smetana record sense since we're talking about you know because this debate even if unintentional could be used as still another cause for a u s attack on iran and because the international atomic energy agency has not sabbaths that iran is developing nuclear weapons and because we went to war against the rack on the basis of misinformation and this information and because i stand for peaceful resolution of all international disputes in the middle east in the region and because i do share the concern that israel would be imperiled which is why did the research i did the research that is the basis of me wanting to submit a translation now you know there's an old saying much is lost in translation and if if there's so much riding on this resolution it would appear to me that the prudent approach to take would be to read a translation from farsi to english and i have two such translations to offer in this congress if anyone is interested of course i'll yield to my friend a translation of a speech of the of the offenses of ahmed into jobs are many and the three separate remarks on three separate occasions calling for the destruction of the state of israel does the gentleman have translations of each of those three separate remarks calling for the genocidal destruction of the state of israel i have a  pretty thorough translations that i'd like to reclaiming my time proceed to to speak to you have them of all three i'm going to go specifically with the comments that were contained if i may everything that i have relates to this resolution my good friend and i want to i'm going to proceed now and then i'll yield back certainly i just want to make sure we can continue this i want to proceed with quotes from this resolution i'm just going to stay very close to this resolution because this is what we're debating a resolution before the house that calls on the security council to charge iranian president mahmoud and then a shot with violating the one thousand nine hundred eighty convention on the prevention and punishment of a crime a genocide in the united nations charter because of his calls for the destruction state of israel you know something that i've you know obviously would find abhorrent and repugnant if he said that and i started to do research on this and i'm just calling it here attention with respect to the quote that he said that he that israel should be wiped off the map that's how that's what the quote was i have seen from translations in the new york times and the middle east research institute that that speech that i'm a dinner she gave on october twenty sixth two thousand and five does not call for israel to be wiped off the map now h conrads twenty one states that he has called for israel to be wiped off the map but according to the middle east research institute it's more correctly translated lemonade from the pages of history and when taken in full context here's what the quote says this regime that is occupying quads or jerusalem must be eliminated from the pages of history he's talking about the regime now h can resolution twenty one accuses president ahmadinejad of saying that israel and it these are awful quotes if he said it it's it's it's it's horrible that israel is a disgraceful blot on the face of the islamic world however the new york times translate this section of the speech as saying quote this is the new york times dear imaam targeted the heart of the world oppressor in a struggle meaning the occupying regime i have no doubt that the however he did not say he was he wasn't talking about the people of israel the nation was talking about the regime here again the quote that's included in this resolution anyone of declaring that anybody recognize israel will burn in the fire of the islamic nations fury however in two separate translations it's clear that i'm a dentist god is referring to the israeli regime the new york times he should know that he will burn in the fire of islamic nation so what he's calling for is regime change he is not calling according to these translations of according to these translations he is calling for regime change he is not calling for the destruction of israel now i'm just going on the basis of the new york times translation are you to my friend that it is standard usage in the government of iran and in many of the arab regimes that since they will not say the word israel they refer to israel as the zionist entity or the zionist regime so that when they say the zionist regime they are not necessarily calling for regime change when they say the zionist regime of the zionist entity must be abolished they are usually referring to the country of israel well you know one of the actual quotes to respond to my friend  means continued did not refer to israel the country or israel the land mass but the israeli regime that is a vastly significant distinction as one cannot wipe a regime off the map and show the gentleman  he'll i would be glad to have my friend respond at all for mr wright was enormous i will respond again it proves nothing because the fact is that if you're just looking at adam ology that may make sense but if you look at usage in the middle being eliminated they weren't talking about regime change they were talking about genocide you know back when the germany i think the general thank you first of all the love of these statements occurred in the capital of iran during the world without violence i'm conference zionism is a historic movement of returning the jews to their bill book o homeland where they were expelled for thousands of years so when they have a conference for a world without zionism and in that conference say regime will be wiped off the map one could reasonably understand that there would be no more zionism no jewish state that that's what zionism is no jewish state in the middle east by the way the middle east which is a sea of islam mic regimes a sea of islamic regimes israel's defense is having the nerve to exist as a non islamic regime but i asked  gentleman for translations of the other matters that came before the u n namely on december twelfth of two thousand and six during a conference in iran denying the holocaust the gentleman from new jersey is entertaining unanimous i move to strike the last word the my own and i use i ask unanimous consent for an additional three minutes of not to be divided equally gentleman from ohio and the gentle lady from florida to thank you at thank you very much mr speaker and i thank the gentleman from ohio for giving us this time i want to be clear about my objection of the putting ahmadinejad's statements  has an opportunity as a member of this house to to clear up the record is as he has pointed out in his statements and put in those remarks on his own i would hate to have ahmadinejad's statements be included as a part of the record in this part of the debate where we are saying that he is a death but he is a person who denies the holocaust existence who has called for israel's destruction and to be mincing about with words and translations and i know the gentleman from ohio has motives are are are clear he is not saying that he is calling for israel's destruction but i think of the discussion but he is a member of congress is free to all to clear the record as he points out and put a medina jobs words on his own time in the congressional record and with that i'll be glad to yield my remaining time t that is what i put to that then i'll yield the half a minute to my friend of course the gentleman's afraid that because anthocyanins and world without zionism conference within a judge said wipe israel off the map we're quibbling