Mark Kirk

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule. I highlight one key provision in this bill. I note that no provision in this bill lasts more than 5 years. There is one key section, section 502, regarding the State Department rewards program, and the public should know there is already a $5 million reward out for the arrest of Osama bin Laden. This program has been very successful in the past and has led to charts like this, showing the results of the United States embassy bombing outside our embassy in Kenya in which 12 Americans and 300 Kenyans and Tanzanians were killed. It is this program which led to the arrest of Mr. Kansi, who led the attack against CIA employees outside that agency, and also many Yugoslav war criminals. The underlying bill which will be supported by this rule gives Secretary Powell the authority to raise the amount for a reward for a terrorist up to $15 million. I introduced legislation along with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), H.R. 2895, to raise the full amount for the rewards program to $25 million. Secretary Powell has already mentioned this State Department rewards program and the $25 million figure in his public diplomacy. This bill and subsequent appropriations are a first step to dramatically enhancing the State Department's rewards program, and I think it should receive the support of this House.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Chairman, I want to speak as a Naval Reserve intelligence officer who knows the value of linguistic abilities in intelligence. The United States Government has two large institutions dedicated to international languages used by many countries, the Foreign Service Institute and the Defense Language Institute. But the real reserve of linguistic abilities among tribal and less-used languages across countries is the Peace Corps. I think the United States needs to develop in the national security community an ability to speak these other languages, especially obviously in Central Asia and countries where terrorist threats might emerge. This is going to require a huge effort, focusing on some of the abilities and the institutional knowledge in the Army's foreign area officer expertise. I think it is necessary for the Navy and Air Force and intelligence agencies to develop this FAO capability in other services, especially so that there is a full career path for such officers and that the United States looks to the long term. I also want to commend the committee on the recruitment guidelines and hope that when we look to the Director of Central Intelligence, that he reports back on those guidelines early and gives the Chief of Station the ability to set the guidelines in unique circumstances.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Chairman, after the September 11 attack, our economy was weakened and our military expenses have gone up. This is not the time to levy a $1.8 billion indirect tax on American consumers to charge a Stalinist high sugar price set by bureaucrats in Washington. This program also costs over $400 million in taxpayer funds to overproduce sugar. These funds should go directly to our men and women in uniform, for the reconstruction of New York, and for securing Social Security, not politically connected sugar growers lobbying the government for a government handout in time of war. To these sugar growers we should say we cannot afford to give a government handout, there is a war on. Mayor Daley of Chicago wrote to me with concerns for the jobs of 31,000 workers in Illinois threatened by the sugar program. These jobs are in many disadvantaged communities like North Chicago, Illinois, my State's second poorest community; and the legendary Brach's Candy Company, a Chicago institution, recently shut its doors for good, moving 1,100 jobs overseas due to high production costs caused by this sugar program. The simple fact is: as a result of this program, foreign candy sales have gone up over 70 percent in the last 5 years and could reach 40 percent of total sales within the next 5 years. Companies such as Jelly Belly of North Chicago and Craft of Glenview will suffer the same fate as Brach's if we do not reform this program. We cannot sit idly by while thousands of people lose their jobs so that sugar growers can reach into the taxpayer's pocket for yet another handout. These subsidies cannibalize our economy and segregate us into economic winners and losers. The Miller-Miller sugar reform amendment is different from past reform amendments which would have ended the sugar subsidy program. This amendment will reform, not eliminate the program; and it will make it more market oriented, bringing it in line with the administration's principle that we should move away from price supports towards our core belief in free and open markets. The sugar subsidy program cost the taxpayers $465 million last year, and now costs the government $1 million a month just to store excess sugar. We cannot sit by while thousands of our constituents lose their jobs because politically connected growers raid the treasury and millions of tons of sugar rots away in storage. Mr. Chairman, please join me in voting against this outdated, unfair subsidy that pits American's economic interests against each other and against the principles of free enterprise.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding the time, and rise in support of this amendment. Currently, Congress bans all abortions for military service members and their dependents in U.S. military hospitals overseas, including those which are privately funded. Women stationed overseas depend on base hospitals for medical care, often situated in areas where local facilities are inadequate. Prohibiting women from using their own funds to obtain these services endangers their health and well-being. Madam Chairman, I speak as someone who served in Operation Northern Watch at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey just last year. The thought of sending one of our service women from Incirlik to a Turkish hospital in Adana for the kind of services they would receive there is not something I want to support. I think our women in uniform deserve the very best health care, especially when they use their own funds.