[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2105-2113]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




AWARDING CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO THE FOOT SOLDIERS WHO PARTICIPATED 
IN BLOODY SUNDAY, TURNAROUND TUESDAY, OR THE FINAL SELMA TO MONTGOMERY 
                  VOTING RIGHTS MARCH IN MARCH OF 1965

  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 431) to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 
Foot Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or 
the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March in March of 1965, 
which served as a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 431

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

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

        The Congress finds the following:
       (1) March 7, 2015, will mark 50 years since the brave Foot 
     Soldiers of the Voting Rights

[[Page 2106]]

     Movement first attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery on 
     ``Bloody Sunday'' in protest against the denial of their 
     right to vote, and were brutally assaulted by Alabama state 
     troopers.
       (2) Beginning in 1964, members of the Student Nonviolent 
     Coordinating Committee attempted to register African-
     Americans to vote throughout the state of Alabama.
       (3) These efforts were designed to ensure that every 
     American citizen would be able to exercise their 
     constitutional right to vote and have their voices heard.
       (4) By December of 1964, many of these efforts remained 
     unsuccessful. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., working with 
     leaders from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee 
     and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, began to 
     organize protests throughout Alabama.
       (5) On March 7, 1965, over 500 voting rights marchers known 
     as ``Foot Soldiers'' gathered on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 
     Selma, Alabama in peaceful protest of the denial of their 
     most sacred and constitutionally protected right--the right 
     to vote.
       (6) Led by John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent 
     Coordinating Committee and Rev. Hosea Williams of the 
     Southern Christian Leadership Conference, these Foot Soldiers 
     began the march towards the Alabama State Capitol in 
     Montgomery, Alabama.
       (7) As the Foot Soldiers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, 
     they were confronted by a wall of Alabama state troopers who 
     brutally attacked and beat them.
       (8) Americans across the country witnessed this tragic turn 
     of events as news stations broadcasted the brutality on a day 
     that would be later known as ``Bloody Sunday.''
       (9) Two days later on Tuesday, March 9, 1965, nearly 2,500 
     Foot Soldiers led by Dr. Martin Luther King risked their 
     lives once more and attempted a second peaceful march 
     starting at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. This second attempted 
     march was later known as ``Turnaround Tuesday.''
       (10) Fearing for the safety of these Foot Soldiers who 
     received no protection from federal or state authorities 
     during this second march, Dr. King led the marchers to the 
     base of the Edmund Pettus Bridge and stopped. Dr. King 
     kneeled and offered a prayer of solidarity and walked back to 
     the church.
       (11) President Lyndon B. Johnson, inspired by the bravery 
     and determination of these Foot Soldiers and the atrocities 
     they endured, announced his plan for a voting rights bill 
     aimed at securing the precious right to vote for all citizens 
     during an address to Congress on March 15, 1965.
       (12) On March 17, 1965, one week after ``Turnaround 
     Tuesday'', U.S. District Judge Frank M. Johnson ruled the 
     Foot Soldiers had a First Amendment right to petition the 
     government through peaceful protest, and ordered federal 
     agents to provide full protection to the Foot Soldiers during 
     the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March.
       (13) Judge Johnson's decision overturned Alabama Governor 
     George Wallace's prohibition on the protest due to public 
     safety concerns.
       (14) On March 21, 1965, under the court order, the U.S. 
     Army, the federalized Alabama National Guard, and countless 
     federal agents and marshals escorted nearly 8,000 Foot 
     Soldiers from the start of their heroic journey in Selma, 
     Alabama to their safe arrival on the steps of the Alabama 
     State Capitol Building on March 25, 1965.
       (15) The extraordinary bravery and sacrifice these Foot 
     Soldiers displayed in pursuit of a peaceful march from Selma 
     to Montgomery brought national attention to the struggle for 
     equal voting rights, and served as the catalyst for Congress 
     to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which President 
     Johnson signed into law on August 6, 1965.
       (16) To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Voting 
     Rights Movement and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 
     1965, it is befitting that Congress bestow the highest 
     civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, in 2015, to the 
     Foot Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround 
     Tuesday or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March 
     during March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the 
     Voting Rights Act of 1965.

     SEC. 2. 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 Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to 
     the Foot Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, 
     Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting 
     Rights March during March of 1965, which served as a catalyst 
     for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 
     referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a 
     gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions 
     to be determined by the Secretary.
       (c) Award of Medal.--Following the award of the gold medal 
     described in subsection (a), the medal shall be given to the 
     Selma Interpretative Center in Selma, Alabama, where it shall 
     be available for display or temporary loan to be displayed 
     elsewhere, as appropriate.

     SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
     the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 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. 4. 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 sections 5134 and 
     5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under 
     this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) and the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and to insert extraneous materials into the Record 
concerning H.R. 431, currently under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this very important bill, 
H.R. 431, a bipartisan bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 
foot soldiers, the courageous men and women who participated in 
historic days such as Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, and the final 
March from Selma to Montgomery to ensure voting rights for African 
Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, sometimes, it is hard for people in today's society to 
realize the historical significance of the events that took place in 
the past. For younger people, it may seem like a lifetime ago, but for 
those who lived through those experiences, it may seem like it just 
happened yesterday.
  One series of events that we cannot and must not allow to fade away 
are the historic marches that began in Selma in the spring of 1956. On 
March 7, 1965, led by two fearless men, the Reverend Hosea Williams and 
a man many in this Chamber know well, Representative John Lewis, 500 of 
those brave foot soldiers determined to have their voices heard and 
their right to vote be recognized as they bravely lined up at the 
Edmund Pettus Bridge.
  These initial marchers were then brutally assaulted and beaten by 
Alabama State troopers as they attempted to cross the bridge, seeking 
to assert their constitutional right to vote. That atrocity became 
known as Bloody Sunday.
  Two days later, nearly 2,500 foot soldiers, led by Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr., peacefully assembled and again attempted to cross the Edmund 
Pettus Bridge. The group marched to where the attacks occurred a few 
days before on Bloody Sunday, and at Dr. King's request, they stopped 
and knelt in prayer. Following the prayer, the marchers turned around 
and returned to Selma.
  Finally then, on March 21, under the protection of the U.S. Army, 
Federal marshals, and the federalized Alabama National Guard at that 
point, that group had swollen to 8,000 foot soldiers who were escorted 
safely for 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery.
  By the time the march reached the steps of the State capitol, that 
group had grown to approximately 25,000 people strong there on those 
steps in Montgomery.
  Mr. Speaker, instead of bringing the campaign to search for voting 
rights to a halt, 50 years ago, the photographs and blurry television 
images of that violent attack on Bloody Sunday on that bridge 
galvanized the national attention. In fact, the first march was a 
catalyst for action.
  Just 5 short months after the first march, Congress had passed and 
President Johnson had signed into law the Voting Rights Act.