over that he said on another occasion why the israel regime is ainus regime off the map and on a third occasion said the world will soon soon see the destruction of israel the gentleman thinks there's ambiguity there this is a regime in iran sending troops and equipment killing our soldiers in iraq building nuclear weapons threatening to kill our number one ally the state of israel and he doesn't want the un to look into it to condemn them i think the gentleman is wrong t has expired gentlemen as one minute remaining someone from ohio is recognized if in fact that's what he said and of course the you and should look into it but i think we should look into whether or not he said that and  speech this is from the new york times and they certainly have never been accused of any kind of propaganda against israel and so i would say that it's important for us to look at this and i don't think it's an unreasonable request that we should look at exactly the time expired about it and i don't think i don't think that it's an unusual request or unreasonable request to try to see exactly what this person said so we'll know what the appropriate course of action is to take i stand for peace i stood before this congress and challenged the war when very few against iraq when very few people were willing to do that because i question whether rac did have suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution twenty one as amended those in favor say aye aye those opposed though in the opinion the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the concurrent resolution seven resolution honoring the life and six decades of public service of jacob birnbaum and especially his commitment freeing soviet jews from religious cultural and communal actin to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration without objection mrs speaker i rise in strong support of this resolution i yield myself as much time as i might in the gentle lady from 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 city at union numbered five million after the war only two 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 so this resolution pays tribute to a remarkable moment we mockable a man who stood up for these victims of brutality jacob people his movement began in one thousand nine hundred sixty four as a humble yet bold student group arcanite to march on the civil 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 sivia choose th social activism snowballed into the solidarity marches of the one nine hundred seventy s that gathered millions of individuals to fight for the cause burka also work with the authors of the historic jackson venet amendment to help free sivia tooth looking to immigrant in this way he helped to elevate the movement so that u s federal government had to pay attention and to act but his dog and determine were continued even as the city at block crumbled and anti semitism flared in incidents across the region mr burr bomb continues to work with educational institutions for farmer jews as part of the let my people know campaign through the years jacob cause that we have long supported helping to free sylvia choose from oppression and to help him rise to jews in russia and the farmer soviet republic the name bomb refers not only to one dedicated man but to the very cause a freedom itself i support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do the  reserve the balance of my time to speak are generally to california was are generated from florida thank you mr speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume the gentle lady from florida is granted thank you mr speaker and i rise today in support of mr ned mirza resolution house resolution one thirty seven honoring the life and of public service of jacob byrne bomb and especially his commitment to freeing soviet jews from religious cultural and communal extinction for decades mr birnbaum has been at the forefront of the nonviolent struggle for soviet jewry establishing the student struggle for soviet jewry and organizing marches rallies and publications of educational materials aimed at freeing jews trapped in the soviet union mr birnbaum worked closely with members of the united states congress testified at congressional hearings and persistently pushed for the united states to use our economic leverage against the soviet union to pressure that country so that they can allow soviet use and other east european jews to escape the oppression of religious and cultural nature in the soviet union throughout the decades mr byrne bombs persistence and commitment to human rights and to religious freedom have been invaluable in free in freeing soviet jews and pursue preserving their religious and cultural heritage mr byrne bams commitment to this cause has not only has not diminished to this day he continues to help jewish educational institutions and former soviet jews even today and mr knabb murs resolution before us honors mr birnbaum and his years of public service and i mr speaker i rise today to urge my colleagues to join me in supporting house resolution one thirty seven a resolution to honor the life and six decades of public service of jacob birnbaum no more familiarly as yacov birnbaum especially as commitment freeing soviet jews from religious cultural and communal extinction it is fitting that yako birnbaum was born on december tenth which is also international human rights day this past december mr burned down celebrate his eightieth birthday in th time for this body to honor the life and work the sixty years of public service of this remarkable human rights activists i'm very proud to call him a fellow new yorker yako birnbaum was born in germany during world war two his family fled the nazis and settled in the familiar with the inequities of the soviet system these early experiences fueled this later passion to mobilize american jewry in the drive to rescue jews from oppression in the soviet union in the mid one nine hundred fifty s in early one nine hundred sixty s he became involved in assisting people from the disintegrating jewish communities of north africa caught up in the struggles of their host countries for independence from france and in the persecutions of the jews of north africa after the independence of israel is activism  denied and then after traveling to the united states he decided to create a national student organization to activate the grassroots of the american jewish community settling in new york in one thousand nine hundred sixty four he set up his first student committee then he concentrated on building a student core yeshiva university mr birnbaum named the new organization the student struggle for soviet jewry known familiarly as the triple s j finally called the national founding media columbia university in april twenty seventh  four followed by a large student demonstration four days later on the soviet holiday may day in front of the soviet mission to the united nations the authoritative center for jewish history is listed the demonstration as the beginning of the public struggle for the freedom of soviet jews many consider this action as the reason to consider mr burnham the father of the most of the movement to liberate soviet jewry indeed the evidence supports this notion that the rest of the one nine hundred sixty s under his direction the student struggle continued working full time in response to the oppression of soviet jews as we know the bulk of it revolution right she led to the imprisonment of soviet jews behind the iron curtain jewish culture jewish religion and jewish communal were forcibly extinguished under the soviet