Condemning the escalating levels of religious persecution in the People's Republic of China.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Con. Res. 188.

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

I rise today in support of this resolution which reminds us that brave American service men and women willingly risk their lives to defend the United States' interests and the freedom and values that we all enjoy as citizens. Such commitment imposes on the rest of us an obligation, an obligation to ensure that we do not break faith with those who serve, and that we respond to such commitment by resolving to provide the necessary resources for our military forces to successfully carry out the missions assigned to them.

Nine years ago this past Saturday, a truck bomb exploded outside the fence around the Khobar Towers compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The bomb, estimated at more than 3,000 pounds, detonated about 85 feet from a residential housing unit that housed U.S. troops, killing 19 U.S. Air Force servicemen, and wounding hundreds of other Americans.

The force of that explosion destroyed or damaged six high-rise apartment buildings and shattered windows throughout the residential compound. Today, we honor the 19 airmen who gave their lives, the supreme sacrifice, at the hands of terrorists 20 miles away from Dhahran. This Congress joins me in paying tribute to those men who are individually recognized in H. Con. Res. 188.

Mr. Speaker, I thought when I was drafting this resolution that it is ironic that just a month ago we celebrated Memorial Day, where we honored the men and women who have died in the pursuit, and subsequently the defense, of freedom in wars, domestic and foreign, since the founding of our country. One week from today, we will be celebrating the founding of America, our birthday, the Declaration of Independence, upon which our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

As we celebrate our Fourth of July or Memorial Day on their designated day, they are a constant reminder of the sacrifice of these men. Twelve of the 19 men killed were based at Eglin Air Force Base in my district and several, along with their families, were constituents. It is my hope that all of America will pause and give thanks to their sacrifice.

This week in Washington, D.C., the parents and loved ones of many of those who sacrificed their lives are the guests of the FBI, and some of them are here today in the House gallery as we present this resolution. I want to personally pay a word of deepest appreciation to the families of these heroes.

We can never undo the tragedy that they have lived. We can never alleviate the pain that I know is with each of them every day, but I would hope and I know my colleagues join me in this hope, that with the adoption of this resolution, they will take from our action some solace in the fact that we do not forget the contributions and sacrifices of their loved ones. They are much more than men in uniform to them; they were their lives.

Bridget Brooks, mother of Airman First Class Joseph E. Rimkus, is a constituent of mine and works at Eglin even today. I regret that she is not able to be here today, so, Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with my colleagues the kind of man who was lost, in his mother's own words.

``When Joseph joined the military, he told me that now he could have a flag on his coffin like his grandfather. He knew I worried about his safety and had not allowed him to join when he was 17, but he was so devoted to the military that in his last letter to me, he told me that I was his hero and he was going to make a career out of serving his country. He was so proud to be in the Air Force.

``As for his youth, he became the man of the house when his father abandoned us while serving a tour in Korea, and Joseph was my biggest supporter as I put myself through college. He called me the day he died, and his last words to me were that he loved me.

``He was the tenth firstborn son to be named Joseph. He did not talk about being a father because that was a done deal. Instead, he talked in great length of what kind of grandfather he would be.

``My family may never recover from this loss. Joseph was one of those rare souls who gave all. Before he left, he made sure that I knew he was a Christian and he would be a Catholic all of his life. Can you imagine how that knowledge has comforted me? There is no amount of money to pay for that. Even to this day, people still tell me how wonderful he was.

``In the court case against Iran, one airman, who I did not know, testified that while they were all huddled in mass after the bombing, and they knew the boys who were killed, it was Joseph's presence that he felt. That does not surprise me. Joseph was there for his friends. That is just what he would do.''

Mr. Speaker, our action on this resolution is a message to those who died, their family members, our Nation and the rest of the world that we honor the sacrifices of these 19 airmen and the families that they left behind. They served with the highest and best military traditions. No one could have served better or given more.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me and the 47 original cosponsors in support of this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, again, I have no more speakers and I would suffice to say that we urge passage of this resolution and the fact that these nomads will forever be protecting us.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 608) condemning the escalating levels of religious persecution in the People's Republic of China, as amended.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 608 condemning the escalating levels of religious persecution in the People's Republic of China, and I thank my colleague from Michigan, Mr. McCotter, for authoring this important legislation. I am very proud, along with many of my colleagues, to be a cosponsor of the resolution.

Despite China's repression of religion as arguably among the most despotic in the world, despite China's entrance in the world economy, its government refuses to grant its citizens universally recognized rights to freedom of religion and thought.

The People's Republic of China permits religious practice only for government-sanctioned organizations and registered locations of worship. Those who practice other faiths as their consciences demand risk disappearing into one of hundreds of Laogai, the forced education through labor system established by Mao Tse-tung decades ago.

