[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1156]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am always delighted to have 
the opportunity to follow my distinguished colleague from Tennessee. 
She has a breadth of assessment that provides insight, but I 
respectfully disagree with much of the commentary that has been spoken 
to in the last hour.
  That challenge that the American people gave to us on November 7, 
2006, was to go in a new direction. It was to fix the broken and 
improve the conditions of livelihood and life for the American public.
  So I thank Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer, Majority Whip 
Clyburn and Chairman Emanuel and Vice Chairman Larson for recognizing 
that for almost 4 years large populations of individuals, your parents, 
your grandparents, have languished in the confusion of Medicare Part D, 
when they have fallen, sunken into a hole, and the enormous cost has 
overtaken them.
  The veterans know that we have stood fast on their behalf. Therefore, 
any disparity, disparate treatment to our veterans will be immediately 
fixed.
  I know that it was the Democrats who fought consistently to ensure 
that veterans hospitals were not closed by promoting, if you will, the 
veterans health care bill that was passed in order to give the 
veterans' hospitals more money.
  So I am grateful of this democracy. And I came to the floor to cite 
the leadership of a giant of an American whom we will honor on Monday. 
This Congress in a Special Order that I will lead will honor him again 
on Tuesday evening, January 16, for Members to join us in commemorating 
and celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.

                              {time}  1630

  I raise his name in the context of my good friend from Tennessee, 
because his whole legacy, although not admired during the time he was 
working, was to try and help America, to promote America's conscience.
  I am reminded of his letter from a Birmingham jail, and I encourage 
my colleagues to join us in the third hour on Tuesday, the 16th, when 
he was in essence thrown into jail for his work of advocacy in 
Birmingham. Bull Connor ruled, dogs and hoses were used to attack human 
beings, and the clergy of America wrote and asked why this pastor had 
gone to Birmingham to be disruptive.
  This is both eloquent, but biblically grounded, but really secularly 
teaching words that he said. He said, ``I am taking the time to write 
this letter to you because I knew it was important. Moreover, I am 
cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I 
cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens 
in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We 
are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single 
garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all 
indirectly. Never again can we afford, never again can we afford, to 
live with the narrow, provisional, outside agitator idea. Anyone who 
lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider 
anywhere within its bounds.'' And lastly he said, ``Like Paul, I must 
constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.''
  Dr. King was arrested repeatedly. But he left America the direction 
and the instruction of rendering aid, and as Members of the United 
States Congress, it is our challenge to render aid to America and to 
all of her citizens, to ensure that we provide them with the life and 
the dignity and the justice and the freedom promised by our 
Constitution.
  I look forward to joining with my fellow Members as I lead a special 
order on Tuesday, January 16th, to truly account for his life. But I 
also am grateful this week for the minimum wage and prescription drug 
benefit reform and 9/11 reforms and a number of other issues we are 
looking forward to, will in fact honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther 
King.

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