life for so many years to come and the opportunity in front of us this week comes thanks to the dedicated work of several of our colleagues . in particular , i'd like to thank senator daines and senator gardner once again are their extraordinary leadership . i look forward to seeing their efforts across the finish line and i heard all members to join me in supporting this bill and securing our natural wonders for generations of americans . yet to come. >> the senate about the gavel in as lawmakers return from their weekly party caucus lunches . they're expected to consider the public lands maintenance bill . senator voted yesterday to limit further debate setting up a vote tomorrow. live now to the senate floor on here on c-span2 .

county in the country. and the significant opportunities for conservation which is the crown jewel of

conservation programs and of course our national parks. it's not just national parks, of course. it's our forests grounds and efforts we have with the bureau of indian education. i thought i would talk specifically about some colorado projects today and what land and water conservation fund has meant for colorado. this is a photo of wilson peak in colorado, rises over telluride in southwest colorado. it's one of the 54 mountains in colorado that top 14,000 feet. climbers and hikers eager to summit the 14,017 foot wilson peak have been frustrated for years by key access beingt impossible to get to. wilson peak remained the last in colorado without public access. through nine years of complex land negotiations and funding the trust for public land purchased 25 patented mining claims including the summit and key porptions of the main summit

-- portions of the main summit trail. the trust for public land formally transferred ownership of land to the u.s. forest service ensuring access. this is a photograph of the big thompson river. in 1976, rains began to pour near estes park, colorado and caused one of the biggest natural disasters in colorado's history. 12isms of rain fell in about four hours. there are areas of colorado that only get about 14 inches of moisture a year. a remarkable 12isms of rain fell in -- 12 inches of rain fell in about four hours bring the thompson river to 19 feet above its normal level and water racing downstream down the canyon carrying everything with it in its path. it claimed 145 lives 418 homes 52 businesses and caused millions and millions of dollars in 1976. in the aftermath of the disaster larimer county

recognized that simply rebuilding new homes in harm's way within the floodway didn't make sense. so the county turned to the land and water conservation fund as an important part of the solution with just over $1 million from the land and water conservation fund and some other matching resources the county acquired a number of properties along the big thompson river that provided new outdoor recreation opportunities to residents and visitors on 156 acres of land along the river highlighted by four new county parks. this has been an incredible recreation opportunity but certainly led to greater safety for coloradans. the wetlands area of critical environmental concern is another incredible area of colorado. the bureau of land management has benefited. after decades of water overappropriation caused the lowering of the valley's water table, the rapid disappearance of wetlands and plummeting bird population, the wetland restoration effort was initiated, including this wetlands area.

you can see the work we've done on this. red mountain pass is another example, a multiphase project completed by the trust for public lands with colorado partners with funding from the lwcf. it lies above luray and forms portions of the panoramic backdrop, the red mountain pass and on luray and san juan county's rugged alpine loop. it'sen incredible experience. you can see the work we've done with it here. if you go to the national forest, over the years lwcf has invested nearly $27 million in the national forest of colorado to protect this valley which is a ten-year long process that ultimately rutted in the conservation -- resulted in the conservation of thousands of acres surrounding the town, incredible for recreation and preservation of this critical habitat and environmental treasure and conservation accomplishment for all of the country. i also wanted to point out some of the great news about this

bill back in colorado. and i ask unanimous consent that this article from the durango herald which was written on june 13 be entered into the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner: this article is titled the holy grail conservation bill advances in the u.s. senate. if you talk -- if you take a look at the article it quotes conservationists people across the country working on this legislation and ends with we've been working on this for years and years and this is the holy grail of the conservation community. we're ecstatic that this is happening. that from a member of the nature conserve sip. and this article from "the denver post" talking about the legislation and again the conservation community that supports the legislation. this will be a remarkable gift for the future and is also important for the president. it's going to put up to 100,000 people to work each year fixing our national parks said tracy stone manning associate vice president for public lands at the national wildlife

federation a conservation group of 600 members. it points out in cities like denver where they are pushing to acquire more land and open space, this is an opportunity for us to achieve those goals in our urban areas. finally, madam president, i would ask unanimous consent that a letter from a number of coloradans in support of the great american outdoors act sent to the congress just a few weeks ago. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner: this is signed by david nickham executive director suzanne o'neil, the wildlife federation, colorado mountain clubs and anglers the o'dell brewing come and on and on talking about the lwcf being built on a simple idea and the fact that we can help restore our national parks and greatest treasures with the combined efforts of the land and water conservation fund and the great american outdoors act in this legislation. as members prepare for this vote tomorrow, i hope they will

consider the impact this will have on generations to come. yesterday we talked about a letter written from the great grandson of president teddy roosevelt, the fact we are continuing today that legacy to build on the conservation the environmental successes that started well over a hundred lands is an incredible, incredible treasure that this country has and that we can build on for generations to come. so, madam president, i thank you and i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from new york. a senator: i rise today to speak about the overwhelming and urgent need to reform the way our country approaches policing. mrs. gillibrand: the deaths of eric gardner michael brown breonna taylor george floyd tony mcdade, andrew kierce,

and countless others are deeply disturbing and most unfortunately nothing new. the truth is that for every name we know, there are countless more that we don't. this type of oppression and brutality has been part of black american lives for far too long. it should not happen and in the horrific instances when it does, it should not take a viral video and a nationwide protest to get some measure of justice. we are at a moment of moral reckoning in this country and we must take action. our country needs bold reforms to address the systemic and institutional racism that plagues our criminal justice system. the justice in policing act 2020

introduced by my colleagues senators booker and harris would make crucial and much needed changes to address our nation's policing practices and policies. we should pass this bill as soon as possible. we were reminded sadly of the urgency of this legislation on friday when rayshard brooks was shot in the back by police in atlanta. it is clear we don't have time to waste. lives are on the line today. we need reform now. we need accountability. and we need it to happen now. the justice in policing act of 2020 would ban the no-knock warrant police used to enter breonna taylor's apartment before killing her. it would prevent unnecessary deaths like rayshard brooks by requiring that officers use

