[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 168 (Wednesday, November 19, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H11547-H11550]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TORTURE VICTIMS RELIEF REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2003
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 1813) to amend the Torture Victims Relief Act of
1998 to authorize appropriations to provide assistance for domestic and
foreign centers and programs for the treatment of victims of torture,
and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 1813
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Torture Victims Relief
Reauthorization Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR DOMESTIC
TREATMENT CENTERS FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 5(b)(1) of
the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2152 note)
is amended to read as follows:
``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--Of the amounts
authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Health
and Human Services for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, there are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a)
(relating to assistance for domestic centers and programs for
the treatment of victims of torture) $20,000,000 for fiscal
year 2004 and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect October 1, 2003.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FOREIGN TREATMENT
CENTERS FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 4(b)(1) of
the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2152 note)
is amended to read as follows:
``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--Of the amounts
authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 2004 and 2005
pursuant to chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961, there are authorized to be appropriated to the
President to carry out section 130 of such Act (relating to
assistance for centers in foreign countries and programs for
the treatment of victims of torture) $11,000,000 for fiscal
year 2004 and $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect October 1, 2003.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES
CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTARY
FUND FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.
Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for fiscal
years 2004 and 2005 pursuant to chapter 3 of part I of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, there are authorized to be
appropriated to the President for a voluntary contribution to
the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture
$6,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and $7,000,000 for fiscal
year 2005.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill that
is under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, torture remains a cruel weapon of choice for
antidemocratic, dictatorial regimes around the globe. It is used to
silence opposition leaders and to suffocate political dissent.
Today, torture is commonplace and, sadly, systematic. In many
countries around the globe, including the People's Republic of China,
Cuba, and many countries in Africa, the Middle East, it is used to
extract confessions. It is used to humiliate, to punish. It is used to
crush people's souls and hearts and their bodies and to break them
while they are in captivity. Torturers themselves, it turns out and is
no surprise to any of us, are sadistic and cruel beyond imagination.
Mr. Speaker, even torturing a single, carefully targeted individual
can have a multiplier effect, sending a message of fear throughout the
entire community and even across generations. For example, the
paralyzing effect of torture is painfully clear in Turkmenistan where
countless people have been tortured, killed and disappeared in the wake
of last year's November 25 attack on President Niyazov's motorcade.
We see it throughout China, especially regarding people who are part
of the Falun Gong. Hundreds of them have been tortured to death simply
because of their expression of their conscience in that religious
expression. We see it with the Buddhists and others. We see it with the
Catholics in the underground church in China where, again, these
individuals are routinely and through incredible harshness tortured.
I point out to my colleagues that even after a dictatorial regime has
fallen, as it has in Iraq, the impact of torture can be felt for years.
Leaders are broken and lost. There is a profound lack of trust in
public institutions, in the police and in courts. Unless we find a way
to understand and to heal the legacy of torture people will be unable
to work with each other to rebuild their nation. Individuals who are
tortured, who carry around both psychologically and in their person
that legacy, very often suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, one of
the worst expressions or manifestations or legacies of that torture.
Unless we are able to heal or provide or facilitate that healing, these
people are literally walking time bombs, and we will find it hard both
in these countries and the emigre community to build institutions that
will not fail.
I think many Members will be surprised to learn that in the United
States there are an estimated 500,000 torture survivors, most of whom
came to the United States as refugees. Worldwide, while it is
impossible to count the actual number, Amnesty International has
documented torture in 150 countries. So we know the number is in the
millions.
The Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act before the body today
provides $20 million to the Department of Health and Human Services to
assist
[[Page H11548]]
treatment programs in the United States for fiscal 2004 and $25 million
for fiscal year 2005.
Mr. Speaker, in spite of these numbers, and this is an increase over
the previous year's, the number of survivors seeking treatment in U.S.
centers funded through this legislation has steadily increased. The
word is getting out that one can go to these centers and get treatment,
and the process, very often a lifelong process of healing, can begin.
