Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Arnaldo Ramos Lauzerique, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Ramos Lauzerique is a member of the Cuban Institute of Independent Economists and the Assembly to Promote Civil Society. He believes that Cuba should be and will be free from the nightmare that is the Castro regime. He believes that the Cuban people are entitled to human rights, democracy, and freedom from tyranny. Because he believes in freedom and because he actively and peacefully advocates for liberty, Mr. Ramos Lauzerique has been targeted by. the despotic regime.

In March 2003, as part of the tyrant's heinous island wide crackdown on peaceful, pro- democracy activists, Mr. Ramos Lauzerique was arrested by the regime. In a sham trial, he was sentenced to 18 years in the totalitarian gulag.

Mr. Ramos Lauzerique is over 60 years old and languishing in the revolting, hellish gulag. However, being confined in these inhuman conditions has not stopped him from continuing to demand justice for the people of Cuba and his fellow political prisoners. Amnesty International reports that Mr. Ramos Lauzerique has participated in at least two hunger strikes while imprisoned in Castro's dungeon. He has undertaken these strikes to bring attention to the repulsive squalor of the gulag, the lack of medical attention, and the barbaric punishment cells; all in defiance of the machinery of repression that has unjustly confined him in these repugnant conditions.

Mr. Speaker, it remains categorically unacceptable that men and women who demand freedom from tyranny are locked in the dungeons of tyrannical monsters. Here, under the dome that represents modern democracy, we must continue to demand the liberation of all who suffer in the darkness of totalitarianism. As we continue to exercise our democratic rights, let us never forget those who are struggling to liberate their own nations. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate release of Arnaldo Ramos Lauzerique and every prisoner of conscience locked in Castro's totalitarian gulag.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Arturo Perez de Alejo Rodriguez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Perez de Alejo is the president of the Escambray Human Rights Front. Before he became a pro-freedom advocate in a country oppressed by a totalitarian tyrant, he work as a farmer. However, after he realized the true nature of Castro's despotic regime, he joined the pro-democracy movement and began to advocate for a free and democratic Cuba.

According to Amnesty International, Mr. Perez de Alejo was detained in 2003 for handing out copies of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. Despite being detained, and knowing full well the brutal consequences that await those brave men and women that speak the truth under the nightmare that is the Castro regime, he continued to advocate for human rights for the people of Cuba.

Unfortunately, Mr. Perez de Alejo was arrested on March 18, 2003, as part of Castro's heinous island wide crackdown on peaceful, pro- democracy activists. In a sham trial, he was sentenced to 20 years in the totalitarian gulag.

While confined in the inhuman squalor of the gulag, Amnesty International reports that Mr. Perez de Alejo has not been able either to receive or to send correspondence in the same way as other prisoners. It has also been reported that he is suffering from several debilitating diseases in the totalitarian gulag. Let us be very clear, he is languishing in a hellish dungeon, unable to communicate with the outside world, because he peacefully advocates for liberty.

Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable that, in the 21st century, brave men and women are chained to filth because of their belief in the inalienable nature of freedom, and the sanctity of human rights for every person. My colleagues, tonight the democratically elected leader of the United States of America will deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of our freely elected Congress. As we listen to President Bush address our free Nation, let us also remember those who are suffering to secure their own liberties, in their own countries. We must demand the immediate release of Arturo Perez de Alejo Rodriguez and every political prisoner locked in the dungeons of tyrants.

Mr. Speaker, the attempts to delay and derail the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General of the United States are wrong and objectionable.

This is the fifth time that President Bush has asked Alberto Gonzales to serve his country. As counsel to the President, as chief advisor to then Governor Bush, as a Texas Supreme Court justice, as Texas Secretary of State, Alberto Gonzales has always served his Governor, his President and his country with honor, integrity and distinction.

This man of humble beginnings who has achieved so much personifies the American dream. Hispanics throughout America are proud of him, as all Americans will be of our next Attorney General. Enough obstruction rooted in petty partisanship. It is time for the Senate to confirm Alberto Gonzales as United States Attorney General.

I thank the distinguished gentlewoman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution brought forth by our majority leader and others commemorating, celebrating the extraordinarily historic accomplishment of the Iraqi people last Sunday.

