[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 11, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H339-H343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING CZECH REPUBLIC PRESIDENT VACLAV HAVEL

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 22) honoring Czech Republic 
President Vaclav Havel.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 22

       Whereas Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic, is 
     widely respected throughout the world as a proponent of 
     democratic principles;
       Whereas Vaclav Havel's superb skills as a playwright and 
     essayist helped promote democracy in Eastern Europe during 
     the Cold War;
       Whereas the plays of Vaclav Havel were instrumental in 
     bringing international attention to the struggle for 
     democracy in Czechoslovakia;
       Whereas Vaclav Havel was imprisoned three times for his 
     efforts to promote democratic thought and reforms in 
     communist Czechoslovakia, yet maintained his convictions 
     throughout;
       Whereas Vaclav Havel was a cofounder of the human rights 
     organization Charter 77 and the Committee for the Defense of 
     the Unjustly Prosecuted;
       Whereas Vaclav Havel, as leader of the Civic Forum 
     movement, was a key figure in the 1989 bloodless overthrow of 
     the Czechoslovakian communist government known as the Velvet 
     Revolution;
       Whereas following the Velvet Revolution, Vaclav Havel was 
     elected by the people as President of the Czech and Slovak 
     Federal Republic in 1990, and following a peaceful split 
     forming two separate states, elected President of the Czech 
     Republic in 1993;
       Whereas under the leadership of Vaclav Havel, the Czech 
     Republic has been an important and valued member of the world 
     community;

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       Whereas under the leadership of Vaclav Havel, the Czech 
     Republic became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization (NATO) on March 12, 1999;
       Whereas during Vaclav Havel's time in office, the economy 
     of the Czech Republic has become one of the most developed in 
     Eastern Europe;
       Whereas today, the Czech Republic is a valuable ally of the 
     United States in the war against terrorism;
       Whereas Vaclav Havel has been praised as one of the world's 
     great democratic leaders and has been awarded many 
     international prizes recognizing his commitment to peace and 
     democratic principles; and
       Whereas Vaclav Havel will step down as President of the 
     Czech Republic on February 2, 2003: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) honors the life-long commitment of Czech Republic 
     President Vaclav Havel to human rights and democracy;
       (2) recognizes the exceptional achievements of Vaclav Havel 
     as playwright and president; and
       (3) congratulates Vaclav Havel for his outstanding service 
     to the people of the Czech Republic.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 22, the resolution under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nebraska?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This Member rises today in strong support of H. Con. Res. 22, a 
resolution honoring Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel. The 
resolution was introduced by the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Kind), and this Member is pleased to be an original cosponsor. 
This resolution seeks to recognize, congratulate, and honor President 
Havel for a combination of 13 years of extraordinary service, first as 
President of Czechoslovakia and second, since 1993, as President of the 
Czech Republic. The Constitution of the Czech Republic allows a 
president to serve only two consecutive 5-year terms, and the United 
States House of Representatives would like, therefore, to honor 
President Havel upon the occasion of the end of his term of service on 
February 2 of this year.
  Nearly 13 years ago, on February 21, 1990, President Vaclav Havel 
addressed a joint session of the United States Congress in this very 
room. This occasion was less than 4 months after his last arrest by 
what he characterized as ``the most conservative Communist government 
in Europe,'' and less than 2 months after Vaclav Havel had been elected 
President of Czechoslovakia, in December 1989, by a parliament still 
dominated by members of the Communist party.
  During his inspirational speech to the joint session of Congress, 
President Havel said many things that made many Members of Congress 
realize they were not listening to just another political leader of a 
foreign country. President Havel, in his speech, was discussing what 
his country, and all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe that 
had suffered throughout the Cold War, could learn from the United 
States. He also suggested that perhaps his country could offer 
something to the United States. In his speech, he stated ``We too can 
offer something to you: our experience and the knowledge that has come 
from it. This is a subject for books, many of which have already been 
written and many of which have yet to be written. I shall therefore 
limit myself to a single idea. The experience I'm talking about has 
given me one great certainty: Consciousness precedes being, and not the 
other way around, as Marxists claim.''
  In explaining that axiom, Havel went on in his speech to explain 
that: ``The only genuine backbone of all of our actions, if they are to 
be moral, is responsibility. Responsibility is something higher than 
our family, my country, my company, my success. Responsibility to the 
order of being where all of our actions are indelibly recorded and only 
where they will be improperly judged. The interpreter or mediator 
between us and this higher authority is what is traditionally referred 
to as human conscience. If I subordinate my political behavior to this 
imperative mediated to me by my conscience, I can't go far wrong.''

