[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 49 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3724-H3732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          AFRICA DESERVES PARITY IN OUR OVERALL FOREIGN POLICY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2009, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Fudge) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus, the CBC, is 
proud to anchor this hour. Currently the CBC is chaired by the 
Honorable Barbara Lee from the Ninth Congressional District of 
California. My name is Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, and I represent the 
11th Congressional District of Ohio.
  CBC members are advocates for families nationally and 
internationally. We have played a significant role as local and 
regional activists. We continue to work diligently to be the conscience 
of the Congress. But understanding that all politics are local, we 
provide dedicated and focused service to the citizens and congressional 
districts we serve. The vision of the founding members of the 
Congressional Black Caucus, to promote the public welfare through 
legislation designed to meet the needs of millions of neglected 
citizens, continues to be a focal point for the legislative work and 
political activities of the Congressional Black Caucus today.
  As Members of Congress, CBC members also promote legislation to aid 
neglected citizens throughout the world. We understand that the United 
States, as a bellwether, has the ability to positively impact our 
neighbors abroad.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to our chairwoman, the Honorable 
Barbara Lee.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much. And let me thank the 
gentlelady for yielding and also for your leadership. Once again, 
thanks to you, we are here talking about the many, many issues which 
face our country, but also many of the issues which the Congressional 
Black Caucus is very involved in leading. And oftentimes the public 
really isn't aware of these issues and exactly what we are doing. So 
thank you again, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, for your leadership and 
for staying the course.
  As Chair of the CBC, I'm very proud to point out that we are 
privileged to draw upon the wisdom and expertise of one of our many 
colleagues on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congressman Don 
Payne of New Jersey. Congressman Payne I must say is more than a 
member. Of course, he is the Chair of the Africa and Global Health 
Subcommittee, but he is our resident expert on Africa. And Congressman 
Payne I always say is a Member of Congress who not only understands 
what our foreign policy should be towards the continent of Africa, but 
he also understands that Africa deserves parity in our overall foreign 
policy and oftentimes is in the midst of bringing peaceful solutions to 
conflicts when others won't go there in many, many dangerous and 
treacherous situations. He also is on the CBC International Affairs 
Task Force. And I just want to commend Congressman Payne tonight. Thank 
you for your sacrifices and for your leadership.
  We are also represented on the Foreign Affairs Committee by 
Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York, Congresswoman Diane Watson of 
California, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas and Congressman 
David Scott of Georgia.
  I would like to briefly talk tonight about Darfur and Sudan. I 
mentioned Mr. Payne earlier, and let me just say that he was the lone 
voice in the wilderness for many years saying that we should declare 
that genocide is taking place in Darfur, because that is exactly what 
did take place.

                              {time}  2000

  He finally brought bipartisan consensus to that, the policy of 
designating this as genocide, and it took a lot. But the country, our 
country, has in place, as its foreign policy, that genocide is taking 
place in Darfur. But it is also important to recognize that we haven't 
been able to go the next step to really help to end the genocide.
  The people of Sudan, they have a desire for a just and lasting peace, 
but it has been crushed repeatedly by one of the most brutal regimes in 
the world. More than 2 million South Sudanese have died in the 21-year 
war and have suffered countless atrocities, mostly committed by the 
same regime in Khartoum.
  Darfurian children, born at the height of the genocide, are now 6 
years old, and many of them are still in displaced camps in Darfur or 
in Eastern Chad as refugees.
  Fifteen years ago in Rwanda, the international community turned a 
blind eye with a million civilians butchered. Have we really done more 
in the case of Darfur, in South Sudan in Abyei and in Nuba? We declared 
genocide in 2004, but we haven't acted decisively to stop it. If we 
had, we could have saved many, many innocent people.
  And I have visited Darfur on three occasions, and I have just seen 
the conditions in the camps deteriorate over the years. And so, now it 
is very important, given what has just taken place, for the United 
States to raise its role and elevate our work as it relates to trying 
to help the world community understand that we have got to do the right 
thing. We need to support the International Criminal Court in its 
efforts to hold Sudan President Bashir accountable for his crimes 
against humanity, and for the President, and we support the President, 
our President, in appointing a Special Envoy for Sudan. Congressman 
Payne and myself wrote to President Obama, and we are delighted that he 
has appointed an Ambassador or a Special Envoy to be empowered, and we 
want him to have the resources to focus on Sudan as a whole with 
special attention to the ongoing genocide in Darfur. We want full 
implementation of the CPA and to address the humanitarian crisis 
because, now as General Bashir has expelled the humanitarian workers, 
we have an even worse crisis emerging on the humanitarian front.
  And so our new Special Envoy is Major General Gration. He will be the 
Special Envoy, and he is uniquely qualified. Some of us met him in 
Darfur, and we know that he is very qualified to undertake these 
critically important efforts. As the President said, and I quote, he 
said that ``he knows the region, he has broad experience and has my 
complete confidence.''
  Let me also say that we have to work very closely with the Special 
Envoy. And again, we want the Special Envoy to have a team of people 
with the resources to be able to do this job so he can bring peace to 
the long-suffering people of the Sudan.

[[Page H3725]]

  Also, in conclusion, let me just highlight the fact that the CBC has 
led for many, many years in developing our global HIV/AIDS initiatives 
and the U.S. response to that.
  We were instrumental, last year in taking--and can you believe this, 
Congresswoman Fudge, Nelson Mandela and the ANC was on the terrorist 
watch list until last December. So we were able to get him off of the 
terrorist watch list before his 90th birthday.
  We have established June as Caribbean American Heritage Month, 
honoring those of Caribbean descent who have contributed immensely to 
this great country.
  We are working now on the Shirley Chisholm Caribbean Education 
Exchange Program, and trying to make sure that our country, Haiti, the 
poorest country in this hemisphere, receives the type of attention and 
resources it deserves to help stabilize the country. Hurricanes, 
natural disasters, poverty, health care needs are badly needed in 
Haiti, and the CBC has been working very hard to try to help stabilize 
that country.
  I won't go on and on now, but I just wanted to thank Congresswoman 
Fudge because the CBC, again, is continuing to be the conscience of the 
Congress, not only in our domestic policy, but in our foreign policy, 
and each and every Member understands that we have to think globally 
and act locally, and we try to work strategically on both the home 
front and the international front.
  Thank you very much, Congresswoman Fudge.
  Ms. FUDGE. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I would very much like to thank 
our Chair for her leadership, for her vision, and certainly for her 
support of this special hour for the CBC.
  Mr. Speaker, I would now like to yield to the gentlelady from 
Maryland (Ms. Edwards).
  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.
  From the beginning, our great Nation has been generous, and it has 
been a safe harbor for immigrants, providing asylum to individuals 
fleeing political turmoil and humanitarian crisis. But that philosophy 
has been challenged very seriously, forcing people who have resided 
lawfully in the United States for over 15 years to return to their 
country of origin that is no longer their home.
  And so today, I rise to urge President Obama to reverse former 
President Bush's executive order forcing Liberian refugees back to 
their country. I ask the President to extend lawful status to these 
persons who have been law-abiding and tax paying citizens for years. 
These are people who have built lives in this country, who have 
children who are U.S. citizens, and who do not want to tear their 
families apart.
  Families like Janvier Richard, who lives in my congressional district 
in Maryland. She fled Liberia for America in 1991 after she and her 
family were threatened during the Liberian civil war. Janvier has spent 
18 years in America, a generation, a lifetime in America. And yet, 
today, Janvier Richards, and her family, after they were granted 
Temporary Protected Status by the United States because of the 
political turmoil and atrocities being committed in Liberia, have now 
built a home here in these United States for 18 years.
  But in 2007, President Bush effectively ended Temporary Protected 
Status for Liberians by signing a memorandum authorizing Deferred 
Enforced Departure.
  What does that mean?
  That means that President Bush ordered all Liberians who had been 
granted TPS, temporary protected status, to leave the United States by 
March 31, 2009.
  Now, to be sure, Liberians have made tremendous progress, back on the 
road to democracy under the able leadership of President Ellen Johnson 
Sirleaf. But today, the question before us and the justice challenge is 
really about those who came to this country, like Janvier, from 
Liberia, started families and businesses, worked hard, paid taxes. 
Their children are now United States citizens and grew up in America.
  Janvier Richards wrote me a letter saying: ``I am being told to 
return home to a country that has no place for me. I have a 5-year-old 
son born at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, and should 
be starting school this fall as a new kindergarten student. I have been 
working and paying taxes since I was 16, and I am happy contribute to 
American society by all means. This has been my home for 18 years,'' 
Janvier writes.
  Richard has followed the proper procedures to become a U.S. citizen. 
She fled here to the United States with her father, who was a U.S. 
citizen, who filed for citizenship on her behalf. But since he passed 
away in 2002, immigration officials have continuously ignored Janvier 
Richard's inquiry about the status of her application, and now she 
faces deportation.

