[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9380-9387]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 1141, 1999 EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL 
                           APPROPRIATIONS ACT

  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct conferees on 
the bill (H.R. 1141) making emergency supplemental appropriations for 
the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Deutsch moves that the managers on the part of the 
     House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two 
     Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill H.R. 1141 
     be instructed to insist on the funding level of $621 million 
     contained under the heading ``Central America And The 
     Caribbean Emergency Disaster Recovery Fund'' of the House 
     bill for necessary expenses to address the effects of 
     hurricanes in Central

[[Page 9381]]

     America and the Caribbean and the earthquake in Colombia.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) 
will be recognized for 30 minutes, and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Diaz-Balart) will be recognized for 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch).
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Central America has been an American foreign policy 
success story, probably one of the great success stories in this 
country. We have actively supported or helped take countries from 
dictatorships to democracies, from conflict to peace, and from closed 
to opened economies.
  But along the way in October a disaster occurred, a disaster which 
actually I was told today as a factual statement is actually the worst 
disaster in recorded history in the Western Hemisphere; an incredible 
historical statement to make, but a factual statement. That is the 
hurricane that devastated this area, Hurricane Mitch.
  The devastation that occurred, the equivalent destruction, had it 
occurred in the United States of America, would have been 80,000 people 
dead, 25 million people made homeless. It is hard to conceive of what 
that would mean on a scale in our country, 25 million people homeless.
  The issue of the hurricane was that it was not a localized damage, it 
was not a localized effect. The hurricane was over Honduras for 6 days. 
These are just incredible statistics, but accurately, I think, 
ascertained through AID sources.
  In Honduras, 77 percent of the people in Honduras were directly 
affected by the hurricane, ``directly affected'' defined as either a 
family member died, was severely injured, was displaced in their home, 
lost their job, or their crop was lost, 77 percent of a country.

                              {time}  1700

  In Nicaragua, that number was 20 percent.
  To give you a sense again just of the scope of the destruction, from 
1961 to 1998, AID spent a total of $298 million in the western 
hemisphere for aid in terms of natural disasters. That is from 1961 to 
1998, during that entire period of time, a total of $298 million. We 
have already spent, already expended, $312 million in terms of 
Hurricane Mitch restoration efforts.
  This is a region in the world which truly is our neighbor. It is also 
a huge trading partner, $18 billion a year in U.S. exports, which is 
actually more than all of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe 
combined.
  This House has passed previously funding, actually $621 million in 
direct funding for reconstruction assistance. The House I think wisely 
actually increased this number above the Senate number, and this motion 
to recommit is to substantiate, to support the House position.
  This funding is mostly through, really, AID in terms of projects like 
schools, health units, bridges, really infrastructure of the countries 
that were devastated by the storm.
  If we do not do this, if we do not do this, what will occur? On a 
human level, what is already occurring is really the health issues, 
severe health issues of dysentery. Luckily, we were able to reprogram 
money, actually $30 million, $30 million of the 50 million additional 
dollars that this Congress appropriated for world children's health. We 
appropriated in the last Congress $50 million for children's survival 
for the entire world. $30 million of that $50 million had wisely been 
spent to avoid a public health disaster in Central America. But that 
disaster can still occur.
  So on a human level, we really are talking about health issues really 
in a sense whether we are going to do this or deal with increasing 
assistance or seeing starvation. But we are also dealing with a 
planting season which hopefully we will able to do this supplemental 
and reach the time when the planting season will occur, which is before 
the start of the summer. So, on a human level, there are incredible 
human issues that we need to deal with.
  But I would say to my colleagues that there are two direct issues. 
What we have seen previously is that this truly is our neighborhood, 
and these are our neighbors. Literally, our neighbors have the ability 
to walk to our homes, and we have seen this occur. If we give no hope 
to these people, I think what is overdetermined and what we know will 
happen is we will have another issue to deal with. It is an issue which 
I do not think this Congress directly wants to face, but it is an issue 
that will come to us.
  On a second level, I think we need to remind ourselves, before the 
success stories, what was Central America. It was a place, from the 
changes we discussed, of dictatorships, of conflict, of war, and of 
closed economies. I can think of nothing worse than us not supporting 
this funding than the action, the likely or the possible action that 
this could literally encourage that type of instability in that region.
  There is a donors' conference that the administration has been very 
active in creating of many countries around the world that are pledging 
an additional over $5 billion to the restoration efforts in Central 
America. If we do not participate, and this donors' conference is at 
the end of this month, if the United States does not take the lead in 
our commitment, we have already asked other countries around the world, 
France, Germany, England, Japan, the Scandinavian countries to come up 
with their participation, what will happen?
  This is not something we support as a Congress; we support as a 
country to help in this region. But I think all of us know the reality 
is that if we do not help, no one will help. The accompanying disaster 
that we can foresee will be on our shoulders as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  We have a number of speakers who have asked on our side of the aisle 
to join this motion to instruct conferees, which is very timely and a 
very good idea, and I commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) 
for it.
  We have been working very diligently, Mr. Speaker, and will continue 
to do so on this project. I am hopeful, we are hopeful, that we will 
meet with success with regard to this very important foreign policy 
initiative, which, in addition to its importance to U.S. foreign 
policy, because our neighbors are our friends and we must not forget 
our best friends and neighbors, in addition to that, there is a very 
definite humanitarian aspect to what we are doing that calls us to make 
sure that this aid package is carried forth and included, the Central 
American aid, in the appropriations supplemental bill that is being at 
this time finalized.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), one of my distinguished friends, 
colleagues, and the chairman of the Committee on International 
Relations Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Diaz-Balart) for the leadership which he has shown on all of the 
issues pertaining to Central America.
  I also want to congratulate another colleague, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Deutsch), whose motion we are debating today. He is very 
attuned to the needs of our hemispheric neighbors and also on the 
impact that this has on our South Florida region. So I commend the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) and the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Diaz-Balart) for their leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, over 6 months ago, our Central American neighbors were 
ravaged by Hurricane Mitch. The death and destruction of homes, of 
farms, entire communities were broadcast for the world to see: small 
children displaced from their homes, families divided, the entire 
livelihood of thousands washed away with the rains and the flood that 
followed the eye of the hurricane.
  Our district, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch), the gentleman

