[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15367-15370]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF A NATIONAL WEEKEND OF PRAYER AND 
                      REFLECTION FOR DARFUR, SUDAN

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 333) supporting the goals and ideals 
of a National Weekend of Prayer and Reflection for Darfur, Sudan.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 333

       Whereas, on July 22, 2004, Congress declared that genocide 
     was taking place in Darfur, Sudan;
       Whereas, on September 9, 2004, Secretary of State Colin L. 
     Powell testified to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 
     that ``genocide has been committed in Darfur'';
       Whereas, on September 21, 2004, President George W. Bush 
     stated to the United Nations General Assembly that ``the 
     world is witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in 
     the Darfur region of Sudan, crimes my government has 
     concluded are genocide'';
       Whereas Article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and 
     Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, done at Paris December 
     9, 1948, and entered into force January 12, 1951, states that 
     ``[t]he Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether 
     committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime 
     under international law which they undertake to prevent and 
     to punish'';
       Whereas fundamental human rights, including the right to 
     freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, are protected 
     in numerous international agreements and declarations;
       Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in Security 
     Council Resolution 1591, condemned the ``continued violations 
     of the N'djamena Ceasefire Agreement of 8 April 2004 and the 
     Abuja Protocols of 9 November 2004 by all sides in Darfur and 
     the deterioration of the security situation and negative 
     impact this has had on humanitarian assistance efforts'';
       Whereas scholars estimate that as many as 400,000 have died 
     from violence, hunger, and disease since the outbreak of 
     conflict in Darfur began in 2003, and that as many as 10,000 
     may be dying each month;
       Whereas it is estimated that more than 2,000,000 people 
     have been displaced from their homes and remain in camps in 
     Darfur and Chad;
       Whereas religious leaders, genocide survivors, and world 
     leaders have expressed grave concern over the continuing 
     atrocities taking place in Darfur; and
       Whereas it is appropriate that the people of the United 
     States, leaders and citizens alike, unite in prayer for the 
     people of Darfur and reflect upon the situation in Darfur: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of a National Weekend of 
     Prayer and Reflection for Darfur, Sudan;
       (2) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     that weekend by praying for an end to the genocide and crimes 
     against humanity and for lasting peace in Darfur, Sudan; and
       (3) urges all churches, synagogues, mosques, and religious 
     institutions in the United States to consider the issue of 
     Darfur in their activities and to observe the National 
     Weekend of Prayer and Reflection with appropriate activities 
     and services.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of H. Res. 333 which 
supports the goals and the ideals of a national weekend of prayer and 
reflection for Darfur, Sudan. It is fort that this resolution also come 
to the floor today

[[Page 15368]]

