Gregory Meeks

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Chairman, I wonder, where is this compassion we often hear talked about? Compassion. You know, where I come from, they have this saying; they say that talk is cheap. Put your money where your mouth is. When we talk about HIV-AIDS, we can talk about it and talk about how bad it is and talk about how awful it is, but you know what? That talk means nothing. We need to put our money where our mouth is. Until we do that, we are doing nothing but whistling Dixie. It is time for us to reverse that, to understand that this world is much smaller than it was just 10 years ago. If you do not believe it, let us not put our money where our mouths are. You think the epidemic is over there; but you know what, there is a boomerang, and what goes around will come around.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Chairman, the United States Government has consistently placed African foreign policy on the back-burner. As a result, economic stagnation, human rights atrocities, and social and political unrest have been perpetuating throughout the continent. Zimbabwe is the perfect opportunity for U.S. intervention to have a positive impact in Africa, and ensure the sustenance of a fair and free democratic process. President Robert Mugabe has seized 804 farms for immediate distribution and resettlement. Violence has erupted throughout the nation. Not only has he rejected rulings from the independent judiciary, but he has enforced severe restrictions on the opposition's ability to campaign for parliamentary seats. Mugabe is using force to secure support and manipulate the outcome of the legislative elections this June. The United States must play a proactive role in Zimbabwe to ensure that legitimate elections occur. South African President, Thabo Mbeki, is securing money from countries like Norway and Saudi Arabia to purchase farms from willing sellers for redistribution. Perhaps, we should also look into a similar policy action that may enable adequate distribution and compensation of land. The European Union, Commonwealth of Nation, Southern African Development Community, and International Republican Institute are all sending observers to evaluate the legitimacy of the election on June 25th. We must do our best to monitor this entire process, and ascertain a comprehensive report on the events that are and will transpire in Zimbabwe. In addition, I believe that we should still continue to provide money to Zimbabwe for HIV/AIDS programs to strengthen democracy, and to raise living standards despite the corruption that is occurring.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, let me also thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Shuster) and the ranking member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for bringing this bill to the floor. The consideration of this legislation is most timely, as Reverend Flake and I recently cut the ribbon to open the newly constructed Food and Drug Administration facility on the campus of York College in Jamaica, New York. What can I say about my friend and predecessor, the Reverend Dr. Floyd H. Flake? His name has become synonymous with economic development in the Sixth Congressional District and throughout this country. Congressman Flake ran for Congress in 1986 during a special election to replace the recently deceased, and a strong member of this body, Joseph P. Addabbo. Though he narrowly lost the special election in June, he continued campaigning with the exuberance and charisma that is his trademark and won an overwhelming victory in the fall. Many new and previously disenfranchised individuals were attracted to Reverend Flake's campaign by the economic development projects that he had initiated since becoming the pastor of the Allen A.M.E. Episcopal Church in Jamaica, Queens, and through his ministry that emphasizes self-improvement and community development. Since Floyd Flake became the pastor of Allen A.M.E. over 22 years ago, the church has developed a school with over 500 students, extensive commercial and residential development, including private homes and senior quarters, a multi-service facility, and a transportation company. The various enterprises at Allen A.M.E. comprise a workforce of over 800, people making it one of the largest private sector employers in the county of Queens. As Congressman, Floyd H. Flake fulfilled the wishes of his constituents by bringing his community development expertise to Washington. He was a bipartisan legislator who focused on initiatives to revitalize urban neighborhoods. One of his most notable legislative accomplishments included the provisions of the Community Development Financial Institutions Act of 1993, known as the Bank Enterprise Act. The Bank Enterprise Act provided incentives for financial institutions to make market-oriented investments in destabilized urban and rural economies. The Bank Enterprise Act has directly impacted the volume of residential mortgages and commercial lending in traditionally underserved areas in America. The Sixth Congressional District benefited from his legislative and political acumen as Reverend Flake secured a one-stop capital shop to provide counseling for start-up and fledgling small businesses, funds for the improvement of National Gateway Park, and Hope 6 funds to greatly improve social and economic conditions in selected New York City public housing complexes and throughout America. Consistent with his reputation for bricks and mortar development through his church, Floyd used his legislative position to deftly advocate to have the new sites for the Federal Aviation Administration and the Food and Drug Administration located in the Sixth Congressional District in Queens, which will create more jobs and economic spin-off for the district. As the rest of the Sixth Congressional District in New York, I have benefited from Floyd's experience and his accomplishments. As the pastor of Allen A.M.E., he has also given spiritual upliftment to me, to my family, and to those within the Sixth Congressional District. Let me finally say that too often we have great individuals in our midst and we wait until they are long gone, until they are dead and buried, before we acknowledge their accomplishments. They never know of the appreciation of the individuals who receive the benefits of their greatness. I think that it is only appropriate that we allow one to smell the flowers, if you will, as they still walk on this great Earth. We surely want to give appreciation to the Dr. Reverend Floyd H. Flake for his continued support and commitment to making life better for his community and for all of Americans. I want to thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) for supporting this measure.