Frank Wolf

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, the President of China will be visiting here beginning this Sunday. I know that we will treat him in a very courteous manner but I want the American people to know every time they hear President Clinton talk about the President of China and every time they hear the President of China speak, they should remember the following things: No. 1, China persecutes people because of their religious beliefs. Catholic bishops are in jail, Catholic priests are in jail, hundreds of them, and on October 8, Chinese authorities arrested again and again Bishop Su who has been one of the most prominent bishops who is now back in jail. Protestant pastors are in jail and hundreds of them have been arrested. No. 2, China denies its citizens basic human rights and imprisons people for speaking out in support of freedom. Wei Jingsheng, one of China's most important prisoners, languishes in not well conditions in jail serving a 15-year sentence. He was detained in 1994 after meeting with Assistant Secretary for Democracy and Human Rights John Shattuck. So when you hear the President of China speak, remember Wei and also Wang Dan, who has also been imprisoned for his activities in Tiananmen Square. No. 3, when you hear the Chinese President speak at Independence Hall, which will be a disgrace for Independence Hall to have the Chinese President go there where Thomas Jefferson gave the words ``We hold these truths to be self-evident,'' but when you hear him there remember that China is brutally repressing the people of Tibet, destroying their culture, destroying their religion, destroying 4,000 to 5,000 monasteries and in Tibet the one growth industry is the growth of prisons where Buddhist priests and Buddhist nuns are being put in jail. We had testimony of a 28-year-old Tibetan Buddhist nun who told the House Committee on International Relations how her Chinese jailers tortured her with an electric cattle prod, putting it on all parts of her body. You have got to remember this when you hear this Chinese President coming to the country. No. 4, remember also when you hear him speaking that the Chinese government runs a gruesome trade in human organs, taking organs from executed prisoners and selling them to foreign buyers for tens of thousands of dollars. They shoot people, they take their blood sample, they take their tissue sample and they sell their organs for $35,000. So when you hear him go to Harvard and speak out, know that his government is selling kidneys of prisoners for $35,000. Remember also, No. 5, that China's one-child policy results in forced abortions and sterilization of women, where they track them down in the villages and force them to get abortions. No. 6, when you hear President Clinton speak about our relationship with this man and with the Chinese government, remember that China has more gulags today than they had in the Soviet Union when Solzhenitsyn wrote the book ``Gulag Archipelago.'' There are more gulag slave camps in China today than there were in the Soviet Union under the worst times. Also know, No. 7, that China sells arms and dangerous technology to belligerent countries which could one day endanger men and women in the military. Some days on this floor it is almost reminiscent of 1937, 1938, and 1939, where Winston Churchill warned of the danger of Nazi Germany and some of the things that were sold in Nazi Germany were used against Americans. I fear for it and every Member of this body ought to get the intelligence briefing by the CIA, the NSA, and the DIA to find out what weapons they are selling. No. 8, China continues to violate a range of bilateral and international proliferation and missile technology treaties. No. 9, China's State-owned companies sold AK-47's to street gangs in California that could be used against American citizens. So when you see the Chinese President standing next to President Clinton, remember that a company connected with his government was selling assault weapons to street gangs in California that could be used to kill American people. No. 10, the Chinese trade surplus with the United States approached $40 billion last year and is getting bigger every month. In August the United States trade deficit with China jumped 10.6 percent, the highest of any country, driving American men and women out of their jobs. Mr. Speaker, China's President will visit Washington, Williamsburg, and Philadelphia, which will be a disgrace when he visits Independence Hall and other sites in the United States. Every time he speaks, the world should remember the men and women who are languishing in Chinese prisons under his control and do not buy into his message. I ask him to change his policy. Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the testimony of Tsultrim Dolma before the House Committee on International Relations hearing on religious persecution on September 10, 1997.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California [Mr. Packard].

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey] for his comments, and I thank all the Members on both sides and urge an ``aye'' vote for the conference report.

Mr. WOLF. Yes, I am. The gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Davis] is a bigger fan.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, I completely agree with the gentleman. I hope we can do something. I would say there is a discretionary set-aside of $440 million out of the Federal lands program that the administration does have the ability to use. After this is over, I will do a letter to Secretary Babbitt. Second, I will also ask Senator Warner from my State to look at this. I think there ought to be a category in the ISTEA bill to deal with the BWI Parkway, and also the unmet needs in a lot of the national parks. I think the gentleman is exactly right. I will attempt to do everything I can to help. I completely agree with the gentleman.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan]. (Mr. CALLAHAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. WOLF. The gentleman is correct, Mr. Speaker. The conferees believed that the FAA already had issued a letter of intent to the Memphis International Airport when in fact it had not occurred. I agree that the Memphis International Airport should have been included on the list of airports for which the conferees encouraged the FAA to consider signing letters of intent, and the FAA should treat the list of airports identified in the statement of managers as if it included Memphis International Airport. I regret and apologize for this inadvertent error that was made.

