[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 6, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2182-H2190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BUILDING

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 584) to designate the headquarters building of the 
Department of Education in Washington, DC, as the Lyndon Baines Johnson 
Federal Building, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 584

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The Federal building located at 400 Maryland Avenue 
     Southwest in the District of Columbia shall be known and 
     designated as the ``Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of 
     Education Building''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in law, map, regulation, document, paper, or 
     other record of the United States to the Federal building 
     referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to 
     the ``Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Missouri 
(Mr. Graves) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.

[[Page H2183]]

                             General Leave

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 584.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I commend Congressman Gene Green of Texas for his steadfast advocacy 
to this bill. In the 109th Congress, he introduced H.R. 4252, a bill to 
designate the Department of Education headquarters building. Lyndon 
Baines Johnson, ``the teacher who became President,'' was one of the 
leading political figures of the 20th century, I think, on both sides 
of the aisle, it would be agreed.
  He served the country in ways too numerous to mention, including 
lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
  A Member of both Houses of Congress, Vice President of the United 
States and, of course, the 36th President of the United States, we are 
all aware of President Johnson's humble beginnings in Stonewall, Texas. 
In 1927, he enrolled in Southwest Texas State Teachers College at San 
Marcos, Texas, now the Texas State University at San Marcos.
  He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in August 1930. After 
graduation, he taught at Pearsall High School in Pearsall, Texas, and 
taught public speaking at Sam Houston High School in Houston, Texas. In 
a special election in 1937, President Johnson won the U.S. House of 
Representatives seat representing the 10th Congressional District of 
Texas, defeating nine other candidates. In the next election he was 
elected to a full term in the 76th Congress and to each succeeding 
Congress until 1948.
  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, President 
Johnson became the first Member of Congress to volunteer for active 
duty in the Armed Forces, enlisting in the U.S. Navy, reporting for 
active duty on December 9, 1941.
  President Johnson received the Silver Star for gallantry from General 
Douglas MacArthur.
  In 1948, he campaigned for and was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was 
elected minority leader of the Senate in 1953 and majority leader in 
1955, where he served until January 1961, when he resigned to become 
Vice President of the United States.
  Lyndon Johnson became the 36th President of the United States on 
November 22, 1963, after the tragic assassination of President John F. 
Kennedy.
  During his administration, education was one of the many areas where 
Johnson blazed new ground. He pursued numerous education initiatives 
and signed many landmark education bills into law.
  In 1963, President Johnson approved the Higher Education Facilities 
Act, which authorized a 5-year program of Federal grants and loans for 
construction for improvement of public and private higher education 
facilities in 1964. President Johnson signed the Library Services Act 
in order to make high-quality public libraries more accessible to both 
urban and rural residents.
  Later that year, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, 
which, among its provisions, authorized the Federal authorities to sue 
for the segregation of schools and to withhold Federal funds from 
education institutions that practiced segregation, if I may say so. The 
bill also authorized title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the equal 
employment part of the act it was my great privilege to enforce as 
Chair of the EEOC.
  In 1965, President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Act. 
This was the first general aid-to-education program ever adopted, and 
it provided programs to help educate disadvantaged children in urban 
and rural areas.
  Later that year, he also signed the Higher Education Act, which was 
the first U.S. congressional approval for scholarships to undergraduate 
students.
  In 1965 as well, President Johnson launched Project Head Start as an 
8-week summer program to help break the cycle of poverty by providing 
preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program 
to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological 
needs.
  In 1966, President Johnson signed the International Education Act, 
which promoted international studies at United States colleges and 
universities.
  In 1968, he signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
amendments of 1967, establishing bilingual education programs for non-
English speaking children and providing more funds for special 
education for handicapped education.
  Later that year, he also signed the Handicapped Children's Early 
Education Assistance Act, which authorized experimental programs for 
handicapped children of preschool age. After leaving office, President 
Johnson continued his involvement in education and taught students 
while he wrote his memoirs and pursued other academic endeavors. 
President Johnson died January 22, 1973.
  Lyndon Baines Johnson will be remembered not only as a great 
President and Member of the House and of the Senate, but also as a 
champion of education. Thus, the Department of Education, located at 
400 Maryland Avenue, Southwest, Washington, D.C., most appropriately 
should bear the name of and be designated as the Lyndon Baines Johnson 
Department of Education Building.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 584 designates the Department of Education 
Building as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building. 
Lyndon Baines Johnson was born in Stonewall, Texas, on August 27, 1908, 
and his connection to education began very early in life when at the 
age of 4 his mother persuaded the teacher at the nearby one-room 
junction school to take him as a student.
  Lyndon Baines Johnson enrolled in the Southwest Texas State Teachers 
College in 1927. He graduated in 1930 and embarked on a teaching career 
that would eventually lead him to the White House. As was pointed out 
by the gentlelady, in 1937 he was elected to the U.S. House of 
Representatives in a special election.
  He was subsequently re-elected to the House in each succeeding 
Congress until 1948 when he was elected to the United States Senate. In 
1961, he resigned from the Senate to become the 37th Vice President; 
and on November 22, 1963, a day we all remember, Lyndon Baines Johnson 
became the 36th President of the United States.
  This teacher who would become President pursued numerous education 
initiatives, as was pointed out. He signed into law education 
legislation such as the Higher Education Facilities Act, the Library 
Services Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the 
Higher Education Act, just to name a few.
  After leaving office, President Johnson continued to have an impact 
on education, as he taught students while he was writing his memoirs, 
and subsequently passed away on January 22, 1973.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the gentleman 
from South Carolina for such time as he may consume.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, as a former public school teacher who 
started his educational pursuits as a 4-year-old in his mother's 
kindergarten, I proudly rise in support of H.R. 584, legislation to 
designate the headquarters building of the Department of Education here 
in Washington as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Federal Building.
  Madam Speaker, most people remember President Johnson for his poise 
and confidence as he assumed the Presidency during a turbulent and 
mournful time for our Nation. He is also remembered for his leadership 
and vision with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  It was his support in the White House for a movement that I and my 
brothers and sisters were fighting for on buses and at lunch counters 
throughout the South and helped bring here today.
  But I give special thanks to his work in an area that is dear to my 
heart, education. President Johnson recognized the power of education 
to

