[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 133 (Thursday, July 29, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H4257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           WORLD CIVILITY DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mrvan). The Chair recognizes the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Indiana for 
his reminding us of the World Civility Day and its importance. I rise 
today in the spirit of civility, facts, and bringing people together.
  First of all, we are all saddened by the surge of crime across 
America, and we are working with our communities, those who intervene, 
and those who are responding to the issues of depredation and danger 
that permeates many of our communities and many of our young people.
  I believe it is important to ensure that the excessive amount of guns 
that are trafficked illegally are taken off the street. Soon in my 
community we will hold a gun buyback with the Houston Police Department 
because they are working with the community.
  So I think it is important to state the fact that the Obama 
administration, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris 
are strong advocates and have invested much to ensure that crime goes 
down. We know that it is a mixture of the toxicity of the COVID-19 
pandemic, poverty, and, of course, those who are inclined to do the 
crime.
  With that in mind, it is very important to factually make the point 
that there is nothing in the Biden administration's agenda or its 
funding packages or those of Democrats that deal with the defunding of 
police. We are reimagining and working with our communities 
collectively. As we say: Police community relations will improve and 
continue to improve, one, the finding of those who perpetrate the crime 
for them to be brought to justice fairly because crime does not look to 
the color of one's skin. It is without discrimination and hits all of 
America.
  So I am very proud to have been an original cosponsor and lead on the 
Victims of Crime Act that was signed by the President last week that 
ensured that our communities will now have a victims fund that our 
States will be able to deal with.
  I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to go home and 
interact with the victims of crime. Show them that you care and work 
with your communities so that they are compensated in the full.
  Let me also indicate that it is appropriate for us to move on H.R. 
40. An enormity of Members of Congress have sponsored the commission to 
study slavery and develop reparation proposals. In civility, this would 
give us an opportunity to have a first federal conversation on race for 
a full discussion and analysis of the economy, political, 
psychological, scientific, and sociological effects of slavery in the 
United States.
  The legislation makes no judgment on how to respond to the slavery of 
African Americans that began its sinful roots 401 years ago, but it 
points us to developing a response and a repair to deal with what is a 
continuing stigma of institutional racism. Mr. Speaker, you cannot 
ignore the disparities that exist in the community, and we cannot 
ignore the opportunity to have that discussion.
  I am very grateful for the wide variety of individuals from the East, 
the West, the North, and the South of varying political perspectives 
who have supported this, the religious organizations that have 
supported this, the social justice organizations, or just plain people 
who raise their voices--57 percent in a recent poll.
  So let us look forward to repairing, being a repair, the repairers. 
We know that our beloved pastor and leader who has provided us with the 
words that he is the repairer of the breach, and we thank him for that. 
And we thank all those who are willing to have a civil discussion to 
ensure that we can end the surge of crime and the scourge of crime and 
as well be able to discuss race in a manner of civility in a way that 
we can come together and repair it.
  I know that it is the intent of those who cosponsored the bill and 
all of the vast supporters across America. It is certainly my intent as 
the lead cosponsor after the Honorable John Conyers, and I know it is 
the intent of the Congressional Black Caucus and all those who raise 
their voices for a civil discussion on the question of race. I think 
America is that good and better than that to be able to say that we can 
have that civil discussion. As has been said in our meetings of the 
Congressional Black Caucus: our power and our message.

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