Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about Raymundo Perdigon Brito, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Perdigon Brito is an independent journalist in Cuba who is striving to create a society that tolerates human rights, freedom, and democracy. He has been a peaceful supporter of bringing the most fundamental of human rights to a people shackled by a tyrant's brutal machinery of repression. Unfortunately, because of his unwavering support of freedom for the people of Cuba Mr. Perdigon Brito has been targeted by the dictatorship.

In November of 2006, Mr. Perdigonn, his sister Ana Margarita Perdigon and several other journalists launched the Yayabo Press news agency. On November 29, 2006, just 12 days after its launch, Mr. Perdigon Brito was arrested by State Security thugs and told to cease his journalistic activities or that he would be sent to prison. Mr. Perdigon Brito was always aware of the risks he was taking as a journalist and he was well aware of his many colleagues serving long prison terms in Castro's hellish gulags, yet rather than allow his voice to be silenced, he preferred to fight for the cause of freedom and democracy on that enslaved island.

On December 5, 2006, Mr. Perdigon Brito was ``sentenced'' to 4 years in the inhuman squalor of Castro's gulags on charges that he posed a ``pre-criminal danger to society''. A charge often used to detain pro- democracy activists, even when they have committed no offense, simply because the regime regards them a potential threat to its grotesquely brutal and repressive totalitarian control.

In Mr. Perdigon's absence, his sister, Ana Margarita Perdigon, replaced him as Editor of Yayabo Press. This development did not pass unchecked or unnoticed within the inner circles of the regime's henchmen. According to a dissident journalist who spoke to Reporters Without Borders, ``The political police knew this and did everything to ensure the news agency is disbanded as soon as possible''.

On the morning of December 5, 2006, as Mr. Perdigon Brito's relatives were leaving the courthouse in the central province of Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, nearly 100 regime thugs attacked them viciously. This barbarous and vile hate crime was carried out with such regimented violence that Mr. Perdigon Brito's father was hospitalized due to serious injuries sustained during the attack.

Madam Speaker, it is repulsive that only 90 miles from our shore, brave souls like that of Mr. Perdigon are locked in dungeons because they too believe in the freedoms we hold sacred to our way of life. My colleagues, let us remember those whose suffer under the totalitarian nightmare that is the Castro regime. Let us demand the immediate release of Raymundo Perdigon Brito and every prisoner of conscience in the dungeons of totalitarian despots.

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

I would like to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for the time.

Fairness, openness, sunshine, transparency, bipartisanship, those are just some of the words that the new majority used to describe the way they were going to run the 110th Congress. But today, as we begin debate on the sixth bill of the Democrats' ``100 Hours for 6'' or 100 hours agenda, we have seen all too clearly, Mr. Speaker, the truth about those promises.

They have been, at best, hollow promises.

On Tuesday of this week, the Committee on Rules met to take testimony and report a rule on the legislation that has been brought to the floor today. Before any testimony was even taken, the distinguished chairwoman of the committee announced that the committee's majority would report out a closed rule.

After the chairwoman's declaration, there really was not any need for testimony or debate on any amendments. The Rules Committee had been closed for business. The majority had already made up its mind to block amendments despite any merits of all possible amendments that could be brought before the committee.

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to see how you can claim an open and transparent process when you block all amendments before they are even brought before the committee.

During consideration of the bills that comprised the Contract with America in 1995, we Republicans allowed consideration of 154 Democrat amendments; 48 Democrat amendments eventually passed the House and were included in the Contract with America bills that passed the House of Representatives.

But that is not what we see happening today, Mr. Speaker. Today as we consider the last of the new majority's 100 hour agenda, we have not had the chance to debate one amendment, not even one.

From either party, they have been consistent, they close out their Members as well. They promised openness, they promised transparency. Some openness, some transparency.

According to the majority leader's office, Mr. Speaker, we have over 65 hours left in the so-called 100 hours for 2006. The reality is that we have more than enough time, more than enough time to debate some thoughtful amendments. What does the majority plan to do with the rest of their 100 hours? Are we to expect more closed rules?

The 100 hours for 2006 campaign means that six people make all the decisions, apparently. I would imagine it is the Speaker, the majority leader, the whip, the caucus chairman and two others, six for '06 and six for '07 and six for '08, but then the American people get to speak again.

