Tom Lantos

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Amnesty International--USA for its foresight in establishing the Amnesty OUTFRONT Program this past year. OUTFRONT is Amnesty's program and membership network which is focused on promoting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people around the world. The human rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people are violated daily, Mr. Speaker. Not only are people beaten, imprisoned, and killed by their own governments for engaging in homosexual acts, but those suspected of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender are routinely the victims of harassment, discrimination, intimidation, and violence. Many of those who speak up for lesbian and gay rights--regardless of their sexual orientation--are themselves persecuted with impunity and thus pressured to remain silent. Mr. Speaker, the OUTFRONT Program will work with similar programs being developed in Amnesty divisions throughout the world and with Amnesty's research department to insure that human rights violations committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are documented and actions are taken to combat these violations. The effort will promote human rights standards at the international and national level that recognize the basic human rights of all people. In the United States, Amnesty OUTFRONT will launch a public campaign to raise awareness of the human rights violations faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around the world and will work to build an activist membership committed to combating these violations wherever they occur. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Mr. Speaker, I have long admired the human rights activity of Amnesty International and am proud to work with the organization in combating human rights violations. I welcome Amnesty's special concern for the human rights concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. This important aspect of human rights has not been given adequate attention, given the dimensions of the problem. I welcome the fact that a renowned human rights organization like Amnesty is taking a lead in this area. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to work with me and with Amnesty International in promoting awareness of human rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation and mounting a forceful campaign against such injustices. I look forward to working closely with Amnesty and its OUTFRONT Program in the coming years, and I wish them great success in developing this important program.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 206. Mr. Speaker, first I want to commend my good friend and distinguished colleague the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights of the Committee on International Relations for introducing this resolution. It is a resolution which is overdue, and it is a resolution which I honestly hope this body will pass unanimously. The issue is not a simple one, Mr. Speaker, and not all the angels are on one side, if indeed there are any angels on any side of this conflict. Extremist, terrorist fundamentalists from Chechnya a few months ago invaded a neighboring republic, with extravagant statements, threats, visions of great conquests. It was easily predictable that having humiliated Russia once before, 4 years ago in the first Russian- Chechen war, they will not get away with it this time. And for a whole set of complex reasons, including internal political reasons of the current prime minister, Mr. Putin, Russia has decided to finally put an end to Chechnya as a military entity. This resolution properly calls on the Russian Federation to stop this indiscriminate and brutal assault on the civilian population of Chechnya with vast numbers of utterly innocent Chechens, men, women, and children, dying, being maimed, made homeless as the winter approaches. As a matter of fact, there is reasonable anxiety, Mr. Speaker, that the tens of thousands of refugees from and within Chechnya, displaced persons, will not even have the tentlike protection that we were planning for the displaced people of Kosovo just a few months ago. I think it is appropriate for the United States Congress to call on Russia to terminate this brutal, nondiscriminating military assault on a whole people, to accept the mediation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and to recognize that as a major power, it has a responsibility for the safety of all the citizens living within its borders. Now, I understand, Mr. Speaker, the annoyance and irritation that the Russian leadership and the people of Russia felt. I was in Moscow a few weeks ago when presumably Chechen terrorists engaged in terrorist activities, costing the lives of several hundred innocent civilian citizens of the capital city of Moscow. But the reaction has been indiscriminate and excessive. It is out of proportion to anything the terrorist tragedy has created in Moscow. It is clear that the current Russian government is taking full advantage of a patriotic upsurge which has swept Russia in the wave of these terrorist attacks to put an end once and for all to Chechen extremism. Nevertheless, Russia is a civilized country and it is high time it returned to civilized behavior. It must accept European observers who have been excluded from many territories where the warfare currently is unfolding, it must accept western humanitarian aid, and it must cooperate with the civilized world in seeing to it that the innocent people of Chechnya get through this very difficult, very cruel winter which is so typical of that area. I believe, Mr. Speaker, also, that our government officially must take cognizance of what is happening in Chechnya. There is no way of averting our eyes from what is, in fact, a bloodbath unfolding in the Caucasus. I call on our government to join us in the Congress in expressing its displeasure with the current Russian government which pursues a policy of indiscriminately killing large numbers of innocent civilians. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As we approach the millennium, there will be a great deal of glib oratory about this new and civilized and highly developed society that we have evolved. But we are getting too many reminders almost on a monthly basis from Kosovo to East Timor and now to Chechnya that man's inhumanity to man has taken no pause. As we enter the 21st century, it will be increasingly clear that the dominant theme of the next century will be the struggle for human rights wherever they are violated, in Kosovo, in East Timor, in Chechnya, in Cuba, in Tibet, in China, wherever the ruling authorities, using their power, attempt to squash and destroy and eliminate and pulverize those who choose to disagree with them. This episode we are dealing with today is far from Washington, but it is not far from our central concerns, because clearly, we cannot have normal relations with Russia, as much as we would like to, as long as the Russian government perpetrates a policy of indiscriminate slaughter. Innocent Chechen children are dying as we speak, and it is the responsibility of the Congress to speak out on this issue. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding me this time. I will respond to my friend who has just spoken, because this is the last time to engage in cheap partisan rhetoric. There is an enormous difference between Kosovo and Chechnya; and the difference between Kosovo and Chechnya is not the difference in the suffering of the innocent civilians, but in the obvious fact that Russia today has a vast reservoir of nuclear weapons; it is still a nuclear superpower. It would be utterly irresponsible on the part of our government not to recognize this difference. We simply cannot ignore or pretend that we are unaware of military realities. We have taken on the regime of Milosevic because this was a dictatorship of most limited military capabilities. No one in his right mind would advocate engaging in military action against a nuclear-equipped Russia. What we have to do is what we are doing here and what our administration is doing: denouncing the uncivilized actions of the Russian military; calling for a cease-fire; calling for the Russians to accept Western assistance so that the long-suffering people of Chechnya will be able to get through this winter. We did not start the war in Chechnya, neither did Congress nor this administration. Chechen terrorists started this particular military engagement, and to take this opportunity to slam the administration, I think, is singularly inappropriate and out of place. This body is effective when it speaks with a bipartisan voice.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to reclaim my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I had earnestly hoped that we can pass a resolution on denouncing excessive Russian military action, the mindless assassination of innocent civilians on a bipartisan basis without taking cheap shots at our administration, which is no less concerned by these developments as are Members of this body, every single Member of this body, the gentleman on the other side, and myself included. I would hope that we can conclude this debate by recognizing the irresponsible action of the Russian government, by criticizing their action, by calling for the restoration of peace in the region, and avoiding any partisan attacks which are so uncalled for in this particular situation.

