Markup: Mourning the Horrific Loss of Life Caused By Floods and Mudslides in Central America and Mexico and Expressing That the U.S. Should Do Everything Possible to Assist the Affected People and Communities; Conveying Sympathy to the Families of the Young Women Murdered in Chihuahua, Mexico, and Encouraging Increased U.S. Involvement in Ending These Crimes; and Remembering and Commemorating the Lives of Sisters Maura Clarke, Ita Ford and Dorothy Kazel, and Team Member Jean Donovan

SPEAKERS       CONTENTS       INSERTS

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MOURNING THE HORRIFIC LOSS OF LIFE CAUSED BY FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO AND EXPRESSING THAT THE U.S. SHOULD DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO ASSIST THE AFFECTED PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES; CONVEYING SYMPATHY TO THE FAMILIES OF THE YOUNG WOMEN MURDERED IN CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO, AND ENCOURAGING INCREASED U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN ENDING THESE CRIMES; AND REMEMBERING AND COMMEMORATING THE LIVES OF SISTERS MAURA CLARKE, ITA FORD AND DOROTHY KAZEL, AND TEAM MEMBER JEAN DONOVAN, WHO WERE EXECUTED BY MEMBERS OF EL SALVADOR'S ARMED FORCES

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON
THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

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ON
H. Con. Res. 280, H. Con. Res. 90 and H. Res. 458

NOVEMBER 2, 2005

Serial No. 109–107

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman

JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey,
Vice Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
PETER T. KING, New York

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STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
RON PAUL, Texas
DARRELL ISSA, California
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
MARK GREEN, Wisconsin
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
MIKE PENCE, Indiana
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
JOE WILSON, South Carolina
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
CONNIE MACK, Florida
JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
MICHAEL McCAUL, Texas
TED POE, Texas

TOM LANTOS, California
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey

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SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
BRAD SHERMAN, California
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
BARBARA LEE, California
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California
ADAM SMITH, Washington
BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California

THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director

Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman

RON PAUL, Texas

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JERRY WELLER, Illinois, Vice Chairman
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
CONNIE MACK, Florida
MICHAEL McCAUL, Texas

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
GRACE NAPOLITANO, California
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
BARBARA LEE, California

MARK WALKER, Subcommittee Staff Director
JESSICA LEWIS, Democratic Professional Staff Member
DAN S. GETZ, Professional Staff Member
BRIAN WANKO, Staff Associate

C O N T E N T S

MARKUP OF

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    H. Con. Res. 280, Mourning the horrific loss of life caused by the floods and mudslides that occurred in October 2005 in Central America and Mexico and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should do everything possible to assist the affected people and communities

    H. Con. Res. 90, Conveying the sympathy of Congress to the families of the young women murdered in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and encouraging increased United States involvement in bringing an end to these crimes

    H. Res. 458, Remembering and commemorating the lives and work of Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and Cleveland Lay Mission Team Member Jean Donovan, who were executed by members of the armed forces of El Salvador on December 2, 1980

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

    The Honorable Robert Menendez, a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey: Prepared statement

APPENDIX
    The Honorable Hilda L. Solis, a Representative in Congress from the State of California: Prepared statement

MOURNING THE HORRIFIC LOSS OF LIFE CAUSED BY FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO AND EXPRESSING THAT THE U.S. SHOULD DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO ASSIST THE AFFECTED PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES; CONVEYING SYMPATHY TO THE FAMILIES OF THE YOUNG WOMEN MURDERED IN CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO, AND ENCOURAGING INCREASED U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN ENDING THESE CRIMES; AND REMEMBERING AND COMMEMORATING THE LIVES OF SISTERS MAURA CLARKE, ITA FORD AND DOROTHY KAZEL, AND TEAM MEMBER JEAN DONOVAN, WHO WERE EXECUTED BY MEMBERS OF EL SALVADOR'S ARMED FORCES

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2005

House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.

    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:35 p.m. in room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, the Honorable Dan Burton (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.