Now, Democrats claim that Congress already debated the bills last year, the bills that are being brought forth to the floor. While it is true that some provisions have come before the Congress in other legislation in previous Congresses, provisions that may be in legislation brought before us under these closed rules that shut out all the amendments, there are many aspects of the bills, including the bill today, that have never seen the light of day. Even more important is that our 54 new colleagues, they were not here for any of our previous debates. Four committees of jurisdiction have jurisdiction over the bill that the majority brings to the floor at this time, Ways and Means, Resources, Budget and Rules. Yet the majority did not allow any of those committees of jurisdiction to hold any hearings or debate the bill.

I am honored to serve as the ranking member on the Rules Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process, which has jurisdiction over parts of this underlying consideration. The subcommittee has never held a hearing on the bill. The majority decided it was better if the bill never saw the light of day in any committee process.

I think it is important to recall why we have committees, why we have a committee process. The committee process allows Members to understand the merits and implications of bills and to vet, refine and amend legislation. Completely shutting out committees of jurisdiction is certainly not healthy for the democratic process.

This year we have already seen what happens when you bypass the committee process and blindly bring legislation to the floor. We get outcomes, such as the one in the minimum wage bill that ends up exempting companies from paying the minimum wage in American Samoa. If it had gone through the committee process, at least we would have known about that aspect of the bill. If we had held hearings on the underlying bill before us today, we would learn some of the consequences of this bill.

For example, some bill would cut back on incentives for domestic production of oil and gas. Those incentives are aimed, and the existing incentives, are aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil by encouraging domestic exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Removal of those incentives will drive up the cost, obviously, for those who search for oil and gas and thus increase our dependence on foreign suppliers, such as Venezuela and Nigeria. Those countries, I would maintain, are not reliable sources. In the case of Venezuela, its government is clearly anti-American. Do we really want to rely on those countries? Apparently the majority today is saying yes.

Republicans are committed to increasing clean energy supplies and increasing our domestic energy sources. Since 2001, we have seen the investment of nearly $12 billion to develop cleaner, cheaper and more reliable domestic energy sources. This includes the development of biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, advanced hybrid and plug-in, hybrid electric vehicle technologies, hydrogen fuel cell technologies, wind and solar energy, clean coal and advanced nuclear technologies.

You know, we hear my friend from Massachusetts talking about the fact that some tax breaks or unfair tax breaks were given to the oil and gas companies. It is interesting, because I was seeing a report from the Congressional Research Service that talks about despite the fact that there has been a lot of talk and there continues to be a lot of talk over the tax breaks given to big oil in the energy bill that we passed in 2005, in reality, that energy bill substantially raised taxes on the oil and gas industry $300 million. There was a $300 million tax increase, according to the Congressional Research Service, while at the same time, giving more than almost $9 billion in tax incentives for alternative clean and renewable energy resources.

The bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is that we should not be considering closed rule after closed rule after closed rule and systematically bypassing the committee process. This constant bypass operation that our friends on the other side of the aisle have become enamored to, the constant bypass operation, it really constitutes an affront, I would say, to the democratic spirit as well as, obviously, to the promises that were repeated and repeated by our friends on the other side of the aisle before they arrived and constituted and instituted the continuous, constant bypass operation, bypass the committees, bypass the Members, bypass the possibility of amendments, and go straight to the floor with legislation that no one has seen. That is not healthy. That is not healthy, Mr. Speaker.

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

Reserving my right to object, Mr. Speaker, and I may not object, but I don't have a copy of what the gentleman, my friend, was talking about. If the gentleman would explain the motion, because I was not shown a copy before.

I have received it now. I certainly see no reason to object, and I withdraw my reservation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished Republican leader, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished Republican whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished ranking member of the Rules Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Nunes).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my distinguished friend from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend from Texas (Mr. Conaway).

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

Mr. Speaker, we continue to reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons why we are so concerned about and opposed to this process of having closed out all of the Members from bringing forth their ideas to improve this legislation is because we seriously believe that this legislation, as drafted, if it were to become law, would increase our dependence on foreign oil. That is why we are so adamant in our opposition to the unfairness of the process, because of the product that this process has brought forward.