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Chairman, more Americans died last Tuesday than in our Revolutionary War. Therefore, I strongly support this bill and commend the chairman, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump), and our ranking minority member, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), for their excellent bipartisan work on this national defense measure. As a Reserve Naval intelligence officer and a new member of the committee, I strongly support almost all of the provisions of this bill. I would especially like to thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) for their support for my amendment, which would allow polling places to be established on military installations. The Kirk-Langevin amendment would clarify an arcane statute that outlaws ``military presence at voting facilities,'' hence, allowing the Department of Defense 1999 memo to prohibit establishing polling places on military installations. The section of the U.S. Code that our amendment seeks to repeal was enacted in 1865 in response to irregularities during the 1863 elections involving Union troops at polling places in Maryland and Delaware. Voters in some States were reportedly asked to take an oath of loyalty to the Union before voting with Union soldiers preventing others from voting. At the time the law was enacted, it was an appropriate response to these irregularities. However, the 1999 DOD interpretation of the statute makes voting for our men and women in uniform very difficult. When the DOD issued a directive to base commanders instructing that polling places should not be located on military installations, it has forced existing polling places to be relocated. According to the CRS, an April 2000 survey of State election officials identified at least 20 jurisdictions that have lost polling places and others that were vulnerable. Some of those polling places had been used for at least 15 years. It is time to let State and county officials decide to choose the convenient places for our people to exercise the franchise granted by the Constitution. Our amendment is to clarify this arcane law, making voting more accessible to our men and women in uniform. I thank my colleagues and I thank them for including this in the en bloc amendment and urge support for this legislation.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to swap my place with the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) at this time.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, a few hours ago I received a phone call from Captain Clay Fearnow, my former commanding officer in the Navy during the Kosovo conflict. Clay told me of a terrible loss we had suffered in the Navy family as part of the Pentagon disaster. Most of the Navy Command Center was hit, including the Chief of Naval Operations Intelligence plot offices. It is a point of intense personal loss for me and my family because of that information. My wife and I worked in that office. We know many people there. We want to offer our sympathy and support to the families of the victims in the Naval Intelligence Community that suffered this loss on Tuesday. Mr. Speaker, we can do something about this, and I want to offer one suggestion in the form of legislation that we will be offering later on today. In a previous life as a congressional staffer, I worked on legislation concerning the State Department Rewards Program offered for information leading to the arrest of individuals who lead terrorist attacks against Americans and American targets. This has been a very successful program, one until recently, where up to $1 million was offered for the apprehension of these international criminals. Mr. Kansi that led the attack against people outside the CIA was one of the criminals caught by this program. We had to update this program 2 years ago because the awards offered had become outdated and, in legislation lead by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) of the Committee on International Relations, we raised that amount to $5 million. The program has grown and it has led to things like this. After the Africa embassy bombings, the State Department was able to produce posters like this, and I want to publicize today that under current U.S. law and authorities available, there is a $5 million reward offered for the arrest of Osama bin Laden for a previous terrorist attack against U.S. embassies in Africa. These rewards are offered up to $5 million for attackers against American embassies, bases, and American individuals, and for the arrest of United Nations war criminals. I will say in the former Yugoslav Republic of Bosnia, over two dozen war criminals have been apprehended, including now the most famous, the former Serbian President, Slobodan Milosevic. At the end of this day today, we will be offering legislation to increase the reward amount for terrorists that lead attacks against Americans to $25 million, and we will authorize up to $50 million in the rewards account. We need to offer additional funds because of the changing enemy we face. Probably for the first time in our history, we now know that many of the enemies we face are very wealthy individuals. It is also likely that they have the backing of governments, and higher awards are needed to spark the imagination of the public and press in other countries. I want to commend the leaders of this effort that have already agreed to join us, such as the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), a real leader in catching war criminals and for the arrest of people who lead terrorist attacks against individuals. I also want to thank Chairman Smith who oversees the State Department accounts and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt) and many others who have agreed to sign on to this legislation. For other Members interested in signing on, we will be leaving the books open for original cosponsors until the close of business today. I think this is one of the many aspects of the battle that we are yet to face, but with an increased awards account, I think we can show everyone the seriousness of our effort and help energize the investigation which is now ongoing.