Floor Statements

Offered By: Mr. Wolf

Amendment No. 2: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

restrictions and requirements regarding the transfer or release of

guantanamo bay detainees into the united states

Madam Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues an editorial that appeared in The Washington Post last week. The United States should not continue to give unconditional foreign military financing to the Egyptian government, as long as the regime continues to disregard the fundamental principles of human dignity. This undermines not only our values as a nation, but our credibility as a global leader on issues such as human rights and democracy.

[From the Washington Post, May 7, 2009]

No Questions Asked

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates earned modest headlines

in the United States this

week for playing down the possibility of a ``grand bargain''

with Iran after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni

Mubarak. But al-Jazeera, the leading media outlet of the Arab

Middle East, focused on an entirely different piece of news

out of Mr. Gates' Cairo news conference. Asked whether U.S.

aid to Egypt would be linked in the future to democracy or

human rights, the Pentagon chief answered that ``foreign

military financing'' for Mr. Mubarak's autocracy ``should be

without conditions. And that is our sustained position.''

The Obama administration, which has rushed to embrace

Egypt's 81-year-old strongman, would do well to consider why

al-Jazeera--not known for pro-American sympathies--would

choose to trumpet that report. The Obama administration's

policy assumes that the Bush administration's attempts to

promote democratic reforms in Egypt produced yet another case

of damaged ties and bad public relations to remedy, such as

Guantanamo Bay or the war in Iraq. So Mr. Gates, like

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton before him, heaped

praise on Mr. Mubarak while making clear that the new

administration will not trouble him about his systematic and

often violent repression of the country's liberal

politicians, bloggers and human rights activists.

Yet, as al-Jazeera well understands, Mr. Mubarak and his

fellow Arab autocrats are widely despised across the region--

and the United States is blamed for unconditionally propping

them up. In fact, Mr. Bush won credit from many Egyptians for

pressing for democratic change; he was criticized because he

failed to follow through. Now, Arabs around the region are

learning that the Obama administration is returning to the

old U.S. policy of ignoring human rights abuses by Arab

dictators in exchange for their cooperation on security

matters--that is, the same policy that produced the Middle

East of Osama bin Laden, Hamas and Saddam Hussein.

The pullback is not only rhetorical. Funding for democracy

promotion in Egypt has been slashed from $50 million to $20

million this year. The State Department has agreed to

Egyptian demands not to use economic aid to fund civil

society organizations not approved by the government. As a

result, U.S. funding for pro-democracy and human rights

groups will drop by about 70 percent. Meanwhile, Democrats on

the House Appropriations Committee this week inserted $260

million in fresh security assistance for Egypt into a

supplemental appropriations bill, along with $50 million for

border security. No conditions were attached.

What will all this appeasement buy from Mr. Mubarak? The

Egyptian ruler continues to pledge to stop arms trafficking

to Hamas in Gaza, and to fail to do so. He keeps a cold peace

with Israel, withholds an ambassador from Iraq and, as Mr.

Gates tacitly acknowledged, opposes any broad rapprochement

between the United States and Iran. He is grooming his son to

succeed him, a step that could entrench Egypt's autocracy for

decades more--or maybe produce an Islamic revolution. Does

all that really merit unconditional U.S. support?

Madam Speaker, Attorney General Eric Holder is about ready to make a decision to release violent terrorists who have trained in al Qaeda training camps who are now down in Guantanamo Bay into our neighborhoods--into our neighborhoods. Members of the Congress on both sides have asked the Attorney General to allow FBI agents and Department of Homeland Security personnel to come up and brief Members, and he will not allow it.

How does this Congress provide the oversight when they're about ready to release groups like ETIM? Go on the video and see what this group ETIM is. They're about ready to release individuals into our neighborhoods, and Eric Holder is prohibiting career people from coming to the Hill.

In some respects, Madam Speaker, this is a cover-up by the Attorney General of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.

I rise in support of the resolution and offer my condolences to Joanne, their children, and their families. Jack Kemp was a good man, somebody who I admired, followed, and tried to emulate in many, many areas.

I would like to put two statements into the Record, one from the Weekly Standard that kind of spells out his life, and a eulogy by Chuck Colson who kind of sums Jack up better than anybody. Well done, our good and faithful servant. God bless Jack Kemp.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution honoring the life and accomplishments of our former colleague Jack Kemp. Like so many, I was deeply saddened to learn of Jack's passing this past weekend.

I had the privilege and honor of serving in the House with Jack for eight years. He was one of the most genuinely optimistic and engaging persons I have ever known. He saw the best in people and believed with all his heart that every person on this earth deserved to be treated with dignity and respect. His work for human rights influenced me deeply.

