Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange Act of 2009

Let me thank Congresswoman Barbara Lee, our chairperson, who raised the red flag and who let out the siren and gathered us together, and I want to respond to what she just said about the earthquake.

It rocks you in your soul; 7.0 on the Richter scale is hair-raising. I would also argue that it puts your hair on fire. I still have a sense that I am trembling because it's unimaginable. As you have just indicated, we look to California, and we get very nervous about our friends and family who are there when we hear of a 2, of a 3 or of a 4. I recall in the northern California area when there was an earthquake that impacted the baseball game and the baseball stadium, and it was all over the news. It was not a 7.0.

So I would just simply say that we rise here with all solemnness. We are not speechless, but we are trembling for those who are now in the eye of devastation.

I, too, rise to thank the Congressional Black Caucus, of which I am a member, to thank all of those who have been in meetings, as we have been throughout this morning and yesterday, and on a conference call that occurred. Work is going on as we speak and the concern that we have for those who we have been able to see only through, to a certain extent, still pictures, though I know many of our cable networks in particular have been making their way there, and other networks, to be able to deliver the devastation to us.

I express my appreciation to the President of the United States, who moved swiftly. There was no hesitation on the commitment that President Barack Obama had. In fact, he quickly offered his prayers, but he acknowledged the devastation, making note of the fact that he had seen collapsed hospitals, crumbled homes, men and women carrying their injured neighbors to the streets. He acknowledged that it was truly heart-wrenching, sufficient to make you tremble. So, moving swiftly, he directed his administration to coordinate in an aggressive manner to save lives.

The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent efforts to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian relief--the food, the water, and the medicine--the Haitians will need. He has authorized that USAID and the Departments of State and Defense work closely together, and he has mobilized large numbers of individuals, including our military efforts.

I also want to take note that the Secretary of Homeland Security has indicated that our resources, including the United States Coast Guard and FEMA, will be there, which we have jurisdiction over--my committee has jurisdiction over--and Chairman Thompson will be intimately involved in pushing the efforts of making sure that FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard are there.

Google ``7.0'' and get a sense of how deeply devastating that is and that it hit one of the most populated areas, Port-au-Prince. It damaged buildings extensively. We saw the palace collapse, not riddled by bullet holes, but literally collapse. How fortunate we can say we were, the fact that this came at 6 o'clock when we understand that many of the workers in the palace and the government were already gone, but we know that government officials may have lost their lives. It is said that many of the United Nations personnel and peacekeeping troops have lost their lives, and so we can't put this at a level of seriousness by just our voices and our words.

Let me thank the U.S. Southern Command that is deploying a team of 30 people to Haiti to support U.S. relief efforts in the aftermath of yesterday's devastating earthquake. Let me also mention that the team will include U.S. military engineers, operational planners, a command- and-control group, and communications specialists. They will arrive in Haiti on two C-130 Hercules aircraft. For those who don't know or who can't imagine, those are huge, boat-like aircraft which can carry an enormous amount of equipment.

Chairman Lee, I think one of the important issues that I am very concerned about and would like to get a report on is how many aircraft--let me just use the right terminology--large ships can carry heavy equipment. We know in the war zones that there are large aircraft that can carry heavy equipment, and the equipment I am thinking of in particular would be the Earth-moving machines, the machines that can assist in finding the loss.

As we understand, many are still living or are still trying to live who are in the crushed buildings. Time is of the essence. It is imperative because of the crush injuries that can kill. Even if they are alive, the fact that some parts of their bodies are crushed, whether it is a leg or an arm, can cut off circulation, and they can die. Some of the large equipment is so very important, and I would like to get a report on how fast that equipment can move.

We do understand that a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter already evacuated four critically injured U.S. Embassy staff to the naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, hospital for further treatment. Elements of the U.S. Air Force First Special Operations Wing are deploying today to the international airport of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to provide air traffic control capability and airfield operations.

That is very important, which will allow Members of Congress--and might I thank Congresswoman Lee in working with the Congressional Black Caucus. I would like to push for a codel on Friday, but I realize the difficulty of moving Members during a time of great uncertainty. So I encourage, as you have already dictated, that the CBC have a codel, and I know there are many members who are looking to do that and who would do that at the appropriate time. I want everyone to realize that the Congressional Black Caucus is leading on this, and we are attempting to get to Haiti as quickly as we can, making sure that the operations of rescue go forward first.

A U.S. Navy P-3 Orion aircraft from the forwarding operational location at El Salvador took off early this morning to conduct an aerial reconnaissance of the area affected by the earthquake, and the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Benson, is under way and is expected to arrive off the coast of Haiti. I might imagine that they will be bringing in what is necessary in the heavy equipment. Many countries around the world are also coming, and I do believe it is crucial that we acknowledge that.

The Red Cross is receiving dollars. The White House has a Web site, Madam Chair, which I would like to recite if I could find it.

I will be happy to yield.

Yes, that's one of them.

There was a WhiteHouse.gov, and that is an excellent one to use if I find it. Then of course I would like to state the number for American family members who are trying to find their family in Haiti, and that number is (888) 407-4747.

