[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8] [House] [Pages 10449-10453] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]{time} 1030 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5522, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007 Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 851 and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 851 Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5522) making appropriations for foreign operations, export financing, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. Points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to comply with clause 2 of rule XXI are waived except as follows: the number ``5'' on page 60, line 4; section 526; beginning with ``Of'' on page 86, line 1 through ``That'' on line 16; section 538; beginning with the semicolon in section 565(a)(2) through ``501)'' in section 565(a)(3); and sections 570 and 579. Where points of order are waived against part of a paragraph or section, points of order against a provision in another part of such paragraph or section may be made only against such provision and not against the entire paragraph or section. During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII. Amendments so printed shall be considered as read. When the committee rises and reports the bill back to the House with a recommendation that the bill do pass, the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart) is recognized for 1 hour. Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. Mr. Speaker, the rule provides 1 hour of general debate evenly divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations. The rule also provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that we bring this legislation to the floor under an open rule. Historically, appropriations legislation has come to the House governed by an open rule, and we continue to do so, in order to allow each Member of this House the opportunity to submit amendments for consideration as long as they comply with the rules of the House. Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us today appropriates over $21 billion, an increase of $600 million over last year, for operations across the globe. The bill is fiscally sound while at the same time compassionate and globally responsive to needs of those plagued by disease, famine, and disaster. H.R. 5522, the legislation that we bring to the floor today, bolsters the President's Millennium Challenge Corporation to $2 billion, nearly a quarter of a billion dollars more than in fiscal year 2006. This expansion of assistance is meant to encourage transparency in government and to fight corruption in some of the world's poorest nations. The Millennium Challenge, which President Bush called a new compact for global development, provides assistance through a competitive selection process to developing nations that are pursuing political and economic reforms in three areas: Ruling justly, investing in people, and fostering economic freedom. Contributions from the Millennium Challenge Corporation are linked to greater responsibility from developing nations. The new responsibilities these developing nations accept and exchange for funds ensue that the monies we provide do not go to waste and will have the greatest possible impact on those who need help the most. Three years ago in his State of the Union address, President Bush announced for President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the largest international health initiative in history initiated by a single government to address one disease. This bill demonstrates Congress's continued support of the fight against HIV/AIDS as it includes over $3.4 billion to continue the fight against HIV/AIDS. It is an increase of over $750 million. I congratulate the committee on the sizeable increase for this program. It demonstrates our resolve, our determination to help all those across the globe who fight this disease. In other foreign assistance, H.R. 5522 funds the Andean Counter Drug Initiative at the President's request $721 million. Economic growth in the area since the start of Plan Colombia is proof that the assistance we have provided Colombia has made a difference [[Page 10450]] in that country. President Uribe has made great strides to combat narco-terrorism in Colombia. Under his leadership, Colombia is now neutralizing guerilla forces and prosecuting those who are implicated in serious crimes. However, we must not take progress in the Andean region for granted. If the United States turns its back on the region, a scenario could ensue that would require greater U.S. investment at a time when we have significant responsibilities worldwide. The underlying legislation, Mr. Speaker, also provides about $2.5 billion for military and economic assistance to Israel. We must and we will continue to ensure that our friends and allies remain secure. A strong Israel is necessary to the United States national interests and to stability in the Middle East. We are committed to doing everything we can so that Israel is safe and secure within her border, especially as the terrorist group now in the government in the Palestinian Authority and also the Iranian dictatorship continue to threaten to wipe Israel off the face of the map, something that will not happen and we would never permit. The particular concern to my district is funding for the Republic of Haiti. That country has undergone a tumultuous few years of political instability as well as being hit by a natural disaster. The bill fully funds the President's request of $164 million in funding for Haiti. Over the last two decades, an estimated 2 million people in Sudan have died due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have been displaced from their homes. This bill fully funds the President's request of $450 million, with $137 million devoted to Darfur. Assistance is conditional; it will only be given to the coalition government if that assistance is in direct support of the comprehensive peace agreement or the Darfur peace agreement. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5522 was introduced and worked on in a very detailed and serious way by Chairman Kolbe and reported out of the Appropriations Committee on May 26 by a voice vote. It is a good piece of legislation, important to our continued commitment to the security and safety of all citizens and residents of the United States, and we bring it forth under an open and fair rule. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Lewis and Chairman Kolbe and Ranking Member Lowey for their leadership on this important issue. I would like to point out that this is Chairman Kolbe's final appropriations bill as chairman of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee. It has been truly a pleasure to work with Chairman Kolbe on the Foreign Operations appropriations bill and on many other important legislative projects throughout his distinguished career in this House. I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart) for yielding me the time. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as many in this body know, Representative Diaz-Balart and I are privileged to represent perhaps the most international region of our country in South Florida. It is therefore only fitting that the two of us be here today to manage this rule on the foreign operations appropriations bill. I look forward to a fruitful discussion with the gentleman on many important issues facing our Nation abroad. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great concern about the foreign operations appropriations bill for fiscal year 2007. While the other 10 appropriations bills fund our domestic priorities, the foreign operations bill outlines and fulfills our commitments abroad. It serves as Congress's most significant diplomatic statement each year. I just hope that the international community isn't listening this time around. The underlying legislation not only shortchanges funding for some of our country's most critical foreign programs by almost $2.4 billion, but it sends a clear message to our allies and enemies alike that the United States Congress is not seriously fulfilling America's commitment to the global community. I am certainly pleased that the bill has increased funding for development assistance, critically important child survival nonHIV/AIDS programs. It has increased funding for basic education programs and HIV/AIDS funding. Nevertheless, I remain concerned that we are not doing enough in other areas. The dramatic underfunding of critical programs throughout the underlying bill calls into question the House's commitment to refugee assistance, debt relief, democracy in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the global environmental facility, and foreign aid in general. Let me drop a footnote there. The chair and the ranking member have done the best that they could with what they have, but it is the overall parameters and all of our responsibility here in the House that fails. Perhaps most troubling, these cuts dramatically hinder the President's ability to conduct the business of this country abroad. As our colleagues come to the floor today to discuss, debate, and consider the underlying legislation, I sincerely hope that they will look at the statement this bill is sending to the international community and reconsider some of these dramatic cuts. Mr. Speaker, for the last 2 years, I have had the great honor and privilege to serve as the president of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's parliamentary assembly. In this capacity I have traveled to 29 countries in Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Central Asia; I have met with heads of state, foreign ministers, ambassadors, colleagues of foreign parliaments, our ambassadors, and interest groups throughout the OSCE region. If I have learned anything during this time, it is that the principles of freedom and democracy in many places in this world are still struggling to break free from the bondages of oppression and tyranny. Today is a day when American leadership in the world is desperately needed. In the former Soviet Union, many states are struggling desperately to establish solid democratic foundations. How is Congress helping them? By cutting economic aid to eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union countries by a total of $202 million from last year's level. At a time when African nations are being forced to allocate well over 50 percent of their annual budgets to repay debt to western countries, how is Congress helping? By cutting debt relief funding by more than $44 million to a level that is more than $160 million less than President Bush's request. Throughout the world, the number of refugees fleeing across borders to escape persecution and poverty is increasing, yet the House is now poised to reduce the United States' commitment to international refugee assistance by almost $33 million, $82 million less than President Bush's request. In Sudan and Congo, innocent people are dying for no reason other than the color of their skin or the religion that they practice, but our financial commitment to them continues to fall short. How about the Millennium Challenge Account? As my colleagues