[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H4577-H4585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3156) to present a congressional gold medal to Nelson
Rolihlahla Mandela.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3156
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Nelson Mandela has dedicated his entire life to the
abolition of apartheid and the creation of a true democracy
in the Republic of South Africa and has sacrificed his own
personal freedom for the good of everyone.
(2) For nearly 30 years as a political prisoner, Nelson
Mandela never compromised his political principles, was a
source of strength and education for other political
prisoners, and refused offers of freedom in exchange for a
renunciation of his personal and political beliefs.
(3) After his release from prison, Nelson Mandela continued
to pursue his goal of a free South Africa, and was elected
and subsequently inaugurated as State President of the
Republic of South Africa on May 10, 1994, at the age of 75
years.
(4) Nelson Mandela's dedication to freedom did not cease
once the apartheid laws were
[[Page H4578]]
lifted, as he then focused his efforts toward reconciliation
by creating the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired
by the Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
(5) Nelson Mandela is the recipient of many awards and
accolades, including the Nobel Peace Prize (which he accepted
with then-State President F.W. de Klerk in 1993), and more
than 50 honorary degrees from universities around the world.
(6) Millions of individuals of all races and backgrounds in
the United States and around the world followed Nelson
Mandela's example and fought for the abolition of apartheid
in the Republic of South Africa and in this regard the
Congress recognizes Amy Elizabeth Biehl, an American student
who lost her life in the struggle to free South Africa from
racial oppression, and the spirit of forgiveness and
reconciliation displayed by her parents, Peter and Linda
Biehl.
(7) Nelson Mandela is a prime example of how to work to
heal the wounds of racism.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized
to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal of
appropriate design to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela in
recognition of his life-long dedication to the abolition of
apartheid and the promotion of reconciliation among the
people of the Republic of South Africa.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of
the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the
Secretary.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the
gold medal struck under section 2 at a price sufficient to
cover the costs of the medals, including labor, materials,
dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.
The medals struck under this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 5. FUNDING AND PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authorization.--There is hereby authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund
an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the
medals authorized by this Act.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of
duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in
the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Delaware (Mr. Castle) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon I rise in support of H.R. 3156, the bill
to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Nelson Mandela, a man who is the
linchpin of stability and democracy in Africa. I use the term advisedly
because a linchpin is inserted at the end of a shaft to keep the wheel
from coming off. It is an apt metaphor for the role of Mr. Mandela and
South Africa at this point in the history of that troubled continent.
Subsequent speakers will detail this Nobel Laureate's manifold
accomplishments and the international recognition he has received since
his release from nearly 30 years' imprisonment on Robben Island.
H.R. 3156 complies with Committee on Banking and Financial Services'
rules regarding the authorization of gold medals. Although a committee
markup was not held, 293 Members are cosponsors. There is no known
opposition from Members of Congress or the United States Mint.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation is the product of the hard work of my
esteemed colleague, the gentleman from New York (Amo Houghton).
Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Houghton) and ask unanimous consent that he may be permitted
to yield blocks of time to others who may wish to speak to this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Delaware?
There was no objection.
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and thank the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) for yielding me this
time.
I would like to talk about this bill, H.R. 3156. I think it is a very
important bill because it attacks an important issue in our society and
one of the most exemplary men who lives today.
This is a bipartisan bill. Beside me is the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Gilman) of the Committee on International Relations. He and the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Lee Hamilton), who is the minority member
of that committee, have been endorsing it; the gentleman from Georgia
(Mr. Newt Gingrich), the Speaker; the gentleman from Missouri (Mr.
Gephardt); the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine Waters); the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Steve Chabot); the gentleman from South
Carolina (Mr. Mark Sanford); the gentleman from New York (Mr. Charlie
Rangel); the gentleman from California (Mr. Tom Campbell); the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Don Payne); the gentleman from Nebraska
(Mr. Doug Bereuter); the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Alcee Hastings);
the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. John Lewis), importantly the gentleman
from Georgia (Mr. Lewis); the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Jim
McDermott); the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Bob Menendez); and Mr.
Ron Dellums, among others. And I think, as the gentleman from Delaware
(Mr. Castle) said, there are almost 300 people that have signed on to
this.
The Congressional Gold Medal is really very, very special. It was
awarded first to George Washington in 1776, and then to a variety of
other people, Jonas Salk, Robert Frost, Walt Disney, Mary Lasker, Frank
Sinatra, Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, and Colin Powell. Nelson Mandela
is really an appropriate addition to this esteemed list.
The simple yet important bill we propose here today recognizes Mr.
Mandela because of several features: one, his ending of racism in that
important country of South Africa, in Africa; promoting democracy and
also encouraging this extraordinary concept of truth and
reconciliation.
Also, I would like to mention, Mr. Speaker, that Peter and Linda
Biehl of La Quinta, California, are also recognized by the bill. Some
of you may remember, this is an extraordinary family, whose daughter
Amy was killed in one of the districts in South Africa trying to help
and encourage in the teaching of young black children.
{time} 1415
There is no recrimination, there is no nastiness, there is no
retribution there. They actually testified in front of Bishop Tutu's
Truth and Reconciliation Committee and really represent everything that
I am sure Mr. Mandela would have liked to have seen if he had been
there by an example of his life.
The timing of this bill is pretty important. Today is called Youth
Day. And Youth Day really represents an extraordinary day in 1976 when
there was the student riots in Soweto and the ensuing deaths of many
people.
Also, it just so happens, 2 days from now, on the 18th of June, will
be Mr. Mandela's 80th birthday.
Now, let me also give credit to people who stood beside us as we were
proposing this legislation. And sometimes we do not hear about them.
There is the Fulbright Association, the Young Women's Christian
Association, the Results Group, the Catholic Relief Services, the
American Committee on Africa, the Education on Africa, African-American
Institute, and Senator Al D'Amato.
Let me try to encapsulate briefly what this medal means to me
personally. First of all, it means great courage. Here is a man at the
peak of his life representing everything that was good in South Africa,
who was thrown into jail and stayed there almost unknown for 27 years.
He came out of jail and, without any sense of violence or
recrimination, started the process of healing the country, which
ultimately ended up in his election as president.
I can remember myself personally going into Soweto in 1985 at
Christmas time, and it was one of the most terrifying experiences. I
had been in World War II, but this was pretty terrifying. Some of these
southern Rhodesians that had come down as police, the apartheid police,
ransacking their car, practically stripping them bare to see if they
concealed any weapons. This was the type of country that he came back
to try to reconcile.
