Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding provocative and dangerous statements and actions taken by the Government of the Russian Federation that undermine the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I missed a number of votes on May 6th and 7th as I was attending the funeral service for a soldier who was from my Congressional District and was killed in Baghdad, Iraq while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On Rollcall vote No. 249, H.R. 3658--a bill to amend the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to permit rest and recuperation travel to United States territories for members of the Foreign Service. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall vote No. 251, H. Con. Res. 317--a Condemning the Burmese regime's undemocratic draft constitution and scheduled referendum.. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall vote No. 252, Table Motion to Reconsider--H. Con. Res. 317--a Condemning the Burmese regime's undemocratic draft constitution and scheduled referendum.. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall vote No. 25, H. Con. Res. 1109--Honoring the memory of Dith Pran by remembering his life's work and continuing to acknowledge and remember the victims of genocides that have taken place around the globe. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall vote No. 252, Table Motion to Reconsider H. Con. Res. 1109--Honoring the memory of Dith Pran by remembering his life's work and continuing to acknowledge and remember the victims of genocides that have taken place around the globe. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 255, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 256, S. 2929 to temporarily extend the programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 257, Table Motion to Reconsider--S. 2929 To temporarily extend the programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 258, On Motion to Instruct Conferees--Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 259, Table Motion to Reconsider--Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 260, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 261, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 262, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 263, H. Res. 1168--Congratulating charter schools and their students, parents, teachers, and administrators across the United States for their ongoing contributions to education, and for other purposes. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 264, table Motion to Reconsider--H. Res. 1168-- Congratulating charter schools and their students, parents, teachers, and administrators across the United States for their ongoing contributions to education, and for other purposes. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 265, H. Res. 1155--Honoring the recipients of the El Dorado Promise scholarship. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 266, Table Motion to Reconsider--H. Res. 1155-- Honoring the recipients of the El Dorado Promise scholarship. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 267, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 268, On Approving the Journal. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 269, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding provocative and dangerous statements and actions taken by the Government of the Russian Federation that undermine the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 270. Table Motion to Reconsider--H. Res. 1166-- Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding provocative and dangerous statements and actions taken by the Government of the Russian Federation that undermine the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 271, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present. I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 272, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 273. On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 274, H. Res. 1113--Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 275, Table Motion to Reconsider--H. Res. 1113-- Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 276. On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 277, H.R. 5937--To facilitate the preservation of certain affordable housing dwelling units. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 278, Table Motion to Reconsider--H.R. 5937--To facilitate the preservation of certain affordable housing dwelling units. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 279, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 280, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 281, H. Res. 1175--Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to H.R. 3221. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 282, Table Motion to Reconsider--H. Res. 1175-- Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to H.R. 3221. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 283, H. Res. 1175--Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to H.R. 3221. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 284, Table Motion to Reconsider--H. Res. 1175-- Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to H.R. 3221. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 285, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present. I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 286, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On Rollcall No. 287, On Ordering the Previous Question H. Res. 1174-- Providing for consideration of the bill. H.R. 5818, to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make loans to States to acquire foreclosed housing and to make grants to States for related costs. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 288, Table Motion to Reconsider--H. Res. 1174-- Providing for consideration of the bill, H.R. 5818, to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make loans to States to acquire foreclosed housing and to make grants to States for related costs. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 289, H. Res. 1174--Providing for consideration of the bill, H.R. 5818, to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make loans to States to acquire foreclosed housing and to make grants to States for related costs. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 290, Table Motion to Reconsider--H. Res. 1174-- Providing for consideration of the bill H. Res. 1174--Providing for consideration of the bill, H.R. 5818, to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make loans to States to acquire foreclosed housing and to make grants to States for related costs. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Rollcall No. 291, On Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1166) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding provocative and dangerous statements and actions taken by the Government of the Russian Federation that undermine the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia.

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

Mr. Speaker, I also rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I am pleased to support this resolution that adds the House's voice to the chorus of condemnation from the administration and our European allies to the provocative actions taken in recent weeks by the Russian Federation against the Republic of Georgia.

I commend my distinguished colleague, Representative Wexler of Florida and chairman of the European Subcommittee, for promptly introducing this important resolution.

For several years, the Russian Government has promulgated policies that have increasingly sought to undermine the sovereignty of the Georgian Government and its territorial integrity over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Such harmful policies include awarding residents in these regions with Russian citizenship, Russian passports, and even the right to vote in Russian elections.

