[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.

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