[[Page 2107]]

  Mr. Speaker, we, as a Nation, must do more to ensure voting rights 
are protected for all Americans, and in doing so, we must remember the 
sacrifices of those individuals who came before us and worked so 
tirelessly to make a difference and to create voting rights equality.
  It is truly a privilege for me personally to stand before you today 
as Congress recognizes these brave men and women and the historical 
significance of those marches that began in Selma and forever changed 
the direction of our great Nation.
  I thank the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell) for highlighting 
these historic events, and I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 
431.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 
431 and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan for joining 
me on the floor today to support H.R. 431. I have enjoyed our 
bipartisan working relationship on the House Financial Services 
Committee, and I am pleased today to share this debate time with him.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 431, a bill to award a 
Congressional Gold Medal to the foot soldiers who participated in 
Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery 
voting rights march in 1965.
  March 7, 2015, will mark 50 years since the courageous foot soldiers 
of the voting rights movement first attempted to march from Selma to 
Montgomery to protest the denial of their voting rights.
  Led by our colleague John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent 
Coordinating Committee and Reverend Hosea Williams of the Southern 
Christian Leadership Conference, these foot soldiers began the march 
towards the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. They pledged to keep 
on walking until they secured the freedoms promised to them by the U.S. 
Constitution.
  As they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a wall of Alabama State 
troopers were waiting at the foot of the bridge. News stations from 
across the country televised the brutality that followed as foot 
soldiers like Hosea Williams; John Lewis; Amelia Boynton Robinson; 
Reverend F.D. Reese; Bob Nance of Lowndes County; Albert Turner, Sr., 
of Perry County; and so many others were attacked on Edmund Pettus 
Bridge on what has become known as Bloody Sunday.
  The journey of the foot soldiers we honor today was not an easy one. 
They were discriminated by Whites and ostracized by Blacks who were 
afraid to join them, but still, they persevered because they could no 
longer bear the burdens of second-class citizenship.
  The president of the Dallas County Voters League, Reverend F.D. 
Reese, wasn't going to let nobody turn him around, he told me. He said 
that given the conditions that existed in Selma and the South at that 
time, he wanted to make sure that things were different.
  He was willing to do whatever was necessary to ensure that people--no 
matter their race, color, or creed--would have the right to vote.
  He said:

       The Lord gave us determination to keep moving forward. We 
     were determined to let the Lord lead us and direct us so that 
     all people, regardless of their color, would have access to 
     the political process.

  He went on:

       We were not at all afraid because we were determined that 
     whatever it took, even if it meant our lives, we were going 
     to move Alabama and the States and this Nation forward.

  Amelia Boynton Robinson literally felt the blows of injustice as she 
was beaten on the bridge by Alabama State troopers and left for dead. 
Amelia's will and dignity suffered no damage, but it made her more 
resolved than ever to continue the fight for equal voting rights.
  Two days after Bloody Sunday, over 2,500 foot soldiers, heeding the 
call from Dr. Martin Luther King, came to Selma to join the marchers. 
On March 9, 1965, led by Dr. King and Reverend Ralph Abernathy and many 
clergy from across this Nation, the foot soldiers once again left from 
the historic Brown Chapel AME Church and walked to the Edmund Pettus 
Bridge.
  Dr. King stopped at the top of the bridge while a sea of State 
troopers stepped aside. On bended knees, Dr. King began to pray as the 
thousands of marchers joined him. As if moved by the spirit, Dr. King 
turned around and walked back to the church. Tuesday was not to be the 
day to complete the 54-mile journey. The second march attempt was known 
as Turnaround Tuesday.
  The fight for voting rights was fought both in the streets and in the 
courtrooms. Attorney Fred Gray helped pave the way for the final Selma 
to Montgomery march. He was a member of the legal team that represented 
Hosea Williams, John Lewis, and Amelia Boynton Robinson in Williams v. 
Wallace.
  Because of his work and the courage of an Alabama Federal judge, 
Federal Judge Frank Johnson ruled that the foot soldiers had a First 
Amendment right to petition the government through peaceful protest and 
ordered Federal agents to provide full protection to the foot soldiers 
during the Selma to Montgomery March.
  Under court order, the U.S. Army, the federalized Alabama National 
Guard, and countless Federal agencies and marshals escorted more than 
8,000 foot soldiers on March 21, 1965, as these brave men and women 
began their historic 54-mile journey from Selma to the steps of the 
Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.
  The extraordinary bravery and sacrifices these foot soldiers 
displayed in pursuit of a peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery 
brought national attention to the struggle for equal voting rights and 
served as a catalyst for Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 
which President Lyndon Johnson signed into law on August 6, 1965.
  Mr. Speaker, as Alabama's first Black Congresswoman, I know that the 
journey that I now take was only made possible because of the courage 
and bravery of the foot soldiers of the voting rights movement.
  As a proud native of Selma and the U.S. Representative who now 
represents Selma and parts of Montgomery, I am the direct beneficiary 
of their sacrifice.
  During this 50th commemoration of the voting rights movement and the 
50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it is 
befitting that this august body would bestow upon the foot soldiers of 
the voting rights movement our highest civilian honor, a Congressional 
Gold Medal, for their valor and determination in relentlessly pursuing 
the promise of our great Constitution, that all men and women were 
indeed created equal.
  I am proud to be joined by my colleague Martha Roby and the entire 
Alabama congressional delegation--Representatives Aderholt, Rogers, 
Brooks, Byrne, and Palmer--as original cosponsors of this Congressional 
Gold Medal bill.
  I want to thank the more than 300 colleagues who also signed on to 
the bill and a special thanks to the leadership of both parties--
Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader McCarthy, Minority Leader Pelosi, and 
Whip Hoyer--for their support in getting this legislation on the floor 
today.

