Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Emilio Leyva Perez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Leyva Perez is a pro-democracy activist, President of the opposition group Hard Front Line and a delegate of the pro-freedom coalition Assembly to Promote Civil Society. Because of Mr. Leyva Perez's steadfast conviction in human liberty and his constant work to bring freedom to an island enslaved by the nightmare that is the Castro regime, he has been a constant target of the dictatorship.

Amnesty International classified him as a prisoner of conscience after he was arrested by the terrorist regime on February 22, 2002. He was locked in the totalitarian gulag for over 2 years, without ever being convicted of a supposed ``crime.''

The U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices--2005, describes the deplorable conditions in the totalitarian gulag, ``Prison conditions continued to be harsh and life threatening. Conditions in detention facilities also were harsh. Prison authorities frequently beat, neglected, isolated, and denied medical treatment to detainees and prisoners, particularly those convicted of political crimes or those who persisted in expressing their views . . . Prisoners sometimes were held in ``punishment cells,'' which usually were located in the basement of a prison, with continuous semi-dark conditions, no available water, and only a hole for a toilet.''

Despite over 2 years in this hellish gulag, Mr. Leyva Perez never wavered in his commitment to freedom for all Cubans. As part of the tyrant's heinous July 2005 crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy opponents, on July 13, 2005, Mr. Leyva Perez and other opposition activists were detained whilst commemorating the ``13 de Marzo'' tugboat sinking of 1994, when the dictatorship murdered dozens of unarmed men, women and children. Once again, the tyranny has locked Mr. Leyva Perez in the totalitarian gulag awaiting ``trial.''

Mr. Leyva Perez is one of the many heroes of the peaceful Cuban democratic movement who are locked in the dungeons of the dictatorship for their beliefs. They are symbols of freedom and democracy who will always be remembered when freedom reigns again in Cuba. His bravery and courage in defiance of tyranny serve as a tragic reminder that the totalitarian gulags are full of men and women of all backgrounds and ages who represent the best of the Cuban nation.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Leyva Perez is suffering in a grotesque gulag because he believes in freedom, democracy and human rights. My colleagues, it is categorically unacceptable that peaceful pro- democracy activists are languishing in the depraved prisons of tyrants.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Charter Schools across the country and in the 21st District of Florida for their continuing work to educate our country's youth. Charter schools are a great asset for our children and for our public school system. By providing flexible programs, community outreach, and specialized training, charter schools serve the ever changing needs of our students. The City of Pembroke Pines Florida Charter School, located within the 21st District of Florida, stands as an exemplary model of excellence among all charter schools.

Under Governor Jeb Bush's A-plus plan, the Pembroke Pines charter elementary and middle schools have all earned an ``A'' for the past two years for exceptional student achievement. The Pembroke Pines Charter School standardized test scores are outstanding. By all measures, this charter school has exceeded its goals and reached beyond expectations.

The City of Pembroke Pines Florida Charter School is exceptional for another reason: its specialized training for autistic students. At Pembroke Pines, autistic students receive training tailored to their unique and individual needs. Not only do these students receive the personal attention that they need, they also are assimilated into the general school population. This innovative program brilliantly serves both needs of our autistic students by expanding their academic ability while fostering good social skills among the general student body.

I wholeheartedly commend our charter schools for their hard work and devotion to our children. With creative solutions and selfless dedication, these schools provide an invaluable service to the next generation of Americans. On the occasion of National Charter Schools week, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest support for this resolution. Most of all, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the teachers, administrators, and students of our Nation's charter schools.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues about Alfredo Manuel Pulido Lopex, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Dr. Pulido Lopez is a dentist, an independent journalist and a member of the Christian Liberation Movement. He believes in writing and speaking the truth about the nightmare that is the Castro regime. As a dentist, trained in protecting and nurturing human life, he could not tolerate the tyrant's incessant abuse of Cuban people. He understood the human condition and he knew that freedom is infinitely superior to the ills of tyranny and repression.

