the prayer will be offered by the lord god dynamic in power never absent or diminished inspire the members of the house of representatives with transcending vision and far reaching goals while focused on the honest issues facing your people and searching for a response and solid national policies keep them as practical as most of america's people with your how enlightened them to assess accurately our nation's resources and yet be honest enough to admit our limitations prevent them from enabling dysfunctional and hers and from being distracted by on real anxiety shaped this assembly lowered into a body of diverse ideas which can solve any problem with a variety of approaches until a fitting solution can be brought to bear lasting goodness for your people this we ask calling upon your almighty name and  the chairs the german the examine the journal of the last days proceedings at outs of the house its approval thereof pursuant to clause one of rule one the journal stands proved the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from wisconsin in pledging allegiance to the flag of our republic i pledge allegiance to the sleigh of the united states of america and to the republic for which stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for a chair will it ever change requests for one minute speeches for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina arise to address the house women revise not  mr speaker last week tony snow stepped down as white house press secretary mr snow a graduate of davidson college in north carolina has served the president and his nation with distinction and i wish to thank him for his hard work and dedication as a speechwriter in the first bush administration and as a television and radio personality tony established a reputation for common sense and measured thinking as white house press secretary he has led a professional team of communications personnel during a time when our country faces many difficult challenges president bush could not have asked for a stronger spokesperson his forthright and genuine approach to his job has earned tony snow the respect and admiration of his peers in the political arena as well as the media we wish him and his family much health and happiness as they embark on the next chapter of their lives in conclusion god bless our troops and we will never forget september the eleventh what person a gentleman  mr speaker it was a close call on september first the town of the national wisconsin merlin harness wife teresa were in their car when they noticed two boys one apparently age five in the other under two walking on some railroad tracks  said it didn't look right to have two small children so far away from any home so she called nine one one and she was talking to the nine one one operator she realized a train was coming mr horn immediately jumped out of the car the older child got off the tracks but mr horan save the life of the younger child by pulling him to safety mr speaker a lot of people would have seen those it isn't what i've said that doesn't look right but it's none of my business but no the harnes acted like concerned neighbors like responsible members of the community rather than self obsessed individuals and they saved a young life their concern and their heroic actions deserve our recognition and thinks  for the house are communication the speakers rooms the honorable the speaker house of representatives madam pursuant to the permission granted in clause to a to rule to other roles of the u s house of representatives i have the honor to transmit a sealed envelope received from the white house on september fourteenth two thousand and seven at twelve sixteen p m and said to contain a message from the president whereby he transmit a report providing progress on eighteen iraqi benchmarks with best wishes i am signed sincerely arranged the miller clerk of the house the clerk will read the message from the president to the congress of the united states consistent with section thirteen status of each of the eighteen iraqi benchmarks contained in the act and declares whether satisfactory progress toward meeting these benchmarks is or is not being achieved the second of these two report submitted consistent with the  has been prepared in consultation with the secretaries of the state and defense the commander of multinational force iraq the united states ambassador to iraq and the commander united states central command signed joe w but the white house september fourteenth two thousand and seven let's go to the committee of foreign affairs for the armed services committee and order pri pursuant to clause a to rule twenty the chair will postpone further proceedings today and motions to suspend the rules on which are recorded vote or the azan days are ordered or on which the vote is objected to under clause six of rule twenty recorded votes and postpone questions will be taken at six thirty today the purpose this gentleman from indiana arise mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution five ninety three congratulating scientists sherwood rowland mario molina and paul krugman for their work in a atmospheric chemistry particularly concerning the formation and the composition of all zones that led to the development of the montreal protocol on substances that the lead ozone layer was clerk report titled the resolution house development of the montreal's protocol and substances that deplete the ozone layer research is the rule the gentleman from indiana mr hill and the gentleman from texas mr hall each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana mr speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume i rise today in support of house resolution five ninety three legislation that congratulate scientists frank sherwood rowland mariel molina and paul atmosphere at the university of california irvine the chemist discovered that c f c molecules were stable enough to remain in the atmosphere until they reached the middle of the stratosphere they're the molecules would finally be broken down by ultraviolet radiation released in a chlorine adam roland and molina proposed at the same chlorine adams might be expected to cause the breakdown of large amounts of ozone over three in the stratosphere their argument was based upon an analogy to the contemporary work by proposal crust and which had shown that nitric oxide would catalyze the destruction of ozone dr c molina and roland were awarded the nine hundred ninety five nobel peace prize for chemistry for their work on this problem the montreal protocol was a landmark international agreement designed to protect the stratosphere ozone layer the treaty was originally were to be phased out by the year two thousand the work of dr roland dr molina and dr crofts and was vital to the development of the montreal protocol reduction of all zone depleting compounds and the restoration of  atmosphere i applaud their work and ask that my colleagues support this resolution which thanks them for their important contributions to science i reserve the balance of my time gentleman from texas containing c f c s a knife from a ban on air shelves an unparalleled international cooperation twenty years later the montreal protocol has been described as one of the most successful international agreements to date it's the ideal illustration of what can be accomplished when scientists policy makers and industry work together toward a common