[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 55 (Thursday, March 29, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4225-S4226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         EDWARD WILLIAM BROOKE III CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee be discharged from further 
consideration of S. 682 and the Senate proceed to the consideration of 
this matter.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 682) to award a congressional gold medal to 
     Edward William Brooke III in recognition of his unprecedented 
     and enduring service to our Nation.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the award of a Congressional Gold Medal 
to our former colleague, Senator Ed Brooke, is eminently well-deserved, 
and I urge the Senate to approve this legislation.
  To all of us who know Ed Brooke, he was an outstanding Senator, a 
true statesman, a champion of equal justice and opportunity for all, 
and a man of great conscience and compassion.
  Senator Brooke was born in Washington, DC, not far from these 
Chambers on Capitol Hill, and he graduated from Howard University. He 
had studied medicine, intending to become a physician, but realized 
that he was more at home in the fields of literature, political 
science, and history.
  After finishing his degree at Howard, he served our country in World 
War II as a captain in the Army's segregated 366th Infantry Regiment, 
which fought with great courage in the Italian theater. During his 
service, he distinguished himself not only as a gifted leader, but as a 
skilled defense counsel in court martial proceedings.
  Returning from the war, he enrolled in Boston University Law School 
and became editor of the Law Review. After graduating, he began a 
successful law practice in Massachusetts and continued his commitment 
to public service as well. He chaired the Finance Commission of Boston, 
and specialized in rooting out public corruption. His ability, energy, 
and dedication won him renown, and he was elected attorney general of 
Massachusetts, becoming the first African American in the Nation to 
hold such a position.
  In his two terms as attorney general, he became a leader in the 
battle against organized crime
  In 1966, he was elected to the Senate from Massachusetts, the first 
African-American Senator since Reconstruction. I vividly remember 
escorting him down the center aisle of this Chamber for his swearing 
in. At that time, the Senate was deeply involved in enacting the 
historic civil rights legislation of the 1960s, and I was touched by 
the magnitude and immense symbolism of that moment for Ed and his 
family, for African Americans, for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
and for the Nation as a whole.
  When people question Ed about his significant place in history, his 
response is always spirited and unchanging. He didn't want to be 
remembered only as the Senate's African-American Member. During his 
campaign for attorney general, he had said, ``I'm not running as a 
Negro. I never have. I'm trying to show that people can be elected on 
the basis of their qualifications and not their race.''
  Ed always saw himself in this light. Despite his other ``firsts,'' he 
was first and foremost an American and a son of Massachusetts, and it 
was important to him that his accomplishments and talents speak louder 
than the color of his skin.
  Needless to say, his heritage uniquely qualified him to combat social 
injustice and stand as an eloquent voice for America's oppressed. He 
served on President Johnson's Commission on Civil Disorders, which 
investigated the causes of the race riots in American cities at the 
time, and the committee's recommendations became a central part of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1968.
  When he spoke on the Senate floor in support of the extending the 
Voting Rights Act in 1975, he addressed this body with inspiring candor 
and sincerity. In a time of great turmoil and division, he was a symbol 
of hope for Americans of color throughout our Nation--hope that our 
country was changing, hope that the American dream was still alive.
  Those who were intent on defeating the Voting Rights Act could not 
avoid pangs of conscience as Ed declared, ``I cannot believe that in 
1975, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, we are ready to say to the 
American people, black and white, red and brown, that they cannot be 
assured of the basic right to vote!'' His point was irresistible, and 
the very next day, the Senate passed the bill.
  Ed was passionate about opportunity for all. In his two terms with 
us, he set a high standard for public service and was a model of 
senatorial independence, supporting measures on both sides of the aisle 
that he felt strengthened our country, and improved the lives of all 
Americans. He was a champion of the minimum wage, a strong voice for 
Medicare and Social Security, and an effective defender of women's 
rights. The title of his autobiography, ``Bridging the Divide,'' 
published earlier this year, says it all. He bridged race, he bridged 
parties, and defied any conventional categorization.
  I remember Ed discussing the difficulty of providing a home for his 
family after his return from World War II, at a time when race 
disqualified him from considering certain properties. His plight was 
characteristic of the struggle experienced by millions of Americans at 
that time. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 is a tribute to his leadership 
as a Senator, and long after he left the Senate, he continued the 
battle for fair housing and opportunity as leader of the National Low 
Income Housing Coalition.
  As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ``We must come to see that the 
end we seek is a society of peace. That will be the day not of the 
white man, not the black man. That will be the day of man as man.'' 
Edward Brooke is the embodiment of Dr. King's vision. He was a great 
Senator among us, he is still a caring public servant. He is a great 
American, and he certainly deserves this very special tribute from 
Congress. I urge my colleagues to approve this award of the 
Congressional Gold Medal to our former colleague, Ed Brooke.