On March 18, 2003, as part of the dictator's condemnable crackdown on peaceful prodemocracy activists, Dr. Pulido Lopez was arrested because of his belief in liberty over repression. In a sham trial, he was sentenced to 14 years in the inhuman, totalitarian gulag.

On April 18, 2006, Dr. Pulido Lopez's wife Rebeca Rodriguez Sauto visited him and found that his health has significantly worsened. According to the report that she filed with Cubanet, Dr. Pulido Lopez is dangerously malnourished, deeply depressed and distraught. She reports that he is afflicted with chronic bronchitis and dark bruises of an unknown origin have appeared on his skin.

Despite his seriously declining health, Dr. Pulido Lopez stated in the Cubanet report that he has no real reason to ask for a medical parole since he is an innocent man to begin with and what the dictatorship's officials really have to give him is freedom. He continued telling his wife, ``I am more firm in my convictions every day. I am not going to renounce them. They know that my health is affected. They can do what they want.''

Dr. Pulido Lopez's commitment to freedom, in the face of declining health in the grotesque gulag, is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. It is a crime against humanity that Castro's totalitarian gulags are full of men and women, like Dr. Pulido Lopez, who represent the best of the Cuban nation.

Mr. Speaker, we must speak out and act against this abominable disregard for human rights, human dignity, and human freedom just 90 miles from our shore. My colleagues, before it is too late, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Alfredo Manuel Pulido Lopez and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Mr. Sessions, for the time.

I rise today in strong support of the rule and the underlying legislation.

Chairman Peter King has worked in an extraordinary fashion to create a piece of legislation with the help of his ranking member, Mr. Thompson, and the entire committee, that is worthy of our support. They are the first ones to admit it is not perfect, but it certainly moves us forward in an important way toward further port security.

For example, in the community that I am honored to represent, Mr. Speaker, the Port of Miami, that port alone, of course, is one of the largest in the country and in the world, and its annual operating security costs have increased from $4 million in 2001 to $16 million in the last year.

This legislation, for example, authorizes $400 million annually to be awarded to high-risk ports, such as the Port of Miami, in grants. It will be used precisely for purchasing and upgrading security equipment and enhancing terrorism preparedness.

There are amendments. We made 10 Democrat amendments in order and five Republican amendments in order. It is a fair rule. It is a fair rule that we bring forth today.

For example, the Bass amendment would allow State and local agencies to apply for reimbursement for operational expenses and overhead costs, such as, for example, waterborne patrols. Those are functions that used to be carried out and paid for by the Coast Guard. Now the ports have to pay for them. So it is taken care of by that amendment.

So it is a fair rule, bringing forth a very important piece of legislation, making in order twice as many Democrat amendments as Republican amendments. Nevertheless, it is still a good rule. I support the rule. I strongly support the underlying legislation and would ask all of our colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time and for his hard work in bringing forth this piece of legislation today.

The Speaker of the House announced last January that this difficult subject, difficult but important, and it is difficult, Mr. Speaker, because any time that you deal with institutional reform, you deal with reform of the practices of Congress, obviously there is much tension and controversy and difficulty. And we are seeing it in the debate today, and we are going to continue to see it in the debate today. So it is not an easy task.

But the Speaker in January announced that he was going to deal, and we were going to, pursuant to his instruction and his leadership, deal with this issue of further creating transparency in this process and in this House, this respectable, this House that needs to be respected because it merits it. And yet, obviously, it can be improved.

And Chairman Dreier, pursuant to the instruction of the Speaker, has done tremendous work in listening time and again to the concerns of Members on both sides of the aisle and formulating this piece of legislation that is before us today that seeks to be before us based on this rule with which we bring it to the floor today.

So I urge all colleagues, first, to realize that their vote on the rule is going to be a vote on whether they are serious about considering lobbying reform. This is the vote on the record of whether or not one is serious about considering, about dealing with the issue of lobbying reform, and we will have an opportunity to go on the record.

