[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 15] [House] [Pages 20250-20256] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TOM LANTOS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ESTABLISHMENT RESOLUTION Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1451) establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House of Representatives. The Clerk read the title of the resolution. The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 1451 Resolved, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This resolution may be cited as the ``Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Establishment Resolution''. SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOM LANTOS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION. (a) Establishment.--There is established in the House of Representatives the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (hereafter in this resolution referred to as the ``Commission''), which shall promote and advocate in a nonpartisan manner, both within and outside of Congress, internationally recognized human rights norms as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant international human rights instruments by carrying out the following activities: (1) Developing congressional strategies to promote, defend, and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms reflecting the role and responsibilities of the Congress. (2) Raising greater awareness among Members of the House of Representatives, their staffs, and the public regarding international human rights violations and developments. (3) Providing Members and staff with expert human rights advice and information and by supporting entities of Congress in their work on human rights issues. (4) Advocating on behalf of individuals and entities whose internationally recognized human rights have been violated or are in danger of being violated. (5) Collaborating closely with other professional staff members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. (6) Collaborating closely with the President, other officials of the executive branch, and recognized national and international human rights entities and nongovernmental organizations in promoting human rights initiatives within Congress. (7) Encouraging and supporting Members, especially Members who have been recently elected to the House, to become active in supporting human rights issues so that the United States will continue to be recognized throughout the world as a leader in the defense of internationally recognized human rights norms. (b) Eligibility.--Any Member of the House of Representatives may join the Commission by submitting a written statement to that effect to the co-chairs of the Commission. (c) Relationship With Senate.--In carrying out its activities, the Commission is encouraged to establish a cooperative working relationship with Members and other entities of the Senate, and to invite Members and other entities of the Senate to work cooperatively with the Commission to promote human rights. (d) Definition.--In this resolution, the term ``Member of the House of Representatives'' includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress. SEC. 3. CO-CHAIRS OF THE COMMISSION. (a) Appointment.--Two members of the Commission shall be appointed to serve as co-chairs of the Commission as follows: (1) One member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives after consultation with the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. (2) One member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives after consultation with the ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. (b) Term of Service.--A member's term as co-chair of the Commission shall continue throughout the Congress during which the member is appointed as a co-chair under this section until the member leaves the Commission, resigns from the position of co- chair, or is removed pursuant to subsection (c). (c) Removal.--The co-chair appointed pursuant to subsection (a)(1) may be removed by the Speaker after consultation with the [[Page 20251]] Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the co- chair appointed pursuant to subsection (a)(2) may be removed by the minority leader after consultation with the ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. (d) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the position of any of the co- chairs of the Commission shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made. (e) Duties.--The co-chairs shall be responsible for setting the general agenda of the Commission. SEC. 4. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. (a) In General.--The Commission shall have an Executive Committee which shall consist of 8 members of the Commission equally divided between members of the majority and minority parties selected jointly by the co-chairs of the Commission with the approval of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the minority leader of the House of Representatives. (b) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the membership of the Executive Committee shall be filled in the same manner in which the original selection was made. SEC. 5. ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS. (a) Use of Committee Staff and Resources.--Subject to subsection (b), the Commission shall carry out its duties using the staff and resources of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, including the use of consultants or temporary employees, such as individuals with expertise in human rights issues, related legislative matters, and technology systems management, as appropriate. (b) Requirements for Staff.-- (1) Appointment.--The staff of the Committee on Foreign Affairs who may be used by the Commission under subsection (a) to carry out its duties shall be professional staff members of the Committtee who are appointed for this purpose by the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, of whom half of the full-time equivalent positions shall be appointed from among a list of individuals presented to the Chairman of the Committee by the co-chair appointed pursuant to section 3(a)(1) and half of the full-time equivalent positions shall be appointed from among a list of individuals presented to the Chairman of the Committee by the co-chair appointed pursuant to section 3(a)(2). (2) Special rule for determination of number of committee staff members.