[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 11 (Monday, February 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1058-S1064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 38--COMMENDING THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ ON THE JANUARY 30, 
                        2005, NATIONAL ELECTIONS

  Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Biden Mr. Akaka, Mr. 
Alexander, Mr. Allard, Mr. Allen, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Bennett, 
Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Bond, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bunning, Mr. 
Burns, Mr. Burr, Mr. Byrd, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Carper, Mr. Chafee, Mr. 
Chambliss, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Coleman, Ms. 
Collins, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Craig, Mr. Crapo, Mr. 
Dayton, Mr. DeMint, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Domenici, Mr. 
Dorgan, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, 
Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Hatch, 
Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. 
Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Kyl, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. 
Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. 
Lott, Mr. Martinez, Mr. McCain, Mr. McConnell, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. 
Murkowski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, 
Mr. Obama, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Reed, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. 
Salazar, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Sessions, Mr. 
Shelby, Mr. Smith, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Specter, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Stevens, 
Mr. Sununu, Mr. Talent, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Thune, Mr. Vitter, Mr. 
Voinovich, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                               S. Res. 38

       Whereas on January 30, 2005, Iraq held its first democratic 
     elections in nearly half a century;
       Whereas after more than 3 decades of enduring harsh 
     repression and lack of freedom, millions cast ballots on 
     January 30, 2005, to determine the future of their country in 
     an election widely recognized as a success by the 
     international community;
       Whereas the hard work, contributions, vision, and 
     sacrifices of the Interim Iraqi Government in undertaking 
     major political, economic, social, and legal reforms and, in 
     conjunction with the efforts of the Iraqi Independent 
     Electoral Commission, in ensuring that Iraq held nationwide 
     elections on January 30, and in not being intimidated by 
     terrorist and insurgent forces resulted in the successful 
     elections of January 30;
       Whereas on January 30, President George W. Bush stated that 
     the election in Iraq was a ``milestone'' in Iraq's history 
     and that the ``world is hearing the voice of freedom from the 
     center of the Middle East'';
       Whereas the January 30 election is another step in the 
     process of developing a free and democratic Iraq;
       Whereas the people of Iraq cast votes to freely choose the 
     275-member Transitional National Assembly that will serve as 
     the national legislature of Iraq for a transition period, 
     name a Presidency Council, and select a Prime Minister;

[[Page S1059]]

       Whereas the Transitional National Assembly will draft the 
     permanent constitution of Iraq;
       Whereas the election establishes a credible process for 
     governing Iraq under a mandate from the majority of the 
     people of Iraq for a new Iraq in which all communities are 
     represented, minority rights are respected, and violence is 
     not tolerated;
       Whereas an estimated 14,300,000 Iraqis were registered to 
     vote at more than 5,000 polling stations across Iraq and in 
     14 other countries;
       Whereas, with 256 political entities composed of 18,900 
     Iraqi candidates standing for election in 20 different 
     elections (the national election, 18 provincial elections, 
     and Kurdistan Regional government election), voter turnout 
     demonstrated widespread enthusiasm for self-determination;
       Whereas Iraqi security forces joined with United States and 
     Coalition forces in providing security for the elections;
       Whereas despite these efforts, many Sunni Iraqis in some 
     provinces did not vote because of fear and intimidation;
       Whereas the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division 
     and other nongovernmental organizations provided technical 
     support and assistance to the Independent Electoral 
     Commission of Iraq and the Iraqi Interim Government;
       Whereas the people of Iraq will again exercise their 
     popular will through a national referendum in October 2005, 
     when the Transitional National Assembly presents a draft 
     constitution for Iraq;
       Whereas national elections based on that constitution are 
     then to be held in December 2005 to choose an Iraqi 
     government in a manner prescribed by the constitution;
       Whereas it is in the interest of Iraq, the Middle East, the 
     United States, and the international community that Iraq 
     successfully transitions to a functioning democratic state, 
     as this may serve as a catalyst for peace and stability in 
     the region; and
       Whereas the Iraqi government needs assistance from the 
     broader international community to further develop governing 
     capacity, train effective security forces who can defeat the 
     terrorists and insurgents and maintain law and order, improve 
     economic conditions, and maintain essential services, such as 
     the delivery of electricity, gasoline, and water: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends the people of Iraq on the successful 
     nationwide elections held in Iraq on January 30, 2005, and 
     recognizes the elections as another step in developing a free 
     and democratic Iraq;
       (2) recognizes the desire for freedom and liberty of all 
     individuals who served as candidates, campaign workers, 
     United Nations and Iraqi election officials, and voters in 
     the January 30, 2005, elections in Iraq and congratulates the 
     new members of the Transitional National Assembly and the 
     leaders of the provincial and regional governments;
       (3) urges the new leadership of Iraq to move forward with 
     drafting the constitution, upholding the law, and holding a 
     referendum on the new constitution in October 2005;
       (4) encourages participation of all groups and communities 
     in the drafting of a new constitution and the formation of a 
     permanent government for Iraq;
       (5) recognizes and honors the sacrifices made for freedom 
     and liberty in Iraq by the people of Iraq;
       (6) commends the Iraqi security forces, and the U.S. armed 
     forces and Coalition forces, who ensured the elections could 
     be conducted in a relatively safe, secure, and credible 
     manner;
       (7) condemns and deplores all acts of violence and 
     intimidation against the people of Iraq by members of the 
     former Iraqi regime, insurgents, and other extremists and 
     terrorists;
       (8) supports the establishment of a fully democratic Iraqi 
     government that respects the rule of law, promotes ethnic and 
     religious tolerance, respects the rights of women and all 
     minorities, provides security and stability for the people of 
     Iraq, and has the capacity to maintain basic services such as 
     the delivery of sufficient electricity, gasoline, and water;
       (9) believes that it is in the interest of the people of 
     Iraq, the Middle East, the United States, and the 
     international community that Iraq transitions to a fully 
     democratic state, and that doing so may serve as a catalyst 
     for peace and stability in the region;
       (10) calls on the international community, particularly 
     Arab states, countries with predominantly Muslim populations, 
     and all North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states, to 
     provide military and police personnel to train and assist 
     Iraqi security forces and to otherwise assist in the 
     political and economic development of Iraq;
       (11) encourages the newly-elected transitional government 
     of Iraq to ensure that all Iraqis, including members of the 
     Sunni religious community, are represented in the 
     Constitution-writing process and in the new Iraqi cabinet to 
     improve the prospects for national unity and consensus; and
       (12) looks forward to welcoming Iraq into the world 
     community of democratic nations.
                                 ______
                                 

