Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), an esteemed member of our Committee on Foreign Affairs and its Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia, and cochair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield myself 4 minutes. I rise in strong support of this bill to approve the U.S.-India Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation. I've been a strong supporter of this increased cooperation between the United States and India, including peaceful nuclear cooperation. I was an original cosponsor of the Henry Hyde U.S.-India Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Act, which laid the foundation for the agreement that we are seeking to implement this week. I have worked hard to secure bipartisan support for that legislation and for the agreement on nuclear cooperation. To ensure that legislation bringing the nuclear agreement into force could be adopted by the Congress this week, I introduced, with the support of our Republican leadership, H.R. 7039, which is an identical version of the text now before the Senate and the text that Chairman Howard Berman introduced last night and that we are considering right now. Mr. Speaker, the U.S.-India nuclear cooperation agreement is not one that we would offer to just any nation. It is a venture we would enter into only with our most trusted democratic allies. I believe that stronger economic, scientific, diplomatic, and military cooperation between the United States and India is in the national interest of both countries and that our increasingly close relationship will be the central factor determining the course of global events in this century. Among the most important elements of this new relationship is India's commitment to cooperate with the United States on major issues such as stopping the spread of nuclear weapons material and technology to groups and to countries of concern. In particular, Mr. Speaker, this nuclear cooperation agreement is essential in continuing to ensure India's active involvement in dissuading, isolating and, if necessary, sanctioning and containing Iran for its efforts to acquire chemical, biological and nuclear weapon capabilities and the means to deliver these deadly weapons. It will also help secure India's full participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative, including a formal commitment to the Statement of Interdiction Principles, and it will be a major step forward in achieving a moratorium by India, Pakistan and China on the production of fissile materials for nuclear explosives. In addition, in order to meet the requirements of the Hyde Act, India and the International Atomic Energy Agency have negotiated a safeguards agreement on several Indian nuclear facilities that will expand the ability of the IAEA to monitor nuclear activities in that country. Mr. Speaker, these are but a few of the many benefits from our nuclear cooperation with India and the strategic cooperation between our two countries that have already taken root. I am gratified that we are finally considering this legislation so that Congress can approve it without delay. I urge my colleagues in both the House and the Senate to approve this nuclear cooperation agreement with India overwhelmingly. By doing so, the United States and India will embrace one another in a strategic partnership that will prove to be one of the most principal guarantors of the security and prosperity of both countries in this new century. I reserve the balance of our time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I am not, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure, but with great reservations that this weak legislation will send a message to our enemies of a weakened U.S. position on the issue of Iran. The Iranian threat to the United States, to our allies and to our interests could not be more apparent. Only last week the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned that Iran is probably carrying out secret nuclear activities. Then last Saturday the lead inspector for the Middle East shared with member nations of the IAEA extensive documentation of an Iranian effort to reconfigure the Shahab- 3 long-range missile to carry a nuclear warhead. The range of these missiles reach Israel and most of the Middle East. And this is a regime whose current leader, Ahmadinejad, has consistently called for the destruction of the Jewish State of Israel. On October 26, 2005, at the World Without Zionism Conference in Tehran, the Iranian leader called for Israel to be ``wiped off the map,'' described Israel as ``a disgraceful blot on the face of the Islamic world'' and declared that ``anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury.'' Then on December 12, 2006, he addressed a conference in Tehran questioning the historical veracity of the Holocaust and said that Israel, again, would ``soon be wiped out.'' On Israel's 60th birthday, Ahmadinejad gave a speech in which, according to the official Iranian news agency, he stated that Israel was ``on its way to total destruction.'' In a public address which aired on the Iranian news channel on June 2 of this year, Ahmadinejad again called this ``worm of corruption'' in reference to Israel, to be wiped off. He further stated that while ``some say the ideal of Greater Israel has expired, I say the idea of lesser Israel has expired too.'' And earlier this week at the United Nations, he continued to invoke anti-Israel and anti-Semitic canards when he stated ``the dignity, integrity and rights of the European and American people are being played with by a small but deceitful number of people call Zionists. These nations are spending their dignity and resources on the crimes and the occupations and the threats of the Zionist network against their will.'' But the threat is not just to our friend Israel. Iran is currently working on even longer-range missiles directly threatening critical U.S. interests. The importance and the urgency of strengthened