Frank Wolf

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

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

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the amendment. There is a peace agreement ready to be signed in Sudan. Osama bin Laden lived in Sudan from 1991 to 1996. The terrorists who attempted to kill Mubarak came out of Sudan. Probably the weapons for Adid that killed our American soldiers in Somalia came out of Sudan. To take this money out of the administration's hands now would be a mistake. There is a civil war going on: 18 years, 2 million people killed. So that part of the amendment would just devastate what the administration is trying to do, and Members on both sides have worked very hard on this for years. With regard to Liberia, over 250,000 persons have lost their lives in the Liberian conflict. Mass graves, 1.3 million people uprooted, women raped, atrocities under Charles Taylor. The decision to create the peacekeeping force has already been made. The administration decided that using the United Nations would allow us to bring peace and good governance to Liberia. Also, we did not want American soldiers to serve therein, and this was the substitute; so none of the 15,000 will be Americans. The U.S. voted to establish the peacekeeping mission. This is really our idea. It rests with the unanimous Security Council vote. The $245 million is our share. If the funding in this supplemental is stricken, we will not be able to pay these bills, and we will be in arrears; and it will be a disaster for the people of Sudan and a disaster for the people of Liberia. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goode) is a good friend of mine, and we have been friends for a long time. I think we just see differences here. I would strongly urge a ``no'' vote on the amendment.

Mr. WOLF. I yield to the gentlewoman from California.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I continue today to bring to our colleagues' attention the Chinese government's perpetual human rights abuses and would like to highlight the atrocious acts of barbarism that have arisen from the government's One-Child Policy. In the long list of cruel acts committed by the government of China against its own people, this one is the most inhuman. Forced abortion, sterilization and the abandonment of female children in favor of males are the end results of this policy. None of our colleagues would tolerate such treatment toward their own mothers, wives, daughters and grand-daughters and it is no more acceptable because we cannot see the faces or know the names of those living in terror. ``In Their Own Words'' Statements on China's Coercive One-Child Policy Provided by the Laogai Research Foundation For over 20 years, the Chinese government's one-child policy has perpetuated systemic human rights abuses against the Chinese family. Using threats, coercion, destruction of property, detention, forced abortion, infanticide, involuntary use of birth control (IUDs), and involuntary sterilization as its enforcement mechanisms, China's population control policy is, at its core, depriving Chinese the right to give birth. Police, secret police, military, courts, social services, schools, and hospitals coordinate efforts to ensure maximum compliance. Official one-child policy propaganda offers a variety of distasteful and cruel slogans; One Sterilization Honors Whole Family! (Shandong), One Over-birth, Whole Village Sterilized! (Chuxiong, Yunnan); Sterilization Dodgers Wanted! (Sichuan); Better One Family Ruined Than Whole Nation Devastated (Shandong); Induced Delivery and Abortion Wherever Possible, But Never Birth! (Shandong); Better Ten Graves Than One Birth! (Anhui); Better One River of Blood than One Over- birth! (Jiangsu). Women are often forced to use IUDs or undergo sterilization, sometimes even before they have had their first child. Parents and their children who violate planning laws become outcasts, ineligible for government services and benefits. This policy has created a culture where forced abortions, infanticide, and orphaned children are commonplace. No government documents ever explicitly stipulates that an offender's house can be ransacked/demolished. However, this happens in several rural areas. Most family-planning offices in Fujian rural areas have their own detention facilities, one for men and one for women. Most detainees are women, some are pregnant without ``birth-permitted certificates,'' some are to be sterilized or be fined. If a woman cannot be seized, her husband, brothers or parents are taken. Women are generally not released until they give consent to sterilization or abortion. Some women bribed physicians and received falsified sterilization certificates. However, if Yonghe office suspects the certificates, the women are given acid with water flushed through their oviducts. The traditional predilection for male offspring, combined with coercive nature of the one child policy, has created an environment where females are simply unwanted. As China prohibits the use of sonograms, the decision to keep one's child is not made until after the child is born. As a result, gender-based infanticide and child abandonment are commonplace. In addition, there is a healthy black market for infants and fetuses (used in soup/cosmetics) in China.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, over the last two weeks I have submitted testimony from various groups that I have been meeting with regarding China's continual abuse of human rights. Whether it be restrictions on religious freedom; the persecution and arrest of Catholics and Protestants; the use of barbaric labor camps; the continual victimization of members of the Falun Gong; or the abhorrent and coercive One-Child policy, China's government continues to show nothing but contempt for its citizens and the opinions of the rest of the world. These offenses alone should be enough to condemn the government of China. However, on top of these crimes the People's Republic of China poses a great and serious counterintelligence threat to America, the extent of which will, I have no doubt, concern our colleagues greatly. An Unclassified Report from the FBI on the People's Republic of China Intelligence Collection Efforts The People's Republic of China (PRC) poses a significant counterintelligence threat to the United States (U.S.) via its cadre of professional intelligence officers who collect political, military and economic intelligence, and its network of non-professional individuals and organizations that collect science and technology, high-tech and proprietary information completely outside the direction and control of the PRC Intelligence Services. The PRC's professional military intelligence organization, the Military Intelligence Department of the People's Liberation Army (MID/PLA), also known as the Second Department of the PLA (2PLA), relies mainly on intelligence collection through its military attaches. The PRC's military seeks military, science and technology, and some political information through its contacts and agents. In 1987, PRC military attache Hou Desheng was interdicted by FBI Special Agents in Washington, D.C. while receiving and paying for classified U.S. Government information. The PRC's professional civilian intelligence, the Ministry of State Security, targets U.S. political and policy information, runs influence operations against Taiwan and other political targets, attempts to penetrate the U.S. Government, and directs a growing number of covert science and technology collection operations. Collection operations from this civilian segment of the PRC Intelligence Services are difficult to counter because the Chinese typically insist that the physical transfer of documents or items take place in the PRC. PRC civilian intelligence officers in the U.S. direct part of their efforts toward developing as many Americans of Chinese ancestry into what the PRC terms ``patriotic Overseas Chinese.'' An example of the Ministry of State Security's success in penetrating the U.S. Government was the Larry Wu-tai Chin case. Chin, a U.S. Government employee of 30 years, was an actual agent of the Ministry of State Security. While residing in the U.S. and during his employment with the government, Chin provided information to the Ministry of State Security for over 40 years. Chin was arrested for espionage activities in 1985 and was subsequently convicted of those charges in 1986. Chin committed suicide prior to being sentenced. Like most countries operating intelligence services within the U.S., the PRC employs a number of commonly-used collection techniques. Their intelligence services attempt to gain access to sensitive foreign facilities, try to meet individuals with access to classified information, and attempt to photograph military installations and equipment. However, the PRC employs several non-traditional methods and unlike most other countries, the PRC makes extensive use of non-intelligence personnel. Consumers of intelligence such as China's production facilities, laboratories and research institutes often bypass professional intelligence services in favor of direct intelligence collection efforts. Opportunities to accomplish direct collection within the U.S. are facilitated through the very large number of temporary visitors in private companies, academic institutions, and U.S. Government facilities. A significant number of these delegation members are science and technology experts, often characterized by their American hosts as aggressive and extremely knowledgeable in their professional fields. In many