regime which was windows in numerous anti semitic actions even after stanley's death the soviet kingdom of fear abated only slightly the cold war effectively continued to call out the jews of russia and eastern europe from their fellow jews in the west and almost all expressions of jewish religion and culture culture continued to be prohibited nevertheless expressions of outrage began to accumulate in the early one nine hundred sixty s with a few pioneers leading the way shortly after the initial organizing bayaka birnbaum the major jewish organizations met in washington d c and established the american conference and soviet jewry the s s s j that mr burnham had established functioned as its handbook said to mobilize a tidal wave of public opinion after the mass arrests of young jewish dissidents on june fifteenth one thousand nine hundred seventy and the desk sentences handed down to them in the leningrad trial of december one hundred seventy the national conference and soviet your we created the greater new york conference under the direction of the then young activist malcolm home line initiated the profoundly important solidarity day march is modeled after the act of burn dams of jericho redemption an exodus marches  rallies of the one nine hundred sixty s with the whole line is now the executive vice chairman of the conference of presence of major american jewish organizations of great significance was the creation one hundred seventy of the union of councils for soviet jews a coalition of non establishment really regional public figures such as dr mayer rosanne who worked closely with mr burnham in the early formative period of one hundred sixty four to sixty seven dr ro zen later became israel's ambassador to france and then to the united states should martin gilbert the official british historian of winston churchill and his times has made a similar statement in may nine hundred sixty five jaco birnbaum was the first person to testify before a congressional committee on the importance of utilizing economic leverage on the kremlin to secure the liberation of soviet jews when the late senator henry jackson initiated the legislation which finally resulted in passage of the jaxon van amendment in one nine hundred seventy four mr birnbaum worked closely with the director of se fosdick and of course with his other aide richard perle you played a major role in the initiation and development of the legislation the idea of placing economic pressure and time in the states to increase immigration played a key role birnbaum conducted annual most favored nation campaigns based on jackson vanek to pressure various countries including remain here to increase emigration and to release prisoners he testified annually before both senate and house committe religious cultural and community life and in the one nine hundred sixty s the soviet jewish resistance underground began to generate jewish self education cultural religious and hebrew speaking groups in the soviet union mr berman conducted numerous campaigns for their protection in listing the eight of many christian religious denominations these efforts reach the high point when he organized and led a delegation of the sin i got council of america to meet with the deputy secretary of state and the department's human rights director wurmser minutes of kember meeting with president reagan finally in one nine hundred ninety the kremlin conceded to all the pressure and permitted the mess emigration which is now totaled more than two million people about one million to israel and one million elsewhere mostly to the united states this was no small accomplishment and many people played a role in making it happen in addition to the courageous work of the act of birnbaum tribute should be paid to the many pioneers and the other national organizations which for so strenuously for the liberation of soviet jews committee on soviet anti semitism and elie weisel whose book the jews of silence was so influential many organizations also played an important role and i will name them in the my extended remarks following the collapse of the soviet regime mr  of public service of yacov birnbaum and especially his commitment his successful commitment to freeing soviet jews from religious cultural communal extinction he is a true hero i want to thank the gentleman from california mr lantos chairman of the foreign affairs committee for moving this resolution quickly through his committee i would also like like to thank the gentleman from california mrs watts ms watson for majuba consideration as resolution today and the gentleman from florida ms russ leighton for her question is will the house suspend the rules in a great to house resolution one thirty seven as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules  suspended the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table eighty concurrent resolution calling on the government of uganda and the lord's resistance army l r a to recommit to a political solution to the conflict in northern uganda and to re commence the vital peace talks and urging immediate and substantial support for the ongoing peace process from the united states and the international community pursuant to the rule the gentlewoman from california ms watson and the gentlewoman from florida ms ross layton each will all twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from california mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five letter legislative days to be by and extend their remarks and include extraneous material i first want to think the distinguished gentleman from georgia congressman hank johnson for sponsoring this important and timely resolution on the nightmarish conflict in north two decades of her is a battle between the lord's resistance army and the ugandan government have taken up to two hundred thousand lives and displaced nearly two million civilians from their homes but the human tragedy in uganda cannot be simply represented through numbers and statistics it is about the daily pain and terror of victims and their families like other rebel forces that have fought the traffic civil wars of africa the lord's resistance army built its ranks with child soldiers both girls and boys and use vicious and unspeakable method to alienate these children from their families and their villages time and again god the 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 thirty thousand children have been kidnapped and face our horrible fate becoming of sarb into the l r a meanwhile tens of thousands of terrified children leave their home villages each evening at dusk and walked a distance to town to avoid being kidnapped by the l r a 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 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 violation in august of last year south sudan's president brokered a secession of hundreds of hostilities agreement between the government and the rebel forces but the accord broke down and only last month did the ten month effort resume i believe the uganda people deserve both peace and justice it is incumbent upon the international community to work justice are achieved here even in 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 north in uganda that's why i urge the passage of this as legislation to put uganda on a path conflict in northern uganda by engaging in good faith negotiations and it urges support for the ongoing peace process from the united states and the international community as my good friend from lord's resistance army el rey of joseph coney coney claims to hold mystical powers and asserts that he has been guided