, Percy Julian, and George Washington Carver were all outstanding scientists? Educators such as W.E.B. DuBois and Benjamin E. Mays left an indelible mark on this country. The Harlem Renaissance produced poets, writers, and musicians like Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Duke Ellington. The civil rights movement changed the face of this country and inspired movements toward democracy and justice all over the world producing great leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., and Whitney Young. Too few people know that Benjamin Benneker, an outstanding mathematician, along with Pierre L' Enfant, designed the District of Columbia. There are many more and their stories must be told. Until we understand the African-American story in its fullness and complexity, we cannot understand ourselves as a nation. We must know we are and where we have come from so that we may move forward together. And we recognize the importance of all our people and all of our history. The establishment of this museum would be one important step toward achieving greater understanding as a nation and as a people. It is my hope and prayer that as we preserve these important moments in history, we will inspire future generations to dream, to write, to march and to teach. As they are able to look back at all that has been accomplished, they will be able to look forward and believe in the future of our great country. I am pleased and delighted that many of my colleagues have joined me in cosponsoring this bill. I urge all my colleagues of the 105th Congress to support this worthwhile and important legislation.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from California, Maxine Waters, for yielding me this time and for calling this special order, along with the gentleman from Ohio, Lou Stokes. I want to thank Maxine Waters, our colleague, the new chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus, for her leadership, for her vision, for bringing to the caucus a sense of vigor and vitality. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be here today to celebrate Black History Month; to talk about the civil rights movement and all that it has accomplished. Thirty-two years ago blacks in the South could not vote. I could not vote. Blacks were not allowed in the same restaurant as whites, the same hotels as whites. Blacks were not even allowed to drink from the same water fountain as whites. Growing up in rural Alabama, in the heart of the black belt, I grew up surrounded by the signs that divided our world: white waiting, colored waiting; white men, colored men; white women, colored women. In the 1960's, during the movement, all of this changed. People from all across our country, men and women, young and old, black and white, red, yellow and brown, came to the South. They came to change the world and they succeeded. We succeeded. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed our country. It changed our world. It is a better place. It is a more inclusive place. So it pains me today to hear people attack these laws. It pains me to hear politicians say that these laws have done more to divide our country than to unite it. These people do not know what they are saying. They do not know how far we have come. To those who say these laws do not work, I say ``Walk in my shoes.'' I have seen the progress. I have seen us grow as a Nation and as a people. I have seen a poor black man, denied the right to vote, become a Member of Congress because of these laws. It is not the laws that divide, it is people who divide. It is politicians playing the race card to win votes. It is politicians who attack any solution to the racism that still exists in our society. It is people who ignore the racism and attack those who offer solutions and work to overcome the racism that is still with us. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we have made great progress as a Nation and as a people. The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act have made us equal under the law, but we are still not equal. The scars and stain of racism still plague our society. We must speak up against those who see the world as rich against poor, black against white, us against them. We have heard the political speeches, seen the political ads. They fan the flames of racism, the racism that burned dozens of black churches to the ground last year. My colleagues, thanks to the civil rights movement, we are all equal under the law. We have come a long way toward being in a country where all men and women are created equal. We have come so far because of the movement, because of the laws, not in spite of them. It is time, Mr. Speaker, for us to speak openly about race. We must redirect the priorities of our Nation. We must use our resources not to divide but to bring together, not to tear down but to uplift, not to oppress but to set free. We, every one of us, have a moral obligation, a mission and a mandate from the spirit of history, from our fallen martyrs, Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, James Chaney, Andy Goodman and Mickey Schwerner. We have an obligation to work for hope and opportunity for all, to build upon the civil rights movement, to build upon its legacy which has brought us here today. Yes, Ms. Waters, as I said earlier, we are a better nation, a better people because of the civil rights movement. We are in the process of laying down the burden of race, but we must do more. We must continue to fight injustice wherever it rears its ugly head. And we must continue to dialogue between all men and women of good will. I thank the gentlewoman again for holding this special order.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation that would designate the Atlanta Federal Center as the Sam Nunn Federal Center, in honor of the former Senator from Georgia. I believe we all recognize the tremendous accomplishments of Sam Nunn during his service in the U.S. Senate. Senator Nunn is one of the true statesmen of that body and is a source of pride to Georgia. Since my election to Congress in 1986, I have had many opportunities to work with Senator Nunn on several issues and often benefited from his experience and support during the time that we served together. Since his election to the Senate in 1972, Senator Nunn has served the State of Georgia with honor and dedication. Senator Nunn worked to become the Senate's foremost expert on national security and international affairs. Senator Nunn served 8 years as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and retired as the ranking Democrat on both the Armed Service Committee and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. I have dedicated much time and effort in support of the Atlanta Federal Center. When Georgia Gov. Zell Miller approached me and asked my support for naming the Federal Center after Senator Nunn, I thought the dedication a fitting tribute to Senator Nunn. For these reasons, I will work to see that the Federal Center soon bears the name of our former Senator, Senator Sam Nunn.