To his wife Joanne, his children and grandchildren, I send my heartfelt sympathy. In Jack's memory, I say, ``Well done, good and faithful servant.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask that a column from the Weekly Standard by Mary Brunette Cannon as well as a BreakPoint commentary by Chuck Colson about Jack's life be inserted in the Record.

[From BreakPoint Commentaries, May 6, 2009]

My Friend Jack Kemp

(By Chuck Colson)

A Man of Virtue

My friend Jack Kemp died this past weekend at 73.

His obituaries list many accomplishments: seven-time all-

star quarterback for the Buffalo Bills and the American

Football League's most valuable player in 1965. Eight-term

congressman from Buffalo, New York, Secretary of Housing and

Urban Development, and the 1996 Republican vice-presidential

candidate.

As our mutual friend Fred Barnes wrote in the Weekly

Standard, it's hard to think of any congressman in recent

memory who accomplished more, setting the stage for the

Reagan Revolution and economic opportunity for all Americans.

But as remarkable as Jack's accomplishments were, Jack the

man was even more so. He personified all of the classic

virtues--temperance, prudence, courage, and justice. But

today I want to focus on one especially--courage.

Jack was indomitable. ``Too small'' to play college

football, never mind professional ball. He was cut five times

before sticking with the Chargers. He became a star despite

often playing hurt. He suffered a dozen concussions over his

career, two broken ankles, and a crushed hand.

Courage also marked his life after football. While he

didn't hesitate to describe himself as a conservative

Republican, many conservative Republicans were hesitant to

call him one of their own. That's because his sense of

justice sometimes put him at odds with his own party.

While much of the party was winning over white Democrats in

the South, Jack was embracing civil rights. Whereas many

Republicans saw labor unions as the ``enemy,'' Jack, a co-

founder and five-time president of the AFL Players'

Association, fought hard for the interests of working

Americans.

Then, in 1994, when the GOP in his native California

appealed to fears about illegal immigration, Jack opposed

them. That cost him dearly with the national party. Many

split ways with him at that point.

Jack might well have been President--and would have been a

great one--were it not for two things: He would never

compromise his convictions, nor would he attack his

opponents. Sadly, it's hard to resist those things and still

get to the White House.

His courage was on display to the very end. During the

times I visited him over the last months of his life, I was

taken by how he kept his spirit up even as the cancer

devastated his body.

Jack was a giant in our midst. He had a heart for the same

kind of people Prison Fellowship serves--the poor, the

oppressed, and the downtrodden. His wife, Joanne, has been a

board member at Prison Fellowship for many years.

He also shared our Christian commitment to human life,

telling the New York Times how a personal tragedy made him

``more aware of the sanctity of human life, [and] how

precious every child is.''

This and more is why Jack's death is such a great loss to

me personally. Joanne and his four beautiful children--all

Christians--are in my prayers. How proud of them Jack was.

This family's Christian witness has touched countless lives.

I've been humbled by being asked to give the eulogy at the

National Cathedral this Friday. What a privilege to celebrate

a life so richly lived in service to his Lord and nation. I

thank God for my friend, whom I and a grieving nation will

sorely miss.

Mr. Speaker, I was the author of legislation in 1998 that created the National Commission on Terrorism, whose report and recommendations were, unfortunately, ignored by both the Clinton and the Bush administration prior to 9/11.

Fast forward to today, and you can understand my concern when I hear that Attorney General Eric Holder is preparing to release trained terrorists into the United States. Several media outlets have been reporting that a decision is imminent on the release of Uyghurs presently detained at Guantanamo Bay. These detainees have been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 after being captured at terrorist training camps affiliated with al Qaeda.

Information I have received indicates these detainees may be far more dangerous than this administration has led the American people to believe. These detainees have been taught how to kill and terrorize by the same terrorist networks affiliated with the attacks on September 11, the USS Cole, U.S. embassies in Africa and the brutal beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Yet Eric Holder is considering releasing them into the United States.

Both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have reportedly raised concerns about the release of these detainees, who are members of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, a terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda. But yet Eric Holder will not release the information.

Let me be clear, we are not talking about transferring these people to prisons in the United States. They would be released free and clear to roam through your neighborhood, shop in your shopping malls and go wherever they want to.

And yet the Congress has not been briefed on this. We have called for briefings from numerous agencies but have been told by the agencies that the Attorney General's office will not allow them to come to the Hill.

This is, in some respects, basically a cover-up. That's right, the Justice Department will not allow career FBI and other government officials, who understand the issue, to come to the Congress to tell the Congress who these people are and what information has been prepared.

