Patrick Kennedy

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Neal]. This is a real example of us working together on a bi-State issue, but one that pulls us all together because of the nature of the heritage corridor.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. I want to thank both my colleagues from Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, I realize the difficult choices the chairman and the members of the committee are faced with, but I want to discuss with the gentleman the fact that this bill provides no construction funds in fiscal year 1998 for the Blackstone Corridor.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. We certainly appreciate the chairman's consideration and look forward to working with him for the success of this project, which means a great boon to our area in northern Rhode Island and Massachusetts as well, which has seen a great growth in jobs as a result of this wonderful model project in this country of what a heritage corridor can do for the economy of a given region. I want to thank the chairman for his work on this.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. I appreciate the gentleman's position and I know the committee's support for the Blackstone Valley River Heritage Corridor. I know the chairman's sensitivity to the notion of passing the bill last year as we did during the last Congress and putting some of the construction funds in place, but then it is sort of analogous to building a house but not putting the furniture in it. We do not want to jeopardize this project by not following through on our commitment to it as we did through the authorization bill last year. Should the Senate allocation in this year's bill be more generous than the House number and should the Senate provide the funds for this project, can I ask the gentleman as chairman and the members of his committee to consider supporting this project once again as he has done in the past?

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to comment on the importance of Senate Joint Resolution 29, a bill that fully honors the memory of one of our Nation's finest Presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Foremost, I want to thank Senator Inouye of Hawaii for introducing this legislation. Senator Inouye's leadership and dedication to a proper memorial has been second to none. Senator Inouye has correctly stated that, ``disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in all aspects of American life * * * the depiction of President Roosevelt in a wheelchair will inspire the tragically afflicted. It may very well be a more honest way to depict President Roosevelt.'' Such a strong commitment on the part of Senator Inouye has allowed us all to pay full tribute to the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I also want to thank Representative Don Young of Alaska, chairman of the House Resources Committee, and Representative George Miller of California for bringing this legislation to the House side in a bipartisan manner. Modifying the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial by adding a permanent statue which depicts him as a citizen with a handicap is essential if we are to fully understand the life and times of FDR. The need to erect a permanent addition to the FDR Memorial is twofold. First, it is imperative to publicly acknowledge the great accomplishments of our 32d President. And second, a permanent statue sends a message to our citizens that handicaps do not limit a person's opportunity for achievement. FDR's accomplishments as President speak volumes of the fact that people living with handicaps can accomplish their goals. Throughout his tenure as President, FDR remained firmly committed to the development of all Americans, those with disabilities, and those without. In his second inaugural address, FDR spoke of the ``road of enduring progress'' on which he claimed that ``mental and moral horizons had been extended.'' For FDR this goal was especially important to those living with handicaps. Ultimately, FDR sought the advancement of this cause through the establishment of a foundation at Warm Springs, GA, to help other polio victims, and inspired the March of Dimes program which funded an effective vaccine. To be sure, our country has built upon the legacy of FDR and has come a long way in ensuring the equality of all citizens living with disabilities through programs such as the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Individuals. With Disabilities Education Act. The FDR Memorial is simply a testament of how far along the road of progress we have come as a nation to ensuring that persons living with both mental and physical handicaps are entitled to equal rights, equal access, and equal opportunity. The FDR Memorial serves as a reference point for those of us who are traveling down the road of progress. FDR renounced fear as it is ``nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.'' President Roosevelt's continued renunciation of fear, refusal to crumble, and ability to act decisively and fearlessly in spite of the pressures of the Great Depression and World War II allowed him to develop into one of the finest role models for the people of the United States. A permanent statue of FDR as a citizen with a disability will forever inspire all citizens to forge through our fears and most difficult times. To me it is ironic, yet only fitting, that during the Great Depression, a time when our Nation was in fact disabled, a man living with a handicap, stepped beyond his limitations to lead our Nation like no other. Our 32d President not only lived with a handicap, but did so while being one of the great leaders of our country. FDR is symbolic of perseverance, and his Presidency is testimony that mental and physical handicaps are not impediments to success. In the end, a permanent statue which portrays Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a person with a handicap will be forever a reminder that disability is part of humanity and in no way reduces a person's chance of fulfilling his or her dreams.