Member other than the majority and minority leaders and minority whip limited to five minutes. But in no event shall the debate continue beyond 9 50 a. M. The chair recognizes the honorable gentleman from texas, mr. Green, for five minutes. Mr. Green thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my preeminent privilege to rise today to pay tribute to a great and noble american, a dear friend, a member of this house until his transition. Mr. Speaker, of course i speak of none other than the honorable john lewis. I want to recognize and say words about him today because he took the he took to heart the words of gandy began dirks we should be the change we seek. He was the sermon that he preached. He did what he said he would do and inspired others to do like wise. It is said a great person will always rise to the occasion. But it is also said that the greater person makes the occasion. Well, when it came to the Edmund Pettus bridge, not only did he rise to the occasion by marching across that bridge, he made the occasion by helping to organize the march that left brown chapel and went to that bridge knowing that they were facing the constab blairry with clubs. They marched on. Knowing they were marching into brutality. They marched on. He was a person who understood that the cause of justice was sometimes required. Would sometimes require some harm to be suffered. Yet he marched on. And for this reason, the world had an opportunity to see the horrors of invidious discrimination and in so seeing a president , Lyndon Johnson, was put in a position such that he could pass the Voting Rights act. After the passage of that act, many of us who are in Congress Today are here because he marched across that bridge. So i would say to you, mr. Speaker, i would say to you because of his courage, because he walked the talk, because he was there for us at the Edmund Pettus bridge, and because the Voting Rights act was passed as a result thereof, it seems to me it would be proper, appropriate, and befitting of this body and all of congress to now pass the reformation of the Voting Rights act so that we could show the world that voting is still important to all people in this country. The honorable john lewis was there on bloody sunday. Why not have the irony of history allow him to be the spark that will ignite the passage of this reformation of the Voting Rights act in the congress of the United States of america. Finally this. In my conversations with him, as some of them in jail, he got me in good trouble, we went to jail in 2006 protesting at the sudanese embassy, went to jail in 2013 protesting out in the streets of washington, d. C. , for immigration reform. Yes, it was good trouble. And im proud to say i was there. One of the things we discussed was Jimmy Lee John sovepblet we ought not forget Jimmy Lee Jackson was the person who had just lost his life prior to marching across the Edmund Pettus bridge. In fact, there are many who would contend he was the spark that ignited much of that movement. Let us move Forward Together recognizing the honorable john ewis, let us not forget c. T. Viffins. The many nameless, faceless persons there with him on bloody sunday. Let us do this. Let us pass the Voting Rights act, the reformation thereof in his honor. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. Shimkus, for five minutes. Mr. Shimkus thank you, mr. Speaker. You know the clock keeps ticking and before you know it my time as a member of congress will end so i need to start now in saying thank you to some of those folks who have committed their lives in helping me and supporting me in my political and governmental career. In genesis 2 we find god instituting marriage. It is not good for man to be alone. I will create for him a helpmate. That is why a man shall leave his mother and woman leave her home. I have been extremely blessed to have karen as my partner and helpmate for 33 years. We will celebrate our 33 wedding anniversary this saturday. Karen, i met in my last active duty army station in monterey, california. She allowed me to drag her to my hometown of collinsville, where i had a teaching job lined up. We have been there ever since. Karen has allowed me to run for various political offices, winning some races, losing some races. Whether it was my first race for the county board or my last one for congress, she always supported me. She always answered the call when needed. It stuffing envelopes, painting signs, walking door to door, participating in parades, attending hostile debates, or speaking for me at events when i had a conflict. I never knew her once to say no. You have to ask her if she enjoyed any of it, but whether she enjoyed it or not, she always participated gracefully. Our sons are now young men at 27, 25, and 20 years old. I really became an absentee father upon my election to congress. You see, my two boys were 3 and 1 at the time. Finishing my 24th year tells you that their entire life has consist at this timed consisted of me being a member of congress and my wife, karen, being a single parent. Our boys have turned out to be nice and respectful young men and karen gets the credit. Our marriage is founded on christ and his church on earth. Karen is a trained director of christian education. She has her masters in organ performance and taught music at the grade school and high school level. Im a former jock, army officer, and a back patter. We complement each other and again as it says in genesis, the two shall be one flesh. We are partners. We are a team. The decades have flown by and i will never be able to adequately thank karen for her love and support over the years. She is ready to have me home more and i am ready to be home. Covid19 has already allowed us to test this theory of being home more than apart. I think we are going to do just fine. Thank you, karen, i owe you a debt of gratitude and so does this nation for allowing and supporting my service to it. With that, mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Butterfield, for five minutes. Mr. Butterfield thank you very much, mr. Speaker, for yielding time this morning. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to commemorate the life and work of our dear friend and colleague, congressman john robert lewis. I appreciate the words of congressman al green just a moment ago, and i want to associate myself with remarks. Mr. Speaker, john lewis came to this body in 1987. He came with scar from a turbulent period of american history. It was john lewis who led the Voting Rights movement in the south. We refer to it as the selma to montgomery march. Some refer to it as bloody sunday. Many americans dont realize that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not include a provision for voting. Voting was left out of that legislation and because of that the Africanamerican Community was determined to get Voting Rights. After dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 he visited the white house to have a conversation with president Lyndon Johnson. He asked Lyndon Johnson for a Voting Rights act. It was there that president johnson challenged dr. King to go back to the south and to demand a Voting Rights act. And because of that, the Voting Rights act Voting Rights Movement Began in selma, alabama, and it was john lewis who led that movement. On ng Brown Chapel Church march 7 of 1965, john lewis led the selma to montgomery march demanding a Voting Rights act and right to vote. At the apex of the Edmund Pettus bridge, john lewis and the other foot soldiers encountered 150 state troopers and a mob waiting for them. John lewis instructed the marchers to get on their knees and pray. They were beaten and they were beaten severely. They returned to Brown Chapel Church and three weeks later returned for the continuation of their march. By the time they got to montgomery, there were 50,000 people in the march. Because of this movement, mr. Speaker, president Lyndon Johnson led an extraordinary effort to pass the Voting Rights act of 1965 which protects the right to vote. The v. R. A. Has enabled millions of africanamericans to register which has enabled many of the Congressional Black Caucus to be elected and reelected. I might say today is the 16th anniversary of my election to congress in a special election. I had the privilege of talking with congressman lewis nearly every legislative day for the past 15 years. We spent countless hours on this floor seated to my left talking about his upbringing in troy, alabama. How africanamericans seeking the right to vote had to count marbles in a jar and bubbles in a bar of soap. We talked about his first meeting of Martin Luther king jr. And how dr. King would lovingly refer to him as john robert. As we would walk across the Capitol Plaza and walkthrough airports both in this country and other countries, never did he fail to stop and greet other people and to take very quick pictures. His courtesy to our capitol staff was unpassed and they will tell you so. John lewis served in this country with courage and conviction. Its often said that the black caucus is the conscience of the kong. John lewis was also the conscience of the congress. I recall, mr. Speaker, the contentious a. C. A. Debate, the Affordable Care act debate, in 2010 as we left the capitol that day there was a confrontational gathering of the tea party on the steps of the capitol. We were advised by the Capitol Police and even by our staffs to return to our offices through the tunnel. It was congressman lewis and congressman cleaver and congressman carson and myself who defied the Capitol Police and we walked through that mob back to our offices. I remember that so well. We would fuss from time to time mr. Speaker and i think you may have overheard some of our conversations from time to time, we would fuss with john lewis about his grueling schedule, his travels to the west coast on the weekends and back here to washington on monday. He would tell us about how he would get to his home here in washington and fall asleep on the couch with his shoes on and wake up at 3 00 in the morning. When we were suggested he might consider retirement he would tell us ive got to keep going. I want to see the africanamerican museum. I want to see the update of the Voting Rights act. I want to see the end of police misconduct. Finally, mr. Speaker, at the invitation of president obama, congress wop terry swule, congresswoman john lewis and me were invited to the white house for a viewing of the movie selma. After viewing the movie, the president invited us along with Oprah Winfrey and the cast of the movie to the oval office for a very delightful visit. While there president obama said, john, do you remember you gave me a magazine with your picture when i was first elected to the senate . Well, let me show you. And he took us into a hallway off of the oval office and there hung the magazine with john lewis picture on it. John robert lewis, mr. Speaker, now belongs to the ages. John robert lewis now belongs to the ages. He helped make this world a better place. John would say to us today the struggle continues. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from North Carolina, ms. Foxx, for five minutes. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past friday i joined secretary scalia of the department of labor on a trip to North Carolinas Fifth District to meet with local Business Leaders and frontline workers. The events we attended at innovation quarter for site Technical Community college and lowes foods came together in record time and a clear reflection of secretary scalias and his staffs commitment to witnessing North Carolinas economic drivers in action. Covid19 has impacted North Carolina in many ways, but the resiliency of our states frontline workers and businesses, which we witnessed on a firsthand basis, continues to propel North Carolina in the right direction. Mr. Speaker, no matter the challenge, the American People rise together. The men and women i was privileged to meet on this trip are the epitome of american resiliency in action. Though they are not recognized in the media for their tireless work, they show up to work every day with the same goal to support their communities. We still have work to do on the local, state, and federal levels to combat covid19. And to restore our economy. And im certain progress will continue to be made on all fronts. As a nation, we have overcome monumental challenges before, and well do it again with the same spirit and grit we have always had. The Great American comeback is unfolding before our veryize and the progress we have seen is undeniable. Look at the stock market, the ecent jobs reports and businesses reopening and skyrocketed innovation that has been spearheaded in the private sector. I have spoken about american resill yepsy and highlighted businesses in my district, constituents who stepped up to the plate in their communities and unwavering spirit of front line workers. Resilience si has no designated boundaries and does not ebb and flow or wax and wane but a trait within our work and values as america caps. We will continue to work until this virus is defeated. And well come out stronger and more resilient than ever before. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back. I the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. Peters, for five minutes. Peterson mr. Peters peerts bill passed away at the age of 107 and will be laid to rest today. Ll served with honor and and was according to navy records the oldest living military officer. He joined the Naval Reserve and called to active duty on december 8, 1941. He was covering the Southern Coast of california. He searched for submarine activity and intercepted nazi nail bound for mexico and sent it up the chain of command. He severed in gum that led to the surrender of the last two japanese hold outs who hidden in the jungles there. Later, bill served in the pentagon as Intelligence Watch officer during the bay of pigs and cuban missile crisis. William debriefed sailors of the uss pueblo after they were held captive in north korea for 11 months. At one point occurring his career during a time of significant labor unress, he was ontacted by roy cohn and asked him to conduct domestic spying. He viewed the request as illegal and refused to turn over the files that he wanted on the long shoremens union. He was a fierce defender of our constitution. He was one of the first students to attend San Diego State university. In 1934, he completed his degree in commerce. Bill set off immediately to begin working and never received his official diploma. 84 years after earning, San Diego State president presented it to him at the age of 105. He met his wife in corner nado and survived by son and daughter, five grand chirp and seff yep greatgrandchildren. Bob described his father as a best friend and role model. Bob told me his father lived near me and wanted to spend some time talking about his country and have a drink. I raised a glass to this Great American. Still sharp at 106, he shared stories of his extraordinary military career and collection of books about history and politics and told me about the state of our democracy and urged me to keep fighting to protect it and never give up the fight. He still had not. Bill represented the best of san diego and best of america. We thank him and wish him and his family fair winds and following seas. I yield back. I the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Thompson, for five minutes. Mr. Thompson i rise today to bring awareness to our nations abandoned mine lands. They need to be reclaimed to prevent harm to our communities and environment. When these sites are cleaned up, it improves the quality of our air, soil and water. Pennsylvania has more abandoned mine sites than any other state. Back in my district has more abandoned mine sites than each of the 434 mine districts combined. This past september, my democratic colleague mack cartwright introduced the abandoned mine trust act. And this bill would not only reauthorize the fund for the next 15 years but spur Economic Growth and Coal Communities impacted. This program has properly closed more than 46,000 open mine portals. To continue this, the a. M. L. Trust fund must be reauthorized. There is still work to be done. Last week, i this past month, i had the pleasure of visiting the Anderson Creek watershed in clearfield county. A constituent of mine was on the property has been working tirelessly ever since to clean up the abandoned mine site on that property. What was mined on that site was clay and used to manufacture kill than bricks to produce the steel that allowed the Industrial Revolution to occur and the arsenal of democracy to win world war i and world war ii. During that visit, reed welcomed me and local and state officials for a tour. One of the specialists kelly williams. The impact is obvious. But community and economic considerations as well. Mr. Williams underscored the impact that abandoned mine lappeds have on the environment. Outdoor recreation is popular, boating and fishing. And these lappeds left uptouched, they have a damaging impact on local waterways. When Outdoor Recreation is a big part and our communities feel that financial loss. Mr. Williams estimated that 3 rfield county to louis million. Reed continues to work to raise awareness. The project would take years to finish, but i know reed wont stop fighting. Congress needs to reauthorize he a. M. L. Trust fund to ensure abandoned mine land sites are reclaimed, our environment is protected and our communities are safe. Thank you, mr. Speaker. And i yield back the balance of my time. I pursuant to 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess u
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.