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike this last word. Mr. Chairman, I stand here in amazement over what we are about to do. We stand in this Nation on high moral ground as we criticize other nations across the world about human rights' violations and all other kinds of violations when we are about to do the worst violation we can do of one; the pride of one who is less fortunate than us to not have a decent roof over their heads. How can we, in this time of fiscal prosperity, deny those who do not have a roof over their heads? How can we not increase funding for Section 8 when we have hundreds of millions of people who are waiting for decent homes in this day and age of fiscal prosperity? What is wrong with us? What is wrong? We talk about, and many of the individuals particularly on the majority party always speak of, fostering family values. How can we foster family values if we do not value the family? These families need a decent place to live and we must increase the HUD-VA budget. When we had times of budget deficits, we were enacting in this Congress a sort of reverse Robin Hood, because everything that we did was take away from the poor so that we can balance a budget. Well, we have a balanced budget. We have a situation where we no longer are trying to figure out where dollars are coming from. In fact, we have surplus budgets, yet we will not restore budgets to where they once were. What is wrong with us when we do not care about the elderly, the disabled? How can we stand here, the greatest Nation in the world, and talk about how great we are. What kind of example do we set for other countries when we do not take care of the least of our own? It is ultimately our responsibility to make sure that we take care of the least among us. This Congress, in the manner that it is behaving, if we do not support the Mollohan amendment, will be convincing me more and more each and every day that Robin Hood was right.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, elderly and disabled Americans in the United States currently face a dire problem--inadequate public housing. Approximately 40% of HUD's 1.3 million public housing units are occupied by the Elderly and the Disabled who are paying in excess of half their income towards rent. Public housing apartment buildings have amassed a back-log of $5.7 billion in needed repairs. Nearly two- thirds of the buildings were constructed prior to 1970 and have frequently been passed over for modernization due to inadequate appropriations. Many of these public housing units need significant upgrading to meet basic safety and comfort standards in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Upgrading these units creates opportunities to bring supportive health and other services to help residents age with mobility and avoid costly and depressitig institutionalization. The Elderly Housing + Health Support Demonstration Act seeks to meet these aims by providing competitive awards to Public Housing Agencies (PHAS) for the most innovative proposals to address the soaring needs of the Elderly and Disabled to have access to health-related supportive and congregate housing services. Specifically, the bill provides: (a) $250 million of capital funding for physical rehabilitation of the building and installation of facilities for health-related services; (b) a pool of up to $10 million (maximum grant to a selected PHA is $400,000) for service coordinator funds; and (c) $15 million (maximum grant to a selected PHA is $750,000) for congregate housing services. The total cost of this demonstration grant program is $275 million. Please join me in co-sponsoring The Elderly Housing + Health Support Demonstration Act. Upgrading public housing and providing a continuum of care will enable Elderly and Disabled public housing residents to have a quality assisted-living environment, a viable health care system, and an independent life. This program has the additional benefit of providing much needed cost savings and preventing premature institutionalization of one of our most vulnerable populations.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, two exemplary students apply to the school of their dreams. Both are accepted. Both are overjoyed. But one will not be attending this institution of higher learning for one reason and one reason only: He or she did not receive enough financial aid. Who is going to tell this well-deserving student, I am sorry but the money just is not available, even though we now live in the greatest fiscal times in our history? I will vote against this rule, and one of the reasons is because of the example of the reduction of Pell grant money by $48 million. Do we even know how many children's lives this would affect? We are cutting funding to students who otherwise would not be able to go to college, many of whom are our summer interns. This grant provides an opportunity. It provides for a future for students who otherwise would not have the resources to attend college. We tell our children that education is a means of success and a better way of life. If we take away the funding that Pell grants provide, we are taking away students' chances for a better life. We should increase these opportunities, not take them away.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), a strong advocate for the continent of Africa and the country of Mozambique.