[[Page H2184]]

strengthen the Nation and help bring people out of poverty. He made his 
name as the first education President by signing into law over 60 
education bills during his Presidency, most notably the Economic 
Opportunity Act of 1964, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965, and the Higher Education Act of 1965.
  He was the first President to recognize the need for strong Federal 
investment in education, backing programs that funded not only 
elementary and secondary education, but higher education with the 
Federal student loan program for college and graduate school students. 
He gave us the Head Start Program, which since its inception has helped 
millions of disadvantaged children get off on the right foot by 
providing health, nutritional and educational assistance, recognizing 
that an investment in our children at an early age pays off in the long 
run.
  His domestic vision for this country was revolutionary in the areas 
of civil rights and the fighting of poverty. We still see the benefits 
of his vision for a Great Society today. That is why I am proud to join 
my colleagues in passing this legislation to designate the Department 
of Education, the first Federal building in Washington to bear his 
name. I thank the gentlelady for yielding me this time, and I thank her 
for her leadership.

                              {time}  1330

  Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I wish to yield 6 minutes to the ranking 
member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Barton).
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I want to thank Congressman Graves for his 
gracious allocation of time.
  I rise in strong support for H.R. 584, a bill to name the Department 
of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C., as the Lyndon Baines 
Johnson Federal Building. I am proud to be the primary Republican 
sponsor of this legislation, and I believe that all the Republicans in 
the Texas delegation have also cosponsored this particular piece of 
legislation.
  I commend Mr. Green of Texas for being the primary sponsor of the 
overall bill and his tireless work on this. He has worked on it for a 
number of years now, and it is good to see that it has finally come to 
fruition.
  I never had the privilege to meet the late President Lyndon Baines 
Johnson. I wish I had. I am a great admirer of his in many ways, not so 
much some of the policies that he pursued, but I am a great admirer of 
the enthusiasm and the tenacity with which he pursued those policies.
  In my first campaign for Congress in 1984, I read the first Caro 
book, ``Path to Power,'' the first installment of that, and required 
all my campaign staff to read that book; because President Johnson, 
when he ran for Congress in the 1930s in the middle of the Depression, 
he made it a motto of his that he would literally search out the voters 
of his congressional district one by one, whether they were in the 
fields plowing or in the stores working or at church socials or 
wherever. He went where the people were to spread his message.
  And I took that to heart, and numerous times traveled hundreds of 
miles to meet with small groups and in a few cases one or two people 
just so I could have an option. On one occasion, I went and met with a 
gentleman at 6 a.m. because he didn't think I would show up at 6 a.m., 
and so he said meet him at 6 a.m. when he opened his business. And I 
was there at 5:45. On another occasion, a banker in Houston couldn't 
see me. I waited in his waiting room from 4 o'clock in the afternoon 
until 8:30 that evening, and finally, in exasperation, he agreed to see 
me and, before I left, had given me a substantial contribution and 
agreed to let me use his name on my steering committee. Those were both 
things that I got from the way President Johnson ran his campaign.
  In terms of his policies, the two bills that he supported that became 
law that had the greatest impact on my life were the creation of the 
White House Fellows program in 1965. I was a White House Fellow in 1981 
and 1982. That is a program that President Johnson established to bring 
young Americans to Washington for a year to work in the Cabinet 
agencies, and then either go back to their areas or to stay in 
Washington. And so far, there have been about, I believe, 700 young 
Americans have gone through that program. Texans like Henry Cisneros 
come to mind, a former White House Fellow. Colin Powell is a former 
White House Fellow, Senator Sam Brownback in the other body is a former 
White House Fellow. But it had a tremendous impact on my life and led 
me for the first time to think about trying to become a Member of this 
body.
  Another program that President Johnson established was the Head Start 
program. And in the summer I believe of 1964 or 1965, when that program 
was established in Waco, Texas, my mother became a Head Start assistant 
at Brooke Avenue Elementary School in Waco, Texas, at a time when my 
family was in need of financial income, and so she decided to work part 
time outside the home and went to work at a Head Start program; and, 
because of that, became a school secretary and spent her career in 
education. The impact on me that summer was, I was the oldest child, 
and it forced me to learn to cook, learn to clean and learn to take 
care of my three younger brothers and sisters.
  I will never forget the day that my father showed up for lunch and I 
had been trying to make gravy. To this day, that gravy is still in the 
pan because it would not come out of the pan when you turned it upside 
down. That was my one and only attempt to learn how to make gravy. And 
my father said, ``From now on, son, if you need to make gravy, ask your 
mother to do it or ask me to do it, but nobody can eat what you are 
trying to make.'' So thanks to President Johnson, I never had to learn 
to cook, because that was one of the few times I even attempted it.
  So I rise in strong support of this piece of legislation. President 
Johnson was a great President, he was a great American, and he was 
obviously a great Texan. And there are still people in Washington today 
that are effective in the political arena. People that come to mind 
that are still active in Washington, Jack Valenti who was for many 
years the president of the Motion Picture Association of America who 
came to Washington with President Johnson, and an attorney named Harry 
McPherson who is still active in his practice, he, too, was involved 
with the President. Some of the former members of this body, the late 
Jake Pickle, the late Jack Brooks, were LBJ proteges. And then former 
Governor of Texas, John Connelly, a good friend of mine who helped me 
politically when I was getting started, is another protege of Lyndon 
Johnson.
  So I am proud to be a cosponsor of the bill with Congressman Green. I 
think it is right to honor President Johnson with this building. He 
wanted to be known as the ``educational president'' and did many, many 
things to bring forth public education for our citizens.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas, Mr. 
Green, the author of the bill, such time as he may require.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, as author and sponsor of the 
bill, I rise in strong support of H.R. 584. I would like to thank both 
Chairman Oberstar and Chairwoman Norton and Ranking Member Mica and 
Ranking Member Graves for moving this legislation out of committee, and 
I like to thank Majority Leader Hoyer for bringing it to the floor.
  A bipartisan group of Texas delegation members introduced this bill 
to name the Department of Education headquarters building in 
Washington, D.C. the Lyndon Baines Johnson Federal Building. We now 
have over 50 cosponsors from around the country, and I am proud to be 
joined on this legislation by the ranking member of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee, Joe Barton, who just spoke, Congressman Mike 
McCaul, and also our dean of the Texas delegation, Congressman Solomon 
Ortiz. Representative McCaul actually represents the Johnson family in 
Congress. Their bipartisan efforts have helped move this bill to the 
floor, and I think they should be congratulated for the efforts.
  I would say one thing, though. Former Congressman Jack Brooks is not 
deceased. He is still much alive, and Congressman Barton, I suspect you 
will be getting a call very shortly from Jack Brooks, as we all know, 
former dean of the Texas delegation.