deescalation techniques and resort to deadly force only as the last resort. it also includes a provision that i worked with congressman joaquin jeffries, the eric gardner excessive force prevention act. it would ban the types of choke holds and came rot -- carotid holds that killed george floyd and eric gardner that make these a federal rights violation. black americans are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white americans despite accounting for less than 13% ofation.this legislation would not only end racial and religious profiling but it would mandate training on racial bias and on officers' duty to intervene. the bill would also improve accountability by requiring federal uniform police officers to wear body cameras and

requiring states and local law enforcement to use existing federal funding to ensure their officers use body cameras as well. too often after these unthink annual ?eptses incidents of brutality, we learn that law enforcement officers responsible had a history of misconduct. this bill would collect better and data on police misconduct and use of force and create a national registry that would track officers' complaint records throughout their careers and it would improve the use of pattern and practice investigations into unconstitutional and discriminatory policing practices of the federal state and local levels. the factt 99% of killings by police do not result in any charges. convictions on those charges are even rarer. this bill would amend the

federal criminal statute that has made it extremely difficult to prosecute law enforcement officers. finally, the bill would take the long overdue step of making lynching a federal crime. after the killing of ahmaud arbery, it is clear that this problem must be addressed. we can never bring back those whom we've lost in these horrific killings or even begin to make these families whole but we can and must make steps towards making sure that these tragedies never happen again. an executive order that merely restates the law that congress passed in 1994 is clearly not enough. establishing justice is at the heart of the preamble of our

constitution, and we must deliver on the promise that we made as a nation. we must match the efforts of those working to change the system from the outside with the efforts of those who are changing the system from the inside with efforts to change it for good. we have a lot of work ahead of us. and this bill will ensure that we start on the right foot. i'd like to read a passage of scripture that informs me on this issue. matthew 25, verse 44. they also will answer lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you? he will reply truly i tell you whatever you did not do for one of the least of these you did

not do for me. then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. madam president, we have a moral obligation. we have an obligation given our shared commitment to upholding the constitution. we have a moral responsibility to not let this moment pass. who are we? what defiance us? what kind of -- what defines us? what kind of people are we? if we refuse to act now when the country is raging, rightfully so, we decline to do what is right. i yield the floor.

ms. duckworth: thank you madam president. earlier in moppets, illinois lost a local legend after a courageous five-year battle against cancer. a lifelong illinoisan and a 50-year public servant larry walsh senior was known for his booming voice and big. he was a warm, welcoming presence in my life and the lives of his family, friends and countless others. ms. duckworth: larry embodied the spirit and ethos of illinois. he was born in elwood into a family with deep roots in the farming commun community. dedicating his early life to the

family today he graduated in the class of 1968 he were his associates degree in agriculture. in 1970, at only the age of 21, he made his for ray into politics winning an election in the local school board. he was elected as jackson township supervisor, a position he continued to hold until december of 2004. he was first elected to the board in 1974, a position he would lead for the last 16 years of his lifetime you know, will county is a great cross-section in illinois. it is where the farmlands of central and southern illinois converge. it's not only home to over 100,000 acres of farmland, but it's also a booming transportation hub anchored by an inant pouredder ported, a project that larry helped to land.

larry was one of the few illinois politicians who could credibly represent and be an advocate for both illinois' farming community and understand the region's need for industrial expansion. flute his career in public service, he was steadfastly committed to bipartisanship, an absolute must for a leader who'd help guide the county's development into the fastest-growing county in our state. before he returned to the county board in 2004, he served in the illinois senate representing the 43 reasonable doubt district. in springfield he befriended a fellow freshman, a fellow freshman senator and seatmate on the floor, barack obama. their friendship would prove critical as larry helped introduce him to the farming communities and then became the first state senator to endorse him in what was then considered a long shot run for the united states senate in 02004. larry's list of accomplishments

is quite long and spans a crucial time in the county's development. during larry's time in the state senate and his return to lead the will county board the county experienced a 53% growth in size and is now the fourth-largest county in the state. throughout his 16-year tenure, the longest county executive tenure ever, he doubled his dedication. in addition to helping intermodal, he helped establish the tall grass prairie reserve championed the construction of a new sheriff's office law enforcement center and broke ground on the new courthouse that will open this fall. beyond elected service he remained deeply rooted in and dedicated to his community. he was a member of the joel yet exchange club, the elwood lions's club. he passionately contributed to

local charities like morningstar mission, make-a-wish foundation, boy scouts of america and cornerstone, among many others. he was a lifelong parishioners of the catholic church in wilmington and was a ukeries stick member and a member of the knights of columbus. i can't begin to do justice to the legacy he leaves behind. but to his wife, irene, his six children and all the rest of his loved ones, please know how much well-cared for and how much we all respected larry and how greatly he will be missed. thank you. i yield back.

mrs.g officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you madam president. are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: no, we are not. mrs. blackburn: we are not. thank you, madam president. as i do every week, this past weekend i went back to tennessee and i'll tell you it really did my heart a lot of good to see people that are out and about and they're enjoying beautiful weather and enjoying our beautiful state. nashville is beginning to open the doors of our music venues, our church bells are ringing and people are attending services and our hikers are back exploring our beautiful state parks and the smokies.

here on capitol hill, though, things really do look a lot different. when we come back in to town, we still return to empty offices and emptier hallways, and i tell you, i've had a lot of people ask me, what in the world is happening in washington these days? well even though the chamber will look empty to those that are watching on tv, i want everybody who is watching to senate is here. the senate is at work. and before the pandemic sent everyone home, we had made great progress repairing our nation's judiciary and filling empty seats at important federal agencies. and the senate has placed 198 well-qualified constitutionalist judges on the federal bench. this week we're going to hit that 200 number. we'll be considering more of our

district court nominations in coming weeks. we're also preparing to consider the nomination of a former member of house republican study committee team. russ vought has been serve as o.m.b.'s acting director since january of 2019. and soon we will decide whether or not to make that position permanent. and, madam president, i will tell you i think that russ is of that honor. and i encourage my colleagues to support his confirmation when the time comes for that vote. at this point we know for a fact that the chinese government withheld information about the novel coronavirus that could have spared the american people a lot of hardache and -- heartache and even prevented the covid-19 outbreak from ex-could

