Medicaid Newborn Coverage Act of 2009

I would like to thank the gentlelady from Ohio, first of all, for her leadership in helping to share with our colleagues hour after hour enormously important issues facing not only the United States but facing the world. And I join her this evening.

And I was very appreciative of joining with my chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus, who I just saw at another meeting who was able to be here, Congressman Barbara Lee. I want to thank her for her leadership. The chairperson of my Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Chairman Donald Payne, who speaks volumes about Africa, and as well, chairs the Foreign Affairs Task Force, of which I am a member of the Congressional Black Caucus; and one of our great leaders as well, Congresswoman Gwen Moore. I know there were probably others that were here, and I did not get a chance to see them on the floor. But I do want to acknowledge that this is an important hour for us. And I am pleased to be able to join my colleague.

Let me just suggest that there are many ways that we can look at Liberia, Haiti, and Sudan. And it is my intent because I think we have talents here in the United States, Representatives of African nations, that, frankly, we don't get a chance to interact with as much as we would like. And I am going to accept the challenge given to me to host a meeting of African ambassadors that our colleagues will have a chance to sit down with and hear their story, their insight certainly on the issues that we're now raising, particularly Liberia and Sudan-- obviously Haiti is in the Caribbean, and I will speak to that issue.

But let me tell you why I want to offer that suggestion. And the reason is because I sat down with one of our distinguished ambassadors last week who mentioned that with all of the meetings on the economy, the worldwide crisis in the economy, interestingly enough, the Continent of Africa is not on the agenda.

We heard an eloquent speech by Prime Minister Brown, and all of us were moved by his passion and his values, the Prime Minister of Great Britain. And I am told that he is as eloquent and as energized before his own Parliament and in international meetings as he was with us in the joint session.

And we are very blessed, if you will, by having an administration that has the cultural nexus and the heart and the intellect to be concerned about these issues. President Obama has been received overwhelmingly, his election, on the continent. I think we are poised to be of a gigantic opportunity to do what Prime Minister Brown has charged us to do: Don't forget the impoverished. Don't forget the journey we were on trying to address the question of poverty. And that was a big issue as it relates to Africa.

Now, of course, the economy has come and there may be donor nations who have made pledges who have not completed their pledges, but Africa still has the same concerns and therefore, it will be very important to hear from these ambassadors on the issues that we're talking about, which I expect to talk about here tonight.

For example, our esteemed president of Liberia who came out of the World Bank and who has a great respect of not only women of this country, but certainly of our administration and our past administration. She came to Liberia after Charles Taylor in a country that was void of infrastructure, void of water, void of--when I say ``water resources,'' infrastructure that would have clean running water; void of infrastructure that would have utilities or any mode of, if you will, phone, utility service; void of operating school systems. So we know that she has made great strides, and I have details here.

But at the same time, we are well aware that she needs more resources. We have to have this on the agenda. We have to be able to partnership with the African Union, for example, strengthen it as the African Union attempts to develop its own mission and mandate on how it addresses the issue of conflict.

So I think if I said anything about Liberia, there are certainly two major points: one, the Liberian Americans, but Liberia and the new president, Mrs. Johnson, is someone who has the, if you will, the monetary knowledge because of her experience here in the United States and her training in some of the financial structures of our country, but, also, the will to do it.

We must not forget Liberia in its journey toward economic independence, but it is a microcosm of the needs of the continent.

I also want to thank the administration, President Obama, for heeding the cry of many Members who wrote a letter about Liberian Americans. I'm told by our chairperson, Chairperson Payne, Liberian Americans will be here in the Congress or on the West steps to highlight their plight of continued TPS status, deferred, if you

will, deportation that has been going on and on and on.

We have got to solve that. That is something we can look to as we reform immigration. Many times when we discuss immigration, people start thinking it's not their problem, it's a global problem, it's a problem that faces many different ethnic groups. And we all need to come together as a family and fix it so people can be here legally; they can pay taxes; they can, in essence, be separated from those who want to do them harm.

So I want to put Liberia in the eye of the storm as it relates to the economy, and the challenge that the ambassador gave me was why don't you consult with us who are here and let us tell you the economic impact on the continent, what we need to be involved.

The second is, of course, Sudan and I might have been one of the last CODELs, congressional delegations, of three that were able to actually get into Darfur, into the camps. And I had spent time in Chad as well some years back before I was able to get into Darfur. I've been denied--it's a very long story of how long it took, and I frankly didn't know whether I'd get in the time that I went since we were among those who got arrested in front of the Sudanese embassy.

But we went into those camps, and the key thing that I want to say to the distinguished gentlelady is how valuable the NGOs were. They were literally the lifeline of the camps. They were a lifeline of the children. They were the lifeline of the women. And the women were the anchor of the camps because any man that would venture out to try to be a supportive family member, to provide income, would be killed by the janjaweed, or whatever the conflicts, they were targets. And so, mostly, it would be the women. Tragically, the women would be raped, and so things are not well.

