Howard Berman

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have left.

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I greatly appreciate the gentlelady's strong comments on this bill. I yield 4 minutes to the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill and yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, the drug crisis facing the United States remains a top national security threat. The GAO states that 90 percent of illegal drugs entering our country transit the Central American-Mexican corridor. Drug gangs that operate in the United States, Mexico, and Central America are dangerously undermining the security environment for our neighbors to the south, and the spillover effects on our own soil are undeniable. President Calderon of Mexico made a brave decision early in his presidency to fight illegal narcotics in a way that no Mexican government had done before, and he and his countrymen have paid a high price for it. Drug cartels have been blamed for 6,000 deaths in two- and-a-half years in Mexico alone, 4,000 of them in the year-and-a-half since Mr. Calderon assumed the presidency. A significant percentage of these deaths are law enforcement personnel, outgunned and outspent from the proceeds of illegal drugs. There seems to be no limit to the brazenness of the drug gangs. A month ago, the chief of Mexico's Federal police was shot dead in his own home. It is high time for the United States to do more than applaud President Calderon's courage. We must work together to tackle this difficult problem. President Bush and President Calderon met in the Mexican city of Merida last year to craft a new and innovative proposal to confront this scourge. That proposal is largely reflected in the legislation we have before us today. The central tenet of this bill is that, while the violence must stop and security must be restored, the ultimate solution to this problem lies in respect for the rule of law and the strength of institutions charged with upholding it. H.R. 6028 represents the U.S. implementation of a new partnership with Mexico and Central American countries to face the immediate security threat of drug gangs, help these neighbors build the capacity of their law enforcement agencies, and enhance the rule of law in the region. As many of my colleagues know, the supplemental appropriations bill includes funding for year one of the Merida Initiative, but the legislation before us today authorizes the full 3 years of this plan in an exhaustive and complete manner necessary to undertake this critical partnership with our southern neighbors. For example, this legislation authorizes $1.6 billion over 3 years in the areas of counter-narcotics, the fight against organized crime, law enforcement modernization, institution building, and rule of law support. Mexico has requested that the U.S. provide certain high-tech equipment. And in this bill we authorize transport helicopters with night operating capabilities, aerial and radar surveillance equipment, land and maritime interdiction equipment, and secure communication networks. This legislation supports a variety of programs designed to enhance the transparency and capacity of civilian institutions at the Federal, State and local level. They include assistance in courts management, prison reform, money laundering capabilities, witness protection, and police professionalization. The latter emphasizes human rights and use of force training, as well as forensics and polygraph capabilities. In the realm of prevention, the bill supports programs to increase school attendance and expansion of intervention programs. It also seeks to promote development in areas where joblessness feeds the narcotics problem, including alternative livelihood and rural development efforts. It concentrates considerable funding in the fragile Central America region, as well as in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in programs tailored to that region's specific needs. The legislation contains significant human rights safeguards as well as end-use monitoring provisions for equipment and training. It provides no cash transfers. It calls on the President to devise standards up front that will be used to measure the success of the initiative, and to regularly report to Congress on progress made toward meeting these standards. Significantly, because this was a specific request from our Mexican neighbors, the legislation bolsters by $73.5 million America's efforts to stem the illegal flow of arms going south by significantly expanding ATF's Project Gun Runner. Finally, the bill establishes a coordinator for the initiative to provide accountability and harmonize its wide-ranging programs. Perhaps most importantly the legislation recognizes that the spread of illicit drugs through Mexico and Central America and into the United States, as well as the violence that accompanies it, cannot be halted without a comprehensive interdiction and security strategy planned and executed jointly with our southern neighbors. Madam Speaker, with this authorization of the Merida Initiative we demonstrate our Nation's commitment to work closely with our friends and neighbors to the south in a meaningful and long-term fashion to battle illegal narcotics. I strongly urge all my colleagues to support this legislation. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Madam 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 bill under consideration.

