Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for bringing the bill up. I want to thank my partner, Congressman Smith, and I want to thank the Democratic leader, Congresswoman Pelosi, for being there at every time, including the time you stood up to the Chinese Government at Tiananmen Square, when you were almost arrested. So I want to thank the Democratic leader for her help and support every time an issue of human rights in China has come up. Thank you very much.

Twenty-five years ago, peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators, many of them students, most of them students, gathered in Tiananmen in a move for greater openness, transparency, and the rule of law.

But what could have marked the beginning of a peaceful, political transition in China was brutally, brutally crushed by the People's Liberation Army. A historic moment of opportunity was, quite frankly, lost.

By nearly every measure, China is today as intolerant of dissent as it has ever been. Just read today's New York Times where they talk about how they are cracking down, telling people: Do not go to Tiananmen.

Like authoritarian governments before it, the Chinese Government remains deeply frightened. They are frightened. They are literally afraid of their own people. They are afraid of the spirit that animated that protest, namely, the yearning for basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.

I first went to China in 1991 with my good friend Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey. It was during this trip we visited Beijing prison number 1. Chinese authorities informed us--and we saw them--that approximately 40 Tiananmen Square protestors were in the prison. Our request was to see the demonstrators. They were denied, but Chinese authorities gave us a tour of the prison's textile and plastic shoe factories. We saw them making socks. These are the socks that they were making. The fact is there are golfers on the side, and in those days they didn't play golf. Tiananmen Square demonstrators were making socks for Americans to wear as they play golf. I took with me some of the socks that prisoners were making because they were coming to our country.

That experience captures, in stark terms, the failure of U.S. foreign policy--the failure of U.S. foreign policy toward China over successive demonstrations, both Republican and Democrat alike. The United States has too often pursued a relationship that is fundamentally inconsistent with the most basic national values, marked by trade and unfettered market access at the expense of human rights, religious freedom, and the rule of law. President Reagan said that the words in the Constitution and the words in the Declaration of Independence were a covenant not only with the people in Philadelphia in 1776 and 1787, but with the people of Tiananmen and the people who want freedom all over the world.

May this resolution by Congressman Smith and the approaching anniversary of that dark June day serve as a sobering reminder of the unmet yearning for basic human liberty which compels men like Liu Xiaobo, himself an imprisoned Nobel Laureate, won the 2010 Nobel Prize, was in prison, his wife was under house arrest, she couldn't even go to Norway to pick up the prize, and also the thousands of others whose names we do not know, but as Leader Pelosi said: they will be known in the West, someday everyone will know who they are and everyone will know who they are in China and we will know the name of ``tank man,'' because ``tank man'' that Ms. Pelosi talked about has done more to bring about freedom than anybody else, and we will know their names.

I pray for the day that the Chinese Government--the party and system responsible for the crackdown in Tiananmen and responsible for the continued repression--will be relegated to the ``ash heap of history.'' They will be relegated to the ash heap of history. I believe that will come very soon. I believe it will come in my lifetime, particularly if the Democratic aspirations of the Chinese people can find a champion-- if they can find a champion in the United States of America.

With that, I thank Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for bringing this bill up. I thank Mr. Smith for this resolution and all the effort that he has done. I want to again thank Democratic Leader Pelosi for her leadership in fighting on these issues of human rights and religious freedom.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill, H.R. 4660, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

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

I am pleased to begin the consideration of H.R. 4660, making appropriations for fiscal year 2015 for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. This bill has a far-reaching impact, from the safety of people in their homes and communities, to exploring the farthest reaches of space.

The bill before the Committee today reflects a delicate balance of needs and requirements. We have drafted what I consider a responsible bill for FY 2015 spending levels for the departments and agencies under the subcommittee's jurisdiction. We have had to carefully prioritize the funding in the bill and make hard choices about how to spend scarce resources.

I want to thank Chairman Rogers for supporting us with a very fair allocation and for helping us to move the bill forward.

I want to thank the subcommittee ranking member, Mr. Fattah, who has been a valued partner and colleague. I appreciate his commitment and his understanding of the wide variety of programs in this bill, and I thank him for his help.

I want to thank all of the members of the subcommittee for their help and assistance and also thank Mrs. Lowey, the ranking member of the full committee.

I want to thank the majority staff for their hard work--subcommittee clerk Mike Ringler, Leslie Albright, Jeff Ashford, Diana Simpson, Colin Samples, and Taylor Kelly.

I also appreciate the professionalism and cooperation of the minority staff. In particular, I want to thank Bob Bonner and Matt Smith for their help during all of the long hours spent putting this bill and report together.

The bill totals $51.2 billion in discretionary spending, a reduction of $398 million, or approximately 1 percent below the current fiscal year. Since the beginning of the 112th Congress, the committee has cut the total amount of the CJS bill by $13.3 billion, or 20 percent, over five fiscal years.

We have focused limited resources on the most critical areas-- fighting crime and terrorism, including a focus on preventing and investigating cyber attacks; and boosting U.S. competitiveness and job creation by investing in

exports, manufacturing, science, and space exploration.

For the Department of Commerce, the bill includes $8.4 billion, $391 million below the President's request.

The bill provides funding above the request for the National Weather Service operations, weather research, and NOAA's two flagship weather satellite systems that will result in more timely and accurate warnings and forecasts.

Severe weather events often result in the loss of life and economic ruin. We saw this again, recently, with devastating tornadoes in Arkansas, Mississippi, and elsewhere. These investments saved lives in Arkansas and Mississippi, and they will save lives wherever the next severe weather event strikes.

The bill makes critical investments in manufacturing, export promotion, and job creation, including a Commerce Department task force to incentivize U.S. companies to bring their manufacturing and services activities back to the United States.

The bill includes $856 million for NIST research and standards work that is critical to innovation and competitiveness, including $130 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program to help advance job growth in the manufacturing sector.

It also funds the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at NIST to work with companies to bolster cybersecurity in the retail sector and encourages the development of a cyber breach database, especially in light of the attacks on Target and Neiman Marcus, which impacted millions of Americans.

A primary area of focus in the bill this year is scientific research, innovation, and competitiveness. Investing in basic research is key to growth and job creation, and it is the foundation for the economic security of future generations, which enables us to stay ahead of China.

The bill includes $7.4 billion for the National Science Foundation, an increase of $232 million, or 3.2 percent, above FY14 for basic research and science.

Despite the constrained allocation, this is an all-time high watermark for NSF basic research funding that will keep America's economy strong by setting the groundwork for the development of new technologies--again, not to be competitive with, but to stay ahead of the People's Republic of China, a Communist government.

With increased funding comes increased responsibility. I respect the NSF to follow through on the commitments it has made to the committee to increase accountability and transparency in its grant decision making. No funny grants is what I am trying to say. The new director must take every necessary step to ensure that research grants are scientifically meritorious, that funding allocations reflect national priorities and that the taxpayer investments in science are being used wisely.

Developing a well-educated STEM workforce is also critical to American competitiveness. More than $1 billion is provided throughout the bill for these efforts, including $876 million for NSF programs to improve the quality of science education.

For NASA, the bill includes $17.9 billion, including funding above the request to keep the development schedule and flight milestones for the Orion crew vehicle and the Space Launch System, which will provide the capability for the U.S. to return to the Moon and to go to Mars.

It is important for the U.S. to end our reliance on Russia for crew access to the International Space Station as soon as possible, which is why Commercial Crew Development is funded at $785 million, with instructions to NASA to find the fastest and safest way to close this gap.

The bill includes an increase of $100 million for aeronautics research, a long overdue boost to this part of NASA's research portfolio. Aerospace is a pillar of the American manufacturing sector and is one of our leading exports. This investment will boost our aviation competitiveness and improve airspace safety.

The President's request for NASA science programs would have inhibited progress on planetary science goals, including missions to Mars and Europa. This bill includes $5.2 billion for NASA Science, which restores those cuts. The bill also includes important resources to address critical security gaps throughout NASA.

As the recent espionage case further demonstrated, countries like China are engaged in an unprecedented effort to steal cutting-edge technology from U.S. labs and companies. This includes the groundbreaking space and aeronautics research done at NASA every day. We need to make sure we are doing everything possible to prevent the theft or unauthorized disclosure of this technology.

Last year, at the committee's direction, a National Academy of Public Administration team, led by former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, conducted an external review that found troubling vulnerabilities in NASA's security controls and practices.

They found NASA's systems were compromised, and they found a troubling culture throughout the agency that failed to prioritize or to enforce security. Funding is included in this bill for NASA to protect its cutting-edge technology with improved IT security, export control training, additional counterintelligence staffing, and the operation of a new Foreign National Access Management program.

The bill also calls for NASA to submit a followup report by the end of FY15 on NASA's progress in implementing the recommended improvements. The committee will continue to hold NASA accountable for the implementation of these security professions.

For the Department of Justice, the bill includes $27.8 billion, $384 million above the current level. The top mission priority of the Justice Department is defending national security from both internal and external threats.

The bill includes $8.5 billion, an increase of $125 million, for the FBI--including funds to prevent and combat cyber intrusions, which Director Comey believes may overtake terrorism as the number one threat facing the Nation.

Every major company in the United States has now been hit by the Chinese with cyber attacks. Many Members of Congress have had their computers stripped by the Chinese. The FBI continues to build a nationwide capability for cyber investigations.

Last week, the Justice Department, for the first time, charged five officers of China's People's Liberation Army with economic cyber espionage, which is the first time foreign state actors have been so charged.

I commend the administration, but in having served in the Army and in having been a private--a private never did anything a sergeant didn't tell him to do; the sergeant didn't do anything the lieutenant didn't tell him to do; the lieutenant didn't do anything that the major didn't tell him to do--right up to the Commander in Chief.

So this is not just five low-level Chinese officers. This goes to the highest level of the Chinese Government. This case is an example of the great work the men and women of the FBI are doing with these investments in this bill over the last several years to confront cyber attacks, and we thank the FBI. These efforts are necessary to stop the plundering of American innovation, jobs, and trade securities.

The FBI is also at the forefront of the effort to combat violent gangs. This bill increases the funding for Safe Streets task forces to check this growing problem and to better support State and local law enforcement efforts to deal with gang networks in their communities.

The bill includes $8.5 million for the National Gang Intelligence Center, and it gives the center a new name and an additional mission to provide and coordinate intelligence on human trafficking networks nationwide and to disseminate that intelligence to law enforcement partnerships.

The Bureau of Prisons is responsible for the custody and care of more than 215,000 Federal offenders in 119 institutions nationwide. The bill includes $7 billion to ensure the safe and secure operation of the Federal Prison System.

The bill continues funding for the Chuck Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections. When he got out of prison, Chuck Colson dedicated his life to reforming the prisons, so we have named this prison reform commission after Chuck Colson, which will recommend reforms to increase public safety, improve offender accountability, reduce

recidivism, and control costs in the Federal Prison System.

This effort will distill lessons learned from innovations at the State level--many States are farther ahead, Texas is farther ahead, and many others are farther ahead than the Federal Bureau of Prisons--and enable these reforms to take hold in the Federal system and in corrections systems nationwide.

The bill directs the Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime to provide the survivors and families of the victims of the November 2009 terrorist attack at Fort Hood all possible and appropriate assistance. We are going to help the victims of Fort Hood and their families.

We are going to require the office to report to Congress what, if any, role the classification of the attack as a workplace violence incident, rather than as a terrorist attack, played in determining what types of assistance would be provided.

