[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 21, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H2748-H2778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AFGHANISTAN FREEDOM SUPPORT ACT OF 2002
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 419 and rule
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 3994.
{time} 1432
In the Committee of the Whole
Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill
(H.R. 3994) to authorize economic and democratic development assistance
for Afghanistan and to authorize military assistance for Afghanistan
and certain other foreign countries, with Mrs. Biggert in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as having
been read the first time.
Under the rule, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde).
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 3994, the Afghanistan
Freedom Support Act of 2002.
[[Page H2749]]
The gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking Democratic
member of the committee, and I introduced this bipartisan bill in
support of the President's agenda in Afghanistan. The bill authorizes a
broad range of development, economic, and security assistance over a 4-
year period through fiscal year 2005.
The United States is currently supporting peace and recovery in
Afghanistan through its assistance efforts on the ground and through
its leadership in international organizations and among the members of
the coalition against terrorism. Since the beginning of fiscal year
2002, the United States has provided more than $374 million in food,
humanitarian, refugee and other nonmilitary assistance provided to
support the relief and recovery of the Afghan people. In order to be
fully successful, this recovery effort must be sustained in the months
and years ahead. Legislation is required to provide the President with
a framework to ensure our success in meeting U.S. objectives in
Afghanistan and in the region.
H.R. 3994 authorizes an additional $300 million in assistance for
fiscal years 2002 through 2004, with $250 million authorized for fiscal
year 2005. The additional $300 million authorized for fiscal year 2002
is consistent with provisions included in the emergency appropriations
bill currently under consideration by the Committee on Appropriations
and represents a $50 million increase over the President's request of
$250 million.
H.R. 3994 will assist the administration in developing a strategic
approach to the assistance needs of Afghanistan. By authorizing a
significant 4-year fund for the purpose of dealing with the special
situation we find in Afghanistan, this legislation will give the
administration great flexibility to design and implement a
comprehensive assistance strategy in line with U.S. priorities and
objectives in that troubled country.
Madam Chairman, H.R. 3994 was drafted in consultation with the
administration and provides the President with great flexibility,
taking into account the fluid situation in Afghanistan and the variety
of economic, humanitarian, and security assistance needs. H.R. 3994 was
reported out of the Committee on International Relations with broad
bipartisan support.
The President has asked Congress to make available funds to support
the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan and has requested
$250 million in emergency supplemental fiscal 2002 appropriations for
Afghanistan. This supplemental assistance, if appropriated by Congress,
will be in addition to the fiscal year 2002 funding already announced
and allocated from existing accounts this fiscal year.
H.R. 3994 will promote the reconstruction of an independent,
prosperous, and democratic Afghanistan. The primary goal of this
legislation is to provide for the national security of the United
States and other nations by eliminating Afghanistan as a source of
terrorism and instability in the region. By providing assistance to the
people of Afghanistan, the United States will alleviate suffering, aid
recovery, bolster stability, and promote democratic civil government.
By reducing the amount of narcotics grown in or trafficked through
Afghanistan, the U.S. will assist in Afghanistan's recovery, but will
also provide for the security of the United States and other nations.
This bill authorizes assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs,
such as the provision of food aid and disaster relief. It also
emphasizes the need to assist refugees in returning to their home
communities in Afghanistan when it is safe to do so.
H.R. 3994 provides for aid in reconstruction and rehabilitation of
basic infrastructure and assistance to the civil society and interim
authority in Afghanistan. It underscores the importance of eradicating
poppy cultivation in order to reduce supply and demand for illicit
narcotics in Afghanistan and the region. The bill emphasizes the
importance of supporting stability through employment programs and of
improving food security, the health system, and the agricultural
sector. This act will promote efforts already under way to improve the
education system and support the transparency, accountability, and
participatory nature of governmental institutions in Afghanistan.
Madam Chairman, H.R. 3994 also supports the President's plan for
equipping and training an indigenous Afghan force, as well as efforts
by other countries, in providing security assistance for Kabul by
authorizing the provision of security assistance to Afghanistan, as
well as to countries and international organizations supporting efforts
to control terrorism.
H.R. 3994 exercises proper congressional oversight of U.S. foreign
assistance programs by establishing 2 conditions for providing
reconstruction development assistance to Afghanistan, exempting
humanitarian, human rights and refugee assistance from conditionality.
The first condition is that the government of Afghanistan must fully
support counternarcotics efforts. The second is that the people of
Afghanistan must follow through on commitments to peace made in Bonn,
Germany in December 2001.
The U.S. has an essential role to play in Afghanistan's recovery from
the horrific conflict and devastation of the past 30 years, but the
administration needs a coherent strategy and structure in place in
order to achieve our objectives of eliminating terrorism, securing the
peace, combating drugs, and safeguarding the human and civil rights of
all, particularly women and children. I urge Members to support H.R.
3994.
Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I want to thank my good friend and distinguished colleague, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of our committee, for
his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. I also want to
commend the bipartisan manner in which he and his staff have worked
with us to draft this legislation.
Our legislation includes many of the ideas and issues put forward in
legislation which was introduced last December by myself and the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman), my friend and colleague, and
some 15 members of the Committee on International Relations of both
political parties. I thank the chairman for working with us in
including these provisions.
Madam Chairman, the legislation we are considering today is essential
for America's national security. We have a strong interest in ensuring
the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the establishment of democratic
governmental institutions. An economically viable and democratic
Afghanistan will no longer serve as an incubator for home-grown
extremists such as the Taliban. It will no longer be a base of
operations for foreign terrorists such as al Qaeda. It will no longer
be the source of a huge proportion of the heroin that destroys lives
around the world.
The United States, Madam Chairman, made a grave foreign policy
mistake in 1991. After the implosion of the Soviet Union, the United
States simply withdrew from Afghanistan. With the Soviet Union no
longer a threat, the first Bush administration mistakenly assumed that
there was no longer a threat to America. On September 11, our Nation
suffered a horrendous blow for that misguided assumption.
Madam Chairman, as we move into the next phase in the war against
terrorism, we must finish the job that our military forces have begun
in Afghanistan. The legislation we are considering today is a critical
element in that effort.
Our bill authorizes funding and makes statutory changes necessary for
us to assist in establishing an economically viable, stable, and
democratic Afghanistan. Our legislation authorizes $1.3 billion over a
4-year period, a modest sum in relation to the amounts we are spending
currently every single month for our military forces to continue this
vital struggle. These funds and programs are essential to assure that
our young men and women will not have to remain in Afghanistan to
protect the security of Americans in New York and Washington and San
Francisco, and everywhere throughout our Nation.
Madam Chairman, this bill comes before the U.S. House of
Representatives at a critical time. As soon as this week, our House
will consider supplemental appropriations for the current fiscal year.
The President has requested $250 million for Afghanistan in
[[Page H2750]]
this supplemental. However, only $40 million of these funds are
requested for USAID to fund the humanitarian and development needs in
Afghanistan. It is my understanding that the Committee on
Appropriations will increase the amount of money for USAID in
Afghanistan, and I strongly support such a move.
Our bill emphasizes the development of Afghanistan's agricultural
sector by promoting land mine removal, quick-impact public works
programs to divert labor from narcotics production, and the development
of water and sanitation systems in rural areas.
{time} 1445
We expect that this aid will help stem further poppy cultivation.
Our legislation also contains strong language on the provision of
assistance to meet the educational, health, and vocational needs of
Afghanistan's long-abused and discriminated-against women, and it will
promote the participation of women in government and civil society.
Finally, Madam Chairman, our bill underscores the need for security
in Afghanistan, and provides military assistance to help establish a
modern Aghan military and police force. It also provides support for
those countries that are participating in the International Security
Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and it authorizes military assistance
to other countries helping in the war effort against al Qaeda.
Madam Chairman, the lack of security is perhaps the single biggest
challenge facing the government and people of Afghanistan as they try
to rebuild their lives and reclaim their country from the grasp of
terrorists. It is vital to the United States that we work for a
security environment in Afghanistan in order to prevent the return to
power of al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Our bill makes a contribution to providing security in Afghanistan,
but since the markup of this legislation in the Committee on
International Relations, it has become clear that we must do more.
Later in this debate, I will be offering an amendment to address this
critical issue; and I hope all of my colleagues will support it. As the
situation evolves, the needs in Afghanistan will change. Our
legislation gives the administration the flexibility to adapt our
assistance to the changing needs and priorities.
Madam Chairman, I believe this legislation will help ensure that the
United States remains engaged to provide a secure future for
Afghanistan. We can and we must play a critical role in Afghanistan's
transformation into a stable, prosperous, and pluralistic nation.
Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).
(Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3994.
I thank the chairman for yielding me this time, and for crafting, along
with the distinguished ranking member, very important bipartisan
legislation.
Specifically, I would also express my appreciation that the modest
Bereuter amendment will be included in the en bloc manager's amendment.
Specifically, this Member's amendment encourages the administration to
maximize the use of the research capacity and technical expertise of
U.S. land grant colleges and universities as it provides U.S.
humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
Madam Chairman, this legislation includes important provisions which
would authorize assistance to help the people of Afghanistan rebuild
the capability to feed themselves. Indeed, the long-term stability of
Afghanistan greatly depends on the country's ability to at least
restore the subsistence level of agriculture in the area of food
production.
Unfortunately, over 20 years of civil war and political unrest have
destroyed nearly all of the indigenous tools and infrastructure for
food production and rural development in Afghanistan. The people of
this country have eaten their feedstocks, and most have slaughtered all
of their livestock to meet their immediate food needs. Additionally,
the country's limited basic irrigation systems largely have been
destroyed.
Until these very basic components are restored, the people of
Afghanistan will turn to other endeavors to survive, including the
cultivation of poppies for producing drugs.
Madam Chairman, many land grant institutions have conducted very
relevant world-class research in agricultural and rural development.
Therefore, the following represents only a few of the areas in which
the highly trained professions at these institutions could contribute
to the assistance programs for Afghanistan: soil rehabilitation, water
conservation, livestock breeding and herd maintenance, irrigation, and
basic rural infrastructure constructions.
Furthermore, these professionals will have strong incentives to find
innovative solutions for the massive challenges facing Afghanistan, and
to continue their research if these land grant institutions are given a
substantial opportunity to contribute to the reconstruction efforts.
Additionally, the use of land grant colleges and universities in
assistance will serve, by experience, various similar projects in
communities across our country. Too frequently, USAID grants are
distributed among contractors based within the Beltway, or with those
entities that have the best connections within the Beltway.
Madam Chairman, this legislation makes a very important contribution
in so many areas, but I think it also helps provide the basis for the
people of Afghanistan to begin to feed themselves again and avoid drug
production. I urge support of the legislation.
Madam Chairman, it is clear that using U.S. land grant colleges and
universities to implement U.S. assistance projects in Afghanistan would
benefit the people of Afghanistan as they would be advised and trained
by some of the world's leading experts in the fields of agriculture and
rural development. In turn, land grant colleges and universities would
benefit from participation in these projects, as they would have an
opportunity to share their expertise and to encourage their professors
and researchers to pursue creative projects. Finally, U.S. foreign
policy certainly would benefit when U.S. land grant colleges and
universities implementing assistance projects, as Americans from across
the country would be contributing to the programs and subsequently feel
a higher interest and satisfaction in the success of those programs.
Madam Chairman, before concluding this statement, this Member would
like to bring to the attention of his colleagues other provisions
within H.R. 3994 which would authorize the use of overseas cooperatives
and microenterprise systems as development mechanisms in Afghanistan.
For several decades, United States cooperative development
organizations which operate overseas as well as microenterprise
institutions, have served as effective grassroots mechanisms to promote
democratic development and build economies in underserved areas.
Certainly, rural areas of Afghanistan would benefit from experience
with Americans from community-owned, member-controlled cooperative and
microenterprise programs, particularly those which focus on micro-
savings and credit, village infrastructure, and such community services
as rural electrification and rural telecommunications. Indeed, these
projects also would serve to complement the agriculture and other rural
reconstruction activities which would involve America's land grant
colleges and universities.
Madam Chairman, in conclusion, this Member encourages his colleagues
to vote for H.R. 3994.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I am delighted to yield 3 minutes to my
distinguished friend and colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Ackerman), who has played such a pivotal role in shaping intelligent,
far-sighted foreign policy vis-a-vis Afghanistan.
Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3994,
the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act.
At the outset, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman
Hyde) and the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos), for their tremendous efforts to craft a bipartisan bill
supporting rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance in Afghanistan.
It is important for the Congress to speak loudly and clearly
regarding a long-term commitment to Afghanistan, and I think the bill
before us today does just that. In addition, the bill answers the
President's call last October for the Congress to support
reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan.
As has been noted, the bill provides over $1 billion for humanitarian
relief, refugee assistance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in
Afghanistan. This assistance is linked to adherence to the
[[Page H2751]]
Bonn process and to progress on eradicating poverty, but in neither
case is the aid so closely linked that it deprives the President of the
flexibility necessary to pursue U.S. objectives in that country.
Throughout the bill, the importance of the role of women is
emphasized, from the structure of the future government to health care
and education programs specifically for women and girls. In addition,
the assistance has a particular focus on the agricultural economy in
Afghanistan. I think this is especially important given that the vast
majority of Afghans live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for
their livelihood.
The emphasis also dovetails nicely with our efforts to eradicate
poppy by giving farmers a viable alternative to the narcotics trade.
Madam Chairman, the bill also authorizes military assistance to
support the formation of an Afghan police force and a national army. In
addition, this assistance is available to foreign countries or
international organizations who are directly supporting our military
activities in Afghanistan, or are participating in peacekeeping or
policing operations there. I believe that the military assistance
provisions are appropriate and are focused on the needs of U.S. policy.
Madam Chairman, this bill is an excellent example of what can be
accomplished through bipartisan efforts. I commend the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for
their leadership on this issue, and I urge all of our colleagues to
support the bill.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the
distinguished the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the chairman
emeritus of the Committee on International Relations.
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding time to
me.
Madam Chairman, I want to thank our distinguished chairman, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), and the ranking minority member,
the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for bringing this measure
so expeditiously to the floor.
The Afghan Freedom Support Act is an important measure. Afghanistan
and the Afghan people are at a critical crossroads today in their
survival. Afghanistan has been torn apart by hostilities, by drought,
by regional disputes. It has caused a humanitarian crisis that has left
millions of Afghans with little hope and too much despair.
The Afghanistan Freedom Support Act before us attempts to help
Afghans help themselves. This bill authorizes $1.05 billion over a 4-
year period for a broad range of development, economic, anti-narcotics,
and security assistance for Afghanistan that will assist its
administration in its efforts to build a better future for their
people.
Madam Chairman, the former King of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah, recently
returned to Afghanistan to help lead a Loya Jirga, a grand assembly.
The Afghanistan Freedom Support Act will help the former King and will
help Chairman Karzai, Dr. Abdullah, the Afghan foreign minister, and
other representatives of the Afghan community to start a long-needed
process and a discussion of renewal on all of their issues.
The Afghan Freedom Support Act will also help bring stability to
Afghanistan and to the region. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to
fully support this important legislation, H.R. 3994, the Afghanistan
Freedom Support Act.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my
good friend and distinguished colleague, the gentleman from California
(Mr. Schiff).
Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time
to me.
Madam Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3994, the
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act, and the Lantos amendment addressing
the immediate security concerns in Afghanistan.
Last March I had the opportunity to accompany a delegation led by the
gentleman from California (Chairman Rohrabacher) to Afghanistan and
assess some of the desperate needs of that country.
The challenges there were immediate and were very apparent. The day
after our arrival, 300 people were arrested for attempting to overthrow
the Karzai government. Three days after that, there was an effort to
blow up the defense minister. Two weeks after that, a bumper opium crop
was ready for harvest. As we drove through the country, rocks were
painted red and painted white, one side that had been demined, another
side that had not.
The challenges before that country are immense, but none was pointed
out I think more graphically than the reports we received while we were
there that al Qaeda and Taliban were circulating pamphlets in some of
the small villages that said, ``The Americans will leave. They will be
here a few years and then they will leave. We are Muslims; we do not
leave. If we find you working with the Americans, talking with the
Americans, we will kill you and we will kill your family. We do not
leave.''
This, indeed, is the challenge for this country. The challenge for us
is to support to rebuild the economy in Afghanistan, the infrastructure
in Afghanistan, the educational system in Afghanistan, to make sure
that this country never again becomes a haven for terrorists like al
Qaeda and the Taliban.
The rap on any democracy and the rap on the United States is that we
have no staying power, and we must prove this wrong. We must
demonstrate that we have the commitment; that we have seen history and
we are determined not to repeat it. This act goes a long way to
providing the building blocks to restore that nation to its people and
to protect our country from any future September 11.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the Vice Chair of
the Committee.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Chairman, I thank my good friend for
yielding time to me and applaud him for this very, very important piece
of legislation, H.R. 3994. The gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde)
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) have crafted a very
important piece of pro-democracy humanitarian legislation.
Were Members here in 1989 when the Soviet Union withdrew its troops
from Afghanistan, those who were, will remember that with the Soviet
expansionist designs thwarted at the end of the Cold War, most
Americans, including Congress, promptly forgot about Afghanistan.
Foreign aid levels were slashed, and interest in the region plummeted.
For over a decade, Madam Chairman, Afghanistan festered in a mire of
factional in-fighting, international neglect, and drug trafficking.
Untold thousands were killed and others were crippled by landmines and
unexploded ordnance left over from the Soviet occupation. Women were
systematically degraded and exploited and reduced to chattel.
While Kabul was systematically reduced to rubble, the United States
and the rest of the international community essentially stood by on the
sidelines. While the West was trying to spend the peace dividend on
other priorities, the vacuum of Afghanistan was filled with extremists
who thrived on conditions of hopelessness.
One of the lessons, and especially post-September 11, that America
has learned is that we can no longer afford to sit by and watch as
developing nations collapse into chaos and anarchy.
This legislation, Madam Chairman, and the money that it will provide,
will tangibly assist a suffering people. The Bush administration has it
right and is doing a magnificent job in Afghanistan. They will help the
people of Afghanistan to realize their hopes, their aspirations, and
their dreams.
{time} 1500
The people of Afghanistan deserve to be one of the nations among the
democracies. Now they have the opportunity, this legislation will help
to facilitate that.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Lee), my good friend and distinguished colleague.
Ms. LEE. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
[[Page H2752]]
I rise today in full support of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act.
This bill provides very important humanitarian, development and
economic assistance. Afghanistan is a country that has been torn apart
by war for decades. The seeds of terrorism grow where there is despair
and poverty.
Manmade disasters have been compounded by nature. Afghanistan has
been suffering from a terrible drought, for example, for several years,
adding to the already extreme misery in that country. So we must remain
committed to Afghanistan's reconstruction. It is not only for
humanitarian reasons, but it is also in the United States' security
interests as well.
We also must make sure that our assistance to Afghanistan recognizes
the suffering of Afghan women in particular and in the importance of
reintegrating women into the civic life of the country.
I submitted an amendment in committee authored by my colleague, the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) calling for
resources to be sent to the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs to carry
out its responsibilities for legal advocacy, education, vocational
training and women's health programs. I want to thank the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) who is the vice chair of the
Women's Caucus for her leadership and also for the bipartisan support
of the committee's adoption.
I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and our
ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for
crafting this very common-sense, yet, I believe far-reaching
legislation. I urge support for the bill. The United States must remain
engaged in helping support the nation-building efforts in Afghanistan.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).
Mr. ROYCE. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the bill. I commend
the chairman of the committee and the ranking member for their work.
Last March I traveled to Afghanistan to meet with our troops there
and to meet with government officials. I think Americans are rightly
proud over the efforts of our servicemen and women. But one thing was
absolutely clear; the battle in Afghanistan is far from over. We met
with Interim Chairman Hamed Karzai, and he has struck a delicate
balance in heading up the multi-ethnic Afghan administration. A Loya
Jirga will soon be held to appoint a transitional authority there. The
United States must stand firmly behind Chairman Karzai and the interim
government.
This legislation that the chairman and the ranking member have
directed to us, this will help us better do this. I had the opportunity
to travel to Kabul and visit a local orphanage where I spoke with a
little girl who told me she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. Now
with the liberation of her country from the Taliban regime, this dream
has a chance.
Madam Chairman, thanks to the work of our armed services and thanks
to Chairman Karzai, there is a window of opportunity there. The
battered Afghan people are desperate for a brighter future, for a
unified country that they can believe in. But that window is closing.
And suspicion, cynicism, and self-interest are filling the gap. There
are too many characters looking to bring Afghanistan back into chaos.
The other week our forces fired a missile from an unmanned Predator
plane that just missed Hekmatyar. Hekmatyar has been plotting attacks
against the interim government and against American troops.
The U.S. training of an Afghan national army formally started this
week. Although this is a welcome development, it will take some time to
develop this force into one that can provide security nationwide.
Turkey will be assuming command of the international security
assistance force. Now that is confined to the Afghan capital. It is
critical that we encourage Turkey to expand its force outside of Kabul
to counter the regional warlords.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Crowley), our good friend and distinguished
colleague.
(Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to rise today in support of
the Afghan Freedom Support Act. I thank the chairman and the ranking
member for their work on this very, very important act.
The Afghanistan Freedom Support Act is a critical step towards the
reconstruction of Afghanistan. Among its notable provisions, the bill
calls for a significant amount of humanitarian assistance to help
deliver food, medical care and basic supplies to the people of
Afghanistan; provisions to promote counternarcotics efforts; the need
to develop the agricultural sector, both as a step towards economic
development and self-sufficiency, but also as a means of stemming poppy
cultivation; the furtherance of a bond process which provides a
framework for Afghanistan's political factions to decide their
country's political future; and strong language on the provision of
assistance to meet the educational, health and vocational needs of
women.
I am also strongly supporting the measures required by the amendment
introduced by my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Lantos). While giving the President broad latitude to
craft the most effective approach, this amendment would require the
administration to develop a strategy to meet the immediate and long-
term security needs of Afghanistan in order to promote the delivery of
humanitarian assistance, further the rule of law and support the
formation of a representative government in Afghanistan.