sanctions was underlined just a few days ago, Mr. Speaker, when the European Union warned that Iran was approaching a nuclear weapons capability. The significance stems from the fact that the European Union has long insisted that the West and other countries focus their efforts on diplomacy to persuade Iran to suspend its nuclear program. This is an acknowledgment that a strategy based on holding out an olive branch and engaging directly with the Iranian regime, while promising trade agreements and other benefits, has not worked and that more concrete economic pressure is needed to compel a change in regimes' behavior. Thus the evidence before us makes it clear that we must act quickly to impose the greatest pressure possible on the regime and its enablers. Unfortunately, this bill does not do quite that, Mr. Speaker. My colleagues, you all know where I stand on Iran. Last Congress I authored the Iran Freedom Support Act which contained very tough and quite focused sanctions on the regime in Tehran. Our beloved late former chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Lantos, was the lead Democrat cosponsor, and the bill enjoyed the support of our current chairman, Howard Berman, my good friend, and 360 Members of the House. The Iran Freedom Support Act was enacted into law 2 years ago almost to the day on September 30. Then when Chairman Lantos approached me last year and asked that I serve as the lead Republican cosponsor of H.R. 1400, the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007, I immediately agreed because H.R. 1400 truly does strengthen U.S. law and does tighten the economic noose around the regime's elites in Iran. H.R. 1400 passed the House a year ago yesterday, September 25, 2007, by a vote of 397 in favor and only 16 against. Yet it has been stalled in the Senate all this time. Then we have Senate bill 970 which currently has the support of 73 Senators. However, action on these stronger bills was not to be. Instead, we have a bill which refers to certain sanctions already in place, and they call them ``new'' sanctions, and then refers to a handful of other important ones while providing a meager ``national interest waiver.'' What does this mean in practice, Mr. Speaker? The next President doesn't have to worry about actually implementing or applying these sanctions, as a ``national interest waiver'' has been easily justified by consecutive administrations to avoid implementing U.S. laws concerning state sponsors of terrorism, like Iran. So rather than strengthening the sanctions structure, rather than limiting the President's flexibility, as we did 2 years ago in the Iran Freedom Support Act on proliferation-related sanctions by removing the waiver and on the Iran Sanctions Act by raising the threshold to ``vital to the national security interests of the United States,'' the bill before us provides the weakest possible threshold. I do not fault my good friend, Chairman Berman. I commend the chairman for his efforts. He is in a difficult situation, and this is as strong a bill as some of his colleagues will allow the House or the Senate to act on. This bill is like one of the weak Iran resolutions that the United Nations Security Council keeps passing that allows Russia and China and others to go along with because they do nothing. In fact, just today, the U.N. Security Council moved a measure that contained no new sanctions but said that other Security Council resolutions on Iran are legally binding and must be carried out. That is almost exactly what the bill before us is going to do on the issue of sanctions. Again, I do not understand why, at a time when the Iranian regime is crystal clear in accelerating its efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon, that we are not considering the Lantos Iran Counter-Proliferation Act or Senate bill 970. Notably, this body has not even considered the Ackerman-Pence resolution, which has 275 cosponsors and is a strong, unequivocal message to the regime. Yet, Mr. Speaker, despite the many deficiencies of this bill, I want to thank my friend, Chairman Berman, for adding a Rule of Construction to his version of the Dodd bill which states, ``nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting in any way any provision of the Iran Freedom Support Act of 2006, Public Law 109-293.'' Since the legislation retains a ``notwithstanding'' clause for section 103, I hope that the Rule of Construction will be sufficient to prevent the unraveling of sanctions codified 2 years ago. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, portions of section 104 are essentially a repetition of current law as section 2(f) of the Executive Order 13059 codified. In this respect, Chairman Berman, I would appreciate or his substitute, Mr. Ackerman, clarification that the waiver in section 104 would not apply to sanctions already in place, even if these have been restated in the legislation. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the reporting requirements have been strengthened with respect to investments in Iran's energy sector since January 1 of this year. However, I ask to add language to the bill before us that would amend current law and force a determination on whether foreign investments in Iran's energy sector violate the Iran Sanctions Act and whether sanctions should be implemented. My proposal was not limited to the last 9 months of activity or to simply reporting requirements. But this modification was not incorporated in the text that we are considering today. Looking to other sections of this House version of the Dodd bill, there are provisions seeking to prevent the export or trans-shipment of U.S.