Andre Carson: “my heartfelt congratulation to the Delegate from the District of Columbia. I rise to pay homage to the honorable Rosa…”

“my heartfelt congratulation to the Delegate from the District of Columbia. I rise to pay homage to the honorable Rosa Parks, a woman who I honored in this Chamber when I first came to Congress with a resolution creating the Congressional Gold Medal for Mrs. Rosa Parks and a big ceremony that was held in the rotunda. Throughout that ceremony, she retained a great deal of humility and appreciation and said to me, I do not deserve this medal for myself, but I deserve it as it is necessary for all the people of the United States to understand the struggle, the fact that while I sat there, it brought attention to the United States that even though we had written years ago, liberty and justice for all people, it still had not come through to fruition. My heart hurt tonight when you passed the legislation that would deny not-for-profits the right to register voters. That was the most insidious inclusion in the housing bill that I have ever seen in all the week that we celebrate the life of Rosa Parks, who strove hard for voting rights and voting registration, that we would take it away from them, especially during this time of year. Rosa Parks is very near and dear to me. She represents what many of our beautiful people of color represent in the United States of America.…”