[JPRT, 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Julia Carson
LATE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM
INDIANA
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
AND OTHER TRIBUTES
hon. julia carson
1938-2007
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T9700.001
Julia Carson
Memorial Addresses and
Other Tributes
HELD IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AND SENATE
OF THE UNITED STATES
TOGETHER WITH MEMORIAL SERVICES
IN HONOR OF
JULIA CARSON
Late a Representative from Indiana
One Hundred Tenth Congress
First Session
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Proceedings in the House of Representatives:
Tributes by Representatives:
Baca, Joe, of California.......................
6
Blackburn, Marsha, of Tennessee................
7
Brown, Corrine, of Florida.....................
40
Burton, Dan, of Indiana
...............................................
............
4, 5, 11
Buyer, Steve, of Indiana.......................
16
Capps, Lois, of California.....................
38
Christensen, Donna M., of the Virgin Islands...
31
Conyers, John, Jr., of Michigan................
32
Davis, Danny K., of Illinois...................
21
Donnelly, Joe, of Indiana......................
22
Ellison, Keith, of Minnesota...................
40
Ellsworth, Brad, of Indiana....................
8
Etheridge, Bob, of North Carolina..............
43
Frank, Barney, of Massachusetts................
15
Green, Al, of Texas............................
42
Hill, Baron P., of Indiana.....................
33, 35
Hoyer, Steny H., of Maryland...................
24
Jackson-Lee, Sheila, of Texas..................
36
Johnson, Eddie Bernice, of Texas...............
6
Jones, Stephanie Tubbs, of Ohio
...............................
9, 12, 17, 22, 30
Kennedy, Patrick J., of Rhode Island...........
8
Kilpatrick, Carolyn C., of Michigan............
13
Larson, John B., of Connecticut................
34
Lee, Barbara, of California....................
20, 45
Lewis, John, of Georgia........................
41
McCollum, Betty, of Minnesota..................
44
Pelosi, Nancy, of California...................
27
Pence, Mike, of Indiana........................
18
Rangel, Charles B., of New York................
5
Rush, Bobby L., of Illinois....................
35
Shays, Christopher, of Connecticut.............
41
Visclosky, Peter J., of Indiana
...............................................
..
3, 5, 14
Waters, Maxine, of California..................
28
Watson, Diane E., of California................
25
Watt, Melvin L., of North Carolina.............
17
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Bayh, Evan, of Indiana.........................
48
Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
47
Memorial Services.....................................
51
BIOGRAPHY
Former Congressman Andy Jacobs eloquently introduced the
story of his successor, Julia Carson: ``The only thing
some people learn from oppression is hatred and revenge.
Others learn compassion and empathy. From the physical
pain of material poverty and the mindlessly cruel
persecution of nitwit racism, Julia Carson made her choice
of hard work, compassion and a pleasing sense of humor.''
The result of Julia Carson's choice was an extraordinary
career of public service. Before she made history in 1996
by becoming the first woman and the first African American
Indianapolis had ever sent to Congress, Julia Carson
served 18 years in the Indiana General Assembly and then 6
years as Center Township Trustee.
In those offices, she distinguished herself as the rare
elected official who demonstrates both compassion and
common sense. As a State representative and senator, Julia
Carson sponsored legislation to encourage in-home health
care, to ease the collection of child support, and to
protect the environment, while also serving as a no-
nonsense fiscal watchdog member of the senate finance
committee. When she was a member of Indiana's citizen
legislature, she also found time to work as a human
resources executive at Cummins Engine and to operate her
own small business.
In 1990, Julia Carson successfully ran for election to
the post of Center Township Trustee of Marion County. She
did so against the advice of many who feared the political
quagmire of a poor relief office that was $20 million in
debt. However, Trustee Carson employed an aggressive
workfare program and anti-fraud procedures to quickly
erase the enormous debt while providing much needed
emergency services to the poor of Indianapolis. Julia
Carson's fiscal acumen and management skill led her to
being named for the second time as the Indianapolis Star's
Woman of the Year. Her budget balancing feat earned
bipartisan admiration, including that of Republican County
Auditor John Von Arx, who said, ``Julia Carson wrestled
that monster to the ground.''
In 1996, Julia Carson accepted the challenge of
wrestling an even more imposing monster: the U.S.
Congress. Once again, she was equal to the task. As a
member of the Committee on Financial Services, the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, Congresswoman Carson
sponsored legislation directed toward the most pressing
needs of her community and the Nation.
In May 1999 President Clinton signed into law
Congresswoman Carson's bill to authorize a Congressional
Gold Medal for Rosa Parks. In 2000, Representative Carson
and Senator Lugar (R-IN) successfully passed language as
part of the Agriculture Risk Protection Act Conference
Report which enhanced the identification of children
eligible for the State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP).
In the 108th Congress Representative Carson was the
sponsor of the largest Amtrak reauthorization bill, the
National Defense Rail Act, which would provide the rail
passenger system with over $40 billion in funds to develop
high-speed rail corridors and aid in the development of
short distance corridors between larger urban centers.
She was the sponsor of the Veteran's VOTE Act, a bill to
ensure that all veterans have the right to vote after
completing State or Federal prison sentences.
As a member of the Financial Services Committee, she was
the sponsor of legislation that would regulate the debt
consolidation industry. Congresswoman Carson was
passionate about fostering financial literacy for all
Americans. She hosted numerous forums and town hall
meetings addressing financial literacy issues, and worked
with financial leaders including Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan to help increase financial literacy for her
constituents.
Congresswoman Carson served on the Housing and Community
Opportunity Subcommittee of the Financial Services
Committee. Representative Carson was the sponsor and
leading advocate of the Bringing America Home Act. This
comprehensive legislation was designed to end homelessness
in the United States by addressing the housing, health,
and income needs of people experiencing homelessness and
families at risk of homelessness.
She worked to establish the Indiana Mortgage and
Foreclosure Hotline, 1-866-772-WAIT (9248), in partnership
with Momentive Consumer Credit Counseling, Fannie Mae
Indiana Partnership Office, and the Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD). The hotline helps Indiana
consumers facing foreclosure or just needing advice and
counsel on their home mortgages.
As she listened to her constituents' concerns,
Congresswoman Carson was able to draw on her own
extraordinary life history for insight. As a woman who
spent a lifetime scaling the barriers imposed by poverty
as well as by racism and sexism, Congresswoman Carson
spoke with unique credibility on these issues and to the
young people of Indianapolis whom she challenged to follow
her lead over these barriers. Julia Carson pledged to help
build a safe, caring, and responsible community.
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
AND
OTHER TRIBUTES
FOR
JULIA CARSON
Proceedings in the
House of Representatives
Monday, December 17, 2007
PRAYER
The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered
the following prayer:
Above the cold winds is a clear blue sky. Behind a
flurry of activity is the conviction we are entering a
holy season.
Lord God, as Congress resumes major responsibilities
today, we mourn the passing of a dear colleague, strong
witness of perseverance in suffering and advocate for the
poor and the homeless, the Honorable Julia Carson.
Her sweet manner always shone through her raspy voice
and determination. Her smile born out of sincerity and
faith encouraged others when there was only a smidgen of
hope.
God of all consolation, reward her public service, and
be close to all who grieve the loss of her presence.
As all prepare to celebrate the approaching feast of
heaven and Earth, we know many will greet her with shouts
of triumph and thanksgiving. In Your kingdom, You will
invite her to take her place where Rosa Parks has reserved
for her a seat.
May she rest in peace. Amen.
MOMENT OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE JULIA CARSON,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
(Mr. BURTON of Indiana asked and was given permission to
address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I yield to my colleague from
Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).
Mr. VISCLOSKY. I appreciate my good friend and the dean
of the Indiana delegation for the recognition, and I have
the sad duty, along with Mr. Burton, in representing every
member of the Indiana delegation, to inform the House of
the passing of our good friend and colleague, Julia Carson
from Indianapolis.
I would simply point out, under the auspices of Mr.
Burton and the Congressional Black Caucus and myself, to
truly honor Julia's life and her good work, we will have a
special order for 1 hour tomorrow. I note this happens to
be the darkest time of year as far as the winter solstice
upon us, but it causes one to think about the light that
Julia Carson has cast throughout her life. Whether it was
the twinkle of her eye, that I think we are all very
familiar with, or the fire that burned brightly in Julia,
compelling her every hour of every day to help those most
in need, and the light of her shining example which should
compel all of us to lead better lives and to do our best.
Her constituents, her State, this House, and this country
have suffered a great loss of a good friend who has
enlightened all of us and who has enriched ours and
everyone's life she has touched. And again I deeply
appreciate the courtesy of Mr. Burton for asking for this
period of time.
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Let me just say that Julia Carson
was a friend of mine. I have known Julia for a long, long
time. She worked for our former colleague Andy Jacobs when
he was in the House, and she did a tremendous job for him.
She started out politically in Indiana as a State
representative and became a State senator. And when Andy
retired, she ran for and was elected to the Congress of
the United States.
She was also a trustee. One of the things she did as a
trustee was she reduced the cost to the trustee's office
and reduced the number of people who had to be served on
the welfare rolls. I think that is very honorable that she
did that. She worked so hard. As a Republican, I have to
take my hat off to Julia for reducing the cost of that
township trustee's office. She did a fantastic job.
She worked here in the Congress for a long time. Her
health started failing, as you all know, in the last
couple of years, but she continued to try to serve her
constituents as best she could. Julia was loved, literally
loved by all of the people she served in Indianapolis. She
worked so hard and so long, and I know everybody in the
Indiana delegation and in Indiana will miss her. And I
know her good friend, Andy Jacobs, grieves for her as well
as we do tonight.
I would just like to say that Julia, we miss you and we
wish you Godspeed.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. If we could ask for a moment of silence
in the House, please.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. I ask everyone to please rise.
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I offer a
privileged resolution (H. Res. 880) and ask for its
immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 880
Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow
of the death of the Honorable Julia Carson, a
Representative from the State of Indiana.
Resolved, That a committee of such Members of the House
as the Speaker may designate, together with such Members
of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the
funeral.
Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be
authorized and directed to take such steps as may be
necessary for carrying out the provisions of these
resolutions and that the necessary expenses in connection
therewith be paid out of applicable accounts of the House.
Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions
[to] the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family
of the deceased.
Resolved, That when the House adjourns today, it adjourn
as a further mark of respect to the memory of the
deceased.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in reverence of
the trailblazing life led by our colleague, Congresswoman
Julia Carson, and to commemorate the myriad achievements
attached to her name. She spent over 35 of her years--more
than half of her life--as a spirited public servant,
pushing her message of hope and equality in the Indiana
Legislature, and subsequently, the Halls of Congress.
Her 1996 election from the Indianapolis district marked
a litany of historic firsts: the first woman, the first
African American from that area to serve in the House, and
up until her passing, the only one in that delegation to
fit that profile. Hers was a unique--strong, proud--voice,
and the people of her district--the people of America--
were all the better for it.
Known to all as ``Miss Julia,'' Congresswoman Carson was
raised in modest conditions and retained that modesty
throughout. She was born to a single mother, a
housekeeper, who instilled in her the core values that
impelled her to always agitate for justice. Her
convictions drove her to be a vehement critic of the Iraq
invasion of 2003, and her respect for history led her to
push for the conferring of a Congressional Gold Medal to
civil rights heroine Rosa Parks.
Representative Carson, herself, was a heroine, and
although her presence is infinitely missed, her
aspirations for this great Nation will never leave us.
Mr. BACA. Madam Speaker, I stand here today to mourn the
loss of a friend, and celebrate the life of a dedicated
public servant and exemplary American.
Congresswoman Julia Carson was a trailblazer and an
inspiration to her colleagues here in the House of
Representatives.
Before beginning her political career, Congresswoman
Carson raised two children as a single, working mother.
She first ventured into politics in the 1960s, when she
went to work for then-Congressman Andrew Jacobs.
From then on she served as a State representative, State
senator, city trustee, and U.S. Representative.
Throughout her distinguished career, Congresswoman
Carson never forgot who she was or where she came from.
She served as a constant advocate for those in her
community who had no voice.
Since first coming to Congress in 1999, I have had the
extreme privilege of working with Congresswoman Carson on
a number of issues.
In particular, we worked together to champion the cause
of minority and socially disadvantaged farmers--who have
traditionally faced many discriminatory obstacles.
In all our work together, I was amazed by her passion
and her simple dedication to doing the right thing.
Madam Speaker, Congresswoman Carson will be deeply
missed by her family, friends, constituents, and
colleagues here in Congress.
But her actions have left a bold legacy of action that
will continue in the lives of those she has touched.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, it is
with great sadness that I recognize the life and passing
of colleague Congresswoman Julia Carson of Indiana's
Seventh District. I have known this extraordinary person
for a long time. She was a woman of principle who
unabashedly championed the issues in which she believed.
Her constituents and the Nation have lost a great
legislator and an outstanding leader.
Congresswoman Carson made history in 1996 by becoming
the first woman and the first African American
Indianapolis has ever sent to Congress. And she came to
Congress with one mission--to improve the lives of the
people of her community. Even as she rose to a position of
prominence in this body, she never forgot the people she
was sent here to serve. She truly dedicated her career to
them--and for that, earned the respect and gratitude of
all Americans.