cases, Chinese-Americans employed by these entities and institutions are sought out by members of the PRC delegations as persons who might be willing to assist them. In 1997, Peter Lee pleaded guilty to transmitting U.S. national defense information to the PRC. The consumer of Lee's information was a PRC institute, not a traditional PRC intelligence service. In 2002, a PRC national was arrested for attempting to steal proprietary seismic-imaging software from a Silicon Valley company. This was the second unsuccessful attempt by an employee of a PRC based company to obtain this proprietary software within a span of five years. Later in 2002, two PRC nationals were indicted for economic espionage related to their attempted theft of trade secrets from several Silicon Valley companies. These two individuals were subsequently linked to a PRC based high-technology research and development program. As the PRC's varied presence in the U.S. continues to grow, more PRC nationals find themselves in positions of direct or indirect access to items of intelligence interest to China. If they can find the right consumer, PRC nationals involved in intelligence collection may be in a position to profit from their services. These individuals do not operate under the direction or control of either the military or civilian PRC intelligence services. In 1994, two PRC nationals were indicted on computer fraud and fraud by wire in connection with the theft of $950,000 of proprietary computer source code developed by a U.S. firm. The end-user of the code was a Chinese machinery import and export company. Evidence collected in the investigation indicated that the two perpetrators had shopped the computer source code around for the best price. Whether directed by one of its intelligence services, manufacturing sectors or research institutes, the PRC threat to U.S. policy, intelligence, military, national security and proprietary/economic information is growing. In response to this expanding PRC threat, the FBI, in conjunction with the U.S. Intelligence Community, continues to pursue an aggressive and focused counterintelligence program.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I am proud today to recognize Loudoun Country Day School as it celebrates Founders' Day on October 15 and 50 years of academic excellence. Located in Leesburg, Virginia, Loudoun Country Day School is an accredited, independent, co-educational school which enrolls students in pre-kindergarden through eighth grade cultivating the intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth of each child. Its rigorous core curriculum, nurturing environment and extensive programs in foreign languages, arts, computers and athletics inspires excellence and builds character, preparing each child for the challenges ahead. In 1953, Dorothy McDonald and Edith Newland founded the school with only seven students. Their dedication to helping each individual student develop their potential to the fullest set the foundation for the success of Loudoun Country Day School. The pages of the school's history are filled with those who worked long, hard hours to create a facility characterized by challenging students to excel and tailoring curriculum to a student's needs. Books and materials are selected to emphasize the basics and to stimulate interest, challenge capabilities and maximize potential. The school's humble beginnings in a modern-day one room schoolhouse expanded when Mrs. Stanley Brown donated the family farmhouse and land to the school. In honoring her father's dream of establishing a private school in Loudoun County, Mrs. Brown provided a precious gift to the community. Many such generous gifts have aided the efforts of the dedicated staff at Loudoun Country Day School. Their continued dedication to program expansion and refinement with emphasis on findings from educational research, coupled with the ongoing professional development of the faculty, have provided the foundation on which their programs have risen to higher levels of excellence. Loudoun Country Day School and its staff have received numerous honors in the past decade. During the past six years, readers of Leesburg Today have named it the ``Best Private School'' in Loudoun County. In 2002, the headmaster, Dr. Randall Hollister, received the Washington Post's prestigious Distinguished Educational Leadership Award. Founded on the vision of offering a program beyond what was normally available in the public schools in Loudoun County, Loudoun Country Day School continues to investigate new ways of teaching, with its one goal remaining true to its earliest roots: dedication to helping each individual student develope their potential to the fullest. This is the same objective the school embraced 50 years ago when those first five students stepped into their one-room school. I salute Loudoun Country Day School, its founders, faculty, students and their families and wish them another 50 years of academic excellence. I enclose for the Record highlights of the 50-year history of Loudoun Country Day School. Brief History of Loudoun Country Day School 1953: School founded by Dorothy McDonald and Edith Newcomb with 7 students. Classes are held in the Old Community College Building on Market Street. 1957-1958: Through the generosity of Mrs. Stanley Brown, the original farmhouse (Old Newcomb) and adjacent 5.4 acres are made available to the school. 1959-1960: In March, LCDS is incorporated. 1960-1961: The first section of a new building is completed with four finished classrooms and one unfinished room for further expansion. Enrollment--53. 1963: First Headmistress, Mrs. Edith Newcomb, resigns. 1963-1965: Mr. W.D. Harrison is appointed Headmaster. He serves for 2 years, resigning due to poor health. 1972-1973: Col. Boleyn resigns and A. Thomas Jackson becomes Headmaster. The third wing of the building is completed. Enrollment--132. 1975: The school purchases 2.5 additional acres for soccer fields from Mrs. Lowell Riley. 1979-1980: Firestone Fieldhouse is completed. Enrollment-- 155. 1980-1981: A. Thomas Jackson resigns and Raymond C. Nance becomes Headmaster. 1989-1990: The library is renovated and a computer lab with 10 computers is created. 1992-1993: Raymond Nance resigns and Dr. Randall Hollister becomes headmaster. Enrollment--178. 1998: A second computer lab of 22 systems added; computer network added--2 computers per classroom. 1999: School receives gift of 55 acres (``White's Ferry property) and $200,000 gift made possible by Mr. Henry Brown. 2000: LCS adds 10,000 square feet of classroom space. 2001-2002: Dr. Randall Hollister receives Washington Post Distinguished Leadership Award. 2003: LCDS offers 2 sections of classes for all grades except 6th and 8th; enrollment is 256. October 15, 2003: Founders' Day--Loudoun Country Day School celebrates 50 years of educational excellence.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, women and children--the most innocent segment of our global community--comprise the majority of the poorest people in the our world. During my time in Congress, I have witnessed much of this suffering first hand in many of the world's poorest nations. While the names of the suffering and the causes of their pain differ from place to place, they all share common experiences of horror and human tragedy. Genocide, murder, slavery, famine, HIV/AIDS and corruption. Limbless children bearing the scars of endless civil wars. Child soldiers forced to fight. Babies so malnourished that they cannot even cry out in hunger. Refugee camps crowded by young orphans, robbed of their parents and all alone. A continuing cycle of hunger, homelessness, poverty and pain. America has been blessed with abundance. The Book of Luke in the Bible says, ``To whom much is given, much is required.'' When the American people--who I believe are the most generous people in the world--see suffering, see hunger, see homelessness and poverty and pain--they want to help. When they see people who are hurting, they want to help. The American people will open their wallets and they will support giving their tax dollars to reach out to those in need. That generosity has been the guiding principle of foreign assistance and humanitarian aid throughout our nation's history. I have no doubt whatsoever that generosity will continue. That principle also has guided the mission of the dedicated employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development, now under the bold leadership of Administrator Andrew Natsios, and the dozens of non- governmental organizations and their volunteers, who reach out daily around the globe--from the deserts of Africa to the jungles of Central America to the rice fields of the Far East--to bring help to the poorest of the poor. I have seen the good work they do. There is an expectation, however, that the assistance sent abroad is reaching those who truly need the help, that it is having a long-term impact on improving lives, and that it is being wisely spent. I believe it is time to look at this issue with fresh eyes, assess our development and humanitarian assistance programs, both short- and long-term, evaluate who is receiving the assistance and how that assistance is provided, and determine if changes need to be made to allow the generosity of the American people to be felt throughout the world. That is why I am introducing legislation--``Helping Enhance the Livelihood of People (HELP) Around the Globe Commission Act''--with the goal to help our Nation do a better job of helping those who need it most. My bill will create a 21-member HELP Commission designed to bring the best foreign