And the complete disregard that the leadership of Sudan, the President of Sudan, has for the indictment, for the world family, there is no respect there. And we have a challenge, and we have got to be able to match the will of this country and our foreign policy, our belief in democracy, our belief in the security of children and family and the ability to live on your land without threat and danger and murder and pillage, we've got to the match that with the will of the countries on the continent, the African countries, the heads of States.

This is a new day now. This is in essence an America that has a commonality, that people are not only interested and are sacrificing on behalf of Sudan and the crisis there, but likewise, we have an administration that accounts Susan Rice, who is the U.N. envoy who I worked with on the crisis between Ethiopa and Eritrea. She is a committed and knowledgeable person about the world but particularly about Africa, and I count on her wisdom. I count on the wisdom of the Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and I count on that foreign policy team, along with the envoy that our President has just selected, Major Scott Gration, that adds to the team that can now focus on Sudan but also focus on the continent of Africa.

I join in denouncing the treatment of our, if you will, NGOs. Just about a year or so ago, we lost a valiant State Department employee that was killed in Sudan, and I frankly have never gotten over it, and I offer my deepest respect and sympathy to his family. It was a horrific act.

And so it is important that we put our foot down on the atrocities that has occurred in Sudan, and people should understand, people are in Darfur because they have been moved off of their land. You can't help to rebuild this area, irrigate it, give people--these are farming people. Don't tell them, well, just go to the city and get another life, get a life. These people have lived on their land, and they have bothered no one. They've raised their families, and now they're being literally torn apart.

Southern Sudan, that tried to get on its feet, that has a lot of oil, it's still in conflict between the Khartoum government and Sudan. Southern Sudan, who has all the oil and cannot seem to get an agreement, to my current knowledge--and I may have need of some additional update to my current knowledge--has not been able to solve the distribution of the oil moneys, and so they're suffering. This is an immediate crisis that needs to be fixed.

As it relates to Haiti, let me again mention the work of the Congressional Black Caucus. We have been working on Haiti for, I don't know, as long as I've been here, but we have had wonderful conversations with President Preval who is a committed and dedicated leader, who is looking for funding for infrastructure, funding, if you will, to rebuild after the terrible onslaught of hurricanes that they had in the last year, 2008. He is looking to work with us and the Congressional Black Caucus in the appropriations process, and we're looking to work with him.

Haiti is a wonderful ally of the United States. We can never pay them for the blood that they shed standing alongside us in the Revolutionary War, and their victory was our victory. Our victory was their victory, and they're hardworking people. You can see that here in the United States, and you can see that obviously in Haiti.

And so what I think, as I close, that you selected hot spots that symbolize the need for us to be engaged, and as I said, finally with respect to immigration, Haiti, too, so many distraught cases of Haitians treated unfairly in the United States because they don't have the parity that happens when Cubans are fleeing persecution as is defined. Haitians have been fleeing persecution, economic persecution, political persecution, who are here and cannot return back. I want them to get parity, and any immigration bill that I have any hands on, it will be part of that bill.

And so I think it is extremely important, Mr. Speaker, that we look at these issues and be assured that we work on behalf of all of these people. It is our commitment to make their lives better by our statements here today on the floor, but also our collaboration to continue to work on the issues that impact people's lives and as well the quality of life. We need to save lives and we certainly need to save them.

I just want to put on the record that I am working with a Haitian teacher who has suffered so much. She teaches math. She's well- respected. She had a court order that said she was not going to be deported. It's a long story, but I simply want to let the Haitians in Houston know we have not forgotten her, and we want her to stay united with her family.

Thank you very much for your leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of Sudan, Liberia and Haiti. These are three of the most troubled nations in the world, desperately in need of support from other nations, including the United States.

sudan and darfur

I am pleased that President Obama has appointed a Special Envoy to Sudan. Major General Scott Gration is both a humanitarian and a professional soldier. He has proudly served our country but more importantly brings to this position the experience and gravitas necessary to lead our mission.

The United States has for most of our history been a leader among nations in attempting to help foment democracy and bring peace to warring parties in regions throughout the world.

Sudan's western region of Darfur has been embroiled in violent conflict since 2003, which has brought a weighty death toll and displaced over 2 million people. Just recently, Darfur rebels killed 200 people near the capitol city of Khartoum. With violence continuing to worsen in the region, I call on the international community to renew it's commitment to finding a solution to the conflict in Darfur.

In 2007, I had the chance to lead a Congressional Delegation to the region of Darfur to see the first hand devastation that has swept through the region.

As Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am very concerned about the displaced children who suffer due to the lack of nutrition and access to clean water. Additionally, child mortality remains a significant problem throughout the region. I am also concerned that the global food crisis could exacerbate the conflict, placing more children at risk.

We, as a Global community, must unite to address this issue. Let us not let race, religious ties, or bureaucratic systems hinder us from fight for the people of Darfur. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I will continue to work towards a solution for the ongoing conflict in Darfur. We must remain steadfast to gaining peace in the region.

Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over four years. During that time, at least 400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 million innocent civilians have been

forced to flee their homes and now live in displaced-persons camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad.

And more than 3.5 million men, women, and children are completely reliant on international aid for survival. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, and mass slaughter.