                              {time}  1245

  This would not have been possible without the help and support of 
Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters of the House Committee on 
Financial Services.
  To the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), thank you. It is an 
honor to stand with you today to pay tribute to the foot soldiers of 
the voting rights movement.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 431, a bill that honors 
the foot soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround 
Tuesday, and the final march from Selma to Montgomery with a 
Congressional Gold Medal, which is Congress' highest civilian honor. I 
hope this medal serves as a powerful reminder of the many sacrifices 
that were made.

[[Page 2108]]

  They say that the price of freedom is never free. Well, the foot 
soldiers of the voting rights movement paid the ultimate price so that 
this Nation could live up to the ideals of equality and justice for 
all. This Nation should never forget those who marched, prayed, and 
died in the pursuit of civil rights, voting rights, and social change.
  I urge my colleagues to join us in voting in favor of H.R. 431.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby), who is the lead 
cosponsor of this legislation.
  Mrs. ROBY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  I, too, want to echo the sentiments of my colleague from Alabama (Ms. 
Sewell) in thanking leadership and all the Members on both sides of the 
aisle for their willingness to jump right on this so that we could 
achieve passage both here in the House and in the Senate in time for 
this most important anniversary, the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
  I am so proud just standing here listening to my colleague. I am so 
proud to have the privilege and the opportunity to cosponsor this bill 
to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the brave men and women who not 
only changed Alabama and America, but they changed the world.
  So as we look toward the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, it is 
certainly fitting to honor the brave individuals who, against brutality 
and oppression, took a stand for their God-given rights. So thank you 
to my colleague, Terry Sewell, for all your hard work on this very 
important, worthy legislation.
  I have also been honored, Mr. Speaker, to serve alongside my 
colleague from Alabama (Ms. Sewell) in recruiting Members of this body 
and the Senate to join us in the pilgrimage led by John Lewis to 
Alabama for the anniversary on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of next month. I 
am proud to say we have a record number of colleagues that are willing 
to participate because of the obvious significance of this important 
day.
  I look forward to, alongside all of my colleagues in the Alabama 
delegation--who again I thank as well as Ms. Sewell for their 
willingness to host our colleagues from all over the country in 
Birmingham, in Montgomery, and Selma, and other very important places 
to the civil rights movement--hearing from those who lived it.
  One of the things that we did alongside this Congressional Gold 
Medal, Mr. Speaker, was to invite our colleagues to come to a screening 
of the movie ``Selma.'' I have to say, as a girl growing up in 
Montgomery, Alabama, that did not live through this very important time 
in our history, it was honestly one of the more moving moments in my 
time in Congress, to sit in the room with our colleague, Mr. Lewis, and 
experience through that visual on the screen what he lived in his life. 
It was a unique and special moment and one that I will personally 
treasure for a very long time.
  So, Mr. Speaker, it is Mr. Lewis and all those that joined him in 
standing up for justice that we seek to honor with this Congressional 
Gold Medal. There is no higher honor that we as Members of Congress can 
bestow, yet it seems such a small token of gratitude compared to the 
magnitude of the endeavors of those who lived through those days.
  My daughter, Margaret, Mr. Speaker, whom you often hear me talk 
about--I have Margaret and George, but Margaret is in fourth grade, and 
like in a lot of States, in fourth grade in Alabama you learn about 
Alabama history. This is such an important time in her life as she 
learns about our State and its history, and the civil rights movement 
is certainly an integral part, a very important part of our history. So 
she is coming with me on the pilgrimage next month. She will be able to 
meet and know firsthand the people that fought to change the world.
  It is difficult for those of us who weren't alive during the civil 
rights movement sometimes to wrap our minds around it, but I, alongside 
my daughter, am very much looking forward to this special time as 
Members of Congress that we have to reflect on the importance of this 
history.
  I am, again, honored, Mr. Speaker, to be a part of this bill, and I 
just thank, again, all of my colleagues who very quickly joined with us 
so that we could get this done to honor those brave foot soldiers that 
changed not just our country, but the world. I, too, ask that all my 
colleagues join me in voting in favor of H.R. 431.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).
  Mr. COHEN. I want to thank Ms. Sewell for having the foresight to 
bring this proposal. This is most fitting that we honor the foot 
soldiers. They were Americans, all races, who came together and saw 
injustice and wanted to right it. They risked their lives. Some died in 
the efforts. Miss Liuzzo was killed right after the march to 
Montgomery. Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman were killed over in 
Mississippi in conjunction with this with the Freedom Riders.
  Thousands of people came to the South to see that people got the 
right to vote. It is hard to believe that people were denied the right 
to vote in this country, but they were.
  I was touched by the remarks of my colleague from Alabama. It was 
historic. But you don't just have to see the movie and experience it to 
honor these people and give them a Gold Medal; you need to live it.
  People are being denied voting rights today in this country. The 
Supreme Court emasculated the Voting Rights Act just recently. It needs 
to be reinstated. There are civil rights that can be performed and 
enacted in America today. The movement isn't over. The movement 
continues. A medal is good, but the spirit must continue on this floor 
to see that all people have their right to vote, their right to 
participate, and their rights not to have State judges with their lips 
dripping with interposition tell probate clerks not to enforce a 
Federal law.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Ross), a member of the Committee on 
Financial Services, which has been dealing with this issue.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of this 
bipartisan legislation that will award a Congressional Gold Medal to 
the civil rights leaders who so bravely marched for voting rights and 
equality from Selma, Alabama, to the State capital of Montgomery in 
March of 1965.
  As an adopted son of the great State of Alabama, having been educated 
at both Auburn University and Samford University's Cumberland School of 
Law, it is an absolute honor to recognize these peace-loving, God-
fearing patriots. These marchers, led by civil rights leaders such as 
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and my colleague from Georgia, 
Representative John Lewis, changed the course of our Nation's history. 
Ultimately, their fearless efforts led to the enactment of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965.
  The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award presented 
by Congress, and I can think of no better time than the 50th 
anniversary of this moment in our Nation's history to honor and 
recognize the civil rights leaders who sacrificed so greatly to bring 
equality to the voiceless across the United States. May their 
sacrifice, diligence, and dedication to this cause stand as an example 
to all of us as we continue to serve in this Chamber and in every 
aspect of our lives.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentlelady from North Carolina (Ms. Adams).
  Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 431, a bill 
to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the foot soldiers who 
participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, and the final march 
from Selma to Montgomery, which was a catalyst for the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965.
  I am proud to cosponsor this bill and to stand with Congresswoman 
Sewell and her delegation and one of the greatest leaders in the civil 
rights movement, Congressman John Lewis.

