[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 31306]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3194, CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS AND 
             DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 18, 1999

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this omnibus bill and 
commend the House leadership--the Speaker, the Majority Leader, and the 
Majority Whip--as well as Chairman Young--for their untiring efforts to 
finalize this package and for their willingness to include in it 
certain authorization measures. I also extend a heartfelt thanks to 
Bill Inglee, Brian Gunderson and Susan Hirschman for their efforts on 
our behalf.
  In particular, the package includes the authorization for the 
important UN reform and arrears payment package as well as other 
significant programs such as a five year authorization for a greatly 
enhanced embassy security program to protect American personnel and 
facilities abroad and a 10 year authorization for Radio Free Asia--or 
freedom broadcasting--to Asia.
  The particular legislative vehicle by which this is accomplished is 
the inclusion by reference in this bill of H.R. 3427, introduced on the 
legislative day of November 17 by the distinguished Chairman of the 
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), as well as by the distinguished 
ranking Democrat on that subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Georgia 
(Ms. McKinney), the distinguished Full Committee ranking Democrat, the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), and myself.
  H.R. 3427 reflects the House and Senate agreements reached on H.R. 
2415 and S. 886 (the Senate amendment to H.R. 2415). The compromise 
bill accommodates numerous requests of the Administration. The 
International Relations Committee worked hard to produce a bipartisan 
bill in concert with our colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee. We are pleased to have it included in this package.
  H.R. 3427 is a substitute for a conference report or an amendment 
between the Houses to resolve the differences between the House and 
Senate versions of the bill.
  The original Senate version of H.R. 2415 was S. 886, which was 
reported by the Committee on Foreign Relations on March 28, 1999 (S. 
Rept. 106-43) and which passed the Senate, amended, on June 22, 1999.
  H.R. 2415 passed the House, amended, on July 21, 1999. It was not 
reported by our Committee but was sent directly to the floor by action 
of the House pursuant to a special Rule. H.R. 2415 was a successor to 
H.R. 1211. H.R. 1211 was reported by the Committee on International 
Relations on March 29, 1999 (H. Rept. 106-122).
  The legislative history of H.R. 3427 in the House is the legislative 
history of H.R. 2415 and H.R. 1211 in the House as far as is 
applicable. In particular, H. Rept. 106-122 should be considered as 
part of the legislative history of H.R. 2415, H.R. 3427, and this 
omnibus bill.
  Among the very difficult decisions made on this bill was a decision 
to drop Section 725 of the Senate bill S. 886 which recognizes 
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I strongly supported the four 
subsections, which would have: (1) provided funds for the construction 
of a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem; (2) required that the consulate in 
Jerusalem be placed under the supervision of the U.S. Ambassador to 
Israel; (3) required that official U.S. government documents which list 
countries and their capital cities identify Jerusalem as the capital of 
Israel; and (4) permit the place of birth on a birth registration or 
passport issued to a U.S. citizen born in the city of Jerusalem to be 
recorded as Israel.
  These four provisions are extremely important efforts which recognize 
the reality that Jerusalem is, and will always remain Israel's eternal 
capital. I therefore strongly regret that the Administration demanded 
that these provisions be dropped from the final agreement, but assure 
my colleagues that our efforts to see these four provisions enacted 
into law will not wane.

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