assistance minds together to focus on one primary question: How can the United States improve its ability to quickly and effectively provide foreign assistance which is meeting not only short- term, immediate needs, but also has the long-term effect of making a difference in people's lives? I want to be clear in stating my motivation for this commission. From my work and travels on humanitarian issues, I have the deepest respect for and admiration of the thousands of U.S. aid workers, both government employees and non-governmental organizations, who, often at personal risk, are reaching out to try and help improve the lives of suffering people in every corner of this world. That is why I am also asking the commission to look at how we can better secure our aid workers. I believe this commission can help them do their jobs even better. Struggling nations face enormous obstacles to lasting development and political stability. It is critical that the international community continue to support and encourage struggling countries in their greatest hour of need. And we must find ways to improve our ability to do so. The United States has a vital national interest--and I believe a moral obligation--to help poor nations so that they can provide their people with freedom, economic opportunity, functioning governments and most importantly--healthy and productive lives. The HELP Commission also can find answers to other questions, such as: Do we need a new vision to guide our foreign aid efforts? Should we change the ratio between providing immediate humanitarian assistance and long-term assistance? As those questions are pondered, we must be open enough to admit if and how previous policies have failed, and smart enough to expand upon our prior successes. This panel must absorb the essence of our foreign assistance efforts and contemplate every aspect of our development, humanitarian and food aid programs, from the moment they are created to the moment the aid arrives on the ground. The commissioners also must identify the root causes of a country's decline, or barriers to another country's accession, and recommend long-term strategies for ways our Nation's aid can make the most successful impact. Over the past 50 years, according to information provided by the Congressional Research Service, the United States has given a total of $152.5 billion in development assistance and food aid to countries and their people all over the world. Reports indicate that many aid recipients may be no better off today than they were decades ago. I am asking this commission to also answer other questions: Can we say with honesty that our efforts have left the majority of intended recipients better off? While there are many success stories, are there better ways to do the job? This commission will look at aid contributed all over the world from Central America to the Balkins, from Africa to Asia. Take Sudan, for example. The United States gave $1.7 billion in development and food aid to Sudan over the last 50 years. Just in the last 20 years, more than 2.2 million people in Sudan have died as a result of the ongoing civil war there. I have been to Sudan four times and have seen the suffering. I have also been to Congo where the U.S. has sent $724 million worth of development assistance and food aid over the last 50 years, and much more when you consider the cost of peacekeepers and even though we have tried to help more than 3.3 million innocent people have died in just the last 5 years. Liberia is another example of a country with a long history of internal strife and instability yet they have continued to collect massive amounts of outside aid that directly benefitted the corrupt government. The United States gave $929 million worth of development assistance aid to Liberia. And just look at the suffering taking place by the people of Liberia. I have traveled to Ethiopia on two occasions, first in 1984 and again this past January, and over that span there remains little progress, if any, in land reform. Millions of people in Ethiopia are again at risk of starvation. This number is growing as millions more are on a ``watch list'' and in fear of starvation. The high profile media coverage of the troubled relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea have made these nations the faces of famine, but the pain is not theirs alone. Across the continent of Africa 30 million people are at risk of starvation. The United States has given $2.4 billion worth of development and food aid to Ethiopia and $233 million to Eritrea over the last 50 years. Yet there has been little land reform and little long-term development. Hunger and poverty and lives of misery are not just problems in Africa. Look at Haiti. The United States gave Haiti $1.3 billion in development and food aid over the last 50 years and is the largest bilateral donor but Haiti still struggles with poverty, hunger, illiteracy and AIDS. Corrupt dictators across the globe have become rich off the generosity of the American people. U.S. citizens have the right to expect that their assistance is truly helping the poorest of the poor-- women and children around the globe--and not extending the longevity of corrupt and murderous regimes. President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address on January 20, 1961, spoke of America's mission to help the suffering people of the world. He said, ``To those peoples in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required-- not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.'' While there is no question in my mind that providing development and humanitarian assistance is the right thing to do, we also have an obligation to make sure that aid is being provided in the right way. America has always stepped up to the challenge to help the helpless around the globe. The Helping Enhance the Livelihood of People Around the Globe Commission will look at which efforts have succeeded and which have failed, and why. We must be confident that American tax dollars aimed at helping women, children and the poor are being spent wisely and efficiently and are truly making a difference in the lives of people who, as President Kennedy said, ``are struggling to break the bonds of mass misery.''

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, you may recall, I have been endeavoring to bring to our colleagues' attention the egregious abuses of human rights by the Chinese government toward its own citizens. Today I will provide information regarding the perpetual and unjustifiable harassment, torture and death of Falun Gong practitioners at the hands of the Chinese government. Many of the victims are old men simply trying to pursue their religious beliefs peaceably. They hope only for what we in America take for granted--the right to follow one's conscience. Instead they are brutalized by the state. I offer these accounts and hope that our colleagues will come to the same conclusion that I did--that we must act to help the persecuted people of China. ``In Their Own Words'' Statements on the Torture of the Falun Gong Imagine the leader of the world's apparently most-promising emerging market suddenly banning the faith of one out of every twelve of his/her own citizens, subjecting them to arbitrary detention, forced-labor, brainwashing sessions, physical torture and death, and using a shocking amount of foreign investment capital to do it. Imagine no more. This is the reality. According to the testimonies of thousands of victims, the Chinese government implemented the persecution through a three-prong directive to all levels of government: Destroy Falun Gong practitioners physically through systematic, state-sanctioned forced-labor, torture and killings. Destroy Falun Gong practitioners' reputations through a worldwide media campaign to demonize Falun Gong and falsely depict its practitioners as dangerous ``cult'' members and a menace to society. Destroy Falun Gong practitioners financially, which, in a Communist nation where the government can exercise significant control over employment and housing, allowed the government to deny Falun Gong practitioners basic necessities for living, such as salaries/pensions, employment, education, housing, etc. in addition to suffering widespread extortion, confiscation of property and state-enforced fines when detained by police. Almost 800 deaths from torture have been verified. Thousands more people have been forcefully incarcerated in mental hospitals where many are tortured. More than 100,000 have been sent to forced labor camps, typically without trial. In January 2003, after more than 3 years of torture and abuse, 65 year-old Mr. Quanfu Zhang was beaten to death in a Chinese forced-labor camp. His 38-year-old son, Qifa Zhang, died 16 days later from sustained torture in the same labor camp. In January of 2003, a U.S. citizen was detained and later imprisoned where he has been beaten and repeatedly subjected to brainwashing sessions in an attempt to force him to renounce his beliefs. His fiance leads a grassroots call for his release in the U.S. Sixty-seven year-old Li Jianhou from Nanchong City, Sichuan Province was tortured to death in Deyang Prison, Sichuan Province on March 27, 2003. His wife is being held at a local detention center. On July 18, 2003, After three years of torture and abuse, a university teacher from Jilin Province with a master's degree in philosophy was detained on several occasions for his practice of Falun Gong. He died in a Chinese Labor Camp. In August 2003, Ms. Zhengshu Cui, an ethnic Korean and a graduate of the Baicheng Finance and Trade Training School who lived in northeastern China, died on August 12, 2003, from extended torture and abuse sustained while imprisoned for her beliefs in a forced-labor camp. In August 2003, after being abducted multiple times and tortured by local police for his practice of Falun Gong, a 56-year-old farmer from Heilongjiang Province was subjected to forced-feeding with boiling water. Emaciated and unable to stand on his own, he died in a Chinese prison.