[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 11, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H7620-H7623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  OPPOSING EFFORTS BY NATURAL GAS EXPORTING COUNTRIES TO ESTABLISH A 
                                 CARTEL

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 500) expressing the sense of the 
House of Representatives in opposition to efforts by major natural gas 
exporting countries to establish a cartel or other mechanism to 
manipulate the supply of natural gas to the world market for the 
purpose of setting an arbitrary and nonmarket price or as an instrument 
of political pressure, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 500

       Whereas the United States currently is largely self-
     sufficient in natural gas but is projected to greatly 
     increase its usage over time, which could create a growing 
     dependence on world supply;
       Whereas the cost of natural gas has approximately tripled 
     since 2000 and has had a significant negative impact on 
     United States manufacturers and on employment in 
     manufacturing;
       Whereas in 2004 alone the rising cost of natural gas was 
     responsible for the closure of scores of chemical companies 
     in the United States and the loss of over 100,000 jobs;
       Whereas chemicals, plastics, and advanced composite 
     materials are used extensively for military and commercial 
     applications and are crucial components of the United States 
     defense industrial base, which is the foundation of United 
     States national security;
       Whereas Europe, as well as Japan, South Korea, and other 
     United States allies, are heavily dependent on imported 
     natural gas, and countries such as China and India are 
     rapidly increasing their reliance on foreign suppliers;
       Whereas the supply of natural gas is controlled by a 
     relatively small number of countries, including Iran, Russia, 
     Venezuela, Bolivia, Algeria, and Qatar, among others;
       Whereas these and other countries have established an 
     organization known as the Gas Exporting Countries Forum 
     (GECF) to promote coordination on policies regarding natural 
     gas;
       Whereas the members of the GECF are estimated to possess 
     over 70 percent of global gas reserves and over 40 percent of 
     global production;
       Whereas several of these countries have governments hostile 
     to the United States;
       Whereas on January 29, 2007, Iranian Supreme Leader 
     Ayatollah Khamenei proposed that Russia and Iran cooperate to 
     establish a cartel for natural gas, which has been termed a 
     ``gas OPEC'';
       Whereas Russian President Putin has expressed great 
     interest in the formation of a cartel of this type;
       Whereas Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has declared his 
     strong support for the proposed cartel and described it as an 
     expansion of his efforts to establish a similar cartel in the 
     Western Hemisphere;
       Whereas Iranian officials have made clear their interest in 
     using this ``gas OPEC'' as an instrument for political 
     purposes;
       Whereas Russia has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness 
     to use its role as supplier of oil and gas to exert political 
     pressure on other countries, such as Georgia, Ukraine, and 
     Belarus, among others;
       Whereas Europe currently relies on Russia for almost half 
     of its imports of natural gas and is likely to increase its 
     dependence on this source over the next decade;
       Whereas North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials have 
     warned of the danger of Europe's increasing dependence on 
     Russian energy and of the prospect of alternative suppliers, 
     such as Algeria, cooperating with Russia;
       Whereas at the GECF meeting in Doha on April 9, 2007, of 
     senior officials from Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, 
     Algeria, Qatar, and other countries, an agreement was reached 
     to establish a committee chaired by the Russian Government to 
     study proposals for greater coordination of policies, 
     including pricing, that participants stated would be 
     necessary for the creation of a cartel; and
       Whereas the creation of an international cartel for natural 
     gas similar to that of the Organization of Petroleum 
     Exporting Countries (OPEC) would pose a major threat to the 
     price and supply of energy, to the economy of the Unites 
     States and of the world, and to their security: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that--
       (1) the United States should make clear to the governments 
     of major natural gas exporting countries that it regards 
     efforts to establish a cartel or other mechanism to 
     manipulate the supply of natural gas to the world market for 
     the purpose of setting an arbitrary and nonmarket price, or 
     as an instrument of political pressure, to be prejudicial to 
     the security of the United States and of the world as a 
     whole;
       (2) the United States should develop a joint strategy with 
     its allies and all countries that are importers of natural 
     gas, as well as with cooperative exporting countries, to 
     prevent the establishment of a cartel or other mechanism of 
     this type, including by diversifying sources and alternative 
     means of access by exporters and importers to international 
     markets, such as by pipeline; and
       (3) in order to mitigate potential economic and other 
     threats to our security, the United States should work with 
     our allies to reduce our dependence on natural gas and to 
     increase and promote the utilization of clean energy sources.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. 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 resolution under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this 
resolution and yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  I would like to thank our distinguished colleague, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen 
of Florida, for introducing this important resolution.
  Madam Speaker, one of the most confusing inventions over the past 
century was the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Some 
call it a cartel, some call it a monopoly, and some just call it what 
it is, that is, price-gouging by a few countries that have managed to 
challenge the international security in the process.
  Recently, several leaders of the major exporters of natural gas, 
including Iran, have publicly advocated the establishment of an 
international cartel similar to that of OPEC , thus proposing to create 
a ``gas OPEC.''
  The Iranian supreme leader has been very clear in his interest to use 
his cartel as an instrument for political purposes.
  Although the United States currently is largely self-sufficient in 
natural gas, our usage is projected to increase over time, which could 
result in a growing dependence on world supply. Our European and Asian 
allies are heavily dependent on imported natural gas. Therefore, we 
believe a debate should begin on how we can use the world's resources 
fairly to avoid penalizing those dependent on such resources, and to 
avoid the crisis that has generated the utilization of energy from 
Sudan by many of our allies like those in Europe and Asia while 
genocide is occurring in that country.
  The creation of this cartel would pose a major and long-term 
disruption to the world's energy supply and convene a potential crisis 
that would significantly undermine America's interests. We cannot stand 
by and let yet another global oligopoly in the form of a gas OPEC to be 
established which would ultimately raise the cost of energy globally in 
an unfair manner; nor can we allow the major natural gas exporters, 
some of whom are current or potential adversaries of the United States, 
to develop a powerful political weapon to be used against us and our 
allies. I can only imagine what policy ends such a body would aim to 
achieve with its natural gas leverage.
  Not only the United States would be impacted, but many of the 
developing nations and many of our friends and foes around the world. 
The world's natural resources belong to the world's people, and the 
fact that such a potential organization could deny that would be a 
catastrophe, particularly for those emerging developing nations.
  This resolution puts on notice those countries seeking to establish a 
cartel in natural gas that the United States regards such efforts as a 
threat to the security of the entire world. This proposed cartel would, 
I believe, be part of a dangerous throwback through authoritarianism. 
It would create instability in the respective regions and, in Iran's 
case, to the world. No one wishes to see them commence an axis that 
would embolden their respective nations and their respective regimes.
  I strongly support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do 
the same.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H7621]]

