David Dreier

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, at this time I am happy to yield 2 minutes to our very distinguished chief deputy whip, my good friend from Richmond (Mr. Cantor).

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, at this time I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the very distinguished gentleman from Marietta, Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), a hardworking former member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, at this juncture I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to a very, very hardworking Member of the House, the Chair of the Republican Study Committee, the gentleman from Dallas (Mr. Hensarling).

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, may I inquire of the Chair how much time is remaining on both sides.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am very happy to yield 2 minutes to the very distinguished gentleman from Cherryville, North Carolina (Mr. McHenry).

Mr. DREIER. Thank you very much for that clarification, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am very happy to yield 2 minutes to the very distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price).

Mr. DREIER. For the consideration of the rules package for the 110th Congress, am I correct?

Mr. DREIER. I have a parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker. My parliamentary inquiry is, may I ask of the Chair exactly what it is we are debating and considering at this point. The Chair of the Rules Committee stood up and said, after I gave my opening remarks, that we were in the midst of a debate on the last year's rules package. I was wondering if the Chair might enlighten us as to exactly what it is that we are considering.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I want to first congratulate Ms. Castor and certainly welcome her to the Rules Committee and look forward to serving with her. Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am happy to yield 2 minutes to my very distinguished colleague on the Rules Committee, Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart from Florida.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, we have spent a great deal of time this afternoon focusing on the fact that we have the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in our Nation's history. And I think it is also very important for us to note today that we have the first female Chair of the House Rules Committee in my good friend, Ms. Slaughter, and I would like everyone to join in extending congratulations to Ms. Slaughter. Now, let me say, Mr. Speaker, that I look forward to working in a bipartisan way in the spirit that was outlined by Speaker Pelosi, and I, of course, will treat the new Chair of the Rules Committee with the dignity that she deserves. I will say, Mr. Speaker, that I do rise with mixed emotions today. I was very proud to join with you as we came down the center aisle escorting the new Speaker of the House, my fellow Californian. And I am very pleased that we have the first woman, the first Californian, and the first Italian American as Speaker of the House of Representatives. I have mixed emotions because, while I am very, very proud of Speaker Pelosi, and the new Rules Chair, Ms. Slaughter, and others who are assuming leadership positions, I also am very disappointed. I am disappointed as I look at this package that we are about to consider, because I do join with you, Mr. Speaker pro tempore, the distinguished majority leader, and Speaker Pelosi, as we have discussed privately and publicly, in our quest, and I think Speaker Pelosi put it extraordinarily well, focusing on the priorities that we have. We are, first and foremost, Americans. We are here to do the people's business and they sent a very strong message last November, and I believe we have an opportunity to do just that. I will say that I remember very well the opening days of the 104th Congress, 12 years ago. I remember the very heady feeling that came from knowing that, for the first time, at that juncture, in almost half a century, we Republicans were in the majority of the House of Representatives, and we were going to do all that we had promised the American people. We were that optimistic, quite frankly, because we didn't know any better. None of us had ever served in the majority and we were blissfully unaware of the pressures and problems associated with trying to govern this institution. During the 109th Congress, the Democratic Caucus, many of whom actually served in the majority before 1995, made a lot of promises about how they would run this place if they ever achieved the majority again. Of course, they, unlike Republicans in 1994, had the experience of having run this place, having served in the majority. And I have a great deal of admiration for my colleagues, because they know exactly what they are facing. Knowing that, knowing exactly what they would face in the majority, they made a commitment to minority rights, should they regain the majority. And that, Mr. Speaker, is why I said I am disappointed. The resolutions before us bear very little resemblance to the rhetoric on this floor and on the campaign trail. The much ballyhooed commitment to minority rights is virtually nonexistent in the measures before us today. They undermine minority rights that were constantly guaranteed when we were in the majority. The rights of the minority are undermined. Their promises are for a delivery date at some later point, if we agree to be cooperative, according to one Member on the other side of the aisle. And we have, as an IOU now, a wink and a nod and a gentle ``trust us.'' Mr. Speaker, trust is something that is in short supply in this House, and the actions of the incoming majority are, based on the package that has been brought before us early last evening, certainly less than 24 hours before we are considering it here on the House floor, are not doing a lot to bolster our reserves when it comes to the issue of trust. Despite an