To direct the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a highway in California connecting State Route 130 in Santa Clara County with Interstate Route 5 in San Joaquin County, and to determine the feasibility of constructing a fixed guideway system along the right-of-way of the highway.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 992) urging the President to appoint a

Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the challenges we face today in Sudan are perhaps among the most difficult of our time. The interminable war between Khartoum and the rebels in the south claimed the lives of over 2 million people and was punctuated by brutalities that strain our credulity. The United States poured hundreds of millions of dollars into humanitarian relief for Sudan, but never bothered to effectively engage in a high-level effort to resolve the conflict until 2001 when President Bush appointed Senator John Danforth to serve as a Special Envoy to Sudan.

With Senator Danforth's leadership, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan was signed in January of 2005, presenting a historic opportunity for peace, economic development, and democratic aspirations in southern Sudan. Unfortunately, implementation of the peace agreement has been slow and many difficult challenges lie ahead.

While the international community focused on resolving the war in the south, a genocidal campaign was unleashed by the government of Sudan in the Darfur region of western Sudan. As many as 400,000 people have died since 2004, and more than 2 million others have been forced from their homes. Once again, the U.S. Government provided millions of dollars to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of those most affected by the conflict, including more than $150 million to support the deployment and operations of the African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. This time, however, the U.S. immediately engaged at the highest levels to seek a resolution to the conflict.

Two years of intense negotiations, with significant engagement by President Bush himself, finally yielded a peace agreement between the Government of Sudan and the largest rebel faction in Darfur, the SLA, in May of this year. Unfortunately, the agreement has not held and the Sudanese Government has launched military operations against its own civilian population in Darfur.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has significant human rights and security

interests at stake in Sudan. Recall that in 1996 the Sudanese Government made Osama bin Laden available to American law enforcement officials, a point that Salah Gosh reiterated to me with a great deal of sarcasm when I met with him 14 months ago in Khartoum. That offer, as we know, was refused.

We cannot afford to repeat those mistakes of the past. The United States needs a rational, well coordinated policy towards Sudan that puts an end to the violence and terrorism and human rights abuses at the core of our relationship. It is in this context that I welcome, and we welcome as a body, the President's appointment of Andrew Natsios to serve as the Presidential Envoy for Sudan.

The resolution before us today, authored by our good friend and colleague, Chairman Frank Wolf, H. Res. 992, strongly supports the appointment of the Special Envoy for Sudan and suggests a roadmap for the formation of a comprehensive responsible policy towards Sudan.

It states that the Special Envoy's mandate should include all efforts to consolidate peace throughout Sudan, including by ensuring full implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The mandate should also include helping to secure a just and equitable peace in eastern Sudan, supporting reconstruction efforts and the return of displaced persons to the Darfur and southern Sudan and addressing the inextricably linked conflict in northern Uganda.

In essence what will be the Special Envoy's responsibility to ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past by focusing solely on the crisis in Darfur at the expense of solidifying the north-south peace accord and resolving the conflict in the east; by allowing the potential for peace in southern Sudan to blind us to the grave human rights tragedies continuing to unfold in Darfur; and by allowing the government of Sudan's reported cooperation in the war on terror to outweigh human rights concerns in the region. They must be paramount. And also to allow those same human rights concerns to compromise our ability to protect our own citizens.

Again, this is a good resolution. I would note parenthetically that originally it called for the creation, this resolution by Mr. Wolf, of a Special Envoy. Thankfully, events have overcome the resolution and now we are congratulating the administration for doing just that, creating a Special Envoy for Sudan.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia, Chairman Frank Wolf, author of the resolution.

(Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time as well.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

I thank my friend Mr. Lantos, and I want to thank my friend Mr. Smith as well. Mr. Smith and I had the honor of co-chairing, he was in the minority at that point in time and I was chairing the Helsinki Commission, but there was no distinction in terms of party. Mr. Smith has been a strong and compelling voice on human rights.

Mr. Lantos, my friend of over a quarter of a century, has been a giant on behalf of peace and security and human rights, and I am honored to support his resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the bill before us offered by my good friend, the ranking Democrat on the International Relations Committee. It calls on the President to take immediate steps to improve the security situation in Darfur, Sudan.

Mr. Speaker, for 3 years the world has turned effectively a blind eye to the genocide in Darfur, the vast region in Western Sudan; a blind eye not because we did not hear and not because we did not see, but because we have not acted.

