Expressing condolences and support for assistance to the victims of the earthquake and tsunamis that occurred on December 26, 2004, in South and Southeast Asia.

Mr. Speaker, let me add my great appreciation to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde), and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for recognizing the need for this Congress on the very day of our swearing-in ceremonies to offer to the people of the world our deepest sympathy, and also our ability to be able to understand a horrific tragedy that is unspeakable.

We note 140,000 who may have died by the tsunami, but it may be growing, 150,000, 160,000. As I listened to the remarks being made by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), I noted as we have worked together on these issues that more than one-third are children, and how we can all recall the day of 9/11 when it came to our attention in New York that so many children had been left behind because of the tragedy and death of their parents.

Now not only do we have children that have died, but we have children that are left behind. So I say to those in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, Thailand and India, Somalia, Malaysia, Maldives, Bangladesh, Kenya, Burma, and many other places, that we recognize that no words can comfort you for this tragedy.

But out of this enormous tragedy I believe that the world can now take its rightful place as a healer, as a place where there is caring, there is nurturing. And so for the $350 million, although many of us recognize that the initial response was not what we wanted it to be, today we come in celebration and acknowledgment of the leadership that has been given by this Nation. We are grateful for the $350 million; but more importantly, I am grateful for the words of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert) that we will do more.

I think it is also important to state for the record $2 billion around the world has been promised. That shows that the world can work together for peace for humanitarian causes. Might I also say in a special note and special prerogative that I would like to congratulate those in the city of Houston

and acknowledge the work that was done by that city.

On December 27, 2004, over 75 persons joined in a very small room in my Federal building and organized a Houston's Solution For Tsunami Victims. The representatives were from the council offices of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Council Office of Thailand, Pakistan, India and the Vietnam community and others.

What we wanted to do is not to be selfish and to separate ourselves but we wanted to have the Houston mark on this terrible tragedy. And so to my colleagues, the City of Houston is organizing as a city. Some of our ideas will be, of course, to adopt cities in those regions to be part of the long-term rebuild of schools and hospitals and as well to provide medical supplies and other dollars to be part of the larger effort. My hat is off to that effort. In fact, our first event will be this Sunday, January 9, in Houston, Texas.

Might I close by saying this is what can be done all over the Nation and I know it is being done. I will also ask my colleagues to join me in supporting legislation that I am filing, a resolution on temporary protective status of those individuals in this country whose documentation may be expiring and therefore are not able to go back to these devastated countries will be allowed to stay here until their nations are rebuilt. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this important effort.

I thank the leaders who have put forward this resolution. They are visionaries but most importantly they are humanitarians. I am glad today this Congress is standing up to be called not just a Congress but people who care, who believe in the world family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the resolution and join all Americans in an expression of condolences to the people and countries that have been devastated by last week's tsunami. In particular, I want to offer my personal sympathy to: Ambassador Sen of India, Ambassador Brotodiningrat of Indonesia, Ambassador Subasinghe of Sri Lanka, and Ambassador Piromya of Thailand.

Tsunamis are walls of water that inundate coastal areas with little or no warning, often taking many lives and causing extensive property damage. They are initiated by sudden underwater disruptions and in this regard they differ from wind generated waves because the power they pack is not limited to the surface. Tsunamis are usually started as a result of an undersea earthquake, which for years was considered to be the sole cause of tsunamis. Research is now showing that tsunami generation involves intricate interactions between earthquakes, landslides, and sympathetic vibrations between the quake and the ocean above it.

Tsunamis have been known since 426 B.C., and between 1990 and 2001 there were 11 major tsunami events in the Pacific Rim, killing over 4,000 people and causing hundreds of millions in property damage. Before this week, the most devastating tsunami occurred in 1755 in the Atlantic which killed 60,000 people and destroyed much of Lisbon. By comparison, the death toll from the Banda Aceh tsunami could exceed 150,000 on top of the unthinkable numbers of displaced, orphaned, and injured. Subsequent disease and untreated injuries will undoubtedly add to these statistics.

