[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 137 (Tuesday, October 12, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H9828-H9831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ADDING MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. HOLIDAY TO LIST OF DAYS ON WHICH FLAG 
                     SHOULD ESPECIALLY BE DISPLAYED

  The Clerk called the bill (H.R. 576) to amend title 4, United States 
Code, to add the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday to the list of days on 
which the flag should especially be displayed.
  The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

                                H.R. 576

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
     section 6(d) of title 4, United States Code, is amended by 
     inserting ``Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, the third 
     Monday in January;'' after ``January 20;''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. McCollum) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each 
will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum).
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 576 would add the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday 
to the list of days on which the flag should be especially displayed.
  Currently, section 6 of title 4 of the United States Code, which 
designates the time and occasions for the display of the United States 
flag, provides that the flag of the United States of America should be 
displayed on all days and then lists certain days that it should 
especially be displayed. The list contains nine Federal holidays.

                              {time}  1415

  In fact, all of the Federal holidays, except for the holiday honoring 
the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., our Nation's great civil 
rights leader.
  The nine other permanent Federal holidays are listed in the Flag Code 
to remind Americans to show respect and appreciation for the 
individuals and events that have had such a profound influence on the 
history and success of our great Nation. Regrettably, and apparently 
due to simple oversight at the time the King holiday became a Federal 
law in 1983, it was not added to the list in the Flag Code. And so it 
is right to take this measure up on the Corrections Calendar here 
today.
  H.R. 576 is very simple. It will correct the oversight that left the 
Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday off the list in the U.S. Flag Code of 
days on which Americans are urged to display the American flag. 
Identical legislation passed the House last year. Unfortunately, it 
passed on the last day of the 105th Congress and did not become law.
  H.R. 576 deserves our bipartisan support. I urge the Members of the 
House to join together in correcting this oversight in the Flag Code. 
By adding the King holiday to the Flag Code and asking Americans to 
display the flag on the day we honor Dr. King, we will encourage 
Americans to honor Dr. King and his magnificent efforts to advance 
civil and human rights in America.

[[Page H9829]]

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Bentsen) and ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to 
control that time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. BENTSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 576, 
legislation which I introduced correcting an oversight that occurred in 
the 98th Congress during the establishment of the Federal holiday 
celebrating the birth of our Nation's greatest civil rights leader, Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Specifically, my legislation will add Dr. 
King's holiday to the list of Federal holidays in which the American 
flag should be displayed in honor of that person or event.
  I would like to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) of the Speaker's Correction Day 
Advisory Group as well as the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
McCollum) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) for the work that 
they have done on the Committee on the Judiciary on this as well.
  An identical bill which I also introduced in 1998 was adopted by the 
House on the last day of the 105th Congress last year. Unfortunately, 
the other body had not acted and therefore no law moved forward. 
Furthermore, the Senate has adopted an identical version, S. 322, in 
this Congress.
  This legislation was first brought to my attention during the 105th 
Congress when a constituent from my district with a particular interest 
in vexillology, the study of flags, contacted my office after 
discovering that Dr. King's official holiday was not being observed 
through the U.S. Flag Code. This omission, while not intentional, 
should be offered to the American people as yet another avenue they can 
use to honor the memory and the legacy of Dr. King.
  It is customary during the establishment of official Federal holidays 
to signify the importance of the date through its recognition in the 
U.S. Flag Code. The 77th Congress of the United States passed Public 
Law 623 which codified the U.S. Flag Code. This legislation also 
ensured that as new Federal holidays were added, like the Federal 
holiday honoring Dr. King, official notation in the Flag Code would 
occur without delay. Unfortunately, the legislation, Public Law 98-144, 
establishing the holiday recognizing Dr. King, failed to include 
language necessary to reference the U.S. Flag Code.
  The U.S. Flag Code encourages all Americans to remember the 
