Howard Berman

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from California, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, Mr. Sherman of California.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I extend an additional minute to the gentleman from California.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill and yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the United States has a wide variety of foreign policy tools to promote the national security of the United States. While these tools are often referred to as ``soft power,'' they represent such diverse mechanisms as enhancing ties with friendly countries, ensuring that U.S. exports are regarded positively by prospective customers, ensuring that our policies reflect our values, and using U.S. assistance to stem the wave of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction that threaten our very homeland. The bipartisan legislation before the House today, cosponsored by the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, represents a new and important initiative to accomplish all these missions. Title I of H.R. 5916 reforms the Arms Export Control process, based on proposals made by Mr. Sherman and Mr. Manzullo as introduced in H.R. 4246, the Defense Trade Controls Performance Improvement Act of 2007 to create consistency in our export policy. It also provides for a strategic review of U.S. export control policies to help ensure they promote the protection of human rights. It also amends the Arms Export Control Act to ensure that our close allies, South Korea and Israel, get the same expedited licensing review that our NATO allies, Australia, New Zealand and Japan currently enjoy. In this regard, the bill partially draws from H.R. 5443, the United States-Republic of Korea Cooperation Act of 2008, which was introduced by our colleagues, Mr. Royce and Mrs. Tauscher of California. In addition, in order to address recent major sales of defense articles and services to countries in the Middle East, the bill insures that Israel will maintain its qualitative military edge against whatever security threats it may face, codifying this important principle into law for the first time. It also authorizes the security assistance to Israel, including implementing the recent U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Security Assistance. It's only fitting that as Israel commemorates the 60th anniversary of its founding, the United States renews and strengthens its relationship with our most important friend in the region. Israel is a democratic island of stability in a sea of chaos, chaos which we continue to see just this week this neighboring Lebanon. It deserves all the support we can muster. Finally, title III of this legislation provides for a limited waiver of current sanctions to support and accelerate U.S. efforts to eliminate North Korea's nuclear program. The waiver would apply to portions of what is commonly called the Glenn Amendment. Glenn Amendment sanctions keep the Department of Energy from funding its own ongoing work on disabling and dismantling North Korea's nuclear program, including removing plutonium in the next phase of this process, as well as verifying that Pyongyang is living up to its commitments. Until now, a flexible but limited fund at the Department of State has paid for this work. Continued exclusive use of this State Department mechanism will undermine the ability of the United States to urgently respond to unexpected opportunities to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons elsewhere in the world. Title III of our bill allows for more rational funding and planning of these activities without giving the administration a blank check. It provides a narrow, carefully tailored authority. It also requires the administration to document for Congress each year the need for keeping this authority in place. Title III also includes a provision authored by ranking member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen that reinforces U.S. policy regarding removing North Korea from the State Department's list of countries supporting terrorism. The conditions laid out in that provision include certification that North Korea no longer is engaged in transferring to other countries any technology that enables the development or acquisition of nuclear weapons. The provision also underscores the importance of keeping the agreement laid out in the Six-Party talks, and it states that North Korea must agree to allow participation of the International Atomic Energy Agency in ensuring that the Yongbyon nuclear reactor is shut down and stays that way. I pledge to this House that the Committee on Foreign Affairs will continue to keep a close eye on the implementation of the Six-Party Denuclearization Agreement. It is entirely possible that North Korea's own actions may sour the deal. However, in the interest of U.S. and global security, we need to forge ahead and accomplish what we can now. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. I urge all of my colleagues in joining me in supporting this important legislation. Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, May 12, 2008. Hon. Howard L. Berman, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I write to confirm our mutual understanding regarding H.R. 5916, ``To reform the administration of the Arms Export Control Act, and for other purposes.'' This legislation contains subject matter within the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Armed Services. Our Committee recognizes the importance of H.R. 5916 and the need for the legislation to move expeditiously. Therefore, while we have a valid claim to jurisdiction over this legislation, the Committee on Armed Services will waive further consideration of H.R. 5916. I do so with the understanding that by waiving further consideration of the bill, the Committee does not waive any future jurisdictional claims over similar measures. In the event of a conference with the Senate on this bill, the Committee on Armed Services reserves the right to seek the appointment of conferees. I would appreciate the inclusion of this letter and a copy of the response in your Committee's report on H.R. 5916 and in the Congressional Record during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Very truly yours, Ike Skelton, Chairman.