Mr. BERMAN. I yield the gentlelady 1 additional minute.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute of time if I may. The gentleman from Ohio raises an issue of controversy between the United States and Mexico. What I urge the Members of this body to do is to focus on the purpose of this initiative. This is an initiative that is in America's deep national interest. The whole issue of illicit narcotics trade, the role of the corridor between Central America and Mexico in contributing and supplying these illicit narcotics, the war going on in Mexico between the drug cartels, and a president and a leadership that is now taking this head on serves our national interests. Our effort to stem illegal immigration is directly connected, and the effectiveness of it will be greatly dependent on our ability to stop these cartels and to smash this trade in illicit narcotics. Whatever one's concern is about a particular aspect of the U.S.- Mexican relationship, I would suggest from America's interest point of view that this issue, this initiative, is a compelling one and should be supported. I am now pleased to yield 3 minutes to chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas. (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6028) to authorize law enforcement and security assistance, and assistance to enhance the rule of law and strengthen civilian institutions, for Mexico and the countries of Central America, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BERMAN

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

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Jayne Shapiro, a good friend and a wonderful person. Jayne is being honored at Chabad of The Valley's 35th Annual Banquet with the ``Woman of the Year Award'' for her outstanding contributions to the health and safety of children in the State of California, to the welfare of the State of Israel and to many charitable organizations. Soon after Jayne received her masters of public administration from CA State University Northridge, she began to help young and old people from all walks of life regardless of their background, affiliation or financial status. Her professional experience as a nurse and a sexual assault nurse examiner led her to establish a vitally important non- profit organization, KIDS SAFE. Her organization actively advanced numerous educational programs for the protection of children and worked tirelessly to persuade the California State Legislature to introduce the landmark Megan's Law. In 1999, to safeguard school campuses, Jayne established the Los Angeles Task Force on School Safety, bringing together school officials, law enforcement, teachers and parents in an effort to make campuses safer places to learn. Over the years, Jayne has generously given her time and resources to numerous worthy organizations. She is a member of the National Executive Committee on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and is the former chairperson of the Women's Division of the Jewish Federation of the San Fernando Valley. She was appointed by the Mayor to the Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women, by the Governor to the State Developmental Disabilities Board, and by the Attorney General's Office of Continuing Justice Planning to the task force creating public policy on child internet safety. As Chair of the Los Angeles County Committee she helped pass the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at the Federal level. Her dedication to the causes dear to her is an inspiration to us all. Jayne is the proud mother of four sons who have the same passion and commitment to helping people in our community. Madam Speaker, I ask my distinguished colleagues to join me in saluting Jayne Shapiro and congratulating her upon receiving this richly deserved honor.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, on May 21, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad convened a large gathering of international business leaders in Bethlehem to promote investment in the Palestinian economy. This three-day conference, organized by the Palestinian Authority, is an important milestone on the road to a lasting and secure peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Earlier this week, Congressman Rahm Emmanuel, the chairman of the Democratic Caucus, and I participated with Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a Congressional leadership visit to Israel to mark the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the Jewish State. During our time there, we had the opportunity to meet with U.S. diplomatic officials, and my colleague spoke by phone with Palestinian Authority officials to assess the progress of efforts to bring peace to that region. Following our discussions with Palestinian and American officials, we both express our strong support for the efforts of President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad to chart a course of moderation and tolerance and develop an economy and society that provides hope and opportunity for the Palestinian people. The international community must support efforts, like this investment conference, which are designed to improve the lives of peoples in the region. Madam Speaker, in this regard, we note our strong appreciation for the participation of business leaders from throughout the region, including Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and the Arab Gulf states. We express our thanks to the Government of Israel for its efforts to make the conference a success, including by making the travel of so many participants possible. This conference is a demonstration of what is possible in this troubled region when people work together for a common good and reject the forces of extremism. We express our thanks to major U.S. corporations that have joined the Palestinian Authority in this effort, including Cisco, Intel, Marriott and Coca-Cola. When they create jobs, spur investment, and strengthen communities, these corporations are truly furthering the cause of peace. Madam Speaker, a recent World Bank report put unemployment in the West Bank and Gaza at more than 23 percent. This young and rapidly expanding labor force presents both an opportunity and a challenge for those of us who seek to promote the cause of peace. If these young people can find jobs, support a family and become part of the global economy, they will be a force for peace. The durability of the bonds between the Israeli and Palestinian business communities is testimony to the power and potential of these relationships. If however, these young people are forced to rely on Government handouts and the charity of others, they are ripe for exploitation by those with extremist agendas. Madam Speaker, the Palestinian Authority has begun making some of the difficult choices necessary to create a prosperous future for its people. The contrast in the Middle East between those that seek a peaceful, negotiated solution to a conflict that has gone on far too long, and those that oppose this path, has never been clearer. We must use every tool at our disposal to support those who seek to build the institutions of free societies in the Middle East. The promotion of a strong, prosperous Palestinian economy is a critical component in this struggle, and we commend President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad for their efforts and assure them of our continued support.