We found, or there has been a finding I should say, that when the
centers first opened there were about 935 people who were helped in
1999 as a result of the legislation we passed then. That jumped to
1,550 clients served in 2000 to 2,579 in 2001. We now know that there
are some 3,664 clients that have gotten services at a cost of about
$3,500 per client in fiscal year 2002. With the additional funding that
we contemplate that this bill would authorize, it is estimated that
U.S. centers would have the capacity and the ability to serve an
additional 2,800 survivors per year.
Torture treatment centers provide a range of services, Mr. Speaker,
including medical exams, lab tests, psychological and psychiatric
screening evaluations, psychiatric medication, individual, group and
family therapy, and crisis counseling.
In addition, the network of treatment centers already in the U.S.,
and we know this, needs to be expanded; and I would point out to my
colleagues there are a number of large cities with large emigre
communities with torture victims who are not being served in places
like Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Cleveland, St.
Louis, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. Hopefully, as a result
of this reauthorization and the subsequent appropriations, money will
be made available to craft or to establish those centers that are so
vitally needed in those cities.
The Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act also authorizes $11
million in U.S. funds for the Agency for International Development to
support foreign treatment centers in 2004 and $12 million in fiscal
year 2005. This is a modest increase from the $10 million we first
authorized in 1999; and, of course, the need is much more than that,
but at least this is an attempt to try to meet some of that need.
USAID's Victims of Torture Fund, I would point out to my colleagues,
administers treatment programs in 26 countries in Latin America,
Africa, Asia, the Near East, and in Europe. Last year, the fund
supported approximately 45 treatment programs. Nongovernmental
organizations that receive this funding provide a direct service to
survivors, to their families and communities. They strengthen the
capacity of country-based institutions to deliver services to survivors
and increase the level of knowledge and understanding about the needs
of torture victims. These treatment centers can also gather forensic
evidence that can be used to improve the capability of those
documenting and seeking redress from the practice of torture.
To help meet the needs of victims around the globe, I would remind my
colleagues that the U.N. established a fund back in 1981, and before we
passed our first act, the United States' contribution to that fund was
only in the hundreds of thousands. We have now pushed that number to $5
million, and this legislation would increase it to $7 million; and
hopefully that, too, will be part of the fix to help mitigate the
suffering endured by torture victims.
This is a good bill. I hope my colleagues will support it. I want to
thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), my good friend and
colleague and the ranking member of the committee, who is the chief
cosponsor and has worked with us hand in glove in crafting this
legislation. I especially want to thank the gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Hyde), our good friend and colleague, the chairman of our
committee, for his leadership on this very unrecognized and very below-
most-people's-radar-screens issue. They often say torture victims, what
are we talking about, and yet they are in our midst. They are
suffering. They need help. This legislation provides at least some
help.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I rise in strong support of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2003
ensures that our Nation continues to play a leadership role in
combatting one of the most despicable of all human rights violations,
the use of torture around the globe.
I was very pleased to join with the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Smith), my good friend and distinguished colleague, in sponsoring this
measure. I would like to commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Smith) for his long-standing leadership on this issue, and I want to
congratulate him for all of his work to support the heroic endeavors of
all clinics around the world in the treatment of victims of torture. He
is in the forefront of every single issue relating to human rights, and
he has carried the ball on this issue as well.
On June 26, 1945, Mr. Speaker, the United Nations charter was signed,
inaugurating the global fight for human rights. On the same day, 42
years later, the United Nations convention against torture came into
force, declaring the depravity of torture and affirming the equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family. In 1998, the
United Nations declared June 26 an international day in support of
torture victims.
Mr. Speaker, despite the work that has been done on the international
front to prevent torture, it is a grim truth that governments worldwide
continue to torture their citizens with impunity. Exact figures are
difficult to come by, but Amnesty International estimates that some 117
countries, more than half of the countries on the face of this planet,
still practice torture on their own citizens.
Pakistan, Guatemala, Zimbabwe, and China consistently rank high on
this grim and despicable list. In some nations, the governments
themselves carry out the torture. In some, they condone its use by the
nation's political machinery.
The ramifications of torture practices are beyond the realm of the
comprehension of normal human beings. Torture leaves no victim
unscarred. It effectively shapes the remainder of his or her life.