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah). (Mr. FATTAH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis). (Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), a Member who has long been working in the valiant effort with reference to Africa. (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), the ranking member of the Committee on International Relations.

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from the State of Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick), and a member of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs. (Ms. KILPATRICK asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the resolution. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the chairman, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), for his support on this piece of legislation, this resolution. Mr. Speaker, for the past 3 weeks, the world has watched with great anguish as the people of the Republic of Mozambique clung to whatever they could to escape raging flood waters. The storms that ravaged Mozambique are the worst the southern African region has seen in more than 100 years. The nations of Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa have also experienced national emergencies from the rainy flooding season. However, Mozambique bore the brunt of the storms and is still threatened by flood waters from neighboring countries who are forced to open their dams to ease the pressure of these structures. In the southern third of Mozambique, virtually all the primary roads, bridges, electric grid facilities, and clean water wells have been destroyed. Many buildings and homes that were built along the fertile flood planes of the Save and Limpopo Rivers will need to be relocated or rebuilt. Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that a nation that has experienced much success over the past 8 years to reform its Government and economy has suffered the economic disaster caused by the floods. Mozambique recently held its second multi-party elections in 1999 and has privatized over 800 former government-owned enterprises. For the first time in as long as anyone can remember, Mozambique did not request international food aid. Additionally, because the Mozambique government's track record and economic performance was so strong, the nation qualified for the World Bank and IMF Highly Indebted Poor Countries program. With the flood waters comes the threat of waterborne diseases and other public health problems. Another problem comes from land mines. Mozambique has thousands of semi-buoyant plastic land mines that may have been uncovered by the rising waters. These new areas must be located and demarcated to avoid the unnecessary damage they can do to the population. In the midst of destruction and great human tragedy, we witnessed the miracle of life above the flood water as a mother gave birth to a child while clinging to a tree. Additionally, a vast quantity of the country's crops was spared from the flood waters. If the international community can get seeds and tools to the right areas, Mozambique's 2000 harvest yield should be available to help the emergency food shortages. The Clinton administration has announced its intention to draw down $37.6 million of DOD funds to assist the Mozambicans. The administration's package also includes the relocation of military assets, small boats and helicopters, to the region to assist. The Clinton administration has also announced today that it will cancel Mozambique's bilateral debt. We must be prepared to do all we can to assist Mozambique and to help it get back on track so that her hard-fought economic and political reforms are not washed away with the flood waters. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I compliment my colleague, the gentleman from New York, (Mr. Owens) for his very eloquent statement. As indicated, I am the cochair of the Congressional Black Caucus's Task Force on police brutality. And just late last year as a task force, we traveled and conducted four hearings around this country; one here in Washington, D.C.; one in New York City; one in Chicago, Illinois; and one in Los Angeles, California. The theme of the testimony that we heard was the same. There seems to be a pervasive police mentality that is going on across this Nation that is very Bull Connor'ish, particularly in the African-American and Latino communities. There was a cry throughout all of these hearings, and there were a number of other cities, major urban cities throughout this country that were crying for us to come to their cities too to conduct such hearings in which we would have heard the same type of testimony. As a result of the Congressional Black Caucus and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Conyers), the ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary, and a number of organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Council of La Raza, the National Urban League, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the time is right, based upon the debate that we just heard from the gentleman from New York, the time is right now for us in Congress to move and pass some aggressive legislation that will begin to address this police mentality that is Bull Connor'ish. Mr. Speaker, it will also do something