  This is not about people wanting to take advantage of the United 
States or use Social Services. Janvier has been working and paying 
taxes since she was 18 years old and has never received government 
assistance.
  This Congress and this administration must work to allow Liberians 
like Richards and her family to remain lawfully in this country as 
contributors, as taxpayers, and as citizens. We need to support these 
families that have become integral parts of our communities.
  In closing her letter, Janvier Richards writes, and I quote, 
``Immigrants started this country. Immigrants are needed in this 
country. It shouldn't take up to 10 to 15 years before someone can get 
their green card or citizenship papers. We are working,'' she continues 
to write, ``we are helping the country succeed. We are needed.''
  Ms. Richards and her son, the 5-year-old born at Holy Cross Hospital 
in Silver Spring, others like her who have come to this country and 
started new productive lives, have done nothing to deserve deportation. 
And they came here under the spirit in which we have granted asylum 
status to millions around the world for the generations of this 
country.
  And I, therefore, ask President Obama to stand with Janvier Richards 
and other Liberians like her and reverse the current executive order.
  I thank you, gentlelady, and I yield back.
  Ms. FUDGE. I want to thank my colleague for her very moving remarks 
and because she is here and even though she doesn't feel well, because 
it is such a very important issue. So I want to thank her.
  Mr. Speaker, I would now yield to the gentlelady from Wisconsin (Ms. 
Moore).
  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Well, thank you so much, Congresswoman Fudge, 
for sponsoring this hour. I think it is extremely important to educate 
our constituencies to a greater extent than we are somehow able to do 
in 1 minute or even in the heat of a debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I am so delighted again to join these distinguished 
colleagues, the Chair of this special hour, Congresswoman Fudge, as 
well as our Dean, I guess, of foreign affairs in the Congressional 
Black Caucus, Congressman Payne. And certainly, I would like to 
associate myself with the comments of our dear Representative from 
Maryland. I would like to associate myself with her remarks because I 
also want to talk about Liberia, but I want to talk about it from the 
perspective of protecting the investments that we have made in Liberia.
  Liberia's relationship to the United States is certainly 
longstanding. Liberia was settled in the early 1800s by freeborn Blacks 
and former slaves from the United States of America. These settlers 
used the Constitution of the United States as the model for their new 
government. They designed a flag with red and white stripes with a 
single white star. And, of course, in 1824, the settlement was named 
Monrovia, after the American President James Monroe, and Monrovia 
remains the capital of the modern-day Liberia.
  I can tell you that, unfortunately, because of arbitrary rule, 
economic collapse, corrupt governments, Liberia fell into two 
devastating civil wars in the span of a little more than a decade, as 
well as a legacy of a ruthless and reckless leader in Charles Taylor, 
who nearly destroyed the country, created regional instability, drawing 
in Sierra Leone, another country, and really creating an insecure 
situation. The most egregious of those things, in my mind, 
Congresswoman Fudge, was the engagement of child warriors, children 
warriors in this fight.
  During that fighting, Liberians suffered immensely. Over a quarter of 
a

[[Page H3726]]

million lives were lost, and more than half of all of Liberia's 3.5 
million people were driven from their homes, including those who found 
safe haven in our country to escape the violence.
  I have visited Liberia a couple of times and heard some of the 
stories of people, women who were crossing the roads, pregnant and 
found themselves killed on the road right there for their food. I saw, 
looked into the vacant eyes of some of the child combatants that they 
are trying to rehabilitate in the country.
  And so I was really pleased when late, late last week, our President, 
Barack Obama, given all of the challenges that he has, stopped to allow 
Liberians, who took refuge in our country from the civil war in their 
home nation to receive deferred enforced departure protection for 12 
more months. The President's recent order is so important because 
Liberians who have been granted either this temporary protected status, 
TPS, or deferred enforcement departure, DED, are allowed to remain in 
the U.S. rather than be forced to return to a country in the midst of 
war.
  And let us not think for one moment, Congresswoman Fudge, that this 
country is not still at war. And they are still at war because, despite 
the sage leadership of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, she is taking tremendous 
steps to overcome the ravages of war. She is basically having to start 
from scratch from the destruction that was caused by these two wars. 
She is been busy trying to rebuild the nation's education and health 
care system, oversee the de-activization and reintegration of the old 
security forces and ex-combatants. I mean, they need a new police 
service. Who do you trust and who don't you trust?