go uncertainty did not stop us from looking for alternative solutions however action was taken until these uncertainties were addressed through further scented research and until the well sept shoots or available cooperation on environmental problem for requires that the outcome be beneficial for all parties this was achieved through the montreal protocol and our from our thanks to the speakers i don't know if my good friend from texas has any speakers or not do not have the balance of my time mr speaker i have no for the request for time now you'll back the balance of my time the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution five ninety three those in favor say aye opposed say no getting of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider what purposes gentleman from indiana arise mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution sixteen fifty seven to establish a science and technology scholarships program to award scholarships to recruit and prepare students for careers in the national weather service and in the national oceanic and atmospheric administration marie research atmospheric research and satellite programs the clerk report the title of the bill h r six hundred fifty seven a bill to  a science and technology scholarship program to award scholarship to recruit and prepare students for careers in the national weather service and a national oceanic and atmospheric administration marine research atmospheric research and satellite program to the rule the gentleman from indiana mr hall of hill in the gentleman from texas mr hall each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and spin extend their remarks and to include extraneous material and house resolution six hundred fifty seven the bill now under consideration without objection sorter mr speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume i rise today in sport of h r six hundred fifty seven legislation that establishes a science and technology scholarship program this program will award scholarships to recruit and prepare students for careers at the national oceanic and atmospheric administration better known as no oil related to weather atmospheric marine and satellite research there is a growing concern that too few american students pursue science math  and engineering degrees h r sixteen fifty seven provides incentives to study in these areas and go on to work at no will the bill is based upon robert noyce scholarship program at the national science foundation i applaud the of my colleague representative rohrbacher in introducing this important legislation in our gym our colleagues to support this bill on the floor today i reserve the balance of my time gentleman from texas the national oceanic and atmospheric administration or no is the nation's lead agency charged with conserving and managing our coastal no psionic resources no i also plays a vital role in public safety through the programs the national weather service to issue weather forecasts and warnings and we must ensure that no has the resources it needs to meet its statutory sponsibility didn't accomplish its resource management marine and atmospheric research and public safety would provide assistance through a competitive assess based on academic merit to those students who desire careers in weather forecasting marine or atmospheric research or satellite programs similar to other federal incentive programs the scholarship program would require protest must enter into contractual agreements working today the national weather service are no if for two years for each year of scholarship money they receive this two for one condition is beneficial for both the government and the students in that it guarantees that highly educated individuals will be working and gaining experience at vital national organizations particularly at a time when our most experienced scientists and researches begin to retire institutional knowledge will be passed on from one generation to the next and young scientists will gain the experience needed should they choose to leave government service for the private sector mr speaker at a time when our nation is about to be short on educated and qualified scientists we cannot ignore my good friend from texas if he has speakers i thank you i have the same number of speakers that you have you know back to balance my time therefore mr speaker i have no further press for time on your back the balance of my time the question is will the house suspend the rules and clause a rule twenty and the chairs prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will b purpose does the gentlewoman from washington d c arise with the speaker i move to spin the rules and pass h r three two for six as amended a bill to provide a comprehensive regional approach to economic and infrastructure development the clerk will report the title of the bill h r thirty to forty six a bill to amend title forty united states code to provide a comprehensive regional approach to economic and infrastructure development and the most  economically distressed regions in the nation or so to the rule the gentlewoman from the district of columbia ms norton the gentleman from pennsylvania mr schuester each will control twenty minutes chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the district of columbia approach economic infrastructure development in the most severely economic the latest rest regions of the nation h r three two four six a regional economic and infrastructure development act of two thousand and seven authorizes two existing commissions and three new regional economic development commissions under a common framework of administration and management and further provides a framework for good decision making and planning as these commissions are designed to address problems o about problems of systemic poverty and under development in their respective regions the five commissions are the delta regional commission the northern great plains regional commission the southeast crescent regional commission the southwest border regional commission and the northern border regional commission the bill models the administrative imagine procedure for these commissions after the highly successful appalachian regional commission the bill provides for a voting structure provisions for regarding staffing conflicts of interest local development district and other matters designed to produce a standard administrative framework by providing a uniform set of procedures this bill provides a consistent method for distributing economic development funds throughout the regions most in need of such assist a city assistance ensur comprehensive regional approach to economic and infrastructure development where where it is most needed in our country the northern border regional commission the southeast crescent regional commission and the southwest border regional commission have been proposed in legislation introduced in this in two previous congresses and are designed to address problems of systemic poverty and under development in those regions in addition the delta regional commission and the northern great plains commission would be authorized through this legislation h r three two four six authorizes funds for each commission to provide vital assistance for the development of our nation's most chronically poor and distressed regions i would like to say a few words about the uniqueness of each of the new commissions