[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 93 (Friday, June 19, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H7034-H7039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR IRANIANS WHO EMBRACE DEMOCRACY

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 560) expressing support for all Iranian citizens 
who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and 
rule of law, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 560

       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses its support for all Iranian citizens who 
     embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, 
     and rule of law;
       (2) condemns the ongoing violence against demonstrators by 
     the Government of Iran and pro-government militias, as well 
     as the ongoing government suppression of independent 
     electronic communication through interference with the 
     Internet and cellphones; and
       (3) affirms the universality of individual rights and the 
     importance of democratic and fair elections.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Berman) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Every day since Iran's election, the streets of Tehran have been 
filled with demonstrators, and each day this past week the number seems 
to be growing. Even state-run media in Iran has put the number of 
demonstrators in Tehran at ``hundreds of thousands.'' One British 
newspaper reports that there were a million demonstrators in Tehran 
yesterday.
  What do these demonstrators want? Are they simply in favor of the 
candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi? Or are they making a more profound 
statement about the Iranian regime?
  Nobody knows exactly. We do know one thing, though: The demonstrators 
feel their intelligence was insulted and their dignity assaulted by the 
high-handed manner in which the results of the June 12 election were 
handled. They want justice. This morning the Supreme Leader offered 
none.
  It is not for us to decide who should run Iran, much less determine 
the real winner of the June 12 election, but we must reaffirm our 
strong belief that the Iranian people have a fundamental right to 
express their views about the future of their country freely and 
without intimidation.
  The Iranian regime is clearly embarrassed by the demonstrations and 
has not shrunk from using violence to stop them. At least eight 
demonstrators, and quite likely a number more, have been killed, and 
hundreds have been injured. The regime has also tried to ban media 
coverage of the demonstrations. Foreign journalists are consigned to 
their homes and offices. Several have been expelled from the country. 
Cell phone coverage has been frequently blocked in order to limit 
communication among the protesters, and the regime has interfered with 
the Internet and taken down many opposition Web sites.
  We cannot stand silent in the face of this assault on human freedom 
and dignity. I repeat that we have no interest in interfering in Iran's 
internal affairs. That era has ended. This resolution affirms the 
``universality of individual rights'' as well as ``the importance of 
democratic and fair elections.'' Beyond that, it simply expresses its 
solidarity with ``Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, 
human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law.'' I don't know how 
many of the demonstrators fall into that category, but I do know that 
many of them do.
  This resolution also condemns the bloody suppression of freedom. It 
is not a judgment on who won the Iranian elections; it is an 
acknowledgment that we cannot remain silent when cherished universal 
principles are under attack.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to just offer my appreciation to our ranking 
member and to the gentleman from Indiana for working together on a 
resolution which puts the House of Representatives on the side of the 
people of Iran, and with that, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to start out thanking our esteemed and 
distinguished chairman of our Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Berman, 
for working with us in a bipartisan manner, reaching out to our side to 
bring this timely resolution to the floor. I especially want to thank 
our Republican Conference Chair and a great member of our Foreign 
Affairs Committee, Mr. Pence, who authored this legislation.
  I rise in strong support of the fundamental, universal human rights 
and civil liberties to which the Iranian people are entitled. For 30 
years, these rights and freedoms have been denied again and again by an 
oppressive Iranian regime which uses a sham process with candidates 
handpicked by the ruling apparatus to create the illusion of political 
participation.
  There was no election in Iran this year. There has been no election, 
no democracy in Iran for decades. The candidates and the winners were 
again picked in advance by the regime. Real reform, real democracy were 
never an option. This repressive regime relies on so-called elections 
to provide a veneer of legitimacy, but that facade has been shattered 
by the protests taking place in Iran this week. The brutal nature of 
the Iranian regime is well-documented.
  On Tuesday, I had the honor of attending, with Secretary of State 
Hillary Clinton, the release of the State Department's annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report, which again cited Iran as a Tier 3 
country, among the worst, as the regime that does little, if anything, 
to prevent men, women, and children from being trafficked for sexual 
exploitation and involuntary servitude, slavery. Likewise, as the State 
Department's human rights report for 2008 noted: ``Iran's poor human 
rights record worsened and it continued to commit numerous serious 
abuses. The government severely limited citizens' right to change their 
government peacefully through free and fair elections. Authorities held 
political prisoners and intensified a crackdown against women's rights 
reformers, ethnic minority rights activists, student activists, and 
religious minorities.''
  It is a pattern for decades. So we must look beyond the past week, 
which was only the most recent demonstration of the regime's brutality 
and authoritarianism.
  But the Iranian regime is not just a threat to its own people. We 
cannot afford to lose sight of the threat that it presents to our own 
national security interests and, indeed, to global peace and security. 
Iran draws even closer to crossing that nuclear point of no return. 
Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of our Joint Chiefs of Staff, has 
stated that Iran has likely enriched enough uranium to make an atomic 
bomb. International inspectors also report that Iran has enough low-
enriched uranium to achieve nuclear weapons breakout capabilities and 
that issues about possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear 
program remain unresolved. Yet Iran is allowed to continue its nuclear 
pursuit virtually unchallenged.
  Additionally, Iran continues to develop chemical and biological 
weapons and ballistic missiles while arming and bankrolling violent 
Islamic extremists worldwide. We must bear this in mind when we 
determine what is the appropriate response to the Iranian regime's 
policies and actions.
  But today, Mr. Speaker, we must focus on the hopes of the individual 
Iranians who have been robbed of a better future for almost 30 years by 
a regime which only promises nothing but misery and malaise. Now is the 
time for all responsible nations to stand foresquare with the people of 
Iran as they seek freedom, as they seek true self-governance at home, 
as well as to live at peace with the world.

