Chris Smith

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg), a member of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sherwood).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith). (Mr. SMITH of Michigan asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the deputy chief whip. (Mr. BLUNT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding me this time, and I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the full committee for his exemplory leadership, as well as the ranking member (Mr. Lantos). I, too, like many of my other colleagues, respect those who disagree with this resolution. I think this debate is enlightening and is being carried out in the highest way befitting this institution, and I want to thank my friends on the other side of the issue as well. Madam Speaker, President Bush has made, I believe, an extraordinarily convincing case that the Iraqi dictatorship poses a significant, lethal threat to the people of the United States, our allies, and to the tens of millions of people living in the region of the Middle East. Saddam Hussein's dark obsession with acquiring, developing, stockpiling, and using weapons of mass destruction can no longer be ignored, wished away, or trivialized. In the past, Hussein has used weapons of mass destruction, killing thousands of people, mostly Kurds, in the late 1980s. If not disarmed, pursuant to the terms and conditions that ended the Gulf War and all subsequent U.N. resolutions, he will likely use them again at the place and time of his choosing. Madam Speaker, the loss of human life as a result of the hideous effects of these weapons cannot even be imagined. In like manner, the environmental and economic consequences would be staggering and possibly earth changing. The agony of death by mustard gas, VX, sarin or radiation sickness is absolutely numbing. The massive release of germs and microbes like anthrax, smallpox, and botulinum toxin would result in massive deaths and casualties and a regional or global epidemic that might not be stoppable. And now, as we all know, Hussein is on an aggressive quest to develop nuclear warheads and the means of delivering them. Madam Speaker, according to the U.S. and British intelligence services, Hussein's drive to develop nuclear weapons has been reconstituted, that is, if it ever went out of business in the first place. The British Joint Intelligence Committee assessment noted, and I quote, that Iraq had recalled its nuclear scientists to the program in 1998. Since 1998, Iraq has been trying to procure items that could be for use in the construction of centrifuges for the enrichment of uranium. The report notes that intelligence shows that the present Iraqi program is almost certainly seeking an indigenous ability to enrich uranium to the level needed for nuclear weapons. Madam Speaker, last night, while brilliantly reiterating U.S. resolve to promote peace by disarming Hussein's brutal dictatorship, President Bush made it clear that war was not the only option, that war can be averted, but the burden rests squarely on the shoulders of Saddam Hussein. The best outcome, of course, would be a successful redeployment of U.N. inspectors to Iraq, backed to the hilt by the international community, with a clear, nonambiguous mandate to inspect without condition, to have unfettered access to suspicious locations, and to compel Iraqi disarmament. Madam Speaker, given Hussein's ugly, pathetic record on human rights abuse, widespread torture, systematic rape and mass murder, the only way to ensure that diplomacy and arms inspectors have a chance to succeed is by backing it up with the credible threat of overwhelming force. Standing up to the raving bully, especially when he is armed to the teeth with weapons of mass destruction, is the work of peacemakers. No one, Madam Speaker, no one wants war. But if we fail to back the diplomacy with the credible threat of force, it seems probable to me that it is only a matter of time before Hussein and his allies in his network of terror use weapons of mass destruction again. The question will not be a matter of if, the question will be when and where and how. Support the resolution.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Commerce.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Nebraska, Mr. Osborne.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Thune).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on September 24, the Helsinki Commission held a hearing on democracy, human rights and security in the Republic of Georgia. Despite the progress that country has made in the development of civil society, in the last few years much of the optimism about Georgia's future has dissipated. Last year, a Georgian official devoted a large part of his public address in Washington to refuting the notion--which was being discussed at the time--that Georgia is a ``failed state.'' I reject that characterization, but the hearing offered a good opportunity to discuss the serious problems Georgia does face. Preeminent among them is systemic, rampant corruption, which has impeded economic reforms and sickened the body politic. Despite lectures from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the U.S. Government, the Georgian Government has proved incapable or unwilling to do what is necessary to stamp out this multidimensional problem--even though President Shevardnadze himself has called corruption a threat to Georgia's security. There are also grounds for concern about democratization. The last few elections have clearly not met OSCE standards, which raises questions about the important parliamentary election scheduled for 2003, and the 2005 presidential election that will usher in the post- Shevardnadze era in Georgia, with all the attendant uncertainties. Meanwhile, the media and NGOs have been under severe pressure. Last fall, a foolish ploy by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to intimidate Rustavi-2 Television backfired, resulting instead in the fall of the government. While society's response was heartening--thousands of people came out into the streets to defend the station--the attempt to silence one of the country's most popular media outlets indicated that some Georgian officials are still mired in Soviet patterns of thinking. Especially appalling is the ongoing religious violence in Georgia. Since 1999, there has been a campaign of assaults against members of minority faiths, especially Jehovah's Witnesses, which Georgian authorities have tolerated. Occasionally, policemen have even participated