[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 82 (Thursday, June 10, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H4030-H4031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PERMITTING USE OF CAPITOL ROTUNDA FOR PRESENTATION OF CONGRESSIONAL 
                        GOLD MEDAL TO ROSA PARKS

  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on House Administration be discharged from further 
consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 127) 
permitting the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony to 
present a Gold Medal on behalf of Congress to Rosa Parks, and ask for 
its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.

                              {time}  1030

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kolbe). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Oklahoma?
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, while I am 
not planning to object, I just want to concur that those of us on this 
side of the

[[Page H4031]]

aisle join with the gentleman from Oklahoma in support of this 
resolution.
  I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts) for purposes of 
explaining the resolution.
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania for yielding.
  First I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson) 
for introducing the resolution to award Mrs. Parks the Congressional 
Gold Medal of Honor. With such leadership Americans will never forget 
where we came from and never lose sight of where we must go.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to support honoring Mrs. Rosa Parks in the 
Capitol Rotunda under the dome of the People's House with the Gold 
Medal of Honor. What could be more appropriate than for Mrs. Parks to 
receive the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in the Capitol Rotunda, 
the structure that unites the House and Senate, a symbol of a 
government of the people, by the people and for the people. Our 
majestic Rotunda is the world's emblem of democracy and freedom. Mrs. 
Parks stood in the face of segregation and started a movement that 
united a Nation. How appropriate for us to honor her where we come 
together as Members and where we come together as Americans.
  Over 40 years ago, Mrs. Parks united the races on a bus in 
Montgomery, Alabama, and how appropriate for us to honor her in our 
country's most enduring symbol of unity, the Capitol Rotunda.
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the ranking member of 
the Committee on House Administration.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) for yielding, and I join the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Watts).
  I do not know how many Americans have seen Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks is 
a woman small in stature. But that belies the fact that she was a giant 
in her courage and in her commitment and in the impact she made on 
America, not just on African Americans, though an impact she had on 
their lives and the respect accorded to them, but on the lives of every 
American who live today in a better country, more conscious of our need 
to give to each individual within our country the respect that they are 
due as human beings and children of God.
  Rosa Parks, Mr. Speaker, is a giant in the history of America. On 
December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks looked up from her seat and said, ``No, 
I will not give you my seat. I was here first. I'm an American citizen. 
I paid my fare. And I ought to be able to sit on this seat.'' Mr. 
Speaker, she was absolutely correct. But as Martin Luther King observed 
some 8 years later, in August of 1963, America had yet to live out the 
reality of the promises made in our Declaration of Independence and in 
our Constitution, that Rosa Parks, like the gentlewoman from Missouri 
(Mrs. Emerson), was endowed not by government but by her Creator with 
certain unalienable rights, and among these were life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness. And our Constitution said, particularly in the 
14th amendment and the 15th amendment, that color would not dictate 
lesser Americans.
  Rosa Parks is a giant, and I am pleased, Mr. Speaker, to join the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania and the gentleman from Oklahoma in setting 
aside, as the gentleman from Oklahoma so ably articulated, the Rotunda, 
a revered spot not only in this country but around the world, to honor 
Rosa Parks, to say to her, ``Thank you. Thank you for helping America 
be a better country.''
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant).
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Watts) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah). 
I want to give a special commendation to the gentlewoman from Indiana 
(Ms. Carson) who works hard and did a great job on this issue. I would 
just like to say that when Rosa Parks sat down on that bus, she stood 
up for all Americans, not just black Americans. I, too, am honored to 
be here today.
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, let 
me just also add my voice.
  I had the opportunity to meet Rosa Parks when she came to 
Philadelphia and visited with a group of young people at the Liberty 
Bell in Philadelphia. Observing the crack, she had a fairly profound 
statement to make about the fact that there was still some need for 
healing in our own country about issues related to civil rights, but 
that her work and her life and her legacy had played just a small part. 
It really was the support and the prayers of millions and millions of 
Americans of different ethnic backgrounds who supported the efforts of 
the civil rights movement which really started with her decision not to 
relinquish her seat.
  From time to time I know we have broad disagreements around here, but 
it is refreshing to see that in a bipartisan way we could come 
together. I am pleased to join with my colleague and my friend from 
Oklahoma as we move now to make the rotund available. Some are honored 
by having this type of honor bestowed upon them. Today I think the 
Congress is honored by having an American of Rosa Parks' stature to be 
able to honor.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oklahoma?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the concurrent resolution, as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 127

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the rotunda of the Capitol is authorized to 
     be used on June 15, 1999, for a ceremony to present a gold 
     medal on behalf of Congress to Rosa Parks. Physical 
     preparations for the ceremony shall be carried out in 
     accordance with such conditions as the Architect of the 
     Capitol may prescribe.
  The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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