[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 121 (Monday, September 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H7661-H7664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TORTURE VICTIMS RELIEF ACT OF 1998

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4309) to provide a comprehensive program of support for 
victims of torture, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4309

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Torture Victims Relief Act 
     of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The American people abhor torture by any government or 
     person. The existence of torture creates a climate of fear 
     and international insecurity that affects all people.
       (2) Torture is the deliberate mental and physical damage 
     caused by governments to individuals to destroy individual 
     personality and terrorize society. The effects of torture are 
     long term. Those effects can last a lifetime for the 
     survivors and affect future generations.
       (3) By eliminating the leadership of their opposition and 
     frightening the general public, repressive governments often 
     use torture as a weapon against democracy.
       (4) Torture survivors remain under physical and 
     psychological threats, especially in communities where the 
     perpetrators are not brought to justice. In many nations, 
     even those who treat torture survivors are threatened with 
     reprisals, including torture, for carrying out their ethical 
     duty to provide care. Both the survivors of torture and their 
     treatment providers should be accorded protection from 
     further repression.
       (5) A significant number of refugees and asylees entering 
     the United States have been victims of torture. Those 
     claiming asylum deserve prompt consideration of their 
     applications for political asylum to minimize their 
     insecurity and sense of danger. Many torture survivors now 
     live in the United States. They should be provided with the 
     rehabilitation services which would enable them to become 
     productive members of our communities.
       (6) The development of a treatment movement for torture 
     survivors has created new opportunities for action by the 
     United States and other nations to oppose state-sponsored and 
     other acts of torture.
       (7) There is a need for a comprehensive strategy to protect 
     and support torture victims and their treatment providers, 
     together with overall efforts to eliminate torture.
       (8) By acting to heal the survivors of torture and protect 
     their families, the United States can help to heal the 
     effects of torture and prevent its use around the world.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

       As used in this Act, the term ``torture'' has the meaning 
     given the term in section 2340(1) of title 18, United States 
     Code, and includes the use of rape and other forms of sexual 
     violence by a person acting under the color of law upon 
     another person under his custody or physical control.

     SEC. 4. FOREIGN TREATMENT CENTERS.

       (a) Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.--Part 
     I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et 
     seq.) is amended by

[[Page H7662]]

     adding at the end of chapter 1 the following new section:

     ``SEC. 129. ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.

       ``(a) In General.--The President is authorized to provide 
     assistance for the rehabilitation of victims of torture.
       ``(b) Eligibility for Grants.--Such assistance shall be 
     provided in the form of grants to treatment centers and 
     programs in foreign countries that are carrying out projects 
     or activities specifically designed to treat victims of 
     torture for the physical and psychological effects of the 
     torture.
       ``(c) Use of Funds.--Such assistance shall be available--
       ``(1) for direct services to victims of torture; and
       ``(2) to provide research and training to health care 
     providers outside of treatment centers or programs described 
     in subsection (b), for the purpose of enabling such providers 
     to provide the services described in paragraph (1).''.
       (b) Funding.--
       (1) Authorization of appropriations.--Of the amounts 
     authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 1999 and 2000 
     pursuant to chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 
     of 1961, there are authorized to be appropriated to the 
     President $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $7,500,000 for 
     fiscal year 2000 to carry out section 129 of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act, as added by subsection (a).
       (2) Availability of funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
     to this subsection shall remain available until expended.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect October 1, 1998.

     SEC. 5. DOMESTIC TREATMENT CENTERS.

       (a) Assistance for Treatment of Torture Victims.--The 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services may provide grants to 
     programs in the United States to cover the cost of the 
     following services:
       (1) Services for the rehabilitation of victims of torture, 
     including treatment of the physical and psychological effects 
     of torture.
       (2) Social and legal services for victims of torture.
       (3) Research and training for health care providers outside 
     of treatment centers, or programs for the purpose of enabling 
     such providers to provide the services described in paragraph 
     (1).
       (b) Funding.--
       (1) Authorization of appropriations.--Of the amounts 
     authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Health 
     and Human Services for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a) 
     (relating to assistance for domestic centers and programs for 
     the treatment of victims of torture) $5,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 1999, and $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2000.
       (2) Availability of funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
     to this subsection shall remain available until expended.

     SEC. 6. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE.