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained on rollcall vote 246 on today's vote. Had I been here, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. While the senior citizens do not get the necessary health insurance, as my colleague, the gentleman from Oregon, just mentioned; while children do not get the necessary health insurance they need, and while legal immigrants still go without SSI, based upon the Republican discriminatory bill with respect to our legal immigrants not being provided adequate SSI coverage.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I think what this reconciliation bill really does is it shows where the majority party, the Republican party's, true priorities are. Clearly, their priorities are not with our Nation's senior citizens, who are now going to get the cold shoulder because of the MSA accounts that are provided for in this bill, which basically allows the skimming to be done by insurance companies, so they can get the healthiest and wealthiest who do not have to pay the deductible, and be able to target those very healthy and wealthy people, leaving the poorest elderly, the most frail elderly, the ones that have the most costs to bear with respect to that. In addition to that, the bill also, as the gentleman said, makes sure that we do not provide the needed investment for health insurance for children, making sure that all the children in this country get the necessary health care that they need. Finally, as the gentleman mentioned, all this does is shift the burden of our taxes from the top 1 percent of this country to the bottom 60 percent. I think the gentleman pointed out correctly that, is it not correct that the tax cut that this reconciliation bill provides for, including the tax bill, has a tax cut larger for the top 1 percent than for the aggregate of the bottom 60 percent?

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, let us see what the appeasement strategy of MFN has gotten us. On military aggression China sales of weapons to Iran are well- documented. But even worse than being well-documented, China defends their sale of weapons to Iran. We have heard about the trade deficit approaching nearly $50 billion a year. Those are jobs, my colleagues. Between 1989 and 1994, our trade deficit with China increased tenfold. I wonder why. Well, maybe it is because despite the fact that they have agreed to end trade and prison labor it is estimated that between 6 and 8 million Chinese are enslaved in labor camps. I thought they said they gave us their word they were not going to engage in slave labor any more. Whoops, small detail there. Well, according to Amnesty International, this is continued every year. In addition, over 3,500 documented executions occur every year in jails in China. My colleagues, vote ``yes'' on the resolution and ``no'' on MFN.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend my good friend, the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Hall] for this amendment. I think once again it underscores this body's concern about the actions of the Indonesian Government with respect to the people of East Timor, the horrendous brutality that has taken place there ever since Indonesia invaded and occupied the small island of East Timor. I think once again the gentleman is communicating the sentiment of this Congress with respect to that troubled part of the world and the fact that we are in solidarity with the Nobel Peace Prize winners, Bishop Belo from East Timor and Jose Ramos Horta, both of whom have received the Nobel Peace Prize for their advocacy on behalf of those troubled people in East Timor who have been struggling for human rights, and those human rights have been systematically neglected and abused by the Indonesian Government. I think the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Hall] should be commended for his longstanding commitment to this. I just came to this Congress 3 years ago, Mr. Chairman, and I am joining the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Hall] in his longstanding advocacy for the people of East Timor. Having visited there myself this past December, I was able to see firsthand what was going on on the ground, speak to the people there, and learn about the atrocities that have been contained within this amendment. Mr. Hall points out that on November 12, 1991, Indonesian troops opened fire on thousands of peaceful mourners and demonstrators at the Santa Cruz cemetery. I think the world watched in horror as film footage was smuggled out of Indonesia that depicted this horrible massacre at Santa Cruz where the Indonesian soldiers opened fire on the crowd there that was assembled, and this told the truth of what was happening in East Timor. I salute Mr. Hall for once again reminding this Congress and Indonesia that we are not going to sit idly by and watch these human rights abuses continue, and that is why I rise in support of Mr. Hall's amendment to this bill.