[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 91 (Thursday, June 12, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H5323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0915
         CONDEMNING ABDUCTION OF FEMALE STUDENTS BY BOKO HARAM

  Mr. HOLDING. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in 
order at any time on the legislative day of June 12, 2014, to consider 
in the House, House Resolution 617, if called up by the chair of the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, or his designee; that the resolution be 
considered as read; and that the previous question be considered as 
ordered on the preamble and the resolution to adoption without 
intervening motion.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HOLDING. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of 
today, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 617) condemning the abduction 
of female students by armed militants from the terrorist group known as 
Boko Haram in northeastern provinces of the Federal Republic of 
Nigeria, and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the title of the 
resolution.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, 
the resolution is considered read and the previous question is ordered 
on the resolution and on the preamble.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 617

       Whereas, on the night of April 14, 2014, 276 female 
     students, most of them between 15 and 18 years old, were 
     abducted by Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary 
     School, a boarding school located in the northeastern 
     province of Borno in the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
       Whereas, all public secondary schools in Borno state were 
     closed in March 2014 because of increasing attacks in the 
     past year that have killed hundreds of students, but the 
     young women at the Government Girls Secondary School were 
     recalled to take their final exams;
       Whereas, Boko Haram burned down several buildings before 
     opening fire on soldiers and police who were guarding the 
     Government Girls Secondary School and forcing the students 
     into trucks;
       Whereas, according to local officials in Borno state, 53 
     students were able to flee their captors, and the rest remain 
     abducted;
       Whereas, there are reports that the abducted girls have 
     been sold as brides to Islamist militants for the equivalent 
     of $12 each;
       Whereas, the group popularly known as ``Boko Haram'', which 
     loosely translates from the Hausa language to ``Western 
     education is sin'', is known to oppose the education of 
     girls;
       Whereas, on April 14, 2014, hours before the kidnapping in 
     Borno state, and on May 2, 2014, Boko Haram bombed bus 
     stations in Abuja, Nigeria, killing at least 94 people and 
     wounding over 160, making it the deadliest set of attacks 
     ever in Nigeria's capital;
       Whereas, Boko Haram has kidnapped girls in the past to use 
     as cooks and sex slaves, and has claimed responsibility for 
     the kidnapping in Borno state on April 14, 2014;
       Whereas, late May 5, 2014, suspected Boko Haram gunmen 
     kidnapped an additional 8 girls, ranging in age from 12 to 
     15, from a village in northeast Nigeria;
       Whereas, on May 7, 2014, Boko Haram killed at least 336 
     people in Gamboru Ngala and burned hundreds of houses and 
     cars;
       Whereas, on June 5, 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped an 
     additional 20 women from northeastern Nigeria, near the town 
     of Chibok;
       Whereas, reports estimate that more than 500 students and 
     100 teachers have been killed by Boko Haram and have 
     destroyed roughly 500 schools in northern Nigeria, leaving 
     more than 15,000 students without access to education;
       Whereas, Boko Haram has targeted schools, mosques, 
     churches, villages, and agricultural centers, as well as 
     government facilities, in an armed campaign to create an 
     Islamic state in northern Nigeria, prompting the President of 
     Nigeria to declare a state of emergency in three of the 
     country's northeastern states in May 2013;
       Whereas, human rights groups have indicated that the 
     Nigerian state security forces should improve efforts to 
     protect civilians during offensive operations against Boko 
     Haram;
       Whereas, according to nongovernmental organizations, more 
     than 1,500 people have been killed in attacks by Boko Haram 
     or reprisals by Nigerian security forces this year alone, and 
     that almost 4,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram 
     attacks since 2011;
       Whereas, the enrollment, retention, and completion of 
     education for girls in Nigeria remains a major challenge;
       Whereas, according to the United Nations Children's 
     Emergency Fund (UNICEF), some 4,700,000 children of primary 
     school age are still not in school in Nigeria, with 
     attendance rates lowest in the north;
       Whereas, studies have found that school children in 
     Nigeria, particularly those in the northern provinces, are at 
     a disadvantage in their education, with 37 percent of 
     primary-age girls in the rural northeast not attending 
     school, and 30 percent of boys not attending school;
       Whereas, women and girls must be allowed to go to school 
     without fear of violence and unjust treatment so that they 
     can take their rightful place as equal citizens of and 
     contributors to society;
       Whereas United States security assistance to Nigeria has 
     emphasized military professionalization, peacekeeping support 
     and training, and border and maritime security;
       Whereas, the Department of State designated Boko Haram as a 
     Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2013, recognizing 
     the threat posed by the group's large-scale and 
     indiscriminate attacks against civilians, including women and 
     children;
       Whereas Boko Haram is one of a number of radical Islamist 
     terrorist organizations and extremist groups that pose a 
     growing threat to United States interests in the region as 
     well as broader peace and security; and
       Whereas these radical Islamist groups, which include Ansar 
     al-Sharia, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the National 
     Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, and others have 
     carried out deadly attacks in the region and constitute a 
     growing threat to North and West Africa: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses its strong support for the people of Nigeria, 
     especially the parents and families of the girls abducted by 
     Boko Haram in Borno state, and calls for the immediate, safe 
     return of the girls;
       (2) condemns Boko Haram for its violent attacks on civilian 
     targets, including schools, mosques, churches, villages, and 
     agricultural centers in Nigeria;
       (3) encourages the Government of Nigeria to strengthen 
     efforts to protect children seeking to obtain an education 
     and to hold those who conduct such violent attacks 
     accountable;
       (4) commends efforts by the United States Government to 
     hold terrorist organizations, such as Boko Haram, 
     accountable;
       (5) supports offers of United States assistance to the 
     government of Nigeria in the search for these abducted girls 
     and encourages the government of Nigeria to work with the 
     United States and other concerned governments to resolve this 
     tragic situation;
       (6) recognizes that every individual, regardless of gender, 
     should have the opportunity to pursue an education without 
     fear of discrimination;
       (7) encourages the Department of State and the United 
     States Agency for International Development to continue their 
     support for initiatives that promote the human rights of 
     women and girls in Nigeria;
       (8) urges the President to immediately strengthen United 
     States security, law enforcement, and intelligence 
     cooperation with appropriate Nigerian forces, including 
     offering United States personnel to support operations to 
     locate and rescue the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by 
     Boko Haram, and to support Nigerian efforts to counter this 
     United States designated foreign terrorist organization; and
       (9) calls on the President to provide to Congress a 
     comprehensive strategy to counter the growing threat posed by 
     radical Islamist terrorist groups in West Africa, the Sahel, 
     and North Africa.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Ms. WILSON of Florida. 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, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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