CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 157, Pt. 11 October
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October 6, 2011 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 157, Pt. 11 14941 have to oppose it and hopefully we can the ivory towers of Washington, but no definitive account of when the rock first work it out in conference with the out there on the hustings, the real appeared on the property; other body. world jobs have to be taken into ac- Whereas the use of the term ‘‘Niggerhead’’ Mr. DOYLE. If my friend could yield count, and sometimes it takes 5 years to describe a hunting retreat is morally of- fensive; one more second, I would just say to and 1 month or 5 years and 6 months. Whereas Ronnie Brooks, a local resident you, if your bill simply had a 5-year That’s why I would urge that we defeat who guided a few turkey shoots for Governor compliance deadline and the Clean Air this amendment. Perry between 1985 and 1990, said he holds Act said 3 years with the possibility of I yield back the balance of my time. Governor Perry ‘‘in the highest esteem’’ but an extension, I think you would have The Acting CHAIR. The question is said this of the rock at the camp: ‘‘It kind of something that many of us would con- on the amendment offered by the gen- offended me, truthfully’’; sider because you would have a 5-year tleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Whereas Haskell County Judge David Davis, sitting in his courtroom and looking deadline. You don’t have a deadline. DOYLE). The question was taken; and the Act- at a window there, said the word was ‘‘like That’s my problem. You have a no- those are vertical blinds. It’s just what it sooner-than, but you don’t have a dead- ing Chair announced that the noes ap- was called. There was no significance other line. peared to have it. than a hunting deal’’—in other words, the I thank my friend. Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Chairman, I de- judge was morally vacuous; Mr. WHITFIELD. I yield back the mand a recorded vote. Whereas the name of this particular parcel balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to did not change for years and for many re- Mr. GRIFFITH of Virginia. I move to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further pro- mained the same after it became associated strike the last word. ceedings on the amendment offered by with Rick Perry, first as a private citizen, The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman is the gentleman from Pennsylvania will then as a State official, and finally as Texas recognized for 5 minutes. be postponed. Governor; Whereas some local residents still call it Mr. GRIFFITH of Virginia. Mr. Mr. WHITFIELD. I move that the by the morally repugnant name Chairman, I would have to rise in oppo- Committee do now rise. ‘‘Niggerhead’’; sition to the amendment. I agree with The motion was agreed to. Whereas as recently as this summer, the many of the comments that were made Accordingly, the Committee rose; slab-like rock—lying flat, portions of the in regard to everybody trying to be and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. name still faintly visible beneath a coat of reasonable and work some things out GRIFFITH of Virginia) having assumed white paint—remained by the gated entrance on this, but one of the concerns that I the chair, Mr. YODER, Acting Chair of to the camp; have and the reason that the language the Committee of the Whole House on Whereas asked last week about the name, the state of the Union, reported that Governor Perry said the word on the rock is is as it is in the bill, which says that an offensive name that has no place in the it’s 5 years unless there’s an extension that Committee, having had under con- modern world—implying that it may have by the administrator, is that in the sideration the bill (H.R. 2250) to pro- been okay and had an appropriate place in real world sense of things, many com- vide additional time for the Adminis- that community when he was growing up; panies find it difficult to hit the target, trator of the Environmental Protection Whereas Mae Lou Yeldell has lived in Has- and I would hate to see us losing jobs Agency to issue achievable standards kell County, Texas, for 70 years and recalls because we had 5 years and 1 month. for industrial, commercial, and institu- the racism she faced in the 1950s and 1960s in Under this amendment if they needed 5 tional boilers, process heaters, and in- West Texas, when being called an offensive cinerators, and for other purposes, had name—like Whites greeting Blacks with years and 1 month or 5 years and 6 ‘‘Morning nigger’’—was ‘‘like a broken months to comply, then they would not come to no resolution thereon. record’’; be in compliance, and it may very well f Whereas Throckmorton County, where the cost jobs and cause a company to make RAISING A QUESTION OF THE hunting camp is located near Haskell Coun- a decision that they don’t think they ty, was for years considered a virtual no-go PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE can make it. zone for African-Americans because of old In real world examples, everything is Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speak- stories told by locals about the lynching of not perfect, and I have discussed this er, I offer the resolution previously no- an African-American man there; several times, but one of the factories ticed. Whereas Haskell County began observing The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day just two years in my area of the Celanese company, ago according to a county commissioner in YODER). The Clerk will report the reso- they have to see what the regs look Haskell County; like, then they have to see if they can lution. Whereas Governor Perry grew up in a seg- retool for using coal. That takes time The Clerk read as follows: regated era whose history has defined and to figure out whether they can retool Whereas on October 2, 2011, the Washington complicated the careers of many Southern their facility to meet the compliance. Post reported a story called ‘‘Rick Perry politicians; If they can’t meet the compliance, then And A Word Set On Stone’’; Whereas Governor Perry has spoken often what about natural gas or some other Whereas upon reading that story the vast about how his upbringing in this sparsely majority of people in the United States were populated farming community influenced his fuel source? Well, guess what? They morally outraged; conservatism; don’t have a natural gas line coming Whereas most of the facts in this resolu- Whereas Governor Perry says he men- into the community where they’re lo- tion come from that Washington Post story; tioned the offensive word on the rock to his cated that would have enough natural Whereas Governor Rick Perry has de- parents shortly after they had signed a lease gas in it for any industrial purpose. As scribed a childhood in Haskell County in and he had visited the property, and they a result of that, they then have to try Paint Creek, Texas, as centered on Boy rather immediately painted over the word to figure out how they’re going to cross Scouts, school, and church; during the next July 4 holiday, but seven rivers and mountains in order to get Whereas Texas Governor Rick Perry is people interviewed by the Washington Post from West Texas and was originally a South- said they still saw the word on the rock at natural gas into that community in ern Democrat—often known as Dixiecrats— various points during the years that the order to keep those jobs available. who switched parties in the late 1980s to be- Perry family was associated with the prop- The problem with this amendment is come a Republican and is currently a leading erty through his father, partners, or his sig- it is a solid 5 years and you’re done. Republican presidential candidate; nature on a lease; What we’re trying to do with the bill Whereas ranchers who once grazed cattle Whereas another local resident who visited overall, while we want to be reasonable on the 1,070-acre parcel in Throckmorton the property with Governor Perry and the and we want to try to work something County on the Clear Fork of the Brazos legislators he brought there to go hunting out, we want to also have the EPA ad- River—near where Governor Perry was recalled seeing the rock with the name clear- raised in Paint Creek, Texas—it has since be- ly visible; ministrator in a position that in real come a hunting ground that was called by Whereas how, when, or whether Governor world circumstances, with real world the name ‘‘Niggerhead’’ well before Governor Perry dealt with it when he was using the jobs, not in the ivory towers of the uni- Perry and his father, Ray, began hunting property isn’t clear and adds a dimension to versities necessarily or even here in there in the early 1980s even though there is the emerging biography of Governor Perry VerDate Sep 11 2014 13:02 Feb 20, 2015 Jkt 099102 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 0687 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR11\H06OC1.000 H06OC1 rmajette on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD 14942 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 157, Pt. 11 October 6, 2011 who quickly moved into the top tier of Re- would be offended that the Congress of The yeas and nays were ordered.