We can always talk about how we would prefer to do other things. But perfection is sometimes, Mr. Speaker, the enemy of progress. This is the real thing, the real vote. If you are for lobbying reform, you will vote for the rule. If you are not, even if you have all sorts of excuses, then you vote ``no.''

I am confident that the majority of this body will vote for this rule so we can further consider and further improve this important piece of legislation that we bring to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, last December I had the honor to lead a Congressional delegation to Ukraine. The focus of the visit was to identify humanitarian initiatives that the Cuban- American community, that I am honored to represent, could undertake to help the ``Orange Revolution'' as it moved forward to address the most pressing needs of the Ukrainian people.

In the fall of 2005, Undersecretary of State Paula Dobbriansky was kind enough to arrange a meeting with the First Lady of Ukraine, Katerina Yushchenko. During that meeting the First Lady made clear that one of

President Viktor Yushchenko's priorities is to improve the healthcare system in Ukraine, and that she had established a foundation, known as Ukraine 3000, for the purpose of aiding hospitals in Ukraine by securing much needed medical equipment and medicines.

The delegation I led to Kiev in early December included Dr. Stephen Lipshultz, professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Dianne M. Kube, Chief Administrative Officer of the Community Oncology Alliance, Sylvia Iriondo, a respected Cuban-American leader and President of Mothers and Women Against Repression, and Dr. Zenon Matkiwsky, President and Chairman of the Children of Chernobyl Relief and Development Fund and Nadia Matkiwsky, a member of the Board of Directors. These two Ukrainian-Americans have spent the last 13 years tirelessly dedicated to helping the people of Ukraine.

As a result of our visits to various pediatric hospitals in Kiev and meetings with Ukrainian government officials, including President Viktor Yushchenko, and also Mrs. Yushchenko, we identified three initiatives that would be the focus of our work during the course of 2006, the 20th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Tragedy. First, establishing a physician exchange program with the University of Miami's School of Medicine so that physicians in Ukraine could come to the United States to meet with their counterparts and establish links of communication on the latest medical techniques, procedures and medicines. This past January the first step was taken toward creating this exchange program; six of Ukraine's leading pediatric physicians attend a national pediatric conference in Miami hosted by the University of Miami's School of Medicine. Second, helping the Children of Chernobyl Relief and Development Fund, a highly respected humanitarian organization led by Dr. Zenon Matkiwsky and Nadia Matkiwsky, to secure medical equipment and medicines for the 20th Anniversary Airlift that the U.S. State Department is coordinating. Children of Chernobyl have an impressive reputation in working to obtain medical equipment and medicines for the neediest hospitals in Ukraine. And another initiative identified by the group, is to bring children from Ukraine who are ill to vacation at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The first Ukrainian child, thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Sylvia Iriondo, already spent five days visiting the ``Magic Kingdom''.

I commend the Children of Chernobyl Relief and Development Fund for their dedication over the years on behalf of the people of Ukraine, especially Dr. and Mrs. Matkiwsky who are the heart and soul of the organization. I am also truly optimistic regarding the relationship that has been forged between physicians at the University of Miami's School of Medicine and physicians from Ukraine, and I commend Dr. Stephen Lipshultz for spearheading this worthy endeavor. I also thank Dianne Kube for her sound guidance and the countless hours she has dedicated to work on these initiatives, and Sylvia Iriondo for her generosity and constant leadership.

Mr. Speaker, as we pass this resolution commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Chernobyl tragedy, I am honored to say that the community I represent is committed to doing all it can to help the noble people of Ukraine as they move forward on their new democratic course.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues about Oscar Mario Gonzalez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Gonzalez is an independent journalist and pro-democracy activist in totalitarian

Cuba. His peaceful, pro-democracy activities and truthful articles have helped the world to learn the facts about the nightmare that is the Castro regime. Unfortunately, the dictatorship forcefully represses those who bravely support freedom and rise in resistance to the despotic regime.