by god to protect the a koli people of northern who have been marginalized by move sent of these governments however it is the a koli themselves who have suffered disproportionately at the hands of the l r a the n r a which has been designated as a terrorist group subject to the state department's terror or is the exclusion list moves in small well coordinated groups from bases in southern sudan and more recently in eastern congo they hold no clear political agenda and make no attempt to hold territory but they mutilate torture murder rape and loot with impunity the l r a has abducted more than twenty thousand people mostly children mr speaker to work as laborers soldiers and sex slaves children are forced to the front lines and those who do manage to escape from the l r a find it difficult if not impossible to return to their villages after having been forced to commit atrocities in front of their families one of the most visible signs of the collective trauma suffered by the people of northern uganda was pointed out by ambassador watson and this is the night commuter phenomenon at the peak of the conflict over twenty thousand children would walk up to fifteen kilometers from their village to the relative safety of the towns each and every night they would spend the night under grossly overcrowded tents sleeping on concrete floors before getting up at dawn to make the return journey to their villages it was not for food nor for the promise of social services that drew these children to these towns but it was fear of abduction by the l r a while security conditions in northern uganda have improved and the number of night commuters has decreased over the past two years roughly ninety percent ninety percent mr speaker of the local population remains homeless these one point four million people have been forced from their homes and herded by the government of uganda in camps for internally displaced persons despite attempts to decongest the conditions in these camps are abysmal a health survey conducted by the ugandan ministry of health in two thousand and five asserts that up to a thousand people have died in the camps each week due to treatable illnesses such as diarrhea and malaria the h i v aids rate in the camps is more than double the national average sexual violence domestic violence against women has increased dramatically and the i p s complained that camp life has all but destroyed the social fabric of the region for its own part the ugandan government has failed in its efforts to defeat the l r a militarily and to provide adequate protection for the citizens of northern uganda instead the government has embraced a highly questionable three pronged approach toward resolving the the conflict and this includes mr speaker number one pursuing a military campaign against the l r a to supporting indictments by the international criminal court the i c c against the l r a's top leaders while three participating in peace talks while offering amnesty to l r a rebels it should come as no surprise that these mutually incompatible efforts have greatly complicated matters and have failed to yield lasting results ill time military campaigns have undermined numerous mediation efforts and the i c c indictments have led the l r a to question the sincerity of the amnesty deal offered by the government leaders further both the government of sudan and the l r a have routinely violated the agreement that's called the secession of hostile liddy's agreement which has now expired without having ever been fully implemented these actions have prompted skeptics to warn that both sides may be using the pretext of talks to rearm and replenish their forces if this is in fact the case both the l r a and the  government should be reminded of the fact that a military solution has eluded them for over twenty years it is unlikely that a military solution will be any more viable now thankfully peace talks between the government and the el rey have resumed in juba in southern sudan and appeared to be gaining momentum despite numerous challenges not the least of which is the fact that delegations allegedly representing the two parties have questionable credibility the jubal process is being hailed as the best chance yet to ending the conflict by political means h conrads eighty serves as an expression of support for this political dialogue it expresses this approval of the l r a leadership in its inconsistence commitment to resolving the conflict and it urges both the el rey and the government of uganda to engage in good faith negotiations it encourages all parties to immediately stop human rights violations and address the issues of accountability and it calls on both the l r a and the government of uganda to  intentions and halt any preparations to resume this violence finally mr speaker the resolution calls on the state department of the united states agency for international development and other seminal similar government and non government organizations within the international community to continue and to augment efforts to alleviate the human on a tarion crisis in northern uganda and to support a peaceful resolution to this humanitarian crisis according to the un office of humanitarian affairs the conflict of northern uganda is characterized by a level of cruelty seldom seen and few conflicts brute brutality the spite all of this mr speaker remains one of the most overlooked humanitarian and human rights crises in the world today h conrads eighty s shed some well deserved attention on the crisis in northern uganda it affirms the result of this congress that the victims of this atrocious conflict shall not be forgotten mr speaker i thank you for bringing this important resolution to the floor i urge the support of all of our members and i reserve the balance of our time and place and for every certainly from california mr speaker i'd like to give the next five minutes to the g from florida for their support for this resolution mr speaker i rise today in strong support of house congressional resolution eighty a bill that i introduced which calls on the government of uganda and the lord's resistance army or the l r a to recommit to a political solution to the conflict now reaching in states and the international community when it comes to international affairs mr speaker the congress is somewhat limited in the action that it can take to address issues of concern as we all know it is primarily and rightfully a function of the executive branch however we do have the right and the ability to use this platform to focus attention on human suffering around the globe if only for a moment so now is our moment to put a spotlight on the situation in northern uganda and the situation has been explained by both the gentlewoman from california and the gentlewoman from florida so i will not duplicate what they have said to recommit to a political solution to the conflict in northern uganda and to sustain the vital peace talks which are now ongoing it also urges immediate and substantial support for the ongoing peace process from the united states and the international community mr speaker the tragedy in darfur rightfully has been receiving a great deal of attention as of late but to the southeast of that region another tragedy has been developing for nearly two decades more than two hundred thousand ugandans have died from the violence and disease brought about by the conflict between the ugandan government and the l r a almost two million people have been displaced from their homes in villages having been forced to flee the violence what is particularly disgusting about this conflict