Improved security is a necessary precondition for achievement of the
U.S. pledge to help build a stable and peaceful Afghanistan. Since the
current government led by Hamed Karzai is not able to provide security
throughout the country outside of Kabul, in fact, other parts of the
country seem like the Wild Wild West, fighting between rival factions
who are vying for regional control, human rights abuses and corruption,
and the problems will continue to hinder the delivery of humanitarian
aid, delay economic reconstruction and development, and undermine the
delicate process by which factions are trying to create a stable,
democratic, central government.
Uncontrolled violence also puts U.S. and allied soldiers throughout
Afghanistan at risk. It is, therefore, critical for the administration
and Congress to work together to find ways to improve security in
Afghanistan. I believe the Lantos amendment provides a reasonable and
speedy method for addressing this important issue, but once again I
rise in support of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act and I thank the
chairman and ranking member again for their work on this important
piece of legislation.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul).
(Mr. PAUL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. PAUL. Madam Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.
Madam Chairman, I rise in opposition to this bill. The President has
not asked for this piece of legislation; he does not support it. We do
not anticipate that it will be passed in the other body. But there is
one good part of the bill, and that is the title, ``Freedom Support.''
We all support freedom. It is just that this bill does not support
freedom. Really, it undermines the liberties and the taxes of many
Americans in order to pump another in $1.2 billion into Afghanistan.
One of the moral justifications, maybe, for rebuilding Afghanistan is
that it was the American bombs that helped to destroy Afghanistan in
our routing of the Taliban. But there is a lot of shortcomings in this
method. Nation-building does not work. I think this will fail. I do not
think it will help us.
I do not think for a minute that this is much different than social
engineering that we try here in the U.S. with a lot of duress and a lot
of problems; and now we are going to do it over there where we really
do not understand the social conditions that exist, and it is not like
here. Some, especially those in that part of the world, will see this
as neo-colonialism because we are over there for a lot of different
reasons. And even in the bill it states one of the reasons. It says,
``We are to design an
[[Page H2753]]
overall strategy to advance U.S. interests in Afghanistan.''
Well, I wonder what that means? Over 10 years ago there was an
explicit desire and a statement made by the administration that until
we had a unified government in Afghanistan, we could not build a gas
pipeline across northern Afghanistan. And that is in our interests.
Does that mean this is one of the motivations?
I imagine a lot of people here in the Congress might say no, but that
might be the ultimate outcome. It is said that this bill may cut down
on the drug trade. But the Taliban was stronger against drugs than the
Northern Alliance. Drug production is up since we've been involved this
past year in Afghanistan.
Madam Chairman, I think it is important to state first off that while
it is true that the administration has not actively opposed this
legislation, it certainly has not asked for nor does it support the
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act. It did not support the bill when we
marked it up in the International Relations Committee, it did not
support the bill after it was amended in Committee, and it does not
support the bill today.
Madam Chairman, perhaps the ``Afghanistan Freedom Support Act''
should more accurately be renamed the ``Afghanistan Territorial
Expansion Act,'' because this legislation essentially treats that
troubled nation like a new American territory. In fact, I wonder
whether we give Guam, Puerto Rico, or other American territories
anywhere near $1.2 billion every few years--so maybe we just should
consider full statehood for Afghanistan. This new State of Afghanistan
even comes complete with an American governor, which the bill
charitably calls a ``coordinator.'' After all, we can't just give away
such a huge sum without installing an American overseer to ensure we
approve of all aspects of the fledgling Afghan government.
Madam Chairman, when we fill a nation's empty treasury, when we fund
and train its military, when we arm it with our weapons, when we try to
impose foreign standards and values within it, indeed when we attempt
to impose a government and civil society of our own making upon it, we
are nation-building. There is no other term for it. Whether Congress
wants to recognize it or not, this is neo-colonialism. Afghanistan will
be unable to sustain itself economically for a very long time to come,
and during that time American taxpayers will pay the bills. This sad
reality was inevitable from the moment we decided to invade it and
replace its government, rather than use covert forces to eliminate the
individuals truly responsible for September 11th. Perhaps the saddest
truth is that Bin Laden remains alive and free even as we begin to
sweep up the rubble from our bombs.
I am sure that supporters of this bill are well-intentioned, but
judging from past experience this approach will fail to improve the
lives of the average Afghan citizen. Though many will also attempt to
claim that this bill is somehow about the attacks of 9/11, let's not
fool ourselves: nation-building and social engineering are what this
bill is about. Most of the problems it seeks to address predate the 9/
11 attacks and those it purports to assist had nothing to do with those
attacks.
If we are operating under the premise that global poverty itself
poses a national security threat to the United States, then I am afraid
we have an impossible task ahead of us.
As is often the case, much of the money authorized by this bill will
go toward lucrative contracts with well-connected private firms and
individuals. In short, when you look past all the talk about building
civil society in Afghanistan and defending against terrorism, this bill
is laden with the usual corporate welfare and hand-outs to special
interests.
Among other harmful things, this legislation dramatically expands the
drug war. Under the group we have installed in Afghanistan, opium
production has skyrocketed. Now we are expected to go in and clean up
the mess our allies have created. In addition, this bill will send some
$60 million to the United Nations, to help fund its own drug
eradication program. I am sure most Americans agree that we already
send the United Nations too much of our tax money, yet this bill
commits us to sending even more.
The drug war has been a failure. Plan Colombia, an enormously
expensive attempt to reduce drug production in that Andean nation, has
actually resulted in a 25 percent increase in coca leaf and cocaine
production. Does anyone still think our ``war on drugs'' there has been
successful? Is it responsible to continue spending money on policies
that do not work?
The bill also reflects a disturbing effort by the Washington elite to
conduct experiments in social engineering in Afghanistan. It demands at
least five times that the Afghans create a government that is ``broad-
based, multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, and fully representative.'' We
are imposing race and gender quotas on a foreign government that have
been found inappropriate and in some cases even illegal in the United
States. Is this an appropriate activity to be carried out with taxpayer
funds?
Madam Chairman, the problem with nation-building and social-
engineering, as experience tells us time and time again is that it
simply doesn't work. We cannot build multi-ethnic, multi-cultural,
gender-sensitive civil society and good governance in Afghanistan on a
top-down basis from afar. What this bill represents is a commitment to
deepening involvement in Afghanistan and a determination to impose a
political system on that country based on a blueprint drawn up
thousands of miles away by Washington elites. Does anyone actually
believe that we can buy Afghan democracy with even the staggering sum
of 1.2 billion dollars? A real democracy is the product of shared
values and the willingness of a population to demand and support it.
None of these things can be purchased by a foreign power. What is
needed in Afghanistan is not just democracy, but freedom--the two are
not the same.
Release of funds authorized by this legislation is dependent on the
holding of a traditional Afghan assembly of tribal representatives--a
``loya jirga''--as a first step toward democratization. It authorizes
$10 million dollars to finance this meeting. That this traditional
meeting will produce anything like a truly representative body is
already in question, as we heard earlier this month that seven out of
33 influential tribal leaders have already announced they will boycott
the meeting. Additionally, press reports have indicated that the U.S.
government itself was not too long ago involved in an attempted
assassination of a non-Taliban regional leader who happened to be
opposed to the rule of the American-installed Hamid Karzai. More
likely, this ``loya jirga'' will be a stage-managed showpiece,
primarily convened to please Western donors. Is this any way to teach
democracy?
Madam Chairman, some two decades ago the Soviet Union also invaded
Afghanistan and attempted to impose upon the Afghan people a foreign
political system. Some nine years and 15,000 Soviet lives later they
retreated in disgrace, morally and financially bankrupt. During that
time, we propped up the Afghan resistance with our weapons, money, and
training, planting the seeds of the Taliban in the process. Now the
former Soviet Union is gone, its armies long withdrawn from
Afghanistan, and we're left cleaning up the mess--yet we won't be loved
for it. No, we won't get respect or allegiance from the Afghans,
especially now that our bombs have rained down upon them. We will pay
the bills, however, Afghanistan will become a tragic ward of the
American state, another example of an interventionist foreign policy
that is supposed to serve our national interests and gain allies, yet
which does neither.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Before yielding time, I would like to comment on the previous
speaker's observations. It is very much in the U.S. national interests
not to allow the Taliban and al Qaeda to reestablish their bases in
Afghanistan. Unless I am mistaken, it is their activities that resulted
in the deaths of 3,000 of our fellow citizens in New York and at the
Pentagon. It is very much in the U.S. national interest to put an end
to opium production in Afghanistan. It is very much in the U.S.
national interest to have a stable, prosperous, and democratic society
in that part of the world. And I believe the overwhelming majority of
Members of this body and the American people see that as clearly as the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and I do.
Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my good friend and
colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
Ms. JACKSON-LEE. Madam Chairman, I thank the ranking member for his
kindness, I believe that is what it is when we are allowed to bring
very important issues to this floor, as well as his leadership, and the
chairman of the Committee on International Relations for leadership
they have shown together in bringing us this legislation which is a
combined work of both the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde).
The reason I say that is because echoing the words of the gentleman
from California (Mr. Lantos), ``This legislation is both long overdue
and essential.''
Having visited Afghanistan in March and visited our troops who were
doing a very able and needed job, even in speaking to our military
personnel, they applauded the desire of America to help rebuild this
nation.
[[Page H2754]]
It is important to note that we have evidence that we can help build
nations. Just a few days ago Sierra Leone had a democratically held
election and we hope that that democracy will last.
The Afghani people want democracy and they want to be able to have a
strong nation. That was evident by our travels around the country. When
we saw the children, a thousand of them in an orphanage, they desired
an education and opportunity. When we saw the sick children and sick
people in hospitals, they wanted resources to help them create a better
health system. When I spoke to the women there, they wanted to make
sure that they did have the opportunity for creating businesses so that
microcredits would be an important concept for them.
This legislation combines the fight against opium-growing along with
an investment in humanitarian needs. That means education and health
care. It means teaching the government and teaching the people how to
govern themselves. We did the wrong thing some years ago when Russia
was fighting there, and what happened was a terrible, oppressive
leadership of the Taliban. Might I change that word, not leadership,
oppressiveness. We must weed out the oppressiveness of the Taliban by
continuing to fight against those terrorists, but at the same time we
must strengthen Chairman Karzai's government and encourage the growth
and development and enhancement for the people of Afghanistan so that
the 3 million who are refugees can return home.
{time} 1515
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the
learned gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney).
Mr. NEY. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of this bill since I
strongly support our continued engagement in Afghanistan. The people of
Afghanistan have suffered for too long, and lawlessness and
international neglect have caused their country to become a haven for
terrorists, but not anymore.
During my recent visit to Afghanistan, our delegation was often
overwhelmed by the gratitude of the Afghani people to America for
freeing them from the Taliban's chains of oppression and ignorance. It
lies in America's interest to make sure that the darkness of those
chains never returns to Afghanistan.
Madam Chairman, we helped the Afghan interim government get formed,
and it is important that we continue to support the Loya Jirga process
and those chosen by that body to represent the Afghan people for the
next 18 months. These are Afghanistan's first steps towards democracy,
and America should stand shoulder to shoulder with the Afghan people as
they strive for freedom, prosperity, and self-representation.
Security, of course, is still an issue in Afghanistan. Without
security, the terrorists can find a way back into Afghanistan.
Peacekeepers are currently only located in the Kabul area; and outside
the capital rogue elements, as we know, continue to challenge the
central government. Our troops should be there to fight the al Qaeda
for everyone's interest. However, the overall security of Afghanistan,
and indirectly the United States, would all significantly be enhanced
if non-American peacekeepers were stationed in other areas of the
country. Countries such as Turkey, Bahrain, Jordan, Sweden, and Britain
have already shown interest in providing peacekeeping to those areas of
our vast interest.
Madam Chairman, prosperity and stability go hand in hand. Hopefully,
one day the U.S. private sector will return.
America has helped bring a new beginning to the people of
Afghanistan. This bill reconfirms our determination to not let this new
beginning slip out of our hands and represents the best of American
ideals.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey), my friend and distinguished
colleague.
Mr. HINCHEY. Madam Chairman, I wish to express my appreciation to the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), our chairman, and to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Lantos), our ranking member, for fabricating this
bill and bringing it to the floor here so that we all have an
opportunity to support authorizing $1 billion of support for
humanitarian and reconstruction aid for Afghanistan.
I was in Afghanistan in January of this year. At that time I had an
opportunity to meet with Hamid Karzai and members of his cabinet, also
with many of the people in that country, our new charge d'affaires
there, the men and women of the 10th Mountain Division who are
stationed there in that country and on its perimeter.
In our conversations with Hamid Karzai, I asked him what was most
important to him. Without hesitation or equivocation he said security.
He then said we need to rebuild our educational system; we need to
refashion our transportation system; we need to rebuild our
agriculture, which is the foundation of their economy. But none of that
will be done unless we are able to maintain security.
The authorization that is contained in this bill provides the means
for us to begin to do that in a meaningful way. We are going to have to
stay involved in Afghanistan and committed and helpful to those people
for some time in the future. I hope we have the staying power to do it,
and I hope that this legislation which is here before us this afternoon
will provide for us the solid foundation from which we can proceed on
into the future.
The security of Afghanistan is critical to the people of that
country, to the establishment of a new democratic government, as well
as to the security of ourselves and other freedom-loving peoples in
other parts of the world.
We need to do this today. We need to remain involved with this new
government that is developing there, and we need to continue to carry
the people of Afghanistan in our hearts and in our purses.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the
distinguished gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
Mrs. MORELLA. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 3994, the
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act.
I do want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) for his
leadership in crafting this bill and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos) for his commitment to helping the Afghan people. I rise to
thank them both for working with me and the gentlewoman from New York
(Mrs. Maloney) to incorporate much of H.R. 3342, the Access for Afghan
Women Act, into this bill. Their cooperation enables this body to
continue our support for improving the lives of Afghan women and
children.
H.R. 3994 will provide over $1 billion in United States assistance to
Afghanistan for humanitarian and reconstruction projects, as well as
Afghan military and police assistance, and funds to stem poppy
production. While the bill provides the President with broad
flexibility, key aspects of humanitarian and reconstruction assistance
are targeted toward Afghan women.
The bill reflects that it is the United States' policy that the
United States and international community should support a broad-based,
multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive and fully representative government in
Afghanistan. In order to meet this goal of improving the human rights
of all Afghans, particularly women, emphasis must remain on meeting the
educational, health and sustenance needs of women and children to
better enable their full participation in Afghan society.
Assistance should increase the participation of women at the
national, regional and local levels in Afghanistan, wherever feasible,
by enhancing the role of women in decision-making processes, as well as
by providing support programs that aim to expand economic educational
opportunities and health programs for women and girls. In addition, an
amendment was added for resources to be sent to the Afghan ministry of
women's affairs to carry out its responsibilities for legal, advocacy,
education, vocational training and women's health programs.
H.R. 3994 prioritizes maternal and child health services as an urgent
humanitarian need, especially programs to reduce child mortality.
Assistance is authorized to recruit and train teachers in order to meet
the desperate need in Afghanistan to make up for the lost time in the
classroom. Thousands of children returned to school in March, some for
the first time in many years,
[[Page H2755]]
and some had never been to school. By September, all Afghan children
will have access to education.
Also authorized in this bill are programs establishing financial
institutions capable of providing microenterprise credits and other
income-generating programs for the poor with emphasis on women.
Microenterprise loans have proven successful throughout the developed
and developing world by providing an opportunity for self-sufficiency.
I support the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act and the conditioning of
U.S. aid on presidential certification that Loya Jirga has convened and
decided on a broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, fully
represented transitional government.
I thank all my colleagues for this bill. I urge support.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I am delighted to yield 3 minutes to the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald), my good friend
and good neighbor.
Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Madam Chairman, let me thank the gentleman
from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman; and my good friend and
neighbor, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking
member, for their leadership in bringing this very important issue,
along with the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, which the
chairwoman and I co-chair that caucus, and to bring this piece of
legislation to the floor. We thank our colleagues so much.
Today, we bring to conclusion an unrivaled bipartisan process in
support of war-weary Afghanistan. We are about to vote on this
important measure that will provide material resources to support the
rebuilding and reconstruction of a country that has touched the popular
imagination over the past years.
As democratic chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, I
am proud to add my voice in support of this defining bill. It cannot
come too soon to help the interim administration as it moves forward to
the next stage of instilling a spirit of sound governance in
Afghanistan.
When the Loya Jirga assembly meets in June, the provisional
government will begin setting out the key principles of the rule of law
that will help bring about stability and security where even now
disorder and ethnic conflict too often prevail.
At least 160 women will be instrumental in playing a central role in
this assembly. It may not be enough, but it is a start. As I stated on
the House floor in December, the future of women in Afghanistan and
ultimately the stability of any provisional settlement will rest upon a
foundation of inclusion, not exclusion.
Madam Chairman, the comprehensive package of assistance before us
today for final passage affirms the important aspirations being sought
by Afghanis, both inside and outside of that country. Helping Afghan
women to regain their rightful place in national life is one of the
best ways I know to combat terrorism in Afghanistan and to lessen the
sense of peril of the global community everywhere.
This historic bill also specifically calls for providing resources to
the ministry of women's affairs to ensure that the ministry can carry
out its responsibilities for legal, advocacy, educational and
vocational training. I am pleased to have authored this provision and
to have had the cooperation of the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Lee), my distinguished colleague, my fellow Californian and friend, and
the successful effort at the House Committee on International Relations
markup last month.
Afghan women must be assured of their basic human rights once more to
gain access to safe drinking water and sufficient food, to receive
decent health and maternal care, and foremost, to again move freely in
their society without being subjected to harassment and abuse.
The role of the women's ministry in realizing these objectives will
be critical in building a new sense of nationhood and in helping to
secure peace and democratic order. Restoring women's level of
participation in the rebirth of Afghanistan after 22 years of warfare
is a noteworthy contribution towards shaping a meaningful future for
that country.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), a member of the committee.
Mr. PITTS. Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of this
legislation. In January, on January 2, with my colleagues, the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Hall), I traveled to Afghanistan, met with Chairman Karzai and leaders.
And let me offer my observations.
Despite the fact that the Taliban are out of power, the people of
Afghanistan continue to suffer. Many people still do not have enough to
eat. Food aid is needed. Medical, educational assistance is needed.
However, the Afghan people do not want to subsist on handouts. Instead,
they desire the opportunity to work, to use their skills to provide for
their families.
Prior to the 1979 Soviet invasion, Afghanistan was self-sufficient
and exported agriculture products to its neighbors. Before 1979, 80
percent of the society farmed the land. The skills are there, but
development is needed in animal husbandry, irrigation system repair,
drought assistance, and alternative crops to replace narcotics
production.
As we continue to help the people of Afghanistan in rebuilding their
nation, our development assistance should focus on providing employment
opportunities; helping with demining so that families can return to
their homes and plant their fields; investing in rebuilding
infrastructure so that people can get their goods to market; and
supporting education, for children's needs are great.
Predictions were that 5,000 refugees would return to their homes this
year. Over 500,000 refugees have already returned, and the year is not
even half over. Most refugees are returning to homes in rural areas and
will need help to get back on their feet. In addition, our government
should continue to clearly express its support for the interim
government led by Chairman Karzai and the June Loya Jirga.
As Chairman Karzai said in January during our meeting regarding our
Nation's partnership, he said, ``Think of the help as help to our
children. The families will do well if the children do well.''
Madam Chairman, in order to avoid another environment in which
warlords and terrorists flourish, we must help the Afghan people as
they rebuild their society. If the Afghan people do well, then our
Nation will do well, their nation will do well; and we will avoid the
situation that will produce more Taliban and terrorists.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to
the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Chairman, I am honored to rise as an original
cosponsor of H.R. 3994, the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act; and I
would be remiss if I do not express my deepest appreciation to the
chairman of our committee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), and
our own ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos),
also, the chairman of our subcommittee on the Middle East and South
Asia, and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and the ranking
member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman).
{time} 1530
They have made such a tremendous contribution and leadership in
bringing this vital legislation to the floor.
Madam Chairman, now that the people of Afghanistan have been released
from the repressive regimes of al Qaeda and the Taliban, they face a
daunting task and desperately need the international community's
support to rebuild their government, their society and their nation.
While I support the body of the legislation, Madam Chairman, it
glaringly fails to address the deteriorating security environment
throughout Afghanistan which has become a crisis. Once outside Kabul,
no one is safe, as humanitarian relief workers have been threatened,
Loya Jirga election delegates murdered, and Afghan women and girls
assaulted.
I deeply commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for
focusing on this urgent problem and offering an amendment at a later
point in time that requires the administration to
[[Page H2756]]
submit a plan of action to address the immediate security crisis in
Afghanistan, in addition to long-term security concerns. We cannot
afford any longer to ignore this cancer that significantly threatens to
derail Afghanistan's recovery.
If we are truly serious about aiding the people of Afghanistan and
that nation's development as a democracy, I urge my colleagues to adopt
the Lantos amendment as well as this legislation, as amended, for final
passage.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), the distinguished chairman
of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights of the
Committee on International Relations.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Chairman, the bill that we are debating today
serves as a symbol, a measure of the commitment and guarantees by the
United States and, indeed, the international community to support the
Afghan people so that they can quickly stand on their own. As the bill
title reflects, it is intended to create the necessary conditions and
environment for stability and peace to take root in Afghanistan. With
the Loya Jirga, the seeds of freedom were planted. However, without the
targeted assistance described in this legislation, democracy and
respect for human rights cannot fully develop and flourish in this
nation which has been devastated by decades of war and oppression.
Of foremost importance is the support for security during the
transitional period in Afghanistan. This country has undergone great
internal turmoil and tremendous brutality in recent history, resulting
in deeply embedded scars in the psyche of its people, a people worried
about the recurrence of violence. Sporadic incidents throughout the
course of the last several months underscore the potential for such a
negative outcome.
In providing for such security assistance, we are responding to and
reflecting the demands of the Afghan people who want, as Chairman
Karzai stated earlier this year, to ensure that ``people will not have
an opportunity any more to try to meddle in Afghan affairs or to cause
trouble or civil strife.'' The Lantos amendment will expand later upon
this.
In further addressing the internal situation, this bill also provides
a multi-year authorization to finance a variety of necessary programs
to meet urgent humanitarian needs, to assist in the development of
civil society, and guaranteeing the full participation and
reintegration of women in all sectors of Afghan life.