Already more than 200,000 civilians have died and more than 2.5 million have been driven from their homes as a result of violent warfare between the government-sanctioned Janjaweed and the disparate rebel groups. Frighteningly, Mr. Speaker, a report in the Washington Post just 2 weeks ago suggested these numbers could indeed be higher, maybe even double the figures I have just cited.

Did we not learn anything from the lessons of Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda and other places in Africa? Did we not learn the consequences of our negligence in the 1930s? We watched in horror as troops in blue helmets in Bosnia stood by and witnessed the rape, murder and displacement of thousands.

I don't know how many people, Mr. Speaker, saw Hotel Rwanda. Nick Nolte played the colonel. As Rwanda was imploding and thousands were being murdered, the manager of the Hotel appealed to Nick Nolte, the colonel, in charge of the UN troops, ``Do something.'' And his sad response was, ``My duty is to watch and report. I neither have the troops nor the power to intervene.''

Clearly, Mr. Speaker, the situation in Darfur is the world's worst current human rights crisis. There are others, of course, of significant magnitude, but this clearly is currently the worst.

We must do more to stem the violence. The measure offered by Mr. Lantos as well as those offered by Chairman Hyde and Congressman Wolf are a good start. Mr. Smith's leadership on these three bills is appreciated by all.

Chairman Hyde's bill is the long-awaited Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which already passed this Chamber once with my support; and I am pleased to support it again. The bill includes key sanctions, provisions and authorizes the support for an expanded African Union mission in Sudan.

A year-and-a-half ago, maybe 2 years ago now, I had a discussion with Secretary Powell about supporting the contingent from the African Union. In fact, we have done that. Moneys have been made available, as has equipment.

H.R. 723, introduced by Congressman Lantos, goes even further, insisting that the President do more to improve the security situation in Darfur by calling for an interim NATO civilian protection force. That was similar to what we did in Bosnia.

Finally, we are considering here H. Res. 992, calling on the President to appoint a special envoy for Sudan. Recognizing that the President appointed former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios to the job last week, I nevertheless intend to support the resolution. By doing so, I believe we send a

strong message to the President that he should have long ago designated such an envoy, and I applaud him for doing so now. It is never too late to do the right thing.

July, 2004, this Chamber voted unanimously to declare the crisis in Darfur a genocide. July, 2004. July, 2004. Twenty-seven months later, thousands of souls murdered, hundreds of thousands ripped from their home and their security.

And we continue to talk. For more than 2 years we have stood by as the situation deteriorated and ignored the mounting casualty and dislocation rates.

Sadly, Mr. Speaker, the case of Darfur is yet another demonstration of the international community's collective lack of will to confront those who would commit such horrific acts of cowardice.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the world needs the United Nations. I believe that we need a collective organ for international security and stability. But if that organ cannot act either because the Security Council permanent members veto such action or because of the lack of will of that body, then others must act. If morality plays any part in the consideration of the policies of this country and the civilized countries of this world, there is no course but to act.

I congratulate my friend and a great leader of this House, the gentleman from California, Mr. Lantos, for his leadership on this critically important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished Democratic whip and a strong voice on all human rights issues.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I might consume.

First, I would like to thank my chief cosponsor, Congressman Joseph Pitts, and the other 116 cosponsors of this resolution who, along with me, continue to demand action to protect civilians and stop the genocide in Darfur.

Mr. Speaker, as we meet here today, the Sudanese Government has launched a new brutal campaign against innocent civilians in Darfur. The only troops standing in their way are the understaffed and underfunded African Union Monitoring Force. But even the days of the African Union forces are numbered. Their mission is scheduled to end in 3 short months, leaving the people of Darfur completely unprotected. I fear, Mr. Speaker, that a full-scale onslaught mass murder against the civilians is imminent.

The signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement on May 5 of this year seemed to offer a ray of hope that the darkest days were behind the innocent men, women, and children of Darfur. But immediately after the negotiators left Abuja with the peace agreement signed and sealed, the security situation in Darfur began to deteriorate. In characteristic fashion, the Sudanese Government launched a massive and indiscriminate assault on civilians, humanitarian efforts, and the rebel forces.