Mr. Speaker, I will be asking for a ``no'' vote on the previous question so that we can amend this closed rule and allow the House to consider H.R. 6 under a fair and open process. If the previous question is defeated, I will offer an amendment to consider H.R. 6 under an open rule. This is the least we can do for the Members of this Congress who have had absolutely no input into this far-reaching piece of legislation, or any other piece of legislation that has been brought to the House floor so far. By considering this bill under an open rule, Members will be finally afforded an opportunity, for the first time in the 110th Congress, to offer meaningful amendments to this bill. For the new majority it is a novel concept, I know. In fact, it is the very concept, though, on which they campaigned. This vote on the previous question represents their last opportunity to live up to their promise to join together in these first 100 hours to make this Congress, in their words, the most honest and open Congress in history; and yet they have closed the process completely down and allowed no amendments by no Member from either side of the aisle.

According to the official 100-hour clock, and I see the clock there, Mr. Speaker, we are only about 35 hours into the first 100 hours. That means we have approximately 65 hours left. If this is, as we are informed, the last item of the Six in '06, 100 hours in '06, agenda, it seems to me that we have plenty of time to consider this bill under an open and fair rule, rather than closing out all the Members and rushing it to the floor as they have.

By defeating the previous question, we will give the Democrats the opportunity to live up to their campaign promises of a more open and transparent legislative process. Let's allow all Members, Mr. Speaker, the opportunity to create a real energy bill with real answers to diminish, not increase, our dependence on foreign oil.

I ask unanimous consent, Mr. Speaker, to insert the text of the amendment and extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, a political prisoner totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Herrera Acosta is a tireless advocate for the freedom of Cuba and has dedicated much of his life to the cause of freedom for the Cuban people. He believes that every trapped citizen in totalitarian Cuba deserves to live with the most basic and fundamental human rights and protections of individual liberty.

Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta is an independent journalist with the Agencia de Prensa Libre Oriental (APLO) in Santiago, Cuba and national coordinator for the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy. He was arrested on March 20, 2003, as part of the despicable island-wide crackdown on peaceful human rights activists and independent journalists. In April of 2003, he was wrongfully sentenced on trumped-up charges claiming that he undermined ``national independence and territorial integrity'' and served the ``imperialist ends'' of the United States, to 20 years in a hellish totalitarian gulag. In reality his only ``crime'' was challenging a corrupt, brutal, and repressive system that robs its citizens of every freedom.

Reporters Without Borders reported that on August 29, 2006, Mr. Herrera Acosta was severely beaten and dragged along the prison's corridors by two regime henchmen because he reiterated a demand to be allowed to make a phone call--a right the dictatorship has routinely denied him. According to Directorio, Mr. Herrera Acosta has undertaken numerous hunger strikes while in prison to protest the deplorable, inhumane and degrading conditions in which prisoners of conscience in Cuba are held.

Most recently, in an urgent declaration read aloud to the Cuban Democratic Directorate by Rolando Rodriguez Lobaina, executive member of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy, Mr. Herrera Acosta reaffirmed his commitment to the cause of freedom for the Cuban people:

I fight because the light of truth and liberty reaches this

land converted into a feudal estate before a Caesar that

bleeds her dry. As a dignified son of this country, I am

willing to offer my life if it is necessary to defend

pacifism, so that peace and concordance would thrive in the

land of Varela and Marti. I do not discard the possibility

that a clinically induced death, at the hands of the

commissars of terror, will truncate my life. But as long as I

have strength and my heart is beating, I will continue to

fight from inside the monstrous womb of Castro's prisons.

I will never lower myself to bow down, nor will I live on

my knees, and as Jose Marti would express, I reiterate: ``I

want the first law of our Republic to be the respect of

Cubans for the plain dignity of man.'' The price to pay has

been very high. Pain, grief, and exile constitute the panacea

that is Castro's reign of terror.

But I do not resign to live condemned, I am simply

continuing the dignified example of the historical Cuban

political prisoners. Freedom for Cuba! God, Country, and

Liberty! May human rights thrive and prevail in my country!

Let me be very clear, Mr. Herrera Acosta is imprisoned because he refuses to accept the Castro brothers' dictatorship today. Madam Speaker, Mr. Herrera Acosta is representative of the fighting spirit of the Cuban people: of their rejection of the brutality, discrimination, depravity, and oppression of the totalitarian tyranny.

We must speak out against the abominable violations of human rights, dignity, and freedom on that oppressed island. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta and every other political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dr. Ofelia Tabares-Fernandez for her outstanding contributions to the south Florida community. Both in her professional and private life, Dr. Tabares-Fernandez has dedicated countless hours to enriching our community culturally and economically. I wholeheartedly commend Dr. Tabares-Fernandez for her hard work and dedication on behalf of south Florida.