oft repeated commitment to provide Members with, as I said, at least 24 hours to review legislation before voting on the floor, we received this package at 6:15 last night, 6:15 only after that package was delivered to our friends up in the press gallery. Now, Mr. Speaker, despite Speaker Pelosi's principle that we need to return to regular order for legislation, including a full committee process of hearings and markups and, I quote Ms. Pelosi here when she said we need an ``open, full and fair debate consisting of a full amendment process that grants the minority the right to offer its alternatives, including a substitute.'' Now, we, in spite of that great directive that came forward, we have a rules package that actually self-executes closed rules for bills that haven't even been introduced, and won't even be going through the committee process. The section of the package that includes those closed rules is debatable for just 10 minutes. This is the polar opposite, the polar opposite of how the Republicans opened the 104th Congress, when our priorities were considered in regular order and under an open amendment process. Mr. Speaker, also providing a stark contrast is the fact that we put in place, from day one, a guaranteed bite at the apple for the minority in the form of a motion to recommit. We felt so strongly about the fact that when we were in the minority we were denied that chance. So that is why at the beginning of the 104th Congress we put into place that guarantee for the minority. But I must remind my Democratic colleagues on the Rules Committee that, time and time again, they have made clear their view that the motion to recommit is an insufficient opportunity to articulate their alternative. That argument was propounded constantly as we were dealing with public policy questions. So you can imagine how surprised I was when the Speaker recently replied to a reporter's question about Republican alternatives to the Democratic priorities by saying, ``They'll have a motion to recommit.'' Even worse than five closed rules, Mr. Speaker, is the rollback of one of the most essential elements of transparency that Republicans put into place back at the beginning of the 104th Congress; that is, the right to know how a member of a committee votes on legislation. Mr. Speaker, this rules package exempts the Committee on Rules from the requirement to publish the votes of its members on its committee reports, something required of every other committee except the Ethics Committee. Now, in my 12 years as a member of the Rules Committee majority, we took more than 1,300 votes in committee, every single one of which was accurately reported in the committee's report. Mr. Speaker, at best, this is a solution in search of a problem. At worst, it is an attempt to shield the Rules Committee from the public scrutiny of its actions. We were told by the distinguished Chair of the Rules Committee that ethics reform and rules reform were not just election year issues for Democrats. Now, Mr. Speaker, sadly, this document says something quite different than that. Promises were made, and they are not being kept. That is the thing that I find to be most troubling. We intend to explain the many inconsistencies for the record and as the debate moves forward. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we want to work with our democratic colleagues. Even with this treatment of minority rights, we stand here determined to work in a bipartisan way to confront the challenges that we all know face this country. Unfortunately, this rules package shuts us out from the start. It is my hope that the promises made will, indeed, be kept. But, Mr. Speaker, this package does not inspire a great deal of hope in that they in any way will. And so, Mr. Speaker, I rise with a great deal of disappointment and a great deal of concern about the first actions that we are taking here. Mr. Speaker, with that I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise as the designee of the Republican leader.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I, of course, express my great appreciation to my friend from Florida for his very kind words, and I do look forward to learning from him. I see the distinguished future chairman of the Ways and Means Committee here, my very good friend, Mr. Rangel. We are going to have an interesting 2 years, and it is going to be a different opportunity for all of us. I just reminded Paul Hayes of the fact that he, 15 years ago, said to me that he looked forward to the day when I would be able to, by direction of the Committee on Rules, call up a resolution for us to consider here on the floor, and I have been able to do that now for 12 years. We have this 2-year intermezzo that we are going to be going through, and I look forward to working in a bipartisan way with my colleagues on a wide range of issues. I believe that this measure that we are considering right here on our global leadership role is an important bipartisan effort. Madam Speaker, Mr. Rangel and I spoke yesterday at length about the need for us to move ahead with our global trade agenda, and I look forward to continuing our effort together. On all of the public policy questions that we will be facing here in this House, I look forward to working with Mrs. Slaughter and Mr. Hastings and the other members of the Rules Committee. On this measure itself, Madam Speaker, I believe that for the cause of freedom, for the cause of our global leadership role, and, as Mr. Moran said so eloquently, the effort to ensure the rule of law and political pluralism and the building of democratic institutions, this effort to pass these agreements is essential for us. So I urge support for the rule. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, being the eternal optimist that I am, I will put my friend from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) in the ``undecided'' column on this. Pending that, I am happy to yield 5 minutes to my very good friend, the former mayor of Alexandria, Virginia (Mr. Moran).

