Charlie Rangel

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, June 3rd I had the pleasure to attend an event sponsored by Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr., NY CaribNews, and the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation. The event was entitled Caribbean NYC: The Future is Today, and it brought together hundreds of individuals to discuss issues of importance to New York's ever-growing Caribbean community. Issues such as immigration policy, entrepreneurship, and Caribbean natural disaster relief, were discussed at the event and served to remind those in attendance of the ties that bind the Caribbean population of New York, and the opportunities that we have yet to exploit. Without question, the New York City area holds the largest Caribbean population in the United States. The metro area boasts approximately 1.5 million Spanish Caribbean residents, including nearly 900,000 Puerto Ricans, and 600,000 Dominicans. According to the CUNY Albany, the Dominican population alone grew over 70 percent from 1990-2000. The New York area also encompasses more than 800,000 residents from the English-speaking Caribbean, a population which grew over 40 percent in the last decade. In New York City itself, three of the top five immigrant groups are from the Caribbean: Dominican Republic (Ist), Jamaica (3rd), Guyana (4th). Though Caribbean New Yorkers may speak with different accents and languages, and have cultural practices unique to each, they all share a desire to succeed in this country. Their unbreakable work ethnic and entrepreneurial spirit has provided a cornerstone for our city's growth and success for more than half a century. This entrepreneurial spirit can be found throughout our city. One example is the story of Lowell Hawthorne, and the ``Golden Krust`' food franchise. The company, which specializes in making Jamaican patties, started 15 years ago in a small bakery in the Bronx, and has since expanded into a chain of 80 franchises throughout the New York area. The company now has plans to expand across the East Coast, before going nationwide. If Golden Krust stays with their plan the Jamaican pattie may one day become as omnipresent in America as the hamburger, pizza, or taco. The entrepreneurial spirit of this community will only grow, as they become increasingly integrated into the socio-economic fabric of our city. Another factor which binds the Caribbean community is their common concern for their home nations. The Caribbean continues to face many critical issues related to natural disasters, economic development, and HIV/AIDS. The U.S. Government has sought to assist in addressing this issue, but more is needed. Several hurricanes and tropical storms hit nations across the Caribbean in the 2004 hurricane season causing billions of dollars in damage, and killing thousands. I was joined by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus in urging the Bush Administration and Congress to maximize their Caribbean Hurricane relief effort. These disasters caused long-term damage to the agricultural and tourism sectors of the region, so it will continue to require our assistance moving forward. In addition, recent reports by U.S. government sources have predicted that the 2005 Hurricane season will likely be worse than 2004, so the U.S. must stand ready to adequately assist our neighbors in what promises to be a trying hurricane season. We must also closely examine how our policies might hinder the region's recovery. One such hindrance is the Bush Administration's proposed Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The initiative, which will require all travelers to and from the Caribbean, and Bermuda to have a passport to enter or re-enter the United States, is being imposed on the Caribbean before other regions in the Hemisphere. With a large percenage of U.S. visitors to the Caribbean not utilizing a passport when they travel, it can be expected that the new requirements will have a negative impact on Caribbean tourism, as many U.S. tourists may choose vacation options that entail less hassle. In addition, the U.S. must continue to increase non-emergency assistance. Though U.S. assistance to the Caribbean has increased in recent years, it still lags behind the amounts given to the Caribbean during the 1980's. The Cold War is over, but the Caribbean still faces many threats to its development and security. The growing impact of narco-trafficking is increasingly evident, and will continue unless the U.S. continues to help the Caribbean in its development objectives. Equally important is the ability of the Carribbean to keep its borders secure in the post 9-11 environment. With these countries burdened by slow economic development, and annual crises arising from natural disasters, they will be increasingly hard pressed to invest in the border security measures which hold implications for them and United States. The United States must also continue to help the Caribbean wage the war against HIV/AIDS, as the epidemic in the region continues to grow. Infection rates are among the highest outside of sub-Saharan Africa, and an estimated 430,000 people in the region are living with HIV. Many experts have predicted that this will significantly retard the economic and political growth of the region if it continues on its present course. Overall U.S. HIV assistance to the Caribbean is estimated at $53 million for 2005, but this is largely due to the two Caribbean nations that are covered by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). As such, more countries in the region, besides Haiti and Guyana, should be placed under the PEPFAR program. There has been activity in Congress to bring about this result, but legislation has yet be approved. Again, I thank the organizers of the Caribbean NYC event; it not only illuminated the great strides that have been taken by the Caribbean Community in New York, but also the need for the U.S. to remain committed to assisting the Caribbean region--a region near to our shores and to our hearts.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, the current state of the African continent has been an ongoing issue of concern for policy makers in this country and elsewhere. As the rest of the world is reaping the rewards of development, Africa seems to be sinking deeper into a health and poverty crisis. In pursuit of a solution, British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with President Bush at the White House yesterday to discuss next month's Group of Eight (G-8) summit. Specifically, the two men discussed Prime Minister Blair's ambitious plan to bring a historic combination of debt relief, trade concessions, and aid to the African continent. A major component of the plan would entail a large increase of aid payments to Africa to around $25 billion annually, before increasing to $50 billion annually within three to five years. This would be in-line with the UN's goal to have industrialized nations allocate 0.7 percent of their GDP to development assistance. While Mr. Blair's exciting proposal should be applauded, agreement as to how it will be achieved is still awaited. Mr. Blair and British Finance Minister Gordon Brown argue that the aid should be funded through a mechanism they call the ``International Finance Facility'' (IFF). The IFF would raise aid funds by issuing bonds on world capital markets. The IFF bonds would be backed by a promise from the G7 economic powers to repay them after 2015. The Bush Administration has not been supportive of the IFF, which it views as incompatible with U.S. Congressional budgetary rules. However, while aspects of the IFF proposal may be problematic, the necessity for increased aid to Africa is not in question. At current assistance rates, Sub Saharan Africa will unquestionably fall short of the Millennium Development Goals to cut poverty on the continent in half by 2015. As such, Blair's call for further aid to the continent is merited. To its credit, the Bush Administration has substantially increased aid to Sub-Saharan Africa, which amounted to around $3.2 billion in 2004. Though this ranks the U.S. among the world leaders in total African assistance, we still trail much of the industrialized world in the amount of aid we give as a percentage of GDP. In addition, large amounts of the Bush Administration's; aid pledges to Africa have been slow in coming. For example, the $4 billion committed to the region under the Millennium Challenge Account has yet to actually be delivered in earnest. Indeed, a June 8th Op-Ed in New York Times entitled ``Crumbs for Africa'' describes just how much more we can do. On Tuesday, the Bush Administration announced that the U.S. will provide $674 million in additional famine assistance to Africa this year from funds already appropriated by Congress. While this is to be commended, Prime Minister Blair is pushing for a broad, long-term effort to help Africa's economy get on its feet, not just emergency food aid. He also wants G-8 countries to commit new money for Africa rather than reallocating funds already earmarked for foreign assistance. It is my hope that the Administration will work with its G- 8 partners in the coming weeks to arrive at a more substantial and comprehensive aid package for Africa. While the issue of increased aid will be difficult, the related goal of debt relief is very attainable, as long as all parties involved dedicate themselves to that outcome. Both Prime Minister Blair and Finance Minister Brown have voiced optimism about the prospects for reaching G-8 agreement on the issue. The U.S. and other G-8 members already agree in principle on 100 percent debt relief for Africa's poorest nations, but the exact formula for how the debt will be cancelled is still being resolved. The U.S. is calling for a simple write-off of the debt, while Britain and others have called for the debt to be paid off, so as to replenish the resources of the International Development Banks. Among other things, Blair advocates selling a portion of International Monetary Fund (IMF) gold reserves to help pay off the debt. Whatever the mechanism, Africa needs debt relief as soon as possible. Many African countries are crippled by debt burdens that in some cases consume nearly 40 percent of their annual budgets. It is thus imperative that negotiations on this issue continue. President Bush now has a golden opportunity to join with Prime Minister Blair and other members of the G-8 in helping to establish a new era for Africa. Such an opportunity is unprecedented in Africa's post colonial history. To turn back now would be more than shameful. The United States has already spent nearly $200 billion on the war in Iraq--a country of 26 million people. Prime Minister Blair is calling on us to now spend a few billion dollars more to help save an entire continent encompassing over 700 million people. That is what I call making our money count, and the legacy of such an effort will yield immeasurable benefits for Africa, and the world as a whole. Again, I thank Mr. Blair for his bold and ambitious vision, and I pray that our country will be able to stand with him in making it a reality. [From the New York Times, June 8, 2005] Crumbs for Africa President Bush kept a remarkably straight face yesterday when he strode to the microphones with Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, and told the world that the United States would now get around to spending $674 million in emergency aid that Congress had already approved for needy countries. That's it. Not a penny more to buy treated mosquito nets to help save the thousands of children in Sierra Leone who die every year of preventable malaria. Nothing more to train and pay teachers so 11-year-old girls in Kenya may go to school. And not a cent more to help Ghana develop the programs it needs to get legions of young boys off the streets. Mr. Blair, who will be the host when the G-8, the club of eight leading economic powers, holds its annual meeting next month, is trying to line up pledges to double overall aid for Africa over the next 10 years. That extra $25 billion a year would do all those things, and much more, to raise the continent from dire poverty. Before getting to Washington, Mr. Blair had done very well, securing pledges of large increases from European Union members. According to a poll, most Americans believe that the United States spends 24 percent of its budget on aid to poor countries; it actually spends well under a quarter of 1 percent. As Jeffrey Sachs, the Columbia University economist in charge of the United Nations' Millennium Project, put it so well, the notion that there is a flood of American aid going to Africa ``is one of our great national myths.'' The United States currently gives just 0.16 percent of its national income to help poor countries, despite signing a United Nations declaration three years ago in which rich countries agreed to increase their aid to 0.7 percent by 2015. Since then, Britain, France and Germany have all announced plans for how to get to 0.7 percent; America has not. The piddling amount Mr. Bush announced yesterday is not even 0.007 percent. What is 0.7 percent of the American economy? About $80 billion. That is about the amount the Senate just approved for additional military spending, mostly in Iraq. It's not remotely close to the $140 billion corporate tax cut last year. This should not be the image Mr. Bush wants to project around a world that is intently watching American actions on this issue. At a time when rich countries are mounting a noble and worthy effort to make poverty history, the Bush administration is showing itself to be completely out of touch by offering such a miserly drop in the bucket. It's no surprise that Mr. Bush's offer was greeted with scorn in television broadcasts and newspaper headlines around the world. ``Bush Opposes U.K. Africa Debt Plan,'' blared the headline on the AllAfrica news service, based in Johannesburg. ``Blair's Gambit: Shame Bush Into Paying'' chimed in The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. The American people have a great heart. President Bush needs to stop concealing it.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the success and contributions of Dr. David Jefferson, Sr. A graduate of Grambling State University, David has been a role model and example for a generation of Grambling students and others who have met him. In the last thirty years, David has risen up the ranks in the business community and has developed an impressive reputation amongst his colleagues as a fair and wise business leader. He currently serves as the President and CEO of JNET Communications, LLC and is a member of the board of directors of SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc. He has succeeded in bringing the talents of a young Louisianan and the lessons of a noteworthy academic institution into the decision-making of two major corporations. Beginning in 2003, JNET has provided a suite of technology and technology-related services to telephone companies, cable television systems, and other businesses. The company has created a number of job opportunities in minority and low-income communities. Through its Up the Ladder training program, it has trained individuals in these communities to work as call center experts, customer acquisition and expansion experts, and maintenance and installation experts. David has been successful in managing an organization that creates jobs for the community and the people that surround him. Dr. Jefferson is also a senior pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Church of Newark. Founded in 1938, Metropolitan Baptist has one of the largest congregations in Newark. It has over 80 ministries ranging from choirs and church services to ecommerce and educational development. David has effectively used the church to address the economic and social needs of his congregation and has worked to improve the livelihood of his community. David is also a willing community activist. He divides his time with a number of social and religious organizations dedicated to making an impact on the community. He is enthusiastically involved in the actions of civil rights organizations, legal associations, and a fraternal order. In addition, David is the director and co-chair of 1,000 Churches Connected Initiative. His commitment to the community and involvement in its development is a testament to the importance of daily activism and individual responsibility. Dr. Jefferson is a wonderful role model for generations of Americans. He effectively combines the intuitiveness and aggressiveness of the business community with the compassion and care of the neighborhood. He is a dedicated leader to the economic and social fabric of this country and should be recognized for his role in shaping and developing the individual, the family, and the community. Dr. Jefferson bestowed his sage advice on the graduating class of Grambling State University Sunday, May 22. He advised the graduates of his keys to success and reminded them of the importance of community service, determination, and commitment to their life. I would like to share with this body the thoughtful words of Dr. David Jefferson at the commencement of Grambling State University. I submit for the Record the prepared text of that commencement address. ``Achieving Your Dreams and Hopes''; Grambling State University Commencement Address, May 22, 2005 To Dr. Judson, the president of this internationally renowned, remarkable, historical institution; Chairman of the Board of Trustees; faculty; administrators; staff; parents; friends; loved ones; and last but certainly not least the Graduating Class of 2005. When you travel and see the condition of our young people . . . to see those who have reached this level, they deserve a message from us that we are proud of their accomplishments. Today represents a major milestone and one of significant meaning and enormous joy and fulfillment for all of us. For the graduates and their families, because your hard work, sacrifice and perseverance has finally yielded the first installment of your dividends. It's significant for this great institution because there is a spirit of revival and rebirth in the air at GSU. I am excited and encouraged about what is happening at my Alma Mater. The campus is receiving a long overdue facelift, buildings are being constructed, dorms are being renovated, academic curriculums are being reevaluated, and there is a vision and hope for tomorrow. For me it's significant because I have been invited back to my roots, the place where I started my journey and received my foundation for higher academic training. This is the institution that equipped me and prepared me for my MBA work in finance at the University of Dayton. It is this institution that also equipped me to pursue legal studies at Capital Law School; a Master's of Theology at Drew University; and another master's degree from one of the top schools in the world--the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is this institution that paved the way for me to become the Pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark, N.J. which has nearly 6,000 members, and now the President and CEO of JNET Communications. After 34 years I have been invited back to give this commencement address and that's a marvelous blessing. So do not let anyone tell you Grambling is not a great school. Without this school I wouldn't be where I am today. I am very humbled and emotional, but very excited. And I want to thank Dr. Judson for inviting me to address this class. I've received a number of prestigious honors in my life, many of which were absolutely outstanding. However, in my estimation, this tops them all. To stand here today is extremely significant to me. Everywhere I go young people constantly inquire, ``Dr. Jefferson, how have you achieved such significant accomplishments and what advice would you give college students?'' And that's what I want to focus on briefly: achieving your dreams and hopes. The first thing I have to admit is it has not been easy-- you really do have to learn how to lean and depend on God. But you also have to have a dream, some hope, some aspiration that takes you beyond the present to what you want for your future. It's called reaching beyond the present. I had and still have a desire to achieve. Even if you don't know exactly ``where'' you want to go, you need to possess a desire to ``excel beyond your present.'' Then you need to be inspired because aspiration is not enough, you also need inspiration. I grew up in Doyline, a small rural area just west of here--dirt roads, no running water, outside bathrooms, and bathing in a #3 tub (something many of you perhaps know nothing about). There are 15 children in our family. I'm #10 and nine of us graduated from college. My father, a Baptist minister, was a strong man and an outstanding role model. My mother, who is with me today, is 89 years old and will be 90 in December. Neither of my parents finished high school, but they understood the value of a good education and inspired their children to be somebody, to make something of themselves, to be their best. Without aspiration and without inspiration there is no drive, determination, or will to succeed. Success comes to those who are willing to sweat. And then you need to work at it. It's called preparation. And preparation involves perspiration. Preparation and perspiration always precede realization. Dreams and aspirations can never be achieved without preparation and perspiration. And then you get to the moment of celebration. That's where you are today. So graduates--it is time to celebrate! But today's accomplishments are to be celebrated with commas, not periods. As a punctuation mark, the period says ``stop.'' It represents the end of a declarative statement. But a comma says simply, ``pause,'' because there's more to follow. I urge you to celebrate today with a comma, meaning that there's more to follow! Seize the moment, but keep going. Make the most of your life. Don't stop. Go for your master's, go for your doctorate, take your life to the next level. Do something that will make a difference, make your mark in life, leave a legacy. L. Frank Baum in his 1939 epic, ``The Wizard of Oz,'' starts the story when a nasty neighbor tries to have Dorothy's dog put to sleep. Dorothy takes her dog, Toto, to run away. A cyclone appears and carries her to the magical land of Oz. Wishing to return, she begins to travel to the city of Oz, where a great and powerful wizard lives. On her way she meets a Scarecrow who needs a brain, a Tin Man who wants a heart, and a cowardly Lion who desperately needs courage. They all hope the Wizard of Oz will help them, before the Wicked Witch of the West catches up to them. But when they reach Oz and meet the magnificent Wizard they encounter a remarkable discovery. And that is ``what they were looking for on the outside was only to be found within.'' What they wanted the Wizard to give them, they had all along. You have within you brains, the courage and the heart and the spirit to go the distance. Cultivate what you have within! Sometimes up, sometimes down, it won't be easy but go for it! And perhaps that's what Langston Hughes had in mind when he wrote the poem ``Mother to Son,'' where the mother says to her son . . . ``Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor-- Bare. But all the time I'se been a-climbin' on, And reachin' landin's, And turnin' corners, And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light. So, boy, don't you turn back. Don't you set down on the steps. 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard. Don't you fall now-- For I'se still goin', honey I'se still c1imbin', And life for me ain't been no crystal stair. So go for it graduates and one day you'll discover, like I have, there is no place like home, no place like Doyline, no place like Grambling State University! And although today is a great accomplishment, your best is yet to come. God bless you and God bless Grambling State University!

