[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 25 (Thursday, February 11, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S867-S869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to join the American people 
in celebrating Black History Month, but it should be noted that the 
immeasurable role African Americans have had in making the Nation the 
strong Nation that it is today could not be fully recognized in 1 short 
month. Black history is American history.
  This February we highlight the titans of African-American history: 
Marylanders such as Harriet Ross Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and 
Thurgood Marshall; icons, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and 
Dr. Dorothy Height; and contemporary heroes, such as John Lewis and Mae 
Jemison.
  We all celebrate the countless men and women whose names will never 
grace the history books or newspapers, those who fought each day for 
freedom and equality, those who pushed the limits of innovation, and 
those who endured and overcame hardships over the centuries.
  As we celebrate, the struggle to ensure all Americans under the law 
are treated equally under the law rages on. I believe that as much as 
Black History Month is about reflecting on a rich past, it is also a 
time for all Americans to contemplate how to create a better future.
  It is not enough simply to recognize the great contributions that 
African Americans have made, to honor those who have come before us; we 
must use Black History Month as a springboard to bring about positive 
change in America. I have a number of legislative priorities that 
relate directly to Black History Month and to building a better future.

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  I take pride in being from Baltimore for many years reasons. I know 
all my colleagues are familiar with the National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP for short. The NAACP 
celebrates its 107th anniversary on the 12th of month. The NAACP is 
headquartered in Baltimore City. The model of the NAACP is ``One Nation 
Working Together, For Justice and Equality Everywhere.'' The motto is 
fitting because for the last 107 years, this is exactly what the NAACP 
and its more than half a million members have done. I have introduced 
legislation to honor the legacy of the civil rights champion, executive 
director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Solicitor 
General, Supreme Court Justice, and Baltimorean Thurgood Marshall. The 
legislation would direct the National Park Service to determine the 
suitability of including his alma mater, Public School 103 in West 
Baltimore, as a national historic site.
  The stories of Justice Thurgood Marshall reading the Constitution in 
the basement of P.S. 103 during detention typifies the American dream. 
Preserving P.S. 103 would not only be a fitting tribute to a great 
Marylander but also an enduring symbol of the importance of education 
in shaping civic-minded and great Americans. I understand that the 
legislation may be included in the Energy Policy Modernization Act that 
the Senate may consider again in the near future, and I hope the Senate 
will approve of this amendment.
  I just mentioned education, and during Black History Month, I think 
there are few topics more important to promoting equality than ensuring 
that all Americans have access to a high-quality, affordable education. 
In December of this past year, Congress enacted the Every Student 
Succeeds Act in a strong bipartisan manner. I hope the Members of this 
body can build on this momentum by confronting the pressing issues of 
college affordability and student debt.
  I am a strong supporter of President Obama's America's College 
Promise proposal to provide 2 years of community college education 
tuition-free for responsible students. This proposal will allow 
students to earn the first 2 years of a 4-year degree or the critical 
skills necessary to enter the workforce without having to take on 
decades of debt before they even embark on their career.
  While student debt is a critical problem for nearly 42 million 
Americans, paying for higher education can be especially difficult for 
African-American families. According to the Urban Institute, since the 
mid-2000s, African-American families on average have carried more 
student loan debt than White families. This is driven in large part by 
the growing share of African-American families who take on student 
debt. In 2013, 42 percent of African Americans ages 25 to 55 had 
student loan debt, compared with 28 percent of Whites. Because African-
American families on average have less wealth and fewer private 
resources, they may be more likely to turn to loans to finance their 
education.
  Education is the great equalizer in our society. As a nation, we 
cannot afford to price Americans of any race out of education and the 
opportunities a quality education provides.
  The main higher education equalizer, the Federal Pell grant, provides 
its lowest share of college education costs since its enactment in 
1965. As a result, more than 61 percent of the students who receive a 
Federal Pell grant award have to take out loans, compared to only 29 
percent of their more affluent peers. With more than 60 percent of 
African-American undergraduate students utilizing the Federal Pell 
grant to pay for their education, this has placed an undue burden on 
African-American communities for decades. During Black History Month 
and beyond, I will continue to help support legislation to help ease 
the burden of paying for higher education.
