Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 42 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until Monday, June 2, 2014, at noon.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay my respects to William ``Bill'' MacAloney, the Chairman and CEO of Jax Markets in Anaheim, California. Bill who is a long-time friend of mine recently passed after a long and brave struggle with cancer.

Bill's successful journey to becoming an industry leader in the grocery store business started in a very humble way. He grew up in a succession of orphanages and foster homes in Massachusetts. At the age of 16, Bill hit the road, hitch hiking all the way to California, arriving in Los Angeles with little money and no place to stay.

With a great attitude, hard work and a ``can do'' spirit, Bill nudged his way into the food industry and opened up his first grocery store in the late 1960's. Several other stores followed under the Jax banner, one in Buena Park and another in Anaheim.

During his career in the supermarket industry which spanned more than four decades, Bill MacAloney was Chairman of the nation's largest retail business, Certified Grocer of California. He also served as Chairman of the California Grocery Association and was Co-Chair of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the national supermarket trade association headquartered in our Nation's Capital.

With a love for politics and community, Bill MacAloney served on the Villa Park City Council in 2002 and 2009. And Bill was an active philanthropist, and received awards and recognition from a wide range of highly respected organizations including the National Conference of Christians and Jews and B'nai' B'rith among others. I should also mention that Bill was appointed to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Board of Accountancy and was on the St. Joseph Hospital Board of Trustees.

In closing, it has been an honor and a privilege for me to have known such an outstanding individual. He is a true gentleman, of great character who made the time to give back to the community and help others to achieve their dreams. Bill MacAloney is truly the classic All-American success story that we all should be proud of. I extend my sympathies to Bill's wife and loving companion of 45 years, Gwen, her four children, ten grandchildren and two great granddaughters.

I thank the gentleman.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of Mr. Duffy's amendment.

The current way the Internet is governed is soon set to change, as we all know, and the question remains: Who will take over? The answer will have consequences for human rights, for the global economy, as well as Internet security and stability.

We must get it right. It is important to the future of our economy. It is important to the type of world we want to live in. We need to ensure the continuation of an open and accessible Internet which can serve to fulfill people's aspirations for freedom and for democracy. And when it comes to Internet policy, the administration has botched consultations over the transition of the duties at the NTIA.

We cannot allow countries to use their influence to stifle speech and commerce on the Internet. This amendment will give us more time to ensure we get this right.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4573) to protect children from exploitation, especially sex trafficking in tourism, by providing advance notice of intended travel by registered child sex offenders outside the United States to the government of the country of destination, requesting foreign governments to notify the United States when a known child sex offender is seeking to enter the United States, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material for the Record.

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

International Megan's Law, to prevent demand for child sex trafficking, will bolster law enforcement efforts to combat a crime that is worldwide. It affects hundreds of thousands of young children every year. In particular, this bill addresses an issue of child sex tourism, by which adults travel overseas.

They do this to exploit children in countries that are currently struggling to deal with this influx of child predators, and part of that influx is of Americans who are child predators.

Many children victimized by this appalling crime have also been trafficked--trafficked into prostitution--recruited or transferred or sold in order to be used sexually for someone's profit.

This bill helps fight back. This bill takes care of a problem that exists at present, as there are multiple U.S. agencies seeking to combat child trafficking, but not with any coordination, and they are not doing it in time to prevent those who try to travel overseas. We could be much more effective.

This bill officially recognizes an Angel Watch Center within the Department of Homeland Security's Child Exploitation Investigations Center. Operation Angel Watch originated as a partnership with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and it currently collects and analyzes the foreign travel date of convicted child sex offenders to determine whether the notification to U.S. officials or foreign governments is warranted.

Last year alone, Angel Watch sent 1,700 leads to 100 countries as part of this effort to proactively and strategically alert international law enforcement. Angel Watch's work is time-sensitive. Travel data is sometimes not made available within the 24 hours before a flight, while other helpful information collected by the Department of Justice is, in fact, not even shared with Angel Watch or is not shared soon enough.

This bill solidifies the Angel Watch Center as an important part of the U.S. response to child sex tourism, and importantly, it improves the timeliness of the information the center receives by requiring the Justice Department to share its travel records promptly. This will allow Angel Watch to better detect and to report the travel of child predators.

I want to thank the bill's author, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), for his persistent leadership and dedication to this issue. I would also like to recognize the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary, as well as the ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel from New York, for his assistance on this important measure.

Madam Speaker, I want to say something briefly about other bills that I have been involved with in today's antitrafficking package. One is H.R. 3530, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, introduced by Judge Poe, our colleague from Texas.

I want to thank the Committee on the Judiciary for consulting with the Foreign Affairs Committee to ensure that the bill makes progress both at home and also abroad.

On the Human Trafficking Congressional Advisory Committee that I established last year in southern California, I hear directly from advocates and from law enforcement and from survivors, themselves, about the insufficient resources that law enforcement has as a tool available to rescue victims and available to prosecute traffickers here in the U.S.

By ensuring a victims center allocation of resources, enhancing deterrents, and prioritizing the protection of trafficking and child pornography victims, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act represents important progress in this struggle.

I also strongly support H.R. 4225, the Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation, or SAVE Act, introduced by the gentlelady from Missouri, Representative Wagner.

In 2013, revenue from U.S. online prostitution advertising totaled an estimated $45 million. As underscored by arrests in 22 States, those ads, such as on backpage.com, sometimes involve the marketing of children, of underage girls. This legislation will help stop this exploitation.

In March, more than 40 of us here in Congress wrote to urge Attorney General Eric Holder to take immediate action to end backpage.com's facilitation of the buying and selling of people, including of children. To date, we have not received a response. This legislation would produce that effect.

All five of the bills being considered today represent important steps towards abolishing the injustice of human trafficking, towards protecting vulnerable individuals, and towards restoring the dignity of those who have survived such exploitation. They deserve our strong support.