    Mr. BURTON. The Subcommittee will come to order. We have a series of noncontroversial bills on the agenda. It is the intention of the Chair to consider these measures en bloc, and by unanimous consent, we will order them reported favorably to the Full Committee. All Members are given leave to insert remarks on the measures into the record, should they choose to do so.

    Accordingly, I ask unanimous consent that the following bills are ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee: H. Con. Res. 280, ''Mourning the horrific loss of life caused by the floods and mudslides that occurred in October 2005 in Central America and Mexico and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should do everything possible to assist the affected people and communities;'' H. Con. Res. 90, ''Conveying the sympathy of Congress to the families of the young women murdered in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and encouraging increased United States involvement in bringing an end to these crimes,'' and these are horrible things that are going on down there; and H. Res. 458, ''Remembering and commemorating the lives and work of Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and Cleveland Lay Mission Team Member Jean Donovan, who were executed by members of the armed forces of El Salvador on December 2, 1980.''

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    [The resolutions referred to follow:]

[Note: Image(s) not available in this format. See PDF version of this file.]

    Mr. BURTON. Do you reserve the right to object? Mr. Delahunt reserves the right to object. Would you, under your reservation, let me make a statement?

    Mr. DELAHUNT. I certainly would.

    Mr. BURTON. We call Mr. Delahunt the ''Silver Fox''—he is from Massachusetts—because of his eyes.

    Unfortunately, this past year will likely be long referred to as ''The Year of Natural Disasters.'' Following the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia in late 2004 and the devastating earthquake in South Asia last month, wildfires in the United States, hurricanes that affected most of the Western Hemisphere, many people throughout the world will spend the next few years rebuilding their lives and their communities.

    The United States and our neighbors in Central and South America and the Caribbean have endured heavy losses from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Stan, Wilma, and now Beta. On October 4, 2005, Hurricane Stan made landfall in Mexico's Gulf Coast, bringing sustained winds of over 80 miles an hour and heavy rainfall. Torrential downpours caused widespread flooding and severe mudslides, killing an estimated 2,000 people and affecting millions of others across Central America, including the people of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.

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    On October 2, 2005, Hurricane Wilma, a category four hurricane, made landfall in Cozumel, Mexico, and stalled over the Yucatan Peninsula, bringing over 60 inches of rain to some parts of the peninsula and causing severe flooding, over 75,000 evacuations, damaging between 30 and 40 percent of the houses in Cancun, and causing severe damage to the area's vital tourism industry.

    We need to assist our friends in Mexico in much the same way as they have responded to the devastation along our Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and we are grateful to them for their assistance.

    Last week, I met with Guatemala's foreign minister, Jorge Abularach, and I offered condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and offered support for their survivors. The foreign minister was grateful for the outpouring of support and assistance his country has received in the aftermath of these devastating floods and mudslides from Hurricane Stan. I have seen photos of towns in Guatemala that have turned into mass graves, and our prayers are with those communities. Some of those people are never going to be found; they are under 7 feet of mud.

    I introduced H. Con. Res. 280 last week to urge expedited humanitarian relief, as well as stronger efforts to provide technical assistance to Central American governments, in order to strengthen the capacity of first responders and governmental institutions at the national, provincial, and local levels. Furthermore, the legislation urges assistance which targets immediate and long-term infrastructure needs with a special emphasis on improvements that are aimed to increase emergency preparedness to withstand future natural disasters.

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    While this resolution deals with the destructive power of nature and both the precautionary and responsive measures that should be taken to minimize risks and losses due to natural disasters, the other two resolutions we are considering deal with brutality at the hands of men and disregard for the value of human life.

    I want to commend my colleagues, Congresswoman Solis and Congressman McGovern, for introducing the resolutions that we are marking up today, and you have been very insistent that we get this thing marked up, and your insistence, I think, is well-founded.

    Congresswoman Solis's measure conveys congressional support for justice, accountability, and closure in the investigations of violence against women in the Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua City in Mexico. The resolution stresses the need for more cooperation between law enforcement agencies in both countries and recognizes the important, ongoing work of the special prosecutor and human rights ombudsman to prevent violence against women.