He also has been associated with another hero, a great hero, which is
Bishop Desmond Tutu, who has been in charge of the Truth and
Reconciliation Committee.
Another thing that I think of with Mr. Mandela is here is a man who
is really putting this nation back on track. As President Clinton has
said
[[Page H4579]]
many times, freedom means nothing unless you can do something with it.
He said this when he was over in South Africa in the presence of Nelson
Mandela about a month ago.
He is really trying to knit together the economy so that the people
who have been waiting for generations to be able to have meaningful
jobs can get those jobs. It is not easy. We are trying to help. But he
represents sort of an economic hope of job security, which nobody
heretofore has represented.
Another reason is that this is pretty important for the continent of
Africa. As my colleagues know, we cannot pick up the paper, whether it
is the story of Nigeria or the Sudan or anything, without realizing the
terrorism and horrifying examples that are taking place over there.
Here is a man defying all the elements of dictatorship, striding ahead,
representing the best that country has to offer.
Mr. Speaker, I really think that from my own standpoint, and I really
sort of echo the feelings of my friends I hope, the world needs heroes
and here is the genuine hero. I was reading something by the historian
Daniel Boorstin the other day and it said,
We are overwhelmed by the instant moment. We have lost our
sense of history. We have lost interest in the real examples
which alone can help us share standards for the humanity of
the future. Everything that we do in America is based on the
lives of people, some of whom we do not know, have never met,
and never will. When we try to find out how those people have
lived, we are really trying to find out how we ourselves live
and what we are all about.
This is what Mr. Mandela is. Mr. Speaker, I am in awe of this man.
Obviously, that is clear from what I said. There is no more fitting use
of this great award than to give it to one of the world's great
leaders. I thank my colleagues very much for letting me express myself
here.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Gilman), chairman of the Committee on International
Relations.
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in strong support of H.R.
3156, a bill to present a Congressional Gold Medal to Nelson Mandela.
I want to thank my colleague and good friend the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Houghton), a member of our Committee on International
Relations, for introducing this bill and working so diligently to bring
the measure to the floor at this time.
Mr. Speaker, Nelson Mandela is an international treasure. As the
president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela is the embodiment of national
reconciliation. His vision, his humility, and magnanimity have enabled
South Africa to overcome the most bitter of social divisions.
Nelson Mandela was oppressed by apartheid for decades. He was jailed
for more than a quarter of a century as a political prisoner. In his
autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela says,
It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger
for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the
freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I
knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as
surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's
freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars
of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I
am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am
not free when my freedom is taken away from me. The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
Mr. Speaker, Nelson Mandela's words transcend South Africa and the
fight against apartheid. They apply in Kosovo, to Bosnia, to Cambodia,
to Afghanistan, to Rwanda, to Ireland, and any other place that is torn
by ethnic, racial, or religious strife.
Nelson Mandela's words of national reconciliation are a strong echo
of those said by President Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural
address in 1861. Lincoln spoke directly to those who would secede from
the Union,
We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies.
Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds
of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from
every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and
hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the
chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will
be, by the better angels of our nature.
Mr. Speaker, the better angels of our nature are personified in
Nelson Mandela. It is entirely appropriate that we honor him with the
Congressional Gold Medal. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support
this measure that has been offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Houghton).
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that we are here on the floor today
considering legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Nelson
Mandela. It is a distinct honor to rise in support of this bill as the
ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Domestic and Independent
National Monetary Policy of the House Committee on Banking and
Financial Services.
I would like to commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton)
for introducing this bill and his tireless work and commitment to see
it become law.
Mr. Speaker, I take personal pride as a member of the Congress of the
United States of America today and the work that I have been involved
in for so many years because of Nelson Mandela and all of those brave
men and women in South Africa who decided they would put their lives on
the line to dismantle the unconscionable racist apartheid by the South
African regime at that time.
I can recall getting interested in this issue. I was asked to serve
on the Board of Trans-Africa here in Washington D.C., headed by Randall
Robinson. I was then a member of the California State Assembly. And
because of my involvement on that board, I carried the divestment
legislation for the State of California, divesting all of our pension
funds from businesses that were doing business in South Africa.
Well, that work carried me all over the United States of America and,
of course, to South Africa at the appropriate time. We had the
opportunity to work with Members of Congress. We had the opportunity to
travel all over the country to universities and colleges organizing
students. We had the opportunity to offer our legislation as a model to
other legislators who wanted to carry divestment legislation. We were
carrying divestment legislation at the state level. We had brave
members of Congress; i.e., Ron Dellums, and others who were carrying
the sanctions legislation here in Congress.
We worked. We organized. We worked with Walter Sisulus. We worked
with Mbeke. We worked with members of the ANC. We embraced the ANC when
it was unpopular to do so because of the policy that they had embraced
and the approach that they were taking to get rid of apartheid. It was
some of the most important work that I have done in my entire career.
My divestment legislation was signed into law, and I think I am
prouder of that legislation than any other legislation that I have
carried either there or here in the Congress of the United States.
I traveled to South Africa when we first lifted the ban, when they
first lifted the ban on the ANC and met with leaders from around the
world as we talked about the work of the ANC. And of course, I traveled
to South Africa on any number of cases, up to the point of time when
Nelson Mandela was inaugurated to become the president of South Africa.
The work that Nelson Mandela did, the time that he served in prison,
the years that he spent in isolation on Robben Island was really the
most motivational experience any human being could have. To see him
dedicated to the proposition that they would be free no matter how
powerful, no matter how overwhelming that regime was, was a lesson to
all of us who were involved on a day-to-day basis in the civil rights
movement, involved on a day-to-day basis trying to get justice right
here in our own country. We cried with those who were involved in that
struggle.
When Nelson Mandela walked out of that prison, we stayed up all night
and we danced the tutu. When he came to the United States following his
release, I had the opportunity to produce him at the arena in Los
Angeles, where we had 90,000 people who came and enjoyed his speech and
a lot of cultural activity.
Again, I stand here today so pleased and proud to join with all of
the Members who are principal coauthors and
[[Page H4580]]
who are just supportive of the idea that he deserves this recognition.
Mr. Speaker, I will close my comments simply by saying, we could not
do a better thing here in this Congress than give recognition to this
gentleman who showed us all what it means to be a human being that is
committed to justice and equality for all.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Chabot).
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3156, legislation
providing for the awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal to South
African President Nelson Mandela.