What I would like to conclude on is to give comfort to Haitians who are here and to ensure that they can reach out to the offices of their Members of Congress. I'll give my number, which is (202) 225-3816, for constituents in my area, but it is important to note that all Members of Congress and the Congressional Black Caucus members will all be going home to their districts, meeting with the Haitian Americans in their constituencies. In particular, I will be meeting with Haitian American constituents, and I am calling for a weekend of prayer that will culminate on your days of worship, that you will offer up a weekend of prayer for the people of Haiti, for their families and, of course, for the Haitian Americans who are now here struggling to help their loved ones.

It is also important for Haitian Americans and for others to note that the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security have put a hold on any deportations. Let me say this because that always raises hairs, but we in the Congressional Black Caucus have been in the forefront for acknowledging that, really, the deportations of Haitians have really fallen upon the backs of hardworking Haitians who came here, by and large, simply to work and to achieve opportunities. They came alongside of the Cubans, but did not have the same status. We have not found danger in the Haitian community. In fact, a story that appeared in the Houston Chronicle is of a Haitian American whom I helped. She was a schoolteacher with two children and a husband, and she is being switched off.

I am glad that she is now in the midst, Chairwoman Lee, of the Haitian relief effort in Houston.

So we have been advocating, and the Trans Africa Forum has advocated for TPS status, but I think it's important to note that we have gotten the quickest response and that that response is that the deportations of Haitians--and I want to repeat it again--are now on hold as ordered by the President of the United States and the Secretary of Homeland Security. I can't imagine any Member of Congress is going to rise to his feet to challenge that humanitarian act by this government, and I am very proud of them.

I do want to take note of the fact as well that I am very pleased that Major Washington has been detailed to my office, and his firsthand knowledge has already been helpful. One of the things that, I think, we should emphasize in the immediate hours, tragically, is to secure units from the military which are able to set up temporary morgues. We hate to say that, but we understand that that is what we are going to face, and let me tell you why.

In listening to the leadership in Haiti, Haiti's Prime Minister Jean- Max Bellerive told CNN that he believes there are well over 100,000 dead. We don't know that, but these are government officials who have said that number, and a leading Senator estimated the number as possibly as high as 500,000. Again, we don't have an affirmation of these numbers, but these are leaders who are on the ground, and I believe it is very important.

Eight American employees working at the Embassy were injured; three were medevaced. We believe there are three U.S. citizens who have died, currently reported by the individual.

I think I started out by saying the Houston Rotary Club, downtown Rotary Club has a delegation in Haiti as of yesterday, and we are working to ensure their return.

Let me say thank you for the U.S. Embassy. The building, we understand, is intact. We thank those workers there. We encourage them as they are helping to be part of the solution. We are encouraging them as we work with them for those constituents of ours that are still there that we will be looking for.

I hope that the long journey of recovery will be a bipartisan effort. I am thankful that the Congressional Black Caucus, meeting with their constituents as we go home, will be able to be the harvesters of information and bring back information that can be very helpful.

The Congresswoman, Congresswoman Lee, mentioned a number. I want to cite the American Red Cross, who is also accepting public donations to support the Haitian response, to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which is used to respond to disasters such as the Haitian earthquake. The American Red Cross made an initial contribution of $1 million from these funds for relief activities within hours of the earthquake, and they are prepared to send relief supplies for 5,000 families from their warehouse in Panama. The United Nations is releasing $10 million from its emergency fund.

And as I close, let me just cite very quickly the Irish telecommunication company is helping. European Commission has approved 3 million euros. Spain has committed dollars in euros. Netherlands has committed 2 million euros. Germany committed 2 million euros. China will donate 1 million. Sweden, 6 million kronor, $850,000.

Venezuela has sent doctors, firefighters, and rescue workers. Mexico will send doctors, search and rescue dogs. France is sending two planes. Britain has sent 64 firefighters.

And, by the way, that is a component that we believe does not exist, firefighters. My plea to our brave firefighters across America, I believe we should facilitate your going, if you desire. And I certainly will look forward to reaching out to my firefighters in Houston for opportunities.

Taiwan, Israel, and of course the United States State Department is in full force, which we hope they will be coordinating all this.

Lastly, I know that Cuba will be sending doctors. They have been especially supportive in crises, and I am in advance thanking them for their medical team.

Congresswoman Lee, Chairwoman Lee, I am touched by this devastation in ways that cannot be expressed, as all of us are, and the reason is because we work with Haitian Americans in our constituency. We have been to Haiti. We have watched it get on its feet. We have visited political prisoners in its jails. We have now been grateful for a new day in Haiti.

And I also want to thank former President Bill Clinton, who has been appointed by the President some many months ago to help chart the recovery for Haiti. We have got a whole new task now, but we are up to the task. And what we will say is, my brothers and sisters, have faith. Never give up the faith, for in this time of need you will find that the human community will rally toward you and they will be your wind beneath your wings. They will be your Good Samaritan. They will be your brother. They will be your sister. And as a good songwriter often said and many of us like to sing, just lean on me. Just lean on me, and we will make a difference.