As our majority leader stated in a meeting where we were able to hear him speak just a few minutes ago, what we saw, what the world saw in Iraq on Sunday was more than an accomplishment. It was a miracle. But it was a miracle made possible by the leadership of President Bush and the Armed Forces of the United States and the coalition that have stood firmly for the security of a people who were oppressed for decades and who made it known to the entire world last Sunday that those thugs who seek to cloak themselves in some sort of sector of Islamist thought are nothing but a bunch of gangsters, thugs and gangsters who seek to intimidate through violence and through terror.

So the world was able to see on Sunday the gangsters and the thugs for what they are, a pathetic group dedicated to terror and intimidation. The world has seen and was able to see, by the courage of the millions and millions of Iraqis who, despite the threat to their own lives, stood in line and the lines refused to be broken. As our majority leader stated so eloquently in the meeting that we had, as I stated before, earlier today, the lines refused to break even when the bombs came and the attacks came and the injured were taken to hospitals and the dead were mourned. Yet the lines remained to demonstrate to the world that the Iraqi people not only seek but appreciate and will stand for their freedom and that the gangsters and the thugs are simply pathetic believers in violence.

I am a firm believer in the Bush doctrine. All people want to be free and all people deserve to be free. There are a handful of tyrannies in the world. Their day will soon come, also.

Just 90 miles from the shores of the United States there is a tyrant who for 46 years has oppressed a people, also through the same gangster tactics that these thugs in the Middle East use. Unfortunately, he has all the weapons, and his people are unarmed. His day will soon come as well.

This is a great day for history, for peace that we are celebrating today with this resolution by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay). That is why I so strongly support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Jose Miguel Martinez Hernandez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Martinez Hernandez has bravely, and peacefully, advocated for liberty and freedom in Cuba, a country that suffers. under the nightmare of repression that is the Castro regime. He is an area representative for 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. Mr. Martinez Hernandez also hosts an independent library in his home, in order to provide truth instead of the regime's propaganda.

According to Amnesty International, Mr. Martinez Hernandez has been harassed and detained on a number of occasions in connection with his pro-democracy activism. Amnesty International also reports that he was taken into custody and interrogated by the tyrant's thugs in June, 2001. Despite being constantly attacked by the despotic regime, Mr. Martinez Hernandez continued his efforts to bring freedom to the Cuban people.

Unfortunately, in March 2003, as part of the heinous crackdown of peaceful, pro democracy activists, Mr. Martinez Hernandez was arrested. Subsequently, in a sham trial, he was sentenced to 13 years in the totalitarian gulag.

While confined in the deplorable gulag, it has been reported that Mr. Martinez Hernandez has been threatened because he has persisted in studying the Bible. It is abhorrent to nature that this brave man languishes in an infernal gulag because he believes in freedom of religion, democracy, and basic human rights for the Cuban people.

Mr. Speaker, President Bush addressed those brave men and women who spread the light of freedom in the darkest corners of the world when he said in his inaugural address, just a few days ago, ``Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.'' My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate release of Jose Miguel Martinez Hernandez and every political prisoner languishing in the dungeons of tyrants.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Alfredo Rodolfo Dominguez Batista, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Dominguez Batista is a member of the Christian Liberation Movement and a peaceful pro-democracy activist attempting to liberate the people of Cuba. Because of his actions to bring freedom and democracy to Cuba, Mr. Dominguez Batista was targeted by the tyrant's machinery of repression. In March 2003, as part of the despicable crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy activists, he was arrested. In a sham trial, Mr. Dominguez Batista was sentenced to 14 years in the totalitarian gulag.

Despite the depraved conditions and the threat of confinement in punishment cells, described by the U.S. Department of State as ``semi- dark all the time, had no water available in the cell, and had a hole for a toilet,'' Mr. Dominguez Batista has continued to fight for basic human rights. According to Amnesty International, he has bravely participated in multiple hunger strikes to protest the abhorrent conditions in the gulag and the depraved treatment of fellow political prisoners.

Today, January 20, 2005, marks another milestone in the peaceful continuation of representative democracy in the United States of America. President George W. Bush was elected in free and fair elections that were conducted with transparency and guided by the rule of law. On a day that celebrates the freedoms enshrined in our national documents and imbedded in the national character of the United States, we should never forget those brave men and women, like Mr. Dominguez Batista, who languish in hellish gulags because they believe in the same freedoms that we celebrate today.