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to draw the attention of the 109th Congress to the life of Malcolm X. Four months ago was the 40th anniversary of the tragic assassination of Malcolm X. Last month, I called on this body to recognize and commemorate the 80th birthday of this brilliant man who rose from a life of crime and incarceration to become a famed civil rights leader. Today, I ask this chamber to reflect on the circumstances that led Malcolm X down the path he took and to imagine how his life and our lives might have been different had he lived into his 80s. Despite much hardship and struggle in his life, he rose to be a powerful voice of a disenfranchised Black America. His father, a believer in Garveyism and a champion of Black Nationalism, was found dead on the railroad tracks near his home. His mother quickly sank into a deep depression and alcoholism. He was split from his brothers, sisters, and mother shortly thereafter. Despite an impressive academic record, he was discouraged from pursuing a career in law by a favorite white teacher. By his 20s, he had turned to a life of crime that appeared to offer more opportunities for a young black man in the 1940s. To young Malcolm, racism was at the heart of his family breakdown, the barriers to his advancement, and the limitations of Black America. All around him were examples of a system that discriminated against, despised, and debilitated Black America. Crime, drugs, death, limited opportunities, inadequate finances, segregation, and racism were facets of his daily life. They framed his view of the world around him and of the individuals within the political and economic hierarchy. As a result of a religious conversion he experienced in jail, Malcolm would join the Nation of Islam and become one of its most influential ministers. Motivated by his spirit, pride, and desire to defend his Black people, he would see the Nation of Islam as a voice for the disenfranchised, the poor, and the discriminated. He would connect his life story to the lives of those with whom he came in contact and explain their story through his own experience. Their dismay with the system was his dismay; their need for leadership was his strength. He instilled in those he met in his journey a sense of pride that many had lost. He restored their hope in themselves. He demanded more of himself and more of them. He told America about the oppression and racism that held his people back and demanded that the injustices be undone. With that demand came a call for Black America to stand up for themselves, to insist upon their freedoms as men and women, and to settle for nothing less. He became the voice for a segment of Black America that would no longer accept the status quo. He became a champion for justice, equality, and self-determination. While many feared the hatred and determinism that underlined Malcolm X, many also missed his transformation to EI-Hajj Malik EI-Shabazz. El- Shabazz had traveled to Mecca and seen with his own eyes the kindness of all people and the international extent of oppression. He saw that injustices were not just a White-Black dynamic in the United States, but a challenge that existed across the world, across races, and across systems of government. He returned from his travels with a new developing world philosophy. Malcolm X was an influential leader of the Civil Rights Movement and is an admired champion of current generations. His struggle is seen as a universal struggle that groups the world over have fought. He influenced change in the role of African-Americans in this country. His thoughts still shape the ideas of the young and old today. This Congress, this Nation, must come to terms with the meaning and significance of this great man, as we advance into this new century. I submit for the Record and for our reflection the following CaribNews article by Michael D. Roberts on Malcolm X. It provides further insight into the development of EI-Hajj Malik EI-Shabazz and it offers a view of Black Moses. Black Moses: The International Appeal for This Black Nationalist Still Lives May 31, 2005.--As we celebrate the 80th ``earthday'' of legendary Black Nationalist leader, Malcolm X, he still commands the attention and interest of millions of people-- Black, White, and others. And even now there are still attempts to settle once and for all the circumstances surrounding his untimely demise. Malcolm's contribution to the development of Black people and the Black race the world over serves as a timeless positive lesson in today's troubled climate of racism, petty prejudice and discrimination. His life and times also make the translucent point that greatness can start from very humble circumstances and that ultimately the power of goodness must triumph over those of evil. Indeed, his example, in so short a lifetime, is a remarkable study in the metamorphosis from ordinary Malcolm Little, born on May 19, 1925, to a Garveyite father and Grenadian mother, to convicted felon and con man, to Malcolm X, the top minister of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and finally to EI-Hajj Malik EI-Shabazz, internationalist, Black nationalist, and statesman. Incredibly all this was done in less than four decades. To all that I would take the liberty of adding: ``Black Moses martyred for the cause of Black Liberation.'' But the events which would transform a disillusioned Black street hustler known as ``Detroit Red'' into an international symbol of Black pride provide serious and objective lessons in today's hostile social and political climate. So, too, the study of the public and international ministries of Malcolm X should never be solely focused on his early radical pronouncements as many of his detractors are wont to do. After all his early, formative perceptions of society were formed after he saw his father viciously murdered by the racist, white supremacist Ku Klux Klan organization, and his mother fall victim to the debilitating ravages of alcoholism while still barely a teenager. A young Malcolm witnessed the steady dysfuctionality of a home broken up by the demise of the main breadwinner and the rapid decline into depression and alcoholism of a mother unable to cope with the sheer burden of raising a family alone. The end result was that Malcolm's mother was forced to parcel off the children to family and mends because she was unable to adequately provide for them. Of course, to many Black people around the world this sounds very familiar and is a situation that has been duplicated over and over again in the Black family even in 2005 on the anniversary of his birth. But when all is said and done the reason why Malcolm X was able to elevate himself from nonentity, ``Detroit Red,'' a two-bit street hustler, to one of the most gifted and eloquent leaders of the 20th century, was due mainly to his conversion, while in jail, to the religion of lslam. The early Malcolm, still bitter from his experiences with racism, still hurting from being separated from his family and in particularly his mother that he loved deeply, was a narrow-minded bigot who saw the white man as ``a blond blue- eyed devil.'' And even as he embraced the Quran and was riding the wave to the top of the Black Muslim religious hierarchy, Malcolm still believed that the problems facing the Black race, especially in a still segregated and prejudiced America, were the deliberate creation of ``evil'' individual White men. That is why he uttered his famous epitaph on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy calling it a case of ``chickens coming home to roost.'' But while the statement appeared to be fundamentally callous and insensitive to the brutal slaying of a United States president, on closer examination and analysis it could be interpreted to mean that the climate of hostility and racial hatred which was poisoning American society on November 22, 1963 spawned such activities which resulted. And although felled by several assassins' bullets in New York's Harlem Audobon Ballroom on February 21, 1965, Malcolm X's cultural currency has only increased in the last four decades. Part of his appeal has to do with the controversial figure that he was and his oftentimes uncompromising in-your- face, no-sell-out stance that he took when dealing with white American society and questions of Black oppression. It is this militant revolutionary charisma that still finds acceptance especially by inner city youths who are today still struggling to be free. Just as he was controversial in life, so too he is in death. In 2005 there are still many unanswered questions about just who was behind his assassination. Following Malcolm's break with the Nation of Islam (NOI) in 1964, enmity grew between him and the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Most members of the group hated Malcolm for ``defaming'' Muhammad's name. An FBI memo, uncovered during a congressional probe of the agency's notorious COINTLPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) program, suggests that it was the agency, which hated Malcolm's guts, that used agent provocateurs planted inside the NOI to fuel and foster factional disputes and nurture hatred for Malcolm ultimately culminating in his killing. It was no secret that FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, wanted Malcolm dead. But no matter the circumstances of his untimely death, or who was to blame, Malcolm X has left a towering legacy of selfless sacrifice to the greater good of mankind. In less than four decades he made the extraordinary journey from an ordinary man to a leader with international standing ultimately transformed by the power of his pilgrimage to Mecca. It was this change and his new and profound understanding of the root causes of oppression, exploitation and racism that thrust him on a new path to liberating his people. He became in the process, EI-Hajj Malik EI-Shabazz, the liberated Black Moses of his people as he saw the emancipation of Blacks in America as inextricably entwined and linked with the liberation processes in the Caribbean, in Europe and Africa. Malcolm X will be remembered as one of the clear Black voices of reason whose every thought and action was based on sound moral political principles. As we remember him on his 80th Birthday and 40 years after he was brutally murdered it is correct to say that his legacy still lives on. Today, history looks kindly on Malcolm X and a generation of young Black leaders all over the world remember him for his militant activism and strong uncompromising leadership. He was truly a ``Black Moses'' who chose his own path to lead his people. Cut down before his mission was accomplished we can only wonder at what this extraordinary model of human transformation and sound moral principles would have accomplished had he lived. We can only speculate. But Malcolm X achieved in life what many, many would take two and even three lifetimes to achieve. That is his legacy and his lasting gift to his people.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the hard work and achievements of the Abyssinian Development Corporation and its Harlem Renaissance Day of Commitment in which I was pleased and honored to participate this morning. This organization has been a committed and active champion of the Harlem community, has worked diligently to promote the best of Harlem, and has created an environment that has facilitated the new Harlem Renaissance. The Abyssinian Development Corporation is a major not-for-profit organization that works on housing development, family services, economic revitalization, educational development, and civil engagement in Harlem. Starting in the small basement office of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Abyssinian Development Corporation has grown in prominence and respect for its handling of complex issues of social, economic, and political challenges facing Harlem. Today, the organization boosts a dedicated staff of 95 employees and community investment projects of over $300 million. Under the auspice of Reverend Calvin O. Butts Ill, the Abyssinian Development Corporation has been a faithful advocate for the Harlem community. Through the Central Harlem Local Development Corporation, it has promoted economic development and has attracted various businesses and corporations into Harlem. It has also been mindful of the need to provide essential services to the community and has addressed issues such as the improvement of education. The Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change has operated a successful Head Start program. These programs have been beneficial to the development and revitalization of Harlem and the Abyssinian Development Corporation continues to defend the interests of the community, Today, the Abyssinian Development Corporation hosted a day focused on community leaders and Harlem culture. They paid tribute to the economic work and leadership of several dignitaries and dedicate time to draw attention to local and historical attractions within the community. A street festival, gospel celebration, and neighborhood tour will further highlight the various aspects of Harlem culture. The Abyssinian Development Corporation has done a superb job of standing up for the people of Harlem and fighting for their interests. I hope that my colleagues here today will join me in applauding the efforts of this group over the last two decades. I submit for the Record the following CaribNews article on the work of the Abyssinian Development Corporation in the Harlem Renaissance Day of Commitment. Harlem Renaissance Day of Commitment June 7, 2005.--The Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC), an innovative not-for-profit organization dedicated to renewing and reclaiming the spirit of community in one of New York City's oldest and storied neighborhoods, announces its eleventh annual Harlem Renaissance Day of Commitment on June 7, 2005. The daylong celebration highlights ADC's accomplishments, diverse programs and services while showcasing the revival of Harlem. This year's Renaissance Honorees include: Robert Rubin, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Citi-group, Inc; Michael Lee-Chin, Chairman and Chief Executive Office, AIC, Limited; Ralph Lauren, Chairman & CEO of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation; and Paula Madison, President and General Manager of NBC4 in Los Angeles. The Leadership Breakfast is ADC's opportunity to honor those who have continually and faithfully donated their time, resources and efforts to furthering the growth and revitalization of Harlem. The day begins with a Leadership Breakfast, hosted by Rev. Calvin O. Butts III. The breakfast features more than 700 of New York's business, civic and political leaders and is held at the beautiful Great Hall of Shepard Hall, City College in the historic Hamilton Heights section of Harlem. The Leadership Breakfast (set to begin at 7:30 a.m.) will be preceded by a 7 a.m. VIP and press reception. Co-Chairs Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, Pastor, The Abyssinian Baptist Church; Edward Lewis, Co-founder, Publisher and CEO, Essence Communications; Saundra Parks, Chairman and Creative Director, The Daily Blossom; and Marianne Spraggins, President, Buy Hold America will preside over both the Leadership Breakfast and the presentation of the 2005 Renaissance Awards, during a celebration that will include Gospel Music and Southern-infused Cuisine. Following the Leadership Breakfast is a tour of Harlem's historic neighborhoods, including Astor Row, Mt. Morris Park, Sugar Hill, and Striver's Row. Guests will see first-hand the various projects and programs of ADC throughout Harlem. The tour concludes at Odell Clark Place and 138th Street, allowing participants to visit Abyssinian Baptist Church. In the afternoon, ADC hosts a Street Fair on Odell Clark Place, complete with free food, music, games, amusement rides, entertainment and health information. The culminating event of the Harlem Renaissance Day of Commitment is an evening reception, A Taste of Harlem by Candlelight, at the Great Hall. The evening will feature entertainment from famed rhythm revue DJ Felix Hernandez, live music from ``Soulnites,'' and a sample from some of Harlem's and New York City's leading restaurants and caterers.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the anniversary of an entity which has proven very important to the long standing US/Jamaican relationship. The Jamaica Tourist Association recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. In such time it has gone about making Jamaica one of the top tourist destinations in the world. The JTA will be celebrating their anniversary throughout the year with a series of events and initiatives, and I am happy to acknowledge their accomplishments here today. The mission of the Jamaican Tourist Board is to effectively market Jamaica's tourism sector, in an increasingly competitive global tourism industry. To date, they have succeeded not only in making Jamaica a global tourism powerhouse, but also strengthening ties between the United States and Jamaica. The United States is the largest source of tourists to the island of Jamaica. Of the record 2.5 million international tourists to Jamaica in 2004, over one million came from the U.S. With tourism the primary foreign exchange earner for Jamaica, it is a cornerstone of the country's economic strength. That strength has translated into real benefits for the United States. In 2004, Jamaica was the second largest destination for American exports in the Caribbean, totaling over $1.4 billion. This is no doubt related to the purchasing power that the tourism sector affords Jamaica. As such, the work of the Jamaican Tourist Board has broad implications for both our nations. The JTB continues to face many obstacles in developing the tourism sector. Last year's Caribbean hurricanes caused Jamaica hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The tourism sector was not spared from the hurricanes' wrath, and is only now beginning to recover. With that said, we in the United States must do all we can to ensure that we do not hinder the recovery, not only for Jamaica, but for the entire Caribbean. One such hindrance is the Bush Administration's proposed Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. I am opposed to aspects of the Initiative, due to inequities in the Initiative's implementation. As currently proposed, the initiative will require all travelers to and from the Americas, the Caribbean, and Bermuda to have a passport to enter or re-enter the United States. It is argued that the stricter policy will strengthen border security. However, the Initiative is to be implemented in region specific phases, with travel to the Caribbean, Bermuda, and Central and South America being affected by the end of 2005, while travel to Canada and Mexico will not be affected until the end of 2006. I believe the early implementation date for the Caribbean is unfair. With more than 50% of U.S. visitors to Jamaica not utilizing a passport when they travel, and considering that passport processing times can range up to 2 months, it can be expected that the new requirements will have an extremely negative impact on Jamaican tourism, as many U.S. tourists may choose vacation options that entail less hassle. As such, implementing new travel requirements on the Caribbean before other regions clearly warrants reconsideration. With that said, I wish the Jamaican Tourist Board continued success, as its work will continue to be extremely important to both our nations. If the ever-increasing bond between our countries is any indication; the future success of Jamaican tourism is extremely bright.