Congressional Record, Volume 146 Issue 134 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)

[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H10640-H10643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

SUDAN PEACE ACT

Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 1453) to facilitate famine relief efforts and a
comprehensive solution to the war in Sudan, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:

S. 1453

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 ``Sudan Peace Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:
(1) With clear indications that the Government of Sudan
intends to intensify its prosecution of the war against areas
outside of its control, which has already cost nearly
2,000,000 lives and has displaced more than 4,000,000, a
sustained and coordinated international effort to pressure
combatants to end hostilities and to address the roots of the
conflict offers the best opportunity for a comprehensive
solution to the continuing war in Sudan.
(2) A viable, comprehensive, and internationally sponsored
peace process, protected from manipulation, presents the best
chance for a permanent resolution of the war, protection of
human rights, and a self-sustaining Sudan.
(3) Continued strengthening of humanitarian relief
operations in Sudan is an essential element in the effort to
bring an end to the war.
(4) Continued leadership by the United States is critical.
(5) Regardless of the future political status of the areas
of Sudan outside of the control of the Government of Sudan,
the absence of credible civil authority and institutions is a
major impediment to achieving self-sustenance by the Sudanese
people and to meaningful progress toward a viable peace
process.
(6) Through manipulation of traditional rivalries among
peoples in areas outside their full control, the Government
of Sudan has effectively used divide and conquer techniques
to subjugate their population, and Congress finds that
internationally sponsored reconciliation efforts have played
a critical role in reducing the tactic's effectiveness and
human suffering.
(7) The Government of Sudan is increasingly utilizing and
organizing militias, Popular Defense Forces, and other
irregular troops for raiding and slaving parties in areas
outside of the control of the Government of Sudan in an
effort to severely disrupt the ability of those populations
to sustain themselves. The tactic is in addition to the overt
use of bans on air transport relief flights in prosecuting
the war through selective starvation and to minimize the
Government of Sudan's accountability internationally.
(8) The Government of Sudan has repeatedly stated that it
intends to use the expected proceeds from future oil sales to
increase the tempo and lethality of the war against the areas
outside its control.
(9) Through its power to veto plans for air transport
flights under the United Nations relief operation, Operation
Lifeline Sudan (OLS), the Government of Sudan has been able
to manipulate the receipt of food aid by the Sudanese people
from the United States and other donor countries as a
devastating weapon of war in the ongoing effort by the
Government of Sudan to subdue areas of Sudan outside of the
Government's control.
(10) The efforts of the United States and other donors in
delivering relief and assistance through means outside OLS
have played a critical role in addressing the deficiencies in
OLS and offset the Government of Sudan's manipulation of food
donations to advantage in the civil war in Sudan.
(11) While the immediate needs of selected areas in Sudan
facing starvation have been addressed in the near term, the
population in areas of Sudan outside of the control of the
Government of Sudan are still in danger of extreme disruption
of their ability to sustain themselves.
(12) The Nuba Mountains and many areas in Bahr al Ghazal,
Upper Nile, and Blue Nile regions have been excluded
completely from relief distribution by OLS, consequently
placing their populations at increased risk of famine.
(13) At a cost which can exceed $1,000,000 per day, and
with a primary focus on providing only for the immediate food
needs of the recipients, the current international relief
operations are neither sustainable nor desirable in the long
term.
(14) The ability of populations to defend themselves
against attack in areas outside the Government of Sudan's
control has been severely compromised by the disengagement of
the front-line sponsor states, fostering the belief within
officials of the Government of Sudan that success on the
battlefield can be achieved.
(15) The United States should use all means of pressure
available to facilitate a comprehensive solution to the war,
including--
(A) the maintenance and multilateralization of sanctions
against the Government of Sudan with explicit linkage of
those sanctions to peace;
(B) the support or creation of viable democratic civil
authority and institutions in areas of Sudan outside
government control;
(C) continued active support of people-to-people
reconciliation mechanisms and efforts in areas outside of
government control;
(D) the strengthening of the mechanisms to provide
humanitarian relief to those areas;
(E) cooperation among the trading partners of the United
States and within multilateral institutions toward those
ends; and
(F) the use of any and all possible unilateral and
multilateral economic and diplomatic tools to compel Ethiopia
and Eritrea to end their hostilities and again assume a
constructive stance toward facilitating a comprehensive
solution to the ongoing war in Sudan.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Government of sudan.--The term ``Government of Sudan''
means the National Islamic Front government in Khartoum,
Sudan.
(2) IGAD.--The term ``IGAD'' means the Inter-Governmental
Authority on Development.
(3) OLS.--The term ``OLS'' means the United Nations relief
operation carried out by UNICEF, the World Food Program, and
participating relief organizations known as ``Operation
Lifeline Sudan''.