                              {time}  2015

  And this is a very excruciating process which the United States, of 
course, thank God, is helping them to do.
  They have got to decommission these ex-combatants and help restore 
its shattered economy in the midst of the worst global recession in 
decades. Because of the extensive damage done by Charles Taylor and the 
conflict, things that we take for granted, such as roads, police to 
protect residents, courts to convict criminals, a basic economy, and 
confidence people have in its government have all got to be rebuilt. 
This is not a time to send President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf another 
whole slew of people to provide educational opportunities for jobs. It 
is shocking to go to Liberia. It is the poorest day I have ever had in 
my life, Congresswoman Fudge. I have never lived in a community that 
did not have a library, and I went to Liberia, a place where they do 
not even have a library in major parts of Liberia.
  The challenges are many. Again, they lack health care, education; 
they suffer from an unemployment rate of 80 percent--yes, eight-zero--
80 percent, lingering cultural and social effects from the legacy of 
war, and again, the haunting eyes of those child soldiers who have got 
to be reintegrated into society after experiencing or committing 
serious crimes. Seventy-six percent of Liberians in 2006 lived on less 
than $1 per day. Fifty-two percent live on less than 50 cents per day. 
One hundred fifty-seven infants per 1,000 die before their first 
birthdays. Over 1,000 mothers die per 100,000 live births.
  Most Liberians do not have access to safe drinking water. I was there 
in Liberia, and I had a bottle of water. Kids came up to me, fighting 
over the bottle of water, and I was very reluctant to give these 
children a bottle of water that I had drank from. Someone said to me, 
``Ma'am, that is the cleanest water that they will ever have, perhaps, 
in their entire lives that is in that bottle.'' These are the 
conditions that they are living under. Electricity is sporadically 
available. The list goes on and on and on, and this is only an hour 
that we have here, Madam Chair.
  One tool that the President does have, though, is the economic 
support flowing into her country from Liberians here in our country, 
some because of the special protections granted to them by TPS and DED. 
With the Liberian economy struggling and a global economic recession 
not making things any easier, money being sent to a country from 
relatives living in the U.S. is a veritable lifeline.
  According to the Liberian government, remittances from the U.S. 
totaled $60 million in 2007, providing essential support. According to 
the International Monetary Fund, Liberia's two civil wars have reduced 
Liberia's real gross domestic product to about 40 percent of its prewar 
level between 1989 and 2003. There is no magic wand available to 
President Johnson-Sirleaf to restore 60 percent of GDP overnight. 
Again, it would be extremely egregious for us to return citizens to 
that country without the prerequisite infrastructure. She has also, I 
hope, the steadfast support of this Congress and of this administration 
to Liberia and its people.
  A couple of years ago, she was right here in this Chamber, and 
addressed a joint session of Congress, an honor thrust upon this 
inspiring leader because of the historic connection and special 
relationship between our two countries. In that address, she said, 
``The Liberian people are counting on me and my administration to 
create the conditions that will guarantee the realization of their 
dreams. We must not betray their trust. All the children I meet, when I 
ask what they want most, say, `I want to learn.' `I want to go to 
school.' `I want an education.' We must not betray their trust.''
  The transition from conflict to peace is never quick nor easy. Madam 
Chair, I am afraid for the future of Liberia if we do not provide them 
with adequate support. I am going to amend my remarks and submit them 
for the Record.
  In closing, I just want to commend President Obama for his welcomed 
step. He shares the strong belief that there is a beautiful democracy 
budding in Liberia, and I congratulate President Obama for his strong 
expression of support for our Liberia. The good thing about it is that 
this Nation is just rich with natural resources and that we now have a 
leader with credibility in President Johnson-Sirleaf. She is so decent 
as well as being brilliant. This can help create tremendous wealth for 
its people. It now has this capable leader for its vision, and the 
diamonds and minerals and its port can all lead to great prosperity, 
and we should be proud to be their great friend.
  With that, I yield back my time to you. Thank you again for your 
stewardship over this hour.
  Ms. FUDGE. Thank you very much.
  Mr. Speaker, I would very much like to thank my friend and colleague, 
the gentlelady from Wisconsin, for her passion and for her insight.
  At this time, I would now like to yield to the gentleman from New 
Jersey who, indeed, is the dean of the CBC as it relates to matters of 
Foreign Affairs, especially those in Africa.
  Mr. Payne.
  Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much, Representative Fudge. Let me commend 
you for taking the leadership for this hour on behalf of the 
Congressional Black Caucus. We certainly have appreciated your 
experience as a former mayor and as a person involved in politics in 
the State of Ohio and how you have come in, not as a trainee, but fully 
running. We know of the untimely death of your predecessor, 
Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, but we certainly appreciate your 
taking up the mantle and moving forward.
  I would just like to speak briefly on several of the countries that 
we have mentioned.
  We have just heard the gentlelady from Wisconsin talk about Haiti, 
and I might just mention briefly that Haiti has had a long and 
difficult history, highlighted by prolonged poverty, political 
instability and underdevelopment, resulting in a politically fragile 
state with the lowest standards of living in the entire western 
hemisphere. With the assistance of the United Nations Stabilization 
Mission in Haiti and large amounts of international aid, Haiti has been 
attempting to establish a foundation for longer economic development. 
Security issues have presented the primary risk to stability while 
restoring economic growth, investment, employment, and access to basic 
services have been the major and equally formidable challenges to 
sustainable development.
  President Preval, since assuming his second nonconsecutive term in 
office in May of 2006, has emphasized the importance of rebuilding 
democracy, rebuilding Democratic institutions and of establishing 
conditions for private investment, which is key to the development of 
any country to create jobs.

[[Page H3727]]

The success of his government will depend largely on its ability to 
improve security and social economics.
  The condition in the country: 76 percent of the population lives on 
less than $2 a day. These are conditions that make it very difficult. 
Security conditions have improved, but Haitians have seen their already 
substandard living conditions deteriorate further with the rise in 
global food prices and in the recent devastation by a series of 
hurricanes.
  When people say, ``Why Haiti? Why should we be concerned?'' number 1, 
they are very close to our shores. Number 2, there has been a history 
of United States' involvement in Haiti. As a matter of fact, in the 
Battle of Savannah, when we fought for independence of the United 
States of America from Britain, Haiti sent soldiers over to fight in 
the Battle of Savannah. As a matter of fact, recently--and I visited 
last year--the statue that has been dedicated to Haitian soldiers who 
fought for the independence of the United States' 13 original colonies 
away from Great Britain.
  Also, as we know, Haiti became the first revolt of enslaved people to 
defeat the colonists, and that sent a message throughout Central and 
South America. As you know, Haiti in 1804 defeated the forces of the 
great Napoleon's army, and as a result of this 12-year war between 
France and Haiti, France was defeated. There is great wealth that 
France would get from Haiti, which actually was more than all the 13 
colonies of the United States provided for Britain. The one portion of 
the island of Espanol, of which Haiti is half of it and the other half 
is the Dominican Republic, gave more wealth to France. So, when France 
lost Haiti, it lost economics, and as a result, the Louisiana Purchase 
came about.
  As you may know, at that time, the United States was landlocked. The 
United States only went to the Mississippi River, and it was the land 
that was owned by France. Because France after the long war with Haiti 
needed cash--it was land rich and cash poor--it sold the Louisiana 
Territory for, I think, about $15 million and, therefore, opened up the 
West. The Lewis and Clark expedition started in St. Louis as a result 
of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. So Haiti has had a 
tremendous impact on the United States of America.
  Finally, about Haiti, part of the erosion which we see was spurred 
along in World War II. With the U.S. being cut off from the Pacific 
region, there was a need for rubber to be grown and produced. There was 
a Haitian grower who said that it was going to be impossible for rubber 
trees to grow in Haiti. However, the Haitian leadership wanted to help 
in the war effort and wanted to placate President Roosevelt, and so 
they cut down natural kinds of ecology, and tried to introduce rubber 
trees, which would not grow, which was already known by Haitian 
farmers, but they did it anyway. As a result, erosion started. This was 
one of the areas that, with the natural habitat taken down and the 
foreign intervention of other plants, Haiti's erosion also began.
  So I just would like to say that we need to take a look at the status 
of Haitians in America. We need to change that situation so that people 
who have come to this country will definitely have an opportunity to 
become full-fledged citizens of our country.
  Let me just quickly talk about the Liberians who we have heard about, 
another country. We just heard our previous speaker talk about the fact 
that there was Deferred Enforcement Departure status which expired on 
March 31 of 2009 for Liberians as a result of the war with Charles 
Taylor. People got TPS, Temporary Protective Status, from Liberia. Then 
when that ran out, they had the Deferred Enforcement Departure, and we 
have gotten word that we believe that Liberians will be able to have a 
1-year extension of the DED, from words that I received from President 
Obama's office.
  Let me just say that, once again, in 1820, $100,000 was funded by the 
U.S. Congress that went to help start Liberia. As you know, Monrovia 
was named after President Monroe, and many free black men and women 
went to Haiti. As a matter of fact, there was an integrated group of 
blacks and whites that went back originally, but the whites all died, 
and were unable to survive. Only the blacks survived.

