24 articles found!
1. EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF TIBET on 2012-03-29:
[' The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:', 'A resolution (S. Res. 356) expressing support for the people of Tibet.']
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/29/S2276-2_expressing-support-for-the-people-of-tibet/
2. IN SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE OF TIBET on 2012-05-18:
["Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for the people of Tibet and to thank groups like Students for a Free Tibet for all the work they do to raise awareness on this issue. For too long, the Tibetan people have suffered numerous human rights violations at the hands of the People's Republic of China. In the fight for Tibetan freedom, 35 Tibetans have set fire to themselves since February 2009 to protest China's occupation of their land. At least 23 of them have died. Their sacrifice should not go unnoticed. They have given their lives to show the world the suffering the Tibetan people endure at the hands of Chinese government.", 'Additionally, there are numerous Tibetans who have been arrested for speaking out against the government and advocating for the freedom of Tibet. These political prisoners need to be set free. Their only crime is standing up for the rights of the Tibetan people. While China continues to enforce policies that encroach on the freedoms of Tibetans, the people continue to conduct peaceful demonstrations. It is our responsibility to support the Tibetan people both politically and financially.', 'As a body, we should carry on our support for the Tibetan people by continuing to fund areas such as development, refugee programs, and Radio Free Asia and Voice of America. By supporting programs such as these, we encourage Tibetan livelihood and culture. U.S. assistance has supported sustainable development, environmental conservation, and cultural preservation in Tibet since 2000. Let us continue this support to contribute to a better future for Tibet.', "We should also continue to support the Dalai Lama's efforts to negotiate a peaceful solution for Tibet with the Chinese government. The Tibetan people are a peaceful people and we should support their belief system in finding a peaceful solution to this problem. Let us lend our support to the people of Tibet so that they can continue their fight for freedom.", 'I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the people of Tibet.']
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/05/18/E852_in-support-of-the-people-of-tibet/
3. SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS on 2012-01-30:
['Mr. President, I rise today with Senators Lieberman, Rubio, Boxer, Durbin, McCain, Webb, and Mark Udall to submit a resolution expressing our deep concern about the current situation in Tibet and our steadfast support for the Tibetan people.', 'Once again, we have seen how harsh and counterproductive Chinese policies have heightened tensions and led to deadly violence.', 'According to press reports and the International Campaign for Tibet, since the beginning of the Chinese New Year on Monday, security forces in Sichuan province have opened fire three times on Tibetans who gathered peacefully to protest Chinese policies on Tibet.', 'At least six Tibetans have been killed and many more wounded.', 'These attacks come on top of a recent spate of self-immolations mostly by Tibetan monks and nuns.', 'Since March 2011, at least 16 Tibetans, including four this month alone, have set themselves on fire and at least 12 have died.', 'I know I join my colleagues in mourning these tragic deaths and the death of Tibetans in this latest round of unrest.', 'In addition, I call on Chinese security forces to exercise maximum restraint and stop targeting Tibetan protesters.', 'Violence is not the answer to the legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people.', 'We must raise our voice with this resolution to call on Beijing to respect the right of Tibetans to practice their own religion freely and preserve their distinct cultural and linguistic identity.', "This resolution mourns the death of Tibetans who have self-immolated and deplores the repressive policies targeting Tibetans; calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to suspend implementation of religious control regulations, reassess religious and security policies implemented since 2008 in Tibet, and resume a dialogue with Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including the Dalai Lama or his representatives, to resolve underlying grievances; calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to release all persons that have been arbitrarily detained; to cease the intimidation, harassment and detention of peaceful protestors; and to allow unrestricted access to journalists, foreign diplomats, and international organizations to Tibet.", 'The resolution commends His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his decision to devolve his political power in favor of a democratic system; congratulates Tibetans living in exile for holding, on March 20, 2011, a competitive, multi-candidate election that was free, fair, and met international electoral standards; and reaffirms the unwavering friendship between the people of the United States and the people of Tibet.', 'Over the past several years I have been following the situation in Tibet with increasing concern.', 'I became involved in this issue when I first met His Holiness the Dalai Lama during a trip to India and Nepal in the fall of 1978.', 'At that time, as Mayor, I invited His Holiness to visit San Francisco and he accepted.', 'In September 1979, I was delighted to welcome the Dalai Lama to San Francisco to receive his first public recognition in the United States.', 'He inspired me to act and I have had the privilege to call him a friend for over 30 years.', 'Over this time, I have come to the view that Chinese policies on Tibet are intended to suppress the Tibetan culture and people.', 'These policies include punitive security measures including permanently placing Chinese officials in monasteries; surveillance, mass arrests, and detentions; and restrictions on freedom to practice religion including requiring monks to denounce the Dalai Lama.', 'We have seen how these policies have created an atmosphere of despair, hopelessness, and frustration among many Tibetans.', 'Despite nine rounds of talks between the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China and envoys of His Holiness, a comprehensive solution to the Tibetan issue remains out of reach.', 'As a friend of China and the Dalia Lama, I am saddened to see the situation in Tibet deteriorate to this point.', 'The Dalai Lama has been trying to engage the Chinese leadership for over fifty years.', 'In the 1990s, I carried three letters to President Jiang Zemin from the Dalai Lama requesting a face to face meeting.', "In my view, the Dalai Lama's concerns are driven by a strong Tibetan belief and experience that the Chinese Government continues to suppress the Tibetan culture and way of life.", "As my colleagues know, the Dalai Lama has made it clear that he does not support independence for Tibet, but rather meaningful cultural and religious autonomy for the Tibetan people within the People's Republic of China.", 'Most recently, in his March 2011 statement marking the 52nd anniversary of the peaceful Tibetan uprising he stated:', "In our efforts to solve the issue of Tibet, we have consistently pursued the mutually beneficial Middle-Way Approach, which seeks genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within the [People's Republic of China].", 'The newly elected prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, has affirmed this policy in his inaugural address:', "Guided by the wisdom of our forefathers and foremothers, we will continue the Middle-Way policy, which seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet within the People's Republic of China.", 'Despite these repeated and unequivocal statements, Beijing continues to insist that His Holiness seeks independence for Tibet.', 'I am stunned that this message has fallen on deaf ears.', 'Let there be no doubt: the clear goal of His Holiness and the Tibetan people is autonomy within China.', 'This autonomy can only come about through meaningful dialogue and negotiation, not actions that would undermine Tibetan culture.', 'As such, I urge the administration to work with our friends and allies in the international community and call on the Chinese Government to begin a substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama on national reconciliation, respect for the Tibetan culture, and meaningful autonomy for Tibet.', 'I urge my colleagues to stand up for the Tibetan people and support this resolution.']
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/01/30/S166_submitted-resolutions/
4. SENATE RESOLUTION 557--HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF LODI GYALTSEN GYARI AS SPECIAL ENVOY OF HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA AND IN PROMOTING THE LEGITIMATE RIGHTS AND ASPRIATIONS OF THE TIBETAN PEOPLE on 2012-09-13:
[" Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. Lugar, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Kirk, Mr. McCain, and Mrs. Boxer) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations: S. Res. 557 Whereas Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, who was born in Nyarong, Kham in 1949, was recognized according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition as a reincarnate lama and began his monastic studies at 4 years of age in Lhumorhab Monastery, which was located in what is now Kardze Prefecture, Sichuan Province; Whereas, in 1958, 9-year-old Lodi Gyari fled Nyarong with his family to avoid pursuit by the Chinese People's Liberation Army and was said to have led his group to safety in India through prayer and divinations; Whereas Lodi Gyari, as a young man in India, began a career-long commitment to the Tibetan struggle against Chinese oppression in Tibet, becoming editor for the Tibetan Freedom Press, founder of the Tibetan Review, the first English language journal published by Tibetans in exile, and a founding member of the Tibetan Youth Congress; Whereas Lodi Gyari served as a civil servant in the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as Chairman of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, and as a Deputy Cabinet Minister for the Departments of Religious Affairs and Health and Cabinet Minister for the Department of Information and International Relations; Whereas, in 1991, Lodi Gyari moved to the United States in the capacity of Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and was soon after selected to be President of the International Campaign for Tibet; Whereas, for 3 decades Lodi Gyari has met with leaders and diplomats of governments around the world and with Members of the United States Congress and parliaments of other nations-- (1) to explain the Tibetan position with regard to engagement with China; (2) to urge supportive strategies and policies from governments; (3) to explain the Dalai Lama's ``Middle Way'' philosophy of seeking genuine autonomy for Tibet within the People's Republic of China that contributes to harmony between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples; and (4) to promote Tibetan statecraft as the Dalai Lama's senior ambassador-at-large; Whereas, during his time as Special Envoy based in Washington, D.C., Congress approved many policy and programmatic measures on Tibet, which served to institutionalize the Tibet issue within the Government of the United States, most notably the establishment of a Special Coordinator on Tibetan Issues within the Department of State and support for Tibetan refugees; Whereas, in 1999, Lodi Gyari became a United States citizen; Whereas in May 1998, His Holiness the Dalai Lama authorized Special Envoy Lodi Gyari to be the principal person to reestablish contact with the Chinese government on the Tibetan issue; Whereas, between September 2002 and January 2010, Lodi Gyari led the Dalai Lama's negotiating team in 9 formal rounds of meetings with Chinese officials with tireless drive and immense skill, winning the respect of the international community; Whereas Lodi Gyari presented the Chinese government with the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People and its accompanying Note, thus detailing the Tibetan side's vision for a political solution for Tibet consistent within the framework of the Chinese constitutional and laws on autonomy; Whereas Lodi Gyari, in service to the Dalai Lama, came to represent in national capitals around the world, the great hope and conviction that the rights of Tibetans could be protected and their repression could be ended. Whereas, in the personally and professionally difficult task of representing Tibetan interests in dialogue with the People's Republic of China, Lodi Gyari demonstrated spirit, intelligence, and extraordinary tact, and brought civility, reason and a measure of mutual understanding to the Tibetan- Chinese relationship; Whereas Lodi Gyari has credited the far-sighted wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in empowering the Tibetan people by his devolution of his political authority to an elected Tibetan leadership; and Whereas, Lodi Gyari resigned his position, effective June 1, 2012, in the context of the deteriorating situation inside Tibet, including increasing incidents of Tibetan self- immolations, and expressing deep frustration over the lack of positive response from the Chinese side in their nearly 10- year dialogue, and in respect for the process of the devolution of political power to the elected Tibetan leaders. Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate-- (1) honors the service of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari as Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; (2) commends the achievements of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari in building an international coalition of support for Tibet that recognizes-- (A) the imperative to preserve the distinct culture and religious traditions of Tibet; and (B) that the Tibetan people are entitled under international law to their own identity and dignity and genuine autonomy within the People's Republic of China that fully preserves the rights and dignity of the Tibetan people; (3) acknowledges the role of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, as a naturalized United States citizen, to promoting understanding in the United States of the Tibetan people, their culture and religion, and their struggle for genuine autonomy, human rights, dignity, and the preservation of unique linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions; and (4) strongly supports a political solution for Tibet within the People's Republic of China that satisfies the legitimate grievances and aspirations of the Tibetan people."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/09/13/S6345-2_senate-resolution-557-honoring-the-contributions-o/
5. HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF LODI GYALTSEN GYARI on 2012-09-19:
[' The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:', "Whereas Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, who was born in Nyarong, Kham in 1949, was recognized according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition as a reincarnate lama and began his monastic studies at 4 years of age in Lhumorhab Monastery, which was located in what is now Kardze Prefecture, Sichuan Province; Whereas, in 1958, 9-year-old Lodi Gyari fled Nyarong with his family to avoid pursuit by the Chinese People's Liberation Army and was said to have led his group to safety in India through prayer and divinations; Whereas Lodi Gyari, as a young man in India, began a career-long commitment to the Tibetan struggle against Chinese oppression in Tibet, becoming editor for the Tibetan Freedom Press, founder of the Tibetan Review, the first English language journal published by Tibetans in exile, and a founding member of the Tibetan Youth Congress; Whereas Lodi Gyari served as a civil servant in the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as Chairman of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, and as a Deputy Cabinet Minister for the Departments of Religious Affairs and Health and Cabinet Minister for the Department of Information and International Relations; Whereas, in 1991, Lodi Gyari moved to the United States in the capacity of Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and was soon after selected to be President of the International Campaign for Tibet; Whereas, for 3 decades, Lodi Gyari has met with leaders and diplomats of governments around the world and with Members of the United States Congress and parliaments of other nations-- (1) to explain the Tibetan position with regard to engagement with China; (2) to urge supportive strategies and policies from governments; (3) to explain the Dalai Lama's ``Middle Way'' philosophy of seeking genuine autonomy for Tibet within the People's Republic of China that contributes to harmony between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples; and (4) to promote Tibetan statecraft as the Dalai Lama's senior ambassador-at-large; Whereas, during his time as Special Envoy based in Washington, DC, Congress approved many policy and programmatic measures on Tibet, which served to institutionalize the Tibet issue within the Government of the United States, most notably the establishment of a Special Coordinator on Tibetan Issues within the Department of State and support for Tibetan refugees; Whereas, in 1999, Lodi Gyari became a United States citizen; Whereas in May 1998, His Holiness the Dalai Lama authorized Special Envoy Lodi Gyari to be the principal person to reestablish contact with the Chinese government on the Tibetan issue; Whereas, between September 2002 and January 2010, Lodi Gyari led the Dalai Lama's negotiating team in 9 formal rounds of meetings with Chinese officials with tireless drive and immense skill, winning the respect of the international community; Whereas Lodi Gyari presented the Chinese government with the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People and its accompanying Note, thus detailing the Tibetan side's vision for a political solution for Tibet consistent within the framework of the Chinese constitutional and laws on autonomy; Whereas Lodi Gyari, in service to the Dalai Lama, came to represent in national capitals around the world, the great hope and conviction that the rights of Tibetans could be protected and their repression could be ended. Whereas, in the personally and professionally difficult task of representing Tibetan interests in dialogue with the People's Republic of China, Lodi Gyari demonstrated spirit, intelligence, and extraordinary tact, and brought civility, reason and a measure of mutual understanding to the Tibetan- Chinese relationship; Whereas Lodi Gyari has credited the far-sighted wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in empowering the Tibetan people by his devolution of his political authority to an elected Tibetan leadership; and Whereas, Lodi Gyari resigned his position, effective June 1, 2012, in the context of the deteriorating situation inside Tibet, including increasing incidents of Tibetan self- immolations, and expressing deep frustration over the lack of positive response from the Chinese side in their nearly 10- year dialogue, and in respect for the process of the devolution of political power to the elected Tibetan leaders. Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate-- (1) honors the service of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari as Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; (2) commends the achievements of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari in building an international coalition of support for Tibet that recognizes-- (A) the imperative to preserve the distinct culture and religious traditions of Tibet; and (B) that the Tibetan people are entitled under international law to their own identity and dignity and genuine autonomy within the People's Republic of China that fully preserves the rights and dignity of the Tibetan people; (3) acknowledges the role of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, as a naturalized United States citizen, to promoting understanding in the United States of the Tibetan people, their culture and religion, and their struggle for genuine autonomy, human rights, dignity, and the preservation of unique linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions; and (4) strongly supports a political solution for Tibet within the People's Republic of China that satisfies the legitimate grievances and aspirations of the Tibetan people."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/09/19/S6472_honoring-the-contributions-of-lodi-gyaltsen-gyari/
6. SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS on 2012-01-30:
[' Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Durbin, Mr. McCain, Mr. Webb, and Mr. Udall of Colorado) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:', "Whereas Tibet is the center of Tibetan Buddhism, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the most revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to enforce policies that infringe on fundamental freedoms of Tibetans, including punitive security measures against monasteries, mass arrests, and restrictions on freedom to practice religion; Whereas both the Dalai Lama and the Kalon Tripa, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister democratically elected by the Tibetan exile community, have specifically stated that they do not seek independence for Tibet from China; Whereas, in his inaugural address on August 8, 2011, Kalon Tripa Sangay stated that he will ``continue the Middle-Way policy, which seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet within the People's Republic of China''; Whereas, according to the Department of State's 2011 Report on Tibet Negotiations, since 2002, nine rounds of talks between the Government of the People's Republic of China and envoys of the Dalai Lama ``have not borne concrete results''; Whereas, despite persistent efforts by the Dalai Lama and his representatives, the Government of the People's Republic of China and envoys of the Dalai Lama have not held any formal dialogue since January 2010; Whereas, since March 2011, at least 16 Tibetans have set themselves on fire, and at least 12 have died; Whereas the repressive policies of the Government of the People's Republic of China have created an environment of despair, hopelessness, and frustration among many Tibetans; Whereas, on November 1, 2011, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, expressed concern over ``restrictive measures'' implemented by the Government of the People's Republic of China in Tibetan monasteries, stating that such measures ``not only curtail the right to freedom of religion or belief, but further exacerbate the existing tensions, and are counterproductive'' and affirming that ``the right of members of the monastic community, and the wider community to freely practice their religion, should be fully respected and guaranteed by the Chinese Government''; Whereas, on January 24, 2012, Maria Otero, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, and United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, issued a statement expressing concern about ``reports of violence and continuing heightened tensions in Tibetan areas of China, including reports of security forces in Sichuan province opening fire on protesters, killing some and injuring others''; Whereas the Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees freedom of religious belief for all citizens, but the July-December 2010 International Religious Freedom Report of the Department of State states that ``the [Chinese] government's repression of religious freedom remained severe in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas''; Whereas, on March 10, 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced that he would relinquish his last remaining governmental duties in the Central Tibetan Administration, and would turn over political authority to the leadership democratically elected by Tibetans in exile; Whereas, on March 20, 2011, the Tibetan government in exile conducted competitive democratic elections that were monitored by international observers and deemed free, fair, and consistent with international standards; Whereas nearly 50,000 people in over 30 countries, more than half of all the eligible Tibetan exiles voters, participated in the March 20, 2011 elections; Whereas Dr. Lobsang Sangay was elected Kalon Tripa, or prime minister, of the Central Tibetan Administration after receiving 55 percent of votes in the March 20, 2011, election and was inaugurated on August 8, 2011; Whereas Kalon Tripa Sangay was selected to study in the United States under the Department of State's Tibetan Scholarship Program, earning a doctorate in law from Harvard University, and served as a Senior Fellow at the East Asian Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School; Whereas Kalon Tripa Sangay, while at Harvard University, promoted dialogue among Tibetan exiles and Chinese students and visiting Chinese scholars to enhance mutual understanding and advance the prospects for reconciliation; and Whereas it is the objective of the United States Government, consistent across administrations of different political parties and as articulated in the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of title VI of Public Law 107-228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) to promote a substantive dialogue between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives in order to secure genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within China: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate-- (1) mourns the death of Tibetans who have self-immolated and deplores the repressive policies targeting Tibetans; (2) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to suspend implementation of religious control regulations, reassess religious and security policies implemented since 2008 in Tibet, and resume a dialogue with Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including the Dalai Lama or his representatives, to resolve underlying grievances; (3) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to release all persons that have been arbitrarily detained; to cease the intimidation, harassment and detention of peaceful protestors; and to allow unrestricted access to journalists, foreign diplomats, and international organizations to Tibet; (4) calls on the Secretary of State to seek from the Government of the People's Republic of China a full accounting of the forcible removal of monks from Kirti Monastery, including an explanation of the pretext or conditions under which monks were removed and their current whereabouts; (5) commends His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his decision to devolve his political power in favor of a democratic system; (6) congratulates Tibetans living in exile for holding, on March 20, 2011, a competitive, multi-candidate election that was free, fair, and met international electoral standards; (7) reaffirms the unwavering friendship between the people of the United States and the people of Tibet; and (8) both-- (A) calls on the Department of State to fully implement the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of title VI of Public Law 107-228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note), including the stipulation that the Secretary of State seek ``to establish an office in Lhasa, Tibet, to monitor political, economic, and cultural developments in Tibet'', and also to provide consular protection and citizen services in emergencies; and (B) urges that the agreement to permit China to open further diplomatic missions in the United States should be contingent upon the establishment of a United States Government consulate in Lhasa, Tibet."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/01/30/S166_submitted-resolutions/
7. EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF TIBET on 2012-03-29:
['I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment to the preamble be agreed to; the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; and any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.', 'The committee-reported amendment to the preamble was agreed to.', 'The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.', 'The resolution, with its preamble, as amended, reads as follows:', "Whereas Tibet is the center of Tibetan Buddhism, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the most revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to enforce policies that infringe on fundamental freedoms of Tibetans, including punitive security measures against monasteries, mass arrests, and restrictions on freedom to practice religion; Whereas both the Dalai Lama and the Kalon Tripa, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister democratically elected by the Tibetan exile community, have specifically stated that they do not seek independence for Tibet from China; Whereas, in his inaugural address on August 8, 2011, Kalon Tripa Sangay stated that he will ``continue the Middle-Way policy, which seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet within the People's Republic of China''; Whereas according to the Department of State's 2011 Report on Tibet Negotiations, since 2002, nine rounds of talks between the Government of the People's Republic of China and envoys of the Dalai Lama ``have not borne concrete results''; Whereas despite persistent efforts by the Dalai Lama and his representatives, the Government of the People's Republic of China and envoys of the Dalai Lama have not held any formal dialogue since January 2010; Whereas, since March 2011, more than two dozen Tibetans have set themselves on fire, and at least 19 have died; Whereas the repressive policies of the Government of the People's Republic of China have created an environment of despair, hopelessness, and frustration among many Tibetans; Whereas, on November 1, 2011, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, expressed concern over ``restrictive measures'' implemented by the Government of the People's Republic of China in Tibetan monasteries, stating that such measures ``not only curtail the right to freedom of religion or belief, but further exacerbate the existing tensions, and are counterproductive'' and affirming that ``the right of members of the monastic community, and the wider community to freely practice their religion, should be fully respected and guaranteed by the Chinese Government''; Whereas, on January 24, 2012, Maria Otero, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, and United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, issued a statement expressing concern about ``reports of violence and continuing heightened tensions in Tibetan areas of China, including reports of security forces in Sichuan province opening fire on protesters, killing some and injuring others''; Whereas the Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees freedom of religious belief for all citizens, but the July-December 2010 International Religious Freedom Report of the Department of State states that ``the [Chinese] government's repression of religious freedom remained severe in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas''; Whereas, on March 10, 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced that he would relinquish his last remaining governmental duties in the Central Tibetan Administration, and would turn over political authority to the leadership democratically elected by Tibetans in exile; Whereas, on March 20, 2011, the Tibetan government in exile conducted competitive democratic elections that were monitored by international observers and deemed free, fair, and consistent with international standards; Whereas nearly 50,000 people in over 30 countries, more than half of all the eligible Tibetan exiles voters, participated in the March 20, 2011, elections; Whereas Dr. Lobsang Sangay was elected Kalon Tripa, or prime minister, of the Central Tibetan Administration after receiving 55 percent of votes in the March 20, 2011, election and was inaugurated on August 8, 2011; Whereas Kalon Tripa Sangay was selected to study in the United States under the Department of State's Tibetan Scholarship Program, earning a doctorate in law from Harvard University, and served as a Senior Fellow at the East Asian Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School; Whereas Kalon Tripa Sangay, while at Harvard University, promoted dialogue among Tibetan exiles and Chinese students and visiting Chinese scholars to enhance mutual understanding and advance the prospects for reconciliation; and Whereas it is the objective of the United States Government, consistent across administrations of different political parties and as articulated in the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of title VI of Public Law 107 228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) to promote a substantive dialogue between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives in order to secure genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within China: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate-- (1) mourns the death of Tibetans who have self-immolated and deplores the repressive policies targeting Tibetans; (2) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to suspend implementation of religious control regulations, reassess religious and security policies implemented since 2008 in Tibet, and resume a dialogue with Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including the Dalai Lama or his representatives, to resolve underlying grievances; (3) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to release all persons that have been arbitrarily detained; to cease the intimidation, harassment and detention of peaceful protestors; and to allow unrestricted access to journalists, foreign diplomats, and international organizations to Tibet; (4) calls on the Secretary of State to seek from the Government of the People's Republic of China a full accounting of the forcible removal of monks from Kirti Monastery, including an explanation of the pretext or conditions under which monks were removed and their current whereabouts; (5) commends His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his decision to devolve his political power in favor of a democratic system; (6) congratulates Tibetans living in exile for holding, on March 20, 2011, a competitive, multi-candidate election that was free, fair, and met international electoral standards; (7) reaffirms the unwavering friendship between the people of the United States and the people of Tibet; and (8) both-- (A) calls on the Department of State to fully implement the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of title VI of Public Law 107 228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note), including the stipulation that the Secretary of State seek ``to establish an office in Lhasa, Tibet, to monitor political, economic, and cultural developments in Tibet'', and also to provide consular protection and citizen services in emergencies; and (B) urges that the agreement to permit China to open further diplomatic missions in the United States should be contingent upon the establishment of a United States Government consulate in Lhasa, Tibet."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/29/S2276-2_expressing-support-for-the-people-of-tibet/
8. TIBET on 2012-04-24:
["Mr. President, I want to draw the Senate's attention to the ongoing, intensifying and intolerable oppression occurring in Tibet.", 'Over the past year, at least 32 Tibetans, most of them young men and women, have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese policies that are infringing on Tibetan self-governance, cultural traditions and religious beliefs and practices. Of them, it is believed that at least 23 have died. Eleven have self-immolated in the past 2 months alone. These incidents do not represent a temporary deviation from a peaceful norm but are instead the latest response to a tragic, and unfortunately lengthy, history of religious and cultural controls, human rights violations and oppression of the Tibetan people.', 'Reports from Tibet indicate that the Chinese government is further restricting access to foreign journalists and tightening security throughout the region. Chinese police and other officials in Tibet are forcing some nuns and monks to publicly denounce the Dalai Lama. Schools in some provinces have been forced by the government to switch their official language of instruction from Tibetan to Mandarin Chinese. These policies, among others, have incited Tibetans to protest and fight for the survival of their cultural identity and basic freedoms.', "In recent weeks, a state-run Chinese website and news agency accused the Dalai Lama of encouraging Tibetans to set themselves on fire and of advocating ``Nazi'' racial policies. Mr. President, many of us in the Senate have had the privilege of meeting the Dalai Lama and I am proud to consider him a friend. It is baseless, offensive, and deplorable to slander the Dalai Lama in this way or to suggest that he is inciting violence. He is a man whose entire life has been devoted to peace.", "For decades, the Dalai Lama has sought to work with the Chinese government to reach a peaceful resolution over Tibet's political status. The Dalai Lama has, time and time again, extended a hand of friendship to Beijing, which has consistently responded by drastically misrepresenting his views and accusing him of inciting violence, perhaps to draw attention away from their own brutal actions. The Chinese government must know that violent crackdowns and cultural genocide will never be condoned.", "We share many interests with China and the future can bring our two countries closer. China's tremendous economic transformation in the past few decades has brought great benefits to the Chinese people and has spurred economic development in other countries. That said, the economic emergence of China and its increased presence on the world stage must be accompanied by respect for human rights. China cannot be a global leader while crushing peaceful dissent in its own backyard, destroying the culture of the Tibetan people, and imprisoning Tibetan leaders.", "I want to mention one of these imprisoned leaders, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. Tenzin Delek was recognized by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnate lama in the 1980s. He was detained in April 2002 on charges of exploding bombs and spreading politically charged leaflets and, following a closed trial, sentenced to death on December 2, 2002. After appeal, Tenzin Delek's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. No evidence of his involvement in any illegal activity has ever been made public. In fact, before being detained, Tenzin Delek was well-known for educating children in rural areas and helping to build monasteries. Tenzin Delek's imprisonment is just one of the many examples of persecution of Tibetan leaders that appear to be motivated by a desire to curb Tibetan religious and cultural expression.", "Many Tibetan protestors, both imprisoned and free, are not seeking independence from China. Tibetan leaders, including the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Prime Minister, Lobsang Sangay, who I was pleased to meet earlier this year, have explicitly stated that they support the Middle-Way' policy, which seeks autonomy for Tibet within the People's Republic of China. Tibetans are not fighting for separation from China; they are fighting for the freedom of religious belief guaranteed to them by the Chinese Constitution. They are fighting for the security of their monks and monasteries. They are fighting for freedom of expression, association, and assembly, for personal liberty, for unrestricted media access, and for the fundamental principles of democracy that we in the United States take for granted.", "We cannot and will not abandon the Tibetan people, who have long been our unwavering friends. We will stand by them to protect the principles of democracy in the face of China's repressive policies. Together, the Tibetans and the Chinese can peacefully reach a solution that meets the needs and aspirations of both peoples. It is imperative that we support peaceful dialogue and discourage violent confrontation whenever it occurs, whether supported by the Chinese authorities or Tibetan protestors.", "I am a cosponsor of Senator Feinstein's resolution, S. Res. 356, A Resolution Expressing Support for the People of Tibet, and I urge other Senators to do so. We can foster closer, cooperative relations with China, but until China works with Tibetan leaders to pursue a new way forward, their reputation in the community of nations, and their ability to act as a global power, will remain tarnished. I hope that, in the years to come, the young Tibetans who sacrificed their lives in the past year will be remembered as the catalysts for a political dialogue that cemented a peaceful future for both Tibet and China."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/04/24/S2652-2_tibet/
9. EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF TIBET on 2012-03-29:
['[Omit the part printed in boldface brackets and insert the part printed in Italic.]', "Whereas Tibet is the center of Tibetan Buddhism, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the most revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to enforce policies that infringe on fundamental freedoms of Tibetans, including punitive security measures against monasteries, mass arrests, and restrictions on freedom to practice religion; Whereas both the Dalai Lama and the Kalon Tripa, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister democratically elected by the Tibetan exile community, have specifically stated that they do not seek independence for Tibet from China; Whereas, in his inaugural address on August 8, 2011, Kalon Tripa Sangay stated that he will ``continue the Middle-Way policy, which seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet within the People's Republic of China''; Whereas, according to the Department of State's 2011 Report on Tibet Negotiations, since 2002, nine rounds of talks between the Government of the People's Republic of China and envoys of the Dalai Lama ``have not borne concrete results''; Whereas, despite persistent efforts by the Dalai Lama and his representatives, the Government of the People's Republic of China and envoys of the Dalai Lama have not held any formal dialogue since January 2010; [Whereas, since March 2011, at least 16 Tibetans have set themselves on fire, and at least 12 have died;] Whereas, since March 2011, more than two dozen Tibetans have set themselves on fire, and at least 19 have died; Whereas the repressive policies of the Government of the People's Republic of China have created an environment of despair, hopelessness, and frustration among many Tibetans; Whereas, on November 1, 2011, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, expressed concern over ``restrictive measures'' implemented by the Government of the People's Republic of China in Tibetan monasteries, stating that such measures ``not only curtail the right to freedom of religion or belief, but further exacerbate the existing tensions, and are counterproductive'' and affirming that ``the right of members of the monastic community, and the wider community to freely practice their religion, should be fully respected and guaranteed by the Chinese Government''; Whereas, on January 24, 2012, Maria Otero, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, and United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, issued a statement expressing concern about ``reports of violence and continuing heightened tensions in Tibetan areas of China, including reports of security forces in Sichuan province opening fire on protesters, killing some and injuring others''; Whereas the Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees freedom of religious belief for all citizens, but the July-December 2010 International Religious Freedom Report of the Department of State states that ``the [Chinese] government's repression of religious freedom remained severe in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas''; Whereas, on March 10, 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced that he would relinquish his last remaining governmental duties in the Central Tibetan Administration, and would turn over political authority to the leadership democratically elected by Tibetans in exile; Whereas, on March 20, 2011, the Tibetan government in exile conducted competitive democratic elections that were monitored by international observers and deemed free, fair, and consistent with international standards; Whereas nearly 50,000 people in over 30 countries, more than half of all the eligible Tibetan exiles voters, participated in the March 20, 2011, elections; Whereas Dr. Lobsang Sangay was elected Kalon Tripa, or prime minister, of the Central Tibetan Administration after receiving 55 percent of votes in the March 20, 2011, election and was inaugurated on August 8, 2011; Whereas Kalon Tripa Sangay was selected to study in the United States under the Department of State's Tibetan Scholarship Program, earning a doctorate in law from Harvard University, and served as a Senior Fellow at the East Asian Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School; Whereas Kalon Tripa Sangay, while at Harvard University, promoted dialogue among Tibetan exiles and Chinese students and visiting Chinese scholars to enhance mutual understanding and advance the prospects for reconciliation; and Whereas it is the objective of the United States Government, consistent across administrations of different political parties and as articulated in the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of title VI of Public Law 107 228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) to promote a substantive dialogue between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives in order to secure genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within China:"]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/29/S2276-2_expressing-support-for-the-people-of-tibet/
10. SUBMISSION OF CONCURRENT AND SENATE RESOLUTIONS on 2012-01-30:
[" The following concurrent resolutions and Senate resolutions were read, and referred (or acted upon), as indicated: By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Durbin, Mr. McCain, Mr. Webb, and Mr. Udall of Colorado): S. Res. 356. A resolution expressing support for the people of Tibet; to the Committee on Foreign Relations. By Mr. McCONNELL (for himself and Mr. Paul): S. Res. 357. A resolution commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Mill Springs and the significance of the battle to the Civil War; considered and agreed to. By Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Begich, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Pryor, and Mrs. Boxer): S. Res. 358. A resolution expressing support for the designation of January 28, 2012, as ``National Data Privacy Day''; considered and agreed to. By Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Isakson, Mr. McCain, and Mr. Graham): S. Con. Res. 34. A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress in honor of the life and legacy of Vaclav Havel; considered and agreed to."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/01/30/S163-3_submission-of-concurrent-and-senate-resolutions/
11. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES on 2012-03-28:
[" The following reports of committees were submitted: By Mr. KERRY, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, without amendment and with a preamble: S. Res. 80. A resolution condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. By Mr. KERRY, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and with an amended preamble: S. Res. 344. A resolution supporting the democratic aspirations of the Nicaraguan people and calling attention to the deterioration of constitutional order in Nicaragua. By Mr. KERRY, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, without amendment and with an amended preamble: S. Res. 356. A resolution expressing support for the people of Tibet. S. Res. 391. A resolution condemning violence by the Government of Syria against journalists, and expressing the sense of the Senate on freedom of the press in Syria. S. Res. 395. A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the NATO summit to be held in Chicago, Illinois from May 20 through 21, 2012. By Mr. KERRY, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and with an amended preamble: S. Res. 397. A resolution promoting peace and stability in Sudan, and for other purposes."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/28/S2166_reports-of-committees/
12. CORVALLIS WILL NOT BE BULLIED BY CHINA on 2012-09-12:
['Recently, the Chinese consul general sent a letter to the mayor of Corvallis, a small city in my district. The letter was followed up by personal visits by the vice consul and the deputy consul general. Now, we always welcome visitors, but under these circumstances, we have some concerns.', "They are trying to pressure the mayor of the City of Corvallis to compel a local businessman to remove a mural dedicated to free Tibet and Taiwan independence from his downtown building. It was characterized by the local newspaper as a shakedown because the original letter broadly hinted that it might be in Corvallis' best interest economically to cooperate with the request.", 'I am shocked and appalled that apparently Chinese professional diplomats have failed to read the Constitution of the United States of America before traveling here to represent their country.', 'This represents the basis of our representative democracy, our freedom of speech, and our rights, and it will not be bullied by China or any other overseas interest.']
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/09/12/H5903_corvallis-will-not-be-bullied-by-china/
13. SYRIA on 2012-03-15:
['Madam President, first, I want to thank my colleagues for coming to the floor today and talking about the issue of energy and energy independence and the rising cost of energy. It is critically important. I wish to talk about something else, if I could, for just a few minutes, something I think is of critical importance, eternal importance; that is, the issue of human rights.', 'As Americans, we have to remind ourselves our Nation was founded on the principles of human rights. If we read back to the earliest documents, the Declaration of Independence first says very clearly at the outset that one of the founding principles that led to the creation of this Nation, and the Republic and Constitution that followed that, was the notion that all of us are created equal. Every human being on the planet who was ever born, ever will be born anywhere in this world, was born with certain rights, and the source of those rights is our Creator.', 'Think about that for a moment. That is not a common belief. For almost all of our history people believed our rights as people came not from our Creator, they came from the government, from our leaders. Our rights are what the government allows us to have. That is not what founded our country. This country was founded on the very powerful idea that the source of our rights and our value as a human being came from our Creator.', 'Of course, that manifested itself in all sorts of things in this country, a constitution, for example, that in recognition of those rights created a system of government that said the job of the government was to protect these rights, not to grant them. And, of course, the American miracle has plenty of witnesses, myself included, and is well documented in the annals of history, particularly in the last half century, the American century, the 20th century, which is shown as an example to the world. Yet the issue of human rights continues to be a central one around the world and one of the places where I think an American example can make the biggest difference. ', "One of the issues that has interested me since I got to the Senate--my background before I got here just a year ago was in State government, and before that it was in local government. One of the great things about being in the Senate is you have access to sources of information and individuals with information that I didn't have before. One of the issues that has fascinated me on a global scale is how human rights are still summarily violated all over the planet and how, in fact, these powerful ideas that are at the core of our founding as a country are still not widely accepted in many parts of the world.", "This is a great time of year to be in Washington. People are on spring break, and they are bringing their kids up here to learn about our Republic. So I think it is a great time to remind ourselves that one of the things that made us different from the rest of the world is that we are one of the few countries on the planet that really believe that every single person who has ever been born has rights they are born with. We take that for granted. If you have been born here and lived here your whole life, you think that is the way it is everywhere. It is not. There are so many societies and countries around the world where people are told: You don't have any rights unless we give you rights. Unless your government or your leaders or your laws give you certain rights, you don't have these rights. In America, we almost take that for granted because we believe we are born with these rights. And the American example to the world has been what can happen when you actually believe that every single human being has worth and value and rights that they are born with and that you have no right to deny them.", 'Sadly, there is no shortage of examples around the world where those fundamental rights are violated. I think no nation on this planet has a larger obligation to speak out against it than ours. So what I intend to do over the next few weeks is come to the floor and highlight some of these egregious human rights violations because I think they go to the core of our exceptionalism. They go to the heart of who we are as a people and as a nation. They go to the center of what makes us different from other countries around the world and in many respects are at the heart of what is in debate at this very moment in the world.', "As we enter this new 21st century, there are a handful of nations across the globe that do not want the issue of human rights to be central. They don't want this issue to be on the front burner because they don't believe in these things. What they seek is a new international order where the violation of human rights is nobody's business.", "You see that today in Syria, where people are being murdered, where unarmed civilians are being pursued and shelled by an army, where there are horrifying examples of human rights violations on a daily basis. At least two countries--Russia and China--have taken the position that it is nobody's business, and one of those countries is the topic I want to talk about today; that is, China--an emerging power on the world stage that some people I think falsely claim will replace America on the world stage. I think that is an exaggeration.", "By the way, we welcome the economic progress China has made. I think it is great news that there are millions of people in China who a decade ago were riding around on a bike and now have a car. Only a decade ago millions of people were living in deep poverty and today are part of the middle class. I think that is fantastic. But don't get ahead of yourself in believing that China is going to replace America on the world stage. This is still the richest, most powerful country in the world. This is still the most important economy on the planet, and our people are as smart and as creative as they have ever been, and that is not going to change.", 'But I think we have to look at China because if, in fact, they are this rising power, if they are going to be a growing influence on the international stage, we have to ask ourselves, What is their commitment to human rights? Sadly, it is not a very good one.', 'If you look at the issue of Tibet, it is a perfect example. These are peace-loving people who have sought a certain level of autonomy. They want to preserve their culture and their way of life. They have gone as far as to say: We are OK being under Chinese rule, but we want to protect some of the things that are innate and indigenous to our own culture and values. And China is systematically trying to erase their culture and their heritage through processes of re-education, through the jailing of people, through the oppression of people, through the destruction of a free press and systems of communication. It manifests itself today. I think yesterday was the latest incident of people in Tibet setting themselves on fire. By the way, we should not encourage that. It is horrifying to see that. We hope it stops. It just leads to an understanding of the level of desperation that exists in Tibet.', 'Let me ask you a question. If China is a growing influence on this planet, are these the values that are going to replace American values on the world stage? Are these the values that are going to replace our belief that all individuals were created equal, with certain rights that come from their Creator? Are we prepared to retreat from the world stage and allow that to happen without at least speaking against it?', "We should not be surprised that China stands by and says: Do nothing. Don't even sanction. Don't even put out a nasty letter about Syria. We should not be surprised because a nation that doesn't care about the human rights of their own people is never going to care about the human rights of others. As Americans, the question we have is, Are we prepared to retreat from the world stage and, in fact, allow nations such as that to play a growing role in the world? Are we prepared to silence our own voice at the expense of their voice? I hope not.", "So when we debate in this Chamber about issues of economic policy, we are debating issues about America's influence in the world. And I would say to you that if America is diminished on the world stage, whether it be by choice or by accident, if we fail to confront the issues this nation faces and we choose to decline, it won't be just the Americans who pay the price, it will be people all over the world, including the people who live in Tibet, because then there will be no voice on this planet that condemns human rights violations the way we do, because there will be no nation in the world that can prove that, in fact, you can have a functional society where the innate worth and the value and rights that our Creator gives every human being are respected. That is what is at stake when we debate America's influence and America's standing in the world.", 'Over the next few weeks, I hope to come to this floor and continue to highlight these egregious violations of human rights. Tragically, there is no shortage of them. In the weeks to come, we will talk about the problems of human trafficking that exist in our own country, in our own hemisphere, and all around the world. We will talk about the violations of religious liberties that exist in societies all over the planet. We will talk about how women have no rights whatsoever in many of these countries. There are some nations where a woman is counted as one-fourth of a man in terms of their worth or their ability to speak out. We will talk about other countries where people are systematically jailed, as they are in our own hemisphere, for putting out pamphlets that criticize the government. We will talk about what is happening in Syria and Tibet.', "Human rights is at the core of who we are as a nation. It is at the core of our identity as a people and as a power on the global stage. It is an issue that doesn't belong to the right or to the left, to Republicans or Democrats; it is an issue that should unite us all in this Chamber and in this country, and we hope to be an effective voice in that regard in the years that God permits me to serve here in the Senate.", 'I yield the floor.']