[[Page 2109]]

  It is important that we recognize the civil rights titans whose 
sacrifice is an essential part of American history. As we honor 
yesterday's foot soldiers with a Congressional Gold Medal, let us 
remember that we are still in the fight.
  In my home State of North Carolina, we are battling a new rollback on 
voters' rights. It was one of the most regressive laws we have passed. 
To fully honor the foot soldiers' sacrifice, we must keep fighting and 
restore the important protections that have been stripped from the 
Voting Rights Act.
  Mr. Speaker, thank you for joining me in honoring these American 
heroes.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the distinguished House 
majority leader.
  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I do want to thank the authors of this bill, Congresswoman Roby and 
Congresswoman Sewell, for their work on this. I appreciate it.
  We are blessed in this Nation to enjoy the privileges of democracy 
and to exercise our freedoms without fear, but sadly, for millions of 
African Americans in our history, that has not been the case.
  James Cooper, author of American works like ``The Last of the 
Mohicans'' and ``The American Democrat,'' once said: ``The man who can 
right himself by a vote will seldom resort to a musket.''
  The opposite is also true. People denied their rights might well 
resort to violence. It is not difficult to see why. With no established 
form of recourse, what choice do those denied their freedoms have?
  But the people we honor today chose a different path. These 
nonviolent civil rights activists did not take the road of hate. In 
their generation's quest for freedom, they didn't corrupt themselves 
with the sins of those who worked against them. They fought for the 
rights due to every person--not with weapons, but with the force of 
rhetoric and virtue of peace.
  I remember just a few years ago, I was walking with my friend 
Congressman John Lewis through Selma, Alabama. We walked on the same 
path of the Selma to Montgomery march that John led 50 years ago. We 
crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in peace that day, but when John led 
the march across the same bridge in 1965, he was beaten by a mob of 
State troopers and deputized citizens.
  John cannot remember who carried him, but wounded and bloodied, as 
John told it to me, he was taken away to a church with a head injury. 
He did not know if he would even live.
  Those marchers at Selma demonstrated physical courage, but they also 
demonstrated the highest moral courage. Under the onslaught of 
brutality and uncertainty, they did not match violence with violence. 
No. They demanded peace in the face of war, solidarity in the face of 
division, and love in the face of hate.
  For all of America's shortcomings, these brave men and women demanded 
that the promise of America not be discarded but, instead, realized by 
being purified in practice. They held America to its promise. By doing 
so, they put their lives at risk, suffered ridicule and bodily harm, 
and yet in history they were vindicated.