--Any professional staff member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs who is used by the Commission to carry out its duties on a full-time basis shall not be included in determining the number of professional staff members of the Committee under subparagraphs (1) and (2) of clause 9(a) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives. SEC. 6. OTHER POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) Bylaws.--The Commission shall adopt and publish such bylaws to govern its organization and operation (including the duties of the Executive Committee) as it considers appropriate, subject to the applicable Rules of the House of Representatives. (b) No Legislative Authority.--The Commission shall not have legislative jurisdiction and shall have no authority to take legislative action on any bill or resolution. SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. In addition to any other amounts made available for salaries and expenses of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives during a Congress, there are authorized to be appropriated from the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives such sums as may be necessary for the Committee to provide staff and resources for the Commission pursuant to section 5. SEC. 8. TRANSITION FOR CURRENT MEMBERS OF CONGRESSIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS. For purposes of this resolution-- (1) each Member of the House of Representatives who is a member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus as of the date of the adoption of this resolution shall be deemed to have joined the Commission; and (2) the 2 Members of the House of Representatives who are the co-chairs of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus as of the date of the adoption of this resolution shall be deemed to have been appointed as co-chairs of the Commission. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia. General Leave Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia? There was no objection. Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself as much time as I may consume. I first want to thank our colleague, the newly appointed Democratic cochairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Congressman Jim McGovern, and the distinguished Republican Human Rights Caucus cochairman, Congressman Frank Wolf, for their strong leadership in bringing this important legislation before the House of Representatives. This legislation before us will immediately and fully institutionalize the biggest and most active human rights entity in the United States Congress, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. The new entity will carry the name Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and will be led by the current caucus cochairs assisted by the executive committee. This year, the caucus should have joyfully and proudly celebrated its 25th anniversary, on which Members of this House and human rights NGOs could have paid tribute to the tremendous human rights accomplishments of the caucus under the leadership of its founding cochairman, Tom Lantos. This joy was, of course, overshadowed earlier this year with the passing of this extraordinary human being and human rights giant, our good friend and distinguished former chairman of our Foreign Affairs Committee, the Honorable Tom Lantos. With him, the caucus had lost its inspiring cochairman; the Foreign Affairs Committee, its visionary leader; this body, one of its most respected, passionate and eloquent colleagues; and this Nation, a foreign-born public servant who loved this country with every fiber of his body. {time} 1630 Given Tom's biography and life experiences before he was elected as the only Holocaust survivor to this distinguished body, and his burning desire to stand up for people around the world who do not have a voice in the corridors of power, it certainly is no surprise that 25 years ago our distinguished former colleague, John Edward Porter, collaborated with Tom to establish a working group dedicated to the defense of global human rights. With Annette Lantos and Kathryn Cameron Porter at their sides, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus was launched. It is impossible today to chronicle every single accomplishment of the Human Rights Caucus. But over the last 25 years, the caucus has intervened on behalf of countless individuals and groups whose human rights have been violated, raised human rights issues which were on nobody's radar screen, used its strong voice for the voiceless, and has actively engaged Members of the United States Congress on the important matter of human rights. Over the last 25 years, the caucus has also proven that human rights is a truly bipartisan issue and has driven totalitarian regimes and their lobbying agents to the brink of utter despair when liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans--and every shade in between-- relentlessly stood shoulder to shoulder on global human rights issues. Under the strong leadership of our colleagues, Jim McGovern and Frank Wolf, I have no doubt that the new commission will continue to stand as a beacon for human rights around the world. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution. I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 1451 establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. I want to thank my colleagues, my friends Mr. McGovern and Mr. Wolf, the cochairs of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, who authored this fitting tribute to the late chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, our dear friend, Congressman Tom Lantos of California. A quarter century ago, Tom Lantos was the founding cochair of the Human Rights Caucus. With the tireless assistance of his wife, his partner in life, Annette, Tom spent the remainder of his [[Page 20252]] life at its helm, and it grew to become one of the largest and most active caucuses on the Hill. It is a fitting tribute to his heroic life that we meet here today, Madam Speaker, to upgrade the status of that organization and name it in Tom Lantos' honor. Tom Lantos was born in Budapest in 1928, and came