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, let me begin by expressing my appreciation for my very good friend, Mr. Hastings, for his kind words and I look forward to working with him and Mrs. Slaughter. We don't know all the other new members of the Rules Committee who will be joining us, but we look forward to working in a bipartisan way to address the many challenges the United States of America faces. Mr. Hastings and I are in agreement on our quest to try to make sure that we implement this very important legislation. It does touch a number of areas, but as I said, it reaffirms our very strong commitment to doing all that we can, all that we can to expand the cause of freedom and the recognition of the interdependence of economic and political liberalization. I was just talking to one of my colleagues a few minutes ago, Madam Speaker, and he made the statement to me that he is concerned about the Vietnam agreement because we should not be engaging with a communist country. I think it is for that precise reason that we have what to me is an authoritarian dictatorship in Vietnam. I believe that by tying their hands, forcing them to live with a rules-based trading system, by doing everything that we can to bring them, as I said in my statement, into a world trade community, they will be able to have to comply with international norms, and there will be greater transparency and disclosure, so that the horrendous human rights issues that we have seen can more readily be addressed. I am one who has believed at my core that trade promotes private enterprise, which creates wealth, which improves living standards, which undermines political oppression. If one looks at the last two decades of our Nation's history, we found countries with authoritarian dictatorships where we have maintained strong economic engagement, and, in so doing, we have been able to bring about the kind of political reform that I believe to be essential. Two instances in this hemisphere alone, Venezuela and Chile, these are two countries which have had oppressive dictatorships. Yet through the decades of the 1980s, we maintained strong economic engagement with them. What has happened? Well, we have seen blossoming, strong political liberalization and the building of democracies in those nations, the recognition of the rule of law. Similarly, if we shift to Asia, shift to Asia and look at countries like South Korea and Taiwan, places where we saw authoritarian dictatorships for many, many years and we as a Nation, under the leadership of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush maintained strong economic ties with those countries, what has happened? Well, we see vibrant, growing democracies, both on Taiwan and on South Korea. Now, I believe similarly that doing the kinds of things that can help us in the recognition of the importance of improving human rights, the importance of dealing with the violations of international norms that we have observed in Vietnam, we all acknowledge them. I served for years as a member of the POW/MIA Task Force. I made several trips to Vietnam in our quest to bring about a resolution on that. We continue today to be committed to this. I believe that our bringing Vietnam into this international norm, the trading status, will help us resolve these very, very important issues. Another question that came forward was the deleterious impact this could potentially have on the textile industry here in the United States as it relates to India, as it relates to Haiti. I know there has been some concern raised about ATPA, the Andean Trade Preference Status. Madam Speaker, I think it is important for us to recognize that change is inevitable. I am one who believes passionately in what is known as the ``economic theory of comparative advantage.'' We do what we do best, and others will do what they do best. Madam Speaker, it is in our interest to see a strong, growing, global economy. It is also in our interest to do everything we can within our own hemisphere to ensure that we can compete globally. By proceeding with our focus on the Andean region, as we deal with the scourge of illicit drugs, as we deal with the economic devastation in Haiti, and I am very proud of the fact that the House Democracy Assistance Commission, that my colleague, David Price and I have worked on, are focusing on building the parliament in Haiti, that our doing what they can there to enhance that political pluralism will be very important, very important for the stability of this hemisphere. I believe it will be very important for the consumers of the United States of America as well. While this isn't a perfect measure, frankly, I wish we could do more, I wish we could immediately pass the FTAs with Peru, Colombia and we look forward to the South Korea FTA. I mean, I can go to other parts of the world. I very much want us to see more and more of these. I know come June we will see the expiration of trade promotion authority. I see my very good friend from Virginia (Mr. Moran), and he and I worked very closely on the issue of trying to enhance our opportunity, on trying to embark on more