[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 36 (Thursday, March 26, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPRESSION FOR APPRECIATION FOR HARD WORK OF MEMBERS ON CONFERENCE 
                                 REPORT

  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House 
for 1 minute.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this vote, and I appreciate the 
work of the chairman of the Committee on International Relations, and I 
appreciate all the hard work that has been put into this bill. Our 
Members are very appreciative of all of the cooperation of all of the 
Members on the floor.
  We think this is an excellent bill, and we want to give credit where 
credit is due to the Members of the House, and particularly the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. The 
chairman of the Committee on International Relations has done a great 
service for this House, and the gentleman is to be commended for a bill 
that is consolidating the State Department and bringing some very 
needed reforms.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DeLAY. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished whip for his kind 
remarks, and I just want to remind our Members that there are a number, 
as the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) indicated, of significant 
provisions in the measure we have just adopted.
  We consolidated foreign affairs agencies into the State Department, 
something that we have been advocating for a number of years, something 
the Senate has been advocating. We provided $38 million in assistance 
to the democratic opposition in Iraq, in attempting to move Iraq away 
from the violations that have occurred with regard to the biological 
and chemical weapons. We strictly conditioned U.N. arrearage payments 
on a number of internal reforms that we are seeking. We initiated long-
term reforms of the United Nations; that is the Helms-Burton package. 
We are saving taxpayers money by reducing the United States assessment 
at the United Nations. And most importantly, we initiated the McBride 
fair employment principles for the troubles in Northern Ireland.
  Mr. Speaker, we have accomplished a great deal by this measure.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for 
his remarks, and I think this is a wonderful day for the House of 
Representatives in reflecting this vote.

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