will recall, Congress established the account in January 2004, and through fiscal year 2006 has underfunded the account by $2.6 billion. The underlying legislation, as has been the case in the past, again shortchanges the Millennium Challenge Account by $1 billion. And don't even get me started on the bill's rescinding of $188 million in already appropriated dollars to the World Bank. No wonder so many in the world have really stopped looking at us as a place of hope and compassion and reliability. {time} 1045 As the lone superpower in the world, Mr. Speaker, we must not allow ourselves to become encapsulated in the philosophy of leadership by force. Our military must not only be the strongest in the world, and they are, and today I compliment the special forces [[Page 10451]] for their extraordinary efforts in bringing to ultimate justice a person that was an ultimate terrorist, but so must our diplomacy be strong and the best in the world. America's willingness and sincere interest to utilize the voices of reason and persuasion over the barrel of a gun must be guided by sound principle in its foreign policy. The underlying legislation, not the defense appropriations bill as some in this body may want you to believe, in my judgment, is the greatest tool that Congress has in its box to show the world true American strength. Whether or not we choose to maximize this tool is, frankly, up to us. I fear, however, that the underlying legislation comes up dramatically short of what needs to be done. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I also take this opportunity, I think it is very appropriate and just to do so as we discuss legislation that furthers the U.S. national interests in our foreign policy, to commend our forces in Iraq who have managed that great victory of the elimination of the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network there, who had caused so much pain and suffering, not only to our forces, but to the people of Iraq. The action of the American Armed Forces is to be commended, as well as admired, and freedom-loving people throughout the world, I know, are joining us today in congratulating the U.S. Armed Forces for the great success in the elimination of the terrorist head in Iraq. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe), the prime author of the legislation that we are bringing forth today. Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding this time, and I also want to thank him for the very kind remarks that he made a few moments ago. As he pointed out, this will be the last regular, foreign ops appropriation bill that will be brought to the floor under my tutelage as chairman of that subcommittee. It has been a great privilege and a pleasure for the last 6 years to bring this bill to the floor. It has also been a great pleasure to work with the gentleman from Florida, who has the responsibility for foreign affairs issues in the Rules Committee. Mr. Speaker, I do rise in support of the rule. I will be very brief because I will make most of my remarks during the debate, when we get to general debate on the bill itself, but I do rise in support of the rule for consideration of H.R. 5522, which is the fiscal year 2007 appropriations bill for foreign operations, export financing and related programs. As has been pointed out, the total in this bill is $21.3 billion. That is $597 million over the amount provided in fiscal year 2006, not counting supplementals; but it is fully $2.4 billion below the President's request. This means that there is $2.4 billion elsewhere in the budget for critical needs. The gentleman from Florida on the other side also spoke about some of those. Whether we are talking about veterans care or education or health programs, it is $2.4 billion that is freed up by the fact that our allocation has been reduced, and yet our allocation is still more than 5 percent over the amount that we had last year, and I think it is a fair amount. We are once again faced with difficult choices in developing this recommendation because we are significantly below the President's request. The President's budget request had significant increases for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, for HIV/AIDS, and reconstruction and stabilization efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. While no one got everything they wanted, the recommendation I think strikes a difficult balance among the competing priorities, and at the same time fiscally responsible. Our priority has been to increase funding for the war on terror. We have also increased the Millennium Challenge Corporation by about $245 million, enough of an increase to make clear our commitment to the Millennium Challenge Corporation. We believe the MCC is working. We believe they are doing the right thing, and we are going to continue on a path towards increasing it as a vehicle for delivering foreign assistance around the world. We have also increased international health spending, and those are the three priorities which lie at the core of U.S. interests abroad. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5522 is a package of foreign assistance which has been formed by experience. It funds programs that are accountable and transparent; and most importantly, it helps to secure and protect the United States abroad. It was developed in a bipartisan manner, and I believe that it should have wide support on the floor of the House. This is a fairly standard rule. It is an open rule, allowing for amendments; and we have a number of amendments which will be discussed here later today. I expect a thorough and complete debate on a number of areas of U.S. foreign policy, and I believe that this will be the House of Representatives at its finest hour. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule. Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Before I yield to my very good friend from New York, I would like to compliment my very good friend who just spoke, Mr. Kolbe, the chairperson of this particular committee, and compliment him for the 6 years of very active work on behalf of this country. I know for a fact that he did all that he could with what he had; and you are to be thanked, Jim, for your great service, and you will be missed sorely by all of us. However, I can honestly say I will not miss going on CODELs with you because of your indefatigable energy when we are on CODEL; and if we had the time, we could share some stories in that regard. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), the ranking member of the foreign operations subcommittee. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule, and I thank the Rules Committee for granting a fair, open rule for the consideration of the foreign operations bill. While I am disappointed that this rule leaves several commonsense provisions in the bill vulnerable to points of order, I am grateful that the Rules Committee has protected section 587 of the bill. This provision will enhance the focus of U.S. foreign assistance programs on supporting women's access to economic opportunity and will help women take full advantage of the possibilities of the global economy. I am particularly appreciative to Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, Chairman Hyde and, of course, Chairman Kolbe for enabling this language to be maintained; and I look forward to several robust debates today on a number of issues affecting U.S. foreign policy and U.S. foreign assistance. Of course, I am appreciative of our chairman, and I will thank him appropriately again. I think we have expressed our appreciation and devotion and respect probably at least a half a dozen times, but you deserve it every time, Mr. Chairman. So I want to again thank the Rules Committee for allowing these debates to proceed by granting an open rule. Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the distinguished chairman of the Rules Committee. Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding and congratulate him on his management of this very important piece of legislation. Let me begin by joining and extending congratulations to our friend from Tucson, Mr. Kolbe, for the superb leadership that he has provided on this measure. I am looking at him at this moment, Mr. Speaker, and he is sitting with the distinguished minority ranking member, Mrs. Lowey. In the Rules Committee yesterday when we were dealing with this issue, everyone was praising the fact that [[Page 10452]] this measure is moving ahead with strong bipartisan support. I think the leadership that Jim Kolbe has provided on this demonstrates his commitment to good public policy and addressing it in a bipartisan way, and I want to extend my hearty congratulations to him. I want to say this measure is very important. We, of course, all have gotten the news this morning of the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, that charismatic al Qaeda leader who has been responsible for some of the most heinous acts and, of course the very, very sad killings and beheadings of a number of people who come to mind; and as the Secretary of Defense said earlier this morning, this man probably has more blood on his hands than any other human being when it comes to terrorist acts in the past few years. So we, I believe, are in the midst of understanding that the leadership that the United States of America is providing through our foreign assistance package is one which is playing a role in helping us win the global war on terror. We obviously are faced today with the potential for great tragedy and retaliation because of the killing of al-Zarqawi, but we also have to recognize that when the members of the Iraqi media lurched to their feet and applauded, celebrating the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, this is a great day for the people of Iraq who do want freedom and liberation and an opportunity to proceed with self-determination. Mr. Speaker, that has come about in large part due to the leadership that Jim Kolbe and Mrs. Lowey and others have provided in this package that we are going to be voting on today. It is an important one, and I know that it is often criticized by many as simply taking U.S. taxpayer dollars and sending them to other parts of the world and, frankly, much of this is expended right here in the United States to help us deal with the development of political pluralism, the establishment of democratic institutions, and very important societal needs that exist in a number of countries in the world. One of the things that I mentioned in the Rules Committee last night, Mr. Speaker, was the fact that Mr. Kolbe serves as a very important member of the House Democracy Assistance Commission and you, Mr. Speaker, are a very important member of that commission as well, and it was one that I was pleased that a little over a year ago Speaker Hastert and Minority Leader Pelosi came together and established this bipartisan commission that is designed to look at a number of countries that are really beginning to take steps towards democracy that have recently held elections and elected parliaments. We have created a chance for direct parliament-to-parliament consultation, working member to member, with members of these new parliaments, working with staffs, working with officers of these parliaments to make sure that we help them move into establishing the very important things that are in our Constitution and we have a tendency to take for granted. But many in this world are moving towards that, being the responsibility of oversight from the legislative branch to the executive branch, making sure that they deal with constituent service and a wide range of these other things that we in the United States House of Representatives engage in, and I believe that the existence of this commission, which I am very privileged to work with our colleague David Price from North Carolina who serves as the ranking minority member on, is important and much of the funding for that is coming through this appropriation bill that has been put together. Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield? Mr. DREIER. I yield to the gentleman from Florida. Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to ask a question. It is my belief that compared to gross domestic product that America spends less than 1 percent on the foreign relations and this particular matter. Do you feel, as I do, that we are pretty stingy compared to other countries when it comes to that measure? Everything you said is true, and all of those things are wonderful; but I still think that we are pretty stingy in this arena. {time} 1100 Mr. DREIER. If I can reclaim my time, Mr. Speaker, I would say to my very good friend from Fort Lauderdale, who serves so ably on the Rules Committee, that I don't believe that we are stingy at all. I think the American people are very, very generous. I know my friend has been involved in providing leadership in a wide range of areas internationally, and he has had a commitment to dealing with many of these issues. I think that the United States of America has demonstrated its generosity, not only through its foreign assistance package, but also through the eleemosynary activities of so many Americans who are voluntarily involved. I think of the wealthiest person in the world, Bill Gates, who has stepped forward to deal with the AIDS in Africa crisis. He voluntarily has done many, many things to help deal with this issue. So I would say a resounding no, we are not stingy when it comes to this issue. We are, I believe, very cost effectively, Mr. Speaker, dealing with the important needs that are out there. And my friend raised the issue of the percentage of the gross domestic product what is being done, and of course, what is brought to mind for me is another issue, and that is, in fact, that we have seen a great reduction in our Federal deficit as a percentage of the gross domestic product. It is now below 2.6 percent of the GDP. And I think that our growing economy will again put dollars in the pockets of Americans so that they will be able to voluntarily deal with many of these needs that exist in other parts of the world. So I thank my friend for his question, and I thank again the distinguished vice chairman of the Committee on Rules for his leadership on this and a wide range of other foreign policy initiatives, and again congratulate my friend, the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations for his fine work. Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his response. Bill Gates and others in their eleemosynary undertakings do not have the responsibility that we do here in this body to undertake appropriate foreign undertakings. That said, I would at this time yield 3 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer). Mr. BLUMENAUER. I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in permitting me to speak on this. I rise in support of the open rule. I join my colleagues in praising the leadership of Mr. Kolbe, with whom I have had an opportunity to learn a great deal from his tutelage as Chair and his commitment to foreign affairs, and to watch Mrs. Lowey and Mr. Kolbe make the most out of the difficult budget hand they have been dealt. This is, in fact, a great investment of American tax dollars. It is not just the right thing to do morally, but it does make markets for U.S. goods, it helps developing partners around the world in commerce, and it is much cheaper than the military option. Think of what could have been accomplished with the trillion dollars we will have spent in Iraq. It is time for us, however, I think, for us to consider some adjustments in philosophy and direction. I know there is going to be some proposals later in amendments that would deal with issues regarding Egypt, where we have given some $25 billion since 1979, and, sadly, the repressive tactics against journalists, against people who would exercise their Democratic rights is a sad commentary. And I do not think that we need to be held hostage for putting vast amounts of military assistance into Egypt at a time when they are not responding in ways that are consistent with what we are trying to do. I think sending some modest signals that we are not going to be held hostage is important. [[Page 10453]] Indeed, one-half of the top 25 recipients of United States' arms in the developing world are undemocratic, according to the United States State Department's own record. I think that is an unfortunate commentary. And I will be offering an amendment later in this debate, with my good friend, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), who chairs our Subcommittee on International Affairs on Asia, to divert $250 million from the military aid to put it in assistance that would make a difference for foreign countries around the world to deal with the fact that there are a billion people around the world who live on a dollar a day or