Dan Burton

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, when one gets into those figures, it gets very confusing; but the fact of the matter is, it is costing small business people in this country a ton of money.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs, for his hard work on this bill, and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney). He has worked very hard on this. I would like to thank as well the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the minority member on the Committee on Government Reform. Mr. Chairman, this is a very, very important bill. We talk about a lot of bills around here, Mr. Chairman, that do not seem to be very significant to the American people. But this is one that probably will not get front page across the country but it really is important. We have 24 million small business people in this country, 24 million. The gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) said there was 190 billion hours that are devoted to small business paperwork. The Chamber of Commerce says that is 229 billion hours that they have to devote to paperwork for the Federal Government. My figures are 232 billion. But no matter how one cuts it, that is an awful lot of time and money that they have to spend just messing with regulations and paperwork in this country. It costs them, as the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney) and others have said, on average $5,100 per employee to comply with these regulations each year. Just think how much money we could save in this country and how much money could be turned into capital improvements and economic expansion if they did not have to spend all this time and money on paperwork. So this bill, I think, is a very, very important bill. It will not be, like I said, front page, but I think everybody in this country that is a small business person is going to be very, very happy that we pass it. I might also state that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is very supportive of the bill. They have 96 percent of their members that are small business people across this country, 96 out of 100. I know that all of those people are going to be thanking the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) and hopefully me as well for helping get this terrible workload off their backs so that they can make more money and help make the economy even stronger. Mr. Chairman, I include the following letter from the Chamber of Commerce for the Record, as follows: Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, Washington, DC, March 13, 2001. Hon. Dan Burton, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Representative Burton: Later this week, the full U.S. House is expected to consider H.R. 327, ``The Small Business Paperwork Relief Act.'' The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses of every size, sector, and region. More than 96 percent of the U.S. Chamber's members are small businesses with 100 or fewer employees. With the plethora of regulatory mandates on small business growing to unpredicted levels, so too is the prodigious task of filling out the required paperwork. Our nation's 23 million small businesses spent approximately 7 billion hours filling out federal paperwork in 1998, according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The cost associated with this paperwork burden is estimated at $229 billion and that does not take into account state and local requirements. Specifically, H.R. 327 would require each agency to establish one point of contact for small businesses on federal paperwork requirements. In addition, a task force with representatives across federal agencies would be established to examine the feasibility of requiring each agency to reduce, consolidate and harmonize requirements regarding collections of information with respect to small- business concerns. We urge you to support H.R. 327 and to oppose amendments that would weaken the important paperwork reduction requirements in the bill. Sincerely, R. Bruce Josten.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I was distressed to recently hear that two priests were abducted and beaten in India. On January 4, according to a report in India-West, the priests, known as Simon and David, were abducted from the village of Zer in Rajasthan and taken to the neighboring state of Gujarat, where they were beaten. Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a series of attacks on Christians in the so-called ``world's largest democracy'' which has been going on since Christmas of 1998. It follows the murders of other priests, the rape of nuns, church burnings, attacks on Christian schools and prayer halls, the burning deaths of missionary Graham Staines and his two sons while they slept in their jeep by Hindu militants chanting ``Victory to Hannuman (a Hindu god),'' and other incidents. After one incident that involved the rape of nuns, the VHP, which is part of the pro-Fascist RSS (the parent organization of the ruling BJP, hailed the rapists as ``patriotic youth'' and denounced the nuns as ``anti-national elements.'' BJP leaders have said openly that everyone who lives in India must either be Hindu or be subservient to Hinduism. It has even been reported that the RSS has published a booklet on how to implicate Christians and other religious minorities, such as Sikhs and Muslims, in false criminal cases. The Indian government has killed more than 200,000 Christians in Nagaland. This pattern of religious tyranny and terrorism is apparently what India considers religious freedom. It is not just Christians who have suffered from this kind of persecution, of course, but it seems to be their turn to be the featured victims. Sikhs, Muslims, and others have also been persecuted at the hands of the Indian government. Over 250,000 Sikhs have been murdered by the Indian government. Two independent investigations have shown that the massacre of 35 Sikhs in the village of Chithi Singhpora was carried out by the Indian government. The evidence also seems to show that the Indian government is responsible for the recent massacre of Sikhs in Kashmir. In November, 3,200 Sikhs, who were trying to get to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on a religious pilgrimage, were attacked by 6,000 police with heavy sticks called lathis and tear gas. only 800 of these Sikhs made it to the celebration of the birthday of Guru Nanak. It is the BJP that destroyed the Babri mosque and still seek to build a Hindu temple on the site. Now BJP officials have been quoted as calling for the ``Indianization'' of Islam, according to Newsroom Online. The Indian government has killed over 70,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988. In addition, Dalits (the ``black untouchables''), Tamils, Manipuris, Assamese, and others have seen tens of thousands of their people killed at the hands of the Indian government. Mr. Speaker, in light of this ongoing pattern of state terrorism against the peoples living within its borders, it is appropriate for America, as the leader of the world, to do what we can to protect these people and expand freedom to every corner of the subcontinent. The best way to do this is to stop American aid to India and to support self-determination for all the peoples and nations of the subcontinent. Mr. Speaker, I insert into the Record an India-West report regarding the beating of these two priests. I commend it to all my congressional colleagues who care about human rights. [From India-West, Jan. 12, 2001] Two Christian Priests Abducted and Beaten JAIPUR (Reuters)--Two Christian priests were recovering in hospital Jan. 5 after being abducted and beaten in a tribal village in western India, police said. They said the priests, identified only as Simon and David, were abducted from Zer, a village in Rajasthan's Udaipur district, Jan. 4 and forcibly taken to the neighboring state of Gujarat where they were beaten. Anand Shukla, an Udaipur police chief, told Reuters the two abductors had been identified. One was a Zer villager and the other a resident of Gujarat. The priests suffered minor injuries and were admitted to a hospital in Bijaynagar in Gujarat, Shukla said. No motive was given for the attack, but Gujarat has in the past been the scene of violent attacks on Christians, who make up about two percent of India's billion-strong population. Right-wing Hindu organizations have been blamed for the attacks. Hindu leaders deny the charge. They say forced religious conversions by Christian missionaries are responsible for unrest in tribal areas.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall votes No. 14 and 15 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been here I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 14 and ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 15.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I am submitting the attached Committee on Government Reform rules for the 107th Congress for publication in the Congressional Record pursuant to House Rule XI, Clause 2(a)(2). These rules were adopted by the Committee on February 8, 2001.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall votes Nos. 12 and 13 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been here I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 12 and ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 13.