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, as we move from the shock and anger of yesterday's terrorist attack, we must take action to protect every American. We suffered an intelligence failure similar to Pearl Harbor. We must identify how our intelligence missed the planning for this attack and correct the problem. We must lift restrictions on our agents operating abroad and provide them with the tools they need to defeat terrorists who attack Americans. Our aviation security system also failed. We need sky marshals on every flight while applying the lessons from airlines like Israel's El Al that operate safely under terrorist threat. We will work with manufacturers, airlines and pilots to secure cockpits from any attempt to commandeer the aircraft. Our military and intelligence establishment won the cold war, but must now be reformed to master the threats of a new century. Terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, cyber-attack and ballistic missiles are the new threats to our freedom. We must build a Global Alliance Against Terrorism with our key allies in NATO, the Middle East and Asia. If this attack was delivered by foreign terrorists, we will hunt them down. Terrorists cannot operate without the support of governments. if we find a foreign government provided aid for this attack, that government will face the full might of the U.S. military and our allies. Our grandfathers and mothers of the Greatest Generation responded to Pearl Harbor's call. This is our time. Standing behind our President and our government, we will protect the American people, our allies and the ideals we hold dear.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Opportunity, Inc. an exceptional organization located in Highland Park, Illinois. This extraordinary enterprise is a fine example of the initiative needed to help more people move from welfare to work allowing them to pursue the American dream. Opportunity, is a not-for-profit contract manufacturer that employs over 125 persons, most of whom have developmental, physical and/or emotional disabilities. Founded in 1976, the company's mission is both to provide a mainstream plant environment in which ``Handicapable'' people can reach their full potential by working and earning a paycheck and to provide customers such as Baxter International, Allegiance Healthcare, Searle, Gerber, UreSil, and Medline with the best possible service. As everyone understands, budget constraints compel us to look for ways to effectively address important needs without government subsidies, and Opportunity is leading the way in this regard. A model of community response, entrepreneurship, and innovation, the company demonstrates how competitive and productive ``Handicapable'' employees can be. When I visited Opportunity, I learned that it's business success, while impressive, pales in significance to the positive contributions it has made to its employees' lives. I experienced firsthand how proud, dedicated and competitive they are. Clearly, Opportunity is an organization that lives up to its name. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent a congressional district that includes enterprises of this caliber. It is my pleasure to salute the employees, management and directors of Opportunity as they celebrate their 25th Anniversary on September 15, 2001 at a gala dinner with Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Baxter International.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, next month this House will consider granting trade promotion authority to our President. One-third of all American families depend directly or indirectly on trade for their family incomes. America is the number one exporting nation, but unless we act, that leadership may fade. The European Union has concluded dozens of trade agreements with other nations. We have signed only two. In the center of America's heartland, my State of Illinois is home to our country's first and second top exporters. We are also home to half of all Internet sales on the World Wide Web, which in reality is the American exporting web. Trade authority will lay the foundation for continued American leadership with the highest paying jobs in the economy. I urge Members, when they return, to master the export opportunities ahead and give the President his authority.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, last week Saddam Hussein ordered Iraqi units to fire upon U.S. surveillance aircraft enforcing the United Nations no-fly zone protecting the Kurdish people of Iraq. It is clear from this record that Saddam Hussein is becoming an increasing security threat to the international system. Based on the achievements of the U.N. war crimes tribunal with the arrest of Slobodan Milosovic, we have a clear record of unilateral and multilateral action to support the rule of law and international human rights. Mr. Speaker, it is time to look for a U.N. war crimes tribunal on Iraq, to look at Iraq's violation of the peace with regard to its invasion of Iran, Saddam Hussein's ordering the execution of 5,000 civilians in Halabja, and its invasion of Kuwait. Now is the time, as we review sanctions and our policy toward Iraq, to start a multilateral effort to establish a U.N. war crimes tribunal.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise in reluctant opposition to this amendment, but I do want to salute the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for his work on behalf of Mr. Moakley's long work in support of human rights in El Salvador and in support of human rights in Colombia; but I reluctantly oppose this amendment. Recently, I accompanied the Waukegan Police Department on a raid of a crack house. There we found the crack addicts in the basement, but then I found that this was actually a home with three little bitty babies in it and a 12-year-old smoking crack cocaine. We cannot surrender the drug war. We need to make sure that we protect those who cannot protect themselves. But there are two purposes of the drug war. The first purpose of a U.S. drug war is to reduce the narcotics flow into the United States, and on that we have not done well. But there is a second purpose; and that second purpose, Mr. Chairman, is to prevent narcogovernments from taking power. We saw it once already in our history when the government of Panama fell and a narcogovernment took control there. Manuel Noriega turned the Immigration Ministry in Panama into an enormous drug lab. And two things happen once a narcogovernment takes control: first, economies of