Since her days in the Indiana State Senate,
Congresswoman Carson has been committed to helping seniors
live with independence and dignity as they age. Throughout
her career, she has provided exceptional leadership and
devoted service to America's senior citizens.
Congresswoman Carson was also a strong proponent of the
civil rights movement, scaling the barriers imposed by
poverty and sexism. She was a leader in advocating for
voting rights, and worked diligently for the health and
income needs of people experiencing homelessness and
families at risk of homelessness. As a member of the
Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, Congresswoman Carson
worked to address the most pressing needs of her
constituents and this Nation.
In the 108th Congress, Congresswoman Carson was the
sponsor of the largest Amtrak reauthorization bill, the
National Defense Rail Act, which provided the rail
passenger system with over $40 billion in funds to develop
high-speed rail corridors and aid in the development of
short distance corridors between larger urban centers.
Madam Speaker, Indiana has lost a powerful legislator.
The Nation has lost a great leader. The Congress will
mourn Julia Carson for her enormous intellectual ability
and her huge heart. I will miss an irreplaceable colleague
and friend.
And yet, I know that while her loss will be deeply felt,
the memory of her kindness and the recollection of her
good deeds will transcend into future generations.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do
now adjourn.
The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 11 o'clock and
56 minutes p.m.), under its previous order and pursuant to
House Resolution 880, the House adjourned until tomorrow,
Tuesday, December 18, 2007, at 9 a.m., for morning-hour
debate, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the
late Honorable Julia Carson.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Mr. ELLSWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in sadness, but
also to honor the life and memory of the gentlewoman from
Indiana that passed this week, Congresswoman Julia Carson.
Julia will be remembered as a political trailblazer, a
tireless advocate and dedicated public servant to the
people of Indiana.
Her life was a shining example of the power of the
American dream: rising from the humble beginnings of
poverty and segregation to become a leading champion for
civil rights, women's rights and the working poor in this
House. She leaves behind a legacy of standing up for those
most vulnerable among us. But most of all, Julia
accomplished what we should all strive to do. She left the
world a better place than when she found it. She will be
deeply missed by this House, by me, and by the people of
Indiana. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and
friends during this difficult time.
Mr. KENNEDY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to stand with
my colleagues to honor a truly remarkable Member of
Congress, my friend, Julia Carson.
There are a lot of people in Washington, DC, that
sometimes forget their roots or why they want to be here;
not Julia Carson. Julia never forgot why she was here or
who she represented. She was here to expand the
opportunities for others, to end inequalities in our
society, and to seek justice for every American.
One of her most significant and meaningful
accomplishments in the House was her effort to honor Rosa
Parks with a Congressional Gold Medal. In the remarks that
Julia delivered when she introduced this bill, she said,
``the quiet courage of Rosa Parks changed the course of
American history.''
For those of us who knew and worked with Julia, we knew
that she was not always quiet, but that the course of
American history has always been changed by her courage.
One of Julia's greatest attributes was that it didn't
matter who you were or where you came from or the color of
your skin or the money in your pocket. She was happy to
work with anyone who shared her commitment to treating
everyone with respect and dignity.
Her relationship with a good friend of hers, Alan Hogan,
comes to mind. Somehow, at age 17, a suburban boy from
southeastern Indiana found a mentor in Ms. Julia. Their
mutual affection for each other and their work to promote
justice and equality resonated with Alan and turned into a
lifelong friendship. Her actions inspired Alan to fight to
end social injustices, including working to ensure that
young African American athletes were not exploited for
their talents and that they received quality education
when recruited to top-notch colleges and universities for
their athletic scholarships.
Ms. Julia affected Alan's life in a profound way, and I
know she has uplifted countless others that I cannot begin
to list here tonight. While she may have had many pieces
of legislation that she could acknowledge as great
accomplishments, I see an army of volunteers, like Alan,
who will continue to carry her work as the greatest of her
legacies.
Julia's humanity always pierced through people's
preconceived notions of what kind of stereotype she should
fit into. You could never pigeonhole Julia Carson or
predict what she could do or what she would say next. And
it often left all of us at the edge of our seat, trying to
predict what she would say next.
Julia has said that it was Rosa Parks who paved the way
for her to come to Congress. I believe that Julia's work
as a Representative has paved the way and opened the doors
for countless young Americans who I hope will follow in
her footsteps and achieve great things.
Thank you, Ms. Julia Carson, for your friendship and for
your legacy of justice and equality for all. We love you,
and we will always miss you.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 18, 2007, the gentlewoman from Ohio
(Mrs. Jones) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee
of the majority leader.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, 1 Samuel 20:18 reads
as follows: ``Then Jonathan said to David, tomorrow is the
New Moon Festival. You will be missed because your seat
will be empty.''
Tonight, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Indiana
delegation pause to celebrate the life of a great woman
whose seat now stands empty here in the House of
Representatives, Congresswoman Julia Carson.
Congresswoman Carson passed away this past Saturday
after a long bout with lung cancer. And while her seat is
empty, her spirit lives on in our hearts. She was unique.
She often reminded me of the elders in my family. They are
strong in their convictions and don't pull any punches
when making their point; yet they have a witty and
humorous way about them that can disarm even their most
ardent opponent. That was Congresswoman Julia Carson.
Even though she was in her last illness, she did not let
that stop her from advocating on behalf of her
constituents. And she never complained. She always greeted
you with a warm smile and that unmistakable humor which
always made you feel good.
She was a trailblazer, born in poverty and racial
segregation to a teenage single mother. She came through
the political ranks to become the first African American
and woman elected to Congress from Indianapolis. A strong
advocate for her constituents, she was not afraid to take
a stand, be it popular or unpopular.
Madam Speaker, I will include for the Record an article
in today's Roll Call that was written by her predecessor
Andy Jacobs as a guest observer and was entitled
``Remembering Congress' Jewel Named Julia.'' It is a
wonderful article. I won't go through it because we have a
lot of people here who want to speak about their
remembrances of our wonderful colleague Julia Carson.
[From Roll Call, December 18, 2007]
Remembering Congress' Jewel Named Julia
(By Andy Jacobs, Jr.)
``Look where he came from and look where he went; and
wasn't he a kind of tough struggler all his life right up
to the finish?'' The words are those of Carl Sandburg in
praise of Abraham Lincoln. The same praise could and
should be said of our sister, the late Rep. Julia Carson
(D-Ind.), who has passed beyond the sound of our voices
into the sunset of her temporal life and into a dawn of
history.
Where did she come from? Same place as Lincoln--
Kentucky. And like him, she was born both to physical
poverty and spiritual wealth, and moved to Indiana.
Another similarity: Julia also had an ``angel mother,''
Velma Porter, who put a lot of physical, mental and
spiritual nutrients into the little flowerpot of her only
child.
Fast-forward to a month after my first and improbable
election to Congress. I was told by mutual friends that at
the Chrysler UAW office, I could find a remarkable woman
to join me as a co-worker in my Washington Congressional
office. Remarkable? Understatement. Thus began my 47-year
friendship and, eventually virtual sibling-ship with the
already honorable Julia Carson, one of the most
intelligent, ethical, industrious and compassionate people
I have ever known.
Check out her first Congressional brainstorm. It started
a national trend. Why make constituents in need of
Congressional assistance with bureaucratic problems travel
all the way to D.C. to get it? Why not take that part of
the office to them? So we adopted her suggestion and did
our ``case work'' in Indianapolis with Julia at the helm.
It set an example that has been followed by other
Congressional offices all over the country ever since. OK,
there was one other factor. She had two little kids she
preferred to rear in Indianapolis, doing well by her kids
by doing good for her country.
Later, my refusal to bring home a particularly
pernicious piece of political pork earned me a severe
gerrymander that, together with the Nixon landslide,
ejected me from Congress. Nothing is all bad; the
beneficiary of the gerrymander was my much-admired friend,
Bill Hudnut (R). That was the year I had to talk Julia
into running for the state House of Representatives. She
thought it would be disloyal to our friendship because it
would take her away from my campaign, which was a campaign
of futility that year.
She was elected to the state House, where she served
with distinction and, in time, she became a state Senator,
again gaining friends and admirers on both sides of the
aisle.
Still later, she became the Center Township trustee and
produced real ``welfare reform,'' not with ignorant
histrionic speeches and braggadocio, but with hard, quiet
and meticulous work. It was reform that broke no poor
child's heart, nor sent such a child to bed hungry. She
not only ferreted out welfare cheats, but also sued them
and got the money back for the taxpayers. Her reform wiped
out a long-standing multimillion-dollar debt, moving the
then-Marion County Republican auditor to say, ``She
wrestled the monster to the ground.''
Julia was unique in that she was the only human being
ever to be named Woman of the Year by The Indianapolis
Star on two different occasions.
It was common parlance to say, ``Congresswoman Carson's
people,'' a reference to poor black constituents. Rubbish.
The 7th district is about 70 percent nonblack and ``her
people'' were all the people of the 7th, regardless of
physical or economic description. Millionaires can be
treated unjustly by the federal government just as middle-
and low-income citizens can. And wherever there was
injustice, this Lincoln-like lady was there to redress it.
Her political philosophy was a plank from the Sermon on
the Mount: ``Blessed are they who thirst for justice.''
There's another one: ``Blessed are the peacemakers.''
She cast our vote against the conspicuously
unconstitutional resolution that gave the Cheney gang a
fig leaf to order our innocent military to the fraudulent
and internationally illegal blood-soaked blunder in Iraq.
Julia called me just before she cast that vote and said
that, in view of the dishonesty, panic and jingoism of the
moment, she expected to lose the next election.
``Courage,'' my mother said, ``is fear that has said its
prayers.''
Our Julia, who art in Heaven.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I am going to begin with the dean of
the Indiana delegation, Representative Dan Burton.
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the
gentlewoman for yielding, and I want to thank the Black
Caucus for taking this special order tonight. Julia Carson
was a friend of mine and a friend of Steve Buyer. We
traveled back and forth on the plane from Indianapolis to
Washington on a regular basis and we got to know each
other.
Julia was a wonderful person, very highly regarded by
the people of Indianapolis. In fact, she is the only woman
in the history of the city who was recognized as Woman of
the Year by the Indianapolis Star twice. That honor came
to her by readers of the paper voting for her. That was
quite an honor, an honor that has not been bestowed upon
any other woman in the city's history.
The thing I really liked about Julia was that even
though she was a Democrat and I was a Republican, we
worked together on a lot of issues that were very
important to central Indiana and the city of Indianapolis.
I remember one case in particular that dealt with the
Children's Museum. I talked to Julia about it, and she
took the bull by the horns and worked very hard to make
sure that the problems that we had with the Children's
Museum were resolved, and I really admired her for that.
Her predecessor and her buddy, Andy Jacobs, to whom you
just referred in that article, really loved her like a
sister. Andy served here for, I think, 28 or 30 years, and
he is a very dear friend of mine, and Andy has told me on
a number of occasions the great contributions that Julia
made to him and his staff when she worked for him before
she became a Congresswoman.
She was a State representative. When Andy was defeated
in 1972, he urged her to run for the Indiana House of
Representatives, and she did. She was elected, and then
she was later elected to the Indiana State Senate. Then
she ran for the Center Township Trustee's job in
Indianapolis and was elected to that.
The thing I talked about yesterday when we were
acknowledging Julia that I didn't know much about until
just recently was that when she took over the Center
Township Trustee's job, it was in a chaotic situation. And
she was able to take care of the needs of the people of
Indianapolis that really needed help and at the same time
to reduce the debt of the trustee's office, and that was
something that I think all of us, Republican or Democrat,
really can admire.
She was a very fine Congresswoman. She was a very fine
person. She always had a smile for everybody, and I really
appreciated knowing her. She shall be missed. I think that
she is probably in heaven looking down on us right now.
Julia, you did a good job.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I now yield to my
colleague and good friend, the chair of the Congressional
Black Caucus, Congresswoman Kilpatrick. I had an
opportunity to visit with Congresswoman Carson a couple of
weeks before her passing. It was a wonderful chance. I
yield to our chair of the Congressional Black Caucus,
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.
Ms. KILPATRICK. Madam Speaker, Members of the House of
Representatives, and people across this great Nation of
ours, we have lost a jewel in Julia Carson.
I met the Congresswoman some 30 years ago, she from the
legislature in Indiana and I from the legislature in
Michigan, served 18 years together in those legislative
bodies, and then came here together in 1997 to begin our
tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, she from
Indiana, me from Michigan.
We both got assigned to the Financial Services Committee
our first term, she from Indiana and I from Michigan. And
together, during this 10 years of journey, we have worked
together in this House of Representatives. Courageous,
bold, smart, intelligent, compassionate. All those things
that you want in a public servant, Julia Carson was that.
To the people of Indianapolis, the State of Indiana, you
have lost a jewel. And all that we ask in this body of 435
of the most powerful people in the world, as well as the
100 most powerful people in the Senate, is that you send
us another Julia Carson: intelligent, bold, compassionate,
a coordinator, one who speaks for the people that she
represents.
Ms. Carson and I have had many battles and many
struggles together. As was mentioned earlier by our
chairperson of our Ethics Committee who is handling this
special order tonight, she and I were in Indiana in her
room with her 2 weeks ago. She looked beautiful. Her skin
was radiant. Her heart was strong. And she said to us,
thank you. Thank you to us as her sisters, and thank you
to the people of Indiana who have been with her for over
30 years.
