Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about Lazaro Miguel Rodriguez Capote, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. Mr. Rodriguez Capote is a member of the Cuban Pro Human Rights Party and a peaceful pro-democracy activist in totalitarian Cuba. As an opponent of the tyrannical regime in Havana, he has worked for basic human rights for the people of Cuba despite constant harassment and repression because he believes the Cuban people are entitled to basic human rights and democracy; in other words, freedom from tyranny. On February 24, 1996, three U.S. citizens and a resident of Florida were assassinated when two civilian Brothers to the Rescue aircraft, on a humanitarian mission, were destroyed in international airspace by Cuban MiGs on the direct order of the Cuban dictator. The downing of the Brothers to the Rescue airplanes over international waters by the tyranny left an indelible impression on the consciences of Cuban pro- democracy activists and in countless millions throughout the world. Mr. Rodriguez Capote was one of the many human rights activists in totalitarian Cuba who sought to commemorate the tragic deaths of these men but who was prohibited from demonstrating by the tyranny. Although Mr. Rodriguez Capote was threatened by state security thugs prior to his participation in peaceful demonstrations, he refused to allow his voice to be silenced. Consequently, he was wrongfully arrested on February 22, 2002 on trumped-up charges of ``espionage and enemy propaganda''. Mr. Rodriguez Capote was summarily incarcerated and to this day languishes in grotesque subhuman conditions without having even been tried for a single crime. He is being held indefinitely in a totalitarian dungeon, suffering abhorrent conditions because he refuses to accept the reality inflicted upon Cuba by the tyranny. Since his incarceration he has held several hunger strikes to attract attention to the plight of Cuban political prisoners, Mr. Rodriguez Capote is one of the many heroes of the peaceful Cuban democratic movement who are locked in the dungeons of the dictatorship for their beliefs. These men and women are symbols of freedom and democracy, who will always be remembered when freedom reigns again in Cuba. Madam Speaker, let me be very clear, the brutal repression practiced by the tyranny in Havana is incompatible with the democratic values and the international law of our hemisphere. Mr. Rodriguez Capote is suffering in a dungeon because he believes in freedom, democracy and human rights. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Lazaro Miguel Rodriguez Capote and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we are going to oppose the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, I will amend the rule to make in order two amendments Mr. Dent of Pennsylvania offered last night at the Rules Committee. Mr. Dent, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, testified on behalf of his amendments, but the Democratic majority of the Rules Committee all voted against making these important amendments in order. These amendments would establish a screening program for individuals who are arriving at or departing from the U.S. through covered transportation, namely, by passenger rail and bus. His amendments would also require carriers who provide transportation to people entering the U.S. to provide passenger information to Customs and Border Protection. Mr. Dent's amendments would implement one of the key 9/11 Commission recommendations, which stated: ``Information systems able to detect potential terrorist indicators should be used at primary border inspection lines, in immigration services offices, and in intelligence and enforcement units.'' During the recent campaign, the Democrats pledged to enact all of the 9/11 Commission recommendations. By not allowing Mr. Dent's amendments, they are ignoring a loophole for the terrorists to exploit and are reneging on a promise they made to the American people to protect them. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert in the Record a copy of the amendment and extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), one such distinguished Member who had two germane amendments before the Rules Committee that were shut out. He is the ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), for the time. I yield myself such time as I may consume. At about 9 a.m. on July 5, 2005, three bombs went off within 50 seconds of each other in the London underground. Less than an hour later there was another explosion in one of London's double-decker buses. The bombings killed over 50 people and injured approximately 700. On March 11, 2004, the Spanish people also faced an attack on their rail system. Like the attacks in London, in that attack the terrorists exploded multiple bombs on four trains packed with early morning commuters. The attacks killed almost 200 and left at least 1,800 injured in Madrid. Mr. Speaker, those attacks were a warning to us on this side of the Atlantic that just as terrorists can take advantage of our airlines to carry out cowardly acts, they can do the same with our public service transportation systems. With this in mind, the House of Representatives last year passed comprehensive rail and mass transit security legislation. The legislation was included in H.R. 5814, the Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007. Unfortunately, the session of Congress ended before that important legislation could be enacted into law. Public transit moves more people on a given day than any other mode of transportation worldwide. Transit sustains the economic vitality of any community. In heavily populated areas like Miami-Dade County, one of the counties that I am honored to represent, many people depend on public transit for cost efficiency and convenience. The provision of safe transit requires a significant investment in technology to