[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H4065-H4068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TORTURE VICTIMS RELIEF REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2007

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1678) to amend the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 to 
authorize appropriations to provide assistance for domestic and foreign 
programs and centers for the treatment of victims of torture, and for 
other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1678

       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 2007''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR DOMESTIC 
                   TREATMENT CENTERS FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.

       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 2008 and 2009, there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a) 
     $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 and 2009.''.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FOREIGN TREATMENT 
                   CENTERS FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.

       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 2008 and 2009 
     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 $12,000,000 
     for each of the fiscal years 2008 and 2009.''.

     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 2008 and 2009 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 
     $12,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Ackerman) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation, and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me first thank the distinguished ranking member of the Africa and 
Global Health Subcommittee, my very good friend, Chris Smith, for his 
long-standing leadership in the fight against torture. I am very proud 
to be a cosponsor of this very important piece of legislation before us 
today.
  The Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 is a landmark piece of 
legislation that enshrines the fundamental commitment of this Nation to 
assist all survivors of torture, wherever and whoever they might be.
  The programs supported by the TVRA combat the effects of the most 
despicable of all human rights violations: The increasing use of 
torture around the world.
  Although exact figures are difficult to ascertain, according to 
Amnesty International, a well-respected defender of human rights, more 
than 150 countries worldwide still engage in torture.
  An estimated 400,000 to 500,000 foreign torture victims reside in the 
United States, and over 100 million may exist worldwide. More than 250 
treatment centers operate internationally with the sole purpose of 
providing medical, psychological and social services to torture 
survivors. These crucial facilities provide a distinctive type of 
treatment to those victims.
  In the U.S., the Center for Victims of Torture, located in Minnesota, 
was the first of its kind in the United States and the third torture 
victims treatment center in the world.
  The personal ramifications of torture are beyond the comprehension of 
those who have not gone through it. Torture leaves no victim unscarred. 
It shapes the remainder of their lives. While physical wounds may 
ultimately heal, torture survivors need ongoing psychological services 
and therapy to cope with post-traumatic stress that afflicts them 
daily. Recovering from torture is a long-term process. It can take 
years before torture survivors can once again feel emotionally stable 
and comfortable in society.
  The bill before the House today funds our very important fight 
against torture, both nationally and internationally. For international 
programs, this legislation authorizes $12 million per

[[Page H4066]]