Mr. Speaker, on this day of commemoration, let us not forget those who yearn to celebrate political and human rights in their own countries. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate release of Alfredo Rodolfo Dominguez Batista and every prisoner of conscience languishing in the dungeons of tyrants.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Diosdado Gonzalez Marrero, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Gonzalez Marrero is a pro-democracy activist who is striving to create a Cuban society that recognizes human rights, freedom, and democracy. He has been a peaceful supporter in the cause of bringing liberty to an island shackled by a tyrant's brutal machinery of repression. Unfortunately, the dictator forcefully represses those who bravely support freedom instead of the despotic regime.

In 1999, Mr. Gonzalez Marrero was locked in the totalitarian gulag for six months during

the Ibero-American Summit held in Havana in November 1999. Despite being confined in the horrors of the gulag, Mr. Gonzalez bravely continued his peaceful activities to bring liberty and freedom to Cuba.

Unfortunately, Mr. Gonzalez Marrero was arrested again in March 2003, as part of the repulsive island wide crackdown against peaceful pro- democracy activists. In a sham trial, he was sentenced to 20 years in the totalitarian gulag.

The family of Mr. Gonzalez Marrero has reported that he was being held in solitary confinement in a punishment cell where he is deprived of any sunlight, adequate ventilation or drinking water, and subjected to temperatures of 30 to 32 degrees centigrade. According to Amnesty International, Mr. Gonzalez Marrero is suffering from high blood pressure and inadequate medical attention to his failing health.

Let me be very clear, Mr. Gonzalez Marrero is languishing in the depraved dungeons of the tyrant's gulag because he desires freedom for the people of Cuba. His demand for the rights of man to be given back to the citizens of Cuba is the only reason that he is locked in the abhorrent filth of Castro's prisons.

Mr. Speaker, as we gather to celebrate the results of our democracy and to commence the first session of the 109th Congress, it remains repulsive that, only 90 miles from our shore, brave souls like Mr. Gonzalez Marrero 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 who suffer under the nightmare that is the Castro regime. Let us demand the immediate release of Diosdado Gonzalez Marrero and every prisoner of conscience languishing in the dungeons of totalitarian despots.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address a question about the Congressional intent of the phrase ``payment of cash in advance'' as it appears in 22 U.S.C. 7207(b)(1) as passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on October 11, 2000, as passed by the U.S. Senate on October 18, 2000, and as signed into law by President Clinton on October 28, 2000.

As the principal negotiator and author of the language in question, I can state, without any ambiguity, that the Congressional intent behind the phrase ``payment of cash in advance'' is the following: that all legal sales of agricultural commodities or products to the Cuban Government or any person in Cuba, must be paid in full in advance of the shipment of the goods.

I sincerely hope that regulations will be issued to reflect the congressional intent of this phrase.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

I rise in strong support of the rules package this afternoon. The different aspects that compose it are very important, and they will contribute to this House's being able to function in a more efficient and effective manner in the next 2 years. The due-process-for-Members aspect of this rules package is extremely important precisely because of the integrity of the House. The integrity of the House includes the integrity of Members whose reputation may be impugned or unfairly attacked, and thus all Members that make up this House deserve due process. And that is what we are trying to achieve today.

I have worked long and hard in the last 2 years, along with the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules, the Speaker, and their staffs, to try to formulate a most difficult proposal for something that is, despite its difficulty, very necessary, and that is a standing Select Committee on Homeland Security. Due to the leadership of the Speaker of this House, that is becoming a reality today. We are doing it in this rules package. The provisional quorum safeguard is historic in nature, and it is constitutional. It is a constitutional means to prevent the possibility that terrorists could paralyze our representative government.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support and urge the adoption of this rules package.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Lester Gonzalez Penton, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Gonzalez Penton is a member of the Reason, Truth and Freedom Human Rights Movement and a delegate of the Cuban Confederation of Democratic Workers. He is a peaceful pro-democracy activist who has worked intensely to liberate Cuba from the control of the demented terrorist in power in Havana. Mr. Gonzalez Penton believes in human rights, worker rights, and freedom for the people of Cuba. As these tenants are the antithesis of the tyrant's policies of lies, fear, intimidation, and repression, he has been constantly harassed by the terrorist regime in Havana.

