[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16475-16483]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          EMMETT TILL UNSOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS CRIME ACT OF 2007

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 923) to establish an Unsolved Crimes Section in the 
Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, and an Unsolved 
Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office in the Civil Rights Unit of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 923

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Emmett Till Unsolved Civil 
     Rights Crime Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that all authorities with 
     jurisdiction, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
     and other entities within the Department of Justice, should--
       (1) expeditiously investigate unsolved civil rights 
     murders, due to the amount of time that has passed since the 
     murders and the age of potential witnesses; and
       (2) provide all the resources necessary to ensure timely 
     and thorough investigations in the cases involved.

     SEC. 3. DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE CRIMINAL SECTION OF THE CIVIL 
                   RIGHTS DIVISION.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall designate a 
     Deputy Chief in the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights 
     Division of the Department of Justice.
       (b) Responsibility.--
       (1) In general.--The Deputy Chief shall be responsible for 
     coordinating the investigation and prosecution of violations 
     of criminal civil rights statutes that occurred not later 
     than December 31, 1969, and resulted in a death.
       (2) Coordination.--In investigating a complaint under 
     paragraph (1), the Deputy Chief may coordinate investigative 
     activities with State and local law enforcement officials.
       (c) Study and Report.--
       (1) Study.--The Attorney General shall annually conduct a 
     study of the cases under the jurisdiction of the Deputy Chief 
     or under the jurisdiction of the Supervisory Special Agent 
     and, in conducting the study, shall determine--
       (A) the number of open investigations within the Department 
     for violations of criminal civil rights statutes that 
     occurred not later than December 31, 1969;
       (B) the number of new cases opened pursuant to this Act 
     since the previous year's study;
       (C) the number of unsealed Federal cases charged within the 
     study period, including the case names, the jurisdiction in 
     which the charges were brought, and the date the charges were 
     filed;
       (D) the number of cases referred by the Department to a 
     State or local law enforcement agency or prosecutor within 
     the study period, the number of such cases that resulted in 
     State charges being filed, the jurisdiction in which such 
     charges were filed, the date the charges were filed, and if a 
     jurisdiction declines to prosecute or participate in an 
     investigation of a case so referred, the fact it did so;
       (E) the number of cases within the study period that were 
     closed without Federal prosecution, the case names of 
     unsealed Federal cases, the dates the cases were closed, and 
     the relevant federal statutes;
       (F) the number of attorneys who worked, in whole or in 
     part, on any case described in subsection (b)(1); and
       (G) the applications submitted for grants under section 5, 
     the award of such grants, and the purposes for which the 
     grant amount were expended.
       (2) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, the Attorney 
     General shall prepare and submit to Congress a report 
     containing the results of the study conducted under paragraph 
     (1).

     SEC. 4. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS UNIT OF 
                   THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall designate a 
     Supervisory Special Agent in the Civil Rights Unit of the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice.
       (b) Responsibility.--
       (1) In general.--The Supervisory Special Agent shall be 
     responsible for investigating violations of criminal civil 
     rights statutes that occurred not later than December 31, 
     1969, and resulted in a death.
       (2) Coordination.--In investigating a complaint under 
     paragraph (1), the Supervisory Special Agent may coordinate 
     the investigative activities with State and local law 
     enforcement officials.

[[Page 16476]]



     SEC. 5. GRANTS TO STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General may award grants to 
     State or local law enforcement agencies for expenses 
     associated with the investigation and prosecution by them of 
     criminal offenses, involving civil rights, that occurred not 
     later than December 31, 1969, and resulted in a death.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 
     2008 through 2017 to carry out this section.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated, 
     in addition to any other amounts otherwise authorized to be 
     appropriated for this purpose, to the Attorney General 
     $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2017 
     for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting violations 
     of criminal civil rights statutes that occurred not later 
     than December 31, 1969, and resulted in a death. These funds 
     shall be allocated by the Attorney General to the Deputy 
     Chief of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division 
     and the Supervisory Special Agent of the Civil Rights Unit of 
     the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to advance the 
     purposes set forth in this Act.
       (b) Community Relations Service of the Department of 
     Justice.--In addition to any amounts authorized to be 
     appropriated under title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
     (42 U.S.C. 2000h et seq.), there are authorized to be 
     appropriated to the Community Relations Service of the 
     Department of Justice $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2008 and 
     each subsequent fiscal year, to enable the Service (in 
     carrying out the functions described in title X of such Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 2000g et seq.)) to provide technical assistance by 
     bringing together law enforcement agencies and communities in 
     the investigation of violations of criminal civil rights 
     statutes, in cases described in section 4(b).

     SEC. 7. DEFINITION OF ``CRIMINAL CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTES''.

       In this Act, the term ``criminal civil rights statutes'' 
     means--
       (1) section 241 of title 18, United States Code (relating 
     to conspiracy against rights);
       (2) section 242 of title 18, United States Code (relating 
     to deprivation of rights under color of law);
       (3) section 245 of title 18, United States Code (relating 
     to federally protected activities);
       (4) sections 1581 and 1584 of title 18, United States Code 
     (relating to involuntary servitude and peonage);
       (5) section 901 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3631); 
     and
       (6) any other Federal law that--
       (A) was in effect on or before December 31, 1969; and
       (B) the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of 
     the Department of Justice enforced, before the date of 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 8. SUNSET.

       Sections 2 through 6 of this Act shall cease to have effect 
     at the end of fiscal year 2017.

     SEC. 9. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.

       Title XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     5779 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 3703. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.

       ``(a) In General.--An Inspector General appointed under 
     section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
     U.S.C. App.) may authorize staff to assist the National 
     Center for Missing and Exploited Children--
       ``(1) by conducting reviews of inactive case files to 
     develop recommendations for further investigations; and
       ``(2) by engaging in similar activities.
       ``(b) Limitations.--
       ``(1) Priority.--An Inspector General may not permit staff 
     to engage in activities described in subsection (a) if such 
     activities will interfere with the duties of the Inspector 
     General under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
     App.).
       ``(2) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be 
     appropriated to carry out this section.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers).
  Mr. CONYERS. I thank my chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime.
  Mr. Speaker, today is a very important day. What we're doing is 
recalling a difficult period in American history to understand the 
combined climate at that time that coexisted with fear and violence 
during the civil rights era. And so we have the Emmett Till Unsolved 
Civil Rights Crime Act.
  The first thing I want to do is try to recapture, for the moment, all 
those who were not in the Judiciary Committee the day of the testimony, 
because it moved both Republicans and Democrats and visitors when we 
had Myrlie Evers, the widow of Medgar Evers, who was himself a victim 
of the violence that marked the civil rights era, talking to us about 
Emmett Till and how this youngster's life was taken.
  And it was one of those moments in judiciary history that we were all 
electrified by the ability of our witnesses to recapture this moment in 
our history.