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, there has been significant debate in recent years regarding the chances of the developing world reaching the Millennium Challenge Goals (MCG). Reaching the goals will be a trying task, but some regions of the world seem to be making satisfactory progress. The Caribbean is one such region that has high hopes for success in this important endeavor. On the occasion of a recent Inter-American Development Bank seminar on the issue of the Millennium Challenge Goals, Dame Billie Miller, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the island of Barbados, wrote an informative May 3rd Op-Ed which describes the prospects and challenges facing the Caribbean in regards to achieving the Millennium Challenge Goals. Dame Miller's overall view is that the Caribbean's progress to date has been very promising. Indeed, the United Nations Development Program's Regional Report for the Caribbean gives a rather bright prognosis for the majority of the Caribbean's nations in their MGD progression. However, some countries continue to face significant obstacles. For example, Haiti remains mired in political instability and economic impoverishment. Though it contains 50 percent of the Caribbean's population it is the region's poorest country. The nation of Guyana, though blessed with abundant natural resources, is saddled with an extremely high ratio of debt, making it the Caribbean's only Highly Indebted Poor Country. Despite the Caribbean's overall progress, Dame Miller emphasizes that there remains threats to the region which must be accounted for. Most pressing is the region's ongoing vulnerability to natural disasters. We are all aware of the calamity the Caribbean region faced in 2004 due to Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan, and Tropical Storm Jeanne, which caused billions of dollars in damage. Thousands lost their lives, and the region's tourism and agricultural sectors, on which so many islands depend, was battered. The production of major agricultural exports for many countries is still on hold several months later. The Caribbean in concert with its neighbors, like the United States, must continue to address the issue of disaster response and mitigation. With efficient and functioning systems in place, these disasters need not be so devastating to the region. Dame Miller also emphasizes the region's need to broaden access to education, as well as information and communications technology, for all its residents. Doing so will help to spur the economic development of the region, and also allow for the greater participation of the Caribbean population in civic and political life. She also stresses the importance of the region's continuing efforts at regional economic integration. In the face of increasing globalization and trade liberalization, Dame Miller argues that the Caribbean must solidify their economic and trade ties, in route to a Caribbean Single Market Economy, which would remove all barriers to trade, capital movement, and technology and manpower transfer. Dame Miller foresees such an integration being achieved by 2006. I sincerely thank Dame Miller for her insightful opinions. She reminds us, that while the Caribbean will undoubtedly face challenges in its socio-economic evolution, its dedication to addressing these challenges, and its ability to harness its immense potential, will ultimately determine its future success. [From the New York Carib News, May 3, 2005] Caribbean May Defy ``Overwhelming Odds''--As Region Seeks To Improve People's Living Standards in Challenging Times In this first decade of the 21st century, in a post 9/11, post Enron World the time seems hardly propitious for the removal of obstacles to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals nor the realization of the 0.7 percent of overseas Development Assistance Commitment. Progress (towards the achievement of the Millennium Goals set by the world's leaders summit in 2000) has been far from uniform across the world--or for that matter across the Goals. There are large disparities across and within countries. In terms of priorities for attention, the developing world is divided into well-organized categories: the LDC's (less developed countries), of which Haiti is the only member in the Caribbean, although with a population of 8 million, it accounts for over 50 percent of the 14 million citizens of the Caribbean Community, or Caricom, as it is known; the HIPC (highly indebted poor) countries, of which Guyana, the seat of the Caricom secretariat, is the only one among the Caricom states; and finally, the poorest of the poor. Small, middle incomes, mostly island countries, are, as we would say in the Caribbean, neither fish, fowl nor good red herring. We are therefore acutely aware that self- reliance and national and sub-regional actions will be the defining imperative in our efforts to achieve the targets of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs. In that respect, and defying the overwhelming odds, the prognosis for the achievement of the MDGs in the Caribbean is very promising. In fact, the United Nations Development Program's Regional Report on the matter gives an optimistic outlook for most of our countries in respect of at least six of the eight goals. But the region faces a number of challenges to the achievement of the Goals. Foremost among them is the vulnerability to economic shocks, and to every natural disaster known to humankind, be it hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, mudslides, earthquakes or flood. The catastrophic hurricane season of 2004 had a grave impact on the socio-economic development prospects of many of the small islands of the Caribbean. Decades of painstaking human and financial investment in social development, representing several years' worth of gross domestic product were lost in a matter of hours. The devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in December serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of many developing nations to natural disasters. Globalization, education, information and communication technology all offer the potential for reducing social exclusion by creating economic conditions for greater prosperity through higher levels of growth and employment, and by providing new avenues for community participation. Conversely, there is the risk of an ever-widening gap between those who have and control the resources, the capital and knowledge of the global economy and those who are excluded. The challenge for all of us is to fashion policies, which reduce this risk and maximize this new potential. Various studies in Latin American and the Caribbean have shown that even in the presence of steady rates of economic growth, a reduction of inequality is not guaranteed. Clearly, the solution does not lie exclusively in wealth creation. Globalization has brought tremendous benefits to significant portions of the world, but at the same time, large sections of the world have experienced far too few of its benefits, while others still, particularly in the poorest countries, remain totally marginalized. Many feel threatened by the way these processes have affected their communities, endangering their jobs and widening the gap between rich and poor. For them globalization has not delivered on the promises of vast development opportunities on a global scale, nor has it lessened the prevalence of economic disparities and social injustice. For the Caribbean, the only sensible response to globalization and trade liberalization, and to the inevitable disappearance of trade preferences has been to expedite the deepening of the Caricom integration process. At this time, the members of the Caribbean Community are fully engaged in the most ambitious of endeavors to consolidate our market place and economic space through the implementation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, CSME, which provides for the removal of barriers to trade, goods, services, movement of capital, technology and skilled persons and also to the establishment of letterpresses. We expect that the CSME will be fully operational by 2006, making us the only integrated region, apart from the European Union to achieve such a status, and readying us to better access the global market process.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise again today to draw the attention of this Chamber to the importance of this day in African-American history. Today marks what would have been the 80th birthday of Malcolm X, one of the more revolutionary and controversial leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925. It was a time in American history where the opportunities of African-Americans were limited due to segregation and racial intolerance. He nonetheless was born to parents that were, not only proud of the black race, but instilled that pride in their politics, actions, and, most importantly, their children. He learned at an early age about the challenges that black men would face just because of the color of their skin and found ways to rise above those obstacles. Too often, historians, social scientists, and the American public have attempted to pigeonhole Malcolm into a singular character. When they do so, they miss the true man, his life, and his experiences. Malcolm X's personal story is a tale of many challenges, many conflicting events, many goals, and many aspirations. He was not simply the young son of a slain Black Nationalist or the young black student discouraged by his white teachers in the 1930s. Neither would he only be the street thug and hustler of 1940s nor the incarcerated felon of the 1950s. Nor was he just the influential minister of the Nation of Islam or the worldly Muslim of the Organization of Afro-American Unity who loved his white brethren. He was all of these persons and more. Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Malcolm X, and El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz were the same individual, seeking a goal of racial justice for himself, his family, and his people. He walked his journey in life in the same way that many blacks of his time have and as many do today. The education, radicalism, determination, and sense of justice that Malcolm fought for in his life represented the thoughts of blacks throughout the world then and today. To box him into any one of those personas would be a failure to understand his life and experiences and those of his time. We should all take time this day and in the days to come to reflect on the challenges and accomplishments of Malcolm X. To this goal, I would like to alert this august chamber to the perceptive exhibition at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library in Harlem. This new exhibit, ``Malcolm X: A Search for Truth,'' opened in commemoration of the birthday of Malcolm X and provides insight into his personal story, development, and journey. I would like to submit in the Record the following New York Times review on the value and insight of this exhibition to understanding Malcolm X. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, it is a fitting tribute that we honor this extraordinary individual and realize the significance of his life journey. The Personal Evolution of a Civil Rights Giant May 19, 2005--In the 1940's, Malcolm Little a k a Detroit Red (and, later, a k a Malcolm X, a k a El-Hajj Malik El- Shabazz) wanted to impress co-conspirators in petty crime with his ruthlessness and daring. He loaded his pistol with a single bullet, twirled the cylinder, put the muzzle to his head and fired. The gesture demonstrated that he was unafraid of death and therefore not afraid of much else. And when he recounts the story in his 1965 autobiography (``as told to'' Alex Haley), the reader is also impressed--though evidence of his brilliance, fury and self-destructiveness is, by then, hardly necessary. A new exhibition about Malcolm X opens at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture today (which would have been his 80th birthday). And though it doesn't mention this theatrical gesture in its survey of one of the most significant black leaders in American history, Malcolm's public displays of passion and position sometimes seem as courageous, dangerous, and even, yes, foolish, as his game of Russian roulette. The exhibition, ``Malcolm X: A Search for Truth,'' seeks to map out the major themes of his life in a ``developmental journey'' reflecting his ``driving intellectual quest for truth.'' It offers evidence that has been unavailable: personal papers, journals, letters, lecture outlines--rescued from being sold at auction in San Francisco and on eBay in 2002. Those papers, which the Shabazz family had lost control of when monthly fees for a commercial storage facility were left unpaid, were returned to them, and then lent for 75 years to the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center in Harlem. The documents are lightly sampled in this first public showing, but they will eventually offer greater insight into Malcolm X's developmental journey: from child of a Black Nationalist father murdered in his prime, to a star elementary school pupil in a largely white school; to a hustler and criminal; to a convert, while in prison, to Elijah Muhammad's eccentric brand of Islam; to a radical minister who built Muhammad's Nation of Islam into a major national movement, declaring the white race to be the devil incarnate; and finally, to a political leader who, cut off by Muhammad, turned to traditional Islam and was rethinking his views, just as he was assassinated in New York's Audubon Ballroom in 1965 at the age of 39. His brief life stands as a challenge no matter one's perspective, an overweening presence in the roiling currents of American racial debates. After all, Islam is a force in the American black community partly because of Malcolm X (who, after his 1964 hajj to Mecca, changed his name to El- Hajj Malik El-Shabazz). Advocates of reparations for slavery echo his arguments. Less radically, so do believers in the encouragement of black-run businesses and schools. And by seeking to internationalize race, particularly in the mid- 1960's, Malcolm X helped set the stage for the doctrines of Third Worldism, which asserts that Western enslavement of dark- skinned peoples is played out on a world scale. Even those who dissent from such views can recognize in Malcolm X's fearsome intelligence and self-discipline a kind of a developmental quest, ultimately left incomplete. The exhibition, which also includes material from the Schomburg and other collections, tells that story chronologically, using textual summaries and photographs to create a context for the personal papers. Those papers include letters from Malcolm to his brother, Philbert Little, describing his first embrace of the Nation of Islam, as well as a disturbing sequence of letters about his final embrace, suggesting how Muhammad tried to rein him in. And above the display cases, the walls are lined with photographs chronicling the life: an elementary-school photograph of Malcolm, glimpses of the bodies of Nation of Islam followers killed by Los Angeles police in 1962, views of halls packed with devoted listeners, and finally, glimpses of the fallen chairs and stark disorder of the Audubon Ballroom after Malcolm X was murdered. An epilogue to the exhibition displays court drawings of the trial of the accused assassins, along with objects found on his body, including a North Vietnamese stamp showing an American helicopter getting shot down. But, despite the new personal documents, there is something familiar about the exhibition, which does not offer new interpretations and misses an opportunity to delve more deeply into the difficulties in Malcolm's quest. In his autobiography, Malcolm X spoke of the importance of speaking the ``raw, naked truth'' about the nature of race relations. He also recognized one of the tragic consequences of enslavement: the erasure of the past. The name ``X'' was provided to initiates as a stand in for a lost original name. Names could also be readily changed because they were little more than expressions of newly formed identities. In fact, invention became crucial. For Malcolm X, it was a matter of control: mastering one's past, determining one's character and, finally, controlling one's future. Documents describe how members of the Nation of Islam were expelled for any backsliding, including adultery. In one letter, Malcolm almost provides a motto for his kind of charismatic discipline: ``For one to control one's thoughts and feelings means one can actually control one's atmosphere and all who walks into its sphere of influence.'' But this also means that the truth can seem less crucial than the kind of identity being constructed, the kind of past being invented. After reading the autobiography, we learn from Alex Haley's epilogue that Malcolm actually confessed that his story of Russian roulette was not what it seemed: He had palmed the bullet. Everybody had been hustled, the readers included. The adoption of Nation of Islam ideology, with its invented history and its evil scientist named Yacub breeding the white race, is another kind of hustle. Curiously, the exhibition itself doesn't make enough of such distinctions. In a wall display, labeled ``Messengers of Hope and Liberation,'' major figures like W. E. B. Du Bois have no more stature than such figures as Wallace D. Fard. Fard was the greater influence on Malcolm X, since he created the Nation of Islam mythology, but he may not have had any African heritage at all and, as Karl Evanzz argues in his recent book, ``The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad,'' he had even encouraged the practice of human sacrifice. As if reluctant to be too judgmental, there is also not enough explanation of the quarrel with Elijah Muhammad, though the photographer Gordon Parks quoted Malcolm X saying, just before his death: ``I did many things as a Muslim that I'm sorry for now. I was a zombie then--like all Muslims--I was hypnotized, pointed in a certain direction and told to march. Well, I guess a man's entitled to make a fool of himself if he's ready to pay the cost. It cost me 12 years.'' That kind of statement is too blunt for this exhibition, which makes suggestions but seems reluctant to draw too many distinctions. But even the differing interpretations of Malcolm's final transformation might have been outlined with more clarity. It is intriguing to read, in one 1964 letter from Malcolm's office to Martin Luther King Jr., an expression of apology for ``unkind things'' said in the past. And the trial of the accused assassins from the Nation of Islam merits more explanation, particularly because a conspiracy theory of F.B.I. involvement has long simmered, even as Muhammad was known to have encouraged threats against Malcolm X and had already sent one disciple to kill him. The quest for truth, surely, goes on, but part of it means facing squarely the extent of certain kinds of hustle. ``Malcolm X: A Search for Truth'' is at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Lenox Avenue, at 135th Street, Harlem, (212) 491-2200, through Dec. 31.