negotiations for FTAs. I believe it is imperative for us. Madam Speaker, as I listen to many people decry the notion of trade and talk about the devastation that it has wrought to the U.S. economy, I remind them that just yesterday we got a near record report of a drop in jobless claims. We have a 4.6 percent unemployment rate, near record low. We have a very strong GDP growth rate. We want it to be stronger, not quite as strong for this quarter as it has been in the past, but it still is strong GDP growth. I believe that has come, in large part, due to our strong commitment to the global leadership role. If we as a Nation, if we don't lead globally, we will see others take that lead. What we are going to be voting on later today is very important in our quest to do that. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 1100 is a closed rule providing 1 hour of debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill, and also provides for one motion to recommit. The rule also provides that, in the engrossment of the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 6111) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that the Tax Court may review claims for equitable innocent spouse relief and to suspend the running on the period of limitations while such claims are pending the Clerk shall, (a) add the text of H.R. 6406, as passed by House, as new matter at the end of such engrossment; (b) assign appropriate designations to provisions within the engrossment; and (c) conform provisions for short titles within the engrossment. Madam Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1100 and its underlying legislation, H.R. 6406. While it is important to note that this bill is not a free trade agreement, we have structured a closed rule to mirror the standard procedures afforded to free trade agreements for House consideration. This past Congress I am very proud, with your work, Madam Speaker, and the work of many others, we have been able to pass crucial free trade agreements with the countries of Bahrain and Oman as well as the Central American countries and the Dominican Republic. Under this rule, we are continuing this commitment to free trade, and we aim to implement a number of provisions that are critical for advancing our trade agenda and ensuring the continued leadership of the United States economy in the worldwide marketplace. First, we would grant Vietnam, Southeast Asia's fasting growing economy, permanent normal trade relations (PNTR), thereby eliminating the annual evaluation of Vietnam's emigration practices under the Jackson-Vanik provision. It is important to clarify what PNTR is and what it is not. First of all, as I said, PNTR is not a free trade agreement. Though I would be the first to support an FTA with Vietnam, the issue we are debating today is not a special trading relationship between the United States and Vietnam. It would simply grant what is known as a normal trade relationship. Normalizing trade with Vietnam is an important step towards enhancing our ability to engage with Vietnam and encourage continued progress in the areas of economic and political liberalization. A normal trade relationship will not be a panacea or cause an instantaneous eradication of the challenges of human rights violations and other issues that Vietnam faces. But it is both by doing this, we are acknowledging the tremendous progress that has been made and an opportunity for further engagement that will help propel Vietnam forward on the path towards political and economic reform. Furthermore, granting PNTR for Vietnam is necessary to provide access for American producers and service providers to a market that will soon be open to the rest of the world. Vietnam will accede to the WTO, the World Trade Organization, in just a few weeks, essentially normalizing its trading relationship with the entire globe. If we fail to grant PNTR for Vietnam, we will be putting American businesses and our consumers, the American people, at a competitive disadvantage with our trading partners, all of whom will have access to the market in Vietnam. By seeking WTO accession, Vietnam has demonstrated its commitment to operate in a rules-based trading system. It has clearly signaled that it wants to be a responsible participant in the global economy, and adhere to the rules that we have all agreed to. Through PNTR, we not only open up new market access, we gain the ability to hold Vietnam accountable for its trading practices. Many will argue that because Vietnam must still make progress in protecting human rights and ensuring individual freedoms, that we cannot normalize our trade relationship yet. I believe that it is precisely because of the need to focus on improving the human rights situation, on bringing about a full accounting of the POW, MIAs, of dealing with enhancement of the rule of law and political pluralism, that that is exactly why we must do everything we can to expand our engagement. Bringing them in to a rules-based system of international trade will enhance transparency and accountability, and I truly believe will undermine the command-and-control concept that