of age as Nazism descended upon the European continent. Imprisoned during the Second World War merely for being Jewish, Tom Lantos twice escaped the labor camps and survived the Holocaust with the help of the Hungarian resistance movement and the Swedish humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg. Tragically, Tom's family was not so fortunate and they perished in the death camps alongside millions more. Tom experienced human nature at its worst, and his later work as a champion of human rights cannot be separated from the trials that he endured as a young man. The horrors of fascism helped to forge his unshakeable commitment to the protection of human dignity. It is hard to think of a major human rights issue of the past three decades on which Tom Lantos was not a leader, whether it was the fight against anti-Semitism, religious persecution, human trafficking, genocide in Darfur, or repression in Tibet, just to name a few. The bill before us today will create the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission as the formal successor to the Human Rights Caucus. The new commission will carry on the nonpartisan work of promoting fundamental human rights both inside and outside Congress. It will be cochaired by a majority and minority member, and may be joined by any Member of the House. Although it does not have legislative responsibility nor oversight, the commission will be staffed by professionals from the Committee on Foreign Affairs which it is required to collaborate with closely. I am thankful and blessed for the years that I was able to serve the people of our Nation alongside a hero like Tom Lantos. I appreciate the opportunity that this resolution gives us to honor his life and to recommit ourselves to the ideals by which he lived every day. I look forward to many years of spirited advocacy by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and I urge unanimous support for this important resolution. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) who has taken over Chairman Lantos' duties as cochair of the Human Rights Caucus as the new Democratic cochairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding and for his generous words. Madam Speaker, I want to express my appreciation to the many Members and staff who worked on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Establishment Act. It was truly a collaborative, bipartisan effort, and a genuine desire to pay tribute to the work and legacy of our former colleague, Tom Lantos. I want to thank Chairman Howard Berman and Ranking Member Ileana Ros- Lehtinen for all of the support and guidance they have provided. They, and their incredible staffs, were true partners in crafting this resolution. I especially want to thank my colleague from Virginia, my fellow cochair of the Human Rights Caucus, Frank Wolf, for welcoming me as his new partner and for his leadership in shaping this resolution. I also want to thank his staff, Molly Miller, Elizabeth Hoffman, and Elyse Anderson, who contributed so much time and careful attention to the resolution before us today. I also want to thank my staff, Cindy Buhl and Keith Stern, who have done magnificent work in making this resolution a reality. Madam Speaker, I can't think of a more fitting tribute to Congressman Tom Lantos than institutionalizing human rights work by Members of this House. This commission will be a living, breathing legacy to the vision and inspiration of Tom Lantos. It reminds us that protecting and promoting human rights is not just the right thing to do, but it has the capacity of transforming us, of making us better people, better Members of Congress, and better citizens of the world. That's what helping to save lives around the world can do to you. That is what giving voice to the voiceless can do to you. That is what standing up for something, standing for the universal declaration of human rights can do to you. The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will promote and protect human rights, whether that is the freedom to worship as you choose, run a newspaper or be a journalist without interference, organize a union, expect fair and equal justice before the courts, or receive fair treatment regardless of your gender, race, or your sexual orientation or your racial or ethnic heritage. And most importantly, it is the right to live your life, raise your family, and carry out your daily activities without the constant threat of being killed, jailed or disappearing. When Speaker Pelosi appointed me to be just the second Democratic cochair in the history of the Human Rights Caucus, I couldn't quite grasp what it would mean to try to follow in the footsteps of Tom Lantos. Then Annette Lantos gave me a call, and Kathryn Cameron Porter came in to visit me, and they gave me their support and their blessing. We talked about how to strengthen the structure and permanence of the caucus, how to encourage and support other Members, especially new Members of Congress to become active on human rights issues so the United States will continue to be recognized throughout the world as a leader in the defense of human rights. It was in this spirit that the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Establishment Act gradually took form and came into being. Madam Speaker, there is one other person I would like to recognize and thank for all his knowledge and insights in the many discussions and process of establishing this commission, and that is Hans Hogrefe. Hans handles the human rights portfolio for the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he also staffs the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. I cannot think of anyone else on the Hill who has his institutional memory on human rights legislation and the many human rights issues that Members have worked on over the past 25 years. He is a human rights encyclopedia, and I want to thank him for his dedication to the cause of human rights. Madam Speaker, I believe establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will allow Members of Congress to take human rights work to a new level, and it will better serve and support the Members of this House as they take up human rights issues. As I have often said, it is my strong belief that if the United States is going to stand for anything, it needs to stand out loud and foursquare for human rights. I look forward to working with Frank Wolf and taking on this task, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution and join us in our work. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the primary sponsor of this bill, the ranking member on the appropriations subcommittee on State, Foreign Ops and Related Agencies and cochair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. Mr. WOLF. I thank the gentlelady. First off, I would like to thank Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for their support on the resolution, and also the staff. At the end I will include all of the staff members who have worked on this issue from my side from the very beginning. I also want to thank my colleague, Jim McGovern, who has taken on the role of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus succeeding our good friend and colleague, the late Tom Lantos, for whom this resolution is named. Mr. McGovern has hit the ground running, and I believe that Mr. Lantos would be very proud of the job he is doing. [[Page 20253]] I first became interested in human rights when in 1984 my good friend, former Congressman Tony Hall, asked me to go to Romania with him. It was a life-changing trip. I would urge all Members to sort of try to find these different events and places around the world where people are being oppressed and suffering. It is an eye opener for us. Ronald Reagan once said that the Constitution is kind of a covenant. It is a covenant that we have made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind. By making the Congressional Human Rights Caucus into a commission, which will serve as an arm of the House of Representatives, I believe we are helping to take a step to fulfill that covenant. The creation of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will tell the world that the United States is still the shining city upon a hill, a beacon of hope in a world of turmoil and vision. It was the vision that led Congressman Lantos and former Congressman John Porter, with the help of their wives, Annette Lantos and Kathryn Porter, to really establish the Human Rights Caucus in 1983. There is much else that I can say. One, I am looking forward to working with Jim. This is to honor Mr. Lantos. It has seemed in the past that when major issues came up, the giants were Mr. Lantos and Mr. Hyde. And I may say, my colleague to the right, Mr. Smith and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), and Mr. Berman and some others, but really not a lot of others. This is an opportunity for us to come together to really care about this issue and hopefully we can get some of the new Members who don't know they are going to be Members who are campaigning around the country somewhere who will come here in January next year so the baton is passed to new Members so there will be other people like Mr. Lantos and Mr. Hyde who will carry it well into the future. I thank the leadership on that side for this. And I want to thank Jim and I thank Mr. Berman and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for their support of this resolution and the staff on both sides. I would also like to thank my colleague, Representative Jim McGovern, who has taken on the role of co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, succeeding our good friend and colleague the late Congressman Tom Lantos, for whom this resolution is named. Representative McGovern has hit the ground running, and I believe that Mr. Lantos would be very proud of the job he is doing. I first became interested in human rights when in 1984, Congressman Tony Hall, a Democrat and my best friend in Congress invited me to go on a trip with him to Romania. At that time Romania was a very dark place. Under Nicolae Ceausescu, the securitate engaged in severe violations of human rights and religious freedom. Many people I met slipped notes in my hand telling me that their family members had been taken away or killed by the government. The trip to Romania, combined with a trip I took later that year to Ethiopia, which was in the midst of a famine, sparked my passion for human rights. In Ethiopia, I held malnourished babies in my arms. It is a profound and humbling experience to see this kind of suffering first hand. Ronald Reagan once said that the Constitution is ``a kind of covenant. It is a covenant that we've made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind.'' By making the Congressional Human Rights Caucus into a Commission which will serve as an arm of the House of Representatives, we are fulfilling this covenant. This creation of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will tell the world that the United States is still the ``shining city upon the hill,'' a beacon of hope in a world of turmoil and tragedy. No other Member of Congress can claim to have known turmoil and tragedy like our late colleague. In the ashes of despair, Tom saw hope and opportunity. It was this vision that led Congressman Lantos and former Congressman John Porter with the support of their wives, Annette Lantos and Kathryn Porter, to form the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1983. Since then, it has grown into one of the largest, most active, bipartisan caucuses in the Congress. I was deeply honored to succeed Congressman Porter as the Republican co-chair of the caucus when he retired in 2001. After the retirement of John Porter and then with the losses of Representative Tom Lantos and Representative Henry Hyde, we are without some of the greatest champions of international human rights and religious freedom It is fitting that we ensure that their legacy is preserved and honored through the creation of this commission. It is our duty as Representatives of the people of the United States of America, to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. Our world will be a better and safer place for our children and grandchildren, when all people can live together and respect the most basic dignities and freedoms of all human beings. Madam Speaker, over the years I have been supported in my work on human rights by a dedicated staff who has shared my passion for advocating on behalf of the oppressed and persecuted people in this world and worked to promote the mission of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. I want to thank those staff members and recognize them today: Molly Miller, Elizabeth Hoffman, Elyse Anderson, Samantha Stockman, Anne Huiskes, David Dettoni, Karen Feaver, Scott Flipse, Stuart Mallory, Brett Dody, Karin Finkler, Aldo de Pape, Fay Johnson, Hillary Hosford, Evan Baehr. Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished congresswoman from Nevada, Ms. Shelley Berkley. Ms. BERKLEY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. When I was a freshman Member of Congress about 10 years ago, a very senior Member, Tom Lantos, came to me and asked if I would be willing to be a member of the Human Rights Caucus. I, of course, would not hesitate for a moment if Tom Lantos asked me to in fact participate. It was, and has been, among one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in Congress, and I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to an absolutely extraordinary man and dear friend, Tom Lantos, than to create this Human Rights Commission in his name, and I support this resolution wholeheartedly. But when I think of Tom Lantos, I also think of the last resolution that Congress took up a few moments ago marking the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass. In many ways Kristallnacht marked the turning point in the history of European Jewry. {time} 1645 Tragically, too few nations, including our own, dared to speak out or even thought to speak out against this horrific pogrom. As a result, the Nazis concluded that the world would stand by and do nothing as they committed atrocities that the world had never seen before. Indeed, after Kristallnacht, they intensified their genocidal operations, ultimately leading to the gas chambers and the Final Solution. Sadly, the Nazis were proven right, that the world would stand by and watch a feeble response that has been repeated far too often since that horrific night in 1938. Madam Speaker, the grim anniversary of Kristallnacht reminds us that evil must be confronted forcefully and early, or else these unspeakable acts will be repeated again and again. I think, given the fact that we will be creating a Human Rights Commission in Tom Lantos' name, that perhaps because of this bold move on the part of Congress, that a Kristallnacht could never and should never be able to happen again. I support both resolutions. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), one of the House's most consistent voices in defense of human dignity. Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1451, which would form a permanent Human Rights Commission in the House of Representatives. As we've heard, we currently have a Human Rights Caucus here in the House which does great work on behalf of many of those around the world [[Page 20254]] that simply lack a voice. This resolution would create a Commission that would ensure the activities of the Caucus would be more stable and permanent by creating a budget and a permanent staff devoted to working on these issues. I want to thank all of the various parties that have worked on getting this legislation to the floor so quickly, including the leadership on each side of the aisle. This resolution is aptly named after our friend and colleague, Tom Lantos, who passed away earlier this year. Tom was a survivor of one of the most heinous crimes against humanity, the Holocaust, and he dedicated his public service to ensuring that good people would not stand silently by while people were deprived of their most basic, God- given rights. The resolution would establish the permanent Commission in order to promote and advocate in a nonpartisan manner, both inside and outside Congress, internationally recognized human rights norms. Our Founding Fathers believed that we are born with certain unalienable rights, namely, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and they established in our Constitution, in the very first amendment, the rights of freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, redress of grievances. And yet we live in a world where people are deprived each day of even these most basic rights. We have a duty, as fellow human beings, to speak out against these most depraved violations of human rights. The creation of this Commission will dedicate the necessary resources to ensure that the Members of this great body are informed on this issue, and have an opportunity to affect real change in the lives of people who need it most around the world. I urge support for this resolution. Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp), a member of the Appropriations Committee and a good friend. Mr. WAMP. I thank the gentlelady for the time. I just come today because we need to remember that our moral authority as a Nation in the world doesn't come from our extraordinary free enterprise system or our capital markets or our military strength, as important as that is. Frankly, our moral authority comes when we uphold the rights of every human being in the world given to them by God, their Creator, and not by the government. Frankly, the decline in human rights in the world over the last 20 years is one of the greatest challenges that we face. The combination of human rights violations around the world, and the intolerance of religious views, and the lack of religious freedom, are creating such a divide in the world that if we're not careful, we face a Crusades-like event. And the two go together. This is so appropriate. I want to thank people like Frank Wolf. I miss Mr. Hyde and Mr. Lantos. What a privilege to serve with people who are here because they care so much about the rights of individuals, not just in this country where it's guaranteed under our Constitution, but everywhere. I am maybe one the younger Members, even though I'm 50 now, who has traveled the world and tried to be engaged on these issues, like Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Pitts and many others, Mr. Smith on our side. This is so fundamental to our way of life and our moral authority in the world and we lose that. Not everybody is worried about money. In the world they look to us because we're basically good and we uphold the right of the individual, and those are inherent human rights. This Commission is the right approach. Otherwise, it just gets lost in the shuffle of this crisis and this bailout and this conflict. The world is really struggling, and our country needs to be a light and a beacon of hope. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I would like to yield an additional minute to the gentleman. Mr. WAMP. We have to be that light, that shining city on a hill, and we have to uphold the rights of the individual. And we have to be engaged in the world in order for that to happen. We can't just pull in and hunker down and look at the world as if it's not our problem. It is, more so today than ever, because this is a global marketplace, and we are connected to the entire world. And there are so many wrongs around the world. We can't be the world's police force. We can't solve every single problem. But if we uphold the right of the individual, and it's fundamental to what happens here on the floor of the greatest deliberative body in the history of mankind, we have a chance of standing for the rights of the individual. Human rights are fundamental to our way of life. This Commission is so important. I commend those that have brought it to the floor today, and urge passage by every single Member of the House. Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, whose name is synonymous with support for human rights. Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you to the distinguished ranking member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for her leadership, for her leadership on human rights. She has been a stalwart for years, and I want to thank her for her tremendous leadership. I want to thank Mr. McGovern for sponsoring this, and for his commitment as well. And I especially want to thank Congressman Frank Wolf with whom I've been in Congress now for 28 years. And there is no one that I know or have ever met who cares more deeply, more passionately, more fervently, nor works more effectively to promote human rights around the globe. I have traveled with Frank. I would be more than happy to carry his bags. He is just such a tremendous individual. I'll never forget when the International Religious Freedom Act was being considered. It was his legislation. He was the prime sponsor. I held a number of hearings on it as chairman of the Global Human Rights Subcommittee on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and there was significant opposition to that legislation. The Clinton administration was against it, on the record, said so in hearings. Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Labor and Human Rights, John Shattuck, couldn't have made it more clear. They made a bogus argument that the legislation would set up a hierarchy of human rights, vis-a- vis, all other human rights. Our argument was religious freedom was integral, and a necessary part of a fabric of protecting everyone who was weak and disenfranchised. That includes religious believers, regardless of what their belief system might be. And we wanted to speak out in a very powerful way. Mr. Wolf pushed that bill to a successful completion. It ended up being signed into law and the International Committee for Religious Freedom, its designation of countries of particular concern, those egregious violators of religious liberties now get put on a list. They're subject to sanctions. We have an ambassador at large who combs the Earth promoting religious liberty and freedom, and then issues reports that holds countries to account and speaks truth to power. That's all a direct result of Congressman Frank Wolf, the prime sponsor of legislation that was as dead as a door nail when he introduced it because of opposition in very high places and indifference. So it is very fitting that Mr. Wolf will be serving as cochair of this extraordinarily important Human Rights Commission, named very aptly and very importantly after another great man, Congressman Tom Lantos. No one has done more on such issues as anti-Semitism than Congressman Lantos, Chairman Lantos, who is not, sadly, with us, but I'm sure is looking down from heaven with a great smile on his face because he cared passionately about human rights as well. [[Page 20255]] Madam Speaker so it ought to be clear, I believe it is time to turn the Caucus into a Commission. When the Human Rights Caucus was founded back in 1983, human rights was, at best, a foreign policy sideshow, an obligatory mention, often uttered after the more ``weighty matters'' of statecraft took place, like trade and other issues. It was always at the end if at all. An afterthought. It always had some asterisk next to it on the talking point memo. In case after case, high level diplomats would essentially say, oh yeah, by the way, I have to bring up human rights, because when I go back home I have to mention it. And many of our Secretaries of State, with some exceptions, often would take it to that point. It was never a central core issue in our foreign policy. There was little predictability or consistency. The Caucus certainly has helped move human rights concerns forward. The Commission, I believe, will take it to the next level. I hope that more Members will realize that genuine respect for human rights is the key to good governance. It's also the key, if you want intellectual property rights respected. If you want contract law observed and honored in places like China where human rights are violated with impunity, respect fundamental human rights for the individual. Stop torturing. Protect women from the violence of coercive population control and forced abortion. Help the Falun Gong and the Christians and the Uighurs and the Buddhists and all the others, the Catholic bishops who are languishing in prison. Get it right on fundamental human rights and you also help on the trade side as well, because if they respect one, if they respect their own people, they'll adhere to contract law and intellectual property rights. I do believe that we must care for and protect all, no exceptions, everywhere, every place, every time from violence; and from my point of view, that includes unborn children, newly born children, the handicapped, disabled; it includes those who are of a religious denomination that some government official thinks ought not to have their rights or liberties. It is about everyone being