  He went on to say that it is this responsibility dictated by his 
conscience which caused him to ultimately decide, after resisting for a 
long time, to accept the burden of political responsibility. In other 
words, he saw it as a responsibility to accept the presidency of 
Czechoslovakia. In a related noteworthy admonition to intellectuals in 
every country he reminded that ``If the hope of the world lies in human 
consciousness, then it is obvious that intellectuals can't go on 
forever avoiding their share of the responsibility for the world and 
hiding their distaste for politics under an alleged need for 
independence.''
  As a playwright and essayist, Vaclav Havel was a leading figure of 
the dissident movement against the totalitarian system of the Communist 
regime in Czechoslovakia. He was a founder of Charter 77, the 
underground movement seeking freedom of expression and association, and 
the basic protection of civic and human rights. He wrote the essay, 
``The Power of the Powerless,'' in which he called upon ordinary 
citizens to live in truth against a totalitarian regime. For his 
various civic reform efforts, he received multiple prison sentences and 
served a total of almost 5 years imprisoned by the Communist regime.
  During the events of November-December 1989, which have come to be 
known as the Velvet Revolution, Vaclav Havel helped form the Civic 
Forum, a broad coalition of dissident groups, which was the first legal 
opposition movement in Communist Czechoslovakia. By the end of that 
year, through a ``bloodless revolution,'' 41 years of Communist 
dictatorship peacefully came to an end when Vaclav Havel was elected 
President.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I count it a great personal privilege and honor to 
represent perhaps more Czech-Americans than any Member of Congress. 
Most of them came to the rolling prairies of Nebraska and the prairie 
States in the 1870s and 1880s to own their own land and to farm the 
soil. Other Czechs and Slovaks came to the larger cities of the 
Midwest, places like Omaha, during the first two decades of the 20th 
century.
  While their Americanization had occurred several generations ago, 
these Czech-Americans continued to follow closely, and I would say with 
great anguish, the totalitarian conditions of people in their old 
homelands of the past. It was, therefore, a particular pleasure for me 
to watch these Czech-Americans gather in the public meeting places, the 
restaurants, the bars, and in their homes to watch with amazement and 
great pride on television the rapid and peaceful Velvet Revolution, 
which finally ended the Communist stranglehold, to reclaim the 
democracy that Czechoslovakia had enjoyed only for the brief period 
between two World Wars.
  Vaclav Havel epitomized this return to Czech democracy for both his 
countrymen and the Americans who watched and marveled at the success of 
the Velvet Revolution and Havel's leadership, which demonstrated the 
very best in intellectual and humane leadership.
  Since then, President Havel has been an extraordinary politician, 
leading his country and the countries of Eastern Europe into a future 
of freedom, democracy, and security. He was probably the foremost 
proponent in Europe of allowing the former countries of the Warsaw Pact 
to join NATO. On March 12, 1999, his vision was made a reality when the 
Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary became members of the Alliance. And 
just last November, his country was honored by hosting the first NATO 
Summit held behind the former Iron Curtain in Prague, where seven 
additional countries of Eastern Europe were invited to join the 
Alliance.
  Because parliamentarians from the 19 NATO countries have honored me 
with the leadership in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, I was 
privileged to be present at the NATO Prague Summit in November of last 
year. I think it was noteworthy that President Havel, in his host 
capacity as the dean of all the

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NATO heads of state and heads of government in length of service, was 
accorded an auspicious degree of affection and respect by his peers and 
other leaders of the Free World. That acclaim reflected not just his 
leadership for the Czech Republic but also recognized the moral 
leadership he has provided for all of the countries of Eastern and 
Central Europe that emerged from communism and, indeed, for the NATO 
Alliance as a whole.
  On January 30 of this year, just 2 days before he was to step down 
after 13 years as President, he was one of eight European heads of 
state or government from NATO countries to sign a letter expressing 
continued solidarity and support with and to the United States in the 
international fight against terrorism and for possible action against 
Iraq. The importance of that letter really cannot be overestimated, 
since it stood in mark contrast to the dissenting positions of four 
countries, France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.
  Two sentences sum up the essence of that letter and what is most 
essential in the transatlantic relationship. The statement said: ``The 
real bond between the U.S. and Europe is the values we share: 
democracy, individual freedom, human rights, and the rule of law. 
Today, more than ever, the transatlantic bond is a guarantee of our 
freedom.''