Through years of hard work spanning three decades, Dr. Tabares- Fernandez consistently proved herself a capable leader and an extraordinarily active volunteer. Her professional successes, of which there are many, include her career as a banker and marketing consultant, college trustee, research associate for the Cuban Research project, and director of the College Center for Latin American Studies.

Dr. Tabares-Fernandez earned many civic distinctions as well. To name only a few, she founded the Cuban Patriotic Education Board and the Cuban Women's Club, where she also served as president, and founded the Spanish Speaking Volunteer Service at Jackson Memorial Hospital. To promote and preserve Cuban culture, she produced and directed a local weekly television show, ``Cuban Culture,'' and founded the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture. Her contributions have earned her numerous awards including ``Outstanding

Woman Citizen of the Year'' from Florida International University and the ``Community Headliner Award.''

The life of Dr. Tabares-Fernandez is an inspiration to us all. I am certain that her children, Pepita, Raul, Jr., Aurelio, Patricia, Cesareo, Maria, Juan, Sheila, Jose, and Ximena, are proud of her as well.

Her professional choices, as well as the projects she has enthusiastically undertaken in her free time, reveal Dr. Tabares- Fernandez's life to be one of tireless public service. Her numerous contributions have helped to make our community the extraordinary multicultural metropolis that it is today. As a result, Dr. Tabares- Fernandez has earned herself a very special place in the rich Cuban- American history of South Florida. Dr. Ofelia Tabares-Fernandez is a true humanitarian whose work has permanently impacted our community in a wonderful way.

Madam Speaker, since the title of the rules package that we are seeking to debate now includes five closed rules for legislation that we haven't seen and we only have 10 minutes to debate this title, I ask unanimous consent for 1 hour of debate, at least 1 hour of debate, for these, in effect, five closed rules.

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

``The disinfectant of sunlight,'' Madam Speaker. I just heard that term.

The alternation of power can sometimes be healthy, often be healthy in democracy. Progress is made by the cumulative efforts and reforms of succeeding generations in this Congress, often from both parties. But retrogression, Madam Speaker, from progress is neither healthy nor certainly commendable.

As I mentioned before, in this section of the rules package brought forth by the new majority, first of all, the Rules Committee will no longer be required to disclose roll call votes on rules brought forth or amendments in committee. I believe, and I haven't heard it from the other side because no pretext has even been brought forth here in the House, but I believe that the pretext is for closing out sunshine completely in the Rules Committee, that some mistakes were made reporting in the past roll calls. In the last 12 years, there were over 1,300 recorded votes in the Committee on Rules, and not once, Madam Speaker, did the committee file a report with incorrect vote totals.

And then, as I made reference before, this title of the rules package that the majority brings forth includes five closed rules for legislation that we still haven't seen. And we have received a lot of criticism. I have heard a lot of criticism over the last years when we have come to the floor from the Rules Committee with closed rules, but at least we have had Rules Committees meetings and there has been an opportunity for Members to go to the Rules Committee and present amendments.

Well, now we are, in this rules package, in a totally unprecedented manner, seeing that the majority is bringing forth five closed rules for bills that we haven't seen. And in addition, they are waiving all points of order, all points of order, against all of those five bills that we haven't even seen. So that is most unfortunate, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would ask how much time is remaining.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to my distinguished friend from Texas (Mr. Brady).

No, I have not.

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

So not only can we not have an hour, but now we have to finish our debate before hearing our opponents.

No, again, we heard ``the disinfectant of sunlight'' has arrived. An interesting definition for what has arrived, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, what we are voting on today, this rules package, this provision, this title V, constitutes serious retrogression from progress made in this Congress throughout generations of work, of reform, from both parties, that has brought openness and transparency. The Rules Committee now is closed off from the public, and closed rules are brought to this floor in this rules package before we have even seen legislation. Most unfortunate, Madam Speaker.

I thank my dear friend, and, Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased that my friend and dear chairman of the Rules Committee, Ms. Slaughter, pointed out as she spoke, I heard her speak that most of the ethics package was precisely the one that we had proposed last year. What is very disturbing, however, and really disappointing, Mr. Speaker, are a number of the items that have been included that Mr. Dreier referred to previously.

It is extremely disappointing to see that one of the great advancements of this Congress over the last two centuries, which has been to bring a transparency to our votes, because you know, Mr. Speaker, it used to be even on the floor of the House votes would take place that were not roll call votes, they were not noted for the record and, thus, for the people; yet we moved forward and we changed that. And also in committee, votes had to be recorded. That has been one of the great advancements in the last two centuries in this Congress.