In addition, the Kremlin has assigned Russian officials to hold positions in the separatist governments in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It has also provided military equipment and volunteer fighters to support militias active in these regions. Such behavior is counterproductive to efforts to find a peaceful resolution to these conflicts and contrary to Russia's commitments to international peacekeeping.

Irritated by international recognition of Kosovo's independence despite its objections and incensed by Georgia's clear future in NATO, Russia escalated its dangerous actions towards Georgia in the weeks leading up to and immediately following NATO's Bucharest Summit. On March 6, Russia withdrew from the sanctions regime imposed on Abkhazia in 1996 by the Commonwealth of Independent States thereby eliminating the remaining limits on direct Russian economic relations with Abkhazia.

On March 21, the Russian Duma passed a nonbinding declaration asking the government to consider the ``expediency of recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.'' On March 25, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's incoming president, spoke out against NATO membership for Georgia. During the NATO Summit, Russian President Putin sent letters to the separatist leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to express his support for their regimes.

As outlined in this resolution, President Putin instructed his government on April 16 to establish official ties with these separatist regimes. He further ordered his government to recognize legal documents issued by these authorities as well as legal entities registered by them. The tension reached its climax on April 20 when an unarmed and unmanned Russian reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over Georgian territory, reportedly by a Russian MIG-29 fighter. Despite Russian claims of innocence, neither the Georgians nor the Abkhazian rebels have this plane in their fleet.

Last week Russia further strained relations by moving an extra contingent of troops into Abkhazia. The Kremlin claims to be responding to a Georgia military buildup along the border, which the Tbilisi Government denies. Although Russia's troop level remains within the 3,000 soldier limit allowed under the 1994 U.N. ceasefire agreement, NATO has backed Russia's assertion that any increase must be approved by all parties.

Such hostile actions are in stark contrast to the recent attempts made by Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, to find a peaceful and lasting solution to this conflict in the Caucasus. As he rightly stated, ``There are no issues that we and the Abkhazians cannot solve through negotiations.''

On March 28 and April 12, President Saakashvili introduced new proposals to facilitate a resolution to the conflict. They included international guarantees of Abkhaz autonomy, broad political representation for the Abkhaz, the right to veto legislation related to the constitutional status of Abkhazia as well as its language and culture, and the establishment of a joint Free Economic Zone in the Gali region. President Putin has turned a deaf ear to these suggestions.

I ask my colleagues to join me in calling on the Russian Federation to revoke immediately its decision to establish official ties with these regions and to support the territorial integrity of Georgia's borders.

Rather than engaging in provocative acts, President Putin should respond favorably to President Saakashvili's call for active involvement by the Russian Federation as well as the international community to forge a peaceful and lasting solution to this conflict.

Furthermore, NATO should uphold its Summit promise to Georgia of a future in the Alliance by considering the extension of a Membership Action Plan at its December meeting. This act would welcome the country into the Euro-Atlantic community and could serve as a deterrent to further Russian aggression. I strongly support this resolution and urge my colleagues to join me.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Schwartz).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I believe that there was a time when we could honestly hope that Russia was playing a fair and supportive role with regard to the resolution of the separatist conflicts in the Republic of Georgia. Unfortunately, our optimism in that regard is almost exhausted. It now appears obvious that Russia seeks to play a destabilizing role in Georgia, with the goal of undermining Georgia's political and economic development and, ultimately, its own sovereignty.

Over several years Russia has reportedly supported the separatist forces

with arms and trained personnel. It has applied boycotts on Georgian goods and shut off energy supplies to Georgia. It has broadly granted Russian citizenship and issued Russian passports to people living in Georgia's separatist regions. It has provided economic subsidies to the separatist regions and granted residents of those regions the right to vote in Russian elections. Its so-called ``peacekeeping'' forces in the separatist regions appeared to have played a biased role in favor, of course, of the separatist regime. More recently, on April 16, the Kremlin issued a decree further expanding its ``official'' ties with the separatist regions.

Most objective observers would affirm that the Georgian Government has tried to be fair and open-minded in its efforts to negotiate a settlement in the separatist conflicts. One has to wonder, however, if sporadic and mysterious incidents involving small-scale attacks on Georgian territory and forces are meant to provoke the Georgian Government.

One such incident occurred on April 20. An unmanned and unarmed Georgian reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over Georgian territory, reportedly by a Russian MIG-29 fighter. Since neither Georgia nor the separatist regimes have MIG-29 jets among their forces, it seems difficult for Russia to deny its involvement.

Mr. Speaker, the Georgian people have made tremendous progress since the ``Rose Revolution'' of 2003. Georgia is not a perfect democracy, but it's heading in the right direction. It certainly compares very well with the trends in Russia, where a totalitarian regime is steadily being constructed once again.