Madam Speaker, I submit for the Record an exchange of letters between me and Chairman Goodlatte of the Judiciary Committee regarding this bill of which I am proud to be a cosponsor, and I would ask all Members here to support it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, May 13, 2014.

Hon. Ed Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rayburn House Office

Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing with respect to H.R.

4573, the ``International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for

Child Sex Trafficking'' which the Committee on Foreign

Affairs ordered reported favorably on May 9, 2014. As a

result of your having consulted with us on provisions in H.R.

4573 that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the

Committee on the Judiciary, I agree to discharge our

Committee from further consideration of this bill so that it

may proceed expeditiously to the House floor for

consideration.

The Judiciary Committee takes this action with our mutual

understanding that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 4573 at

this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over subject

matter contained in this or similar legislation, and that our

Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as

this bill

or similar legislation moves forward so that we may address

any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. Our Committee also

reserves the right to seek appointment of an appropriate

number of conferees to any House-Senate conference involving

this or similar legislation, and asks that you support any

such request.

I would appreciate a response to this letter confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 4573, and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Congressional Record during Floor

consideration of H.R. 4573.

Sincerely,

Bob Goodlatte,

Chairman.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. He is also the author of this bill.

I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), a member of the Committee on Financial Services and author of the SAVE Act, an important antitrafficking measure that was debated earlier this afternoon.

Madam Speaker, you have heard today about the unconscionable child sex tourism industry which has been operating now for years overseas. There are child victims at home here, too.

Our proactive efforts to help countries identify incoming child predators will also encourage them to alert us when those foreigners convicted of sex offenses against children attempt to enter the United States, just as we are going to control the process on this side.

I thank Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Mr. Eliot Engel of New York, and I encourage Members to support passage of the International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 573) condemning the abduction of female students by armed militants from the terrorist group known as Boko Haram in northeastern provinces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material into the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, the world is now fully aware of the absolute terror of Boko Haram. Over the last few months, there have been over 500 schools burned to the ground by Boko Haram.

Struck by the brazen abduction of nearly 300 innocent schoolgirls, people are now asking, ``What is Boko Haram?'' Sadly, for the communities in northern Nigeria, they know the answer to that. They know what Boko Haram means to them. They know that the definition of ``Boko Haram'' is ``Western education is a sin,'' and they know that, for this particular organization, of particularly great importance is that young women not be educated.

Sadly, for the communities in northern Nigeria, they know that Boko Haram believes that you can kidnap women, you can sell young girls, you can treat them as chattel, and you can enslave them, but the one great sin is should you try to educate them, because should you try to educate them, you will meet the fate of over 100 teachers who have been slaughtered in northern Nigeria for trying to educate young women.

Boko Haram in total has killed some 4,000 individuals now. The communities in northern Nigeria live in constant fear, losing any normalcy of life. Most of the schools in whole regions have been shut down. Community centers, farms, and businesses have been boarded up and closed.

Even with the recent focus on rescuing these young women, Boko Haram has been able to continue its reign of terror. Its militants have relatively sophisticated weapons, they have ample funds, and they have advanced training. This group is the vanguard of a foreign-backed move to transform and radicalize Nigerian society, as many Nigerians have told me in the country.

Since the abduction of these 300 students, more girls have been kidnapped, and more Nigerian security units have been attacked. This group, my friends, is not going away.

Boko Haram lives up to its name. They have killed, as I say, over 100 teachers, but over 500 students. They have denied tens of thousands of young Nigerians an education, but they have a very alternative framework for education--or indoctrination--that they intend to supplant. Despite knowing the dangers, these young women were committed to their education, the ones that were abducted.

This resolution importantly puts the House on record saying that we are committed to getting them freed. The resolution supports U.S. assistance to the Nigerian Government in trying to rescue these girls and calls for a more active U.S. role. Tomorrow, we will hear from a young woman who herself was kidnapped by Boko Haram and escaped.

It is clear that the Nigerian security forces are facing an uphill battle in the fight against Boko Haram. Some of these problems are internal--some unprofessional and corrupt units that are poorly equipped and poorly trained. That has led some to say that we should not be involved. But, Mr. Speaker, it tells me that U.S. involvement is critical. Without U.S. expertise, including intelligence sharing, it is clear that the threat from the U.S.-designated terrorist group will grow, these girls will suffer, others girls will suffer, and the region will be destabilized.

U.S. forces are well positioned to advise and assist. They can advise and assist Nigerian forces in the search and rescue of these girls. In this role, U.S. forces--expertly trained to deal with hostage situations and trained in jungle environments--could help Nigerians with intelligence planning and logistics up until the point the operation is launched. And if some U.S. laws would hinder such assistance, the administration should use its waiver authority under these extraordinary circumstances.

An advise-and-assist operation would have the benefit of boosting morale and effectiveness of the Nigerian forces. It would ensure expert planning, and it would ensure the best chance of success of rescue. This isn't dissimilar to the operation against the Lord's Resistance Army in eastern Africa, where U.S. forces have been embedded with local units, training and constraining Joseph Kony, and it has been used in the past to eliminate al Qaeda-linked terrorists in North Africa.

While these girls are foremost in our mind, there are larger considerations too.

Indeed, commanders at the Pentagon have stated that Boko Haram is a threat to Western interests, and one of the highest counterterrorism priorities in Africa, they tell us; and that is especially the case, given Nigeria's position as the continent's most populous country and biggest economy.

This resolution is a show of solidarity with these young kidnapped girls, with their families, and with the communities in northern Nigeria who have lived under constant fear of Boko Haram for far too long.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organization.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) be yielded the remainder of my time, and that he may control that time.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and not present for rollcall vote 194. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2548) to establish a comprehensive United States Government policy to assist countries in sub-Saharan Africa to develop an appropriate mix of power solutions for more broadly distributed electricity access in order to

support poverty alleviation and drive economic growth, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous materials they may want to in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Electrify Africa Act is a direct response to the problem that nearly 600 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to reliable electricity.