                              {time}  1030

  We must send a clear signal today to the Iranian regime and all of 
its proxies and affiliates that free nations will not tolerate further 
efforts to silence the voice of the Iranian people through violence and 
coercion.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  My friend, the ranking member, correctly cited a whole series of very 
important issues that we and the United

[[Page H7035]]

States has with the Government of Iran; and she is correct. Just this 
quick note about what the gentlelady from Florida pointed out at the 
end of her comments. The reason I worked to bring this resolution up--
this resolution is not about a recitation of all those issues. It's 
about an affirmation of something that this House of Representatives 
has done in places all over the world, whether it is in Tibet or in 
Cuba or in Eastern Europe or in the Middle East or any other region, to 
reaffirm our commitment to stand for certain fundamental universal 
principles involving human rights, participatory democracy and the 
affirmation of the rights of the people of any country. Today it's 
about the people of Iran.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, we have an impressive lineup of 
speakers on our side. I would like to start by yielding 5 minutes to 
the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence), the author of the bill, 
Republican Conference Chair and an esteemed member of our Committee on 
Foreign Affairs.
  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.
  I rise with a great sense of humility and a great sense of moment 
before this body but also a great sense of gratitude to the ranking 
member for her extraordinary leadership in bringing this resolution to 
the floor, a resolution which, as the chairman of the committee just 
stated quite eloquently, will give the American people, through their 
elected representatives, a clear opportunity on this day, after a week 
of violence and tumult in the nation of Iran, to express the American 
people's support for all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of 
freedom, human rights, civil liberties and the rule of law.
  I am especially grateful for the leadership and the spirit brought to 
this legislation by Chairman Howard Berman, with whom I don't agree on 
very much; but I am grateful that he demonstrates today a public 
mindedness that I think is in keeping with the best traditions of this 
institution.
  Ronald Reagan would say in 1964, ``You and I are told increasingly 
that we have to choose between a left or right, but I would like to 
suggest that there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only 
an up or down: up to a man's age-old dream, the ultimate in individual 
freedom consistent with law and order or down to the ant heap of 
totalitarianism.''
  Today the leadership of Chairman Howard Berman demonstrates that on 
the issue of speaking a word of encouragement to those who would stand 
with extraordinary valor for their own liberty, there is no left or 
right in this body. It has been, as has been stated before, an 
extraordinary week in the life of the nation of Iran. On 12 June, just 
one week ago, from the very moment that the presidential election 
results were announced, the international community and the 
international press called the results into question. Chief among the 
reasons for that was that even before the extraordinary demonstrations 
had begun, millions of paper ballots had apparently been tallied and 
counted within a matter of hours. The official government results of 
the election were met with public consternation among the people of 
Iran; and while the defeated candidate launched a legal appeal, as the 
western media has reported, what has ensued on the streets of Iran has 
been the biggest demonstration in the Islamic Republic's 30-year 
history. And most sad, following that election day, the actions by the 
government and militias that support the government have turned to 
violence. Pro-government forces have attacked demonstrators over the 
past week, causing fatalities, resulting in the arrest of dissidents. 
We have heard of foreign reporters prevented from making their way into 
the public. We've heard of the jamming of electronic communications. 
For all the world, we may well be witnessing a Tiananmen in Teheran.
  It seems to me that in this moment, the people of the United States 
of America long to be heard; and by dint of House Resolution 560 today 
through their elected representatives, the American people will have 
had that opportunity. This resolution simply states that it is resolved 
that the House of Representatives expresses its support for all Iranian 
citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil 
liberties and rule of law. It also condemns the ongoing violence 
against demonstrators by the Government of Iran and pro-government 
militias, as well as the ongoing suppression of independent electronic 
communication through interference with the Internet and cell phones. 
And lastly, it affirms the universality of individual rights and the 
importance of democratic and fair elections.
  I have said many times this week, and it has been echoed by my 