    While Mexican federal, state, and local officials have invested time and energy in resolving these murder cases, much more cooperation with their counterparts in the United States is needed to ensure that every investigative avenue is explored and every lead followed.

    I believe that only through a combined cooperative effort, using every law enforcement resource of the two nations, can we solve these cases and bring the perpetrators to justice and end the terror they have inflicted on both sides of the border.

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    Hundreds of women have disappeared. They have been sold into slavery, we believe. They have been murdered, they have been raped, they have been mistreated, they have been tortured, and something has got to be done about it. Some Mexican officials have been very resolute in getting to the bottom of this, and others have not given a darn, and I think that is tragic.

    We think that the violation of women in the United States is bad, and it is horrible, and I have seen this firsthand, but what is going on down there is just unconscionable, and I hope the Mexican Government, if we have any of their representatives here or at the Full Committee, will do what they can to increase the diligence in dealing with this terrible tragedy.

    Mr. McGovern's resolution pays tribute to four inspiring American church women who worked on behalf of some of the poorest Salvadorans, including refugees and children left homeless during El Salvador's civil war. The four were murdered in El Salvador 25 years ago, and members of the armed forces who perpetrated this heinous crime were brought to justice in 1984.

    I urge my colleagues and all of the other Members who are here to support these resolutions and report them favorably to the Full Committee.

    Does anybody else want to make a statement under your reservation?

    Mr. DELAHUNT. I do not know if Mr. Weller does. I will defer to him first.

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    If I could request of the Chair, you were absolutely correct in terms of your identification of Congresswoman Solis's engagement in the issue dealing with the tragic situation in Mexico. This is a markup. She is not a Member of the Committee, but I would ask unanimous consent that Representative Solis would be allowed to make a short statement, if she so desires.

    Mr. BURTON. You have worked on this a long time, and, without objection, we would love to hear from you.

    Ms. SOLIS. I want to thank Chairman Burton, obviously, and Mr. Delahunt and the Members of the Committee. We have worked on this now for about 3 years. We have over 133 co-sponsors, many Republicans and also Democrats, but we have the support of, I think, our country, both sides, and you would be surprised to see the women of Ciudad Juarez, the mothers and the parents that have to go through, day by day, trying to figure out where the remains of their daughters are. My understanding is that there has been some productive work now since we began this discussion some 3 years ago. We still have a long ways to go, and your words were very accurate and very concise, and I appreciate that.

    We want to continue to see that we can get the Full Committee support on this, and hopefully, at the next phase, also update some of the language because I understand you have to block this particular project now, but we would like to work with you and look forward to working with you on other issues. I have had the opportunity to travel with Congressman Delahunt to other parts of the world and know that this Committee is very, very committed to striking out when they see injustice. So I want to commend you and your staff and the work of the Committee and, of course, my staff and some in the audience that have been a part of this effort.

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    So thank you very much. Gracias. Thank you.

    Mr. BURTON. Before——

    Mr. DELAHUNT. I feel compelled to, and I want to, first of all, associate myself with the remarks of the Chairman, and I also want to compliment our colleague, Representative Solis.

    I would be remiss if I did not note the efforts by my dear friend and colleague from Massachusetts, Jim McGovern, in the resolution dealing with the four church women, religious people, who were murdered and raped some 25 years ago on December 2nd in El Salvador. I feel compelled to note that they have been an inspiration for me, and I am honored to be a co-sponsor of this particular resolution.

    I am not one to discuss religion in a public venue, but I do attend mass in Boston at The Paulist Center, and there is a corner of that place of worship where the pictures of those four women are presented to the public. They have faces of spiritual grace. At mass this week, there was a hymn that I found particularly moving, and my staff was able to secure the words. I am certainly not going to do it justice by singing. I hear a sigh of relief from staff and, I think, the parliamentarian and possibly the Chair. But let me read the words into the record because I think that these four church women embrace the sentiments of these spiritual words:

  ''We are called to act with justice. We are called to love tenderly. We are called to serve one another. We walk humbly with God. We are called to be hope for the hopeless, so all hatred and blindness will be no more.''

