To require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on efforts to bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2293) to require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on efforts to bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde.

Madam 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 the bill under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2293, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The legislation the House is considering today will ensure that three brave Americans are not forgotten. I want to thank Chairman Lantos and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen and my friend, the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Pence, for their support and cosponsorship of the bill.

Though my belief in the necessity of this legislation is complete, my feelings about the bill are mixed. I am proud that this House will today insist that justice be done for three Americans who died in the service of their country. But I am deeply troubled and saddened that this legislation is even necessary.

On October 15, 2003, John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde

were killed due to the detonation of a roadside car bomb in Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip. These young Americans were providing security to a mission of American diplomats on their way to Gaza to conduct interviews for Fulbright scholars to come to the United States. But they never made it.

Despite the easily recognized vehicles and the diplomatic plates marking them clearly as Americans, despite coordination with the Palestinian security authorities, despite the fact that they were on a mission of kindness and generosity, their lives were ended by a brutal and cowardly act. And ever since then, United States Government employees have been barred from entering Gaza.

Their deaths were tragic. But what followed, however, was a farce.

The attack took place near a manned Palestinian checkpoint; and immediately following the attack, journalists photographed Palestinian police officers standing by as onlookers cheered the attack and roamed the crime scene destroying critical evidence. But within 24 hours, the Palestinian Authority, quite literally, ``rounded up the usual suspects,'' four members of the so-called Popular Resistance Committee, or PRC.

Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority, however, never presented a case against them. Held over for a month, the Palestinian court finally announced that the defendants would be released since ``no evidence was offered against'' them. They remained in jail despite the judge's order, however, pending Yasser Arafat's approval of their release. When that approval never came, a mob of PRC members stormed the jail the next month, without resistance, and freed the suspects.

A year later, on September 22, 2004, Arafat's cousin, the head of military intelligence in Gaza, told the Associated Press that though the identity of the killers was known, the United States would have to forgo justice in this case. Speaking of our Nation, he said, ``They know that we are in a very critical position and clashing with any Palestinian party under the presence of the occupation is an issue that will present many problems for us.''

``The Americans,'' he added, ``have started recently to understand our position and I expect that this crisis will also be resolved.''

Six months later, Secretary Condoleezza Rice raised the matter directly with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. I don't know that Abu Mazen, as Abbas is known, told our Secretary of State, but she publicly announced on February 7, 2006, ``We have been assured by President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority's intention to bring justice to those who murdered three American personnel in Gaza in 2003.''

Obviously, we are still waiting and with the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, we may never know the truth, and justice may never be done.

I have been outspoken in my criticism of the administration's failure to use the fresh mandate Abbas had in 2006 to make real progress toward peace. We failed him, as did the Israelis, and we are now confronting the consequences of our shortsightedness. But in this case, in this small but meaningful case, Abu Mazen has failed us.

The case presented an opportunity to establish the Palestinian Authority's writ, to demonstrate that the PA was capable of handling the duties of a state, which above all is obliged to maintain law and order, for visitor and citizen alike.

There is still a $5 million bounty pending, through the Rewards for Justice program, but I doubt it will ever be paid. The Bush administration has been so lack in dealing with this case, so lackadaisical in the pursuit of justice for three Americans who died in the service of this Nation that I believe Congress must step in.

It is not in our power to compel justice, nor can we instill drive, initiative, or energy. But we can maintain accountability, and that is what this bill would do. Thirty days after passage, and every 120 days thereafter, the Secretary of State will have to present Congress with a progress report, and not a short one either. This report would require details, the kinds of sticky uncomfortable deals, the kind of sticky uncomfortable details that will show whether the Department is insisting on the pursuit of justice, or just waiting for it to show up on its own. We are not asking for the impossible. The most important requirement of the report is a specific assessment of whether the Palestinians are making their best effort and possible resolution.

Today, it is hard to say what that would look like. But very deliberately, this report will be prepared every 120 days in perpetuity until the Secretary can certify that the Palestinian terrorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde have been identified, arrested, and brought to justice.

