[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 9, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3875-H3882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE OF THE HONORABLE ZELL MILLER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Curtis). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             general leave

  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this 
Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the life 
of a former mayor, of a former Georgia State senator, of a former 
Governor of Georgia, and of a former United States Senator representing 
the State of Georgia, Mr. Zell Miller.
  Zell Miller passed away on March 23 at the age of 86. He was born on 
February 24, 1932, in Young Harris, Georgia, in Towns County. He was 
born to Birdie Bryan and Stephen Grady Miller.
  When Zell was 17 days old, his father died. His widowed mother raised 
her

[[Page H3876]]

son and daughter, Jane, alone in Young Harris. Located in the north 
Georgia mountains, Miller's mother built a home for herself and her 
children with rocks she had hauled from a nearby stream.
  Mr. Speaker, I had the honor and privilege of attending Young Harris 
College, and I am very familiar with this area and I was blessed to 
hear about these stories.
  I have always heard about the story of how Ms. Miller hauled these 
rocks up from the stream to build her home. It was that experience, 
that house, that became symbolic of Zell Miller's rugged independence.
  After he graduated from Young Harris College, Zell Miller continued 
his education at Emory University in Atlanta; but shortly after he 
arrived there, he found that he wasn't really focusing on his studies. 
In fact, in one of the many books that he wrote, ``Corps Values,'' he 
writes about waking up in jail in Young Harris drunk as a skunk. He 
tells that story in that book. I have read the book, and I remember 
that story.
  Well, shortly after that experience, he enlisted in the United States 
Marine Corps, in 1953. Later, he attributed much of his success to both 
the discipline he learned as a marine and the independence that he 
learned from his mother.
  He married Shirley Carver in 1954, and the couple had two sons.
  In 1956, he enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he earned a 
bachelor's and a master's degree in history.
  In 1959, he took a teaching position at Young Harris College and 
returned to his hometown as a professor of history and political 
science.
  Mr. Speaker, members of the Georgia delegation are here tonight, and 
I am going to yield to them. I am going to pause. I am going to 
continue on and tell you about the rest of this outstanding gentleman's 
life, but at this point I am going to pause and I am going to yield to 
the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson), one of my fellow delegation 
members from Georgia.
  Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative 
Carter from Georgia's First District, for organizing this hour to honor 
one of Georgia's great leaders, former United States Senator and 
Georgia Governor Zell Miller.
  Governor Miller's leadership in our State led to the creation of 
something that we hold near and dear to our hearts, and that is the 
HOPE Scholarship. This scholarship program has helped generations of 
young Georgians build a bright future for themselves, and that, in 
turn, has led to a stronger State for our people.
  In addition to the HOPE Scholarship and many other policy 
accomplishments, Governor Miller truly embodied the term ``public 
servant.'' He devoted his life to serving our fellow Georgians and 
sought to leave our State better than he found it.
  At his funeral, Governor Miller's grandson read a list of 14 life 
lessons that the Governor had written to mark his 70th birthday. This 
list included a number of important lessons that he wanted to pass 
along to his family and to others, and it included such things as 
reminding folks not to smoke, that it killed his friends way too early. 
It reminded people to be polite, to be on time.
  One of the lessons that struck me in particular and I think really 
describes how Zell Miller sought to live his life reads this:

       Search for your niche. It may take years, although often it 
     occurs early in life. There is something out there that you 
     can do better and easier than everybody else. You will have a 
     knack or talent for it. Find it. It is there. And when you 
     do, others will beat a path to your door to get you to do it 
     for them.

  Governor Miller certainly found his niche in his lifetime, and that 
niche was serving his fellow Georgians. Using his talents, he created a 
program that helped thousands of students achieve their dream of a 
college education, a legacy that will live on through each successive 
class of HOPE scholarships.
  We are eternally grateful for his service and his commitment to our 
great State and to ensuring that future generations will have greater 
opportunities.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
comments.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman mentioned something about the HOPE 
Scholarship. Zell Miller was known as Georgia's education Governor. He 
was the founder of the HOPE Scholarship, and as the gentleman noted, it 
resulted in a number of students who have been able to complete their 
college degrees and their college careers as a result of the Zell 
Miller Scholarship and the HOPE Scholarship.
  Before I recognize the next speaker, I want to continue on what I was 
sharing with you about Zell's early life and the fact that, after he 
got out of the Marine Corps, he went to Young Harris College and he 
was a professor of history and political science. But he was something 
else. He was also a baseball coach. He coached baseball at Young Harris 
College.

  I had the privilege of talking to some of his former players. In 
fact, we just had homecoming up at Young Harris a few weeks ago, and I 
had the opportunity to talk to Don Harp, a retired Methodist minister 
who has served for many years on the board of trustees at Young Harris 
College. He was one of the best baseball players to ever come through 
Young Harris.
  He was telling me a story about how he was a catcher on the baseball 
team. They had a lead in the game, and he was calling the signals. They 
were ahead by one run, with two outs, in the top of the ninth inning. 
They were about to wrap it up. He said he called for two sinkers in a 
row. Sure enough, he got two strikes on the batter and had an 0-2 
count. He said then he decided he would call for a fastball. So he 
called for a fastball, and sure enough, the batter hit it right up the 
middle, two runs scored, and they got behind by one run.
  He said he went back to the bench after that inning. He said they 
were behind by one run, and he went back to the bench, and he said Zell 
Miller was coaching and he was sitting on the bench. He said he 
motioned to him. He said: Come over here.
  He said he came over there and he sat beside him, and he said Coach 
Miller looked at him and he said: If you ever make another call like 
that, you will be sitting here by me the rest of this game.
  He said he understood right then exactly what he was to do.
  I also remember talking to one of my colleagues that I served with in 
the Georgia State Legislature in the Georgia House, Mickey Channell, 
who played baseball for Zell at Young Harris College. Mickey was from 
Greensboro, Georgia.
  Mickey told me: I didn't get to play very much, but I remember this 
one time that my dad traveled up to see me and traveled up to see me 
play, and Zell knew he had come.
  He said: Zell let me start that game because he knew my dad was 
there.
  I could tell how much that meant to Mickey, and he had always 
remembered that.
  That is just a glimpse of what we are talking about when we are 
talking about this great man, this great Georgian, this great American.
  In his early political career, as I mentioned, he was a mayor. He was 
mayor of Young Harris. He held that position for 2 years, and then he 
was elected as a State senator. He represented the areas up in north 
Georgia--Towns County, Union County, Rabun County--as a State senator.
  A few years after that, he took a leave from his teaching 
responsibilities at Young Harris College, and he actually went and was 
executive secretary for then-Governor Lester Maddox during the time 
that Lester Maddox was Governor from 1968 to 1971.