During his appearance before the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee, the Attorney General promised he would not play ``hide and seek.'' Now he is hiding. He is hiding and keeping information from the Congress, and, more importantly, because the Congress doesn't appear to be doing anything about this, keeping the information from the American people.

All information, Mr. Speaker, about the capture and the detention of the detainees should be declassified, including a threat assessment for each detainee who would be released into the U.S. The American people need to see this information, all of it should be released.

Eric Holder cannot just pick and choose what classified information he wants to release, only that which justifies his case, and cover up and keep quiet the others. These people should not be released into the United States.

Would you want to have trained terrorists living in your neighborhood? The answer is no, and I believe that Congress also is shirking its responsibility for not getting this information before a decision has been made.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in firm opposition to any decision by the Attorney General to release the trained terrorists known as Uyghurs from Guantanamo Bay into the neighborhoods, that's right, in American neighborhoods. I believe this would be a terrible decision that can needlessly endanger American citizens.

If Eric Holder proceeds down this dangerous road, he has an obligation, an obligation, to the American people to release all of the information about the capture, detention, and threat posed by each detainee. If the Attorney General believes these trained terrorists pose no threat, then why not release all of this information to the Congress and, more importantly than even to the Congress, to the American people.

Also, Mr. Speaker, why will the Attorney General not allow career people in the FBI, DHS and CIA to come up and brief the Congress? It's time for Eric Holder to make a decision to release this information. These trained terrorists should not be released into American neighborhoods.

I thank the gentleman for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution to name the U.S. Post Office located on 21st Street in Long Island, New York, as the Geraldine Ferraro Post Office Building.

I served in this body with Geraldine Ferraro, a former Queens County district attorney, and I join my colleagues in congratulating her and her family in a well-deserved honor and wish her well.

As we deal with this issue, though, Mr. Speaker, I feel there is a pressing matter of national security which directly affects the welfare of the American people which is not being addressed, and the American people deserve to know what is happening.

Geraldine Ferraro represented the people of New York City, a city which was forever changed on a sunny September morning when two planes slammed into the World Trade Center killing thousands and awakening our country to the murderous aims of the terrorist network globally. Thirty people from my congressional district lost their lives that day.

Countless books have been written since, which highlight miscalculations and missed opportunities on the part of the policymakers in the intelligence community who failed to recognize the severity of the threat our country is facing leading up to 9/11. We can no longer say we do not know the threat, and yet this administration is on the precipice of making a decision which, given what we know, is unthinkable.

Press reports and other information I receive indicates that President Obama's decision regarding the release into the United States of a number of Uyghur detainees held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 is imminent. The detainees are trained terrorists. They were held at a facility which was home to Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/ 11 who took pleasure in beheading Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

There have been published reports that these detainees were members of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, a designated terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda.

Now, just this April, the U.S. Treasury froze the assets of Abdul Haq, the leader of this group, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, known as ETIM. This is the same group that the detainees are reportedly affiliated with. The Treasury Department targeted Haq as part of their efforts to shut down the al Qaeda support network. Upon making the designation, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said, and I quote what our Treasury Department said: ``Adbul Haq commands a terror group that sought to sow violence and fracture international unity at the 2008 Olympic Games in China.''

Few have been more critical of the Chinese Government than I have. But terrorism is terrorism. American citizens were present at the Olympic Games. Terrorism knows no boundaries. It must not be tolerated anywhere. American career government officials risked their lives to capture these people. What if they had not been captured? Would they have then left this terrorist training camp and gone off to wreak terrorism somewhere in China killing innocent men, women and children of China?

Yet the U.S. Congress and the American people are left utterly, and I'm increasingly concerned, in the dark. The administration will not allow any career person from the FBI, from the CIA, or from the Department of Homeland Security to come up and tell the Congress about these detainees. The American people, Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve more. After learning that this decision was imminent, I requested briefings from a number of relevant agencies. But all have told me that Eric Holder, our Attorney General of the Department of Justice, is preventing them from speaking out, speaking to me or other Members, if you will, on this issue.

Why, Mr. Speaker, is the Department of Justice withholding this information from the American people? Why is proper congressional oversight, which American people expect of their elected representatives, now being thwarted? This is not the time to play games. The stakes are too high, not just with regard to this specific group of detainees; but speaking more broadly, our enemy is empowered by perceived weakness. What message are we sending when one branch of government stonewalls another on a matter with undeniable national security implications?

Again, I call on the Justice Department to declassify and release all information regarding the capture, detention and threats posed by these detainees or others that they may consider releasing into the U.S. Any intelligence assessment of these Uyghurs must take into account not only their previous training at terrorist training camps, but their potential subsequent exposure and radicalization while they were at Guantanamo Bay.