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

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5916) to reform the administration of the Arms Export Control Act, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 bill under consideration.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. One cannot help but be deeply saddened by the harrowing reports and images coming from Burma in the wake of Cyclone Nargis. Television clips show bloated, dead bodies floating among scared and starving Burmese, desperate for assistance. Entire villages are destroyed, some with survivors in the single digits, others with no survivors at all. Because of the escalating cost of fuel, it is too expensive to burn the corpses of the dead. As horrific as the current destruction is in Burma, there is the eerie fear that we are on the precipice of the situation becoming much worse. The threat from disease could raise the number of dead from the tens of thousands to over one million. It seems unthinkable that in this modern age, 1 million people can be left to die as the result of a single natural disaster. Yet, that is what we face if we are not able to provide aid and assistance to the people of Burma. And, if it is horrific to hear reports of the humanitarian crisis in Burma, it is nauseating to hear reports of the lack of humanity on the part of the Burmese regime. The Burmese junta seems committed to preventing the full-scale relief operations necessary to respond to the current crisis. Instead of welcoming the outpouring of assistance from around the world, Burma's generals are letting aid groups and governments languish as they wait for visas. The United States stands ready with so many other countries, international organizations and NGOs, to do what it can to prevent further loss of life and to help Burma begin to recover from this devastating storm. But the military leaders continue to rebuff our help and our pleading on behalf of the Burmese people. Most governments would be strained by the demands of responding to such devastation, and Burma lacks a fraction of the capacity necessary to deal with this crisis. To make matters worse, there are reports of corruption inside Burma eroding the efforts that are allowed to take place. We hear that supplies that were provided by donors are being confiscated by the government and resold back to aid groups. This is sinister profiteering at its most extreme. That the junta went ahead with its scheduled constitutional referendum on Saturday in the unaffected areas is sickening and surreal. The constitution under question is intended to legitimize the current ruling government. But despite its many, many crimes, this government has done few things that have so de-legitimized its claim to govern over the Burmese people. It is time for the Burmese government to do what Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said it should do, and ``put its people's lives first.'' We hope and pray that, for the sake of the people of Burma, the junta does so as soon as possible.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, it's an honor to be part of the debate on a bill being managed by the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who perhaps is one of the first Members of Congress to speak out and lead the effort against the old apartheid regime, going way back into the late sixties and early 1970s, and who, along with Congressman Ron Dellums and many others, led the effort in 1986, I believe it was, to override the veto and provide the first really tough sanctions against investment that helped play a part in the ultimate downfall of that apartheid regime. Mr. Speaker, this bill is a long overdue one, and it's the direct result of a stunning and, frankly, embarrassing story for the United States. The United States, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, had a much too cozy relationship with the apartheid Government of South Africa which had labeled the ANC as a terrorist organization. The apartheid government banned membership and political activity in the ANC and forced its leaders underground or into exile. A direct result of that ban was that under U.S. law individuals convicted of crimes, including the Nobel Laureate and former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, were deemed inadmissible for entry to the United States, along with individuals labeled as terrorists by the former South African government. Much has changed for South Africa since those dark times. President de Klerk and Nelson Mandela negotiated an end to the conflict and an end to the apartheid system on behalf of the National Party and the African National Congress. In 1994, the country held its first democratic elections in which full enfranchisement was granted. Today, the ANC serves as the majority party in a diverse ruling coalition. Yet, astonishingly, while South Africa completed its monumental political transition, the U.S. position regarding entry for ANC's leaders remained frozen in time. Leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki, the father of President Thabo Mbeki, were continually barred from entry to the U.S. and had to apply for special waivers to gain entry. Even more embarrassing than the original U.S. embrace of apartheid policies was the fact that few of those who opposed apartheid in the United States Government, including many of us in Congress, were even aware of the residual terrorist designations against ANC members. Despite recognizing two decades ago that America's place was on