Awlaki was in touch with the major when he shot them. If you look at emails, this was a terrorist attack. It was not workplace violence.

The bill includes a number of important provisions in support of Second Amendment rights, including a new provision prohibiting the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty, by executive order or otherwise.

The bill includes $2.1 billion for Justice grant programs that support States, localities, and nonprofits. This is a reduction of $73 million from the current level. In fact, since 2009, these programs have been reduced by 49 percent. I know we are going to get amendments here, complaining, but we had an allocation, and we had to work within that allocation.

Despite the reduction, the bill prioritizes proven, high-priority programs, including Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, State Criminal Alien Assistance, Violence Against Women programs, human trafficking grants, and DNA backlog reduction.

This is a significant bill for reducing violence against women and providing services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The bill includes $425.5 million for these programs, more than the current level and more than the President's request.

This bill triples the current level for human trafficking task forces and victim services. We are determined to make a difference and bring an end to the heinous crime that is happening not only in other countries, but right here in the United States.

So we triple the current level--not just talk, not just rhetoric, words--we triple the amount, and every FBI office is involved, and every U.S. attorney has to have a task force to see if we can actually end this, perhaps, in the same way that William Wilberforce ended the slave trade.

It also directs the Attorney General to hold a national conference on sex trafficking with every Governor, with every U.S. attorney, and Federal, State, and local law enforcement to elevate awareness and to share the very best practice.

What is going on in Texas can be done in Virginia. What is going on in Pennsylvania can be done somewhere else. At this national conference, they will all be together with the idea of ending this.

The unacceptable backlog of DNA tests at crime labs and law enforcement agencies demands action. This bill includes $125 million for existing DNA programs and an additional $36 million to address the backlog of sexual assault kits at law enforcement agencies nationwide.

The bill includes funding for prescription drug monitoring grants, thanks to Chairman Rogers. It also includes a significant increase for the DEA's Tactical Diversion Squads to address our Nation's fastest growing drug problem--prescription drug abuse.

Finally, after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007, Congress passed a bill to improve the National Instant Background Check System, NICS, which is a critical tool for keeping firearms out of the hands of prohibited persons, but NICS is only as effective as is the State database on which it relies.

The bill, for the second straight year, includes funding above the request for grants to States to improve NICS records. This bill includes $58.8 million, an increase of 6 percent above the President's request, and $40 million above the FY13 level.

The bill also includes $2 million for the National Center for Campus Public Safety, which the committee established with the support of the Virginia Tech Family Foundation. This center serves as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of information and best practices. There was no money requested for this, but we wanted to fund it.

Additionally, the bill includes $75 million for the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative. The National Institute of Justice will study the role of mental health, as well as exposure to violent media--such as video games and violent movies--in school violence at the K-12 level. The initiative also provides pilot grants to test effective mental health interventions at schools across the Nation.

NSF is also active in this area. They are currently seeking proposals that will enable a better understanding of the factors, causes, and consequences of youth violence.

That is a summary of the bill before you today.

It provides for the increases and cuts that were necessary. It carries on the fight against terrorism, cyberattacks, crime, trafficking in persons, and violence against women, and provides important increases to boost scientific research, innovation, and competitiveness.

It provides strong support for all the various NASA missions and continues the effort to improve weather forecasting accuracy.

It represents our best take on matching needs with scarce resources. We have tried hard to produce the best bill we possibly could within the resources we had to work with.

I urge all Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), chairman of the full committee.

Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Young).

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

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

I accept the amendment. The President's request had proposed eliminating this as a separate program. We rejected that proposal, and instead we funded the program above, as the gentleman from Massachusetts said--and I appreciate it--above the level of $41 million. This takes it to 44. He makes a very powerful case. I think it makes a lot of sense, so I accept the amendment, and I think it is a good amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the gentlelady's amendment.

Madam Chair, the recommendation in this bill includes $323 million for the Global Markets program, which includes the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service. This amount is $3 million more than the current operating level. Despite the continued fiscal constraints, the committee has supported increases to the International Trade Administration over the last few fiscal years in order to support deployment of additional commercial service and staff at embassies. But this offset totally takes it from the Bureau of Prisons. It reduces the Bureau of Prisons' salaries and expenses account by $3 million.

The prisons are overcrowded. We have had several prison guards killed. With our high- and medium-security institutions exceeding 51 and 41 percent of their rated capacity, the prisons are overpacked. They are maxed out. And so with a population of 215,000 inmates and 2,500 more expected in 2015, the Bureau of Prisons just can't keep up. So this bill helps them recover. We don't want to have another prison guard killed. So I think where they take the money from--I would urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

I am going to accept the amendment. My father was a policeman--Philadelphia policeman, badge 3990.

I think Mr. Reichert makes a very, very powerful case, and I have great respect for law enforcement. I just want to put it in context. We are going to accept the amendment, but article I, section 2 of the Constitution requires a census every 10 years.

This is one of the few areas where the Constitution actually requires this body to do something. Frankly, this body, a lot of times, does nothing. This, we are required to do it. This amendment cuts funding for the periodic census. Without getting into detail, we will try to work this out when we go to conference because I am sympathetic.

We are going to start getting a lot more amendments: cut census, it is not for a few more years. But then the time comes. However, I think Mr. Reichert makes a powerful case. We do respect law enforcement, and he makes a powerful case.

We cannot solve the issue of sexual trafficking with just Federal officers. We need the sheriffs and the police departments. Having said all that, there will be some pain, and we will have to work this thing out, but I accept the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

I rise in opposition to the amendment. The amendment would take away from NASA's Commercial Crew Program. This is a program where we are paying the Russians--Putin, who invaded the Crimea--Putin, we are paying Putin--this takes it away from that, allowing NASA to fund fewer development and testing activities.

It would increase the likeliness that we will have to extend our reliance on Russia for access to the space station. The Russians have even said that we are going to have to use a trampoline to get to the space station. They are going to stop cooperating after 2020.

I could say more, but I don't think we want to take money from that program. Because of that, I urge a ``no'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, the gentleman is absolutely right. I completely agree with him. We will make every effort to make sure this is in there. He has been ahead of almost everybody else here, but I accept the amendment. I think it is a very good amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I reserve a point of order on the gentleman's amendment.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

This bill before the House today also includes for the EDA $5 million to support projects to facilitate relocation to the United States of jobs currently being done overseas. If you have an iPhone, it is made in China. GE has moved plants off of the United States to China. This is in order to fund. It will enable EDA to help work with American businesses to bring back, to repatriate, their manufacturing activities back to the United States.

It does not support any projects in my district, but it does support projects in some very, very poor districts throughout the United States. These are areas that are struggling. Because of that, sometimes EDA is only a lifeline, a path, to more economic sustainability.

I oppose the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I have no objection to the amendment. I think it is a very good amendment, and I share the gentleman's concern.

Out in the western part of my district, in the Shenandoah Valley, I think they had one heroin death in 2011 or in 2012. In 2013 and this year, they are surpassing that, and it is only May. This is going to be an epidemic. It is hitting the country.

They are actually finding that growers of marijuana in Mexico are getting out of that business and are growing poppies. So I think it is a very good amendment, and I urge the support of it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I announce that we are going to postpone the 2020 census and move it to 2021 or maybe to 2022.

I am going to accept the amendment, but if we keep taking it from the census, there will be no census unless it is going to be done on a voluntary basis, and we can ask people if they will. I think it is a good amendment.

I understand what you are trying to do, but if we keep fining census, census, census, then there will be no census. I accept the gentleman's amendment. He makes a very powerful case, and I think it is a very good issue.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

I have no objection to the amendment. And the gentleman's area has been hit. We have all seen the pictures of the towns in Oklahoma. So I appreciate his efforts and diligence.

I just want Members to know the Commerce-Justice-Science bill already includes strong funding for the National Weather Service. The bill is $16 million above the request for the National Weather Service. We restore the $10 million proposed reduction for information technology officers at each weather forecast office. We restored a proposed $8 million cut to the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program. We restored $6 million in proposed cuts to the tsunami community education awareness program.

But I think the gentleman makes a very, very powerful case, and we will work to make sure that this stays in until we go to conference. As he said, we can save lives. And that is what we want to do.

With that, I accept the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

I thank the gentleman for withdrawing the amendment.

As the gentleman is aware, the bill before the House today includes $175 million to support the operation of NOAA's research vessels. This amount is the same as the request--a $5 million increase above the enacted level.

We will take a look at it, and I appreciate the gentleman raising it. We will stay with him as we go to conference.

Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of the gentleman's amendment. I think Mr. Nugent makes a very powerful case. As more veterans return from combat, we are seeing the increased involvement in the justice system.

The committee did establish the Veterans Court program in fiscal year 2013 and has increased its funding for this year. The President did not request funding specifically for this program.

The Mental Health Court Program is important as well and, given that a significant percentage of the justice-involved population have mental health disorders, these courts help with recidivism.

I think Mr. Nugent again, as I said, makes a very powerful case, so I support the amendment and urge its adoption.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I am going to oppose the amendment. We are just taking out of census, and so the Members know, this is the same as last year's level, so there are not any big major cuts here.

Also, we are above the request. We are $3 million above the request, so I don't question what the gentleman says. He knows a lot more about salmon than I do. He has probably forgotten more about salmon than I will ever know, but we can't keep going into the census and going into the census.

Since it is $3 million above the request, it is at the same level last year, we added money into the salmon in the full committee, and so I am going to ask for a ``no'' vote on the amendment.

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

Will the gentleman yield?

I thank the gentleman for withdrawing the amendment. I understand how important the horseshoe crab is. I have been to Lewes, Delaware, many times; and I understand.

You make a very powerful point, but as the gentleman is aware, the bill before the House today includes $72 million for stock assessments, which is the same as the request, and a $3 million increase above the enacted level. We will continue to work with the gentleman, and I appreciate his comments.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

I rise in strong support of the gentleman's amendment, and I thank him for taking the initiative and doing what he has done. Enforcing existing laws that keeps guns out of the hands of prohibited individuals is a goal we all share.

The bill already includes funding over 6 percent above the President's request for NICS grants. The level is $40 million above the fiscal year 2013 level. We can maybe even get it up higher than the gentleman has when we go to conference.

I think what he is doing is very important. I am going to ask for a roll call vote on this. I think it is very, very important. It is not enough to just talk about something; I think it is important we do it. I thank the gentleman and strongly support his amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I reluctantly rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

The Commerce IG performs an important oversight for the Department and for our subcommittee and committee.

I understand that the inspector general has asked the Integrity Committee of the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency for an objective review and recommendations concerning this matter taking into account all the facts; the OIG has implemented each of the corrective actions proposed by the Office of Special Counsel, and that those actions were accepted by the Office of Special Counsel to address concerns contained in its report as a result of its investigation. Further, I understand there was no testimonial or documentary evidence that the inspector general had committed any prohibition with regard to personnel. It appears also that the IG has asked the counsel--they call it the CIGIE--to further review this matter. Until that process is concluded, it could be premature to reduce the common inspector general funding.

Because of that, I rise in opposition to the amendment and yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I understand it takes a million from Attorney General Holder's office and puts it into the immigration area. I think she makes a powerful case. I have no objection.

I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

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

Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chairman, I accept the amendment. I think it is a very good amendment. I congratulate the gentlelady from Arizona, and I urge a ``yes'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chairman, this is a good amendment. We accepted Mr. Nugent's amendment earlier this evening, I think for $2 million. For this we accept the amendment.

