Diane Watson

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 233) recognizing over 200 years of sovereignty of the Principality of Liechtenstein, and expressing support for efforts by the United States to continue to strengthen its relationship with that country, as amended.

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

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I would first like to commend our distinguished colleague, Mr. Cliff Stearns of Florida, for introducing this important resolution. Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to rise today in strong support for this measure, which recognizes over 200 years of sovereignty of Liechtenstein and supports efforts by the United States to strengthen and further its relationships with this country. Liechtenstein may be small in size, but it is big in stature. Just square 62 miles and nestled in the heart of Europe between Switzerland and Austria, it boasts 35,000 inhabitants, a strong democratic government and a constitutional heredity monarchy. Its mountain landscapes have made it renowned as one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. The country punches well above its weight in its contributions to the global banking and financial sectors. In just the last 60 years, it has developed from a mainly agrarian society to one of the most highly industrialized countries in the world. Indeed, its economic growth should serve as the model for the potential of all small countries. It has become a strong economic partner for the United States, which has been the largest export market for Liechtenstein over the past 10 years. In addition, Liechtenstein-based companies have created over 4,500 jobs in the United States, mainly in manufacturing, sales and service. Given the celebration last year of Liechtenstein's 200 years of sovereignty, it is fitting that the House pass this resolution to pay tribute to the country's democratic tradition and prosperity. Furthermore, in recognition of the important partnership between the United States and Liechtenstein in the areas of politics, economics and security, this resolution calls on the United States to strengthen and further its relationship with Liechtenstein. I strongly support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself as much time as I may consume. I would like to commend our distinguished colleague Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey for introducing this important resolution that emphasizes the vital necessity of free speech in a democratic state. Often people consider freedom of speech as just icing on the cake of a society that treats its citizenry well. It's a nice touch but not the most essential component. But let me be clear, freedom of the press is not just a bourgeois middle class concern. It is not just an American concern. It is the essential component of democracy, as much as in Russia as anywhere else. Freedom of the press sharpens the tools of democracy and holds a government's feet to the fire. It is the only real way to inform the people about their own country and mobilizing them around crucial issues. Nowhere is this more important than in Russia, where nascent independent press formed in the early 1990s had suddenly dissipated under fear of government reprisal. It is no mistake that this decline has been accompanied by a simultaneous acquiescence of democratic opposition in the country. The threat to reporters writing about government decisions and engaging in investigative journalism is immediate and real. It has reached the point that journalists in Russia that dare to criticize the government are constantly looking over their shoulders in fear. According to Reporters Without Borders, 21 reporters have been murdered under mysterious circumstances since Putin took office in March of 2000. Almost all of those mysteries remain unsolved because the Putin government refuses to investigate fully and honestly. In the case that has led to perhaps the greatest outcry, Anna Politkovskaya was shot to death in the elevator bank of her apartment building in Moscow. She and her family had feared for her life ever since she emerged as an acclaimed journalist and human rights activist. She wrote numerous articles critical of Kremlin human rights abuses and misdeeds in Chechnya, and she paid the highest price for it. Paul Klebnikov, the editor of the Russian version of Forbes magazine, investigated suspect business dealings and was subsequently shot to death in Moscow. Ivan Safronov, a military affairs reporter who criticized the failure of Russian military programs, died in mysterious circumstances after falling five stories from a window in his apartment building. These three deaths, as well as the tragic loss of many of their brave colleagues, remain unresolved. It appears that the Russian government, which is led by a former KGB colonel, somehow no longer knows how to investigate such crimes. I find that awfully curious. We cannot allow this repression, this silencing of an independent media, to continue, especially in a country with a nascent democracy and starved for objective information. There was a fleeting moment in Russia in the early 1990s when an independent media flourished and new publications cropped up overnight. Now, the brave critical journalists who remain cower in fear. So I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, which highlights the disturbing trend of these suspicious deaths in Russia. It stresses the importance of a free flow of information to a democratic society, and praises the courageous men and women who seek to bring transparency to the Russian people after so many years of Communist secrecy. Finally, it calls on President Putin to seek outside help in investigating these unsolved crimes and on the United States Government to formally offer such assistance. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 151) noting the disturbing pattern of killings of dozens of independent journalists in Russia over the last decade, and calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to authorize cooperation with outside investigators in solving those murders, as amended.

Ms. WATSON

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

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson).

