[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12021-12026]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         EDWARD WILLIAM BROOKE III CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill (S. 682) to award a congressional gold medal 
to Edward William Brooke III in recognition of his unprecedented and 
enduring service to our Nation.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                 S. 682

       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 ``Edward William Brooke III 
     Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds as follows:
       (1) Edward William Brooke III was the first African 
     American elected by popular vote to the United States Senate 
     and served with distinction for 2 terms from January 3, 1967, 
     to January 3, 1979.
       (2) In 1960, Senator Brooke began his public career when 
     Governor John Volpe appointed him chairman of the Boston 
     Finance Commission, where the young lawyer established an 
     outstanding record of confronting and eliminating graft and 
     corruption and proposed groundbreaking legislation for 
     consumer protection and against housing discrimination and 
     air pollution.
       (3) At a time when few African Americans held State or 
     Federal office, Senator Brooke became an exceptional pioneer, 
     beginning in 1962, when he made national and State history by 
     being elected Attorney General of Massachusetts, the first 
     African American in the Nation to serve as a State Attorney 
     General, the second highest office in the State, and the only 
     Republican to win statewide in

[[Page 12022]]

     the election that year, at a time when there were fewer than 
     1,000 African American officials in our nation.
       (4) He won office as a Republican in a state that was 
     strongly Democratic.
       (5) As Massachusetts Attorney General, Senator Brooke 
     became known for his fearless and honest execution of the 
     laws of his State and for his vigorous prosecution of 
     organized crime.
       (6) The pioneering accomplishments of Edward William Brooke 
     III in public service were achieved although he was raised in 
     Washington, DC at a time when the Nation's capital was a city 
     where schools, public accommodations, and other institutions 
     were segregated, and when the District of Columbia did not 
     have its own self-governing institutions or elected 
     officials.
       (7) Senator Brooke graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar High 
     School and went on to graduate from Howard University in 
     1941.
       (8) Senator Brooke's enduring advocacy for self-government 
     and congressional voting rights for the citizens of 
     Washington, DC has roots in his life and personal experience 
     as a native Washingtonian.
       (9) Senator Brooke served for 5 years in the United States 
     Army in the segregated 366th Infantry Regiment during World 
     War II in the European theater of operations, attaining the 
     rank of captain and receiving a Bronze Star Medal for 
     ``heroic or meritorious achievement or service'' and the 
     Distinguished Service Award.
       (10) After the war, Senator Brooke attended Boston 
     University School of Law, where he served as editor of the 
     school's Law Review, graduating with an LL.B. in 1948 and an 
     LL.M. in 1949, and made Massachusetts his home.
       (11) During his career in Congress, Senator Brooke was a 
     leader on some of the most critical issues of his time, 
     including the war in Vietnam, the struggle for civil rights, 
     the shameful system of apartheid in South Africa, the Cold 
     War, and United States' relations with the People's Republic 
     of China.
       (12) President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Senator Brooke 
     to the President's Commission on Civil Disorders in 1967, 
     where his work on discrimination in housing would serve as 
     the basis for the 1968 Civil Rights Act.
       (13) Senator Brooke continued to champion open housing when 
     he left the Senate and became the head of the National Low-
     Income Housing Coalition.
       (14) Senator Brooke has been recognized with many high 
     honors, among them the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, 
     an honor that recognizes ``an especially meritorious 
     contribution to the security or national interests of the 
     United States, world peace, cultural or other significant 
     public or private endeavors''; the Grand Cross of the Order 
     of Merit from the Government of Italy; a State courthouse 
     dedicated in his honor by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
     making him the first African American to have a State 
     courthouse named in his honor; the NAACP Spingarn Medal; and 
     the Charles Evans Hughes award from the National Conference 
     of Christians and Jews.
       (15) Senator Brooke's biography, Bridging The Divide: My 
     Life, was published in 2006, and he is the author of The 
     Challenge of Change: Crisis in Our Two-Party System, 
     published in 1966.
       (16) Senator Brooke became a racial pioneer, but race was 
     never at the center of his political campaigns.
       (17) He demonstrated to all that with commitment, 
     determination, and strength of character, even the barriers 
     once thought insurmountable can be overcome.
       (18) He has devoted his life to the service of others, and 
     made enormous contributions to our society today.
       (19) The life and accomplishments of Senator Brooke is 
     inspiring proof, as he says, that ``people can be elected on 
     the basis of their qualifications and not their race''.

     SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate 
     shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on 
     behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design 
     to Edward William Brooke III in recognition of his 
     unprecedented and enduring service to our Nation.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 
     referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') 
     shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 
     inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

     SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
     the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 under such 
     regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price 
     sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
     materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and 
     the cost of the gold medal.

     SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

       (a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this 
     Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 
     31, United States Code.
       (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of 
     title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this 
     Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

       (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to 
     be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
     Fund, such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs 
     of the medals struck pursuant to this Act.
       (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be 
     deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule the, gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) and the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. 
Capito) each will control 20 minutes
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, this bill was sponsored in 
the Senate by our very cherished colleague, Senator Kennedy, who served 
with former Senator Brooke for many years. It has been carried in the 
House with great vigor and care by our colleague from the District of 
Columbia (Ms. Norton) and I yield her such time as she may consume.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the dean of the 
Massachusetts delegation, not only for his assistance but for his 
generosity in yielding to me first on this bill that I sponsored along 
with him and the entire Massachusetts delegation.
  I have to begin by thanking the many, many Republicans and Democrats 
who are part of the two-thirds that are necessary to award the 
Congressional Gold Medal. As you are aware, it is a pretty arduous 
process. In this case, it was not because of the underlying substance 
of the bill, but because when Members sign on to a bill they obviously 
have to know something about it. And you have to go from Member to 
Member.
  I am pleased to say that many, indeed most, remembered Senator 
Brooke, who is alive, and I would say alive and well, if you could talk 
with him. He has had some illness. I will speak of it in a moment. Of 
course, it was necessary to remind others of Senator Edward Brooke who 
became the first African American elected to the United States Senate 
in 1967 presciently ahead of his time. He was the first popularly 
elected Black Senator.
  I thank Members because I never encountered a Member who didn't see 
Senator Brooke as a historic figure worthy of the highest award the 
Congress can give, the Congressional Gold Medal.
  Senator Edward Kennedy, of whom the gentleman from Massachusetts 
spoke, quickly gathered his two-thirds. Our thoughts and prayers are 
with him. The thoughts and prayers of the American people have been 
with him since his illness was discovered. He quickly gathered his two-
thirds and passed this bill in the Senate. His colleagues understood 
Senator Brooke's accomplishments in that ``club,'' after all. He was 
able to get not only his colleagues to sign on quickly but to get the 
bipartisan leadership. The majority leader, Mr. Reid, the assistant 
leader, Mr. Durbin were cosponsors. The minority leader, Mr. McConnell, 
was a cosponsor. Senators Ted Stevens, John Warner and John Kerry were 
cosponsors. That gives you the flavor of the degree of respect former 
Senator Brooke enjoys.
  Now, I must say for the Record that Senator Brooke is a man who is 
known for his modesty. He never expected the Congressional Gold Medal. 
When I approached him to tell him I thought he deserved it, he warned 
me away from this effort. But he should have expected it. President 
Bush, 4 years ago, awarded Senator Brooke the Nation's highest medal, 
the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award. But after all, Senator Brooke 
was a Member of the United States Congress.
  We noted last week the first African American was nominated for the 
presidency by a major party. The country deserves the self-
congratulations it took for the distance it has come and that Senator 
Obama's nomination signaled.
  We must remember, however, that Senator Brooke was elected to the 
Senate from the State of Massachusetts as

