Condemning the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov on July 9, 2004, in Moscow and the murders of other members of the media in the Russian Federation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 499) condemning the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov on July 9, 2004, in Moscow and the murders of other members of the media in the Russian Federation, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 499, a resolution that condemns the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov in Moscow and the murder of other members of the media in the Russian Federation. H. Res. 499 was a product which I introduced, and I commend and thank the chairman of the Europe and Emerging Threats Subcommittee, Mr. Gallegly, and, of course, the chairman of the committee, Chairman Hyde, for all of their help with this legislation, as well as all of my colleagues on the International Relations Committee, and not surprisingly, I strongly urge its passage.

On July 9, 2004, Paul Klebnikov, the editor-in-chief of the Russian edition of Forbes Magazine, was shot 10 times outside his office building in Moscow. He left behind a wife and three young children. As part of his work, Mr. Klebnikov had developed into one of the foremost experts on the intersection between organized crime, politics, law enforcement and big business in Russia. Unfortunately, the murder of Paul Klebnikov is not an isolated attack on members of the press. In the past 6 years alone, 12 journalists have been murdered in the Russian Federation.

H. Res. 499 condemns this brutal murder, as well as the murder of other members of the Russian media. While applauding the work of the Russian prosecutor general's office for its ongoing investigation, the legislation urges the Government of Russia to continue its inquiry and bring to justice all parties involved in this horrific crime. It also calls upon Russia to accept offers of assistance from the United States and other rightly concerned governments.

Finally, H. Res. 499 commends Russian-based journalists for their courageous dedication to transparency and the truth and urges the Russian Government to take appropriate action to protect the independence and freedom of members of the press working and living in Russia.

H. Res. 499 was approved both by the Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats and the full International Relations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, it is often wondered why in the United States our Constitution refers to freedom of speech rather than freedom of conscience. It is because the founders of this country and the framers of our Constitution understood that there can be no freedom of conscience where there is not freedom of speech to express it. What the Founding Fathers knew has been perverted by many who would enslave and subjugate their fellow human beings, which is why we in the United States who enjoy a freedom of speech and its concomitant freedom of conscience must be ever alert to ensure that the watchdogs of liberty, a free and unfettered press, are forever protected from intimidation or extermination at the hands of dictators.

Again, I would like to thank my colleagues on the International Relations Committee, and I would like to urge my colleagues to adopt this resolution.

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

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

I just wish to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler), the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), and of course, the ranking member of the International Relations Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), who has been a staunch opponent of totalitarianism and a champion of freedom in this institution for decades.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 499, condemning the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov in Moscow and the murders of other members of the media in the Russian Federation.

Less than two weeks ago, on World Press Freedom Day, my colleague Mike Pence and I launched the new Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press. Representatives from a variety of non-governmental organizations came to extend their endorsement of this undertaking and several other Members of Congress spoke about the importance of press freedom for promoting democracy and human rights around the world.

The guests of honor, however--and the reason we were all there--were the journalists who came to share their stories of persecution and harassment. He Qinglian spent a year under 24-hour surveillance when the Chinese Propaganda Department accused her of `inciting antagonism between the different strata of Chinese society' with her exposes of government corruption. After trying to investigate the presence of Taliban and AI-Qaeda elements in tribal areas in the autonomous zone between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Khawar Mehdi Rizvi was detained and tortured by Pakistani security forces for almost three months, before human rights groups and media organizations helped secure his escape to the United States.

We were also joined by Musa Klebnikov, the widow of American journalist, Paul Klebnikov, whose unresolved murder this resolution condemns. Mrs. Klebnikov told us that Paul believed that without freedom of the press there is no civil society, and can be no true democracy. He died for this ideal, becoming one of the fallen heroes of this ongoing worldwide struggle.

Paul committed himself to revealing the corrupt underside of Russia as well as celebrating its successes. His murder reveals both the importance of this type of work as well as the dangers facing journalists in the Russian Federation. Paul was the twelfth reporter to be killed in Russia since President Putin came to power in 2000. Russia's press laws remain very far below European standards and in the nearly two years since Paul's murder, working conditions for journalists continued to worsen alarmingly.

Paul's murder stimulated the Russian government to dedicate real effort to prosecuting the hit men who shot him, and this resolution commends that effort. Unfortunately, two days after expressing her hope that this trial would set a standard for future cases of media persecution, the Russian court acquitted his killers. This resolution calls upon the Government of Russia to continue its inquiries into Paul's murder and to take appropriate action to protect the independence and freedom of journalists in the country.

Paul Klebnikov's murder exposed the problem of violence against journalists in Russia and increased the awareness of widespread threats to press freedom. The Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press was created to highlight and condemn media censorship and the persecution of journalists around the world. This Resolution is an important affirmation of these objectives, and I commend my colleague, Mr. McCotter, for bringing it to the floor, and encourage broad support for its passage.

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

I rise in strong support of H. Res. 499, and I want to thank Congressman McCotter for introducing this important resolution that is being considered on the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, American journalist Paul Klebnikov devoted his career to exposing corruption within Russia. He was committed to seeing Russia become a free and wholly democratic society. I think I can speak for everyone in this room today that we all share his dream.

Unfortunately, Mr. Klebnikov will not be witness to this, as he was ruthlessly gunned down outside the Moscow offices of Forbes Magazine. He, like 11 other journalists since the Putin administration took office, was murdered in cold blood, chilling freedom of speech and the media in Russia.

Last year, President Putin announced publicly that fighting corruption and protecting the Russian people from crime is a priority for his administration. For this promise not to be seen as yet another hollow gesture, President Putin must do everything in his power to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of Mr. Klebnikov's murder. A free media will never exist in Russia unless the murderers are brought to justice.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge our colleagues to support this resolution.

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