Alcee Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we are here debating one rule for two entirely unrelated and unnecessary bills. To make matters worse, in the process of doing so, my Republican colleagues have shut out my fellow Democrats and some of their Republicans, even after presenting two germane amendments, even having the opportunity to have those amendments debated on the floor of the House of Representatives, the people's House. What are you afraid of? By not making in order germane amendments with no budgetary effect, even after the chairman of the pertinent committee asked that a structured rule be provided that would have allowed for those two germane amendments to be offered, the majority is silencing the duly-elected representatives of millions of Americans. We have more important things to address here in the people's House. Continuing to undermine the dedicated work of our Federal agencies, continuing to govern not based on the reality of the situation but on how you feel things are, and then shutting out the voices of millions of Americans through their representatives from the legislative process is shameful and no way to govern. The American people deserve better. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Honorable MP Vian Dakhil on receiving the 2016 Lantos Human Rights Prize. I was very appreciative of the Lantos Foundation for inviting me to participate in today's ceremony conferring the award. For decades, Congressman Tom Lantos championed human rights in the U.S. House of Representatives, and I was very privileged to have served alongside him. Today, the Commission and the Foundation that bear his name continue his vital work, fighting for human dignity for all people. MP Dakhil first captured the world's attention in August 2014 as she pleaded with the Iraqi parliament to help her people, the Yazidi, besieged on Mount Sinjar. Since then, she has spent the last two and a half years rescuing girls and young women enslaved by the Islamic State, coordinating rescue missions into ISIS territory to bring girls and women out of bondage. Even as she continues to represent her people in the Iraqi parliament, she works tirelessly to support survivors and children orphaned by the genocide. In taking a stand for the Yazidi people, MP Dakhil has embodied the very definition of heroism. Her bravery and moral clarity make her as fitting a recipient of the 2016 Lantos Human Rights Prize as any I can think of. The Yazidi people have suffered a grave injustice at the hands of the Islamic State. ISIS has kidnapped and indoctrinated young boys into child soldiers. Thousands of men and women have been killed. Among the most savage of their crimes, the Islamic State has kidnapped thousands of Yazidi girls and women to sell on the market, creating a structured system of organized kidnapping, rape, and sexual slavery. The horrific nature of these crimes is beyond condemnation. Today, between 3,000- 4,000 Yazidi women and girls are still held captive by ISIS, the ``bleeding wound of Iraq,'' as MP Dakhil describes. As we gather here, we must recognize that the international community, the United States included, has in large part failed to act. We continue to fail to exercise our moral leadership to bring aid to those in need, even as crimes against humanity occur on a daily basis. Just two weeks ago, the world observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Many of us have heard the affirmation of ``never again'' in relation to the Holocaust. When I think of the Yazidi people, and the Shabak, the Turkmen, Shias, Sunnis, Christians, the Rohinga, and the Darfuri, I ask myself if the true meaning of this proclamation is, in fact, losing its meaning. Each of us has a responsibility to fight against injustice no matter where we find it in the world. In Congress, I have introduced H.R. 379, the Justice for Yazidis Act, a proposal that would establish and fund vital programming for the Yazidi people and other religious minorities. My bill establishes a healthcare and psychosocial support program that places an emphasis on providing trauma therapy for children and survivors of sexual slavery, as well as a psychologist, physical therapist, and social worker training program to provide training to psychologists and social workers who speak Kurmanji or the Shengali dialect of Kurmanji. MP Dakhil already works tirelessly to support these types of programs. The United States can, and should, do more to assist in these noble and just efforts. Congressman Lantos used to say that; ``the veneer of civilization is paper thin. We are its guardians. We can never rest.'' I am proud to honor MP Dakhil as one of the world's guardians

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 seconds to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished minority whip and my good friend.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 seconds to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 seconds to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan).

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 10 seconds to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings), my home girl, for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, would the Chair be so kind as to tell me how much time remains on both sides?

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am very pleased to yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished minority leader, for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 seconds to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardenas).

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 seconds to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Napolitano).

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 seconds to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez).

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.

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

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 10 seconds to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), my good friend that I serve on the Rules Committee with, for debate.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Shea-Porter) for a unanimous consent request.