[[Page 9382]]

from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) and my district in South Florida, has 
experienced the wrath of a hurricane. We know what that destruction is 
like.
  In 1992, Hurricane Andrew swept through our portion of the State, 
leaving behind a trail of destruction. Seven years later, we have 
recovered physically and economically. However, the emotional scars 
that are left long after the homes have been rebuilt have still not 
healed. The communities have been restored somewhat, but those 
difficulties remain.
  But, Mr. Speaker, in Central America, these scars run even deeper, as 
thousands of lives were lost following what seemed to be endless days 
of floods and rains.
  In Central America, the healing process has yet to begin. As Congress 
holds up these much-needed funds to provide regional fund and relief to 
the regions, families continue to go without shelter, to go without 
safe drinking water, and their children are going without education.
  The bill before us would provide the necessary funds to help our 
neighbors begin to rebuild their infrastructures, their families, their 
economies, their communities.
  Currently, our inability to reach an agreement on the relief package 
has significantly delayed the reconstruction of roads, schools, and 
health clinics; but we know that our leadership is working toward that 
final end that is going to be very positive. We congratulate them for 
their leadership on this issue.
  But the more that we delay, Mr. Speaker, these are the things that 
will happen. USAID has said that the health situation in Honduras and 
Nicaragua in particular will continue to deteriorate because of a lack 
of medical resources and facilities to monitor and care for those who 
have been affected by the outbreaks of malaria, of cholera, of dengue, 
and other infectious diseases that have resulted following the 
hurricane.
  Also, close to 200,000 children will continue to go without adequate 
schools, without their facilities, without their supplies. Food 
shortages will result as 100,000 small-scale farms will not receive 
credit and inputs for their first crops.
  Let us not help to prolong the suffering of our hemispheric neighbors 
by continuing to not pass this critical funding package because the 
support of the revitalization of Central America region will be helped 
by us voting in favor of this bill.
  The Central American countries have been long-time allies of the 
United States. Notwithstanding the lamentable decisions of Guatemala 
and El Salvador to abstain from voting in the recent U.N. vote in 
Geneva, which correctly condemned the human rights violations in Cuba, 
these nations routinely stand with the U.S. in our battle in favor of 
freedom, of democracy in our hemisphere. Parenthetically, these 
countries could demonstrate their solidarity with the Cuban people by 
not participating in the November summit in Havana.
  But Central America has survived revolutions. They have survived 
natural disasters to become symbols of democracy in our hemisphere. Let 
us help them to further solidify their freedom-loving institutions by 
aiding them with these much-needed funds.
  They are our hemispheric neighbors, and we need to help them get back 
on their feet. This is not a bailout. It is a helping hand. Let us not 
turn our backs on Central America now. They need us. We will be there 
for them.
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Becerra) who has been active on this issue, has 
traveled with the President to Central America.
  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Deutsch) for yielding me this time and also for making that trip as 
well to Central America to view some of the destruction that had gone 
on.
  The people of Kosovo and the people of Central America have one 
important element in common, their lives have been uprooted and 
disrupted due to forces outside of their control. Because of this, 
their destinies in many ways are no longer in their own hands.
  For these reasons, we have had to step into Kosovo to help people 
that are no longer able to defend themselves. In March, 2 months ago, 
when we voted to help the victims of one of the worst natural disasters 
in the recorded history of this hemisphere, we made a similar 
commitment in Central America, one we are duty bound to fulfill now.
  There is no reason why we should treat the victims of a man-made 
disaster any different than we would treat those who are victims of a 
natural disaster. The supplemental funding for Kosovo that the House 
passed last week included $566 million in humanitarian aid for refugees 
from Kosovo.
  Yet, the Congress is still saying that it needs offsets to provide 
the assistance to the Central American countries that have more than a 
million refugees waiting for that humanitarian assistance that the 
President said would be forthcoming at the end of last year and that 
this Congress in March said it would send as well.
  In Kosovo, we see some 700,000 refugees, people who have been 
displaced, uprooted from their homes. Hurricane Mitch, when it hit 
Central America at the end of October, cost the lives of at least 9,000 
people. There are still some 9,000 to 10,000 Central Americans who are 
missing and at this point now, after 6 months, are presumed dead. Over 
1 million people, about 1.3 million people were displaced. Some 1 
million still remain homeless in Central America.
  Clearly, the situations in both Kosovo and Central America are 
humanitarian emergencies. Both should be funded in the same way, 
without cuts in critical and domestic foreign international programs 
that this government funds.