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Yes, it is, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. I would like to say that we accept the Bereuter amendment. We do not condone violence on any side. I would like to follow up with a few comments with respect to the points made by the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter]. That is, having visited East Timor myself this last year, I had an opportunity to sit down with Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Belo and spoke with him for a considerable length of time and do have a sense of how these violent occurrences are precipitated. I might add that Bishop Belo himself has said to me that there is a situation where the government is hiring East Timorese to instigate and act as catalysts for violent uprisings, because what it does is give the excuse for the Indonesian military to then crack down on whomever they want to crack down on. I just want to add that because I have spoken to our own Department of State and some of their officials there, and there is an acknowledgment that the Indonesian government is training such, I guess, double agents, although I do not think they are agents in the cold war sense, but they are East Timorese that are on the payroll of the Indonesian Government that front for this terrorist group in East Timor and thereby justify the reprisals that the Indonesian Government then uses as an excuse to put down these uprisings in the first place. I want to point that out. I also just want to point out that in the wake of those violent outbreaks that the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter] pointed out, some of those reports are still yet to be confirmed, although I take nothing away from his effort to deplore any kind of violence. I want to also add that in the aftermath of the election there were a series of roundups and manhunts by the military and widespread arrests in Dili, Baucau, Ermera and Los Palos under circumstances which torture is very likely. Of course, we have evidence of torture of those who have been detained in jails within East Timor. I can tell my colleagues that Constantio Pinto, for example, in my district in Rhode Island has given me graphic descriptions of his time in jail when he was tortured repeatedly. We know that Indonesia is feeling discomfort because of the attention that we are bringing to these issues. It is unfortunate that it has to affect the relationship, but the best way for Indonesia to solve this problem is to clean up their human rights abuses instead of trying to get us to not recognize their human rights abuses.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, I would just like to say there are countless stories. Unfortunately the ICRC cannot tell them to us because it would abrogate their mandate to be an impartial, as my colleagues know, observer and support to human rights in the countries that they are situated in. But they are only situated in those countries with gross human rights abuses, and they do not want to jeopardize that mission. But they did tell me that they are exceeding their ability to keep on top of all the cases that they have to stay on top of, and what that says to me is volumes about the current situation there. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from New York for her support.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I would like to respond to the gentleman's points. On the first one, I clearly think that justice needs to be done, but of course there is no justice in East Timor because people can be summarily arrested and tortured without legal representation. I do acknowledge that the gentleman is correct that in the event there is any violence, there should be justice. But the justice system as it currently exists is a one-sided justice system. On the second point in terms of the payroll, I would acknowledge that I do not think in every instance that those instigating these points of violence whereby the Indonesian Government uses as a pretext to crack down on the East Timorese, that in all those instances it is those that are on their payroll, but I would point out that it is something that is acknowledged on the ground there as being a fundamental truth of the situation.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, the amendment I am offering today will attempt to confirm a commitment from Indonesia to cease its human rights violations throughout that country and, in particular, East Timor. It will state the sense of this Congress that the United States should impose military sanctions on the country of Indonesia if its human rights record fails to improve. It is very similar to provisions already included in the original version of the Foreign Policy Reform Act that were accepted in committee by voice vote. Because the foreign aid portion of this bill is not before us today, I am offering this sense of Congress amendment in its place. As many Members know, last week the Indonesian Government announced that they have dropped their participation in the expanded IMET military training program and have scrapped plans to buy nine F-16 fighter planes. This action on the part of Indonesia is a major victory for all of us in this House who believe in the importance of human rights and for those of us who have worked hard to bring about change in the country of Indonesia. It was clear they were feeling defensive, it was clear they were feeling vulnerable and, as such, they did not want to be beat to the punch and embarrassed by this Congress' action with respect to those planes. And this bill they wanted to get out of the way before this Congress expressed its strong opinion on the human rights abuses in Indonesia. We cannot rest on this victory, however, and in fact Indonesia's official statement on this issue declared that the criticisms of this body were, and I quote, ``wholly unjustified.'' However, the death of one-third of the people of East Timor for the past 21 years, nearly one-third of the whole population, is evidence enough that these criticisms are indeed justified. I believe that through the visit that I have made to East Timor myself, personally, my own visits not only with the Government officials representing the Indonesian Government but also with the human rights community who are stationed there in East Timor, that I have a good appreciation of this issue. I have spoken to both the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jose Ramos Horta, on several occasions, both here in Washington and in my own State of Rhode Island, and I have spoken to Carlos Belo, Bishop Belo, from the East Timor parish. He has given me many examples of the terrible injustices that occur on a daily basis in East Timor by the