Dan Burton

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor the 2005 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients. Presented annually by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)--an umbrella group of more than 250 organizations that spans the spectrum of ethnic heritages, cultures and religions--the Ellis Island Medal of Honor commemorates and recognizes Americans of all ethnic backgrounds who have made significant contributions to our society. These medals have been aptly named for Ellis Island, as in so many ways Ellis Island is an enduring symbol of the immigrant roots and diversity that characterize our great Nation. America has always been a haven for legal immigrants from all over the world who come to our shores with one simple dream; forging a new life in a land of opportunity, liberty, and freedom--freedom from religious, economic, political or ethnic persecution. When the immigrant station at Ellis Island, New York, opened on January 1, 1892, it admitted 700 immigrants into the United States on just its first day of operation. By the time the center closed in 1954, 17-million immigrants had passed through its doors. The Ellis Island administration and staff, on average, processed up to 5,009 people per day. Many of these newcomers spoke little English, hardly had any money, and arrived with only the clothes on their backs. Despite those challenges, all were willing to risk their lives in exchange for the opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their families. The Ellis Island Medal of Honor was created in 1986 to honor those individuals who--through their own perseverance, sacrifice and success--continue to help keep America at the forefront of science, business, sports, entertainment, health care research, and myriad of other important issues. Representing a rainbow of ethnic backgrounds the 2005 recipients received their awards on May 14, 2005, in the shadow of the historic Great Hall, where the first footsteps towards a new life were taken by the millions of immigrants who entered the U.S. in the latter part of the nineteenth century. NECO Co-chairman Lee Iacocca, paying tribute to NECO's Founder and Chairman, William Denis Fugazy, said: ``Bill's most enduring legacy is the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations and the Ellis Island Medals of Honor. He has been the driving force behind NECO since its inception. Under the NECO banner he has led the fight against intolerance and hate, and brought together disparate groups to work together and to celebrate the gifts that each ethnic group brings to keep America the land of freedom and opportunity for all. His life is testament to what one person with a big heart and boundless energy can accomplish.'' Nasser J. Kazeminy, Chairman of NECO's Executive Committee, said that the 2005 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients have enriched this country and have become role models for future generations. He noted that a posthumous Medal was given to Sergeant Christian P. Engeldrum, U.S. Army National Guard, who was killed in Iraq last November. Engeldrum, he said, was a heroic New York City firefighter, and also served in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm. He was the first New York City employee to be killed in Iraq. His third child, a daughter, was born in June 2005. Since 1986, approximately 1,700 American citizens have received Ellis Island Medals of Honor, which continue to pay tribute to the ancestry groups that comprise America's unique cultural mosaic. In addition, NECO awards one International Ellis Island Medal of Honor each year. This year's international honoree was Richard Platt, Chairman of Visy Industries, Australia. Mr. Speaker, the 2005 Ellis Island recipients are without doubt a remarkable collection of individuals who have distinguished themselves as outstanding human beings and citizens of the United States. By honoring these outstanding individuals, we honor all who share their origins and we acknowledge the contributions they and other groups have made to America. I once again commend NECO and its Chairman, my good friend William Denis Fugazy, for honoring the accomplishments of these outstanding individuals and their tireless efforts to foster dialogue, build bridges between different ethnic groups, and promote unity and a sense of common purpose in our Nation. I respectfully ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the good works of NECO, and congratulating all the 2005 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients, and I would ask that the names of all of this year's recipients be placed into the Congressional Record following my statement. 2005 Ellis Island Medal of Honor Recipients Abu S. Alam M.D. P.A., Bangladesh; George Atanasoski, Vice President, Microflex, Inc., Macedonian; Nishan Atinizian, President, Fresh Pond Mall Ltd Partnership, Armenian; Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, Counsel & Sr. Advisor Global Strategies, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Irish; Avi Barbasch M.D., New York Oncology, Czech/Polish/Israeli; Joseph L. Basralian Esq., Managing Partner, Winne, Banta, Hetherington, Basralian & Kahn P.C, Armenian; Paul P. Bernstein, Board Member, Seeds of Peace, Russian; Nicholas A. Buoniconti, Founder, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Italian; Terry Burman, Chairman & CEO, Sterling Jewelers, Inc., Russian/Polish; Hon. Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Chinese; Dr. James S.C. Chao, Chairman, Foremost Group, Chinese; Yeoung Bae Choi, Chairman, The Korean American Association of Flushing, Korean; Dr. Parveen Chopra, Chairperson, Comm. Of Human Rights--Nassau County NY, Asian Indian; Joseph A. Cimino M.D., Professor & Chairman, Community & Preventive Medicine, Italian; Vahakn N. Dadrian, Director of Research, Zoryan Institute, Armenian; Thomas E. Dreesen, Comedian, Italian/Irish; Victor J. Dzau, MD, Chancellor for Health Affairs, Duke University Medical Center, Chinese/Canadian; I. Steven Edelson, Managing Member, Mercantile, Russian/Polish; Christian Engeldrum (Posthumously), Sgt US Army, NYC Firefighter/Ladder 61; Andrew Evangelatos, Attorney at Law, Hellenic; Dr. Haifa Fakhouri, President & CEO, Arab American & Chaldean Council, Jordanian; Stefan J. Fedor, Service Delivery Executive, Cisco Systems, Inc., Czech/Hungarian; Anthony C. Ferreri, President & CEO, Staten Island University Hospital, Italian; Dr. Homayoun Firouztash, Partner, Centurion Holdings, LLC, Iranian; John W. Galanis, Esq., Chairman, Galanis, Pollack, Jacobs & Johnson, Hellenic; Judge John Gale, State of Florida, Italian; Robert C. Gallo, M.D., Director, Institute of Human Virology, Italian; Rickey M. Gelb, President, Gelb Enterprises, Austrian/Russian; Lola Nashashibi Grace, Philanthropist, Lebanese/Palestinian; Edgar Hagopian, Chairman, Hagopian Family of Companies, Armenian; Alexander W. Harris, CTC, Chairman, General Tours, Inc., Polish; Jay Hershenson, Vice Chancellor, CUNY, Polish; Wilhelmina Holliday, Commissioner (Ret), NYPD-MVPD, African American; Soung Eun Hong, President/CEO, Rainer Group of Atlantic, USA, Korean; Richard C. Iannuzzi, Vice President, NYSUT, Italian; Muta M. Issa, MD, MBA, Assoc. Prof./Chief of Urology, Emory Univ School of Med/Atlanta; VA Med Ctr, Iraqi; BG Jimmie C. Jackson, Jr., Cmdr 305th Air Mobility Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, Irish/Mexican; Eppaminondas G. Johnson, Founder, Eppie's Race, Director Univ of Nevada-Reno Foundation, Hellenic; Ranya Caren Kelly, Founder/Exec. Director, The Redistribution Center Inc., English/German; Cecile Keshishian, President (Ret), NH Medical Society Auxiliary, Lebanese; Won Ho Kim, President, Warner, Inc., So. Korean; Yohyun Kim, President, Ace Printing & Publishing, Korean; Theodore A. Laliotis, President, Laliotis & Associates, Hellenic; Dr. Henry C. Lee, Chief Emeritus, CT Forensic Science Laboratory, Chinese; Susan Levit M.D., F.A.C.P., President & Medical Director, Levit Medical Arts Pavilion, Russian/Israeli; Boris Lipkin, President & CEO, Therma-Wave, Ukrainian; Joseph Macnow, Executive VP & CFO, Vornado Realty Trust, Russian/Polish; LTG Robert Magnus, Deputy Commandant, US Marine Corps, English/Polish; Ranjan Manoranjan, Chairman & CFO, 3SG Corporation, Sri Lanka; Aris Mardirossian, President, Technology Patents LLC, Armenian; Penny Marshall, Director & Producer, Italian/German/Welsh; Bonnie McElveen- Hunter, Former Ambassador, Chairman, Board of Gov. / American Red Cross, President, Pace Communications, Scottish/Irish; Aaron David Miller, President, Seeds of Peace, Russian/ Polish; Benjamin E. Montoya, CEO, Smart Systems Technologies, Inc., Mexican; Edward D. Mullins, President, NYPD Sergeants Benevelent Association, Irish/Spanish; John V. Murphy, Chairman President & CEO, Oppenheimer Funds Inc., Irish; Francesco Musorrafiti, Chairman & CEO, Engineering & Professional Serv. Inc, Italian; Firouz M. Naderi, Associate Director, Programs, Project Formulation & Strategy, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Iranian; John S. Najarian, MD, Professor of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Armenian; John M. Nasseff, Community Leader & Philanthropist, Lebanese; Maria Neira, Vice President, NYSUT, Puerto Rican; Peter Nikiteas, Community Leader, Hellenic; James J. O'Connor, Chairman & CEO (Ret), UNICOM Corp & Commonwealth Edison, Irish; Michael D. O'Halleran, Chairman & CEO, Aon Corporation, Irish; Harris J. Pappas, President, Pappas Restaurant, Inc., Hellenic; Sudhir Parikh M.D., Center for Asthma and Allergies, Asian Indian; Peter P. Parthenis, CEO, Grecian Delight Foods, Inc., Hellenic; Martin R. Pollner, Senior Partner, Loeb & Loeb LLP, Polish/Hungarian; Rev. Peter A. Popaj, Our Lady of Shkodra RC Church, Albanian; Richard Pratt, AC, International Recipient, President, Visey Communications, Polish; Kassandra L. Romas, Managing Director, Bouras Properties, LLC, Hellenic; Joseph R. Rosetti, President, Safir Rosetti, Italian; BG Curtis M. Scaparrotti, Commandant, US Military Academy at West Point, Italian; Stephen M. Schuck, Chairman, The Schuck Corp., Russian/German; H.R. Shah, Chairman & CEO, TV Asia & Krauszer's, Asian Indian; M. Morris Shirazipour, CEO, Aero Toy Store, Israeli/Iranian/Canadian; Barbara Simmons, Department of Veterans Affairs, African American; Barry Ivan Slotnick, Attorney at Law, Buchanan Ingersoll PC, Polish; Edward M. Snider, Chairman, Comcast-Spectacar, Russian/Polish; Mona So, Chairperson, Chinese Import Association of America, Chinese; Mercedes H. Spotts, Esq., Polish; Thomas Stankovich, Senior VP & CFO, MP Biomedicals, Yugoslavian; John L. Starks, Founder & President, The John Starks Foundation, American Indian; Gwynn T. Swinson, Secretary of Administration, NC Dept. of Administration, African/Caribbean/European; Abdul Jamil Tajik, M.D., Cardiovascular Diseases & Internal Medicine-- Mayo Clinic, Pakistani; Meilin Tan, Founder & President, Small Business Owners of Greater New York, Chinese; James Thomas, President & CPA, Thomas Auto Motor Group, Hellenic; George Tomov, President, Folk Dance Foundation, Macedonian Arts Council, Macedonian; Angelo Vivolo, Community Leader, Italian; Dionysios Vlachos, President, Allboro Waterproofing Corp., Hellenic; Frank Volpicella, Vice President, United Federation of Teachers, Italian; Robert Weisberg, Deputy Chief of Mission, American Embassy Helsinki, Russian/Rumanian/ Austrian; Thomas V. Whelan, Chairman &CEO, Concepts International, Irish; Capt. Glenn A. Wiltshire, Cmdr. of Coast Guard Activities NY, United States Coast Guard, English/Polish; James B. Zafiros, Vice President (Ret), NBC Televsion, Hellenic/Turkish; Larry A. Zavadil, President & CEO, American Solutions For Business, Czech/German.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht).

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I have been down here a lot talking about autism over the years and my committee had many hearings on the issue of autism. My grandson became autistic after receiving 9 shots in one day, 7 of which contained mercury, in a product called thimerosal. And he is doing better but it has been a very difficult time for me and my family. I strongly believe that there is a link between the mercury that is in the thimerosal in the vaccines and children developing neurological disorders such as autism. In fact, according to a recent study released by collaboration of U.S. medical researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Northeastern University in Boston, and the University of Nebraska and Tufts University that was published in the Vancouver Sun in February of last year and was officially released in the April 2004 edition of the scientific journal Molecular Psychiatry, ``A recent review of vaccine-related adverse events in the U.S. found a significant correlation between shots containing thimerosal,'' i.e. mercury ``and autism.'' The study further concluded that the use of thimerosal-containing shots could account for the rising rates of autism since the early 1980s when more thimerosal-containing vaccinations were added to the government-mandated childhood vaccination schedule. Scientific evidence aside, we have seen an increase from 1 in 10,000 children who are autistic to 1 in 166 since they started using thimerosal in many, many vaccines in the early eighties and children started getting more of these shots. I am not against vaccinations but I do believe, as many of my colleagues, including the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon) believe, that mercury should be taken out of all childhood vaccines and in fact all vaccines. We need to ask ourselves one simple question: What is right? The answer I think is very clear. Get mercury out of all vaccinations. In reality the answer that is given by far too many officials in our government, health agencies and some Members of Congress, sorry, we cannot