My dear colleagues, if we do not want a return to the grim past when
Afghans were tortured and beaten, when they were repressed, when
Afghanistan was a safe harbor and training ground for international
terrorists, then we must render our support to this important
legislation.
Let us not abandon the Afghan people. Vote ``yes'' on the Afghan
Freedom Support Act.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to the
distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).
Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam Chairman, I thank my dear friend and
colleague for yielding time and I thank Chairman Hyde and Ranking
Member Lantos for their leadership on this important legislation.
This bill authorizes over $1 billion over the next 4 years for
humanitarian and reconstruction projects as well as military and police
assistance to help rebuild this nation. I am very pleased that the bill
incorporates language from H.R. 3342, the Access for Afghan Women Act,
a bill I authored along with my good friend and colleague the
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
As a result, H.R. 3994 recognizes and now supports Afghan women and
children by placing an emphasis on meeting the educational, health and
sustenance needs of women and children so that they can participate
fully in Afghan society. It also states that U.S. assistance should
increase the participation of women and girls at all levels in
decision-making areas.
Finally, this bill requires that resources be sent to the Afghan
Ministry of Women's Affairs. Each of these provisions are extremely
important because they recognize the importance of including women's
participation in all areas of Afghan life.
Unfortunately, the underlying bill does not provide adequately for
the safety and security of women living in Afghanistan, particularly in
the areas outside of Kabul. That is why I support strongly the Lantos
amendment which I understand Chairman Hyde likewise supports, which
will help meet the immediate security needs of Afghanistan by calling
upon the administration to come forward with a security plan for the
entire country within 45 days.
In order to achieve participation in all aspects of life, women must
feel safe when leaving their homes and their daughters must feel safe
when they go to school, something they have been waiting for for 8 long
years under the Taliban rule. And women must not be intimidated by
troops and local warlords when they are finally on their way to gaining
and getting their lives back.
We must continue to support Afghanistan and the women in Afghanistan.
I urge a strong vote for the bill and for the Lantos amendment.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield the balance of my
time to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Rohrabacher).
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) is
recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Madam Chairman, I would like to thank the chairman
for all the hard work that he has put in on this over not just this
time since September 11 but the time before as well, as well as Ranking
Member Lantos. This has been an issue of importance to us all even
before 9/11. And the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) Chairman
Gilman has been heart and soul behind the efforts to free the Afghan
people even before it became clear that it was a threat to the United
States.
There has been a great deal of discussion as of late as to how much
President Bush knew about the terrorist threat that took the lives of
3,000 Americans on September 11. What is most pertinent, however, is
how the terrorist monsters in Afghanistan came to power and how they
held power, and, more urgently, how can we prevent this from happening
again.
The legislation we vote on today is vital not only to the Afghans but
to the peace and stability of the world. We are committing ourselves to
this generous aid package in cooperation with other donor countries
and, in doing so, sending a message to the Afghan people, and that is,
put down your guns and pick up your tools and this time America and the
decent people of the world will be with you and will help you rebuild
your country and rebuild the lives of your people.
This message and the assistance that we are giving is long overdue.
It repays a debt to the Afghan people which I am sorry that my friend
from Texas does not recognize. The people of Afghanistan bled and died
by the hundreds of thousands in the war against the Soviet Union, and
in doing so helped us win the Cold War, bring peace to the world, and
afterwards we walked away from them, owing them this vast debt.
This new package should provide the resources necessary to repay that
debt, or at least begin repaying that debt, and the resources necessary
to begin the process of uplifting the Afghan people and bringing them
into the family of nations. Their well-being and a humane quality of
life is the surest way to prevent a repeat of the tragedy of 9/11, a
tragedy that not only affected them, of course, but has affected the
entire world.
This aid package comes at a pivotal moment, because Afghanistan's
course is now being determined. The aid program from the western
countries must be implemented in a way to ensure that the brutal
sectarian forces that are still present and still threaten the peace
and stability of that area understand our strength of purpose. Our
message again should be we will help you rebuild your country but only
if the new Afghanistan is a responsible member of the family of
nations, and we expect the rights of the Afghan people, men and women,
to be respected by their leaders.
This bill addresses specific humanitarian needs, such as my amendment
[[Page H2757]]
to the original bill encouraged by the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos) and his efforts to direct extra resources towards land mine
clearance. The gentleman from California and I have been deeply
concerned for a number of years about the enormous number of land mines
in Afghanistan. We, at the end of that war, after they had fought for
us, not only left them to sleep in the rubble, these poor Afghan people
who had lost so many members of their family, but we left them in a
country that was inundated with land mines. We did not even help them
clear the land mines that we had given them to help defeat the Soviets.
That was immoral and it is a totally moral basis for our insistence now
that we help the Afghan people and help them rebuild their country.
We also in this bill have directed money to women and to other local
programs and we have expressed our desire to make sure that the
resources are necessary to make sure that the national security and
humanitarian relief efforts that are going on in Afghanistan are well
funded, not only by us, but by our allies who are also contributing a
great sum.
Let me just say there has been some discussion as to whether or not
we should be helping those people who were caught in the crossfire, and
we will have a colloquy on this later, supposedly that we are making
compensation to those people whom we accidentally hurt in trying to
free Afghanistan. This is not a controversial position. This goes to
the heart and soul of America. If we did not intend to hurt people and
they were caught in the crossfire, of course, we are going to help
these poor innocent people, and in doing so we are going to send a
message to the people of the world: Yes, we are for freedom and we are
going to stand by you, and if war is necessary, or conflict is
necessary, we are not coming in like the 800-pound gorilla in caring
less about the rights of others. We care about people. That is why we
are engaged in this. That is what this aid package is all about,
repaying a debt and telling the people of the world we care about their
freedom and we care about their human condition. In doing so, we will
have peace and our country will be secure.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I want to commend my friend from California for his powerful and
thoughtful statement. The Congress is always at its best when it speaks
in a bipartisan fashion. We have done so today. I again want to commend
Chairman Hyde for his leadership on this issue. I want to commend my
colleagues across the political spectrum who have spoken on behalf of
this legislation. It embodies the finest values of the United States
and it represents hardheaded, rational, farsighted foreign policy.
I urge all of my colleagues to support the legislation.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 3994, the
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002.
The people of Afghanistan have not known freedom or peace for quiet
some time. They are not our enemies, and I commend the sponsors of this
bill for reaching across the oceans to them with a hand of assistance
in rebuilding not only the physical but also the educational, social
and economic fabric of their nation.
Madam Chairman, I want to call particular attention to the portions
of the Act that promote the inclusion of women in the decisionmaking
and nation building processes.
I want to add the voice of the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands as
expressed in the attached resolution introduced by Senator Lorraine
Berry, and passed by the 24th Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands,
which expresses the sense of the legislature that women be a part of
the total resolution in the ongoing process of normalization that the
country of Afghanistan will be going through for a very long time.
And so on behalf of all of the people of my district, I urge my
colleagues to pass H.R. 3994.
RESOLUTION NO. 1630
BILL NO. 24-0200
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES
regular session, 2002
To petition the United States Congress and the White House
to enact appropriate legislation, that would require future
international aide to Afghanistan and other foreign
countries, be conditioned, in part, upon the countries'
elimination of discrimination against women.
Whereas, the history of Afghanistan is replete with women
aiding the development of that country in the authorship of
its constitution, serving in governmental positions,
providing leadership in the academic world and serving as
professionals; and
Whereas, the world has witnessed the gradual oppression of
women in Afghanistan by varied male-dominated warring groups;
and
Whereas, the eradicated Taliban Government had
institutionalized total oppression of women as evident by
edicts prohibiting women from working or being educated, by
public flogging, stoning and killing; and
Whereas, some allies of the United States in the Middle
East and elsewhere who receive aide continue to turn a blind
eye to those who would oppress women in one form or the
other, even to the extent of mutilation of sexual organs; and
Whereas, Tahmeena Faryal, Representative of the
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA),
graphically described the past horror visited upon the people
of Afghanistan as ``bullets instead of food and graves
instead of houses''; and
Whereas, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights states, in part, that ``no one shall be subject to
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment''; and
Whereas, we have observed the fact that women of
Afghanistan had been virtually imprisoned in their homes;
they were required to wear burquas, which cover the entire
head and body, with a mesh-like covering over the eyes,
thereby creating certain health problems, and optical
problems, and we have witnessed in the media credible news
coverage of public flogging of women by so-called religious
police when women walked too quickly, laughed loudly or,
accidentally or otherwise, showed their face in public; and
Whereas, such cruel inhumane and degrading treatment of
women has no rational nor credible sanction in any religious
teaching or holy book; and
Whereas, the violation of human rights cannot be cloaked,
rationalized or condoned as a cultural difference; and
Whereas, the harsh punishment reserved for women is more
about control than religion; and
Whereas, the above-noted oppressive practices have left
their mark on most women who remain fearful of availing
themselves of even small concessions, especially since
members of the former Taliban have been permitted to join the
governing factions; and
Whereas, in outlining areas, away from western scrutiny,
women continue to be oppressed and abide under intolerable
restrictions; and
Whereas, there can be no true democracy without the
participation of women; Now, Therefore,
Be it resolved by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands:
Section 1. The Legislature of the Virgin Islands, on behalf
of the people of the Virgin Islands, hereby resolves to
petition the United States Congress and the White House to
enact appropriate legislation that would henceforth require
that future foreign aide to Afghanistan and other foreign
countries be conditioned, in significant part, upon the
recipient's active commitment to eliminate discrimination
against women.
Thus passed by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands on
January 30, 2002.
Witness our Hands and the Seal of the Legislature of the
Virgin Islands this ______ Day of February, A.D., 2002.
Almando ``Rocky'' Liburd,
President.
Donald G. Cole,
Legislative Secretary.
Mr. SHADEGG. Madam Chairman, I rise to address the inclusion of my
amendment in the Manager's Amendment to H.R. 3994, the Afghanistan
Freedom Support Act of 2002. The gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Hyde, has
drafted an important piece of legislation that will help significantly
in efforts to rebuild Afghanistan's economic infrastructure, create
durable institutions of government that are representative and
accountable to the people of Afghanistan, and reduce the production of
narcotics. The bill helps the people of Afghanistan, and reduce the
production of narcotics. The bill helps the people of Afghanistan to
help themselves by providing the seed money needed to establish the
necessary base of physical infrastructure and stable government upon
which they can build a modern economy and thus a peaceful and
prosperous society.
I believe that this legislation offers an excellent opportunity to
allow the natural generosity of the American people and businesses in
America to play a role in this effort. That is why I proposed an
amendment, which the gentleman from Illinois has included in the
Manager's Amendment, that states that the President should encourage
donations from U.S. corporations and small business of manufacturing
and other types of excess or obsolete, but usable, equipment to help
rebuild the infrastructure of Afghanistan. Currently, the Federal
Government does not solicit donations of usable equipment from U.S.
corporations and small businesses. My amendment rectifies this problem
and asks the Federal Government to look to all sources to provide the
needed machinery and equipment to begin the rebuilding process.
[[Page H2758]]
U.S. corporations continually replace old but reusable equipment and
are faced with relatively few choices for disposing of it. My amendment
expands their choices and helps them contribute directly to a people
who are in dire need. This equipment can be used to help start small
businesses and begin entrepreneurship in Afghanistan that will lead to
the creation of jobs and start the country on the long path to
recovery.
I thank the gentleman from Illinois and look forward to working with
the Chairman and the Administration to see that this important
provision is enacted into law and fully implemented. With that I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. DICKS. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to come to the floor today in
support of H.R. 3994, the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act. I believe it
is critical that we fulfill the commitment made by the President and by
the Congress to provide significant resources to help the nation of
Afghanistan rebuild after more than 20 years of war.
After winning World War II, President Truman and the Congress took a
bold step, committing enormous U.S. resources to help the nations of
Europe rebuild after the devastation of total war. The Marshall Plan,
as it is known, was not politically popular at the time--it languished
in Congress for several months and passed through the other body with
just a one-vote margin. But I believe nearly everyone today would argue
that it was the right thing to do--for Europe, for the United States
and the entire world.
Many of my colleagues decry Federal spending on foreign aid, arguing
that it is a misappropriation of money that could be better spend
domestically. But foreign aid was the genius of the Marshall plan--
targeted investments to rebuild the economies of nations devastated by
war, poverty, famine, and disease.
The continuing importance of foreign aid is underscored by the
extreme need for such help now in Afghanistan. Afghan rebels, with
significant financial and military support from the United States,
succeeded in throwing off the yoke of Soviet occupation. Once finished,
however, U.S. support evaporated. Perhaps we thought our work was done
or that Afghanistan was too far away from the U.S. to be of any real
concern once the Soviets had limped home. But we learned last September
that our work had not been completed. And we learned that Afghanistan,
despite its perceived isolation, could certainly cause us harm.
Clearly, there is a need for a continued U.S. presence to help
Afghanistan rebuild its economy, establish a stable government, and
encourage participation in the international community. Such spending
is an important investment we can make to try to prevent a repeat of
September 11. But is this need exclusive to Afghanistan?
Even if we are completely successful in Afghanistan, reconstructing
that nation and eliminating the terrorist presence, we can be sure that
these terrorist organizations will reappear somewhere. How can we best
deal with this threat?
Strengthening and re-equipping our military, shoring up our borders
and improving domestic security are certainly parts of the solution,
but an equally important component is foreign aid. By helping other
nations establish stable democratic governments and market economies,
they will join us in the fight against terrorism.
I think most would agree that it would have been far cheaper to have
appropriated the financial and technical assistance to Afghanistan 15
years ago to help them create a free nation than it has been to deal
with the attacks on September 11 and their aftermath. I also believe
that it is in our best financial interest to increase our foreign aid
commitments and help struggling nations today rather than wait for them
to deteriorate to the point where we are forced into military
intervention.
The CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
Pursuant to the rule, the committee amendment in the nature of a
substitute printed in the bill shall be considered as an original bill
for the purpose of amendment under the 5-minute rule by title, and each
title shall be considered read.
During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chair may accord
priority in recognition to a Member offering an amendment that he has
printed in the designated place in the Congressional Record. Those
amendments will be considered read.
The Clerk will designate section 1.
The text of section 1 is as follows:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; DEFINITION.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the
``Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; definition.
TITLE I--ECONOMIC AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR AFGHANISTAN
Sec. 101. Declaration of policy.
Sec. 102. Purposes of assistance.
Sec. 103. Principles of assistance.
Sec. 104. Authorization of assistance.
Sec. 105. Promoting cooperation in major opium producing regions of
Afghanistan.
Sec. 106. Coordination of assistance.
Sec. 107. Administrative provisions.
Sec. 108. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE II--MILITARY ASSISTANCE FOR AFGHANISTAN AND CERTAIN OTHER FOREIGN
COUNTRIES AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Sec. 201. Support for security during transition in Afghanistan.
Sec. 202. Authorization of assistance.
Sec. 203. Eligible foreign countries and eligible international
organizations.
Sec. 204. Reimbursement for assistance.
Sec. 205. Authority to provide assistance.
Sec. 206. Sunset.
(c) Definition.--In this Act, the term ``Government of
Afghanistan'' includes the government of any political
subdivision of Afghanistan, and any agency or instrumentality
of the Government of Afghanistan.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 1?
If not, the Clerk will designate title 1.
The text of title 1 is as follows:
TITLE I--ECONOMIC AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR AFGHANISTAN
SEC. 101. DECLARATION OF POLICY.
Congress makes the following declarations:
(1) The United States and the international community
should support efforts that advance the development of
democratic civil authorities and institutions in Afghanistan
and the establishment of a new broad-based, multi-ethnic,
gender-sensitive, and fully representative government in
Afghanistan.
(2) The United States, in particular, should provide its
expertise to meet immediate humanitarian and refugee needs,
fight the production and flow of illicit narcotics, and aid
in the reconstruction of Afghanistan's agriculture, health
care, and educational systems.
(3) By promoting peace and security in Afghanistan and
preventing a return to conflict, the United States and the
international community can help ensure that Afghanistan does
not again become a source for international terrorism.
(4) The United States should support the objectives agreed
to on December 5, 2001, in Bonn, Germany, regarding the
provisional arrangement for Afghanistan as it moves toward
the establishment of permanent institutions and, in
particular, should work intensively toward ensuring the
future neutrality of Afghanistan, establishing the principle
that neighboring countries and other countries in the region
do not threaten or interfere in one another's sovereignty,
territorial integrity, or political independence, including
supporting diplomatic initiatives to support this goal.
(5) The special emergency situation in Afghanistan, which
from the perspective of the American people combines
security, humanitarian, political, law enforcement, and
development imperatives, requires that the President should
receive maximum flexibility in designing, coordinating, and
administering efforts with respect to assistance for
Afghanistan and that a temporary special program of such
assistance should be established for this purpose.
(6) To foster stability and democratization and to
effectively eliminate the causes of terrorism, the United
States and the international community should also support
efforts that advance the development of democratic civil
authorities and institutions in the broader Central Asia
region.
SEC. 102. PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE.
The purposes of assistance authorized by this title are--
(1) to help assure the security of the United States and
the world by reducing or eliminating the likelihood of
violence against United States or allied forces in
Afghanistan and to reduce the chance that Afghanistan will
again be a source of international terrorism;
(2) to support the continued efforts of the United States
and the international community to address the humanitarian
crisis in Afghanistan and among Afghan refugees in
neighboring countries;
(3) to fight the production and flow of illicit narcotics,
to control the flow of precursor chemicals used in the
production of heroin, and to enhance and bolster the
capacities of Afghan governmental authorities to control
poppy cultivation and related activities;
(4) to help achieve a broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender-
sensitive, and fully representative government in Afghanistan
that is freely chosen by the people of Afghanistan and that
respects the human rights of all Afghans, particularly women,
including authorizing assistance for the rehabilitation and
reconstruction of Afghanistan with a particular emphasis on
meeting the educational, health, and sustenance needs of
women and children to better enable their full participation
in Afghan society;
(5) to support the Government of Afghanistan in its
development of the capacity to facilitate, organize, develop,
and implement projects and activities that meet the needs
of the Afghan people;
(6) to foster the participation of civil society in the
establishment of the new Afghan government in order to
achieve a broad-based, multiethnic, gender-sensitive, fully
representative
[[Page H2759]]
government freely chosen by the Afghan people, without
prejudice to any decisions which may be freely taken by the
Afghan people about the precise form in which their
government is to be organized in the future, as may be
decided through the convening of a traditional Afghan
assembly or ``Loya Jirga'' as agreed to on December 5, 2001,
in Bonn, Germany;
(7) to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan through,
among other things, programs that create jobs, facilitate
clearance of landmines, and rebuild the agriculture sector,
the health care system, and the educational system of
Afghanistan; and
(8) to include specific resources to the Ministry for
Women's Affairs of Afghanistan to carry out its
responsibilities for legal advocacy, education, vocational
training, and women's health programs.
SEC. 103. PRINCIPLES OF ASSISTANCE.
The following principles should guide the provision of
assistance authorized by this title:
(1) Terrorism and narcotics control.--Assistance should be
designed to reduce the likelihood of harm to United States
and other allied forces in Afghanistan and the region, the
likelihood of additional acts of international terrorism
emanating from Afghanistan, and the cultivation, production,
trafficking, and use of illicit narcotics in Afghanistan.
(2) Role of women.--Assistance should increase the
participation of women at the national, regional, and local
levels in Afghanistan, wherever feasible, by enhancing the
role of women in decisionmaking processes, as well as by
providing support for programs that aim to expand economic
and educational opportunities and health programs for women
and educational and health programs for girls.
(3) Afghan ownership.--Assistance should build upon Afghan
traditions and practices. The strong tradition of community
responsibility and self-reliance in Afghanistan should be
built upon to increase the capacity of the Afghan people and
institutions to participate in the reconstruction of
Afghanistan.
(4) Stability.--Assistance should encourage the restoration
of security in Afghanistan, including, among other things,
the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of
combatants, and the establishment of the rule of law,
including the establishment of a police force and an
effective, independent judiciary.
(5) Coordination.--Assistance should be part of a larger
donor effort for Afghanistan. The magnitude of the
devastation--natural and man-made--to institutions and
infrastructure make it imperative that there be close
coordination and collaboration among donors. The United
States should endeavor to assert its leadership to have the
efforts of international donors help achieve the purposes
established by this title.
SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--The President is authorized to provide
assistance for Afghanistan for the following activities:
(1) Urgent humanitarian needs.--To assist in meeting the
urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Afghanistan,
including assistance such as--
(A) emergency food, shelter, and medical assistance;
(B) clean drinking water and sanitation;
(C) preventative health care, including childhood
vaccination, therapeutic feeding, maternal child health
services, and infectious diseases surveillance and treatment;
(D) family tracing and reunification services; and
(E) clearance of landmines.
(2) Repatriation and resettlement of refugees and
internally displaced persons.--To assist refugees and
internally displaced persons as they return to their home
communities in Afghanistan and to support their reintegration
into those communities, including assistance such as--
(A) assistance identified in paragraph (1);
(B) assistance to communities, including those in
neighboring countries, that have taken in large numbers of
refugees in order to rehabilitate or expand social, health,
and educational services that may have suffered as a result
of the influx of large numbers of refugees;
(C) assistance to international organizations and host
governments in maintaining security by screening refugees to
ensure the exclusion of armed combatants, members of foreign
terrorist organizations, and other individuals not eligible
for economic assistance from the United States; and
(D) assistance for voluntary refugee repatriation and
reintegration inside Afghanistan and continued assistance to
those refugees who are unable or unwilling to return.
