[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 33 (Thursday, March 1, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H1116-H1119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO HARRY BELAFONTE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.

[[Page H1117]]

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my friend, 
my brother, the one and only Harry Belafonte, whose birthday is today, 
his fame as a singer popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an 
international audience, and is best known for singing the Banana Boat 
Song, with its signature lyric, ``Day-O.'' He's a movie star and was in 
pictures filmed with Dorothy Dandridge and then Carmen Jones, which was 
Otto Preminger's hit musical.
  Throughout his career, though, he has been a civil rights advocate 
and a leader in humanitarian causes; and, for me, his close counsel and 
advice and support to the late Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., is 
something that I think will go down in civil rights history.
  He's been a leader in humanitarian causes for many years. He helped 
organize the Grammy award winning song, ``We Are the World,'' a multi-
artist effort to raise funds for Africa when they needed it most. He 
performed in the Live Aid concert that same year.
  In 1987, Mr. Belafonte received appointment to UNICEF as a goodwill 
ambassador; and following his appointment, he traveled to Dakar, 
Senegal, where he served as chairman of the International Symposium of 
Artists and Intellectuals for African Children. He also helped to raise 
funds with dozens of other artists in the largest concert ever held in 
sub-Saharan Africa. And then he went on a mission to Rwanda and 
launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the needs and the 
troubles and the nutritional challenges of Rwandan children.
  In 2001, he went to South Africa to support the campaign to reduce 
HIV/AIDS. The next year, Africare awarded him the Bishop John Walker 
Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his efforts to assist in 
Africa.
  In 2004, he went to Kenya to stress the importance of education for 
the children in that area.
  In 2006, he was the recipient of the BET Humanitarian Award and was 
named one of the nine award recipients by AARP Magazine.
  Happy birthday, Harry Belafonte. I love you, America loves you, and 
the entire world will always love and admire your artistic genius, your 
steadfast devotion to causes of justice, peace, and your enduring 
spirit to transform both our country and the world so it is a more 
compassionate, soulful, and just planet.
  I'm going to yield, at this time, to the gentlelady from Texas, Ms. 
Sheila Jackson Lee, as much time as she may consume.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I want to thank the gentleman from Detroit, 
with his own august history in the civil rights movement and, as they 
say, he is no short man when it comes to the work that he has done. 
More than one that we note him for and thank him for, the hiring of 
Rosa Parks and the friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King, John Conyers 
has proceeded with his legislative history from the time of his 
embracing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act; and then ongoing, where we 
have joined on that committee dealing with issues of police brutality, 
dealing with issues of voter protection, dealing with the 
reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, dealing with the maintaining 
of the Constitution through one impeachment proceeding for me and two 
impeachment proceedings for John Conyers, we know from which he has 
spoken. And beyond a whole litany that I could give in terms of giving 
rights to people, his dear friend, Harry Belafonte, is about to 
approach a wonderful birthday. And since I count Mr. Belafonte both 
hero and friend, I wanted to join briefly for a moment.
  Among some other issues that I'm going to discuss is to, again, thank 
a warrior for peace and justice, and one who--let me just say that he 
would not say ``sacrifice''--one who wanted to ensure that the movement 
leaders, Dr. King, Hosea Williams, Andy Young, James Orange, the 
soldiers in Mississippi and Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, North 
Carolina, and places beyond had the kind of financial and Hollywood 
structure that they would argue that they were not walking alone.
  Harry Belafonte, a significant and monumental talent of music, a boy 
that hailed from the Caribbean, who came to the United States with 
style and smoothness of voice, still kicking, still strong, still 
standing for truth.