And to see in the Committee on Rules, that I love so much, where we now in this rules package are faced with such a reversal of that progress and that great advancement of openness and transparency on the record, the requirement that the people will be able to see how the members of that committee vote, that has been eliminated, is being eliminated in this package, that is extremely disturbing. And everyone, Mr. Speaker, who loves this Congress should be saddened by what our friends on the other side of the aisle have included, specifically what I have just mentioned, that great reversal of progress in the rules package that has been brought forward today.

So in the hope that that will be remedied and that our friends on the other side of the aisle will realize how sad that is, I rise today with great disappointment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Sandra E. Ulsh. Sandra is president of the Ford Motor Company Fund, a philanthropic organization funded largely by Ford Motor Company profits. Ford Fund supports innovative programs that focus on education, American heritage and legacy, and safety. Under her leadership, Ford Motor Company Fund has also dedicated itself to celebrating cultural diversity and supporting programs that stimulate cross-cultural exchanges.

Sandra received a bachelor's in mathematics and economics from Gettysburg College and an MBA from Lehigh University. She joined Ford as an economic analyst in 1978. She held numerous positions in Finance, including vehicle pricing manager, vehicle program finance manager, manager of business analysis and business plans for Truck Operations, and manager of Investor Relations.

Sandra joined Ford's Governmental Affairs organization in 1996 as a strategic issues associate in the Corporate Economics and Strategies Issues office, and later became a legislative manager on Healthcare and Financial Service matters in Washington, DC. Prior to assuming her current position, Sandra was the director, Public Policy, Governmental Affairs.

Along with her work at Ford Motor Company Fund, Sandra serves on various other nonprofit and advisory boards, including the Council of Michigan Foundations, ConnectMichigan Alliance, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Advisory Board, Dennis Archer Foundation, and America's Promise Leadership Council.

Sandra will be retiring from her position at Ford Motor Company Fund on December 31st. I'm sure I'm not the only one impressed with her professionalism, dedication and the achievements reached by Ford Motor Company Fund during her leadership tenure. I wish to thank her for her exceptional service and wish Sandra well on all her future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Efren Fernandez Fernandez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Fernandez is a member of the Christian Liberation Movement and an opponent of the tyranny in Havana. In March of 2003, Mr. Fernandez was arrested as part of an abhorrent island-wide crackdown on peaceful pro- democracy activists who were calling for the most basic of human rights for Cuba. His participation in a collection of signatures in support of a call for some elemental rights for Cubans was all that the communist regime needed to incarcerate him.

In a sham trial, Mr. Fernandez was sentenced to 12 years in the totalitarian gulag. He has endured numerous prison transfers and solitary confinements based only on his captors' whims and arbitrary reasons. Since his ``sentencing'', he has managed to survive against all odds in the most deplorable of human conditions. Mr. Fernandez' bravery and commitment to freedom has not wavered even though since his unjust incarceration he has lost more than thirty pounds and suffers from frequent fits of vomiting and chronic intestinal problems.

According to Carta de Cuba, on September 7, 2006, Mr. Fernandez was administered antibiotics intravenously for an unidentified bacterial infection affecting his kidneys. Immediately following that treatment, Mr. Fernandez fainted and complained of experiencing severe heart palpitations and arterial tension.

Let me be very clear, Mr. Fernandez is languishing in the totalitarian gulag simply for believing that every Cuban citizen has the fundamental right to live in freedom with the most basic of human rights and protections of their individual liberties. He suffers the consequences, no matter how brutal or at what risk to his health, and continues his dignified struggle for freedom on that oppressed island.

It is unconscionable that a mere ninety miles from our shores, men and women are suffering in the darkness of totalitarian repression. Mr. Speaker, this constitutes a crime against humanity. Mr. Fernandez's only crime is to demand that basic human rights be restored to the people of Cuba.

It is incumbent on all of us who serve in this great democratic body to recognize and remember the terrible plight of those brave men and women like Mr. Fernandez who suffer the living nightmare of despotic totalitarianism. Let us all join in demanding the immediate release of Efren Fernandez Fernandez and all political prisoners in Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Leoncio Rodriguez Ponce, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Rodriguez Ponce is a member of the Pedro Luis Boitel Association of Political Prisoners and an opponent of the dictatorship of the Castro brothers. He has committed himself to doing everything possible to bringing an end to the dictatorshp and to restoring democracy to that enslaved island. Because of his steadfast belief in freedom, democracy and the rule of law, Mr. Rodriguez Ponce has constantly been targeted by the dictatorship.