       (a) Funding.--Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated 
     for fiscal years 1999 and 2000 pursuant to chapter 3 of part 
     I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, there are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for 
     Victims of Torture (in this section referred to as the 
     ``Fund'') the following amounts for the following fiscal 
     years:
       (1) Fiscal year 1999.--For fiscal year 1999, $3,000,000.
       (2) Fiscal year 2000.--For fiscal year 2000, $3,000,000.
       (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
     to subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.
       (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
     that the President, acting through the United States 
     Permanent Representative to the United Nations, should--
       (1) request the Fund--
       (A) to find new ways to support and protect treatment 
     centers and programs that are carrying out rehabilitative 
     services for victims of torture; and
       (B) to encourage the development of new such centers and 
     programs;
       (2) use the voice and vote of the United States to support 
     the work of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and the 
     Committee Against Torture established under the Convention 
     Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
     Treatment or Punishment; and
       (3) use the voice and vote of the United States to 
     establish a country rapporteur or similar procedural 
     mechanism to investigate human rights violations in a country 
     if either the Special Rapporteur or the Committee Against 
     Torture indicates that a systematic practice of torture is 
     prevalent in that country.

     SEC. 7. SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall provide 
     training for foreign service officers with respect to--
       (1) the identification of torture;
       (2) the identification of the surrounding circumstances in 
     which torture is most often practiced;
       (3) the long-term effects of torture upon a victim;
       (4) the identification of the physical, cognitive, and 
     emotional effects of torture, and the manner in which these 
     effects can affect the interview or hearing process; and
       (5) the manner of interviewing victims of torture so as not 
     to retraumatize them, eliciting the necessary information to 
     document the torture experience, and understanding the 
     difficulties victims often have in recounting their torture 
     experience.
       (b) Gender-Related Considerations.--In conducting training 
     under subsection (a) (4) or (5), gender-specific training 
     shall be provided on the subject of interacting with women 
     and men who are victims of torture by rape or any other form 
     of sexual violence.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)


                             General Leave

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H.R. 4309.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, this important measure addresses a 
critical area of our efforts to combat human rights abuses and 
treatment of those individuals who have suffered the effects of torture 
at the hands of governments as a means of destroying dissent and 
opposition, and I commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for 
introducing this bill and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) 
for his support of this measure.
  This resolution rightly recognizes the importance of treating victims 
of torture in order to try to combat the long-term devastating effects 
that torture has had on the physical and psychological well-being of 
those who have undergone this pernicious form of abuse.
  Regrettably, torture has been an extremely effective method to 
suppress political dissidents, and for those governments which lack the 
legitimacy of democratic institutions to justify their power, torture 
has provided a bulwark against popular opposition.
  It has been pointed out that for political leaders of undemocratic 
societies, torture has been useful because it aimed at the destruction 
of the personality to rob those individuals who would actively involve 
themselves in opposition to oppression of the self-confidence and other 
characteristics that produce leadership. And I quote from a recent 
speech by Dr. Inge Genefke, who is a founder of the International 
Treatment Movement, who we had an opportunity to meet with not too long 
ago, and I quote:

       Sophisticated torture methods today can destroy the 
     personality and self-respect of human beings. Many victims 
     are threatened with having to do or say things against their 
     ideology or religious convictions with the purpose of 
     attacking fundamental parts of the identity such as self-
     respect and self-esteem. Torturers today are able to create 
     conditions which effectively break down the victim's 
     personality and identity and his ability to live a fuller 
     life later, with and amongst other human beings.

  Fortunately there are now available treatment regimes for the types 
of disorders a torturer may induce. The resolution before the House 
today will help ensure that these treatments are more readily available 
to torture victims throughout the world and for those that are in need 
of them.
  This measure authorizes funding for treatment centers in our Nation 
and for our President to provide funding for treatment centers in other 
countries. It also authorizes a State Department to contribute $3 
million in both fiscal years 1999 and the year 2000 to the United 
Nations voluntary fund for victims of torture.
  While this measure is similar to one reported out of the Committee on 
International Relations, we did make one change in order to accommodate 
the Committee on Commerce, changing a specific amount authorized for 
the Department of Health and Human Services to, quote, such sums as may 
be required, close quote. I ask that correspondence on this matter 
exchanged between the distinguished chairman of the Committee on 
Commerce, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) and myself be 
included in the Record following my remarks.
  I urge my colleagues to join in approving this legislation, an all 
important issue, the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998.
  The correspondence referred to is as follows:


[[Page H7663]]


