Tom Lantos

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me first pay tribute to my friends and distinguished colleagues, Chairman Hyde and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence) for their powerful and eloquent statements. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Two days ago the leader of Iran made one of the most repugnant remarks the international community has heard since Adolf Hitler. With his bone- chilling call for Israel to be wiped off the map, the Iranian dictator placed himself and his benighted regime far beyond the pale of the civilized world. I would hope that everyone in this body would be sickened by the Iranian dictator's contemptible sentiments. And I would hope that every civilized nation is likewise appalled by it, and condemns Iran in the strongest possible terms. But, Mr. Speaker, this latest outrage from Tehran comes as no surprise. The Iranian leader has made graphically explicit what many of us have long known. Since day one of its existence, the Iranian regime has craved Israel's destruction and has been working assiduously through terrorism and all other means to achieve that goal. Iran's support for terrorist groups that are determined to destroy Israel is well known. Iran is Hezbollah's puppetmaster and increasingly the banker and mentor for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as well. And Iran would almost certainly put any nuclear arms it produces or acquires at the service of this nefarious end. All of this should, by now, be clear, even to the most gullible. This has nothing to do with Israel's policies. Tehran simply rejects Israel's right to exist. Anyone who still does not get the message should read the Iranian Foreign Minister's response to criticism of the Iranian President's remarks yesterday. And I quote, ``The comments expressed by the President is the declared and specific policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We don't recognize the Zionist regime and don't consider it legitimate.'' That is what the Iranian Foreign Minister said yesterday. Mr. Speaker, it is crucial that the United Nations Security Council censure Iran in the strongest terms possible for its leader's disgusting, bellicose statement, and that it insist that Iran repudiate those statements and halt its support of terrorism. And it is more urgent than ever that the Security Council take up the issue of preventing Iran's nuclearization and agree on strong sanctions. Let me remind everyone that 4 years ago another powerful Iranian leader, Ali Rafsanjani, openly boasted that Iran would win a nuclear exchange with Israel. Mr. Speaker, when Hitler threatened to destroy the Jews, almost nobody took him seriously. The appeasers and the pseudosophisticates said it was just rhetoric. But madmen often mean exactly what they say, as we learned only under the most tragic circumstances, and now Iran is declaring its ugly, unthinkable intent for all to hear. And the world is tested yet again. Mr. Speaker, Iran is guilty of a multitude of sins and assaults on civilization beyond its policy of attempting to delegitimatize the State of Israel. Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. It ceaselessly meddles in Iraq, sowing violence and chaos and undermining that fragile new society's quest for stability and peace, and it is an unapologetic enemy of the United States, as government-sponsored demonstrations all over Iran on this very day make it crystal clear. These are just a few elements of its dangerous behavior, and we shall return to all these concerns on another day. But Ahmadinejad's inflammatory statement compels us today to focus on Iran's ugly fanaticism-based opposition to Israel's existence and the threat that a nuclear Iran would pose to Israel and to all nations of the Middle East. I know of no situation in the world remotely comparable to this one where a power hell-bent on acquiring nuclear arms declares its determination to wipe one of its neighbors off the map. And in this case, the neighbor that is the object of this vituperation and this murderous intent is the sole democracy in the Middle East and a close ally of the United States of America. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that our resolution will in itself dissuade Iran from its repugnant views or deter it from its planned horrible deeds, but it is morally imperative that we speak out, that we draw attention to a potentially impending nightmare, and that we demand that this time the world take action before it is too late. That is what our resolution does, Mr. Speaker, and that is why I unreservedly support it and urge all of my colleagues to do so. Just a few minutes ago, Mr. Speaker, Reuters reported another megalomaniacal and insane statement by the President of Iran. He said, and I quote, that he stands by his call to wipe Israel off the map. My words are the Iranian nation's words: Westerners are free to comment, but their reactions are invalid, end quote. All of us in this body should reject, denounce and repudiate the outrageous statements of the leader of Iran and stand up for our friend, the democratic State of Israel. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, three generations ago, Adolph Hitler threatened to kill the Jews of Europe. When he made that statement, the gullible, the pseudosophisticates, the appeasers thought that it was only oratory. Earlier this year we commemorated the liberation of Auschwitz, where a million of those whom Hitler promised to kill were, in fact, destroyed in the gas chambers, in the nightmare of that concentration camp. We now have a similar statement from an equally deranged but serious leader of a nation. He is calling for the destruction of another 6 million, this time Israelis. The civilized world must understand that these are not oratorical statements, but plans for action. We need to prevent Iran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons, and we must do everything in our power to have this insane, megalomaniacal regime replaced by a regime of responsibility which would be part of the civilized world. I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

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

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my good friend and distinguished colleague from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel).

