Howard Berman

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), a senior member of the committee, a leader in these efforts for many years, the ranking member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch), someone who has provided a major contribution to this legislation that's now before the House.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to one of the cofounders of the Iran Working Group, someone who has brought the issue of Iran, its policies, and particularly it's nuclear weapons program, to the attention of this body and the public, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to my distinguished colleague and good friend who's been very active on these issues, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. BERMAN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BERMAN. I appreciate that very much. Just on this one issue, there is nothing in this bill that prohibits Americans from having contact with Iranians. There is nothing in this bill that prohibits the President of the United States or his Secretary of State or such other emissaries or agencies he chooses from engaging diplomatically on the issue of ending Iran's nuclear weapons program. I would not support a bill that prohibited that.

Mr. BERMAN. Again, I would like to repeat that this crisis only ends one of three ways. Iran gets a nuclear weapons capability, and don't listen to straw man arguments. No one is saying Iran today has a nuclear bomb, but the IAEA has made it perfectly clear they are pursuing a nuclear weapons capability. Once they have that capability, they throw out the inspectors; they shut off the cameras; and they get the bomb. Either we stop them from getting the bomb; we have a military confrontation; or we have a diplomatic resolution where they end their nuclear weapons program through diplomacy. The provision the gentleman cited does not prohibit diplomacy by the President or his emissaries. Time will not permit me to read the statute, itself, right now, but I would be happy to show any of my members why diplomacy is still allowed. This is not a unilateral effort. This administration and this Congress, in working with them, have pursued a multilateral effort with the international community to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and we will continue to do that. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my friend from New York, the ranking member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Engel.

Mr. BERMAN. I appreciate that. Two points just on this issue: one is the language the gentleman originally read with respect to Russia was amended out of the bill in committee.

Mr. BERMAN. Secondly, this language with respect to funding on the Russian flights to the space station is an extension of the authority, not an elimination of the authority, to engage and provide funding for that purpose. So I understand why the gentleman said what he did, but in reality----

Mr. BERMAN. Yes.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. INKSNA, enacted in the year 2000, has forced the United States Government to review all intelligence for credible evidence regarding sensitive transfers of goods and services related to WMD, missiles, or conventional weapons, and made such transfers sanctionable acts. While the reports required by INKSNA are 2 years behind schedule--an ongoing problem that has plagued successive administrations--we have frequently seen new rounds of sanctions against companies and individuals who are more interested in making a buck than in protecting global security interests. The specific details of sanctioned transfers are classified. Press reports, however, indicate that INKSNA sanctions have been imposed, for example, on Chinese entities for selling carbon fiber and pressure transducers which could assist Iran in building more advanced gas centrifuges. Multiple Russian, Chinese, and even European weapons exporters have been sanctioned, presumably for the transfer of arms to Iran and Syria, and Chinese chemical supply companies have been repeatedly sanctioned. I'd like to thank the chairman for agreeing to include my amendment to further strengthen INKSNA. This amendment requires the administration to develop a special mechanism to speed up the process of imposing sanctions regarding transfers of sensitive technology related to weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missiles to Iran. In addition, the amendment requires the President to publicly identify those countries that are allowing such transfers of sensitive technology to occur, despite repeated requests by the U.S. Government to prevent such activities. I would expect China would be listed on the first report as a government that directly, indirectly, or through inaction, enables its firms to engage in sensitive transfers to Iran, Syria, or North Korea. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to a former member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and member of the Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff).

Mr. BERMAN. The restrictions on payments is an extension of time, and it also has a waiver. The first reference to Russia was eliminated from the bill.

Mr. BERMAN. Will the gentleman yield just on this question?

