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94–283PDF 2004

PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A

COMMISSION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO ASSIST PARLIAMENTS IN EMERGING

DEMOCRACIES; THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF

THE MARSHALL ISLANDS

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

H. Res. 642 and H. Con. Res. 410

JUNE 17, 2004

Serial No. 108–159

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations 

(II)

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman 

JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa 

DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, 

Vice Chairman 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

PETER T. KING, New York 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

AMO HOUGHTON, New York 

JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York 

ROY BLUNT, Missouri 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

RON PAUL, Texas 

NICK SMITH, Michigan 

JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia 

MARK GREEN, Wisconsin 

JERRY WELLER, Illinois 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

THADDEUS G. MCCOTTER, Michigan 

KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida 

TOM LANTOS, California 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

BARBARA LEE, California 

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York 

JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania 

EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon 

SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California 

ADAM B. SCHIFF, California 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota 

BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky 

THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel 

ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director 

DANIEL FREEMAN, Counsel/Parliamentarian 

MARILYN C. OWEN, Senior Staff Associate 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

H. Res. 642, Providing for the establishment of a commission in the House 

of Representatives to assist parliaments in emerging democracies ................. 2

Amendment to H. Res. 642 offered by the Honorable Doug Bereuter, a 

Representative in Congress from the State of Nebraska .............................. 14

H. Con. Res. 410, Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the 

Constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and recognizing the 

Marshall Islands as a staunch ally of the United States, committed to 

principles of democracy and freedom for the Pacific region and throughout 

the world ............................................................................................................... 19

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

The Honorable James A. Leach, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Iowa: Prepared statement on H. Con. Res. 410 ............................................. 26

(1)

PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A 

COMMISSION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO ASSIST PARLIAMENTS IN 

EMERGING DEMOCRACIES; THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE 

REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS 

THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2004

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:33 a.m. in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Henry J. Hyde [Chairman of the Committee] presiding. 

Chairman HYDE. The business meeting of the Committee will 

come to order, and without objection, the Chairman is authorized 

to seek consideration of House Resolution 642, Providing for the establishment of a commission in the House of Representatives to assist parliaments in emerging democracies. 

Under suspension of the rules and the Bereuter amendment to 

that resolution, which all the Members have before them, shall be 

deemed as adopted. 

[H. Res. 642 and the amendment referred to follow:]

2

1

IV

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 642

Providing for the establishment of a commission in the House of

Representatives to assist parliaments in emerging democracies.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 13, 2004

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. BEREUTER, and Mr. FROST)

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee

on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Providing for the establishment of a commission in the House

of Representatives to assist parliaments in emerging democracies.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘House Commis4 sion For Assisting Democratic Parliaments Resolution’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

6 The House of Representatives makes the following

7 findings:


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•HRES 642 IH

1 (1) Since its founding, the United States has

2 championed the development of democracy around

3 the world.

4 (2) Indeed, beginning with the Continental Con5 gress and continuing through the modern Congress,

6 representative institutions have served as a critical

7 component through which the American people have

8 expressed their views on policy issues and through

9 which the power of other government branches has

10 been balanced.

11 (3) Establishing democratic institutions in

12 other countries is in the national interest of the

13 United States and constitutes a goal of United

14 States foreign policy.

15 (4) For democracies to mature and to with16 stand cyclical turnover in government, strong gov17 ernment institutions, particularly national legisla18 tures with appropriate infrastructure, are critical.

19 (5) Furthermore, the legislative branches of

20 governments of emerging democracies are largely

21 comprised of new legislators, citizens from many

22 walks of life, who face the challenges of creating new

23 democratic systems without the benefit of previous

24 legislative experience. The legislatures of these fledgVerDate Mar 21 2002 10:54 May 03, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\061704M\94283.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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•HRES 642 IH

1 ling democracies lack training, equipment, or re2 sources to carry out their work effectively.

3 (6) Currently, many parliaments do not possess

4 the necessary technology, such as modern computer

5 equipment, software, or access to databases and

6 electronic resources, to facilitate the timely flow of

7 legislative information to lawmakers and legislative

8 staff.

9 (7) Parliaments in fledgling democracies also

10 frequently lack trained staff to provide nonpartisan

11 policy information, to draft legislation, and to advise

12 legislators on policy matters.

13 (8) Newly democratic parliaments may lack the

14 resources to establish internal libraries, reference

15 materials, and archiving capabilities for use by legis16 lators and staff.

17 (9) From 1990 through 1996, the United

18 States House of Representatives, in conjunction with

19 the House Information Systems Office (later known

20 as House Information Resources) and the Congres21 sional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of

22 Congress, provided equipment and technical assist23 ance to new parliaments in Central and Eastern Eu24 ropean countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, the

25 Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, LithVerDate Mar 21 2002 10:54 May 03, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\061704M\94283.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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•HRES 642 IH

1 uania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and

2 Ukraine in an effort to develop and strengthen those

3 institutions.