[[Page H2185]]

  I did have the opportunity at a very young age to meet President 
Johnson. In January 1973, I was a young State Representative in Austin, 
Texas, my first term. President Johnson came to our swearing in my 
first term in 1973, and I actually got a very candid photo with him 
that I hang proudly in our office here in Washington. He passed away a 
week later, and I was honored to be able to go to his funeral and his 
burial there at the Johnson Ranch.
  President Johnson was a proud Texan, and back in those days, many of 
my Republican friends were Democrats as well. President Johnson 
pioneered issues such as civil rights and voting rights, but his 
educational leadership stands out even among these accomplishments. 
President Johnson passed away over 30 years ago, and to this day, he 
has no Federal buildings in his name in the Capitol area. So we believe 
the Education Building is a fitting honor. Presidents Reagan and Bush 
have been honored with the International Trade Center for President 
Reagan and the Central Intelligence Agency building for President Bush 
reflecting their priorities and contributions.
  President Johnson presided during turbulent times in our Nation's 
history. He ascended to the presidency after the Kennedy assassination 
and faced a difficult conflict in Southeast Asia. President Johnson was 
a very human figure, but his legacy is with us in many ways today.
  Lyndon Johnson's first priority in life was education. He was the 
first ``Education President.'' Before Johnson, educational opportunity 
in America was not a national priority, as it continues to be today for 
both our parties, including current President George W. Bush.
  In 1927, Lyndon Baines Johnson's career and education began when he 
went to Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos, Texas. He 
earned money as a janitor and taught the fifth, sixth, and seventh 
grades at the Mexican-American School in the South Texas town of 
Cotulla. He taught later at Sam Houston High School, which is part of 
our congressional district.
  As a Jeff Davis High School student, which Madam Speaker, you 
actually visited a few years ago, in 1965 and 1966, I saw the impact of 
the first Federal dollars that came to my high school firsthand.
  In his memoirs, President Johnson declared, ``There is an old saying 
that kids is where the money ain't.'' And I need to repeat that. That 
may be true today, Madam Speaker, ``That kids is where the money ain't, 
which summed up one of the major problems confronting the American 
educational system when I became President.'' And that is a direct 
quote.
  Continuing the quote, ``because of these convictions, I made a 
personal decision during the 1964 Presidential campaign to make 
education a fundamental issue and to put it high on the Nation's 
agenda.
  ``I proposed to act on my belief that, regardless of a family's 
financial condition, education should be available to every child in 
the United States, as much education as he or she could absorb. I had 
no intention of walking away from this fight.''
  President Johnson succeeded in his fight to improve education for all 
Americans. He signed into law 60 education bills, including the 
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which established the Head Start 
program, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Higher 
Education Act of 1965.
  The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was the first real Federal 
assistance to grade school education, and it is widely supported today. 
The President actually signed that in a one-room schoolhouse in 
Stonewall, Texas, with his elementary school teacher.
  In large part, President Johnson's education priorities are accepted 
by both political parties, as some of them were then. The Higher 
Education Act passed by 368-22 in the House and 79-3 in the Senate, 
strong bipartisanship votes.
  In discussing President Johnson's education legacy, we have to 
recognize First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, who was also a major 
contributor and strong advocate for his educational initiatives. During 
her White House years, Ms. Johnson served as honorary chair of the 
National Head Start program, the program for underprivileged school 
children which prepares them to take their places in the classroom on 
par with their peers.
  In part for her education efforts, President Ford presented her with 
the country's highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. Mrs. 
Johnson turned 94 last December, and hopefully she is listening to this 
debate.
  Mrs. Johnson also received the Congressional Gold Medal from 
President Reagan in 1988. This legislation is a fitting honor for both 
President Lyndon Baines Johnson and also First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson.
  Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to another gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. McCaul).
  Mr. McCAUL of Texas. I want to thank my colleague from Texas, Mr. 
Green, for introducing this bill. It has been a real honor to work with 
you on this bill. I am proud to be a lead sponsor and to have played a 
role in terms of whipping votes on my side of the aisle and getting 
this bill to the floor of the House where it stands today.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this important piece of 
legislation which honors a former President of the United States and 
his commitment to better educate the future generations of America.
  Today, we will vote to name the Department of Education building in 
Washington, D.C., the Lyndon Baines Johnson Federal Building. And, by 
doing so, we honor a son of Texas who left a positive mark on me, my 
family, the State of Texas, and this country.
  Born on August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, Texas, Lyndon Johnson's family 
knew that he was destined to do great things. The future President got 
his experience in Washington first as a secretary to Congressman 
Richard Kleburg. Shortly after that, Johnson met Claudia Alta Taylor, a 
woman the world has come to affectionately know as Lady Bird.
  In 1937, after the death of Congressman James Buchanan, Lyndon 
Johnson entered a special election for the 10th Congressional District 
of Texas, a district which I am proud to represent today. 
Representative Johnson beat nine other candidates to win the seat, an 
experience that I can personally relate to.
  In addition to his tour of duty during World War II, LBJ would spend 
the next 23 years in the Congress as both a Congressman and Senator. 
During his career in the Congress, Johnson would serve as Senate 
minority and Senate majority leader. As President Kennedy's Vice 
President, Johnson served as the chairman of NASA and the Presidential 
Space Committee.
  Lyndon Johnson early on earned a reputation for getting things done 
for the betterment of our Nation, and he used that intensity to lead 
America to land a man on the moon and continue America's dominance in 
space.