lating into a global pandemic. their lies have already had catastrophic effects on american economy on loss of life on people's livelihoods and their well-being. but i think it's important to reiterate that this kind of behavior from china is not new. it is not new. it is just newly realized. for a long time now corporations educational institutions, and even members of this body have been happy to ignore the problem because of profits. i've spoken at length about the many ways that big tech's entanglement with beijing has jeopardized our nation's security. and everyone here is familiar with the chinese communist party's shameless use of

political violence against the uighurs, the tibetans and the hong kong freedom fighters. but what many don't know is that the chinese communist party is that they have been using their confucius program to fly under the radar and suppress information about the true nature of the chinese government's role. these so-called institutes are pitched as opportunities to promote cultural studies but in propaganda mills directly funded by the chinese communist party. by design, they threaten academic liberty and free speech. but somehow beijing has managed to place 72 confucius institutes on american college campuses. it is hard to believe, madam

president, but 72 of our nation's colleges and universities are host to these chinese communist party-funded confucius institutes, and they even say, this is part of their soft power and their propaganda. american students deserve to know who's really talking to them in these institutes. last week we took the first step toward protecting the integrity of our universities by passing the bipartisan confucius act by unanimous consent. the bill would grant full managerial authority to the universities that host confucius institutes and prohibit the any foreign law on any campus of a host institution. this is one piece of a larger

effort to expose the chinese communist party's efforts to pollute the minds of our young people and we thank senator kennedy for his leadership in passing this legislation last week. this year i introduced the transparency for confucius institutes act, which would require program participation agreements between these institutes and their american hosts to address the way chinese officials influence what can and cannot be taught in these programs. i also led a group of colleagues in urging education secretary betsy devos to increase agency oversight of these programs. so that we, the american people the american taxpayer, students and their

know know what is being taught and the programs that are being offered in these institutes, and also know who is paying for this. since march life in america has changed dramatically, but the challenges and threats this country gone away and because of that, madam president, it is important that, yes we keep our attention on these issues that are still out there even though our attention has been placed on the crisis, the matters at hand. we still have a duty to govern, to protect the country and her institutions from destructive influences at home and those that come from far away. i encourage my colleagues to remember this and to stay focused as we begin another week of negotiations and votes. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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a senator: madam president. the presiding office a senator: madam president i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hawley: madam president, i rise today to offer a few thoughts about the case handed down by the supreme court yesterday. i have it here. i have now had a chance to read the case, the opinion by the majority of the court and two dissenting opinions. i agree with the news reports that have said this is decision, it is truly an historic decision, it is truly an historic piece of

legislation. this piece of legislation changes the scope of4 civil rights act. it changes the meaning of the 1964 civil rights act. it changes the text of the 1964 civil rights act. in fact, you might well argue it is one of the most significant and far-reaching updates to that historic piece of legislation since it was adopted all of those years ago. and make no doubt about it, i mean make no mistake this decision this piece of legislation will have effects that range from employment law to sports to churches. there's only one problem with this piece of legislation. it was issued by a court not by a legislature. it was written by judges, not by the elected representatives of the people. and it did what this congress has pointedly declined to do for years now, which is to change

the text and the meaning and the application and the scope of a historic piece of legislation. you know, it's significant, i think,h8 another reason as well. this decision, this bondoc case and the majority who wrote it, it represents the end of something. it represents the end ohe conservative legal movement or the conservative legal project as we know it. after osdoc that effort as we know it, as it has existed up to now, it's over. and i say this because if this gives you this decision, if you can invoke this in order to reach a decision, an outcome that fundamentally changes the scope and meaning and application of statutory law the textualism and originalism

and all of those phrases don't mean much at all. if those are the things we were fighting for that's what i thought we were fighting for if we've been fighting for originalism and textualism and this is the result of that, then i have to say it turns out we haven't been fighting for very much or maybe we've been fighting for quite a lot but it's been exactly the opposite of what we thought we were fighting for. now, this is a very significant decision and it marks a turning point for every conservative and it marks a turning point for the legal conservative movement. now, the legal conservative depended on one group of people in particular in order to carry the weight of the votes to actually support this out in public to get out there and make it possible electorally and those are religious conservatives. i am one myself. evangelicals conservative

catholics, conservative jews, let's be honest they have been the core of the legal conservative efforts. it dates back to the 1907' is these religious conservatives from different backgrounds but what they protection for their right to worship, for their right to free exercise their faith as the first amendment guarantees, for the right to gather in their communities, for their right to pursue the way of life that their scriptures variously command and that thetitution absolutely protects. that's what they have asked for that's what they have sought all these years. but as to those religious conservatives, how do they fare in yesterday's decision? what will this decision mean, this rewrite of title 7? what will it mean for churches? what will it mean for religious schools? what will it mean for religious charities? well in the many pages of its

opinion, the majority 33 pages to be exact the majority does finally get around to saying something about religious liberty on one page. what does it say? here's the substance of the court's analysis. how the doctrines protecting religious liberty interact with title 7 as reinterpreted now by the court are questioned for future cases. let's have that again. how the doctrines of religious liberty interact with title 7 are questions for future cases. no doubt they are. huge questions. and we eagerly await what our super legislators across the street in the supreme court building at 1 first street how they will legislate on this question. what will become of church hiring what will become of the policy of religious schools and charities?

who knows. who is to say. they are for future cases. in defense of the court it is difficult toipate in one case all future spobl implications. that's why courts are supposed to leave legislating to legislators, that's why article 3 does not give the united states supreme court or any federal court the power to legislate but only the judicial power to decide cases and couldn't verses but not to decide policies. but i will also say this. that everybodynows every honest person knows that the laws in this country today, they are made almost entirely by unelected bureaucrats and courts. they are not made by this body. why not? because this body doesn't want to make law that's why not. because in order to make law you have to take a vote. in order to vote, you have to be on the record and to be on the record is to be held accountable

and that's what this body fears above all else. this body is terrified about being held accountable for anything on any subject. can we be surprised that where the legislator fears t article 1 body, this body refuses to do its jobs, courts rush in and bureaucrats too. are they accountable to the people? no not at all. do we have any recourse? notwhat else do we do? now we must wait to see what the super legislators will say about our rights in future if this case makes anything clear, it is that the bargain that has been offered to religious conservatives for years now is a bad one. it's time to reject it. the bargain has never been necessarily explicitly articulated but religious conservatives know what it is.

