Frank Wolf

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, we would gladly share that with the gentleman, and let me also say that I appreciate his willingness to allow us to move ahead on employee changes with regard to the FBI, which I think will strengthen the country. The gentleman is a good friend, and we will certainly do that. On these other issues next year, I think a lot of this language has really been in the appropriations bill long before I was ever, ever involved; but we will be glad to consult with the gentleman as we move forward.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman very much.

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

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, we are not aware of any amendment from the gentleman, but I will be glad to talk to him. Maybe I should look at it first. We do not have anything from him.

Mr. WOLF. Well, let us chat about it and see what happens.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman would yield, we will work with the gentleman to the best of our ability that we can. I think drug courts make a lot of sense. Our problem has been just allocations from legal services to NAP and others, but certainly we will work with the gentleman as we get to conference. My colleague has my commitment on that.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the gentlewoman's amendment. The amendment proposes to reduce the Department of Justice's general administration account by $10 million. The bill already reduces the account by $90 million below the request. Based on the passage of the Manzullo amendment, the reduction will result in massive layoffs and RIFs and hinder the Justice Department's ability to deal with the whole issue of terrorism. I mean, put this on top of Manzullo, it would be devastating. In regards to the DNA program, and I strongly support that and so does the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), the gentlewoman proposed to increase this bill. We fully fund the President's $176 million DNA initiative. This is a $77 million increase, a $77 million increase over the current level. This is the largest increase provided to any State and local law enforcement program. It is an increase of 44 percent. So I urge rejection of the gentlewoman's amendment. It proposes an unacceptable funding reduction, in addition to the Manzullo reduction, with something that we have had additional funding with a 44 percent increase. I oppose the amendment.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that during further consideration of H.R. 4754 in the Committee of the Whole pursuant to House Resolution 701 and the order of the House of earlier today, the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their designees each may offer one pro forma amendment to each amendment for the purpose of further debate. The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Ose). Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Virginia?

Mr. WOLF

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

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

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, the amendment is very simple and concerns recent events in the Darfur region of Sudan, which I visited last week. I offer the amendment on behalf of myself and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne). The amendment asks the Secretary of State to support the investigations of war crimes or crimes against humanity in Darfur, and I have done this in consultation with my colleague on the other side, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano). Senator Brownback and I just returned from spending 3 days and 2 nights in Darfur, Sudan. During our trip we visited five refugee camps: Abu Shouk; Tawilah; Krinding; Sisi and Morney--all sprawling tent cities jam-packed with thousands of displaced families and fast becoming breeding grounds for disease and sickness. We drove past dozens of pillaged villages and walked through what was left of four burned to the ground. We heard countless stories about rape, murder and plunder. We talked to rape victims. We saw the scars on men who had been shot. We watched mothers cradle their sick and dying babies, hoping against all odds that their children would survive. We saw armed Janjaweed waiting to prey on innocent victims along the perimeter of refugee camps. We saw Janjaweed--who are carrying out these attacks--sitting astride camels and horses just a short distance from where young and old have sought what they had hoped would be a safe harbor. The same stories were repeated at every camp we visited. The raids would happen early in the morning. First comes the low rumble of a Soviet-made Antonov plane to bomb the village. Next come helicopter gunships to strafe the village with the huge machine guns mounted on each side. Sometimes the helicopters would land and unload supplies for the Janjaweed. They would then be reloaded with booty confiscated from a village. One man told us he saw cows being loaded onto one helicopter. The Janjaweed, some clad in military uniforms, would come galloping in on horseback and camels to finish the job of killing, raping, stealing and plundering. Walking through the burned out villages we could tell the people living there had little or not time to react. They left everything they owned--lanterns, cookware, water jugs, pottery, plows--and ran for their lives. There was no time to stop and bury their dead. The Janjaweed made certain that there would be nothing left for the villagers to come home to. Huts were torched. Donkeys, goats and cows were stolen, slaughtered. Grain containers destroyed. In one village we saw where the Janjaweed even burned the mosque. ethnic cleansing What is happening in Darfur is rooted in ethnic cleansing. Religion has nothing to do with what unfolded over the last year. It was clear that only villages inhabited by black African Muslims were being targeted. Arab villages sitting just next to African ones miles from the nearest towns have been left unscathed. While government officials are adamant in saying there is no connection between the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed, the militiamen we saw did not look like skilled pilots who could fly planes or helicopters. We also were told the Janjaweed are well armed and well supplied. They have satellite phones, an astonishing fact considering most people in the far western provinces of Darfur have probably never even seen or walked on a paved road. The impunity under which the Janjaweed operate was most telling as we approached the airport in Geneina on our last day in the region for our flight back to Khartoum. In plain sight was an encampment of Janjaweed within shouting distance of a contingent of Government of Sudan regulars. No more than 200 yards separated the two groups. Sitting on the tarmac were two helicopter gunships and a Russian-made Antonov plane. The situation in Darfur is being described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. We agree. But sadly things could get worse. Some say that even under the best of circumstances, as many as 300,000 Darfuris forced from their homes are expected to die from malnutrition and diarrhea or diseases such as malaria and cholera in the coming months. The impending rainy season presents its own set of problems, making roads impassable for food deliveries and the likelihood of disease increasing dramatically with the heavy rains. difficult life in idp camps Abu Shouk was the first of five IDP (Internally Displace People) camps we visited. More than 40,000 people live in this sprawling tent city. Families arriving at the camps--almost all after walking for days in the hot sun from their now abandon villages-- are only given a tarp, a water jug, cookware and a small amount of grain. At Mornay, the largest of the IDP camps in Darfur with more than 70,000 inhabitants, it was hard not to step in either human or animal feces as we walked. In a few weeks, when the heavy rains begin, excrement will flow across the entire camp. Mortality from diarrhea, which we were told represents one-third of the deaths in the camps, will only increase. To their credit, all the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have been allowed to operate in Darfur have done--and continue to do--a tremendous job under extremely trying circumstances. Rapes, we were told, happen almost daily to the women who venture outside the confines of the camps in search of firewood and straw. They leave very early in the morning, hoping to evade their tormentors before they awake. With the camps swelling in size and nearby resources dwindling, they often walk several miles. The farther the women go from the camp, the greater the risk of being attacked by the Janjaweed. As we approached Mornay, we saw a number of Janjaweed resting with their camels and horses along the perimeter of the camp, easily within walking distance. In one camp we heard the horrific story of four young girls--two of whom were sisters--who had been raped just days before we arrived. They had left the camp to collect straw to feed the family's donkey when they were attacked. They said their attackers told them they were slaves and that their skin was too dark. As they were being raped, they said the Janjaweed told them they were hoping to make more lighter-skinned babies. We were told that some of the rape victims were being branded on their back and arms by the Janjaweed, permanently labeling the women. We also received a letter during our trip from a group of women who were raped. To protect them from further attacks, we purposely do not mention where they are from or list their names. The translation is heartbreaking: We are forty-four raped women. As a result of that savagery, some of us became pregnant, some have aborted, some took out their wombs and some are still receiving medical treatment. Hereunder, we list the names of the raped women and state that we have high hopes in you and the international community to stand by us and not to forsake us to this tyrannical, brutal and racist regime, which wants to eliminate us racially, bearing in mind that 90 percent of our sisters at (. . .) are widows. These rape victims have nowhere to turn. Even if they report the attacks to the police, they know nothing will happen. The police, the military and the Janjaweed all appear to be acting in coordination. dire situation is man-made The situation in Darfur is dire, and from what we could see, it is entirely man-made. These people who had managed to survive even the severest droughts and famines during the course of their long history are now in mortal danger of being wiped out simply because of the darker shade of their skin color. Over the course of 3 days, we saw the worst of man's inhumanity to man, but we also saw the best of what it means to be human: mothers waiting patiently for hours in the hot sun so that they could try to save their babies; NGO aid workers and volunteer doctors feeding and caring for the sick and the dying; and the courage and bravery of men, women and children eager to talk to us so that we would know their story. The world made a promise in 1994 to never again allow the systematic destruction of a people or race. ``Never again''--words said, too, after the Holocaust. In Darfur, the international community has a chance to stop history from repeating itself. It also has a chance to end this nightmare for those who have found a way to survive. If the international community fails to act, the next cycle of this crisis will begin. The destiny facing the people of Darfur will be death from hunger or disease.

