Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. So not only can we not have an hour, but now we have to finish our debate before hearing our opponents. No, again, we heard ``the disinfectant of sunlight'' has arrived. An interesting definition for what has arrived, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, what we are voting on today, this rules package, this provision, this title V, constitutes serious retrogression from progress made in this Congress throughout generations of work, of reform, from both parties, that has brought openness and transparency. The Rules Committee now is closed off from the public, and closed rules are brought to this floor in this rules package before we have even seen legislation. Most unfortunate, Madam Speaker.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. No, I have not.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I thank my dear friend, and, Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased that my friend and dear chairman of the Rules Committee, Ms. Slaughter, pointed out as she spoke, I heard her speak that most of the ethics package was precisely the one that we had proposed last year. What is very disturbing, however, and really disappointing, Mr. Speaker, are a number of the items that have been included that Mr. Dreier referred to previously. It is extremely disappointing to see that one of the great advancements of this Congress over the last two centuries, which has been to bring a transparency to our votes, because you know, Mr. Speaker, it used to be even on the floor of the House votes would take place that were not roll call votes, they were not noted for the record and, thus, for the people; yet we moved forward and we changed that. And also in committee, votes had to be recorded. That has been one of the great advancements in the last two centuries in this Congress. And to see in the Committee on Rules, that I love so much, where we now in this rules package are faced with such a reversal of that progress and that great advancement of openness and transparency on the record, the requirement that the people will be able to see how the members of that committee vote, that has been eliminated, is being eliminated in this package, that is extremely disturbing. And everyone, Mr. Speaker, who loves this Congress should be saddened by what our friends on the other side of the aisle have included, specifically what I have just mentioned, that great reversal of progress in the rules package that has been brought forward today. So in the hope that that will be remedied and that our friends on the other side of the aisle will realize how sad that is, I rise today with great disappointment.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Sandra E. Ulsh. Sandra is president of the Ford Motor Company Fund, a philanthropic organization funded largely by Ford Motor Company profits. Ford Fund supports innovative programs that focus on education, American heritage and legacy, and safety. Under her leadership, Ford Motor Company Fund has also dedicated itself to celebrating cultural diversity and supporting programs that stimulate cross-cultural exchanges. Sandra received a bachelor's in mathematics and economics from Gettysburg College and an MBA from Lehigh University. She joined Ford as an economic analyst in 1978. She held numerous positions in Finance, including vehicle pricing manager, vehicle program finance manager, manager of business analysis and business plans for Truck Operations, and manager of Investor Relations. Sandra joined Ford's Governmental Affairs organization in 1996 as a strategic issues associate in the Corporate Economics and Strategies Issues office, and later became a legislative manager on Healthcare and Financial Service matters in Washington, DC. Prior to assuming her current position, Sandra was the director, Public Policy, Governmental Affairs. Along with her work at Ford Motor Company Fund, Sandra serves on various other nonprofit and advisory boards, including the Council of Michigan Foundations, ConnectMichigan Alliance, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Advisory Board, Dennis Archer Foundation, and America's Promise Leadership Council. Sandra will be retiring from her position at Ford Motor Company Fund on December 31st. I'm sure I'm not the only one impressed with her professionalism, dedication and the achievements reached by Ford Motor Company Fund during her leadership tenure. I wish to thank her for her exceptional service and wish Sandra well on all her future endeavors.