                              {time}  1800

  During the 1970s, Zell Miller was twice named as a delegate to the 
Democratic National Convention, once in 1972, and again in 1976.
  In 1971, he was appointed as Executive Director of the Democratic 
Party in Georgia, and he served in that capacity until 1973, when he 
became a member of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. He served on 
that board until 1975.
  Then in 1975, Zell Miller became Lieutenant Governor of the State of 
Georgia, and he actually held that post longer than anyone has ever 
held that post. He held it for 16 years.
  In 1980, he ran for statewide office. He ran for the United States 
Senate,

[[Page H3877]]

but he lost in the primary to then the incumbent, Senator Herman 
Talmadge. Over the next 10 years, as Lieutenant Governor, he really 
worked on his leadership skills. As Lieutenant Governor, he was the 
Presiding Officer in the State Senate.
  As I mentioned earlier, I had the honor and privilege of serving in 
the Georgia State Legislature for 10 years; and the stories that we 
heard, as Members, about Zell Miller as the Lieutenant Governor, and 
the famous Tom Murphy, who served for so many years as Speaker of the 
House of the State of Georgia, and the battles that those two would 
have, Zell as the leader of the Senate and Tom Murphy as the leader of 
the House. The stories are still told in the Georgia State Legislature 
and the Georgia State Capital about the battles between these two 
giants of Georgia politics.
  In 1990, Zell ran for Governor of the State of Georgia. He was in a 
tough race in the Democratic primary. He faced Andrew Young. He won 
that primary, and then he was elected. He was elected as Governor of 
the State of Georgia; actually defeated Johnny Isakson, who now serves 
as our Senator here, our senior Senator in the United States Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, before I go on and tell you about his Governorship, I 
will pause again and yield to another one of my colleagues from 
Georgia, Representative David Scott, and I will have a story to share 
about his brother-in-law in just a minute and Zell Miller. I look 
forward to hearing about him because I know he has got some great 
stories about ``Give 'em hell Zell.''
  I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott).
  Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I say to the gentleman, 
well, my friend, you got that right.
  Zell Miller was my friend, my partner, and my mentor. I got into 
politics quite a little bit early, just as I graduated from the Wharton 
School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania, and landed in Atlanta. 
Two years later, getting down there--you mentioned Andy, getting in his 
campaign. And then 2 years later, there I am winding up in the Georgia 
House of Representatives.
  So my story intersects on so many different angles and ways with that 
of Zell Miller, and I can truly stand here and tell each of you that I 
truly loved this man, and I still do; and I would not be standing here 
as a Member of Congress if it weren't for that friendship, that 
partnership, and that mentorship with Zell Miller.
  Let me, perhaps, I think, as I tell you about this, I am thinking of 
a scripture that best sets the story for this great man; that evolves 
everything, the history and the steps, the many positions, all that he 
had done.
  Before I get to that scripture, Zell Miller helped me. I mean, I got 
there as a young person. I got over in the Senate. My two Senate 
officemates, one was Paul Coverdell, the other Julian Bond. And with us 
three, Zell Miller called us three his three horsemen.
  It was then that he was laying the foundation for that vision, for 
the HOPE Scholarship. Zell Miller appointed me to be chairman of the 
Senate Higher Education Committee; first African American at that 
position.
  But more than that, he appointed me at that position at a time when 
he was giving birth to one of the greatest public affairs programs in 
Georgia history, the HOPE Scholarship. And for me to be there as the 
chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, in that pivotal 
position, and then to be able to go across Georgia in churches and 
schools and help sell the HOPE Scholarship and what it meant, and then 
that paved the way for me to later become Rules Chairman with Zell's 
endorsement.
  So there I was, as Rules Chairman; as you know, Buddy, nothing gets 
on that calendar if it don't get through the Rules Committee. And I was 
there to make sure none of those bills--because you know it was tough. 
They had other bills coming to try to remove the HOPE Scholarship.
  So let me just conclude by sharing with you what his life meant to me 
and, I think, to the Nation and the world is best captured in God's 
first psalm.

       Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the 
     ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, or sitteth in 
     the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of 
     the Lord, and in the law of the Lord he does meditate day and 
     night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of 
     waters, bringing forth his fruit in his due season. And none 
     of his leaves will ever wither, and everything, everything, 
     whatsoever he does, shall prosper.

  Such a man was Zell Miller. God bless you, Zell Miller, and I thank 
God for sending Zell Miller our way.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for sharing 
that. And I want to share one other thing before I call on the next 
speaker.
  I mentioned that Zell Miller was the baseball coach at Young Harris 
College when he was a professor up there and on the faculty there. 
Well, they discontinued the baseball program for a long time. And then, 
when Zell was Governor, they actually restarted the baseball program, 
and Zell had a big role in that. In fact, he--two stories I want to 
tell you real quickly.
  He invited us all to the Governor's mansion, those of us who were 
supporting the baseball program and trying to get it started up. And to 
kick it off, he had none other than Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle at the 
Governor's mansion as a benefit to getting the Young Harris 
College baseball program started again.