year for centers and programs administered through USAID's Victims of 
Torture Fund. It also authorizes an additional $12 million a year for 
centers and programs administered through the U.N. Voluntary Fund for 
the Victims of Torture.
  Domestically, our legislation authorizes $25 million annually for the 
Department of Health and Human Services so that HHS can assist domestic 
treatment centers fully and sufficiently.
  The sad truth is that torture is not waning; if anything, it is on 
the rise. As a moral force and a Nation that exhibits empathy to those 
in most need, it is our firm responsibility to help the victims of 
torture with these comprehensive programs. The funds authorized are 
urgently needed to achieve this goal. I strongly support this 
legislation, and encourage every Member of the House to do so as well.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Lantos for his very strong 
support for the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2007. His 
long-standing concern about torture victims is legendary, and I want to 
thank him for that. And I want to thank Mr. Ackerman for his leadership 
as well, and for presenting the bill before the House today.
  Madam Speaker, an estimated 400,000 foreign torture survivors reside 
in the United States today. Worldwide it is virtually impossible to 
count the numbers, although we know it is very high. As witnesses have 
repeatedly testified before Congress, the paralyzing scars from the 
physical and psychological wounds of torture can and do remain for 
years. Torture impacts not only on individual victims, especially as it 
relates to post-traumatic stress disorder, but their families and 
society as well.
  I would note parenthetically, Madam Speaker, that we don't have to 
look very far to know there are torture victims in our own Congress. 
Sam Johnson, a very brave and dedicated soldier of the Vietnam war, 
suffered terrible hardship and torture when he was incarcerated in 
Hanoi. Because of his faith and courage, Sam overcame unspeakable 
torture and abuse and is today an inspiration to us all. The same goes 
for Senator John McCain, who also suffered horrible torture, survived 
and overcame. But they are really the exception. They are not the norm. 
So many people who do suffer never recover--unless they get significant 
help. They suffer irreparable psychological damage and live a life of 
real misery, pain and flashback, unless they get help.
  My own involvement in torture victims relief began in 1981 when I 
read a book titled ``Tortured for Christ,'' written by Pastor Richard 
Wurmbrand in Nicolae Ceausescu's Romania. That book detailed despicable 
tortures that were routinely imposed upon Pastor Wurmbrand and other 
religious prisoners in Romania by the securatate. Pastor Wurmbrand 
appealed to all to help the persecuted.
  I also read Solzhenitsyn's book, ``The Gulag Archipelago,'' and 
another book called ``Against All Hope'' by Armando Valladares in which 
he chronicled what Castro does routinely to people in his gulags--it is 
sickening and pathetic.
  I would encourage Members and the listening public to pick up one of 
those books or others like them and read what really happens in 
dictatorships--and Castro's abuses continue to this day--where torture 
is used as a weapon against dissidents. Sadly, torture is used with 
impunity in China and North Korea.
  Armando Valladares tells us in his book in one particular chapter how 
the political prisoners were marched into a huge vat of human 
excrement, and submerged. Many of the men got permanent disabilities 
and infection from it. The beatings were unceasing.
  Torture is horrible. It is degrading and inhumane. It also 
constitutes grave violations of U.N. treaties and U.S. law and must be 
stopped wherever it rears its ugly head.
  In the 1990s, Frank Wolf and I visited the infamous Perm Camp 35 in 
the Ural Mountains--1,000 miles outside of Moscow--the place where 
Natan Sharansky spent years of his life, and met with many torture 
victims while they were still incarcerated and saw the mix of anger and 
hopelessness in their eyes and in their faces.
  In 1998, Madam Speaker, Congress took a historic step towards 
repairing the broken lives of torture victims with the passage of the 
Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998. I sponsored that legislation and 
three reauthorizations that followed. As important as these 
congressional measures have been, there continues to be an enormous 
unmet need for us to try to reach out and robustly address, and that is 
what this legislation at least attempts to do. I strongly urge my 
colleagues to support this. This helps us to help those who have been 
hurt.
  The domestic provision of H.R. 1678 is designed to ensure that 
particular attention is given to torture victims in regions with 
significant immigrant and refugee populations. The measure authorizes 
$25 million for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to the Department of Health 
and Human Services to assist domestic treatment centers. This maintains 
the current $25 million authorization level for those centers.
  Currently, 20 torture treatment centers in 15 States are assisted by 
the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee 
Resettlement. These programs include treatment for the physical and 
psychological effects of torture as well as social and legal services 
for torture victims. In addition to direct assistance, many of these 
centers also provide training in the specialized treatment of torture 
victims to mainstream providers in the health care, education and 
social service fields.
  H.R. 1678 also authorizes $12 million for both fiscal year 2008 and 
2009 for foreign treatment centers and programs administered by the 
USAID Victims of Torture Fund. In fiscal year 2006, the Victims of 
Torture Fund supported treatment programs in 28 countries throughout 
the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the 
Near East and Europe and Eurasia.
  Treatment centers often provide services beyond rehab, to include 
forensic documentation, written and verbal testimony to courts and 
legislatures, and advocacy for the rights of brutalized religious, 
ethnic and minority groups. This is the expertise Congress sought to 
foster when we first adopted the TVRA back in 1998.
  Lastly, the measure increases current authorization levels of $7 
million for fiscal year 2007 to the U.N. Voluntary Fund for the Victims 
of Torture to $12 million for both 2008 and 2009. Through this U.N. 
mechanism, the voluntary fund supports 175 projects in 64 countries in 
2006, including within the United States. The type of humanitarian 
assistance provided by organizations which receive those grants from 
the fund consists mainly of psychological, medical, social, legal and 
economic assistance.
  Madam Speaker, this is a bipartisan bill, and I urge its passage.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, to the gentlewoman from the 18th 
District of Texas, the chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee 
on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, and also a 
member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Sheila Jackson-Lee, I yield 3 
minutes.
  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend her remarks.)