                              {time}  1345

  But it was Lyndon Johnson's steady and calming leadership after the 
assassination of President Kennedy which helped to lead our Nation 
through one of its most turbulent and tragic hours.
  Taking the experience he had gained from his younger days as a 
teacher, President Johnson focused on working with the Congress and 
passing several landmark education bills. These initiatives served as a 
foundation for a new standard of education in America. Among them were 
programs such as Head Start, the first Federal aid to public schools 
and the first Federal student loan programs.
  President Johnson recorded in his memoirs, he said, ``I remember 
seeing in the folder of reading material I took to my bedroom one 
night, the account of a 62-year old man who learned how to write his 
name after years of making an X for his signature. He was so excited 
that he sat for a whole hour just writing his name over and over 
again.''
  Johnson said, ``Reading about this man whose life had been so 
enriched, I was almost as excited as the man himself.''
  Now, that sums up so much of the man President Johnson was. In his 
story, our striving for increased opportunity and education took shape 
and became real and valid. It is this love and dedication to education 
that makes this bill the ideal way, in my view, and my judgment, to 
honor President' Johnson's memory.
  While President Johnson will always be remembered as a champion of 
the

[[Page H2186]]

Civil Rights Act, it was President Johnson's wish that the education 
papers from his Presidency be the first set of records to be made 
public because he believed, and I quote, in his words, ``You can't get 
your civil rights without your education.'' This is why, in my 
judgment, he will always be known as the first ``Education President.''
  One of the greatest honors I have had during my tenure in the 
Congress was the opportunity to sit down with Lady Bird Johnson, who I 
am proud to have as a friend and a constituent. I spoke with her about 
my intention to see this bill through the Congress and have the 
Department of Education named for her husband. And the excitement and 
the gratitude in her eyes that she responded with will be a memory that 
I will cherish for the rest of my life.
  As the Representative of President Johnson's former congressional 
district, I have been inspired by his dedication to the American 
people. I specifically look back to his work in supporting the space 
program and education as I consider ways to further improve our great 
Nation.
  So I urge my colleagues to honor this great Texan and to support the 
Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Act.
  May God bless Lyndon Johnson, and may God bless our national 
treasure, Lady Bird, may God bless Texas, and may God bless the United 
States of America.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, may I ask how much time remains on both 
sides?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman has 5\1/2\ minutes. The 
gentleman has 7 minutes.
  Ms. NORTON. Does the gentleman have any further speakers?
  Mr. GRAVES. I don't.
  Madam Speaker, I would be more than happy to yield 5 minutes to 
Chairman Norton.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman will 
control 5 additional minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I appreciate very much the courtesy of the 
gentleman in yielding additional time, and I am pleased to yield 3 
minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
  Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, today, we belatedly honor the Education 
President by affixing his name to the Education Building.
  President Johnson began as student Johnson, a Blanco County farm boy 
going to college in Hays County, Texas, at Southwest Texas State 
Teachers College. It was a time when he remarked that ``poverty was so 
common we didn't even have a name for it.''
  He borrowed $75 to get his college education, which is one of the 
reasons he appreciated the need for strong student financial assistance 
programs. And he even took leave there at Southwest Texas, as it later 
became known, in order to teach school and earn a little money to stay 
in school.
  Recently, we dedicated an LBJ museum in San Marcos to commemorate his 
years as a student there, recognizing that now Texas State University 
continues to provide quality higher education to students across the 
State, Nation and globe.
  President Johnson continued his involvement as President with 
students. One of my own most memorable experiences as a university 
student was going with a small delegation of university student leaders 
to meet with President Johnson in the residence at the White House and 
having an opportunity to ask him questions about the important work 
that he was doing in Washington.
  In 1994, I had the good fortune to be elected to represent the 
congressional district that Lyndon Johnson once served in this House, 
having served in the State Senate before that time.
  With his own premature passing, we lost the opportunity to have his 
continued involvement in Texas, but we have been blessed, as other 
speakers have noted, with the active involvement of the woman we know 
only as ``Lady Bird,'' who continues now, even at this point in her 
life, to make public appearances and support causes for education and 
other good deeds in the Central Texas area.
  Similarly, we are blessed that his commitment to education is 
reflected in the work of his daughter, Luci Baines Johnson Turpin, and 
his granddaughter, Catherine Robb, who are active participants in our 
Central Texas community. This family recognized that, as President 
Johnson said of the NATO alliance many years ago, ``There are no 
problems we cannot solve together, and very few we can solve by 
ourselves.''
  The importance of working together is true, whether our objective is 
to provide more children an education, guarantee seniors' retirement 
security or protect our veterans with the coverage that they earned and 
deserve.
  As we name this building to honor President Johnson, I think that we 
share his commitment to the least, the last, and the most in need. All 
of us welcome this measure as a fitting tribute to a man who did so 
much for this country, so much for education, and so much to improve 
the quality of life for all Americans.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to another 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez).
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Madam Speaker, as a proud Texan, I rise this afternoon 
in support of H.R. 584 in naming the Department of Education 
Headquarters Building in Washington, D.C. after the first ``Education 
President,'' President Lyndon B Johnson.
  Like myself, President Johnson began his career in the field of 
education and, like me, he also had to borrow money in order to attend 
college.
  In 1927, he borrowed $75, as indicated by the previous speaker, to 
attend the Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos, Texas. 
He temporarily dropped out of school to serve also as a principal and 
teacher, and he taught at a school in South Texas in La Salle County in 
a city by the name of Cotulla, which is a city that I had the pleasure 
of representing while I was representing the 28th Congressional 
District. There he taught a good number of Mexican Americans as a young 
man.
  On August 19, 1930, President Johnson graduated with a Bachelor's 
Degree in Science and continued teaching at Pearsall High School, also 
in the 28th Congressional District that I served.
  Pioneering the importance of education as our President, on April 11, 
1965, Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which 
was the first Federal general aid to education law and focused on 
disadvantaged children, both in inner cities and rural communities 
throughout this country.
  Madam Speaker, President Johnson has no Federal buildings in the 
District of Columbia named after him, and since he enacted over 60 
education bills in his term, including the Economic Opportunity Act, 
Head Start, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (title I) and 
the Higher Education Act, (beginning student loan program), the 
Department of Education building is a fitting honor for President LBJ.
  I urge my colleagues in joining me in passing H.R. 584.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Lampson).
  Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for yielding me 
the time, and our Republican colleagues for the graciousness in 
extending our time.
  I first met Lyndon Baines Johnson when he was a Senator from Texas 
and he came to my high school and showed the commitment that he had to 
education and to inspiring young people to go into public service. I 
was one of those young people who responded to his words at that time. 
And I am privileged today to represent the area where the Lyndon Baines 
Johnson Space Center, the Johnson Space Center, is located in Texas, 
and it continues to be a beacon to inspire young people to enter into, 
particularly math and science education, critical areas that we need.
  And I am also privileged to speak today in support of this piece of 
legislation, H.R. 584, a bill to name the Department of Education's 
Washington headquarters in honor of one of our Nation's greatest 
Presidents, President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
  As a Texan, it gives me particular pride to help this effort to name 
the building after a man who did so much to enhance and improve the 
educational system for all Americans. Not only did he begin his storied 
career in public service as an educator, as I did, and some of my 
colleagues who have