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Efren Fernandez Fernandez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. Mr. Fernandez is a member of the Christian Liberation Movement and an opponent of the tyranny in Havana. In March of 2003, Mr. Fernandez was arrested as part of an abhorrent island-wide crackdown on peaceful pro- democracy activists who were calling for the most basic of human rights for Cuba. His participation in a collection of signatures in support of a call for some elemental rights for Cubans was all that the communist regime needed to incarcerate him. In a sham trial, Mr. Fernandez was sentenced to 12 years in the totalitarian gulag. He has endured numerous prison transfers and solitary confinements based only on his captors' whims and arbitrary reasons. Since his ``sentencing'', he has managed to survive against all odds in the most deplorable of human conditions. Mr. Fernandez' bravery and commitment to freedom has not wavered even though since his unjust incarceration he has lost more than thirty pounds and suffers from frequent fits of vomiting and chronic intestinal problems. According to Carta de Cuba, on September 7, 2006, Mr. Fernandez was administered antibiotics intravenously for an unidentified bacterial infection affecting his kidneys. Immediately following that treatment, Mr. Fernandez fainted and complained of experiencing severe heart palpitations and arterial tension. Let me be very clear, Mr. Fernandez is languishing in the totalitarian gulag simply for believing that every Cuban citizen has the fundamental right to live in freedom with the most basic of human rights and protections of their individual liberties. He suffers the consequences, no matter how brutal or at what risk to his health, and continues his dignified struggle for freedom on that oppressed island. It is unconscionable that a mere ninety miles from our shores, men and women are suffering in the darkness of totalitarian repression. Mr. Speaker, this constitutes a crime against humanity. Mr. Fernandez's only crime is to demand that basic human rights be restored to the people of Cuba. It is incumbent on all of us who serve in this great democratic body to recognize and remember the terrible plight of those brave men and women like Mr. Fernandez who suffer the living nightmare of despotic totalitarianism. Let us all join in demanding the immediate release of Efren Fernandez Fernandez and all political prisoners in Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Leoncio Rodriguez Ponce, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. Mr. Rodriguez Ponce is a member of the Pedro Luis Boitel Association of Political Prisoners and an opponent of the dictatorship of the Castro brothers. He has committed himself to doing everything possible to bringing an end to the dictatorshp and to restoring democracy to that enslaved island. Because of his steadfast belief in freedom, democracy and the rule of law, Mr. Rodriguez Ponce has constantly been targeted by the dictatorship. According to Prima News, Mr. Rodriguez Ponce was severely beaten in the gulag and confined to a punishment cell in 2002. According to Directorio, he has undertaken numerous hunger strikes while in the gulag to call attention to the gross human rights abuses in Cuba and in July of this year he courageously signed the following statement: The Pedro Luis Boitel Association of Political Prisoners would like to express, once again, its complete and unconditional support for the measures presented by the commission for a Free Cuba, and we urge the President of the United States of America, George W. Bush, to implement them immediately. Cuban political prisoners, conscious of the intolerance and lack of political will of the Havana regime, support all measures which pressure the dictatorship to concede to openings with the objective of restoring a democratic system in Cuba with the rule of law where each Cuban can exercise the inalienable prerogatives and freedoms which they possess by the single fact that they are human beings. We also support any initiative to offer support and help to the democratic forces that are struggling and resisting from inside Cuba in an unequal and titanic battle against the totalitarian hoards of hate and oppression. In the same way, we are sincerely encouraged by the great effort shown so that Cubans on the island may receive with greater reach and clarity truthful and objective information through Radio and Television Marti. With the clear conviction and certainty of the importance of depriving the regime of its repressive organs and resources which uphold it and consequently are used to harass citizens, we look with enthusiasm on any action to put an end to such a terrible situation. We Cubans long for and need democracy, and in order to obtain it we are willing to endure the greatest sacrifices. The government in Havana and its lackeys in the media are determined to distort the content and purpose of the aforementioned Commission. They try to make one think that it is a military threat from our neighbor to the north or an interventionist policy. On the contrary, the measures presented to the President of the United States by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba only seek to accelerate the nonviolent transition to democracy in Cuba, which will have as its protagonists Cubans both in and out of the island. For all of them, we urge all Cubans who long for the reestablishment of democracy and an open and pluralist society where the execution wall, exit permits, and exile cease to be paths for those who dissent from government policies, to support this initiative which together with others will contribute decisively to bringing down this unjust and undemocratic system which has lasted nearly half a century. And to the frontmen of Castro's government-run press, it is time to stop manipulating information. Far from attacking and cowardly disqualifying their adversaries, they