observer so the warrior tradition is exemplified by strength honor pride devotion and wisdom these qualities are a perfect fit with our nathan nation's problem military traditions i urge the people of our nation i urge the members of congress to make sure we have a day honoring our proud and brave native american veterans and i would reserve the balance of my time of the reserves on the floor it's a speaker this is an important resolution seven four four obviously recognizing the contributions of native american veterans is important and asking the president to issue a proclamation urging the people the united states to also observe a day of honor for native american veterans and my colleague from california talked about this it's interesting we recognize the contributions of native american veterans to our society and of course by so doing we're recognizing their achievements their singular achievements if i m for bringing this bill forward we have veterans day less than a week away my colleagues and i think it's important this body recognize one often overlooked group of veterans these veterans have made numerous contributions to the united states military no just recently in world war two but as far back as the war of eighteen twelve currently there are a hundred and ninety five thousand native american veterans who live in the united states and according to the u s army center for military history web site there have been twenty four native american medal of honor recipients since the civil war let me just repeat that there have been according to the u s army center of military history web site there have been twenty four native america medal of honor recipient since the civil war during world war two i think we all know about the navajo code talkers whose ranks in the pacific theater exceeded bor hundred during the course or world war two and serve world war two fewer than thirty non native speakers understood the navajos unwritten language the size and simple complexity of the language made the code extremely difficult to comprehend much less decipher in fact it was not until night hundred sixty eight that the united states government declassified the code in japanese never were able to decode this code so that's a compliment to their accomplishments with navajo code talkers and what they did in fact is that in a movie made on it in congress we have begun to recognize the extraordinary achievements from veterans such as these this past june the house passed h r three sixty six and this was introduced by congressman john sullivan of oklahoma naming the apartment of veterans affairs outpatient clinic in tulsa oklahoma as the ernest childers department of veterans affairs outpatient clinic this man was a native american from the creek nation who was awarded the medal of honor for his courageous actions doing war war two in addition the house passed h r twenty five forty six which names the asheville v a medical center after another brave native american p f c charles george he also was honored with a medal of honor posthumously for his actions in the korean war h r twenty five forty six was passed last week by the senate and now is awaiting the president signature so mr speaker is because of the gallant actions of our native american veterans like those of lieutenant colonel childers and p f c george as well as the bravery and fortitude of the navajo code talkers who served with the marines that i and other members are proud to sponsor this legislation this resolution and we urge its passage it duly recognize the many contributions throughout the history of our nation is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution on that every request a recorded  what purpose the gentleman from pennsylvania arise mr speaker i move this is bend the rules a pass senate joint resolution number seven o'clock will report the title of the joint resolution joint resolution seven joint resolution providing twenty reappointment of roger at citizen region of the board of regents of the smithsonian institution percent of the role of the gentleman from pennsylvania mr brady and the gentleman mr alors from michigan each will control twenty minute minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from this joint resolution where we appoint roger w st to be a citizen a region of the smithsonian institute for a six year term the last few years have been very difficult ones for the smithsonian the aftermath the september eleventh attacks cause a significant drop of public attendance at the smithsonian facilities which has only recently begun to bounce back many believe the institution has become too closely identified with donors and corporate sponsors of his buildings and activities which threatens your reputation for independence mr speaker reappointment reappointment including mr saying and two additional seats will be filled by new members who have not yet been recommended to us so there is a process of natural rotation we ultimately decided to give the board more time to implement the promis reforms recommend a book by its governance committee and the independent review committee the committee expects the board to appoint a secretary will be fully sponsored to the board and protect the values of the american public has expected of the smithsonian as part of the process of considering this joint broad understanding of the smithsonian operation in its past flaws and we believe he can make a useful contribution to the restructuring of the board he also from the community is not running for the new in the hands position of chairman of the board which is expected to  a january two thousand and eight as one of the prison reform recommendations we think the new occupant of this position should bring a fresh perspective to the management the boards affairs for these reasons we have decided to recommend mr states reappointed to the board for a second several of the members of the committee and house administration and i had the opportunity recently to meet with mr sant and discuss the road ahead for the museum in this time of change of opportunity and also to discuss the mistakes of the past mr cent assured me that with his reappointment he would do his part to ensure that the nation's attic which is a common name for the smithsonian is not being looted by those who have put personal gain above the entrance of the institution in the last congress this committee conducts an oversight hearing into smithsonian business ventures and what would turn out to be a prophetic concern about the museum's financial operat well my colleague chairman brady and i are committed to continuing vigorous oversight of the smithsonian and effective in and gauge board of regents as an essential first line of defense and ensuring that we do not experience a repeat of those problems that plague the immediate past president of the smithsonian and i'm confident based on the statements made by mr cent that he is committed to earning back to trust of the congress and the american people in the board drole of safeguarding our nation's most treasured assets and ensuring proper governance of the smithsonian and all that's different and to enterprises i appreciate the leadership given by the chairman of this committee mr brady and the way he has taken hold of this issue among others and i'm pleased to join him in approving this resolution thank you mr speaker and i opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the roles are suspended the joint resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the title of the bill bennett twenty two was sick and that to provide technical corrections to public law one on nine dash one sixteen two us c twenty one thirty one a no to extend the time period for the joint committee on the married to enter into an agreement to obtain a statue of rosa parks and for other purposes percent of the role of the gentleman from pennsylvania mr brady and the gentleman from michigan mr ehlers each control twenty minutes the chair myself such time as i may consume mr speaker jackson mr speaker this bill will provide for technical correction