According to Prima News, Mr. Rodriguez Ponce was severely beaten in the gulag and confined to a punishment cell in 2002. According to Directorio, he has undertaken numerous hunger strikes while in the gulag to call attention to the gross human rights abuses in Cuba and in July of this year he courageously signed the following statement:

The Pedro Luis Boitel Association of Political Prisoners

would like to express, once again, its complete and

unconditional support for the measures presented by the

commission for a Free Cuba, and we urge the President of the

United States of America, George W. Bush, to implement them

immediately.

Cuban political prisoners, conscious of the intolerance and

lack of political will of the Havana regime, support all

measures which pressure the dictatorship to concede to

openings with the objective of restoring a democratic system

in Cuba with the rule of law where each Cuban can exercise

the inalienable prerogatives and freedoms which they possess

by the single fact that they are human beings.

We also support any initiative to offer support and help to

the democratic forces that are struggling and resisting from

inside Cuba in an unequal and titanic battle against the

totalitarian hoards of hate and oppression. In the same way,

we are sincerely encouraged by the great effort shown so that

Cubans on the island may receive with greater reach and

clarity truthful and objective information through Radio and

Television Marti.

With the clear conviction and certainty of the importance

of depriving the regime of its repressive organs and

resources which uphold it and consequently are used to harass

citizens, we look with enthusiasm on any action to put an end

to such a terrible situation.

We Cubans long for and need democracy, and in order to

obtain it we are willing to endure the greatest sacrifices.

The government in Havana and its lackeys in the media are

determined to distort the content and purpose of the

aforementioned Commission. They try to make one think that it

is a military threat from our neighbor to the north or an

interventionist policy. On the contrary, the measures

presented to the President of the United States by the

Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba only seek to

accelerate the nonviolent transition to democracy in Cuba,

which will have as its protagonists Cubans both in and out of

the island.

For all of them, we urge all Cubans who long for the

reestablishment of democracy and an open and pluralist

society where the execution wall, exit permits, and exile

cease to be paths for those who dissent from government

policies, to support this initiative which together with

others will contribute decisively to bringing down this

unjust and undemocratic system which has lasted nearly half a

century.

And to the frontmen of Castro's government-run press, it is

time to stop manipulating information. Far from attacking and

cowardly disqualifying their adversaries, they should have

the dignity of providing the people with transparent

information in its whole and unadulterated state so that

after knowing it, the people may come to their own

conclusions, without Machiavellian interference and

deliberate gaps. The contrary is deceit and political

cowardice.

Mr. Speaker, it takes extraordinary, truly admirable courage to sign a document that demands freedom when the signer knows the Castro brothers' machinery of repression will be unleashed on him and his family. Mr. Rodriguez Ponce is representative of the fighting spirit of the Cuban people: of their rejection of the brutality, discrimination, depravity, and oppression of the totalitarian tyranny. Mr. Rodriguez does not waiver in his conviction that freedom and democracy are the inalienable right of the Cuban people. It is a crime against humanity that Castro's totalitarian gulags are full of men and women, like Mr. Rodriguez, who represent the best of the Cuban nation.

Let me be very clear, Mr. Rodriguez Ponce is imprisoned because he refuses to accept the Castro brothers' dictatorship in Cuba today. Mr. Speaker, we must speak out and act against the abominable violations of human rights, human dignity, and human

freedom just 90 miles from our shore. My colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of a Leoncio Rodriguez Ponce and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the sixth annual Comcast Cares Day in Miami-Dade County on October 7, 2006. Several hundred dedicated Comcast employees and their families will join together to help the children of our South Florida community. Nationwide, over 30,000 Comcast employees will take part in hundreds of projects that are vital community service contributions.

This year, Comcast employees are donating their time to His House Children's Home. This exceptional program cares for South Florida children who have been abused, exposed to drugs, or neglected by offering them a home environment. In addition, His House provides necessary counseling and health care. And His House provides these services to over 200 local children in foster care.