                              {time}  1030

  It was a remarkable hearing. I commend the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Scott) and others, including the ranking member of the Judiciary 
Committee, Lamar Smith, and also I lift up the name of Steve King of 
Iowa. Everybody was moved by this determination that at this point in 
American history we are now moving forward at a pace that may not 
always be recognized, faster than we think. And the reason I say that 
is that we are now going back into history to make the corrections that 
law enforcement could have and should have made at that earlier time. 
So it is to me a very powerful determination of the Committee on the 
Judiciary to bring H.R. 923 to the floor for the expedited action that 
is required this morning.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 923, the Emmett Till 
Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007. I am a cosponsor of H.R. 923, 
which has broad bipartisan support.
  At the full committee markup of this legislation last week, members 
from both sides of the aisle, as Chairman Conyers just mentioned, and 
from all backgrounds and experiences joined together to ensure the 
swift prosecution of civil rights-era crimes, which were oftentimes 
ignored.
  It is appropriate that the House consider this legislation today, Mr. 
Speaker. Last week marked the 44th anniversary of the murder of civil 
rights leader Medgar Evers. Before his death, Medgar Evers was a 
primary, although unofficial, investigator of the Emmett Till murder. 
The committee was privileged to hear from his widow, Mrs. Myrlie Evers 
William. She movingly testified that the conviction of Medgar's killer 
in 1994, 31 years after his murder, gave a sense of hope to those who 
experienced this bleak time in our Nation's history.
  Last week also marked an enormous victory in the fight to bring 
justice to unsolved civil rights-era murders. A Mississippi jury 
convicted former Klansman James Ford Seale for his role in the 1964 
kidnapping and murder of 19-year-olds Charlie Eddie Moore and Henry 
Hezekiah Dee.
  Unfortunately, time is running out for other unsolved civil rights-
era murders. To date, the FBI has identified nearly 100 outstanding 
cases that still need to be solved. Many of these crimes are 30 to 40 
years old. Evidence has been lost or destroyed, witnesses and 
defendants have died, and memories have dimmed. We must act swiftly to 
help bring long overdue justice to the victims, their families, and the 
communities that these brutal crimes affected.
  H.R. 923 directs the Attorney General to designate a deputy chief 
within the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to 
coordinate the investigation and prosecution of unsolved civil rights-
era murders. The bill also directs the Attorney General to designate a 
supervisory special agent within the Civil Rights Unit of the FBI to 
further investigate these outstanding cases.
  Finally, the bill provides much-needed resources to the Department of 
Justice, the FBI, and State and local law enforcement officials to 
prosecute these same cases.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to especially thank Chairman Conyers and 
Representatives Nadler, Franks, Scott, and Forbes, members of the 
Judiciary Committee, for their commitment to this legislation.
  I hope my colleagues will support this much-needed bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Forbes), the ranking member of the Crime Subcommittee, 
and I ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to control that time.

[[Page 16477]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to 
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), and I ask unanimous consent 
that he be allowed to control that time on this side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Scott), and I yield him such time as he may consume.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 923, the Emmett Till Unsolved 
Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007. This important bill enjoys wide 
bipartisan and bicameral support. The bill will assist Federal, State, 
and local governments with the important task of solving unsolved civil 
rights-era crimes.
  Mr. Speaker, at the recent joint hearing held by the Subcommittee on 
Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security and the Subcommittee on 
Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, we heard from six 
excellent witnesses. The most moving of these were Mrs. Myrlie Evers 
Williams and Mrs. Rita Schwerner Bender, both of whose husbands the Ku 
Klux Klan assassinated because of the import civil rights work they 
were doing. The Klan assassinated Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963, and 
Michael Schwerner on June 21, 1964. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Lewis) has asked us to take up this act now because it coincides with 
the anniversary of these two important events. In both cases it took 
government authorities decades before the killers were convicted of 
these brutal murders.
  Unfortunately, these cases were not isolated incidents. There are 
dozens of cases, probably hundreds, like these, some of which have 
never been acknowledged, investigated, or prosecuted. Indeed, we don't 
even know how many people were murdered during the 1950s and 1960s, 
because retaliation was so common that many families did not dare 
report that their loved ones had been murdered. The FBI has identified 
more than 100 cold cases that should be investigated and, when 
possible, charges should be brought against the accused killers.
  I support H.R. 923 because it will hold the Department of Justice and 
the FBI accountable for following through on these investigations and 
prosecutions. The act requires the Attorney General to appoint a 
specific high-ranking employee in each agency to be accountable for 
this work. The act also requires the Department of Justice to report to 
Congress annually on the progress it has made towards solving these 
cases, and the first such report is due 6 months after the bill becomes 
law.
  Lastly, the bill authorizes funds to the Department of Justice, the 
FBI, and when appropriate, State and local enforcement agencies, to 
investigate and prosecute these cases.
  The FBI has already made a start in investigating these cases when it 
kicked off the Cold Cases Campaign in February of 2006 and expanded on 
this campaign in February 2007 when it solicited assistance from major 
civil rights organizations. However, there is still much more work that 
needs to be done, and Federal resources are necessary to do it. H.R. 
923 will provide these necessary resources.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Hulshof).
  Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding me the time 
this morning.
  Mr. Speaker, in 1963, while confined in the Birmingham city jail, Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a letter to eight Alabama clergymen 
regarding his recent demonstrations. In that letter, Dr. King 
eloquently wrote: ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice 
everywhere.'' Dr. King's words ring true today in this debate on H.R. 
923, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. We can no longer 
stand by and allow those civil rights cold cases to collect dust on our 
shelves. As a Nation, we owe it to the victims and their families and 
the country generally to provide them with long overdue justice.
  Before I begin, I see waiting in the wings my good friend and 
colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis). His diligence and 
perseverance on this legislation has been instrumental in getting us 
here today.
  Mr. Chairman, thank you for considering this bill.
  It is truly an honor to stand in league with my friend from Georgia 
as we began this bill, actually, this trek in the last session of 
Congress, and certainly he is a giant in the civil rights legislation 
and it is a privilege for me, Mr. Lewis, to stand with you on this 
bill.
  I also want to thank Alvin Sykes, who is the president of the Emmett 
Till Justice Campaign, and also former Senator Jim Talent from 
Missouri. Had it not been for them, I don't think we would be standing 
here today. Mr. Sykes was inspirational in opening the Emmett Till 
case, for whom this legislation is named. He came to Senator Talent two 
years ago with the idea that ultimately spawned this legislation.
  I think in the short time of this calendar year, a couple of months 
ago we commemorated as a Nation the 150-year anniversary of the Dred 
Scott decision. As the gentleman from Michigan eloquently stated a 
moment ago, there have been chapters in our country's history that are 
not proud chapters, and yet we cannot turn past those chapters in the 
book of history, but instead must focus and right wrongs.
  For those of you who don't know the story of Emmett Till, Emmett was 
a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago who spent his summer 
vacation with relatives in Mississippi. One afternoon, young Emmett 
spotted a Caucasian woman and allegedly whistled. For this indiscretion 
he was kidnapped from his house, brutally beaten, and thrown into a 
river with weights around his neck. And although Emmett's murderers 
were quickly arrested and placed on trial, the jury acquitted them and 
they walked out of the courtroom as free men. What makes this story 
even more tragic is that about a year later, one of the murderers 
confessed to his guilty conduct, without remorse no less, in an 
interview in Look magazine.
  As an original cosponsor of this bill, I rise today to express my 
strong support for this legislation as I hope it will help bring 
closure to countless families who continue to suffer from injustices 
perpetrated so long ago. As has been noted, this legislation will 
establish an Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office within 
the FBI to investigate these pre-1970 cases in conjunction with, that 
is, in conjunction with, State and local authorities. H.R. 923 will 
also create an Unsolved Crime Section to prosecute these cold cases.
  In my previous life as a prosecutor, I tried some three dozen or so 
murder cases. And with any trial, particularly murder trials, time is 
of the essence. And that is especially true with cold cases that this 
legislation addresses. Over the past nearly 20 years, we have had 29 
unsolved civil rights murder cases that have been reopened, reexamined. 
Thankfully, 22 convictions have resulted. We have seen justice brought 
to the families of Henry Dee and Charlie Moore, who were only 19 when 
they were murdered. What were their infractions that caused this 
horrific end to their lives? Henry and Charlie were believed to have 
knowledge about African Americans importing firearms into the country. 
And for this James Ford Seale and a group of fellow Klansmen kidnapped 
Henry and Charlie, took them into the woods, brutally beat them, and 
drove them into Parker's Landing in Mississippi. Henry was tied to an 
engine block and thrown into the Mississippi River, still alive. 
Charlie had to sit there and watch his friend drown, knowing that his 
fate would be no different. Their bodies were found several months 
later, Henry still tied to the engine block, Charlie to a pile of iron 
weights.