[[Page 12023]]

a Republican. In 1967 our country was just starting down the road we 
are traveling and towards the landmark we saw last week. After all, the 
1964 Civil Rights Act had just been passed. The 1965 Voting Rights Act 
had just been passed. We are talking 1967, when Senator Brooks was 
first elected.
  1967 was the beginning of the urban disturbances known as ``the 
riots,'' which swept the country even before Martin Luther King's 
assassination, and even before Senator Robert Kennedy's assassination. 
There was an openly hostile climate to issues affecting race. And 
racial attitudes were often retrograde.
  Mr. Speaker, I began this effort and began to think about Senator 
Brooke during the struggle for the D.C. Voting Rights Act because the 
analogies to our struggle and to his seem to me inescapable. Senator 
Brooke is a native Washingtonian. He spent his entire life in this 
city. He never left the city until he went to the Armed Forces of the 
United States of America. The Senator grew up in this city when there 
was no example of democracy, much less a public official to emulate. 
There was no vote for President when he grew up in the District of 
Columbia. There was no self-government at all. The city was run by 
three commissioners from the Congress of the United States. It had been 
kept a segregated city by the Congress of the United States. So the 
medal for Senator has a double symbolic quality for those of us who 
live in the District of Columbia.
  What is most amazing about Senator Brooke is he seemed undaunted by 
any of the so-called barriers he encountered. The city was as 
segregated as any southern city in the United States. He went to public 
schools that will be familiar to D.C. residents--Shaw Junior High 
School and Dunbar High School were still segregated when I was 
graduating. He went to Howard University for his college education and 
then stayed right here to go to Howard Law School. How could Senator 
Brooke have thought of himself as a Senator?
  He probably, at the time he was at Dunbar and at Howard, did not 
think about the fact that he would be the first African American 
attorney general in the United States and the first African American 
popularly elected to the Senate. He could hardly have thought as a 
Republican who attained these offices in a heavily Democratic State 
then and now--that that would be his fate. But he had no fate. He 
obviously had only his own sense of aspiration of who he was.
  During his time in the Senate from 1967 to 1979, Senator Brooke was a 
strong advocate for the rights of D.C. residents who had nobody, had 
got home rule only during his time, strong advocate for home rule, got 
a delegate during his term, pressed hard for that. And he has been a 
major advocate for the pending D.C. Voting Rights Act, which again I 
thank this House for passing in 2007. He made calls to Senators urging 
passage. And during his book tour last year he spoke of the importance 
of passage of the D.C. Voting Rights Act. His book tour concerned the 
publication of his autobiography, ``Bridging The Divide: My Life.''

