[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 38 (Wednesday, April 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2489-S2490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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    SENATE RESOLUTION 234--REITERATING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT 
  RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS A PRIORITY OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE IN THE 
 BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, INCLUDING WITHIN 
               THE CONTEXT OF THE JACKSON-VANIK AMENDMENT

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon (for himself, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Harkin, Ms. 
Mikulski, Mr. Warner, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Hatch, 
Mr. McConnell, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cleland, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Allen, Mr. 
Hagel, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Reid, Mr. Nickles, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
Feingold, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Graham, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Reed, 
Mr. Corzine, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Johnson) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

                              S. Res. 234

       Whereas religious freedom and minority rights have always 
     been a priority of the United States Congress and the 
     American people;
       Whereas the Russian Federation has experienced a miraculous 
     revival of religious life since the Soviet collapse ten years 
     ago, especially with respect to the historically persecuted 
     Russian Jewish community;
       Whereas the Russian Government has publicly welcomed the 
     participation of faith communities in national life;
       Whereas the Department of State's International Religious 
     Freedom Report (October 2001), submitted to Congress in 
     compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious 
     Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, details numerous and widespread 
     restrictions upon minority faiths under Russia's 1997 
     Religion Law;
       Whereas Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matvienko said on 
     23 October that the Russian government is working on 
     amendments to the Religion Law to further restrict still the 
     activities of foreign religious groups on Russian territory;
       Whereas the International Religious Freedom Report also 
     details a series of Russian Government actions during the 
     past year that have interfered with the functioning of Jewish 
     community institutions;
       Whereas ``Izvestiya'' reported on 6 November that no one in 
     Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) is assigned to handle 
     extremist and racist movements, while nationalist and anti-
     Semitic extremists continue to spread propaganda and incite 
     violence in incidents across Russia;
       Whereas Russia has accepted international obligations, 
     including those specified in the 1990 Copenhagen Document of 
     the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to 
     allow ethnic and religious minorities ``to establish and 
     maintain their own educational, cultural and religious 
     institutions, organizations or associations'';
       Whereas 98 Senators wrote to President Vladimir Putin of 
     the Russian Federation on 3 August 2001, recognizing 
     individual instances of progress but expressing concern over 
     the anti-Semitic rhetoric heard at both the national and 
     local levels of Russian society and politics;
       Whereas, on 24 October 2001, by Unanimous Consent, the 
     Senate passed Amendment SA 1948 to the Foreign Operations FY 
     2002 Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2506), instructing that funds 
     for the Government of the Russian Federation be conditioned 
     upon the President's certification to Congress that the 
     Russian Government ``has not implemented any statute, 
     executive order, regulation, or other similar government 
     action that would discriminate, or would have as its 
     principal effect discrimination, against religious groups or 
     religious communities in the Russian Federation in violation 
     of accepted international agreements on human rights and 
     religious freedoms to which the Russian Federation is a 
     party'';
       Whereas the Congress passed Title IV of the Trade Act of 
     1974 (``the Jackson-Vanik Amendment'') ``to assure the 
     continued dedication of the United States to fundamental 
     human rights'';
       Whereas the Jackson-Vanik Amendment focuses on free 
     emigration as a condition for granting Normal Trade Relations 
     to non-market economies, including authority for the 
     President to waive this restriction upon certifying that a 
     country was permitting free emigration;
       Whereas the President stated on 13 November 2001, that 
     Russia has made important strides on emmigration and the 
     protection of religious and ethnic minorities, ``including 
     Russia's Jewish community. On this issue, Russia is in a 
     fundamentally different place than it was during the Soviet 
     era. President Putin told me that these gains for freedom 
     will be protected and expanded;''
       Whereas the President further stated: ``Our Foreign 
     Ministers have sealed this understanding in an exchange of 
     letters. Because of this progress, my administration will 
     work with Congress to end the application of Jackson-Vanik 
     Amendment to Russia;''
       Whereas the exchange of letters between the Secretary of 
     State and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia 
     underscored Russian and U.S. commitments on human rights and 
     religious freedoms, including restitution of communal 
     properties seized during the Soviet era, the revival of 
     minority communities, and combating xenophobia and anti-
     Semitism;
       Whereas, in meeting with Senate leadership on 13 November 
     2001, President Putin reiterated his commitment to working 
     with the United States and with the Congress on advancing 
     civil society and human rights in this country;
       Whereas the President of the United States issued a 
     ``Religious Freedom Day 2002'' Proclamation on 16 January 
     2002, saying, ``I encourage all Americans to renew their 
     commitment to protecting the liberties that make our country 
     a beacon of hope for people around the world who seek the 
     free exercise of religious beliefs and other freedoms;''
       Whereas the Russian Federation has proven to be a critical 
     ally in the war on international terrorism in which the 
     civilized world is currently engaged; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, That it is the sense of the Senate 
     that--