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    The Chair and I have discussed on several occasions what occurred during the 1980s in Central America and the need to ensure that it never happens again. I know the sincerity and the profound nature of that commitment by Dan Burton. I share that. The fact that these four young women, who were there to serve, were there to assist and to help the poor, the disadvantaged, and particularly victims of the violence that ravaged El Salvador during that time, really should inspire all of us, I would suggest, to rededicate ourselves in a living memorial to them and do everything that we can to see that that part of the world, that region of the world, is never revisited by that time of violence.

    I found a quote from a speech in a local paper that was given in 1953 by President Eisenhower, and I think he really encapsuled something important that we should all reflect on. These are his words, a great president and obviously a great leader in a time of war:

  ''Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, and the hopes of its children.''

    I think that the words of that hymn and the admonition of President Eisenhower, General Eisenhower also, and the heroism of those four religious people who were there to serve is a reminder that we should invoke frequently as we make decisions, not just here in this Committee but as Members of Congress.

    So I am honored to co-sponsor this legislation, and I want to commend Jim McGovern for really making this a passion of his and bringing it to our attention. With that, I withdraw my reservation.

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    Mr. BURTON. Thank you. I think you ought to remember that talk you gave, and I hope you give it on the Floor. I would like for all of the Members to hear it. I think it was very inspirational.

    Mr. DELAHUNT. Thank you, Dan. If I may, if I could just ask unanimous consent to introduce and submit for the record a statement by the Ranking Member of the Committee, Mr. Menendez.

    Mr. BURTON. Without objection, so ordered.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Menendez follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ROBERT MENENDEZ, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

    Mr. Burton, thank you for holding this markup today and I would like to thank you and the authors of the other resolutions, including Representative Solis for their hard work on these issues.

H.Con.Res.90

    We are here today to mark up three resolutions, two of which deal with very similar issues of impunity, rule of law, and justice for those who have been killed.

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    Earlier this week, Americans around the country said good bye and paid their respects to Rosa Parks, a pioneer for civil rights. So I think the words of another civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, are particularly potent today. Dr. King said, ''Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere.''

    And that is exactly what we are dealing with today in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico and what we saw in the past in El Salvador.

    In Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua City, more than 370 young women have been abducted, sexually assaulted, and brutally murdered since 1993. Even more troubling are the disturbingly low rates of prosecution and conviction.

    According to human rights activists, only 25 percent of arrests have resulted in convictions, and at least 13 convictions were simply people used as ''scapegoats''. These people were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. They were at the mercy of a government that is under intense public pressure to solve a crime.

    These faulty convictions, which may be a result of torture, deny justice for both the victims and their families and help create a culture of impunity for the perpetrators.

    And let me be clear—this is not just Mexico's problem. This is a hemispheric problem. So it is in our national interest and our national security interest to work together with the Mexican Government to resolve this issue. And that is exactly what this resolution says.

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    I also understand that the Mexican government has taken a number of actions to try and deal with this issue. I look forward to working with my colleagues to update the resolution based on these changes as we move it forward.

H.Res.458 on Murder of Churchwomen in El Salvador

    The second resolution I would like to briefly address deals with the brutal murder of four religious women conducting relief work in El Salvador, and the ongoing search for the truth about their murders.

    Sister Maura Clarke, Sister Ira Ford, Sister Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan were in El Salvador to work on behalf of people with little money, food, or hope. They were brutally murdered by the Salvadoran armed forces in December of 1980.

    Here, too, justice was delayed for the victims and their families, slowed down by cover-ups and the lack of a serious investigation.

    This resolution reminds us all that we must remember these inspirational women, so that this history of violence against those who speak out against repression, against those who represent people with no voice, against those working to end poverty and suffering, will not be repeated in El Salvador, in Latin America, or in any country around the world.