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

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kansas [Mr. Tiahrt].

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

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, I apologize, I did not.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is correct. That change was made I think by an English major at GPO who felt a mistake had been made and wanted to save the Congress an embarrassment, and they were thinking of monitor not as the monitor, but to monitor. And the gentleman is exactly right, although we do thank the GPO for the great job they do to edit some of the things we say. The agreement does relate to the 2800 series of monitor and the second ``to'' was a printing error. I agree with the gentleman.

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

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 263, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 2169) making appropriations for the Department of Transportation and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the conference report to accompany H.R. 2169, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2169, the fiscal year 1998 Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, represents the eighth conference report from the Committee on Appropriations. As my colleagues are aware, only 3 legislative days remain to complete action on the five remaining individual appropriation bills before October 23 when the continuing resolution expires. The conference agreement represents a compromise between the House and the Senate bills, and with any compromise there are elements in this agreement that were difficult for the House and the Senate to accept. But in the end, and all things considered, this conference agreement is a good bill and one that I believe the President has indicated he will sign, and Secretary Slater called to say that he agreed with the bill. The agreement reflects this Congress's desire to spend additional funding on the Nation's infrastructure and to protect the safety of the traveling public. In total, the conference agreement provides $12.4 billion in new discretionary budget authority in fiscal year 1998. When accounting for a rescission of contract authority enacted last year, funding contained in this bill represents an increase of $240 million in discretionary budget authority over the last year. In addition, trust fund expenditures, namely, from the highway trust fund and the aviation and airway trust, are up $3.5 billion, indicating this Congress's resolve in approving the transportation infrastructure. Allow me, Mr. Speaker, to highlight a number of items in the conference. One, Federal-aid highways is funded at $21.5 billion, the same as the House-passed level and $3.5 billion over last year. Also, there are no highway demonstration projects in this bill. I know this has created some heartburn. There have been people on both sides of the aisle that quite frankly have been mad at me, good people, decent people that just have not agreed. But we felt the fairest way was to reallocate the money back to the States with a formula whereby everyone in this body, whether they be Republican or Democrat or wherever they may come from, would be treated fairly. I would just say, if anybody on my side is listening in the leadership, I would hope and I would pray that during this consideration, as long as I have the privileged to serve as chairman of this Subcommittee on Transportation of the Committee on Appropriations, that the leadership on both sides of the aisle, but particularly as a Republican Member for my side, that they would support my efforts, whether they completely like it or dislike it, whereby we will treat everybody fair, and there will be no highway demonstration projects in this legislation. Because what we would basically do, Mr. Speaker, is we would be taking general fund money out which could go to the Coast Guard and go to many other things, and I think that should be done in another bill. Second, $2.5 billion of the transit formula grants, the same level as last year, or an increase of 16 percent. The conference agreement also includes $2 billion for transit discretionary grants and $150 million for transit operating assistance. I want to particularly thank the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Sabo] and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey] for their support on this effort. There was a motion to instruct the conferees on this. We have been faithful to that instruction, and in many respects with the support of both of the gentlemen, we have also been able to change the definitions which will mean actually more for buses. Mr. Speaker, $9.1 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, an increase of $785 million over last year, which includes $1.7 billion for the airport improvement program. The administration only requested $1 billion, and we are at $1.7 billion as a commitment with regard to aviation. I might add parenthetically that Secretary Slater called and expressed some interest with regard to explosive device research. I would tell the Secretary that with the increase of $1.7 billion, $700 million over what the administration actually requested, he does have the authority, and I think both sides of this aisle have been very faithful with regard to aviation safety, to take some of this money and use it for explosive devices and what he hoped to be able to do. Mr. Speaker, $3.9 billion for the Coast Guard, an increase of $440 million over the 1997 enacted level. The bill fully funds the Coast Guard's drug interdiction activities at $354 million. Mr. Speaker, $333 million for the highway safety activities of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and $543 million for Amtrak, together with an additional $250 million for the Northeast corridor improvement program. There were a number of difficult issues before the conference and I would like to briefly share with the Members of the House just a few of them. Certain Members of the Texas Delegation had expressed an objection to the Senate language on the Wright amendment. Working with the gentlewoman from Texas [Ms. Granger] and the majority leader, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey], in the conference, we attempted to