less; that every 15 seconds, a child dies from waterborne disease. Indeed, one-half of the people who are sick today anywhere around the world are sick needlessly from waterborne disease. This Chamber, last year, supported bipartisan legislation, the Water for the Poor Act, named after our colleague, Senator Paul Simon, that has the potential of being transformational for these people. But what we need to do is to invest money to make that the case. So I am going to strongly urge that my colleague look at this proposal, much to be commended, but to look at one specific adjustment, putting money away from arms to undemocratic areas where, frankly, it is not the highest priority, and, instead, invest 250 million additional dollars for this critical economic and development aid. Remember, last year, in the total budget for the entire world dealing with this problem of waterborne disease, the entire budget was only $200 million, after we had worked and worked and worked. This budget currently only provides $50 million. We can do more, and I strongly urge consideration of the Leach-Blumenauer amendment. Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to my good friend from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I know that there will be a general debate, but I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge one of the best working teams that we have in the House, and that is the team of Lowey and Kolbe on Foreign Ops. And I want to take this time on the rule to thank Mr. Kolbe for his spirited commitment to Africa and developing nations and his partnership with Mrs. Lowey, who always finds a basis of resolve and, if you will, a solution. So we thank you, and I pay this tribute to Mr. Kolbe on what I believe will be his last Foreign Ops bill. But I agree with Mr. Hastings in suggesting that foreign ops is our face to the world. And with his experience of traveling on behalf of this Nation, I am saddened by what the appropriators have had to do in this foreign ops bill, because we have turned our backs somewhat on the world. We can applaud the special forces as our gun and the bringing down of Zarqawi, but really diplomacy and government and governance is going to win the war in Iraq. So it is important that we have investment in those kinds of issues. Let me speak specifically to the question of Sudan. And although we realize that in addition to the Darfur issues, there are rebel issues, and rebels play a part in the conflict, it is the government of Sudan that needs the overcoming of its attitude of disingenuousness in not paying attention to finding ways to resolve the conflict. I would hope that an amendment, or at least language that I have that focuses on Chad, and realizes that the burden of refugees needs to have additional funding and focus so that the Sudanese situation can move forward, I hope we will have an opportunity to debate that amendment and also include that language but, more importantly, as we move to the Senate, have funding for Chad. I hope we will also recognize that Afghanistan is really the war we can win. Finding now Osama bin Laden, but more importantly, investing into the regional reconstruction plan so that we can have more schools and hospitals and infrastructure for a country that has absolutely nothing, yet its people are inclined to move enthusiastically towards democracy. President Karzai represents stability, and we need to invest more in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Then I hope that we would have the opportunity to address the question of what we call codes of conduct in many of our Islamic countries who overlook the rape of women, gang rapes in fact, where the nations condone the rape to the extent that they allow the cultural mores to exist over the safety and security of women. We have seen this happen throughout the Islamic world, where there are gang rapes and no prosecution. It is extremely important that we focus on these tragedies that are occurring, and they occur in countries that happen to be our allies. So I hope that language on that will be accepted to respond to the rape and pillage of women without any protection whatsoever. I would also add to the Afghan funding is the necessity of protecting the parliamentarians. There is a democratically-elected government in Afghanistan with a large percentage of women parliamentarians who are fearful of going back to their districts. They need security, and that should be the face of the foreign appropriations as well. Meeting with them in Afghanistan just recently, they begged us to provide them with security, security, security. So let me thank the appropriators for doing the best that you could do, but, unfortunately, it does not help the face of America to cut in such crucial areas as have already been mentioned. But in any event, I hope we will have the ability to improve on this in the Senate and as well to not turn our back on the ways that we can add to democratization and add to the security of the world. Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend, Mr. Hastings, and all who have participated in this debate. We are very proud to bring forth this appropriation bill with an open rule. Very proud of the underlying legislation, with over $21 billion in assistance for countries throughout the world to help with disease and with poverty. The American people are very generous, year after year after year, and I am very proud to be a Representative here in this House of that generous people. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered. The resolution was agreed to. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________