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the historical decision and individuals involved in the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. This Supreme Court decision was one of the most significant decisions in the history of the United States and was an important impetus in the Civil Rights Movement. Those involved moved the country forward and opened the doors for generations of Americans that would no longer believe that ``separate but equal'' was a justifiable policy. In 1896, the Supreme Court held in Plessy vs. Ferguson that the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permitted separate facilities of equal quality for blacks and whites. It established the policy of ``separate but equal'' as a constitutionally acceptable system in this country. For the next seventy years, many parts of this great Nation promoted segregation in education, housing, transportation, and other facilities. Blacks and whites had separate water fountains, rode in separate railroad cars, and were educated in separate schools. For the first half of the 20th century, there were two distinct Americas--one black, one white. White schools had far greater educational resources. They receive larger portions of state budgets for education. Their books were current and up-to-date. Their teachers were paid competitive salaries. Black schools were far from equal. Black students were barely prepared for the educational and living challenges ahead of them. Black students were closed to many of the opportunities for advancement. Segregation proved that separate would be inherently unequal. Lawyers for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, including Thurgood Marshall, would lead a series of court cases challenging the constitutionality of segregated educational facilities. Their argument would rest on the disparities in the educational funding and spending, the quality of the educational systems, and the psychological impacts of segregated schools. Researchers and scholars across the Nation provided evidence of the harmful effects of segregation of young minds. Dr. Kenneth Clark demonstrated that segregated schools nurtured feelings of inferiority in black children. Others showed how the preparation, opportunities, and access of black children were severely hampered by separate educational facilities. The Supreme Court heard these arguments and agreed with the NAACP and its panel of experts. Separate facilities were inherently unequal. States must treat all its citizens equally, regardless of race. The value of education demanded that the opportunities available to one group be available to all groups. The ruling nonetheless would have larger import outside of education. It provided hope to African-Americans that they would no longer be treated like second class citizens. It encouraged African-American leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, to pursue full equality through the Civil Rights Movement. Despite considerable resistance, this Nation has moved forward in equalizing the educational and social opportunities of its citizens, but more can still be done. Public facilities are no longer separated based on race. The gap in educational opportunities is slowly narrowing. The opportunities available to minorities are increasing. We could do more to close the gap in education and to ensure equal opportunities for all. For today, Mr. Speaker, it is important that we reflect on the importance of that Brown vs. Board of Education decision. The Supreme Court made a wise and important decision that changed the course of this Nation for the next 50 years. It guaranteed to all of our citizens equal treatment before the law regardless of race. This was a clearly important event in American history. The men and women who challenged the policy of segregation should be commended for their deeds. They should have the full appreciation of this Nation.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate what would have been the 80th birthday of Malcolm X, formally El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. This is an opportune moment for this country and the world to reflect on the life and times of this extraordinary individual. In his short life, Malcolm X overcame many difficulties and challenges to become a leading figure in the movement for black liberation. Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was one of eight children born to Earl and Louise Little. Earl Little was an outspoken Baptist minister and supporter of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association. He taught his family of the importance of working together for their collective advancement and of the need to restore pride and commitment in their community and race. His fierce advocacy for racial justice prompted a number of death threats against him, required his family to relocate twice before Malcolm's fourth birthday, and eventually to lose their home to arson. In 1931, the body of Earl Little was found lying across the town's train tracks. The police ruled the death an accident, but Malcolm learned the true cost of passionate activism. His mother suffered an emotional breakdown and was institutionalized, following the death. His siblings were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages. Malcolm was separated from the family he had known and loved. Malcolm nonetheless was an outstanding student. He was at the top of his class in junior high school and had aspirations of becoming a lawyer. With the early lessons of his father about the importance of education and self-pride, Malcolm was prepared to shine in the academic and legal worlds. However, he lost interest in these aspirations when a favorite teacher crushed his dreams and told him that law was not a realistic goal for a Black man in the 1940s. Disillusioned, Malcolm dropped out of school after the 8th grade and moved to Harlem, where he unfortunately turned to a life of crime. By 1942, Malcolm was coordinating various crime rings in New York City. In 1946, he was arrested, convicted on burglary charges, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Finding himself headed in the wrong direction and exposed for the first time to the teachings of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm re-dedicated himself to academic pursuits and understanding economic and social disempowerment. Undoubtedly guided by his father's activism, his own life experiences, and his time in NYC, Malcolm X became a loyal adherent and follower of Minister Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. He argued that the discrimination and racism present in American society kept African-Americans from achieving true political, economic, and social power and that the system would continue to perpetuate discrimination and racism unless African-Americans stood up for themselves and against the system. In keeping with the teachings of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm adopted the ``X'' as a surname to demonstrate that his African identity and cultural roots had been unknown to him. Following his parole in 1952, he became an outspoken defender and spokesman for the Nation of Islam. He was placed in charged of new mosques in Harlem, Detroit, and Michigan. He became an effective voice of Nation of Islam through newspaper, radio and television communications and was credited with helping to increase membership from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963. While he spoke in bitterness and hatred towards whites, he spoke about his experiences and interactions with people. From the death of his father to his favorite teacher to numerous others he had encountered, Malcolm talked about what he knew and that, like for many African-Americans at the time, was not a beloved experience. He spoke for those whose dreams were crushed by the educational system, whose families suffered at the hands of economic injustice, whose leaders fought for social equality, and whose futures did not look bright. Malcolm however would become disheartened by the Nation of Islam, after learning of indiscretions committed by Minister Muhammad and attempts by the organization to conceal them. Unwilling to participate in what he believed was deception, he was marginalized within the organization. In 1964, he separated from the Nation of Islam and formed his own organizations, the Organization of Afro-American Unity and the Muslim Mosque, Inc. In 1964, Malcolm X traveled outside the United States to Africa, Mecca, and Saudi Arabia. The trip would become a transcendent period in his life. For the first time in his life, he came in contact with different cultures and races that treated him with respect for who he was. He broke bread with Muslims of various races and saw that brotherhood was not limited by race. He saw humanity and compassion in its true form and was moved by the recognition that it really was universal. When he returned, Malcolm adopted the name El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz. He returned to the United States with a new sense of purpose and a different set of experiences. He spoke about how he had met ``blonde- haired, blue-eyed men I could call my brothers.'' He was prepared to work with men of all races to achieve true racial justice. He was prepared to lead a movement for the liberation of the disadvantaged in America. Unfortunately, Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on February 14, 1965--more than 40 years ago this year. At Malcolm's funeral, the actor Ossie Davis eulogized him and asked the crowd of onlookers, ``Did you ever talk to Brother Malcolm? Did you ever really listen to him? For if you did you would know him. And if you knew him you would know why we must honor him.'' Unfortunately, we will never know what Malcolm X could have done with another 40 years. Mr. Speaker, I submit into the Record a statement by Trans-Africa Forum President Bill Fletcher, Jr. demonstrating how Malcolm was an inspiration in the global struggle for freedom and human rights, with many world leaders embracing him and his philosophy. Malcolm X: Remembering Him as More Than a Postage Stamp A statement by Trans-Africa Forum President Bill Fletcher, Jr. on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X February 21, 2005--February 21, 2005 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of African American freedom fighter Malcolm X, aka El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Realizing that had he lived, Malcolm would have been turning 80 this year stands in contrast to the memories many of us have--or have gained since his death through photos, recordings of speeches and documentaries--of an audacious young Black man who unquestionably spoke truth to power. Malcolm, gunned down at the age of 39, represented a defiance and commitment that most of us can only aspire to achieve. He spoke our anger against oppression, and our pain suffered from this same oppression, while constantly demonstrating a love and respect for us as a people. Similar to the experience in the years that have passed since the death of Martin Luther King, there have been constant attempts to rewrite the life and thought of Malcolm X. Despite all of this, generation after generation have rediscovered the real Malcolm, even if only in pieces that have to be assembled in the giant game of history. In an era where much confusion reigns within Black America due to the emergence of figures such as General Colin Powell and Dr. Condoleezza Rice, it is useful to reflect upon two central themes in the life and work of Malcolm X: one, that our struggle in the United States as African Americans was and is fundamentally a struggle for human rights rather than civil rights. Two, that our struggle is bound up with struggles taking place around the world against imperialism and other forms of injustice. The issue of civil rights vs. human rights is critically important and for more than semantic reasons. Malcolm was challenging much of the leadership of the then Civil Rights Movement to understand that the issue before Black America was not simply or only one of constitutional rights within the U.S. framework. Malcolm suggested, following upon leaders such as Du Bois, Robeson and Patterson, that the issues at stake for African Americans were more than discrimination, as important as that was and is. Instead, Malcolm observed that the oppression faced by Black America has been central to the reality of the USA since before it was the USA, i.e., since the beginning of colonial North America. Our situation, in other words, was not an aberration from an otherwise humane record. Rather, the oppression that we have faced has shaped the basic existence and substance of the United States, and, along with the genocide faced by Native Americans, helps one to understand the inability of this country to establish a truly democratic republic. For Malcolm, then, Black America was demanding not only an end to discrimination, but recognition of our human rights as a people, up to and including the right to national self- determination. Malcolm concluded that as a people who had been subjected to hundreds of years of naked and vicious oppression, only an international body, such as the United Nations, had the location and moral authority to address the true resolution of our condition. For this, Malcolm became one of the most dangerous people in the USA, at least for those who oppress us. Malcolm did not stop there. Linked to his understanding of human rights, Malcolm also situated our struggle for human rights alongside the struggles that were underway in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America for national independence and liberation. Again, following in the footsteps of freedom fighters going back to the early 19th century, Malcolm insisted that to only view our struggle through the prism of North American eyes would be to condemn our struggle to failure. As such, Malcolm paid attention to educating Black America to the relevance of struggles underway overseas, such as the movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for complete freedom from both the Belgians and the USA. He was also an early and incisive critic of the expanding U.S. aggression in Indochina. To build ties, Malcolm spent time developing bonds of friendship and comradeship with some of the most important international leaders of the struggles for national liberation of the 1960s. These were not symbolic, but represented an attempt to build allies who could be called upon to support our struggle for freedom. For this, Malcolm became one of the most dangerous people in the USA . . . at least for those who oppress us. For us, the oppressed, he was our champion. Far from being a savior, Malcolm saw himself as a spokesperson for a movement; yet never more important than the movement. He understood that it is people in motion rather than individual leaders who shift the tracks of history. And so, it is time to again remember Malcolm and to cherish him through continuing in his footsteps, footsteps that were molded by an insistence on struggle, audacity, and, yes, love for his people.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life of Congressman Peter Rodino, Jr., a great American and distinguished member of this body. Congressman Rodino passed away recently, and the life he led is without question worthy of our praise. In Congress, Peter represented the Newark area of New Jersey for over 40 years. In such time he would be associated with some of the most important events in American History. As Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee he presided over the Watergate Hearings that ultimately resulted in the resignation of a sitting President. However, his stewardship during that trying process was executed with a humbleness and reverence that earned him the respect of a grateful Nation. In so doing, he demonstrated to his fellow Congressional colleagues the requirements of true leadership. Peter Rodino, Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1909, to a hardworking immigrant family. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Newark and a law degree from Rutgers University before starting a law practice in the late 1930's. He would later serve his country during World War II, where he earned the Bronze Star and would have the distinction of being one of the first enlisted men to receive a battlefield commission as an officer. In 1949 he was elected to the U.S. Congress where he built his reputation through his work on veterans affairs and civil rights issues. In the 1980s, he fought against what he viewed as efforts by the Reagan administration to limit the reach of civil rights laws, as well as efforts to end school busing. He supported landmark civil rights legislation in 1957 and was one of the primary sponsors of the Civil Rights Act of 1966. In the mid-1960s, he helped lead an effort to end immigration quotas and enact fair- housing standards. He also wrote the 1982 extension to the Voting Rights Act, and was House leader in making Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday. Despite all this he was best known for his leadership on the Judiciary Committee during the Congressional hearings on Watergate. In a period that was so politically charged, Peter was seen as fair, objective, and dedicated to upholding the integrity of the Congress. At the outset of the hearings he set the tone by stating ``Whatever the result, whatever we learn or conclude, let us now proceed with such care and decency and thoroughness and honor that the vast majority of American people, and their children after them, will say: That was the right course. There was no other way.'' He never wavered from the spirit of those words, as the hearings played out over the coming months. In the end, though the country would see their President resign, they had confidence that the system had done its job, and that our government would endure. This was due in large part to Peter's leadership. At that time, I was a young man just beginning my tenure in Congress, but having had the opportunity to observe Peter taught me lessons of leadership that I have never forgotten. William Penn once said, ``Sense shines with a double luster when it is set in humility. An able and yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.'' If this is the measure of a man, than Congressmen Peter Rodino is a jewel our nation will never replace. His spirit and the lessons his life provide will continue to guide us.