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FREEDOM FROM RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION ACT OF 1998
(House of Representatives - May 14, 1998)
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FREEDOM FROM RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION ACT OF 1998
Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules,
I call up House Resolution 430, and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 430
Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule
XXIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of
the bill (
H.R. 2431) to establish an Office of Religious
Persecution Monitoring, to provide for the imposition of
sanctions against countries engaged in a pattern of religious
persecution, and for other purposes. The first reading of the
bill shall be dispensed with. 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 International Relations. After
general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment
under the five-minute rule. In lieu of the amendments
recommended by the Committees on International Relations, the
Judiciary, and Ways and Means now printed in the bill, it
shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the
purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule an amendment
in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of
H.R.
3806, modified by the amendments printed in part 1 of the
report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this
resolution. That amendment in the nature of a substitute
shall be considered as read. No amendment to that amendment
in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those
printed in part 2 of the report of the Committee on Rules.
Each amendment may be offered only in the order printed in
the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the
report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for
the time specified in the report equally divided and
controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be
subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand
for division of the question in the House or in the Committee
of the Whole. All points of order against the amendments
printed in the report are waived. At the conclusion of
consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall
rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as
may have been adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote
in the House on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the
Whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a
substitute made in order as original text. 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. Diaz-Balart)
is recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I
yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Hall), 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, this rule, House Resolution 430, is a structured rule
providing for the consideration of
H.R. 2431, The Freedom from
Religious Persecution Act of 1998. The admirable purpose of this
legislation is to reduce the widespread and ongoing religious
persecution taking place, unfortunately, in many places in the world
today.
{time} 1115
The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate equally divided and
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee
on International Relations, which had primary jurisdiction over the
legislation.
Because the bill was referred to five committees for their
consideration, and three of those committees reported varying versions
of the bill, a new bill for the purpose of amendment,
H.R. 3806, was
introduced last week.
The gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon), chairman of the Committee
on Rules announced on the House floor on May 7 that the bill,
H.R.
3806, would be used as the base text for purposes of amendment. The
rule, therefore, makes in order as an original bill for purposes of
amendment an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the
text of
H.R. 3806 as modified by the amendments in Part 1 of the report
of the Committee on Rules and provides that the amendment in the nature
of a substitute shall be considered as read.
Mr. Speaker, this is a fair rule which allows for a broad range of
amendments on a very narrowly focused bill. The goal of the bill is to
combat religious persecution, and clearly all forms of persecution are
to be condemned. But the crafters of this bill, as I stated, created a
very focused religion-specific bill to make clear that we are focusing
on one particular aspect of unacceptable persecution which must, must
be combated.
Thus, the bill was not brought with an amendment, for example, from
the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) who offered
an amendment which would have expanded the scope of the bill to cover
all forms of persecution prohibited by the Geneva Convention. It was
felt by the framers of the legislation, however, that this bill, to
have an opportunity to be considered and to have an opportunity for
passage, should be framed as specifically and narrowly as it has been.
I believe that the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt), when he
moves forward, if he does, with his concept, will get tremendous
support on a bipartisan basis. I certainly would be supportive of the
effort by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt), but I think
that it is important to keep in mind what the purpose of this bill is.
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It is a very focused, I would maintain, modest and reasonable and,
hopefully, achievable piece of legislation to focus on upon that
egregious and condemnable practice which occurs all too often in
different parts of the world, religious persecution. I would urge my
colleagues to support both this fair rule and the underlying bill.
The bill prohibits Federal agencies and U.S. persons from exporting
goods to entities engaged in religious persecution. I think that is an
important step to demonstrate that we are serious about condemning and
opposing that unconscionable practice.
Mr. Speaker, though the bill has been limited in the process of
amendment and of discussion, this is a very important piece of
legislation that we are dealing with today. I would say it is somewhat
of a definitional piece of legislation for this Congress at this
particular moment in our history.
I often think about what we have witnessed in the last years and the
fact that we are in a transitional moment. I often think about the fact
that, while doubtless, we saw an ``evil empire,'' as President Reagan
often called it, collapse, I wonder what it is that has won. What is it
that has won? And what kind of world is it that we are walking into at
this stage in our history?
In a certain sense that is what we are discussing. That is what will
be discussed and debated with this particular legislation. We have to
decide, ultimately, if what we accept and what we wish to embrace as a
society and as a world, as an international community, is ethics as
some sort of guide, some sort of factor in human conduct; or whether we
are officially going to embrace the law of the jungle, if we are going
to simply embrace the concept, as Dostoyevsky said when he pointed out
that in his belief, those who say that God does not exist in effect are
saying that anything is possible. In other words, if the concept of
ethics will have no relevance whatsoever, then we might as well
officially proclaim that in this era in which we are living.
So what the framers have done, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Wolf), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Gilman), and so many others who have worked so tirelessly
on this legislation, through this legislation, this very focused
legislation, is to say that that particular egregious conduct,
religious persecution, torture, being put into a dungeon, into a cage,
being tortured or killed because of a human being's religious beliefs
and practices is going to be officially, by the United States Congress,
condemned today.
Even though there are all sorts of waivers, as the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Wolf) stated earlier, and he will state subsequently, in
his legislation for the President, the same President who will be,
according to what I am told, standing, in just a few weeks, at
Tiananmen Square, being received officially by the Chinese Government
with all the symbolism that that means in the world of diplomacy, that
there could be no other place to be received in Beijing except
Tiananmen Square.
Even though this bill, as focused as it is, as limited as it is,
grants multiple waiver authority to the President of the United States,
it is, nonetheless, a very important piece of legislation. It is a
piece of legislation that is going to be watched. What we do today is
going to be watched throughout the world and, most especially, by those
who languish in dungeons and in caves and who are tortured and
oppressed because of their religious views and practices.
So I would urge my colleagues to not only support this fair rule, but
the underlying legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I again want to commend the framers of the legislation.
I have great admiration for all of them: the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Gilman), of course, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Hall), who is here, my dear friend on the other side of the aisle and
to whom I have yielded the customary 30 minutes on this rule, a
tireless champion, as well, for human rights and human decency
throughout this world.
I thank them all for their hard work on this legislation and other
similar pieces of legislation that have dignified this Congress in the
past.
So I would urge my colleagues to support the rule. I know that we
have the distinguished presence here of the gentlewoman from Florida
(Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) who will be speaking on the rule, also, by the way,
an extraordinary fighter for human rights.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) for
yielding me the time and his very, very kind words.
Mr. Speaker, this is a structured rule. It will allow debate on
H.R.
2431, which is called the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act. As my
colleague has described, this rule will provide 1 hour of general
debate that will be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and
the ranking minority member of the Committee on International
Relations.
The rule self-executes two amendments. In addition, it makes in order
four amendments which may be offered on the House floor.
Mr. Speaker, religious freedom is one of the most fundamental rights
of Americans. It is enshrined in the first amendment to the
Constitution. It is a foundation of the American government. It is more
than just an American right. The right to freedom of religion is
recognized by international law, including the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
Unfortunately, the brutal suppression of religious expression is all
too common beyond the borders of the United States. In my travels and
in the travels of many of the sponsors of the bill, especially the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and the gentleman from New Jersey
(Mr. Smith), we have witnessed firsthand the extraordinary intolerance
against people who chose to practice their faith outside the officially
approved religions.
In Romania, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and the gentleman
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and I saw churches that were burned down,
people that were thrown in prison, Bibles by the thousands that were
shredded into toilet paper under the official government policy of
repression.
In northern Uganda, I saw Catholic girls who were mutilated for no
other reason than their faith. Their ears and their noses were cut off.
I visited them in the hospitals. It goes on in so many countries in the
world that practice this brutality.
But when I and my fellow House Members would return to the United
States from these countries, there was little we could do about the
horror we saw. We did not have the legal tools necessary to stop it.
The bill before us today is such a tool. The bill was introduced by
my friend, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), who, as I have said
before, I have accompanied on many international trips to investigate
human rights abuses.
His bill establishes the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring
to identify and report on religious persecution. If the Secretary of
State determines persecution exists, then a series of sanctions take
effect, including a prohibition on exports and U.S. foreign aid.
Because of the importance of religious freedom to our Nation, it
seems fair that our government express this in our foreign policy.
While we cannot dictate the internal policies of other countries, we
can direct the State Department and our foreign assistance programs to
deny support for countries and individuals that repress religious
freedom contrary to basic American values.
President Clinton has already taken an important step towards
universal freedom of religious expression by establishing a Commission
on Religious Liberty to advise the State Department. However, I believe
we can do more.
I regret that we are taking up this bill under such a restrictive
rule. I would prefer that we would have more of an open rule, but I
strongly support this bill to express U.S. outrage over the religious
persecution in other countries and to help stop the brutality.
Reluctantly, I do support this rule so that we can proceed with the
consideration of a bill that I consider a most important piece of
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman
from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), my distinguished colleague and friend.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Diaz-Balart), my colleague from Miami, for his leadership on this
issue.
Mr. Speaker, along with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart)
and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), I also rise in strong support
of
H.R. 2431, the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act of 1998. I
especially commend my colleagues, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Wolf), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), and the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Gilman), chairman of the Committee on International
Relations for their leadership and for their dedication in bringing
forward such a critical piece of legislation.
Jose Marti, the man who liberated my homeland of Cuba from tyranny,
said, ``To witness a crime in silence is to be an accomplice of that
crime.''
Today, my colleagues and I are making a statement to the world that
the United States will not stand by silently. We will bear witness to
the thousands of our fellow human beings who are tortured and, indeed,
even murdered for exercising their fundamental right to religious
freedom.
Today, we will give a voice to those whose cries for freedom and
justice have been equaled by violent and repressive regimes that seek
to destroy that which is so precious to us as children of God.
{time} 1130
This bill will help ensure that practicing one's faith will not
become a death sentence, as it has been, unfortunately, for so many
men, women and children throughout the world.
When we speak of religious persecution, we need to fully recognize
that in many countries this does not mean simple harassment, but it
refers to unthinkable, monstrous acts, ranging from imprisonment,
forced slavery, torture, starvation and murder. These acts, endorsed,
and in many cases imposed, by extremist, repressive regimes, have gone
unpunished for too long.
As we reflect on this issue today, we ask that you think of people
like the 18 year old girl from Laos who was arrested by government
forces and is currently sitting in a squalid prison cell. And what is
her crime? Teaching Bible classes to neighborhood children. Or think
about the student from Tibet who did nothing but record traditional
music from Tibet, and, for this offense, he was sentenced to 18 years.
I ask you to picture the father who was shot in the streets of Iran
because he was not in the mosque at prayer time. There are many
prisoners in my native homeland of Cuba who are in jail because they
dared to hold religious meetings at their homes, and there are
evangelical Christians and Jehovahs' Witnesses routinely harassed in
Cuba.