The President has already pledged $350 million in direct support to the affected countries on top of the medical, infrastructure, and logistics support from the U.S. Military. I want to encourage my colleagues in the Congress to work together as we did last fall to provide nearly $14 billion in relief to the Southeastern states and Caribbean nations following the four devastating hurricanes.

Former Presidents Clinton and Bush are leading the Nation's private fundraising activities, and I want to ask all Americans, to contribute whatever they can to the relief efforts for what is likely history's most deadly natural disaster.

Beyond these immediate needs, I want to encourage you to work with me in developing programs that will help to minimize losses suffered in future natural disasters. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey lead the United States in the research, monitoring, and warning of tsunamis and other natural disasters. For example, the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis Project (DART) can detect ocean level anomalies as small as \1/2\ inch in 20,000 feet of water to determine if a tsunami event is occurring in the deep sea. This system was useful to avoid a false alarm in response to an Alaskan earthquake in 2001. DART stations cost about $250,000 to purchase and around $125,000 per year to maintain. Stations are now located off the coasts of Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and Chile, but we need to consider how this system can be expanded to other parts of the world.

Even with detection systems such as DART, notification alarms and awareness programs must be implemented for them to be effective. The first waves took 2-3 hours to hit Phuket

(Thailand), Sri Lanka, and India after the initiating quakes. Even a few minutes of warning can make a huge difference if preceded with the proper awareness training. For example a 1993 tsunami followed an earthquake in Japan by a mere 6 minutes. Although 200 people perished, 1,200 people escaped the waves by running inland as soon as they felt the shaking.

Research on the causes of tsunamis is also needed. One of the most severe tsunamis in recent history occurred in Papua New Guinea in July 1998. The initiating earthquake was unexceptional at a magnitude of 7.1--the size of an earthquake that strikes somewhere in the world about every 3 weeks. Geological modeling strongly suggested that the quake caused an underwater landslide that together triggered the exceptional size tsunami. Other preliminary research indicates that under some conditions, tsunamis may be detectable from aircraft or satellites using radar or radiometers miles away from coastal areas.

In this regard, I look forward to working with the Science Committee to identify opportunities for natural disaster detection and warning, and I look forward to hearing tomorrow's briefing from Dr. David Applegate from USGS and General D.L. Johnson from NOAA.

In addition to these financial and research initiatives, I want to remind my colleagues of the friends and families of the victims within the United States who also need our assistance.

Many national from affected countries that reside in the United States on either a permanent or temporary basis. Some have no one left to provide monetary support and no home due to demolition by the violent waves and flooding. It is in the spirit of rebuilding and internationalism that I will introduce legislation to give nationals from affected countries that reside in the United States an opportunity to establish eligibility for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

This legislation would grant TPS to eligible nationals from specified countries who presently reside in the United States. TPS relief under this proposal will provide a necessary but temporary respite from deportation that will permit eligible applicants to work and live lawfully in the United States pending the restoration of a habitable homeland that is not laden with disease. Additionally, this proposal will allow eligible aliens to travel abroad and to return to the United States and be treated the same as any returning alien provided TPS-- which will be helpful to family members of tsunami victims. I ask all of you to support this legislation and to join together in pledging the maximum level of resources to make the recovery of the affected areas expedient.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding me this time and also extend my appreciation to the chairman of our committee for the support and cosponsorship of this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, this certainly has been a tragic crisis in Southeast Asia, and I do not know if my colleagues know that I am probably one of the few Members who has ever personally experienced what it means to go through a tidal wave and so sad to hear from the media reports and learning in some parts of this region when the reefs and the beaches are sucked into the ocean and the water recedes some 300 yards from the reefs and the children and people not knowing the nature, that this is how a tidal wave comes about.

