[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 61 (Thursday, May 14, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4882-S4883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to compliment 
the House of Representatives on passage of legislation this afternoon 
to take a stand against religious persecution worldwide.
  And, I compliment Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia for his 
leadership on this very important legislation.
  Legislation is pending in the U.S. Senate identical with or very 
similar to the legislation passed in the House--I am not sure what 
amendments may have been crafted on the House floor this afternoon and 
what last-minute changes may have been made--but similar legislation 
has been introduced by this Senator in the U.S. Senate. And the purpose 
of this legislation is for the United States to take a stand against 
religious persecution worldwide.
  We have a very unfortunate situation today where Catholic priests are 
being incarcerated in China, Buddhists are being persecuted in Tibet, 
and Evangelical Christians are being imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and in 
Egypt. The essence of freedom of religion is a very fundamental value 
in the United States and a very fundamental moral value. And, the 
legislation which passed the House today and which is pending in the 
Senate will enable the U.S. Government to take a stand against this 
religious persecution worldwide.

[[Page S4883]]

  Freedom of religion is the first part of the first amendment. The 
United States was founded for religious freedom. The Pilgrims came here 
in 1607 for that purpose, as did my father Harry Specter, who literally 
walked across Europe with barely a ruble in his pocket in 1911 seeking 
a new life for himself and a family which he hoped to have, and 
religious freedom, because the Cossacks rode up and down the streets of 
Batchkurina, a small village in Ukraine, in Russia, where my father's 
brother, Mordechai Spectorski, had fought with the Cossacks, and they 
were looking for Mordechai Spectorski, who had fled the city. And, the 
Cossacks continued to look for members of the Specter family. My father 
immigrated to the United States, as did my mother Lillie Shanin, 
leaving a small town on the Russian-Polish border at the age of 5, 
coming to the United States in 1905.
  The legislation which has passed the House of Representatives has 
some sanctions in it. It provides that there be no weapons of torture 
sold, and provides limitations as to what U.S. taxpayer money can be 
given for, other than humanitarian purposes. And, it seems to me that 
if the legislation is to have any effect, there have to be sanctions, 
there have to be weapons in the bill--teeth--in order to promote 
compliance.
  I visited this past January in Saudi Arabia and talked to Saudi 
officials about concerns which I have and which others have had where 
Christians cannot display a Christmas tree in a window if it is visible 
from the outside, where Jewish soldiers are reluctant to wear their dog 
tags identifying themselves as being Jewish, a situation which is 
intolerable, where we have some 5,000 young men and women who are in 
Saudi Arabia to protect the Saudis.
  The situation in Egypt is very serious where there are Evangelical 
Christians who are being persecuted, where they land in jail if there 
is a conversion from Islam to Christianity. I was unable to visit the 
Sudan because of difficulties there, but visiting in nearby Eritrea, I 
heard stories about the persecution of Christians in Sudan.
  It is my hope that this legislation will be considered by the Senate 
in short order so that a firm stand will be taken to deal with the very 
serious issue of religious persecution worldwide.
  Again, I compliment the House and chief sponsor, Frank Wolf, and look 
forward to enactment of this legislation in the Senate. The bill passed 
by a vote of 375-41, which is well beyond the number necessary to be 
veto proof. The administration has been opposed to having sanctions in 
legislation, sanctions such as some of the ones proposed in the bill 
which I have offered and is pending in the U.S. Senate.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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