Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the Senate bill under consideration.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4501) to amend the Passport Act of June 4, 1920, to authorize the Secretary of State to establish and collect a surcharge to cover the costs of meeting the increased demand for passports as a result of actions taken to comply with section 7209(b) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, as amended.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 456) expressing support for the memorandum of understanding signed by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement on August 15, 2005, to end the conflict in Aceh, a province in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 275) expressing the sense of Congress regarding the education curriculum in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 284) expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the 2005 presidential and parliamentary elections in Egypt, as amended.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the concurrent resolution under consideration.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 284, as amended. Prior to this year's election in Egypt, that country's leader, Hosni Mubarak, promised to undertake a series of steps toward a slow but steady transition to a free and democratic society. However, in the wake of the parliamentary elections it is explicitly clear that those commitments remain unfulfilled. This concurrent resolution, initially drafted amid an atmosphere of hope, had to be updated from the version passed by the House Committee on International Relations in order to reflect the grave developments that have taken place and to express congressional disappointment with the behavior of the Egyptian government and security forces during the parliamentary elections. Election monitors complained that polling and counting stations were blocked and that wide-scale arrests were also used as a means of manipulating the electoral process. There were reports of excessive force by Egyptian security services resulting in the deaths of several demonstrators and the wounding of dozens more. We must send a clear message to the Egyptian leadership that such behavior is unacceptable and that the concerns contained within this resolution need to be addressed if our bilateral relations are not to suffer. The resolution before us therefore calls on the government of Egypt to take immediate steps to address the reported violations of fundamental freedoms of the Egyptian people and to hold those accountable for those actions and it urges the President to take into account what, if any, progress has been achieved by the Government of Egypt in meeting the goals outlined in this resolution when determining diplomatic engagement with and the type of level of assistance to the Government of Egypt. This resolution is also forward looking, calling on the Government of Egypt to take a series of confidence-building measures in future elections. Mr. Speaker, it is in the U.S. national security interest and in the interest of the Egyptian people for Egypt to be governed by a representative freely elected and legitimate national government. I ask my colleagues to render their full support to this measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 545) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the arrest of Sanjar Umarov in Uzbekistan.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to work with my good friend from California, Mr. Lantos. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of House Resolution 545 regarding the arrest of Uzbek opposition leader Sanjar Umarov. Mr. Umarov is a businessman and a leader of the Sunshine Coalition, an Uzbek opposition party that was formed in April in the wake of a popular uprising in neighboring Kyrgyzstan. The group quickly gained recognition after its condemnation of the severe military crackdown on demonstrators in the eastern city of Andijon earlier this year. On October 22, 2005, the Uzbek authorities launched a crackdown against the Sunshine Coalition that included a raid of its offices and a seizure of its records. Sanjar Umarov was then charged by the Uzbek regime. Press reports have alleged that Mr. Umarov was drugged and abused while at his pretrial confinement center. The State Department has expressed its serious concern regarding this case, and last month the Senate passed a companion resolution regarding Mr. Umarov's case. The Congress remains deeply troubled about the overall state of human rights in Uzbekistan, as that regime has become one of the world's most repressive. Freedom House and our own State Department rank Uzbekistan among some of the world's most notorious human rights violators. As an important first step toward addressing these underlying issues, this resolution calls on the Uzbek authorities to ensure that Mr. Umarov is accorded his full rights under Uzbek law and Uzbekistan's international obligations. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this important measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the Women of Tomorrow Mentor and Scholarship Program, an incredible organization located in my Congressional district, and congratulate its founders, Jennifer Valoppi and Don Browne, for being named recipients of Governor Jeb Bush's Points of Light Award. This award is the State's highest honor given to those who dedicate themselves to the Florida community through acts of volunteerism. Since its inception in 1997, the Women of Tomorrow Mentor and Scholarship Program has been a pioneer institution for inspiring at- risk young women to achieve their fullest potential through education and job training. As a result of the organization's efforts, young women throughout our community can receive positive guidance and mentoring from professional women in South Florida. The Women of Tomorrow Mentor and Scholarship Program is a perfect example of individuals uniting to improve the lives of our community's youth, and I am proud of all those who are associated with this remarkable organization.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake).

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 612.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am now very pleased to yield the balance of my time to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) for the purpose of closing the debate on the resolution before us.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the rule, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 612) expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to achieving victory in Iraq, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to my fellow Floridian (Mr. Young), the chairman of the Defense appropriations subcommittee.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis).

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to my friend, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger).

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King).

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Chocola).