[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 82 (Monday, May 19, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H4115-H4120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 354) recognizing the
100th birthday of Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President, designer of
the Great Society, politician, educator, and civil rights enforcer.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
H. Con. Res. 354
Whereas August 27, 2008, marks the 100th birthday of Lyndon
Baines Johnson;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was born in Stonewall, Texas, to
Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr., a Texas representative, and Rebekah
Baines, on August 27, 1908;
Whereas upon graduation, Lyndon B. Johnson enrolled in
Southwest Texas State Teachers' College, where he vigorously
participated in debate, campus politics, and edited the
school newspaper;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson had several teaching positions
throughout Texas, including at the Welhausen School in La
Salle County, at Pearsall High School, and as a public
speaking teacher at Sam Houston High School in Houston;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson went to work as a congressional
assistant at the age of 23;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson served the 10th Congressional
District in the Texas House of Representatives from April 10,
1937, to January 3, 1949;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson became a commissioned officer in
the Navy Reserves in December 1941;
Whereas during World War II, Lyndon B. Johnson was
recommended by Undersecretary of the Navy James Forrestal to
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who assigned Johnson to a
three-man survey team in the southwest Pacific;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was conferred the Silver Star,
which is the military's third highest medal, by General
Douglas MacArthur;
Whereas in 1948, Lyndon B. Johnson was elected to the
Senate at the age of 41;
Whereas in 1951, Lyndon B. Johnson was elected Senate
minority leader at the age of 44 and elected Senate majority
leader at the age of 46, the youngest in our history;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was elected Vice President at the
age of 52, becoming president of the Senate;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson's congressional career and his
leadership spanned the stock market crash, the Great
Depression, World War II, the nuclear age, the Cold War, the
space age, and the civil rights movement, some of the most
turbulent years in American history;
Whereas Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was appointed as
head of the President's Committee on Equal Employment
Opportunities, through which he worked with African Americans
and other minorities;
Whereas an hour and 38 minutes after the assassination of
President Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as
President aboard Air Force One;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was a bold leader;
Whereas as President, Lyndon B. Johnson believed that
government could guarantee human rights, could lift people
out of poverty, and provide access to quality education and
health care throughout the Nation;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was an idealist, a force of
nature, and had the energy and determination and leadership
to turn those dreams into reality;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was a ``can-do'' President
because no matter how difficult and daunting the task at
hand, he never rested until it was completed;
Whereas in 1964, the Johnson Administration passed the
landmark Civil Rights Act of
[[Page H4116]]
1964, which banned de jure segregation in the Nation's
schools and public places;
Whereas the Johnson Administration passed the Voting Rights
Act of 1965, which outlawed obstructive provisions that were
rendered impractical and impartial to potential voters;
Whereas in January of 1965, the Johnson Administration
introduced the Great Society, which included provisions for
aid to education, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification,
conservation, the development of depressed regions, a wide-
scale fight against poverty, and the removal of obstacles to
the right to vote;
Whereas in 1967, President Johnson nominated Thurgood
Marshall as the first African-American to serve on the
Supreme Court;
Whereas during Johnson's presidency, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration made spectacular steps
forward in space exploration when 3 astronauts successfully
orbited the moon in December 1968;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson died at 4:33 p.m. on January 22,
1973, at his ranch in Johnson City, Texas, at the age of 64;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was posthumously awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980;
Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson is honored, venerated, and
revered for his drive to establish equality for all
Americans, illustrated in the momentous legislation passed
during his Administration;
Whereas Congress recognizes the 100th birthday of Lyndon B.
Johnson, the 36th president;
Whereas Congress extols the contributions of Lyndon B.
