[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11] [House] [Pages 15782-15784] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]{time} 1320 JAMES CHANEY, ANDREW GOODMAN, MICHAEL SCHWERNER, AND ROY K. MOORE FEDERAL BUILDING Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 3562) to designate the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ``James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner Federal Building''. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the Senate amendments is as follows: Senate amendments: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: SECTION 1. BUILDING DESIGNATION. The Administrator of General Services shall ensure that the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, is known and designated as the ``James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building''. SEC. 2. REFERENCES. With respect to the period in which the building referred to in section 1 is federally occupied, any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to that building shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building''. Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to designate the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the `James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building'.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas. General Leave Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the Senate amendments to H.R. 3562. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Texas? There was no objection. Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 3562, which designates the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building. [[Page 15783]] The Senate amendment to H.R. 3562 adds FBI agent Roy K. Moore to the naming designation of the federally occupied building that will house the Jackson, Mississippi, FBI field office. Agent Roy Moore was personally picked by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to lead the investigation into the deaths of Civil Rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. The events surrounding these three young men have a special place in civil rights history. They were civil rights activists who were training in Ohio to organize African Americans in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964. These three men represented a wave of young Americans who took time off from other parts of their lives to wade into certain adversity and to fight for equal rights for all Americans. All of the activists were murdered in the Freedom Summer of 1964, and their bodies were buried in an earthen dam outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi. FBI agent Roy Moore was tasked with leading the investigation of their disappearances and of bringing their attackers to justice. The events of that summer were later widely lauded as an important milestone in bringing law and order to Mississippi with respect to African American civil rights. Agent Moore's efforts resulted in 19 people being indicted in 1967 for violating the civil rights of these three gentlemen. Ultimately, seven men were tried and convicted. Roy Moore served 34 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and died on October 12, 2008, at the age of 94. It is fitting that we honor the memories of these young men and the memory of the FBI agent responsible for leading the investigation of their disappearances by designating the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, we are a very young Nation, but it is so crucial that we remember our history and that we honor our martyrs. This is one of those examples when we have a great opportunity to do both. These individuals gave their lives for the rights that we, frankly, take for granted now and that we hold so dear. Special Agent Moore ensured that the rule of law was enforced and that those murderers were brought to justice, so I think that it is fitting and appropriate to honor these men by naming the FBI building in Jackson, Mississippi, after them. I also support the Senate amendment, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson). Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Thank you very much. Madam Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 3562, an act to designate the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building. Madam Speaker, 45 years ago, three young men lost their lives while attempting to organize and register voters during that time known as Freedom Summer. These men were James Chaney, a 21-year-old man from Meridian, Mississippi; Andrew Goodman, a 20-year-old college student from New York; and Michael Schwerner, a 24-year-old CORE organizer and social worker who was also from New York. On July 21, 1964, the three men were driving from Meridian, Mississippi, to Longdale, Mississippi, to investigate the burning of Mount Zion United Methodist Church, which had been the meeting place for numerous civil rights groups. Along their journey, the trio was stopped by a Neshoba County deputy who was also a known member of the Ku Klux Klan. Subsequently, the three young men were arrested for speeding and were held without the use of a telephone at the Neshoba County jail. Hours later, they were fined and released. Shortly after the trio continued their journey, they were again pulled over by the sheriff's deputy, who likely unbeknownst to them, was followed by a mob of Klansmen who had assembled to abduct and kill the men. The three individuals were taken to a remote area of the county and were beaten and killed. Their car was burned, and their bodies were buried in an earthen dam. Days after their disappearances, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover personally selected Agent Roy K. Moore to lead the investigation effort. Agent Moore had become renowned for his investigation of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four young girls. As the investigation's lead agent, Moore was charged with commanding hundreds of agents who temporarily flooded the State--many of them reluctant to do their work. After significant investigation by Agent Moore and the FBI, the three individuals' bodies were found on August 4, 1964. Due to Mississippi's officials' refusal to prosecute the individuals for murder, the Justice Department brought charges against 17 individuals for conspiracy to deprive the three workers of their civil rights. Seven of the 17 individuals were found guilty, but none of them served terms longer than 6 years in jail. Finally, on June 21, 2005, a Neshoba County jury convicted Edgar Ray Killen on three counts of manslaughter and sentenced him to three consecutive terms of 20 years in prison in connection with the deaths of these young men. The murder of James Chaney, who was black, and the murders of Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were both Jewish, attracted national attention to the reality of the State's racial problems. As a result of their deaths, there was more pressure on the Federal Government to pass the Voting Rights Act. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House for quickly moving this legislation after it was returned from the Senate. The struggle for justice and equality has eternally bonded James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore. Today, Congress will act to link their legacy to Mississippi's newest symbol of justice and equality. Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise to concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 3562, which designates the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ``James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building''. This bill, as originally passed by the House, named this Federal Bureau of Investigations, FBI, facility in Jackson after James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, civil rights activists who were lynched in the summer of 1964 while attempting to organize African Americans to vote and pursue other civil rights in Mississippi. On June 21, 1964, the three men drove to Longdale, Mississippi, to investigate the site of a burned church in Neshoba County. They were arrested by the Neshoba County police as they were leaving the site and held by the police for several hours. They were later released only to be rearrested shortly thereafter. After the second arrest, the Neshoba County police officer turned the three civil rights activists over to local Klansmen. On August 4, 1964, 44 days later, their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam near Philadelphia, Mississippi. The Senate amendment to H.R. 3562 adds FBI Agent Roy K. Moore to the building name. Agent Roy Moore was personally picked by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to lead the investigation into the deaths of these young men. Nineteen men were later indicted; seven were tried and convicted. Agent Moore said the FBI would be there until it broke the back of the Ku Klux Klan, reestablished the rule of law at the local level, and enforced the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Senate amendment to H.R. 3562. {time} 1330 Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, again, this is an [[Page 15784]] important piece of legislation, and I would urge its support. With that, I would yield back the balance of my time. Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I support this legislation, move that it pass, and yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) that the House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 3562. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. ____________________