[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15106-H15107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXTENDING AUTHORITIES UNDER MIDDLE EAST PEACE FACILITATION ACT OF 1994

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2808) to extend authorities under the Middle East Peace 
Facilitation Act of 1994 until March 31, 1996, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2808

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES.

       (a) In General.--Section 583(a) of the Foreign Relations 
     Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 (Public Law 
     103-236), as amended by Public Law 104-47, is amended by 
     striking ``December 31, 1995'' and inserting ``March 31, 
     1996''.
       (b) Consultation.--For purposes of any exercise of the 
     authority provided in section 583(a) of the Foreign Relations 
     Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 (Public Law 
     103-236) prior to January 10, 1996, the written policy 
     justification dated December 1, 1995, and submitted to the 
     Congress in accordance with section 583(b)(1) of such Act, 
     shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of section 
     583(b)(1) of such Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York [Mr. Gilman] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the gentleman 
from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton] will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman].
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2808 temporarily extends the Middle East Peace 
Facilitation Act of 1994, which otherwise will expire on December 31, 
1995.
  That act was previously extended by Public Law 104-17, by Public Law 
104-22, by Public Law 104-30, and by Public Law 104-47. H.R. 2808 
extends the act until March 31, 1996, and includes a transition 
provision to permit the President to immediately exercise the 
authorities granted him by this extension.
  Obviously, there have been a number of temporary extensions of the 
Middle East Peace Facilitation Act. We had anticipated that the most 
recent extension would be the last, because a new Middle East Peace 
Facilitation Act was included in the conference report on the Foreign 
Operations Appropriations Act, H.R. 1868, and we expected that bill to 
be enacted into law by now.
  Regrettably, that bill has been stalled because of a disagreement 
over an unrelated matter, and we are now confronted by the need to once 
again extend the Middle East Peace Facilitation Act of 1994.
  This temporary extension was requested by the State Department, and I 
am not aware of any objection to it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. HAMILTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, first I want to commend the chairman, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] for bringing the bill before the 
House and to let him know that I give my full support to it. I would 
prefer that we had in place at this time the 18 month new Middle East 
Peace Facilitation Act that is part of the foreign operations 
conference report already approved by the House. I think a longer term 
MEPFA would strengthen the peace process.
  Unfortunately, because another item in that conference report remains 
in disagreement with the other body, we need to move yet another short-
term extension of the existing law at this time.
  I also want to note that adopting this bill today and enacting the 
full 1 month MEPFA is the best possible way to pay tribute to the 
memory of Prime Minister Rabin and to support the quest for peace that 
Prime Minister Perez described here last week.
  Prime Minister Perez, when he was here last week, specifically and 
strongly endorsed MEPFA as important to 

[[Page H15107]]
the continued success of the peace process. We offer these two prime 
ministers then our support by our actions today in passing this bill. 
Today we have an opportunity to help the Middle East peace process move 
forward. I urge the adoption of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from 
New York [Mr. Engel].
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague from 
Indiana for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today, first of all, to say that bringing this up 
again, I think the fifth time, reminds me of the old saying by Yogi 
Berra saying: ``it is deja vu all over again.''
  We have had these temporary extensions time and time again. This is 
no way to run things. This is no way to fund the Middle East Peace 
Facilitation Act. I think the process is, frankly, terrible.
  We ought to be marking up a bill that I introduced many, many months 
ago to have peace facilitation, or the Helms-Pell bill, which the 
Senate has discussed. To me, this is the way it ought to be done, not a 
simple extension. Every time we come back here, a month later, 2 months 
later, 3 months later, nothing has been done.
  I think the chairman is absolutely right: This House did pass a new 
Middle East Peace Facilitation Act as part of the foreign operations 
appropriations bill. Unfortunately, that bill is stalled due to a fight 
on abortion, which has nothing to do with foreign operations in terms 
of funding MEPFA, so we are being held hostage once again.
  This ought not to be the way that we fund things. This ought not to 
be the way that we do things. Prime Minister Rabin lost his life in the 
fight for peace. Certainly as partners in the peace process, the United 
States ought to be doing things in a little better way:
  Quite frankly, our Government here is shut down because 
appropriations bills were not passed. The majority here has not done 
its job by the end of the fiscal year and passed the appropriations 
bills. That is why our Government here is shut down. The Republican 
leadership talks about a family friendly Congress and family values in 
Congress, and Congress is now going to be in session not only this 
week, but through next week and Christmas week and so on and so forth. 
If we simply had a continuing resolution to keep funding the Government 
the way we should have because the Republican leadership did not do its 
job, the Government would not be shut down.
  Frankly, if the Republican leadership did its job and did not stall 
this over a dispute on abortion, we would have a foreign operations 
bill, and we would not have to be doing this now with a temporary 
extension of MEPFA.
  So I just think the leadership here has not been doing its job, and 
that is why we are in the pickle we are in now. We are shutting down 
our Government, we are not fulfilling our obligations, we are stalling 
Middle East peace by not having MEPFA in place. Not only is the PLO not 
being funded, but the Government of Israel, the Government of Egypt, 
and other countries that get foreign aid are not getting their foreign 
aid, because, again, we are not passing the foreign operations bill, 
which is what we should be doing.
  So while I certainly support peace and I certainly will support this, 
I think it is a tribute to Prime Minister Rabin and Prime Minister 
Perez, who came here last week, this is no way to run a Government. 
This is no way to run foreign operations. This is no way to have an 
extension for the fifth time again. We ought to be doing a markup of a 
separate bill and ought to be passing the foreign operations bill. I 
tell you, comes March 31, we could be coming here again asking for 
another extension. This is not fair for the Middle East peace process, 
and it just to me shows a tremendous lack of leadership in the way this 
House is run.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I will support this, very reluctantly, this way, 
because while I certainly support peace, I think, as I have said 
before, that we must hold all parties to the agreements feet to the 
fire. I am not worried about the Israeli Government not keeping its end 
of the bargain, I worry about Yasser Arafat and the PLO. He has agreed 
to a number of things. I think we should hold his feet to the fire.
  I want to see those covenants calling for the destruction of Israel 
removed from the PLO, from the Palestinian Council. I want the 
Palestinian Council to remove that. I want them to agree to everything 
that they agreed to when they signed the Middle East peace facilitation 
act, nothing more, nothing less.
  But if Yasser Arafat and the PLO and the Palestinians said they would 
do certain things, then we ought to make them do those certain things 
before American aid flows. I think American aid should flow, because 
American aid is very, very important to the peace process. But I also 
think when parties say they are going to do something, they have an 
obligation to fulfill what they say. That is all we are looking for. 
That is why it is important to have new MEPFA language, not to simply 
keep renewing the old one.
  Again, I reluctantly go along with this. I hope we will not be back 
here on March 31 doing the same thing all over again.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2808.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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