These are just a few examples of the grim destiny that so many of our
global brothers and sisters face at the hands of those who hold no
respect for religious beliefs and no respect for human life.
Religious persecution following the Cold War has not diminished.
Sadly, it has only persisted, and has now reached new heights.
H.R.
2431 will provide a permanent mechanism for the United States to
investigate religious persecution and ensure that these cases receive
high priority at the State Department.
By creating an Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring within the
State Department, we will help to develop a mechanism that will help to
strengthen and improve our methods of addressing religious freedom and
persecution throughout the world. If and when a country is identified
in engaging in widespread and ongoing acts of persecution, the United
States would terminate non-humanitarian U.S. foreign aid and require
U.S. opposition to loans to such regimes from taxpayer supported
international agencies. It bans the export of torture and other crime
control related supplies to offending countries, and it bans visas to
known persecutors.
This bill furthers U.S. interests by ensuring that U.S. funds do not
go to pariah states which engage in practices that run contrary to our
values and our beliefs and which violate basic human dignity. Through
this bill, we will finally shine light into the eyes of those who seek
to oppress and destroy lives, and we will hold them responsible for
their cruel acts.
Pope John Paul II has said,
Religious persecution is an intolerable and unjustifiable
violation of the most fundamental human freedom, that of
practicing one's faith openly, which for human beings is
their reason for living.
Let us not stand idly by while thousands continue to suffer. Let us
make these rogue regimes accountable for their crimes against humanity.
Let us render strong support for
H.R. 2431.
I once again congratulate the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for
his tenacity, dedication, and never-wavering focus on the issue of
religious persecution worldwide. I regret the bill has been changed as
it has moved through the committee process, but it definitely is still
a powerful weapon to foster international religious freedom. We are
truly blessed in this house to have a man of vision like the gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) guiding our efforts.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) for
yielding me this time.
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman
from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).
Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by joining my friend, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) in praising the work of the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Hall). There is not a person in this body more respected on
issues related to hunger and protecting the rights of people who have
been persecuted around the world for whatever reason than the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Hall). I want to associate myself with comments that
have been made in praise of the gentleman by the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Diaz-Balart).
Mr. Speaker, I am rising in opposition to the rule on this bill. I
rise in opposition to the rule because the Committee on Rules ruled
that an amendment that I attempted to offer on the floor was not in
order. I think the Committee on Rules should have made my amendment in
order.
There is not a person in this house or in our country, I believe, who
would not find offensive and abhorrent the abduction, enslavement,
killing, imprisonment, rape, crucifixion or any forms of torture, which
this bill condemns and sanctions. This bill condemns and sanctions
those forms of torture, but it does it only when the victims are
tortured because of religious beliefs.
The amendment that I sought to offer would have expanded this bill to
offer the same kind of protections for those persecuted because of
race, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political
opinion.
This bill sets up two new categories in the law, a category 1 and a
category 2, for people who have been enslaved or killed for religious
persecution, and, by doing so, implies that somehow religious
persecution is more abhorrent than persecution for other reasons, such
as race or political belief or nationality or group membership.
The very example that the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart)
referred to about the President going to China and standing in
Tiananmen Square, imagine, if you would, that the tanks in Tiananmen
Square had just rolled right over the protesters there. Nothing in this
bill would address that issue, because those protesters were there for
political reasons, not for religious reasons.
So I rise to say all forms of persecution, whether they are for
religious reasons, whether they are for racial reasons, whether they
are for nationality reasons, whether they are because people are
standing up for their political beliefs, most often in defense of
democracy, all forms of persecution should be covered under this bill.
And the Committee on Rules has decided that it will not allow an
amendment to be debated on this floor, to be considered and voted on on
this floor, that would expand the coverage of this bill to those other
forms of persecution. By doing so, it is implying to the world that
somehow religious persecution should be given extra protection and
heightened priority.
[[Page
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Mr. Speaker, we should provide special protections against all forms
of persecution.
Some people would have you believe that we are paying less attention
to religious persecution in the world than we are to the other kinds of
persecution that I have made reference to, but let me suggest that that
is simply not the case.
The United States has 78,000 refugee slots allocated for 1998.
Twenty-five thousand of those funded slots are allocated to those
Bosnians who are Muslim. Religious reasons. Twenty-one thousand of
those slots are allocated to religious minorities from the former
Soviet Union. So 59 percent of our refugee allocation is set aside for
victims of religious persecution in one way or another. Does that mean
that we are treating religious persecution in some lesser fashion? I
think not.
The only thing I would say to this body is that this bill ought to be
broader, and everybody keeps telling me, ``Well, you ought to go and
introduce a separate bill.''
My response to that is, we have a bill on the floor. If everybody
thinks this is a good idea to expand the protections in this bill to
victims of persecution based on race, nationality, group membership or
political opinion, as the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart)
indicated everybody does, then put it in this bill, and let us vote it
up or down. Because it is not in the bill and the amendment has not
been made in order, I oppose this rule.
Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I agree with what the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr.
Watt) has said. I think we have to recognize that we have a coalition
of interests opposing us that, in effect, want there to be absolutely
no sanctions on any sort of conduct anywhere in the world, and that the
law of the world should be if there is a buck to be made anywhere, no
matter what the conditions, no matter under what the circumstances, no
matter if it is dealing in or contributing to the most horrendous
conduct conceivable, that that is acceptable. That is the coalition
against us.
The message that we will send out today to that coalition, to the
world and to those who are imprisoned, is that we will not be defeated,
and that we are going to continue to make progress.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to my dear friend, the distinguished
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), a leader in human rights throughout
the world.
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I
appreciate the comments of the gentleman, and I appreciate the comments
the gentleman made about my very good friend, the gentleman from Ohio
(Mr. Hall). I second those, and completely agree.
Passing this bill will say to the world that the United States will
no longer remain silent while people of faith are being tortured--
because that is what this bill covers--enslaved, abducted and killed
for their religious beliefs. Passing the bill will shatter the silence.
There are troubling things taking place all over the world. In the
past decade in Sudan alone, 1.5 million Christians and Muslims and
Animists have been killed for their faith. Starvation is that
government's weapon of choice, liberally spiced with high altitude
bombing in the villages, and mass murders. And there is slavery, the
selling into slavery in Sudan of young Sudanese boys and girls.
In China, Catholic priests and bishops are imprisoned today, as we
now speak, some for decades, simply for offering holy communion.
Protestant pastors are thrown in jail for having house church services,
and Muslims suffer persecution, as do Buddhist monks and nuns in Tibet.
In Tibet, where I have been, China's government has systematically
destroyed up to 4,000 to 6,000 monasteries, and the government tightly
controls all of the existing monasteries.
Many around the world are enduring hardships simply because they
practice their faith. They endure mostly in silence and away from the
public spotlight and with little hope of improvement. This bill would
apply to all faiths, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and all
others.
This bill is moderate, it is balanced, and this bill gives the
President total waiver authority, meaning that if the President does
not want this bill to go into effect, it will not go into effect.
Finally, the bill, I think, will send a message to help so many
people. It is a bipartisan effort, Republicans and Democratic Members
alike, with 131 cosponsors.
I will tell Members, on three different occasions I personally have
looked into the eyes of young boys in southern Sudanese refugee
villages who have lost their moms and dads and had nobody to care for
them.
{time} 1145
I have seen the monasteries that are plundered in Tibet and the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and I have been to Beijing Prison
No. 1 in China.
Cardinal O'Connor of New York wrote a letter yesterday where he said,
``The Freedom From Religious Persecution Act could begin the
desperately needed process of ending the legitimizing of such
persecution. In my judgment,'' Cardinal O'Connor said, ``its passage
would be an act of historic proportions.''
Catholic Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, who just returned from China
said, and I quote from a letter yesterday, ``The bill represents a
modest step that reflects the growing awareness that this vital human
rights issue has too often been overlooked, and a growing conviction
that the core American values, including religious liberty, must play a
proper role in foreign policy.''
Other supporters of the bill, and there are so many, are the
International Campaign for Tibet, the Christian Coalition, the U.S.
Catholic Bishops Conference, the Family Research Council, the National
Jewish Coalition, the Anti-Defamation League, the Religious Action
Center for Reformed Judaism. The Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious
Liberty Commission, the American Family Association, Prison Fellowship
Ministries, the Union of Orthodox Congregations of America, the
Salvation Army, the Catholic Alliance, B'Nai B'rith, and many, many
others. This bill is also supported by so many others that we will put
their names in the Record.
Mr. Speaker, when this bill hopefully becomes law, America will
reaffirm for the world that we still honor those words that Jefferson
penned where he said: ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men women are created equal, endowed by their Creator, by God, with
life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.''
These words by Jefferson were not just for Virginians, they were not
only for Americans, but they were for people around the world. Passage
of the bill will reaffirm the words of President Reagan where he said,
``We must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole
prerogative of a lucky few, but the inalienable and universal right of
all human beings.''
The last two points. If this bill were to fail, can we imagine what
the prison wardens would say to those who are imprisoned in Sudan
today, those who are in the ghost houses? What that would say would be
that nobody cares. On the other hand, when this Congress passes this
bill, and those in Yei and Torit and little villages in southern Sudan
and those in little villages in China, as they tune into their crystal
radio sets and listen, they will know that the people's House, the
United States Government, the United States Congress has stood on
behalf of those who are persecuted. And it will send a message, as
Natan Sharansky said when he was in the old Soviet Perm 35 and he heard
that the Congress stood for him; it will send a message that we stand
for the least of these and we stand with them boldly, whereby those
words of Jefferson hold true for everybody around the world.
Mr. Speaker, I urge and plead that everyone support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
H.R. 2431, the Freedom from
Religious Persecution Act. Passing this bill will say to the world that
the United States will no longer remain silent while people of faith
around the world are being tortured, enslaved, abducted and killed for
their religious beliefs. For too long the U.S. has remained silent on
this issue--passing
H.R. 2431 helps shatter that silence.
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There are troubling things taking place in the world. In just the
past decade, the government of Sudan has killed or allowed to starve
over a million of its own people. The fallen--mostly Christians,
Animists and some Muslims in southern Sudan--are victims of a religious
war. Starvation is that government's weapon of choice, liberally spiced
with high-altitude bombing, mass murder and even selling Sudanese boys
and girls as slaves.
In China, Catholic priests and bishops are in prison--some for
decades, simply for practicing their faith. Protestant pastors are
thrown in jail just for holding house church services. Muslims suffer
persecution, as do Buddhist monks and nuns.
In Tibet, the Chinese government has systematically destroyed up to
five thousand Buddhist monasteries. The monasteries still standing have
a cadre of Chinese police to monitor what goes on. The government
tightly controls the activities of the monks and nuns and even pictures
of the Dalai Lama are forbidden.