                              {time}  1615

  Senator Brooke has breast cancer. Speaking of obstacles, he has 
regarded his recovery from this disease as an important obligation to 
educate men about the disease. He obviously has had some of the 
illnesses associated with being 88 years old, but I must say his robust 
mind leads me to believe that he will attend the ceremony in the 
Capitol Rotunda if we award him this medal. It is an amazing 
accomplishment that with all these strikes against him, he didn't even 
seem to notice.
  So 208 years since the framers of our Constitution expected Congress 
to grant DC voting rights once it became the capital under its 
jurisdiction, in this very year when we expect in fact to get that 
right, I ask this House to do what it has already done for voting 
rights and to award the Congressional Gold Medal to our native son. We 
are close to voting rights. It was filibustered, but we believe we can 
break that now.
  I want to leave you with the Senator's own words when we told him 
that we were seeking the medal for him. He wrote this letter, which I 
ask to be entered into the Record, to his Republican colleagues, and he 
wrote a similar letter to his Democratic colleagues or former 
colleagues here, and I am quoting the Senator: ``As much as I would 
appreciate such a high honor from my peers, I would place even greater 
priority on a full House vote for the American citizens who live in my 
hometown. The right for citizens of the city where I was born and 
raised was not achieved when I was a Member of Congress. Witnessing the 
District of Columbia obtain the right to be represented in the House 
with votes cast by Republicans would mean more to me than any honor 
that I could achieve as an individual.''
  I said he was modest. He means it. I think he means that sentiment. I 
ask that Senator Brooke be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
                                                   March 21, 2007.
       Dear Democratic Members: I have written to Republican 
     Members of the House as a life-long Republican and a native 
     Washingtonian, who was privileged to serve as the first 
     African American elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate 
     (Massachusetts from 1967-1979). I am writing to Democrats as 
     well to thank you for your long support of voting rights and 
     home rule for my hometown, and to ask you to cast your vote 
     for H.R. 1433, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights 
     Act of 2007. I grew up in the District when it was as 
     segregated as other Southern cities, including the city's 
     public schools, and I was educated at Howard University. We 
     had no local or federal rights, even to govern ourselves or 
     to vote for President, and no one to represent our concerns 
     in the Congress. A Democratic Congress changed all of that 
     when Democrats and a Republican president granted the 
     citizens of the nation's capital home rule and a delegate to 
     the House. Now you have another historic opportunity to grant 
     these tax-paying citizens the full representation in the 
     ``People's House'' that they deserve.
       At 87 years of age, I have had rare privileges and honors 
     as an American citizen that few Americans, particularly 
     residents of the District have never enjoyed. At a recent 
     press conference at the Capitol held by senators to celebrate 
     my recently published autobiography, I learned that members 
     of my congressional delegation and others were seeking for me 
     the highest congressional honor, the Congressional Gold 
     Medal. I could not help but be overwhelmed, but I had to say 
     that as much as I would appreciate such a high honor from my 
     peers, I would place even greater priority on a full House 
     seat for the citizens of my hometown.
       I was elected as the nation's first Black attorney general 
     and then as the first African American elected by popular 
     vote to the United States Senate when Black Americans running 
     for state wide office seemed the stuff of fantasy. However, I 
     had to leave my hometown to become a Member of Congress or be 
     represented at all. Nothing would mean more to me, 
     particularly at this stage in my life, than witnessing 
     Democrats and Republicans voting together to afford voting 
     rights to the citizens of the District of Columbia.
       I believe that Voting Rights Reauthorization in 2006 and 
     the D.C. House Voting Rights Act of 2007 are equivalent in 
     their historic purposes and deep meaning. Both bills are the 
     same in extending long-denied congressional voting rights, 
     and in the District's case, to an African American city as 
     well. I lived in the District until I joined the Army and was 
     proud to serve as a combat infantry officer in [captain 
     during] WWII. The experience of living in a segregated city 
     and of serving in our segregated Armed forces helps explain 
     why the pending D.C. House Voting Rights Act is so important 
     to me personally.
       I have been heartened by the strong support of the 
     Democratic leadership and committee chairs and members who 
     are swiftly bringing this bill to the floor early in the 
     session. The bill has passed twice by overwhelming majorities 
     in the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and this 
     year by a two-to-one vote by the Judiciary Committee. I ask 
     that you join the large majorities in those committees and 
     vote for H.R. 1433.
       I am grateful for your work and attention to voting rights 
     for all Americans.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                 Edward W. Brooke,
     U.S. Senator, Retired.
                                  ____

                                                   March 21, 2007.
       Dear Fellow Republican: As a proud life-long Republican, an 
     African American, and a native Washingtonian, I was not 
     destined to become a United States Senator when I was elected 
     in 1966. Yet, I served with some of you as a senator from 
     Massachusetts (1967-1979). It is the Republican Party that 
     gave me the opportunity not only to run, but also to serve 
     statewide in offices that even now are still rare for African 
     Americans to achieve. The Republican Party allowed me not 
     only to represent others. The Republican Party allowed me to 
     be represented in the

[[Page 12024]]