  Not only has that program started again, but it has been very, very 
successful, producing players such as Nick Markakis, who plays for the 
Atlanta Braves now, who played at Young Harris College; Charlie 
Blackmon, playing for the Colorado Rockies; just a few of the many 
players that went to Young Harris who are playing in the major leagues 
right now.
  I also want to share with you very quickly his love of baseball 
because, again, when he was Governor, Phil Niekro, the great 
knuckleball pitcher of the Atlanta Braves, was inducted into baseball's 
Hall of Fame. Zell actually hosted a trip to the Hall of Fame in 
Cooperstown during the time that he was being inducted, and my wife and 
I and my two oldest sons were honored and able to go on that trip.
  I can remember being at the Hall of Fame with Zell Miller, and I can 
remember the emotions, and how proud he was of a Georgian, of Phil 
Niekro, of an Atlanta Brave being inducted into the Baseball Hall of 
Fame. Just another one of the great memories that I have of Zell 
Miller.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), 
another member of our delegation, to share with us his remarks.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Carter for putting 
together this Special Order to honor someone who probably everybody in 
Georgia has been touched by in some way or another.
  Of course, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of what we all 
consider a true legend in the State of Georgia, former Governor Zell 
Miller. He was known for his quick wit, and he had a deep love for the 
State of Georgia and, of course, obviously from the mountain area in 
north Georgia. He was always willing to do what was right for our 
State, the State that we all love to call home.
  Zell Miller's service to our country began at a young age and, as was 
mentioned, he served in the United States Marine Corps, where he later 
attained the rank of Sergeant.
  Upon returning home from his military service, Zell received degrees, 
as has been said, in history from the University of Georgia, and would 
eventually use that education to teach college at his hometown in Young 
Harris, Georgia. I did not know that he was the baseball coach, but I 
was glad to learn that.
  After only a few years of teaching, Zell was called to run for public 
office, as was said, as Mayor, State Senator, Lieutenant Governor, and 
later Governor, then U.S. Senator. It is hard to imagine who has had a 
greater impact on the lives of Georgians.
  Zell was one of those true conservatives. As Governor, Zell Miller 
will be remembered for his great accomplishments, as we mentioned, of 
the HOPE Scholarship program, and funding it with the Georgia Lottery, 
which has surpassed $10 billion in total financial aid assistance to 
Georgia students. Let me repeat that: $10 billion in total financial 
aid assistance to Georgia students.

[[Page H3878]]

  Because of the HOPE Scholarship, Georgia higher education is now a 
national leader in entry requirements and graduation rates.
  A quick story about the University of Georgia. On visiting that 
campus, we learned--and this was when we were doing our higher 
education bill, and we were told that graduation rates were 55 to 60 
percent across the country. Well, in visiting the University of Georgia 
now, that has been under the HOPE Scholarship since Governor Miller 
served his term, we learned that the entry requirement, Buddy, was 
1,300 on the SAT, and you had to be at the top of your class to get 
into the University of Georgia. And the student body is 80 percent of 
Georgians. They only accept 20 percent from out of State, so you can 
imagine how much more difficult it is to get into the University of 
Georgia out of State.
  But the amazing statistic is that the graduation rate is 95 percent; 
and those students either get a job upon graduation, or go on to higher 
education; an amazing accomplishment for the University of Georgia, and 
largely because of the opportunities presented to Georgians through the 
HOPE Scholarship.
  Because of the HOPE Scholarship, like I said, Georgia is now a 
national leader in education. Zell Miller will always be known as the 
``Education Governor,'' and he helped build a foundation that, of 
course, our State enjoys today.
  During his tenure, he also played a pivotal role in bringing the 
Children's Medical Center to the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta 
University. We have a special attachment, our family does, as many 
families across the State of Georgia do, to the Medical College of 
Georgia.
  Our 12th grandchild was born 8 weeks premature. Her first year of 
life she spent in that Medical Center, off and on, to deal with being 
born premature. Our family, among many families in the State of 
Georgia, thank Zell Miller for his foresight in bringing the Children's 
Medical Center of Georgia to the 12th District. It means so much to the 
health and welfare of families in that area.