The Electrify Africa Act offers a market-based response to that problem, and it does this through U.S. private sector investment to develop affordable, reliable energy in Africa. Most importantly, I think it does so at no additional cost to the taxpayer.

Why do we want to help increase energy access to the African continent? To create jobs, to improve lives. It will improve lives in Africa. It will create jobs there and here in the United States. It is no secret that Africa has great potential as a trading partner and could help create jobs here in the U.S.

As the Foreign Affairs Committee investigated how to make better use of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, landmark legislation that we passed over a decade ago to expand trade with Africa, we learned that the lack of affordable, reliable energy made the production of goods for trade and export nearly impossible.

How impossible? I will just give you an example. We were in Liberia looking at the interrupted power that is always a problem there. Even at our own Embassy, the cost of ruining that diesel generator is $10,000 a day sometimes when they have to get that thing up and running in order to keep power generated. You can imagine the problem when you are talking about a country with as much power generation and as much electricity as the size of the electricity that lights up the Dallas Cowboys stadium. That is the problem that one country has. You can imagine what it would mean if we could bring online electricity in order to electrify the subcontinent.

I would also remind the Members that the United States is not alone in its interests in enhancing trade with Africa through investment and energy. The example I would give you is China, because China has stepped in to direct $2 billion towards energy projects on the continent. As I speak, the Chinese Premier is in Africa signing deals that favor Chinese companies over American businesses. If the United States wishes to tap into the potential consumer base there in sub- Saharan Africa, we must act now.

This bill will also have a tangible impact on people's lives, as I said. As former chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, I have seen firsthand how our considerable investments in improving access to health care, improving access to education in Africa are undermined by the lack of reliable energy. In many places, schoolchildren are forced to study by inefficient, dangerous kerosene lamps. Cold storage of lifesaving vaccines is almost impossible without the existence of reliable electricity. Too many families resort to using charcoal and other inefficient and highly toxic sources of fuel whose fumes in Africa today cause more deaths than HIV/AIDS and malaria, combined.

Many of us on the committee have worked to transform our foreign assistance programs that offer extensive Band-Aids to policies that support economic growth. The Electrify Africa Act is part, frankly, of a very important transition here. This bill mandates a clear and comprehensive U.S. policy, providing the private sector with the certainty that it needs to invest in African electricity at no cost to the U.S. taxpayer. In fact, the bill is predicted to generate savings by requiring the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to focus on these energy priorities and undertake much-needed permanent reforms.

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

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

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

I share the gentleman's concern about corporate welfare. I have spent years pressing OPIC for greater transparency. Finally, in this measure we have a whole host of reforms.

But I will remind this body that years back we exposed and helped kill OPIC's investment funds that were helping political cronies.

I would also remind this body that we are only willing to give OPIC a short-term extension by redirecting it to focus on an area that lacks investment and will have a major impact on the long-term growth of a country, and that is electricity.

I can assure the gentleman from California that this committee will continue its OPIC oversight, but I should note that OPIC is not a free service. OPIC charges fees that generate a financial return for the U.S. Treasury. To ensure that OPIC is not crowding out the private sector, they must demonstrate that no commercial bank is willing to provide the financing package requested directly from OPIC, and this is the case in doing business in Africa.

The temporary authorization for OPIC, by the way, was included in the introduced version of the Electrify Africa Act and has remained in every following version.

I would also point out that this bill includes the significant reforms, additional reforms, that I and others have been trying to get into OPIC. For example, OPIC's operations will finally be transparent to the public, as the agency will be required to post specific information about all of its projects online, including each project's financing, the location, the partners. The bill also creates an OPIC inspector general. It forces OPIC's board to become for the first time in history bipartisan. This ensures that organizations interested in working with OPIC will be able to get a balanced perspective when reaching out to the agency.

I will also close in response by noting that OPIC's last multiyear authorization expired in 2007. The agency has been extended 28 times on appropriations bills and continuing resolutions with zero reforms. We come to the floor here in an open process to try to reform OPIC and to give it this mission. I think this legislation accomplishes a great deal on both fronts.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

I do want to thank Ranking Member Eliot Engel of New York, as well as Chairman Chris Smith and Ranking Member Karen Bass of the Africa Subcommittee, for working closely with me to craft the Electrify Africa Act.

I will remind the Members that where the United States has left a void for economic investment in the world--and Africa is one of them-- China has stepped in. In this case, we are speaking at a time when the Premier of China is on the ground right now in Sub-Saharan Africa. China has stepped in to direct $2 billion to African energy projects. This bill will counter China's growing commercial and strategic influence.

But what else will the bill do? Unlocking the constraint on African economic growth means a continent less reliant on aid. The bill promotes an all-of-the-above approach to electricity that includes natural gas and clean coal and hydro.

The CBO estimates that this bill will save the U.S. Treasury $86 million. Electrify Africa imposes permanent reform, as I mentioned, on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. The bill focuses OPIC on promoting electricity in Africa. It forces oversight. It demands transparency on the institution, lays that out, and makes the OPIC board bipartisan.

There is every reason to support efforts that encourage economic independence, that strengthen trading partners and that compete with Chinese influence in a vital region, as someone once said.

I also want to recognize the wide range of enthusiasm for this bill. We have received letters of support from 35 African ambassadors, the Chamber of Commerce, the Corporate Council on Africa, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics--and we know from Karen Bass' testimony why they are in support--and from the One Campaign. Many of these supporters have joined us today in the House gallery to watch this landmark vote.

The United States has economic and national security interests in the continued development of the African continent. This bill sets out a comprehensive, sustainable, market-based plan to bring close to 600 million Africans out of the dark and into the global economy, benefiting American businesses and workers at the same time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support H.R. 2548, the Electrify Africa Act.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 418) urging the Government of Burma to end the persecution of the Rohingya people and respect internationally recognized human rights for all ethnic and religious minority groups within Burma, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous materials in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 418. This is a bipartisan resolution offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) calling on the government of Burma to end its persecution of the Rohingya Muslims and respect the human rights of all ethnic and religious minority groups within Burma.