I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of this amendment. The gentleman from West Virginia is exactly right.

One of the frustrating things to keep in mind is that, in China, there are 24 Catholic bishops under house arrest, and nobody seems to care. There are big law firms in Washington that represent the Chinese Government, and nobody seems to care.

They have plundered Tibet, and yet American companies have to go up against American law firms that are paid for by Chinese filthy money, so I think it is a very good amendment. I would have made it double the amount, but we will try to add that when we get to conference. I accept the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, we have already increased this, but I think it is meritorious, so I have no objection to the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

I support the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

I think it is a good amendment, and I accept the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I oppose the amendment.

Chairman Goodlatte, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who was here and just left, strongly opposes the amendment.

There is no authorization. There is no appropriation. Congress never approved it. It is almost like an executive order out of nowhere.

Again, so the chairman of the full committee, we try to work closer together. We have had a better relationship than we have had for a long time.

The authorizers oppose it, and so I strongly oppose it and ask for a ``no'' vote on the amendment.

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

Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Madam Chair, I support the gentleman's amendment.

I was just reading the dangers and consequences of marijuana abuse. What is happening to our country? I saw a report today in The Hill newspaper, ``Buyers' remorse on marijuana?'' The growers in Mexico are not growing marijuana now. They are going into the poppy business because they are now doing it in Colorado.

I cast the deciding vote against smoking on airplanes, and now we are encouraging or allowing people to use marijuana?

I think the gentleman is right. And I have been disappointed in the Justice Department because, you know, we should follow the law. The law is the law, and I think the gentleman is right. You are seeing the skirting of the law. There is much more. We are going to have a big debate tomorrow, I guess, on this whole issue a little bit differently than this.

But I think the gentleman is right. The law is the law, and the Justice Department should be seeking justice and enforce the law. If they don't like the law, they should come up here to Congress and change the law. Reasonable people can debate it and have differences. But I think the gentleman makes a very powerful point, and I strongly support the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

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

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 11 minutes a.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until today, Thursday, May 29, 2014, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I submitted the full text of the Pledge of Solidarity and Call to Action on Behalf of Christians and Other Small Religious Communities in Egypt, Iraq and Syria, signed by well over 200 U.S. Christian leaders. These individuals, representing the American church, have recognized the gravity of the situation facing religious minorities in these countries, and by signing the pledge have agreed to speak out on behalf of these ancient faith communities. Below is the full list of signatories to the Pledge:

Fr. Tateos R. Abdalian; Rt. Rev. Keith L Ackerman, Bishop

Vicar of the Diocese of Quincy, Anglican Church in North

America; Susan Agel, Resurrection Free Methodist Church;

Charles P. Ajalat; Jhonny Alicea-Baez, Director of Global

Missions, Reformed Church in America; Rt. Rev. Kevin Bond

Allen, Bishop, Diocese of Cascadia, Anglican Church in North

America; Rt. Rev. Roger C. Ames, Diocese of the Great Lakes,

Anglican Church in North America; Melodee Andersen, Wooddale

Church; Rt. Rev. David Craig Anderson, Sr., American Anglican

Council; Dr. Leith Anderson, National Association of

Evangelicals; Fr. Bishoy Andrawes, St. Mark Coptic Orthodox

Church, Washington, DC; Auday P. Arabo, Associated Food and

Petroleum Dealers; Don Argue, EdD, Ambassador at Large,

Convoy Of Hope; Maged Atiya, Physicist, Businessman; Rt. Rev.

Will G. Atwood, III, Bishop, International Diocese, Anglican

Church in North America; Toufic Baaklini, In Defense of

Christians; Wade Baho, Syriacs Assembly Movement; Dr. Mark L.

Bailey, Dallas Theological Seminary; Dr. Ryan Baker, Redeemer

Presbyterian Church (USA), Louisville, KY.

Bashir Bakoz, Syriacs Assembly Movement; Rt. Rev. Thad

Barnum, Bishop, PEARUSA, Anglican Church in North America;

Gary Bauer, American Values; Rt. Rev. Dr. Foley Beach,

Bishop, Diocese of the South, Anglican Church in North

America; Chorbishop Seely Beggiani, Professor of Theology,

Catholic University of America; Mindy Belz, Editor, World

Magazine; Rt. Rev. David Bena, Assisting Bishop, Diocese of

CANA East Anglican Church in North America; William Bennett;

Prof Thomas E. Bird, CUNY; Joel Boot, Christian Reformed

Church in North America; Gerard V. Bradley, Professor of Law,

University of Notre Dame; Rt. Rev. Dr. Steven Breedlove,

Presiding Bishop, PEARUSA, Anglican Church in North America;

Douglas Britton, Missionary, Global Outreach Mission; Kurt

Brown, Pastor, Living Springs Community Church; Most Rev. Tod

Brown, Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of

Orange; Rt. Rev. David C. Bryan, Bishop, PEARUSA, Anglican

Church in North America; Dwight Burchett, Pastor, Centerpoint

Community Church; Paolo Carozza, University of Notre Dame;

Bishop Kenneth H. Carter, Jr., Resident Bishop, Florida

Conference, United Methodist Church; Joseph Cella, Founder,

National Catholic Prayer Breakfast; Most Rev. Charles J.

Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of the Roman Catholic

Archdiocese of Philadelphia; Bishop Abner Chauke, Free

Methodist Church; Most Rev. David R. Choby, Catholic Diocese

of Nashville; Archbishop Oshagan Cholayan, Armenian Apostolic

Church of America; Evan Alevizatos Chriss, Baltimore, MD;

John E. Chowning, Vice President for Church & External

Relations, Campbellsville University; Betty Clark, Wooddale

Church, Eden Prairie, MN; Luis Cortes, Esperanza; Janice Shaw

Crouse, The Beverly LaHaye Institute; Jim Daly, Focus on the

Family; Dr. Ramsay F. Dass, American Middle East Christians

Congress; Wendy J. Deichmann, United Theological Seminary;

Greg Delamarter, Free Methodist Church; Most Rev. Gerald N.

Dino, Bishop of the Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine

Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix; Rev. Dr. Gilbert Doan; Rt. Rev.

Julian Dobbs, Bishop, Diocese of CANA East, Anglican Church

in North America; Dr. James Dobson, Family Talk; Bill

Donohue, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights;

Andrew Doran, In Defense of Christians; Hon. Michael S.

Dukakis, former Governor of Massachusetts; W. Cole Durham,

Jr., International Center for Law and Religion Studies,

Brigham Young University; Most Rev. Robert Duncan,

Archbishop, Anglican Church in North America; Dr. John

Eibner, Christian Solidarity International (CSI-USA); Prof.

John P. Entelis, Chair, Department of Political Science,

Fordham University; Gregory R. Erlandson, Our Sunday Visitor

Publishing; Jonathan Falwell, Senior Pastor, Thomas Road

Baptist Church; Fr. Athanasius K. Farag; John Farina,

Associate Professor of Religious Studies, George Mason

University; Thomas Farr, Religious Freedom Project,

Georgetown University; Armando Fernandez, Pastor, The Rock

Church; Harold Fickett, Aleteia America; David F. Forte,

Professor of Law, Cleveland State University; A.J. French,

Sacred Creations; Rt. Rev. Alphonza Gadsden, Sr., Bishop,

Diocese of the Southeast, Reformed Episcopal Church, Anglican

Church in North America; Edward McGlynn Gaffney, Prof. of

International Law and Genocide Studies, Valparaiso, IN; Mr.

Joseph Gamero; Gerry Garbis; Richard W. Garnett, Program on

Church, State & Society, Notre Dame Law School; Most Rev.

John R. Gaydos, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of

Jefferson City; Mimi Geerges, Focal Point Radio; Robert P.

George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton

University; Dr. Timothy George, Beeson Divinity School,

Samford University; Amb. Joseph Ghougassian; Scott Gibbons,

Pastor, Big Rapids Free Methodist Church; Lela Gilbert,

writer; Rt. Rev. R. Charles Gillin, Suffragan Bishop, Diocese

of the Northeast & Mid-Atlantic and Eastern Canada, Reformed

Episcopal Church Anglican Church in North America; Amb. Mary

Ann Glendon; Rt. Rev. Terrell Glenn, Bishop of the Anglican

Church in North America; Katharine Cornell Gorka, Council on

Global Security; Franklin Graham, Samaritan's Purse and Billy

Graham Evangelistic Association; David E. Greer, American

Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East;

Rev. Marcel Guarnizo, Educational Initiative for Central and

Eastern Europe; Rt. Rev. John A. M. Guernsey, Diocese of the

Mid-Atlantic, Anglican Church in North America; Os Guinness,

Author; Mary Habeck, Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise

Institute; Lee Habeeb, Vice President of Content, Salem Radio

Network; John Hajjar, Middle East Christian Committee MECHRIC

USA; Joseph Hakim, International Christian Union; Ambassador

Tony Hall; William Hamel, Evangelical Free Church of America;

George Hankhe, Suryoyo American Association; Joseph W.

Handley, Jr., Asian Access; Jeff Hanna, Pastor, Living Hope

Free Methodist Church; Dr. Samir Hanna; Tom Harb, American

Maronite Union; Rev. Jose Hernandez, Free Methodist Church--

USA; Allen D. Hertzke, David Ross Boyd Professor of Political

Science at the University of Oklahoma;

Rt. Rev. David L. Hicks, Bishop of the Diocese of the

Northeast & Mid-Atlantic and Eastern Canada, Reformed

Episcopal Church Anglican Church in North America; Alec Hill,

Intervarsity Christian Fellowship; Waiel Afram Hindo,

Professor; Dennis P. Hollinger, Gordon Conwell Theological

Seminary; Rev. Dr. Joel C. Hunter, Senior Pastor, Northland--

A Church Distributed; Bill Hybels, Founder and Senior Pastor,

Willow Creek Community Church; Lynne Hybels, Advocate for

Global Engagement, Willow Creek Community Church; Rt. Rev.

Jack L. Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth, Anglican Church in North

America; Rt. Rev. William H. Ilgenfritz, Bishop of the

Missionary Diocese of All Saints Anglican Church in North

America; Bassam Ishak; Wally Jadan, MEA TV and Radio; Ned

Jalou, United Christians Organization; Dr. Jerry A. Johnson,

National Religious Broadcasters; Dr. Douglas M. Johnston,

International Center for Religion & Diplomacy; Rt. Rev. Derek

Jones, Bishop of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy, Anglican

Church in North America; Kristine Kalanges, Associate

Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame; Asaad Kalasho,

Iraqi American Christian Language Association; George

Karcazes, Executive Board Member, Orthodox Christian Laity;

Joseph T. Kassab, Iraqi Christians Advocacy and Empowerment

Institute; Ismat Karmo, Nineveh Council of America; Bishop

David W. Kendall, Free Methodist Church--USA; Magdi Khalil,

Coptic Solidarity International; Dr. Audisho Khoshaba, US

Rep. of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council; Sami

Khoury, World Maronite Union; Rev. Dr. Walter Kim, Park

Street Church; Rev. Mrs. Martha Kirkpatrick, Free Methodist

Church; Melanie Kirkpatrick, author; Rev. Mr. Virgil (Jim)

Eugene Kirkpatrick, Free Methodist Church; Msgr. John E.