significance of each Federal holiday through the display of our 
Nation's banner. The Flag Code reminds people that on certain days each 
year, displaying the flag will show respect for certain individuals and 
events that have shaped our great Nation. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
the greatest civil rights leader of our age, deserves the respect and 
reverence symbolized by the raising of our Nation's banner in his 
memory.
  Mr. Speaker, another extraordinary aspect about this legislation is 
how this oversight was brought to my attention. A constituent, Mr. 
Charles Spain, a resident of Houston and president of the North 
American Vexillological Association, contacted me about this glaring 
oversight 2 years ago. In fact, he became aware of this legislative 
oversight 7 years ago. I am grateful for his diligence and assistance 
in helping my office and the Congress to correct this error. His effort 
demonstrates that all citizens have the ability to contact and petition 
their Congress and make important contributions to the legislative 
process. While I am certainly honored that my office could play a small 
part in furthering the efforts to raise public awareness of Dr. King's 
life and achievements, I am most pleased as well that a private citizen 
of the United States and a constituent has been able to utilize the 
levers of the House of Representatives to effect legislative change.
  I believe the American people should be afforded the opportunity to 
pay their respects to the memory of Dr. King and all of his 
achievements through the display of our flag on his day. Of the 10 
permanent Federal holidays, only the day honoring Dr. King lacks this 
specific honor, and I believe that as Dr. King's holiday fast 
approaches, it is now appropriate to correct this omission.
  Mr. Speaker, the Corrections Calendar was designed to provide an 
expedited legislative procedure for correcting errors in the law. 
Today, the House can achieve that and two additional goals: one, 
ensuring that our Nation honors a true American hero who made the 
ultimate sacrifice in order to make our Nation and all people in the 
world a better place; and the second, proving that a single citizen, in 
Mr. Spain, can make a difference in the American democratic experiment.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure to further 
honor the legacy of Dr. King and to continue to move forward with his 
dream.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the ranking member of the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I come to indicate my strong support for 
H.R. 576. I want to thank the gentleman from Texas, our colleague from 
Houston, and also the gentleman from Florida, the chairman of the 
subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary, for moving this forward 
with the speed at which it has come. I appreciate that very much, and 
on behalf of all of those in this country who realize that Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. is probably the most significant figure in the 20th 
century, not only in America but in the world in terms of the 
understanding that he has brought to human rights and peace and 
justice.
  Dr. King has been a very strong force in my life. He has been a good 
friend of Rosa Parks, who came from Montgomery, Alabama to Detroit to 
associate herself with my efforts for many, many years, and in the 
course of it, I had the honor of getting to know Mrs. Coretta Scott 
King and indeed the entire King family. There exists in Atlanta now a 
Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolence which is still a shrine to 
which people come from around the world to join in the understanding of 
justice and peace and humanitarian, the reaching out, and also to 
reflect on the civil rights struggle.
  Dr. King will forever remain a symbol of what the best of America can 
be, and in a way what Charles Spain and the gentleman from Texas have 
done is really in the wake of and in the spirit of Dr. King himself. 
This is a small but critical correction. Every holiday encourages us to 
display the flag except this one, inadvertently left out. How it got 
left out after 15 years of struggle to get the bill passed, heaven only 
knows.
  And so I am very delighted to join in what I am sure will be 
unanimous support for the measure that is before us now. I thank again 
all of the sponsors and those that have made it possible.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for his 
kind words.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Traficant).
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I want to associate myself with the 
remarks of the gentleman from Michigan, the distinguished ranking 
member of the Committee on the Judiciary. What I would like to say, I 
was not here to speak on this issue, I am here on my legislation 
honoring the mother of Louis and Carl Stokes, but I want to say this. 
This is a bit of irony in the House today. Martin Luther King, Jr. was 
targeted by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
and much of our establishment. He was targeted basically because, in 
the gentleman from Michigan's words, he was a great man but he happened 
to be a great black man. As a result, America feared that power, and 
today we embrace the vision. That is what we should be doing. That is 
the essence of this legislation.
  I am very glad that I was on the floor, Mr. Speaker, and I am very 
proud to be associated with this vote. I commend all those responsible.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