being authorized by this bill sounds u s border region includes all counties within a hundred and fifty miles of the us mexico border this region contain eleven counties in new mexico sixty five counties in texas ten counties in arizona and seven counties in california for a combined population of approximately twenty nine million residents according to research compound by the internet agency task force on the economic development of the southwest twenty percent of the red residents of this region of the nation live below the poverty level unemployment rate are often as high as five times the national unemployment rate and a lack of adequate access to capital has created economic disparities that made it difficult for businesses to start up in the region the northern border region stretching from maine to new york while abundant in natural resources and rich and potential lags behind much of the nation and its economic growth and its people have not shared properly in the nation's prosperity the region's historic reliance on a few basic industries and on agriculture has failed to provide a diverse enough economic base for a vigorous self sustained growth in the belt of counties along the northern border from maine through new york twelve point five percent of the population lives in poverty median household incomes is more is about sixty five hundred dollars below the net national average unemployment through layoffs in traditional manufacturing industries is persistent and the population grew only by point six percent between one nine hundred ninety and two thousand while the u s population rose by thirteen point two percent showing significant out migration and loss of young people in the northern border region the southeastern portion of the united states in compassing the states of virginia north carolina south carolina georgia alabama mississippi and florida is an area which has seen poverty rates well well below the national average coupled with record unemployment story poverty well above the national average covered coupled with record unemployment the region has also experienced natural disasters at a rate two to three times greater than any other region in the united states the southeast crescent authority authorizes a local state federal following crack here for community betterment and the structure education and job training health care entrepreneurship and leadership development these communities those communities with the greatest need will be targeted and grants will be made according to the degree of distress this bill has very broad and very bipartisan support mr speaker and the committee has held a hearing a series of hearing that has documented the need the needs in these economic development that these economic development commissions would address i strongly support the bill and urge passage of h r three four from missouri who is unable to be here and asked me to explain the bill h r thirty to forty six as amended authorizes to existing economic development commissions the delta regional commission and the northern great plains regional commission the bill also creates three new economic development commissions the southeast crescent regional commission the southwest border regional commission and the northern border regional commission the regional economic and infrastructure development act authorizes these five regional economic development commissions for five years and provide the structure for economic development decision making and planning the bill outlines conditions for financial assistance authorizes grants to local development districts in addition the bill establishes an inspector general for the commission additionally h r thirty to forty six provides a framework for administration and management framework is modeled after the appalachian regional commission structure including membership voting structure staffing of the commission and staffing of the commission through the use of this common framework this bill provides a consistency in distribution of economic development funds and that mr speaker i reserve the balance of my time the gentle lady from washington d c is recognize act of two thousand and seven represent a vision for economic development in our nation that will help americans in the most distressed region of our country in the northern border region we have seen a clear persiste pattern of economic distress if you look at the thirty six counties that lie on the border all right next to the border between maine and new york you will find poverty above the national level average median household income that is more than six thousand five hundred dollars below the national average you'll see a persistent unemployment through through layoffs in traditional manufacturing industry and most speaker our mills are closing our young people are leaving and too many of our workers looking for work clearly this region has a common set of challenges and a compelling need for investment and new grow as a mill worker for over twenty years that great northern paper company i understand the particular challenges in the border regions of maine new hampshire vermont and new york like my father and grandfather before me i left high school and went straight to work in the paper mill of my hometown after twenty years in two days after i was sworn into congress the mill that i worked at went bankrupt in my hometown was devastated unemployment rose to over thirty three percent the story in my hometown in the mills where i worked has been repeated throughout the state of maine and ou that is why we need to support this region economic development bill we have to support our regional industries and build on new job opportunities and that is why we need to invest in leadership and focus in our regional economic development that it the northern border commission would bring the northern border commission would help the region invest in transportation health care agriculture broadband and alternative energy it can be a partner with businesses to maintain our industries and build new industry clusters it can help us create jobs for the long term we have all the ingredients that we need to face out challenges head on and make our region an economic engine this new commission would help us make a fundamental change in the future in closing mr speaker i'd like to thank all my colleagues on both sides but working in a bipartisan manner on this bill i'd like to thank the chair the full committee chairman oberstar and chair of the subcommittee miss norton for their efforts as well and also the former chair of the subcommittee mr schuester for all his hard work on the regional commission bill as well as congressman hodes from new hampshire who has been a true leader in this particular area as well this bill represents a new way forward for economic development in our nation but the places and the people that need it most let's pass this bill and give our people the whole and the future that they deserve i yield back the balance of oberstar and other members of the transportation committee i rise today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the regional economic and infrastructure development act of two thousand and seven this bill includes the northern border regional development commission act introduced as a member of congress a bill with bipartisan support and for which i extend a special thanks to congressman me show who has