Nita Lowey

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise to associate myself with the comments of the chairman. I think that this amendment would be detrimental to the national security, and I urge my colleagues to defeat it.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my colleagues from California, the cochairs of the Haiti task force, for their important work on this issue. So many of us continue to look at the horrors that are occurring every day, and instead of being minimized, they seem to increase in intensity. In talking to friends who have been there recently, each day the violence gets more grim, and it affects the average person who just wants to go about their business living normally. That is impossible. So I am very pleased that the chairman is accepting this amendment, and I hope that we can work closely with the Haiti task force to see if we can come up with some kind of positive recommendations that can have an impact on the lives of people. So I thank my colleagues for introducing this amendment and I look forward to working closely with them so that perhaps the average family can look forward to a decent life one day soon.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I want to associate myself with the comments of the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe), and I thank the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley) for clarifying the amendment. We understand the important purposes of our aid to Romania, and I hope we can really make a change in the adoption policy. I look forward to working with the chairman.

Mrs. LOWEY. I wish to be heard on the point of order. I want to thank the gentlewoman for her leadership on the issue. I am pleased that the gentleman from Arizona (Chairman Kolbe) and I were able to double the President's request for the Global Fund in the bill from $200 million to $400 million, and, as the gentlewoman probably knows, given the allocation, it was simply the best we could do. However, I understand the urgency of the situation, and I look forward to working with the gentlewoman as we move the bill forward to continue to meet our responsibilities, and then some, because of the tremendous, tremendous impact of HIV/AIDS in every part of this world.

Mrs. LOWEY. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas for a concluding statement.

Mrs. LOWEY. I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I know the chairman's clear concern and commitment to focus on the severe issues in Darfur, and I certainly would be delighted to work with the chairman to see if we can come up with some report language that would clarify the intent of the gentlewoman from Texas' concerns as expressed in this amendment.

Mrs. LOWEY. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank my colleague from Massachusetts for spending some time to discuss the genocide that is currently occurring in Darfur. He and I understand that the administration does currently have the authorization to take steps, and with his help and with the help of the Chair, I hope we can continue to keep this issue on the tops of our agenda so that the world does not actually watch what is going on without taking all appropriate action, and I want to thank the gentleman.

Mrs. LOWEY. Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner).

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Weiner amendment. This provision was included in the fiscal year 2005 Foreign Operations bill, and I believe it should be included again. This is a common sense amendment. It sends a message to Saudi Arabia that the United States is serious about reform. We impatiently await Saudi Government efforts to eliminate anti- Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda from its state-controlled media. We are looking for democratic reforms in Saudi Arabia, including reforms that would allow the women of that country a voice in shaping their country. We still have not seen Saudi Arabia disavow its propaganda campaign against Christians and Jews, a campaign that is alive and well here in our very own country, as Saudi-exported materials inciting hatred and prejudice are made available at Saudi-supported American mosques. In short, it is all carrot these days and too little sticks. The Weiner amendment provides some incentive for change in Saudi Arabia. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my colleague for his comments on the bill. And I hope the gentleman will work, certainly, with the chairman and myself and many of us who would support increased funding to address the critical issues that the gentleman mentions. However, within this allocation, the gentleman knows it was very difficult; and I feel very strongly that in terms of our international policies, nothing is more important than expanding our support in the country for all the important initiatives included in this bill and increasing the dollars that we can spend on them.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word, and I yield to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), a distinguished new member of the committee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman raises important issues. For the last several years, I have joined many of my colleagues in expressing concern about the composition of the U.S. aid package to Egypt. Why, at a time when Egypt has no major enemies, should we be providing over $1 billion each year in military assistance? Why, when Egypt lacks economic prosperity, should we maintain such a high level of military aid even as economic assistance levels drop? In Cairo last week, Secretary of State Rice announced a new commitment to human rights in the Arab world, imploring the Egyptian Government to hold free and transparent elections and end human rights abuses, and I was very pleased to hear her remarks. For too long, we have coddled undemocratic regimes, looking the other way as democracy and freedom have been stifled. Despite President Mubarak's pronouncements to the contrary, Egypt is a hotbed neither of democratic reform nor respect for the rights of the opposition. In late May, members of the Egyptian movement Kifaya, which means ``enough'' in Arabic, were beaten and dragged through the street by a government-organized mob. Police stood by as women were sexually assaulted; and in some cases, police actively participated in beating and arresting protesters. What radical agenda does Kifaya have? Free, fair, and transparent elections. Or consider the case of Ayman Nour, leader of a small Egyptian opposition party, who was jailed on charges of faking signatures to form his party. In the weeks leading up to his arrest, Nour had called for a constitutional overhaul to restrain Mubarak's powers. Nour spent 42 days in prison being beaten and held under inhumane conditions and is awaiting a trial that will start next week. The Egyptian record on human rights is rivaled by its record on incitement in the media. Even as diplomatic relations between Israel and Egypt continue to progress, with the recent return of Egypt's ambassador to Israel, anti-Israel and anti-Semitic attacks in the official Egyptian media persist, with claims of Holocaust exaggeration, Zionist-Nazi collaboration, and anti-Semitic canards. The amendment sends the message that the status quo is not okay. Baby steps toward political reform are unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated. Tepid efforts to stop smuggling along Egypt's border with Gaza are not enough. Disclaimers that the Egyptian press is free and cannot be influenced by the government will not be believed. The tide in the Middle East is turning toward democracy and freedom, toward rights for women and educational opportunities for children. The tide is turning toward peace between Israel and its neighbors, toward economic cooperation and coexistence. Egypt has been part of this turning tide. It was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, and it is a needed partner in closing any peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. But too often we have seen this powerful player in regional affairs place stumbling blocks in front of progress instead of easing the way. We know Egypt is listening to our debate today. A lot is at stake. So the one message I have is this: great nations recognize when the changing times will leave them behind, and they stay ahead of the curve. I hope we will see the pace of reform quicken and the quality of cooperation increase in the coming weeks and months.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman and I want to thank the gentlewoman for her commitment to combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic. She has been a strong and constant voice championing the cause of the poorest, and I agree with my colleague from California that more needs to be done to help address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe) discussed the funding in the bill. However, we all agree, and I know the chairman agrees, that more needs to be done. And the U.N. has estimated the total resources needed to combat HIV/AIDS around the world to be $15 billion per year. An additional $5 billion is needed to combat TB and malaria. And while I do not believe that the United States can or should fulfill all of the need on our own, the amount that we are currently contributing, about 15 percent of the total need, is not representative of what we are capable of doing. So although the Chair has mentioned, and I would agree that we have done as much as we possibly can in this bill, I would like to work with him, you, and certainly with the Chair to make sure that we continue to increase our commitment to HIV/AIDS. I thank the gentlewoman for entering into this colloquy.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend the gentleman from California for raising this issue. I too am very concerned about the repressive and totalitarian turns that Zimbabwe has taken in recent years under Mr. Mugabe. The decision to evict thousands of poor people from their homes and bulldoze their property is one of the worst forms of brutality Mr. Mugabe has used against his own people, who are already suffering from food shortages and economic stagnation. He is truly relentless in his effort to quash any opposition he perceives. As the chairman has said, there is no U.S. funding for Mr. Mugabe's regime contained in the bill. However, at a time when Zimbabweans are suffering so much, I am loathe to place conditions or limitations on any assistance that might help the beleaguered people of the country and ease their isolation from the rest of the international community. I am particularly concerned about any limitations on HIV/AIDS programs which comprise the bulk of our assistance to Zimbabwe. Once again, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) for raising this issue, and I hope to work with him and the chairman as the bill progresses.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.