SEC. 4. CONDEMNATION OF SLAVERY, OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES,
AND NEW TACTICS BY THE GOVERNMENT OF SUDAN.

Congress hereby--
(1) condemns--
(A) violations of human rights on all sides of the conflict
in Sudan;
(B) the Government of Sudan's overall human rights record,
with regard to both the prosecution of the war and the denial
of basic human and political rights to all Sudanese;
(C) the ongoing slave trade in Sudan and the role of the
Government of Sudan in abetting and tolerating the practice;
and
(D) the Government of Sudan's increasing use and
organization of ``murahalliin'' or ``mujahadeen'', Popular
Defense Forces (PDF), and regular Sudanese Army units into
organized and coordinated raiding and slaving parties in Bahr
al Ghazal, the Nuba Mountains, Upper Nile, and Blue Nile
regions; and
(2) recognizes that, along with selective bans on air
transport relief flights by the Government of Sudan, the use
of raiding and slaving parties is a tool for creating food
shortages and is used as a systematic means to destroy the
societies, culture, and economies of the Dinka, Nuer, and
Nuba peoples in a policy of low-intensity ethnic cleansing.

SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR THE IGAD PEACE PROCESS.

(a) Sense of Congress.--Congress hereby--
(1) declares its support for the efforts by executive
branch officials of the United States and the President's
Special Envoy for Sudan to lead in a reinvigoration of the
IGAD-sponsored peace process;
(2) calls on IGAD member states, the European Union, the
Organization of African Unity, Egypt, and other key states to
support the peace process; and
(3) urges Kenya's leadership in the implementation of the
process.
(b) United States Diplomatic Support.--The Secretary of
State is authorized to utilize the personnel of the
Department of State for the support of--
(1) the secretariat of IGAD;
(2) the ongoing negotiations between the Government of
Sudan and opposition forces;
(3) any peace settlement planning to be carried out by the
National Democratic Alliance and IGAD Partners' Forum (IPF);
and
(4) other United States diplomatic efforts supporting a
peace process in Sudan.

SEC. 6. INCREASED PRESSURE ON COMBATANTS.

It is the sense of Congress that the President, acting
through the United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations, should--
(1) sponsor a resolution in the United Nations Security
Council to investigate the practice of slavery in Sudan and
provide recommendations on measures for its eventual
elimination;
(2) sponsor a condemnation of the human rights practices of
the Government of Sudan at the United Nations conference on
human rights in Geneva in 2000;
(3) press for implementation of the recommendations of the
United Nations Special Rapporteur for Sudan with respect to
human rights monitors in areas of conflict in Sudan;
(4) press for UNICEF, International Committee of the Red
Cross, or the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies, or other appropriate international
organizations or agencies to maintain a registry of those
individuals who have been abducted or are otherwise held in
bondage or servitude in Sudan;

[[Page H10641]]

(5) sponsor a condemnation of the Government of Sudan each
time it subjects civilian populations to aerial bombardment;
and
(6) sponsor a resolution in the United Nations General
Assembly condemning the human rights practices of the
Government of Sudan.

SEC. 7. SUPPORTING SANCTIONS AGAINST SUDAN.