Johnson to the United States and his commitment to the War on
Poverty through the Economic Opportunity Act;
Whereas Congress commends Lyndon B. Johnson for
establishing the Medicare Act of 1965 that has helped
millions of Americans; and
Whereas Congress requests that the President issue a
proclamation calling upon the American people to observe the
Centennial Celebration of Lyndon B. Johnson and his ``can-do
spirit'' with appropriate ceremonies, programs, and
activities: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress--
(1) reaffirms its support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
(2) recognizes the significance of the Voting Rights Act of
1965; and
(3) honors Lyndon B. Johnson for his work as a civil rights
enforcer.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) will each
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
General Leave
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, August 27 will mark the 100th anniversary of the
birthday of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United
States. President Johnson served his home State of Texas and this
Nation during some of the most tumultuous and extraordinary years of
our history. From the Great Depression, to the New Deal, to World War
II, to the Civil Rights Era, President Lyndon Johnson shaped the events
and left this Nation more prosperous, more just, and more free.
Joining the House in 1937, his life embodied the values of the New
Deal, progressive values that sought to secure for all Americans
President Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms: Freedom of speech and
expression, freedom of worship, freedom of want, and freedom from fear.
In his own Presidency, the programs of the Great Society were the most
ambitious of any administration before or since the New Deal.
In his 1964 State of the Union Address, President Johnson launched an
unconditional war on poverty. As a former teacher, he understood the
central importance of education. And so he said, ``It is our primary
weapon in the war on poverty, and the principal tool for building a
Great Society.''
Among his key accomplishments in the field of education were Project
Head Start, still one of the most successful education programs; the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and the Higher
Education Act of 1965. As a son of Texas' Hill Country, he also
understood the importance of economic security. He told the Nation,
``The second prong on the attack on poverty is to protect individuals
and their families from poverty when their own earnings are
insufficient because of age, disability, unemployment, or other family
circumstances.''
The programs he launched included the Social Security Amendments of
1965 and 1967; the Revenue Act of 1964, which lowered the withholding
tax on middle-income workers from 18 percent to 14 percent; the Minimum
Wage Bill of 1966, which broadened the Federal minimum wage and
overtime pay protection and lifted the minimum wage from $1.25 to $1.60
per hour; the School Breakfast Program; the Special Milk Program; and
the Food Stamp Program of 1964, which this House recently voted to
expand by a bipartisan veto-proof margin.
The third weapon in the War on Poverty was job creation. President
Johnson once said, ``Our American answer to poverty is not to make the
poor more secure in their poverty but to reach down and to help them
lift themselves out of the ruts of poverty and move with the large
majority along the high road of hope and prosperity.'' The programs
included the Job Corps; the College Work Study Program; the
Neighborhood Youth Corps; the Work Experience Program; and the Manpower
Act.
Some of the greatest accomplishments were, of course, the Civil
Rights Era. More than any other President, he was a guiding force
behind the enactment of civil rights legislation that changed our
Nation forever. Following bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, President
Johnson addressed a joint session of Congress to urge the passage of
the Voting Rights Act. He told the Nation then that, ``What happens in
Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section
and State of America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure
for themselves the full blessings of American life. Their cause must be
our cause, too. Because it's not just Negroes, but really it's all of
us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.''
He closed with the rallying refrain of the civil rights movement by
saying, ``And we shall overcome.''
Among his historic accomplishments were the Civil Rights Act of 1957,
where, as leader of the Senate, he ushered through the first civil
rights bill since Reconstruction; the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, which this Congress recently extended for
another 25 years; and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. These landmark
measures guaranteed the right to vote for millions of Americans who had
been disenfranchised for generations, and outlawed discrimination in
public accommodations and in housing, and outlawed discrimination in
employment.
President Johnson also made history when, in 1967, he appointed his
Solicitor General, Thurgood Marshall, who, as the NAACP legal director
from 1939 to 1961 had already argued many cases before the Supreme
Court, including Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, to be the first
African American Supreme Court Justice.
Mr. Speaker, the life and accomplishments of President Johnson should
inspire all of us to rededicate ourselves to the mission to which he
devoted so much of his energies, to free all Americans from want, from
fear, and from discrimination. This resolution is a fitting recognition
of his accomplishments and his lasting inspiration.
I want to thank the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) for
bringing this to the floor today, and I urge my colleagues to support
it.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 354,
honoring the birth of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. This
resolution accompanies the LBJ Foundation's upcoming centennial
celebration.