The Rohingya Muslims are one of the most persecuted minority groups in the world. According to Burma's 1982 citizenship law, the Rohingya are prohibited from holding Burmese citizenship, even though they have lived in Burma for generations after generations. For over three decades, the government of Burma has systematically denied the Rohingya even the most basic of human rights, while subjecting them to unspeakable abuses.

Since 2012, 140,000 Rohingya and other Muslims in Burma have been displaced by violence, with hundreds killed. On January 13, unknown assailants entered a village in Rakhine State and killed 48 people while they slept.

This is what happens when a government refuses to recognize its own people.

In fact, a nongovernmental organization based in Southeast Asia recently disclosed credible documents detailing the full extent of state involvement in persecuting Rohingyas.

Not long ago, the Government of Burma expelled Doctors Without Borders from the country, denying, once again, the most basic of human rights. The Government of Burma cannot claim progress toward meeting its goals for reform if it does not improve the treatment of Rohingya Muslims and other minority groups.

The United States must prioritize the protection of human rights in its engagement with Burma. I urge the State Department to take off its rose-colored glasses and recognize that progress on human rights in Burma is, indeed, limited. Now is the time for the State Department to bring additional leverage to bear, and this resolution will help us do that.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot). He is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

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

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

Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), for his support of the Rohingya people, but also for his dedication to human rights. I have had an opportunity to work with Mr. McGovern on a number of different human rights bills. I think he eloquently explained tonight the challenge that we face here. I was proud to join him as a cosponsor of this measure and work with him.

I also, of course, want to thank the gentleman from New York, Eliot Engel, for his continued focus on human rights around the world.

On this issue, it is true that the Burmese government has recently taken steps to open its closed society, but the reality is that the recent events here are deeply, deeply troubling to anyone who is watching. As I indicated, 48 Rohingya were murdered, aid workers trying to care for thousands of displaced have been attacked in the country, and Doctors Without Borders was kicked out of Burma.

This resolution calls on the government of Burma to immediately recognize the Rohingya as an ethnic minority and to grant them citizenship, a step that is long overdue, as Mr. McGovern pointed out.

I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution. Let's all send a message that the current state of human rights in Burma is unacceptable.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3468) to amend the Federal Credit Union Act to extend insurance coverage to amounts held in a member account on behalf of another person, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the bill, H.R. 3468.

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

I rise in strong support of the Credit Union Share Insurance Fund Parity Act. This is a bill which passed out of the Financial Services Committee on a voice vote. This is bipartisan, commonsense legislation. The bill is supported by the Credit Union National Association, the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, as well as the American Bar Association.

What this bill does is to ensure that there is parity in the treatment of trust accounts covered by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the FDIC.

The Financial Services Committee has heard the testimony of credit unions from West Virginia to Texas that:

There is no public policy reason for deposit insurance

purposes to distinguish credit union interest on lawyer trust

accounts (IOLTAs) from those insured by FDIC. It is essential

for the NCUA's share insurance fund to be treated identically

in order to maintain parity between the two Federal insurance

programs.

Specifically, the bill amends the Federal Credit Union Act to require that pass-through share insurance coverage be provided when a credit union member holds funds on behalf of a nonmember in an IOLTA or other similar account.

Unlike FDIC coverage, currently the National Credit Union Administration treats funds held by credit union members on behalf of those who are not federally insured credit union members as not covered by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. This has created, of course, a disparity in coverage, specifically when looking at IOLTAs and prepaid debit master accounts.

Part of the mission of credit unions from their very beginning has been to reach out to the community around them, especially to reach out to the underserved. Maintaining a strong commitment to the IOLTA community and removing a barrier to greater participation sustains that very mission.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill, a bill which corrects a technical disparity between the way trust accounts are federally insured at credit unions and at banks.

I look forward to the statement of the other Ed, the gentleman from Colorado, my friend, who has been a champion of this important bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Crime Victims' Rights Week. This is an important reminder that there is much work still to be done to promote the rights and needs of victims of crime in our communities.

As a State senator, I was the author of the first anti-stalking law in the country--before this legislation, there was very little legal protection available for stalking victims. I also worked to establish rights for crime victims in California's state constitution as author and campaign co-chair of Proposition 115. Proposition 115 gives victims the rights to a speedy trial, reduces the number of times crime victims must testify, increases sentences and punishment, and requires reciprocal discovery of evidence.

When I arrived in Congress, I made it a priority to address stalking at the federal level. In 1996, I introduced the Interstate Stalking Punishment and Prevention Act, which was signed into law, making it a felony to cross state lines to stalk someone. I am also a cosponsor of a Victims' Rights Amendment, which gives victims of crime the same protections as their offenders. Crime victims deserve equal consideration in the criminal justice process. In addition, I am a cosponsor of Justice for Crime Victims Act of 2014, legislation to legislatively further some of the same goals of the Amendment.

There is also much work to be done to serve victims of human trafficking--a growing issue in Southern California. That's why I've cosponsored the Strengthening the Child Welfare Response to Human Trafficking Act. This legislation helps ensure that child welfare agencies have the necessary tools to understand the unique needs of child trafficking victims and the resources to appropriately serve them.

I encourage you to visit http://ovc.ncjrs.gov/incvrw/ to learn more about Crime Victims' Rights Week and what we can be doing in our

local communities to raise awareness about the rights, needs, and concerns of victims and survivors of crime.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3470) to provide for the transfer of naval vessels to certain foreign countries, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to put any extraneous material on this measure into the Record.

I yield myself such time as I my consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3470. This legislation that I authored reaffirms the United States' steadfast support for Taiwan and provides the legal authority to sell naval vessels to Taiwan.