colleagues, like the Republican Whip Eric Cantor, that the cause of 
America is freedom; and in this cause, the American people will not be 
silent. There is no intention here to pick sides in the Iranian 
election. There is an intention here, in a true spirit of 
bipartisanship, to allow the American people to be on the side of 
liberty and to be on the side of freedom. I urge my colleagues to join 
us in supporting this legislation because the voice of the American 
people has before and, I believe in my heart of hearts, will again make 
a difference in the advancement of human liberty in the world. I urge 
its support.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my dear 
friend, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the gentlelady from 
Nevada (Ms. Berkley).
  Ms. BERKLEY. I thank the gentleman from California for yielding and 
for his steady leadership on this and so many other issues, the ranking 
member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and I thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Pence) for his leadership on this and so many other Middle East-related 
issues as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and in 
support of the people of Iran whose voices deserve to be heard in a 
free, open and democratic way. We are not here today to discuss the 
outcome of this election or involve the United States in the internal 
politics of Iran. The American people, through their elected 
representatives, are here today to stand with the people of Iran and 
people all over the world who yearn to express their opinions and to 
exercise their right to free speech and fair elections.
  It takes an enormous amount of courage to stand up to your government 
in a repressive society, and the American people applaud those heroes 
who face intimidation and oppression for expressing their views. I am 
personally in awe of the Iranian people and hope others will learn by 
their example. I also support President Obama, who I believe has 
steered an excellent course for dealing with this situation. While some 
have called upon him to condemn the Iranian government more forcefully, 
I believe it is essential that the United States not interfere in this 
remarkable debate and public demonstration. What the world is watching 
unfold in Iran is condemnation enough of what is happening in that 
country. We should, however, encourage free speech, free elections and 
nonviolence for all the parties involved. It's a wise course, and I 
believe it is one we would have benefited from in years past.
  I thank the gentleman from California once again. I encourage all of 
my colleagues to support this legislation. I support it totally.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), our esteemed Republican Whip, a 
member of the Committee on Ways and Means, and a leader on issues 
related to Iran.
  Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentlelady.
  Mr. Speaker, the Iranian regime's brutalities are on full display for 
the whole world to behold. I rise today in sympathy with the victims of 
Iranian political oppression who have been injured or killed, 
protesting the outcome of their election. I salute the leadership of 
the gentlelady from Florida and the gentleman from California for 
bringing this resolution forward, as well as the gentleman from Indiana 
for his leadership on this and so many issues, and the way that the 
gentlelady from Nevada spoke.
  It is America's moral responsibility to speak out on behalf of the 
protection of human rights wherever they are violated. And regardless 
of the outcome of the Iranian election, make no

[[Page H7036]]

mistake where the power in Iran lies. It lies with a clerical regime 
who conducts its most egregious activities in the dark, hidden from the 
world's eyes and, thus, escaping media attention. The Iranian 
Revolutionary Guard Corps quietly funnels weapons and funding into 
terrorist groups from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Lebanon to Gaza. 
Iranian centrifuges enrich uranium at nuclear plants often hidden from 
weapons inspectors. And terrorist groups make voyages to Iran to 
receive training at unspecified locations. This is the regime we are 
talking about, and this week the true colors of that regime are on 
broad display. We must rally the world around the cause of the Iranian 
people. I urge the administration, I urge President Obama to follow the 
lead of this House, to speak out on behalf of the Iranian people and 
their quest for freedom and human rights.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  The gentleman for whom I have great respect, the minority whip, spoke 
about America's moral commitment to speak out on behalf of people 
yearning for freedom. We have an even higher moral commitment, and that 
is to do the things that help expand the extent of human freedom around 
the world. And it is in that context that I know that this House and 
this administration are pursuing this mission, that higher authority to 
do the things that produce the greatest likelihood of the expansion of 
human freedom.
  I now yield 2 minutes to a member of the committee, a great Member 
from the State of Georgia (Mr. Scott).