                              {time}  1500

  Vaclav Havel has been called an artist, an intellectual, the poet of 
democracy, and an international icon of integrity, wisdom and moral 
seriousness, and even ``the most extraordinary statesman who emerged 
from the struggle to overthrow communism in Eastern Europe.'' President 
Havel likes to say that in November 1989 when he was first told that he 
had been nominated as a candidate for the office of President of 
Czechoslovakia, he thought it was a joke. He thought who was he to be 
President of this new democracy.
  This Member is here today to thank President Havel for saying yes and 
accepting the office of President, including the challenge of politics 
and public service. By simply choosing to continue to fight for the 
ideals he fought for during the Cold War, democracy, freedom, human 
rights and the rule of law, by working tirelessly to include the new 
central and eastern European democracies into Europe and the alliance, 
and through his efforts directed toward reconciliation with the old 
enemies, he has elevated politics and public service, for his country, 
for Europe, for the trans-Atlantic alliance, and for the world.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member will quote from President Havel's first New 
Year's address to his nation, the newly free Czechoslovakia, on January 
1, 1990. President Havel spoke to his fellow citizens about the legacy 
of over 40 years of the Communist totalitarian system. He said, ``It 
would be quite unreasonable to understand the sad legacy of the last 40 
years as something alien, something bequeathed to us by some distant 
relative. On the contrary, we must accept this legacy as a sin we 
committed against ourselves. If we accept it as such, we will 
understand that it is up to us all, and up to us alone, to do something 
about it. We cannot blame the previous rulers for everything, not only 
because it would be untrue but also because it could blunt the duty 
each of us faces today, that is, the obligation to act independently, 
freely, reasonably, and quickly. Let us make no mistake: the best 
government in the world, the best parliament and the best president in 
the world cannot achieve much on their own. And it would also be wrong 
to expect a general remedy to come from them alone. Freedom and 
democracy require participation and therefore responsible action from 
us all.''
  Mr. Speaker, this Member joins his colleagues in paying tribute to 
Vaclav Havel for the vital, moral leadership and idealism he has 
brought to his service for the Czech Republic and to the community of 
Western democracies. For his countrymen and all of us in democratic 
nations, this leadership and focus on participatory democracy is in the 
best traditions of those heroes of the American democracy that we honor 
in this great capital city, Jefferson, Madison and others among our 
Founding Fathers. I urge support for the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I 
commend the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) for his powerful, 
eloquent, and thoughtful statement. I also would like to express my 
deep appreciation to the original sponsor and drafter of this most 
important resolution, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), who has 
shown his customary leadership by presenting this to us.
  Mr. Speaker, last week my good friend, Vaclav Havel, stepped down as 
President of the Czech Republic. Normally, Mr. Speaker, the return to 
private life of a democratically elected leader in Europe would not 
warrant a resolution from the Congress of the United States. But Vaclav 
Havel was no ordinary President, nor did he serve in ordinary times. 
Vaclav Havel, an outstanding artist, playwright, and the conscience of 
the Czech people during decades of Soviet domination, was a key player 
in the Velvet Revolution under which the Czech people peacefully 
replaced their communist dictators with an elected and inspiring 
leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, it was a true privilege to have been in Prague to 
witness one small part of this Velvet Revolution. Thirteen years ago, I 
had just arrived in Prague on an official mission with my good friend 
and colleague, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), his wife and 
my wife. Vaclav Havel and his allies had launched large public protests 
demanding democracy and an end to communist rule. As the gentleman from 
Missouri and I headed to a meeting, we encountered thousands of Prague 
residents in Wenceslas Square demonstrating in support of democracy and 
freedom. We jumped from the car and joined the Czech crowds waving 
signs and shouting ``Havel Na Hrad,'' Havel to the castle.
  The people of Prague were making a simple request, that Vaclav Havel 
be elected President so he could occupy the home of power and authority 
in Prague, the beautiful castle which stands on a hill overlooking the 
city.
  These massive demonstrations were a small part of a long process that 
brought about the Velvet Revolution. Several weeks later, I had the 
honor of leading congressional colleagues to a meeting with Vaclav 
Havel when he was already safely ensconced in the castle.
  President Havel did not let the Czech people down as their elected 
leader. He led the Czech nation through a difficult period of political 
and economic reform. As a result of his extraordinary leadership, 
Vaclav Havel presided over 13 years of growing Czech prestige and 
influence in international affairs. He devoted enormous thought and 
energy to bringing the Czech Republic into the community of Western 
democracies. Under his leadership, the Czech Republic joined NATO; and 
next year it is poised to join the European Union.
  President Havel has been an unwavering ally of the United States in 
the war on terrorism, and more recently in our struggle to disarm the 
regime of Saddam Hussein. This should come as no surprise. Vaclav Havel 
is a person of great moral authority and enormous personal courage. He 
devoted his political and artistic life to resisting the totalitarian 
state. He cofounded the human rights organization Charter 77 and the 
Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted. He was persecuted 
by communist authorities and repeatedly arrested. Once he was given the 
opportunity to emigrate, but he bravely chose imprisonment instead.
  As President, Havel continued to resist authoritarian dictators by 
supporting dissidents in Cuba, and just last November by denying the 
Belorusian dictator, Lukashenko, a visa to the NATO Summit in Prague. I 
have no doubt that my friend, President Havel, will continue to work to 
ensure that the merging independent nations of Central and Eastern 
Europe join the community of democratic nations.
  Mr. Speaker, it was a fitting end to President Havel's presidency 
that he and the Czech Republic were host to the historic NATO summit 
last November. The leaders of the world used the summit to pay tribute 
to the wisdom and leadership of Vaclav Havel and to