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/15/S1696_syria/
14. THE MYTH OF CHINA AS A HARMLESS TIGER on 2012-02-15:
["Mr. Speaker, I submit a piece authored by Chinese dissident Yu Jie which ran in yesterday's Washington Post. His words are deeply alarming about the extent of China's reach in the U.S. He rightly laments the lack of ``visionary politicians, such as Ronald Reagan, to stand up to this threat.'' I couldn't agree more.", "Chinese dissident writers exiled to the West today get a very different response than Soviet writers received not so long ago. In 1975, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger advised President Ford not to meet with writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, warning in a memorandum that doing so would offend the Soviet Union. Now, similar views are held not only by pragmatic politicians but also by multinational corporations with large investments in China as well as universities and foundations with inextricable links to China. The Chinese communist regime's penetration of the West far exceeds that of the former Soviet Union. In the Cold War era, the Soviet Union was blocked behind the Iron Curtain; there were few links between Soviet and Western economies. An average American family would not be using products ``made in the USSR.'' Today, China is deeply embedded within the globalized system. An American recently wrote an interesting book detailing a year of her refusal to buy products that were ``made in China'' and the many difficulties she encountered as a result of this decision. On the surface, the West has profited from its trade with China. Western consumers can buy vast amounts of cheap Chinese products. However, fundamental values of the West are quietly being eroded: Who knows whether the American flag flying outside your home was manufactured by inmates in Chinese prisons or by child labor? I arrived in the United States a month ago, thinking I had escaped the reach of Beijing, only to realize that the Chinese government's shadow continues to be omnipresent. Several U.S. universities that I have contacted dare not invite me for a lecture, as they cooperate with China on many projects. If you are a scholar of Chinese studies who has criticized the Communist Party, it would be impossible for you to be involved in research projects with the Chinese- funded Confucius Institute, and you may even be denied a Chinese visa. Conversely, if you praise the Communist Party, not only would you receive ample research funding but you might also be invited to visit China and even received by high-level officials. Western academic freedom has been distorted by invisible hands. I believe that China is a far greater threat than the former Soviet Union ever was; unfortunately, the West lacks visionary politicians, such as Ronald Reagan, to stand up to this threat. President Obama might perceive the Chinese Communist Party as a tiger that does not bite and, hence, is looking forward to Vice President Xi Jinping's visit this week. Will Obama, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, openly request that China release Liu Xiaobo, a Nobel Peace laureate imprisoned by the Communist Party? Why did Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have the courage to meet with Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi but not to meet with Liu? Is it because Burma is weak, while China is strong? The Chinese Communist Party remains a tiger that will bite. For working on human rights with Liu Xiaobo, after he was awarded the Nobel Prize, I was tortured by the country's secret police and nearly lost my life. Since then, dozens of lawyers and writers have been subjected to brutal torture; some contracted severe pneumonia after being held in front of fans blowing cold air and then being baked by an electric furnace. The secret police threatened me, saying that they had a list of 200 anticommunist party intellectuals whom they were ready to arrest and bury alive. Over the past year, the number of political prisoners in China has increased, and the jail sentences have become longer--yet Western voices of protest have become weaker. Harsh internal repression and unrestrained external expansion are two sides of the same coin. The Chinese Communist Party recently vetoed the U.N. Security Council's resolution on Syria because killings not unlike those committed by Damascus continue in Tibet. More than a century ago, Westerners described China as a ``sleeping lion''; today, it is the West that has fallen asleep. As an independent writer and a Christian member of a ``house church,'' I have the responsibility to tell the truth: The Chinese Communist Party is still a man-eating tiger."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/02/15/E198_the-myth-of-china-as-a-harmless-tiger/
15. ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS on 2012-03-21:
[' S. 102 At the request of Mr. McCain, the name of the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio) was added as a cosponsor of S. 102, a bill to provide an optional fast-track procedure the President may use when submitting rescission requests, and for other purposes. S. 418 At the request of Mr. McConnell, his name was added as a cosponsor of S. 418, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol. S. 1039 At the request of Mr. Cardin, the names of the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown) and the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee) were added as cosponsors of S. 1039, a bill to impose sanctions on persons responsible for the detention, abuse, or death of Sergei Magnitsky, for the conspiracy to defraud the Russian Federation of taxes on corporate profits through fraudulent transactions and lawsuits against Hermitage, and for other gross violations of human rights in the Russian Federation, and for other purposes. S. 1086 At the request of Mr. Harkin, the names of the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) were added as cosponsors of S. 1086, a bill to reauthorize the Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act of 2004, to provide assistance to Best Buddies to support the expansion and development of mentoring programs, and for other purposes. S. 1129 At the request of Mr. Barrasso, the names of the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee) and the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven) were added as cosponsors of S. 1129, a bill to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to improve the management of grazing leases and permits, and for other purposes. S. 1366 At the request of Ms. Cantwell, the name of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1366, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to broaden the special rules for certain governmental plans under section 105(j) to include plans established by political subdivisions. S. 2090 At the request of Mr. Akaka, the name of the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Begich) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2090, a bill to amend the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act to extend the period of time provided to the Indian Law and Order Commission to produce a required report, and for other purposes. S. 2122 At the request of Mr. Paul, the name of the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2122, a bill to clarify the definition of navigable waters, and for other purposes. S. 2165 At the request of Mrs. Boxer, the name of the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2165, a bill to enhance strategic cooperation between the United States and Israel, and for other purposes. S. 2201 At the request of Mr. Grassley, the name of the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Merkley) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2201, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the renewable energy credit. S. 2204 At the request of Mr. Menendez, the names of the Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow), the Senator from New York (Mr. Schumer), the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Nelson), the Senator from Missouri (Mrs. McCaskill), the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Franken), the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Reed) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) were added as cosponsors of S. 2204, a bill to eliminate unnecessary tax subsidies and promote renewable energy and energy conservation. S. 2213 At the request of Mr. Lugar, his name was withdrawn as a cosponsor of S. 2213, a bill to allow reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms. At the request of Mr. Thune, the names of the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran) and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Roberts) were added as cosponsors of S. 2213, supra. S. RES. 356 At the request of Mrs. Feinstein, the name of the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 356, a resolution expressing support for the people of Tibet. S. RES. 397 At the request of Mr. Coons, the name of the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 397, a resolution promoting peace and stability in Sudan, and for other purposes.']
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/21/S1932-3_additional-cosponsors/
16. ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS on 2012-02-07:
[" S. 412 At the request of Mr. Levin, the name of the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio) was added as a cosponsor of S. 412, a bill to ensure that amounts credited to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund are used for harbor maintenance. S. 418 At the request of Mr. Harkin, the name of the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) was added as a cosponsor of S. 418, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol. S. 489 At the request of Mr. Reed, the name of the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) was added as a cosponsor of S. 489, a bill to require certain mortgagees to evaluate loans for modifications, to establish a grant program for State and local government mediation programs, and for other purposes. S. 672 At the request of Mr. Rockefeller, the name of the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Franken) was added as a cosponsor of S. 672, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and modify the railroad track maintenance credit. S. 824 At the request of Mr. Brown of Ohio, the name of the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) was added as a cosponsor of S. 824, a bill to provide for enhanced mortgage-backed and asset-backed security investor protections, to prevent foreclosure fraud, and for other purposes. S. 881 At the request of Ms. Landrieu, the name of the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Conrad) was added as a cosponsor of S. 881, a bill to amend the Consumer Credit Protection Act to assure meaningful disclosures of the terms of rental-purchase agreements, including disclosures of all costs to consumers under such agreements, to provide substantive rights to consumers under such agreements, and for other purposes. S. 1058 At the request of Mr. Pryor, the name of the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Cochran) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1058, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to ensure transparency and proper operation of pharmacy benefit managers. S. 1269 At the request of Ms. Snowe, the name of the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Blumenthal) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1269, a bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to collect information from coeducational secondary schools on such schools' athletic programs, and for other purposes. S. 1461 At the request of Mr. Nelson of Florida, the name of the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1461, a bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to clarify the Food and Drug Administration's jurisdiction over certain tobacco products, and to protect jobs and small businesses involved in the sale, manufacturing and distribution of traditional and premium cigars. S. 1467 At the request of Mr. Blunt, the names of the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kyl), the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Grassley) and the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Corker) were added as cosponsors of S. 1467, a bill to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to protect rights of conscience with regard to requirements for coverage of specific items and services. S. 1802 At the request of Mr. Udall of Colorado, the name of the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1802, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out programs and activities that connect Americans, especially children, youth, and families, with the outdoors. S. 1834 At the request of Mr. Corker, the name of the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1834, a bill to restore and repair the United States mortgage markets by making them transparent, bringing in private capital, winding down the Government-sponsored enterprises, and for other purposes. S. 1862 At the request of Mr. Lautenberg, the name of the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Nelson) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1862, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the health of children and reduce the occurrence of sudden unexpected infant death and to enhance public health activities related to stillbirth. S. 1884 At the request of Mr. Durbin, the names of the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio) were added as cosponsors of S. 1884, a bill to provide States with incentives to require elementary schools and secondary schools to maintain, and permit school personnel to administer, epinephrine at schools. S. 1925 At the request of Mr. Leahy, the name of the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1925, a bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. S. 2043 At the request of Mr. Rubio, the names of the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe) and the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Heller) were added as cosponsors of S. 2043, a bill to amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to provide religious conscience protections for individuals and organizations. S. 2054 At the request of Mr. Begich, the name of the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2054, a bill to suspend the current compensation packages for the senior executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and to establish compensation for all employees of such entities in accordance with rates of pay for other Federal financial regulatory agencies. S. 2064 At the request of Mr. DeMint, the name of the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Johnson) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2064, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to terminate certain energy tax subsidies and lower the corporate income tax rate. S. RES. 232 At the request of Mr. Menendez, the name of the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 232, a resolution recognizing the continued persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China on the 12th anniversary of the campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to suppress the Falun Gong movement, recognizing the Tuidang movement whereby Chinese citizens renounce their ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliates, and calling for an immediate end to the campaign to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. S. RES. 310 At the request of Mr. Barrasso, his name was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 310, a resolution designating 2012 as the ``Year of the Girl'' and Congratulating Girl Scouts of the USA on its 100th anniversary. At the request of Ms. Mikulski, the name of the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 310, supra. S. RES. 356 At the request of Mrs. Feinstein, the name of the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 356, a resolution expressing support for the people of Tibet."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/02/07/S388-7_additional-cosponsors/
17. SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS on 2012-03-21:
[" Title IV of Senate Resolution 4, agreed to by the Senate on February 4, 1977, calls for establishment of a system for a computerized schedule of all meetings and hearings of Senate committees, subcommittees, joint committees, and committees of conference. This title requires all such committees to notify the Office of the Senate Daily Digest--designated by the Rules Committee--of the time, place, and purpose of the meetings, when scheduled, and any cancellations or changes in the meetings as they occur. As an additional procedure along with the computerization of this information, the Office of the Senate Daily Digest will prepare this information for printing in the Extensions of Remarks section of the Congressional Record on Monday and Wednesday of each week. Meetings scheduled for Thursday, March 22, 2012 may be found in the Daily Digest of today's Record. MEETINGS SCHEDULED MARCH 27 9:30 a.m. Armed Services To hold hearings to examine U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Cyber Command in review of the Defense Authorization request for fiscal year 2013 and the Future Years Defense Program; with the possibility of a closed session in SVC 217 following the open session. SD 106 10 a.m. Environment and Public Works Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee Oversight Subcommittee To hold a joint oversight hearing to examine the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) work with other Federal entities to reduce pollution and improve environmental performance. SD 406 Judiciary Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine the economic imperative for promoting international travel to the United States. SD 226 Appropriations Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2013 for the Department of Defense and the Department of the Army. SD 124 10:30 a.m. Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Housing, Transportation and Community Development Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine the choice neighborhoods initiative, focusing on a new community development model. SD 538 2 p.m. Joint Economic Committee To hold hearings to examine monetary policy going forward, focusing on why a sound dollar boosts growth and employment. SH 216 2:15 p.m. Foreign Relations Business meeting to consider S. Res. 356, expressing support for the people of Tibet, S. Res. 395, expressing the sense of the Senate in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the NATO summit to be held in Chicago, Illinois from May 20 through 21, 2012, S. Res. 397, promoting peace and stability in Sudan, S. Res. 80, condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights, S. Res. 391, condemning violence by the Government of Syria against journalists, and expressing the sense of the Senate on freedom of the press in Syria, S. Res. 344, supporting the democratic aspirations of the Nicaraguan people and calling attention to the deterioration of constitutional order in Nicaragua, the nominations of Julissa Reynoso, of New York, to be Ambassador to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, and Gina K. Abercrombie- Winstanley, of Ohio, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Malta, both of the Department of State, and lists in the Foreign Service. S 116, Capitol 2:30 p.m. Armed Services Airland Subcommittee To hold a hearing to examine Army modernization in review of the Defense Authorization request for fiscal year 2013 and the Future Years Defense Program. SR 222 Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine the Department of Defense's role in implementation of the National Strategy for Counterterrorism and the National Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime in review of the Defense Authorization request for fiscal year 2013 and the Future Years Defense Program. SR 232A Intelligence To hold closed hearings to examine certain intelligence matters. SH 219 2:45 p.m. Finance Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine renewable energy tax incentives, focusing on how have the recent and pending expirations of key incentives affected the renewable energy industry in the United States. SD 215 MARCH 28 9:30 a.m. Armed Services SeaPower Subcommittee To receive a closed briefing on the Ohio-class Replacement Program in review of the Defense Authorization request for fiscal year 2013 and the Future Years Defense Program. SVC 217 10 a.m. Appropriations Department of Defense Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine Department of Defense health programs. SD 192 Foreign Relations To hold hearings to examine United States policy on Iran. SD 419 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Business meeting to consider pending calendar business. SD 342 Judiciary To hold hearings to examine the Special Counsel's report on the prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens. SD 226 Appropriations Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2013 for the National Institutes of Health. SD 124 Veterans' Affairs To hold hearings to examine the nominations of Margaret Bartley, of Maryland, and Coral Wong Pietsch, of Hawaii, both to be a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. SR 418 10:30 a.m. Inaugural Ceremonies--2012 Organizational business meeting to consider an original resolution authorizing expenditures for committee operations and committee's rules and procedure for the 112th Congress. S 216, Capitol 2 p.m. Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2013 for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. SD 124 2:30 p.m. Commerce, Science, and Transportation To hold hearings to examine the science and standards of forensics. SR 253 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Economic Policy Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine retirement, focusing on examining the retirement savings deficit. SD 538 Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2013 for the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation. SD 192 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine assessing efforts to combat waste and fraud in Federal programs. SD 342 Appropriations Financial Service and General Government Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine enhancing economic growth, focusing on the Department of the Treasury's responses to the foreclosure crisis and mounting student loan debt. SD 138 Judiciary To hold hearings to examine certain nominations. SD 226 MARCH 29 9:30 a.m. Armed Services To hold hearings to examine the nominations of Frank Kendall III, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, James N. Miller, Jr., of Virginia, to be Under Secretary for Policy, Erin C. Conaton, of the District of Columbia, to be Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness, Jessica Lynn Wright, of Pennsylvania, and Katharina G. McFarland, of Virginia, both to be an Assistant Secretary, and Heidi Shyu, of California, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Army, all of the Department of Defense. SD G50 10 a.m. Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Contracting Oversight Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine contractors, focusing on how much they are costing the government. SD 342 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions To hold hearings to examine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fee agreements, focusing on strengthening FDA and the medical products industry for the benefit of patients. SH 216 Small Business and Entrepreneurship To hold hearings to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2013 for the Small Business Administration. SR 428A 2:30 p.m. Intelligence To hold closed hearings to examine certain intelligence matters. SH 219 APRIL 18 2:30 p.m. Armed Services Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine financial management and business transformation at the Department of Defense. SD G50 APRIL 25 2 p.m. Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee To resume hearings to examine the Active, Guard, Reserve, and civilian personnel programs in review of the Defense Authorization request for fiscal year 2013 and the Future Years Defense Program. SD 106"]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/21/E413_senate-committee-meetings/
18. ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS on 2012-03-26:
[" S. 418 At the request of Mr. Harkin, the names of the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Isakson) and the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Johnson) were added as cosponsors of S. 418, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol. S. 550 At the request of Mr. Lieberman, the name of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester) was added as a cosponsor of S. 550, a bill to improve the provision of assistance to fire departments, and for other purposes. S. 641 At the request of Mr. Durbin, the name of the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Franken) was added as a cosponsor of S. 641, a bill to provide 100,000,000 people with first-time access to safe drinking water and sanitation on a sustainable basis within six years by improving the capacity of the United States Government to fully implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005. S. 722 At the request of Mr. Wyden, the name of the Senator from Maine (Ms. Collins) was added as a cosponsor of S. 722, a bill to strengthen and protect Medicare hospice programs. S. 835 At the request of Mr. Crapo, the name of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester) was added as a cosponsor of S. 835, a bill to reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, modernize firearms laws and regulations, protect the community from criminals, and for other purposes. S. 960 At the request of Mr. Kerry, the name of the Senator from Maine (Ms. Collins) was added as a cosponsor of S. 960, a bill to provide for a study on issues relating to access to intravenous immune globulin (IVG) for Medicare beneficiaries in all care settings and a demonstration project to examine the benefits of providing coverage and payment for items and services necessary to administer IVG in the home. S. 1309 At the request of Mr. Schumer, the name of the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Harkin) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1309, a bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to cover physician services delivered by podiatric physicians to ensure access by Medicaid beneficiaries to appropriate quality foot and ankle care. S. 1575 At the request of Mr. Cardin, the name of the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1575, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the depreciation recovery period for energy-efficient cool roof systems. S. 1696 At the request of Mr. Leahy, the name of the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1696, a bill to improve the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program. S. 1718 At the request of Mr. Wyden, the name of the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1718, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act with respect to the application of Medicare secondary payer rules for certain claims. S. 1872 At the request of Mr. Johanns, his name was added as a cosponsor of S. 1872, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the tax treatment of ABLE accounts established under State programs for the care of family members with disabilities, and for other purposes. S. 1884 At the request of Mr. Durbin, the name of the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1884, a bill to provide States with incentives to require elementary schools and secondary schools to maintain, and permit school personnel to administer, epinephrine at schools. S. 1947 At the request of Mr. Blumenthal, the name of the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1947, a bill to prohibit attendance of an animal fighting venture, and for other purposes. S. 2003 At the request of Mrs. Feinstein, the name of the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2003, a bill to clarify that an authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and for other purposes. S. 2060 At the request of Mr. Kohl, the name of the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Merkley) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2060, a bill to provide for the payment of a benefit to members eligible for participation in the Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence program for days of nonparticipation due to Government error. S. 2066 At the request of Ms. Murkowski, the name of the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Crapo) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2066, a bill to recognize the heritage of recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting on Federal public land and ensure continued opportunities for those activities. S. 2085 At the request of Mr. Paul, the name of the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2085, a bill to strengthen employee cost savings suggestions programs within the Federal Government. S. 2103 At the request of Mr. Lee, the names of the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) and the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) were added as cosponsors of S. 2103, a bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to protect pain-capable unborn children in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. S. 2112 At the request of Mr. Begich, the name of the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2112, a bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize space-available travel on military aircraft for members of the reserve components, a member or former member of a reserve component who is eligible for retired pay but for age, widows and widowers of retired members, and dependents. S. 2121 At the request of Ms. Klobuchar, the name of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2121, a bill to modify the Department of Defense Program Guidance relating to the award of Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence administrative absence days to members of the reserve components to exempt any member whose qualified mobilization commenced before October 1, 2011, and continued on or after that date, from the changes to the program guidance that took effect on that date. S. 2155 At the request of Mrs. McCaskill, her name was added as a cosponsor of S. 2155, a bill to amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to promote biobased manufacturing. S. 2160 At the request of Mr. Moran, the name of the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Johanns) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2160, a bill to improve the examination of depository institutions, and for other purposes. S. 2165 At the request of Mrs. Boxer, the names of the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Heller) and the Senator from Missouri (Mrs. McCaskill) were added as cosponsors of S. 2165, a bill to enhance strategic cooperation between the United States and Israel, and for other purposes. S. 2179 At the request of Mr. Webb, the name of the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2179, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve oversight of educational assistance provided under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense, and for other purposes. S. 2204 At the request of Mr. Menendez, the names of the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski), the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin), the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Blumenthal) and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Merkley) were added as cosponsors of S. 2204, a bill to eliminate unnecessary tax subsidies and promote renewable energy and energy conservation. S. 2219 At the request of Mr. Whitehouse, the name of the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2219, a bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, Super PACs and other entities, and for other purposes. S. 2221 At the request of Mr. Thune, the names of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Baucus) and the Senator from Missouri (Mrs. McCaskill) were added as cosponsors of S. 2221, a bill to prohibit the Secretary of Labor from finalizing a proposed rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 relating to child labor. S.J. RES. 39 At the request of Mr. Cardin, the name of the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) was added as a cosponsor of S.J. Res. 39, a joint resolution removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment. S. RES. 356 At the request of Mrs. Feinstein, the name of the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 356, a resolution expressing support for the people of Tibet. S. RES. 370 At the request of Mr. Casey, the name of the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 370, a resolution calling for democratic change in Syria. S. RES. 380 At the request of Mr. Graham, the names of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Roberts) and the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Begich) were added as cosponsors of S. Res. 380, a resolution to express the sense of the Senate regarding the importance of preventing the Government of Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability. S. RES. 402 At the request of Mr. Johanns, his name was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 402, a resolution condemning Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army for committing crimes against humanity and mass atrocities, and supporting ongoing efforts by the United States Government and governments in central Africa to remove Joseph Kony and Lord's Resistance Army commanders from the battlefield."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/26/S2030-7_additional-cosponsors/
19. ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS on 2012-03-29:
[" S. 57 At the request of Mr. Inouye, the name of the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray) was added as a cosponsor of S. 57, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the application of the tonnage tax on certain vessels. S. 260 At the request of Mr. Nelson of Florida, the name of the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) was added as a cosponsor of S. 260, a bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to repeal the requirement for reduction of survivor annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan by veterans' dependency and indemnity compensation. S. 543 At the request of Mr. Wyden, the name of the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Pryor) was added as a cosponsor of S. 543, a bill to restrict any State or local jurisdiction from imposing a new discriminatory tax on cell phone services, providers, or property. S. 604 At the request of Mr. Wyden, the name of the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka) was added as a cosponsor of S. 604, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under part B of the Medicare program, and for other purposes. S. 687 At the request of Mr. Conrad, the name of the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) was added as a cosponsor of S. 687, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend the 15-year recovery period for qualified leasehold improvement property, qualified restaurant property, and qualified retail improvement property. S. 816 At the request of Mr. Brown of Ohio, the name of the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) was added as a cosponsor of S. 816, a bill to facilitate nationwide availability of volunteer income tax assistance for low-income and underserved populations, and for other purposes. S. 1174 At the request of Mr. Roberts, the name of the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1174, a bill to provide predictability and certainty in the tax law, create jobs, and encourage investment. S. 1336 At the request of Mrs. Feinstein, the name of the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1336, a bill to prevent immigration fraud and for other purposes. S. 1421 At the request of Mr. Portman, the name of the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1421, a bill to authorize the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes. S. 1479 At the request of Mr. Casey, the name of the Senator from Florida (Mr. Nelson) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1479, a bill to preserve Medicare beneficiary choice by restoring and expanding Medicare open enrollment and disenrollment opportunities. S. 1597 At the request of Mr. Brown of Ohio, the name of the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1597, a bill to provide assistance for the modernization, renovation, and repair of elementary school and secondary school buildings in public school districts and community colleges across the United States in order to support the achievement of improved educational outcomes in those schools, and for other purposes. S. 1718 At the request of Mr. Wyden, the name of the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1718, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act with respect to the application of Medicare secondary payer rules for certain claims. S. 1737 At the request of Mr. Bennet, the name of the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Udall) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1737, a bill to improve the accuracy of mortgage underwriting used by Federal mortgage agencies by ensuring that energy costs are included in the underwriting process, to reduce the amount of energy consumed by homes, to facilitate the creation of energy efficiency retrofit and construction jobs, and for other purposes. S. 1832 At the request of Mr. Enzi, the names of the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye) and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) were added as cosponsors of S. 1832, a bill to restore States' sovereign rights to enforce State and local sales and use tax laws, and for other purposes. S. 1910 At the request of Mr. Lieberman, the names of the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Blumenthal), the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin), the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Franken), the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Harkin), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy), the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Levin), the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Merkley), the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski), the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen), the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) and the Senator from Washington (Ms. Cantwell) were added as cosponsors of S. 1910, a bill to provide benefits to domestic partners of Federal employees. S. 1990 At the request of Mr. Lieberman, the names of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Baucus) and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Webb) were added as cosponsors of S. 1990, a bill to require the Transportation Security Administration to comply with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. S. 2062 At the request of Mr. Paul, the name of the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2062, a bill to amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to repeal certain provisions relating to criminal penalties and violations of foreign laws, and for other purposes. S. 2065 At the request of Mr. Kyl, the name of the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Portman) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2065, a bill to amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to modify the discretionary spending limits to take into account savings resulting from the reduction in the number of Federal employees and extending the pay freeze for Federal employees. S. 2072 At the request of Mr. Franken, the name of the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2072, a bill to discourage disincentives to the housing missions of government sponsored enterprises and require consistent putback risks at the enterprises to assist homeowners. S. 2076 At the request of Mr. Franken, the name of the Senator from Washington (Ms. Cantwell) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2076, a bill to improve security at State and local courthouses. S. 2103 At the request of Mr. Lee, the names of the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham) and the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch) were added as cosponsors of S. 2103, a bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to protect pain-capable unborn children in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. S. 2165 At the request of Mrs. Boxer, the name of the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2165, a bill to enhance strategic cooperation between the United States and Israel, and for other purposes. S. 2169 At the request of Mr. McConnell, the name of the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2169, a bill to require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. S. 2213 At the request of Mr. Thune, the name of the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Heller) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2213, a bill to allow reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms. S. 2245 At the request of Mr. Barrasso, the names of the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee), the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Corker) and the Senator from Texas (Mrs. Hutchison) were added as cosponsors of S. 2245, a bill to preserve existing rights and responsibilities with respect to waters of the United States. S. RES. 356 At the request of Mr. Johanns, his name was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 356, a resolution expressing support for the people of Tibet. S. RES. 380 At the request of Mr. Graham, the name of the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 380, a resolution to express the sense of the Senate regarding the importance of preventing the Government of Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability. S. RES. 399 At the request of Mr. Menendez, the name of the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 399, a resolution calling upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes. S. RES. 402 At the request of Mr. Coons, the name of the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 402, a resolution condemning Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army for committing crimes against humanity and mass atrocities, and supporting ongoing efforts by the United States Government and governments in central Africa to remove Joseph Kony and Lord's Resistance Army commanders from the battlefield."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/29/S2244_additional-cosponsors/
20. MOVING AHEAD FOR PROGRESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY ACT on 2012-02-29:
['I am so proud of this letter we wrote together. In the letter, we said:', 'The most important thing is to nominate an exceptionally well-qualified, intelligent person to replace Justice Souter. . . . Women make up more than half of our population, but right now hold only one seat out of nine. . . . This is out of balance. In order for the Court to be relevant, it needs to be diverse and better reflect America.', 'Then, of course, the President nominated Sonia Sotomayor and we were very excited about that.', 'So it was wonderful to work with her on that, and we worked together on respecting human rights in Tibet and led 27 Senators in a letter to Chinese leader Hu Jintao asking that Tibetans be respected. Regarding women in Afghanistan, we worked together to ask Afghan leaders to revise a law that would legalize marital rape and impose other Taliban restrictions on Shiite women in Afghanistan.', 'This is just a partial list of issues I have worked on with Olympia Snowe, and I will do a longer tribute for the record at a later time.', 'But, again, as I heard this news, I was first filled with worry about her health, and I hoped she was OK. But she has clarified she absolutely is. So I wish her nothing but the best. I know she will always work on issues because she is so good at looking at a problem and solving it and not thinking first whether it is Democratic or it is Republican or where it falls on the political scales. So I have appreciated working with her on so many of these important issues that have come before us.', "I think the Senate should take a minute to think about this in relation to this bill. The whole world is watching us. When I say that, I don't mean the whole world literally, but I think the country is watching us. Why do I say that? Because 1,000 groups have endorsed our moving ahead with this bill--a coalition of 1,075 organizations from all 50 States. Here is what they said about this Transportation bill:", 'There are few Federal efforts that rival the potential of critical transportation infrastructure investments for sustaining and creating jobs and economic activity.', "This is what they wrote. So they know this is the way to sustain and revive economic activity. This is what is at stake: Right now, 1.8 million jobs are created because we have a transportation bill. That bill ends March 31. So 1.8 million jobs are at stake if we don't act. Because of the way we wrote our bill, we leveraged funding, and this gained great bipartisan support. We have greatly increased the TIFIA Program, which is the transportation infrastructure financing program, which leverages funds by 30 times. Because of this, we believe we will see another 1 million jobs created. So we are talking 2.8 million jobs that are at stake. Yet we have an amendment on women's health. I just keep coming back to how insane that is.", 'I also wish to note again the many unemployed construction workers. Remember, I said 15 stadiums could be filled with unemployed construction workers. This is the number: 1.48 million construction industry workers unemployed. The unemployment rate is 17.7 percent among construction industry workers; whereas, the national unemployment rate is 8.3 percent. We know the housing sector is still having major problems getting out of the funk it is in. It is tough. So we have to do this bill.', "I have a picture, just in case your mind's eye wasn't able to conjure it up. Here is a picture of a stadium filled with about 100,000 people. So 15 of these stadiums would basically reflect all the unemployed construction workers.", "Which are the groups that are supporting us and are they bipartisan? Oh, my goodness. I don't think I could share with everyone a more bipartisan list of organizations than the AAA, the American Association of State Highway and Transit Officials, the American Bus Association, the American Concrete Pavement Association, the American Council of Engineering Companies, the American Highway Users Alliance, the American Moving & Storage Association, the American Public Transportation Association, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers--and it goes on and on--the trucking association, the Metropolitan Transportation Organizations, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Governors Highway Safety Association, International Union of Operating Engineers, Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, National Asphalt Pavement Association, National Association of Development Organizations, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, National Construction Alliance.", 'Oh, it goes on. That is just a partial list of those 1,000-plus organizations.', 'When we started our bill the Presiding Officer will remember we made history because we had Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL CIO, sitting next to Tom Donohue, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Donohue and Trumka, the odd couple. They are fighting and arguing on everything. Yet they came together in front of our committee because they know we will all benefit. All of America benefits when we do a bill such as this.', 'I think I have shared a lot, but there is one more point. If we allow this bill to go away, and we are stuck with an extension because the transportation fund is not collecting enough gas tax revenues--and there is a good-news reason for that, which is we are getting better fuel economy and we are using public transit a lot more, so the gas tax is not coming in at the rate it normally does--we will be down 35 percent in the fund. So right away--right away--631,000 jobs are gone. But what is so great about our bill is that four committees, including the Finance Committee, filled the gap in a way that was bipartisan.', "Our story is a great story to tell. If I had to tell my grandkids a story, I would say: Once upon a time in America, we didn't have a national road system. But a Republican President named Dwight Eisenhower had a vision. He was a general. He knew it was important to move things in a reliable way, and he had a vision of a national transportation system, and everybody in the country said: What a great idea. So we started to have a bill every few years to authorize a highway fund. Then somebody came up with the notion of it being funded by the users, so that the gas tax would go--part of it--to this fund and we would have enough in that fund to build our highways and our bridges, and then, later on, our transit systems. People said: We have a lot of wear and tear on the roads. What if a lot of people took public transit and got out of their cars? It would be better for the air quality. It would be better for everybody and for the state of the roads, and so they were married up, highways and transit and bridges.", "Now we have to live up to that legacy and not bog this bill down with birth control amendments and women's health amendments and amendments about Egypt or anything else. There is time for that. We don't mind those battles but not on this bill. Infrastructure is the name of the game. We all know it--Republicans and Democrats.", "So I say, let's stop playing games with this bill, please. Let's dispose of this birth control amendment, this women's health amendment. It doesn't belong on here. But if that is what it takes to get us off dead center, fine, let's go. To coin Olympia Snowe's phrase, it will be polarizing. It will not be pretty, but we will dispose of that and then we will move on and dispose of this bill.", "I hope we will not have to face 5, 10, 20, 30 unrelated amendments. I hope we can get it down to a small number and move on. Let's pass this bill, lift the workers and lift our businesses. Every dollar, almost--most of the dollars--goes straight to the private sector through our States, through our local entities.", "Then let's hold our head up high when we go home. So when I go to the supermarket I don't have people coming to me and saying: What is going on over there? Birth control on a highway bill. What, are you kidding? I don't want to have those conversations every time I go to the supermarket. What are these guys thinking, they say. I say: I don't know. I can't speak for them. I think it is an agenda that appeals to the far right of this Nation. It is not a mainstream way to go.", 'In closing now, for those who say Republicans and Democrats never work together, that is not true. Senator Inhofe and I are as far away from each other politically as two human beings can get, but we teamed up and put aside our ideologies, put aside our pet peeves, put aside things that, perhaps in our hearts, we truly wanted to do on this bill, and we met in the middle. He was over here and I was over here and we ended up right in the middle. We said: We can do this, and we proved we could do it. It was a challenge that was put to us by the leadership of both our parties and we met that test and other committees met that test.', 'So here we are. Are we now to say to committee chairs and ranking members, Republicans and Democrats alike, forget about it? It is not worth it. Work your heart out.', "I pay tribute to my staff, my Democratic staff, and to Senator Inhofe's Republican staff. They worked night after night after night to come together on this bill. Then we were given an assignment 2 weeks ago to resolve the germane amendments and they have come together and they have resolved I don't know how many but dozens of amendments. So is the message, work your little hearts out, have your staff give up their nights with their families and come up with a bipartisan bill and all of a sudden have it subjected to some polarizing amendments that have nothing to do with the subject?", "Please, let's not see this bill go down. Because if this bill goes down, let me tell you, I, for one, will go to as many cities as I can and counties in this country and tell the truth about what happened. There is no reason for us not to get this done, especially when we have the Chamber of Commerce working with the AFL CIO, we have Republican-leaning business organizations working with Democratic-leaning worker organizations all throughout this country--over 1,000 of them. I talk to them every week to say thank you to them for keeping the pressure on all of us to keep moving forward. When we have that kind of bipartisanship in our committees, when we have that type of bipartisan bill on the floor, when we have that type of bipartisan support in the country, it is time to move forward and get the job done for the American people.", 'I thank the Chair, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.']