I want to first take a moment to express my appreciation to my friend
and distinguished colleague from New York (Mr. Houghton). I am pleased
to join him as an original cosponsor. I thank him for working so hard
to gather 291 cosponsors to this bill, and that is no small task.
{time} 1430
I want to commend both the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) and
Bob Van Wicklin of his staff for their extraordinary efforts in this
matter. Nelson Mandela has earned this honor. He clearly deserves it.
He has spent his entire life engaging in a struggle for freedom,
battling those forces who would deny democracy to millions of South
Africans and standing firm against forces who would continue
indefinitely institutional racism.
Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that we bestow this honor on President
Mandela as he spends his final year in public service, the culmination
of a lifetime of work on behalf of his countrymen. I am pleased to
support this legislation, and I hope that we pass it overwhelmingly.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick).
(Ms. KILPATRICK asked and was given permission to revise and extend
her remarks.)
Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank my ranking member and
distinguished chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus for
yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, I want to add my support and congratulations for this
Congress being keen enough to honor one of the finest gentlemen in our
world today, Mr. Nelson Mandela, with a Congressional Gold Medal. As
has been said already, he served over 30 years in one of the most
horrible prisons in the world. He saw many of his fellow men and
freedom fighters assassinated and die during that time. Nelson Mandela
is certainly a role model for all of us to follow. Freedom, dignity and
strength for all of us. I, too, worked on the sanctions bill in
Michigan as we served in the Michigan legislature and am happy that the
sanctions movement in this country made it possible not only for
President Mandela to be free but to give all who suffer inhumanity a
reason to live.
Mr. Speaker, let us pass with pride and dignity the Congressional
Gold Medal for President Nelson Mandela.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in reverence, honor, and true respect not
only for this legislation, but for the ideals and goals of President
Nelson Mandela. A Congressional Gold Medal is woefully inadequate for
the faith in God, the dedication to freedom, and the willingness to
work with his former oppressors for the good of the world that is
manifest in the person of President Mandela. Every person who has ever
dedicated her or his life to human rights needs to look no further than
to President Mandela as a penultimate example of service to humankind.
As we move toward a new millennium, it is stunning to remember that
President Mandela spent most of the last 50 years in prison at Robben
Island, underground evading the South African police, or was fighting
the various injustice and oppression that was apartheid. Before
President Mandela was sentenced to life in prison at Robben Island, his
statement from the dock in the Rivonia Trial ends with these words:
I have fought against white domination, and I have fought
against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a
democratic and free society in which all persons live
together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an
ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs
be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
For 27 years, President Mandela was at Robben Island Prison, a
maximum security prison on a small island off the coast near Cape Town,
South Africa; at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town and in December 1988 he
was moved to the Victor Verster Prison near Paarl from where he was
eventually released. President Mandela repeatedly and flatly rejected
various offers made by his jailers for release upon his acceptance of
second-class citizenship for him and his people. As President Mandela
often said, ``prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Only free men can
negotiate.'' His refusal to negotiate on anything less than an equal
basis forged the fight for President Mandela, his wife Winnie, and his
people in Africa and throughout the world.
Freedom rung on February 11, 1990 when President Mandela was released
from active captivity. Mind you, I said ``active captivity,'' as the
spirit of President Mandela was never held captive. In 1991, at the
first national conference of the African National Conference (ANC) held
inside South Africa after being banned for decades, Nelson Mandela was
elected President of the ANC while his lifelong friend and colleague,
Oliver Tambo, became National Chairperson of the ANC. This day was
fought for through the numerous protests and dedication of many
organizations and individuals, specifically my colleagues of the
Congressional Black Caucus, who continually and tirelessly put pressure
upon Congress to adopt legislation that would ban trade and commerce
with the then-oppressive government of South Africa.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that ``the true measure of a
man is not where he stands during times of comfort and convenience, but
where he stands during time of crisis and controversy.'' By Dr. King's
words, President Mandela has set a standard that all Members of
Congress should at least strive to attain. President Mandela, despite
being chased like an animal in the streets of South Africa, beaten like
a dead horse during inhuman and inhumane captivity over a quarter of a
century, and being considered a banned person in the spoken and written
word, never wavered in his devotion to democracy, equality and
understanding. Despite terrible provocation, he has never answered
racism with racism or hate with hate. His life continues to be an
inspiration, in South Africa and throughout the world, to all who are
oppressed and deprived, to all who are opposed to oppression and
deprivation.
In a life that is the veritable symbol of the triumph of the human
Nelson Mandela accepted the 1993 Nobel Peace Price on behalf of all
South Africans who suffered and sacrificed so much to bring peace to
the land of all of our mothers and fathers. It is my hope that when we
award this Congressional Gold medal, we remember why we were elected to
Congress in the first place: to concern ourselves not with the next
election, but for making our country and our world better for the next
generation. President Mandela demands nothing less from all of us--
Democrat or Republican, Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, black or white.
President Mandela has taught us the lesson of principles. It is time
for Congress to collectively follow our teacher's courageous and superb
guidance.
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in strong support of
H.R. 3156, to present a Congressional Gold Medal to Nelson Mandela. I
want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) who has worked
so hard on this for introducing the measure which I have cosponsored. I
also want to thank his staff person, Bob Van Wicklin, for the work he
has done on it, too. It does not happen without good staff. I also want
to take note of the strong bipartisan support for this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, Nelson Mandela is a true hero, a role model for people
all over the world who struggle for human rights, to the millions who
still lack basic freedoms, and to many of us in this body. There is
indeed something about this man. He exudes an aura of dignity, self-
confidence, commitment, determination, of conviction of his views.
Nelson Mandela spent his adult life fighting for the freedom of his
people, never wavering in his belief in the inherent dignity of all
persons, regardless of color or creed. This is a lesson which he taught
to colleagues in the African National Congress, to fellow political
prisoners, and now to all South Africans. He never compromised his
beliefs or his principles, no matter what reward was offered in return.
I can remember being involved with the Aspin Institute on a
congressional project on South Africa which was during apartheid and
then post-apartheid.
[[Page H4581]]
Therefore, meeting with Nelson Mandela, and before that, actually
meeting in a place where we had members of the Conservative Party,
members of the National Party, members of the ANC who met with us
individually with guards. They could not come into the same room
together. Now look at what has happened. Nelson Mandela was released,
Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the President of South Africa, and
apartheid is no more. What a great man.