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to my good friend and distinguished colleague from Texas (Mr. Gene Green).

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, three generation ago Adolf Hitler threatened to destroy the Jewish people, and the appeasers and the pseudosophisticates said it was merely oratory. A few months ago, the leadership of Syria threatened to destroy the Prime Minister of Lebanon, and the pseudosophisticates and the appeasers thought it was only oratory. Yesterday the President of Iran announced that it is his policy to destroy the State of Israel, and the pseudosophisticates and the appeasers again say this is only oratory. But of course, it is more than that. I call on the United Nations, and all civilized nations, to take appropriate action, in the U.N. and individually, denouncing this outrageous statement. There is no room for the President of a nation to call for the destruction of a member state of the United Nations, the sole democracy in the Middle East and a close ally of the United States.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that time for debate be extended for an additional 10 minutes to be equally divided between both sides. This is a very important matter for the entire Nation. We are honoring a heroine, a treasure.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I view American history as a long process of closing the hypocrisy gap. When we first heard the words ``all men are created equal,'' they certainly were not equal, and women were not even mentioned. And many of the people in that great generation of the Founding Fathers themselves owned slaves. This long and painful process of closing the hypocrisy gap has been closed to a large extent because of the courage, the determination, the perseverance of giants like the one we are honoring today. Rosa Parks is a national treasure. She has reeducated all of us in the value that we, in fact, are all created equal, men and women, people of all faiths, people of all pigmentation. This is a message that needs to be sent over and over again, and I am proud that this House this evening again reminds all of us that the hypocrisy gap is not yet fully closed. We still have some distance to go. But Rosa Parks is among those giants who closed that gap in large measure, and for that we are eternally grateful.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank my good friend from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for his powerful and eloquent statement. I want to thank the chairman of the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), for working on this resolution and bringing it to the floor. But I particularly want to applaud our colleague, a distinguished member of the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman form California (Mr. Schiff), for drawing attention to this very positive development at the United Nations in New York. Mr. Speaker, for the first time in over a half a century at the U.N., the Democratic State of Israel, which has for decades been the only member state to be excluded from U.N. leadership positions because it has been shut out of its regional grouping as an act of blatant discrimination, has now been elected to a significant United Nations post. I am delighted to report that last month Israel's distinguished Ambassador Dan Gillerman, my good friend, became the Vice President of the General Assembly. Ambassador Gillerman has served as Israel's Permanent Representative at the U.N. for nearly 3 years. Previously, he made his mark as one of Israel's top business leaders. Election of Ambassador Gillerman is a result of congressional and United States Government pressure on our allies in the Western European grouping to finally accept Israel as a full-fledged member to make up for the fact that Israel is denied its rightful seat in the Asian grouping by prejudiced members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. This resolution is also important because it recognizes that despite this important development, Israel is still routinely vilified and singled out for political attack at the United Nations. Our measure calls on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to work to end the continued attacks on Israel at the U.N. In fact, the timing of this resolution could not be more auspicious. The recently concluded U.N. summit provided Secretary General Kofi Annan with the authority to review all mandates and programs at the U.N. This review will finally provide Kofi Annan with the opportunity to recommend to the General Assembly that they dissolve several long- standing preposterous committees within the Secretariat that are allocated millions of dollars on an annual basis for the sole purpose of pursuing one-sided, vicious propaganda aimed at Israel. Mr. Speaker, today we celebrate the election of a top Israeli diplomat to a position of responsibility at the United Nations. At the same time, we hope that Ambassador Gillerman's election is a harbinger of things to come and that the single-minded persecution of the State of Israel at the United Nations will cease from now on. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), the distinguished author of this legislation.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 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 yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), a distinguished member of the Committee on International Relations.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. Five years ago, Congress approved far-reaching legislation to stop the flow of nuclear missiles and other sensitive technology to the ayatollahs of terror in Tehran. By a unanimous vote, Congress commanded that those who aid in the development of Iran's destabilizing nuclear and missile programs be exposed and sanctioned. The need for the Iran Nonproliferation Act is stronger today than it was 5 years ago. The Iranian regime continues to seek aggressively a nuclear weapons capability by exploiting allegedly peaceful nuclear facilities to produce nuclear weapons materials. Iran is also developing long-range missile systems capable of destabilizing the entire Middle East and beyond. The Iranians are accomplishing this task with the active assistance of Russia and other irresponsible actors on the international scene. Fortunately, Mr. Speaker, in large part due to the farsighted initiatives such as the Iran Nonproliferation Act, the