Lyndon Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, in central Texas, not far
from Johnson City, which his family helped settle. He endured rural
poverty in his younger years, working his way through Southwest Texas
State Teachers College, now known as Texas State University, San
Marcos.
President Johnson's well-known commitment to civil rights began early
in his political career. When he was elected to Congress, Johnson
worked to get
[[Page H4117]]
black farmers and school children equal treatment in his congressional
district, and in 1938, secured Federal funding for housing in Austin,
Texas, for those who lived in poverty.
After six terms in the House, Johnson was elected to the Senate in
1948. In 1953, he became the youngest minority leader in Senate
history. The following year, he became the majority leader.
During his 24 years in Congress, Johnson garnered unprecedented
experience in the passage of legislation, experience that materialized
into the many civil rights laws he signed as President. When Lyndon
Johnson took office following the tragic assassination of President
John F. Kennedy, he spearheaded passage of the 1965 Higher Education
Act, which quadrupled the number of African American college students
within a decade. He did the same with Medicare and Medicaid
legislation, and within another decade, African American infant
mortality was reduced by half.
Johnson also played a crucial role in ending the de jure segregation
in America by signing the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act into law,
which banned discrimination in employment. As a proud Republican, I
stand here, Mr. Speaker, I remind you and this body that that was with
a majority of Republican votes in the House and in Senate that passed
the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and President Johnson truly worked in a
bipartisan fashion across the aisle and could not have passed that
without bipartisan support and a majority of Republicans in the House
and Senate.
After Martin Luther King, Jr.'s voter registration campaign in Selma,
Alabama, President Johnson said that even one American's
disenfranchisement, ``undermines the freedom of every citizen.'' In
that spirit, he signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act. His efforts allowed
more African Americans to vote, and to run for office.
As a result of President Lyndon B. Johnson's historic efforts in the
fight to end racial segregation, we now live in a more representative
America. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may
consume to the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee), the
author of the resolution.
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise
and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the distinguished gentleman from
Virginia and I thank him for his words of tribute, as I thank the
distinguished gentleman from Iowa for his words of tribute, two
distinguished gentlemen, and of course the chairman and ranking member
of the full committee, Mr. Conyers and Mr. Smith.
I rise today with great enthusiasm to be able to commemorate this
year, the 100th birthday of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. I am glad
that Mr. King offered the fact that much of the legislation that was
monumental, there was bipartisan support. That was a talent of Lyndon
Baines Johnson. He managed to craft a legislative agenda as a President
that was remarkable, I would say unbelievable, and he did it by
reaching across the aisle.
So I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 354, commemorating
President Lyndon Baines Johnson on the occasion of his centennial
birthday celebration. I am proud to offer this legislation and to note
that the President's official birth date is August 27, 1908. This will
give us the opportunity to commemorate his legacy from this time until
the month of August. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation is
celebrating, however, the remarkable life and Presidency of this great
man beginning today and the celebration will culminate with his family
members and fellow former cabinet members and staff and supporters and
Members of Congress, House and Senate, on this Wednesday, when the
Senate will pass this concurrent resolution honoring President Johnson.
It is an honor to recognize President Lyndon Baines Johnson, not
simply because he was President, but because he represented an era,
because he convened a time in America that was troubled. But he was a
true champion of civil rights for all Americans and he led the Nation
during very turbulent political times, from the Civil Rights movement,
the deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin
Luther King, and the Vietnam War.
But he was a teacher by profession in Texas. He proudly served the
10th Congressional District in the United States House of
Representatives. He was a commissioned officer in the Navy and
valiantly served in World War II. He was a renaissance man, he was a
whole man, he was an American person, an American man, if you will.
During World War II he was conferred the Silver Star, the military's
third highest medal, by General Douglas MacArthur.
{time} 1645
He was a United States Senator and served as both minority and
majority leader. He holds the current distinction of being the youngest
Senate majority leader at the age of 46. He was also Vice President,
head of the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities, and President
of the United States.
