[House Report 110-4]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                      110-4

======================================================================

 
  HONORING THE LIFE OF PERCY LAVON JULIAN, A PIONEER IN THE FIELD OF 
   ORGANIC CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND THE FIRST AND ONLY 
 AFRICAN AMERICAN CHEMIST TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF 
                                SCIENCES

                                _______
                                

  January 29, 2007.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, from the Committee on Science and Technology, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                     [To accompany H. Con. Res. 34]

    The Committee on Science and Technology, to whom was 
referred the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 34) honoring 
the life of Percy Lavon Julian, a pioneer in the field of 
organic chemistry research and development and the first and 
only African American chemist to be inducted into the National 
Academy of Sciences, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the 
concurrent resolution be agreed to.

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    H. Con. Res. 34 expresses the House of Representatives' 
desire to honor the life of Percy Lavon Julian.

                BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

    Percy Julian was one of the great scientists of the 20th 
century. The grandson of Alabama slaves, Julian won worldwide 
acclaim for his work in organic chemistry and broke the color 
barrier in American science more than a decade before Jackie 
Robinson did so in baseball. A distinguished student, Dr. 
Julian worked his way through college but still graduated as 
class Valedictorian at DePauw and did graduate work at Harvard 
and University of Vienna. At the depth of the Great Depression, 
DePauw welcomed him back as a teacher of organic chemistry. A 
brilliant chemist at DePauw, Dr. Julian discovered a way to 
turn soybeans into synthetic steroids on an industrial scale 
and discovered a process to synthesize physostigmine, the drug 
used in the treatment of glaucoma. After just five years at 
DePauw, Glidden Company hired Dr. Julian as its Director of 
Research. While there, he pioneered a process for the chemical 
synthesis of cortisone from soy which allowed for the 
widespread and affordable use of cortisone in the treatment of 
arthritis.
    In 1950, the Julian family decided to move from Chicago to 
suburban Oak Park. Their home was fire bombed before they could 
move in. His new neighbors rallied around him and he stayed, 
formed a business in Oak Park to produce synthetic cortisone 
from yams, and became a community leader. The year after his 
death, the Village government made his birthday a local 
holiday.
    His business success brought him substantial wealth and he 
became a civil rights leader in the Chicago area. He founded 
the National Negro Business and Professional Committee for the 
Legal Defense Fund and raised money for the NAACP and was a 
contributor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern 
Christian Leadership Conference.
    Dr. Julian is the only African American organic chemist to 
be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. By the time of 
his death in 1973, he had received over 100 patents as well as 
19 honorary Doctorates. Dr. Julian's life story has now been 
documented in the PBS NOVA film ``Forgotten Genius''.
    Given Dr. Julian's major achievements, it is fitting and 
proper for the House of Representatives to honor him at the 
time of the release of the film about his life.

                       SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION

    The official title of the resolution as introduced is: a 
Resolution honoring the life of Percy Lavon Julian, a pioneer 
in the field of organic chemistry research and development and 
the first and only African American to be inducted into the 
National Academy of Sciences.
    H. Con. Res. 34 lists many of Dr. Julian's achievements and 
resolves that the Congress honor the life of Percy Lavon 
Julian, a pioneer in the field of organic chemistry research 
and development and the first and only African American chemist 
to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.

            LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson introduced this 
resolution on January 12, 2007 for herself, and Mr. Davis of 
Illinois, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, Mr. Costello, 
Mr. Rohrabacher, Ms. Norton, Mr. Ehlers, Ms. Jackson-Lee of 
Texas, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Mr. Holt, and Ms. Matsui.
    The resolution was referred to the Committee on Science and 
Technology. On January 24, 2007 the resolution was considered 
at a Science and Technology Committee mark-up session and was 
ordered favorably reported by voice vote.

                             ROLLCALL VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to include the 
total number of votes cast for and against on each rollcall 
vote on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the 
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for 
and against. There were no rollcall votes on this resolution.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

                          COST OF LEGISLATION

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(d)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H. Res. 34 
is a sense of the House resolution and therefore does not have 
the force of law. As such, there is no cost associated with 
this legislation for fiscal year 2007, nor for any fiscal year 
thereafter.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(2) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee 
advises that the resolution contains no measure that authorizes 
funding, so no comparison of the total estimated funding level 
for the relevant programs to the appropriate levels under 
current law is required.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee advises that the resolution contains no measure that 
authorizes funding, so no statement of general performance and 
objectives for any measure that authorizes funding is required.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee advises that the resolution contains no measure that 
authorizes funding, so no cost estimate nor comparison for any 
measure that authorizes funding is required.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(I) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, committee reports on a bill or joint 
resolution of a public character shall include a statement 
citing the specific powers granted to the Congress in the 
Constitution to enact the measure. The Committee on Science and 
Technology finds that Congress has the authority to enact this 
measure pursuant to its powers granted under article I, section 
8 of the Constitution.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    The Resolution contains no federal mandates.

