[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 64 (Thursday, April 30, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H2664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE HOUSE REPUBLICAN BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I want to join my friend and chair of the 
Congressional Black Caucus, G.K. Butterfield, in offering condolences 
to the parents and family members of Freddie Gray.
  I also want to say to Ms. Toya Graham that I feel and can appreciate 
her anguish and the pain that she showed the world a few days ago.
  I want to say to her son, Michael, that I have also felt his pain and 
anguish, having been on the receiving end of such discipline from my 
mother. But I want to say to him that he can rest assured that the love 
of his mother, her passion for his future, will pay great dividends if 
he continues to show the deference to her love and affection and her 
concern that he showed when he was the object of her frustrations.
  Mr. Speaker, responding to the situation in Baltimore several days 
ago, President Obama said: ``We can't just leave this to the police. I 
think there are police departments that have to do some soul-searching. 
I think there are some communities that have to do some soul-
searching.''
  But, he went on to say: ``I think, we, as a country, have to do some 
soul-searching.''
  I want to join President Obama in calling for the country to do some 
soul-searching.
  Let's take a look at just a few of the institutions of learning in 
the Baltimore community.
  I would like to call attention to one school, Frederick Douglass High 
School, a school that lists among its graduates the likes of Cab 
Calloway, Thurgood Marshall, a school that I understand that the father 
of the current mayor of Baltimore also attended.
  I understand there are 789 students at Frederick Douglass High School 
today. Eighty-three percent of them are listed in U.S. News & World 
Report's index as economically disadvantaged, and only 53 percent of 
them are listed as proficient in English, only 44 percent proficient in 
algebra.
  I understand that Carver Vocational Technical High is 100 percent 
minority, with 79 percent of the students economically disadvantaged.
  Coppin Academy, 100 percent minority, with 77 percent economically 
disadvantaged.
  Now, as we listen to all of the pundits, editorial writers reflect on 
what is taking place or has taken place in Baltimore, I would like to 
call attention to the lack of soul-searching that is taking place here 
in this body as we represent the people of America. We have just seen 
the conference report, or the budget, being proposed by the House 
Republicans. That conference agreement guts strategic investments in 
education, workforce training, public health, scientific research, 
advanced manufacturing, and public safety. It does nothing to help 
those Americans who are looking for jobs. It does nothing to boost 
paychecks of working Americans. It disinvests in America.

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