reach a compromise which was significantly less than what the Senate wanted. I believe the conference accomplished that and, in the end, I believe that the House obtained considerable concessions from the Senate in the spirit of compromise. And for those on both sides who were interested in the issue of safety, there is very difficult, very tough language with regard to safety. The conference report provides that the FAA administrator shall take whatever, whatever, whatever actions are needed to protect the public safety, even if it means restricting air traffic. So I would direct Members' attention to that language printed in the conference report on page 25, and the conference agreement does protect safety. I also plan on meeting with the FAA administrator on this issue to make sure, and there was a consensus agreement on both sides of the aisle and also on the Senate side with regard to that. Bus allocations. The conference agreement allocates some $400 million in bus funds. While the Senate indicated that it preferred to allocate bus funding on a case-by-case basis, the House insisted that a formula approach be employed such that no member, Republican or Democrat, was advantaged by his or her position on the committee, tenure in Congress, or position of leadership. The House prevailed in conference and all bus funding was apportioned by a rational, fair and defensible formula. I might say to Members, if anyone is listening back in their offices, next year as we begin to get into this issue, I would urge Members to meet with their Senators from their States, call them up, go over and visit them, talk to them, and tell them that based on the formula it is important not only for the great job that the House Members have done with regard to representing their areas but also it is important that the Senate do the same. I think that would be helpful to remove any disagreements. Third, funding for the Appalachian Development Highway System. The conference report provides $300 million for the Appalachian Development Highway System construction, the same level as provided by the Senate bill. The House bill, I might state, contains no appropriation. Agreeing to the $300 million was a concession to the Senate in the spirit of compromise. Funding for the ADHS benefits 13 States which comprise the Appalachian Regional Commission. This money is provided from the general fund, which I find somewhat disturbing, because that money could be used for other things with regard to aviation safety. I believe it would be more appropriate to expend the money from the highway trust fund for these roads and bridges, which would be subject to the annual limitation on obligations. I would also note, if anyone from the administration or from the Office of Management and Budget is listening, to crystallize a certain issue and note that $300 million exceeds the President's request by $100 million. With that $100 million, it could be put into the explosive devices, or do some of those other things. This was not something easy to swallow, but I personally, nor did Members on our side, did not want to do anything to hold up the Nation's entire transportation budget over this issue. In the end, all things considered, it is a good bill. The President has indicated he will sign it, Secretary Slater called us and said he agrees with it. I urge my colleagues to support the conference agreement. In closing, I want to acknowledge the assistance and support of the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Sabo], the ranking member of the subcommittee. We never had a difference. I do not believe there was ever a partisan difference in the whole process. The bill passed 403 to 5, or something like that. I just want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Sabo] publicly and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey] for their cooperation. I also want to thank all the Republican members, who were very, very helpful and worked together in a good team effort. If I may also, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the staff, John Blazey, Rich Efford, Stephanie Gupta, Linda Muir, Cheryl Smith, and also the associate staff, who have done a tremendous job. I do not want murder their names but out of a courtesy to them I would like to mention them: David Whitestone, Monica Vegas Kladakis, Connie Veillette, Steve Carey, Eric Mondero, Todd Rich, Joe Cramer, Mark Zelden, Paul Cambon, Marjorie Duske, Barbara Zylinski-Mizrahi, Albert Jacquez, Nancy Alcalde, David Oliveira, Blake Blake Gable and Paul Carver. I apologize if I did not say all those words appropriately, but I hope for the Record's sake they will be there. Last, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the conference bill. I include for the Record the following information: [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH09OC97.000 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH09OC97.001 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH09OC97.002 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH09OC97.003 Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Announcement by the Speaker pro tempore

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to thank the gentlewoman from Texas for her effectiveness and for the commitment that she had on this issue with regard to safety. Mr. Speaker, had it not been for the efforts of the gentlewoman and the effort of a couple of other Members, and I would like to put myself in that category, there would not have been the provision with regard to safety. As the gentlewoman knows, this was going to be much broader. There was initially going to be a complete repeal of the Wright amendment, which I did not support. They also had other areas. Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank the gentlewoman and let the body know, because a lot of the meetings were private, and let the gentlewoman's constituents know and the country know that she is an advocate and a champion and, I respect very much her vote against this rule. And, Mr. Speaker, if I were the gentlewoman, I would vote against this rule, too, and I would try to get as many people to vote against the rule. But, Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her effectiveness and her staying in to the very end in a very, very difficult process.