Kozar, Catholic Near East Welfare Association; Sami Kurter,

Suryoyo American Association; Daniel Kurtz, Vice-President,

The Free Methodist Foundation; Dr. Richard Land, Southern

Evangelical Seminary; Cheryl Laske, Green Oak Free Methodist

Church; Rt. Rev. Dr. Quigg Lawrence, Bishop, PEARUSA,

Anglican Church in North America; Rt. Rev. Neil G. Lebhar,

Bishop of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese, Anglican Church in North

America; Most Rev. Peter Libasci, Bishop of the Roman

Catholic Diocese of Manchester; Rt. Rev. Richard Lipka,

Suffragan Bishop of the Missionary Diocese of All Saints

Anglican Church in North America; Jim Liske, Fellowship

Ministries; Rt. Rev. Clark W. P. Lowenfield, Bishop of the

Anglican Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast Anglican Church in

North America; Michael Lunceford; Michael Lundberg, Valley

Baptist Church; Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent,

Wesleyan Church; Rt. Rev. Frank Lyons, Assistant

Bishop, Diocese of Pittsburgh, Anglican Church in North

America; Most Rev. Denis Madden, Auxiliary Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore; Beverly Maier,

Pastor, Free Methodist Church; Martin Manna, Chaldean

American Chamber of Commerce; Most Rev. Gregory John Mansour,

Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn; Dr. Noon i

Mansour, United Chaldean Democratic Forum; Rt. Rev. Peter

Manto, Suffragan Bishop, Diocese of the Central States,

Reformed Episcopal Church Anglican Church in North America;

His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Armenian

Apostolic Church of the Western United States; John Marks;

Michael J. Marks; Nikki Marks; George J. Marlin, Aid to the

Church in Need-USA; Paul Marshall, Senior Fellow, Hudson

Institute, Center for Religious Freedom; Peter Marudas;

George Matsoukas, Executive Director, Orthodox Christian

Laity; Kevin McBride, Pastor, Raymond Baptist Church; Rt.

Rev. Dorsey W. M. McConnell, D.D., Bishop, Episcopal Diocese

of Pittsburgh; Prof. Michael W. McConnell, Stanford

University;

Bill Mefford, Director of Civil and Human Rights, United

Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society;

Margaret B. Melady, Ph.D.; Rt. Rev. Dr. Eric Vawter Menees,

Bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, Anglican Church in

North America; His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston,

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Fr. Christopher

Metropoulos, Orthodox Christian Network; Rt. Rev. John E.

Miller, III, Bishop of the Anglican Church in North America;

Myron M. Miller, Retired Professor, Michigan State

University; David Moberg, Professor of Sociology Emeritus,

Marquette University; Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Southern

Baptist Theological Seminary; Johnnie Moore, Senior Vice

President, Liberty University; Dr. Russell D. Moore, Southern

Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; W. Allen

Morris, The Allen Morris Company; Anne Morse, The Chuck

Colson Center for Christian Worldview; Rt. Rev. Dan Morse,

Bishop, Diocese of the Central States, Reformed Episcopal

Church Anglican Church in North America; Rt. Rev. Winfield

Mott, Bishop of the Diocese of the West, Anglican Church in

North America; Most Rev. Mikael Mouradian, Bishop of the

Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg for Armenian Catholics in the

USA and Canada; Mark L. Movsesian, Center for Law and

Religion, St. John's University School of Law; Jimmy Mulla,

Voices for Sudan Inc.; Rt. Rev. William L. Murdoch, Bishop of

the Anglican Diocese in New England, Anglican Church in North

America; Brian C. Murphy, Member of the Board of Trustees,

American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the

Middle East; Most Rev. William F. Murphy, Bishop of the Roman

Catholic Diocese of Rockville Center; William J. Murray,

Religious Freedom Coalition; Penny Young Nance, Concerned

Women for America; George P. Nassos, Sts Peter & Paul Greek

Orthodox Church, Glenview, IL; Andrew Natsios, Executive

Professor, Texas A&M University; Jerry Newcombe, Truth in

Action Ministries; George Nicholaou, Downers Grove, IL; Gerry

Nicholaou, Downers Grove, IL; Tamer Nicola, businessperson;

Dave Nona, Chaldean Federation of America; Michael Novak, US

Ambassador to the Human Rights Commission of the UN 1981-83

and the Helsinki Commission Bern Round 1985; Archdeacon David

Oancea, Chancellor, Romanian Diocese, Orthodox Church in

America; Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of the Roman

Catholic Diocese of Phoenix; Rt. Rev. Dr. Felix Orji, Bishop

of the Missionary Diocese of the West, Anglican Church in

North America; Robert Ozgun, Head of Foreign Affairs, Suryoyo

American Association; Most Rev. Richard E. Pates, Bishop of

the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines; Doug Perkins,

Teaching Elder, Heritage Presbytery; Tony Perkins, Family

Research Council; Dr. Walid Phares, Professor; Daniel

Philpott, Center for Civil and Human Rights, University of

Notre Dame; Pepper Pike, Vice President, Orthodox Christian

Laity; Lee Poteracki, Deer Park, IL; Kirsten Powers,

Columnist; Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou, Visiting Assoc. Prof.,

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; Bob

Poydasheff, Col. (Ret.) USA,, Former Mayor of Columbus, GA;

Samira Qasguargis, Iraqi Human Rights Society; Grover Joseph

Rees, U.S. Amb. (Retired); Steve Rembert, Pastor,

Presbyterian Church; Nermien Riad, Coptic Orphans; Most Rev.

Leonard W. Riches, Presiding Bishop, Reformed Episcopal

Church Anglican Church in North America; Rev. Protobresbyter

Martin Ritsi, Orthodox Christian Mission Center; Senior

Pastor Ed Rob, The Woodlands United Methodist Church of

Texas; Rev. Ronald G. Roberson, Secretariat for Ecumenical

and Interreligious Affairs, United States Conference of

Catholic Bishops; Larry Roberts, Chief Operating Officer,

Free Methodist Church--USA; Bishop David Roller, Free

Methodist Church; Rt. Rev. Ken Ross, Bishop, PEARUSA,

Anglican Church in North America;

Ronald D. Rotunda, Doy & Dee Henley Chair and Distinguished

Professor of Jurisprudence, Chapman University; Nabil

Roumayah, Iraqi Democratic Union of America; Emanuel L.

Rouvelas, Washington, DC; Marilyn Rouvelas, Arlington, VA;

Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California & Secretary of the Holy

Synod, Assyrian Church of the East; Most Rev. Mitchell

Rozanski, Seton Vicar, Vicar for Hispanic Ministries of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore; Rt. Rev. Stewart E.

Ruch II, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest

Anglican Church in North America; Dr. Zina Salem, Chaldean

and Middle Eastern Social Services; Gabriel Salguero,

National Latino Evangelical Coalition; Most Rev. Nicholas J.

Samra, Eparchial Bishop of Newton, Melkite Catholic Church in

the USA; William Saunders, Human Rights Lawyer, Washington,

DC; Mark Schlechty, Pastor, Free Methodist; Most Rev.

Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate, The

Episcopal Church; Rt. Rev. Sam Seamans, Assisting Bishop,

Diocese of Mid-America, Reformed Episcopal Church Anglican

Church in North America; Stacy Sennott; Timothy Samuel Shah,

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs,

Georgetown University; Jane Shallal, Chaldean American Ladies

of Charity; Linda Shea, West Orange, New Jersey; Nina Shea,

Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom; Peter J.

Shea, New York, New York; Dr. Ronald J Sider, Evangelicals

for Social Action; William Simon, Jr., Co-Chairman, William

E. Simon and Sons; Most Rev. William Skylstad, Bishop

Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane; David M.

Stanley, United Methodist Action Steering Committee/Director

and Treasurer, Institute on Religion and Democracy; Jean Leu

Stanley, United Methodist Action Steering Committee; Paul R.

Stanley, Political Opinion Editor, The Christian Post; Rt.

Rev. James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas; Peter Steinfels,

University Professor Emeritus, Fordham University; Rev.

Columba Stewart, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library,

Collegeville, Minnesota; Dave Stone, Senior Pastor, Southeast

Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky; Helen Rhea Stumbo,

Institute on Religion and Democracy; Rt. Rev. Ray R. Sutton,

Bishop Coadjutor, Diocese of Mid-America, Reformed Episcopal

Church Anglican Church in North America; Msgr. Stuart W.

Swetland, Archbishop Flynn Professor of Christian Ethics,

Mount St. Mary's University; Very Rev. Archimandrite Dr.

Nathanael Symeonides; Dr. L. Roy Taylor, Stated Clerk of the

General Assembly, Presbyterian Church in America; Very Rev.

Dr. Justyn Terry, Trinity School for Ministry; Alan B.

Terwilleger, Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview;

Helen Theodoropoulos, Skokie, IL; Bishop Matthew Thomas, Free

Methodist Church--USA; Rev. Clancy Thompson, Free Methodist

Church of NA; Rt. Rev. William A. Thompson, Bishop of the

Diocese of Western Anglicans, Anglican Church in North

America; Peter Tremblay, Pastor, Free Methodist Church; Mark

Tooley, Institute on Religion and Democracy; Fr. Joseph

Varghese, Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox

Church; Rt. Rev. William C. Wantland, Assisting Bishop of

Fort Worth, Anglican Church in North America; Mark L. Wasef,

Esq.; Jim Wallis, Sojourners; John P. Walters, Hudson

Institute; Todd Watkins, Pastor, Liveoak Bible Church; Bishop

Mark Webb, Upper New York Episcopal Area of the United

Methodist Church; George Weigel, Ethics and Public Policy

Center, Washington, DC; Deacon Greg Wilson, Covenant

Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas; Rt. Rev. Steve Wood,

Bishop, Diocese of the Carolinas, Anglican Church in North

America; His Eminence, Cardinal Donald Wuerl; The Rev Dr John

W Yates II; Robert R. Yohanan; Nabby Yono, Arab American and

Chaldean Council; Sam Yono, Chaldean National Party; Pastor

Ed Young, Second Baptist Church, Houston; Most Rev. Elias

Abdallah Zaidan, Bishop of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady

of Lebanon; Linda Zimmerman, Calvary Lutheran Golden Valley;

Rt. Rev. J. Mark Zimmerman, Bishop, Diocese of the Southwest

Anglican Church in North America; Dr. James J. Zogby, Arab

American Institute.

Mr. Speaker, the clock is ticking for Meriam Ibrahim in Sudan.

It is 7 p.m. now in Khartoum, and a young, frightened Sudanese woman is shackled in a prison cell for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. Her husband, an American citizen, is seeking to draw attention to her plight and that of her 18-month-old son who languishes in jail with her.

Meriam Ibrahim is 8 months pregnant, and her draconian sentence of death by hanging is being delayed until she gives birth. The clock is ticking.

Congressman Trent Franks has sought to shine a bright light on this injustice, and today, Senators Blunt and Ayotte of New Hampshire are urging the Secretary of State, John Kerry, to provide political asylum to Meriam.

The administration should urgently act to save this innocent woman's life. President Obama should immediately appeal for her release and offer her safe haven here in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and remember former Congressman Mick Staton, fellow member of the freshman class of 1980 and a respected political, business and community leader in West Virginia. Mick passed away last month at the age of 74.

Mick was born and raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia and graduated from Parkersburg High School in 1958. He then attended Concord College in Athens, West Virginia, and played on the 1962 conference championship football team. Mick married his wife Lynn, herself a 1960 graduate of Parkersburg High School, and have two children and five grandchildren.

