[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 142 (Friday, October 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H12281-H12283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS, 
                  REFUGEE, AND OTHER FOREIGN RELATIONS

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take 
from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 4036) making certain provisions 
with respect to internationally recognized human rights, refugees, and 
foreign relations, with Senate amendments, thereto and concur in the 
Senate amendments.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The Clerk read the Senate amendments, as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       Page 2, strike out all after line 4 over to and including 
     line 6 on page 4.
       Page 4, line 7, strike out ``103'' and insert ``101''.
       Page 4, strike out all after line 20, over to and including 
     line 17 on page 6.
       Page 6, line 18, strike out ``105'' and insert ``102''.
       Page 7, line 3, strike out ``106'' and insert ``103''.
       Page 8, line 10, strike out ``107'' and insert ``104''.
       Page 12, after line 2 insert:

  TITLE III--CLAIBORNE PELL INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND 
                             PUBLIC POLICY

     SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Claiborne Pell Institute 
     for International Relations and Public Policy Act''.

     SEC. 302. GRANT AUTHORIZED.

       In recognition of the public service of Senator Claiborne 
     Pell, the Secretary of Education is authorized to award a 
     grant, in accordance with the provisions of this title, to 
     assist in the establishment and operation of the Claiborne 
     Pell Institute for International Relations and Public Policy, 
     located as Salve Regina University, Newport, Rhode Island, 
     including the purchase and renovation of facilities to house 
     the Institute.

     SEC. 303. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 
     1997 such sums, not to exceed $3,000,000, as may be necessary 
     to carry out this title.

     SEC. 304. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This title shall take effect on the date of enactment of 
     this Act.

     TITLE IV--GEORGE BUSH SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICE

     SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``George Bush School of 
     Government and Public Service Act''.

     SEC. 402. GRANT AUTHORIZED.

       In recognition of the public service of President George 
     Bush, the Secretary of

[[Page H12282]]

     Eduation is authorized to make a grant in accordance with the 
     provisions of this Act to assist in the establishment of the 
     George Bush Fellowship Program, located at the George Bush 
     School of Government and Public Service of the Texas A & M 
     University.

     SEC. 403. GRANT CONDITIONS.

       No payment may be made under this title except upon an 
     application at such time, in such manner, and containing or 
     accompanied by such information as the Secretary of Education 
     may require.

     SEC. 404. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED.

       There are authorized to be appropriated such sums, not to 
     exceed $3,000,000, as may be necessary to carry out the 
     provisions of this title.

     SEC. 405. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This title shall take effect on October 1, 1996.

                   TITLE V--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

     SEC. 501. EDMUND S. MUSKIE FOUNDATION.

       In recognition of the public service of Senator and 
     Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie, the Secretary of 
     Education is authorized to award a grant in accordance with 
     the provisions of this Act to assist in the establishment of 
     the Edmund S. Muskie Foundation, located in Washington, DC, 
     by providing assistance to support the foundation, including 
     assistance to be used for awarding stewardships, supporting 
     the Muskie archives, and supporting the Edmund S. Muskie 
     Institute of Public Affairs.