According to Reporters Without Borders, on March 24, 2005, Mr. Gonzalez was summoned and questioned by regime agents, who threatened that he would not be able to see his family again if he continued practicing as an independent journalist. Despite these gangster tactics and heinous threats, Mr. Gonzalez continued to demand basic human rights for the people of Cuba.

As part of the tyrant's heinous July 2005 crackdown on peaceful pro- democracy opponents, on July 22, Mr. Gonzalez was arrested as he tried to participate in a peaceful demonstration outside the French Embassy in Havana, demanding the release of political prisoners in Cuba. As part of this vicious crackdown, over 30 brave opponents were arrested at home, on their way to the demonstration or on the sidelines of the gathering.

According to CubaNet, Mr. Gonzalez has been charged with violating Law 88. This is the same brutal, sham law that the tyrannical regime used to wrongly convict many of the pro-democracy activists arrested in March 2003. According to Reporters Without Borders, Mr. Gonzalez is still awaiting trial for supposed ``crimes.''

On April 26, 2006, The Miami Herald published the following moving letter from Mr. Gonzalez to his daughter:

In all the years that I have been by your side, you have

never known me to pose a threat to anyone or anything, yet

today I am writing to you from prison.

Neither one of us, in writing to each other for so many

years, ever imagined we be doing it from a prison cell.

Such is life around these parts! Anything and everything

can happen in this green island that so few really know

about, weaving instead fantasies fed by the Cuban

government's propaganda.

The reasons for my imprisonment would be incomprehensible

to anyone living in the society you live in, but they are

totally understandable to a Cuban.

I had the temerity to criticize and question the government

of my country and to denounce its totalitarian character

before the world. I did it in the only way I know,

peacefully, with words.

For that, the Cuban government classifies us as criminals

and calls us mercenaries and agents of U.S. imperialism. I

swear to you that I have never had so much as a private

conversation with any official of the United States or of any

other country, for that matter.

Also, the only monies I have been paid from the only press

agency for which I have ever worked, Cubanet, scarcely cover

my few material needs.

The real reason for my confinement is to have denounced my

country's government to a Cuban press agency in Miami, since

the news media inside Cuba are closed to those, who like

myself, exhibit independent criteria. Cuban media are only

open to sycophants and apologists for the regime.

My conscience impels me to expose the abuses to which

Cubans have been subject for more than 47 years now.

I never thought my modest contribution to the future of

Cuba would go very far.

I'm a simple citizen who tried to make public the brutal

nature of the Cuban government, thinking that would be my

small contribution to the future of Cuba.

How was I to know my humble purpose would land me in prison

at age 62 and in poor health?

My love for my country, for liberty and democracy, are the

real causes for my imprisonment.

If some day you hear me say something that contradicts what

I have said so far here, know that it is not your father

speaking. It would be another man, reduced, drugged or in the

throes of fear, and obligated to say whatever they wanted him

to say under pressure of threats and blackmail.

I hope some day we can see each other again in our country,

with liberty to walk down the street holding hands and

looking to the future, without fear or hate.

Teach my grandson, next to the love of God and neighbor,

the devotion to human rights and liberty so that he will

never put up with injustice and abuses.

May God bless you, and may He allow me to kiss you soon.

Mr. Gonzalez is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. His letter exemplifies the Cuban desire to live in liberty, free of the tyrannical repression imposed on them by the murderous despot. Read the strength of this letter, Mr. Gonzalez knows the violence, abuse, and repression that will be used to try to break him. Yet he stands strong in the strength of his conviction: ``My conscience impels me to expose the abuses to which Cubans have been subject for more than 47 years now.'' Mr. Gonzalez is an apostle of freedom for Cuba.

Despite incessant repression, harassment, incarceration and abuse, he remains committed to the conviction that freedom of the press and individual liberty 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. Gonzalez, who represent the best of the Cuban nation.