help you, and the need to protect the pharmaceutical industry is so great, we cannot do much about it. Some in my party keep talking about changing the law to protect the drug companies against so-called frivolous lawsuits, and we have to do something to help these families who had their children damaged by the mercury vaccines. I am against class action lawsuits in general. I am for tort reform, but we have got to do something to help these families. We have tried to talk to the pharmaceutical industry about protecting them while at the same time changing the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund in a way that will protect these families and help those who have been damaged, but so far we have gotten absolutely nowhere with them; and it is something I think we need to continue to work on. Just recently, there was an article that was published in a magazine I normally do not read. It is called Rolling Stone, but this article was brought to my attention, and I think everybody in this body ought to read that article. It was written by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., somebody who I normally do not read, but I have to tell my colleagues it is a very well-written article. It goes into great detail and scientific research studies on mercury-connected mental disorders caused by the thimerosal in the mercury in these vaccinations. I would submit to all my colleagues they really need to read this article. I am going to send a Dear Colleague out to all of my colleagues in the House and the Senate over the next couple of days. It is a fairly lengthy article, but it goes into how government officials met with pharmaceutical company officials and deliberately covered up the connection, deliberately covered up the connection between the thimerosal in vaccines and the problems that are being created, neurological problems that have been created in these children, including autism. All of my colleagues ought to read this and realize that we have had a collaboration between health officials in our government and the pharmaceutical industry to protect themselves from class action lawsuits at the expense of these young kids and families who have been damaged by neurological disorders, including autism. So I submit to my colleagues who may be in their offices or here tonight, please read this article. It is extremely important. I do not want to hurt the pharmaceutical industry. I would like to protect them from class action lawsuits; but at the same time, we need to change that Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund to take care of these kids that have been damaged and help their families. Deadly Immunity (By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.) June 16, 2005.--In June 2000, a group of top government scientists and health officials gathered for a meeting at the isolated Simpsonwood conference center in Norcross, Ga. Convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the meeting was held at this Methodist retreat center, nestled in wooded farmland next to the Chattahoochee River, to ensure complete secrecy. The agency had issued no public announcement of the session--only private invitations to 52 attendees. There were high-level officials from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, the top vaccine specialist from the World Health Organization in Geneva, and representatives of every major vaccine manufacturer, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Wyeth and Aventis Pasteur. All of the scientific data under discussion, CDC officials repeatedly reminded the participants, was strictly ``embargoed.'' There would be no making photocopies of documents, no taking papers with them when they left. The federal officials and industry representatives had assembled to discuss a disturbing new study that raised alarming questions about the safety of a host of common childhood vaccines administered to infants and young children. According to a CDC epidemiologist named Tom Verstraeten, who had analyzed the agency's massive database containing the medical records of 100,000 children, a mercury based preservative in the vaccines--thimerosal--appeared to be responsible for a dramatic increase in autism and a host of other neurological disorders among children. ``I was actually stunned by what I saw,'' Verstraeten told those assembled at Simpsonwood, citing the staggering number of earlier studies that indicate a link between thimerosal and speech delays, attention-deficit disorder, hyperactivity and autism. Since 1991, when the CDC and the FDA had recommended that three additional vaccines laced with the preservative be given to extremely young infants--in one case, within hours of birth--the estimated number of cases of autism had increased fifteen fold, from one in every 2,500 children to one in 166 children. Even for scientists and doctors accustomed to confronting issues of life and death, the findings were frightening. ``You can play with this all you want,'' Dr. Bill Weil, a consultant for the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the group. The results ``are statistically significant.'' Dr. Richard Johnston, an immunologist and pediatrician from the University of Colorado whose grandson had been born early on the morning of the meeting's first day, was even more alarmed. ``My gut feeling?'' he said. ``Forgive this personal comment--I do not want my grandson to get a thimerosal- containing vaccine until we know better what is going on.'' But instead of taking immediate steps to alert the public and rid the vaccine supply of thimerosal, the officials and executives at Simpsonwood spent most of the next two days discussing how to cover up the damaging data. According to transcripts obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, many at the meeting were concerned about how the damaging revelations about thimerosal would affect the vaccine industry's bottom line. ``We are in a bad position from the standpoint of defending any lawsuits,'' said Dr. Robert Brent, a pediatrician at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware. ``This will be a resource to our very busy plaintiff attorneys in this country.'' Dr. Bob Chen, head of vaccine safety for the CDC, expressed relief that'' given the sensitivity of the information, we have been able to keep it out of the hands of, let's say, less responsible hands.'' Dr. John Clements, vaccines advisor at the World Health Organization, declared flatly that the study ``should not have been done at all'' and warned that the results ``will be taken by others and will be used in ways beyond the control of this group. The research results have to be handled.'' In fact, the government has proved to be far more adept at handling the damage than at protecting children's health. The CDC paid the Institute of Medicine to conduct a new study to whitewash the risks of thimerosal, ordering researchers to ``rule out'' the chemical's link to autism. It withheld Verstraeten's findings, even though they had been slated for immediate publication, and told other scientists that his original data had been ``lost'' and could not be replicated. And to thwart the Freedom of Information Act, it handed its giant database of vaccine records over to a private company, declaring it off-limits to researchers. By the time Verstraeten finally published his study in 2003, he had gone to work for GlaxoSmithKline and reworked his data to bury the link between thimerosal and autism. Vaccine manufacturers had already begun to phase thimerosal out of injections given to American infants--but they continued to sell off their mercury-based supplies of vaccines until last year. The CDC and FDA gave them a hand, buying up the tainted vaccines for export to developing countries and allowing drug companies to continue using the preservative in some American vaccines--including several pediatric flu shots as well as tetanus boosters routinely given to 11-year-olds. The drug companies are also getting help from powerful lawmakers in Washington. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who has received $873,000 in contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, has been working to immunize vaccine makers from liability in 4,200 lawsuits that have been filed by the parents of injured children. On five separate occasions, Frist has tried to seal all of the government's vaccine-related documents--including the Simpsonwood transcripts--and shield Eli Lilly, the developer of thimerosal, from subpoenas. In 2002, the day after Frist quietly slipped a rider known as the ``Eli Lilly Protection Act'' into a homeland security bill, the company contributed $10,000 to his campaign and bought 5,000 copies of his book on bioterrorism. Congress repealed the measure in 2003-- but earlier this year, Frist slipped another provision into an anti-terrorism bill that would deny compensation to children suffering from vaccine-related brain disorders. ``The lawsuits are of such magnitude that they could put vaccine producers out of business and limit our capacity to deal with a biological attack by terrorists,'' says Andy Olsen, a legislative assistant to Frist. Even many conservatives are shocked by the government's effort to cover up the dangers of thimerosal. Rep. Dan Burton, a Republican from Indiana, oversaw a three-year investigation of thimerosal after his grandson was diagnosed with autism. ``Thimerosal used as a preservative in vaccines is directly related to the autism epidemic,'' his House Government Reform Committee concluded in its final report. ``This epidemic in all probability may have been prevented or curtailed had the FDA not been asleep at the switch regarding a lack of safety data regarding injected thimerosal, a known neurotoxin.'' The FDA and other public-health agencies failed to act, the committee added, out of ``institutional malfeasance for self protection'' and ``misplaced protectionism of the pharmaceutical industry.'' The story of how government health agencies colluded with Big Pharmacy to hide the risks of thimerosal from the public is a chilling case study of institutional arrogance, power and greed. I was drawn into the controversy only reluctantly. As an attorney and environmentalist who has spent years working on issues of mercury toxicity, I frequently met mothers of autistic children who were absolutely convinced that their kids had been injured by vaccines. Privately, I was skeptical. I doubted that autism could be blamed on a single source, and I certainly understood the government's need to reassure parents that vaccinations are safe; the eradication of deadly childhood diseases depends on it. I tended to agree with skeptics like Rep. Henry Waxman, a Democrat from California, who criticized his colleagues on the House Government Reform Committee for leaping to conclusions about autism and vaccinations. ``Why should we scare people about immunization,'' Waxman pointed out at one hearing, ``until we know the facts?'' It was only after reading the Simpsonwood transcripts, studying the leading scientific research and talking with many of the nation's preeminent authorities on mercury that I became convinced that the link between thimerosal and the epidemic of childhood neurological disorders is real. Five of my own children are members of the Thimerosal Generation-- those born between 1989 and 2003--who received heavy doses of mercury from vaccines. ``The elementary grades are overwhelmed with children who have symptoms of neurological or immune-system damage,'' Patti White, a school nurse, told the House Government Reform Committee in 1999. ``Vaccines are supposed to be making us healthier; however, in 25 years of nursing I have never seen so many damaged, sick kids. Something very, very wrong is happening to our children.'' More than 500,000 kids currently suffer from autism, and pediatricians diagnose more than 40,000 new cases every year. The disease was unknown until 1943, when it was identified and diagnosed among children born in the months after thimerosal was first added to baby vaccines in 1931. Some skeptics dispute that the rise in autism is caused by thimerosal-tainted vaccinations. They argue that the increase is a result of better diagnosis--a theory that seems questionable at best, given that most of the new cases of autism are clustered within a single generation of children. ``If the epidemic is truly an artifact of poor diagnosis,'' scoffs Dr. Boyd Haley, one of the world's authorities on mercury toxicity, ``then where are all the 20-year-old autistics?'' Other researchers point out that Americans are exposed to a greater cumulative ``load'' of mercury than ever before, from contaminated fish to dental fillings, and suggest that thimerosal in vaccines may be only part of a much larger problem. It's a concern that certainly deserves far more attention than it has received--but it overlooks the fact that the mercury concentrations in vaccines dwarf other sources of exposure to our children. What is most striking is the lengths to which many of the leading detectives have gone to ignore--and cover up--the evidence against thimerosal. From the very beginning, the scientific case against the mercury additive has been overwhelming. The preservative, which is used to stem fungi and bacterial growth in vaccines, contains ethylmercury, a potent neurotoxin. Truckloads of studies have shown that mercury tends to accumulate in the brains of primates and other animals after they are injected with vaccines--and that the developing brains of infants are particularly susceptible. In 1977, a Russian study found that adults exposed to much lower concentrations of ethylmercury than those given to American children still suffered brain damage years later. Russia banned thimerosal from children's vaccines 20 years ago, and Denmark, Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the Scandinavian countries have since followed