Howard Berman

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to my colleague from Ohio, the State where Ambassador Holbrooke's most difficult and successful diplomatic effort took place, Ms. Kaptur.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to our retiring colleague from California, herself with diplomatic experience, Ambassador Diane Watson.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We have heard from the Speaker of the House; from the author of the resolution, Mrs. Lowey; from Ambassador Holbrooke's dear friend, and of a variety of aspects both of his accomplishments and of his nature, and it was quite a series of accomplishments, in all parts of the world, in the diplomatic sphere, in the development assistance sphere, in southeast Asia, in the Balkans, obviously more recently in South Asia. What I would love to do here on the House floor, because I think in a way it might best illustrate what I could say about his talents, was just to speak to the details of six or seven interventions and times that I dealt with him on a particular project over the years, but I feel like I would be bringing WikiLeaks to the House floor were I to go through all of those. So I will restrain myself just to say he truly was one of a kind. We will miss his brilliance, his energy, his ability to play chess, to see the long term and the unbelievable force of his personality.

Mr. BERMAN. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1765) supporting a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and condemning unilateral declarations of a Palestinian state, and for other purposes.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1765, and I yield myself 3 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I brought this resolution to the floor because I believe negotiations are the only path to a two-state solution to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. For this reason, the United States Congress has every reason to be concerned about efforts of some in the Palestinian Authority leadership to attain recognition of statehood while bypassing the accepted negotiation process. These efforts run counter to the Palestinians' own internationally witnessed commitments at the 1991 Madrid Conference and under the 1993 Oslo Agreement and the 2003 Roadmap. Most important, the Palestinians will only get a state by negotiating with the Israelis. That is but one reason I am deeply disappointed by the recently announced decisions of Brazil and other Latin American countries to recognize an independent Palestinian state, actions prompted by a direct request from Palestinian President Abbas. Ultimately, such recognition of nonexistent statehood gives the Palestinians nothing. In 1988, Yasser Arafat declared a state and garnered recognition from more than 100 states; now, 22 years later, there is still no state. The Palestinian people don't want a bunch of declarations of statehood. They want a state. And they should have one, through the only means possible for attaining one, negotiations with Israel. The Obama administration has been unwavering on this point. Unless an independent Palestinian state is formed via a negotiated settlement, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not be solved. Only through direct negotiations can difficult compromises be reached on the core issues of borders, water, refugees, Jerusalem, and security. Unilateral declarations of statehood will not eliminate the sources of the conflict; they will exacerbate them. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could not have been more correct when she said just this past Friday that ``it is only a negotiated agreement between the parties that will be sustainable.'' I believe that Palestinian Authority President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad are committed to a peaceful resolution of their conflict with Israel, so I hope they will take Secretary Clinton's message to heart. This body has been very generous in its support of their worthy efforts to build institutions and the economy on the West Bank. In fact, I believe we are the most generous nation in the world in that regard. So I think our friends should understand: If they persist in pursuing a unilateralist path, inevitably, and however regrettably, there will be consequences for U.S.-Palestinian relations. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this important pro- negotiations, pro-peace resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. I thank the gentleman for his position, for his resolution, and for his cosponsoring of this resolution. And I am here to stand not only with the Israelis, but I stand with the Palestinians on this issue because the Palestinians want this state, and negotiations are the way to get it. I am pleased to yield for a unanimous consent request to my colleague from California (Mr. Miller). (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to one who has been, really, an ardent supporter of the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace in the Middle East, my friend from California (Mrs. Capps).

Mr. BERMAN. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the comments of my colleague from California (Mrs. Capps). I am obviously grateful for her support of this resolution and for her agreement with the notion that unilateral steps like this are not the way to achieve peace. Yet she made certain comments regarding issues which are not in the resolution--and she is right. This resolution has nothing about settlements. There is nothing about incitement. There is nothing about the Palestinian denial of the Jewish connection to the Western Wall. As for the settlements, I have my own reservations about Israel's activities, but this resolution isn't about any of those things. This resolution is about the most central issue of all--the pathway to Palestinian statehood. There is only one path, and that is through negotiations. No negotiations, no state. It is as simple as that. I am now happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman), the chairman of the Middle East and Southeast Subcommittee.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), a member of the committee, chair of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to a member of the committee, the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega). (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to a distinguished member of the Foreign Affairs Committee with an ardent interest in this issue, the gentlelady from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have left?

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I would close by quoting from Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in an interview he gave just yesterday--actually, it was tonight in that time zone--where he said, ``We want a state of Palestine, not a unilateral declaration of statehood.'' He explained that he did not see how a unilateral declaration of statehood would assist the Palestinian cause. Mr. Speaker, I urge the House to pass this resolution.

Mr. BERMAN. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. I yield to the gentleman from Indiana.

Mr. BERMAN. I would yield the gentleman such time as he may consume, up to a point, everything except 1 minute.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. And I do it simply in the context of urging my colleagues to vote for this legislation; to point out, number 1, that this is not an entitlement program. This is an authorization. It is not an appropriation. To the extent, after we pass this legislation and it is signed into law, that the statement takes its appropriated resources and uses some of those resources to develop the strategic plan to work with these organizations for what the gentleman himself concedes is a very important cause, those resources will come from some other form of resources. They will not be additional spending unless there is an appropriation. And this bill is not an appropriations bill; it is an authorization bill. I urge my colleagues to support it. It's a critical issue.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I assume the gentleman from Indiana has no further speakers.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 987) to protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of child marriage, and for other purposes.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume. This resolution calls on the State Department to list the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as a ``Country of Particular Concern'' with respect to religious freedom. I want to thank my colleague, Congressman Ed Royce of California, for introducing this important resolution. This year marks 15 years since the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam. Bilateral relations have deepened in recent years with Hanoi emerging as an important partner in ensuring a peaceful and secure Asia-Pacific region. We have seen close cooperation on a number of important fronts, including regional security and nonproliferation. Unfortunately, the lack of progress in the area of protecting basic rights and civil liberties enshrined in Vietnam's constitution remains an impediment to our bilateral ties. Since the Bush administration lifted the ``Country of Particular Concern'' designation for Vietnam in November of 2006, freedom of religion and expression have come under increasing attack. Hanoi has tightened its control of religious organizations with numerous reports documenting physical harassment, intimidation, surveillance, seizure of church properties, arrests, and other forms of ill treatments made against Catholics, Protestants, Khmer Buddhists, and others. As Secretary Clinton rightfully noted during her visit to Hanoi this October, the United States takes notice of these curbs on religious freedom in Vietnam. Two recent events stand out as particularly egregious. First is the dispute at Bat Nha pagoda last September, when 400 monks and nuns were assaulted and forcibly evicted. The majority of these monks and nuns have subsequently left Vietnam due to a lack of protection by the government. More recently, this May, several hundred Vietnamese Catholic villagers in Con Dau were attacked by tear gas and bullets, during a funeral procession, for refusing to relocate as the government had ordered. Several detainees have been held incommunicado since May and have not been allowed to visit their families. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and stand up for religious freedom in Vietnam. I will be handing over the management of this legislation for the remainder of the time to the chairman of the Asia and Pacific Islands Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Faleomavaega. I reserve the remainder of my time.