[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 52 (Thursday, April 3, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H1999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            UNITY IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Yarmuth). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, before I discuss the topic 
upon which I arise to speak, I do want to join my colleagues in 
celebrating the reauthorization of the United States Fire 
Administration Act. As a member of the Homeland Security Committee 
since its origin after 2001, I am a direct witness of the work of our 
first responders around the Nation. It is important that we recognize 
the elements of this bill and the funding that is necessary to ensure a 
system of first responders that works.
  Yesterday, I met with the chiefs of the fire departments of 
departments in my State of Texas. I salute them. Through their efforts, 
we were able to pass this bill. I congratulate the sponsor, and I 
believe that the National Fire Incident Reporting System improvements 
that will come about are important; the fire technology assistance and 
dissemination will be important that is reauthorized; the encouraging 
of the adoption of standards for firefighter health and safety, one of 
the ills that we are still dealing with after 9/11, people who have 
gotten sick after 9/11 and still not addressed; and the coordination on 
fire service-based emergency medical services is important; and as 
well, the funding that will come about, upwards of $100 million.
  Certainly, I encourage them to work with the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, the work that we can do together. Congratulations on 
the reauthorization of this bill. I stand as a strong supporter.
  I rise today, as my colleagues have done, to acknowledge the 40th 
anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King. That will be tomorrow. I 
head to Memphis to commemorate that. I just got through speaking to a 
number of constituents from Texas Southern University and from Prairie 
View A&M. I asked them about presidential politics. They were 
thoughtful and discussed with me the balance that they saw in the 
candidates that happened to be running in the Democratic primary.
  What I have seen as we watched this debate is really a call on the 
sensitivities of America, race and gender, and we have seen the 
tensions and the divisiveness; rather than focus on the message and 
mission of an American hero like Dr. King, who talked about unity and 
talked about, as was said by his son today, the horrible evil of racism 
and poverty and militarism. But even in that voice, he spoke of unity.
  Today, I rise to call upon the candidates themselves, that whoever 
will run to the mike first and call upon unity in America may find a 
surprising response from all the voters, wherever they might be. For 
Americans are good people. They extend themselves to the battlefields 
of Afghanistan and Iraq so that others might have freedom and 
democracy.
  I might imagine that our soldiers would look back on this 
divisiveness and the name calling and someone castigating one person 
because they are for one candidate over another, and ask whether or not 
we truly understand freedom and democracy. It is choice, it is the 
ability to make your choice. Yet, it is the ability to come together 
and unify around the goodness of America.
  I was glad to hear Majority Whip Clyburn say today that, ``time is 
neutral.'' As Martin Luther King said, ``It is neutral because it says 
nothing. It is what you do with it.'' What he reminded us is that 
people of ill will seem to use time more effectively than people of 
good will.
  I truly believe that we have outstanding Americans running for this 
office. I will be pushing for the one that happens to be in my party, 
strongly and enthusiastically. But what I will come to this floor and 
this Congress for is to join me in putting together a reconciliation 
commission in America. Not just because of the candidacy and the 
campaigns that we have seen, but because Americans are still sensitive 
about race and about gender, two groups of people that have been 
disenfranchised in our history. Yet, we are blessed to be in America, 
recognizing that many of us have made strides. I am proud to stand here 
as an African American woman. Some might say I have double issues. But 
I have double benefits, double celebration.
  Yet, there are those who I believe would benefit from having this 
broad discussion, this reconciliation in America about women who were 
disenfranchised until 1920, woman who suffer from the lack of pay 
equity, and those who live under a minority umbrella, who themselves 
still remain discriminated against in schools and jobs and in corporate 
America.
  Mr. Speaker, we can benefit from this wonderful debate and discourse 
between someone who's an African American male with the potential of 
being the President of the United States and a woman who has the 
potential of being President of the United States. Why don't we 
celebrate in that difference and diversity? Why don't we call for 
unity, because America is greater than our individual differences. As 
Martin Luther King said, ``It can be the promised land. Why don't we 
attempt to go there together.''

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