[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 213 (Wednesday, December 16, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7530-S7533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Western Sahara and Abraham Accords

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, 6 days ago, on the 10th, I came down to 
the floor after having discovered something that happened. I think it 
really was not intentional the way it happened, but I would like to 
share that with you and share the frustration that I have.
  There is a situation that is taking place and has taken place for 30-
some years in Western Sahara. This is an area where after a colonial 
period, the different colonies in there were attached to other 
countries. In the case of Western Sahara, that actually had been 
attached to Spain. It was called Spanish Sahara at that time. This was 
way back in pre-1966. One of the many good things that President Trump 
has done is that he has put together this program called the Abraham 
accords, and that is bringing the Arab population and the Jewish 
population in the Middle East together. This is something that 
Presidents have tried to do for a long period of time--both Democrat 
and Republican, not successful. And this has become successful because 
the thing that was announced just 6 days ago was that Morocco was going 
to salvage a relationship with Israel.

[[Page S7531]]

  I don't know how many or what kind of detail went into that, but, 
inadvertently, I think, they agreed to something that Morocco has been 
trying to do for a long period of time, and that is, to have the United 
States recognize that they have rights to the land that is known as 
Western Sahara.
  Now, as for Western Sahara, back after the colonial days, they 
started getting their independence in various parts of that world. They 
had been attached to Spain at that time. Well, anyway, what the 
President did--and I say I think this was inadvertently done--was to 
give Morocco claims to the land that rightly belongs to the Western 
Saharans.
  Now, I think that he could have secured the agreement with Morocco 
without giving away and reversing 45 years of our longstanding foreign 
policy.
  Now, I have to confess that when I came down to the floor last week, 
I was feeling shocked and deeply saddened by the announcement. The news 
about the United States recognizing Morocco's claim over Western Sahara 
took me by surprise because I had been involved in that issue for a 
long period of time. And we have had a policy in the United States 
since pre-1966 that we firmly supported the rights of the Saharans--the 
Western Sahara people--to their own land that was taken unfairly from 
them.
  Now, this came as a surprise to me, and I came down to the floor. 
That was 6 days ago. And I want to tell you what has happened since 
that time, just to refresh the memory of those individuals.
  There are a lot of people out there who are concerned about this.
  Remember what happened historically and kind of a chronology of what 
happened in Western Sahara. First of all, in 1966, the United Nations 
General Assembly resolution agreed that a resolution of self-
determination should be held, and that is, to allow the United Nations 
endorsing the idea that a resolution of self-determination be made for 
the population of Western Sahara. That was 1966, and we are in full 
agreement with that here in the United States.
  Then, because of the fact that Morocco was trying to claim some 
ownership of the land that belonged to the people of Western Sahara, in 
1975 the International Court of Justice denied Morocco the right to 
territory of Western Sahara. Now, this was the International Court of 
Justice. That is supposed to be a final thing.
  And Morocco then invaded Western Sahara. Now, keep in mind that you 
have Morocco--a very, very wealthy country with all kinds of 
resources--taking on a group of people who had been sent out of their 
homes, out and living in the bush. I have been there several times. The 
conditions are just not livable conditions. And then, of course, they 
were invaded by Morocco as a result of the International Court of 
Justice decision.
  Then, in 1991, the U.N. ceasefire mission began to provide a 
referendum of self-determination. So that is the United Nations coming 
in again and saying that they need to have the right of self-
determination. That is something that was restated over and over again. 
Well, that was a ceasefire in 1991 that was supposed to stop all kinds 
of brutality and the bad things that were going on in that part of the 
world.
  I became very close, many years ago, with James Baker. James Baker, 
back during the Bush 1 administration, was Secretary of State, and he 
was Secretary of Treasury, and he took this on, back during the first 
Bush administration, as a personal thing. He went and became familiar 
with this and tried to put together a special envoy to Western Sahara 
and worked at it for a long period of time. James Baker is still around 
and still committed.
  I remember when I called James Baker--this was several years ago--and 
I said: I have been watching what you did--what you tried to do--in 
Western Sahara to free these people up, and I just want you to know 
that I have been there, I have seen it, and I agree with you, and I 
want to get your advice as to how we can best make this happen. All we 
want is a referendum of self-determination so people can decide for 
themselves what they want their land to be a part of.
  So James Baker responded to me, and he said: That was one of the very 
few failures that we had during that administration.
  He said: I was Secretary of State, and I worked hard on it and did 
everything I could, and I feel sorry. I wish you the best of luck.
  Well, then, in 2004, the United States and Morocco signed a free-
trade agreement. This is interesting because we signed the free-trade 
agreement with Morocco, and the agreement explicitly--explicitly--
excluded Western Sahara because Morocco does not have sovereignty over 
it. So they agreed. They signed the same thing that we signed saying 
that that land did not belong to Morocco, and it was specifically 
agreed that it be excluded. That was the United States and Morocco way 
back in 2004.
  So you have, in 1966, the United Nations making that declaration. In 
1975, the International Court of Justice denied the right of the 
territory to Morocco; 1991, the ceasefire; 1997; then again, in 2004, 
the United States and Morocco signing a free-trade agreement--which all 
of this was agreed to.
  So this isn't news for me. I have been involved in this issue for 
decades, as well, and I have visited the refugee camps in that area. 
About 10 years ago, I met with Aminatou Haidar. It was someone who 
would become well recognized and some of the abuses that had been 
taking place for a long time. She was here in Washington and came to my 
office. She is from that area, and she was here to accept an award from 
the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights for her work on behalf of 
her people in Western Sahara. I remember her so well.
  She had been arrested by Morocco for demonstrating peacefully in 
Western Sahara. She was in prison for 4 years. She was blindfolded the 
entire time for 4 years, and she was tortured and treated terribly, and 
she lost her eyesight as a result of that. And all that was for 
peacefully protesting on behalf of her homeland.
  But it didn't stop her work. She kept fighting for her people, even 
facing arrest again. Additionally, 15 years ago, I did something that 
is kind of unusual here in Washington. People don't realize this--that 
Members of the House and the Senate don't always testify before the 
other body. And 15 years ago, they were having a hearing in the House 
on international affairs, and I asked if I could be a witness. So I 
went there and testified, and I gave the history that is similar to 
what I just stated--the history of what has been going on there--and 
why the referendum for self-determination was so necessary.