is the forced recruitment of children by the l r a as many as thirty eight thousand children have been abducted the boys are turned into killing quote the biggest forgotten neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today in quote today with the passage of house congressional resolution eighty i hope to take a small step toward changing this unfortunate truth and i respectfully ask that my colleagues support it thank you and i yield back germany of back uganda in april of two thousand and six i shared a hearing on the endangered children of u northern uganda for the subcommittee in africa a global human rights and international operations we heard from a number of witnesses and we raised it and continue to raise it with the administration but one of our witnesses was a particularly noteworthy person all young woman named grace a colorado a grace is or was a child soldier and abducted young girl who was totally mistreated by the lord's resistance army she was turned into a child soldier and just a couple of days ago announced her new book called child soldier which makes chilling reading for anybody who wants to know what really goes on in northern uganda and how crazed joseph kon and his people are and how as the distinguished gentleman just a moment ago said they turn girls into sex slaves and killers and the young men into killing machines it is a terrible horrible indictment on how low the the individual can sink to and just of coney's we all know has been indicted he and others by the international criminal court for serious crimes against humanity and regrettably this killing continues to go on i urge members to read the book it will it is a in awakening not just on what she suffered but also how a person when when surrounded by people who love her and give her the kind of support that any individual like herself needs to get how they can come back the resiliency of the human spirit she is a soft spoken poised gentle lovely young woman who has a great future but but she has been through a nightmare so we want to keep her and her friends in our prayers she also pointed out just last week at a meeting that we had announcing her book that she cries out and prays every day for friends many of whom she doesn't know what happened to him they're still there she thinks they may be dead but she has no idea i think that puts additional impetus on us to do more to save these children this last generation mr speaker as has been pointed out over the last twenty years as many as one point five half of these internally place persons are our children under the age of fifteen people just like grace kahlo one quarter of the children in northern uganda over ten years of age have lost one or more parents about a quarter of a million recent children received no education at all and the fact that sixty percent of the schools know that uganda no longer function is directly attributable to the war or point out that those that do function do so in a very meager way because of the war in the north uganda has developed a lost generation that has grown up in dire circumstances with fear and deprivations as their constant compassions companions nearly half of the children in one town are stunted from malnutrition they are likely never to recover the latest two thousand and six country ports on human rights practices mr speaker summarize it in a chilling fashion the heart that has been perpetrated on the people of northern  uganda particularly by the head of the lord's resistance army joseph koni it states at the heart of the war the l r a led by joseph koni committed serious abuses and atrocities including abduction rape and the killing of civilians  use children as soldiers held children and others in slave like conditions and subjected female captives to rape and other forms of severe as for toys exploitation this resolution tries to put additional focus additional behind the effort to finally find a negotiated solution to this ongoing killing fields and we all hope and pray this will have at least a happier ending than it has thus far again i urge my members to read the book as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the concurrent resolution is agreed to and without objection motion to reconsider is laid upon the table without objection the title is amended concurrent resolution one to deal one concurrent resolution 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 pursuant to the rule of the gentlewoman from california ms watson and the gentlewoman from florida ms ross layton each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california members may have five legislative days and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution and a consideration without objection misspeak i rise in strong support of this resolution and solutions 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 citizen tree 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 boost to our 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 hose the government's feet to the fire it is the only real way to inform the people about their own country and it's mobilizing them around crucial issues nowhere in this nowhere is this more important than in russia where nansen independent press formed in early one nine hundred ninety s has suddenly dissipated under fear of government reporters writing about government decisions and engaging in the 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 report those without borders twenty one reported have been murdered and the mysterious circumstances since putin took office in march of two thousand almost all of those mysterious 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 nicole and colby if guy ya'll that correct guy yahoo was shot to death in the elevator bank of her apartment building in moscow she and her family had feared for her life every since she emerged as an unclaimed journalist and human rights activists she wrote numerous articles critical of criminal and human rights abuses and misdeeds in chad changes and she paid the highest price for it paul kept blowing off the editor of the russian version the fourth mad magazine investigated suspect business dealings and was subsequently shot to death in moscow ivan so suffer a knopf a military affairs reporter who criticized the failure a russian military program 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 k g b colonel somehow no longer knows how to investigate such crimes i thought i knew that awfully curious we cannot allow this repression this silencing of independent media to continue especially in a country within that and democracy and start for objective information there was a fleeting moment in russia in the early one thousand nine hundred when an independent media florist and new publications cropped up overnight now the brave critical journalists who emain choler 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  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 calls on president putin to seek outside help in investigating these un sob crimes and on the united states government to formally offer such assistance concurrent resolution one five one introduced by my distinguished colleague from new jersey mr smith as the gentle lady from california has pointed out mr speaker this important resolution deals with a strange and quite troubling pattern of the killing of independent journalist in russia over the past decade we've had different estimates but one places the number of murdered reporters at twenty over the past seventy years that estimate coming from the esteemed organization reporters without borders