And then, the children playing and the fish flopping all over the place thinking this is a blessing from God, and then knowing that they should be running in the opposite direction when the tidal wave hits. This is really a sad situation.

Mr. Speaker, what I really wanted to address and share with my colleagues is a certain criticism that has been brought not only to the world community, but to our Nation, suggesting that our country has been stingy in giving assistance to those who are in need. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Mr. Speaker, in the Wall Street Journal article on 31 January, and according to a USAID report, in the year 2000, our country donated over $56 billion in international assistance. Eighteen percent of that alone came from the government. $33.6 billion, or 60 percent, came from private donors, $3 billion from corporations, $3.4 billion from religious organizations, $18 billion from individual donations alone, not even counting foundations and from public organizations and universities.

I suggest that the next time we get criticisms from others suggesting that our Nation has not been generous in giving assistance to those in need really needs to be corrected. And I am very, very glad not only from Secretary Powell, but from President Bush, that we need to make certain corrections.

Mr. Speaker, I will insert for the Record the full text of this editorial commentary in the Wall Street Journal of 31 January. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

[From the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 3, 2005]

Far From Stingy

Across the world, the reaction to Asia's tsunami is

bringing out the best in human nature. Fund-raising appeals,

disaster-relief teams, military assets--all are being

marshaled for the victims of this tragedy.

Which makes it all the more outrageous that a top United

Nations official chose this week to accuse the U.S. and other

Western nations of being stingy with assistance to poorer

nations. ``We were more generous when we were less rich,''

Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland

lectured on Monday. ``And it is beyond me why we are so

stingy, really.''

Now, complaints about U.S. miserliness are more routine

than the earthquakes and floods that strike the globe. A

favorite ``fact'' of international critics is that while the

U.S. government nearly always ranks first in absolute amounts

of foreign aid, it tends to fall last among industrial

countries in aid as a percentage of gross national product.

The one-tenth of one percent that Washington devoted to

foreign assistance, they say, is nothing compared with what

the U.S. could afford.

The problem is that, as with so many questions of

accounting (say, Oil for Food), the U.N. and other

international bodies rely on unreliable ledgers. Groups like

the Development Assistance Committee (part of the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) tend

to look only at ``official'' government aid. What this misses

is that Americans have never trusted government institutions

to dole out assistance. Instead, we open our wallets for

private groups that are better at targeting money where it's

needed, tracking projects, cutting waste--and getting

results.

When it comes to this sort of giving, nobody beats

Americans. According to a 2003 report from the U.S. Agency

for International Development, U.S. international assistance

to developing countries in 2000 was $56 billion. Yet just 18%

of that was ``official'' government assistance. Some $33.6

billion--or 60%--came from the private sector. Corporations

shelled out nearly $3 billion. Religious groups weighed in

with $3.4 billion. Individuals provided $18 billion. To say

nothing of funds from foundations, private and voluntary

organizations, or universities.

Cynics mark this generosity down to a U.S. tax code that

encourages giving. Yet most research shows that Americans

view donations as a duty. Philanthropy magazine reports a

study showing the average U.S. contribution outweighs the

average German or French one seven- or eight-fold. This sense

of responsibility is often motivated by faith; some 60% of

American donations go to religious groups or causes.

None of this sits well with the U.N., whose own budget

relies on state dollars. A chastened Mr. Egeland was forced

later this week to claim he'd been misinterpreted and to

acknowledge U.S. generosity. But behind this apology is the

U.N.'s longstanding belief that what's really needed is for

the U.S. and others to raise taxes to pay for more public

foreign aid.

That approach reigns in Western Europe and explains what's

wrong with so much of current foreign aid. Europeans have

come to view private donations as a failure of the state and

expect their governments to collect billions in taxes to

shuffle along to slow-moving and unaccountable international

bureaucracies. The result is a lose-lose situation. Giving

countries see their own economies depressed by higher taxes

and receiving countries find the aid too often enabling

strongmen or perpetuating poor policies.