It is important that we come together tonight as members
of the Congressional Black Caucus as well as members of
the Indiana caucus, because we know she lives. We know she
is in these walls and looking upon us now. What are you
doing, girl? What are you all talking about? Thank you,
Julia. We love you, my sister.
And as we continue in our journey today, let's take a
little bit of Congresswoman Julia Carson with us,
dedicated, compassionate, take no prisoners, speak for the
least of these. Thank you, my sister. And may you rest in
peace.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. At this time, I yield to
Representative Peter Visclosky, who is the dean of the
Democrat delegation of Indiana.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, my
good friend from Ohio, to honor Julia Carson and her life
of work to the people she represented in her district, to
the people of Indiana, and this country.
Yesterday on this floor, I talked about the light that
Julia cast upon all of us, whether it was the twinkle in
her eye or her burning desire to make the world a better
place. This evening, I would like to talk about the
strength of her character.
Julia, when she was a young child, had a stuttering
problem; but it was corrected and she was not deterred. As
a 12 year old, her mother, who scrubbed floors and took
care of families and didn't get paid if she was sick,
became ill; and at some point, the money had run out.
Julia went to the trustee's office to seek help, and,
ultimately, cornmeal and lard were pushed across the
counter to her.
When Julia was 4 years old, for the only time in her
life, she met her father. Her father promised that he was
going to be a constant figure in her life. He gave her $5,
and he was never seen again. Her mother remarried to
someone who used to beat her. And often her mother could
not come to her school events because he was someplace
taking care of someone else's children. And she certainly,
being a product of that time and that place, was subject
to racism.
In an article she wrote in March 1996, when she was
running for Congress, entitled ``My Neighbor as Myself,''
she related one of those instances. And I think it really
summed up Julia, who could be very tough but also have a
gentle touch. She wrote:
Another more amusing experience with racial stereotyping
occurred when I worked with Congressman Andy Jacobs. One
particular woman called our office quite often to complain
about a wide variety of problems. I tried to be patient
with her.
I never realized that my many conversations with this
woman had all occurred on the telephone until one day when
she called, quite agitated, to inform me that a horrible
thing had happened: a black family had moved in next door
to her.
It took me a minute to overcome my surprise, as she
simply assumed that this competent public servant had to
be white. However, after thinking about a wide assortment
of possible responses, I simply replied, ``It is OK,
honey. Just give it a chance. I have black families living
all over my neighborhood, and it has turned out all
right.''
And you could just see Julia saying that.
In the end, many people would be embittered by
experiences like that, but Julia was not. And as Andy
Jacobs, her very dear friend, wrote:
From the physical pain of material poverty and the
mindless cruel persecution of racism, Julia Carson made
her choice, a choice of hard work, compassion, and a
pleasing sense of humor. And heaven smiled.
And I know heaven is smiling on Julia tonight.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. At this time, I yield to the chair
of the Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, who is
the chair of the committee that Julia served upon.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I thank my friend from Ohio
and the other friends who have gathered to, really, mourn
our own loss.
I served on the Financial Services Committee with Julia
Carson. And let's be honest, there are Members of this
body who, if you get to see them coming before they see
you, you may not have a long conversation. But I sought
Julia's company. She was a dedicated fighter for social
justice, but she was also a delightful woman.
She had that kind of air she put on of, ``Oh, poor me.''
I feel sorry for anybody who fell for it. She had a
brilliant mind, a wonderful sense of strategy, and, as I
said, she put all that at the service of caring for poor
people. As a member of the Financial Services Committee,
she was a constant unyielding advocate for fairness in our
society.
And I do also want to note, a number of people have
mentioned my former colleague, many of us served with him,
Andy Jacobs. Andy was the Congressman from that district.
He retired. And rarely has any politician fought as hard
for another politician as Andy Jacobs did to elect Julia
Carson. And to the minds of many, Julia wasn't a natural
fit. People thought that she was not conservative enough
for the district, not, let's be honest, white enough for
the district. And race continues to be the besetting
problem of America. We have made some progress in it. We
haven't solved it.
Andy Jacobs' dedication to helping to elect Julia, and,
obviously, she got there on her own, but Andy's helping
run interference as Julia carried that ball really was one
of the great acts of statesmanship, and then Julia made
the most of the opportunity.
I had the pleasure of going out to her district a couple
of times because there was this sense on the part of some
that a woman like Julia Carson, with her background and
her set of values, couldn't possibly represent
Indianapolis. Somehow they thought that something had gone
wrong. But the people knew better, and the people stood by
her. And they stood by her because she was, as I said, as
staunch a fighter for making this the kind of America we
all want to live in as I ever saw.
I miss her a great deal. I miss coming into the
committee and seeing her pretending to look kind or angry
and sad, with a twinkle in her eye ready for that comment
that was going to put everything in perspective. Julia
Carson was a wonderful Member of this body. And the
dignity with which she bore her last months of pain
troubled all of us, but it was a fitting example of the
extraordinary quality of a great woman.
I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio and others for giving
us this chance to express our appreciation for having had
the benefit of her colleagueship for a while.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I yield time now to Mr. Buyer, a
member of the Indiana delegation.
Mr. BUYER. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.
I have to agree with my friend and colleague, Barney
Frank. We watched someone of great strength suffer from
the cruelness of cancer. And it was really hard to watch
Julia.
This is an individual that I spent more time in the
airport with than ever here in Congress. And those of us
who fly back and forth, we know what that is like. For 11
years in the Indianapolis airport is really where I spent
most of my time with Julia Carson. She and I shared a
subcommittee leadership on the Veterans' Affairs
Committee, but that doesn't even come close to the times
in the Indianapolis airport.
I would rather remember the lady that I first met. Julia
Carson is a lady who wore a big hat, with a witty
personality, with a great smile, and a big heart.
And I also pity the individual who fell for any of her,
oh, shucky darns wit, I just don't understand; can you
help explain it to me? Because you lost if you believed
any of that.
She suckered me in pretty good when it came to the
support of the Midfield terminal with the Indianapolis
airport. She had just got on the Transportation Committee.
She understood the need for infrastructure for a city like
Indianapolis and, gee, she wanted some of my help. And
before I realized it, I am carrying the water heater,
getting the letter, getting the support from all of the
Indiana delegation, and said, oh, it would be OK if you go
down and talk to the FAA. I mean, she was steering me the
whole time. But I didn't mind. It was for the betterment
of Indianapolis and Indiana. But don't let anybody fool
you who was really controlling the strings here. It was
Julia.
And what a great lady. A great lady, because this
Hoosier treated kindness like grain. She understood that,
if she sows it, kindness will only increase. And I think
she used that in her life. She used a kindness to go after
her political enemies. She used that big smile and
kindness to achieve great things. And it was also an
endearing quality about her. And that is what I want to
remember about Julia the most.
I have to end with this, because she loved her
Indianapolis Colts. When it came to the redistricting in
Indiana, and we all know what redistricting is like:
sometimes maps and the lines can go down the alleyways and
sidewalks almost. But she made sure that her district was
etched in and that it took the headquarters of the
Indianapolis Colts and the training facility because she
wanted her boys, as she told me. I said, ``Julia, I have
got most of this territory all surrounded, and you went
deep down the road and etched out and took them out.'' And
she smiled and she said, ``Those are my boys.'' And she
loved her Indianapolis Colts, and I am glad that she got
to see the Colts have that Super Bowl on her watch,
because it only made her smile even that much greater and
that much bigger. And that is the Julia Carson that I
remember and loved.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I want to comment as well that I
will remember Julia Carson because she was a fantastic
dresser. She was always immaculately dressed, all kinds of
wonderful outfits. And I always think about how great she
used to look as she came on the floor.
At this time, I yield time to my colleague and good
friend from the great State of North Carolina, a former
chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Mel Watt.
Mr. WATT. Let me, first of all, thank the gentlelady for
convening this special order in memory of our dear friend
and colleague, Julia Carson.
If you didn't know Julia Carson, you probably would
think she was a study in contradictions. That is kind of
always the way I felt about her. She was a person who,
from the very beginning when she came to Congress, which
was the first time I met her, appeared to be a very
fragile person. You would see her on the floor and she
didn't appear to be well; and yet you would go on a trip
to South Africa, and there she would be out among the
children meeting with them and undertaking the rigors of
an international trip that you knew was an imposition
physically on the most physically fit Member of Congress.
You would see her and talk to her and her voice would be
so mild and gentle, and yet when she undertook an issue,
it was just like a metamorphosis because she was so
articulate and passionate about that issue. And you would
see her and she would look at you sternly and make a quip,
and you would walk away thinking it was kind of a
straightforward statement. And then all of a sudden it
would dawn on you she had zinged you without you even
being aware of a subtle point that she had made.
There were these contradictions there that I loved about
Julia Carson. Once you got to know her, sometimes she
would game you, as Barney Frank has indicated. She would
appear unsophisticated politically, and then all of a
sudden she would pull one of the most important political
maneuvers, like the tribute to Rosa Parks that took such
delicate balancing to pull the elements together. This was
a lady of contradictions, apparent contradictions, yet
once you got to know Julia Carson, you knew there was one
person there who was just steady as a rock. She was solid.
We loved her and we express our sincere condolences to her
family.
With that I know there are many who wish to speak, so I
yield back.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I yield to the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Pence).
Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentlewoman for calling this
special order, and I am very humbled to be able to stand
on behalf of the people of eastern Indiana and express my
deepest sympathies to the family and colleagues of my
friend, the late Julia Carson.
The Bible tells us to mourn with those who mourn and to
grieve with those who grieve. Tonight on the floor of
Congress, we gather to do just that. To mourn with the
many tens of thousands of grateful constituents who are
remembering Julia Carson this week and who owe a debt of
gratitude to her for 30 years of service to the people of
Indianapolis that they know in their hearts they will
never be able to repay.
I grieve the passing of Julia Carson for a variety of
reasons. First, for her service. She will be remembered as
a pioneering leader in the State of Indiana. As the first
woman and the first African American elected to Congress
from Indianapolis, she will be long remembered in Indiana
public life.
I will remember her throughout my own years in politics
in trying to get into politics, seeming to see her
contribute first as a State legislator, then as a
legendary Center Township Trustee in Indianapolis, and
later elected to the U.S. Congress. She was, and I say
with affection, a fierce political competitor and
succeeded at everything she tried to do, in politics and
public service.
The gentle demeanor that we are remembering tonight
belied a freight train of effectiveness that was Julia
Carson. And I experienced that effectiveness, usually on
the losing side of an argument. But what I would always
find in Julia Carson is, while she was a fierce advocate
here on the floor of the Congress for what she understood
to be the needs of her district and the obligations of the
law and of justice, that walking back to our offices after
the fact, I would never fail to be moved by her gentleness
and her kindness and her decency, which leads me to the
other piece of Julia that I will always treasure, and that
was her profound Christian faith.
I must tell you as a cheerful conservative Republican
elected to Congress having observed her career from afar,
I would have told anyone in Indiana that the last person I
expected to be friends with in Congress was Julia Carson.
She was tough. She was effective. She was liberal. But
when I arrived in Congress as a new freshman, she reached
out to me, and she reached out to me on the basis of our
shared Christian faith. And it was on that foundation that
we built a friendship.
And we, on occasion, found ways to work together.
Working with her to pass legislation authored by another
colleague in the Chamber today, the Second Chance Act, it
would be Julia Carson who would appeal to this House
conservative about the needs of breaking the cycle of
recidivism and crime that beset so many families in the
underserved community, but it would be her heart on that
matter that would reach me with the wisdom of the Second
Chance Act. And part of her legacy here today will be the
success that we have seen that legislation experience this
year and, I trust, in the future.
Every time I would ask her in her infirmity in the last
year and a half how she was doing, I don't know how she
would answer the rest of the Members here, Madam Speaker,
but whenever I would quietly say, ``Julia, really, how are
you doing?'' she would smile in that infirmity and say,
``I am blessed by the best.'' No complaints, no grumbling.
``Blessed by the best'' will be her legacy in my heart. To
know that as I have the privilege of serving here,
whatever the condition in which I serve, I will understand
He who placed me here.
I think of that great verse. I don't know what the
pastor will say at Eastern Star Saturday. My wife Karen
and I will be there, as I know most of this Chamber would
wish to be there at her funeral. I don't know what the
pastor of that great church will say, but when I think of
Julia Carson, I think of that mandate that we are called
to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with our
God.
The Julia Carson I remember tonight and will always
remember throughout my years in public service did justice
as she understood it. She loved kindness even to those
with whom she differed, and every day she was here, she
walked humbly in the service of the people of Indiana. For
that, we, as a State and as a Nation, will be eternally
grateful.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. At this time it gives me pleasure to
yield to my colleague and good friend from California,
Barbara Lee.
Ms. LEE. I thank the gentlelady for yielding and for
calling this special order to recognize and honor the
extraordinary life of our dear friend and colleague Julia
May Carson.
First, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to
her family and her constituents of Indiana's Seventh
Congressional District, to her friends and to her staff
here in Washington, DC, and in Indiana. For over 35 years,
Congresswoman Carson championed the rights of the
underprivileged, the underrepresented, and the overlooked.
We came to depend on her determined leadership and
commitment throughout her tenure in Congress. So a true
voice for the voiceless was taken from us on December 15.
We shared many conversations about our common interests.