Not only is religious persecution of numerous groups and movements ongoing, but it is actually worsening. In February, the BBC reported that China had warned Hong Kong's newly appointed cardinal, Joseph Zen, a well-known critic of China's suppression of religious freedoms, to remain quiet on political issues.

I have personally known some of the remarkable people that the Chinese Government targets for persecution. In the early 1990s, and I mentioned this earlier when we considered Mr. English's resolution, I met with Bishop Su of Baoding Province, a man who celebrated mass for our small delegation. I was amazed by his lack of animosity, by his lack of anything that even comes close to hate. He actually loved those who persecuted him and said he spent a considerable amount of time praying for his persecutors. He has now spent some 30 years of his life in prison and has suffered time and time again the ravages of torture by his persecutors. What kind of barbaric regime hurts a man like this?

Last summer, our Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations heard compelling testimony from Mr. Chen Yonglin, formerly a diplomat for the Chinese Government who said, ``According to my knowledge, the persecution of the Falun Gong by the Chinese Government is a systematic campaign.''

To my horror, we have heard reports of the Chinese government targeting the Falun Gong for organ harvesting. According to the State Department's 2005 International Religious Freedom Report, the China Government's respect for freedom of religion and freedom of conscience remains poor, especially for many unregistered religious groups and spiritual movements.

Members of unregistered groups, including Protestants and Catholics, are subject to restrictions including intimidation, harassment, detention, arrest, and add to that torture.

Those who perhaps read the scathing report that was written by the rapporteur for the United Nations on torture that was released last December cannot help but be repelled by the ongoing systematic use of torture against those who are trying to promote either worker's rights, basic fundamental human rights, but especially those who espouse religious freedom and religious liberty.

Given all of these disturbing facts, Madam Speaker, Mr. McCotter's resolution condemning the government of China's systematic persecution of religious freedom is both appropriate and timely.

Let me also say, Madam Speaker, and I do hope the press takes some notice, today we are considering an unprecedented three resolutions on China. Each and every one of these is bipartisan. Mr. Lantos, as Mr. Wolf said a moment ago, has been a great champion of human rights all over the world, including in China, has joined with Henry Hyde, the chairman of the committee, and myself, along with Mr. Wolf and Mr. English. This is bipartisan. We talk a lot about bipartisanship or lack of it in recent weeks and months in this Chamber, but when it comes to human rights, especially as it relates to China, we are together.

Now that we know what the problem is, we need to speak more about solutions. Hopefully as we move forward in this congressional session, we will talk more about what we need to be doing to try to get this government to roll back its repression.

President Hu's visit was an opportunity. I would respectfully submit that it was a missed opportunity to raise these issues in a powerful way. He went back home to China thinking he had won over the American people. He has not. His record is deplorable, especially as it relates to religious persecution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished chairman of the appropriations subcommittee for the State Department, Frank Wolf of Virginia.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Wolf for his very powerful statement, as well as Mr. Lantos, on this resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I want to just, before I talk on this resolution, mention the one on Tiananmen. I want to be here and have the world know that I stood with the tank man and stood with those who are in prison in Tiananmen.

Chris Smith and I were in Beijing Prison Number 1. I am sure he talked about it. But some of those young men and women are still in prison today, and some of you listening to this are wearing socks or underwear that have been made by them. So I want the world to know, Tiananmen Square demonstrators are still in prison, still in prison.

Now, on this resolution, I want to express grave disappointment with the Bush administration. I wrote every member of the Bush administration after meeting with dissidents in China and over here, who said, please have the Bush administration come to our church services, the way that they did in the Reagan administration with regard to the Soviet Union. They said, please, we will stand with them. We want someone, someone from the Bush administration to come into a house church. We are tired of seeing the Bush administration going into the churches that are recognized by the Chinese government.

So I wrote every high appointee in the Bush administration and I asked them would they call the individuals and stand with them, go to their apartments, as we used to do in the 1980s in Moscow with the Sakharovs and the Scharanksys, and in 3 months, not one Bush administration person has taken the time to pick up the telephone and to call the name and the telephone numbers of the individuals.

What do you get out of the Bush administration? Silence. Silence. We should remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said, and I quote, ``In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.'' And Dr. King's statement is so poignant. ``In times of trouble, the silence of an enemy is expected, but the silence of a friend is devastating.'' I ask the Bush administration to break the silence. Speak out for Riba Qadiri, speak out for the Catholic Church. Speak out for the Evangelical Church. Speak out for those in Tibet who are being persecuted. The young Buddhist nun who came to my office 2 weeks ago had been in the Drapchi prison for 15 years for doing nothing.

