Tom Petri

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Transportation Appropriations Act for budget year 2000, which was signed by our President on Saturday, contains a provision that is clearly authorizing in nature, prohibiting the Federal Highway Administration from carrying out the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Program. The intent of this provision is to force a transfer of the Office of Motor Carriers out of the Federal Highway Administration. The provision, however, has a serious unintended effect. It did not transfer all the legal authorities required to enforce Federal truck safety regulations. And so, in effect, it left some of these authorities stranded within the Federal Highway Administration and prevented them from being carried out by any entity within the Department of Transportation. Last Thursday, the Subcommittee on Ground Transportation of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on this provision to hear from the Department of Transportation on how this provision would be implemented and how it will impact the ability of the Department of Transportation to ensure our Nation's highways are safe. The Department's general counsel described how the Department of Transportation will be hampered in its truck safety enforcement efforts. For example, the Department will no longer be able to work with the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Inspector General's Office, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Department will no longer be able to assess fines for safety violations. Clearly, the appropriations act provision has the effect of reducing highway safety by denying important enforcement tools to the Department. Improving motor carrier safety has been a major priority of this Congress and of this committee. Last year, the House Committee on Appropriations made an effort to strip the Federal Highway Administration of its motor carrier safety authority and move it to another area. As the authorizing committee with jurisdiction over motor carrier safety, we oppose this since it had never been considered by the committees of the House or Senate with authorizing authority. Ultimately, the provision was dropped and we pledged that we would look very carefully at the issue of motor carrier safety, and we have done so. We held a series of comprehensive hearings and have produced what we feel is a solid bipartisan bill, H.R. 2679, that will be considered by the House probably later this week. H.R. 2679 creates a new agency, the National Motor Carrier Administration, to oversee all Federal truck safety efforts and include important safety reforms. The bill we are considering today does not overturn the appropriations act provision in any way. It simply fixes its unintended consequences. The bill amends the appropriations act to ensure that all the enforcement powers are restored to the Secretary for budget year 2000. The bill restores all safety enforcement powers to the Department, where they will be administered by the Office of the Secretary so that safety is not reduced while Congress considers comprehensive motor carrier safety legislation. I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 3036. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3036) to provide for interim continuation of administration of motor carrier functions by the Federal Highway Administration, as amended.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated earlier, in summary the bill restores all safety enforcement powers to the Department where they will be administered by the Office of the Secretary for fiscal year 2000 only, so that safety is not reduced while Congress considers comprehensive motor carrier safety legislation. I would just like to read, if I could briefly, from a letter from our United States Secretary of Transportation, Rodney Slater, that is dated today: ``I am writing to urge Congress to act quickly on legislation to restore enforcement authorities underlying our motor carrier safety programs that were suspended October 9 as a result of enactment of H.R. 2084, the Department of Transportation Appropriations Act. ``The need to act is clear. We currently have 922 cases pending, involving a total of $6 million in outstanding civil claims. Our work with the Department's Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney's office is in abeyance, and the exercise of some other authorities is now subject to question.'' Mr. Speaker, I submit the copy of his full letter for the Record. This is in response to a clear need outlined by the Secretary of Transportation. I urge speedy passage of this legislation. The Secretary of Transportation, Washington, DC, October 12, 1999. Hon. Bud Shuster, Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to urge Congress to act quickly on legislation to restore enforcement authorities underlying our motor carrier safety programs that were suspended October 9th as a result of enactment of H.R. 2084, the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000. The need to act is clear. We currently have 922 cases pending, involving a total of $5,985,000 in outstanding civil penalty claims. Our work with the Department's Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney's office is in abeyance, and the exercise of some other authorities is now subject to question. The need to act expeditiously on permanent legislation that increases the resources and regulatory and enforcement tools of the motor carrier office is also clear. Congress and the Administration, through the work of the Department's Inspector General, Mr. Norman Y. Mineta, and committee hearings and our own analysis, have identified the need to increase the effectiveness of motor carrier programs. Both your Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation have reported or