                              {time}  2030

  And so we have had a long relationship with Haiti and with Liberia, 
and we should, certainly, with the 3,600 people who are in the DED 
current status, I hope that within the next year--and there will be a 
rally on Wednesday at 1:30 here at the west terrace at the Capitol that 
will allow Liberian leaders to come and show their appreciation for the 
extension, and we urge anyone who is free on Wednesday of this week at 
1:30 to come and participate in the rally.
  Finally, we've heard about Darfur. I was pleased that we were able to 
get the genocide resolution through, but I did expect more to happen 
from the world, and I have been disappointed.
  I went to eastern Chad, and I spoke to an elderly woman who talked 
about what happened in her town: a pregnant woman was bayonetted there, 
a neighbor was shot. Even in huts they would lock, tie the door 
together and burn the huts and the boys would be burned to death, all 
of this by al-Bashir, the president who has been indicted by the 
International Criminal Court and should stand for trial.
  As has been mentioned, there's been a long, north-south battle 
between the NIF government, the National Islamic Front, and the SPLA, 
the Sudanese Freedom--South Sudanese Liberation Movement, the late Dr. 
Garang, for 21 years. Four million people have been displaced, two 
million people have died.
  And 21 days after Dr. Garang was able to get the comprehensive peace 
accord signed, his plane mysteriously crashed and Dr. Garang was killed
  I immediately went there and participated in the mourning and 
attended the funeral of him. His wife and children--Rebecca, his wife, 
is very strong and continues to move forward on the question of South 
Sudan, the comprehensive peace agreement must be upheld and Darfur, the 
International Criminal Court, should go forward with the prosecution of 
al-Bashir. He has put out 13 nongovernmental organizations who are 
feeding people and are bringing in food and so forth. This must not 
stand, and he must be stopped.
  We could talk about the Congo, but I will yield back the balance of 
the time so our chairperson of tonight's special order may be able to 
conclude in any manner that she sees fit. But let me once again thank 
you for taking this hour, and we still have much to do. The CBC, the 
conscience of the Congress, will continue to move forward, not only 
domestically, but internationally.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I would very much again like to thank our 
teacher, our dean, our resident expert for his remarks this evening.
  And now, Mr. Speaker, I would yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the United States is a leader in advocating for human 
rights and humanitarian assistance. These ideals are embodied in the 
desire to assist and guide others that have lost hope.
  At the United Nations World Summit in 2005, 191 members of the UN 
expressed support for the idea of a responsibility to protect. This 
responsibility to protect proclaims that mass atrocities that occur in 
one country are the concern of all countries. This echoes the great Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, declaration that injustice anywhere is a 
threat to justice everywhere.
  With Dr. King's words in our hearts, I rise today to speak about the 
grave tragedies affecting individuals in Darfur and the temporary 
protective status, better known as TPS, for individuals from Liberia 
and Haiti.
  I begin with the humanitarian emergency that is taking place in 
Darfur.
  The history of the information in the Darfur region of Sudan is long 
and complicated. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for decades. 
The conflict took a turn for the worst in 2003 when the Sudanese 
government mobilized militias known as Janjaweeds to attack opposition 
groups. The militia has brutalized the people of Darfur with murder, 
rape, torture, and pillage. They have burned down entire villages 
forcing people to flee their homes and their livelihoods. Entire 
portions of the region are now ruled by roving bands of armed gunmen.

[[Page H3728]]

  Since 2003, 300,000 Darfuris have died as a result of a conflict, and 
approximately 2.7 million have been forced from their homes.
  The conflict in Darfur is also having a devastating effect on its 
western neighbor, Chad. Nearly 200,000 refugees from Sudan have joined 
the 90,000 persons displaced by the civil war in Chad. To further 
complicate matters, both Chad and Sudan have accused each other of 
supporting rebellions in their countries. Last week, however, the 
situation in Darfur took a grave turn for the worse.
  Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, expelled 13 nongovernmental 
organizations, or NGOs, and 6,500 aid workers from the country. This 
was in direct retaliation for Bashir's indictment on war crimes and 
crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, better 
known as the ICC, on March 4, 2009. Bashir's unsubstantiated accusation 
that the NGOs were cooperating with the ICC investigation only 
heightens the urgency and necessity for an international response.
  The civilian population is composed of two million people who are 
spread out among 200 refugee camps in Darfur, and in 12 refugee camps 
in eastern Chad. The UN estimates that 40 percent of Darfuris depend on 
outside assistance for their survival. This expulsion of humanitarian 
groups, such as Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders, will adversely 
affect millions of civilians who rely on NGOs for their most basic food 
and medical needs. Who will continue to provide these urgent services, 
Mr. Speaker?
  The Sudanese government has clearly demonstrated that it is unwilling 
or unable to assist its citizens throughout this very conflict. The 
expulsion of the NGOs is only the most recent act that endangers 
millions of lives. This is why the international community must unite 
and forcefully declare that Sudan's government not hold its citizens 
hostage.
  Last week, I and nearly 80 Members of this Congress sent letters to 
the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, the chairman of the 
African Union and the President of China urging them to insist that the 
government of Sudan allow humanitarian organizations to re-enter the 
country.
  President Bashir must separate the ICC action from the charity relief 
efforts of relief groups. The expulsion violates international 
humanitarian law and damages efforts to resolve the conflict. Without 
the NGOs, more than one million Darfuris will be left vulnerable to 
disease and starvation. These are civilians, Mr. Speaker. They are 
caught in the cross hairs of a conflict they did not begin and they 
have no power to end.
  By sacrificing his people for political gain, President Bashir has 
shown a call as disregard for human life that the international 
community cannot ignore. President Bashir must reverse the expulsion 
order and allow NGOs back into Sudan. The people of Darfur have 
suffered enough. To compound their anguish at this critical time is 
unconscionable.
  I applaud President Obama's appointment of a special envoy to Sudan. 
President Obama named retired Air Force General Scott Gration last week 
as a special envoy to Sudan, choosing a close adviser with broad 
experience in the region. The President has indicated that the conflict 
in Darfur is a priority for his administration. The CBC is encouraged 
by the administration's stance, and we look forward to working with the 
President and the Special Envoy Gration.