included. Nobody being excluded. The politics of inclusion. And again, for me that means the unborn child and everyone else who is weak and at risk. I do believe that we have to, Madam Speaker, realize that human rights can be respected. It is a matter of political will. It is a matter of understanding and empathizing. Get in the minds and hearts of victims and get motivated. Go into the prison, empathize with someone who has been victimized by torture. And we all come out with a different, enlightened, compassionate perspective. Empowered and knowledgable, we then must--we have a duty--to act! We'll never know the full extent of the Caucus's success over these 25 years, the impact that it has had, but I believe it has had a tremendously positive impact, as a result of broad bipartisan action, Democrats and Republicans, staff, doing yeoman's work. Hans was mentioned a moment ago. He's a fighter. There are so many who have done so much, often without any kind of accolade whatsoever, but they stand up and they do the hard work of human rights, and they do it each and every day because they care, because they love and because they have compassion. {time} 1700 Again, this is a resolution that takes the Human Rights Caucus to the next level, and I think it's about time we did it. This Congress, I think, will be much improved; we will have more insights. Good staffing does make a difference. We've had great staffing, but I think now as we build out that staff, I think more victimized people everywhere will be represented. Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, as we have heard and seen with this extraordinary outpouring of passion and support, this legislation establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission naming Mr. McGovern and Mr. Wolf as cochairmen is extraordinary important, and we urge support across the aisle for this important piece of legislation. Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1451. This is important. It is a nonpartisan human rights commission that will have a universal code of human rights which is imperative. This human rights commission will look at charges of human rights violations according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that will certainly show countries and individuals who choose to violate what every individual has a right to: their civil liberties. I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 1451 because it establishes a commission on human rights that creates a way for Congress to promote, defend, and advocate internationally recognized human rights. This resolution is timely because there have been numerous violations of civil rights all over the world. Egregious human rights violations are occurring in countries such as Sudan, Pakistan, Colombia, and China every day. Sudan's own president is wanted by the ICC for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. This is the first time the ICC Prosecutor has named a sitting head of state, and the first time it has accused a suspect of genocide. There are also allegations of attacks on peacekeepers by rebels in Darfur. There are also numerous abuses of women in Pakistan where Dr. Shazia was a 32-year-old Pakistani physician who worked at a hospital run by Pakistan Petroleum Limited, a state-owned natural gas supplier in Baluchistan, a remote area of Pakistan. On January 2, 2005, Dr. Shazia was attacked and raped in her home, a guarded compound, by an intruder who broke in at night while she was sleeping. She reported the crime although told to stay quiet. Doctors sedated her and flew her to a psychiatric hospital in Karachi. The government forced Dr. Shazia to sign a statement saying that she had been given government help and that she wanted to close the matter. China is also a country that commits numerous civil rights violations. It has a 1982 constitution that guarantees freedom of speech, but the Chinese Government often uses the subversion of state power clause to imprison those who are critical of the government. The PRC is known for its intolerance of organized dissent toward the government. Dissident groups are routinely arrested and imprisoned, often for long periods of time and without trial. The Chinese Government also limits religious freedom by requiring that members of the Communist Party be atheists. Between June 2006 and June 2007, at least 280 Colombian civilians were extra judicially killed by Colombian security forces and many of them were subsequently presented by those forces as guerrillas killed in conflict. And this year human rights groups have continued to document extrajudicial killings by some Colombian military forces. As a civilized nation, we cannot remain silent at outrages such as these. We must give voice to those who cannot on their own, and we must scream at the offense to human rights and settle for nothing less than full and complete justice. The United States Congress must show the violators that their actions will not be condoned or ignored. We must come together and take action on the atrocities occurring in the international community. The human rights commission will promote human rights education, serve as a medium for dialogue on human rights issues, and promote the realization of human rights obligations. Promoting human rights education is vital for administering justice to those who have been wronged and this bill proposes to do just that. We need to know what is wrong in order to help those who have been wronged. Establishing a human rights commission is important in establishing a united American foreign policy that consistently stands for human dignity around the world. We need to use this commission to find the best course of action to encourage countries from around the world to adopt principles for the protection of human rights. Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. We have no further speakers. I yield back my time. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, we also have no further requests for speakers. We yield back our time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1451. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present. [[Page 20256]] 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. The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn. ____________________