                              {time}  1130

  We know of his recent vintage that he did not mince words on wars 
that he thought that we should not be in, but he certainly has not 
traveled anywhere away from the distance of the journey that Dr. Martin 
Luther King walked.
  As Martin fell at the age of 39 in 1968, Harry Belafonte never gave 
up the flag and continued that battlefront to ensure that those who 
could not speak for themselves were heard through his wonderful and 
sweet, resounding voice, his ability for lyrics, and his acting talent 
of the many movies that he allowed us to enjoy.
  So I'm delighted, Mr. Conyers, to join you in wishing Harry Belafonte 
a very happy birthday and, again, let him know that he is too long from 
seeing us. We saw him just recently. But anytime he wants to come to 
the United States Congress and share with us in our fight for justice, 
in the desire to pass legislation that makes sense, whether or not it 
is dealing with the rights of women, whether it is to fight for the 
overdue passage of the Equal Rights Amendment or to ensure the 
reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act or to make sure we 
fund the Office of Civil Rights or we ensure that the stamping and 
trampling on the rights of a 96-year-old grandmother to be able to vote 
in the 2012 election is now stomped out because of voter ID laws, we 
want Harry Belafonte to know that we welcome his voice on any of these, 
and we would argue vigorously that he remains in our hearts and 
continues to be cherished by America, but also an American hero in the 
historic role that he plays in our history and in our musical history 
and the history of civil rights.
  So I want to thank you for allowing me to be yielded to as I proceed 
to utilize a continued part of this Special Order in this hour that I 
wish to do.
  I want to have the appropriate break so that, Mr. Chairman, I think 
you are well aware that you spent your lifetime fighting for rights for 
women. We have done a number of legislative initiatives that have 
passed through the House Judiciary Committee that I've been privileged 
during the short time that I've been there to be on; certainly, the 
constant renewal of the rights dealing with violence against women has 
been imperative, the recognition of the court cases, such as Roe v. 
Wade, and the issues dealing with employment discrimination.
  So it calls for an immediate response to a showman that has a show, 
``The Rush Limbaugh Show.'' It calls for a response that is bipartisan, 
that is humane, that really does not, if you will, pander to the 
schisms that many in this Congress, but many in America, think we have.
  Most people don't realize that when we go home to our district, we 
are embracing people from all walks of life. Whether it is encountering 
in our service, whether or not we are engaging with our Chamber, 
whether or not we are at our schools, we are embracing our 
constituents. We are there to provide for them.
  So I come to the floor just as an American that finds it very 
difficult that, when there are two points of view, which, in the 
procedure of the House--if I might explain, when a committee holds a 
hearing, the majority has the opportunity to select a number of 
witnesses. In most instances, if it is a panel of four, then the 
majority selects three witnesses. Courtesy says that you yield to the 
minority. In the House, it happens to be Democrats. As in Mr. Conyers' 
Judiciary Committee when he was chairman, they were allowed a witness. 
Now we're allowed a witness.
  In the oversight hearing on the question of dealing with the 
compromise of the President to ensure no religious institution ever has 
to engage against their view, which I will fight to the death to ensure 
that happens, there was a witness proposed by the Democrats of that 
committee, a young woman law student. The last time I heard, she was a 
private citizen. She was a law student, accredited or in good standing, 
of one of the Nation's major law schools, and she was blocked from 
testifying.
  Shortly thereafter, the Democratic Policy and Steering Committee, 
which I'm a member of, led by Leader Pelosi,

[[Page H1118]]