  In the last year, Baltimore and many cities across the United States 
have been inundated with news crews covering the deaths of unarmed 
Black men and women at the hands of police officers. Long before the 
unrest that gripped Baltimore last spring, I had introduced a number of 
bills seeking to empower communities and rebuild trust between the 
citizens and police departments. Events in Baltimore, Charleston, 
Cleveland, Chicago, and many other places showed the urgent need for 
congressional action. That is why I introduced the BALTIMORE Act, which 
would help communities nationwide by building and lifting trust in 
order to multiply opportunities and racial equality.
  The BALTIMORE Act is a package of legislation made up of bills that I 
have previously introduced, along with several new additions. Many 
provisions in the BALTIMORE Act enjoy bipartisan support. Title I of 
the BALTIMORE Act includes law enforcement perform provisions to help 
better train and equip law enforcement officers so they can better 
serve communities across the country.
  The first provision contained within the BALTIMORE Act is the End 
Racial Profiling Act. The End Racial Profiling Act would end racial and 
discriminatory profiling by State and local law enforcement and require 
mandatory data collection and reporting. Think about this for a moment: 
In 2016 there is no national standard against law enforcement officers 
stopping someone merely because of his or her race. I am pleased that 
Maryland attorney general Brian Frosh recently issued guidelines 
prohibiting the use of discriminatory profiling by State and local law 
enforcement in Maryland. And the Attorney General of the United States 
has acted, but we need a national standard with the force of law that 
would prohibit the use of discriminatory profiling by any Federal, 
State, or local law enforcement officer.
  The second provision deals with State and local accountability. It 
would require local law enforcement officials receiving Byrne JAG and 
COPS Hiring Program funds to submit officer training information to the 
Department of Justice. That information would include how officers are 
trained in the use of force, racial and ethnic bias, deescalating 
conflicts, and constructive engagement with the public.
  The Police CAMERA Act would establish a pilot program to assist local 
law enforcement in purchasing or leasing body-worn cameras.
  I am pleased that several provisions that are consistent with the 
BALTIMORE Act were included in the fiscal year 2016 appropriations 
measure enacted by Congress in December. The appropriations legislation 
directs the Department of Justice to swiftly devise and submit plans to 
improve training levels in use of force, identifying racial and ethnic 
bias, and conflict resolution for State and local law enforcement 
officers. It urges DOJ to partner with national law enforcement 
organizations to promote consistent standards for high-quality training 
and assessment and directs the agency to better collect State and local 
law enforcement data on the use of force.
  I also want to mention that I introduced the Law Enforcement Trust 
and Integrity Act, which would help local law enforcement agencies 
strengthen their department and combat officer misconduct.
  The BALTIMORE Act deals with voting rights reform and civil rights 
restoration. The Democracy Restoration Act would make citizens who have 
returned from incarceration eligible to vote. At the State level, I was 
proud to see that the Maryland State Senate recently overturned our 
Governor's veto of a State statute expanding the right to vote for 
people who have served their time. I want to reduce recidivism and give 
people a stake in their communities. If you want to do that, they need 
to have a voice and a vote. The Democracy Restoration Act would also 
restore one's eligibility to serve on a Federal jury.
  Congress should also enact legislation to restore the Voting Rights 
Act and reverse the damage done by the Supreme Court decisions that 
undermine the fundamental right to vote as Americans, to cast their 
votes for the Presidential primary elections of 2016.
  The BALTIMORE Act also deals with sentencing reform. Over the years, 
sentencing in this country has been marred by racial disparities. The 
discrepancy between jail time for crack and powder cocaine users is 
only one such example. The RESET Act would reclassify specific low-
level nonviolent drug possession felonies as misdemeanors and eliminate 
the aforementioned distinctions between crack and powder cocaine. I am 
pleased to be

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able to say that the sentencing reform is a bipartisan issue, and I 
look forward to working with any member who is willing to ensure that 
all Americans are treated equitably under the law. I hope the Senate 
will take up legislation to address some of these disparities in the 
very near future. Finally, the BALTIMORE Act addresses reentry and 
employment law reforms. I think this section is especially important 
because once someone has served his or her sentence, that person should 
be able to start anew and should get a fair shot to reenter the 
workforce.
  I would be remiss if I did not mention Second Chance, Inc., a 
Baltimore nonprofit that trains returning citizens in deconstruction, 
architectural salvage, and much more. I have had a chance to meet with 
the staff of Second Chance, and I can tell you that their reentry and 
job program should be a national model. I invite my colleagues to learn 
more about the good work that is being done only a short drive north of 
here.