As President, as was noted, he nominated historically the first
African American, the first minority to be nominated to the Supreme
Court, Thurgood Marshall, who, of course, we all know argued that
premier and prominent case civil rights legacy, Brown v. Board of
Education, to the United States Supreme Court. All the world took note
that this southern President from Texas could nominate an African
American to the Supreme Court. That was Lyndon Baines Johnson.
He was truly a great Texan and a great patriot and a great American.
He was a devoted husband to Lady Bird Johnson, and we acknowledged her
passing sadly this year, and, of course, a father to his two beloved
children, Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb. History shows us
that beside this giant of an a man, this historic legend, there were
three great women.
President Johnson never forgot his beginnings in Texas. My
predecessor in Congress, the incomparable Honorable Barbara Jordan of
the 18th Congressional District in Texas, developed a good working
relationship with President Johnson, and he appointed her to serve on
the Commission on Income Maintenance in 1968.
In addition, after the 1965 Voting Rights Act was created, she along
with many African Americans ascended to the United States Congress, for
the Honorable Barbara Jordan had run before and had lost. With the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the redistricting that came about, she
was able to be elected to the United States Congress, along with Andy
Young, and the rest is history, as we have seen the numbers of African
Americans and Hispanics come to the United States Congress, creating a
more equal balance because of this legislation.
Of course, Barbara Jordan in 1968 amended the Voting Rights Act of
1965 by adding Spanish language. Later Barbara Jordan would serve as a
professor at the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at the
University of Texas and she would accept an appointment to the Lyndon
Baines Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy at the university.
As a teacher, Johnson believed segregation condemned the South to
educational and economic backwardness. I think it is important to note,
as I said earlier, he was a son of the south. This was a very difficult
stance to take. He took it out of his heart. He did not agree with
segregation, and coming to the United States Congress and Senate, it
freed him to do what was right.
In 1937, Johnson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as
a liberal New Dealer allied with Democratic President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt. Johnson commemorated his legislative life in tribute to
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, I truly believe, because he led on the War
on Poverty.
Johnson successfully championed civil rights when he successfully ran
for the U.S. Senate in 1948. Even then, as I said, as a son of the
south, he was unashamed of his belief against segregation. In 1957,
when a civil rights bill came before Congress, Johnson favored the bill
and worked hard behind the scenes to win its passage. He moved from one
side to the other, persuading southern Democrats and northern liberals
to compromise. The Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first civil rights
legislation to pass since reconstruction, was
[[Page H4118]]
signed by President Eisenhower in September 1957. Civil right was
bipartisan in this body, and President Johnson knew that.
In 1960, John F. Kennedy invited Johnson to join the Democratic
presidential ticket as his running mate. Some would say there could not
be two more different individuals. But what a match, what a wonderful
match. And they went on to victory. As they went on to victory, they
showed the world that different viewpoints can be united.
When Johnson met Dr. Martin Luther King a few days after Kennedy's
assassination, Dr. King told Johnson that racial tensions could no
longer be tempered by compromise. Johnson appreciated King's powers of
persuasion and decided to utilize his experience to pass the 1964 Civil
Rights Act. Dr. King and President Johnson continued to work closely to
pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act.
It was difficult times. There were agreements and disagreements. But,
lo and behold, the great and wonderful hopeful dream of Dr. Martin
Luther King did his work and asked that President Johnson do his work,
and together they did their work for America.
Reminiscing on the trials and triumphs on her young years in the
White House, his daughter Luci Baines Johnson stated that her legacy
from the White House days were ``a thousand friendships, a deep and
abiding love of country and public service, a passion for learning, and
the recognition that getting in life is truly to be found in the giving
and the belief that I should try to live each day as if it is my
last.''
President Johnson signed these bills into law, as I indicated: the
Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and the Open Housing Act.
President Johnson started Head Start, Job Corps and Medicare, among
many others. And if you look at his time in Congress and his time as
President, you will find not just a Presidency, but you will find an
era.