Thank you, Madam Chair, for your leadership and that of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, there are certain facts, I would like to discuss:

earthquake

A massive, 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti near the capital of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, January 12th. The damage to buildings is extensive and the number of injured or dead is estimated to be in the hundreds, even thousands.

Several eyewitnesses reported heavy damage and bodies in the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where concrete-block homes line steep hillsides. There was no immediate estimate of the dead and wounded on Tuesday evening.

Haiti sits on a large fault that has caused catastrophic quakes in the past, but this one was described as among the most powerful to hit the region. With many poor residents living in tin-roof shacks that sit precariously on steep ravines and with much of the construction in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in the country of questionable quality, the expectation was that the quake caused major damage to buildings and significant loss of life.

The dimensions of the disaster are still unfolding, Haiti's Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told CNN that he believes there are well over 100,000 dead, and leading senator Youri Latortue estimated the number at possibly as high as 500,000, according the Associated Press.

u.s. death toll

Eight American employees working at the Embassy were injured; 3 were medivaced. There are 3 U.S. citizens deaths currently reported but toll expected to rise.

u.s. aide response

President Obama vows immediate response and aid.

The State Department, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Coast Guard, USAID--has worked overnight to ensure that critical resources are positioned to support the response and recovery effort, including efforts to find and assist American citizens in Haiti.

U.S. Southern Command will deploy a team of 30 people to Haiti to support U.S. relief efforts in the aftermath of yesterday's devastating earthquake.

The team includes U.S. military engineers, operational planners, and a command and control group and communication specialists, will arrive in Haiti today on two C-130 Hercules aircraft.

The team will work with U.S. Embassy personnel as well as Haitian, United Nations and international officials to assess the situation and facilitate follow on U.S. military support.

The American Red Cross is accepting public donations to support the Haitian response through the American Red Cross International Response Fund--which is used to respond to disasters such as the Haiti earthquake. The American Red Cross made an initial contribution of 1 million dollars from these funds for relief activities within hours of the earthquake and we are prepared to send relief supplies for 5,000 families from our warehouse in Panama.

international aide response

The United Nations is releasing $10 million from its emergency funds.

Irish telecommunications company Digicel said it would donate $5 million to aid agencies and help repair the damaged phone network.

European Commission has approved C3 million ($4.37 million) with more funds likely.

Spain has pledged C3 million ($4.37 million), and sent three planes with rescue teams and 100 tons of emergency relief equipment.

Netherlands has donated C2 million ($2.91 million) and will send a 60-person search-and-rescue team.

Germany gave C1.5 million ($2.17 million) and sent an immediate response team. Another team with 20 rescue dogs is on standby.

China will donate $1 million.

Sweden has offered 6 million kronor ($850,000) along with tents, water purification equipment and medical aid.

Venezuela has sent doctors, firefighters and rescue workers.

Mexico will send doctors, search-and-rescue dogs and infrastructure damage experts.

France is sending two planes with doctors, food and medical equipment.

Britain has sent 64 firefighters with search-and-rescue dogs and 10 tons of equipment.

Iceland is sending 37 search-and-rescue specialists.

Taiwan is flying in 23 rescue personnel and 2 tons of aid and equipment.

Israel is sending an elite army rescue unit including engineers, rescue workers, doctors and medics.

The U.S. State Department Operations Center set up the following number for Americans seeking information about relatives in Haiti: (888) 407-4747. The department cautioned that because of heavy volume, some callers may hear a recording. The State Department said those interested in helping immediately may text `HAITI' to `90999' and a donation of $10 will be made automatically to the Red Cross for relief efforts. The donation will be charged to your cell phone bill. The department also suggested contacting agencies such as the Red Cross or Mercy Corps to help with relief efforts.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 522 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida, my good friend, Mr. Diaz-Balart.

All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only.

General Leave

I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 522.

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

H. Res. 522 provides for consideration of H.R. 1886, the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2009, and H.R. 2410, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011. Both bills are debatable for 1 hour each, equally divided and controlled by the Chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The rule on H.R. 1886 self-executes as a manager's amendment to resolve jurisdictional concerns in the bill and legislation providing for Afghanistan-Pakistan security and prosperity enhancement. It also makes in order an amendment in the nature of a substitute authored by Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen, which is debatable for 30 minutes.

The rule for H.R. 2410 makes in order 27 amendments listed in the Rules Committee report. Each amendment is debatable for 10 minutes, except the manager's amendment, which is debatable for 20 minutes. The rule includes a motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Mr. Speaker, the United States is faced with many challenges on the world stage. It is critical that Congress put forth the necessary funding to help rebuild our diplomatic capabilities abroad and mitigate the damage that was done under the previous administration's leadership.

H.R. 2410, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011, is the first foreign relations-related authorization bill to reflect essential democratic priorities since 1993. As such, it provides a new direction forward and vital resources to boost our diplomatic capacity, improve our relations around the world, protect our national security, and make use of America's smart power, rather than rely on the military only solutions of past Congresses and the previous administration.

H.R. 2410 and H.R. 1866, the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2009, together, set forth a progressive foreign affairs agenda that emphasizes diplomatic, economic and social efforts at change, not just the use of military force.

