John Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this is the people's House. This is what democracy is all about. According to Timothy Mescon, dean of Kennesaw State College, political and academic resources were commingled in the preparation of the course he cotaught with Speaker Gingrich. This led Dean Mescon to admit to the Los Angeles Times this week that ``In hindsight, we would never do this again. There's no question about that * * * I feel horrendous about this thing, and it's embarrassing.'' Lois Kubal, a graduate student involved in the design of Speaker Gingrich. This led Dean Mescon to admit to the Los Angeles Times this week that ``In hindsight, we would never do this again. There's no question about that * * * I feel horrendous about this thing, and it's embarrassing.'' Lois Kubal, a graduate student involved in the design of Speaker Gingrich's so-called course, says that ``the class at KSC was intended to be partisan and very political.'' Even more disturbing, course content was sold to corporate sponsors. According to a request for funding, potential donors were promised they could participate or work directly with the leadership of the project in the course development process in exchange for their $25,000 or $50,000 check. This is how the course is taught, the game is played, at Newt University. Mr. Speaker, the charges keep piling up. We need an outside, independent, counsel to investigate the serious ethical charges hanging over the head of the Speaker of the House, and we need one now.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, today marks the midway point in Newt Gingrich's Contract With America. It is an extremist document which sets back the clock. It is a contract which rewards the wealthy at the expense of our children, our senior citizens, the poor and hard working class Americans. Let's look back over the past 50 days and review what this band of extremists has done. The new majority has reduced the number of police that were to patrol our city streets through their crime bill--this is their Contract With America. They have proposed denying food to hungry school children through elimination of the School Lunch Program--this is their Contract With America. The Republican majority has passed a bill which will make it more difficult to protect our air and keep our water clean. They would cut nutrition programs for our senior citizens--these, too, are the Contract With America. The Republicans seek to gut the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which through its PBS stations provides educational television for us and our children--this is the Contract With America. And the Republicans have vowed ``to fight with all their being'' a small increase in the minimum wage, a wage which provides those who receive it a living standard 30% below the poverty level-- alas, this also is the Contract With America. And the new, extreme, Republicans have done all this while advocating tax cuts for the top 1% of Americans. This, my friends, all of this, is their Contract With America. Of course, not everything they have done these 50 days has been bad. The Congress did pass the Congressional Accountability Act which makes the Congress live by the same Labor and Civil Rights laws as those in the private sector. Of course, the last Congress, the Democratic Congress, passed the same bill with more than 400 votes. Mr. Speaker, if these are the accomplishments of the Republican Congress, if this is what they've done to us in the first 50 days, imagine what they'll do to us in the next 50 days and in the next two years. We need a government that is leaner, not a government that is meaner. We need a federal government that is less bureaucratic, not one that is less compassionate. Newt Gingrich and his Republican colleagues have gone too far. In their rush to the right, they have forgotten not just those on the left, but those in want our government to be smaller, they want it to work better. They want a government that protects our children and looks out for our senior citizens. They want to insure that the air we breath and the water we drink are pure and clean. They want their neighborhoods to be safe and their kids to be able to go to college. They want to earn a decent wage and be able to save a little money at the end of each month. All of these things, Mr. Speaker, all of these are what the American people want. The Republican Contract With America does none of them. The American people deserve better than this extreme Contract With America. And the time has come that we not just pray and we not just speak. The time has come for action. I did not sign this contract. The American people did not sign this contract. The time for action is now.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Fields], for holding and organizing this special order, and I want to thank my friend and my colleague for those very kind words. Thank you for being my friend. Mr. Speaker, It is time to pay tribute to those great men and women who have dedicated their lives to making sure that African-Americans are able to enjoy all of the rights and freedoms of this great Nation. It is also a time for us to reflect on the distance we have come as Americans and the distance we have yet to travel. Since I have been in the Congress, I have made a special effort to encourage the preservation of black history. Earlier this month, I introduced a bill to establish a National African-American Museum in Washington, DC. the bill seeks the establishment of a national museum dedicated to the heritage and culture of African-Americans. The museum would collect, catalogue, conserve, and exhibit materials related to the art, history, and culture of African-Americans. It would be housed in the Art & Industries Building, a facility on the Mall. A better understanding of American history has the power to inspire and uplift present and future generations of Americans. Our history is a precious resource. We should do all that we can to preserve it, and to ensure its accuracy by including the history of all Americans. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. Today, I rise to remember three giants of American history. Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B. DuBois provided visionary leadership for African-Americans in the 20th century. Their ideas have served as the intellectual and spiritual foundation for the black struggle in America. Their arguments for full social, political and economic rights provided the ammunition for African-Americans to overturn segregation and outlay discrimination. Mr. Speaker, these men were men of great vision. I feel a tremendous sense of gratitude and humility to be able to stand on their shoulders. As the great abolitionist, Frederick Douglass personally lobbied President Abraham Lincoln to abolish slavery. Douglass was easily the most influential African-American public figure of the 19th century. He preached that agitation and protest were the instruments of freedom for an oppressed people. Frederick Douglass planted the seeds of liberation and inspired generations to pursue social justice at all cost. During his lifetime, Booker T. Washington was known to many as the Wizard of Tuskegee. An innovative and determined leader, Washington founded prestigious Tuskegee University in southern Alabama. Washington preached that social uplift would result from economic prosperity and independence. Washington sought a pragmatic approach to the betterment of the African-American people. Though he was criticized by some for not being forceful enough in advocating political freedom for African-Americans, Booker T. Washington was a visionary whose philosophy guides us still as we seek economic empowerment. Indeed, Washington's views will continue to guide us as we move into the 21st century. W.E.B. DuBois, the author of ``The Souls of Black Folk,'' can be considered the intellectual father of the American civil rights movement. A founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, DuBois offered an uncompromising vision for political and social freedom. His writings helped to inspire the legal foundation of the NAACP that eventually led to the desegregation of public schools and facilities. justice and political freedom. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to claim these men as my heroes and my mentors. They have inspired me and millions of Americans. It is fitting and appropriate that we pay tribute to these men.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I want to thank the gentleman, my colleague and friend from the great State of Louisiana, for those words. The gentleman is so right that countless, nameless individuals whose names will never appear in a newspaper or a magazine, their faces will never appear on television, African-Americans who made outstanding, unbelievable contributions that we must never forget. I thank my friend.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say that the nomination of Dr. Henry Foster as Surgeon General of the United States is a choice of great vision. This nomination should not and must not be about how many abortions Dr. Foster has performed. Those who oppose a woman's right to choose must take that fight somewhere else. Every woman in America has the right to choose--that is the law of the land. Dr. Foster has done nothing wrong. Dr. Foster has done a great deal that is right. He has become a leading authority on reducing infant mortality and preventing teen pregnancy and drug abuse. This is a man who has spent a lifetime working to improve the lives of others. It is clear to me that Dr. Foster should be confirmed as Surgeon General. There are no more questions that need to be answered. Dr. Foster should be confirmed and he should be confirmed now.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is very important that we come here tonight to talk about the President's nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Henry Foster. Now, a lot has been said about Dr. Foster, but I don't think people truly understand Dr. Foster. Dr. Foster has spent a lifetime making our country a better place. First, let me say that I think Dr. Foster is a fine choice for Surgeon General. Apparently, many other individuals and organizations do too, including the American Medical Association, which has praised him as ``a dedicated teacher, a dependable leader, and a concerned advocate for improving access to quality health care.'' I would like to include as part of the Record on behalf of Dr. Foster. I believe we need to stop for one moment and rethink this discussion about Dr. Foster. This should not and must not be a discussion about how many abortions Dr. Foster has performed. He performed a legal medical procedure. Those who oppose a woman's right to choose to have an abortion must take that fight somewhere else. Every woman in America has the right to choose--that is the law of the land. Dr. Foster has done nothing wrong. In fact, Dr. Foster has done a great deal that is right. He is a leading authority on reducing infant mortality and preventing teen pregnancy and drug abuse. He has educated young people about contraception and preventive health care. He has worked to encourage children to quit smoking. This is a man who has not been content to simply practice medicine, that is in itself a noble profession. Instead, he has looked in his community, seen that there are problems and has tried to help find solutions. He created the I Have a Future program at Meharry Medical College, where he was dean of the medical school and acting president. Then I Have a Future