suit. ``You couldn't even construct a study that shows thimerosal is safe,'' says Haley, who heads the chemistry department at the University of Kentucky. ``It's just too darn toxic. If you inject thimerosal into an animal, its brain will sicken. If you apply it to living tissue, the cells die. If you put it in a petri dish, the culture dies. Knowing these things, it would be shocking if one could inject it into an infant without causing damage.'' Internal documents reveal that Eli Lilly, which first developed thimerosal, knew from the start that its product could cause damage--and even death--in both animals and humans. In 1930, the company tested thimerosal by administering it to 22 patients with terminal meningitis, all of whom died within weeks of being injected--a fact Lilly didn't bother to report in its study declaring thimerosal safe. In 1935, researchers at another vaccine manufacturer, Pittman- Moore, warned Lilly that its claims about thimerosal's safety ``did not check with ours.'' Half the dogs Pittman injected with thimerosal-based vaccines became sick, leading researchers there to declare the preservative ``unsatisfactory as a serum intended for use on dogs.'' In the decades that followed, the evidence against thimerosal continued to mount. During the Second World War, when the Department of Defense used the preservative in vaccines on soldiers, it required Lilly to label it ``poison.'' In 1967, a study in Applied Microbiology found that thimerosal killed mice when added to injected vaccines. Four years later, Lilly's own studies discerned that thimerosal was ``toxic to tissue cells'' in concentrations as low as one part per million--100 times weaker than the concentration in a typical vaccine. Even so, the company continued to promote thimerosal as ``nontoxic'' and also incorporated it into topical disinfectants. In 1977, 10 babies at a Toronto hospital died when an antiseptic preserved with thimerosal was dabbed onto their umbilical cords. In 1982, the FDA proposed a ban on over-the-counter products that contained thimerosal, and in 1991 the agency considered banning it from animal vaccines. But tragically, that same year, the CDC recommended that infants be injected with a series of mercury-laced vaccines. Newborns would be vaccinated for hepatitis B within 24 hours of birth, and 2- month-old infants would be immunized for haemophilus influenzae B and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis. The drug industry knew the additional vaccines posed a danger. The same year that the CDC approved the new vaccines, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, one of the fathers of Merck's vaccine programs, warned the company that 6-month-olds who were administered the shots would suffer dangerous exposure to mercury. He recommended that thimerosal be discontinued, ``especially when used on infants and children,'' noting that the industry knew of nontoxic alternatives. ``The best way to go,'' he added, ``is to switch to dispensing the actual vaccines without adding preservatives.'' For Merck and other drug companies, however, the obstacle was money. Thimerosal enables the pharmaceutical industry to package vaccines in vials that contain multiple doses, which require additional protection because they are more easily contaminated by multiple needle entries. The larger vials cost half as much to produce as smaller, single-dose vials, making it cheaper for international agencies to distribute them to impoverished regions at risk of epidemics. Faced with this ``cost consideration,'' Merck ignored Hilleman's warnings, and government officials continued to push more and more thimerosal-based vaccines for children. Before 1989, American preschoolers received 11 vaccinations--for polio, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis and measles-mumps- rubella. A decade later, thanks to federal recommendations, children were receiving a total of 22 immunizations by the time they reached first grade. As the number of vaccines increased, the rate of autism among children exploded. During the 1990s, 40 million children were injected with thimerosal-based vaccines, receiving unprecedented levels of mercury during a period critical for brain development. Despite the well-documented dangers of thimerosal, it appears that no one bothered to add up the cumulative dose of mercury that children would receive from the mandated vaccines. ``What took the FDA so long to do the calculations?'' Peter Patriarca, director of viral products for the agency, asked in an e-mail to the CDC in 1999. ``Why didn't CDC and the advisory bodies do these calculations when they rapidly expanded the childhood immunization schedule?'' But by that time, the damage was done. Infants who received all their vaccines, plus boosters, by the age of six months were being injected with a total of 187 micrograms of ethylmercury--a level 40 percent greater than the EPA's limit for daily exposure to methylmercury, a related neurotoxin. Although the vaccine industry insists that ethylmercury poses little danger because it breaks down rapidly and is removed by the body, several studies--including one published in April by the National Institutes of Health--suggest that ethylmercury is actually more toxic to developing brains and stays in the brain longer than methylmercury. Under the expanded schedule of vaccinations, multiple shots were often administered on a single day: At two months, when the infant brain is still at a critical stage of development, children routinely received three inoculations that delivered 99 times the approved limit of mercury. Officials responsible for childhood immunizations insist that the additional vaccines were necessary to protect infants from disease and that thimerosal is still essential in developing nations, which, they often claim, cannot afford the single-dose vials that don't require a preservative. Dr. Paul Offit, one of CDC's top vaccine advisors, told me, ``I think if we really have an influenza pandemic--and certainly we will in the next 20 years, because we always do--there's no way on God's earth that we immunize 280 million people with single-dose vials. There has to be multidose vials.'' But while public-health officials may have been well- intentioned, many of those on the CDC advisory committee who backed the additional vaccines had close ties to the industry. Dr. Sam Katz, the committee's chair, was a paid consultant for most of the major vaccine makers and shares a patent on a measles vaccine with Merck, which also manufactures the hepatitis B vaccine. Dr. Neal Halsey, another committee member, worked as a researcher for the vaccine companies and received honoraria from Abbott Labs for his research on the hepatitis B vaccine. Indeed, in the tight circle of scientists who work on vaccines, such conflicts of interest are common. Rep. Burton says that the CDC ``routinely allows scientists with blatant conflicts of interest to serve on intellectual advisory committees that make recommendations on new vaccines,'' even though they have ``interests in the products and companies for which they are supposed to be providing unbiased oversight.'' The House Government Reform Committee discovered that four of the eight CDC advisors who approved guidelines for a rotavirus vaccine ``had financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies that were developing different versions of the vaccine.'' Offit, who shares a patent on one of the vaccines, acknowledged to me that he ``would make money'' if his vote eventually leads to a marketable product. But he dismissed my suggestion that a scientist's direct financial stake in CDC approval might bias his judgment. ``It provides no conflict for me,'' he insists. ``I have simply been informed by the process, not corrupted by it. When I sat around that table, my sole intent was trying to make recommendations that best benefited the children in this country. It's offensive to say that physicians and public-health people are in the pocket of industry and thus are making decisions that they know are unsafe for children. It's just not the way it works.'' Other vaccine scientists and regulators gave me similar assurances. Like Offit, they view themselves as enlightened guardians of children's health, proud of their ``partnerships'' with pharmaceutical companies, immune to the seductions of personal profit, besieged by irrational activists whose anti-vaccine campaigns are endangering children's health. They are often resentful of questioning. ``Science,'' says Offit, ``is best left to scientists.'' Still, some government officials were alarmed by the apparent conflicts of interest. In his e-mail to CDC administrators in 1999, Paul Patriarca of the FDA blasted federal regulators for failing to adequately scrutinize the danger posed by the added baby vaccines. ``I'm not sure there will be an easy way out of the potential perception that the FDA, CDC and immunization-policy bodies may have been asleep at the switch re: thimerosal until now,'' Patriarca wrote. The close ties between regulatory officials and the pharmaceutical industry, he added, ``will also raise questions about various advisory bodies regarding aggressive recommendations for use'' of thimerosal in child vaccines. If federal regulators and government scientists failed to grasp the potential risks of thimerosal over the years, no one could claim ignorance after the secret meeting at Simpsonwood. But rather than conduct more studies to test the link to autism and other forms of brain damage, the CDC placed politics over science. The agency turned its database on childhood vaccines--which had been developed largely at taxpayer expense--over to a private agency, America's Health Insurance Plans, ensuring that it could not be used for additional research. It also instructed the Institute of Medicine, an advisory organization that is part of the National Academy of Sciences, to produce a study debunking the link between thimerosal and brain disorders. The CDC ``wants us to declare, well, that these things are pretty safe,'' Dr. Marie McCormick, who chaired the IOM's Immunization Safety Review Committee, told her fellow researchers when they first met in January 2001. ``We are not ever going to come down that [autism] is a true side effect'' of thimerosal exposure. According to transcripts of the meeting, the committee's chief staffer, Kathleen Stratton, predicted that the IOM would conclude that the evidence was ``inadequate to accept or reject a causal relation'' between thimerosal and autism. That, she added, was the result ``Walt wants''--a reference to Dr. Walter Orenstein, director of the National Immunization Program for the CDC. For those who had devoted their lives to promoting vaccination, the revelations about thimerosal threatened to undermine everything they had worked for. ``We've got a dragon by the tail here,'' said Dr. Michael Kaback, another committee member. ``The more negative that [our] presentation is, the less likely people are to use vaccination, immunization--and we know what the results of that will be. We are kind of caught in a trap. How we work our way out of the trap, I think is the charge.'' Even in public, federal officials made it clear that their primary goal in studying thimerosal was to dispel doubts about vaccines. ``Four current studies are taking place to rule out the proposed link between autism and thimerosal,'' Dr. Gordon Douglas, then-director of strategic planning for vaccine research at the National Institutes of Health, assured a Princeton University gathering in May 2001. ``In order to undo the harmful effects of research claiming to link the [measles] vaccine to an elevated risk of autism, we need to conduct and publicize additional studies to assure parents of safety.'' Douglas formerly served as president of vaccinations for Merck, where he ignored warnings about thimerosal's risks. In May of last year, the Institute of Medicine issued its final report. Its conclusion: There is no proven link between autism and thimerosal in vaccines. Rather than reviewing the large body of literature describing the toxicity of thimerosal, the report relied on four disastrously flawed epidemiological studies examining European countries, where children received much smaller doses of thimerosal than American kids. It also cited a new version of the Verstraeten study, published in the journal Pediatrics, that had been reworked to reduce the link between thimerosal and autism. The new study included children too young to have been diagnosed with autism and overlooked others who showed signs of the disease. The IOM declared the case closed and--in a startling position for a scientific body--recommended that no further research be conducted. The report may have satisfied the CDC, but it convinced no one. Rep. David Weldon, a Republican physician from Florida who serves on the House Government Reform Committee, attacked the Institute of Medicine, saying it relied on a handful of studies that were ``fatally flawed'' by ``poor design'' and failed to represent ``all the available scientific and medical research.'' CDC officials are not interested in an honest search for the truth, Weldon told me, because ``an association between vaccines and autism would force them to admit that their policies irreparably damaged thousands of children. Who would want to make that conclusion about themselves?'' Under pressure from Congress, parents and a few of its own panel members, the Institute of Medicine reluctantly convened a second panel to review the findings of the first. In February, the new panel, composed of different scientists, criticized the earlier panel for its lack of transparency and urged the CDC to make its vaccine database available to the public. So far, though, only two scientists have managed to gain access. Dr. Mark Geier, president of the Genetics Center of America, and his son, David, spent a year battling