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, recently a Kashmiri rickshaw driver was killed by Sikh police officers. In retaliation, five Sikhs were killed, and later, a sixth Sikh was murdered at a peaceful protest rally. These killings are tragic, and I know every member of the U.S. House of Representatives condemns these murders. I have recently met with representatives of several minority groups from within India who claim that these murders are part of the Indian government's deliberate strategy of setting minorities against each other for the purpose of keeping them within India and under the boot of Indian tyranny. According to these representatives, the Indian police have been recruiting members of the Black Cats, a notorious criminal terrorist gang in India, into the police force. They are apparently handing out these plum positions in the police force as a reward for the ``good work'' the Black Cats have done for the government. Tragically, this ``good work'' consists mainly of killing Sikhs and other minorities. It is these Black Cats, often dressed as police, who often carry out these minority-targeted murders. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, has put out a press release condemning these murders. He points out that the killings serve no one's interest but that of the Indian government. ``When these things happen, just as in Chithi Singhpora, you have to ask the question: Who benefits?,'' Dr. Aulakh said. According to him, ``In all these cases, the answer is the same: the Indian government. Neither the Sikh Nation nor the Kashmiris benefit in any way from the murders of Sikhs or Kashmiris.'' He noted that there were some threats to destroy a Muslim mosque in retaliation for the murders. It is the Indian government that has a record of attacking, desecrating, and destroying Christian, Sikh, and Muslim religious places. Dr. Aulakh urged both communities to keep their cool and not to be sucked into the Indian government's strategy. ``The Indian government has shown its disregard for basic human rights,'' said Dr. Aulakh. Mr. Speaker, the hard-working American taxpayers should not be taxed to support this kind of a government. American principles of freedom require that we help these people. We should stop all aid to India until it stops repressing its minorities and we should put the Congress on record demanding a free and fair plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan, in Kashmir, in predominantly Christian Nagaland, and anywhere else where people seek their freedom from India. These actions will go a long way towards bringing freedom to the subcontinent. I urge this Congress and President Bush to act now in support of freedom. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following press release from the Council of Khalistan's about this terrible incident; into the Record. I urge all my colleagues to read it carefully. It is very revealing about the true nature of Indian ``democracy.'' Sikhs Condemn Killings in Kashmir, Appeal to Both Communities to Exercise Restraint--Do Not Become Part of the Indian Government's Divide and Rule Strategy--India Should Free Kashmir and Khalistan Instead of Murdering People Washington, D.C., February 6, 2001--The Council of Khalistan today condemned this week's killings of five Sikhs and the murder of a Muslim scooter driver by Indian Sikh security force personnel in Kashmir. ``These killings are reprehensible,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, which leads the Sikh Nation's struggle for independence. ``Neither Sikhs nor Muslims nor any other people should be killed because of who they are,'' he said. ``These killings only advance the Indian government's divide and rule strategy,'' he said. ``I urge both the Sikh community and the Muslim community not to get worked up and commit more violence against each other,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``When these things happen, just as in Chithi Singhpora, you have to ask the question: Who benefits?,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``In all these cases, the answer is the same: the Indian government. Neither the Sikh Nation nor the Kashmiris benefit in any way from the murders of Sikhs or Kashmiris.'' Members of the violent Black Cats commandos have been recruited into the police due to their ``good work''--killing Sikhs and other minorities. These Indian agents have infiltrated Sikh organizations and Muslim organizations. ``They were the ones who threatened to destroy a mosque in retaliation for the killings,'' Dr. Aulakh noted. ``No Sikh would ever destroy anyone's religious places. But the theocratic Hindu militant government of India has a record of doing so,'' he said. He noted that the BJP destroyed the Babri mosque and still plans to build a Hindu temple on the spot. A mosque in Kashmir was also destroyed. Hindu militants affiliated with the RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP, have burned Christian churches. The Indian government attacked the Golden Temple and 38 other Sikh Gurdwaras in Punjab in June 1984. Tens of thousands of Sikh political prisoners are rotting in Indian jails without charge or trial. India is in gross violation of international law. The government of India has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, more than 200,000 Christians since 1947, over 70,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and tens of thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, Dalits (the aboriginal people of the subcontinent), and others. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.'' Government-allied Hindu militants have murdered priests, and raped nuns. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) described the rapists as ``patriotic youth'' and called the nuns ``Nantinational elements.'' Hindu radicals, members of the Bajrang Dal, burned missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons, ages 10 and 8, to death while they surrounded the victims and chanted ``Victory to Hannuman,'' a Hindu god. ``India is not a democracy for Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, and other minorities,'' said Dr. Aulakh. The rights guaranteed in the Indian constitution are not enjoyed by non- Hindus, he said. ``Congressman Rohrabacher was right when he said that for minorities `India might as well be Nazi Germany.'' Police witnesses have confirmed that the police tortured and murdered the former Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Gurdev Singh Kaunke, and human-rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. Sikhs ruled Punjab up to 1849 when the British conquered the subcontinent. Sikhs were equal partners during the transfer of power from the British. The Muslim leader Jinnah got Pakistan for his people, the Hindu leaders got India, but the Sikh leadership was fooled by the Hindu leadership promising that Sikhs would have ``the glow of freedom'' in Northwest India and the Sikhs took their share with India on that promise. Sikhism was not even recognized in the Indian constitution as a separate religion, while Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. were recognized. Discrimination against the Sikh Nation took place in every sphere. After the Golden Temple attack, the Sikh Nation stepped up its struggle to achieve its God-given right to be free. On October 7, 1987, the Sikh Nation declared the independence of its homeland, Punjab, Khalistan. No Sikh representative has ever signed the Indian constitution. The Sikh Nation demands freedom for its homeland, Khalistan. ``Democracies don't commit genocide,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``In a democracy, the right to self-determination is the sine qua non and India should allow a plebiscite in Kashmir and Punjab, Khalistan,'' he said. ``Only freedom will bring peace and justice in South Asia.''

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Let me just say that tonight we are going to hear, my colleagues, all kinds of great things that Ronald Reagan accomplished as President of the United States. But I want to tell my colleagues real briefly a little personal aside that happened to me. My mother and stepfather, who died 2 years ago, both were working class people. My mother worked as a waitress for 18 years at L.S. Ayres & Co. Tearoom. She used to bring her tips home to help keep the house afloat. And my stepfather was what they called a sand hog in a foundry. Not very glamorous jobs. When I entered politics, I told them one day I wanted to be a congressman to serve in the United States Congress. And, of course, they both had great aspirations for me, but they, in the back of their minds, thought I would never make it. So I promised my mom and my dad that, if I ever made it to the United States Congress, I was going to take them in the front door of the White House to meet the President of the United States, not the back door, but the front door. And so, the time came when I was elected; and it just so happened that Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States and a man whom I think was one of the greatest Presidents we ever had. The day came when I was going to take my mom and dad over to the White House and go in the front door to meet the President. And unbeknownst to me, Ronald Reagan's staff, because the President had asked them to, had called and said, we want to know something about Dan Burton, his background and everything before he comes over so we can talk to his parents. And when we went in the Oval Office to meet the President of the United States, this little waitress and this man who worked in a foundry all his life getting up at 5:30 in the morning, he walked in and he shook their hands and he started telling them what a great guy I was, and told them all the things he knew about me and what a great asset I was to the United States Congress. He did not need to do that, but it sure was great for me and it was great for my mom and dad. And so, I thank President Reagan very much for making my mom and dad feel like they were two of the proudest people in the United States one day in my life.