                              {time}  1815

  Zell Miller established Georgia as a State to watch, and his hard 
work paid off. Georgia has been named, for 5 years running, as the 
number one State to do business. You don't attain that rating unless 
you have one of the top education systems in the country.
  Zell Miller was the Governor who gave Georgia hope. He will be dearly 
missed, and his legacy will live on forever. I am one person that is 
glad that I knew him, and I thank him for what he has done for my 
family and for fellow Georgians.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
kind words.
  Before I yield to our next speaker, I want to mention one of the 
things that Zell was famous for, and that was that he wrote a number of 
books. He was an author.
  In fact, the first book he ever wrote in 1976 chronicled, really, him 
growing up in the mountains. The name of the book was ``The Mountains 
Within Me.''
  That book had a very special meaning to me, personally. You see, he 
talked about Young Harris College, and he equated Young Harris College 
to being like a shoe factory because things are coming out of there in 
pairs. That meant a lot to me, because that is where I met my wife. She 
was my chemistry lab partner. We came out as a pair and we have been a 
pair, and in September it will be 40 years.
  He also wrote a number of other books. I mentioned earlier that he 
wrote the book about his experience in the Marine Corps, ``Corps 
Values: Everything You Need to Know I Learned in the Marines.'' He 
wrote that in 1996. There are 12 chapters in that book, and each 
chapter is devoted to a particular trait that he developed during his 
years in the Marine Corps, for instance, courage, neatness, discipline, 
and pride.
  He also wrote another book, ``Great Georgians,'' that was published 
in 1983.
  Another one that he wrote was ``They Heard Georgia Singing,'' about 
all the famous singers who came from the State of Georgia--a great 
book. By the way, in that book he chronicles two musicians who came 
from Young Harris College, Ronnie Milsap and Trisha Yearwood, both 
Young Harris College alums.
  As you can tell, I am very proud of Young Harris College. It is my 
alma mater. It changed my life. Zell Miller changed my life.
  I will go on later, but before I do, I want to take this time to 
yield to another Georgian who is here with us to pay his respects, 
Representative Hank Johnson.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson).
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend Buddy Carter 
for yielding to me.
  For the record, I want it to be known that it was he who called me 
yesterday to find out what color suit and tie I was going to wear.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great Georgian and a 
great American, former Georgia Governor and U.S. Senator Zell Miller, 
who died at the age of 86 in March.
  He was a north Georgia mountain boy of humble beginnings, who was 
raised by a single parent after his daddy died when he was just 2 weeks 
old. He was raised in a house that his momma built with her own hands.
  Former Presidents, Governors, and dignitaries from all over the 
country and the world have honored Mr. Miller, who launched the State's 
HOPE Scholarship and led Georgia into the 21st century.
  He was a true statesman, who served Georgia and his country as, 
first, a United States Marine, then as mayor of Young Harris, later 
serving as a State senator, thereafter as Lieutenant Governor, and then 
as Governor, and finally as United States Senator.
  Zell Miller dedicated his life to public service. He was a man 
physically compact and a bit short, but he walked tall and he walked 
strong, and he left a towering legacy.
  A small town mountain boy from the little town of Young Harris, Zell 
Miller made a big impact on the affairs of Georgia and, indeed, the 
affairs of the Nation.
  Zell Miller left a huge impact on Georgia's judicial system. He 
literally changed the face of the State bench.
  I include in the Record an article I found of particular interest 
from the Fulton County Daily Report, dated March 23, 2018, by managing 
editor Jonathan Ringel. The article is entitled, ``The Late Zell Miller 
Diversified the Bench.''

               The Late Zell Miller Diversified the Bench

                  (By Jonathan Ringel, March 23, 2018)

       The news today that former Georgia governor and U.S. 
     senator Zell Miller has died at age 86 prompts us to look 
     back on the mark he left on Georgia's legal system--that of 
     being the first governor to appoint a large number of 
     minorities and women to judgeships.
       As a staff reporter here, I wrote the following article, 
     which was published Dec. 28, 1998, a few days before the end 
     of his eight-year tenure as governor.

             The Zell Miller Legacy: Diversity on the Bench

       When he leaves office next month, Gov. Zell Miller will 
     have appointed 37 percent of Georgia's 287 trial and 
     appellate court judges. Those numbers include four of the 10 
     judges now on the state Court of Appeals and five of the 
     seven state Supreme Court justices.
       Moreover, Miller changed the face of the state's bench, 
     carrying out his pledge to concentrate on diversity.
       Twenty-five of Miller's appointments have been black. 
     Forty-two have been women. Eleven have been both, meaning he 
     has added 56 black and female judges to the bench in eight 
     years.
       According to Miller's office, Gov. Joe Frank Harris made 76 
     judicial appointments in his eight years before Miller. They 
     included 10 black and 11 women, totaling 18 black and female 
     judges.
       Even before hearing those numbers, attorneys and court 
     watchers say diversifying the bench will be Miller's legacy 
     to the law of Georgia.
       ``That's a major impact,'' says former Attorney General 
     Michael J. Bowers of the judicial statistics.
       Criminal-defense lawyer John R. Martin, a harsh critic of 
     Miller when it comes to mandatory minimum sentencing laws, 
     calls Miller's diversifying the bench ``remarkable.``
       ``That is amazing,'' says Paula J. Frederick, immediate 
     past president of the Georgia Association of Black Women 
     Attorneys.
       Miller looks at his role in diversifying the bench as 
     ironic.
       Appointing judges, he says, was ``the one aspect of being 
     governor I had never thought about'' throughout 16 years of 
     being lieutenant governor.
       He says he had lots of plans on taking office--such as 
     starting the lottery-funded

[[Page H3879]]

