[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H6390-H6393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO RECENT CHURCH BURNINGS

  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of 
the concurrent resolution (House Concurrent Resolution 187) expressing 
the sense of the Congress with respect to recent church burnings, and 
ask for its immediate consideration in the House; that debate on the 
concurrent resolution be limited to fifty minutes, equally divided and 
controlled by myself and the gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. 
Clayton]; and that the previous question be considered as ordered on 
the concurrent resolution to final adoption without intervening motion.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oklahoma?
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, although I 
do not plan to object, let me just understand the time.
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. CLAYTON. I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma.
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, 50 minutes total, 25 minutes per 
side.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, we have quite a number of people who have 
expressed a desire to speak, and I would like some accommodation. I 
know that the gentleman has been working with me, but is it possible we 
can do 30 minutes each side?
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, if the gentlewoman would continue 
to yield, we probably will not use our 25 minutes, so I can accommodate 
the gentlewoman, yes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

[[Page H6391]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oklahoma?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 187

       Whereas more than 30 African-American churches have been 
     burned over the last 18 months;
       Whereas arrests have been made in only 5 of the cases 
     currently under investigation;
       Whereas the African-American community deserves the full 
     support of Congress in solving these cases in an expeditious 
     manner and it is important for Congress to speak out against 
     the recent incidents of arson; and
       Whereas several measures which would expedite the 
     investigation into these incidents and assist in the 
     prosecution of individuals found guilty of involvement in 
     these incidents are now pending before Congress: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) attacks on places of worship because of the race, 
     color, denomination, or ethnicity of the congregation 
     undermine fundamental American ideals;
       (2) these fires appear to be hate crimes and also 
     implicitly interfere with the First Amendment rights and 
     other civil rights of the victims;
       (3) the arson of a place of worship is repulsive to us as a 
     society;
       (4) the Congress condemns, in the strongest possible terms, 
     these abhorrent actions against freely worshipping American 
     citizens and the African-American community in particular;
       (5) the Congress sends its sincere condolences to those 
     individuals who have been affected by these acts of 
     cowardice;
       (6) the Congress fully supports the activities of local law 
     enforcement officials, the Department of Justice, and the 
     Department of the Treasury in investigating these incidents;
       (7) the Congress urges the United States Attorney General 
     and local prosecutors to seek the maximum penalty available 
     under law to punish the perpetrators of these craven acts;
       (8) it is important that Congress enact appropriate 
     legislation to ensure that Federal law enforcement has the 
     necessary tools to punish and deter these shameful, vile 
     acts, including the bipartisan legislation introduced by 
     Representatives Hyde and Conyers which would facilitate the 
     prosecution of persons responsible for these acts;
       (9) the President is urged to make the fullest possible use 
     of all available law enforcement resources to bring the 
     culprits in these crimes to justice;
       (10) Congress encourages the people of the United States to 
     work within their own communities to prevent arson against 
     African-American or any other house of worship; and
       (11) Congress encourages American citizens to observe a 
     national week of prayer beginning June 16, 1996, and ending 
     June 23, 1996, in their churches, synagogues, mosques and 
     other places of worship for racial harmony, religious 
     tolerance and respect for the civil and human rights of all 
     Americans.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, 
the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Watts] and the gentlewoman from North 
Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] each will control 25 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Watts.