the bargain is that you go along with the party establishment you support their policies and priorities or at least keep your mouth shut about it and in return the establishment will put some judges on the bench who supposedly will protect your constitutional rights to freedom of worship to freedom of exercise. that's what we've been told for years now. we were told if we're supposed to shut up while the party establishment focuses on cutting taxes and handing favors for multinational corporations who don't share our values, who will not stand up for american principles who are only too happy to ship american jobs overseas but we're supposed to say nothing about that, we're supposed to keep our mouth shut because maybe we'll get a judge out of the deal. that was the implicit bargain the of we're supposed to keep our party shut while the party establishment pursues ruinist trade policies. we're supposed to keep our mouths shut while those at the

upper end of the income bracket get all the attention while working families and college students and those who don't want to go to college but can't get a good job. they get what? what attention? workers, children, what about parents looking for help with the cost of raising children? looking for help with the culture in which they have to children? looking for help with communities, rebuilding the communities in which they must carry out their family life. what about college students trying to find an education that isn't expensive and figuring out a way to pay back the rueus -- unitus debt? we are supposed to stay quiet about all of that and more because there would benstitution religious liberty except for they aren't. these judges don't follow the constitution.

they invoke textualism in order to reach their preferred outcome. i want to be clear i am not personally criticizing any justice who joined the majority opinion or wrote it, i believe. 100% the justice who offered this opinion, justice gorsuch are sincere and who werm writing to the best of their ability reasoning to the best of their ability and the opinion it is -- it is whatever else you might say about it, it is not sloppily reasoned. i think they thought they were doing what they thought was best and using all the skills and gifts they have. here. i question how judges who hold to this philosophy on that bench. i question the bargain that people of faith have been offered and asked to hold to for all of these years. and the truth is to those who have said, who have objected to my own questioning of judicial nominees in this body, to those

who said i was wrong to question judges who came before the judiciary committee to those who chided me for asking tough questions even of nominees by a republican president for those who said i was slowing the process down and i was out of line for the supposedly conservative groups to this threatened to buy television time in my own state who punished me for asking questions about conservative judges, i just have this to say this is why i ask questions. this is this why i won't stop, and i wish some more people would ask some harder questions. because this outcome is not acceptable. and the bargain which religious conservatives have been offered is not tenable. so i would just say it's not time for religious conservatives to shut up. we've done that for too long. no it's time for religious conservatives to stand up and to speak out. it's time for religious conservatives to bring forward the best of our ideas on every

policy affecting this nation. we should be out in the forefront leading on economics on trade on race, on class on every subject that matters for what our founders called the general welfare because we have a lot of to -- a lot to offer. not just to protect our own rights but for the good of all of our fellow citizens because as religious believers we know that serving our fellow citizens of whatever their religious faith, whatever their commitments may be, serving them aiding them is one of the significant ways that we -- signature ways to show our love for naib. time for religious conservatives to take the lead rather than being pushed to the back. it is time for religious conservatives to speak up rather than sit and because i am confident that people of faith of goodwill across this country are ready to do that and want to do that and have something to offer this country and every person in this country, whatever their background or income or race or religion because of that i'm

confident of the future. i'm also confident that the old ways will not do. so let this be a departure. let this be a new beginning. let this be the start of something better. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. jones: thank you, madam president. madam president one of the greatest documents that i believe ever written was written on scraps of paper in a lonely jail cell in birmingham, alabama in 1963. the letter from a birmingham jail written by martin luther king is a call to action. last year for the first time in the history of this body, the entire letter was read on the senate floor. three republicans three democrats, a bipartisan effort, a bipartisan reading of a letter that is so important the words of which still resonate today. today we do it again. i am have one republicans three democrats to take part in this

historic reading. and at this point as we get to that letter, i'd like to yield the floor to my friend from south carolina senator scott for a special introduction to this importa i yield the floor, madam president. mr. scott: thank you, madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina. mr. scott: thank you ma'am. madam president, we are at a critical time in our nation's history. i think we can all sense the opportunity that is before us. through the challenges of covid and the death of george floyd and its aftermath we cant real lasting famous line from dr. king's letter from birmingham jail injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. let me say that one more time. injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere where.

more than at any time i can remember people of all ages and races are standing up together for the idea that lady justice must be blind. and although covid has delayed this now annual reading of dr. king's letter, it is truly never been more important than it is right now. i want to thank all of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for reading today and senator jones for putting this together again. every time we hear them, the words of dr. king teach us something new. i hope the nation hears these words with an open and an open heart and we all come together unified for a bigger purpose. senator jones let me just close by saying@w this. that the letter from the

birmingham jail was a letter written to the clergy of the time as senator hawley wasof standing up for our religious liberties, the one thing he said at the end was we should stand up now for all the issues facing our nation. issues, the racial issues andht it's and appropriate that following that -- it's important and appropriate that following that speech you have the reading of the letter from the birmingha leaders the religious leaders to bnd engaged in this current struggle. that's how change comes to america. thank you leading this process. mr. kennedy: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. kennedy: madam president with me today is one of my colleagues from my office, callus.

madam president the words of dr. king. letter from a birmingham jail. april 16, 1963. my dear fellow clergymen while confined here in the birmingham city jail, i came across your recent statement calling my present activities unwise and untimely. seldom do i pause criticism of my work and if i sought to answer all of the criticisms that crossed my desk, my secretaries would for anything other than such correspondence in the course of a day. and i would have no time for

but since i feel that you are men of genuine goodwill and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, i want to try to answer your statement in what i hope will be patient and reasonable terms. i think i should i am here in birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in." i have the honor of serving as president of the southern christian leadership conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in atlanta, georgia. we have some 85 affiliatedss the south and one of them is the alabama christian movement for human rights. frequently we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates.

