[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3837-3838]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               JOSEPH KONY AND THE LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I would like to begin my remarks by 
commending all the citizens and young students in my congressional 
district and, indeed, throughout the country who have worked so hard to 
raise awareness about Joseph Kony and his brutal crimes. As we can see 
in this poster, there's Kony, and these are just a few of the photos of 
so many innocents who have been mutilated by Kony and his thugs.
  Joseph Kony is a mass murderer, whose campaign of violence against 
innocent civilians spans decades. The predatory forces doing his 
bidding are known as the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, and they have 
perpetrated some of the worst human rights abuses of our time.
  Under the direction of Kony, the LRA has murdered, raped, mutilated, 
and abducted tens of thousands of innocent people, many of whom are 
children. They target remote villages, butchering civilians, abducting 
women and children to serve as sex slaves and fighters. Kony's bloody 
reach now extends to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central 
African Republic, and the newly formed Republic of South Sudan.
  One measure that we could accomplish would be for the U.N. 
peacekeeping missions in the region to more effectively coordinate 
their actions and share information related to Kony and the LRA, 
because this is a threat that crosses many international borders.
  I'd like to thank my colleague, Congressman Ed Royce, for introducing 
a new bill, H.R. 4077, which I proudly support. H.R. 4077 would 
authorize the Secretary of State to use the State Department's Rewards 
Program to gain intelligence and strengthen the capacity of those who 
are actively engaged in fighting transnational organized crime and also 
apply it to the search for Kony and the LRA.
  This program has served as a valuable incentive for those with 
crucial information to come forward and help round up foreign nationals 
wanted for a range of brutal crimes and activities that threaten 
regional and global security and stability and U.S. national security 
interests. It will be an important tool in helping bring Kony and his 
circle of thugs, the Lord's Resistance Army, to justice.

[[Page 3838]]

  I'd also like to thank Congressman Jim McGovern for introducing House 
Resolution 583, of which I am also a proud cosponsor. Mr. McGovern's 
resolution echoes current law and puts the House on record in strong 
support of U.S. efforts to counter the Lord's Resistance Army. It urges 
the President to work closely with Congress to address critical gaps in 
U.S. strategy and to enhance U.S. support for the regional measures 
already there to fight the Lord's Resistance Army.
  As we have seen over the past 25 years, Kony's assault on innocent 
lives has no limits. Now is the time to help bring Joseph Kony and his 
fellow criminals to justice. As a Nation, let us assure that we have 
done all that we can to end this ongoing tragedy and hold this evil man 
accountable for all of his crimes.
  I thank all of the young people throughout my district who have 
communicated through Twitter and Facebook and different modes of social 
media to express their outrage over Kony's evil deeds; but now, let's 
take action. Let's pass these bills.

                          ____________________