4 (10) This program, commonly known as the

5 ‘‘Frost-Solomon Task Force’’, not only served the

6 United States foreign policy goal of helping to estab7 lish democratic institutions in other countries, but

8 also developed significant goodwill in the countries in

9 which it was implemented. The program was de10 signed to improve the efficiency of parliaments and

11 the professionalism of its members and staff, as well

12 as to increase transparency and accountability.

13 (11) A program similar to the Frost-Solomon

14 Task Force, which strengthens professionalism and

15 efficiency within parliaments in democratic coun16 tries, continues to be in the national interests of the

17 United States.

18 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

19 There is established in the House of Representatives

20 a commission to be known as the House Commission For

21 Assisting Democratic Parliaments (hereafter in this reso22 lution referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).


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•HRES 642 IH

1 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.

2 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

3 shall be composed of 9 Members of the House of

4 Representatives—

5 (1) of which 5 members shall be appointed by

6 the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

7 (2) of which 4 members shall be appointed by

8 the Minority Leader of the House of Representa9 tives.

10 (b) TERMS OF MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REP11 RESENTATIVES.—Each member of the Commission shall

12 be appointed for a term that is concurrent with the Con13 gress in which the appointment is made. Such a member

14 may be reappointed for one or more subsequent terms in

15 accordance with the preceding sentence.

16 (c) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Commis17 sion shall be designated by the Speaker of the House of

18 Representatives from among the members appointed

19 under subsection (a)(1).

20 SEC. 5. STAFF OF COMMISSION.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall appoint

22 and fix the pay of such personnel as the Commission con23 siders appropriate.

24 (b) DETAIL OF LEGISLATIVE BRANCH EMPLOY25 EES.—At the request of the Commission, the head of any

26 office in the legislative branch may detail any of the perVerDate Mar 21 2002 10:54 May 03, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\061704M\94283.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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•HRES 642 IH

1 sonnel of that office to the Commission to assist it in car2 rying out its duties under this resolution. Any individual

3 detailed by an office to the Commission pursuant to this

4 subsection shall retain the individual’s status as an em5 ployee of the office for purposes of pay and benefits.

6 (c) EMPLOYMENT OF CONSULTANTS.—The Commis7 sion may employ consultants to assist in carrying out its

8 duties as described in section 6, including individuals with

9 expertise in development of democratic parliaments, legis10 lative systems management, legislative research, par11 liamentary procedure, related legislative matters, and

12 technology systems management.

13 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

14 (a) STUDY.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con16 duct an annual study on the feasibility of programs

17 of assistance for parliaments of countries described

18 in paragraph (2) for the purpose of strengthening

19 the parliamentary infrastructure of such countries.

20 This study may be conducted more frequently, if the

21 Commission so decides. The study shall assess—

22 (A) how the parliament in each country

23 studied plays, or could reasonably be expected

24 to play, an independent and substantive role in


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•HRES 642 IH

1 the legislative process and government over2 sight;

3 (B) how improving access to information

4 and developing independent and objective re5 search and analytical capabilities would enable

6 the parliament in each country studied to im7 prove the effectiveness of members and profes8 sional staff and would increase legislative trans9 parency and accountability; and

10 (C) how modern automation and office sys11 tems would improve efficiency and transparency

12 in the work of the parliament in each country

13 studied.

14 (2) COUNTRIES DESCRIBED.—The countries re15 ferred to in paragraph (1) are countries that—

16 (A) have established or are developing

17 democratic parliaments which would benefit

18 from assistance described in this resolution; and

19 (B) express to the United States Govern20 ment an interest to receive such assistance.

21 (3) SELECTED COUNTRIES.—From the coun22 tries studied, the Commission shall select one or

23 more parliaments that it recommends should receive

24 assistance under the provisions of this resolution,

25 based on the criteria in paragraph (1).


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•HRES 642 IH

1 (b) REPORT.—The Commission shall prepare and

2 submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,

3 the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the

4 appropriate House committees, and the Administrator of

5 the United States Agency for International Development,

6 an annual report on the following:

7 (1) RESULTS OF STUDY.—The results of the

8 study conducted pursuant to subsection (a).

9 (2) COMMISSION ACTIVITIES.—In accordance

10 with the results of such study, a proposal for the ac11 tivities of the Commission in the following year, as

12 described in subsection (c).

13 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS TO USAID.—(A) In ac14 cordance with the results of such study, rec15 ommendations to the Administrator of the United

16 States Agency for International Development to de17 sign and implement programs of assistance for par18 liaments of selected countries, including rec19 ommendations to achieve the purposes of subpara20 graphs (B) through (D).

