[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 124 (Tuesday, October 5, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10445-S10446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 447--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
   PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SHOULD EXERCISE HIS CONSTITUTIONAL 
 AUTHORITY TO PARDON POSTHUMOUSLY JOHN ARTHUR ``JACK'' JOHNSON FOR MR. 
   JOHNSON'S RACIALLY-MOTIVATED 1913 CONVICTION THAT DIMINISHED HIS 
ATHLETIC, CULTURAL, AND HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE, AND UNDULY TARNISHED HIS 
                               REPUTATION

  Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Reid, and Mr. 
Talent) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
agreed to:

                              S. Res. 447

       Whereas, Jack Johnson was a flamboyant, defiant, and 
     controversial figure in American history who challenged 
     racial biases;
       Whereas, Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1878 
     to parents who were former slaves;
       Whereas, Jack Johnson became a professional boxer and 
     traveled throughout the United States fighting white as well 
     as black heavyweights;
       Whereas, Jack Johnson, after being denied, on purely racial 
     grounds, the opportunity to fight two white champions was 
     granted an opportunity in 1908 by an Australian promoter to 
     fight the reigning white title-holder, Tommy Burns, whom 
     Johnson defeated to become the first African American to hold 
     the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World;
       Whereas, Jack Johnson's victory prompted a search for a 
     white boxer who could beat Johnson, a recruitment effort 
     dubbed the search for the ``great white hope'';
       Whereas, a white former champion named Jim Jeffries left 
     retirement to fight and lose to Jack Johnson in Reno, Nevada, 
     in 1910 in what was deemed the ``Battle of the Century'';
       Whereas, rioting and aggression toward African Americans 
     resulted from Johnson's defeat of Jeffries and led to 
     racially-motivated murders of African Americans nationwide;
       Whereas, Jack Johnson's relationship with white women 
     compounded the resentment felt toward him by many whites;
       Whereas, between 1901 and 1910, 754 African Americans were 
     lynched, some of whom were lynched simply for being ``too 
     familiar'' with white women;
       Whereas, in 1910 the Congress passed the Mann Act, (18 
     U.S.C. 2421), then known as the ``White Slave Traffic Act,'' 
     which outlawed the transportation of women in interstate or 
     foreign commerce ``for the purpose of prostitution or 
     debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose'';
       Whereas, in October, 1912, Jack Johnson became involved 
     with a white woman whose mother disapproved of their 
     relationship and sought action from the United States 
     Department of Justice, claiming that Johnson had abducted her 
     daughter;
       Whereas, Jack Johnson was arrested on October 18, 1912, by 
     Federal marshals for transporting this woman across State 
     lines for an ``immoral purpose'' in violation of the Mann 
     Act, only to have the charges dropped when the woman refused 
     to cooperate with authorities and then married the champion;
       Whereas, Federal authorities persisted and summoned a white 
     woman named Belle Schreiber who testified that Johnson had 
     transported her across State lines for the purpose of 
     ``prostitution and debauchery'';
       Whereas, Jack Johnson was eventually convicted in 1913 of 
     violating the Mann Act and sentenced to one year and a day in 
     Federal prison, but fled the country to Canada and then on to 
     various European and South American countries, before losing 
     the Heavyweight Championship title to Jess Willard in Cuba in 
     1915;
       Whereas, Jack Johnson returned to the United States in 
     July, 1920, surrendered to authorities, served nearly a year 
     in the Federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, and 
     fought subsequent boxing matches, but never regained the 
     Heavyweight Championship title;
       Whereas, Jack Johnson served his country during World War 
     II by encouraging citizens to buy war bonds and participating 
     in exhibition boxing matches to promote the war bond cause;
       Whereas, Jack Johnson died in an automobile accident in 
     1946; and
       Whereas, in 1954 Jack Johnson was inducted into the Boxing 
     Hall of Fame: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the Sense of the Senate that--
       (1) Jack Johnson paved the way for African American 
     athletes to participate and succeed in racially-integrated 
     professional sports in the United States;
       (2) Jack Johnson was wronged by a racially-motivated 
     conviction prompted by his success in the boxing ring and his 
     relationship with white women;
       (3) his criminal conviction unjustly ruined his career and 
     destroyed his reputation; and
       (4) the President of the United States should grant a 
     pardon to Jack Johnson posthumously to expunge from the 
     annals of American criminal justice a racially-motivated 
     abuse of the Federal government's prosecutorial authority and 
     in recognition of Mr. Johnson's athletic and cultural 
     contributions to society.
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 140--URGING THE PRESIDENT TO WITHDRAW THE 
 UNITED STATES FROM THE 1992 AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR CIVIL 
 AIRCRAFT WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION AND IMMEDIATELY FILE A CONSULTATION 
REQUEST, UNDER THE UNDERSTANDING ON RULES AND PROCEDURES GOVERNING THE 
 SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, ON THE MATTER 
OF INJURY TO, AND ADVERSE EFFECTS ON, THE COMMERCIAL AVIATION INDUSTRY 
                          OF THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. Roberts) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance:

