Tom Lantos

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, today marks the 65th anniversary of the massacre at the Babi Yar ravine near Kiev, Ukraine. On September 29, 1941, German occupying forces ordered the city's Jewish population to assemble at the ravine. The Jews complied, assuming they would be placed in a ghetto. Instead, they were herded together and ordered to strip. Nazi machine gunners then systematically and brutally cut them down. That first day more than 33,000 Jewish men, women, and children were put to death. As the war continued, more mass slaughters occurred at Babi Yar; by the end, more than 100,000 people are thought to have been murdered there. We mourn the tragic deaths of these innocent people at Babi Yar, along with the 55 million who perished in other places, during the Holocaust and World War II, as a result of the brutal and sadistic policies of Adolf Hitler. To prevent future genocides, we must dedicate ourselves to the promotion of human rights for all people. Humanity should never again have to suffer through such a nightmare. As the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, I am firmly committed to this effort. Since early 2004 I have been working to draw the world's attention to the genocide that is occurring in Darfur, Sudan. The international community must act now to safeguard innocent lives in Darfur, as I noted in a September 26 Financial Times op-ed piece--which I would like to insert into the Congressional Record--and in legislation that passed the House this week (H. Res. 723). This resolution calls on the President to take immediate steps to help improve the security situation in Darfur, and particularly to protect civilians. Unfortunately, while the world community in general has been quick to condemn the genocide, mobilization in support of the Sudanese civilians has been slow. Evidently, the world needs reminding that the genocide in Darfur, like the Holocaust before it, is not just a local crisis. It is a crisis for all humanity and obliges all of us to act with urgency. Words without deeds trivialize the lessons that humanity professes to have learned from the Holocaust, and they betray the people of Darfur. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to reflect on the tragedy currently occurring in Darfur, and to recommit themselves to making every effort to end such global outrages. [From the Financial Times, Sept. 27, 2006] We Must Mobilize Pressure and Fear to Save Darfur (By Tom Lantos) History will regard the situation in Darfur, Sudan, as an African holocaust if the international community fails to protect innocent lives. The African Union's decision late last week to extend its mandate in Darfur has bought just three more months for the rest of the world to persuade Sudanese leaders not to start another round of slaughter. Khartoum still refuses to agree to let United Nations peacekeepers take over from the AU troops when they go home. The U.N. Security Council voted last month to deploy 20,000 peacekeepers to replace the AU troops; the Sudanese government immediately rejected that resolution and announced that the AU had no authority to transfer its mission to the U.N. Then Sudan began to fan out more than 30,000 of its troops, allegedly to bring peace and stability to Darfur and to protect civilians. Imagine if Hitler had offered to ``protect'' Europe's Jews. As a Holocaust survivor, I cannot think of a more despicable act than to have Khartoum send soldiers--who have raped and slaughtered thousands and displaced 2 million people--to ``protect''--civilians. Evidence is mounting that the Sudanese government is positioning air and ground forces to complete the genocide in Darfur that began 3 years ago. There is ample reason to fear a full-scale and imminent onslaught against civilians. The U.S. government declaration calling the situation in Darfur genocide and a growing international civilian movement raised the expectations of the helpless. But we have failed to galvanize sufficient global commitment to protect victims of genocide. The May 5 signing of the Darfur peace agreement seemed to offer a ray of hope that the darkest days were behind the innocent men, women and children of Darfur. But that agreement is now on the verge of collapse because of resurgent violence. The international community must put actions behind its now myriad words and commit to civilian protection by supporting the transition of the AU mission to the U.N. NATO must also broaden its support to the AU through this perilous and crucial transition to a U.N. peacekeeping mission that should deploy with or without the consent of the Sudanese government. The past few years have shown that two things move Khartoum--pressure and fear. After September 11 2001, the thugs in the government there feared the consequences of harbouring Osama bin Laden and his terrorist cohorts, and they began to co-operate in the war against terrorism. We must now mobilize those two powerful factors in the interest of civilian protection in Darfur, hold Khartoum's leaders accountable for the atrocities that continue to take place and make sure that Darfurians can return safely to their homes. Whether to end genocide in Darfur is not a choice for Khartoum to make; it is a requirement to avoid not only international condemnation and isolation, but also an imposed civilian protection regime. I was proud to author a resolution calling on George W. Bush, the U.S. president, to take immediate steps to help improve the security situation in Darfur, with a specific emphasis on civilian protection (H. Res. 723). If Khartoum continues to reject the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers, an imposed civilian protection regime in Darfur should be the priority of the AU, the U.N., NATO, the European Union and the U.S. government. I will continue to push for the immediate deployment of Nato assets as part of a transitional operation to stop the atrocities while the U.N. forces are deployed. If Khartoum persists in pursuing genocide, I support military action to neutralize those military forces employed by Sudan to attack civilians or to inhibit peacekeepers from their deployment. Khartoum must be made to understand that there will be severe consequences for a further genocidal assault on the people of Darfur. Its reaction to the Security Council resolution authorizing a peacekeeping operation is no surprise. Neither is its attempt to bully the AU into submission by issuing an ultimatum for the union to reject the U.N. resolution or leave Darfur. Evidently, the world needs reminding that the genocide in Darfur is not just an African crisis. It is a crisis for all humanity and obliges all of us to act with urgency. Words without deeds betray the people of Darfur.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3728, the North Korea Non-Proliferation Act of 2006. Mr. Speaker, Americans around the nation celebrated the Fourth of July this year by watching fireworks, hosting backyard barbecues, and spending time with their families. The North Koreans chose to observe America's birthday in a far more threatening fashion: they test launched a series of missiles, one of which was potentially capable of hitting American soil with a nuclear payload. Pyongyang's destabilizing actions not only angered Washington, but set off alarm bells in Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing and Moscow, our partners in the Six Party Talks. The UN Security Council quickly adopted a resolution requiring all Member States to prevent overseas sales of North Korea missiles, and to stop transfers of any financial resources to North Korea related to its missile or WMD programs. The legislation before the House today implements this groundbreaking Security Council Resolution. By adding North Korea to the Iran and Syria Nonproliferation Act, the United States will take concrete actions against foreign firms that engage in missile- and WMD-related trade with North Korea. The Executive Branch will now be forced to review every six months all credible intelligence regarding commercial transfers to North Korea of items applicable for the development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. On the basis of these reviews, the President must sanction foreign firms that engaged in such trade, or explain to Congress why he has not done so. This is Congressional direction at its best. We must remember that