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I continue today to bring to our colleagues attention human rights abuses in China provided here by the Laogai Research Foundation. They tell a desperately tragic story of a peoples thrown into harsh and brutal labor camps--without trial--who are then forced to do dangerous work, are regularly beaten, tortured, deprived of food and sleep, or summarily executed with their organs removed without the consent of the victims or their family. Many of the Chinese government's victims are religious men and women who, simply by wishing to follow their conscience, are considered a danger to the state. ``In Their Own Words'' Statements on Forced Labor, Organ Harvesting and Capital Punishment in China Provided By Laogai Research Foundation The Laogai is an integral part of China's economy, serving as a principal source of cheap labor and organs. Its victims suffer from torture, arbitrary detainment, forced labor, organ harvesting, and execution. Human rights groups have documented over 1,000 Laogai camps in China and estimate that the Laogai has a population of 4 to 6 million prisoners. The Chinese Communist Party seeks to single out and eliminate all who ``endanger state security.'' Thousands of political/religious prisoners are currently being imprisoned or otherwise detained, including China Democracy Party founders Wang Youcai and Qin Yongmin, Internet activists Yang Zili and Huang Qi, Tiananmen Square demonstrators, protestants, Catholics, Tibetan nuns and monks, journalists, academics, and Falun Gong practitioners. There is little to deter those who inflict torture upon inmates of the Laogai. Confessions extracted through torture are routinely used to convict individuals in court. Forms of torture that are commonly documented in Chinese prisons include: use of electric batons, beating with fists and clubs, the use of handcuffs and leg irons in ways that cause intense pain, suspension by the arms, deprivation of food or sleep and solitary confinement. According to conservative estimates, over 200,000 people are serving sentences in reeducation through labor (Laojiao) camps with no trial or sentencing procedure of any kind--all that is necessary is the directive of any official in China's Public Security Bureau. All prisoners are forced to meet production quotas that are enforced through withholding of food rations. Many camps force prisoners to work 16 to 18 hours a day. Prisoners often labor in highly unsafe conditions, including work in mines and with toxic chemicals. Prisoners do not receive payment for their labor or any profit generated from the products they produce. Forced labor is an integral part of China's economy, producing approximately $800 million dollars in sales. Despite specific agreements that ban forced labor goods these goods continue to flow out of China. Cooperation by Chinese authorities has been characterized by the State Department as ``sporadic, at best.'' Most requests to hold an investigation are either ignored or denied. The Laogai's victims also suffer organ harvesting, and execution. Despite the claims that prisoners give consent for the use of their organs for transplant, evidence suggests that an overwhelming majority of prisoners, or their families, never gave consent before execution. Prisoners are shot in the back to preserve their corneas and shot in the head in order to preserve the heart. Recently, China began implementing the use of mobile execution vans, similar to vans used in Nazi Germany prior to its use of concentration camps. The use of mobile execution vans will allow doctors to remove organs in a timely manner and a clean environment. According to Amnesty International, China executes more prisoners every year than the rest of the world combined. In 2002, the State Department recorded over 4,000 executions after summary trials. Some scholars estimate that as many as 10,000-20,000 are executed yearly. According to the Chinese criminal law code there are over 60 capital offenses. Prisoners are executed for crimes ranging from murder to theft to arson to drug trafficking. Prisoners are occasionally executed in front of crowds in fields or stadiums.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, you may recall that on September 25, I shared with our colleagues that I have been meeting with a number of groups who have been working for years to document and bring to our attention the numerous abuses committed by the Chinese government upon its own people. The Roman Catholic Church is one such group whose bishops, priests and congregations face continual harassment and persecution. I urge colleagues to read the following statement, provided by the Cardinal Kung Foundation, and hope that it will move them to action as it has moved me. ``In Their Own Words'' Statements on Persecution of the Underground Roman Catholic Church in China Provided by the Cardinal Kung Foundation The promise of religious freedom in China is a false one. The Chinese government severely and systematically persecutes members of China's spiritual communities, including Roman Catholics, Protestants, Evangelical Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, and members of the Falun Gong movement. The Chinese government views religion as a threat to its power. The Religious Affairs Bureau screens religious groups for official approval or disapproval; monitors membership in religious organizations; and controls locations of meetings, religious training, selection of religious hierarchy, publication of religious materials, and funding for religious activities. Those groups that defy the control of the Religious Affairs Bureau face severe consequences: mass campaigns, surprise raids, imposition of heavy fines, imprisonment, and torture. The Chinese government officially permits only those Catholic churches affiliated with the CCPA. The Chinese Catholic congregations that continue to recognize the authority of the Pope constitute the Catholic underground in China. The government considers the underground church illegal. Penalties for belonging to the underground Roman Catholic Church include exorbitant fines, imprisonment, house arrest, beatings, and labor camp internment. Currently, every one of the underground Roman Catholic Church leaders is either in jail, under house arrest, under strict surveillance, or in hiding. Bishop Su Zhimin, the underground Bishop of Baoding, Hebei was arrested in 1997 and has not been heard from since. His location and whether he is alive or dead remain unknown. Bishop An Shuxin, the underground auxiliary Bishop of Baoding was arrested in March 1996 and is still in jail. Bishop HaN Dingxiang, the underground Bishop of Yong Nian, Hebei was arrested in December 1999 and remains in jail. Bishop ShI Enxiang, the underground Bishop of Yixian, Hebei was arrested on April 13, 2001 and is yet to be released. Priests face similar harassment. Fathers Pang, Ma, and Wang were arrested in July 2002 and were sentenced to three years in a labor camp for ``disturbing the peace of society'' under the ``cult'' law. In March 2002 Father Ma Shunbao, 50, was arrested while he was offering Holy Mass on Easter Sunday and in March 2002 Father Wang Limao, 32, was arrested. In December 2002, Father Pang Yongzing, 30, was arrested in his home. Rev. Dong Yingmu, 37, an underground Roman Catholic priest serving the diocese of Baoding was kidnaped by the Chinese authorities during Christmas 2002 when he was on his way to offer a Holy Mass. The abuses have continued, recently Father Lin Daoming of Fuzhou, Fujian was arrested in May 2003 when he returned home to visit his mother. In June 2003 Father Lu Xiaozhou of Wenzhou, Zhejiang was arrested when he was preparing to administer the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick to a dying Catholic. In July Fathers Chen Guozhen, Kang Fuliang, Li Shujun, Pang Guangzhao, Joseph Yin of Baoding, Hebei were arrested while on their way to visit another underground priest, Father Lu Genjun, who was just released from labor camp after serving there for three years. As figureheads for the church Roman Catholic Bishops and Priests are regularly harassed. However, their congregations are not exempt from state oppression. On December 12, 2000, the Agency French Press reported that ``authorities in eastern China have shut down, and in many cases blown up, 450 Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as Taoist and Buddhist temples.'' Many more churches have been destroyed since then. Six Roman Catholics from Wenzhou and Zhejiang went to DongLu in Baoding, Hebei and were arrested May 2002. They were fined a total of $3,850 for the ``illegal pilgrimage.'' In July 2002, 31 underground Roman Catholics, 26 of whom were students under the age of 18, were arrested during a summer vacation catechism class in a private home. The National Catholic register reported that ``as many as 23,686 Christians have been arrested since 1983; 20,000 have been beaten; and 129 have been killed in an effort to stamp out the underground churches.'' In January 1997, the Cardinal Kung Foundation published a secret Chinese government document titled ``The Procedures Legally to Implement the Eradication of Illegal Activities/ Operations of the Underground Catholic Church.'' The above are but a few of the many examples of the harsh and ongoing persecution of underground Roman Catholic clergy and laypersons in China. The Cardinal Kung Foundation has documented many other instances and reported them in its press releases.