I very much appreciate the bipartisan support that we have received from Mr. Engel and other members of the committee across the aisle. This legislation passed unanimously out of our committee, and the bill makes several changes also to improve U.S. security assistance to friends and allies.

On April 10, 1979, the Taiwan Relations Act was enacted to govern America's relationship with the Republic of China-Taiwan. For 35 years, the act has helped maintain peace and security across the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region.

During this time, Taiwan has undergone a monumental transformation from grinding poverty and from dictatorship to, today, a vibrant multiparty democracy. Taiwan's economy has evolved, too, to where it is today, out 10th top trading partner. This week, we recognize this 35- year transformation. Few other pieces of foreign policy legislation have been as consequential as the Taiwan Relations Act.

America's support for Taiwan has allowed this island nation to realize its full potential. It is now more important than ever that we reaffirm our strong commitment to Taiwan and to the Taiwan Relations Act. And as chairman, I led two bipartisan delegations to Taipei, to Kaohsiung, and to Tainan to examine Taiwan's economy and to look at its defense capabilities. Today's legislation is the product of the committee's bipartisan effort to prioritize the U.S.-Taiwan relationship. By incorporating two pieces of legislation, both which passed the committee unanimously, the House of Representatives is now in a position to fulfill both the spirit and the letter of the Taiwan Relations Act.

This legislation allows the President to transfer for sale four Perry-class guided missile frigates to Taiwan, which are greatly needed to augment Taiwan's defense capabilities. I have seen firsthand the World War II-era submarines and the 50-year-old fighter jets that form the core of Taiwan's military. Congress has made it clear to the administration that it wants more defense sales to Taiwan. These four ships would bolster Taiwan's defense to ensure that peace in the Taiwan Strait continues to benefit the entire region.

In addition to supporting Taiwan, this legislation also authorizes the transfer of excess decommissioned naval vessels to Thailand and Mexico. These transfers help support the priorities of the U.S. Navy while strengthening the capability of allies and other close partners to meet our shared maritime security objectives.

The bill also makes long overdue improvements to the timeliness of U.S. arms sales to friends and allies while maintaining appropriate congressional oversight. It also makes technical amendments to update certain notification and reporting requirements under the Arms Export Control Act. Finally, the bill also clarifies that certain business confidentiality protections of the Export Administration Act continue to protect information related to export licensing.

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

Congress of the United States,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, April 4, 2014.

Hon. Edward R. Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rayburn House Office

Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing concerning H.R. 3470,

``Taiwan Relations Act Affirmation and Naval Vessel Transfer

Act of 2014,'' Title I of which was favorably reported out of

your Committee on March 25, 2014 as H. Res. 494.

As you know, H. Res. 494, which has been incorporated into

Section 101 of H.R. 3470, has been referred to the Committee

on Ways and Means. I appreciate that, in response to the

concerns raised by the Committee on Ways and Means concerning

aspects of Title I within our Committee's jurisdiction, you

have agreed to modify H.R. 3470 prior to its consideration in

the House. As a result, in order to expedite floor

consideration of the bill, the Committee on Ways and Means

will forgo action on H.R. 3470. Further, the Committee will

not oppose the bill's consideration on the suspension

calendar, based on our understanding that you will work with

us as the legislative process moves forward to ensure that

the Committee's concerns continue to be addressed. This is

also being done with the understanding that it does not in

any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the

appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives

on this or similar legislation.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 3470, and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Congressional Record during Floor

consideration.

Sincerely,

Dave Camp,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Holding), a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

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

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. Just as important as arms sales to Taiwan, the U.S. must support efforts to maintain and expand Taiwan's diplomatic presence. I am pleased to report to the House that legislation signed into law last year, another bipartisan product of this committee, helped Taiwan participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization for the first time since 1976.

Taiwan's participation in regional trade agreements could greatly benefit American consumers and exporters as well.

Mr. Speaker, Congress should be proud of the role that the Taiwan Relations Act has had in helping Taiwan become what it is today. Taiwan is a beacon of hope and democracy in a part of the world that still yearns for the basic freedoms that Americans and Taiwanese enjoy on a daily basis. As we commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, let us speak with one voice and offer our strong support of Taiwan.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 4152) to provide for the costs of loan guarantees for Ukraine.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

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

I rise in support of this important legislation to support the Ukrainian people and to stand up to Russian aggression.

Just a few days ago, the House of Representatives acted decisively in passing similar legislation authored by me and by Mr. Eliot Engel of New York, our ranking member. We authored that bill, and I might add that Mr. Engel, himself, and his forefathers came from Ukraine, and suffered under that region's long and tortured history. The bill passed by 399-19 on the House floor. I prefer the more comprehensive bill backed by the House, but with today's vote, we will send this bill to the Senate, demonstrating bipartisan support for Ukraine at this critical time.

Importantly, this bill expands the sanctions available to be imposed on Russia's leaders for their actions. The President should be using all of this authority, in conjunction with our European allies, putting as much pressure in place as quickly as we can. Our targets must include those who exercise influence over Russian policy, including the so-called ``oligarchs'' and others who have amassed enormous wealth through government corruption.

Ukraine faces many challenges that will not be resolved quickly or easily. This legislation responds quickly to help Ukrainians help themselves, helping to strengthen civil society and combat corruption. The task of righting Ukraine is made all the more difficult given the threat of Russian troops on its borders, and while the Russian Army threatens Ukraine's east, it is Russia's considerable energy resources that allow Moscow to hold all of Ukraine hostage. For many years, Moscow has used its supply of oil and gas to blackmail Ukraine and to blackmail other countries, including some of our NATO allies in Eastern Europe. This morning, Gazprom announced that it would hike the price for natural gas to Ukraine by 44 percent, an announcement deliberately timed to worsen that country's economic situation.