when we mark the tenth anniversary of another genocide, that which took 
place in the Balkans and, in particular, 10 years ago to the day, July 
11, 1995 when the killing fields were very much covered with blood and 
murder in Srebreniza. This body a few weeks ago passed my resolution to 
remember that horrific event, and sadly, today we are on the floor 
again bringing much needed attention and priority and hopefully an 
appeal for prayer and fasting on behalf of those who have suffered and 
are suffering in Darfur, Sudan.
  It was almost a year ago, Mr. Speaker, on July 21 that the House 
passed H. Con. Res. 467 that finally, at long last, called what is 
occurring, in Darfur, a genocide. Since that time, the United States 
Government has provided over $600 million in humanitarian relief to 
help ease the suffering of the most affected by this terrible conflict 
and over $150 million to support the African Union in their mission in 
Darfur. President Bush, the Congress, Democrats, Republicans, House and 
Senate, countless numbers of churches, nongovernmental organizations, 
think tanks and activists around the world have devoted a huge amount 
of time trying to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur and 
mobilizing political and material support for efforts to mitigate and 
hopefully end this genocide.
  For its part, the U.N. Security Council has passed no less than six 
resolutions addressing the situation in Darfur. Still, the crisis, the 
genocide, continues. Out of a pre-conflict population of 6.5 million, 
anywhere between 300,000 and 400,000 Darfurians have perished, and an 
estimated 10,000 continue to die each and every month. Over 2 million 
have been forced from their homes. Entire villages have been looted and 
destroyed, and countless men, women and children have been murdered, 
abducted, abused or raped.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe it is our Nation's richest and most important 
tradition that we turn to God in prayer, in good times and bad, to 
thank Him for His blessings and to ask and to petition Him for His 
help. I believe we delude ourselves if we think that we possess the 
wisdom or the courage or the skill to solve the myriad of vexing 
problems that we face. We needed God's help.
  Earlier today, Reverend Dan Coughlin, the House Chaplain, in his 
opening prayer here, eloquently pointed the way to us as Members of 
Congress, as people of faith, when he quoted scripture that everyone 
who exalts himself shall be humbled, and those who humble themselves 
shall be exalted. Prayer certainly is a humbling process of realizing 
who we are in relation to God.
  He pointed out in his prayer again that life itself has taught us 
that ``all exaltation leads only to illusion, and left to ourselves, we 
can easily slip and fall'' and he calls on us as government leaders 
with ``high aspirations'' hopefully to be ``grounded in the people we 
serve'' and again this whole idea of humbling ourselves in prayer so 
that we can bring God's blessing and power into any situation.
  Nowhere is that more true than in these vexing problems that we see 
all over the globe especially in places like Darfur where this genocide 
has been occurring. The events of the past year have shown us that it 
is extremely difficult to impose peace upon Darfur. In the Book of 
James, we are told that faith without works is dead. Yes, we need the 
works--humanitarian assistance, including food and medicine. We need 
the statecraft. We need the peacekeeping intervention that is being 
organized now as part of the African Union peace mission. All of that 
has to be done but we also must pray. We must pray for even those who 
perpetrate such atrocities against their own brothers and sisters, that 
they will lay down their weapons and turn from this gross evil and the 
destructive path that they have chosen. We must pray for the people of 
Sudan, especially its leaders, and especially those thugs who are on 
the ground today, who derive their fleeting power from the barrel of a 
gun, to end their reign of terror against innocent men, women and 
children.
  H. Res. 333 supports a national weekend of prayer and reflection for 
Darfur and solemnly encourages the people of the United States to 
observe that weekend, and I think it should be every weekend and every 
day, but certainly in a very focused way for a weekend by praying for 
an end to genocide, for a lasting peace for these beleaguered people. 
It also urges all churches and synagogues and mosques and religious 
institutions in the United States to consider, to focus upon the issue 
of Darfur in their activities and to observe the national weekend of 
prayer and reflection with appropriate activities and services.
  I want to thank my good friend and colleague Mr. Payne, my fellow New 
Jerseyan, for introducing this important resolution, and I am very 
proud to be one of the cosponsors. I urge my colleagues to support it 
and above all to join us in praying that a just and a merciful God will 
stop the slaughter, to pray that He will heal the surviving victims who 
have been so brutally traumatized, and pray that God empower the 
international community to mete out justice to the perpetrators of this 
heinous genocide.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I, again, thank my colleague and friend the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Smith) for his moving words in support of this resolution 
sponsored by our good friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Payne). I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) and 
commend him for his leadership on this resolution and for his never-
ending efforts to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur.
  Over the weekend in Khartoum, the new Unity government of Sudan was 
sworn in with former rebel leader John Garang serving as one of its two 
vice presidents. The civil war between north and southern Sudan lasted 
21 years and cost millions of lives, untold suffering, and billions of 
dollars in humanitarian assistance. However, while the North-South 
agreement is a major milestone, it did not cover the conflict still 
raging in Darfur.
  Just 4 days ago, Mr. Speaker, ten Janjaweed militia on horseback, 
wearing masks, opened fire on internally displaced persons on their way 
to a humanitarian camp in Sudan. Five innocent civilians were killed, 
and four were injured.
  Mr. Speaker, 1 year ago this month, the House and Senate passed a 
concurrent resolution that declared atrocities in Darfur a genocide. 
Janjaweed militia groups, directed and supported by the old regime in 
Khartoum, have systematically tortured, raped and murdered innocent 
civilians, driven over 250,000 from their homes into neighboring Chad, 
and internally displaced more than 2 million people. According to the 
United Nations, an average of 10,000 people have died each month over 
the past year and a half from disease and other preventable causes. In 
spite of growing international pressures, the government of Sudan has 
denied humanitarian assistance to starving civilians, harassed aid 
workers and thwarted attempts to bring international monitors to the 
situation.
  Mr. Speaker, because of our persistence, in March, the United Nations 
Security Council adopted resolution 1593 referring the situation in 
Darfur to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, also 
known as the ICC. After conducting a worldwide investigation, the ICC 
says it has credible information about grave crimes against humanity 
committed in Darfur.
  Mr. Speaker, the efforts of this committee and many others have 
brought peace to southern Sudan, and it remains my strong hope that our 
continued work will help bring peace to Darfur.
  Piggybacking a little bit on my colleague from New Jersey's alluding 
to our very wonderful Chaplain, we all have to be mindful of that 
ladder and watch our step on each rung, and no more does that 
reflection need to take place than in Darfur today. Prayer, inner 
reflection, a moment to look at ourselves, especially in places of 
conflict, I think, is a good thing to do, and this resolution is a good 
resolution calling attention to that effort.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution, and I thank the sponsor 
again.