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear, Mr. Gonzalez is languishing in the grotesque squalor of the gulag because he desires freedom for all Cubans. My Colleagues, read his letter often. We must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Oscar Mario Gonzalez and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Roberto de Jesus Guerra Perez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Guerra Perez is an independent journalist and a chronicler of truth amid the lies and deceit of Castor's villainous regime. He writes about the reality of the reprehensible repression inflicted on the Cuban people by the dictatorship. 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. Guerra Perez was a target of the tyrannical regime. Make no mistake, brave men and women who seek truth and freedom are the enemies of Castro's totalitarian dictatorship.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Mr. Guerra Perez was arrested for ``disturbing the peace'' on July 13, 2005, while staging a fast along with a dozen other opposition activists to protest against the incessant harassment of independent journalists. Over eight and half months later, he is still locked in the totalitarian gulag and still waiting for a trial.

Castro's ruthless machinery of repression does not stop after sentencing innocent Cubans to the totalitarian gulag. In the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices--2005, it is reported:

Prison conditions continued to be harsh and life

threatening. Conditions in detention facilities also were

harsh. Prison authorities frequently beat, neglected,

isolated, and denied medical treatment to detainees and

prisoners, particularly those convicted of political crimes

or those who persisted in expressing their views . . .

Prisoners sometimes were held in ``punishment cells,'' which

usually were located in the basement of a prison, with

continuous semi-dark conditions, no available water, and only

a hole for a toilet.

To protest these grotesque abuses, Mr. Guerra Perez has conducted four hunger strikes to call international attention to the inhuman treatment in the gulag. In a cry of solidarity for Mr. Guerra Perez, Reporters Without Borders said, ``We are all the more concerned about this hunger strike as he had only called off the preceding one a few days before and he was still very weak. There are no serious grounds for holding him as all he did was describe what life is really like for Cubans. We demand his immediate release.''

Mr. Speaker, it is intolerable for Mr. Guerra Perez to languish in a gulag where he is abused and tortured. It is morally abhorrent that, in the 21st Century, brave men and women like Mr. Guerra Perez are still locked in repugnant gulags for reporting the truth. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Roberto de Jesus Guerra Perez and every prisoner of conscience languishing in the totalitarian gulags of the nightmare called the Castro regime.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Lamasiel Gutierrez Romero, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mrs. Gutierrez Romero is an independent journalist working so that the world can understand the grotesque reality of Castro's hideous oppression. Using the limited tools of independent journalism in a totalitarian state, Mrs. Gutierrez Romero courageously wrote about the bleak, broken society that is the result of the tyrannical policies of the totalitarian dictatorship. Because of Mrs. Gutierrez Romero's unrelenting commitment to illuminating the nightmare that is the Castro regime, she has been constantly harassed by the dictator's thugs.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Mrs. Gutierrez Romero was sentenced to seven months of house arrest for her journalistic activities. Despite this order, Mrs. Gutierrez Romero continued her independent journalism. Unwilling to be muzzled by the totalitarian regime, she bravely defied their orders and continued to disseminate the truth about Cuba. Because of her unrelenting courage in the face of horrific oppression, on October 24, 2005, she was thrown in totalitarian gulag.

It is unconscionable that brave men and women can be locked up in the inhuman quarters of Castro's gulag for their belief in truth, liberty, and democracy. Despite incessant repression, harassment, incarceration and abuse, she does not waiver in her commitment to report the truth and the facts. Mrs. Gutierrez Romero is one of the many heroes of the peaceful Cuban democratic opposition who are locked in the dungeons of the dictatorship for their beliefs. They are symbols of freedom and democracy who will always be remembered when freedom reigns again in Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable that journalists such as Mrs. Gutierrez Romero are locked in dungeons for writing and publishing the facts about the nightmare that is the Castro regime. At the dawn of 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. It is repulsive to the ideal of freedom that independent journalists are locked in totalitarian gulags 90 miles from our shore. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Lamasiel Gutierrez Romero and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Albert Santiago Du Bouchet Hernandez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Du Bouchet Hernandez is the director of the independent Havana Press Agency. His peaceful, pro-democracy activities and truthful articles have helped the world to learn the facts about the nightmare that is the Castro regime. Unfortunately, those who believe in truth are targeted by the tyrant's machinery of repression.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that Mr. Du Bouchet Hernandez was harassed and threatened because he insisted on reporting and covering the historic congress of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society (APSC). The CPJ also reports that Castro's thugs ordered him to appear at a police station on the opening day of the APSC meeting. Mr. Du Bouchet Hernandez bravely disobeyed their command, and reported on the momentous events that occurred at the historic congress.

