[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 324-325]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           CIVIL RIGHTS AS A PRIORITY FOR THE 108TH CONGRESS

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, this month our Nation will celebrate 
what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 74th birthday. It is 
right and fitting that on the third Monday of every January since 1986, 
Americans have paused from their work, school, or other activities to 
honor Dr. King and his legacy. Dr. King gave hope to millions of 
Americans and was a catalyst for the greatest advancement in civil 
rights our Nation has experienced since the end of the Civil War.
  Because of great Americans such as Dr. King, separate but equal is no 
longer the law of the land. Because of the progress we have made in the 
last 50 years, segregation in public schools has been unlawful. African 
Americans have the right to vote. Americans cannot be fired or denied a 
job based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or 
age. Our Nation has made great strides to protect freedom and equality 
for all Americans as a result of Dr. King's leadership.
  But almost 40 years after Dr. King delivered his historic ``I Have a 
Dream'' speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and nearly 35 
years after Dr. King was tragically gunned down at a hotel in Memphis, 
TN, our Nation still has a long way to go to finish his work.
  As we begin the 108th Congress, I want to take this moment to urge 
both my colleagues and the President to make civil rights a priority.
  Earlier this week, the Senate welcomed a new majority leader, Senator 
Bill Frist. But the discussions leading up to that should be the 
beginning, not the end, of a national discussion about the unfinished 
work of securing civil rights for every American.
  Congress and the President can demonstrate their support for freedom 
and justice by supporting civil rights initiatives that have been 
ignored for far too long. And they should begin this month, as the new 
Congress convenes and as the Nation celebrates Dr. King's birthday.
  Perhaps no issue on this agenda is more urgent than the issue of 
racial profiling. Racial profiling is the insidious practice by which 
some law enforcement agents routinely stop African Americans, Latinos, 
Asian-Americans, Arab Americans, and others simply because of their 
race, ethnicity, or national origin. Reports in States from New Jersey 
to Florida, and Maryland to Texas all show that African Americans, 
Hispanics, and members of other minority groups are sometimes being 
stopped by some police far in excess--far in excess--of their share of 
the population and the rate at which they engage in criminal conduct.
  Just this week, the Boston Globe ran a series of news articles about 
its analysis of traffic stop data in Massachusetts and came to the same 
troubling conclusion we have seen in places such as New Jersey and 
Maryland. Racial profiling still exists and is a very real problem. It 
hasn't gone away or ended. In fact, the Massachusetts experience only 
underscores the need for a national law on this issue of racial 
profiling. And the time to act is now.
  I might add that the urgency for banning racial profiling is 
compounded by concerns post-September 11 that racial profiling--not 
good police work and following up on legitimate leads--is being used 
more frequently against Arabs, Muslims, or Americans who are perceived 
to be Arabs or Muslims.
  President Bush pledged to end racial profiling nearly 2 years ago 
during this first address to a joint session of Congress. Attorney 
General John Ashcroft also has acknowledged the damage caused by racial 
profiling and, he too, called for an end to the practice. So it is time 
for this administration to move this effort forward.
  In the last Congress, a bipartisan group of Members of Congress 
sponsored the End Racial Profiling Act. Representative John Conyers, 
the distinguished ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and 
I, intend to reintroduce our bill early in this Congress. Our bill bans 
racial profiling and requires Federal, State, and local enforcement 
agencies to take steps to prevent the practice. This bill should be one 
of the top agenda items in this Congress, and the administration should 
follow through on its promise to address this issue.
  September 11 cannot be an excuse for continued delay in dealing with 
the problem of racial profiling. This is a problem and a challenge that 
our country can and must meet. We need improved intelligence and we 
need improved law enforcement, not racial stereotypes, to protect our 
Nation from future terrorist attacks.
  Indeed, I believe that the End Racial Profiling Act is a pro-law 
enforcement bill. It will help to restore the trust and confidence of 
the communities our police and law enforcement have pledged to serve 
and protect. That confidence is crucial to success in stopping crime, 
and, yes, in stopping terrorism. The End Racial Profiling Act is good 
for law enforcement and good for America.
  As Dr. King often implored his fellow activists, it is not time to 
wait. It is not time to ``slow up'' or ``cool off.'' He said, ``[W]e 
can't afford to stop now because our Nation has a date with destiny. We 
must keep moving.'' Mr. President, it is time to act.
  Yes, we have many pressing priorities this Congress. And I certainly 
think that first and foremost is combating terrorism and addressing our 
Nation's weak economy. But we cannot ignore a fundamental 
responsibility of this Congress: to fight for freedom, justice, and 
equality for all Americans. In addition to passing the End Racial 
Profiling Act, Congress and the President should also address a range 
of civil rights-related issues this Congress--from education, to 
welfare, to