-origin goods to Iran. Except for the language calling for the designation of a country as a Destination of Possible Diversion Concern, this bill duplicates most existing laws and regulations on these issues, as well as current U.S. Government programs. It does provide for the application of licensing controls to the countries designated, but immediately affords yet another mere ``national interest waiver.'' There are also stronger bills pending on the issue of trans-shipment, such as H.R. 6178, the Security Through Termination of Proliferation Act, or the STOP Act. And I hope that we can work together to move that legislation in the next Congress. My good friend, Howard Berman, shares with me concerns about trans- shipment and diversion of sensitive materials and technology to Iran. We articulated them in our letter of February 5, 2008, a letter to Admiral McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence, raising these and many other vital issues. Mr. Speaker, also on this issue I recently wrote to my chairman, Howard Berman, asking for greater scrutiny of foreign military financing, foreign military sales and direct commercial sales to countries that are a trans-shipment concern for U.S.-origin goods to Iran. In closing, Mr. Speaker, despite my grave, serious and repeated reservations about this weak bill, I will vote for it, and I hope that the Iranian regime and its enablers do not see this as a sign of weakness on our part. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, February 5, 2008. Hon. J. Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Washington, DC. Dear Admiral McConnell: We are writing to request an assessment of the export control regime in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially its effectiveness in preventing the export or transshipment of U.S.-origin goods to Iran. We are also interested in receiving information regarding broader efforts to implement U.S. sanctions against Iran. As you are aware, Iran is the one of the UAE's largest trade partners. The UAE is also a world leader in the transshipments of goods from other countries, including the United States. We are concerned by reports that the international sanctions against Iran are being undermined by inadequate end-use controls in the UAE. Obviously, an effective export, re-export, and transshipment control regime in the UAE is a prerequisite to that country's ability to control transshipment of sensitive goods through its ports. To enable the House Foreign Affairs Committee to better understand this issue, we request that you provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the UAE's existing export control regime and a translated copy of the DAE's new export control legislation. Among other subjects, the assessment should address overall effectiveness, obstacles to implementation, the extent to which the UAE has complied with U.S. requests to interdict and prevent shipments of concern, and the attitudes and records of specific UAE officials toward preventing exports or transshipments of items of proliferation concern to Iran or Iranian-controlled entities. Additionally, we request that you provide the following information pertaining to broader U.S. efforts: the amount of goods seized, penalties imposed, and convictions obtained by U.S. authorities under the trade ban; the type and amount of U.S. sensitive items diverted to Iran through all transshipment points; the extent to which all repeat violators of U.S. Iran-specific sanctions laws have ended their sales of sensitive items to Iran; the total amount of assets frozen due to financial sanctions implemented by both the United States and other nations; and the total impact of U.S. bilateral sanctions on foreign investment in Iran's energy sector. This assessment may be in classified form. Thank you for your attention to our request. Sincerely, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee. Edward R. Royce, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. Mike Pence, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. Tom Lantos, Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee. Howard L. Berman, Senior Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I continue to reserve, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I reserve my time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to point out that the reports that we are getting about the threat of a nuclear-powered Iran are coming from all corners of the world, and I would like to read just segments of the online edition of The Jerusalem Post posted by Herb Keinon. It says, ``Military Intelligence: Iran Halfway to First Nuclear Bomb.'' It reads, ``Iran is halfway to a nuclear bomb, and Hezbollah, Hamas and Syria are using this period of relative calm to significantly rearm.'' This is according to the Head of Research from the Israeli Military Intelligence, and that is the information that he gave and he shared with members of the Israeli Cabinet and the Israeli Parliament on September 21st, in the Knesset. He said there was a growing gap between Iran's progress on the nuclear front and the determination of the West to stop it. A growing gap. Iran gets closer, our determination is stopped. Iran is concentrating on uranium enrichment and is making progress. He noted that they have improved the function of their 4,000 centrifuges. According to this military intelligence head of research, Iranian centrifuges have so far produced between one-third to one-half of the enriched material that is needed to build a nuclear bomb. The time that they will have crossed the nuclear point of no return is fast approaching. Although he stopped short of giving a firm deadline, last week in the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, he put the date at 2011. Tick tock, the clock is ticking. He said that their confidence is growing with the thought that the international community is not strong enough to stop them. He said that the Iranians were playing for time and that time was working in their favor because the longer the process dragged on, the wider the riffs appearing among the countries in the west, then Iran is in control of the technology and continues to move forward with determination toward a nuclear bomb. In addition to their nuclear efforts, Iranians