several months ago, the affiliate here in birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. we readily consented, and when the hour came, we lived up to so i, along with several members of my staff, am here because i was invited here. i am here because i have organizational ties here. but, more basically, i am in birmingham because injustice is here. just as the prophets of the eighth century b.c. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the lord" far beyond the boundaries of their and just as the apostle paul

left his village of carried the gospel of jesus christ to the far corners of the greco roman world, so am i compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own hometown. like paul, i must constantly respond to the macedonian call for aid. moreover, i am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. i cannot sit idly by in atlanta about what happens in birmingham. injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. we are caught in an inescapabl network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. whatever affects one directly

affects all indirectly. never again can we afford toincial "outside agitator" idea.yone who lives inside the united states can never be within its bounds. you deplore the demonstrations taking place in birmingham. but your statement, i am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. i am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis t effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. it is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking placeut

it is even more unfortunate that the city'se left the african american community with no alternative in any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. we have gone through all these steps in birmingham. there can be no gainsaying the engulfs this community. birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the united states. its ugly record of brutality is widely known. african americans have experienced grossly unjust treatment in thed

bombings of african american homes and churches in birmingham than in any city? the nation. these are the hard, brutal facts of the case. on the basis of these conditions, african american leaders sought to negotiate wit city fathers. but the latter consistently engage in good faith negotiation. then, last september, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of birmingham's economic community. in the course of the were made by the merchants -- for example, to remove the stores' humiliating racial signs. on the basis of these promises the reverend fred shuttlesworth and the leaders of the alabama christian movement for human rights agreed to a morator]úm on all demonstrations.

as the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise. a few signs, briefly removed returned; as in so many past experiences our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us. we had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community. mindful of the difficulties involved, we decided to undertake a process of self-purification. we began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: "are

you accept blows without retaliating?" "are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?" direct action program for the easter season, realizing that except for christmas, this is the main shopping period of the year. knowing that a strong economic withdrawal program would be the by-product of direct action, we felt that this would be the best time to bring pressure to bear on the merchants for the needed change. then it occurred to us that birmingham's mayoral election was coming up in march, and we speedily decided to postpone action until after election day. when we discovered that the commissioner of public safety, eugene "bull" connor, had piled up enough votes to be in the

runoff, we decided again to postpone action until the day after the runoff so that the demonstrations could not be used to cloud the issues. like many others, we waited to see mr. connor defeated, and to this end we endured postponement after postponement. having aided in this community need, we felt that our direct action program could be delayed no longer. the words of dr. kings a letter from a birmingham jail, april 16 1963. madam president i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. jones: thank you, madam president. continuing the reading from the letter from the birmingham jail.

you may well ask: "why direct action? why sit-ins, marches, and so forth? isn't negotiation a better path?" you are quite right in calling for negotiation. indeed, this is the very purpose of direct acon nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. it seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. my citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. but i must confess that i am not afraid of the word "tension." i have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent t which is necessary for growth. just as socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that

individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we se need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. the purpose of our d program is to cr so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. i, therefore, concur with you in your call for negotiation. too long has our beloved southland been bogged down in a monologue rather than dialogue. one of the basic points in your statement is that the action that i and my associates have taken in b some have asked: "why didn't you give the new city administration time to act?"

the only answer that i can give to this query is that the new birmingham administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one before it will act. we are sadly mistaken if we feel boutwell as mayor will bring the millennium to birmingham. while mr. boutwell irson than mrnncoedicated to maintenance of the status quo. i have hope that mr. boutwell will be reasonable enough to sssive resistance to desegregation. but he will not see this without pressure from devotees of civil rights. gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. lamentably, it is an historical seldom give up theirrivileges voluntarily. individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as

reinhold niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals. we know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. frankly, i have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. for years now i have heard the word "wait!" it rings in the ear of every negro with piercing famili this "wait" has almost aays meant "never." we must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied." we have waited for more than 340

years for our constitutional and god-given rights. the nations of asia and africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creeprd gaining a cup of c perhs it is easy for those who darts of segregation to say, "wait." but when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you havlled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your 20 million negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society;

when you take a cross-country drive and find it mess to sleep night after night in uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading and "colored," when your first name becomes an expletive your middle name becomes boy however old you are and your last name becomes john and your wife and mother are never given the respected title mrs. . "mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued inner fears and outer resentments, when you areforever fighting

a degenin sense of "nobodiness" -- then you will understand why [i] find it difficult to wait. madam chair i'd yield the floor. mr. lankford: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: there comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and men are no longer willing to be i hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. you express a great deal of anxi our willingness to this is certainly a legitimate concern. since we so diligently urge people to obey the supremeon of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. one may well ask: "how can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" the answer lies in the fact thattwo types of laws:

just and unjust. i would be the first to advocate obeying just law one has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. conversely, one has a moral responsibili laws. i would agree with st. augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all." now, what is the difference between the two? how does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? a st law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of god. an unjust law is a code that is out of harmo to put it in the terms of st. thomas aquinas: ust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. any law that uplifts human personality is just. any law that degrades human all segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the the personality. it gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the

segregated a false sense of inferiority. segregation, to use theewish philosopher martin buber substitutes an "i it" relationship for an "i thou" relationship and end relegating persons to the status of things.tion is not only politically, economically, and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. paul tillich has said that sin is separation. is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awfulment, his terrible sinfulness? thus it is that i can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the supreme court, for it is morally right; and i can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances for they are morally wrong. example of just and unjust laws. an unjust law is a code that a group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself.

this is difference made legal. by the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. this is sameness made legal. let me give another explanation. a law is unjust if it isted on a minority that, astá a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. who can say that the legislature of alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? throughoutlabama all sorts of devious methods ar prevent negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single negro is registered. can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democr sometimes a law is just on its

face and unjust in its application. for instance, i have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. but such an ordinance becomesn it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the first amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest. i hope you are able to see the distinction i am trying to point out. in no sense do i advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregat that would lead to anarchy. one who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, andne penalty. i submit tha breaks the law that conscience tells him and who in order to arouseciunityustice is, in reality, expressing the highest respect for law.