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose birthday was August 27. Pope John Paul II will be beatifying her on October 19 in Rome. As I reflect on her life of love and sacrifice, I am struck by the number of people's lives she was able to touch. Her work in Calcutta's slums illustrated her commitment to pulling people out of poverty by empowering them with self esteem and the hope that change is always possible. For 50 years, Mother Teresa brought dignity to the poor and unwanted. After finding a woman dying in front of a Calcutta hospital, she sat with the woman until she died. Soon after, she began a campaign for a shelter for people to die with dignity. Her life's mission was caring for the human castoffs the world wanted to forget. Her love brought hope to countless who were struggling on the brink of existence. In 1982, at the height of the siege in Beirut, she rescued 37 children trapped in a front line hospital by brokering a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerillas. She recognized that, despite economic development efforts, there were people out there whose lives remained mired in the sorry circumstances of their birth. She opened schools, orphanages and homes for the needy, and turned her attention to the victims of AIDS as that disease increased in prevalence. Her notoriety speaks to the impact of her love and service. Her integrity and humility drew large crowds and invited great affection. As we remember the incredible work of an extraordinary woman, I hope that we are all challenged to live out the prayer that is inscribed on the wall of her Children's Home in Calcutta: Mother Teresa's Prayer People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; . . . Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; . . . Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; . . . Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; . . . Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; . . . Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; . . . Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; . . . Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; . . . Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, what is America if not a Nation that stands up for basic decency and human rights? What is America if it is not a people that speaks out for those who cannot speak out for themselves? And what will America become if we fail to speak out against dictators and despots who oppress and brutalize their own people? China has for too long been at liberty to detain and torture and intimidate and oppress good men and women for their religious beliefs. As the world's greatest democracy and the symbol of hope for millions, America has a duty and an obligation to speak out for the oppressed people of the world. We fail in our duty if we do nothing. It was the British philosopher and statesman Edmund Burke who said that Representatives owe you not just their industry but also their judgment. As Representatives and beholders of American ideals, we should speak out on the issue of the persecution of those of faith in China. The litany of abuses committed by the Government of China toward its own people is long and senseless. I recently held a meeting with a number of groups who have spent years in documenting the numerous abuses committed by the Chinese Government upon the Chinese people. In the coming days, I will be highlighting the plight of different groups of long-suffering Chinese people so that colleagues can better understand the depth of this problem in China. The material I will be submitting today was prepared by the International Religious Freedom Commission, and I hope Members will read it. As I close, 10 Catholic bishops are in China today under house arrest, and this government, our government, our Congress and the administration, does not act. The Protestant Church is being abused and beaten in China and we have refused to speak out. The Chinese have plundered Tibet, and yet the West is quiet. Muslims are being persecuted in the northwest portion of China, and yet the West speaks out not at all. The Falun Gong are being persecuted almost on a daily basis. I think this is an opportunity to hear, in their own words, what all of these groups have to tell us in the Congress and us in the United States and us in the West about what is taking place, so that we know we should speak out on their behalf, particularly next year when the Geneva resolution with regard to condemning China on human rights comes up. Depending on the religious organization in question, the Chinese government provided various justifications to defend its policy of repression. Its action to restrict religious belief and practice, however, go far beyond what is necessary to protect legitimate state interests. Since 2001, the Communist government has engaged in a persistent campaign of banning some religious groups while insisting on registration for others. Many groups, particularly Christian house churches, have refused, understandably fearful that providing membership rosters would lead to regular surveillance by party and government agencies. The government's policy of designating religious or spiritual organizations as ``cults'' has led to tragic outcomes for millions of religious believers. All too often victims are sentenced to ``re- education through labor camps,'' administered by the notorious Ministry of Public Security, which appears to perpetrate human rights abuses with absolute impunity. Persons adhering to ``unacceptable'' faiths have been given prison sentences of up to three years without a right to a hearing, without counsel and without judicial determination of their cases. There are at least 30 million Protestant Christians in China. Mostly, believers belong to independent house churches. Purely on account of their faith, properties belonging to or used by such groups have been confiscated, closed, or destroyed and members have been detained, tortured, and subjected to other forms of government harassment. In June 2003, 12 members of a house church in Guna Village in Yunnan province were arrested after they sought registration with the local government. On June 6, in response to the government's ``invitation'' to complete the registration process, the 12 church leaders were arrested for engaging in ``feudalistic superstition.'' Eight of the 12 were immediately sentenced to three years in ``re-education through labor'' camps, while the other four were indicted and are being held for trial. In late August 2003, local officials arrested 170 house church Christians in Nanyang county, Henan province after local police reportedly raided the meeting place where the worship service was being conducted. The report indicates that the 14 leaders of the group are currently being held in detention, possibly facing serious charges, while the other members were released after having been fined, fingerprinted, and warned against continuing their activities. The Chinese Communist state has, since the 1950s, banned the Roman Catholic Church, replacing it with the state-approved Catholic Patriotic Association. Through this state organization, the Communist government has claimed the exclusive right to appoint Chinese bishops. Most Chinese clerics, however, have refused to accept the legitimacy of government appointees. As a result, many Roman Catholic bishops and priests have been harassed, detained, or imprisoned. According to the Cardinal Kung Foundation, a number of Catholic bishops and priests who refuse to submit to government tutelage remain in prison or in detention and the status of other priests and lay persons remains unknown. As of August 2003, at least 10 Catholic bishops, including Bishop Su Zhimin, whose whereabouts are unknown, are imprisoned, in detention, under house arrests, or under surveillance. In Tibet, Buddhist monks and nuns serve lengthy sentences for voicing their allegiance to the Dalai Lama. In point of fact, the great majority of Tibetan political prisoners are monks and nuns. The longest-serving Tibetan political prisoner, Tagna Jigme Zangpo, was granted a medical parole to come to the United States in summer 2002 when he was in the middle of a 28-year sentence before his ``early'' release. Ngawang Sandrol, a member of the famous Tibetan ``Singing Nuns'' who was released last year, had served over 10 years in the infamous Drapchi Prison before her release. According to the Tibet Information Network, the State Department, and the testimony of former Tibetan nuns like Ngawang Sandrol, many of these prisoners have been severely beaten and subjected to other extreme forms of punishment. Some have died in prison. The Chinese government has denied repeated requests, including from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, for access to the 12-year- old boy whom the Dalai Lama recognizes as the 11th Panchen Lama. Government officials have stated that he is being ``held for his own safety,'' while at the same time insisting that another boy is the true Panchen Lama. The Chinese government's official ban on the Falun Gong movement, in 1999, has meant heightened government repression for all religious organizations designated by the government as ``cults.'' According to Falun Gong practitioners, as many as 100,000 of their members have been sent to labor camps without trial. They claim that as many as 700 may have died as a result of police brutality either while in prison or after their release. In largely Muslim Xinjiang, religious freedom is severely curtailed by the government, which indiscriminately links Muslim religious expression with ``separatist'' or ``terrorist'' acts. The indiscriminate repression of the Uighur people is best exemplified by the arrest and imprisonment of Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent Uighur businesswoman and activist, who was arrested in 1999 after she met with a visiting U.S. congressional delegation. Close supervision of all mosques in the region by local Communist Party officials is now commonplace. China repeatedly engages in severe--systematic, egregious--violations of religious freedom. If our ideals and what America stands for--both at home and abroad--are to mean anything, then we must not shrink from this issue. We must not allow human considerations to come secondary to the pursuit of trade. We must dare to speak out for those who have no voice.