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

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the scholarship program. I have had five kids. All have attended public schools in Fairfax County. To verify what the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Davis] said, I would just tell the gentleman from California [Mr. Dixon], my daughter taught for a year in the D.C. schools. If all of us had children in the D.C. schools, we would be up in arms trying to change it. I know of a family that took a young boy out of the District of Columbia and put him in, and he was not doing very well in school, put him in the Fairfax County schools, where he is now excelling and getting a B, and doing very, very well. We have an obligation. We have an obligation. None of us in this body, and there may be one or two, and if I am wrong, I apologize, but I do not believe there are more than two in this body that send their children to the D.C. schools. If they did, they would be up in arms. I strongly support the scholarship program. I commend the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey], the majority leader. I think the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Davis] has it exactly right. We have an obligation. If we were a mom or dad and we had a youngster in that school, we would be revolutionaries, trying to change that school system. Here is an opportunity trying to help at least 2,000. As Mother Teresa said when she went into Calcutta to help one, she could not help everybody in Calcutta, but she could help one. If we can help 1 or 10 or 2,000, we ought to do it. I strongly support it, and hope we get a majority on our side, but also a majority from this side.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained this afternoon and was not present for several rollcall votes on H.R. 2607, the FY 1998 District of Columbia Appropriations Act. I ask that the Record reflect that if I had been present and voting, I would have voted as follows: ``No'' on the Moran substitute amendment and ``yes'' on passage of H.R. 2607. personal explanation

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, there's a special event held every year in the Shenandoah Valley town of Edinburg where friends and neighbors get together to celebrate the good things about living in small town America. And every year the Edinburg Ole Time Festival dedicates its celebration to memorable people from their community. I want to share with our colleagues an article from the Shenandoah Valley-Herald of September 17 which honors two of Edinburg's finest citizens: the late Mabel Zirkle and the late John Irvin. Mrs. Zirkle and Mr. Irvin both passed away earlier this year, but their legacies live on in the foundations they laid to make their native Edinburg a better place. It is a fitting tribute that the annual Edinburg Ole Time Festival honored their years of dedication to their hometown. [From the Shenandoah Valley-Herald, Sept. 17, 1997] Festival Honors Zirkle, Irvin for Dedication to Town (By Lisa G. Currie) For the past two years the Edinburg Ole Time Festival has dedicated the annual weekend celebration to memorable people from their community. Last year, the late Louise Evans and the late Milt Hoffman received the honor. Evans was a local artist who created the art show which remains part of the festival today. Dedicated to teaching and art for art's sake, Evans is remembered as the beloved and faithful art teacher who offered adult classes for years. Hoffman was a Woodstock citizen with Edinburg roots. His Edinburg-based Christmas tree farm was one of the first in the county and his ``Jackson Stew'' was a favorite during Edinburg Ole Time Festival events. Hoffman is remembered as the flavor and character of the annual festival. This year, the committee has selected two long-time and well-loved community members for dedication--the late Mabel Zirkle and the late John Irvin. Zirkle, selected to be the 1995 grand marshal at age 100, lived in her family home next door to the former Edinburg Middle School. She watched, listened and participated as a century of events changed Edinburg from a one-horse town to a thriving community adjacent to a major interstate highway. She was the symbol of small town Edinburg--a familiar face among the people. She taught school at Pine Woods School, a one-room schoolhouse in town at the turn of the century. She was active in her church and concerned about the welfare of her community. Her daughter Rosemary McDonald said her mother would be very pleased at the honor bestowed in her memory. She remembers her mother as being very concerned about her Edinburg homeplace, dedicated to making it a better place. ``She would love this,'' said her daughter of the dedication. McDonald said while her mother would be honored, Zirkle balked at being in the center of attention and was hesitant to step forward--even when she deserved the credit. Zirkle was born Mabel Stoneburner, the middle child of Rosa Grandstaff and Robert Edward Lee Stoneburner. At one time she was the oldest living native in Edinburg, a town she grew up in and lived as a young adult. It was the same town she grew old in, enjoying the views from her window as the town continued to change. She lived to be 101 years old, dying May 26, 1997. Sharing the honor with Zirkle is John Irvin. Irvin was a man who helped prepare Edinburg for the next century while paying attention to the past. President and owner of Irvin Inc., Irvin will long be remembered in Edinburg for his loyalty and perseverance concerning the town. He was a man with a smile, known to most everyone in the community. He is remembered as one willing to fight for what he wanted. Irvin was well-versed on local history, enjoying the debate of historical and controversial issues for debate sake. He kept abreast of community issues, always maintaining a smile and working for an