Since early 2003, Sudanese armed forces and Sudanese government- backed militia known as ``Janjaweed'' have been fighting two rebel groups in Darfur, the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The stated political aim of the rebels has been to compel the government of Sudan to address underdevelopment and the political marginalization of the region. In response, the Sudanese government's regular armed forces and the Janjaweed--largely composed of fighters of Arab nomadic background--have targeted civilian populations and ethnic groups from which the rebels primarily draw their support--the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.

The Bush Administration recognized these atrocities--carried out against civilians primarily by the government of Sudan and its allied Janjaweed militias--as genocide. Antonio Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has described the situation in Sudan and Chad as ``the largest and most complex humanitarian problem on the globe.''

The Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militias are responsible for the burning and destruction of hundreds of rural villages, the killing of tens of thousands of people and rape and assault of thousands of women and girls.

With much international pressure, the Darfur Peace Agreement was brokered in May 2006 between the government of Sudan and one faction of Darfur rebels. However, deadlines have been ignored and the violence has escalated, with in-fighting among the various rebel groups and factions dramatically increasing and adding a new layer of complexity to the conflict.

This violence has made it dangerous, if not impossible, for most of the millions of displaced persons to return to their homes. Humanitarian aid agencies face growing obstacles to bringing widespread relief. In August 2006, the UN's top humanitarian official Jan Egeland stated that the situation in Darfur is ``going from real bad to catastrophic.'' Indeed, the violence in Darfur rages on with government-backed militias still attacking civilian populations with impunity.

On July 30, 2004, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1556 demanding that the government of Sudan disarm the Janjaweed. This same demand is also an important part of the Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May of 2006.

On August 31, 2006, the Security Council took the further step of authorizing a strong UN peacekeeping force for Darfur by passing resolution 1706. Despite these actions, the Janjaweed are still active and free to commit the same genocidal crimes against civilians in Darfur with the aid of the Sudanese government.

International experts agree that the United Nations Security Council must deploy a peacekeeping force with a mandate to protect civilians immediately. Until it arrives, the under-funded and overwhelmed African Union monitoring mission must be bolstered. And governments and international institutions must provide and ensure access to sufficient humanitarian aid for those in need.

The Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act of 2006, H.R. 180, sponsored by my colleague Barbara Lee would require: The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Corporate Finance and the U.S. Treasury to require all companies listing securities on United States capital markets, either directly or through a parent or subsidiary company, including partly-owned subsidiaries, having business operations in a country with a genocide declared by the Department of State or Congress, to disclose the nature of their business operations.

The United States Government (federal) to prohibit contracts with multi-national business enterprises if: They maintain business relationships and investments with national, regional and local governments involved in genocide; and they participate in business activities with any warring parties or rebel groups perpetrating genocide. States and Cities that have divested or are in the process of divesting State and City funds from companies that conduct business in Sudan; and United States colleges and universities that have divested their funds from, or placed restrictions on investments of their funds in, companies that conduct business in Sudan.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the existence and extent of all Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board investments with national, regional and local governments involved in genocide; or business activities with any warring parties perpetrating genocide; or related to debt-obligations issued by the government of Sudan.

Also, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission is charged with maintaining and publishing a list of the names of the business enterprises identified by the Securities and Exchange Commission as having ties with perpetrators of genocide.

It also reasserts Section 11 of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (stripped from the Senate version) that nothing in that act or any other provision of law shall be construed to preempt any State law that prohibits investment of State funds, including State pension funds, in or relating to the Republic of the Sudan.

liberia

Mr. Speaker, A part of the world that has been neglected for many years is West Africa. And one of the gems of this region is Liberia. I am pleased that Liberia's temporary protective order was extended.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is the statutory embodiment of safe haven for those aliens who may not meet the legal definition of refugee but are nonetheless fleeing--or reluctant to return to--potentially dangerous situations.

There are numerous regions throughout the world where discrete and insular minorities might need this type of relief. TPS is blanket relief that may be granted under the following conditions: there is ongoing armed conflict posing serious threat to personal safety; a foreign state requests TPS because it temporarily cannot handle the return of nationals due to environmental disaster or there are extraordinary and temporary conditions in a foreign state that prevent aliens from returning, provided that granting TPS is consistent with U.S. national interests.

The Secretary of Homeland Security in consultation with the Secretary of State, can issue TPS for periods of 6 to 18 months and can extend these periods if conditions do not change in the designated country. To obtain TPS, eligible aliens report to U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), pay a processing fee, and receive registration documents and a work authorization. The major requirements for aliens seeking TPS are proof of eligibility. The regulation specifies grounds of inadmissibility that cannot be waived, including those relating to criminal convictions and the persecution of others.

The United States currently provides TPS or deferred enforced departure (DED) to over 300,000 foreign nationals from a total of seven countries: Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Somalia, and Sudan. Liberians have had relief from removal for the longest period, first receiving TPS in March 1991 following the outbreak of civil war. Liberians currently have DED until March 31, 2009, and has now been extended by the Obama Administration.