will shortly report legislation to address the breadth of motor carrier safety issues. In July, the Administration submitted comprehensive legislation as well. Many provisions in the three bills can be combined now to give us truly effective motor carrier legislation. The safety gains in these proposals should be paramount, as reflected in the principle of H.R. 2679 that safety be the foremost consideration of the motor carrier group, and organizational considerations should not supplant progress on the safety front. Therefore, I will work with Congress to resolve these organizational issues--in a way that ensures successful implementation of our mutual safety goals. In May, I announced a comprehensive program to address motor carrier safety, setting a goal of a 50 percent reduction in fatalities from motor carrier-related crashes over the next ten years. The Department has redoubled its efforts over the past year, implementing a series of actions to strengthen our program. We developed a draft Safety Action Plan with approximately 65 specific safety initiatives to be completed in the next three years. To date, we have doubled the number of compliance reviews accomplished by safety investigators each month. Comparing the periods January to April 1999 and May to August 1999, total compliance reviews increased 59 percent. Financial penalties have increased from an average of $1,600 to $3,200 per enforcement case. The backlog of enforcement cases has been reduced by two-thirds, from 1,174 to 363. The number of Federal investigators at the U.S. Mexico border has increased from 13 to 40--a 200-percent increase. I urge action by Congress as rapidly as possible on the two bills, both of which are essential to strengthening our motor carrier safety programs. Sincerely, Rodney E. Slater.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3036, the bill just passed.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 171) congratulating the American Public Transit Association for 25 years of commendable service to the transit industry and the Nation.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity today to bring this concurrent resolution to the floor of our House. House Concurrent Resolution 171 congratulates the American Public Transit Association on its upcoming 25th anniversary. APTA was formed on October 17, 1974, when the American Transit Association and the Institute for Rapid Transit were merged. Today APTA has over 1,200 members, including bus, rapid transit, and commuter rail systems, as well as transit suppliers, government agencies, State Departments of Transportation, academic institutions, and trade publications. In 1997, there were 8.6 billion transit trips in the United States. Ninety percent of these trips occurred on transit systems that are APTA members. APTA has been a strong advocate for transit issues in our Nation's capital, as well as a resource for information and education for its member organizations. I am pleased to have this opportunity to recognize APTA's efforts today. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 171, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 2681, the bill just passed.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on House Concurrent Resolution 171.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2681) to establish a program, coordinated by the National Transportation Safety Board, of assistance to families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill before us, H.R. 2681, the Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act. This is a bipartisan measure, and it is the product of diligent efforts by our committee chairman, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) the committee's ranking member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), and the Subcommittee on Ground Transportation's ranking member, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall). I commend all of these gentleman. Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan bill is closely patterned on similar aviation legislation which the Congress enacted after the TWA 800 crash in 1996. This bill sets up a basic procedural framework for giving timely information to rail accident victims and their families and for dealing sensitively with the families. The bill puts the National Transportation Safety Board in the role of the central coordinator, but relies heavily on private nonprofit organizations to handle much of the direct dealings with victims and with their families. Legislation is not based on any particular deficiencies in Amtrak's dealing with accident victims. In fact, Amtrak already has begun to adopt many of the procedures contained in this bill. Rather, we want to have in place a set of proven procedures for any and all future providers of interstate intercity rail services and of high-speed rail service. The 1997 Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act ended Amtrak's former statutory monopoly of intercity rail passenger service, and allowed the States to choose alternative operators. Since that law was enacted, a number of States have begun efforts to launch new conventional or high-speed rail passenger service. Therefore, we need to be prepared for a future of multiple rail passenger service providers. This is highly effective and cost-conscious legislation. It builds on proven experience under the counterpart aviation law, and like that law, relies heavily on private, nonprofit organizations with a minimum of costs to our government. The NTSB, for example, already has staff in place who deal with accident situations and relations with victims and with their families. Mr. Speaker, I urge that this legislation be approved, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to JoAnn Ward, executive director of the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau, who