Calling on the Government of the United Kingdom to immediately establish a full, independent, and public judicial inquiry into the murder of Northern Ireland defense attorney Patrick Finucane, as recommended by Judge Peter Cory as part of the Weston Park Agreement, in order to move forward on the Northern Ireland peace process.

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

Madam Speaker, let me at the outset thank Chairman Lantos for his leadership on this issue in general, human rights. But also especially in the case of Patrick Finucane, which so many of us have cared so deeply about for so many years. He has been a great friend of Ireland as well, and I want to thank him for that.

I also want to thank the original sponsors of this legislation, including my good friends and colleagues, Mr. Engel, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Neal, Mr. King, Mr. Payne, Mr. Garrett of New Jersey, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Crowley, Mr. McNulty and Mr. Rothman and the many others who cosponsored this truly bipartisan resolution.

H. Con. Res. 20, Madam Speaker, calls on the British Government to live up to its commitment as part of the Northern Ireland peace process to implement a public, independent judicial inquiry into the murder of human rights attorney Patrick Finucane. Mr. Finucane, who represented Catholics in Northern Ireland, was gunned down in his home in 1989 in front of his wife and his children. I would note parenthetically his wife was wounded as well.

For years, Madam Speaker, nongovernmental human rights organizations, regional and very much renowned international legal experts, have raised serious allegations that Mr. Finucane's murder resulted from collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and British security forces. In 2004, retired Canadian Supreme Court judge Peter Cory, who was appointed by the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom to examine these allegations under the Weston

Park Agreement, reported that sufficient evidence of collusion existed to warrant a full, independent and public judiciary inquiry without delay.

Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, the British Government has yet to comply.

Many of my colleagues know that as chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and as chairman of the Helsinki Commission I have held 11 hearings on the peace process in Northern Ireland. Central to each of these hearings has been the ongoing concern about the human rights abuses by members of the police service in Northern Ireland. The Finucane family has testified. Judge Cory has testified. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers has testified, as well as many numerous human rights leaders. All have advocated for a special investigation into the possibility of collusion in the Finucane murder.

Beyond this, Madam Speaker, last year, the Irish Parliament passed a resolution calling for an open and independent investigation. Our special envoy, Ambassador Mitchell Reiss, has testified before our committee that he and the Bush administration have urged for the establishment of a credible investigation into the Finucane murder. And Congress has supported it as well last year with H. Res. 740 and previously as part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act.

Madam Speaker, this resolution could not be more timely. Just last week the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, who testified before our committee in 2004, released a devastating report which confirms that police in Northern Ireland have colluded with loyalist paramilitaries in several murders over the last dozen years. The very fact that a police ombudsman exists, and that a report as revealing as hers can be published underscores that policing in Northern Ireland is, in fact, very different, very much improved than it was when the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. Further testimony to the advancements and improvements in the policing in Northern Ireland is that just this past Sunday, on January 28, Sinn Fein voted overwhelmingly to move to participate in the community policing system that was set up as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

Today, the Independent Monitoring Commission set up in 2004 by the British and Irish Governments to report on paramilitary activity has praised Sinn Fein for its new commitment to policing. When referring to the IRA, the IMC concludes that ``terrorism and violence have been abandoned.''

These developments clearly are greatly welcome, and there is a new optimism that elections for a new, devolved power-sharing government will be held this spring. Yet, Madam Speaker, with reconciliation must come full disclosure of the truth.

The lack of resolution of charges of official collusion in the murder of a defense attorney such as Mr. Finucane leads people to question the government's commitment to accountability and, above all, to justice. His murder symbolizes the depth and danger of official state-sponsored collusion in Northern Ireland and a disregard for the rule of law. It has left victims who deserve answers. And I know, because many of my colleagues and I have all spoken to them, how they want these answers. There will be no closure and there will be no reconciliation without the truth.

As the U.N. Special Rapporteur told us in 1998: ``Harassment and intimidation of defense attorneys goes to the core of the independence of the legal profession and the administration of justice in any society.''

I am also reminded of the riveting testimony offered on this matter at one of my hearings in 1998. Rep. Don Payne, my colleague from NJ, remembers it as well. He was there, when Rosemary Nelson, an attorney for Northern Ireland testified. Mrs. Nelson, who was also a wife and mother, told Congress that defense attorneys in Northern Ireland feared that they could be murdered themselves because no one had been held accountable in the murder of Patrick Finucane. Six months later, after her testimony, Rosemary Nelson was killed, the victim of a car bomb.