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, this is kind of a sad occasion for me. Today I rise to pay tribute to Will Dwyer, who was my former communications director of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. He passed away earlier this month after a long battle with cancer. He began his media career as a broadcast documentary producer in the 1950s, and then he moved to Washington to start a career in public service. He was a native of Rochester, New York; and he began his congressional career in the 88th Congress by working for Frank Horton of New York. He served as his administrative assistant for some time. Then after his stint in public service, he left Washington for the private sector. He returned to Rochester where he held the post of Republican county chairman. During that time, he also founded a telecommunications privacy service. Will knew that life was too valuable to let a day go by without enjoying everything that it had to offer. He was a man with an incredible thirst for new and different experiences, and he returned to school in mid-life and received his law degree while he was in his mid- 40s. Earlier this decade, Will was called back into public service by the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich). It was on his reputation on Radanovich's staff that we hired him to be our communications director with the Committee on Government Reform. Although I knew Will for only a short period of time, he was a very, very fine man, a man of impeccable integrity, really cared about this country, a very patriotic fellow. He lived his life knowing that every day was something to savor. It was his attitude that brings me to the floor today to pay tribute to this man whom we are all going to miss a great deal, my friend, Will Dwyer. So God in heaven, I hope you are blessing Will because he was a man who should be blessed a great deal. Mr. Speaker, I insert into the Record an article that appeared in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle about the life of my good friend, Will Dwyer, as follows: [From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Jan. 18, 2001] William F. Dwyer II Dies of Cancer at 65 William F. Dwyer II is described as a dynamo, a restless man, an irrepressible force. He worked in politics from Monroe County to Washington, D.C., and was a Rochester broadcaster. He got his law degree in his late 40s, spoke on behalf of the tobacco industry, even ran a modular home business in California. But there was one constant theme in Mr. Dwyer's life--his limitless interest in people. ``He was such an egalitarian,'' said Mr. Dwyer's wife, Constance Drath. ``He talked to the grocery clerk, the mailman, the elected officials. He loved learning about everyone.'' Mr. Dwyer died of cancer last week in Washington. He was 65. Mr. Dwyer was born in Rochester on March 30, 1935, and grew up in the city. He graduated from a military academy in New Jersey as the class valedictorian, Drath said. He returned to Rochester in the mid-1950s and began a career in broadcasting at WHAM-AM (1180). Family and friends say that Mr. Dwyer--a tall man with a curly head of brown hair--had a deep, resonant voice that was perfect for the airwaves. In 1962, Mr. Dwyer moved to the political arena, going to work for Frank Horton, a Penfield Republican just elected to Congress. He became Horton's administrative assistant, basically his right-hand man, and instituted weekly radio feeds that would be picked up by Rochester radio stations. Mr. Dwyer also used a radio communications system that kept the Horton campaign in touch with him. ``This wasn't done back then,'' said Horton, who called Mr. Dwyer not just a valued employee but a good friend. ``I could tell him anything,'' Horton said. ``You can't say that about everybody.'' He left Horton's office in the late 1960s and started a public relations firm that often worked with political campaigns. He worked closely with the Republican Party and in 1970 was named Monroe County chairman of the party. Richard Rosenbaum, himself a former county GOP chairman, said that Mr. Dwyer's style was ``benevolent aggressiveness.'' ``He was a great PR man, who could make lemonade out of the most awful lemons,'' he said. Mr. Dwyer left Rochester for Washington in 1972 and worked in the Nixon and Ford administrations, mainly as a Labor Department spokesman for new workplace safety and health standards. In 1975, he became a spokesman for the now-defunct Tobacco Institute, which spoke on behalf of cigarette manufacturers. In 1980, Mr. Dwyer moved to California with Drath. In two years, he obtained his law degree from Southwestern University of Law in Los Angeles. He and Drath opened a law firm in Beverly Hills, specializing in wrongful employment termination cases and immigration issues. During the 1980s, he dabbled in other ventures, including a modular home company. In 1994, politics came calling again, and Mr. Dwyer served as a press secretary for Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif., then as communications director for the House Government Reform Committee. Through all the changes in his life, Mr. Dwyer remained upbeat and eager for new challenges, Drath said. ``This was a man who knew the art of living in the moment,'' she said. ``He never looked back, never had any regrets.'' Along with his wife of Washington, Mr. Dwyer is survived by their two children Scott Dwyer and William Dwyer III of Washington; Elizabeth Sellers of Paris and Geoffrey Dwyer of Brockport, his children from his previous marriage to Eleanor Clarke, now Eleanor Lawton of Brighton; and two sisters, Carol Stearns of Washington, Conn., and Anne Colgan of East Rochester. A memorial service will be held at Georgetown Presbyterian Church in Washington at noon Wednesday. Memorial contributions can be made to the National Colorectal Cancer Research Institute at Entertainment Industry Foundation, 11132 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, standing on the hallowed grounds of Ellis Island--the portal through which 17 million immigrants entered the United States--a cast of ethnic Americans who have made significant contributions to the life of this nation were presented with the coveted Ellis Island Medal of Honor at an emotionally uplifting ceremony. NECO's annual medal ceremony and reception on Ellis Island in New York Harbor is the Nation's largest celebration of ethnic pride. Representing a rainbow of ethnic origins, this year's recipients received their awards in the shadow of the historic Great Hall, where the first footsteps were taken by the millions of immigrants who entered the U.S. in the latter part of the nineteenth century. ``Today we honor great ethnic Americans who, through their achievements and contributions, and in the spirit of their ethnic origins, have enriched this country and have become role models for future generations,'' said NECO Chairman William Denis Fugazy. ``In addition, we honor the immigrant experience--those who passed through this Great Hall decades ago, and the new immigrants who arrive on American soil seeking opportunity.'' Mr. Fugzay added, It doesn't matter how you got here or if you already were here. Ellis Island is a symbol of the freedom, diversity and opportunity--ingredients inherent in the fabric of this nation. Although many recipients have no familial ties to Ellis Island, their ancestors share similar histories of struggle and hope for a better life here. Established in 1986 by NECO, the Ellis Island Medals of Honor pay tribute to the ancestry groups that comprise America's unique cultural mosaic. To date, approximately 1,300 American citizens have received medals. NECO is the largest organization of its kind in the U.S. serving as an umbrella group for over 250 ethnic organizations and whose mandate is to preserve ethnic diversity, promote ethnic and religious equality, tolerance and harmony, and to combat injustice, hatred and bigotry. NECO has a new goal in its humanitarian mission: saving the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions. NECO has founded the Forum's Children Foundation, which brings children from developing nations needing life-saving surgery to the Untied States for treatment. This year alone, NECO's efforts have helped save the lives of twelve infants from around the world. Ellis Island Medals of Honor recipients are selected each year through a national nomination process. Screening committees from NECO's member organizations select the final nominees, who are then considered by the Board of Directors. Past Ellis Island Medals of Honor recipients have included several U.S. Presidents, entertainers, athletes, entrepreneurs, religious leaders and business executive, such as William Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, George Bush, Richard Nixon, George Pataki, Mario Cuomo, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Michael Douglas, Gloria Estefan, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Elie Wiesel, Muhammad Ali, Mickey Mantel, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Barbara Walters, Terry Anderson and Dr. Michael DeBakey. Congratulation to the 2000 Ellis Island Medals of Honor recipients. Medalist List: Ellis Island 2000 Richard A. Abdoo, Business Leader, Lebanese. Anthony R. Abraham, Business/Community Leader, Lebanese. Dr. William A. Athens, Physician/Surgeon, Hellenic. Nelson Viriato Baptista, Business Leader, Portuguese. Amin J. Barakat M.D., Physician, Lebanese. Edward J. Bergassi, Business Leader, Italian. Bharat B. Bhatt, Business Leader, Indian. Norman P. Blake, Jr., Business Leader, English/German. Gunter Blobel, M.D., PhD, Scientist, German. Jules J. Bonavolonta, Business