program was recognized by President Bush as one of his Thousand Points of Light. This is a program that helps give teenagers hope and steer them toward college instead of teenage pregnancy. This program works. It has changed Tonika East's life. Tonika lives in public housing and joined the I Have a Future program because as she said, ``everyone else was doing it.'' She is now student body president of her school and has traveled around the country visiting colleges she might attend. Mr. Speaker, this is just one example among many. Dr. Foster has spent a lifetime working to improve the lives of others. Dr. Foster cares about this Nation and about the future of this country--our children. It is clear to me that Dr. Foster should be confirmed as Surgeon General. There is too much important work to be done in our country to waste any more time on this. There is no confusion here. There are no more questions that need to be answered. Dr. Foster should be confirmed. And he should be confirmed now. Mr. Speaker, I include the following material, which is supportive of Dr. Foster's confirmation: American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, February 2, 1995. Hon. William J. Clinton, President of the United States, The White House, Washington, DC Dear Mr. President: The American Medical Association enthusiastically supports the nomination of Henry W. Foster, Jr., MD for the position of Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service. Dr. Foster is a leading expert in the field of reproductive health. As Chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital of Tuskegee University, Dr. Foster developed a program which is a nationally recognized model for regionalized perinatal health care systems. During his tenure at Meharry Medical College, Dr. Foster founded the innovative ``I Have A Future'' program to address teen pregnancy which brought to focus one of the nation's most pressing public health issues. The ``I Have A Future'' program provides strategies for at- risk youth to develop positive decision-making in the areas of personal health and responsibility, while enhancing their self-image. With so many of our nation's youth in crisis, we need creative programs like this one to dramatically reduce the alarming rate of teen pregnancy and we applaud Dr. Foster's commitment to this issue. Adolescent health has long been a public health priority for the AMA and we look forward to working with Dr. Foster on this and other critical public health issues. Dr. Foster is a dedicated teacher, a dependable leader, and a concerned advocate for improving access to quality health care for women and underserved populations. Dr. Foster has been a longstanding member of the AMA and he brings the requisite experience, knowledge, and commitment to provide effective leadership as the Surgeon General. We firmly believe that Dr. Foster will serve in the position of Surgeon General with distinction and make many positive contributions to the nation's public health. Sincerely, James S. Todd, MD.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to tell my Republican colleagues from Georgia that I will not be intimidated. I will not be cowed and I will not be silenced. Yesterday's Atlanta Constitution reported that Republican members of our delegation are threatening retribution against me and another member of our delegation because of our calls for an outside counsel to investigate Speaker Gingrich. According to the article the Atlanta Federal Center, the King Historic Site and even funding for the 1996 Olympic Games may be jeopardized because we have dared to speak out. My Republican colleagues should have more courage. Do they really think they can silence me with their threats. If they want to confront me, they should take me head on, man to man. The nerve, the gall, Mr. Speaker, to hold the people of Atlanta, the citizens of Georgia, and the athletes of the world hostage in their attempt to silence the legitimate calls for an investigation of Speaker Gingrich. Is there nothing this new Republican majority will not do to silence the voices of dissent? Well, Mr. Speaker, I will not be silenced, I will not be intimidated. We need an outside counsel to investigate this Speaker and we need one right now.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, tonight the taxpayers are going to dinner with Speaker Gingrich. Tonight a dozen high rollers will sit down to dine with the Speaker and hand over $50,000 checks for his radical right wing television station. In the process, each attendee will get a tax write-off of almost $20,000. That is almost $240,000 of our tax dollars going to support the radical right wing agenda. This is the same Speaker who refuses to release the names of the contributors to his personal political machine GOPAC. The same Speaker who, according to the Atlanta Constitution, hundreds of thousands of dollars from other individuals. A television station, a political organization, a foundation, even a $4.5 million book deal. It is amazing Speaker Gingrich has any time at all to be Speaker of the House. Too many ethical questions have been raised about this Speaker. We need an outside counsel to clear the air, to find the truth, and we need one now.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Los Angeles Times succeeded in doing something this week that Speaker Gingrich has refused to do for years--release the names of the contributors to his political machine, GOPAC. The partial listing published by the Times shows that one couple gave GOPAC more than $715,000 while other contributors made more than $300,000 available apiece. But who and how many more contributors are there? There are many questions that remain unanswered. That is why the chorus of respected voices calling for an outside counsel is getting louder and louder. The New York Times, Roll Call, the respected public advocacy group, Public Citizen, former Special Counsel Richard Phelan, and Al Hunt of the conservative Wall Street Journal all agree: Only an outside counsel can put this matter to rest.