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, for several decades, the world's supply of petroleum 
has been held hostage to the whims of the Organization of Petroleum 
Exporting Countries, also known as OPEC.
  Over the past decades, OPEC has manipulated production to bring about 
enormous price increases. It has repeatedly manufactured energy crises 
and imposed embargoes against individual countries for political 
purposes, including right here in the United States. As a result of its 
policies, several of its members, and especially their elites, have 
grown enormously wealthy at the expense of the global economy, which 
has suffered severe disruption and slower growth.
  Envying the success of this greedy model, many of the world's 
exporters of natural gas have begun taking steps to create a similar 
cartel in natural gas which has been termed as a ``gas OPEC.''
  There are some in the West who dismiss the feasibility of a new OPEC 
for natural gas, citing differences in the structure of the oil and gas 
industries. However, Madam Speaker, the leaders of many of these gas-
exporting countries do not share those doubts, and several have been 
publicly enthusiastic about the prospects of this new project.
  In January of this year, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah 
Khamenei, proposed that Russia and Iran cooperate to establish a cartel 
for natural gas, prompting the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, to 
state his great interest in this project. And Venezuelan strongman Hugo 
Chavez has announced his eager support for the proposed cartel, which 
he describes as an expansion of his efforts to establish a similar 
structure in our own Western Hemisphere.
  These are not empty statements. As the gas-exporting countries formed 
in Doha on April 9, 2007, a committee chaired by the Russian Government 
was established to study the proposals for greater coordination of 
policies, including pricing that participants confirmed would be 
necessary for the creation of such a cartel.