Leader, Italian. Patricia R. Brandrup, Business Leader, English. Hon. Jesse Brown, Business Leader, African. Art Buchwald, Syndicated Columnist, Austrian/Hungarian. Gerard L. Cafesjian, Investor/Philanthropist, Armenian. Dr. Vincent J. Calamia, Physician & Business Leader, Italian. Charles V. Campisi, Chief of Internal Affairs, Italian. Carlos H. Cantu, Business Leader, Mexican. Elvira M. Carota, M.D., Physician/Educator/Humanitarian, Italian. David E.A. Carson, Business Leader, English. Frank Carucci, Educator, Italian. Margo Catsimatidis, Advertising Exec./Philanthropist, Russian. Leonard A. Cecere, Attorney, Italian. Michael Chakeres, Business Leader, Hellenic. Alvah H. Chapman, Jr., Business/Community Leader, English. Dr. Ben John Chen, Community/Business Leader, Chinese. George C. Chryssis, Community/Business Leader, Hellenic. Sam C. Chung, Banker, Korean. John R. Climaco, Attorney, Italian. Vance D. Coffman, Business Leader, German/English. Paul F. Cole, Labor Leader, Irish/German. Evanthea Condakes, Community Leader, Hellenic. James Costaras, Educator, Hellenic. Stephen J. Dannhauser, Esq., Attorney, German/Irish. James DeCuzzi, NYC Commissioner, Italian/British. James F. Demos, Community Leader, Hellenic. James L. Doti, Educator, Italian. Hon. Dennis C. Droushiotis, International Business Leader, Cypriot. Walter E. Dunn, Jr., Labor Leader, Irish. Joseph P. Dunne, Law Enforcement Officer, Irish. Jean C. Emond, M.D., Surgeon/Humanitarian, Canadian. Gaetana Enders, Author/Community Leader, Italian. Jack W. Eugster, Business Leader, Swiss. John D. Feerick, Lawyer, Irish. Steven Fisher, Business Leader, Russian. John S.T. Gallagher, CEO Healthsystem, Columbian/Irish. John E. Callagher, Sr., Business Leader, Irish. Laurance W. Gay, Business Leader, Italian/Irish. Louis C. Generali, Business Leader, Italian. Liz Giordano, Business/Community Leader, Italian. Robert C. Golden, Business Leader, Irish. Alan Harvey Goldfield, Business Leader, Austrian. Hon. Norman Goodman, Attorney/Government Official, Russian/ English. Milton Gralla, Publisher, Polish. Hans G. Hachmann, Attorney, German. Michael Haratunian, Business Leader, Armenian. Dr. L.P. Hinterbuchner, Educator/Physician, Slovak. Dr. Eugene M. Holuka, Dip. of Internal Medicine, Ukrainian. James J. Houlihan, Business Leader, Irish. Raffy A. Hovanessian M.D., Community Leader, Armenian/ Lebanese. Henry J. Humphreys, Community Leader, Irish/English. Hon. Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Irish. James S. Isray, Business Leader, Polish/Hungarian. Mjr. Gen. Robert R. Ivany, Maj. Gen.--United States Army, Hungarian. Jay S. Jacobs, Business/Civic Leader, English/German. Dr. William A. Athens, Physician/Surgeon, Hellenic. Thomas H. Jacobsen, Business Leader, Norwegian. Willie James, Labor Leader, African. Albert Joseph, Business Leader, Lebanese. William H. Joyce, Business Leader, Swedish/Irish. Dr. Kirk P. Kalemkeris, Doctor/Author/Community Leader, Hellenic. Sok Hui Kang, Community Leader/Activist, Korean. Mike Kojaian, Business Leader, Armenian. George P. Kokalis, Community Leader, Hellenic. Elyse Kroll, Business Leader, Russian/English. Glenn Kummer, Business Leader, Swiss/German. Leonard A. Lauder, Business Leader, Hungarian/Czech/ Austrian. Hon. Peter K. Leisure, Sr. District Judge, English/French. Alfred Lerner, Business Leader, Russian. Leo Liebowitz, Business Leader, Romanian/Polish. Anthony J. Limberakis M.D., Nat'l Cmdr Order of St. Andrew, Hellenic. Dr. Herbert London, Educator, Russian/Polish. Robert Lopez, Business Leader, Puerto Rican. Susan Lucci, Emmy Award Winning Actress, Italian/Swedish. Robert W. Mahoney, Business Leader, Irish. Gerald F. Mahoney, Business Leader, Irish/Scottish. Hon. Guy James Mangano, Presiding Justice, Italian. Colonel William J. Martinez, Commander, Spanish/Mexican. James S. Mavromatis, Special Agent, Hellenic/Yugoslavian. Hon. John McCain, United States Senator, Scottish/Irish. Royce Neil McNeill, FSA Scot, Scottish Clan Leader, Scottish. C. Dean Metropoulos, Business Leader, Hellenic. William D. Modell, Business Leader, Hungarian. Zena, Mucha, Government Relations Specialist, Ukrainian. Hon. Michael B. Mukasey, Chief Judge, So. District NY, Russian/Polish. Joseph P. Nacchio, Business Leader, Italian. Fred Nauman, Labor Leader, German. Joseph Neubauer, Business Leader, Israeli. Peter M. Nicholas, Business Leader, Hellenic. Hugh O'Brien, Philanthropist/Educator/Performer, Irish/ German/Scottish. John Pappajohn, Business Leader, Hellenic. Ike Pappas, Television Journalist, Hellenic. Nazario Paragano Sr., Builder/Real Estate Broker/Banker, Italian. Hon. Michael L. Pesce, Adm. Judge, Italian. Thomas M. Reich, Attorney, Russian. Hon. Janet Reno, Attorney General of the U.S., Danish. Chita Rivera, Entertainer, Puerto Rican. Douglas L. Rock, Business Leader, Austrian. John Roland, TV News Anchorman, German. Hon. Eugene T. Rossides, Business/Community Leader, Cypriot/Hellenic. John P. Rousakis, Community Leader, Hellenic. T. Timothy Ryan, Jr., Investment Banker, Irish. George E. Safiol, Business Leader, Hellenic. Edward M. Salem, Community Leader/Humanitarian, Lebanese. Tamir Sapir, Business Leader, Russian. Albert Schwartzberg, Business Leader, Russian. Cristina Schwarz, Spanish Language TV Executive, Argentina/ Austria/Chile/Croatia. Irving J. Shulman, Business Leader, Russian. Nathaniel L. Sillis, Business Leader, Lithuanian/Polish. Sam Simonian, Business Leader, Lebanese/Armenian. Louis H. Siracusano, Sr., Entrepreneur, Italian. David S. Slackman, Business Leader, Polish. Richard A. Smith, Business Leader, German/Dutch/English. Salvatore F. Sodano, Business/Community Leader, Italian. Taraneh Sohrab, Banker, Persian. Harold A. Sorgenti, Business Leader, Italian. Hon. Eliot Spitzer, NYS Attorney General, Austrian/French. Robert G. Stanton, Conservation Leader, African. Jerry Stiller, Polish. Thomas C. Sullivan, Business Leader, Irish. Dr. William A. Athens, Physician/Surgeon, Hellenic. Sidney Taurel, Business Leader, Spanish. W.R. Timken, Jr., Business Leader, German. Joe Torre, New York Yankees Manager, Italian. William Ungar, Business Leader, Polish. Hon. Thomas Von Essen, NYC Fire Commissioner, German. Michael Wach, Television Executive, Polish/Russian. LaDane Williamson, Business Leader, English/Italian. Gary Winnick, Global Financier/Philanthropist, Eastern European. Barry Zorthian, Communications Consultant, Armenian.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, on January 17 a group of Christians in India known as the Persecuted Church of India issued a statement commending the protection that Sikhs have provided to Christians in India from Indian government persecution. Father Dominic Immanuel appeared on Star News to thank the Sikhs community for protecting Christians from Indian government persecution. As you know, the Christians in India have undergone a wave of violence and terror by militant Hindu nationalists associated with the pro- Fascist RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP. This violence has taken the form of church burnings, rape of nuns, murders of priests, and attacks on Christian schools and prayer halls. Graham Staines and his two little boys were burned to death in their jeep while they slept. Earlier, in 1997, police broke up a Christian religious festival with gunfire. No one has ever been punished for these activities. Instead, there have been Indian officials who have been quoted as saying that everyone who lives in India must either be a Hindu or be subservient to Hinduism. Last year RSS leader Kuppa Halli Sitharamaiya called for a ban on foreign churches. Interestingly, the article mentions Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, the President of the Council of Khalistan, for his lobbying efforts here on Capitol Hill. The Sikhs and Christians are suffering from the same kind of terror. More than 250,000 Sikhs have been murdered by the Indian government since 1984, according to Inderjit Singh Jaijee's ``The Politics of Genocide''. The Indian government has also killed more than 200,000 Christians in Nagaland. According to Amnesty international, there are about 50,000 Sikhs held in Indian jails as political prisoners without charge or trial. In November, Indian police with heavy sticks called lathis attacked 3,200 Sikh religious pilgrims at a railroad station on the Indian-Pakistani border. These pilgrims were attempting to get to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan to celebrate the birthday of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak. Only 800 managed to get to the celebration. In July, police arrested Rajiv Singh Randhawa, the only witness to the September 1995 kidnapping of human-rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, while he was trying to give a petition to the British Home Minister in front of the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine that the Indian government brutally attacked in June 1984. Mr. Khalra was killed in police custody about six weeks after he was kidnapped. More than five years later, no one has been punished. Now the Indian police are harassing the only witness. In March, according to the findings of two independent investigations, the Indian government murdered 35 Sikhs in the village of Chithi Singhpora. In addition to its persecution of Christians, Sikhs, and other minorities, India has worked aggressively to thwart several U.S. foreign policy goals around the world. Not only does it vote against the United States at the United Nations more often than any country except Cuba, but in 1999 the Indian Defense Minister led a meeting with the Ambassadors from Iraq, Cuba, Libya, Russia, Serbia, and China in which the parties discussed setting up a security alliance ``to stop the U.S.'' We should stop U.S. aid to India until the oppression of Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, and other minorities ends and human rights are observed. We must also put the United States on record in support for the freedom movements in Khalistan, Nagalim, Kashmir, and the other nations seeking their freedom from India, through a free and fair plebiscite. That is the democratic way and the way that world powers do things. These measures will help bring peace, freedom, stability, prosperity and dignity to all the people of the subcontinent. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit a statement issued by the Persecuted Church of India that discusses the efforts that Sikhs have made on behalf of India's Christian community. I commend this statement to anyone who would like to better understand the plight of minorities in India. Persecuted Church of India--January 17, 2001--the sikhs rush to protect the christians A few days ago when the attacks against the Christian missionaries in Rajasthan took place, Fr Dominic Immanual went on record on Star News to acknowledge the protection that the Sikh community was providing to the persecuted Christians of Haryana and elsewhere. That was a belated recognition to the much maligned Sikh minorities. We had earlier reported the incidents wherein the nuns were protected by the Sikhs at the time of attacks. However almost all the cases have gone unreported. Fr Dominic did great justice to the Sikhs when he underlined incidents in rural Haryana where the helpless Christians had none to help but the Sikhs during the attacks by the Hindu fascists. He quoted the incidents in Panipat, Sonepat and Gannore where the Christians have been saved by the Sikhs, many a time risking their own lives as the Hindu terrorists struck. The recognition is too little for the community whose plight was ignored by the Christians as they too had been under the influence of the Hindu nationalist lies against the Sikhs.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, as we close out the 106th Congress, the Government Reform Committee, which I am proud to serve as Chairman, is continuing several health care oversight activities. Last year we began a review of this nation's vaccine immunization program. While childhood immunizations have been lauded as one of the greatest advances in public health of the twentieth century, we have learned that there is a paucity of research evaluating the long term safety of these vaccines, particularly as they are currently given to babies, six shots in one day. We also have learned that the epidemic rise in pervasive developmental delays including autism may be unrecognized adverse effect of vaccines. Research conducted in England discovered that autistic children, who also suffer with chronic diarrhea and bowel disorders, have the measles virus in their bowel. We also learned that many of these vaccines are made with the preservative thimerosal. Thimerosal is a derivative of mercury, which is a known neurotoxin. We learned that mercury toxicity has very similar symptoms to autism. Many children who are treated for mercury toxicity show an improvement in the autistic symptoms. I have asked the Department of Health and Human Services to recall vaccines that contain thimerosal since most of the vaccines on the childhood immunization schedule are now available without thimerosal. However, thus far, they are satisfied with allowing companies to continue to sell these vaccines and putting 8,000 children in the United States at risk for mercury toxicity. As part of this investigation we looked at the advisory committees at the Centers for Disease Control and at the Food and Drug Administration and found that many of the individuals appointed as advisory council members had significant financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the vaccines under consideration. The report of our findings is on the Committee website. As part of our vaccine investigation, we looked at the Defense Department's Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program. We found that this well-intentioned program had many problems and I have supported legislation that would halt the program. The existing anthrax vaccine manufactured by Bioport Inc. in Lansing, Michigan was licensed in 1970 to protect against cutaneous exposure to the anthrax. It was not originally licensed to protect against inhalation anthrax. While the label states that less than one percent of individuals who receive the vaccine will suffer an adverse events, each of the prospective studies that have been done have shown that in excess of twenty percent of those who receive the vaccine suffer an adverse event. Many of these events have proven difficult to treat and are very similar to those seen in Gulf War Syndrome. An investigation conducted by the General Accounting Office indicates that the mandatory AVIP program has resulted in a significant morale and retention problem. There are some that think that because I have dared to initiate an oversight investigation into vaccines, that I am anti-vaccine. Nothing could be further from the truth. I believe that safe and effective vaccines should be made available to everyone with full declaration of the benefits and the risks involved. I also believe that we need to do more research to determine who will be at risk for adverse events and that just because a vaccine is licensed does not mean it needs to be added to the children's immunization schedule to be mandated at the state level. We saw with the rotashield vaccine investigation that the move to put this vaccine on the schedule took place before the vaccine was even licensed. There is concern we have gone too far in our desire to protect the public at large from infectious diseases by mandating every vaccine that is licensed instead of only those that are truly significant health concerns in this country. There is a tremendous difference between the consequences of polio and those of chicken pox. Also during the 106th Congress, we have conducted an investigation into the role of complementary and alternative medicine in our health care system. Americans are increasingly turning to therapies such as acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractics, naturopathy, touch and energy therapies, herbal medicine, traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda, Tibetan Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Native American medicine, mind-body techniques, aromatherapy, nutrition, and music therapy to improve their health. We have conducted numerous hearings looking at ways to improve cancer care through the integration of complementary and alternative medicine in oncology. I was pleased to introduced H.R. 3677 the Thomas Navarro FDA Patients Rights act this past spring. Four year old Thomas, who was shown to the world by Ambassador Alan Keyes during the Republican debates, was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, was denied access to a non-toxic cancer treatment by the FDA because he had not first gone through and failed chemotherapy and radiation. After his initial surgery, Thomas' parents, Jim and Donna Navarro, looked at the benefits and risks of these two treatments and found that the success rates had been overestimated and that the risks were too much to ask of them without first trying something less risky. We learned that of the three chemotherapy drugs which are routinely recommended to treat this cancer, two of them clearly state on their label that they have not been proven to be safe and effective in the pediatric population. In other words, the drug had not gone through the rigors of an FDA approval process for treating medulloblastoma or for use in children. I am very concerned that the FDA will force cancer patients into treatments they as an agency have not evaluated while denying them access to a clinical trial that the FDA is monitoring. I was pleased that many of my colleagues joined me in support of this legislation. This issue points to something that we are lacking in this country--medical freedom. In the United States, a country based on freedom, we are not guaranteed the freedom to make our own health care choices. Americans are tired of this and I will continue working to change this. We also looked at the role of improving care at the end of life. We learned that 38,000 World War II veterans die each month. Many of them die alone and in pain. Our veterans deserve better from us and I will continue to work to improve this. We learned that the hospice approach to care, which many of us know from personal family experience has great benefit, that has been underutilized. We also learned that many complementary therapies such as music therapy, touch therapy, aromatherapy, massage, whole life review, and acupuncture offer a great benefit to the terminally ill. The importance of the hospice team approach was stressed as well. That is a team of patient, and care givers, doctor, nurse, chaplain, home health aid, social worker, and the tireless hospice volunteer working to offer care to the terminally ill and their family. Comfort rather than curative care is offered and oftentimes when spiritual, relationship, and personal healing can take place. We will continue working on these issues as well as working with the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy and improving our health care system with the integration of complementary and alternative therapies.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 602, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been here I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I think they are here. Would you like for us to go get them for you?

