Sheila Jackson Lee: “This is a very important evening. I thank my colleagues, both Mr. Payne of New Jersey and Ms. Kelly, for, first of all…”

“This is a very important evening. I thank my colleagues, both Mr. Payne of New Jersey and Ms. Kelly, for, first of all, taking up a very important challenge of being able to lead the members of the Congressional Black Caucus through this period of challenge to America. I am reflective of the number of Members who have had the chance to convey their thoughts, and each one I thank personally: our chairman, Mr. G.K. Butterfield, for his leadership and his internal knowledge from his walk in life of the civil rights journey; Mr. Clyburn for living and understanding the civil rights journey and conveying it in his legislative journey; Mr. Rangel for his service to this Nation as a Korean war vet and then coming home to be a vet of the civil rights effort; then, of course, the holder of the seat who represents Selma for her life story. Today, I rise to ask the question, What is our moral standard? And, following the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, why we can't wait. This is a clarion call to my colleagues--Democrats and Republicans-- that, in fact, this year--of all years--calls for us to act. It calls for us to be able to understand why the Nation cannot wait and who is going to lift up the moral standard. The walk from Selma to Montgomery turned into Bloody Sunday. It was where a young man by the name of John Lewis stood bravely alongside names like Hosea Williams.…”