of course, there is nothinnew about this kind of civil disobedience. it was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of shadrach, meshach, and abednego to obey the laws of nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. it was practiced superbly by therly christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the roman empire. to a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because socrates practiced civil disobedience. in our own nation, the boston tea party represented a massive act of civil disobedience. we should never forget that everything adolf hitler did in germany was "legal" and everything that the hungarianngary was "illegal." it wasillegal" to aid and comfort a jew in hitler's germany. even so, i am sure that, had i lived in germany at the time, i would have aided and comforted my jewish brothers. if today i lived in a communist

country where certain principles dear to the christian faith arecate disobeying that country's antireligious laws. i must make two honest confessions to you, my christian and jewish brothers. first, i must confess that over the past few years, i have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. i have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the negro's great stumbling block in toward freedom is not the white citizen's counselor or white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tensiopeace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "i agree with you in the goal you seek, but i cannot agree with your methods o who paternalistically believeshe can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives time and who constantly advises theto wait for a "more convenient season."

shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. i had hoped that the white moderate would understand that and that when they fail in this purpose, they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. i had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the south is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the negro passively acceptedis unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality.tually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. we merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is alrealt out in the open,

where it can be seen and dealt wilj like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness for the natural medicines of air and light injustice must be exposed, withits exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured. with that i yield. mr. brown: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from a letter from a birmingham jail, dr. martin luther king jr. in your statement , you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. but is this a logical assertion? robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? isn't this like condemningwerving commitment to truth and his

philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock? isn't this like condemning j because his unique god consciousness and never-ceasings will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion? we mus federal courts have consistently affirmed, it is wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate violence. society must protect the robbed i had also hoped that the white moderate would reject the myth concerning time in relation to i have just received a letter from a white brother in texas. he writes: "all christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but it is possible that you are in too great a religious hurry. it has taken christianity almost 2,000 years to accomplish what it has. the teachings of christ take time to come to earth."

such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. more and more i feel that the ave used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. we wely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appallingsilence of the good people.ress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it efforts of men willing to be this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. we must use time creatively, inowledge that the time isto do right. is noom the quicksand of raciarock of human dignity.

birmingham as extreme. at first i disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. i began thinking about the fact that i stand in the middle of two opposing forces in the negro community. one is a force of complacency, made up in part of negroes w as a result of long years of oppressi self-respect in the sense of "somebodiness" that they have adjusted to segregation; and in part of a few middle-class negroes who, because of a degree of academic and economic ways they profit by segregation, have become insensitive to the problems of the masses. one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. it is expressed in the various are springing up across the nation, the largest known being elijah muhammad's muslim movement. nourished by the negro'sover the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost

faith in america, who have absolutely repudiatedstianity, and who have concluded that t an incorrigible "devil."i have tried to stand be these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the "do no nor the hatred and despair oftionalist. for there is the more excellent way of love and nonv i am grateful to god that, through the influence of the nonviolence became an integrrt of our struggle. if this philosophy had not emerged, by now many streets of be flowing with blood. and i am further convinced that if our white brothers dismiss as "rabble-rousers" and "outside and if they refuse to support our nonviolent efforts, millions of negroes will, out of frustration and despair, seekck nationalist ideologies -- a development that would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare. oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. the yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and

that is what has happened to the something within has reminded him of his birthright of freem, and something wit that it can be gained. ha by the zeitge brothers of africa and his brown and yellow brothers of asia, south america and the caribbean, urgency towardhe promised land ofe. if one recognizes this vital urge that has engulfed the negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. the negro has many pent-up resentments and latent frustrationsase them.im march; let him make prayer pilgrimag hall; let him go on freedom rides -- and try to understand why he must do so. if his repressed emotions are not resolutioned in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression througno threat but a fact of history. so i have not said to my peoe, "get rid of your discontent." rather, i have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled ent direct action. and now this approach is being termed extremist.

but though i was initially disappointed acategorized as an extremist, as i continued to think about the matter, i gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. was not jesus an extremist for love: "love your enemies, blessod to them that hate you, and pray for them which despifully use you, and persecute you." was not amos an extremist for justice: "let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." was not paul an extremist for the christian gospel: "i bear in my body the marks of the lord jesus." was not martin luther an extremist: "here i stand; i cannot do otherwise, so help me god." and to the end of my days before i make a butchery of my conscience." and abraham lincoln: "this nation cannot survive half sve and half free."(& that all men are created equal whether we will be extremists but what kind of extremists we will be.

will we be extremists for hate or for love? will we be extremists for the the extension of justi in that dramatic scene onhill three men were crucified. we must never forget that all three were crucified for the same cri extremism. two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. the othe extremist for love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose abovevironment. perhaps the south, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. madam president, i yield the floor. presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. romney: i continue reading letter from a dr i had hoped that the white . perhaps i was too optimistic;ized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yeare, and still fewer have the vision

to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong persistent, and determined action. i am thankful, however, that some of our white brothers in thsouth have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it. they are still all too few in quantity, but they are big in quality. some -- such as ralph mcgilldabbs, ann braden, and sarah patton boyle -- have written about our struggle in eloquent and prophetic terms. others have marched with us donameless streets of the south. they have languished in filthyroach-infested jails, suffering the abuse and brutality of as dirty expletive lovers. unlike so many of their moderate brothers and sisters, they have recognized the urgency of the moment and sensed the need for powerful "action" antidotes to combat the disease of segregation. let me take note of my other i have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership. of notable exceptions.

that each of you has taken some significant stands on this issue. reverend stallings, for your christian stanwelcoming negroes to yourrvice on a nonsegregated basis. of this state for integrating spring hill college several years ago. but despite these notable exceptions, i must honestly reiterate that i have been disappointed with the church. of those nega who can always find something wrong with the church. i say this as a minister of the go who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who willong as the cord of life shall lengthen.4into the leadership of the bus protest in montgomery, alabama a few years ago, i supported by the white church. i felt that the white ministers, priests, and rabbis of the south would be among our strongest allies. instead, some have been outright and misrepresentin all too many others have been more cautious than courageous

and have remained si the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows. inttered dreams, i came to birmingham with the that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause and, with deep moral would serve as the es could reach the power structure. i had hoped that each of you would understand. but again i have been disappointed. i have heard numerous southern religious leaders admonish their worshippers to comply with a segregation decision because it is the law, but i have longed to hear white ministers declare:ree because integration is moralight and because the negro is your brother." in the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the negro, i have watched white chur and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious triviali in the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, i have hea "those are social issues, with

which the gospel has no real concern." and i have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly gion which makes a strange unbiblical distinction between bo i have traveled the length andlabama, mississippi, and all the other southern states. on sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings, i h looked at the south's beautiful churches with their laufty spires pointing heavenward. i have beheld the impressive outlines of her massive religious education buildings. f myself asking: "what kind of people worship here? who is their god? where were their voi lips of governor barnett during this period with words of interposition and nullification? wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? where were their voices ofised and weary negro men and women decided to complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?"