  At this time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to my colleague from 
the State of Texas, the gentlewoman from the State of Texas, Ms. Sheila 
Jackson-Lee.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I would like to thank the gentlelady from 
Ohio, first of all, for her leadership in helping to share with our 
colleagues hour after hour enormously important issues facing not only 
the United States but facing the world. And I join her this evening.
  And I was very appreciative of joining with my chairperson of the 
Congressional Black Caucus, who I just saw at another meeting who was 
able to be here, Congressman Barbara Lee. I want to thank her for her 
leadership. The chairperson of my Subcommittee on Africa and Global 
Health, Chairman Donald Payne, who speaks volumes about Africa, and as 
well, chairs the Foreign Affairs Task Force, of which I am a member of 
the Congressional Black Caucus; and one of our great leaders as well, 
Congresswoman Gwen Moore. I know there were probably others that were 
here, and I did not get a chance to see them on the floor. But I do 
want to acknowledge that this is an important hour for us. And I am 
pleased to be able to join my colleague.
  Let me just suggest that there are many ways that we can look at 
Liberia, Haiti, and Sudan. And it is my intent because I think we have 
talents here in the United States, Representatives of African nations, 
that, frankly, we don't get a chance to interact with as much as we 
would like. And I am going to accept the challenge given to me to host 
a meeting of African ambassadors that our colleagues will have a chance 
to sit down with and hear their story, their insight certainly on the 
issues that we're now raising, particularly Liberia and Sudan--
obviously Haiti is in the Caribbean, and I will speak to that issue.
  But let me tell you why I want to offer that suggestion. And the 
reason is because I sat down with one of our distinguished ambassadors 
last week who mentioned that with all of the meetings on the economy, 
the worldwide crisis in the economy, interestingly enough, the 
Continent of Africa is not on the agenda.
  We heard an eloquent speech by Prime Minister Brown, and all of us 
were moved by his passion and his values, the Prime Minister of Great 
Britain. And I am told that he is as eloquent and as energized before 
his own Parliament and in international meetings as he was with us in 
the joint session.
  And we are very blessed, if you will, by having an administration 
that has the cultural nexus and the heart and the intellect to be 
concerned about these issues. President Obama has been received 
overwhelmingly, his election, on the continent. I think we are poised 
to be of a gigantic opportunity to do what Prime Minister Brown has 
charged us to do: Don't forget the impoverished. Don't forget the 
journey we were on trying to address the question of poverty. And that 
was a big issue as it relates to Africa.
  Now, of course, the economy has come and there may be donor nations 
who have made pledges who have not completed their pledges, but Africa 
still has the same concerns and therefore, it will be very important to 
hear from these ambassadors on the issues that we're talking about, 
which I expect to talk about here tonight.
  For example, our esteemed president of Liberia who came out of the 
World Bank and who has a great respect of not only women of this 
country, but certainly of our administration and our past 
administration. She came to Liberia after Charles Taylor in a country 
that was void of infrastructure, void of water, void of--when I say 
``water resources,'' infrastructure that would have clean running 
water; void of infrastructure that would have utilities or any mode of, 
if you will, phone, utility service; void of operating school systems. 
So we know that she has made great strides, and I have details here.
  But at the same time, we are well aware that she needs more 
resources. We have to have this on the agenda. We have to be able to 
partnership with the African Union, for example, strengthen it as the 
African Union attempts to develop its own mission and mandate on how it 
addresses the issue of conflict.
  So I think if I said anything about Liberia, there are certainly two 
major points: one, the Liberian Americans, but Liberia and the new 
president, Mrs. Johnson, is someone who has the, if you will, the 
monetary knowledge because of her experience here in the United States 
and her training in some of the financial structures of our country, 
but, also, the will to do it.

                              {time}  2045

  We must not forget Liberia in its journey toward economic 
independence, but it is a microcosm of the needs of the continent.
  I also want to thank the administration, President Obama, for heeding 
the cry of many Members who wrote a letter about Liberian Americans. 
I'm told by our chairperson, Chairperson Payne, Liberian Americans will 
be here in the Congress or on the West steps to highlight their plight 
of continued TPS status, deferred, if you

[[Page H3729]]

will, deportation that has been going on and on and on.
  We have got to solve that. That is something we can look to as we 
reform immigration. Many times when we discuss immigration, people 
start thinking it's not their problem, it's a global problem, it's a 
problem that faces many different ethnic groups. And we all need to 
come together as a family and fix it so people can be here legally; 
they can pay taxes; they can, in essence, be separated from those who 
want to do them harm.
  So I want to put Liberia in the eye of the storm as it relates to the 
economy, and the challenge that the ambassador gave me was why don't 
you consult with us who are here and let us tell you the economic 
impact on the continent, what we need to be involved.
  The second is, of course, Sudan and I might have been one of the last 
CODELs, congressional delegations, of three that were able to actually 
get into Darfur, into the camps. And I had spent time in Chad as well 
some years back before I was able to get into Darfur. I've been 
denied--it's a very long story of how long it took, and I frankly 
didn't know whether I'd get in the time that I went since we were among 
those who got arrested in front of the Sudanese embassy.
  But we went into those camps, and the key thing that I want to say to 
the distinguished gentlelady is how valuable the NGOs were. They were 
literally the lifeline of the camps. They were a lifeline of the 
children. They were the lifeline of the women. And the women were the 
anchor of the camps because any man that would venture out to try to be 
a supportive family member, to provide income, would be killed by the 
janjaweed, or whatever the conflicts, they were targets. And so, 
mostly, it would be the women. Tragically, the women would be raped, 
and so things are not well.
  And the complete disregard that the leadership of Sudan, the 
President of Sudan, has for the indictment, for the world family, there 
is no respect there. And we have a challenge, and we have got to be 
able to match the will of this country and our foreign policy, our 
belief in democracy, our belief in the security of children and family 
and the ability to live on your land without threat and danger and 
murder and pillage, we've got to the match that with the will of the 
countries on the continent, the African countries, the heads of States.
  This is a new day now. This is in essence an America that has a 
commonality, that people are not only interested and are sacrificing on 
behalf of Sudan and the crisis there, but likewise, we have an 
administration that accounts Susan Rice, who is the U.N. envoy who I 
worked with on the crisis between Ethiopa and Eritrea. She is a 
committed and knowledgeable person about the world but particularly 
about Africa, and I count on her wisdom. I count on the wisdom of the 
Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and I count on that foreign 
policy team, along with the envoy that our President has just selected, 
Major Scott Gration, that adds to the team that can now focus on Sudan 
but also focus on the continent of Africa.
  I join in denouncing the treatment of our, if you will, NGOs. Just 
about a year or so ago, we lost a valiant State Department employee 
that was killed in Sudan, and I frankly have never gotten over it, and 
I offer my deepest respect and sympathy to his family. It was a 
horrific act.
  And so it is important that we put our foot down on the atrocities 
that has occurred in Sudan, and people should understand, people are in 
Darfur because they have been moved off of their land. You can't help 
to rebuild this area, irrigate it, give people--these are farming 
people. Don't tell them, well, just go to the city and get another 
life, get a life. These people have lived on their land, and they have 
bothered no one. They've raised their families, and now they're being 
literally torn apart.
  Southern Sudan, that tried to get on its feet, that has a lot of oil, 
it's still in conflict between the Khartoum government and Sudan. 
Southern Sudan, who has all the oil and cannot seem to get an 
agreement, to my current knowledge--and I may have need of some 
additional update to my current knowledge--has not been able to solve 
the distribution of the oil moneys, and so they're suffering. This is 
an immediate crisis that needs to be fixed.
  As it relates to Haiti, let me again mention the work of the 
Congressional Black Caucus. We have been working on Haiti for, I don't 
know, as long as I've been here, but we have had wonderful 
conversations with President Preval who is a committed and dedicated 
leader, who is looking for funding for infrastructure, funding, if you 
will, to rebuild after the terrible onslaught of hurricanes that they 
had in the last year, 2008. He is looking to work with us and the 
Congressional Black Caucus in the appropriations process, and we're 
looking to work with him.
  Haiti is a wonderful ally of the United States. We can never pay them 
for the blood that they shed standing alongside us in the Revolutionary 
War, and their victory was our victory. Our victory was their victory, 
and they're hardworking people. You can see that here in the United 
States, and you can see that obviously in Haiti.
  And so what I think, as I close, that you selected hot spots that 
symbolize the need for us to be engaged, and as I said, finally with 
respect to immigration, Haiti, too, so many distraught cases of 
Haitians treated unfairly in the United States because they don't have 
the parity that happens when Cubans are fleeing persecution as is 
defined. Haitians have been fleeing persecution, economic persecution, 
political persecution, who are here and cannot return back. I want them 
to get parity, and any immigration bill that I have any hands on, it 
will be part of that bill.
  And so I think it is extremely important, Mr. Speaker, that we look 
at these issues and be assured that we work on behalf of all of these 
people. It is our commitment to make their lives better by our 
statements here today on the floor, but also our collaboration to 
continue to work on the issues that impact people's lives and as well 
the quality of life. We need to save lives and we certainly need to 
save them.
  I just want to put on the record that I am working with a Haitian 
teacher who has suffered so much. She teaches math. She's well-
respected. She had a court order that said she was not going to be 
deported. It's a long story, but I simply want to let the Haitians in 
Houston know we have not forgotten her, and we want her to stay united 
with her family.
  Thank you very much for your leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of Sudan, Liberia and 
Haiti. These are three of the most troubled nations in the world, 
desperately in need of support from other nations, including the United 
States.