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the distinguished gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Hank Johnson, for sponsoring this important and timely resolution on the nightmarish conflict in northern Uganda. Two decades of horrific battle between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government have taken up to 200,000 lives and displaced nearly 2 million civilians from their homes. But the human tragedy in Uganda cannot be simply represented but numbers and statistics. It is about the daily pain and terror of victims and their families. Like other rebel forces that have fought the tragic civil wars of Africa, the Lord's Resistance Army built its ranks with child soldiers, both girls and boys, and used vicious and unspeakable methods to alienate these children from their families and their villages. Time and again, Uganda child victims have been forced to commit unthinkable acts, to kill their parents and other relatives before being abducted themselves. Over two decades of war, more than 30,000 children have been kidnapped and faced a horrible fate, becoming absorbed into the LRA. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of terrified children leave their home villages each evening at dusk and walk to distant towns to avoid being kidnapped by the LRA and pressed into service. They are known in Uganda as the ``night commuters.'' Mr. Speaker, every parent in the United States labors to reassure their young children that they are safe at home when sleeping in their own beds. The greatest crime of the Lord's Resistance Army is to take even this basic right away from children and families of northern Uganda. While the LRA is responsible for the overwhelming majority of violence and abuse of children and their families, the government of Uganda also has been cited time and again for human rights violations. In August of last year, South Sudan's President brokered a cessation of hostilities agreement between the government and the rebel forces, but the accord broke down and only last month did the 10-month effort resume. I believe the Uganda people deserve both peace and justice. It is incumbent upon the international community to work with Uganda people, particularly the people of northern Uganda, along with the International Criminal Court and the Ugandan judiciary, to make sure both a lasting peace and real justice are achieved. The healing and the recovery of the Uganda people, particularly the children, from this tragic war, requires that we make their personal peace the priority right now. It is the only path to lasting stability for northern Uganda. That is why I urge the passage of this legislation, to put Uganda on a path to peace once again. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 80) calling on the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to recommit to a political solution to the conflict in northern Uganda and to recommence vital peace talks, and urging immediate and substantial support for the ongoing peace process from the United States and the international community, as amended.

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I would first like to commend our distinguished colleague, Mr. Nadler of New York, for introducing this resolution. The resolution before the House honors one man, but it also honors all that he symbolizes in the name of human rights and freedom of worship. Before the Holocaust, the Jewish population of the Society Union numbered 5 million. After the war, only 2 million remained. The pain of these Holocaust survivors was compounded. They became the targets of a ruthless and systematic campaign to strip them of their communal rights and Jewish identity. This resolution pays tribute to a remarkable man who stood up for these victims of brutality. Jacob Birnbaum launched an effort, which turned into a groundswell, to protest the Soviet Union's abhorrent efforts to extinguish the religious, cultural and communal identity of the Jewish people. His movement began in 1964 as a humble yet bold student group organized to march on the Soviet Union to the United Nations. Over the years, the group conducted rallies in New York and Washington, circulated petitions, and used every possible means to keep world attention on the plight of the Soviet Jews. This social activism snowballed into the solidarity marches of the 1970s that gathered millions of individuals to fight for the cause. Birnbaum also worked with the authors of the historic Jackson-Vanik amendment to help free Soviet Jews looking to emigrate. In this way, he helped to elevate the movement so that the U.S. Federal Government had to pay attention and to act. But his dogged and determined work continued, even as the Soviet bloc crumbled and anti-Semitism flared in incidents across the region. Mr. Birmbaum continues to work with educational institutions for former Jews as part of the ``Let My People Know'' campaign. Through the years, Jacob Birnbaum has received numerous honors for his services to mankind. He deserves this further accolade on behalf of a grateful Congress for engaging so energetically in a cause that we have long supported, helping to free Soviet Jews from oppression and to help them thrive. To Jews in Russia and the former Soviet Republic, the name Jacob Birnbaum refers not only to one dedicated man but to the very cause of freedom itself. I support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 137) honoring the life and six decades of public service of Jacob Birnbaum and especially his commitment freeing Soviet Jews from religious, cultural, and communal extinction, as amended.

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the author of the concurrent resolution, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman). (Mr. ROTHMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have left?