We frequently talked about the fact that we both shared
the same astrological sign. We are both Cancers. Julia's
birthday was July 8. Mine is July 16. Julia Carson was
fiercely loyal and patriotic, and that supposedly is a
typical characteristic of Cancers. She exemplified those
values in many ways. Her loyalty and her patriotism were
what undergirded and served as the foundation for her
career in public service.
In coming to the House floor to vote, I would pass by
her office. Oftentimes, I would walk with Julia. We would
share many conversations. But even to this day I noticed,
and I would like for you to look at the plaque outside her
door, she has the pictures of at least 45 of Indiana's
fallen men and women who have served this country. She
kept their pictures in her office. She loved the troops.
She loved her district and our young men and women.
She was a woman of courage. Congresswoman Carson was an
adamant opponent of the Iraq war, and we talked about this
a lot, even though it could pose political risks, but she
let her conscience be her guide.
I witnessed her passion for justice when I served with
her on the Housing Subcommittee with Congresswoman Waters,
her passion for the homelessness and seeking housing for
homeless public recipients. What a woman.
Very recently, even with her debilitating illness,
several months ago she came to me and asked me to help
her. We were putting this together, to put together
another visit to South Africa. She wanted to lead a codel.
And of course her health would not allow for this
exhausting trip, but I will always remember up until a
couple of months ago her optimism and determination to go
back to South Africa. She wouldn't take ``no'' for an
answer.
We are going to miss Congresswoman Carson tremendously.
I am reminded of the scriptures, 2 Timothy 4:7: ``I have
fought the good fight. I have finished the race, and I
have remained faithful.''
Madam Speaker, Congresswoman Julia Carson fought hard.
She fought hard for peace and justice all of her life, and
she completed her work on this Earth, but it is up to us
to pick up that baton and to move it forward in her
memory.
And she remained faithful. She remained faithful to the
end to her family, her friends, her constituents, her
country, and most importantly to her God. May her soul
rest in peace.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield to the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I want to thank
the gentlewoman from Ohio for yielding, and I am pleased
to join my colleagues as we pay tribute to Representative
Julia Carson.
Julia and I were elected at the same time and soon
discovered that we knew many of the same people because a
large number of individuals from the town where I grew up
migrated to Indianapolis and became very much involved in
the affairs of the city.
We also discovered that Julia and my cousin were good
friends because they were the longest serving African
Americans elected in Indiana. They both had been trustees
for a long time, Julia in Indianapolis and Dozier Allen in
Gary.
Julia and I worked together on something called
responsible fatherhood legislation that we had been
working on with Senator Evan Bayh from Indiana and Senator
Barack Obama from Illinois. We introduced that legislation
and actually planned to give it a real push in 2008. If we
are able to really move it, I would like to see us
actually name it the Julia Carson Responsible Fatherhood
Act.
And so it's been a pleasure working with Julia.
She actually would drive. Well, she wouldn't always
drive herself, but sometimes she would, from Indianapolis
to Chicago. We had a hearing at the Federal Reserve Bank,
and when I got to downtown Chicago, there was Julia in her
van, coming to testify. And all of us knew that she'd been
ill. All of us knew the difficulty that she had. And I
said, ``Julia, how did you get here?'' She said, ``Ain't
nothing but a little sport.''
And so Julia, we're going to miss you. You were a brave
soul, had a great heart. Julia is a legend in
Indianapolis. I mean, those of us who know her here, we
know her in a sense. But in Indianapolis, she's an
absolute legend.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Carol and I will remember that Julia
kept saying to us, look out for Andre. She loved her son
and daughter, but she loved that grandson, Andre Carson.
It gives me great pleasure at this time to yield time to
Joe Donnelly, a member of the Indiana delegation.
Mr. DONNELLY. It is interesting you mention Andre,
because I was at Julia's house just about a week or two
ago where they had a vigil in Indianapolis while Julia was
so sick, and Andre was outside. And the amazing thing was
it was a spontaneous vigil that had started approximately
3 in the afternoon on a Friday. And in a matter of just a
few hours, we all congregated at her house at
approximately 6:30. And so I headed over there, and it was
spectacular, to say the least. There were police cars
everywhere, and what they were trying to do was control
the huge crowd that had come to Julia's house to testify
for her, pray for her, and show her how much they loved
her.
And at that time, Julia was so ill that she was not able
to come outside the house. But she had friends and
relatives come out and say Julia isn't able to come out
and speak for herself, but she told us to tell you how
much she loved you. And the best part of the crowd was
that it wasn't the captains of industry. It wasn't all the
famous politicians over the years from Indiana. It was the
regular, everyday folks who came out to show her how much
they appreciated her hard work over the years; that every
time they needed a champion, Julia Carson was there for
them. And when you needed a friend, and Julia Carson stood
up for you, you had no stronger champion.
I'm from the South Bend area, and I called Julia during
a very tough congressional race that nobody thought could
be won and asked, ``could you come up and help me?'' She
said, ``Son, I'll be on my way.'' When she came up, the
crowds came out. I remember we have a railway system there
that's critical to our infrastructure, and Julia was able
to get so much of the funding for it. She wanted to take a
ride and the press was out there, and she was still ill at
that time. The train was supposed to leave at 8 in the
morning. About five of 8, no Julia, about 8, still no
Julia. Her chief of staff was standing there very nervous,
and he said, ``she'll be here very soon.'' The conductor
said, ``well, we have to go.'' I turned to the conductor
and I said, ``my guess is you'd be better off waiting.''
About 8:15, Julia came, and it was like the queen of
Indiana had arrived and everybody cheering and saying
hello. She leaned over to me with a big smile and said,
``I love trains and I'm looking forward to going for this
ride.'' It was that spirit of warmth and enjoyment.
I followed her one time at an event where everybody had
5 minutes to speak and I followed Julia Carson. Telling
Julia Carson she had 5 minutes to speak was like waving a
red flag in front of a bull. So Julia spoke for 41 minutes
and then she looked over at me and said, ``Sorry about
that.'' The gentleman in charge of the event looked at me
and said, ``your 5 minutes is now 1\1/2\ minutes.'' I got
up, and the only thing I could say is, ``How do you follow
someone who has spoken so eloquently and said so much?''
We will miss her in an extraordinary way. She had a
wonderful staff, people truly devoted to her. But more
than anything, she was devoted to her beloved city of
Indianapolis, and they repaid that love to her with their
care and affection and devotion.
One other thing, politically, I don't think she ever
lost a race. Can you imagine that? Time after time after
time, they underestimated Ms. Carson, and Ms. Carson
always came out on top.
It was an extraordinary privilege to know her and, at
the end, to see the dignity of her suffering. I know they
said of Pope John Paul II that some of his finest moments
were the dignity he showed in the suffering he went
through. We all saw it here at the House of
Representatives, how hard Julia tried, how hard she
struggled because she wanted to keep working hard for her
beloved city. It may well have been that her most
dignified, most powerful moments were the struggles she
went through at the end.
So to Julia, we love you. We miss you, and I look
forward to seeing you on Friday.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. At this time I'd like to yield to
the majority leader, Steny Hoyer of Maryland.
Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. I met
Andy Jacobs in the Young Democrats, many years ago. I
drove Andy Jacobs to a speaking engagement at the Young
Democrats at a restaurant not too far from the Baltimore
Washington International Airport. A few years later I was
elected to Congress, and Andy Jacobs was a Member of the
Congress of the United States, a member of the Ways and
Means Committee, an extraordinary Member of this House.
There came a time shortly thereafter when Andy decided to
retire. There were a number of people who expressed an
interest in running for this seat. Andy came to me and he
said, ``Julia Carson's going to win this race. You be for
Julia Carson.''
As our beloved colleague, Joe Donnelly, has just said,
she never lost a race.
Now, there were some pretty active people, men and
women, in that race; and we had met a couple of them. They
were pretty impressive. I had not met Julia Carson. But
Andy Jacobs, her predecessor, a Congressman for some 25
years, at least, said to me, ``Julia Carson's going to win
this race.'' And sure enough, Julia Carson won the race.
Those of us who served in this body had the privilege of
getting to know Julia Carson, getting to know her as a
friend, getting to know her as a colleague, getting to
know her as a leader in her community.
I went to Indianapolis. I saw my friend, my very close
and dear friend Baron Hill there. Baron and I have been in
Indianapolis a number of times, and I did a number of
fundraisers in Indianapolis for and with Julia. And then
in the last campaign I went out to Indianapolis to be with
Julia. We were at a senior citizens center, and it was the
essence of Julia Carson. Julia Carson, who was sort of one
of the most--``acerbic'' is not the right word; I've been
searching for the right word--but Julia could be very
direct. There was no fooling around. You knew where Julia
stood and you knew what she was thinking. She didn't have
time for just jiving. She knew what she wanted to say, she
knew what she wanted to do, and she told you.
I went to the senior center, and I spoke on her behalf.
But so many people were speaking on her behalf. It was
thought to be a tough campaign. She won better than she
was expected to win. But you got the essence of Julia
Carson as you went around and talked to those seniors who
had been active in the community for many, many years, as
Julia had been, who worked herself up to be a Member of
Congress, but she was not appointed by anybody.
The community loved Julia Carson. And when I say the
community, the community writ large, not the African
American community, the white community, this community or
that. The community loved Julia Carson because she was
honest, she was direct, she cared and she worked hard for
her people. Julia Carson was an asset to her district, to
Indianapolis, to Indiana, to this institution, the House
of Representatives, and to our country.
Julia Carson is now back home in Indiana. We'll miss
her. But this body was better for her service. And I thank
the gentlelady for giving me this brief time to pay honor
to a great woman and a great American.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. At this time I'd like to yield time
to my colleague and good friend from California, Diane
Watson.
Ms. WATSON. I'd like to thank Stephanie Tubbs Jones for
providing this opportunity for us to remember someone that
I considered a dear friend before I came to the House. I
met Julia in the 1970s, and we bonded together because we
were active in the National Conference of State
Legislators, the Black Caucus. We were the two women in
the senate. And once you meet Julia, you never forget her.
She had that kind of impact on you.
I remember her sitting up in the back with her head
hanging very low. She looked up and saw me. I'd say, ``How
are you feeling Julia,'' and she'd say, ``Oh, great.''
Well, you knew she wasn't feeling great.
But she said, ``You know, I want to go on a codel. So
I'm taking my own codel because no one here will take me
with them.'' That was Julia.
Then I remember going out and she was standing against
one of the pillars outside and hardly able to stand. I
said, ``Well, Julia, let me stand with you.'' She said,
``No, I'm holding on. My staff is coming after me.'' She
was the can-do-it person. Regardless how bad the time was,
she never let you know.
She was the second one who went out with dignity and
class and grace. I knew that the time would not be long,
because I called her office and I talked to her chief of
staff; and when he said he was sitting at her bedside, I
knew then that she wouldn't be back.
I saw Julia, like all of you did, as a leader, a
crusader, a humanist. She understood racism and
oppression, but she was never deterred by it. It only made
her more of a leader, more of a crusader and more
humanistic.
As a former Congressman, Andy Jacobs relates in Julia's
official biography, and I quote the Congressman:
The only thing some people learn from oppression is
hatred and revenge. Others learn compassion and empathy.
From the physical pain of material poverty and the
mindlessly cruel persecution of nitwit racism, Julia
Carson made her choice of hard work, compassion and a
pleasing sense of humor.
It is therefore fitting that in 1996, Julia Carson took
on the task of seeking the Congressional Gold Medal for
another pioneer in the struggle for human rights, Rosa
Parks.
It took nearly 3 years, but Julia did not falter. In May
1999, President Clinton signed into law Congresswoman
Julia Carson's bill to authorize the Congressional Gold
Medal for Rosa Parks, and we all came to be part of that
experience.
Julia Carson, who could rightfully take her place in the
company of Rosa Parks, was a woman of firsts. She was one
of the first women of color to run for countywide office
and then statewide office. She was the first African
American to represent Indianapolis in the U.S. Congress.
So I salute this incredible life of service that Julia
gave to her city, her State and her country. She is a
testament to a person who overcame many odds, who
persevered and left a legacy on which others may proudly
build.
Rest well, Julia. We know you're here, but we'll still
miss you. God bless.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, it gives me great
pleasure at this time to yield time to the Speaker of the
House, the gentlelady from California, Nancy Pelosi.
Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank very much my
colleague and thank you for calling us together so that we
can express our sympathy to the family of Julia Carson, to
her constituents whom she loved and worked so hard for,
and to our colleagues from Indiana; Mr. Visclosky, Mr.
Hill, Mr. Donnelly, and Mr. Ellsworth, who are here, this
great distinguished delegation from Indiana with the crown
jewel, Julia Carson, as one of the senior members of the
delegation.
Thank you so much. I know you are among those who were
the last, certainly from Congress, to visit with
Congresswoman Carson and conveyed back to us her usual
good cheer and dignity and demeanor, and that is how she
was.
So it's very sad to convey to her grandson Andre Carson
on behalf of all of the Members of the House of
Representatives the deep sadness that we have over their
suffering.
Members have talked about her in Congress and the kind
of person that she was, and I remember visiting her on a
number of occasions in Indianapolis, and what was a joy to
behold was the esteem in which she was held by all of the
people there, whether we were walking down the street or
talking to police officers there. Wherever it was we went
to events that she had, relating to health care, relating
to the issues that concerned America's working families.
People just worshiped Julia Carson. I never saw anything
like it.