the Iran and Syria Nonproliferation Act, which this amends, forced the Executive Branch to take actions against firms engaging in illicit trade with both Iran and Syria, actions that the President would otherwise not have taken. Dozens of firms have been sanctioned for such Iran- and Syria-related trade in the years since, focusing global attention on their activities and on their governments. The regime of Kim Jong-Il poses as much of a threat to international security as Iran and Syria. Common sense requires us to undertake the same review and sanctions for Pyongyang's activities and their commercial co-conspirators as we do for Iran and Syria. Mr. Speaker, the North Korean leadership was hoping to gain the world's attention with its July missile launches. Pyongyang succeeded. But rather than forcing the world to bring a new tray of goodies to North Korea, the tests unified the world in opposition to North Korea's destabilizing actions, and brought about a new round of UN-approved sanctions. Mr. Speaker, with the right package of carrots and sticks, I remain optimistic that the U.S. and its Six Party allies can negotiate a comprehensive and verifiable deal with North Korea. I hope that by July 4th next year, we will have such an agreement in hand. Until then, we must bring our laws in line with the recent UN Security Council resolution, and act decisively to undermine North Korea's missile and WMD programs. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation, and am gratified that it has passed this House.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on Oct. 1, we will celebrate Cypriot Independence Day, and at the end of October, the 28th, we will remember Greece's ``Oxi Day,'' commemorating the Greek decision to reject and resist occupation by the Axis Powers in 1940 during World War II. I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering and reflecting on these special days in Greek and Cypriot history. Greek pride and bravery during the independence struggle in the 1820s forged the first successful war for self-determination in the modern era. This Greek example has fired the imagination of oppressed peoples ever since, including the Jews whose struggle for liberation resulted in the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Both Jews and Greeks over the years have had to supply in brains and pluck what they lacked in numbers. Ever since throwing off the yoke of dictatorship in 1974, the Greek people have been one of Europe's amazing success stories. Greece entered the European Economic Community and never looked back. Today it is a model of growth and prosperity, and for more than three decades it has been a vibrant paragon of the gift it gave the world so long ago, democracy. Since 1974 the little nation of Cyprus has suffered immensely. All the more remarkable then that Cyprus has taught the world the lesson of how to endure difficult circumstances with uncommon grace, dignity, strength, and commitment to humane values. Notwithstanding the horrors 200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees suffered in 1974, Cyprus remained a democracy, and it rebuilt itself into the prosperous European Union state of today. Cyprus did not wallow in self-pity, as so many other nations have in similar circumstances. Cyprus did not flaunt its refugees or make them a spectacle for political propaganda purposes. Former Foreign Minister Iacovou once told me a powerful anecdote in this regard. He said that, in the wake of the war, one Cypriot official wrote a memo to President Makarios urging that the refugees be kept in camps with only the most basic of amenities; this, he said, would create a weight on the conscience of the world and would boost the Greek Cypriot case in the court of international opinion. But President Makarios was too wise for that. He wrote back that the worst thing Cypriots could do is to compromise the well-being of our own people for the sake of propaganda; that, he said, would only heap indignity upon their suffering and would be a derogation of the government's obligation to its own. In almost no time, Cypriot resourcefulness had achieved the rehabilitation of the refugees, and refugee neighborhoods were virtually indistinguishable from others, at least to others. Cypriots long for the healing of their nation, but they lead creative and productive lives every single day. Thanks to Makarios's far-sightedness, Cyprus is today a dynamic and thriving European state, instead of a benighted third-world backwater. Would that the Palestinians had had a Makarios of their own, instead of an Arafat. How different the Palestinian refugee situation might be today. I stand second to nobody in my desire to see a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus crisis and to see the breathtaking island of Cyprus fully re-united under one government. I also deeply respect the efforts my good friend Kofi Annan made toward that end. But first and foremost I am a democrat--and I mean, in this case, with a lower-case ``d''. On April 24, 2004, the Greek Cypriot people democratically rose up-- virtually with one voice--and rejected the Annan Plan. The international community must give that decision its fullest respect, and it must draw the obvious implications. When 75% of the people say ``no,'' the fault lies with the drafters, not the people. Mr. Speaker, earlier this summer, I was honored with the Mordechai Frizis Award. This honor is named after the Jewish Greek hero from Chalkis who was the first high-ranking Greek military officer to give his life in defense of freedom against the Axis powers in 1940. As the only survivor of the Holocaust ever elected to Congress, I saw first-hand the atrocities of that time. I lost my family, and my wife lost most of her family. Many others lost their lives and their families. Over 55 million people died in World War II, including Mordechai Frizis. Had brave and selfless people like Frizis not fought against the evils of the Hitler regime and even been willing to die for our freedom, the outcome could have been even worse. We are much in the debt of the Morodohai Frizis's of the world. The indigenous Jewish communities of Greece represent the longest continuous Jewish presence in Europe. Tragically, these communities were almost completely destroyed during the Holocaust. Greece lost at least 81 percent of its Jewish population during the Holocaust. 60,000 to 70,000 Greek Jews perished, most of them at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only 8,000 to 10,000 Greek Jews survived. The number would have been even smaller, had it not been for the Greek people who were unwilling to cooperate with German plans for their deportation, and Greek resistance groups who battled the Axis occupiers to save Greece and the Jews living there. The Frizis Award contains the soil of Greece, the U.S., and Israel. All three countries have deep meaning in my life, and the connection between the three is even more important. I thank the Greek, and of course the Cypriot, people for their great contributions not only to the world, but also to me personally, and to my wife. We and the entire world are better for these contributions. The fact that Mordechai Frizis was the first Greek killed in the first successful battle against the fascists in World War II has an overpowering symbolism for the world and for me personally. The onslaught of the fascists was, in fact, an assault on the very values that Hellenic and Jewish civilizations represent, particularly the joint commitment of our cultures to ethics and honest rational discourse. As we face a war on terrorism today, once again Jewish and Hellenic values are at the barricades facing the barbarians and their totalitarian, violent ideology. Once again, it is our fierce commitment to what we know is right, our conviction that the barbarous cannot be allowed to win, and our courage that will see us through. Mordechai Frizis was a man--a Greek, a Jew, and, from what I've read, a brilliant and highly capable officer. But circumstances have endowed him with so much more, with near-mythical status. For Mordechai Frizis is a metaphor for all that Greeks and Jews have suffered, all that we have triumphed, all the values that we would not compromise and that we have insisted that the civilized world embrace. That is why I was deeply honored and grateful to receive the Frizis award, and that is one reason why the Hellenic world has my enduring friendship and support. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating our Greek and Cypriot friends as we all remember the October 1st Cypriot Independence Day and Greece's ``Oxi Day'' on October 29.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Capuchino High School's successes since the passage of the November 2000 bond issue, Measure D, in San Mateo County. I am so proud of the foresight my neighbors and friends had when they approved the bond that has created the extraordinary facilities, so it can match its high caliber students. It will be my privilege and honor to join the Capuchino High School community to commemorate the modernization and new construction provided by the bond issue, as well as the opening of the new Electronic Arts Technology Arts Center built with the support of a $200,000 grant from Electronic Arts. Like other high schools within my district, Capuchino has leveraged the $137.5 million bond measure into a $234.5 million capital improvement dedicated for an innovative academic and extra-curricular program designed to enhance the teaching-learning environment for students today and tomorrow. Mr. Speaker, Capuchino is a California Distinguished School and is recognized for its extraordinary didactic methods. Academically strong, Capuchino offers the highly prestigious International Baccalaureate Program and is one of only 60 schools in the state and 400 across the country qualified to offer such a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum. I am very proud that Electronic Arts, one of my district's largest employers, was able to contribute in building this state of the art technology arts center. Because of Capuchino High School's excellence, it was selected as one of 250 schools nationwide to receive a Carnegie Grant and was selected to share in a $450,000 grant collaborating in Entertainment and Media with five community colleges and their associated high schools. The school's dedication to the arts includes its Honor Band's selection to participate at the inauguration of President Kennedy, the only marching band from North America to perform at the Expo '88 ceremonies in Australia, and has performed at various west coast events including the Tournament of Roses. Mr. Speaker, Capuchino High School has had a long history of achievements and I am absolutely delighted that our community is dedicated to the success of our children. Capuchino High School is one of the real gems in my district and with the help of Measure D and Electronic Arts, Capuchino will be able to keep up with the constantly changing environment that faces our children when they leave school. I would like to thank all those who are responsible for these much needed improvements and am looking forward to seeing them for myself firsthand.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago a very moving ceremony was held at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a plaque was placed to honor the Reverend Waitstill Sharp and his wife, Martha, true heroes of the Holocaust who risked their lives to save Jews from the atrocities of the Nazi regime. On June 13, 2006, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Authority in Israel honored the Sharps posthumously as ``Righteous Among the Nations'' for risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. They are only the second and third Americans to be so honored. Varian Fry, with whom the Sharps worked, was the first American. The Sharps' incredible story is a powerful reminder that all of us have the moral obligation to do all we can to end violence and genocide where ever and when ever such atrocities occur. They, along with those who helped to make their work possible, deserve our gratitude and admiration. Each of us should make every effort to learn more about the atrocities and genocidal actions occurring around the globe today, strive to have the foresight and courage shown by the Sharps, and act with resolve to do everything we can to stop these horrors. Our colleagues in the Senate passed a resolution on September 8 of this year honoring the courageous service of the Sharps. Representative James McGovern, my colleague from Massachusetts, where the Sharps once lived, and I are introducing similar legislation in the House remembering the Sharps and their heroism. Mr. Speaker, the Reverend William Schultz made particularly outstanding remarks at this ceremony honoring the Sharps at the U.S. Holocaust Museum. I urge my colleagues to ponder his comments and learn more about this brave, selfless couple and their amazing deeds. Remarks delivered by Rev. William Schulz U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum September 14, 2006 I think continually of those who were truly great. Who, from the womb, remembered the soul's history Through corridors of light where the hours are suns Endless and singing. Whose lovely ambition Was that their lips, still touched with fire, Should tell of the Spirit clothed from head to foot in song . . . What is precious is never to forget . . . These are the opening lines of a poem by Stephen Spender, the British man of letters. So often when we hear the exhortation, ``Never forget!'', it is the victims of atrocities whose fates are being invoked. But today, with the addition of the names of Martha and Waitstill Sharp to the ``Wall of Rescuers,'' it is two people whose ``lips . . . told of the Spirit clothed from head to foot in song'' that we would have the world remember and the faith that inspired them to take risks on behalf of unknown others and the courage that led them to face the Nazis not once, but twice and a kind of almost incomprehensible determination they exhibited that most of us mortals can only dream of. The plaque we install today has only 100 words on it, only 100 words in which to tell their story. The documentary short produced by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, which we will see in a few moments, has only twenty-minutes to make their heroism clear. So it is fitting that the museum is adding to its collection the 8-9,000 pages of documentary evidence that Larry Benequist and Bill Sullivan, the makers of the film, have gathered from attics, from dusty store rooms in Czechoslovakia and France, from carefully preserved Gestapo archives in Berlin, and from collections of personal letters. And it is fitting that the museum has acquired the hours of interviews with Martha and Waitstill which Ghanda Difiglia taped for UUSC while they were still alive. The museum will no doubt also want to preserve the hours of recollections of people who were rescued by the Sharps, people like Rosemarie Fiegl, and of people who knew them like Yehuda Bacon recollections which Deborah Shaffer is filming. All of these fragments of the story will be preserved here so that scholars, historians, and authors can study them and make more accessible the obligation to remember. Today's dedication means that future visitors to this museum will be continually reminded of two of who were truly great--Martha and Waitstill Sharp. And part of what made them great were the moral choices they made. How many of us would set out from our comfortable homes, leaving our small children behind, to travel to an unstable part of the world where we would match wits with the Gestapo and lead journeys across the Pyrenees? And yet the fact that they did that means that any one else could have done it if they had decided to, that it was not beyond the bounds of the human imagination. If even one person in a generation makes a moral choice, it leaves the rest of us with less excuse for our ethical torpidity. William Lloyd Garrison founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1831 when the slaveholder Andrew Jackson was President. That removes any hope Jackson or his fellow slaveholders might have had to claim ignorance as a defense for holding other human beings in chains. And Elizabeth Cady Stanton began the fight for women's equality in 1840 when women were excluded from the world antislavery convention, so after 1840 what was Garrison's excuse for remaining a misogynist? But of course not every one of us accurately reads the tides of history. I often ask myself what moral myopia I am subject to at this very moment, something that twenty or forty years from now will seem like unimaginable shortsightedness. And that is what strikes me as most remarkable about the