                            sudan and darfur

  I am pleased that President Obama has appointed a Special Envoy to 
Sudan. Major General Scott Gration is both a humanitarian and a 
professional soldier. He has proudly served our country but more 
importantly brings to this position the experience and gravitas 
necessary to lead our mission.
  The United States has for most of our history been a leader among 
nations in attempting to help foment democracy and bring peace to 
warring parties in regions throughout the world.
  Sudan's western region of Darfur has been embroiled in violent 
conflict since 2003, which has brought a weighty death toll and 
displaced over 2 million people. Just recently, Darfur rebels killed 
200 people near the capitol city of Khartoum. With violence continuing 
to worsen in the region, I call on the international community to renew 
it's commitment to finding a solution to the conflict in Darfur.
  In 2007, I had the chance to lead a Congressional Delegation to the 
region of Darfur to see the first hand devastation that has swept 
through the region.
  As Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am very concerned 
about the displaced children who suffer due to the lack of nutrition 
and access to clean water. Additionally, child mortality remains a 
significant problem throughout the region. I am also concerned that the 
global food crisis could exacerbate the conflict, placing more children 
at risk.
  We, as a Global community, must unite to address this issue. Let us 
not let race, religious ties, or bureaucratic systems hinder us from 
fight for the people of Darfur. As a member of the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee, I will continue to work towards a solution for the 
ongoing conflict in Darfur. We must remain steadfast to gaining peace 
in the region.
  Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over four years. 
During that time, at least 400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 
million innocent civilians have been

[[Page H3730]]

forced to flee their homes and now live in displaced-persons camps in 
Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad.
  And more than 3.5 million men, women, and children are completely 
reliant on international aid for survival. Not since the Rwandan 
genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of 
displacement, starvation, rape, and mass slaughter.
  Since early 2003, Sudanese armed forces and Sudanese government-
backed militia known as ``Janjaweed'' have been fighting two rebel 
groups in Darfur, the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/SLM) and 
the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
  The stated political aim of the rebels has been to compel the 
government of Sudan to address underdevelopment and the political 
marginalization of the region. In response, the Sudanese government's 
regular armed forces and the Janjaweed--largely composed of fighters of 
Arab nomadic background--have targeted civilian populations and ethnic 
groups from which the rebels primarily draw their support--the Fur, 
Masalit and Zaghawa.
  The Bush Administration recognized these atrocities--carried out 
against civilians primarily by the government of Sudan and its allied 
Janjaweed militias--as genocide. Antonio Guterres, the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees, has described the situation in Sudan 
and Chad as ``the largest and most complex humanitarian problem on the 
globe.''
  The Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militias are responsible 
for the burning and destruction of hundreds of rural villages, the 
killing of tens of thousands of people and rape and assault of 
thousands of women and girls.
  With much international pressure, the Darfur Peace Agreement was 
brokered in May 2006 between the government of Sudan and one faction of 
Darfur rebels. However, deadlines have been ignored and the violence 
has escalated, with in-fighting among the various rebel groups and 
factions dramatically increasing and adding a new layer of complexity 
to the conflict.
  This violence has made it dangerous, if not impossible, for most of 
the millions of displaced persons to return to their homes. 
Humanitarian aid agencies face growing obstacles to bringing widespread 
relief. In August 2006, the UN's top humanitarian official Jan Egeland 
stated that the situation in Darfur is ``going from real bad to 
catastrophic.'' Indeed, the violence in Darfur rages on with 
government-backed militias still attacking civilian populations with 
impunity.
  On July 30, 2004, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1556 
demanding that the government of Sudan disarm the Janjaweed. This same 
demand is also an important part of the Darfur Peace Agreement signed 
in May of 2006.

  On August 31, 2006, the Security Council took the further step of 
authorizing a strong UN peacekeeping force for Darfur by passing 
resolution 1706. Despite these actions, the Janjaweed are still active 
and free to commit the same genocidal crimes against civilians in 
Darfur with the aid of the Sudanese government.
  International experts agree that the United Nations Security Council 
must deploy a peacekeeping force with a mandate to protect civilians 
immediately. Until it arrives, the under-funded and overwhelmed African 
Union monitoring mission must be bolstered. And governments and 
international institutions must provide and ensure access to sufficient 
humanitarian aid for those in need.
  The Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act of 2006, H.R. 180, 
sponsored by my colleague Barbara Lee would require: The Securities and 
Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Corporate Finance and the U.S. 
Treasury to require all companies listing securities on United States 
capital markets, either directly or through a parent or subsidiary 
company, including partly-owned subsidiaries, having business 
operations in a country with a genocide declared by the Department of 
State or Congress, to disclose the nature of their business operations.
  The United States Government (federal) to prohibit contracts with 
multi-national business enterprises if: They maintain business 
relationships and investments with national, regional and local 
governments involved in genocide; and they participate in business 
activities with any warring parties or rebel groups perpetrating 
genocide. States and Cities that have divested or are in the process of 
divesting State and City funds from companies that conduct business in 
Sudan; and United States colleges and universities that have divested 
their funds from, or placed restrictions on investments of their funds 
in, companies that conduct business in Sudan.
  The Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the 
existence and extent of all Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board 
investments with national, regional and local governments involved in 
genocide; or business activities with any warring parties perpetrating 
genocide; or related to debt-obligations issued by the government of 
Sudan.
  Also, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission is 
charged with maintaining and publishing a list of the names of the 
business enterprises identified by the Securities and Exchange 
Commission as having ties with perpetrators of genocide.
  It also reasserts Section 11 of the Darfur Peace and Accountability 
Act (stripped from the Senate version) that nothing in that act or any 
other provision of law shall be construed to preempt any State law that 
prohibits investment of State funds, including State pension funds, in 
or relating to the Republic of the Sudan.