[[Page S4226]]

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any statements relating to this bill be printed in the 
Record, with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 682) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                 S. 682

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Edward William Brooke III 
     Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds as follows:
       (1) Edward William Brooke III was the first African 
     American elected by popular vote to the United States Senate 
     and served with distinction for 2 terms from January 3, 1967, 
     to January 3, 1979.
       (2) In 1960, Senator Brooke began his public career when 
     Governor John Volpe appointed him chairman of the Boston 
     Finance Commission, where the young lawyer established an 
     outstanding record of confronting and eliminating graft and 
     corruption and proposed groundbreaking legislation for 
     consumer protection and against housing discrimination and 
     air pollution.
       (3) At a time when few African Americans held State or 
     Federal office, Senator Brooke became an exceptional pioneer, 
     beginning in 1962, when he made national and State history by 
     being elected Attorney General of Massachusetts, the first 
     African American in the Nation to serve as a State Attorney 
     General, the second highest office in the State, and the only 
     Republican to win statewide in the election that year, at a 
     time when there were fewer than 1,000 African American 
     officials in our nation.
       (4) He won office as a Republican in a state that was 
     strongly Democratic.
       (5) As Massachusetts Attorney General, Senator Brooke 
     became known for his fearless and honest execution of the 
     laws of his State and for his vigorous prosecution of 
     organized crime.
       (6) The pioneering accomplishments of Edward William Brooke 
     III in public service were achieved although he was raised in 
     Washington, DC at a time when the Nation's capital was a city 
     where schools, public accommodations, and other institutions 
     were segregated, and when the District of Columbia did not 
     have its own self-governing institutions or elected 
     officials.
       (7) Senator Brooke graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar High 
     School and went on to graduate from Howard University in 
     1941.
       (8) Senator Brooke's enduring advocacy for self-government 
     and congressional voting rights for the citizens of 
     Washington, DC has roots in his life and personal experience 
     as a native Washingtonian.
       (9) Senator Brooke served for 5 years in the United States 
     Army in the segregated 366th Infantry Regiment during World 
     War II in the European theater of operations, attaining the 
     rank of captain and receiving a Bronze Star Medal for 
     ``heroic or meritorious achievement or service'' and the 
     Distinguished Service Award.
       (10) After the war, Senator Brooke attended Boston 
     University School of Law, where he served as editor of the 
     school's Law Review, graduating with an LL.B. in 1948 and an 
     LL.M. in 1949, and made Massachusetts his home.
       (11) During his career in Congress, Senator Brooke was a 
     leader on some of the most critical issues of his time, 
     including the war in Vietnam, the struggle for civil rights, 
     the shameful system of apartheid in South Africa, the Cold 
     War, and United States' relations with the People's Republic 
     of China.
       (12) President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Senator Brooke 
     to the President's Commission on Civil Disorders in 1967, 
     where his work on discrimination in housing would serve as 
     the basis for the 1968 Civil Rights Act.
       (13) Senator Brooke continued to champion open housing when 
     he left the Senate and became the head of the National Low-
     Income Housing Coalition.
       (14) Senator Brooke has been recognized with many high 
     honors, among them the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, 
     an honor that recognizes ``an especially meritorious 
     contribution to the security or national interests of the 
     United States, world peace, cultural or other significant 
     public or private endeavors''; the Grand Cross of the Order 
     of Merit from the Government of Italy; a State courthouse 
     dedicated in his honor by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
     making him the first African American to have a State 
     courthouse named in his honor; the NAACP Spingarn Medal; and 
     the Charles Evans Hughes award from the National Conference 
     of Christians and Jews.
       (15) Senator Brooke's biography, Bridging The Divide: My 
     Life, was published in 2006, and he is the author of The 
     Challenge of Change: Crisis in Our Two-Party System, 
     published in 1966.
       (16) Senator Brooke became a racial pioneer, but race was 
     never at the center of his political campaigns.
       (17) He demonstrated to all that with commitment, 
     determination, and strength of character, even the barriers 
     once thought insurmountable can be overcome.
       (18) He has devoted his life to the service of others, and 
     made enormous contributions to our society today.
       (19) The life and accomplishments of Senator Brooke is 
     inspiring proof, as he says, that ``people can be elected on 
     the basis of their qualifications and not their race''.

     SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate 
     shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on 
     behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design 
     to Edward William Brooke III in recognition of his 
     unprecedented and enduring service to our Nation.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 
     referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') 
     shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 
     inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

     SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
     the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 under such 
     regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price 
     sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
     materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and 
     the cost of the gold medal.

     SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

       (a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this 
     Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 
     31, United States Code.
       (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of 
     title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this 
     Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

       (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to 
     be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
     Fund, such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs 
     of the medals struck pursuant to this Act.
       (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be 
     deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

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