were also deepening their influence throughout the region, because they are cooperating with Syria. They are cooperating with the Palestinian terrorist organization, as well as being the main arms supplier to another terrorist group, Hezbollah. While I appreciate the intentions of my good friend, Chairman Berman, this bill does fall far short of the type of comprehensive sanctions that would truly cripple the Iranian economy, which is dependent on investments in its energy sector. Setting aside the weakness of the bill regarding the U.S. direct sanctions on the regime, it does nothing tangible to force the executive branch's hand to fully implement the Iran Sanctions Act. It could have, but language to include an automatic trigger for a determination of sanctions was not in place in this bill, and it was not to be. This bill had great promise. It does deliver on some of those promises. I wish that it could have gone further, but I hope that my colleagues will adopt this important bill tonight. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my most heartfelt congratulations to Joany Cabrera for winning the 2008 Congressional Arts Competition. In the fourth largest school system in America, Joany has created a breathtaking piece of art that allows him to stand apart from his peers at Miami Jackson Senior High School. It is a testament to the greatness of our Nation that a young man from a disadvantaged Latino family could have the fruit of his labor hanging in the halls of the United States Capitol to represent his community. This beautiful painting which will represent south Florida for the next year will serve to remind us all that we should never be hindered by circumstance and that we should never accept anything less than the very best from ourselves. I pray that Joany's devotion to art never waivers so that he may continue to inspire us with his work and bless us with his friendship.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of House Resolution 1314, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian famine, Holodomor, of 1932 and 1933. The former Communist state known as the Soviet Union was controlled by a brutal regime that oppressed its own people as well as that of its neighbors. The scars left by the inhumane practices and policies of the Soviet leadership are still felt, despite the passage of 75 years since the famine in Ukraine and the passage of almost two decades since the Soviet regime's demise. During 1932 and 1933, Joseph Stalin's Communist regime intentionally confiscated grain harvest from the Ukrainian people and prevented any foreign food from being shipped in to help those who were starving to death. The famine inflicted on Ukraine by the Stalinist regime during those years killed millions of Ukrainians. It is one of the most stark examples of the former Soviet regime's cruel and horrific policies. Among other items, this resolution notes the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian famine and expresses sympathy to the victims, survivors and families of that man-made calamity; condemns the violation of human rights, the freedom of speech and of the self-determination of the Ukrainian people by the former Soviet regime; encourages expanding the world's knowledge about this man-made disaster; and, lastly, supports continued efforts in Ukraine to strengthen the principles of democracy and of a free-market economy. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health and a true champion of human rights around the world.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I continue to reserve our time until the speakers are done on their side.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

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

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I also rise in strong support of House Resolution 1402, a measure that underscores congressional support for democracy, development and respect for fundamental human rights in Bangladesh. I would like to congratulate my good friend from New York, Congressman Crowley, for his leadership on this resolution, and for his long- standing interest in Bangladesh and indeed all of South Asia. Madam Speaker, the United States and Bangladesh have been strong allies since the founding of that country in 1971. Despite many handicaps, including a unique vulnerability to natural disasters, Bangladesh has made impressive strides in key areas of development during the 1990s. However, political polarization, endemic corruption and the rise of violent extremists all pose serious challenges to Bangladesh society. In January of 2007, faced with an opposition boycott of national elections and widespread political violence, Bangladesh's president declared a state of emergency. In accordance with the constitution of Bangladesh, the president appointed a caretaker government, which has in turn embarked on an ambitious agenda of reform and renewal for the people of Bangladesh and its institutions. Since that time, the United States has consistently urged Bangladesh's caretaker government to lift the restrictions on basic rights, meet international standards for due process in pursuing corruption cases and follow through on its commitment to hold free, fair and transparent elections by December 2008. In recent weeks, there have been positive indications that the electoral roadmap remains on track. The government's progress on updating their voter list and on fighting corruption are encouraging signs, as is its effort to move forward on dialogue with political parties. Despite these positive developments, however, it remains the strong view of the Congress and the executive branch that the caretaker government must immediately lift the state of emergency or otherwise remove restrictions on freedoms of assembly and freedom of the press. The political parties of Bangladesh must be able to participate fully in a democratic process. This resolution reaffirms the importance of a