[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 15, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H6716-H6717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1320
   JAMES CHANEY, ANDREW GOODMAN, MICHAEL SCHWERNER, AND ROY K. MOORE 
                            FEDERAL BUILDING

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 3562) 
to designate the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon 
Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ``James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, 
and Michael Schwerner Federal Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the Senate amendments is as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. BUILDING DESIGNATION.

       The Administrator of General Services shall ensure that the 
     federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway 
     in Jackson, Mississippi, is known and designated as the 
     ``James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. 
     Moore Federal Building''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       With respect to the period in which the building referred 
     to in section 1 is federally occupied, any reference in a 
     law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the 
     United States to that building shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the ``James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael 
     Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building''.
         Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to designate the 
     federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway 
     in Jackson, Mississippi, as the `James Chaney, Andrew 
     Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal 
     Building'.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Mario Diaz-Balart) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise 
and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the 
Senate amendments to H.R. 3562.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 
3562, which designates the federally occupied building located at 1220 
Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the James Chaney, Andrew 
Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building.
  The Senate amendment to H.R. 3562 adds FBI agent Roy K. Moore to the 
naming designation of the federally occupied building that will house 
the Jackson, Mississippi, FBI field office. Agent Roy Moore was 
personally picked by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to lead the 
investigation into the deaths of Civil Rights activists James Chaney, 
Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.
  The events surrounding these three young men have a special place in 
civil rights history. They were civil rights activists who were 
training in Ohio to organize African Americans in Mississippi during 
the Freedom Summer of 1964. These three men represented a wave of young 
Americans who took time off from other parts of their lives to wade 
into certain adversity and to fight for equal rights for all Americans.
  All of the activists were murdered in the Freedom Summer of 1964, and 
their bodies were buried in an earthen dam outside of Philadelphia, 
Mississippi. FBI agent Roy Moore was tasked with leading the 
investigation of their disappearances and of bringing their attackers 
to justice. The events of that summer were later widely lauded as an

[[Page H6717]]

important milestone in bringing law and order to Mississippi with 
respect to African American civil rights. Agent Moore's efforts 
resulted in 19 people being indicted in 1967 for violating the civil 
rights of these three gentlemen. Ultimately, seven men were tried and 
convicted. Roy Moore served 34 years with the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation and died on October 12, 2008, at the age of 94.
  It is fitting that we honor the memories of these young men and the 
memory of the FBI agent responsible for leading the investigation of 
their disappearances by designating the federally occupied building 
located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the James 
Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal 
Building.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, we are a very young Nation, but it is so crucial that 
we remember our history and that we honor our martyrs. This is one of 
those examples when we have a great opportunity to do both.
  These individuals gave their lives for the rights that we, frankly, 
take for granted now and that we hold so dear. Special Agent Moore 
ensured that the rule of law was enforced and that those murderers were 
brought to justice, so I think that it is fitting and appropriate to 
honor these men by naming the FBI building in Jackson, Mississippi, 
after them. I also support the Senate amendment, and I urge my 
colleagues to do the same.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield such time 
as he may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson).
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Thank you very much.
  Madam Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 3562, an act to designate the 
federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, 
Mississippi, as the James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, 
and Roy K. Moore Federal Building.
  Madam Speaker, 45 years ago, three young men lost their lives while 
attempting to organize and register voters during that time known as 
Freedom Summer. These men were James Chaney, a 21-year-old man from 
Meridian, Mississippi; Andrew Goodman, a 20-year-old college student 
from New York; and Michael Schwerner, a 24-year-old CORE organizer and 
social worker who was also from New York.
  On July 21, 1964, the three men were driving from Meridian, 
Mississippi, to Longdale, Mississippi, to investigate the burning of 
Mount Zion United Methodist Church, which had been the meeting place 
for numerous civil rights groups. Along their journey, the trio was 
stopped by a Neshoba County deputy who was also a known member of the 
Ku Klux Klan. Subsequently, the three young men were arrested for 
speeding and were held without the use of a telephone at the Neshoba 
County jail. Hours later, they were fined and released.
  Shortly after the trio continued their journey, they were again 
pulled over by the sheriff's deputy, who likely unbeknownst to them, 
was followed by a mob of Klansmen who had assembled to abduct and kill 
the men. The three individuals were taken to a remote area of the 
county and were beaten and killed. Their car was burned, and their 
bodies were buried in an earthen dam.
  Days after their disappearances, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover 
personally selected Agent Roy K. Moore to lead the investigation 
effort. Agent Moore had become renowned for his investigation of the 
1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, 
which killed four young girls. As the investigation's lead agent, Moore 
was charged with commanding hundreds of agents who temporarily flooded 
the State--many of them reluctant to do their work.
  After significant investigation by Agent Moore and the FBI, the three 
individuals' bodies were found on August 4, 1964. Due to Mississippi's 
officials' refusal to prosecute the individuals for murder, the Justice 
Department brought charges against 17 individuals for conspiracy to 
deprive the three workers of their civil rights. Seven of the 17 
individuals were found guilty, but none of them served terms longer 
than 6 years in jail.
  Finally, on June 21, 2005, a Neshoba County jury convicted Edgar Ray 
Killen on three counts of manslaughter and sentenced him to three 
consecutive terms of 20 years in prison in connection with the deaths 
of these young men.
  The murder of James Chaney, who was black, and the murders of Andrew 
Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were both Jewish, attracted national 
attention to the reality of the State's racial problems. As a result of 
their deaths, there was more pressure on the Federal Government to pass 
the Voting Rights Act.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure and the House for quickly moving this legislation 
after it was returned from the Senate.
  The struggle for justice and equality has eternally bonded James 
Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore. Today, 
Congress will act to link their legacy to Mississippi's newest symbol 
of justice and equality.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise to concur in the Senate amendment 
to H.R. 3562, which designates the federally occupied building located 
at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ``James Chaney, 
Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building''.
  This bill, as originally passed by the House, named this Federal 
Bureau of Investigations, FBI, facility in Jackson after James Chaney, 
Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, civil rights activists who were 
lynched in the summer of 1964 while attempting to organize African 
Americans to vote and pursue other civil rights in Mississippi. On June 
21, 1964, the three men drove to Longdale, Mississippi, to investigate 
the site of a burned church in Neshoba County. They were arrested by 
the Neshoba County police as they were leaving the site and held by the 
police for several hours. They were later released only to be 
rearrested shortly thereafter. After the second arrest, the Neshoba 
County police officer turned the three civil rights activists over to 
local Klansmen. On August 4, 1964, 44 days later, their bodies were 
found buried in an earthen dam near Philadelphia, Mississippi. The 
Senate amendment to H.R. 3562 adds FBI Agent Roy K. Moore to the 
building name.
  Agent Roy Moore was personally picked by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover 
to lead the investigation into the deaths of these young men. Nineteen 
men were later indicted; seven were tried and convicted. Agent Moore 
said the FBI would be there until it broke the back of the Ku Klux 
Klan, reestablished the rule of law at the local level, and enforced 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Senate amendment to 
H.R. 3562.

                              {time}  1330

  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, again, this is an 
important piece of legislation, and I would urge its support.
  With that, I would yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I have no further 
requests for time, I support this legislation, move that it pass, and 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) that the House 
suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 
3562.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, on that I demand 
the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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