will retire this Friday, October 1 after more than 22 years of service. As Bureau executive, JoAnn's job has included marketing the city of Fond du Lac and its environs as a desirable tourist and convention destination. It is a task she has accomplished so well, and with such creativity and leadership, that it can be said with no exaggeration that her stamp has left a lasting imprint on the character of the community. The considerable economic impact from tourism and convention dollars on the Fond du Lac area during her tenure is a significant and tangible result of JoAnn Ward's efforts. But perhaps more telling than the bottom-line success story are the personal characteristics that engendered that success--JoAnn's gift for innovative ideas her keen sense of the public's tastes and preferences, and her amazing ability to enlist volunteers to share her vision and accomplish common goals. Over 20 years ago, her imagination inspired the creation of Walleye Weekend, Fond du Lac's signature festival that draws hundreds of volunteers and tens of thousands of festival goers to the city's Lakeside Park each June. JoAnn has either originated or taken a lead role in developing and enhancing scores of other Fond du Lac area special events and festivals, including the annual Taste of Fond du Lac, the Fond du Lac Jazz Festival and the International Acrobatic Competition, which has been hosted by Fond du Lac the past 29 years. She has built attractions centered around the natural beauty of the area and the unique assets of its residents, and has helped the many businesses that depend on conventions and tourism to capitalize on their strengths. A tireless worker and consummate promoter of both her community and the state of Wisconsin, JoAnn Ward has never accepted limits on her ability to try out new ideas or strive for new levels of achievement. JoAnn's influence has extended beyond Fond du Lac to larger metropolitan areas and to national and international organizations. A recipient of the Wisconsin Tourism Federation's Award for Outstanding Contributions, she was appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson to the state's prestigious Sesquicentennial Commission, which over a three- year period organized and oversaw planning for the huge, multifaceted 150th celebration of Wisconsin's statehood in 1998. In 1995, she served as the Sixth District delegate to the White House Conference on Tourism. And in 1997, JoAnn was inducted into the International Festival & Events Association's Hall of Fame. But it is at home where her impact has been most keenly felt. JoAnn has succeeded in making my hometown of Fond du Lac not only a desirable travel destination but a better place to live. It is testament to her stature in the Fond du Lac community that her retirement announcement was not only front page news, but the main headline in the daily newspaper. A later editorial stated, ``It will take a rare combination of enterprise, persuasiveness, grace and good humor to build a successor for this woman who has done so much for Fond du Lac.'' I am proud to call attention to the many accomplishments of my friend, JoAnn Ward, and join the members of the Fond du Lac community in honoring her as she continues to pursue new horizons.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague from Ohio for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, the managers of well-run businesses periodically survey their operations. They take a hard look at everything they are doing and they ask a simple question, and that is: If we were not already doing this, would we start it up today? If not, it should probably be stopped. Well, let us apply that same approach to the dairy program. If we were not already running this program today, would we even consider starting anything remotely like it? Would any sane person start a dairy program like the one we have today? If the answer is, no, and I believe it is at least, heck, no, then common sense tells us we should stop it. To my colleagues who profess a belief in market economics, this is a test. Please vote their principles and support this amendment. To my colleagues who represent urban consumers, this is also a test. Please vote their constituents' clear interest, not some special interest, and support this amendment. To my colleagues who represent dairy farmers outside the Midwest, do not fear the free market. There were dairy farmers in all regions before the dairy program began, and there will be efficient dairy farmers in all regions after we end it. There will always be an advantage in proximity to local markets for fresh milk. It is way past time for all of us to unite and cast off this horrible relic. I urge all my colleagues to support the amendment of the gentlemen.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1995, the Teacher Empowerment Act. By combining several current Federal education programs, including Goals 2000, the President's ``100,000 New Teachers'' program and the Eisenhower Professional Development program, this initiative will provide States and localities with the support and flexibility they need to provide quality training for teachers and reduce class size. Recently, the Clinton Administration unveiled its proposal to improve teacher quality and student achievement. Not surprisingly, the Administration wants to impose a ``one-size-fits-all'' approach to education by mandating that schools use $1.2 billion of the funds under the Teacher Empowerment Act to reduce class size. Its proposal goes even further by mandating that local schools use their own funds to reduce class size to 18 or less in the early grades. H.R. 1995 provides an alternative. It allows schools both to improve teacher quality and reduce class size--but unlike the President's proposal, it allows school districts to