Mick was Vice President for Data Processing for One Valley Bank (now BB&T), which was at the time, the largest bank in West Virginia, before first running for Congress in 1978, opposing 20-year incumbent John Slack (D-WV). In the race, Mick garnered 41 percent of the vote. In January 1980, Congressman Slack died in office and a special election was held. Although he did not win the special election, Mick went on to win the seat in the general election.

In Congress, Staton had a reputation of service to his constituents in what is now the 2nd District of West Virginia. He served on the Small Business Committee and Interior & Insular Affairs Committee, now known as the Natural Resources Committee.

After leaving Congress in 1983, Staton served as chief political advisor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was National Executive Director of the Chamber's political action committee. In 1992, he founded and served as president of Capitol Link, Inc., a government affairs consulting firm.

Most recently, Mick served as County Chairman of the Berkeley County GOP Executive Committee, from 2007 through December 2012. In recognition of his lifelong service, this March the West Virginia State Republican Executive Committee unanimously passed a resolution naming Mick an Emeritus Member.

I submit the following article from West Virginia MetroNews on former Congressman Staton.

[From WV MetroNews, Apr. 20, 2014]

Mick Staton To Be Remembered Monday

(By Jeff Jenkins)

Winchester, Va.--The life and service of former West

Virginia Third District Congressman Mick Staton will be

remembered in a memorial service set for Monday afternoon in

Winchester, Virginia. The 74-year-old Staton died last week.

``Certainly anyone who was elected 30 years ago as a

Republican in West Virginia showed a lot of tenacity, a lot

of strength and was a trailblazer for our movement and set

the stage for the successes we are having right now,'' West

Virginia Republican Party Chairman Conrad Lucas said.

Staton, a Parkersburg native, lived in South Charleston

when he defeated John Hutchinson in the 1980 election for

what was then West Virginia's Third District seat. Hutchinson

had beaten Staton in a special election earlier that year to

fill the seat in the interim following the death of 11-term

congressman John Slack. Staton served just one term. He lost

to Democrat Bob Wise in 1982.

``Mick certainly set the stage for ultimate Republican

successes and went on always to be a dedicated member of the

party,'' Lucas said. ``He may have lost his congressional

seat but he still stayed very active in the internal aspects

of the party.''

Lucas said he was pleased Staton attended a GOP meeting

earlier this year where he was given emeritus status.

``I was happy he could make the ceremony so we could honor

his service, his long service, and very dedicated service to

the Republican Party and people of West Virginia,'' he said.

The memorial service is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m. at

Braddock Street United Methodist Church in Winchester,

Virginia.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize over 200 individuals who signed a Pledge of Solidarity and Call to Action on Behalf of Christians and Other Small Religious Communities in Egypt, Iraq and Syria. I was honored to co-host a press conference earlier this month with my colleague Representative Anna Eshoo. Together, we co-chair the Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus.

The group of signatories to the Pledge represents the diversity of American Christianity, with individuals hailing not only from the Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox traditions but also a variety of sectors: thought leaders, clergy, parachurch heads and university and seminary presidents, among others. They have recognized that unless the American church begins to champion this cause, the foreign policy establishment will hardly lead the way.

I regularly meet with beleaguered Christians from this part of the world. Their stories are eerily similar: believers kidnapped for ransom; churches--some full of worshippers--attacked; clergy targeted for killing. In the face of this violence, Christians are leaving this region in droves. The resounding theme that emerges is quite simply a plea for solidarity, and an appeal for help. Where is the West, they wonder? With the release of this Call to Action, I am heartened to say, that these cries have been heard.

The following individuals spoke at the press conference:

Leith Anderson, Chair, National Association of Evangelicals; His Eminence, Cardinal Donald Wuerl; Archbishop Oshagan Cholayan, Armenian Apostolic Church of America; Jim Liske, President and CEO, Prison Fellowship Ministries; Canon Andrew White, Chaplain of St George Anglican Church, Baghdad; His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Pastor Jerry Johnson, President and CEO, National Religious Broadcasters; Nina Shea, Director and Senior Scholar, Hudson Institute Center for Religious Freedom; George Marlin, Chair, Aid to the Church in Need-USA; Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou, Visiting Associate Prof. of Conflict Resolution, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; Johnny Moore, Senior Vice President, Liberty University; Barrett Duke, Vice President for Public Policy and Research Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; and Joseph Kassab, Founder and President, Iraqi Christians Advocacy and Empowerment; Institute (reading a statement by Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako).

The text of the Pledge of Solidarity follows:

[May 7, 2014]

Pledge of Solidarity & Call to Action on Behalf of Christians and Other

Small Religious Communities in Egypt, Iraq and Syria

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of a great American, Sgt. Rob Jones, who not only served our nation honorably in Iraq and Afghanistan, but continues to serve his fellow veterans here at home.

Sgt. Jones grew up in the 10th District--in Lovettsville, Virginia and graduated from Loudoun Valley High School. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps--where he was injured by an IED in 2010--he recovered and joined the U.S. National Rowing team, winning a bronze medal 2012 Paralympics.

Last October, Sgt. Jones began a long and difficult cycling journey across the country. His purpose was to shine a light on the struggles that young veterans face when they return home and to thank the military charities that have provided him with hope through his recovery. Specifically, Sgt. Jones has recognized three organizations that helped him through his recovery: Semper Fi Fund, Ride2Recovery and the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes.

The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, which is headquartered in my district, is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization established in 2004 to provide severely wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with emergency financial assistance and other support services. The Coalition has done tremendous work in Virginia and across the country. Besides donating nearly $1 million in direct aid to veterans, the Coalition has provided thousands of dollars through grants to other notable veterans' organizations in Virginia. Under the leadership of David Walker, who serves as President and CEO, the Coalition has increased its efforts.

Most recently, the Coalition hosted a meaningful tribute to veterans at the new Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia, where they were joined by the Boulder Crest Retreat for Military and Veteran Wellness, another organization in my district that is also doing tremendous work.

I look forward to seeing the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes continue to make a difference in so many lives. I also want to thank Sgt. Jones, for his inspirational journey and for his invaluable contribution to his fellow veterans. He proves that anything is possible and I wish him continued success in all his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide in which nearly a million perished in a horrific 100- day span while the world idly stood by.

As has been documented in print and film, including Samantha Powers' riveting book, ``A Problem From Hell: American and the Age of Genocide,'' cables were sent, reports of the violence and the targeting of innocents received, and yet the American foreign policy apparatus was largely consumed not with stemming the bloodshed, but rather with avoiding use of the word ``genocide'' less it necessitate a response. And so many people died.

Of course, there is the now notorious negligence of the United Nations in this regard, which culminated in a catastrophic moral failure on the part of the international community.

Kofi Annan, then head of U.N. peacekeeping, was receiving on-the- ground intelligence from General Dallaire, who was a Canadian general, about the impending tragedy, and yet he repeatedly refused to authorize General Dallaire to seize known weapons caches

until it was too late. What horrors might have been prevented had Annan chosen otherwise?

Fast-forward several years.

President Clinton traveled to the Kigali Airport in Rwanda and issued what has come to be known as the ``Clinton apology'' for failing to do more to stop the violence.

Later, President George W. Bush famously wrote ``not on my watch'' in the margin of a report on the Rwandan genocide.

No President, Republican or Democrat, wants atrocities to occur on their watch. I venture this much is true of President Obama. And yet every indication points to the fact that the crisis currently unfolding in South Sudan is headed the way of Rwanda.

In fact, yesterday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, characterized South Sudan as ``on the verge of catastrophe.'' But with the stakes as high as they are, the situation is simply not being met with the urgency it demands.

It is time for bold action.

President Obama, who so far has failed on this issue, should immediately dispatch former Presidents George W. Bush, who has a great reputation in Africa, and former President Bill Clinton, who also has a good reputation in Africa, to the region to help negotiate a lasting peace and to convey in no uncertain terms that the fate of South Sudan is a U.S. foreign policy priority.

Both of these men, President Bush and President Clinton, have done a great deal on this issue and have remained invested in Africa beyond their Presidencies.

This pair of statesmen, hailing from two different political parties, would send a powerful message to the warring factions, and especially as it relates to President Kiir, with whom President Bush and his team forged a lasting relationship during intensive negotiations involved with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and would open immediate lines of communication at a pivotal time.

I first visited Sudan in 1989, years before Darfur became a household word, and I have prayed for the day when the people of that long- suffering land would enjoy peace and representative government. I have been five subsequent times, most recently in 2012.

For more than two decades, a steady stream of Sudanese activists, Lost Boys and Girls who resettled in the United States, humanitarian groups operating in the region, and others have visited my office.

Whether it was the seemingly intractable war between the North and the South, the genocide in Darfur, or, in recent years, the violence in the Nuba Mountains set against the backdrop of the birth of a new nation, I have followed events closely in that part of the world, urging U.S. administrations of every stripe to engage vigorously in pursuit of lasting peace, justice, and rule of law.

I asked President Bush to appoint a special envoy. He appointed former Senator John Danforth, who did an incredible job with then- Secretary of State Powell.

While I did not support Obama's candidacy, I was heartened and encouraged by his rhetoric on Sudan during the 2008 campaign. I took further encouragement from some of the individuals who joined his foreign policy team--senior advisers with strong human rights credentials and a stated desire to see the United States lead in the prevention of crimes against humanity and other atrocities.

Sadly, those words have not translated into action.

As I noted earlier, Samantha Power, who rose to prominence for her reporting on genocide prevention, now represents the U.S. at the United Nations in New York. I wish her voice was stronger within this administration on this issue. I urge everyone to read her book. It was a profound book. I urge her to take the message of the book and be a spokesman in this administration.

Today, I stand before you as concerned as I ever have been about the state of affairs in South Sudan and the potential for the recent violence to spiral into genocide--a genocide that could defy even the horrors of Rwanda, given that oil reserves are in play.

On Monday, I received deeply troubling reports from individuals on the ground about recent atrocities in South Sudan and the lack of an effective U.S. or international response. I heard of civilians, including women and children, indiscriminately targeted and killed. I learned of houses of worship turned from places of sanctuary to mass graves. I was told of ethnic divisions that now run so deep, it could take generations to heal.

These reports, coupled with a smattering of news stories from the last several months, belie what can only be characterized as an emergency situation in urgent need of high-level intervention.

Consider the following excerpts from media accounts.

Voice of America, April 21:

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan on Monday accused

opposition forces in Bentiu of carrying out targeted

killings, including of children, and inciting ``vengeful

sexual violence'' against women after they captured the town

last week from government troops . . . UNMISS also said that

individuals associated with the opposition have been using an

FM station in Bentiu to broadcast hate speech.

It sort of reminds you of exactly what took place in Rwanda.

Will we ever learn?

The Washington Post, April 22:

Gunmen in South Sudan who targeted civilians, including

children and the elderly, left ``piles and piles'' of bodies,

many of them in a mosque and a hospital, the United Nations'

top official in the country said Tuesday.

CNN, April 23:

South Sudanese rebels seized a strategic oil town last

week, separating terrified residents by ethnicity before

killing hundreds . . . Residents sought shelter in churches,

mosques, and hospitals when the rebels raided Bentiu town.

Fox News, April 3:

As rebel forces entered Bentiu last week, residents were

led to believe that by entering the mosque, they would be

safe . . . But once inside they were robbed of money and

mobile phones and a short while later gunmen began killing,

both inside the mosque and inside the city hospital . . . If

you were not Nuer, nothing could save you. The gunmen killed

wantonly, including children and the elderly.