                              {time}  1715

  We need to keep in mind the magnitude of destruction caused by 
Hurricane Mitch. What would we all think if we were to hear that the 
entire States of Texas and New Jersey had just been left homeless; that 
the entire populations of those two States or that the entire 
population of Orlando, Florida, or Dayton, Ohio was either dead or 
missing and now presumed dead? In the United States that would be 
considered a disaster of catastrophic proportions. This is the 
equivalent of what happened in Central America given the relative size 
of those countries this past year.
  The cost in Central America is not just human. It is estimated that 
40 percent of the infrastructure and 60 percent of the roads were 
destroyed by the hurricane. Some think it will take 25 to 50 years for 
Central America to recover, to get back to where it was. And as it was, 
it was already one of the poorest regions in the world.
  NATO is involved in a crisis in Kosovo because we understand the fate 
of Europe is intertwined with the fate of the Balkans. We in this 
hemisphere need to understand that our fate is intertwined with that of 
our neighbors in the Americas as well. I urge my colleagues to vote for 
this motion sponsored by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch).
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Ballenger), one of the few 
Members of our House who has, through the years, assisted more, given 
more of his time and his efforts to help the people throughout Central 
America.
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
this time, and I appreciate the time to speak today in support of the 
full funding levels for Central America and the Caribbean emergencies, 
part of the supplemental bill that is currently being negotiated 
between the House and Senate conferees.
  As we all know, H.R. 1141 passed the House over a month ago. But, 
unfortunately, no money has been released to assist the devastated 
countries in Central America because Congress has yet to approve the 
supplemental. It is really disgraceful.
  I was able to visit Honduras just 2 weeks after Hurricane Mitch 
wreaked its havoc, and also Armenia, Colombia, after the earthquake, a 
town of 300,000 that was devastated. I do not know

[[Page 9383]]