Mr. LANTOS

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

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

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Vento).

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), who has become one of the most effective foreign affairs spokesmen on our side. (Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Vento), author of this resolution. (Mr. VENTO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. First of all, I would like to commend the distinguished gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Vento) for taking the initiative in introducing this resolution. I also want to commend the gentleman from New York (Chairman Gilman) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), ranking Democrat on the Committee on International Relations, for their support of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, the human rights situation in Laos is deteriorating as we speak. According to Amnesty International, prisoners of conscience are held without trial for years, political prisoners die while in prison, and two Americans of Laotian extraction have disappeared. The people of Laos do not enjoy the most elementary principles and practices of human rights. The resolution before us expresses the view of this body that the government of Laos must begin to respect human rights, institute a democratic electoral process, allow unrestricted access by international human rights organizations to all political prisoners. I trust, Mr. Speaker, that passage of this resolution will raise the visibility internationally of the horrendous human rights situation in Laos and to encourage other countries to join us in challenging the government of Laos to behave in a civilized fashion. I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 169. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in strong support of this resolution. First of all, I want to commend my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), for taking the initiative in introducing this resolution. Mr. Speaker, Central and Eastern Europe constitutes one of the most complex, intriguing, and difficult parts of this globe; and the Slovak Republic is no exception. During the Second World War, an independent fascist established Slovak Republic had a singularly dismal record, resulting in the mass murder of innocent people and the enthusiastic participation in Hitler's war efforts. For a long period during the Cold War, Slovakia, then part of the Czechoslovakia, represented an oppressive Communist dictatorship. And while there was a brief period in 1968, commonly referred to as the Prague spring, during which communism attempted to put on a human face, forces of repression prevailed. During the last months of the Cold War, Czechoslovakia represented one of the most repressive Communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. With the leadership of Vaclav Havel, who was joined by both Czech and Slovak democrats, a Velvet Revolution unfolded and Czechoslovakia became part of the democratic world. Shortly thereafter, these two parts of Czechoslovakia separated peacefully. I think history will long remember the dramatic difference between the peaceful separation of the Czech and Slovak republics and the bloody separation of the constituent republics of the former Yugoslavia. For years, Slovakia was run by an individual of no democratic convictions, a man by the name of Meciar. Those of us who had the opportunity of visiting with him in Bratislava time and time again were appalled at his total failure, unwillingness, or inability to understand the new winds of democracy that are blowing throughout Europe. Last year, new parliamentary elections were held in Slovakia and a democratic coalition government came to power. We are here to congratulate and wish the very best to that democratic government. Earlier this year, Mr. Speaker, the people of the Slovak Republic chose in free elections their first ever popularly elected president; and we are here to salute him. The new government of the Slovak Republic has recognized the equal rights of all ethnic minorities. It has recognized the importance of the freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom to create political organizations to provide a vehicle for the people of Slovakia to advocate their views. During the recent engagement in Kosovo, the Slovak authorities granted NATO full access to Slovak airspace, highways and railways; and Slovakia provided military engineers to assist in our peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo. The greatest hope of the Slovak people at this time is to be fully integrated into Europe and to be accepted into NATO. If they continue in their democratic ways, which we are so delighted and pleased to observe on a daily basis, it is certainly our hope that the European Union will welcome them as a full and free member of the newly united democratic Europe; and, in due time, they will be entitled to NATO membership and participation, which will strengthen their security and add to the collective strength of NATO. I strongly support this resolution, Mr. Speaker. Let me just say, in conclusion, that last week a few of us had the pleasure of meeting the new prime minister of Slovakia, who represents the best democratic tradition of central and Eastern Europe. We look forward to working with him and with his government in making Slovakia a full, effective, and democratic member of a united and democratic Europe. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in closing debate on our side, I too want to remember those heady days 10 years ago when the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the distinguished Democratic leader, and I visited the capital of the then Czech-Slovak Republic. We had the opportunity of marching with the students as they were demanding democracy, as they were calling for their hero, Vaclav Havel, to be placed in the palace up on the hill, symbolically demonstrating that at long last democracy has returned to the Czech-Slovak Republic. It is indeed a joyous occasion when a democratic Czech Republic and the democratic Slovak Republic can come to the United States to be honored and congratulated for their achievements. As we close this debate, we all wish the Czech people and the Slovak people a truly democratic and prosperous future.