  SENATE RESOLUTION 39--APOLOGING TO THE VICTIMS OF LYNCHING AND THE 
  DESCENDANTS OF THOSE VICTIMS FOR THE FAILURE OF THE SENATE TO ENACT 
                       ANTI-LYNCHING LEGISLATION

  Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself, Mr. Allen, Mr. Levin, Mr. Frist, Mr. Reid, 
Mr. Allard, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bayh, Ms. Collins, Mr. Biden, 
Mr. Ensign, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Dayton, 
Mr. McCain, Mr. Dodd, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Specter, Mr. Feingold, 
Mr. Stevens, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Talent, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. 
Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
Lieberman, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Pryor, and Mr. Schumer) submitted 
the following resolution; which was refered to the Committed on the 
Judiciary:

                               S. Res. 39

       Whereas the crime of lynching succeeded slavery as the 
     ultimate expression of racism in the United States following 
     Reconstruction;
       Whereas lynching was a widely acknowledged practice in the 
     United States until the middle of the 20th century;
       Whereas lynching was a crime that occurred throughout the 
     United States, with documented incidents in all but 4 States;
       Whereas at least 4,742 people, predominantly African-
     Americans, were reported lynched in the United States between 
     1882 and 1968;
       Whereas 99 percent of all perpetrators of lynching escaped 
     from punishment by State or local officials;
       Whereas lynching prompted African-Americans to form the 
     National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 
     (NAACP) and prompted members of B'nai B'rith to found the 
     Anti-Defamation League;
       Whereas nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in 
     Congress during the first half of the 20th century;
       Whereas, between 1890 and 1952, 7 Presidents petitioned 
     Congress to end lynching;
       Whereas, between 1920 and 1940, the House of 
     Representatives passed 3 strong anti-lynching measures;
       Whereas protection against lynching was the minimum and 
     most basic of Federal responsibilities, and the Senate 
     considered but failed to enact anti-lynching legislation 
     despite repeated requests by civil rights groups, Presidents, 
     and the House of Representatives to do so;
       Whereas the recent publication of ``Without Sanctuary: 
     Lynching Photography in America'' helped bring greater 
     awareness and proper recognition of the victims of lynching;
       Whereas only by coming to terms with history can the United 
     States effectively champion human rights abroad; and
       Whereas an apology offered in the spirit of true repentance 
     moves the United States toward reconciliation and may become 
     central to a new understanding, on which improved racial 
     relations can be forged: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) apologizes to the victims of lynching for the failure 
     of the Senate to enact anti-lynching legislation;
       (2) expresses the deepest sympathies and most solemn 
     regrets of the Senate to the descendants of victims of 
     lynching, the ancestors of whom were deprived of life, human 
     dignity, and the constitutional protections accorded all 
     citizens of the United States; and
       (3) remembers the history of lynching, to ensure that these 
     tragedies will be neither forgotten nor repeated.

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I join with my colleague, the junior 
senator from Virginia, to resubmit our resolution of apology for the 
Senate's failure to pass anti-lynching legislation. We brought this 
legislation to the Senate's attention in the closing days of the 108th 
Congress, and indicated then that we would return in February, Black 
History Month, and seek its adoption his body.
  When submitting the resolution earlier, I provided a narrative that 
described the horrors lynching. It is not necessary to review those 
facts at this time. The focus of my comments today concerns a critique 
of the need for this bill. As with many historical errors, there are 
those who suggest that we are looking at history with twenty-twenty 
vision. They assert we cannot pass judgment on people living in another 
context; everyone is blind to their own prejudices, while seeing those 
of the past clearly.
  That is a critique that has a lot of merit in some cases. Societal 
morays evolve. In fact, our nation's entire history may be viewed as a 
giant experiment. Viewed from this perspective we find a slow, 
evolutionary understanding of the meanings of justice, liberty and 
democracy. However, Senator Allen and I remain confident in what we are 
seeking to do. The reason is that the Senate's failure to pass anti-
lynching legislation is not merely a tragedy now, it was a tragedy 
then.
  Socrates taught us that ``the greatest way to live with honor in this 
world is