yes, these questions are still in my mind. in deep disappointment i havechurch. have been tears of love. there can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. how could i do otherwise? i am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson, and great-gr yes, i see the church as the but, oh! how we have blemished and scarreugh social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.me when the church when the early christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. in those days, the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion;ans entered a town, the people inr became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and

but the christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to small in number, they were big in commitment. ple, they brought an end to suchancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. things are different so often the contemporary churchal voice with an uncertain sound.en it is an archdefendero. far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is scold by the church's silent -- and often even vochey are. but the judgment of god is upon the church as never before. recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will

lose its authentic f the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an ir social club with no meaning forev whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust. perhaps i have once again been inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as theúñ true ekklesia and the hope of the world.t again i am thankful to god that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion haen loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joinedhe heir secur congregations and walked the streets of albany, georgia, with us. they have gone down the highways of the south on tortuous rides for fr madam president, i yield. ms. duckworth: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois.

ms. duckworth: madam president i cwith the readings of the letter from a birmingham jail by dr. martin luther king. 6 yes, they have gone to jail with us. some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the fellow ministers. but they have acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.en the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. they have carved add tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment. whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. but even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, i ou future. i have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. we will reach the goal of freedom in birmingham and all over the nation because the goal of america is freedom. abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with america's destiny. before the pilgrims landed at plymouth, we were here. be

etched the majestic words of the declaration of independence across the pages of history, we were here. for more than two centuries our forebears labored in thisilt the their masters while suffering gros shameful humiliation -- and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. if the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us the opposition we now face will we will win our freedom because nation and the eternal will of god are embodied in our echoingdemands. before closing, i feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly.e force for ing "order" ce."i doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teenage into unarmed, nonviolent negroes. i doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observ and inhumane treatment of

negroes here in the city jail; if you wch and curse old negro women and young negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old negro men and yo did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted. i cannot join you in your praise of the birmingham police depart it is true that the police have exercised add degree of discipline in handling the demonstrators. in this sense, tve conducted themselves rather "nonviolently" in public. but for what purpose? to preserve the evil system of segregation. over the past few years i have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as i have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. but now i must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhap more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. perhaps mr. connor and his policemen have been rathernt in public, as waspritchett in alb

moral meanolence to maintain the immoral end of racial injustice as t.s. eliot has said: "the last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason." i wish you had commended the negro sit inners and demonstrators of birmingham for their sublime courage, their amazing discipline one day the south will recognize its real heroes. they will be the james merediths, with the noble sense pce jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing the life of the pioneer. they will be old, oppressed, in a 72-year-old woman in montgomery, her people d responded with ungramm who inquired about her weariness: "my feets is tired, but my soul is at rest."ollege students, the young ministers of the gospel courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willing any going to jail for conscience' sake. one day the south will know that

counters, they were in reality most sacred values in ourheritage thereby bringing our nation back to those great democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the stud and the declaration of independence. never before have i written so long a letter. i'm afraid it is much too long to take your precious time.n assure you that it would have been much shorter if i been writing from a comfortable he is il cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers? letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, i beg you to forgive me.ave said anything that understates the truth and inmy having a patience that allows me to settle for anything lesi beg god to forgive me. strong in the faith. will soon make it possible for you, not as÷7 an integrationist or a civil rights leader but as a fclman ana ch d clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog

lifted from our fear-drenchednd in some not-too-distt tomorrow the radiant stars of love and scintillating beauty.r the cause of peace and brotherhood, martin luther king jr. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. jones: thank you mr. president. i want to colleagues who joined me today as senator scott said, we had hoped ton april onhe anniversary of the writing of this letter. unfortunately the pandemic overtook us. but as senator scott said, i don't think the timing chan lastd this, i am sur that each of myagues will leave the an dr. king's legacy and i hope better understanding of where america finds itself today. when we think of usually see him on the steps ofemorialand passionately describing his dream for america or behind a pulpit to press forwardo not

to quest for civil been to the moun and the promise land. it is, somewha readd on the floor today and picture small, dirty jail cell writing in long handn papero a group of ministers that were not hateful as much as they were questioning the need for action at that particular moment in 1963. there are to share my thoughts on our situation today i needo move written in 1963, of action so long ago, and certainly it is true are more contrary writings that explain how we should see our and what actions areded today present. after although ituncertain in the spring of 1963, dr. king and the movement would go on achieve historic changes with a signing of the civil rights act of 1964 thehts act of 1965, and so many other legislative

but i a moment today in this time in thi dr. king's words they are -- con temperature ri aserful. 1963, alabama had become the focal point of the racism and hatred t existed throughout ou nation. bombings and fires inorhoods were commonplace. suspects never a a promising segregation segregation forever. bull connoration unleashed vicious police dogs on innocent engaged in a peaceful protest. and later in that year a church bombing that killed four young girls simply because of thef their skin. the question on the dr. king was is, wh and

