[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14704-14706]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        ENCOURAGING REUNIONS OF DIVIDED KOREAN AMERICAN FAMILIES

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 40) encouraging reunions of divided 
Korean American families.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 40

       Whereas the Republic of Korea (hereinafter in this 
     resolution referred to as ``South Korea'') and the Democratic 
     People's Republic of Korea (hereinafter in this resolution 
     referred to as ``North Korea'') remain divided since the 
     armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953;
       Whereas the United States, which as a signatory to the 
     armistice agreement as representing the United Nations Forces 
     Command, and with 28,500 of its troops currently stationed in 
     South Korea, has a stake in peace on the Korean Peninsula and 
     is home to more than 1,700,000 Americans of Korean descent;
       Whereas the division on the Korean Peninsula separated more 
     than 10,000,000 Korean family members, including some who are 
     now citizens of the United States;
       Whereas there have been 19 rounds of family reunions 
     between South Koreans and North Koreans along the border 
     since 2000;
       Whereas Congress signaled its interest in family reunions 
     between United States Citizens and their relatives in North 
     Korea in section 1265 of the National Defense Authorization 
     Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181), signed into 
     law by President George W. Bush on January 28, 2008;
       Whereas the number of more than 100,000 estimated divided 
     family members in the United States last identified in 2001 
     has been significantly dwindling as many of them have passed 
     away;
       Whereas many Korean Americans are waiting for a chance to 
     meet their relatives in North Korea for the first time in 
     more than 60 years; and
       Whereas peace on the Korean Peninsula remains a long-term 
     goal for the Governments of South Korea and the United 
     States, and would mean greater security and stability for the 
     region and the world: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) encourages North Korea to allow Korean Americans to 
     meet with their family members from North Korea; and
       (2) calls on North Korea to take concrete steps to build 
     goodwill that is conducive to peace on the Korean Peninsula.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include 
any extraneous material for the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As the Republican coauthor of this measure, I rise in strong support 
of H. Con. Res. 40--a resolution I was proud to introduce alongside my 
good friend, Mr. Charlie Rangel. As always, I appreciate the help from 
the gentleman from New York, the ranking member, for his assistance in 
bringing it to the House floor for consideration. It has been a 
privilege to have worked alongside one of the true champions of peace 
and stability on the Korean Peninsula, Mr. Charlie Rangel. He is, 
indeed, a true patriot.
  We all know about his bravery and heroism as a young Army officer in 
the Korean war--spending his days literally freezing behind enemy 
lines. While wounded, Charlie courageously led 40 men from his unit out 
of a Chinese encirclement, undoubtedly saving many, many lives. For his 
bravery, Charlie earned the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Yes, 
Charlie suffered for his country, but his focus has continued to also 
be on the suffering of the Korean people. A nation was destroyed; 
millions were killed; families were brutally ripped apart. Charlie has 
never forgotten that. He didn't leave Korea behind, which is why I was 
happy to work with him on the cause of bringing together the many, many 
Korean families that have been ripped apart by war.
  Sadly, Mr. Speaker, Korea remains a divided peninsula. There is a 
prosperous and free South Korea and a brutal, totalitarian, 
impoverished North Korea. This division is a calamity that is acutely 
felt by South Korean families that have been separated by the DMZ, but 
it is equally felt here by many Korean American families in the United 
States. In the decades since the momentous liberation of Korea, 
millions of Korean families have been separated from their loved ones. 
Today, an estimated 100,000 Korean Americans have been separated from 
their relatives in North Korea and have long sought an opportunity to 
be reunited.
  Mr. Speaker, time is running out. Earlier this year, the average 
Korean separated by the war was 80 years old. A large number is over 
90. It is far past time that these war-torn families be given one last 
opportunity to reunite with the family members they were separated from 
six decades ago. It is everyone's hope--and, of course, of those in 
this body--that someday we will see Korea reunited. In the meantime, we 
can do what we can to encourage the reuniting of these families; so I 
urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise to support H. Con. Res. 40. I am pleased to support this 
measure that was introduced by Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York, 
and I associate myself with the chairman's remarks in the praise of 
Charlie's service not only during the Korean war, but after that war, 
to focus on families that are both here and in Korea who were affected 
by that conflict.
  A decorated veteran of the Korean war, Representative Rangel has been 
a tireless advocate for peace and security on the peninsula and for the 
Korean American community here in the United States. His achievements 
are many, and as he retires after 40 decades of service here in 
Congress, he will, of course, be missed.
  What Congressman Rangel and the many cosponsors of H. Con. Res. 40 
bring forth today--154 bipartisan cosponsors, including the chair and 
ranking member of the committee, myself, and so many others--is a 
reminder not just of the complex security situation on the peninsula, 
but of the human dimension of a war that has not been formally ended.
  As this resolution reminds us, there are 10 million people on the 
Korean Peninsula and around the world who are victims of this family 
division, and there are some 100,000 American citizens who are still 
waiting to see--perhaps for one last time--family members that they 
have not seen for 60 years, who have remained north of the 38th 
parallel in the aftermath of the Korean war. There are approximately 
1.7 million Korean Americans here in the United States. As I mentioned, 
over 100,000 of them have relatives who are north of the DMZ, and I am 
pleased to say that over half of those Korean Americans reside in the 
State of California.
  The Korean Americans who have been divided from their families in 
North Korea are now in their senior years. Time is running out for 
these separated families to reunite--perhaps for just one last time--
with parents, siblings, children. For many, reunification will be the 
only contact they will have had in so many decades. As of yet, Korean 
Americans have not been permitted to participate in family reunions. 
North Korea should encourage reunions for the sake of their own 
citizens who are divided family members, for Korean Americans, and for 
those affected by the war no matter where in the world they live.
  H. Con. Res. 40 urges the North Korea regime to resume family 
reunification

