Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, a few years ago, actually more than 6 or 7 years ago, the gangster who used to be the President of Mexico, Carlos Salinas, and his accomplice in some crimes and other activities, the former Prime Minister of Spain, Felipe Gonzalez, created a conference that meets every year named the Iberoamericana Summit and they invite the Latin American countries, heads of state and government, and of Spain and Portugal. They all curtsy to the king of Spain as though Spain still rules in this hemisphere every year when they meet, but the main purpose of Carlos Salinas' and Felipe Gonzalez' little gathering was to bring into the club and give credence and help out in every way possible their friend and certainly their accomplice in business and crime, the dictator of Cuba. So the decrepit tyrant is invited every year to these meetings of elected heads of state and government, and he sits there and he demagogues and offends the United States and lies about history, and of course offends even his own people, the people of Cuba, year in and year out. It is grotesque that they have invited to that putrid system that they created called the Iberoamericana Summit, it is putrid because of the fact that it was born with that tyrant and it is offensive that they invite that tyrant year in and year out. In a few days they will have another meeting, this time in Venezuela, with the decrepit tyrant, which of course the good news is not only is he decrepit and in his last months, but certainly his last years, because the good Lord is finally deciding to take him away. But something happened yesterday in Venezuela as they prepare for the summit in a few days where they have invited again the decrepit, bloody tyrant and will treat him with all of the honors which really, Mr. Speaker, is beyond the pale. Cuban exile organizations went, as they have gone every year, to meet with all who will listen, to meet with the press, to have press conferences, to denounce what the decrepit, Cuban bloody tyrant does to his people. And the Government of Venezuela, led by President Caldera, yesterday arrested the Cuban exile leaders, some of them, by the way, Venezuelan citizens, and is expelling them from Venezuela so that the decrepit, bloody Cuban tyrant does not even have to have, in the country that he is in, anybody expressing any view in dissent of what the decrepit, bloody Cuban tyrant does to his own people. So what President Caldera did is not only beyond the pale, it is condemnable, it is grotesque. It has gone beyond appeasement, Mr. Speaker, and it is in fact a disgusting, a disgusting act which now has become cowardly complicity with the torture apparatus of the decrepit tyrant in Havana. Shame on Venezuela, shame on Rafael Caldera. This will go down in history as something that will mark his history forever. The Cuban people, when the Venezuelans suffered a dictatorship, were hosts to Caldera and to other democratic leaders of Venezuela, in solidarity and in friendship, during the dictatorship of Perez Jimenez, and other dictatorships that the Venezuelans have to suffer. Now, notice how the Cuban people are reciprocated by leaders, mediocre leaders, such as this man, Rafael Caldera. The Cuban people will not forget and the friends of the Cuban people in the United States and elsewhere will not forget this act of cowardice, this shameful act of cowardice. This is an act of mediocrity and an act of cowardice and shamefulness. If there is any dignity left, Mr. Speaker, in the Venezuelan Government, they must forthwith apologize and readmit the Cuban exile leaders so that they may peacefully be able to express dissent against the horror, the oppression, the murder, the torture, the random arrests that the Cuban tyrant is continuing to engage in to this moment against the Cuban people. While a nation of 11 million people die at the hands of a murderous madman, much of the world and especially this hemisphere, Mr. Speaker, is led by men who make the word ``mediocrity'' seem like statesmanship in comparison. Men who are more than mediocre, men who commit acts of shame such as the one committed by Caldera. Shame on Venezuela.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida not only for yielding me time, but for her leadership on this important issue, as she has demonstrated on so many other issues throughout her tenure, extraordinary tenure, in Congress. With the utmost respect for my dear friend, the gentleman from California [Mr. Rohrabacher], this is the ultimate issue of confusing apples and oranges. No one can use section 241(i) unless they are eligible for permanent residency in the United States. Unless you qualify for legal residency in the United States, you cannot use section 241(i). I want to repeat that. I think it is important to repeat it, because of the confusion that is being spread this afternoon. Section 245(i) says that if you are eligible for a green card, if you meet all the requirements for a green card, and, as the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida said, if, after meeting the requirements for a green card, you apply for permanent residency in the United States pursuant to section 245(i), then you have to go through all the requirements of getting the background check, criminal check and all that other very important procedure. So this is not a matter that is appropriately addressed as one of illegal immigration. It is a matter of permitting people who are eligible and who qualify under all the requirements for permanent residency to seek their permanent residency in the United States. So it is an issue of common sense. It is an issue of fairness. It is also an issue of proportionality. Why do I say it is an issue of proportionality, Mr. Speaker? The new immigration law says if you have technically at any point fallen out of status in the United States, if you were a student and, for example, not meeting your full course load and fell out of status for over 6 months, the new immigration law says you have to be out of the country for 3 years before you can even apply to come back. Section 245(i) says if after having been technically out of status you qualify, as long as you qualify completely for permanent residence in the United States, then you can use 245(i) to seek permanent residence in the United States and not be barred for 3 years. So the issue of proportionality, I think, is very important. I would like to say in addition to fairness, in addition to common sense, in addition to proportionality, there is a perception issue here. Mr. Speaker, this issue has grown to one of immense proportions in the Hispanic community throughout the United States. I think it is appropriate for all my esteemed colleagues to know that this is perceived by the Hispanic community as one directly related to how immigrants in the United States are treated. I think it is important for all of our esteemed colleagues in this House to know that. So, because of fairness, because of common sense, because of proportionality, and because of perception, I ask all my distinguished colleagues to vote ``no'' on Rohrabacher today, and to give a strong vote of confidence to this commonsense 245(i).

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

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

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I include for the Record an explanation of the previous question, as follows: The Previous Question Vote: What It Means House Rule XVII (``Previous Question'') provides in part that: There shall be a motion for the previous question, which, being ordered by a majority of the Members voting, if a quorum is present, shall have the effect to cut off all debate and bring the House to a direct vote upon the immediate question or questions on which it has been asked or ordered. In the case of a special rule or order of business resolution reported from the House Rules Committee, providing for the consideration of a specified legislative measure, the previous question is moved following the one hour of debate allowed for under House Rules. The vote on the previous question is simply a procedural vote on whether to proceed to an immediate vote on adopting the resolution that sets the ground rules for debate and amendment on the legislation it would make in order. Therefore, the vote on the previous question has no substantive legislative or policy implications whatsoever. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman from Arizona [Mr. Hayworth] was really on point in this debate which was brought up by our distinguished friends on the other side of the aisle in this open rule on Coast Guard; in other words, on nothing that had to do with the Coast Guard. But the gentleman from Arizona [Mr. Hayworth], in setting the record straight, I think had a very interesting point and that is the analogy of the policeman who stops someone who is speeding because the speed limit is 50 miles an hour and then when the person is stopped, the person wants to change the law. This law is very bad, yes, it is true I was going 70 miles an hour, but I think it should be a 30- mile-an-hour speed limit. That is an excellent point because that is exactly what we are dealing with here. The allegations that are being made and that are being substantiated on a day-in and day-out basis are very serious. These allegations have to do with selling of influence to enemy dictatorships. I think few allegations can be more serious. And so when we have an analogy about stopping someone for going 50 miles an hour, remember the 50 miles an hour that we are talking about. We are talking about selling influence to enemies of the United States being the 50 miles an hour. And yet saying, oh, no, no, the law is bad, make it 30 miles an hour. So yes, we can debate and we will very happily debate this issue, but the bottom line is that today what we are doing is something else that is very important to the United States; by the way, very important, Mr. Speaker, to the national security of the United States as well. And that is authorizing the Coast Guard. And so we bring forth to the floor the legislation to authorize the Coast Guard with the opportunity for all Members of this House under what we call in this House an open rule, an opportunity for any and all Members to bring forth any amendment that is germane, that is relevant to that legislation. That is what we are doing, Mr. Speaker. That is what we ask at this moment, that the resolution, the rule be accepted. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any other speakers at this time. I would just remind the Members who may be tuning in that this is the Coast Guard authorization, the open rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. May I remind the House that this is the rule to bring the Coast Guard authorization bill to the floor? We do not have other speakers on this side, but my understanding is that the other side wants to talk about issues that have nothing to do with the Coast Guard. Of course it is a democracy that we live in, Mr. Speaker. People when they rise can speak about anything they wish. That is one of the beauties of the system, Mr. Speaker. But I think it is important for the Members who may be trying to find out what the debate is about, what we are on here, dealing with, what we are on the floor dealing with. This is the rule, which is an open rule, and during the many years before we acquired the majority, Mr. Speaker, there were very few open rules. Open rules are rules that bring bills to the floor with the opportunity for all Members to offer amendments on that legislation. That is something that we cherish, that is something that we fought for. Since we are in the majority, we are able to do it. We are able to bring legislation to the floor with what are known as open rules, which are guidelines that permit any and all amendments, any and all amendments by any Member to the legislation that is brought to the floor. What we are bringing to the floor with this open rule is the authorization of the Coast Guard, which is critically important to the national security of the United States, which is critically important to law enforcement, which is critically important to drug interdiction, issues that are obviously essential for the American people. So we are bringing to the floor the Coast Guard authorization law, bill, legislation with an open rule. I wanted to remind Members of the fact that that is what we are doing, Mr. Speaker. Of course since it is the United States of America, since it is this wonderful free Nation of laws, people can come to the floor and talk about whatever they wish when they are given time by the Speaker. But I wanted to remind any colleagues who may be watching on their screens in their offices or the American people what it is that we are seriously doing here today, and it is serious, reauthorizing the Coast Guard, protecting the American people from narcotics, helping the national security. That is what we are doing by bringing forth the Coast Guard authorization and we are bringing it forth, we are bringing it to the floor with a rule that permits any and all amendments obviously that have something to do with the Coast Guard; in other words, that are germane. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Gilchrest].