We can remove this weapon from Russia's arsenal by lifting the self- imposed barriers on U.S. energy exports. The greatly enhanced supply of oil and natural gas added to the world market, if we were to ship into Ukraine, into Hungary, and into the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland-- all of these countries have written to the Speaker of the House, requesting us to do that--would undermine Russia's stranglehold on other countries and would reduce the revenues that comprise 52 percent of Moscow's budget for its military and its government. That would get Putin's attention, imposing a cost for aggression.

I will add that Mr. Engel and myself will be traveling with a bipartisan delegation to Ukraine in a few weeks. Let me urge all Members to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations and the author of the original House-passed version of this bill, H.R. 4152.

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

This bill does come at a critical time.

In closing, I will just say that U.S. officials are pressing President Putin to respect Ukrainian sovereignty, but this diplomacy will only have a chance if it is backed up by a combination of the threat of tough sanctions that are being implemented to their fullest and by the message of more energy independence for Ukraine.

I am very pleased to have worked closely with Ranking Member Engel and many other Members on this bipartisan legislation. It represents, as Mr. Engel indicated, what Congress can accomplish on the floor of this House in terms of policy when we unite to advance U.S. interests.

By our action here today, we will send a clear message of American resolve. That message will be heard in Kiev, it will be heard in Moscow, and it is going to be heard around the globe.

I urge all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2183) United States international programming to Ukraine and neighboring regions.

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

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

I rise in strong support of S. 2183, legislation to bolster U.S.- backed international broadcasting to Ukraine and the surrounding region. This legislation passed the House overwhelmingly last week as part of H.R. 4278. It was authored by myself and Mr. Engel.

While the Senate did not act on the full House package of legislation to support Ukraine, I am pleased that the Senate did recognize and act on this important piece of legislation. With its passage, this bill goes to the President's desk.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is central to our effort to counter Russian aggression and to send the type of support we need for the democratic development of Ukraine.

Throughout the crisis, Russians and Ukrainians alike have been bombarded by portrayals of Ukrainian protesters and the interim government, as you can hear on the Russian propaganda broadcast, what they call fascist mercenaries.

This, of course, is a rather deplorable attempt to draw a connection between those who yearn for freedom in Ukraine to the brutal Nazi invasion of the second World War. Overwhelmingly, the country of Ukraine voted for independence.

In this false narrative, which really is sort of a big lie, stark images of chaos and violence are used to persuade viewers that ethnic and linguistic Russians are under attack in Ukraine.

Footage of a border crossing between Ukraine and Poland has been used to support the outlandish claims that Ukrainian refugees are fleeing into Russia.

In Crimea, Russian forces have seized control over at least a dozen television and radio stations that are now used to broadcast misleading and false news and information around the clock.

Russian propaganda right now is in overdrive. A survey by Russia's only independent polling service, Levada, earlier this month showed that 63 percent of Russians believe state media portrays an objective picture of Ukraine.

This bill puts us on the offensive in this information battle. It does so by requiring Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America to increase broadcasts to the people of eastern Ukraine and Crimea, prioritizing programming to populations that are being inundated with Russian propaganda and combating the misinformation they are receiving.

This bill also supports efforts to circumvent Russian jamming. The Russian government has targeted Ukrainian television and radio stations, jamming their signals and disrupting their ability to reach Ukrainian audiences while the Russian propaganda broadcasts come in relentlessly.

In addition, this bill supports U.S. international broadcasting to the Balkans and Moldova, two regions that are subject to the wider Russian propaganda campaign.

The free flow of information forms the foundation for a strong democratic society. Russian propaganda kills democratic prospects. This is the problem with the fact that the state and Russia has now taken over all independent media.

As they struggle to build democracy, this bill will help provide the people of Ukraine with news and information that is accessible, credible, and accurate. It will basically be surrogate broadcasting.

I urge its passage, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, it is a sad state of affairs. There was one television station left in Russia that had some measure of independence, that wasn't state-controlled. Russia, President Putin, went after that institution, and now it is no longer broadcasting.

Russia has been waging an intense, aggressive, and very blunt disinformation campaign. Not only is that campaign directed at disinformation to people in Ukraine, but they have also spun tales of sinister plotting by the West. This measure, S. 2183, responds by directing U.S. international broadcasters to advance access to uncensored sources of information, the truth, about what is happening on the ground in Ukraine, to use stringers and reporters and to operate as a surrogate radio broadcast source in order to get news and information to people that are otherwise subject to the Russian propaganda, state-run propaganda that is coming into the country. I think it is important that this be done because the Ukrainian stations themselves have now been jammed by the Russians, by the Russian Government.

The former head of Radio Free Europe once described the mission of his broadcasts as one that ``irritates authoritarian regimes, inspires democrats, and creates greater space for civil society.'' We need to create greater space for civil society in Eastern Europe today. We need to provide a platform to inspire those who want to see democratic governance, and that is exactly the type of response that is needed.

For years, this type of broadcasting has been pivotal in helping young democracies push back against media lies and distortions and get off of their feet. We know from listening to Vaclav Havel and Lech Walesa how important this broadcasting can be. It is the type of broadcasting needed now in Ukraine and the surrounding region more than ever.

So I urge the House to pass S. 2183 and ensure that Russian attempts to undermine democracy in Ukraine through an intense propaganda campaign do not go unanswered.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4278) to support the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous materials in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, President Vladimir Putin's decision to forcibly annex Crimea was based on his calculation that the price would be bearable.

Now, in fact, Russia is susceptible to pressure. Seventy percent of all the exports from Russia are from oil and gas; 52 percent of the budget that goes to the power behind Mr. Putin's military and his government comes from that monopoly pricing on natural gas. That supplies the budget for Russia. That is what gives him the power to manipulate the situation, the monopoly over gas that he has in Eastern Europe, to manipulate this situation with respect to Ukraine.

If we want to check aggression from Russia, we must push back, and we must work together quickly, not only to confront this monopoly circumstance that exists there, but also to quickly impose tough sanctions on President Putin and on those who have been his accomplices in carrying out this aggression.