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Every Member of Congress is disturbed by the offensive comments that regularly emanate from the mouth of the Iranian President. His pledge to wipe Israel off the map and his denial of the Holocaust have shocked the civilized world. I am among those who feel it is no longer enough simply to shake our heads disapprovingly and go about our business. Context is everything. We are talking about a Jewish majority nation, Israel, whose very existence is threatened by another nation developing a nuclear bomb. Less than three-quarters of a century ago, Hitler and Nazi Germany wiped out more than a third of the world's Jewish population. We cannot stand by and watch if the Iranian President has similar designs. When Ahmadinejad says that Israel is a legitimate regime with no basis for its existence, our sense of justice tells us we cannot simply ignore it. When he describes Israel as ``a disgraceful blot [on] the face of the Islamic world'' and declares that ``anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury,'' we can't, as people of conscience, dismiss these words as mere rhetoric. That is the premise of this resolution. This resolution urges us not to shrug, but to take action. It calls on the United Nations Security Council to charge Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with Article 2, section 4, of the United Nations Charter, which requires all member states of the United Nations to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Even more poignantly, it calls for the Security Council to charge Ahmadinejad with violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which forbids direct and public incitement of genocide. I strongly endorse the premise of this resolution, that we should take seriously Ahmadinejad's venomous rhetoric and respond in a serious fashion that will demonstrate our fortitude in stopping him. With this measure, we also set an example by serving notice to other bigoted world leaders that we will not tolerate racism and thinly veiled threats. We should be more than happy to set aside any notion of prosecuting President Ahmadinejad under the Genocide Convention were the President to renounce his previous positions on the Holocaust and on Israel. In the absence of such apologies, however, the administration should initiate action that would result in the prosecution of President Ahmadinejad for crimes under the genocide convention and to do so without delay. I strongly support this resolution. I urge all my colleagues to do likewise to send a message to Iran. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 21) calling on the United Nations Security Council to charge Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the United Nations Charter because of his calls for the destruction of the State of Israel, as amended.

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 1853, the Jose Medina Veterans Affairs Police Training Act. Mr. Speaker, more than 1.5 million U.S. troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and according to an Army study, 20 percent are showing signs of post-traumatic stress syndrome. But surprisingly, most VA police officers do not receive any training on how to deal with patients suffering from mental illness. That is why we must prepare VA law enforcement officers to deal with the tens of thousands of veterans returning from Iraq that are expected to utilize VA medical centers for mental health services. H.R. 1853, the Jose Medina Veterans Affairs Police Training Act, will ensure that our veterans are treated with dignity and respect when they seek treatment at VA facilities. Veterans' mental health needs should be one of this Congress' top priorities, and I urge your support.

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1700, the COPS Improvements Act of 2007. As a daughter of a police officer, I believe this bill is essential to keep our citizens safe and help communities combat crime. Improving the COPS program is very important to the constituents I represent in California's 33rd Congressional District. If this bill passes, my district alone will get at least 25 new police officers, an additional school resource officer, along with more funding to be used for technology in Los Angeles' law enforcement agencies. Mr. Speaker, today our children are killing one another in my district at an appalling rate. The Los Angeles Police Department recorded 7,714 gang crimes in 2006, a 14 percent jump over the previous year. I believe we need to take a comprehensive approach to combating gang violence and ensure that our youth have safe, quality schools that give them an alternative to the streets. But there is one action we can take right now that will immediately reduce the level of violence and protect our kids, and that is to put more police on the streets. We have the bill here today that does just that, the COPS Improvements Act, and I urge colleagues to support this measure.

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to announce the passing of a great American, Ira O'Neal, Jr., who happened to be my cousin, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen recently honored with the Congressional Gold Medal here in the Capitol. Ira O'Neal was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 11, 1918. He was drafted into the 1st Army Corps in 1942, where he served in the 42nd Aviation Squadron as a first lieutenant. In 1948, President Truman issued his famous executive order that racially integrated the military. At the same time that Truman issued his order, the military was moving from a wartime to a peacetime footing. As a result of our Nation's reduced force structure, Ira was one of the many thousands of soldiers who was discharged. Although Ira had been discharged from the military, he was not deterred from serving his country. In 1949, Ira was able to reenlist in the U.S. Air Force. He proudly served his country until he retired in 1972. After retiring, he started a security service that contracted with the Watergate apartments. He hired a young man by the name of Wills, who discovered the Watergate break-in. Ira was contacted, and his report started the Watergate episode. Ira has been a resident of the District of Columbia for 56 years and has always been active in his community. In 2004, he received the Roots in Scouting Award recognizing a lifetime of work with the Boy Scouts of America. I was honored to be with Ira at the Bolling Air Force Base Officers' Club on March 28 of this year when Kerwin Miller, Department of Veterans Affairs, presented him with a proclamation declaring Tuskegee Airmen Day in Washington D.C. During the same ceremony, a room at the Officers' Club, the Tuskegee room, was also dedicated. A day later, I was again honored to share with Ira that proud moment at the rotunda of the Capitol when he and the other Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award that Congress bestows. Mr. Speaker, for his dedicated military service, during and after World War II, and for his ongoing public service on behalf of the District of Columbia, I am proud to acknowledge and to salute First Lieutenant Ira O'Neal's service to his country, his community and family. May God bless him and rest his soul.