has existed in their government. This is not a gift to them, Madam Speaker. What we are doing is we are playing a big role in not only enhancing the opportunity for the American people to see our standard of living and quality of life improve because of imports, but also by gaining access to their market and thereby improving the standard of living and the quality of life for the people of Vietnam. Giving them a place in the international community will increase the pressure that they feel to live up to international norms. As I said, a great deal of progress has already been made on the part of the Vietnamese Government. Refusing to engage in a normalized trade relationship is not the way to encourage continuation of this progress that we have already seen. Now, Madam Speaker, additionally, this bill includes an extension of the Andean preference program which expires in just a few weeks, on December 31. This program provides an incentive for U.S. companies to invest in the politically and economically fragile Andean region. Creating lawful economic activity has been critical to efforts to divert illegal coca manufacturing towards legitimate industries, especially in some of the most egregious drug trafficking countries. And at the same time, these preferences encourage the Andean countries to pursue more permanent, two-way free trade agreements with the United States which will help to solidify our economic and political relationship with that very important region right in our back yard. Madam Speaker, the underlying legislation would extend these programs temporarily, but require full cooperation in the free trade arrangement negotiating process in order to continue them beyond a 6-month period. What I am saying is in the first 6 months, there obviously are standards that must be met, requirements that must be met, and then we must continue in the FTA negotiations. By taking this approach, we maintain the economic benefits that the preference program has brought, while at the same time we provide a powerful incentive to move toward greater economic engagement. Madam Speaker, this bill goes further in addition by including provisions regarding the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement, or the so-called HOPE Act, which provides important tax credits for new U.S. labor and capital investments in eligible countries in the Caribbean region. This program will not only advance U.S. textile interests, but provide critical assistance and opportunities for the people in this region, again, right in our backyard, not on the other side of the world. Madam Speaker, with that I again urge my colleagues to support this very fair rule that allows us to bring up this important underlying legislation which deserves strong bipartisan support. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I have, for the last time for the next 2 years, called up this resolution, and I will say that for the purpose of debate only I will yield the customary 30 minutes to my very good friend from Fort Lauderdale, Mr. Hastings, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. And during consideration of this resolution, all time that I will be yielding will be for debate purposes only. (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1100 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by expressing my appreciation to the gentlewoman from West Virginia for her great service on the Rules Committee and to say that I was listening to the comments of my colleague on the other side of the aisle upstairs and came down because I was reminded of what is described as the ``Moral of the Work'' at the beginning of each of Winston Churchill's great volumes that he provided: The Gathering Storm. You can go through the litany of them. But there were four points in the ``Moral of the Work.'' He said in war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity; in peace, goodwill. We all acknowledge and congratulate our Democratic colleagues on the fact that they have won the majority. I certainly hope that it is going to be for only a 2-year period. But I congratulate them and look forward to working with them in a bipartisan way on a wide range of public policy questions that we will face in the 110th Congress. But the rule that we are considering right now, Mr. Speaker, will allow for Democrats to have an opportunity to offer measures under suspension of the rules. We receive loads of requests from Democrats who very much want to have an opportunity to have their measures brought to the floor. This rule allows for consideration of those measures. I would also like to say that as we look at the challenge of trying to ensure that we open up new markets for U.S. workers around the world, and as we work to put into place the economic growth policies that have brought us an amazingly low unemployment rate, and I heard my friend from West Virginia talk about the fact that we have seen an unemployment rate in her State of West Virginia actually at an extraordinarily low level, and across the country we have a 4.6 percent unemployment rate, and what we are trying to do is to put into place