[[Page H2187]]

already spoken, President Johnson also ushered in the Economic 
Opportunity Act of 1964, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965, and the Higher Education Act of 1965, all keystones in our 
efforts to provide excellent and enduring educational opportunities for 
all of our children.
  The House should take this simple step to honor a great leader and 
educator and, of course, a great Texan. It is a fitting tribute to his 
family that remains, including Lady Bird. I ask for the support of all 
Members of this piece of legislation, H.R. 584.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, may I ask Mr. Graves, the gentleman from 
Missouri, whether he has any more speakers and if he is prepared to 
yield back his time?
  Mr. GRAVES. I have none. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. I thank the gentleman again for his courtesy in allowing 
a number of Members to speak with the time he provided.
  Madam Speaker, before I yield back the remainder of our time, I must 
say that it would be hard to find a greater domestic policy President 
than Lyndon Baines Johnson. The only one I could think of would be FDR 
himself, and of course, President Johnson updated the Roosevelt New 
Deal. In fact, we are naming the education building, the Department of 
Education building after President Johnson. We could as soon have named 
the HHS building. This is the Medicare President. This is the Medicaid 
President.
  On both sides of the aisle, the historic accomplishments of this 
great President have been embraced. And I must tell you, they have 
certainly been embraced by our constituents. He updated the New Deal. 
And as we consider what domestic legislation lies ahead for us, I think 
we would do well to remember that history gets made in one era; and the 
New Deal era with Social Security, unemployment insurance and the like, 
and then in another era, new issues come forward. President Johnson 
found those issues. None could have been more important than education 
and health care, and I appreciate the bipartisan nature of this bill.
  No building should be named in Washington that is not embraced on 
both sides of the aisle, and there is no more appropriate person to 
name this building after than President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 584, a 
bill to designate the Department of Education headquarters building 
located at 400 Maryland Avenue Southwest in the District of Columbia as 
the ``Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building.''
  I commend the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Green, and his colleagues of 
the Texas delegation, for their steadfast advocacy for this bill. In 
the 109th Congress, Mr. Green introduced a similar bill, H.R. 4252. 
Regrettably, the House did not take action on that legislation.
  Lyndon Baines Johnson, ``the Teacher who became President,'' was one 
of the leading political figures of the 20th century. He served his 
country in ways too numerous to detail, including as lieutenant 
commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Member of both houses 
of Congress, Vice President of the United States, and the 36th 
President of the United States.
  President Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, TX. In 
1927, he enrolled in Southwest Texas State Teachers College at San 
Marcos, TX--Texas State University--San Marcos. He took a leave of 
absence for a year to serve as principal and teach fifth, sixth, and 
seventh grades at Welhausen School, a school in the south Texas town of 
Cotulla. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in August 1930. 
After graduation, he taught at Pearsall High School in Pearsall, TX, 
and taught public speaking at Sam Houston High School in Houston, TX.
  In a special election in 1937, Johnson won the U.S. House of 
Representatives seat representing the 10th Congressional District of 
Texas, defeating nine other candidates. In the next election, he was 
re-elected to a full term in the 76th Congress and to each succeeding 
Congress until 1948.
  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Johnson became 
the first Member of Congress to volunteer for active duty in the Armed 
Forces--U.S. Navy, reporting for active duty on December 9, 1941. 
Johnson received the Silver Star from GEN Douglas MacArthur for 
gallantry in action during an aerial combat mission over hostile 
positions in New Guinea on June 9, 1942. President Roosevelt ordered 
all Members of Congress in the Armed Forces to return to their offices, 
and Johnson was released from active duty on July 16, 1942.
  In 1948, he campaigned for and was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was 
elected minority leader of the Senate in 1953 and majority leader in 
1955, where he served until January 1961, when he resigned to become 
Vice President.
  Lyndon Johnson became the 36th President of the United States on 
November 22, 1963, after the assassination of President John F. 
Kennedy.
  During President Johnson's administration, education was one of the 
many areas where Johnson blazed new ground. He pursued numerous 
education initiatives, and signed many landmark education bills into 
law.
  In 1963, President Johnson approved the Higher Education Facilities 
Act--P.L. 88-204--which authorized a 5-year program of Federal grants 
and loans for construction or improvement of public and private higher 
education academic facilities. This legislation created the largest 
education program since enactment of the National Defense Education Act 
of 1958, and it was the first comprehensive education bill enacted in 
the post-World War II period that was not tied to national defense.