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona [Mr. Hayworth].

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona [Mr. Hayworth].

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, we have brought to the floor a rule that is completely open, that permits all amendments. While we were in the minority it was very rare to get the majority, then the Democrats, to permit an open rule so that all amendments could be introduced, on a subject, by the way, as important as the Coast Guard, where the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Moakley], ranking member of the Committee on Rules, admitted that that function is a primary function of national security and law enforcement. So, Madam Speaker, we come to the floor today with a totally open rule to permit any and all amendments from any Member of this House on a subject as critical to the national security of the United States as the authorization of the Coast Guard and what are we confronted with? We are confronted with what we just heard. No one could ever accuse the distinguished gentleman from California [Mr. Miller] of lack of imagination, because even on a bill as necessary to the national security as this one, even on a rule totally open, which permits amendment by any Member of this House, we have heard what we have heard today on an issue that has nothing to do with the Coast Guard. Madam Speaker, I remind all our distinguished Members that we are debating an open rule to authorize that critically important organism of this country, institution of this country, which is the Coast Guard. That is what we are on today, Madam Speaker. I do not want to get confused. We are not going to let ourselves get confused by these arguments which seek to confuse, apparently, people who are not Members of this House and they will not get confused either. We are bringing an open rule permitting all debate on this critically important piece of legislation to this country. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Gilchrest].

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss] a member of the Committee on Rules and chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence. (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Moakley], 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. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 265 is an open rule providing for the consideration of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1997. The purpose of this legislation is to authorize the activities and the programs of the Coast Guard for fiscal years 1998 and 1999. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate, to be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Transportation. The rule also contains a minor waiver of the Budget Act, waiving section 401 of the Budget Act of 1974 against consideration of the bill. Section 401 prohibits consideration of legislation providing new entitlement authority which becomes effective during the current fiscal year. This waiver is needed because the bill removes the cap on severance pay for Coast Guard and warrant officers. The provision is meant to conform the Coast Guard with the other services; no other Coast Guard officer or other service's warrant officer has a cap on severance pay. The rule also makes in order the Committee on Transportation's amendment in the nature of a substitute as an original bill for the purpose of amendment, which shall be considered as read. There are two minor waivers needed for the committee substitute. The rule waives clause 7 of rule XVI relating to germaneness, and section 401 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 against the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. The germaneness waiver is needed for an amendment adopted during full committee consideration of the bill which recognizes the community of Grand Haven, MI as Coast Guard City, U.S.A., and the budget waiver is needed because the committee substitute retains the severance pay cap removal that is in the original bill. Further, the Chair, Madam Speaker, is authorized to grant priority in recognition to Members who have preprinted their amendments in the Congressional Record. In addition, the rule allows for the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole to postpone votes during consideration of the bill, and to reduce votes to 5 minutes on a postponed question if the vote follows a 15-minute vote. In addition, the rule provides for one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. The Coast Guard is the primary Federal agency with maritime authority for the United States. It is a complex organization of ships, aircraft, boats, and shore stations. Title 14 of the United States Code provides that the Coast Guard is at all times an armed force of the United States. I believe the Coast Guard has a very difficult task in carrying out its main missions of law enforcement, maritime safety, marine environmental protection, and national security. An average day for the Coast Guard includes, among other things, saving 32 lives, assisting 308 people, saving $8 million in property value, conducting 142 search and rescue missions, responding to 34 oil or hazardous chemical spills, conducting 128 maritime law enforcement boardings, identifying 97 violations of law, seizing 84 pounds of marijuana, and 148 pounds of cocaine. That is an average day for the Coast Guard. The Committee on Rules hearing on this bill I think was extremely cordial. It was bipartisan. I am told that that is an accurate reflection, Madam Speaker, of the manner in which the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure handled the legislation, as well. The bill was reported to the House by voice vote, as was the rule. I would like to commend both the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Gilchrest], as well as the ranking member, the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Clement], for their hard work on the bill. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 265, I believe, is a fair rule. It is completely open. I would urge its adoption. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 265 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I will be brief. The chairman of the Committee on Rules was correct in stating that I expressed my serious concern, in fact was not able to support this rule last night. I opposed this rule last night because of my concern related to the separation of powers, not with regard to the process of discovery in this case. I agree with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California that, and I would quote the court, in the review of its discovery process, Congress is not seizing a function not constitutionally entrusted to it, and there is no separation of powers violation, end quote, but, rather, in the demand that the resolution makes that the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California filed criminal charges. It was alleged more than once during the almost 4 hours that we listened to the testimony in the Committee on Rules last night that legal authority exists preventing that outright demand by Congress of the U.S. attorney. The Gorsuch case in the 1980's, specifically in 1983, was referred to. So what we do with this amendment that the chairman of the Committee on Rules is proposing to the rule is to state and make clear that when the House makes its demands upon the U.S. attorney, that the determination to prosecute must be made by the U.S. attorney pursuant to its finding that it is appropriate according to the law and the facts in this case. The evidence that the subpoena at issue in this matter has been ignored after hours of testimony in the Committee on Rules became very evident. The fact that no one is above the law in the United States of America must be made clear. We made clear in this House just a few weeks ago that the rules of this House also cannot be violated when we barred from the floor of this House the contestant in this matter. With the amendment that we are proposing to the rule, Mr. Speaker, we are going the extra mile to make certain that absolutely no constitutional precepts are violated when the House of Representatives insists upon the principle that the law must be followed. Amendment Offered By Mr. Solomon

