SPEAKERS CONTENTS INSERTS
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26–077PDF
2006
EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE EFFORTS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS TO ESTABLISH A FULL DEMOCRACY, THE RULE OF LAW, AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND URGING THE GOVERNMENT OF BELARUS TO CONDUCT FREE AND FAIR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN 2006; AND CONCERNING THE GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA'S BAN ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS AND THE WELFARE OF ORPHANED OR ABANDONED CHILDREN IN ROMANIA
MARKUP
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE AND
EMERGING THREATS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
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ON
H. Res. 673 and H. Res. 578
FEBRUARY 14, 2006
Serial No. 109–144
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
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
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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
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
BRAD SHERMAN, California
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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
VACANT
THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director
Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats
ELTON GALLEGLY, California, Chairman
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
PETER T. KING, New York, Vice Chairman
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
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DARRELL ISSA, California
TED POE, Texas
J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
RICHARD MEREU, Subcommittee Staff Director
JONATHAN KATZ, Democratic Professional Staff Member
PATRICK PRISCO, Professional Staff Member
BEVERLY RAZON, Staff Associate
C O N T E N T S
MARKUP OF
H. Res. 673, Expressing support for the efforts of the people of the Republic of Belarus to establish a full democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights and urging the Government of Belarus to conduct a free and fair presidential election on March 19, 2006
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H. Res. 578, Concerning the Government of Romania's ban on intercountry adoptions and the welfare of orphaned or abandoned children in Romania
EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE EFFORTS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS TO ESTABLISH A FULL DEMOCRACY, THE RULE OF LAW, AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND URGING THE GOVERNMENT OF BELARUS TO CONDUCT FREE AND FAIR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN 2006; AND CONCERNING THE GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA'S BAN ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS AND THE WELFARE OF ORPHANED OR ABANDONED CHILDREN IN ROMANIA
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2006
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 6:07 p.m. in room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Elton Gallegly (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. GALLEGLY. Pursuant to notice, I call up the resolution, H. Res. 673, for the purposes of markup and move its recommendation to the Full Committee. Without objection, the resolution will be considered as read and open for amendment at any point.
Today, the Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats is marking up two resolutions. The first item on the agenda is H. Res. 673, a resolution introduced by Congressman John Shimkus, expressing support for the efforts of the people of Belarus to establish a full democracy and respect human rights, and urging the government to conduct a free and fair Presidential election on March 19.
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[The resolution referred to follows:]
[Note: Image(s) not available in this format. See PDF version of this file.]
Mr. GALLEGLY. Belarus is often described as the last dictatorship in Europe. In the past 3 or 4 years, especially since the 2004 parliamentary elections and referendum, President Alexander Lukashenko has increased repression against NGOs, media outlets and any opponents of the government, including youth groups.
Perhaps most disturbing are the cases of the forced disappearances of journalists and others who have dared to criticize the Lukashenko regime. To date, the Government of Belarus has refused to conduct an impartial investigation into the disappearances and has refused to allow independent, UN-appointed investigators to look into these cases.
The purpose of this resolution is two-fold. First, it supports the courageous people of Belarus who are trying to establish basic freedoms and democratic institutions in their country. Second, it urges Belarusian authorities to ensure fully transparent and free and fair Presidential elections on March 16. A key aspect of fair campaigns and elections is the ability of all parties to have unimpeded access to print and electronic media.
As President Bush said last year, and I quote:
''One of the roles that the United States can play is to speak clearly about the need for Belarus to be free, and to work with the people to insist that Belarus be free.''
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This is exactly what we are doing with the adoption of this resolution.
My office has worked closely with Congressman John Shimkus's office on the language of House Resolution 673. I am an original co-sponsor of this legislation and urge its passage by the Subcommittee.
At this time, I would turn to my good friend, the gentleman from Florida, Ranking Member Mr. Wexler, for any statement he might want to make.
Mr. WEXLER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I concur with everything that you said, and I would move the process forward when the Chairman is ready.
Mr. GALLEGLY. There are no amendments. So the question occurs on the motion to report the resolution, H. Res. 673, favorably. All in favor, say aye.
[A chorus of ayes.]