                                    U.S. House of Representatives,


                                           Commerce Committee,

                               Washington, DC, September 10, 1998.
     Hon. Benjamin a. Gilman,
     Chairman, House Committee on International Relations, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Ben: On August 6, 1998 the Committee on International 
     Relations ordered reported H.R. 4309, the Torture Victims 
     Relief Act of 1998. H.R. 4309, as ordered reported by the 
     Committee on International Relations, provides for the 
     support and treatment of torture victims through a variety of 
     sources. As you know, the Committee on Commerce was granted 
     an additional referral upon the bill's introduction pursuant 
     to the Committee's jurisdiction over health and health 
     facilities under Rule X of the Rules of the House of 
     Representatives.
       Because of the importance of this matter, I recognize your 
     desire to bring this legislation before the House in an 
     expeditious manner. I also understand that you have agreed to 
     address this Committee's concern over the authorization of 
     appropriations in section 5 in a manager's amendment to be 
     offered on the Floor. Therefore, with that understanding, I 
     will waive consideration of the bill by the Commerce 
     Committee. By agreeing to waive its consideration of the 
     bill, the Commerce Committee does not waive its jurisdiction 
     over H.R. 4309. In addition, the Commerce Committee reserves 
     its authority to seek conferees on any provisions of the bill 
     that are within the Commerce Committee's jurisdiction during 
     any House-Senate conference that may be convened on this 
     legislation. I ask for your commitment to support any request 
     by the Commerce Committee for conferees on H.R. 4309 or 
     related legislation.
       I request that you include this letter as a part of the 
     Committee's report on H.R. 4309 and as part of the record 
     during consideration of the legislation on the House floor.
       Thank you for your attention to these matters.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Tom Bliley,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

         Congress of the United States, Committee on International 
           Relations,
                               Washington, DC, September 10, 1998.
     Hon. Tom Bliley,
     Chairman, House Committee on Commerce, Washington, DC.
       Dear Tom: I am writing to thank the Committee on Commerce 
     for its willingness to waive consideration of H.R. 4309, the 
     Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998. As you correctly note, 
     the Committee on International Relations and the sponsors of 
     the bill believe it is important to bring this legislation 
     before the House as expeditiously as possible.
       I am writing to confirm our understanding, upon which your 
     agreement to waive Committee consideration of the bill was 
     premised:
       First, I will address the Commerce Committee's concern over 
     the authorization of appropriations in section 5 of the bill 
     in a manager's amendment that I will offer on the Floor. I 
     have enclosed a draft of that amendment, which I understand 
     will meet the Committee's concerns.
       Second, although I am hopeful that the Senate will pass the 
     bill as passed by the House, I agree to support the 
     appointment of Commerce Committee conferees, should a 
     conference be convened on this legislation.
       Finally, I will gladly include your September 10, 1998 
     letter in the International Relations Committee's report on 
     H.R. 4309 and as part of the record during consideration of 
     the bill by the House.
       Thank you again for your prompt attention to this time-
     sensitive matter. Do not hesitate to contact me with any 
     additional questions or suggestions you may have.
       With best wishes,
           Sincerely,
                                               Benjamin A. Gilman,
     Chairman.
                                  ____


       Amendment to H.R. 4309 Offered by Mr. Smith of New Jersey

       On page 6, line 10 and 11, strike ``fiscal years 1999 and 
     2000,'' and insert ``for each fiscal year'';
       On page 6, line 14, strike ``$5,000,000'' and all that 
     follows through the end of line 15, and insert ``such sums as 
     may be necessary for each fiscal year.''