She came to Congress, as has been mentioned, after
decades of distinguished service to the State of Indiana,
and Members have talked about her, the positions that she
has held. During her time in the House, she was a very
powerful advocate for the people of Indianapolis and for
working families across the Nation.
As the Indianapolis Star editorial board wrote, ``The
city's history-making congresswoman never forgot her
roots.''
I was listening as Members talked about the role that
she had played most recently, the Congresswoman from
California talking about the role she played in getting
the House to vote for a Congressional Gold Medal for Rosa
Parks.
I talked about how it was to watch Julia in Indianapolis
and just how people responded to her as she was walking
down the street, and I now talk about how it was the day
that she got this idea and started the ball rolling on
this and then the day that Rosa Parks came to the
Congress. It was a thrilling, historic day for all of us,
the bond between the two of them, the reverence in which
we all held Rosa Parks, and the appreciation that she had
for the work that Julia Carson had done to make that day
possible, not only for Rosa Parks but for the country.
She's a star. Julia was a star.
It's a fitting cause for her, as Julia and Rosa Parks
shared a quiet determination, a fierce sense of purpose
and a total commitment to an ideal of equality which is
our Nation's heritage and our Nation's hope.
Sadly, as we all know, in recent months, Julia Carson
faced illness, but she did so with her characteristic
courage and dignity. When she was here, she was here, and
when she wasn't here, she was directing us from home. You
were very fortunate, and I'm not usually jealous, but I'm
jealous of the fact that you had an opportunity to see
her. We had all hoped, of course, that we would see her
once again here on the floor of the House.
I know that we're reassured that Julia is now at peace.
This lovely woman, with an incredible sense of humor, she
didn't miss anything that was going on on the floor. She
would sit there quietly and then make the most incisive
and insightful comments about the proceedings.
We're all sad to lose her as a Congresswoman, of course,
for our country. We're deeply saddened to lose her as a
friend, and I hope it is a comfort to Andre Carson and to
her family and to her constituents that so many people
throughout our country, and certainly in this Congress,
share their grief and are praying for them at this sad
time.
I thank again my colleague for affording us the
opportunity to express our admiration for this great lady,
Julia Carson.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, it gives me great
pleasure at this time to yield time to another colleague
from California, the gentlelady, Maxine Waters.
Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I'd like to thank the
Congresswoman from Ohio for initiating this memorial
moment in the Congress of the United States for Julia
Carson. This is a very special and important time because
we're here this evening to talk about a woman whom we
truly loved and a woman who gave so much in public service
to her country. I know that her family's saddened by her
loss because it is a great loss.
She has been referred to this evening as a jewel, as the
queen, and I came to understand this quite some time ago.
I've known Julia for many years, long before I came to
Congress and long before she came to Congress. I served in
the State legislature of California, and she was a State
legislator also, and like Diane Watson and others, we all
worked with the Conference of State Legislators and the
Conference of Black State Legislators. So she knew
legislators from all over the country.
After I came here, I kept in contact with Julia, and
when she ran for office, she called me and she told me
that she wanted me to help her. I thought she wanted me to
raise some money or maybe come someplace to do something.
And after talking with her for a few minutes, she made it
very clear she wanted me to get Muhammad Ali to come to
help her out. She didn't want me. She wanted Muhammad Ali,
and so she said, ``Well, you know him, don't you?'' And I
said, ``Yes, I do.'' She said, ``Well, if I could get
Muhammad Ali here, then that would seal the deal. That's
exactly what I need.''
Of course, I asked him and he went to campaign with her,
and he often asked after that how she was doing. His
award-winning photographer, Howard Binghan, would
oftentimes ask me how she was doing, what she was doing so
he could report to Muhammad Ali how the candidate that he
had helped to win that election was doing in the Congress
of the United States of America.
Well, let me just say, she was doing wonderfully well
legislatively. Some people have referred to not only the
fact that she was responsible for the recognition that
Rosa Parks got getting the gold medal, but she was working
on some tremendous legislation. And as I stand here before
you this evening as the chair of that Subcommittee on
Housing and Community Opportunity, her legislation is
really before us. It is known as HEARTH. It means the
Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to
Housing Act. You know, we've got to pass that legislation,
and we've got to pass it, that is, H.R. 840, in the way
that she wants it passed.
She was expanding the definition of homelessness. She
was expanding it so that more people, many of whom were
not considered homeless, and should be qualifying for
homeless assistance, who did not get it, could now be
drawn in with this legislation.
So, it is important for all of us to give support to the
work that she was involved in because, again, this very
special woman really did not suffer fools. I mean, I know
that you've heard the story about the time she stepped on
the elevator and another Member of Congress, who had not
been here maybe quite as long as Julia, said to Julia when
she stepped on the elevator, ``This elevator is for
Members of Congress.'' And of course, she got the look
that only Julia can give, and told somebody, ``Close the
door,'' because that's how she handled someone who did not
have the sense to be gracious enough to whomever was
getting on the elevator, but certainly she should have
known who her colleagues were getting on the elevator.
But there are many stories you will hear about Julia
Carson, because not only was she brilliant, she had this
sense of humor and she had this wit that was just
undeniable. Of all of the people who spoke at Rosa Parks'
funeral, and I was at the funeral in Washington, DC, when
Julia spoke, she was the most engaging, the most
memorable, the one who really caught the attention of
everyone at that service.
Julia Carson was truly a queen, and to understand the
descriptions that you've heard about her this evening and
how she was loved, you have to go to Indianapolis. You
have to hear people talk about her to really get a sense
of the queen, and they referred to her as ``the queen.''
So I'm very proud to be a part of this discussion,
remembering her this evening, and she will rest in peace,
having done her part, having given all that any human
being could give.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, in her remarks during
Rosa Parks' memorial service, Representative Carson said,
``I'm a sister from the hood and we know how to get things
done.'' Well, from one sister to another sister I want to
say, thank you, Julia Carson, for your legacy of service,
for your laughter and your love. I promise I will continue
to work to get things done right here in the House, and I
will remember all the things that you told me in the last
conversations that we had.
But Julia, I'm still trying to figure out who it was you
said was going to invite me to dinner. I asked you that
day I came to see you, and you still wouldn't tell me. So
whoever it is, come on and invite me to dinner, because
Julia Carson would want it to happen.
I thank all of my colleagues for joining me in this
wonderful hour of celebration for my colleague and good
friend, Julia Carson.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to
remember my friend and colleague, the Honorable Julia
Carson.
Everyone loved Julia Carson, especially we in the
Congressional Black Caucus and the constituents in her
district.
I had an opportunity to travel back to her district with
her for a weekend health event, and I witnessed the deep
affection and admiration that the people of Indianapolis--
of all ages, races and walks of life--had for her.
Julia had a way of telling a story that would have you
rolling with laughter, even on serious or unpleasant
things.
This was especially true when talking about herself. She
was a regular at our health braintrust and she spoke of
herself as being the poster child for health care and
health disparities. Although at its core, it was no
laughing matter, she had everyone in the audience cracking
up.
As sick as Julia might have been, she never let it
diminish her dedicated representation of her district and
other work that needed to be done in Washington. And she
walked to votes even in the last days that she was here.
It was my honor--as it was for many Members--to assist
her as she came to the floor or a meeting. Years ago, I
took it upon myself to call her office and suggest that
her staff get her one of those motorized scooter-like
vehicles that other Members have used off and on. Who told
me to do that? I got a gentle tongue lashing from my
friend.
There were many proud moments when we stood with Julia
and applauded her achievements, but none more so than the
day that Rosa Parks was awarded the Congressional Medal of
Honor upon the passage of the resolution she sponsored.
Julia did not even begin to get the kind of attention
for her health that she needed until she was elected to
Congress and by then her heart disease, mistaken for
indigestion, was far gone.
Today, this humble lady who had health care deferred
because of her race and gender, has flags at all
congressional buildings flying at half mast in her honor.
The Nation has lost a champion, the House has lost a
valued and effective Member, minorities and the poor have
lost an ardent advocate and I have lost a beloved
colleague and friend.
She has gone to her eternal reward, and may she rest in
peace.
Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to honor the
life and career of the Honorable Congresswoman, Julia
Carson, who was elected to Congress in 1996, and who died
on December 15, 2007. Representative Carson was a most
respected friend and colleague of mine and also many other
Members of Congress. The Honorable Julia Carson was from
the Seventh Congressional District in Indiana. Ms. Carson
was a dedicated servant and worked tirelessly for the
people of this country and in particular she strongly
advocated on behalf of those who were living in poverty or
were homeless.
The list of legislative efforts that Representative
Carson helped to create in this and in previous
congressional terms spanned many issues and these
legislative efforts are now a permanent part of the
history of this Congress and of this county. In
particular, Representative Carson gave her support for
primary, secondary, and college, education; and she
believed in single payer health care for all citizens of
this country; she also believed in equal justice for all
and lived a life that reflected some of these fundamental
values that were the hallmark of her service to this
country.
Congresswoman Julia Carson honored the legacy of the
late Mrs. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks when she introduced
legislation which came to fruition on May 4, 1999, when
Mrs. Parks was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Representative Carson also introduced legislation to have
a commemorative postage stamp issued on behalf of Mrs.
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks.
Representative Julia Carson will always be remembered by
her successful political career and will continue to make
her indelible mark in history as a natural politician who
steadily strengthened ties between people and who never
forgot the community which she loved and served. People
who worked with her in Congress will not forget the great
sense of humor she would bring to them when we all were
experiencing long and arduous efforts that were often
expended in the process of making daily decisions on
significant and lengthy congressional efforts.
Her continued efforts in Congress addressed the issues
and supported legislation in the following areas: She was
a staunch advocate for equal rights for men and women. She
demonstrated a sincere concern and fought for the relief
and support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. In her
wisdom, she advocated for many medical advances in
veterans health care. Her continued outspoken support for
the Second Chance Act of 2007, was well recognized. She
spoke out for the support of the National Literacy Act of
2007. In times of great suffering she stood tall and
commemorated the Rutgers University women's basketball
team for their vigor in remaining proud of the skill that
the team had achieved. She introduced a bill for
establishing the celebrated National Historically Black
Colleges and Universities Week. She honored the life of
Arva Johnson, a pioneer in the U.S. Capitol Police
Department, when she became the first African American
female to wear the police badge. She supported the Horse
Slaughter Prevention Act. She recognized the 20 years of
service of the world famous Dr. James Hadley Billington,
as Librarian of Congress. Congresswoman Carson supported
the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act
of 2007. She worked for the benefit of all persons to have
access to affordable drugs and medicines by supporting the
Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act. In the
era of DNA research Representative Carson supported the
Stem Cell Enhancement Act of 2007. These are a few of the
noble congressional legislative actions that she heartily
supported and advocated for in the history of her tenure
in the Congress of the United States. We appreciate her
great efforts in the progress that has been made from all
of her humanitarian efforts.
I extend my greatest sympathy to the family of
Congresswoman Julia Carson on the loss of their mother, a
warm and wonderful humanitarian who was an exceptional
public figure and who has graciously served this country
with her grace, wisdom, and gentility.
We will all miss her.
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, Indiana lost one of its finest
this weekend. I was deeply saddened to learn of Julia
Carson's passing and my thoughts and prayers are with her
family during this difficult time.
I have known Julia for more than 20 years, and am a
better person for it. She was a dear friend, and her
spirit will unarguably live on not only in the Halls of
Congress, but in the neighborhoods of Indianapolis where
she touched the lives of so many. She had an enormous
presence in Indianapolis and was always striving to help
those in need.
Julia embodied the true meaning of a liberal--a woman
who was always fighting for those without a voice. She
championed civil rights and walked alongside Martin Luther
King, Jr., fighting for equality. She was to me, and so
many others, a true hero.
Julia was not only proud to be a Member of Congress and
represent the fine people of Indianapolis, but she was
constantly amazed at how far she had come. As many know,
Julia had a difficult upbringing but only used those
experiences to strengthen and shape her political views.
Julia constantly reminded us all how fortunate we are to
be Members of Congress.
I will miss Julia very much, but her spirit will live on
for decades to come. She was a truly faithful person and
took much comfort in that. I am so honored to have known
Julia for so many years and to have worked so closely with
her. She leaves behind a legacy of charity, service, and
an unwavering commitment to helping others.
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, let me join
and thank my colleague and classmate Stephanie Tubbs Jones
for organizing this tribute to Julia Carson.
President Kennedy was fond of saying that communities
reveal an awful lot about themselves in the memorials they
create and in the people that they honor. This evening my
colleagues, led by Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the Speaker of
the House, the majority leader, and the delegation from
Indiana have stood tall in honoring the memory of Julia
Carson.
Memory is what distinguishes us from every other
creature on the face of the Earth. It's humbling listening
to the reminiscing that took place this evening.
We have lost a number of people since I have been in
Congress, wonderful, remarkable, dedicated citizens to
this great country of ours. Julia brought that warmth and
dignity to this office. It was an honor to be with her and
know her.
I often think at services such as this it's a shame she
wasn't here to hear us all talk about her, and for those
of us in this body who didn't get the opportunity to say
goodbye, it's principally the ability to reminisce and the
memories that so many of our colleagues have brought to
this floor that make her come to life and live on. Not in
memorials, though I am sure memorials will be created. Not
in buildings named, because I'm sure that those things
will follow. But those memorials that mean the most are
those that are principally carried in our hearts.