                                liberia

  Mr. Speaker, A part of the world that has been neglected for many 
years is West Africa. And one of the gems of this region is Liberia. I 
am pleased that Liberia's temporary protective order was extended.
  Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is the statutory embodiment of safe 
haven for those aliens who may not meet the legal definition of refugee 
but are nonetheless fleeing--or reluctant to return to--potentially 
dangerous situations.
  There are numerous regions throughout the world where discrete and 
insular minorities might need this type of relief. TPS is blanket 
relief that may be granted under the following conditions: there is 
ongoing armed conflict posing serious threat to personal safety; a 
foreign state requests TPS because it temporarily cannot handle the 
return of nationals due to environmental disaster or there are 
extraordinary and temporary conditions in a foreign state that prevent 
aliens from returning, provided that granting TPS is consistent with 
U.S. national interests.
  The Secretary of Homeland Security in consultation with the Secretary 
of State, can issue TPS for periods of 6 to 18 months and can extend 
these periods if conditions do not change in the designated country. To 
obtain TPS, eligible aliens report to U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant 
Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), pay a 
processing fee, and receive registration documents and a work 
authorization. The major requirements for aliens seeking TPS are proof 
of eligibility. The regulation specifies grounds of inadmissibility 
that cannot be waived, including those relating to criminal convictions 
and the persecution of others.
  The United States currently provides TPS or deferred enforced 
departure (DED) to over 300,000 foreign nationals from a total of seven 
countries: Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Somalia, 
and Sudan. Liberians have had relief from removal for the longest 
period, first receiving TPS in March 1991 following the outbreak of 
civil war. Liberians currently have DED until March 31, 2009, and has 
now been extended by the Obama Administration.
  Liberia is Africa's oldest republic, but it became better known in 
the 1990s for its long-running, ruinous civil war and its role in a 
rebellion in neighboring Sierra Leone. By the late 1980s, arbitrary 
rule and economic collapse culminated in civil war when Charles 
Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) rebels overran much 
of the countryside, entering the capital in 1990 and killing then 
President Samuel Doe. In 1995, a peace agreement was signed, leading to 
the election of Mr. Taylor as president. Another war began in 1999, 
escalated in 2000, and ended in 2003.

  It pitted the forces of Charles Taylor, elected president in 1997 
after Liberia's first civil war (1989-1997), against two armed anti-
Taylor rebel groups. It also destabilized neighboring states, which 
accepted Liberian refugees and, in some cases, hosted anti-Taylor 
forces and became targets of the Taylor regime.
  In 2003, Mr. Taylor--under international pressure to quit and hemmed 
in by rebels--stepped down and went into exile in Nigeria.
  A transitional government headed by Chairman Gyude Bryant steered the 
country towards elections in 2005. Around 250,000 people were killed in 
Liberia's civil war, and many thousands more fled the fighting. The 
conflict left the country in economic ruin and overrun with illegal 
weapons. 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers were deployed to help in stabilizing 
the country.
  Liberia held elections in October 2005, with a presidential runoff in 
November, a key step in a peace-building process following its second 
civil war in a decade. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, an economist, won the 
presidential runoff vote, with 59.4 percent of votes cast and took 
office in mid-January 2006, becoming the first female president of an 
African country.
  Most observers viewed the vote as orderly, free and fair. It 
fulfilled a key goal of an August 2003 peace accord that had ended the 
second civil war and led to an ongoing, U.S.-aided post-war transition 
process, which is bolstered by the multifaceted peacekeeping and 
development-focused U.N. Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

[[Page H3731]]

  Liberia's security situation is stable but subject to periodic 
volatility. Liberia's economy and state structures remain devastated by 
war. Humanitarian conditions are improving.
  Liberia receives extensive U.S. post-war reconstruction and security 
sector reform assistance. In March 2006, former President Taylor was 
arrested in Nigeria and transferred to the U.S.-supported Special Court 
for Sierra Leone (SCSL) to face war crimes charges. He was later 
transferred to The Hague, the Netherlands, where he is on trial by the 
SCSL.
  In addition to providing substantial support for Liberia's post-war 
peace and reconstruction processes, Congress has maintained a 
continuing interest in the status of Charles Taylor and in ensuring 
funding for the SCSL. Other legislation proposed in the 109th and noth 
Congresses centered on immigration, debt, and tax haven issues, and the 
commendation of Liberia for successfully holding elections.
  The United States has voiced continuing support for President 
Sirleaf's government since she took office. In February 2008, former 
President Bush and Mrs. Bush traveled to Liberia, among other African 
countries. The general aim of the trip was to discuss continued U.S. 
partnerships with African countries in the areas of democratic reform, 
respect for human rights, free trade, open investment regimes, and 
economic opportunity.
  In Liberia, President Bush's trip focused on U.S. help in 
strengthening Liberia's post-war democratic institutions, Governance 
and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP) efforts to improve 
management of public finances and combat corruption.
  It also highlighted Liberia's status as a target country of the 
President's Expanded Education Initiative, which through a program 
component called the Ambassador's Girls' Scholarship program had as of 
early 2008 supported 2,700 scholarships for girls in Liberia, and its 
status as new President's Malaria Initiative recipient country. It also 
drew attention to U.S. security sector reform efforts in Liberia.
  Former First Lady Laura Bush and Former Secretary of State Rice, 
among other prominent U.S. guests, attended President Sirleaf's 
inauguration in 2006. Their presence, Sirleaf noted in her inaugural 
speech, ``manifests a renewal and strengthening of the long-standing 
historic special relations which bind our two countries and peoples.'' 
She also stated that it ``reflects a new partnership with the United 
States based on shared values'' and that Liberians are ``confident that 
we can continue to count on the assistance of the United States [. . .] 
in the urgent task of rebuilding of our nation.''
  President Bush awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom to 
Sirleaf in November 2007. President Sirleaf has made several official 
visits to the United States, including in February 2007, when she 
attended a World Bank-organized Liberia Partners' Forum donor meeting 
in Washington, DC. She made another such visit in March 2006, during 
which she addressed a joint session of Congress on March 15 and met 
with President Bush on March 21.
  She reportedly closely consulted with U.S. officials regarding her 
priorities for Liberia and the status of Charles Taylor. During a pre-
inaugural December 2005 trip to the United States, Sirleaf also met 
with key U.S. and international financial institution officials.
  Liberia-related activities by the 110th Congress built on those 
pursued by the 109th Congress. Congress continued to monitor the 
activities of the SCSL and, in particular, the Taylor war crimes case, 
and provide funding for the SCSL. Congress's focus on Liberia also 
centered on aiding Liberia's efforts to consolidate its post-war 
governance and economic rebuilding processes. Issues that drew 
particular congressional attention included:
  Efforts to rehabilitate schools, clinics, roads and other public 
facilities; Progress under the GEMAP transparency initiative; Progress 
of U.S.-backed security sector restructuring, and possible expansions 
of related assistance, e.g., for the creation of a quick reaction 
gendarme unit; increased mobility capacity building for the police and 
military; and maritime waters and land border monitoring and 
interdiction capacity building.
  Consideration of potential continued support for UNMIL and the pace 
of its projected draw-down; and U.S. decision-making on debt relief for 
Liberia and the status of future Brooke Amendment restrictions on 
Liberia. The U.N. voted to lift a ban on diamond exports, which fueled 
the civil war, in April 2007. A ban on timber exports was lifted in 
2006.
  Liberia's security situation is stable but subject to periodic 
volatility. Progress in governance under the interim government that 
preceded that of President Sirleaf was mixed; widespread corruption 
within it was widely reported. Liberia's economy and state structures 
remain devastated by war.
  Humanitarian conditions are improving. Liberia receives extensive 
U.S. post-war reconstruction and security sector reform assistance and 
in addition to providing substantial support for Liberia's post-war 
peace and reconstruction processes, Congress has maintained a 
continuing interest in the status of Charles Taylor and in ensuring 
funding for the SCSL.
  I hope that President Obama makes his way to Africa very soon. And 
his presence in a country like Liberia would be a bold statement that 
change is on the way.