The Economist, April 26:

Even in a civil war that has been rife with atrocities, the

scale of the massacre of civilians in South Sudan's oil hub

of Bentiu on April 15-16 plumbed a new depth of hell. The

rebel White Army, so-called after the ash its fighters

sometimes smear on themselves, killed anyone they suspected

of supporting the government, including--it is reported--200

people in a single mosque and others in churches and aid-

agency compounds.

Local radio broadcasts helped to stir up ethnic hatred to

direct the violence at perceived enemies of Riek Machar. No

side is winning. Hopes of building a new country from scratch

are drowning in blood.

I have a photo here--and many others--a graphic visual image of what you have just heard described. It is from the most recent massacre in Bentiu this month.

We see pictured the piles of bodies described in the news accounts, and just yesterday morning, I received reports from someone on the ground that another attack in that town could be imminent.

Where is the urgency from the Obama administration? Where is the outrage?

I read with great interest the recent statements by Kenya's president, in which he said: ``During the 20th commemoration of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda''--the 20th anniversary is this month--``I expressed our region's disappointment at having done little to nothing at the time to end the slaughter of a million innocent victims, human beings in Rwanda, by a bloodthirsty cabal.''

He went on--and I commend the president of Kenya for saying this: ``I also pledged,'' he said, ``in the name of Kenya and the region that we would never again allow a similar genocide to happen within our shores.''

``I return,'' he said, ``to the pledge today because of what is happening in parts of Sudan. We are outraged and gravely concerned at seeing the killings of hundreds of innocent civilians caught up in the internal conflict of the South Sudan Liberation Movement.''

``We refuse,'' he said, ``to be witnesses to such atrocities and to remain helpless and hopeless in their wake.''

President Obama, Vice President Biden, this is happening on your watch. Will you allow it to continue? Will you to refuse to be a witness to the atrocities?

News coverage of these events have been sporadic, at best. While most

Americans are likely unaware of the horrors being perpetrated in South Sudan, people who are in a position to help know what is happening.

Yesterday, I had a press conference with Congressman Pitts and Congressman Smith. Two members of the press--two members, only two members of the press even came. The room was empty. Nobody's covering this story hardly.

Will it be like Rwanda, when they all had all the stories, and you remember the movies that they did on Rwanda, looking back? Will the press then cover it, looking back? Will they then say whose fault it was that they didn't act?

Where is the media today? Where are the networks? Where is the Obama administration?

Cables are now being sent to Washington. Talking points are being drafted at the National Security Council and the State Department. These events are not happening in a vacuum.

Will we see the contents of the reports only after it is too late, when enterprising filmmakers and authors dredge up the documents and wonder why no one mustered the will to act?

A joint op-ed piece yesterday by long-term South Sudan expert Eric Reeves and John Prendergast, who has been on the scene, who has done so much to bring the attention to these issues, opened with the following line--they say: ``No civilians in the world are in greater danger than those in South Sudan.''

Again, here is what they said: ``No civilians in the world are in greater danger than those in South Sudan.''

You see how powerful--where they say even more than in Ukraine, more than in Syria?

The pair continue:

Unlike the asymmetric warfare to which we have been

accustomed to hearing about in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in

Darfur, symmetric warfare ensures heavy casualties in

military confrontations, but victories and defeats now have

more ominous consequences; for in South Sudan, the victors

see a military victory as justifying civilian slaughter of

the predominant ethnic group of the opposing forces, and with

a terrifying momentum, ethnic slaughter leads yet to greater

ethnic slaughter.

In short, crimes have been committed by both sides. There are no angels in this conflict. There must be accountability for anyone implicated in these atrocities. We have the technology, the capacity, the eyewitness accounts to know who is involved and who is actively violating the ceasefire.

Reeves and Prendergast further warn of looming famine, given that the planting season has already been disrupted with more than a million forced out of their homes, and ominously, they predicted that as many as 7 million--7 million--could face starvation this fall.

The atrocities must stop. The suffering must cease. What is the end game?

America helped give birth to South Sudan. We have a moral obligation to do something and something bold. So I say this: President Obama, you must not allow this to continue on your watch. I call on your predecessors, President Bush and President Clinton, to immediately engage in this crisis before more innocent blood is shed.

President Bush would go. President Clinton would go. Can you imagine the image of both President Bush and President Clinton there together?

So I close with this last thought: President Obama, Vice President Biden, failure to act--and this will be in the Congressional Record for future generations to see--failure to act will be a stain on your administration and a blot on your conscience.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and remember Jack Hardesty, a longstanding community leader in Clarke County, Virginia, who passed away April 15, 2014 at the age of 82.

John Douglas ``Jack'' Hardesty's family has long standing ties to Clarke County dating back to the 1780s. He chose to continue this legacy as an entrepreneur who worked to further his community.

Jack may be best known for his work on the Board of Supervisors, serving 17 years as chairman. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Bank of Clarke County, was a trustee for his church and member of the Berryville-Clarke Chamber of Commerce. Jack was named ``Citizen of the Year'' this year by the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber for his lifetime of service.

Jack had an incredible impact on Clarke County, organizing the county's first Comprehensive Plan, as well as his efforts to preserve historic farmland and open space in the county. Through his work he has left an indelible mark on the look and feel of his community.

Jack's accomplishments in agriculture were also well known. He was recognized as the Outstanding Young Farmer for Virginia in 1955, and later as Distinguished Dairyman of the Year in 1986.

Jack is survived by his two sons, John and David, who are both part of his family dairy business. I know he will be missed dearly by both his family and the community as a whole.

I submit the following article from The Winchester Star of Mr. Hardesty's story.

[From the Winchester Star, Apr. 17, 2014]

Community Leader Jack Hardesty Dies

(By Val Van Meter)

Berryville.--A man who is credited for shaping the way

Clarke County looks today died Tuesday after a life of

service.

John Douglas ``Jack'' Hardesty, 82, was an entrepreneur

before that word was the height of compliment. But, while

building his family's fortunes, he also aimed to do what was

best for his community.

``He has had a tremendous influence on how the county looks

and feels,'' said Michael Hobert, current chairman of the

Board of Supervisors, a post Hardesty held for the better

part of two decades.

``He was responsible for the county's first Comprehensive

Plan,'' Hobert noted. That plan is the community's vision on

how it wants to develop into the future.

``He helped to establish our identity, and we'll have that

identity for a long time into the future.''

His support to institute sliding-scale zoning helped

preserve farmland and open space in the county and set a tone

that has continued today.

Hardesty's family roots in Clarke County go back to the

1780s, and farming was all he wanted to do.

In high school, his senior classmates predicted that,

within 10 years of their 1950 graduation, he would be milking

100 head of Holsteins. They weren't far off the mark.

He formed a partnership with his father and began building

Harvue Dairy, which grew from a 25-head, hand-milked herd to

a diary producing millions of pounds of milk a year and

shipping the genetics of its registered Holsteins all over

the world.

His importance to agriculture was recognized in 1955, when

he was named the Outstanding Young Farmer for Virginia, and

it only continued to grow. In 1986 the Virginia State

Dairyman's Association named him Distinguished Dairyman of

the Year.

As a member of the Clarke County Ruritan Club, Hardesty was

``very instrumental'' in purchasing the land for the Clarke

County Ruritan fairgrounds.

The purchase was arranged in 1960, said Billy Milleson, who

chairs the annual Clarke County Fair for the Ruritan Club.

``He and his dad ran the dairy department at the fair for

years,'' Milleson said.

He said Hardesty was one of the people who saved the

fairgrounds when the Virginia Department of Transportation

planned to put the Harry Byrd Highway bypass around

Berryville. Their preferred route took it right through the

fairgrounds, demolishing the grove of huge oak trees that

give it so much of its character.

Hardesty, Milleson said, ``went to Richmond and got it

changed.''

``He was an authentic man,'' Hobert added. He was genuine.

He had integrity and good judgment.''

Former state Sen. Russell Potts Jr. called Hardesty the

consummate gentleman.

``He was Mr. Clarke County,'' Potts said, adding that

Hardesty got into political life ``for all the right

reasons.''

In 1965, Hardesty was appointed to fill the unexpired term

of the Russell Voting District representative Bob Withers on

the Board of Supervisors.

A year later, he ran for election and won. He remained on

the board for the next 29 years, serving 17 as chairman.

``The quality of life in Clarke County is a direct result

of him insisting on high standards,'' Potts said. ``He loved

preservation,'' and the beauty of Clarke County.

Milleson said one of Hardesty's greatest characteristics

was that he was a good listener.

``He could see the other side,'' he added.

In 1963, the stockholders of the Bank of Clarke County

selected him to serve on the board of directors. In 1986, he

stepped into the chairmanship, replacing the late Eustace

Jackson, who had also preceded Hardesty as chairman of the

Clarke supervisors.

Johnny Milleson, president of the Bank of Clarke, recalled

Hardesty was always proud of his county and the bank, which

grew from two branches, one in Berryville and one in Boyce,

to 11 branches, including nine in Winchester and Frederick

County.

He said when the two attended a seminar in North Carolina

one year, people in the room were announcing their names and

how long they had been directors of their respective banks.

Most were less than five years, but one man was cheered for

serving 21.

He said Hardesty winked at him before announcing he'd been

on the board of the ``best little bank in the state of

Virginia'' for 41 years at that time.

The bank president said Hardesty was ``a part of the bank

family until his passing.''

At Christmas, Hardesty would circulate through all the bank

branches. ``He had a kind word for everyone,'' and knew

everyone.

He added that he had gone to school with Hardesty's older

son, Johnny, and had known the elder Hardesty ``since I can

remember. He always had time for you, no matter how busy he

was.

And, he was a hard worker. Meetings of the Bank of Clarke's

board still begin at 6:50 a.m., a custom started by Hardesty,

to make sure he got a full day's work in, despite taking time

out for meetings.

Running a farm, a bank and a county didn't take up all of

Hardesty's time.

He was a trustee for his church, Crum's Church, a post also

held by his father.

He helped direct the dairy industry through positions on

several organizations, including past president of the

Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative, the Virginia

Holstein Association and the Virginia State Dairyman's

Association.

Three Virginia governors appointed him to committees to

advise them on the concerns of local governments.

He promoted the larger county economy through membership in

the Berryville-Clarke County Chamber of Commerce. This year,

the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber, which now represents

Clarke County, named Hardesty its ``Citizen of the Year'' for

his lifetime of service to the county.

He was married to Carter Conley Hardesty, who died in 2003,

for 50 years. The couple have two sons, John E. and David M.,

who are both part of the family dairy business.

A funeral service is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Duncan

Memorial United Methodist Church in Berryville.

Potts recalled Hardesty protesting when he introduced a

bill in the Virginia General Assembly to name a bridge for

Jack and Carter Hardesty in the district he represented for

so many years.

``I told him, `You don't have any say in it,' '' Potts

recalled.

Then-Gov. Mark Warner and Sen. Charles ``Chuck'' Robb,

along with former Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr., all came for the

ceremony, Potts recalled.

Both Democrats and Republicans respected Hardesty.

Said Potts, ``If you couldn't get along with Jack Hardesty,

you couldn't get along with anyone.''