(3) Counternarcotics efforts.--(A) To assist in the
eradication of poppy cultivation, the disruption of heroin
production, and the reduction of the overall supply and
demand for illicit narcotics in Afghanistan and the region,
with particular emphasis on assistance to--
(i) eradicate opium poppy, establish crop substitution
programs, purchase nonopium products from farmers in opium-
growing areas, quick-impact public works programs to divert
labor from narcotics production, develop projects directed
specifically at narcotics production, processing, or
trafficking areas to provide incentives to cooperation in
narcotics suppression activities, and related programs;
(ii) establish or provide assistance to one or more
entities within the Government of Afghanistan, including the
Afghan State High Commission for Drug Control, and to provide
training and equipment for the entities, to help enforce
counternarcotics laws in Afghanistan and limit illicit
narcotics growth, production, and trafficking in
Afghanistan;
(iii) train and provide equipment for customs, police, and
other border control entities in Afghanistan and the region
relating to illicit narcotics interdiction and relating to
precursor chemical controls and interdiction to help disrupt
heroin production in Afghanistan and the region;
(iv) continue the annual opium crop survey and strategic
studies on opium crop planting and farming in Afghanistan;
and
(v) reduce demand for illicit narcotics among the people of
Afghanistan, including refugees returning to Afghanistan.
(B) For each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2005, not
less than $15,000,000 of the amount made available to carry
out this title should be made available for a contribution to
the United Nations Drug Control Program for the purpose of
carrying out activities described in clauses (i) through (v)
of subparagraph (A). Amounts made available under the
preceding sentence are in addition to amounts otherwise
available for such purposes.
(4) Reestablishment of food security, rehabilitation of the
agriculture sector, improvement in health conditions, and the
reconstruction of basic infrastructure.--To assist in
expanding access to markets in Afghanistan, to increase the
availability of food in markets in Afghanistan, to
rehabilitate the agriculture sector in Afghanistan by
creating jobs for former combatants, returning refugees, and
internally displaced persons, to improve health conditions,
and assist in the rebuilding of basic infrastructure in
Afghanistan, including assistance such as--
(A) rehabilitation of the agricultural infrastructure,
including irrigation systems and rural roads;
(B) extension of credit;
(C) provision of critical agricultural inputs, such as
seeds, tools, and fertilizer, and strengthening of seed
multiplication, certification, and distribution systems;
(D) improvement in the quantity and quality of water
available through, among other things, rehabilitation of
existing irrigation systems and the development of local
capacity to manage irrigation systems;
(E) livestock rehabilitation through market development and
other mechanisms to distribute stocks to replace those stocks
lost as a result of conflict or drought;
(F) mine awareness and demining programs and programs to
assist mine victims, war orphans, and widows;
(G) programs relating to infant and young child feeding,
immunizations, vitamin A supplementation, and prevention and
treatment of diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections;
(H) programs to improve maternal and child health and
reduce maternal and child mortality;
(I) programs to improve hygienic and sanitation practices
and for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases,
such as tuberculosis and malaria;
(J) programs to reconstitute the delivery of health care,
including the reconstruction of health clinics or other basic
health infrastructure; and
(K) disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of armed
combatants into society, particularly child soldiers.
(5) Reestablishment of afghanistan as a viable nation-
state.--(A) To assist in the development of the capacity of
the Government of Afghanistan to meet the needs of the people
of Afghanistan through, among other things, support for the
development and expansion of democratic and market-based
institutions, including assistance such as--
(i) support for international organizations that provide
civil advisers to the Government of Afghanistan;
(ii) support for an educated citizenry through improved
access to basic education;
(iii) programs to enable the Government of Afghanistan to
recruit and train teachers, with special focus on the
recruitment and training of female teachers;
(iv) programs to enable the Government of Afghanistan to
develop school curriculum that incorporates relevant
information such as landmine awareness, food security and
agricultural education, human rights awareness, and civic
education;
(v) support for the activities of the Government of
Afghanistan to draft a new constitution, other legal
frameworks, and other initiatives to promote the rule of
law in Afghanistan;
(vi) support to increase the transparency, accountability,
and participatory nature of governmental institutions,
including programs designed to combat corruption and other
programs for the promotion of good governance;
(vii) support for an independent media;
(viii) programs that support the expanded participation of
women and members of all ethnic groups in government at
national, regional, and local levels;
(ix) programs to strengthen civil society organizations
that promote human rights and support human rights
monitoring;
(x) support for national, regional, and local elections and
political party development; and
(xi) support for the effective administration of justice at
the national, regional, and local levels, including the
establishment of a responsible and community-based police
force.
(B) For each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2005, not
less than $10,000,000 of the amount made available to carry
out this title should be made available for the purposes of
carrying out a traditional Afghan assembly or ``Loya Jirga''
and for support for national, regional, and local elections
and political party development under subparagraph (A)(x).
(6) Market economy.--To support the establishment of a
market economy, the establishment of private financial
institutions, the adoption of policies to promote foreign
direct investment, the development of a basic
telecommunication infrastructure, and the development of
trade and other commercial links with countries in the region
and with the United States, including policies to--
[[Page H2760]]
(A) encourage the return of Afghanistan citizens or
nationals living abroad who have marketable and business-
related skills;
(B) establish financial institutions, including credit
unions, cooperatives, and other entities providing
microenterprise credits and other income-generation programs
for the poor, with particular emphasis on women;
(C) facilitate expanded trade with countries in the region;
(D) promote and foster respect for basic workers' rights
and protections against exploitation of child labor;
(E) develop handicraft and other small-scale industries;
and
(F) provide financing programs for the reconstruction of
Kabul and other major cities in Afghanistan.
(b) Limitation.--
(1) In general.--Amounts made available to carry out this
title (except amounts made available for assistance under
paragraphs (1) through (3) and subparagraphs (F) through (I)
of paragraph (4) of subsection (a)) may be provided only if--
(A) with respect to assistance for fiscal year 2003, the
President first determines and certifies to Congress that a
traditional Afghan assembly or ``Loya Jirga'' has been
convened and has decided on a broad-based, multiethnic,
gender-sensitive, fully representative transitional authority
for Afghanistan; and
(B) with respect to assistance for fiscal years 2004 and
2005, the President first determines and certifies to
Congress with respect to the fiscal year involved that
substantial progress has been made toward adopting a
constitution and establishing a democratically elected
government for Afghanistan.
(2) Waiver.--
(A) In general.--The President may waive the application of
subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) if the President
first determines and certifies to Congress that it is in the
vital national interest of the United States to do so.
(B) Contents of certification.--A certification transmitted
to Congress under subparagraph (A) shall include--
(i) a full and complete description of the vital national
interest of the United States that is placed at risk by
reason the application of subparagraph (A) or (B) of
paragraph (1), as the case may be; and
(ii) an analysis of the risk described in clause (i) versus
the risk to the vital national interest of the United States
by reason of the failure to exercise the waiver authority of
subparagraph (A).
SEC. 105. PROMOTING COOPERATION IN MAJOR OPIUM PRODUCING
REGIONS OF AFGHANISTAN.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), a
portion of the amount made available to carry out this title
for a fiscal year shall be available for assistance in the
major opium producing regions of Afghanistan, including
areas within the Badakshan, Helmand, and Qandahar
provinces with the goal of assisting in the elimination of
poppy cultivation. Assistance under the preceding sentence
shall be provided in coordination with the Government of
Afghanistan, in consultation with the local leaders of
such regions, and in coordination with the counter-
narcotics efforts of other donors, particularly the United
Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP), and the European
Union and its member states.
(b) Limitation.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), amounts made
available to carry out this title for a fiscal year (except
amounts made available for assistance under paragraphs (1)
through (3) and subparagraphs (F) through (I) of paragraph
(4) of section 104(a)) may not be provided to an opium
producing region if, with respect to such region, the
Government of Afghanistan does not actively, effectively, and
vigorously participate in illicit narcotics suppression
activities or if, beginning on September 30, 2003, opium is
produced (other than in a de minimis amount, as measured by
surveys conducted by the United States Government, the United
Nations Drug Control Program, or other reliable sources) in
such region. Amounts withheld from an opium producing region
by reason of the application of the preceding sentence shall
be redistributed to qualifying opium producing regions.
(2) Waiver.--
(A) In general.--The President may waive the restriction on
assistance under the first sentence of paragraph (1) with
respect to an opium producing region if the President first
determines and certifies to Congress that it is in the vital
national interest of the United States to do so.
(B) Contents of certification.--A certification transmitted
to Congress under subparagraph (A) shall include--
(i) a full and complete description of the vital national
interest of the United States that is placed at risk if
assistance to the opium producing region involved is not
provided under this section; and
(ii) an analysis of the risk described in clause (i) versus
the risk to the vital national interest of the United States
by reason of the failure to exercise the waiver authority of
subparagraph (A).
(c) Additional Requirement.--The coordinator designated by
the President pursuant to section 106(a) and other
appropriate officers of the Department of State and the
United States Agency for International Development shall
ensure that assistance under this title is provided, in
appropriate amounts, to opium producing regions of
Afghanistan consistent with the requirements of subsections
(a) and (b).
SEC. 106. COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE.
(a) Designation of Coordinator.--The President is strongly
urged to designate, within the Department of State, a
coordinator who shall be responsible for--
(1) designing an overall strategy to advance United States
interests in Afghanistan;
(2) ensuring program and policy coordination among agencies
of the United States Government in carrying out the policies
set forth in this title;
(3) pursuing coordination with other countries and
international organizations with respect to assistance to
Afghanistan;
(4) ensuring that United States assistance programs for
Afghanistan are consistent with this title;
(5) ensuring proper management, implementation, and
oversight by agencies responsible for assistance programs for
Afghanistan; and
(6) resolving policy and program disputes among United
States Government agencies with respect to United States
assistance for Afghanistan.
(b) Additional Requirement.--An individual designated by
the President as coordinator pursuant to subsection (a) may
only be an individual who is appointed by the President by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
SEC. 107. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) Applicable Administrative Authorities.--Except to the
extent inconsistent with the provisions of this title, the
administrative authorities under chapters 1 and 2 of part III
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall apply to the
provision of assistance under this title to the same extent
and in the same manner as such authorities apply to the
provision of economic assistance under part I of such Act.
(b) Use of the Expertise of Afghan-Americans.--In providing
assistance authorized by this title, the President should--
(1) maximize the use, to the extent feasible, of the
services of Afghan-Americans who have expertise in the areas
for which assistance is authorized by this title; and
(2) in the awarding of contracts and grants to implement
activities authorized under this title, encourage the
participation of such Afghan-Americans (including
organizations employing a significant number of such Afghan-
Americans).
(c) Administrative Expenses.--Not more than 5 percent of
the amount made available to a Federal department or agency
to carry out this title for a fiscal year may be used by the
department or agency for administrative expenses in
connection with such assistance.
(d) Monitoring.--
(1) Comptroller general.--The Comptroller General shall
monitor the provision of assistance under this title.
(2) Inspector general of usaid.--
(A) In general.--The Inspector General of the United States
Agency for International Development shall conduct audits,
inspections, and other activities, as appropriate, associated
with the expenditure of the funds to carry out this title.
(B) Funding.--Not more than $1,500,000 of the amount made
available to carry out this title for a fiscal year shall be
made available to carry out subparagraph (A).
(e) Congressional Notification Procedures.--Funds made
available to carry out this title may not be obligated until
15 days after notification of the proposed obligation of the
funds has been provided to the congressional committees
specified in section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 in accordance with the procedures applicable to
reprogramming notifications under that section.
(f) Authority To Provide Assistance.--Assistance under this
title may be provided notwithstanding any other provision of
law.
SEC. 108. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the President to carry out this title $200,000,000 for fiscal
year 2002, $300,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2003 and
2004, and $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2005. Amounts
authorized to be appropriated pursuant to the preceding
sentence for fiscal year 2002 are in addition to amounts
otherwise available for assistance for Afghanistan.
(b) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) are--
(1) authorized to remain available until expended; and
(2) in addition to funds otherwise available for such
purposes, including, with respect to food assistance under
section 104(a)(1), funds available under title II of the
Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954,
the Food for Progress Act of 1985, and section 416(b) of the
Agricultural Act of 1949.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the remainder
of the bill be printed in the Record and open to amendment at any
point.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
Illinois?
There was no objection.
The text of the remainder of the bill is as follows:
TITLE II--MILITARY ASSISTANCE FOR AFGHANISTAN AND CERTAIN OTHER FOREIGN
COUNTRIES AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
SEC. 201. SUPPORT FOR SECURITY DURING TRANSITION IN
AFGHANISTAN.
It is the sense of Congress that, during the transition to
a broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, fully
representative government in Afghanistan, the United States
should support--
(1) the development of a civilian-controlled and centrally-
governed standing Afghanistan army that respects human
rights;
(2) the creation and training of a professional civilian
police force that respects human rights; and
[[Page H2761]]
(3) a multinational security force in Afghanistan.
SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.
(a) Types of Assistance.--
(1) In general.--(A) To the extent that funds are
appropriated in any fiscal year for the purposes of this Act,
the President may provide, on such terms and conditions as he
may determine, defense articles, defense services, counter-
narcotics, crime control and police training services, and
other support (including training) to the Government of
Afghanistan.
(B) To the extent that funds are appropriated in any fiscal
year for these purposes, the President may provide, on such
terms and conditions as he may determine, defense articles,
defense services, and other support (including training) to
eligible foreign countries and eligible international
organizations.
(C) The assistance authorized under subparagraph (B) shall
be used for directly supporting the activities described in
section 203.
(2) Drawdown authority.--The President is authorized to
direct the drawdown of defense articles, defense services,
and military education and training for the Government of
Afghanistan, eligible foreign countries, and eligible
international organizations.
(3) Authority to acquire by contract or otherwise.--The
assistance authorized under paragraphs (1) and (2) and under
Public Law 105-338 may include the supply of defense
articles, defense services, counter-narcotics, crime control
and police training services, other support, and military
education and training that are acquired by contract or
otherwise.
(b) Amount of Assistance.--The aggregate value (as defined
in section 644(m) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961) of
assistance provided under subsection (a)(2) may not exceed
$300,000,000, provided that such limitation shall be
increased by any amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations in section 204(b)(1).
SEC. 203. ELIGIBLE FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND ELIGIBLE
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.
A foreign country or international organization shall be
eligible to receive assistance under section 202 if such
foreign country or international organization is
participating in or directly supporting United States
military activities authorized under Public Law 107-40 or is
participating in military, peacekeeping, or policing
operations in Afghanistan aimed at restoring or maintaining
peace and security in that country, except that no country
the government of which has been determined by the Secretary
of State to have repeatedly provided support for acts of
international terrorism under section 620A of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371), section 6(j)(1) of
the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App.
2405(j)(1)), or section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act
(22 U.S.C. 2780(d)) shall be eligible to receive assistance
under section 202.
SEC. 204. REIMBURSEMENT FOR ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--Defense articles, defense services, and
military education and training provided under section
202(a)(2) shall be made available without reimbursement to
the Department of Defense except to the extent that funds are
appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations
under subsection (b)(1).
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the President such sums as may be necessary to reimburse the
applicable appropriation, fund, or account for the value (as
defined in section 644(m) of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961) of defense articles, defense services, or military
education and training provided under section 202(a)(2).
(2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) are
authorized to remain available until expended, and are in
addition to amounts otherwise available for the purposes
described in this title.
SEC. 205. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.
(a) Government of Afghanistan.--Assistance to the
Government of Afghanistan under this title may be provided
notwithstanding any other provision of law.
(b) Eligible Foreign Countries and Eligible International
Organizations.--
(1) Authority.--The President may provide assistance under
this title to any eligible foreign country or eligible
international organization notwithstanding any other
provision of law (other than provisions of this title) if the
President determines that such assistance is important to the
national security interest of the United States and notifies
the Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate of such determination at least 15 days in advance of
providing such assistance.
(2) Notification.--The report described in paragraph (1)
shall include information relating to the type and amount of
assistance proposed to be provided and the actions that the
proposed recipient of such assistance has taken or has
committed to take.
SEC. 206. SUNSET.
The authority of this title shall expire on December 31,
2004.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Hyde
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Hyde:
Page 3, line 16, insert ``civil service, financial,'' after
``health care,''.
Page 10, line 9, insert before the period the following:
``, and humanitarian assistance to internally displaced
persons, including those persons who need assistance to
return to their homes, through the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees and other organizations charged
with providing such assistance''.
Page 11, line 23, strike ``not less than''.
Page 11, line 24, strike ``should'' and insert ``is
authorized to''.
Page 14, line 2, strike ``and''.
Page 14, after line 2, insert the following:
(K) programs for housing, rebuilding urban infrastructure,
and supporting basic urban services; and
Page 14, line 3, strike ``(K)'' and insert ``(L)''.
Page 15, line 21, strike ``and'' the second place it
appears.
Page 15, line 25, strike the period and insert ``; and''.
Page 15, after line 25, insert the following:
(xii) support for establishment of a central bank and
central budgeting authority.
Page 18, strike line 4 and all that follows through line 23
and insert the following:
(2) Waiver.--
(A) In general.--The President may waive the application of
subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) if the President
first determines and certifies to Congress that it is
important to the national interest of the United States to do
so.
(B) Contents of certification.--A certification transmitted
to Congress under subparagraph (A) shall include a memorandum
of justification that explains the basis for the
determination of the President to waive the application of
subparagraph (A) or (B) or paragraph (1).
Page 19, strike line 1 and all that follows through line 13
on page 21 and insert the following:
SEC. 105. PROMOTING COOPERATION IN MAJOR OPIUM PRODUCING
REGIONS OF AFGHANISTAN.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law
(except as provided in subsection (c)), subsections (a)
through (g) of section 490 of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2291j), as in effect on January 9, 2002,
shall apply with respect to United States bilateral and
multilateral assistance to Afghanistan for each of fiscal
years 2003 through 2005.
(b) Authority To Apply Section 490 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961.--
(1) In general.--The President is authorized and
encouraged, to the maximum extent practicable, to apply the
provisions of subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e) of section
490 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to United States
bilateral and multilateral assistance to major opium
producing regions of Afghanistan, including regions within
the Badakshan, Helmand, and Qandahar provinces.
(2) Redistribution.--The President is authorized and
encouraged to redistribute any United States assistance
withheld from an opium producing region pursuant to this
subsection to other major opium producing regions of
Afghanistan with respect to which United States assistance
has not been withheld pursuant to this subsection.
(3) Major opium producing regions.--The President may
define or redefine the boundaries of major opium producing
regions of Afghanistan for purposes of this subsection.
(c) Requirement to Supersede.--The provisions of this
section shall not be superseded except by a provision of law
enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act which
specifically repeals, modifies, or otherwise supersedes the
provision of this section.
Page 21, line 15, strike ``(a) Designation of
Coordinator.--''.
Page 22, strike line 9 and all that follows through line
13.
Page 23, after line 9, insert the following (and
redesignate subsequent subsections accordingly):
(c) Donations of Manufacturing Equipment; Use of Land Grant
Colleges and Universities.--In providing assistance
authorized by this title, the President, to the maximum
extent practicable, should--
(1) encourage the donation of appropriate excess or
obsolete manufacturing and related equipment by United States
businesses (including small businesses) for the
reconstruction of Afghanistan; and
(2) utilize research conducted by United States land grant
colleges and universities and the technical expertise of
professionals within those institutions, particularly in the
areas of agriculture and rural development.
Page 24, beginning on line 18, strike ``$200,000,000 for
fiscal year 2002, $300,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2003 and 2004,'' and insert ``$300,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2002 through 2004''.
Mr. HYDE (during the reading). Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the
Record.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
Illinois?
There was no objection.
{time} 1545
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I have a bipartisan amendment that I am
very pleased to present. It was worked out with the cooperation, and
that word describes the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)
perfectly, the ranking minority member.
This is primarily technical, but it does make several substantive
changes in the bill. For example, it deletes language which would
require that $15
[[Page H2762]]
million of the amount authorized in the bill for counternarcotics be
made available for use by the United Nations Drug Control Program. The
amount of $15 million remains authorized, but it would not be
earmarked. This was the only earmark in the bill. We fully expect that
at least that much money will go to the United Nations Drug Control
Program, which has been very helpful in our counternarcotics effort.
This amendment also modifies language in the committee-reported bill
to conform the amount of assistance authorized to be appropriated for
Afghanistan for fiscal year 2002 to the amount proposed to be
appropriated in the House version of the Supplemental Appropriations
Act. That is $300 million, instead of $200 million, which was
authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2002 in the version of
H.R. 3994 reported by the Committee on International Relations.
In addition, this amendment deletes language which requires that if
the President designates a coordinator of assistance for Afghanistan,
that individual shall be appointed with the advice and consent of the
Senate. This amendment was requested by the administration, which has
already named a coordinator, who is now in place. The administration
does not want to pull that individual off his job to wait the many
months a Senate confirmation may well require.
Finally, Madam Chairman, we included in this en bloc amendment
several recommendations made by Members. At the suggestion of the
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), we included language that would
assure, to the maximum extent practicable, that our President utilize
research conducted by U.S. Land Grant Colleges and Universities in the
area of agriculture and rural development.
A similar amendment was included at the suggestion of the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) that our President encourage the donation of
appropriate excess manufacturing equipment by United States businesses
for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Also at the suggestion of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith),
we expanded the assistance for voluntary refugee repatriation to
include humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons.
Finally, at the suggestion of the gentleman from Oregon (Mr.
Blumenauer), we made it clear by adding a new subsection that money
should be used for programs for housing, rebuilding urban
infrastructure and supporting basic urban services.
I again would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos) and other Members for their significant contributions. I urge
Members to vote in favor of this amendment.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment.
Madam Chairman, I first want to commend my good friend, the chairman
of the committee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), for his
amendment. As the gentleman from Illinois knows, our staffs have worked
closely together on the text of this amendment, which I believe
addresses all of the various concerns expressed by the administration
on H.R. 3994; and it conforms this legislation to recent developments.
I do not believe there are any objections on our side to the Hyde
amendment, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Madam Chairman, I deeply appreciate the work that has been done on
behalf of the majority and minority, the Chair, the ranking member, and
their staffs.
Part of the reason we are in Afghanistan today is because the world
turned its back on Afghanistan after the collapse of the former Soviet
Union. The Taliban and other thugs and warlords and misfits filled the
power vacuum left after the country was devastated. The lesson from
past efforts is that you cannot leave a shattered country to its own
devices and the tender mercies of the most corrupt and violent.
We have a good start before us today, and it is made better by the
elements of the manager's amendment. The Afghanistan Freedom Support
Act of 2002 will provide $1.05 billion of reconstruction aid to
Afghanistan over 4 years. The bill focuses on creating a stable
environment for Afghanistan, addressing a wide variety of issues we
have already heard related to on the floor.