should have the dignity of providing the people with transparent information in its whole and unadulterated state so that after knowing it, the people may come to their own conclusions, without Machiavellian interference and deliberate gaps. The contrary is deceit and political cowardice. Mr. Speaker, it takes extraordinary, truly admirable courage to sign a document that demands freedom when the signer knows the Castro brothers' machinery of repression will be unleashed on him and his family. Mr. Rodriguez Ponce is representative of the fighting spirit of the Cuban people: of their rejection of the brutality, discrimination, depravity, and oppression of the totalitarian tyranny. Mr. Rodriguez does not waiver in his conviction that freedom and democracy are the inalienable right of the Cuban people. It is a crime against humanity that Castro's totalitarian gulags are full of men and women, like Mr. Rodriguez, who represent the best of the Cuban nation. Let me be very clear, Mr. Rodriguez Ponce is imprisoned because he refuses to accept the Castro brothers' dictatorship in Cuba today. Mr. Speaker, we must speak out and act against the abominable violations of human rights, human dignity, and human freedom just 90 miles from our shore. My colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of a Leoncio Rodriguez Ponce and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Alberto Gil Triay Casales, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. Mr. Triay Casales is an independent journalist and the founder of the Estrella Solitaria information centre. According to Reporters Without Borders, Mr. Triay Casales also bravely wrote articles every week describing the truth about the horrors of life under Castro. Because of his belief in truth in print, truth for the people of Cuba and truth to enable the world to better comprehend the daily horrors of totalitarian Cuba, Mr. Triay Casales became a target of the totalitarian regime. Because of his commitment to exposing the truth about the nightmare that is the Castro regime, he was arrested on November 9, 2005. According to Reporters Without Borders, he was hospitalized after several heart attacks and then transferred back to the totalitarian gulag in December. His farcical ``trial'' took place on June 22, 2006, but he is still incarcerated in the gulag while he awaits the ``verdict.'' Reporters Without Borders recently released this statement regarding Mr. Triay Casales, ``We are also worried about the fate of Mr. Triay Casales, whose health is deteriorating. He has had several heart attacks and has high blood pressure. He also has a serious hip problem that could leave him disabled if it is not treated properly.'' I remind my colleagues that, under the Castro brothers' totalitarian regime, any freedom of the press, any effort to display the atrocities of the regime under the spotlight of truth, is met with exactly this type of swift and brutal repression. This report indicates exactly how abominable the conditions are in the gulag. Mr. Triay Casales has had multiple heart attacks because of the inhumane conditions in the gulag, yet he continues to advocate for freedom. Mr. Triay Casales is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. Despite incessant repression, harassment, incarceration and abuse, he remains committed to the conviction that freedom of the press, democracy and the rule of law are the inalienable right of the Cuban people. Let us never forget and always support those who are struggling to liberate peoples from the grip of tyranny. Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable that journalists such as Mr. Triay Casales are locked in dungeons for writing and publishing the facts about the nightmare that is the Cuban tyranny. My colleagues, we must fight for freedom whenever and wherever human beings are shackled by totalitarian dictators. We cannot allow peaceful pro-democracy activists to languish in the depraved prisons of tyrants. We must demand immediate freedom for Alberto Gil Triay Casales and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the sixth annual Comcast Cares Day in Miami-Dade County on October 7, 2006. Several hundred dedicated Comcast employees and their families will join together to help the children of our South Florida community. Nationwide, over 30,000 Comcast employees will take part in hundreds of projects that are vital community service contributions. This year, Comcast employees are donating their time to His House Children's Home. This exceptional program cares for South Florida children who have been abused, exposed to drugs, or neglected by offering them a home environment. In addition, His House provides necessary counseling and health care. And His House provides these services to over 200 local children in foster care. Comcast employees will use this day to spend time with the children in the residential program and perform needed upkeep and maintenance on the residential building and surrounding grounds. The dedication to service exhibited by local Comcast employees and their families should serve as an inspiration to all the residents of South Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to offer this statement declaring October 7, ``Comcast Cares Day 2006.''