determine the correct balance between these two strategies. The Teacher Empowerment Act gives States and localities flexibility to focus on initiatives they believe will improve both teacher quality and student performance, such as programs to promote tenure reform, teacher testing, merit-based teacher performance systems, alternative routes to teacher certification, differential and bonus pay for teachers in ``high need'' subject areas, mentoring, and in-service teacher academies. Furthermore, it holds them accountable to parents and taxpayers for demonstrating results measured in improved student performance and higher quality teachers. The President's current ``100,000 New Teachers Program'' lacks any requirement that schools reducing their class size demonstrate that such reduction is in fact improving student achievement. The accountability provisions in the TEA legislation help to end more than 30 years of funding Federal professional development programs without any accountability for how they help students learn. It brings into focus the purpose of the federal investment in teachers and professional development--helping children reach their fullest potential. The TEA bill ensures that states and school districts receiving these funds use effective ways of raising teacher quality that improve student performance and narrow the achievement gap between high and low performing students. H.R. 1995 is a well-balanced piece of legislation that allows States and local school districts to use funds to meet their individual professional needs. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Chairman, if the gentlewoman would yield, I would like to thank the gentlewoman and assure her that the subcommittee would be pleased to consider an authorization for the Dane County project in our next appropriate vehicle. I understand that Dane County has a number of transit options under consideration and would be seeking Federal funding for continued planning and evaluation in budget year 2002. And I am quite sure that the need of the county can be addressed by our committee on a timely basis, and I look forward to working with my colleague toward that end.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, this past year, students from Montello, Wisconsin worked on a project that entailed an international experiment which was included on last fall's historic Discovery space shuttle flight. The experiment involved vials of lettuce seeds from Wisconsin and chicory seeds from Italy being subjected to micro gravity, extreme heat and cold during the NASA flight. While in space, the project was tended by astronaut John Glenn. The seeds are being studied to determine the effects of space travel. Early results indicated that the space seeds did as well as the control seeds despite not being fertilized. This unexpected finding could have far-reaching implications for the environment. The school-wide project included students of different ages and the central theme allowed all types of classes to be involved, such as English, history, and agriculture. The seed project, ``Growing Montello Transglobally'' is a joint effort with students from the II Montello region of Italy. The students communicated over the Internet using an Italian translator program. During a visit to Montello High in January, I had the opportunity to discuss the project with the students and was impressed by their interests and abilities. I toured classes where students had participated in computer portions of the project, from sharing and tracking information with their sister school in Montello, Italy, to downloading and sending digital photographs. I was also impressed by a video documentary of the project and related activities that was made in conjunction with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). The Wisconsin students were able to go to Florida to view the Discovery launch in October. They raised their own money for the trip through a variety of fund-raisers which included selling cookies and T- shirts and hosting a spaghetti dinner. Seventh and eighth grade students in the Montello School system are co-authoring a children's picture book. The students developed their own ideas for the characters, plot, settings, and illustrations featuring children from Montello, Italy and Montello, Wisconsin. The book will feature NASA projects as seen from the children's perspective. They will be submitting the book to a professional publisher. A literacy quilt was created to highlight the success of the NASA Project. Catherine Ellenbecker, teacher, has been asked to have the students do a multimedia presentation on the seed project at the Naval Academy in Annapolis in September. The time and effort the students of Montello, Wisconsin and II Montello of Italy put into this project was phenomenal and their achievements and successes should be recognized. I believe these students deserve a full measure of praise for all they have accomplished.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, today I have introduced the Retirement Security Act of 1999. This bill, nearly identical to legislation I introduced in the last Congress, would help put the Social Security system on a better financial footing while providing future Americans with the peace of mind that comes with their own personal retirement accounts. Under my bill, the government will establish a retirement account for each newborn American citizen, initially worthy $1,000. The money for the initial $1,000 will come from income taxes on that portion of Social Security income currently subject to the income tax. This amount is to be invested in the same funds available in the Federal employees' Thrift Savings Plan two of which promise higher rates of return than the Social Security Trust Fund. The investment decisions among the funds are to be made