[[Page S1060]]

to be what we pretend to be.'' The Senate filibusters that blocked 
anti-lynching legislation on three separate occasions besmirched the 
honor of this institution. We style ourselves the greatest deliberative 
body in the world, yet we showed little real deliberation on those 
days. We think of ourselves as the ``saucer'' that cools the passions 
of the House of Representatives. Yet the passions that needed cooling 
were found in this chamber. We argue that the Senate is the institution 
that protects the grand traditions of our nation, yet it was the 
traditions of the Declaration of Independence that we trampled over on 
those occasions. In short, when we consider the Senate's role in anti-
lynching legislation, we simply were not what we pretend to be.
  There is other contextual evidence that the Senate was out of step 
with justice and morality even when viewed at the time. In 1918, in the 
midst of the First World War, President Woodrow Wilson pleaded for the 
enactment of anti-lynching legislation. He stated:

       There have been many lynchings and every one of them has 
     been a blow at the heart of ordered law and humane justice. 
     No man who loves America, no man who really cares for her 
     fame and honor and character, or who is truly loyal to her 
     institutions, can justify mob action while the courts of 
     justice are open and the Governments of the States and the 
     Nation are ready and able to do their duty . . . We proudly 
     claim to be the champions of democracy. If we really are in 
     deed and in truth, let us see to it that we do not discredit 
     our own. I say, plainly, that every American who takes part 
     in the action of a mob or gives any sort of countenance is no 
     true son of this great democracy, but its betrayer, and does 
     more to discredit her by that single disloyalty to her 
     standards of law and right than the words or her statesmen or 
     the sacrifices of her heroic boys in the trenches can do to 
     make suffering peoples believe her to be their savior.

  There are two remarkable things about this quote. First, it is an 
indication of just how much lynching was impacting our country's 
reputation. In the middle of an enormous military effort that allied 
the forces of democracy against the great autocratic empires, the 
President had to take to reprimand his own countrymen. Furthermore, 
historians have long noted that President Wilson did not hold 
particularly progressive views of African Americans. Nevertheless, here 
he is taking his countrymen to task. Why? Because the injustice of our 
actions was clear to him, and were being laid bare--rather 
embarrassingly--before the whole world. While we struggled to 
demonstrate the strength and righteousness of democracy, we were 
belying our own story with lynchings. Once again, we simply were not 
being what we pretended to be.
  Finally, I know in my heart that the people of the South were aware 
of the injustice that they were inflicting on African Americans. I know 
because I understand how deeply important religion and Christianity are 
to the people of the South. It pervades every aspect of our culture and 
history. But it was surely lost on no one in the South that the 
greatest victim of mob violence was Jesus. When looking at James 
Allen's book ``Without Sanctuary'' I think people will get a sense of 
God's suffering. You will also see the tragedy of humanity in the faces 
of the crowds. You quickly realize that man's inhumanity to man is an 
ancient question that still plagues us today. Yet in the helpless 
nobility of the victims, we are also reminded that God intends true 
peace and justice to come in the next world and not this one.
  We have an opportunity today to teach, an opportunity to express 
remorse, and most importantly an opportunity to be what we pretend to 
be. In so doing, I hope we may return some of the lost honor of this 
Chamber.
  Mr. President, it has been said that ``ignorance, allied with power, 
is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.'' Sadly, this great body, 
in which I am so proud to serve, once allied its power with ignorance. 
In so doing, it condoned unspeakable injustice that diminished the role 
of the Senate, and heaped untold suffering on Americans sorely in need 
of our protection. I am referring to the Senate's role in the decades 
long campaign to end lynching in this country. On three separate 
occasions, our colleagues in the House of Representatives passed anti-
lynching legislation with overwhelming majorities. On all three of 
those occasions members of this Chamber blocked, or filibustered the 
consideration of that legislation.
  Between 1882, when records first began to be collected, and 1968 
4,742 Americans lost their lives to lynch mobs. The experts believe 
that undocumented cases might double that figure. The vast majority of 
those killed --3,445 Americans--were African American. Sadly, a 
disproportionate number of those deaths occurred within my home region 
of the South, but 46 of the 50 States experienced these atrocities. 
Lynching was truly a national problem deserving the attention of the 
national legislative bodies.
  Frederick Douglas seems to have captured the real reason for this 
dark period of our national history. These acts of terrorism were not 
so much an admission of African Americans' weakness, but of their 
perseverance, and indomitable spirit. Douglas wrote:

       It is proof that the Negro is not standing still. He is not 
     dead, but alive and active. He is not drifting with the 
     current, but manfully resisting it . . . A ship rotting at 
     anchor meets with no resistance, but when she sails on the 
     sea, she has to buffet opposing billows. The enemies of the 
     Negro see that he is making progress and they naturally wish 
     to stop him and keep him in just what they consider his 
     proper place.

  It was, in short, the ability of African Americans to overcome Jim 
Crow laws, to overcome share-cropping, to overcome second-class 
citizenship that provoked such savagery. Its an old story that repeats 
itself throughout human history. Whether it was the Israelites in 
Egypt, the colonial empires in Africa or America's own history of 
Apartheid, rulers that assume superiority inevitably prove themselves 
models of mankind's basest instincts.
  It should also be noted that this was not only an outrage committed 
against African Americans. The effort to dehumanize people on the basis 
of race or ethnicity did not limit itself to black Americans. In fact, 
the single largest incident of lynching occurred in my home State, in 
my home town of New Orleans. Yet, the victims were not black. They were 
Italians. On March 14, 1891, 11 Italian immigrants were lynched in the 
city of New Orleans. These immigrants too were thought to be less than 
human, and were simply rounded up as a group of the ``usual suspects'' 
following the murder of Police Superintendent David Hennessy. Already 
edgy from a media prompted Mafia scare, a mob surrounded the prison and 
eventually battered down the doors. An armed group of 25 men overtook 
the guards and summarily riddled the bodies of the 11 Italian prisoners 
with bullets. Their bodies were hung on lampposts outside the prison. 
Eyewitnesses described the cheering of the crowd as deafening.