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this important legislation. Is it perfect? No. Do we have an obligation to pass it? Yes. It is very important that this Congress passes it as soon as possible. First of all, the most important thing that this legislation does, that it accomplishes, is that it protects our troops and intelligence officers. Sources and methods of intelligence gathering are protected. The security of this country, the American people, thus and for many other reasons, the security of this country is protected and is enhanced by this legislation. And that is the most important ingredient, I believe, in this legislation. Secondly, it conforms with the rule of law, including international law, specifically common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Ad hoc courts are not acceptable. And what is necessary is established by this legislation, regularly constituted courts established by law, with judgments appealable to the Federal appellate court in the District of Columbia. The rule of law is satisfied by this legislation. It is a very delicately balanced legislation, that while satisfying our obligations under the Geneva Conventions, at the same time it protects the methods and sources of gathering intelligence and our intelligence officers and the troops in the field. This is very important legislation. It is important that the Congress pass it as soon as possible. I strongly support it and urge its passage.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues about Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, a Cuban hero who is a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. Dr. Biscet is a leading pro-democracy activist in totalitarian Cuba and one of the leaders of the democratic Cuba of tomorrow. Dr. Biscet is a medical doctor and the founder of the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights. He has dedicated his life to freedom and democracy and is a follower of Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Biscet is a man who has constantly opposed the tyranny in Cuba, and who has paid a tremendous price for his belief in freedom. In 1998, he was sentenced to 3 years in the gulag because he flew the Cuban flag upside down to protest the subhuman treatment of the Cuban people at the hands of the Castro tyranny. When he was ``released'' in October of 2002, he was out of prison only a few weeks when he was rounded up again and sentenced this time for ``association with enemies of the State,'' and he was sentenced, along with over 75 other peaceful pro-democracy leaders and independent journalists, to 25 years in the Cuban gulag. For the vast majority of the last 8 years, Dr. Biscet has lived in a gulag that can only be described as a living hell. Dr. Biscet has been placed in what is called ``the tomb.'' He is underground in solitary confinement, in a punishment cell. And so that he fully understood the dimension of his punishment, a serial killer was placed along with him in ``the tomb.'' Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet recently spoke by telephone with Mr. Amado Gil, a journalist in Miami, FL. The Coalition of Cuban-American Women transcribed, edited and translated this interview from Spanish to English. Prison Conditions The government of Cuba has tortured me during eight years; they have done so trying to drive me insane, though, thank God, I have been able to preserve my sanity . . . in reality, they continue torturing me because I live in a box with no windows or natural light, no water . . . with a mattress that feels as if one were sleeping on a plank, a stone . . . unfit for a human being . . . surrounded by criminals and under the threat, as it has happened on previous occasions, of being attacked by the government who instigates these dangerous prisoners . . . I believe that what the government is doing is torturing me to humiliate me so that I abandon the struggle on behalf of the freedom of my country but, thank God, I have been able to keep up my stance and will continue doing so with God's help . . . Symbolic Fast as of July 13, 2006 I began this fast (in prison) because I believe we should pray to God and demand our rights before the government, the right to be free which belongs to every person just for being a citizen. Our country has lived so long without any rights, under a dictatorship . . . I believe that we must demand rights that belong to us and, in everyone's interest, these liberties must be observed . . . In order to live a full life, it is essential to live in freedom and the Cuban people are denied these rights . . . that is why I'm initiating a fast along with other brothers (in prison) to demand that the government sign the international covenants of civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights--the Cuban regime must sign them and abide by them so that the Cuban people may live in freedom at last. . . . Message to the Cuban People The Cuban people must do their utmost in their struggle to win their freedom and succeed in obtaining the international support of all free and democratic countries. I trust that the Cuban people will prove their dignity as they have done so on other occasions, so that we may enjoy FREEDOM. . . . My colleagues, despite the hell that has been described, Dr. Biscet is unrelenting in his resolve for freedom for the people of Cuba. Dr. Biscet is a great patriot, a man of peace, and an apostle of freedom for Cuba. Dr. Biscet is a hero in the tradition of the great figures of Cuba's long struggle for liberty. Quintin Banderas, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, Ignacio Agramonte, Antonio Maceo, and thousands of other Cuban heroes established a tradition of heroism that today is being continued by countless men and women who have given their best years and often their lives for the freedom of Cuba. Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet is a hero in that same admirable tradition. Mr. Speaker, it is completely unacceptable that, while the world stands by in silence and acquiescence, Dr. Biscet languishes in the gulag because of his belief in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We cannot permit the brutal treatment by a demented and murderous tyrant of a man of peace like Dr. Biscet for simply supporting freedom for his people. My colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Oscar Elias Biscet and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Jose Manuel Caraballo Bravo, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. Mr. Caraballo Bravo is an independent journalist in totalitarian Cuba and has been a chronicler of truth amid the lies and deceit of the tyrant's villainous regime. Because of his belief in truth in print, truth for the people of Cuba and truth to enable the world to better comprehend the daily horrors of totalitarian Cuba, Mr. Caraballo Bravo was a target of the totalitarian regime. I remind my colleagues that, under Castro's totalitarian regime, any freedom of the press, any effort to display the atrocities of the regime under the spotlight of truth, is met with swift and violent repression. The courageous men and women, such as Mr. Caraballo Bravo, who write the truth are the enemies of Castro's totalitarian dictatorship. According to Reporters Without Borders, Mr. Caraballo Bravo was arrested just before the heinous crackdown of March 2003. Reporters Without Borders also reports that he was sentenced to three years in the totalitarian gulag for ``forging documents.'' Let me be very clear, Mr. Caraballo Bravo is currently languishing in the depraved conditions of the totalitarian gulag for his truthful articles. The U.S. State Department describes the conditions in the gulag as, ``harsh and life threatening.'' The State Department also reports that police and prison officials beat, neglect, isolate, and deny medical treatment to detainees and prisoners. It is a crime of the highest order that people are imprisoned in these nightmarish conditions simply for reporting the facts. Mr. Caraballo Bravo is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. Despite incessant repression, harassment, incarceration and abuse, he remains committed to the conviction that freedom of the press and democracy are inalienable rights of the Cuban people. Let us never forget and always support those who are struggling to liberate peoples from the grip of tyranny. Mr. Speaker, it is as inconceivable as it is unacceptable that, while the world stands by in silence and acquiescence, independent journalists who write the truth about totalitarian regimes are systematically tortured. In the 21st Century, it must no longer be acceptable for anyone in the world, anywhere in the world, to be locked in a gulag for writing the truth. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Jose Manuel Caraballo Bravo.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART. Thank you very much. I want to commend you and all of the distinguished colleagues who have spoken in this hour on this special order on this ultimately important matter, especially always important, but especially in this week when we recall one of the greatly tragic dates in our history. There have been other dates in our history that have been tragic, but in terms of an attack on unarmed civilians, September 11, 2001, is without precedent in terms of not only the cruelty with which harm was inflicted that day upon thousands of families, upon our great Nation, but in a cowardly way, in this way of unfortunately the new war, the war upon values, the war upon our way of life, the war where civilians are not only fair game, but the primary objective of the enemy. We have to learn from history in order to be able to act as effectively as possible to protect the homeland. We have to learn from history. Sometimes we even have to learn from the strangest sources, most unorthodox sources, the animal kingdom. The ostrich, for example. The ostrich, when in fear, adopts a curious position. It hides its head in the soil. Not only by doing so does it adopt physically a peculiar position, but it diminishes its security by doing so because it has not the ability to see what is happening in its surroundings. So even from sources as unorthodox and unexpected as the animal kingdom, specifically with the ostrich, we have to learn, because I would maintain, always respectfully, that some have adopted the position of the ostrich with regard to political positions and positions with regard to public policy, even as important as with regard to our national security. Hiding our heads in the soil, in the sand, to avoid seeing the fact that we have many enemies, is not an appropriate, not only physical position, but one that is conducive to security. On the contrary, we have many enemies. In recent history the enemy was acting with impunity. When the enemy acted in 1993, I remember I had just arrived in this Congress, Mr. Speaker. I had just arrived and we were meeting. I remember the Speaker-to-be Newt Gingrich, who at that time was not yet Speaker, was addressing us in a retreat in February of 1993. I had just arrived the previous month to this Congress. As he spoke, the news arrived about a dreadful terrorist attack upon civilians in New York City. I recall how then Congressman Newt Gingrich, who was to be