For years the Department of State has been denied critical resources to

fulfill its core diplomatic missions in furthering our global interests and protecting our national security. In neglecting diplomacy, we have missed opportunities to prevent and mitigate conflicts around the world.

Our diplomatic activities are woefully underfunded, undermanned, and underutilized. We must rebuild our diplomatic capacity to meet the needs of our increasingly complex global relations. Diplomatic, economic and social assistance is a much wiser and less expensive investment than war. Rather than relying on either hard power or soft power, we must, instead, emphasize smart power.

Promoting democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the development of civil society is a matter of leadership requiring us to think beyond unilateral military solutions and to, instead, embrace a much more comprehensive approach to our relations with the international community. This rule enables us to consider legislation to do just that.

The first legislation on this rule, the Foreign Relations Act, advances crucial and laudable programs. The Department of State is authorized to hire more than 1,500 Foreign Service officers, ensuring that our overseas posts will be staffed with eager and knowledgeable workers committed to promoting American culture, values, and policies.

Critical multilateral assistance is authorized to fund our obligations to international organizations, including the United Nations and global peacekeeping operations. This effort demonstrates the United States' commitment to working with our friends and allies as a true partner in peace and cooperation.

I'm particularly pleased with the increased funding authorization for the Peace Corps, enabling a dramatic expansion in the number of volunteers and countries served. Peace Corps volunteers exemplify our national commitment to improving the world, devoting their lives to helping the world's poorest people build communities and lift themselves out of poverty. As one of our Nation's most treasured and effective international programs, we must ensure that it attracts top quality volunteers and can reach into the farthest corners of the world.

Improvements in refugee and migration assistance are a critical part of this legislation. The United States has a long history of commitment to humanitarian issues, and this bill authorizes the funds necessary to improve resources and programs to effectively help families reunite and resettle.

I fully support section 235, relating to Iraqi refugees, whom the United States has a special obligation to help. There are more than 4.7 million Iraqis currently displaced within their own country and in neighboring states. Sadly, however, this situation has not improved much. And yet the principal reason, I believe, that this crisis has not received the attention that it should is because Iraqis are not living in refugee camps. Instead, they are a mobile population scattered throughout the region. This fact alone has made this humanitarian crisis virtually invisible to the international community. However, for those Iraqis who remain stranded, jobless, and deprived of essential services, with conditions worsening by the day, this deepening crisis only threatens to further destabilize the entire region. Section 235 of this legislation is an important step towards fulfilling our obligation to assist the Iraqi people recover from years of war and conflict.

If a picture is really worth 1,000 words, then all one must do is look into the face of the Iraqi refugee, as I have, who has had a family member murdered, kidnapped or tortured, and their own life threatened, to know that the United States must respond. I'm, therefore, grateful that my language, introduced in legislation, was included in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, this rule also includes H.R. 1886, the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enforcement Act. This legislation takes our Pakistan policy in a new direction, affirming the United States' commitment to a sustained partnership with Pakistan.

Since 2001, the United States has provided over $12 billion to Pakistan, without specific goals or objectives. Frankly, the situation has only gotten worse since that time.

By providing over $6 billion in 4 years in democratic, economic and social development assistance, this bill demonstrates our determination to help Pakistan build a stable, democratic and prosperous future.

This funding will provide critical resources for Pakistan to address the fundamental needs of its citizens.

Through the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capabilities Fund, the United States is also committed to helping Pakistan combat terrorism and the Taliban insurgency. At the same time, mindful of the past history of neglecting oversight, this legislation provides a range of transparency, evaluation, and accountability standards to ensure that our money and efforts are being applied effectively and efficiently.

Mr. Speaker, as I am concerned about the situation of Iraqi refugees, I am also concerned about the situation of Pakistan's refugees. According to news reports, more than 3 million people in Pakistan's northwest region have been uprooted due to ongoing fighting. Like the Iraqi refugee crisis, the Pakistan refugee problem, if not handled properly, could become a ticking timebomb with ramifications far beyond what we can conceive today.

It is imperative that the mistakes of the previous administration with regard to Iraq are not made again. I am pleased that the United States has recently committed $200 million on top of a previous commitment of $110 million, but we must not think that this is the end of our responsibility. The United States must seize this opportunity and implement a comprehensive plan to address this growing humanitarian crisis.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good rule that paves the way to considering essential legislation to put our foreign policy on the right path towards improving our relations around the world. I urge adoption of the rule and passage of the underlying legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased at this time to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California, my good friend, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Berman.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), my colleague and a good member of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Berman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Klein), my colleague and fellow Floridian.

Mr. Speaker, how much time do both of us have?

I would inquire of my friend if he has any additional speakers.

Then I would reserve at this time and would allow that you go forward.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I'm prepared to close.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good rule that paves the way to improving our relations around the world.

As I listened to the ranking member, my good friend on the Rules Committee, I thought that he was going to support the rule because he's so impressed with the work that was put forward in this bill that covers developing democracies, which he has been such a tremendous champion of over a period of time.

I'll yield for 5 seconds.

Reclaiming my time, clearly it covers what you like, and I'm delighted. After years of neglect, now is the time to inject the critical resources that will enable the Department of State and other foreign policy agencies to carry out their important work of rebuilding lasting partnerships with our friends and allies.