by the parent or guardian until the account holder reaches the age of majority when he or she is able to make such decisions. The account holder, or his or her parent, can add to the principal of the account, up to $2,000 per year tax free. But even if that ever happens the $1,000, if invested in the common stock index fund, at the historical real rate of return of 7 percent, would grow to $89,000 in 1999 dollars. This happens to be just enough to cover the current average Social Security benefit. Since the initial $1,000 comes from the Government, Social Security payments owed to the account holder would come out of this account first. Only after it is exhausted would the individual begin to draw on the Social Security Trust Fund. Therefore the financial problems of Social Security would be solved starting 67 years after enactment. This would make it easier to deal with the problems we face before that date. If my plan is adopted, future workers will not have to worry so much whether or not the government will keep its promises or that the Social Security system might go bankrupt because each will have an account which is his or her personal property. I don't claim that this program will solve all of the financial problems of Social Security but it will certainly help.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, this past year, students from Montello, Wisconsin worked on a project that entailed an international experiment which was--included on last fall's historic Discovery space shuttle flight. The experiment involved vials of lettuce seeds from Wisconsin and chicory seeds from Italy being subjected to micro gravity, extreme heat and cold during the NASA flight. While in space, the project was tended by astronaut John Glenn. The seeds are being studied to determine the effects of space travel. Early results indicated that the space seeds did as well as the control seeds despite not being fertilized. This unexpected finding could have far-reaching implications for the environment. The school-wide project included students of different ages and the central theme allowed all types of classes to be involved, such as English, history, and agriculture. The seed project, ``Growing Montello Transglobally'' is a joint effort with students from the II Montello region of Italy. The students communicated over the Internet using an Italian translator program. During a visit to Montello High in January, I had the opportunity to discuss the project with the students and was impressed by their interests and abilities. I toured classes where students had participated in computer portions of the project, from sharing and tracking information with their sister school in Montello, Italy, to downloading and sending digital photographs. I was also impressed by a video documentary of the project and related activities that was made in conjunction with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). The Wisconsin students were able to go to Florida to view the Discovery launch in October. They raised their own money for the trip through a variety of fund-raisers which included selling cookies and T- shirts and hosting a spaghetti dinner. Seventh and eighth grade students in the Montello School system are co-authoring a children's picture book. The students developed their own ideas for the character, plot, settings and illustrations featuring children from Montello, Italy and Montello, Wisconsin. The book will feature NASA projects as seen from the children's perspective. They will be submitting the book to a professional publisher. A literacy quilt was created to highlight the success of the NASA Project. Catherine Alexander, teacher, has been asked to have the students do a multimedia presentation on the seed project at the Naval Academy in Annapolis in September. The time and effort the students of Montello, Wisconsin and II Montello of Italy put into this project was phenomenal and their achievements and successes should be recognized. I believe these students deserve a full measure of praise for all they have accomplished.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, John Minor Wisdom, an outstanding American, Judge, son of the South, and Republican passed on this weekend. I submit the following review of his eventful legal and political career which appeared in the New York Times today, to be entered in the Record at this point. [From the New York Times, May 17, 1999] John Minor Wisdom, Appeals Court Judge Who Helped end Segregation, Dies at 93 (By Jack Bass) Judge John Minor Wisdom, the New Orleans legal scholar who wrote opinion after opinion that desegregated courthouses throughout the Deep South and put blacks on juries, in the voting booth, in state legislatures and in integrated classrooms, died on Saturday in New Orleans. He would have turned 94 today. He had remained active in the 1990's, saying he had no interest in retirement. Judge Wisdom wrote the opinion that allowed James Meredith to attend the University of Mississippi, the first black student to do so. In 1967 he wrote the majority opinion in United States v. Jefferson County, the case that, as he recalled, ``really started affirmative action.'' His wide-ranging judicial opinions over more than four decades kept public schools open in Louisiana when officials tried to close them rather than integrate, ordered Florida to desegregate even its reformatories and told sports authorities to desegregate the boxing ring. He accomplished this after President Dwight D. Eisenhower named him in 1957 to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, a jurisdiction that then including six states of the old Confederacy--Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Georgia. It was four judges of the Fifth Circuit whose opinions helped shape the civil rights laws of the 1950's and 60's, changing