[[Page 16478]]

  After more than 40 years, James Ford Seale was finally held 
accountable for his actions, convicted just last week for his role in 
the murders. A fellow Klansman was given immunity in exchange for 
testifying about Seale's role in the murders.
  The Nation has witnessed the conviction of Edgar Ray Killen for his 
part in the murders of civil rights activists Andrew Goodman, Michael 
Schwerner, and James Chaney. Ironically, tomorrow, June 21, actually 
marks the anniversary of those murders.
  We have recently seen authorities reexamine the murders of Johnnie 
Mae Chappell in Florida and Jimmie Lee Jackson in Alabama and 
hopefully, hopefully, with the enactment of H.R. 923, many more.
  Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once said: ``Justice too long 
delayed is justice denied.'' I urge all my colleagues to support this 
legislation so we can continue to help heal the Nation, rectify the 
inequities of the past, and provide justice to those who have been 
seemingly forgotten.

                              {time}  1045

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, in recognizing the gentleman from Georgia, 
John Lewis, I can't help but observe that the difference between this 
crime, the Emmett Till crime of 52 years ago, and today is that 
passionately held beliefs about justice and fairness could cost you 
your life. There are only a few people left in America today who put 
their lives on the line knowingly in this struggle for justice, and the 
one in this body, the 110th Congress, is none other than John Lewis of 
Georgia, and I yield him as much time as he may consume.
  Mr. LEWIS OF Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend, 
the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, (Mr. Conyers) for those kind 
words.
  Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights 
Crime Act is being considered today before the full House of 
Representatives.
  I would like to thank the lead cosponsor of this bill, my good 
friend, Representative Kenny Hulshof from Missouri, and my good friends 
in the United States Senate, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, and 
Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont for their distinguished support in 
this effort.
  Again, I must thank Chairman Conyers for all of his help and for all 
of his support in bringing this bill before us today. Also, 
Subcommittee Chairs Scott and Nadler for coordinating a powerful 
hearing on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, the time has come for the sake of history, for the sake 
of justice, for the sake of closure, the 110th Congress must pass this 
legislation.
  On August 28, 1955, almost 52 years ago, a 14-year-old boy from 
Chicago, a young African American boy, was visiting his uncle in Money, 
Mississippi. He was pulled from his bed in the darkness of night. He 
was beaten until he could hardly be recognized. He was shot in the 
head, and his body was dumped in the Tallahatchie River, all because 
somebody said he had been fresh with a white woman.
  Several years later, an intelligent and dignified NACP leader named 
Medgar Evers was gunned down in front of his home in Mississippi in 
June of 1963. Some historians said it was the injustice of these 
unsolved two murders that began the mass movement in the American South 
that we call the modern-day civil rights movement.
  Who can forget the NAACP leader and his wife, Harry and Harriette 
Moore, who were killed by a bomb on Christmas night as they celebrated 
their 25th wedding anniversary in 1951 in Florida? Who can forget the 
two black couples lynched about 60 miles east of Atlanta in 1946, or 
the death of Lemuel Penn, a lieutenant colonel in the United States 
Army Reserve from Washington, DC, who was a veteran trying to get home 
from Fort Benning, Georgia for a little rest. He was killed in 1964 as 
members of the KKK drove by him on a highway.
  Who can forget Viola Liuzzo, shot down in Alabama in 1965, from the 
hometown of our chairman, Chairman Conyers from Detroit, trying to 
bring nonviolent activists back to their home after the Selma-to-
Montgomery march?
  There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of these crimes that were 
never brought to justice. There are murderers who have walked free for 
decades while the families of victims cry out for justice. Passing this 
bill is the least we can do. And we must do something to right these 
wrongs.
  I will never forget the three civil rights workers, 3 young men I 
knew, Andy Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner. They came to 
Mississippi with a simple mission, to register as many black voters as 
possible. They were stopped, arrested, taken to jail. Later that night, 
June 21, 1964, they were taken from jail by the sheriff and his deputy, 
turned over to the Klan, where they were beaten, shot and killed. They 
didn't die in Vietnam. They didn't die in Eastern Europe. They died 
right here in the United States. They died in Philadelphia, 
Mississippi.
  Viola Liuzzo didn't die on a road or some street in Baghdad, she died 
right there in Alabama on Highway 80. Lemuel Penn, Medgar Evers, Emmett 
Till and countless others didn't die in the Middle East; they died 
right here in our own country fighting for simple justice.
  Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation, we have a mission, we have a 
mandate. The blood of hundreds of innocent men and women is calling out 
to us. Then, no one came to their aid. But today we can help make it 
right. Let us move to close this dark chapter in our history. Let us 
try to wash away the stains on our democracy. So I call on all of my 
colleagues to pass this legislation and pass it today.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit the following letters of support for H.R. 923, 
the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act.