The underlying bills include important provisions to fulfill our obligations to the United Nations, to peace-keeping efforts, to humanitarian aid and refugee assistance, and to building effective counterterrorism and arms control policy, and yes, to do everything in our power to avoid unwanted pregnancies in the first place. These bills are a great leap forward.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and the rule.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question.

The previous question was ordered.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), for the time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

First I would like to say a word about the session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, OAS, held last week. It was an embarrassment. Fidel Castro in Cuba wants the U.S. to apologize to him for having kept the U.S. market and its millions of tourists and billions of dollars in financing from him and for having denied him full diplomatic recognition for decades.

He also wants the international community to kneel before him and apologize, which is what the OAS did last week. Fidel Castro has been recruiting advocates, spies, defenders, cronies, and servants for years. The ideological and psychological fascination and dependency that Hugo Chavez has on Fidel Castro has allowed Castro to utilize Chavez's billions of petro dollars to purchase many important defenders. It is part of the public record that a suitcase of Chavez cash heading to Mrs. Kirchner in Argentina was recently intercepted by authorities before reaching its intended destination.

Castro has purchased advocates and spies through the years via the always-present threat of blackmail after trips to totalitarian Cuba, where the regime tapes visitors in compromising situations, as confirmed by Interior Ministry defector Roberto Hernandez del Llano and Cuban counterintelligence defector Major Roberto Ortega.

Castro also serves as a banker for illicit money possessed by those who seek to avoid detection by the anti-laundering mechanisms set up by the international community. It matters not if the money's source is political corruption or narcotrafficking.

Through his mastery of the semantic of anti-American Marxism- Leninism, he has also conned others into being his spies. No other state sponsor of terrorism--no other state, in fact--has had more spies arrested and convicted in the United States in the last decades as Fidel Castro's dictatorship.

Let us remember Ana Montes, one of the top analysts at the Defense Intelligence Agency who was arrested in 2001 and subsequently convicted of espionage in Federal court and whose treason led to the deaths of many, including U.S. Special Forces Sergeant

Gregory Fronius. And just last week, Walter and Gwendolyn Myers, a long-term State Department official and his wife with access to classified documents, were arrested for spying for their beloved hero, the Cuban tyrant.

Hugo Chavez's absolute dependency on Fidel Castro for every major decision, even for his phrases and gestures in international forums, is unprecedented. While the Soviet Union used to send Castro economic aid and also orders and instructions, Chavez sends Castro billions of dollars and receives orders from him.

What the world witnessed, first at the April Summit of the Americas and then at last week's meeting of the OAS, was a culmination of years of preparation in the purchase and cultivation of advocates and defenders by Fidel Castro. Castro's defenders know full well that chapter II, article 3d of the Charter of the Organization of American States requires the existence of representative democracy in all of the countries of our hemisphere and that the Inter-American Democratic Charter of 2001 carefully spells out the collective steps to be taken when an American republic's democracy is even threatened. They know that Cuba, under Castro, was the only country in our hemisphere where free elections have not been held in over 50 years and where dungeons are full of nonviolent political prisoners who are subjected to hell on Earth each day of their lives. They know that under Castro Cuba is a personal island-estate, a ranch, a personal landholding or homestead, a totalitarian fiefdom owned by one man with a brother who enjoys the title of head of State and carefully carries out his brother's orders.

At the OAS meeting of last week, we witnessed an example of the Obama administration's diplomatic incompetence and its appeasement of the enemies of the United States. The administration went along and agreed to violate the OAS Charter and the OAS Inter-American Democratic Charter in an action that constituted a grotesque and unmerited betrayal of the oppressed people of Cuba.

The Obama administration says that the OAS resolution was a great victory because even though paragraph 1 of the ``resolved'' clause unilaterally lifted the exclusion of the Cuban military dictatorship, in paragraph 2, the dictatorship was allowed to initiate a process of dialogue to reenter the OAS in accordance with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS. In other words, in the first sentence, the OAS ripped up and threw in the garbage can the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS, including its charter and the Inter-American Democratic Charter. And then in the next sentence, it invited the Cuban military dictatorship back in in accordance with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS. Some victory. I mention this in the context of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act because the American taxpayer should not be paying for almost 60 percent of the putrid embarrassment which is the OAS.

I recognize that on funding international organizations, the administration will get its way, just like the Bush administration would get its way whenever someone in the OAS would propose ending the exclusion of the Cuban military dictatorship and the administration would simply say, That's a nonstarter. But here is the heart of the issue with regard to U.S.-Cuba policy: The U.S. Congress must continue to condition access by the Cuban regime to the billions of dollars in U.S. tourism and massive investment in trade financing to the liberation of all political prisoners, without exceptions; the legalization of all political parties, without exceptions, labor unions and the press; and the scheduling of multiparty elections. That is critical leverage for a democratic transition to take place in Cuba when Fidel Castro dies, for he is the ultimate source of absolute personal totalitarian power in that enslaved island, like a modern day Caligula or Nero, and that moment is approaching.