Liberia is Africa's oldest republic, but it became better known in the 1990s for its long-running, ruinous civil war and its role in a rebellion in neighboring Sierra Leone. By the late 1980s, arbitrary rule and economic collapse culminated in civil war when Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) rebels overran much of the countryside, entering the capital in 1990 and killing then President Samuel Doe. In 1995, a peace agreement was signed, leading to the election of Mr. Taylor as president. Another war began in 1999, escalated in 2000, and ended in 2003.

It pitted the forces of Charles Taylor, elected president in 1997 after Liberia's first civil war (1989-1997), against two armed anti- Taylor rebel groups. It also destabilized neighboring states, which accepted Liberian refugees and, in some cases, hosted anti-Taylor forces and became targets of the Taylor regime.

In 2003, Mr. Taylor--under international pressure to quit and hemmed in by rebels--stepped down and went into exile in Nigeria.

A transitional government headed by Chairman Gyude Bryant steered the country towards elections in 2005. Around 250,000 people were killed in Liberia's civil war, and many thousands more fled the fighting. The conflict left the country in economic ruin and overrun with illegal weapons. 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers were deployed to help in stabilizing the country.

Liberia held elections in October 2005, with a presidential runoff in November, a key step in a peace-building process following its second civil war in a decade. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, an economist, won the presidential runoff vote, with 59.4 percent of votes cast and took office in mid-January 2006, becoming the first female president of an African country.

Most observers viewed the vote as orderly, free and fair. It fulfilled a key goal of an August 2003 peace accord that had ended the second civil war and led to an ongoing, U.S.-aided post-war transition process, which is bolstered by the multifaceted peacekeeping and development-focused U.N. Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

Liberia's security situation is stable but subject to periodic volatility. Liberia's economy and state structures remain devastated by war. Humanitarian conditions are improving.

Liberia receives extensive U.S. post-war reconstruction and security sector reform assistance. In March 2006, former President Taylor was arrested in Nigeria and transferred to the U.S.-supported Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) to face war crimes charges. He was later transferred to The Hague, the Netherlands, where he is on trial by the

Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus, the CBC, is proud to anchor this hour. Currently the CBC is chaired by the Honorable Barbara Lee from the Ninth Congressional District of California. My name is Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, and I represent the 11th Congressional District of Ohio.

CBC members are advocates for families nationally and internationally. We have played a significant role as local and regional activists. We continue to work diligently to be the conscience of the Congress. But understanding that all politics are local, we provide dedicated and focused service to the citizens and congressional districts we serve. The vision of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus, to promote the public welfare through legislation designed to meet the needs of millions of neglected citizens, continues to be a focal point for the legislative work and political activities of the Congressional Black Caucus today.

As Members of Congress, CBC members also promote legislation to aid neglected citizens throughout the world. We understand that the United States, as a bellwether, has the ability to positively impact our neighbors abroad.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to our chairwoman, the Honorable Barbara Lee.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I would very much like to thank our Chair for her leadership, for her vision, and certainly for her support of this special hour for the CBC.

Mr. Speaker, I would now like to yield to the gentlelady from Maryland (Ms. Edwards).

I want to thank my colleague for her very moving remarks and because she is here and even though she doesn't feel well, because it is such a very important issue. So I want to thank her.

Mr. Speaker, I would now yield to the gentlelady from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Thank you very much.

Mr. Speaker, I would very much like to thank my friend and colleague, the gentlelady from Wisconsin, for her passion and for her insight.

At this time, I would now like to yield to the gentleman from New Jersey who, indeed, is the dean of the CBC as it relates to matters of Foreign Affairs, especially those in Africa.

Mr. Payne.

Mr. Speaker, I would very much again like to thank our teacher, our dean, our resident expert for his remarks this evening.

And now, Mr. Speaker, I would yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the United States is a leader in advocating for human rights and humanitarian assistance. These ideals are embodied in the desire to assist and guide others that have lost hope.

At the United Nations World Summit in 2005, 191 members of the UN expressed support for the idea of a responsibility to protect. This responsibility to protect proclaims that mass atrocities that occur in one country are the concern of all countries. This echoes the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, declaration that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

With Dr. King's words in our hearts, I rise today to speak about the grave tragedies affecting individuals in Darfur and the temporary protective status, better known as TPS, for individuals from Liberia and Haiti.

I begin with the humanitarian emergency that is taking place in Darfur.

The history of the information in the Darfur region of Sudan is long and complicated. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for decades. The conflict took a turn for the worst in 2003 when the Sudanese government mobilized militias known as Janjaweeds to attack opposition groups. The militia has brutalized the people of Darfur with murder, rape, torture, and pillage. They have burned down entire villages forcing people to flee their homes and their livelihoods. Entire portions of the region are now ruled by roving bands of armed gunmen.

Since 2003, 300,000 Darfuris have died as a result of a conflict, and approximately 2.7 million have been forced from their homes.

The conflict in Darfur is also having a devastating effect on its western neighbor, Chad. Nearly 200,000 refugees from Sudan have joined the 90,000 persons displaced by the civil war in Chad. To further complicate matters, both Chad and Sudan have accused each other of supporting rebellions in their countries. Last week, however, the situation in Darfur took a grave turn for the worse.

Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, expelled 13 nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, and 6,500 aid workers from the country. This was in direct retaliation for Bashir's indictment on war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, better known as the ICC, on March 4, 2009. Bashir's unsubstantiated accusation that the NGOs were cooperating with the ICC investigation only heightens the urgency and necessity for an international response.

The civilian population is composed of two million people who are spread out among 200 refugee camps in Darfur, and in 12 refugee camps in eastern Chad. The UN estimates that 40 percent of Darfuris depend on outside assistance for their survival. This expulsion of humanitarian groups, such as Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders, will adversely affect millions of civilians who rely on NGOs for their most basic food and medical needs. Who will continue to provide these urgent services, Mr. Speaker?

The Sudanese government has clearly demonstrated that it is unwilling or unable to assist its citizens throughout this very conflict. The expulsion of the NGOs is only the most recent act that endangers millions of lives. This is why the international community must unite and forcefully declare that Sudan's government not hold its citizens hostage.

Last week, I and nearly 80 Members of this Congress sent letters to the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, the chairman of the African Union and the President of China urging them to insist that the government of Sudan allow humanitarian organizations to re-enter the country.

President Bashir must separate the ICC action from the charity relief efforts of relief groups. The expulsion violates international humanitarian law and damages efforts to resolve the conflict. Without the NGOs, more than one million Darfuris will be left vulnerable to disease and starvation. These are civilians, Mr. Speaker. They are caught in the cross hairs of a conflict they did not begin and they have no power to end.

By sacrificing his people for political gain, President Bashir has shown a call as disregard for human life that the international community cannot ignore. President Bashir must reverse the expulsion order and allow NGOs back into Sudan. The people of Darfur have suffered enough. To compound their anguish at this critical time is unconscionable.

I applaud President Obama's appointment of a special envoy to Sudan. President Obama named retired Air Force General Scott Gration last week as a special envoy to Sudan, choosing a close adviser with broad experience in the region. The President has indicated that the conflict in Darfur is a priority for his administration. The CBC is encouraged by the administration's stance, and we look forward to working with the President and the Special Envoy Gration.

At this time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to my colleague from the State of Texas, the gentlewoman from the State of Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague because she always does bring great focus and great insight, and I thank you so much.

Mr. Speaker, I will close with a few comments.

Mr. Speaker, the suffering of the people of Haiti and Liberia are pressing issues. The United States has more options available in dealing with Haitians and Liberians. It is time for the United States to exert that control and extending temporary protected status, or TPS, for individuals from Haiti and stand by our TPS for Liberians.

As a signatory to the United Nations protocol relating to the status of refugees, the United States has agreed that it will not return an individual to a country where his life or freedom would be threatened. U.S. immigration law employs TPS designations to address this very issue. TPS protects individuals from being deported to a country where that person would be threatened on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular group, or political opinion.

TPS is also sought by those aiming to flee extreme poverty, depravation, violence, and the dislocation brought on by famines or natural disasters in their home countries.

Mr. Speaker, I think that it is time for this country to understand the significance of helping those who cannot help themselves.

I began this hour talk about a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, and I will close with the same one, that injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.

Mr. Speaker, I just ask that this Congress and the Members who are hearing this or who will read this at some other point do make themselves aware of the plight of the people who we spoke about today.

Well, thank you so much, Congresswoman Fudge, for sponsoring this hour. I think it is extremely important to educate our constituencies to a greater extent than we are somehow able to do in 1 minute or even in the heat of a debate.

Mr. Speaker, I am so delighted again to join these distinguished colleagues, the Chair of this special hour, Congresswoman Fudge, as well as our Dean, I guess, of foreign affairs in the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Payne. And certainly, I would like to associate myself with the comments of our dear Representative from Maryland. I would like to associate myself with her remarks because I also want to talk about Liberia, but I want to talk about it from the perspective of protecting the investments that we have made in Liberia.

Liberia's relationship to the United States is certainly longstanding. Liberia was settled in the early 1800s by freeborn Blacks and former slaves from the United States of America. These settlers used the Constitution of the United States as the model for their new government. They designed a flag with red and white stripes with a single white star. And, of course, in 1824, the settlement was named Monrovia, after the American President James Monroe, and Monrovia remains the capital of the modern-day Liberia.

I can tell you that, unfortunately, because of arbitrary rule, economic collapse, corrupt governments, Liberia fell into two devastating civil wars in the span of a little more than a decade, as well as a legacy of a ruthless and reckless leader in Charles Taylor, who nearly destroyed the country, created regional instability, drawing in Sierra Leone, another country, and really creating an insecure situation. The most egregious of those things, in my mind, Congresswoman Fudge, was the engagement of child warriors, children warriors in this fight.

During that fighting, Liberians suffered immensely. Over a quarter of a

million lives were lost, and more than half of all of Liberia's 3.5 million people were driven from their homes, including those who found safe haven in our country to escape the violence.

I have visited Liberia a couple of times and heard some of the stories of people, women who were crossing the roads, pregnant and found themselves killed on the road right there for their food. I saw, looked into the vacant eyes of some of the child combatants that they are trying to rehabilitate in the country.