the Speaker in the next Congress, addressed us and very calmly and with great wisdom told us that we were living in a new era, an era that included the savage attacks upon unarmed civilians by cowardly enemies. February 1993. The reality of the matter is that the enemy saw that it could act with impunity. And the years passed, and the enemy attacked again with impunity. And the enemy attacked again with impunity, attacked American embassies in different countries with impunity. The enemy went so far as to attack a vessel of the United States Navy, killing many sailors of the USS Cole, inflicting great harm upon the United States. The enemy acted with impunity. The enemy was convinced that it could continue to act with impunity, so it organized what became the most horrendous attack upon unarmed civilians in the history of the United States. And the enemy was convinced that it could continue to act with impunity. The enemy miscalculated because a new day had arrived in the United States of America and thus a new day had arrived in the world. The free world led as it is, and it must be by the United States of America. The enemy miscalculated. So from where the enemy had prepared the most horrendous attack upon civilians in history, thousands of miles away in terrorist training camps in a desolate country with a great people and a great history but a country that has suffered much, in Afghanistan. The enemy was convinced that geography, distance, and history, especially the lessons of recent history, would continue to protect it. But a new day had arrived, and, of course, the enemy did not act on September 11, 2001, with impunity. It acted in a cowardly way but not with impunity. And the United States of America, led by the Commander in Chief, attacked the enemy in Afghanistan and subsequently attacked the enemy in Iraq. And today the reality of the matter is that those who would like to and who dream and who, if they can, they actually plan to attack unarmed civilians in American towns and cities, those terrorists to a great extent today are occupied, trying to defeat, trying to inflict damage upon the United States Armed Forces in Iraq and our allies in Iraq, not in American towns and cities. And the fact that there has been no attack upon American civilians, American towns and cities for 5 years, the anniversary that we commemorate this year, is not by chance nor is it by luck. It is by hard work. Mr. Garrett, I am so glad that he spoke, whom I admire so much, like Mr. Wamp, who is here also. And Mr. Garrett talked about the actions of this Congress. I was tasked by Speaker Hastert in the last Congress to chair the subcommittee of the then temporary Homeland Security Committee that Speaker Hastert created. I was tasked with the job, a difficult job, among the most difficult jobs I have ever had because it is always difficult when you are dealing with committee chairmen and jurisdiction. It is a very difficult task. But he asked me to help him to create a permanent Homeland Security Committee. And in the last Congress that was what took up most of my time, and we succeeded, with the leadership of Speaker Hastert and with the help of the majority of our colleagues. We succeeded. We created a permanent Homeland Security Committee. And we have taken other steps that Mr. Garrett outlined, the PATRIOT Act and its reauthorization and many other steps, to try to make the homeland, the people of the United States of America as secure as possible. And we are more secure. We are safer today than we were 5 years ago. But when we see, as was pointed out, and it does not surprise me, but it is very rare to see the media talking about the fact that 90 miles from the shores of the United States this week, celebrating the fifth anniversary of 9/11, all of the state sponsors of terrorism throughout the world have gathered, and they are now gathering, receiving instructions and receiving orientation and inspiration from themselves and coordinating. They are today 90 miles from the shores of the United States. I think it is called, under the umbrella of the United Nations, the Summit of Nonaligned Countries. How interesting. Nonaligned. You have Mr. Ahmadinejad, who does not stop in his extraordinary pursuit of the atomic weapon and publicly says that he wishes to wipe from the face of the map a democracy and friend of the United States, Israel. You have Mr. Ahmadinejad now receiving inspiration as we speak, receiving inspiration and guidance from the other state sponsors of terrorism. And, of course, the state sponsor of terrorism with all that experience, the dictator in Havana with 47 years of experience exporting terrorism, attacking the United States of America in every form and every way possible as long as he can protect his totalitarian power. Mr. Ahmadinejad is there now, as is Mr. Chavez and all of the other state sponsors of terrorism. They are there. The North Koreans, the Syrians. You name them, Mr. Speaker, they are there. So the enemies, our enemies, the enemies of freedom, they haven't stopped in their efforts. So we must not stop either, working to protect not only the national security of this great land but the security and the safety of the people of this great land and of all of the freedom-loving people in the world as we work to expand that sacred right of freedom that all people are entitled to, including those who are oppressed by those state sponsors of terrorism. They may be oppressed by totalitarian states, but they have freedom in their hearts and they long to be free, and they deserve our support and they always will have it. I appreciate your convening us this evening on this ultimately important subject.