policies before we adjourn the 109th Congress that will sustain that economic growth pattern that we fortunately have seen, and, as we got the news this morning, a plummeting of the number of jobless claims. So we continue to have very positive news, and it is because of these policies, and we are determined before we adjourn the 109th Congress sine die to make sure that we have these measures in place. That is all this rule does. So we can have a wide range of criticism leveled at what it is that we have done. I frankly am very proud of the things that we have accomplished. I see two of my colleagues from Georgia here, Mr. Price, and Dr. Gingrey, who have worked very hard on the Rules Committee. I mentioned my friend from West Virginia, Mrs. Capito. And we have been able to do a lot of things in a bipartisan way as well, Mr. Speaker. So it seems to me that we should recognize that moving ahead with this rule, passing it, will allow us to get on a road towards completing our work on behalf of the American people. So again I conclude by congratulating my colleagues for having won the majority. I congratulate them and look forward to working with them. And it is my hope that the ``Moral of the Work'' as put forward by Winston Churchill can in fact be subscribed to by people on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, 8 years ago this month this House was in a great crisis. We had had a Speaker of the House who chose to resign. The Republican Conference selected a new Speaker, he chose to resign, and we as Members came together and called on J. Dennis Hastert to become Speaker of the House of Representatives. It was a difficult time. We were in the midst of considering articles of impeachment, and we continued to face many great challenges ahead. As we marked earlier this year, Dennis Hastert became, following that crisis 8 years ago this month, the longest-serving Republican Speaker in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives. During that period of time, Mr. Speaker, we know that we have gone through some amazing changes and faced some real difficulties. Today marks the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and one can't help but think about the attack on September 11, 2001. We have not had an attack on this soil, on our soil, in large part due to the leadership that Dennis Hastert has provided in ensuring that our homeland is secure. Today we got the report of a reduction in unemployment claims, and that number, a huge drop, is further indication of the strong and growing economy that is in place because of the actions and the leadership of Dennis Hastert. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for us to note that while Denny Hastert is going to remain a Member of this House and provide advice and counsel to all of us, Democrats and Republicans alike, I think it is very, very appropriate as we look at the waning days of this 109th Congress to recognize his amazing and wonderful accomplishments on behalf of the American people and this institution.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I want to express my appreciation to the very distinguished subcommittee chairman as well as to my friend from California (Mr. Lantos) again, as soon-to-be chairman of the International Relations Committee. This resolution I am very pleased to have introduced along with my colleague David Price with whom I serve as cochair of the House Democracy Assistance Commission. As I look across the aisle, I see my friend Alcee Hastings with whom I sit on the Rules Committee, and I am reminded of the first trip that we made to Beirut. It was a year ago this past spring, shortly after the March 14th Movement and the Cedar Revolution began. We had the chance to visit the widow of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and Mr. Hastings and the rest of our delegation placed a wreath at the grave of Rafik Hariri in Martyr Square in Beirut, a spot that has gotten a great deal of attention on television just in the past few weeks, very tragically. And as has been pointed out, we have seen now the 16th assassination take place with the tragic murder of Pierre Gemayel, and that is in the last 2 years. Mr. Speaker, as we look at this challenge, it underscores the fact that the United States of America must, as Mr. Lantos has just said, reaffirm its strong commitment to the future of Lebanon. One of the greatest challenges that the Lebanese people have faced in its relationship with the United States of America has been the issue of uncertainty. In 1983, when we saw the tragic bombing of the Marine barracks, the United States of America withdrew from Lebanon. They have gone through a quarter century of civil war, and they have great challenges in the region. As Mr. Lantos correctly said, we don't agree with every single policy in Lebanon, and obviously there have been real challenges on their southern border as we know very well. But at the same time, it is absolutely essential that we remember that this is a reemerging democracy. This past July, Mr. Price and I had the privilege of leading a delegation of our Members representing the House Democracy Assistance Commission. This is a commission that I am very proud was put together by Speaker Dennis Hastert and soon-to-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and it was established a year ago this past March, and the goal was to take new and reemerging democracies and work directly with those parliaments that have just been elected. Now, we all have the privilege of participating in important work in interparliamentary exchanges, the European Union, the Bundestag, the DIAG in Japan. I have been part of the U.S.