Cleo Fields

I think we have to press that issue. I think we have to get real serious about the safety and soundness of our schools and the conditions of our schools for the interest of not only the students and the teachers but for the interest of…

It is like the unique bumper sticker that we have all seen in our travels, if you can read this, thank a teacher. You cannot put it any more pointedly than that. If you can read this, thank a teacher.

I come from the school of thought that we have to do all that we can do to improve opportunities for higher education in this country, and I know both gentlemen, particularly this gentleman and the chairman, have worked hard to provide…

Mr. Speaker, the burning of churches in this country is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in any shape, form or fashion. This legislation will give Federal prosecutors the tools they need to prosecute those perpetrators of the crime…

There are individuals in this country who are trying to turn back the hands of time, trying to make 1996 look like 1896, but we are not going back. We have come too far now. We have come to a threshold of freedom, and we have reached the…

I am happy and pleased that this Congress, and the American people should know that this Congress stands in unison, we stand together tonight, both Democrats and Republicans, blacks, whites, young, old, men and women. We will not tolerate…

I can only say that we have a long way to go and we can make it there if we do it together and we can get there a lot quicker. There is an old saying that you can get it a place a lot quicker if everybody pulls in the same direction. The…

I think I hear what the gentleman is saying. The gentleman is saying, as I appreciate it, that we as public officials who are looked upon on a day-to-day basis for leadership, be it in our own districts or be it throughout the country, we…

I am a coauthor of those pieces of legislation, and will be fighting profusely to pass those pieces on this floor, and to even make them stronger, because in listening to the President's address on Saturday, I do agree with the President…

Mr. Speaker, over 63 churches over the past 5 years were burned. All of these were African-American churches; 20 of those cases have been solved at this point. And before I go any further, I would like to commend the Justice Department…

I rise in full support of raising the minimum wage. It has been over 5 years since working Americans have had a raise. Since April of 1991, the minimum wage has been fixed at $4.25. If left unchanged, the minimum wage will be at its lowest…

Members of the House, tonight I rise to talk about an issue that every person in America, every person in this Congress, has a great interest in, and that is the issue of education. We often talk about the need to provide a college…

I can only say to the gentlewoman that as Members of Congress, as you know, we should view education across the board, irrespective of what kind of household an individual actually comes from, what income level they come from. The national…

A parking ticket is a misdemeanor. What about if I got a traffic ticket? What about jaywalking? Then you take a 5-year period. Second, why do we not impose this same requirement on the Members of Congress? Why do we not say to America you…

reclaiming my time, the last time I checked, there is nothing wrong with a person looking for an apartment and filing out an application who has been convicted of a parking violation. I do not understand the rationale. I can understand…

Why is it so difficult for a person to serve on a board if they have been convicted of a misdemeanor?

If I got a parking ticket yesterday, I am a convicted criminal? If I got a ticket in Washington, DC., I cannot serve on a board. Yes or no, is that not correct?

In my State you can go to jail for not paying a traffic ticket. In my State a traffic ticket is a misdemeanor. In the State I come from a traffic ticket, a moving violation, is a misdemeanor and you can in fact go to jail for it. What I am…

the section that deals with the board of directors, the manager's amendment calls for an election of one tenant on each board. This amendment simply went, as a result of the manager's amendment, my amendment was changed to deal with that…

I would like to make the Members of the House aware of the fact that this very amendment is in the Senate bill, S. 1260, which contains the very language that this amendment contains and I am hopeful if this amendment is not adopted by…

I offer one final amendment printed in the Record, amendment No. 5. Amendment No. 5 offered by Mr. Fields of Louisiana: Page 17, after line 17, insert the following new subsection: (d) Local Advisory Board.-- (1) In general.--Except as…

Realistically speaking, you have to do it based on inflation. You have to take inflation into account. I would never say that the minimum wage of this country should be $25 an hour now, henceforth and forevermore. That would not even make…

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I simply say that Members of this Congress, all who I serve with and all who I have a great deal of respect for, when we go home each day we take in $550. Each day we work we get $550. A person on minimum wage only…

The gentleman from Arkansas made some reference to productivity gains, and there have, indeed, been productivity gains experienced by our economy, except that in the past those productivity gains accrued to the community at large. Now…

I say we need to increase the minimum wage to a livable wage. We need to protect workers' rights and jobs. We need to decrease taxes on middle and low income families, and we need to encourage not just personal responsibility but corporate…