another estimate from the international news safety institute puts the number of at close to ninety reporters killed in russia over the past eleven years and what is truly strange is that most of these murders remain unsolved many of the murdered journalist have made it their personal cause to investigate corruption and the abuse of power at all levels of the russian government perhaps many of our colleagues will recall just a few weeks ago a brave russian reporter was shot in the head on a street in moscow she had written articles criticizing the russian government for its human rights abuses her murder remains unsolved perhaps our colleagues will recall the more recent death of a reporter who died in march of this years the gentle lady pointed out falling five stories from a window in the stairway of his apartment building he was a military affairs reporter who had criticised the russian government in his articles and he had been planning to publish a report on the arms sales of russia to the state sponsor of terror iran and syria all of these seekers of truth did not deserve to die for their journalistic efforts bringing to justice the murderers of these reporters does deserve the strongest possible support of their government their police their prosecutors and yet it appears to be strangely absent mr speaker a free and democratic society requires freedom of the press freedom of the media and respect for the safety of those who at times risk their lives to uncover the truth russia will not be a free and democratic society until that is the case in their country we can and we should ask the russian government to stand up in defense of its independent media and the safety of its reporters but unwillingness of the russian government to solve so many of these murders and the successful efforts of the kremlin to use state owned or influence companies to buy up and censor the russian media shows that our voices may be falling on willingly deaf ears nevertheless that is what we should do we should call on the russian government to respect human rights and the rule of law by investigating these crimes with vigor and with sincerity and that is the message mr speaker of the resolution before us this resolution also calls on our president to specifically offer our assistance to help the russian government investigate those crimes we should also ask the russian president to seek out an except competent outside law enforcement assistance to investigate these crimes and this resolutely resolution calls for that mr speaker it is critical that we recognize the tremendous contributions made by independent journalists in russia most especially those who suffer a bitter death as an unjust reward for their efforts it is critical that we condemn in the strongest possible form the brutal murders of those who died trying to bring accurate and honest information to the russian people about what is happening in their country i urge my colleagues to support mr smith's resolution to honor these intrepid reporters whose murders cry out for justice i reserve the balance of my time mr speaker recognized for such time as you make and i thank my good friend for yielding and i want to thank of investor watson for being one of the post boncelles of this resolution and for all of those who joined us today in making this collective statement to the russians that there needs to be significant change a reform as to how they treat journalists madam speaker mr speaker today i rise in strong support of h connor as one fifty one a resolution which calls upon russian president putin to seek outside law enforcement assistance in investigating the unsolved murders of dozens of russian journalists over the past decade it also encourages president bush to formally offer president putin law enforcement assistance from the united states most of their observers think mr speaker that some russian officials have ordered or at least connived at these murders since most of the murder journalists were investigating government corruption or involvement in human rights abuses there is good reason to think that people in high places are still protecting the murderers mr speaker russia holds the second worst position in the world in the number of journalists killed in the last ten years according to the international news safety institute reporters without borders counts twenty one murder journalists since march of two thousand this is a conservative number does not include the death of their extremely suspicious circumstances of i didn't suffer enough it does not murders and you come up with one headline after another and one news story after another usually in the western press of individuals being killed in june fifteenth it was the headline russian journalist attacked in moscow in may of zero five radio journalist badly beaten up april twenty first russian reporters get beaten despite wearing special jackets april twentieth russian activist skeptical about special clothing for journalists and protests they had to wear special clothing protective gear to protect them from the police television april night television journalist found dead april ninth again critical television journalist fears for his life photo journalist on a profile fits beaten injured journalist assaulted during demonstrations and the list goes on and on and on sorry mr speaker but i see a pattern and i think other members do as well let me just say a brief word about the three journalists that all three of us are mentioning here today also delineated in the resolution who illustrative of so many others paul klebnikov was the editor of the russian edition of forbes magazine in july two thousand and four he was shot to death in moscow wind while investigating suspect business dealings and corruption cases anna politkovskaya was an award winning russian journalist and human rights activist she wrote many articles criticizing russian atrocities committed during the war in chechnya in october two thousand six she was shot to death in moscow i didn't suffer enough reported to for the russian newspaper cover sun he wrote articles criticizing the failure failure of the russian military programs and was planning to report on potential russian arms sales to iran and syria state sponsors of terrorism in march of two thousand and seven he died under suspicious circumstances as has been recounted by both of my colleagues fell five stories from a window in the stairwell of his apartment building that was no accident mr speaker that was a murder none of these cases have been solved and very few of the less famous cases have been even looked at in a meaningful way many of my colleagues in this house have other concerns as to why about human rights problems in russia xenophobic violence continues throughout the russian federation people continue to disappear in chechnya local officials still discriminate against not orthodox religions and the rule of just la shaky and of course we all care about these power to point out to you that a situation in which journalists can be killed with impunity is a human rights problem of a different order it is a human rights problem that mitigates the resolution of other human rights problems when journalists investigating a corruption case or a human rights abuse can be killed without their killers being brought to justice or without a convincing effort being made to do so this intimidates and has a chilling effect on other journalists it marks off the borders of what others know they must not investigate as a result the russian press cannot properly for a fill its function of holding officials to account this