Tom Lantos

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition to this motion, although I'm not opposed to the motion.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, this has been a bipartisan bill from the very beginning. We have incorporated ideas from both sides of the aisle into this legislation. The recommittal motion has no practical effect whatsoever. Nothing in the legislation before the House would prohibit the United States from responding to an Iranian military attack on the United States forces or interests in Afghanistan. In fact, no statute prohibits the President from ordering a response to military attacks upon our Nation or upon our Armed Forces. However, this motion does not provide for taking any military action outside Afghanistan, nor should it. Therefore, I will support this motion to recommit.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the instructions of the House in the motion to recommit, I report H.R. 2446 back to the House with an amendment.

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

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk may be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 2446, to include corrections in spelling, punctuation, section numbering and cross-referencing, and the insertion of appropriate headings.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1469) to establish the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation under the authorities of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, this is a singularly important piece of legislation which I bring to my colleagues with great personal enthusiasm and some fond memories. Let me first pay tribute to our late colleague, Senator Paul Simon, after whom this legislation is named. Paul was a firm champion not only of education, higher education, but also education abroad, this incredibly important aspect in a growingly interdependent world. It is appropriate that this piece of legislation be named after our great late colleague, Paul Simon. Mr. Speaker, for 10 years, first I established and then I had the privilege of directing the Study Abroad Program of the California State University and College System. When I established that program, it was a path-breaking enterprise because historically study abroad was the privilege of only the wealthy and those who attended uniquely elite institutions. Our legislation expands the opportunity for study abroad that hopefully will involve annually about a million of our college and university students. Not too many years ago, study abroad was the opportunity for some wealthy college students to spend some time in France or Italy or maybe in Germany. But in an increasingly globalized world, our need to have young men and women who are conversant in the languages of many countries and who are familiar with the cultures of many countries is an absolute necessity for our national security and our national well- being. This historic piece of legislation will democratize the program of Study Abroad, which used to be the privilege of a very thin layer of our society. It opens up for every American college student, irrespective of his or her socioeconomic status, the opportunity of spending a year or more involved in serious language and area study all over the world. At a time when new languages are required by vast numbers of our young people, Chinese, Indian, Arabic and others, this will provide a dramatic upgrading of our ability to interact with the rest of the globe. I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation which will usher in a new era for American higher education for college students all over the United States. Mr. Speaker, I ask that an exchange of letters between the Committee of Foreign Affairs and the Committee of Oversight and Government Reform be included in the Record at this time. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Washington, DC, June 5, 2007. Hon. Tom Lantos, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Lantos: I am writing about H.R. 1469, a bill to establish the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation. The Committee on Foreign Affairs reported this legislation to the House on May 9, 2007. I appreciate your effort to consult with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding those provisions of H.R. 1469 that fall within the Oversight Committee's jurisdiction. These provisions address issues related to the Federal civil service, Federal property management, and the duties of inspectors general. In the interest of expediting consideration of H.R. 1469, the Oversight Committee will not request a sequential referral of this bill. I would, however, request your support for the appointment of conferees from the Oversight Committee should H.R. 1469 or a similar Senate bill be considered in conference with the Senate. Moreover, this letter should not be construed as a waiver of the Oversight Committee's legislative jurisdiction over subjects addressed in H.R. 1469 that fall within the jurisdiction of the Oversight Committee. Please include our exchange of letters on this matter in the Congressional Record during consideration of this legislation on the House floor. Again, I appreciate your willingness to consult the Committee on these matters. Sincerely, Henry A. Waxman, Chairman.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 152) relating to the 40th anniversary of the reunification of the City of Jerusalem, as amended.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to join my good friend from Florida, the distinguished ranking member of our committee, in recognizing the 40th anniversary of one of the great military triumphs of the 20th century, the so-called Six Day War. Some of us remember and everybody has read about the attempt of the neighboring Arab countries to annihilate the State of Israel 40 years ago. In a brilliant preemptive move, the Israeli military moved ahead and destroyed the air forces and much of the military of the neighboring countries which were ready to destroy it. The Six Day War transformed the shape of the Middle East and brought about the unification of the city of Jerusalem. Prior to the Six Day War, Jerusalem was closed to Israelis. Following the Six Day War, members of all faiths have had full and free access to the city of Jerusalem, and places of worship, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, are available to all individuals who seek an opportunity for peaceful prayer. This body and the other body some years back called for the proper placement of the United States embassy in Israel's capital in Jerusalem. My good friend, the late Senator Patrick Moynihan, and I introduced this legislation which was strongly supported with significant majorities in both the House and the Senate. But administrations since that time have seen fit to postpone the move of our embassy to Jerusalem. I earnestly hope that with this commemorative resolution we again call the attention of this administration to its promise, clear and unequivocal, to move the embassy to Israel's capital, Jerusalem. Our embassy is in the capital of every single country with which we maintain diplomatic relations and the capital is designated by the country concerned. It is long overdue that this administration honor the President's personal commitment to move the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis).