(a) Sanctions.--Until the President determines, and so
certifies to Congress, that the Government of Sudan has--
(1) fully committed to and has made verifiable progress
toward a comprehensive, peaceful solution to the war or has
otherwise committed to and made verifiable progress in a good
faith effort with both northern and southern opposition
toward a comprehensive solution to the conflict based on the
Declaration of Principles reached in Nairobi Kenya, on July
20, 1994,
(2) made substantial and verifiable progress in controlling
the raiding and slaving activities of all regular and
irregular forces, including Popular Defense Forces and other
militias and murahalliin,
(3) instituted credible reforms with regard to providing
basic human and civil rights to all Sudanese, and
(4) ceased aerial bombardment of civilian targets,

the following are prohibited, except to the extent provided
in section 203(b) of the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)) and in regulations, orders,
directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this
section:
(A) The facilitation by a United States person, including
but not limited to brokering activities of the exportation or
reexportation of goods, technology, or services from Sudan to
any destination, or to Sudan from any location.
(B) The performance by any United States person of any
contract, including a financing contract, or use of any other
financial instrument, in support of an industrial,
commercial, public utility, or governmental project in Sudan.
(C) Any transaction by any United States person or within
the United States that evades or avoids, or has the purpose
of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate, any of the
prohibitions set forth in this section.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the sanctions in subsection (a), and in the President's
Executive Order of November 4, 1997, should be applied to
include the sale of stocks in the United States or to any
United States person, wherever located, or any other form of
financial instruments or derivatives, in support of a
commercial, industrial, public utility, or government project
or transaction in or with Sudan.
(c) National Security Waiver.--The President may waive the
application of any of the sanctions described in subsection
(a) if he determines and certifies to Congress that it is
important to the national security of the United States to do
so.
(d) Report.--Beginning 3 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, and every 3 months thereafter, the President
shall submit a report to Congress on--
(1) the specific sources and current status of Sudan's
financing and construction of oil exploitation infrastructure
and pipelines;
(2) the extent to which that financing was secured in the
United States or with involvement of United States citizens;
(3) such financing's relation to the sanctions described in
subsection (a) and the Executive Order of November 4, 1997;
(4) the extent of aerial bombardment by the Government of
Sudan forces in areas outside its control, including targets,
frequency, and best estimates of damage;
(5) the number, duration, and locations of air strips or
other humanitarian relief facilities to which access is
denied by any party to the conflict; and
(6) the status of the IGAD-sponsored peace process or any
other ongoing efforts to end the conflict, including the
specific and verifiable steps taken by parties to the
conflict, the members of the IGAD Partners Forum, and the
members of IGAD toward a comprehensive solution to the war.
(e) Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
prohibit--
(1) transactions for the conduct of the official business
of the Federal Government or the United Nations by employees
thereof;
(2) transactions in Sudan for journalistic activity by
persons regularly employed in such capacity by a news-
gathering organization; or
(3) legitimate humanitarian operations.
(f) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``entity'' means a partnership, association,
trust, joint venture, corporation, or other organization;
(2) the term ``Government of Sudan'' includes the
Government of Sudan, its agencies, instrumentalities and
controlled entities, and the Central Bank of Sudan;
(3) the term ``person'' means an individual or entity; and
(4) the term ``United States person'' means any United
States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized
under the laws of the United States (including foreign
branches), or any person in the United States.

SEC. 8. REFORM OF OPERATION LIFELINE SUDAN (OLS).

It is the sense of Congress that the President should
organize and maintain a formal consultative process with the
European Union, its member states, the members of the United
Nations Security Council, and other relevant parties on
coordinating an effort within the United Nations to revise
the terms of OLS to end the veto power of the Government of
Sudan over the plans by OLS for air transport relief flights.

SEC. 9. CONTINUED USE OF NON-OLS ORGANIZATIONS FOR RELIEF
EFFORTS.

(a) Finding.--Congress recognizes the progress made by
officials of the executive branch of Government toward
greater utilization of non-OLS agencies for more effective
distribution of United States relief contributions.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the President should continue to increase the use of non-OLS
agencies in the distribution of relief supplies in southern
Sudan.
(c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit a detailed
report to Congress describing the progress made toward
carrying out subsection (b).