Government of Indonesia. Mr. Chairman, these abuses are occurring in East Timor in large part due to the free hand that the military has given in suppressing the independence movement in East Timor. There is no question that the attacks and abuses are escalating throughout the country, and I am aware that there has been much violence preceding and surrounding the so-called democratic election that has just taken place there. But anybody watching that election knows that it is far from ever being considered a democratic election when the Indonesian Government outlaws campaigning on the part of the opposition. Unfortunately, Indonesia repeatedly denies that there is a problem with the human rights abuses in their country, and yet the evidence is so crystal clear. In fact, there have been instances like the St. Cruz massacre when it was captured on tape and the tape tells the truth, the truth that the Indonesian Government wants to refuse to believe, and yet we have the evidence and the statistics and the weight of the human rights community and our own State Department report. I might add, the Department of State has considered Indonesia one of the top countries that this country finds is violating human rights. So, in this legislation, the sense of Congress, we have called for various policy reforms including free and fair elections in East Timor, respect for labor rights, protection of nongovernmental organizations, rights for the East Timorese people, and, of course, for the fair adjudication and release of political prisoners. Mr. Chairman, that is not the current situation in East Timor. Just wearing a yellow T-shirt, celebrating Bishop Belo's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize is enough to get you arrested and thrown in jail. In East Timor, the free and fair election, there have not been any. Protections for nongovernmental organizations, that has a dismal report. Mr. Chairman, I would like to conclude with this one point: I visited the ICRC, the International Committee on Red Cross, and they told me they have never been busier. Well, if any of my colleagues know what the ICRC does, they look out for human rights abuses. So if they have never been busier, we know what they are talking about. It means there have never been as many human rights abuses as are going on this day. I want to thank the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] and the gentleman from California [Mr. Berman] particularly for their efforts to bring us this amendment to the floor.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment, and I ask unanimous consent to claim the 5 minutes in opposition.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, I just would like to commend the gentleman for his own visit to East Timor. There is nothing like seeing it in person, to speak to Bishop Belo in East Timor, to visit with the people as the gentleman has, that gives one the strong feelings such as the gentleman has about it. Like the gentleman from Virginia, I have read a lot about it. But it was not until I visited and saw it myself and heard from the people dramatically about the overwhelming military presence in East Timor and the fear that everyone has going to bed at night, that they are not going to be woken up in the middle of the night, have a gun to their head and dragged out in the middle of the street, go to jail, never to be seen again. This is the constant state of fear and terror that the people of East Timor live under, given that occupation by the Indonesian Government; and I want to salute the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf] for his strong words on this amendment.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank my friend, the gentleman from Washington State, for yielding me this time. I am pleased to be able to be able to follow my colleague, the gentleman from Rhode Island [Mr. Weygand], in his approach to this budget resolution and how unfair this budget resolution really is. Mr. Chairman, everyone should just stop for a moment and think about how we arrived at this budget resolution. Remember, there was a breakdown because we did not agree on the Consumer Price Index, because it was going to affect working families and it was going to gouge the cost of living adjustment for our senior citizens? Remember when we were talking about even severer cuts to Medicare, and emasculating programs of veterans' benefits, all the while because we knew the majority party had to preserve their big tax cuts for the rich? Then, miraculously, $250 billion found. It was on the front page of the Washington Post. Remember, oh, my God, all of our problems are solved. Capitol Hill negotiators see a quick resolution to the budget impasse, and $45 billion a year in estimated revenues have now been disclosed by the Congressional Budget Office as new revenues. Thank God. Just in time. What the gentleman from Rhode Island [Mr. Weygand] was talking about, what the minority leader, the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Gephardt] was talking about, what the gentleman from Washington [Mr. McDermott] is talking about, is that when the train crashes, guess who is going to get hurt? It is going to be the veterans, it is going to be the senior citizens, it is going to be the immigrants. Members can tell us all they want how this budget is fair, how it restores money to legal immigrants, how it helps early education, but we know this is blue smoke and mirrors. Because when it comes down to making the cuts that need to be made, and that CBO estimate that the majority party has cooked up with added revenues does not come true, guess who it is not going to come true for? The people who are going to get hurt are the people that always get hurt. That is the poor working people that I represent in my State and that all of my colleagues represent around this country. Reject this budget resolution. It is not fair to the American people.