is exactly what the killers intend i raised to raise this issue recently at a hearing of the commission on security cooperation in europe and i was glad when daniel fried assistant secretary of state for european and your asian affairs knowledge the nature of the problem and outrages in its name journalists who do this at risk of their lives it's fully deserved to be called heroes make no mistake about it these journalists knew what they were risking as they wrote and wrote and use the power of the pen to expose we owe it to them to raise our voice to bring the killers to justice mr putin steadily does not seem to be making any serious efforts to do so and unfortunately we have the situation as it exists in russia only one journalist can work without fear of intimidation and death will way be able to say that we have a truly democratic russian government or russia or russian journalists have to they are the watchdogs just as they are in this country and every other every other country alexander solzhenitsyn the great conscience of russia said in his nobel peace prize speech in one thousand nine hundred seventy and a man who has once proclaimed violence as his method is inevitably forced to take that the lie as his principle my resolution addresses the violence of the murder of independent journalists and the lie in the claim that the murders have been seriously investigated solzhenitsyn said of communist russia in our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the state we have to ask ourselves and ask mr putin was this was this terrible statement also true of post communist russia i did we send a clear message today and i hope members in a bipartisan way way will support this and finally i just want to thank mark voloshin mark gage for their work in helping to put this resolution of together and you'll back to bounce of my time on this question are postponed for what purpose the gentle lady from california arise mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and agree on resolution h read to thirty two thirty three as amended the clerk a report the title of the resolution house resolution two thirty three resolution recognizing over two hundred years of sovereign three in of the principalit and expressing support for efforts by the united states continue to strengthen its relationship with that country pursuant to the rule of the gentlewoman from california ms watson and the gentleman from florida ms ross layton each will control twenty minutes the chair material on the resolution and the consideration without objection this week or i rise in strong support of this resolution and healed myself as much time as i may consume the gentleman from california is recognized in strong support for this measure which recognize it is over two hundred years of sovereignty lytton standing and supports efforts by the united states to strengthen and brother its relationships with this country that in stein may be small in size but it is big in stature just sixty two miles square miles and nestled in the heart of europe between switzerland and astoria it boasts thirty five thousand inhabitants a strong democratic government and a constitutional heredity monarchy its mountain landscape have made it we and as one of the most beautiful countries in europe the country country is well above its weight in its contributions to the global banking and financial sectors  the last sixty years it has developed m m a mainly agrarian society to one of the most highly industrialized countries in the world indeed its economic growth should serve a 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 market for  the past ten years in addition let's inside based companies have created over four thousand five hundred jobs in the united states mainly in manufacturing cells and serv given the celebration last year a live in stein two hundred years of sovereignty it is fitting that the house passed its resolution to pay tribute to the country's demographic democratic tradition and prosperity furthermore in recognition of the important partnership between the united states in this in style in the areas of politic economic and security this resolution calls on the united states to strengthen and further its relationship with the link since this inside i strongly support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do the pleased to take this opportunity to rise in support of house resolution two thirty three authored by my good friend from florida mr stearns that recognizes the more than two hundred years of sovereignty of liechtenstein with the desolate dissolution of the holy roman empire two hundred years ago lichtenstein became an independent state since then it has evolved as both a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy with a population of only about thirty four thousand people we cannot expect lichtenstein to take a leading role in international affairs but it is an important ally in the cause of supporting and promoting democracy and despite its small size small size mr speaker it has an importance for the united states that exceeds its geographical reach exports are a major factor in the success of lichtenstein's economy and that outward looking approach to commerce with the rest of the world has made it an important economic partner for the united states creating almost five thousand jobs here in the united states and achieving over half a billion dollars in exports to the american market in the year two thousand and five alone at home in europe while it is not a member of the european union liechtenstein is very closely aligned with the economic policies of that important organization and works to harmonize its economic policy very closely with it all nation participates as a full partner in forums such as the world trade organization and the international court of justice mr speaker i encourage my colleagues to vote for this resolution by mr stearns of florida which expresses our support for a continued strengthening of our relationships with lichtenstein and i reserve the balance of my time generated from florida reserves and light from california mr speaker i have  lee outlined why this resolution so important and i compliment you on your your speech my colleagues if you heard the word lichtenstein and you did know a thing about this resolution and you came to you the street you were talking to people and you said to them what does the word lichtenstein mean to you there probably be a number of things they would say but i bet you one of the things they would say is it sounds like a word of integrity it sounds like a word of independence it sounds like a word of idealism it sounds like a word of responsibility and it sounds like a word of charm i've been there it's a very charming country it's a very responsible country it's an independent country and it's a country that represents idealism much as the gentle lady from florida's talked about when she mentioned that this country has been very responsible as mention it's thirty four thousand people it's a small nation and accomplishes far more as mentioned earlier and social political and financial influence then its small size would indicate nestled between switzerland and austria in the european alps lichtenstein has  d a stable and growing democracy the type of government that we can all be proud of for over two hundred years and maintain a constitutional monarchy with a vibrant parliament that employs a strong system in this what we believe in in  republic system of government checks and balances along with myself and other colleagues we've had the privilege of visiting lection