I regret saying it, but justice for these three men was never as great a priority for the Bush administration as it ought to have been.

The vital national security interests of the United States require us to safeguard to the greatest extent possible consistent with their mission United States diploma tics and all embassy and consulate personnel, and to use the full power of the United States to bring justice to any individual or entity that threatens, jeopardizes, or harms them.

Every man and woman working for the United States abroad deserves this commitment. And so many months after their deaths, John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde deserve this much at the very least. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2293, which would require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on efforts to bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who killed three Americans on October 15, 2003.

I would like to begin by expressing my heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of John Branchizio, Mark T. Parson, and John Marin Linde, Jr., and all United States citizens who have been victimized by the incessant Palestinian terrorist attacks.

These three brave Americans were murdered while accompanying United States diplomats who were going to interview young Palestinians for the opportunity to study in this great country on Fulbright scholarships, offering those youth a chance for a better life.

While I am sickened by this deplorable act, I am surprised that for far too long our State Department and the Palestinian Authority have done little to bring the murderers of these Americans to justice. These families and others who have lost loved ones should not have their grief compounded by the lack of justice from our own system.

The virtual impunity afforded the certain terrorists sends the wrong foreign policy signal, not only to the American people and our allies in the region, but to the terrorists themselves. Recently, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas established an emergency government in the West Bank, with an independent, Salem Fayyad as Prime Minister. Abbas and Fayyad have made statements opposing terrorism, violence and militia rule that pervades both the West Bank and Gaza. But they must follow up their words with actions.

Not only do Abbas and Fayyad need to crack down on terrorism and dismantle all militias within the West Bank, but they must locate, detain, and turn over to U.S. custody the murderers of John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde so that they can be charged and brought to justice in an American court. They cannot fulfill their responsibility for stopping terrorism in the future without taking action against those who have perpetrated terrorism in the past.

Madam Speaker, we have a great responsibility to those Americans who have lost their lives to Palestinian terror. Therefore, our government should consider conditioning any aid to the West Bank emergency government upon that government showing concrete actions in resolving this case. We must end the message that we as a country are fully committed in our resolve to investigate and prosecute the murder of innocent Americans abroad.

Again, I strongly condemn the attack on United States citizens by Palestinian terrorists and reiterate our demands that the administration do more to bring their killers to justice.

H.R. 2293 is a major step in the right direction, and I am proud to have cosponsored it. For their leadership in introducing this bill, I thank my good friends and colleagues, the chairman and the ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, Mr. Ackerman and Mr. Pence. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this critical legislation.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2293, which requires the Secretary of the State to submit to Congress a report on efforts to bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde. This bill requires the Secretary of State to submit a report-- classified, if necessary--within 30 days and every 120 days thereafter to the appropriate committees until the attackers have been brought to justice.

The bill also warns of potential restrictions on privileges extended to the Palestinian Authority by our government in the case of continued noncompliance, although I hope it will never come to that.

I commend my colleague Mr. Ackerman of New York for introducing this important measure. This resolution lends the full support of the United States Congress to bringing to justice the Palestinian terrorists who murdered three contractors providing security to American diplomatic personnel in Gaza on October 15, 2003. The Palestinian terrorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde have still not been brought to justice.

John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde were slain by terrorists who assaulted a clearly marked convoy of American diplomats. Ironically, the diplomats were on a mission to help the Palestinians by identifying Gazan candidates for the Fulbright exchange program.

In February 2005, Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, assured Secretary of State Rice that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. Further, senior Palestinian officials asserted that the Palestinian Authority knew the identities of the assailants. Yet inexplicably, these terrorists have not been named; they have not been questioned; and they have not been arrested, charged, prosecuted, and punished. No way is that justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.

It is imperative that the legitimate leaders of the Palestinian Authority show their willingness to confront the scourge of terrorism if they are to be considered a reliable partner for peace.

Madam Speaker, I strongly support this piece of legislation, and I ask that my colleagues do the same.