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to my good friend, the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel).

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, before yielding back my time, I would like to make a couple of observations. As my colleagues pointed out, two of Israel's neighbors, Jordan and Egypt, have signed historic peace agreements with the State of Israel. And while this peace is not a full-fledged, blossoming, all-encompassing peace agreement, it certainly has meant the end of hostilities and the beginning of commercial, cultural, educational, touristic and diplomatic relations. The time is long overdue for Israel to be able to reach an agreement with both Lebanon and Syria, as well as the Palestinian people, so this long-suffering area, where all of the people have suffered for far too long and far too severely, at long last can be a region of peace and reconciliation. For this to come about, terrorism must end. You cannot make peace with people who are plotting daily to destroy your very existence. When Israel evacuated Gaza, it expected peace from that area. But, under Hamas, daily rocket attacks are unleashed on peaceful civilian Israeli border communities. Two women were killed just in recent weeks as a result of these monstrousattacks. Hezbollah in the north similarly is sworn to terrorism. This must be put to an end if this important region is to join much of the rest of the world in moving ahead with economic progress, social progress, and the reconciliation of people. I honestly hope that our resolution paying tribute to the victory 40 years ago and reminding ourselves of our formal commitment to move the U.S. Embassy to its proper location in Jerusalem will serve as a reminder that the time is long overdue for normalizing the situation in this region. The end of terrorism, the move of our Embassy, will bring about a long prayed for and hoped for period of peace.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 397) condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia's embassies in 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Estonia, as amended.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the only Member in the history of Congress who survived the Holocaust and was liberated by the Russian Army. I was therefore opposed to the decision and continue to remain opposed to the decision by the government of Estonia to move a memorial honoring Russian soldiers for their historic sacrifice during World War II in liberating Estonia and many other parts of Europe from Hitler's domination. What came afterward, however, is an entirely different issue. On April 27, over 1,000 pro-Russian demonstrators gathered in Tallinn, the beautiful small capital of Estonia. That group soon got out of control. Riots broke out across the city. Finally, over 150 people were injured. One person died. The next day, the Embassy of Estonia in Moscow was surrounded by angry, pro-Russian demonstrators who demanded the resignation of the government of Estonia. The Estonian ambassador was physically attacked by demonstrators during an official press conference. Even the Swedish ambassador to Russia was assaulted when he left the Estonian Embassy in Moscow. Since the initial riots in Tallinn, the Estonian government has reported other coordinated attacks against its Embassies in Helsinki, Finland; Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Riga; Prague and Kiev. The Estonian government, with the assistance of NATO, has also been investigating cyber attacks against the government's Web site, as well as against the computer systems of political parties, banks, and media organizations in Estonia. Cyber attacks in this day and age, Mr. Speaker, can be devastating. The Estonian government estimates that these attacks cost the targets tens of millions of Euros, a significant sum for a small country like Estonia. These incidents of violence have been condemned by a host of European institutions. The European Commission has expressed its solidarity with Estonia and urged Russia to respect its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. NATO has issued a similar statement condemning the violence. So, today, we in Congress join our friends in Europe in expressing our strong disapproval of the unjustified and unacceptable Russian attacks against Estonia, and we express our strong solidarity with the people and government of the great democratic nation of Estonia. I urge all of my colleagues to support this all-important measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Before yielding back our time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to call the attention of all of my colleagues to an upcoming open joint hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Duma on June 21. This will be the first time in history that the Foreign Affairs Committees of these two parliaments will have met in joint session. I very much hope, and I know my distinguished ranking member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, joins me in hoping, that we will have a meaningful and helpful dialogue with our Russian colleagues so that the current state of tension between Russia and the United States could somehow be diminished. We had high hopes when the Soviet Union collapsed over 15 years ago, but many recent statements by Mr. Putin and many actions by Russia, including the action that we have just heard described against the free and democratic Republic of Estonia, fill us with a great deal of concern and anxiety. I urge all of my colleagues to attend this joint session of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee in a few weeks in our hope that before the President and Mr. Putin meet in Kennebunkport we might have a legislative opportunity of exploring candidly all of the issues that, at the moment, seem to divide us.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of our time.