Georgia deserves the support and encouragement of leading states of Europe and the support of the United States. Democracy and reform in Georgia will only succeed if the European Union, the leading states of Europe, and the United States remain engaged and strongly support it.

The resolution calls for the Kremlin to immediately revoke its decision to expand ``official ties'' with the separatist regions in Georgia. The resolution expresses strong support for the restoration of the territorial integrity of Georgia and for the peaceful resolution of conflicts within Georgia's borders. It also restates the declaration made by the NATO heads of state at the recent summit in Bucharest, Romania, in which they confidently stated their belief that the Republic of Georgia will become a member of NATO some day. And it urges NATO allies to favorably consider Georgia's application for admission in the Membership Action Plan, or MAP, during the NATO Ministers meeting this December, MAP being a program to simply help interested applicants for membership and prepare them to meet the standards required of all NATO allies.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution is intended to support the sovereignty of Georgia and support an end to any irresponsible actions by the Russian Government that undermine its sovereignty and the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the separatist conflicts in that country.

I note again as well that nothing stated in this resolution with regard to NATO and Georgia's interest in membership in that alliance is any different from what was stated at the recent NATO summit.

I support this resolution and urge all my colleagues to do the same as well.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 1166. The international community has affirmed the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia many times, and Georgia has sought in good faith a peaceful resolution of the conflicts with its regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian Government has made generous proposals regarding internationally guaranteed autonomy, political representation, and the constitutional status of the regions.

I am deeply concerned that the Government of Russia has not responded with equal good faith. It has consistently undermined Georgian sovereignty over these regions, for example, by giving people in these regions Russian citizenship, passports, voting rights, and even economic subsidies. The Russian Government has provided leaders, volunteers, and arms to separatist movements in these regions, and threatened to establish ``official ties'' with the Abkhazian and South Ossetian regions. According to reliable reports, the Russian Government has shot down unmanned drones over Georgian territory. It is outrageous for one state to undertake such hostile actions against a neighbor.

Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt that the Secretary of State did the right thing when she recently committed the United States to Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and that the House will reaffirm American support for Georgia and condemn the Russian Government's unjust and destabilizing actions. Over and over again, we have seen how there are always people who are quick to make excuses for the Russian Government's unjust actions toward the small nations on its border--or toward the Russian people themselves. In the communist era, and since 1991, there have always been people who argued that, if we will just look the other way, allowing the Russian Government to do as it likes in some ``sphere of influence,'' the Russian Government will respond by becoming become kinder, gentler, and more peaceful.

The historical record belies this argument. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, President Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Father Gleb Yakunin, the refuseniks in Russia in the 1970s and 1980s, the brave and beleaguered Russian human rights movement today--these people spoke the truth to and about the Russian Government. They have done more to promote peace and justice in the former Soviet Union than all those who argued for silence and compromise. Mr. Speaker, I am glad that this House is today choosing their road. What the Russian Government is doing to undermine Georgia is wrong, it is outrageous, and it must stop.

Mr. Speaker, as the co-Chair of the Congressional Georgia Caucus, I rise in support of House Resolution 1166 and to express my strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia.

On April 16, 2008, the Russian Government declared that it would establish legal and official ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt by Russia to extend these regions, which are part of the sovereign nation of Georgia. This action was denounced by the international community, including the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, better known as NATO to all of us. Nonetheless, Russia remained unfazed by international opinion and further escalated tensions in the region just 4 days later by shooting down a Georgian unmanned aerial drone over Georgian territory.

Georgia is one of the strongest allies in the Caucasus region, and it is important for the United States to continue to stand by our allies. I spoke with President Saakashvili on Thursday, and he's very concerned about the situation and, as was mentioned by previous speakers, has offered a number of peace proposals. But he very much appreciates the statements that were made in support of Georgia by our State Department and is grateful for this resolution and the strong bipartisan support it demonstrates from Congress.

Since speaking with the President last week, the situation has become even more difficult for Georgia. The Russian Federation continues to move troops into Abkhazia, and yesterday we heard reports of possibly two more Georgian aircraft being shot down.

Considering our close relationship with Georgia, it is appropriate that the House of Representatives join the international institutions that have condemned Russia's actions and called for a peaceful resolution to the current tensions in the region. This resolution is supported by the chairman and ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, who were original cosponsors of the resolution. And it was introduced by Representative Wexler, the chairman of the Europe Subcommittee.

I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution and appreciate its bipartisan nature.