Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 332, recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As we reflect on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the gross violators such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, we cannot help but think about how these repressive governments manipulate international oil flows to keep us at their mercy.

We must reduce our reliance on these unstable foreign energy sources, and the way to do that, Mr. Speaker, is by finding alternatives to oil dependence. The U.S. should lead the way; yet we're stuck in the past as our global competitors are indeed pursuing 21st century technologies. We must commit ourselves to a comprehensive energy reform policy that will improve energy efficiency and encourage investment in ground-breaking research and advance alternative and renewable energy technologies.

Much like the situation we're facing on human rights at the United Nations, we shouldn't wait 60 years to address the increasing problem of our foreign dependence on oil.

Mr. Speaker, 60 years ago and without a dissenting voice in the United Nations General Assembly, we recognized the fundamental human rights to life, to liberty, to freedom of religion, to freedom of expression, to self-government through free elections, to freedom from slavery and torture and so many other basic rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the product of remarkable international consensus, and it captured the distilled conscience of the world in one of the United Nations' finest moments.

It was not an international law or covenant, and it did not claim to be creating the rights that it included. Rather, its purpose was to serve as a common standard of achievement for all peoples that is premised on faith in fundamental human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person.

We are fortunate and, indeed, truly blessed to live in a country whose constitutional heritage has served to secure those aspirations for all of America's people. But for so many people in the world, the ideals of the universal Declaration are nothing more than an unkept promise.

In Burma, in Cuba, North Korea and Zimbabwe, and many other Nations, people suffer at the hands of self-seeking tyrants and brutal dictatorships. Millions of others endure the scourges of human trafficking, of religious persecution, and other offenses against human dignity.

For those reasons, the universal declaration remains a valuable touchstone, and the United States remains committed to promoting the values that it espouses.

For this anniversary, however, it is also a sad opportunity to reflect on how far the United Nations and its human rights bodies have fallen from the lofty aspirations of the original declaration.

The United Nations Human Rights Council, formed to replace the discredited United Nations Human Rights Commission, has devolved into an offensive farce even worse than its predecessor.

The Council embraces some of the world's most notorious human rights abusers as its members and has ignored genuine human rights advocacy in favor of a relentless, single-minded attack on the democratic, freedom- loving, multi-party State of Israel. In its session in March, the Council passed more resolutions against Israel than against Burma, North Korea, and Sudan combined, and it failed to comment at all on abuses by Iran, Cuba or Uzbekistan.

The Council recently elected Jean Ziegler, a man who has compared Israel to Nazis, and approved a notorious Israel basher as the new Special Rapporteur on Israel and the Palestinian territories, Mr. Speaker. The Council approved this mandate in the very same session that it discontinued its observation of the Congo where rape is used as a weapon against women and children.

In December 1948, Mr. Speaker, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1 year and 2 weeks after it adopted a resolution creating the Jewish State that became Israel. It is both tragic and offensive that extremists have been allowed to hijack the U.N. human rights apparatus and turn the United Nations' noblest intentions into a weapon against a democratic country.

It is my hope that the United Nations can somehow recover its moral foundation and credibly place the ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights back at the center of its operations.

Human dignity and American values demand no less.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry), the author of this resolution.

MR. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute today to a pre-eminent achievement of 20th century statesmanship, an example of U.S. leadership in the quest for securing fundamental dignity for all human persons.

I would also like to thank Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen and her staff, as well as Chairman Berman and Mr. Payne, my subcommittee chairman, as well for their work in bringing this important resolution before the House.

Mr. Speaker, it was on December 10, 1948 that the memory of a brutal world war, which took over tens of millions of lives, scarred millions of survivors of an unimaginable holocaust, and unleashed the full fury of atomic power on the guilty as well as the innocent, remained vividly etched in the world's collective consciousness that led to this important moment.

In view of this unprecedented devastation, and in the hope of preventing future conflict, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed a Universal Declaration of Human Rights as ``a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.'' And it also recognized that ``the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.''

As the memory of World War II fades and recedes into history, it becomes ever clearer to me that our rapidly changing world appears to be losing sight of the guiding principles that have accompanied the promotion of human dignity, peace and prosperity since the earliest progression of civilization. I also believe we are living in a day when the myriad of distractions of modern life in the United States leave precious little time for philosophical reflection upon the foundations which have guided this Nation through many turbulent times.