21 (B) Such programs of assistance may include—

22 (i) efforts to establish or improve existing

23 libraries of parliaments of selected countries, in24 cluding, but not limited to, providing equip25 ment, Internet access, books, reference mateVerDate Mar 21 2002 10:54 May 03, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\061704M\94283.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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•HRES 642 IH

1 rials, government documents, periodical sub2 scriptions and databases; and

3 (ii) efforts to improve the efficiency and

4 transparency of legislation and proceedings in

5 parliaments of selected countries, including, but

6 not limited to, providing equipment, Internet

7 access, and desktop publishing capabilities.

8 (C)(i) In coordination with parliaments in se9 lected countries, USAID should develop detailed,

10 multiyear plans for providing equipment, strength11 ening library collections, and enhancing research and

12 analysis capabilities in those parliaments.

13 (ii) Plans described in clause (i) should include

14 specific goals to be achieved through the provision of

15 assistance, estimated costs of meeting the goals, the

16 conditions under which assistance should be pro17 vided, the type of equipment and resources to be

18 provided, and annual plans for assessing the extent

19 to which the goals have been achieved.

20 (D) All equipment and books that are provided

21 to selected countries should be inscribed to designate

22 the items as gifts from the United States of Amer23 ica.


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10

•HRES 642 IH

1 (c) ACTIVITIES.—The Commission shall work with

2 the parliaments of selected countries on a frequent and

3 regular basis in order to—

4 (1) allow Commission members and staff to

5 provide expert advice to members and staff of the

6 parliaments of selected countries;

7 (2) enable members and staff of parliaments in

8 selected countries to visit the House of Representa9 tives and its support agencies to learn about their

10 operations first-hand; and

11 (3) observe and provide recommendations re12 garding the implementation of the assistance pro13 grams described in subsection (b)(3).

14 (d) TIMING.—The Commission is not required to

15 carry out any of its duties under this section prior to Octo16 ber 1, 2005.

17 SEC. 7. TRAVEL.

18 Members and staff of the Commission are authorized

19 to travel to foreign countries to carry out this resolution.

20 SEC. 8. ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RE21 LATIONS.

22 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that,

23 prior to October 1, 2005, the Committee on International

24 Relations of the House of Representatives—


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•HRES 642 IH

1 (1) should undertake all necessary actions to fa2 cilitate the work of the Commission upon the com3 mencement of its funding, including by utilizing as4 sistance from the congressional support agencies,

5 such as the Congressional Research Service of the

6 Library of Congress, House Information Resources,

7 and other resources of the Chief Administrative Offi8 cer of the House of Representatives; and

9 (2) should consult with the Committee on Ap10 propriations to determine an appropriate level of

11 funding that will be necessary for the operations of

12 the Commission and its activities for fiscal year

13 2006.

14 SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

15 The Commission shall terminate on September 30,

16 2009.

17 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

18 In this resolution:

19 (1) APPROPRIATE HOUSE COMMITTEES.—The

20 term ‘‘appropriate House committees’’ means the

21 Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on

22 House Administration, the Committee on Inter23 national Relations, and the Committee on Rules of

24 the House of Representatives.


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•HRES 642 IH

1 (2) EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘equipment’’ in2 cludes basic office and automation equipment (copi3 ers, fax, telephone answering machines, an initial

4 complement of personal computers and printers,

5 software, CD–ROMs, and auxiliary storage media),

6 and library collections and library support automa7 tion, as well as the associated training and technical

8 assistance to effectively use such equipment.

9 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There are authorized to be appropriated from the ap11 plicable accounts of the House of Representatives to the

12 Commission to carry out this resolution such sums as may

13 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2006 through

14 2009. No funds may be appropriated or otherwise made

15 available to carry out this resolution (other than section

16 8) prior to October 1, 2005.

Æ


94283a.AAM
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1

H.L.C.

AMENDMENT TO H. RES. 642

OFFERED BY MR. BEREUTER

Page 10, strike line 20 and all that follows through

line 13 on page 11 and insert the following:

1 SEC. 8. ROLE OF COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELA2 TIONS.

3 (a) STUDY.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee on Inter5 national Relations of the House of Representatives

6 shall conduct a preliminary study on the feasibility

7 of programs of assistance for the purpose of

8 strengthening the infrastructure of the parliaments

9 of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Geor10 gia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and

11 Ukraine. To the extent appropriate, the preliminary

12 study may also include an analysis of the feasibility

13 of such programs of assistance for the parliaments

14 of Afghanistan, Iraq, and such other countries as

15 may be determined by the chairman of the Com16 mittee on International Relations after consultation

17 with the ranking member of the Committee.