[[Page 14705]]

visits, which have been suspended for over a year, and to allow 
families that chance to get together. It also calls on North Korea to 
take concrete steps to build goodwill that is conducive to peace on the 
Korean Peninsula. This is particularly important given the nuclear 
weapons tests and missile tests that we have seen from the north.
  The reunification of families is a goodwill gesture that can help put 
the world and northeast Asia on the road to peace. That is why I 
support this resolution and urge all of my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Dold).
  Mr. DOLD. I thank the gentleman for yielding the time.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a critically important humanitarian issue as we 
talk about families. Each and every one of us just got back from 
Thanksgiving--an opportunity for us to gather around the table with our 
families. I think that is something that, often, too many of us take 
for granted--the opportunity and the ability that we have to jump on a 
plane or to get on a train and go visit our families. Yet, for so many 
Korean families, that is something that is beyond the realm of 
possibility.
  It is beyond the realm of possibility because, at the outbreak of the 
Korean war, many of the Koreans thought that this was just going to be 
a conflict that was not going to last very long; so families were 
literally separated at that time and were hoping to be reunited in a 
very short period of time. What we do know is that, decade after 
decade, these families have not been able to be reunited. We want to 
encourage this reuniting of families. There are so many Korean 
Americans who have family in the north who have not been able to see 
their families.

                              {time}  1815

  Recently, Mr. Speaker, this last year I had an opportunity to travel 
to Korea and actually had an opportunity to talk to some of the 
families. A very small few--100 families--were going to have an 
opportunity to see their loved ones.
  Time is of the essence. This is a humanitarian issue because more and 
more people are passing away and the opportunities to see their loved 
ones perishes. For the Korean Americans and for the Korean community, 
their opportunity to pay respects to those who have gone before them is 
also something that is critical, and they don't have the opportunity to 
visit them.
  So I want to make sure that we stand together in a bipartisan way to 
encourage the opportunity for families to be able to be reunited.
  I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) for his leadership 
on this issue. Again, anybody who has served any time in this body 
knows his love for the Korean people and his record in the Korean war, 
his heroism in that regard.
  I do hope that we, today, will vote to make sure we send a strong 
signal that the reuniting of families is something we should all stand 
and be united behind.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Rangel), the author of this resolution and a champion for the 
Korean American community.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Sherman for giving me 
this time to speak on this important issue. I will also take this 
opportunity to thank Chairman Ed Royce.
  So many people ask: After 46 years, what do you consider your major 
accomplishments? It is hard to explain to those of us who serve in the 
Congress that you don't list friendships as an accomplishment. There is 
no question, in knowing Ed Royce from the people's Republic of 
California, that he has shattered the wall between Republicans and 
Democrats, and conservatives and liberals, and he is an American who 
cares about this Congress and this country. Whether I have talked to 
him about Africa or about Korea, he has listened and has done the best 
he could to show what America really feels proud of, and that is 
seeking peace and justice where we find dictatorships and people 
destroying the lives of others.
  I get so much credit for being a wounded hero in Korea. I volunteered 
for the Army, but I sure didn't volunteer for Korea. As a matter of 
fact, it always baffled me how we could go there without a declaration 
of war. It baffled me who could make a decision to take a country like 
Korea with such a beautiful history and have human beings just draw a 
line and say that this is north, this is south, this is the Soviets, 
this is the United Nations, and the United States and not realize that 
these are human beings, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters; that 
notwithstanding the fact that the south was attacked, notwithstanding 
that the war still continues technically today, that all people should 
want to see their families united when all it takes is that, yes, you 
may see them.
  So today I thank Chairman Royce so much, Mr. Speaker, and this House 
for showing America what we are all about. Because it is ironic that we 
are now talking about Korean Americans, we are talking about divided 
families USA. We are talking about people who love this country, who 
fight for this country, but they still have a place they love, and they 
have family that they want to see before they pass away or before their 
families are gone.
  Isn't this really what makes America different, to find people who 
love their homeland like Korean Americans love Korea and, at the same 
time, love this country more and ask us to join with them for what? 
They ask for peace, equity, and all the things that we care about, but 
also to meet their family.
  There is so much compassion in this. There is so much to show how a 
line can show you poverty above the line, democracy and progress below 
the line. But more than anything else, this body is saying today that 
people who God made of the same blood, the same background, and the 
same culture, let them meet.
  So I would like to include tonight as one of those proudest days that 
I have served in this august body and, also, to include Representative 
Ed Royce as one of the most decent human beings I have also met while 
serving in this body.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly).
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I too join the chairman and the ranking 
member in saluting the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel).
  I remember him telling the story that he was a teenager at the 
outbreak of the war in Korea, living in Harlem, and didn't know where 
Korea was. He sure knows today. He is an iconic figure in the Korean 
community.
  Representative Rangel, we salute you for your incredible heroism.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 40 to encourage the 
reunion of divided Korean American families. The division of north and 
south along the 38th parallel offers one of the world's most striking 
dichotomies. Yet, on both sides of the demilitarized zone resides a 
shared pain. The pain is that of families ripped apart by the war and 
an enduring division of one people into two countries. Reunions are a 
welcome respite from that separation, but, in the end, they provide yet 
another reminder that family reunification on the Korean Peninsula is 
all too fleeting.
  Many of these Americans--more than 100,000 according to the last 
estimate--have been waiting to reunite with their family members in 
North Korea. Too many have already passed away without ever realizing 
that hope.
  This resolution encourages Pyongyang to allow those Korean Americans 
to meet with their families. It also calls on the North Korean regime 
to take steps to build goodwill that is conducive to peace in the 
peninsula.
  Earlier this year, we passed the North Korean Sanctions and Policy 
Enhancement Act, which included my amendment conditioning sanctions 
relief on the promotion of family reunifications for Koreans and Korean 
Americans.