                              {time}  1300

  We are gathered today in honor of those civil rights activists who 
suffered violence while standing in peace. We honor them for holding 
our Nation to the highest ideals, ensuring the true existence of 
liberty and justice for all and making this country keep to its promise 
that all men and women are created equal.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlelady from California, Nancy Pelosi, the honorable minority 
leader.
  Ms. PELOSI. I thank the gentlewoman from Alabama, Congresswoman Terri 
Sewell, for her leadership and for introducing and driving forth this 
legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the foot soldiers 
of Selma who fought for African Americans' right to vote. I thank her 
for the opportunity to speak.
  Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting and moving and inspiring to 
listen to the debate on this legislation, to hear the majority leader, 
to hear other Members of the Congress talk about how important what 
happened at Selma was to our country and what promise it made for the 
future of our country.
  I would hope that the logical conclusion of that--when we see people 
who are beaten and, in some instances at that time, killed, fighting 
for the right to vote--is that we would truly honor them not only with 
a Gold Medal, as wonderful as that is, but by passing the Voting Rights 
Act on the floor of the House.
  Today, listening to our colleagues, I am reminded of a day almost a 
year ago, around March of last year, when we dedicated the statue of 
Rosa Parks in the Capitol of the United States. How exciting--an 
African American woman to join the ranks of all those men out there. 
Many more striving to bring diversity, recognizing the great leadership 
of Rosa Parks.
  While we were there that very day, dedicating the statue of Rosa 
Parks, across the street at the Supreme Court they were hearing the 
arguments on the Voting Rights case. And it seems to me that it would 
have been so logical for us to be supporting the spirit of the Voting 
Rights Act.
  Of course the Court acted, and the Congressional Black Caucus took 
the lead. Many of us stood on the steps while the oral arguments were 
going on and later came here to dedicate the statue.
  But there seemed to be a total disconnect between those who were 
speaking in a bipartisan way about Rosa Parks and how important it was 
to our country and the fact that the Court was going to overturn a 
piece of the Voting Rights Act, and that we, 1 year later, have done 
nothing to correct that.
  So while it is beautiful and lovely to hear all of the good words, 
and it is fabulous for us to be awarding this Gold Medal, frankly, I 
think that the foot soldiers of Selma bring added luster to the Gold 
Medal, as we honor them with it.
  As we all know, this marks the 50th anniversary of two exceptional 
events in American history: the march on Selma and the passage of the 
Voting Rights Act. Fifty years ago, as we all know, thousands of 
people--students and scholars, homemakers and laborers, members of the 
clergy--the Greek Orthodox Church was very prominently there, and many 
other heroes--marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, 
Alabama.
  Today, the undaunted courage and dignity of the men and women who 
marched continue to inspire our Nation--in fact, on the floor of the 
House today. Hopefully that inspiration will rise to a place in this 
House where we pass the Voting Rights Act.
  The gentleman from Georgia, John Lewis, who was there, has been 
acclaimed by all of us as a national treasure and a national hero. What 
an honor it is to serve with him in Congress and to call him 
``colleague.''
  The journey from Selma to Montgomery is more than 50 miles, but 
fatigue did not stop the marchers. State troopers used tear gas and 
nightsticks. Hatred, violence, and injuries did not stop them. Those 
brave foot soldiers, propelled by their faith in our country to live up 
to its promise, continued to march because they knew the power of the 
ballot.
  How proud all of us are, again, to serve in the House alongside 
Congressman John Lewis, the conscience of the Congress, who was one of 
the young leaders of the march toward equality and opportunity, toward 
justice, toward the ballot box.
  The bravery of the Selma marchers summoned this Nation to action. A 
week after Bloody Sunday, President Lyndon Baines Johnson came to this 
Chamber--right there--to call on Congress to pass the Voting Rights 
Act. And he said at the time:

       At times, history and fate meet at a single time in a 
     single place to shape a turning point in man's unending 
     search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it 
     was at Appomattox. So it was in Selma, Alabama.


[[Page 2110]]


  The courage of 8,000 marchers transformed the bridge into a national 
symbol of how justice can conquer the status quo. Today, that steel 
arch bridge over the Alabama River illustrates Dr. King's observation 
that we all quote all the time: ``The arc of the moral universe is 
long, but it bends towards justice.''
  Today we propose to honor the foot soldiers of the Selma marches with 
the Congressional Gold Medal and by accepting our own responsibility to 
keep bending, pulling, and nudging that arc toward justice. One way we 
can do it is by passing the Voting Rights Act.
  Just to recall, Mr. Speaker, the last time we brought up the Voting 
Rights Act in 2006-2007, the Senate passed it unanimously. In the 
House, the vote was 390-33.
  There is bipartisan legislation that has been introduced which can be 
brought to the floor, passed, and signed into law in time for the Selma 
anniversary next month. And it certainly must be passed before the 50th 
anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, the 
50th anniversary.
  We must do so to push back against the same old stale, dressed-up, 
and renamed efforts to hamper voting access and hinder progress.
  Today, as we celebrate the foot soldiers--we pay homage, we reach 
deep inside of us to say how inspired we all were by it and isn't it 
wonderful--let's look to the now and say: Right now, to honor these 
people, we must pass the Voting Rights Act again to correct what the 
Court did.
  So as we pay tribute to the foot soldiers who kept on marching, we 
move forward from a painful past and march into a brighter, fairer 
future for everyone.
  Again, I thank the gentlewoman from Alabama, Congresswoman Sewell, 
for her leadership on this important issue.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  I have no interest in politicizing this great bipartisan Gold Medal 
act that we currently have before us. And let's not turn this important 
act into a debate that will be, frankly, held in the Judiciary 
Committee, rather than on the House floor.
  We know that the Voting Rights Act--being a man who represents a 
significant part of Gerald R. Ford's congressional district, it was men 
like him that were hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm with those in that movement 
that helped create the original Voting Rights Act. And I know that this 
body can rise again to do the right thing and move forward in a 
bipartisan manner.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, recognizing that the other side has numerous 
requests for time on this bill, particularly from the Congressional 
Black Caucus, I ask unanimous consent that 7 minutes of the majority's 
time be transferred and placed under the control of my good friend and 
colleague from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), who is the Democratic manager.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank the 
gentleman from Michigan for yielding us the time. I want to thank him 
for the opportunity to allow the members of the Congressional Black 
Caucus to speak out on this important bill.
  Right now, I have the honor to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Maryland, Steny Hoyer, the honorable minority whip.
  Mr. HOYER. I will say to my friend from Michigan, today we are all 
members of the Congressional Black Caucus, one people with one 
commitment and one idea.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, of which I am a 
cosponsor, honoring the brave men and women who marched in Selma.
  This will be my 10th year participating in the Faith and Politics 
Institute's pilgrimage to Selma with my friend from Georgia, John 
Lewis.
  I thank the gentlelady from Selma for leading this debate.
  Those folks who marched across that bridge on March 7, known as 
Bloody Sunday, were met with the power of the State to prevent them 
from voting.
  This Gold Medal would be a tribute to John and to all those who 
marched alongside him and all those who marched along 2 weeks later 
with Martin Luther King, Jr., those thousands who walked that 5-day 
journey from Selma to Montgomery. We ought to pass it unanimously. I 
hope we will.
  But Martin Luther King, Jr., would not be happy with us if we just 
looked back in awe and reverence and did not look at today--I tell my 
friend from Michigan--for he would say that Congress should go further 
than simply honoring those who fought for their rights a half a century 
ago. We should pay tribute to their sacrifices and the scars they still 
carry by restoring the full protections of the Voting Rights Act, which 
the Supreme Court weakened in 2013. Martin Luther King, Jr., was about 
principle, but he was also about ensuring that protections would be in 
place.
  I hope that this House will allow bipartisan legislation to restore 
these protections, which is cosponsored by the gentleman from 
Wisconsin, Jim Sensenbrenner, the former chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee on the Republican side, and the gentleman from Georgia, John 
Lewis, a hero of Selma. These protections should move expeditiously 
through the House once the legislation is introduced.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman from Michigan for giving the 
gentlewoman a minute to yield to me.
  I thank Representative Sewell for her leadership in making sure 
Congress honors those who shook the conscience of our Nation through 
their courageous actions in Selma 50 years ago and in
so many other places--where many fought, some were badly injured, and, 
yes, some died--to redeem the promise of America that all of us are 
created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. 
And certainly in a democracy, one of the most important--if not the 
most important--rights that we have is to vote, to select our 
representatives, to select the policies under which we will live.
  I thank the Speaker and the majority leader for getting behind this 
effort. And, again, I thank the gentlelady from Selma. How proud she 
must be of her hometown and of the history that was made there, not 
just for African Americans but for all Americans.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time at this moment.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, how many more minutes do I have 
remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Alabama has 12\1/2\ 
minutes remaining.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. At this time, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentlelady from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty).
  Mrs. BEATTY. I thank the gentlewoman from Alabama.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join Congresswoman Terri Sewell, my good 
friend, and my good friend from Alabama, Martha Roby, in strong support 
of H.R. 431, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the foot 
soldiers who participated in the Selma freedom marches in March of 
1965.
  These foot soldiers, including our colleague from Georgia, 
Congressman John Lewis, and the men, women, and children who marched on 
Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, and in the final march from Selma to 
Montgomery, were met with attacks and dogs, beatings, and death along 
the way. But, Mr. Speaker, still they marched, as many of us will march 
in a few weeks, to fight for equal rights and voting rights.
  Mr. Speaker, let us honor the 1965 foot soldiers for their bravery 
and for their equality, marching for equality. I urge all Members to 
vote ``yes'' on H.R. 431.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