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health care, to improving our criminal justice system.
  We should ensure that every child has access to a quality public 
education. I voted against the education bill in the last Congress, 
because I do not believe that it will bring us closer to that goal. I 
am particularly concerned about the annual testing mandate included in 
this law. Study after study shows that disadvantaged students lag 
behind their peers on standardized tests. If we are to truly leave no 
child behind, we should give local school districts the resources they 
need to provide the basic educational services and programs to which 
each child is entitled. If we fail to provide these resources, we run 
the risk of setting disadvantaged children up for failure on these 
tests--failure which could damage the self-esteem of some of our most 
vulnerable students.
  Congress should also do more to ensure that federally funded programs 
comply with civil rights and other laws. In particular, we must improve 
the Federal welfare law to require that each State's program treats all 
applicants and clients fairly. While Congress rightly encouraged State-
level innovation with the 1996 welfare law, we should use the pending 
reauthorization of that law as an opportunity to ensure that all State 
plans conform to uniform Federal fair treatment and due process 
protections for all applicants and clients.
  Congress should ensure that all Americans get a fair wage for an 
honest day's work. Too often, parents work double shifts or more than 
one job for low wages in order to make ends meet and to provide the 
basic necessities for their families. We must at last increase the 
Federal minimum wage. And we must work to close the wage gap between 
women and men.
  Congress should also take action to ensure fairness and justice in 
the administration of the death penalty. We know that the 
administration of the death penalty at the Federal and State levels is 
flawed. With over 100 innocent people on death row later exonerated in 
the modern death penalty era, any reasonable person can see that the 
current system risks executing the innocent.
  Just this week, the University of Maryland released a study finding 
enormous racial and geographic disparities in the Maryland death 
penalty system. African-American defendants accused of killing white 
victims are significantly more likely to face the death penalty than 
cases with nonwhite victims. Prosecutors in Baltimore County are 
significantly more likely to file initially for a death sentence than 
other Maryland jurisdictions.
  I think Governor Glendening did the right thing when he placed a 
moratorium on executions last year, and I urge Governor Ehrlich to 
continue that moratorium while he and other Maryland officials analyze 
this study's disturbing findings. It would be contrary to our Nation's 
fundamental principles of justice and fairness to execute anyone in 
Maryland until the disparities identified by this study have been 
addressed.
  Of course, Maryland is not the only State with troubling racial and 
geographic disparities in its death penalty system. Similar concerns 
have been raised about the Federal system, as well as the 
administration of the death penalty in other States. That is why 
Congress should pass the National Death Penalty Moratorium Act. 
Congress and the President should support a moratorium on executions 
while a national, blue ribbon commission reviews the fairness of the 
administration of the death penalty.
  This is a civil rights issue. We simply cannot say we live in a 
country that offers equal justice to all Americans when racial 
disparities plague the system by which society imposes the ultimate 
punishment.
  Congress must also do more to protect hardworking Americans from 
discrimination in the workplace. We should pass the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act. I have been pleased to join my colleague, Senator 
Kennedy, in sponsoring this important bill that will ensure that 
Americans are not discriminated against by employers based on their 
sexual orientation. The world has changed. It is time that we take this 
step on behalf of equal opportunity and equal rights.
  Congress should also take another step to realize Dr. King's dream of 
a nation where all Americans have the right to vote and to be 
represented in their Congress. We meet today in a jurisdiction where 
over half-a-million people are denied the right to fully participate in 
their government. The majority of the people in this jurisdiction, the 
District of Columbia, are African American. Shutting them out of our 
Government is a continuing moral stain on our Nation that must be 
addressed. We should take action on legislation sponsored by Senator 
Lieberman and myself, under D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's 
leadership, to grant full congressional representation for the District 
of Columbia.
  Finally, the President should demonstrate his commitment to justice 
for all Americans by nominating judges to the Federal bench whose 
records demonstrate that they will uphold our Nation's civil rights 
laws and give fair and impartial treatment to all who come before them. 
The President's renomination this week of Charles Pickering, Sr. to a 
position on the Fifth Circuit is a step backward. As a member of the 
Judiciary Committee, I reviewed his record closely last year and came 
to the conclusion that Mr. Pickering would not be fit for a position on 
the Fifth Circuit. I am not convinced that he will give all who come 
before him a fair hearing, especially on issues of racial justice.
  Soothing words or a change of leadership alone cannot heal the 
divisions that remain in our Nation. Congress and the Administration 
must take concrete steps to protect Americans' civil rights, not just 
give them lip service.
  As Dr. King said, ``This is no time to engage in the luxury of 
cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the 
time to make real the promises of democracy.''
  There is much more work to do to fulfill Dr. King's dream that all of 
America's children would someday live in a country ``where they will 
not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their 
character.'' Let's begin that work in this Congress, in this body, 
during this month when the nation celebrates Dr. King's birthday. There 
is no time to waste.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. STEVENS. 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. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Graham of South Carolina). Without 
objection, it is so ordered.

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