Nearly 1 month ago, the United Nations Security Council authorized the deployment of 22,500 military and police into the Darfur region. To no one's surprise, Khartoum rejected the proposed deployment, and instead launched into unspeakable vitriol against the world community, threatening a terrorist war against the peacekeepers and, in a sickening anti-Semitic rant, invoked a Jewish conspiracy behind the international humanitarian movement to save Darfur. To counter the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers, Khartoum said it would send 30,000 of its own troops to Darfur to protect civilians.

Mr. Speaker, as a Holocaust survivor, I cannot think of more despicable cruelty than to have Khartoum send its armed forces who have raped, tortured, and slaughtered thousands and displaced 2 million to protect civilians in Darfur.

In the past few weeks, the government has escalated its campaign of death in Darfur. Bombers, attack helicopters, and Arab militias have been deployed in a new campaign of terror.

Just recently, the government unleashed its forces on Tawilla Town and seven nearby villages, forcing thousands of residents to flee. The barbed wire fence surrounding the nearby African Union peacekeeping base provided scant protection for terrified civilians fearing for their lives.

Mr. Speaker, it is time for the international community to put words into action whether or not Khartoum agrees to a U.N. peacekeeping force. The international community knows full well that Khartoum should not be given a choice whether to stop the genocide. If necessary, an enforced civilian protection regime must be put in place.

I concluded 2 years ago when I first called for NATO's support to the African Union to protect civilians in Darfur that diplomacy does not move the leaders in Khartoum. The Sudanese Government must be made to understand that there will be severe consequences for further genocidal assaults on the people of Darfur.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 723 calls on the world to put actions behind words and to undertake civilian protection once and for all by supporting the transition of the African Union mission to the United Nations and for NATO to broaden its support. The genocide in Darfur is not just an African crisis; it is a crisis of all humanity and obligates all of us to act with urgency.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2\1/4\ minutes to our colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), a bold fighter for human rights.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my friend from Texas, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, an eloquent voice for human rights.

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield the balance of my time to the ranking member of the African Subcommittee, my good friend from New Jersey, Congressman Payne.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank members of my staff who worked so hard on this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that, I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of H. Res. 992, supporting the appointment of a Presidential Special Envoy; also, H. Res. 723, calling for the President to take immediate steps to improve the security situation in Darfur; and H.R. 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act.

I want to commend and personally thank Chairman Hyde, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Payne, and Mr. Smith of New Jersey and their staffs for all the efforts that have gone into this.

Last week at the United Nations, the President renewed our country's commitment to finding peace in Sudan by appointing Andrew Natsios as a Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan. Andrew has a big task ahead of him, but I am confident he goes into this position with the respect of the administration and determination to see peace in Sudan and somebody who understands the issue having been there on numerous occasions. We all support him in this endeavor.

The people of Sudan, north, south, Darfur, all of Sudan, have suffered for too long. What is needed now is immediate action. The women and children are counting on us to end their nightmare. No human should ever have to live through and endure what these people are living through. I have seen through my own eyes during my latest trip to Sudan just 2 years ago the suffering people of Darfur. I visited five refugee camps, all sprawling tent cities jam-packed with thousands of displaced families. Also having visited Sudan in other cases, I have seen the suffering that went on in the north-south issue, people in the south and in the north.

So as Mr. Smith said, this does not only deal with Darfur but also is to make sure that the north-south peace agreement continues to stay alive.

I watched the barbarous Janjaweed militiamen, who are carrying out these attacks, sitting astride camels and horses just a short distance from where young and old sought what they had hoped would be a safe harbor.

In the face of genocide, the international community has been paralyzed to act. The United States Government has led this effort in trying to bring peace in Sudan. Heroes like Roger Winter and others have dedicated their careers to the people of Sudan and should be commended.

But, unfortunately, all of the diplomatic efforts that have been made over the last 3 years have failed to bring peace in Darfur. As we stand here, bombers are taking off, Antonov bombers, strafing villages. Soviet Hind helicopters fly in and attack the villages. Women and children are fleeing for their lives. The Janjaweed militia has continued to rape and kill, wiping out generations of people in Darfur. It is unacceptable, and the world must act.

All three of these measures make it a priority to end the genocide and work to bring a lasting peace for the people of Sudan.

I want to again commend the House for the strong stand. I want to commend Mr. Hyde, who has been a champion on these issues for so many, many times, in a bipartisan effort. I also want to thank Mr. Lantos. Every time one of these issues comes down on the floor, it is Lantos who is sitting over there.