18 (2) CRITERIA.—In conducting the preliminary

19 study, the Committee on International Relations


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2

H.L.C.

1 shall carry out an assessment of each of the par2 liaments described in paragraph (1) based on the

3 criteria described in subparagraphs (A) through (C)

4 of section 6(a)(1).

5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than May 15, 2005, the

6 Committee on International Relations shall prepare and

7 submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,

8 the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the

9 other appropriate House committees, and the Commission

10 a report on the following:

11 (1) RESULTS OF STUDY.—The results of the

12 preliminary study conducted pursuant to subsection

13 (a).

14 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In accordance with

15 the results of the preliminary study, a list of one or

16 more parliaments described in subsection (a)(1) that

17 the Committee on International Relations rec18 ommends should receive assistance under the provi19 sions of this resolution beginning in fiscal year 2006.

20 (3) REQUEST FOR COMMISSION FUNDING.—A

21 request for an appropriate level of funding that will

22 be necessary for the operations of the Commission

23 and its activities for fiscal year 2006.

24 (c) ASSISTANCE FROM CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT

25 AGENCIES.—At the request of the Chairman of the ComVerDate Mar 21 2002 10:54 May 03, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\061704M\94283.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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H.L.C.

1 mittee on International Relations, congressional support

2 agencies, such as the Congressional Research Service of

3 the Library of Congress, House Information Resources,

4 and other resources of the Chief Administrative Officer

5 of the House of Representatives, shall assist the Com6 mittee on International Relations in carrying out the pro7 visions of this section.


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Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the right to object. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman is recognized. 

Mr. BEREUTER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I preserve the right 

to object and ultimately will not object and withdraw. I want to 

make a few remarks about the legislation and the amendment that 

I am offering. 

As one of the three primary original co-sponsors, and the sponsors now include not only Mr. Price of North Carolina, but Mr. 

Lantos, Mr. Frost, and Mr. Mark Udall, I want to thank you, Mr. 

Chairman, for agreeing to hold this markup in such a timely fashion, and to accommodate the schedule of the Members. I also want 

to thank my friend, the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Price, for working with me in introducing this new resolution to establish the House Commission For Assisting Democratic 

Parliaments. 

Having been involved in the Frost-Solomon task force, which undertook a similar effort a decade ago, I am enthused to offer this 

new initiative. Mr. Frost joins us as an original co-sponsor of this 

resolution, and Mr. Dreier was an original co-sponsor of an earlier 

version of the legislation that was introduced on February 26th of 

this year. 

The distinguished Ranking Democratic Member of the Committee, the gentleman from California, Mr. Lantos, has also signed 

on as a co-sponsor, and I thank him for his support. 

The Frost-Solomon task force, later known as the Solomon-Frost 

task force, allowed the House of Representatives to help develop 

needed research and infrastructure capabilities in the parliaments 

of the newly emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. 

That effort drew on the expertise of Members and staff, especially from the Congressional Research Service. The task force provided modest donations of information-related and technology-related office equipment and reference material for parliamentary libraries, thereby facilitating the establishment of independent research services. 

The task force also helped those parliaments develop parliamentary procedures and legislation information systems to inform 

Members and the general public about parliamentary activities in 

a timely and open fashion. 

At a modest cost, we were able to help those parliaments become 

effective legislatures and play their crucial part in a democratic 

system. And by the way, the funds for that came from the U.S. 

Agency for International Development (USAID). 

Largely because of its success, the Frost-Solomon task force was 

terminated in 1996, however, while most of those countries that received aid have indeed become full-fledged democracies. Now many 

of these countries are involved in the European Union and in 

NATO. Others still need a helping hand, and this resolution aims 

to provide that assistance. 

The commission itself will come into being immediately upon 

adoption of this resolution by the full House. However, given the 

current budget environment, we recognize that it would be difficult 

to fund its activities in the upcoming fiscal year. 

Therefore, this resolution authorized the appropriations to fund 

the commission’s activities beginning in fiscal year 2006. The 

18

amendment that I am offering would have this Committee, the 

International Relations Committee, conduct a preliminary study 

prior to the commencement of the commission’s funding and activities. 

The study would examine the feasibility of assistance programs 

to the parliaments of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, and Ukraine. The parliaments 

of Afghanistan and Iraq might also be included in that study. 

This Committee will report the findings of its study and recommend one or more of those countries to be selected to receive assistance once the commission begins its activity in fiscal year 2006. 

That report would also include a request for funding for commission activities. In conducting these assessments, the Committee 

should draw on the expertise of congressional support agencies like 

the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress, 

House Information Resources, and the Chief Administrative Officer 

of the House. 

I expect that this task will require visits to the countries involved by staff of the Committee, and of the support agencies, and 

certainly, ultimately, of Members of this Committee. 