It is, however, only a start. The United Nations and the World Bank
estimate that reconstruction of Afghanistan will require at least $1.7
billion in the first year, $10 billion over the next 5 years, and $15
billion in the next decade. Given that the world is still reeling, and,
indeed, shots are still being fired, others argue that these numbers
are far too low and put the overall cost at closer to $30 billion over
the next decade. But whatever the amount, we must be sensitive to a
critical issue in the long-term political and social economic stability
of Afghanistan, and that is the viability of its urban areas.
This is something, Madam Chairman, that really does not get the
attention of people in this Chamber, in fact by the Federal Government,
as we deal with issues of international security; but the CIA has
ranked the problems of urbanization in the developing world as one of
the seven top security concerns, suggesting that cities will be sources
of crime and instability as ethnic and religious differences exacerbate
the competition over scarcer jobs and resources.
The problems of poverty, unsafe drinking water, inadequate access to
medical care and sanitation, too often we ignore these as we look at
what happens in the rural areas of these developing countries. While we
all recognize the importance that agriculture plays in Afghanistan's
redevelopment, the role of its cities are critical. It is an important
component of rebuilding this war-torn country. It is necessary that the
appropriate balance be reached between urban and rural development.
Through many years of civil war and the war on terrorism, the cities
of Afghanistan have been devastated. With the real possibility of an
influx of people into cities looking for work, especially if the
drought continues to damage the agricultural sector, extraordinary
challenges will be facing the cities, and these will only be
compounded.
Yes, Afghanistan is largely rural. Only 22 percent of the country is
urbanized. But with an annual growth rate of 5.3 percent projected over
the next 12 years, this problem is going to compound. I had offered up
an amendment, which I deeply appreciate having been made a part of the
manager's amendment, that seeks an appropriate level of foreign aid to
be targeted to restoring the urban infrastructure.
Any attempt to provide assistance to help foster political
stabilization and economic development must recognize the critical role
that these cities are going to play. This is the area that is the
cultural center, of governmental interests, where the politics are
going to be played out and where things that in the countryside are
difficult, when you are talking about disease, sanitation, lack of
potable water, in a city, these become devastating.
In addition, Afghanistan faces a series of challenges that are unique
to its history of conflict and war that has devastated the country, the
relocation of refugees and the environmental challenges linked to 2
decades of war-like land mines. It is important to recognize the
capital city of Kabul is going to be critical to foster the support for
the newly restored political regime and help build its new economy.
Today's bill is an important step, and I applaud the work of our
committee leadership, the chairman and ranking member, in ensuring
Afghanistan's urban areas are included in our aid to this country. It
is vital to our long-term political interest and to the economic
success of the people of Afghanistan to rebuild their war-torn country
and to become an important ally of the United States in years to come.
When we are approaching a period in the next year or two when half of
the world's population is going to move to cities, this is a model for
the rest of our aid as well.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde).
The amendment was agreed to.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Lantos
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Lantos:
Insert after section 205 of the bill the following (and
make such conforming amendments as may be necessary):
[[Page H2763]]
SEC. 206. PROMOTING SECURE DELIVERY OF HUMANITARIAN AND OTHER
ASSISTANCE IN AFGHANISTAN.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The President has declared his view that the United
States should provide significant assistance to Afghanistan
so that it never again becomes a haven for terrorism.
(2) The delivery of humanitarian and reconstruction
assistance from the international community is necessary for
the safe return of refugees and is critical to the future
stability of Afghanistan.
(3) Enhanced stability in Afghanistan through an improved
security environment is critical to the fostering of the
Afghan Interim Authority and the traditional Afghan assembly
or ``Loya Jirga'' process, which is intended to lead to a
permanent national government in Afghanistan, and also is
essential for the participation of women in Afghan society.
(4) Incidents of violence between armed factions and local
and regional commanders, and serious abuses of human rights,
including attacks on women and ethnic minorities throughout
Afghanistan, create an insecure, volatile, and unsafe
environment in parts of Afghanistan, displacing thousands of
Afghan civilians from their local communities.
(5) The violence and lawlessness may jeopardize the ``Loya
Jirga'' process, undermine efforts to build a strong central
government, severely impede reconstruction and the delivery
of humanitarian assistance, and increase the likelihood that
parts of Afghanistan will once again become safe havens for
Al-Qaeda, Taliban forces, and drug traffickers.
(6) The lack of security and lawlessness may also
perpetuate the need for United States Armed Forces in
Afghanistan and threaten the ability of the United States to
meet its military objectives.
(7) The International Security Assistance Force in
Afghanistan, currently led by Turkey, and composed of forces
from other willing countries without the participation of
United States Armed Forces, is deployed only in Kabul and
currently does not have the mandate or the capacity to
provide security to other parts of Afghanistan.
(8) Due to the ongoing military campaign in Afghanistan,
the United States does not contribute troops to the
International Security Assistance Force but has provided
support to other countries that are doing so.
(9) The United States is providing political, financial,
training, and other assistance to the Afghan Interim
Authority as it begins to build a national army and police
force to help provide security throughout Afghanistan, but
this effort is not meeting the immediate security needs of
Afghanistan.
(10) Because of these immediate security needs, the Afghan
Interim Authority, its Chairman, Hamid Karzai, and many
Afghan regional leaders have called for the International
Security Assistance Force, which has successfully brought
stability to Kabul, to be expanded and deployed throughout
the country, and this request has been strongly supported by
a wide range of international humanitarian organizations,
including the International Committee of the Red Cross,
Catholic Relief Services, and Refugees International.
(11)(A) On January 29, 2002, the President stated that
``[w]e will help the new Afghan government provide the
security that is the foundation of peace''.
(B) On March 25, 2002, the Secretary of Defense stated,
with respect to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, that ``the
first thing . . . you need for anything else to happen, for
hospitals to happen, for roads to happen, for refugees to
come back, for people to be fed and humanitarian workers to
move on the country . . . [y]ou've got to have security''.
(b) Statement of Policy.--It should be the policy of the
United States to support measures to help meet the immediate
security needs of Afghanistan in order to promote safe and
effective delivery of humanitarian and other assistance
throughout Afghanistan, further the rule of law and civil
order, and support the formation of a functioning,
representative Afghan national government.
(c) Preparation of Strategy.--Not later than 45 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall
transmit to the Committee on International Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate a strategy for meeting the
immediate and long-term security needs of Afghanistan in
order to promote safe and effective delivery of humanitarian
and other assistance throughout Afghanistan, further the rule
of law and civil order, and support the formation of a
functioning, representative Afghan national government.
Mr. LANTOS (during the reading). Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the
Record.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
California?
There was no objection.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, my amendment declares that it should be
the policy of the United States to support measures to meet the
immediate security needs of Afghanistan and requires the President to
submit a strategy for meeting the immediate security needs in
Afghanistan.
I want to put my amendment in its proper context, Madam Chairman.
There has been no one on either side of the aisle more in support of
the President's global war on terrorism than this Member, and that
support continues. But I think it is important that while we support
the President in this major global bipartisan effort we do not suspend
our critical qualities. Our amendment deals with one such issue.
The United States and its coalition partners have freed Afghanistan
from the chokehold of all the al Qaeda terrorists and the repressive
regime of the Taliban. With the support of the international community,
a new interim authority is now in place and the country is now on a
path uncertainly towards peace and stability.
That very peace and stability is being threatened as the new
government of Afghanistan under Chairman Karzai is being undermined by
lawlessness and insecurity. Afghanistan is in grave danger of relapsing
to the very conditions of violence and warlordism that created the
Taliban and attracted al Qaeda to operate in Afghanistan.
Virtually the only safe place in Afghanistan where people can move
freely, where humanitarian organizations and government ministries can
deliver much-needed relief assistance and services, is Kabul, the
capital, which is under the protection of the International Security
Assistance Force known as ISAF. ISAF, soon to be under the leadership
of the government of Turkey, has demonstrated how effectively an
international security presence contributes to stability and safety.
But Kabul itself is in danger of being overrun as refugees and
displaced people continue to flood the capital in search of security.
Nearly half of all the returning refugees are going to Kabul, and the
city is already struggling to cope with this horrendous influx.
Outside of Kabul, Madam Chairman, Afghanistan continues to be a land
of lawlessness, a land where every thug with a rifle can set up an
illegal checkpoint to extort money from travelers, while the unarmed
and outnumbered police cower in their makeshift headquarters. It is a
land where women are still too fearful to remove their burqas and where
relief workers risk their lives or have to offer hefty bribes to
warlords and drug barons just to provide food and medicine to those in
desperate need of assistance.
This is not the vision we had for Afghanistan as we sought to help to
liberate it from the grasp of the terrorists and the Taliban. President
Bush has pledged to help restore security and rebuild Afghanistan, and
Secretary Rumsfeld himself noted on numerous occasions that security is
fundamental to all other issues and objectives in Afghanistan. This is
certainly not the Afghanistan that Chairman Karzai promised to his
people when he asked them to rally behind him and behind the
international war on terrorism.
{time} 1600
In fact, Chairman Karzai has repeatedly pleaded with the United
States and the international community to expand the mandate of the
International Security Assistance Force beyond Kabul, and to help
address the security situation.
Madam Chair, the purpose of the Afghanistan Freedom and
Reconstruction Act is to help transform Afghanistan from a land of
repression and chaos into a safe and secure environment where freedom,
human rights and democracy can grow and terrorism and opium production
will disappear.
The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)
has expired.
(By unanimous consent, Mr. Lantos was allowed to proceed for 3
additional minutes.)
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, none of this can be accomplished without
security. The United States is providing critical assistance to create
a new professional, multi-ethnic Afghan army that will address
Afghanistan's long-term security needs. I support this assistance, and
the bill before the House today authorizes military assistance to
contribute to this effort.
However, building Afghan security forces to the point where they can
meet the security needs of Afghanistan will take at least a year-and-a-
half and
[[Page H2764]]
probably considerably longer. The period between now and the time that
the Afghan military force can assume its duties is the critical period
to assure the future of a secure Afghanistan. Something must be done
now, Madam Chairman, whether it is the expansion of a multinational
force or through some other mechanism to stabilize the countryside.
Neither we nor our Afghan friends have the luxury to wait until a
future security force, as yet only dreamed of, becomes fully trained
and deployed.
My amendment requires the administration to address this issue in a
constructive manner. It requires the administration to formulate a
strategy to increase security in the country during the transition to a
fully functioning national army and police force.
I fear that a failure to do so may lead to a failed Afghanistan. It
will reduce international assistance. It will delay the accomplishment
of our military objectives far longer. It will compel our military to
stay in the region.
Madam Chairman, it is for all of these reasons that I offer my
amendment, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it, in
supporting the people of Afghanistan. Without security, our courageous
military's effort will be in vain. We must provide security throughout
the whole of the country, not just in the capital city of Kabul. This
makes common sense. It makes military sense. It will advance and
promote U.S. national security.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment.
(Mr. HYDE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I want to enthusiastically accept the
amendment offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos). It
improves the bill greatly. It emphasizes the importance of creating a
secure environment in Afghanistan to ensure that humanitarian agencies
will have access to meet the emergency needs of the Afghanistan people,
and it calls on the President to develop a plan to address security
concerns in Afghanistan.
To those people who might think this is too prescriptive, too
interventionist, I think otherwise. I think it is only prudent to
suggest to the President that we are authorizing a lot of money and we
have a lot of things to be done, and we are expressing our hope and our
request really that he come up with a strategy for employing the funds
and the resources we are authorizing, because it is vitally important
that we not flounder over there, that we know what we are doing, and
that people think about an orderly way to bring security and stability
to that part of the country. This is prudent, it is wise, and I hope my
colleagues will accept it.
Madam Chairman, I congratulate the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos) for adding it to our bill.
Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number
of words, and I rise in support of the Lantos amendment.
Madam Chairman, I congratulate the gentleman from California for
offering his amendment, because it highlights a particularly important
aspect of our current efforts in Afghanistan. Everything we have
achieved to the present time is dependent on the security situation in
Afghanistan. No level of assistance will be effective if aid workers
cannot reach those in need.
Indeed, the Committee on International Relations received testimony
from AID administrator Andrew Natsios that the current security
situation on the ground is unsuitable for rapid or sustainable change.
The Secretary of Defense has also said that before anything else can
happen in Afghanistan, there must be security.
Yet, humanitarian aid organizations have reported threats to their
workers and attempts at extortion by local commanders. These conditions
will not only threaten the delivery of humanitarian assistance, but
they will make it impossible to establish an effective program of
reconstruction.
Recent events such as the assassination attempt on Defense Minister
Fahim, the foiled plot to kill Afghanistan's King Zahir Shah, which
delayed his return to his country, and the tragic killing of a United
Nations aid worker are all part of a disturbing pattern of rising
violence, a pattern that threatens to undermine the Loya Jirga process.
In fact, Human Rights Watch reports that insecurity in certain
provinces has caused the cancellation of Loya Jirga elections in
portions of those provinces.
Madam Chairman, there are immediate security needs that as of now are
going unmet. If we do not address the situation now, U.S. troops who
are on the ground will have to stay in Afghanistan even longer. Such
insecurity aspects put our troops at greater risk and threaten our
ability to meet our military objectives in Afghanistan.
I know that the administration is opposed to expanding the
International Security Force beyond the boundaries of Kabul, and I know
the President supports the training of an Afghan police force and a
national army. I support the President in the rebuilding of these
institutions. Afghanistan should ultimately be responsible for their
own security. But these are long-term solutions. Even the Department of
Defense acknowledges that it will be at least 18 months before a
national army is ready. What are the citizens of Afghanistan to do in
the meantime?
We need a strategy to bridge the gap between now and the time when
the Afghans can truly provide their own security across the country and
that, Madam Chairman, that is what the amendment asks for.
Since the President has already foreclosed the option of expanding
the International Security Assistance Force, I believe that it is
incumbent upon him and the administration to provide an alternative
solution. Without U.S. leadership on this question, nothing will be
done to address it. The President has said, and I agree, that
Afghanistan's persistent poverty, war, and chaos laid the groundwork
for the Taliban to seize power. If nothing is done now to address the
security situation in Afghanistan, we risk plunging that nation back
into the conflict from which it has so recently emerged.
Madam Chairman, the Lantos amendment can help us to avoid that fate,
and I urge all of our colleagues to support it.
Mr. PAUL. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
Madam Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. The President
has not been interested in this legislation. I do not see a good reason
to give him the burden of reporting back to us in 45 days to explain
how he is going to provide for Afghan security for the long term. How
long is long term? We have been in Korea now for 50 years. Are we
planning to send troops that provide national security for Afghanistan?
I think we should be more concerned about the security of this country
and not wondering how we are going to provide the troops for long-term
security in Afghanistan. We should be more concerned about the security
of our ports.
Madam Chairman, over the last several days and almost continuously,
as a matter of fact, many Members get up and talk about any expenditure
or any tax cut as an attack on Social Security, but we do not hear this
today because there is a coalition, well built, to support this
intervention and presumed occupation of Afghanistan. But the truth is,
there are monetary and budget consequences for this.
After this bill is passed, if this bill is to pass, we will be close
to $2 billion in aid to Afghanistan, not counting the military. Now,
that is an astounding amount of money, but it seems like it is
irrelevant here. Twelve months ago, the national debt was $365 billion
less than it is today, and people say we are just getting away from
having surpluses. Well, $365 billion is a huge deficit, and the
national debt is going up at that rate. April revenues were down 30
percent from 1 year ago. The only way we pay for programs like this is
either we rob Social Security or we print the money, but both are very
harmful to poor people and people living on a limited income. Our funds
are not unlimited.
I know there is a lot of good intention; nobody in this body is
saying we are going over there to cause mischief, but let me tell my
colleagues, there is a lot of reasons not to be all that optimistic
about these wonderful results and what we are going to accomplish over
there.
Madam Chairman, earlier the gentleman from California (Mr.
Rohrabacher) came up with an astounding reason for us to do this. He
said that
[[Page H2765]]
we owe this to Afghanistan. Now, I have heard all kinds of arguments
for foreign aid and foreign intervention, but the fact that we owe this
to Afghanistan? Do we know what we owe? We owe responsibility to the
American taxpayer. We owe responsibility to the security of this
country.
One provision of this bill takes a $300 million line of credit from
our DOD and just gives the President the authority to take $300 million
of weapons away from us and give it to somebody in Afghanistan. Well,
that dilutes our defense, that does not help our defense. This is not
beneficial. We do not need to have an occupation of Afghanistan for
security of this country. There is no evidence for that.
The occupation of Afghanistan is unnecessary. It is going to be very
costly, and it is very dangerous.
My colleagues might say, well, this is all for democracy. For
democracy? Well, did we care about democracy in Venezuela? It seemed
like we tried to undermine that just recently. Do we care about the
democracy in Pakistan? A military dictator takes over and he becomes
our best ally, and we use his land, and yet he has been a friend to the
Taliban, and who knows, bin Laden may even be in Pakistan. Here we are
saying we are doing it all for democracy. Now, that is just pulling our
leg a little bit too much. This is not the reason that we are over
there. We are over there for a lot of other reasons and, hopefully,
things will be improved.
But I am terribly concerned that we will spend a lot of money, we
will become deeply mired in Afghanistan, and we will not do a lot
better than the Soviets did.
Now, that is a real possibility that we should not ignore. We say,
oh, no, everything sounds rosy and we are going to do this, we are
going to do it differently, and this time it is going to be okay. Well,
if we look at the history of that land and that country, I would think
that we should have second thoughts.
It has been said that one of the reasons why we need this legislation
is to help pay for drug eradication. Now, that is a good idea. That
would be nice if we could do that. But the drug production has exploded
since we have been there. In the last year, it is just going wild.
Well, that is even more reason we have to spend money because we
contributed to the explosion of the drug production. There is money in
this bill, and maybe some good will come of this; there is money in
this bill that is going to be used to teach the Afghan citizens not to
use drugs.
The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul) has
expired.
(By unanimous consent, Mr. Paul was allowed to proceed for 2
additional minutes.)
{time} 1615
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, if this is successful, if we teach the Afghan
people not to use drugs, that would be wonderful. Maybe then we can do
something about the ravenous appetite of our people for drugs which is
the basic cause of so much drug production.
So to spend money on these kinds of programs I think is just a little
bit of a stretch. Already there have been 33 tribal leaders that have
said they will not attend this Loya Jirga, that they are not going to
attend. The fact that we are going to spend millions of dollars trying
to gather these people together and tell them what to do with their
country, I think the odds of producing a secure country are slim.
Already in the papers just a few weeks ago it was reported in The
Washington Post that our CIA made an attempt to assassinate a former
prime minister of Afghanistan. He may have been a bum for all I know,
but do Members think that sits well? He was not an ally of bin Laden,
he was not a Taliban member, yet our CIA is over there getting
involved. As a matter of fact, that is against our law, if that report
is true. Yet, that is what the papers have reported.
So I would say that we should move cautiously. I think this is very
dangerous. I know nobody else has spoken out against this bill, but I
do not see much benefit coming from this. I know it is well motivated,
but it is going to cost a lot of money, we are going to get further
engaged, more troops are going to go over there; and now that we are a
close ally of Pakistan, we do know that Pakistan and India both have
nuclear weapons, and we are sitting right next to them. So I would
hardly think this is advantageous for our security, nor advantageous
for the American people, nor advantageous to the American taxpayer.
I see this as a threat to our security. It does not reassure me one
bit. This is what scares me. It scares me when we send troops into
places like Vietnam and Korea and other places, because it ultimately
comes back to haunt us.
Mr. SAWYER. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
Madam Chairman, it is a privilege here today to rise on behalf of the
Lantos amendment and to express my gratitude, both to him and to the
chairman of the Committee, for their bipartisan work on this overall
bill, and to rise in support of this amendment.
I think it is very clear that if we are to accomplish the worthwhile
goals that have been expressed in the body of this bill and in the
previous Hyde amendment, that the substance embodied in the Lantos
amendment is a requisite to achieve that.
In an interesting kind of way, I have to say that I find something to
agree with in the previous speaker's remarks. We do not have to look
much further than our own hemisphere, south to Colombia, to see the
consequences of failing to address the importance of stabilizing
conditions before we attempt to achieve real reform.
All we have to do is to look at what is going on with refugees and
internally displaced populations there to understand the enormously
destabilizing effect that those populations have in a country where we
have not achieved the kind of security that is contemplated in the
Lantos amendment.
In Afghanistan, the U.N. High Council on Refugees estimates that
there are some 1 million internally displaced persons. There are some
3.7 million refugees in Iran and Pakistan that may well return. Of
those displaced persons, some 1.5 million children have lost a parent,
and over half a million of those have lost both parents. The strain
that that places on a society attempting to stabilize itself is
extraordinary.
We need to understand, though, that for those who would argue that
dealing with that kind of problem is addressing the symptom rather than
the cause, we need to understand that when it comes to instability,
those kinds of displaced persons and populations straining at the
infrastructure of a nation are not only a symptom of instability, but
are in themselves a cause and exacerbator of that kind of instability.
We will not be able to address those kinds of problems until we have
the kind of stability that is anticipated in the Lantos amendment.
So in conclusion, I would suggest that the lessons that we have
learned over a difficult time in this hemisphere give us guidance as to
the kinds of problems that we are capable of avoiding with the kind of
wisdom, careful analysis, insight, and action that is contemplated in
the Lantos amendment. I rise in support of that amendment.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
Madam Chairman, I also rise in strong support of the Lantos
amendment. The Lantos amendment encourages the President of our country
to improve security in Afghanistan and to support that effort. With
women's security being most at risk, this amendment is especially
critical for their quality of life and for their future.
A secure and stable Afghanistan is important for all the
international community and for all Americans who value human rights
and value democracy. Taliban rule in Afghanistan has illustrated how
systematic violations against women, sanctioned by the governing
authorities, can lead to danger and instability in those areas.
Clearly, a country is not stable and/or democratic if half of its
population remains oppressed.
Recent events have opened the door to a restoration of the rights of
Afghan women, and today a fledgling government is forming; yet
unacceptable violations against women continue. Afghanistan may soon
enjoy its new democratic legislature; yet Afghan women are daily
threatened with sexual violence and public intimidation.