  In 1964, President Johnson signed the Library Services Act--P.L. 88-
269--to make high quality public libraries more accessible to both 
urban and rural residents. The funds made available under this act were 
used to construct as well as operate libraries, and to extend this 
program to cities as well as rural areas. Later that year, President 
Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act--P.L. 88-352--which, among its 
landmark provisions, authorized Federal authorities to sue for the 
desegregation of schools and to withhold Federal funds from education 
institutions that practiced segregation.
  In 1965, President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Act--
P.L. 89-10. This legislation was the first general aid-to-education 
program ever adopted by Congress, and it provided programs to help 
educate disadvantaged children in urban and rural areas. Later that 
year, he also signed the Higher Education Act--P.L. 89-329, which was 
the first program approved by Congress for scholarships to 
undergraduate students.
  President Johnson launched Project Head Start, as an 8-week summer 
program in 1965, to help break the cycle of poverty by providing pre-
school children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to 
meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological 
needs. Recruiting children ages three to school-entry age, Head Start 
was enthusiastically received by education and child development 
specialists, community leaders, and parents across the Nation. 
Currently, Head Start continues to serve children and their families 
each year in urban and rural areas in all 50 States, the District of 
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories, including many 
American Indian and migrant children.
  In 1966, President Johnson signed the International Education Act--
P.L. 89-698, which promoted international studies at U.S. colleges and 
universities.
  In 1968, he signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
Amendments of 1967--P.L. 90-247, establishing bilingual education 
programs for non-English speaking children, and providing more funds 
for special education for disabled children. Later that year, President 
Johnson also signed the Handicapped Children's Early Education 
Assistance Act--P.L. 90-538, which authorized experimental programs for 
disabled children of pre-school age.
  After leaving office, Lyndon Baines Johnson continued his involvement 
in education and taught students while he wrote his memoirs and pursued 
other academic endeavors. Lyndon Johnson died January 22, 1973.
  Lyndon Baines Johnson will be remembered not only as a great 
President and Member of Congress, but also as a champion for education. 
Thus, it is very appropriate that the headquarters building of the 
Department of Education, located at 400 Maryland Avenue Southwest in 
the District of Columbia, be designated as the ``Lyndon Baines Johnson 
Department of Education Building.''
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 584.
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, today I join Congressman Gene Green and a 
bipartisan group of the Texas delegation in supporting the renaming of 
the Department of Education headquarters building to the ``Lyndon 
Baines Johnson Federal Building.''
  It is a fitting tribute to name the building that houses the 
Department of Education after President Lyndon B. Johnson. Under his 
watch, over 60 education bills were signed into law, several of which 
changed the face of education in America.
  One such bill enacted by President Johnson is the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965. For the first time, Federal funds were 
explicitly directed to elementary and secondary public schools. These 
funds have improved the quality of education received by millions of 
students over the past 42 years.

[[Page H2188]]

  President Johnson soon followed this measure with the Higher 
Education Act of 1965. This legislation made a college education 
possible for millions of Americans by creating the Federal student aid 
program.
  Additionally, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 contained the 
provisions creating the Head Start Program, which has put generations 
of preschool-age children on the path of learning and success. Head 
Start gives children the foundation they need in order to be successful 
in school in the future.
  As President Johnson himself once said, ``Poverty must not be a bar 
to learning and learning must offer an escape from poverty.'' By 
opening the doors of education to millions of Americans, President 
Johnson improved countless lives and put the American dream within the 
reach of many.
  I thank Congressman Green for bringing this bill to the floor so that 
we all may recognize the contributions of President Johnson to this 
Nation and to our educational system.
  Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 584, a bill 
introduced by my friend Gene Green of Houston, which names the 
Department of Education Headquarters Building in Washington, DC, after 
President Lyndon B. Johnson.
  President Johnson's legacy is vast and mostly underappreciated. He 
was a visionary in terms of groundbreaking social legislation that 
literally changed the way this country elected leaders, treated one 
another in the workplace, and educated our children.
  President Johnson passed away over 30 years ago, and is survived by 
his First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson. Despite the groundbreaking work in 
education and so many other levels, no Federal buildings bear his name 
in the national Capital area.
  In May 1964, Johnson called for a nationwide war against poverty and 
outlined a vast program of economic and social welfare legislation 
designed to create what he termed the Great Society. Central to his 
vision of a nation no longer hindered by poverty and hate was an 
education for every child, no matter what their economic status.
  During his time in office, President Johnson passed over 60 education 
bills, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, and created the Head Start Program. 
Taken together, these legislative feats form the basis of public 
education in the United States today.
  President Johnson grew up in San Marcos, TX, seeing abject poverty 
all around him and seeing the power scheme that separated white 
children from Hispanic and African-American children. From his earliest 
days, he concluded the only true equalizing influence in our Nation was 
through an equal education for all Americans, no matter what their skin 
color or their economic status.
  The Department of Education headquarters building on Maryland Avenue, 
SW., in Washington, DC, has no name on it today. Bearing the name of 
our 36th President would be a fitting tribute to the life and 
legislative accomplishments in education of the Johnson presidency.
  While novel in his day, the Johnson administration's policy to place 
a national priority on education is supported by large majorities of 
both parties today, illustrating the long-term righteousness of 
Johnson's cause.
  Truly, the only silver bullet to equalize people in this Nation is 
education. That was LBJ's vision, and perfecting that vision should be 
our duty in the 21st century.
  I thank the gentleman from Texas for his work in bringing this bill 
to the floor today.
  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 584, 
a bill to name the headquarters of the United States Department of 
Education after President Lyndon B. Johnson.
  In the entire District of Columbia, with all its Federal buildings, 
parks and monuments, there is not a single Federal facility named after 
the man many historians call one of the best Presidents in American 
history. From his stewardship of legislation creating Medicare and 
Medicaid, to his passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, President Johnson left a legacy on this Nation that 
we still enjoy today.
  In addition to his quest to achieve racial equality in the United 
States, President Johnson was an avid supporter of education. In 1965 
he signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law. This 
landmark bill provided significant federal funding to public schools. 
Also in 1965, he stewarded the Higher Education Act to passage. Thanks 
to this legislation, children in poverty for the first time were able 
to attend college.
  Madam Speaker, like President Johnson, I was a public school teacher, 
and I understand the importance of a good education. Let me conclude by 
quoting President Johnson himself.