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Myrick].
  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to stand here tonight in 
support of this resolution, and I am very happy that the resolution is 
coming forward. Back on the first of March some of us who are members 
of the Family Caucus actually sent a letter to Attorney General Reno 
asking her to take action and bring all resources to bear because we 
knew that this problem existed, and so it is good that we are coming 
together and there is a very strong interest in finding a solution to 
the problem.
  This is a bipartisan effort, which always is great to see when 
everybody can work across all lines and come forward to share. We have 
the gentleman from Illinois, Chairman Hyde, whose legislation is coming 
on the floor next week, which will put some teeth into prosecution and 
bring to justice the people who are doing these things. The gentleman 
from Iowa [Mr. Lightfoot] came forward with an appropriations bill, 
which is budget neutral, I might add, and that is going to help give 
the resources to the ATF agents who work in the arson division. And I 
will say from firsthand experience, unfortunately we had an incident in 
my city last week, and they are dedicated, dedicated people who really 
are shorthanded. So this is going to be a big help to them.
  And then today, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Curt Weldon, 
announced that the Fire Caucus and all the fire services and the 
insurance agencies are coming together with a prevention effort that we 
can all share in our districts and really get the word out there of 
what people can do to try to prevent some of this.
  So I commend both the gentlewoman from North Carolina, Eva Clayton, 
and the gentleman from Oklahoma, J.C. Watts, for coming forward with 
this resolution, and it sends a strong message that we are not going to 
tolerate this anymore in our country. I do not care who these people 
are or where they are from, this is totally inexcusable and it has to 
stop.
  I am embarrassed to say that North and South Carolina have had more 
of these church burning incidents than any other geographical area or 
State combined, and that is very depressing to me, but we do need to 
come together not just at the congressional level, but we need to come 
together locally.
  The fourth aspect of this is that we really need to look toward 
helping these communities rebuild. We are going to be rebuilding the 
church in our area, and it is going to serve as a museum memorial to 
the culture of the black church because this is something that people 
really need to understand.
  The whole community is doing it, it is a volunteer effort completely, 
and I am challenging other communities to reach out and do the same. 
They say you can burn the building, but you do not burn the church, and 
I think we all know that.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Missouri [Mr. Gephardt], our distinguished minority leader.
  (Mr. GEPHARDT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote 
in a unanimous way for this resolution. I commend my friend the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina [Eva Clayton] for working so hard to 
bring this resolution to the floor. I commend my friend, the gentleman 
from Oklahoma [Mr. Watts] for being a sponsor and being one who has 
made this bipartisan.
  There is no more dastardly act than burning a place of worship, and 
the offense is even greater when racial hatred is involved, as it is in 
many of these cases. It is very important tonight that all of us, 
Republican, Democrat, from every part of this country, with one voice 
say tonight that these acts are morally reprehensible and wrong and 
must end.
  I have no idea why these things are happening. I am sure none of the 
rest of us do. I assume racial hatred and hatred lies at the core of 
these acts. This had stopped and did not go on for years and years 
because there was a sense in this society that this was inappropriate 
behavior. Perhaps the dialog on some of our radio shows, or something, 
is making it possible for people to believe that we can act out our 
hatred by the violence that is represented in these acts.
  The President has spoken out, and now it is entirely necessary and 
appropriate that every Member of this body tonight say unequivocally to 
the people of our country that these acts must end. And we will take 
every action that is necessary in the days ahead to make sure that 
whatever laws need to be changed are changed, to see that every person 
who is responsible in any way for any of these burnings is brought 
swiftly to justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends for bringing this resolution, and I 
urge every Member to raise their voice, not only tonight but in their 
district and in their communities to stop these dastardly acts.