stein on several occasions i was introduced to its fascinating history in the people and its commitment to freedom to in the last centuries  stein family of austria were given the rights to the land in seven hundred thirteen and the area again the status of an independent principality of the holy roman empire in seventeen one thousand nine hundred the name liechtenstein when in eighteen zero six napoleon defeated the holy roman empire the conquered emperor made liechtenstein a sovereign country now my colleagues unfortunately the people looking stein were not granted the full rights and liberties that come with this sovereignty as under napoleon the french occupied the country for the next several years however in eight hundred fifteen within the new german confederation lichtenstein regained its full independence this country has a long history of the pharmacy and peaceful relationships with its neighbors and eight hundred sixty eight after the confederation dissolved liechtenstein disbanded its army of eighty m and declared its permanent neutrality which amazingly was respected throughout both world war one and war two that is a feat of diplomacy hundred nine prince hans adam the second succeeded his father to the throne and then ten years ago prince adam accomplished a diplomatic feat by settling a sixty year long dispute with russia over family archives which had been confiscated during the soviet occupation of vienna in one thousand nine hundred five and later moved all to russia more specifically to moscow after world war two liechtenstein became increasingly important as a financial center in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight this country became a member of the council of europe and joined the european trade free trade association the  united states in liechtenstein have enjoyed a positive relationship for many many years in two thousand to liechtenstein the us signed a mutual legal assistant treaty which focused largely on jointly combat ing money laundering and other illegal banking activities in addition from the beginning of the global war on terror this country took the initiative and has been a valuable and proactive partner and tracking down the finances of international terrorist groups madam mr speaker we are all aware of the dangerous world we live in today in the years following the dreadful attacked of september eleventh we've been honored by the support and compassion of our friends around the world we we appreciate that while as necessary and just to condemn countries for the threat they pose i believe it is equally important and vital to our countries for the support that they provide to us lichtenstein is one of those countries his contribution should be recognized for these reasons i encourage my colleagues to take a closer look at the unique nation this unique nation of liechtenstein and join with me this afternoon in honoring this wonderful country and i han't my hat's off to them and i urge passage of the resolution and i thank you my distinguished colleagues here speaker iat thank god mr stearns from florida for offering the resolution now before us i hope our colleagues support it and with fourteen h r twenty three fifty nine a bill to reauthorize programs to assist small business concerns and for other purposes pursuant to the rule of the gentlewoman from new york ms the last and the gentleman from tennessee mr davis each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york thank you to speaker to speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative day to revise and extend their remarks on include extraneous material on the bill on their consideration continually update their products and processes as well as of the to change quickly traditionally the s b a interbrand real development programs were created to provide direction and assistance to small business owners helping them remain competitive armed with the tools to montaigne's said phyl ventures while providing critical assistance these programs were created many years ago or to address general business development issues face nouriel development programs must evolve to provide small businesses with the ability to deal with the economic conditions of today this mall business enterprise new oil development programs act of two thousand and seven introduced by congressman sestak not only modernize it this program's to address the current concerns for small businesses but also enhances them today the leading issues for small firms are the right thing health and energy costs  complying with regulations this legislation will help small business owners identify and secure affordable health care with less than half of small business owners providing health care they need for legislation that helps alleviate this is clear considering the current price of gasoline there's no question why the number one concern for intrapreneur is the cost of energy gasoline is more than three dollars  gallon this price represents a twenty eight percent increase over a period of just two months ago and a fifty two percent increase since the end of january due to small businesses limited resources as production costs are driven up they become less competitive with help their counterparts while the cost of energy and health care have reason so have their regulatory burden for small businesses in two thousand and six just seven maje rules added over three point seven billion to the little regulatory cost that does not even account for the thousands of all the regulations that were added last year small difference today require affordable access to information and counseling to address these new rules h r twenty three fifty nine with it of two thousand and seven has the support of the national federation of independent businesses they are not only supporting but will key vote this legislation by tailoring as the ace economy development programs to the economic demands and changing competition with small businesses that will better promote this nest development in our community a chart twenty three fifty nine will make sure small forums remain a driving force in what econom recognized for such time as you may consume today mr speaker i rise and support and request disband the rolls and pass h r twenty three fifty nine the f b i entrepreneur all development programs act of two thousand and seven i would like to thank for working in a cooperative and bipartisan manner to bring this forward this bill to the floor so bill makes modest yet necessary changes in the core entrepreneur all technical assistance programs of the s b a the small business development center program small business development centers on a relatively modest preparation provide free training sessions which will last at least one hour and free individual one on one count sling t seven hundred thousand individual business owners and perspective owners in f y two thousand and seven changes are necessary to clarify the stat story mandate and ensure the small business development centers are approp responding to the new challenges facing america's entrepreneurs these alterations are reflected in title one of the bill even though the program is more than twenty five years old there is no definition of the term small business development center and subsequently adds to the confusion and targeting the statutory language i would like to thank the chairwoman for including the definition in the term and that a key change demonstrates small business development centers as technology and business practice practices change rob and access is no longer a luxury for many if not most small businesses