As President, Nelson Mandela has continued to lead his people in the
struggle for human rights and a democratic society. Importantly, he has
also recognized the importance of societal reconciliation as a
necessary component of this struggle. He is still a leader for millions
of Americans and others who admire his leadership and his devotion to
equal rights, and I am pleased that this Congress will recognize his
work by presenting him with a Congressional Gold Medal.
I urge support for H.R. 3156.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise
and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from
California for yielding me this time and I want to thank the gentleman
from New York. The two of us had an opportunity to be in South Africa
last year.
I will say to my colleagues that this could not be a more deserving
honor than to honor President Nelson Mandela. As one of his daughters
said often that she grew up without a father who then returned and
became the father of a nation, I would simply say for all of us in
America, we recognized that this fatherhood was sacrificing and tender
and caring and strong. That is why Nelson Mandela can stand on the
African continent and be respected by all of the nations and all of the
people.
It gives me great delight that we would come to this body and honor
him. I am so very proud to be from a city like Houston and a State like
Texas who knew immediately through the leadership of our respective
black caucuses that we would divest our investments from South Africa.
I salute the late Congressman Mickey Leland and the former council
member Ernest McGowan who paid tribute by making sure that Texas stood
strong. This is a great honor. He is a great friend. I thank the
gentleman from New York for his leadership. Together we will recognize
one of the greatest persons in the history of the world, President
Nelson Mandela.
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Oregon (Ms. Furse).
Ms. FURSE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Houghton) for yielding me this time and also for putting this
wonderful effort together. Once in a while leadership just jumps up and
this is the time, and we thank the gentleman so much for doing this.
Mr. Speaker, I was a South African, and I can speak from experience
how total was apartheid, how brutal was the regime. I was privileged
while in South Africa to participate in the struggle against apartheid
and then later in my life as an American citizen to work with
individuals and organizations to assure that the boycott against the
apartheid regime continued. Throughout my life, Nelson Mandela has been
a beacon, a beacon for peace, for justice, for reconciliation. Like
Gandhi, like Martin Luther King, Jr., he rose from personal pain to
become a hope for all of us. But Members do not really need to hear my
words, because President Mandela himself describes himself and his
humility, the humility of this man who spent 27 years in jail, 27 years
for the crime of believing in democracy. How does he describe himself?
He says, ``I was simply the sum of all those African patriots who had
gone before me. That long and noble line ended and now began again with
me. I was pained that I was not able to thank them and that they were
not able to see what their sacrifices had wrought.''
He said, ``The policy of apartheid created a deep and lasting wound
in my country and my people. But it had another unintended effect, and
that was that it produced the Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus, the
Chief Luthulis, the Yusuf Dadoos, the Bram Fischers, the Robert
Sobukwes, men of such extraordinary courage, wisdom, and generosity
that their like may never be known again.''
He said, ``Perhaps it requires such depth of oppression to create
such heights of character. My country is rich in the minerals and gems
that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest
wealth is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds. It is
from those comrades in the struggle that I learned the meaning of
courage.''
He said, ``I never lost hope that this great transformation would
occur. I always knew that deep down in every human heart there is mercy
and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the
color of their skin. No one is born hating another person because of
their background or their religion. People must learn to hate. And if
they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more
naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Even in the grimmest
times in prison, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the
guards, perhaps just for a second, but it would reassure me. Man's
goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.''
Mr. Speaker, I would like to join with my colleagues in supporting
the award of the Congressional Gold Medal to President Nelson Mandela
of South Africa.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Rodriguez).
(Mr. RODRIGUEZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join this bipartisan group
of my colleagues to recognize Nelson Mandela and to award him the
Congressional Gold Medal as President of the Republic of South Africa.
As this is President Mandela's last year as President, I am
encouraged that we will move as quickly as possible so that he will be
able to receive this as President of South Africa.
Nelson Mandela sacrificed the prime years of his life, risking
everything in the struggle against apartheid. He loves his country, he
loves his fellow man, always striving to serve his people. His story is
an inspiration to all of us. He loved everyone, regardless of color,
class or creed.
I have been especially moved by the profound patience and mercy
exhibited by President Mandela. When he came to power, he did not
express feelings of anger or revenge. Rather, President Mandela
convened a panel to address the brutality that was existing, the
murders and apartheid as it existed.
We also take this moment to honor the work and sacrifice of American
student Amy Biehl. I ask Members to join me in this effort.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I too am honored to speak on H.R. 3156
which authorizes the presentation a Congressional Gold Medal to the
President of South Africa, President Nelson Mandela.
Mr. Speaker, I recall once watching the movie Dances With Wolves, and
Kevin Costner was this young army lieutenant who learned to live with
the Sioux Nation. In this one particular scene the Indian medicine man
was walking along the river when this Indian chief turned to Mr.
Costner and said that his whole life's ambition was to become a true
human being.
To my colleagues and friends, Nelson Mandela truly fits the
description of this Indian chief's life ambition. He was a true human
being. After being tortured and imprisoned for some 30 years, this man
holds no sense of bitterness or malice against his enemies. Here is a
man, Mr. Speaker, and he truly deserves this award.
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
South Carolina (Mr. Sanford).
Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time and I thank him for bringing this measure to the House floor.
Mr. Speaker, if we stop and think about it, our Founding Fathers
built
[[Page H4582]]
our country on a simple concept called freedom. Freedom is the
ingredient that they willed for every human soul. Freedom is not
something that Nelson Mandela saw for almost 30 years of his life, yet
after getting out of jail, rather than constructing a life built around
bitterness or built around revenge, he constructed a life built around
freedom, around the simple idea of one man, one vote, around the idea
of democracy. For that he deserves both our praise and this
Congressional Medal of Honor.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton).
{time} 1445
Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Waters) for her leadership, and I thank the leaders of this
bipartisan effort to present the Congressional Gold Medal to Nelson
Mandela, the President of South Africa.
Mr. Speaker, among the leaders in the world today there is no one
more deserving of our recognition and acknowledgment for this award
than Nelson Mandela. The Congressional Gold Medal is an appropriate way
to express our sense of honor, our sense of respect for the man who
through his pain, his commitment and sacrifice brought pride and
democracy to millions of South Africans and also was a symbol of what
it meant to be free throughout the world. He became the symbol which
ultimately led to the dismantling of apartheid in that country.
Mr. Speaker, apartheid means apart-ness. Those who supported and
stood for the apartheid regime in South Africa would have maintained a
system which constitutionally mandated that black South Africa live
separately, differently, unlike others and apart from white South
Africans. Nelson Mandela refused to accept that condition. He gave more
than a quarter of a century of his life in opposition to this
condition. I am delighted to join my friends in this award.