shown extraordinary leadership in the northern border region for economic development mr speaker parts of my home state of new hampshire and especially the beautiful region known as the north country have taken an economic beating and are struggling to recover a staggering number of job bob's have been lost we have watched as plants closed in our young people disappeared to places that offer more opportunity new hampshire's north country has suffered repeated economic body blows and for the people who live there it's getting harder and harder to get by i get up to the north country quite frequently and i'm spoken with hardworking folks who have the drive to improve their neighborhoods but it is communities have been ignored by the federal government for years if you were to pick up the paper today mr speaker you would see pictures of the smoke stacks of once thriving pulp mills coming down having been subject to explosives because of the challenges new hampshire's north country face in the sincere desire the people there to turn things around and to create new jobs and new investments there's a compelling case for leveraging federal investment in the region in fact the northern border region or the ice belt which includes the northernmost counties of new york vermont new hampshire and maine has higher unemployment a higher percentage of people living in poverty and lower household income than the rest of the nation the commission created in this bill would be charged with investing federal resources for economic development and job creation in the most distressed counties in that northern border region by design and purpose this bill follows the successful regional development models created in the mid one nine hundred sixty s to improve the economic standing of targeted regions in the south based on this successful model the commission would create a unique federal state partnership charged with promoting development through regional planning technical assistance and funding of projects aimed at encouraging economic prosperity the bill works like this community development districts and other non profits are encouraged to bring project ideas to the commission from the local level this bottom up grassroots approach ensures that actions reflect both local needs and regional economic to element goals it also ensures that states have a deciding voice in what investment is made within their borders with a proposed budget of forty million dollars per year the northern border regional development commission can help meet a range of local needs whether the need is agricultural development land and forestry conservation to maintain productive traditional uses investment in transportation infrastructure alternative and renewable energy or health care facilities this commission will play a key role in investing in the region's economy the bill says if you're willing to work hard and play by the rules we are here to help you get ahead the communities in the northern border region deserve effective government working for them the regional economic infrastructure development act is an important first step t providing good paying jobs economic opportunity and revitalized communities but mr speaker i thank you i thank the general lady and just before i yield the remainder of my time i request unanimous consent to want to stress the hearings we've held on this bill as you might imagine when people hear the word economic development everybody wants and this isn't a very rigorous process we have ben over backwards from moods and sideways to be completely objective and to be open to members on both sides of the aisles it's worth noting that all of the amendments that were ad were requested by minority members our republican colleagues to please to do so they were able to show the need in their respective districts this bill it seems to me in light of the strong support it is had in our sub committee and our committee from bob members from all parts of the country and of all backgrounds and parties in light of that fact i urge passage of the bill and i urge all members to support this bipartisan bill for economic development for the underdeveloped regions of our country and you're back to balance of my time the question is will allow suspend the rules and clause eight of rule twenty one and the chairs prior to even further proceedings on this motion will be postpone speaker i rise a strong support of this legislation and you myself as much time as i may consume this house recently approved legislation that would reauthorize the overseas private investment corporation for an additional four years the bill want to assure that opec continues its critical mission of supporting private investment to accomplish important public sector goals in the developing world while at the same time enhanced the opex transparency and accountability senate is considering similar legislation was speaker and the foreign affairs committee looks forward to working with that body so that we can send the bill to the president for his signature while the senate considers this legislation opec's current thirty expires at the end of this month in order to provide the senate with additional time to take up this legislation and ensure that the corporation continues its critical work my friend and colleague a good chairman of the subcommittee mr chairman from california has crafted this proposed bill that provides ope with the authority to operate for an additional two months beyond september thirty two thousand and seven i do want to commend our distinguished chairman of the committee mr lantos and our senior ranking member misra slayton for their support  i thank very much mr a speaker i rise in support of the bill h r thirty five twenty seven a bill that would extend the authorization of the overseas private investment corporation until november thirtieth of two thousand and seven to speaker on july twenty third is my to five totally bipartisan to date however the other body has not acted requiring us to take this stopgap measure to continue the authorization for this legislation we hope the axe through on the senate side so the president could be sent a bill  be postpone matter member mistranslating for their leadership support of this bill the speaker to millions around the globe peace corps is the human face of america for more than forty six years the peace corps has helped the people of developing countries meet their needs for trained men and women in the process as promote a better understanding of america the legislation before the house today is a technical bill requested by the administration it will facilitate the provision of separation page of the many foreign nationals who work for the peace corps overseas the bill accomplishes this objective in an open and transparent manner to ensure the complete accountability to the american taxpayers and with that mr speaker i reserve the balance of my time  colleagues support this bill just thirty five twenty eight legislation introduced by our distinguished chairman tom lantos that will help the peace corps eliminate a small but important discrepancy between its accounting and its expenditures and their foreign local law and the terms of their contracts the peace is frankly required to make separation payments to personnel personal sir his contract is all overseas for example a lump sum payment equal to one month's salary for every year of service to