[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1548-E1551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO VIKKI BUCKLEY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 14, 1999

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and 
contributions of Vikki Buckley, Colorado's Secretary of State, who 
passed away this morning after suffering an apparent heart attack on 
Tuesday. Quoting a friend of hers, ``Vikki's no longer in the hands of 
doctors. She's now in the arms of God.''
  Vikki, who proudly proclaimed herself to not be a hyphenated 
American, but a proud American. She held the distinction of being the 
first Black Secretary of State and the first Black Republican woman 
elected to a statewide constitutional office. Winning her first 
election by 57 percent to 36 percent in 1994, she was re-elected last 
November. Running for office for the first time, Vikki was selected for 
the Republican ballot after defeating several opponents at the Colorado 
Republican State Assembly in 1994. She distinguished herself from her 
opponents when she stood up and delivered one of the best speeches I've 
had the pleasure of hearing.
  An outspoken conservative, Vikki served as the state's chief election 
official and traveled around the state and country continuing to speak 
out on varying issues of importance to her, enduring the wrath of 
liberals. Most recently, she gave the opening remarks at the National 
Rifle Association's annual meeting in Denver, CO. Her speech has been 
acknowledged nationwide and most insightful concerning the heart of 
humanity and the preservation of the entire Constitution of the United 
States, including the Second Amendment.

[[Page E1549]]

  Mr. Speaker, I hereby submit Vikki's speech for the record.

 Welcoming Remarks of the Colorado Secretary of State Ms. Vikki Buckley

       Good morning! I greet you as Secretary of State of Colorado 
     and I welcome you to Colorado, a state where some of us 
     believe strongly in the entire Constitution of these United 
     States, including the Second Amendment.
       Isn't it ironic that many who would run you out of town 
     would themselves be unable to even vote had we as a nation 
     not honored all provisions of the United States Constitution?
       To them I say--shame on you!
       I stand before you today as one who has worked closely with 
     the family of Isaiah Shoels. Isaiah was the Columbine High 
     School student who was killed in part because of the color of 
     his skin.
       I must agree with Isaiah's father Michael who has stated 
     that guns are not the issue. Hate is what pulls the trigger 
     of violence.
       We are witnesses to new age hate crimes which we must 
     eliminate if we are to remain the greatest nation on earth.
       What is a new age hate crime?
       When our children leave for school without a value system 
     which places a premium on human life--we are accessories to a 
     new age hate crime.
       Parents, when you raise your children and send them to 
     school without a value system which teaches the difference 
     between right and wrong; then parents, we have committed a 
     new age hate crime.
       I say to those who run our schools, when you allow children 
     to graduate who are technologically and functionally 
     illiterate--you have committed a new age hate crime because 
     those children are destined to be economically tortured to 
     death as though they had been chained and dragged behind a 
     pickup truck in Jasper, Texas.
       Those who would run the NRA out of town need to look at our 
     own children who are engaging in irresponsible sex and having 
     children they cannot take care of. Such irresponsible sex is 
     a new age hate crime--raise as much heck about that as you do 
     the NRA and you will save more lives in 5 years than are 
     taken with guns in a century.
       If we allow the language of hate in our homes--when terms 
     such as ``nigger'' are freely used then we are laying the 
     foundation for new age hate crimes. The language of hate must 
     be challenged.
       Just before a skinhead gunned down a black man on a 
     downtown Denver street last year he asked, ``Are you ready to 
     die, nigger?'' Columbine eyewitness accounts reveal that just 
     before Isaiah's killers fired they asked, ``Where is that 
     little nigger?'' The language of hate must go.
       Now I know that some of what I say here today can make some 
     of us squirm a little bit. We are all guilty of harboring 
     some prejudices and stereotypes. But it is when we are most 
     uncomfortable about addressing an issue that we become so 
     close to real problem solving.
       People we can do better. I am not a hyphenated American. I 
     am an American. That is why I know we can do better.
       I find it difficult to discuss--but I have been a victim of 
     a gun-shot wound. I know first hand the pain and fear--but 
     that experience has not made me an opponent of the NRA or the 
     Second Amendment.
       That is why I stand before you today and ask you to join me 
     and commit NRA resources to combat violence and hate. I am 
     not talking a slick PR campaign, I am talking about a 
     programmatic approach designed to combat violence and hate. I 
     will be in touch to make this proposal a reality.
       Together, we can work for a living memorial to those who 
     perished at Columbine. But we must stand ever strong against 
     those who would ignore sections of the U.S. Constitution 
     which they do not like. We are a strong democracy because the 
     guiding principles of our Constitution and all of its 
     amendments including the Second must be adhered to in its 
     entirety, not selectively.
       Thank you and God bless America.