Sharps. They went to Europe in February, 1939. February, 1939 was less than three months after the Kristallnacht. It was before the Nazis required Jews in Germany to relinquish their silver and gold. It was before the occupation of Czechoslovakia. It was before the German ``Pact of Steel'' with Italy. It was before the SS St. Louis set out on its fateful voyage to Cuba and before its 900 Jewish refugee passengers were returned to Europe. It was before Germany attacked Poland, before Britain declared war on Germany. It was before the Warsaw Ghetto. And it was before Auschwitz, before ``Auschwitz'' became the name of anything other than a pretty little town in Poland. It was, in other words, before most of the rest of the world awoke to the true extent of the Nazi peril and the full measure of its threat to the Jewish people. It was in fact five whole years before Adolf Eichmann would offer to trade the lives of one million Jews for 10,000 trucks and the British High Commissioner in Egypt, Lord Moyne, would reject the offer, saying, ``But where shall I put them? Whatever would I do with one million Jews? '' The Sharps, their sponsors and their colleagues, were gauging the tides and gauging them with astonishing perspicuity. It is easy to feel small and blind in comparison to that. But that is not the lesson that I suspect the Sharps would have us draw. We honor the Sharps as heroes who saved hundreds of lives. But I am willing to bet that Waitstill and Martha knew that though they and their colleagues, the Dexters and Charles Joy, were the ones risking their lives on the streets of Prague and in the mountains of Spain, they were dependent upon a much larger circle of friends and acquaintances who made their heroism possible: the people who cared for their children, the members of their congregation in Wellesley Hills who maintained their church while they were gone, the supporters of the Unitarian denomination that financed their cause. And, yes, the tailors who darned their clothes, the shoemakers who soled their shoes, the pilot who steered their ship and the housekeeper who kept their rooms. That, you see, is why we have institutions. Because not every one of us can set out for war-torn Europe. Not every one of us can visit the refugee camps of Darfur or the US detention camps in Iraq or Afghanistan or God knows where else. But every one of us can be a part of the lives of those who do. Every one of us can be a part of institutions that make such heroism possible and in that measure can claim a degree of kinship with the righteous among the nations. That Waitstill and Martha's work resulted not just in the immediate rescue of hundreds of lives, but in the creation of an institution that came to be known as the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, an institution that multiplied those rescues a thousand fold in the years that followed, is testimony that, acute as their reading of history surely was, they knew that they were but a part of a much larger circle of heroes and heroines who made their enterprise possible and without whom their legacy and the values it embodied could never be sustained across the decades. Spender's poem ends: Near the snow, near the sun, in the highest fields See how these names are feted by the waving grass And by the streamers of white clouds And whispers of wind in the listening sky. The names of those who in their lives fought for life Who wore at their hearts the fire's center. Born of the sun they traveled a short while towards the sun, And left the vivid air signed with their honor. Thank you for helping us honor two people who wore at their hearts the fire's center and left the vivid air signed with their own honor.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 1-1/3 minutes to my dear friend and distinguished colleague on the International Relations Committee, the Congresswoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation. I first want to thank my good friends Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Gary Ackerman for their tireless work on this critical legislation. Mr. Speaker, the Iran Freedom Support Act will dramatically increase the economic pressure on the regime in Tehran to abandon its headlong pursuit of nuclear weapons. If we fail to use the economic and diplomatic tools available to us, the world will face a nightmare that knows no end, a despotic fundamentalist regime, wedded both to terrorism and to the most terrifying weapons known to man. Iran's desire, Iran's determination to acquire nuclear weapons, is beyond dispute. For years it lied to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and even today it continues to deny access for IAEA inspectors to sensitive nuclear sites. Mr. Speaker, a short while ago I had an extensive visit to IAEA headquarters in Vienna where I had discussions with some of the leaders of countries that are interested in this issue. They have no doubt that Iran is determined to pursue a military nuclear program. Tehran has also defied the U.N. Security Council, which has demanded that it cease its enrichment of uranium. And now that Iran has been offered an incredibly generous package of benefits by the United States and our European allies in exchange for suspending uranium enrichment, the regime in Tehran is playing its usual cynical game, stalling for time. Mr. Speaker, I meet with some frequency with Middle Eastern leaders, and there is not one who isn't deeply worried by the prospect of Iran's going nuclear. A nuclear Iran will touch off a bone-chilling arms race in the Middle East. But long before that happens, before Iran threatens to fire a shot, as it were, virtually every nation within reach of Iranian missiles will recalibrate its foreign policies to make certain that it doesn't offend the region's new nuclear power, Iran, and that, Mr. Speaker, would be a disaster for U.S. foreign policy interests, for the Middle East and for the entire civilized world. Some argue that our legislation will undermine our relations with European allies who invest in Iran. But that argument, Mr. Speaker, is simply wrong-headed. Our legislation is intended to reinforce diplomacy with economics. We ask our allies to do what the United States did over a decade ago, divest from Iran's energy sector, the cash cow of the ayatollah's nuclear aspirations. Nor is this legislation, Mr. Speaker, all stick and no carrot. By removing Libya from the list of the sanctioned, this legislation is an implicit invitation to Iran: mend your ways and your support of terrorism and your quest for weapons of mass destruction, and you will be welcomed back into the family of nations. Refuse to do so, and you will suffer accordingly. The legislation before us will extend the Iran Sanctions Act for 5 years. It will boost congressional oversight over its implementation. The clear message of this legislation is that the administration now has to enforce the law fully. Mr. Speaker, I would be delighted if our legislation were rendered redundant by serious Security Council action to impose international sanctions on Iran, but the attitudes shown by Russia and China thus far strongly suggest that meaningful U.N.-imposed sanctions are a most unlikely development. In the meantime, we cannot shirk our responsibility to employ every peaceful means possible to defeat Iran's reckless nuclear military ambitions. That, in essence, is the reason for the urgency of passing H.R. 6198 today. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill, and for the sake of foiling a looming, long-term nuclear terrorist threat, I urge my colleagues to do so as well. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/3\ minutes to Mr. Sherman.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield the balance of our time to the distinguished member of the International Relations Committee, Mr. Engel, from New York.