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/02/29/S1106-4_moving-ahead-for-progress-in-the-21st-century-act/
21. THREAT FROM HUAWEI on 2012-03-19:
['Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share troubling information that has come to my attention about Huawei, a Chinese telecom firm which is attempting to increase its market share in the U.S.', "Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that, ``Huawei's network business has thrived at the expense of struggling Western network companies,'' and is ``quietly building and investing in its own brand of high-end smart phones and tablets.'' But many Americans may not be aware that numerous government reports have linked Huawei's corporate leadership to the People's Liberation Army, raising serious concerns about its products being used for espionage by the Chinese Government.", 'Last week, respected national security reporter Bill Gertz wrote:', "New information about Chinese civilian telecommunications companies' close support of the Chinese military and information warfare programs is raising fresh concerns.", "That is why both the Bush administration and the Obama administration have repeatedly intervened to block Huawei's growth. Huawei is controlled by the same government that jails Catholic bishops and Protestant pastors, oppresses the Uyghur Muslims, has plundered Tibet, and that is providing the very rockets that Sudanese President Bashir is using to kill his own people.", "Mr. Speaker, the American people have a right to know whether their government is doing everything it can to protect their cell phone and data networks from foreign espionage and cyberattacks. As Huawei increases its lobbying presence in Washington, the American people should be fully aware of the firm's intimate links to the PLA and the serious concerns of our defense and intelligence community.", "I rise today to share troubling information that has come to my attention about Huawei, a Chinese telecom firm, which is attempting to increase its market share in the United States and around the world. Numerous government reports have linked Huawei's corporate leadership to the Chinese intelligence services and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), raising concerns about Huawei networks and devices being subject to espionage by the Chinese government.", "These connections are particularly noteworthy given Huawei's rapid rise as a telecom giant. According to an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, ``Huawei Technologies Co. has almost doubled its work force over the past five years as it strives to become a mobile technology heavyweight.''", "The article also noted that, ``Huawei's network business has thrived at the expense of struggling Western network companies such as Alcatel-Lucent Co. and Nokia Siemens Networks. Initially, Huawei supplied low-cost phones to telecommunications operators in the West under their own brand, but over the past year, Huawei has also been quietly building and investing in its own brand of high-end smartphones and tablets.''", "Huawei executives make no secret of their goal to dominate the telecom market. In a March 6, 2012, interview with the technology news Web site, Engadget, Huawei device chief Richard Yu said, ``In three years we want Huawei to be the industry's top brand.''", "However, Huawei's growth in the U.S. market should give all Americans serious pause. Last week, respected national security reporter Bill Gertz wrote in the Washington Free Beacon that, ``New information about Chinese civilian telecommunications companies' close support of the Chinese military and information warfare programs is raising fresh concerns about the companies' access to U.S. markets,'' according to a report by the congressional US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. ``One of the companies identified in the report as linked to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is Huawei Technologies, a global network hardware manufacturer that has twice been blocked by the U.S. government since 2008 from trying to buy into U.S. telecommunications firms.'' ", "The congressional report noted that, ``Huawei is a well established supplier of specialized telecommunications equipment, training and related technology to the PLA that has, along with others such as Zhongxing, and Datang, received direct funding for R&D on C4ISR [high-tech intelligence collection] systems capabilities.''", "The report further added, ``All of these [Chinese telecom] firms originated as state research institutes and continue to receive preferential funding and support from the PLA,'' the report said.", "Huawei's efforts to sell telecom equipment to U.S. networks have long troubled the U.S. defense and intelligence community, which has been concerned that Huawei's equipment could be easily compromised and used in Chinese cyberattacks against the U.S. or to intercept phone calls and e-mails from American telecom networks.", "According to a 2005 report by the RAND Corporation, ``both the [Chinese] government and the military tout Huawei as a national champion,'' and ``one does not need to dig too deeply to discover that [many Chinese information technology and telecommunications firms] are the public face for, sprang from, or are significantly engaged in joint research with state research institutes under the Ministry of Information Industry, defense-industrial corporations, or the military.''", "In fact, in 2009, the Washington Post reported that the National Security Agency ``called AT&T because of fears that China's intelligence agencies could insert digital trapdoors into Huawei's technology that would serve as secret listening posts in the U.S. communications network.''", "Over the last several years, Huawei's top executives' deep connections to the People's Liberation Army and Chinese intelligence have been well documented. As Gertz summarized in his article, ``A U.S. intelligence report produced last fall stated that Huawei Technologies was linked to the Ministry of State Security, specifically through Huawei's chairwoman, Sun Yafang, who worked for the Ministry of State Security (MSS) Communications Department before joining the company.''", "That is why senior administration officials in the Bush and Obama administrations have repeatedly intervened to block Huawei's access to U.S. networks. ``In 2008, the Treasury Department-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) blocked Huawei from purchasing the U.S. telecommunications firm 3Com due to the company's links to the Chinese military,'' Gertz reported. ``Last year, under pressure from the U.S. government, Huawei abandoned their efforts to purchase the U.S. server technology company 3Leaf. In 2010, Congress opposed Huawei's proposal to supply mobile telecommunications gear to Sprint over concerns that Sprint was a major supplier to the U.S. military and intelligence agencies.''", "It's not just Huawei's longstanding and tight connections to Chinese intelligence that should trouble us. Huawei has also been a leading supplier of critical telecom services to some of the worst regimes around the world. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Huawei ``now dominates Iran's government-controlled mobile-phone industry . . . it plays a role in enabling Iran's state security network.''", "Gertz reported that Huawei has also been ``linked to sanctions-busting in Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the 1990s, when the company helped network Iraqi air defenses at a time when U.S. and allied jets were flying patrols to enforce a no-fly zone. The company also worked with the Taliban during its short reign in Afghanistan to install a phone system in Kabul.''", "Mr. Speaker, given all of this information, there should be no doubt Huawei poses a serious national and economic security threat to the U.S. It is no secret that the People's Republic of China has developed the most aggressive espionage operation in modern history, especially given its focus on cyberattacks and cyberespionage.", "Perhaps that is why Beijing has ensured that Huawei is able to continue its global market growth by ``unsustainably low prices and [Chinese] goverment export assistance,'' according to January 2011 congressional report on the national security implications of Chinese telecom companies. Due to China's secrecy, the full extent of Huawei's subsidies are not be fully known. But given its unrealistically low prices, it remains unknown whether Huawei is even making a profit as it seeks to dominate the telecom market. Why would the Chinese government be willing to generously subsidize such unprofitable products?", "Earlier this year, The Economist magazine published a special report on Communist Party management of Chinese corporations. The Economist reported that, ``The [Communist] party has cells in most big companies--in the private as well as state-owned sector--complete with their own offices and files on employees. It holds meetings that shadow formal board meetings and often trump their decisions''", "The Chinese even have an expression for this strategy: ``The state advances while the private sector retreats.''", "Author Richard McGregor wrote that the executives at Chinese companies have a ``red machine'' with an encrypted line to Beijing next to their Bloomberg terminals and personal items on their desks.", "Last year, the Financial Times reported that the PLA has even documented how it will use telecom firms for foreign espionage and cyberattacks. A paper published in the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences' journal noted: ``[These cyber militia] should preferably be set up in the telecom sector, in the electronics and internet industries and in institutions of scientific research,'' and its tasks should include ``stealing, changing and erasing data'' on enemy networks and their intrusion with the goal of ``deception, jamming, disruption, throttling and paralysis.''", "The same article also documented the growing number PLA-led cyber militias housed in ``private'' Chinese telecom firms. The article reported on one example at the firm Nanhao: ``many of its 500 employees in Hengshui, just south-west of Beijing, have a second job. Since 2005 Nanhao has been home to a cybermilitia unit organized by the People's Liberation Army. The Nanhao operation is one of thousands set up by the Chinese military over the past decade in technology companies and universities around the country. These units form the backbone of the country's internet warfare forces, increasingly seen as a serious threat at a time of escalating global cybertensions.", "Senior U.S. military and intelligence officials have become increasingly vocal about their concerns about the scope of Chinese espionage and cyberattacks. According to recent testimony given before the Senate, Defense Intelligence Agency chief General Ron Burgess said, ``China has used its intelligence services to gather information via a significant network of agents and contacts using a variety of methods . . . In recent years, multiple cases of economic espionage and theft of dual-use and military technology have uncovered pervasive Chinese collection efforts.''", "Last year, the reticent Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive issued a warning that, ``Chinese actors are the world's most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage.'' The counterintelligence office took this rare step of singling out the Chinese due to the severity of the threat to U.S. national and economic security.", "And March 8, 2012 Washington Post article described how, ``For a decade or more, Chinese military officials have talked about conducting warfare in cyberspace, but in recent years they have progressed to testing attack capabilities during exercises . . . The [PLA] probably would target transportation and logistics networks before an actual conflict to try to delay or disrupt the United States' ability to fight, according to the report prepared by Northrop Grumman for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.''", "We are beginning to witness the consequences of this strategy. According to a March 13, 2012 New York Times article, ``During the five-month period between October and February, there were 86 reported attacks on computer systems in the United States that control critical infrastructure, factories and databases, according to the Department of Homeland Security, compared with 11 over the same period a year ago.'' ", "In an interview with the New York Times, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, ``I think General Dempsey said it best when he said that prior to 9/11, there were all kinds of information out there that a catastrophic attack was looming. The information on a cyberattack is at the same frequency and intensity and is bubbling at the same level, and we should not wait for an attack in order to do something.''", "A 2010 Pentagon report found ``. . . In the case of key national security technologies, controlled equipment, and other materials not readily obtainable through commercial means or academia, the People's Republic of China resorts to more focused efforts, including the use of its intelligence services and other-than legal means, in violation of U.S. laws and export controls.''", "The report also highlighted China's cyber-espionage efforts. The U.S. intelligence community notes that China's attempts to penetrate U.S. agencies are the most aggressive of all foreign intelligence organizations.", "Notably, Chinese espionage isn't limited to government agencies. In an October 4 Washington Post article, Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, remarked, ``When you talk to these companies behind closed doors, they describe attacks that originate in China, and have a level of sophistication and are clearly supported by a level of resources that can only be a nation-state entity.''", "This prolific espionage is having a real and corrosive effect on job creation. Last year, the Washington Post reported that, ``The head of the military's U.S. Cyber Command, Gen. Keith Alexander, said that one U.S. company recently lost $1 billion worth of intellectual property over the course of a couple of days--`technology that they'd worked on for 20-plus years--stolen by one of the adversaries.' ''", "That is why, in February 2012 testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence FBI Director Robert Mueller said that while terrorism is the greatest threat today, ``down the road, the cyber threat will be the number one threat to the country.''", 'Mr. Speaker, I firmly believe that Huawei is one face of this emerging threat. And the American people have a right to know whether their government is doing everything it can to protect their cell phone and data networks.', "As Huawei increases its lobbying presence in Washington, members should be fully aware of the firm's intimate links to the PLA and the serious concerns of our defense and intelligence community.", 'Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and other U.S. network carriers should not be selling Huawei devices given these security concerns. But if they do, they have an obligation to inform their customers of these threats. This is especially important when carriers are selling Huawei phones and tablets to corporate customers.', 'They have a right to know that Beijing may be listening.']