[[Page 15369]]


  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues today in 
support of H. Res. 333, which encourages the National Weekend of Prayer 
and Reflection for Darfur. The people of that troubled region have 
experienced almost unimaginable suffering. As many as 400,000 have 
already lost their lives to genocide, hunger, and disease. Two million 
more have been forced from their homes.
  Almost one year ago, Congress recognized that the atrocities being 
committed in Darfur were genocide. Since then, we have begun to provide 
humanitarian assistance and funding for peacekeeping missions. I was 
pleased to vote for the recent Supplemental Appropriations Act, which 
included $400 million for emergency food relief and other humanitarian 
assistance in Darfur and elsewhere in Africa. Also included was $680 
million for peacekeeping operations, much of which will be used in 
Sudan.
  This is a start, but the Bush administration and Congress must do 
more to break the cycle of violence and hunger that grips Darfur.
  Another step in the right direction is the commitment made at the G8 
Summit in Gleneagles to double aid to Africa by 2010. A stronger Africa 
will be better prepared to respond to situations like Darfur, and 
hopefully to prevent them. We must now make sure that the United States 
leads the effort to reach this goal as soon as possible, rather than 
waiting until the last moment, or worse, not reaching it at all.
  The National Weekend of Prayer and Reflection is an important effort 
to raise awareness of this terrible human tragedy. My hope is that it 
will also strengthen our resolve to end the atrocities being committed 
in Darfur.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my 
fellow citizens to engage in a National Weekend of Prayer and 
Reflection (in recognition of the genocide occurring in Darfur, Sudan). 
Our Congress on July 22, 2004 and the Bush Administration on September 
21, 2004 has condemned the acts in Darfur as genocide and Congress has 
appropriately provided humanitarian assistance in Darfur. Today, the 
House is urging our nation to observe a Weekend of Prayer and 
Reflection to recognize the atrocities in Darfur. This Weekend of 
Prayer and Reflection would spread awareness to communities and 
religious institutions, promote constructive discussion, mourn the 
lives lost in these dreadful acts, and ultimately call for an immediate 
end to the genocide.
  The current crisis in Darfur began in February 2003 when two groups, 
The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement 
(JEM), revolted against the Sudanese Government. Since then, the 
Sudanese government has actively imposed government restrictions and 
perpetrated violence against their civilians in order to crush this 
rebellion. The human rights violations which ensued in Darfur are 
numerous. The Janjaweed militia, backed by the Sudanese government, has 
committed grievous war crimes, such as rape, child abduction, the 
destruction of food and water sources, and denying humanitarian 
assistance to the Darfur region. An estimated 1.9 million people have 
been displaced and more than 213,000 people have been forced into 
neighboring Chad. Some observers project that up to 300,000 people have 
been killed over the past 2 years alone.
  The United States has been a leading donor of humanitarian assistance 
in Darfur. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 
has provided an estimated $615 million in humanitarian assistance for 
Darfur since February 2003. USAID has also established a Disaster 
Assistance Response Team (DART) for Darfur. This monetary assistance is 
extremely important, but the United States must also make a symbolic 
stance to condemn the human rights violations in Darfur.
  Mr. Speaker, every individual is entitled to the preservation of his 
and her human rights and human dignity regardless of one's religion, 
race, ethnicity, gender, or region of birth. The United States has a 
moral obligation to end the violence in order to curtail the human 
rights violations in Darfur. Congress must raise awareness and educate 
our society in order to promote understanding and initiate action. The 
people of the United States must not only take time to reflect on this 
tragedy and recognize the ongoing suffering, but we must also call an 
end to the genocidal acts. I hope all my colleagues join me in 
supporting the goals and ideals of a National Weekend of Prayer and 
Reflection for Darfur, Sudan.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of 
Congressman Payne's resolution H. Res. 333--supporting the goals and 
ideals of a National Weekend of Prayer and Reflection for Darfur. The 
violence and ongoing humanitarian challenges that the people of Darfur 
continue to face necessitate that we keep them in our thoughts and 
prayers, and continue to ensure that the Darfur issue remains firmly 
within the purview of U.S. policymakers, until a final resolution is 
reached.
