[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 29, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H1029-H1030]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ASSAD'S ATROCITIES

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, first, I join with my female colleagues in 
supporting full health coverage for every single woman in our Nation.
  I also rise to condemn the actions of Syria's Assad government, which 
are

[[Page H1030]]

truly appalling. America and this House should not be sitting silent as 
thousands of Syrian civilians are slaughtered by their government. 
Assad is not a man of peace, as some in this body have asserted. He is 
an international war criminal. His blood-stained hands should be 
shunned the world over.
  The United Nations now believes that over 100 civilians are being 
murdered daily, including women and children. Estimates vary as to how 
many civilians have been killed since Assad's regime launched its 
brutal crackdown down on peaceful demonstrators in Syria in the spring 
of last year. CNN is reporting as many as 9,000 people have been killed 
in the last year, yet the leadership of this House remains silent. The 
Senate passed a resolution in mid-February. Why haven't we?
  I and my colleague, Congressman Keith Ellison, have introduced a 
resolution identical to the bill the Senate just passed on a bipartisan 
basis. And I urge my colleagues to speak out against the unspeakable 
violations that take place every moment.
  Doing right is long overdue. Let's stop the horrors and mobilize the 
world to stop the killing.

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