In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims and Christians are victimized by the
ominously named ``blasphemy'' law under which those who speak against
the prophet Mohammed can be given the death sentence. Just last week,
as we prepared to debate this bill, one of Pakistan's leading Catholic
bishops, Bishop John Joseph committed suicide to protest a death
sentence handed down to Christian Ayub Masih. Bishop Joseph reportedly
said just before putting a shot through his head ``It is no longer
possible for my people to live in Pakistan.''
Many around the world are enduring hardships simply because they
practice their faith. They endure mostly in silence and away from the
public spotlight and with little hope for a brighter tomorrow. The
Freedom from Religious Persecution Act is for them. It would apply to
people of all faiths--Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and
others.
The bill establishes the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring
at the State Department--a permanent mechanism to monitor religious
persecution overseas. Countries found to be engaged in ``widespread and
ongoing'' persecution which involves abduction, enslavement, killing,
imprisonment, forced mass relocation, rape, torture or the imposition
of particularly severe fines, would be named and subjected to four
punitive actions. These actions are:
(1) A ban on non-humanitarian foreign aid;
(2) A ban on visas to individuals known to be responsible for
persecution;
(3) A ban on U.S. support for loans by international financial
institutions to offending countries, and
(4) Two narrowly-targeted export bans which ban the sale of items
used for torture to offending countries and the direct export of goods
to entities responsible for persecution.
The bill is moderate and balanced. It provides the President with the
authority to waive the sanctions when national security interests would
be served or if waiving the sanctions would ``promote the objectives of
the act.''
Finally, the bill imposes sanctions on the government of Sudan until
it ceases its massive campaign of religious persecution--the same
sanctions that were imposed on the government of South Africa in the
1980's for its immoral apartheid policy.
When America speaks out, it makes a difference. Just ask noted
Russian Jewish dissident Natan Sharansky, who languished for years in
Soviet gulags as a prisoner of conscience. He sent a letter to a group
of religious leaders gathered to talk about this bill, ``When the West
stood up for its most basic values and spoke up for persecuted Soviet
Jewish communities, Soviet chains around churches and political
dissidents began to shatter.''
This bill has broad bipartisan support--over 131 cosponsors. It is
supported by a broad coalition of religious and civic groups.
For example, Wei Jingsheng, one of China's most well known and well
respected political dissidents, supports
H.R. 2431. I quote from his
recent letter:
I have personally witnessed the oppression and exploitation
of religious groups and individuals that occurs today in
China. The true situation may be difficult for Americans to
imagine, and it is difficult for the Chinese people to
imagine. If I did not see it myself, even I would not imagine
the shameful and despicable means the Communists use against
religious believers . . . I feel that if a government such as
China which for such a long time totally denied the rights of
freedom of religion to its citizens cannot receive sanction,
than it is completely unjust. I urge the friends of human
rights to support this effort.
I submit Wei's entire letter for the record. He knows that pressure
works--he's out of jail today because the U.S. pressed for his release.
Cardinal O'Connor of New York says, and I quote,
The Freedom from Religious Prosecution Act could begin the
desperately needed process of ending the legitimizing of such
persecution. In my judgment, its passage would be an act of
historic proportions.
Archbishop Theodore McCarrick says,
The bill represents a modest step that reflects growing
awareness that this vital human rights issue has too often
been overlooked, and a growing conviction that core American
values--including respect for religious liberty--must play
proper roles in shaping the U.S. foreign policy agenda.
Both letters are submitted for the Record.
Other supporters of the bill include: the International Campaign for
Tibet, the Christian Coalition, the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference,
the Family Research Council, the National Jewish Coalition, the Anti-
Defamation League, the Religious Action Center for Reformed Judaism,
the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the
American Family Association, Prison Fellowship Ministries, the Union of
Orthodox Congregations of America, the Salvation Army, the Catholic
Alliance and B'Nai B'rith.
The bill is also supported by a number of groups representing ethnic
groups suffering persecution like the American Coptic Association, the
Cardinal Kung Foundation, the Free Vietnam Alliance, the Pakistani-
American Association, the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam and Southern
Sudanese in America.
And there are many, many more. A total list of supporters is
submitted for the Record. All have worked tirelessly to pass this bill
and I thank them for their efforts.
When
H.R. 2431 becomes law, America will reaffirm for all the world
that we still honor those ringing words in the Declaration of
Independence that, ``We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
Men [and women] are created equal * * * endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the
Pursuit of Happiness.''
These words by Thomas Jefferson are not for America alone, but for
people everywhere. And passage of this bill will reaffirm the words of
President Ronald Reagan, spoken on a different occasion, when he said,
``We must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole
prerogative of a lucky few, but the inalienable and universal right of
all human beings.''
I urge you to vote for
H.R. 2431. It will help people of faith
everywhere.
Organizations in Support of
H.R. 2431
American Baptist Evangelicals
American Coptic Association
American Copts of California
American Family Association
Anti-Defamation League
Assyrian Academic Alliance
Assyrian National Congress
Assyrian National Foundation
B'Nai B'rith
Campus Crusade for Christ
Cardinal Kung Foundation
Catholic Alliance
Christian Coalition
Christian Legal Society
Christian Reformed Church
Christian Solidarity International
Concerned Women for America
Empower America
Ethics and Public Policy Center
Evangelical Free Church of America
Evangelicals for Social Action
Family Research Council
Focus on the Family
Freedom House's Puebla Program
Institute on Religion and Democracy
International Campaign for Tibet
International Christian Concern
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Iranian Christian International
National Association of Evangelicals
National Jewish Coalition
National Religious Broadcasters
Open Doors with Brother Andrew
Prison Fellowship Ministries
Religious Action Center for Reformed Judaism
The Rutherford Institute
The Salvation Army
Seventh Day Adventist Church
Southern Baptist Convention
U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
Voice of the Martyrs
World Evangelical Fellowship-Religious Liberty Commission
The Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights Under Islamization
Advocates International
Agape International
American Coptic Association
American Coptic Union
Asian Christian Ministries
Assyrian International News Agency
Assyrian National Congress
Assyrian Political Review
Bangladesh Reformed Presbyterian Theological
Seminary
Bet-Nahrain
Canadian Coptic Association
Christian Amnesty
Christian Copts of California
Christian Voice of Pakistan
Coptic American Friendship Association
Coalition Committee of Experts
Coming Home USA
CREED
Egyptian Relief Agency
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Eritrean Academic Committee
Federation of Hindu Associations
Foundation for Faith in Search of Understanding
Freedom USA
Institute on Religion and Democracy
Indo-American Kashmir Forum
International AWAZ
International Christian Concern
Iranian Christians International
HIS
Jubilee Campaign
Law and Liberty Trust
Lebanese Organization of New York
MECHRIC
Middle East Research Center
National Interreligious Task Force
New Sudan Foundation
Operation Nehemiah for South Sudan
Open Doors-Netherlands
Pakistani-American Association
Pakistani Apostolate
Persecution Relief
Research and Education Foundation
South Lebanese Christian Association
Southern Sudanese in America
Southern Sudan Resource Center
Society of St. Stephen
The Trinitarians Religious Freedom Program
Toronto Coptic Association
Wake-up Coalition
World Evangelical Fellowship-Religious Liberty Commission
World Lebanese Organization
World Maronite Union
Zwemer Institute of Muslim Studies
____
Christian Legal Society,
Annandale, VA, May 11, 1998.
Hon. Newt Gingrich, Richard Gephardt, Dick Armey, and David
Bonior,
U.S. Congress,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker, Congressmen Gephardt, Armey, and Bonior:
We take great heart from recent House actions in support of a
growing, nationwide movement of conscience against religious
persecution.
We are deeply grateful for the stunning 31-5 House
International Relations Committee vote in favor of the
Freedom From Religious Persecution Act. We are further
grateful for the House Leadership's scheduling of a floor
vote on this Act on May 14. We note as well Senate Leadership
commitments to ensure 105th Congress consideration of anti-
persecution legislation. These developments are critical
steps towards achieving the imperative goal of ending today's
widespread and ongoing persecutions of vulnerable communities
of faith.
Because further Congressional action remains to be taken,
we believe it useful to set out our view of the elements
necessary for effective legislation.
In so doing we again endorse the Freedom From Religious
Persecution Act, in the strongest terms, and reiterate our
intent to work for its rapid passage. The Act's prospects in
the House result from efforts of a broad coalition of
religious groups and such House leaders as Representatives
Wolf, Berman, Gilman, Gjedenson, Hall, Pelosi, Chris Smith
and Majority Leader Armey. We believe that these efforts will
produce historic legislation, and for the following reasons:
The Act's baseline sanction of withdrawing non-humanitarian
foreign aid from persecuting regimes is both limited and
meaningful--and will be a powerful tool to end the threats of
murder, torture, rape, starvation and enslavement now faced
by millions of believers.
The Act's limited but targeted focus on hard-core
persecution ensures that its reach will not exceed its grasp.
The Act's waiver provisions fully allow the President to
maintain non-humanitarian aid to persecution regimes while
also creating real accountability on his part if he chooses
to do so.
The Act's small, distinguished and independent office will
have no policy-making authority--thus leading to fact-based,
less politicized findings of whether and where religious
persecution actually occurs.
The Act's application of the South Africa sanctions against
Sudan will ensure that we treat genocide with no less resolve
than was brought to bear against apartheid.
The Act's moderate reform of immigration practices, in a
manner fully consistent with existing immigration law, will
help secure traditional American protection for victims of
religious persecution.
Because various provisions of the Act may be the subject of
amendments on the House floor, we believe it useful to set
forth our views on a number of important matters.
Sudan: This is a regime responsible for wholesale torture,
rape, starvation, murder and enslavement of religious
communities. Thus, the Act's Sudan provision reflects a
central moral premise of our movement--the need for full
parity in America's resistance to South African apartheid and
Sudanese genocide. We urge the House to restore the most
effective sanction against this regime: a ban on imports from
the Sudan.
Immigration Reform: Given America's establishment as a
haven for victims of religious persecution, today's often-
hostile treatment of religious asylum claimants is deeply
troublesome. Yet, despite statutory provisions barring the
summary exclusion of some classes of asylum applicants, the
Act maintains the Immigration Service's right to summarily
exclude religious asylum applicants without full hearings.
The Act's modest reforms represent minimal progress in a
critical area of concern. We will fight hard to restore them.
Non-Humanitarian Foreign Aid: The Act's response to regimes
engaged in ``widespread and ongoing'' acts of hard-core
religious persecution--ending their non-humanitarian taxpayer
subsidies--qualifies as a ``sanction'' only by stretching the
meaning of that term. We believe it axiomatic that no
taxpayer subsidies should go towards such regimes, and
therefore strongly oppose the removal of Export Import Bank
subsidies from the Act's reach. Further, because Presidential
waivers can restore those subsidies, and because some hard-
core persecutors will be largely unaffected by the
Act without withdrawal of Export-Import Bank subsidies, we
strongly believe that the Act will not have its necessary
effectiveness without this vital feature.
