Political Quotes

“Members of the House, I am introducing a Jazz Appreciation Month piece of legislation entitled the ``National Jazz Preservation, Education and Promulgation Act of 2014.'' In 1986, I introduced a bill in which simply sought to make a compelling statement about the importance of Jazz within American culture. Its final clause read: Now, therefore be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that it is the sense of the Congress that jazz is hereby designated as a rare and valuable national American treasure to which we should devote our attention, support and resources to make certain it is preserved, understood and promulgated. The jazz community came together in strong support of that legislation, and through many phone calls and letters generated enough cosponsorships to get House Concurrent Resolution 57 passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on September 23, 1987. The fact that the 23rd was John Coltrane's birthday made the accomplishment even more special for me and was able to secure approval of the bill by the U.S. Senate a little more than two months later, on December 4, 1987. During my work on that bill, which has come to be known as the ``Jazz Resolution,'' I saw it inspire successful jazz-related political activity at the local governmental level in New York City, in Philadelphia and in Washington, DC.…”