forever the Deep South. Judge Wisdom was the last survivor of the men who came to be called ``the Four,'' a term used in a dissenting opinion by a fellow judge from Mississippi who saw them as destroyers of the Old South that he cherished. The others were Elbert P. Tuttle of Georgia, John R. Brown of Texas and Richard T. Rives of Alabama. All but Judge Rives were Republicans. The judges of the Fifth Circuit amplified the mandate of Brown v. Board of Education, the epochal Supreme Court decision of May 17, 1954, that nullified state laws and state constitutional provisions allowing or requiring the segregation of black and white students in public schools because of their race. Among the Four's trail-blazing decisions of the 1960's, most of them written by Judge Wisdom, were the following: In 1961, the judges struck down Louisiana's school-closing law, after St. Helena Parish voted to close its public schools rather than submit to desegregation. In 1962, they agreed that James H. Meredith had been turned down for admission to the University of Mississippi because of his race, and ordered Ole Miss to admit him. In the court's opinion, Judge Wisdom wrote that university officials had ``engaged in a carefully calculated campaign of delay, harassment and masterly inactivity.'' Mr. Meredith became the first black to go to public school with white students in accordance with the Brown decision. In 1963, the judges ordered the desegregation of all public parks, playgrounds and community and cultural centers in New Orleans. In 1964, they struck down the jury-selection system in Orleans Parish in Louisiana because, as Judge Wisdom wrote, it ``operated to exclude all but a token number of Negroes'' from jury lists. He noted that ``no black ever sat on a grand jury or a trial jury panel in Orleans Parish.'' In 1965, they ruled that Louisiana's voter-registration law, because of its written test on the Constitution, discriminated against poorly educated back voters. Judge Wisdom wrote: ``A wall stands in Louisiana between registered voters and unregistered eligible Negro voters. The wall is the state constitutional requirement that an applicant for registration `understand and give a reasonable interpretation of any section' of the Constitution of Louisiana or of the United States.'' It is, he wrote ``the highest, best-guarded, most effective barrier to Negro voting in Louisiana.'' He concluded that ``this wall, built to bar Negroes from access to the franchise, must come down.'' In 1966, the judges ordered Florida to desegregate its reformatories and declared no state could legally maintain segregation in any school, whatever its mission. In 1967, they affirmed that the six states within their jurisdiction had to integrate their public schools from kindergarten on. In 1968, Judge Wisdom made what he regarded as the most important opinion of his career, in United States v. Jefferson, in which the court overturned the so-called Briggs dictum. This was the belief, widely held by conservative judges in the South, that the Constitution did not require integration but merely forbade discrimination. Judge Wisdom expressed his ``nagging feeling that it is not how far blacks have come that is important but how far they will have to go.'' He advocated ``the planned organized undoing of the effects of past segregation'' and set in motion the philosophical framework for what would come to be known as affirmative action. He wrote: ``To avoid conflict with the equal protection clause, a classification that denies a benefit, cause harm or imposes a burden must not be based on race. In that sense, the Constitution is color blind. But the Constitution is color conscious to prevent discrimination being perpetuated and to undo the effects of past discrimination. The criterion is the relevancy of color to a legitimate government purpose.'' Undoing the Years of `Ingenious Devices' The Fifth Circuit made these rulings at a time when die- hard segregationists were using everything from violence to subtle evasion to resist change. ``Our court rapidly desegregated every place that could be desegregated: buses, hotels, restaurants, parks, barrooms and athletic contests,'' Judge Wisdom recalled in 1982. ''Our court had strong opposition from six state legislatures and state governors, year in and year out.'' ``Senators, Congressmen, governors and local politicians eventually changed their attitude toward minorities,'' he continued. ``This not attributable to a change of heart but to the Voting Rights Act of 1965,'' which, he noted, enfranchised blacks ``previously disenfranchised by many ingenious devices.'' President Clinton, in awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993, said that his opinions ``advanced civil rights and economic justice, and his inspired words echo throughout many of this century's most significant Supreme Court opinions.'' Son of the South Who Loved Literature John Minor Wisdom was born in New Orleans on May 17, 1905, the son of Mortimer M. Wisdom and Adelaide Labatt Wisdom. His father was a member of the city's elite and proudly remembered marching in the funeral procession of Robert E. Lee in 1870. In 1925 the son received his bachelor's degree from Washington and Lee University, where he had an interest in literature. He studied literature for a year as a graduate student at Harvard University, but then entered the law school at Tulane University, where he graduated first in his class. He formed the law firm of Wisdom and Stone with a classmate, Saul Stone, practicing law in New Orleans in the 1930's. He joined the Army Air Forces in World War II, serving in the Office of Legal Procurement. Some of his early legal work dealt with business law. He opposed so-called fair-trade laws, legislation that permitted manufacturers to set the retail prices of products, ostensibly