[[Page 2111]]



                              {time}  1315

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Alabama, 
and I thank her particularly for her persistent leadership and for her 
generosity with inviting so many Members to her district. We have 
enjoyed meeting her local officials, and we have enjoyed meeting the 
leadership of that great city and its great history.
  We make a personal commitment to her that as we travel through 
Selma--and it captures the essence of a town of great history--that we 
recognize that there is a need to invest many dollars to preserve this 
great city and to preserve its history. We thank her for her 
leadership.
  To the manager, the gentleman from Michigan, let me thank you very 
much for your eloquent statements. Isn't it important, Mr. Speaker, to 
see the number of leaders of our leadership--the majority leader, the 
minority leader, the whip, and the minority whip--here on the floor of 
the House joining us in this momentous occasion?
  Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of working for the Southern 
Christian Leadership Conference, obviously at a very, very young age. 
It was in that atmosphere, out of their office on Auburn Avenue in 
Georgia, that I got the sense and the feeling of the moment of the 
history of Selma.
  In the fictional yet truthful movie ``Selma,'' we are reminded of the 
song ``Glory.'' Today is an example of ``Glory.'' It is an example of 
the coming together of peoples around what is right, and it is a 
recognition that foot soldiers, though unknown even some 50 years 
later, are deserving of being pulled from the ashes of their last words 
to be able to say to them, ``Thank you.''
  That is what this Congressional Gold Medal means to me and means to 
so many who were among the 600-plus that could be called the foot 
soldiers. Obviously, by working for the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference, I knew at that time Ambassador Andrew Young, Hosea 
Williams, James Orange, and a litany of others.
  Certainly, as our Congresswoman from Selma has done, we pay tribute 
to our leader John Lewis who, himself, was brutalized as he attempted 
to exercise a simple right protected by the Bill of Rights, and that is 
the right to freedom of speech, freedom of access, and freedom of 
movement.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, I join in the words of President Johnson on March 
15, 1965, looking back over Bloody Sunday. He said:

       I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of 
     democracy . . . At times, history and fate meet at a single 
     time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's 
     unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and 
     Concord. So it was a century ago at Appomattox. So it was 
     last week in Selma, Alabama.

  Yes, it was simply just last week in the thinking of so many of us as 
we stand on the floor of the House.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 15 
seconds.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. I thank the gentlewoman.
  Might I say, as we vote on this, we vote together. Might I say, as 
much as we vote, can we do it in action and vote to reauthorize the 
Voting Rights Act by simply restoring section 5, giving the Supreme 
Court what it needs, but recognizing the importance of protecting the 
right to vote?
  In the name of Jimmie Lee Jackson who died trying to protect his 
mother and grandmother, in the name of Viola Liuzzo, and in the name of 
Reverend James Reeb, I ask that we stand here today and vote for this 
legislation to honor them, but vote for reauthorization of the Voting 
Rights Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today not only as a proud supporter, but as a 
cosponsor, of H.R. 431, a bill authorizing the award of the 
Congressional Gold Medal to the ``foot soldiers of Selma,'' those 
heroic souls who risked their lives for freedom and to secure the right 
to vote for all Americans by their participation in marches for voting 
rights on ``Bloody Sunday,'' ``Turnaround Tuesday,'' or the final, 
completed march from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965.
  I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Alabama, for 
introducing this legislation paying fitting, and long overdue, tribute 
to those brave and determined men and women, boys and girls, persons of 
all races and creeds, who loved their country so much that they were 
willing to risk their lives to make it better, to bring it even closer 
to its founding ideals that all persons have dignity and the right to 
equal treatment under the law, and in the making of the laws, which is 
the fundamental essence of the right to vote. I also want to thank 
Congresswoman Martha Roby.
  Mr. Speaker, on March 15, 1965, before a joint session of the 
Congress and the eyes of the nation, President Lyndon Johnson explained 
to the nation the significance of ``Bloody Sunday'':