the side of those oppressed by apartheid, Congress has never resolved the inconsistency in our immigration code that treats many of those who actively opposed apartheid in South Africa as terrorists and criminals, in part because the apartheid regime labeled them as such. Increasingly, stringent security measures passed by Congress since 2001 have further ensnared ANC members. Because the ANC used armed force as part of its campaign against the repressive apartheid regime in South Africa, current law continues to regard the ANC as a terrorist organization and to deny entry to members based on their affiliation with the ANC. The intent of H.R. 5690 is to purge the United States of any residual effect of its former policies with regard to the South African Government and to update U.S. law with regard to the ANC. The bill, as amended, specifically removes the ANC from treatment as a terrorist organization and grants the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security the discretionary authority to determine that certain criminal- and security-related grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to an alien with respect to activities undertaken in opposition to apartheid rule in South Africa. I want to take a moment just to compliment again the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, who has very strong and passionate views on the issues of immigration and, obviously, also, as we all do in this Chamber, on the issue of terrorist organizations and inadmissibility for those organizations. He has truly understood and internalized the historic transition here and the unfairness of the present situation. And I do want to affirm one point that he raised. This bill does not have anyone close their eyes to acts committed by the ANC or by the apartheid government, and nothing here would preclude the Secretary, as she exercises her discretion, from considering whether or not civilians were targeted by an individual actor, civilians. We should, also, I think, take into account, as we decide what to do on this, the very powerful and legally binding truth and reconciliation process in South Africa which provided a restorative justice process that salved many of the wounds of the apartheid era. Once enacted, the ANC will be removed from terrorist watch lists, and the ANC will receive treatment befitting its status as a leading party and a close ally of the United States. I encourage my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Thank you, Chairman Conyers, for those kind words. I rise today in support of H.R. 4279. American inventors, artists and businesses rely on intellectual property rights to protect the value of their creative works. These works, unfortunately, are being ripped off around the world. The rampant counterfeiting and piracy of U.S. products is having a devastating impact on our economy. Counterfeit and pirated products may account for up to 8 percent of world trade, and a significant portion of this illicit trade are knock- offs of American products. Latest estimates indicate that U.S. businesses lose up to $250 billion a year due to intellectual property theft. This level of counterfeiting and piracy of U.S. intellectual property rights translates to job losses, lower tax receipts, and a greater trade deficit. It has also led to public health and safety threats ranging from exploding batteries to toxic pharmaceuticals to sawdust brake pads. The economic threat and safety problems that counterfeit and pirated products pose for U.S. businesses and consumers must be dealt with. Given the difficult economic times we find ourselves in, it is that much more important that we address these problems quickly and effectively. I am aware of the recent efforts the administration has taken to stem the tide of counterfeit and pirated products. The Department of Homeland Security has seized record numbers of counterfeit and pirated goods coming through the border. The Department of Justice is prosecuting and convicting more intellectual property thieves. The Patent and Trademark Office has stationed representatives in foreign countries to advocate for better enforcement. However, despite these efforts, intellectual property theft is on the rise. More must be done. H.R. 4279 is more. The Act strengthens our civil and criminal laws in ways that attack the organizational structures intellectual property thieves are using and reduce the economic incentives that thieves have to engage in commercial scale counterfeiting and piracy. The Act devotes more resources to investigate and prosecute intellectual property crimes. The Act also provides more resources for the U.S. Government to work with other governments to improve intellectual property enforcement abroad. And probably most importantly, H.R. 4279 provides a permanent and effective means of coordinating intellectual property enforcement activities. This includes the creation of an intellectual property enforcement representative in the Executive Office of the President and requiring that a national strategic plan to counter intellectual property theft be created, complete with clear goals and benchmarks that will facilitate accountability. I'd like very much to thank Chairman Conyers, Ranking Member Smith, and Subcommittee Ranking Member Coble and all of their staffs, as well as mine, for the hard work they've put into crafting this bill. The hard work shows in both the scope of the reforms and in the strong support for the bill by U.S. businesses and labor groups, and Chairman Conyers outlined a number of those organizations and the broad sweep that they cover and their strong endorsement. I'm also pleased to say that the amendments adopted in the bill before us go a long way in alleviating concerns raised over the operational independence of agencies like the USTR and the Department of Justice, without compromising the underlying reforms. H.R. 4279 will bolster U.S. efforts to combat counterfeiting and piracy, and I urge support of the bill.