Date: 2008-06-23
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. I rise in support of H. Res. 1293. honoring Andrew Goodman. James Chaney and Michael Schwerner: Mr. Goodman. a 20yearold student volunteer. Mr. Chaney. a 21yearold plasterer and activist in the civil rights movement. Mr. Schwerner. a 24yearold founder of one of the first community centers for African Americans in Mississippi. Mr. Chaney and Mr. Schwerner were also members of the civil rights task force organized by the Congress of Racial Equality. All three were. tragically killed in 1964. that- summer. for their participation in the civil rights campaign in Mississippi. where they had just taken part. along with 175 other volunteers. in a civil rights orientation project. which led the way for some 800 other volunteers. I had just graduated from.high school in California. and I remember the shock of hearing about this tragedy. It was one in a series of tragedies we were seeing portrayed around the United -States. where people just. simply attempting to be recognized as full human beings in this society. with the opportunity to vote and the opportunity to participate in the politicalprocess. were being denied that. and they and many others attempted to try and change that. That summer. these three men were picked up by a sheriff for allegedly speeding. and after their release from jail. they disappeared. A KKK informant and an FBI investigation bieced the story together. Evidently. after their release. the three men had been chased off the road. forced into a Klansmens car. brutally beaten. and killed. At the time. the State of Mississippi didnt file charges against anyone. The Federal Government charged someone in 1967 with conspiring to violate the civil rights of another. but that defendant was acquitted. Of seven other men convicted on conspiracy charges. no one served more than 6 years for the Jun? 23. 2008 death of three innocent individuals in this United States of America. It was not until January 6. 2005. that Mississippi indicted Edgar Ray Killen on three counts of murder. He was found guilty of three counts of manslaughter on June 1. 2005. the 41st anniversary of the crime. There is no doubt that justice so delayed warrants our honoring these three civil rights heroes again today. some 44 years after their death. Last year. the House passed H.R. 923. the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. which came out of our committee with bipartisan support. and it directs the Attorney General to designate a deputy chief within the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and a supervisory special agent within the Civil Rights Unit of the FBI to coordinate the investigation and prosecution of unsolved civil rightsera murders. E 150.0 Weve got to do it now because the perpetrators of these crimes have been able to live in freedom for so long. And some say why go after old men in their last years? Because. in fact. they should not have the opportunity to live out their lives without being held responsible for these horrendous acts. The bill also provides muchneeded resources to the Department of Justice. the FBI. State and local law enforcement officials to prosecute these cases. Madam Speaker. the FBI has identified nearly 100 outstanding cases that still need to be assessed. Many of these murders are 30 or 40 years old. Obviously theyre difficult to investigate and to prosecute because evidence has been lost or destroyed. witnesses and defendants have died. and memories have dimmed. We must act quickly to bring the longoverdue justice to these victims and their families. I urge all my colleagues to join the chairman of the full committee and other members of the Judiciary Committee in supporting this resolution. Madam Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.