       I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in 
     that little Welhausen Mexican School, and I remember even yet 
     the pain of realizing and knowing then that college was 
     closed to practically every one of those children because 
     they were too poor. And I think it was then that I made up my 
     mind that this Nation could never rest while the door to 
     knowledge remained closed to any American.

  Madam Speaker, I can think of no better person after whom we should 
name the building of the Department of Education. I urge my colleagues 
to support H.R. 584.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Madam Speaker, I rise in proud support of H.R. 584, a 
bill to re-name the Department of Education Building after a great 
Texan and a great American, Lyndon Baines Johnson. I would like to 
thank my good friend and colleague, Gene Green for bringing this bill 
to us.
  Today, we aspire to fulfill the vision of the Great Society that 
President Johnson envisioned for this Nation--in his words--a place 
where the meaning of man's life matches the marvels of man's labor.
  Early on in his life, President Johnson was exposed to the 
unacceptable inequities in our Nation's education system. As a teacher 
and a principal in Cotula, TX, President Johnson worked with 
impoverished Hispanic students for whom the dream of pursuing higher 
education was all but out of reach. He saw a nation failing to live up 
to its potential because it failed to develop the talents of its low-
income and minority citizens. He vowed not to rest until America's 
opportunities were open and accessible to everyone.
  It is a fitting tribute to name the Department of Education 
headquarters after the President who brought us the Head Start Program, 
the Higher Education Act and student financial aid, as well as the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which today we know as the No 
Child Left Behind Act.
  Under his watch, our Nation made a commitment to education so that 
opportunity and success would no longer be determined by family wealth 
or the color of one's skin.
  President Johnson was a visionary and a patriot. For me, a member of 
the Education and Labor Committee, he was a hero.
  I urge all my colleges to support H.R. 584.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 584, 
legislation to designate the Department of Education headquarters in 
Washington, DC, after our 36th President, Lyndon Baines Johnson.
  An elementary school teacher himself, President Johnson had a deep 
appreciation for the importance of education. In his ``Great Society'' 
speech at the University of Michigan in 1964, President Johnson stated:

       We must seek an educational system which grows in 
     excellence as it grows in size. This means better training 
     for our teachers. It means preparing youth to enjoy their 
     hours of leisure as well as their hours of labor. It means 
     exploring new techniques of teaching, to find new ways to 
     stimulate the love of learning and the capacity for creation.

  President Johnson's statement rings true to this day. Now is an 
especially important time to revisit his vision. As the global 
marketplace becomes more competitive, it is becoming clear that 
education is the vehicle that will drive U.S. global leadership into 
the future. It is therefore vital that we renew our commitment to 
Federal education programs.
  Some of President Johnson's largest education initiatives were passed 
in 1965, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act--ESEA--
and the Higher Education Act HEA. ESEA provided the first program ever 
adopted by Congress to provide Federal support for public schools, and 
HEA provided the first-ever Federal financial aid programs to help 
students afford college. In addition, 1965 saw the passage of 
legislation to create the National Head Start program and the National 
Endowments for Arts and Humanities.
  For over 40 years, President Johnson's education initiatives have 
helped millions of children across the country achieve the American 
dream. It is only fitting that the Federal Department of Education 
building be named after a man who was a pioneer in his endeavors to 
promote Federal investment in education.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation and I urge 
my colleagues to join me in voting for it.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in 
support of this legislation to name the Department of Education 
Building in honor of President Lyndon B. Johnson.
  President Johnson believed that everyone should have the right to a 
free and adequate education regardless of their gender, race or 
economic status. President Johnson fought for opportunity and access 
for all Americans, and I can truly think of no one better person for 
whom to name the Department of Education building.
  President Johnson's first job was as a Texas elementary school 
teacher and principal at a segregated school attended by only Mexican-
Americans. He held that experience with him, and continually fought for 
education and equality for all Americans. President Johnson recognized 
that education meant opportunity for millions of Americans who would 
otherwise never be able to achieve the American dream.

[[Page H2189]]