to obtain the medical records from the CDC. Since August 2002, when members of Congress pressured the agency to turn over the data, the Geiers have completed six studies that demonstrate a powerful correlation between thimerosal and neurological damage in children. One study, which compares the cumulative dose of mercury received by children born between 1981 and 1985 with those born between 1990 and 1996, found a ``very significant relationship'' between autism and vaccines. Another study of educational performance found that kids who received higher doses of thimerosal in vaccines were nearly three times as likely to be diagnosed with autism and more than three times as likely to suffer from speech disorders and mental retardation. Another soon-to-be-published study shows that autism rates are in decline following the recent elimination of thimerosal from most vaccines. As the federal government worked to prevent scientists from studying vaccines, others have stepped in to study the link to autism. In April, reporter Dan Olmsted of UPI undertook one of the more interesting studies himself. Searching for children who had not been exposed to mercury in vaccines--the kind of population that scientists typically use as a ``control'' in experiments--Olmsted scoured the Amish of Lancaster County, Penn., who refuse to immunize their infants. Given the national rate of autism, Olmsted calculated that there should be 130 autistics among the Amish. He found only four. One had been exposed to high levels of mercury from a power plant. The other three-- including one child adopted from outside the Amish community--had received their vaccines. At the state level, many officials have also conducted in- depth reviews of thimerosal. While the Institute of Medicine was busy whitewashing the risks, the Iowa Legislature was carefully combing through all of the available scientific and biological data. ``After three years of review, I became convinced there was sufficient credible research to show a link between mercury and the increased incidences in autism,'' says state Sen. Ken Veenstra, a Republican who oversaw the investigation. ``The fact that Iowa's 700 percent increase in autism began in the 1990s, right after more and more vaccines were added to the children's vaccine schedules, is solid evidence alone.'' Last year, Iowa became the first state to ban mercury in vaccines, followed by California. Similar bans are now under consideration in 32 other states. But instead of following suit, the FDA continues to allow manufacturers to include thimerosal in scores of over-the- counter medications as well as steroids and injected collagen. Even more alarming, the government continues to ship vaccines preserved with thimerosal to developing countries--some of which are now experiencing a sudden explosion in autism rates. In China, where the disease was virtually unknown prior to the introduction of thimerosal by U.S. drug manufacturers in 1999, news reports indicate that there are now more than 1.8 million autistics. Although reliable numbers are hard to come by, autistic disorders also appear to be soaring in India, Argentina, Nicaragua and other developing countries that are now using thimerosal-laced vaccines. The World Health Organization continues to insist thimerosal is safe, but it promises to keep the possibility that it is linked to neurological disorders ``under review.'' I devoted time to study this issue because I believe that this is a moral crisis that must be addressed. If, as the evidence suggests, our public-health authorities knowingly allowed the pharmaceutical industry to poison an entire generation of American children, their actions arguably constitute one of the biggest scandals in the annals of American medicine. ``The CDC is guilty of incompetence and gross negligence,'' says Mark Blaxill, vice president of Safe Minds, a nonprofit organization concerned about the role of mercury in medicines. ``The damage caused by vaccine exposure is massive. It's bigger than asbestos, bigger than tobacco, bigger than anything you've ever seen.'' It's hard to calculate the damage to our country--and to the international efforts to eradicate epidemic diseases--if Third World nations come to believe that America's most heralded foreign- aid initiative is poisoning their children. It's not difficult to predict how this scenario will be interpreted by America's enemies abroad. The scientists and researchers-- many of them sincere, even idealistic--who are participating in efforts to hide the science on thimerosal claim that they are trying to advance the lofty goal of protecting children in developing nations from disease pandemics. They are badly misguided. Their failure to come clean on thimerosal will come back horribly to haunt our country and the world's poorest populations.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Excuse my froggy voice, I have got a little bit of a cold. This is a silent killer. Even a primary physician many times misses a woman who has a gynecological cancer, and it is something where education is extremely important, very important. I join with my colleague in asking the chairman of the committee in conference to do whatever funding is necessary or agreeable to make sure that there is an educational process so that women are informed on what can be done to protect themselves. If they get this cancer early, 95 percent of the women can survive more than 5 years, but this year 27,000 women will die because they do not know about it. I join with the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) in urging the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), our chairman, to deal with this problem.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, over the past week or 10 days, we have heard a lot of haranguing about what is going on down at the Guantanamo detention facility regarding the prisoners who were involved in terrorist activities and opposed our troops over in Iraq and elsewhere in the world. And some people in the Congress have even equated what is going on down there with Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and what happened in World War II and the concentration camps. And it is reprehensible that that comparison is even being thought about, let alone being expressed by one of my colleagues. So I wanted to come tonight and give to the American people who may be paying attention back in their offices some facts about Guantanamo and what is going on down there. Forgive me for reading this to you, but I think it is extremely important. I want to put everything in context. Our men and women down there are serving with honor and dignity. Since September 11, 2001, more than 70,000 detainees have been captured in the global war on terror in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Some 800 suspected members of al Qaeda or the Taliban have been sent to GITMO, no one under 18 years of age. Approximately 520 remain. Approximately 235 have been released, transferred to other countries, and 61 are awaiting release or transfer right now. GITMO houses some of the most dangerous individuals linked to the most dangerous organizations in the world, all wishing harm to the United States of America and our citizens: terrorist trainers and financiers, would-be suicide bombers, bomb makers and Osama bin Laden's own personal body guard. One such terrorist currently being detained at GITMO is Mohammed Al-Khatani, believed to be the intended 20th hijacker that attacked the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and other areas back on 9/11. Al-Khatani and his fellow murderers and criminals have provided valuable information at GITMO, including organizational structure of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups; the extent of terrorist presence in Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East; al Qaeda's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction; terrorist skill sets; general and specialized operative training; and how to legitimize financial activities that are used to hide terrorist operations. Mr. Speaker, intelligence gained at Guantanamo has literally prevented terrorist attacks and saved possibly thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of American lives. U.S. misconduct versus detainee misconduct: there has been a lot of misinformation about that. After the much publicized and now retracted May 2005 Newsweek article alleging Koran abuse by the U.S. military officials, Brigadier General Jay Hood conducted an exhaustive investigation. Brigadier General Hood's investigation determined some interesting findings which run contrary to the claims we are hearing about today. For instance, U.S. soldiers used latex gloves and clean towels while even handling the Koran. U.S. soldiers routinely must search detainees Korans when they refuse to show them for security searches. U.S. soldiers inspect for weapons by touching the Koran through surgical masks. Surgical masks are used to hang detainees' Korans during security searches. And when a guard accidentally knocked one of them off, it was fully investigated and deemed an accident. An outside contractor stepped on a Koran during an interrogation. After an investigation was completed, the contractor apologized and was terminated because he accidentally stepped on the Koran. On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, Brigadier General Hood's investigation found the detainees themselves regularly displayed less regard for the Koran. For instance, on May 14, 2003, a guard observed a detainee ripping up his Koran in small pieces. July 5, 2003, a guard observed two detainees accuse a third of not being a man. In response, the detainee urinated on one of their Korans. January 19, 2005, four guards witnessed a detainee tear up his Koran and flush it down the toilet. January 23, 2005, four guards witnessed a detainee rip pages out of his Koran and throw them down the toilet. The detainee stated he did so because he wanted to be moved to another camp. These detainees are trained to resist interrogation. The U.S. discovered a captured al Qaeda training manual, the terrorist training manual, the Manchester document, that instructs members to allege abuse and mistreatment and torture if they are captured. Mr. Speaker, it is also important to note that detainees are only sent to GITMO after a thorough screening process that identifies individuals who pose a threat to the United States of America or who have valuable intelligence information. Combatant status review tribunals. All detainees have been reviewed by a tribunal. There is an administrative review board which reviews each case at least once annually for possible release based on the threat. More than 130 boards have been completed to date. Military commissions, trials with full and vigorous representation for those suspected of committing war crimes, awaiting resolution of various U.S. Federal court rulings and reviews. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry I am out of time. There is more information that needs to be given to my colleagues and the American people. But we have treated those terrorists down there so well compared to the way they treat our people, beheading and everything that has gone on in Iraq and elsewhere in the world. Our troops are doing the humane main thing in accordance with the humanity of their fellow man, and they are treating those terrorists so much better than is being publicized in the press, and the American people have a right to know about it. So let's talk about what is really going on at GTMO, where I want to stress, that the vast majority of our brave service men and women are serving with honor and dignity. Since September 11, 2001, more than 70,000 detainees have been captured in the global war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some 800 suspected members of Al Qaeda or the Taliban have been sent to GTMO (no one under 18 years old). Approximately 520 remain; approximately 235 have been released/ transferred to other countries; and, 61 are awaiting release or transfer. GTMO houses some of the most dangerous individuals, linked to the most dangerous organizations in the world, all wishing to harm the U.S., including: Terrorist trainers and financiers; would-be suicide bombers; bomb makers; and, Osama bin Laden's own bodyguards. One such terrorist currently being detained at GTMO is Mohammed Al- Khatani, believed to be the intended 20th 9/11 hijacker. Al-Khatani and his fellow murderers and criminals have provided valuable information, including: Organization structure of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups; extent of terrorist presence in Europe, the U.S., and the middle east; Al- Qaeda's pursuit of WMD; terrorist skill sets: general and specialized operative training; and, how legitimate financial activities are used to hide terrorist operations. Mr. Speaker, intelligence gained at Guantanamo has literally prevented terrorist attacks and saved American lives. After the much publicized--and now retracted--May 2005 Newsweek article alleging Koran abuse by U.S. military officials, Brigadier General Jay Hood conducted an exhaustive investigation. Brig. Gen. Hood's investigation determined some interesting findings, which run contrary to the claims we are hearing today. For instance: U.S. soldiers used latex gloves and clean towels while handling the Koran--U.S. soldiers routinely must search detainee's Korans when they refuse to show them for security searches; U.S. soldiers inspected for weapons by touching Koran through surgical mask--surgical masks are used to hang detainee's Korans during security searches. When a guard accidentally knocked one off it was fully investigated and deemed an accident. An outside contractor stepped on a Koran during a interrogation-- after an investigation was completed, the contractor apologized and was terminated. On the contrary Mr. Speaker, Brig. Gen. Hood's investigation found that detainees themselves regularly displayed far less regard for the Koran, for instance: May 14, 2003--A guard observed a detainee rip his Koran into small pieces. June 5, 2003--A guard observed two detainees accuse a third of not being a man. In response, the detainee urinated on one of their Korans. January 19, 2005--Four guards witnessed a detainee tear up his Koran and try to flush it down the toilet. January 23, 2005--Four guards witnessed a detainee rip pages out of his Koran and throw them down the toilet. The detainee stated he did so because he wanted to be moved to another camp. These detainees are trained to resist interrogation. The U.S. discovered a ``captured al Qaeda training manual''--the Manchester Document--that instructs members to allege abuse & torture if captured. Mr. Speaker, it is also important to note that detainees are only sent to GTMO after a thorough screening process that identifies individuals who pose a threat to the U.S. or have valuable intelligence info. Combatant status review tribunals--All detainees have been reviewed by a tribunal. Administrative review boards--Review each case at least once annually for possible release based on threat. More than 130 boards completed to date. Military Commissions--Trials with full and vigorous representation for those suspected of committing war crimes. *Awaiting resolution of various U.S. Federal Court rulings and reviews. The GTMO detention facility is transparent and has been fully scrutinized. To set the record straight Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Government has released more than 16,000 pages of documents regarding detainee operation, including classified interrogation techniques. Since 2002, GTMO has provided granted access to the following: International Red Cross--Had 24/7 access to the facility at it's discretion and a permanent presence; Media--400 visits by 1,000 national and international journalists; 11 Senators, 77 Represenatives, and 99 Congressional staff members; and, lawyers for detainees.