outcome which best suited the community. He helped establish and support the former Edinburg Library. He was instrumental in establishing the Madison District Recreation Authority and the Edinburg park and swimming pool which are in place today. He played an active role in the development of the town museum and served on both the planning commission and the town council. An Edinburg native, Irvin is the second son of Mary Grove and the late George Robert Irvin. He grew up in Edinburg, leaving only long enough to obtain an education and serve in the United States Navy. He returned to teach school and work in the family business, where he was later made president. When he died in April, his funeral drew a crowd unprecedented for the Edinburg community. ``I know he would be proud,'' said his mother Mary Grove Irvin. She was the 1996 Grand Marshal, riding in the parade in a horse drawn carriage. She said her son loved the festival, always taking time to visit the stands and watch the parade. ``He would have been very honored,'' she said.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. McInnis] for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I was sitting in my office, and I wanted to kind of tell the people what I feel, whether they like it really or not. I think both sides are destroying this institution. Your side ought to stop calling these votes, and our side ought to stop recessing between the hours of 6 and 9 so people can go to dinners downtown and then keep those of us who have families here in town locked in our rooms where we have to wait for people to come back. Last night we recessed from 6 until 9, we did no business. And we stayed here until 10:30. Tonight we are not going to do any business and votes between the hours of 6 and 9. Those of us who have families, those of us who live here, the staff, these people out here, the staff, the guards, the restaurants, and everybody else, they stay here when we stay here. Your side is destroying this institution, and our side is destroying this institution. Stop calling the votes. Stop calling the votes. Let me just tell the gentleman, I do not take money from the tobacco interests and I come from a tobacco State, And I am for abolishing soft money. And for this side, stop calling and recessing between the hours of 6 and 9. Let us work like regular people. My closing comment is, and I hope they do not take the time from me, we are living a dysfunctional life in a dysfunctional institution, and dysfunctional things come out of living it. Both sides ought to stop what they are doing.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to have this time. I recently returned from a journey to Tibet where I visited during the period of August 9-13 this summer, accompanied by a member of my staff and another Western man who was fluent in Tibetan and steeped in the culture. At no time while I was there did I tell the Tibetan and Chinese Government that I was a Member of Congress. I wanted to just kind of bring the body up to date on some of the things that we had an opportunity to see. At the outset, one of the first things I would show the Members is a picture of a monastery in ruins. The Chinese Government has ruined several thousand monasteries and is trying to eradicate the Buddhist faith. The second picture is a picture of an individual who was showing us a picture of the Dalai Lama. It is against the law to have a picture of the Dalai Lama and to show a picture of the Dalai Lama. The next picture is a picture of the Potala and then the marketplace. Around the marketplace, the Chinese are bulldozing a lot of the buildings and turning what was a Tibetan culture into a Chinese culture. This next picture is of a guard tower. If there is one growth industry in Tibet, it is prisons. It is a guard tower of the Sangyip prison complex. We went out and visited a number of prisons outside to take pictures. The last picture is the main gate of the Drapchi prison, which is a particularly brutal place that we heard stories of terrible, terrible punishment and types of torture that are really almost beyond the imagination. An approved delegation would have been very difficult to have been there because the Chinese have a history of denying Members of Congress who want to visit, visit Tibet. I cannot think of any other place in the world where a tighter lid is kept on open discussion. Government agents and spies and video cameras guard against personal outside contact. Offenders and even suspected offenders are dealt with quickly and brutally. In Tibet, humane progress is not even inching along and the repressed people live under unspeakably brutal conditions in the dim shadows of international awareness. One of the purposes of the trip is so that the world will know and will have to face and have to address, and the Clinton administration, which will be meeting with the President of China at the end of next month, will have to confront and address the horrible situation that is taking place in Tibet. We hope that when the American people know and when the Clinton administration knows that they will demand that China change its policy of boot-heel subjugation and end what one monk I met termed ``cultural genocide.'' What they mean by cultural genocide is the Chinese are coming in and stripping the Tibetan society of its culture and trying to turn it into a Chinese society. The fact is Lhasa, the capital, is really no longer a Tibetan city. It is more a Chinese city than it is a city from Tibet. We found that the People's Republic of China has a near perfect record of vicious, immediate, and unrelenting reprisal against the merest whisper of Tibetan dissent. We met with monks and men and women on the streets and others who I may say risked their personal safety and well-being to just give us a few minutes alone to tell us how bad the conditions are in Tibet and to petition and