                              {time}  1045

  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Thank you very much, Chairman Berman, and to 
Mr. Pence, for this very timely resolution.
  This is a time of great thought and deliberation and concern of what 
the United States must do and say. Our words have got to be carefully 
calculated to make sure that they are seen as not meddling, as not 
trying to tell the Iranian people what to do, because, quite honestly, 
Mr. Speaker, the Iranian people have already spoken. They have decided, 
and I believe that is our responsibility, if we hold true to the 
principles of our Founding Fathers.
  As I was coming over on the floor, I was thinking what I could say, 
and the words of one of our great founders and patriots beams very deep 
in my heart as I think and I watch the news reports of what is 
happening in the streets of Tehran, when that great patriot said, Give 
me liberty or give me death. That is why the United States of America 
cannot be silent. It is our foundation.
  I was reminded of the words of Thomas Jefferson when he wrote that, 
All men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with 
certain inalienable rights, and among those life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness.
  That is what we stand for. So it is important that we put this 
resolution forward, and it is important that the world understand that 
America is indeed that shining light of liberty and of freedom that 
Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson spoke so eloquently about.
  We are proud to support the Iranian people, and we condemn the 
violence.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
my good friend from California, Mr. Rohrabacher, the ranking member on 
the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and 
Oversight on our Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Today, I rise in strong support of this resolution 
which ratchets up, to a degree, America's willingness to express its 
heartfelt support for the Iranian people and their struggle against the 
mullah dictatorship that oppresses them.
  Now, it has been said that you cannot champion the oppressed unless 
you are willing to take on the oppressor. America should not intervene 
in every struggle taking place, but we should be unapologetically on 
the side of those who are in desperate battle for their own freedom.
  Tempered rhetoric can be interpreted by tyrants as weakness. We need 
to send a strong message to those tyrants and a strong message to the 
people who are willing to risk their lives on the streets of Tehran 
that we are on the side of the people and the side of democracy and 
freedom. Any other message would be a betrayal of our fundamental 
principles, the principles of liberty and democracy that so many 
Americans have sacrificed to give us and to pass on to other 
generations.
  Yes, we should not intervene, but it is up to us to make sure those 
people struggling throughout the world know we are on their side. We 
must be bold in our words of support.
  I was honored to be one of five speech writers serving Ronald Reagan. 
He too was told to tone down his rhetoric. He too was told that strong 
words would be interpreted as belligerence. But with his strong words, 
he ended the Cold War, without the conflagration that hung over our 
heads for decades. He made it a better, a more peaceful and a freer 
world with a strong message and no apologies.
  We should follow the lead of Ronald Reagan. It will make this a 
better world if we side with the people in Tehran who oppose their 
mullah dictatorship.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
my legislative brother, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-
Balart), a member of the powerful Committee on Rules.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the 
so-called ``supreme leader,'' is the ruthless dictator of Iran. 
Ahmadinejad is his puppet. In this farcical election, Khamenei 
overstepped blatantly. The others in the dictatorship who aspired to 
the puppet presidency are upset.
  The Iranian people are utilizing this moment of division in the 
dictatorship to heroically express their opposition to the 
dictatorship. The issue is not one of who is entitled to be the puppet 
president in the Iranian dictatorship. The issue is the Iranian people 
are entitled to an end of the dictatorship and to live in self-
determination and freedom and democracy.
  The President of the United States has been silent and confused. The 
Congress of the United States clearly stands with the Iranian people, 
and they will prevail.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my 
friend from Florida, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, 
Mr. Klein.
  Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H. Res. 560 and 
would like to thank our chairman Mr. Berman and my colleague Mr. Pence 
for bringing this bipartisan statement forward which supports our 
American view of the events in Iran.
  The Iranian people deserve a democracy that counts every vote and 
treats its citizens with the utmost dignity. They deserve to trust 
their own government. However, these are not free and fair elections by 
any stretch of the imagination, and it is our imperative to speak out 
whenever and wherever freedom is suppressed, whether by our allies or 
by our foes.
  Frankly, we have honest differences with the Iranian government, no 
matter who is elected. Any Iranian government that seeks a nuclear 
weapon and spreads state-sponsored terrorism is a threat to the United 
States and our allies. That is why the United States has not taken 
either side in this conflict. It is for the Iranians to choose who 
leads them. Indeed, this struggle belongs to them.
  However, the message we send today is the world is watching. I urge 
my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell), a member of the Budget and 
the Financial Services Committees.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. I thank the gentlelady from Florida.
  This country has always stood with those around the world yearning 
for freedom, a voice and a better future. Whether those people were in 
Nazi Germany, Communist Eastern Europe, apartheid South Africa, or any 
other number of places around the world, we have stood with the freedom 
fighters. It is now time for us to stand with those in Iran who seek 
freedom from one of the world's most oppressive, most dangerous and 
most dictatorial regimes.
  I hope this resolution is not the end, but is just the beginning of 
the support that this government, both in Congress and the White House, 
gives to those people.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, could I get an assessment or calculation of 
the remaining time on both sides?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. I can give you that with precision. The 
gentleman has 9\1/2\ minutes remaining; the