And so I was really pleased when late, late last week, our President, Barack Obama, given all of the challenges that he has, stopped to allow Liberians, who took refuge in our country from the civil war in their home nation to receive deferred enforced departure protection for 12 more months. The President's recent order is so important because Liberians who have been granted either this temporary protected status, TPS, or deferred enforcement departure, DED, are allowed to remain in the U.S. rather than be forced to return to a country in the midst of war.

And let us not think for one moment, Congresswoman Fudge, that this country is not still at war. And they are still at war because, despite the sage leadership of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, she is taking tremendous steps to overcome the ravages of war. She is basically having to start from scratch from the destruction that was caused by these two wars. She is been busy trying to rebuild the nation's education and health care system, oversee the de-activization and reintegration of the old security forces and ex-combatants. I mean, they need a new police service. Who do you trust and who don't you trust?

And this is a very excruciating process which the United States, of course, thank God, is helping them to do.

They have got to decommission these ex-combatants and help restore its shattered economy in the midst of the worst global recession in decades. Because of the extensive damage done by Charles Taylor and the conflict, things that we take for granted, such as roads, police to protect residents, courts to convict criminals, a basic economy, and confidence people have in its government have all got to be rebuilt. This is not a time to send President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf another whole slew of people to provide educational opportunities for jobs. It is shocking to go to Liberia. It is the poorest day I have ever had in my life, Congresswoman Fudge. I have never lived in a community that did not have a library, and I went to Liberia, a place where they do not even have a library in major parts of Liberia.

The challenges are many. Again, they lack health care, education; they suffer from an unemployment rate of 80 percent--yes, eight-zero-- 80 percent, lingering cultural and social effects from the legacy of war, and again, the haunting eyes of those child soldiers who have got to be reintegrated into society after experiencing or committing serious crimes. Seventy-six percent of Liberians in 2006 lived on less than $1 per day. Fifty-two percent live on less than 50 cents per day. One hundred fifty-seven infants per 1,000 die before their first birthdays. Over 1,000 mothers die per 100,000 live births.

Most Liberians do not have access to safe drinking water. I was there in Liberia, and I had a bottle of water. Kids came up to me, fighting over the bottle of water, and I was very reluctant to give these children a bottle of water that I had drank from. Someone said to me, ``Ma'am, that is the cleanest water that they will ever have, perhaps, in their entire lives that is in that bottle.'' These are the conditions that they are living under. Electricity is sporadically available. The list goes on and on and on, and this is only an hour that we have here, Madam Chair.

One tool that the President does have, though, is the economic support flowing into her country from Liberians here in our country, some because of the special protections granted to them by TPS and DED. With the Liberian economy struggling and a global economic recession not making things any easier, money being sent to a country from relatives living in the U.S. is a veritable lifeline.

According to the Liberian government, remittances from the U.S. totaled $60 million in 2007, providing essential support. According to the International Monetary Fund, Liberia's two civil wars have reduced Liberia's real gross domestic product to about 40 percent of its prewar level between 1989 and 2003. There is no magic wand available to President Johnson-Sirleaf to restore 60 percent of GDP overnight. Again, it would be extremely egregious for us to return citizens to that country without the prerequisite infrastructure. She has also, I hope, the steadfast support of this Congress and of this administration to Liberia and its people.

A couple of years ago, she was right here in this Chamber, and addressed a joint session of Congress, an honor thrust upon this inspiring leader because of the historic connection and special relationship between our two countries. In that address, she said, ``The Liberian people are counting on me and my administration to create the conditions that will guarantee the realization of their dreams. We must not betray their trust. All the children I meet, when I ask what they want most, say, `I want to learn.' `I want to go to school.' `I want an education.' We must not betray their trust.''

The transition from conflict to peace is never quick nor easy. Madam Chair, I am afraid for the future of Liberia if we do not provide them with adequate support. I am going to amend my remarks and submit them for the Record.

In closing, I just want to commend President Obama for his welcomed step. He shares the strong belief that there is a beautiful democracy budding in Liberia, and I congratulate President Obama for his strong expression of support for our Liberia. The good thing about it is that this Nation is just rich with natural resources and that we now have a leader with credibility in President Johnson-Sirleaf. She is so decent as well as being brilliant. This can help create tremendous wealth for its people. It now has this capable leader for its vision, and the diamonds and minerals and its port can all lead to great prosperity, and we should be proud to be their great friend.

With that, I yield back my time to you. Thank you again for your stewardship over this hour.

Thank you very much, Representative Fudge. Let me commend you for taking the leadership for this hour on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus. We certainly have appreciated your experience as a former mayor and as a person involved in politics in the State of Ohio and how you have come in, not as a trainee, but fully running. We know of the untimely death of your predecessor, Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, but we certainly appreciate your taking up the mantle and moving forward.

I would just like to speak briefly on several of the countries that we have mentioned.

We have just heard the gentlelady from Wisconsin talk about Haiti, and I might just mention briefly that Haiti has had a long and difficult history, highlighted by prolonged poverty, political instability and underdevelopment, resulting in a politically fragile state with the lowest standards of living in the entire western hemisphere. With the assistance of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and large amounts of international aid, Haiti has been attempting to establish a foundation for longer economic development. Security issues have presented the primary risk to stability while restoring economic growth, investment, employment, and access to basic services have been the major and equally formidable challenges to sustainable development.