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and yield myself as much time as I may consume. With this resolution, we affirm our support for the legitimate government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and condemn the actions of Hizballah that recently provoked the most severe sectarian conflict in Lebanon since the miserable 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. As we meet this morning, the fate of Lebanon hangs in the balance. Will Lebanon belong to its secular, pro-Western majority--or will it fall to Iran and its proxies? Terrorist Hizballah, showing contempt for legitimate authority and employing violence against Lebanon's most progressive forces, has made a strong bid to prove that the answer to that question is that pro-Iranian forces will dominate Lebanon. That is why it is important for this body to go on record--forcefully--as backing the Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's democratically-elected government. We cannot win the battle for the Lebanese--they must do that themselves--but we can at least demonstrate our solidarity. When the government sought to assert its sovereignty by taking on Hizballah's illegal, private intelligence network, Hizballah responded by taking over parts of Beirut by force, shutting the major roads to the airport and initiating sectarian violence throughout Lebanon. Hizballah fighters also shut down Saad Hariri's pro-government television station and torched the building housing Hariri's newspaper. They besieged the homes of Hariri and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, another pillar of the legitimate governing coalition under Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. These actions were intended to deepen Hizballah's control of its state-within-a-state, to intimidate Lebanon's rulers and thereby increase Hizballah's influence throughout the nation, and, most worrisome, to push Lebanon deeper into an Iranian-Syrian sphere of influence. Unfortunately, Hizballah's violence worked, and the government backed down rather than risk civil war. At least for now, the government has abandoned its plans to close Hizballah's private communications network and remove a pro-Hizballah general who presides over security at Beirut International Airport. Perhaps the government will re-coup some of its losses during negotiations with Hizballah now taking place in Qatar-- but it will not be easy. Let me make two points. First, it is time to go beyond words. It is time for the United Nations Security Council to take specific actions in response to Syria's and Iran's flouting of Lebanese sovereignty in direct contravention of UN Security Council resolutions. Resolution 1701 forbids the transfer of arms into Lebanon without the consent of the Lebanese government. Resolution 1747, passed under Chapter VII, forbids Iran from transferring arms to any entity. Iran provides training, equipment, and arms for Hizballah. Syria, at the least, facilitates the transfer of these arms. The resolution before us urges the Security Council to ban all air traffic between Iran and Lebanon and between Iran and Syria. It calls on all states on transit routes between Iran and Lebanon to implement strict controls. A total ban on commercial flights to and from Iran and Syria--such as that which brought Libya to its knees--also should not be ruled out. Second, it is long past time for the European Union to designate Hizballah as a terrorist group and treat it accordingly. The European insistence that Hizballah should be seen as a legitimate political party is now transparently undermined by facts on ground, including the more than 80 Lebanese who have needlessly perished in the fighting of the past week. Legitimate political parties do not have an independent military capability. They do not initiate wars with neighboring states. And they do not engage in international terrorism. Last week The New York Times quoted Israeli journalist Ehud Yaari as labeling Iran's growing regional influence as ``a pax Iranica.'' Fortunately, there are brave men and women in Lebanon who want to resist this pax Iranica, and at their head, I believe, is Prime Minister Siniora and his government, even if their most recent effort to assert their sovereignty over the Hizballah terrorists has fallen short. Now is the time for us to affirm our support for him and his legitimate, democratically-elected government and to urge the international community to do likewise. That is why I support this resolution, and ask my colleagues to support it as well.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the nutrition title of the pending bill. It includes many urgently needed improvements to our food assistance programs for low-income people. As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, I am particularly pleased to see this title includes language to correct a couple of problems that have arisen relating to the enforceability of the Act and to ensure that no further problems exist. The Food Stamp Act has long been recognized as fully enforceable on behalf of active and prospective participants. This history of enforceability is comparable to that of securities regulations, which the courts have long accepted. When, many years ago, a panel of the Fifth Circuit found no private right of action under the Food Stamp Act in a case brought by a pro se plaintiff, several other circuits, and ultimately the Fifth Circuit en banc, rejected that conclusion. Had they not done so, I have no doubt we would have intervened. Recently, a couple of Federal courts cast doubt on this long-held principle, one by finding the Department's regulations on bilingual service unenforceable and another by forcing