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1476, The Miccosukee Settlement Act of 1997, approves and implements a settlement between the State of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida regarding right- of-way usage and dredging during the construction of Interstate Highway I-75--``Alligator Alley''--across tribal lands in the Florida Everglades. This settlement authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to transfer title to certain strips of land used to dredge fill material for the construction of I-75 to the Florida Department of Transportation from its trust status, and in return directs the Secretary to take into trust for the Miccosukee Tribe as Miccosukee Indian Reservation several parcels of land as compensation. This land transfer is fully endorsed by the Florida Governor and Cabinet, who sit jointly as the trustees for Florida land and who voted unanimously in favor of this settlement. The Tribe also receives approximately $2 million, better access to its existing reservation through new access ramps on I-75, and airboat launch sites. I am pleased that the State and the tribe have worked out a fair solution and I recommend passage of the bill.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offenders Registration Improvements Act of 1997 (H.R. 1683). I would like to commend the Subcommittee on Crime and its chairman, Mr. McCollum, for bringing forth this meritorious legislation and for working to ensure that law enforcement agencies have the tools needed to protect our children from any and all dangerous individuals who would harm them or threaten their safety. Of particular importance is the need for tough laws to combat child stalking. Florida has taken the lead in this respect. H.R. 1683 acknowledges the worthy initiative taken by the State of Florida in its successful implementation of the Jennifer Act (Fla. Stat. Sec. 784.048). The Jennifer Act designates the stalking of a child under the age of 16 as a third degree felony. The act provides that a person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or harasses a child younger than 16 years of age commits aggravated stalking. The Florida State law is named after a 13-year-old Dade County girl in my district who was stalked in 1996 by an acquaintance. Police told the girl's mother they could not arrest the man unless he had hurt or kidnapped her daughter. Unable to obtain a judicial restraining order, Jennifer's mother worked closely with her State senator and representative to enlist support for a change in the law to remove the requirement that physical harm or abduction occur before the police could intervene. Thanks to her tenacious and courageous persistence, the law was signed into Florida law on April 29, 1997, and becomes effective October 1, 1997. I am very pleased that today this House has recognized the importance of putting the States on notice that this is a very critical gap in their criminal codes that needs to be corrected. To this end, H.R. 1683 requires that the attorney general survey and publish current or proposed State laws, which concern the criminal elements and penalties for stalking against children. In this way, States will be required to examine the state of their antistalking laws and Congress will oversee their efforts. This is the first step toward making the effective deterrence of child stalking a Federal priority. Accordingly, I will work to ensure that the Jennifer Act becomes the national model for State action.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, on June 24 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted a preliminary injunction in favor of thousands of Central American immigrants in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. The court in its decision concluded that the Immigration and Naturalization Service violated the due process rights of thousands of Nicaraguans and others bringing suits. The court stated that an interpretation of a statute that has the effect of barring completely access to the courts irrespective of the merits of a person's claim is violative of due process. A retroactive application of the Immigration Reform Act of 1996 violates due process by barring persons completely from even applying for suspension of deportation. I firmly believe that U.S. District Judge James King captured in his decision the essence of a key issue that is before Congress: Due process of law for immigrants. Legislation that I have introduced, the Technical Revisions Act, H.R. 2302, in conjunction with legally compelled administrative action will restore due process of law to Central American refugees. The administration, however, must also contribute toward ensuring that Central American immigrants will receive procedural justice. I would like to commend the Attorney General for her decision in July to set aside the Board of Immigration Appeals' ruling in the case of N- J-B; however, at this urgent time I renew my appeal to her, to her good will so that she will act in accordance with her existing authority to completely reverse the N-J-B decision. Given the persistent demonstration of support for that result and the substantial equities involved, I am hopeful she will render this reversal in the near future. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I want to also urge very especially and personally that the Attorney General issue a parole for a young lady at the Krome Detention Center in south Florida, Cindy Zuyen Martinez, a 19-year-old Nicaraguan young lady who has been unfairly detained for over 10 months. It is Cindy's 20th birthday on Friday, and I would hope and expect that the Attorney General, with using her good will and her good offices and the power of her office, would issue a humanitarian parole to Cindy Zuyen Martinez before her birthday this Friday. We in Congress, Mr. Speaker, cannot let the misdirected retroactive effects of the 1996 Immigration Act destroy whole families. In case after case, the Supreme Court has noted that the presumption against retroactive legislation is deeply rooted in our jurisprudence and embodies a legal doctrine centuries older even than our Republic. Consistent with that tradition, I do not believe that a majority of the Members of Congress ever intended that those provisions should apply retroactively to our immigrant communities. By way of example, a distinguished Member of this Congress, my fellow colleague from Florida, Mr. Peter Deutsch, who voted for the 1996 act, testified in Federal Court that he never contemplated that the new law would be implemented to operate against those who had sought relief under prior existing rules. I have introduced House bill 2302 to seek to clarify the ambiguities in the 1996 Immigration Act and to eliminate arbitrarily harmful and retroactive effects of that law. My bill is a technical corrections bill to the 1996 Immigration Act. It merely ensures that immigrants receive a fair hearing, Mr. Speaker. Refugees from Central America came to the United States for protection from Civil War and, in the case of our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, from political persecution. Countless Nicaraguans fought courageously in the Nicaraguan resistance to defeat communism in their homeland. During the Civil War, and after it formally ended in 1990, many resistance members sought refuge in the United States based on the Federal government's pledge they would be able to remain as long as they compiled with their application procedures for suspension or asylum. Nicaraguan families acted accordingly and patiently waited to have their applications considered, many sacrificing their family savings to pay for legal representation during their long pending asylum processes. In some cases our courts have even certified these delays have been the fault of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Our Nation owes a great deal of gratitude to our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, and I think it is our moral obligation and a requirement of elemental fairness that at the very least these refugees be considered under the rules in existence when they filed their applications. Since these refugees were admitted to the United States, I have witnessed in South Florida how they have made significant social, economic and cultural contributions to my community. They have built businesses, created jobs, they pay taxes, and these hard working families now have children, many of them who are native born American citizens. My bill ensures that these refugees will be able to obtain basic procedural justice in recognition of their historically unique and important circumstances. Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work with all intensity until we prevail. This issue requires it.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Florida International University for 25 years of academic excellence and exciting growth. Florida International University [FIU] has distinguished itself by becoming a center for intellectual inquiry and research that emphasizes the link between basic and applied scholarship. The university's interdisciplinary centers have acted as a catalyst for creativity in the arts, the sciences, and the professions by encouraging interaction among its students, faculty, staff, and the communities it serves. Florida International University is ranked among the top 10 public commuter colleges in the United States by Money Magazine and is also cited in several leading college guides, including Barron's Guide to the Most Prestigious Colleges; and U.S. News & World Report's annual survey of America's Best Colleges. Under the tenure of Dr. Modesto Mitch Madique, the university has made tremendous inroads. Dr. Madique, the first Cuban-American to be president of a 4-year college, became president in 1986. He has had the vision and the initiative to push the institution toward the 21st century. When it opened its doors in 1972, FIU had an enrollment of 6,000 students. Today, with 13 schools and colleges, FIU has grown to over 28,000 students from all 50 States and 120 countries. As a major center of international education, FIU prides itself on the cultural and ethnic diversity of its students and faculty. It is, indeed, as many of its faculty and students like to say, ``a gateway of the Americas.'' FIU's College of Engineering and Design bears witness to the university's overall success. Under Dean Gordon R. Hopkins, the college of engineering has earned international recognition for its research programs, drawing scholars from all over the world. Similarly, in the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Dario Moreno, associate professor of political science, helped create a Ph.D. program in this discipline which works in conjunction with the university's renowned Latin American and Caribbean Center [LACC] and the Cuban Research Institute [CRI] to produce first-rate research in these areas of such great interest to our region. The people of the 21st Congressional District are proud to claim Florida International University as our own. We look forward to the university's bright future of intellectual achievement built upon a foundation of integrity, creativity, and openness to the exploration of new ideas.