about the rest of my colleagues, but I thought Armenia was a small town 
until I visited it. Stop and think of a town of 300,000 in our country 
where half the whole town is just wiped away. It is unbelievable.
  In Honduras alone, 25,000 people lost their jobs in the banana 
fields, because not only was the banana crop destroyed but the plants 
that grow the bananas were washed away, the topsoil was washed away, 
and there is now just a bunch of sand there. It will be at least 3 
years before they can ever start really growing banana crops again. 
Over a million people lost their homes and at least 7,000 people lost 
their lives.
  Luckily, through donations from various and sundry steel 
manufacturers and Rotary International, I was able to provide 100 tons 
of galvanized steel to supply roofing for housing in Honduras. These 
houses are 20 by 20, on a concrete slab. A concrete block, two windows 
and a door. No plumbing, no nothing, just a roof. And this steel was 
for that. One hundred tons of steel will roughly supply roofs for 1500 
houses. That is roughly speaking 1 percent of the need they have down 
there.
  Now, if my colleagues can believe it, AID is running out of money. 
AID is running out of money to build the houses. We have the roof now, 
but we cannot continue without some money for AID to help us build the 
houses.
  I believe that now rather than later is the time for the United 
States to come to the aid of our neighbors to the south. Too much time 
has been wasted in negotiation. We simply need to release the funding 
by passing a clean supplemental. And I mean clean. This will ensure 
struggling nations that the United States is willing and ready to help.
  In the month that the U.S. Government has been inactive in sending 
relief funding to these disaster areas just miles from our borders, 
other countries from all over the world, not as rich and not as close 
in proximity to Central America, have sent money, supplies, aid and 
their nation's support. It is time for the United States to stop 
playing political games, step up to the plate and assist our 
disadvantaged neighbors to the south.
  I urge my colleagues to support full funding for the relief aid to 
the countries of Central America.
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee).
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Deutsch) for yielding me this time and also for his very 
hard and diligent work on this issue.
  It is very important that we pass this motion to instruct conferees 
on 1141 because we have got to help the victims of this massive 
hurricane so they can be relieved of some of the harsh misery they have 
experienced in Central America.
  The supplemental appropriation of $621 million is badly needed to 
restore the vital infrastructure and to meet public health emergencies. 
In addition to responding to humanitarian needs, this infusion of 
emergency funds will also help to revive weakened economies by allowing 
more goods to flow and more jobs to be created.
  Hurricane Mitch occurred over 6 months ago, but people displaced by 
Hurricane Mitch are still in unhealthy camps and in shelters and they 
must be relocated to housing, and housing must be built. There must be 
a return to social and economic viability and normalcy.
  I am especially sensitive and aware of the dislocation and trauma 
associated with disasters. My district has experienced fires and 
earthquakes, and our recovery efforts have actually required a large 
commitment, much compassion and many resources from the Federal 
Government.
  We must keep our commitment to hemispheric stability and fulfill the 
expressions of concern and sympathy that we made in the aftermath of 
Hurricane Mitch. These promises are worthless if we do not give this 
basic assistance when needed. Our neighbors in Central America need 
this assistance, and they need it now.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time 
remains on this side of the aisle?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) 
has 20\1/2\ minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Deutsch) has 18 minutes remaining.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am in full agreement with all that has been said by 
each and every one of my distinguished colleagues who have risen in 
support of the need for us to insist upon the House position that aid 
to Central America be provided forthwith.
  It would be a grave foreign policy mistake for the United States, 
while taking care of undoubted needs that we have with regard to the 
operation in Kosovo, and there is no doubt that it is absolutely 
indispensable that our men and women in uniform not be further 
abandoned and that every assistance must be provided to our Armed 
Forces due to the operation that has been going on now for almost 2 
months in Kosovo, and while we do that, our eyes are focused upon 
Europe in a most humane way and necessary way, but it would be a 
mistake if we forgot to look at and if we forgot the importance of our 
closest friends and neighbors in their hour of need.
  Central America was hit in a devastating way by the natural disaster 
known as Hurricane Mitch. The United States made a commitment to 
Central America, rooted in humanitarian reasons, that we would go to 
the aid of our friends and neighbors in Central America. It is 
necessary, therefore, not only for humanitarian reasons but because of 
the foreign policy interests of the United States, that we not ignore 
this hemisphere. A wrong message would be going out to our friends and 
neighbors in this hemisphere if at the time that we address concerns in 
Europe that we fail to address even the most elemental and needed of 
concerns here in this hemisphere in Central America.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank publicly the Speaker of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert), for his leadership on this 
issue. He has reiterated his support of what we are advocating this 
evening. I also would like to especially thank the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Young), chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, who 
has committed, along with the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Callahan), of 
the appropriation subcommittee, who have also publicly and privately 
committed to making sure that this issue is resolved as soon as 
possible. They are demonstrating leadership, they are demonstrating 
their concern, they are demonstrating their compassion and their 
understanding not only of the humanitarian interests involved in this 
issue but also the foreign policy concerns of the United States that 
are involved in this matter.
  I am confident, Mr. Speaker, that we will soon be seeing, even in 
this package that is being negotiated right now, fundamentally rooted 
toward the needs in Europe as a consequence of the operation in Kosovo, 
in that same appropriations vehicle, I am fully confident that we will 
see the issue that we are addressing this evening fully addressed.
  But, again, I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Deutsch), who has been very persevering and demonstrated great interest 
and leadership on this issue for bringing forth the motion to instruct, 
which I think is an appropriate reminder that many of us in this 
Congress feel very strongly about this issue.
  Honduras was destroyed by Mitch, Salvador was hit very hard, as was 
Guatemala and as was Nicaragua. Fortunately, Costa Rica was not hit 
hard and Panama was not as well. But so many of our friends and 
neighbors were hit directly by this tragedy that we must in this hour 
of need remember them.
  I think it is important we take this opportunity to remind the people 
of those countries and their governments that we do not forget them; 
that we continue to work for what is essentially in the national 
interest of the United States and also very much a humanitarian 
necessity; that we extend our hand of assistance to our neighbors.

[[Page 9384]]

  I also want to address an issue that my colleague, the gentlewoman 
from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) touched on that I think is very 
important. We are very grateful to the Central American countries for 
their consistent support of United States foreign policy on so many 
issues through the years.
  As the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) pointed out, Central 
America, in this hemisphere, is somewhere that we can point to as an 
obvious and genuine success story. Central America was challenged by 
wars and by dictatorships and by totalitarian aggression just a decade 
ago, and the success story is there for all of us to see. There are 
democracies in all of those countries. They need our help, they need 
our support, they need our solidarity, and in this hour of need they 
need this very concrete assistance that we will be sending them.
  We were disappointed, as the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) stated, with the vote of just a few days ago by Guatemala and 
El Salvador with regard specifically to the resolution that was 
introduced by the Czech Republic in the United Nations Human Rights 
Commission.