Mr. BERMAN. I am only going to use a moment of the time simply to address the issue that my friend from Ohio talked about with respect to sanctions. The focus on unilateral sanctions without international support versus effective multilateral sanctions, that distinction was not made by my friend from Ohio. The fact is that this administration and this Congress, through legislation, working in coordination with the members of the Security Council, our friends in the European Union, our allies in Asia, have put together a multilateral level of sanctions that has never been seen before. And old studies regarding the effectiveness of unilateral sanctions in terms of altering a country's behavior are not applicable in this situation because we are deeply committed to the understanding that we will estop this kind of proliferation in which we have the support of all of the countries of the world who are committed to and adhere to the nonproliferation treaty. And I suggest with that that I should yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 376, calling for the repatriation of POWs, MIAs, and abductees from the Korean War. I am going to yield 5 minutes to the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), himself a Korean War veteran, as our chairman has mentioned, to open the debate on this issue. (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of House Resolution 376, calling for the repatriation of POWs, MIAs, and abductees from the Korean War, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I'd like to thank the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from New York, Mr. Rangel--himself a Korean War veteran--and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, for their leadership on this issue. This resolution calls attention to one of the most tragic issues still lingering from the Korean War: the fate of soldiers taken prisoner during the war and missing in action, and civilian South Korean citizens abducted by North Korea. The Defense Department lists almost 8,000 American service members from the Korean War who remain unaccounted for to this day. In my home state of California, there are 614 individuals whose final status is unknown. For the families of those American POWs or MIAs, they must carry on their lives without the benefit of having final closure or peace. Between 1996 and 2005, the Defense Department conducted joint field activities in both South and North Korea that resulted in the recovery of over 220 sets of remains. Recovery operations in North Korea were suspended in 2005, but recently this past October, the United States and North Korea agreed to resume operations next year to search for and recover the remains of American POWs and MIAs. This resolution shows our solidarity with our troops who were captured or went missing during the Korean War, and affirms that we will never forget our duty to bring them home. A second element of this resolution takes note of South Korean POWs and civilian abductees from the Korean War. The exact number of South Korean POWs held in North Korea after the war is unknown, but it is estimated that as many as 73,000 South Korean prisoners were not repatriated to the South following the war. Some of them may still be alive in North Korea. North Korea also abducted tens of thousands of South Korean civilians, mainly civil servants, teachers, writers, judges, and business people during the war. North Korea has continued to deny that it abducted these civilians and that any of them may still exist, despite testimony proving otherwise. With this resolution, the House of Representatives formally recognizes the existence of South Korean POWs and civilian abductees from the Korean War who may still be alive in North Korea and want to return to their families in the South. We call on North Korea to admit to abducting the thousands of South Korean civilians and reveal their status. The North also should allow family reunions and immediate repatriation of the abductees under the Geneva Convention. The United States stands with the people of South Korea in remembering these abductees from the Korean War. We must not forget their plight, and we will continue working for their reunification with their families, still scarred by the lingering pain and tragedy of war. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. I do.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2\1/2\ minutes. The Christian communities of Turkey, once populous and prosperous, have now for many decades been victims of discrimination. The result has been a drastic decline in the Christian population. Whereas well over 2 million Christians lived in Anatolia a century ago, today there are only a few thousand, less than 1 percent of Turkey's population. Although Christians clearly constitute no threat to the majority, the various Christian communities remain the victims of unceasing discrimination. Their churches have been desecrated, their properties confiscated, and they are denied the right to practice their religion as they see fit or to train their clergy. Through this resolution, we are asking that Turkey rectify this terrible situation. Much of the worst damage to--and confiscation of--Christian properties was done in the earlier decades of the Turkish Republic, but it continues to some extent today. Some 3 months after the introduction of this resolution in June, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan responded with a decree that would return a small percentage of the property confiscated from religious minorities as well as provide compensation for property that was seized and later sold. This is too little and too late. It doesn't even begin to make up for the years of loss and the damaging impact on the minority communities, but it does appear to be a step in the right direction. We will watch its implementation closely. Meanwhile, the Turkish Government must also address the many other forms of discrimination that Christians in Turkey endure. Every church in Turkey suffers petty harassment, at a minimum, and is forced to apply to central authorities for authorization to do any type of repairs or construction, requests that often linger for months and years without government action. Moreover, Turkey recognizes certain Christian groups as legitimate but not others. If you belong to one of the unauthorized groups, such as Evangelicals, you can't even build a church. This resolution calls on Turkey to make good on all past transgressions and allow true freedom of religion--to achieve the standards of democratic behavior to which it says, and to which I believe, it aspires. We want Turkey to allow its Christian citizens to worship exactly as they want and to allow them to train their clergy exactly as they want. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. I would be very grateful if the gentleman would yield 2 minutes to my friend from New York, a distinguished member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Engel.

Mr. BERMAN. I am pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the cochair of the Armenian Caucus.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. We want Turkey to follow through on its commitment to return confiscated property of Christian communities and to provide compensation for properties that can't be recovered. We want Christian communities in Turkey to enjoy the same rights and privileges that religious minorities enjoy in this country. We want Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. This is not too much to ask. In fact, that is the minimum we must ask if Turkey is ever to join the ranks of the world's fully free nations. I commend my good friend and colleague, Mr. Royce, for introducing this resolution and working with me closely on this critical issue, and I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Admiral Mike Mullen, who retired last month as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after more than 43 years of distinguished service to his country. Admiral Mullen grew up in San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles, in the district I have the privilege to represent. Last year, he graciously agreed to serve as Grand Marshall of the San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade, for which I will always be grateful. A 1968 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Admiral Mullen assumed his duties as chairman in 2007, the culmination of an extraordinary military career. Admiral Mullen's many accomplishments in the military are well known. I would like to focus on two initiatives he pursued as Chairman, which made direct contributions to our national security and demonstrated the strength of his character. First, Admiral Mullen recognized early on in his service as Chairman the critical and difficult relationship the United States has with Pakistan's military leaders, and he dedicated himself to serving as a conduit for that critical relationship. In many cases, effective diplomacy boils down to having someone with the tenacity and intellectual muscle to work a difficult issue, and Admiral Mullen more than proved his mettle in his dealings with Pakistan. I commend him for his efforts to keep the U.S.-Pakistan relationship on track. I also believe our nation owes Admiral Mullen a debt of gratitude for his stance in repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. Admiral Mullen called it like he saw it, an immeasurably critical quality, and our military is the better for it. Admiral Mullen was driven by the desire to advance the interests of America's fighting men and women. He accomplished this goal, many times over. I salute Admiral Mullen for his service, I pay tribute to his contribution, and I wish him all the best as he leaves the Navy.