SEC. 10. CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR ANY BAN ON AIR TRANSPORT RELIEF
FLIGHTS.

(a) Plan.--The President shall develop a detailed and
implementable contingency plan to provide, outside United
Nations auspices, the greatest possible amount of United
States Government and privately donated relief to all
affected areas in Sudan, including the Nuba Mountains, Upper
Nile, and Blue Nile, in the event the Government of Sudan
imposes a total, partial, or incremental ban on OLS air
transport relief flights.
(b) Element of Plan.--The plan developed under subsection
(a) shall include coordination of other donors in addition to
the United States Government and private institutions.
(c) Report.--Not later than 2 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit a
classified report to Congress on the costs and startup time
such a plan would require.
(d) Reprogramming Authority.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, in carrying out the plan developed under
subsection (a), the President may reprogram up to 100 percent
of the funds available for support of OLS operations (but for
this subsection) for the purposes of the plan.

SEC. 11. NEW AUTHORITY FOR USAID'S SUDAN TRANSITION
ASSISTANCE FOR REHABILITATION (STAR) PROGRAM.

(a) Sense of Congress.--Congress hereby expresses its
support for the President's ongoing efforts to diversify and
increase effectiveness of United States assistance to
populations in areas of Sudan outside of the control of the
Government of Sudan, especially the long-term focus shown in
the Sudan Transition Assistance for Rehabilitation (STAR)
program with its emphasis on promoting future democratic
governance, rule of law, building indigenous institutional
capacity, promoting and enhancing self-reliance, and actively
supporting people-to-people reconciliation efforts.
(b) Allocation of Funds.--Of the amounts made available to
carry out chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq:, relating to development
assistance) for the period beginning on October 1, 2000, and
ending on September 30, 2003, $16,000,000 shall be available
for development of a viable civil authority, and civil and
commercial institutions, in Sudan, including the provision of
technical assistance, and for people-to-people reconciliation
efforts.
(c) Additional Authorities.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the President is granted authority to
undertake any appropriate programs using Federal agencies,
contractual arrangements, or direct support of indigenous
groups, agencies, or organizations in areas outside of
control of the Government of Sudan in an effort to provide
emergency relief, promote economic self-sufficiency, build
civil authority, provide education, enhance rule of law and
the development of judicial and legal frameworks, support
people-to-people reconciliation efforts, or implementation of
any programs in support of any viable peace agreement at the
local, regional, or national level.
(d) Implementation.--It is the sense of Congress that the
President should immediately and to the fullest extent
possible utilize the Office of Transition Initiatives at the
Agency for International Development in an effort to pursue
the type of programs described in subsection (c).
(e) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
enhancing and supporting education and the development of
rule of law are critical elements in the long-term success of
United States efforts to promote a viable economic,
political, social, and legal basis for development in Sudan.
Congress recognizes that the gap of 13-16 years without
secondary educational opportunities in southern Sudan is an
especially important problem to address with respect to
rebuilding and sustaining leaders and educators for the next
generation of Sudanese. Congress recognizes the unusually
important role the secondary school in Rumbek has played in
producing the current generation of leaders in southern
Sudan, and that priority should be given in current and
future development or transition programs undertaken by the
United States Government to rebuilding and supporting the
Rumbek Secondary School.
(f) Programs in Areas Outside Government Control.--Congress
also intends that such programs include cooperation and work
with indigenous groups in areas outside of government control
in all of Sudan, to include northern, southern, and eastern
regions of Sudan.

[[Page H10642]]

SEC. 12. ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING FOR NUBA MOUNTAINS AND OTHER
AREAS SUBJECT TO BANS ON AIR TRANSPORT RELIEF
FLIGHTS.

(a) Finding.--Congress recognizes that civilians in the
Nuba Mountains, Red Sea Hills, and Blue Nile regions of Sudan
are not receiving assistance through OLS due to restrictions
by the Government of Sudan.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the President should--
(1) conduct a comprehensive assessment of the humanitarian
needs in the Nuba Mountains, Red Sea Hills, and Blue Nile
regions of Sudan;
(2) respond appropriately to those needs based on such
assessment; and
(3) report to Congress on an annual basis on efforts made
under paragraph (2).