                              {time}  1900

  The threat is not only economic, but strategic. Officials from Iran 
have made clear their interest in using this gas OPEC as an instrument 
for political purposes. Russia has repeatedly demonstrated its 
willingness to use its role as a supplier of oil and gas to exert 
political pressure on other countries, such as Georgia, Ukraine and 
Belarus, among others.
  NATO officials have warned of the danger of Europe's increasing 
dependence on Russian energy. But plans by the Europeans to diversify 
their sources of supply with countries such as Algeria have been called 
into question as Moscow has actively courted these to secure greater 
coordination of policies, including pricing.
  Beyond Europe, U.S. allies, such as Japan and South Korea, are 
heavily dependent on imported natural gas. Countries such as China and 
India are rapidly increasing their reliance on foreign suppliers.
  Currently, the United States is largely self-sufficient in natural 
gas. However, we are projected to greatly increase our usage over the 
next decades, which could produce a growing reliance on world supply.
  If we are to prevent the rise of this new threat, the United States 
must make clear to these governments who are contemplating the 
establishment of this new organization that we will regard the 
establishment of a natural gas cartel as prejudicial to our Nation's 
security and global security.
  We must also develop a joint strategy with our allies and all 
countries that are importers of natural gas, including by diversifying 
sources and access to international markets, such as pipelines.
  As we proceed, Madam Speaker, we must keep in mind that several gas-
exporting countries, such as Canada, Trinidad and Qatar, are friends of 
the United States. We must seek to enlist their assistance in stopping 
this menace before it becomes a reality that, once established, may be 
with us forever.
  The creation of a ``gas OPEC'' world constitutes a major new threat 
to the security and to the economic well-being of the United States, 
our allies and the world. We must not stand back and let yet another 
global extortion racket be established. I strongly urge my colleagues 
to support this resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  MS. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as 
he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo), the 
ranking member of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global 
Environment, and a cosponsor of this resolution.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, I rise in very strong support of H. Res. 
500, which condemns the establishment of a natural gas cartel. On April 
9 of 2007, several gas-exporting countries agreed to form a natural gas 
cartel similar to OPEC. The cartel would be initially composed of 
countries that have nearly 70 percent of the world's reserves. Those 
countries include Russia and Iran.
  Though the U.S. currently is largely self-sufficient in natural gas, 
we are projected to greatly increase usage over time. That could result 
in a growing dependence on world supply.
  At that point, minor disruptions can lead to rapid price increases 
that could have grave consequences for the United States' manufacturing 
base. This could be particularly disastrous for the chemical and 
plastics industry and advanced composite manufacturers because they use 
natural gas as their feedstock. Soaring prices today in this country 
have already challenged their competitiveness. Unfortunately, in 2004 
alone, increases in natural gas prices forced the closure of scores of 
chemical companies and cost roughly 100,000 well-paying jobs.
  If the United States loses our advantage in chemical manufacturing 
companies, that will be the demise of manufacturing as a whole. Because 
without chemicals, you cannot have a strong manufacturing base. With 
the chemical industry on a particular siege by the high cost of natural 
gas now, one can only imagine what would happen if an OPEC-type group 
got together and decided to gouge America and increase greatly the cost 
of natural gas.
  Natural gas materials are used broadly for defense products. 
Disruptions in the supply are detrimental to America's defense 
industrial base and therefore our ability to defend ourselves. We must 
not stand by and let yet another global extortion group, such as OPEC, 
take over and command the world's supply of natural gas.
  The purpose of this resolution is to send a strong message to the 
people involved in these international conspiracies to back off, that 
the United States will do whatever is necessary to make sure that the 
people who control the world's supply of natural gas do no harm to this 
country.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as 
he may consume to my good friend from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany), a 
Member from a major oil- and gas-producing district.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman, the ranking 
member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, for yielding time.
  Madam Speaker, energy security is a critical issue with far-ranging 
implications for the United States and our allies. The United States is 
dependent on foreign oil and currently self-sufficient with regard to 
natural gas. However, in coming years, the U.S. will become 
increasingly an importer of natural gas as demand continues to increase 
to fuel our power plants, to provide feedstock to manufacturing 
processes and to heat our homes.
  Over the course of the past decade, we have seen the evolution of the 
natural gas markets from a very localized market to a regional market 
and now international markets with international pipelines and the 
advent of liquefied natural gas imports.
  Natural-gas-producing countries now, many who are not friendly to the 
U.S., are proposing the formation of a gas cartel. Another OPEC-style 
cartel that artificially manipulates supply and prices will clearly 
pose harm to the U.S. economy as well as to that of our allies.
  My district, the Seventh Congressional District of Louisiana, is a 
major