world no longer trusts Tehran. Just this past month, the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna voted to find Iran in violation of its nuclear safeguards obligations. And absent any dramatic turnaround by Iran, the United States must and will demand that Iran's violations be reported to the U.N. Security Council at the next meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency this coming November. The legislation before us today is designed to preserve the core of the Iran Nonproliferation Act while allowing for continued cooperation with the Russians in support of our national space program. It is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, that this legislation is necessary. I wish that the Russians had ceased their missile-related cooperation with the Iranians so Congress would not be forced to carve out this new exception. Moscow's deliberate decision to flaunt international norms on weapons of mass destruction just shows how far away the Russian regime is from being a responsible international actor. But we are compelled to pass this legislation because the United States needs to continue paying Russia for rides for American astronauts to the International Space Station and for other space services. Because the President cannot certify that Russia has ended it missile cooperation with Iran, and with the space shuttle still experiencing difficulties in its return to service, this exemption has proved necessary. But, Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, the Iran Nonproliferation Act is emerging even stronger than before. My good friend, the chairman of the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), and I made changes to the bill which will focus even greater attention on Russia's destabilizing cooperation with Iran. The Hyde-Lantos provisions will make governments, not just individuals and business entities, newly vulnerable to sanctions for trade in weapons of mass destruction with the Iranian regime. It will also help ensure that Iran does not spread dangerous technology in the future. Our bill also applies the provision of the Iran Nonproliferation Act for the first time to the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This action will help ensure that whatever happens to the regime of Bashir Assad in the near term as it faces international condemnation richly deserved for its direct complicity in the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the Prime Minister of neighboring Lebanon, it cannot develop weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Speaker, the leadership cabals in both Tehran and Damascus are aggressively seeking to develop such weapons that would threaten the entire Middle East and the region beyond. Our legislation marks an important step in focusing greater attention on these emerging threats while preserving key aspects of our own space program. I urge all of my colleagues to support this most important and urgent piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, before yielding back my time, I want to pay public tribute to two outstanding members of our staff, David Abramowitz and David Fite, who did extraordinary work on this very complex piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, no, I am not. I am supporting the bill.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate and celebrate the life of Rosa Parks and her immense contribution to the struggle for human rights and the betterment of American society. Rosa died in her Detroit, Michigan, home on Monday, October 24, 2005, at age 92. Although saddened by this great loss, I cannot help but have great admiration for the courageous woman who kept her seat in a time of injustice. Known as the ``mother of civil rights,'' Rosa unremittingly devoted her life to guarantee equal rights to all Americans. Rosa, clothed with determination, refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus 50 years ago and injected life and energy into the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa's actions led to a 380-day citywide bus boycott and influenced a Supreme Court decision that demanded all public transportation be desegregated. Rosa's civil disobedience gave rise to a young minister, Martin Luther King, Jr., and to a wave of mass demonstrations and protests that changed a nation. Rosa's relentless belief in the American ideal that ``all men are created equal'' strengthened her ability to make a difference. Many honors were given to Rosa during her life, memorializing her monumental achievements. She received the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest government award showing appreciation for her distinguished achievements and contributions, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, which recognizes exceptional meritorious service. More than 40 colleges and universities bestowed Rosa with an honorary doctorate. A museum and library on the Montgomery corner where she boarded the bus in 1955, is named for her. It is difficult to find a U.S. history book that does not mention her role in history. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to the legacy of Rosa Parks who gave selflessly to ensure the basic principles of American democracy were afforded to everyone. Rosa improved the quality of life for many and made the United States into a place where all people enjoy freedom.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, friends of freedom today are mourning the death of Penn Kemble, who was one of its most ardent, eloquent, and effective defenders. Although he died at the relatively young age of 64, after a year-long struggle with brain cancer, Penn was an activist on behalf of social causes for more than 40 years. Whether arguing on behalf of civil rights, supporting organized labor, which he considered the ``balance wheel of democracy,'' or advocating on behalf of democratic movements around the world, Penn brought an unparalleled passion combined with a hardheaded realism to every cause he adopted. Penn through his close affiliation with Senators Henry Jackson and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, worked to move the Democratic Party in the direction of strong and ``muscular'' internationalism in its foreign policy. As Deputy Director--and later Acting Director--of the United States Information Agency under President Clinton, he played a strong role in the creation of an international network on civic education and in the establishment of the Community of Democracies. Even as the end of his life drew near, he was busy working to develop a transatlantic democracy network, collaborating with colleagues at the National Endowment for Democracy and Freedom House, where he served as a senior scholar after leaving government service. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to place in the Record a Washington Post obituary that chronicles the life of this remarkable American. Let me take this opportunity to express my condolences to Penn's wife Mal and the other members of his family. [From the Washington Post, Oct. 19, 2005] Political Activist Penn Kemble Dies at 64 (By Joe Holley) Penn Kemble, 64, a political activist who considered himself a ``muscular Democrat'' and who kept himself in intellectual fighting trim by engaging in policy tilts with adversaries on both the left and the right, died Oct. 16 of brain cancer at his home in Washington. A former acting director of the U.S. Information Agency, he was in recent years senior scholar at Freedom House, a nonpartisan, pro- democracy think tank. Mr. Kemble believed in a robust internationalism in the tradition of former senator Henry M. ``Scoop'' Jackson (D- Wash.). He also had an affinity for organized labor, which was, in his words, ``the balance wheel of democracy.'' During his career, he helped found or lead a number of advocacy groups, including the Coalition for a Democratic Majority. A friend and former colleague, Joshua Muravchik, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, noted that Mr. Kemble's political and intellectual journey traversed a path from democratic socialist to social democrat. It was a journey similar in its rightward arc to that of many prominent neoconservatives. Although he occasionally took such positions, Mr. Kemble stopped short of leaving the Democratic Party and never considered himself a neoconservative. He believed, for example, in building a democratic Iraq but sharply criticized the Bush administration's approach on the country. ``The distinction between liberation and democratization, which requires a strategy and instruments, was an idea never understood by the administration,'' he told the New Republic last year. Richard Penn Kemble was born in Worcester, Mass., and grew up in Lancaster, Pa., where he was a small but feisty football player in high school. His political activism began at the University of Colorado, where he helped establish the Colorado chapter of the Young People's Socialist League. After receiving a bachelor's degree in 1962, he moved to New York and took a job as a copy boy at the New York Times. His journalism career ended shortly afterward, when the typesetters went out on strike and he refused to cross the picket line. He stayed in New York and immersed himself in socialist politics, seeking to resurrect the youth section of the Socialist Party, famously led earlier in the century by Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. Muravchik, who also was part of the movement, recalled that Mr. Kemble stood out as a ``good-looking, neatly dressed WASP'' in what was otherwise ``a scruffy-looking crowd'' made up primarily of young Jewish intellectuals. He was one of the few whites among the leadership of the East River chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality, once staging a sit-in that blocked the eastbound lanes of the Triborough Bridge during rush hour. The aim was to force commuters to ponder the plight of Harlem residents before arriving back at their comfortable homes in the suburbs. In 1967, he founded Negotiation Now!, which demanded an end to the bombing of North Vietnam and a negotiated end to the war. In the early 1970s, Mr. Kemble moved to the District and plunged into Democratic Party politics. After the party's 1972 presidential debacle, he helped found the Coalition for a Democratic Majority. Associated primarily with Sens. Jackson and Hubert H. Humphrey (D-Minn.), the group sought to move the party back toward the center and refocus its reliance on a traditional blue-collar base. Mr. Kemble served as executive director of the group from 1972 to 1976, when he joined the New York senatorial campaign of Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He was Moynihan's special assistant and speechwriter until 1979. During the Reagan administration, he founded a group called PRODEMCA, or the Committee for Democracy in Central America. He caused consternation among many fellow Democrats by advocating support for the anti-communist contra rebels in Nicaragua. He sought a democratic middle way between communist Sandinistas and former supporters of rightist dictator Anastasio Somoza. He worked in the Clinton presidential campaign in 1992 and was appointed deputy director of the USIA in 1993. He became USIA's acting director in 1999. In recent years, Mr. Kemble sought to maintain a network of American social democrats. From his sickbed, he conceived and helped organize a conference dedicated to the thought of philosopher Sydney Hook, an intellectual model for Mr. Kemble of the politically engaged social democrat. The event took place October, 1. His marriage to Charlotte Rowe ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 22 years, Marie-Louise ``Mal'' Caravatti of Washington; two sisters, Sara Kemble of Columbia and Eugenia Kemble of Washington; and a brother, Grover Kemble of Morristown, N.J. Mr. Kemble was in many ways still a socialist, his wife said. ``He believed in the public sector as a civilizing force,'' she added. ``He believed in a role for government.''

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), our distinguished colleague and a physician herself.

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. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for his usual gracious accommodation. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), a fighter for children's rights. (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. LANTOS

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

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

Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, before yielding time, I want to recognize my associate, Peter Yeo, who drafted and did the major work on this important legislation. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3\1/2\ minutes to my good friend and colleague from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)