SEC. 13. OPTIONS OR PLANS FOR NONLETHAL ASSISTANCE FOR
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE PARTICIPANTS.

(a) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report, in classified
form if necessary, detailing possible options or plans of the
United States Government for the provision of nonlethal
assistance to participants of the National Democratic
Alliance.
(b) Consultations.--Not later than 30 days after submission
of the report required by subsection (a), the President
should begin formal consultations with the appropriate
congressional committees regarding the findings of the
report.
(c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means the Committee on Foreign
Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate
and the Committee on International Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

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).

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
and to include extraneous material on this measure, S. 1453.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, this measure, sponsored by Senator Frist,
passed the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in November of last
year. Sudan has been independent for some 44 years. For 34 of those
years, it has been engaged in civil war. Entire generations of
Sudanese, in both north and south, have grown up with war as a regular
part of their lives.

{time} 1545

Several national governments, military and civilian, have come and
gone. Some, like the current regime, have been militant Islamists.
Others have been moderate, the historical norm for Islam in Sudan. All,
however, attempted, without much success, to subdue the rebellious
south with military force.
The cost in human life has been enormous, approximately 2 million
southern Sudanese dead in the past 17 years. There is no way to
estimate the death toll of the first 17 years of that war, from 1956 to
1973.
Sudan has been implicated in an American death toll, as well. In
August 1998, two of our U.S. embassy buildings in Africa were attacked
by terrorists with Sudanese support. The World Trade Center in New York
was attacked in February 1993 with Sudanese support.
Sudan is a Pandora's box of maladies: humanitarian suffering, civil
war, human rights violations, religious persecution, modern-day
slavery, and international terrorism. Most of it goes along largely
unnoticed by the rest of the world.
This measure attempts to focus the attention of our Nation on this
tragedy and report to the Congress on a regular basis. Three decades of
war is much too long. It is time to end this war and end the suffering
that it has caused.
I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, first I want to commend my distinguished colleague, the
gentleman New York (Mr. Gilman), and all the sponsors of this
resolution both in the House and in the Senate.
During the last 17 years, the civil war in the Sudan has resulted in
2 million people being killed or starving to death. It is long overdue
that this incredibly bloody and brutal conflict come to an end.
Our legislation condemns the most heinous atrocities perpetrated by
the government of Sudan and its allied rebel groups. We specifically
condemn the use of raiding and making slaves of vast numbers of
innocent men, women, and children.
The government of Sudan obviously will have to be pressured by the
international community to negotiate a peace agreement with opposing
groups. Unfortunately, Sudan continues to receive huge oil revenues,
given the current high prices of oil; and they may not be willing to
negotiate peace unless international pressure is brought to bear on
them.
If Sudan would like to see an end to its international isolation, the
time is long overdue, Mr. Speaker, to stop killing innocent civilians
and to get about the serious business of making peace.
I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S.
1453, the Sudan Peace Act. At the outset, I would like to commend the
principal Senate sponsor, Senator Frist, as well as our colleague J.C.
Watts who introduced the companion measure, H.R. 2906.
The Government of Sudan's genocidal religious war against the non-
Muslim peoples of southern Sudan have turned the south into--in the
words of one Sudanese priest--``the hell of the earth.'' Enslavement,
calculated starvation, forced conversion, and the aerial bombardment of
civilian targets such as schools, churches, and hospitals, are still
methods of terror favored by the National Islamic Front government.
Unfortunately, Khartoum has also begun generating the revenue it needs
to extend its self-described jihad by developing Sudanese oil
resources.
S. 1453 is an important first step toward addressing the crisis in
that war-torn region. Among other things, the bill:
Condemns slavery and the other human rights violations perpetrated by
the Khartoum regime;
Expresses support for the ongoing peace process in that region;
Expresses the sense of the Congress relating to the improvement of
relief services in the south of Sudan;
Authorizes an additional $16 million for rehabilitation assistance to
areas of Sudan not controlled by the government in the north; and
Requires the President to report to Congress on several aspects of
the conflict, as well as on options available to the United States for
providing non-lethal assistance to members of the National Democratic
Alliance.
These are all good things. But the horrors of Sudan--which have
already claimed more than 2 million lives--demand more than expressions
of concern and new reporting requirements. They require concrete
action.
For this reason, I offered an amendment at Subcommittee markup that
reinstated certain sanctions language that was present in both the
House- and Senate-introduced versions of the bill. Unless the President
can certify that Khartoum has made significant progress toward peace
and respect for human rights, the language prohibits U.S. corporations
and individuals from brokering goods, technology, or services to or
from Sudan. It also prohibits U.S. corporations and individuals from
performing contracts or using financial instruments in support of the
Government of Sudan's industrial or commercial projects. It expresses
the sense of Congress that these provisions should apply to the sale of
stocks and other financial instruments in the United States or to U.S.
persons. In sum, these provisions are meant to keep the Khartoum regime
from using U.S. capital markets to underwrite its genocide.
We have already expressed the sense of the House this Congress, when
we voted 416 to 1 to condemn the Khartoum regime's genocide against the
south. it's time to act on those convictions and pass S. 1453.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 1453,
the Sudan Peace Act. Since coming to Congress, I have devoted a
substantial amount of time with my colleagues in the House
International Relations Subcommittee on Africa to finding solutions to
the horrible current situation in Sudan. Over the last 2 years we have
held hearings and passed House Concurrent Resolution 75 condemning the
government of Sudan which has continued to harass, bomb, murder and
enslave the mainly Christian population in the south. But now is the
time for real action.