to bring people together as opposed to divide us. The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Conyers) is sponsoring a bill very shortly that all Members of this House need to join in support of called the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act of 2000. This bill will create a national minimum standard for law enforcement agencies to meet. It provides tools for developing better operations, enhances the tools and resources available to the Federal Government as well as individual citizens to investigate and stop police misconduct, and addresses a number of issues such as deaths in custody, racial profiling, and abuses by the Immigration and Naturalization and Customs Services that have traditionally plagued Americans of color. The time is right. It is within our national interest to have an accreditation of law enforcement agencies. There are currently no national standards and, as a result, there are huge discrepancies between law enforcement agencies and policies dealing with everything from the use of force to handling of citizen complaints. Included in these new uniform standards would be early warning programs, civilian review procedures, traffic stop documentation and procedures, administrative due process requirements and training. The bill also provides for law enforcement development plans, management schemes, managements like the new management standards will deal with administrative due process, residency requirements, as the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens) was talking about, compensation and benefits, use of force, racial profiling, early warning programs, and civilian review boards. It will deal with training of law enforcement agencies and it will require standards in the areas of the use of lethal and nonlethal force dealing with law enforcement misconduct, including excessive force, racial profiling, and how police officers communicate with the public. Recruitment: Law enforcement agencies will also be required to look at policies relating to recruitment and hiring a diverse force that is representative of the communities they serve. They develop valid job- related educational and psychological standards and initiatives to encourage residency and continuing education. Oversight: Law enforcement agencies will be required to look at how they handle citizens' complaints with the potential establishment of civilian review boards and the implementation of early warning programs and administrative due process. There will be administrative due process procedures. There will be enhanced funding to combat police misconduct; enhanced authority in practice and pattern investigations. There will be a study of deaths in custody. There will be a deprivation of rights under the color of law, a national task force on law enforcement and oversight. An immigration enforcement and review commission should be established, as well as Federal data collection on racial profiling. These are some of the items that will be covered in this bill that the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Conyers) will be coming out with very shortly called the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act of 2000. Let me move to the terrible situation, which is just a symptom of what is taking place across America, and that is the matter in regards to Amadou Diallo. I know some say that there was a jury and the jury was an integrated jury, but that is not all that matters in this particular case. What does matter, and I say this as a former prosecutor and an attorney, I know that a judge can charge one in to make one's case, or charge one out to lose their case. In listening to the charges of this judge, I knew immediately thereafter that tragedy and a miscarriage of justice would be had. I find that a decision by the appellate division, which changed the venue of this case, which virtually denied Mr. Diallo the opportunity of having this case judged by his peers, and even the police officers who were police officers of the City of New York, there should have been members of the jury from the City of New York. The changing of venue, in my opinion, was a miscarriage of justice. What matters is that this jury, being from Albany, was not acquainted with the pattern and practice of police violence against minority communities in New York City. It simply cannot be that an innocent person standing at his own doorway, minding his own business, was shot down in a firing squad fashion and those who committed this act are not guilty of anything. Not even reckless endangerment. Hundreds of millions of people around the world, who laud the virtues and the superiority of the American system of justice, can now see some hypocrisy of America's claims, particularly when it comes to people of color. All New Yorkers, indeed all Americans can also see this. And we see it, I see it, and some of the other hypocrisy of the mayor of the City of New York. When a verdict suits the mayor, he praises the court system. But where a decision is contrary to what he wants, he calls judges and jurors silly and irresponsible. We and our constituents will never forget that this mayor approved the creation of the Street Crimes unit that is over 90 percent white, no diversity, and that the mayor allowed it to operate under the