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Mr. Goodlatte.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the rule provides 1 hour and 20 minutes of general debate, equally divided and controlled by the majority leader and the minority leader. The rule also provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Horse meat is generally not consumed by people in the United States, but more than approximately 90,000 were slaughtered for human consumption in 2005. Virtually all of those horses were slaughtered for export and sent to the largest markets for that product, to countries such as France and Belgium, where it is commonly served to humans. Another 30,000 were transported from the United States to Canada and Mexico for slaughter. A number of States currently have laws that prohibit slaughter or facilitating the slaughter of horses for human consumption, but there is not a nationwide ban. Last year during consideration of the fiscal 2006 agriculture appropriations bill, my good friends, distinguished Members Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Whitfield, offered an amendment to that bill that would have prohibited the expenditure of taxpayer dollars for slaughter plant and horse meat inspections, effectively ending the practice. The amendment passed the House with bipartisan support by a strong 269-158 vote. A similar amendment also passed the Senate. However, horse slaughter plants petitioned the USDA to allow fee-for-service inspections whereby the plants pay for the inspections. The USDA granted the request. To get around the limitation amendment, horse slaughter plants made that petition to the USDA to allow for inspections. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act would prohibit an individual from slaughtering a horse for human consumption in the United States and would also prevent the transportation of horses from the United States to Canada or Mexico for the purpose of slaughter for human food. This legislation, H.R. 503, was introduced by Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Whitfield. I commend both of them for their hard work on this issue, an issue that obviously is very important to them and their constituents. I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney), a prime author of this legislation. (Mr. SWEENEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield), who has done so much to bring this legislation to the floor.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 981 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Felix Gerardo Vega Ruiz, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. Mr. Vega Ruiz is a member of the Cuban Democratic Workers Union and the Pro Human Rights party. As a courageous member of the opposition, he has steadfastly demanded freedom, democracy, and human rights for the Cuban people. He has bravely denounced the cruel policies of the tyrant and demanded that the people of Cuba be allowed their inalienable rights. According to The Assembly to Promote Civil Society, Mr. Vega Ruiz was arrested by the dictatorship in 2003 and, after a sham trial, thrown into the totalitarian gulag. According to multiple sources, Mr. Vega Ruiz was sentenced to 7 years in the gulag. Let me be very clear, Mr. Vega Ruiz has been incarcerated in the gulag for daring to dream of and to work on behalf of a democratic Cuba. According to NetforCuba, Mr. Vega Ruiz has continued to oppose the tyrannical regime while locked in the gulag. He has conducted hunger strikes, including one that lasted 83 days and nearly killed him, to call attention to the horrific abuses of the dictatorship. He has also been stabbed while in the gulag. Let me say that again, Mr. Vega Ruiz has been stabbed while he languishes in the abhorrent gulag, and yet he continues to steadfastly oppose the gangster regime in Havana. Mr. Vega Ruiz is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. Mr. Vega Ruiz knows the violence, abuse, and repression that will be used to try to break him. Yet he stands strong in the strength of his conviction that the people of Cuba should be and will be free. Mr. Vega Ruiz is one of the many heroes of the Cuban democratic movement who are locked in the dungeons of the dictatorship for their beliefs. They are symbols of freedom and democracy who will always be remembered with respect and admiration when freedom reigns again in Cuba. Mr. Speaker, this courageous man is locked in the tyrant's gulag for failing to keep silent about the nightmare that is the Castro regime. It is unacceptable that, while the world stands by in silence and acquiescence, pro democracy activists like Mr. Vega Ruiz are systematically tortured. My Colleagues, we must never forget those who are locked in gulags because of their desire for freedom for their countries. We must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Felix Gerardo Vega Ruiz and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Alexander Santos Hernandez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. Mr. Santos Hernandez is a member of the pro-democracy opposition that seeks to return sovereignty, democracy and human rights to the Cuban people. According to reports, he is a member of the Cuban Liberal Movement, the director of an independent library and the national coordinator for the Eastern Democratic Alliance. Independent librarians in Cuba, such as Mr. Santos Hernandez, provide the indispensable service of circulating truth. These vital librarians loan out the classics of anti-totalitarian literature, including authors such as Vaclav Havel and Martin Luther King, Jr. As an outspoken opponent of tyranny who