urge that there be support from the West. Tibet is about the geographic size of Western Europe with a Tibetan population of around 6 million. It has been estimated that in the past 2 decades, nearly 1 million Tibetans have been killed, starved, or tortured. That is 1 million out of roughly 6 million have been killed under the occupation of the People's Republic of China, of the Chinese Government. Let me just say that the Clinton administration ought to make it perfectly clear that 5 million Tibetans are of no danger to 1.2 billion Chinese. Tibet is about the geographic size of Western Europe with a population, as I said, anywhere from 5 to 6 million. The People's Republic of China has undertaken a program of mass infusion of Chinese people who probably now outnumber Tibetans in their own country. There are no valid census data, but some estimate that in the capital of Lhasa there are about 160,000 Chinese and only 100,000 Tibetans. In this market, many places would be Tibetan merchants but interspersed would be Chinese merchants. But yet when we went into the parts of town that were Chinese, there would be almost no Tibetans and the stores and the karaoke bars and different things like that would be all over the place. We have seen that change, the startling change that is taking place by the stripping away of the culture. Stores, hotels and bazaars and businesses and tradesmen are largely Chinese. Storefront signs bear large Chinese writings beneath much smaller Tibetan inscriptions. Driving out from Lhasa, one encounters as many Chinese villagers, shepherds, farmers, construction workers, and travelers as Tibetan. In short, Tibetan culture is rapidly disappearing. What do the Tibetan people say? Before my trip, I was told that individuals would seek me out, an obvious Westerner, visitor, to hear their story. I might say at no time did I ever tell anyone in Tibet that spoke to me or anyone else that I was a Member of Congress. I was told that it would be very dangerous for them, that informers were everywhere and being caught talking to a Westerner was a guaranteed ticket to prison and more. Frankly I was skeptical that anyone would approach us and yet I was wrong. Someone took advantage at almost every opportunity for a guarded word or two. During our first encounter with a Tibetan who realized we were Westerners and one of us was fluent in Tibetan, we found that he could not contain himself. He said, ``Many are in jail, most for political reasons.'' We saw the Drapchi prison which is off the beaten path in a slum area. Guards in pairs were ever present as we showed in the photo. We saw the Sangyip prison complex, which I also put in the photo and then Gusta prison. As I said, prisons certainly appear to be a growth industry in that area. We were told that Tibetans would not take chances, and yet they did take chances. The man went on to tell us that it was important that we see these places. He did not care and he wanted us to see what a nightmare tour this was going to be. We passed the main security bureau, the intelligence headquarters, and then the prison bureau, each heavily guarded. All the while, we heard about monks and nuns and common men and women who were dragged away to prison and tortured. He said to us, ``Don't worry about me at all,'' and continued to tell about the torture that was taking place of Tibetan monks and nuns and the Tibetan people. They are routinely beaten with sticks, kicked and poked with electric sticks, cattle prods with huge electric charge. Political prisoners are isolated from the general prison population and kept in unlighted and unheated areas with no sanitary or medical facilities, almost no food or water at times. He added that the people have no rights. They cannot talk freely. Even though Tibetans view the Dalai Lama as their spiritual and political leader, they are forbidden to show their affection and love for him, and possessing a picture of the Dalai Lama could be an offense which could draw harsh and brutal punishment and imprisonment. He went on to say, ``We Tibetans must have permission from the Chinese to do everything, and we can do nothing on our own.'' So when Clinton gets the opportunity to meet their President, when our President meets their President, he should make the issue of the Tibetan people a priority issue, not privately, but publicly; not behind the scenes, but in front of the scenes. Strangely enough, strangely enough, the Chinese Government officials have gotten to visit the White House to meet with the President, and yet when the Dalai Lama came, they had what they called a ``drop-by,'' where the President dropped by another office, but would not see him in the Oval Office, as he did some of the people from China. Why should the Tibetan people have to go through and suffer under this type of oppression? The Dalai Lama has asked for help. They have asked a number of Western countries for help, and a number of Western countries are helping. All of this story that I was telling came from one man. The agony, the agony of his people, the agony of his family. Yet he ended by saying, ``I am not afraid. Some day the sun will again shine in Tibet.'' And throughout we found overwhelming support for the Dalai Lama by every single Tibetan that we talked to. Yet, if you read the Chinese newspapers, they give the impression that the Dalai Lama is not supported. Quite frankly, the PRC Government is wrong, and the people of Tibet support the Dalai Lama. On the issue of religious persecution, next week this body will hold hearings on a piece of legislation introduced by about 115 members of this body, Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, Independents, across the board, which will set up a special office in the White House to look at the religious persecution. As many people know, there are perhaps more Christians being persecuted today than at maybe