[[Page H7037]]

gentlewoman has 4\1/4\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. BERMAN. I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlelady 
from New York (Mrs. Maloney).
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, today I stand with my colleagues in this 
Congress, I stand with President Obama and Vice President Biden, in 
support of the Iranian people, their right to express themselves, their 
right to have peaceful demonstrations, and I stand in support of this 
resolution.
  I hope that the ayatollahs understand that these demonstrations are 
about the future of Iran and the right of their people to have a voice 
in their government. Young and old, liberal or conservative, all ages, 
all economic groups are part of these demonstrations.
  As President Obama has said, the entire world is watching, and the 
world is inspired. We applaud your efforts to move your country toward 
a more democratic, peaceful country.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson).
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
nonviolent movement for social change in Iran. I have always maintained 
that the Middle East is in need of a nonviolent movement for social 
change, not only in Iran but also in the Gaza Strip, a nonviolent 
movement in Syria, a nonviolent movement for social change.
  Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ``Nonviolence is the answer to the 
crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind 
to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and 
violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which 
rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation.''
  Today we are not only supporting democracy in Iran, we are also 
supporting the nonviolent thrust for democracy in Iran, so the 
conflicts may be settled, Mr. Speaker, without resulting to weapons, to 
violence and conflict, not only within that country, but among nations.
  So, today, Mr. Speaker, we rise today to support the proponents of 
the nonviolent movement.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, we just have one additional speaker, 
and I would like to call on the author of the resolution, a great 
member of our House Foreign Affairs Committee and our conference chair 
on the Republican side, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence) for the 
remainder of the time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 4\1/4\ 
minutes.
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for yielding, and 
again reiterate my gratitude for her expeditious work in bringing this 
important resolution to the floor on a timely basis, and commend again 
Chairman Howard Berman for the spirit and thoughtfulness with which he 
brought this resolution to the floor.
  Today, in the wake of a week of extraordinary public demonstrations, 
violence, and tumult across the nation of Iran, the American people 
through this Congress will condemn that violence and the suppression of 
the free and independent press in Iran, and, as the American people 
have done throughout our history, we will proclaim liberty by 
supporting all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, 
human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law in this measure.
  I urge my colleagues to support this measure and join us, and, if 
reports are correct, our colleagues in the Senate who may well come 
together and give voice on the world stage of the character and 
compassion and commitment to freedom that is at the heart of every 
American.
  Now, some observers say that America should remain silent in the wake 
of this violence and the suppression of free speech and the 
intimidation and suppression of a free and independent press in Iran. 
But let me say from my heart, the American cause is freedom, and in 
that cause we must never be silent.
  The Iranian regime would do well to note the words of President 
Ronald Reagan from his first inaugural address 20 January, 1981, where 
he said, No arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so 
formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.
  Today this Congress, in a true spirit of bipartisanship, will come 
together on behalf of the moral courage of the men and women of Iran 
who have tasted freedom and have been willing to risk their liberty and 
their lives to advance it.