Torture survivors need psychological and physical therapy to cope with
the post-traumatic stress that afflicts them every single day.
{time} 1300
Recovering from torture, Mr. Speaker, is a long-term process. It can
take years before torture survivors can once again feel emotionally
stable and comfortable in their own society.
Mr. Speaker, it sometimes just takes one individual to stand strong
against the darkness of human rights violations. The torture victims
treatment center community is fortunate to have such a person in my
wife's and my good friend, Dr. Inge Genefke, of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dr. Genefke started her work for torture victims as cofounder of the
Danish Medical Group of Amnesty International 30 years ago. She
observed during the treatment of torture victims that the physical
wounds of those lucky enough to survive torture heal with time, but the
trauma of her clients lingered on much longer.
In 1982, Dr. Genefke started a multidisciplinarian treatment approach
integrating physical and psychological treatment. Her work has been
utilized by torture victim treatment centers across the globe,
dramatically improving the treatment of torture victims in scores of
countries.
An estimated half a million foreign torture survivors reside in the
United States, and we estimate that about 100 million live worldwide.
There are now 250 treatment centers for torture victims
internationally, with the sole purpose of providing crucial services to
survivors of torture. In our own country, the Center for Victims of
Torture in Minnesota was the first of its kind in the United States and
the third torture victims center in the world, and I want to pay
tribute to my friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms.
McCollum), for her leadership role in connection with this important
center.
These centers are among those funded through the Torture Victims
Relief Act, and their work is the only hope for people who have endured
torture. I urge all of my colleagues to support our legislation, H.R.
1813.
[[Page H11549]]
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 4 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), my good friend and
distinguished colleague, who has been a leader on all human rights
issues, including the plight of torture victims.
Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the valuable
work that is being done to aid victims of torture and in strong support
of the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2003. I commend my
colleagues, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the ranking
member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and the gentleman
from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) for this important piece of legislation, and I
commend the leadership of the House for bringing this bill to the floor
today.
Mr. Speaker, Minnesota is the home for the Center for the Victims of
Torture, a world renowned treatment center for the healing of torture
victims. When the center opened in 1985, it became the first of its
kind in the United States and the third treatment center in the entire
world. And right now the center is putting the final touches on a
second clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota. In fact, this new clinic is only
a few blocks from my home, and my neighbors and I welcome the center
and their tireless commitment to serve torture victims.
Mr. Speaker, the use of torture is a tool of intimidation, and the
oppression continues to take place in more than 120 countries
worldwide. It is estimated that one-third of the world's 12 million
refugees are victims of torture. Many victims of torture are community
leaders, those individuals who stand up and speak out for social
change, political and religious change. The victims are often teachers,
students, journalists, trade union organizers, human rights activists,
or elected leaders, and they represent people of all ages, social
classes, and religious beliefs.
Groups that sanction and sponsor and commit torture focus on these
leaders because they want to inflict terror, intimidation and fear on
entire communities because torture is about control. Frequently, the
aim of this brutality is not to kill the victim, but to break their
will. In many instances, doctors and medical personnel participate
during the torture sessions to ensure that the victim will not die. The
victims are humiliated, crippled, traumatized and then returned to
their communities as a brutal message of intimidation to others.
Once a person has been tortured, their life has been fundamentally
changed. But there is hope. Through this bill, thousands of torture
victims living in the United States will receive the care that they
need to heal and reenter society and lead positive, productive lives.
The U.S. can be proud of the leadership we have shown in working to
heal the victims of torture. Our country is a leader in the
rehabilitation programs and continues to work to prevent torture around
the globe.
The world community should continue to look to the United States for
leadership because in the struggle of torture, the American people have
answered the call. Torture relief is providing hope and opportunity for
victims and families. The treatment is working, but there is more that
can be done. This legislation will double the current support for our
Nation's treatment centers, ensuring hope and opportunity for victims
to receive the care that they need.