                              {time}  1730

  It was a very appropriate and very necessary and very human 
resolution at this time, calling upon the international community to 
recall, to take note of, and to express its concern for the human 
rights violations in Cuba for the political prisoners, for the fact 
that the four best-known political prisoners in Cuba were now re-
sentenced, in effect, to long prison terms for publishing a document 
calling for free elections.
  That resolution, filed at the United Nations Human Rights Commission 
by the Government of President Havel of the Czech Republic, cosponsored 
by the Polish Government, succeeded, it passed, but only by one vote.
  And it was very disappointing to see the Government of Guatemala and 
the Government of El Salvador abstain in something that broke tradition 
with them. It certainly broke with the spirit of solidarity toward a 
neighboring people in this hemisphere that have been suffering a 
dictatorship for 40 years.
  And so, while I express my disappointment, very strong 
disappointment, I ask President Flores of Honduras and President-Elect 
Flores, a young statesman who I have not had the pleasure of meeting 
personally but I have seen him and read of him and he is most 
impressive, President-Elect Flores of El Salvador, as well as President 
Arzu of Guatemala and President Rodriguez of Costa Rica and all of our 
neighbors who are part of the so-called Ibero-American Summit, to 
please think about what it means to attend a summit at a place, at a 
country, that has been suffering a dictatorship for 40 years, a 
totalitarian dictatorship that has increased its repression in the last 
6 months, flaunting its intention not to permit any sort of political 
opening even after a visit by His Holiness the Pope.
  And so, I would ask the presidents of Honduras and of all our 
neighbors of El Salvador and Guatemala to follow the example already 
set by President Aleman of Nicaragua, who very courageously has stated 
that he will not attend that summit because it will take place at a 
place where there has been a 40-year-old dictatorship.
  And I ask then that our other neighbors follow the example of 
President Aleman and his courage and his statesmanship and also to 
follow the example of President Rodriguez of Costa Rica, who has not 
made a decision on whether to attend or not but has been very 
forthright and very public in his condemnation of the human rights 
situation being suffered by the Cuban people.
  Now, of course, this matter should demonstrate, despite my 
disappointment and the disappointment of a number of us here in 
Congress on this issue, the fact that we are pushing as resolutely and 
as intensely for this aid package to Central America that shows, number 
one, that we know that, over and above decisions of governments, the 
interests of people are even more important, in this case the suffering 
people of Central America, and that we also hope that the governments 
of friendly nations, such as the ones that we have mentioned, will 
utilize this upcoming opportunity to reconsider their attendance at a 
summit such as the one that we have made reference to.
  And so, I join all of my colleagues again in reiterating the need 
that this aid to Central America be included in the appropriations 
vehicle that is now being negotiated and again commend the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) for bringing forth this motion to instruct.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of the time.
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Rodriguez), who has been a leader on issues regarding 
Central America and has been very sensitive and very effective in 
making sure that that part of the region of the world continues to 
receive our partnership with the United States.
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, let me, first of all, congratulate the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) on his efforts; and I want to 
thank him for taking this lead. And I want to also congratulate the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) on his efforts also.
  As we debate this motion and this motion to support and ask the 
conferees to consider the disaster aid, we look at the fact that there 
are tens of thousands of Central Americans that still face each day 
this disaster.
  The numbers are striking. Over 9,000 dead. Over 9,000 missing. Over 3 
million displaced individuals from their homes. Death and injury 
continues some 6 months after the deadly hurricane has hit.
  I think we need to recognize, if we look at our infrastructure in our 
own country, we realize that in countries such as Honduras, one of the 
poorest countries in Central America, has been hit and they do not even 
have the infrastructure now so they are having to deal with dysentery 
and a whole bunch of other problems. Even now, inadequate supplies of 
clean drinking water and damaged infrastructure help spread disease 
among the population.
  The administration has acted quickly to provide some $300 million in 
emergency assistance. But more is clearly needed, and this additional 
assistance is far overdue. Congress has not risen to the challenge. We 
have allowed politics to stand in the way of providing the disaster aid 
that our neighbors in Central America desperately need.
  And let me remind my colleagues that there are neighbors and there 
are neighbors, and we have a moral obligation and a responsibility. 
Their suffering is our suffering. But if moral duty is not enough, we 
also have a self-interest reason for helping. The continued loss of 
life and economic desperation will only encourage more migration from 
this region in Central America to the United States.
  Our borders are already seeing greater numbers of Central Americans 
trying to enter, and the numbers will swell if we do not act quickly. 
The money we seek today will provide basic infrastructure: roads, 
schools, and clinics. It is a helping hand to those who suffer from 
natural disaster. It gives them the tools to rebuild and move forward. 
Let us stop wasting the time and let us move forward.
  Even countries such as Costa Rica who were not directly hit have been 
impacted by the number of refugees that have gone over. We had over 
300,000 that have gone into that country. That is equivalent to over 25 
million refugees that would come into this country by just the numbers 
that we are referring to.
  At this point, I would ask that we seriously consider that and move 
forward. And, again, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) 
for his efforts.
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Crowley) who, as a freshman Member, has shown real leadership 
on all sorts of issues but including our concern on foreign policy 
issues in this hemisphere.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 
motion