Comcast employees will use this day to spend time with the children in the residential program and perform needed upkeep and maintenance on the residential building and surrounding grounds. The dedication to service exhibited by local Comcast employees and their families should serve as an inspiration to all the residents of South Florida.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to offer this statement declaring October 7, ``Comcast Cares Day 2006.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Alberto Gil Triay Casales, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Triay Casales is an independent journalist and the founder of the Estrella Solitaria information centre. According to Reporters Without Borders, Mr. Triay Casales also bravely wrote articles every week describing the truth about the horrors of life under Castro. Because of his belief in truth in print, truth for the people of Cuba and truth to enable the world to better comprehend the daily horrors of totalitarian Cuba, Mr. Triay Casales became a target of the totalitarian regime.

Because of his commitment to exposing the truth about the nightmare that is the Castro regime, he was arrested on November 9, 2005. According to Reporters Without Borders, he was hospitalized after several heart attacks and then transferred back to the totalitarian gulag in December. His farcical ``trial'' took place on June 22, 2006, but he is still incarcerated in the gulag while he awaits the ``verdict.''

Reporters Without Borders recently released this statement regarding Mr. Triay Casales, ``We are also worried about the fate of Mr. Triay Casales, whose health is deteriorating. He has had several heart attacks and has high blood pressure. He also has a serious hip problem that could leave him disabled if it is not treated properly.''

I remind my colleagues that, under the Castro brothers' totalitarian regime, any freedom of the press, any effort to display the atrocities of the regime under the spotlight of truth, is met with exactly this type of swift and brutal repression. This report indicates exactly how abominable the conditions are in the gulag. Mr. Triay Casales has had multiple heart attacks because of the inhumane conditions in the gulag, yet he continues to advocate for freedom.

Mr. Triay Casales is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. Despite incessant repression, harassment, incarceration and abuse, he remains committed to the conviction that freedom of the press, democracy and the rule of law are the inalienable right of the Cuban people. Let us never forget and always support those who are struggling to liberate peoples from the grip of tyranny.

Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable that journalists such as Mr. Triay Casales are locked in dungeons for writing and publishing the facts about the nightmare that is the Cuban tyranny. My colleagues, we must fight for freedom whenever and wherever human beings are shackled by totalitarian dictators. We cannot allow peaceful pro-democracy activists to languish in the depraved prisons of tyrants. We must demand immediate freedom for Alberto Gil Triay Casales and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this important legislation.

Is it perfect? No. Do we have an obligation to pass it? Yes. It is very important that this Congress passes it as soon as possible.

First of all, the most important thing that this legislation does, that it accomplishes, is that it protects our troops and intelligence officers. Sources and methods of intelligence gathering are protected. The security of this country, the American people, thus and for many other reasons, the security of this country is protected and is enhanced by this legislation. And that is the most important ingredient, I believe, in this legislation.

Secondly, it conforms with the rule of law, including international law, specifically common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Ad hoc courts are not acceptable. And what is necessary is established by this legislation, regularly constituted courts established by law, with judgments appealable to the Federal appellate court in the District of Columbia. The rule of law is satisfied by this legislation.

It is a very delicately balanced legislation, that while satisfying our obligations under the Geneva Conventions, at the same time it protects the methods and sources of gathering intelligence and our intelligence officers and the troops in the field.

This is very important legislation. It is important that the Congress pass it as soon as possible. I strongly support it and urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues about Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, a Cuban hero who is a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Dr. Biscet is a leading pro-democracy activist in totalitarian Cuba and one of the leaders of the democratic Cuba of tomorrow. Dr. Biscet is a medical doctor and the founder of the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights. He has dedicated his life to freedom and democracy and is a follower of Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Biscet is a man who has constantly opposed the tyranny in Cuba, and who has paid a tremendous price for his belief in freedom.

In 1998, he was sentenced to 3 years in the gulag because he flew the Cuban flag upside down to protest the subhuman treatment of the Cuban people at the hands of the Castro tyranny. When he was ``released'' in October of 2002, he was out of prison only a few weeks when he was rounded up again and sentenced this time for ``association with enemies of the State,'' and he was sentenced, along with over 75 other peaceful pro-democracy leaders and independent journalists, to 25 years in the Cuban gulag.

For the vast majority of the last 8 years, Dr. Biscet has lived in a gulag that can only be described as a living hell. Dr. Biscet has been placed in what is called ``the tomb.'' He is underground in solitary confinement, in a punishment cell. And so that he fully understood the dimension of his punishment, a serial killer was placed along with him in ``the tomb.''

Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet recently spoke by telephone with Mr. Amado Gil, a journalist in Miami, FL. The Coalition of Cuban-American Women transcribed, edited and translated this interview from Spanish to English.