  Of course, the attacks on that day are an example of mob justice and 
its irrational prejudices. However, in nearly 25 percent of all 
lynchings the motivations of the attackers came down to a bald attempt 
to maintain a caste system in this country. The NAACP cataloged the 
reported motivations for these forms of attack. They included: using 
disrespectful, insulting, slanderous, boastful, threatening or 
incendiary language; insubordination, impertinence, or improper 
demeanor, a sarcastic grin, laughing at the wrong place, a prolonged 
silence; refusing to take off one's hat to a white person or to give 
the right-of-way when encountering a white on the sidewalk; resisting 
assault by whites; being troublesome generally; disorderly conduct, 
petty theft or drunkenness; writing an improper letter to a white 
person; paying undue or improper attention to a white female; accusing 
a white man of writing love letters to a black woman; or living or 
keeping company with a white woman; turning or refusing to turn State's 
evidence; testifying or bringing suit against a white person; being 
related to a person accused of a crime and already lynched; political 
activities; union organizing; conjuring; discussing a lynching; 
gambling; operating a house of ill fame; a personal debt; refusing to 
accept an employment offer; vagrancy; refusing to give up one's farm; 
conspicuously displaying one's wealth or property; and trying to act 
like a white man.
  In many instances, lynchings were little more than a way to remove an 
economic competitor and confiscate his property. This was true in a 
number of cases in Mississippi involving successful African American 
landowners,

[[Page S1061]]

and in one notorious Hawaiian case involving a Japanese immigrant 
competing with established white businessmen.
  Many of my colleagues might wonder why now? After all, some of these 
incidents are over a century old. There are two reasons. First, this 
aspect of American history is not well known or understood. As 
reconstruction concluded in the South, a very ugly struggle to reassert 
the social structure that preceded the Civil War took place. A great 
deal of it occurred with the tacit consent of the Federal Government, 
and the most part, the media either shared in the common prejudice, or 
simply ignored what was occurring.
  Fortunately, we have the publication of the book ``Without 
Sanctuary'' by James Allen, Hilton Als, Congressman John Lewis, and 
Leon F. Litwak to serve as a focal point for our attention to this 
neglected history. This is a difficult book to examine. It serves as a 
catalog of inhuman crime perpetrated by very ordinary citizens. Looking 
at anything so tragic as the victims of these crimes would be 
disturbing, but that is not what will leave a lasting impression. It is 
the festive attitude, the smiles and smirks on the crowd gathered 
around the victim. They clearly take a perverse pride in this act. 
Hannah Arendt, the famous political philosopher, subtitled her book on 
Adolph Eichman's war crimes trials ``A Report on the Banality of 
Evil.'' When you look at the expressions on the faces of the murders in 
these photos, that is all you can think about. These are not crazed 
killers, these are rational people going about their every day lives, 
and committing unspeakable acts in the process.
  Photos like these serve to remind us that a healthy society is not 
something that is built up over time, and then like a great monument, 
exists for centuries. Rather, a healthy society is a thin levee that 
must be constantly improved and maintained to hold back the worst 
instincts of mankind. I think the horrible pictures that came from Abu 
Gharib prison served as a reminder of this lesson. This book is even 
greater testimony that atrocities are not events that only occur in far 
off places. They can and have occurred here in the United States.
  The only way to maintain a healthy society is to acknowledge and 
discuss our mistakes. No one would defend the Senate's filibuster of 
anti-lynching legislation today. I would like to think that any Senator 
who did so would quickly be looking for another line of work. However, 
despite the change of attitude we have taken no action to remedy our 
wrong. That is the purpose of this resolution today. I would like to 
extend my deep thanks to my courageous colleague, the Junion Senator 
from Virginia. He seemed to instantly understand the significance of 
this effort, and I believe it was vitally important to proceed with 
this resolution in a bipartisan manner. His input and drive have made 
this effort much more successful than it otherwise would have been.
  It is our intention to introduce this legislation today, and use the 
recess period to confer with our colleagues about it. When we reconvene 
next year, we will re-introduce this resolution, and at that time, we 
hope to have the co-sponsorship of every member of this body. Then, we 
endeavor to enact the resolution to commemorate Black History month.
  I said ignorance allied with power is justice's most ferocious enemy. 
Yet imagine what truth allied with power can bring. For over 50 years, 
African American achievement was seen as a threat to the majority of 
people in this nation. It is time to close the book on that tragic 
period and begin to celebrate the achievements of black Americans as 
accomplishments that have bettered us all. I believe that this 
resolution of apology will be an important symbolic step in this 
process of healing and growth.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of an 
important resolution of apology that Senator Mary Landrieu and I are 
resubmitting today. Since first submitting this measure last September, 
I am proud to say that approximately a third of my colleagues from both 
sides of the aisle have lent their support by serving as original 
cosponsors this Congress.
  Like all of my colleagues, I am proud to be a Member of this Chamber, 
not for its grandeur, but because of the grand ideas it represents. It 
is here, at these small, wood desks, that big ideas have been debated 
and argued throughout the course of history for the greater good of the 
people of the United States and the world. It is here in this Chamber, 
on this floor, that representative democracy has reached consensus from 
what our Founding Fathers called the ``Will of the People.''
  In the history of this Chamber, there have been many great minds and 
defenders of freedom. One of those, whose words still reverberate here 
today, is Daniel Webster. Standing in the old Senate Chamber, Webster 
told his colleagues in 1834 that a ``representative of the people is a 
sentinel on the watch tower of liberty.''
  Indeed, the United States Senate has been a great watchtower on 
liberty. Many individuals have venerated the Senate as the world's 
greatest deliberative body. The formidable British Member of 
Parliament, William Gladstone, called the American Senate, ``that 
remarkable body, the most remarkable of all the inventions of modern 
politics.''
  But unfortunately, this august body has a stain on its history: 
lynching. Americans died from a noose, from flogging, from a torch, 
from the evil hearts of men outside this Chamber. While three-fourths 
of the 4,742 victims of these injustices were African-Americans, no 
race escaped the cruel act that is so contrary to the rule of law, due 
process and equal protection that we pride ourselves on in the United 
States. Jewish people, Asians, Hispanics, American Indians, Italians 
and others found themselves unprotected.
  I rise today to offer a formal and heartfelt apology to all the 
victims of lynching in our history, and for the failure of the United 
States Senate to take action when action was most needed.
  This body failed to act as these vile killings captivated front-page 
headlines, drew crowds with morbid curiosity and left thousands of 
mostly African Americans hanging from trees or bleeding to death from 
the lashings of whips. In not acting, this body failed to protect the 
liberty of which Webster spoke.
  According to the archives of the Tuskegee Institute, 4,472 Americans 
died by lynching starting in 1882. Three-fourths of these acts of 
hatred were perpetrated against black men, women, and children. Many 
times these lynchings were not lone acts by a few white men. Rather, 
they were angry gangs or mobs whipped into frenzies by skewed 
mentalities of right and wrong.
  One of those who suffered this awful fate was an African American 
named Zachariah Walker of Coatesville, VA. In 1911, Walker was dragged 
from a hospital bed where he was recovering from a gunshot wound. 
Accused of killing a white man--which he claimed was in self-defense--
Walker was burned alive at the stake without a trial.
  Such horrendous acts were not just a regional phenomenon of the 
South. States like Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and even the Washington, 
DC area experienced mob violence. Lynching was not just a regional 
problem; it was a national crime, which occurred in 46 States of our 
country.
  Despite the national scope of these acts, the Senate failed to pass 
any of the nearly 200 anti-lynching bills introduced in Congress during 
the first half of the twentieth century. After three bills were passed 
by the House of Representatives, they faced filibusters on this Senate 
floor.
  Seven Presidents from 1890 to 1952 asked that such laws be passed. A 
Federal law would have afforded more protection to the innocent and 
would have brought the resources of the Federal Government to bear on 
those responsible for such egregious acts. Sadly, only one percent of 
such acts were prosecuted by the State or local authorities. I am proud 
to say Virginia passed an anti-lynching law which logically accounts 
for relatively fewer lynchings than in any other States in our region.
  During the winter of 1937-1938, one grisly lynching captivated this 
body's attention. The previous April, two African Americans were taken 
from their jail cells in Mississippi, were whipped and slowly torched 
to death. Senator Champ Clark of Missouri posted photographs of the 
brutality back here in the cloakroom. For six weeks, this