Contact Val Van Meter at [email protected]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and remember the Holocaust survivors in our community. Communities around the world this week commemorated Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. As these individuals, who were small children and teenagers during World War II, are no longer with us, it is vital that we hear and record their personal stories of what happened in the ghettos and concentration camps in Nazi-occupied Europe. We must not forget what they have to say, and we must do everything in our power to ensure that these atrocities never occur anywhere in the world.

I submit the following article from The Washington Post on first-hand accounts of those who survived.

[From the Washington Post]

Washington Area Holocaust Survivors Share Histories in Day of

Remembrance

(By Katherine Shaver)

Blanche Porway remembers the guard tearing her from her

mother's hand as they stood in line at the Auschwitz

concentration camp with hundreds of Jews and other prisoners.

Her mother was led off to the gas chambers while Porway and

her older sister were spared, only because the guards deemed

them fit enough to work.

Porway, then 19, had already survived the ghetto in Lodz,

Poland, where her father and brother had starved to death.

``My sister said, `I can't take this,' '' Porway recalled

tearfully Sunday. ``But I said, `We have to. We have to live

to tell people.' ''

Now 90, Porway shared her story at a brunch in Rockville to

honor Holocaust survivors. The event, attended by about 40

survivors and their families, coincided with Monday's

Holocaust--Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah, in Israel. Most

of the survivors were residents at the Charles E. Smith Life

Communities senior facilities in Rockville, where officials

say they have one of the largest groups of Holocaust

survivors in the Washington area.

They came with their adult children, who had grown up

hearing their painful stories, and with grandchildren, who

they hoped would learn more. They told of fathers being

arrested in the night after an abrupt knock on the door. They

told of their synagogues burning, of being boarded onto

trains with other Jewish children fleeing the Nazis, of the

nuns who hid them in convents. They showed scars on their

hands from being forced to work in German factories and cried

as they recalled being forced to shovel dirt at gunpoint

during years in a labor camp.

Many broke into tears as they told their stories, their

accents still carrying traces of their native German, French

and Polish.

``It's hard to accept what happened, even now,'' Porway,

who lives in Chevy Chase, said in a Polish accent, as her

voice shook and her eyes teared up. A few moments later, she

added quietly, ``I sometimes question if people want to hear

it, or if they'll get too upset.''

Joel Appelbaum said he organized the brunch--this was the

fourth--to honor Holocaust survivors in memory of his late

father, who had stayed at one of the Charles E. Smith

facilities. Appelbaum is vice president of the Progress Club,

a Rockville social group that paid for the brunch through its

charitable foundation.

He noted survivors' ages--those at the brunch were between

75 and 100--and the fact that their first-person accounts

would soon be left to books and video archives.

``We have a limited window to do this,'' Appelbaum said as

younger family members helped their parents and grandparents

get seated, often after parking walkers and wheelchairs along

the walls. ``Ten years from now,'' Appelbaum said, ``this

will not be an event.''

Charles E. Smith community officials said the survivors

benefit from sharing their stories, too. Some had spoken

little about the Holocaust during their younger years, after

they had started new lives in the United States.

``I think at this stage in their lives, they want to talk,

and it helps them,'' spokeswoman Emily Tipermas said. ``They

feel it's safe for them now to talk, and they understand that

they lived through this period of history.''

Yetti Sinnreich said her father, Ben! Sinnreich, who is 99,

had one question for her as they sat down to eat: ``Can I

speak?''

Yetti Sinnreich, of Potomac, said she grew up hearing about

the Holocaust from both parents, who met after the war in a

``displaced persons'' camp in Romania. Her mother, Klara

Sinnreich, 97, worked as a seamstress in a labor camp.

While growing up, Yetti Sinnreich said, ``I remember my

father screaming with nightmares and waking up the house.''

Klara Sinnreich no longer speaks much. But when the

microphone came around, Beril Sinnreich raised his hand. He

broke into tears as he recalled being forced to march to a

work camp. He was 26 when Romanian soldiers came to his home,

he said. He lost his entire family in the Holocaust.

``For three days and three nights, I didn't see water,''

Beril Sinnreich said. ``We slept in train wagons. Every

night, frozen people were thrown out like garbage.''

They marched for six weeks, he said, and his father died of

a heart attack. ``He couldn't walk anymore,'' he said.

Beril Sinnreich, stooped with age and wearing a white cap,

appeared exhausted as he spoke before the crowd.

``Three years, I was in a concentration camp,'' he said

through tears. ``I survived.''

When asked after the brunch what he wanted the children and

teenagers in the audience to take away from his story and

others, Sinnreich had a short answer: ``It shouldn't happen

again.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and commend Frank M. Kalder on the occasion of his retirement, having served for nearly 15 years as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In total he provided nearly 31 years of distinguished service to our country.

Mr. Kalder began his career in federal service in 1983 as a budget examiner with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Presidential Management Intern program. After OMB, he helped establish the newly-created Office of National Drug Control Policy in 1989. Mr. Kalder went on to serve in important management positions with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Justice Management Division and Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys.

For the past 15 years, he has served as DEA's CFO, where he has been the recipient of three Presidential Rank Awards. My subcommittee has had the pleasure of working with Frank in this capacity, and can attest to his hard work in communicating DEA's budget needs to ensure the agents have the necessary resources to continue their fight against drug trafficking in this country and the rest of the world.

During his time at DEA, Frank ushered in countless improvements and reforms to DEA's financial management practices. Not only was he instrumental in leading the implementation of two updated financial systems, but he also ensured that DEA had a clean financial audit year after year. Because of his efforts, DEA was able to avoid employee furloughs during the recent budget sequester through an innovative rethinking of how DEA allocates funds

internally--a process known as zero based budgeting. Frank has served as an inspiration to those who have had the privilege to work for and with him during his tenure.

Frank's contributions also extend beyond his role as CFO at DEA. He is an active member of his church, where he has served in various leadership roles throughout the years. He is also an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College, educating future leaders for careers in public service

Mr. Speaker, Frank Kalder has left a tangible, lasting imprint on financial management at the DEA and was a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars. He will be remembered for his many contributions to DEA's outstanding reputation in the federal financial management community. I wish Frank, his wife Stacy and their family continued success as he enters this next stage of his life, and I ask my colleagues to join us in expressing our appreciation for his tremendous contributions to federal service, our Nation and the Northern Virginia community.

Mr. Chair, I will vote for H. Con. Res. 96 because I continue to believe the Congress has a responsibility to produce a budget each year. As a longstanding member of the House Appropriations Committee, I feel it is important that Congress have an open and honest debate about the fiscal challenges our country faces, especially our out-of-control entitlement spending that continues to deplete the federal coffers of resources to invest in defense, infrastructure, education, science and research on cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, autism and other diseases. These investments are what made America great in the 20th century, but are on track to be completely overtaken within a decade due to unchecked entitlement spending growth.

When I came to the floor to vote for last year's budget, we were $16.7 trillion in debt. Today, we are over $17.5 trillion in debt. That's a nearly trillion dollar increase in one year. It's projected to grow to over $27 trillion in 10 years, another $10 trillion increase. Our unfunded obligations and liabilities are now projected to be well of $70 trillion, and CBO's February 2014 budget outlook projected this year's deficit to be about $514 billion. These numbers get worse with each passing year.

Equally troubling, this mounting debt is increasingly held by foreign countries. In 1970, 6 percent of debt held by the public was in foreign hands. In 1990, it was 19 percent. Today, nearly 50 percent of our publically held debt is in foreign hands--and it is held by countries like China and Saudi Arabia which certainly do not share our interests or values.

My vote today reflects my desire to advance the congressional budget process to confront these serious challenges. While there are many good things in this budget, my vote should not be interpreted as a reflection of my satisfaction with the legislation itself. Simply put, I believe this is a flawed proposal that stands no chance of being adopted by both chambers of Congress this year. I continue to have serious concerns with several of the provisions and believe it falls short of being a plan that can garner the bipartisan support necessary to put our nation on a path towards fiscal responsibility.

Most notably, this budget once again falls short in its failure to incorporate most of the recommendations of the bipartisan Simpson- Bowles Commission. Regrettably, another year has gone by where the president and both the Republicans and Democrats in Congress have failed to advance the only bipartisan fiscal reforms that would address our debt and deficit in a manner that could result in real progress.

As I have repeatedly said, I would much prefer to vote for a bipartisan budget modeled off the Simpson-Bowles plan. It could be improved by incorporating changes in existing law and other proposals, such as those produced by the discussions between the president and Speaker Boehner, and plans offered by Alice Rivlin and Pete Domenici, and Representative Ryan and Senator Wyden. Like the Ryan plan before us today, I do not agree with every line in the Simpson-Bowles plan. But only a budget based on this model can put our nation on a sustainable, long-term path to replace sequestration and reform our nation's entitlement programs so they will exist for future generations.

As much as both sides might prefer that their party control both chambers of Congress and the White House, this is simply not the case. And it's unlikely to change until 2016 at the earliest. Either the Congress can get serious about adopting budget reforms that have bipartisan consensus and could be signed into law, or we can continue having these same quixotic debates, year after year, while our debt and deficit grow unabated. The debt and deficit numbers continue to get worse, and none of the actions taken by the Congress--including sequestration--have made a meaningful impact on our fiscal situation.

For the last eight years I have been working toward finding consensus on bipartisan budget reforms based on the premise that all Americans, not just one group or another, will have

to give something towards reducing our debt and deficits. Starting in 2006, during the Bush Administration, I began advocating for a bipartisan commission--the Securing America's Future Economy (SAFE) Commission--to identify budget reforms that could win the support of both Republicans and Democrats. The Simpson-Bowles Commission, appointed in 2010, was formed largely in response to efforts in the House and Senate to advance the SAFE Commission. The commission's co- chairs, former Senator Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, ultimately produced a package of bipartisan reforms that was serious and effective.

Unfortunately, President Obama and congressional leadership have spent the last three years running away from the Simpson-Bowles recommendations. When my colleagues and I have brought legislation to the floor of the House based on these recommendations, the efforts have fallen short due to a lack of support from both Republican and Democrat leadership. I believe their misguided opposition represents a failure of leadership that they will come to regret in the years ahead, as our budget challenges grow more and more dire.

To date, we have instead been presented with tepid proposals that fail to meaningfully impact our debt, or proposals, like this budget, that embrace a vision for budget reform that stands little chance of passing and becoming law.

This year, President Obama has retreated from even modest budget reforms that he has proposed in the past, such as chained CPI. I believe history will not look kindly on his failure to lead efforts to bring both parties together around meaningful reforms to address this existential national threat. His failure to lead over the last five years is directly reflected in the budget that the House has passed today, which reflects a conservative blueprint for budget reform rather than reforms based on bipartisan consensus.

There's a certain irony that the budget approved today continues to draw from only one section of the Simpson-Bowles framework: making our federal workforce contribute more towards its retirement and taking steps towards ending the defined benefit retirement plan. Yet again, the Congress is targeting just one group of Americans for additional sacrifice--just as has been done for offsets in past budget agreements. This flies in the face of the Simpson-Bowles vision of shared sacrifice among all Americans in fixing our debt and deficit and, as I have said many times, is just wrong. To cite the Simpson-Bowles recommendations as an excuse to single out additional cuts to federal employees is disingenuous and inappropriate.

My colleagues often forget that while there are many federal employees in the capital region, it is worth noting that more than 85 percent of the workforce is outside of Washington. They also may not realize that more than 65 percent of all federal employees work in agencies that support our national defense capabilities as we continue to fight the War on Terror.