According to Amnesty International, on August 5, 2002, the tyrant's thugs prevented him from leaving his house, in order to stop him from participating in events organized by fellow pro-democracy activists. Previously, on July 9, 2001, Amnesty International reports that Mr. Gonzalez Penton was questioned and threatened with imprisonment by police if he did not work: despite the fact that he was fired him from his job as a baker because the totalitarian regime was threatened by his peaceful activities with the Cuban Confederation of Democratic workers.

On March 18, 2003, as part of the dictatorship's deplorable crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy activists, Mr. Gonzalez Penton was arrested. In a sham trial, he was sentenced to 20 years in the grotesque totalitarian gulag. According to the U.S. Department of State, members of the tyrant's totalitarian apparatchik threatened to suspend family visits for Mr. Gonzalez Penton because he, and eight other political prisoners, read aloud to each other from the Bible.

Mr. Speaker, it is an affront to the inalienable rights of man that Mr. Gonzalez Penton is languishing in the inhuman squalor of a totalitarian gulag simply because he believes that liberty is the scared right of all people. It is unconscionable that he and others have been further punished because they read the Bible. My colleagues, we must demand the immediate release of Lester Gonzalez Penton and every political prisoner suffering under the nightmare that is the Castro regime.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Edel Jose Garcia Diaz, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Garcia Diaz is the founder and editor of Centro Norte del Pais, an independent news agency amidst the dictatorship's mandated propaganda. He has devoted his efforts to printing the truth about the horrors in Cuba under the totalitarian dictatorship. By founding an independent news agency, Mr. Garcia Diaz knowingly risked the wrath of the tyranny; however, he believed that illuminating the nightmare that is Castro regime was more important than his personal safety.

From 1997 to present, Mr. Garcia Diaz has been harassed by the dictator's thugs. According to Reporters Without Borders, his life was threatened by a functionary of the municipality of Caibarien. He was also subjected to detentions, interrogations, and other official warnings. Yet, despite these threats, Mr. Garcia Diaz always returned to his news agency to publish the truth about the regime's monstrous abuse of the basic human rights of the Cuban people.

On March 18, 2003, as part of the tyrant's deplorable crackdown on peaceful pro democracy advocates, Mr. Garcia Diaz was arrested. According to Amnesty International, Mr. Garcia Diaz was accused of writing about the poor physical condition of a school building in Havana and accompanying the article with a photo of the installation. After the conclusion of a sham trial, he was sentenced to 15 years in the totalitarian gulag.

Mr. Garcia Diaz is languishing in Castro's infamous, inhuman gulag because he believes in freedom and democracy. His bravery in the face of oppression is another example of the courage of the pro-democracy activists in totalitarian Cuba. Recently, over one hundred Cuban opposition activists took part in a symbolic vote on November 2nd in Havana. They participated in a mock election for U.S. President at the residence of James Cason, head of the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba. Once again, the courage of the Cuban activists demonstrated to the world that, despite the consequences of dissent, the Cuban people are unafraid to demonstrate their desire for democracy.

Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable the Mr. Garcia Diaz is confined in an infernal gulag because he believes in writing the truth, freedom of the press, and basic human rights for the Cuban people. As we celebrate the successes of the American democratic process, we must never forget those who continue to fight the evil tyranny 90 miles from our shore. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate release of Edel Jose Garcia Diaz and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague from Florida for yielding me this time.

I stand in strong support of the rule that brings forth this Omnibus Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2005. It is really an historic piece of legislation when one thinks about the fact or realizes that it achieves a freeze, or a zero percent growth, in nondefense discretionary spending. That is an historic accomplishment, an extraordinary accomplishment, while these nine appropriation bills included in this great omnibus package fund the needs and the many great actions that day in and day out the men and women that work for the Federal Government carry out. So I strongly support the rule and the underlying legislation.

I think it is just and appropriate also, Mr. Speaker, that we take just an instant to commend and thank a great American patriot, a Floridian, who has served as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of this House for the last 6 years, my friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).