to public law one of those nine one sixteen to extend the time period for joint committee on the library to obtain a statue on the rosa parks and for other purposes provide the architect of the capitol with the resources necessary to acquire such a statue did you originally bill set a deadline of december first two thousand and seven for acquisition of the statue and s twenty two zero six would extend the deadline for two years further the bill authorize york to go to capital and it did any agreement or caught contract necessary to have the statue rendered is imperative that we are on a memory of rosa parks is that your will as soon as possible the house is in an agreement today as it was two years advocate for equality rosa parks is best remembered for a single act of civil disobedience that would change the history of our nation by refusing to move to the back of a bus in her native alabama to make room for a white passengers m parks ignited passions on both from both sides of the civil rights movement leading to the mongering bus boycott and helping to elevate the work of another great american of the civil rights movement martin luther king junior as well as i might add a and august member of this chamber congressman john lewis who also participated and played a leading role in some of the deaths the demonstration of that of that time even after passing rosa parks was a trailblazer as the first woman and only the second african american to lie in state in the capital of the rotunda i'm especially pleased to speak on her behalf since she'd decided to take a brisance in michigan for the remainder of her life after she had gone through the various demonstrations and activity surrounding that she was a distinguished citizen of our state and in fact we recently dedicated a new park in downtown grand rapids after her and it is named that rosa rosa parks park by extending the time period to put procure a statue of m parks this bill will allow it allow the joint committee in the library to delegate the administration of the statue selection prague process to the architect of the capitol the j c l was not designed for  an arts company ition allowing the architect of the capitol to administer the competition process will ensure that such stature selected is a fitting tribute to this marvelous civil rights pioneer thank you very much  support of s two two zero six a bill that simply provides technical corrections to public law one o nine one sixteen this legislation authorizes the architect of the capitol to enter into agreement on behalf of the joint committee of the library to acquire a statue of mr rosa parks it also extends the time period for that agreement by two years in two thousand and five it was my privilege to introduce this very important legislation with senator john kerry and senator mitch mcconnell from the other body to honor the life and work of the late mrs rosa parks by placing a statue of her in national statuary hall everyone knows the story of how mrs parks helped spark the modern civil rights movement when she refused to give up her seat on a legally segregated bus that fateful day december hundred fifty five leading to the montgomery bus boycott and the emergence of martin luther king jr from the beginning mrs parks led a life that ikeda to social change becoming an active member of the montgomery alabama chapter of the n mobilized a historic voter registration drive in montgomery and was later elected in the bill a c p chapter secretary mrs parks was a courageous woman who possessed the firm and quiet strength necessary to challenge injustice following the one nine hundred fifty four brown supreme court decision which provided equal protection under the laws legal framework her refusal to give up her seat eventually led to the one nine hundred sixty four civil rights act the one nine hundred sixty five voting rights act the  sixty eight open housing act and all of which helped make america better for all americans rosa parks remained a committed activist until the end of her life in the one nine hundred eighty s she worked in support of the south african anti apartheid movement in detroit with congressman john conyers in one thousand nine hundred seven she founded the rosa and raymond parks institute for self development a career counseling center for african american youth with dignity with grace and with courage rosa parks inspired generations and helped to make the world a more just and a compassionate place in life she received the presidential medal of freedom in one thousand nine hundred six and the congress of the united states awarded her the congressional gold medal in one thousand nine hundred nine the highest honors our nation bestows upon its civilians this placing of rosa parks a statue in national statuary hall is a testament to the fact that the long arc of history binns towards freedom and justice and equality when statuary hall was created by law in one thousand nine hundred sixty four african americans could not be citizens of the united states indeed the term african americans did not exist under that law it was impossible for us to be considered favorite sons or favorite daughters of states when rosa parks takes her place in natural statuary hall she takes with her frederick douglass she takes with her of the united states colored troops she takes with her harriet tubman answer jonah truth she takes them there and each she takes the legacy and the history of redefining what it means to be an american for all americans as she takes her place among the enormous statues that presently represent the various states within that great  she takes with her countless nameless peoples of african descent sent who from slavery to today sacrificed for an america many would never live to see as dr martin luther king jr whose half statue in not in statuary hall would implore us now is the time i want to thank senator feinstein for introducing this bill in the other body i want to thank matt mcgowan and kalita bood from the joint committee on the library for diligently working to get this extension act into law i want to thank barbara while on and from the architect of the capitals office for working with all of us to make sure that the goals of my original bill are realized i want to thank chairman brady and chairman ehlers for their sensitivity on this critical issue at this critical hour and i want to thank in a special way our late chair one needed milliner mcdonnell who worked with me tirelessly on this effort in fact mr speaker i might add that in the thirteen years that i've had the privilege of serving in this body i've only missed two votes one vote because my pager died in the battery did not afford my pager the power to let me know to vote and the other vote when i was on the other side of the aisle so overwhelmed by the number of republicans who are willing to sign on to a rosa parks statue in statuary hall that the democratic clerks could not find me to tell me to vote i was overwhelmed by that occasion i'm hoping mr speaker that today members of congress will once again vote on s twenty two  have no know their speakers but i would like to close with a few additional comment first of all right denies first of all i admire my colleague's voting record its rare person who misses only two votes during thirteen years  but of all i want to comment a few things that relating to rosa parks first what impresses me is how much one person who is determined to fight for what is right can accomplish and she was a marvelous person and stuck to her guns in tough situations and she carried the day and inspired a lot of other people to carry the day the other factor is as i look around the world today in the united states especially and compare that to the world before rosa parks what man this change we have undergone but also as i look around i still remember how much further we have to go and let us always work in the spirit of rosa parks to destroy discrimination of all sorts of all sorts and make certain that every american and in fact every passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table