any other time in the history of this country in so many other countries, and last year this Congress proudly put the Congress on record to deal with the issue of the persecution of people of faith of whatever faith. And one of the faiths that we discussed in the last Congress, and we will deal with in this legislation, will be those of the Buddhists in Tibet. We visited numerous monasteries where monks and nuns would talk to us. Their stories amplified what we had already learned. Every monastery we visited was tightly controlled by a small group of Chinese overseers, who have a cadre to report. And how would you like to have a cadre at your church, a cadre at your synagogue, a cadre at your mosque? Why does the Chinese Government have to put cadres at all the monasteries in Tibet? I call on the government to demonstrate that they should withdraw and pull these people out, whereby these Buddhist monks and nuns can worship without having Chinese overseers watching everything that they do. Every report we heard told of a dramatic reduction in the number of monks at the monasteries. Many were imprisoned for not turning their backs on the Dalai Lama. It would almost be like somebody asking you to deny something, to deny your family, to deny your mother, to deny your father; and they refuse to deny them, and thereby they are taken away to prison. Many are in prison for not turning their backs on the Dalai Lama, or even refusing to give up the pictures of him. Young monks, some under 15, are turned out, and since the Cultural Revolution, many monasteries have been destroyed. Rebuilding, although there is some rebuilding, rebuilding has been painfully, painfully slow. We were told on several occasions that the monks are afraid. When asked what message they would like me to take back to America, I was told that they are not allowed in many cases to practice their religion and that their people are suffering. Their biggest hope is to be free, free to practice their faith, free to travel, free to teach their children their culture. My goodness, how does that harm China? Under the Chinese constitution, under their constitution that they sometimes will refer to, Tibet ought to have the freedom whereby they can do these things. They want the opportunity to be free. At one place we met a woman at worship. When she realized we were Americans, she burst forth. She started to talk and then began to sob and tears poured down her face as she told us of the conditions. She said ``Lhasa may be beautiful on the outside, but inside it is ugly. We are not allowed to practice what we want to practice. Senior monks are gone, and there are no replacements, and they are our teachers.'' Asked for a message to America, she said, ``Please help us, please help the Dalai Lama. When there is pressure from the West,'' and I would urge this administration that has not put pressure, and she said, ``Many times when there is pressure from the West, things loosen up a bit before returning to as before. Please have America help us.'' Every single person with whom we spoke had very positive feelings with regard to America and with regard to the American people. We were always given a thumbs-up or a smile with a comment, ``America is great.'' The people would not stop talking to us, even when their safety could have been potentially threatened. But when they knew that we were from America, they were pleased, they smiled, because they have great respect. They listen to Radio Free Asia and they know about America, and they were pleased to see that somebody was going to go back and take the word back. The Chinese stranglehold, the Chinese assault is on the cities, the countryside, the environment. It has been no less harsh than its assault on the people. What they are doing to the environment of Tibet is terrible. Tibet areas in Lhasa are being demolished and replaced with smaller and more confined structures, with remaining space being given over to Chinese users. The area in front of the Potala Palace has been bulldozed and leveled and turned into sort of a minimum or small Tiananmen Square, with a MiG, a Chinese MiG, in the middle, like it is something that people want to see, some MiG on stilts. All of the Tibetan buildings in front of the Potala have been destroyed or demolished. This is not a pretty picture. The glowing reports of progress from Beijing or Shanghai, where business is booming and skyscrapers may be rising and industry and education perhaps is increasing, have certainly not reached Tibet. It has not reached Tibet. I am not connecting this to the issue of MFN and everything else, but I have heard Members say that conditions were improving in China, and they actually had laptop computers and things were wonderful. Those conditions, if they exist, have not reached Tibet. America and the rest of the free world should help and urge China to back off from its clear goal to plunder Tibet. The true story of Tibet is not being told, aside from a few courageous journalists. Many times people in the political process can complain about the press. I say, as Thomas Jefferson said, ``God bless the free press, because if the press were not going in and covering many of these cases, the world would not know about it.'' So the press, whenever they can get in, are attempting to tell the story, but the Chinese Government will not allow the press in. The U.S. Government's policy seems many times to be based on economics, to open more and more markets with China and to ignore every other aspect of responsible behavior. Men cannot live by bread alone, and economic growth, while it is important, is not the main thing in life. Also, the spiritual aspects and the opportunity for faith are important, and the United States Government and President Clinton, when he meets with the Chinese, should raise this issue. The clock is ticking. The clock is ticking for Tibet. If nothing