                              {time}  1145

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, we almost wish we did not 
have to come to the floor of the House to address this question of 
ongoing torture in 2007. Again, I offer my appreciation for this work, 
your leadership and leadership of this committee, and to Mr. Smith who 
has articulated his ongoing struggle with a crisis that will break your 
heart.
  Even today we know that torture goes on in 150 nations around the 
world. We know that some 4- to 500,000 torture victims have found their 
way to the United States. Many of us have heard of the lost boys, some 
of us know the story of Sierra Leone and mutilation that occurred in 
Rwanda, children who were child soldiers who were victimized. But do we 
understand the ongoing psychological, traumatic experiences that 
requires necessary psychological services and therapy to cope with 
posttraumatic stress?

[[Page H4067]]

  Now with the Iraq War and Afghan War, we hear of prisoners of war and 
the unending suggestions of torture that have occurred, and so we know 
that even in our own House we must respond to the crisis.
  I rise to support this legislation, H.R. 1678, because its journey is 
not yet finished. Let me applaud the author of this legislation, as I 
am a cosponsor, that authorizes $12 million per year for centers and 
programs administered through USAID's victims of torture fund, an 
additional $12 million per year for centers and programs administered 
by the U.N. voluntary fund for victims of torture, and $25 million for 
the Department of Health and Human Services.
  Let me also salute the Darfur Coalition for Peace. I believe these 
resources can be utilized for the Darfurian women who have reportedly 
and repeatedly been raped, a very, very difficult and brutal form of 
torture. These women have not only been raped, but they have been 
mutilated. They have been carved and scarred. They have bled, and they 
have a mass of psychological devastation.
  The Darfur Peace Coalition will be attempting to place tents on the 
soil in Darfur, the only kind of structure that can then have 
counselors who will help these torture victims, these victims of rape.
  This legislation can certainly be a partner in finding and weeding 
out torture where it is, but more importantly, in dealing with the 
torture victims who may have some small chance of regaining their lives 
again.
  I rise to support this legislation in sadness, because its work is 
yet not done, and every day we know that there may be a victim of 
torture. I am proud of this Congress in moving forward on this 
legislation, and I ask for its passage.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, due to an event at the White 
House on malaria, I ask unanimous consent to yield the remainder of our 
time to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) and that he be able 
to control the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Madam Speaker, we do not have any more speakers. Can I 
ask the gentleman if he has any more?
  Mr. ACKERMAN. I thank the gentleman. I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), the chairwoman of the 
Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections and a member 
of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Congressman Smith 
for his work to bring this reauthorization and this important issue to 
the House floor, and I want to thank the chairman of the committee, 
Chairman Lantos, for moving the bill so quickly, and our wonderful 
chairman of the subcommittee for running the floor today in such a good 
manner.
  The United States has long been a haven for those who have been 
persecuted and those who have been victimized. One of our national 
symbols, actually the Statue of Liberty, opens her arms to welcome the 
most needy.
  This bill reaffirms our commitment, the United States commitment, to 
victims of torture. It will provide for essential services for these 
victims such as treatment of the physical and psychological effects of 
torture. It will provide for social and legal services. It will provide 
for research and training of health care providers to deal with the 
trauma of these victims.
  Madam Speaker, in a world that sometimes seems to be overrun with 
violence, a world that sees so much brutality, this bill actually 
provides hope for a group of people, those who have so little and need 
so much.
  I thank the authors of this bill for bringing it forward, and I 
certainly hope that every single Member of this body will vote in favor 
of it.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. I want to express my strong support for the 
Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act, H.R. 1678. This important 
legislation funds treatment centers for torture survivors who now live 
in the U.S.
  With help, torture survivors can recover from their trauma, rebuild 
successful lives, and be contributing members of our society. When 
these new Americans rebuild their lives, we all have much to gain.
  I also want to take this opportunity to recognize the efforts of 
Survivors of Torture, International (SURVIVORS) in my district of San 
