[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 17 (Tuesday, February 26, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H533-H535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     EXPRESSING SYMPATHY TO PEOPLE OF DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

  Mr. ROYCE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 304) expressing sympathy to the 
people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who were tragically 
affected by the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano on January 17, 2002, 
and supporting an increase in the amount of assistance provided by the 
United States to the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 304

       Whereas on January 17, 2002, the Nyiragongo volcano, which 
     stands 11,380 feet high and is located 6 miles north of the 
     city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, began 
     to erupt without warning;
       Whereas 147 people lost their lives and 150,000 people have 
     been displaced as a result of the recent Nyiragongo eruption;
       Whereas the recent Nyiragongo eruption is the most 
     destructive volcanic eruption to occur in Africa during the 
     last 25 years;
       Whereas the lava flow from the recent Nyiragongo eruption 
     was a mile wide in places and destroyed the cathedral and 
     water plant of Goma and countless villages and buildings;
       Whereas dangers from fires, toxic fumes, reoccurring 
     tremors, and natural methane gas under Lake Kivu continue to 
     plague the Goma region of the Democratic Republic of the 
     Congo;
       Whereas the recent Nyiragongo eruption destroyed crops and 
     contaminated the main water supply of Goma;
       Whereas the suddenness of the recent Nyiragongo eruption 
     resulted in the separation of many children from their 
     parents;
       Whereas the United States has provided assistance valued at 
     $4,400,000 for food, water, sanitation, and town planning to 
     the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo affected 
     by the recent Nyiragongo eruption;
       Whereas the Office of United States Foreign Disaster 
     Assistance (OFDA) of the United States Agency for 
     International Development (USAID) has made available 
     additional funds for assistance to the people affected by the 
     recent Nyiragongo eruption; and
       Whereas the Governments of the United Kingdom, Germany, 
     France, and Belgium have also offered assistance to the 
     people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress expresses its deepest sympathies 
     and condolences to the people of the Democratic Republic of 
     the Congo who were tragically affected by the eruption of the 
     Nyiragongo volcano on January 17, 2002.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROYCE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This resolution is sponsored by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Davis) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) and the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), two Members of the House 
Subcommittee on Africa which I chair, and this expression of support 
deserves the support of the House.
  On January 17, the Nyiragongo volcano erupted and spewed white-hot 
lava on Goma, a city on the shores of Lake Kivu in eastern Congo; and 
that eruption disrupted the lives of one-half million people. Over 100 
people lost their lives in the initial stage, 150,000 were displaced by 
the lava flow, and that lava flow was a mile wide in some places. Then 
the eruption destroyed the water plant, the homes, part of the airport, 
the crops and an important part of the business district. This natural 
catastrophe increased the already dire humanitarian situation of a 
people

[[Page H534]]

suffering from the impact of the war that started in Goma on August 2, 
1988, and then spread throughout the country.
  The United States moved quickly to aid the people affected by the 
volcanic eruption, the most devastating eruption in Africa in more than 
a quarter century. We have provided over $4 million in assistance. This 
includes food, sanitation, town planning and seismographic analysis to 
determine if there was any danger of another volcanic eruption.
  The U.S. contribution was part of an international response that 
included coordinated support from the United Kingdom, from Germany, 
from France and Belgium. This resolution supports this aid.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  First, I want to thank our subcommittee chair, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce), for his leadership and his support on all the 
issues which we deal with as it relates to Africa; and I would like to 
commend my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Davis), for introducing this very important and very compassionate 
resolution; and I urge all of our colleagues here today to support its 
passage.
  This resolution offers our condolences to the people of the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo who were tragically affected by the 
eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano on January 17.
  Madam Speaker, before dawn on January 17, the volcano, located 60 
miles north of the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo, began to erupt without warning. This volcano, the eruption was 
really the most destructive to occur in Africa during the last 25 
years. The lava flow from the eruption was a mile wide in places and 
destroyed a major cathedral, the water plant of Goma and countless 
buildings and surrounding villages.
  Dangers from fires, toxic fumes, reoccurring tremors and natural 
methane gas under Lake Kivu plagued Goma after the first tremors 
ceased.
  Madam Speaker, according to the United States Agency for 
International Development and the United Nations, a total of 400,000 
Goma residents, 400,000, were affected by this eruption; 147 people 
died and more than 150,000 residents lost their homes.
  The eruption destroyed crops and contaminated the main water supply 
which threatened to trigger a cholera epidemic.
  The suddenness of the recent Nyiragongo eruption also resulted in the 
separation of many children from their parents. This is really a 
humanitarian disaster of enormous potential.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to commend Mr. Dieudonne Wafula, a 
Congolese vulcanologist, who predicted the volcano's eruption and 
actually sent e-mails to experts around the world, including to our own 
country, one week before the lava began flowing on January 17. His work 
was very integral to setting up an international survey team to monitor 
the behavior of the volcano after the major eruption, thereby avoiding 
a further calamity to the residents of Goma.
  Madam Speaker, I would also like to commend the United States Agency 
for International Development for its very swift response to this 
crisis. Monetary support, relief commodities, including blankets, water 
jugs, water stations, dust masks, seismographic equipment and emergency 
food aid, were among the relief support provided by our government. The 
total value of that assistance to date is near $4.4 million.
  We have responded in a good way to the crisis suffered by the people 
of Goma. Many residents in that poor region live on less than $1 per 
day and really had no way to deal with the immediate tragedy caused by 
the volcano. I am pleased that the United States government, through 
our development agency, was there to help.
  Madam Speaker, now the immediate crisis has passed, but the lingering 
effects may require further cooperation between the United States, 
USAID and the United Nations and other government agencies. So I trust 
that we will be willing to step up to the plate should the need exist 
and we are called upon to help.
  I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 304; and, Madam Speaker, 
I want to once again commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
for bringing this to the attention not only of this body but of the 
entire country.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Davis), the congressperson who has introduced this resolution.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I want to thank first of all 
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) for yielding me the time.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to express concern, sorrow and sympathy 
for the victims of the volcanic eruption in Goma, Congo, on January 17, 
2002.
  First of all, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) 
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), an original cosponsor, 
for their support and efforts in getting this resolution to the floor.
  I would also like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) 
and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), also an original 
cosponsor, for their constant support and assistance on this resolution 
and other issues concerning the people of Africa.
  In the early hours of January 17, 2002, the massive volcano 
Nyirangongo exploded, creating three deadly lava paths, each estimated 
to be approximately a mile wide, which instantly destroyed homes, 
buildings and innocent life that crossed its path.