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the dean of the Texas delegation for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, many people have noticed and taken note of the incredible rise and the success story that was the life of Congressman Frank Tejeda. I will not recount that incredible story of triumph over adversity. My colleagues from Texas have done that most eloquently. I just want to take a moment to reflect and to share a story of a trip I took last year to San Antonio. It is a story which I believe lends insight into the kind of man that Frank Tejeda was. I went to Texas on just a few days' notice. In spite of that, Frank put together a luncheon at which more than 100 leaders of the San Antonio African-American community turned out. An impressive demonstration of organizational skill, I thought to myself. In the hour or two that I spent with those people from San Antonio, I realized that these people had not turned out to hear from me but to hear and see their Congressman, their friend, their brother, Frank Tejeda. Frank was not just respected in his community. He was not just liked. What I discovered on my trip to San Antonio was that Frank was loved by the people in his district. Frank was what every Member of Congress wants to be: He was a true representative of the people. Frank understood his community because he was a part of that community. They were always on his mind and in his soul. Mr. Speaker, we will all miss Frank Tejeda. In a time when people toot their own horns, especially here in Washington, he was quiet. He was a quiet man, a sincere man, a reflective and thoughtful man. Mr. Speaker, I will miss Frank, the House will miss Frank, and the Nation will miss Frank. There are not enough people like Frank Tejeda. God bless him and his family.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, as the 105th Congress convenes today, I am pleased to reintroduce the Voting Rights of Homeless Citizens Act of 1997. The purpose of this legislation is to enable the homeless, who are citizens of this country, to vote. The bill would remove the legal and administrative barriers that inhibit them from exercising this right. No one should be excluded from registering to vote simply because they do not have a home. But in many States, the homeless are left out and left behind. That is not right. It is not fair. It is not the way of this country. During this century, we have removed major obstacles that prevented many of our citizens from voting. Not too long ago, people had to pay a poll tax or own property to vote. Women and minorities were prohibited from casting the ballot. Before the Civil Rights Movement, there were areas in the South where 50 to 80 percent of the population was black. Yet, there was not a single registered black voter. In 1964, three young men in rural Mississippi gave their lives while working to register people to vote. Many people shedded blood and some even died to secure voting rights protection for all Americans. Mr. Speaker, over 30 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson proposed that we ``eliminate every remaining obstacle to the right and opportunity to vote.'' Eight months later, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law, making it possible for millions of Americans to enter the political process. The time is long overdue to ensure that every American has the opportunity to exercise this fundamental right. Our Nation has made progress. The 19th amendment finally gave women the right to vote. The motor voter law made voter registration more accessible to working people. Yet, despite tremendous progress, we still have work to do. I have dedicated my life to ensuring that every American is treated equally and that everyone has the right to register and vote. I ask my colleagues to join me in opening the political process to every American--even those without a home. I urge my colleagues to join me by cosponsoring and supporting passage of the Voting Rights of Homeless Citizens Act of 1997.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, let me close by saying, it is not easy to stand here, but there comes a time when we must stand up for what is right, for what is fair, for what is just. I love this institution, like all of my colleagues. This institution that we are elected to, we have an obligation, a mandate and a mission to remove this dark cloud hanging over this institution, and let us do the right thing and help remove it by releasing this report.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. The American people deserve the right to know what is in this report.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan ethics committee has said it anticipates completing its work by the end of this Congress. We owe it to the American people to dispense with this issue and remove the dark cloud hanging over this institution before the next Congress. I urge all of my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, just as the bipartisan Committee on Standards of Official Conduct did, to do the right thing. Let us return to the 105th Congress untainted by the charges of perjury, tax fraud, money laundering, lying to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. point of order

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is most unfortunate that the American public will not be able to see the outside counsel report before they cast their votes this November. I have said it repeatedly over the past few weeks that the American people have the right to see that report and to judge for themselves the evidence gathered against the Speaker, Newt Gingrich. point of order

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, let me quote from the interim report. The subcommittee is in the process of notifying Representative Gingrich of these new areas of inquiry. point of order

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I want to be heard, Mr. Speaker, on the point of order. I said to the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Linder, before, and I say again, Mr. Linder, I know the rules of the House, but I think there comes a time when an injustice is so great that one has to challenge even the rules.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. The report was adopted unanimously and it was released---- point of order

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue, because I believe we have a mandate, a mission, and a moral obligation.