Congressional Record — House, July 23, 2020, Page H3696

Summary

Page H3696 of the House section of the Congressional Record for July 23, 2020, in interleaved columns, with tributes and a broadband statement. Speakers honor John Robert Lewis, saying he gave his country his all, never gave himself over to anger, and made the Nation more perfect, which are the speakers' views. A separate speaker says the CARES Act provided $100 million for the ReConnect Pilot Program, for rural broadband grants. The speaker adds that more than 21 million Americans and 800,000 Pennsylvanians lack access, calling the digital divide critical.

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“Congressional Record — House, July 23, 2020, Page H3696.” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-07-23-crec-2020-07-23-pt1-pgh3696-2-3b3c542812/, SHA-256 1ea784d79dc3cb03bfc96bb2aa670925aa2cbda874af9dcd80b639aa5e38c721.

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H3696 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE July 23, 2020
‘‘gave a little blood.’’ In fact, John John Robert Lewis that made that as- 800,000 Pennsylvanians, lack access. It
gave so much more than that. He gave surance true, that made our Nation is imperative that we do what we can
his country his all, and he was willing more perfect and made our form of gov- to address this critical digital divide.
to give his life to make America a ernment turn towards justice. The CARES Act provided $100 million
more perfect Union, but he never gave John Lewis earned the respect of for the ReConnect Pilot Program,
himself over to anger or allowed him- men, women, and little children, and which provides grants for the costs of
self to harbor hatred in his heart for he made our world and our community broadband infrastructure development
those who persecuted him. and our Nation much better than he and improvement in rural areas. The
In a true mark of his character, he found it. CARES Act also provided $25 million
famously forgave George Wallace, say- My prayers are with his family and for the Distance Learning, Telemedi-
ing: ‘‘. . . to do otherwise—to hate every seeker of justice who mourns cine, and Broadband program.
him—would only perpetuate the evil him today. These funds will certainly have an
system we sought to destroy.’’ Thank you, brother Lewis. Thank impact on distance learning in the age
John continued: ‘‘Our ability to for- you. of coronavirus, but broadband
give serves a higher moral purpose in Rest in peace. connectivity is crucial regardless. We
our society. Through genuine repent- f need to continue to make rural
ance and forgiveness, the soul of our broadband and reliable broadband in-
VALLEY GROVE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Nation is redeemed.’’ frastructure a priority long after
AND BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY
This, he said, was the ‘‘very essence coronavirus is a thing of the past.
of the civil rights movement.’’ The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Mr. Speaker, I thank the dedicated
Mr. Speaker, as I reflect on John’s Chair recognizes the gentleman from educators of Valley Grove School Dis-
life, those words sum up why he was a Pennsylvania (Mr. THOMPSON) for 5 trict for going the extra mile to sup-
great man and why we will always minutes. port their students during these ex-
honor him. Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. traordinary times.
It was truly the privilege of my life Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend They are hometown heroes.
to call him my friend. We are a better Valley Grove School District of f
country because of him. His legacy of Venango County, Pennsylvania, for
change will last as long as America truly going above and beyond to con- REMEMBERING REPRESENTATIVE
does. Everyone should strive to honor nect with their students during the JOHN LEWIS
his incredible life. More importantly, COVID–19 pandemic. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The
we should all strive to learn from it. Due to coronavirus, we saw school Chair recognizes the gentleman from
But today, we mourn his loss, cele- doors close across the country. Many Massachusetts (Mr. KENNEDY) for 5
brate his life, and thank Almighty God parents found themselves in unex- minutes.
for sending a great man who helped pected homeschooling situations, and Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I rise
change a nation and serves as the high- the teachers of Valley Grove School with a heavy heart this morning to re-
est example of courage, compassion, District rose to the occasion. member our colleague, John Lewis.
and moral character. In an effort to connect with students He was a hero to me. He was my
f during the quarantine, teachers and ad- friend. I am going to miss his smile, his
ministrators created VGTV, a YouTube soft voice that could quickly become a
HONORING REPRESENTATIVE channel to share video lessons and up- bellow. I will miss his hugs, his eternal
JOHN LEWIS dates with children and families. optimism, and his hope that we would
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Videos can range from a music class heed his advice and ‘‘keep the faith.’’
Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from piano lesson to a banana bread tutorial John had a long and special relation-
North Carolina (Ms. ADAMS) for 5 min- from home economics or the early ship with my family, with my grand-
utes. childhood education teachers reading mother in particular. They went
Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, today I storybooks. through a lot together. They survived a
rise in honor of our colleague, my Teachers from all grades have gotten lot. They witnessed a lot.
friend, John Lewis. involved to contribute something to She asked me to read a letter here
Everything John Lewis did was in VGTV. J.G. Resig, a high school teach- today in his memory. She writes:
the service of justice—a courageous, er, said the project ‘‘started out just as Dear friends,
compassionate man who gave every- a morale boost to stay in contact with Our hearts are heavy, but also grateful for
thing, including his blood and his body, our students and let them know that the gift of John Lewis, a man who devoted
to the civil rights movement. we still care about them, even though his life to making gentle the life of this
From the Edmund Pettus Bridge in we are stuck at home.’’ world.
Selma to the floor of the House of Rep- Third grade teacher Julie Plumer has John’s loving demeanor enveloped a
resentatives, John was never afraid to used her everyday surroundings to cre- mighty determination and passion for jus-
tice, equality, and the realization of his
put it on the line, everything, for what ate informative videos for her students.
dream for the ‘‘Beloved Community.’’
he believed in. For example, Ms. Plumer has created a A young man full of fire and ideals, quali-
John was many things: a fighter, a variety of videos about baby chickens ties that he never lost, he was a trusted
leader, one of the ‘‘Big Six,’’ an HBCU she had been raising to teach students voice to my husband, Robert Kennedy, relied
graduate, a ‘‘good trouble’’ maker. about what it takes to raise and to upon, first, as a student demonstrator and,
He was honored with the Presidential care for animals. later, as a campaign aide.
Medal of Freedom and over 50 honorary Content varies, but the thing that Activist, lawmaker, champion, he was also
degrees, from Portland State Univer- each of these videos has in common are a teacher and a cherished friend.
sity in Oregon to Bates College in the dedicated educators behind the He and Bobby learned from one another.
They listened, they understood, they acted.
Maine, and yet he was always humble. camera. As a Freedom Rider, John was badly beat-
Many have called him a hero, a living None of this work would be possible, en at a bus stop in Montgomery, Alabama, in
legend, but most of us here just knew however, without reliable broadband 1961. From the basement of the First Baptist
him as John, our colleague, our friend. connectivity. As coronavirus has Church where John, Martin Luther King Jr.,
It was an amazing privilege to serve in transitioned most classrooms to dis- and Ralph Abernathy sought refuge, they
Congress with John Lewis. tance learning, the importance of called Bobby asking for protection from a

SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with HOUSE
John was not only a leader of the broadband infrastructure has never crowd of armed White supremacists sur-
civil rights movement, he was a mod- been more apparent. rounding the church. President Kennedy sent
in the National Guard.
ern-day Founding Father. Because, Connectivity is something that many
In Indianapolis, the night we lost Dr. King,
while the Founding Fathers assured us of us take for granted. While there is John influenced Bobby’s decision to ignore
that ‘‘all men are created equal,’’ it broadband available in many areas of Mayor Lugar’s plea to cancel a rally, instead
was the sweat and the blood and the the United States, more than 21 mil- seeking to comfort and seeking comfort from
sacrifice of people like Congressman lion Americans, including more than a devastated crowd of Black supporters.

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