peace corps is required to account for that liability on  books every year even though those funds are not paid out to the contractor until the end of their service with the peace corps which sometimes can be more than a decade however because unspent funds revert back to the us treasury five years after they are obligated the peace corps must pay obligations from beyond that time frame out of current operating funds the bill would create a fund into which those obligations could be paid as the accrue which can be used only for that purpose since this does not affect peace corps preparations or obligations there are no costs associated with this fix this also provides us with an opportunity mr speaker to again commend the peace corps back question is will the house suspend the rules and pass question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r thirty five twenty eight those in favor say aye those pows know the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the bill the rules are suspended or the bill is passed and without objection democracy in vietnam pursuant to the rule the gentleman from american samoa mr fellow lavinia and the gentleman from new jersey mr smith leach control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from american samoa the speaker i ask gentleness recognized i would be remiss if i did not first recognize my good friend and the gentleman from new jersey not only do i have the highest respect for him but certainly as a champion of human rights issues all over the world  this i want to commend him for his authorship of this proposed bill and i would like to also thank the chairman lantos and our senior ranking member ross slayton the leadership of our foreign affairs committee their support in the members for bringing this proposed legislation for consideration by our colleagues mr speaker vietnam stands at a crossroads and the world is watching carefully to see the choices that it will make like many other countries in the world vietnam as a responsibility to protect human and religious rights and provide political freedoms to its people the vietnamese people and their leaders have a deeper appreciation or should have a deeper appreciation of the need to protect and foster human rights of its people especially after being subjected to many years of abuse and dictatorial colonial rule of the french government i commend vietnam's effort to improve its economy which grew by over eight percent last year in november also last year vietnam played host to the asia pacific economic cooperation summit and in january it joined the world trade organization so we must recognize the extraordinary economic achievements vietnam has made in the short time this economic growth is better the lives of millions of the people of vietnam but recent reports have given serious indications of how the vietnamese government has arrested in place several religious a political leaders in prison without due process and as a violation of their human rights as speaker congress played an important role in seeing that vietnam became a member of the world trade organization and yet since its access on vietnam has arrested numerous individuals simply for peacefully advocating more democracy we have not continues to limit freedom of religion freedom of the press and freedom of information it remains a one party put article system in which the communist party's the final arbiter of all decisions mr speaker u s engagement with vietnam has helped spur economic growth and improvements in the lives of the enemy's people but engagement must not be limited to foreign direct investment we must also seize the opportunity to work with vietnam to promote political openness and improve human rights this bill promotes just this kind of engagement prohibits increase assistance to vietnam above fiscal year two thousand and seven levels other than for humanitarian efforts this bill makes it clear to vietnam that the only factor limiting increased aid is positive action by the vietnamese government on political human and religious rights the bill also supports civil society groups in vietnam that promote human rights it supports educational exchanges that will enhance freedom and democracy in that country and it makes the policy of the united states to offer safe settlement reached moment here to those who are forced to flee vietnam and become refugees but speaker vietnam is increasingly integrated into the global economy but it to be considered a friend of our nation it must protect human rights and provide its people political religious freedom we served on the human rights committee for years and he has been one of those champions that i am just so glad to associate myself with and i want to thank mr lantos the chairman of our committee for bringing this bill to the floor and express my strong gratitude to he  and to ileana rustling the ranking member and to the leadership for posting this bill for consideration today mr speaker vietnam has long been known as a major violator of human rights sadly in recent months the human rights situation to be in has deteriorated and become substantially worse and a new ugly wave of brutal repression has been launched by hanoi over the last couple of months some of the bravest champions of democracy have been dragged into court and sent to the gulag for simply promoting human rights injustice and free trade unions i would note to my colleagues at the house of representatives has gone on record time and time again condemning in i sponsored which called on the government of vietnam to immediately and unconditionally release father new in the only new involved die and lead to a cong non and other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience during consideration of that resolution mr speaker i noted that i had been to vietnam on many human rights trips have chaired several hearings on the issue of human rights vietnam joined by my friend there's a problem ivanka and those hearings and mr royce and others but i want the most recent trips i actually met with father lee who was just sentenced to eight years in prison just sentence i also met with newman die and about sixty other human rights activists and religious leaders and people who are pressing for reform in that country and one by one those individuals are being caught in this dragnet i was struck when i met with these individuals mr speaker by how extraordinar generous compassionate talented and kind hearted kind hearted these people are they are extraordinary they are vietnam best and brightest and certainly their bravest i was amazed at how they harbored no malice no hate towards a government that hates them nor do they hate the government leaders they only want to better future for their country each and every one of the people i met with is committed to peaceful non violent reform i met with father lee was under house arrest and he sounded just like the activists that i had met and spoken to during the dark years of the warsaw pact and the soviet union my first human rights trip i would  people like the folks of charter seventy seven in the czech republic who only wanted freedom democracy and human rights and none of them wanted violence and these reformers in vietnam want nothing whatsoever to do with violence and yet they are accused of slandering the state when you criticize an unjust policy that is construed by the state to be slander fatherly is now been sent