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/19/H1376-4_threat-from-huawei/
22. ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS on 2012-03-27:
[" S. 339 At the request of Mr. Baucus, the name of the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Nelson) was added as a cosponsor of S. 339, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the special rule for contributions of qualified conservation contributions. S. 418 At the request of Mr. Harkin, the names of the Senator from Missouri (Mrs. McCaskill) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) were added as cosponsors of S. 418, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol. S. 798 At the request of Mr. Tester, the name of the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Portman) was added as a cosponsor of S. 798, a bill to provide an amnesty period during which veterans and their family members can register certain firearms in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, and for other purposes. S. 1299 At the request of Mr. Moran, the name of the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Heller) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1299, a bill to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of Lions Clubs International. S. 1301 At the request of Mr. Leahy, the name of the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Pryor) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1301, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2012 through 2015 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, to enhance measures to combat trafficking in persons, and for other purposes. S. 1316 At the request of Mr. Enzi, the name of the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Isakson) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1316, a bill to prevent a fiscal crisis by enacting legislation to balance the Federal budget through reductions of discretionary and mandatory spending. S. 1421 At the request of Mr. Portman, the name of the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1421, a bill to authorize the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes. S. 1591 At the request of Mrs. Gillibrand, the name of the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1591, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Raoul Wallenberg, in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions during the Holocaust. S. 1629 At the request of Mrs. Gillibrand, the name of the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1629, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, and for other purposes. S. 1696 At the request of Mr. Leahy, the name of the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1696, a bill to improve the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program. S. 1755 At the request of Mr. Tester, the name of the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Blumenthal) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1755, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for coverage under the beneficiary travel program of the Department of Veterans Affairs of certain disabled veterans for travel for certain special disabilities rehabilitation, and for other purposes. S. 1774 At the request of Mr. Baucus, the name of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1774, a bill to establish the Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Management Area, to designate certain Federal land as wilderness, and to improve the management of noxious weeds in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, and for other purposes. S. 1945 At the request of Mr. Durbin, the name of the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1945, a bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings. S. 2051 At the request of Mr. Reed, the name of the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2051, a bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the reduced interest rate for Federal Direct Stafford Loans. S. 2112 At the request of Mr. Begich, the name of the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2112, a bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize space-available travel on military aircraft for members of the reserve components, a member or former member of a reserve component who is eligible for retired pay but for age, widows and widowers of retired members, and dependents. S. 2113 At the request of Mrs. Hagan, the name of the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2113, a bill to empower the Food and Drug Administration to ensure a clear and effective pathway that will encourage innovative products to benefit patients and improve public health. S. 2120 At the request of Ms. Murkowski, the name of the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2120, a bill to require the lender or servicer of a home mortgage upon a request by the homeowner for a short sale, to make a prompt decision whether to allow the sale. S. 2134 At the request of Mr. Blumenthal, the name of the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2134, a bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for certain requirements relating to the retirement, adoption, care, and recognition of military working dogs, and for other purposes. S. 2139 At the request of Mrs. McCaskill, the name of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2139, a bill to enhance security, increase accountability, and improve the contracting of the Federal Government for overseas contingency operations, and for other purposes. S. 2140 At the request of Mr. Brown of Ohio, the name of the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2140, a bill to amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to modify the period used to calculate certain unemployment rates, to encourage the development of business incubators, and for other purposes. S. 2148 At the request of Mr. Inhofe, the name of the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2148, a bill to amend the Toxic Substance Control Act relating to lead-based paint renovation and remodeling activities. S. 2159 At the request of Mr. Leahy, the name of the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2159, a bill to extend the authorization of the Drug-Free Communities Support Program through fiscal year 2017. S. 2165 At the request of Mrs. Boxer, the name of the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2165, a bill to enhance strategic cooperation between the United States and Israel, and for other purposes. S. 2204 At the request of Mr. Menendez, the name of the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2204, a bill to eliminate unnecessary tax subsidies and promote renewable energy and energy conservation. S. 2205 At the request of Mr. Moran, the name of the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2205, a bill to prohibit funding to negotiate a United Nations Arms Trade Treaty that restricts the Second Amendment rights of United States citizens. S. 2213 At the request of Mr. Thune, the name of the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2213, a bill to allow reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms. S. 2221 At the request of Mr. Thune, the name of the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2221, a bill to prohibit the Secretary of Labor from finalizing a proposed rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 relating to child labor. S. 2222 At the request of Mr. Sanders, the names of the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Begich) and the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Levin) were added as cosponsors of S. 2222, a bill to require the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to take certain actions to reduce excessive speculation in energy markets. S. 2226 At the request of Mr. Paul, the name of the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2226, a bill to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from awarding any grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or other financial assistance under section 103 of the Clean Air Act for any program, project, or activity carried out outside the United States, including the territories and possessions of the United States. S. 2232 At the request of Mr. Brown of Massachusetts, the name of the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Portman) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2232, a bill to decrease the deficit by realigning, consolidating, disposing, and improving the efficiency of Federal buildings and other civilian real property, and for other purposes. S. 2233 At the request of Mr. Schumer, the names of the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Blumenthal) and the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl) were added as cosponsors of S. 2233, a bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to stimulate international tourism to the United States. S.J. RES. 38 At the request of Mr. Graham, the name of the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) was added as a cosponsor of S.J. Res. 38, a joint resolution disapproving a rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to the certification of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal nonagricultural employment. S. RES. 344 At the request of Mr. Rubio, the name of the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 344, a resolution supporting the democratic aspirations of the Nicaraguan people and calling attention to the deterioration of constitutional order in Nicaragua. S. RES. 356 At the request of Mrs. Feinstein, the name of the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 356, a resolution expressing support for the people of Tibet. S. RES. 395 At the request of Mr. Durbin, the name of the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Lugar) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 395, a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the NATO summit to be held in Chicago, Illinois from May 20 through 21, 2012. S. RES. 397 At the request of Mr. Coons, the name of the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) was added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 397, a resolution promoting peace and stability in Sudan, and for other purposes. S. RES. 402 At the request of Mr. Coons, the names of the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Heller) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Ms. Ayotte) were added as cosponsors of S. Res. 402, a resolution condemning Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army for committing crimes against humanity and mass atrocities, and supporting ongoing efforts by the United States Government and governments in central Africa to remove Joseph Kony and Lord's Resistance Army commanders from the battlefield. AMENDMENT NO. 1952 At the request of Mr. Sanders, the names of the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) and the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Begich) were added as cosponsors of amendment No. 1952 intended to be proposed to S. 2204, a bill to eliminate unnecessary tax subsidies and promote renewable energy and energy conservation."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/27/S2085-3_additional-cosponsors/
23. HUMAN RIGHTS DAY on 2012-12-10:
['Mr. President, I come here on December 10, Human Rights Day. I want to briefly discuss human rights because, I would just say, while we have made great advances around the world in the cause of human rights, there are still a lot of roads to travel. Today is a good opportunity to take note of some of the struggles and challenges around the world with regard to human rights.', 'The first issue I want to talk about with regard to human rights is modern-day slavery. When people think about slavery they think about the historic nature of slavery in this country or around the world. It is hard to imagine that today, in the 21st century, that there are slaves in the world. It is even harder to believe there are slaves in the United States, but the fact is there are. It has been well documented that human trafficking around the world numbers in the millions.', 'Of course, sex trafficking is a big part of that, a grotesque part of that, and we are all aware that it is a very serious problem. So too is forced labor-type slavery, which we find around the world and even in the United States. In fact, there is no major city in the United States that does not have an element of human trafficking and human slavery within its confines. I think it is important to understand that exists, it is real, and it is happening.', 'To that extent, remember there are things we are trying to do in this legislative body, in the Senate, in Washington, to deal with this issue. One of the issues we are going to have a chance to deal with soon, I hope, is reauthorizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which was sponsored last year by Senator Brown and Senator Leahy. Hopefully, we can finish that before the end of this year, but if we cannot, I hope early in the next Congress we will address it.', 'As you know, there are also reports that the State Department does rank countries around the world on the efforts they are making to deal with human trafficking, and they actually rank them in three tiers, the third being the worst, those nations not doing enough. I hope we look at how we reform the process of giving some of these countries waivers. There are countries that are perpetually on the list of the worst possible places with regard to government policy toward human trafficking. Yet they are getting waivers from the implications and the consequences of being a tier 3 country. There are countries getting that waiver every single year. ', 'I hope we will examine the process legislatively, of how we grant those waivers, so we can have more information as to exactly why it is our government is granting waivers to other governments and other nations that are not making any advances whatsoever on human slavery and trafficking.', 'Another aspect we should take some time to look at is some transparency from the business community, particularly large international companies that do business around the world. We should look for ways to encourage and incentivize companies to report voluntarily on their supply chains to ensure the products we use in the United States are not the product of human slavery, modern slavery around the world. We can do that as well.', 'Obviously, we do not want to put any more onerous costs on our businesses, and we will be careful how we approach it, but I think it is important that we know the products sold in the United States are not directly or indirectly benefiting from slavery around the world. That is something I hope we will remember; that human trafficking and human slavery is real, it exists all around the world, and exists in our own country. I hope we will continue making strides dealing with this issue.', 'One last point on that is a few months ago several of my colleagues and I sent a letter to the Village Voice, which is a newspaper in the United States, which actively--and unfortunately--advertises in its back pages, including in a site called backpage.com. It advertises the services of people being held against their will in those circumstances. It is outrageous to believe a major American publication continues to advertise the services of young girls and young boys, some of whom are minors, and is doing so shamelessly. I hope they will heed our call to stop that from happening. It is a massive source of revenue for that company. It is outrageous, it is disgusting, it is grotesque, and I hope more of our colleagues will join us in writing a new letter to them in continuing to call attention to this because it is simply unacceptable.', 'Secondly, I want to turn to the issue of religious freedom, which is another human rights cause around the world. Sadly there is not enough advancement being made in that regard. We are seeing a step backward with regard to religious liberty and religious freedom around the world.', 'In April of this year the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its latest report with some very grim news. I want to go through some of it, but it is important to understand we are not talking about the countries, we are talking about the governments. There are some governments that are aiding and abetting the persecution of unprotected religious minorities. I want to highlight some of those countries and governments. The list is long, but these are a few I wanted to point to today that are truly unacceptable.', "Let's start with the People's Republic of China, which is not exactly a beacon of hope for those who are looking for religious liberty. Of course we all know the situation in Tibet, which is not just a religious issue, it is a cultural issue. We see the self-immolation of folks who are willing to burn alive because of the effort of that government to wipe out their identity. What they are going through is intolerable.", "It goes much deeper than that. Proselytizing Christians and the orthodox, ``nonpatriotic'' Catholic Church, face significant oppression. The Chinese Government actually authorizes who the leadership of the Catholic Church can be. It is truly unique that in all the world there is a government that will tell them who their bishops are and who will run their church. If they worship outside of that setting, they are persecuted.", 'There are others, of course, such as the Tibetan Buddhists whom I mentioned before. Here is a report that talks about that. It is not just the religious believers who are facing persecution in China. This is from the report:', 'The Chinese government also continues to harass, detain, intimidate, disbar, and forcibly disappear attorneys who defend vulnerable religious groups.', 'Again, we need to understand that we are not talking about the people of China; we are talking about the government of China which is aiding, abetting, and allowing this religious persecution to go on. We hope with the change in leadership in China that has taken place there will be a change in attitude.', 'The truth is that China has much to offer the world. We hope for a peaceful, prosperous rise for the people of China. We look forward to working together with them to make the world a better place. But China cannot assume that role as long as there is no respect for religious liberties as far as these practices that are happening in that country with the direction of its government.', 'Of course Egypt has been in the headlines lately. I think it has been well documented that violence particularly against orthodox Christians has been high. This is from the report:', 'In 2011, violent sectarian attacks, targeting primarily Coptic Orthodox Christians, have resulted in nearly 100 deaths, surpassing the death toll of the previous 10 years combined.', 'I think the Arab spring has a lot of promise, but I think it also brings with it some warning flags. One of those warning flags is the persecution of religious minorities in places such as Egypt. So as Egypt works its way forward--and we know it has problems it is facing in its own society with regard to what kind of government and powers it needs and should have--we should keep an eye on how the new constitution, the new laws, and the new government treat religious minorities, particularly Coptic Orthodox Christians who suffered the death of 100 of their members.', 'Iran does not have a sterling record on human rights. Its treatment of religious minorities is particularly egregious. The violations of religious freedoms in Iran include prolonged detention, torture, and executions based primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused. All religious minorities in Iran are at risk, but even the recognized non-Muslim religious minorities that are supposedly protected under their so-called Constitution, including Jews, Armenian, and Assyrian Christians, face increasing discrimination, arrests, and imprisonment, according to the report. So too are dissenting Muslims. They are basically Muslims who are not following the Shia line. They are being intimidated, harassed, and detained. That is the record of Iran, which has a terrible human rights record, but in particular with the issues of religious liberty.', 'Saudi Arabia bans any non-Muslim worship. Even private religious activities are suppressed if they are discovered. I think it is important to point that out as well.', 'Closer to home is the island of Cuba, which is a place, of course, because of my heritage which is close and near to our heart so we keep a close eye on what is happening there as well.', 'The report finds:', 'Serious religious freedom violations continue in Cuba . . . Violations by the Cuban government include: detention, sporadic arrests, and harassment of clergy and religious leaders, as well as interference in church affairs. The Cuban government also controls and monitors religious belief and practices through surveillance and legal restrictions.', 'In Russia the report finds:', "The government increasingly used its anti-extremist law against peaceful religious groups and individuals, particularly Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslim readers of the works of Turkish theologian Said Nursi.", 'Russia is a country that is beginning to backslide on religious liberty as well.', 'Finally, here in this hemisphere, just as in Cuba, Venezuela. The report finds that violations of religious liberty include:', "The government's failure to investigate and hold accountable perpetrators of attacks on religious leaders and houses of worship, and virulent rhetoric president Hugo Chavez, government officials, state media, and pro- Chavez media directed at the Venezuelan Jewish and Christian communities.", 'I think sometimes we take for granted the religious liberties we have in this country, and we should never do so. The fact is we may have some cultural divisions in America when it comes to religion, and that is not tolerable either. But one of the great things we have had in this country since its inception is the belief in religious liberty and religious freedom enshrined in our governing Constitution. It is something that is the exception rather than the rule around the world. I think our example should inspire the world in that regard, but I think we should always use our voice, our power, and our example to lead the way around the world on this Human Rights Day on the issue of religious liberty.', 'Last but not least, the cause for women around the world is something that bears watching as well. Some of these issues are interrelated. When I talk about human trafficking and human slavery, a disproportionate number of those held in bondage around the world are young women and young girls.', "On the issue of human rights with regard to women, there are a couple of parts of the world that are very troubling. Afghanistan comes to mind because just today we got the report that a senior advocate for women in Afghanistan was shot down by unknown gunmen on Monday. It is the latest assassination against women's rights activists in the country. Najia Seddiqi was headed to her office in the eastern Laghman province when she was shot and killed. She was the head of the Women's Affairs Department for the Laghman province. Her predecessor in that post was killed just 4 months ago. The Taliban, which many hold responsible for the attack, has not yet had a comment, but it comes just a week after a teenage girl who was volunteering at an anti-polio drive was fatally shot northeast of Kabul. The Taliban has targeted senior female officials in the past for working in the U.S.-backed Afghan Government. That is just one issue of a coordinated attack to go after women who dare to participate in the political life of the country. It goes beyond that.", 'There is this very troubling law in Afghanistan which the government claims to have tried to clear up. It is called running away. Basically some judges have interpreted running away as a crime. It has been used against young girls and women who run away from home because it is a home where they are being abused or a home where they are being forced to marry somebody.', 'There are some sad stories I want to share. A 17-year-old leapt from her roof to the streets of Kabul in an effort to avoid marriage ordained by her grandfather when she was only 9 years old. The judge who heard the case mentioned that Farima ruined her life. The judge stated in a court that the court is a place where a woman can plead for divorce or custody of her children only if and when she has five male witnesses and a husband or a fiance who condones the separation.', 'This is the 21st century we are talking about. We are not reading something from history. This is happening right now. Of course we all know the story of the brave little girl in Pakistan who was shot. We hear these cases every single day. It goes on and on. I could be here for 3 hours highlighting abuses against women, against religious liberty, the abuses of human trafficking and human slavery around the world. I think what is important today on December 10, Human Rights Day, is to take a moment and understand that the cause of human rights is not a partisan cause; it is not even a nationalist cause. It is a human cause that requires each and every one of us to raise our voice and to call attention to any time and any place where human rights are violated.', 'I want to congratulate the leading role this government has played in calling attention to those abuses around the world and in being honest with ourselves when these things are happening here at home. Of course, like anything else, we have to first set the example before we can lead, and that is why I think it is so important that on the issue of human trafficking and modern-day slavery that the United States have cutting-edge legislation which deals with an emerging problem that keeps changing and so the laws have to adapt to it. I hope we will take the first step in doing that by authorizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act as soon as possible.', 'I suggest the absence a quorum.']