-Mexico interparliamentary conference. But the unique thing about the House Democracy Assistance Commission, we now have a dozen countries with which we are working very closely on this. We have been able to take these newly elected parliamentarians and do as Mr. Price and I and our delegation did in Lebanon for 2 days: work with them on the building of their committee structure, their very important oversight of the executive branch, the building of their libraries, putting into place a budget process. And that is exactly what we were doing this past July in Lebanon. And we, of course, since our trip in July, have seen a very tragic time in Lebanon. In fact, it was just days after we left that we saw Hezbollah engage in the kidnapping of those Israeli defense forces troops in southern Lebanon, and we all know what happened after that. And there was a sense that a degree of stability was coming to Lebanon within the past several weeks and the last couple of months; and then, of course, we got the tragic news that led to Mr. Price and my authoring this very important measure, underscoring how important it is as we look at the tragic assassination of Minister Gemayel that we need to do all that we can, all that we can, to make sure that Lebanon's future is a bright one. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure. I thank again Mr. Price and all of the Members of our Democracy Assistance Commission for the fine work and effort that they put into this, and to say again that we are going to reaffirm with this resolution our commitment to the future of Lebanon.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding, and I want to congratulate my classmate and dear friend from New Jersey and also the gentleman from California, my friend and neighbor, soon-to-be- chairman of the International Relations Committee. I also want to start by doing exactly what my friend from California did, and that is extend congratulations to Senator Barak Obama, who really authored and has been pushing S. 2125 for a long period of time. I have had numerous conversations with him about this, and we talked about the need to ensure that as we look at the military challenges that we face, the promotion of democratization, political pluralism, the rule of law, the building of these democratic institutions, while at the same time we focus on the very important security needs, is a priority for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is, as Mr. Lantos has said, a country that for four decades has gone through a tumultuous history. Nearly 2 decades ago, I had the opportunity to visit with President Mobuto Sese-Seko in Kinshasa, and then went to Boundji, which was his birthplace. I will never forget how horrified we were seeing the tremendous resources about which my friend spoke utilized to basically build a shrine to this man at his birthplace. It is a country that has gone through tremendous human rights violations. As section 102 of this act points out, since 1998 40,000 women and children have been brutally raped in large part by those involved in security for the country. I believe that it is essential for us to take this very small amount of money and do everything that we can in our quest to make sure that that four-decade history is history and that it never repeats itself at all. I believe that this measure which enjoys strong bipartisan support can send a signal. I am very pleased to work closely with my colleague from North Carolina (Mr. Price) with our House Democracy Assistance Commission. I am going to be speaking about that on the next measure we bring forward, but I happen to believe as we look at the House Democracy Assistance Commission in its effort to build up parliaments in emerging, new and reemerging democracies, it is important for us to look at countries that will be natural partners of ours in this quest to build these parliaments. I think that the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with Kenya, which we are working with on the continent of Africa, and Liberia will potentially be a prime candidate for us to partner with in building that, and I know I will be working with Mr. Price on that in the coming months. This measure is a very important first step, and I join in congratulating the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo for taking that step towards free and fair elections and look forward to their continued success and obviously this multilateral approach which the act calls for, getting other countries involved, will I believe go a long way towards helping them. I thank my friend for yielding.