Listening to Baron and Steve talk earlier and all the
Members who spoke here, what a rich life. What a wonderful
person.
She has gone home to Indiana, but she will never leave
us. God bless Julia. God bless this country. I thank
everyone here for the memorial that you created this
evening.
Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, there have been many
characterizations and descriptions of our departed
colleague Julia Carson. But let me just tell you how I
view Julia Carson. For me Julia Carson epitomized the
Christian value of joy divine. Joy divine, the Bible calls
it an unspeakable joy. It's the kind of joy that the
Congress, the world can't give you and the world can't
take it away. This joy is based on your faith. Julia
Carson had, in my estimation, joy divine because she
understood the meaning of the Scripture when it states:
``All things work together for good to those who love the
Lord and those who are called according to His purpose.''
What is His purpose, one might ask? Well, He makes it
pretty clear in the Old Testament. He says: ``What do I
require of thee, O man, but to love mercy, do justly, and
walk humbly with your God?''
Madam Speaker, Julia Carson had the joy divine. She
epitomized it. She represented it. Because she knew that
everything that we do, the things that we bind on Earth,
we bind in heaven. She was really not working for just her
constituents, but she was, indeed, working for eternal
life. And now she is at a better place in the heavens with
her God.
And I can just, in my own imagination, imagine Julia
when she got to heaven how the angels erupted in applause
because of the work that she had done while she lived here
on Earth.
Madam Speaker, Julia Carson did something that was
almost impossible in the few years that she served in this
great House. She made this great House even greater
because of her commitment, her dedication, her resolve,
her leadership, her insight, her compassion, those things
that make one great.
Madam Speaker, I know that in heaven when she approached
the throne of grace, when she approached the company of
her Lord and Savior, I can hear the words spoken to her
right now in the old way. I can hear her Lord and her
Master telling her: ``Julia, servant, servant, well done.
You did an extraordinary job under ordinary conditions.
Servant, well done.''
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I think it's a true testament
to how people felt about Julia Carson based upon the fact
that the hour has expired allotting time for her
colleagues to get up here to say a few kind words about
her and now we are in overtime and the hour is over and we
still have colleagues on the House floor who want to take
the time to eulogize our friend and colleague Julia
Carson.
I have known Julia for over 25 years. In this business
of politics, you have friends and then you have allies. I
can, with a great deal of assurance, tell my colleagues
here that Julia was a friend, not just an ally. She was
that, too. But I came from a small town in southern
Indiana to the Indiana Legislature back in 1982; and one
of the first people I ever met was from the great city,
the large city of Indianapolis, IN: Julia Carson. And I
will be honest with you from the rural community and the
kind of sheltered atmosphere of southern Indiana and
small-town Indiana, I, quite frankly, didn't know how to
take Julia Carson when I first met her. She was something
else. But as the years went by and I had the time to serve
with Julia both in the legislature and now here in
Congress, I had come to love Julia Carson, a true friend.
Not just a colleague, but a true friend.
We have all heard the stories about how she was revered
in Indianapolis, IN. The Indianapolis Star was the
newspaper there, and there was some friction between Julia
and the Indianapolis Star because the Indianapolis Star
was basically a Republican-leaning newspaper. So there
were moments between the Indianapolis Star and Julia. But
just recently the headline in the Indianapolis Star, and
it was a large headline, said: ``A Warrior for
Indianapolis.'' And that's exactly what she was.
She was one of a kind. She had grace and she had flair,
and she had a great sense of humor. She was a Hoosier to
the core. She was the epitome of everything that Indiana
is. And we will miss her.
I come to this microphone today with mixed emotions:
sadness by the loss of Julia, but also a sense of good
memories that we have about Julia Carson. The one thread
that all of us have been speaking about and I will speak
about it too was Julia was a champion, a champion for the
downtrodden and the poor. She made no excuses that she was
a liberal in the good sense of the word. She wanted to
make life better for all Americans, not just a select few.
Julia, we'll miss you.
I do believe that when she walked into the pearly white
gates, as Congressman Rush said, that the angels
applauded.
Well done, Julia. We love you and we miss you.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Love conquers all. And I rise
today, Madam Speaker, to join the celebration, for
although we mourn, we celebrate the life of Julia Carson,
and celebrate we must.
I'm delighted to have listened to my colleagues in the
special order led by Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones
and to hear my friends and colleagues from Indiana. But
for a moment I offer my sympathy to those of Julia
Carson's district, to the good people of Indianapolis, to
the good people of Indiana, and, yes, to the American
people. For Julia Carson truly represented and will be
remembered as an American hero.
I believe that Julia would not mind our recalling for
our colleagues why she was so keenly committed to those
who could not speak for themselves and could not help
themselves. For Julia Carson's history, by its very
nature, directed her into the fight for those who, like
herself, grew up with very little, but yet could look to
this great country and actually believe that they could
achieve their dreams. For Julia was born to a teenage
mother, and that, from the time that she was born in the
late 1930s, going into the early 1940s and World War II,
was a struggle and an unsurmountable task in and of
itself. They had to struggle together. Julia Carson
herself raised two children as a divorcee. So first of
all, she understood what a single parent, a mother with
two children, had to overcome to make sure that those
children saw in themselves and saw in her a future.
It's likely that she was already destined for public
service, and so by finding Andy Jacobs, her finding him
and as well his finding her, it was a match made in
heaven. But she stopped along the wayside to give support
and comfort to workers, United Auto Workers, and
understood what it meant, a hard day's work for a good
day's pay. So early on she was on the battlefield, and her
time in respective legislative bodies only spoke to her
continued desire to serve.
But I like something about Julia and I like something
about the description of her. And my good friend and
colleague from Indiana, Congressman Hill, just said a
liberal in Indianapolis. I ask the question how you can
walk around in Indiana and call yourself liberal and be
victorious. That was Julia. Love conquers all, the love
that she had for her people, but the love that they had
for her stood largely to embrace her and surround her with
armor against those who would try to do her political
harm.
I was fascinated in listening to the Congressmen speak
of the vigil. Can you imagine people just gathering out of
pain and joy, the pain of possibly losing Congresswoman
Carson, but also the joy of having her. Going to her
house. Now, we are the people's House. So Members of
Congress are exposed and people know all about them. But
can you imagine people feeling so comfortable that they
would come to her block and just stand in silence or
singing or praying or testifying just to say, We want to
be near her. What a moving expression that must have been,
and I'm so sorry that I missed it. But it was a showing of
their own appreciation for her resilience, her astuteness,
and her ability to be underestimated.
I went to Indianapolis, and it was that first year, her
reelection after her first term, Madam Speaker, and yes,
they were all out. It was the year of the targets, it was
the year of impeachment here in this body, and people were
not feeling good, they were feeling ugly. The right wing,
as it could be defined, and I don't say it in a partisan
way, but the guys who were trying to get her in reelection
came up with all kinds of things. Soft on crime, they
accused her of, a number of issues that they thought would
get her unelected.
Well, I'll tell you, she had a good history with the
people of Indianapolis. In fact, she even had some
conservatives supporting her. Why? Because she was
truthful in her belief for social services. But she also
came up with the idea that welfare recipients should work
for their benefits. I'm sure it was crafted around giving
them hope and giving them goals and giving them the
ability to believe that they could succeed, but she was
applauded for that. She was called a person who wrestled a
problem to the ground.
Madam Speaker, I close by simply saying that we have
lost a warrior, a soldier on the battlefield, but tonight
we celebrate her life. My sympathy to her family. Thank
you, Julia, for being our friend and my friend.
Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues this
evening in honoring the life of our dear friend, Julia
Carson. I want to say a word in keeping with the comments
by our colleague, our leader, John Larson from
Connecticut, who spoke of the sacredness, really, of this
hour that we can spend with one another to lift up the
life of a colleague such as Julia Carson.
Julia entered Congress the same year as my husband
Walter, in 1996. And the reason I honor this time together
is that I have a poignant memory. My husband died
suddenly, and my daughter and I found ourselves on the
floor here listening to his colleagues, now my colleagues,
speak of his life. It was a tradition that I wasn't
familiar with, but it touched me in a way that I know
blesses the memory of those who have gone, who have served
with us. In this case, for someone as special as Julia
Carson, it is a moment that this place becomes what it
should be, and is treasured by me.
Now, this Member of Congress became my colleague, Julia
Carson, when I joined Congress in 1998. One of the first
events I attended as a Member was an event held by
domestic violence advocates, a coalition, a national
coalition of the kind of grassroots organizations that I
know Julia Carson represented in Indianapolis, but I also,
in my previous life as a nurse in my community, knew very
well at the community level. I wasn't as experienced when
I came to Congress as Julia was when she did. And I
listened to her. We were kind of lined up, Members of
Congress, to address this coalition on domestic violence.
I could speak from my professional experience. But she
spoke before me. She dazzled that crowd because she spoke
as a survivor and as someone who had experienced every
single thing that they themselves were here in this
Capitol to represent on behalf of our community. She had
broken the barriers that have entrapped so many Americans
of color, Americans who are women. She knew how to fight
for herself, for her children as a single mother, as a
community member who knew what ceilings were like with
class, gender, ethnicity, race, and she could relate that
to people.
On that day that I listened to Julia as a brand new
Member, I knew that I was in a very special crowd if it
included someone like Julia Carson. She knew how to take
her experiences and become such a role model and strong
advocate; civil rights, victims of domestic violence. She
improved the lives of countless individuals, and she did
so by fixing things that were broken, but also by
inspiring people to not give up.
Then, as we moved along and as has been referenced, her
style and her elegance, I used to love to see her here and
to see her bearing and to see her fitting the word
``queen'' in every sense of that word. What a delight to
serve with Julia Carson. We saw her, as her illness began
to show its effects on her body, never on her spirit,
never on her soul, never once dampened her smile, her
dazzling beautiful smile. When I would see her moving
slowly, and then with assistance, even in a wheelchair, to
come and move about, she never gave an indication of
weakness or that she was down. She was always up and
inspiring me when I would see her. I wanted to spend time
with her.
This was a tough time for her. She never let us know it.
She kept fighting for all of the issues she cared so much
about. Now I want to just close by saying, you know,
Julia, we owe you to continue the legacy that you began.
I think of Julia's suffering with lung cancer. I think
about the fact that three of her colleagues, four, now, of
our colleagues this year have died of cancer. Julia, I
make a pledge to you and to the others that we need to not
rest. We need to follow your courage and your endurance
and not rest until we do something about this dreaded
disease, and do something here, and do it in your memory,
and do some other things in your memory as well. And so, I
make that pledge to you, Julia.
And I also join my colleagues in remembering you forever
for your wit, your elegance, your perseverance, and of
course always, Julia, your smile. I will always love you
and treasure your memory.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise
today to remember a spiritual warrior for her constituents
and those who could not fight for themselves, Julia
Carson. She served 6 years in Congress, but her experience
here far outweighed her time here. She always remembered
where she was from and how she got there.
This was a tough lady. She spent her initial swearing in
in the hospital recovering from double bypass surgery. She
was a wonderful personal friend whom I enjoyed spending
time with.
I have my Julia Carson story. I remember a few years
ago, we were going to an event at the Army-Navy Golf Club.
We were going to a program, a celebration, and our driver
got lost and made a wrong turn. We ended up on the seventh
fairway. We were going up the hill, and the car couldn't
go up and it couldn't go back. I panicked, but she was
calm during this entire process. We eventually were
rescued by the Capitol Hill Police. I will never forget
that experience.
Julia Carson was a classy lady, very classy. And I loved
the way she dressed and the way she held herself. Like
Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7, she fought the good fight and she
finished the course. But most important, she kept the
faith. Julia, I will miss you.
Mr. ELLISON. Madam Speaker, tonight, as I stand to pay
respects and honor to Julia Carson, I don't believe I will
take 5 minutes, but I will say that as a freshman Member,
I really can't recall some of the great stories that I've
heard my friends tell about the great Julia Carson, but I
do have my own recollections of her.
The most important thing I want to share with people
tonight is that, when I just started here and I started
getting on my feet and figuring out where the bathrooms
were and how to get around the House a little bit, Julia
Carson took a moment, Julia Carson had time, Julia Carson
and I sat in the chairs of this gallery and talked. And
she told me about the struggles that she had to overcome.
And she also told me, when I had my first bill, ``if you
don't put me on that bill right now, boy, I don't know
what I'm going to do.'' And I had to laugh, because the
spirit that she had was remarkable, given some of the
health problems she was facing.
The health problems she was facing may have been a
burden, but they were not too great for her to show
kindness to a new freshman here in Congress. And so I will
always remember Julia Carson, very fond memories of her,
and I will always be inspired by the great example that
she gave us.
Mr. SHAYS. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. ELLISON. Certainly.
Mr. SHAYS. I have a request for 5 minutes, so I can't
use the time twice.
But I just want to say, on behalf of the Republican side
of the aisle, I don't know a Member who didn't appreciate
Julia Carson's fine work, who didn't enjoy talking with
her. She always had a great response to anything you had
to say. She was insightful, she was right to the point,
and had a tremendous sense of humor. It's hard to think
that she will not be with us because she was a presence
here. Julia often sat on this side of the aisle, so a lot
of us got to know her, not just speaking on the floor, but
talking with her personally, and we came to love her a
great deal.