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, would it be possible to reclaim my time?

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of the amendment. We worked with the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), the ranking member, on this amendment. It restores the microloan program. We are in agreement, and I ask that the amendment be approved. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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. I rise in opposition. The census is one of the oldest civic functions of our Nation. Article I of the U.S. Constitution requires enumeration of the population every 10 years. The census is the largest peacetime mobilization of our government personnel. The American Community Survey is designed to replace the long-form portion for future decennial censuses, therefore leaving only the short-form portion. Many Americans found that filling out the long-form survey to be burdensome, and many said this contributed to the declining response rate of the long form, therefore costing the American taxpayer more money to have census takers returning to the nonresponding households. The Committee on Government Reform and the Committee on Appropriations have worked to ensure that the Census Bureau has the necessary funding to carry out its mission and to ensure that for 2010 there will only be a short form census. The question of constitutionality of the American Community Survey is not new. On April 4, 2002, the General Accounting Office responded to the vice-chairman of the Committee on Government Reform's request for an opinion. The GAO stated, ``Census clearly has authority to conduct the ACS.'' There is sufficient legal authority. If we do not fund the ACS, we will ensure we have a two-form census in 2010, which will cost an additional $4 million for the taxpayer.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment. I want to thank the gentleman for offering it. This really follows the principle that was used during the Carter administration and during the Reagan administration by keeping lists. Therefore, if you happen to be going to a country, when you go to China you are able to check to see that X and Y have been tortured, so when you meet with government officials, you can raise those cases. This is the way it was done in the Carter administration and in the Reagan administration. This is a very good amendment, and I thank the gentleman for offering it, and I rise in strong support of it. I urge that we accept it.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I would urge any Members, following up what the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) said, any Members that have amendments, we have been here since noon and we are waiting on them, so I would urge them, if they are listening, to come to the floor and offer the amendments so we can move the process along. So if Members can hear and are available, we would encourage them to come so amendments could be offered. Amendment Offered by Mr. Pitts

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the bill through page 108, line 22, be considered as read and printed in the Record and open to amendment at any point.

Mr. WOLF

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

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

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

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. The reason is, the amendment really does not do anything. I just read the amendment. It says, ``Page 57, line 11, after the dollar amount insert the following: `Reduced by $50,000) (increased by $50,000).' '' So I understand what the gentleman is trying to do, but this does not do it. It just really moves money around. I understand the gentleman's concern, and I would like to bring to the gentleman's attention to page 46 of the bill, line 22. We put $2 million in the bill for a grant to the National Academy of Public Administration to study the impact of offshoring on the economy and on the workforce in the United States. I personally believe it is a problem. We have asked the National Academy because they are not involved in the political process. We use them for the FBI reforms and others. So they will look at that issue. But this amendment, if it had been drafted to do what the gentleman intends it to do, it would be subject to a point of order. Because of that, I object to the amendment and urge a ``no'' vote. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that debate on this amendment and any amendments thereto be limited to 30 minutes, to be equally divided and controlled by the proponent and myself, the opponent, except that the chairman and ranking minority member may each offer one pro forma amendment for the purpose of debate.