[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 115 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H6806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  PRIDE IN THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS

  (Mr. BISHOP asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, for the past 4\1/2\ years, I have had the 
honor of representing the area of southwest Georgia where the School of 
the Americas is located.
  I am proud of the school. All Americans should be. It has provided 
professional training to thousands of military and civilian police 
personnel from throughout Latin America, including extensive 
indoctrination in the principles of human rights and representative 
democracy.
  For less than $4 million a year, the school promotes democracy, 
builds stronger relationships with our neighbors, and combats narcotics 
trafficking. Some handful of the school's graduates have committed 
terrible crimes, but over 68,000 have been on the front lines of the 
move toward democracy in Latin America.
  The school has undergone a series of investigations and studies, and 
all confirm that it has been a force for good in our hemisphere.
  I urge all of my colleagues to visit the school, learn more about the 
job it is doing, and not to rush to judgment on the basis of false and 
unfounded accusations made by people who may have good intentions, but 
who have little regard for the facts.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support the truth. Support the 
School of the Americas.

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