A far better approach, at least in the public sphere, are

initiatives such as President Bush's Millennium Challenge

Account. By tying long-term assistance to improvements in

specific economic and political goals--such as cracking down

on corruption or establishing rules of law--foreign aid

brings about real reform. This approach drives U.N.

bureaucrats nuts, a sure sign it's on the right track.

Today's priority in Asia is immediate humanitarian relief.

The list of U.S.-based private and religious organizations

already working in the area is stunning. And it's good to see

the U.S. decision effectively to go around U.N. bureaucracy

by working directly with a coalition of Japan, Australia and

India to coordinate relief. Meanwhile, we can expect the

federal government to continue its tradition of generosity in

the upcoming weeks--a tradition that resulted in $2.4 billion

in humanitarian relief last year along, or 40% of the world

total.

But future money, both public and private, should be aimed

at developing the sort of governments and economies that will

be equipped to deal with disasters on their own.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished ranking member of the committee for his kind words and for his great leadership. And I thank the gentleman from Illinois, the two of them, for bringing this very important resolution both to the floor. They both have been champions for humanitarian causes and human rights throughout the world. I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), especially for his work on the Human Rights Caucus. And, in fact, the definition of human rights and our attention to the condition of mankind extends to the issue that is before us today.

As the world knows, 9 days ago we witnessed on television the most destructive power of nature, a powerful earthquake and subsequent tsunami that took more than 150,000 lives and seriously injured hundreds of thousands more across Asia. The unspeakable devastation the world has witnessed in these areas presents a challenge not only for the millions of people who are struggling to recover and rebuild but also for all of us who are called by our faith and our common humanity to help those in need.

Nothing can give back all that has been lost, but the actions we take today and in the days ahead help to keep the epic disaster from becoming even more far reaching. In a tragedy such as this one, there is only the smallest measure of inspiration that can be taken from the devastation.

But if there is anything hopeful to be found in the aftermath of the tragedy, it is that the worst of Mother Nature has brought out the best in human nature. Americans have donated hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations. The coordinated efforts by USAID, the International Red Cross, UNICEF, OXFAM and Care and many others are providing quick and vital resources. Relief workers are struggling 24 hours a day to distribute supplies and medical care to the injured and homeless. The United States Government has pledged $350 million in emergency assistance for the region. And when the victims of the disaster in Asia see our soldiers and ships and helicopters bringing food, supplies, and medical care, they see the compassion that is the best of America.

The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on International Relations and I in my capacity as ranking member on the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations, we have traveled the world to see our assistance at work, and we know that when the U.S. military becomes involved in humanitarian assistance, they are the best. They are well organized. They get the job done in record time. We are very proud of them and all that they do and certainly in the case of the tsunami.

All of these things are critical, but much more needs to be done. It is estimated by the United Nations that 1.8 million people will need food aid, 1.8 million people. Roads and bridges will need to be rebuilt to get that aid to the people who need it. Millions of people are homeless and in need of shelter. The statistics are daunting, but we must not lose sight of the power of the United States to soften nature's blow. The statistics are staggering, but we remember every single individual as a person who is affected by this. A compassionate and generous response from the United States is essential to save these individual lives and to stabilize the entire region.

While there has been a strong initial response to the crisis, there must be initiative to assist in the longer-term reconstruction process. The United States must take the lead by providing a multi-year assistance package that does not come at the expense of other disaster relief efforts around the world. I hope that a package of aid and assistance for the victims of last week's tsunamis will be the first significant bipartisan accomplishment of this 109th Congress, and I know under the leadership of the gentleman from Illinois and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and our distinguished Speaker in his beautiful words today about the disaster that we have a good chance that that will be possible.

There is a passage in the Bible that speaks to the power of the spirit at times such as this: ``The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.'' As one who kind of likes victories, I understand the strength of cedars, but we will replace and rebuild.

