[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S1435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., RECOGNITION ACT

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Recognition Act of 1999. This legislation 
will correct an unfortunate oversight that has left the federal holiday 
recognizing our great civil rights leader without the full ceremonial 
status it deserves. This is an injustice to a great leader and one I 
hope the Senate will act to correct as soon as possible.
  Mr. President, federal holidays celebrating the birthdays of great 
Americans have traditionally included celebratory signs of respect. In 
particular, they have been on the list of days on which the American 
flag should be flown nationwide. Yet, across this country, in the 
schools and on the streets that bear the name of Martin Luther King, 
Jr., that flag has not been flown to commemorate his holiday.
  Dr. King, minister, civil rights leader, winner of the Nobel Prize 
for his nonviolent resistance to segregation, has been recognized 
around the world as a pivotal figure in American history and in the 
global struggle for civil rights. He was instrumental in putting an end 
to segregation and to putting issues of racial equality and civil 
rights into the forefront of American public life.
  As a nation we have recognized the importance of Dr. King's efforts 
and of his achievement by instituting celebration of a federal holiday 
in his honor. It is time to complete that recognition by adding Dr. 
King's holiday to the list of days on which the American flag should be 
flown nationwide.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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