                        PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee states that H. Con. Res. 34 does 
not preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this 
legislation.

                APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act. (Public Law 
104-1.)

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    H. Con. Res. makes no changes in existing law.

                PROCEEDINGS OF THE FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP

    Chairman Gordon. Next, we will take up H. Con. Res. 34, 
honoring the life of Percy Lavon Julian. I recognize Ms. 
Johnson for 5 minutes to speak on this bill.
    Ms. Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for considering this 
resolution--honoring the life of Dr. Percy Lavon Julian.
    Dr. Julian was an outstanding chemist, and as a Black man, 
overcame countless obstacles to achieve international 
recognition for his scientific accomplishments. He spent his 
youth in Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama. When he decided to 
leave home and go to college in Indiana, his entire family came 
to see him off at the train station, including his 99-year-old 
grandmother, a former slave. His grandfather was also there. 
His grandfather's right hand was two fingers short. The fingers 
had been cut off for violating the code for forbidding slaves 
to read and write.
    But in Indiana, at DePaul University, Dr. Julian lived in 
the attic of a fraternity house. His support and tuition came 
from his earnings as a waiter. Often, he worked as a ditch 
digger during the day and attended classes in the evening. 
Though at the top of his class in college, he was discouraged 
from pursuing graduate studies because of potential racial 
sentiment on the part of future coworkers and employers. 
Nevertheless, he earned a fellowship to studychemistry at 
Harvard University where he received his masters degree, and in 1931, 
he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna.
    Dr. Julian synthesized a chemical treatment for glaucoma 
and he synthesized cortisone for the treatment of rheumatoid 
arthritis. He is also noted for inventing a foam to extinguish 
gasoline in oil fires that was used during World War II. Over 
the course of his career, he acquired over 115 patents. He 
received wide recognition by the scientific community for his 
research and was elected into the prestigious National Academy 
of Sciences. He was a bright, talented individual who excelled 
in life in the face of overwhelming challenges.
    And so my bill, this House Concurrent Resolution, honors 
his life. There are 12 original co-sponsors as well as a 
partnership with Senator Obama who is handling the bill in the 
Senate. And I am pleased that the House Committee on Science 
and Technology has agreed to expedite this bill. As a black 
chemist of international fame, Dr. Julian is a role model for 
the future generations of minority scientists. I feel it is 
important to lift up women and minorities who excelled in 
science, math, and engineering. We need the role models.
    I hope the Committee will consider policies to encourage 
more women and minorities to pursue careers where I have spent 
a lot of time, as the Chairman knows, in science, technology, 
engineering, and math. They need more help than is currently 
being provided. I want also to say that Dr. Julian's life will 
be on public television on February 6th. I understand it is 2 
hours long. So I am not sure that I recommend watching all of 
the 2 hours.
    Mr. Chairman, I recommend that this resolution pass, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
    Chairman Gordon. I am pleased to recognize Dr. Ehlers for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Ehlers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    As a principal co-sponsor of this resolution, and also as a 
fellow scientist, I am very pleased to honor one of our 
Nation's greatest scientists, Dr. Percy Lavon Julian. The 
breadth and depth of his work left a profound legacy that 
inspires us all.
    Dr. Julian was not defined by a single discipline. Rather, 
he set an example of what an innovative mind is capable of 
achieving, against all odds. His ingenious cortisone synthesis 
dropped the price of the drug's production, allowing it to be 
made available to many people suffering from joint pain and 
other inflammations. While many remember him for his novel 
synthesis of glaucoma and rheumatoid arthritis drugs, Percy 
Julian is also noted for inventing a fire-extinguishing foam 
for gasoline and oil fires. His inventions are even more 
notable because of the world in which they took place. At a 
time when there were very few faculty positions available to 
African Americans in the United States, Dr. Julian built his 
research portfolio by finding opportunities at all-Black 
universities and also overseas universities.
    Through his many years of teaching, he became known as a 
first-class educator and a man who always looked to build 
bridges between races. For this reason, he is remembered as 
both an eminent scientist and a public servant. It is my hope 
that pioneers like Dr. Julian will inspire the students of 
today, who wonder why they need to persevere in studying 
science and math, and will encourage them that these skills can 
directly benefit the public good.
    Today, we still do not have minorities and women well 
represented in science, technology, engineering, and math 
fields. Despite efforts to reverse these trends, in the last 10 
years, the percentage of black engineering undergraduate 
students has steadily declined. While the minority share of 
advanced degrees in science and engineering is improving as a 
whole, the physical and computer sciences disciplines still 
suffer dramatic under-representation by women and minorities.
    I am pleased the Committee is considering this resolution, 
and I thank my colleague, Ms. Johnson, for introducing the 
resolution, and I urge its adoption.
    [The statement follows:]

