[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3509]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SUZANNE BONAMICI

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 21, 2016

  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be at votes on the evening 
of March 14, 2016 because my flight from Portland, Oregon, was delayed. 
If I had been present, I would have voted for passage of S. 2426, H. 
Con. Res. 75, and H. Con. Res. 121, all of which passed the House under 
suspension of the rules.
  S. 2426, a bill to direct the Secretary of State to develop a 
strategy to obtain observer status for Taiwan in the International 
Criminal Police Organization, would move Taiwan closer to having access 
to the International Criminal Police Organization's (INTERPOL) global 
police communication system. In November 2015, I voted for a similar 
bill, H.R. 1853, and I support policies that further Taiwan's 
participation in international relations.
  H. Con. Res. 75, a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that 
atrocities committed by ISIL against religious and ethnic minorities 
are ``war crimes,'' ``crimes against humanity,'' ``genocide'' passed 
the House unanimously. I support the resolution, and I would have voted 
for it if I had been present.
  H. Con. Res. 121, a resolution expressing the sense of Congress 
condemning the gross violations of international law amounting to war 
crimes and crimes against humanity by the Government of Syria, its 
allies, and other parties to the conflict in Syria, passed the House by 
a vote of 392-3, and I would have voted for the bill if I had been 
present. The atrocities committed against the citizens of Syria are 
appalling and inhumane, and I strongly condemn them.

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