  I am pleased the administration has ``banned the box'' when it comes 
to the hiring of Federal contractors, so that ex-offenders get the 
second chance to rejoin our communities as productive and working 
members of society.
  I am pleased the State of Maryland as well as Baltimore City, 
Montgomery County, and Prince George's County have all ``banned the 
box'' in various forms, and I urge the private sector to follow suit. 
Helping ex-offenders find gainful employment is a win-win by reducing 
social services costs, increasing tax revenues, and making our 
communities safer.
  Eliminating disparities in our justice system is critically 
important. It is just as important to eliminate disparities in the 
quality of health care available between groups of Americans. In 
Baltimore, living in certain African-American neighborhoods instead of 
a White neighborhood, separated by only a few miles, can shorten life 
expectancy by as much as 30 years--a full generation. That is 
unacceptable. As a Senator with a longstanding record of working to 
promote health equity, including my legislation establishing Offices of 
Minority Health throughout the Department of Health and Human Services 
and elevating the National Institutes of Health's National Center on 
Minority Health and Health Disparities to an Institute, I will say we 
have made progress in shrinking disparities, but I am far from 
satisfied.
  I am very encouraged to see that NIH received a $2 billion increase 
in the fiscal year 2016 omnibus spending bill. That is very important. 
That is the largest increase NIH has received since 2003. The National 
Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities received $278 
million. This is an increase of $8.7 million over its fiscal year 2016 
enacted level. Make no mistake, that money will help save lives.
  Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, we have recently made health care 
coverage more accessible and affordable than it has been in decades. By 
reducing the number of uninsured Americans across the country, the ACA 
is working to address health inequalities. For instance, between 2013 
and 2014, the percentage of uninsured African Americans fell by 6.8 
percent. Also, because of the ACA, there is increased funding available 
for community health clinics, and 300,000 Marylanders, including more 
than 140,000 African Americans, are served by these clinics. Under the 
ACA preventive services, which are critical to the early detection and 
treatment of many diseases that disproportionately affect minorities, 
are now free for 76 million Americans, including 1.5 million 
Marylanders.
  Some of what Congress can do to shrink disparities is not limited to 
health care policymaking. Recent events in Flint, MI, have brought to 
light the need to focus on environmental justice issues. Flint is a 
case study in what happens when environmental stewardship and water 
infrastructure needs are ignored. It is also an example of how 
pollution can hurt minority populations in a severe way. Flint's 
population is about 100,000 people. Roughly 56 percent are African 
American. The residents of Flint will have to live with the 
complications of lead poisoning for the rest of their lives.
  What disturbs me the most--both as a grandfather and a member of the 
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee--is the very real 
possibility that children may have suffered irreversible damage to 
their developing brains from exposure to lead in drinking water. 
Exposure even to low levels of lead can profoundly affect children's 
behavior, growth rates, and their intelligence over time. I might point 
out that Freddie Gray, the person who was killed in Baltimore, had high 
levels of lead in his blood. Elevated levels in the bloodstream may 
cause learning disabilities and other developmental issues.
  I wish to quote from an article in the New York Times, January 29 of 
this year:

       Emails released by the office of [Michigan] Governor Rick 
     Snyder last week referred to a resident who said she was told 
     by a state nurse in January 2015, regarding her son's 
     elevated blood level, ``It is just a few IQ points. . . . It 
     is not the end of the world.''

  It is a crisis when we deny a child his or her full potential by 
exposing them to lead. This crisis could have been avoided. It is going 
to affect an entire generation of children in Flint to varying degrees.
  Sadly, Flint is not alone among the cities in which pollution is 
harming African Americans at disproportionately alarming rates. 
Nationally, African Americans are 20 percent more likely to have asthma 
versus non-Hispanic Whites. According to a study in the Annual Review 
of Public Health, many African-American children live in more heavily 
polluted areas. Living in urban centers increases one's exposure to 
traffic and industrial pollution, which promotes a greater sensitivity 
to allergens.
  As I said at the beginning of my remarks, Black History Month is 
about reflecting on a rich path but also a time for all Americans to 
contemplate how to create a better future. The Senate is capable of 
great things. Landmark bills like the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 all passed through 
this Chamber. I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in 
both Houses of Congress to transfer the good will and kind words of 
Black History Month into meaningful legislation to help African 
Americans and all Americans.
  I presented only a small portion of my legislative priorities today. 
I know other Senators may have different ways of approaching some of 
these same challenges. In honor of the countless men and women who have 
contributed to making this country great, let us work together to get 
something done for the American people.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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