                              {time}  2130

  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman].
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this 
resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 187, expressing Congress' 
outrage and my personal outrage at the burnings of over 30 African-
American churches throughout the southern United States. I commend the 
sponsor of this measure, the distinguished gentleman

[[Page H6392]]

from Oklahoma [Mr. Watts] and the gentlelady from North Carolina [Mrs. 
Clayton] for their efforts in introducing this important resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, there is no more cowardly act than the desecration of 
another's house of worship. It is an act perpetrated by bigots who use 
the cover of night to burn a sacred place that so many in their 
community hold dear. Our houses of worship are a significant part of 
the glue that holds our sense of community together. When these gutless 
individuals strike at the sanctuaries of our neighbors, they are 
striking at the sanctity of our communities and the freedoms we all 
enjoy under the first amendment to practice our religious beliefs.
  My heart and sympathy go out to our African-American citizens and I 
strongly encourage this body to enact the bipartisan legislation 
introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde and ranking 
member John Conyers to ensure that Federal law enforcement officials 
have the requisite tools to investigate and vigorously prosecute those 
who committed these abhorrent acts. In addition I encourage the Justice 
Department, the Treasury Department, and the Attorney General to 
expeditiously prosecute these cowards to the fullest extent of the law.
  We must not stand by allowing this outrage to continue. Accordingly, 
I urge my colleagues to support this worthy measure.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Payne], the chairman of the Black 
Caucus.
  Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman 
from North Carolina and the gentleman from Oklahoma for bringing this 
resolution to the floor.
  Mr. Chairman, as Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, I rise 
to express my outrage at the senseless desecration of African-American 
churches and also to extend my sympathy to the ministers and their 
congregations all over the country who have lost their places of 
worship. Our thoughts are also with members of the other churches and 
synagogues which have been defaced. These incidents of racial and 
religious bigotry remind us of other painful episodes in our history 
which we had hoped never reoccur.
  Sadly the legacy of racial division is kept alive not only by those 
who carry out these acts, but by others who crate an atmosphere which 
not only tolerates but encourages bigotry. We can turn on our radio any 
day of the week and hear right-wing talk radio hosts spewing forth 
words of hatred to appeal to those in the audience who are discontented 
with their lives and are looking for scapegoats.
  In my area, the radio talk show host Bob Grant, who is courted by 
some politicians, has built his career out of making offensive and 
hurtful statements. He finally pushed things too far the day of the 
tragic accident when the plan carrying Ron Brown and others went down. 
On his radio show he said, upon learning that initially there was one 
survivor, Bob Grant joked that his pessimism led him to believe that 
the late Secretary may have survived.
  Although this radio talk host was fired, he was immediately picked up 
by another radio station. And we call this corporate responsibility?
  The most recent church bombing in Oklahoma reminds us that these evil 
incidents are not confined to the Southeast. The Department of Justice 
has received reports of incidents in States like Maryland, where the 
target was a Quaker meeting house; in my home State of New Jersey. We 
have had them in Richmond; Seattle, Washington; and in other parts of 
New York State this has occurred.
  Mr. Speaker, we must stop these senseless burnings.
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Weldon].
  (Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this 
important piece of legislation, and thank the gentleman from Oklahoma 
[Mr. Watts] and the gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] for 
offering this legislation.
  I join in the outrage that is being expressed by Members of both 
parties, liberals and conservatives, those from rural areas and those 
from urban areas, about the devastation caused by these terrible and 
outrageous fires.
  As someone who got involved in public life first of all in the fire 
service, when I served as volunteer five chief, I understand perhaps in 
a way that many of us do not the impact of anyone suffering through the 
tragedy of fire.
  It is especially outrageous when it hits a place of worship, and all 
of us must come together in this country and condemn it. We are here to 
acknowledge that there has been a special focus on African-American 
churches in the South, and that is especially outrageous.
  I would also acknowledge, Mr. Chairman, there have been 80 churches 
burned since January of this year, 30 that we know of in the South and 
in black areas. But a number of them have not gone reported, but yet 
have been turned in to the insurance corporation which services and 
provides insurance for churches and synagogues across America.
  Today we announced a major initiative, supported by a bipartisan 
group of Members who are part of the Congressional Fire and Emergency 
Services Caucus, to attack this problem in a different light. The focus 
up until now has been on catching those hardened criminals who have 
committed these acts, or those vandals, or those outrageous 
individuals.
  The problem we have, Mr. Speaker, is that that is very difficult. In 
fact, the conviction rate for arson in this country is less than 2 
percent. It is the toughest crime to convict someone unless someone 
actually sees them lighting the match. So while it is important that we 
look for the perpetrators, we must also realize it is especially 
difficult.
  What we announce today is the establishment of a trust fund that 
would provide reward money for information leading to the arrest and 
conviction of anyone that is convicted of the act of arson. But that is 
not enough, because that is extremely difficult. What we announce 
today, Mr. Chairman, is the ability for us to have a proactive effort 
focusing on how to help churches across America prevent arsons from 
occurring.