       ``I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of 
     democracy. . . .
       ``At times history and fate meet at a single time in a 
     single place to shape a turning point in man's unending 
     search for freedom.
       ``So it was at Lexington and Concord.
       ``So it was a century ago at Appomattox.
       ``So it was last week in Selma, Alabama.''

  The previous Sunday, March 7, 1965, more than 600 civil rights 
demonstrators, including our beloved colleague, Congressman John Lewis 
of Georgia, were brutally attacked by state and local police at the 
Edmund Pettus Bridge as they marched from Selma to Montgomery in 
support of the right to vote.
  ``Bloody Sunday'' was one of the defining moments in American history 
because it crystallized for the nation the necessity of enacting a 
strong and effective federal law to protect the right to vote of every 
American.
  No one who witnessed the violence and brutally suffered by the foot 
soldiers for justice who gathered at the Edmund Pettus Bridge will ever 
forget it; the images are deeply seared in the American memory and 
experience.
  Mr. Speaker, what is so moving, heroic, and awe-inspiring is that the 
foot soldiers we honor today faced their heavily armed oppressors 
fortified only by their love for their country and each other and the 
audacious faith that their cause was just.
  The example set by the foot soldiers of Selma showed everyone, here 
in America and around the world, that there is no force on earth as 
powerful as an idea whose time has come.
  So it is fitting and proper, Mr. Speaker, that we honor today the 
heroes--the foot soldiers--who won the Bathe of Selma and helped redeem 
the greatest nation on earth.
  But we should not forget that this victory came at great cost and 
that many good and dear persons lost their lives to win for others the 
right to vote.
  Men like Jimmy Lee Jackson, who was shot by Alabama state trooper as 
he tried to protect his mother and grandmother from being beaten for 
participating in a peaceful voting rights march in Marion, Alabama.
  Women like Viola Liuzzo, a housewife and mother of five, who had 
journeyed to Selma from Detroit to join the protests after witnessing 
on television the events at Edmund Pettus Bridge on ``Bloody Sunday'' 
and who was shot and killed by Klansmen while driving back from a trip 
shuttling fellow voting rights marchers to the Montgomery airport.
  Persons of faith, goodwill, and non-violence like the Reverend James 
Reeb of Boston, a minister from Boston who heeded the call of the Rev. 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to come to Selma and who succumbed to the 
head injuries he suffered at the hands of his white supremacists 
attackers on March 9, two days after Bloody Sunday.
  Mr. Speaker, in the face of all this hostility, violence, brutality, 
and hatred, the foot soldiers of Selma would not be deterred--would not 
be moved--would not be turned around.
  They kept their eyes on the prize and held on.
  And help came the very next week when President Johnson announced to 
the nation that he would send to Congress for immediate action a law 
designed to eliminate illegal barriers to the right to vote by striking 
down ``restrictions to voting in all elections--Federal, State, and 
local--which have been used to deny Negroes the right to vote.''
  On August 6, 1965, that legislation--the Voting Rights Act of 1965--
was signed into law by President Johnson and for the next 48 years did 
more to expand our democracy and empower racial and language minorities 
than any act of government since the Emancipation Proclamation and 
adoption of the Civil War Amendments.
  But our work is not done; the dreams of Dr. King and of all those who 
gave their lives in the struggle for justice are not behind us but 
still before us.
  In the wake of the Supreme Court's 2013 ruling in Shelby County v. 
Holder, which severely crippled the Voting Rights Act, we have seen 
many states across our nation move to enact legislation designed to 
limit the ability of

[[Page 2112]]