     Congress of the United States. I am asking you to do the same 
     for the tax paying citizens of my home town and to vote for 
     passage of the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act of 
     2007.
       Last year, I was especially proud to watch my party lead 
     the passage of the reauthorization of the historic 1965 
     Voting Rights Act and to see a member of my party, 
     Representative Tom Davis of Virginia, initiate a similar bill 
     for the District of Columbia. Now you have before you another 
     historic voting rights bill. At 87 years of age, I have had 
     rare privileges and honors as an American, including the 
     nation's highest honor generously given to me two years ago 
     by President George Bush. At a recent press conference at the 
     Capitol held by senators to celebrate my recently published 
     autobiography, I learned that members of my congressional 
     delegation and others were seeking for me the highest 
     congressional honor, the Congressional Gold Medal. I could 
     not help but be overwhelmed, but I had to say that as much as 
     I would appreciate such a high honor from my peers, I would 
     place even greater priority on a full House seat for the 
     American citizens who live in my home town. This right for 
     citizens of the city where I was born and raised was not 
     achieved when I was a member of Congress. Witnessing the 
     District of Columbia obtain the right to be represented in 
     the House with votes cast by many Republicans would mean more 
     to me than any honor I could achieve as an individual.
       I will always be grateful to the Republican party that 
     pressed and strongly supported my candidacies, as the 
     nation's first Black attorney general and then as the first 
     African American elected by popular vote to the United States 
     Senate. Republicans were first in their willingness to break 
     ancient barriers, in the 1960's, when Black Americans running 
     for statewide office seemed the stuff of fantasy. I was able 
     to run and win because the Republican Party never wavered 
     because of my race in a state where only two percent of the 
     residents were Black. I hope you will not hesitate now in 
     granting my hometown a vote in the House of Representatives 
     for the first time in the two centuries of the city's 
     existence as our nation's capital.
       The Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King 
     Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 
     and the DC House Voting Rights Act of 2007 are equivalent in 
     their purposes and their deep meaning. Both bills are the 
     same in extending long-denied congressional voting rights, 
     and in the District's case, to a majority Black city as well. 
     I grew up in the District when it was as segregated as other 
     Southern cities, including the city's public schools, and was 
     educated at Howard University. We had no local or federal 
     rights, even to govern ourselves or to vote for President, 
     and no one to represent our concerns in the Congress. I did 
     not live elsewhere until I joined the Army and was proud to 
     serve as a combat infantry officer during WWII. The 
     experience of living in a segregated city and of serving in 
     our segregated Armed forces perhaps helps explain why my 
     party's work on the Voting Rights Act reauthorization last 
     year and on the pending D.C. House Voting Rights Act has been 
     so important to me personally. The irony, of course, is that 
     I had to leave my hometown to get representation in Congress 
     and to become a Member. Nothing would mean more to me, 
     particularly at this stage in my life, than witnessing 
     Republicans and Democrats voting together to afford voting 
     rights to the citizens of the District of Columbia.
       H.R. 1433 has been passed twice by overwhelming majorities 
     by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and once by 
     a two-to-one vote by the Judiciary Committee. I ask that you 
     join those Republicans and Democrats in voting for H.R. 1433 
     on the House floor.
       I am deeply grateful to you for your work and attention to 
     voting rights for all Americans.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                 Edward W. Brooke,
                                            U.S. Senator, Retired.
  Senator Edward Kennedy, the Massachusetts delegation, Congressional 
Black Caucus Chair Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, and I are proud to introduce 
the Edward William Brooke III Congressional Gold Medal Act. Senator 
Edward Brooke has been much honored as an outstanding two-term senator 
(1967-1979) who is still remembered for his courage and independence on 
the difficult issues of his time--from the Vietnam War to his leading 
work in the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. President Bush 
awarded Senator Brooke the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. At 
87, his autobiography, Bridging the Divide: My Life tells the Senator's 