in attacks on defenseless men, women and children who have congregated for the purpose of worship. Attempts to bring the perpetrators to justice have foundered, as throngs of fanatics hijack the trial proceedings. If such travesties are allowed to continue, the country's entire judicial system is at risk of falling victim to mob rule. Though Jehovah's Witnesses have borne the brunt of this savagery, other religious minorities have suffered as well, including Baptists, Pentecostals and Catholics. Earlier this year, for example, a mob invaded a Baptist warehouse, threw the religious literature outside and burned it. How awful to think that events in Georgia today remind us of Germany in the 1930s! Georgians have a long tradition of religious tolerance, of which they are rightly proud. It is all the more puzzling, therefore, why religiously-based violence has erupted and continued only in Georgia, of all the post-Soviet states. The leadership of the Helsinki Commission and other Members of the House and Senate have been in correspondence with President Shevardnadze about this disturbing trend. He has assured us that the problem will be corrected and the perpetrators arrested. Georgia's Ambassador, Levan Mikeladze, testified at the September 24 hearing and suggested that Georgia has so little experience with religious persecution that it has been difficult to cope with its sudden emergence. He too offered assurances that Georgia fully recognizes the gravity of the problem and that legal and practical actions are being taken to ensure there will be no more violent attacks. Alas, extremists in Georgia must not have been listening. Since the September 24 hearing, more assaults have taken place. The next day, some 15 extremists of the ultra-Orthodox ``Jvari'' organization in Rustavi forcibly entered a private home where Jehovah's Witnesses and their non Witness guests had gathered for Bible study. Two Witnesses and one non-Witness visitor were physically assaulted. On September 26, in the village of Napareuli, masked men with firearms burst into a private home where meetings were underway, beating those in attendance and ransacking the house. Most striking, eyewitnesses claim the attack was led by the village administrator, Mr. Nodar Paradashvili, who beat one of the victims into unconsciousness. In a third incident, on September 29, a mob gathered outside the residence of a Jehovah's Witnesses in Tbilisi. They refused to let others enter the premises where a meeting was to be held, seized Bibles and literature from the group, verbally abusing those arriving for the meeting and assaulting at least one person. In all three cases, police reportedly refused to intervene after learning that the incidents involved attacks on Jehovah's Witnesses--as has often been the case in Georgia. Mr. Speaker, there may be many explanations for this peculiar phenomenon but there can be no excuse for state toleration of such barbarity. It must end, and it must end now. Though such attacks have been one reason for Georgia's prominence in the news lately, more attention has been focused on Moscow's campaign of intimidation against Georgia. Russia has been leaning on pro- Western, strategically-located Georgia for years, but the temperature has in the last few weeks approached the boiling point. President Putin's request for United Nations backing for Russian military action against Georgia was not any less objectionable for having been anticipated. I have been watching with growing alarm as Russia ratchets up the pressure on its small neighbor. Georgian parliamentarians on September 12 unanimously approved an appeal to the United Nations, the OSCE, the European Union, the Council of Europe, and NATO for protection from anticipated Russian military aggression. Georgian lawmakers should know that their American colleagues have heard their appeal and stand with them. While we are cooperating with Russia in the war against terrorism, we have in no way given Moscow leave to attack Georgia, nor will we do so. The United States is now more than ever directly engaged in the Caucasus and is stepping up military cooperation with the region's governments, especially Georgia. While we have many issues of concern to raise with Georgia's Government, when it comes to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, there is no more ardent supporter than the United States. That has been the case for the last ten years, and it will be the case in the future as well.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the gentleman from California (Chairman Gallegly), for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 253, recommending the integration of Slovakia into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In my years of service with the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, I have observed the sometimes difficult transition to democracy of this Central European country. It has been very difficult for them. It was because of Slovakia's own authoritarian leaders, most notably Vladimir Meciar, that Slovakia was rightly excluded from the accession process in 1997. Today, it is thanks to a new generation of bright and enlightened Slovak leaders that that situation has dramatically been reversed. To the credit of the Dzurinda government, many important changes have already been undertaken. The support of the U.S. Congress for Slovakia's admission to NATO reflects the deep respect my colleagues and all of us have for these remarkable achievements. Let me just say to my colleagues that the reform process in Slovakia should not end with the Prague-NATO summit. On the contrary, the long- term well-being of Slovakia requires that this process continue and indeed intensify after November. In this regard, there are three areas that I believe deserve particular attention. First, the most recent elections clearly demonstrate Slovakia's ability to elect pro-democracy, pro-western governments that respect the sacredness and sanctity of human life. The results of the 1998 elections were not a fluke but an illustration of real and meaningful democratic transition that first found its voice in civil society and then in the government itself. The question now is whether that maturity will also be found in a loyal opposition in the parliament, one that by definition has policy differences from time to time from the ruling coalition, but whose ultimate interest is in serving the Slovak people. Second, the Slovakia government must make headway in fighting corruption. Unless and until that happens, the rule of law will remain weak, economic development will go to other countries, and justice will be elusive. Finally, Slovak leaders must address in earnest the scourge of racism against the Roma. This problem, as we all know, is not unique to Slovakia. While other countries in the region have moved to counter the most alarming manifestations of hatred and intolerance, violent attacks, Slovakia has failed to bring these attacks under control. The NATO Participation Act of 1994, I would remind my colleagues, which all of us supported, made clear that ``participants in the Partnership for Peace should be invited to become full NATO Members if they remain committed to protecting the rights of all of their citizens.'' So we make a strong appeal to the Slovak leadership, please, undertake aggressive efforts to protect the Roma. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank again my good friend for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5531) to facilitate famine relief efforts and a comprehensive solution to the war in Sudan, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. 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 H.R. 5531.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of the Sudan Peace Act, and I want to especially thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) for introducing this very worthwhile legislation. This bill represents an important cause with strong bipartisan backing. I am particularly grateful to the original cosponsors that include the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus), the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Pence), the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), and I myself am one of co-sponsors as well. Mr. Speaker, the nation of Sudan is located in the far eastern corner of Africa. The National Islamic Front is the governing power, albeit a brutal dictatorship, in Sudan's capital city of Khartoum. In November of 2001, President Bush renewed U.S. bilateral sanctions on the government of Sudan. According to the State Department, the Government of Sudan remains a designated state-sponsor of terrorist organizations around the world today. This government is an Islamic extremist government that has dedicated itself and its regime to manifesting a jihad, or holy war, even against its own citizens. The war struggles in the southern part of that country have touched the hearts of many Americans in a nationwide grassroots effort to raise awareness about the suffering in Sudan. The Human Rights Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Church Alliance of a New Sudan, the Holocaust Museum's Committee on Conscience, the Commission on International Religious Freedom, and the NAACP are among the countless individuals and organizations across this country who give this cause the profile and attention that it deserves. Sudan civil war, Mr. Speaker, has been waged in the south for more than 4 decades. More than 2 million people have been killed, men, women, and children, to war-related causes and to famine. Four million people have been forced from their homes into temporary shelters. The conflict is Africa's oldest war, born from such complex causes as religion, ethnicity, national identity, and economic disparity. Religion is a major factor because of the Islamic fundamentalist regimes and agenda of the current government, dominated by mostly Muslims from the Arab north. The National Islamic Fronts Government's practice of holy war is reflected in attacks on civilians in the south. Southerners who are Christian and animist reject the Islamization of their country and favor a secular government that respects fundamental religious freedoms. Widespread institutionalization of the holy war has resulted in the practice of slavery and the mass dislocation of people in the south. I would just note parenthetically back in 1995, I chaired the first hearing ever on slavery in the Sudan, and at the time we were met with a number of skeptics and disbelievers who did not believe that shadow slavery continued to this day. Captured slaves are reportedly forced to attended Koranic schools, and we heard that at that hearing then and it continues to this day. They need to change their names as part of this dehumanizing process. They are indoctrinated at times to fight against their own people. Harsh beatings and torture are a reality. Some of the witnesses we heard of including mothers who saw their sons literally stolen from them, kidnapped and forced into slavery, their daughters as well. It was a horrifying hearing, and we heard about these cases year in and year out as we tried to bring attention to this horrible practice of slavery. Mr. Speaker, the Government of Sudan has one of the worst human rights records in the world. The United States has repeatedly condemned the government of Khartoum for its abhorrent violations of human rights. According to the 2001 State Department Human Rights Report, there were accounts that during raids on civilian settlements, government allied militias abducted persons, particularly women and children. According to the 2002 ``Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,'' children from Christian and other non-Muslim families have been captured, enslaved, and forced to convert to Islam. Some people in government-controlled peace camps for the internally displaced persons, IDD, were reportedly subjected to forced labor and at times pressured to convert to Islam. The Sudanese Government has increased oil mining in areas inhabited by the southern Sudanese, thereby forcibly displacing the people to finance a more lethal and offensive war. I would point out to my colleagues that oil has been facilitating this war, and we have got to be very clear that any way that we help or enable the production of oil in the Sudan means that more innocent people will lose their lives. Mr. Speaker, I would point out to my colleagues, as well, that Talisman Oil, and there has been a nationwide campaign, I am happy to say, about this, to divest State pensions and other pensions from the holdings of this company, a Canadian company which again has helped to facilitate this horrific war in Sudan. My own State of New Jersey, to its credit, divested itself from many, many shares of Talisman Oil that it owned; and thankfully other States and municipalities and governments have followed suit. Mr. Speaker, the Government of Sudan has continued to manipulate to its everlasting shame humanitarian relief efforts of the United Nations-led Operation Lifeline Sudan. In the past 14 years and