The first American killed in Afghanistan, Mike Spann, was a CIA agent and a constituent from my congressional district. CIA, FBI, DEA agents, and State Department employees are serving side-by-side with our military in the fight against the Taliban.

Federal employees include the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who are working to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs across our borders.

They are the medical researchers at NIH working to develop cures for cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and autism. They are the VA doctors and nurses treating veterans from World War II to the present day. They are the NASA astronauts and engineers working to support the International Space Station and build our nation's exploration program. These are just a few examples of the hardworking people that serve our country each day that this budget unfairly targets.

I am also concerned with a provision in the budget that would only replace one federal employee for every three vacancies. Do we really want to cut the number of FBI and Border Patrol agents and VA doctors by two-thirds? This proposal amounts to an indiscriminate sequestration of the federal workforce. While there may be some agencies where reductions are necessary, I do not support this indiscriminate approach of doing so. Taken together, these proposals on federal employees may very well undermine the federal workforce.

It is often said that budgets are about choices, and I fear that yet another year will go by where we fail to make the tough choices--yet tough choices that members from both parties can support--to make real progress in confronting our debt and deficit. Until the president and congressional leadership start to incorporate the Simpson-Bowles recommendations, or a bold plan like this that gets control of the debt and deficit, into their budgets, we will likely never address the structural reforms that must be made to responsibly get our nation's fiscal house in order. This should be done in a manner that involves shared sacrifice from all Americans, not just certain groups of Americans.

I am proud to have served on the House Appropriations Committee for most of my tenure in the Congress, where each year we produce appropriations bills that make tough choices, yet the bills often pass with bipartisan support. Over the last several years, the full Appropriations Committee has made more than $100 billion in cuts to discretionary spending. The Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee, which I chair, has contributed more than $12 billion towards those cuts. But we approached these cuts in a responsible manner and I am proud that we have often had bipartisan support for the bills we produce. It can be done, but it requires leadership.

Mr. Chair, this budget is constructive for advancing the debate about our nation's fiscal challenges, and my vote today reflects my support for the process. But until this Congress passes a budget based on the bipartisan reforms recommended by the Simpson-Bowles recommendations, it is unlikely we will ever make real progress towards reducing our debt and deficit in a substantial way. It's time for leadership--from the president and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress--to deal with this issue.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation was founded on two core principles: freedom of speech and freedom of religion, both of which are contained in the First Amendment of the Constitution. No one in America is arrested for criticizing elected officials, including the President. No one in America is imprisoned for going to a mosque on a Friday, a synagogue on a Saturday, or a church on a Sunday.

The fact that we as Americans can express ourselves so freely and choose to worship whenever and wherever we want are at the heart of America's greatness. That is why I am so troubled by the recent events surrounding the high-tech entrepreneur and Mozilla cofounder, Brendan Eich, who, despite his unquestioned professional credentials, was forced to resign because of a $1,000 personal donation he made in 2008 in support of Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative in support of traditional marriage.

Regardless of your views on marriage, any American who values the

First Amendment should be deeply troubled that this man was essentially driven from his job because of his personal beliefs. I want to stress his personal beliefs, not his company's, but his own.

Nowhere have I read that Mr. Eich ever discriminated against coworkers. In fact, by all accounts, he is a fair and honorable employer. Yet, because of his private beliefs about traditional marriage, which I share, he has been demonized and his livelihood has been compromised.

As troubling as this particular incident is, the chilling effect it will have on the broader issues of free speech cannot be overstated.

I find it notable that Andrew Sullivan, a leading activist in the gay community, has come to Mr. Eich's defense. Mr. Sullivan has been widely quoted as writing:

The whole episode disgusts me, as it should anyone

interested in a tolerant and diverse society. If this is the

gay rights movement today, hounding our opponents with a

fanaticism more like the religious right than anyone else,

then count me out.

Yes, public opinion on gay marriage has shifted since 2008, when both then-Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain supported defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman. But America has never been defined by mob rule.

Even if just 1 percent of the country supported defining marriage as between a man and a woman, which is hardly the case, that 1 percent still has a right to hold that view, particularly when it is a view based, in many cases, on one's most deeply held faith convictions.

I understand that reasonable people can disagree on issues. In fact, robust debate in the public square is itself an American hallmark. What happened last week was not debate. It was stifling of the debate. It was the silencing of dissent. It was compromising of our Nation's most cherished principles: freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

The implications are vast and deeply troubling. We should all be concerned. I know I am.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solidarity with the people of Kassab, Syria. Their town was overtaken by Islamist rebels late last month. The town's inhabitants, who are largely Armenian Christians, have been forced by jihadist rebels to evacuate their homes and seek refuge in Lebanon and the nearby city of Latakia. I submit an article which ran in yesterday's Washington Post which paints a deeply disturbing picture of the events unfolding in Kassab.

This is yet another case of Christians and other religious minorities being pulled into violent conflicts in the Middle East. Throughout the region, small and peaceful minority groups are often the first to suffer collateral damage, as we have seen in recent years not only in Syria, but also in Iraq, in Egypt, and elsewhere.

It is especially poignant to recognize the people of Kassab at this time of year, since April 24 is the Genocide Remembrance Day observed by Armenians around the world to commemorate the atrocities committed against their people nearly a hundred years ago.

I have advocated for a non-governmental bipartisan Syria Study Group to bring a fresh approach and possibly creative solutions forward to address the ongoing conflict in that country. It is inexcusable for the world to stand by while families are being driven from their homes, children are being killed and ancient communities' very existence threatened.

[From the Washington Post, Apr. 2, 2014]

Syrian Armenians, Who Had Been Insulated From War, Forced To Flee After

Rebel Offensive

(By Loveday Morris)

Anjar, Lebanon.--Some fled in their nightclothes, others in

their farming boots straight from the fields. Many thought

they'd be able to return in a few hours but now fear they may

never again.

Until the shells started raining down late last month, the

tiny Syrian village of Kassab and surrounding villages had

been largely sheltered from the three-year-old conflict that

has devastated other parts of Syria. But now the area is the

focus of a rebel offensive in the coastal province of

Latakia, and an accompanying social-media storm of

disinformation.

Kassab, a lush, mountainous idyll abutting the Turkish

border, is an ancestral home of Syria's minority ethnic

Armenians, Christians who have lived on the land for a

millennium. But the attack by jihadist rebels sparked a mass

exodus from Kassab and nearby villages.

The picturesque Armenian hillside villages in the north of

Latakia provide a foothold for a push into the rest of the

province--a heartland of Syria's minority Alawites, who are

largely supportive of President Bashar al-Assad.

The area holds little other strategic value for the

opposition, but the limited gains there have boosted rebel

morale amid a string of defeats elsewhere, with the leader of

the main opposition body, Ahmad al-Jarba, making a rare visit

to Syria this week to tour the area and meet with fighters.

The Armenian diaspora, including some celebrities, has

expressed outrage, demanding that the United States act to

protect the Armenian community in Syria. The State Department

has said it is ``deeply troubled'' by the developments.

Some Syrian government loyalists have launched a propaganda

campaign accusing rebels of mass killings and desecrating

churches in the area, sparking fierce rebuttals from

opposition activists.

But the people of Kassab, like the 7 million others who

have been displaced by the civil war, are focusing on trying

to rebuild their lives after being torn from their land. At

least 30 families have fled to neighboring Lebanon, seeking

refuge in the Armenian village of Anjar and in the capital,

Beirut, and the testimonies of more than a dozen shed some

light on the events surrounding the offensive.

All but about 30 of the area's roughly 2,500 residents fled

within 48 hours of the attack, they said. The fate of those

who remained, who were too old or unwilling to leave, is

unknown, with communications to the villages cut. There was

no major loss of life, they say, with just one known death,

that of a local teacher who was hit in her car by a sniper as

she tried to flee. Still, the mass exodus is particularly

emotional, with Armenians from Kassab having been forced to

leave their homes twice in the past century because of

persecution by the Turks.

The Armenians first fled during the Adana massacre of 1909,

when tens of thousands died at the hands of the Ottomans.

Then, in 1915, as many as 5,000 residents of Kassab died

during the fracturing empire's murderous campaign against the

Armenians, which is widely recognized as a genocide.

``Now it's 2014, and we are being displaced again,'' said a

41-year-old farmer's wife who arrived in Lebanon a week ago.

Like others fleeing the loyalist area, she spoke on the

condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals if she and her

family return.

``But thank God that this time there is no massacre,'' she

said. ``We believe that, as Armenians, what doesn't kill you

makes you stronger.''

Once again, the Armenians see the hand of their long-

standing enemy behind their displacement, saying the rebel

attack was launched from Turkish soil. Many of the farms and

homes in what was once a popular tourist spot offer sweeping

views of the Turkish border.

The offensive, they say, began about 5 a.m. on March 21,

with villagers waking to the sound of heavy machine-gun fire,

followed by shelling.

Two Syrian border posts were first struck, according to the

accounts of several residents. With the posts manned only by

lightly armed Syrian border police, residents said there was

little in the way of defense against the push by jihadist

rebel groups, which included the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-

Nusra and the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham.

Not long after, the main border crossing to Turkey fell,

residents said.

Villagers had prepared evacuation plans. In case of an

attack, instructions were for women and children to

congregate in Nabaeen, a village farthest from the Turkish

border, with a back road to the city of Latakia.

By 7 a.m., one Nabaeen farmer said, about 50 people had

gathered at his house. ``People were crying and yelling that

they had nothing with them. Some were in their slippers and

pajamas,'' he said. ``It was a sad situation.''

Despite the chaos, many grabbed the deeds to their houses--

an instinct, they say, for a people with a history of

displacement. Some of the men stayed behind to see how the

situation developed.

``We left all our valuables and had nothing more than the

clothes we were wearing,'' said one 40- year-old mother of

three. As the shelling picked up, by 11 a.m. most of the

families had left Nabaeen for the safety of Latakia, 35 miles

south, as Syrian army reinforcements made their way north.

By March 23, the rebels had reached the center of Kassab.

Villagers point to Turkey's shooting down of a Syrian jet

attempting to hit the invading fighters later that day as

further evidence of Turkish support for rebels.

A Turkish diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity

because of the sensitivity of the subject, said that no

rebels are ``deliberately'' allowed to use the Turkish border

and that if there was shelling into Kassab from Turkey on

March 21, it was because of new rules of engagement, which

allow the country's armed forces to retaliate when fired at

to deter further attacks.

Turkey also said that the jet it shot down had strayed into

its airspace.

Jihadist fighters who entered Kassab have gone to great

lengths to stress that they are not desecrating churches or

hurting civilians.

The mother of three said that after she arrived in Latakia

with her children, she called home, and a man who identified

himself as a member of Ja`hat al-Nusra answered.

``He said, 'Come back, why did you leave your home? We have

come here to protect you,' '' she recalled, though she added

that he later said she should convert to Islam before

returning. ``I pleaded with him, `Eat and drink whatever you

like, but please don't destroy the house.' ''

But Kassab's displaced residents are not convinced by the

jihadists' assurances, and some fear they will never be able

to feel safe

in the area again, even if the government succeeds in pushing

out the rebels.

One farmer, who sold his car in Latakia to afford the

journey to Lebanon, said his grandmother survived a notorious

death march from the village to the city of Horns during the

genocide but still returned to Kassab.

This time, he's not sure his family will make it back.

``Our roots are there, everything is there,'' his wife

said, ``but we can't.''