protect infrastructure, equipment, workers and, of course, the passenger. H.R. 1401 makes it possible for Congress to invest in public transportation security. And in my district, Miami-Dade Transit is also responsible for the evacuation of the general public, including disabled persons, in moments of crisis. This bill provides critical funding for evacuation improvements. Miami-Dade County would be eligible for funds, regardless of whether the evacuation is due to terrorism or natural disasters. Although Miami-Dade Transit has a fleet of over 360 paratransit vehicles and over 1,000 buses and approximately 45 miles of rail, they do not have mobile communication service equipment. This means that all modes do not have a way to communicate with each other during an evacuation procedure. This bill takes into account those needs and provides for security improvements to stations' surveillance equipment, public awareness campaigns, and GPS systems. I would like to point out, Mr. Speaker, that this bill includes risk- based grants. In their final report to Congress, the 9/11 Commission criticized the existing process for allocation of Federal homeland security assistance grants, recommending that the distribution not, I quote, ``remain a program for general revenue sharing.'' Given the limited resources of Federal aid, distributing grants based on risk is really the only appropriate way to apportion grants. In order to ensure that our taxpayer funds are spent as efficiently and effectively as possible, we need to focus our resources at those sectors under the greatest threat. When I was a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, I worked hard to ensure that Homeland Security grant funds are distributed through risk-based assessments. I commend the Homeland Security Committee for following through on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and including risk as the primary motive for distribution of grants in this legislation. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Rules Committee met to report out a rule for this legislation. The rule that we are now debating closes out several important and germane amendments. Two amendments by my friend, Mr. Mica, the ranking member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, were excluded by the majority on the Rules Committee, even though they were germane and, obviously, from a key committee with jurisdiction. Another of my Florida colleagues, Representative Ginny Brown-Waite, offered an amendment last night that would have strengthened protections for all sensitive security information related to rail and mass transit plans and procedures. That amendment also was blocked by the majority on the Rules Committee. I think it was unnecessary and unfortunate for the majority in the Committee on Rules to continue to close the legislative process in the 110th Congress. Mr. Speaker, one thing, an additional point I would like to make, I would like to point out to my colleagues that the majority is now including in this section 2 language which allows the Speaker to postpone consideration of the bill at any time in every rule. It is including that language now in every rule. It is interesting, since this is a structured rule, which means that the bill will be considered in the Committee of the Whole. This is very precedent-setting because in previous Congresses this language has never been included on structured rules. It is typically only included on a closed rule or a modified closed rule where the bill is being considered in the House and not in the Committee of the Whole. And in previous Congresses it was only included when debate was scheduled to last more than the traditional 1 hour in the House. So I find this strange, because when the House is in the Committee of the Whole, it can simply rise and postpone consideration. I find it curious as to why the new majority is extending this authority now to all rules, even when it doesn't seem necessary. Could it be that the majority is intending to quash the minority's lone procedural guarantee, the motion to recommit? I am afraid that that may be exactly what it amounts to, Mr. Speaker, because there is no other procedural excuse for this language being included in a structured rule. It is not necessary for the Speaker to have this authority unless they want to postpone consideration just prior to the vote on the motion to recommit. This is just another example, Mr. Speaker, of the seemingly small, yet significant, precedents that the new Democratic majority is setting, creating new ways to silence the voice of the minority. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, yielding myself such time as I may consume before yielding to my good friend from New York, it is important to note when, again, seemingly small but significant precedents are changed. This is a precedent change. We have not seen it for many, many years. With regard to the motions to recommit, what we have seen in this Congress is that they often have been passing. But that is more precisely because the membership, when finding out the merits of the motions to recommit on a bipartisan basis have been supporting them. But, no, it is of concern, and it is important to note that if there is a step being taken, as it seems that it is being taken, to limit that very important, often sole procedural remedy available to the minority which is the motion to recommit, that it is very disturbing. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my distinguished friend from New York (Mr. King).

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, at this time it is my pleasure and privilege to yield 4 minutes to my distinguished friend and colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent).

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 3 minutes to our distinguished colleague from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite).