scale; and, secondly, research and development. The research and development in the narcotics industry created crack cocaine, a $5 single hit, that was an enormous boost to the illegal drug industry. And we cannot let that happen in Colombia. The United States has an important and positive role to play in supporting civil society in Colombia. Colombia, our neighbor, is in the middle of a nationwide crisis which threatens the entire region, and they have asked for our help. So the question is not should we become engaged, but how we should become engaged and to what end. Had this amendment redirected funds to support civil society in Colombia, especially judicial reform, I would have strongly supported it. However, simply pulling support from Colombia and its fight against drugs and its fight against narcoterrorism is not the solution. I believe it is vitally important to support Colombian institutions that are working in an effective fashion to bring criminals to justice, whether these criminals wear the uniform of rebels who profit from drug trafficking or are right-wing paramilitaries who fill their war chests with cash culled from the same dirty source. I would even mention that some of these lawbreakers wear the Colombian uniform of the armed services and support illegal activities of paramilitary groups that are responsible for most human rights violations in Colombia. But I would note that all aid under this bill passes through the Leahy amendment, vetting people to ensure respect for human rights. There are institutions in Colombia that do a truly exceptional job fighting injustices engulfing the country; and among them is the attorney general, known as the Fiscalia, and the Colombian National Police. Most of the recent high-level captures of paramilitary leaders and rebel chieftains are the result of the dedicated work of the attorney general's office, where hundreds of prosecutors are working against tremendous odds to transform the written word of Colombia's laws into real-life consequences for criminals. For instance, it is the attorney general's office that has done the painstaking investigations that have resulted in arrest warrants for top paramilitary leaders recently. They hit at the heart of the paramilitary structure, their drug profits; and they need our help. For their part, the leadership of the Colombian National Police has literally turned an institution around over the past decade, from one stained by human rights violations into a professional force. They have done what so far the Colombian military has not, sending a clear and pointed message that rank-and-file human rights violators will not be tolerated. Since 1994, when General Jose Serrano took over, over 11,000 officers have been dismissed for crimes that vary from corruption to extrajudicial execution. In their place are officers who know their first duty is to obey the laws themselves before they bring criminals to justice. General Gilibert continues to uphold this tradition and needs our support to continue to enforce the law, particularly in regards to human rights. Mr. Chairman, we should not surrender Colombia to drug lords of the right or the left. Defeat in this instance of civil society would mean at least 10 percent of Colombia would attempt to move to the United States. I would hope in the future we could work together in a bipartisan fashion to craft an aid package that supports the Democrat center, civil society, prosecutors, police officers, judges to create a Democrat forum in Colombia where we could win the war against the tyranny of the right or left.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation to extend the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. I want to applaud the leadership of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), my former boss and now colleague, and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), our ranking Democratic member, who is a leader for us all on the issue of human rights. Mr. Speaker, Iran claims that it has a new moderate status, but all we see is the persecution of the Baha'is and Jewish minorities. We see terrorist bombings from the Beirut bombing to Khobar Towers. I want to make a special note for the life of John Phillips, a U.S. Marine from Wilmette, Illinois, that lost his life in the Beirut bombing. Iran sponsors terrorism through its intelligence service, the MOIS. We saw that over 200 days ago the MOIS's wholly owned subsidiary, Hezbollah, kidnapped three Israeli soldiers. For 200 days we have had no proof of life. For 200 days we have had no word on their condition. That is the current record of Iran today, a record added to by the launch of the Shahab-3 missile, a long-range missile with components from North Korea that we know is pointed straight at U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf and at Jerusalem. Mr. Speaker, with this extension we send a message that a state that sponsors terrorism, that proliferates weapons of mass destruction, cannot do business as usual. I applaud the committee and urge adoption of this measure.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for that clarification. Several constitutional lawyers have informed me that H.R. 7 would indeed change the existing situation. This is precisely where we seem to most disagree on the direction our policy should move in. I would hope that the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts) would commit to working with those of us who are concerned about this issue to craft language which would ensure that these organizations comply with State and local civil rights laws which exist in communities across the Nation. The gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) and several representatives of the leadership have expressed their desire to clarify this issue in conference.

Mr. KIRK. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. KIRK. If a State law prohibits discrimination based on a particular characteristic, and in a religious organization would ordinarily, based on State law, be required to comply with that law, would H.R. 7 change that situation in any way?

Mr. KIRK. H.R. 7, as currently written, does not include similar language prohibiting the preemption of State and local laws; is that not correct?

Mr. KIRK. I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma.