I was pleased to play a part in that Frost-Solomon task force in 

the 1990s by participating in our trips to Albania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the Czech Republic, that reviewed the results of 

the assistance provided, and I think it was a remarkable success 

that this House had at that time. 

Today we have the opportunity to further assist in the emergence 

of democratic parliaments by enabling the House to share its expertise and to work with USAID to provide the necessary assistance. 

So this morning I urge my colleagues to vote to send House Resolution 642, the Price-Bereuter-Frost-Lantos resolution to create the 

House Commission For Assisting Democratic Parliaments, to the 

Floor. 

And with that explanation, Mr. Chairman, of course I would be 

happy to answer any questions, but I do withdraw my objection. 

Chairman HYDE. I thank the gentleman. If there are no questions or amendments, it is so ordered. Without objection, the Chairman is authorized to seek consideration of H. Con. Res. 410, Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of 

the Republic of the Marshall Islands, under suspension of the 

rules. 

[H. Con. Res. 410 follows:]

19

1

IV

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 410

Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of

the Republic of the Marshall Islands and recognizing the Marshall Islands

as a staunch ally of the United States, committed to principles of

democracy and freedom for the Pacific region and throughout the world.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 30, 2004

Mr. FLAKE (for himself, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms.

BORDALLO, Mr. HOUGHTON, Ms. WATSON, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr.

CARDOZA, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, Mr. ABERCROMBIE,

and Mr. CASE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the

Constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and

recognizing the Marshall Islands as a staunch ally of

the United States, committed to principles of democracy

and freedom for the Pacific region and throughout the

world.

Whereas the Marshall Islands were ruled under a succession

of colonial regimes for 400 years, including under Spanish and German rule, followed in the 20th century by

Japanese rule under the League of Nations system for

governance of territories;


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•HCON 410 IH

Whereas military activities of Imperial Japan based in the

Marshall Islands before and during Word War II established the strategic importance of the Marshall Islands in

the Pacific;

Whereas the Marshall Islands were liberated from Japanese

military occupation in some of the most horrific battles

of World War II, during which brave Marshallese people

risked their lives to aid the Armed Forces of the United

States and its allies;

Whereas in 1947 Congress approved a trusteeship agreement

with the United Nations Security Council under which

the United States became the administering power with

plenary powers of government in the Marshall Islands;

Whereas during the United Nations trusteeship period the

United States fulfilled its commitment to promote the

progress of the Marshall Islands toward democratic selfgovernment and self-determination, leading to the establishment of local self-government that culminated in a

constitutional convention in which delegates representing

the people of the Marshall Islands proposed that they be

constituted as a self-governing nation;

Whereas in accordance with the enabling measures adopted

by the United States as administering power of the Marshall Islands, which encouraged and fully supported the

emergence of the Marshall Islands as a duly constituted

nation based on the freely expressed will of the people,

in 1979 the people of the Marshall Islands adopted their

own constitution and subsequently declared their form of

government to be a republic;

Whereas the Constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands established a parliamentary governmental system


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•HCON 410 IH

with separation of powers and a ‘‘Bill of Rights,’’ guaranteeing democracy and freedom for the Marshallese people based on the rule of law, limited government, and individual liberty;

Whereas the United States and the duly constituted Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands adopted a

Compact of Free Association to define government-togovernment relations between the United States and the

Marshall Islands as two sovereign nations under mutually

agreed terms upon termination of the United Nations

trusteeship for the Marshall Islands;

Whereas the promulgation of a national constitution made

possible the termination of the United Nations trusteeship in 1986 and the emergence of the Republic of the

Marshall Islands as a sovereign nation in free association

with the United States under the Compact of Free Association, forming an alliance that preserves the close and

special political, social, economic, and military relationship between the two countries that developed during the

trusteeship period;

Whereas the United States has no closer alliance with any

nation or group of nations than it does with the Republic

of the Marshall Islands under the Compact of Free Association, which continues the strategic partnership and

role of the Marshall Islands in United States strategic

programs based in the Marshall Islands, which began at

the end of World War II and has continued under the

trusteeship and Compact to promote the mutual security

of the United States and the Marshall Islands;

Whereas the Republic of the Marshall Islands is a model for

transition of formerly non-self-governing territory ravaged by war to a sovereign political status as a stable deVerDate Mar 21 2002 10:54 May 03, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\061704M\94283.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

94283b.AAD
22

4

•HCON 410 IH

mocracy, a success story for institution building and recovery from conflict not only for the Pacific region but

throughout the world;