     HOPE scholarship, but being a nonlawyer, ``I had not thought 
     about the judiciary.''
       That changed when he took office in 1991, because, along 
     with the keys to the Governor's Mansion, Miller inherited a 
     tricky piece of litigation.
       In 1988, state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta, the American 
     Civil Liberties Union and other plaintiffs had filed a voting 
     rights suit against the state. They attacked the picking of 
     judges in circuitwide at-large elections, claiming the system 
     was discriminatory because blacks typically were outvoted by 
     the white majority and that most judges were therefore white. 
     Brooks v. State Board of Elections, No. CV288-146 (S.D. Ga., 
     filed July 13, 1988).
       They also alleged that, since 1964, the state should have 
     been submitting laws creating new judgeships for review by 
     the U.S. Justice Department, under the federal Voting Rights 
     Act.
       On the review issue, a special three-judge panel of the 
     U.S. District Court in Savannah agreed with the Brooks 
     plaintiffs. So when Miller took office, the Justice 
     Department was holding in limbo 48 established judgeships and 
     other judgeships created since the litigation began.
       ``There was a cloud hanging over the judiciary,'' recalls 
     Troutman Sanders partner Norman L. Underwood, a former Court 
     of Appeals judge.
       Miller asked Underwood to head the Judicial Nominating 
     Commission, which since the days of Gov. Jimmy Carter had 
     screened judicial applicants and recommended shortlists to 
     the governor.
       Miller reconstituted the commission, saying he wanted to 
     open up the process for minorities and women. He eliminated 
     four of the five guaranteed slots for representatives of the 
     bar, leaving only the one for the current bar president as an 
     ex-officio member.
       Miller allowed the speaker of the House and the lieutenant 
     governor to pick one nonlawyer each for the commission, and 
     he added the attorney general.
       The rest of the picks--three lawyers and two nonlawyers--
     remained Miller's.
       According to Miller's 1991 executive order, the commission 
     must always include one woman and one member who is Black, 
     Hispanic, Asian-Pacific American, Native American or Asian-
     Indian American (Daily Report, Feb 13, 1991).
       ``The loss of the bar seats was a bit of a 
     disappointment,'' says Albany litigator William E. Cannon 
     Jr., the current bar president, who disagrees with Brooks' 
     argument at the time that the bar's majority control of the 
     commission perpetuated a ``good of boy network.``
       Underwood says there might have been a perception the prior 
     commissions were not focused on diversity.
       That said, the first commission, including three black 
     members and one woman, went about its work.
       Later that year, two seats opened up on DeKalb Superior 
     Court, which had no black members.
       Faced with mixed race and gender shortlists sent by the 
     commission, Miller chose Michael E. Hancock, then chief Judge 
     in DeKalb Recorder's Court, and DeKalb State Court Judge 
     Linda Warren Hunter, who were both African-American.
       Considering that more than 40 percent of DeKalb County is 
     black but the Superior Court had no black judges, Underwood 
     says, ``I think the governor just sensed that's 
     unacceptable.''
       Miller won't discuss any specific decisions. But he says 
     his first appointments of minorities and women encouraged 
     more of each group to apply.
       Other factors were at work, as well.
       Frederick, a deputy counsel to the state bar who made a 
     shortlist for a state court position, notes that women and 
     minorities have graduated from law school in much greater 
     numbers over the years, adding to the available pool for 
     Miller.
       In addition, the Brooks case loomed over Miller's picks 
     throughout most of his administration.
       In June 1992, after six weeks of negotiations prompted by 
     U.S. District Court Judge Anthony A. Alaimo, Miller and 
     Brooks hammered out a historic settlement. (Daily Report, 
     June 19, 1992)
       To end the case, Miller agreed to appoint 30 black judges 
     and adopt the so-called ``Missouri plan of judicial 
     selection, in which judges are appointed and then undergo 
     periodic retention elections.
       But in March 1994, U.S. District Court Judge B. Avant 
     Edenfield of Savannah refused to approve the settlement, 
     ruling that Attorney General Mike Bowers lacked the authority 
     to make such sweeping changes to the state's judicial 
     election system and that the requirement to appoint black 
     judges would violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. 
     Constitution. (Daily Report, March 9, 1994)
       Brooks appealed unsuccessfully for three years, finally 
     dismissing the case last year. (Daily Report, June 23, 1997)
       Robert J. Proctor, who has brought numerous legal 
     challenges to affirmative action policies around the state 
     and opposed the Brooks settlement, says, ``I think Gov. 
     Miller implemented the settlement anyway.''
       Miller came close, appointing 25 black judges. While about 
     28 percent of Georgia is black, 20 percent of Miller's 
     appointees were black and 33 percent of his appointees have 
     been female.
       Brooks says, ``I think there's greater trust in the 
     judicial system now.''
       Clayton County District Attorney Robert E. Keller says, 
     ``The bench must represent a cross-section of society,'' and 
     credits Miller for his appointments.
       But Proctor, a past chairman of the conservative 
     Southeastern Legal Foundation, says judges should not be 
     picked on the basis of race or gender.
       ``That whole concept is just abhorrent to me,'' Proctor 
     says.
       He adds that Miller's picks do not represent the 
     proportions of the number of black or female lawyers in the 
     state.
       The state bar keeps records only on gender, says 
     spokeswoman Jennifer Davis. She says 28 percent of the 29,523 
     members of the Georgia bar are women.
       Miller responds, ``I don't think I've done anything in my 
     eight years as governor that pleased Bob Proctor.'' (Not 
     true, says Proctor, who calls Miller's second term 
     ``taxpayer-friendly.'')
       Miller adds, ``You don't choose anybody because they're a 
     female or a minority,'' noting that there were many times 
     lawyers who were considered front-runners for posts because 
     they were women or minorities did not get the job.
       Besides, he adds, ``I only got very qualified individuals 
     on the shortlists.''
       Underwood recalls an opening in a circuit that stretched 90 
     miles from one end to the other. Miller picked a lawyer who 
     lived in the part of the circuit where there wasn't a judge, 
     and Underwood speculates, ``In that case, the factor on the 
     governor's mind was geography.''
       Fulton Superior Court Judge Cynthia D. Wright was Miller's 
     executive counsel for his first term.
       She says, ``When you appoint a judge, you have to factor in 
     a whole lot of subjective qualities.''
       ``It is not an objective process.''

  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Zell Miller was the first Governor to appoint 
a significant number of minorities and women to the Georgia bench. Zell 
Miller should be remembered for actually desegregating Georgia's 
courts. As the Daily Report article outlines, by the time Zell Miller 
left the Governorship in December of 1998, he had appointed 37 percent 
of Georgia's 287 trial and appellate court judges. Those numbers 
include 4 of the 10 judges on the State court of appeals, and 5 of the 
7 State supreme court justices.
  Zell Miller appointed an African American female as the first African 
American to ever serve on the Georgia Supreme Court. Twenty-five of 
Governor Miller's appointments were African Americans; 42 of his 
judicial appointments were women; 11 were African American women, 
meaning he added 56 Black and female judges to the bench in his 8 
years. It is a fact that Zell Miller appointed more African Americans 
to judgeships in Georgia than all previous Georgia Governors combined.
  In addition, Governor Zell Miller appointed an African American to 
serve as Georgia's Attorney General, making that African American the 
first African American State attorney general in the Nation. It is a 
remarkable record for any Governor, let alone one from the Deep South.
  One of the first counties where he began to diversify the bench is my 
home circuit, the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit. As Governor, Zell 
Miller appointed as State labor commissioner the first African American 
to ever hold a nonjudicial constitutional office in Georgia, and Zell 
Miller appointed more African Americans to more State boards than any 
other Georgia Governor.
  As executive secretary for Governor Lester Maddox from 1968 to 1971, 
Zell Miller was credited with exerting a moderating influence on 
Governor Maddox, a segregationist, and spurring him to appoint Blacks 
to his administration, which he did.
  As Governor, Zell Miller led an unsuccessful effort back in 1993 to 
remove the Confederate battle emblem from the State flag, and he pushed 
legislation providing more money for public schools and scholarships 
for high school students. In fact, Governor Miller raised teacher pay 
in Georgia by 6 percent for 4 successive years--4 successive years, 6 
percent each year. By the time he stepped down after his second term of 
Governor, Zell Miller was one of the most popular politicians in 
Georgia's history, leaving office with an astounding 85 percent 
approval rating.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia's First Congressional 
District, my friend, Buddy Carter, for inviting me here this evening to 
provide a few remarks about the passing of this Georgia lion, Zell 
Miller, who did a lot of good for our State and for our people, and I 
truly appreciate him for that.