[[Page S1062]]

body debated legislation to make lynching a Federal crime. For six 
weeks. In the end, those in favor of the pending anti-lynching bill 
failed to enact cloture to break the filibuster.
  Historians will no doubt disagree as to a single reason why Senators 
blocked anti-lynching legislation in the 1920's to 1940's. My desire 
here is not to get into motivations.
  Regardless of their reasoning, our reason tells us that it was wrong 
and it is appropriate to apologize for this lack of action.
  Thankfully justice in our Nation has moved forward and left such 
despicable acts to history. In ignoring the protections of our Founding 
Fathers that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, the Senate 
turned its back on the most helpless in our society at a time when the 
weak needed protection.
  I stand here today as a proud Senator from a Southern State. I look 
around this chamber and know of its abundance of honor and integrity 
throughout its history.
  As Ephesians teaches us, ``all things that are reproved are made 
manifest by light.''
  My fellow Senators, this simple, dignified apology is appropriate. It 
is not about any reparations. I respectfully urge my colleagues to 
reprove this tragedy and pass this resolution this month, February, in 
commemoration of Black History Month.
  I shall close with the words of our Resolution:

       Whereas an apology offered in the spirit of true repentance 
     moves the United States toward reconciliation and may become 
     central to a new understanding, on which improved racial 
     relations can be forged: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       Apologizes to the victims of lynching for the failure of 
     the Senate to enact anti-lynching legislation;
       Expresses the deepest sympathies and most solemn regrets of 
     the Senate to the descendents of victims of lynching, the 
     ancestors of whom were deprived of life, human dignity, and 
     the constitutional protections accorded all citizens of the 
     United States; and
       Remembers the history of lynching, to ensure that these 
     tragedies will be neither forgotten nor repeated.