In retaliation for telling the world the truth about the nightmare that is the Castro regime, Mr. Du Bouchet Hernandez was arrested on August 6th and, in a sham trial 3 days later, sentenced to 1 year in the totalitarian gulag. As the 2005 edition of the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices states, ``Prison conditions continue to be harsh and life threatening.'' According to CPJ, Mr. Du Bouchet Hernandez has suffered severe headaches and progressive loss of his vision since his arrest in August 2004.

Mr. Du Bouchet Hernandez is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. Despite incessant repression, harassment, incarceration and abuse, he remains committed to the belief that freedom of the press and democracy are inalienable rights of the Cuban people. It is a crime against humanity that Castro's totalitarian gulags are full of men and women, like Mr. Du Bouchet Hernandez, who represent the best of the Cuban nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is morally repugnant that, in the 21st Century, men and women are still locked in the dungeons of dictators because of their beliefs in freedom and human rights. 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. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Albert Santiago DuBouchet Hernandez and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Fidel Garcia Roldan, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Garcia Roldan is a pro-democracy activist and a member of the 24 February Movement, named for both the commencement of

the glorious Cuban War of Independence in 1895, and the day in 1996 when two civilian aircraft carrying four members of the Brothers to the Rescue organization were shot down over international waters by the Cuban dictatorship's fighter jets. The 24 February Movement desires, and struggles for, freedom in Cuba.

According to reports, Mr. Garcia Roldan has been imprisoned since April 16, 2004 and, after a sham trial, sentenced to 4 years in the totalitarian gulag. In the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices--2005, it is reported ``On February 19, a `reeducation specialist' forced political prisoner Fidel Garcia Roldan into a cell, pushed him against the wall, then hit him repeatedly in the head.''

That same report details the abhorrent conditions in the gulag:

Prison conditions continued to be harsh and life

threatening. Conditions in detention facilities also were

harsh. Prison authorities frequently beat, neglected,

isolated, and denied medical treatment to detainees and

prisoners, particularly those convicted of political crimes

or those who persisted in expressing their views . . .

Prisoners sometimes were held in ``punishment cells,'' which

usually were located in the basement of a prison, with

continuous semi-dark conditions, no available water, and only

a hole for a toilet.

Mr. Garcia Roldan, despite being imprisoned, despite facing even more severe maltreatment in the inhuman gulag, continues to advocate for liberty. Mr. Garcia Roldan is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. No matter how intense the repression, no matter how horrifically brutal the consequences of a dignified struggle for liberty, the totalitarian gulags are full of men and women of all backgrounds and ages who represent the best of the Cuban nation.

Mr. Speaker, we must speak out and act against this abominable disregard for human rights, human dignity, and human freedom just 90 miles from our shore. It is categorically unacceptable that men and women who demand freedom from tyranny are locked in dungeons and abused by totalitarian monsters. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Fidel Garcia Roldan and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Shaw for his kind remarks. I want to thank all the distinguished Members who have made possible this legislation today. I think it is very timely.

I had the privilege of visiting Ukraine last December along with Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky and a humanitarian delegation from my community. My community has begun a process of helping the people of Ukraine, especially the sick children who, because of the decades-long environmental degradation, really attack upon the environment of the totalitarian regime, are still suffering and for generations, unfortunately, will have to suffer the consequences of the horrors of totalitarianism in a most unfair way. So humanitarian efforts are ongoing, and I am very proud of that, from my community, to help the people of Ukraine.