slogan, ``We own the night.'' We should note with alarm the jubilation by many members of the police department in precincts around this city. Also note that it has been reported that the judge, after the verdict, went to a celebration party with the lawyers of the defendants. Imagine. Judges, police officers celebrating and forgetting that an innocent, unarmed man was killed. Those who celebrate dismiss the death of Mr. Diallo and him as an innocent man make a mistake saying this will erase the unwarranted acts of a firing squad. Do those jubilant people believe that they made policing easier? That this is the way to garner the respect of New Yorkers? I submit not. I submit it is a Bull Connor'ish type mentality. Have they forgotten that in New York City that a majority of the New Yorkers that they swore to defend and protect are, in fact, people of color? The killing of Amadou Diallo and the acquittal of the four police officers unfortunately follow a practice and pattern of police relations with the black and Latino community that has been in effect for a very long time. Clearly, reforms are necessary and must be instituted with speed, courage, and determination. But it is clear that the administration of the New York City Police Department and the command structure there are incapable of instituting meaningful reforms without Federal intervention. The City of New York is hurting today. There is an open wound there. That wound was caused by the decision that sends a message that the police can in fact fire 41 bullets at an unarmed man of color as he enters his home. A healing of these wounds can only happen if the Justice Department conducts a thorough investigation of the violation of Mr. Diallo's civil rights. In addition, as I said this morning, they must relentlessly evaluate and find just solutions to the patterns and practices of the New York City Police Department. If New York City is to heal, the message must be that all human life is valuable. The Justice Department is the only doctor that is available that can help us heal the wound of the City of New York. I say to the rest of the citizens of New York, we must come together and arm ourselves with the ballot and go out this November, and every November thereafter, like we have never done in the history of this country. I yield back to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, there is an open wound in New York this morning. That wound was caused by a decision that sends a message that the police can fire 41 bullets at an unarmed man of color as he enters his own home. A healing of this wound could only happen if the Justice Department conducts a thorough investigation of the violation of Mr. Diallo's civil rights. In addition, they must relentlessly evaluate and find just solutions to the patterns and practices of the New York City Police Department since, clearly, the city's leadership and its mayor and police chief find the police conduct to be okay. If New York City is to heal, the message must be said that all human life, no matter what race, creed or color, is valuable. Mr. Speaker, the Justice Department is the only doctor available today that can help us heal the wound in the City of New York. To the City of New York, I say, we are the second chapter to that. We must arm ourselves with the ballot and make sure that we send our message loudly and clearly in November.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a cosponsor from H.R. 6.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 1832, the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately due to a family emergency I was not able to vote yesterday. Had I been here in reference to H. Con. Res. 213, I would have voted ``yes.'' H. Res. 59, I would have voted ``yes.'' H.R. 3164, I would have voted ``yes.'' And H. Res. 349, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, last night the President sent Congress his legislative proposal, entitled Strengthen Social Security and Medicare Act of 1999. The President's plan would devote the entire Social Security surpluses to debt reduction, extend the solvency of Social Security to 2050, and establish a Medicare surplus reserve equal to one-third of any on-budget surpluses for the period of fiscal years 2002 through 2009 to strengthen and modernize Medicare. I want to stress to my colleagues the urgency in discussing and reaching a fair compromise on this proposal. If we do not, our constituents will suffer and be caught in the middle of a partisan battle, and I am very concerned. In New York, Social Security benefits 2.3 million people who are retired workers, disabled workers, widows and widowers, wives and husbands, and over 247,000 children in New York receive Social Security benefits. In my district, in southeastern Queens, 74,579 people receive Social Security benefits, of which 9,000 of these individuals are children. We must preserve Social Security so that our constituents will have a decent quality of life. Finally, Mr. Speaker, let's go Yankees.