[[Page H3880]]

  

  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Georgia for sharing his thoughts.
  Before I yield to our next speaker, I want to speak just for a second 
on a couple of things about the time that Zell spent as Governor of the 
State of Georgia.
  As you just heard Representative Johnson mention, and I think it is 
important to understand, when he left office, he had an 85 percent 
approval rating. Who in the world gets an 85 percent approval rating? 
He was the most popular Governor in the Nation when he left office.
  But I do want to share with you that that was not always the case. It 
was tough because, after all, we are talking about ``Give `Em Hell 
Zell.''
  You have heard many of the speakers mention the HOPE Scholarship. 
And, again, we are talking about Georgia's education Governor here, the 
father of the HOPE Scholarship. But remember, the HOPE Scholarship came 
about as a result of the Georgia State Lottery, which there were a lot 
of people who were opposed to that.
  Remember I told you about being at Young Harris College? Young Harris 
College is a Methodist school. There were a lot of people who supported 
Zell who were opposed to what some considered to be gambling. Zell 
pressed on. He knew how important it was. That was his tenacity. That 
was his ruggedness. He didn't let that get in the way, and thank 
goodness he didn't.
  In 1992, he was very important to Bill Clinton's campaign to secure 
the Democratic U.S. Presidential nomination. He played an important 
role in that.
  In fact, he also spoke at the Democratic National Convention. That is 
where they had the posters all throughout the convention that said, 
``Give `Em Hell Zell.'' They were distributed among the delegates, as 
Miller gave a speech that was critical of U.S. President George H.W. 
Bush's administration. Later that year, he also actively campaigned for 
Clinton, and Clinton carried the State of Georgia.
  Representative Johnson also mentioned something that is very 
important to remember as well. Zell was not easily elected to his 
second term. That is because he took it upon himself to do the right 
thing and to try, although it was unsuccessful at that time, to change 
the State flag of Georgia and to take the Confederate emblem off of 
that State flag. Later it was done, many years later, and I can 
remember Zell saying: Well, we might not get it passed. It might not be 
attributed to me, but maybe I will get an asterisk.
  Well, I don't know if he ever got an asterisk, but I am going to give 
him an asterisk tonight. He deserves an asterisk for that effort.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield to another great Georgian, another 
member of our delegation, Representative Sanford Bishop.
  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the 
First District of Georgia for yielding to me and for hosting this 
Special Order to honor my friend and mentor, Zell Miller.
  Mr. Speaker, Zell Miller was a titan in Georgia, the man that I was 
humbled and honored to call a friend and a mentor. He was an 
extraordinary statesman, a true public servant.
  He served as a sergeant in the Marines, the mayor of Young Harris, a 
Georgia State senator, Lieutenant Governor, Governor, and U.S. Senator 
for the State of Georgia.
  Now, as a newly elected State representative of the 94th district of 
Georgia in 1977, I had very little to do at the State capitol after the 
session ended and my committee meetings were over.
  Somehow, I found myself hanging out in the office of the Lieutenant 
Governor, where his press secretary was from my hometown of Columbus, 
who was on loan from the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer to serve Lieutenant 
Governor.
  I got to know Zell. I got to learn from his example. And from him, I 
even developed an appreciation for country music. I witnessed in Zell 
Miller a public servant with extraordinary integrity, courage, and 
character.

                              {time}  1830

  Fourteen years later, he became Governor, and I became a member of 
the Georgia State Senate. In that term as a State senator, I was 
appointed to be the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, 
Subcommittee on Education, K-12 Subcommittee, and I got to work very 
closely with Zell Miller because, after all, he was the education 
Governor.
  That year, Georgia was the beneficiary of a windfall as a result of a 
lawsuit with some utilities, and there were several million dollars 
that were unexpectedly put into the State coffers. Zell Miller had to 
make a determination of how the State would spend that money. And being 
the farsighted visionary that he was, he decided that we needed to 
bring our State into the computer age, and so he used it to create a 
computer network, statewide, to enhance the educational opportunities 
for our colleges and universities and our State's public libraries.
  He established the Galileo computer network, which provided the 
groundwork for distance learning and for telemedicine. I was very proud 
as the chair of the Education Subcommittee of the Georgia State Senate 
to work with him in making that happen. Not only that, but we worked to 
establish pilot programs that year for teaching foreign languages in 
elementary schools.
  Zell Miller will perhaps be best remembered for the HOPE Scholarship, 
as you have heard, which helped to establish scholarship money and to 
direct money raised from the State lottery to the college tuition for 
Georgia students. To date, the program has provided over $10 billion in 
scholarship funds to 1.8 million eligible Georgia students. These 
investments in education are continuing to pay dividends for the State 
of Georgia.
  Zell Miller was a true servant, and he was an advocate for Georgia. 
He was an advocate for humankind.
  My wife, Vivian, and I offer his wife, Shirley, and their family, 
friends, and loved ones our most sincere condolences for their loss, 
but we are all so grateful that he touched our lives.
  In closing, I just want to quote the words of a poem that I think is 
so fitting as we remember the life of Zell Miller:

