[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1951-E1952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 URGING THE PRESIDENT TO APPOINT A PRESIDENTIAL SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SUDAN

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                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 25, 2006

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the decisive 
actions taken this week by the U.S. Congress to address the ongoing 
genocide and worsening humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
  I am pleased that the House of Representatives has again passed H.R. 
3127, The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006. The House 
originally considered this bill on April 5, 2006, but it took the 
Senate more than five months to pass it, finally doing so on September 
21st. This important bill would block the assets and deny visas and 
entry to any individual (or family member) responsible for acts of 
genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity in Sudan. H.R. 3127 
authorizes support for the African Union peacekeeping mission in 
Darfur. It prohibits U.S. assistance to a country in violation of U.N. 
Security Council embargo on military assistance to Sudan. It also urges 
a Security Council resolution supporting expanding the African Union 
peacekeeping mission. I look forward to the President signing this 
important measure into law.
  The House has also considered and agreed to H. Res. 723 and H. Res. 
992, both of which I am proud to cosponsor. These resolutions call on 
President Bush to take decisive action to respond to the ongoing crisis 
in the Sudan. In June, I joined with many of my colleagues to call on 
President Bush to appoint a Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan. 
Appointing a Special Envoy would demonstrate to the international 
community that the United States remains engaged and committed at the 
highest level to bring peace to Darfur. In his address to the United 
Nations last week, President Bush announced his appointment of former 
United States Agency for International Development Administrator Andrew 
Natsios as Special Envoy. I welcome and applaud this move and remain 
hopeful that this high-level official will be able to bring the 
resources and focus of the U.S. Government to bear on this crisis.
  As I have said before, for too long the world community turned its 
back to the ongoing genocide in the Sudan. But the actions of students, 
religious leaders, and concerned citizens in the United States and 
around the globe raised awareness about the horrors occurring in 
Darfur. I want to thank all who shared with me their concern about 
Darfur in town hall meetings, letters, phone calls, and e-mails over 
the last three years.

  Today, the Congress is answering their calls for action. Passing 
these bills is an important step to ending the genocide and beginning 
to hold those who are guilty accountable--but it cannot be our only 
step. Our commitment to end this conflict and to the people of the 
region must not begin and end today. We must

[[Page E1952]]

remain focused and dedicated to ending the genocide and healing the 
wounds of a prolonged civil war. Justice must be served on those who 
perpetrated these heinous immoral crimes and we must help rebuild and 
restore the lives of the people who, through the grace of God, survive 
this hellish civil war.
  After the systematic genocide of the Holocaust, we said never again. 
After the horrors of Rwanda and the Kosovo we committed ourselves to 
preventing genocide before it surfaced elsewhere. Sadly, we are to 
adding Darfur to this list. It is long past time for the United Nations 
to become involved in Sudan. The U.N. needs to deploy a robust and 
sizable international mission to end the genocide and then work to 
bring peace to the Sudan. President Bush was right last week to suggest 
that it may be time to override the objections of the Sudanese 
government in order to send international peacekeepers into Darfur. 
After his speech to the U.N., Bush said, ``[T]here's genocide taking 
place in Sudan. . . . Now is the time for the U.N. to act.''
  I call on the President to continue to push for action on this issue 
with world leaders, internationalize the response, and advocate in the 
United Nations to end the genocide in Darfur. I pray that the suffering 
will soon end, and that we will not soon forget our brothers and 
sisters in Africa.

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