It is amazing the bills that President Johnson passed. I simply want
to take note of them and will place into the Record two pages of
legislation under the auspices and the administration of Lyndon Baines
Johnson that included so many bills, the Kennedy Cultural Center, the
Urban Mass Transit, Food Stamps, housing acts, Head Start and others.
We understand we are going into a hot summer, a summer where youth
are looking for jobs. President Johnson offered Job Corps, Youth Jobs,
Medicare for those who are up in years, and, of course, he declared the
War on Poverty, the first President to do so. He developed 40 programs
to eliminate poverty, and his programs were intended to improve the
living conditions of all Americans.
Of course, he was a great educator. His daughter Lynda Robb once
stated, ``But daddy wasn't as interested in the numbers of laws he
helped enact as he was in the number of lives that he helped to
enrich.''
I just want to show this body some of the pictures that show the
working relationship with major civil rights leaders that worked
closely with the President on these civil rights laws. It shows the
passion that he had, that he was a-hands-on President.
As he met with Dr. Martin Luther King, this picture shows him giving
the pen which he signed the 1964-1965 bill, and as well the signing
ceremonies that took place during that time. This, of course, shows
Barbara Jordan and Vernon Jordan who stood with the President on many,
many issues.
Let me close by simply acknowledging one of the greatest moments I
think this Congress had a chance to witness, and that was the
President's speech to Congress as he dealt with this question of the
Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. As he spoke to the Speaker
and to the Members of Congress, he said, ``I speak tonight for the
dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. I urge every member of
both parties, Americans of all religions and of all colors from every
section of this country to join me in that cause. 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 President opened up his words by suggesting that we could do this
together. These are his final words.
``So I ask you to join me in working long hours, nights and weekends,
if necessary, to pass this bill. And I don't make that request lightly.
For from the window where I sit, with the problems of our country, I
recognize that outside this Chamber is the outraged conscience of a
nation, the grave concern of many nations, and the harsh judgment of
history on our acts.'' And, of course, he said ``We shall overcome.''
Mr. Speaker, I would say to you that President Lyndon Baines Johnson
was the President of the United States, but he represents the
compilation of all the dreams and aspirations of many who could not
speak for themselves. He embraced the civil rights leaders. He
understood as a son of the South that he could make a difference. He
reached across the aisle and counted every vote. He knew how tough it
was going to be to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and then
ultimately after the violence of Selma, the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
He opened the doors to many of us. I stand here as a true testimony
to all that he has done. All of us who have had the doors of education
opened, the doors of political process opened, the doors of poverty
removed, opened and then shut, owe that to President Lyndon Baines
Johnson.
I started by saying that he is not just a President, but it is an era
which we should remember. Joseph Califano said it is not a President
that should be forgotten, but should be remembered. I ask my colleagues
to support this legislation, and I ask them to do so enthusiastically.
Mr. Speaker, I include the list of legislation mentioned earlier:
Landmark Laws of the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration
1963
College Facilities, Clean Air, Vocational Education, Indian
Vocational Training, and Manpower Training.
1964
Inter-American Development Bank, Kennedy Cultural Center,
Tax Reduction, Presidential Transition, Federal Airport Aid,
Farm Program, Chamizal Convention, Pesticide Controls,
International Development Association, and Civil Rights Act
of 1964.
Campobello International Park, Urban Mass Transit, Water
Resources Research, Federal Highway, Civil Service Pay Raise,
War on Poverty, Criminal Justice, Truth-in-Securities,
Medicine Bow National Forest, and Ozark Scenic Riverway.
Administrative Conference, Fort Bowie Historic Site, Food
Stamp, Housing Act, Interest Equalization, Wilderness Areas,
Nurse Training, Revenues for Recreation, Fire Island National
Seashore, Library Services, and Federal Employee Health
Benefits.
1965
Medicare, Aid to Education, Higher Education, Four Year
Farm Program, Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Housing Act, Social Security Increase, Deaf-Blind Center,
College Work Study, and Rail Strike Settlement.