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for his very kind words, but we do want to adjourn by this evening; so I appreciate the fact that he kept it relatively brief. And I want to thank him for his typical superb management of this very important rule and to say that I am very pleased that we have been able to work in a bipartisan way. At least two of the three provisions in this rule deal with the single most important issue that we face: the security of the American people. Our Homeland Security appropriations bill and I believe this tribunal bill, which will be made in order under this rule, is critical to the security of the United States of America, and that is our top priority. I guess I should begin, since he is looking so relaxed there, by saying time and time again in the Rules Committee, my colleague Ms. Slaughter and others said that it was Martin Sabo's last appearance before the Rules Committee. Well, I had every confidence, when people joked about the prospect of bringing a conference agreement back on the Homeland Security appropriations bill, that it would happen. And many people rolled their eyes. But thanks to the leadership of Martin Sabo and Harold Rogers and, of course, David Obey and Jerry Lewis, we have been able to come together with a very important Homeland Security appropriations conference report. So I would like to join in extending great appreciation to Martin Sabo for his stellar service to this body over the years and for his commitment to dealing with transportation issues and now homeland security and to say that we will miss him greatly. This measure, Mr. Speaker, that we are going to consider, the appropriations bill itself, is absolutely essential if we are going to focus on the security of our borders and deal with it in a responsible way. And I am happy that Ms. Slaughter was able to work on her compromise. Again, it is a bipartisan compromise, as she just said in her statement, that we have been able to deal with. And similarly, I am proud of another item that is included in this bill that is once again a bipartisan measure, and that is legislation that was introduced in the Senate by my California colleague, Dianne Feinstein, and I was privileged to introduce it here in the House. We had an actual unanimous recorded vote on this measure, and it was to recognize that we have a problem at our border; that being since September 11, 2001, the discovery of 38 tunnels, one of which came from Canada into the United States, 37 from Mexico into the United States. And what we discovered is that there is actually no criminal penalty for people who are tunneling or the utilization of property here in the United States for tunnels to come up. And what has happened? Through those tunnels we have seen tremendous problems with both human and narcotrafficking. So in this measure that we pass, we will be actually implementing criminalization of that kind of action, once again demonstrating our commitment to securing our Nation's border. Similarly, we obviously are very concerned about the fact that in heavy urban areas and in five particular areas, we have seen just across the border, above ground, large problems of human and narcotrafficking, and for those areas we are going to see the construction of border fences. I do not like the idea of fences. I really do not like the idea of fences at all. But our empirical evidence, Mr. Speaker, has shown that for the 14 miles along the border between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, California, we have seen a great improvement in the standard of living and quality of life because of this border fence which has been established. In fact, there has been a 50 percent reduction in the crime rate in San Diego, in large part attributed to the fact that we have this fence here. I look forward to the day when we will be able to take down all of these fences. But, frankly, as long as we have human trafficking and narcotrafficking the way it is today, I do not believe that we as a Nation have a choice. And so in those areas where we have heavy urban populations on both sides the border, I think it is essential that we do this. There are other areas where utilization of 21st century technology, using motion detectors, using unmanned aerial vehicles and other things will be very beneficial in our quest to ensure that we secure our Nation's borders. Now, as we look at our items in this bill, I believe that the funding that is provided is going to help us deal with the overall global war on terror. Again, if you think about the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, I always argue that, in that preamble, the five most important words of the preamble are: Provide for the common defense. And those five words, I believe, are addressed very successfully with this Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report. So, Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the work that has been done in a bipartisan way, Democrats and Republicans coming together, to do the right thing. I hope it can be used as a model for many of the things that we proceed with in the future.