I kind of think another passage from the Bible is appropriate here. It is appropriate on many occasions, but I thought of it the minute I saw the tsunami, and that is in the Old Testament they tell us that to minister to the needs of God's creation is an act of worship, to ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us and them. So we can have an act of worship by ministering to the needs of these people.

I especially want to mention the country of Indonesia that has been devastated by the crisis. Indonesian health authorities reported Sunday that the tsunami may have killed 100,000 people in the Aceh province alone. This natural disaster comes after the Indonesian Government has performed massive military operations and frankly brutal acts of violence against the civilian population of Aceh in recent years.

The international response presents an opportunity for the government of Indonesia to form a new partnership, a fresh start, with the people of Aceh. It is critical that the Indonesian Government continue to open the region to relief organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and the media. It will take a long time. It will require a great deal of help. The scars may never heal entirely, and the memories of loved ones lost will linger forever. But with the help of people of the world, the people of the affected countries will recover and rebuild.

Already we see people who were strangers to each other before the disaster standing together, some of them

right in this very room, and today with this resolution and with the actions that will be necessary in the coming days to give substance to our words, we say to them the people of the United States stand with them. We can say that with great assurance because of the leadership of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and those kind words, again, of the Speaker this morning.

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

I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), my good friend and distinguished colleague, the chairman of the Committee on International Relations, for sponsoring this critical resolution, and I want to express my thanks to the chairman and ranking member of our Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific for their outstanding work on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my deepest and heartfelt sympathy to the people of the countries so deeply stricken by the earthquake, the tsunamis and their after-effects.

This disaster has taken some 150,000 lives and left millions homeless, separated from their families, with no access to clean water, shelter, food, sanitation or health care.

Mr. Speaker, late in December we all watched in shock as the news emerged detailing the horrors from the earthquake and tsunami-affected region. The initial reports of some 14,000 killed were simply stunning at the time, but a week later the numbers are 10 times higher, and with the horrendous death toll, we find there are countless more who are missing, including many American citizens.

The numbers of people killed, missing, wounded or left homeless are nothing short of overwhelming, and the mind struggles to grasp that a tragedy of such dimensions is possible. But the destruction and the numbers are all too real, and the needs of the survivors are real as well.

Our resolution affirms the rock-solid commitment of the American people and the government of the United States for relief and long-term reconstruction assistance in the areas affected by both the earthquake and the tsunamis, and it urges continued attention by all donors to the needs of the survivors, particularly the most vulnerable population, the children.

Mr. Speaker, every country has the moral obligation to help the millions of people affected by the earthquake and the tsunamis. There is a human imperative to ensure that the survivors of this tragedy obtain much-needed humanitarian relief, but we must also work with the international community to help in the long-term reconstruction of the disaster-stricken countries, reconstruction efforts which will be needed for many years to come.

I want to pay particular tribute to our military for their heroic assistance in this gigantic humanitarian crisis. No organization on the face of this planet could perform the miracles that our men and women in our military are doing every minute of every day as this crisis unfolds.

Mr. Speaker, I find it an outrage that some of the wealthiest oil- rich States have pledged only a pittance, even though since oil prices are at sky-high levels they have received an enormous windfall; in the case of Saudi Arabia, some $50 billion last year, that is $50,000 million.

Our resolution applauds the prompt humanitarian response of the United States, the American people, many of our friends and allies, international organizations and relief bodies. We must continue to support these efforts as long as they are necessary.

The gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) and I will continue to work to determine the best way the Congress and the American people can continue to help the affected countries over the long run. It is only fitting, Mr. Speaker, that the first legislative act of this Congress is a truly bipartisan effort to demonstrate the generosity and the caring of the American people.

I firmly hope that this spirit of bipartisanship may spread to some of our other efforts in the 109th Congress. I urge all of my colleagues to support H. Res. 12.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), a distinguished member of the Committee on International Relations and the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), an indefatigable fighter on behalf of suffering people across the globe.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to my good friend, the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren), the dean of the California delegation.