remarkable story. That story began here in the District of Columbia, 
where Senator Brooke was born and raised, and graduated from Dunbar 
High School and Howard University. Senator Brooke rose to the rank of 
captain in the segregated 366th Infantry Regiment in the U.S. Army, and 
won a Bronze Star Medal and the Distinguished Service Award. His 
autobiography reads like a personal and political adventure of a man 
born in the segregated capital, a city with no local elected officials 
or Members of Congress, who went on to become the first African 
American official elected statewide, when he won election as Attorney 
General, the second highest office in the state, and the only 
Republican to win statewide election that year. In 1966, Senator Brooke 
became the first African American elected by popular vote to the Senate 
of the United States. ``Trailblazer'' does not aptly describe the 
courage it took for an African American to run, much less win state-
wide office as a Republican in a predominately Democratic state, where 
2 percent of the population was African American.
  I take special pride and pleasure in introducing this bill in the 
House, along with the Massachusetts delegation and the chair of the 
Congressional Black Caucus. My Massachusetts colleagues justifiably 
claim Senator Brooke as a son of Massachusetts. We in the District 
concede that Massachusetts voters also deserve credit in refusing to 
allow racial barriers, that still remain formidable in most States, 
overwhelm Senator Brooke's qualifications for high office. However, I 
hope that Massachusetts citizens will forgive the residents of the 
Senator's hometown if we insist that Edward William Brooke III be 
counted the adopted son of Massachusetts. Senator Brooke's family, the 
District of Columbia Public Schools, Howard University, and the proud 
African American community both sheltered and prepared him for his 
remarkable life and service to the people of Massachusetts and the 
Nation.
  We are especially grateful for the Senator's devotion to H.R. 328, 
the District of Columbia Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act of 
2007. Senator Brooke has worked devotedly for passage of the pending 
legislation. While in the Senate, he never forgot that his hometown had 
no Senator and needed him, too. Speaking on the Senate floor for 
passage of the Voting Rights Amendment in 1978, Senator Brooke made it 
clear, as he does today, that this matter also was personal for him. He 
said, in part, ``[M]y enthusiastic endorsement of House Joint 
Resolution 554 is based primarily on fundamental concepts of liberty 
and justice, but my support and interest are also intensely personal, 
for my roots are in Washington, DC. I was born and raised here. I 
attended and graduated from Shaw Junior High School, Dunbar High 
School, and Howard University. For as long as I can remember, I have 
fought, along with family and friends and colleagues, to attain the 
goal of providing for the citizens of the District of Columbia the same 
rights and privileges that other citizens throughout the Nation have 
enjoyed.'' Because the Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honor 
that Congress can bestow, it is necessary that at least 290 
Representatives and 67 Senators sign on as cosponsors. I urge every 
Member of the House and Senate to become cosponsors before the end of 
Black History Month on February 28th.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, rarely, and rightly it is rare, do we honor 
one of our own with the highest civilian honor we can bestow, the 
Congressional Gold Medal. But rules are made to be broken, and just as 
Ed Brooke broke an unwritten rule and became the first African American 
popularly elected to the Senate since Reconstruction, we should break 
another and honor his courage and achievements.
  Just as it may be hard for college students of today to imagine 
segregated bathrooms and drinking fountains, it is hard for all of us 
to imagine a Congress without African Americans and others of color. So 
it is especially important to think back to the historic day when this 
humble man took the oath of office in the Senate 41 years ago on 
January 3, 1967. The America of that time, as my colleague has noted, 
was not far past the struggles that led to the passage of the Civil 
Rights Act, which this Chamber voted a couple of months ago to honor 
with a commemorative coin.
  Mr. Speaker, many of us know the general outline of Ed Brooke's life: 
a soldier in the Second World War, a lawyer whose 1966 book ``The 
Challenge of Change'' focused on African Americans in the United States 
and on politics. I doubt that many Members know though that he was 
actually a native of the District of Columbia, as the gentlewoman 
noted.
  Born here October 26, 1919, he was a graduate of both Harvard and 
Boston University and followed in his father's footsteps as a lawyer 
before being elected Massachusetts Attorney General and then on to the 
United States Senate, where he served two terms.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill was sponsored by our colleague in the Senate, 
Senator