Voting Rights, Fair Immigration Law, Older Americans,
Heart, Cancer, Stroke Program, Law Enforcement Assistance,
National Crime Commission, Drug Controls, Mental Health
Facilities, Health Professions, and Medical Libraries.
Vocational Rehabilitation, Anti-Poverty Program, Arts and
Humanities Foundation, Aid to Appalachia, Highway Beauty,
Clean Air, Water Pollution Control, High Speed Transit,
Manpower Training, and Presidential Disability.
Child Health, Regional Development, Aid to Small
Businesses, Weather-Predicting Services, Military Pay
Increase, GI Life Insurance, Community Health Services, Water
Resources Council, Water Desalting, and Assateague National
Seashore.
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Delaware Water Gap
Recreation Area, Juvenile Delinquency Control, Arms Control,
Strengthening U.N. Charter, International Coffee Agreement,
and Retirement for Public Servants.
1966
Food for India, Child Nutrition, Department of
Transportation, Truth in Packaging, Model Cities, Rent
Supplements, Teachers Corps, Asian Development Bank, Clean
Rivers, Aid-to-Handicapped Children, Redwoods Park, and
Flaming Gorge Recreation Area.
Food for Freedom, Child Safety, Narcotics Rehabilitation,
Traffic Safety, Highway Safety, Mine Safety, International
Education, Bail Reform, Tire Safety, New GI Bill, and Minimum
Wage Increase.
Urban Mass Transit, Civil Procedure Reform, Federal Highway
Aid, Military Medicare, Public Health Reorganization, Cape
Lookout Seashore, Water Research, Guadalupe National Park,
Revolutionary War Bicentennial, and Fish-Wildlife
Preservation.
Water for Peace, Anti-Inflation Program, Scientific
Knowledge Exchange, Cultural Materials Exchange, Foreign
Investors Tax, Parcel Post Reform, Civil Service Pay Raise,
[[Page H4119]]
Stockpile Sales, Participation Certificates, Protection for
Savings, Flexible Interest Rates, and Freedom of Information.
1967
Education Professions, Education Act, Air Pollution
Control, Partnership for Health, Social Security Increases,
Age Discrimination, Wholesome Meat, Flammable Fabrics, Urban
Research, and Public Broadcasting.
Outer Space Treaty, Modern D.C. Government, Vietnam
Veterans Benefits, Federal Judicial Center, Civilian-Postal
Workers Pay, Summer Youth Programs, Food Stamps, Selective
Service, Urban Fellowships, and Consular Treaty.
Safety At Sea Treaty, Narcotics Treaty, Anti-Racketeering,
Product Safety Commission, Small Business Aid, and Inter-
American Bank.
1968
Fair Housing, Indian Bill of Rights, Safe Streets,
Wholesome Poultry, Food for Peace, Commodity Exchange Rules,
U.S. Grain Standards, School Breakfasts, Bank Protection, and
Defense Production.
Corporate Takeovers, Export Program, Gold Cover Removal,
Truth-in-Lending, Aircraft Noise Abatement, Auto Insurance
Study, New Narcotics Bureau, Gas Pipeline Safety, Fire
Safety, and Sea Grant Colleges.
D.C. School Board, Tax Surcharge, Better Housing,
International Monetary Reform, International Grains Treaty,
Oil Revenues for Recreation, Virgin Islands Elections, San
Rafael Wilderness, San Gabriel Wilderness, and Fair Federal
Juries.
Candidate Protection, Juvenile Delinquency Prevention,
Guaranteed Student Loans, D.C. Visitors Center, FHA-VA
Interest Rate Program, Health Manpower, Eisenhower College,
Gun Controls, Biscayne Park, and Heart, Cancer, and Stroke
Programs.
Hazardous Radiation Protection, Colorado River Reclamation,
Scenic Rivers, Scenic Trails, National Water Commission,
Federal Magistrates, Vocational Education, Veterans Pension
Increases, North Cascades Park, International Coffee
Agreement, Intergovernmental Manpower, Dangerous Drugs
Control, and Military Justice Code.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 354,
commemorating President Lyndon Baines Johnson on the occasion of his
centennial birthday celebration. I am pleased to have the opportunity
of being the original author of this resolution along with 59 House
sponsors.