Madam Speaker, I would like to again express my deepest condolences to the Finucane family, as well as Rosemary Nelson's family, and thank them for their courageous and tireless efforts on behalf of justice, not only for their loved one, but for all others who have been victims of state-sponsored collusion in Northern Ireland.

Similarly, I would like to acknowledge the work and support from many human rights activists, including Jane Winter of British Irish Rights Watch; Elisa Massimino from Human Rights First, formerly known as Lawyers Committee for Human Rights; Maggie Beirne, Martin O'Brien and Paul Mageean, who have also testified before Congress on behalf of the Committee of the Administration of Justice and have provided very, very useful and timely insights to our committee.

I would again like to thank my cosponsors and again thank Mr. Lantos.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 90) congratulating Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts on becoming the first African-American head coaches of National Football League teams to qualify for the Super Bowl.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Madam Speaker, this Sunday, history will be made in the National Football League when two African American head coaches battle for a Super Bowl championship.

Not only is this the first time a black head coach has vied for the title, but two have done so in the same season. Lovie Smith, of the Chicago Bears, and Tony Dungy, of the Indianapolis Colts, are hailed as two of the most humble in the league.

In an era where professional sports is crowded with big egos and loud mouths, these two quietly push their players to be better athletes and better individuals.

Like myself, Coach Smith grew up in a small town in the South. Coach Smith talks about how growing up in the small town of Big Sandy, Texas, taught him the values of hard work, self-determination, self-discipline and teamwork. These are American values taught in a small town.

One thing that I admire about Lovie Smith is that he approaches coaching as a professor, as a mentor. He does not yell or swear at his players. He teaches them and motivates them. He builds his players up, reflecting a strength of character to be commended and imitated.

Coach Smith started his coaching career studying under Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay, and the two developed a defense that relied on team speed and hard hitting. They also developed a close friendship that continues, even as opponents in the largest single sporting event in America.

Through their relationship, both have become brilliant defensive football minds and refined player managers. Their class and work ethic make them part of an elite group of coaches, and their contributions continue to have a great effect on league diversity in the coaching ranks. Their achievements stretch far beyond the football field, and their impact is felt throughout the entire African American, as well as the entire American, community.

I congratulate both of these coaches for their hard work and success. Of course I want them both to be successful on Sunday, but I must confess that I would rather that Lovie Smith be more successful than his mentor.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana. He is a distinguished Member of this body, and sometimes he is very prophetic, he can predict things. Of course I think today he is making an error. I certainly look forward to Tony Dungy and the Colts not giving up, but I've got a feeling that they might give out.

It is my pleasure right now to yield such time as she might consume to the chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus, the originator of this resolution and one who comes from a great sports town where basketball is the name of their game, Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick from the State of Michigan.

Madam Speaker, if I ever get an opportunity, I want to go and visit Big Sandy, Texas. So, Representative Gohmert, you can look forward to visitors coming time and time again.

It is now my pleasure to yield such time as he might consume to my colleague from Chicago, unfortunately, the Bears are in my congressional district, right outside of his district, but we all share the Bears, Representative Bobby Rush.

Madam Speaker, I am going to continue to reserve for a minute. I am hoping that my good friend Julia Carson manages to make it over. I know that she is on her way. And so I would reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no speakers, but I will reserve for the purpose of closing.

Madam Speaker, to close, we have heard all of the richly and rightly deserved accolades, and I really can't think of any person in the profession of athletics that I admire more than I do Tony Dungy. He is indeed just a gentleman's gentleman, a man of impeccable character, a man who inspires you. Even if you are rooting for the other team, you still can feel his depth coming through. And so I wish him well. I certainly hope that he will have some reserves to share with my good friend Representative Burton so he can help him pay off the debt.

But I also want to say that I represent lots of different things in the district that I have. I represent the Bulls, I represent the Bears, Oprah Winfrey, the mayor of the city of Chicago, and we take great pride in all that our community is. Lovie Smith has brought the level of character to the Illinois area, the Chicago community, unmatched. We wish him and the Bears well. And I am going to leave all of the room that I can have for everything that my friends Dan Burton and Julia Carson will bring. Go Bears.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 20) calling on the Government of the United Kingdom to immediately establish a full, independent, and public judicial inquiry into the murder of Northern Ireland defense attorney Patrick Finucane, as recommended by Judge Peter Cory as part of the Weston Park Agreement, in order to move forward on the Northern Ireland peace process, as amended.