[[Page H10643]]

The Sudan Peace Act addresses the humanitarian concerns that are
devastating this nation and also calls for the administration to take a
more active role in addressing the peace process and condemning the
actions of the government of Sudan. The bill will hopefully make the
situation in Sudan more marketable for this administration.
The bill condemns the human rights violations and overall human
rights record of the government of Sudan. It condemns the ongoing slave
trade and the role of the government in organizing raiding and slaving
parties on the people of the South.
The current ban of Operation Lifeline Sudan, imposed by the
government of Sudan, and humanitarian relief has resulted in the deaths
of thousands of Sudanese and medical epidemics of astounding
proportions. The population of the largest displaced camps doubled and,
overall, the number of those who have fled just the Blue Nile region
increased from 63,000 in May to near 80,000 by the end of June. This
adds to the almost 2 million that have already died in the war-torn
country.
On November 19, 1999 the Senate passed the bill--whose centerpiece is
a provision calling for the President to take actions through our U.N.
envoy to pressure the government of Sudan and develop a comprehensive
solution to the problems in Sudan. The House version of this bill
introduced last September and passed by the International Relations
Committee this month was the same as the Senate version but included a
substantial difference. We felt very strongly that without language
levying sanctions against Sudan, we would continue down the path we
have pursued for the last couple of years, namely passing resolutions
and holding hearings but having no change in the government of Sudan's
policies. We now have a bill that has real teeth and has a chance to
send a message to the government of Sudan. It is time for the leaders
of Sudan to get the message and stop persecuting Christians and other
minorities in the South.
If you think the situation in Sudan will fade away or somehow correct
itself, you are sadly mistaken. In fact, a recent U.N. report accused
the Sudanese Government of using an airfield built with Chinese
assistance to bomb schools and hospitals in the South. In addition, we
have recently learned that Sudan has acquired 34 new jet fighters from
China, doubling the size of the country's air force. We can no longer
turn our head when it comes to the situation in Sudan. I would
encourage this Congress and this administration to act now before the
government of Sudan continues to evolve and before the Chinese increase
their foothold in Sudan. The longer we wait without substantive changes
to our policy in Sudan, the more innocent people will get killed and
the more the government of Sudan will court friends to help them in
their evil bidding.
I would encourage my colleagues to accept the House version of S.
1453 the Sudan Peace Act, and pass it here today. The time has come for
this Congress and this administration to act on Sudan.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hansen). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1453, as amended.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

____________________