Ambassador James R. Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korea Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my good friend, the chairwoman of our Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as our ranking member, Mr. Berman, for bringing this legislation. And I am in full support, and I do associate myself with the comments and the statements made earlier by our great chairman as well as our ranking member, Mr. Berman.

I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4240, to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and for other purposes. First, I want to thank House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Ranking Member Howard Berman of California for their leadership on this very critical issue. I also want to thank all the cosponsors and supporters of this legislation. This is an important piece of legislation because of the humanitarian assistance the U.S. provides North Korean refugees and for the promotion of democracy and freedom in North Korea.

H.R. 4240, or the Ambassador James R. Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korea Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012, will allow the U.S. to continue to work with foreign countries in the assistance and migration of North Korean refugees to the U.S. It will also urge foreign countries, especially China, to stop the punishment and return of North Korean refugees. Importantly, H.R. 4240 will assist those who are providing humanitarian aid to North Koreans who are outside of North Korea.

Given that the U.S. has one of the largest Korean populations outside of the Korean Peninsula with millions who have ties to North Korea, the U.S. must continue its firm commitment to the aid of refugees and advocacy of human rights for the victims in North Korea. Even after the death Kim Jong-Il, North Korea continues to deprive its people of the most basic human rights. Both the international media and nongovernmental organizations continue to report of the severe military crackdown and brutal punishment for those who attempt to defect from North Korea.

Although it is estimated that there are less than 200 North Korean refugees who have resettled in the U.S. since 2004, I strongly believe that we must empower the North Korean people by continuing to promote democratic values and support of human rights programs.

On a personal note, I think it is only appropriate that this legislation is named in honor of the late Ambassador Lilley and the late Congressman Solarz who were the champions of human rights issues for the people of North

Koreans. I even had the privilege to work closely with the late Congressman Solarz, who was Chairman of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the same subcommittee of which I am the Ranking Member today. I am grateful for his leadership and understanding of the Asia Pacific region.

Just as Ambassador Lilley and Congressman Solarz worked hard to protect the human rights of the North Korean people, we must remain vigilant in helping the people of North Korea who struggle daily to escape the oppression and tyranny of the North Korean regime.

Again, I thank Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen and Ranking Member Berman for their leadership and I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 4240.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4240.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4240, The Ambassador James R. Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I'd like to begin by thanking the gentlelady from Florida and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, for her leadership on this issue.

H.R. 4240 reauthorizes the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, along with some provisions that were included in the 2008 reauthorization. This bill, like its predecessors, is the product of a broad, bipartisan consensus regarding the atrocious human rights situation in North Korea.

This legislation continues to provide resources to assist North Korean refugees, support democracy and human rights programs, and promote freedom of information in the North. It also extends the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues--a vital position that plays a central role in advocating for improved human rights in the North.

As innocent men, women and children flee the repressive North Korean regime at great personal risk, we have a moral obligation to assist these refugees and prevent their forcible repatriation. We must continue working with our close ally South Korea, other friends in the region, and the human rights community to expose the horrendous abuses being committed in the North.

Despite North Korea's efforts to appear ``strong and prosperous'' this year to celebrate the 100th birthday of the country's founder, vast numbers of its citizens continue to face starvation. Sadly, the North Korean regime's misguided priorities--pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its so-called space program, its nuclear programs and its massive military--only underscore its cold-hearted callousness and blatant disregard for its own people.

For the vast majority of North Koreans, life remains as bleak as ever, with the average citizen enjoying no real political, religious, or personal freedoms. Hundreds of thousands of North Korean political prisoners remain imprisoned in gulags.

Some North Koreans endeavor to escape their country by any means possible--even if it means crossing into China, where many refugees are forced into prostitution and servitude. Others are sent back across the border to face torture or even death.

This bill calls on China to halt its forcible repatriation of North Koreans and allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees unimpeded access to North Koreans inside China to determine whether fleeing North Koreans require protection.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4240 is an important demonstration of our bipartisan commitment to assist the North Korean people, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

I yield such time as he may consume to my friend and colleague from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), the ranking member of the Asia and Pacific Subcommittee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4240) to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend and to submit extraneous materials for the Record.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 4240, the Ambassador James R. Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korea Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012. I would like to thank my coauthor and ranking member, my good friend, Mr. Berman, and the dozens of bipartisan cosponsors who have joined us to continue the important human rights work that Congress began 9 years ago.

The North Korean regime remains one of the world's worst human rights abusers as the legacy of tyranny has been passed on to a new generation.

South Korea's National Human Rights Commission detailed, in a 380- page report released earlier this month, that Kim Jong-Un maintains the same hellish gulag as his father and grandfather before him.

Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children are forced into slave labor, starved, and tortured to death in isolated camps. Even outside the camps, the North Korean people enjoy no freedoms of speech, religion, press, or assembly.

Officials crush any dissent and have reportedly authorized the on- the-spot execution of those attempting to flee the country.

A regime that maims its own people with impunity, cannot be trusted to keep its agreements with foreigners. Thus, solving the North Korean human rights issue is also an integral part of addressing the North Korean security threat.

North Korean women and girls are brutalized and trafficked in China, where they are sold into forced marriage and sexual slavery. And China, which sits on the Executive Board of the U.N.'s Refugee Protection Body, continues to forcibly repatriate North Koreans into danger.

H.R. 4240, Mr. Speaker, will continue the important bipartisan work of the North Korean Human Rights Act by extending, until the year 2017, its authorities to promote human rights, refugee protection, and freedom of information for the people of North Korea.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4240, the Ambassador James R. Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012. I commend Chairman Ros-Lehtinen and Ranking Member Berman and the members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for bringing this important measure to the floor.

Ambassador Lilley, as director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and Congressman Solarz, as chairman of the House subcommittee on East Asia and later as co-chairman of the Committee on Human Rights in North Korea, refused to stand by silently as the North Korean government oppressed, abused and murdered its own people. Their leadership and advocacy helped to raise awareness about the deplorable conditions endured by the North Korean people, including the government's practice of executing on-the-spot attempted defectors.

This resolution encourages the United States government to continue working with foreign governments and with the Peoples Republic of China in particular, to help resettle refugees who escape North Korea. Additionally, the bill recognizes the efforts undertaken in North Korea by the Broadcasting Board of Governors and encourages the board to meet its goal of broadcasting 12 hours of daily radio transmissions into that country.

The United States has the largest international refugee resettlement program in the world. Since this Act was originally passed, 128 North Koreans have been successfully resettled, including 23 in the last year. The success of this program is a fitting tribute to the memory and work of Ambassador Lilley and Congressman Solarz.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to S. Con. Res. 58, a concurrent resolution to correct the enrollment of H.R. 4240, submitted earlier today by Senator Kerry; that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.