President Preval, since assuming his second nonconsecutive term in office in May of 2006, has emphasized the importance of rebuilding democracy, rebuilding Democratic institutions and of establishing conditions for private investment, which is key to the development of any country to create jobs.

The success of his government will depend largely on its ability to improve security and social economics.

The condition in the country: 76 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. These are conditions that make it very difficult. Security conditions have improved, but Haitians have seen their already substandard living conditions deteriorate further with the rise in global food prices and in the recent devastation by a series of hurricanes.

When people say, ``Why Haiti? Why should we be concerned?'' number 1, they are very close to our shores. Number 2, there has been a history of United States' involvement in Haiti. As a matter of fact, in the Battle of Savannah, when we fought for independence of the United States of America from Britain, Haiti sent soldiers over to fight in the Battle of Savannah. As a matter of fact, recently--and I visited last year--the statue that has been dedicated to Haitian soldiers who fought for the independence of the United States' 13 original colonies away from Great Britain.

Also, as we know, Haiti became the first revolt of enslaved people to defeat the colonists, and that sent a message throughout Central and South America. As you know, Haiti in 1804 defeated the forces of the great Napoleon's army, and as a result of this 12-year war between France and Haiti, France was defeated. There is great wealth that France would get from Haiti, which actually was more than all the 13 colonies of the United States provided for Britain. The one portion of the island of Espanol, of which Haiti is half of it and the other half is the Dominican Republic, gave more wealth to France. So, when France lost Haiti, it lost economics, and as a result, the Louisiana Purchase came about.

As you may know, at that time, the United States was landlocked. The United States only went to the Mississippi River, and it was the land that was owned by France. Because France after the long war with Haiti needed cash--it was land rich and cash poor--it sold the Louisiana Territory for, I think, about $15 million and, therefore, opened up the West. The Lewis and Clark expedition started in St. Louis as a result of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. So Haiti has had a tremendous impact on the United States of America.

Finally, about Haiti, part of the erosion which we see was spurred along in World War II. With the U.S. being cut off from the Pacific region, there was a need for rubber to be grown and produced. There was a Haitian grower who said that it was going to be impossible for rubber trees to grow in Haiti. However, the Haitian leadership wanted to help in the war effort and wanted to placate President Roosevelt, and so they cut down natural kinds of ecology, and tried to introduce rubber trees, which would not grow, which was already known by Haitian farmers, but they did it anyway. As a result, erosion started. This was one of the areas that, with the natural habitat taken down and the foreign intervention of other plants, Haiti's erosion also began.

So I just would like to say that we need to take a look at the status of Haitians in America. We need to change that situation so that people who have come to this country will definitely have an opportunity to become full-fledged citizens of our country.

Let me just quickly talk about the Liberians who we have heard about, another country. We just heard our previous speaker talk about the fact that there was Deferred Enforcement Departure status which expired on March 31 of 2009 for Liberians as a result of the war with Charles Taylor. People got TPS, Temporary Protective Status, from Liberia. Then when that ran out, they had the Deferred Enforcement Departure, and we have gotten word that we believe that Liberians will be able to have a 1-year extension of the DED, from words that I received from President Obama's office.

Let me just say that, once again, in 1820, $100,000 was funded by the U.S. Congress that went to help start Liberia. As you know, Monrovia was named after President Monroe, and many free black men and women went to Haiti. As a matter of fact, there was an integrated group of blacks and whites that went back originally, but the whites all died, and were unable to survive. Only the blacks survived.

And so we have had a long relationship with Haiti and with Liberia, and we should, certainly, with the 3,600 people who are in the DED current status, I hope that within the next year--and there will be a rally on Wednesday at 1:30 here at the west terrace at the Capitol that will allow Liberian leaders to come and show their appreciation for the extension, and we urge anyone who is free on Wednesday of this week at 1:30 to come and participate in the rally.

Finally, we've heard about Darfur. I was pleased that we were able to get the genocide resolution through, but I did expect more to happen from the world, and I have been disappointed.

I went to eastern Chad, and I spoke to an elderly woman who talked about what happened in her town: a pregnant woman was bayonetted there, a neighbor was shot. Even in huts they would lock, tie the door together and burn the huts and the boys would be burned to death, all of this by al-Bashir, the president who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court and should stand for trial.

As has been mentioned, there's been a long, north-south battle between the NIF government, the National Islamic Front, and the SPLA, the Sudanese Freedom--South Sudanese Liberation Movement, the late Dr. Garang, for 21 years. Four million people have been displaced, two million people have died.

And 21 days after Dr. Garang was able to get the comprehensive peace accord signed, his plane mysteriously crashed and Dr. Garang was killed

I immediately went there and participated in the mourning and attended the funeral of him. His wife and children--Rebecca, his wife, is very strong and continues to move forward on the question of South Sudan, the comprehensive peace agreement must be upheld and Darfur, the International Criminal Court, should go forward with the prosecution of al-Bashir. He has put out 13 nongovernmental organizations who are feeding people and are bringing in food and so forth. This must not stand, and he must be stopped.