women, the elderly, racial and language minorities to exercise their 
right to vote.
  In Texas alone, new voter ID laws are estimated to have prevented or 
deterred as many as 600,000 citizens from registering to vote in 2014.
  To honor the memory of the foot soldiers of Selma, we must rededicate 
ourselves to a great task remaining before us--to repair the damage 
done to the Voting Rights Act by working to pass the Voting Rights 
Amendments Act of 2015, which I am proud to be one of the original 
cosponsors.
  Mr. Speaker, as I have stated many times, the 1965 Voting Rights Act 
is no ordinary piece of legislation.
  For millions of Americans, and for many in Congress, it is sacred 
treasure, earned by the sweat and toil and tears and blood of ordinary 
Americans who showed the world it was possible to accomplish 
extraordinary things.
  As we honor the foot soldiers of Selma by voting to pass H.R. 431 
awarding them the Congressional Gold Medal, let us resolve also to 
restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965, so that it remains a lasting 
monument to their heroism and devotion to the country they loved.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman).
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman 
from Alabama for bringing us together around this important issue.
  It is my honor to be a cosponsor of this endeavor, to take this 
opportunity to demonstrate our appreciation and our respect for the 
sacrifices that were made by the foot soldiers who marched in the three 
marches. It is my honor always to be a part of this wonderful body that 
serves along with John Lewis, who happens to be one of my personal 
heroes.
  This Congressional Gold Medal is not just simply an award. It is 
emblematic of a selflessness that was demonstrated by people who stood 
up and did the right thing and put their lives in jeopardy to ensure 
that we, as a democracy, had an opportunity to participate at the very 
highest level, and that is the level of voting.
  As I stand here and thank each and every one of our colleagues on 
both sides of the aisle for supporting this initiative, I rise also to 
remind us that we have work still to be done, that the battle that was 
before us that we thought we won is still there to be won, and that we 
need to correct the actions of the Supreme Court and follow through on 
the actions of giving people the right to vote.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah).
  Mr. FATTAH. I thank the gentlewoman from Alabama and those others who 
have cosponsored this, including Congresswoman Roby from Alabama.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is so vitally important. I take it as 
one of my life's greatest honors to have served for the last 20 years 
in the Congress with John Lewis. He literally changed our Nation 
through his bravery.
  On a day like today, this is the date that 25 years ago, Nelson 
Mandela walked out of prison and into the Presidency in South Africa, 
and as those foot soldiers walked across this bridge on Bloody Sunday, 
they helped create a circumstance in which we would have, as a 
President of the United States, Barack Obama. We cannot separate these 
issues. They are inextricably intertwined.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to say to my colleague from Selma who represents 
so ably the new South that our Nation is so much better for the 
struggle in Selma, for the sacrifice, and not just in those who are 
famous like Dr. King or John Lewis, but I met at her side Ms. Boynton, 
a 105-year-old woman who walked across that bridge that day, just in 
this Capitol less than 20 days ago.
  I want to thank her for her leadership on this issue and thank her as 
we celebrate and commemorate these 50 years and as we dedicate 
ourselves to fight for the right to vote for every single American 
without equivocation or compromise.
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, voting is the most fundamental right that we share as 
Americans. The foot soldiers who dared to march across the Edmund 
Pettus Bridge in the face of extreme racial hostility did so in the 
spirit of equality. We should never forget the sacrifices they made so 
that this Nation could live up to the ideals of equality and justice 
for all.
  While we can never repay these foot soldiers for the sacrifices that 
they made, we can offer a down payment by continuing to fight against 
injustice wherever it exists. For as Dr. King so eloquently noted, 
``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.''
  May we be moved by the valor and determination of these foot soldiers 
to stomp out modern-day inequities in the name of justice. The foot 
soldiers of the voting rights movement set forth a powerful precedent 
for all of us to follow.
  Whenever the rights of any one man have been denied, the rights of 
all are in danger. The price of freedom, as has been said before, is 
not free. The foot soldiers paid the ultimate price to ensure equal 
voting rights for all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud that over 300 of my colleagues in Congress--
both Democrats and Republicans--have agreed to cosponsor this bill. I 
am proud that my colleague from Alabama Senator Sessions and Senator 
Booker will introduce this bill on the Senate side today.
  I am humbled by the strong bipartisan support of this bill, and I 
would like to thank Representative Martha Roby and all of the members 
of the Alabama delegation for standing with me in support of this bill.
  Today, I am especially proud to be from Alabama. I invite my 
colleagues, Republican and Democrat, and all Americans, to come to 
Selma during the first week of March to witness living history. You, 
too, can witness living history.
  The city of Selma and the jubilee group will be doing a host of 
activities all week long. Of course, the commemorative march itself 
will be on Sunday, March 8, as well as our President will be speaking 
to us in Selma on March 7.
  I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 431. I believe 
that bestowing the Congressional Gold Medal to the foot soldiers of the 
voting rights movement is a strong reminder of the power of ordinary 
Americans to collectively achieve extraordinary, extraordinary social 
change.
  I want to again thank the gentleman from Michigan for sharing with me 
this wonderful 40 minutes of debate. I want you to know that it is one 
of the highlights of my life to have the opportunity to bestow this 
Congressional Gold Medal to the foot soldiers of the voting rights 
movement.
  As a proud daughter of Selma and the Representative of Selma, 
Montgomery, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa, I want you to know that those 
of us who are the direct beneficiaries of the movement, Black and 
White, we owe a debt of gratitude that we can never repay.
  Today goes a long way in acknowledging those unsung and noted heroes 
like John Lewis, but there are so many, so many, that are in our midst, 
in our communities, that gave that sacrifice. Today, we honor them, the 
foot soldiers of the voting rights movement.
  I want to say again to all of my colleagues: I hope that you will 
take seriously this bill and what its significance is to America.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan for sharing this time 
with me, and I want to thank the leadership of both parties for putting 
this bill on the floor in such a timely manner, so that we can get it 
on the President's desk before the March 7 and 8 wonderful, wonderful 
celebration.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank all of you for being here, and I urge my 
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 431, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.

[[Page 2113]]


  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  To my friend, it is amazing to me today the irony as we talk about 
the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a man who served as the grand dragon of the 
Ku Klux Klan in Alabama, who just 100 years ago was serving in the U.S. 
Senate, and to have that be a symbol and discussed in the same breath 
as a man like John Lewis and Martin Luther King and so many others and 
in that short 50 years for us, even though we may be of a different 
political persuasion, for me to be here and witness the first African 
American to be President of these United States, what an amazing 
journey this has been.
  Gone are the poll taxes, gone are the reading and history tests, gone 
are a number of those legal impediments and formal legal impediments 
that were there both in the North and in the South that dictated to 
someone where they could or couldn't live.
  What has not gone--I am struck by this time and time again--is sin 
and hatred in human hearts. As C.S. Lewis talks about in his book 
``Mere Christianity,'' by means of laws, a man can attempt to change a 
man's actions, but they will not succeed without a change to those 
men's hearts.
  I think that is our legacy. I think that is our duty as Americans, 
and I think that is part of what we are doing here today--to honor, to 
recognize, and to celebrate, knowing that the journey is not done 
necessarily, knowing that we have other areas where we need to work on 
this as a society, but knowing that progress has been made.
  It is truly an honor to be a part of this with you as well, my 
friend.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 431.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. 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, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________