And, lastly, I want to thank my good friend, Mr. Smith, who, quite frankly, on these issues of human rights and religious freedom over the 26 years that I have served with him, he has done more I think than perhaps any other person that has ever served in this institution from the very, very beginning. But it is always Hyde, Lantos, Smith. It is almost like a baseball game and the three.

And, also, I also want to thank Don Payne. Don Payne has been faithful, loyal, always there, always speaking out, always there. Has been there, I do not how many times, but also I want to thank Mr. Payne, and there are so many other Members.

But these four, Hyde, Lantos, Payne and Smith, have been the ones that have really made a tremendous difference. And others again, I stipulate, care about this thing deeply. But it just seems that every time there is a human rights issue on the floor, they are the people that are down there.

So I urge that we pass this thing with a majority vote and send a message to the government of Khartoum.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of this resolution. I would first like to commend my good friend from Virginia, Congressman Frank Wolf, who serves with me as co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, for introducing this most important measure. I also want to congratulate former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios on his recent appointment as Presidential Special Envoy responsible for addressing the crisis in Darfur and for coordinating our policies towards Sudan.

Mr. Natsios brings a remarkable lifetime of experience to this very challenging task. Throughout his career, he has faced many humanitarian and disaster situations, and he has performed brilliantly. The crisis in Darfur will require aggressive diplomacy for which Mr. Natsios is well suited.

Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago this Congress found the atrocities taking place in Darfur were genocide. We thought that this declaration would trigger an outpouring of diplomatic efforts worldwide to rescue the victims of Khartoum's methodical madness. Rather than welcoming our clear-cut declaration, many around the world continued to wring their hands. Some even indulged in a specious debate as to whether the tragedy in Darfur was even a genocide. For too many the term ``genocide'' created the specter of accountability, which few individual leaders and fewer governments and institutions were willing to contemplate.

This same paralysis struck the international community, including our own government, in 1994, when the Rwandan genocide unfolded before us with lightning speed, 1 million people massacred in 100 days. In the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda, leaders uttered the familiar phrase ``never again,'' never again would the world stand by and allow genocide to take place while we stood by and did nothing about it.

But for 3 years, Mr. Speaker, genocide has been unfolding in Darfur, and the international community has been excruciatingly slow to act.

Mr. Speaker, this Congress and the American people have not given up. Today we are voting on three separate measures that address the crisis in Darfur, including the one before us at the moment. The genocide must stop. Lives must be saved. The people of Darfur must be made whole again and a permanent and just peace must come to Darfur.

Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution because sustained and intensive diplomatic efforts at the highest levels are needed. The Special Envoy must not only engage the parties to the conflict in Darfur. He also will need to galvanize the international community to bring lasting peace to Darfur.

I strongly support this resolution and urge all of my colleagues to do so as well.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from Virginia for his most generous comments, and I yield 3 minutes to the ranking member of the Africa Subcommittee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), my good friend and distinguished colleague, who is our leader on issues relating to Africa.

(Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), always a strong voice on human rights.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, we have no additional requests for time, and we yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H. Res. 723, which urges the President to take steps to improve the security situation in Darfur, Sudan. This resolution urges the President to propose that NATO implement an interim civilian protection force in Darfur and request supplemental funding to support the African Union Mission in Sudan and a NATO mission in Darfur.

Members of Congress already have done everything we can possibly do to stop the genocide in Darfur.

Members of Congress have written numerous letters to the Bush Administration and the United Nations urging action to end this genocide.

We have visited the United Nations and met with Secretary General Kofi Annan.

I wrote to the President back in 2004 and implored that he take action.

In July of 2004, I sent letters to the other members of the United Nations Security Council urging that the United Nations take action

to end the slaughter in Sudan; this letter was signed by 41 Members of Congress, including my good friend from across the aisle, Congressman Spencer Bachus.

On April 28 and again on May 16, several of my colleagues where arrested in front of the Embassy of Sudan, protesting this genocide.

Last April, Members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressing our support for the appointment of a Special Envoy for Sudan. Last week, President Bush finally appointed a Special Envoy for Sudan. This is a good first step, and we appreciate it, but a single administrative appointment will not put an end to a genocide.