to protect small retailers from competition from big discounters. He told those attending the American Fair Trade Council meeting in New York in 1953 that they could ``never sell the American citizen on the justice or logic'' of fair trade. Mr. Wisdom, a long-time Republican loyalist who served in the 1950's as a national committeeman from Louisiana, worked hard to open doors to the party in the South. In 1952 he broke with the more traditional Southern Republicans, who strongly supported the candidacy of the conservative Senator Robert Taft of Ohio for President. Earlier that year, Mr. Wisdom and Elbert P. Tuttle, a lawyer in Atlanta, met at the request of Herbert Brownell, General Eisenhower's campaign manager, to organize a campaign in the South to support General Eisenhower for the Republican nomination against Senator Taft. Mr. Wisdom and Mr. Tuttle became co-chairmen of the Southern Conference for Eisenhower. As Attorney General in the Eisenhower Administration, Mr. Brownell became an important figure in selecting Federal judges, and both Mr. Tuttle and Mr. Wisdom were eventually put on the Federal bench. One of the earliest civil rights cases Judge Wisdom received after his appointment came in 1959, when the Fifth Circuit voided a Louisiana ban on boxing matches between blacks and whites. The court's decision was upheld by the United States Supreme Court. In 1964 he dissented from the Fifth Circuit's majority opinion, which upheld the tradition of revealing the race of all candidates for public office on the ballot. The Supreme Court ultimately repudiated the majority decision and upheld his position. Though most of the Fifth Circuit's ground-breaking decisions concerning discrimination were made in the 1960's, there were many significant cases in the 1970's. Among them was a 1972 decision striking down a Louisiana law barring biracial adoptions. ``It's obvious,'' Judge Wisdom wrote in the decision, ``that the Louisiana statute making race a decisive factor in adoption subordinates a child's best interest in some circumstances to racial discrimination.'' Judge Wisdom wrote several landmark opinions in employment discrimination cases. In 1979, the Supreme Court adopted the basic reasoning of his dissent in Weber v. Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation to uphold a hiring plan intended to overcome the effects of past discrimination. Not all his major decisions concerned race. In 1974, he wrote an opinion that found that psychiatric patients as a class had a Federal constitutional right to adequate treatment when such patients were committed against their will to state institutions. But to the end he felt that no opinion drew more fully on his intellect and imagination than U.S. v. Jefferson. By requiring ``the organized undoing of the effects of past desegregation,'' he placed an affirmative duty on school boards to develop desegregation plans. Including a model desegregation order, he served notice that ``the only school desegregation plan that meets constitutional standards is one that works.'' Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a 1979 book, ``The Supreme Court wrote from Brown to Bakke,'' that Judge Wisdom in Jefferson and related cases ``transformed the face of school desegregation law.'' A Scuttled Candidacy For the Supreme Court Despite the storms that attended his civil rights decisions, the stature he attained was such that in 1969, he was mentioned as a leading candidate for the Supreme Court. Moderate Republicans advanced his name after the Senate rejected President Richard M. Nixon's nomination of Judge Clement F. Haynsworth, whom Judge Wisdom opposed. But Mr. Nixon's Attorney General, John Mitchell, scuttled the idea, reportedly complaining that Judge Wisdom was nothing more than a ``damn left-winger'' who, if he ever got on the Supreme Court, would ``be as bad as Earl Warren.'' The judge once told a reporter that when the Fifth Circuit was issuing its most contentious rulings, his dogs were poisoned and a rattlesnake was thrown in his backyard. But despite the liberal views about race and civil rights he espoused throughout his judicial career, he maintained memberships in private clubs that discriminated against blacks and Jews. ``The people I see in these clubs are the guys I went to school with and have known all my life,'' he said. ``I would not resign from any such club.'' He said, ``They know how I stand on these matters'' and ``I certainly wouldn't change their views by getting out of the club.'' He is survived by his wife, Bonnie Mathews Wisdom, and two daughters, Kathleen Mathews Wisdom and Penelope Stewart Wisdom Tose. A son, John Minor Jr., died. His former law clerks recalled that the judge was capable of spending an afternoon playing bridge for high stakes, following it with drinks with lifelong friends, discussing and reciting obscure Elizabethan poetry, and after cocktails and dinner at home, staying up well past midnight working on one of the many drafts his major opinions went through before he was satisfied.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. I think it only appropriate to honor our late friend and colleague by designating in his name this bridge, for which he fought so hard during his legendary tenure in this Chamber. Bill Natcher will always be remembered for his determination and longevity, but it was his commitment to the people of the second district of Kentucky and his love and respect for this body that inspired us all. Today we have the opportunity to create a lasting memorial honoring Bill Natcher's name. I strongly urge that we pass H.R. 1162 and do just that.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 135) providing for the concurrence by the House with an amendment in the Senate amendments to H.R. 98.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.