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, at this time it is my privilege to yield 4 minutes to a distinguished new Member who is already making an impact in this House with his forceful leadership and his knowledge and wisdom, Mr. Bilirakis.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield 2 minutes to our distinguished colleague from California, Mr. Lungren.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about Francisco Herodes Diaz Echemendia, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. Mr. Diaz Echemendia is a member of the respected Pedro Luis Boitel organization named for Pedro Luis Boitel, a heroic, legendary Cuban political prisoner who died in a hunger strike in 1972. This organization, based in Placetas, Villa Clara, with provincial delegations throughout Cuba, has the primary objective of urging the Cuban tyranny to grant amnesty to all political prisoners and to abolish the indefensible ``political'' crimes in totalitarian Cuba. Well aware of the consequences associated with his involvement in Cuba's pro-democracy movement, Mr. Diaz Echemendia has never relinquished his dream that the men and women of Cuba deserve freedom, democracy, and fundamental human rights. Because of his belief in these inalienable rights, Mr. Diaz Echemendia was arrested by the dictatorship on August 9, 1990 on absurd charges of ``enemy propaganda, sabotage, and disrespect'' which amounted to nothing more than his decision to voice the truth about totalitarian Cuba. For his supposed ``crime'' Mr. Diaz Echemendia was wrongfully and cruelly ``sentenced'' to twenty years and ten months in the totalitarian gulag. On September 10, 1997, after being held in a subhuman dungeon for seven years, over thirty of the tyrant's security thugs savagely attacked Mr. Diaz Echemendia and other incarcerated human rights activists. Mr. Diaz Echemendia was mercilessly punched and kicked on the neck, ribs, back and face. By the time the thugs ceased committing their crimes against him he had suffered severe injuries to his left arm and his nose and lips had been split wide open. To add insult to injury he and his fellow political prisoners were handcuffed and unable to defend themselves against their attackers throughout the entire brutal assault. Madam Speaker, Mr. Diaz Echemendia languishes in conditions that according to Amnesty International are rat infested and crawling with mice and cockroaches, with nothing but a small hole in the ground as a ``bathroom''. In prison Mr. Diaz Echemendia has been beaten and tortured at the orders of a racist, brutal, maniacal tyrant, simply for dreaming that the Cuban people must have basic and fundamental universal human rights. Madam Speaker, this is only one of the abhorrent episodes of violence that are continually carried out on countless innocent Cuban men and women languishing in the darkness and infernal hell that is Castro's gulag. Let me be clear, Mr. Diaz Echemendia suffers cruel and malignant acts of hatred and horror, which have often left him, like many others on that oppressed island, in critical condition without any access to medical care. And yet, though the tyranny has attempted to destroy Mr. Diaz Echemendia, he will never cease in his commitment to freedom for Cuba. My colleagues, it is unconscionable that just 90 miles from our shores Mr. Diaz Echemendia is languishing in a totalitarian gulag for his belief in freedom. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate release of Francisco Herodes Diaz Echemendia and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from California for the time. I rise to strongly oppose this rule and the underlying legislation that is being brought to the floor. For obviously substantive grounds, I oppose the legislation being brought to the floor. I think that we are at a decisive time, more even than a critical time, a decisive time in the conflict in Iraq. And I think that now to be substantively, as this legislation does, tying the hands of our military personnel and, in effect, saying, well, if things don't go totally appropriately, totally correctly, if they don't go right, then you must withdraw. And I think about other wars in the past and what would have happened if we would have had those kinds of requisites. If we had tied the hands of the military leaders in the past, there would have been disaster then. There would be disaster now if this legislation passes. And for procedural reasons also, Mr. Speaker, I am strongly against this legislation. As strongly as I oppose some of the amendments that were brought forth to the Rules Committee, I supported the right of Members to bring forth those ideas and have them considered, but the majority in the Rules Committee rejected them. During the time that we were in the majority, we never brought a wartime supplemental bill to this floor with a closed rule. It is unfortunate that the majority is doing so today. For the substantive reasons that I have mentioned and many others, Mr. Speaker, as well as the significant procedural reasons that I have touched upon, that this House is being closed down with regard to the ability to present amendments today, I urge rejection of this rule as well as of the legislation being brought forth today.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman and all who have participated in this debate for having done so. I think it has been a good debate. I simply want to reiterate that on such an important issue, I am sorry that we do not have a truly open rule, one that obviously would satisfy any definition of the word. Under an open rule, for example, Mrs. Biggert could have had her hold-harmless amendment discussed and debated by the full House, as well as Dr. Price and others who wanted to have their amendments debated and discussed. I would simply urge and request of my friends on the other side of the aisle that not only on noncontroversial bills should we have the ability for the minority to be heard, not only on noncontroversial bills or bills of consensus should there be open rules, but rather there should be open rules on other legislation, legislation where there will be genuine debate and even disagreement and discussion. Madam Speaker, having said that, having no other speakers, and reiterating our opposition to the rule, and looking forward to the debate on the underlying legislation, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We are grateful for the tolerance in the gentleman's committee with regard to the amendment presented by Mrs. Biggert. The Rules Committee could have been equally tolerant. Let us be clear. In other words, the Rules Committee waives points of order, Madam Speaker, with regard to the whole bill; so, obviously, they could have waived a point of order with regard to the issue of germaneness for Mrs. Biggert. So the Rules Committee could have been amply tolerant. And that is one of the reasons, since the Rules Committee majority was not, with regard to our colleague who has put so much work into this issue to hold harmless the public housing agencies for the remainder of this year from the mistake made by the majority in the so-called continuing resolution, that we believe that she should have been able to make her point before all of the Members. Madam Speaker, at this point I would like to yield 3 minutes to my distinguished friend from Alabama (Mr. Bachus).