I note that the President's official birthdate is August 27, 1908.
However, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation is celebrating the
remarkable life and presidency of this great man beginning today, and
the celebration will culminate on this Wednesday when the Senate will
pass its resolution honoring President Johnson. I would like to thank
my staff for the hard work on this resolution.
It is an honor to recognize President Lyndon Baines Johnson. He was a
true champion of civil rights for all Americans, and he led the Nation
during very turbulent political times from the Civil Rights Movement,
the deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin
Luther King, and the Vietnam war.
He was a teacher by profession in Texas. He proudly served the 10th
Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.
He was a commissioned officer in the Navy and valiantly served in World
War II, and was conferred the Silver Star, the military's third highest
medal, by General Douglas MacArthur. He was a United States Senator and
served as both Minority and Majority leader. He holds the current
distinction of being the youngest Senate majority leader at the age of
46. He was also Vice President, head of the Committee on Equal
Employment Opportunities, and President of the United States.
As President, he nominated Thurgood Marshall as the first African-
American to serve on the United States Supreme Court.
He was truly a great Texan. He was a devoted husband to Lady Bird
Johnson and a father to his two beloved children: Luci Baines Johnson
and Lynda Johnson Robb. These women give new meaning to the old adage,
behind every great man is a great woman. History shows us that beside
this giant, this historic legend, there were three great women.
President Johnson never forgot his beginnings in Texas. My
predecessor in Congress, the incomparable Honorable Barbara Jordan of
the 18th Congressional District in Texas, developed a good working
relationship with President Johnson and he appointed her to serve on
the Commission on Income Maintenance in 1968. Later, she would serve as
professor at the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at the
University of Texas and she would accept an appointment to the Lyndon
Baines Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy at the University.
As a teacher, Johnson believed segregation condemned the South to
educational and economic backwardness. In 1937, Johnson was elected to
the U.S. House of Representatives as a liberal New Dealer allied with
Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Johnson successfully
championed civil rights when he successfully ran for the U.S. Senate in
1948.
In 1957, when a civil rights bill came before Congress, Johnson
favored the bill and worked hard behind the scenes to win its passage.
He moved from one side to the other, persuading southern Democrats and
northern liberals to compromise. The Civil Rights Act of 1957, the
first civil rights legislation to pass since Reconstruction, was signed
by President Eisenhower in September 1957.
In 1960, John F. Kennedy invited Johnson to join the Democratic
presidential ticket as his running mate. Johnson pushed the more
liberal Kennedy to go further and faster on civil rights.
When Johnson met with Dr. Martin Luther King a few days after
Kennedy's assassination, Dr. King told Johnson that racial tensions
could no longer be tempered by compromise. Johnson, who appreciated
King's powers of persuasion, decided to utilize his experience to pass
the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Dr. King and President Johnson continued to
work closely to pass the Voting Rights of 1965 and the Fair Housing
Act.
Reminiscing on the trials and triumphs on her young years in the
White House, his daughter Luci Baines Johnson stated that her legacy
from the White House days were ``a thousand friendships, a deep and
abiding love of country and public service, a passion for learning, the
recognition that the getting in life is truly to be found in the giving
and the belief that I should try to live each day as if it is my
last.''
Over a quarter century ago, while delivering the commencement address
at Howard University on June 4, 1965, President Johnson posed this
question: ``. . . what is justice?'' His response was ``It is to
fulfill the fair expectations of man.''
Throughout his life and administration, President Johnson sought
justice for all Americans. His administration produced the greatest
outpouring of legislation in America's history. Laws were enacted to
end discrimination and to fight poverty, to provide medical care to the
old and to extend educational opportunities to the young. In addition,
acts were passed to clean the air and water and reverse the pollution
of decades, to preserve precious land for public recreation and to
protect the natural beauty of the continent. Legislation protected the
consumer in the marketplace and enabled art, music and theater to be
brought to all parts of America.