  But I also called out a hidden part of this, and that is the 
lobbyists. You know, it seems like every time someone has a cause that 
is unjust, they go and hire all the lobbyists in Washington. We are 
having that right now with an organization in another subject area. But 
at that time, that was 2005, and at that time, the following lobbyists 
had been hired by Morocco: the Livingston Group, Tew Cardenas, Edelman 
public relations, Miller & Chevalier, Gabriel and company, Robert 
Holley, and Whiton Case. Those are seven lobbyists that were hired by 
Morocco.
  And now, that hasn't changed. Today, right now, they are represented 
by JPC Strategies, Third Circle, and Neale Creek, and average over $1 
million each year.
  So all these lobbyists in Washington have been hired by Morocco. And 
whom do the Western Saharans have to lift up their voices? They have no 
one--no one at all.
  So, given my personal history, you can forgive me for being shocked 
and deeply saddened at having their future so harshly stolen from them 
after they spent three generations waiting for the promise of a 
referendum for self-determination.
  I have to say this. I am quite sure that our President was not even 
aware of that. He is doing the right thing in terms of the accords that 
we are doing in that part of the world, bringing the Arabs and the Jews 
together. It is a good thing. But this is an issue that should never 
have come up or been a part of it, and I am quite sure that he was not 
aware of this.
  So now, seeing the reactions around the world, it is clear that there 
is kind of a silver lining. I look at this as an opportunity. It is an 
issue that people are worn out on. We tried and tried and tried 
everything we could think of. And just from my coming to the floor 6