[[Page H342]]

his remarkable achievements as President. I was honored to be part of 
the U.S. delegation to the Prague summit; and as I celebrated with 
Vaclav Havel the success of NATO in the castle overlooking Prague, I 
was once again struck by Vaclav Havel's long and bold journey from a 
prisoner of conscience to becoming the conscience of Europe.
  I want to ask all of my colleagues to support this resolution 
commending a true friend of the United States, a leading intellectual 
figure in Europe, and a moral force sorely needed in Europe by 
supporting and voting for this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), the author of this legislation.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I commend the ranking member of the Committee 
on International Relations, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), 
and thank him for his leadership on a whole host of foreign policy 
issues. I also thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the 
chairman of the committee, and especially the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Bereuter) for the gentleman's help in offering this resolution, 
doing a Dear Colleague letter, and trying to inform the other Members 
of Congress of Mr. Havel's retirement.
  Mr. Speaker, a silly person once said that only silly people have 
heroes today. If that is true, this silly person is not afraid to admit 
that Vaclav Havel is one of my heroes.
  Today we honor Vaclav Havel who provided the moral force behind the 
Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989, and who stepped down as 
President of the Czech Republic just 1 week ago. If proof is needed 
that the pen is mightier than the sword, then Vaclav Havel is a 
veritable smoking gun.
  It is a magnificent irony that one of the most oppressive communist 
regimes in Eastern Europe would one day be led by a poet and 
playwright. But there is a tradition in this part of the world that 
intellectual integrity and independent art translate into raw political 
power. Mr. Havel provided the leadership through raw moral force that 
gave rise to the incredible and peaceful revolutionary movement which 
we now refer to as the Velvet Revolution.
  As uncompromising in his resistance to the totalitarian state as he 
is in his ironic plays, President Havel withstood censure, numerous 
imprisonments, and the muzzle to become the premier symbol of 
Czechoslovakian dissidence in the years after the Soviet Union crushed 
Prague back in 1968.
  He helped found the Charter 77 dissident movement, the moral 
blueprint for the revolution, and then formed the Civic Forum, the main 
opposition party in Czechoslovakia against the communist regime. 
Through his clashes with the authority, he was repeatedly sent to 
prison. His essays setting out his ideas on national resurgence in a 
totalitarian state, ``The Power of the Powerless,'' was widely studied 
inside and outside of Czechoslovakia.
  In it, he argued that citizens living ``in truth'' could successfully 
confront and overturn dictatorial rulers. For his views, the regime 
forced him in 1979 to choose between exile or 5 years in prison. He 
chose prison and his enduring stature is partly a result of that 
choice. He later collected the letters he wrote from prison to his wife 
in a widely read volume, ``Letters to Olga.''
  Mr. Speaker, as a recent graduate of law school back in 1990, I was 
in one of my short disillusioned states in regards to our own democracy 
at the time, but was watching with rapt attention the incredible frenzy 
of events in Eastern Europe leading to the collapse of the communist 
regimes and ultimately the collapse of the Berlin Wall. I had the 
opportunity to travel throughout Eastern Europe shortly after these 
revolutions took place. I spent a little time in Czechoslovakia where I 
was part of an international student group restoring some of the old 
castles in Czechoslovakia.