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and recognition of Earth Day events in Harlem, New York, and to recognize the dedication of advocates of environmental justice. This year, Harlem will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Earth Day--a day designed to raise our collective awareness of the challenges facing our environmental and global communities. In the first Earth Day celebration, the Nation directed its attention to the issues of the environment and ways to ensuring its protection for years to come. Congress adjourned--on a Wednesday--for the day to allow Members to hear from their constituents. Roughly 20 million Americans united to express their collective demand for a safer, cleaner, and healthier global community. The Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency followed shortly after that momentous day. These were true efforts, not in name alone, to provide important and needed protections to our environment and to make our communities safe, clean, and healthy. This year, Harlem will focus on the environmental problems of communities of color. West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc (WE ACT) is a non-profit grassroots environmental group that has worked to improve environmental quality and to address equity and justice in environmental issues for predominately African-American and Latino communities. For the last 7 years, they have worked to raise community awareness of environmental hazards, to identify and research ecological threats to minority communities, and to attain governmental policies to protect local communities. As part of their Earth Day celebrations, WE ACT will honor six luminaries in the field of environmental justice: Alphonse Fletcher, the chairman of Fletcher Asset Management; Dr. Kenneth Olden, the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS); Dr. Joseph Graziano from the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University; Lucille McEwen, Esq., president and CEO of Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement; Dr. Rafael Lantigua, associate director of General Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital; and Full Spectrum Building and Development, Inc., a Harlem-based development firm that built the first green building in Harlem. These individuals will be awarded WE ACT for Environmental Justice Awards for making ``substantial inroads to preserve natural and built environment, and improve environmental health in communities of color.'' They will be honored for their hard work in ensuring that minority communities are safe, clean, and healthy communities. Fellow Members of Congress, please join me in thanking WE ACT for its hard work in organizing Earth Day activities in Harlem, New York. This is a significant day in American history and to our future. We must do more to truly protect our environment from the threats of pollution, industrial contamination, and abuse. We must find a balance that will protect our nature, the environment, and our communities.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker I rise today to discuss the ongoing crisis in Darfur. As many as 400,000 have died throughout the course of this crisis, and more than 10,000 continue to die each month. While the death and suffering continues, action on the part of the Administration has, in recent months, been subdued at best. A May 3, Op-Ed in the New York Times, entitled ``Day 113 of the President's Silence'', points out that the Administration's silence on the issue has been noticeable. This new stance is extremely perplexing considering the Administration's heavy engagement on the issue previously. Part of that engagement involved early pressure on the Sudanese leadership to agree to a Darfur cease fire. The United States also had the distinction of being the first and only major world power to label the offenses of the Sudanese government in Darfur as genocide. The Administration was also generally supportive of the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act passed in late 2004, which admonished the Sudanese government for its actions in Darfur, provided humanitarian assistance for the region, and reiterated United States sanctions on Sudan. The United States has also provided large amounts of assistance to the Darfur region, totaling some $615 million since 2003 ($357.6 million in FY 2005 alone). The 2005 Emergency Supplemental agreed to on Tuesday included $50 million to strengthen the African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, as well as $40 million in general humanitarian aid. Despite the financial assistance, the Administration has been quiet on the political front recently. In fact they have seemingly backed away from referring to the crisis in Darfur as genocide, and have down played the casualty count in the region. As the New York Times Op-Ed asserts, Sudan's recent cooperation with the United States on intelligence matters, may be placating the Administration's stance towards the regime regarding Darfur. In the most recent indication of its new stance on Darfur, the Administration came out in opposition to the Darfur Accountability Act introduced by Senator Corzine. Among other things the act called for wide-ranging sanctions against the Sudanese government, the establishment of a special presidential envoy for Darfur, and a military no-fly zone for the region. The bill also sought to provide for the protection of Darfurian civilians by strengthening the African Union force in Darfur through a broadened Chapter 7 UN mandate and deployment of a supplemental UN force. The bill was attached to the Emergency Supplemental which passed the Senate in late April, and was awaiting approval in conference committee. If accepted the bill would have represented a major step forward in bringing peace and security to the people of Darfur. However, the Administration made clear its opposition to the bill, and it was subsequently deleted from the final Emergency Supplemental Conference Report agreed to this week. With the Darfur Accountability Act off the table, what will the Administration do now regarding Darfur? Financial assistance is not enough--there needs to be real political action. Though the Darfur Accountability Act was not passed, most of its provisions called for action at the Executive level. Thus, the Administration still has an opportunity to become effectively engaged on the Darfur issue. Most of the solutions to the Darfur crisis will entail a multi-lateral effort, so the President must become more involved in eliciting a response from the international community. Though several UN Security Council resolutions have been passed to date, the UN has yet to agree on a comprehensive Security Council resolution which would cease the transgressions of the Sudanese government and its Janjaweed militia, and provide adequate protection for Darfurian civilians. The African Union will not be able to handle the situation in Darfur on their own. They need the troops, mandate, and logistical resources to effectively protect civilians dispersed across an area the size of Texas. The Administration can bring this about; they need only increase their engagement. To that end the US must provide more leadership in the United Nations, especially the Security Council, to get a comprehensive resolution passed. It also needs to be especially forceful with China and Russia, who have been a major hindrance to achieving progress on the Darfur issue. The Administration must also sustain pressure on the Sudanese regime. We can not turn a blind eye to their transgressions in Darfur, simply because they are now cooperative with us on intelligence matters. Not only is that short-sighted, it is morally wrong. In the cases of the Holocaust and Rwanda, inaction on the part of the international community allowed the mass murder of millions of innocent people. Now we find ourselves on the brink of a similarly momentous error. Once again, politics and national interests are delaying the type of action needed to make a significant impact on the Darfur Crisis. During the observation of the Auschwitz anniversary in February 2005, Dr Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, wisely commented that ``We can't bring the dead back to life, but we can fight for the sanctity of life.'' It is my hope that we take up the fight to which Rabbi Sacks refers: Unlike the Holocaust and Rwanda, the final story of Darfur has yet to be written. We still have the chance, however faint, to prevent the triumph of evil. Mr. President, we must do more for Darfur. If we choose not to act, history will forever echo our failure, and our consciences will forever hold our shame. [From the New York Times, May 3, 2005] Day 113 of the President's Silence (By Nicholas D. Kristof) Finally, finally, finally, President Bush is showing a little muscle on the issue of genocide in Darfur. Is the muscle being used to stop the genocide of hundreds of thousands of villagers? No, tragically, it's to stop Congress from taking action. Incredibly, the Bush administration is fighting to kill the Darfur Accountability Act, which would be the most forceful step the U.S. has taken so far against the genocide. The bill, passed by the Senate, calls for such steps as freezing assets of the genocide's leaders and imposing an internationally backed no-fly zone to stop Sudan's Army from strafing villages. The White House was roused from its stupor of indifference on Darfur to send a letter, a copy of which I have in my hand, to Congressional leaders, instructing them to delete provisions about Darfur from the legislation. Mr. Bush might reflect on a saying of President Kennedy: ``The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality.'' Aside from the effort to block Congressional action, there are other signs that the administration is trying to backtrack on Darfur. The first sign came when Condoleezza Rice gave an interview to The Washington Post in which she deflected questions about Darfur and low-balled the number of African Union troops needed there. Then, in Sudan, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick pointedly refused to repeat the administration's past judgment that the killings amount to genocide. Mr. Zoellick also cited an absurdly low estimate of Darfur's total death toll: 60,000 to 160,000. Every other serious estimate is many times as high. The latest, from the Coalition for International Justice, is nearly 400,000, and rising by 500 a day. This is not a partisan issue, for Republicans and the Christian right led the way in blowing the whistle on the slaughter in Darfur. As a result, long before Democrats had staggered to their feet on the issue, Mr. Bush was telephoning Sudan's leader and pressing for a ceasefire there. Later, Mr. Bush forthrightly called the slaughter genocide, and he has continued to back the crucial step of a larger African Union force to provide security. Just the baby steps Mr. Bush has taken have probably saved hundreds of thousands of lives. So why is Mr. Bush so reluctant to do a bit more and save perhaps several hundred thousand more lives? I sense that there are three reasons. First, Mr. Bush doesn't see any neat solution, and he's mindful that his father went into Somalia for humanitarian reasons and ended up with a mess. Second, Mr. Bush is very proud--justly--that he helped secure peace in a separate war between northern and southern Sudan. That peace is very fragile, and he is concerned that pressuring Sudan on Darfur might disrupt that peace while doing little more than emboldening the Darfur rebels (some of them cutthroats who aren't negotiating seriously). Third, Sudan's leaders have increased their cooperation with the C.I.A. As The Los Angeles Times reported, the C.I.A. recently flew Sudan's intelligence chief to Washington for consultations about the war on terror, and the White House doesn't want to jeopardize that channel. All three concerns are legitimate. But when historians look back on his presidency, they are going to focus on Mr. Bush's fiddling as hundreds of thousands of people were killed, raped or mutilated in Darfur--and if the situation worsens, the final toll could reach a million dead. This Thursday marks Holocaust Remembrance Day. The best memorial would be for more Americans to protest about this administration's showing the same lack of interest in Darfur that F.D.R. showed toward the genocide of Jews. Ultimately, public pressure may force Mr. Bush to respond to Darfur, but it looks as if he will have to be dragged kicking and screaming by Republicans and Democrats alike. Granted, Darfur defies easy solutions. But Mr. Bush was outspoken and active this spring in another complex case, that of Terry Schiavo. If only Mr. Bush would exert himself as much to try to save the lives of the two million people driven from their homes in Darfur. So I'm going to start tracking Mr. Bush's lassitude. The last time Mr. Bush let the word Darfur slip past his lips publicly (to offer a passing compliment to U.S. aid workers, rather than to denounce the killings) was Jan. 10. So today marks Day 113 of Mr. Bush's silence about the genocide unfolding on his watch.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the research and contributions of the late Dr. Kenneth B. Clark who passed away on Monday. In his 90 years, Dr. Clark through his research helped to end segregation, fought to improve educational opportunities and services in minority communities, and drew attention to the psychological challenges of minorities. Dr. Clark's research as an educational psychologist focused on the effects of racial prejudices in shaping identity and influencing educational achievement. His research demonstrated that segregation cultivated feelings of inferiority in minority students. Thurgood Marshall convincingly used Dr. Clark's research on inferiority in segregated school systems to argue that ``separate but equal'' was unconstitutional. Like most of us, Dr. Clark's mother played an important role in his educational commitment. She insisted in 1920's America that he not go to vocational school as advocated by guidance counselors. Instead, she was determined that her son could do and was worthy of much more. She stressed to him the value of a quality education and he worked to ensure that same standard for all Americans. Dr. Clark worked to restructure the public school systems in New York and Washington. Committed to the importance of integration and the value of a quality education, Dr. Clark proposed major reforms in the school systems that would bring students from different backgrounds together and would challenge them academically. Needless to say, Dr. Clark has long been a vocal and critical advocate for sound education policy and social justice. His research has already had a great impact on this country. I would further honor my dear friend, Dr. Kenneth B. Clark, by inserting the following two tributes to his memory. The first is a statement issued by Dennis Courtland Hayes, Interim President and CEO of the NAACP, and Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors. The second is a piece from the Washington Post about the research and life of Dr. Clark. NAACP Mourns Death of Kenneth B. Clark, Psychologist and Educator Who Helped End School Segregation Dr. Clark was a national authority on the negative effects of entrenched segregation. May 2, 2005.--The NAACP mourns the passing of Dr. Kenneth B. Clark, whose groundbreaking studies of African American children in the south influenced the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that school segregation was unconstitutional. Clark died yesterday at his home in Hastings-on-the-Hudson, N.Y. NAACP Interim President and CEO Dennis Courtland Hayes said: ``Dr. Clark made a monumental contribution to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that has proven so important in this country. His research has been key to the understanding by African Americans that we are all created equal in the eyes of God and to value our heritage.'' Clark's research verified the damaging effect of racial segregation to black school children in the early 1950's. This testimony was used by attorney Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP to challenge the constitutionality of the separate-but- equal doctrine that violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Clark's testing of children in South Carolina showed that African American children educated in a segregated school system saw themselves as inferior and, as he wrote, ``accepted the inferiority as part of reality.'' In 1961, Clark was awarded the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP's highest award. Clark, a longtime professor at City College of New York, wrote several influential books and articles advancing the cause of integration. Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities and monitor equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an outstanding American whose tireless work helped end segregation, raised the educational expectations of generations of New Yorkers, and advanced the idea of a truly integrated society. My dear friend, Dr. Kenneth B. Clark died on May 1, 2005 and he will be missed by all who knew him. I extend my condolences to his family and I know I am joined by thousands of New Yorkers, as well as those throughout the Nation, who benefited from his work to end the injustice of legally imposed racial segregation and to create a society where all could have an equal opportunity to succeed. Kenneth B. Clark was a brilliant scholar and teacher who influenced a generation of social scientists by his work and his example as a teacher at the City College of New York. He was also, and at heart perhaps he was even moreso, an activist who sought to bring about the social change required to attain equality of opportunity for African- Americans in our society. He inspired the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and those who led the great Civil Rights Movement toward a society in which people would be judged, as Dr. King put it ``by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.'' Dr. Clark was committed to the achievement of an integrated society in America that would remove the barriers to full participation by blacks, but would also make whites more aware of the benefits to be derived from participation by all based upon talent. Dr. Clark had an impressive career of working for civil rights and education. His research in the 1950s established the inherent problems of segregated system and alerted the Supreme Court and the Nation to the negative effects of segregation on African-American youth. As a member of the New York State Board of Regents for twenty years, he continually advised elected officials on ways to transform and improve their school systems. He was a passionate advocate for children and did not spare those who failed them. Dr. Clark was an exemplary American who worked to improve the life of all persons in America. I knew him as an exceptional individual and a trusted friend. The attached obituary from the New York Times (May 2, 2005) highlights the life story and accomplishments of Dr. Clark. Kenneth Clark, Who Helped End Segregation, Dies New York, NY--Kenneth B. Clark, the psychologist and educator whose 1950 report showing the destructive effect of school segregation influenced the United States Supreme Court to hold school segregation to be unconstitutional, died yesterday at his hpme in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. He was 90. His death was reported by daughter, Kate C. Harris. Dr. Clark was a leader in the civil rights movement that developed after World War II. He was the first black to earn a doctorate from Columbia University, the first to become a tenured instructor in the City College system of New York, and, in 1966, the first black elected to the New York State Board of Regents. He wrote several influential books and articles and used his considerable prestige in academic and professional circles and as a participant on many government bodies and Congressional committees to advance the cause of integration. He battled white supremacists and black separatists alike because he believed that a ``racist system inevitably destroys and damages human beings; it brutalizes and dehumanizes them, black and white alike.'' It was his research with black schoolchildren that became a pillar of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court decision that toppled the ``separate but equal'' doctrine of racial segregation that prevailed in 21 states.'' While for decades Dr. Clark was one of the great national authorities on integration, his effect was particularly profound in New York City and New York State. Mayors and governors consulted him, and he expressed firm views about virtually every delicate racial matter from school busing to housing discrimination. He was often fearless and blunt about his views, and willing to change them when the empirical evidence led him to believe that his original sentiments were wrong. An early champion of a sweeping reorganization of New York City schools that gave greater control to community school boards, Dr. Clark later commented that ``the schools are no better and no worse than they were a decade ago.'' ``In terms of the basic objective,'' he said, ``decentralization did not make a damn bit of difference.'' Dr. Clark, who grew up in New York, gained firsthand knowledge of the effects of legally entrenched segregation in an extended visit, in the 1950's, to Clarendon County in central South Carolina. Its school system had three times as many blacks as whites, but white students received more than 60 percent of the funds earmarked for education. Dr. Clark administered a test, which he had devised years earlier, to 16 of those black children, who were ages 6 to 9. He showed them a black doll and a white doll and asked them what they thought of each. Eleven of them said that the black doll looked ``bad,'' and nine of them thought that the white doll looked ``nice.'' Seven of the 16 told Dr. Clark that they actually saw themselves as being closest to the white doll in appearance when asked, ``Now show me the doll that's most like you.'' ``These children saw themselves as inferior, and they accepted the inferiority as part of reality,'' Dr. Clark said. Dr. Clark's testing in Clarendon County was used by Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in its challenge to the constitutionality of the separate-but-equal doctrine because it showed actual damage to children who were segregated and a violation of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren announced its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and Marshall, who had argued the case before the court, called Dr. Clark with the news. Dr. Clark recalled that Marshall told him that ``Justice Warren had specifically mentioned the psychological testimony as key.'' Dr. Clark added: ``I confidently expected the segregation problem would be solved by 1960. That shows how naive I was.'' An Unwavering Insistence To the end, Dr. Clark remained committed to integration, although he grew more pessimistic. For this, in part, he blamed neoconservative whites who, he thought, had betrayed the civil rights struggle; those blacks who thought they could succeed in isolation from whites; politicians of both races who made empty promises; and defeatists who came to think that integration and real racial harmony were ``too difficult to achieve.'' Renowned for the power of his oratory and writing over a career that spanned more than 50 years, Dr. Clark was uncompromising in his insistence that blacks be given equal rights and that even in the face of violence at the hands of racists, they must ``adopt a courageous, calm and confident position.'' Besides Ms. Harris, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Osprey, Fla., he is survived by his son, Hilton B. Clark of Manhattan, three grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren. Dr. Clark's wife died in 1983. Kenneth Bancroft Clark was born in the Panama Canal Zone on July 14, 1914, the son of Arthur Bancroft Clark and Miriam Hanson Clark. His parents did not get along. Mrs. Clark yearned to return to the United States. Mr. Clark, a passenger agent with the United Fruit Company in Latin America, felt he wanted to stay where he was in order to earn a living. When Kenneth was only 5, his mother decided to leave her husband. She took Kenneth and his younger sister, Beulah, to New York City, where Mrs. Clark took a job as a seamstress in a sweatshop, struggling to pay the rent on a tenement apartment in Harlem. Later, she helped organize a union where she worked and became a shop steward for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Mrs. Clark and Kenneth had a strong bond and years later, he would recall that she ``somehow communicated to me the excitement of people doing things together to help themselves.'' In 1920, Kenneth entered Public School 5 in Harlem and soon thereafter switched to P.S. 139, which later also educated James Baldwin. At first, the student body reflected the fact that Harlem contained substantial populations of Irish and Italians. By the time Kenneth Clark reached the ninth grade, however, Harlem was changing and most of the students around him were black. At school, he was told to learn a trade and prepare for vocational training. Miriam Clark would have none of that. She walked into school one day, told the counselor what she thought of vocational schools and made it clear that as far as she was concerned, her son was better than that. Kenneth thus went to George Washington High School in Upper Manhattan. He was admitted to Howard University, where he studied political science with Dr. Ralph Bunche and where he came to admire Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1935 and returned to Howard the next year for his master's degree in psychology. He also taught at Howard for a time, but soon departed for New York, where he pursued doctoral studies at Columbia University, receiving his Ph.D. in experimental psychology in 1940. From 1939 to 1941 he took part in the classic study of the American Negro that was organized by Gunnar Myrdal, the Swedish economist. The study, which documented the inequalities that obtained among American whites and blacks, would be required reading in colleges and universities for years. In 1942, Dr. Clark served for a time in the Office of War Information, for which he traveled about the United States in order to assess morale among blacks. He returned to New York late in the year and joined the faculty of City College. Mamie Phipps Clark, whom he had married in 1938, also earned a doctorate in psychology from Columbia and in 1946 joined him in founding the Northside Center for Child Development, which treated children with personality disorders. At first, its services were offered only to blacks but in 1949, it became available to whites, too. That year, Dr. Clark was promoted to assistant professor of psychology at City College. His interest in black children's perceptions of themselves went back to 1939 and 1940, when he and his wife conducted tests with dolls in New York and Washington. In those days, Washington had a segregated school system, and the tests showed that black children in Washington had lower self- esteem than their peers in New York City. On another occasion, Dr. Clark was in rural Arkansas and when he asked one black child which doll was most like him, the little boy smiled and pointed to the brown doll and replied: ``That's a nigger. I'm a nigger.'' Dr. Clark said he found that ``as disturbing, or more disturbing, than the children in Massachusetts who would refuse to answer the question or who would cry and run out of the room.'' Taken as a whole, Dr. Clark said, the results repeatedly confirmed that American society in the segregated South was telling blacks that they were ``inferior to other groups of human beings in the society.'' Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, Dr. Clark was most active in New York City. In 1954 he had assailed the city school system with permitting de facto segregation, pointing out that because of this, especially in places like Harlem, ``children not only feel inferior but are inferior in academic achievement.'' After an investigation supported his charges, he was named to lead a Board of Education commission to see to the integration of city schools and to push for smaller classes, an enriched curriculum and better facilities in the city's slum schools. During this period he also served as a visiting professor both at Columbia and at the University of California, Berkeley. He became a full tenured professor in the city university system in 1960 and in 1961 won the Spingarn Medal of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for his contributions to promoting better race relations. A Fight for Harlem In 1962, Dr. Clark organized Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited, or Haryou, in an effort to recruit educational experts to reorganize Harlem schools, provide for preschool programs and after-school remedial education and reduce unemployment among blacks who had dropped out of school. Two years later, a committee headed by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy endorsed. Haryou's work, and as a result, President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration earmarked $110 million to finance the program. But the program was placed under the administration of a joint organization formed by the merger of Haryou and Associated Community Teams, a pet project of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the Harlem Congressman and minister. Mr. Powell and Dr. Clark, who served as acting chairman of Haryou-Act, clashed over the selection of an executive director. Mr. Powell charged that Dr. Clark stood to profit personally from control of the program. Dr. Clark denied this and said that Mr. Powell saw the Haryou-Act program mostly in terms of the political power it gave him. The struggle between the two was long and heated, and journalists reported that the two grew to despise each other, something that Dr. Clark denied. ``I liked him,'' Dr. Clark said of Mr. Powell. ``Adam was one of the most honest, corrupt human beings I have ever met. One of the reasons I liked Adam is that he had so few illusions.'' Dr. Clark quoted Mr. Powell as telling him, in the middle of the controversy, ``Ah, Kenneth, stop being a child. If you come along with me, we can split a million bucks.'' Dr. Clark explained that what Mr. Powell didn't understand was: ``I didn't want any million dollars. What the hell was I going to do with a million dollars?'' In 1950, Dr. Clark became convinced he should move his family from New York City to Westchester County. He wanted to leave Harlem because he and his wife could not bear to send their children to the public schools that he was trying so hard to improve but were failing anyhow. ``My children have only one life,'' he said. At the same time, he decided that perhaps the way to hasten the improvement of city schools was to decentralize them. But after the schools were decentralized, they continued their decline. Dr. Clark came to think of the decentralization experiment as a ``disaster,'' failing to achieve any of the educational objectives he had sought. By the 1970's, after the assassinations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John and Robert Kennedy, and the difficulty in achieving integration in the North, many blacks were growing more wary of whites, more doubtful about overcoming prejudice and achieving racial equality. Dr. Clark was discouraged too, but he remained a firm advocate of the integration of American society. His colleagues described him as ``an incorrigible integrationist,'' convinced of the rightness of the civil rights struggle and certain that the nation could not and should not go back. In 1973, with a backlash to integration mounting, Dr. Clark said in an interview in The New York Times Magazine that ``one of the things that disturbs me most is the sophisticated form of intellectual white backlash,'' citing the writings of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, among others. ``In their ivory towers, they have lost all empathy with low- income people and black people. They are seeking to repudiate their own past liberal positions, fighting against their own heritage at the expense of the poor.'' Dr. Clark said he neither admired nor respected such intellectuals and said he was ``breaking all ties with them.'' A registered Democrat, Dr. Clark went out of his way in 1976 to support the incumbent United States senator, James L. Buckley, a conservative Republican, in his unsuccessful race against Mr. Moynihan, the Democratic candidate. Dr. Clark's candor was evenhanded. Late in life, he said he had not been heartened by the ascendancy of blacks in public life because it had not translated into a fundamental change in the condition of ordinary black people. He said he thought white Americans admired accomplished blacks like Colin Powell as long as there were not ``too many of them'' and they did not threaten white hegemony in American society. He remained active and vocal. In the 1980's, he expressed anger over assertions that blacks were the cause of their own problems. In 1986, he called on the New York State Board of Regents to supersede the authority of local school boards if they chronically reported low test scores. He also spoke out on deteriorating relations between blacks and Jews, asserting that the dialogue had been too much about anti-Semitism among blacks and not enough about anti-black sentiment among the Jews. He irritated separatists when he quit the board of Antioch College after it agreed to black demands for the establishment of a dormitory and study program that excluded whites. And some blacks in Washington became upset with Dr. Clark, whom they had hired to evaluate their black-run school system, when he concluded that it wasn't very good and that what students needed was better teachers and tougher basic courses. He also suggested that whatever argot black children spoke in the streets, they ought to be required to use standard American English in school. Dr. Clark was something of a legend in the City University system. And he was quick to say what all really great teachers say: that in the process of teaching, a good professor learned more than his students. He retired from City University in 1975 and, looking back on more than a third of a century of work there, said he thought that the students of the 1940's and '50's had been better at asking probing questions. Dr. Clark was not so impressed with the students of the 1960's and said he thought their revolution ``was pure fluff.'' He also retired from the Metropolitan Applied Research Center, which he had founded eight years earlier, and embarked on a consulting business on race relations and affirmative action. Dr. Clark's books included ``Dark Ghetto'' (1965); ``A Relevant War Against Poverty'' (1969); ``A Possible Reality,'' (1972); and ``Pathos of Power'' (1974). Despite the many honors he won and the respect he commanded, Dr. Clark said he thought his life had been a series of ``magnificent failures.'' In 1992, at the age of 78, he confessed: ``I am pessimistic and I don't like that. I don't like the fact that I am more pessimistic now than I was two decades ago.'' Yet as a conscience of New York politics and of the civil rights movement, he remained an unreconstructed, if anguished, integrationist. A decade ago, during one of his last lengthy interviews, he chain-smoked Marlboros in his home, flanked by vivid African carvings and walls of books wrapped in sun-faded dust jackets, as he professed optimism but repeatedly expressed disappointment over dashed expectations about experiments in school decentralization, open admissions at City University and affirmative action. ``There's no question that there have been changes,'' he said then. ``They are not as deep as they appear to be.'' Among the cosmetic changes was an rhetorical evolution from Negro to black to African-American. What, he was asked, was the best thing for blacks to call themselves? ``White,'' he replied. He said a lack of meaningful progress could be blamed on blacks who saw themselves only as victims and on whites too narrow-minded to recognize their own self-interest in black success. As whites become a minority in a polyglot country, he was asked, won't they see that it is in their interest that blacks succeed? ``They're not that bright,'' he replied. ``I don't think you can expect whites to understand the effects of prejudice and discrimination against blacks affecting them. If whites really understood, they would do something about it.''