Early this year, I traveled to Sudan as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation led by my good friend from California, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. We visited the refugee camps. As far as the eyes could see, there were crowds of displaced people who had been driven from their homes, living literally on the ground with little tarps just covering them. It is unconscionable that this should continue.

Also last April, the House of Representatives passed HR 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, by an overwhelming vote of 416 to 3. This bill would impose sanctions on the government of Sudan and block the assets and restrict travel for individuals who are responsible for acts of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity in Darfur. Last Thursday, the Senate passed this bill, and the House is acting on the final version today. Hopefully, the President will sign it into law.

More than 450,000 people have died since 2003 as a result of the genocide in Darfur. There are 2.5 million displaced people in camps in Darfur and another 350,000 in refugee camps in neighboring Chad. Almost 7,000 people are dying every month in Darfur. There can be no doubt that what is taking place in Darfur is genocide and the Government of Sudan is responsible.

The world stood by and watched the genocide that occurred in Rwanda. The world has noted over and over again the atrocities of the Holocaust. Yet we cannot seem to get the President and the international community to move fast enough to stop the genocide that is taking place in Darfur.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and I urge the Bush Administration and the United Nations to put an end to these crimes before millions more men, women and children are allowed to die.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, a bill which I have worked on for more than a year with many others. I am glad to see it come to the floor again for final passage.

Let me just say that the bills that are being discussed today, H.R. 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006; H.R. 723, calling for the President to take immediate steps to help improve the security in Darfur; and H. Res. 992, urging the President to appoint special envoys for Sudan; really speaks out that we are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

We continue to say to Khartoum that they must stop the genocide. It will not be tolerated. President Bashir, the National Congress party officials, Janjaweed commanders and murderers, and others responsible for genocide must be held accountable and will be brought to justice. This bill is just the first step.

I want to thank Chairman Hyde for working with our Democratic members of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations.

I also would like to repeat what Congressman Wolf said, that Congressman Lantos has been a steadfast leader on issues of genocide. And as he being a genocide survivor, a Holocaust survivor, we know of his strong passion for this issue, and so we really appreciate his leadership.

There are key provisions in this legislation, Section 7 and Section 8. We want to first say that a peaceful resolution must happen in Darfur, and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement we think is a step towards that to happen.

Section 8 of the legislation exempts the south and the three marginalized areas, deals with a number of issues that have been summarized in the bill.

But let me just conclude by saying that there was an additional provision in the original bill, though, that I just would like to mention briefly, of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, which dealt with States having the ability to withhold pension funds from businesses that are operating in Sudan.

Unfortunately, this was removed by the Senate. We hope to see this legislation, this language put back in, because we believe that States should have the right to divest from companies doing business, international companies doing business in Darfur; and we will continue to work towards that end.

And so, Mr. Speaker, I thank the leadership for moving this bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of both H.R. 3127, the Darfur Peace Accountability Act of 2006, which was debated earlier, and of H. Res. 723, the bill presently before us. But even stronger steps must be taken if we hope to save the people of Darfur.

Lack of decisive action and follow-through by the international community has made it possible for the genocide in Darfur to continue unabated. The government-backed Janjaweed militia continues to terrorize the Darfurees on the ground while the Sudanese Government itself wages an aerial assault on the region. Officials in Khartoum have been allowed to deflect the clear urgent need for U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur by raising sovereignty claims.

We should commend the African Union for extending its mission in Darfur through the end of the year and for announcing plans to increase the number of troops in Darfur. However, without international support, the African Union will remain powerless to stop the slaughter.

For months, the poorly trained and underequipped African Union force has operated without mandate or means to protect the civilians in Darfur from the ongoing slaughter. Because of its ineffectiveness up to now, the Sudanese Government clearly wants the African Union to remain in place, but, equally clearly, not if they have the mandate or the means to be effective.

President Bush, working with our allies, must take the lead in holding the Sudanese accountable for their actions and send a clear message to the Sudanese Government that it will not be allowed to systematically and indiscriminately kill its own citizens using tactics of terror.

If the Sudanese Government does not withdraw all military aircraft from the region, as this resolution requires, then NATO should immediately coordinate and enforce a no-fly zone over Darfur. Ultimately, the Sudanese Government must agree as U.N. peacekeepers as authorized by the Security Council, or have them imposed. Appeasing the officials has not worked and will not work. It is time for a stronger approach in Darfur, an approach with resolve and the means to finally stop the killing.