This legislation also creates a partnership by increasing funding for
foreign treatment centers and strengthening our commitment to the
United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. This bill sends a
strong message to the international community that treating victims of
torture is a priority and that we welcome the support of our like-
minded friends around the globe.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to say that torture is a crime
against humanity, unacceptable at any time by any nation, and any
nation that tortures or tolerates torture is not truly free. Any
government that silently witnesses the horrors of torture or hears the
screams of the victims but does not act contributes to this oppressive,
inhumane crime that extinguishes the essence of our human dignity.
Today, this Congress has an opportunity to speak with one voice for
those who have suffered the unimaginable and continue to suffer. The
message is clear and simple: Support this bill. And I encourage my
colleagues to not only support the legislation, but to help fund this
legislation.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to
thank my friend from Minnesota for her eloquent and powerful statement.
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin), a fighter for human rights
and the distinguished ranking member of the Helsinki Commission, the
most successful international entity working for human rights.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman for yielding me
this time and just associate myself with the comments that he has made,
that the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum) has made and those
that the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) has made. I think we are
all in agreement that the United States must continue its leadership
role in the international community to condemn in the strongest
possible way the use of torture and to be a leader in rehabilitating
those victims of torture.
We are talking about the physical and mental rehabilitation of people
who have suffered from torture. These are people who need help, and
this legislation will provide that additional assistance. It is the
right thing to do.
I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), who has
been a leader in this Congress on so many human rights issues in so
many different ways. He has really, I think, provided the moral compass
for this Congress to take up many of these very important issues. So I
applaud all of his efforts in this regard.
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the gentleman from California on his
assessment of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is the
chairman of our Helsinki Commission. I have had the honor of being the
ranking Democrat, and our commission has put a very high focus on the
issues of torture. And, quite frankly, we do not care whether the
country has good relationships with us or not. If they use torture, it
is wrong, and we are going to bring it to the international community's
attention, and we are going to do everything we can in order to make
sure it does not occur.
I have a list here of all the different hearings and briefings we
have had on our commission, and you will see the country list,
unfortunately, is very long. It includes many countries. We have put a
spotlight and I think we have done a lot of good in slowing down the
use of torture and making it clear that there will be a price to pay if
you use torture in your country.
This legislation basically extends our role, to make it clear that
the United States will continue to be a leader on this issue
internationally by doing what we can here domestically, as well as
internationally, to aid the victims of torture. I am pleased that it
significantly increases the dollars that will be made available for our
treatment programs here in the United States, as well as our
participation internationally.
The gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum) mentioned the first
center in the United States in Minnesota, and she is very proud of the
role that was played by her State and herself, through her leadership,
on this issue. I am pleased there is an organization in my district,
the Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma that aids victims of
torture. Since 2000, the number of people that have sought assistance
in this center has tripled. That is an indication of the problem that
we are confronting in being a country that is willing to take people
who have to flee other countries because of persecution, and now we
have a responsibility to bring them back fully within our society. The
funding of these centers will help to do that. It is the right thing to
do. Without these additional funds in my community, it would take over
a month to get an appointment. We hope this money will speed up the
opportunity to seek and be able to receive the appropriate type of
assistance.
[[Page H11550]]
The bottom line is this is an important bill. It is going to help
people and will continue our commitment to fight torture and to be a
player in rehabilitating the lives of those who have suffered from the
use of torture. I encourage all of colleagues to support this
legislation.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to
thank my friend for his powerful and significant statement.
Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to
thank my friends and colleagues for their very strong statements and
their passion on this issue.
The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin), who is the ranking Democrat
on the Helsinki Commission, we work together. There is no division.
There is no air between our shoulders as we promote human rights in
general and the elimination, or a zero tolerance policy towards torture
within the OSCE.
There are 55 countries that make up the OSCE. At the parliamentary
assemblies and with bilateral meetings and with country visits, we
bring this issue up. We bring it up with the heads of state, we go to
gulags, like the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), who is also a
member of our commission, and we do all that we can to stop torture in
the first place.
But as this bill seeks to do, there are victims, they number in the
millions, and their needs are not being cared for in many instances,
especially overseas. The lucky ones make it here as emigres and as
asylum seekers, and we have to make sure that both domestically and
internationally, we try to mitigate that enormous pain and the
nightmares they carry with them. As we know from our hearings and from
our site visits from talking to these victims, maybe they cannot be
cured fully and completely, but the pain can be eliminated to a great
extent, and they can develop coping mechanisms and the like in order to
deal with it and live a more normal life despite the fact that they
have suffered so horrifically.