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, it greatly pleases me that Congress has decided to name the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4960 West Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles, California after Ray Charles. He fully deserves this honor, and I congratulate Congresswoman Diane Watson for sponsoring this successful and appropriate legislation. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ray Charles enjoyed immense fame in the U.S. and abroad. His music unified people, crossing all lines of nationality, race, age and class. His music was universal in appeal and style, from gospel to country and everything in between. Sightless, he uniquely opened the eyes of all people to appreciate the beauty and talent of others. He saw no differences in the aspirations of all people for freedom and justice. He advocated with equal vigor on behalf of African Americans for civil rights, freedom for South Africans and security for the people of Israel. In his own life, he overcame blindness, poverty, racial discrimination, and personal failures, including drug abuse, to become a beacon of hope for anyone faced with challenges of any kind. Ray Charles deserves to have a post office named after him, and more. I have introduced legislation that would award him the Congressional Gold Medal for his lifetime of achievement and service to the world community. I hope Congress supports this legislation and continues to honor this great man.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation that would provide $25.2 billion in interest-free funds over the next two years for public school construction and modernization projects. Currently, our public school system has extraordinary unmet needs for funds to construct and modernize schools. Consider the following facts: (1) The average age of a public school in the United States is 42 years. (2) One-third of all public schools in the United States are in need of extensive repair or replacement. (3) Three and a half million students attend schools that need major repair or replacement. (4) According to a recent report from the National Education Association, it will cost $332 billion to bring the existing public schools into overall good condition. Billions more will be required to construct new schools to meet expanding student enrollments. President Bush's education program places strong emphasis on raising standards in America's classrooms, but does not provide promised Federal help for the cost of additional testing and services required to reach that goal. His program also ignores the fact that school facilities are an important part of raising student performance. Inferior facilities make teaching more difficult. They also send a clear message to the students that this nation does not value their education. The President's program seems to be designed to fail. My legislation will provide funds for school modernization projects through a federal tax credit. The tax credit will, in effect, pay the interest on $25.2 billion of school modernization bonds. All decisions relating to how those funds would be used would continue to be made at the local level. My legislation is based on a successful model, the Qualified Academy Bond (QZAB) program enacted in 1997. A California local school official described that program as a ``local school district's dream'' after having successfully participated in a bond offering subsidized under that program. U.S. Education Secretary Rodney Page endorsed a similar proposal in 1999 when he was Superintendent of the Houston schools. In a statement submitted to the Committee on Ways and Means, he said that school modernization bonds ``represent the approach to Federal aid that will have a truly consequential impact on meeting the infrastructure needs of Houston and other large urban high poverty districts.'' Mr. Speaker, America's future can only prosper with the proper education of our children, and our children cannot receive such education with our public schools in a dilapidated state. Modernizing our schools is an investment in our future, and should be a main, bipartisan priority in the 109th Congress. Attached is a brief description of the bill and a table showing how the funds will be allocated among the States. Summary The bill would subsidize $25.2 billion in zero-interest school modernization bonds. The federal government would provide tax credits for the interest normally paid on a bond. Funds that would have gone to pay bond interest would be freed for other education needs. For each $1000 of school bonds, the net benefit of the program to State or local school districts would be approximately $500. Funding: The bill divides the interest-free funds for public school construction and modernization as follows: (1) $22 billion over two years for zero-interest school modernization bonds ($11 billion in both 2006 and 2007). The bill would allocate 60 percent of the $22 billion in bonds to states based on school-age population. The State education agency has the authority to allocate the State's share among the school districts in the State with no restrictions as to what schools can qualify. The remaining 40 percent of these bonds would be directly allocated to the 125 school districts with the largest number of low-income students based on ESEA Title I funding (poverty-based distribution). (2) $400 million in school modernization bonds for Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. (3) $2.8 billion for expansion of the existing Qualified Zone Academy Bond program (QZAB). This amount is allocated among the States based upon the number of poor students. The State education agency has the authority to allocate the State's share among the school districts in the State; except that amount may be allocated only to schools with at least 35% poor students--those schools located in Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities or which have at least 35 percent of their students eligible for free or reduced price school lunch. Federal Role: The federal government would provide a tax credit to the bond purchaser equal to the interest that would otherwise be paid on a school construction bond. No new federal bureaucracy would be created. Cost: The five-year cost to the Federal government is approximately $1.7 billion and the ten-year cost is approximately $6.8 billion. The following table shows the estimated allocations under the bill. Estimated State Bond Allocations Alabama........................................................$354,922 Alaska...........................................................53,398 Arizona.........................................................337,448 Arkansas........................................................183,516 California....................................................3,109,598 Colorado........................................................296,358 Connecticut.....................................................292,085 Delaware.........................................................49,070 District of Columbia.............................................88,904 Florida.......................................................1,188,467 Georgia.........................................................654,051 Hawaii...........................................................77,438 Idaho............................................................93,409 Illinois......................................................1,221,868 Indiana.........................................................459,436 Iowa............................................................196,453 Kansas..........................................................196,866 Kentucky........................................................295,249 Louisiana.......................................................473,051 Maine............................................................84,355 Maryland........................................................395,270 Massachusetts...................................................467,254 Michigan......................................................1,006,867 Minnesota.......................................................378,952 Mississippi.....................................................237,537 Missouri........................................................452,673 Montana..........................................................65,077 Nebraska........................................................131,275 Nevada...........................................................92,951 New Hampshire...................................................80,802. New Jersey......................................................660,175 New Mexico......................................................157,627 New York......................................................2,476,435 North Carolina..................................................488,119 North Dakota.....................................................46,596 Ohio..........................................................1,019,626 Oklahoma........................................................277,839 Oregon..........................................................235,626 Pennsylvania..................................................1,044,126 Puerto Rico.....................................................378,751 Rhode Island.....................................................90,648 South Carolina..................................................284,932 South Dakota.....................................................56,180 Tennessee.......................................................421,577 Texas.........................................................1,998,390 Utah............................................................175,947 Vermont..........................................................42,022 Virginia........................................................422,902 Washington......................................................402,308 West Virginia...................................................123,951 Wisconsin.......................................................491,648 Wyoming..........................................................38,712 Outlying Areas...................................................51,263 BIA Schools.....................................................400,000

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great man, Congressman William Lehman of Florida. In his passing, I have lost a dear friend, Congress has lost a role model, and the Nation has lost a brave leader and national hero. Congressman Lehman was, above all, a true liberal, dedicated to equality among races and classes. He opened his used car dealership in a black neighborhood, and was one of the few dealers in the 1940's and 1950's--white or otherwise--who would finance cars for black customers. He supported issues that were important to poor communities, fighting against highways that divided and ruined communities, and bringing home more than $800 million for a Metrorail system in Miami, providing multiple ways for the poor to get to and from work. He was also a gifted politician, inspiring loyalty in his committee members and his party. He neither dictated policy, nor ran his subcommittee overseeing highways, seaports and mass-transit systems with an iron fist, but by striking a perfect balance between offering incentives to cooperate and promising consequences to those who didn't. He knew all the legislative routes, and successfully steered bills he believed would benefit his constituents and the country around the road blocks and land mines in the House. If he was defeated on the House floor, he would work tirelessly in the conference committee to ensure the soundest legislative policies were written into law. Bill was respected on both sides of the aisle, and had friends in both parties and all over Capitol Hill. He conducted himself with dignity, and he showed others that he believed in the issues he fought for, and wasn't merely supporting them for political purposes. When you hear people describe him, they almost always include the words ``honest'' and ``moral'', attributes that are rarely connected with politicians in this day and age, but which truly fit Bill. Even after becoming one of the more influential members of Congress, he never lost touch, with his roots. He maintained his southern accent and his unpolished yet powerful manner of speaking throughout his career, and continued to dine and spend time in his old neighborhood. One would be hard pressed to find a Congressman who took more risks, and for more noble reasons, while in office. In 1988 he chartered a plane to Cuba and successfully negotiated the release of three political prisoners, endearing him to the conservative Cuban community in his district. Seven years earlier he had negotiated the release of a political prisoner in Argentina, and he smuggled an artificial heart valve into the Soviet Union for an ailing 22 year old woman. In my mind, Bill was more than a gifted colleague and a good person; he was a very close friend. I can attest that this is one of the rare cases where the statements being made about a person after his death are absolutely true. He was as good of a person in life as he is being described in death--a smart, moral, genuinely decent human being, one whose company it was a pleasure to keep. Over the years I had the pleasure of working with Congressman Lehman a number of times. We served on the House Judiciary committee together, and in 1982 we traveled to several Latin American countries, including Nicaragua to investigate illegal arms sales. He was as much of a gentleman in the professional world as he was in the personal one. Our country has experienced a great loss. Congressman Lehman was the kind of man who does not come around often, and we were blessed to have him in Congress. He was a role model to politicians everywhere and an inspiration to citizens all across the Nation. He will be sorely missed wherever he was known.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, and I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) and those others who thought about doing this for our friend Bob Matsui. So often we read about outstanding Americans who make great contributions to the country, and yet some of us have never heard of them. So I feel indeed so privileged and so honored of having served with one of those people. Notwithstanding how his country treated him, he decided to make his country treat other people so much better. Here is a person that served on the Committee on Ways and Means, which is a privilege to serve, but he enjoyed each and every minute of it. He was involved in every debate, whether it was fairness in taxes, Medicare, Social Security, providing assistance to those people who have less than most people in this country. His compassion was always mixed with a lot of humor, to make certain that people would take time out to listen to him when he was serious and at the same time to know that he was not a politician but was someone who was a patriot who loved this country. I really think that he has set an example for so many people who have reasons to be bitter but certainly can make a better contribution to life as Bob Matsui has made to his country, to his Congress and to his family. I thank God that I had the privilege to know and to be his friend.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of this chamber a resolution adopted March 9, 2005 by the City Council of Mount Vernon, New York, supporting relief for the family of Amadou Diallo. The resolution calls on Congress to grant permanent resident status to the family of the young African immigrant who was shot 41 times by four plainclothes New York policemen. The full text of the resolution of the Mount Vernon City Council follows: Whereas, Amadou Diallo, a 24 year old immigrant from Guinea, was tragically gunned down in a hail of 41 bullets on February 4, 1999, by officers of the New York City Police Department as he attempted to enter his residence in the Bronx; and Whereas, Amadou Diallo, an innocent man, was found to be unarmed at the time of his shooting; and Whereas, the tragic story of Amadou Diallo garnered international attention, and an unprecedented outcry and weeks of demonstrations by New Yorkers who sympathized with his family; Whereas, the Diallo family currently resides in the United States under ``deferred action status'' and are vulnerable to deportation in the upcoming months; and Whereas, the Diallo family wishes to remain in the United States; and Whereas, the Honorable United States Congressman Charles Rangel has proposed legislation, namely H.R. 677, which would grant permanent resident status to Amadou Diallo's family members: Kadiatou Diallo, Laouratou Diallo, Ibrahima Diallo, Abdoul Diallo, Mamadou Bobo Diallo, Mamadou Pathe Diallo, Fatoumata Traore Diallo, Sankarela Diallo and Marliatou Bah; and Whereas, granting permanent resident status to the Diallo family would be a proper and just recognition of the tragedy they have suffered, and it will allow the Diallo family to pursue the opportunities promised by the American Dream; and Whereas, the City Council of the City of Mount Vernon fully supports Congressman Rangel's proposed legislation and commends his efforts to keep the Diallo family in the United States; Now, Therefore, be it resolved that the City Council of the City of Mount Vernon, New York: Hereby, fully supports Congressman Rangel's proposed legislation, H.R. 677, which would grant permanent resident status to Amadou Diallo's family members: Kadiatou Diallo, Laouratou Diallo, Ibrahima Diallo, Abdoul Diallo, Mamadou Bobo Diallo, Mamadou Pathe Diallo, Fatoumata Traore Diallo, Sankarela Diallo and Marliatou Bah. Resolved, that the City Council of the City of Mount Vernon, New York, calls upon the United States Congress to support Congressman Charles Rangel's proposed legislation, H.R. 677, which would grant permanent resident status to Amadou Diallo's family members: Kadiatou Diallo, Laouratou Diallo, Ibrahima Diallo, Abdoul Diallo, Mamadou Bobo Diallo, Mamadou Pathe Diallo, Fatoumata Traore Diallo, Sankarela Diallo and Marliatou Bah. I extend my personal thanks to Mayor Ernest D. Davis, City Council President Karen Watts, City Councilman William R. Randolph, and the rest of the Mount Vernon City Council for this resolution. Surely, this Congress can heed the advice of the City Council and truly embrace the Diallo family for the loss of their son and brother.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise with much sadness, to mourn the passing of a great American, and one of my dear friends, Johnnie Cochran. At a time like this, I find myself very conflicted. On one hand I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend and confidant, a man who I admired and respected before I came to know him well, and over the most recent years of our friendship as we worked together on the redevelopment of Harlem through the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, which Johnnie chaired, he is a man I would come to love. On the other hand, I feel great pride and gratefulness in the fact that I had the opportunity to experience his friendship. Johnnie was of one of the greatest legal crusaders of our generation, and hands down, one of the best lawyers I have ever known. Johnnie had a personality that could light up a room. Even his opponents had to acknowledge his charm. He argued a case with a style and flare that many had never seen in a courtroom. Indeed, most may never see a persona quite like his again. However, Johnnie always remained true to himself. In the legal profession, lawyers often wear a mask. They adopt a sort of legal alter ego. Johnnie won cases being himself, and that is why he was able to connect with jurors, and the public at large, time and time again. As we all know, Johnnie became recognized the world over through his participation in the OJ Simpson case. But anyone who knows the work of Johnnie Cochran knows that the case was simply a feather in his cap, just one more achievement in a remarkable career. Anyone who looks beyond the surface would see that Johnnie was not about celebrity clients, he was about seeking justice for those who had been denied it. In his portfolio of clients, one does find the OJ's and P. Diddys of the world, but much more than them you find the little guy: the accused person with no money, no voice, and no hope, and then you find Johnnie right there fighting for them. That was the Johnnie that I knew, and that is the Johnnie that everyone should know. Johnnie Cochran was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1937, the grandson of a sharecropper. His family would move west to California in the late 1940's, where his determined father would work his way up from a shipyard pipe fitter, to an insurance broker for California's leading Black-owned insurance company. The family would eventually settle in Los Angeles where Johnnie would spend the rest of his adolescence. Although his family's migration to California removed him from the Jim Crow South, the repressive form of segregation and discrimination that Johnnie witnessed as a young child in Louisiana never left him. Instead it instilled in him a deep seated commitment to seek justice for all people. Johnnie grew up wanting to be a lawyer, and he would see his dream through to fulfillment. After graduating from UCLA, he earned a degree from Loyola Law School in 1962. In the fall of 1961, during his last year in law school, he became the first Black law clerk in the Office of the City Attorney. In early 1963, he became a Deputy City Attorney. Though he enjoyed his work, he came to realize that most of the people he was prosecuting were Black men who had been severely beaten by police authorities during their arrests. He soon came to believe that something was gravely wrong with the way the justice system related to African American citizens, and he set out to do something about it. He would leave the City Attorney's office in the late 60's to set up his own practice. He would there begin his crusade of defending those who had been the victims of police brutality and misconduct, who in most cases happened to be minorities. Along the way he obtained justice for dozens of every day people, who had nowhere else to turn. He would also be the first attorney to get the city of Los Angeles to financially compensate victims of police misconduct. Without question, Johnnie's personal crusade against police violence brought about changes in the law enforcement systems of both Los Angeles and the entire United States. Johnnie's preoccupation with justice was not confined to situations where the victimization was based on race; he wanted to see justice done in every case. In 1992 he represented Reginald O. Denny, the white truck driver who was brutally beaten by a mob during the Los Angeles Riots. Johnnie argued that the LAPD's reluctance to enter the riot zone cost many people their lives, and put citizens like Denny in harm's way. Indeed, many argued that the riots would never have escalated to the level they did if police had responded sooner. Though everyone speaks of OJ, as far as Johnnie was concerned, it was the case of Geronomo Pratt that was most meaningful and important to him. He defended Pratt in 1972, but lost the case due to police and prosecutorial misconduct. However, he never gave up on Pratt. Though he had been elevated to celebrity status, representing rich and famous clients, he never wavered in his quest to get Pratt's conviction overturned. He would ultimately prevail. Pratt's murder conviction was overturned in May 1997. Johnnie also got the state to compensate Pratt $4.5 million, for the 27 years he wrongly spent behind bars. Many people were opposed to the legal arguments that Johnnie used in the OJ case, regarding police corruption and misconduct. However, Johnnie was ultimately proven right in the late 1990's when the LAPD was rocked by a department wide corruption scandal. So systemic were the problems in the LA Police Department that the U.S. Department of Justice would have to take over the department for some time. This exemplifies why Johnnie was so important. In his quest for justice, he revealed to society serious problems that they were unable or unwilling to address on their own. This is why we will miss him so. We in the Harlem community will especially miss the leadership and contributor he gave to us in his final years. In this time of loss however, I am heartened by two things. First is the fact that Johnnie's family is still here with us. His wife Dale has been Johnnie's loving and dedicated partner through all the highs and lows. Indeed, her love may have been the only thing that could render Johnnie defenseless, which was no easy task. He loved his children Jonathan, Tiffany, and Melodie dearly, and seeing them grow and become successful adults made him prouder than any victory he ever achieved in court. The other thing that heartens me at this time is the knowledge that Johnnie's legacy grows every day. In Los Angeles and in cities around the country, Johnnie has become something of a mythic hero, a sort of legal Robin Hood, and a real role model. Kids across America now not only dream of being like Michael Jordan, or Puff Daddy, they dream of becoming successful lawyers, and being like Johnnie. There are several young people working in my office right now. One is a lawyer already, and many others aspire to become one. There is no question in my mind that Johnnie in some way has something to do with that. In the end, the unseen influence Johnnie has had on the next generation of passionate advocates may be his greatest legacy. Johnnie, we will never forget you, and I know we will all meet again. In the meantime, we will continue the fight, for as long as justice reigns, so too, will your spirit live.