  Vikki, the mother of three sons and the grandmother of two, was once 
on welfare to support her children. She left public welfare 25 years 
ago when she became a clerk typist in the Secretary of State's office, 
the office which she eventually directed as Secretary of State. She 
attended Heritage Christian Center and was a board member of Project 
Heritage. She was a founding member and director of the Colorado Stand 
Up for Kids Organization, and mentored young ladies in the nonprofit 
organization Empowering Young Ladies for Excellence, and spoke to 
international women's organizations regarding bridging differences to 
make a stronger global community. She has worked to help homeless kids 
and has worked tirelessly in the cause of stopping youth and gang 
violence.
  Vikki was twice featured in significant publications, the December 
1995 Ladies Home Journal--``Against all Odds'', and Atlantic Monthly, 
1996, ``America's Conservative Women.'' She received numerous awards 
including the Political Award from National Federal of Black Business 
Women and numerous ``Breaking through the Glass Ceiling'' awards.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to share a 
snapshot of Vikki Buckley's life and the contributions she has made to 
the state of Colorado and this Nation. Our lives have been enriched for 
having known Vikki.

[[Page E1550]]

                       SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

  Title IV of Senate Resolution 4, agreed to by the Senate on February 
4, 1977, calls for establishment of a system for a computerized 
schedule of all meetings and hearings of Senate committees, 
subcommittees, joint committees, and committees of conference. This 
title requires all such committees to notify the Office of the Senate 
Daily Digest--designated by the Rules committee--of the time, place, 
and purpose of the meetings, when scheduled, and any cancellations or 
changes in the meetings as they occur.
  As an additional procedure along with the computerization of this 
information, the Office of the Senate Daily Digest will prepare this 
information for printing in the Extensions of Remarks section of the 
Congressional Record on Monday and Wednesday of each week.
  Meetings scheduled for Thursday, July 15, 1999 may be found in the 
Daily Digest of today's Record.

                           MEETINGS SCHEDULED

                                JULY 16
     9 a.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To resume oversight hearings to examine damage to the 
           national security from alleged Chinese espionage at the 
           Department of Energy nuclear weapons laboratories.
                                                            SD-366
     10 a.m.
       Judiciary
       Administrative Oversight and the Courts Subcommittee
         To hold hearings on S. 253, to provide for the 
           reorganization of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; 
           and review the report by the Commission on Structural 
           Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals 
           regarding the Ninth Circuit.
                                                            SD-628

                                JULY 20
     9:30 a.m.
       Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
         To resume hearings on proposed legislation authorizing 
           funds for programs of the Elementary and Secondary 
           Education Act, focusing on improving use of funds.
                                                            SD-430
       Environment and Public Works
       Fisheries, Wildlife, and Drinking Water Subcommittee
         To hold hearings on the habitat conservation plans.
                                                            SD-406
       Governmental Affairs
       Investigations Subcommittee
         To hold hearings to examine deceptive mailings and the 
           need for legislation to curb the deceptive practices 
           used in the sweepstakes, skill contests and government 
           look-alike mailings.
                                                            SD-342
     10 a.m.
       Budget
         To hold hearings to review the President's budget for 
           fiscal year 2000.
                                                            SD-608
     11 a.m.
       Foreign Relations
         To hold hearings on the nomination of A. Peter Burleigh, 
           of California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of the 
           Philippines and as Ambassador to the Republic of Palau; 
           the nomination of Robert S. Gelbard, of Washington, to 
           be Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia; the 
           nomination of M. Osman Siddique, of Virginia, to be 
           Ambassador to the Republic of Fiji, and as Ambassador 
           to the Republic of Nauru, Ambassador to the Kingdom of 
           Tonga, and Ambassador to Tuvalu; and the nomination of 
           Sylvia Gaye Stanfield, of Texas, to be Ambassador to 
           Brunei Darussalam.
                                                            SD-419
     2:30 p.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
       Forests and Public Land Management Subcommittee
         To hold hearings on S. 729, to ensure that Congress and 
           the public have the right to participate in the 
           declaration of national monuments on federal land.
                                                            SD-366
       Aging
         To hold hearings to examine the effects on drug switching 
           in Medicare managed care plans.
                                                            SD-106