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in reluctant opposition to H.R. 6143, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006. I fear that this bill due to be reauthorized last year is now in danger of being rushed through to a vote just before a recess before an election. The bill, in its current form, does not adequately address the challenge of HIV/AIDS. Because tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans have contributed to extraordinary deficits, we are forced to pinch pennies when it comes to saving the lives of millions of Americans. Rather than provide needed increases for the Ryan White program, this bill reduces funding in larger metropolitan areas and redistributes those funds to rural and suburban areas faced with an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS patients. I am very concerned that all of those in need receive the necessary and appropriate treatment whether they live in urban, suburban, or rural communities. I firmly believe that the localities facing this increasing challenge should get the funds they need to care for their citizens. However, that should not come at the cost of taking away from cities like San Francisco, which has the highest per capita prevalence of people living with AIDS, and other cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago or New York. Saving our neighbors and loved ones from this epidemic should not come from a policy of robbing Peter to pay Paul. The Ryan White Act and all of those afflicted by HIV/AIDS needs our attention and our support for additional funds. Shortchanging this program insults its namesake, it insults the millions who have died from AIDS, it insults those who are currently living with it day in and day out, and it insults their families. There are millions of Americans who rely on this program to receive the services they so desperately need to live. I recognize that they are not just from San Francisco or New York, but they are also from Dubuque and Omaha, Charleston and Boise. I do not question the need for services and care. Geography should not determine whether you live or die from AIDS and that is why we should do more than simply shift money around. Mr. Speaker, I had hoped that we would be able to succeed in passing legislation that would help benefit all the victims of this illness. Instead, a bill may pass today that does not accomplish this goal. Rather it will help some and hurt others, especially I fear in the San Francisco Bay area. I urge my colleagues to take the needed time and bring us a bill we can all support wholeheartedly knowing that it will benefit all Americans with HIV/AIDS.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Ms. Elizabeth Gheleta on her tireless devotion to assisting jail inmates and their families in San Mateo County, located in my Congressional District. For 38 years, and for the past 28 years as Executive Director of the San Mateo Service League, Ms. Gheleta has committed herself to ensuring that San Mateo County provide opportunities for positive change to county jail inmates, former inmates and their families. Under her direction, the Service League has made San Mateo County a safer place to live by offering inmates the skills and support necessary to successfully reintegrate into the community. Over the years, Ms. Gheleta has built the San Mateo Service League into a well-established, non-profit community organization with 25 staff members and over 500 volunteers. Equally important has been her effectiveness in winning the trust and support of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, which has cooperated and helped finance many of the Service League's innovative programs. Among these are the Windows of Opportunity to find effective alternatives to incarceration, Hope Houses and Project Hope for alcohol and drug treatment, and the Children's Waiting Room at the County Jail. With the support of San Mateo County Sheriff Don Horsley, the Service League has promoted the expansion of in-jail services, including education, religious services, substance abuse counseling, and re-entry to society life skills. Ms. Gheleta and her staff also developed four residential facilities for former inmates and started programs to assist the children and families of inmates. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in thanking Elizabeth Gheleta for her contribution to the improvement of our community in San Mateo County. Ms. Gheleta's vision and dogged determination has resulted in model programs that have addressed important social issues such as chemical dependency, personal responsibility, education, permanent housing and family life skills. The reality of this vision has truly given hundreds of former inmates and their families a second chance in life. I am truly delighted and inspired by Ms. Gheleta's commitment to our community.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1781 on their 60th anniversary. Since their establishment as the union representing machinists and aerospace workers for United Airlines, Local 1781 has continued to exhibit a pluck and tenacity that has insured their members better wages, benefits and working conditions. I commend Local 1781 on their sustained commitment to their members, and I am proud that this union resides in my congressional district. Since its formation, the International Association of Machinists (IAM) Local 1781 has made a significant difference in the lives of its members. In 1946, IAM secured the 40-hour workweek for its members and a one-third increase in wages from $.90 per hour to $1.20 per hour. Through the 1950s, IAM continued to expand their membership and consequently their bargaining leverage. This proved essential in the 1960s as United Airlines became one of the most profitable airlines in the country but was unwilling to share their bounty with the highly-skilled workers of IAM Local 1781. Resistance began with picketing in March 1963 and culminated in a 43- day strike in the summer of 1966 in which the unions of all five major airline carriers struck in unison, grounding over 60% of air traffic in the United States. Due to the success of this strike, IAM Local 1781 negotiated big gains for its members in 1969. Despite massive layoffs in 1971, the 1970s witnessed IAM's continued success in pushing for a fair share of United Airlines' profits. The union's assertiveness forced them to strike for two weeks in 1975 and to sustain the longest strike in their history when members held out for 58 days in 1979. The benefits of this action proved considerable: an over 30 percent pay raise, a 37.5 hour workweek and paid lunch for all work shifts. The early 1980s were extremely difficult for the members of Local 1781: the grounding of DC10s coupled with the air traffic controller strike and a deep recession caused massive layoffs. However, by 1984 almost all of the employees were recalled and United Airlines continued to grow and prosper with the purchase of Pan American Airlines Pacific Division. But unfortunately the profitability of United Airlines and the prosperity of its workers began to experience hard times in the early 1990s. The tragedy of September 11, 2001, caused a severe downturn in the airline industry which contributed to the United Airlines bankruptcy. This had a particularly negative impact on the members of Local 1781. Within two years, tensions in the union hit a breaking point with many machinists changing their membership to the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Organization (AMFA). This drop in membership caused a substantial loss in financial resources. Despite this major setback for Local 1781, the union continues to be viable and continues to fight the good fight on behalf of its members. Their recent reorganization efforts have ensured that Local 1781 will continue to effectively represent the best interests of its members. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in congratulating IAMAW Local 1781 on the occasion of their 60th anniversary. I am truly delighted that Local Lodge 1781 continues to effectively advocate on behalf of its members for the quality of life they deserve commensurate with the vital role they play everyday in the safe and efficient operation of our airline industry.