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell). In the short period of time that I have been privileged to be a Member of this House, I have seen his sincere commitment on the Committee on International Relations and particularly in reference to Africa. He has always been outspoken and always has had some concerns with reference to rectifying some of the human tragedies that have taken place, and I want to thank the gentleman for bringing this bill forward. Let me also thank the Chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), for his diligence in bringing forth these issues of concern to the African continent. And, finally, let me thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), who is one whom I admired long before I entered the halls of Congress. I admired him and his wisdom and his knowledge of not only Africa but the entire globe, but in particular Africa. He is one that I have learned to respect and hold on to the hem of his garments with reference to the knowledge that he has, and I value him as a Member and as a friend. Mr. Speaker, this war that is now raging on, I do not understand. For the life of me, I scratch my head perplexed. Generally, when there are sides that want to separate from each other or something of that nature, war takes place at that point. Here, we have two nations who separated peacefully, and yet once the separation took place, without any real articulated reasons, they are at war. I have had the opportunity to speak with both the ambassadors from Eritrea and Ethiopia and, as said by my colleague, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder) before, it seemed to me they both wanted the same thing, yet war and tragedy continues. I ask, why do brothers and sisters fight one another? And for the life of me, I do not know. But I say this, H. Con. Res. 46 gives us an opportunity to say to both nations, who want a decent relationship with this great Nation, that if they want to do so, we must have peace. And simply what it does is it reaffirms the OAU and the framework for peace which the OAU has set up. And it calls upon all of the human rights commissions and all human rights organizations to investigate human rights abuses in connection with the detentions, deportations, and displacements of their citizens. If we do not urge these countries to end this war, it will continue to set both back to 10, 15 years ago, and affect their financial standing within the international community. This resolution sends a strong message that they can work cooperatively with the United States of America if they talk peace, and I urge my Members to support the passing of H. Con. Resolution 46.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to give my deepest condolences to my good friends and colleagues from the State of Massachusetts. Last night, the New York Yankees did in the Boston Red Sox. We apologize for not doing it in four, but we did it in five to get you out of your misery. And to my good friends in Atlanta, we know that you do not want to return to New York, so the Mets will make sure of that, for you gotta believe, the Mets in seven. The World Series, my dear friends, will be in New York, either in Queens or the Bronx. See you all next weekend.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, it is truly a sad occasion that as we are about to enter the next millennium that we do have to stand on the floor of the United States House of Representatives still asking that all people be treated fairly. I listened to the word of my colleague, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), when he stated that this country was built upon the notion that all men are created equal. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with that because our history in this country shows that unfortunately we do not consider African Americans equal, we do not consider women equal, but we are learning, and we are moving. And it would be my hope that as we are about to enter to the next millennium, that we would understand the error of our ways, and move forward and let it be known that we understand the history, the true history, of this country, and we are going to rectify it and not allow those individuals who become victims of hate to continue to suffer. We in this House, Mr. Speaker, must send a loud and clear message that those who want to hate others because they are different than they, it will not be tolerated. In my lifetime I have seen individuals lynched and no one called to justice. In my lifetime, and we are not talking about a long time ago, I have seen individuals spat upon because of a different sexual orientation. I wish that we did not have to be here, but in 1999, in 1998, we had incidences like James Byrd dragged to death in the back woods by three white supremacists. We had Matthew Sheppard brutally murdered by three young men who despised his sexual orientation. We had places of worship, three synagogues in Sacramento, destroyed by arson. African American churches throughout the south still burned down. Bomb threats, death threats to the Muslim community immediately following the Oklahoma bombings. Tolerance is not in America yet. All these situations have one thing in common. They were the results of hate crimes committed due to the ignorance and nontolerance of individuals. This Nation has consistently prided itself on its acceptance of all people; at least, that is what we say. What we have an opportunity now to do is to put our actions behind our words, for words alone mean nothing. It is the action behind the words that give the words value. We