                                            Lawyers' Committee for


                                       Civil Rights Under Law,

                                    Washington, DC, June 18, 2007.
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Madam Speaker: I am writing on behalf of the Lawyers' 
     Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to express our strong 
     support for H.R. 923/S. 535, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil 
     Rights Crime Act. The bill, sponsored by Congressman John 
     Lewis of Georgia, will give the U.S. Department of Justice 
     the funding and tools necessary to investigate and prosecute 
     civil rights era murders.
       Ever since our founding by President John F. Kennedy in 
     1963, the Lawyers' Committee has sought to attain equal 
     justice under law for all Americans, and the Unsolved Civil 
     Rights Crime Act is an important step in continuing that 
     mission.
       We are hopeful that the House of Representatives will pass 
     the bill this week, as June 21 represents an incredibly 
     symbolic day in the history of the civil rights movement. On 
     that date in 1964, KKK member Edgar Ray Killen assembled a 
     mob to hunt down three civil rights workers in Mississippi. 
     The victims' names were James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and 
     Michael Schwerner. Those young men sacrificed their lives in 
     pursuit of equal rights for all Americans, yet their killer 
     roamed free for decades until a court finally convicted him 
     on June 21, 2005.
       We urge Congress to mark this important anniversary by 
     passing H.R. 923.
       The bill assigns offices within the Justice Department the 
     specific responsibility of investigating and prosecuting 
     civil rights murders before 1970. Then, civil rights murder 
     cases that went to trial often ended in hung juries. However, 
     today, different attitudes and improved race relations could 
     result in color-blind justice, and technological advancements 
     could allow prosecutors to present more persuasive evidence 
     at trial.
       To this end, H.R. 923 will provide the Justice Department 
     with $11.5 million in funds to carry out their duties, a sum 
     publicly supported by a D.O.J. representative at a recent 
     House subcommittee hearing.
       At that same hearing, Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of 
     slain civil rights worker Medgar Evers, spoke in support of 
     the bill. Her husband was assassinated in 1963, and three 
     decades later, a jury convicted 74 year-old Byron de la 
     Beckwith of the murder, proof that justice knows no time 
     limitations.
       Although the Lawyers' Committee and Americans-at-large are 
     thankful that the Evers family and others have received some 
     level of closure, we know that countless American families 
     are still waiting to see justice served. Just last week, a 
     federal jury convicted James Ford Seale of two counts of 
     kidnapping in relation to the 1964 murders of two African-
     American teenagers. Passage of the Emmett Till Unsolved 
     Crimes Act will help the Justice Department investigate and 
     prosecute cases similar to the Killen, Seale, and De la 
     Beckwith trials.
       With your support of this measure, aging murderers who have 
     subverted our legal system for decades could finally face a 
     court of

[[Page 16479]]

     law. The long-grieving families of numerous victims could 
     hope to see closure. Perhaps most importantly, this bill 
     could assist the United States government in upholding 
     justice, no matter how long overdue.
       Again, we urge you to mark this important anniversary by 
     scheduling a floor vote on H.R. 923/S. 535 this week. Please 
     feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding 
     this request.
           Sincerely,
                                                 John G. Brittain,
                                                    Chief Counsel.
                                  ____
                                  
                                             Leadership Conference


                                              on Civil Rights,

                                     Washington, DC, June 4, 2007.
     Hon. John Lewis,
     Cannon House Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Christopher J. Dodd,
     Russell Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Kenny C. Hulshof,
     Cannon House Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Patrick J. Leahy,
     Russell Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Colleagues: On behalf of the Leadership Conference on 
     Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation's oldest, largest, and most 
     diverse civil and human rights coalition, with nearly 200 
     member organizations, we urge you to cosponsor and support 
     the bipartisan Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act 
     (S. 535/H.R. 923). LCCR believes that it is imperative to put 
     resources behind investigating and prosecuting those 
     individuals involved with committing the unsolved civil 
     rights era crimes.
       The historic conviction of Edgar Ray Killen, for the 1964 
     deaths of three Mississippi Civil Rights workers, Andrew 
     Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, demonstrates 
     how it is imperative that our nation bring murderers to 
     justice, even if several decades have passed since these 
     heinous crimes were committed. However, time is running out 
     because the witnesses to these crimes are elderly.
       S. 535/H.R. 923 will create two new offices to investigate 
     and prosecute unsolved civil rights era murders. The Unsolved 
     Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office, a new FBI office 
     headed by a Chief Investigator, will aggressively investigate 
     pre-1970 murder cases in coordination with state and local 
     law enforcement. The second office will be the Unsolved 
     Crimes Section in the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, which 
     will focus specifically on prosecuting these cases. If a 
     crime other than murder is discovered during the course of an 
     inquiry, it will be referred to the appropriate law 
     enforcement officials.
       The bill authorizes $11.5 million in annual appropriations: 
     $5 million for the Unsolved Crimes Section, $5 million for 
     the Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office and $1.5 
     million for Community Relations Service of the Department of 
     Justice to work with local communities in identifying these 
     cases.
       We hope that you co-sponsor and support the Emmet Till 
     Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act (S. 535/H.R. 923), which will 
     bring to justice individuals who committed heinous crimes 
     against civil rights activists and individual African 
     Americans.
           Sincerely,
     Wade Henderson,
       President & CEO.
     Nancy Zirkin,
       Vice President/Director of Public Policy.
                                  ____

                                      National Association for the


                                Advancement of Colored People,

                                     Washington, DC, June 5, 2007.
     Re H.R. 923, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act.

     Hon. John Lewis,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Kenny Hulshof,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressmen Lewis and Hulshof: On behalf of the 
     National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 
     (NAACP), our nation's oldest, largest and most widely-
     recognized/grassroots civil rights organization, I would like 
     to thank you for your sponsorship of and leadership behind 
     H.R. 923 the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. It 
     is imperative to bring murderers of early civil rights 
     activists to justice, to show the victims' families, as well 
     as the Nation, that their sacrifices continue to outrage our 
     Nation. The United States' government needs to commit the 
     resources necessary to see that these heinous crimes intended 
     to intimidate are resolved.
       Witnesses and evidence to these crimes are aging and time 
     is of the essence. As proven by the historic 2005 conviction 
     of Edgar Ray Killen for the 1964 deaths of three Civil Rights 
     workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, 
     and the 1994 conviction of Byron De La Beckwith of the murder 
     of Medgar Evers, more than 40 years earlier, there is no time 
     limit on justice.
       As you know, this bill creates two new offices within the 
     Department of Justice whose sole purpose is to investigate 
     these crimes. The Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Investigative 
     Office, a new FBI office headed by a Chief Investigator, will 
     aggressively investigate pre-1970 cases in coordination with 
     state and local law enforcement officials that resulted in 
     death and remain unsolved. This office will do everything 
     possible to make certain those who have committed these 
     murders are brought to justice. The Unsolved Crimes Section, 
     a new office within the Civil Rights Division of the 
     Department of Justice, will focus specifically on prosecuting 
     these cases. If a crime other than murder is discovered 
     during the course of an inquiry it will be referred to the 
     appropriate law enforcement officials. Lastly, the bill 
     authorizes $11.5 million in annual appropriations: $5 million 
     for the Unsolved Crimes Section, $5 million for the Unsolved 
     Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office and $1.5 million for 
     Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice to 
     work with local communities in identifying these cases.
       In order for our Nation to fully begin to move beyond these 
     heinous orimes, the federal government needs to resolve these 
     cases. Thank you again for your leadership on this bill; the 
     NAACP deeply appreciates all you are doing on this issue. 
     Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or 
     comments on the NAACP position, or if there is any way that I 
     can be helpful to you as we move ahead with this legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                                Hilary O. Shelton,
                                                         Director.