[[Page H2766]]
The Lantos amendment seeks to improve the lives of Afghan women, and
that is why I urge all of my colleagues to support it. I thank the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for providing this amendment.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite
number of words.
Madam Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Lantos amendment.
Just to mention a few of the points that have been made here that
might need a little bit of clarification, when we talk about the money
that is being spent here, yes, it does cost us money to do something. I
think the American people need to consider exactly how much money we
are talking about. They also need to consider how much money we have
already spent because we were not responsible in the years past.
I think the $2 billion that this project will cost us, $2 or $3
billion, I am not sure at the end exactly how much it is going to cost,
but I am sure that it is far less expensive than what it has cost us in
rebuilding lower Manhattan and the Trade Center, and I am sure it cost
us a lot more for not being responsible in the years past. If we would
have spent this money 10 years ago or 5 years ago, perhaps we would
have saved hundreds of billions of dollars, which is what this will
cost us in the end.
When we left, yes, it is very difficult for one to imagine that we
would owe a people who fought for our freedom a debt. Yes, it is very
difficult for us to imagine that a group of people like the people of
Afghanistan, who lost a huge percentage of their population in fighting
the Soviet Army, in alliance with the United States, that we owe them a
debt, because after what they did with their courage, their blood, the
sacrifices of their families and homes, it made the world safer because
it broke the will of the Soviet leadership, and shortly thereafter the
Soviet Union disintegrated. It probably would not have done so if it
was not for the courage and the tenacity and the sacrifice of the
people of Afghanistan, who we encouraged to go and do our fighting for
us.
Yes, we owe the people of Afghanistan a debt, and when we did not
repay that debt, and when we walked away and told them to sleep in the
rubble and let their children continue to be blown apart by land mines
that we had given them to plant during the war against the Soviets, but
we did not bother to stick around to help them clear them after the war
was over, yes, there was a void. That void was filled by the Taliban
and that void was filled by bin Laden and that void was filled by evil.
When good people are not responsible and walk away, that void is
usually filled by the evil people of this world. If there is any lesson
of history, that is the lesson of history.
It is not the ``loyal jerga,'' however you pronounced it, I say to
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul). It is called a Loya Jirga. It is
not a gathering of people who are being gathered for us to tell them
what to do; this is a noble effort on our part to have all of the
tribal leaders and local leaders of Afghanistan to gather together so
they can determine what they want for their country, and it is
something we should be proud of.
Yes, there is a $300 million cost, military cost, to that. That $300
million is a drawdown so that the government of Afghanistan can create
a military force that will permit Afghanistan to again be a unified
country, rather than torn apart by warlords who are more powerful than
the government, which is committed to the rights and liberties of their
people at the center. We need to work with those people who want to
rebuild a free and democratic Afghanistan.
For 10 years, I tried to struggle to get the King of Afghanistan
back, who was dedicated to serving the role that other monarchs have
served in situations like that, in Spain and in Greece and elsewhere,
as a transition figure to democracy. I was opposed by our State
Department, who undermined that effort. I am sure there are a lot of
regrets now in our government that what we did not do in the past ended
up creating this horrible situation on September 11, where thousands of
Americans died.
But I can assure my colleagues that we will not have to have that
same regret if we do what is right today, because, yes, there will be
problems in the future, but those problems will be much greater if we
do not act. If we do not back those people who are positive and want to
have more democracy and want to respect the rights of their people,
other people will fill the void, and then our challenges and problems
and costs will be much greater.
What we are proposing today is a good deal. Yes, it costs money. It
is a good deal. Also, let us not forget that other people around the
world are joining us, and if we refrain from picking up our share of
the load to help rebuild Afghanistan, our neighbors throughout the
world will note that and they will not do their share. So this is a
good deal in order to achieve a safer planet for our people, a safer
country here, and also to pay that debt that we owe to the people of
Afghanistan.
Mrs. TAUSCHER. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number
of words.
Madam Chairman, I would speak in support of the Lantos amendment. I
would like to state my strong support for the Lantos amendment on
improving security in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Freedom Support Act
provides critical economic and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan;
but without a security component to this aid, we have no means of
assuring that our help will be effective or promote Afghanistan's long-
term reconstruction.
The defeat of the Taliban and of all the positive social and
political changes that came with it could not have taken place without
United States leadership. I am seriously concerned, however, that our
investment will be wasted if we do not directly consider how the United
States can improve long-term security in Afghanistan.
In February, during testimony before the Committee on Armed Services,
General Tommy Franks, Commander in Chief of the United States Central
Command, restated President Bush's pledge to build ``a lasting
permanent solution for Afghanistan's security needs.'' The President's
words have never been more relevant.
Since Chairman Karzai took the head of the interim government, one of
his ministers has been killed, militia factions are fighting for
influence, the refugee situation is worsening, and general lawlessness
throughout the country is threatening the government's effectiveness.
By the end of the month, over 400 districts throughout Afghanistan
must elect 16,000 delegates. They in turn will choose about 1,000 local
leaders to participate in the new Afghan parliament. This is a delicate
process that can easily be derailed.
The requirement in the amendment that the President submitted to
Congress of the strategy for meeting Afghanistan's security needs is
essential. This strategy should consider the use of U.S. military
assets. At a time when U.S. troops are engaged in conflicts across the
globe, from the Philippines to Georgia, it would be irresponsible for
us to walk away from the one country where we have achieved victory
without securing peace. A safe and secure Afghanistan is in the United
States' national interest.
I applaud the acceptance by the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman
Hyde), and I urge my colleagues to support the bill. It was a good
bill, and it is a better bill with the Lantos amendment.
{time} 1630
Mr. FORD. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
Madam Chairman, I rise in support of this Lantos amendment. Never
before, at least in my short time, I am just 32 years old, Madam
Chairman, has America's standing been more precarious than it is today.
In a lot of ways our need and responsibility to lead has never been
greater. I have listened to some of my colleagues, particularly my
friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul), who raised some
interesting points about national security and whether or not we should
shoulder the President with this burden when, in fact, he has not asked
for it. We in this Congress have a tendency of burdening different
agencies and departments with things that they did not ask for. That
should not be a reason to defeat this amendment.
[[Page H2767]]
We have developed a reputation across the globe, whether we like it
or not, and I see my friend, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-
Lee) and I was proud to join her and 7 other colleagues on a trip to
Kurdistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan some several months ago. We have
developed, I think wrongly, as a Nation that being a country that
supports things that narrowly benefit us or that is convenient to us
and withdrawing in times when it may be inconvenient in the smallest
ways. The rules of globalization call that we be better citizens. Part
of that citizenship, I believe, is supporting this amendment; and
coming to understand that for Chairman Karzai, whom the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Hobson) and the ranking member on the Subcommittee on
Military Construction, Committee on Appropriations, the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), and the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen),
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), and my friend, the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Rogers), and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes). Part of
what we learned on this trip from Chairman Karzai is that he cannot
accomplish the many things we all heard the President speak so
eloquently about back in January and have heard Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld talk about at length every day in his news conferences. We
cannot accomplish the kind of peace and stability and bring about
conditions for progress until we create a very stable and secure
environment, not only there in Kabul but outside of that area as well.
We traveled there, as I said, and gained a greater appreciation for
our men and women serving us there. For anyone who believes that young
people are incapable of doing monumental things, I say one needs look
no further than the U.S. military, and certainly the young men and
women who are protecting and defending not only our interests but the
free world's interests there in Baghram and all of our air bases in
Manaos and certainly there at K-2.
It is my hope that we in this Congress will have the courage to urge
the President and the administration to do all that is laid out here in
this Lantos amendment.
I close on this note. We have made so many great strides in this
country over the last several years in science and medicine and
technology and we will continue to do those things. One of the
challenges that my generation, I think, will have, Madam Chairman, is
to figure out ways in which not only we use all of that technology and
science and advancements here in America but around the globe, but also
to figure out how we take the human spirit and try to transfer that as
well. Because I think the way we are thought about in other parts of
the world, particularly Central Asia, is unfair to all Americans,
certainly to the good works of this Congress, this Senate and even this
President is attempting and have been done in the past. There has been
no greater citizen for freedom and no greater advocate for freedom and
voice for freedom over the years than the gentleman from California
(Mr. Lantos) whether it is the Middle East or Africa or other parts of
the world.
It is my hope that this amendment is passed and that this Congress
will take a harder and more thoughtful look and have a kind ear when it
comes to foreign aid and issues affecting foreign countries. Because
if, indeed, we want to contain or limit terrorism, we must come to
grips with the fact that winning the war in Afghanistan alone will not
accomplish that. Until we are willing to reach out and educate and
close some of the awful gaps that exists between men and women, some of
the awful disparities that exist between the children of our country
and children around the globe, we will continue to be bedeviled with
the challenges we saw on September 11 and continue to hear the kinds of
threats that even Director Mueller and General Ashcroft are issuing
today.
Madam Chairman, I urge support for the Lantos amendment.
Mr. FARR of California. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the
requisite number of words.
(Mr. FARR of California asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. FARR of California. Madam Chairman, I rise today in strong
support of the Lantos amendment and the underlying bill, the
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act.
The Afghanistan Freedom Support Act makes good on America's promise
not to abandon Afghanistan. Our commitment to Afghanistan will be a
testament to America's commitment to its allies in the war on terror.
The most important commitment that the United States can make, however,
is to support the security of our Afghan allies and friends. Without
security, there can be no infrastructure rebuilding, no eradication of
narcotics cultivation, no economic revitalization, no improved
education and health care. None of our well-intentioned programs, which
ultimately will be assumed by the Afghans themselves, will find any
success without adequate security measures.
Security is most certainly not a partisan issue. Here we all agree
that security is fundamental to prosperity. I am sure then that many of
my colleagues shared my dismay when President Bush announced that the
U.S. would not support an extension of Internal Security Assistance
Force, the ISAF, to other major cities in Afghanistan besides Kabul. It
contradicted the President's announcement that he would like to see the
Peace Corps' Crisis Corps and eventually the Peace Corps volunteers
back in Afghanistan as soon as possible.
Everybody in this body knows that I am one of the strongest
supporters of the Peace Corps, having served as a volunteer in Colombia
in the 1960s. I advocated strongly for expansion of the Peace Corps. I
was the loudest to cheer when the President boldly committed himself to
double the number of Peace Corps volunteers by the year 2007. I am also
supportive of the President's intention to call upon the Peace Corps to
help rebuild and revitalize Afghanistan. As their Peace Corps brothers
and sisters went before them, the new volunteers will bring the great
American gifts of optimism and enthusiasm to their important work in
the Afghanistan villages. Nonetheless, we can not expect Peace Corps
volunteers, even the Crisis Corps volunteers, to operate in a climate
of insecurity that now reigns in Afghanistan.
I would like to bring our attention to an editorial from The
Washington Post from April 27 of this year. I will submit this document
for the Record.
The article was written by Anna Seleny, a political science teacher
at Princeton, but also the last Peace Corps volunteer to be evacuated
from Afghanistan in 1987 before the Soviet invasion. Miss Seleny
believes, as I do, that the Peace Corps can play an important role in
restoring peace and prosperity to Afghanistan. However, the ability of
volunteers to play that role will be seriously compromised by the
violence and impunity that still reigns there. Without security, the
volunteers' mission will fail. Miss Seleny fears that they will be
withdrawn again, and I fear worse.
What is required now is to be realistic. Without security and order,
there can be no peace and prosperity. If we want the latter, we must
also provide the former. I think that helping Afghanistan is the right
thing to do. But let us do the job right. Let us expand the security
mission beyond Kabul to cover other cities to other provinces. Let us
help the Afghanistan democratic process by protecting the Loya Jirga
from threats and intimidations. Let us help make it safe for women and
girls to go outside and walk the streets without fear of attack. Let us
help create an environment where Afghans can afford to stop dwelling on
the past and worrying about the present, and allow them to think about
the future, to dream and to build better lives for themselves and their
families.
The Lantos amendment most reasonably asks the administration to
prepare a strategy to meet the security needs of Afghanistan. It is an
important first step towards meeting our obligations and laying the
foundations for its successful U.S. policy in the region.
I thank my colleagues for their attention and consideration and urge
them to support the Lantos amendment and the underlying Afghan Freedom
Support Act.
[[Page H2768]]
[From the Washington Post, Apr. 27, 2002]
The Peace Corps Will Need Some Backup
(By Anna Seleny)
If things go according to the Bush administration's plan,
the Peace Corps will be back in Afghanistan soon. This makes
sense; it could spur Afghan reconstruction while teaching
idealistic young Americans about the realities of life in the
developing world.
But these laudable aims can be accomplished only if the
administration agrees to extend the mandate of the
international peacekeeping force there, and expand it to
cover the provinces. I speak from experience; I was the last
Peace Corps volunteer evacuated from Afghanistan in 1979
before the Soviet invasion.
I arrived in Kabul in January 1978 and was assigned to work
in a health clinic north of Mazar-e-Sharif, near the Uzbek
border. Three months later bombs started to fall, as part of
a Soviet-backed coup in which the Communist ``People's
Democratic Party'' murdered President Mohammed Daoud, the
last ruling member of the Mohammedzai dynasty. After several
days of intense fighting, an eerie calm settled over a
capital now under strict military curfew. My most vivid
memory of the following weeks is of riding my bicycle past
ever-lengthening lines of people waiting outside prisons for
news of relatives who had disappeared. Many never got
answers, and the new regime's duplicity and brutality were
only the beginning of the country's long nightmare.
Like other Peace Corps volunteers, I was given the option
of leaving without dishonor or continuing my work. About a
dozen of us stayed (out of approximately 150). It was no
longer considered safe to work in the provinces, so I was
reassigned to the Afghan Institute of Technology in Kabul. As
the new regime tightened its grip, some of my friends and
colleagues began to distance themselves from anything
American, for self-protection; one even adopted Marxist
rhetoric overnight. Others overcame their fears and continued
to insist that I come to their homes. Eventually, after the
assassination of American Ambassador Adolph Dubs, the rest of
us were withdrawn, along with all but a skeleton embassy
staff.
Today, after more than two decades of war and poverty, most
Afghans want U.S. help in restoring a measure of peace,
prosperity and normality to their country. The Peace Corps
can play an invaluable role in this delicate task: serving as
goodwill ambassadors and helping communities provide basic
services to a population in desperate need. For quite some
time, however, the Peace Corps volunteers will have to go
about their tasks in a highly unstable local and geopolitical
context. Afghan internal rivalries are still erupting in
fierce vendettas, and no national government can exercise
credible authority, let alone punish the perpetrators of
violence. Some regions of the country remain dominated by
former warlords. Without an expanded international
peacekeeping force, there could be a major conflagration
between dominant groups holding power in Kabul and their
provincial rivals.
The administration is right to stress the need for
reconstruction aid. But it seems poised to repeat America's
mistakes in the region: committing too few resources for too
short a time, and thus ultimately failing to secure hard-won
gains. Before angry groups in Afghanistan can cooperate to
put their country back on its feet, the peace must be fully
secured--something beyond the power of the interim
government, and probably the first post-conflict government
as well. This is why the Afghans themselves have asked that
the international peacekeeping force be significantly
expanded in both time and scope.
Without some kind of force in place capable of maintaining
order, moreover, any new Peace Corps volunteers will probably
have to be withdrawn as things fall apart, just as we were in
1979. This would not only be a public relations disaster and
a waste of substantial rhetorical, military and political
capital; it would also be a historic lost opportunity.
Some speak of Afghanistan as if it had always been in
turmoil, as if its ethnic and tribal groups had never reached
a workable accommodation. Don't believe them. Before 1979
Afghanistan was miserably poor, but people did not starve.
Daoud's government had serious flaws, but it was a moderate
republic. There was increasing political and social
pluralism, including enhanced freedoms and a range of
professional careers for women. By the late 1970s Afghanistan
had achieved a kind of rough tribal democracy that might well
have developed into something better with time. The country
also had a professional, multi-ethnic army of which many
Afghans were justly proud, and a growing middle class.
The potential for a more prosperous and peaceful
Afghanistan is there. The Peace Corps is at its best when
helping distressed nations dig out from under. But for the
Corps to do its job, somebody else must first keep the peace.
And keeping the peace requires a firm commitment that, like
the mission of the Peace Corps itself, conveys to Afghans and
the world the patient determination that is the hallmark of
true world leadership.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos).
The question was taken; and the Chairman announced that the ayes
appear to have it.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings
on the amendment offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)
will be postponed.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the last word for
purposes of entering into a colloquy.
Madam Chairman, once again I appreciate the efforts of our diligent
colleagues, the chairman of our committee, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member, and the gentleman from
California (Mr. Rohrabacher) in their work with me on an important
issue for assistance for the unintended victims of the war in
Afghanistan.
The current military operations in the United States Armed Forces and
other allied forces in Afghanistan are directed against the members of
Taliban and other terrorist organizations, not against the people of
Afghanistan. Although the United States and our allies have
demonstrated enormous good will towards the people of Afghanistan who
have suffered under the former Taliban regime, there have been numerous
unintended victims of the current military operations by us and other
allied countries.
In the past the United States has provided aid to civilian casualties
of military operations. Assistance should be provided to individuals
who are unintended victims of the current military operation as well.
The men and women of our armed forces are well trained and there is no
question that they do their job very, very well. Nonetheless, even in
the most justified of wars, civilians will suffer and some will be
killed.
In the aftermath of the Afghanistan campaign, we feel it is important
for the United States to assist these people and particularly to help
unintended victims who have suffered directly due to our munitions.
There are children that have been injured or left to fend for
themselves because adult members of their families have been mistakenly
killed; widows who have been left to care for children without means to
provide for food, health and clothing. Other victims have suffered
property loss or personal injury.
Despite humanitarian efforts, women and children remain victims of
this war and desperately, desperately need our help. I believe that
providing this assistance speaks to the highest values of our Nation
and of our people. It would be an important good will gesture for us to
help these unintended victims of the war against terrorism that was
appropriately and ably spearheaded by our country in Afghanistan.
Madam Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) to
respond.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
My colleague from Oregon reminds us of the sad situation that
unfortunately comes along with any war, unintended victims. Facing
one's enemy in battle is hard enough; knowing that others may have
perished without participating in the war is tragic. I am pleased,
however, that the legislation before us will help the people of
Afghanistan in a substantial way. It provides serious economic,
democratic development and military aid. It will assist in meeting the
urgent humanitarian needs of the Afghan people including food, shelter,
medical care, family reunification services and the clearance of land
mines. It will also assist refugees and internally displaced persons,
eradication of illicit narcotics, and reconstruction efforts.
I am hoping these efforts will provide some comfort to the innocent
people of Afghanistan who have had to bear witness to the evils of
terrorism and this war.
If history was our guide, we are assured that the United States will
undertake a serious investigation, examining these matters, and act
accordingly to directly assist those injured or killed by tragic
mistakes or accident.
I would be pleased to support the gentleman in moving legislation
through the Committee on International Relations that would achieve
those ends at the appropriate time. In the meantime, I agree with the
gentleman that the unintended victims and their families should receive
priority in receiving assistance under this legislation, if at all
possible.
I hope this has satisfied the gentleman's inquiry.
[[Page H2769]]
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman. I appreciate
the gentleman's leadership and his words of direction. At this point I
would yield to the ranking member of the committee, my good friend, the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos).
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding and I
thank him for his thoughtful remarks and for his very genuine and
sincere interest in this matter.
Clearly there have been unintended innocent victims during our
military operations, and I fully agree with my friend, the gentleman
from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), that U.S. assistance should be provided
to such victims and their families.
I also strongly endorse the commitment of our chairman to bring
forward appropriate legislation on this issue, and I look forward to
working with him and with my friend from Oregon on this matter and I
thank the gentleman for yielding.
{time} 1645
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Rohrabacher) to seek his comments on the subject of
this colloquy.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding
to me.
I agree with both of my colleagues, or all three of my colleagues, of
the tragedy of unintended victims of the war and when we have a
situation we are fighting against terrorism.
The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer)
has expired.
(On request of Mr. Hyde, and by unanimous consent, Mr. Blumenauer was
allowed to proceed for 1 additional minute.)
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Chairman, I continue to yield to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Madam Chairman, the tragedy of unintended victims in
this war against terrorism should be investigated in order to determine
the best manner of assisting them, and their claims should be dealt
with if they are shown to be valid claims.
Afghan's civilians who have lost family members or homes due to being
caught in a crossfire during the hostilities between the coalition
forces and the Taliban or al Qaeda fighters need our help. This
legislation is a big step in the right direction. It is my strong
desire to see that these people, the unintended victims of this war,
are granted a priority consideration for reconstruction assistance
under this legislation.
This is the moral and the right thing to do, and I thank the
gentleman for his efforts to make sure that we do the right thing.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Chairman, reclaiming my time, I deeply
appreciate the strong words of comfort and support and wisdom from my
three colleagues. I know this will make a huge difference, not just to
people in Afghanistan, but from what we have been hearing, of an
outpouring of concern by Americans who are concerned about unintended
victims, and this is an important step forward.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Hoeffel
Mr. HOEFFEL. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Hoeffel:
Page 21, beginning on line 15, strike ``is strongly urged
to designate'' and insert ``shall designate''.
Page 21, line 17, insert ``who shall report to the
Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs and'' after
``coordinator''.
Page 22, after line 8, insert the following:
(b) Additional Requirement.--An individual designated by
the President as coordinator pursuant to subsection (a) may
only be an individual who is appointed by the President by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Mr. HOEFFEL (during the reading). Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the
Record.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. HOEFFEL. Madam Chairman, the original bill, the Afghanistan
Freedom Support Act, urged the creation of a coordinator at the
Department of State for aid to Afghanistan and mandated that this
coordinator be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate. I
am disappointed that these two provisions have been removed from the
bill by the chairman's amendment.
My amendment would do three things. It would mandate that the
President designate a coordinator for Afghanistan aid within the State
Department. It would mandate that the coordinator report to the
Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs, and it would mandate that
this coordinator be designated with the advice and consent of the
Senate.
Madam Chairman, one of the biggest problems in planning and
implementing an Afghan aid program is the plethora of agencies and
operations within the United States Government, each responsible for a
portion of the overall program, a piece of the pie. There is a lack of
a central coordinating authority to provide direction to these
agencies.
