Howard Berman

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. The gentleman's point is, I know, inadvertently and unintentionally incorrect. The Republican substitute replaces the entire bill and, therefore, were the Republican substitute to pass, the ROZs the gentleman has fought for would not be part of the bill that was sent to the Senate.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman who has made a significant contribution to this legislative effort, the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. I thank the ranking member for yielding. I just want to add my support. The fact is I had a chance to go to Mexico City, and the gentlewoman from Arizona is absolutely right. The guns are one issue but the huge amounts of cash that are transported are another. Her amendment makes what I think are some good provisions in this legislation on strengthening the Merida Initiative even better, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition to this amendment, although I am not opposed.

Mr. BERMAN. Would the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Chair, as the designee of Mr. Teague, I have an amendment made in order by the rule, and I ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Chair, I have no further requests for time. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Will the gentleman let me finish my thought?

Mr. BERMAN. Then we will pursue these international sanctions in working with the Russians, the Chinese, the Arab States, and with all of the countries that know that Iran with a nuclear weapons capability is an intolerable situation that cannot be tolerated. Instead, he jumps ahead to the third part of the strategy, a strategy on which we were going to have hearings in the month of July and see how both the multilateral sanctions and the engagement process--the diplomatic process--worked. Then, if we were not moving ahead, he would take a serious and tough bill that had import sanctions, which said that companies that provided refined oil products to Iran couldn't import, stripped from this bill; and that imposed even tougher financial sanctions that we now have stripped from this motion to recommit. Meanwhile, all of the things in the State Department authorization bill--all of the issues that my friends praised even in the course of the debate on this bill, which they don't like, every single provision--is stripped. This is not a serious effort. What really bothers me about this amendment is, with Iran, we should have a bipartisan approach. We tried a policy. I supported that policy of the previous administration: isolate and sanction unilaterally because we could never get effective multilateral sanctions. It didn't work. Iran kept enriching every day while we sat around, railing against them. We are trying something new because we want this policy to work. We want to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapons capability. I don't know if the diplomatic strategy will work. You guys don't know if it will work.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank him for his suggestion. I agree completely that science constitutes an untapped and undertapped resource in America's diplomatic toolbox, and I can assure the gentleman that I am committed to enhancing our capacity in this area, collaborating with him on this effort, including further legislation as well as a role in the foreign assistance reform process that we are working on.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I would like to include in the Congressional Record an exchange of letters between the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Washington, DC, June 9, 2009. Hon. Howard L. Berman, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Berman: I am writing about H.R. 2410, the ``Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011.'' The Committee on Foreign Affairs reported this legislation to the House on June 4, 2009. I appreciate your effort to consult with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding those provisions of H.R. 2410 that fall within the Oversight Committee's jurisdiction. These provisions address issues related to the federal civil service and government contractors. In the interest of expediting consideration of H.R. 2410, the Oversight Committee will not request a sequential referral of this bill. I would, however, request your support for the appointment of conferees from the Oversight Committee should H.R. 2410 or a similar Senate bill be considered in conference with the Senate. Moreover, this letter should not be construed as a waiver of the Oversight Committee's legislative jurisdiction over subjects addressed in H.R. 2410 that fall within the jurisdiction of the Oversight Committee. Please include our exchange of letters on this matter in the Congressional Record during consideration of this legislation on the House floor. Again, I appreciate your willingness to consult the Committee on these matters. Sincerely, Edolphus Towns, Chairman.

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

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to a friend of a very, very long time, a member of the committee as well as the Agriculture Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa).

Mr. BERMAN. I want to manifest very clearly my intention to take up a major rewrite of foreign assistance legislation later this year, and we will address the issues raised in the Water For the World Act as part of that effort.

Mr. BERMAN. Will the gentleman yield further?

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to reclaim the remainder of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I simply join the sponsor of the amendment and the ranking member in support of the amendment.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I don't know that we needed to say this, but I'm glad we are saying it. It goes almost without saying that any sovereign country has an inalienable right to defend itself in the face of an imminent nuclear or military attack or threat. Nothing in this amendment prohibits or constrains Israel or the United States from discussing the nature of a threat, the logic of the timing or the nature of the response. So I find this amendment a useful contribution. In a way, it states the obvious, but sometimes stating the obvious is worth doing. I plan to support the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, my friend, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. BERMAN. I yield back my time.

Mr. BERMAN. I am pleased to yield the remainder of my time to the gentlelady from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman's amendment encourages the administration to create a Comprehensive Interagency Strategy and Implementation Plan for Sudan. I have spoken with Mr. McCaul about his proposal and agree that developing a coherent approach to the situation in Sudan is critical. The United States must make every effort to address the ongoing and interrelated crises in Sudan. The U.S. should work towards a stable and lasting peace in a region that has seen so many tragedies in recent years. I have no objection to this amendment, and I look forward to working with Mr. McCaul on this provision as the bill moves through the process. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.