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is both humbling and an honor to speak on this bill 
after the distinguished gentleman, Congressman Lewis, has just spoken. 
And I join my colleagues in strong support of H.R. 923, the Emmett Till 
Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act OF 2007, and also compliment Chairman 
Conyers for his leadership and work on bringing this bill forward.
  It is important that Congress adopt this legislation as quickly as 
possible; 30 to 40 years have passed since many of these murders were 
committed.
  Under normal circumstances, trying a murder case is difficult and 
costly. Add to that the loss or destruction of evidence, witnesses who 
have died or are unavailable, and numerous procedural hurdles, it only 
increases the difficulty and cost of prosecuting these crimes. But law 
enforcement officers and prosecutors are continuing to pursue these 
cases, and we applaud their efforts.
  In 2006, the FBI directed all 56 of its field offices to comb through 
their own cold case files and assess how many could be prosecuted. The 
FBI identified roughly 100 such cases. Many cases are confined to a 
handful of field offices that must complete rigorous in-depth 
investigations before it's too late.
  H.R. 923 directs the Attorney General to designate a deputy chief 
within the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to 
coordinate the investigation and prosecution of unsolved civil rights-
era murders. The bill also directs the Attorney General to designate a 
supervisory special agent within the Civil Rights Unit of the FBI to 
investigate these outstanding cases.
  Mr. Speaker, most of these cases, if viable, will lack the requisite 
Federal nexus for prosecution by the Department of Justice. Yet, the 
Department and the FBI are able to provide valuable assistance to State 
prosecutors in their investigations. The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil 
Rights Crime Act provides additional resources to fully assess these 
cases and bring the offenders to justice.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan has 7 minutes. 
The gentleman from Virginia controls 13 minutes.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased now to yield to the articulate 
gentlelady from Texas, Sheila Jackson-Lee, a distinguished member of 
the committee, as much time as she may consume.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, allow me to take a moment of 
personal privilege to acknowledge the chairman of the full Judiciary 
Committee. It has only been a little over 6 months, or almost 6 months, 
that Mr. Conyers has taken the realm of this

[[Page 16480]]

august body. And I think if history is to be accurate, to recount the 
volcanic change that has come about on the life-changing legislative 
initiatives that have been able to be moved out of this committee, we 
recognize that hate should not be applauded, but it should be made 
illegal.
  We have confronted the issues dealing with the creativity of America, 
addressing the questions of patent reform. We are looking closely at 
the idea of how do we find a balance on the issue of immigration. We 
are listening, we are learning, we are sympathetic. We are, in fact, 
what the Judiciary Committee, one of the oldest committees, was really 
intended to do: to listen to the grievances of people and be able to 
find relief.
  Let me thank the ranking member of the subcommittee, the ranking 
member of the full committee, for they have partnered on a number of 
initiatives, and we have found, sometimes, common ground. Today I rise 
on that very shining example of a common ground.
  Allow me to thank Congressman Hulshof of Missouri for his passion and 
his commitment, and Mr. Sykes, who was a witness and who humbly said he 
was simply a public servant, someone who thought this idea was long in 
coming.
  And so why we are here today is to talk about what many of you 
perceive as a television program called Cold Cases. I wish it was as 
simple as that. On that program, you do see the impact on families, but 
it is, in fact, a television program. Today, we speak of lives, lives 
long left on the dusty road of unsolved crimes, lives that are broken, 
torn, full of tears, looking for just a semblance of justice and hope 
in America. Maybe they were thinking of the words of Winston Churchill 
when he spoke to President Roosevelt in the dark ways of World War II, 
``Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.'' That is what this 
bill does today; it gives the tools to America's prosecutors to pick up 
the broken pieces of the civil rights movement.
  In 1989, we put together a memorial for those who had lost their 
lives in the civil rights era. They lost their lives not because they 
were criminals, not because they were caught in an unfortunate 
accident, but they lost their lives because they were on the 
battlefield for justice. They were murdered because they were active in 
the civil rights movement. They were killed by organized hate groups as 
acts of terror aimed at intimidating blacks and civil rights activists 
of many different colors and religious backgrounds. Their death, like 
the death of Emmett Till, helped to galvanize the movement by 
demonstrating the brutality faced by African Americans in the South. It 
is an era of terror which all of us have come to stand against, proudly 
so, which makes you very proud to stand here as an American, frankly, 
the greatest country in the world. For we have traveled a blood-stained 
road, but yet as we've traveled it, there have been those who have 
tried to go back and be able to bring us forward, united, arm in arm 
together, sweeping across America talking about the injustices of the 
past, but looking forward to the future for our children.
  And so this bill is in tribute to the likes of Rita Bender, a witness 
who was brought before this committee. It was in recognition of the 
lives that we have heard of, Schwerner, Goodman and Chaney, buried deep 
in a mud pile. It was a testimony to John Lewis, who sits among us as 
an icon of conscience, who will tell you that in those muddy fields of 
Mississippi and Alabama, there are still skeletons that have yet been 
found. For many were killed, unnamed, and the relatives were too 
frightened to ever come forward. Maybe now, because this bill has a 
section in it on community relations, and I am hoping that as we 
provide oversight on this bill, we will increase those dollars from 
$1.5 million to $2 million or $2.5 million, because one of the 
witnesses said they could not have prosecuted the case had it not been 
for the persistence and the heart and determination of the family 
members, having lived under the shadow of this sin for so long.
  This bill does create a deputy chief in the Criminal Division of the 
Civil Rights Division. Many of us would have preferred a division, some 
separate fixture standing with the responsibility to have the hammer, 
if you will, of rightness. But we support this legislation, and we hope 
that as our chairman has been diligent and vigilant, as he looks 
forward, that we will ensure that that deputy chief does the right 
thing and provides a vigorous advocacy and prosecution of those 
unsolved crimes.