[[Page 9385]]

to instruct conferees on H.R. 1141 offered by the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Deutsch).
  This motion would instruct the conferees to insist on the full 
funding level of $621 million for the Central American and Caribbean 
Emergency Disaster Recovery Fund, as passed in the House version.
  Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable that the majority of this House has 
continued to delay efforts to provide emergency hurricane disaster 
relief to Central America and the Caribbean and emergency earthquake 
assistance to Colombia by playing partisan politics.
  Mr. Speaker, I have seen firsthand the devastation and suffering in 
Colombia, where a January earthquake left thousands dead and thousands 
more without shelter, running water, electricity, medicine, and 
clothing. The resources provided in this legislation are critical to 
our ability to continue our humanitarian activities and to provide 
much-needed relief for those coping with these disasters.
  Clearly, we must not delay efforts that can greatly alleviate the 
devastating impact that this disaster has had on these countries. And I 
would point out that I agree with the comments of the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Deutsch) earlier about the fact that if we do nothing 
about these disasters, these disasters will not walk away, they will 
simply walk to the north and to our country.
  Mr. Speaker, as the human suffering from these disasters continues, 
we must not allow the partisanship to hamper our ability to provide for 
those in need. Now is the time to act, and I strongly urge my 
colleagues to support this motion.
  Just one other point. This is not helping our situation in terms of 
the drug war in Colombia, as well. We are giving fodder to drug lords 
who are taking advantage of people who are in a desperate situation. 
And desperate times calls for desperate measures. And, unfortunately, 
we are hearing stories of more and more individual men and women being 
used as mules to transport illicit drugs to this country. And it is 
another additional example of the terrible blow that this hurricane and 
this earthquake have plagued upon the people of South America and 
Colombia.
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Reyes), who also has actually witnessed firsthand some of 
the devastation in Central America on more than one occasion with the 
President as well as additional trips down there.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me the 
time; and I congratulate both my colleagues for leading this effort on 
behalf of Central America.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this motion to instruct the 
conferees on H.R. 1141, the supplemental appropriations bill, which 
will provide critical assistance for Central America.
  This motion to instruct conferees is important because it reflects 
our need to act now and to provide full funding of $621 million in 
disaster assistance for Central America. Already 6 months have passed 
since Hurricane Mitch. Every day that we delay is another day of 
suffering for our neighbors in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and 
Guatemala.
  During my recent visit to the area with President Clinton, I saw 
firsthand the terrible, terrible devastation. Entire roads and villages 
were literally washed away. Millions of people were merely surviving, 
lacking adequate shelter, food, and water. Their livelihoods have been 
completely destroyed, and they are suffering from inadequate health 
care.
  The situation is growing worse, and I can tell my colleagues that our 
failure to act is simply inexcusable.
  Mr. Speaker, we must act now to stop the partisan wrangling and push 
forward this assistance. Conditions there remain bleak; and, with the 
upcoming rainy season, things will only get dramatically worse. The 
$621 million in the supplemental will allow for the critical repair and 
reconstruction of roads, bridges, and schools. Moreover, critical 
health care and prevention resources will, hopefully, avert a looming 
epidemic of diseases such as malaria, cholera, dengue fever, and other 
killer diseases.
  Finally, this aid will begin the process of resurrecting the 
agriculture economies of these nations, providing hope and restoration 
of these people's lives and an orderliness in their countries.
  This is a matter of humanitarian assistance that should not be held 
up by political posturing. Our Nation can and should take decisive 
action immediately to alleviate the misery that is now occurring in 
Central America. This is simply the right thing to do, and it is long 
overdue for action from this House.
  I ask this House to send a strong message that help is on the way and 
that help will provide and eliminate the suffering in Central America.
  Mr. Speaker, I, therefore, urge this House to vote in favor of H.R. 
1141.
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barrett of Nebraska). The gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Deutsch) has 10 minutes remaining. The gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) has 9 minutes remaining.
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner), whose district borders Mexico and who 
understands the implications of this issue probably as well as anyone 
in this House.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his efforts.
  We are in Europe today, in Kosovo, because of humanitarian concerns 
for the people of Kosovo. Surely, we should have some humanitarian 
concerns for those people who live in our hemisphere who 6 months ago 
were subject to one of the greatest disasters in our recorded history.
  Let us be humanitarian in our hemisphere, as well. Let us pass this 
motion to instruct on the emergency supplemental, which will give money 
to our hemisphere in order to do what we must do now.
  If we do not do it now, our Central American neighbors will lose 
hope. They move backwards from the progress they have made in political 
and economic stability. Their infrastructure repairs will be delayed. 
Displaced persons will remain stranded. School construction 
refurbishment will be stalled.
  It is time to be a humanitarian in the western hemisphere. Please 
support this motion to instruct.