[[Page S7532]]

days ago, all these things have happened since that time. People have a 
new hope.
  And remember, the conflict in Western Sahara is what we used to call 
a frozen, forgotten conflict. That has a finality to it. There is 
something about a ``frozen conflict,'' you know--that nothing more is 
going to happen. They called it a frozen conflict and made it easy for 
the rest of the world to let the status quo continue, leaving the 
Western Saharan people in limbo, waiting for a referendum that had been 
promised way back in 1966.
  The forgotten conflict allowed Morocco to continue encroaching and 
getting away with human rights abuses like the one I just described--
torturing that young lady for 4 years, causing her to go blind. So 
those were the unintended consequences of this arrangement that was 
made with Morocco.
  So it has never been so clear to the international community. I have 
never seen the international community so united. Everybody is on our 
side on this thing--the side that we have had and will return to for 
some 30 years. The African Union said--this is just since the last 6 
days: ``The position of the African Union remains unchanged, in 
conformity with relevant AU''--that is the African Union--``and United 
Nations resolutions.''
  On the United Nations: ``The United Nations said Thursday its 
position was `unchanged' on the disputed Western Sahara region after 
the United States recognized Morocco's sovereignty there.''
  That is the United Nations coming back again.
  In a news article, the European Union indicated last Thursday that 
``the status of Western Sahara has not been determined and must be 
negotiated in a process led by the United Nations, after the President 
of the United States, Donald Trump, has recognized the Moroccan 
sovereignty.''
  So the European Union is in full agreement with what we are about to 
try to do again.
  The United Kingdom said: ``Our position on the status of Western 
Sahara remains unchanged.''
  It didn't change them a bit what we did here in the United States.
  Algeria. Algeria is right next door. I meant to bring a map down here 
to familiarize everyone with the area that we are talking about. 
Algeria said: ``The conflict of Western Sahara is a question of 
decolonization which can only be resolved through the application of 
the international law and the well-established charter of the United 
Nations and the African Union in this matter, which provides for the 
authentic exercise by the Sahrawi people of their inalienable right to 
self-determination and independence.''
  That is Algeria. And, by the way, every one of the 52 nations in 
Africa is in full agreement with what we are talking about right now.
  And James Baker hasn't gone away. This is way back in the first Bush 
administration. He was Secretary of State. This is his statement just 
the other day--yesterday, it was. He said:

       While I strongly support the Abraham Accords, the proper 
     way to implement them was the way it was done with the UAE, 
     Bahrain and Sudan, and not by cynically trading off the self-
     determination rights of the people of Western Sahara. I agree 
     with Senator James Inhofe--

  That is me--

     when he characterized this development as ``shocking and 
     deeply disappointing.'' It would appear that the United 
     States of America, which was founded first and foremost on 
     the principle of self-determination, has walked away from 
     that principle regarding the people of Western Sahara. This 
     is very regrettable.

  That is James Baker.
  Even more, these are other opinions. These are opinion pieces. This 
came out, and I just read them this morning.
  David Keene--we all remember David Keene. He was with the Washington 
Times. He was with the American Conservative Union and with the NRA. 
His quote was this:

       The United States has sometimes quite properly, given our 
     interests, stayed out of controversies like this, but one is 
     hard pressed to find another situation in which we have 
     virtually announced that justice doesn't matter and that 
     those like the Western Saharans who have sought their rights 
     peacefully rather than [by way] . . . [of] terrorism and . . 
     . [guns] are fools.
  John Bolton, in Foreign Policy, said:

       [T]he Polisario is at a crucial juncture. It would be fully 
     justified if it chooses to return to the battlefield, but 
     much depends on the positions of Algeria, Mauritania and 
     others--and what resources are available.