Whereas in light of the shared history of the United States

and the Republic of the Marshall Islands and special relations under the Compact of Free Association, it is entirely fitting for Congress to recognize the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic

of the Marshall Islands, recalling the importance of duly

constituted self-government in the self-determination

process leading to national sovereignty for the Marshall

Islands; and

Whereas the Republic of the Marshall Islands has remained

one of the staunchest allies of the United States during

the cold war and the war on terrorism, and the voting

record of the Republic of the Marshall Islands as a member state in the United Nations General Assembly is unparalleled by any other country, further demonstrating

the shared commitment of the two nations to promote democracy and global peace: Now, therefore be it—

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That Congress—

3 (1) recognizes the 25th anniversary of the adop4 tion of the Constitution of the Republic of the Mar5 shall Islands; and

6 (2) recognizes the Republic of the Marshall Is7 lands as a staunch ally of the United States, comVerDate Mar 21 2002 10:54 May 03, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\061704M\94283.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

94283b.AAE
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5

•HCON 410 IH

1 mitted to principles of democracy and freedom for

2 the Pacific region and throughout the world.

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94283b.AAF
24

Mr. FLAKE. Reserving the right to object. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman reserves the right to object. 

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I thank you for bringing this resolution forward. It recognizes the 25th anniversary of the adoption of 

the Constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel twice now to the 

Marshall Islands, and to meet with President Note, their President 

who happens to be in Washington this week, and I think it is fitting and proper that we do this at this time. 

The RMI has been a stable democracy in the Pacific region for 

25 years now, and this is due in large part to the fact that the 

United States, during the U.N. trusteeship period, fulfilled its commitment to bring democratic self-government and self-determination for the Marshall Islands. 

This led to the establishment of self-government. It culminated 

in a constitutional convention, in which a Constitution was put together in 1979. They have a bill of rights guaranteeing democracy 

and freedom of unlimited government for all the Marshallese people. And since then the Republic of the Marshall Islands has been 

the staunchest ally of the United States. They have supported us 

in the Cold War and now in the war on terrorism. 

They vote with us more frequently than any other country in the 

world at the United Nations. Over 99 percent of the time, the Marshall Islands are with us at the U.N., and that cannot be said of 

any other ally that we have, or any other country, and I think it 

speaks well for them, and well for our relationship. 

We operate now under what is called the Compact of Free Association with the Marshallese, and under that, several Marshallese 

citizens actually served with our armed forces in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and I think they need to be recognized for that. 

So I commend the Chairman for bringing this forward, and let 

us recognize this historic 25th anniversary of the adoption of the 

Marshall Islands Constitution. So, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I 

withdraw my right to objection. 

Chairman HYDE. I thank the gentleman, and the Chair recognizes the gentlemen from American Samoa, Mr. Faleomavaega. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Chairman, reserving the right to object, 

I really want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to provide 

some commentary to our colleagues on the Committee, and especially to express my appreciation to the gentleman from Arizona for 

his initiative in introducing his resolution. 

In terms of our relationship with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, not only is this proposed resolution most appropriate, but it 

certainly was our privilege over the years to meet with the 

Marshallese leaders. I think more than anything that I would like 

to bring to the attention of my colleagues on the Committee the 

fact that the Marshall Islands and its people played one of the 

most critical roles in our efforts in winning the Cold War. 

And I say this to the extent that if our colleagues are not aware, 

this is where we conducted our nuclear testing program. And I 

might say also, Mr. Chairman, that these people made tremendous 

sacrifices in terms of what we did to them. According to some of 

the documents that were recently declassified, we detonated 57 nuclear devices in these islands in the Pacific. Whereby we exploded 

25

the first nuclear and the first hydrogen bomb in the history of mankind, and one, particularly, that I want to share with my colleagues was the one that was exploded in 1954, which was known 

as the Bravo Shot. 

This was a hydrogen bomb that was exploded, and it was one 

thousand times more powerful than the two atom bombs that were 

dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. I don’t know if it would be 

the lack of information or sensitivity on the part of the officials of 

our Government, given the fact that several hundred Marshallese 

were subjected directly to nuclear radiation when we conducted 

these nuclear tests among these people. 

It is most unfortunate, Mr. Chairman, but that is another issue 

that I want to pursue later on with our colleagues. 

But I would say that this resolution not only gives recognition, 

but some sense of appreciation on the part of our Government, not 

only to the people, but to the Government of the Marshall Islands. 

And to commend not only the leaders, but the people of the Marshall Islands for their efforts in establishing this Constitution. 

It was my privilege recently to travel with the gentleman from 

Arizona and several of our other colleagues to visit the Marshall 

Islands, and I sincerely hope that in the future that other Members 

of the Committee might also have that same opportunity. 

The unfortunate thing, Mr. Chairman, is that every time Members visit the Islands, the media does not play a very good—I will 

just call it as junkets, and a bunch of Members going out on 

junketing in these places. 