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

Long before she joined the Congress, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) was a fighter for all humane and humanitarian endeavors across the globe. She expresses the views of all Democrats on this important humanitarian crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader for her powerful and eloquent statement.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), a distinguished member of the Committee on International Relations and ranking member of the Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, we have no additional requests for time. In concluding, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I again want to express my deep appreciation to my friend and distinguished colleague, the chairman of our committee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde). I want to say that all of us here are profoundly proud of the generosity of the American people, the generosity of our government, and the extraordinary skill and heroism of our military in facing up to this crisis. Those who cannot get over their mindless anti-Americanism should look at what the American people, the American government, and our military have done in the last few days concerning this crisis, and they will need to rethink their mindless hatred of this great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. I would like to express my appreciation to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) again leading, being the moral leaders of this body concerning issues of human rights and humanitarian concerns. I appreciate their leadership. I am a very grateful follower. I would like to thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for his leadership on this issue as well.

This resolution does express our condolences to the people of Asia and East Africa devastated by this incredible tsunami which on December 26 hit this region and has cost at least 140,000 lives. It is a staggering number of lives. It is hard to comprehend how many people have lost loved ones and are suffering. In this time of need, the world has responded in a manner unprecedented in its size and scope to a catastrophe that is unprecedented. Between private and public donations, the relief effort so far has totaled over $3 billion. The distorted characterization of a confused United Nations official notwithstanding, America can be especially proud that in this time of need our people and our government have stepped forward. In addition to government aid, which sometimes people overseas only recognize the government aid, a significant amount of donations have come from charitable organizations and private donations in which our people voluntarily give out of a loveness in their heart and a concern for humanity. As we speak, financial and material donations, private sector as well as public, continue to be pledged.

However, all the relief does not diminish the anguish and personal pain of so many tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who have lost loved ones. And to those people, you have the prayers of the American people and our hearts are with you. Every day there are new stories of a family having lost both mother and father or parents who have lost their children. Communities have been demolished and the hard work in piecing these people's lives together will take many, many years.

The people of the United States stand with these people who are in need and who have been affected by this horrible tragedy. Incidentally, many of those who have been suffering from this natural disaster are Muslims. I would hope that these people in the Islamic world understand that America is stepping forward with generosity to help these people not because they are Muslims or whatever their faith is but because we care about them as human beings. We hope that they put that in perspective when they are trying to analyze what the United States is all about.

Compounding this tragedy, of course, is an economic issue that we need to discuss as well and that is the lapse of a 30-year-old WTO agreement for manufactured apparel. This would not even come up and people would not understand it had it not been for the tsunami. A critical part of Sri Lanka's and Thailand's as well as Indonesia's economy deals with producing this apparel. With the ending of this agreement, of the quota system for apparel, we can expect that China will benefit dramatically even though China has not suffered from this natural disaster. It will benefit and $2.5 billion of trade will be taken from Sri Lanka alone, for example.

I think in light of this tsunami tragedy and the current labor practices in China that an extension of this agreement is not only in the best interests of our friends in Thailand and Sri Lanka but for all countries who believe in standards of labor and human rights practices. I would suggest that we go back to those quotas as of January 1 and postpone the elimination of the quotas for 2 years in order to help those countries that are now suffering.

I would also like to recognize the people of Thailand and the royal family of Thailand who have cared for thousands of refugees and people over the years from Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. For over 30 years they have taken in refugees and so generously cared for them. Now they are in need of help and it is up to us to help the people of Thailand. Our relief efforts and our donations go with a great deal of understanding that the Thais have themselves been generous and it is our time to be generous to them. Relief workers are now struggling to reunite families and find loved ones that are dead and their remains brought back to the family. As they do, the people of Thailand are going to be suffering. We know that. I know those people. Let us keep them in mind and their suffering in mind. As we move forward, let us do ourselves proud by doing what is right and that is what is happening throughout America and the free world today.