Parliamentary Inquiry
Ms. WATERS. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ewing). The gentlewoman will state her
inquiry.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire as to the number of
minutes left, and also I would like to inquire as to whether or not
Members who have wanted to be here and had signed up, who probably are
in travel, if they will have an opportunity to enter their statements
into the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would assume that all Members will
be given the usual opportunity to insert their statements in the
Record, and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) has 10 minutes
remaining, and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) has 1 minute
remaining.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, recently, when the President traveled to Africa, of
course one of the most important stops on that trip was South Africa,
where we had an opportunity not only to see and talk with Nelson
Mandela, but of course young Thabo Mbeki and others who were involved
in the anti-apartheid movement. One of the most interesting things
about the conversation and the proceedings involving the President of
the United States and Nelson Mandela was Nelson Mandela's ability to
talk straight talk to the President. There was discussion about the
Africa trade bill, and Nelson Mandela was able to raise the kinds of
questions that many leaders would not have been able to raise. Easily,
and I think as we watched him in the way that he did that, we all
concluded that Nelson Mandela had earned the right to ask anybody any
questions he would like to ask them, to reserve the right to disagree
and to reserve the right to give advice and to talk in ways that very
few people get to do on the international stage.
And of course we all recognize that he earned this right because he
put his life on the line, the 27 years that he had served much of that
time in isolation, the fact that he had contracted tuberculosis while
he was in prison, the fact that he sacrificed his family literally for
the movement, the fact that he gave his life at a very early age when
he first helped to organize the youth movement of the ANC, the fact
that he was in the leadership of the protests that were called that are
now identified as the famous Sharpville riots where so many lives were
lost; all of this on the world stage where people began to rally all
over the world and where they developed friends from all over the world
who contributed money, who contributed time, who engaged their
government all because of the leadership of one man who exercised more
power from imprisonment than most of us exercise with all of the
freedoms that we have.
I stand here today, and it just so happens that I brought with me a
replica of the ballot that was used when Nelson Mandela was elected
President of South Africa. Not only is it a beautiful ballot, but it is
an instructive ballot. It is a ballot that was designed to make sure
that the average person could understand who they were voting for, what
parties they were voting for and the face of the persons they were
voting for. Here it is, and I keep this as one of my most prized
mementos to remind me not only of the struggle of Nelson Mandela and
the ANC and Walter Sisulu and Mr. Mbeki and all of the brave warriors
that have been involved in the liberation of South Africa, but also to
remind me of my own responsibility not only to be the best person that
I can possibly be, but to challenge myself on a daily basis about my
responsibility to freedom and justice.
To be on the cutting edge of this kind of work is not easy, and
certainly we do not gain a lot of friends, but in the final analysis we
stand here today with special recognition for Nelson Mandela even
though many in our own country were opposed to what he was doing who
said that we were going to bring down Wall Street with divestment and
sanctions, who said that we were not mindful of the fiduciary
responsibility of those who had great portfolios that we were asking to
divest from businesses that were doing business in South Africa.
We are honored to be able to honor him today, and we are honored to
have lived in a time where we witnessed the fall of a mighty powerful
regime that was dedicated to the proposition that it was going to
suppress and that it was going to deny and it was going to marginalize
and not allow human beings to realize their full potential. This
brilliant leader, this President of South Africa, stepped forward from
imprisonment not bitter. He stepped forward with an approach that said
when we rule it will be a nonracist, a nonsexist government that
recognizes every human being, that everybody is important to this
government and to this Nation.
If there was one thing that I could end up concluding about Nelson
Mandela, it is if there is anybody that ever walked on God's Earth who
could be considered a saint, it is Nelson Mandela. This man is still
smiling. This man is still understanding that it is important to
respect every human being on Earth. Everything that he has sacrificed,
everything that he has given up, all of his trials and his tribulations
are not for naught. He anointed through his work many people who never
thought they would be inspired and motivated to be about the business
of freedom. I am very pleased that I stand here today with Democrats
and Republicans alike bestowing this honor on a man that a few years
ago no one would have believed would have ever become President of
South Africa. I am very pleased that there are those who say today, if
only I had known, I wish I could have done more, I wish I could have
understood better. I am very pleased to stand here today understanding
that those who worked hard in the vineyard, those who had to educate,
those who had to organize can say today my work was not in vain and how
proud I am to have been a part of one of the most important movements
in the history of this world.
As we watch the reconciliation hearings that are going on, we are
learning an awful lot. We are learning that people on both sides made
mistakes and that they are coming forward in this healing process to
talk about those mistakes. I shuddered as I listened to some of the
testimony. I shuddered as I listened to some of the plots and some of
the recognition and some of the admissions, people who killed, people
who experimented with all kind of
[[Page H4583]]
poisons, people who were describing how anthrax was experimented with.
I shudder to think about the lives that were lost.
To tell my colleagues the truth, even though I was working in this
movement and spent 7 years in the California State legislature on the
legislation before it was passed, I never really thought I would see
the day when South Africa would become a democracy, where South Africa
would truly emerge with Nelson Mandela as President. I really did
believe that blood would flow in the streets before that would have
happened. How lucky we are to have our faith and our hope not only
restored in all human beings, but to be instilled with the kind of
pride that one can only gain from having experienced this movement,
from having experienced these kind of human beings.
We think, some of us think, we have had it tough, some of us who
think about what has happened here in America, and some of us who look
at what happened just recently in Jasper, Texas, and we talk about how
bad it has been and how bad it may be. But I want to tell my colleagues
the warriors who helped to move South Africa all have stripes on their
backs, the Sisulus and the Mbekis spent all 25 and 30 years in prison
and came out and did this work, and while I am disgusted with just what
happened to Mr. Byrd, Jr., in Jasper, Texas, and while I am disgusted
with the copycat actions that have taken place since that time, and
while I know the history of my foreparents here in America, and I
understand what slavery is all about, and I understand what racism is
all about, and I understand what discrimination is all about, as bad as
it was, it does not measure up to what was going on in South Africa and
the number of lives that have been lost.
And so I take this time on the floor of Congress today not only to
gloat and to enjoy and to commend and to brag a little bit, but to
simply say I guess I am proud to be an American today, and I hope that
all of the Members of Congress will somehow be stronger and better
because we move today to join hands across the aisle to recognize a man
that perhaps could not have been recognized a few years back. I hope
that we are resolved in our work to be just a little bit better and to
confront any thoughts of racism and discrimination that we may harbor.