plaintiffs to meet the high standards for supervisory liability when suing a State to enforce the act and regulations against local agencies. I am pleased that this legislation overrules both of those decisions. More broadly, the legislation recognizes that lawsuits by individual households or classes of household to enforce their rights under the act and regulations are an important part of the program. There now should be no doubt, if there ever was any, that all provisions of the act and regulations that help individuals get food assistance, or that protect them from burdens in their pursuit of food aid, are intended to create enforceable rights, with corrective injunctions or back benefits (the latter subject to the limitations in the act) as appropriate. The act does not require States or the Department only to exercise reasonable efforts or to substantially comply with its requirements and those in the regulations: it gives each individual a right to be treated as the act and rules provide. The act and regulations have an unmistakable focus on the benefited class of participants and prospective participants, they are written in mandatory, not precatory terms, and they are concerned with the treatment of individuals as much as they are with aggregate or system-wide performance. I cannot imagine how Congress could be any clearer in this regard. I anticipate that we will have no further confusion concerning the enforceability of the act and regulations.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Chairman, I rise in strong support of this en bloc amendment and want to make a few comments about Amendment #18, which was included in this amendment. Title XVI of H.R. H658, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, is the text of H.R. 1084, 110th Congress, as passed by the House on March 7, 2008, introduced by our colleagues Sam Farr and Jim Saxton. That text differed to some degree from the introduced text and is identical to what was reported out by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as I explained at the time of House passage. In discussions with the sponsors of this legislation in the other body, however, certain modifications to the text were deemed desirable, and this amendment, which has been agreed to by the Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Gentlewoman from Florida, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and by Mr. Farr, represents those changes. I thank the Chairman and the ranking Member of the Committee on Armed Services for supporting this amendment, which will smooth the way towards the inclusion of title XVI in the final version of the bill.

Mr. BERMAN. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I'm very proud to cosponsor this amendment with Mr. Skelton, the Chair of the committee, along with the Chair of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, Mrs. Lowey. Among the many lessons learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the stark fact that the State Department and Defense Department have failed to coordinate on critical policy issues in these two war zones. In fact, throughout the U.S. Government, there is a misalignment between resources and missions, expertise and funding. The problems are most evident in the arena of stability and reconstruction operations, where the Defense Department has assumed the lion's share of responsibilities. However, the Defense Department is now playing a greater role in a wide range of foreign assistance programs. By some estimates, more than 20 percent of foreign aid now flows through the Pentagon. Some of this can be attributed to a lack of capacity at State and USAID, a problem we're trying to address through legislation authored by Mr. Farr, which the House passed and is now a part of this bill. But to the extent these problems result from a lack of coordination, we need to take steps to help ensure that the day-to-day plumbing of our national security agencies is sufficiently welded so that personnel from different departments have incentive to work together, and that the objectives of these departments are properly calibrated with overall U.S. Government priorities. This amendment constitutes a first step in that direction. It establishes an advisory panel, structured to ensure that the three key agencies charged with protecting U.S. national security and promoting American interests abroad, State, Defense and USAID, have equal presence. I hope that the panel will work closely with these agencies to produce a report that is practical, well-informed and, most important, directly applicable to their day-to-day operations. The one thing I know is that if this panel creates a dynamic where these agencies work as well together as I have found the ability to work with the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, we can make a lot of progress here. It's a real honor to have been engaged with Chairman Skelton, as well as Chairwoman Lowey on the appropriations side, in trying to come to grips with this problem. I think this is a good first step, and I urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this amendment by my colleague from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Mr. Chairman, this is a simple amendment. It provides that any security commitment, arrangement, or assurance that obligates the United States to respond to internal or external threats against Iraq must be approved by an act of Congress or by a treaty that receives advice and consent. Mr. Chairman, the United States has many friends around the world, including in the Middle East, with whom we have non-legally binding arrangement about security. However, legally binding security commitments to use the Armed Forces of the United States have only been entered into with the approval of Congress. U.S. security commitments to NATO and Japan, for example, have been made pursuant to a treaty subject to advice and consent with the Senate. I believe that past precedent should be our guide as to how to deal with any legally binding obligation of the United States that would commit both the current President and all of his successors to defending Iraq. If the President believes this is wise for the country, he should not do it alone; it should only be taken with congressional approval. Mr. Chairman, this is not an esoteric or hypothetical situation. This past weekend I was in Baghdad with Speaker Pelosi's delegation. It's quite clear from our discussions there that the government of Iraq at the highest level expects that any strategic framework or other