[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24288]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               RE-ENTRY OF THE UNITED STATES INTO UNESCO

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 7, 2003

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to direct my colleagues' 
attention to the re-entry of the United States into UNESCO--the U.N. 
Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization.
  As Democratic Co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, I 
congratulate the Administration on this important step toward playing a 
more active role in working with other member nations in the 
international cultural arena. I am heartened, as well, that First Lady 
Laura Bush led the U.S. delegation at the flag-raising ceremony at our 
new UNESCO Mission in Paris on Tuesday.
  UNESCO promotes international co-operation based upon respect for 
commonly shared values. In the area of culture, it promotes arts 
education for children and supports artists, arts organizations, and 
the arts industry. It sees the arts as vital tools for economic 
development as well as international understanding. UNESCO's director 
general, Koichiro Matsuura, recently saluted America's vast 
intellectual and cultural resources and good will. He termed America 
``a great nation so diverse that each of us can see himself in it; 
America holds up a mirror to the world.''
  As our country takes this important step to further international 
understanding through education, culture, and science, we should all 
look forward to working with the U.S. Mission in any way possible.
  Unfortunately, ignoring the House's lead, the other body's 
Appropriations Committee has voted against funding to cover our UNESCO 
dues. I urge the White House, having sent Mrs. Bush to Paris, to weigh 
in--heavily and soon--to prevent the Senate from making her appearance 
into little more than a photo opportunity. Failure to do so would send 
a signal that the Administration does not truly recognize the important 
role that our country's best mirror to the world--arts, education, and 
science--plays in promoting international understanding.

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