I was again very impressed and thank Mr. Lantos for standing up today and mentioning an extremely important subject area. I want to point out that in the discussions that we had with President Yushchenko, Under Secretary Dobriansky, I was impressed by how much emphasis she made and the seriousness with which she made arguments that were brought out today by Mr. Lantos. And so I am pleased to see that he will continue his very important monitoring of really the despicable matters that he made reference to, and I certainly look forward to joining him in that monitoring.

That said, I think it is important that a friend that has gone through, because of really the heroism of its people, has gone through a democratic transition, and, even after independence from the Soviet Union, was really still living under the undue influence of Russia.

I think that those hundreds of thousands of people that took to the streets just over a year ago, they deserve our respect. And the people of Ukraine deserve our respect. And in the same manner in which Jackson-Vanik, I am very proud of, was another way in which the United States stood on behalf of freedom, I think today it is time to remove Jackson-Vanik from democratic Ukraine, to say congratulations for what you have achieved, and to say we will be with you as you further achieve progress in perfecting your democracy and the rule of law.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues about Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia and his brother Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia, both political prisoners in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia is the regional coordinator for the Christian Liberation Movement and his brother Mr. Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia is also active in the same movement. They are peaceful pro- democracy activists who believe in the cause of freedom for the people of Cuba. Because of their steadfast belief in human liberty, and their constant work to bring freedom to an island enslaved by the nightmare that is the Castro regime, these courageous brothers have been a constant target of the dictatorship.

According to Amnesty International, Mr. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia has been harassed and detained numerous times for his pro-democracy activism. In January 2002, he was forced from a bus and beaten by the tyrant's thugs because of his activities and ideals. Amnesty International reports that Mr. Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia, in December 1999, was sentenced to 6 months of ``restricted freedom.'' In March 2003, as part of Castro's heinous crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy activists, both brothers were arrested. Subsequently, in two sham trials, Mr. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia was sentenced to 25 years in the totalitarian gulag and Mr. Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia was sentenced to 28 years in the gulag.

While confined in the inhuman horror of Castro's gulag, both brothers have been the constant target of abuse. According to the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004:

``On January 1, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia reported serving 45 days in a punishment cell for protesting the suspension of correspondence and the delivery of food and medical supplies from his family. He did not receive food or water during the first 3 days of his confinement and slept on a cement floor. Authorities confiscated his Bible and prohibited any contact with other prisoners.''

According to Amnesty International, Mr. Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia was transferred to a punishment cell for having bravely refused to militarily salute a warden of the gulag. The Department of State Country Report describes the true horrors of a punishment cell: ``Prisoners sometimes were held in `punishment cells,' which usually were located in the basement of a prison, with continuous semi-dark conditions, no available water, and a hole for a toilet.'' This is in addition to the grotesque depravity of the gulag that also includes beatings, isolation, denial of medical treatment to detainees, and multiple forms of abuse.

These two brothers are brilliant examples of the heroism of the Cuban people. No matter how intense the repression, no matter how horrifically brutal the consequences of a dignified struggle for liberty, the totalitarian gulags are full of men and women of all backgrounds and ages who represent the best of the Cuban nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is as inconceivable as it is unacceptable that, while the world stands by in silence and acquiescence, these two brothers are systematically tortured because of their belief in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, on February 24th the Cuban people commemorate a glorious and tragic date in the history of Cuba. The 1895 war of independence began exactly 111 years ago; the Cry of Baire constitutes one of the most heroic acts of the Cuban people. Intimately connected with this date is the heroism of Marti, Gomez, Maceo, Banderas, and the thousands of freedom fighters known as mambises who shall forever ennoble the Cuban nationality.

Tragically, February 24th will also be forever connected with the murders which took place on that date ten years ago. The Cuban tyrant, ultimately insulted by the courage demonstrated by the Brothers to the Rescue when they dropped pamphlets and other pieces of paper over Havana with pro-democracy slogans and copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ordered the murder of the men and women who were going to fly on February 24th in civilian planes carrying out humanitarian missions for Brothers to the Rescue.