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s#er t the ideal solution or all the letting the theoretical perfect be the

enemy of tangible change that we our citizens to wait any already have. as a body, act should act again. to that end we are enforcement reformt man from the administration from congressional leaders on political aisle and botht> houses of the united states congress. and i am optimistic that we can find the common grounhievel will do as dr. king reminds law is just on its an unjust in its that that seemed to hold sucht eroded to becomes respectfully should review the votiál act to make easy access to the bal box is when thep midst of a health care crisis. we existing and practices in education to make sure everyone has equal access to adu we should laws to has equal economic protectionsemployment

discrimination. to that extent i should add that he historipreme court decision yesterdayng the equality act to the senate and affirm our commitmento the ending discrimination in the against any individual. we shoulding laws that continue denyy, affordable health care to poor and households including giving states dollars those individualsho not only struggled before this pandemic but have lost during this need to examine laws like the fairousing act signed only a week after assassination in order to ensure that that$d fulfills the enacted. we spend billions to perpetuate housing keepseople without men's ck families, trapped in places where it is difficult t access education healthy food, and opportunities. signs are

pointing to a worsening housing crisis because of the as people, a we cannot let this pass. but by saying that i mean more than just passing reforms. surely reforms are needed, is to not just to reform but to transform dramati nature and character of our our culture toward a just governmen to that end as we focus on heeding dr. king's call to action written in also remember his words written just the passage of the c act and two years after passage of the voting rights act. in final book "where go from here, chaos dr. king wrote that america has been sin even ardent in wem change. but too quickly apathy and disinterest rise to the next logical stepsre taken. laws are passed in a crisis mood after birmingham or selma but no

substantial formal signing legislation. the recording of the l itself is treated as the realiof reform. the point is who have suffered long for equality and foroment alive. keep it alive beyond the c mood we ourself today. to who have more recently your plight through newhatthis moment with more division and anger at another that farther apard deeper into chaos where we failed to heal. that cannot be america's future. dee asr warned simply a moment for another. that makes sound like sometding is changing but it never does. th first slave ship ton these shores to the jail cellbirmingham alama where dr. king wrote his read today. to the death floyd and breonna taylor and rayshard path

of multigenerational failure to be e america i actually over and we arelyru nation and justice fori son of deep south, that weot lose moment. we in center of this divide for too long, and we c the center of more just society. si inception the words all are equal. we nation with justice for all all, not some,. but we know we have never lived upo ideal. we all know it. in resnse many of the are pla g that all lives matter and of course theyo. bu where w truly equal and where justice is for all until we the words black lives matterndea have to itall of

us must reject the voices of hatred and intolerance and division. all of us must embra taking action to r out injustice and tok justice and opportunity d to racial jus in americaas long, is a path walk together if we are to reach theolleagues i say join me. to the people of a our hb together. it america it is time.ethlog officer: the senator texas. mr. cruz: mr. president, today is the second time in the l i've had join the from a bipnators to read dr. king's letter from the birming thank the senator from alabama for his leadership brinng this group i had read that ly times before, but i never read out loud. i'd never heard the m tm

q& this historic is time those words should look back ath[ the incredibleustice gave us. grieving. this is a we anger, rage. this is is divided onn a long, long time. th time where we need to hear a call to unity and a cal both -- for and i had a like to just briefly make thr observaons about the first is letter written tonow, we refer to dr. king as dr. kin is easy to forget that he was also reverend king. he(i was a christian ministerpr w letter are "my dear fellow

clergymen." that's to whom this in the church where he had a mesge of ends for justice person of justice, defeating racial, defeating a matter aatter of morality. what dr. kingai ithe the letter. i am inh8 here. understand how much this was a call to church leaders. he just asll the prophets in eighth century b.c. left their villages andarried their messages just as apostle ofsus and carried the gospelf jesus christ to the f greco roman world s am i compelled toryl of freedom beyond at a our nation is grieving is in a anger, is in dr. king, reverendchurch leaders to stand up for justice, to stand up forlear as a bell today.

dr. king in this letter(2nd his ministry, throughoutp called ovend violence. of those w thest is not the as we've seen riots in our asd, we've seen police officers and murdered ilent and angry protests and the dr. king calling out to resist spea thoserd in calling for justice dr.ged to our principles. there are some,y young who are angry, who are being peddled what i any is a bill of goods lie that america isamentall unjust, that it is an evil soc that is simply not true. is there evil in tis there racism in thehat present in the

united states? absolutely. dr. king this letter foundations of our nation. instead, he made anromises this nation was foundedpromises of fedom the equality we have not fully achieved that, b that's the beauty of thiamerican experiment. we're a nationnd on the proposition that all men are created equal even though our history has been in achieving that and so i thank my democrats who came letter. these ords. we need to hea we to stand for unity. i yield the floor.isç hl[x" pe?ñ

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the governor opened a new park, rocky magnificent place in uppertas land and $221 since 1964. as to was enacted by congress in 1964

recommendation of the first outdoor commissionsed mil environmeng, benefit, that's the purch conservation land. the it doesn't get spents idea of the rockefeller -- lawrence rockefeller commission in the 1 o america's outdoors. chaired that commission and t recommendation of the commission was permanent funding for the land and so, mr. since the people in t body peopleody have been working tomlhe land andund permaneo that but now can. now let's talk about the money for a minute. senator portman, ame director of the budget office, points outg real money to reduce an the budget, which we do sometimes without it. if we d enough oil this y prod billion by selling energy produced o public the money we don't spend some have objected that it's mandatory and n for. that management and budget has it. the president's budget has approved it. i think it's money and i wyoming it right off the top. if youou 27.5% or any other coastal

might get 37.5% all tandatory in the sense tha be psg some of that kind of poters for this it weren't this for a long time. senator burr andardner manchin and daines oervationund. then o portm work secretary zinke see me in tennessee three years parks bill and i was delighted for fi it. there were a number of us with the same idea. as i mentioned president trump has been behind itro beginning. andansion of it. and he's the first as allow exmore ration for this purpose -- exploration for this purpo credit. he has a lot that he can put o on the floorority leader can do did it. grateful to senator schumer and creating an environment for which we can pass this b way. t to pass a big piece of legislati in the unitelq need three important o thes the sponsoring senators, and oneuperior staff.f those to place the will read them,embers who have been so helpful to curtis jennifer lorraine of senator gardner's tellman sizemore, holy osarah of senator live. of senatorrnffice.allison

martin and -- annanewton of my staff. chad office.xd of sen cantwell'sffice. there advocates. no more than support. n you t@ conservation angler, same groups behind we owe all ohanks for that.sae interior has been passes theow wh a they'll carry it across the finish line infpresident, the federal government is not always the most popular entity in the united state military keeps the safe, we're grateful fo that.whed miracles, wee that.hen the federal government properties from the national mallo the grand canyon to the for andhas history. italy has itsegypt has itss the great american outdoors. an essen great american nt stewards of whaten burnsed ideas so that the next generannjoy thes this generation has been privilege do. i thank thedent. i yield the floor.

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