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I know what we are about to do may be the political thing to do. It may be the popular thing to do. Many of us as Members of this body may be putting our fingers to the air to see which way the wind is blowing, and blowing in that direction. However, let me say for this Member, Mr. Chairman, for this Member from Georgia, mandates are not necessarily bad, funded or unfunded. Mandates are as old as the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, even the scripture. Thank God. When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, he did not say, ``Moses, take it, if it costs something or whether it is free.'' He said, ``These are the Ten Commandments. Don't take it whether you feel like it, maybe. These are the Ten Commandments.'' Let me remind some of my brothers from this side of the aisle and the other side, in another period in our history it took the Federal Government, the national government, to tell our country what to do, to do what was right. People in Alabama, in Mississippi, in Georgia, 11 Southern States of the old Confederacy, were denied the right to vote 30 years ago, and it took the National Government to make it possible for all these people to register to vote, to become participants in the democratic process. That was a mandate, so what is wrong with mandates? Mr. Chairman, I urge Members to vote against this bill. It may not be the popular thing to do, but it is the right thing to do.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am once again introducing a bill to establish an African American Museum as part of the Smithsonian and to be located on the Mall in Washington, DC. I do this on the first day of black history month to highlight the need for and the importance of such a museum. The story of black people in America has yet to be told. As a result, the understanding of American history remains incomplete. African American history is an integral part of our country, yet the richness and variety of that history is little-known and little- understood. Too few people know that Benjamin Banneker, an outstanding mathematician, along with Pierre L'Enfant, designed this city. Some of our Nation's greatest cowboys were black, including Bill Pickett and Deadwood Dick. How many people know that Dr. Daniel Hale William was a pioneering heart surgeon in the last century? And that Ernest Everest Just, Percy Julian, and George Washington Carver were all outstanding scientists? One of the greatest periods in America's cultural history was the Harlem renaissance. Writers, artists, poets, and photographers like Langston Hughes, James Van Der Zee, Countee Cullen, and Aaron Douglas were all part of the renaissance. More recently, the civil rights movement changed the face of this country and inspired movements toward democracy and justice all over the world. There is much, much more--and it must be told to all Americans. Until we understand the African American story in its fullness and complexity, we cannot understand ourselves as a Nation. We must know who we are and what we have done in order to truly consider where we must go from this day forward. I am pleased and delighted that many of my colleagues have cosponsored this bill. I urge all my colleagues to support this worthwhile and important legislation.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, Terry and Mary Kohler: $715,457. Richard Gilder, Jr.: $310,000. Roger Milliken: $255,000. contributed to Speaker Gingrich's personal political machine, GOPAC. Is it any wonder the Speaker wants to keep this list a secret? The Los Angeles Times succeeded yesterday in doing what the Federal Election Commission is attempting to do in the courts, revealing the contributors to GOPAC and what their interests are in legislation before this Congress. What does the contributor get for $715,000? Only an outside independent counsel can tell us for sure. The lists of questions about the Speaker's financial dealings get longer and longer. I ask, ``Isn't it time we get an answer?'' We need an outside counsel. We need one now.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend two individuals who yesterday performed acts worthy of praise, one a Democrat, and one a Republican. The first, Mr. Speaker, is President Clinton, who last night delivered a State of the Union Address in this Chamber that laid out a vision for our Nation. It is a vision in which lawmakers put aside their partisan differences and work together for the common good, for the well-being of the American people. It is a vision he calls the new covenant. The second individual I want to commend, Mr. Speaker, is Congressman Gerald Solomon, the chairman of the Committee on Rules in this House. Yesterday, in the spirit of the new covenant, Mr. Solomon decided to remove from the wall of his committee room the portrait of Howard W. Smith, a portrait that many Members of this House felt was unworthy to hang in a place of such distinction. I want to thank Chairman Solomon. He is a man of honor, integrity, and good will. These two men, President Clinton and Gerald Solomon, deserve our thanks and our praise.