I thank the gentleman for giving me this opportunity.
Mr. ELLISON. It is certainly my honor. Many people loved
Julia Carson, and I want to thank the Congressman from
Connecticut for sharing his sentiments as well.
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to take just a
moment to pay tribute to our friend, our colleague, our
beloved sister, Julia Carson. It is my belief that when
the Almighty created this beautiful, charming woman, he
threw away the mold.
Long before Julia Carson came here, she was a fighter,
someone who stood up and spoke out for those who have been
left out and left behind. She was a champion of ordinary
people, a champion for justice, for civil rights, for
human dignity. I want to thank her friend and our former
colleague, Andy Jacob, with whom I served, for doing all
he could do to have Julia Carson come to this place.
In this body, we are like a family, one family. We
become like sisters and brothers. I feel with the loss and
passing of Julia Carson. We have lost a member of our
family. The chain, the circle, has been broken.
I will never forget when I was much younger, on April 4,
1968, almost 40 years ago, I was in her district. She was
not representing the district then, but we were in the
city of Indianapolis with Robert Kennedy when he announced
to the crowd that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had been
assassinated. When Julia came here, she always said to me,
``John, you must come back to Indianapolis and visit.''
And I have gone back there.
We will miss her. She has gone on to a better place. And
we will never, ever see her likeness again.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I wish to mourn
the passing of Congresswoman Julia May Carson, a committed
and valued voice for justice, who passed away on December
15, 2007. Congresswoman Carson was born on July 8, 1938 in
Louisville, KY. She grew up in Indianapolis, IN, where she
would lead a remarkable life committed to justice for all.
Congresswoman Carson was loved by many for her
effervescent personality and fighting spirit. She served
her constituents of the Seventh Congressional District of
Indiana for six terms in the U.S. House of
Representatives. She was the first African American and
woman elected to serve Indianapolis in Congress.
In her youth, Ms. Carson overcame obstacles created by
race, gender, and poverty as the child of a single teenage
mother. She attended and graduated from Crispus Attucks
High School in 1955, a deeply segregated school in
Indianapolis. However, her battles with injustice
motivated her to pursue degrees in higher education at
Martin University and Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis. Her career in public service began in 1965,
when she was hired as a staff assistant and aide to
Congressman Andrew Jacobs, Jr., her mentor and predecessor
in the Seventh District of Indiana. She worked diligently
on casework and other important legislative matters until
1972, when she ran and won a seat in the Indiana State
House of Representatives. She served in the Indiana State
House from 1972 to 1976 and in the Indiana State Senate
from 1976 to 1990. In 1990 she was elected as a trustee
for Center Township in downtown Indianapolis. As trustee,
she was a just leader and a voice for reform. Her
thoroughness and fiscal responsibility helped her manage
the welfare rolls by providing assistance to those who
needed it and removing those who did not. As a result, she
transformed the office's $20 million debt into a $6
million surplus. She served as trustee for 6 years prior
to her election to Congress.
In 1996, after a competitive campaign, Congresswoman
Carson replaced her mentor and predecessor Andrew Jacobs,
Jr., as the Representative for Indiana's Seventh District.
On January 3, 1997, she missed her congressional
inauguration due to health problems. Her congressional
tenure was replete with obstacles from failing health to
closely competitive campaigns, but her tenacity and love
for her district would not let anything impede her sincere
dedication to her constituents. She never stopped caring
for her district and she never lost a race. One of her
most notable achievements in the House was passing a
measure awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Rosa
Parks. Another milestone accomplishment was a bill she
cosponsored with Senator Richard Lugar to remove blocks on
child health insurance created by government agencies. She
always sponsored legislation that helped the poor and
homeless, veterans, and faithful American taxpayers. She
served on the House Committee on Financial Services and
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Her 10
years in the House were a testament of perseverance,
devotion and inexhaustible compassion.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to commend the life
and mourn the passing of Congresswoman Julia Carson.
Mr. ETHERIDGE. Madam Speaker, I raise to honor the
legacy and accomplishments of our recently passed
colleague and dear friend Julia Carson.
In 1996 Julia's deep commitment to those she served led
her to become the first African American woman to be
elected to the U.S. House from Indiana. I had the
opportunity to get to know Julia during our freshman terms
in the 105th Congress and build a relationship with her
over the past 10 years that we have both served. Julia
spent her time in Congress working for children's issues,
women's rights and efforts to reduce homelessness. One of
her biggest accomplishments in the House was passing
legislation granting the Congressional Gold Medal to Rosa
Parks, the ``Mother of the Civil Rights Movement'' who was
arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated
city bus in Montgomery, AL. She leaves behind an unmatched
record of service to the people and an unequaled legacy of
leadership.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in
paying respects to the family of Julia Carson and in
honoring her career in service to our country.
Friday, December 28, 2007
APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO THE COMMITTEE TO ATTEND THE
FUNERAL OF THE LATE HONORABLE JULIA CARSON AFTER SINE DIE
ADJOURNMENT
Pursuant to House Resolution 880, and the order of the
House of January 4, 2007, the Speaker on December 22,
2007, appointed the following Members of the House to the
committee to attend the funeral of the late Honorable
Julia Carson.
Mr. Burton, Indiana
The members of the Indiana delegation:
Mr. Visclosky
Mr. Buyer
Mr. Souder
Mr. Pence
Mr. Hill
Mr. Donnelly
Mr. Ellsworth, and
Mr. Conyers, Michigan
Mr. Jefferson, Louisiana
Mr. Bishop, Georgia
Ms. Corrine Brown, Florida
Ms. Jackson-Lee, Texas
Ms. Kilpatrick, Michigan
Ms. Lee, California
Mrs. Jones, Ohio
Mr. Meek, Florida
Ms. Moore, Wisconsin
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, I rise today
to honor the late Congresswoman Julia Carson who passed
away on December 15, 2007. A woman of great passion and
dedication, she will be remembered as a tireless advocate
of the poor and working families.
Congresswoman Carson was the first and only African
American and woman in Indiana's congressional delegation.
An exceptionally courageous and strong woman, she looked a
childhood of poverty and segregation in the eye and rose
above it to represent Indiana for over 35 years, first as
an Indiana State representative and then as State senator
before being elected to the U.S. Congress in 1996.
Julia was able to use her life experiences to help
others also overcome poverty, discrimination and illness.
I had the honor of being part of the Congresswoman's
initiative to raise awareness of hypertension and stroke.
I will always remember her unrelenting advocacy of women's
rights, children's health, affordable housing, and
equality. She stood up for unpopular, but critical issues,
including expanding SCHIP in the late 1990s and, most
recently, voting against the war in Iraq. It is thus not
surprising that Ms. Carson was the only person to ever be
named Woman of the Year by the Indianapolis Star on two
different occasions.
My strongest memory, however, is how Congresswoman
Carson was a special and warm-hearted woman. She was one
of the first to go out of her way to introduce herself to
me when I first arrived in Congress in 2001. With our
birthdays just a few days apart in July, she always took
time to greet me with a special tenderness. Her
determination on policy issues was matched by a stylish
flair and humor that consistently brought a smile to the
faces of all in the room.
On behalf of the families of Minnesota's Fourth
Congressional District, we extend our prayers and
sincerest condolences to her children and all of the
family and friends of Representative Carson. We lost a
very dear sister this week. She will be remembered in the
highest regard, and deeply missed by her colleagues in
Congress and her constituents in Indiana.
Madam Speaker, please join me in paying special tribute
to the life and service of Congresswoman Julia Carson.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Ms. LEE. . . . As we recognize Black History Month, I
would also like to note that we feel the loss of our dear
friends and CBC [Congressional Black Caucus] colleagues
who passed away over the last year: Congresswomen Julia
Carson, Juanita Millender-McDonald and founding CBC member
former Congressman Gus Hawkins. They always joined in on
the celebrations. We truly miss them, but their
accomplishments live on as a part of Black history and
beyond. . . .
Thursday, February 14, 2008
PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS
Under clause 2 of rule XII, public bills and resolutions
were introduced and severally referred, as follows: . . .
By Mr. VISCLOSKY (for himself, Mr. Donnelly, Mr. Souder,
Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Hill, Mr. Pence, Mr. Ellsworth,
and Mr. Buyer):
H.R. 5472. A bill to designate the facility of the
United States Postal Service located at 2650 Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, as the
``Julia M. Carson Post Office Building''; to the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform.
Proceedings in the Senate
Monday, December 17, 2007
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S.
Res. 407, submitted earlier today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the
resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 407) relative to the death of
Representative Julia Carson, of Indiana.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to
consider the resolution.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
the resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider
be laid upon the table en bloc; that any statements
relating thereto be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 407) was agreed to, as follows:
S. Res. 407
Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow
and deep regret the announcement of the death of the
Honorable Julia Carson, late a Representative from the
State of Indiana.
Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these
resolutions to the House of Representatives and transmit
an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the deceased.
Resolved, That when the Senate adjourns or recesses
today, it stand adjourned or recessed as a further mark of
respect to the memory of the deceased Representative.
ADJOURNMENT UNTIL 10 A.M. TOMORROW
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, if there is no further business
today, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand
adjourned under the provisions of S. Res. 407, as a
further mark of respect on the passing of Julia Carson,
late Representative from Indiana.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
The Senate stands in adjournment until 10 a.m. tomorrow,
pursuant to S. Res. 407, and does so as a mark of further
respect to the memory of Julia Carson, late Representative
from the State of Indiana.
Thereupon, the Senate, at 8:01 p.m., adjourned until
Tuesday, December 18, 2007, at 10 a.m.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, in remembrance of Congresswoman
Julia Carson, who died on December 15, 2007, I have
printed in the Record a column written by former
Representative Andy Jacobs, Jr., of Indiana.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be
printed in the Record as follows:
[Text of the article may be found on pages 10-11.]
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
The following bills and joint resolutions were
introduced, read the first and second times by unanimous
consent, and referred as indicated: . . .
By Mr. BAYH:
S. 2534. A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 2650 Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, as the ``Julia M.
Carson Post Office Building'' to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS
S. 2534
At the request of Mr. Bayh, the name of the Senator from
Indiana (Mr. Lugar) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2534, a
bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 2650 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street,
Indianapolis, Indiana, as the ``Julia M. Carson Post
Office Building.''
The Honorable
Julia Carson
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T9700.002
``A Heart of A Servant''
1938-2007
CONGRESSWOMAN JULIA CARSON
THANK YOU
We write today because we are your children as surely as
if you had conceived us, nurtured us, carried us in your
womb, and sent us out into the world to make our mark.
We write today because you have been faithful in all
that you do. You are a perfect example of strength and
endurance.
You have taught us to stay in the race come what may, and
God will get us through another day.
You never knew what your opponents would bring.
But you let them know, ``Ain't No Thing But a Chicken
Wing.''
We knew a lot of days you were very tired.
But you pressed on because your service was required.
You served us with dignity and class,
knowing that only what you do for Christ will last.
You worked very hard on Capitol Hill
And were proud when they passed your bills.
When President Bush said let's go to war,
You were the only one saying ``My Goodness what for.''
So I'm going to follow your many years of instruction
And simply not make a big production.
Your many accomplishments are too long to measure, but it
has been a pleasure to work for such a treasure.
You greeted us all with ``This Is Me Is That You''
And you never said goodbye because that's not what we do.
We simply embrace with a smile on our face
And with Love in it.
We simply say,
IN A MINUTE
With Gratitude and Love
Clydonna Surrett
Community Celebration of Life
The Honorable Julia Carson
ORDER OF SERVICE Opening Statement
Rev. Maudine Wordlaw Prayer
Rev. Anne Byfield-Henning Scripture
Rev. Elaine Walters Selection
``Wind Beneath My Wings''
Keith Hayes Poem ``Thank You Congresswoman Carson''
Clydonna Surrett
Reflections Bart Peterson
Mayor of Indianapolis Richard Hatcher
Former Mayor of Gary, Indiana LaKimba DeFadier-Woods
Executive Director,
National Black Caucus of State Legislators The Honorable Rudy Clay
Mayor of Gary, Indiana The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee Member of U.S. Congress, Texas The Honorable Diane Watson Member of U.S. Congress, California H.E. Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche Spiritual Leader,
Verbal Linage of Buddhist Meditation Selection
``Sweet Dreams''
Travis Conway
Reflections Rev. Leroy Dinkins
Concerned Clergy Mr. Jeffrey Slavin Council Member, Town of Somerset, MD The Honorable Billie Breaux
Friend Selection
``Stand'' Rev. Jesse Jackson
RainbowPUSH Coalition Rev. Theron Williams
Pastor, Mt. Carmel Baptist Church Paul Bateman
Member Indianapolis/Marion Co. City-County Council Vop Osili
Friend Selection
``Total Praise'' Andre Carson Grandson of Congresswoman Julia Carson
Acknowledgements:
Mitchell E. Daniels, Governor of Indiana
The Staff of the Governor's Office
U.S. Capitol Police
Indiana State Capitol Police
Bart Peterson, Mayor of Indianapolis
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
Sheriff Frank Anderson
Indiana Department of Homeland Security
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Indiana General Assembly
B. Patrick Bauer, Speaker of the House
Indiana National Guard
Lacy Johnson, Esq.