  The strides made for educational equality and fairness under the 
Johnson administration were truly remarkable. Under President Johnson, 
we adopted many landmark education policies including the Early and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts, 
the National Endowment for Humanities, and the Higher Education Act of 
1965. Perhaps no other President has ever overseen so many pioneering 
changes to the way that we educate our Nation's children.
  I fully support Congressman Gene Green's effort to name the U.S. 
Department of Education building in honor of President Lyndon B. 
Johnson, and I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this 
legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, as an original cosponsor and 
proud Texan, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 584, which 
designates the national headquarters building of the U.S. Department of 
Education located in the District of Columbia as the Lyndon Baines 
Johnson Department of Education Building. I support this bill because 
it is a fitting tribute to the greatest ``education President'' in the 
history of our Nation.
  It is no exaggeration to say, Madam Speaker, that Lyndon Baines 
Johnson's record of extending the benefits of education to all 
Americans in every region of the country, of every race and gender, 
irrespective of economic class or family background, remains 
unsurpassed. Lyndon Johnson recognized that the educated citizenry is a 
nation's greatest economic asset and most powerful guardian of its 
political liberties.
  Madam Speaker, Lyndon Johnson did more than any single American, 
living or dead, to make the Federal Government a partner with States 
and localities in the vitally important work of educating the people of 
America, from pre-kindergarten to post-graduate school. It makes 
perfect sense, therefore, to name the headquarters building of the U.S. 
Department of Education in his honor.
  Madam Speaker, Lyndon Baines Johnson was one of the leading figures 
of the 20th century. This teacher who became a President served his 
country in numerous, distinguished ways, including as lieutenant 
commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II, as a Member of both 
Houses of Congress, as Vice President of the United States, and as the 
36th President of the United States.
  Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, TX. 
In 1927, he enrolled in Southwest Texas State Teachers College at San 
Marcos, TX--Texas State University--San Marcos. He took a leave of 
absence for a year to serve as principal and teach fifth, sixth, and 
seventh grades at Welhausen School, a Mexican-American school in the 
south Texas town of Cotulla. He graduated with a bachelor of science 
degree in August 1930. After graduation he taught at Pearsall High 
School in Pearsall, TX, and taught public speaking at Sam Houston High 
School in Houston, TX. In the spring of 1931, his debate team won the 
district championship.
  In a special election in 1937, Johnson won the U.S. House of 
Representatives seat representing the 10th Congressional District of 
Texas, defeating nine other candidates. He was re-elected to a full 
term in the 76th Congress and to each succeeding Congress until 1948.
  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Johnson became 
the first Member of Congress to volunteer for active duty in the Armed 
Forces--U.S. Navy, reporting for active duty on December 9, 1941. 
Johnson received the Silver Star from GEN Douglas MacArthur for 
gallantry in action during an aerial combat mission over hostile 
positions in New Guinea on June 9, 1942. President Roosevelt ordered 
all Members of Congress in the Armed Forces to return to their offices, 
and Johnson was released from active duty on July 16, 1942.
  In 1948, after a campaign in which he traveled by ``newfangled'' 
helicopter all over the State, Johnson won the primary by 87 votes and 
earned the nickname ``Landslide Lyndon,'' and in the general election 
was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was elected minority leader of the 
Senate in 1953 and majority leader in 1955. He served in the U.S. 
Senate until he resigned to become Vice President in January 1961.
  Lyndon Johnson became the 36th President of the United States on 
November 22, 1963, after the assassination of President John F. 
Kennedy.
  During his administration, education was one of the many areas where 
President Johnson blazed new ground. He pursued numerous education 
initiatives, and signed many landmark education bills into law.

  In 1963, President Johnson approved the Higher Education Facilities 
Act--P.L. 88-204, which authorized a five-year program of Federal 
grants and loans for construction or improvement of public and private 
higher education academic facilities. This legislation was the largest 
education program enacted by Congress since the National Defense 
Education Act of 1958, and it was the first broad education bill 
enacted in the post-World War II period that was not tied to national 
defense.
  In 1964, Johnson signed the Library Services Act--P.L. 88-269--to 
make high quality public libraries more accessible to both urban and 
rural residents. The funds made available under this act were used to 
construct as well as operate libraries, and to extend this program to 
cities as well as rural areas. Later that year, President Johnson 
signed the Civil Rights Act--P.L. 88-352, which among its landmark 
provisions authorized Federal authorities to sue for the desegregation 
of schools and to withhold Federal funds from education institutions 
that practiced segregation.
  In 1965, President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act--P.L. 89-10--at the former Junction Elementary School in 
Stonewall, TX, where he first attended school. Sitting beside him as he 
signed the bill was his first teacher, Mrs. Kathryn Deadrich Loney. 
This legislation was the first general aid-to-education program ever 
adopted by Congress, and it provided programs to help educate 
disadvantaged children in urban and rural areas. Later that year, he 
also signed the Higher Education Act--P.L. 89-329, which was the first 
program approved by the U.S. Congress for scholarships to undergraduate 
students.
  In 1965, President Johnson launched Project Head Start, as an 8-week 
summer program, to help break the cycle of poverty by providing pre-
school children from low-income families with a comprehensive program 
to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological 
needs. Recruiting children from ages three to school-entry age, Head 
Start was enthusiastically received by education and child development 
specialists, community leaders, and parents across the Nation. 
Currently, Head Start continues to serve children and their families 
each year in urban and rural areas in all 50 States, the District of 
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories, as well as many 
migrant children.
  In 1966, President Johnson signed the International Education Act--
P.L. 89-698, which promoted international studies at U.S. colleges and 
universities.
  In 1968, he signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
Amendments of 1967--P.L. 90-247, establishing bilingual education 
programs for non-English speaking children, and providing more funds 
for special education for disabled children. Later that year, he also 
signed the Handicapped Children's Early Education Assistance Act--P.L. 
90-538, which authorized experimental programs for disabled children of 
pre-school age.
  After leaving office, Lyndon Johnson returned to his native Texas and 
continued his involvement in public education. His presidential papers 
are housed at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum at the 
University of Texas, which in 1970 established the Lyndon Baines 
Johnson School of Public Affairs, The ``LBJ School,'' as is commonly 
known, pioneered what was then regarded as a novel approach to training 
for public service.
  The curriculum combined courses in theory with courses that took 
students into government agencies to work and conduct research; the 
faculty included academics from various disciplines as well as 
practitioners from various levels of government; public service 
programs included an academic publishing program as well as workshops 
for government officials. This blend of the academic and the practical 
remains the distinguishing characteristic of the LBJ School and this 
highly effective approach to training for public service is today an 
accepted model for public affairs graduate programs across the country.
  Madam Speaker, Lyndon Baines Johnson, who died January 22, 1973, will 
be remembered not only as a great President and Member of Congress, but 
also as the greatest champion of accessible and affordable quality 
education for all. President Johnson truly understood the importance of 
leaving no child behind, and he didn't.
  For all these reasons, Madam Speaker, it is most appropriate that the 
headquarters building of the Department of Education located at 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW., in the District of Columbia be designated the 
``Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building.''
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 584, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``To designate the 
Federal building located at 400 Maryland Avenue Southwest in the 
District of Columbia as the `Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of 
Education Building' ''.

[[Page H2190]]

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________