We could talk about the Congo, but I will yield back the balance of the time so our chairperson of tonight's special order may be able to conclude in any manner that she sees fit. But let me once again thank you for taking this hour, and we still have much to do. The CBC, the conscience of the Congress, will continue to move forward, not only domestically, but internationally.

Thank you very much. And let me thank the gentlelady for yielding and also for your leadership. Once again, thanks to you, we are here talking about the many, many issues which face our country, but also many of the issues which the Congressional Black Caucus is very involved in leading. And oftentimes the public really isn't aware of these issues and exactly what we are doing. So thank you again, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, for your leadership and for staying the course.

As Chair of the CBC, I'm very proud to point out that we are privileged to draw upon the wisdom and expertise of one of our many colleagues on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congressman Don Payne of New Jersey. Congressman Payne I must say is more than a member. Of course, he is the Chair of the Africa and Global Health Subcommittee, but he is our resident expert on Africa. And Congressman Payne I always say is a Member of Congress who not only understands what our foreign policy should be towards the continent of Africa, but he also understands that Africa deserves parity in our overall foreign policy and oftentimes is in the midst of bringing peaceful solutions to conflicts when others won't go there in many, many dangerous and treacherous situations. He also is on the CBC International Affairs Task Force. And I just want to commend Congressman Payne tonight. Thank you for your sacrifices and for your leadership.

We are also represented on the Foreign Affairs Committee by Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York, Congresswoman Diane Watson of California, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas and Congressman David Scott of Georgia.

I would like to briefly talk tonight about Darfur and Sudan. I mentioned Mr. Payne earlier, and let me just say that he was the lone voice in the wilderness for many years saying that we should declare that genocide is taking place in Darfur, because that is exactly what did take place.

He finally brought bipartisan consensus to that, the policy of designating this as genocide, and it took a lot. But the country, our country, has in place, as its foreign policy, that genocide is taking place in Darfur. But it is also important to recognize that we haven't been able to go the next step to really help to end the genocide.

The people of Sudan, they have a desire for a just and lasting peace, but it has been crushed repeatedly by one of the most brutal regimes in the world. More than 2 million South Sudanese have died in the 21-year war and have suffered countless atrocities, mostly committed by the same regime in Khartoum.

Darfurian children, born at the height of the genocide, are now 6 years old, and many of them are still in displaced camps in Darfur or in Eastern Chad as refugees.

Fifteen years ago in Rwanda, the international community turned a blind eye with a million civilians butchered. Have we really done more in the case of Darfur, in South Sudan in Abyei and in Nuba? We declared genocide in 2004, but we haven't acted decisively to stop it. If we had, we could have saved many, many innocent people.

And I have visited Darfur on three occasions, and I have just seen the conditions in the camps deteriorate over the years. And so, now it is very important, given what has just taken place, for the United States to raise its role and elevate our work as it relates to trying to help the world community understand that we have got to do the right thing. We need to support the International Criminal Court in its efforts to hold Sudan President Bashir accountable for his crimes against humanity, and for the President, and we support the President, our President, in appointing a Special Envoy for Sudan. Congressman Payne and myself wrote to President Obama, and we are delighted that he has appointed an Ambassador or a Special Envoy to be empowered, and we want him to have the resources to focus on Sudan as a whole with special attention to the ongoing genocide in Darfur. We want full implementation of the CPA and to address the humanitarian crisis because, now as General Bashir has expelled the humanitarian workers, we have an even worse crisis emerging on the humanitarian front.

And so our new Special Envoy is Major General Gration. He will be the Special Envoy, and he is uniquely qualified. Some of us met him in Darfur, and we know that he is very qualified to undertake these critically important efforts. As the President said, and I quote, he said that ``he knows the region, he has broad experience and has my complete confidence.''

Let me also say that we have to work very closely with the Special Envoy. And again, we want the Special Envoy to have a team of people with the resources to be able to do this job so he can bring peace to the long-suffering people of the Sudan.

Also, in conclusion, let me just highlight the fact that the CBC has led for many, many years in developing our global HIV/AIDS initiatives and the U.S. response to that.

We were instrumental, last year in taking--and can you believe this, Congresswoman Fudge, Nelson Mandela and the ANC was on the terrorist watch list until last December. So we were able to get him off of the terrorist watch list before his 90th birthday.

We have established June as Caribbean American Heritage Month, honoring those of Caribbean descent who have contributed immensely to this great country.

We are working now on the Shirley Chisholm Caribbean Education Exchange Program, and trying to make sure that our country, Haiti, the poorest country in this hemisphere, receives the type of attention and resources it deserves to help stabilize the country. Hurricanes, natural disasters, poverty, health care needs are badly needed in Haiti, and the CBC has been working very hard to try to help stabilize that country.

I won't go on and on now, but I just wanted to thank Congresswoman Fudge because the CBC, again, is continuing to be the conscience of the Congress, not only in our domestic policy, but in our foreign policy, and each and every Member understands that we have to think globally and act locally, and we try to work strategically on both the home front and the international front.

Thank you very much, Congresswoman Fudge.