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from the Mr. Chairman, our Constitution is an extraordinary document. Our Constitution is the only document of its kind in the world to have lasted so long and to have been used so often as a model for other nations. This balanced budget amendment that we consider tonight would dishonor our Constitution. It substitutes good politics for what is good policy, for what is right. Make no mistake. I want a balanced budget like everyone else. I do not want our children and unborn generations to bear the burden of the deficit and increasing national debt. But I believe we must deal with this issue in a responsible and sensible way. Passing the buck to future sessions of Congress is not responsible. The new Republican majority must tell the American people what they are going to cut, whether it is Social Security, Medicare, a school lunch program for our children. Our knees, the American people's knees, will not buckle as some on the Republican side have suggested. Two years ago Members on this side of the aisle made the hard choices needed to reduce the deficit. We reduced the Federal deficit by over $500 billion. We acted responsibly. I expect no less from those on the other side of the aisle. Now they are in charge. They are in control. Lay your cards on the table face up. Tell us the hard choices you are willing to make, be straight with our children and the elderly. Tell them what they will have to do and what they will have to do without. We do not need this amendment to our Constitution, Mr. Chairman. What we need is courage, raw courage, to make the tough choices facing our country. Have the courage to do the right thing and vote against this amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I read with great sadness and sorrow in this morning's papers that the new chairman of the Rules Committee has replaced the portrait adorning that committee's wall. The portrait that had hung on that site was of Claude Pepper, one of the most revered and respected Members ever to serve in this institution, a man long associated with protecting the rights and dignity of senior citizens. The portrait that replaces it, one of Howard W. Smith, a man perhaps best remembered for his obstruction in passing the country's civil rights laws. A man who in his own words ``never accepted the colored race as a race of people who had equal intelligence and education and social attainments as the white people of the South.'' Mr. Speaker, it has been said that a picture speaks a thousand words. I know the gentleman from New York meant no offense, meant no harm. He should change his mind. Symbols in our society are important. We do not need angels on our walls, but certainly we can do better. Mr. Chairman, please take down that picture. Take it down now.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, ``I understand you want to write a book. I own a publishing company you know.'' Could these words have been uttered in the Rayburn Room just off the House floor? Mr. Speaker, the more we know, the more we have to wonder, what went on in the backrooms of the Capitol. Only a full airing of the facts will determine whether something illicit took place. Only an outside, independent, counsel can tell us for sure. What was said? What was promised? What is the deal? What is in the contract? It is time that an independent counsel expose the truth. Mr. Speaker, do the Republicans have a contract with America or a contract with Rupert Murdoch? No one serves two masters, Mr. Speaker. No one serves two masters.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, not even the Speaker of the House agrees. His choice of a Historian for this House is unfit to serve. There is no room in this House for bigotry, racism, or anti-Semitism. I commend the Speaker for realizing his error, acting quickly, and firing his appointment. The operation of this House, the recording of its history, should be nonpartisan. The House Administrator, the House Historian, these appointments should be made with the best interests of this House in mind, not the Speaker, not the Speaker or one political party. Last week the American people were promised a new openness, a new way of doing business. But so far it looks like business as usual. Mr. Speaker, this is not a Republican House, this is not a Democratic House. This is the people's House. Mr. Speaker, the people deserve better.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, as the 104th Congress convenes today, I am pleased to introduce the Voting Rights of Homeless Citizens Act of 1995. The purpose of this legislation is to enable the homeless, who are citizens of this country, to vote. This bill would remove the legal and administrative barriers that inhibit them from exercising that right. No one should be excluded from registering to vote simply because they don't have a home. But in many States, the homeless are left out. That is not right. That is not fair. That 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 many died to secure voting rights protection for all Americans. Mr. Speaker, I think it is very fitting to introduce this bill today because 30 years ago today, on January 4, 1965, 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. Our Nation has made progress. But we still have a long way to go to make sure that every citizen is properly represented on Capitol Hill, in the State house, on the city council and on the county commission. 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 in the House to join with me in cosponsoring and supporting passage of the Voting Rights of Homeless Citizens Act of 1995.

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Mrs. Kennelly].

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Gibbons].

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield 15 seconds to the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Jacobs].

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California [Mr. Becerra]. and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Georgia [Ms. McKinney]. (Ms. McKINNEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton]. (Mrs. CLAYTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)