Andrew McCarthy, a former Federal prosecutor who led the 1995 prosecution against Sheik Omar Adbel Rahman who was found guilty of planning the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, wrote just today that the administration is playing ``fast and loose with the declassification of information.''

Mr. Speaker, this information ought to be released to the American people before any decision is made. And with that I thank the Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on the floor again to raise the awareness of the American people and of the Congress that the safety of the United States could be put at risk should Attorney General Eric Holder approve the release of trained terrorists into our country. I repeat, released into this country, not held in jails, but let free in our neighborhoods and our communities.

Eric Holder expects us to take his word that the detainees are not a threat, and that is unacceptable. The Attorney General expects this Congress to sit idly by and the American people to sit idly by until he announces he has released the Uyghurs held at Guantanamo Bay into the United States, into your neighborhood. In fact, he will not allow career FBI and government employees to even brief Members of Congress on this. So much for this administration's promise of transparency and accountability.

Let me be clear: These detainees are trained terrorists who were caught in camps affiliated with Al Qaeda. Those who would use terror are terrorists no matter their intended target. There have been published reports that these terrorists were members of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, ETIM, a designated terrorist organization affiliated with Al Qaeda.

The detainees held at Guantanamo Bay are trained terrorists. They were trained in facilities affiliated with Al Qaeda and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11 who took pleasure in beheading Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Last month, the U.S. Treasury froze the assets of Abdul Haq, the leader of the ETIM. The Treasury Department targeted Haq as part of their efforts to shut down the Al Qaeda support network.

So here Treasury designates Haq as a terrorist, and Eric Holder wants to release the members of the terrorist group to walk the streets.

Upon making the designation, the Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said, ``Abdul Haq commands a terror group that sought to sow violence and fracture international unity at the 2008 Olympic games in China.''

What if our people had not picked up these terrorists and they had gotten their training and had gone back to China and had blown up one of the Olympic facilities when many American citizens were there? What if? How is it that the U.S. Treasury Department can declare that this is a terrorist group that ``sought to sow violence'' while the U.S. Justice Department asserts that members of the same group caught at terrorist training camps and held for 7 years at Guantanamo should be released free and clear into the United States, yet this Congress and the American people are left in the dark about the administration's plans to release the detainees?

If the Congress doesn't really care and want to hold oversight hearings, certainly the American people have a right to know who the Attorney General is asking to place in their communities.

Last Friday, I called on this administration to declassify and provide the American people with information regarding the capture, the detention, and the threat assessment of each detainee they intend to release inside the United States. Regardless of their intended targets of terror, the American people deserve to know whether they have been further radicalized due to their exposure to Al Qaeda leaders like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. They have been down in Guantanamo with some of the most violent people that have ever walked the Earth. And now, after the radicalization that may have taken place, Eric Holder now wants to release them into our neighborhoods and into our communities.

I worry about the impact these released Uyghurs will have on our national security. I have talked with several former members who have worked in our intelligence community, and to a person they all believe that this will be dangerous for the United States. They all said, what message does their release into the United States send to Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks?

How can Attorney General Holder guarantee that the released Uyghurs will not stay in contact with Al Qaeda and provide them with intelligence within the U.S.? Has Eric Holder never heard of radicalization in prison? Some people go into prison and come out worse than they go in. If the Attorney General cannot or will not answer these questions, he should not consider releasing them.

I ask you, please, the American people need to have all of this information before a decision is made.

East Turkistan Islamic Party Appeals for New Recruits in New Video

The militant Islamist group East Turkistan Islamic Party

(ETIM) released a new propaganda video, in which it appealed

to Muslims in Turkistan to join the group's camps in

Waziristan, Pakistan.

The 43-minute video is entitled ``Persistence and

preparation for Jihad'' and was produced by the group's media

wing Sawt al Islam.

It includes a statement by the group's current leader

Sheikh Abul Haq, as well as its late leader Hassan Makhdum,

whose alias is Abu Mohammed al Turkistani. Abul Haq said

``jihad'' was a duty that falls on all Muslims just like any

other religious duty. He also pledged more attacks against

Chinese forces. ``The operations of the Islamic Turkistani

Party will make China experience the same taste of shame and

defeat that America has experienced in Iraq and

Afghanistan,'' Abul Haq said.

Footage from the group's training camp showed a group of

militants undergoing training under the supervision of

military commander identified as Seifullah. Once again, he

claimed credit for the bus bombings and the attack on the

police station in Shanghai and Yunnan in May and July of

2008.