                                JULY 21
       Time to be announced
       Intelligence
         To hold closed hearings on pending intelligence matters.
                                                            SH-219
     9:30 a.m.
       Indian Affairs
         To hold hearings on S. 985, to amend the Indian Gaming 
           Regulatory Act.
                                                            SD-106
       Armed Services
         To hold hearings on the nomination of F. Whitten Peters, 
           of the District of Columbia, to be Secretary of the Air 
           Force; and the nomination of Arthur L. Money, of 
           Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense.
                                                            SR-222
       Environment and Public Works
       Fisheries, Wildlife, and Drinking Water Subcommittee
         To continue hearings on the habitat conservation plans.
                                                            SD-406
     10 a.m.
       Budget
         To continue hearings to review the President's budget for 
           fiscal year 2000.
                                                            SD-608
       Judiciary
         To hold hearings on combatting methamphetamine 
           proliferation in America.
                                                            SD-628
     2 p.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
       Forests and Public Land Management Subcommittee
         To hold hearings on S. 1184, to authorize the Secretary 
           of Agriculture to dispose of land for recreation or 
           other public purposes; S. 1129, to facilitate the 
           acquisition of inholdings in Federal land management 
           units and the disposal of surplus public land; and H.R. 
           150, to amend the Act popularly known as the Recreation 
           and Public Purposes Act to authorize disposal of 
           certain public lands or national forest lands to local 
           education agencies for use for elementary or secondary 
           schools, including public charter schools.
                                                            SD-366
       Judiciary
       Criminal Justice Oversight Subcommittee
         To hold oversight hearings on Federal asset forfeiture, 
           focusing on its role in fighting crime.
                                                            SD-628

                                JULY 22
       Time to be announced
       Intelligence
         To hold closed hearings on pending intelligence matters.
                                                            SH-219
     9:30 a.m.
       Environment and Public Works
         To hold hearings on S. 835, to encourage the restoration 
           of estuary habitat through more efficient project 
           financing and enhanced coordination of Federal and non-
           Federal restoration programs; S. 878, to amend the 
           Federal Water Pollution Control Act to permit grants 
           for the national estuary program to be used for the 
           development and implementation of a comprehensive 
           conservation and management plan, to reauthorize 
           appropriations to carry out the program; S. 1119, to 
           amend the Act of August 9, 1950, to continue funding of 
           the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and 
           Restoration Act; S. 492, to amend the Federal Water 
           Pollution Act to assist in the restoration of the 
           Chesapeake Bay; S. 522, to amend the Federal Water 
           Pollution Control Act to improve the quality of beaches 
           and coastal recreation water; and H.R. 999, to amend 
           the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve the 
           quality of coastal recreation waters.
                                                            SD-406
     10 a.m.
       Foreign Relations
       Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee
         To hold hearings on the United State's policy with Iran.
                                                            SD-419
     2 p.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
       Forests and Public Land Management Subcommittee
         To hold hearings on S. 1320, to provide to the Federal 
           land management agencies the authority and capability 
           to manage effectively the Federal lands, focusing on 
           Title I and Title II, and related Forest Service land 
           management priorities.
                                                            SD-366
     2:30 p.m.
       Foreign Relations
         To hold hearings on the nomination of J. Brady Anderson, 
           of South Carolina, to be Administrator of the Agency 
           for International Development.
                                                            SD-419

                                JULY 27
     9:30 a.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To hold hearings on S. 1052, to implement further the Act 
           (Public Law 94-241) approving the Covenant to Establish 
           a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 
           Political Union with the United States of America.
                                                            SD-366

                                JULY 28
     9:30 a.m.
       Indian Affairs
         To hold hearings on S. 979, to amend the Indian Self-
           Determination and Education Assistance Act to provide 
           for further self-governance by Indian tribes.
                                                            SR-485

[[Page E1551]]

     2:30 p.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
       Water and Power Subcommittee
         To hold hearings on S. 624, to authorize construction of 
           the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System in the 
           State of Montana; S. 1211, to amend the Colorado River 
           Basin Salinity Control Act to authorize additional 
           measures to carry out the control of salinity upstream 
           of Imperial Dam in a cost-effective manner; S. 1275, to 
           authorize the Secretary of the Interior to produce and 
           sell products and to sell publications relating to the 
           Hoover Dam, and to deposit revenues generated from the 
           sales into the Colorado River Dam fund; and S. 1236, to 
           extend the deadline under the Federal Power Act for 
           commencement of the construction of the Arrowrock Dam 
           Hydroelectric Project in the State of Idaho.
                                                            SD-366

                                AUGUST 4
     9:30 a.m.
       Indian Affairs
         To hold hearings on S. 299, to elevate the position of 
           Director of the Indian Health Service within the 
           Department of Health and Human Services to Assistant 
           Secretary for Indian Health; and S. 406, to amend the 
           Indian Health Care Improvement Act to make permanent 
           the demonstration program that allows for direct 
           billing of medicare, medicaid, and other third party 
           payors, and to expand the eligibility under such 
           program to other tribes and tribal organizations; 
           followed by a business meeting to consider pending 
           calendar business.
                                                            SR-485

                              SEPTEMBER 28
     9:30 a.m.
       Veterans Affairs
         To hold joint hearings with the House Committee on 
           Veterans Affairs to review the legislative 
           recommendations of the American Legion.
                                               345 Cannon Building