[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 4, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4844-S4845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 349--RECOGNIZING AND HONORING MAY 17, 2004, AS THE 
  50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUPREME COURT DECISION IN BROWN V. BOARD OF 
                          EDUCATION OF TOPEKA

  Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Feingold, Mr. 
Carper, and Mr. Biden) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 349

       Whereas May 17, 2004, marks the 50th anniversary of the 
     Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of 
     Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954);
       Whereas in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 
     537 (1896), the Supreme Court upheld the doctrine of 
     ``separate but equal'', which allowed the continued 
     segregation of common carriers, and, by extension, of public 
     schools, in the United States based on race;
       Whereas racial segregation and the doctrine of ``separate 
     but equal'' resulted in separate schools, housing, and public 
     accommodations that were inferior and unequal for African-
     Americans and many other minorities, severely limited the 
     educational opportunities of generations of racial 
     minorities, negatively impacted the lives of the people of 
     the United States, and inflicted severe harm on American 
     society;
       Whereas in 1945, Mexican-American students in California 
     successfully challenged the constitutionality of their 
     segregation on the basis of national origin in Westminster 
     School District of Orange County v. Mendez (161 F.2d 774 (9th 
     Cir. 1947));
       Whereas in 1951, Oliver Brown, on behalf of his daughter 
     Linda Brown, an African-American third grader, filed suit 
     against the Board of Education of Topeka after Linda was 
     denied admission to an all-white public school in Topeka, 
     Kansas;
       Whereas in 1952, the Supreme Court combined Oliver Brown's 
     case (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 98 F. Supp. 797 
     (D. Kan. 1951)) with similar cases from Delaware (Gebhart v. 
     Belton, 91 A.2d 137 (Del. 1952)), South Carolina (Briggs v. 
     Elliott, 98 F. Supp. 529 (E.D.S.C. 1951)), and Virginia 
     (Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, 103 F. 
     Supp. 337 (E.D. Va. 1952)) challenging racial segregation in 
     education and determined that the constitutionality of 
     segregation in public schools in the District of Columbia 
     would be considered separately in Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 
     497 (1954);
       Whereas the students in these cases argued that the 
     inequality caused by the segregation of public schools was a 
     violation of their right to equal protection under the law;
       Whereas on May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education of 
     Topeka, the Supreme Court overturned the decision of Plessy 
     v. Ferguson, concluding that ``in the field of public 
     education, the doctrine of `separate but equal' has no 
     place'' and, on that same date, in Bolling v. Sharpe, held 
     that the doctrine of ``separate but equal'' also violated the 
     fifth amendment to the Constitution; and
       Whereas the decision in Brown v. Board of Education of 
     Topeka is of national importance and profoundly affected all 
     people of the United States by outlawing racial segregation 
     in education and providing a foundation on which to build 
     greater equality: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes and honors May 17, 2004, as the 50th 
     anniversary of the Supreme Court

[[Page S4845]]

     decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka;
       (2) encourages all people of the United States to recognize 
     the importance of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. 
     Board of Education of Topeka; and
       (3) acknowledges the need for the Nation to recommit to the 
     goals and purposes of this landmark decision to finally 
     realize the dream of equal educational opportunity for all 
     children of the United States.
                                 ______
                                 

 SENATE RESOLUTION 350--TO AUTHORIZE THE PRODUCTION OF RECORDS BY THE 
     PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

  Mr. FRIST (for himself and Mr. Daschle) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 350

       Whereas, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of 
     the Committee on Governmental Affairs has been conducting an 
     investigation into the credit counseling industry;
       Whereas, the Subcommittee has received a number of requests 
     from law enforcement and regulatory officials and agencies 
     for access to records of the Subcommittee's investigation;
       Whereas, by the privileges of the Senate of the United 
     States and Rule XI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, no 
     evidence under the control or in the possession of the Senate 
     can, by administrative or judicial process, be taken from 
     such control or possession but by permission of the Senate;
       Whereas, when it appears that evidence under the control or 
     in the possession of the Senate is needed for the promotion 
     of justice, the Senate will take such action as will promote 
     the ends of justice consistent with the privileges of the 
     Senate: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of 
     the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee 
     on Governmental Affairs, acting jointly, are authorized to 
     provide to law enforcement and regulatory entities and 
     officials records of the Subcommittee's investigation into 
     the credit counseling industry.
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    SENATE RESOLUTION 351--CONGRATULATING CHARTER SCHOOLS AND THEIR 
   STUDENTS, PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND ADMINISTRATORS ACROSS THE UNITED 
  STATES FOR THEIR ONGOING CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

  Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Frist, Mr. Carper, Mrs. 
Dole, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Craig, Mr. Coleman, 
Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Durbin, Mr. DeWine, and Mr. Brownback) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 351