[[Page S2490]]

       (1) within the context of productive and constructive 
     relations between the governments and peoples of the United 
     States and the Russian Federation, religious freedom and the 
     protection of minority rights must remain as priority issues 
     on the bilateral agenda of both countries; and
       (2) any actions by the United States Government to 
     ``graduate'' or terminate the application of the Jackson-
     Vanik Amendment to any individual country must take into 
     account the progress already achieved through the application 
     of the Amendment as well as appropriate assurances regarding 
     the continued commitment of that government to enforcing and 
     upholding the fundamental human rights envisioned in the 
     Amendment; and
       (3) the United States Government must demonstrate how, in 
     ``graduating'' individual countries, the ``continued 
     dedication of the United States'' to these fundamental rights 
     will be assured.

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I rise today to submit an 
important resolution regarding the Jackson-Vanik Amendment and the 
Russian Federation. I am joined by my colleague Senator Clinton of New 
York and 26 other cosponsors in submitting this resolution. This 
legislation recognizes the progress made by the Russian Federation 
regarding religious freedom issues and the Jewish community, as well as 
the impact the Jackson-Vanik Amendment has had even before it was 
signed into law in 1975.
  Over one million Israelis, hundreds of thousands of Americans and 
countless thousands across the world are living free because of 
Jackson-Vanik and the American commitment it reflects to religious 
freedom and freedom of emigration. At the same time, countless Jews and 
others in Russia live in relative freedom thanks in part to the very 
Jackson-Vanik Amendment that U.S. and Soviet leaders once decried as a 
``Cold War relic''. Rather than a relic, it is a lesson for us today.
  The legacy of Jackson-Vanik goes far beyond its impact on those 
living freer today. Jackson-Vanik has actualized the notion that human 
rights are not the province of any country's ``domestic internal 
policy''. Since the exchange of letters last November 13 between the 
U.S. and Russian governments, there can never again be a doubt that 
religious freedom has earned a prominent place on the U.S.-Russian 
bilateral agenda.
  The achievements of President Bush and his administration in this 
regard have carried out the spirit of previous administrations. In 
addition to recent letters from President Bush to the Congressional 
leadership, the President wrote last November 19 to Harold Paul Luks, 
Chairman of NCSJ: ``The Jewish community has helped write a proud 
chapter in the history of American foreign relations, but the work is 
not complete. We need your continued advocacy and support, and my 
Administration looks forward to working closely with you on these 
challenges.''
  Clearly, Senate and citizen involvement is not an impediment to U.S. 
foreign policy. As the President's letter underscores, such activism is 
an underpinning of our approach to foreign governments. While this 
Resolution takes no position on ``graduating'' Russia from Jackson-
Vanik, the test should not be the total elimination of xenophobia or 
the completion of democratic civil society. Never before has religious 
activity in Russia been so varied and widespread. And yet the threats 
to freedom of religion remain. We now have many channels for addressing 
our deep concerns.
  If the legislation to graduate Russia does incorporate these channels 
and the commitments of the Russian and U.S. governments, then future 
leaders of Russia will know the context in which the United States 
Congress has considered the extension of Normal Trade Relations. And if 
our colleagues join in support of this Resolution, regardless of their 
position on Russia's graduation, then the sense of the Senate will be 
an explicit part of the permanent record of this process.
  The legacy of Jackson-Vanik vis-a-vis Russia is a proud one, and one 
that can best be sealed through appropriate legislation and through 
messages such as the resolution we introduce today. I want to thank the 
28 cosponsors of this resolution and ask that all my colleagues join me 
on this important legislation.

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