President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Open Housing Act of 1968. These Acts
removed the barriers that restricted African Americans from using
restaurants, restrooms, theaters, and other public accommodations;
assured all citizens their constitutional right to vote; and provided
African Americans and other minorities with the freedom to decide where
they would live.
President Johnson started Head Start, Job Corps, and Medicare, among
many other landmark pieces of legislation and programs. With his Head
Start initiative, 4 and 5-year old children from disadvantaged families
attended classes and were provided with nourishing meals and medical
attention, and a chance to learn in schools.
Job Corps taught young men and women trades and vocational skills
that would enable them to lead productive lives.
His Medicare initiative provided health care to all Americans over
65. With the passage of the Medicare Act, the threat of financial doom
was lifted from senior citizens, and also from the sons and daughters
who might also otherwise have been burdened with the responsibility for
their parent's care.
His undertaking on the War on Poverty was expansive. He developed 40
programs to eliminate poverty, and his programs were intended not just
to improve living conditions but to enable people trapped in the
perpetual cycle of poverty the opportunity to lift themselves up out of
poverty and improve their own conditions.
President Johnson also added a prodigious number of laws that
extended education to young people. ``More than 60 education laws were
part of the vast number of legislative measures that made up the Great
Society,'' his daughter, Lynda Robb once stated. ``But Daddy wasn't as
interested in the number of laws he helped enact as he was in the
number of lives those laws help enrich.'' Luci Baines Johnson stated,
``Nothing meant more to my father than education.''
Today we celebrate the life of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. He
has given America many legislative victories. Importantly, his
legislation had important elements of self-help that provided the
people it was intended to serve with the opportunity to work to improve
their own condition. Indeed, President Johnson ensured that all
Americans would be assured their constitutional freedoms and that all
Americans would enjoy the triumph against oppression and injustice. As
President Johnson rightly said, quoting Winston Churchill on another
triumph for freedom, ``it is not the end. It is not even the beginning
of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. That
beginning is freedom and the barriers to that freedom are tumbling
down.
[[Page H4120]]
President Johnson's administration made tremendous strides in the
garnering of civil rights of all Americans. Let us be reminded that the
barriers to freedom are still tumbling. Indeed, it is not yet the
beginning of the end. But it is the end of the beginning. The nation
owes the end of the beginning to the leadership, foresight, and
effectiveness of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. President Johnson and
his administration have started the Nation on its trek to assure civil
rights and freedoms to all, but the battle is not yet won, and we must
continue to march on, in the courageous spirit of President Johnson,
until victory is won, and all people are free.
In his very eloquent speech to the full Congress, President Johnson
echoed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous words, ``We Shall
Overcome.'' President Johnson's delivered his speech on March 15, 1965,
a week after deadly racial violence erupted in Selma, Alabama, as
African Americans were attacked by police while preparing to march to
Montgomery to protest voting rights discrimination.
In his speech, President Johnson challenged the members of Congress,
by stating ``I want this to be the Congress--Republicans and Democrats
alike--which did all these things for all these people. Beyond this
great chamber--out yonder--in fifty states are the people that we
serve. Who can tell what deep and unspoken hopes are in their hearts
tonight as they sit there and listen? We all can guess, from our own
lives, how difficult they often find their own pursuit of happiness,
how many problems each little family has. They look most of all to
themselves for their future, but I think that they also look to each of
us.''
This speech was historic not only in what it asked of Congress, but
also, what it asked of the American people. I encourage everyone to
read the text of this historic address in its entirety.
I will close with the words that President Johnson delivered in his
historic commencement speech on June 4, 1965 before Howard University:
``The Scripture promises: `I shall light a candle of understanding in
thine heart, which shall not be put out.' Together, and with millions
more, we can light that candle of understanding in the heart of all
America. And, once lit, it will never again go out.''
President Johnson has lit the candle, let us today continue to carry
it and make sure that it will never go out.
Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I would yield back the balance of my
time and urge adoption.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. 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 Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 354.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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