The Freedom From Religious Persecution Act is moderate in
its responses to persecution but serious about putting those
responses into effect. It will make the President accountable
if he exercises his broad authority to waive its sanctions.
By its targeted focus on hard-core persecution it offers real
protection to vulnerable believers. It will deal evenhandedly
with all persecuting regimes, whether strong or weak. It is
modeled on the Jackson-Vanik law, which helped bring freedom
to people of all faiths in the Soviet Union and elsewhere. It
puts America on the right side of history and ensures that
the world will not see us as the Swiss are now seen to be--a
country willing to abet evil in the pursuit of expedient
goals and short-term financial gain.
Prayerfully and with full determination, we intend to work
for the Act's overwhelming adoption by the House, and for
Congressional enactment of effective legislation. We remain
at your pleasure in our continuing effort to realize this
long-needed and historic outcome.
Respectfully,
John Ackerly, President, International Campaign for
Tibet; The Right Reverend Keith Ackerman, The Episcopal
Church, Bishop of Quincy; William Armstrong, Former
U.S. Senator (1979-1990); Gary L. Bauer, President,
Family Research Council; William J. Bennett, Co-
Director, Empower America; Dr. Bill Bright, President,
Campus Crusade for Christ; Charles Colson, Chairman of
the Board, Prison Fellowship Ministries; Michael
Cromartie, Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy
Center; Nathan J. Diament, Director, Institute for
Public Affairs, The Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregation of America; Bishop Alex D. Dickson,
Director, Institute for Christian Leadership, and Vice
President, American Anglican Council; Dr. James Dobson,
President, Focus on the Family; Rev. John C. Eby,
National Coordinator, American Baptist Evangelicals;
Sam Elisha, Director, Special Ministries Division, HIS
International, Inc.; David H. Engelhard, General
Secretary, Christian Reformed Church of North America;
Edward L. Foggs, General Secretary, Leadership Council,
Church of God; Deacon Keith A. Fournier, Catholic
Alliance; Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, Anti-
Defamation League; Jim Geist, Executive Director,
Interfaith Alliance for Christian Human Rights; Chris
Gersten, President, Institute for Religious Values; Dr.
Scott M. Gibson, President, American Baptist
Evangelicals; Dr. Os Guinness, Senior Fellow, The
Trinity Forum; E. Brandt Gustavson, President, National
Religious Broadcasters; Michael Horowitz, Director,
Project for International Religious Freedom, Hudson
Institute; Clyde M. Hughes, General Overseer,
International Pentecostal Church of Christ; Charles
****, Research Director, American Anti-Slavery Group;
James Jacobson, President, Christian Freedom
International; The Right Reverend Stephen H. Jecko, The
Episcopal Church, Bishop of Florida; D. James Kennedy,
Ph. D., Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church; Ed Koch,
Former Mayor of New York City, New York; Diane
Knippers, Institute on Religion and Democracy; Bishop
Richard W. Kohl, Evangelical Congregational Church;
Shawley F. Koras, President, American Coptic
Association; Dr. Beverly LaHaye, Chairman, Concerned
Women for America; Dr. Richard Land, President and CEO,
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Southern
Baptist Convention; Dr. Duane Litfin, President,
Wheaton College; Michael McConnell, Presidential
Professor, University of Utah College of Law; Steven T.
McFarland, Director, Center for Law and Religious
Freedom, Christian Legal Society; Michael Medved, Film
Critic, Radio Host; Rev. Dr. Peter Moore, Dean and
President, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry;
Father Richard Neuhaus, Editor-in-Chief, First Things
Journal, Institute on Religion and Public Life; Michael
Novak, George Frederick Jewett Chair, in Religion and
Public Policy, American Enterprise Institute; Marvin
Olasky, Editor, World Magazine; The Very Rev. Keith
Roderick, Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights
Under Islamization; Rabbi David Saperstein, Director,
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Nina Shea,
Director, Center for Religious Freedom, Freedom House;
Ronald J. Sider, President, Evangelicals for Social
Action; Steven L. Snyder, President, International
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H3269]]
Christian Concern; Jack Stone, General Secretary,
Headquarters Operations Officer, Church of the
Nazarene; Randy Tate, Executive Director, Christian
Coalition; Jim Wallis, Editor-in-Chief, Sojourners
Magazine; The Right Reverend William C. Wantland, The
Episcopal Church, Bishop of Eau Claire; Commissioner
Robert A. Watson, National Commander, The Salvation
Army; Tom White, The Voice of the Martyrs.
____
Wei Jingsheng Foundation,
Washington, DC, May 12, 1998.
To All Members of the House of Representatives:
I have recently heard that you will soon consider the
Freedom from Religious Persecution Act that is sponsored by
my friend Congressman Frank Wolf. I want to express the great
interest I have for this effort to sanction the Chinese
communist authorities for their denial of the basic right of
freedom of religion.
I strongly believe that the freedom of religious beliefs is
one important component of man's fundamental human rights.
The Chinese communist leadership continues to trample on
freedom of religion as it tramples on the basic rights of all
Chinese people. I have personally witnessed the oppression
and exploitation of religious groups and individuals that
occurs today in China. The true situation may be difficult
for Americans to imagine, and it is difficult for the Chinese
people to imagine. If I did not see myself, even I would not
imagine the shameful and despicable means the Communists use
against religious relievers.
I feel that if a government such as China which has for
such a long time totally denied the rights of freedom of
religion to its citizens cannot receive sanction, then it is
completely unjust. I urge the friends of human rights to
support this effort.
Respectfully,
Wei Jingsheng.
____
Cardinal's Office,
New York, NY, May 12, 1998.
Hon. Frank R. Wolf,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Congressman Wolf: Be assured of my strong support for
the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act and my firm hope
that the House of Representatives will vote in favor of it
overwhelmingly.
I have been following the tragic course of religious
persecution with close attention for many years. No religious
body can assume itself to be exempt. The Freedom from
Religious Persecution Act could begin the desperately needed
process of ending the legitimizing of such persecution. In my
judgment, its passage would be an act of courage of historic
proportions.
I am deeply grateful for your personal role.
Faithfully,
Cardinal O'Connor,
Archbishop of New York.
____
International Campaign
for Tibet,
Washington, DC, May 13, 1998.
Hon. Benjamin A. Gilman,
Chairman, Committee on International Relations, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Gilman: It has come to my attention that some
House Members are using a May 11 New York Times column by
Anthony Lewis to advance the position that the Dalai Lama
opposes ``The Freedom from Religious Persecution Act,''
scheduled for a vote in the House tomorrow.
It is the custom of the Dalai Lama not to take a position
on specific U.S. legislation. However, he has been aware for
many months of Frank Wolf's particular efforts to advance the
issue of religious freedom in the Congress. In February of
this year the Dalai Lama sent a message, which I enclose, to
a Washington meeting on religious persecution which focused
on strategies to advance the Wolf bill. I also enclose
remarks he made this morning at the Wisconsin state
legislature, the column mentioned above, and a letter to the
editor from Rabbi David Saperstein taking issue with Mr.
Lewis' ``misassessment.''
It would be unfortunate if the efforts of the International
Campaign for Tibet, Students for Free Tibet and other U.S.
Tibet support groups to bring attention to the fact of
religious persecution in Tibet and to gain Congressional
support for Mr. Wolf's bill were eclipsed by a
misrepresentation of the Dalai Lama's views in the final
hours of debate.
I hope you will share this information with your colleagues
should the need arise.
Sincerely,
Mary Beth Markey,
Director of Government Relations.
____
Message of the Dalai Lama
All religions teach compassion and aim to alleviate
suffering. It is therefore no surprise that Christian men and
women in the United States have taken on a campaign to end
the suffering of those persecuted around the world for their
religious faith. As a Tibetan and a monk, I am deeply
gratified by the efforts you are undertaking to draw
attention to China's policies in my country which are
increasingly focused on the eradication of the Tibetan
Buddhist culture.
While many people remember Mao Tse-tung's terrible
admonition that ``religion is poison,'' few people understand
that this remains China's policy on religion to this day, nor
do they understand the insidious nature of that government's
involvement in religion practice in China and Tibet. For
example, in my country, monasteries and temples are under the
purview of the Religious Affairs Bureau (a local government
body), the local Communist Party Committee, Party work teams,
and branches of police stations set up under the Public
Security Bureau. Since 1959, almost every monastery has been
overseen by a Democratic Management Committee (DMC) which
manages the monastery's affairs including religious affairs,
study, security and finances. These DMCs have supplanted the
traditional role of abbot in guiding the religious and
administrative functioning of the monastery.
The Tibetan people are deeply religious and suffer great
cruelties for their faith. From the Buddhist point of view,
this suffering is in itself a kind of teaching and benefits
the spiritual growth of the individual. I know that suffering
is of special significance in the Christian faith as Jesus
himself took on the suffering of mankind. Your campaign to
end religious persecution bears witness to the suffering of
others, challenging devout men and women to recommit to the
teachings of their faith, which includes the development of
compassion, not just to friends, but to everyone. Again, I
commend you for your compassionate work for peace in Tibet
and in the world.
____
Department of Social
Development and World Peace,
Washington, DC, May 11, 1998.
U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Member: I am writing to renew our support for the
Freedom from Religious Persecution Act (
H.R. 2431), which
passed the House International Relations Committee by an
overwhelmingly 35-1 vote.
The Freedom from Religious Persecution Act rightly links
U.S. aid to a country's performance on religious liberty, a
linkage that the U.S. Catholic bishops have long urged for
the full range of fundamental human rights. This bill
represents a modest step that reflects growing awareness that
this vital human rights issue has too often been overlooked,
and a growing conviction that core American values--including
respect for religious liberty--must play proper roles in
shaping the U.S. foreign policy agenda.
The Freedom from Religious Persecution Act, as revised,
covers persecution against believers of all faiths in all
countries. The bill provides appropriate responses to the
most egregious forms of religious persecution involving
widespread killing, torture, enslavement, forced relocation
and the like. It ends military aid, sales and financing to
some of the world's most brutal regimes that, in many cases,
also violate the full range of fundamental human rights. The
bill also ends most other forms of U.S. assistance, while
exempting humanitarian and development aid to avoid indirect
harm to those whom the bill seeks to help. It does not impose
embargoes, but rather imposes modest, highly-targeted
sanctions against specific governmental entities directly
involved in egregious persecution.
In addition, the revised bill provides ample waivers for
national security reasons and for cases where the president
deems sanctions counter-productive. Finally, the revised bill
contains other helpful features, such as improved training
for asylum and foreign service officers.