                              {time}  1515

  It was during that time, Mr. Speaker, when I also met other political 
heroes of mine. These were students approximately my age who were, just 
a few months previously, literally on the front lines of these 
demonstrations, literally staring down the guns of the Communist 
forces, knowing their history, but also not knowing whether this would 
be a repeat of the Prague Spring in 1968, which resulted in a bloody 
massacre.
  I met and stayed with many of these students and I asked them what 
they were thinking during that time, those fateful couple of weeks in 
November of 1989. They responded that two things stood out in their 
minds: one, how bitterly cold it was during those nights during the 
candlelight vigils, standing out in Wenceslas Square, snow coming down 
and they were all shivering; and, secondly, how terribly frightened 
they were.
  History now shows that by a vote of 5 to 4, the Communist Politburo 
decided not to order the troops to open fire on these demonstrators.
  It was a lot of these same students who would during the day go out 
into the countryside and into the homes and villages and town squares 
throughout Czechoslovakia, bringing news of the demonstrations and the 
movement building against the Communist regime. They understood that it 
required the support of the working families, the workers of 
Czechoslovakia, before the regime could ultimately be brought down.
  In the midst of all of this was their guiding force, Vaclav Havel, 
whom they held in high esteem, and still do today based on the 
correspondence that I have with them. It was an inspiring time for me 
to meet these young people and to understand that they realized that 
there were causes greater than themselves worth fighting for and 
perhaps worth dying for. It was literally their future that was on the 
line. Through the strength of their collective action, they achieved 
remarkable change throughout Eastern Europe.
  In 1989 and after, President Havel's genius was not just to harness 
popular resistance that peacefully overwhelmed the Communist regime; it 
was to understand that to take the trappings of leadership did not mean 
to betray his own humanity. He was not, however, immune to political 
defeat. He resigned temporarily rather than preside during the bitter 
separation of Czechoslovakia back in 1993. But internationally he 
shone. He led his country into NATO in 1999 and he has positioned them 
now to join the European Union next year, in 2004.
  When Havel left the presidency after 13 years, he left behind a 
legacy of individual moral authority. It is hard to find a defined 
political legacy. Instead, he leaves a sense that in the life of any 
nation, the character of its leaders do matter.
  They are still wrestling to find his replacement today in the Czech 
Republic. A great debate rages, even bickering is taking place, and, of 
course, the media and the press are more than eager to report on all of 
this in the Czech Republic.
  For those freedoms, for his service and his sacrifice and for his 
shining moral example, it is only right that the United States Congress 
pause in our normal duties of the day to give thanks and to pay tribute 
to one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, Vaclav Havel.
  I am sure all of my colleagues wish him much happiness throughout his 
retirement.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my friend from Wisconsin 
for a truly moving and powerful statement.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to join in commending the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) 
for his articulate statement and his initiative. This matter would have 
been taken up last week if it had not been for the schedule change 
because of the Columbia disaster.
  I urge strong support by all the Members for this resolution.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, Vaclav Havel is sometimes 
called the ``conscience of the Czech Republic.'' In fact, he could be 
called the conscience of the world. As both playwright and president, 
he has set an example for his country men and women and inspired others 
around the globe.
  As a Member serving on the Helsinki Commission, I first became aware 
of Vaclav Havel and his stance as a leader of the Charter '77

[[Page H343]]

human rights movement. At a time when most Czechoslovaks preferred to 
keep their heads low, he held his up. When others dared not speak out, 
he raised his voice. While others hid from communism in their 
apartments and weekend cottages, he faced it down in prison. In 
recognition of his extraordinary leadership and courage, the Commission 
leadership recommended him for the Nobel Peace Prize in February 1989.
  Vaclav Havel once wrote of the ``power of the powerless'' and, on 
November 17, 1989, when the Velvet Revolution began, the world saw that 
power manifested in reality.
  Mr. Speaker, Vaclav Havel is a man who has always been guided by the 
courage of his convictions. Remarkably, his courage did not fade upon 
his assumption of the presidency. Indeed, he is all the more heroic for 
his remaining steadfast to his commitment to human rights even from the 
comforts of the Prague Castle.
  From the beginning of his tenure, as he addressed his country's 
communist and totalitarian past, he was a voice of reason, not revenge. 
In 1993, he rightly identified the situation of Roma as ``a litmus test 
for civil society.'' Throughout his presidency, he has pardoned those 
facing criminal charges under communist-era laws that restrict free 
speech and have yet to be repealed. In 2001, he spoke out against the 
parliament's regressive religion law, which turned the clock back on 
religious freedom. He has raised human rights issues from Cuba to 
China. And, he has reminded other world leaders of our shared 
responsibility for the poor and less fortunate.
  H. Con. Res. 22 pays tribute to Vaclav Havel's singular compassion, 
integrity, and vision. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting a 
man who has given so much to his country and the world.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Otter). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
22.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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