  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by paying special tribute to my 
friend and colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for taking the lead in 
this body on this most important issue. He has been an indefatigable 
fighter for many good causes, but this probably is one that deserves 
the most serious commendation and respect. I am proud to be the 
principal Democratic cosponsor of this legislation.
  According to Amnesty International, Madam Speaker, torture is 
practiced on a systematic scale in no less than 117 countries across 
the globe today. Governments frequently target human rights advocates 
and political opposition members for torture to disable them and 
instill fear in society in general. Torture is clearly the most popular 
and effective weapon employed by rogue nations against democracy.
  The main purpose of torture in most cases is not to gain any 
information from the victim. Rather, its purpose is to strip the 
individual human being of all personal dignity, to destroy all personal 
self-control and to reduce a human being to a state of sheer panic, 
fear, terror and pain. In other words, the purpose of torture is the 
destruction of the character of the victim, not necessarily the 
intention to kill him. Long after the physical wounds of those lucky 
enough to survive have healed, the embarrassment and the trauma of 
their torture persists.
  This is why torture renders people silent. This silence, the 
inability to reach out, many times increased by our inability to listen 
and to believe, is the real goal of torture.
  There are no more than 150 treatment programs for victims of torture 
in 76 countries. These programs provide invaluable support to the 
courageous men and women who are fighting for principles upon which our 
country was founded. They enable the survivors of torture to recover 
from the effects of torture and to resume their struggle on behalf of 
democracy and human rights. This is a long, painful and slow process. 
The centers give victims the important hope that somebody is listening, 
somebody believes their stories.
  Currently there are some 400,000 victims who survive torture in many 
countries living in the United States. We need to listen to them and to 
live up to our responsibilities. In addition to the medical and 
psychological services torture treatment centers provide, they also 
document irrefutable evidence that torture is being practiced in many 
countries, and these centers become effective instruments in pressuring 
and changing governments to desist from the practice of torture.
  It is my hope that my colleagues across the political spectrum will 
unanimously approve this legislation. I strongly urge support of 
everyone in this body.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Gilman) the chairman of the full committee, for 
yielding this time to me, and I also want to thank him for being one of 
the principal cosponsors, as well as my good friend, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos). We have had literally dozens of hearings in 
the subcommittee over the last several years when he was chair, and now 
that I chair the committee and we have heard from a myriad of victims 
of torture, from Indonesia, from Cuba, from countries in Africa, 
Central America, and the Eastern Bloc countries, including the former 
Soviet Union and Russia itself. The issue over and over again is 
horrific mistreatment designed to destroy the will and the body and the 
spirit of the individuals involved and to destroy whole communities 
when it is done systematically to achieve an end.
  This legislation, H.R. 4309, the Torture Victims Relief Act has 30 
cosponsors. Again, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and I 
link arm in arm to fight to help those who have been hurt by despotic 
governments.
  In 1996, Madam Speaker, our subcommittee held a hearing on an earlier 
version of this legislation and we heard testimony on the continued and 
widespread persistence of torture in the world today, and on what steps 
the United States and other free countries should take to do something 
about it. Three of our witnesses at that hearing--and, as has been 
said, we heard from people from all over the world, and the issue is 
always the same, the terrible mistreatment--but three of those people 
who were there that day: a native of Uganda who suffered at the hands 
of Idi Amin, a Tibetan physician who was tortured by the Chinese 
Communists, and an American who became a torture victim in Saudi 
Arabia, our ally, after he had a falling out with his employer, the 
Saudi government. They told us stories that brought tears to our eyes 
about how they were mistreated and how they bear the scars long after 
their ordeal.

[[Page H7664]]

  Those who suffer horrific cruelty at the hands of despotic 
governments, military and/or police, do bear those scars; they are 
physical, they are emotional, they are spiritual, they are 
psychological, and they carry them for the rest of their lives. For 
many, if not most, the ordeal of torture certainly does not end when 
they are released from the gulag or the prison.
  These victims, and there are millions of them around the world--there 
are an estimated 400,000 survivors of torture living right here in the 
United States--need our help. To date we have done far too little to 
assist these walking wounded. The Torture Victims Relief Act contains a 
number of important provisions designed to assist torture victims.
  First, it authorizes grants for rehabilitation services for victims 
of torture and for related purposes in both foreign and domestic 
centers. The bill authorizes such sums as may be needed, subject to the 
Department of Health and Human Services, for contributions to centers 
for treatment of torture victims here in the U.S., and there are 
currently approximately 15 such centers. The precise amount of any 
contribution to these centers will be decided each year in the 
appropriation process. The ``such sums'' authorization language is 
contained in an amendment which is part of this bill today. It was 
suggested by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) of the Committee 
on Commerce which has jurisdiction over HHS, and I do want to thank 
Chairman Bliley for his help on this legislation.
  The legislation also authorizes $5 million in fiscal year 1999 and 
$7.5 million in fiscal year 2000 for international torture victim 
centers, and there are currently approximately 175 of those around the 
world. Regrettably, all of these centers, domestic and international, 
are seriously underfunded. As a matter of fact, the Denmark-based 
International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), 
estimates the worldwide need for assisting victims to be $28 million, a 
significant portion of which is totally unmet.

                              {time}  1435

  H.R. 4309 also authorizes a voluntary contribution for the United 
States to the U.N. Voluntary Fund for victims of torture in the amount 
of $3 million in fiscal year 1999 and $3 million in fiscal year 2000. I 
am proud to say that our efforts--and it has been bipartisan with the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)--have already had an effect on 
the U.S. contributions to the Voluntary Fund. The U.S. contribution to 
this fund in 1995 was $1.5 million. At the time when we introduced the 
bill in the 104th Congress, the administration had proposed to cut the 
fiscal year 1996 contribution to $500,000. Eventually, in response to 
our efforts by the supporters of this bill, the administration restored 
the full $1.5 million. The bill would bring it up to $3 million.
  The bill also provides specialized training for foreign service 
officers in the identification of evidence of torture, techniques for 
interviewing torture victims, and related subjects.
  Finally, the bill contains an expression of the sense of Congress 
that the U.S. shall use its voice and vote in the United Nations to 
support the investigation and elimination of these heinous practices 
which are prohibited by the Convention Against Torture. It is a good 
bill, it is a bipartisan bill, and I hope it gets unanimous support.
  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Morella). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4309, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________