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. His father just died. That may not count. I do not know.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Is he in leadership?

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

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Let me see if I have got this straight. The Democrats are complaining because we have not gotten our work done, but we are supposed to work out a compromise with the President and the minority. We are here working; we are here in Washington working. That is right here. The minority leader, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), is over here in Missouri; and the President is out in Beverly Hills, California, campaigning. Who do you think is trying to get their work done?

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 397, a resolution voicing concern about serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in most states of Central Asia, including substantial con-compliance with their Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commitments on democratization and the holding of free and fair elections. I would like especially to draw the attention of my colleagues to the section of the resolution dealing with Kazakhstan. This oil rich country is riddled with corruption, and its dictator, President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has become increasingly repressive and appears determined to leave no stone unturned in his quest to silence the press, eliminate the opposition parties, and plunder every dime of profit that the country has earned from its oil and mineral wealth. Mr. Nazarbayev is reportedly the eighth richest person in the world; yet more than one-third of the population of Kazakhstan are below the poverty line as defined by the World Bank. The German-based organization, Transparency International, recently surveyed corruption in 96 countries and rated Kazakhstan as the 12th most corrupt country in that group. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Justice recently launched an investigation into bribes allegedly paid by U.S. oil companies to President Nazarbayev and his cronies. But even worse than the corruption is the attempt by Nazarbayev to snuff out every vestige of democracy and freedom of expression in Kazakhstan. In January 1999, he called a snap presidential election and ensured his own re-election by having his main opponent, former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, disqualified and driven into exile. Both this election and the parliamentary elections that followed in October 1999 were denounced as unfair by the OSCE. To make sure that these and other anti-democratic actions are not criticized, the Nazarbayev regime has virtually silenced the independent media by intimidation, arrests and seizure of presses. In an effort to reverse the repressive trend in Kazakhstan, H. Con. Res. 397 calls upon the government of Kazakhstan and other governments in Central Asia to engage in a serious and comprehensive ``national dialogue'' with opposition and independent forces, ``on an equal footing, on institutionalizing measures to hold free and fair elections,'' Last December, former Prime Minister Kazhedgeldin of Kazakhstan proposed a detailed vision of what a ``national dialogue'' should entail, and its serves as a model for all of Central Asia. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H. Con. Res. 397 and urge its adoption. The resolution forthrightly exposes the trends of increasing repression in Central Asia and proposes a solution in the form of a genuine ``national dialogue'' between the governments of the region and the opposition political parties and independent organizations that speak for the peoples of Central Asia. This is a wonderful message of hope and support for this House to send as it winds up its work in the 106th Congress.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, we are going to be losing two of our Congressmen from Indiana, and they are both very fine Congressmen. One of them is Ed Pease, whom all of us have seen in the Chair many, many times over the past couple of years. He has done a great job as the Speaker pro tempore on many occasions. Ed was first elected to the Congress just 4 years ago, and we hate to see him leave so quickly after being here such a short time. I had the pleasure of serving with him in the Indiana State Senate back in the early eighties, and everybody there thought he was an extraordinary Senator, as well as my colleagues here in the House feel today that he is an extraordinary Congressman. Ed was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was an outstanding student. He graduated from Indiana University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction. He graduated from Indiana Law School, magna cum laude in 1977. Of course, he went on to be involved in civic activities as well as politics. He served, as I said, in the Indiana State Senate from 1980 through 1992, and he was chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and chairman of the Indiana Commission on Trial Courts and chairman of the Indiana Code Revision Commission. In the private sector, he served as a City Attorney for the city of Brazil, and as General Counsel for the Indiana State University. He has also been in a partner in the law firm of Thomas, Thomas & Pease. In 1993, Ed became the Vice President for University Advancement at Indiana State University, and he was very highly regarded. He is one of those people over there they would like to have considered down the road, and maybe immediately, as president of Indiana State University. Ed Pease is one of the finest men I have known. He has been a great Congressman, a great leader in this body. We will miss you a lot, Ed. I hope you have a great deal of success in the future, and you come back and visit your colleagues in the Congress often. I would also like to say our candidate for Governor in Indiana right now is Congressman McIntosh. David McIntosh has been here since 1994. He has been an outstanding Congressman. He served as one of my subcommittee chairmen on the Committee on Government Reform. He has done an exemplary job as well there. He is another person we are going to miss a great deal. David, before he became a Congressman, worked with the vice president at the White House in the Executive Office Building down there on the Council on Competitiveness. He was the Executive Director there. He did an outstanding job for the Vice President Quayle, and we felt when he came to Congress were going to have him with us for a long time and he would be a real asset to us. He has been, but, unfortunately, he decided he wanted to become the chief executive of Indiana. We all wish him well in the campaign, and we will know in another week or so whether or not he has been successful. In any event, we certainly wish him the best in the future, whether or not he becomes the Governor of Indiana, and we also hope, David, you will come back and visit us often, because you have been an outstanding Congressman and a very good friend.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall votes Nos. 553 and 554 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been here I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall vote 553 and ``yea'' on rollcall vote 554.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, there have been several disturbing reports lately coming out of India on its human rights violations in Punjab, Kashmir, and elsewhere. These reports demonstrate that India is still heavily involved in terrorism. On September 16, 2000, Indian author Pankaj Mishra wrote an article in the New York Times about how India has lost its way in terms of democracy and human rights. He wrote that ``the Hindu nationalists remain attached to a stern 19th century idea of nationalism, which dilutes traditional social and cultural diversity and replaces it with one people, one culture and one language.'' This is a climate of intolerance that no government, especially one claiming to be ``democratic,'' should be promoting. He noted that the Indian government ``has used brute force in Punjab, the northeastern states, and now Kashmir to suppress disaffected minorities.'' This ``preference for force over democracy,'' as Mishra calls, it is also explained in material published by the Human Rights Network in New York. It cites the tens of thousands of Sikhs who are being held as political prisoners in ``the world's largest democracy,'' as well as the massacre of 35 Sikhs in Chithi Singhpora, Kashmir, during the President's visit to India in March. The organization also documents the government's arrest of human-rights activist Rajiv Singh Randhawa, who was the only eyewitness to the police kidnapping of Jaswant Singh Khalra, and other incidents. Khalra, the General Secretary of the Human Rights Wing, was subsequently murdered while in police custody. The police picked up Mr. Randhawa in June of 2000 when he tried to give British Home Minister Jack Straw a petition on human rights. The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, according to the Politics of Genocide by Inderjit Sigh Jaijee. More than 200,000 Christians in Nagaland, over 70,000 Muslims in Kashmir, and tens of thousands of other minority people are also being killed at the hands of the Indian government. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has cited India for ``denial of religious freedom to her people.'' It is incumbent upon the United States as the moral and democratic leaders of the world to do whatever we can to spread freedom to every corner of the world. We must impose penalties on India for its violations of religious freedom, as the law demands. We should declare India a terrorist state, as 21 Members of this House urged the President to do in a letter earlier this year. We should stop most foreign aid to India until everyone within its borders enjoys the basic human rights that define a democratic country. And we should urge India to hold free and fair plebiscites under international monitoring in Punjab, in Kashmir, in Nagaland, and wherever there is a freedom movement to determine the political future of these states in the democratic way. Canada has held periodic votes in Quebec on its political status. In America, we have done the same for Puerto Rico. When will India follow the lead of the real democracies in the world and allow people to decide their own future by the democratic means of voting. All of this information and more can be found in the report of the Human Rights Network, the Mishra article in the New York Times, and an open letter to Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee from the National Association of Asian Indian Christians in the USA. I submit these documents into the Record. [From the Human Rights Network, Sept./Oct. 2000] India's Brute Force in Punjab, Kashmir & Northeastern States Mr. Pankaj Mishra's article in the New York Times (9/16/ 2000) is refreshing in its boldness and articulate in its contents and style. It is also a wake up call for India's ruling regime under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It underscores the fact that during the last two decades `the central government . . . has used brute force in Punjab, the northeastern states, and now in Kashmir to suppress disaffected minorities.' He warns that ``the preference for force over dialogue could end up undermining India's fragile democracy.'' This is in complete contrast with the Prime Minister's sermons on peace and harmony, both at the United Nations Millennium Summit as well as in Washington, D.C. We would like to remind the Prime Minister that his claim of rosy picture in the so- called democratic and secular India masks the painful truth, and draw his attention to the following: 1. Tens of thousands of Sikh prisoners of conscience--men and women--are languishing in Indian jails without a charge or a fair trial. Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. 2. Most independent observers and human rights organizations have blamed the Government sponsored militant groups for the mass murder of the Sikhs in Kashmir (India) during President Clinton's visit in March, 2000. In the absence of an independent investigation by the UN Human Rights Commission, the Sikh nation holds the Indian Government, under Prime Minister Vajpayee, responsible for this barbarian act of mass murder of the Sikhs. 3. Indian security forces have murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and human rights organizations. These figures were published in The Politics of Genocide, by Inderjir Jaijee, a highly respected human rights advocate. 4. The Government of India is silent about the Interim Report on Enforced Disappearances, Arbitrary Executions and Secret Cremations in Punjab (August 1999), prepared under the leadership of an eminent human rights champion, Mr. Ram Narayan Kumar. 5. The Government is also silent about the kidnapping and murder of Mr. Jaswant Singh Khalra in police custody. Mr. Khalra was reported to have compiled a list of several thousand Sikhs, who were secretly cremated as ``unidentified bodies,'' by Taran Taran (Punjab) police (US Department of State Report, January 1998). In a recent press release (9/7/ 00) Amnesty International has reported the arrest of Mr. R.S. Randhawa, a key eyewitness in the case of Mr. Khalra. The Amnesty has called upon the international community to intervene on behalf of Mr. Randhawa and against suppression of ``evidence in this case.'' 6. In a letter to President Bill Clinton (9/12/00), seventeen Congressmen have pointed out that besides the mass murder of the Sikhs, ``India has also killed more than 200,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, over 70,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 1988, and tens of thousands of Dalits, Assamese, Tamils, and others.'' In an open letter to Prime Minister Vajpayee (NYT 9/8/00), Asian Indian Christians have expressed their ``deep concerns regarding the persecution of Christians in India by extremist groups. Priests, missionaries and church workers have been murdered, nuns and other women assaulted, churches and schools bombed and burned, cemeteries desecrated, Christian institutions harassed and intimidated.'' The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended that India be closely monitored for ``denial of religious freedom to her people.'' 7. Some high profiled and officially blessed emissaries have been negotiating the nature of ``ransom'' for the release of Mr. Raj Kumar, a renowned movie actor, who has been kidnapped by a notorious bandit Mr. Veerappan in South India. The ``ransom'' includes, inter alia, the demand by the bandit to release more than 100 of his associates from Indian jails. The officials agreed to comply with the ``ransom'' demands until the Supreme Court intervened to delay the official duplicity. 8. In complete contrast with the ``ransom'' negotiations with a bandit, the Government has spent hundreds and thousands of dollars to provide unreliable and tainted evidence against young Sikhs, like Sardars Sukhminder Singh (Sukhi) and Ranjit Singh (Kuki)--who have been advocating the creation of an environment in Punjab where the aspirations of the Sikh nation can find full expression. India's intelligence agencies have hounded Sukhminder and Ranjt around the world and then dragged them to India's torture chambers through a decade-long and expensive extradition proceeding in the U.S. 9. Instead of offering an apology to the people of Punjab (for state terrorism and crime of genocide committed by India's paramilitary forces over the last two decades), and initiating the process of restitution, the Indian Government continues pouring salt on the wounds of the people of Punjab, through a policy of deception and distortion. 10. RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP, in a secret memorandum to its local units, has recently outlined a master plan for ethnic cleansing in India by wiping out all the minorities--through water and food poisoning, rape, orchestrated conflicts, riots, mass killing and disposal of bodies, etc.--whether they are Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits, Budhhists, and others. This ``final solution,'' is reminiscent of Nazi genocide of the Jews and other minorities during WW II. It is no wonder that the Indian Government is silent on this very serious issue of national and international concern. 11. The 1985 agreement regarding the rehabilitation of the Sikh soldiers, who had protested, as a matter of deep faith and conscience, against the Indian Army's brutal attack on the Golden Temple Complex and almost forty other Sikh shrines, has not been honored. Many of these soldiers are living in poverty. The families of those, who have died during the attack are living under appalling conditions. 12. India's nuclear arsenal hovers over Punjab and escalating conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir endangers the very survival of Punjab. 13. The water from Punjab's rivers is still being diverted to other states, without the consent of Punjab and without a fair compensation to Punjab. Since the Punjabi farmers are forced to rely more and more on tube-wells (a more expensive alternative), the water level in Punjab is sinking lower and lower, seriously endangering its agricultural economy. Punjab's farmers, who have ushered in the green revolution, are still being robbed of their hard earned income, through the Government's arbitrary procurement policy. Many of them are committing suicide because of increasing bankruptcies-- the byproduct of official arrogance and discrimination, and 14. Finally, the Sikh nation is still yearning for ``freedom, justice, and peace,'' as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is aspiring for self-determination in accordance with Articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter. We would like to realize this quest for self- determination within the framework of a regional commonwealth of free nations (like the European Union). This South Asian Commonwealth, consisting of India, Pakistan, Punjab, Kashmir, Nagaland, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Tamil Homeland, Nepal, and others, can usher in a new era of freedom, justice and peace for all in the subcontinent. By the same token, it can liberate the entire region from this lethal armament race and constant fear of mutual annihilation through a nuclear holocaust. The resources, worth billions of dollars, saved through the elimination of the weapons of mass murder, can be utilized for meeting the basic needs of the people of South Asia--like education, housing, health, food, drinking water, social welfare, and employment.