So I want to thank my friends and colleagues. And again, the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), who knows this personally, who
is a Holocaust survivor and is always out front on human rights. It is
always great to work as a teammate with him. And, again, I thank the
gentleman from Maryland for his kinds words, as well as my friend and
colleague from Minnesota, I want to thank her as well.
Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the important work
that is being done to aid victims of torture, and to reemphasize my
support for the reauthorization of the Torture Victims Relief Act,
TVRA.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, is home to the United States first
comprehensive torture treatment center, the Center for Victims of
Torture, CVT. When CVT opened in 1985 they were the first center in the
United States and only the third in the entire world.
Freedom from torture is a universal and fundamental human right. Yet
torture continues to take place in more than 120 countries worldwide.
It is estimated that one-third of the world's 12 million refugees are
victims of torture. Politicians, journalists, teachers, students,
religious leaders, trade union and human rights activists are all
targets. The aim of torture is not to kill the victim, but to break
down the victim's personality. Crippled, traumatized, and humiliated,
the victims are returned to their communities as a warning to others.
Torture is fundamentally a political weapon, employed by repressive
regimes to shape cultures through fear. For over a decade, what the
clients in Minnesota have taught us, as well as victims from over 70
other nations of the world, is that torture:
Targets leadership of the opposition, to snuff out creativity and
emerging movements, which may threaten the regimes corrupt hold on
society;
Sends a message of fear throughout the network of that leader's
family and community of followers and admirers. As a bishop from Africa
once said about the meaning of torture, the message is clear: ``If
they'll do this to me, what will they do to my flock?''
In Minnesota we have also learned how traumas of this severity and
scale have a trans-generational effect, shaping the health, the hopes
and the aspirations of future generations.
Because of these significant and predictable effects, torture is the
most effective weapon against democracy. Even after a dictatorial
regime has fallen, as it has in Iraq, we can expect that the impact of
torture will be felt for generations: leadership broken and lost; their
families and communities still frightened and disengaged from public
life; a profound lack of trust in public institutions, police, and
courts; a lesson in forced political apathy learned and lived out every
day.
There are more than 500,000 torture survivors in the United States
alone--refugees and asylum seekers who have fled repressive regimes. In
recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of
victims of torture seeking help at U.S. rehabilitation centers. In the
U.S. there are 34 rehabilitation centers and programs joined together
under the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs, which was
first started by the Center for Victims of Torture in Minnesota.
I have seen leadership restored and people made whole after they have
received care at CVT. Restoring a torture survivor to full health has a
lasting benefit for the entire community. Former clients of CVT are now
public school teachers, small business owners, nurses, doctors and
more. I would like to commend CVT for their tireless work on behalf of
torture victims in the U.S. and worldwide, and encourage my colleagues
to support the reauthorization of the Torture Victims Relief Act.
Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in strong support of
H.R. 1813, the Torture Victims Relief Authorization Act.
I am especially proud that the first Center for Victims of Torture in
the United States is located in Minnesota. Minnesota's Center for
Victims of Torture is certainly one of the premier centers for torture
survivors in the entire world.
Minnesota is home to about 14,000 victims of torture, and there are
some 400,000 victims of torture in our country. Even though people are
becoming increasingly aware of the issue of torture, support and
treatment for the victims have often been lacking.
That's where the center, with its excellent leadership, comes in. We
in Minnesota have learned much, and now we want to bring that
leadership, and the path-breaking work of the center, to the rest of
the country.
Mr. Speaker, this important legislation provides support for
Minnesota's Center for Victims of Torture and will enable our world-
renowned Center to continue providing rehabilitation and other critical
services to victims of torture.
All Minnesotans can be proud of our Center for Victims of Torture,
which helps victims of torture recover from their horrific pain,
suffering and scars.
Mr. Speaker, the issues of torture and human rights have finally
penetrated the global consciousness, and I urge my colleagues to
support passage of this important legislation.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1813, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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