                            S. Con. Res. 140

       Whereas as recently as 1990, Boeing was the uncontested 
     world leader in commercial aviation, and had produced over 55 
     percent of all the jet commercial aircraft ever produced; 
     McDonnell Douglas produced 25 percent, while Airbus accounted 
     for only 6 percent;
       Whereas in 1992 the Agreement on Government Support for 
     Civil Aircraft was negotiated between the United States and 
     the European Community to address the near total 
     subsidization of Airbus commercial aircraft development;
       Whereas the agreement stated that no more than 33 percent 
     of total aircraft development costs could be borne by the 
     respective governments;
       Whereas the agreement ``recogniz[ed] that the disciplines 
     in the GATT Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft should be 
     strengthened with a view to progressively reducing the role 
     of government support'';
       Whereas Boeing has experienced a dramatic downturn in the 
     last three years, losing thousands of employees and a 
     significant market share;
       Whereas Airbus has continued to increase market share at a 
     time of significant turbulence in the commercial airline 
     industry as a result of continued government subsidies;
       Whereas the European Union has not abided by the agreement 
     to phase out subsidies;
       Whereas European Union officials have publicly reaffirmed 
     their plan to achieve global leadership in aerospace based on 
     continued subsidization, noting in ``European Aeronautics: A 
     Vision for 2020'', that ``gradual realization of our 
     ambitious vision must be facilitated by an increase in public 
     funding. European aeronautics has grown and prospered with 
     the support of public funds and this support must continue if 
     we are to achieve our objective of global leadership.'';
       Whereas the new Airbus A380 is the most subsidized aircraft 
     ever, having received more than $6,000,000,000 in direct 
     subsidies from the European Union, including $3,700,000,000 
     in launch aid;
       Whereas in public statements, Airbus representatives have 
     indicated that the company may launch yet another new 
     aircraft, which may require billions of dollars of additional 
     subsidies from the European Union;
       Whereas Airbus has achieved market parity with Boeing; 
     therefore the 1992 agreement has outlived its usefulness;
       Whereas the parties to the 1992 agreement noted ``their 
     intention to act without prejudice to their rights and 
     obligations under the GATT and under other multilateral 
     agreements negotiated under the auspices of the GATT'';
       Whereas on a visit to Washington State on August 13, 2004, 
     President George W. Bush said ``I've instructed U.S. Trade 
     Representative Bob Zoellick to inform European officials in 
     his September meeting that we think these subsidies are 
     unfair and that he should pursue all options to end these 
     subsidies--including bringing a WTO case, if need be'';
       Whereas the Boeing Company has more than 150,000 employees 
     within the United States and has 26,000 suppliers in all 50 
     States;
       Whereas the United States Trade Representative has strongly 
     supported Boeing's efforts to seek redress in this matter and 
     has patiently and appropriately pursued bilateral dialogue 
     with the European Union in an attempt to negotiate a new 
     agreement to discipline subsidies; and
       Whereas public statements by the United States Trade 
     Representative have made it clear that bilateral 
     consultations on the matter of ending commercial aviation 
     subsidies by the European Union have been unproductive and 
     that further talk is unlikely to resolve the serious injury 
     caused to the Boeing company: Now, therefore, be it

[[Page S10446]]

       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the President should direct the United States Trade 
     Representative to withdraw the United States from the 
     Agreement on Government Support for Civil Aircraft that was 
     entered into with the European Community in 1992; and
       (2) the President should direct the United States Trade 
     Representative immediately to file a consultation request, 
     under the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the 
     Settlement of Disputes of the World Trade Organization, on 
     the matter of serious injury to the commercial aviation 
     industry of the United States.

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