                              {time}  1100

  Let me, Mr. Speaker, just recount very briefly the moving testimony 
that was given of the witnesses. Let me home in, if I could, on Myrlie 
Evers Williams. Why? Because it is part of my psyche to have seen 
Medgar Evers folding down on his front yard as he was murdered going 
into his home to see his wife and his children.
  Can you imagine the horror of waiting for daddy to come home, waiting 
for your husband to come home, the dinner on the table, the radio 
playing, the children making the kinds of pleasant noises that children 
make? Her husband was a warrior, but a gentle man, a man of peace, a 
man who was willing to sacrifice his own future so that he might bring 
justice to some.
  Let me, Mr. Speaker, as I close, simply ask my colleagues to remember 
this past and go to the future as I ask for support for this 
legislation.
  I thank you, John Lewis, and I thank you, John Conyers.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong of H.R. 923, the ``Emmett Till Unsolved 
Civil Rights Crimes Act of 2007.'' This legislation, which I am proud 
to co-sponsor and strongly support, is intended to complete some of the 
Nation's most important unfinished business. And that is to solve some 
of the most depraved acts of violence against persons belonging to a 
racial group that was vulnerable, politically powerless, and innocent, 
and against those persons who risked life and limb to help them secure 
the rights promised in the Declaration of Independence and made real in 
the Constitution.
  The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act of 2007 is long 
overdue. I thank our colleague, John Lewis of Georgia, who is widely 
recognized as the moral conscience of the House for sponsoring this 
legislation and I thank Chairmen Conyers, Scott, and Nadler for their 
work in shepherding it through the legislative process.
  Mr. Speaker, in 1989, the Civil Rights Memorial was dedicated in 
Montgomery, Alabama, the birthplace of the modern Civil Rights 
Movement. The Memorial honors the lives and memories of 40 martyrs who 
were slain during the movement from 1954 to 1968, including Emmett 
Till. But we know that many more people lost their lives to racial 
violence during that era. In fact, at the time the Memorial was 
dedicated, the killers of 13 of the 40 martyrs whose names are 
inscribed on the Memorial had not been prosecuted or convicted. In 10 
of the 40 deaths, defendants were either acquitted by all-white juries 
or served only token prison sentences. We also know there are many 
cases that still cry out for justice. These unsolved crimes represent a 
continuing stain on our Nation's honor and mock its commitment to equal 
justice under law. The legislation before us is intended to help us 
remove that stain once and for all.
  The 40 victims selected for inclusion in the Civil Rights Memorial 
fit at least one of three criteria: (1) they were murdered because they 
were active in the civil rights movement; (2) they were killed by 
organized hate groups as acts of terror aimed at intimidating blacks 
and civil rights activists; or, (3) their deaths, like the death of 
Emmett Till, helped to galvanize the movement by demonstrating the 
brutality faced by African Americans in the South. The 40 persons who 
fit the selection criteria ranged in age from 11 to 66. Seven were 
white, and 33 were black. They were students, farmers, ministers, truck 
drivers, a homemaker and a Nobel laureate.
  But Mr. Speaker, there are many, many other victims besides the 40 
who are remembered on the Memorial. The Southern Poverty Law Center 
reports that its research uncovered approximately 75 other people who 
died violently between 1952 and 1968 under circumstances suggesting 
that they were victims of racial violence. For most of them the reason 
their names were not added to the Memorial is because not enough was 
known about the details surrounding their deaths. Sadly, the reason so 
little is known about these cases is because they were never fully 
investigated or, in some cases, law enforcement officials were involved 
in the killings or subsequent cover-ups. And because the killings of 
African Americans were often covered up or never seriously 
investigated, there is little reason to

[[Page 16481]]

doubt that many slayings were never even recorded by the authorities.
  The reason justice had not been served was the callous indifference, 
and often the criminal collusion, of many white law enforcement 
officials in the segregated South. There simply was no justice for 
African Americans during the civil rights era. The whole criminal 
justice system--from the police, to the prosecutors, to the juries, and 
to the judges--was perverted by racial bigotry. African Americans were 
routinely beaten, bombed and shot with impunity. Sometimes, the killers 
picked their victims on a whim. Sometimes, they targeted them for their 
activism. In other cases, prominent white citizens were involved and no 
consequences followed. Herbert Lee of Liberty, Mississippi, for 
example, was shot in the head by a state legislator in broad daylight 
in 1961.
  It is, of course, fitting and proper that H.R. 923 bears the name of 
Emmett Till, whose slaying in 1955 and his mother's decision to have an 
open casket at his funeral stirred the Nation's conscience and 
galvanized a generation of Americans to join the fight for equality. 
Sadly, hundreds of them were killed in that struggle, and many of the 
killers, like those of Emmett himself, were never successfully 
prosecuted.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to learn that the Department of 
Justice strongly supports this legislation. It should. No government 
agency has done more through the years to protect and defend the civil 
rights of African Americans and other victims of injustice. I hope the 
DOJ's embrace of this legislation represents a rededication to its 
historic role of ensuring equal justice under law for all, even the 
poor, powerless, and vulnerable.
  Mr. Speaker, the heart of this legislation is sections 3 and 4. 
Section 3 establishes a Deputy Chief of the Criminal Section of the 
Civil Rights Division. Section 3 requires the Attorney General to 
designate a Deputy Chief of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights 
division who will be responsible for coordinating the investigation and 
prosecution of violations of criminal civil rights statutes that 
occurred before December 31, 1969, and ended in death.
  Section 3 also requires a study and report to Congress about the 
number of cases opened, the number of Federal prosecutions commenced, 
the number of cases of State and local prosecutions where the DOJ 
assisted, the number of cases that have been closed, and the number of 
open pending cases. The report shall be made not later than 6 months 
after the enactment of the Act.
  Section 4 of the bill establishes a parallel component in the Civil 
Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be headed by a 
Supervisory Special Agent designated by the Attorney General. This 
Supervisory Special Agent in the Civil Rights Unit is responsible for 
investigating violations of criminal civil rights statutes that 
occurred not later than December 31, 1969, and resulted in death. The 
Supervisory Special Agent should, where appropriate, coordinate 
investigations with State and local law enforcement officials.
  Mr. Speaker, although I strongly support H.R. 923, I believe the bill 
would be even stronger if it incorporated three small but important 
amendments. First, I would recommend an amendment containing 
Congressional findings of fact that help explain to the nation and the 
world why the Congress was compelled to enact this vitally important 
legislation. We are enacting this legislation not because of who the 
perpetrators of these unsolved criminal violations of civil rights 
statutes are, but who we are, and who their victims were.
  Mr. Speaker, over the past half century, the United States has made 
tremendous progress in overcoming the badges and vestiges of slavery. 
But this progress has been purchased at great cost. From Reconstruction 
through the modern Civil Rights Movement, heinous and depraved acts of 
violence were committed against persons belonging to a racial group 
that was innocent, vulnerable, and politically powerless, and also 
against those persons who risked life and limb to help them secure the 
rights promised in the Declaration of Independence and made real in the 
Constitution. Many of these crimes remain unsolved and no one has ever 
been held accountable.
  Examples of unsolved cases include the 1968 ``Orangeburg Massacre'' 
at South Carolina State University where state police shot and killed 
three student protesters; the 1967 shooting death of Carrie Brumfield, 
whose body was found on a rural Louisiana road; the 1957 murder of 
Willie Joe Sanford, whose body was fished out of a creek in 
Hawkinsville, GA; the 1946 killing of a black couple, including a 
pregnant woman, who was pulled out of a car in Monroe, GA, and dragged 
down a wagon trail before being shot in front of 200 people.
  These unsolved crimes represent a continuing stain on our Nation's 
honor and mock its commitment to equal justice under the law. Solving 
these cases is part of the unfinished work of America. President 
Kennedy said it so well 44 years ago, when he addressed the Nation on 
June 11, 1963: ``this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, 
will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.''
  A second amendment I would recommend is the establishment of a 
specially created section within the Civil Rights Division with 
dedicated resources, personnel, and budgetary authority to investigate 
and prosecute notorious and neglected pre-1970 criminal violations of 
the civil rights statutes.
  I believe that in designating the Deputy Chief required by this 
legislation, the Attorney General must also be required to delegate to 
the Deputy Chief authority over the necessary personnel and budgetary 
resources. The high hope of H.R. 923 is that it may help bring justice 
to those whom justice has been delayed for more than two generations. 
The Deputy Chief, therefore, has an awesome responsibility. If we are 
to expect positive results, it is incumbent upon us to provide the 
Deputy Chief the resources and authority needed to be successful. As 
Winston Churchill said to President Roosevelt during the dark days of 
1940: ``Give us the tools and we will finish the job!''
  I am pleased, however, that the bill authorizes annual appropriations 
of $10 million for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2017 for the 
purpose of investigating and prosecuting pre-1970 criminal violations 
of the civil rights statutes that resulted in a death. Similarly, I am 
pleased that the bill authorizes annual appropriations of $1,500,000 to 
the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice to provide 
technical assistance by bringing together law enforcement agencies and 
communities in the investigation of criminal violations of civil rights 
statutes.
  My third amendment I would recommend is to increase the amount of 
this annual appropriation by $500,000 to $2 million and to make this 
funding source available to assist the families of victims in coping 
with the loss of a loved one through counseling and other support 
services, financial and otherwise. Such assistance must be available to 
the victim's families because in many cases the testimony of a family 
member may be indispensable to government investigators and 
prosecutors. I am particularly mindful that the witnesses testifying 
before the Judiciary Committee hearing affirmed their belief that the 
government's ability successfully to investigate and solve criminal 
civil rights violations would be greatly enhanced were assistance and 
support available to the victims' families.
  Mr. Speaker, 44 years ago, Medgar Evers was murdered in Jackson, 
Mississippi; justice would not be done in his case for more than twenty 
years. But that day was foretold because the evening before the death 
of Medgar Evers, on June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy addressed 
the Nation from the Oval Office on the state of race relations and 
civil rights in America. In his historic speech to the nation President 
Kennedy said:

       We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as 
     old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American 
     Constitution.
       One hundred years of delay have passed since President 
     Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, 
     are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of 
     injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic 
     oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its 
     boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are 
     free.

  H.R. 923 is intended to help bring justice to those whom justice has 
been delayed for more than two generations. In doing so, this 
legislation will help this Nation fulfill its hopes and justify its 
boast that in America all persons live in freedom.
  Mr. Speaker. I strongly support this historic legislation and urge 
all Members to join me in voting for its passage.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren).
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, this is an 
important bill. The fact that it is on suspension ought not to suggest 
that it is not an important bill. This bill is another in a number of 
bills that helps us heal some tremendous wounds in this country that go 
to the very essence of this country.
  The Civil War, which caused more bloodshed than any other war that 
this Nation has been engaged in, is viewed as the tremendous act of 
expiation with the effort of this Nation to resolve, in its own mind, 
what it meant by every man and woman being equal.
  That began the process that was followed through in a remarkable 
period

[[Page 16482]]

of time during the last century called the civil rights revolution. But 
that revolution has not ended. There are still things that need to be 
done.
  One of the terrible stains left on this Nation is the lack of justice 
done for those who suffered at the hands of people who believed this 
country would never recognize the rights of all; those who thought they 
could act with impunity to threaten, to terrorize, to murder other 
human beings merely because of the color of their skin.
  I call this bill the ``last chance bill,'' the ``now or never bill.'' 
If we don't do this now, we will never have the chance to do it again, 
because those individuals who were involved in these crimes may not be 
around, and the family members of those who were victims of these 
crimes may not be around. We give ourselves a 10-year period of time in 
which we make a real effort to try and bring those to justice who 
should have been brought to justice a long time ago.
  In the process, we say to all Americans, We understand the injustice 
that was done. We will make sure it is never repeated again. We will 
work to make this country a better place now and in the future.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Gohmert).
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank our subcommittee chairman, and I 
thank our full committee chairman and subcommittee ranking member as 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill. As it has been said, there 
exists in America an open sore that is yet to be remedied. I note that 
sometimes people see an amount of money that is being spent and say 
that is too much money. But in this case, there is an injustice that 
cries out for healing and for addressing.
  When one American, regardless of race, creed, color, gender, 
religion, national origin, when one is struck down, then all of us are 
struck down. We need to address this. Now, I am not one of those who 
believes that we need to run forward and apologize for the sins of 
others that we didn't commit. But in this case, this bill addresses an 
injustice.
  We have the power. We have the wherewithal and the ability to address 
this wrongdoing and this injustice. If we were not to take action, then 
this body would owe an apology, and I do not want to see that become 
necessary.
  There are times that we hear moving testimony, and our heart is 
moved. But we know for the greater good of the country we must do 
something else. This is one of those cases in which we heard testimony 
that was very moving, and the heart is aligned with the head. This 
requires action. I appreciate the leadership moving this forward so 
that this injustice, this open sore, can finally be addressed.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, this bill, partnered by the gentleman from 
Georgia, a Democrat, and the gentleman from Missouri, a Republican, 
shows what we can do when we just pause and take a breath from the 
partisanship, the finger pointing, the negative attacks by the press 
and even some Members of our own body against this great body and join 
together to move this country forward.
  I want to thank all of the individuals who worked on this bill, 
especially the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
  At this time I would like to yield to the chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking member, Mr. 
Forbes. I think this is an important step forward. I have been amazed 
by the congeniality and the cooperation that has been extended to me by 
all of the members of the House Judiciary Committee.
  Things come around. This is a historic moment. It has been expressed 
with great articulateness by Members on your side of the aisle, Mr. 
Forbes, as well as mine. But the witnesses on that day in Judiciary, 
and Myrlie Evers Williams stands out more than anyone else, were so 
amazing that I want everyone to go back and read the testimony that 
just electrified us all.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my dear 
friend and colleague, Mr. Lewis of Georgia for leading this effort.
  The murder and subsequent miscarriage of justice in the unresolved 
civil rights cases still remains this country's biggest transgression. 
The first step towards erasing the injustices that has haunted the 
families of the victims is to, as a nation, acknowledge and give due 
diligence to these unsolved murders.
  According to the FBI, there are roughly 100 unsolved homicide cases 
from that time period. Among those is the murder of Emmett Till--for 
whom the bill is named--an African-American teenager who was brutally 
beaten and shot in 1955. His killers tied a cotton gin to his neck and 
threw his body into a Mississippi river. That became a major event in 
the civil rights movement. Two men were prosecuted for the crime but 
were acquitted.
  H.R. 923 authorizes $10 million annually for fiscal years 2008-2017 
for the Justice Department to hire special investigators to work on 
solving civil rights crimes dating back to before 1969.
  Justice being served in these cases is a reality. To name a few 
examples in Mississippi: The 1994 conviction of Byron De La Beckwith 
for his role in the assassination of Medgar Evers. The 2005 conviction 
of Edgar Ray Killen for his role in the deaths of Schwerner, Chaney and 
Goodman, the three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. The 
conviction was based, in part, on new evidence that he had boasted of 
the killing at a Ku Klux Klan rally and to others over the three 
decades after the crime; and most recently, James Ford Seale, convicted 
last Thursday, June 14, 2007, for his role in the abduction of two 
Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, the African-American 
teenagers in Meadville, Mississippi, in 1964.
  This bill provides an honest effort to bring closure to the more than 
40 families of unresolved civil rights cases in Mississippi.
  Such as the Family of Charles Brown of Yazoo City, Miss., 1957--A 
white man shot Brown, who was visiting the white man's sister. The 
Justice Department handed the case over to the state.
  The Family of Jessie Brown of Winona, Miss., 1965--The 1965 NAACP 
annual report claimed white farmer R.M. Gibson killed Brown.
  The Family of Eli Brumfield of McComb, Miss., 1961--Police officer B. 
F. Elmore alleged self-defense after shooting Brumfield. Police claimed 
Brumfield jumped from his car with a pocket knife after police pulled 
him over for speeding.
  The Family of Silas (Ernest) Caston of Jackson, Miss., 1964--Caston 
was shot by a local police officer. CORE and NAACP filed a civil suit 
against Deputy Sheriff Herbert Sullivan. The result of that suit is 
unknown.
  The Family of Vincent Dahmon of Natchez, Miss., 1966--Dahmon, 65, was 
shot in the head around the time of a march in support of James 
Meredith.
  The Family of Woodrow Wilson Daniels of Water Valley, Miss., 1958--
Sheriff Buster Treloar, identified by four witnesses as the man who 
beat Daniels to death in a prison, was freed after 23 minutes of 
deliberation by an all-white jury. ``By God,'' Treloar said after the 
trial. ``Now I can get back to rounding up bootleggers and damn 
niggers.''
  The Family of Pheld Evans of Canton, Miss., 1964--Medgar Evers 
identified Evans as having been killed under mysterious circumstances.
  The Family of J. E. Evanston of Long Lake, Miss., 1955--Evanston's 
body is fished out of Long Lake in December. Evanston was a teacher in 
the local elementary school.
  The Family of Jasper Greenwood of Vicksburg, Miss., 1964--Greenwood 
was found shot to death near his car on a rural road. Police said the 
slaying was not racially motivated.
  The Family of Jimmie Lee Griffin of Sturgis, Miss., 1965--Griffin was 
killed in a hit-and-run accident. A coroner's report revealed Griffin 
was run over at least twice.
  The Family of Luther Jackson of Philadelphia, Miss., 1959--Jackson 
was killed by police after he and his girlfriend were found talking in 
their car, which was stalled in a ditch. Police claim Jackson attacked 
them.
  The Family of Ernest Jells of Clarksdale, Miss., 1964--Jells was 
accused of stealing a banana from a grocery and pointing a rifle at 
pursuing police officers. The officers were exonerated.
  The Family of John Lee of Goshen Springs, Miss., 1965--Lee's body was 
found beaten on a country road.
  The Family of Willie Henry Lee of Rankin County, Miss., 1965--Lee, 
who was known to have attended civil rights meetings, was found beaten 
on a country road. An autopsy revealed he died by strangulation from 
gas.
  The Family of George Love of Indianola, Miss., 1958--Love was killed 
in a gun battle