Madam 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.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. These are promising times for Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein, the party linked to the Irish Republican Army, has just voted to start cooperating with the Northern Ireland police. With this action, Sinn Fein has abandoned decades of opposition to law and order, and vastly improved the chances of a Catholic-Protestant administration in Belfast before long.

Yes, Madam Speaker, these are promising times for Northern Ireland. But there are also reminders that the road to reconciliation remains long and tortuous. Last week the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland released a comprehensive report confirming that police in Northern Ireland have colluded with the loyalist paramilitaries over the last dozen years, and that such collusion could not have occurred, and I quote, ``without the knowledge and support of the highest level of the Northern Ireland police.'' Such incidents must be thoroughly investigated and their perpetrators caught.

Madam Speaker, February 12 marks the anniversary, 18 years ago, of the tragic murder of Northern Ireland defense attorney Patrick Finucane. He was brutally shot 14 times by masked men before his wife and two young children in his North Belfast home.

He was a solicitor who represented republicans in many high profile cases, most notably, IRA hunger striker, Bobby Sands. But he also acted on behalf of loyalists.

A wide array of human rights groups alleged that his murder was at the hands of loyalist paramilitaries, colluding with British security officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch. The paramilitaries later claimed that Mr. Finucane was killed because he was a high-ranking officer in the provisional IRA. However, the police indicated at his inquest that they had no evidence to support that claim.

Canadian Judge Peter Cory was appointed by the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom to examine these allegations. In 2004, the report came that sufficient evidence of collusion existed to warrant a full, independent and public inquiry without delay.

Madam Speaker, in order to move the Irish peace process forward, the resolution before us today calls on the Government of the United Kingdom to conduct a full, independent and public judicial inquiry into Mr. Finucane's murder, which will enjoy the full cooperation and support of his family and the international community. The time to bring justice and put an end to this tragic matter is long past due.

Again, I would like to thank our distinguished colleague, Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey, for his tireless pursuit of this most important issue. Mr. Smith has been a long-time friend of Ireland, and his dedication to this issue and to human rights across the globe is well known and much admired by many, certainly including myself.

I want to thank the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, for her strong support for this measure.

I strongly support this legislation and encourage all of my colleagues across the full spectrum to do so as well.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to yield 3 minutes to my very good friend from New York, Congressman Eliot Engel, a distinguished senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to yield 3 minutes to my good friend from New Jersey, a distinguished member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Payne.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to my good friend from New Jersey, a fighter for justice for all the Irish people, Mr. Pallone.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished chairman of the Friends of Ireland group, our colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal).

(Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time. We are striking a blow for justice, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

You know, this is really a great Super Bowl we are facing for a number of reasons, not the least of which for the first time we have two African American coaches who are going to be coaching the football teams in the Super Bowl. There has never been an African American coach reach the Super Bowl, and now we have two, both teams. They are two of the finest men you are ever going to want to see coaching football teams, let alone teams in the Super Bowl. Tony Dungy, in his fifth season with the Colts, has compiled a record of 68-20. He has had five playoff appearances, he has had four AFC South titles, two AFC championship games, and finally an AFC championship. He has just done an outstanding job.

And Lovie Smith has done an outstanding job with the Chicago Bears. With a team racked by injuries, his first season he went 5-11. Then they went 11-5 and made the playoffs before falling to the Carolina Panthers. And then this year they made the Super Bowl for the first time since Mike Ditka led the Bears back in 1986.

They are both very fine men. They are not just a credit to the African American race, but they are a credit to humanity. I have watched both of them on television. They are both very strong Christian men, they are both very patriotic men, and they are loved by their teams.

I have not been conversant with how the people in Chicago feel about Lovie Smith, but everybody in Indianapolis thinks that Tony Dungy walks on water; they think he is the greatest coach we have ever had. And he is the kind of guy that, even when he is behind, doesn't know the meaning of giving up. I mean, this last playoff game when they came from behind from a greater deficit than any playoff championship team in history was really something. I admitted, when we were talking about the game the other night on the floor, that in the first half I was so upset I almost changed to American Movie Classics. We were behind 21-3. And I changed over the channel for a minute and I thought, no, I can't give up on the Colts; they won't give up. I changed the channel back, and dag-gone they came from that deficit to win the game. It was an outstanding championship effort. And it was led by an African American, Tony Dungy, who was the coach.