the years and that's in addition to the fourteen years he had previously served in the gulag on trumped up short jumped up charges just days after the house adopted resolution two forty three calling for reversal of human rights violations noon then don die was sentenced to five years imprisonment and four years of house arrest attorney dan di is a ten nations campaigner for human rights who uses the rule of law in a nonviolent manner to press his case on the same day that van di was sentence another human rights lawyer a labor activist lead tank on non receive four years imprisonment and three years of house arrest from the same ruthless regime she to punish for engaging in activities recognized internationally as protected human rights i've read the two thousand and seven trial proceedings and the government's sentencing record and i would at the end of this put this into the record and i ask every member to read that and to read it very carefully and read like a chilling chapter out of george orwell's book one thousand nine hundred four at the trial the presiding judge newman who accused and condemned di of being a member of an gulag in vietnam today and vietnam today men and women are going to jail for very long periods of time for what the government calls disseminating propaganda against the government of the socialist republic of vietnam i point out to my colleagues that the day after the house passed a resolution on may second the u s commission on international religious freedom indicated in its annual report that the removal of vietnam from the state department's list of countries of particular concern was premature based on the evidence that the current situation in the country has not allowed religious freedom again it was part of an effort i think of suggesting that if they just got into the world trade organization somehow they would ma triculate from dictatorship to democracy regret regrettably that has not happened and we've seen a snap back to repression that has very very severe cruel and very very ugly the legislation before mr speaker would prohibit an increase in u s non humanitarian assistance to vietnam unless the government makes substantial progress in the following areas the release of political and religious prisoners respect for religious freedom allowing open access to the you to the united states for our refugee program because very often those who would like to become a part of that have to pay bribes to communist officials or they are simply detained and not allowed to make application and respect for the rights of ethnic minority groups including the mountain yorn beginning in fiscal year two thousand and nine there would also be a need to show that neither any official of the government or  government agency was complicit in the trafficking of human persons the president may weigh this restriction on assistance he if he determines that the assistance would promote human rights or would otherwise be in the national interest of the u other important provision with authorized two million dollars of assistance in both awaited zero nine to support democracy in vietnam and approximately ten million over two years to overcome the jamming of radio free asia by vietnam let's remind let me tell my colleagues they're jamming radio free asia jamming it so the message that we think is so important simply cannot get through and again the only thing that any dictatorship needs anywhere to survive and prosper is a secret police got that in and solemn promises that the human rights situation would improve vietnam became the first country to remove from the countries of particular concern it was also part of an effort to try to get like i said into the world trade organization despite this flurry of international recognition tangible economic benefit despite the hopes of many including and especially the vietnamese people vietnam has reverted with a vengeance to its repressive practices and has arrested imprisoned and impose lengthy prison sentences on numerous individuals who only want freedom mr speaker these massive human rights violations perpetrated by the government of vietnam cannot be overlooked they cannot be trivialized these human rights violations occur as we meet here today and they cannot continue without equally serious consequences i do believe that this  back to human rights abuse underscores perhaps the unwitting naive it's a on the part of some who think if we get straight things will get better it has not and finally i would ask my colleagues to take a look at i'll put this in the record manifesto that was written on april and signed on april eighth two thousand and six called the eight four zero six block it is a call for freedom and democracy and nonviolence one by one those who have signed  very important human rights document vietnam have been hunted down arrested and incarcerated by the government that's like the people who signed the declaration of independence or again during their soviet years those who would side manifest those calling for human rights like the charter seventy seven who likewise were mistreated by captors who simply because a spouse freedom found themselves at the in a gulag or being mistreated by by the government i  members on both sides of the aisle support this this is a bipartisan bill and i appreciate that this is the kind of expression that i think this body is known for speaking with one voice truth to power on behalf of human rights i reserve the was speaker i want to associate myself with the distinguished most eloquent statement made by my good friend from the jersey i have not had the privilege of visiting vietnam since the days of the war in sixty seven sixty eight but i do intend to visit that country since it comes under the jurisdiction of my subcommittee but again i want to thank my good friend for the facts of the data that is presented and i hope my colleagues will take him up and reading some of these important documents that he had shared with us in this delaying thank you mr speaker and i thanked it chairman for allowing me to speak today on this issue of the vietnam human rights act of two thousand and seven as you know i represent the largest vietnamese community outside of the naam in the world and so i've had the chance to visit vietnam now three times actually i just finished visiting in april of this year before that i had been denied a visa to visit vietnam for three times in the past two and a half years now i write today in support of my colleagues house resolution thirty ninety six because this is a very critical time in our relationship with vietnam before being accepted in the world trade organization in january the government of the nama sure the world that they would make significant progress in the area of human rights things that we as americans really sometimes take for granted freedom of speech freedom of the press freedom of collective bargaining freedom to assemble as we wish and most importantly really one of the reasons our country was founded freedom of religion as my colleague from new jersey stated we had put vietnam on the list of particularly concern with respect to the infringement on religious beliefs of the people of vietnam and even they were taken off in anticipation of this issue of going into the w t o many many promises in the eleven years that i have served in the congress many many promises by the communist government of vietnam yet nothing