[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7624]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
              SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, there is not a morning or a 
day, in light of the raging winds of war that our young men and women 
are facing in faraway places, that one sometimes may wonder about the 
importance of the work of this body. So I rise this morning to again 
ask our Nation to be reminded of those brave young men and women, those 
who are fighting, as well as those who tragically have now lost their 
lives and their mourning families and, as well, the POWs who are 
waiting to return home to their loved ones.
  It seems almost that we should step aside from issues dealing with 
ordinary life. But I might ask, Mr. Speaker, that as our brave troops 
are fighting for freedom, and we respect and honor them, that on April 
1, 2003, the Supreme Court will hear what I believe will be the most 
challenging civil rights argument in the last 50 years. Many of those 
troops are impacted by this argument, and that is the decision of 
whether or not to make affirmative action unconstitutional.
  Affirmative action, as we know, is not a handout or a quota, but 
simply an opportunity to outreach to the many wonderfully diverse 
communities in this Nation so that our young people can sit in 
classrooms where they might learn from each other.
  Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed in the administration for its position 
on affirmative action, and I believe as well that we must stand and be 
counted for the civil rights for all Americans. I hope the Supreme 
Court will respond accordingly.

                          ____________________