The attacks seem to have been carried out using remotely-

detonated explosives devices. Footage shown on the video

showed a member of the group placing the explosives in a

small suitcase and covering it with some cloths, while having

a radio detonator in his hand.

Seifullah also made an appeal to Turkistani Muslims to join

the group's camps in Waziristan and train on the latest

weapons used by the Chinese army's ground forces. He said

that the group is currently trying to develop a training

program on other weapons used by the army.

The East Turkistan Islamic Movement is a militant group

that advocates the creation of an independent, Islamic state

of East Turkestan, formally part of Afghanistan, in what is

currently the Xinjiang region of China.

The group is thought to have links with al Qaeda. In its

2005 report on terrorism, the U.S. State Department said that

the group was ``linked to al Qaeda and the international

jihadist movement'' and that al Qaeda provided the group with

``training and financial assistance''.

Madam Speaker, it is my understanding that President Obama's decision regarding the release into the U.S. of a number of Uyghur detainees held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 could be imminent.

The New York Times, ABC News and other news outlets have reported that the President will soon release these terrorists into the United States, yet this Congress has not been briefed on this decision.

Let me be clear, these terrorists would not be held in prisons, but they would be released into your neighborhoods. They should not be released into the United States. Do Members realize who these people are?

There have been published reports that the Uyghurs were members of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, a designated terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda.

Releasing the Uyghurs is a matter of grave concern, a matter which prompted me to send a letter to the President last Friday detailing my reservations about any course of action that could pose a threat to the American people.

In my letter I called on the President to declassify all information about the capture and detention of the Uyghur detainees, including a threat assessment for each detainee who would be released in the U.S.

The American people, Madam Speaker, deserve the facts about these detainees and the risk they potentially pose to our communities.

Following the precedent that the administration set in declassifying the Office of Legal Counsel interrogation memos, they have a moral obligation to the American people to declassify all relevant information related to the Uyghur detainees.

This administration has already shown that it has no qualms about releasing selected classified documents. The White House cannot just pick and choose what classified information it deems worthy of releasing. It cannot have it both ways. It shouldn't release information that conveniently makes their case without making information with profound national security implications available to the American people.

After learning that this decision was imminent, I requested briefings from a number of relevant agencies, but all the agencies have told me that our Department of Justice is now preventing them from speaking to me directly on this issue. So much for being open. So much for disclosure.

Is the Attorney General preventing agencies from answering Members' questions? Is this a political decision being made by Eric Holder, the Attorney General?

This is not the transparency and accountability the President promised, nor is it the open and constructive relationship they claim they want with Congress. This is, at best, a poor judgment and, at worst, a dangerous hypocrisy.

Is the administration intent on keeping Congress and the American people in the dark about critically important national security issues?

Madam Speaker, I have criticized both Republican and Democratic administrations for actions that I believe undermine the safety and the security of the American people.

I have not received responses to two letters to Attorney General Holder on the transfer of Guantanamo Bay prisoners. The first letter was dated March 13. The second letter was dated April 23. And I will submit them for the Record. They still have not answered the letters. My office has been told by the White House that some of the questions I have asked cannot even be answered.

When Attorney General Holder appeared before the Commerce-Justice- Science appropriations subcommittee, he poignantly said he would not play hide and seek with the information. What are they now trying to hide from the American people?

The Attorney General is slow-rolling the information as terrorist detainees are potentially going to be released into the United States.

According to an L.A. Times article published last week, ``The Homeland Security Department has registered concerns about the plan,'' among other government agencies.

Information I have received indicates that the Uyghurs may be more dangerous than the public has been led to believe.

Just last night, 60 Minutes had a disturbing segment which touched on the radicalization of the Guantanamo Bay detainees. The story indicated that in Saudi Arabia alone, of 117 men returned from Guantanamo, 11 have shown up again on Saudi Arabia's most wanted terrorist list.

Any intelligence assessment of the Uyghurs must take into account not only their previous training at terrorist camps but their potential subsequent exposure to the likes of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11 who took pleasure in the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

I say to this administration, the American people have a right to know all the facts, and I fear personally that expediency is clouding their judgment, which is inexcusable after we saw what took place on 9/ 11.

The stakes are simply too high for this administration to reasonably think that the American people should simply take their word that these men pose no security threats. I call on the Obama administration to declassify and release all the information that they have available so the American people can make a judgment.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, May 1, 2009.

Hon. Barack H. Obama,

President, the White House,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. President: It is my understanding that your

decision regarding whether to release a number of Chinese

Uyghur detainees held at Guantanamo Bay into the United

States is imminent. I have grave concerns about this action,

which I believe could directly threaten the security of the

American people.

