[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H3758-H3759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN BELGIUM

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express concern over an 
increase in religious intolerance in the country of Belgium.
  In 1997, the Belgian parliament published a Sect Report which branded 
Evangelical Christians, Pentecostals, Amish, Charismatics, and other 
Evangelical mission groups as potentially dangerous sects. In addition, 
the Belgian parliamentary report also targeted Catholic Charismatics.
  Former King of Belgium, Baldwyn I, who was known to be close to the 
Charismatic movement inside the Catholic church, was even attacked on 
the front page of a daily newspaper.
  The Belgian Sect Report was followed by legislation on April 30 this 
year which established a Sect Observatory.
  Mr. Speaker, its highly disturbing that a government which abides by 
the Helsinki Accords, as well as the European Convention on Human 
Rights, should violate these agreements by establishing a government 
network to monitor the religious activity of law-abiding citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, the fundamental right of religious liberty must be 
protected for all people, including those in Western Europe.

                              {time}  0915


                        BESTEA CONFERENCE REPORT

  (Mr. KLINK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KLINK. Mr. Speaker, today later on the floor of the House of 
Representatives, the BESTEA conference report will be up. And Members 
on both sides are to be commended for the work they have done on this 
piece of legislation.

[[Page H3759]]

 But there has been a rumbling on the floor during this last week that 
somehow Members are being told that they are voting against their 
veterans in order to get bridges and highways. And that is not the 
intentions of Members on either side of the House.
  To make that clear, I have drafted the full Veterans Benefit Act of 
1998. I would like Members to think about cosponsoring this bill. It is 
not the intentions of Republicans or Democrats to give short shrift to 
those World War II veterans who fought their way across Europe, who 
fought their way across the Pacific, or those veterans from Korea who 
feel they are forgotten or those from Vietnam, Grenada, Panama or 
Desert Storm.
  We stand up for our veterans, and we want to fully fund their 
benefits. So I ask the Members today to cosponsor the full Veterans 
Benefit Act of 1998 as we pass this BESTEA bill and send the veterans a 
message. The U.S. Congress is with them. We think they have earned 
these benefits. We think they deserve them.

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