[[Page 14706]]

  It is vital our North Korea policy be informed with an understanding 
that there are human victims of this ongoing conflict in the North 
Korean Peninsula.
  I ask my colleagues to support the resolution, which demonstrates our 
commitment to efforts to seek to relieve the pain of separation felt by 
Korean families.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I salute the author of this resolution, 
Representative Rangel, and urge its adoption.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I also want to recognize the staff who have been so instrumental, not 
only on this resolution but also in maintaining our constructive policy 
toward Korea, Hannah Kim on Mr. Rangel's staff and our committee 
staffers, Hunter Strupp and Jennifer Hendrixson-White.
  Earlier, I noted how happy I was to have worked alongside my good 
friend and colleague, Charlie Rangel, on this measure. As he is 
retiring at the end of this Congress, I want to once again recognize 
him as a true champion of U.S.-Korea relations. He truly is. No one, 
whether it was fighting for his country or advocating on behalf of so 
many Korean Americans, has done more for this partnership.
  As Charlie has often said, since he survived the battle of Kunu-ri 
and led those freezing soldiers out of that encirclement, he has never, 
not since that day, never ever had a bad day since. Mr. Speaker, let's 
hope this streak continues well into the future.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of H. Con. Res. 40, I rise 
today in strong support of its passage.
  Tragically, the division on the Korean Peninsula separated more than 
10,000,000 Korean family members, including some who are now citizens 
of the United States. As a result, many Korean Americans have waited 
for over 60 years for a chance to meet their relatives in North Korea 
for the first time.
  Although there have been 19 rounds of family reunions between South 
Koreans and North Koreans, instability has continued to impede the 
reunion of these divided families. As some family members reach the 
later years of their lives, time becomes an important factor in giving 
these families the opportunity to connect.
  Congress first signaled its interest in family reunions between 
United States citizens and their relatives in North Korea in section 
1265 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 
(Public Law 110-181), which became law on January 28, 2008. We 
furthered our commitment to reunification when President Barack Obama 
signed into law the Continuing Appropriations Act 2011 (Public Law 111-
242), which urged the Special Representative on North Korea Policy to 
prioritize the issues involving Korean divided families.
  Enabling Korean Americans to meet their family members from North 
Korea will help establish the goodwill to lay the foundation for peace 
on the Korean Peninsula. While peace on the Korean Peninsula remains a 
long-term goal for the United States and all stakeholders in the 
region, a first step towards achieving it would be to allow family 
members to be reunified. This would be a significant step forward for 
greater security and stability for the region and the world.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to swiftly pass H. Con. Res. 40.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 40.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________