I hope that we will not sit in a back room or we will not be involved
in any shape, form or fashion in supporting racism ever again in our
lives.
It is never too late to change.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach).
(Mr. LEACH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 3156, a bill
to present a congressional gold medal to one of the towering figures of
the 20th century, Nelson Mandela.
President Mandela is one of the most remarkable individuals of our
time. His extraordinary personal devotion and sacrifice on behalf of
multi-racial democracy in South Africa is an inspiration not only to
the people of South Africa, but the United States and the world.
President Mandela is a powerful symbol of courage, determination, hope,
and perhaps above all, the uplifting power and majesty of mankind's
enduring search for right in a world too often overwhelmed by wrongs.
As many Members recall, the struggle for a free South Africa
presented a troubling philosophical dilemma for two conservative
administrations in Washington. While the first Republican presidency
chose to risk war rather than compromise principles to end extremist
apartheid--slavery--the last two Republican administrations preferred
to work with rather than against the former white-led government in
Pretoria in an effort to help abolish apartheid in as civil and
bloodless a way as possible. Fortunately, Washington found in F.W. de
Klerk an establishment leader with the courage to change and in Nelson
Mandela a uniquely martyred aspirant. Together in competitive
combination they produced a unusually civilized political phenomenon--
evolutionary revolution.
While economic sanctions seldom work, it was my view and that of our
former colleague Ron Dellums and others that the U.S. had no ethical or
political alternative except to embrace sanctions. Ending apartheid in
this century was as great a moral imperative as ending slavery was in
the last. Nonetheless, too often we forget the distinction between
governments and their people, and too often sanctions aimed at
punishing governments punish people.
One of the important models of U.S. policy is thus to understand why
sanctions were not only appropriate but proved workable in South
Africa. The key, it seems to me, is that they were overwhelmingly
supported by the majority of the South African populace and their
leaders such as Nelson Mandela.
Nelson Mandela led a revolution from prison, and, to the astonishment
of the world, succeeded without irreparable violence.
For a victim of racism to champion multiculturalism rather than
reverse racism reflects a largeness of spirit that merits the
appreciation not only of his country but the community of nations, most
particularly this one. I therefore urge support for this very symbolic
legislation.
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues very much for this debate.
Mr. Speaker, this has been a wonderful debate, a wonderful expression
of sentiments, feelings about people in this country. As I listened to
it, Mr. Mandela is not only bringing South Africans together but I have
a feeling he is bringing all of us together.
One other point: I am told that all great ideas ultimately degenerate
into work. There was a great deal of enthusiasm, but also there was a
great deal of work involved, and I want to thank Robert Van Wicklin for
all he has done.
General Leave
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for all Members to
have five legislative days to be able to revise and extend their
remarks on H.R. 3156.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support for the
passage of H.R. 3156, a bill which would authorize the President to
present, on behalf of Congress, a Congressional gold medal to President
Nelson Mandela of South Africa in recognition of his lifetime
dedication to the abolition of apartheid and the promotion of freedom
and justice for all the people of his nation. I can think of no person
who deserves such an honor more than Nelson Mandela.
In the face of great adversity and suffering extreme personal
hardship and sacrifice, President Mandela led the struggle to bring an
end to the insidious policy of apartheid and to establish in its place
a flourishing multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy in South Africa. His
steadfast dedication to these goals continues to galvanize and serve as
an inspiration to those around the world who are struggling for
freedom, justice, and democracy today.
Moreover, President Mandela's commitment to the people of South
Africa did not end with the lifting of apartheid. Since assuming the
presidency in 1994, he has strived to further the process of healing
and reconciliation of all of South Africa's people. Bearing no malice
for the injustice and mistreatment he suffered under apartheid, he has
sought to bring South Africans of all races and cultures together in a
spirit of peace, humility, and reconciliation. The strength of South
Africa's emerging pluralism today is a testament to President Mandela's
integrity, courage and leadership. His vision serves as a model across
the world.
It is for this reason that I am a proud original co-sponsor of this
measure. It is more an honor than a privilege to urge the bestowal upon
Nelson Mandela of one of our nation's highest honors. I hope all
Members will join me in recognizing Nelson Mandela by supporting this
measure before us today.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Nelson Mandela
Congressional Gold Medal Award sponsored by my colleague, Amo
Houghton--the gentleman from New York. I know of no person that
deserves to receive this award than President Nelson Mandela.
I have had the opportunity of meeting with President Mandela on
several occasions. The most moving experience, no matter how many times
I go there, is visiting the notorious Robben Island where Mandela spent
27 of his years in solitary confinement in the maximum security prison.
He had to pick rocks with a small hammer every single day. It takes a
very strong man to endure this type of treatment and come out of prison
and forgive, become the President and lead his country out of apartheid
era to one of rebirth.
And I will be visiting South Africa next month to discuss with him a
telecommunications project and satellite systems to go to townships in
rural area facilitated by the Discovery Channel. I can truly say that
he is thoughtful, yet punctual and disciplined man. The years in jail
reinforced habits that were already entrenched. With a standard working
[[Page H4584]]
day of at least 12 hours, time management is critical.
Let me say that I am very disturbed by the recent finding by the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Rensburg, a researcher at the
Roodeplaat Research Labatories (RRL), which produced chemical and
biological weapons for the apartheid security forces, said his boss
Andre Immelman told him of a plan to poison Mandela. The secret
document contained statements saying and I quote, ``Mandela must be in
a relatively weak physical condition so that he can not operate as a
leader for long.'' This lethal poison thallium was to be placed in the
form of chocolates and other foods. If he had taken this--if he did not
die--he would have had severe brain damage. I can not imagine any man
having to endure this horrific treatment.
President Mandela says his greatest pleasure, in his most private
moment, is watching the sun set with the music of Handel, Tchaikovsky
or African chorus playing. Locked up in his cell during daylight hours,
deprived of music, both these simple pleasures were denied him for
decades. In a life that symbolizes the triumph of the human spirit over
man's inhumanity against man, let us make this simple gesture to the
President of the Nation.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. I rise today in support of H.R.
3156, a bill that would give the President of the Republic of South
Africa, Mr. Nelson Mandela, the Congressional Gold Medal.
Led by Rep. Amo Houghton, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and
minority leader Dick Gephardt, this bill would bestow the Nation's
highest civilian honor on a much deserving candidate. It is an honor to
be among the cosponsors of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, since the first gold medal was given to George
Washington in 1776 more than one hundred medals have been awarded.