                                 ______
                                 

 SENATE RESOLUTION 40--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEAS OF NATIONAL TIME 
      OUT DAY TO PROMOTE THE ADOPTION OF THE JOINT COMMISSION ON 
   ACCREDITATION OF HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS' UNIVERSAL PROTOCOL FOR 
                PREVENTING ERRORS IN THE OPERATING ROOM

  Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Santorum) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                               S. Res. 40

       Whereas according to an Institute of Medicine report 
     entitled ``To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System'', 
     published in 2000, between 44,000 and 98,000 hospitalized 
     people in the United States die each year due to medical 
     errors, and untold thousands more suffer injury or illness as 
     a result of preventable errors;
       Whereas there are more than 40,000,000 inpatient surgery 
     procedures and 31,000,000 outpatient surgery procedures 
     performed annually in the United States;
       Whereas for the first time, nurses, surgeons, and hospitals 
     throughout the country are being required by the Joint 
     Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations to 
     adopt a common set of operating room procedures in order to 
     help curb the alarming number of deaths and injuries due to 
     medical errors;
       Whereas the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare 
     Organizations has developed a universal protocol, endorsed by 
     more than 50 national healthcare organizations, which calls 
     for surgical teams to call a ``time out'' before surgeries 
     begin in order to verify the patient's identity, the 
     procedure to be performed, and the site of the procedure;
       Whereas 4,579 accredited hospitals, 1,261 ambulatory care 
     facilities, and 131 accredited office-based surgery centers 
     were required by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of 
     Healthcare Organizations to adopt the universal protocol 
     beginning July 1, 2004;
       Whereas the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses 
     has created an Internet website and distributed 55,000 tool 
     kits to healthcare professionals throughout the country to 
     assist them in implementing the universal protocol; and
       Whereas the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, 
     the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare 
     Organizations, the American College of Surgeons, the American 
     Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Hospital 
     Association, and the American Society for Healthcare Risk 
     Management celebrate National Time Out Day on June 22, 2005, 
     to promote the adoption of the Joint Commission on 
     Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' universal protocol 
     for preventing errors in the operating room: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the goals and ideas of National Time Out Day, 
     as designated by the Association of periOperative Registered 
     Nurses and endorsed by the American College of Surgeons, the 
     American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Hospital 
     Association, and the American Society for Healthcare Risk 
     Management, to promote the adoption of the Joint Commission 
     on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' universal 
     protocol for preventing errors in the operating room; and
       (2) congratulates perioperative nurses and representatives 
     of surgical teams for working together to reduce medical 
     errors to ensure the improved health and safety of surgical 
     patients.

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, we have all heard the expression, ``To 
err is human.'' We teach our children that mistakes are okay because we 
learn from them. However, there are some mistakes that are more costly 
to make than others. In 2000, the Institute of Medicine released a 
report entitled, ``To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.'' 
The report revealed the following devastating statistic: every year, 
between 44,000 and 98,000 hospitalized people in the United States die 
due to medical errors.
  Science has not yet found a cure to cancer or even the common cold, 
but it has discovered a way to prevent the thousands of fatalities that 
occur every year due to medical errors. The Joint Commission on 
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations developed a universal 
protocol that calls for surgical teams to literally call a ``time out'' 
before surgeries begin. This ``time out'' serves a brief period for 
surgeons and nurses to verify the patient's identity, the procedure to 
be performed, and the site of the procedure. Endorsed by the American 
College of Surgeons, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the 
American Hospital Association, the Association of periOperative 
Registered Nurses, and the American Society for Healthcare Risk 
Management, this idea of a ``time out'' may seem almost simplistic, but 
the fact of the matter is even the best surgeon in the world can make a 
very costly mistake if he or she does not stop for a moment for surgery 
and take a ``time out.
  Therefore, it is my pleasure to rise today to submit this resolution, 
which promotes a National Time Out Day and promotes the adoption of the 
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization's 
universal protocol for preventing errors in the operating room.
  To err may be human, but for the thousands of relatives that are 
currently sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for a loved one 
to come out of surgery, human error is not an acceptable answer.
                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 41--CONGRATULATING THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ON THEIR 
                      VICTORY IN SUPER BOWL XXXIX

  Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Reed, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Dodd, 
and Mr. Lieberman) submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered and agreed to:

                               S. Res. 41

       Whereas, on Sunday, February 6, 2005 the New England 
     Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in Super Bowl 
     XXXIX, in Jacksonville, Florida;
       Whereas this victory is the second consecutive Super Bowl 
     championship for the New England Patriots and their third 
     Super Bowl championship in the past four years;
       Whereas all three Super Bowl victories by the New England 
     Patriots were cliffhangers and were won by three points in 
     each game;
       Whereas the New England Patriots have set a National 
     Football League record this season by winning 21 consecutive 
     games;
       Whereas Head Coach Bill Belichick and Assistant Coaches 
     Romeo Crennel and Charlie Wiess of the New England Patriots 
     brilliantly created successful game plans throughout the 
     season;
       Whereas wide receiver Deion Branch of the New England 
     Patriots tied a Super Bowl record by catching eleven passes 
     and was named Most Valuable Player in the Super Bowl;
       Whereas extraordinary efforts by other players of the New 
     England Patriots, including Tom Brady, Troy Brown, Teddy 
     Bruschi, Corey Dillon, David Givens, Rodney Harrison, Willie 
     McGinest, Richard Seymour, Adam Vinatieri, and Mike Vrabel, 
     also contributed to the Super Bowl victory;
       Whereas the offensive linemen of the New England Patriots, 
     Matt Light, Joe Andruzzi, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, and 
     Brandon

[[Page S1063]]

     Gorin deserve great credit for protecting quarterback Tom 
     Brady and blocking for running back Corey Dillon in the Super 
     Bowl; and
       Whereas owner Bob Kraft of the New England Patriots 
     deserves great credit for his strong support of the team, and 
     for his gracious acknowledgement that the Super Bowl 
     Championship would not have been possible without the strong 
     support of the millions of fans throughout New England: 
     Therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Senate of the United States 
     congratulates the New England Patriots on their dramatic 
     victory Super Bowl XXXIX.
                                 ______
                                 