As pastors of a universal Church we are all too familiar
with the human face of religious persecution. That is why we
respectfully urge you to support
Major Actions:
All articles in House section
FREEDOM FROM RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION ACT OF 1998
(House of Representatives - May 14, 1998)
Text of this article available as:
TXT
PDF
[Pages
H3263-H3294]
FREEDOM FROM RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION ACT OF 1998
Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules,
I call up House Resolution 430, and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 430
Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule
XXIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of
the bill (
H.R. 2431) to establish an Office of Religious
Persecution Monitoring, to provide for the imposition of
sanctions against countries engaged in a pattern of religious
persecution, and for other purposes. The first reading of the
bill shall be dispensed with. 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 International Relations. After
general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment
under the five-minute rule. In lieu of the amendments
recommended by the Committees on International Relations, the
Judiciary, and Ways and Means now printed in the bill, it
shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the
purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule an amendment
in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of
H.R.
3806, modified by the amendments printed in part 1 of the
report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this
resolution. That amendment in the nature of a substitute
shall be considered as read. No amendment to that amendment
in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those
printed in part 2 of the report of the Committee on Rules.
Each amendment may be offered only in the order printed in
the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the
report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for
the time specified in the report equally divided and
controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be
subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand
for division of the question in the House or in the Committee
of the Whole. All points of order against the amendments
printed in the report are waived. At the conclusion of
consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall
rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as
may have been adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote
in the House on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the
Whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a
substitute made in order as original text. 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. Diaz-Balart)
is recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I
yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Hall), 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, this rule, House Resolution 430, is a structured rule
providing for the consideration of
H.R. 2431, The Freedom from
Religious Persecution Act of 1998. The admirable purpose of this
legislation is to reduce the widespread and ongoing religious
persecution taking place, unfortunately, in many places in the world
today.
{time} 1115
The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate equally divided and
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee
on International Relations, which had primary jurisdiction over the
legislation.
Because the bill was referred to five committees for their
consideration, and three of those committees reported varying versions
of the bill, a new bill for the purpose of amendment,
H.R. 3806, was
introduced last week.
The gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon), chairman of the Committee
on Rules announced on the House floor on May 7 that the bill,
H.R.
3806, would be used as the base text for purposes of amendment. The
rule, therefore, makes in order as an original bill for purposes of
amendment an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the
text of
H.R. 3806 as modified by the amendments in Part 1 of the report
of the Committee on Rules and provides that the amendment in the nature
of a substitute shall be considered as read.
Mr. Speaker, this is a fair rule which allows for a broad range of
amendments on a very narrowly focused bill. The goal of the bill is to
combat religious persecution, and clearly all forms of persecution are
to be condemned. But the crafters of this bill, as I stated, created a
very focused religion-specific bill to make clear that we are focusing
on one particular aspect of unacceptable persecution which must, must
be combated.
Thus, the bill was not brought with an amendment, for example, from
the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) who offered
an amendment which would have expanded the scope of the bill to cover
all forms of persecution prohibited by the Geneva Convention. It was
felt by the framers of the legislation, however, that this bill, to
have an opportunity to be considered and to have an opportunity for
passage, should be framed as specifically and narrowly as it has been.
I believe that the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt), when he
moves forward, if he does, with his concept, will get tremendous
support on a bipartisan basis. I certainly would be supportive of the
effort by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt), but I think
that it is important to keep in mind what the purpose of this bill is.
[[Page
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It is a very focused, I would maintain, modest and reasonable and,
hopefully, achievable piece of legislation to focus on upon that
egregious and condemnable practice which occurs all too often in
different parts of the world, religious persecution. I would urge my
colleagues to support both this fair rule and the underlying bill.
The bill prohibits Federal agencies and U.S. persons from exporting
goods to entities engaged in religious persecution. I think that is an
important step to demonstrate that we are serious about condemning and
opposing that unconscionable practice.
Mr. Speaker, though the bill has been limited in the process of
amendment and of discussion, this is a very important piece of
legislation that we are dealing with today. I would say it is somewhat
of a definitional piece of legislation for this Congress at this
particular moment in our history.
I often think about what we have witnessed in the last years and the
fact that we are in a transitional moment. I often think about the fact
that, while doubtless, we saw an ``evil empire,'' as President Reagan
often called it, collapse, I wonder what it is that has won. What is it
that has won? And what kind of world is it that we are walking into at
this stage in our history?
In a certain sense that is what we are discussing. That is what will
be discussed and debated with this particular legislation. We have to
decide, ultimately, if what we accept and what we wish to embrace as a
society and as a world, as an international community, is ethics as
some sort of guide, some sort of factor in human conduct; or whether we
are officially going to embrace the law of the jungle, if we are going
to simply embrace the concept, as Dostoyevsky said when he pointed out
that in his belief, those who say that God does not exist in effect are
saying that anything is possible. In other words, if the concept of
ethics will have no relevance whatsoever, then we might as well
officially proclaim that in this era in which we are living.
So what the framers have done, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Wolf), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Gilman), and so many others who have worked so tirelessly
on this legislation, through this legislation, this very focused
legislation, is to say that that particular egregious conduct,
religious persecution, torture, being put into a dungeon, into a cage,
being tortured or killed because of a human being's religious beliefs
and practices is going to be officially, by the United States Congress,
condemned today.
Even though there are all sorts of waivers, as the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Wolf) stated earlier, and he will state subsequently, in
his legislation for the President, the same President who will be,
according to what I am told, standing, in just a few weeks, at
Tiananmen Square, being received officially by the Chinese Government
with all the symbolism that that means in the world of diplomacy, that
there could be no other place to be received in Beijing except
Tiananmen Square.
Even though this bill, as focused as it is, as limited as it is,
grants multiple waiver authority to the President of the United States,
it is, nonetheless, a very important piece of legislation. It is a
piece of legislation that is going to be watched. What we do today is
going to be watched throughout the world and, most especially, by those
who languish in dungeons and in caves and who are tortured and
oppressed because of their religious views and practices.
So I would urge my colleagues to not only support this fair rule, but
the underlying legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I again want to commend the framers of the legislation.
I have great admiration for all of them: the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Gilman), of course, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Hall), who is here, my dear friend on the other side of the aisle and
to whom I have yielded the customary 30 minutes on this rule, a
tireless champion, as well, for human rights and human decency
throughout this world.
I thank them all for their hard work on this legislation and other
similar pieces of legislation that have dignified this Congress in the
past.
So I would urge my colleagues to support the rule. I know that we
have the distinguished presence here of the gentlewoman from Florida
(Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) who will be speaking on the rule, also, by the way,
an extraordinary fighter for human rights.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) for
yielding me the time and his very, very kind words.
Mr. Speaker, this is a structured rule. It will allow debate on
H.R.
2431, which is called the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act. As my
colleague has described, this rule will provide 1 hour of general
debate that will be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and
the ranking minority member of the Committee on International
Relations.
The rule self-executes two amendments. In addition, it makes in order
four amendments which may be offered on the House floor.
Mr. Speaker, religious freedom is one of the most fundamental rights
of Americans. It is enshrined in the first amendment to the
Constitution. It is a foundation of the American government. It is more
than just an American right. The right to freedom of religion is
recognized by international law, including the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
Unfortunately, the brutal suppression of religious expression is all
too common beyond the borders of the United States. In my travels and
in the travels of many of the sponsors of the bill, especially the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and the gentleman from New Jersey
(Mr. Smith), we have witnessed firsthand the extraordinary intolerance
against people who chose to practice their faith outside the officially
approved religions.
In Romania, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and the gentleman
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and I saw churches that were burned down,
people that were thrown in prison, Bibles by the thousands that were
shredded into toilet paper under the official government policy of
repression.
In northern Uganda, I saw Catholic girls who were mutilated for no
other reason than their faith. Their ears and their noses were cut off.
I visited them in the hospitals. It goes on in so many countries in the
world that practice this brutality.
But when I and my fellow House Members would return to the United
States from these countries, there was little we could do about the
horror we saw. We did not have the legal tools necessary to stop it.
The bill before us today is such a tool. The bill was introduced by
my friend, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), who, as I have said
before, I have accompanied on many international trips to investigate
human rights abuses.
His bill establishes the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring
to identify and report on religious persecution. If the Secretary of
State determines persecution exists, then a series of sanctions take
effect, including a prohibition on exports and U.S. foreign aid.
Because of the importance of religious freedom to our Nation, it
seems fair that our government express this in our foreign policy.
While we cannot dictate the internal policies of other countries, we
can direct the State Department and our foreign assistance programs to
deny support for countries and individuals that repress religious
freedom contrary to basic American values.
President Clinton has already taken an important step towards
universal freedom of religious expression by establishing a Commission
on Religious Liberty to advise the State Department. However, I believe
we can do more.
I regret that we are taking up this bill under such a restrictive
rule. I would prefer that we would have more of an open rule, but I
strongly support this bill to express U.S. outrage over the religious
persecution in other countries and to help stop the brutality.
Reluctantly, I do support this rule so that we can proceed with the
consideration of a bill that I consider a most important piece of
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
[[Page
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Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman
from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), my distinguished colleague and friend.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Diaz-Balart), my colleague from Miami, for his leadership on this
issue.
Mr. Speaker, along with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart)
and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), I also rise in strong support
of
H.R. 2431, the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act of 1998. I
especially commend my colleagues, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Wolf), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), and the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Gilman), chairman of the Committee on International
Relations for their leadership and for their dedication in bringing
forward such a critical piece of legislation.
Jose Marti, the man who liberated my homeland of Cuba from tyranny,
said, ``To witness a crime in silence is to be an accomplice of that
crime.''
Today, my colleagues and I are making a statement to the world that
the United States will not stand by silently. We will bear witness to
the thousands of our fellow human beings who are tortured and, indeed,
even murdered for exercising their fundamental right to religious
freedom.
Today, we will give a voice to those whose cries for freedom and
justice have been equaled by violent and repressive regimes that seek
to destroy that which is so precious to us as children of God.
{time} 1130
This bill will help ensure that practicing one's faith will not
become a death sentence, as it has been, unfortunately, for so many
men, women and children throughout the world.
When we speak of religious persecution, we need to fully recognize
that in many countries this does not mean simple harassment, but it
refers to unthinkable, monstrous acts, ranging from imprisonment,
forced slavery, torture, starvation and murder. These acts, endorsed,
and in many cases imposed, by extremist, repressive regimes, have gone
unpunished for too long.
As we reflect on this issue today, we ask that you think of people
like the 18 year old girl from Laos who was arrested by government
forces and is currently sitting in a squalid prison cell. And what is
her crime? Teaching Bible classes to neighborhood children. Or think
about the student from Tibet who did nothing but record traditional
music from Tibet, and, for this offense, he was sentenced to 18 years.
I ask you to picture the father who was shot in the streets of Iran
because he was not in the mosque at prayer time. There are many
prisoners in my native homeland of Cuba who are in jail because they
dared to hold religious meetings at their homes, and there are
evangelical Christians and Jehovahs' Witnesses routinely harassed in
Cuba.