[[Page 12025]]

Ted Kennedy, also of Massachusetts, with 67 cosponsors, and he assured 
its passage before his unfortunate illness. We hope for him and his 
family the very best. Our prayers are with them. Here in the House a 
companion bill, H.R. 1000, was sponsored by our colleague Ms. Eleanor 
Holmes Norton, and she has collected 290 cosponsors.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill honors a man, Senator Ed Brooke, but it also 
honors an idea and an achievement, that we are all equal, and that 
election to the United States Senate is open to any American who can 
prove to the voters that his or her ideas and character are appropriate 
and best represent their State, regardless of race, creed or religion. 
We should take this opportunity to celebrate that notion.
  I urge immediate passage.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. How much time remains, Mr. Speaker?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 8 minutes left.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I yield myself 4 minutes.
  I consider it a great honor to be able to stand on the floor of this 
House and as the Chair of the committee bring out the bill that would 
honor Ed Brooke. As a citizen of Massachusetts in 1972 and again in 
1978, and as a fairly partisan Democrat, I was proud publicly to 
endorse him for reelection both times to the Senate.
  The gentlewoman from the District of Columbia made the point he was 
the first African American elected attorney general and then to the 
Senate only shortly after this country officially said segregation was 
morally and legally wrong. 1954 was the Brown v. Board of Education 
decision, not made final until 1955 in its decree. Seven years later Ed 
Brooke is elected attorney general. And as we look back now, it is 
probably difficult for some people to understand what an important 
accomplishment that was. But he is not a man who should be honored 
simply for having broken those barriers, because having gotten the 
opportunity, he used it.
  The committee I chair has jurisdiction over housing. As I work in the 
housing area, I find myself frequently trying to preserve some of the 
pioneering efforts on behalf of affordable housing that Ed Brooke 
created. I was very proud about a month or so ago when he called to say 
that he liked what we were doing.
  I was just reminded, Mr. Speaker, when I was up in our State of 
Massachusetts over the weekend, that it was in 1978, in his last year 
in the Senate, that Ed Brooke began the policy of saying that when 
housing had been built with Federal help with a certain restriction 
that set it aside for lower income people and those restrictions 
expire, it shouldn't be simply sold to the highest bidder, but that 
public policy ought to make some efforts to preserve it for people who 
were in need of housing. We are still fighting that fight today.
  We have something known as the Brooke amendment, one of the greatest 
acts of compassion ever to pass this body. It said originally that the 
poorest of the poor who get housing through various public programs 
shouldn't be expected to pay more than 25 percent of their income for 
housing, precisely because they have so little. That was changed, 
regrettably, in the eighties. I voted against it, but it was changed to 
30 percent. But it is still there. It is still the Brooke amendment. It 
is still a major barrier to a degradation in the quality of life of 
lower income people, because there are those who would make them pay 40 
and 50 and 60 percent of their income, depriving them and their 
children of the necessities of life. So it is with great pride that we 
fight and have fought to continue the Brooke amendment.
  Senator Brooke was a leader in a number of areas. Yes, he broke the 
barrier of racism and became the first African American to win 
statewide office in Massachusetts and then to come to the Senate at a 
time when racism was even more virulent than it is today. We have made 
strides in diminishing it.
  But, as I said, he didn't just do that. He was a leader in a number 
of areas, and particularly in the housing area. I don't believe anybody 
who has ever served in the Congress of the United States has a record 
that exceeds his.
  So I am delighted to join under the leadership of our colleague 
Senator Kennedy and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. 
Norton) in voting for this medal, the second medal, the third medal 
that Brooke will have gotten, because he got the Presidential Medal of 
Freedom and he earned the Bronze Medal in World War II, fighting in a 
segregated outfit, putting patriotism ahead of the indignities to which 
he submitted in the fight against that terrible tyranny.
  This is a medal well earned by a man who exemplified the commitment 
to the public welfare that we could well remember today.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that because of the energy of a number of 
people, we are going to be awarding this gold medal to a man who so 
richly deserves it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I will 
continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I yield my remaining time to the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran).
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. I thank my good friend, the chairman of our 
Financial Services Committee, for the words that he said about Ed 
Brooke. He would be one to know, another great leader in the area of 
opening up housing for all. And I thank my good friend from the 
District of Columbia.
  Ed Brooke, as Ms. Norton has made clear, grew up in D.C., graduated 
from Dunbar, Harvard University, and then, of course, went on to be the 
editor of the Law Review at Boston University and got a Bronze Medal 
for his service in the military.
  But I got to know Ed Brooke from a different perspective. In fact, 
Terry Lierman, who is now the chief of staff to our majority leader, 
and I were on the Appropriations staff when Ed Brooke was the ranking 
Republican. And what he did is incalculable in terms of school busing, 
in terms of women's reproductive rights, in the area of opening up 
federally-subsidized housing particularly, but housing throughout the 
Nation to all.
  Ed Brooke was a temple of justice. His intellect was unparalleled. 
But what he exuded was a certain class, a dignity that just transcended 
partisanship. He was able to work with some of the, frankly, most 
narrow-minded Members of the Senate to get them to take votes that were 
the right thing to do. And he took very little credit for it. That is 
why this is so appropriate, to give him credit now, because he made a 
profound difference in the course our country took 30 years ago.
  He would sit there in his calm, measured tone. He would explain why 
it is right to open up all of society and all of our economy to 
everyone who was willing to work hard and obey the law.
  Ed Brooke was a model that all of us should look to for leadership. 
He was an extraordinary person. This is an extraordinary action we are 
taking today, but it is for someone who fully deserves it.
  Again, I thank my colleagues here, and I thank the Congress for 
making this happen today.
  I will yield the remainder of my time to Mr. Frank.
  Mrs. CAPITO. I continue to reserve.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I am about to yield back.
  Ed Brooke, in addition to being a superb United States Senator who 
fought very hard and very effectively for economic fairness and 
obviously against racial prejudice, but he also was the chief law 
enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for 4 years.
  Just to give people a flavor of that, I will mention one 
accomplishment. It was under his attorney generalship that the Boston 
Strangler was prosecuted and imprisoned. So people who may not 
otherwise be able to relate should know. And if you saw him in the 
movie, I think he was played by Raymond St. Jacques, but if you go see 
again the movie of the Boston Strangler, you will see a part of that 
book. We are here to talk about a number of other parts, including a 
superb legislative record on behalf of social fairness.