[[Page H9830]]

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Texas for yielding me this time. I thank the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Conyers), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. McCollum) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Scott). This is long overdue. In fact, I followed the gentleman from 
Texas as his constituent raised this issue with him. I want to 
congratulate him for the effort to bring about this correction and 
acknowledgment of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.
  As the gentleman from Texas knows, Texas was one of the States that 
gathered early, although it was not an easy vote and debate, to make 
the Martin Luther King holiday a State holiday in the State of Texas, 
and, of course, supported it being a Federal holiday. It is well known 
that Dr. King was many things to many persons, but I think what we will 
all remember him for is being principled and being an advocate in the 
eye of the storm. Many times what he advocated was not in the popular 
poll. And even as he spoke about opening up opportunities that we might 
be able to participate in the accommodations of hotels and restaurants, 
I think his mind was thinking even further about how to make this 
Nation a better place.
  And so as we acknowledge in the Flag Code his day by exhibiting the 
flag in all of our homes, this is a special acknowledgment, that even 
though you may be going in the eye of the storm and may not have the 
popular cause, it is right to have the right cause and the principled 
cause. I think we all can reflect on that now as Dr. King in the waning 
hours of his life went into Memphis and other places, one, to talk 
about the Vietnam War and, two, to talk about economic opportunity and 
prosperity. Now many of us reflect upon his words and his mission to 
realize that he was right, that we should seek peace in this world, and 
that we should seek economic prosperity.
  So I congratulate the gentleman from Texas and join him in supporting 
this legislation and would hope my colleagues would support it.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Kucinich).
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I want to let the gentleman from Texas 
know how much I appreciate his sponsorship of this and to note that 
when we sing the Star Spangled Banner, we end up by talking about the 
land of the free and the home of the brave. There cannot be any finer 
tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King than when celebrating his day in this 
country that we display the flag and in a sense confirm his journey for 
freedom and his journey of bravery.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 576, a bill 
introduced by the gentleman from Texas. The gentleman's legislation 
would amend the U.S. Flag Code to add the Martin Luther King Jr. 
Federal holiday to the list of days on which the flag should especially 
be displayed.
  As chairman of the Corrections Advisory Group, it was my pleasure to 
work with Congressman Bentsen and the minority ranking member, the 
gentleman from California, Mr. Waxman, and the test of the members of 
the committee to expedite consideration of this Corrections Day bill.
  This bill was favorably reviewed by the Corrections Advisory Group 
and is fully supported by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. 
The advisory group was able to work with the Speaker and the committees 
of jurisdiction to bring this bill to the floor today.
  The Corrections Calendar was formed to provide a special forum to 
address unnecessary, outdated, and obsolete laws. Bills considered on 
our Corrections Calendar are first considered by the Corrections Day 
Advisory Group, which meets periodically to consider various 
legislative proposals designed to improve the federal government's 
efficiency and effectiveness.
  The standing committee of jurisdiction must then act and report the 
bill before it can be placed on the Corrections Calendar. Only after 
the committees of jurisdiction have acted and the Speaker has consulted 
with the minority leader, can the legislation be placed on the 
Corrections Calendar.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is clearly a ``corrections bill.'' Every other 
Federal holiday is listed in the Flag Code, and when Congress approved 
Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983, it was not added to the Flag Code 
through an unintended oversight. Similar legislation passed the House 
last year, but because it was passed on the last day of session, did 
not become law. This year, the Senate has also passed similar 
legislation, and it is high time to pass this bill and see it become 
law.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a straightforward, bipartisan bill that corrects 
a glaring error in our Flag Code, and pays due respect to our Nation's 
greatest civil rights leader. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 576.
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 576--To 
Amend the Act Commonly Called the ``Flag Code'' to Add the Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Holiday to the List of Days on Which the Flag Should 
Especially be Displayed. This bill adds the Martin Luther King, Jr. 
holiday to the list of days on which the U.S. flag should especially be 
flown.
  The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday was established in 1983 as a 
national holiday to celebrate his birthday. The laws relating to the 
flag of the United States are found in detail in the United States Code 
and designate on which national holidays the flag should particularly 
be flown.
  Unfortunately, when the holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. was 
designated, Congress inadvertently failed to include additional 
language in the legislation to list the new holiday in the Flag Code. 
We stand today to correct this wrong.
  Our flag originated as a result of a resolution adopted by the Marine 
Committee of the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia on June 
14, 1777. The resolution read, ``Resolved, that the flag of the United 
States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be 
thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new 
constellation.'' Little did they know when this resolution was passed 
that Martin Luther King, Jr. would live to represent one of the 
brightest stars in a new national constellation of freedom, liberty, 
racial equality and justice.
  Mr. Speaker, there are those who have fought for liberty, there are 
those who have bled for liberty, and there are those who have even died 
for liberty. Martin Luther King, Jr. died fighting for the liberty of 
our people. We honor him and his legacy by flying the flag of the 
United States in memory of this great and shining star.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 576. 
This bill would amend the act commonly called the ``Flag Code'' to add 
the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday to the list of days on which the 
Flag should especially be displayed.
  Our flag is more than scraps of colorful cloth because it symbolizes 
the country itself. On Monday, June 14th, our nation celebrated the 
222nd birthday of the U.S. Flag. Since the adoption of the Stars and 
Stripes pattern by the Continental Congress our flag has been a symbol 
of unity. Unifying people of different backgrounds under a singular 
banner. Our Flag is recognized as a symbol of freedom and justice 
throughout the world.
  When the flag was first adopted in 1777, the U.S. Continental 
Congress justified the flag's attributes this way: ``White signifies 
purity and innocence; Red, hardiness and valor; Blue signifies 
vigilance, perseverance and justice,'' with the stars forming ``a new 
constellation.'' With a description like that, it's no wonder that many 
associate the same values represented in the Flag with the activities 
of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King's life was a unifying force during 
the civil rights struggle.
  Dr. King's beliefs and actions are at the core of what it means to be 
an American. His words and actions changed American history and have 
left a lasting legacy for future generations to follow. King battled 
desegregation in Birmingham, recited his dream of racial harmony at the 
rally in Washington, marched for voting rights in Selma, Alabama, and 
provided inspiration for all Americans. I congratulate Mr. Bentsen on 
his sponsorship of the legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered 
read for amendment and the previous question is ordered.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.

                              {time}  1430

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). The question is on passage of 
the bill.
  The question was taken; and (three-fifths having voted in favor 
thereof) the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 322) to amend title 4, United 
States Code,

[[Page H9831]]

to add the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to the list of days on which 
the flag should especially be displayed, and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  Mr. BENTSEN. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, I yield to 
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum) for an explanation.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, this text is virtually identical to the 
Martin Luther King corrections bill we just passed in the House. It has 
already passed the Senate. This way we can send it immediately to the 
President, and it becomes law, and it is purely technical in that 
regard. But I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                 S. 322

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ADDITION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HOLIDAY TO LIST 
                   OF DAYS.

       Section 6(d) of title 4, United States Code, is amended by 
     inserting ``Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, third Monday 
     in January;'' after ``January 20;''.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.
  A similar House bill (H.R. 576) was laid on the table.

                          ____________________