[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17] [House] [Pages 23811-23813] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]GEORGE P. SHULTZ NATIONAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING CENTER Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3348) to designate the National Foreign Affairs Training Center as the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center. The Clerk read as follows: H.R. 3348 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, [[Page 23812]] SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF THE GEORGE P. SHULTZ NATIONAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING CENTER. (a) In General.-- (1) Section 701(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4021(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``The institution shall be designated the `George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center' ''. (2) Any reference in any provision of law to the National Foreign Affairs Training Center or the Foreign Service Institute shall be considered to be a reference to the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center. (b) Conforming Amendments.-- (1) Section 53 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2725) is amended-- (A) in the section heading by inserting ``GEORGE P. SHULTZ'' after ``THE''; and (B) by inserting ``George P. Shultz'' after ``use of the''. (2) Section 708(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)) is amended by inserting ``George P. Shultz'' after ``director of the''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach). General Leave Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous matter on H.R. 3348, the bill under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Iowa? There was no objection. Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and let me welcome this opportunity to bring H.R. 3348 to the House floor. The bill designates the National Foreign Affairs Training Center after a distinguished American, George Shultz. Mr. Shultz, among his many achievements, was responsible for creation of the new Foreign Service training facility established in Arlington, Virginia. He undertook the difficult task of convincing Congress that the funding of the new campus would be an investment in the future of our foreign affairs community. In 1993, the professional and modern facilities opened as the National Foreign Affairs Training Center. Secretary Shultz has a strong belief that the Nation should have a permanent home for training U.S. Government officials that serve overseas. Since 1947, the State Department has operated an in-service training facility, but by the late 1980s, it was apparent that there was a need for expanded course offerings and a larger facility to accommodate the increased number of participants. Secretary Shultz successfully pursued his goal to have a first-rate training facility established, which today has an enrollment of approximately 30,000 a year. As thrice a graduate of courses at the old Foreign Service Institute, it is an honor to bring this bill before the House. As a longtime admirer of the public service of Secretary Shultz, it is a particular honor to help bring his vision to reality. I would urge strong support for this resolution and again would commend my good friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for his support for this initiative. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. And let me just say at the outset that one of the many reasons why the contributions of the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) to the work of this body and to the Committee on International Relations is of such high quality is because of his earlier service as a member of our Foreign Service. He exemplifies the extraordinary talent of our diplomatic corps, and I want to commend him for bringing this legislation to our attention. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to cosponsor this bill with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) because Secretary George Shultz deserves all the recognition that this Congress and the American people may offer. George Shultz was a brilliant Secretary of State and he guided the United States through a most critical time in our Nation's history. I was a member of the Committee on International Relations during Secretary Shultz's entire tenure, and I have the highest regard for him both professionally and personally. After leaving Washington, Secretary Shultz made the wise decision to return to my area of the country, the San Francisco Bay area, and I have been delighted to claim him both as a constituent and as a friend. George Shultz is proud of his Princeton and Marine Corps background, and he has provided a quality of integrity and intelligence and commitment to public service which is truly extraordinary. He may have left the government and moved away from Washington, but George continues to be actively engaged in our foreign policy and committed to strengthening and supporting the Department of State and the men and women who work there. I think it is more than fitting that this great institution that he worked so hard to establish, that he has been so dedicated to, should bear his name. The Foreign Service Institute was originally created in 1943, and it provides training to the State Department and 43 other Federal agencies, providing instruction to over 30,000 U.S. Government employees every year in 63 foreign languages as well as in courses on management, leadership, diplomacy, security, economics, and other valuable skills and subjects. Secretary Shultz was instrumental in obtaining the land and the funding to move the Institute to its current home on a 72-acre plot at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia. I am indeed proud to be a cosponsor of this bill to designate the National Foreign Affairs Training Institute as the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center. I thank the chairman and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for their leadership on this issue. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce). {time} 1430 Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I think that it is indeed proper that the many achievements of George P. Shultz be recognized by the naming of this new National Foreign Affairs Training Center after Mr. Shultz. As well as commending the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for the gentleman's efforts, I also commend the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for the bill that he brought up prior to this measure, and take a moment, if I could, to speak about the importance of commemorating the 50th anniversary of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. I think it is important that we remember within 10 minutes of the establishment of Radio Free Europe, the Soviets were already attempting in 1951 to jamb those broadcasts, and yet those broadcasts got through. What Joseph Stalin was afraid of was what was being told over the air waves. He was afraid of the truth; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty developed a rather unique form of international broadcasting. We call that today surrogate radio, airing local news about the countries to which they broadcast, operating as if they had a free and vibrant press. During the Cold War, these radios brought the news of the Hungarian revolution of 1956, the Prague uprising of 1968, and most importantly, the rise of the solidarity movement in Poland. And when we talk with the leaders of the Czech Republic or Poland, they say that the hearts and minds of people were turned by the opportunity to listen every day to a radio broadcast which explained what was actually happening inside their country. These broadcasts were able to explain and to put into context what people were hearing from the Soviet broadcasts, and over time we know that this was [[Page 23813]] the most effective single thing that changed the attitudes of the average person in Eastern Europe, we know that from the leaders of these countries today. They were critical in contributing to the collapse of communism, the collapse of the totalitarian governments of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. And besides its outstanding impact behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, the radios also aided in Afghanistan from 1985-1993 during the Soviet invasion. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty still continues to tell the truth, countering dictators like Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein has long complained that Radio Free Iraq is, in his words, an act of aggression. The Iraqi dictator has become so irked by his attempt to undermine his control over the media that Saddam Hussein instructed his intelligence officials, and apparently recently there has been a plot uncovered by Iraq to bomb Radio Free Europe's headquarters in Prague. Last month this House passed legislation authored by myself and the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) to re-create Radio Free Afghanistan by a margin of 405 to two. The Taliban is on its way out; but if Afghanistan is to have a chance of becoming stable, if its various factions and ethnic groups are to strike a workable governing accord, the country will need free-flowing, accurate news information. Unfortunately, the country is starting from scratch. What media the Taliban did not corrupt, it destroyed. Looking ahead at the great challenges Afghanistan faces, it is clear to those that are on the ground that a credible and effective media will not emerge any time soon. This legislation will provide for 12 hours of broadcasting a day in the two major dialects of Afghanistan, and that is vital to the peace and stability in that country. The bill awaits action by the other body. Radio Free Europe has been heard by individuals with a message of hope and freedom for the past 50 years, and I commend Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty on their anniversary. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to speak on behalf of the measure of the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), and also speak on the appropriate resolution today for a very distinguished American, George P. Shultz, and to thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for bringing that resolution to the floor. Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, George P. Shultz began his career in the South Pacific in World War II. He is ending his career, to the degree it is ending, and we hope it is not fully, with a bill aimed in his honor, a facility designed to prevent further wars. I think this could not be more fitting. Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, long before the current emphasis on training for the foreign affairs community, George Shultz had a vision of a world-class foreign affairs training center for those who staff our foreign affairs establishment. That vision eventually became the National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia, which by this act, we name it after Secretary Shultz. With all due respect to the current occupant of that office, George Shultz is in my estimation the finest person I have had the honor of working with during his or her service as Secretary of State. He played an enormous role in the tremendous expansion of the scope of liberty in the world during the Reagan Administration, all while protecting our national security from real threats. At times, he suffered the slings and arrows of fierce partisan attack, as he advanced the sometimes unpopular policies of his Administration. He did so always with inspiring grace and intellectual honesty. If those who serve our Nation in foreign affairs were to model themselves after George Shultz, we would do well indeed. Let us help keep his spirit in their consciousness by naming the facility he planned after this visionary Secretary of State, our friend George Shultz. I urge all my colleagues to support this tribute to an outstanding American, Secretary of State, George P. Shultz. Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3348. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of those present have voted in the affirmative. Mr. LANTOS. Mr. 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 and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. ____________________