agreement between the United States and Iraq will include a legally binding security commitment that would require the United States to respond to threats against Iraq. This amendment ensures congressional approval and, implicitly, congressional oversight of any proposed legally binding commitment to Iraq's security. I would hope that all my colleagues, irrespective of their political affiliation and their views about the conflict in Iraq, would agree that Congress should not be sidelined when it comes to what could be a millennial commitment to defend a country in the heart of one of the hottest regions on the planet. I strongly support the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to my dear friends of more than 30 years, Hope and Harvey Schechter. They are being honored at the 7th Annual Hillel 818 Dinner Celebration for their generous support and outstanding contributions to Los Angeles Valley College and to our community. I have had the pleasure of working with Hope and Harvey throughout the years on many important issues of concern to the San Fernando Valley, the State of California and our Nation. I value their counsel, respect their knowledge and appreciate the help they have given me in my career. Harvey is a remarkable individual who has dedicated his life to protecting our civil rights and combating anti-Semitism and racial discrimination. From 1952, when he began his impressive career with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), until 1993 when he retired as Western States Regional Director of the ADL Foundation, he has been at the forefront on critical humanitarian issues of concern to the ADL, the Jewish community and the world at large. Harvey has been a mentor, confidant, friend, teacher and inspiration to others during his career. His speeches, writings, and incomparable wit have enriched all who have had the good fortune to know him. Following Harvey's retirement from the ADL, he rediscovered the joy of learning at Los Angeles Valley College. He touched the lives of hundreds of students as he shared with them the knowledge he has gained in his 84 years. Hope is an outstanding example of the American dream. Born in a small mining town in Arizona to Mexican-American parents who spoke no English, she overcame tremendous challenges to achieve great success. After dropping out of high school, she worked at menial jobs, including as an underpaid garment industry worker. Her personal experience with the injustices to unskilled workers led her to a career as a union organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. She helped improve the quality of life for hundreds of workers by her determination, positive attitude and resilience. Her career includes many significant contributions to our community, including Community Service Organizer, fighting for safe neighborhoods, establishing the first Head Start Operation in Los Angeles County, helping resolve racial issues as a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Mexican American Affairs and many more. She became a Certified Court Reporter, established her own firm and was the first woman elected President of the General Court Reporters Association. During my brief period in law practice, Hope was my court reporter of choice. Beyond her community contributions, Hope has been a valuable asset to the California Democratic Party, serving for many years on the California Democratic State Central Committee in a number of leadership positions and volunteering her time and efforts to numerous political campaigns. Hope's dedication and tireless efforts on behalf of our community are an inspiration to us all. Hope and Harvey recently celebrated 53 years of a wonderful marriage. Although they have no children of their own, they have been ``adopted'' as parents by more than one hundred young people they have met on the campus and in the community. I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring two special people who's caring and contributions have benefited so many.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to two dear friends, Rita and Jack Sinder, who are being honored by Valley Beth Shalom's 60th Birthday of the State of Israel Dinner Celebration. They are being recognized for their lifetime of commitment to Israel, the Jewish people, and Valley Beth Shalom, VBS. In 1967, Rita and Jack made their first trip to Israel just prior to the Six-Day War. The outbreak of hostilities forced their early departure on the eve of the war. The impact of their experience motivated them to mobilize the American Jewish community on Israel's behalf. Their dedication to Israel, however, began long before the State of Israel was created. Born in Vienna, Rita was immersed in Judaism as a young child. During WWII, when Hitler invaded Austria, Rita's father was shipped to Poland. He fortunately escaped and her mother managed to get herself and her daughters out of Austria. Rita was sent to London on Kindertransport and was not reunited with her family until the war ended. The determination, positive attitude, tremendous resilience, and adaptability that helped her survive still guide her life today. Rita's family was miraculously reunited in America, settling in Los Angeles where Rita attended Belmont High School and graduated from USC with a degree in business administration. Jack, raised in the Orthodox tradition by his father, a prominent Rabbi in Michigan, earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State. He worked for a machine tool company that supplied parts to the big three automakers. He was asked by an associate to help send machine tools to the Jewish fighters in Israel, and together with his friends, he shipped tools which ultimately helped in the creation of the Israeli aircraft industry and the Israeli Air Force. Rita and Jack have been an integral force in the Jewish Community, living up to the motto, ``Give of yourself first and only then ask others to join you.'' They have generously contributed their time and resources to VBS, the Jewish Federation, Israel Bonds, AlPAC and many other worthy organizations. They endowed the Midrasha Program at the VBS, where Jack formerly was a member of the board of directors and currently serves on the board of trustees and the steering committee. Rita has chaired many special events at VBS. She is past president of the San Fernando Valley Women's Division of Israel Bonds and the Golda Meir Club, an active member of AlPAC, serving on its national executive board, and is past president and member of the executive board of the Women's Alliance