  Now, that gets back to the question of resources. We have unlimited 
resources by the very wealthy nation--one of the wealthiest nations in 
the world, Morocco.
  Stephen Zunes--I got to know him a long time ago. He is a scholar 
with the University of San Francisco. He specializes in this area. This 
is his quote just in the last 2 days:

       Morocco's claim on Western Sahara is rejected by the United 
     Nations, the World Court, the African Union and a broad 
     consensus of international legal scholars that consider the 
     region a non-self-governing territory that must be allowed an 
     act of self-determination. This is why no country had 
     formally recognized Morocco's takeover--until now.

  This is still Stephen Zunes. He said: ``Human Rights Watch, Amnesty 
International and other reputable human rights groups have documented 
widespread suppression of peaceful, pro-independence activists by 
Moroccan occupation forces, including torture, beatings, detention 
without trial and extrajudicial killings.
  Still quoting the scholar, Stephen Zunes: ``Since the Polisario''--
Polisario, of course, are those fighting for their freedom and for 
their reclamation. ``Since the Polisario proclaimed the establishment 
of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1976, 84 countries have 
recognized Western Sahara as an independent state.''
  Everybody agrees with this. It is one of the few things in foreign 
policy where there is no opposition. They all agree with that self-
determination for the Western Sahara people.
  I am so saddened by the betrayal toward the people of Western Sahara 
for unilaterally recognizing Morocco's claim. Yet I am seeing the 
unexpected results from the proclamation.
  If highlighting the injustice of these people pushes the rest of the 
world to finally get them the referendum they deserve, it may be worth 
it, and that is what I am seeing right now. I remember so well--it has 
now been some three or four generations of Western Saharans and the 
little kids you see in the camps, in the refugee camps, living under 
conditions that we can't even imagine in this country, but they are 
happy little kids. They carry around a sign. I don't have the 
pronunciation in their language, but it says: ``We will fight till we 
get back our homes.'' These are little kids. They all know--the fourth 
generation of those who have been abandoned.
  So I remember--and I called, and I found out--what was the year? Was 
it 2007? Yes, in 2007, Mark Powers and I--he has been with me on a lot 
of things in Africa that we have been interested in. He and I met with 
all of the elected leaders of the Western Saharans in a room that is 
out in the desert. We actually heard all their stories. They are all 
Muslims out there, and we all prayed together. We prayed to the Lord 
for mercy in this case. And I think that maybe it is closer than we 
thought it was.
  That is what is happening right now. It is something that--we have to 
move back to our original position that we have held since 1966 in 
supporting people--the right for a referendum of self-determination.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered


Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits 
                        Improvement Act of 2020

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, tonight I am pleased to speak as the 
chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on the work we 
have accomplished with our colleagues in the House to deliver today 
meaningful benefits and reforms for our Nation's veterans and to 
recognize the decades of service of two of our departing colleagues who 
are dedicated to the well-being of our veterans.
  Today the House passed the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. 
Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020. This 
legislation is the culmination of more than 2 years

[[Page S7533]]