[[Page H7622]]

producer of oil and gas. In fact, over the next few years, about 25 
percent of all natural gas being consumed in this country will come 
from my district, either through pipelines, production or through 
liquefied natural gas imports.
  I currently have one facility, a liquefied natural gas facility, that 
is undergoing expansion, and three others that are undergoing 
construction as we speak. I will say that if we see a reduction or 
problem with price fixing and limitations in this global market for 
liquefied natural gas, clearly it could have an impact not only with 
regard to jobs in Louisiana, but it will affect the gas distribution to 
the Midwest of this country, as well as to the Northeast, because I 
have a confluence of pipelines where the pricing mechanism for natural 
gas is set in my district as well as a major distribution hub.
  This resolution recognizes the looming problem, and I support passage 
of this resolution to express the sense of Congress, but also support a 
joint and coordinated strategy with our allies to stabilize global 
markets for natural gas and to consider how we move forward on new 
energy exploration, alternative modes of transportation, and also to 
develop new technologies for new alternative energy sources.
  The responsibility for energy security in this country doesn't lie 
solely with the Energy Department. It is also a component of our 
vigorous diplomatic efforts at the State Department to ensure that we 
have open markets and our intelligence services to assess threats. 
Furthermore, it needs to be part of research funding, and Congress must 
consider legislative changes to promote private investment and to 
encourage private research and development.
  Our energy supply should not be influenced by the whims of our 
enemies. Energy independence is a matter of economic and national 
security. Over the next 20 to 25 years, we need to manage our 
dependence on fossil fuels in a strategic way while we develop 
alternative measures that are sustainable, diverse and friendly to our 
environment.
  I wholeheartedly support this resolution and will closely monitor the 
formation of any potential cartel for natural gas, and will continue to 
press my colleagues for progress and sincere work on energy security 
measures, so that we can all work towards less dependency on foreign 
sources.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, let me join in the debate that has taken somewhat of a 
slightly different turn that I think is enormously important.
  This resolution speaks to the confusion that we have experienced when 
there is an organization that blocks others from benefiting from the 
world's natural resources. I am reminded that my colleague, Congressman 
Nick Lampson, and myself offered a few years ago an amendment to ask 
the Department of Interior to do an inventory of the resources that 
were in the gulf. We know that the gulf offers many different 
geographic regions. The exploration in those areas is somewhat 
controversial. But in the areas of Louisiana and Texas, it has been 
accepted and, frankly, has been one of the most safe approaches to the 
question of exploration of natural resources.
  But I raised that question, having listened to a number of my 
colleagues, to say that a component to the idea of ensuring that the 
world's resources are spread fairly and are not held to penalize or 
punish is the acceptance of the resources in the region, in the gulf 
region. As we speak, there are a number of explorations and finds that 
are going on safely and environmentally safely, if you will, that are 
utilizing new finds in natural gas.
  The idea of a cartel or an organization on natural gas again to 
penalize and punish unfairly those who don't have the resources 
certainly should be spoken to by this Congress. I also believe that the 
issue has to be one that is addressed by the respective heads of the 
agencies, the Secretary of Interior, the Secretary of Energy, the 
Secretary of State, to be able to address these questions on a 
diplomatic basis, so that, in essence, we can move this resolution and 
be able to stop this at its start.
  I am glad that the names of Qatar, Trinidad and Canada were 
mentioned, because there are positive relationships that have been 
engendered. Nigeria has been a country that has been friendly to the 
United States and should be mentioned as well.
  So we have a long way to go on disestablishing, of providing some 
break in the idea that when you organize, you organize to punish and to 
penalize; you organize to take away resources; you organize to gouge; 
you organize to undermine. I frankly believe that there are many ways 
of looking at this question of natural resources to be spread, and one 
of them, of course, is to improve the utilization of natural resources 
here in the United States and particularly the utilization of those in 
the gulf region.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson), who has been a 
congressional leader and has been very engaged on the issue of energy 
independence.
  Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman 
from Florida and those cosponsoring this legislation.
  I couldn't agree more that we must prevent or do everything we can to 
make sure there is not a cartel. There is some hard evidence though. 
Dow Chemical recently shared with me their natural gas cost. In 2002, 
they spent $8 billion for natural gas. In 2006, that same bill cost 
them $22 billion. And it is rising. It is the reason they are now 
investing $32 billion in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and Libya, because 
natural gas is dirt cheap there. New chemical plants are going to 
replace us.
  Mill Hall Clay Products was in my district for 83 years making clay 
pipe. They went out of business this year, and the sole reason was 
natural gas cost prices. When it would reach a certain level, they no 
longer could be profitable, and they are history.
  Natural gas, clean, green natural gas, is our bridge to the future, 
and we must have it affordable.