This is a test. I am writing the Bush administration officials again, and I am giving the telephone number to call. I say now, with this opportunity, and I am going to give them the words of Dr. Martin Luther King. Silence should be over. It is now time for the Bush administration to adopt the policies of the Reagan administration, of Ronald Reagan, to stand with the dissidents because by standing next, it is like in government or politics. If somebody says they are really for you, but they don't want to be identified with you, how much are they really for you?

How much is the Bush administration really for the Catholic Church in China? How much is the Bush administration really for the Evangelical house church who are putting their lives on the line? How much are they for those who are being persecuted in Tibet? How much are they for the Uighurs? How much for the Falun Gong? And keep in mind, this government is spying against our government much more aggressively than they did in the Soviet Union.

I close again with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King. ``In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.'' If the Bush administration wants to be the friends of the dissidents, the silence should be broken. And Clark Randt, our Ambassador in China, should be the first one to begin to break the silence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to explain how I would have voted on several votes during the weeks of June 5th and June 12th during the second session of the 109th Congress. I was not able to be in Washington to cast these votes, as I remained in my district to attend my son's high school graduation.

On rollcall vote No. 223, on agreeing to the King of Iowa amendment, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 224, on agreeing to the Kingston amendment, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 225, on the motion to Table the Appeal of the Ruling of the Chair, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 226, on passage of H.R. 5441, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for FY 2007, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 227, on Ordering the Previous Question, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 228, on agreeing to H. Res. 842, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 229, on passage of H.R. 5521, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 230, on motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to S. 193, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 231, on motion to Recommit with Instructions H.R. 5254, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 232, on passage of H.R. 5254, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 233, on motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H.R. 5449, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 234, on motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to S. 2803, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 235, on consideration of H. Res. 850, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 236, on agreeing to the Obey amendment, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 237, on agreeing to H. Res. 850, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 238, on agreeing to the Smith of Texas amendment, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 239, on agreeing to the Markey amendment, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 240, on motion to Recommit with Instructions, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 241, on passage of H.R. 5252, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 242, on agreeing to the McGovern No. 7 amendment, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 243, on agreeing to the McGovern No. 8 amendment, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 244, on agreeing to the Weiner amendment, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 245, on agreeing to the King of Iowa amendment, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 246, on agreeing to the Kucinich amendment, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 247, on agreeing to the Sanders amendment, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 248, on agreeing to the Hefley of Colorado amendment, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 249, on agreeing to the Blumenauer of Oregon amendment, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 250, on passage of H.R. 5522, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 251, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 794, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 252, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 804, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 253, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 608, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 254, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Con. Res. 338, I would have voted ``yes.''

On rollcall vote No. 255, on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 857, I would have voted ``yes.''

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Nearly three decades after the normalization of relations, Beijing and Washington have a mature, evolving relationship. Our two countries are working cooperatively on a broad range of issues facing the world from North Korea to matters before the U.N. Security Council.

But in our effort to maintain this cooperative spirit, we must not sugar-coat the areas of intense disagreement between the United States and China. Beijing's systematic denial of religious liberty to the Chinese people is one of the darkest episodes in modern Chinese history.

Pushing for religious tolerance must remain at the core of our bilateral agenda with Beijing, regardless of China's Government's predictably negative reactions to our entreaties.

The leadership in Beijing must understand that we will never have a fully normal relationship with China until there is measurable progress on a broad range of human rights issues, including religious freedom.

As this resolution notes, an intolerably long list of religions and faiths are squarely in the cross-hairs of the Chinese Government. The treatment of Tibetans, Catholics, and the Falun Gong is emblematic of the broader Chinese campaign against those who worship in an unauthorized manner.

In the case of Tibetan Buddhists, Beijing has a perfect opportunity to demonstrate that it has opened a new chapter in an otherwise tragic story of the Chinese repression and marginalization of the Tibetans in their own land.

While we are pleased that China has held five rounds of discussions with representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama regarding the future of Tibet, the talks have not produced any concrete results, and our patience is wearing thin. If Beijing truly cares about preserving Tibet's unique religious and cultural heritage, it should invite the Dalai Lama to visit China and Tibet in the near future. Chinese leaders should also negotiate a deal with the Dalai Lama that allows His Holiness to return permanently to Tibet to manage the religious and cultural and economic affairs of the Tibetan people.

Religious freedom is a right due all Chinese, whether Tibetan, members of

the Catholic Church or the Falun Gong spiritual movement. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents have been locked away in psychiatric institutions. They have been tortured and jailed and even killed for refusing to renounce their faith. What a tragedy, Madam Speaker.

The resolution before us shines the spotlight on China's horrendous record of religious freedom. The words in our resolution will cause great discomfort in Beijing. But when dealing with friends, it is far better to lay the facts on the table than to sweep the bitter truth under the rug.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.