We must keep in mind the effect of unilateral concessions such as last week's shameful OAS action on Fidel Castro. How does he react to such unilateral concessions? The repression is more intense than ever; the brutality, more savage than ever. The alliance with Chavez, the Iranian dictatorship, the Syrian regime, Middle Eastern terrorists, and with the North Korean dictatorship is closer than ever. That is what must be kept in mind about unilateral concessions to the Cuban military dictatorship.

Now, specifically with regard to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, earlier in the year Secretary Clinton testified before the House Foreign Relations Committee that she had challenged the State Department to reform and innovate and save taxpayer dollars. I found the Secretary's statement to be quite appropriate. Unfortunately, the majority has decided to ignore that challenge and instead today has brought forth legislation that authorizes increased spending by 35 percent without increased transparency, accountability, and efficiency.

This legislation will also increase U.S. taxpayer funding authorized for the United Nations by nearly one-third without requiring the United Nations to undertake necessary reforms to improve efficiency and stop blatant corruption.

While failing to place accountability standards in this bill, the majority decided to include provisions in the Pakistan Assistance Act-- which is also being brought to the floor with this one rule--that will micromanage U.S. policy toward Pakistan. In a letter to the Armed Services Committee, Secretary of Defense Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mullen wrote that ``the degree of conditionality and limitations on security assistance to Pakistan'' in the legislation ``severely constrains the flexibility necessary for the executive branch and the Department of Defense given the fluid and dynamic environment that exists in Pakistan.''

This rule bringing forth two pieces of legislation limits the number of amendments that the House will be allowed to debate. Out of the 85 amendments submitted to the Rules Committee, the majority decided to make 27 amendments in order. I understand that the majority has a responsibility to move legislation and manage the time on the floor, but if we look at the amendments the majority made in order, they do not fully address the scope and range of issues of concern to House Members. For example, amendments that would prohibit funds from being used by the State Department to encourage U.S. courts to dismiss claims brought against European insurance companies to recover compensation from Holocaust-era insurance policies, or, for example, to re-list the North Korean tyranny as a state sponsor of terrorism were prohibited from being debated.

I don't understand why the majority blocks a debate on such important amendments. I don't know if they're afraid of debate or protecting the Members from tough votes or afraid of the democratic process, or all of the above.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the point made by the distinguished chairman as to the strings on the military aid to Pakistan, I hope and expect that that will be engaged in during the debate with the ranking member, who very clearly in the Rules Committee pointed out that the strings are still excessive.

I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Lee).

Yes.

Thank you.

I yield 2 minutes again to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

Mr. Speaker, I would inquire how much time remains.

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Broun).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of our time to the ranking member, Mr. Dreier.

(Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

As Chair of the 42-member Congressional Black Caucus, let me first begin by saying that our thoughts and our prayers go out to the people of Haiti and the Haitian-American community, those Americans and others in Haiti affected by this devastating earthquake.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are continuing to monitor the situation in Haiti, and are committed to providing whatever emergency humanitarian assistance is needed. The Congressional Black Caucus has a long history of working with the Haitian people and the Haitian-American community on a variety of issues. We share a close and long-standing relationship. Many members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including myself, have visited Haiti many, many times.

Since learning of the devastating earthquake yesterday, my staff and I have been in contact with the State Department and other officials to assess the situation on a regular basis. Congressman Donald Payne of New Jersey chairs the International Affairs Task Force of the Congressional Black Caucus, and has held several meetings today to coordinate our legislative and humanitarian assistance efforts. The CBC is working to help to ensure that the United States can and will continue to do everything it can to provide emergency humanitarian assistance. The President has quickly deployed all available assets and resources to respond to this emergency.

Over the last several years, Haiti has experienced an extraordinary set of challenges, from high food prices and food shortages, to natural disasters. Haiti will need increased attention and resources from the international community to help it recover during this very difficult time.

United Nations reports say thousands of people may have died in this earthquake. At least 100 people are believed to be buried in the rubble of the United Nations headquarters building in Port-au-Prince. The head of the United Nations Mission is among the missing. Search and rescue teams have been sent to Haiti from several countries. A United States military official says tentative plans are underway for the hospital ship USNS Comfort to dock off the coast of Haiti to assist with sick and wounded. We are asking the global community to help us with these efforts.

In response to the earthquake in Haiti, the U.S. Agency for International Development is dispatching a disaster assistance response team, and has activated its partners the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team and the Los Angeles County Search and Rescue Team. Now, more than ever, Haiti needs our help.

Haiti is the poorest, least developed country in the Western Hemisphere, with an average per capita income of $500 per year. But the Haitian people are resilient and proud people. The country ranks 146 out of 177, lower than Bangladesh and even the Sudan on the United Nations Human International Development Index. And also one in eight children will die before the age of five. That is one in eight.

Over the last 2 years, Haiti has been devastated by a triple blow of rising food and energy prices, the succession of hurricanes and tropical storms, and the global economic downturn. In May of 2008, the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan, and I, led a Congressional delegation to Haiti to examine the conditions on the ground. We were joined then by 10 members of the Congressional Black Caucus and one member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Later that month, the House passed an emergency supplemental that included funding for international food aid, and also other food security initiatives. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, we worked to ensure that Haiti's needs were addressed in the context of the global food crisis.