     The tree that never had to fight
     For Sun and sky and air and light,
     But stood out in the open plain
     And always got its share of rain,
     Never became a forest king
     But lived and died a scrubby thing.
     The man who never had to toil
     To gain and farm his patch of soil,
     Who never had to win his share
     Of Sun and sky and light and air,
     Never became a manly man
     But lived and died as he began.
     Good timber does not grow with ease:
     The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
     The further sky, the greater length;
     The more the storm, the more the strength.
     By Sun and cold, by rain and snow,
     In trees and men good timbers grow.

  Zell Miller was good timber. He left his mark on Young Harris; he 
left his mark on Georgia; he left his mark on our Nation; and he left 
his mark on the world.
  Lives of great men all remind us: ``We can make our life sublime, 
and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.'' Zell 
Miller has left some big footprints, and we and the world are better 
because he passed this way.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for sharing 
with us his experiences and how special they were.
  Before I yield to our final speaker, I want to go over very quickly 
about the last part of the 46 years of political service that Zell 
Miller had that he served.
  In 1999, after he finished his last year as Governor, his second 
term--and he was term limited--he went back to Young Harris College, 
the University of Georgia, and Emory University as a teacher. The 
following year, then-Governor Roy Barnes appointed Zell to the United 
States Senate after Senator Paul Coverdell died. Four months later, he 
ran for that remaining 4 years on that 6-year term, and he was elected 
a Senator from the State of Georgia, and he served in that role.
  He pledged at that time to carry on the conservative tradition of the 
late Senator Coverdell, who was a Republican, of course, and he did 
that. He cosponsored then-U.S. President George W. Bush's 2001 tax cuts 
and was adamantly in support of President Bush on the issues of 
homeland security and the deployment of troops to Iraq at the start of 
the Iraqi war.
  You will remember, also, that he wrote another book, ``A National 
Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat.'' It became a 
national

[[Page H3881]]

best seller in the months before the Presidential election that year. 
And, of course, in 2004, Democratic Senator from Georgia Zell Miller 
did something that I am not sure anyone else has ever done. He spoke as 
a keynote speaker at the 2004 Republican National Convention.
  In January of 2005, he retired from the United States Senate and he 
returned to Georgia. He resumed his teaching career and continued to 
write. In fact, in 2005, he wrote, ``A Deficit of Decency.''
  In 2008, Zell B. Miller Learning Center was established at the 
University of Georgia and dedicated in his honor. In 2017, Miller's 
family announced that he suffered from Parkinson's disease and he was 
retiring from public life.
  Mr. Speaker, I am going to pause now and yield to another member of 
the Georgia delegation, one of my good friends. He and I served 
together for 10 years in the Georgia General Assembly. He is truly one 
of my best friends here in Washington, and I value our friendship. I 
know that he has got a lot of experience with and a lot of stories 
about Zell Miller as well.
  I yield to my friend, Representative Barry Loudermilk.
  Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, first let me thank my good friend 
Representative Carter from the great city of Savannah and the great 
State of Georgia for his vision to have this time to honor a true 
statesman, a legend in the State of Georgia, Zell Miller.

  It is sad that we wait until someone has left this life to sing their 
praises and to recognize the tremendous impact that they have had not 
only on our lives, but our children and their future lives. That really 
defines Zell Miller.
  I never had the opportunity to work directly with Zell Miller or even 
serve with Zell Miller, although I served with other Governors, but I 
knew of Zell Miller. I think that says a lot about someone that, even 
though you don't personally know them but you know of them, signifies 
the impact that they are having on lives.
  Zell Miller's death was a tremendous blow for a lot of people in our 
State. I knew of him from my involvement in politics, and I knew as 
Representative Carter said, that he was one of the few, if not only, to 
be a keynote speaker at both the Democrat and Republican National 
Conventions. That means he was truly bipartisan.
  What does that mean? Well, it doesn't seem to mean a lot today, but 
what it meant back then was: I care more about the people of the State. 
I care more about the people of this Nation and defending the rights 
and liberties and those things from which I believe in than I do a 
single party.
  That was Zell Miller.
  If you were to go to the place where Zell was laid to rest, you would 
see a headstone. As you see on most headstones, you will find the date 
of his birth, February 24, 1923. There will be a dash, followed by the 
date of his death, March 23, 2018. What is interesting, it isn't the 
date of his birth or the date of his death that matters, but it is the 
dash in between those dates that really matters.
  I think it is important that we ask ourselves: What are we going to 
do with that dash? Because we have all been given a dash. Zell Miller 
used that dash for the good and the rights of people. You see, his dash 
continues today as, literally, thousands of Georgians were able to 
complete or actually receive a college education because of his vision 
for the HOPE Scholarship, which is still alive and well today. That 
dash is part of their lives and their future and their children's 
lives.
  Another part of that dash in Zell Miller's life was the titles that 
he obtained. I believe titles say a lot about us and say a lot about 
what we do. His titles included mayor, because he was mayor of the town 
of Young Harris. He was Lieutenant Governor. He was Governor.
  Another title that he proudly used, as my good colleague Buddy Carter 
uses, he was a Georgia Bulldog. And for those of you who aren't from 
Georgia, it is not d-o-g. It is d-a-w-g, dawg.
  But also, from knowing of this incredible gentleman, there is another 
title that I believe if we were to talk to him today, it wasn't mayor, 
Lieutenant Governor, Governor, or even U.S. Senator that he would be 
most proud of of his accomplishments. It would be that of a United 
States Marine.
  You see, his dash is a dash that is living on because of the lives 
that it affected for so many people. And while so much has been said 
about Zell Miller, let me close my remarks by saying this: There are 
very few people today who, across our globe or even across our country, 
can be categorized as a true statesman. One of those is Paul Coverdell. 
When Paul Coverdell died in office, the Governor of the State of 
Georgia at that time looked for another statesman to fulfill that seat 
that was vacated by Paul Coverdell's death, and that statesman was Zell 
Miller.
  If there is one thing that we can gather from all of these tremendous 
stories that we heard about Zell Miller today, it is that he loved his 
country. He loved his State. He loved the people of this country. He 
loved his God, and he fought for those principles and ideas that he 
believed in. Even though he may have disagreed with others on certain 
policy issues, Zell Miller was a statesman who believed in liberty. He 
believed in freedom for all, and his life is a legacy.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that one day when I am laid to rest that that 
dash between my birth and my death will just have a portion of the 
meaning of that of Zell Miller.