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I submit the following exchange of letters between myself and Chairman Archer regarding H.R. 3218: House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC, October 17, 2000. Hon. Dan Burton, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I understand that you have requested that H.R. 3218, the ``Social Security Number Confidentiality Act of 1999,'' be scheduled for consideration on the House floor under suspension of the Rules. H.R. 3218 would ensure that Social Security numbers (SSNs) do not appear on or through the unopened mailings of Treasury checks. The bill as introduced was referred to the Committee on Government Reform. As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means has jurisdiction over ``National Social Security.'' The use of the SSN within the government sector falls within that subject matter jurisdiction, and the Committee has legislated in the past on the issue of the use of the SSN and its display. In fact a provision related to H.R. 3218 is found in section 101 of H.R. 4857, the Social Security Privacy and Identity Protection Act of 2000, which was ordered favorably reported by the Committee on Ways and Means on September 29, 2000. Accordingly, I have confirmed the Committee on Ways and Means has a valid claim on H.R. 3218. Notwithstanding this determination, and in order to expedite consideration of this important time-sensitive legislation, I have no objection to its consideration by the House at this time. This is being done with the understanding that the Committee on Ways and Means will be treated without prejudice with respect to its jurisdictional rights during future consideration of this or similar legislation in the future. I would further request that you include a copy of this letter in the Record, as well as your written response. With warm personal regards, I am Sincerely, Bill Archer, Chairman.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of my colleagues to a very disturbing Op Ed article by Professor Amos Perlmutter (``More words than deeds on Kazakhstan?'' in the Washington Times of October 4, 2000), detailing how the Clinton- Gore Administration has dropped the ball in promoting democracy and respect for human rights in Kazakhstan. Time after time, Kazakhstan's ruthless and corrupt President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has made promises to Vice President Gore and others in the Administration and has then failed to deliver on those promises. And so as Professor Perlmutter puts it, the Nazarbayev regime continues its campaign of ``relentlessly destroying the opposition, closing the free press and involving itself in corrupt schemes.'' It should have been possible for the United States, which has had the support of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe as well as numerous non-governmental human rights organizations, to insist that Nazarbayev fulfill the promises he made on human rights and free elections as a price for legitimacy in American eyes. Sadly, however, it seems clear that Clinton-Gore Administration has pulled its punches, because it wants oil rich Kazakhstan's support for an oil pipeline that does not go through Russia. What is particularly troublesome in this regard is that the United States should not be turning a blind eye to repression and corruption in order to persuade Kazakhstan to do something that is in its interest in any event. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit Professor Perlmutter's article for the Record. More Words Than Deeds on Kazakhstan? (By Amos Perlmutter) The Clinton-Gore administration relationship with Nursultan Nazarbayev's corrupt dictatorship in Kazakhstan is, once again, making news. Not without reason. The case is that the administration failed to defend political freedom and free enterprise in Kazakhstan. They talked the talk without walking the walk when it come to challenging the Nazarbayev dictatorship. Promises from Mr. Nazarbayev went unfulfilled. The administration failed to support the claims of human rights organizations, non-government organizations (NGOs), and the OSCE that the Nazarbayev government is not only failing to undergo democratic changes as a price for support from the United States, but also is relentlessly destroying the opposition, closing the free press and involving itself in corrupt schemes. The effort to support this regime was conceived in conformity with the American national interest. After all, there are three reasons for U.S. strategic interest in Kazakhstan: oil, nukes and independence. Kazakhstan has been one of the Soviet Union's major oil reserves, and continues to be a most significant oil reserve and also a Caspian littoral state. Josef Stalin made Kazakhstan a Soviet nuclear arsenal. Independence was the goal of both the Bush and Clinton administrations, to strengthen Central Asia non-Russian Muslim states, and to move them in the direction of democracy and free enterprise. There was a tacit strategic purpose in separating Kazakhstan from Russia's historical imperial linkages (an exercise in futility). Kazakhstan is the most Russified Central Asian state, with close to 30 percent of its population Russians who serve as the main scientific industrial and business elite. However, the Clinton administration sank into the pool of oil that inadvertently led to the most serious corruption of the Nazarbayev dictatorship by failing to resist the dictatorship. One of the administration's major foreign policy goals was humanitarian intervention to help bring an end to former communist dictatorships in the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. In fact, the administration conducted a ``humanitarian war'' in Kosovo. The idea of a humanitarian and exemplary intervention, i.e. support of opposition groups in Kazakhstan, free press, and democracy was sacrificed, unfortunately, to the pool of oil. The administration was not directly involved in support of the dictatorship. But it failed to vigorously resist the Nazarbayev violation of human rights, dissolution of the Kazakh parliament on two occasions, and above all the closing the only two opposition papers and the rigging of the 1999 elections. In defense of the administration you could say diplomatic gobbledygook and securing unfulfilled promises form Mr. Nazarbayev was unfortunately subordinated to oil and nuclear strategic policies. The embassy in Kazakhstan continuously reported to the U.S. State Department on Mr. Nazarbayev's violations of human rights. In fact, the OSCE, human rights groups, non-government organizations (NGOs), and other groups have warned the administration and continuously protested Mr. Nazarbayev's dictatorship and suppression of freedom in Kazakhstan. Leon Fuerth, Vice President Al Gore's national security adviser, and his assistant, Richard Brody, met on Sept. 15, 1999, at the Old Executive Office Building to discuss Nazarbayev to the United States. Attending were several people from the State Department, regional and human rights bureaus, as well as the Human Rights Foundation, and the Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation. Mr. Fuerth was on the defensive throughout the meeting, as the various representatives pressed hard the argument that the meeting was a mistake at that time, since Mr. Nazarbayev would interpret it as an endorsement of his behavior. According to one of the participants, Mr. Fuerth was unpersuasive and ineffective in defending the purpose for the visit of Mr. Nazarbayev to United States. The issue at stake was Kazakhstan's MiG sales to North Korea and the failure of democracy. When Mr. Nazarbayev promised Mr. Gore the next election ``would be better,'' the OSCE report on the 1999 elections in Kazakhstan were still pending. Mr. Fuerth said at the meeting, ``We will adopt its [OSCE's] finding as leverage on Nazarbayev.'' Mr. Fuerth continued, ``Our government has been saying repeatedly, and the vice president personally, pay attention to what the monitors are saying about your, i.e., Nazarbayev's, elections.'' Mr. Fuerth said Mr. Nazarbayev is ``not your poster boy'' for democracy and freedom. Mr. Fuerth said, ``Gore sees his personal relationship as essential to prodding Nazarbayev toward democracy.'' America's goals include, says Mr. Fuerth, ``carrying Kazakhstan to a modern self-sustaining state at every level of societal concern. . . . We are into their affairs at an fantastic level of detail, and that is only possible with the political support of Nazarbayev and this [Gore-Nazarbayev] commission and the commitment of the United States to a face- to-face meeting with the vice president.'' Mr. Fuerth continued to say the United States must persuade them to ``more and more perfect democracy,'' and he is ``perfectly aware of the imperfections.'' According to Mr. Fuerth, Mr. Gore's message is ``Democracy is on the agenda. Democracy is not our idiosyncrasy.'' He describes Mr. Gore's agenda as follows: ``Democracy and elections are essential parts of the relationship Nazarbayev wants with the U.S. Gore will explain why a valid election is indispensable if he [Mr. Nazarbayev] wants the relationship he seeks.'' After meeting with the president, Mr. Nazarbayev went back home and continued in his oil-mired practices, human-rights violations and the creation of his position as president for life. Since Mr. Gore was given the portfolio on Russia and the independent states of the former Soviet Union, the essential difference between what the Cox Report finds in the case of Russia and the administration policy toward Kazakhstan is that in the case of Russia it was mired with good intentions for reform that turned sour because of support for Boris Yeltsin's corrupt, undemocratic government. You cannot tell Russia, a major power, what to do, while the situation in Kazakhstan was totally different. Not only was the United States in the position to help implement the recommendations for democracy and freedom in Kazakhstan, it coddled the dictator and made no impact whatsoever or follow up on the promises made my Mr. Nazarbayev to Mr. Gore to advance the democracy in Kazakhstan. In the case of Kazakhstan, the United States was in a stronger position than in Russia, with the support of OSCE, multiple human rights organizations and NGOs, to impose upon the dictatorship to implement their promises made on human rights and free elections as a price for legitimacy in American eyes. They did not do it. The administration tacitly accepted Mr. Nazarbayev's defense that there is an emergent democracy in Kazakhstan and it is a question of ``time.'' It seems the Clinton-Gore administration did not try very hard to institutionalize and implement their commitments to democracy, free elections, and an open press in the case of Kazakhstan.