To draw attention to these important principles and the pivotal role of the United States in bringing the Universal Declaration to fruition, I was pleased, along with Mr. Delahunt, to introduce this resolution to recognize the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. It is my hope that this effort will serve as a vivid reminder of the profound contributions of the United States throughout our short history as a champion of human rights around the world, of the work that is left to be done, and inspire thoughtful reflection on the transcended principles of human dignity.

I thank the gentleman from New Jersey.

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

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

As the ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I have an obligation to help ensure that veterans and their families have access to the benefits and services they so richly deserve. More importantly, I have been an advocate for military members and veterans almost my entire life. I have been in uniform for 28 years while I served the last 16 years in Congress. It is a great part of who I am.

We have before us this House resolution to create a disabled veterans week. Now we should pause for a moment and say why is Congress bringing this bill to the floor at this time? You see, I view this bill on the floor at this time as an inoculation. It is an inoculation because the Democrats who control this Congress want to bring a bill to the floor where it will cut a monthly pension to wartime elderly disabled and indigent veterans in the amount of a billion dollars. So before the Democrats take a billion dollars away from disabled veterans, they want to stand and say I put my arms around disabled veterans, and we are going to create a week for America to celebrate them.

I am going to blow the whistle on you. I believe that it is a matter of principle that the Nation should not be taking money from one group of deserving veterans to fund benefits for others. However, you should also know that last month the Senate approved a bill that would cut $912 million in pension benefits for wartime elderly indigent severely disabled or housebound American veterans. A portion of the funding saved by this unprecedented cut in veterans' benefits would be used to fund oversized pensions for noncitizen, non-resident World War II Filipino veterans and for other veterans' programs.

Mr. Speaker, I believe the country is probably shocked hearing me say something like this. But, Mr. Speaker, we are here on the floor to ask for a designation that the country support the ideals for which men and women fought for and are now disabled, while in the same stroke this very Congress wants to cut veterans' benefits from those very same people when they are asking the country to celebrate their ideals.

The bill that was in the Senate is Senate 1315. There was a bill here in the House, H.R. 760. That bill was voted out of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee on a party-line vote. That hardly ever happens. A party-line vote hardly ever happens in the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

They voted to eliminate a special monthly pension for severely disabled veterans over 65 who are receiving pensions for wartime services. The special monthly pension provides an additional payment of up to $2,200 per year to the most severely disabled veterans. In 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims overturned the Department of Veterans Affairs decision that denied the special monthly pension to an 86-year-old legally blind World War II veteran, Robert A. Hartness, who was also receiving a VA pension granted to low-income, disabled veterans.

The court reversed the VA's denial of benefits to Mr. Hartness and required them to begin paying this special monthly pension. The court held that the United States law requires an award of a special monthly pension to a veteran eligible for VA nonservice-connected disability pension if, in addition to being at least 65 years old, the veteran has a disability rating of at least 60 percent or is permanently housebound.

The Senate bill, S. 1315, would override the court decision legislatively, and it is also what H.R. 760 sought to do. According to the VA, more than 20,200 veterans could be affected by this unprecedented cut in veterans' benefits.

This cut in veterans' benefits that goes to the disabled is opposed by the American Legion, AMVETS, the National Association of Uniformed Services, and other veterans' service organizations. The following excerpt is from an April 25, 2008, letter to all Members of Congress from the American Legion: ``The American Legion believes the sacrifice of these heroes warrants relief. Balancing the books on the backs of the very patriots that protected and defended this Nation is unconscionable. Don't make a grave mistake in the name of fairness, equality, or even fiscal responsibility. Do what is right.''

I wholeheartedly agree. Congress has an obligation to protect those veterans who are the most vulnerable. They have no voice; and, indeed, many of them are so severely disabled they are housebound and require aid and attendants. I personally find appalling the notion of taking benefits from these disabled veterans to create a new benefit for other veterans, especially those of a foreign nation.

There are better ways to fund new entitlements than to cut benefits from aging veterans who need us most, violating the principle of honor that defined their service and our obligation to both them and the Nation they served.

I believe that our veterans are our country's most precious asset. I also believe that those are the ideals for which you seek to recognize in the bill that is before us. I would remind every Member who votes in support of this bill, please recognize that when you come to the floor and there is presented to you a Senate amended bill that would repeal the special monthly pension for the Nation's most vulnerable veterans, those of whom are wartime elderly, indigent, disabled and homebound, that you remember the vote you cast this day. Because if you embrace to defend these disabled veterans who sacrificed for the ideals and the heritage of this country, do not cut their veterans' benefits.