The Cuban tyrant prepared his murders well. An agent of his by the name of Roque, who had occasionally flown for the Brothers to the Rescue organization, was ordered to return the day before to Cuba. Roque was going to publicly declare after the murders of February 24th that he was a survivor from the mission and that the humanitarian group's planes were taking arms to ``Concilio Cubano'', a coalition of dissident organizations inside Cuba which had announced its intention to host a public meeting in Havana on February 24th and whose membership was brutally repressed by the dictatorship. Roque would also announce that the planes had been shot down over Cuban waters.

We all know that Pablo Morales, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Pena, and Carlos Costa were brutally murdered on February 24, 1996. I am sure that those four martyrs of freedom, peace, and patriotism will be duly memorialized in the democratic Cuba of tomorrow, as they are in South Florida today.

The intervention of destiny saved the third Brothers to the Rescue plane which flew on February 24, 1996. That intervention of the imponderable made it possible for the world and for history to know that the planes were shot down over international waters, while engaged in a peaceful and humanitarian mission.

Mr. Speaker, let us remember the four martyrs from the Brothers to the Rescue, let us remember all the political prisoners, and let us remember the countless men and women who have given their best years, and often their lives, for the freedom of Cuba. My colleagues, this February 24th, we must recommit ourselves to the cause of freedom and liberty for

all who languish in the darkness of totalitarianism. My Colleagues, we must recommit ourselves to hastening the dawn of a free and democratic Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues about Rene Gomez Manzano, a heroic political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Gomez Manzano is a lawyer and a distinguished member of the pro- democracy opposition in Cuba. Along with fellow Cuban patriots Martha Beatriz Roque and Felix Bonne Carcasses, he is a leader of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society. The Assembly is an umbrella organization of over 300 groups of Cubans who have asserted their independence from the totalitarian state. On May 20, 2005, the Assembly carried out a meeting of approximately 200 Cubans who publicly demonstrated their rejection of totalitarianism and their support for democracy and the rule of law in Havana. Mr. Gomez Manzano was one of the primary architects of that historic, admirable accomplishment. Accordingly, he has been the constant target of Castro's machinery of repression. He has been harassed by the tyrant's thugs and, now, unjustly incarcerated as a political prisoner for his peaceful activities.

Almost a decade earlier, in 1997, after coauthoring the important and historic work ``La Patria es de Todos''--``The Homeland Belongs to All''--with Martha Beatriz Roque, Felix Bonne Carcasses and another Cuban patriot, Vladimiro Roca, Mr. Gomez Manzano was arrested by the dictatorship and sentenced to various years in the gulag. During his unjust imprisonment, and after being released, Mr. Gomez Manzano never wavered in his commitment to bring freedom, democracy and human rights to the Cuban people. Unfortunately, in an additional act of extreme and despicable repression by the dictatorship, Mr. Gomez Manzano, along with dozens of others, was arrested once again on July 22, 2005, before he could attend a peaceful demonstration in front of the French Embassy in Havana to protest the resumption of the European Union's policy of so-called engagement with the terrorist regime in Havana.

I have never had the honor of personally meeting Mr. Gomez Manzano, but I can certainly say that I know him quite well. I have spoken to him by telephone during various congressional hearings and other public events dedicated to highlighting the suffering and oppression of the Cuban people. He is a great patriot, a man of the law, a man of peace, and an apostle of freedom for Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, it is completely unacceptable that, while the world stands by in silence and acquiescence, Mr. Gomez Manzano languishes in the gulag because of his belief in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We cannot permit the brutal treatment of a man of peace like Mr. Gomez Manzano by a demented and murderous tyrant for simply supporting freedom for his people. My colleagues, we must never forget those who are locked in gulags because of their desire for freedom for their countries. My colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Rene Gomez Manzano and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.