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, the rule is self-explanatory. For Members who may not be aware, sections 106 and 107 of title 1 of the United States Code require that enrolled bills, measures that have been passed by the House and the Senate in the same form and require the President's signature to become law, that they be sent to the President on parchment. So the joint resolution that I am seeking unanimous consent for, Mr. Speaker, waives that requirement.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to lay House Resolution 203 on the table.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I offer a joint resolution (H.J. Res. 90) waiving certain enrollment requirements with respect to two specified bills of the 105th Congress, and I ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I wish, before I begin speaking about the subject that brings me to the well this evening, to insert into the Record a note made available to us here in Congress today by our dear colleague, the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan]. Mr. Duncan points out, among other things, that the Dow Jones Industrial Average, on Election Day 1994, when the Republicans took the majority in this House and in Congress, both Houses, for the first time in 40 years, was 3,830 points. And since Republicans took control of Congress, the Dow Jones Average has gone up by more than 4,000 points, breaking all records. And that that was due, to a great degree, because of the fact that the majority here, the Republicans, brought the leadership to the Congress to bring Federal spending under control and stop the growth of taxes and regulations and that, finally, the belief took hold in the economy and in the world in this international economy of today that the United States of America would finally balance its budget. And, so, I think that that is something that was important to bring out. And I thank the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan] for having done so. So I would like to insert the following into the Record, if I could, Mr. Speaker: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 3830.74 on election day, 1994. Since Republicans took control of Congress, the Dow Jones average has gone up by more than 4,000 points--mainly thanks to Republican success in bringing Federal spending under control and stopping the growth of taxes and regulations. Mr. Speaker, I come this evening to the floor, to the well, to discuss a matter that for the last 4 months has worried me on a daily basis in increased fashion. It has been typical of the tyrant in Cuba, who has ruled for 38 long and destructive and painful and extraordinarily gruesome years, it has been typical for him to engage in Stalinist crackdowns. But for the last 4 months, he has been clearly engaged in another such Stalinist crackdown the effects of which have come to my attention on a daily basis. And, so, I have been thinking it appropriate for some time now to come to the well to give an update to my colleagues and to the American people through C-SPAN, the millions of citizens who watch through television, by way of television, an update on the dreadful human rights situation and the details, as I know them, of that Stalinist crackdown engaged in by the tyrant of Havana, only 90 miles away from the United States. And, so, I would like to read a list, and I acknowledge from the beginning that it is a partial list, of human rights violations in Cuba for the last 4 months. And with that acknowledgment, I would like to begin to get into it and then discuss some other aspects of the reality of Cuba today. March 29, a Danish tourist, there have been a number of incidents recently with tourists in Cuba where the government has shown, the regime has shown its paranoia and its apprehension about its security situation as it has related to tourists, a Danish tourist, Joachim Loevschall, somehow mistakenly wandered into a restricted military zone and he was shot to death. That was March 29. Then began the month of April. And Ramon Rodriguez, father of a well- known activist, Nestor Rodriguez, president of Young People for Democracy, was arrested. Also, on April 1, Rafael Ibarra Rogue, president of the Democratic Party 30 November, Frank Pais, who is currently serving a sentence of 20 years in the infamous prison known as Kilo 8, according to relatives, was told that he would be denied from having any contact with his family or any religious visits. That was April 1. April 8, Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina, president of Youth for Democracy, a group that has become more well-known recently and has developed already a number of very impressive young leaders, Youth for Democracy, president Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina was arrested and charged with ``crimes against the state.'' He had previously been arrested in June 1996 and sentenced to 12 months in prison and an additional 6 months of internal exile for the crimes of resistance to authorities and disrespect of the revolution. He was sentenced to 18 months in April and is currently being held in the Guantanamo Prison. Today, July 28, Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina has begun a hunger strike that he has announced will last during the days that something called the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students lasts. That festival has begun also today in Havana. It is a splurge that Castro gives to Communists who come from throughout the world to party in Cuba, young Communists, while the Cuban people are subjected to the apartheid system and the rationing cards that have been imposed upon the people since 1962. So Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina says that during the duration of this party, called the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students, he, as a youth leader, is going to fast in protest. Of course, he and Cuban students who want to speak out in favor of democracy are not allowed to participate in that youth movement festival in that party that Castro organizes with funds that the Cuban people are denied for international young Communists and revelers and partyers. April 11. Miguel Angel Aldana, member of the Executive Committee of the Concilio Cubano and president of the Martian Civic League, arrived in the United States after being forcefully expelled from Cuba. He was initially handcuffed, dragged out, and arrested while attending a mass in memory of the Brothers to the Rescue pilots who were shot down by the Cuban Air Force on February 24, 1996. April 22. Israel Feliciano Garcia, representative of the Democratic Solidarity Party in the Province of Villa Clara was arrested in his home. His wife Arelis Reyes Garcia was also detained for pointing out to the police that they did not have a warrant. April 30. Radames Garcia de la Vega, vice president of Youth for Democracy, is arrested and charged with showing, ``contempt for the commander in chief,'' Mr. Castro. Since last year Mr. Garcia de la Vega had been held in house arrest. On April 30 he was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. Rafael Fonseca Ochoa, a member of Young People for Democracy as well, was arrested. May 1. May 1 also. Ana Maria Agramonte, a member of the Movimiento Accion Nacionalista is arrested for ``contempt of the authorities.'' May 1. Jesus Perez Gomez, Lorenzo Pescoso Leon, and Aguileo Cancio Chong were arrested by State Security and held without charge in Havana. Aguileo Cancio Chong was beaten at the time that he was arrested. May 14, 2 weeks later. Cuba Moises Castaneda Rangel, opposition activist with the Workers Union Movement and a member of the Seventh Day Adventists and his family were subjected to an act of repudiation at their home in Villa Clara. It might be worthwhile to talk a minute about what an act of repudiation is. Government-sponsored mobs are sent to the home of an independent journalist or an opposition leader, a dissident, and there they throw stones and insults, and if someone comes in and out of the house, they physically often attack the people, spit upon them. Those are acts of repudiation organized by this system in Havana. Ana Maria Agramonte, May 15, a member of Movimiento Accion Nacionalista, was sentenced to 18 months in jail for contempt of the authorities and resisting arrest. May 25. We go back to Cuba Moises Casteneda Rangel who had been subjected, he and his family to the act of repudiation May 14, was arrested, interrogated, and subjected to psychological torture. May 27 was the beginning of Eduardo Gomez Sanchez' third year at the Kilo 8 prison. Sanchez was sentenced to 20 years, 20 years, for the crime of illegal exit from the country. He suffers from a severe liver condition and according to relatives probably has cancer. June 10. Leonel Morejon Almagro, the elected leader of Concilio Cubano, delivered a message to one of Castro's offices demanding the right to hold a peaceful public meeting of his group. Morejon Almagro, who was just released from prison where he served 15 months, was beaten by State Security agents shortly after delivering the