Tony Duncan
Mr. Wilson Allen
To All Supporters of OUR Beloved Julia
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T3200.012
The Honorable Julia Carson
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T9700.001
July 8, 1938-December 15, 2007
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T9700.003
Julia Carson
Julia Carson was born to Velma Porter, then just 16, in
Louisville, Ky. in 1938. After an early move to
Indianapolis, her mother worked as a domestic servant as
Julia grew up in Haughville and other Indianapolis
neighborhoods, with summer jobs picking cotton and beans
at farms in Tennessee. On the West side of Indianapolis,
she worked a paper route and had waitress jobs during the
school year. She attended IPS #63 in Haughville and, in
1955, graduated from Crispus Attucks High School. Fifty-
one years later she was inducted into the Indianapolis
Public Schools Hall of Fame.
After high school, she went to work at UAW Local 550 by
day and the Chrysler Foundry by night. She worked a while
at Chrysler and continued to serve Local 550 and the UAW
for a decade. One day in 1965 a man approached and
introduced himself as Andy Jacobs, explained that he had
just been elected to Congress, and asked her to come to
work for him in Washington. She conferred with her mother
who told her that Mr. Jacobs was really a Congressman and
agreed to care for her children for a while if she wanted
to go. She did.
She joined U.S. Rep. Andy Jacobs as an assistant, first
in Washington DC, commuting home on weekends to see the
children. After a time, she made a then radical proposal
to Jacobs: casework relating to constituents should be
done where they live. With that, she returned to
Indianapolis and her children, and a new way of doing
Congressional business, now a standard in Congress.
In 1972 she was first elected to the Indiana House of
Representatives, serving two terms there. 1976 saw her
election to the Indiana Senate where she served until
1990. In her time as a Member of the General Assembly she
actively pursued issues related to the needs of working
men and women, public health, the environment and
fundamental justice. As the great scourge of AIDS came
upon the land, she worked tirelessly to help her
colleagues understand that it was an illness, not a
biblical scourge of some sort, taking Elton John, Willie
Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and other stars to the bedside
of Ryan White at Riley Hospital, lifting the example of
his story into public view and understanding.
Between 1972 and 1982, she worked in corporate America
as a Public Affairs Manager for Cummins Engine Co., coming
to sound understanding of that culture. In January of 1975
Indianapolis Star readers selected her as Indianapolis
Woman of the Year for the first time.
1990 saw her elected Marion County's Center Township
Trustee. In that financially floundering office she
slashed $9.3 million from the poor relief budget and
trimmed nearly 85,000 undeserving people from the welfare
rolls though careful background investigation and the
introduction of a ``workfare'' program to help recipients
get off poor relief. In 1992, she received the
Indianapolis Star's Woman of the Year award for the second
time--the first and last person to be honored twice.
In November 1996, after the retirement of her brother
and mentor Andy Jacobs, she was elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives for her first term but could not join
her colleagues in taking the oath of office in Washington
because of emergency double-bypass surgery. Instead, she
received the oath from U.S. District Court Judge S. Hugh
Dillin in her room at Methodist Hospital. The Center
Township Government Center was renamed the Julia M. Carson
Government Center to honor her later that year, and was
the site of her district office.
Passionately inspired by the role of Rosa Parks in
helping to spark the movement that became a tidal wave and
meant so much for so many, the Congresswoman was
determined to honor Mrs. Parks and devised a plan to do
so. In April 1999, Congress passed her bill to award Rosa
Parks a Congressional Gold Medal and she hosted Mrs. Parks
in Indianapolis later that year.
In addition to Mrs. Parks, she was privileged to host
President Bill Clinton on his first visit to Indianapolis
in six years, at a public rally at the fairgrounds;
Hillary Clinton at a visit with young college students and
a tour of a day care center; Muhammad Ali at an all-day
school children's event at Riverside; Governor Ann
Richards; and many of her colleagues, including Nancy
Pelosi, John Conyers, Charlie Rangel, Barney Frank, Steny
Hoyer, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Jim Clyburn, Loretta
Sanchez, Robert Menendez, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Alcee
Hastings, Donald Payne, Donna Christensen, Earl
Blumenauer, Kendrick Meek, Lane Evans, Jim Traficant, and
Senator Joe Lieberman.
Her commitment to veterans and to the challenge of
homelessness produced a wonderful development in her
neighborhood: Carson House, transitional housing for
formerly homeless veterans around the corner from her
home, donated by the Congresswoman to the Hoosier Veterans
Assistance Foundation, was dedicated by Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi and then Lt. Governor
Joe Kernan as the Congresswoman welcomed the newcomers
into the neighborhood and into her heart.
Recent Legislative Accomplishments
On October 10, 2002, Congresswoman Carson joined 132
other Members of Congress in voting against House Joint
Resolution 114, the bill which purported to authorize the
use of military force in Iraq.
Always committed on children's health issues, she worked
with Senator Richard Lugar to win passage of a bill to
help states identify and enroll greater numbers of
children who need health insurance. She joined with
Senator Evan Bayh on HR 1300, the Responsible Fatherhood
Act of 2001, recognizing the importance of fathers and
encouraging fathers to play a more active role in their
children's lives.
Her legislation renaming the United States Courthouse
and Federal Office Building in Indianapolis for former
U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, D-IN, became law. She introduced the
Bring America Home Act, or BAHA, a comprehensive bill that
recognizes housing is a human right, aimed at eradicating
homelessness in the United States by addressing the
critical housing, health, and income needs of people
experiencing homelessness and families at risk of
homelessness.
She introduced House Resolution 130, congratulating the
National Football League Champion Indianapolis Colts for
winning Super Bowl XLI and for bringing the Colts and the
State of Indiana their first Lombardi Trophy.
She was especially proud of HR 840, the Homeless
Emergency and Rapid Transition to Housing Act (HEARTH
Act), to restore local level decision making on homeless
activities, support homeless prevention activities,
increase funding for emergency shelters and supportive
services, and amend HUD's definition of homelessness so
that many more children and families will be eligible for
homeless assistance. The House Financial Services
committee will move forward on this legislation early in
the second session of the 110th Congress next year.
Her College Textbook Affordability and Transparency Act
of 2007 sought, in the midst of skyrocketing college
tuition and textbook prices, to ease the financial burden
on students by ending unfair market practices and
increasing stakeholder cooperation and access to
information. Congresswoman Carson strongly believed that
the cost of an education and all its expenses should never
hinder the ability of someone to access that education and
this legislation offers a useful idea to help control
college costs. The text of her legislation has been
included in the Higher Education Reauthorization Act.
She was always effective in securing federal funding for
Indianapolis and its needs. In recent years, the
Congresswoman brought three million dollars home for the
Northeast Corridor Transit Planning project; twenty-eight
million for the City of Indianapolis Central Waterfront
Project to develop, along with the Army Corp of Engineers,
a multi-purpose riverfront project in downtown
Indianapolis; two and a quarter million for the Indy Flex
program; millions for a Downtown Transit Center; fifty
thousand to help repair Veterans Memorial Plaza; two
million for neighborhood preservation and transportation
corridor improvements for the Stadium Drive District; one
million for planning and design assistance for water-
related environmental infrastructure projects; one million
to meet water quality standards in the White River; eleven
million for the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, a place
Congresswoman Carson felt was critically important to the
children of her district and to the children of Indiana;
millions more to help incorporate public transit into the
core downtown area; and five and a half million for
downtown road improvements, including road relocation,
pedestrian walkways and rail line modifications in the
Indianapolis Convention District.
In 2007, the Congresswoman was again successful in
securing funds for Indianapolis and its people. With the
help of Senators Bayh and Lugar, she secured nearly a
quarter of a million dollars for the Children's Museum;
$614,000 for Indianapolis' Naturally Occurring Retirement
Community; $390,000 for a City of Indianapolis
entrepreneurship education program; $3,244,000 for further
work on the Indianapolis White River North flood control
project; $1.5 million for Renewable Energy for Military
Applications; $1.2 million for a Warfighter Cancer Care
Engineering program at Indiana University; and $200,000
for the City of Indianapolis to help fund the
Neighborwoods program to add 100,000 trees to the
cityscape.
On November 5, 2007, she gave her last public interview
to radio talk show host Amos Brown, expressing her
frustration about being absent from Congress, her
uncertainty about the future and her confidence in God's
will. On November 25, 2007, she announced she was
suffering from terminal lung cancer and on November 27,
she told the community that she would not seek a seventh
term.
She is survived by her two children, Tanya Carson and
Sam Carson (Donna Gray Carson); her grandchildren Andre
Carson (Mariama Shaheed Carson), Samuel M. Carson IV
(Angela Lewis Carson), Ja'Dawn Carson, Phillip Carson
(Maryama Diallo Carson), Jamie C. Carson, Stefan D. Carson
and Barbara Carson; her great grandchildren; her Aunt,
Nina Porter Brown; and countless friends and supporters.
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The Order of Service
Celebration of the Life of Julia Carson,
Member of Congress
The Prelude and Processional Musicians Musical Selection--``The Lord's Keith L. Hayes
Prayer'' The Welcome and Purpose Pastor Jeffrey A. Johnson, Sr., Senior
Pastor
Eastern Star Church Prayer Imam Michael Shaair The Litany Celebration
Liturgist: Come let us worship our God and rejoice in
the midst of death.
Congregants: We come to worship God! We come to
celebrate life!
Liturgist: This is the call to worship
the God of life and the God of death.
Congregants: All praises to God for the life of
Congresswoman Julia Carson
All together: Worship! Celebrate! Celebrate and
Worship! The Invocation Dr. Kent Millard,
Senior Pastor
St. Luke United Methodist Church The Scripture Rev. Father Boniface Hardin
President and Founder of Martin University The Ministry of Music-- Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church Choir
``Bye and Bye'' Acknowledgements Mr. Fran Quigley, Esq.
First Chief of Staff The Remarks
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels
U.S. Senator Richard Lugar
U.S. Senator Evan Bayh
U.S. Senator Birch E. Bayh (retired)
U.S. Representative James Clyburn--House Majority
Whip
Indiana Delegation Representative Pete Visclosky
U.S. Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick--Chair of
Congressional Black Caucus
U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson
Tavis Smiley, Television and Radio Host, Author and
Philanthropist
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Leader,
Nation of Islam The Ministry of Music-- Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church Choir
``In My New Home'' The Remarks
Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman
Speaker, Indiana House of Representatives B. Patrick
Bauer
William Crawford, Indiana State Representative
H.E. Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche, Spiritual Leader of
Vebral Linage of Buddhist Meditation
Judge David Shaheed
Sheriff Frank Anderson
Burnetta Sloss Tanner--Grassroots
Cordelia Lewis Burks--Labor Family Reflections: Andy Jacobs, Samuel M. Carson and son, Stefan, Samuel M. Carson IV, Mimi
Carson and Andre Carson Musical Selection-- Keith L. Hayes
``If I Can Help Somebody'' Her Life Story--(Read In Silence) Musical Selection-- Lela Springfield
``His Eye is on the Sparrow'' Words of Comfort Rev. Dr. Jonathan Bailey, Senior Pastor
Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church The Benediction Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith
Executive Director, the Church Federation
of Greater Indianapolis The Recessional and Postlude Musicians
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Active Pallbearers
Military Service Honor Guard
HONORARY PALLBEARERS
Tanya Carson Hon. Joe Kernan Cynthia Martes
Samuel Carson David & Brenda Shaheed Iris (Becky) Roberson
Sam & Virginia Carson Bud Myers Len Sistek
Samuel M. Carson IV George (Levi) Sutton Sarge Visher
Andre D. Carson Jeffrey Slavin Jarnell Burks Craig
MiMi Carson Sylvia Trotter Freddi Carter
Phillip Carson Hon. Billie Breaux Clydonna Surrett
Jamie Carson Sen. Jean Breaux Marlene Dotson
Stefan Carson Rep. Vanessa Summers Charles Ford
Donna Carson Sen. Glen Howard Jackie Diamond
Angela Carson Rozelle Boyd Jackie Tucker
Mariama S. Carson Fran & Ellen Quigley Wilson Allen
Maryama D. Carson Joe Miller Aarti Nayak Rouser
Judy Dalton Chuck Haenlein Mia Clarkson
Nina (Auntie) Brown Webster Brewer Chad Chitwood
Edward Brown Virginia A. Caine Carter Moore
Eugene Brown John Hall Drew Black
Hon. Andy Jacobs Charlie Garcia Carlton Morris
Hon. Bart Peterson Ken Zeller Kathleen Taylor
Mason Goodman M.D. Sherlonda Anderson Sara Williams
Lacy Johnson Bob Voorhies Marti Thomas Doneghy
Mark Tony Duncan Cordelia Lewis Burks Melody Barber Hence
Carl Drummer Phyllis Carr Adairius Gardner
Vop & Una Osili Aaron Haith Melissa Lear Fisher
Rev. Jonathan Bailey Burnetta Sloss Tanner Megan Sims Wilmes
Sen. Bill Crawford Alan Hogan Ward 3 Precinct 2
Hon. Gene Akers Bonnie Grimes Erin Rosenberg
Sheriff Frank Anderson Linda Bonner Helen Kidd
Sen. Birch Bayh
Constituents of the 7th Congressional District
The Celebration will conclude at graveside with full
military honors
Crown Hill Cemetery
Acknowledgements
The family wishes to acknowledge the many expressions of
sympathy and condolences they have received.
The outpouring of support has been overwhelming.
We ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers. May
God's continuous blessings be yours.