Information I have received indicates that the Uyghurs may

be more dangerous than the public has been led to believe. I

write today asking that you declassify all intelligence

regarding their capture, detention, and your administration's

assessment of the threat they may pose to Americans, prior to

any decision to release them. The American people deserve to

have all the facts about these individuals before they should

be expected to tolerate their presence in our communities.

I believe your administration also has an obligation to

explain to the American people how you will monitor the

Uyghurs' activities should they be released in the U.S.

Additionally, all state and local law enforcement should

immediately be notified of your intended decision, provided a

threat assessment of the released Uyghurs, and informed of

the federal government's plans to monitor their activities

once released.

Following the precedent you have set in declassifying the

Office of Legal Counsel interrogation memos, you have a moral

obligation to declassify this critical information. The

American people cannot afford to simply take your word that

these detainees, who were captured training in terrorist

camps, are not a threat if released into our communities.

Best wishes.

Sincerely,

Frank R. Wolf,

Member of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, the Members of this institution ought to know that this administration and the Justice Department may be very close to releasing terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, the Uyghurs, out into the public, out around the country. And we are calling on the Justice Department to release any of the memos with regard to who these people are on individual cases. If they were members of a terrorist group, I believe the American people need to know.

This administration and Justice selectively released memos but will not tell the full story. So I urge all Members, unless you want them, these Uyghurs, terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, to move to your neighborhood, ask Attorney General Eric Holder, release all this classified information so the American people can know what we are about ready to face.

Madam Speaker, last week marked the 94th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

I have long been a cosponsor of a resolution introduced in multiple sessions of Congress which reaffirms the United States Record on the Armenian genocide.

The Armenian genocide, in which 1.5 million perished, is widely recognized as the 20th

century's first genocide. Raphael Lemkin, the Jewish legal scholar who coined the word genocide and tirelessly advocated for international law defining it and preventing it, was driven largely by what happened to the Armenians.

Since that time the world has witnessed unfathomable horrors during the Nazi-perpetrated Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda and still today Darfur. And too often, the world has been silent in the face of such brutality.

Adolph Hitler, in describing his murderous plans and seeking to silence those with reservations, famously said, ``Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?''

There is power in speaking the truth, even about atrocities that occurred nearly a century ago, so that other men with evil aims might not be empowered by our silence.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican guidelines on earmarks, I submit the following statement for the record regarding H.R. 1105, the Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act.

Requesting Member: The Hon. Frank R. Wolf

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Provision: State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Byrne Justice Assistance Grant

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force

Address of Requesting Entity: One Park Center Court, Manassas Park,

Madam Speaker, I would like to share with our colleagues a recent announcement from USAID indicating that Virginia's George Mason University was one of 40 paired winners of the highly competitive Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative Planning Grant Competition.

George Mason will partner with the University of Sierra Leone to develop a four-campus community college system for the nation. The development of this sort of higher education is critical to Africa's future development, particularly in nations like Sierra Leone, which not too many years ago had been ravaged by civil war.

George Mason University Awarded USAID-Funded Grant in Africa-U.S.

Higher Education Initiative Grant Competition

Washington, DC--The U.S. Agency for International

Development (USAID) and the Higher Education for Development

(HED) announced today that George Mason University is one of

40 paired winners of the Africa-U.S. Higher Education

Initiative Planning Grant Competition. Nearly 300

applications were submitted for capacity-building

partnerships between U.S. colleges and universities and

higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan African nations.

George Mason University and other paired winners will receive

planning grants from USAID of $50,000 each (a complete list

of winners may be found at www.hedprogram.orq).

``This competition is an important opportunity to build the

kind of higher education capacity critical to the development

of Africa,'' said Joseph Carney, director of USAID's Office

of Education. ``This initiative was proposed during the

Higher Education Summit for Global Development and subsequent

regional summit held in Rwanda last year. We are delighted to

see this effort moving forward and expect great results from

these planning grants.''

These paired institutions will use the grants to develop

plans to address regional and national economic development

priorities such as engineering, health, agriculture,

environment and natural resources, science and technology,

education and teacher training/preparation, and business,

management and economics.

George Mason University will partner with the University of

Sierra Leone to develop a four-campus community college

system for the nation, under the sponsorship of Ernest Bai

Koroma, President of Sierra Leone, and under the direction of

the Sierra Leone Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

HED manages the competition which grew out of the Africa-

U.S. Higher Education Initiative (www.aplu.orq), a

collaborative effort between a number of higher education

associations and other organizations, led by the Association

of Public and Land-grant Universities (A.P.L.U), formerly the

National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant

Colleges (NASULGC).