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Reclaiming my time, I don't know exactly where the standard is in height. I will say that the promise was an open process, and that process does not exist, and that promise has not been kept. And in bill after bill after bill, the minority is closed out. Now, it is true that some open rules have been permitted on legislation that we would bring forth under suspension. Madam Speaker, when bills are noncontroversial, many times they are brought forth under a process called suspension of the rules when there is mostly unanimity or often unanimity or almost unanimity in this House. Yes. So in bills like that we have seen some open rules where the minority has been able to have the amendments that it wishes to be considered. But I just want to remind colleagues that may be listening to this debate, Madam Speaker, that when I point to Mrs. Biggert, it is not a theoretical, you know, height issue, whether so much height of a promise has been met. No. No. Mrs. Biggert is here and Mrs. Biggert is a colleague, and she went before the Rules Committee with an amendment that I thought was an important amendment and that she has worked hard on, and she was closed out. As a matter of fact, I would like to recognize, at this point, another colleague, and then I will recognize Mrs. Biggert. I yield 4 minutes to my good friend, Dr. Price, who also had an amendment, a germane amendment, that he has worked on, that he has given thought and effort to and he brought to the Rules Committee so that we here could consider it today. And he was closed out. So, again, not theory, not height, not almost closed, almost open. The gentleman from Georgia exists. I yield 4 minutes to Dr. Price.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, at this time I yield 4 minutes to my distinguished friend from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), who also had an amendment that was closed out, closed out by the majority in the Rules Committee.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume before yielding to my good friend from Georgia. I think a fundamental part of the role of the opposition of the minority is to hold the majority accountable, not only to history, which our friend from Massachusetts is making reference to, but accountable with regard to the promises made by the majority. And so it was the majority that reiterated that they would bring an open process. And, for example, we are already seeing not only, we have seen in bill after bill after bill, the minority closed out. But also, for example, rules passed by the majority, for example, requiring 3 days for people to view legislation before it comes to the floor, rules like that being waived. So let's see, for example, what is done on the supplemental appropriations bill. Are they going to waive the rule passed by the majority requiring 3 days? Are they going to waive it with regard to that legislation as well? And my friends on the other side of the aisle point out that, I think they said this is almost an open rule. It is not an open rule. Mrs. Biggert, I mentioned before, had an amendment to hold harmless the public housing agencies from the effects of the change in the formula in the middle of the fiscal year with regard to section 8. And her amendment was not made in order. So it is important to point that out. No, this is not an open rule nor an almost open rule nor a semi- or a pseudo-open rule. It is not an open rule.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I would like to thank the distinguished gentleman from Vermont, my friend Mr. Welch, for the time, and yield myself such time as I may consume. On August 24, 1992, I remember Hurricane Andrew, category 5 storm, devastated my community, with wind gusts of over 200 miles per hour. That storm caused over $26 billion of damage to south Florida. Entire communities were destroyed. Hurricane Andrew caused 43 deaths, destroyed over 125,000 homes, left approximately 180,000 people homeless, and wiped out approximately 80 percent of the area's farms. Until Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast in 2005, Hurricane Andrew was the costliest natural disaster in the United States' history. We in south Florida were very fortunate to receive generous assistance from fellow Americans in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. I know that assistance was essential for recovery, as it is for recovery in the gulf coast. As someone who experienced Hurricane Andrew firsthand, I have an idea of the trials that confront those who live through horrific storms. The road to recovery is long and difficult. It doesn't come easy. But communities must come together and put all of their efforts into rebuilding and meeting the needs of the residents. We cannot walk away from our obligations to our fellow Americans. And, just as we did after Andrew, together we must build, together we must recover, together we must be better and stronger than before. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, the Republican majority in this Congress committed over $100 billion to help the area confront the immediate aftermath of the storm and to deal with the recovery effort. Included in that were $16.7 billion, almost $17 billion for the Community Development Block Grant programs. States applied for those funds through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. So far, HUD has approved under $11 billion of those funds to affected States. Madam Speaker, we all agree that those who wish to return to New Orleans or other devastated areas should be able to do so. This is the position of Mr. Alphonso Jackson, the Housing and Urban Development Secretary, which he reiterated in August when he said during a visit to New Orleans, ``Every family who wants to come home should have the opportunity to come back.'' We should all do what