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I have listened to my colleagues with great interest tonight. Three issues seem to have been raised. One is on CAFTA, which I will address tonight, and then we talked about Guantanamo, which I am going to try to address later this week. Then we will talk about Iraq because there are parallels between what we are seeing in Iraq right now and what happened in World War I and World War II, but I cannot cover all those tonight. So I will debate my colleagues on some of those other issues later this week. Let me talk about CAFTA right now because the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), my good friend, for whom I have the highest regard, was just talking about some of the problems that occur with women in Central and South America and the living conditions and the working conditions, and I agree with her. Because of that, and a number of other reasons, I voted against NAFTA and worked with my colleague on that, and I voted against the WTO and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. So you probably ask, well, why in the world, Danny, would you be in favor of CAFTA if you opposed all those others? So I want to tell my colleagues tonight why I support CAFTA. First of all, we have what is known as the Caribbean Basin Initiative, and the Caribbean Basin Initiative is kind of a one-way street right now. We allow the Caribbean countries and Central American countries to export into the United States without tariffs while at the same time, when we send stuff into those countries, we do have to pay tariffs in many cases. So the bottom line is it is a one-way street. The Caribbean Basin Initiative will go by the wayside if we pass CAFTA, and we will have a two-way street where there will be minimal tariffs or no tariffs whatsoever, and so our producers will benefit the same as the producers in Central America and the Caribbean. I think that is one reason why I think CAFTA is a better deal than what we see with the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The second thing is that we need to see stability in Central and South America. President Reagan, when he was President, worked very hard to create democracy in our hemisphere, and as a result of the Reagan doctrine, all of the countries in Central and South America became fledgling democracies over the past few decades with the exception of Cuba. We are starting to see cracks in those democracies because of the poverty down there and because of some leftist leaders. We see problems in four or five, six countries in Central and South America right now, and one of the things that we need to do is to address the issue of poverty down there. One way to do that is to try to see some foreign investment going in there from places besides China and Europe into Central and South America so that we see a reduction in the poverty rate and a reduction in the pressure that is being brought about on the existing democracies down there to move toward leftist governments. If we have a change, a sea change in those countries in Central and South America, then what is going to happen is the illegal immigration problems that we see right now will be magnified. They will grow because people want to flee tyranny. They want to flee conflict, and if you start seeing revolutionary activity take place, like that which we saw in El Salvador in the 1980s, and in Nicaragua in the 1980s and elsewhere, then you are going to see people saying, I am getting the heck out of here; I am going north; I am going to the United States. Our border is very porous. We have a terrible time controlling it right now. We have millions of people that have come across that border that are now in the United States that cost our taxpayers money and cause a lot of hardship and problems. So stabilizing those governments in Central and South America I think is extremely important. I am now the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere on the Committee on International Relations, and I have had a chance, along with my colleague the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) to start looking at this issue. We may not agree on this, but I think it is important that we go down there and look at these countries and find out how we can make sure there are stable governments in place and that we do not see democracies start to deteriorate and go by the wayside. So I feel it is very important that we look at this from more than just one point of view. Trade is important. Job loss by Americans is very important. I am concerned about both of those things. A two-way street in trade with no tariffs I think is also very important, but also one of the major issues as far as I am concerned is the stabilization of democracy in our hemisphere. If we do not, as a leader of democratic institutions in this hemisphere and around the world, take the initiative to stabilize those countries, who in the heck will? So I still believe in free and fair trade. I would not vote for NAFTA today. I would not vote for GATT today. I would not vote for the WTO today, but I am going to vote for CAFTA, and the reason I am voting for CAFTA is for the reason I just said. I think it is extremely important to not only worry about trade and balance but also about national security and immigration, and I hope my colleagues at least understand where I stand on this issue because I love you guys.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the death of PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, the emergence of a new Palestinian leadership, and the government of Israel's proposed disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank have created a high degree of optimism in the International Community that we are on the cusp of dramatic new openings in the Middle East peace process. As a senior Member of the House International Relations Committee, I have watched the often turbulent goings on in the Middle East for a few years to say the least, and my experience tells me that our optimism should be tempered by the lessons of the past. In fact, I believe we should take a very cautious view of the current round of Israeli Palestinian peacemaking, particularly with regard to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. I have met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and I know that he is a fine man. I am sure he firmly believes that this ``strategic retreat'' from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank is the best way to guarantee Israel's long-term security by allowing Israel to conserve and consolidate military and security resources, reducing opportunities for further friction with the Palestinians, and potentially reducing pressure on Israel to negotiate a final peace settlement on unfavorable terms. Personally, I will not second guess the Prime Minister's wisdom; I very much hope that he is right. But again, my experience tells me that if you take steps to appease an enemy you only give him a green light to put more pressure on you. In my opinion, it is imperative and critical to U.S. National Security that we as policymakers understand the consequences should the Israeli disengagement plan fail to live up to expectations. I was recently presented a copy of an interesting opinion piece by Ambassador Yoram Ettinger--former Minister for Congressional Affairs at Israel's Embassy in Washington, Israeli Consul General in Houston, and Director of Israel's Government Press Office; and currently editor of ``Straight from the Jerusalem Cloakroom and Boardroom'' newsletters-- regarding the potential consequences of ceding Israeli territory to terrorists. I would like to have the text of this Op-Ed placed into the Congressional Record following my statement. [May 26, 2005] Jerusalem Cloakroom #178: The Impact of Disengagement on U.S. Interests (By Yoram Ettinger) 1. Escalated Terrorism. The morally/strategically justifiable demolition of terror regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan is inconsistent with the creation/bolstering of a terror regime in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. The 1994-6 series of disengagement from 85 percent and 40 percent of the territory (and 100 percent and 95 percent of the population) of Gaza and Judea and Samaria have established the largest terrorist base in the world, led/harbored by PLO/PA graduates of terrorist camps in Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Libya and Tunisia. Since 1993 the PA has harbored anti-U.S. terrorists. U.S. GIs in Afghanistan and Iraq were encountered by Palestinian terrorists. 2. Higher U.S. Terror Casualties. The July 2000 disengagement from Southern Lebanon propelled Hizbullah from a local, to a regional, profile, haunting U.S. GIs in Iraq and Afghanistan and threatening U.S. homeland security. 3. Contradicting U.S. War on Terrorism. Disengagement is perceived, by the Mideast, as cut and run, appeasement and cave-in, in sharp contrast to U.S. war on terrorism: No negotiation with--and no concession to--terrorists; no ceasefire with--but destruction of--terrorist regimes; no political--but military--solution to terrorism. 4. Setback to Peace. The only peace attainable in the (inter-Arab) Mideast is deterrence-driven peace. Disengagement undermines deterrence; hence it sets the area farther from peace and closer to exacerbated terrorism and an all out war. Every square inch ceded by Israel to the PA, since the 1994 disengagement, has been transformed into a platform of hate-education and homicide bombing. 5. Tailwind to Anti-U.S. Terrorists. While the 1976 Israeli Entebbe Operation constituted a tailwind to the U.S. war on terrorism, the 1993-2005 retreat by the role-model of countering terrorism (Israel) in face of the role-model of terrorism (PLO/PA) has added more fuel to the fire of terrorism. Disengagement has been heralded by the PLO/PA and other Arabs as a crucial victory, frequently compared to the U.S. flight from Beirut (1983) and Somalia (1993). It would nurture Arab hope that neither the U.S. nor Israel possess a marathon-like steadfastness, required for a long-term victory. 6. PA Feeds Anti-U.S. Terrorism. A correlation has existed between the bolstering of PLO stock since Oslo 1993 on one hand, and the exacerbation of anti-U.S. terrorism on the other hand (since the 1993 Twin Towers I, through the 1995 Khobar Towers, the 1998 Kenya and Tanzania U.S. embassies, the 2000 USS Cole and 2001 Twin Towers II); the wider the maneuverability of the PLO/PA, the deeper the inspiration to regional anti-U.S. terrorism, irrespective of (and probably due to) U.S. and Israeli appeasement of--and unprecedented concessions to--the PLO/PA. 7. Undermining the Stability of Pro-U.S. Regimes (e.g. Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, etc.). Disengagement would enhance the profile of the PLO/PA, a lethal threat to the Hashemite regime and a chief ally of radical regimes in the Mideast and beyond. PLO-Hashemite relations have been a classic case of zero-sumgame: The stronger the PLO the weaker the Hashemites. The rise of the PLO/PA has emboldened subversive anti-U.S. terrorists in Jordan and in the Gulf area. 8. Strengthening Anti-U.S. Mideast Regimes. Disengagement would buttress the PLO/PA, which has been a sustained ally of the Saddam and bin Laden forces, of Khomeini and his successors in Iran, of the terror regime in Sudan and other anti-U.S. Mideast regimes. A stronger PA would be a liability--to the U.S.--in the U.N. and in the context of Clash of Civilizations. 9. Invigorating Mideast Profile of U.S. Global Rivals. The strengthening of the PLO/PA would facilitate the road to a re-assertive Russia in the Mideast. It would improve the strategic posture of China and North Korea in the region, at the expense of vital U.S. concerns, including U.S. standard of living. 