It was done in committee. It was done in the Senate. We have to defend the most vulnerable and those who do not have a voice.

I support what is in front of us, but I do not support the rationale of inoculation before you bring a bill to this floor that will cut a billion dollars from these wartime elderly, disabled indigent veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 336, a measure to honor the sacrifices and contributions made by America's disabled veterans. Throughout our Nation's history, the men and women of our Armed Forces have gone bravely into battle, risking their lives and livelihoods, sacrificing their safety to defend our freedom.

When their duty is done, many return home to life as it was.

Sadly, for veterans seriously injured in the line of duty, leaving the battlefield does not mark the end of conflict. These permanently disabled soldiers often carry home life-changing disabilities, harsh reminders of the price of freedom.

By supporting H. Con. Res. 336, we will recognize the great sacrifices made by disabled veterans and their families. We will call upon the people of the United States to honor disabled American veterans and the freedoms for which they sacrificed. We will encourage local, State and national organizations and governmental institutions to participate in the effort to honor the sacrifices of America's disabled veterans, and we will support the goals and ideals of Disabled American Veterans Week.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

I yield 3 minutes to the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman).

I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer), the ranking member of the committee.

Mr. Speaker, for thousands of our Nation's soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, the sacrifices of war far outlast the war itself. There are more than 2 million veterans with service-connected injuries or illnesses, including thousands who have returned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thanks to advances in medical science, the vast majority of American servicemembers wounded in combat survive traumatic events that would have proven deadly in previous wars.

Previous generations of veterans have come home wounded from battlefields in Europe, the Korean peninsula, and the jungles of Vietnam. They have returned to America with permanent damage to limb or spirit.

Today's veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom are suffering tragic injuries from

IED attacks and other hazards that are filling our military hospitals with victims who have lost limbs, with severe burns, and with head injuries.

We owe a debt of gratitude to all of these veterans whose physical or psychological well-being was permanently damaged in service to their country.

In my own district, disabled veterans have also had to endure the closing of the Southeast Louisiana VA Hospital due to damage from Hurricane Katrina. As a result, approximately 212,000 veterans in a 23- parish area in southeast Louisiana have to travel up to 4 hours to go to other VA hospitals just to receive basic care. And as we all know, gas prices are now topping $4 a gallon, which further adds to the cost our disabled veterans are facing when they travel to and from VA facilities for their health care.

I want to express as well how gravely concerned I am at the high cost of fuel and how it is affecting their ability to stretch their limited pension and compensation dollars. I call on the Democratic leadership in Congress to step forward and join us to help these disabled veterans by addressing this problem and enacting a strong national energy policy that increases supply to lower gas prices.

I want to thank my colleagues in the House for passing the VA Medical Facility Authorization and Lease Act authorizing $625 million for Southeast Louisiana VA Hospital that was closed down due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. And I want to specifically recognize the leadership of Chairman Bob Filner and Ranking Member Steve Buyer in passing this critical legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our disabled veterans for their sacrifice and contributions to the cause of freedom. The intent of this bill is to express America's eternal gratitude to these courageous heroes, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it. America's disabled veterans have honored us with their service and selfless duty. We should honor them by passing this resolution.

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

Let me thank the distinguished chairperson of the Africa Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs and the full committee chair, Mr. Berman, and the ranking member of the full committee, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and the ranking member of the subcommittee that Mr. Payne chairs.

This is an important reiteration of this Congress' commitment to the premises of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And I might read, in part, the language of this declaration that says, ``The recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.''

I believe that there is no better time than the time that we are engaged in today, the era of the world status, to reemphasize the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed it on December 10, 1948, and the language stated that it was declared as a ``common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations.'' Sadly, in the 21st century, when we would hope to be celebrating the foundation of freedom, justice and peace to the world, the world is conflicted. It is conflicted in Iraq, where the different, distinctive ethnic groups of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds are engaged in violations, respectively, of each of them by the other. And so even in a place of disruption in Iraq, in a war that I oppose, we have concerns that are ignoring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We must call for the protection of human rights in Iraq. We must call for the protection of human rights in Iran.

Today, I had the chance to speak to a young woman in Iran long distance, international conversation to Miriam, a young woman of 22, who had a wonderful vision in front of us for freedom, and the ability to be the best interior designer the world would know. To do that, she must have freedom, justice and peace in the world. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights must apply to Iran.