[[Page 16483]]

with police who believed he was responsible for a murder and arson. He 
was later cleared of any connection to the murder.
  The Family of Sylvester Maxwell of Canton, Miss., 1963--Maxwell's 
castrated and mutilated body was found by his brother-in-law less than 
500 yards from the home of a white family.
  The Family of Robert McNair of Pelahatchie, Miss., 1965--McNair was 
killed by a town constable.
  The Family of Clinton Melton of Sumner, Miss., 1956--Elmer Otis 
Kimbell was cleared in Melton's death. Kimbell claimed Melton fired at 
him three times before he returned fire with a shotgun. No gun was 
found in Melton's car or on his body.
  The Family of Booker T. Mixon of Clarksdale, Miss., 1959--Mixon's 
body was found lying on the side of the road, completely nude. Police 
claimed it was a hit-and-run, though family members cited his naked 
body and the extensive amount of flesh torn from his body as evidence 
of murder.
  The Family of Nehemiah Montgomery of Merigold, Miss., 1964--
Montgomery, 60, was shot by police after allegedly refusing to pay for 
gas. Police were acquitted, and the shooting was called justifiable 
homicide.
  The Family of Sam O'Quinn of Centreville, Miss., 1959--O'Quinn, 
derided by some local whites for being ``uppity,'' was shot after 
joining the NAACP.
  The Family of Hubert Orsby of Pickens, Miss., 1964--Orsby's body was 
found in the Black River. It was reported that he was wearing a t-shirt 
with ``CORE,'' written on it, representing the Congress of Racial 
Equality.
  The Family of William Roy Prather of Corinth, Miss., 1959--Prather, 
15, was killed in an anti-black Halloween prank. One of eight youths 
involved was indicted on manslaughter charges.
  The Family of Johnny Queen of Fayette, Miss., 1965--A white off-duty 
constable was named in the pistol slaying of Johnny Queen. The shooting 
was not connected to any arrest.
  The Family of Donald Rasberry of Okolona, Miss., 1965--Rasberry was 
shot to death by his plantation boss.
  The Family of Jessie James Shelby of Yazoo City, Miss., 1956--Shelby, 
23, was fatally wounded by a police officer who claimed he shot Shelby 
because he resisted arrest.
  The Family of Ed Smith of State Line, Miss., 1958--A grand jury 
refused to indict L.D. Clark in the death of Smith, who was shot in his 
yard in front of his wife. Clark later reportedly bragged about the 
killing.
  The Family of Eddie James Stewart of Crystal Springs, Miss., 1966--
Stewart was reportedly beaten and shot while in police custody. Police 
claimed he was shot while trying to escape.
  The Family of Isaiah Taylor of Ruleville, Miss., 1964--Taylor was 
shot by a police officer after allegedly lunging at him with a knife. 
The shooting was ruled a justifiable homicide.
  The Family of Freddie Lee Thomas of LeFlore County, Miss., 1965--
Federal investigators looked into the death of Thomas, 16. Thomas's 
brother believed he was murdered as a warning against black voter 
registration. The result of the investigation is unknown.
  The Family of Saleam Triggs of Hattiesburg, Miss., 1965--The body of 
Mrs. Triggs was found mysteriously burned to death.
  The Family of Clifton Walker of Adams County, Miss., 1964--Walker was 
killed by a shotgun blast at close range. The result of a federal 
investigation is unknown; and a host of others.
  We must act--not only to bring these criminals to justice, but to 
also cleanse our Nation of this stain. The unsolved case of Emmett Till 
and other victims of the civil rights movement represent a terrible 
chapter in our Nation's history. Over the years there have been 
sporadic efforts to prosecute some of the civil rights era slayings 
that were ignored at the time. We need to address these injustices 
before it is too late--before they become permanent scars on our 
Nation's history. It is essential that Congress pass this legislation 
mandating a well-coordinated and well-funded effort to investigate and 
prosecute unsolved crimes from the civil rights era.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, the chairman should have the last word on 
this, and so he has.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Snyder). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 923, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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