Prison Conditions

The government of Cuba has tortured me during eight years;

they have done so trying to drive me insane, though, thank

God, I have been able to preserve my sanity . . . in reality,

they continue torturing me because I live in a box with no

windows or natural light, no water . . . with a mattress that

feels as if one were sleeping on a plank, a stone . . . unfit

for a human being . . . surrounded by criminals and under the

threat, as it has happened on previous occasions, of being

attacked by the government who instigates these dangerous

prisoners . . .

I believe that what the government is doing is torturing me

to humiliate me so that I abandon the struggle on behalf of

the freedom of my country but, thank God, I have been able to

keep up my stance and will continue doing so with God's help

. . .

Symbolic Fast as of July 13, 2006

I began this fast (in prison) because I believe we should

pray to God and demand our rights before the government, the

right to be free which belongs to every person just for

being a citizen. Our country has lived so long without any

rights, under a dictatorship . . . I believe that we must

demand rights that belong to us and, in everyone's

interest, these liberties must be observed . . . In order

to live a full life, it is essential to live in freedom

and the Cuban people are denied these rights . . . that is

why I'm initiating a fast along with other brothers (in

prison) to demand that the government sign the

international covenants of civil, political, economic,

cultural and social rights--the Cuban regime must sign

them and abide by them so that the Cuban people may live

in freedom at last. . . .

Message to the Cuban People

The Cuban people must do their utmost in their struggle to

win their freedom and succeed in obtaining the international

support of all free and democratic countries. I trust that

the Cuban people will prove their dignity as they have done

so on other occasions, so that we may enjoy FREEDOM. . . .

My colleagues, despite the hell that has been described, Dr. Biscet is unrelenting in his resolve for freedom for the people of Cuba. Dr. Biscet is a great patriot, a man of peace, and an apostle of freedom for Cuba. Dr. Biscet is a hero in the tradition of the great figures of Cuba's long struggle for liberty. Quintin Banderas, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, Ignacio Agramonte, Antonio Maceo, and thousands of other Cuban heroes established a tradition of heroism that today is being continued by countless men and women who have given their best years and often their lives for the freedom of Cuba. Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet is a hero in that same admirable tradition.

Mr. Speaker, it is completely unacceptable that, while the world stands by in silence and acquiescence, Dr. Biscet languishes in the gulag because of his belief in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We cannot permit the brutal treatment by a demented and murderous tyrant of a man of peace like Dr. Biscet for simply supporting freedom for his people. My colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Oscar Elias Biscet and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Jose Manuel Caraballo Bravo, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Caraballo Bravo is an independent journalist in totalitarian Cuba and has been a chronicler of truth amid the lies and deceit of the tyrant's villainous regime. Because of his belief in truth in print, truth for the people of Cuba and truth to enable the world to better comprehend the daily horrors of totalitarian Cuba, Mr. Caraballo Bravo was a target of the totalitarian regime.

I remind my colleagues that, under Castro's totalitarian regime, any freedom of the press, any effort to display the atrocities of the regime under the spotlight of truth, is met with swift and violent repression. The courageous men and women, such as Mr. Caraballo Bravo, who write the truth are the enemies of Castro's totalitarian dictatorship.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Mr. Caraballo Bravo was arrested just before the heinous crackdown of March 2003. Reporters Without Borders also reports that he was sentenced to three years in the totalitarian gulag for ``forging documents.''

Let me be very clear, Mr. Caraballo Bravo is currently languishing in the depraved conditions of the totalitarian gulag for his truthful articles. The U.S. State Department describes the conditions in the gulag as, ``harsh and life threatening.'' The State Department also reports that police and prison officials beat, neglect, isolate, and deny medical treatment to detainees and prisoners. It is a crime of the highest order that people are imprisoned in these nightmarish conditions simply for reporting the facts.

Mr. Caraballo Bravo is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. Despite incessant repression, harassment, incarceration and abuse, he remains committed to the conviction that freedom of the press and democracy are inalienable rights of the Cuban people. Let us never forget and always support those who are struggling to liberate peoples from the grip of tyranny.

Mr. Speaker, it is as inconceivable as it is unacceptable that, while the world stands by in silence and acquiescence, independent journalists who write the truth about totalitarian regimes are systematically tortured. In the 21st Century, it must no longer be acceptable for anyone in the world, anywhere in the world, to be locked in a gulag for writing the truth. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Jose Manuel Caraballo Bravo.