And as we look to the tragedy in Burma, now some weeks old, to understand that the junta continues to oppress those who suffer from the terrible and horrific tragedy that occurred, that people sit along roadsides trying to find, if you will, the resources that will come to them through the international aid organizations, and their oppressive regime is denying them that right.

Can you imagine that the human rights and dignity of those who are already brutalized through a horrific tragedy of catastrophic proportions are now denied their human dignity because this oppressive regime in Burma refuses to allow the international aid organizations to go forward?

I hope by our reemphasizing this declaration, that we will stand in abhorrence, in outrage over such undignified treatment. And then I would ask, as we move forward, that we can no longer tolerate the genocide in Sudan, and the completely reckless response of the Sudanese Government in Khartoum to the dignity and human rights of those in Darfur.

We have a litany of those. Those Tibetans who continue to fight every day in Tibet simply to be acknowledged, simply to allow the Dalai Lama to return over religion reasons. And to think that he has to be denied the right to come back over religion reasons, Mr. Speaker. They allow him to come on political reasons, on government affirmation, on saluting the government, but just to be able to engage in his religious, if you will, explanation, he is denied his human rights, the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. We could give a roll call along the way of the travesties of justice.

Might I compliment and announce the change-around in Liberia with President Johnson, who recognized a nation that had literally burned the principles of human dignity and human rights; now, with her stellar leadership, she is restoring the dignity to the Liberian people.

It can be done. It can be done in Sudan. It can be done in Bangladesh. It can be done in Burma. It can be done in North Vietnam. It can be done in places where oppression exists. But I rise today to recount the tragedies of denial of human rights, but also to applaud those who have overcome. And I believe it is our responsibility to not only applaud them, but to encourage them.

I ask my colleagues to support this legislation, and let us do it by words and deeds.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Con. Res. 336) honoring the sacrifices and contributions made by disabled American veterans.

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

With House Concurrent Resolution 336, we honor the sacrifices and contributions made of our disabled veterans. The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have added well over 30,000 of our sons and daughters to the roles of veterans disabled in defense of our Nation, with the number continuing to grow.

Collectively, there are approximately 2.8 million veterans receiving compensation for disability incurred in the line of duty. This resolution calls for the establishment of a single week dedicated annually to each and every one of our Nation's disabled veterans.

What better time would there be for groups large and small, national and local, private and public, to come together and remember in their own way the sacrifices of the Nation's heroes? Those great Americans gave the most for the least. They have earned our lasting remembrance and much more.

It is far too easy for many to forget the true costs of war, to forget the deaths of our servicemen and to ignore the wounds of those who return. It is too easy for too many of us to think that the cost of war ends when the last soldier returns.

Our disabled veterans continue to serve our country in so many ways, bearing their wounds as a reminder to all that freedom and liberty are not free. The men and women who return wounded and disabled from combat, and service to our Nation, remind us of the terrible price we pay, not only in costs measured in dollars, but the costs measured in lives lost and changed.

It is therefore right and proper that we remember the service and sacrifice of our disabled veterans and pay tribute and honor to them during this week of Disabled American Veterans Week.

When called, they answered. When needed, they served. All Americans owe them a debt of gratitude and a heartfelt remembrance for their sacrifice and service. I am reminded of the words of the first President of the United States, George Washington, whose words are worth repeating at this time. ``The willingness with which our people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportioned as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.''

It is part of my service and duties to visit the veterans' hospitals and clinics

in the areas I travel to. I recently visited the medical center in Puerto Rico, dedicated a new clinic in Orange City, Florida, and, before that, the Medical Center in New Orleans.

We have been funding the VA and veterans health care at record levels, giving the VA the largest increase in funding in the history of the United States. It is our duty to oversee the VA to make sure that they are spending the money properly in the best interests of our brave men and women who defend the rights and freedom of our great Nation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch).

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

I want to be clear, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, House Concurrent Resolution 336 honors the sacrifices of the disabled veterans, and I urge all Members to support it.

I am very proud of the fact that we have just passed the largest VA budget in the history of the United States of America. Now a lot of times people talk the talk, but we as Members of this body need to walk the walk for the veterans. And when I said that I have visited the facilities in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, I have also visited the facilities in Louisiana, and I made sure that we put the money into the budget so we could rebuild that facility for veterans in that area.

I urge my colleagues to unanimously support H. Con. Res. 336.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 336.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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