[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 166 (Tuesday, December 4, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H8753-H8754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GEORGE P. SHULTZ NATIONAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING CENTER
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3348) to designate the National Foreign Affairs Training Center
as the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3348
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF THE GEORGE P. SHULTZ NATIONAL
FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING CENTER.
(a) In General.--
(1) Section 701(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 4021(a)) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ``The institution shall be designated the `George
P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center' ''.
(2) Any reference in any provision of law to the National
Foreign Affairs Training Center or the Foreign Service
Institute shall be considered to be a reference to the George
P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 53 of the State Department Basic Authorities
Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2725) is amended--
(A) in the section heading by inserting ``GEORGE P.
SHULTZ'' after ``THE''; and
(B) by inserting ``George P. Shultz'' after ``use of the''.
(2) Section 708(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 4028(a)) is amended by inserting ``George P. Shultz''
after ``director of the''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Iowa (Mr. Leach) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach).
General Leave
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous matter on H.R. 3348, the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Iowa?
There was no objection.
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and let me welcome this opportunity to bring H.R. 3348 to the House
floor. The bill designates the National Foreign Affairs Training Center
after a distinguished American, George Shultz.
Mr. Shultz, among his many achievements, was responsible for creation
of the new Foreign Service training facility established in Arlington,
Virginia. He undertook the difficult task of convincing Congress that
the funding of the new campus would be an investment in the future of
our foreign affairs community. In 1993, the professional and modern
facilities opened as the National Foreign Affairs Training Center.
Secretary Shultz has a strong belief that the Nation should have a
permanent home for training U.S. Government officials that serve
overseas. Since 1947, the State Department has operated an in-service
training facility, but by the late 1980s, it was apparent that there
was a need for expanded course offerings and a larger facility to
accommodate the increased number of participants. Secretary Shultz
successfully pursued his goal to have a first-rate training facility
established, which today has an enrollment of approximately 30,000 a
year.
As thrice a graduate of courses at the old Foreign Service Institute,
it is an honor to bring this bill before the House. As a longtime
admirer of the public service of Secretary Shultz, it is a particular
honor to help bring his vision to reality.
I would urge strong support for this resolution and again would
commend my good friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for
his support for this initiative.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
And let me just say at the outset that one of the many reasons why the
contributions of the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) to the work of
this body and to the Committee on International Relations is of such
high quality is because of his earlier service as a member of our
Foreign Service. He exemplifies the extraordinary talent of our
diplomatic corps, and I want to commend him for bringing this
legislation to our attention.
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to cosponsor this bill with the gentleman
from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) because Secretary George Shultz deserves all
the recognition that this Congress and the American people may offer.
George Shultz was a brilliant Secretary of State and he guided the
United States through a most critical time in our Nation's history.
I was a member of the Committee on International Relations during
Secretary Shultz's entire tenure, and I have the highest regard for him
both professionally and personally. After leaving Washington, Secretary
Shultz made the wise decision to return to my area of the country, the
San Francisco Bay area, and I have been delighted to claim him both as
a constituent and as a friend.
George Shultz is proud of his Princeton and Marine Corps background,
and he has provided a quality of integrity and intelligence and
commitment to public service which is truly extraordinary. He may have
left the government and moved away from Washington, but George
continues to be actively engaged in our foreign policy and committed to
strengthening and supporting the Department of State and the men and
women who work there. I think it is more than fitting that this great
institution that he worked so hard to establish, that he has been so
dedicated to, should bear his name.
The Foreign Service Institute was originally created in 1943, and it
provides training to the State Department and 43 other Federal
agencies, providing instruction to over 30,000 U.S. Government
employees every year in 63 foreign languages as well as in courses on
management, leadership, diplomacy, security, economics, and other
valuable skills and subjects.
Secretary Shultz was instrumental in obtaining the land and the
funding to move the Institute to its current home on a 72-acre plot at
the National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia. I
am indeed proud to be a cosponsor of this bill to designate the
National Foreign Affairs Training Institute as the George P. Shultz
National Foreign Affairs Training Center.
I thank the chairman and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for
their leadership on this issue. I urge all of my colleagues to support
this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce).
{time} 1430
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
Mr. Speaker, I think that it is indeed proper that the many
achievements of George P. Shultz be recognized by the naming of this
new National Foreign Affairs Training Center after Mr. Shultz.