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today with great sadness to note the recent passing of Yossi Harel, the legendary Haganah commander responsible for shepherding thousands of Jewish refugees through British blockades and to safety in the nascent Jewish homeland. Harel was perhaps best known for commanding the ship Exodus 1947, which was intercepted off the coast of Haifa by British warships in July 1947, carrying 4,553 Jewish refugees from Europe. The unconscionable decision by the British authorities to send these Holocaust survivors aboard the Exodus back to Germany focused the world's attention on the plight of Jewish refugees and their desire to leave the fetid displaced persons camps in Europe for a new life in soon to be sovereign Israel. Members of the United Nations Special Commission on Palestine saw first hand as these refugees, with their meager possessions, were unloaded from the ramshackle Exodus 1947 in the port of Haifa and prepared for their return to Europe--all just precious feet away from the land they had so desperately yearned to reach. Incredibly these refugees--just two years removed from the horrors of the Holocaust--were held by the British in a former S.S. concentration camp after their return to Germany. This shocked the conscious of much of the world and further galvanized opinion against the British blockage and in favor of the establishment of a Jewish state in Mandate-era Palestine. The story of those aboard the Exodus 1947 and their harrowing journey to Haifa was immortalized in Leon Uris's novel Exodus and subsequent film featuring the character Ari Ben-Canaan based on Harel himself and played by Paul Newman. Though Harel is best known for commanding Exodus 1947, he also led three other ships to the shores of Israel, helping 24,000 refugees find safe harbor in the Promised Land--all by the time he was 28. Today we mourn the loss of a great hero, who not only touched the lives of these 24,000 refugees and won the admiration of millions of people worldwide, but also came to symbolize the determination and pluck of the modern state of Israel.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, today, April 24th, marks the 93rd anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide. I rise today to commemorate this terrible chapter in human history, and to help ensure that it will never be forgotten. On April 24, 1915, the Turkish government began to arrest Armenian community and political leaders. Many were executed without ever being charged with crimes. Then the government deported most Armenians from Turkish Armenia, ordering that they resettle in Ottoman Syria. Many deportees never reached that destination. From 1915 to 1918, more than a million Armenians died of starvation or disease on long marches, or were massacred outright by Turkish forces. From 1918 to 1923, Armenians continued to suffer at the hands of the Turkish military, which eventually removed all remaining Armenians from Turkey. We mark this anniversary of the start of the Armenian genocide because this tragedy for the Armenian people was a tragedy for all humanity. It is our duty to remember, to speak out and to teach future generations about the horrors of genocide and the oppression and terrible suffering endured by the Armenian people. We hope the day will soon come when it is not just the survivors who honor the dead but also when those whose ancestors perpetrated the horrors acknowledge their terrible responsibility and commemorate as well the memory of genocide's victims. Sadly, we cannot say humanity has progressed to the point where genocide has become unthinkable. We have only to recall the ``killing fields'' of Cambodia, mass killings in Rwanda, ``ethnic cleansing'' in Bosnia and Kosovo, and massacres and wholesale destruction of villages in Darfur to see that the threat of genocide persists. We must renew our commitment never to remain indifferent in the face of such assaults on innocent human beings. We also remember this day because it is a time for us to celebrate the contribution of the Armenian community in America--including hundreds of thousands in California--to the richness of our character and culture. The strength they have displayed in overcoming tragedy to flourish in this country is an example for all of us. Their success is moving testimony to the truth that tyranny and evil cannot extinguish the vitality of the human spirit. The United States has an ongoing opportunity to contribute to a true memorial to the past by strengthening Armenia's emerging democracy. We must do all we can through aid and trade to support Armenia's efforts to construct an open political and economic system. With the arrogance of absolute impunity, Adolf Hitler famously urged his commanders to attack Poland with no fear of history's judgment because, as he put it, ``Who remembers the Armenians?'' The answer is, we do. And we will continue to remember the victims of the 1915-23 genocide because, in the words of the philosopher George Santayana, ``Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.''