Mr. GALLEGLY. All opposed, no. The motion is approved. The resolution is reported favorably.
The staff is directed to make any technical and conforming amendments.
Pursuant to notice, I call up the resolution, H. Res. 578, for the purpose of markup and move its recommendation to Full Committee. Without objection, the resolution will be considered as read and open for amendment at any time.
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The second item on the agenda today is House Resolution 578, a resolution introduced by Congressman Chris Smith, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, which calls on the Government of Romania to decrease the barriers to domestic and intercountry adoptions.
[The resolution referred to follows:]
[Note: Image(s) not available in this format. See PDF version of this file.]
Mr. GALLEGLY. Since the fall of Communism in 1989, there has been little improvement in the condition of Romanian children in state-run orphanages and other institutions. UNICEF has reported that more than 9,000 children are abandoned each year, and according to the European Union approximately 49,000 children lack permanent homes.
On January 1, 2005, a new law in Romania resulted in a prohibition of intercountry adoptions except in rare cases of a child's biological grandparent. This law went into effect despite a waiting list of thousands of children without a mother or father. At the time of the enactment, about 1,500 adoption applications were already registered with the Romanian Government, including 200 that had been matched with their new parents.
I am a co-sponsor and strong supporter of H. Res. 578. Allowing intercountry adoptions offers the advantage of a family to children whose prospects in this world are otherwise very bleak. For the sake of all those children in need of a stable family and a stable home environment, Congress should go on record in support of improved care for Romanian children and for Romania to ease the barriers for international adoptions.
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I urge the passage of H. Res. 578 and will now recognize my good friend, Congressman Wexler.
Mr. WEXLER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With your permission, I will take a moment or two on this bill.
I join you in support of House Resolution 578 and also want to commend Congressman Smith for his efforts to address this important issue. There is no one in the Congress that is more genuine about resolving these types of issues than Congressman Smith.
In January, I traveled to Romania to meet with officials to discuss my deep concerns about this very issue, as well as to advocate for constituents of mine, the Springer family, who have made every effort to reunite their Romanian adopted daughter, Gabriella, with her biological twin sisters. This is a heartbreaking situation for the Springer family, as well as the hundreds of other American pipeline families, as well as a larger group of European, Israeli and Australian pipeline families, whose adoption process has been halted under the Romanian law that bans intercountry adoptions.
During my visit, I had the privilege of meeting with Romania President Basesu and other Romanian officials involved in this issue to urge them to address the pipeline cases, as well as reexamine intercountry adoption as a positive way to ensure that Romanian children are placed in loving stable homes with the best opportunity for a healthy and productive life.
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During my meetings Romanian officials expressed their desires to address this issue, past problems, explaining them in terms of their experiences, with intercountry adoptions as well as, what they perceived to be, their inability to change their laws in light of their pending accession to the European Union and what they perceive to be pressure from the European Union that might be on its surface opposite to what we are asking today.
I believe that, as one of America's staunchest allies in Europe, Romanian officials and people truly want what is best for their own children. To this end, I am hopeful that this resolution today will send a positive signal about our desire to see that these outstanding cases are resolved as well as about our willingness to work with Bucharest to address this issue.
One last comment, if I could. The President of Romania is an extraordinary ally of America in many, many different ways. I think, in addition to this resolution, we should examine ways in which we can positively, rather than negatively, affect the ability of the Romanian President and those that he needs to work with in order to result in a positive declaration by the Romanian Government which would allow intercountry adoptions when it is in the best interests of the children. That should be the only standard.
I would respectfully suggest that once the European Union, I believe in April, announces whether Romania will be given a 2007 or 2008 date, that within that window of opportunity, those 4 to 6 weeks subsequent to that announcement, we could hopefully apply positive pressure to reach a just and fair conclusion. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for indulging me the time.
Mr. GALLEGLY. I thank the gentleman from Florida. The question occurs on the motion to report H. Res. 578. All in favor, say aye.
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[A chorus of ayes.]
Mr. GALLEGLY. Any opposed? The motion is approved. The resolution is reported favorably.
The staff is directed to make any technical and conforming amendments, and with that, I want to thank you all for participating today, and the Subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 6:16 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]