Thanks in large part to the leadership of many members in the Congressional Black Caucus, in September 2008 President Bush signed H.R. 2638 into law, which amended the Department of Homeland Security Act to include 100 million in additional disaster relief to the Caribbean, of which 96 million was appropriated to Haiti. During Haiti's time of need then Congress stepped up to lend support. And of course we expect no less this time around.

As we deliver urgent and immediate support to the people of Haiti and all of those who have been affected by this earthquake, we must also identify long-term solutions to Haiti's problems. Haiti's food shortages, severe deforestation, poor sanitation, lack of family planning and health care services, high unemployment and underdevelopment, and also the lack of an agricultural sector, these issues, these problems cannot be solved by emergency assistance alone. And so that is why, working with Chairman Engel, many of us are working on my bill, H.R. 417, which is called the Next Steps for Haiti Act of 2009.

This bill would provide technical expertise and build human capacity to help Haiti address its own problems. Many Haitian Americans living in the United States have technical expertise in areas such as agriculture, education, health care, and infrastructure and would like to return to Haiti to assist their people. My bill creates a mechanism to transfer this knowledge in order to meet the needs and the goals of Haiti.

Beyond that, we need to ensure that we find innovative ways to build human capacities, such as educational exchanges, programs such as I have proposed and other Members in H.R. 416, the Shirley Chisholm U.S.- Caribbean Educational Exchange Act.

Now more than ever Haiti needs the support of its neighbor to the north. Even as we deal with our own problems during these tough economic times, we must not turn a blind eye to the untold human suffering just off our shores. Today, we express our continued support for Haiti. We stand in solidarity with the Haitians and the Haitian Americans who have lost loved ones, with the United States citizens still trapped on the island. We stand in solidarity with the rescue workers who have devoted their time and their treasure to help people they do not know. We stand hand in hand with them today and renew our continued support.

Our thoughts and our prayers go out to the Haitian people and to all of those who have been affected during this very trying time. We are asking everyone in our country to help in this assistance with the Haiti effort. Of

course individuals can go online, USAID.gov, for more information. The administration is urging cash donations. There are many, many efforts taking place by our administration in this immediate emergency response in terms of a search-and-rescue effort at this moment.

Thank you again for giving us the opportunity to speak tonight. I would like now to turn the floor over to Congresswoman Donna Christensen from the Virgin Islands, who has led on many efforts as it relates to the Caribbean, who knows Haiti very, very well, who knows what natural disasters mean in terms of the dislocation and the tragic deaths that occur and what we have to do as a country to help respond to such a tragedy of this magnitude.

Thank you, Congresswoman Christensen.

Thank you very much, Congresswoman Christensen.

Now I would like to yield to the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus' International Affairs Task Force, Congressman Don Payne, who also chairs the Africa and Global Health Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman Payne today has been working hour by hour coordinating an emergency response strategy for the House of Representatives. Thank you very much, Congressman Payne, for being with us here tonight and for your leadership.

Thank you very much, Congressman Payne. Let me thank you for that presentation and also for putting Haiti in a historical context. It is important that we recognize and remember the history of how our foreign policy and our relations with Haiti have been so important in the past, which now has brought us to this day.

So, today, we are talking about how we can respond in an emergency way and in a manner that will help the Haitian people take care of the sick and that will help with these search and rescue efforts. I also thank you for reminding us that we have to help Haiti to move forward and to rebuild and recover.

Now I would like to ask Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee to speak. Congresswoman Jackson Lee is a member of the Homeland Security Committee, but also she was very instrumental in the Katrina response. She provided many, many ways and vehicles for Katrina survivors to live and to have a decent place to stay until they could return home, and she ensured that FEMA was responsive to their needs. She really took on many, many issues as it relates to hurricane survivors. Now she is working very hard as it relates to the earthquake in Haiti.

So thank you again, Congresswoman Jackson Lee. Let me just remind you, and I was listening to Congressman Payne, that I come from an area that is earthquake-prone. It is hard to imagine what a 7.0 or a 7.1 earthquake is on the Richter scale given our experience with, maybe, a 4 or a 5 or a 6. So this is really an earthquake of enormous magnitude that those of us who come from earthquake-prone regions recognize and understand.

Thank you, Congresswoman Jackson Lee.

Will the gentlelady yield?

I believe the Web site is USAID.gov.

Thank you very much. And thank you for that very powerful statement, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, and also for reminding us that this is a global response and the United States is leading.

General Leave

We, tonight, would like to ask the Speaker if we could keep the record open for 5 days for those who would like to add their statements to the record.

Once again, our thoughts and our prayers go out to the people of Haiti, to the Haitian American community, to all of those, our American citizens, all of those who have been impacted by this horrible, horrific earthquake.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank my good friend for yielding.

I rise in opposition to the rule.

Let me just say at the outset, Mr. Speaker, in the 1990s, I served as chairman of the International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee, at first having served as ranking member to Tom Lantos. Then when the House went Republican, we switched and I became the chairman of that committee. And one of the responsibilities of that committee was to write the Foreign Relations Act, the State Department Reauthorization Act, for the country. And we worked very hard, Mr. Lantos and I, very diligently in crafting a bill that was, A, truly bipartisan and, B, open to virtually every amendment that Members wanted to offer.