These are just a few examples of the grim destiny that so many of our
global brothers and sisters face at the hands of those who hold no
respect for religious beliefs and no respect for human life.
Religious persecution following the Cold War has not diminished.
Sadly, it has only persisted, and has now reached new heights.
H.R.
2431 will provide a permanent mechanism for the United States to
investigate religious persecution and ensure that these cases receive
high priority at the State Department.
By creating an Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring within the
State Department, we will help to develop a mechanism that will help to
strengthen and improve our methods of addressing religious freedom and
persecution throughout the world. If and when a country is identified
in engaging in widespread and ongoing acts of persecution, the United
States would terminate non-humanitarian U.S. foreign aid and require
U.S. opposition to loans to such regimes from taxpayer supported
international agencies. It bans the export of torture and other crime
control related supplies to offending countries, and it bans visas to
known persecutors.
This bill furthers U.S. interests by ensuring that U.S. funds do not
go to pariah states which engage in practices that run contrary to our
values and our beliefs and which violate basic human dignity. Through
this bill, we will finally shine light into the eyes of those who seek
to oppress and destroy lives, and we will hold them responsible for
their cruel acts.
Pope John Paul II has said,
Religious persecution is an intolerable and unjustifiable
violation of the most fundamental human freedom, that of
practicing one's faith openly, which for human beings is
their reason for living.
Let us not stand idly by while thousands continue to suffer. Let us
make these rogue regimes accountable for their crimes against humanity.
Let us render strong support for
H.R. 2431.
I once again congratulate the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for
his tenacity, dedication, and never-wavering focus on the issue of
religious persecution worldwide. I regret the bill has been changed as
it has moved through the committee process, but it definitely is still
a powerful weapon to foster international religious freedom. We are
truly blessed in this house to have a man of vision like the gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) guiding our efforts.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) for
yielding me this time.
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman
from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).
Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by joining my friend, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) in praising the work of the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Hall). There is not a person in this body more respected on
issues related to hunger and protecting the rights of people who have
been persecuted around the world for whatever reason than the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Hall). I want to associate myself with comments that
have been made in praise of the gentleman by the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Diaz-Balart).
Mr. Speaker, I am rising in opposition to the rule on this bill. I
rise in opposition to the rule because the Committee on Rules ruled
that an amendment that I attempted to offer on the floor was not in
order. I think the Committee on Rules should have made my amendment in
order.
There is not a person in this house or in our country, I believe, who
would not find offensive and abhorrent the abduction, enslavement,
killing, imprisonment, rape, crucifixion or any forms of torture, which
this bill condemns and sanctions. This bill condemns and sanctions
those forms of torture, but it does it only when the victims are
tortured because of religious beliefs.
The amendment that I sought to offer would have expanded this bill to
offer the same kind of protections for those persecuted because of
race, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political
opinion.
This bill sets up two new categories in the law, a category 1 and a
category 2, for people who have been enslaved or killed for religious
persecution, and, by doing so, implies that somehow religious
persecution is more abhorrent than persecution for other reasons, such
as race or political belief or nationality or group membership.
The very example that the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart)
referred to about the President going to China and standing in
Tiananmen Square, imagine, if you would, that the tanks in Tiananmen
Square had just rolled right over the protesters there. Nothing in this
bill would address that issue, because those protesters were there for
political reasons, not for religious reasons.
So I rise to say all forms of persecution, whether they are for
religious reasons, whether they are for racial reasons, whether they
are for nationality reasons, whether they are because people are
standing up for their political beliefs, most often in defense of
democracy, all forms of persecution should be covered under this bill.
And the Committee on Rules has decided that it will not allow an
amendment to be debated on this floor, to be considered and voted on on
this floor, that would expand the coverage of this bill to those other
forms of persecution. By doing so, it is implying to the world that
somehow religious persecution should be given extra protection and
heightened priority.
[[Page
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Mr. Speaker, we should provide special protections against all forms
of persecution.
Some people would have you believe that we are paying less attention
to religious persecution in the world than we are to the other kinds of
persecution that I have made reference to, but let me suggest that that
is simply not the case.
The United States has 78,000 refugee slots allocated for 1998.
Twenty-five thousand of those funded slots are allocated to those
Bosnians who are Muslim. Religious reasons. Twenty-one thousand of
those slots are allocated to religious minorities from the former
Soviet Union. So 59 percent of our refugee allocation is set aside for
victims of religious persecution in one way or another. Does that mean
that we are treating religious persecution in some lesser fashion? I
think not.
The only thing I would say to this body is that this bill ought to be
broader, and everybody keeps telling me, ``Well, you ought to go and
introduce a separate bill.''
My response to that is, we have a bill on the floor. If everybody
thinks this is a good idea to expand the protections in this bill to
victims of persecution based on race, nationality, group membership or
political opinion, as the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart)
indicated everybody does, then put it in this bill, and let us vote it
up or down. Because it is not in the bill and the amendment has not
been made in order, I oppose this rule.
Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I agree with what the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr.
Watt) has said. I think we have to recognize that we have a coalition
of interests opposing us that, in effect, want there to be absolutely
no sanctions on any sort of conduct anywhere in the world, and that the
law of the world should be if there is a buck to be made anywhere, no
matter what the conditions, no matter under what the circumstances, no
matter if it is dealing in or contributing to the most horrendous
conduct conceivable, that that is acceptable. That is the coalition
against us.
The message that we will send out today to that coalition, to the
world and to those who are imprisoned, is that we will not be defeated,
and that we are going to continue to make progress.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to my dear friend, the distinguished
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), a leader in human rights throughout
the world.
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I
appreciate the comments of the gentleman, and I appreciate the comments
the gentleman made about my very good friend, the gentleman from Ohio
(Mr. Hall). I second those, and completely agree.
Passing this bill will say to the world that the United States will
no longer remain silent while people of faith are being tortured--
because that is what this bill covers--enslaved, abducted and killed
for their religious beliefs. Passing the bill will shatter the silence.
There are troubling things taking place all over the world. In the
past decade in Sudan alone, 1.5 million Christians and Muslims and
Animists have been killed for their faith. Starvation is that
government's weapon of choice, liberally spiced with high altitude
bombing in the villages, and mass murders. And there is slavery, the
selling into slavery in Sudan of young Sudanese boys and girls.
In China, Catholic priests and bishops are imprisoned today, as we
now speak, some for decades, simply for offering holy communion.
Protestant pastors are thrown in jail for having house church services,
and Muslims suffer persecution, as do Buddhist monks and nuns in Tibet.
In Tibet, where I have been, China's government has systematically
destroyed up to 4,000 to 6,000 monasteries, and the government tightly
controls all of the existing monasteries.
Many around the world are enduring hardships simply because they
practice their faith. They endure mostly in silence and away from the
public spotlight and with little hope of improvement. This bill would
apply to all faiths, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and all
others.
This bill is moderate, it is balanced, and this bill gives the
President total waiver authority, meaning that if the President does
not want this bill to go into effect, it will not go into effect.
Finally, the bill, I think, will send a message to help so many
people. It is a bipartisan effort, Republicans and Democratic Members
alike, with 131 cosponsors.
I will tell Members, on three different occasions I personally have
looked into the eyes of young boys in southern Sudanese refugee
villages who have lost their moms and dads and had nobody to care for
them.
{time} 1145
I have seen the monasteries that are plundered in Tibet and the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and I have been to Beijing Prison
No. 1 in China.
Cardinal O'Connor of New York wrote a letter yesterday where he said,
``The Freedom From Religious Persecution Act could begin the
desperately needed process of ending the legitimizing of such
persecution. In my judgment,'' Cardinal O'Connor said, ``its passage
would be an act of historic proportions.''
Catholic Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, who just returned from China
said, and I quote from a letter yesterday, ``The bill represents a
modest step that reflects the growing awareness that this vital human
rights issue has too often been overlooked, and a growing conviction
that the core American values, including religious liberty, must play a
proper role in foreign policy.''
Other supporters of the bill, and there are so many, are the
International Campaign for Tibet, the Christian Coalition, the U.S.
Catholic Bishops Conference, the Family Research Council, the National
Jewish Coalition, the Anti-Defamation League, the Religious Action
Center for Reformed Judaism. The Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious
Liberty Commission, the American Family Association, Prison Fellowship
Ministries, the Union of Orthodox Congregations of America, the
Salvation Army, the Catholic Alliance, B'Nai B'rith, and many, many
others. This bill is also supported by so many others that we will put
their names in the Record.
Mr. Speaker, when this bill hopefully becomes law, America will
reaffirm for the world that we still honor those words that Jefferson
penned where he said: ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men women are created equal, endowed by their Creator, by God, with
life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.''
These words by Jefferson were not just for Virginians, they were not
only for Americans, but they were for people around the world. Passage
of the bill will reaffirm the words of President Reagan where he said,
``We must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole
prerogative of a lucky few, but the inalienable and universal right of
all human beings.''
The last two points. If this bill were to fail, can we imagine what
the prison wardens would say to those who are imprisoned in Sudan
today, those who are in the ghost houses? What that would say would be
that nobody cares. On the other hand, when this Congress passes this
bill, and those in Yei and Torit and little villages in southern Sudan
and those in little villages in China, as they tune into their crystal
radio sets and listen, they will know that the people's House, the
United States Government, the United States Congress has stood on
behalf of those who are persecuted. And it will send a message, as
Natan Sharansky said when he was in the old Soviet Perm 35 and he heard
that the Congress stood for him; it will send a message that we stand
for the least of these and we stand with them boldly, whereby those
words of Jefferson hold true for everybody around the world.
Mr. Speaker, I urge and plead that everyone support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
H.R. 2431, the Freedom from
Religious Persecution Act. Passing this bill will say to the world that
the United States will no longer remain silent while people of faith
around the world are being tortured, enslaved, abducted and killed for
their religious beliefs. For too long the U.S. has remained silent on
this issue--passing
H.R. 2431 helps shatter that silence.
[[Page
H3267]]
There are troubling things taking place in the world. In just the
past decade, the government of Sudan has killed or allowed to starve
over a million of its own people. The fallen--mostly Christians,
Animists and some Muslims in southern Sudan--are victims of a religious
war. Starvation is that government's weapon of choice, liberally spiced
with high-altitude bombing, mass murder and even selling Sudanese boys
and girls as slaves.
In China, Catholic priests and bishops are in prison--some for
decades, simply for practicing their faith. Protestant pastors are
thrown in jail just for holding house church services. Muslims suffer
persecution, as do Buddhist monks and nuns.
In Tibet, the Chinese government has systematically destroyed up to
five thousand Buddhist monasteries. The monasteries still standing have
a cadre of Chinese police to monitor what goes on. The government
tightly controls the activities of the monks and nuns and even pictures
of the Dalai Lama are forbidden.