ever holds up and in this particular case every person who estimate up to speak inside a vietnam for democracy for democracy for something other than communist party for free elections for return of land confiscated by that government for  the religion that they want for their ability to sample three or four or five on a street corner with a simple song line asking one hundred searching for democracy and each and every one of these people are under house arrest have been put in prison one of them fatherly for example was given a trial a trial that lasted one day no attorney available to him in a very famous photograph sent across the world of the communist government with their hand over his mouth and his very own trial because they didn't want him to be heard by the world the venerable tech window a buddhist through peaceful means saying we need religious freedom recognise a church where most of the buddhists in vietnam want to belong but nothing instead here's under house arrest dissidents and yet they continue to speak up and try to tell the world that there is no human rights in vietnam and they continue to fight and many of my colleagues on the other side and on our side of the aisle have been working to get this message out so then they got w t you know and they imprisoned everybody i was there in april there were no dissidents to me t go to the prisons i asked to go see those who had been put time bart they left they would not let me they said how dare you ask you know better than to ask to see these people and our ambassador at his residence there put together a team of the winds in the mothers of the dissidents people who had spoken up  husbands and they came to talk to us they were stopped at their homes they were barricaded in their homes the streets were barricaded to their homes so they couldn't get out and the two who made it now in a very famous video pla went on the internet as i came to the hall so did those women the two who got through and about twenty five communist government soldiers descended upon us pulling us apart and dragging away one of the women the ambassador came out you said these women are simply here with us but they would have none of it this is democracy these are the human rights that this government promised so i say today speaker i also rise in support of the vietnam human rights act of two thousand and seven and i join i join congressman smith and the the efforts made by others here that have been tireless the strategy of trying to shine some light on vietnam trying to get the international community to look at what is happening there and i have worked with congressman smith on this legislation since two thousand and one and i know the importance of having it passed but also i know the trouble that it's been met met with in the other body and if we can overcome the objections of a few in the other body this bill will be an important tool in pressing hanoi to end its wanton disregard for human rights and i think the necessity of this legislation is because since early this year the crackdown has intensified in hanoi in vietnam to such an instant extent that especially students especially the spokesman for religious organizations there are receiving these one hour show trials where afterwards they're being sent into penetrant ten cheree eight years in the case of father lee it was fourteen years some years ago when he was sent away the first time and m face and to see what is really a slow strangulation of the culture and of the traditional religion as the state attempts to rewrite religion without the support of the religious leaders and thus come down hard on those religious leaders and try to remove them from society and try to imprison them certainly when they speak out and as human rights watch said this is the worst crackdown that we've seen in vietnam in twenty years in the past year vietnamese officials brought this harassment to reboot to religious leaders and political dissidents and student activists to these new draconian levels that unfortunately force us to act here this bill's focus on vietnam suppression of the democratic movement and its tight control over the media will be an important component in bringing change why because with this legislation radio free asia will now better be able to bring objective news to be a surrogate voice for opinions and news outside of the state sponsored propaganda and so the vietnamese people will hear of the spread of democratic values in asia and frankly the spread of democratic values in asia is critical to u s security interests it's important to note that vietnam has recently ratcheted up its efforts to block radio broadcasts from radio free asia and this tells me that not only are these broadcasts having a positive effect  combat and state propaganda but hanoi is feeling increased political pressure and this bill provides the means to overcome radio jamming and the funds for continued broadcasts so i urge passage of the bill i think it sends a firm message to hanoi that abuse of this kind to nonviolent citizens in the country will not be met with silence but frankly that we will take action not only on in terms of the broadcasting but th also authorizes our administration to provide us assistance through appropriate non governmental organizations and the human rights defenders fund for the support of the individuals and organizations to promote human rights and to  promote nonviolent democratic change inside the country so besides capping us non humanitarian assistance this other leverage will be very helpful in terms of trying to protect the human rights and dignity of the students and of the religious leaders right now that are facing such persecution inside vietnam i yield back the balance of my time thank you mr gentleman from american samoa speaker how much more for their most outstanding statements and their support of this proposed legislation authored by my good friend the gentleman from new jersey it saddens me because of the times in the period that i have had the opportunity of meeting with several delegation represented vietnam for the past couple of years and as my good friend from new jersey has stated earlier they've made a lot of promises and we've taken their promises in good faith and now we find ourselves in a situation where their promises  been severely questioned and i kind of like to think that when a country makes a promise he'd like to keep it and if this is the way vietnam is doing business then certainly we ought to do something about it and again i want to thank my good friend from  just remind my colleagues that that this is the third time this legislation both on the republican leadership and now thankfully the speaker has seen fit to bring this to the floor as well the third time i have brought this bill to the floor twice it passed the house little passed again i think there's a greater sense of urgency now because there is this new and i would call it an ugly and pervasive crackdown they got all their economic bennies they got all their world trade organization essentially as i said before p n t r was passed by this have the bilateral agreement before that so they got all of that and now they just have gone right back to the ugliest commissions of crimes against their own individual people and let me just also say to my colleagues mr speaker that we've heard from some very reliable sources that those who have been incarcerated those