                              {time}  1445

  After the volcanic eruption ended, the dangers did not cease for the 
people of Goma. Earthquakes followed by tremors and heavy rains 
extended the misery. Almost a week later, hope began to emerge in the 
Goma region. The experts announced that the eruption had stopped. The 
water supply that was feared to be contaminated by volcanic ash was 
declared safe, although the water distribution system was only up to 50 
percent of its capacity. The aid workers, who were forced to wait due 
to the recurring dangers, were finally able to begin the process of 
delivering food and supplies to the distraught.
  I agree with President Bush that the United States should and will 
help the victims of Goma to rebuild their town and their lives. I am 
very pleased that the United States has allocated up to $3 million for 
relief efforts to date, which will become more than $4 million in total 
aid, for the homes and lives that were taken within seconds will take 
years to rebuild.
  America, Madam Speaker, is at her best when we come to the aid of 
others in great need. So again I want to thank all of those who have 
shown support for this resolution.
  I also commend and thank Mr. Franz Stuppard, a Congressional Fellow 
on my staff, and Jennifer Luciano for their work on this resolution. 
This happens to be Franz's last week of his fellowship, and I want to 
thank him for his service as he returns to the General Services 
Administration, which is his regular workstation. I wish that we could 
keep him, because he has done such an outstanding job, but I know that 
GSA is awaiting his return.
  I again thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) and the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) for their support, and I urge 
passage of this resolution.
  Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  In closing, I want to urge my colleagues once again to support this 
resolution, and I want to thank Chairman Royce and the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) for bringing this to the attention of this body 
and of the entire country. I know that our country will continue to 
rise to the occasion in addressing the great humanitarian crises that 
the people of the Republic of the Congo are facing.
  Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time; and 
I would again like to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), and the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne).
  Madam Speaker, as we pass this resolution in support of the people of 
Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is at this time, 
today, an important meeting under way. And in

[[Page H535]]

this meeting are representatives of the Congolese opposition political 
parties, the armed rebel movements, civil society, and the Government 
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are meeting in South 
Africa as part of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue. We urge them to put the 
interests of the nation over their parochial concerns.
  This dialogue for peace is mandated by the Lusaka Accords, which 
provides a blueprint to return peace to the divided Congo. It is 
intended to map out a new political arrangement that will result in the 
establishment of a democratic system of government. In addition, all 
foreign troops are to be withdrawn from Congolese soil. This will 
provide the resourceful Congolese people with the opportunity to 
benefit from their own talents and the abundant natural resources with 
which they have been blessed. We hope they succeed.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 
304.
  Before I was elected to my first term in the Congress I was stationed 
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a Regional Medical Officer 
for the Foreign Service, so I am very familiar with this wondrous yet 
volatile area.
  The eruption of Mount Nyiragongo is the latest in a line of tragedies 
suffered by the Congolese people. Since the attempted coup of the late 
President Laurent Kabila in August 1998 the Republic has been embattled 
in a bitter civil war between the government and opposition rebel 
groups.
  Now, with the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, the Congolese people are 
witnessing a new level of suffering. The results of the eruption are 
staggering. 46 people were initially killed, according to The 
International Federation of Red Cross Societies. 10,000 people are left 
homeless in the city of Goma.
  Hundreds of thousands are out of work as a reported 13% of the city 
was destroyed from the 110 million cubic yards of lava erupted from the 
volcano. Further complicating things is a cholera outbreak that is 
hindering humanitarian groups from reaching the 35,000 people in need 
of food.
  Yet despair occasionally brings hope. This most recent disaster has 
cast attention on the war-torn nation, and this week, at the urging of 
President Thabo Mbeki, South Africa is holding a summit in an effort to 
bring peace back to the Republic.
  We can only hope that in the wake of this tragedy the warring 
factions can set aside their differences, begin forming a transitional 
government, and set a date for future elections that will bring unity 
and peace to the Congolese people.
  Mr. ROYCE. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res 
304, as amended.
  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. ROYCE. Madam 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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