we can to make certain that we rebuild, that we see communities rebuild and become even more robust and safer communities. The underlying legislation seeks to assist in the provision of affordable housing to low-income families affected by Hurricane Katrina. There is some concern, Madam Speaker, that the legislation goes beyond the scope of the bill's stated intent. For example, the legislation seeks to turn what is currently a temporary disaster voucher program into a permanent voucher, and to require HUD to provide tenant replacement vouchers for all public housing units not brought back on line, including those slated for demolition prior to the storms. The American people have demonstrated their resiliency before and will do so again. Obviously our prayers continue to go out to the victims and their families of these horrific natural disasters. The spirit of community, generosity, and goodwill across the country continues to give me confidence that Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, just as Florida did before, will recover from these tragedies stronger and better than before. I would like to thank the distinguished chairman of the Financial Services Committee. He listened to the needs of Miami-Dade County with regard to how the distribution formula for HUD section 8, when it was changed in the CR that this Congress passed some weeks back. There was damage, damage cost, and the chairman is ameliorating and alleviating that damage, and we are grateful for that. Now, Mrs. Biggert, our colleague from Illinois, went before the Rules Committee with an amendment to hold harmless all of the public housing agents from the damage done by the change in the formula in the CR, to hold harmless all the agencies through this calendar year. I am sorry, I truly am, that the majority in the Rules Committee refused to make in order Mrs. Biggert's amendment, and that is one of the reasons why we are opposing the rule today. I think it is appropriate to point out that the majority is failing to live up to its commitment to run the House in an open and fair manner. The majority sent a notice to Members that they had until Monday at 10 a.m. to file amendments with the Rules Committee in order to be considered; however, the official committee report accompanying this bill was not filed until Friday, giving Members less than 1 business day to review the report and file amendments for consideration, not to mention the fact that most Members were already in their districts or traveling back home on Friday. So I think it is fair to ask the question, how can the majority expect Members to review the actions of the Committee on Financial Services in a timely manner when they barely give them a chance to review the committee report? The majority also promised to provide more open rules. Yes, they have provided several open rules on noncontroversial bills. I think it is important to ask, what about on bills where both sides do not necessarily agree on all aspects of the legislation? Will the majority continue to block amendments from the minority? What will they do on the supplemental appropriations bill? We shall soon find out. I believe it is fair to say, if the majority is serious about their commitment to openness, they should allow for open rules on the underlying legislation and the supplemental appropriations bill which is coming forth soon. Members of the minority are concerned that this bill, as I stated before, turns a temporary disaster voucher program into a permanent one, and the concern that of the $110 billion appropriated by the 109th Congress, only a small portion has been distributed to those in need. In response to these concerns, they offered several thoughtful and germane amendments to the Rules Committee to address their concerns; however, the majority once again closed them out. I think that is unfortunate, and, again, that is why, Madam Speaker, we oppose this rule. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, on the second anniversary of the enactment of Communist China's anti-secession legislation aimed at Taiwan, I wish to alert my colleagues of the tense military situation in the Taiwan Strait. Communist China at present has nearly a thousand guided missiles deployed along its southeastern coast, threatening the 23 million people living on Taiwan. Madam Speaker, as the world's leading democracy, the United States must make clear to Communist China that its ever expanding military buildup will only intensify the arms race in the Asia Pacific region and derail future cooperation. In addition to Communist China's military intimidation of Taiwan, its strategy to isolate Taiwan can be seen by its actions around the world, including encouraging other nations to de-recognize Taiwan, and doing everything possible to prevent Taiwan from participating in international organizations. Congress must encourage our Administration to carry out policies to help Taiwan participate in international organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Community for Democracy and others. Madam Speaker, it must be made clear to Communist China that it is in its interest to act responsibly in the international arena. Communist China must not be allowed to be a military threat to its neighbors. Communist China's anti-secession law against Taiwan has severely hurt the stability of the Taiwanese people and should be rescinded at once. In addition, it is imperative that Communist China fully consult the United States and the international community as it develops its space program, especially space surveillance and the military use of space.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of FLORIDA

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of FLORIDA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about Jose Antonio Mola Porro, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.