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

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

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), my good friend, for yielding me this time, and I congratulate her and all the other leaders of our congressional Diabetes Caucus for their invaluable work. Mr. Speaker, we learn from our young people on our staff. My top research assistant, a young gentleman, graduate of Dartmouth who has had diabetes since childhood, has been my teacher on diabetes; and I publicly want to acknowledge my debt to him. I also want to acknowledge my debt to a young lady, a 16-year-old page whom I had the privilege and pleasure of appointing from the City of San Bruno in California, who a few weeks ago unexpectedly was discovered to have juvenile onset diabetes. Her parents flew in from California. Her condition has stabilized, and she is back on the job, and we are proud of her. It is important to get beyond the statistics. Mr. Speaker, 16 million Americans have diabetes; 198,000 this year will die from complications of diabetes. What brings this disease home to each of us, however, is our child, our colleague, our friend who has it and who is on the verge of losing his life if proper care is not provided, if proper monitoring is not provided. But most importantly, if proper funds for research are not provided. Diabetes research is an invaluable investment in lives and in dollars. The more we understand about this horrible disease the easier it will be to halt its spread and limit its complications. Eighty years ago, Mr. Speaker, those afflicted with diabetes would die within months. During the intervening years, we have witnessed the invention of synthetic insulin, home glucose monitoring, insulin pumps, the thousand-dollar devices. We are asking for $827 million in diabetes research at the National Institutes of Health; and on a bipartisan basis, we ought to get it.

Mr. LANTOS

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

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In concluding the discussion on our side, I again would like to urge my colleagues to support this resolution. There is such a sharp contrast between the Communist authorities in China cracking down on a spiritual movement which by nonviolent means expresses the desire for brotherhood among all peoples, the Falun Gong, which has been persecuted, its members imprisoned and beaten, in some cases killed, and the democratic developments in India. We are indeed fortunate that this large and great country of one billion people has steadfastly adhered to democratic principles ever since its establishment as an independent country. I think we are extremely pleased in this body to be able to pass this resolution, to pay tribute to a fellow democracy, to pay tribute to the Indian people who have recognized the enormous importance of preserving free elections, parliamentary procedures and open society. I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Minge).

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) who is using this opportunity of expressing himself probably more frequently and more eloquently than any of us in this whole body.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), who has been one of the most effective members of the Committee on International Relations.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on International Relations.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in strong support of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, first I want to commend my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman), for introducing this resolution, as well as my colleagues on the other side, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the chairman of the committee; the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the chairman of the subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific; and my good friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell). I also want to commend the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), the ranking Democrat on the committee, for his efforts in bringing this legislation before the body. Our resolution, Mr. Speaker, expresses our strong support and admiration for the recently concluded elections in India. It is not easy to have a society with over 650 million registered voters, many of them living in conditions of dire poverty, to undertake this monumental democratic effort. But the Indian government got the job done by stretching the elections out over a period of a month, by mobilizing civil servants, students, and other volunteers to ensure that the elections are fair, professional, and accurate. Often, Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the Subcontinent, we immediately focus on the relationship between India and Pakistan; and this is not an inappropriate moment to focus on that relationship. While India undertook this monumental free and democratic election, there was a military coup in Pakistan where the democratically elected government was thrown out of office and its leaders imprisoned. I think it is important for all of us, Members of Congress and presidential candidates, to understand that a military coup is not something that should be applauded by the American people or Members of our Congress or any political figure. One of the most important relationships we have is the relationship with the world's largest political democracy, India. For a long time, Mr. Speaker, people were making comparisons between China and India, pointing out how effective China's leadership has been in bringing economic progress, even though they maintain their police state and their dictatorship. In recent years, we have come to see with great pleasure that India was not only able to maintain its political democracy but was able to make tremendous strides in the economic field. The resolution before us today commends the Indians on their recent elections, congratulates Prime Minister Vajpayee on his reelection, and calls on our President to visit India as part of his scheduled South Asia trip and urges the President to further broaden and strengthen our relations with our fellow democracy, India. I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 211. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS

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