  To that end we brought together the insurance industry, all the major 
fire service groups: the International Association of Arson 
Investigators, the paid firefighters, the volunteer firefighters, the 
Black Professional Firefighters, the National Fire Protection 
Association, the insurance industry, the American Insurance 
Association, and the Insurance Committee for Arson Control, and we 
announced a 3-part initiative that is declaring war on arson as it 
relates to churches in this country, especially our black churches.
  The initiative will take place through the offices of Members of 
Congress and it is in three parts. First of all, it provides arson 
prevention kits for every church in every Member's district that that 
Member wants to send that packet to, any church or synagogue. It will 
outline specific steps that can be taken locally to help reduce the 
possibility for arson.
  Secondarily, we will be offering free half-day seminars to any Member 
of Congress that wants to establish a seminar for one half day for 
clergymen, for deacons, for ministers, for rabbis to come together with 
professionals who will be provided for free, to give those people 
direct insight into arson and how they can prevent it.
  The third part of this initiative, Mr. Speaker, allows for a 
proactive effort to allow any church that so desires the contact their 
Member, and they will be provided a free professional survey of their 
church with specific recommendations that they can take to reduce the 
likelihood of an arson fire occurring, at no cost to that church or its 
congregation.
  None of this is being funded by the Government. All of this is being 
provided by those individuals in the arson investigation community and 
the insurance industry who want to take proactive steps. It is in our 
hands now as Members of Congress to implement these recommendations, to 
coordinate these efforts, and to make sure there is follow through. 
There is much that can be done to reduce the potential for arson, and 
we must take the lead to make sure that that education is provided to 
every church and synagogue in this country.

[[Page H6393]]

  Together, Mr. Speaker, as Republicans and Democrats and liberals and 
conservatives, as those representing rural and urban areas, we will 
solve this problem, and we will send a signal that anyone who ever 
contemplates the act of arson, especially at a religious institution, 
is going to face the most severe consequences that this country can 
bring to bear.
  We are going to mobilize the communities of this country in a way 
they have not been mobilized before to stop these despicable acts. I 
thank my colleagues, and I urge support of this resolution.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Watt].
  Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my 
colleague from Oklahoma and my colleague from North Carolina for 
bringing this resolution forward.
  I tell my colleagues that I worshiped on Sunday in the church that 
burned in Charlotte, NC, and I want to lift up two quick messages from 
the minister's speech that day. He said unequivocally to the people who 
are doing these burnings, ``You can destroy the building, but you 
cannot destroy the church.''
  Second, he said to his members, ``We have got to find a way to find 
the good in this and to rise above this and to maintain the values that 
we hold dear.''
  I hope all of us will keep those two things in mind as we condemn 
these church burnings and as we all vote, hopefully unanimously, in 
support of this resolution.
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon].
  (Mr. SOLOMON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Oklahoma for 
bringing this resolution in a timely manner to this floor.
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Wamp].
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, of course we should all come together tonight 
and unanimously condemn these outrageous acts. But I want to come 
tonight from a little bit different perspective because, Mr. Speaker, 
long before I was a Member of this body, I was a member of a much 
greater body, and long after I am a Member of this body, I am going to 
continue to be a member of a much greater and everlasting body.
  I hope that our gentleman from North Carolina is right that some good 
can come out of this, and I hope to my core that this serves as a 
wakeup call to the church, to all churches everywhere, that this could 
be an opportunity for the church to do its work, to build the kingdom 
of God; that our brothers and sisters in the predominantly white 
churches would come out of their churches between now and Sunday and 
between now and next Wednesday and offer to rebuild these churches; 
that this would be an opportunity for the kingdom of God to come alive 
here, that some good could come out, that our brothers and sisters all 
across the land would offer their support.
  I hear today that the Southern Baptist Convention took a step, but 
many more need to be taken to have some good come from this, that the 
kingdom would be lifted up, that we would go out as churches and offer 
to rebuild these churches, and that good would actually rise out of 
these ashes.
  The most important word in the world today, that is needed so 
desperately in this country, is reconciliation. This is an opportunity 
for reconciliation. This is an opportunity for white folks to say, ``We 
love you, black brothers and sisters, and we want to help you, and we 
hurt for you.'' Please country, come together.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on people of faith all across America to get out 
of your church, take your resources. If ever there was a mission 
project for churches and religious institutions all across the United 
States of America, this is the mission project that could heal our 
land. Let us reconcile as a Nation, Mr. Speaker, through this one 
action, and have some good rise from these horrific acts.

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