Frank Wolf

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. I will yield to the gentleman first.

Mr. WOLF. Would the gentlelady yield?

Mr. WOLF. I want to join my colleagues in continuing to work on the important issue. U.S. assistance to Colombia has been directly responsible for bringing stability to the country. The people of Colombia couldn't travel freely, but now they can. The security is due to Plan Colombia. I appreciate the Speaker's hard work over the years on this issue. I want to thank Mrs. Lowey, Chairwoman Lowey for really being very open and taking all the time to kind of work this out.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes. Mr. Chairman, the question here is who really gets the money. That's the question. I think that it hasn't been addressed adequately. I want to say at the outset, I support, I, Frank Wolf, support family planning, period. A May 22 Washington Post article described a recent crackdown on Chinese families that have violated China's one-child policy. The article stated that Chinese birth control bureaucrats showed up in a half-dozen towns in Guangxi Province carrying sledgehammers and electric cattle prods to destroy the homes and businesses of those who had failed to pay their fines under China's coercive one-child policy. The article described family-planning officials as ransacking businesses owned by parents of more than one child. Those who protested were bloodied in the struggle, and villages reported people being killed in the violence. Now, I heard that on NPR too. It was brutal. So that's really what we are talking about, because the United States-Mexico City policy prevents funding from going to international organizations that promote abortion as a means of family planning, including in China. Two prime examples of these organizations are the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International, both of which are closely tied to the Chinese one-child policy. They are, in essence, the ones that will get this. They never, ever speak out. In fact, China was the second country to become ``officially recognized as a qualified member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.'' On its Web site, International Planned Parenthood Foundation recently touted, saluted, just said it was a great thing, China's effort to exploit, its exploitation policy, family-planning policy regime worldwide. I don't want to get off too far on this, but this is a country getting aid for these groups that are poisoning your toothpaste, poisoning your pets, and, if you read the article the other day, painting Thomas the Tank Engine trains with lead paint that most people here, their children and grandchildren have. This country is the country. We restrict UNFPA funds to China expressly because China is coercive and this is a coercive government. This is a government that single- handedly could be stopping the genocide in Darfur today. Organizations that will receive funds under the new family planning language in this bill will be able to help China continue these unconscionable, and, I would say, immoral activities. I support family planning, but I can't support, will not support giving family planning taxpayer funds to these kind of organizations that not only never speak out, but actually participate.

Mr. WOLF. I'd be glad to yield.

Mr. WOLF. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.

Mr. WOLF. These groups that I just referenced, and Mr. Jackson, if you could have heard the NPR, I will get you the text of the NPR story. In fact, I will get it and I will insert it in the Record.

Mr. WOLF. Yes. These groups, under this provision would be allowed to get the support that are now active doing this in China.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield 15 seconds to Mr. Burton to respond to something that was said.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Schmidt).

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, how much time does each side have?

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, before I recognize the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Ms. Fallin), I would say to my friend, my very good friend, I would increase the funding for family planning. I would gladly increase it. So I think the question is how much money would be good if we could actually increase it with that. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Ms. Fallin).

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence). (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I have one more speaker in this round. The gentlelady has the right to close, is that correct?

Mr. WOLF. Would the gentlewoman like to proceed, then?

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder). (Mr. SOUDER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, this is the article that I referred to, Public Radio, I'll put it in the Record. It says, Morning Edition, April 23. ``During the past week, dozens of women in southwest China have been forced to have abortions even as late as 9 months into the pregnancy, according to evidence uncovered by NPR.'' It goes on, mentions a family which Liang describes how they told her that she would have to have an abortion. ``You don't have any more room for maneuver,'' he says they told her. ``If you don't go to the hospital, we'll carry you.'' The couple was then driven to Youjiang district maternity ward in Baise City. ``I was scared,'' Wei told NPR. ``The hospital was full of women who had been brought in forcibly. There wasn't a single spare bed. The family planning people said forced abortions or forced sterilization were both being carried out. We saw women being pulled in one by one.'' Now, in answer to Mr. Ryan's comment, Mr. Ryan, I led the opposition over here in opposition to PNTR. President Clinton was one of the biggest supporters. He accused President Bush, criticized him, and then switched and strongly supported it. I have sent your office, with due respect, probably 25 letters asking you as a Blue Dog member to cosponsor a bill that I have, and I'll do it again, on the SAFE Commission. On my SAFE Commission I have eight Members from the Democratic Party, eight Members from the Republican Party, and I put everything on the table, tax policy. Someone on your side said there is no Republican over there that would do it. I put tax policy on it. Some of my people don't like it, but we do. We also put all the entitlements to save the country. I agree with you. God bless you. I agree that the debt that the Saudis hold is terrible. The debt that the Chinese hold. And I would beg you, because I know you're a good person, I watch you in committee, I followed your campaigns, join me in the SAFE Commission. We can get a handle on this deficit that we have in the country. This places a partisan political pit, and both sides are at each other. So what I want to do is what we did on the Iraq Study Group, get eight Republicans and eight Democrats, give 1 year, this is modeled after David Walker, the GAO, to go around the country and educate and talk to the American people and listen. And then we use the Base Closing Commission concept whereby this Congress has to vote. You're right. The amount of debt that the Chinese hold is horrible and that the Saudis hold. And I have written you over and over. The fact is, I will say it right now, I've been surprised that I haven't had anybody from your side cosponsor, because I will stipulate you care about the deficit as much as I do, maybe as a newer Member you may actually care about it more. But I agree with you, and the SAFE Commission is the opportunity to deal with this. If you look at the language in the package I'll send to your office, I put every single thing on the table. And if you would join me, I don't know if we could pass it in this Congress or not, but I think you're exactly right, we could help save this country because we are living off of Chinese money and Saudi money. And keep in mind, the Saudis funded all the madrasses up at the border. There were 15 Saudis funding the Wahhabis. The Saudis are funding radical, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic. So if we could come together and do that.

Mr. WOLF. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.