But in fact some of these very historical things that have happened and have occurred are for the benefit of our Government and 

our people here. And this is one classic example where the people 

of the Marshall Islands, I think, made a tremendous contribution 

in our efforts in winning the Cold War. 

And the fact that our nuclear testing program took place there, 

and the fact that the reason that we stopped was that we found 

Strontium 90 in milk products in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and we 

had seen nuclear clouds around all over the world. 

So these things are not very positive, but to the extent that we 

made this experiment, and the sacrifices that these good people 

have offered to do for the benefit of our Government and our people, I would think that the gentleman’s proposed resolution is most 

appropriate. 

And I sincerely hope that my colleagues will support the resolution, and with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield my reservation. But 

again I want to commend the gentleman from Arizona for his proposal, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Thank 

you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank you for your contribution. The gentleman from Iowa, Mr. Leach. 

Mr. LEACH. I thank the gentleman. I don’t want to prolong this. 

I would simply ask for unanimous consent to place a statement in 

the record and to clearly thank the gentleman from Arizona for a 

very thoughtful resolution, and to totally identify with the comments of Mr. Faleomavaega. I yield back the balance of my time. 

Chairman HYDE. Well, without objection, Members may insert 

their remarks into the record on these two resolutions. 

26

[The prepared statement of Mr. Leach follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JAMES A. LEACH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF IOWA

I support H.Con.Res. 410, recognizing the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the 

Constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and thank the gentleman from 

Arizona (Mr. Flake) for introducing it. It is particularly fitting that we are considering the resolution this week, during the visit of President Note to Washington. 

The United States and the Marshall Islands share deep bonds of history and 

friendship, and have enjoyed a uniquely close alliance for the past half century. 

That alliance was reconfirmed and extended earlier this Congress, when we considered and passed amendments to the Compact of Free Association between the U.S. 

and the RMI. 

When the Marshall Islands adopted its constitution in 1979, it was a victory for 

both our peoples. The Republic of the Marshall Islands emerged as a democratic republic, committed to the rule of law and individual liberty—an important step in 

its transition from UN trusteeship to full independence. The people of the United 

States saw our shared ideals take root among our Pacific Island friends and—when 

full sovereignty followed in 1986—we gained a stalwart ally in the community of 

nations. 

I commend this effort to commemorate that event and our continuing alliance 

with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which deserves our unanimous support.

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Rohrabacher. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Reserving the right to an objection, I would 

be very brief. Let me just associate myself with the gentleman from 

Arizona, and also the remarks of Mr. Faleomavaega from American 

Samoa. 

The people of the Marshall Islands have been incredible friends 

of the United States, and I think that it behooves us to do things 

such as we are in this resolution of recognizing their great friendship and the relationship that we have. 

Their relationship to us has made America a safer place, and let 

me note that the people of the Marshall Islands are wonderful people. I have visited them, and I have several friends who come from 

the Marshall Islands. And they are happy to be friends of the 

United States, even though at times America has not done right by 

them, as just outlined by our friend from American Samoa. I think 

that we need to make sure that we reach out to them, and again 

this resolution does that. 

And I would commend our friend from Arizona for this, and let 

me just say to the people of the Marshall Islands, thank you for 

being friends with the United States, and thank you for making 

our country safer, and we look forward to many years of friendship 

and good relations with the Marshall Islands. 

Mr. BEREUTER. Would the gentleman yield under his reservation? 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. I would certainly. 

Mr. BEREUTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and the major 

contributions that they have made in the past have been mentioned, and I certainly associate myself with all of the remarks 

made by colleagues. 

But beyond all of that, of course, we shouldn’t forget the fact that 

they were on the receiving end of the Vandenberg test flights. The 

Kwajalein Atoll, of course, is a crucial element for us today in our 

anti-missile test program. 

27

Mr. ROHRABACHER. So they still continue to make their contribution. 

Mr. BEREUTER. They do, indeed, and I yield back. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Thank you, and I will yield back as well. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentlelady from California, Ambassador 

Watson. 

Ms. WATSON. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Give me a second to get settled here. All right. Mr. Chairman, reserving the 

right to object, I want to commend Mr. Flake for his resolution recognizing the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution 

of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and recognizing the Marshall Islands as a staunch ally of the United States. The Republic 

of the Marshall Islands, as the resolution notes, is a model for transition of a formerly non-self-governing territory ravished by military occupation and war, to a sovereign political status as a stable 

democracy. 

The United States has shared a special relationship with the people of the Marshall Islands under the Compact of Free Association. 

It is therefore most fitting to recognize the importance of the 25th 

anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of 

the Marshall Islands. 

I commend the Republic of the Marshall Islands for its commitment to self-governance, self-determination and democratic principles, and for its continued support of the United States during 

the Cold War and the current war on terrorism. Thank you, Mr. 