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the President for highlighting the issue of sex trafficking in his speech to the United Nations yesterday. I am pleased the Administration is focused on eradicating this appalling practice. Modern-day slavery and slave trading is an ugly practice and is increasing in countries around the globe. Million of people worldwide are bought, sold, transported and held against their will in slave-like conditions. This summer the State Department released its annual report highlighting countries with the worst records on trafficking. Some of these countries include, Cuba, Greece, North Korea, Sudan, and Turkey. Many countries that the United States does business with everyday are also on the tier 2 watch list. The United States should be particularly hard on these countries and demand that these countries make significant improvements and strengthen their anti-trafficking efforts. I share the President's commitment to work to end slavery. Below is an excerpt from the President's speech: There's another humanitarian crisis spreading, yet hidden from view. Each year an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 human beings are bought, sold or forced across the world's borders. Among them are hundreds of thousands of teenage girls, and others as young as 5, who fall victim to the sex trade. This commerce in human life generates billions of dollars each year, much of which is used to finance organized crime. There's a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of sex trade see little of life before they see the very worst of life: an underground of brutality and lonely fear. Those who create these victims and profit from their suffering must be severely punished. Those who patronize this industry debase themselves and deepen the misery of others. And governments that tolerate this trade are tolerating a form of slavery. This problem has appeared in my own country and we are working to stop it. The PROTECT Act, which I signed into law this year, makes it a crime for any person to enter the United States or for any citizen to travel abroad for the purpose of sex tourism involving children. The Department of Justice is actively investigating sex tour operators and patrons, who can face up to 30 years in prison. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the United States is using sanctions against governments to discourage human trafficking. The victims of this industry also need help from members of the United Nations, and this begins with clear standards and the certainty of punishment under the laws of every country. Today, some nations make it a crime to sexually abuse children abroad. Such conduct should be a crime in all nations. Governments should inform travelers of the harm this industry does and the severe punishments that will fall on its patrons. The American government is committing $50 million to support the good work of organizations that are rescuing women and children from exploitation, and giving them shelter and medical treatment and the hope of a new life. I urge other governments to do their part. We must show new energy in fighting back an old evil. Nearly two centuries after the abolition of the trans- Atlantic slave trade, and more than a century after slavery was officially ended in its last strongholds, the trade in human beings for any purpose must not be allowed to thrive in our time.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7, the Charitable Giving Act. This legislation takes an important step to help further the efforts begun nearly 40 years when President Johnson declared war on poverty and hunger. Sadly, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 13 million kids live in households that do not have an adequate supply of food. In 2001, the USDA says there were 33.6 million Americans--20 million adults and 13 million children--who were hungry or at risk of hunger. In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about the obligation to feed the hungry. In a world, and especially a nation, as plentiful as ours, it is tragic that even one child is hungry. Barriers need to be eliminated to allow businesses to do the morally conscionable thing and donate their surplus food. It's outrageous that it is more ``cost effective'' for a business to throw out or destroy surplus food rather than donate it to a local soup kitchen. The Charitable Giving Act takes important steps to ensure that more of America's abundant food supply ends up in the mouths of America's hungry families, not in landfills. The USDA estimates that 96 billion pounds of food are thrown away each year. I would like to submit for the Record a recent article from the Chicago Tribune titled ``Hunger has a new face.'' This article points out that many of these hungry children live in households in with working parents. As the cost of living in many urban areas continues to increase, the number of working poor is expanding rapidly, hitting single moms particularly hard. As the face of hunger in America changes, we must make sure that our policies continue to meet the needs. The Charitable Giving Act provides incentives to farmers and small businesses, whose resources are also constrained in these economic times. I applaud the authors of this bill for their dedication to building a greater America. But our work is not yet done. I want to encourage my colleagues appointed to conference this important legislation to consider the food donation provision contained in the Senate bill--the same food donation provision, I might add, that was introduced earlier this year by my colleague Mr. Baker from Louisiana. America's Second Harvest estimates that the Senate version would produce over 878 million new meals by 2013--that's over three times the number of new meals than the House bill will provide. Make no mistake, the bill we have in front of us today is a very good start and is a victory for all those who have hope for a better America. Let us now move forward, and show America that fighting hunger isn't about what side of the aisle you stand on, but rather what kind of humanity we seek to be. [From the Chicago Tribune, Sept. 1, 2003] Hunger Has a New Face (By V. Dion Haynes) Bend, Ore.--Despite working full time as a waitress at an International House of Pancakes restaurant, Crystal Carter regularly must turn to charities and generous friends to feed herself and her three small children. Likewise, Leslie Ramaekers finds it difficult to stretch the wages from her full-time auto-detailing job to buy enough food. She often skips breakfast and lunch to ensure that her four children can eat. Randy Malone has it even worse. Laid off 1\1/2\ years ago, he has to use his sparse resources to feed his two nieces and nephew, who live with him. Forced to skip meals, Malone has lost 25 pounds. ``I don't normally eat breakfast or lunch. Sometimes for dinner I might get a peanut butter sandwich or a piece of bread,'' said Malone, 42, who was picking up a bag of free groceries from a food pantry in northeast Portland one day this summer. ``I'd rather them eat it than me,'' he added, referred to the children, age 7 to 12. In a survey, 25 U.S. cities reported on average a 19 percent increase in demand for emergency food assistance from 2001 to 2002. Some city officials say Carter, Ramaekers and Malone represent the new face of hunger in America. single moms affected The ranks of the hungry more and more include single mothers stuck in low-wage jobs, married couples who can't keep up with soaring housing costs and able-bodied people who can't find jobs. Their predicament forces them every month to grapple with vexing trade-offs: Pay the rent or child care? Buy that prescription for a sick child or pay that overdue electric bill? Put gas in the car or food on the table? ``We're seeing Depression-era food lines in 21st Century America. . . . This is the most food productive nation on the planet, and we should not have hunger,'' said Doug O'Brien, vice president for policy and research at Chicago-based America's Second Harvest, the umbrella organization for the nation's food banks and the largest hunger relief organization in the U.S. The previous profile of a hungry person, O'Brien said, was ``a homeless, chronically unemployed, mentally ill substance abuser.'' But by 2001, ``we were as likely to see a single mother who's employed as we would a homeless man,'' he added. ``Nationwide, 40 percent of the people we serve come from households where at least one