Most recently we awarded the gold medal to Mother Teresa, The Rev.
Billy and Ruth Graham and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew. These
honorable people along with all the recipients of the Congressional
Gold Medal have been instrumental in the development of the societies
and communities that span across the seven seas, helping to shape, the
world as we know it. Nelson Mandela has lived his life within the
confines of this longstanding tradition that the gold medal represents.
Mr. Speaker, Nelson Mandela has made it his purpose in life to rid
his beloved native land of the evil constraints of apartheid while
empowering his fellow citizens with a democratic society. For three
decades, Mr. Mandela was imprisoned for his efforts yet he never
compromised his beliefs or relinquished his commitment to freeing South
Africa from its racist torment. This was made obviously clear when he
became the father of the nation that incarcerated him.
Mr. Speaker, he is a rare human being who emerged from prison to
become president.
Mr. Speaker, this will be Nelson Mandela's final year in office.
Along with my colleagues, I feel that honoring him at this time would
be most appropriate.
Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to
one of the greatest leaders of our era, President Nelson Rolihlaha
Mandela
Nelson Mandela's lifelong struggle to abolish apartheid in South
Africa earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, the Presidency of his
country and worldwide acclaim. Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years
in prison because he believed in the equality of all, sacrificing his
own personal liberty for his convictions.
The Congressional Gold Medal is a fitting tribute to this most
deserving leader. Following his ascendancy to the Presidency of his
nation, President Mandela signed into law the South Africa's new
constitution which includes sweeping human rights and anti-
discrimination guarantees. Nelson Mandela has never wavered in his
devotion to democracy and equality. Despite terrible provocation, he
has never responded in kind to the scourge of racism. His life has been
an inspiration, in South Africa and throughout the world, to all who
are oppressed and deprived and to all who are opposed to oppression and
deprivation.
I hope that we all examine our souls and understand our
responsibility to make our own nation as tolerant of diversity as Mr.
Mandela has worked to make South Africa; not just for the sake of our
own generation, but the generations to come.
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues
in honoring one of the great heroes and leaders of this century, Nelson
Mandela. President Mandela should be an inspiration to us all--despite
unbelievable pain, defeat and suffering, he did not become bitter.
Despite almost 30 years in prison, Nelson Mandela did not give up hope.
He did not get lost in a sea of despair.
Instead, he turned his suffering into something meaningful. He
believed in the power of possibility and of hope. He came out of jail
willing to work with his jailers, willing to being the healing of his
country.
Because of his leadership and his example, the future of South Africa
holds promise. The country must meet many difficult challenges, but
they meet them led by a man who has shown tremendous courage and
compassion.
Nelson Mandela takes us closer to what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
used to call the Beloved Community, a community based on justice, hope
and compassion--a community at peace with itself.
President Mandela, I honor you and I hope that we in this country and
all over the world can learn from you and your example.
Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, this afternoon Members of the House are
rising to explain to our colleagues and the American public why it is
fitting for the House of Representatives to award a Congressional Gold
Medal to the President of South Africa, the Honorable Nelson Mandela.
At the same time, a delegation of South African government officials is
at work in our nation's capital. The delegation has just concluded two
days of meetings in New York and has traveled to Washington, D.C. to
explore how the South African government can work with their nation's
financial community to foster community development in their homeland.
As one would expect, the racial composition of that delegation is
mixed, drawn from the black and white populations within South Africa.
It is a delegation of individuals working together for their government
and the people of their nation. Would this delegation, different in
race but together in spirit and purpose, be possible today if it were
not for the life-long efforts of Nelson Mandela? Perhaps, but not
likely.
Others more familiar with President Mandela's life journey from a
prison cell to the Office of the President of South Africa will speak
eloquently about the man we honor. I rise simply to say I believe it is
most appropriate to honor a man who is the recipient of the 1993 Noble
Peace Price and a man who will soon step down as President of South
Africa when his term expires in April of 1999.
H.R. 3156 was introduced by Congressman Amo Houghton. It is co-
sponsored by a majority of the House, including Speaker Gingrich and
Minority Leader Gephardt. The Congressional Gold Medal is our nation's
highest civilian honor presented to just over 100 individuals in our
nation's history. Nelson Mandela will join people like Thomas Edison,
Robert Frost, Winston Churchill and, most recently, Mother Teresa as
Congressional Gold Medal recipients.
I extend my gratitude to my colleagues on the Banking Committee,
notably Chairman Leach and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the
Domestic and International Monetary Policy Subcommittee, Congressman
Castle and Congresswoman Waters, respectively, for their efforts in
bringing this bill to the floor today. I urge my colleagues to support
H.R. 3156 and ask you to join with me to congratulate Nelson Mandela
for his life's work.
Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3156, and
I commend our colleague Amo Houghton for his initiative, leadership,
and hard work in garnering some 290 cosponsors of the bill and in
bringing it before the House. I am pleased to be an original cosponsor
of this bill to give the Congressional Gold Medal to Nelson Mandela,
because he is one of the great leaders of our time.
Nelson Mandela stands out about all else for his espousal of policies
of reconciliation and his vision of the future. This is remarkable for
a man who, for most of his adult life, was a prisoner of apartheid,
spending 27 years in prison, including 18 on Robben Island.
In the past four years, Nelson Mandela has striven to bring South
Africa's races together. While seeking to improve the lives of South
Africa's disadvantaged, a majority of the population, Nelson Mandela
continued to address the concerns of all South Africans. By leading a
government of national unity, Mandela successfully practiced a policy
of inclusiveness, and reached out to a broad range of South African
society.
President Mandela led South Africa through its historic transition,
culminating in his election as president in 1994. During his
presidency, the government has focused on improving health care,
education, and housing for South Africa's disadvantaged population.
President Mandela's government also implemented market-oriented
economic policies that have maintained international confidence in
South Africa's stability.
In addition, Mr. Mandela, having announced from the beginning that he
would serve only one term, stepped down last December as head of the
African National Congress, clearing the way for his successor who will
be chosen in next year's elections.
In 1993, Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize which
recognized his efforts and accomplishments in opposing apartheid and in
diminishing the gap between blacks and whites in South Africa. It is a
fitting tribute to this great leader that he receive the Congressional
Gold Medal.