Chairman, and I withdraw my objection. 

Chairman HYDE. I thank the gentlelady. If there is any further—

oh, Mr. Houghton of New York. 

Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Chairman, I just would like to ask a question of Mr. Flake, or Mr.Faleomavaega, or whoever. And this is a 

fine statement, and it is something that we ought to do obviously 

with great friendship, but is this going to have any traction out 

there? 

I mean, will it get publicized? Will people understand how we 

really feel, because that is the important thing there. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Will the gentleman yield? 

Mr. HOUGHTON. Yes. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I thank my good friend, the gentleman from 

New York, for raising that very interesting question. In fact, Mr. 

Chairman, it was my privilege, just yesterday, to meet with the 

President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, President Note, 

and they shared with me several documents that were just declassified from the Department of Energy, as well as the Department 

of Defense. And one of these documents that was brought to my attention, Mr. Chairman, was that over the years the Islands or 

Atolls of Rongelap and Enewetak were primarily the only ones that 

have been specifically cited as where the greatest damage or harm 

was done by radioactive contamination of the Marshallese people. 

Well, this document that I saw, Mr. Chairman, where the Department of Energy says that 50 rems is considered safe in terms 

of whatever radiation or exposure that a human being goes 

through. Mr. Chairman, I submit to the Committee, this document 

that I want to be made part of the record, every one of these Atolls 

28

or Islands, where some 400 or 500 Marshallese lived when we conducted these nuclear tests, there were over 22,000 rems. 

[The document referred to was not submitted prior to printing.] 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Some of these Marshallese people were subjected to 3 or 4 serious operations from iodine, and what you call 

‘‘radioactive exposure’’ that they had been subjected to. And I want 

to say to the gentleman from New York, I sincerely hope that this 

message goes out. 

We have not done enough as a government to properly compensate the loss of property, and the tremendous harm that was 

done to the safety and the health of these people. 

And I sincerely hope, as my good friend from New York has 

raised, that this issue is put out more publicly, and not just the 

Members of Congress get their attention on this very serious issue 

that was just raised in the declassification of this documentation. 

We were not good stewards I would submit, Mr. Chairman, when 

we conducted these tests, and that hundreds of Marshallese people 

were severely exposed to nuclear radiation without our assistance. 

To this day we still have not given proper assistance for medical 

treatment, or even giving these people the proper compensation for 

the loss of their health, and everything that you can associate with 

our nuclear testing program that took place in the 1950s. 

So with that, Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for raising 

the issue. And I sincerely hope that the major newspapers will put 

the word out that we need to do a better job right now in dealing 

with the good people of the Marshall Islands. And I thank the gentleman for yielding. 

Chairman HYDE. Does Mr. Houghton yield to Ms. Watson? 

Mr. HOUGHTON. Yes. 

Ms. WATSON. Thank you so much, Congressman Houghton, and 

thank you so much Mr. Chairman. 

I want to dovetail right into the remarks that Mr. Faleomavaega 

just made. We traveled together back down to the Marshall Islands, as well as Micronesia, where I was stationed as an Ambassador. And we had the privilege of sitting in on one of the hearings 

that takes place periodically, and where the people within the island community of the Marshalls can come in and respond to the 

government’s opportunity to be heard on the problems that they 

are still continuing to face. 

I would like to make, really, three strong points. Number one, 

the Marshall Islands have had a challenge over the years with selfgovernance. They have finally elected a group of leaders that are 

adhering to democratic principles, and I commend them for that. 

The second thing that I want to say is that we, as an overseeing 

authority under a Compact of Free Association, have really let the 

people down in many ways. 

The third point that I want to stress is that they were ravished 

in that community when we tested our atomic bomb, and we flew 

over in a small plane, and we were able to see islands that were 

completely blown off the map. We were able to walk on land that 

is still hot. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentlelady’s time has expired. 

Ms. WATSON. I am so sorry. If I could just close out my statement. It will take me a half-a-second. 

29

Chairman HYDE. Without object the gentlelady is given a whole 

full second. 

Ms. WATSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for indulging me. But 

I just want to bring some reality to this hearing, and that is that 

we owe these people who were moved off their land, and now they 

are back on their land, particularly in Rongelap. 

And there really are no jobs there. Young girls are pregnant as 

early as 18, and the educational system has really failed them. The 

health care system is trying to build up. 

So they are doing, with our help, the best that they can, and I 

commend all of us for continuing to support the Compact, and I 

very happily will do whatever I can to see that this Compact is affirmed and that the people are offered a future. Thank you so 

much, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank you, Ms. Watson. If there is no further 

discussion, it is so ordered, and the business meeting of the Committee is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:51 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

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