person is working.'' Agriculture Department experts peg the number of hungry or ``food insecure'' people at about 34 million, up from about 30 million in 1995. Hunger and food insecurity are defined broadly--when people are forced to skip a meal or cut back on what they eat because they lack money, when people don't know where their next meal is coming from or when people must visit a soup kitchen or food pantry for emergency assistance. Demand for emergency food rose dramatically from 2001 to 2002 in about 25 cities polled late last year by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Requests for food jumped 52 percent in Kansas City, 49 percent in Miami, 28 percent in Chicago, 25 percent in Los Angeles, 14 percent in Cleveland and 10 percent in New Orleans. States step up outreach The issue has been receiving attention in recent months. Oregon, Wisconsin, Virginia and West Virginia have stepped up their outreach to hungry people who might qualify for assistance from food stamp programs. And two bills have been introduced in Congress to expand the number of children eligible for free school meal programs. A study released in July by the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Brandeis University suggested that hunger is released to the epidemic of obesity. The study said that low- income families ``may consume low-cost foods with relatively higher levels of calories per dollar to stave off hunger'' rather than more nutritious food when their resources run short. No state better exemplifies the crisis than Oregon, which has been ranked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as No. 1 in hunger and food insecurity. Oregon, which prospered in the 1990s from the dot-com boom and has an image as a recreation-friendly and environmentally conscious state, hardly seems a candidate for hunger capital of the nation. But the state, which also ranks at or near the top in unemployment, has been grappling with an economic meltdown. If has made drastic spending cuts for schools, health care, social programs and courts to relieve a nearly $3 billion deficit. As serious as the budget problems are, according to experts, the current crisis is the product of a systemic shift as low-paying, low-skill jobs in the service industry replaced high-paying, low-skill jobs in the timber and fishing industries. Bend, Ore., reflects that wage gap and economic metamorphosis. For generations, this region was timber country, with an abundance of family-run mills. But from 1989 to 1997, jobs in the forest industry declined by 47 percent in central Oregon. Now only one family-run mill is left in the region. During the same time, dozens of golf courses, spas, mountain lake and ski lodges and new housing developments sprang up, transforming central Oregon into a resort and an upscale retirement area. ``A lot of people say it's going to be another Aspen, Colo.,'' said Carter; the IHOP waitress, who often visits an area food pantry to feed her two daughters and son. ``There's no middle class here,'' added Carter. ``Either you have money or you don't.'' Instead of making $17 an hour in a mill, the most people can get around here [in serviced industry jobs] is around minimum wage,'' said Sweet Pea Cole, a coordinator for the Central Oregon Community Action Agency, where Carter gets her free food. Advocates for the poor say Oregon officials largely were in denial about the state's hunger problem--until this year: When Gov. Ted Kulongoski took office in January, he made fighting hunger a priority. Kulongoski, a Democrat, is appearing in TV public service announcements to raise awareness. The governor also is calling for more affordable housing. And he recently signed legislation to refurbish crumbling bridges and highways, which would create 5,000 jobs annually for 10 years. But some people struggling to put food on the table say the efforts will do little to help them. ``There has to be some way of training people, people who are stuck and struggling and want to do something with their lives,'' said Ramaekers, 28, of Tualatin, Ore., the auto- detail worker and mother of four who skips meals and frequents food banks. ``You're working harder but always staying in the same place.''

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the Norton amendment and in support of the bill. I want to begin by thanking the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen) and my colleague and friend, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), for really taking the initiative. He did not have to do this, and he is doing this. This is very, very important. I have five children. I am a product of public schools. All of my kids have gone to public schools. I worked for probably only one of a few Members of Congress, Congressman Pete Biester, who had a child in the District of Columbia schools. There are no Members in this body that I know of that have any of their children in District of Columbia schools. Many are in private schools, many are not here, but they are not in the District of Columbia schools. My daughter Virginia taught in the D.C. public school system. She worked for 4 years at the Community of Hope up at 14th and Belmont. She can tell Members what the conditions of the public schools are. I think as the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) said, if D.C. needs more money, offer the amendment and we will support it. But for these 1,000 children, that is their opportunity to get out. Everyone knows, Members know if you had not had that opportunity to have that education, you may not have gotten out. All of us on both sides of the aisle may have been in that condition. It is a way out. I want to commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), but particularly Mayor Williams for his leadership. I went to John Bartram High School, and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) knows where that is, on 67th and Elmwood Avenue. Education was my way out of there. My dad was a policeman with a sixth-grade education. Education got me my way out. Why is it not good for those 1,000 families that are going to get their children out of there? Sometimes going into the schools, as the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra) discussed, and in talking to the parents, they tell us their kids may be beaten up and they may have problems. Let us help the schools. Offer the amendment and do what you can. I want to commend also Senator Feinstein and Senator Byrd. Senator Byrd is a statesman, and I commend him for his leadership. He understands. I also commend Mayor Williams because it is tough to break sometimes with your party. I know sometimes we get locked in over here and we do not want to leave, but he did. I commend Kevin Chavous for the leadership to break with the city council and do what he did. They have provided the leadership for 1,000 boys and girls. If you are a father and you know your kids are not getting an education, if you are a mother and you know they are not getting an education, do not tell them, wait, we are going to improve the schools next year, we have a 5-year program, because if they are 7 and 8 and 9, we may lose them. This is not to expand a program all over the country. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) has probably done more to help the District of Columbia, working with the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), than any other Member of the House. This is to help. This is to help 1,000 parents to have an opportunity to educate their children. I strongly urge defeat of the Norton amendment, and I again thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) for their leadership, because in 1,000 homes this year and 1,000 homes next year, they will really make a difference, and help some of the kids to be educated. Come back next year and offer the amendments to beefup the District of Columbia schools. I give my commitment. I will support it; but let us today support this bill to help those 1,000 kids.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Toomey amendment. Just before I came here for this series of votes, we were meeting with the FBI. The FBI needs additional resources because they have taken personnel out of crime fighting and drug fighting and are now putting them in with regard to homeland security. They need more people. Then they have taken people off the streets that are working on drugs. So this would not be good for the FBI, aside from the homeland security. Lastly, across-the-board cuts never work. The best way to do something, if there is a particular program that you want to cut, you go after it. But across the board, to make the FBI take that cut now, and DEA, would not be good for the country, not good for crime, and not good for the fight against drugs. So on that, I strongly urge a ``no'' vote on the Toomey amendment.