                       Honoring the Inman Family

  Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank, again, my dear 
colleague and friend from Savannah, Georgia, for yielding me this time 
and allowing me to honor another Georgian who passed 18 years ago.
  It was 18 years ago, in June, as Georgia heat blanketed the Inman 
family as they packed their car for a family getaway in the mountains 
of north Georgia. It was the Friday before Father's Day when Billy and 
Kathy Inman, the parents of their son, Dustin, and their family dog set 
off to go on a fishing trip for the weekend. As they headed north, 
making their way along the wooded, hilly highways that make up that 
part of my home State, they stopped at a traffic light in the little 
town of Ellijay, Georgia.

                              {time}  1845

  As they waited for the light to turn green, the Inman family's lives 
were suddenly and tragically changed. Traveling well over the speed 
limit at 62 miles an hour, a car driven by Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez 
slammed in the rear of the Inmans' vehicle. The tremendous impact 
knocked Billy and Kathy unconscious.
  Kathy, Dustin's mom, remained in a comma for 5 weeks. When she 
finally regained consciousness, she learned that the injuries she 
sustained in that wreck were so severe she would be wheelchair-bound 
for the rest of her life. But more tragically, she was told the 
heartbreaking news that her son, Dustin, was killed by that tremendous 
impact. Within seconds, their lives were forever changed by the driver 
who slammed into the rear of their car.
  And while Kathy would not recover from her injuries nor would they 
ever see the smiling face of their dear son again, they could at least 
ensure justice was served. But soon they would learn that even that 
would slip through their hands.
  The car that killed their son, Dustin, and permanently disabled his 
mother was driven by Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez, a man who had illegally 
entered this country. Although illegally in this country, Gonzalez was 
able to obtain a valid North Carolina driver's license, using his 
Mexican birth certificate and a Mexican Matricula Consular ID card.
  When local law enforcement went to the hospital to take Mr. Gonzalez 
into custody, they found that he had escaped the hospital. As a 
fugitive from justice, he continued to evade U.S. and local law 
enforcement and soon emerged back in the streets in Mexico.
  Even though the location of Mr. Gonzalez is now known by U.S. and 
Mexican law enforcement, the family has not been able to get justice 
for his crime. Under our treaty with Mexico, Mexico does not recognize 
vehicular homicide as an extraditable offense.
  The Justice Department has informed the Inman family that there is 
nothing else they can do--nothing. After 18 years of grieving the loss 
of their son and adjusting to a life of permanent disability for Mrs. 
Inman, Mr. Gonzalez is still evading justice and has yet to pay for his 
crime.

[[Page H3882]]

  The tragedy can have easily been avoided if Congress had taken the 
border threat and security seriously years ago. This car wreck would 
have never happened, and Dustin would likely still be with us today. 
Because of the severity of their injuries, Billy and Kathy were not 
even able to attend their own son's funeral.
  Billy will tell you that, yes, he blames the driver of the car for 
the death of his son--his hunting buddy--but he also blames the 
government for ignoring our open and porous borders and for allowing 
someone who was here illegally to obtain a driver's license.
  While there have been many speeches given in this Chamber on 
immigration, we have yet to be able to have a vote or even have a 
debate on what the majority of Americans are demanding, what the 
President has committed to, and what we as a legislative body should 
do, and that is to secure our borders.
  How many more innocent victims such as Dustin Inman, Kate Steinle, 
and Sarah Root--and the list goes on and on--must die before we start 
taking the safety and security of American citizens seriously and 
prioritize securing our borders?
  Not only are our borders a thoroughfare for human trafficking, they 
are also a distribution channel for cartels that smuggle contraband, 
dangerous drugs, and weapons that make their way into our communities. 
They are a portal for dangerous gangs such as MS-13 that bring terror, 
drugs, and murder to our streets.
  For too long, we have chosen partisan politics over doing what is 
reasonable and right, and we put our families' livelihoods at 
tremendous risk. It is beyond time to take action. It is time for 
Congress to act. It is time for us to enforce our laws, and it is time 
to secure our borders, not for our own political victories, but for 
families such as Billy and Kathy Inman.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that, 
and I am thankful that the Georgia delegation was able to pay our 
respects to a great Georgian, to a great American, Zell B. Miller.
  Mr. Miller's knowledge and his broad experience in Georgia enabled 
him to be one of the most popular and successful leaders ever for this 
State. With the passing of Zell Miller, Georgia has truly lost one of 
its most important servants.
  Zell Miller was a personal mentor to me. Young Harris College changed 
my life, as I mentioned earlier. Zell Miller changed my life, as he 
changed the lives of so many Georgians, of so many Americans. I am so 
grateful for the wisdom that he shared with all of us. His family 
remains in my thoughts and prayers, but his policies, his ideals, and 
his legacy will live on in the State of Georgia for years to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________