In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims and Christians are victimized by the
ominously named ``blasphemy'' law under which those who speak against
the prophet Mohammed can be given the death sentence. Just last week,
as we prepared to debate this bill, one of Pakistan's leading Catholic
bishops, Bishop John Joseph committed suicide to protest a death
sentence handed down to Christian Ayub Masih. Bishop Joseph reportedly
said just before putting a shot through his head ``It is no longer
possible for my people to live in Pakistan.''
Many around the world are enduring hardships simply because they
practice their faith. They endure mostly in silence and away from the
public spotlight and with little hope for a brighter tomorrow. The
Freedom from Religious Persecution Act is for them. It would apply to
people of all faiths--Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and
others.
The bill establishes the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring
at the State Department--a permanent mechanism to monitor religious
persecution overseas. Countries found to be engaged in ``widespread and
ongoing'' persecution which involves abduction, enslavement, killing,
imprisonment, forced mass relocation, rape, torture or the imposition
of particularly severe fines, would be named and subjected to four
punitive actions. These actions are:
(1) A ban on non-humanitarian foreign aid;
(2) A ban on visas to individuals known to be responsible for
persecution;
(3) A ban on U.S. support for loans by international financial
institutions to offending countries, and
(4) Two narrowly-targeted export bans which ban the sale of items
used for torture to offending countries and the direct export of goods
to entities responsible for persecution.
The bill is moderate and balanced. It provides the President with the
authority to waive the sanctions when national security interests would
be served or if waiving the sanctions would ``promote the objectives of
the act.''
Finally, the bill imposes sanctions on the government of Sudan until
it ceases its massive campaign of religious persecution--the same
sanctions that were imposed on the government of South Africa in the
1980's for its immoral apartheid policy.
When America speaks out, it makes a difference. Just ask noted
Russian Jewish dissident Natan Sharansky, who languished for years in
Soviet gulags as a prisoner of conscience. He sent a letter to a group
of religious leaders gathered to talk about this bill, ``When the West
stood up for its most basic values and spoke up for persecuted Soviet
Jewish communities, Soviet chains around churches and political
dissidents began to shatter.''
This bill has broad bipartisan support--over 131 cosponsors. It is
supported by a broad coalition of religious and civic groups.
For example, Wei Jingsheng, one of China's most well known and well
respected political dissidents, supports
H.R. 2431. I quote from his
recent letter:
I have personally witnessed the oppression and exploitation
of religious groups and individuals that occurs today in
China. The true situation may be difficult for Americans to
imagine, and it is difficult for the Chinese people to
imagine. If I did not see it myself, even I would not imagine
the shameful and despicable means the Communists use against
religious believers . . . I feel that if a government such as
China which for such a long time totally denied the rights of
freedom of religion to its citizens cannot receive sanction,
than it is completely unjust. I urge the friends of human
rights to support this effort.
I submit Wei's entire letter for the record. He knows that pressure
works--he's out of jail today because the U.S. pressed for his release.
Cardinal O'Connor of New York says, and I quote,
The Freedom from Religious Prosecution Act could begin the
desperately needed process of ending the legitimizing of such
persecution. In my judgment, its passage would be an act of
historic proportions.
Archbishop Theodore McCarrick says,
The bill represents a modest step that reflects growing
awareness that this vital human rights issue has too often
been overlooked, and a growing conviction that core American
values--including respect for religious liberty--must play
proper roles in shaping the U.S. foreign policy agenda.
Both letters are submitted for the Record.
Other supporters of the bill include: the International Campaign for
Tibet, the Christian Coalition, the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference,
the Family Research Council, the National Jewish Coalition, the Anti-
Defamation League, the Religious Action Center for Reformed Judaism,
the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the
American Family Association, Prison Fellowship Ministries, the Union of
Orthodox Congregations of America, the Salvation Army, the Catholic
Alliance and B'Nai B'rith.
The bill is also supported by a number of groups representing ethnic
groups suffering persecution like the American Coptic Association, the
Cardinal Kung Foundation, the Free Vietnam Alliance, the Pakistani-
American Association, the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam and Southern
Sudanese in America.
And there are many, many more. A total list of supporters is
submitted for the Record. All have worked tirelessly to pass this bill
and I thank them for their efforts.
When
H.R. 2431 becomes law, America will reaffirm for all the world
that we still honor those ringing words in the Declaration of
Independence that, ``We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
Men [and women] are created equal * * * endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the
Pursuit of Happiness.''
These words by Thomas Jefferson are not for America alone, but for
people everywhere. And passage of this bill will reaffirm the words of
President Ronald Reagan, spoken on a different occasion, when he said,
``We must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole
prerogative of a lucky few, but the inalienable and universal right of
all human beings.''
I urge you to vote for
H.R. 2431. It will help people of faith
everywhere.
Organizations in Support of
H.R. 2431
American Baptist Evangelicals
American Coptic Association
American Copts of California
American Family Association
Anti-Defamation League
Assyrian Academic Alliance
Assyrian National Congress
Assyrian National Foundation
B'Nai B'rith
Campus Crusade for Christ
Cardinal Kung Foundation
Catholic Alliance
Christian Coalition
Christian Legal Society
Christian Reformed Church
Christian Solidarity International
Concerned Women for America
Empower America
Ethics and Public Policy Center
Evangelical Free Church of America
Evangelicals for Social Action
Family Research Council
Focus on the Family
Freedom House's Puebla Program
Institute on Religion and Democracy
International Campaign for Tibet
International Christian Concern
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Iranian Christian International
National Association of Evangelicals
National Jewish Coalition
National Religious Broadcasters
Open Doors with Brother Andrew
Prison Fellowship Ministries
Religious Action Center for Reformed Judaism
The Rutherford Institute
The Salvation Army
Seventh Day Adventist Church
Southern Baptist Convention
U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
Voice of the Martyrs
World Evangelical Fellowship-Religious Liberty Commission
The Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights Under Islamization
Advocates International
Agape International
American Coptic Association
American Coptic Union
Asian Christian Ministries
Assyrian International News Agency
Assyrian National Congress
Assyrian Political Review
Bangladesh Reformed Presbyterian Theological
Seminary
Bet-Nahrain
Canadian Coptic Association
Christian Amnesty
Christian Copts of California
Christian Voice of Pakistan
Coptic American Friendship Association
Coalition Committee of Experts
Coming Home USA
CREED
Egyptian Relief Agency
[[Page
H3268]]
Eritrean Academic Committee
Federation of Hindu Associations
Foundation for Faith in Search of Understanding
Freedom USA
Institute on Religion and Democracy
Indo-American Kashmir Forum
International AWAZ
International Christian Concern
Iranian Christians International
HIS
Jubilee Campaign
Law and Liberty Trust
Lebanese Organization of New York
MECHRIC
Middle East Research Center
National Interreligious Task Force
New Sudan Foundation
Operation Nehemiah for South Sudan
Open Doors-Netherlands
Pakistani-American Association
Pakistani Apostolate
Persecution Relief
Research and Education Foundation
South Lebanese Christian Association
Southern Sudanese in America
Southern Sudan Resource Center
Society of St. Stephen
The Trinitarians Religious Freedom Program
Toronto Coptic Association
Wake-up Coalition
World Evangelical Fellowship-Religious Liberty Commission
World Lebanese Organization
World Maronite Union
Zwemer Institute of Muslim Studies
____
Christian Legal Society,
Annandale, VA, May 11, 1998.
Hon. Newt Gingrich, Richard Gephardt, Dick Armey, and David
Bonior,
U.S. Congress,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker, Congressmen Gephardt, Armey, and Bonior:
We take great heart from recent House actions in support of a
growing, nationwide movement of conscience against religious
persecution.
We are deeply grateful for the stunning 31-5 House
International Relations Committee vote in favor of the
Freedom From Religious Persecution Act. We are further
grateful for the House Leadership's scheduling of a floor
vote on this Act on May 14. We note as well Senate Leadership
commitments to ensure 105th Congress consideration of anti-
persecution legislation. These developments are critical
steps towards achieving the imperative goal of ending today's
widespread and ongoing persecutions of vulnerable communities
of faith.
Because further Congressional action remains to be taken,
we believe it useful to set out our view of the elements
necessary for effective legislation.
In so doing we again endorse the Freedom From Religious
Persecution Act, in the strongest terms, and reiterate our
intent to work for its rapid passage. The Act's prospects in
the House result from efforts of a broad coalition of
religious groups and such House leaders as Representatives
Wolf, Berman, Gilman, Gjedenson, Hall, Pelosi, Chris Smith
and Majority Leader Armey. We believe that these efforts will
produce historic legislation, and for the following reasons:
The Act's baseline sanction of withdrawing non-humanitarian
foreign aid from persecuting regimes is both limited and
meaningful--and will be a powerful tool to end the threats of
murder, torture, rape, starvation and enslavement now faced
by millions of believers.
The Act's limited but targeted focus on hard-core
persecution ensures that its reach will not exceed its grasp.
The Act's waiver provisions fully allow the President to
maintain non-humanitarian aid to persecution regimes while
also creating real accountability on his part if he chooses
to do so.
The Act's small, distinguished and independent office will
have no policy-making authority--thus leading to fact-based,
less politicized findings of whether and where religious
persecution actually occurs.
The Act's application of the South Africa sanctions against
Sudan will ensure that we treat genocide with no less resolve
than was brought to bear against apartheid.
The Act's moderate reform of immigration practices, in a
manner fully consistent with existing immigration law, will
help secure traditional American protection for victims of
religious persecution.
Because various provisions of the Act may be the subject of
amendments on the House floor, we believe it useful to set
forth our views on a number of important matters.
Sudan: This is a regime responsible for wholesale torture,
rape, starvation, murder and enslavement of religious
communities. Thus, the Act's Sudan provision reflects a
central moral premise of our movement--the need for full
parity in America's resistance to South African apartheid and
Sudanese genocide. We urge the House to restore the most
effective sanction against this regime: a ban on imports from
the Sudan.
Immigration Reform: Given America's establishment as a
haven for victims of religious persecution, today's often-
hostile treatment of religious asylum claimants is deeply
troublesome. Yet, despite statutory provisions barring the
summary exclusion of some classes of asylum applicants, the
Act maintains the Immigration Service's right to summarily
exclude religious asylum applicants without full hearings.
The Act's modest reforms represent minimal progress in a
critical area of concern. We will fight hard to restore them.
Non-Humanitarian Foreign Aid: The Act's response to regimes
engaged in ``widespread and ongoing'' acts of hard-core
religious persecution--ending their non-humanitarian taxpayer
subsidies--qualifies as a ``sanction'' only by stretching the
meaning of that term. We believe it axiomatic that no
taxpayer subsidies should go towards such regimes, and
therefore strongly oppose the removal of Export Import Bank
subsidies from the Act's reach. Further, because Presidential
waivers can restore those subsidies, and because some hard-
core persecutors will be largely unaffected by the
Act without withdrawal of Export-Import Bank subsidies, we
strongly believe that the Act will not have its necessary
effectiveness without this vital feature.