Diego, California. SURVIVORS is an independent, nonprofit organization 
dedicated to caring for survivors of politically-motivated torture and 
their families living in San Diego County.
  Approximately 11,000 torture survivors are living in San Diego County 
today. These survivors are from countries where the systematic use of 
torture is documented, including nations in Africa, Southeast Asia, the 
Middle East, and Latin America.
  Since its founding in 1997, SURVIVORS has helped more than 650 
torture survivors from more than 50 countries to recover from their 
trauma through a holistic program including medical, dental, 
psychiatric, psychological, legal and social services. There is also a 
need to continue to make services even more comprehensive.
  SURVIVORS empowers torture survivors to reclaim the strength and 
vitality that were stolen from them by brutal dictators and 
governments. The specialized care SURVIVORS provides these vulnerable 
individuals helps them to become self-sufficient, healthy members of 
their own families and of our community. SURVIVORS currently serves 
more than 300 survivors of torture and their families living in San 
Diego County.
  SURVIVORS works with refugees, asylees, asylum seekers, and 
immigrants who are survivors of torture. By working with this large 
population in San Diego County, SURVIVORS is strengthening the Nation: 
many of its clients move to other communities in the United States 
after receiving the care and services necessary to successfully build a 
new life here. As SURVIVORS continues to work in the community, it 
receives an increasing number of referrals and requests for services 
each year.
  The professional backgrounds of SURVIVORS' clients include: business, 
religious, government, and farm leaders; university students and 
educators; journalists; physicians and nurses. The significant majority 
of SURVIVORS clients suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, major 
depressive disorder, or both. These are normal yet disabling reactions 
for ordinary people who have endured the extreme trauma of torture.
  Madam Speaker, the TVRRA also authorizes a contribution to the United 
Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (UNVFVT). Funding from 
the U.N. helps many centers feel more secure in the dangerous work of 
aiding those that a regime has identified as its enemies. The UNVFVT 
supports nearly 200 treatment programs all over the world, including 
nearly all U.S. centers.
  H.R. 1678 is a vital piece of legislation which funds essential 
services for survivors of torture throughout the 53rd District of 
California and San Diego County, and enhances the standing and 
reputation by exporting America's values in the form of support for 
foreign treatment centers. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this bill that is so important to so many.
  Mr. CAPUANO. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1678, Torture 
Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2007, which was passed under 
suspension of the rules today. I rise also to pay tribute to those who 
provide these tragically essential services.
  I am privileged to represent the Boston Center for Refugee Health and 
Human Rights. The BCRHHR, based at Boston Medical Center, cares for 
survivors of torture, slavery, oppression, and war. Its dedicated 
physicians, therapists, and social workers provide individual 
counseling and group support, as well as legal, social, and vocational 
services to individuals and families who, in many cases, have nowhere 
else to turn. Patients have suffered terrible injuries, both physical 
and psychic, and most are grieving the loss of close friends and 
relatives. Above all, the Center recognizes the essential connection 
between health and human rights. Its clinical work succeeds, I believe, 
because it helps people regain their sense of dignity and worth as 
human beings.
  Doctors work closely with pro bono lawyers to support political 
asylum applications and to reunite families of refugees and asylum 
seekers. Shame and anxiety may keep torture survivors from seeking 
asylum because, in order to gain asylum, applicants must recount their 
sufferings in a judicial setting. Thus, in order to secure their 
patients' freedom to remain in the United States, doctors must help 
them as they relive their traumas. They give them courage to persevere 
and they sustain the hope that, once asylum is granted, surviving 
spouses and children can enter the United States.
  One wishes our world did not need services for survivors of torture, 
but we do need them. We are privileged, as Members of Congress, for 
this opportunity to recognize and support this work.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

[[Page H4068]]

  Mr. ACKERMAN. If the gentleman will yield back the balance of his 
time, we are prepared to do so as well.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. I yield back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1678.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam 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 question will 
be postponed.

                          ____________________