letter to Castro's offices. Amelo Rodriguez, June 10 also, a well-known member of the opposition movement, was arrested by State Security and charged with an unspecified, ``act of rebellion.'' June 16. Nilda Malera Pedraza, a 34-year-old professor of music in Guantanamo was fired for ``deviating from official political thought.'' Professor Joaquin Lozano was also fired for being ``politically unreliable.'' June 17. Luvia Bonito Lopez, the daughter of independent news journalist Ana Luisa Lopez Baeza, was detained and interrogated. Again she was detained 3 days later, June 20. June 22. Teresa Plateros Rodriguez, a member of the Pro-Human Rights Party, was arrested. June 23. Hector Peraza Linares, co-director of the Havana Press, independent press people, and his wife were arrested, held without charge. June 24. Dr. Dessy Mendoza Rivero of the dissident Independent Medical Association of Santiago was arrested by State Security after reporting the epidemic of dengue fever that is sweeping Cuba. She was charged with reporting false information. Thousands of people have gotten the dengue virus. It is imperiling the health of people throughout the island of Cuba and nearby countries and this brave doctor who simply let the world know of the fact that there was dengue fever sweeping through the island was arrested for ``reporting false information.'' June 25. Edillo Barrero, a 25-year-old farmer, was detained without charge by State Security, severely beaten, and died in custody. June 28. Orlando Merchante Ricart of the 13th of July Movement was expelled from his job after doing an interview with the U.S. Information Agency, Radio and Television Marti. The next day he was beaten and stripped of his clothing. July 1. Luis Alberto Hernandez Suarez of the Democratic Youth Union Movement is arrested. July 1. Orestes Rodriguez Omuitiner, vice president of Seguidores de Chibas, human rights group, is arrested in Santiago. July 1. The home of Nancy de Varona, president of the 13th of July Movement, is placed under constant State Security surveillance and her phones were disconnected. July 1. Juan Antonio Gonzalez Dalmau, member of the Cuban Civic Current, is detained by State Security. July 2. The home of Ileana Someillan, a member of the opposition, is searched by State Security. July 3. Julio Grenier, another activist in the dissident movement, is detained, his house searched, and various items confiscated. July 3 as well. Busy day for Castro this July 3. Carlos Raul Jimenez of the Nationalist Agenda Movement opposition group, detained by State Security. July 3 Marta Beatriz Roque, member of the Internal Dissidence Working Group, perhaps the most prestigious economist in Cuba today, received a death threat from State Security officers. July 3. Mercedes Sabourni Lomar of the Nationalist Agenda Movement, detained and questioned twice that day by State Security. July 3. The home of Vladimiro Roca of the Internal Dissidence Working Group and president of the Social Democratic Party is stoned by a government-organized mob. Acts of repudiation as we talked about earlier. His home was placed under constant surveillance by State Security. That is July 3, this busy day for the tyrant. Got a lot of pleasure this day, did he not? July 3. The wife of Vladimiro Roca, because of her husband's activities, is delivered a summons to appear before State Security for questioning. She is threatened with exile. July 3. Luis Alberto Hernandez Suarez of the Democratic Youth Union Movement is arrested by State Security in Pinar del Rio. July 3. Jose Orlando Rodriguez Bridon of the Democratic Workers Confederation detained by State Security after leaving the home of Marta Beatriz Roque. July 3. Odilia Valdes Collazo, President of the Pro Human Rights Party and member of the Internal Dissidence Working Group, detained by State Security. July 3. Orestes Rodriguez Brea, Vice President of the 13th of July Movement, detained by State Security, placed under house arrest. July 3. Dr. Frank Hernandez Loveira, Dr. Elias Vicent and Ana Maria Caballero, members of the 13th of July Movement, are visited and threatened by State Security. July 3. Manual Fernandez Rocha, President of the Historical Studies Forum and lawyer for the Agramonte Current opposition group, detained by State Security. July 3. Mercedes Sabourni Lomar, Secretary of the Nationalist Agenda Movement opposition group, receives two summons to appear before State Security. Fourth of July. Jorge Gonzalez Puentes of the 13th of July Movement, detained by State Security, his old typewriter confiscated, and ordered to stay in his home until August. July 4. Juan Ruiz Armenteros, Vice President of the Assistance Committee of the Internal Dissidence Working Group, Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique of the Cuban Independent Economists Institute, and Georgina de las Mercedes Gonzalez Corbo of the Cuban Civic Current all threated by State Security at their homes, told not to leave. July 4. Felix Bonne Carcasses of the Internal Dissidence Working Group is followed and threatened by State Security. July 4. Juan Antonio Gonzalez Dalmau of the Cuban Civic Current opposition group, detained for questioning by State Security. July 5. John Mendez Diaz and Osvaldo Caballero, a former political prisoner, both of the 13th of July Movement, detained by State Security. July 5. Rafael Garcia Suarez of the Democratic Workers Confederation, arrested by State Security. July 5. Raul Pimentel, President of an independent environmental group and opposition activist, arrested by State Security. July 6. Raul Rojas, member of the Democratic Youth Movement, detained by State Security after leaving the home of Marta Beatriz Roque, the economist. He is currently staging a hunger strike in prison. July 6. Manuel Sanchez, member of the Internal Dissidence Working Group, threatened by State Security. July 6. Nancy Gutierrez Perez, member of the Democratic Pacifist Movement, visited twice by State Security and threatened. ``Stop your activities,'' they told her. July 7. Lazaro Lazo, an independent journalist and director of the Independent Press Bureau of Cuba, is threatened with attack by State Security, unless he immediately abandons his independent press activities. July 10. Nicolas Rosario Rozabal, a correspondent for the independent Havana Press in Santiago was arrested by State Security. July 11. Osvaldo Paya Sardinas, President of the Christian Liberation Movement, and fellow opposition activist Rene Montes de Oca are detained. Montes de Oca remains in detention. July 12. Dr. Augusto Madrigal Izaguirre, director of the Cuban Independent College of Medicine, detained and questioned by State Security. Dr. Madrigal Izaguirre is active with the independent medical movement. Lorenzo Paez Nunez, July 12, an independent journalist, sentenced to 18 months in prison for ``disrespecting Cuba's national police.'' July 12. Nancy de Varona, President of the July 13 Movement, is arrested. In addition, all of the executive committee members of the group are questioned by State Security that day. July 13 was coming, the anniversary. July 12. Juan Carlos Vasquez Garcia, a 26-year-old author from Cienfuegos, arrested by State Security. July 13, the third anniversary of the sinking of the tug boat where over 70 refugees were trying to flee that hell which is Castro's Cuba and they were sunk pursuant to the orders of the tyrant, and more than 40 refugees died, including more than 20 children. That is July 13, the third anniversary, 3 years ago. That day this year, Herbiberto Leyva Rodriguez, a member of Young People for Democracy, was detained and he is still being held at the provincial headquarters of the National Police in Palma Soriano in Santiago. He has been charged with, quote, disrespect to a judge, because at the end of the trial of Randames Garcia de la Vega, he exclaimed, ``This is proof that in Cuba there is no freedom or democracy.'' So he is still being held in prison for that. July 16. Marta Beatriz Roque, the head of the independent economists that I referred to earlier, Feliz Bonne Carcaces, Vladimiro Roca and Rene Gomez Manzano, all leaders of the Internal Dissidence Working Group, were arrested. At that time they were taken to State Security headquarters at Villa Marista. The four of them, the rest of those four leading opposition leaders is the only incident, Mr. Speaker, all these human rights violations 90 miles away that I have referred to, that our local newspaper here, the Washington Post, has reported. A very large article here in the Washington Post. Page A22, July 18. Key Dissidents Arrested in Cuba The Cuban government said today that 4 dissidents are under arrest and are being investigated on suspicion of counterrevolutionary activities. Foreign Ministry spokesman Miguel Alfonso confirmed the arrests, reported by diplomatic and dissident sources, at a weekly briefing. Vladimiro Roca, Martha Beatriz Roque, Felix Bonne Carcasses and Rene Gomez Manzano, who lead the Working Group of Internal Dissidence, were arrested by State Security Wednesday, the sources said. It is extremely unusual for authorities to comment on arrests of Cuba's small and illegal dissident groups. There has been a tyranny 38 years in Cuba. It allows no opposition. It reiterates that it will never hold elections while this tyrant is alive and never intends to unless it is forced to. It is engaged in a Stalinist crackdown that I have begun to describe and we see here the extent of coverage by the national media, the Washington Post, page A22, July 18. Historians will have to