held a hearing and gave this private citizen an opportunity to be 
heard. She was called before the Democratic Policy and Steering 
Committee, which is an appropriate vehicle in order to have people 
heard on her views about the necessity of having access to women's 
health. That was the framework of her testimony.
  There were no accusatory words, as I understand it. There was no 
blaming. It was a simple, pure testimony of the detriment to blocking 
women from having access to health care. In fact, we have designated or 
determined that contraceptives have influenced and impacted the 
decrease in cervical cancer as addressed by OB/GYNs in this Nation. So, 
her testimony was a factual testimony on the basis of her experience.
  And I will tell you that that happens all the time, Mr. Conyers, when 
we call witnesses to provide testimony on their own experience. As I 
understand it, it was a civil proceeding that is now documented for 
Members to review, and I think that is the process of this House that 
witnesses are allowed to be in support of a particular position and to 
be against.
  Let me be very frank. Sometimes the hearings get very feisty, but 
we're always cognizant that we're appreciative of witnesses who are 
willing to come before us and to, in fact, share their thoughts.
  We just had one here in the Judiciary Committee, and I was delighted 
to see an array of witnesses, and almost to the extent it looked like 
we had it resolved when one of the faith witnesses said they would have 
no concern about any person that worked for them that secured access to 
contraceptives through some other way as long as it did not cause that 
religious entity to have to be involved. What a simple acknowledgment 
of how America can resolve things. So it is a resolvable question.
  But lo and behold, we look to the airwaves, of which we, the Federal 
Government, provide, and certainly we know the Fairness Doctrine does 
not exist, but I might say that on the February 29, 2012, show of Mr. 
Limbaugh, we understand that he repeatedly used sexually charged, 
patently offensive, obscene language to malign the character of a 
courageous young woman, a private citizen not running for anything, in 
law school, attempting to be a contributing citizen to this country, 
paying her taxes, graduating. I'm sure she has a family that loves her. 
She just was willing to accept the call of a committee to do her duty 
to give testimony in her own words, to provide a life story to an issue 
that we are grappling with.
  So I know I am standing here in the face of the Fairness Doctrine 
that does not require any media to offer a contravening point. Sometime 
in the last couple of decades we eliminated the requirement that if you 
said such-and-such, you needed to bring so-and-so onto the radio or TV 
to say that. We're still grappling with that because this allows, of 
course, the maligning, the vile statements, and one cannot answer.
  Those of us who are in the kitchen, we know that if you're in the 
kitchen, you're in the fire. Those of us who are elected, we understand 
that our task is simply to respond by way of our works and our deeds 
and to allow the national discourse to come.

                              {time}  1140

  But I rise to the floor today because of the vileness of the 
statements that were made by Mr. Limbaugh--and pardon me for having an 
enormous cold here.
  So, Rush, the statements that you made, I think, are not appropriate 
to a private citizen who came before a hearing that was called by 
Members of Congress, asking to secure the appropriate balance and where 
she was refused in the regular order of the House. Where you're allowed 
to have witnesses by the majority and witnesses by the minority--it is 
an accepted process that no one objects to--this young lady was 
blocked. So the leaders of our House--Leader Pelosi, the Democratic 
Policy and Steering Committee, of which I am a member and support 
wholeheartedly--called on this young lady.
  If I might, I will just deviate for a moment.
  This connects to my morning visit this morning of women who thrive, 
and I want to acknowledge my full passion for supporting the 
International Violence Against Women Act that we are fighting to pass. 
In this morning's breakfast, we heard that one in three women will 
experience violence in their lifetimes. They will be prostituted; they 
will be sold; they will be enslaved; they will be beaten; they will be 
killed.
  We have to stop this around the world. In my own jurisdiction, I have 
seen in the last couple of days and weeks men shoot their children, 
their wives or whole families. This is in the United States. I remember 
sitting down with Madeleine Albright on the border of Bangladesh, 
looking at the freed, recently recaptured, prostitutes who had been 
beaten and sold by their families for the lack of survival, and these 
young girls were trying to regain their dignity in life. We cannot 
tolerate that, so I am committing myself wholeheartedly to the passage 
of the International Violence Against Women Act.
  I would commend Rush Limbaugh to invite us on and talk about 
constructive ways of helping women. I give him every opportunity to 
have some guest whom we can call in. I don't think that is possible, 
but I will challenge all of the women of the House. Let's try to dial 
that number and see if we can provide some light on this topic of 
dealing with what women face beyond the caring and having the joy of 
bearing a child but then sometimes raising them as a single parent and 
having to have food stamps and having to have children's health 
insurance or the Affordable Care Act to survive and to raise these 
wonderful children.
  How many have testified, from soldier to President, about a single 
parent who has brought them this far and who have said, If it weren't 
for my mother--some will say if it weren't for my single-parent 
father--I wouldn't be here today. She was a single parent. I just can't 
imagine why Mr. Limbaugh would carry on with this characterization.
  Let me finish on this, Mr. Conyers. It is something that has 
disturbed me and that reflects on my word of instruction.
  I know that we have a schedule for the war in Afghanistan. I cochair 
the Afghan Caucus, so let me pronounce now my desire for an immediate 
upsurging, meaning upsurging out--speeding out, expediting--the return 
of our heroes home. I thank the President for his dinner in honor of 
the soldiers from Iraq. I have been wearing for a number of months--and 
I'm not sure if I still have it on. There it is--a yellow ribbon to 
acknowledge these soldiers who have come home from Iraq, and I look 
forward to many parades coming forward. But it is time to bring our 
soldiers home from Iraq, to thank the NATO partnership, and it is time 
to express outrage. I offer the deepest sympathy.
  I have no problem with apologies. I am a grown person who is not 
diminished by saying, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that a mistake in the 
channel of instructions and commands allowed Korans to be burned. We 
all know that they were collected, first of all, because they thought 
they were communicating dastardly instructions that would harm either 
those who were the officers over the detention prison or that they were 
sending messages. We understand that, but there is no reason not to 
offer an apology. We have sacred documents from the Torah to the Bible 
to the Koran because there are people in the United States of different 
faiths. So we have no problem with that.
  Yet when we have a government, as much as we try to encourage and to 
applaud and to support it, that allows the reckless spreading of 
violence and that the Taliban celebrates by permeating the population 
with ugliness and rioting and when you shoot point blank my officers of 
the United States military, enough is enough. There is no reason for me 
to be able to accept individuals who are there to help build up a 
society, in my understanding, where they are unarmed, and then you 
cause violence with four other soldiers. Then there are allegations 
that food is being poisoned. There are allegations that we can't even 
walk the streets.
  The sadness is that women in Afghanistan have come to me and have 
said, We can't even walk the streets. Babies--girl children--are 
killed. Parliamentarians have spoken to me and