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/12/10/S7693-5_human-rights-day/
24. PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS on 2012-03-29:
[" Under clause 2 of rule XII, public bills and resolutions of the following titles were introduced and severally referred, as follows: By Mrs. BLACKBURN (for herself, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mrs. Ellmers, Mr. Garrett, and Mr. Huelskamp): H.R. 4295. A bill to establish the Department of Energy and the Environment, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Appropriations, Science, Space, and Technology, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mrs. HARTZLER (for herself, Mr. Stutzman, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Ms. Roybal- Allard, and Mr. Cravaack): H.R. 4296. A bill to amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act to repeal a duplicative program relating to inspection and grading of catfish; to the Committee on Agriculture. By Ms. FOXX (for herself, Mr. McKeon, and Mr. Heck): H.R. 4297. A bill to reform and strengthen the workforce investment system of the Nation to put Americans back to work and make the United States more competitive in the 21st Century; to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. McKINLEY: H.R. 4298. A bill to direct the Secretary of Labor to conduct a review of the forms related to obtaining workers' compensation benefits under the Federal Black Lung Benefits Program; to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. By Mr. McNERNEY (for himself and Mr. Runyan): H.R. 4299. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide specially adapted housing assistance to individuals residing temporarily in housing owned by a family member; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. By Mr. McNERNEY (for himself and Mr. Runyan): H.R. 4300. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to make permanent the authority to provide work-study allowance for certain activities by individuals receiving educational assistance by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. By Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Harris, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Graves of Georgia, Mr. Broun of Georgia, Mr. Mulvaney, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Gowdy, and Mr. Landry): H.R. 4301. A bill to contribute to the growth of the American economy and the strength of American national security by streamlining regulatory permitting procedures and increasing domestic production from all energy sources; to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Transportation and Infrastructure, the Judiciary, Rules, Ways and Means, Agriculture, Armed Services, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself and Mr. Manzullo): H.R. 4302. A bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States; to the Committee on Financial Services. By Mr. McCAUL (for himself and Mr. Mack): H.R. 4303. A bill to direct the Secretary of State to designate as foreign terrorist organizations certain Mexican drug cartels and submit a report on the activities the Department of State is taking to assist Mexico with drug cartel violence, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. ROONEY (for himself, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Labrador): H.R. 4304. A bill to clarify the definition of navigable waters, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. By Mr. CHABOT (for himself and Mr. Deutch): H.R. 4305. A bill to authorize the Attorney General to provide a grant to assist Federal, State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing individuals; to the Committee on the Judiciary. By Mr. FITZPATRICK (for himself and Mr. Blumenauer): H.R. 4306. A bill to amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to prohibit the importation, exportation, transportation, and sale, receipt, acquisition, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce, of any live animal of any prohibited wildlife species, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Natural Resources. By Mr. LANKFORD: H.R. 4307. A bill to prohibit the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation from making grants, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. By Mr. CLARKE of Michigan (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Hanabusa, and Ms. Norton): H.R. 4308. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to provide growth and stability funding for the city of Detroit; to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. By Mr. REICHERT (for himself and Mr. Pascrell): H.R. 4309. A bill to permit Federal officers to remove cases involving crimes of violence to Federal court; to the Committee on the Judiciary. By Mr. McKEON (for himself and Mr. Smith of Washington) (both by request): H.R. 4310. A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for military activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2013, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Armed Services. By Mr. JONES: H.R. 4311. A bill to correct the boundaries of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Unit L06, Topsail, North Carolina; to the Committee on Natural Resources. By Mr. BISHOP of New York (for himself, Mr. Turner of New York, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Kissell, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Towns, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Davis of California, and Mr. Jones): H.R. 4312. A bill to amend chapter 21 of title 5, United States Code, to provide that fathers of certain permanently disabled or deceased veterans shall be included with mothers of such veterans as preference eligibles for treatment in the civil service; to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. By Mr. BOSWELL (for himself and Mr. Crawford): H.R. 4313. A bill to amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to require an evaluation of county workload assessments for purposes of the closure or relocation of a county office for the Farm Service Agency, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture. By Mrs. CAPPS (for herself, Mr. Farr, Mr. Keating, Ms. Hirono, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. Pingree of Maine, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Pierluisi, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Sablan, Ms. Lee of California, and Mr. Faleomavaega): H.R. 4314. A bill to amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation planning and response program, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Natural Resources. By Mr. CARNAHAN (for himself, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Speier, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Ms. Waters, Ms. Moore, Mr. Altmire, Ms. Chu, Ms. Hahn, and Ms. Richardson): H.R. 4315. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for unlimited eligibility for health care for mental illnesses for veterans of combat service during certain periods of hostilities and war; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. By Mrs. CHRISTENSEN (for herself, Mr. Faleomavaega, Ms. Bordallo, and Mr. Sablan): H.R. 4316. A bill to amend chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 to include Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the definition of State for the purposes of the trade adjustment assistance for workers program; to the Committee on Ways and Means. By Mr. DEUTCH (for himself and Mr. Dold): H.R. 4317. A bill to expand sanctions with respect to the energy sector of Iran, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. By Mr. ELLISON (for himself, Mr. Kucinich, and Mr. Moran): H.R. 4318. A bill to prohibit the use, production, sale, importation, or exportation of any pesticide containing atrazine; to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. ENGEL: H.R. 4319. A bill to require the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations to provide for accurate disclosures of the terms and conditions of prepaid telephone calling cards; to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. By Mr. FATTAH: H.R. 4320. A bill to amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require long-term cost benefit analyses of introduced bills; to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. GERLACH (for himself and Mr. Blumenauer): H.R. 4321. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on heavy trucks and trailers, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Ways and Means. By Mr. GOHMERT (for himself, Mr. Duncan of South Carolina, Mr. Barton of Texas, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Ribble, Mr. Stutzman, Mr. Berg, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Hall, Mr. Farenthold, Mr. Carter, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Culberson, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Thornberry): H.R. 4322. A bill to clarify that a State has the sole authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing on Federal land within the boundaries of the State; to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan (for himself, Mr. Royce, Mr. Clay, and Mr. David Scott of Georgia): H.R. 4323. A bill to amend the Truth in Lending Act to improve upon the definitions provided for points and fees in connection with a mortgage transaction; to the Committee on Financial Services. By Mr. KIND (for himself and Mr. McDermott): H.R. 4324. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the credit for employee health insurance expenses of small employers; to the Committee on Ways and Means. By Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. Holt, Mr. Owens, Ms. Woolsey, and Mr. Welch): H.R. 4325. A bill to provide that the Secretary of the Interior may accept bids on any new oil and gas leases of Federal lands (including submerged lands) only from bidders certifying that all oil produced pursuant to such leases, and all refined petroleum products produced from such oil, shall be offered for sale only in the United States, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Natural Resources. By Mr. MATHESON (for himself, Mr. Bass of New Hampshire, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Coble, and Mrs. Napolitano): H.R. 4326. A bill to direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require residential carbon monoxide detectors to meet the applicable ANSI/UL standard by treating that standard as a consumer product safety rule, to encourage States to require the installation of such detectors in homes, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. MICHAUD (for himself, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Jones, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, and Mr. McGovern): H.R. 4327. A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recognize tinnitus as a mandatory condition for research and treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. By Mrs. MILLER of Michigan: H.R. 4328. A bill to amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Great Lakes basin initiative for agricultural nonpoint source pollution prevention; to the Committee on Agriculture. By Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Polis, Mr. Rangel, and Mr. Rothman of New Jersey): H.R. 4329. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the payment of monthly annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan to a supplemental or special needs trust established for the sole benefit of a disabled dependent child of a participant in the Survivor Benefit Plan; to the Committee on Armed Services. By Mrs. NOEM (for herself and Mrs. Hartzler): H.R. 4330. A bill to amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to clarify the maximum distance between Farm Service Agency county offices for purposes of the closure or relocation of a county office for the Farm Service Agency; to the Committee on Agriculture. By Mrs. NOEM: H.R. 4331. A bill to respond to the extreme fire hazard and unsafe conditions resulting from pine beetle infestation, drought, disease, or storm damage by declaring a state of emergency and directing the Secretary of Agriculture to immediately implement hazardous fuels reduction projects in the manner provided in title I of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Mr. Guthrie): H.R. 4332. A bill to amend section 505(j) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to extend the period for a first applicant, with respect to a generic drug, to obtain tentative approval without forfeiting the 180-day exclusivity period, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. By Mr. PAULSEN (for himself, Ms. McCollum, Mr. McGovern, and Mrs. Emerson): H.R. 4333. A bill to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to permit providers of eligible food purchasing and delivery services to be approved as retail food stores that accept and redeem supplemental nutrition assistance benefits; to the Committee on Agriculture. By Mr. PEARCE: H.R. 4334. A bill to establish a monument in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Natural Resources. By Mr. RAHALL: H.R. 4335. A bill to amend title 39, United States Code, to allow the Postal Regulatory Commission to set aside determinations by the United States Postal Service to close or consolidate postal facilities that would deny essential postal services to rural areas, communities, or small towns, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Schock, Mr. Boustany, Mr. Herger, Mr. Berg, Ms. Jenkins, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Davis of Kentucky, and Mr. Roskam): H.R. 4336. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the exclusion from gross income of discharges of qualified principal residence indebtedness; to the Committee on Ways and Means. By Mr. REED (for himself and Ms. Hochul): H.R. 4337. A bill to limit the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to implement certain actions related to Chesapeake Bay watershed total maximum daily loads, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. SABLAN: H.R. 4338. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to expand certain restrictions relating to the overhaul and repair of vessels in foreign shipyards to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; to the Committee on Armed Services. By Mr. SABLAN (for himself, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Hinojosa, and Ms. Norton): H.R. 4339. A bill to amend the Wagner-Peyser Act to include the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the employment services provided under that Act; to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. By Mr. SCHWEIKERT: H.R. 4340. A bill to restrict assistance to Egypt unless the Government of Egypt holds free and fair elections; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. By Mr. STIVERS (for himself, Mr. Schilling, and Mrs. Davis of California): H.R. 4341. A bill to direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a working group to review TRICARE policy with respect to providing health care to children and determine how to improve such policy, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Armed Services. By Mr. WHITFIELD (for himself, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Costello, Mr. Duncan of Tennessee, Mr. Johnson of Illinois, and Ms. Sewell): H.R. 4342. A bill to provide for funding for construction and major rehabilitation for projects located on inland and intracoastal waterways of the United States, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. By Mr. WOLF: H.R. 4343. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the President, the Vice President, Members of Congress, and other officers of the executive branch from lobbying on behalf of foreign governments or instrumentalities for 10 years after leaving office; to the Committee on the Judiciary. By Mr. FRANKS of Arizona (for himself, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Harris, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Huelskamp, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Duncan of South Carolina, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Mulvaney, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Walsh of Illinois, Mr. Manzullo, and Mr. Flores): H.J. Res. 107. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to parental rights; to the Committee on the Judiciary. By Ms. BUERKLE (for herself, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Yoder, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. West, Mr. Sessions, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Mr. Neal, Mr. Rush, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Kline, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Culberson, Mr. Broun of Georgia, Mr. Turner of New York, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Lance, Mr. Hanna, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Holden, Mr. Boren, Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Austria, Mr. Gowdy, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Tiberi, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Stivers, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Runyan, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Hensarling, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Pence, Mr. Duncan of South Carolina, Mr. Posey, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Barton of Texas, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Flores, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Ribble, Mr. Harris, Mr. Graves of Georgia, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Stutzman, Mr. Canseco, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Walsh of Illinois, Mr. Manzullo, Mrs. Hartzler, Mrs. Schmidt, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Kelly, Mrs. Adams, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Mack, and Mr. Griffith of Virginia): H. Con. Res. 115. Concurrent resolution recognizing the 64th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. By Mrs. BIGGERT: H. Res. 602. A resolution encouraging people in the United States to recognize March 2, 2012, as Read Across America Day; to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. By Mrs. BIGGERT (for herself and Mrs. Davis of California): H. Res. 603. A resolution expressing support for designation of October 2, 2012, as World MRSA Day; to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. By Mr. ISSA: H. Res. 604. A resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President exercised the recess appointment power despite the fact that neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate have been adjourned for a period in excess of three days during the Second Session of the 112th Congress; to the Committee on the Judiciary. By Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Moran, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Richardson, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Farr, Mr. Baca, Mr. Waxman, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Olver, Mr. Filner, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Woolsey, Mrs. Christensen, and Ms. DeLauro): H. Res. 605. A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of National Public Health Week; to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. By Mr. AUSTRIA (for himself, Mr. Rogers of Kentucky, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Latta, and Mr. McCaul): H. Res. 606. A resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the notice signed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Jackson on March 27, 2012, entitled `Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units'; to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. By Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself, Ms. Herrera Beutler, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Mr. Dicks, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Smith of Washington, and Mr. Hastings of Washington): H. Res. 607. A resolution congratulating Western Washington University on winning its first Division II NCAA National Basketball Title in the school's 110-year history; to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. By Mr. RAHALL (for himself and Mr. Boustany): H. Res. 608. A resolution honoring the life and work of Arab-American writer Ameen Rihani and celebrating the 100th anniversary of the publication of the first Arab-American novel, `The Book of Khalid', by Ameen Rihani; to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. By Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself and Mr. George Miller of California): H. Res. 609. A resolution Expressing support for the people of Tibet; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. By Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Turner of New York): H. Res. 610. A resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President and the Secretary of State should continue to press Russian authorities for a full and complete accounting regarding the fate of Raoul Wallenberg; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. By Mr. STEARNS (for himself and Mr. Boren): H. Res. 611. A resolution promoting global energy supply security through increased cooperation among the United States, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iraq, and Georgia; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs."]
Read more at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/03/29/H1803-2_public-bills-and-resolutions/