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I would like to engage the author of the bill in a colloquy. Many H.R. 7 supporters have questioned why this issue is suddenly being discussed, since the most recent version of the charitable choice signed into law last year included the following provision: ``Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify or affect the provisions of any other Federal or State law or any regulation that relates to discrimination in employment.'' Is that not correct?

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Illinois for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Human Rights Caucus, I rise in support of trade with China. China is in the middle of a historic transformation. Half of all construction cranes in the world now operate in China. More cell phone users and Internet subscribers will live in China than in Europe. Opening China will help human rights. In the 1960s, 30 million people died in China of starvation, and it took the U.S. intelligence community over 20 years to even find out. Today, tens of thousands of Westerners travel throughout China each day. We know more about China than ever before, and we can fight for democratic change and more effective human rights better than ever before. Martin Lee, the democratic leader of Hong Kong's pro-democracy forces, supports trade with China. Taiwan supports trade with China. As the world is being remade in our image, I believe that free trade with China is the most effective way to support democratic change and human rights in China.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and this bill; and I would like to congratulate the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) on the successful completion of this their first measure. Before being elected to Congress, I spent a great deal of my career working on various aspects of the United States foreign assistance programs. I have seen firsthand the positive effects these programs can have on building democracy, providing critical humanitarian aid, and making the world a safer place for us all. I commend almost all aspects of this bill but especially for continued vital assistance programs around the world to fight HIV/AIDS and also for international family planning. The data is now in that international family planning is one of the best ways to reduce the incidence of abortion. We have seen clearly in Kazakhstan that if you support women's rights, if you support maternal and child health and you want to reduce the incidence of abortion, you support international family planning. I also want to commend the committee for its action on Tibetan refugee assistance and support to our allies in the Caucasus, particularly Armenia. I am especially pleased with this bill's strong support of Israel and stability in the Middle East. This bill provides strong funding for Israel under the Economic Support Fund as well as for Egypt, a critical ally in this region. I want to particularly commend the chairman's strong bill language regarding the continued escalation of violence and the PLO's lack of 100 percent effort to achieve 100 percent compliance with the Oslo Accords. I urge my colleagues to support this measure and to support Israel. Mr. Speaker, I am totally committed to America's role in the world. As a new member of the Committee on the Budget, I took up the sometimes lonely fight for the International Affairs budget function 150. It is that battle that we must continue in years to come. It has always been my belief that it is less expensive in American blood and treasure to support our allies than to try to accomplish something unilaterally with military forces overseas. This bill is a good investment. It represents the best that America has to offer in the world. I urge its adoption along with the rule.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Chairman, I rise in reluctant opposition to this amendment. I began my work against HIV in 1986. The first HIV test was produced in Deerfield, Illinois, in my district. It cost hundreds of millions of dollars to produce and alerted us to a crisis of AIDS in Africa. But if this amendment had become law in 1987, just when we realized the magnitude of the problem, all major AIDS drugs would have been shelved and there would have been no money for the production of those drugs. AZT was developed, and it offers chronic care of HIV. Kaletra is now on the market, and it drives viral loads to zero. Both drugs were discovered without U.S. taxpayer funds, and these drugs are saving lives. Now over 50 new drugs are under development. But this amendment would stop the development of those drugs in their tracks. If these new drugs come to patients, we can cure AIDS, and we can develop a new vaccine that will stop anyone else from getting AIDS. But our solution is not to destroy the intellectual property law of the United States, a law which is founded in our own Constitution and produced a country that won more Nobel Prizes than any other country. The answer is funding for programs like UNAIDS. I helped found the UNAIDS program in 1986 as a staffer for John Porter. And funding for that program went from $25 million to over $1 billion. Hope, research, and funding for UNAIDS is the answer, not throwing scientists out of work upon whom our hope depends.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the NIH guidelines for stem cell research. We must look to the promise of stem cell research. The NIH guidelines will enable scientists to proceed with this revolutionary medical breakthrough. Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to develop into nearly any cell in the human body. This research initiative gives hopes to millions of Americans. Stem cells offer hope to patients suffering from diabetes, Parkinson's disease, cancer and AIDS. In addition, the research offers hope to those suffering from spinal cord injuries, neurological disorders, sickle cell anemia and muscular dystrophy. Stem cells could also help determine the cause of many birth defects. Mr. Speaker, millions of Americans are depending on stem cell research to help rid them of painful diseases. Millions of Americans continue to wait as our Government delays in considering this critical form of research. We have a genuine bipartisan opportunity to apply innovative research to take real steps in treating and eliminating a wide range of diseases. The NIH guidelines will help us do that.