       Whereas charter schools deliver high-quality education and 
     challenge our students to reach their potential;
       Whereas charter schools provide thousands of families with 
     diverse and innovative educational options for their 
     children;
       Whereas charter schools are public schools authorized by a 
     designated public entity that are responding to the needs of 
     our communities, families, and students and promoting the 
     principles of quality, choice, and innovation;
       Whereas in exchange for the flexibility and autonomy given 
     to charter schools, they are held accountable by their 
     sponsors for improving student achievement and for their 
     financial and other operations;
       Whereas 41 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have passed laws authorizing 
     charter schools;
       Whereas nearly 3,000 charter schools are now operating in 
     37 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 
     Puerto Rico and serving 750,000 students;
       Whereas over the last 10 years, Congress has provided more 
     than $1,000,000,000 in support to the charter school movement 
     through facilities financing assistance and grants for 
     planning, startup, implementation, and dissemination;
       Whereas charter schools improve their students' achievement 
     and stimulate improvement in traditional public schools;
       Whereas charter schools must meet the student achievement 
     accountability requirements under the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 in the same manner as 
     traditional public schools, and often set higher and 
     additional individual goals to ensure that they are of high 
     quality and truly accountable to the public;
       Whereas charter schools give parents new freedom to choose 
     their public school, routinely measure parental satisfaction 
     levels, and must prove their ongoing success to parents, 
     policymakers, and their communities;
       Whereas nearly 40 percent of charter schools report having 
     a waiting list, and the total number of students on all such 
     waiting lists is enough to fill over 1,000 average-sized 
     charter schools;
       Whereas charter schools nationwide serve a higher 
     percentage of low-income and minority students than the 
     traditional public system;
       Whereas charter schools have enjoyed broad bipartisan 
     support from the Administration, Congress, State Governors 
     and legislatures, educators, and parents across the United 
     States; and
       Whereas the fifth annual National Charter Schools Week, to 
     be held May 3 to 7, 2004, is an event sponsored by charter 
     schools and grassroots charter school organizations across 
     the United States to recognize the significant impact, 
     achievements, and innovations of charter schools: Now, 
     therefore, be it--
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate acknowledges and commends charter schools 
     and their students, parents, teachers, and administrators 
     across the United States for their ongoing contributions to 
     education and improving and strengthening our public school 
     system;
       (2) the Senate supports the fifth annual National Charter 
     Schools Week; and
       (3) it is the sense of the Senate that the President should 
     issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United 
     States to conduct appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
     activities to demonstrate support for charter schools during 
     this weeklong celebration in communities throughout the 
     United States.
                                 ______
                                 

  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 103--HONORING THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE 
WOMEN, SYMBOLIZED BY ``ROSIE THE RIVETER'', WHO SERVED ON THE HOMEFRONT 
              DURING WORLD WAR II, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Clinton, 
Ms. Collins, Mrs. Dole, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Hutchison, Ms. Landrieu, 
Mrs. Lincoln, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Snowe, and Ms. Stabenow) 
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                            S. Con. Res. 103

       Whereas during World War II, 6,000,000 women stepped 
     forward to work in homefront industries to produce the ships, 
     planes, tanks, trucks, guns, and ammunition that were crucial 
     to achieving an Allied victory;
       Whereas women worked in homefront industries as welders, 
     riveters, engineers, designers, and managers, and held other 
     positions that had traditionally been held by men;
       Whereas these women demonstrated great skill and dedication 
     in the difficult and often dangerous jobs they held, which 
     enabled them to produce urgently needed military equipment at 
     recordbreaking speeds;
       Whereas the need for labor in homefront industries during 
     World War II opened new employment opportunities for women 
     from all walks of life and dramatically increased gender and 
     racial integration in the workplace;
       Whereas the service of women on the homefront during World 
     War II marked an unprecedented entry of women into jobs that 
     had traditionally been held by men and created a lasting 
     legacy of the ability of women to succeed in those jobs;
       Whereas these women devoted their hearts and souls to their 
     work to assure safety and success for their husbands, sons, 
     and other loved ones on the battle front;
       Whereas the needs of working mothers resulted in the 
     creation of child care programs, leading to the lasting 
     legacy of public acceptance of early child development and 
     care outside the home;
       Whereas the needs of women on the homefront led to 
     employer-sponsored prepaid and preventative health care never 
     before seen in the United States; and
       Whereas in 2000, Congress recognized the significance to 
     the Nation of the industrial achievements on the homefront 
     during World War II and the legacy of the women who worked in 
     those industries through the establishment of the Rosie the 
     Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in 
     Richmond, California, as a unit of the National Park System: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) honors the extraordinary contributions of the women 
     whose dedicated service on the homefront during World War II 
     was instrumental in achieving an Allied victory;
       (2) recognizes the lasting legacy of equal employment 
     opportunity and support for child care and health care that 
     developed during the ``Rosie the Riveter'' era; and
       (3) calls on the people of the United States to take the 
     opportunity to study, reflect on, and celebrate the stories 
     and accomplishments of women who served the Nation as 
     ``Rosies'' during World War II.




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