Diplomatically, our European allies have helped to eject Russia from the G8 and have suspended all other engagement with Russia until this crisis is peacefully resolved. Economically, they have also imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, against many Russian leaders. Our targets must include government officials as well as those who hold no formal position but who, nevertheless, exercise great influence over President Putin's policy and have supported aggression. That includes the so-called oligarchs and others who have amassed enormous wealth through corruption and through other illegitimate means.

We must make clear that if they do not end this crisis--which they have deliberately created, by the way--or if they choose to go even further, then we and our allies will ratchet up the sanctions pressure.

We must also move quickly to strengthen Ukraine by reinforcing its sovereignty, its independence and territorial integrity, and assist the new government in meeting the enormous challenges it faces.

This bill provides assistance to strengthen civil society in Ukraine, to combat corruption, to help recover assets stolen by former Ukrainian officials, to reform the police and the justice sector, to promote the independent

media, to strengthen Ukraine's defense, and to help prepare for the run-up to the Presidential election, which is scheduled now on May 25.

And I will add that, in several weeks, I will be leading a bipartisan delegation from this House, with the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), to Ukraine. And I will add that his forefathers, in fact, come from Ukraine. We will be there to meet with the Parliament, the leadership, and the electoral commission in advance of that election.

This bill also directs the assistance already approved by the House to help get the Ukrainian economy back on its feet, including by promoting fundamental economic reforms in the country. Those tough reforms will be essential.

Mr. Speaker, Moscow is using propaganda to sow confusion and fear and unrest inside Ukraine right now, which it then exploits to justify its actions. To counter that effort, this legislation enhances funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America to expand broadcasting in the Russian language, in Ukrainian, in Tatar in order to provide the accurate news and information on the ground across Ukraine. No amount of aid will help Ukraine if Russian propaganda rules the day.

Another priority must be to end Russia's ability to use its energy reserves to blackmail Ukraine and other countries, including many of our NATO allies. Russia supplies 100 percent of Lithuania's natural gas. Well, it might not be that surprising, then, that Lithuania pays the highest price for gas of any country in Eastern Europe. And it supplies two-thirds of Poland's gas.

Energy sales earn Russia not only dollars, but they earn Russia influence because Russia, in the dead of winter, has turned off the valves. Russia's state-controlled gas company, Gazprom, threatened to cut off supplies to Ukraine earlier this month, as it did during the winters of 2006 and 2009. Gazprom has stated that it is preparing to double the price Ukraine pays for its natural gas, which could cripple the country's already weak economy.

Now, we have a powerful tool to counter this pressure, one that is just waiting to be used, and that is our own energy reserves. We must remove restrictions on the export of U.S. crude oil and natural gas into Eastern Europe. We have, in fact, a letter to the Speaker of the House from the heads of state of Poland, of the Czech Republic, of Slovakia, of Hungary, asking us--asking us--to direct resources, to sell resources.

Listen, at the end of the day, if we do this, we end the flaring of gas here in the United States because of the glut. We are able to help our balance of payments. It will help to reduce our deficits. It increases Russia's deficits, frankly. It produces jobs here in the United States. But it comes at a time when Vladimir Putin has a grip on the necks of the decisionmakers in Eastern Europe with respect to his power on monopoly over gas.

Lifting, frankly, these self-imposed sanctions on ourselves in terms of not exporting our excess gas would not only boost the U.S. economy and create American jobs, as I indicated, but would reduce the energy revenues that comprise 52 percent of the budget for the military and the government in Russia. We must break Putin's energy grip over Ukraine and Eastern Europe. This is a strategic issue.

I am pleased, by the way, to have worked closely with Ranking Member Eliot Engel of New York and with all of the members of the committee to produce this strong, effective, and much-needed bipartisan bill, and I look forward to its passage today and to working with our Senate colleagues to have the President sign the bill into law as soon as possible.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC., March 26, 2014.

Hon. Ed Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing with respect to H.R.

4278, the ``Ukraine Support Act,'' which the Committee on

Foreign Affairs ordered reported favorably on March 25, 2014.

As a result of your having consulted with us on provisions in

H.R. 4278 that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the

Committee on the Judiciary, I agree to discharge our

Committee from further consideration of this bill so that it

may proceed expeditiously to the House floor for

consideration.

The Judiciary Committee takes this action with our mutual

understanding that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 4278 at

this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over subject

matter contained in this or similar legislation, and that our

Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as

this bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may

address any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. Our

Committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of an

appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate

conference involving this or similar legislation, and asks

that you support any such request.

I would appreciate a response to this letter confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 4278, and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Congressional Record during Floor

consideration of H.R. 4278.

Sincerely,

Bob Goodlatte,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), our respected majority leader.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, part of our problem here is with President Putin's definition of what is the Russian Nation in his speech to the Duma. When he says the Russian Nation is divided by borders, he is sending a message that, with respect not just to Crimea but other areas throughout Europe, Russia may be staking a claim.

Here is the difficulty. In Crimea, yes, the population today is majority ethnic Russian, but there was a time when, before Joe Stalin moved a wide segment of the Tatars population into Siberia and before the forced collectivization, there was a time when the majority population was very different than it is today. Fifty-six percent of that ethnic group perished. But this is a problem that we also have in Eastern Europe and in eastern and southern Ukraine, because you had some 8 million Ukrainians also perish during Stalin's rule, and ethnic Russians came into that area as a consequence.

The thing we need to remember is that it is, in fact, the Russian- speaking population in the east, as well as the Ukrainians speaking in the west, that voted for independence for Ukraine, that voted strongly to have a separate state. And if this issue is allowed to stand without the world responding, the question is: Is that argument then made in Latvia and Estonia? Is that argument then made in Latvia and Estonia? Is that argument made in all of the former Russian states?

I do not think in any way this is comparable to Kosovo. In Kosovo, NATO responded to a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing by former Yugoslavian forces. In Crimea, Russia attempted to justify its actions by fabricating the myth of widespread violence against the ethnic Russian population, even going as far as to equate it to the bloodshed occurring in Syria. Clearly, this is not true. We know it is not true.