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, we are embarking on a debate of extraordinary importance to the Nation and to our success on the war on terrorism. It is centered on a fundamental issue of concern to anyone who cares about human rights--and there are still many of us, thankfully. So this should be a debate about ideas, and there should be full and complete deliberation. Unfortunately, because of an arrogant White House and a Republican Leadership in this House that has simply bowed to the Executive's will--as it has so many times before--we have once again made the consideration of a critical legislative initiative a charade, a debate being conducted with undue haste and without any serious consideration. Mr. Speaker, since September 11, 2001, one of the most vexing problems that has faced our country in the struggle against the forces of nihilism and extremism is our approach to those who come into our custody because we believe they are a danger to the United States. We have seen unclear policy and muddy thinking leading to cruel treatment of those in U.S. custody, with some conduct even amounting, in the view of the former General Counsel to Department of the Navy under this Administration, to be torture. Finally, last June the Supreme Court ruled that the Administration's unilateral set of rules for trying terrorist suspects was unlawful. Let us make no mistake about it--our treatment of detainees and our failure to come up with a joint approach with our allies has damaged our ability to prosecute successfully the war on terrorism. It has endangered our troops by setting standards for others that I believe we will deeply regret. It has impeded our ability to work with many of our allies who have a different view from this Administration on the obligations of the Geneva Convention, one that has since been adopted by our own Supreme Court. It has undermined our legitimacy worldwide and been a recruiting tool for our enemies. The legislation before us should be an effort to address these problems, and in some ways it has. It establishes a better framework for trying detainees than the one established by the Administration. And by keeping it a crime to engage in serious physical abuse against detainees, it prohibits the worst of the abuses that we have seen, including those that are also banned by the Army's new Field Manual on interrogation, including forcing the detainee to be naked, perform sexual acts, or pose in a sexual manner; placing hoods or sacks over the head of a detainee or using duct tape over the eyes; applying beatings, electric shock, burns, or other forms of physical pain; waterboarding; using working dogs during an interrogation; inducing hypothermia or heat injury; conducting mock executions; depriving the detainee of necessary food, water, sleep or medical care. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the legislation remains deeply flawed in more ways than I have time to describe here. It prohibits any detainee from ever raising the Geneva Conventions in any case before any court or military commission, a provision that I fear will be used against our own troops if they are ever captured by the enemy. It takes actions against existing lawsuits and establishes a whole new system for military appeals that is constitutionally suspect, will lead to even more court cases, and could leave us five years from now with exactly the same number of convictions we have under the existing military tribunal system: zero. We should be trying to expedite trials of terrorist suspects, not providing the basis for more delays. And, acting directly against the recommendations of the bilateral 9-11 Commission, this legislation does not represent a joint approach with our allies. Mr. Speaker, nearly 60 years ago, I fled from a continent in ruins from a war conducted without rules, marked by atrocities on a scale that the world had never seen. Much of that continent was under a dictatorship in Moscow that was bent on oppressing its citizens and those under its dominance everywhere. So the issues presented by this bill are more than a policy debate to me. I am profoundly disappointed by what we are doing today. It does not represent progress in protecting our troops and civilians who are caught up in armed conflict. It represents a retreat. The Geneva Conventions were meant to protect people like me and our country's troops from the worst abuses of war. This country has always stood for the upholding and supporting those protections and expanding them whenever we could, in our national interest. We should not be rushing legislation through now, just before an election, when we know it won't be needed for many months. We should not be considering a bill that is substantially different from the one that has been already put through our Committees. And we should not be debating legislation without any chance of presenting our individual ideas for improving it. But here we are. Under these circumstances, I oppose this legislation and fully expect to be back debating these issues when the Supreme Court overturns this ill-advised legislation.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, tonight's debate on the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006 is extremely important to the well-being of our Nation. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world's greatest medical research center with its 27 separate institutes and centers. The lives of millions of Americans are directly impacted by the work of NIH helping prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability. Medical research conducted by NIH has a proven record and with our support NIH will provide medical miracles for tomorrow. I am pleased that the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in my congressional district is a leader in providing biomedical research, educating health care professionals and providing patient care. Its medical research developed gene-splicing techniques that have revolutionized biology and opened the biotechnology industry to save lives. NIH provides essential funding for USCF's promising research to treat AIDS, cancer, and diabetes and leading the way in stem cell biology. Mr. Speaker, this bill aims to restructure NIH and reauthorize the agency for the first time since 1993. Among its provisions are a 5 percent increase in the budget for fiscal years 2007-09, and the creation of a common fund that would finance research projects that involve multiple institutes or centers at NIH. NIH is a beacon of hope for millions suffering from everything from the common cold to cancer, and we cannot fail in our commitment or turn our backs on those most in need of benefits of vital research. One of the beneficiaries is my granddaughter, Charity. As many of you know, she has been diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension (PH), a chronic and progressive disease. Unlike systemic hypertension or ``high blood pressure'', PH is typically fatal. The blood vessel walls that make up the pulmonary artery and supply the lungs get thicker and often constrict. Reducing the capacity of the blood vessels makes them unable to carry sufficient blood to the lungs. This causes pressure to build up within the heart, which works harder to pump blood. Eventually, it cannot keep up, and there is less blood circulating through the lungs to pick up necessary oxygen. While PH is characterized as a disease of the lungs, patients ultimately die of heart failure. This is why I joined with my dear friend, Congressman Kevin Brady of Texas, in introducing H.R. 3005, the Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act of 2005. This bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by almost 250 Members of Congress. Mr. Brady and I have worked very hard for the passage of this bill. Senators Mikulski and Cornyn have introduced a companion bill in the Senate. Its bipartisan, bicameral support highlights this body's concern for PH patients. The Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act requires the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand the activities of the Institute with respect to research on Pulmonary Hypertension. Furthermore, it calls for the creation of centers of excellence to conduct research on PH, including basic and clinical research into the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, control, and treatment of the disease. The bill also establishes a data system for the collection of data derived from patient populations with Pulmonary Hypertension and an information clearinghouse to facilitate the understanding of PH by health professionals, patients, industry, and the public. It is my hope, Chairman Barton, that there will be report language in the NIH reauthorization bill that directly addresses the looming specter of Pulmonary Hypertension. We need to deal with this disease during the I09th Congress and not put off our duty until next year. NIH, impressively led by Dr. Elias Zerhouni, and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NHLBI, under the outstanding leadership of Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, are doing their utmost to tackle this issue that is so personal to me. They also are working on thousands of other diseases, which attack both large and small populations, to ensure the well being of our Nation's most vulnerable. I particularly would like to thank Dr. Mark Gladwin at NHLBI for his tireless efforts and unbreakable optimism as Chief of the Vascular Medicine Branch. He has been an incredible example of the selfless efforts of so many thousands of investigators throughout the many branches of NIH whose sole purpose is to find a cure. They set their sights on the cure for HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, or Pulmonary Hypertension and they do not waiver from their cause. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting NIH. NIH needs our support. We cannot hamper scientific progress. The lives of millions of Americans depend upon this critical Institute.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I want to commend my good friend from Texas, a distinguished member of the International Relations Committee, for presenting this resolution, and I want to echo his words. The United States and the United Kingdom are the closest of allies for a reason: We share an unshakeable commitment to freedom and democracy. As the successful British action against the recent terrorist plot demonstrates, we also share a deep conviction that we must remain constantly vigilant against those who seek to destroy our way of life through violence and terrorism. I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS

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

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the passage of an important bond issue, Measure D, and the improvements it has made in the San Mateo Union High School District. Voters in my district saw a great opportunity to advance our community and overwhelmingly approved a $137.5 million bond measure. Combining this bond measure with other resources the district undertook a $234.5 million capital improvement program. Some of these funds were dedicated for new construction and modernization of Aragon High School. The community will be celebrating the completion of this project with a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 28, 2006. Aragon High School has been a California Distinguished School since 1988 and has many accomplishments. It is one of only three high schools in the County to have earned and improved an 800 Academic Performance Index Score (API) on the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) tests. Soon after the passage of the bond issue, Aragon High School was the first in the district to provide Advanced Placement (AP) courses that have challenged students dedicated to academics and has encouraged the professional development of California AP teachers. Aragon High School's developments have encouraged others outside the County as well. The school's demonstration of a commitment to reform necessary for academic success has led to Aragon's participation in the New American High School initiative for school reform, receiving a $40,000 grant tied to middle and elementary feeder schools. The capital improvement program and the school's dedication to academic success have helped to ensure students' acceptance into the most prestigious colleges and universities in America with 57% of the Class of 2006 accepted to four year colleges. These graduates earn nearly $2 million annually through scholarships and grants. Beyond academics, Aragon High School can boast of extra-curricular programs that have been improved with the passage of Measure D. Students of Aragon High School participate in award winning vocal and instrumental music programs, including performances of the band at Carnegie Hall in New York, an invitation with the Boston Pops Symphony, and the honor to represent California and the United States at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The Measure D modernization and new construction program at Aragon High School is made possible by the Board of Trustees, joined by community leaders, elected officials, parents, school staff, and the public at large that volunteered and helped pass this bond issue and do what is best for the youth attending schools in the community. The San Mateo Union School District has been and is devoted to its academics and voters within the County. The people of the community have contributed to these successes by voting on Measure D and by dedicating themselves in the classrooms. I commend them for their efforts that have provided a safe and modern teaching and learning facility in San Mateo County.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I might consume. Madam Speaker, Montenegro is a place of great beauty, of rugged mountains and a spectacular coast on the Adriatic Sea. Its people are warm and friendly, and they have a fascinating history and culture. I had the pleasure of visiting Montenegro on many occasions, and I find it a truly delightful place. The people of Montenegro are fiercely independent. During the five centuries of Turkish dominance of the Balkans, from the late 1300s to the late 1800s, Montenegro was never under Turkish rule, despite repeated attempts of the Sultan to conquer the area. At the end of World War I, an assembly of Montenegrin representatives voted to unite Montenegro with Serbia. Shortly thereafter, it became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became known as Yugoslavia. When Marshal Tito established the Federation of Yugoslavia in 1945, Montenegro was recognized as one of its constituent republics. In 1991, the Yugoslav Federation began to disintegrate as its republics chose independence. For over a decade, Montenegro and Serbia continued as the Yugoslav Federation. On May 21 of this year, the government of Montenegro held a free, fair, and open referendum on the question of separating the Republic of Montenegro from Serbia. Madam Speaker, you will be pleased to note that some 86 percent of the people of Montenegro participated in the referendum, and well over half voted in favor of independence. On June 3, the Montenegrin parliament declared the country's independence. The United States recognized this status in June. The United Nations General Assembly unanimously accepted Montenegro as the UN's 192nd member at the end of June; and, on August 15, we established diplomatic relations with Montenegro pursuant to an exchange of letters between the Presidents of the United States and Montenegro. Just 3 weeks ago, Montenegrins voted in their first general election since gaining their independence. A coalition headed by Milo Djukanovic took 40 seats, and it will lead the country's government. Prime Minister Djukanovic has been the leading political figure in the country over the past decade and a half. The vote that I just referred to is important because the new parliament will draft the constitution defining the newly independent country's goals and its governmental structure. Madam Speaker, this peaceful separation of Montenegro from Serbia is truly historic. Montenegro has demonstrated its readiness to assume the responsibilities of independence. As UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said, ``In achieving its independence through a nonviolent and democratic process conducted in a fair and open way, Montenegro showed the entire world not only its patience but also its political maturity.'' The government of Serbia also acted responsibly and maturely with regard to the independence of Montenegro. Shortly after the parliament of Montenegro declared its independence, the government of Serbia formally recognized the country, established diplomatic relations with Montenegro, and the President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, was the first head of state to pay an official visit to Montenegro. President Tadic was our guest here in Washington just this past week, and I want to commend him for his very positive role in this singularly civilized and peaceful evolution in the Balkans. Throughout the history of the world, Madam Speaker, we have seen much bloodshed and violence over similar situations. The peaceful, amicable separation of Montenegro and Serbia, as the earlier peaceful separation of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, have been exemplary, and all of those countries deserve our recognition and praise. The European Commission has announced that it will open talks on closer ties between the European Union and Montenegro this month. We look forward to welcoming Montenegro into full membership into the European Union and into other international organizations. We also express the hope that the government of Montenegro and its people will continue to embrace the principles of democracy and particularly will encourage a free and open and democratic society with full respect for the human rights of all of its citizens. Ethnic Albanians in Montenegro, with whom I have visited at length, have faced many challenges in the past. But I look forward to this newly independent state of Montenegro; and I hope it will remember its tradition as a multiethnic, multicultural and multireligious society based on the rule of law. It has the responsibility of protecting the freedom and human rights of all of its citizens. Our resolution commends the people of Montenegro on the referendum on independence, welcomes them to the community of nations and to membership in the United Nations and welcomes the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Montenegro. I strongly support this resolution, Madam Speaker, and I urge all of my colleagues to do as well. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of this resolution. I would first like to commend my good friend from Virginia, Congressman Frank Wolf, who serves with me as co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, for introducing this most important measure. I also want to congratulate former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios on his recent appointment as Presidential Special Envoy responsible for addressing the crisis in Darfur and for coordinating our policies towards Sudan. Mr. Natsios brings a remarkable lifetime of experience to this very challenging task. Throughout his career, he has faced many humanitarian and disaster situations, and he has performed brilliantly. The crisis in Darfur will require aggressive diplomacy for which Mr. Natsios is well suited. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago this Congress found the atrocities taking place in Darfur were genocide. We thought that this declaration would trigger an outpouring of diplomatic efforts worldwide to rescue the victims of Khartoum's methodical madness. Rather than welcoming our clear-cut declaration, many around the world continued to wring their hands. Some even indulged in a specious debate as to whether the tragedy in Darfur was even a genocide. For too many the term ``genocide'' created the specter of accountability, which few individual leaders and fewer governments and institutions were willing to contemplate. This same paralysis struck the international community, including our own government, in 1994, when the Rwandan genocide unfolded before us with lightning speed, 1 million people massacred in 100 days. In the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda, leaders uttered the familiar phrase ``never again,'' never again would the world stand by and allow genocide to take place while we stood by and did nothing about it. But for 3 years, Mr. Speaker, genocide has been unfolding in Darfur, and the international community has been excruciatingly slow to act. Mr. Speaker, this Congress and the American people have not given up. Today we are voting on three separate measures that address the crisis in Darfur, including the one before us at the moment. The genocide must stop. Lives must be saved. The people of Darfur must be made whole again and a permanent and just peace must come to Darfur. Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution because sustained and intensive diplomatic efforts at the highest levels are needed. The Special Envoy must not only engage the parties to the conflict in Darfur. He also will need to galvanize the international community to bring lasting peace to Darfur. I strongly support this resolution and urge all of my colleagues to do so as well. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from Virginia for his most generous comments, and I yield 3 minutes to the ranking member of the Africa Subcommittee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), my good friend and distinguished colleague, who is our leader on issues relating to Africa. (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), always a strong voice on human rights.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

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

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished Democratic whip and a strong voice on all human rights issues.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I might consume. First, I would like to thank my chief cosponsor, Congressman Joseph Pitts, and the other 116 cosponsors of this resolution who, along with me, continue to demand action to protect civilians and stop the genocide in Darfur. Mr. Speaker, as we meet here today, the Sudanese Government has launched a new brutal campaign against innocent civilians in Darfur. The only troops standing in their way are the understaffed and underfunded African Union Monitoring Force. But even the days of the African Union forces are numbered. Their mission is scheduled to end in 3 short months, leaving the people of Darfur completely unprotected. I fear, Mr. Speaker, that a full-scale onslaught mass murder against the civilians is imminent. The signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement on May 5 of this year seemed to offer a ray of hope that the darkest days were behind the innocent men, women, and children of Darfur. But immediately after the negotiators left Abuja with the peace agreement signed and sealed, the security situation in Darfur began to deteriorate. In characteristic fashion, the Sudanese Government launched a massive and indiscriminate assault on civilians, humanitarian efforts, and the rebel forces. Nearly 1 month ago, the United Nations Security Council authorized the deployment of 22,500 military and police into the Darfur region. To no one's surprise, Khartoum rejected the proposed deployment, and instead launched into unspeakable vitriol against the world community, threatening a terrorist war against the peacekeepers and, in a sickening anti-Semitic rant, invoked a Jewish conspiracy behind the international humanitarian movement to save Darfur. To counter the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers, Khartoum said it would send 30,000 of its own troops to Darfur to protect civilians. Mr. Speaker, as a Holocaust survivor, I cannot think of more despicable cruelty than to have Khartoum send its armed forces who have raped, tortured, and slaughtered thousands and displaced 2 million to protect civilians in Darfur. In the past few weeks, the government has escalated its campaign of death in Darfur. Bombers, attack helicopters, and Arab militias have been deployed in a new campaign of terror. Just recently, the government unleashed its forces on Tawilla Town and seven nearby villages, forcing thousands of residents to flee. The barbed wire fence surrounding the nearby African Union peacekeeping base provided scant protection for terrified civilians fearing for their lives. Mr. Speaker, it is time for the international community to put words into action whether or not Khartoum agrees to a U.N. peacekeeping force. The international community knows full well that Khartoum should not be given a choice whether to stop the genocide. If necessary, an enforced civilian protection regime must be put in place. I concluded 2 years ago when I first called for NATO's support to the African Union to protect civilians in Darfur that diplomacy does not move the leaders in Khartoum. The Sudanese Government must be made to understand that there will be severe consequences for further genocidal assaults on the people of Darfur. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 723 calls on the world to put actions behind words and to undertake civilian protection once and for all by supporting the transition of the African Union mission to the United Nations and for NATO to broaden its support. The genocide in Darfur is not just an African crisis; it is a crisis of all humanity and obligates all of us to act with urgency. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2\1/4\ minutes to our colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), a bold fighter for human rights.