          Opening Statement of the Honorable Vernon J. Ehlers

    I am pleased to honor one of our nation's greatest scientists, Dr. 
Percy Lavon Julian. The breadth and depth of his work left a profound 
legacy that inspires us all.
    Dr. Julian was not defined by a single discipline; rather, he set 
an example of what an innovative mind is capable of achieving, against 
all odds. His ingenious cortisone synthesis dropped the price of the 
drug's production, allowing it to be made available to many people 
suffering from joint pain and other inflammation. While many remember 
him for his novel synthesis of glaucoma and rheumatoid arthritis drugs, 
Percy Julian is also noted for inventing a fire-extinguishing foam for 
gasoline and oil fires.
    His inventions are even more notable because of the world in which 
they took place. At a time when there were very few faculty positions 
available to African Americans in the United States, Julian built his 
research portfolio by finding opportunities at all-black universities 
and overseas. Through his many years of teaching, he became known as a 
first-class educator, and a man who always looked to build bridges 
between races. For this reason, he is remembered as both an eminent 
scientist and a public servant.
    It is my hope that pioneers like Dr. Julian will inspire the 
students of today who wonder why they need to persevere in studying 
science and math and will encourage them that these skills can directly 
benefit the public good. Today we still do not have minorities and 
women well-represented in science, technology, engineering and math 
fields. Despite efforts to reverse these trends, in the last ten years 
the percentage of black engineering undergraduate students has steadily 
declined. While the minority share of advanced degrees in science and 
engineering is improving as a whole, the physical and computer sciences 
disciplines still suffer dramatic under-representation by women and 
minorities.
    I am pleased the Committee is considering this bill, and thank my 
colleague Mrs. Johnson for introducing the Resolution.
    Chairman Gordon. Thank you, Mr. Ehlers. Without objection, 
all members' opening statements will be placed in the record at 
this point.
    And let me thank Ms. Johnson, also, not only for entering 
this resolution, but more importantly, for her many years of 
tireless work in trying to move forward minority and women into 
these fields. It is important. This Committee will continue 
those efforts, and I appreciate Ms. Johnson's leadership there.
    I ask unanimous consent that the bill is considered as read 
and open to amendment at all point--at any point.
    Without objection, so ordered.
    [H. Con. Res. 34 follows:]

                            H. Con. Res. 34

    Whereas Percy Julian was born on April 11, 1899, in 
Montgomery, Alabama, the son of a railway clerk and the first 
member of his family to attend college, graduating from DePauw 
University in 1920, receiving a M.S. degree from Harvard 
University in 1923 and a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in 
1931;
    Whereas in 1935 Dr. Julian became the first to discover a 
process to synthesize physostigmine, the drug used in the 
treatment of glaucoma;
    Whereas Dr. Julian later pioneered a commercial process to 
synthesize cortisone from soy beans and yams, enabling the 
widespread use of cortisone as an affordable treatment of 
arthritis;
    Whereas Dr. Julian was the first African American chemist 
elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1973 for his 
lifetime of scientific accomplishments, held over 130 patents 
at the time of his death in 1975, and dedicated much of his 
life to the advancement of African Americans in the sciences; 
and
    Whereas Dr. Julian's life story has been documented in the 
PBS NOVA film ``Forgotten Genius'': Now, therefore, be it
  Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress honors the life of Percy Lavon 
Julian, a pioneer in the field of organic chemistry research 
and development and the first and only African American chemist 
to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.

    Chairman Gordon. Are there amendments? Hearing none, the 
vote is on the bill H. Con. Res. 34. All of those in favor, say 
aye. All of those opposed, no. In the opinion of the Chair, the 
ayes have it.
    I now recognize Mr. Hall to offer a motion.
    Mr. Hall. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee favorably 
report H. Con. Res. 34 to the House with the recommendation 
that the bill do pass. Furthermore, I move that the staff be 
instructed to prepare the legislative report and make necessary 
technical and conforming changes and that the Chairman take all 
necessary steps to bring the bill before the House for 
consideration.
    Chairman Gordon. The question is on the motion to report 
the bill favorably. Those in favor of the motion will signify 
by saying aye. Opposed, nay. The ayes have it.
    Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the 
table. I move that members have 2 subsequent calendar days in 
which to submit supplemental minority or additional views on 
the measure. I move pursuant to Clause 1 of Rule 22 of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives that the Committee 
authorize the Chairman to offer such motions as may be 
necessary in the House to adopt and pass H. Con. Res. 34. 
Without objection, so ordered.

                                  
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