                              {time}  1100

  It is my hope and it is my prayer that this word of encouragement 
from the American people to the Iranian people will be to good effect 
for that nation and for freedom in the world.
  I urge support of this resolution.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes to an 
excellent member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the gentleman 
from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the drafters of the 
resolution. I think it is carefully drafted, and I think it is clear 
that the universal values of freedom that are expressed in the 
resolution are done with a great amount of prudence, and I think that's 
right.
  I think it is also important to understand that when the Congress of 
the United States speaks a lot of people listen, and so it's important 
to not allow the Congress to be used as a tool in what was essentially 
an internal fight in Iran. And so I would urge caution and urge the 
United States Congress to stand up and speak about the universal values 
that we care about: Democracy, freedom, due process of law, lack of 
violence in terms of solving political disputes, and not allow 
ourselves to be used as a weapon against the people who we are, in 
fact, trying to help, which is the people of Iran.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I'm proud to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Issa), a member of the Committee on the Judiciary and 
the ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
  Mr. ISSA. I thank the gentlelady.
  Mr. Speaker, it is clear today that some would have us be silent as 
to the aspiration of the people risking life and limb on the streets of 
Iran today. We cannot and should not be that way. Yes, it's an internal 
matter, but it's an internal matter in a country which has been ruled 
by theocrats for so very long who have denied real free elections, and 
even when the will of the people was obvious, in fact, want to overturn 
the will of the people for a President who could be a reformer and give 
opportunity, particularly to women in this country.
  So I urge support for this resolution because it sends the message 
that we are, in fact, with the people who want freedom.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, should I by yielding 1 minute of my time to 
the gentleman from South Carolina at this point?
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Yes.
  Mr. BERMAN. And then if you yield time, he'll have all his time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman 
from South Carolina (Mr. Inglis), and anytime you would like to.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Inglis).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 2 minutes.
  Mr. INGLIS. I thank the gentlelady and the gentleman for yielding 
that time, and I saw this morning that the Supreme Leader of Iran said 
that street challenge is not acceptable. This is challenging democracy 
after the elections.
  Well, we beg to differ and the people of Iran are begging to differ. 
When you can count paper ballots, millions of them, within a couple of 
hours, something's funny. And when you declare the results of the 
election is fine but say there is going to be some investigation, 
what's the value of the investigation if you've already certified the 
election?
  And so what we're begging to differ with the Supreme Leader of Iran 
is that it is not challenging democracy after elections. It's saying 
that the elections were rigged, and rigged elections don't produce 
outcomes that people can believe in.
  Furthermore, what's happening here is we're seeing the real 
disastrous consequence of having a theocracy, where somebody at the top 
gets to say--I don't know where he derives his authority--but he gets 
to say what's what about elections.

[[Page H7038]]