 SENATE RESOLUTION 42--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON PROMOTING 
                 INITIATIVES TO DEVELOP AN HIV VACCINE

  Mr. LUGAR submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 42

       Whereas more than 20,000,000 people have died of the 
     acquired immune deficiency syndrome (hereinafter referred to 
     as ``AIDS'') between 1984 and 2004;
       Whereas AIDS claimed the lives of more than 3,000,000 
     people in 2004, and nearly 8,500 people die each day from 
     AIDS;
       Whereas an estimated 40,000,000 people around the world are 
     living with the human immunodeficiency virus (hereinafter 
     referred to as ``HIV'') or AIDS;
       Whereas an estimated 14,000 people become infected with HIV 
     every day;
       Whereas there will be 45,000,000 new HIV infections by 2010 
     and nearly 70,000,000 deaths by 2020;
       Whereas an estimated 14,000,000 children have lost 1 or 
     both parents to AIDS, and this number is expected to increase 
     to 25,000,000 by 2010;
       Whereas a child loses a parent to AIDS every 14 seconds;
       Whereas more than 90 percent of the people infected with 
     HIV live in the developing world;
       Whereas more than 70 percent of the people infected with 
     HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa;
       Whereas communities and countries are struggling with the 
     devastating human and economic toll that HIV and AIDS has 
     taken on them;
       Whereas the HIV/AIDS pandemic threatens political and 
     regional stability and has contributed to broader economic 
     and social problems, including food insecurity, labor 
     shortages, and the orphaning of generations of children;
       Whereas the United States is leading global efforts to 
     combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic through its $15,000,000,000 
     Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and its commitment to the 
     Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria;
       Whereas, through the World Health Organization, the Joint 
     United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the Global 
     Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the 
     international community is cooperating multilaterally to 
     combat HIV/AIDS;
       Whereas developing an HIV vaccine is especially challenging 
     due to the complicated nature of the virus;
       Whereas many biotechnology companies have not invested in 
     the development of HIV vaccines;
       Whereas during the years 2001 and 2002, only 7 HIV vaccine 
     candidates entered clinical trials, and only 1 of those 
     candidates entered advanced human testing, but it proved 
     ineffective;
       Whereas the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) 
     has been a very effective and positive force in the 
     development of an HIV vaccine and has been instrumental in 
     laying the groundwork for developing an HIV vaccine;
       Whereas the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the 
     Rockefeller Foundation, and other public and private 
     organizations are pursuing a variety of initiatives to 
     develop an HIV vaccine, including establishing BIO Ventures 
     for Global Health to help small biotechnology companies 
     address the problems they confront in developing new medical 
     products for poor countries;
       Whereas, in June 2003, an international group of scientists 
     proposed the creation of a Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise;
       Whereas, since that time the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise 
     has been established, creating an alliance of the world's 
     leading scientists and independent organizations committed to 
     accelerating the development of a preventive HIV vaccine by 
     enhancing coordination, information sharing, and 
     collaboration globally;
       Whereas the members of the Group of Eight (Canada, France, 
     Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the 
     United States) met in Sea Island, Georgia in June 2004 and 
     reaffirmed their commitment to combat the global HIV/AIDS 
     pandemic by accelerating and coordinating efforts to develop 
     an HIV vaccine;
       Whereas at the meeting in Sea Island, Georgia, under the 
     President's leadership, the Group of Eight endorsed the 
     establishment of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise;
       Whereas the United States has an HIV vaccine research and 
     development center at the National Institutes of Health, and 
     the President announced funding for the establishment of a 
     second HIV vaccine research and development center in the 
     United States that will become a key compound of the Global 
     HIV Vaccine Enterprise;
       Whereas the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise has developed and 
     published a shared scientific strategy that addresses the 
     major obstacles to the development of an HIV vaccine, 
     summarizes current scientific priorities, and describes an 
     initial strategic approach to addressing these priorities; 
     and
       Whereas an HIV vaccine has the potential to prevent new HIV 
     and AIDS cases, which would save millions of lives and 
     dramatically reduce the negative economic consequences of HIV 
     and AIDS: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN HIV 
                   VACCINE.

       It is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the President should seek to build on the initiative of 
     the members of the Group of Eight (Canada, France, Germany, 
     Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United 
     States) to develop a vaccine to curtail the spread of the 
     human immunodeficiency virus (hereinafter referred to as 
     ``HIV'') and should mobilize necessary economic and 
     scientific support for the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, an 
     alliance of the world's leading scientists and independent 
     organizations committed to accelerating the development of a 
     preventive HIV vaccine by enhancing coordination, information 
     sharing, and collaboration globally;
       (2) the President should continue to urge the members of 
     the Group of Eight and other countries to garner support from 
     their own economic, scientific, and philanthropic communities 
     for the development of an HIV vaccine;
       (3) the members of the Group of Eight should follow-up the 
     June 2004 meeting in Sea Island, Georgia with official and 
     private meetings, conferences, and other events to further 
     explore and implement initiatives concerning the Global HIV 
     Vaccine Enterprise;
       (4) the members of the Group of Eight should leverage 
     financial contributions from the international philanthropic 
     community to provide funding, including funding to the 
     private sector, to promote the development of an HIV vaccine;
       (5) the members of the Group of Eight should include the 
     scientific and political leadership of those countries most 
     affected by the pandemic of HIV and the acquired immune 
     deficiency syndrome (hereinafter referred to as ``AIDS''); 
     and
       (6) the members of the Group of Eight should develop a 
     specific plan for furthering efforts towards this goal prior 
     to the meeting of the Group of Eight planned for June 2005 in 
     the United Kingdom.