In terms of the election itself, opponents were silenced. International monitors were barred. Crimean Tatars themselves boycotted the very election. Voters were not given the option of preserving Crimea's current status within Ukraine. Independence and de facto independence were the only options, and the bogus vote there was also unnecessary because the Ukrainian Government had made it clear that it was willing to discuss increased autonomy for Crimea.

Now, here is the problem going forward. We know the view taken internationally on this subject. The U.N. Security Council condemned Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, and Russia stood alone--stood absolutely alone in this case--because even Ukrainians themselves have gone to the sites of the Russian media-reported attacks against ethnic Russian minorities to show that that is not occurring. That is, in fact, propaganda. We can't let this stand.

One of the other things we are doing in this bill is improving our broadcasting into Ukraine and the region to dispel these myths and spread the truth about the situation there.

So I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer), a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

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

This is not a new cold war. President Reagan ended the cold war. The way he did that, frankly, was by leading, but also with a strategy which drove down the price of oil and gas, which was the stranglehold, which not only Russia had over Eastern Europe, but also funded the ability of the former Soviet Union militarily to carry out an expansion program.

Today, you have the circumstance where President Putin relies almost solely--70 percent of the exports, 52 percent of the budget, as I indicated--from a monopoly position on oil and gas.

That is why I think it is very important that we understand what the polls and what the Hungarians understood when they exported 2 billion cubic yards of gas last year to Ukraine in order to try to keep the ability of Russia from manipulating the situation into leading to the very chaos that was brought about.

We need to understand, when the U.S.-EU annual summit just occurred and the EU asked us to be part of a program to ship gas into that market in order to offset this monopoly control and pricing by Russia, that we should be part of this. This is part of this bill.

Also part of the bill is the important consequence of communicating to the people in that region and offsetting the propaganda that Russia right now is sending into the country.

We address that issue, as well, in this legislation, as well as good governance issues, and the steps that are needed in order to reform the economy inside Ukraine in order to set up the rule of law, independent courts.

The polls are on the ground working on this issue right now. The United States needs to support that effort. This sends one last message that, if you are in the business of helping to invade a country, there will be consequences.

I urge an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, as the author of this resolution, I rise today to honor the life of a rather extraordinary man, Vaclav Havel.

As we watch the crisis unfolding in Ukraine, I think it is important to reflect upon the life of the man who led the people of Czechoslovakia out from under the thumb of the totalitarian system he had grown up under, out from under the Soviet Union, and played a very key role in the founding of not one, but of two vibrant European democracies, one of them the Czech Republic and the other the Slovak Republic.

I remember a young Croatian journalist, with tears in his eyes, saying, if only we had had someone, someone like Vaclav Havel, when it came to the divisions in the former Yugoslavia. Because, as he stated, the ideals that Vaclav Havel had enunciated, political pluralism, tolerance, and democratic capitalism, the way forward, the same way forward as was broadcast by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty-- broadcasts, by the way that were never heard in Yugoslavia; we never broadcast there. But he said those themes managed, without the loss of a single human life, for Vaclav Havel not only to bring independence for the Czechoslovakian people, but then to set up a separate Slovakia and a separate Czech Republic after the referendum.

As a playwright, Vaclav Havel revealed the absurdity he lived under under communist ideology. He discredited--he discredited--the repressive Czechoslovak Communist regime, and following the brutal Soviet suppression of the 1968 Prague Spring, which was a movement for greater political liberalization, Havel was banned from the theater. Their attempt to silence him was to not allow his words to be heard. But instead, they greatly underestimated his passion for freedom, because instead of succumbing to their intimidation, Vaclav Havel became the voice and increased--increased--his political activity.

Havel played the central role in drafting the now famous Charter 77 Manifesto and was a founding member of the dissident organization based upon those very principles, and in 1979 he founded the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted. These and other opposition efforts earned him multiple stays in prison as a so-called guest of the Communist authorities.

But Havel and the cause of freedom prevailed. Following the successful Velvet Revolution of 1989, Vaclav Havel became President of Czechoslovakia, and that was by a unanimous vote of the Federal Assembly, and that ended 41 years of repressive Communist rule.

The following year, Czechoslovakia held its first free elections in four decades, resulting in overwhelming support for Havel to retain the Presidency. As leader of an independent Czechoslovakia, Havel presided over the peaceful separation of the Czech and Slovak Republics, a momentous and challenging task. As President of the Czech Republic, he paved the way for the country's entrance both into NATO and into the European Union.

A strong supporter of Radio Free Europe, President Havel invited this U.S. international broadcaster to move to Prague, offering the former Czechoslovak Parliament building as a headquarters for them. And when some questioned the broadcaster's role after the fall of communism, Havel stated:

We need your professionalism and your ability to see events

from a broad perspective.

Havel's zeal for liberating oppressed people did not diminish in later years, when he continued to advocate for democratic reforms in places such as Belarus, Burma, Cuba, and Iran.

In reference to his role as a democratic activist, Havel simply wrote:

We never decided to become dissidents. We simply went ahead

and did certain things that we felt we ought to do, that

seemed decent for us to do, nothing more nor less.

The legacy of this freedom fighter serves as an inspiration for peaceful, democratic activists today. It is fitting, therefore, for us to pass this resolution and provide for a bust of Vaclav Havel to be displayed in the Capitol Building, the workplace of our great democracy. There alongside similar images of the great champions of freedom--Winston Churchill, Louis Kossuth, Raoul Wallenberg--his statue will remind future generations of the impact one man can have in the advancement and in the protection of liberty.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the original cosponsors of this resolution, as well: Majority Leader Cantor, Minority Leader Pelosi, Majority Whip McCarthy, Minority Whip Hoyer, Appropriations Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey, and the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel, with whom I worked particularly closely in trying to advance the values of Vaclav Havel.