[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3693-S3694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              S.J. Res. 57

  Mr. President, now, on one final matter, I would like to briefly 
commend several of our colleagues for their work on resolutions the 
Senate will consider to roll back yet another slate of Biden 
administration overreach.
  Today, we will vote on a resolution from Senator Schmitt to finally 
put the brakes on the Treasury Department's extension of massive 
recovery funds for a pandemic emergency that has long since passed.
  The Senate will vote on another resolution under the Congressional 
Review Act from Senator Lummis that would repeal a hasty, shortsighted 
power grab

[[Page S3694]]

by the SEC that hampers the deployment of new digital financial 
technologies.
  And in the coming days, we will also vote on Senator Cruz's 
resolution to ax a new Department of Energy rule on gas furnace 
efficiency standards that threaten to drive a huge share of existing 
residential furnace models out of the market and hike costs for 
seniors, small businesses, and low-income households.
  As always, I am grateful to our colleagues for leading these efforts, 
and I urge the Senate to pass each resolution.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


            70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this week marks the 70th anniversary of 
one of the most important Supreme Court decisions of all time. It is 
part of our march toward justice.
  On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Brown v. 
Board of Education, unanimously--unanimously--declaring the racist 
legal doctrine of ``separate but equal'' unconstitutional.
  Today, we celebrate this historic anniversary and how far we have 
come as a country since the dark days of Jim Crow. Thankfully, we have 
made substantial progress in addressing racial disparities in 
education. However, significantly, systemic disparities do still exist 
today. More work needs to be done to promote racial equity and end 
discrimination inside and outside the classroom.
  When the Supreme Court announced its decision in 1954, the 
demographics of American school-aged children were significantly 
different than they are today. At that time, the school-aged 
population, according to The Century Foundation, was roughly 85 percent 
White, 12 percent Black, and less than 4 percent other races. Contrast 
that with today. America's school-aged population is much more diverse: 
48 percent White, 27 percent Hispanic, 15 percent Black, 6 percent 
Asian, 1 percent American-Indian, and 4 percent multiracial.
  Yet, even with this increase--dramatic increase--in diversity, 
America's schools too often remain segregated by race. As of the 2018-
2019 school year, one in six public school students attended schools 
where more than 90 percent of their peers had the same racial 
background. Illinois has 3 of the country's top 11 most segregated 
urban school districts. This lack of racial diversity in our schools is 
caused in part by unfair, exclusionary zoning policies that keep low-
income families out of schools in wealthier communities.
  Education can play a significant role in helping to close the wealth 
gap between families, but unfortunately, due to modern-day segregation, 
many Black and Brown students often cannot access the same high-quality 
education as their White peers.
  If you look at data from U.S. public schools going back to 1967, you 
will see that the segregation between Black and White students has 
increased by 64 percent since 1988 in the 100 largest school districts. 
While school segregation is not at pre-Brown v. Board of Education 
levels, it is still high and has been rising steadily since the late 
1980s, and because where you go to school depends on your ZIP Code, 
students from poor neighborhoods in segregated cities are often trapped 
in underperforming schools.
  Dismantling segregation has become more difficult now than it would 
have been 70 or 80 years ago, but we cannot ignore the challenge. 
Unless we focus on desegregating America and its neighborhoods, Brown's 
promise of integrated education will remain an unattainable goal.
  The Brown decision was supposed to be the first step in a long march 
towards Americans' equality. It helped set the stage for challenges to 
other Jim Crow policies, such as barriers to fair housing, equal 
employment, voting rights, and public accommodations.
  Unfortunately, today, the forces of intolerance are working to turn 
back the clock. Just last year, the Supreme Court struck down decades 
of precedent by ruling that affirmative action policies at two 
universities were unconstitutional. The attack on affirmative action 
threatens not just opportunities in education but also equal access to 
employment and contracts for minorities. The decision rewinds the clock 
and recreates barriers to entry for young minority students looking to 
pursue a degree in higher education and advance beyond college.
  Quality education should be a right in our country, not a privilege. 
As a country, we still struggle to fulfill that promise. Public schools 
and many other elements of society remain separate and unequal, 
diminishing opportunities for millions.
  Congress must focus on enacting policies and using resources to 
provide every student--Black, White, Brown--with the tools they need to 
learn and thrive in America. We must advocate for all students of every 
race and every place to have these resources to learn without limits.
  As we celebrate 70 years since this historic decision, we honor the 
brave individuals who fought hard to bring it to reality. Those of us 
here today must honor their determination and sacrifice by continuing 
their mission for fairness.
  On this 70th anniversary, I urge my colleagues to continue working 
toward equality within our education system and society. It is long 
overdue for us to repair the broken systems that no longer serve our 
children, our grandchildren, and our country.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hickenlooper). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.