     SEC. 2. THE GLOBAL HIV VACCINE ENTERPRISE.

       The Senate urges the President to continue the efforts of 
     the United States to generate global support for the Global 
     HIV Vaccine Enterprise by carrying out an initiative that--
       (1) is in coordination and partnership with the members of 
     the Group of Eight, the private sector, and other countries, 
     especially those countries most affected by the HIV/AIDS 
     pandemic;
       (2) encourages the members of the Group of Eight to act 
     swiftly to mobilize money and resources to support the Global 
     HIV Vaccine Enterprise;
       (3) includes a strategic plan to prioritize the scientific 
     and other challenges to the development of an HIV vaccine, as 
     set out in the Scientific Strategic Plan developed by the 
     Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, to coordinate research and 
     product development efforts, and to encourage greater use of 
     information-sharing networks and technologies;
       (4) encourages the establishment of a number of coordinated 
     global HIV vaccine development centers that have a sufficient 
     number of researchers who possess the scientific expertise 
     necessary to advance the development of an HIV vaccine; and
       (5) increases cooperation, communication, and sharing of 
     information on issues related to HIV and AIDS among 
     regulatory authorities in various countries.

  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise to submit a resolution expressing 
the Sense of the Senate on promoting initiatives to develop an HIV 
vaccine.
  On June 6, 2004, I introduced Senate Resolution 398 urging the 
President to promote initiatives to develop an HIV vaccine. While I am 
encouraged by the progress that has taken place in the months since I 
submitted that resolution, much remains to be done to develop an 
effective HIV vaccine. Because of the gravity and urgency of this 
issue, I am submitting my resolution.
  The HIV/AIDS pandemic is unlike any disease in history and has 
profound implications for political stability, development, and human 
welfare. The sheer magnitude of the crisis is overwhelming. An 
estimated 40,000,000 people around the world live with HIV or AIDS, and 
nearly 8,500 people die every day from AIDS. Last year alone, more than 
3 million people died from AIDS. Every 14 seconds, a child loses a 
parent to AIDS. An estimated 14,000,000 children have lost one or both 
parents to AIDS, and this number is expected to

[[Page S1064]]

increase to 25 million by 2010. According to recent projections from 
the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Program on 
HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, if the pandemic spreads at its current rate, there 
will be 45 million new infections by 2010 and nearly 70 million deaths 
by 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa has been hardest hit by the disease, with 
more than 75 percent of the people infected with HIV living in the 
region.
  The U.S. is leading global efforts to combat the pandemic through its 
$15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and its commitment to the 
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. But the human and 
economic toll of the HIV pandemic demands that these activities be 
complemented by accelerated efforts to develop an HIV vaccine. An HIV 
vaccine would prevent new HIV and AIDS cases, which could save millions 
of lives and dramatically reduce the negative social and economic 
consequences of the disease. Yet, HIV vaccine development is still not 
prominent on national or international public health agendas.
  Developing an HIV vaccine is particularly challenging because HIV is 
one of the most complicated viruses ever identified. In addition, many 
private sector biotechnology companies have not invested money and 
expertise in the search for an HIV vaccine. Developing an HIV vaccine, 
therefore, is unlikely to occur without a well-coordinated and focused 
global research effort.
  The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise is mobilizing such an effort. The 
Enterprise is an alliance of the world's leading scientists and 
independent organizations around the world committed to accelerating 
the development of a preventive vaccine for HIV/AIDS. The Enterprise, 
like the Human Genome Project, seeks to promote a new level of 
coordination and information-sharing to address a complex scientific 
problem. In addition, the HIV Vaccine Enterprise is intended to 
accelerate progress by promoting international public-private 
collaboration.
  The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, IAVI, has been 
instrumental in laying the groundwork for the Enterprise. The IAVI is 
an international organization that collaborates with developing 
countries, governments, and international agencies dedicated to 
accelerating the development of a vaccine to halt the AIDS epidemic. 
The IAVI, however, cannot accomplish this task alone. Here in the 
United States, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the 
Rockefeller Foundation have joined forces to help address the financial 
problems faced by small biotechnology companies. They founded BIO 
Ventures for Global Health to help small biotechnology companies 
address the problems they confront in developing new medical products 
for poor countries. The wider application of this model would greatly 
improve the development of vaccines and other medicines aimed at 
improving health in the developing world.
  Under President Bush's leadership, the Members of the Group of Eight 
Industrialized Nations, G-8, during their meeting at Sea Island last 
June, endorsed the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. At the meeting, 
President Bush announced plans to establish a second HIV Vaccine 
Research and Development Center in the United States, in addition to 
the one already operating at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. 
Recently, the President announced funding for that second center, the 
Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology, CHAVI, which will become a key 
component of the Enterprise.
  I commend the President's leadership on this critically important 
issue. The G-8's endorsement of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise is a 
big step forward in the development of an HIV vaccine. My resolution 
acknowledges the President's and the G-8's actions towards this goal 
and urges them to continue to cooperate with other countries, 
particularly those hit hardest by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to achieve 
this important objective.

                          ____________________