as recently as September 27 of this year, the regime of the National Islamic Front has imposed flight bans on emergency humanitarian aid to starving civilians. In other words, by having that veto power, they have ensured that more innocent people have died a cruel death from starvation or from lack of medicines. Many nations, Mr. Speaker, have tried and failed to end this civil war in Sudan. In 1994 heads of state from the frontline states of Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, and Uganda formed a mediation committee under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development. This committee established the Declaration of Principles governing the peace process since 1994. The continuing contrast between word and deed underlines the importance of today's consideration of the Sudan Peace Act. The aerial bombing of civilian targets continues to this day. The Government of Sudan continues to abandon the peace process at critical stages. As recently as July 2002, the Government of Sudan reached a peace agreement with the opposition forces, known as the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, in Kenya. The United States and its European allies worked with IDAG countries to mediate the agreement. On September 1 of this year, the Government of Sudan abandoned the agreement. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues of both parties to support this important measure. The Sudan Peace Act condemns the violation of human rights on both sides and denounces the government of Sudan for using food as a weapon of war. It recognizes the important interests of the United States in remaining a key player in the peace settlement among the warring parties. Secretary Powell has described Sudan as the tragedy that would command his full attention, and he has tried his best in this effort. The bill establishes clear policy guidelines in support of the peace process by directing the U.S. to use all means to pressure and to force the government of Sudan to negotiate in good faith and to use all diplomatic and economic sanctions to further this goal. The measure directs the President to develop a contingency plan for relief delivery if the government of Sudan imposes further bans on Operation Lifeline Sudan and to their relief transports. It provides the President with authority to reprogram all of the OLS designated funds, if necessary. The bill authorizes $100 million in humanitarian assistance for each fiscal year of 2003, 2004 and 2005 to prepare the populations in opposition-controlled areas of Sudan for peace and democratic governance. In sum, the Sudan Peace Act will give the administration some guidance in the peace efforts while leaving enough flexibility to lead the foreign affairs of the nation. Mr. Speaker, the manager's amendment contains a few modifications, including an emphasis in the findings that credible civil authority institutions play an important role in the reconstruction of postwar Sudan and then a few other minor changes in the text of the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), who chairs the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), chairman of the appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary, a leader on Sudanese human rights issues, has been to Sudan four times, and a great believer and champion in the causes of freedom and democracy. (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that this debate be extended by 6 minutes, equally divided between myself and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, who likewise has been indefatigable in promoting human rights and democracy in Sudan.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 2121) to make available funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to expand democracy, good governance, and anti-corruption programs in the Russian Federation in order to promote and strengthen democratic government and civil society in that country and to support independent media.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This bill, the Russian Democracy Act, ensures that American assistance will continue to be available to help strengthen and consolidate democracy in the Russian Federation. While this seems to be a routine measure, we should take a few minutes to note what this bill represents. The mere fact that we can talk of democracy in Russia as a reality in the present and not some dim prospect in the hazy future is one of the many wonders of the past decade that have grown familiar and now is largely taken for granted. Its existence, however, is a testament to the deep commitment to fundamental values shared by peoples all over the world. Mr. Speaker, this bill before us represents an important part of the effort to continue that democratization. It focuses our attention and assistance on many of the prerequisites of a free and a prosperous society, including the creation of a resilient civil society, the strengthening of an independent press, and the establishment of the rule of law. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank the gentlewoman for her fine remarks and leadership on this issue and the efforts of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and especially to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member, for crafting this important bipartisan legislation. The creation of democracy in Russia must be counted as one of the great achievements of the past century. Yet for all of its accomplishments, that democracy is not yet firmly established. The civil society on which all democracies ultimately rest remains precariously weak. Much of the legacy inherited from Russia's authoritarian past is still to be overcome. The institutions of democracy remain fragile in many areas. The habits of freedom have not yet become universal. Given these and other concerns, the government's stated goal of creating a guided democracy where the parameters of permitted dissent are significantly narrowed is very troubling indeed, as are the patterns of clear, gross and uncorrected human rights violations associated with the continuing conflict in Chechnya. Mr. Speaker, you juxtapose these problems along with the trafficking problem, which remains a very significant problem where young Russian women are trafficked into forced prostitution and are abused in the United States and countries of the West as well as in Russia itself, we need to do more. This bill advances the ball and will be an aid to the democratic forces in Russia. It is a good bill and deserves the support of our colleagues.