[[Page 12026]]

  I am prepared to yield back if the gentlewoman is.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Yes.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. TSONGAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for S. 
682, the ``Edward William Brooke III Congressional Gold Medal Act.'' It 
is my privilege to honor this most distinguished gentleman who broke 
barriers and tirelessly served his community and country with great 
conviction.
  Edward Brooke was the first African American elected to the United 
States Senate by popular vote. I am proud that he accomplished this 
feat in my home state of Massachusetts, which he represented from 
January 1967 until January 1979. He has been Captain Brooke, Professor 
Brooke, and Attorney General Brooke. He has fought for civil rights in 
our country and against apartheid in South Africa. For his many 
accomplishments, he has received numerous medals and awards, most 
notably the Bronze Star and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  Senator Brooke paved the way--his election to the United States 
Senate was a milestone in the march toward racial equality--and his 
impact continues today, as we watch the first African American nominee 
run for President, carrying Senator Brooke's legacy forward.
  In a political world growing increasingly divisive and polarized, 
Senator Brooke has always had the distinct ability to separate the 
political from the personal. My husband, Paul, ran for the Senate 
against Senator Brooke in 1978. Although the race was tightly 
contested, Senator Brooke was always respectful, always warm, and Paul, 
in turn, greatly admired him.
  It is appropriate that we express our gratitude with this 
legislation. Senator Brooke, in his life and through his service, broke 
barriers and created new opportunities for so many, and in so doing, 
moved our country further down the path towards the America that we all 
hope will someday be a reality.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  First I ask that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to 
submit their comments and material on this matter.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 682.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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