Resolution on Hurricane Victims in Central America

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    Unfortunately, we are discussing the third resolution on natural disasters in Central America in the aftermath of Hurricane Beta, which slammed into Nicaragua this past weekend and caused even greater damage, flooding and forced evacuations in both Nicaragua and neighboring Honduras.

    The magnitude of the devastation caused during the hurricane season this year is staggering and has impacted almost every country in the region. Hundreds have died and thousands of Mexican and Central American families have lost everything. They are in need of food, clean water, clothes and shelter.

    Just as Mexico and the countries of Central America contributed to us during our time of need after Hurricane Katrina, we should now contribute to them.

    So I was pleased that the US government, particularly through USAID and the US Armed Forces, has responded quickly with both initial monetary and technical aid during this crisis. While I encourage these efforts we must be sure to provide relief and long-term reconstruction assistance to the affected communities.

    Many of us on the Subcommittee were already concerned about poverty and inequality in Central America and about proposed cuts to core development funding for Central America. I was pleased by the strong bipartisan support this Subcommittee showed when almost every Subcommittee Member joined me in sending a letter last week to the conferees on the Foreign Operations bill urging them to restore this funding.

    Personally, I am deeply saddened by the devastation and loss of life caused by massive flooding, landslides, and hurricanes in Guatemala and throughout Central America. I would like to express my deepest sympathies and condolences to the victims and their families and friends, both in Central America and here at home.

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Conclusion

    Mr. Chairman, I started today by talking about Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, two leaders in the struggle for civil rights and justice. And all three of these resolutions demonstrate the need for the United States to follow their example and show strong leadership in our own hemisphere, whether we're fighting injustice, protecting the innocent, or helping the needy.

    We must remember that, ''Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere.'' We must guarantee justice for the victims of senseless murder, both today and in the past. We must provide a just response for the survivors of these terrible natural disasters. Ultimately, we must, as Dr. King said, guarantee that justice is upheld everywhere, so that it is not diminished anywhere.

    I urge my colleagues to support all three of these resolutions.

    Mr. BURTON. That concludes the business of the Subcommittee, and the Committee stands adjourned.

    [Whereupon, at 3:50 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

A P P E N D I X

Material Submitted for the Record

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PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE HILDA L. SOLIS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

    I would like to thank Chairman Burton and Ranking Member Menendez for your support of my bipartisan resolution and for bringing attention to the murders of women and girls in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. To date, H.Con.Res. 90 has garnered 133 cosponsors from both parties.

    Since 1993, more than 400 women and girls have been brutally murdered in Ciudad Juárez just minutes from the United States border. At least one third of these murders involved brutal rapes, and one recent victim of this violence was just 7 years-old. These acts are more than just crimes—they are horrific violations of women's rights and human rights.

    I have been working on this resolution and this issue for the past three years. I have led Congressional delegations to Ciudad Juárez and sent letters to government officials in the U.S. and Mexico. I also wrote letters earlier this year to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support funding for a team of independent forensic experts who would identify the unknown victims' remains and provide closure to their families. That team is currently working in Juárez and has already provided positive test results to families who had been unsure for years about the identity of murder victims who may have been their mother, their sister, or their wife.

    These murders have caused incredible pain for the families of victims. Their pain is compounded by the lack of response and botched investigations by their police and local government. Very few perpetrators of these crimes have been brought to justice. While changes have been made in local and state government and some answers are coming to light, we must continue to pressure Mexican authorities to investigate crimes and end the violence.

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I am very pleased that the Subcommittee is focusing on this issue today and showing that the United States will not tolerate these terrible crimes against women. One of the many goals of this resolution is for the United States government to convey our serious concerns to the Mexican government about the lack of justice for these murders and work with them to finally end the violence.

We must remember that no matter where it takes place, on either side of our border, a murder of any woman is a terrible tragedy. I look forward to working with Members of the International Relations Committee to move this bipartisan resolution forward in the legislative process and again, thank you for considering this resolution for markup today.