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to recognize the chief sponsor of this resolution, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a stalwart supporter of the State of Israel for all of her political life that I have known her, for 1 minute.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey, a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sires.

Mr. BERMAN. I yield the gentlelady 2 additional minutes.

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

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield 2 minutes to the vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Klein).

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment, the gentlelady from California (Ms. Harman).

Mr. BERMAN. I yield myself the balance of my time. As Speaker Pelosi indicated in her own comments, the person that I think all of us in this Chamber miss very much in not being able to manage this resolution because of his own background and his own deep love and commitment for the State of Israel was our late chairman, Tom Lantos. This would have been something that he would have been personally very gratified with, and certainly wanted to join in the trip that the Speaker will be leading to the State of Israel in the next couple of weeks to help celebrate this anniversary. And so I think it's fair to say that everyone in the Chamber wishes that things might have been different, that he might have been here himself to manage this resolution. And we are looking forward to a group that the Speaker will be taking to Israel to actually personally participate in that celebration.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 322) recognizing the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel and reaffirming the bonds of close friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I'm privileged to recognize for 1 minute a gentleman who has probably done as much as anyone in this House to promote the U.S.-Israeli relationship, including his own personal missions that he leads there, the majority leader, Mr. Hoyer of Maryland.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the majority whip for the House of Representatives, Representative Clyburn of South Carolina.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 322 which recognizes the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel and reaffirms the bonds of close friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in the 60 years since the founding of our ally Israel, the United States has had no greater friend in the Middle East. U.S.- Israeli friendship is based first and foremost on shared democratic values and our mutual pursuit of peace and stability in the Middle East, and it is buttressed by our Nation's unshakable commitment to Israel's security. The remarkable story to Israel's foundation and survival is inspiring. Shortly after the decision by the United Nations to partition the British Mandate of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, in Tel Aviv. In response, Israel's Arab neighbors invaded the new and tiny Jewish state. And to the surprise of the so-called experts and pundits everywhere, the nascent Israel Defense Forces prevailed, defending the people of Israel and soundly defeating the Arab coalition. French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the emergence of the State of Israel ``a miracle of the 20th century.'' However, Golda Meier once remarked that there had been ``too much self-sacrifice and too many lives lost for Israel's emergence to be considered a miracle.'' But the establishment and the evolution of the State of Israel can be considered, without doubt, one of the dazzling human achievements of our times. Hundreds of thousands of Jews and their descendants escaped oppression, or worse, because Israel exists. Spurning the authoritarian model that dominates its region, and persevering in a sea of enmity, Israel has built a world-class civilization, a vibrant democracy, a thriving economy, and a culturally and academically rich society. The American people, and particularly the United States Congress, have contributed mightily to Israel's sustenance and security over the years. Of that we are justifiably proud. But Israel's triumphant story is also tinged with tragedy. Each year just before its independence day, Israel honors soldiers who have fallen in its defense. A siren sounds all over the nation, and Israelis everywhere stop to remember. This minute of silence is a poignant memory for all who have witnessed it. But it is also, unfortunately, symbolic of Israel's wider regional reality for Israel has lived under the Damoclesian threat since its birth. For years the Arab world sought to drive Israel into the sea. But eventually, after much death and destruction, the visionary Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, and the wise Jordanian, King Hussein, recognized the value of peace and coexistence with Israel. And although much of the Arab world's economic, cultural and political boycott of Israel remains intact and terrorism has never ceased, the prospect of a collective military attack on Israel fortunately has faded in recent years. Nevertheless, Israel today lives under potentially greater threats to its well-being and existence than ever before. The daily rocket assaults from Gaza, controlled by fundamentalist Hamas, have reaped vast physical and psychological damage on the people of Sderot, not to mention the fact that they have killed more than a dozen Israelis. And increasingly, sophisticated rockets are being used. They are more deadly accurate by the day, and they have greater range. In Israel's north, Hezbollah's replenished missile supply poses an even greater threat. On the other end of the military spectrum, a theologically based state, the Islamic Republic of Iran whose president says Israel should be wiped off the map, is developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. Now is not the time to go into details about these threats. This body has spoken specifically to each of these dangers in the relatively recent past, and will do so again. Now it is time to reaffirm our Nation's pledge to Israel that we will stand in solidarity with Israel against all violent assaults on its security and well-being. And most of all, it is time to say to our friend and ally, Israel, congratulations on your incredible social, political, economic, and technological achievements in the face of the most stupefying odds. We in the United States could not be prouder of our special relationship with you. I reserve the balance of my time.