The Freedom From Religious Persecution Act is moderate in
its responses to persecution but serious about putting those
responses into effect. It will make the President accountable
if he exercises his broad authority to waive its sanctions.
By its targeted focus on hard-core persecution it offers real
protection to vulnerable believers. It will deal evenhandedly
with all persecuting regimes, whether strong or weak. It is
modeled on the Jackson-Vanik law, which helped bring freedom
to people of all faiths in the Soviet Union and elsewhere. It
puts America on the right side of history and ensures that
the world will not see us as the Swiss are now seen to be--a
country willing to abet evil in the pursuit of expedient
goals and short-term financial gain.
Prayerfully and with full determination, we intend to work
for the Act's overwhelming adoption by the House, and for
Congressional enactment of effective legislation. We remain
at your pleasure in our continuing effort to realize this
long-needed and historic outcome.
Respectfully,
John Ackerly, President, International Campaign for
Tibet; The Right Reverend Keith Ackerman, The Episcopal
Church, Bishop of Quincy; William Armstrong, Former
U.S. Senator (1979-1990); Gary L. Bauer, President,
Family Research Council; William J. Bennett, Co-
Director, Empower America; Dr. Bill Bright, President,
Campus Crusade for Christ; Charles Colson, Chairman of
the Board, Prison Fellowship Ministries; Michael
Cromartie, Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy
Center; Nathan J. Diament, Director, Institute for
Public Affairs, The Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregation of America; Bishop Alex D. Dickson,
Director, Institute for Christian Leadership, and Vice
President, American Anglican Council; Dr. James Dobson,
President, Focus on the Family; Rev. John C. Eby,
National Coordinator, American Baptist Evangelicals;
Sam Elisha, Director, Special Ministries Division, HIS
International, Inc.; David H. Engelhard, General
Secretary, Christian Reformed Church of North America;
Edward L. Foggs, General Secretary, Leadership Council,
Church of God; Deacon Keith A. Fournier, Catholic
Alliance; Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, Anti-
Defamation League; Jim Geist, Executive Director,
Interfaith Alliance for Christian Human Rights; Chris
Gersten, President, Institute for Religious Values; Dr.
Scott M. Gibson, President, American Baptist
Evangelicals; Dr. Os Guinness, Senior Fellow, The
Trinity Forum; E. Brandt Gustavson, President, National
Religious Broadcasters; Michael Horowitz, Director,
Project for International Religious Freedom, Hudson
Institute; Clyde M. Hughes, General Overseer,
International Pentecostal Church of Christ; Charles
****, Research Director, American Anti-Slavery Group;
James Jacobson, President, Christian Freedom
International; The Right Reverend Stephen H. Jecko, The
Episcopal Church, Bishop of Florida; D. James Kennedy,
Ph. D., Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church; Ed Koch,
Former Mayor of New York City, New York; Diane
Knippers, Institute on Religion and Democracy; Bishop
Richard W. Kohl, Evangelical Congregational Church;
Shawley F. Koras, President, American Coptic
Association; Dr. Beverly LaHaye, Chairman, Concerned
Women for America; Dr. Richard Land, President and CEO,
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Southern
Baptist Convention; Dr. Duane Litfin, President,
Wheaton College; Michael McConnell, Presidential
Professor, University of Utah College of Law; Steven T.
McFarland, Director, Center for Law and Religious
Freedom, Christian Legal Society; Michael Medved, Film
Critic, Radio Host; Rev. Dr. Peter Moore, Dean and
President, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry;
Father Richard Neuhaus, Editor-in-Chief, First Things
Journal, Institute on Religion and Public Life; Michael
Novak, George Frederick Jewett Chair, in Religion and
Public Policy, American Enterprise Institute; Marvin
Olasky, Editor, World Magazine; The Very Rev. Keith
Roderick, Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights
Under Islamization; Rabbi David Saperstein, Director,
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Nina Shea,
Director, Center for Religious Freedom, Freedom House;
Ronald J. Sider, President, Evangelicals for Social
Action; Steven L. Snyder, President, International
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Christian Concern; Jack Stone, General Secretary,
Headquarters Operations Officer, Church of the
Nazarene; Randy Tate, Executive Director, Christian
Coalition; Jim Wallis, Editor-in-Chief, Sojourners
Magazine; The Right Reverend William C. Wantland, The
Episcopal Church, Bishop of Eau Claire; Commissioner
Robert A. Watson, National Commander, The Salvation
Army; Tom White, The Voice of the Martyrs.
____
Wei Jingsheng Foundation,
Washington, DC, May 12, 1998.
To All Members of the House of Representatives:
I have recently heard that you will soon consider the
Freedom from Religious Persecution Act that is sponsored by
my friend Congressman Frank Wolf. I want to express the great
interest I have for this effort to sanction the Chinese
communist authorities for their denial of the basic right of
freedom of religion.
I strongly believe that the freedom of religious beliefs is
one important component of man's fundamental human rights.
The Chinese communist leadership continues to trample on
freedom of religion as it tramples on the basic rights of all
Chinese people. I have personally witnessed the oppression
and exploitation of religious groups and individuals that
occurs today in China. The true situation may be difficult
for Americans to imagine, and it is difficult for the Chinese
people to imagine. If I did not see myself, even I would not
imagine the shameful and despicable means the Communists use
against religious relievers.
I feel that if a government such as China which has for
such a long time totally denied the rights of freedom of
religion to its citizens cannot receive sanction, then it is
completely unjust. I urge the friends of human rights to
support this effort.
Respectfully,
Wei Jingsheng.
____
Cardinal's Office,
New York, NY, May 12, 1998.
Hon. Frank R. Wolf,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Congressman Wolf: Be assured of my strong support for
the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act and my firm hope
that the House of Representatives will vote in favor of it
overwhelmingly.
I have been following the tragic course of religious
persecution with close attention for many years. No religious
body can assume itself to be exempt. The Freedom from
Religious Persecution Act could begin the desperately needed
process of ending the legitimizing of such persecution. In my
judgment, its passage would be an act of courage of historic
proportions.
I am deeply grateful for your personal role.
Faithfully,
Cardinal O'Connor,
Archbishop of New York.
____
International Campaign
for Tibet,
Washington, DC, May 13, 1998.
Hon. Benjamin A. Gilman,
Chairman, Committee on International Relations, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Gilman: It has come to my attention that some
House Members are using a May 11 New York Times column by
Anthony Lewis to advance the position that the Dalai Lama
opposes ``The Freedom from Religious Persecution Act,''
scheduled for a vote in the House tomorrow.
It is the custom of the Dalai Lama not to take a position
on specific U.S. legislation. However, he has been aware for
many months of Frank Wolf's particular efforts to advance the
issue of religious freedom in the Congress. In February of
this year the Dalai Lama sent a message, which I enclose, to
a Washington meeting on religious persecution which focused
on strategies to advance the Wolf bill. I also enclose
remarks he made this morning at the Wisconsin state
legislature, the column mentioned above, and a letter to the
editor from Rabbi David Saperstein taking issue with Mr.
Lewis' ``misassessment.''
It would be unfortunate if the efforts of the International
Campaign for Tibet, Students for Free Tibet and other U.S.
Tibet support groups to bring attention to the fact of
religious persecution in Tibet and to gain Congressional
support for Mr. Wolf's bill were eclipsed by a
misrepresentation of the Dalai Lama's views in the final
hours of debate.
I hope you will share this information with your colleagues
should the need arise.
Sincerely,
Mary Beth Markey,
Director of Government Relations.
____
Message of the Dalai Lama
All religions teach compassion and aim to alleviate
suffering. It is therefore no surprise that Christian men and
women in the United States have taken on a campaign to end
the suffering of those persecuted around the world for their
religious faith. As a Tibetan and a monk, I am deeply
gratified by the efforts you are undertaking to draw
attention to China's policies in my country which are
increasingly focused on the eradication of the Tibetan
Buddhist culture.
While many people remember Mao Tse-tung's terrible
admonition that ``religion is poison,'' few people understand
that this remains China's policy on religion to this day, nor
do they understand the insidious nature of that government's
involvement in religion practice in China and Tibet. For
example, in my country, monasteries and temples are under the
purview of the Religious Affairs Bureau (a local government
body), the local Communist Party Committee, Party work teams,
and branches of police stations set up under the Public
Security Bureau. Since 1959, almost every monastery has been
overseen by a Democratic Management Committee (DMC) which
manages the monastery's affairs including religious affairs,
study, security and finances. These DMCs have supplanted the
traditional role of abbot in guiding the religious and
administrative functioning of the monastery.
The Tibetan people are deeply religious and suffer great
cruelties for their faith. From the Buddhist point of view,
this suffering is in itself a kind of teaching and benefits
the spiritual growth of the individual. I know that suffering
is of special significance in the Christian faith as Jesus
himself took on the suffering of mankind. Your campaign to
end religious persecution bears witness to the suffering of
others, challenging devout men and women to recommit to the
teachings of their faith, which includes the development of
compassion, not just to friends, but to everyone. Again, I
commend you for your compassionate work for peace in Tibet
and in the world.
____
Department of Social
Development and World Peace,
Washington, DC, May 11, 1998.
U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Member: I am writing to renew our support for the
Freedom from Religious Persecution Act (
H.R. 2431), which
passed the House International Relations Committee by an
overwhelmingly 35-1 vote.
The Freedom from Religious Persecution Act rightly links
U.S. aid to a country's performance on religious liberty, a
linkage that the U.S. Catholic bishops have long urged for
the full range of fundamental human rights. This bill
represents a modest step that reflects growing awareness that
this vital human rights issue has too often been overlooked,
and a growing conviction that core American values--including
respect for religious liberty--must play proper roles in
shaping the U.S. foreign policy agenda.
The Freedom from Religious Persecution Act, as revised,
covers persecution against believers of all faiths in all
countries. The bill provides appropriate responses to the
most egregious forms of religious persecution involving
widespread killing, torture, enslavement, forced relocation
and the like. It ends military aid, sales and financing to
some of the world's most brutal regimes that, in many cases,
also violate the full range of fundamental human rights. The
bill also ends most other forms of U.S. assistance, while
exempting humanitarian and development aid to avoid indirect
harm to those whom the bill seeks to help. It does not impose
embargoes, but rather imposes modest, highly-targeted
sanctions against specific governmental entities directly
involved in egregious persecution.
In addition, the revised bill provides ample waivers for
national security reasons and for cases where the president
deems sanctions counter-productive. Finally, the revised bill
contains other helpful features, such as improved training
for asylum and foreign service officers.
As pastors of a universal Church we are all too familiar
with the human face of religious persecution. That is why we
respectfully urge you to support
H.R. 24