  We're very thankful, Madam Speaker, to live in a country where that's 
not the case, where we have elected officials who choose Supreme Court 
members, who are then confirmed by the Senate and who serve with good 
behavior. And that is a system that produces confidence among the 
people, and a free people get to govern themselves.
  That's our hope, that's our aspiration for the Iranian people; and 
we, the people of the United States, should stand boldly with the 
people in Tehran and elsewhere in Iran who are saying we yearn to 
breathe free, we want to govern ourselves. This is their moment. We 
stand in support of them.
  Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
would just yield myself such time as I may consume to once again thank 
the minority for working with us, my ranking member, as well as Mr. 
Pence, particularly to say that my fondest hope is that on these 
critical kinds of issues we can establish a bipartisan basis for 
working together.
  And then simply to say that there are many American interests in 
U.S.-Iranian relationships. This resolution is not about American 
interests. It's about American values, which I believe are universal 
values: the values of the rule of law, of participatory democracy, 
about individual liberty, and about justice. And it is on behalf of 
those universal values, not American interests, that I urge this body 
to support this resolution.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BERMAN. 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 (Mrs. Tauscher). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I want to express my appreciation to the 
Chairman and to Mr. Pence for the resolution before us. I think it is 
critical for the House to address the remarkable events that are taking 
place in Iran.
  We are seeing a nation--an entire nation--rise up. What is happening 
in Iran is an inspiration to all of us who believe that there is such a 
thing as universal human rights.
  We do not want--and we are not attempting--to choose Iran's rulers. 
Who rules Iran is a question for the people of Iran. And as we expect 
all nations to respect our sovereignty, so too must we respect the 
sovereignty of other nations.
  But we are not blind. And we must not be mute.
  We have seen gunfire and truncheons deployed against peaceful 
protesters and marches. We have followed the wave of repression against 
activists, reporters, and all forms of communication. We know about the 
crackdown and arrests of Iranians who call for freedom and reform. We 
have watched mobs of thuggish enforcers terrorizing students and 
citizens in their dorms and homes.
  But we have also watched the unbelievable, quiet courage of millions 
of Iranians marching, and we have watched their numbers growing every 
day. We have seen them insist on non-violence in the face of 
provocation and assault. And we have heard their impatient but 
persistent call for justice.
  And this nation knows what that call for justice sounds like. The 
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote from the Birmingham jail that 
``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught 
in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of 
destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.''
  Bound up in the revolutionary documents of our founding, and in our 
Nation's unique role in the struggle for human freedom, is a special 
responsibility. We have an obligation that the resolution before us 
answers. We are all witnesses. And we are bound to support the 
courageous and decent people in Iran who are struggling for their 
rights and their freedom.
  This resolution is measured and careful, but meaningful. And it 
deserves the strong support of every Member.
  Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise in reluctant opposition to H. Res 
560, which condemns the Iranian government for its recent actions 
during the unrest in that country. While I never condone violence, much 
less the violence that governments are only too willing to mete out to 
their own citizens, I am always very cautious about ``condemning'' the 
actions of governments overseas. As an elected member of the United 
States House of Representatives, I have always questioned our 
constitutional authority to sit in judgment of the actions of foreign 
governments of which we are not representatives. I have always 
hesitated when my colleagues rush to pronounce final judgment on events 
thousands of miles away about which we know very little. And we know 
very little beyond limited press reports about what is happening in 
Iran.
  Of course I do not support attempts by foreign governments to 
suppress the democratic aspirations of their people, but when is the 
last time we condemned Saudi Arabia or Egypt or the many other 
countries where unlike in Iran there is no opportunity to exercise any 
substantial vote on political leadership? It seems our criticism is 
selective and applied when there are political points to be made. I 
have admired President Obama's cautious approach to the situation in 
Iran and I would have preferred that we in the House had acted 
similarly.
  I adhere to the foreign policy of our Founders, who advised that we 
not interfere in the internal affairs of countries overseas. I believe 
that is the best policy for the United States, for our national 
security and for our prosperity. I urge my colleagues to reject this 
and all similar meddling resolutions.
  Madam Speaker, I urge you to support H.R. 560, expressing support for 
all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, 
civil liberties, and rule of law and for other purposes. The only 
effective way to achieve lasting peace and prosperity in the region, 
along with bringing about reforms in Iran's polity, is to assist the 
Iranian people in their quest to achieve political, social, and 
religious liberty. Every government can be judged with the way in which 
it treats its ethnic and religious minorities, and the current Iranian 
government gets a failing grade for its treatment of its many and 
diverse minorities. It is not our position as the United States to 
determine the outcome of the recent Iranian elections, but as a leader 
in the international community, we have a responsibility to ensure that 
the people of Iran have the opportunity to have fair and free 
elections.
  Yet with the results of the recent election, there was no chance for 
Iranian citizens to participate in democracy. On June 12, 2009 Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad was ostensibly re-elected to his second term as President, 
as a result of the tenth Presidential elections in Iran, held and 
calculated on June 13, 2009. Subject to official results released by 
Iran's election headquarters, out of a total of 39,165,191 ballots cast 
in the presidential election, Ahmadinejad allegedly won 24,527,516 
votes, which accounts for approximately 62.6 percent of the votes, 
while his opponent and former Prime Minister of Iran Mir-Hossein 
Mousavi purportedly secured only 13,216,411 (37.4 percent) of the 
votes. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced that he envisions 
Ahmadinejad as president in the next five years, a comment interpreted 
as indicating support for Ahmadinejad's reelection.
  Just 48 hours after Iranian officials announced incumbent President 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide 62.6% victory, the situation in Tehran 
and in regions throughout the country broke out in a wave of violent 
protests in response to what the people of Iran knew to be a rigged 
poll.
  Yet despite the large-scale civil unrest in response to the rigged 
elections, the outstretched arm of the Ayatollah extends beyond Tehran. 
Whereas the size of the crowds protesting reached to more than 1 
million people united in outrage at the absence of a fair and free 
electoral process. Despite the government ban that has been placed on 
all public gatherings with the purpose of voicing opposition to the 
outcome of the Iranian presidential elections, the people of Iran have 
publicly expressed their dissent. Iranians throughout the country have 
defied Interior Ministry warnings broadcast. Violence has spilled on to 
the streets of Tehran. To date, 7 Iranians have been killed in violent 
political unrest. Beyond Tehran, Iranians living in the rural regions 
are feeling the Ayatollah's pressures to cease all public expression of 
their discontent with the outcome of the elections. The Iranian people 
living in the region of Mashad are currently confined to their homes in 
order to prevent them protesting in the streets. All foreign 
journalists have now been quarantined and/or made to leave the country.
  Following the results of the June l2th Iranian election, President 
Obama released a statement in reaction to then elections in Iran, 
stating ``I am deeply troubled by the violence that I've been seeing on 
television,'' Obama said in Washington. ``I can't state definitively 
one way or another what happened with respect to the election. But what 
I can say is that there appears to be a sense on the part of people who 
were so hopeful and so engaged and so committed to democracy who now 
feel betrayed.''