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I want to call to the attention of the House the impending retirement of Eve Butler-Gee, the Journal Clerk of the House, who is a resident of the 10th District of Virginia. According to research by the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, Eve is the first woman Journal Clerk in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives. She began her professional career in the House in her early 20's. She went on to work for a charitable foundation in the middle of her working life, then returned to the House in 1987 as the Minority Enrolling Clerk of the House, appointed by then Minority Leader Bob Michel of Illinois. She served in that position for eight years, before her appointment in 1997 as Chief Journal Clerk. Eve and three assistant clerks are responsible for keeping the Journal of the House proceedings at the rostrum on the House floor. As you know, Mr. Speaker, the House Journal is the official record of the parliamentary proceedings of the House and is mandated to be kept pursuant to Article 1, Section 5, of the United States Constitution. The first order of business of each day, following the prayer by the House chaplain, is the vote on the Chair's approval of the Journal of the last day's proceedings. The Journal Clerk's office also publishes the Journal of each session of Congress for use as a reference for the House parliamentarians, Members of Congress, regional libraries, state governments and the general public. During Eve's tenure, the publication of the House Journal has been brought up-to-date and publication procedures modernized. During her time at the House rostrum, Eve has been a witness to history as the House voted on the Gulf War resolution and a presidential impeachment, authorized the use of force in Iraq, and grieved a gunman's killing of two U.S. Capitol Police officers. She was also in the Capitol when it was evacuated during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and like all offices on Capitol Hill, she had to deal with concerns raised by an anthrax attack. Both Eve and her husband, Tom Gee, are active in the Episcopal Church. Eve serves on the Vestry and as head verger at the Church of the Holy Comforter in Vienna, Virginia, while Tom is director of lay liturgists. After her retirement, Eve plans to be a volunteer verger at the Washington National Cathedral. She also looks forward to spending her retirement years traveling, pursuing interests in writing and community theater, and enjoying the company of her family, including her daughter and son-in-law, Lora and John Williams, and grandson, Evan, welcoming a new grandchild expected in December. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the entire House--members and staff--we express our deep gratitude to Eve for her public service career and wish her the best in her retirement.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WOLF. I certainly share the sentiments of my colleagues. Mr. Speaker, if I can just read a brief thing. The gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan) wanted me to submit this and read this to you briefly. He had to run and catch a plane. I will not read the whole thing, but I want to read the beginning and the end. ``This House will suffer a true loss next month. Eve Butler-Gee, our Chief Journal Clerk, will be retiring at the end of August after 20 dedicated years. I want to join my colleagues today in recognizing her contributions to this Chamber. ``As we thank Eve for her dedication, we also wish her the very best for a happy retirement, with much time spent with her husband Tom; her daughter Lora and Lora's husband John Williams and their son Evan; and Tom's son Sean. ``I am proud to also note that Eve has a number of family connections to West Virginia, Mr. Chairman, and it is my hope that her travels will bring her to our State often.'' God bless. We wish you the best.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 1707, the Prison Rape Reduction Act of 2003 which I introduced with my Virginia colleague Representative Bobby Scott. Similar legislation S. 1435, sponsored by Senator Sessions and Senator Kennedy, passed the Senate earlier this week. I am encouraged that both the Senate and now the House have taken action on this bill and have moved a step closer to reducing sexual assault in prisons. I want to thank the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Representative James Sensenbrenner, for his assistance with this legislation. It is due largely to his efforts and interest in this bill that we are on the floor today to pass. This bill, which is essential to reversing the increasing numbers of prisoners who are sexually assaulted. Not often discussed, prison rape is a cruel act which has been ignored for too long. Survivors of prison rape often bear physical and emotional scars from their experiences for their entire lives. Moreover, if we allow this problem to continue, we will be allowing increased recidivism, prison unrest, and the spread of disease--all byproducts of prison rape--to continue unabated. Reducing sexual assault in prison will reduce the numbers of prisoners who when released will go back into the community and commit crimes again. Prison rape occurs every day, For example, just last month, a 19- year-old college student in Florida, in jail on marijuana charges, was raped by a cell mate who was being held on charges of sexual battery. This rape occurred within hours of the student being placed in his cell. There are thousands of other stories of prisoners being raped in prison. The legislation before us today will facilitate the study of prison rape, allow hearings on the impact of prison rape on inmates and society, and create national standards for preventing prison rape. It is important to be tough on crime, but turning a blind eye to prison rape has nothing to do with being tough on crime; it has everything to do with treating people humanely, reducing recidivism, and halting the spread of disease. Recently a number of prison rape survivors spoke her in Washington to explain how prison rape harmed them. These were gripping stories, and I have previously entered them into the Record. Today the House can pass legislation to help curb prison rape and reduce the needless suffering and additional punishment of prisoners. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. There have been many individuals responsible for moving this legislation through Congress. I wish to thank Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, who co-sponsored this legislation, and Bobby Vassar of his staff. Senator Kennedy and Senator Sessions were the Senate co-sponsors of this bill and their leadership is greatly appreciated, along with the hard work of their staffers, Robert Toone and Andrea Sanders respectively. Representative Howard Coble, chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, and his counsel, Katy Crooks who helped guide this legislation through their subcommittee, and Phil Kiko, Jay Apperson, and Joseph Gibson on the full committee, were very supportive along with Chairman James Sensenbrenner. The Speaker of the House, J. Dennis Hastert, and Margaret Peterlin in the Speaker's office have been of great assistance in moving this bill. Majority Leader Tom Delay, and his staffer, Carl Thorsen have been invaluable in getting this bill through the final hurdles and onto the floor of the House. There are others who need to be thanked. First and foremost, I must thank Michael Horowitz of the Hudson Institute has been the guiding force behind this legislation; his foresight and dedication to this issue are incomparable. Nathaniel Zylstra, Mr. Horowitz's assistant, has also provided valuable help. There are others outside Capitol Hill who played a role in this legislation. They are: Vince Schiraldi, Justice Policy Institute; Mariam Bell, Prison Fellowship; Mike Thompson, Council on State Governments; Paul Rosenzweig, Heritage Foundation, principal drafter of the bill; Ed Haden, formerly of Senator Sessions' office; Gene Guerrero, Open Society Institute; Marian Zapata-Rossa, National Council of La Raza; Ben Jealous, Amnesty International; Hilary Shelton, NAACP; Linda Chavez, Center for Equal Opportunity, who first came up with the concept for this bill; John Kaneb, private businessman and a passionate backer of our efforts; David Saperstein, the Religious Action Center; Wendy Patten, Human Rights Watch; Prison Fellowship, specifically Mark Earley, Kate Fowler and Chuck Colson; Pat Nolan, Justice Fellowship; Rich Cizik, National Association of Evangelicals; Barrett Duke and Shannon Royce, Southern Baptist Convention; Salvation Army, specifically Richard Land, George Hood, Todd Bassett; Rich Lowry, National Review; Jennie Osmer, Cal Skinner, former State Senator in Illinois; Micah Solomon, Virginia businessman; Charles Sullivan, Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty; David Whettstone, Mennonite Central Committee; Cindy Struckman-Johnson, University of South Dakota; Bob Dumond, licensed clinical mental health counselor, Frank Hall, who headed six prison systems; Tom Cahill, co-founder, and Lara Stemple, Stop Prison Rape. Finally, I wish to thank John Martens of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce-Justice-State; Daniel Scandling, my chief of staff; Janet Shaffron, my legislative director; Neil Siefring, my legislative assistant for Judiciary issues; and Chris Santora, a former legislative assistant in my office who worked hard on this issue in the early days of the bill's history.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, the following table details budget authority of the Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies: [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.001 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.002 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.003 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.004 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.005 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.006 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.007 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.008 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.009 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH23JY03.010

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.