                              {time}  1915

  Currently, it is in high usage to make ethanol. We use a lot of it to 
make biodiesel. When the wind and solar, the sun doesn't shine, we turn 
on a natural gas power plant. Natural gas is our bridge to the future. 
We could displace a third of our auto fleet, short-haul vehicles with 
natural gas, and remove the need for 2.5 million barrels of oil a day.
  But folks, it is great to urge that we don't have a cartel formed, 
but Russia is working hard at this. We just hope and pray that they are 
not successful because we know what they want to do; they want to 
control the price.
  I had this debate with the President some time ago on Air Force One 
that LNG was going to be the answer to our future natural gas needs, 
and 2 years later we are not importing much more natural gas than then 
because we can't buy it. When a ship gets filled with natural gas, it 
is a commodity. Spain outbids us routinely. Japan outbids us routinely. 
Our ports, we have been trying to build ports and have not been able to 
get them permitted. They are only at 40-some percent of capacity. Why, 
because we can't buy it because of the demand in the world marketplace 
for it, countries who don't have any.
  Our fortunate part is America can be self-sufficient on natural gas. 
We could not import one cmf if we chose to produce it. Canada currently 
furnishes about 15 percent of our gas. We get about 2 percent with LNG. 
The rest we produce ourselves, but we have locked up much of our 
mainland. We have locked up our Outer Continental Shelf. We can go out 
of sight where it isn't in sight. There has never been a natural gas 
well that has ever polluted a beach. And if it is out of sight, nobody 
knows it is there.
  Since 1913, Canada has produced natural gas in our Great Lakes, and 
they sell that gas to us. We don't even know it is there. The ship 
moves in, they drill their well, and the underground guys go down and 
put the piping in. Then they sell the gas to us. If they are slant 
drilling, they are probably selling us our own gas.
  Clean, green natural gas should never be a long-term problem for 
America. All we need is the will to produce it. Clean, green natural 
gas, it is the best

[[Page H7623]]

fuel we have. No NOX, no SOX, a third of the 
CO2. The whole climate change issue, natural gas is the 
biggest, most significant change we can make. And we don't need to lose 
the Dow Chemicals in the future. We don't need to lose the Mill Hall 
Clay products in the future. We just have to get out of our minds that 
a gas well is not something that pollutes. It is a hole in the ground 
with a pipe in it that lets clean, green natural gas out.
  We need to make sure that we never have a cartel setting our prices 
like we do in oil. Today the oil prices are in the $70s, because the 
cartel is in control. They have been in control for a couple of years 
now. They lost control for a while. They are back in control today, and 
they control the price of energy. We must not let that happen with 
natural gas. We have had the highest natural gas prices in the world 
for 6 years because it is not a world market. And we must change that 
so that we can compete. We will lose our chemical plants, our 
fertilizer plants, our polymer plants, our plastic plants. We will lose 
aluminum and steel that we have left. And I predict, because gas is 
only a buck and a quarter in Trinidad, just a short distance from here, 
one day on a ship, we will be making glass and bricks there and 
bringing them here, and the working people of America will not have a 
job because of high natural gas prices.
  That is an issue that this Congress needs to deal with. It is 
important that we do not let a cartel form. We can't stop that, we can 
only sell, and we must continue to sell, but we can prevent it by 
producing the clean natural gas that is abundant in this country.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, let me close by simply 
indicating we have many solutions that have been offered on the floor, 
including the full addressing of this resolution, but likely the 
recognition of natural gas resources right here in the United States of 
America. With that, I ask my colleagues to support H. Res. 500.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I would first like to 
commend our distinguished colleague, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, for 
introducing this important resolution.
  Madam Speaker, the majority of our fellow Americans first learned 
about the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, during 
the energy crisis in the 1970s and came to associate the organization 
with it. According to many, the cartel involved in controlling 
petroleum prices has not served the interests of America and its allies 
well.
  Recently, several leaders of the major exporters of natural gas have 
publicly advocated the establishment of an international cartel similar 
to that of OPEC, thus proposing to create a `Gas OPEC.'
  Although the United States currently is largely self-sufficient in 
natural gas, our usage is projected to increase over time, which could 
result in a growing dependence on world supply. Our European and Asian 
allies are already heavily dependent on imported natural gas.
  The creation of this cartel could pose a challenge to the balance in 
the world's energy supply which will require a strong diplomatic 
response by America.
  It is not in America's interest to have control of the world's 
natural gas supply in the hands of a few countries. Nor can we allow 
the major natural gas exporters, some of whom are current or potential 
adversaries of the United States, to develop a powerful political 
weapon to be used against us and our allies.
  The U.S. should vigorously use diplomatic means to cultivate a 
constructive dialogue with countries like Russia, Venezuela, Canada and 
Trinidad & Tobago, to name a few, to find a solution which will best 
serve the interest of America and its allies.
  This resolution puts on notice those countries seeking to establish a 
cartel in natural gas that the United States will be vigilant in 
protecting our economic and political interests.
  I strongly support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do the 
same.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 500, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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