describe why this reality exists that for some reason this tyrant can murder and imprison and use medicines for psychological torture and engage in electroshock therapy of political prisoners, and the reality of that regime is simply not covered by the national or international media. In fact, there have to be bombs placed in the hotels where Ms. Lucia Newman is of CNN in order for her to report that there are incidences of opposition to the regime. It is so sad, Mr. Speaker. But it is a reality. July 16, Luis Lopez Prendes, a journalist with the Independent Press Bureau of Cuba, is arrested by State security. He was among the first to report the bombings that I just referred to in tourist hotels in Havana on July 12. July 17, Edel Jose Garcia Diaz is a journalist with the independent press agency Centro Norte del Pais, subjected to a government sponsored act of repudiation at his home. July 17, Porfirio Batista Rodriquez, a member of the Pro Human Rights Party, is detained and interrogated by state security in Santa Clara. July 17, Marilis Blazques Aparicio, member of the internal opposition and widow of former political prisoner Reynaldo Jimenez Herrera, is detained, interrogated and warned to abandon her counterrevolutionary activities. July 17, David Flores Diaz, a member of the Democratic Solidarity Party in Villa Clara, is detained and interrogated by state security. July 17, Cuba Moises Castaneda Rangel, member of the opposition Workers Union Movement and an active Seventh Day Adventist, is arrested and held in handcuffs in an underground blackout cell 48 hours and charged with ``dangerousness.'' July 19, State Security agents visit Ledonel Morejon Almagro and his wife Zohiris Aguilar Callejas at their home, where they are interrogated and threatened from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. regarding their peaceful opposition activities within Concilio Cubano and Alianza Nacional Cubana. State Security warned Morejon Almagro that if he proceeds with this activism he will be sentenced to 25 years in prison, not 15 months like he was sentenced in 1996, but 25 years. Similar visits were received by other signers of a document that I have here in my possession asking Castro to permit a plebescite like Pinochet, the dictator of Chile, permitted a few years ago. For that they were visited and said you will get 25 years if you continue with this, not 15 months like last time. Also visited that night, July 19, Reinaldo Cozano Leon, Aguileo Cancio Chong, Ibrain Carrillo Fernandez, Neri Gorortiza Campoalegre, Jose Pastor Leon and Cecilia Zamora Cabrera. July 20, Amnesty International issues a 13-page report titled Medical Concerns, where Amnesty International indicates their concern that political prisoners are not receiving adequate medical care in Cuba, and citing international sources, Amnesty International states that many political prisoners already suffer from malnutrition and excessive weight loss due to poor nutrition, which leads to anemia, diarrhea, parasite infections. Some of the most serious conditions developed include optic neuropathy, tuberculosis, beriberi and leptospirosis. Amnesty International also states that the conditions and solitary confinements of Cuban prisoners are brutally inhumane, lacking beds and mattresses and even natural or artificial lights. Political prisoners are also sent to prisons, according to Amnesty International, hundreds of miles away from their families, which makes family visits and contact practically impossible. Amnesty International has also issued urgent action appeals for the arrests of the four leaders of the internal dissidents movement and also for Heriberto Leyva Rodriguez and the other leaders of the Young People for Democracy. I would like to at this point, Mr. Speaker, insert into the Record Amnesty International's urgent action appeal. Amnesty International USA's, Urgent Action Appeal July 18, 1997. Further information on EXTRA 106/96 issued 11 July 1996 and re-issued 24 September 1996 and 3 June 1997 Legal concern/ Ill-treatment and new concerns: harassment/prisoner of conscience/possible POC. CUBA: Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina, Radames Garcia de la Vega, Ramon Rodriguez, Rafael Fonseca Ochoa, new name: Heriberto Leyva Rodriguez. Amnesty International is concerned at further developments relating to members of an unofficial youth group called Jovenes por la Democracia, Young People for Democracy, which has been campaigning for, amongst other things, changes in the Cuban university system. Radames Garcia de la Vega, who was detained on 30 April 1997, was reportedly tried on 17 June 1997 and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, charged with ``desacato a la figura del Comandante en Jefe'', ``disrespect to the Commander in Chief'', i.e. President Fidel Castro. Heriberto Leyva Rodriguez, also a member of the group, Young People for Democracy, was reportedly detained on 13 July 1997 and is being held at the provincial headquarters of the National Police in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba province. He has been charged with ``desacato a un juez'', ``disrespect to a judge'', reportedly because, at the end of the trial of Radames Garcia de la Vega, he exclaimed ``Esto es una prueba de que en Cuba no existe libertad ni democracia'', ``This is proof that in Cuba there is no freedom or democracy''. Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina, President of the group, remains imprisoned in the Combinado de Guantanamo Prison. He had been sentenced in April 1997 to 18 months' imprisonment, charged with ``resisting authority'' and ``disrespect''. There is no new information about Nestor Rodriguez' father, Ramon Rodriguez, or Rafael Fonseca Ochoa, also a member of Young People for Democracy, who were both threatened with arrest in April and May 1997 respectively. Amnesty International is seeking the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina, Radames Garcia de la Vega and Heriberto Leyva. The organization believes they have been detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. Further recommended action: Please send telegrams/telexes/ faxes/express/airmail letters: urging that Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina, Radames Garcia de la Vega and Heriberto Leyva Rodriguez be immediately and unconditionally released, on the grounds that they are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly; urging that Heriberto Leyva Rodriguez be granted immediate access to a lawyer of his choice; urging that no reprisals be taken against relatives and others who try to make these cases public. Appeals to: (1) Attorney-General: (Salutation) (Sr Fiscal General/Dear Attorney General). Dr. Juan Escalona Reguera, Fiscal General de la Republica, Fiscalia General de la Republica, San Rafael 3, La Habana, Cuba, [Telegrams: Fiscal General, Havana, Cuba], [Telex: 511456 fisge]. (2) Minister of Foreign Affairs: (Senor Ministro/Dear Minister), Sr Roberto Robaina Gonzalez, Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Calzada No. 360, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba, [Telegrams: Ministro Relaciones Exteriores, Havana, Cuba], [Telex: 511122/511464/512950], [Fax: 011 53 7 333085/011 53 7 335261]. (3) Minister of the Interior: (Senor Ministro/Dear Minister), General Abelardo Colome Ibarra, Ministro de Interior, Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la Revolucion, La Habana, Cuba, [Telegrams: Ministro Interior, Havana, Cuba]. (4) Department of State Security: (Senor Director/Dear Sir), Sr Director, Departamento de Seguridad del Estado, Versalles, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba [Telegrams: Director, Seguridad del Estado, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba]. COPIES TO: National Union of Jurists: Union Nacional de Juristas, Apartado 4161, La Habana 4, Cuba. Editor of Granma (daily newspaper), Sr Jacinto Granda de Laserna, Granma, Apdo 6260, La Habana, Cuba. For Urgent Action participants in the United States: Cuba has no embassy in the U.S. at present. To contact its interest in the U.S., write: Cuban Interests Section Mr. Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, 2630-16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009. Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Mountain Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals after August 29, 1997. July 22, 4:55 p.m. while dictating news to international news services, Lazaro Lazo and Cruz Lima, directors of the Agencia Patria news organizations in Camaguey and Ciego de Avila provinces, were detained and taken to an unknown destination. July 22, Pascual Escalona Naranjo, National Coordinator of the Movimiento Pro Derechos Humanos Golfo de Guacanayabo, was detained under charges of dangerousness. His wife, Mirta Leyva Lopez, was threatened that she and her husband would lose custody of their 2 children by socially and morally deforming them and planting ideas in them contrary to those of a Communist education. I think it is important to repeat what I just said. On July 22, when 2 dissidents were rounded up, they were told, the wife of Pascual Escalona Naranjo was told, that her 2 children, aged 10 and 8, would be taken from them because of their advocacy of democracy, their peaceful advocacy of democracy. Their children will be taken, your children will be taken away from you because of socially and morally deforming them. They say implanting ideas in them contrary to those with communist education. This is unprecedented and unparalleled in history. Often people ask me why is it that Castro has lasted 38 years? There are many factors. But where in the world are peaceful pro democracy activists told that they are going to lose their children if they advocate democracy? Ninety miles away from the United States, in that land that the national media does not report what is going on. That is going on in Cuba, unprecedented and totally unconscionable. July 24, Ricardo Gonzalez and Juan Antonio Sanchez Rodriguez, journalists for the independent news bureau Cuba Press, were assaulted by Cuban State Security. During the assault State Security agents stole their computer. Today, July 28, my office received information that Jorge Garcia Perez Antonez and Jesus Chamber Ramirez have been transferred from the infamous Kilo 8 prison to unknown locations where their families cannot visit them, families do not know where they are. No one knows where they are. Now, Mr. Speaker, a phenomenon that is common among Cuban political prisoners is the highest rate of cancer of prison population in the entire world. When Leonel Morejon Almagro was first sentenced to the 15-month prison term in 1996 during which, by the way, around 70 of us here in the House, and I thank my colleagues who joined in that marvelous petition, so full of dignity seeking the Nobel Peace Prize for this young lawyer and pro democracy activist in Cuba, Leonel Morejon Almagro. When he was first sentenced to 15 months, last time in 1996, he was placed in the same prison cell where the renown political prisoner, Sebastian Arcos, was previously placed. Arcos, that man who is such an exemplary leader and who now is in exile and very sick in Miami, was denied medical attention for cancer while being confined in that cell for 3 years. Now, Mr. Speaker, during these days that I have mentioned in this survey with the partial, very limited list of human rights violations that have reached me, the thousands of others, the thousands of other Cuban political prisoners, continued suffering the same savage brutality that they, in fact, continue to suffer to this very moment. Col. Enrique Labrada continues to receive electroshock torture at the Mazorra Institution for the mentally ill. Labrada was sent there after staging a pro democracy protest on June 21, 1995. Sergio Aguiar Cruz, Francisco Chaviano, Omar del Poso, Jose Miranda, Jesus Chamber Ramirez, and so many others remain in dungeons in the 176 known prisoners, 176 known prisons where pro democracy political prisoners are kept in the enslaved Island of Cuba. Now I want to thank at this point the American Bar Association for naming 2 of these Cuban human rights activists as winners of the prestigious ABA Litigation Section International Human Rights Award, Rene Gomez Manzano and Leonel Morejon Almagro. Of course Almagro is today in prison, and Manzano, who served his 15 months sentence, has just been told that if he continues in his activities, I am sure he will continue in because he is extraordinarily brave and admirable, he has been threatened for those peaceful activities by the regime, as I have just stated, to 25, that he will be sentenced to 25 years. I would like to insert at this point in the Record the award given by the ABA to these 2 distinguished Cuban lawyers and human rights activists, Mr. Speaker. Two Cuban Lawyers Named Winners of Prestigious ABA Litigation Section International Human Rights Award Chicago, July 9--Two Cuban lawyers who have represented dissidents in human rights cases, and founded independent organizations seeking to promote the rule of law in Cuba, will receive the annual International Human Rights Award from the American Bar Association Section of Litigation, during the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco next month. Rene Gomez Manzano and Leonel Morejon Almagro are the 1997 award recipients. ABA Section of Litigation Chair Barry F. McNeil will present the awards during a noon luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 5, in the California West room of the Westin St. Francis Hotel. Michael Tigar, past chair of the Litigation Section and defense attorney for Oklahoma City bombing suspect Terry Nichols, will deliver the keynote address. Gomez Manzano and Morejon Almagro are expected to attend the ceremony to accept their awards, provided they are allowed to travel to San Francisco and return to Cuba. Gomez Manzano is the founder of Corriente Agramontista, an independent professional organization of lawyers in Cuba. Morejon Almagro is one of the founders of the Concilio Cubano, an umbrella organization of lawyers, journalists, accountants, economists and human rights activists. The theme for the Litigation Section Meeting is, ``Bridge to the Future: Advocacy in a High-Tech World.'' The Section's meeting is held in conjunction with the ABA 1997 Annual Meeting, July 31-Aug. 6. ``Award recipients have pursued the highest ideals of our profession in the face of extraordinary adversity,'' said Christopher Wall, chair of the nomination process. ``These individuals face persecution for advocating rights we too often take for granted in the United States. We hope the award will provide international recognition that will help protect the award recipients from government reprisals.'' The Section of Litigation award annually recognizes lawyers and judges who have made extraordinary contributions in foreign countries to the causes of human rights, the rule of law, and promotion of access to justice. ``These courageous lawyers should be commended for their tireless efforts, and for holding to the belief that all individuals have a right to a fair and unbiased judicial process. We are proud to honor Dr. Gomez Manzano and Dr. Morejon Almagro for their dedication and commitment to promoting justice for Cuban citizens.'' In particular, the award recognizes the following contributions: Rene Gomez Manzano, a Cuban lawyer, has worked for years defending cases involving human rights violations. He has openly criticized irregularities in court proceedings, and has been arrested and detained many times with no charges brought against him. He has been banned from the Supreme Court and expelled from his lawyers' collective. In 1990, Gomez Manzano helped organize the Corriente Agramontista, a group of lawyers willing to litigate political cases against the state. He has tried to register the organization as an independent law office responsible only to its clients and not the Cuban government. This request has been ignored, and meetings have been disrupted or prevented from taking place. The Corriente Agramontista seeks to reform Cuba's judicial system from within requiring the Cuban government to obey its own laws. Its 1991 manifesto calls for the establishment of a developed rule of law, an independent judiciary, and the democratization and decentralization of the system of state run law offices. In an article that appeared in the July 19, 1995, issue of American Lawyer, Gomez Manzano described the group's philosophy: ``We are not of one political current. We are a movement at the service of the whole country, whether Socialist, Christian Democratic or whatever. We are simply lawyers, professionals.'' Leonel Morejon Almagro, a Cuban lawyer, has faced repeated harassment for defending clients in cases against the government. In 1995 he was instrumental in establishing the Concilio Cubano, an umbrella organization composed of approximately 140 groups, including the Corriente Agramontista. The group's mission is to ``promote a peaceful transition to a democratic constitutional state and the establishment of a legal framework to guarantee the observance of universally accepted human rights.'' The Concilio Cubano has sought legal recognition from the government, which has been denied. The government has engaged in a campaign of harassment against the organization and its members since its inception. This campaign intensified after the Concilio Cubano formally requested authorization from the Cuban government to hold a national meeting in February 1996. Morejon Almagro was arrested, tried without due process, and sentenced to 15 months in prison for ``disrespect.'' During his detention, human rights organizations called for his release, and 57 congressmen signed a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Since his release only a few months ago, the Concilio Cubano has again petitioned the Cuban government requesting that the organization be allowed to meet, and Morejon Almagro has again been assaulted by government agents. The Litigation Section of the American Bar Association includes approximately 60,000 trial lawyers, judges and others involved in all aspects of litigation and the dispute resolution process. The Litigation Section is dedicated to promoting justice both domestically and internationally and enhancing public understanding of and respect for the legal profession. Also a brilliant and very impacting and important document named The Homeland, or The Nation, I guess, would be a better translation, the Nation Belongs To All, precisely by the four leaders of the Cuban dissidents task group. This statement is, as I say, of extraordinary importance. I thank Freedom House, commend Freedom House, for its translation and would encourage all my colleagues and those listening, watching through C-SPAN, to read this document. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned briefly before, July 13 was the third anniversary of perhaps the most heinous, coldblooded crime, if it is possible to pinpoint any one crime of the Cuban tyrants in 38 years, the sinking of a boat full of refugees, and I do not think, I surely have never done this, I would like to read the names. There were four of the refugees who were missing, who are missing and are unaccounted for. Their names are not known. But 37 of the lost at sea that day are accounted for, and I would like to read their names and their ages. These people, as I say, they had gone into a tugboat and were seeking to leave in 1994, July 13, and the order was given to sink them, and of course with power hoses they started trying to--that was how the aggression was first committed before these steel, other modern steel tugboats ran them and finally cracked opened the hull and this old tugboat sank, killing over 40 people. But at the time that the power hoses began to be used against the refugees the refugees lifted some of the babies up so that they could see with the reflectors that they had children on board. That did not stop them. They continued with the power hoses, and of course then sank them, and more than 40 died. I insert these names into the Record, Mr. Speaker. Tugboat March 13 passenger's list, july 13, 1994 Juan Mario Gutierrez Garcia, age 11. Giselle Borges Alvarez, age 4. Eliesser Suarez, age 11. Cindy Rodriguez Hernandez, age 2. Jose Carlos Nicle Anaya, age 3. Angel Rene Abreu Ruiz, age 3. Caridad Leyva Tacoronte, age 4. Yousel Eugenio Perez Tacoronte, age 11. Gelen Martinez Enrique, age 6 months. Yasel Perodin, age 11. Liset Alvarez Guerra, age 24. Lazaro Borges Briel, age 34. Guillermo Cruz Martinez, age 46. Joel Garcia Suarez, age 20. Ernesto Alfonso Loureiro, age 25. Amado Gonzalez Raices, age 50. Fidencio Ramel Prieti Hernandez, age 50. Rigoberto Peud Gonzalez, age 31. Jorge Balmaseda Castillo, age 24. Eduardo Suarez Esquivel, age 39. Estrella Suarez Esquivel, age 45. Omar Rodriguez Suarez, age 29. Miralis Hernandez, age 26. Rosa Maria Alcalde Puig, age 47. Marta Carrasco, age 44. Yaltamira Anaya, age 22. Julia Caridad Ruiz Blanco, age 35. Jorge, Arquimides Lebrigido Flores, age 28. Leonardo Notario Gongora, age 27. Marta Caridad Tacoronte Vega, age 36. Mayulis Mendez Tacoronte, age 16. Odalis Munos Garcia, age 20. Mydalis Sanabria Cabrera, age 19. Reynaldo Marrero, age 45. Yuliana Enriquez Carrazana, age 23. Pilar Almanza Romero, age 30. Manuel Sanchez Gallol, age 59. Mylena Labrada Tacoronte, age 3. Susana Rojas Martinez, age 8. Daney Estevez Martinez, age 3. Yandi Gustavo Martinez Hidalgo, age 9. Sergio Perodin, age 7. Maria Victoria Garcia Suarez, age 28. Mayda Tacoronte Vega, age 28. Deysi Martinez Fundora, age 27. Jusanny Tuero Sierra, age 20. Janet Hernandez Gutierrez, age 19. Jorge Luis Cuba Suarez, age 23. Ivan Prieto Suarez, age 26. Dariel Prieto Suarez, age 22. Gustavo Guillermo Martinez Gutierrez, age 37. Juan Gustavo Bargaza del Rino, age 39. Juan Fidel Gonzalez Salinas, age 35. Daniel Erik Herrera Diaz, age 21. Eugenio Fuentes Diaz, age 28. Arquimides Lebrrigido Gamboa, age 52. Jorge Alberto Hernandez Avila. Raul Ernesto Munos Garcia, age 23. Reynaldo Marrero Carrazana. Roman Lugo Martinez, age 36. Sergia Perodin Almanza, age 38. Frank Gonzalez Vazquez, age 20. Modesto Almanza Romero, age 28. Jose Fabian Valdez Coton, age 17. Julio Cesar Dominguez Alcalde, age 32. Pedro Francisco Crespo Galego, age 31. Juan Bernardo Varela Amaro. Armando Morales Piloto, age 37. They remain at the bottom of the sea about 7 miles out of Havana Harbor. The Cuban Government has never permitted anyone to go and seek the remains, to give them proper burial. Despite numerous requests from people within Cuba, as well as in the international community, for the Government to bring someone to justice, it has not, and of course it cannot, because it is the tyrant himself, the evidence dictates beyond all shadow of any doubt, who gave the order. So that is something that is going to have to be dealt with as soon as possible. I would like to at this point also mention an article that did not come out in the press here, but did come out in the press in Madrid in the ABC newspaper, which is one of the most prestigious and oldest newspapers in Madrid. A doctor in Cuba in charge of the AIDS center in Santiago, Las Vegas, near Havana, has admitted that over 100 young people in Cuba have been injected with the AIDS virus in an experiment; that 90 percent of them have died; that they were told that, at the time they were injected, that there was a good chance that there would be a vaccine, a cure, developed before anything would happen to them, and that in the interim, they would be in a five-star luxury resort. This is an admission by Dr. Jorge Perez, the director of the AIDS treatment center at Santiago Las Vegas in Havana. I have heard nothing from the national media in the United States, nothing on CNN, and yet an admission from this Cuban doctor was published in the ABC newspaper, this monstrosity. The doctor said, ``We sinned from paternalism by presenting the AIDS detention center as a paradise.'' This monstrosity is something that I think the media has an obligation to bring to the international community and that the national media in the United States has an obligation to bring to the American people. What we have, Mr. Speaker, is a tyrant whose jokes continue to be laughed at and his beard caressed by even some of our colleagues who go and visit there occasionally and laugh at his jokes, while his crimes are not even reported. The American people are not told about what he is doing. Nevertheless, the instinct, the sense that the American people have about the fact that that tyrant is an enemy of the United States and a hater of his own people, is very strong and something that I think that history will see as a distinguishing characteristic of the American people, that ever wise, deeply wise American people. Of course, the Cuban people will always be grateful for the sense of solidarity that has always come in that distinctive way from the people of this great Nation, the United States of America. I want to thank Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Davidow for stating, and I read it today, his remarks: ``The hemisphere cannot reach its potential, cannot become whole, cannot be fully democratic, cannot fully confront the realities of economic globalism or meet the challenges of crime, narcotics, human rights abuses, and other transnational issues, when one nation, Cuba, remains undemocratic.'' I thank him for that statement. It rings out as distinctive in this world, which demonstrates consistently such lack of solidarity and such lack of care, such lack of concern, such lack of awareness toward what is happening in the holocaust occurring 90 miles to that unarmed people, the Cuban people. I think that obviously much more must be said, but, nevertheless, the statements of Secretary Davidow are to be commended and thanked. We will continue speaking, Mr. Speaker, on the reality of the Cuban tyranny, on human rights violations, on the fact that there is a cover- up going on by the Government, President Clinton, against the drug smuggling activities that the Cuban tyrant has engaged in. My colleagues, the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Dan Burton, and the gentlewoman from Florida, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and I wrote a letter to General McCaffrey, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, back in November, with page after page of evidence, and including other unclassified evidence that we have of Castro's participation in the drug trade. We were very disappointed with his lack of response and also the lack of response of other agencies. There should be no contradiction between what the field people in south Florida tell us, and they have told us on tape of the fact that over 50 percent of the cocaine that comes into the United States in the Caribbean comes through or by Castro's Cuba, and the cover-up that we see time and time again from the top of the DEA and the White House. That is unacceptable, and we are going to continue to talk about that, and we are going to have another Special Order soon specifically limited to this evidence that is being covered up of Castro's participation in the drug trade. This is poisoning the youth of America, and for whatever reasons, of appeasement, of not wanting to confront Castro, a fear that he will release refugees, or whatever the fear is caused by, that appeasement is caused by, it is simply inexcusable that there is a cover-up of that dictatorship's participation in the drug trade. So we will have another of these Special Orders in the next weeks, specifically on the evidence of Castro's participation in the drug trade and, thus, the cover-up that is occurring by the administration of the evidence that it knows, it has, of Castro's participation in the drug trade. Suffice it to say at this point that there is an indictment ready to be filed by the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Florida charging the Cuban Government as a racketeering enterprise, and 15 members of the hierarchy of the Cuban dictatorship, charging them with cocaine trafficking into the United States, and that because of a political decision, that indictment was put into a drawer and it has been hidden. It has not been authorized to be issued. In addition to that, a drug trafficker who was arrested last year not only implicated Castro personally in multiple drug deals but agreed to go in under surveillance and do another deal with Castro, and the administration has shut that up as well. So we will continue to talk about these subjects. The American people deserve it.