is done, a country, its people, its religion, its culture, will continue to grow fainter and fainter and could one day disappear. That would indeed be a tragedy. Based on the observations, I will submit a complete copy of the report for the Record at the summation of these comments, here are some of the observations and recommendations. First, the administration must appoint a special representative for Tibet who will both understand the conditions there and who will aggressively pursue improvements. The person that they should appoint for Tibet should be someone like Richard Holbrook, somebody who is strong and knows the issue, somebody who speaks out, somebody like that, and not somebody who will just go along and get along and not do anything. Second, the administration should raise with the People's Republic of China the issue of Tibet, both before and during the forthcoming visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin to Washington. Efforts to obtain the release of political prisoners must be part of that initiative. We know of approximately 700 political prisoners that are rotting away in the jails of Tibet, and these political prisoners, their cases should be raised. Third, efforts to open Tibet to the international press and human rights groups must go forward. As long as the Chinese continue to exercise power away from the public scrutiny, brutal excesses will continue. Asia Watch should go in. The American Red Cross, the ICRC, the Swiss Red Cross, religious groups, different people should all ask for the opportunity to go and visit Tibet, see if the people in Beijing are being true when they say that Tibet is open and you can travel. You should ask to travel. You should ask for a visa. You should ask for a permit and see if you are able to go. Fourth, I urge my colleagues in the House and in the Senate to make every effort to travel to Tibet. Congressional delegations traveling into Tibet could very well make a difference. Even though they may have a Chinese handler with them, the very nature of an American Member of Congress or a Western member of the parliament coming in, being there, walking through the markets, walking through the town, being seen, sends a message to the Tibetan people that the people of the West and the people of the United States care. I urge my colleagues in the House and in the Senate to adopt a prisoner of conscience and contact the People's Republic of China time and time again on his or her behalf. When Perm Camp 35 in the Soviet Union existed during the dark days of communism, we went in and met with the prisoners. The prisoners told us they knew when a family in the United States or the West adopted them and wrote to them. They knew about it. Sometimes the letters got to them, sometimes they just got to the warden. If the warden knew that 10 or 20 letters a week or a day were coming in for prisoner X or Y, the warden was careful how they treated that prisoner. If it never got to the Perm Camp, but it got to Moscow, then the word came forth from the Communist official, be careful what you do to prisoner X or Y. So we in the Congress and the American people should adopt prisoners of conscience and write to them and send them messages and try to visit them, send them magazines, write to the Chinese Government, write to the Chinese Embassy here in Washington, because we have to let the world know. If you can imagine you are in the darkest, most dingy place almost on the Earth and nobody cares, you wonder, does anybody care? So by adopting these prisoners of conscience, as we did in the Soviet Union in the 1970's and 1980's, we make a difference. Just talk to Natan Scharanski, who was so courageous, in Perm Camp 35. He knew the West was thinking of him, was praying for him, was remembering him. He was so proud and so bold and encouraged that when he got out of Perm Camp 35, on the bridge in Berlin going from East to West Berlin, the Communist officials told him to walk straight across the bridge. What did Scharanski do? He walked this way and then that way, and he zigged and zagged, because he was a free man, and he remembered that the people of the West stood with him, and we should stand with the prisoners of conscience in Tibet. Sixth, we urge a strong effort that officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ICRC, and the American Bureau of Prisons visit the Tibetan prisons to observe the condition and treatment of prisoners and urge and push for improvements. If the Chinese want to come into our prisons, fine, let them come into ours, and we will go into theirs. Seventh, I urge the administration and the press for representatives from the free world to attend the trials of Tibetans accused of political crimes, as has been done in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. During the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe we would send an American representative of the American Embassy who would go and sit in the courtroom, be at the trial, which would put some restraint on the Communist officials. Eigth, I urge religious leaders of all denominations around the world to pressure the Peoples Republic of China for permission to visit Tibet. Last, I urge the administration and others to press the Chinese Government to engage in negotiations and in dialogue with the Dalai Lama concerning the future of Tibet, and to give the people of Tibet their freedom. I close by saying to the Chinese Government, 5\1/2\ million Tibetans are of absolutely no threat to 1.2 billion Chinese.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I share the gentleman's concern with regard to the operating assistance, and wish it could be higher, but I think that $200 million is certainly the bottom we should go. I think it is a good motion, and we certainly accept it. I commend the gentleman for offering it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.