10. Ignoring Plight of Christians. The 1995 disengagement from Bethlehem and Beit Jallah has accelerated the flight of Christians, caused by PLO/PA oppression and desecration of churches. 11. Setback to Mideast Democratization. Disengagement would promote the most corrupt and repressive Arab regime in the Mideast, rewarding a terrorist regime, thus dealing a blow to moderate Palestinians. 12. Undermining Israel-Egypt Peace. The 1979 peace treaty disengaged Israeli and Egyptian military forces from one another. The Plan of Disengagement would reengage them in a terror-ridden area, thus fueling unintentional and intentional confrontations. It could drag the U.S. unnecessarily into such conflict. Egypt has facilitated/ tolerated the smuggling of terror hardware, missiles and mortars into Gaza. It has undermined U.S. interests in Africa, in the Red Sea and in the U.N., and it has spearheaded anti-Jewish Arab/Palestinian hate education (PA hate education employs Egyptian school text books). 13. PLO's Track Record of Inter-Arab Treachery. Abu Mazen Abu Ala', Inc. fled Egypt (late 1950s) for subversive activities. They escaped Syria (1966) for betraying their hosts. They were expelled from Jordan for attempting to topple the Hashemite regimes via terrorism. They exacerbated a series of civil wars in Lebanon since 1975. They spearheaded Saddam's invasion of Kuwait (1990), which hosted them since the 1950s. Their systematic violent violation of the 1993 Oslo Accords have been consistent with their inter- Arab back-stabbing. Disengagement would be viewed--by the PLO/PA as a reward to treachery, which would vindicate the aforementioned track record.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me echo what has been said about the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde). There has never been a finer Member of Congress in the history of the Republic than the gentleman from Illinois. He was one of the most eloquent speakers I have ever known in this House. We really appreciate all his hard work on this bill. Now, let me say to my friend from Massachusetts, I have been listening to this stuff for 20 years. You cannot do anything to put pressure on the United Nations, because if you do, the whole world is going to hate us. The sky is going to fall, Henny Penny. The State Department has been working with the United Nations for the last 20 years that I have been here and working on the Foreign Affairs Committee, International Relations now. The problems still exist. The only difference is, it is worse now than it has ever been. We have got to do something about it. Mr. Bolton needs to be confirmed on the other side because we need a tough guy over there to force the issue. We have got an Oil-for-Food scandal that is growing daily. Kofi Annan, the head of the United Nations, the Secretary- General, said, Oh, I didn't have anything to do with it. We now are finding memos where he talked to the people in the oil industry saying that he would give them unqualified support. A few months ago, he said, Oh, I never did that, and he said he would never resign under any circumstances. Now he is hedging his bets on that because the case against him and the Oil-for-Food scandal is growing and growing and growing. He is the head man over there. On his watch, everything has been going haywire. We have got U.N. peacekeeping forces raping women and kids, and nothing has been done about that. We have got all kinds of problems over there and something must be done. How do you do that? We say, Well, let's follow the same course we have been following for the last 20 years. The State Department says, My gosh, we'll go over there and we'll do something about it. I have high regard for Condoleezza Rice. I think she is a dynamite lady and going to do a dynamite job. But this body needs to put the hammer by using American taxpayers' dollars on the U.N. to clean up that mess over there. We cannot go on day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year letting this thing be completely out of hand. The gentleman talked about the Mitchell and Gingrich report. They said that it is a mess over there. How do you clean it up? You make a change from top to bottom. How do you do that when the rest of the world or much of the rest of the world says, Oh, my gosh, we don't want the United States dictating to us. I can understand that. We are the big guy on the block. They do not want us dictating to them, and we do not want to dictate to them. We want to work with them. But the fact of the matter is they are not listening in many cases and the corruption goes on and on and on, the mismanagement goes on and on and on, and nothing changes. And the United States keeps pouring in 25 percent, or almost that much, of the funds out of the taxpayers' pockets in this country for that body. How do you change it? You take out the hammer, and the hammer is the money. You say to the world body, the United Nations, If you don't clean up that mess, we are going to withhold funds. And if we withhold funds, you are going to have a big, big problem over there. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) is one of my dearest friends in this place and the gentleman from Massachusetts is not a bad friend, either. We have traveled together. I have high regard for him, even though he is wrong a lot of the time. But I just want to say, something has to be done. There must be something in the water in Massachusetts. I do not know. But something has to be done. And what has to be done is we have got to put pressure on the U.N. and the best way to do it is to say, either you change things over there or we are going to withdraw funds.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, I just want to say to my colleagues this is a very serious debate, and when one starts using terminology like is he trying to gild the lily, he is trying to protect American servicemen from any kind of legal action that might be taken against them. So let us be serious about it.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I was regrettably delayed in my return to Washington, DC from an official visit to Venezuela for meetings with various officials and therefore unable to be on the House Floor for rollcall votes 200, 201, and 202. Had I been here I would have voted ``yea'' for rollcall vote 200, ``yea'' for rollcall vote 201, and ``yea'' for rollcall vote 202.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the first official visit to the United States by Indonesia's new President, the first directly elected President in that nation's history, His Excellency Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. President Yudhoyono is well known to many in the United States from his years of service in Indonesia's military, and as Minister of Energy and Mines. In fact, earlier in his career, President Yudhoyono studied for two years in the United States. But this first official working visit as President is a special occasion, and one worth marking in the United States Congress. Barely two months into his term, the historic and devastating December 26th tsunami struck off Sumatra's north and western coasts. President Yudhoyono traveled to the hard hit areas immediately, and directed his new Cabinet to take steps to do everything possible to expedite immediate relief and assistance. His team undertook a groundbreaking effort to put together a detailed recovery plan, and develop open, inclusive, and transparent processes for aiding the hardest hit communities. President Yudhoyono has followed through on all three commitments he made to the international donor community to take the necessary steps to develop processes and institutions to assure the world that the generous outpouring of assistance is well managed, free of corruption, and gets to the people who need it the most. There is no doubt that there will continue to be bumps along the road as Indonesia tackles the many difficult issues that arise in rebuilding and re-establishing communities. I remain hopeful that President Yudhoyono's personal commitment and leadership will keep the process moving forward to ensure a full recovery for all the people who suffered so terribly in the aftermath of the tsunami. I am also encouraged by many other steps President Yudhoyono has taken to address longstanding issues and needs, including: an aggressive anti-corruption agenda; a plan to address serious infrastructure needs that are the basis for moving forward with his economic agenda to reduce poverty and unemployment; as well as improved cooperation with the United States and others in critical areas, such as counter-terrorism, maritime safety and law enforcement. During his visit, I hope we will learn more about how cooperation in all of these areas will be strengthened in the near term. Furthermore, as the United States develops and diversifies sources of energy, it becomes increasingly clear that Indonesia holds enormous potential. Yet Indonesia's oil and gas sector is in need of additional investment to reverse declining production trends. The Government of Indonesia is keen on reinvigorating revenue streams needed to fund key infrastructure projects as well as health and education programs. I am told that U.S. companies have more than $6 billion in projects waiting for approval, and that there is a similar amount available for investment in power generation projects--an infrastructure area that needs immediate attention if shortages are to be avoided in the very near future. I hope President Yudhoyono's visit will help find a way to break the logjam on some of the policy decisions that are needed to allow these investments to be made. To help jumpstart the process, I would also encourage President Bush and his Administration to re-start and re- invigorate the bilateral energy talks our governments and business partners enjoyed throughout much of the 1990s. It is also my sincere hope that our governments will find a way to reverse declining educational enrollment by Indonesian students in U.S. colleges and universities. One of the most effective ways to build bridges between our two nations is through educational exchanges, and at this time when Indonesia's new democratic institutions require the development of management and legal skills, I certainly believe that increasing opportunities for Indonesians to study in the United States should be a top priority. As my colleagues have heard me say many times, I believe the United States needs to devote more time and attention to broadening and expanding our relationship with Indonesia, the world's third largest democracy and the nation with the largest Muslim population. Increased cooperation and improved relationships in a wide range of areas will help us build a strong bridge across the Pacific, which will benefit and strengthen both of our countries. I look forward to the outcomes of President Yudhoyono's visit and to learning how we in Congress can reinforce and strengthen our ties.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I was regrettably delyead in my return to Washington, DC and therefore unable to be on the House floor for rollcall votes 171, 172, and 173. Had I been here I would have voted ``yea'' for rollcall vote 171, ``yea'' for rollcall vote 172, and ``yea'' for rollcall vote 173.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of Taiwan's application for observer status as a ``Health Entity'' for next week's annual World Health Organization (WHO) Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, and to respectfully encourage other international organizations to more actively engage Taiwan in their activities. Even though Taiwan was a founding member of WHO, every May, for the past eight years, when the World Health Assembly meets to consider the acceptance of new members to the WHO, it systematically denies Taiwan access to the global health organization. Even with last year's support from the United States and Japan, Taiwan--among the leaders in Asia in important health indicators, such as life expectancy and infant mortality--was once again rejected. Regardless of the fact that the World Health Assembly has routinely allowed observers to participate in the activities of the Organization, including the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Holy See, and even the Palestine Liberation Organization; regardless of the fact that Taiwan's population of almost 23,000,000 people is greater than that of \3/4\ of the member states already in the World Health Organization; regardless of the fact that Taiwan has repeatedly expressed a willingness to assist financially and technically in international aid and health activities supported by the WHO; and, regardless of the fact that direct and unobstructed participation in international health cooperation forums and programs is beneficial for all parts of the world, especially today with the great potential for the cross-border spread of various infectious diseases such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, and malaria, our European Union colleagues continue to shortsightedly side with China and exclude Taiwan. Unfortunately, this political and diplomatic dance has had a real world cost in terms of Taiwanese lives lost during outbreaks of life threatening diseases, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the enterovirus epidemic in 1998. The SARS and avian influenza outbreaks should remind all of us that disease knows no boundaries and reinforce the importance of allowing all people access to the World Health Organization. As the pace of globalization quickens, the spread of infectious disease will only accelerate. Not only will the Taiwanese benefit from membership in the WHO through engagement with the international community in the common pursuit of raising the quality of public health and providing for the welfare of its citizens, but so will their neighbors throughout the Asia Pacific region, indeed the world, through interoperability, pooled resources, and the sharing of technical expertise. I firmly believe that Taiwan's inclusion in the WHO will help ensure global health safety and our own national security by allowing all WHO countries to more comprehensively and quickly coordinate global efforts to combat deadly outbreaks of diseases and any future epidemics. Mr. Speaker, the people of Taiwan deserve the same level of public health as the citizens of every nation on earth, and I stand in support of their continued desire and commitment to be included in the WHO. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in encouraging the United States delegation in Geneva to stand in strong support of Taiwan's application for inclusion into the World Health Organization.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, a historic event occurred today in the history of Taiwan-Chinese relations, the Leader of Taiwan's Nationalist Party arrived in China for the first meeting between the party of Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists since the Chinese Civil War ``ended'' nearly six decades ago. I know that relations across the Taiwan Straits have been much on the minds of many members of Congress in recent months, especially after the Chinese passed the Taiwanese Anti-Secession Law. Although not an official Taiwanese Government visit, the eight-day trip by Lien Chan does represent an opportunity to test the waters, and put the issue of peaceful co-existence between these two historic antagonists back into the realm of public debate. Analysts and China-watchers disagreed on whether Lien's trip can help ease Taiwan-China tensions. Some have argued that Chen is simply being used by Communist officials to foster a schism in Taiwanese society. Others, such as Robert L. Downen, a former U.S. State Department Policy Advisor for East Asia during the Reagan administration believe that the Lien Chan can win Beijing's trust and cooperation. Mr. Downen has written an interesting Op-Ed piece supporting his position that is worth considering, and I would like to have the text of Mr. Downen's Op-Ed placed into the Congressional Record following my statement. I do not know which side of this debate is right, and I suspect that it will ultimately be left to the judgment of history to decide whether this trip accomplished anything. Nevertheless, a security crisis over Taiwan is something we all must work to avert and perhaps Lien Chen's visit can in some small way persuade the Chinese Government to reconsider their recent actions and return to the ``Good Neighbor'' policy that has worked so effectively for so long. The quest for peace is worth that small gamble. Back on Track (By Robert L. Downen) Nearly overlooked in a recent series of pessimistic news stories about rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait is a small but important initiative. Direct, though unofficial talks between senior statesmen of China and Taiwan are about to occur after an interruption of several years. Cross-Strait talks offer a glimmer of hope in an otherwise stormy policy arena. There simply has been too long a delay in direct contact between antagonists in such a sensitive forum as this one. Face to face communication is overdue. The set of policy actors on both sides has changed substantially since talks last occurred in the 1990s, and post-9/11 global security and political factors form a different environment. The political stalemate between the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan is an anachronistic relic of the Cold War demanding attention, and only direct talks will bring about an accommodation. The present leadership in Taipei seems unable to break the icy standoff, and so the opposition Nationalist Party Chairman Lien Chan a former vice president and premier of Taiwan but now a private citizen has accepted an invitation to visit China in April and will meet there with its President Hu Jintao. Lien calls his mission ``a trip for peace.'' After more than a half-century of deep mistrust between Beijing and Taipei, further estrangement only aggravates the situation politically, militarily, and economically. Direct talks between semi-official representatives of the two sides in the early 1990s did lead to a few practical agreements on handling postal exchanges, fishing disputes, and airline hijackings, as well as a promising agreement to disagree over the meaning of ``one China.'' But that dialogue eventually broke down over statements by public officials and missile tests conducted by China in the Taiwan vicinity. The lapse of time since then has produced additional misunderstandings and stagnation. New governments in both Beijing and Taipei have missed opportunities for contact and occasionally provoked the situation by careless public remarks and behaviors in recent years. In diplomacy, as in private business, if you are not moving forward you are effectively moving backwards. Inaction is equivalent to regression. Mistrust and lack of confidence on both sides has produced accusations and counter-accusations, fueling arms build-ups and cross-Strait tensions that increasingly worry the U.S. and its allies. China's recent enactment of an ``anti- secession law'' and its continuing ballistic missile build-up adjacent to the Strait has produced palpable concern in Washington and European capitals. It has jeopardized the Asian-Pacific region's promising economic development and political stability of recent years. The time has truly come for bold, creative initiative otherwise known as leadership based on self-confidence, to break the deadlock. The late President Ronald Reagan believed in proactive engagement with adversaries, saying old enemies should ``trust but verify'' as they reach out and seek to reconcile. Like President Reagan's outreach to the Soviet Union in its final years, the Lien mission proposes to go half-way in extending a gesture of peace, to open a channel of communication to the other side. Lien's mission is reminiscent of previous milestones when other statesmen chose to reach out to old adversaries at opportune moments in history, often placing their personal reputation and political legacy at risk in the process. His gesture is not unlike that of President Richard Nixon who opened doors for dialogue by visiting China in 1972; or Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who traveled to Jerusalem in 1977 to open discussions with Israel; or even Pope John Paul II who seized the initiative to visit Communist Eastern Europe and later Cuba to open historic new contacts that he believed could change old Cold War relationships. The international community should welcome this step towards direct unofficial talks between Taiwan and China. Dialogue cultivates mutual understanding, nurtures confidence, builds trust, and creates opportunities for healing wounds and moving forward to break the deadlock. Never underestimate the power of personal engagement the personal touch reduces tensions and prospects for conflict while introducing very human avenues for potential cooperation. There can be no harm in a fresh initiative that energizes the peaceful process across the Strait and promotes the welfare of the people of Taiwan in so many ways. Americans can cheer the Lien initiative because it serves U.S. interests of peace, international stability, and regional cooperation. It reduces the likelihood that U.S. naval battle groups will once again have to move into the Taiwan vicinity to avert possible conflict between the two sides, as they did in 1996. It greatly improves the prospect that Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait can forge new channels of communication and cooperation, leading eventually to a resolution of one of the world's most dangerous tension spots. Engagement, not estrangement, is the means to reconciliation and stability.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Greek-Americans on the occasion of Greek Independence Day, and wish all people of Greek descent across the globe, peace, happiness and prosperity. In the same spirit of friendship and brotherhood, I ask all of my Greek friends to use this joyous occasion to renew their commitment to peace by doing all that they can to facilitate and promote the end of the long-standing stalemate on the beautiful Mediterranean island, Cyprus. Recent remarks made by Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis with regards to Greece's support for the resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus question along the lines of the United Nations' Plan for a settlement (the ``Annan Plan'') are deeply encouraging, and should be supported by the international community and the United States. Greece's role in facilitating negotiations under U.N. auspices and convincing the Greek Cypriot side, under the leadership of President Tassos Papadopoulos, to return to the negotiating table cannot be understated. Now, the time is right for peace and reconciliation on the island. The Turkish Cypriots have already declared that they are ready and willing to sit down and discuss the ``Annan Plan''--a plan they overwhelmingly supported in the referendum held on April 24, 2004--with their Greek Cypriot counterparts. I fervently hope, Mr. Speaker, that all sides will seize the opportunity of Greek Independence Day to come together in a spirit of friendship and cooperation to achieve the final and lasting peace that has so long eluded the people of Cyprus.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, in 1991, the former nation of Yugoslavia dissolved into a number of independent nation-states, including the Republic of Macedonia. However, international recognition of Macedonia's independence from Yugoslavia was significantly delayed in large part by Greece's objection to the new state's use of what it considered to be a Hellenic name and symbols. Greece even went so far as to impose a trade blockade against Macedonia, citing unfounded concerns of potential border destabilization within the region and fears of Macedonian territorial expansion. The Greek government even persuaded the United Nations Security Council to pass United Nations Security Council Resolution 845 in 1993, which proclaimed that for all intents and purposes the Republic of Macedonia would be referred to as the ``the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,'' pending the outcome of negotiations between Greece and Macedonia on a permanent name. Greece finally lifted its trade blockade against Macedonia in 1995, and the two countries have since agreed to normalize relations. Although inexplicable, even after 12 long years of discussion and debate between the representatives of Greece and Macedonia, and a host of international mediators, differences over Macedonia's official name remain. Recently, last November, the United States joined 108 other nations in officially recognizing the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia. America's official recognition of the Republic of Macedonia should be seen as a clear message to both sides that this dispute over the name has simply gone on too long. A new, accelerated round of discussions between officials from Greece and Macedonia--mediated by United States diplomat and United Nations mediator Matthew Nimitz--is scheduled to start before the end of April. For the good of bilateral relations, as well as broader regional stability, I urge both sides, Greek and Macedonian, to work together in a spirit of friendship and open-mindedness with UN envoy Matthew Nimitz, and ultimately conclude this emotionally-embroiled dispute in a mutually acceptable, desirable, and expedient way. Mr. Speaker, Greece and Macedonia have more to gain by settling this dispute and working together to bring the people and governments of the region into the larger community of nations than they do by continuing this destabilizing dispute. I hope that both sides will seize this opportunity to do the right thing at the April talks and work together to bring this matter to a peaceful conclusion.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues to send a strong message to the Cuban government that the United States will not forget those people who are languishing in Cuban prisons for the so- called crime of speaking out against the injustices perpetrated by the Castro regime. We cannot ignore Castro and we cannot relieve the pressure on the regime. We owe it to the thousands of Cubans languishing in jails to further open the eyes of the world community to the true evils of the Castro regime. I rise to bring to light the injustices against a 61-year old scholar, intellectual, and decent free-thinking man--Hector Palacios Ruiz. Director of the unofficial Centro de Estudios Sociales, Center of Social Studies, and secretary of the reporting committee of the ``Todos Unidos,'' ``All United,'' coalition, Hector Palacios was detained on March 20, 2003 and subsequently tried in Havana. He was convicted under Castro's barbaric Penal Code and sentenced to 25 years in prison. And what were Hector Palacios' crimes? He was accused, among other activities, of having in his home an independent library containing books the Cuban government claims are ``subversive and counterrevolutionary.'' Hector Palacios's wife, Gisela, was refused permission to visit him in May and threatened with imprisonment if she participated in public demonstrations on his behalf. Before the crackdown in 2003, Hector Palacios was arrested in 1994, 1997 and 1999 for his activism and his courage to speak out against the crimes and injustices of the Castro regime. The persecution of this brave Cuban man is an outrage. Thrown behind bars, Hector Palacios and other political activists are feared by the Castro regime which outlaws freedom and truth. The brutality must stop. Freedom for Cuba's political prisoners must be our goal.