                              {time}  1745

  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to certainly endorse and 
second the efforts made by our good friends the gentlemen from Florida 
for their efforts in gaining support from the Members to secure the 
$621 million that is critically needed for the people in Central 
America. Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that years ago we had a very basic 
fundamental foreign policy. It was called the Monroe Doctrine. We tell 
other nations in the world, ``Don't tread on the Western Hemisphere 
because we'll take care of the people in the Western Hemisphere.''
  So what happens now is that we are going to Europe, having this 
crisis in Kosovo, and all of a sudden we seem to be readily available 
to provide the funding for the people in Kosovo, which I am not taking 
anything away from the fact that some 800,000 people, refugees, have 
become as a result of the crisis in Kosovo. But we have completely 
forgotten that there was a hurricane called Mitch that severely 
affected the lives of some 7 million people in Central America, 1 
million people directly affected. Some 7 million people, as I am told, 
have no drinkable water.
  All this piece of legislation proposes is that the Congress do the 
right thing. We need the money, it should be brought out, and this 
institution should support the $621 million for the good of our friends 
and neighbors in the Western Hemisphere, those who live in Central 
America.
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Menendez), the vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus and a

[[Page 9386]]

leader in the foreign policy area in the entire Congress.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by thanking the 
distinguished gentleman from Florida for bringing this motion to 
instruct the conferees. I think it is necessary and it is fitting and 
it is appropriate to do so, and I really regret that he finds himself 
as we find ourselves in the necessity of having to instruct conferees 
and that in fact conferees are finally meeting on this when they should 
have been meeting quite a long time ago and when in fact those 
conferees should have been appointed quite a while ago. Now, on the 
issue at hand, the fact of the matter is, is that it is in the national 
interest of the United States to assist the Central American countries 
as it relates to this disaster assistance. I am not speaking about 
humanitarian purposes, which in and of itself would be more than enough 
reason to be of assistance as a good neighbor. No, I am talking about 
interests that are far more significant. I would like to tell our 
colleagues what some of those are.
  The fact of the matter is, is that when you have 1 million people in 
Central America who in fact have no place to call home, because I 
walked after the hurricane on what in essence were the rooftops, now 
caked in mud from the landslides and the mud slides that took place 
after the hurricane, on the rooftops of what were people's homes, some 
of the greatest cultivated fields for production of food and 
agricultural products now caked over in mud. When you have 1 million 
people who have no place to call home, when you have 1 million people 
who have no place to be gainfully employed for their families, in 
essence when you have no hope, then ultimately it seems to me that what 
we find ourselves in is a situation in which they will seek to go to a 
place in which there might be some hope and that means coming 
northward, and that means illegal immigration, something that has been 
a great topic in this body.
  We would prefer to see those million people continue to reside in 
their homeland, continue to try to rebuild their homes and their lives 
and their countries and not come northward. So we have a national 
interest in terms of stemming the tide of those people coming, we have 
a national interest in the disease that is generated by a million 
people being exposed to the elements, in tuberculosis, in other 
diseases, not coming northward to the United States and in trying to 
help the people with their health consequences. We have a national 
interest in trying to ensure that drug trafficking does not now take a 
foothold in Central America, which for the most part it has not had in 
Central America. But if you have a million people who have no other 
form of employment, ultimately the drug traffickers can try to elicit 
them to be mules, to try to engage them in the trafficking, they can 
try to move into territorial areas. That is of course of great 
consequence. And we also have the fact that we spent billions in 
Central America to try to promote democracy. Finally, when we have 
those countries moving in the democratic movement forward, what are we 
going to do, have them destabilized because of a natural hurricane? And 
we find it offensive that the majority insists on having offsets on 
this issue, the $625 million, when they have no offsets on over $13 
billion, 6 to $7 billion more than the President requested for Kosovo, 
yet for that there are no offsets. But to help our Central American 
neighbors in which we have all of these national interests at stake, 
there must be offsets.
  What are we telling the community in this country? What are we 
telling Americans of Hispanic descent? We have a two-tiered process 
here. It is simply unfair, unjust, unconscionable. We need to help 
these people now. The rainy season is coming upon us. We need this 
money in this supplemental. We should not be debating about offsets at 
a time when you care about no other offsets. It is time to move forward 
now and to preserve our national interests and to help our Central 
American neighbors because it is not only in our interest but it is 
also in their interest to do so.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. I was in total agreement with everything that was said until 
my last distinguished colleague spoke. I think that it is most 
unfortunate that this be utilized for partisan purposes, this topic, 
because if there is one topic that should not be utilized for partisan 
purposes, it is a disaster. When we had a disaster in the Midwest not 
long ago, in order to comply with the budget agreement signed by the 
Congress and the White House, there were offsets. At this point there 
is debate in the conference committee with regard to how much and in 
order to comply with the budget agreement entered into between the 
Congress and the White House, there may be the need to offset. What 
that means is that other programs, future spending may be looked at in 
order to comply with an agreement between the House, the Senate and the 
White House. But I do not want to get further into that.
  What I want to say is what there is consensus on is what we have 
heard for the most part this evening, and that is the need to help our 
friends and neighbors in Central America and, secondly, that we will 
help our friends and neighbors in Central America and that there is a 
commitment from the Speaker of the House and the chairman of the 
Committee on Appropriations and the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Foreign Operations of the Committee on Appropriations to accomplish 
this in the vehicle that is being negotiated right as we speak, the 
supplemental appropriations legislation, which is commonly known as the 
Kosovo supplemental appropriations, because of the fact the Kosovo 
conflict has gone on for as long as it has gone on and there are dire 
needs that our military have, extraordinary needs that our Armed Forces 
have as a consequence of that operation that must be taken care of 
immediately, that must be addressed forthwith.
  I am glad that there is consensus, that we will be moving forward on 
this issue, that there is the commitment that exists from our 
leadership rooted in the national interest of the United States as well 
as in humanitarian grounds to resolve this issue forthwith. I am 
grateful to our leadership for committing to resolve this issue, and I 
will continue working with all intensity to do everything I can so that 
the issue of our assistance that we have committed to our friends and 
neighbors in Central America that we will be providing is in fact 
provided.
  I would again reiterate my gratitude to the distinguished gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) for bringing forth this motion to instruct, 
which has given us the opportunity to focus upon an issue of consensus, 
the need to help our neighbors and our friends in Central America.
  I would simply remind our friends and neighbors in Central America, 
distinguished friends, I think they know who their best friends are as 
we know who our best friends are. I remind the President of El Salvador 
and the President of Guatemala that they did not act a few weeks ago as 
our best friends when they abstained on a motion, a resolution 
introduced by the government of President Havel of the Czech Republic 
to remember the only people in this hemisphere, our neighbors as well, 
the only people who remained in effect bound and gagged and oppressed 
for 40 years. That was a most unfortunate vote by Guatemala and by El 
Salvador which deeply disappointed us, but as we stated before, we are 
hopeful that as that summit approaches in November the ethical conduct, 
the ethical path will be embarked upon.
  Again I thank the gentleman from Florida. This House is united on 
this issue. We have a leadership that I believe is united on this 
issue. I know the gentleman has been extremely interested and has 
exerted great leadership on it. It has been my privilege to work with 
him, and it will be my privilege to continue working with him to see it 
through and to make certain that this aid which we have committed to 
our neighbors and our friends will forthwith in fact be provided.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
I