of Israel. Rita and Jack are founding members of the American Jewish University's Wagner Program, university patrons and also patrons of the Wiesenthal Center. Rita and Jack work together in their business, Jasin Co., he as a real estate developer and she as a real estate broker and property manager. They are the proud parents of Sherri and Alan and adore their three grandchildren. Rita and Jack's greatest joys are being with family and friends, boating and travel. I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting Rita and Jack Sinder, who have devoted their lives to working for the survival of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the nutrition title of the pending conference report. It includes many urgently needed improvements to our food assistance programs for low-income people. As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, I am particularly pleased to see this title includes language to correct a couple of problems that have arisen relating to the enforceability of the act and to ensure that no further problems exist. The Food Stamp Act has long been recognized as fully enforceable on behalf of active and prospective participants. This history of enforceability is comparable to that of securities regulations, which the courts have long accepted. When, many years ago, a panel of the Fifth Circuit found no private right of action under the Food Stamp Act in a case brought by a pro se plaintiff, several other circuits, and ultimately the Fifth Circuit en banc, rejected that conclusion. Had they not done so, I have no doubt we would have intervened. Recently, a couple of Federal courts cast doubt on this long-held principle, one by finding the Department's regulations on bilingual service unenforceable and another by forcing plaintiffs to meet the high standards for supervisory liability when suing a State to enforce the act and regulations against local agencies. I am pleased that this legislation overrules both of those decisions. More broadly, the legislation recognizes that lawsuits by individual households or classes of household to enforce their rights under the act and regulations are an important part of the program. There now should be no doubt, if there ever was any, that all provisions of the act and regulations that help individuals get food assistance, or that protect them from burdens in their pursuit of food aid, are intended to create enforceable rights, with corrective injunctions or back benefits, the latter subject to the limitations in the act, as appropriate. The act does not require States or the Department only to exercise reasonable efforts or to substantially comply with its requirements and those in the regulations: it gives each individual a right to be treated as the act and rules provide. The act and regulations have an unmistakable focus on the benefited class of participants and prospective participants, they are written in mandatory, not precatory terms, and they are concerned with the treatment of individuals as much as they are with aggregate or system-wide performance. I cannot imagine how Congress could be any clearer in this regard. I anticipate that we will have no further confusion concerning the enforceability of the act and regulations.

Mr. BERMAN

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

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds. The gentleman's ending quote was a very powerful one. And then there was a President here who said, that's why, with those kinds of regimes, you must verify. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill and yield myself as much time as I may consume. I want to first thank our colleague, Mr. Speaker, and our ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, for introducing this important legislation. The human rights situation in North Korea remains one of the bleakest on the planet. As we speak, millions of North Koreans live in desperate conditions. Political, economic and religious freedoms are nonexistent. Many are starving and undernourished and live in fear of arbitrary arrests where they know they may be tortured or executed. The North Korean government knows that access to information outside the country is a threat to the regime's control. So it maintains an absolute grip over all legal media, using it to manipulate the population into believing that life is no better anywhere else. Those who manage to leave the country face further danger, denial of rights and threats to their lives. China stubbornly refuses to categorize North Koreans who flee horrific living conditions and persecution as refugees, instead labeling them economic migrants. This disingenuous, semantic trick relieves Beijing of its obligation to assist the North Koreans who escape into China in accordance with international conventions on refugees to which Beijing is a signatory. North Koreans are routinely arrested and abused by the Chinese authorities and sent back to North Korea where they are considered traitors. Upon return, they are arrested, likely tortured, and sometimes killed. Earlier this year, Pyongyang reminded the world how it treats those who desperately seek a better life by leaving North Korea when it executed 13 women and 2 men at the Chinese border. In response to the incident, a local North Korean official is reported to have said plainly, ``We shot them to send a warning to people.'' The suffering people of North Korea need assistance, and in 2004, Congress passed with overwhelming bipartisan support the North Korea Human Rights Act in an effort to focus U.S. attention on their plight. The Act provided new resources to assist North Korean refugees, support democracy and human rights programs, and improve access to information through radio broadcasts and other activities. It also required the President to appoint a special envoy on North Korean human rights. H.R. 5834, which we're considering today, reauthorizes this vitally important legislation. The current bill extends the North Korean Human Rights Act through fiscal year 2012, doubles the original funding authorization for human rights and democracy programs, and enhances the role of the special envoy by making it an ambassadorial rank and requiring it be a full-time position. I'm proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation, which I strongly support and encourage my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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 extend an additional minute to the gentleman from California.

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