As well as commending the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for the
gentleman's efforts, I also commend the ranking member, the gentleman
from California (Mr. Lantos), for the bill that he brought up prior to
this
[[Page H8754]]
measure, and take a moment, if I could, to speak about the importance
of commemorating the 50th anniversary of Radio Free Europe and Radio
Liberty.
I think it is important that we remember within 10 minutes of the
establishment of Radio Free Europe, the Soviets were already attempting
in 1951 to jamb those broadcasts, and yet those broadcasts got through.
What Joseph Stalin was afraid of was what was being told over the air
waves. He was afraid of the truth; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
developed a rather unique form of international broadcasting. We call
that today surrogate radio, airing local news about the countries to
which they broadcast, operating as if they had a free and vibrant
press.
During the Cold War, these radios brought the news of the Hungarian
revolution of 1956, the Prague uprising of 1968, and most importantly,
the rise of the solidarity movement in Poland. And when we talk with
the leaders of the Czech Republic or Poland, they say that the hearts
and minds of people were turned by the opportunity to listen every day
to a radio broadcast which explained what was actually happening inside
their country. These broadcasts were able to explain and to put into
context what people were hearing from the Soviet broadcasts, and over
time we know that this was the most effective single thing that changed
the attitudes of the average person in Eastern Europe, we know that
from the leaders of these countries today. They were critical in
contributing to the collapse of communism, the collapse of the
totalitarian governments of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
And besides its outstanding impact behind the Iron Curtain during the
Cold War, the radios also aided in Afghanistan from 1985-1993 during
the Soviet invasion.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty still continues to tell the truth,
countering dictators like Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein has long
complained that Radio Free Iraq is, in his words, an act of aggression.
The Iraqi dictator has become so irked by his attempt to undermine his
control over the media that Saddam Hussein instructed his intelligence
officials, and apparently recently there has been a plot uncovered by
Iraq to bomb Radio Free Europe's headquarters in Prague.
Last month this House passed legislation authored by myself and the
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) to re-create Radio Free
Afghanistan by a margin of 405 to two. The Taliban is on its way out;
but if Afghanistan is to have a chance of becoming stable, if its
various factions and ethnic groups are to strike a workable governing
accord, the country will need free-flowing, accurate news information.
Unfortunately, the country is starting from scratch. What media the
Taliban did not corrupt, it destroyed. Looking ahead at the great
challenges Afghanistan faces, it is clear to those that are on the
ground that a credible and effective media will not emerge any time
soon. This legislation will provide for 12 hours of broadcasting a day
in the two major dialects of Afghanistan, and that is vital to the
peace and stability in that country. The bill awaits action by the
other body. Radio Free Europe has been heard by individuals with a
message of hope and freedom for the past 50 years, and I commend Radio
Free Europe and Radio Liberty on their anniversary.
Mr. Speaker, I wanted to speak on behalf of the measure of the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), and also speak on the
appropriate resolution today for a very distinguished American, George
P. Shultz, and to thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for
bringing that resolution to the floor.
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, George P. Shultz began his career in the South Pacific
in World War II. He is ending his career, to the degree it is ending,
and we hope it is not fully, with a bill aimed in his honor, a facility
designed to prevent further wars. I think this could not be more
fitting.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, long before the current emphasis on training
for the foreign affairs community, George Shultz had a vision of a
world-class foreign affairs training center for those who staff our
foreign affairs establishment. That vision eventually became the
National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia, which
by this act, we name it after Secretary Shultz.
With all due respect to the current occupant of that office, George
Shultz is in my estimation the finest person I have had the honor of
working with during his or her service as Secretary of State. He played
an enormous role in the tremendous expansion of the scope of liberty in
the world during the Reagan Administration, all while protecting our
national security from real threats. At times, he suffered the slings
and arrows of fierce partisan attack, as he advanced the sometimes
unpopular policies of his Administration. He did so always with
inspiring grace and intellectual honesty.
If those who serve our Nation in foreign affairs were to model
themselves after George Shultz, we would do well indeed. Let us help
keep his spirit in their consciousness by naming the facility he
planned after this visionary Secretary of State, our friend George
Shultz.
I urge all my colleagues to support this tribute to an outstanding
American, Secretary of State, George P. Shultz.
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3348.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
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.
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