of bipartisan work, with input from all of our veteran service 
organizations, dozens of Senators and Members of the House of 
Representatives, our partners at the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
and the leadership of the former Senate and House VA Committee 
chairmen, Senator Isakson and Congressman Roe.
  Among its many provisions, this legislation invests in the education 
and employment of veterans to make certain they have the tools 
necessary to achieve success after service through expanded 
opportunities to use their earned benefits for longer periods of time 
and more opportunities for job training.
  This bill will also give the VA the tools necessary to serve veterans 
at risk of homelessness in a more meaningful way during the pandemic 
and require the VA to provide greater oversight and support to our 
State veterans' homes.
  It also includes provisions from the Deborah Sampson Act, a landmark 
bill that makes clear women who serve their country in the Armed Forces 
must have a VA that is as effective for them as it is for the men who 
also have served.
  As I mentioned, this bill is named after two public servants. Johnny 
Isakson was my predecessor as chairman, and I have worked hard to 
follow his example of bipartisanship in working with our VA Committee 
ranking member, Senator Jon Tester. Legislation like this bill is the 
result of many months of work by members of our staff, stemming from a 
desire from both sides of the aisle to better serve our Nation's 
veterans. The important relationships that exist between Senators, our 
House colleagues, and our staff members result in a bipartisan solution 
like the one that passed the House today and that passed the Senate 
just a few days before.
  I would also like to thank Dr. Phil Roe. I served with him in the 
House of Representatives. He is the current House Veterans' Affairs 
Committee ranking member and its former chairman. I thank him for his 
partnership and his friendship as we worked together to serve veterans, 
since we both served on that committee in the House together.
  The VA is making positive, measurable changes to better serve our 
veterans, and Congressman Roe and Senator Isakson deserve credit not 
only for being a big part of that change but also for being an example 
for the rest of us as to how we can work across the aisle and across 
the Capitol to improve the lives of our country's veterans and all of 
our fellow citizens.
  I would also like to recognize Congressman Roe's counterpart, House 
VA Committee Chairman Takano, for seeing this bill to completion in the 
House of Representatives today.
  I would like to thank my counterpart in the Senate Veterans' Affairs 
Committee, Ranking Member Jon Tester, the Senator from Montana, for his 
hard work this past year in helping to lead our committee's efforts to 
do the right thing for our Nation's veterans. This bill is a testament 
to his dedication to serving our veterans and to his staff's tireless 
work on veterans' behalf.
  One more thank-you certainly rests with our SVAC members for 
providing so many legislative solutions to issues that we have heard 
from the VA, from our VSOs and from veterans in each of our home 
States. I know that making certain our veterans continue to receive 
care and benefits was foremost in their minds during this pandemic, and 
I would like to thank Senators Boozman, Cassidy, Rounds, Tillis, 
Sullivan, Blackburn, Cramer, Loeffler, and each of our Democratic 
colleagues on the committee for their contribution to this landmark 
legislation.
  Our veteran service organizations often speak for veterans who cannot 
speak for themselves, and they help Members of this body understand the 
issues and concerns that veterans may be facing across the country in 
addition to our own home States. I thank all of the VSOs that have 
worked on this bill, for many years in many cases, meeting with me and 
with our committee staff, explaining issues and working closely with us 
to make certain we find the right solutions for our Nation's veterans. 
I hope each VSO--veteran service organization--and its members will 
benefit from this legislation following the President's signature. I 
hope they will benefit for decades to come.
  Finally, I want to thank our team at the Senate VA Committee for 
everything they have put into this legislation.
  Thank you to Senator Tester's staff for all of your thoughtful work 
drafting the language to help address real issues that impact real 
veterans.
  Thank you to my VA staff, who have put in the work conducting 
oversight and responding to casework so we can understand the needs of 
veterans in Kansas and across the country and make meaningful, lasting 
changes so they may experience the American dream that they once fought 
so hard to secure for each of us.
  Thank you to Chelsey Ladd, Victoria Lee, Scott Nulty, Kevin Ryan, 
Thomas Wilson, Michele Payne, Barry Walker, Pauline Schmitt, Thomas 
Coleman, Asher Allman, Jake Vance, Mark Crowley, Brian Newbold, Lindsay 
Dearing, Emily Blair, Kelsey Baron, Tiffanii Woolfolk, and David 
Shearman.
  Finally, I want to recognize my staff director, Caroline Canfield, 
who is ending her service with my office and with the Senate at the end 
of this month. She has served as a tremendous asset. She is a 
tremendous asset and a force multiplier as my military legislative 
assistant, as my lead appropriations staffer, and now as my VA 
Committee staff director.

  Our Nation's veterans and our military members are better off because 
of the work she has done throughout her career and because of her 
tenacious ``never take no for an answer'' approach to doing all things 
right.
  Caroline, you will be missed, but you are always part of the team. 
You deserve our gratitude for what you have accomplished on behalf of 
our Nation's military men and women and on behalf of our veterans.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________