believes that liberty is an inalienable right, Mr. Santos Hernandez has been constantly targeted by the regime's machinery of repression. According to reports, in Nov. 2004, Mr. Santos Hernandez spent six months in the totalitarian gulag because he was ``convicted'' for ``disobedience.'' Despite the regime's constant gangster style repression, Mr. Santos Hernandez continued his efforts to bring freedom to Cuba. According to a report published on June 5, 2006, on Directorio.org, Mr. Santos Hernandez was recently ``convicted'' in another sham trial for the ``crime'' of ``social dangerousness.'' He was sentenced to 4 years in the abhorrent, subhuman, totalitarian gulag. The U.S. State Department reports that police and prison officials beat, neglect, isolate, and deny medical treatment to detainees and prisoners, including those convicted of political crimes. It is a crime of the highest order that people who work for freedom are imprisoned in these grotesque conditions. Freedom and democracy are on the march to inevitable victory in Cuba. Courageous leaders like Mr. Santos Hernandez defy the dictator's machinery of repression and, despite every threat and obstacle, demand liberty for the people of Cuba. Because of their unwavering commitment, and the works of thousands of other Cuban patriots, Cuba will be free again. Mr. Speaker, it is a profound embarrassment for mankind that the world stands by in silence and acquiescence while political prisoners are systematically tortured because of their belief in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We can never forget those who are locked in gulags because of their desire to be free. My colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Alexander Santos Hernandez and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

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

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

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

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Yeats wrote many wonderful, beautiful things. We in the Rules Committee deal with reality. The reality of the rule that we bring to the floor today in order to bring the underlying legislation on information technology for the health care industry brings forth and authorizes six amendments, six amendments to be debated by this House. Our function is to listen, and we listened hour after hour after hour after hour, with great respect, in the Rules Committee to our colleagues who come forth with multiple ideas. We bring forth six amendments for the consideration of this entire body today. Of the six amendments, four are authored by Members of the opposition, of the Democrat Party; one is a bipartisan amendment, Republican and Democrat; and one is a Republican amendment. We think we are being fair, Mr. Speaker. So we seek not to bring forth the beauty of Yeats, but in dealing with reality, in dealing with listening to hours of testimony from our colleagues, in authorizing four amendments of Democrats, one of a Republican, one of a bipartisan nature, we think we have done a fair job. And that is what we have authorized for consideration, for debate by this House in the rule that brings forward this very important legislation that we will be hearing about, and we will be hearing about as the authors of the legislation explain it in detail. I am very proud to be a supporter of the legislation. It is important that information technology reach as much of the health care industry, patients, as possible so that mistakes are avoided, and so that access to the great advances of technology are made available to the largest number of people. There are important issues that this legislation is going to be bringing forth and dealing with and that this debate will entail. Now, obviously in order for debate to begin, we have to pass the rule which sets the terms of the debate. We are proud of those terms of debate, the extraordinarily fair nature of the terms of that debate. As I have said, Mr. Speaker, four amendments made in order are Democrat amendments, one is a Republican amendment, one is a bipartisan amendment. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank all of my colleagues who have participated in this very interesting debate today. Much has been made by opponents of the legislation of arguments with regard to privacy protections. I think it is relevant and should be pointed out that the very significant and extensive privacy protections contained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 are not reduced in any way by this legislation that we bring forth to the floor today. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Mental Health Association have said in a letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee, ``The Energy and Commerce language ensures that the current protections in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 are maintained, and we wish to commend the approach to privacy protections that the Energy and Commerce Committee proposes to take.'' I mean, it is relevant to point this out because much has been said that would seem or could be interpreted to contradict what I have just read from the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Mental Health Association, very responsible entities that look out for the interests of many citizens who receive health care. So, Mr. Speaker, urging the support of the underlying legislation, I also urge all of my colleagues to support this rule, which is very fair, makes more than twice as many amendments by Democrats than by Republicans in order. It is precisely in our interest to go the extra mile for fairness.