Lovie Smith did an outstanding job with the Bears. He led them through a very difficult last few seasons and led them to the championship. They were both talking about being the first African American in the Super Bowl, and now they are both at the same time. So I think that really shows what kind of men they are.

The only difference I would have with my colleague on the other side of the aisle who has a great resonant voice, Mr. Davis, is that I am one of the few guys here on the floor today who is going to be rooting for the Indianapolis Colts.

Now, we may be outnumbered here tonight. My colleagues are going to be speaking, and most of them are going to be talking about Lovie Smith and the Bears, you will outnumber us, but on Sunday you won't because the Colts are going all the way. As I said the other night, I am blue through and through and I am rooting for the Colts and they are going to win, but I still love the Bears and Lovie Smith, and I am very sorry that they won't win, but he is still a great coach.

With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Before I yield 3 minutes to my good friend from Texas, a former judge, before I recognize him, I just want to say that I have wagered some Indiana popcorn for a deep dish pizza and some kind of cake, and anybody that wants to bet on the Bears, call me up, I've got plenty of popcorn.

With that, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Before I yield time to my good friend from Illinois, another Bears fan who played football without a helmet, I just would like to say to Congressman Rush, I want lots of pepperoni on the pizza you are going to buy me Sunday.

I recognize the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) for 3 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I am very happy at this time to recognize another great American and a great Indianapolis Colts friend from Indianapolis, Mr. Mike Pence, for 3 minutes.

Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers.

Madam Speaker, I proudly rise in strong support of H. Res. 90 to commend both Lovie Smith, head coach of the Chicago Bears, and Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, for leading their respective teams to berths in Super Bowl XLI, to be played this Sunday, February 4, 2007, in Miami, Florida. Never before in history has a team playing in the Super Bowl been led by an African American head coach. Super Bowl XLI will make history as the first Super Bowl to feature not one, but two, African American head coaches. Although it has taken 41 years, this is an achievement of which all Americans can and should be justly proud.

Madam Speaker, on January 21, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Bears, coached by Lovie Smith defeated the New Orleans Saints by a score of 39 to 14 in the National Football Conference Championship game and advanced to Super Bowl XLI. For his phenomenal performance in restoring the Chicago Bears to their former glory as the ``Monsters of the Midway,'' Lovie Smith, the 13th head coach in the storied history of one of the NFL's greatest franchises, was named the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year for 2005.

In the 2005 season, Lovie Smith's Chicago Bear's won 11 games, the most ever by a second-year coach in the history of the Chicago Bears and he became the first second-year coach of the Bears to win a division title, earning the second seed in the National Football Conference playoffs. The 2006 Chicago Bears won 14 of their 16 games and earned the top seed in the National Football Conference playoffs.

Madam Speaker, on January 21, 2007, in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Indianapolis Colts, coached by Tony Dungy defeated the 3-time Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots by a score of 38 to 34 in the American Football Conference's Championship game to win the right to play the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI for the NFL Championship. Tony Dungy, who is in his 5th season as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and 11th as an NFL head coach, having previously coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFC Championship game in the 2000 season, is one of the NFL's most outstanding head coaches.

For example, Madam Speaker, Tony Dungy is only the 35th coach in the history of the NFL to win 100 games in his career. And Tony Dungy leads all NFL head coaches in wins from 1999 to 2005, with a record of 78 wins and 34 losses. Should his Indianapolis Colts prevail in the Super Bowl, Tony Dungy will join Mike Ditka and Tom Flores and become the newest member of one of the most exclusive clubs in all of sports: a Super Bowl champion as both a player and head coach.

Madam Speaker, the NFL had a record 7 African American head coaches in 2006 and the 197 African-American coaches, including 7 assistant head coaches, is also a record. While no one would dispute that there is still much progress to be made on the sidelines and front offices of the NFL and other professional sports, it is also indisputable that much progress has been made since Frederick Douglass ``Fritz'' Pollard became the first African American head coach in the NFL in 1922.

For this reason, Madam Speaker, I take great pride in congratulating both Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy and their outstanding football teams for their excellence on the field and the dignity with which they have conducted themselves off the field. I join with the more than 100 million Americans and billions of viewers globally who will be watching the Super Bowl in congratulating these two men and their teams for putting themselves within one victory of the sport's ultimate prize. And I join with viewers and fans everywhere in wishing to see one of the great games in Super Bowl history and hoping that the best team wins.