who are being intimidated are being told that the united states really doesn't care about human rights all  we care about is the the almighty buck the dollars making profits and i want to remind them that we have not walked away this is a bipartisan expression of concern for their well being and of course we know why they do this i'll never forget waging shang the great human rights democracy wall leader who spent years in the chinese laogai or gulag coming in testifying and hearing and i could be in on human rights abuses in china and he said that one of the ways that they break people in prison is a say that nobody cares everybody has forgotten you know it says in the bible that without hope the people perish and that is i think doubly triply true when you are incarcerated political prisoner and you are told that you ha been abandoned i want those individuals to know we have not abandoned them we care deeply for them we pray for them and we are trying to do what we can do think legislation to try to effect to wait their release and hopefully someday welcome a vietnam that is democratic free and a protector of human rights not a violator let me also finally say that right after we pass this legislation out of committee in the international relations committee and a totally bipartisan effort the communist party of vietnam online newspaper there raised me and my colleagues very very i think viciously and they did what all human rights abusers always do they said don't interfere with our internal affairs but we've heard that before mr speaker we heard it from the soviet union we've heard it from cuba we've heard it from countries where gulags are filled with human rights activists and freedom loving individuals we heard from south africa in the eighty's when many of us spoke out passionately against apartheid they said don't intervene in our internal affairs i hope the senate takes note and i hope my colleagues will read what is truly going on in vietnam today we will put this in the record the eight four zero six benefits the a great statement of human rights call as well as the judge's findings and the sentencing of the two people including died i mentioned earlier you read this and you realize why we get so concerned those of us like this the problem of anger and others who follow this from day in and day out this is an indictment on the system not on the individuals who have been sent to prison and i urge my colleagues to read this and the chairs prior announcement for the proceedings on this motion will be pressed boned purposes the gentleman from american samoa or i misspeak or i move to suspend the rules and agree to a house resolution to the three eight member congresswoman russ leighton for their support and their leadership in making this bill to the floor and i was also like to thank the distinguished colleague from new york mr crowley for introducing this important resolution but speaking o december eleventh two thousand and six the indonesian province of at che was host to one of the truly exceptional events in recent world history only two years after a devastating tsunami claimed some one hundred sixty five thousand lives of the people of akshay which is a province of indonesia and following three decades almost thirty years of violent conflict that ravaged this region courageous people of actually help peaceful and democratic elections it was an inspiring testament to the human spirit more than eighty percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in this landmark election as a signal a new chapter in the lives of the beleaguered people of that charity and serve as a bold demonstration of the power of democracy and diplomacy throughout the world diplomacy mr speaker this election could not have taken place without the willingness of the government of indonesia and the armed fighters of the free akshay movement to take the important step of choosing peace over violence to settle their differences after decades of bloody battle the two sides put down their arms and negotiated a helsinki memorandum of understanding on august fifteenth two thousand and six perspective we have seen it from northern ireland to south africa and around the world when governments and rebel groups are finally willing to lay down their arms and come to the negotiating table agreements previously thought possible can suddenly come to fruition in addition to calling for elections the actual memorandum of understanding also calls for the establishment of a human rights court and a truth and reconciliation commission very similar to what happened in south africa it is important to these bodies be established without delay so that akshay can begin to heal and then fulfil i also would like to recognize the leadership of the president of indonesia president says change or utah your no i know you played a most critical role in bringing about a peaceful solution to the province of action just as in my recent discussions with him a couple of months ago you had given promise that he's also totally committed to the full implementation of the autonomy law that was passed by the indonesian parliament to provide for greater democracy  role for the people of west papuan i know this issue is not related to the change situation but i do know it's connected to the fact that jakarta the government of a new vision is the government responsible for what has happened  between these two provinces but i do want to give recognition to president asked me why it is he's usually known in indonesia for his leadership and for his efforts in bringing finally to a peaceful solution the situation  and rise in support of a trace two thirty eight which commands the momentous democratic elections held in ahci into the ija this past december for decades that region of northern sumatra was caught in seemingly endless cycles of retribution separat violence by the free achi movement known as the gun provoked brutal crackdown by the indonesian military and far too often it was the civilians in the middle who paid the price that conflict and the mistrust of both sides appeared and displaced hundreds of thousands of more in january of two thousand and five within days of the tsunami i visited the devastated coastline and the bond achi aid center along with the united states navy crews who are providing water and logistical support from the u s s abraham lincoln for humanitarian relief efforts it was a cataclysm of biblical proportions but the immensity of the suffering it caused also diminished the relative significance of the political conflicts that had afflicted those communities for so long since then we have seen progress towards democracy and reconciliation that would have not appeared possible before hand the signing of the helsinki memorandum of iran use of was elected as governor of course the work of long term reconciliation and building of a strong civil society will take time in continued cooperation from both parties all parties  appropriate that this resolution encourages both sides to live up to their commitments under the helsinki memorandum particular with regard to establishing a human rights record for r j and a truth and reconciliation commission having personally witnessed the witness the suffering of the chinese and the devastation of their homes and livelihoods following the tsunami i am particularly hopeful that we are witnessing the springtime of the mock see peace and development in