``We were elated by the astounding number of highly

qualified applications received, and even more pleased by how

many applications demonstrated a strong understanding of

higher education needs in Africa,'' said Dr. Tully Cornick,

executive director of HED. ``The top 40 paired winning

institutions represent the best of these applications, and

plans that are developed as a result of the grants will

address a variety of critical development needs. It is our

belief that if funding is found to implement these plans, we

will see tangible, measurable and sustainable impact made in

these African countries.''

``This important initiative continues to illustrate the

enormous unmet need for higher education partnerships in

Africa,'' added Peter McPherson, president of A.P.L.U. ``We

see this as just the beginning--this is an ongoing campaign

to accomplish much more in engaging higher education

institutions in Africa.''

HED, funded by a cooperative agreement with USAID, was

founded by the six major U.S. higher education associations

to engage U.S. colleges and universities in international

development. For more information about HED and to view

details about the planning grants corn petition, visit

www.HEDprodram.orcl.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for

International Development, have provided economic and

humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years. For

more information on USAID, visit www.USAID.gov.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Fauquier County, Virginia, on May 1, 2009. I am honored to represent a portion of this county as part of the 10th District of Virginia.

Fauquier County has a rich and venerable history. The land known as Fauquier County dates back to the early days of our nation, originally described in 1608 as part of the Northern Neck proprietary. It was formed from part of Prince William County in 1759, and named for the Lieutenant Governor Francis Fauquier, who served the Commonwealth from 1758 to 1768. Militiamen fought in the French and Indian Wars in defense of the British Colony, and later participated in the creation of a new nation during the American Revolution.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, the father of judicial review and America's

most esteemed judge, was a native son of Fauquier County. It was the scene of many important military engagements during the Civil War and served as the base of operations for Colonel John S. Mosby. The county contributed hundreds of soldiers, including five generals, to the Confederate Army during that conflict. Sons and daughters of Fauquier have served with distinction in every armed conflict of the 20th century.

Fauquier County is renowned for its pastoral scenery, agriculture and equine industries, and its open space. Visitors from other states and countries around the world come to enjoy its rich history, warm hospitality and recreational offerings. Madam Speaker, please join me in recognizing and celebrating the rich history of Fauquier County, Virginia, and in congratulating its citizens upon its 250th anniversary.

Madam Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues the following article which appeared in the March 19 edition of The Washington Times. Li Fengzhi, a former intelligence officer at the Ministry of State Security, revealed that the agency is tasked with repressing religious and political dissent among the Chinese civilian population and bolstering the rule of the Chinese Communist Party in addition to gathering secrets from overseas. I urge my colleagues to carefully read Mr. Li's chilling account of the Communist Party's systematic repression of religious and political dissidents.

[From the Washington Times, Mar. 19, 2009]

Chinese Spy Who Defected Tells All

(By Bill Gertz Contact)

A veteran Chinese intelligence officer who defected to the

United States says that his country's civilian spy service

spends most of its time trying to steal secrets overseas but

also works to bolster Beijing's Communist Party rule by

repressing religious and political dissent internally.

``In some sense you can say that intelligence work between

two countries is just like war but without the fire,'' Li

Fengzhi told The Washington Times in an interview aided by an

interpreter.

Mr. Li worked for years as an Ministry of State Security

intelligence officer inside

China before defecting to the United States, where is he

awaiting a response to his request for political asylum. He

gave a rare, detailed interview to The Times on Sunday

regarding the activities of the MSS, China's Communist-

controlled civilian spy agency.

His prior work as a Chinese spy was confirmed to The Times

by a Western government source familiar with his defection.

The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the

sensitivity of Mr. Li's case.

Mr. Li told The Times that the MSS focuses on both

counterintelligence--working against foreign intelligence

agencies--and the collection of secrets and technology.

The MSS, however, is unique from other nations'

intelligence services in that it is patterned after the

former Soviet Union's KGB political police. Its most

important mission is ``to control the Chinese people to

maintain the rule of the Communist Party,'' he added.

Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in

Washington, did not address Mr. Li's comments directly but

repeated past Chinese government statements regarding its

intelligence activities.

``Allegations of China conducting spying activities against

the United States are groundless and unwarranted,'' he said

Wednesday. ``China never engages itself in activities that

will harm other countries' national interests.''

Mr. Wang said communist rule in China produced historic

economic and social progress and that China has contributed

to a more secure world. ``This is a fact no one can deny,''

Mr. Wang said.

On those who leave the party, Mr. Wang said ``there are

also a handful of people who betray their faith and leave the

party, whose acts as well as some people's political lies

will never shadow the great feats of the party.''