                                 haiti

  Mr. Speaker, I also rise today in solidarity with my colleagues on 
the Congressional Black Caucus, to speak against the United States' 
unfair treatment of the people of Haiti.
  Haitians should also receive a Temporary Protective Order. Haiti is 
one of the most impoverished countries in the western hemisphere and 
the fourth poorest country in the world. There are 8.3 million people 
residing in Haiti.
  The people of Haiti are also facing a severe medical crisis as a 
result of their poverty. Haiti is the home of 90% of all HIV/AIDS 
patients in the Caribbean. Over 200,000 Haitian children will be 
orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Child mortality rates in Haiti are also 
excessively high. For every 1,000 births in Haiti, 74 infant deaths 
will occur.
  The social conditions in Haiti are as deplorable as the medical 
condition. Of the millions of Haitian residents, only 46% have access 
to clean drinking water. Furthermore, 53% of all Haitian residents are 
malnourished.
  Despite our close proximity to Haiti, and the widespread publication 
of the social and medical plight of Haitian residents, the U.S. 
government has insisted on blocking humanitarian aid. The U.S. 
government is attempting to shape the political landscape in Haiti to 
the severe detriment of the innocent people of Haiti.
  The United States government owes Haiti substantial funds in foreign 
aid. Substantial loans have been negotiated for the people of Haiti. 
Some estimates have the loans valued at as much as $146 million 
dollars. The United States government is delaying the disbursement of 
these funds to advance their political aims. While the U.S. government 
stubbornly maintains these restrictive policies the people of Haiti are 
suffering and dying.
  The U.S. government has promised Iraq $80 billion in aid to rebuild 
their war torn country. The people of Haiti have suffered as well. But 
instead of providing much needed aid, the U.S. government blocks 
humanitarian efforts and refuses to honor outstanding loans.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a disgrace that our Congress stands by while the 
people of Haiti suffer and die. I join my colleagues on the 
Congressional Black Caucus in imploring the U.S. government to let 
Haiti live.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague 
because she always does bring great focus and great insight, and I 
thank you so much.
  Mr. Speaker, I will close with a few comments.
  Mr. Speaker, the suffering of the people of Haiti and Liberia are 
pressing issues. The United States has more options available in 
dealing with Haitians and Liberians. It is time for the United States 
to exert that control and extending temporary protected status, or TPS, 
for individuals from Haiti and stand by our TPS for Liberians.
  As a signatory to the United Nations protocol relating to the status 
of refugees, the United States has agreed that it will not return an 
individual to a country where his life or freedom would be threatened. 
U.S. immigration law employs TPS designations to address this very 
issue. TPS protects individuals from being deported to a country where 
that person would be threatened on the basis of race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular group, or political opinion.
  TPS is also sought by those aiming to flee extreme poverty, 
depravation, violence, and the dislocation brought on by famines or 
natural disasters in their home countries.
  Mr. Speaker, I think that it is time for this country to understand 
the significance of helping those who cannot help themselves.
  I began this hour talk about a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, and 
I will close with the same one, that injustice anywhere is injustice 
everywhere.
  Mr. Speaker, I just ask that this Congress and the Members who are 
hearing this or who will read this at some other point do make 
themselves aware of the plight of the people who we spoke about today.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, on March 4th, the International Criminal 
Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan 
Ahmad al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
  That very same day, following the ICC's decision, the Government of 
Sudan expelled 13 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from

[[Page H3732]]

Darfur, accusing them of cooperating with the ICC investigation. These 
non-governmental organizations include many of the most respected 
humanitarian organizations in the world. Among them are Oxfam, Doctors 
Without Borders, International Rescue Committee, and Mercy Corps.
  The withdrawal of these organizations will leave millions of 
civilians without access to food, clean water, and medical assistance. 
This outrageous action is just another example of the cruelty of the 
Government of Sudan towards its own people. And it proves that the 
ICC's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Bashir was entirely 
justified.
  The Government of Sudan has been carrying out a campaign of genocide 
against the people of Darfur since 2003. The Sudanese government is 
supporting militia groups that are engaged in genocidal practices in 
communities of African farmers in the Western province of Darfur. These 
militias are razing villages, systematically raping women and girls, 
specifically targeting and destroying food and water supplies, and 
massacring communities. In the last five years the conflict has taken 
the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. On October 1, 2008, 
the United Nations reported that there were almost 2.7 million 
internally displaced persons in Darfur, almost 300,000 of whom were 
newly displaced in 2008, and an additional 2 million people continue to 
be directly affected by the conflict.
  In July of 2007, the United Nations Security Council passed 
Resolution 1769, which authorized the deployment of a joint United 
Nations/African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, known as UNAMID. 
The force was to consist of a total of 26,000 troops. However, UNAMID 
was deployed at only 63 percent of its full strength as of December 31, 
2008, and does not have the capacity to fulfill its mandate to protect 
civilians in Darfur. UNAMID must immediately deploy its forces at their 
full strength, and take all necessary and appropriate action to protect 
the people of Darfur.
  Early in 2006, I visited the Darfur region with my good friend from 
California, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and I was deeply disturbed by what I 
saw. As far as the eyes could see, there were crowds of displaced 
people who had been driven from their homes, living literally on the 
ground with nothing but little tarps to cover them. That was three 
years ago, and yet this genocide has been allowed to continue.
  If we are serious about opposing genocide, we must take decisive 
action to stop it.
  We must demand that all nations respect and enforce the decision of 
the ICC.
  We must demand that humanitarian organizations be allowed to return 
to Sudan.
  We must enact and enforce comprehensive sanctions against Sudan 
without exceptions.
  We must demand that China stop bankrolling the genocide.
  And we must demand that the United Nations immediately deploy its 
peacekeeping forces and do everything necessary to protect civilians 
and save the people of Darfur.
  It's long past time to get serious about genocide.

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