[[Page 9387]]

too want to congratulate the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), 
who really has shown an incredible amount of leadership and ability on 
this issue. We really have been a team effort and this really has been 
a bipartisan effort by a number of Members in this Congress to really 
explain to our colleagues the importance of this issue, that this is 
really clearly in America's national interest and our financial 
interest and in our moral interest to support and make sure this bill 
occurs.
  I actually look forward to the day when our roles are reversed and I 
am in the majority helping on these types of issues and my good friend 
and colleague from Florida is in the minority helping us on these 
issues and each of us will have a chance to replay some of these 
thoughts. But really in closing, I guess I would just reiterate what my 
colleagues have said over the last hour or so, but I will mention one 
specific thing.
  As has been mentioned, I had the opportunity to view some of the 
devastation. Words truly cannot describe the level of devastation. I 
mentioned some things in my opening statement, statistics, facts, 
historical analogies of what has occurred, and they are significant. It 
is hard to comprehend the pictures on television of the devastation 
that really did not match in any way in numbers of thousands killed or 
millions displaced. They do not, I think, give us that sense. We 
attempt to use those numbers to try to explain to us, but witnessing 
mud slides that literally wiped out entire villages, there is not a 
trace, not a building, not a street at all, where literally thousands 
of people are buried under 40 feet of mud is an incredible sight, the 
devastation that has occurred. That is really the component, the sort 
of humanitarian component to show what the United States must do to 
lend a hand, that we need to, that we did not choose to be in this 
situation but we are in that situation. If we do not help, the reality 
is no one will. These economies are not in a position to rebuild on 
their own in any short period of time.

                              {time}  1800

  The number has been mentioned, 25 years. That is not an unfair or 
unlikely scenario.
  Finally in closing, as I mentioned, this really is in our interest. 
This has been a success story in terms of American foreign policy. As 
my colleague from Florida has mentioned, we have, unfortunately, only 
one country in our hemisphere that has not taken the road to democracy 
and open economies, and hopefully relatively soon that will change as 
well. But to continue that record we are going to need to pass this 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the support of the motion to instruct.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ewing). Without objection, the previous 
question is ordered on the motion to instruct.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch).
  The motion to instruct was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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