Mr. Li said he left China's intelligence services to

protest the agency's role in government repression of

political dissidents and religious groups that are outside of

the ruling communist system.

The MSS, mainly a foreign intelligence service, is

``deeply'' involved in domestic repression of nonofficial

Christian churches and the outlawed Falun Gong religious

group, Mr. Li said.

``The Ministry of State Security is actually not doing

things for the security of the country, but rather they spend

a lot of effort to control the people, the dissidents, the

lower-class Chinese people, and make these people suffer and

also make their life miserable,'' he said.

In the interview, he also said:

China's spy agency is focused on sending spies to

infiltrate the U.S. intelligence community, and also on

collecting secrets and technology from the United States.

``China spends a tremendous effort to send out spies to

important countries like the U.S. to collect information,''

Mr. Li said.

China is censoring the Internet to prevent the population

from knowing about what occurs outside the country.

An internal MSS manual that is kept secret from most

officers outlines the primary role of the service as the

promotion of Communist Party's interests.

Ongoing cooperation between the CIA and FBI and the MSS in

countering international terrorism can be constructive, but

U.S. agencies need to be cautious because the MSS is mainly

an organ of the Chinese Communist Party, and does not

directly serve the interests of the Chinese nation or people,

he said.

Mr. Li said he worked in the MSS department in charge of

gathering economic, political and technical information in

Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Some of the work involved

targeting and recruiting foreign nationals who visit China.

He was born in 1968 in northern China and was first

recruited into a provincial Chinese intelligence service

before being promoted to the MSS in Beijing after several

years.

Two groups in China that are a main focus of the MSS are

unofficial Christian churches and the outlawed Falun Gong

religious group, he said.

The MSS also has targeted pro-democracy activists, like

those who were involved in the mass demonstrations in

Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, he said.

The MSS is China's main civilian spy service that is viewed

by U.S. intelligence officials as one of the world's most

active in stealing secrets and running foreign spies. The

military counterpart, the Second Department of the People's

Liberation Army, or 2PLA, is focused on stealing foreign

technology, much of it for weapons and military systems.

Together, the Chinese services are estimated to have

several thousand trained operatives working around the world,

most posing as diplomats, journalists, business

representatives and academics. Thousands of other Chinese

nationals also function as semiprofessional information

gatherers.

Former FBI Special Agent I.C. Smith, a specialist in

Chinese counterintelligence, confirmed that the MSS focuses

its activities on penetrating U.S. intelligence and

government agencies.

``The goal of every intelligence agency is to get someone

inside, and in the case of Chinese, they use not just

intelligence people but academics and everybody else,'' Mr.

Smith said in an interview.

Mr. Li said his access to information that was banned for

the general public helped him to turn against the system,

including internal reports on party ideology and information

on American values of freedom and democracy.

Mr. Li said that as a doctoral candidate, the MSS sent him

to study at an American university, an experience that

influenced in his decision to defect. In 2004, after he

defected, he was declared an enemy of the state by the MSS in

at least two notices sent to security offices in China.

According to U.S. counterintelligence officials, China,

unlike the Soviet Union, has had only a small number of

defections of intelligence officers like Mr. Li over the past

30 years.

Another spy who defected was a Chinese intelligence officer

known publicly by the code-name ``Planesman,'' who gave the

FBI data that led to 1985 arrest of CIA interpreter Larry Wu-

Tai Chin.

Another intelligence defector was Sr. Col. Yu Jungping, a

military intelligence officer once posted to the Chinese

Embassy in Washington who came over in the 1990s.

Mr. Li was in Washington to participate in a conference

sponsored by the Falun Gong, a Buddhist-oriented group that

advocates the replacement of the Chinese communist

government. Mr. Li said he announced his formal withdrawal

from the Communist Party at the conference, along with that

of his father, who is also in the United States.

Mr. Li said he is neither a Christian nor Falun Gong

member, but that his interest in religion and fear of being

persecuted by the MSS contributed to his decision to defect.

Mr. Li said he thinks there are significant numbers of pro-

democracy MSS officers inside the service, including those at

high levels, who do not support the party and are ``even

anti-Communsit Party'' but fear taking any action.

``But I sincerely hope these people can play a special role

in getting rid of the Communist Party,'' Mr. Li said.

The former intelligence officer, whose family left China

with him, said it took him several years to change his views.

``After a few years of my personal experience inside the

system, I really knew that the Communist Party is very bad,''

he said.

``My true ideal, actually, in this Chinese security

department is really to do something for the Chinese people

and the nation. But I really hated doing things just for the

interest of the Communist Party and a lot of times those

things that are in the interest of the Communist Party are

doing harm to the Chinese people.''