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

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I proudly rise today to recognize a remarkable program for young people in my home district in California, the San Mateo County Jobs for Youth program will celebrate a quarter century of success on May 31, 2007. This nonprofit program, founded and facilitated by my good friend Al Teglia, serves youth ages 14 to 21 regardless of background, socio- economic status, or risk level, at no cost to them or to employers. Youth learn to master job applications, prepare for interviews and create resumes; they then receive job or internship leads to help further their ambitions. Last year, nearly 2,000 young people were served in its five offices located throughout San Mateo County. Madam Speaker, when so many bemoan the lack of effective programs to address the importance of giving young people a step up the ladder of employment, the Jobs for Youth program facilitates wonderful opportunities through its job development and referral program for youth. The celebration scheduled for May 31 will focus on several specific examples of success. Gilead Sciences in Foster City will be honored at the event with a special business recognition, and Daly City will be presented the fourth annual Mary Louise Paskevich Award in memory of her 20-year Jobs for Youth participation. Both entities actively support the program by hiring program graduates and helping youth around the county. Bill Somerville of Philanthropic Ventures Foundation will also be acknowledged. He donated the ``seed money'' to Al Teglia to start up Jobs for Youth, which was initially called Summer Jobs for Youth until 2000, when it became a year-round program. Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues in the House to join me in recognizing the good work and success of San Mateo County Jobs for Youth as they celebrate 25 years of helping young people begin their productive lives of employment.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to proudly praise the educational system within my home state of California and, in particular, the schools in my congressional district. In the face of what seems constant criticism of our school systems, there are actually many, many instances of excellence. California's State Superintendent of Education Jack O'Connell recently announced a remarkable list of 76 middle schools and 95 high schools that will be designated as California Distinguished Schools through 2011. San Mateo County Board of Education Superintendent Jean Holbrook said that San Mateo County, much of which is within California's 12th congressional district, is the 16th largest county in the state yet ranks fourth in receiving distinguished school awards. I agree completely with her that this ``says something about the great job that the educators of San Mateo County are doing.'' Nine San Mateo County middle and high schools were among the California schools selected as 2007 Distinguished Schools. This annual award recognizes these schools as among the state's most exemplary public schools. Madam Speaker, I am extremely proud of the work done by the educators in California. The nine distinguished schools from San Mateo County include Ralston Middle School in Belmont, Crocker-Middle School in Hillsborough, La Entrada Middle School in Menlo Park, Corte Madera Elementary School in Portola Valley, Aragon High School in San Mateo, Carlmont High School in Belmont, Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton and Sequoia High School in Redwood City. I would like to add praise for two schools in San Francisco, also partly within my home district. Gateway High School and KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy Middle School were likewise selected as Distinguished Schools for 2007. To be designated a Distinguished School requires a comprehensive review and evaluation. Of California's 2,400 middle and high schools, approximately 478 schools were eligible for consideration. Ultimately, 279 schools submitted the formal application for consideration. And finally, 76 schools were selected for the list. Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to share with my colleagues this information and ask them to join me in recognizing the success of these fine California schools.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces who have fallen in the line of duty, protecting our country and serving this nation honorably. On Monday, I will have the high honor of speaking at Golden Gate National Cemetery where I will look out across the many rows of snow white headstones at the generations of brave men and women lost in service to our country. Memorial Day is a somber day of reflection, but it is also a day to celebrate the beliefs and ideals of America; not only do we remember those who embodied these ideals, but we must celebrate their lives and their willingness to sacrifice so that we might be here today. On Memorial Day sixty-five years ago, the future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren, stood near the site that I will stand inaugurating this important memorial. These 161 acres are hallowed grounds that must be treated with the highest respect. For those of us who live and work in the Bay Area, a drive down the 280 is a constant reminder of how many of our family members, friends, and neighbors have had to sacrifice their lives for our freedom. Madam Speaker, the President bestows, in the name of Congress, the highest honor a member of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard can receive for valiant actions in the line of duty. Fifteen people at Golden Gate National Cemetery have received the Medal of Honor and are interred with over 130,000 other courageous men and women of the Armed Forces. California has borne a large share of the burden that the Armed Forces have undertaken. Over two million veterans live in California and we have lost almost four hundred men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq. Right now there are over 20,000 Californians in these war zones, so on behalf of these brave soldiers I am committed to the view that Congress' first order of business must be to ensure that those who are in the line of fire are the most prepared and well-equipped. It is my solemn oath that none of the men and women in harm's way should lie here before it is their time. Madam Speaker, I will go to the podium with mixed feelings; it is a high honor to be able to go to Golden Gate National Cemetery on Memorial Day and share my thoughts with many veterans from around the Bay Area. It is impossible to express how important the sacrifices made by these men and women are to this country. One thing is certain: America would not be the great country it is without them. This Memorial Day I invite my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to all members of the Armed Forces, especially those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.