[[Page H1119]]

have said, I can't go home to my home district.
  How would that be for my distinguished colleague, when I yield to 
Congresswoman Capps or to any of the women, to know that we cannot go 
home to our districts because we are in fear of being killed by the men 
in that region?
  So I would argue that we have been valiant, that we are heroes, that 
we have done what we have been called to do. The Commander in Chief 
has, in fact, brought the demise of Osama bin Laden and other high-
dollar targets, and I would believe that it is appropriate that 
Congress gathers. I am now looking and contemplating a resolution in 
which we ask for a more expedited return of our soldiers and in which 
we ask that the President of Afghanistan, in the appropriate way, 
denounce and call for the end of this violence and that the Taliban be 
addressed by the Afghan National Security Forces, as we have trained 
them.
  So I would say in my closing remarks that we have much to do. Many 
women suffer. In this country, we can at least acknowledge that we are 
civilized and that we respect women and the choices they have to make, 
that we have respect for the faith that has its own position and that 
we as a Nation will insist on that firewall; but we will also have 
access to women's health care. It makes no sense that a talk-show host, 
who is on the airwaves provided by the American people and by the tax 
dollars, would go after an innocent law student who simply was called 
as an American citizen to be heard in the Halls of Congress and who had 
no other angst but to be able to present her life story.
  I conclude, Mr. Conyers, by saying I see that, by the men and women 
in the United States military, all they have asked to do is to serve 
their Nation under the orders of the Commander in Chief in Afghanistan. 
I am now saying to them that I salute them and that it is time to bring 
our men and women home in dignity, in health, in safety, and with their 
lives--for their loved ones.
  Mr. CONYERS. I want to thank the gentlelady from Texas for her wide-
ranging comments, for her very closely held beliefs, and for her very 
articulate way of joining me in the dialogue this morning.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlelady from California, Lois 
Capps.


                          Personal Explanation

  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to correct the Record. I mistakenly 
voted ``no'' just a few moments ago on rollcall 94 when I intended to 
vote ``yes.''
  I do support H. Res. 556 and strongly condemn the Government of Iran 
for its state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities.
  I concur with the resolution in calling for the exoneration and 
immediate release of Youcef Nadarkhani and all other individuals held 
or charged on account of their religion.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________