commend ourselves, and I can know, sitting in the House, we talk about all other countries we do not want to do business with because we say that they are human rights violations. Well, we must first make sure that we take care of our own family and make sure that we are standing on the proper moral ground to begin with because how can you condemn someone else when you are not standing strong to make sure that your own home is in the best of shape? During the 1960's, for example, people of all colors, races and creeds came together to fight against the racial intolerance that was directed specifically that time against African Americans and other minorities, and as a result of that united effort, this body passed major legislation known as the Civil Rights Act as a statement and tried to put some teeth and power behind the words: All men; and we should say all men and women; are created equal. It is now time for us to take an additional step in that direction by attaching the Hate Crimes Prevention Act to the Commerce, Justice and the State appropriations bill. This act will make the intent of Congress clear and will put power behind the words that we will not tolerate hate crimes. In conclusion, Dr. King said: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Let us make our voices loud and clear; let us put power behind our words.

Mr. MEEKS of New York

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I rise to support this amendment. In New York, our State's public service commissioner is on the verge of granting the local telephone company, Bell Atlantic, permission to enter the long distance market. If this happens, Bell Atlantic will probably be the first regional Bell operating company to enter into the long-distance market under the historic Telecommunications Act of 1996. The reason they will be able to provide long-distance service is because competition is very much alive in New York, to the benefit of all consumers. This amendment continues that progress, protects the interests of all consumers and ensures the intent of the Telecommunications Act, which is to provide true competition. With none of the competitors to the local phone companies required to conform to these accounting rules, if we do not adopt this amendment, consumers will suffer greatly.

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this amendment, and the reason is very simple. The only way we can begin to solve the police brutality problem is to hold municipalities accountable for wrongdoings. This amendment would allow the Department of Justice to limit the funding of police departments if they do not give vital statistics on police brutality to the Department of Justice. Through the current law, the Attorney General collects data and provides a summary. If they have a problem retrieving data from a police department which is cited in the summary, funds should not go to that municipality or that police department. As the cochairman of the Congressional Black Caucus on police brutality with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), we have heard hours of testimony on the need to hold law enforcement departments accountable for egregious acts against citizens. In every city, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York, and we will be traveling to Los Angeles, it is the same complaint. If we do not have cooperation from our police departments, we should not give them funding. We need some legislation with teeth to enforce the fact that we will not be blind to police brutality and misconduct. This amendment is a step in the right direction. We demand and must have integrity of our government and integrity of the police department so that the good police officers are not branded with the bad. By making sure that these municipalities report the figures so that we can truly solve the problem, this is the way that we can combat that and resolve our problems with respect to to the police force.

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentlemen for giving me this time. I rise to support the amendment of the gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell) because this amendment will withhold funds when enforcing provisions that deny legal immigrants evidence on why they were arrested, detained, or deported. This secret evidence provision is unfair. As a former prosecutor, I am a firm believer of the discovery period and due process. When all the facts are presented, only then will the court of law be able to adequately decide if a person is innocent or guilty. The American justice system is built on the fundamental tenets of a fair trial and innocent until proven guilty. The current provisions under the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 violates an individual's constitutional right to know why they are being charged. Noncitizens who are legal immigrants who are detained by the INS are individuals who have the same rights as U.S. citizens. Why are they punishing legal immigrants? What if the U.S. citizens visiting a foreign country were unjustly charged and detained without any evidence provided? As Members of Congress, we would be outraged and demand intervention by the State Department. In fact, we would probably reevaluate our relationship with that nation, whether that nation be friend or foe.