     SEC. 502. CALVIN COOLIDGE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION GRANT.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Foundation.--The term ``Foundation'' means the Calvin 
     Coolidge Memorial Foundation.
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Education.
       (b) Grant Authorized.--The Secretary is authorized to made 
     a grant in the amount of $1,000,000 in accordance with the 
     provisions of this section to the Foundation.
       (c) Grant Conditions.--
       (1) Application.--No payment may be made under this section 
     except upon an application at such time, in such manner, and 
     containing or accompanied by such information as the 
     Secretary may require.
       (2) Use of grant funds.--Funds received under this section 
     may be used for any of the following purposes:
       (A) To increase the endowment of the Foundation.
       (B) To conduct educational, archival, or preservation 
     activities of the Foundation.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,000,000, without 
     fiscal year limitation, to carry out the provisions of this 
     section.
       (e) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on 
     October 1, 1996.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. (during the reading). Without objection, the 
Senate amendments are considered as read and printed in the Record.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the initial request of 
the gentleman from New Jersey?
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I would 
like to ask my good friend and colleague from New Jersey to explain to 
me the provisions in this bill concerning abortion and what protections 
we would have against, let us say, in China, for example, where there 
are forced abortions?
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, 
the language in this legislation that dealt with coercive abortion was 
stripped in the Senate. The issue was already covered by the CR, which 
had an identical provision. We are concurring with the Senate in taking 
that language out of the bill, so there is nothing in the bill on that 
subject.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation of objection, 
some people were concerned that anyone who wanted to immigrate from 
China would just get pregnant and come back over here.
  The second thing is, what groups are protected by this act? I 
understand this gives certain immigration treatment to certain groups.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield 
further, the language of the bill extends to Russian Jews, 
evangelicals, and to some of the people in Southeast Asia a very basic 
amount of protection for 1 year. As a matter of fact, this too mirrors 
exactly the human rights and refugee provisions in the CR, and because 
this had broad bipartisan support, it was kept in.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, 
I would ask the gentleman, is there a cap on this?
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. No, there is not.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. How many people would be affected by this?
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. It is unclear.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Is it possible we are talking about more than 
100,000 people?
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. No, not at all. As a matter of fact, the 
annual cap negotiated between the administration and Congress is far 
less than 100,000 in its totality.
  Mr. Speaker, this act consists of several human rights refugee and 
education provisions. I am proud to sponsor this legislation along with 
House International Relations Committee Chairman Ben Gilman and Ranking 
Democratic Member Lee Hamilton, as well as Tom Lantos, Howard Berman, 
Henry Hyde, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Bill Goodling. The administration 
does not oppose the legislation.
  H.R. 4036 extends the authority of USIA to include Tibetan and 
Burmese exiles in its scholarship programs, and requires USIA to take 
appropriate steps to involve prodemocracy and human rights leaders in 
exchange programs with countries whose people do not fully enjoy 
freedom and democracy. It also requires that the State Department's 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices include reports on each 
country's votes on resolutions before the U.N. Human Rights Commission, 
as well as its treatment of refugees. The latter provision is designed 
to enhance efforts to persuade other countries in the Western 
Hemisphere and elsewhere to accept their fair share of the world's 
refugee population, rather than leaving the brunt of the burden on the 
United States and a few other nations.
  The act extends for 1 year an extremely important policy relating to 
refugees in certain high-risk categories, such as Jews and evangelical 
Christians from the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asians who have 
suffered persecution for their wartime associations with the United 
States.
  Also, the act provides that the United States should not give foreign 
assistance, other than humanitarian assistance, to Mauritania unless 
that country rigorously enforces its laws against human chattel 
slavery.
  H.R. 4036 also authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants 
for the Pell Institute, the Bush Fellowships, the Muskie Foundation, 
and the Coolidge Memorial Foundation. A Pell amendment deleted section 
102, providing for reports on the Cuban Government's methods of 
enforcing its 1994 and 1995 immigration agreements with the United 
States.
  The administration opposed an earlier version of this provision on 
the ground that it already provides such reports. We are agreeing to 
drop this provision only because we have been assured that these 
reports will continue to be provided. Originally, the agreement 
negotiated with the Senate was that a reference to the Cuba human 
rights reports would be placed in report language rather than in the 
text of the bill itself. Because the procedure under which this law is 
enacted does not provide for committee reports, it is important to 
place in the Record the continued expectation of the Subcommittee on 
International Operations and Human Rights that our Government will 
continue to monitor and report to Congress on the treatment of people 
against whom the Castro regime enforces these two agreements. The 
reports are an important manifestation of congressional concern about 
the human rights of persons against whom enforcement measures are 
taken.
  I would like to extend my deep gratitude to Senator Helms and his 
staff, who shepherded this important human rights bill through the 
Senate. In particular, Chief Counsel Tom Kleine of the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee has demonstrated his willingness and ability to 
work effectively with people representing a wide range of viewpoints in 
order to ensure that our law reflects the right answers to important 
questions of public policy. Senator Lott and Senator Nickles and their 
respective staffs have also been extremely helpful. I also thank the 
Democratic staff of the Foreign Relations Committee for working with us 
on this bipartisan effort.
  Mr. BALDACCI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4036. 
Included in this legislation are provisions to create the Edmund S. 
Muskie Foundation. We were all deeply saddened earlier this year when 
Senator Muskie passed away. This legislation provides a worthy tribute 
to one of the Nation's greatest statesmen and legislators.
  As part of its work, the Muskie Foundation will make environmental 
stewardship awards. Senator Muskie played a crucial role in the 
drafting and adoption of every major piece of environmental legislation 
that was signed into law during his tenure in the Senate. He was one of 
the first to recognize the tremendous harm that humans were doing to 
their environment. He educated his colleagues in the Congress, as well 
as the American people, and helped them to understand that we needed to 
change our ways. The result of his efforts was landmark legislation to 
clean up our Nation's air and water. The Muskie Foundation's 
environmental stewardship awards will help to ensure that Senator 
Muskie's legacy will live on.

[[Page H12283]]

  The Muskie Foundation will also assist the Muskie Archives at Bates 
College in Lewiston, ME, to ensure that future generations will have 
access to Senator Muskie's papers. The foundation will work with the 
Muskie Institute for Public Policy at the University of Southern Maine 
to promote the study of policy development. And the foundation will 
engage in other programs and activities in which Senator Muskie had an 
abiding interest.
  Mr. Speaker, as a freshman Member of Congress from the State of 
Maine, I was privileged to be able to turn to Senator Muskie for 
encouragement and advice. He was a mentor to me, and to countless 
others of my generation. I am pleased that we are honoring him today, 
and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the initial request of 
the gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________