  Communities of faith in the United States have always played a role 
in eliciting action on an array of historic moral questions. From the 
anti-slavery and civil rights movements in this country, to the 
campaign to end the terrible Ethiopian famines of the 1980's, the power 
of faith was brought to bear in an attempt to address an issue of human 
suffering.
  The ongoing crisis in Darfur is one such issue, that warrants the 
continued engagement of the American religious community--especially 
when engagement from other sources has, in some instances, been 
lacking. The Darfur conflict has so far claimed as much as 400,000 
lives, and displaced at least 2.4 million. The United States has to its 
credit taken the lead among world powers in addressing the conflict by 
providing humanitarian assistance to the Darfurian people, and applying 
pressure to the Sudanese government. America's religious communities 
have been instrumental in compelling the United States government to 
become involved.
  However, in recent months the Administration has been rather muted on 
the Darfur issue. Indeed, the Administration has backed away from 
classifying the actions of the Sudanese government and its Janjaweed 
militia as genocide, and U.S. and Sudanese officials have visited each 
other consistently in recent months. With the recent peace agreement 
between the Khartoum government and the oil-producing region of 
southern Sudan, as well as Sudanese cooperation on U.S. terrorism 
efforts, there is talk of the U.S. lifting sanctions on Sudan.
  Such hospitable relations are very concerning, considering the fact 
that the situation in the Darfur is still dire. While the killings in 
aggregate have decreased, the cease-fire is extremely fragile. In the 
absence of the small African Union peacekeeping force, and the 
humanitarian assistance provided by the international community, Darfur 
would easily fall back into chaos. Indeed, U.N. humanitarian 
coordinator Manuel Aranda Da Silva said that the situation could 
deteriorate quickly if foreign assistance stops coming.
  In addition, rape is still a widespread tactic utilized by government 
and its militia, as well as forced military recruitment of young 
people. According to officials from the United Nations High Committee 
on Refugees, areas outside peacekeeping observation remain very 
dangerous. As such, the United States must maintain its pressure on the 
Sudanese government, and clearly convey to them that any improvement in 
relations between our two countries is contingent on resolution of the 
Darfur crisis.
  The religious community is well placed, and equipped with the moral 
authority, to compel the United States government not to decrease its 
engagement on the Darfur issue. It is my hope that communities of faith 
will reflect this coming weekend on the continuing crisis in Darfur--
because only when we reflect, will we be emboldened to act. Again, I 
thank the Gentleman from New Jersey for this resolution, as our 
struggle for the people of Darfur is far from over.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of a National 
Weekend of Prayer and Reflection for Darfur, Sudan and in support of H. 
Res. 333.
  Last July, Congress passed legislation recognizing the Darfur 
genocide. In September 2004, Secretary of State Colin Powell testified 
to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that genocide had been 
committed in Darfur. And shortly following, President George W. Bush 
told the United Nations General Assembly that ``the world is witnessing 
terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, 
crimes my government has concluded are genocide.''
  It has been estimated that perhaps as many as 400,000 people have 
died from violence, hunger and disease since conflict began in Darfur 
in 2003, and that more than 2 million people have lost their homes and 
are now living in refugee camps in Darfur and Chad.
  Congress has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian 
aid and other assistance for Darfur. The United States remains the 
largest contributor of relief aid to Sudan, providing logistical 
support for African Union troops in Darfur and taking the lead in 
efforts to resolve Sudan's long-running north-south civil war.
  I recently attended a Sudanese celebration in Rochester, Minnesota, 
celebrating the signing of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Accord, signed 
on January 9, 2005 in Nairobi. The Sudanese recognize the cost of 
freedom and will continue to strive for peace in the Darfur region.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in support of this important 
legislation and cause.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page 15370]]


  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 333.
  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. SMITH of New Jersey. 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.

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