I remember bringing a bill to the floor, Mr. Speaker, where every day Members just had to file their amendments in the Congressional Record, a preprinting requirement, so in the morning we would wake up and find out what amendments might be offered, and then we would deal and dispatch positively or negatively with those amendments. The process was open, transparent and fair.

Today we have a very much closed rule, except on matters where there is consensus. Sure, there are some Republican amendments. But on areas where there is significant and fundamental disagreement, especially an amendment that I had hoped to offer to authorize the office for Global Women's Issues, I had been precluded that opportunity. And I want to say to my colleagues I didn't do that when I chaired the subcommittee, and I worked very hard in a bipartisan way with my friends, and I do consider you on the other side of the aisle friends, to ensure that we all got to express our voice and vote on things that mattered, that we all had an opportunity to express ourselves.

In Committee, I offered an amendment to establish a Global Office on Women's Issues. It lost in a party-line vote. Every Democrat voted against it; every Republican voted for it. That legislation would have established a new Office for Global Women's Issues led by an ambassador-at-large, designed to coordinate and advise on activities, policies, programs, and funding related to women's empowerment internationally. The amendment would promote activities designed to expand educational opportunities and job training for women, equal pay for equal work, microfinancing and microenterprise programs for women, property inheritance rights for women, an improvement of maternal mortality, expand pregnancy care centers, combat forced abortions and forced sterilization, to enhance our efforts in the area of sex and labor trafficking particularly of women and other forms of violence against women, seeking an end to genital mutilation, stop child marriage, and promote changes in male attitudes and behavior that are detrimental to women. That was all prescribed in the legislation, and obviously other things could be included as well, consistent with core human rights norms that all human life, Mr. Speaker, is sacred and precious and worthy of protection regardless of age, sex, race, color, creed, disability, wantedness, or condition of dependency. My amendment sought to hold harmless unborn children and their mothers from the violence of abortion.

The Smith amendment is abortion neutral and states that the new office shall not engage in activities to author the laws or the policies of foreign countries with regard to how abortion is regulated or permitted. Abortion neutral. I would like it to be a pro-life office that says it time to empower and embrace and enfranchise unborn children.

I say to my colleagues, We live in 2009. We no longer have any doubts about the humanity of an unborn child. Unborn children are just like you and I except they're young, they're immature, and they're dependent. And their human rights are violated with impunity not just in this country but around the world. Sadly, the Obama administration, and I say this with great sadness, Mr. Obama is well on his way to becoming the abortion President. Virtually everything he has done through Executive order and through appointments and through other policies promote the killing of unborn children and the wounding of their mothers.

So I rise in opposition to this rule, Mr. Speaker. Whether this body chose to vote up or down on my amendment, we should have had the opportunity. It saddens me greatly because, again, I have great affection for the chairman, Chairman Berman, and for his staff, with whom I have worked very closely on human rights issues. This is a human rights issue.

There could be a consensus about the new office that's being created, that has already been created, and that this gives statutory affirmation to for women's issues. But, unfortunately, we will not have that opportunity.

I will remind my colleagues that Alveda King, Dr. Martin Luther King's niece--

Dr. Martin Luther King's niece, Alveda King, has had two abortions. She now heads up an organization called the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, and she speaks out and says that this is the new civil rights movement, protecting the unborn child but equally protecting women from abortion. It is violence against women. It is violence against children.

The new Global Office on Women's Issues ought to at least be neutral, I would say affirm the unborn but at least neutral when it comes to respecting unborn human life.

I thank my good friend for yielding.

I just want to say to my pro-life friends on the Democrat side of the aisle: think consequences.

In late April, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified one of our hearings--and this is the question I posed to her--Is the Obama administration

seeking in any way to weaken or to overturn pro-life laws and policies in African nations and in Latin American countries either directly through multilateral organizations, including the United Nations, the African Union or the Organization of American States, or by way of funding NGOs like Planned Parenthood?

Secretary of State Clinton answered that the administration was ``entitled'' to advocate abortion ``anywhere in the world.''

She also went on to redefine the words ``reproductive health,'' which are found in many documents and in many laws around the world, in a way completely contrary to the accepted definition by the previous administration and by many others to now include abortion. So every time you see those words now in a document, to the Clintons and to the Obamas, they mean ``abortion on demand.''

The Office of Global Women's Issues should be all about promoting human rights for women. Promoting violence against children and promoting the wounding of their mothers by advocating abortion is not human rights. It is the contrary. It is the exact opposite.

I hope my colleagues will realize that the amendment that my good friend and colleague, the chairman of the committee, Mr. Berman, is offering simply restates current law. It says the new office will follow the law. Did anybody expect that the office would not follow the law? Of course they would. Well, hopefully, they would.

We need to make sure, we need to ensure that this new office, which will be a command and control center, for women's rights and empowerment and not become an office for NARAL, for Planned Parenthood or for others in the promotion of child deaths around the world. Let's hold harmless the precious lives of unborn children. Let's mitigate maternal mortality and all of the other crises affecting women, not the killing of unborn babies.