U.S. national interest in helping to work with the people of Bangladesh in building a peaceful, prosperous, democracy that will continue to be a strong partner for the United States. I urge its adoption, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The night of November 9 through November 10 of the year 1938 consisted of hours of darkness that the world cannot afford to forget. Known as Kristallnacht, that horrible night of unleashed terror and violence that we remember in this resolution before us today, was the clear signal for the start of Adolf Hitler's orchestrated campaign of genocide. On that night, as state-sponsored violence poured out into the streets, the halls of civilized governments were mute. Joseph Goebbels had announced in his speech on the day of November 8, and I quote, ``The Fuhrer has decided that . . . demonstrations should not be prepared or organized by the Party, but insofar as they erupt spontaneously, they are not to be hampered.'' Following that speech, regional leaders of Hitler's National Socialist Party issued instructions to their local offices, and violence erupted across Germany and in some neighboring countries as well, in a matter that was anything but spontaneous. For 48 terrible hours, mobs rampaged through the streets of German, Czechoslovak and Austrian cities. The riots destroyed 267 synagogues, shattered an estimated 7,500 windows of Jewish-owned businesses and desecrated many Jewish cemeteries. The Night of Broken Glass claimed the lives of at least 91 Jewish citizens. Unfortunately, the rest of the world remained largely silent when confronted with the news of this organized brutality. We can only wonder how history might have changed, how the war and the genocide of the subsequent years might have been avoided if silence had been replaced by condemnation and strong action. As we look back at the events of that terrible night, from the perspective of the passage of 70 years, we recall what our president at that time, Franklin Roosevelt, said. ``I, myself, could scarcely believe that such things could occur in a 20th century civilization.'' As we consider this resolution, which notes this terrible event 70 years ago and the subsequent organized murder of more than 6 million Jews across Europe during World War II, we realize how important it is that we remember the lessons of the 20th century today at the start of the 21st century. I urge strong adoption of this important resolution, and I reserve the balance of our time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade and the author of this important legislation.

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

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 1451 establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. I want to thank my colleagues, my friends Mr. McGovern and Mr. Wolf, the cochairs of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, who authored this fitting tribute to the late chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, our dear friend, Congressman Tom Lantos of California. A quarter century ago, Tom Lantos was the founding cochair of the Human Rights Caucus. With the tireless assistance of his wife, his partner in life, Annette, Tom spent the remainder of his life at its helm, and it grew to become one of the largest and most active caucuses on the Hill. It is a fitting tribute to his heroic life that we meet here today, Madam Speaker, to upgrade the status of that organization and name it in Tom Lantos' honor. Tom Lantos was born in Budapest in 1928, and came of age as Nazism descended upon the European continent. Imprisoned during the Second World War merely for being Jewish, Tom Lantos twice escaped the labor camps and survived the Holocaust with the help of the Hungarian resistance movement and the Swedish humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg. Tragically, Tom's family was not so fortunate and they perished in the death camps alongside millions more. Tom experienced human nature at its worst, and his later work as a champion of human rights cannot be separated from the trials that he endured as a young man. The horrors of fascism helped to forge his unshakeable commitment to the protection of human dignity. It is hard to think of a major human rights issue of the past three decades on which Tom Lantos was not a leader, whether it was the fight against anti-Semitism, religious persecution, human trafficking, genocide in Darfur, or repression in Tibet, just to name a few. The bill before us today will create the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission as the formal successor to the Human Rights Caucus. The new commission will carry on the nonpartisan work of promoting fundamental human rights both inside and outside Congress. It will be cochaired by a majority and minority member, and may be joined by any Member of the House. Although it does not have legislative responsibility nor oversight, the commission will be staffed by professionals from the Committee on Foreign Affairs which it is required to collaborate with closely. I am thankful and blessed for the years that I was able to serve the people of our Nation alongside a hero like Tom Lantos. I appreciate the opportunity that this resolution gives us to honor his life and to recommit ourselves to the ideals by which he lived every day. I look forward to many years of spirited advocacy by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and I urge unanimous support for this important resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the primary sponsor of this bill, the ranking member on the appropriations subcommittee on State, Foreign Ops and Related Agencies and cochair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp), a member of the Appropriations Committee and a good friend.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

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. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.