When I arrived here as a freshman Member 12 years ago, he immediately began to teach me many extraordinary

things with that friendship that he shares with all of us here in the House. I am in awe of someone who has reached such great heights in this Congress and yet never ceased to be that friend to his colleagues, to all of his colleagues, and to his constituents. And so the great State of Florida has had a great representative for these years not only in this House but especially in these 6 years in the Committee on Appropriations.

It is with a sense of gratitude as well as admiration that I say to Chairman Young, thank you for what you have done, not only in this piece of legislation, this historic piece of legislation, but in all of your years of service in this House, sir. Thank you.

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

Mr. Suarez Cruz is a farmer and pro-democracy activist in totalitarian Cuba. He is a member of the Party for Human Rights in Cuba. Mr. Suarez Cruz also heads the private library ``San Pablo.'' Because of his admirable beliefs in freedom, democracy, and human rights, Mr. Suarez Cruz has been the target of the nightmare called the Castro regime.

According to Amnesty International, in 2000 Mr. Suarez Cruz was sentenced to 6 months of restricted freedom for ``disobedience'' for fishing in a restricted area: however, this sentenced was changed to imprisonment in the totalitarian gulag because he was arrested for carrying out peaceful political activities.

On March 18, 2003, as part of the dictator's condemnable crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy activists, Mr. Suarez Cruz was arrested because of his belief in freedom and human rights. In a sham trial, he was ``sentenced'' to 20 years in the inhuman, totalitarian gulag.

Mr. Suarez Cruz is currently languishing in an infernal cell in the totalitarian gulag. These depraved conditions are truly appalling. The 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, including those convicted of political crimes. It is a crime of the highest order that people who work for freedom are imprisoned in these nightmarish conditions.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Suarez Cruz is suffering in a grotesque gulag because he believes in freedom. My Colleagues, we cannot allow peaceful pro-democracy activists to languish in the depraved prisons of tyrants. We must demand immediate freedom for Fidel Suarez Cruz and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Chairman, I think it is important that we realize that this amendment, while not perfect, it is extremely important that it pass. I am very supportive of the Smith amendments that will be debated shortly. But what this amendment does is it keeps us, the United States of America, in compliance with the convention against torture, allowing us, obviously, not to, in order to be in compliance with the convention against torture, not to deport people to places where they will be tortured. But it also gives discretion to the Secretary of Homeland Security to detain, to keep under detention, terrorists, murderers, rapists, child molesters, and a limited list of other serious criminals.

To comply with the convention against torture, it is important that we pass this amendment.

I thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hostettler) for his hard work.

Mr. Chairman, it is really unfortunate that this provision is in the base bill. It lumps the base bill, as written, all immigrants who may be accused of being undocumented who have been here for 5 years or less, with terrorists.

The current law says, if they are a terrorist, there is no limitation on time. They are picked up, and if they are not arrested, they are thrown out without a hearing. It also says, if they are an undocumented immigrant, within 2 years they can be picked up and sent out without a hearing. That is current.

This expands it to 5 years even though the 2 years of current law is not being used.

There is a border initiative that has been announced. Many other initiatives can be announced under current law. But, no, we want to expand it to 5 years and say that folks who are working in restaurants or folks that are cutting the grass or folks that are doing something that is very honorable and has nothing to do with terrorism are now going to be lumped together to say, even if they have a claim to stay in this country, they do not even have a hearing. They cannot even have a hearing and they are going to be thrown out.

And, by the way, it is not even ``may.'' It is ``shall.'' That is what we are talking about. And it is most unfortunate that in the context of a terrorism bill we have this language.

Vote for the Smith amendment.

Mr. Chairman, with all due respect to the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, whom I have great respect for, that is not what the effect of the Smith amendment would be.

There is a long tradition, based on international and domestic law and jurisprudence, that establishes the right to seek political asylum when there is a well-founded fear of persecution. In addition, our laws are clear that membership in any terrorist organization or activity in a terrorist organization automatically bars them even if they have a well-founded fear of persecution.

So what this legislation, the base bill, does is go much farther than what the opponents of the Smith amendment have portrayed up to now. And the reality of the matter is that when the law is as clear with regard to terrorism, and certainly as it has been in recent years, it is unfortunate to diminish the rights of people who are legitimately fearing for their lives and seeking political asylum.

That is why the Smith amendment is so necessary. So I would ask my colleagues to support it.