[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 45 (Friday, April 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            LIBERTY LIST ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 2005

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, in his second inaugural address in January, 
President Bush declared that ``the survival of liberty in our land 
increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best 
hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the 
world.'' Today, along with my colleague from Florida, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, 
I introduce legislation to aid that expansion by honoring the work of 
courageous men and women all over the world who strive to advance human 
rights and democratic values within their own countries and throughout 
the international community.
  The Liberty List will be an independent annual report issued by the 
State Department to highlight the work of individuals and 
organizations, including the media, who promote the development of 
liberty, democracy, and respect for human rights. In addition to 
honoring these individuals and organizations for their important 
contributions to their societies, the Liberty List will draw attention 
to the conditions against which the honorees struggle and will offer 
some protection for honorees by identifying them to the international 
community. A few individuals and groups, such as Aung San Suu Kyi and 
her National League, for Democracy NLD, are known around the world for 
their struggle. Yet, for every individual who is known to the 
international community, there are many other heroes who deserve 
recognition and support as they risk their own lives for the 
improvement of others.
  The Liberty List is fundamentally different from the existing State 
Department Report on International Religious Freedom and the annual 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Current reports focus on the 
human rights records of national governments; they deal with the 
imposition of state power. The Liberty List, in contrast, will 
spotlight individuals and organizations who are working against that 
power to build freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights.
  Leaders in the struggle for freedom and democracy around the world 
deserve recognition for the sacrifices and their struggles. It is 
through the work of individuals, who struggle at the local and national 
levels to improve the lives of their families, friends, and neighbors, 
that democracy, freedom, and human rights will prevail. The Liberty 
List Act will establish a means by which the United States can honor 
these men and women as they strive to make the world a better, safer 
place.
  I urge my colleagues to join Ms. Ros-Lehtinen and me as cosponsors of 
this legislation.

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