  Given the absence of fair and free elections, coupled with the 
government's poor record for transparency and accountability, we have 
deep cause for concern about the opportunity for free choices and 
democratic participation for the people of Iran. Despite intensified 
inspections since 2002, the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 
inability, to verify that

[[Page H7039]]

Iran's nuclear program is not designed to develop a nuclear weapon is 
cause for great concern. While Iran states that the intention of its 
nuclear program is for electricity generation which it feels is vital 
to its energy security, U.S. officials challenge this justification by 
stating that ``Iran's vast gas resources make a nuclear energy program 
unnecessary.''
  Establishing a diplomatic dialogue with the Government of Iran and 
deepening relationships with the Iranian people will only help foster 
greater understanding between the people of Iran and the people of the 
United States and would enhance the stability the security of the 
Persian Gulf region. Furthering President Obama's approach toward 
continued engagement will reduce the increased threat of the 
proliferation or use of nuclear weapons in the region, while advancing 
other U.S. foreign policy objectives in the region. The significance of 
establishing and sustaining diplomatic relations with Iran cannot be 
over-emphasized. Avoidance and military intervention cannot be the 
means through which we resolve this looming crisis.
  In conclusion, we must condemn Iran for the absence of fair and free 
Presidential elections and urge Iran to provide its people with the 
opportunity to engage in a Democratic election process, by demanding 
new elections, and ensure that all votes are fairly counted. I look 
forward to further meaningful discussion and a new foreign policy 
strategy with regard to Iran when the people of Iran are able to 
participate in a fair and democratic electoral process.
  Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, this week the world heard the cry of 
millions of Iranians who seek the right to a free and fair election. In 
response, Americans from all walks of life have taken up the cause of 
liberty for Iranians who crave real freedom and not sham elections.
  ``I am proud to join the United States Congress to stand with 
freedom-loving people everywhere in support of the people of Iran and 
to call for an end to the brutal and violent suppression of peaceful 
protesters. We will not stand by in silence and watch the forces of 
radicalism attempt to squelch the public outcry in Iran against last 
week's election irregularities.
  ``The Middle East is ready for another real democracy, a nation where 
the voices of every citizen are heard and where the government works 
for the people and not against the people. Over the past few years the 
bellicose regime in Tehran has spewed an endless line of anti-Western 
vitriol and insists on threatening the existence of the state of 
Israel--one of the few beacons of real freedom in the Middle East. It 
is now obvious that the average Iranian has grown weary with their 
authoritarian leadership.
  ``The ongoing crackdown on free expression and the rights of 
journalists along with the censoring of communication with the outside 
world has simply shown the true colors of the dark Iranian regime 
desperately trying to hold its grip on power. The people of Iran 
deserve better. They deserve freedom. And today the House of 
Representatives has given voice to their historic plea in the hallowed 
halls of Congress.''
  Mr. BERMAN. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 560.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________