A Senate-confirmed coordinator would establish prominent State
Department leadership for this new program. The stature of this person
would automatically command, would help the State Department rein in
all of the 13 agencies that currently work on aid and policy affecting
Afghanistan.
H.R. 3994 is a solid bill that will do very well to address the
development needs of Afghanistan. It is a good start. It is not enough.
If we want to eradicate terrorism, that fight will have to extend
beyond Afghanistan's borders.
I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman,
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member, for
supporting the insertion of my language into the declaration of policy
section during committee consideration, that the U.S. should implement
a broader comprehensive aid program that extends beyond the borders of
Afghanistan into central Asia, to best foster stability and
democratization and to effectively eliminate the causes of terror.
President Bush recently outlined his vision for a modern day Marshall
Plan at the Virginia Military Institute on April 17, 2002. The
President stated, ``Marshall knew that our military victory against
enemies in World War II had to be followed by a moral victory that
resulted in better lives for individual human beings.'' I applaud the
President and his vision of seeking hope and opportunity for all
people.
The successful rebuilding of Afghanistan can only happen if we invest
in the surrounding countries and help bring stability to the region.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. HOEFFEL. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for these thoughtful
remarks and for his interest in this bill; and with regard to the issue
of coordinator for Afghanistan policy, I fully agree with the gentleman
of the importance of this position. Where the State Department and I
disagree, however, is on the question of mandating such a position.
As I am sure my colleague knows, the State Department has appointed
an individual to this position who is already performing the onerous
task of coordinating aid and policy relating to Afghanistan. It seems
to me, therefore, that in this instance mandatory language appointing a
coordinator is unnecessary.
With regard to the issue of a broader comprehensive aid program that
extends beyond the borders of Afghanistan and into central Asia, it is
a laudable objective and is something I would be pleased to work with
the gentleman in crafting solutions toward this end.
Mr. HOEFFEL. Madam Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) for his comments. I am particularly
pleased by the chairman's interest in working with me and others in the
future on these important issues.
Madam Chairman, out of deference to Secretary Powell and to the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), I ask unanimous consent to withdraw
my amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
The CHAIRMAN. The amendment is withdrawn.
[[Page H2770]]
Amendments No. 3 and No. 4 Offered by Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, I offer two amendments, and
I ask unanimous consent they be considered en bloc.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendments.
The text of the amendments is as follows:
Amendments No. 3 and No. 4 offered by Ms. Jackson-Lee of
Texas:
Amendment No. 3: Page 14, line 2, insert before the semicolon the
following: ``, with particular emphasis on health care for children who
are orphans''.
Page 14, line 17, insert before the semicolon the
following: ``, with particular emphasis on basic education
for children who are orphans''.
____
Amendment No. 4: Page 14, line 17, insert before the semicolon the
following: ``, with particular emphasis on basic education for
children''.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman
from Texas?
There was no objection.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, first of all, it is
important to again thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for working with me and my staff
for an interest that I have as a Chair of the Congressional Children's
Caucus.
As I rise to support not only the amendments that I intend to offer
today, I do want to add my support to the gentleman from Illinois' (Mr.
Hyde) amendment that he just offered and as well the Lantos amendment
which I will vote enthusiastically for.
As my colleagues have indicated, a number of us had both the
privilege and the challenge to visit Afghanistan during these trying
times after the horrific act of September 11. The first order of
business for those of us in this Nation after September 11 was to
mourn, but also to help heal the terrible and horrific acts that took
the lives of so many Americans. We wanted to comfort, and we wanted to
show that we would not stand for this happening again. Then we rallied
and we said we will stand united to fight against terrorism.
It is important that that is done; but as we look to fight against
terrorism, it was clear as we visited Afghanistan that there are people
there who simply want a better way of life. The Lantos amendment
acknowledges that there cannot be peace without security, and so I
support his intentions and effort to ensure that Afghanistan is secure.
I also refute those who would think that we cannot build a nation and
create democracy because, as we all know, we must eliminate the
incubator of terrorism; but at the same time, we must balance that with
giving the Afghanistan people the tools that they need to build a
government and also to build a nation securely.
I, therefore, believe it is additionally important to focus on the
children, and so I offer these amendments to deal with two of the
groups of children in Afghanistan.
As society breaks down during conflict, children have no access to
school and are driven from their homes. Worst yet, they are separated
from their family. Afghan children perceive armed groups as their best
chance for survival. Others seek to escape from poverty while others
join military forces to avenge family members who have been killed.
My amendments emphasize basic education for the orphan children,
almost a million in Afghanistan and for the children of Afghanistan;
and the reason I say this is because one of the sites we visited was an
orphanage with 1,000 children needing basic education. I believe the
right to an education for children in Afghanistan would develop not
only the child's personality but all their talents and mental and
physical abilities to their fullest potential.
Education serves as a much broader function. It gives shape and
structure to a child's life. Education can also instill community
values, promote justice and peace, and respect for human rights, and
enhanced peace, stability and independence. Likewise, the psychological
impact of the past 20 years has left an immutable scar in over 1
million Afghan orphans' memories.
Two generations of Afghan children know only war, deprivation,
homelessness, hunger, suffering and loss; and therefore they need good
education and good health care. In addition, there are estimated to be
10 to 15 million land mines scattered in the landscape exploding and
injuring at a rate of 20 to 25 people per day. They kill or injure
predominantly children who sometimes are victims of demise because of
their disguise or they are disguised as toys.
Can my colleagues think of how horrible it is living in a country
where any moment a person could lose a leg or their life as a child?
Their future seems bleak in a world that has largely forgotten them. We
need to help them.
Let me for a moment applaud the Houston Independent School District,
Madam Chairman, because they are working with me on a books, pens and
pencils campaign for the end of the year to send these books and
pencils and pens to the Afghan children. We all are trying to help.
The amendment I offer will emphasize in this legislation that
children need educating and good health care. The stage of physical,
psychological and cognitive and moral development that a child has
reached directly affects his or her ability to cope with these impacts.
We must promote the physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration of children affected by armed conflict. That means basic
education, open schools, teachers who are teaching and good health
care.
Another important issue, as I indicated, is children's health.
Thousands of children are killed every year as a direct result of
fighting, and we need to ensure that they have food supplies. Because
of the destruction of food crops and agricultural infrastructures,
these children are in need of good health care.
One of the most telling stories was going to the hospital and seeing
children with no medication, seeing malnourished children; and so this
legislation with the humanitarian funds that are allotted can now
emphasize immunization resources. It can now emphasize health
professionals that will provide the care for our children. It can now
provide the care for the 1,000 children in the orphanage who needed
basic health care to get rid of the sores on their faces and bodies.
The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-
Lee) has expired.
(By unanimous consent, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas was allowed to
proceed for 1 additional minute.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, as I close these two
amendments en bloc, I emphasize in this legislation the need to focus
on children's education for both orphanages and the children of
Afghanistan and children's health and to provide the resources to the
nation to ensure that our children are our priority.
Might I just lift the face of a child who evidences the need for
helping our children. The United Nations focused on children in the
last week for the first time in 12 years, but we can focus on this
child to help her have a better education and better health care.
Madam Chairman, I ask my colleagues to support these two amendments,
Nos. 3 and 4 en bloc.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, the majority is very pleased to accept the
two amendments offered by the gentlewoman en bloc. They are worthy
additions to the bill, and we accept them.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, on the Democratic side, we strongly
support the amendments, and I want to commend our friend from Texas.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendments offered by the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
The amendments were agreed to.
{time} 1700
Amendments Nos. 5 and 6 Offered by Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, I offer amendment Nos. 5
and 6, and I ask unanimous consent they be considered en bloc.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendments.
The text of the amendments is as follows:
Amendments Nos. 5 and 6 offered by Ms. Jackson-Lee of
Texas:
Amendment No. 5: Page 26, line 3, insert before the semicolon the
following: ``and prohibits the use of children as soldiers or
combatants''.
____
Amendment No. 6: Page 29, line 9, strike ``Assistance'' and insert the
following:
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), assistance
[[Page H2771]]
Page 29, after line 11, insert the following:
(2) Limitation.--Amounts made available to carry out this
title for a fiscal year may be made available for assistance
to the Government of Afghanistan only if the President first
determines and certifies to Congress that the Government of
Afghanistan prohibits the use of children as soldiers or
combatants.
The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the amendments will be considered en
bloc.
There was no objection.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, these two amendments are so
important, I believe, to a future in Afghanistan and around the world
that I first express my appreciation to the chairman of the committee
and the ranking member for listening to my concerns and having their
own commitment to human rights, recognizing that we will not begin the
21st century in the right way as long as we put children to war.
Children are at war around the world. Clearly, there are hundreds of
thousands of children who are put at war. And might I again refer us to
this wonderful face, this wonderful young girl, because girls and boys
are subjected to combat. I would simply ask, as we listen to this
debate and pass this legislation, that my colleagues support me in the
prohibition against using children as soldiers and combatants. These
children have no other future, no other opportunity, no other goals, no
other challenges, no other hope. That is what we do to children when we
put them in combat for our disputes.
I believe children must get the best possible start in life. Their
survival and protection, as well as their growth, are the essential
foundation for proper human development. I believe we should fight for
them, and we should make a concerted effort to fight infectious
diseases, tackle major causes of malnutrition, and nurture children in
a safe environment that enables them to be physically healthy, mentally
alert, emotionally secure, socially competent, as well as able to
learn.
However, the experience of the past decade does not allow this.
Consequently, this confirms that the needs and rights of children must
be a priority. Every moment that we stand by and silently watch
Afghanistan crumble, more children will suffer and die. As I stated, my
amendments ask, in the first, to prohibit the use of children as
soldiers or combatants. My second amendment, amendment number 6, asks
that the President certify that this has not occurred and as well that
the money is limited.
One of the most deplorable developments in recent years has been the
increasing use of children as soldiers. What is frightening today is
the escalation of children used as fighters. Children soldiers are used
as lethal weapons. Children are used because they have advantages as
soldiers; they are easier to intimidate and do as they are told.
Children soldiers are also less likely than adults to run away or
demand salaries. Children who have grown up surrounded by violence see
this as a permanent way of life.
It is important to note that when schools are closed and families
fragmented, there are few influences that can compete with a child's
life. The military soldiering becomes their family. I believe children
deserve the greatest protection, but as child soldiers they are often
considered the most expendable.
There was a story recently about a child soldier in Afghanistan,
barely 12 years old, and he had started at age 8. As an example of
this, during the Iran-Iraq war, children soldiers were sent out ahead
in waves over mine fields.
Children have been used as soldiers by all warring factions
throughout 20 years of resistance and civil war in Afghanistan. Can we
not do better? Is there not a better role for children? Two generations
of Afghan children have been raised in a highly militarized culture. In
schools, both inside the country and refugee camps, textbooks and
teaching methods have used images of tanks, guns and bullets in
mathematics and reading classes.
On October 2, 2001, The New York Times reported that children as
young as 12 will be recruited as soldiers for the Taliban. I fear that
without this amendment the current Afghan crisis could see
unprecedented levels of conscription and mobilization of children.
In meeting with Chairman Karzai, let me say I believe he has the best
intent and the best opportunity to bring Afghanistan together. With the
amendment of the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the amendment
of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), and with this legislation,
we can secure Afghanistan and give him the support he needs, but at the
same time we have to make sure that the country knows that children at
war is wrong.
Children have become a direct participant in the war. Denied a
childhood, and often subjected to horrific violence, Afghan children
are serving as soldiers in current armed conflicts. These young
combatants participate in all aspects of contemporary warfare. They
wield AK-47s and M-16s on the front lines of combat. They serve, as I
said, as human mine detectors; they participate in suicide missions;
they carry supplies, and act as spies, messengers, or lookouts.
The primary reason for this or these amendments is to ensure that
this legislation moves forward in order to protect the innocent child.
Again, I bring my colleagues' attention to an innocent face. This is
the face for education and as well good health care and a good quality
of life.
I believe it is enormously important that we do what we can to
protect against child soldiers.
The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-
Lee) has expired.
(By unanimous consent, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas was allowed to
proceed for 1 additional minute.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, I have worked with the
chairperson and ranking member of this committee. I am so committed to
this issue that I really wanted to ensure that resources were kept from
Afghanistan on the basis of using child soldiers. However, I am fully
aware that it is important that any resource we have to help build this
country is not reserved, if you will, it is not limited, and that with
the confidence of having the legislation structured as it is, that this
would provide for enough reinforcement against using children as
combatants.
Madam Chairman, I rise today to speak for the children of
Afghanistan. We are blessed with the privileges of living in a country
as great as the United States. But we, too, often forget about the
millions of people around the world whose daily life is a struggle for
survival. In particular, the children of Afghanistan, who have seen the
unspeakable pain and agony of over twenty years of war and crimes that
have inflicted untold miseries.
I believe children must get the best possible start in life. their
survival and protection as well as their growth are the essential
foundation for proper human development. I believe that we should fight
for them. We should make a concerted effort to fight infectious
diseases, tackle major causes of malnutrition, and nurture children in
a safe environment that enables them to be physically healthy, mentally
alert, emotionally secure, socially competent as well as able to learn.
However, the experience of the past decade does not allow this.
Consequently, this confirms that the needs and rights of children must
be a priority. Every moment that we stand by and silently watch
Afghanistan crumble, more children suffer and die.
One of the most deplorable developments in recent years has been the
increasing use of young children as soldiers. What is frightening today
is that the escalation in the use of children as fighters.
Children soldiers are used as lethal weapons. Children are used
because they have advantages as soldiers. They are easier to
intimidate, and do as they are told. Children soldiers also are less
likely than adults to run away or demand salaries. Children who have
grown up surrounded by violence see this as a permanent way of life. It
is important to note that when schools are closed and families
fragmented, there are few influences that can compete with a child's
life. I believe that children deserve the greatest protection, but as
children soldiers they are often considered the most expendable. An
example of this was during the Iran-Iraq war, children soldiers were
sent out ahead in waves over minefields.
Children have been used as soldiers by all warring factions
throughout 20 years of resistance and civil war in Afghanistan. Two
generations of Afghan children have been raised in a highly militarized
`kalashnikov culture'. In schools, both inside the country and refugee
camps, textbooks and teaching methods have used images of tanks, guns
and bullets in mathematics and reading classes.
On October 2, 2001, The New York Times reported that children as
young as twelve were being recruited as soldiers for the Taliban. I
fear that without this amendment the current Afghan crisis could see
unprecedented
[[Page H2772]]
levels of conscription and mobilization of children.
In Afghanistan, children have become direct participants in the war.
Denied a childhood and often subjected to horrific violence, Afghan
children are serving as soldiers in current armed conflicts. These
young combatants participate in all aspects of contemporary warfare.
They wield AK-47s and M-16s on the front lines of combat. They serve as
human mine detectors. They, also, participate in suicide missions,
carry supplies. They act as spies, messengers or lookouts. The primary
reason for this is the fact that children are physically vulnerable and
easily intimidated, children typically make obedient soldiers. The
issue of child soldiers is shocking and horrifying. Both boys and girls
in Afghanistan, some as young as eight years old, are recruited (either
kidnapped or forced) to join armed groups.
As a society breaks down during conflict, children have no access to
school, and are driven from their homes. Worse yet, they are separated
them from their family. Afghan children perceive armed groups as their
best chance for survival. Others seek to escape from poverty. While
others join military forces to avenge family members who have been
killed.
This is why, I believe, the right to an education for children would
develop, not only, the child's personality, but all their talents and
mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. Education
serves as a much broader function. It gives shape and structure to a
child's life. Education can, also, instill community values, promote
justice and respect for human rights and enhance peace, stability and
interdependence.
Likewise, the psychological impact of the past twenty years has left
an immutable scar in over one million Afghan orphan's memories. Two
generations of Afghan children know only war, deprivation,
homelessness, hunger, suffering, and loss. In addition, there are
estimated to be between 10 and 15 million land mines scattered in the
landscape, exploding and injuring at a rate of 20 to 25 per day. They
kill or injure predominantly children who are sometimes victims of
mines disguised as toys. Can you think of how horrible it is living in
a country where any moment you could lose a leg or your life or a
child? Their future's seem bleak in a world that has largely forgotten
them. We need to help them.
The effects of armed conflict on child development accumulate and
interact with each other. The stage of physical, psychosocial,
cognitive and moral development that a child has reached directly
affects his or her ability to cope with these impacts.
We must promote the physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration of children affected by armed conflict.
Another important issue we must address, it that of children's
health. Thousands of children are killed every year as a direct result
of fighting, but many more die from malnutrition and disease caused or
increased by armed conflicts. The interruption of food supplies, the
destruction of food crops and agricultural infrastructures, the
disintegration of families and communities, the displacement of
populations, the destruction of health services and programs and of
water and sanitation systems all take a heavy toll on children.
Many die as a direct result of diminished food intake that causes
acute and severe malnutrition, while others, compromised by
malnutrition, become unable to resist common childhood diseases and
infections. Given their vulnerability, it is no surprise that around 2
million children are estimated to have died as a result of armed
conflict in the last decade.
Many of today's armed conflicts take place in some of the world's
poorest countries, where children are already vulnerable to
malnutrition and disease, and the onset of armed conflict increases
death rates up to 24 times. All children are at risk when conflicts
break out, but the most vulnerable are those who are under fire and
already malnourished.
In conjunction with a child's health is education. The right to
education for children should develop the child's personality, talents
and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. Education
serves as a much broader function. It gives shape and structure to
children's lives. It also can instill community values, promote justice
and respect for human rights and enhance peace, stability and
interdependence.
Education is particularly important during armed conflicts. While the
surrounding environment may be in chaos, schooling can represent a
sense of normalcy. School children have the chance to be with friends
and enjoy support and encouragement. They benefit from regular contacts
with teachers who can monitor their physical and pschological health.
Teachers can also help children to develop new skills and knowledge
that is necessary for survival and coping, including mine awareless,
negotiation and problem solving, and information about HIV/AIDS and
other health issues. Formal education also benefits the community as a
whole. The ability to carry on schooling in the most difficult
circumstances demonstrates confidence in the future: communities that
still have a school feel they have something durable and worthy of
protection.
Schools are targeted during war, in part because they have such high
profiles. In rural areas, the school building may be the only
substantial permanent structure, making it highly susceptible to
shelling, closure or looting.
The destruction of educational infrastructures represents one of the
greatest developments setbacks for countries affected by conflict.
Years of lost schooling and vocatiocal skills will take equivalent
years to replace and their absence imposes a greater vulnerability on
the ability of societies to recover after war.
Formal education is also generally at risk during war because it
relies on consistent funding and administrative support that is
difficult to sustain.
Even where services are maintained, however, education is usually of
lower quality. Funds are short and the supply of materials slow or
erratic. In addition, fear and disruption make it difficult to create
an atmosphere conductive to learning and the morale of both teachers
and pupils is likely to be low.
Though still inadequate, relief programs direct most attention in
times of armed conflict to the education of refugee children. This is
party because, when children are massed together in camps, it is easier
to approximate a classroom situation. In some countries, this reality
simply reflects the dominance of inflexible formal education systems
that persist despite growing doubts about this quality, relevance and
content. Insufficient attention to the education needs of non-refugees
during armed conflict is also attributable to the fact that some of the
donors most active during conflicts are constrainted by their mandates
to work exclusively with refugees. Other donors have been reluctant to
use emergency funds for what they interpret as long-term development
activities.
When children have been forced to leave their homes and are crowed
into displaced camps, re-establishing schooling systems as soon as
possible reassures everyone by signaling a degree of stability and a
return to normal roles and relationships within the family and the
community.
As Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am always
concerned about the welfare of children here and abroad, because
children are our future.
World leaders have made a joint commitment and issue an universal
appeal to give children a better future. Children's rights are an
effective rallying point.
A world fit for children is one in which all children get the best
possible start in life and have access to a quality basic education.
All children must have an ample opportunity to develop their individual
capacities in a safe and supportive environment.
I was always taught that the family is the basic unit of society and
as such should be strengthened. The primary responsibility for the
protection, upbringing and development of children rests with the
family.
War violates every right of a child--the right to life, the right to
be with family and community, the right to health, the right to
development of personality and the right to be nurtured and protected.
This bill does not specifically address the crisis of children
soldiers or the need for basic education for children or their health
in Afghanistan.
I have, therefore, proposed four amendments to be added to the bill
for the protection and education for children:
(1) prohibit the use of children as soldiers or combatants;
(2) require the President to determine and certify that the
Government of Afghanistan is not using children as soldiers or
combatants.
(3) would put emphasis on basic education and health care for
children who are orphans.
(4) would emphasize basic education for children.
I therefore urge my fellow members to vote for these amendments.
Modification to Amendment Nos. 5 and 6 Offered by Ms. Jackson-Lee of
Texas
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to
modify my amendment, which would mean withdrawing amendment number 6,
and that is the amendment that deals with the certification by the
President and the limitation of funds.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will report the modification.
The Clerk read as follows:
Modification to amendment Nos. 5 and 6 offered by Ms.
Jackson-Lee of Texas:
Strike the portion of the amendment that was originally
printed in the Congressional Record as amendment No. 6
The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the modification offered by the
gentlewoman from Texas is accepted.
There was no objection.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the last word, and I am
[[Page H2773]]
pleased, on behalf of the majority, to accept the gentlewoman's
amendment number 5. It makes a worthy addition to the bill, and I
appreciate her withdrawing amendment number 6.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words, and on behalf of the Democratic side I want to accept the
gentlewoman's amendment, and I want to commend her for her
indefatigable support for children everywhere.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. LANTOS. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, before taking this vote, I
just wish to thank both gentlemen very much.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendments, as modified, offered
by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
The question was taken; and the Chairman announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Chairman, I demand a recorded vote,
and pending that, I make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings
on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-
Lee) will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
Amendment Offered by Ms. Waters
Ms. WATERS. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment offered by Ms. Waters:
Page 30, after line 8, add the following (and conform the
table of contents accordingly):
TITLE III--ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO ASSISTANCE FOR
AFGHANISTAN
SEC. 301. GENERAL PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE.