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, on March 12, 2003, Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was brutally assassinated in broad day light on the streets of Belgrade, Serbia. As Serbia's first democratically-elected, non-communist Prime Minister following the fall of Slobodan Milosevic, Zoran Djindjic brought to his office and the people of Serbia more than democracy and freedom--he brought with him the hopes and dreams of the Serbian people. Under the oppressive rule of tyrannical dictators and autocrats, the Serbian people were emotionally and physically battered and scarred by years of ethnic civil-war and bombings. Prime Minister Djindjic promised them a better future filled with peace and prosperity. Along with other democratic allies, and anti-war protesters, Zoran Djindjic effectively protested and toppled the corrupt regime of Slobodan Milosevic through a steadfast, determined, yet peaceful process. Along with his fellow reformers, Mr. Djindjic created the Democratic Party, and led it to a series of successful electoral victories, ultimately culminating in Mr. Djindjic's ascension to the post of Prime Minister of Serbia on January 25, 2001. During his 2 years in office, Prime Minister Djindjic worked tirelessly to shed the image of a ``backward'' Serbia. Under his effective leadership, Prime Minister Djindjic systematically realigned Serbia with the Western ideals of democracy, reform and capitalism. Through a heroic and selfless act of courage, Prime Minister Djindjic arrested and extradited the man he helped remove from power, and sent Slobodan Milosevic, and his fellow fugitive war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague (ICTY) where they were indicted and tried. Prime Minister Djindjic went to great lengths to bring foreign investment and capital back into Serbia's economy by embracing free market concepts, thus laying the groundwork for Serbia's long-term fiscal security and prosperity. In addition, Prime Minister Djindjic advanced Serbia's relationship with the Trans-Atlantic community. By centering Serbia's foreign policy initiatives, Prime Minister Djindjic has positioned Serbia to become a working and peaceful member of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Mr. Djindjic worked relentlessly to improve the lives of everyday Serbs through economic development, structural and political reform, and an open, and peaceful foreign policy. Unfortunately for the people of Serbia, Mr. Djindjic's work was cut short by an assassin's bullet outside his office on March 12, 2003. So, on this day, let the House of Representatives remember the life and work of Mr. Zoran Djindjic, Prime Minister of Serbia, and let us hope and pray for a better and more prosperous future for the people of Serbia, and the whole Balkan region.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, across America you can find people who make a difference in their community. Usually in quiet unassuming ways every day they help change the lives of people with whom they work and the neighborhoods they call home. Tonight, I rise to pay tribute to one such person, an outstanding and unforgettable woman from Indianapolis, Judy Guerra. Living by the very simple credo, ``you get what you give'' Judy has made such a tremendous difference in her community. A mother of two, grandmother to seven, and a successful businesswoman, Judy truly embodies the spirit of community service and friendship that we strive to live by. Whether its sponsoring a local girls little league team, or opening her restaurants for fundraisers for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Children's Bureau of Indianapolis, Butler University's Armed Forces Scholarship fund or just the local Christmas food drive, if there is a need, Judy unselfishly and tirelessly gives of herself to meet the challenge headon. Judy Guerra does not belong to St. Joan of Arc or Christ the King Church but they are the lucky beneficiaries of her generous donations. Why? Because these churches are located in her neighborhood and giving back to all sectors of the community resonates deep within this Hoosier. When senior citizens on fixed incomes visit Judy's ``Just Judy's'' restaurant it's not unusual for them to receive a larger than normal serving of soup or extra sandwich to accompany the friendly service with a smile. If a local family finds themselves fallen upon hard times they know their troubles can be left at the door as Judy and her daughters will welcome them with open arms and perhaps a sampling of the day's ``new recipes.'' And what makes every small act of concern and each gesture of kindness so remarkable is that they are simply second nature to Judy, as unconscious as breathing. As her friend Maureen Cox said to me in an e-mail, ``If there is a national award for generosity, Judy Guerra is our person,'' and I heartily agree. Mr. Speaker, Judy Guerra is an amazing woman, an ordinary person who reaches beyond herself in every way to bring hope, and opportunity, friendship and caring to everyone around her. I am proud to call her a fellow Hoosier and privileged to honor her here today.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, for years a number of distinguished Members of this House have come to the Floor of this Chamber every April to commemorate the so-called Armenian Genocide--the exact details of which are still very much under debate today almost 90 years after the events. Ironically and tragically, none of these Members has ever once mentioned the ethnic cleansing carried out by the Armenians during the Armenia-Azerbaijan war which ended a mere decade ago. Khojaly was a little known small town in Azerbaijan until February 1992. Today it no longer exists, and for people of Azerbaijan and the region, the word ``Khojaly'' has become synonymous with pain, sorrow, and cruelty. On February 26, 1992, the world ended for the people of Khojaly when Armenian troops supported by a Russian infantry regiment did not just attack the town but they razed it to the ground. In the process the Armenians brutally murdered 613 people, annihilated whole families, captured 1275 people, left 1,000 civilians maimed or crippled, and another 150 people unaccounted for in their wake. Memorial, a Russian human rights group, reported that ``scores of the corpses bore traces of profanation. Doctors on a hospital train in Agdam noted no less than four corpses that had been scalped and one that had been beheaded. . . . and one case of live scalping:'' Various other witnesses reported horrifying details of the massacre. The late Azerbaijani journalist Chingiz Mustafayev, who was the first to film the aftermath of the massacre, wrote an account of what he saw. He said, ``Some children were found with severed ears; the skin had been cut from the left side of an elderly woman's face; and men had been scalped.'' Human Rights Watch called the tragedy at the time ``the largest massacre to date in the conflict.'' The New York Times wrote about ``truckloads of bodies'' and described acts of ``scalping.'' This savage cruelty against innocent women, children and the elderly is unfathomable in and of itself but the senseless brutality did not stop with Khojaly. Khojaly was simply the first. In fact, the level of brutality and the unprecedented atrocities committed at Khojaly set a pattern of destruction and ethnic cleansing that Armenian troops would adhere to for the remainder of the war. On November 29, 1993, Newsweek quoted a senior US Government official as saying ``What we see now is a systematic destruction of every village in their (the Armenians) way. It's vandalism.'' This year, as they have every year since the massacre, the leaders of Azerbaijan's Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities issue appeals on the eve of commemoration of the massacre of Khojaly urging the international community to condemn the February 26, 1992 bloodshed, facilitate liberation of the occupied territories and repatriation of the displaced communities. And every year, those residents of Khojaly, who survived the massacre--many still scattered among one million refugees and displaced persons in camps around Azerbaijan--appeal with pain and hope to the international community to hold Armenia responsible for this crime. I am pleased to say that on January 25, 2005 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe overwhelmingly adopted a resolution highlighting that ``considerable parts of Azerbaijan's territory are still occupied by the Armenian forces and separatist forces are still in control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.'' It also expressed concern that the military action between 1988 and 1994 and the widespread ethnic hostilities which preceded it, ``led to large-scale ethnic expulsion and the creation of mono-ethnic areas which resemble the terrible concept of ethnic cleansing.'' Mr. Speaker, this is not the ringing condemnation that the survivors of Khojaly deserve but it is an important first step by an international community that has too long been silent on this issue. Congress should take the next step and I hope my colleagues will join me in standing with Azerbaijanis as they commemorate the tragedy of Khojaly. The world should know and remember.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn the killing of Dorothy Stang. She was caught in the crossfire at a settlement of landless peasants established on a state-run development reserve near the town of Anapu, about 1,300 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. On Saturday February 12, 2005, Dorothy Stang, a 74-year-old American nun, was murdered in Brazil. She was shot four times at point-blank range. She had been working and living in the region for more than three decades. Ms. Stang was bringing the word of God to the poor and downtrodden, while championing the environmental and human rights of Brazil's impoverished and landless peasants. She had spent decades fighting illegal loggers and ranchers in the jungle. Tragically, nine days before her death, Dorothy Stang warned Brazil's Human Rights Minister that she and farmers faced constant death threats and needed protection. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has launched a federal investigation into the case and called a special cabinet meeting. Dozens of land activists are killed each year in Brazil as they confront militias armed and paid by landowners. Few cases are solved in rural areas, where local police forces are often allied with the landowners. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on the government of Brazil to work toward a permanent end to the violence and to disarm and disband all illicit armed militia. I call upon the government of Brazil to implement judicial and police reforms to stem the rising violence, and take immediate measures to protect human rights defenders and land activists from death threats. President Lula's investigation into this case must be transparent and the perpetrators of this murder must be brought to justice.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, tonight I stand up to do something which some of my colleagues might at first glance think is unusual; namely I intend to praise the Hollywood establishment, and more precisely, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Normally when Members come to the Floor to talk about Hollywood, it is to discuss how out of touch Hollywood is with mainstream American values, but tonight I would like to commend Hollywood for doing something right. In a few short weeks are the Academy Awards, and this year there is a very special nominee in the category of documentary short subject; a concise film entitled: ``Autism is a World.'' This groundbreaking documentary gives viewers a front row seat into a week in the life of an extraordinary woman, Sue Rubin, as she confronts the day-to-day challenges of living with autism. The film's story chronicles Sue's journey to overcome her autism and a false childhood diagnosis of mental retardation to become a highly intelligent college junior--with an IQ of 133--and a tireless disabled rights activist. But Sue is not only the star of the film she is also the film's writer--she wrote the entire screenplay through facilitated communication, a process by which a facilitator supports the hand or arm of a communicatively impaired person while using a keyboard or typing device. Joining forces with Oscar award winning director, Gerardine Wurzburg, and Syracuse University Professor Douglas Biklen, founder of the Facilitated Communication Institute at Syracuse University, these three gifted individuals created a powerful film that tugs at the heart strings and at the same time challenges all the commonly held perceptions and stereotypes of autism. Sue Rubin is truly an exceptional young woman. From the very beginning she never allowed herself to fall victim to her disability; and since the age of 13--when she was first able to show her true intelligence and express herself to the world through facilitated communication--she has used her experience to educate others about autism, and has been a shining example to her fellow students at Whittier College in California where she excels as a history major. She has also traveled throughout the United States to speak out publicly in support of the autism community and facilitated communication. Medical research has not unlocked all the answers to autism and its causes, but through films like ``Autism is a World,'' and the incredible efforts of individuals like Sue Rubin, Douglas Biklen and Gerardine Wurzburg to reshape the way we think about autistic individuals we will hopefully come to realize that individuals afflicted with autism have so much to offer the world. I congratulate Sue Rubin and thank her for this courageous film; it is an excellent contribution to this year's Academy Awards. I wish everyone associated with this film the best of luck on Oscar night.