[[Page H4585]]
Mr. Speaker, I again commend Mr. Houghton on his work on this
legislation and I urge the House to pass this resolution.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to ask that the United
States Congress award its highest distinction to Nelson Mandela, a man
who fought for freedom for the people of South Africa, and became a
beacon of hope for people all around the world. When on trial for the
crime of fighting against apartheid, he said these famous words:
I have fought against white domination, and I have fought
against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a
democratic and free society in which all persons live
together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an
ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be,
it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
When, after a quarter century of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela was
inaugurated President of South Africa in 1994, he did not disappoint
the millions of people who believed in him. He embarked on the hard
path of reconciliation and healing, rather than the easy road of
revenge and divisiveness.
I and many of my colleagues had the honor of working with President
Mandela when we voted to impose sanctions on the old South Africa, and
many of us were able to meet with him again when we traveled to the new
South Africa with the President. Mr. Speaker, there is no one who
fought more or gave up more for the ideals of justice and equality
which Americans hold dear. And therefore, I believe that there is no
one more worthy of receiving the honor of a Congressional Gold Medal.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3156,
the bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to President Nelson
Mandela.
As one of the most gentle, charismatic, and dynamic leaders in
history, the life of Nelson Mandela stands as source of strength for
all who have experienced and oppression, and an inspiration to those ho
continue the struggle to overcome injustice and discrimination against
others.
After suffering conditions that would cause most to lash out in pain
and anger, this remarkable peaceful man never countered racism with
hatred. Despite spending nearly three decades of his life imprisoned,
Nelson Mandela never wavered in his commitment to peace, freedom, and
social and economic justice not only for the people of South Africa,
but globally. In this way, he provides for us a profound example of the
ability of the human spirit to rise up and triumph over evil forces.
Many in this chamber may be aware of the pivotal role that my
predecessor, The Honorable Ronald V. Dellums, played in proposing
sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa, which helped to
bring its downfall. The sanctions were ultimately instrumental in the
release of Nelson Mandela from prison and the successful transition of
the country to a truly non-racial democracy.
On May 10, 1994, as an international poll observer in South Africa, I
had the humbling and incredible experience to witness the first free,
peaceful, democratic elections which chose this extraordinary human
being as President. There is no more appropriate and fitting leader to
lead the people of South Africa into their bright and hopeful future.
In the past four years, under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, South
Africa has grown substantially stronger and healthier, and stands as a
world leader in its own right.
I am proud and pleased to join with my colleagues today in support of
H.R. 3156. It is fitting at this moment in our history to recognize and
honor the President of South Africa, His Excellency Nelson Rolihlahla
Mandela, with the Congressional Gold Medal.
Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, this afternoon Members of the House are
rising to explain to our colleagues and the American public why it is
fitting for the House of Representatives to award a Congressional Gold
Medal to the President of South Africa, the Honorable Nelson Mandela.
At the same time, a delegation of South African government officials is
at work in our nation's capital. The delegation has just concluded two
days of meetings in New York and has traveled to Washington, D.C. to
explore how the South African government can work with their nation's
financial community to foster the community development in their
homeland.
As one would expect, that racial composition of the delegation is
mixed, drawn from the black and white populations within South Africa.
It is a delegation of individuals working together for their government
and the people of their nation. Would this delegation, different in
race but together in spirit and purpose, be even possible today if it
were not for the life long efforts of Nelson Mandela? Perhaps, but not
likely.
Others more familiar with President Mandela's life journey from a
prison cell to the Office of the President of South Africa will speak
eloquently about the man we honor. I rise simply to say I believe it is
most appropriate to honor a man who is the recipient of the 1993 Nobel
Peace Prize and a man who will soon step down as President of South
Africa when his term expires in April of 1999.
H.R. 3156 was introduced by Cong. Amo Houghton. It is co-sponsored by
a majority of the House, including Speaker Gingrich and Minority Leader
Gephardt. The Congressional Gold Medal is our nation's highest civilian
honor presented to just over 100 individuals in our nation's history.
Nelson Mandela will join people like Thomas Edison, Robert Frost,
Winston Churchill and, most recently, Mother Teresa as Congressional
Gold Medal recipients.
May I extend my gratitude to my colleagues on the Banking Committee,
notable Chairman Leach and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the
Domestic and International Monetary Policy Subcommittee, Congressman
Castle and Congresswoman Waters, respectively, for their efforts in
bringing this bill to the floor today. I urge my colleagues to support
H.R. 3156 and ask you to join with me to congratulate Nelson Mandela
for his life's work.
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 3156, a bill
to present a congressional gold medal to one of the towering figures of
the 20th century, Nelson Mandela.
President Mandela is one of the most remarkable individuals of our
time. His extraordinary personal devotion and sacrifice on behalf of
multi-racial democracy in South Africa is an inspiration not only to
the people of South Africa, but the United States and the world.
President Mandela is a powerful symbol of courage, determination, hope,
and perhaps above all, the uplifting power and majesty of mankind's
enduring search for right in a world too often overwhelmed by wrongs.
As many Members recall, the struggle for a free South Africa
presented a troubling philosophical dilemma for two conservative
administrations in Washington. While the first Republican presidency
chose to risk war rather than compromise principles to end extremist
apartheid--slavery--the last two Republican administrations preferred
to work with rather than against the former white-led government in
Pretoria in an effort to help abolish apartheid in as civil and
bloodless a way as possible. Fortunately, Washington found in F.W. de
Klerk an establishment leader with the courage to change and in Nelson
Mandela a uniquely martyred aspirant. Together in competitive
combination they produced an unusually civilized political phenomenon--
evolutionary revolution.
While economic sanctions seldom work, it was my view and that of our
former colleague Ron Dellums and other leaders outside Congress such as
Randall Robinson that the U.S. had no ethical or political alternative
except to embrace sanctions. Ending apartheid in this century was as
great a moral imperative as ending slavery was in the last.
Nonetheless, too often we forget the distinction between governments
and their people, and too often sanctions aimed at punishing
governments punish people. One of the most important models of U.S.
policy is thus to understand why sanctions were not only appropriate
but proved workable in South Africa. The key, it seems to me, is that
they were overwhelmingly supported by the majority of the South African
populace and their legitimate though unelected leaders such as Nelson
Mandela.
Nelson Mandela led a revolution from prison and, to the astonishment
of the world, succeeded without unleashing either irreparable violence
or counter-productive retribution.
For a victim of racism to champion multiculturalism rather than
reverse racism reflects a largeness of spirit that merits the
appreciation not only his country but the community of nations, most
particularly this one. I therefore urge support for this very symbolic
legislation.
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3156.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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