Notwithstanding any provision contained in title I or II of
this Act, assistance authorized by this Act may not be
provided to any agency or instrumentality of the Government
of Afghanistan, or any other individual (including an
individual who exercises civil power by force over a limited
region) or organization in Afghanistan, that is engaged in
poppy cultivation or illicit narcotics growth, production, or
trafficking, unless the agency, instrumentality, individual,
or organization (as the case may be) agrees to cease the
poppy cultivation or illicit narcotics growth, production, or
trafficking (as the case may be).
SEC. 302. PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES INVOLVEMENT IN POPPY
CULTIVATION OR ILLICIT NARCOTICS GROWTH,
PRODUCTION, OR TRAFFICKING.
No officer or employee of any Federal department or agency
who is involved in the provision of assistance under this Act
may knowingly encourage or participate in poppy cultivation
or illicit narcotics growth, production, or trafficking in
Afghanistan. No United States military or civilian aircraft
or other United States vehicle that is used with respect to
the provision of assistance under this Act may be used to
facilitate the distribution of poppies or illicit narcotics
in Afghanistan.
SEC. 303. REQUIREMENT TO REPORT BY CERTAIN UNITED STATES
OFFICIALS.
(a) Requirement.--An officer or employee of any Federal
department or agency involved in the provision of assistance
under this Act and having knowledge of facts or circumstances
that reasonably indicate that any agency or instrumentality
of the Government of Afghanistan, or any other individual
(including an individual who exercises civil power by force
over a limited region) or organization in Afghanistan, that
receives assistance under this Act is involved in poppy
cultivation or illicit narcotics growth, production, or
trafficking shall, notwithstanding any memorandum of
understanding or other agreement to the contrary, report such
knowledge or facts to the appropriate official.
(b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
official'' means the Attorney General, the Inspector General
of the Federal department or agency involved, or the head of
such department or agency.
SEC. 304. REPORT BY THE PRESIDENT.
Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall
transmit to Congress a written report on the progress of the
Government of Afghanistan toward the eradication of poppy
cultivation, the disruption of heroin production, and the
reduction of the overall supply and demand for illicit
narcotics in Afghanistan in accordance with the provisions of
this Act.
Ms. WATERS (during the reading). Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the
Record.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman
from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. WATERS. Madam Chairman, I rise to speak in favor of my amendment
to H.R. 3994, the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002, but first I
would like to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Hyde), and the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos), for the work that they have done to bring this comprehensive
piece of legislation to the floor. I think it has been well structured
and that it speaks well to our intentions. And I think that the people
of Afghanistan, for the most part, are going to be very, very pleased
to receive the assistance that is so indicated in this bill.
Madam Chairman, my amendment would ensure that the United States
government policies in Afghanistan work to eliminate the harmful
trafficking and illegal drugs that destroy communities throughout the
world. My amendment has been structured so that it is in 4 sections.
The amendment would prohibit foreign assistance to any Afghan agency,
organization, warlord, or other individual who is engaged in poppy
cultivation or the growth, production, or trafficking of illegal drugs
unless there is an agreement to cease all poppy cultivation or drug
trafficking activities.
I know this portion of my amendment is going to present some
concerns, because, on the one hand, how do you uplift this devastated
nation and begin to get them out of poppy cultivation; how do you deal
with the many factions who have been involved in the cultivation as the
only way that they know to earn a living and, at the same time, say to
them that we will not help them if they are involved? This portion of
the amendment would simply say that we raise it as a concern and have
people respond to say, okay, I will not do it any more. And that allows
them to get the assistance that we would like to give them.
This does not prohibit this country from exercising its assistance,
but it simply gets all of those agencies and individuals understanding
that this is a top priority of this government; that we would like to
stop the cultivation and trafficking of illegal drugs. That is section
301.
Section 302 would prohibit Federal officers and employees who are
involved in the provision of assistance under this bill from
encouraging or participating in drug trafficking activities in
Afghanistan. It would also prohibit the use of American aircraft and
any other vehicles to facilitate the distribution of poppies and
illegal drugs.
There are some people who would look at this portion of my amendment
and say, well, no one representing our country would be involved in
assisting with drug trafficking, no one would use our aircraft, no one
would be involved in distribution. Let me just say to my colleagues, we
all know enough now about trafficking and illegal drugs to know that
many innocent people get caught up in drug trafficking because it is so
lucrative. Many folks just lose their sense of what they are all about
when they get thrown into situations where there is drug trafficking
all around them, and some are tempted to take a chance, to try
something. We want to send the message that we do not want anybody that
we are putting on the ground in Afghanistan to take a chance, to be
tempted to get involved.
The other portion of the amendment would require all Federal officers
and employees who are involved in the provision of assistance under
this bill to report known or suspected drug trafficking activities by
recipients of foreign assistance in Afghanistan to the appropriate
authorities.
Why am I doing this? Because I try and learn from our experiences. I
spent almost 3 years dealing with the drug trafficking aspect of the
war that we were engaged in when the Contras were fighting the
Sandinistas down in Nicaragua. We discovered several things: We
discovered that the warring factions on both sides, the Contras and the
Sandinistas, were involved in drug trafficking, and we kind of turned a
blind eye. It was just a way of doing things.
The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Waters) has expired.
(By unanimous consent, Ms. Waters was allowed to proceed for 1
additional minute.)
Ms. WATERS. So, Madam Chairman, we want to discourage that.
[[Page H2774]]
And, finally, the amendment would require the President to submit an
annual report toward the eradication of poppy cultivation and the
elimination of drug trafficking activities in Afghanistan.
Let me just say that with all of the information that we have about
what went on down in Nicaragua, too many people were involved. There
was a Memorandum of Understanding between the CIA and the Justice
Department that they did not have to support drug trafficking. We think
we have done away with that, but we want to assure that we do not make
the same kinds of mistakes as we move in to help this devastated
country.
They need us and we need to do the right thing.
{time} 1715
I think that we can change this country. We can change the direction.
We can help very, very poor people in a devastated country. We can
improve education. We can improve the infrastructure. But let us do it
without drugs and drug trafficking being a part of it. We do not need
the assistance of drugs in doing all of this.
I would ask for an ``aye'' vote on my amendment.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
If I might address the gentlewoman from California, I believe she
understands that we support the gentlewoman's amendment, except section
301 as originally offered because of difficulties in interpretation and
implementation. We are prepared to accept the remainder of the
gentlewoman's amendment and praise it as a worthy addition to the bill.
But I cannot accept 301 as originally offered. If the gentlewoman has a
modification of that, we would be pleased to accept that.
Ms. WATERS. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. HYDE. I yield to the gentlewoman from California.
Ms. WATERS. Yes. Let me just say that 301 as originally authored did
not have the proviso in it that said unless there is an agreement to
seize all poppy cultivation or drug trafficking activities, which
modifies the original 301 which did not have that in there. This would
simply say that they could get assistance if they simply agree that
they will not continue the activities as we know it. Is that what the
gentleman is referring to?
Mr. HYDE. Does the gentlewoman have a modification she wishes to
offer in lieu of section 301 as originally filed? A modified amendment?
Ms. WATERS. Yes, I do.
Mr. HYDE. Very well. If the gentlewoman will offer it.
I thank the Gentlewoman from California for her remarks. As you know,
the underlying bill recognizes that local authorities in various
regions of Afghanistan need incentives to cooperate in illicit
narcotics eradication and provides assistance to opium growing regions.
Such assistance, other than for humanitarian purposes, is to be
transferred away from these opium-growing regions where the authorities
don't cooperate in narcotics suppression activities.
I agree with the provisions in the Gentlewoman's amendment that
require United States officials to report knowledge of any involvement
in illicit narcotics growth, production or trafficking by beneficiaries
of this Act. Similarly, I support the report requirement on the
Afghanistan government's progress in the eradication and reduction of
supply of illicit narcotics. It also goes without saying that the
prohibition of United States' involvement in the illicit narcotics
trade is a measure that we all support vigorously.
I do not support Section 301 of the amendment, however. This section
provides, without qualification, that all assistance would be cut off
to any official entity in Afghanistan that is involved in the illicit
drug trade. Arguably, aid would be ceased to any entity if one person
within that organization is determined to be involved in the drug
trade. All innocent beneficiaries of the aid would then be prohibited
from receiving assistance.
Additionally, while this section raises a valid concern on its face,
it is impossible to monitor. It virtually would require that each
individual involved in the aid process would have to be certified as to
not being involved in the drug trade. There is no standard or process
outlined for determining who is involved in illicit narcotics and to
what extent. As written, it could also cut off humanitarian and
counter-narcotics aid--which is contrary to the intent of the bill. I
also believe that the amendment does not provide for the flexibility
that the President needs in this effort.
The people of Afghanistan need to be rewarded for the progress that
has been made in this effort--not punished. Certainly, we don't want to
give aid to anyone involved in the drug trade, and this legislation has
already been crafted with several mechanisms that would divert the aid
in the event that it is determined to be going to an area which is not
cooperating with these eradication efforts.
I am happy to support the Gentlewoman on the remaining portion of her
amendment.
In no way in accepting this modified amendment do we concede there
has been any evidence that the federal government here or anywhere else
around the globe has ever been engaged in drug trafficking.
Modification to Amendment Offered by Ms. Waters
Ms. WATERS. Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the
amendment be modified in the form at the desk.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will report the modification.
The Clerk read as follows:
Modification to amendment offered by Ms. Waters:
Page 30, after line 8, add the following (and conform the
table of contents accordingly):
TITLE III--ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO ASSISTANCE FOR
AFGHANISTAN
SEC. 301. PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES INVOLVEMENT IN POPPY
CULTIVATION OR ILLICIT NARCOTICS GROWTH,
PRODUCTION, OR TRAFFICKING.
No officer or employee of any Federal department or agency
who is involved in the provision of assistance under this Act
may knowingly encourage or participate in poppy cultivation
or illicit narcotics growth, production, or trafficking in
Afghanistan. No United States military or civilian aircraft
or other United States vehicle that is used with respect to
the provision of assistance under this Act may be used to
facilitate the distribution of poppies or illicit narcotics
in Afghanistan.
SEC. 302. REQUIREMENT TO REPORT BY CERTAIN UNITED STATES
OFFICIALS.
(a) Requirement.--An officer or employee of any Federal
department or agency involved in the provision of assistance
under this Act and having knowledge of facts or circumstances
that reasonably indicate that any agency or instrumentality
of the Government of Afghanistan, or any other individual
(including an individual who exercises civil power by force
over a limited region) or organization in Afghanistan, that
receives assistance under this Act is involved in poppy
cultivation or illicit narcotics growth, production, or
trafficking shall, notwithstanding any memorandum of
understanding or other agreement to the contrary, report such
knowledge or facts to the appropriate official.
(b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
official'' means the Attorney General, the Inspector General
of the Federal department or agency involved, or the head of
such department or agency.
SEC. 303. REPORT BY THE PRESIDENT.
Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall
transmit to Congress a written report on the progress of the
Government of Afghanistan toward the eradication of poppy
cultivation, the disruption of heroin production, and the
reduction of the overall supply and demand for illicit
narcotics in Afghanistan in accordance with the provisions of
this Act.
Ms. WATERS (during the reading). Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent that the amendment, as modified, be considered as read and
printed in the Record.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman
from California?
There was no objection.
The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the amendment is modified.
There was no objection.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
I want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) for her
interest and concern on this issue and for her tireless efforts on
behalf of the poor and disenfranchised not only in Afghanistan but
around the world, and on our side we strongly support her modified
amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment, as modified, offered
by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).
The question was taken; and the Chairman announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. WATERS. Madam Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings
on the amendment, as modified, offered by the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Waters) will be postponed.
[[Page H2775]]
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
I want to take this opportunity to highlight one of the most
important aspects of this legislation, which is that it creates a
separate account and authorizes additional funds for Afghanistan. Until
now, Madam Chairman, funding for Afghanistan has been carved out of
existing programs with cuts in important programs in other parts of the
world.
What this legislation has done, and I want to commend our
distinguished chairman for his idea, is to establish a new account with
new money to fund the relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of
Afghanistan. So we do not have to dip into child survival funds or
other accounts to fund health or education or reconstruction programs
in Afghanistan.
With Chairman Hyde's bill, we no longer have to rob Peter to pay
Paul; or more appropriately, we do not have to take funds from health
programs in India or elsewhere in the world to provide health services
for women in Afghanistan. We do not have to choose between HIV/AIDS in
Honduras or education in Afghanistan.
I want to commend my friend, Chairman Hyde, for his foresight and his
leadership in bringing new ideas and new resources to this important
undertaking. I will work closely with him and with the other body to
ensure that this additional provision is included in their version of
the legislation.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. LANTOS. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.
Mr. HYDE. Madam Chairman, I just want to say two things: number one,
I want to thank the gentleman for his superb cooperation and concede
that so much would not be done in our committee without the gentleman's
cooperation and enlightened farsightedness.
Let me say, number two, your staff and my staff are superbly
qualified people who make this place work, and I salute all of them.
Mr. LANTOS. I thank my good friend for his very generous statement.
Madam Chairman, I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity
to thank all of the staff who have worked on the Afghanistan Freedom
Support Act. Their efforts have been truly bipartisan in the best
tradition of this body.
I want to acknowledge the work of Peter Smith, Hillel Weinberg, Steve
Rademaker, and Walker Roberts on the staff of Chairman Hyde. On the
Democratic staff of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia,
David Adams has made many contributions to this legislation. In
particular, I want to thank the members of my own staff who have worked
so tirelessly on this important bill. Nisha Desai has been creatively
and actively engaged on this legislation from the very beginning. I
want to pay special tribute to her efforts. Our Democratic chief
counsel, David Abramowitz, has shown his usual careful attention to
detail and made important contributions to the quality of our
legislation. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of Peter Yeo, David
Fite, Carol Doherty, Keith O'Neil, and Matt Gobush of the Democratic
staff. I want to express my personal appreciation to our extraordinary
chief of staff, Dr. Bob King.
It is not often that a piece of legislation involves so many staff on
both sides, but I think in this instance it is an indication of the
importance of this issue and it is reflected in the quality of the
legislation we have produced which would not have been possible without
Chairman Hyde's leadership.
Sequential Votes Postponed in Committee of the Whole
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, proceedings will
now resume on those amendments on which proceedings were postponed in
the following order: the amendment offered by the gentleman from
California (Mr. Lantos); amendment Nos. 5 and 6 offered en bloc, as
modified to consist of amendment No. 5 offered by the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee); and the amendment, as modified, offered by the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).
The Chair will reduce to 5 minutes the time for any electronic vote
after the first vote in this series.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Lantos
The CHAIRMAN. The pending business is the demand for a recorded vote
on the amendment offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)
on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes
prevailed by voice vote.
The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The Clerk designated the amendment.
Recorded Vote
The CHAIRMAN. A recorded vote has been demanded.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 407,
noes 4, not voting 23, as follows:
[Roll No. 179]
AYES--407
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Akin
Allen
Andrews
Armey
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldacci
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Boozman
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (TX)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Brown (SC)
Bryant
Burr
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Collins
Combest
Condit
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
Culberson
Cummings
Cunningham
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
DeMint
Diaz-Balart
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Farr
Fattah
Ferguson
Filner
Flake
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Frank
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gephardt
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Graves
Green (TX)
Green (WI)
Grucci
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Harman
Hart
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Horn
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Israel
Issa
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kennedy (RI)
Kerns
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kleczka
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Luther
Lynch
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Markey
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller, Dan
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Miller, Jeff
Mink
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Myrick
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Owens
Oxley
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pomeroy
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Rehberg
Reyes
Reynolds
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Ross
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Schaffer
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrock
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Solis
Souder
Spratt
Stark
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stump
Stupak
Sullivan
Sununu
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
[[Page H2776]]
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Toomey
Towns
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watson (CA)
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NOES--4
Goode
Hostettler
Jones (NC)
Paul
NOT VOTING--23
Blagojevich
Bonior
Borski
Brady (PA)
Burton
Cannon
Conyers
Deutsch
Emerson
Greenwood
Kirk
Lewis (GA)
Mascara
Menendez
Murtha
Nadler
Pombo
Riley
Smith (MI)
Snyder
Traficant
Watkins (OK)
Watts (OK)
{time} 1748
Mr. JONES of North Carolina changed his vote from ``aye'' to ``no.''
So the amendment was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Announcement by the Chairman
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, the Chair announces
that she will reduce to a minimum of 5 minutes the period of time
within which a vote by electronic device will be taken on each
amendment on which the Chair has postponed further proceedings.
Amendments No. 5 and No. 6, as Modified, Offered by Ms. Jackson-Lee of
Texas
The CHAIRMAN. The pending business is the demand for a recorded vote
on Amendment No. 5 offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-
Lee) on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes
prevailed by voice vote.
The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
The Clerk redesignated the amendment.
recorded vote
The CHAIRMAN. A recorded vote has been demanded.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 413,
noes 0, not voting 21, as follows:
[Roll No. 180]
AYES--413
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Akin
Allen
Andrews
Armey
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldacci
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Boozman
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (TX)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Brown (SC)
Bryant
Burr
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Collins
Combest
Condit
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
Culberson
Cummings
Cunningham
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
DeMint
Diaz-Balart
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Farr
Fattah
Ferguson
Filner
Flake
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Frank
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gephardt
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Graves
Green (TX)
Green (WI)
Grucci
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Harman
Hart
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Israel
Issa
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kennedy (RI)
Kerns
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kleczka
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Luther
Lynch
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Markey
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller, Dan
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Miller, Jeff
Mink
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Myrick
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Owens
Oxley
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Paul
Payne
Pelosi
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pomeroy
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Rehberg
Reyes
Reynolds
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Ross
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Schaffer
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrock
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Solis
Souder
Spratt
Stark
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stump
Stupak
Sullivan
Sununu
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Toomey
Towns
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watson (CA)
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NOT VOTING--21
Blagojevich
Bonior
Borski
Brady (PA)
Burton
Cannon
Conyers
Deutsch
Emerson
Greenwood
Lewis (GA)
Mascara
Menendez
Murtha
Nadler
Pombo
Riley
Snyder
Traficant
Watkins (OK)
Watts (OK)
{time} 1756
So the amendments, as modified, were agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Amendment, As Modified, Offered by Ms. Waters of California
The CHAIRMAN. The pending business is the demand for a recorded vote
on the amendment, as modified, offered by the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Waters) on which further proceedings were postponed and
on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote.
The Clerk will designate the amendment, as modified.
The Clerk designated the amendment, as modified.
Recorded Vote
The CHAIRMAN. A recorded vote has been demanded.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 412,
noes 0, not voting 22, as follows:
[Roll No. 181]
AYES--412
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Akin
Allen
Andrews
Armey
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldacci
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Boozman
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (TX)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Brown (SC)
Bryant
Burr
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Collins
Combest
Condit
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
Culberson
Cummings
Cunningham
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
DeMint
Diaz-Balart
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
[[Page H2777]]
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Farr
Fattah
Ferguson
Filner
Flake
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Frank
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gephardt
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Graves
Green (TX)
Green (WI)
Grucci
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Harman
Hart
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Israel
Issa
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kennedy (RI)
Kerns
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kleczka
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Luther
Lynch
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Markey
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller, Dan
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Miller, Jeff
Mink
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Myrick
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Owens
Oxley
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Paul
Payne
Pelosi
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pomeroy
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Rehberg
Reyes
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Ross
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Schaffer
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrock
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Solis
Souder
Spratt
Stark
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stump
Stupak
Sullivan
Sununu
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Toomey
Towns
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watson (CA)
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NOT VOTING--22
Blagojevich
Bonior
Borski
Brady (PA)
Burton
Cannon
Conyers
Deutsch
Emerson
Greenwood
Lewis (GA)
Mascara
Menendez
Murtha
Nadler
Pombo
Reynolds
Riley
Snyder
Traficant
Watkins (OK)
Watts (OK)
{time} 1805
So the amendment, as modified, was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there further amendments to the bill? If not, the
question is on the Committee amendment in the nature of a substitute,
as amended.
The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute, as amended,
was agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN. Under the rule, the Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Simpson) having assumed the chair, Mrs. Biggert, Chairman of the
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3994) to
authorize economic and democratic development assistance for
Afghanistan and to authorize military assistance for Afghanistan and
certain other foreign countries, pursuant to House Resolution 419, she
reported the bill back to the House with an amendment adopted by the
Committee of the Whole.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment to the committee
amendment in the nature of a substitute adopted by the Committee of the
Whole? If not, the question is on the amendment.
The amendment was agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this vote
will be followed by three 5-minute votes on motions to suspend the
rules on which further proceedings were postponed yesterday.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 390,
noes 22, not voting 22, as follows:
[Roll No. 182]
AYES--390
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Akin
Allen
Andrews
Armey
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldacci
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett
Barton
Bass
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Boozman
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (TX)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Brown (SC)
Bryant
Burr
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Combest
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
Culberson
Cummings
Cunningham
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
DeMint
Diaz-Balart
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Ferguson
Filner
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Frank
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gephardt
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Graves
Green (TX)
Green (WI)
Grucci
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hansen
Harman
Hart
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Horn
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Israel
Issa
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kennedy (RI)
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kleczka
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Luther
Lynch
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Markey
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller, Dan
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Mink
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Myrick
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Owens
Oxley
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pomeroy
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
[[Page H2778]]
Regula
Rehberg
Reyes
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Ross
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Schaffer
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrock
Scott
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Solis
Souder
Spratt
Stark
Stenholm
Strickland
Stump
Stupak
Sullivan
Sununu
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Toomey
Towns
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watson (CA)
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NOES--22
Bartlett
Berry
Coble
Collins
Condit
Deal
Duncan
Everett
Flake
Goode
Hall (TX)
Hostettler
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Kerns
Miller, Jeff
Norwood
Paul
Sensenbrenner
Stearns
Taylor (NC)
Terry
NOT VOTING--22
Blagojevich
Bonior
Borski
Brady (PA)
Burton
Cannon
Conyers
Deutsch
Emerson
Greenwood
Lewis (GA)
Mascara
Menendez
Murtha
Nadler
Pombo
Reynolds
Riley
Snyder
Traficant
Watkins (OK)
Watts (OK)
{time} 1825
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________