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great man of the Catholic faith and a hero to those of all faiths. I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pope John Paul II. I join the millions of people around the world that have been mourning the loss of this great man and great spiritual and moral leader who stood firmly for the oppressed, for the downtrodden, and for people of all faiths around the world. Pope John Paul II was a great man, and a strong advocate for equality. He spoke out time and time again against discrimination and injustice in all its forms. He believed in the ``right to have a family and to have an adequately paying job'' and that everyone should be able ``to exist, preserve and develop one's own culture.'' His compassion for his fellow man and woman was overtly obvious. Pope John Paul II has spread the word of God and the gospel to the world. He was the most traveled Pope in history as he brought these ideas across the globe, especially to the world's poorest people on the continents of Asia, South America, and Africa. He was the only pope to have visited a Caribbean country and has held mass in a host of Central and South American countries. In the last two decades under the Pontiff, the number of Catholics in Africa has doubled and the Pope has visited over a dozen countries on the continent. He appointed nearly two dozen cardinals from Latin America and the Caribbean, including Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras and Claudio Hummes of Brazil, and thirteen from Africa, including Francis Arinze of Nigeria. Citing the commitment to social justice in the Old Testament, the Pope was a long-time champion of debt relief. In 1994, he called on the United States and other nations to forgive the debts of 40 of the world's poorest countries; to fight vigilantly against hunger, poverty, and disease; and to establish programs to build sound economic policies in those countries. Though he mourned September 11th with the rest of the world, the Pope steadfastly believed that peace, not war, is the path to creating a safer world for all. He was an outspoken critic of the Iraqi war and called on international leaders to find a peaceful mechanism to address their differences. Pope John Paul II worked to ease the centuries' old tensions between the Catholic Church and Jews. He was the first Pope to visit a concentration camp and was also the first Pope to visit a synagogue, calling Jews ``our eldest brothers.'' He has repeatedly tried to keep the Catholic Church morally grounded in its advocacy but adaptive to changes in the world. Not only was he a spiritual leader and warrior for civil rights of universal renown, but he was also an intellectual powerhouse. He was capable of speaking to his people in multiple languages. He wrote volumes on the philosophies of mankind and the virtues of faith. Personally, I have always respected and admired the Pope for his humanitarianism and empathy for others. He led by example and marked a path of principle and conviction. During my second meeting in 1987 with the pontiff, I was humbled to hear his views and thoughts on drug eradication and other contemporary issues. For over a half century, he had implored the international community to think with grace, act with compassion, and behave with deep regard and respect for our fellow man. In his many decades of service as the head of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II has done tremendous good for both the Catholic Church and the people of the world. He was a man who commanded my sincere respect, and his loss will be felt by me for many, many years to come. Pope John Paul II was a man who in death, as in life, was an inspiration and guide to us all.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Chairman, I want to personally thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) so much for the work that he has done in having the record make it clear that we in the House of Representatives did have an alternative to what was presented to us. There is a lot of talk about moral values that we hear about politically; but I do not care what your religious background is, there are always these stories about the sick and the poor in need; and on the other side, the option is for the rich and the greedy and the insensitive. You do not have to be a Republican or a Democrat when you look at the document that was placed before us by the majority and then to take a look at the compassion and the common sense that is involved in the alternative that the gentleman from South Carolina and his team have brought to us. But I am not here to talk about compassion. I am too old to believe that it is going to change. I am here to talk about national security, national security at a time that we are going through these economic deficits. It would just seem to me that it would make a lot of sense if we invested in our young people that are going to school, to make them more productive and make them tax-paying. It seems to me it would make a lot of sense to invest in someone's health so that they would not have to go to community centers, which are being cut back, that they would not have to go into the hospitals. It seems to me that we would have a sense of national security by thanking our veterans who fight the war, keep the spirits up and not tax them for getting sick or having ailments. It seems to me that in the final analysis, what we have done is borrow money and ask that we make these tremendous tax cuts permanent and whatever our kids get and our grandchildren get will be the debt that this body can possibly place on them. I just hope that somewhere along the line someone would say that if you really care about this country, that you will care about all of its people, you will be concerned about its working people and be concerned in making Social Security something that will be guaranteed for them because we promised them that it would be. But I do not think that anyone takes this budget seriously, not if you leave out of it the alternative minimum tax, which no one would want to be able to tell their constituents that this $600 billion tax increase that we are going to place on them, that we did not mean to do it; and no matter how many cities the President goes to, no one would believe that he was sincere about reforming the Social Security system when he knows, Republicans know, Democrats know, that it is going to take money to do this and that is not in the budget. And there are so many other things that are left out. Even the money that is paid into Social Security, that is not counted as a part of our debt. But one day, just one day, historians or maybe our kids and grandkids are going to ask each and every one of us, when this country was going into this deficit hellhole and when the poor were becoming poorer and the sick, we were cutting their benefits, what were you doing and how were you voting, and I am glad that we will have an opportunity just not to be able to vote against what the majority has given us, but that we have an alternative that the gentleman from South Carolina and the minorities on the Budget Committee and so many others have worked together to say that we are proud to be Americans, we are proud to be Members of Congress, and we are proud that we voted the right way.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss a matter of justice. The Tulsa Race Riots remain today a matter unresolved in our national conscience. More than 80 years after the occurrence of this horrible event, the time has come to bring closure. A March 13th article in the New York Daily News sheds light on the Tulsa Race Riots and the current effort underway to obtain justice for the victims. Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921 was something of an African American success story. The city's Black community, known as Greenwood, had developed into a prosperous area of shops, hotels, gaming halls and restaurants that was known throughout the Southwest. So significant was its reputation, that the famous Black leader Booker T. Washington would dub Greenwood ``the Black Wall Street.'' However, the Black community's prosperity was a source of resentment among many of city's white residents. Racial tension in the city was palpable. This and other factors would eventually manifest themselves, with deadly consequences. The Tulsa Race Riots began May 31, 1921, when police arrested a black youth for allegedly assaulting a white woman, a charge later dismissed. A crowd of whites gathered outside the courthouse where the youth was being held, calling for his lynching. According to a 2001 report commissioned by the State of Oklahoma, Black citizens from the Greenwood neighborhood armed themselves and went to the courthouse to defend the young man. After an initial period of confusion, a shot was fired and a gunfight ensued. A white mob then marched to the Greenwood area of the city and began to destroy the 40-block neighborhood. Left unobstructed by police and Oklahoma National Guard troops, the white mob burned nearly all of Greenwood to the ground, leaving nearly 9,000 people homeless. A total of 1,256 homes were destroyed, along with ``virtually every other structure, including churches, business, schools, even a hospital and a library. The mob also killed many Black citizens in the process. Officially, the death count for the Riots had been put at 38 people, but the 2001 Oklahoma State report put the figure closer to 300 individuals. In the immediate aftermath of the destruction, more than 100 Greenwood residents unsuccessfully filed lawsuits attempting to recover damages. A grand jury convened to determine the cause of the riot and actually faulted the city's African-American residents. Subsequently, the issue would seemingly disappear for nearly eighty years. However, after the publication of the 2001 Oklahoma state report, a group of 150 Riot survivors and their descendants, represented by Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree, sued the state of Oklahoma, the city of Tulsa, the city's police department and its police chief. Lower courts dismissed the case on the grounds that a two-year statute of limitations on the 1921 incident had long since passed. Prof. Ogletree has argued that the statute of limitations should not have started until 2001, when the state commission appointed to investigate the riots completed its report, and revealed the culpability of state and local government. In March 2004, U.S. District Court Judge James O. Ellison ruled that the statute-of limitations should extend to a time when the defendants could receive a fair hearing in court, but he also argued that such an opportunity was present as early as the 1960s. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in September 2004, but argued that the case should have been brought during 1980s, when a book about the Riots was published--thus giving the plaintiffs the evidence they needed in bringing the case. Prof. Ogletree has argued that not all the victims knew about the book, and that the government still had not acknowledged its culpability until the state commission report in 2001. Furthermore, until the state commission's report, the official stance of the State of Oklahoma was that the Black citizens of Tulsa were responsible for the Riots. As a result of the recent decision against the plaintiffs by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Prof. Ogletree and his legal team are now seeking to have the case brought before the United States Supreme Court. The Court received a petition brief from Prof. Ogletree and his team on March 9th, and a decision is pending. Millions of children around our nation recite a daily pledge, an oath of allegiance to a nation which promises ``justice for all.'' Unfortunately, our country has not always exhibited the national virtues descried in that pledge. The victims of the Tulsa Race Riots have undoubtedly been denied justice, and now a legal technicality threatens to ensure that they will never obtain it. Let us not allow this to happen--for the sake of the Tulsa Race Riot victims, and for the sake of our nation. Time to Fix Riot's Wrongs By E.R. Shipp [From the Daily News, Mar. 13, 2005] To white folks back in the day, it was Niggertown. To black folks during that same time, it was The Black Wall Street. It was the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Okla. And the gap in perception is the frame of the issue that might be decided ultimately by the U.S. Supreme Court: reparations. Reparations make sense when one can demonstrate that one has suffered a loss. That is not the case for most black folk who, when they hear politicians and college professors say ``reparations,'' are hoping that the government will become their Lotto ticket to wealth. If the high court agrees to take on the Tulsa case, laid out in a petition led last week by lawyers--led by Harvard's Charles Ogletree--the justices might see that Tulsa is a whole different matter. The 1921 Tulsa race riot began when police arrested a black youth for allegedly assaulting a white woman, a charge later dismissed. A crowd of whites gathered outside the courthouse where the youth was jailed, and there was a rumor that he would be lynched. According to the state's 2001 report, men from Greenwood armed themselves and went to the courthouse to defend the youth. A gunfight erupted, and the outnumbered blacks retreated to Greenwood. A white mob followed them and burned the neighborhood. A ``white mob ransacked Greenwood, shooting indiscrimately at African-Americans and burning almost every building in the community. Not only did the state and city fail to stop the destruction, but state and local officials participated in the violence and deputized and armed members of the white mob,'' states the petition, filed on behalf of the riot's survivors and their descendants. From the get-go, Oklahomans set roadblocks to any kind of recompense for the hundreds of homeowners and businesses devastated during the riot. And then, after a state commission finally concluded in 2001--four years ago!--that more than attention must be paid to what transpired, the courts said to these black folks: Sorry. Too late. You should have filed your claims years ago. Too bad. So sad. So, justices of the highest court in the land, rise to the dignity of your titles and do justice in this case. Do justice by 102-year-old Otis Clarke, a Greenwood victim. Do more than pay lip service to the immorality of what transpired. Reparations in the form of money, not just penance, must be paid for this act of domestic terrorism. The lower courts said it's too late. But the Supreme Court has the chance to do what's right, and the time for that is now.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today we come before this chamber to be heard on an issue of national consequence and one that is particularly relevant to Black Americans. While we are being told that the economy is showing signs of recovery, that point of view is not reflected in what I, and many of my colleagues in the House, see in our districts. In fact, conditions appear to be consistently bad as more people face extended periods of joblessness--and Blacks remain at a disadvantage to whites in the labor market. Black Americans have continued to endure chronic unemployment relative to whites in the nation. The Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Summary for February reveals that while the Nation's unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, Black unemployment is 10.9 percent. The BLS data confirms what has become a long-term trend of Black Americans exclusion from the labor market. The disparity is all the more glaring given that white unemployment was only 4.6 percent last month. Unemployment for Black women hovered at 9.1 percent and for teenagers, age 16 to 19, unemployment was 31.5 percent; a numbing statistic considering economic conditions in our community. Though the economy gained 262,000 jobs last month it was of little benefit to Blacks seeking work, considering much of the gains were in the construction trades--an area from which Blacks have historically been excluded, retail--where mergers and acquisitions between major retail companies signal another round of downsizing, and in areas such as temporary employment services and food services--where wages may not be sufficient for self sustenance. What these numbers tell us is that we have arrived at a place somewhere beyond crisis for Black Americans and their relation to the world of work. It is a chilling reminder of the systemic failure of the economy to fairly apportion opportunity and shed any vestiges of racially discriminatory practices. It is why we convene today to discuss this national imperative and urge our President to take immediate action to make jobs and income security a national priority. A good wage job is the foundation for the economic security of all Americans, and particularly so for people of color who have historically been denied opportunity in our country. Rhetoric about ``family values'' is disingenuous if large segments of our Nation are not given the chance to earn a good wage and provide for their children, spouses, and increasingly parents, whose retirement income is not sufficient to sustain independent living. This is quite evident in my city--New York City--the Nation's largest metropolis and home to the panorama of racial and ethnic groups that represent the emerging face of America. In this great city, and in many others across the country, the economic devastation has hit close to home. Last year one of our city's leading nonpartisan, not-for-profit social policy and advocacy organizations--the Community Service Society or ``CSS''--issued a landmark report on the crisis of Black male unemployment. For those of you not familiar with the Community Service Society, it is an organization that has a 160-year history of working to alleviate conditions of poverty affecting low-income New Yorkers. CSS' roots in working to raise living conditions for city residents can be traced back to the settlement house movement in New York City and its role in founding the Columbia University School of Social Work. It is an organization that has played an invaluable role historically in the life of our city and continues to be a voice of conscience today. The study revealed some 50 percent of Black men in New York City were removed from the labor market. Fifty percent! By any standards it should be unacceptable for half of any group to be without work. Now to be fair, the latest CSS report indicates some improvement in jobholding for Black men but they have steadily lost ground relative to other groups in the city. It is a tragedy that should evoke shame and outrage in the 21st century. CSS also issued a report that revealed the degree to which young people in our city, age 16 to 24, are not in school and out of work-- tagged ``disconnected'' for the manner in which they are excluded from civic life. In total, the report calculated that there are 170,000 disconnected young people in our communities--a population that surpasses our state capital of Albany and many mid-size American cities. We know there are a number of factors fueling this crisis. Many of our public schools serving the population of young people the CSS report identified as disconnected are not equipped to prepare them for the realities of today's work world. And while we all advocate for higher standards, improved test scores absent any connection to a good wage job is a hollow victory. Many of us, including myself, understand the importance of retooling vocational and technical education so students who do not see college as an immediate option will have the opportunity to earn a living. Likewise, we are aware of traditional barriers that have obstructed Black Americans from economic opportunity. In the spirit of bipartisanship I recently accepted an invitation by the mayor of our city, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican, to serve on a city commission that will identify ways to eliminate barriers to employment in the construction trades for minorities, veterans and women. Joining me on that commission is the CEO of the Community Service Society, David Jones. It is an important first step in taking an industry-by-industry, sector-by-sector audit of impediments that are driving these dramatic disparities in employment. And the onus for change is not wholly on the private sector. The public sector must do a better job in ensuring equity in employment. For instance, the Fire Department of New York, a great and storied agency by most measures, has failed to be forward thinking in its hiring practices. In its most recent probationary class, minorities are only 14 percent of the new recruits. White males comprise 92 percent of the department. It is for that reason that the Justice Department has launched an investigation into the FDNY's hiring and promotion practices. So we know that government must also take corrective action. Now, against this backdrop we have a White House that is moving in the opposite direction of widening opportunity. In fact, President Bush's budget proposal has several elements that will only widen the gap I have described. The President proposes to cut the Workforce Investment Act by $61.5 million, end the program to reintegrate young offenders in communities, and reduces federal student loans by $10.7 billion over 10 years. Our president has also proposed eliminating the Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, a cut that means an estimated loss of $65 million to New York State. And New Yorkers most affected by these proposed cuts are clear on their priorities. In a survey of low-income New Yorkers commissioned by the Community Service Society, and tied to their labor market research, respondents expressed support for job training and education, and the upgrading of vocational and technical education. It is a significant snapshot of the opinions of the city's working poor--the first of its kind in the nation that I know of that seeks to ferret out the views of the economically disadvantaged. None of this is good news for New Yorkers or most residents of our nation's large urban centers. And most certainly for Black Americans in general, and Black men specifically. Combined with the risk that the President's misguided Social Security proposal poses for Black seniors, President Bush's budget has placed us on the cusp of an economic disaster of cataclysmic proportion in the Black community. We are not alone in New York City facing this crisis. Many American cities, big and small, are experiencing the same problems to varying degrees. We cannot sit by idly and see families devastated and communities destroyed while economic opportunity passes us by. That is why I have asked several of my colleagues in the House to join me on this Special Order to educate the American public and sensitize the White House to the economic imperative facing our constituents.