Subcommittee News
July 31, 2009
[PDF] FALEOMAVAEGA WORKS WITH PACIFIC ISLAND AMBASSADORS TO IMPROVE U.S. PROGRAMS AND ACTIONS CRITICAL TO THE REGIONSubcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment
July 30, 2009
[PDF] FALEOMAVAEGA SUGGESTS PATH FOR U.S. TO HELP FIJI RESOLVE POLITICAL PROBLEMSSubcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment
July 10, 2009
[PDF] CHAIRMAN ENGEL HOLDS HEARING ON CRISIS IN HONDURASSubcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
June 29, 2009
[PDF] ENGEL CONDEMNS REMOVAL OF HONDURAN PRESIDENT ZELAYA; URGES HIS REINSTATEMENTSubcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
June 26, 2009
[PDF] ENGEL URGES OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO IMPROVE STRATEGY TO FIGHT ILLEGAL GUN TRAFFICKING TO MEXICOSubcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
June 24, 2009
[PDF] Members of Congress Urge Poland and Lithuania to Pass Property Restitution LegislationSubcommittee on Europe
June 19, 2009
Remarks of Rep. Gary L. Ackerman in support of H. RES 560Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
June 19, 2009
[PDF] Wexler Appointed by Secretary Clinton to US Delegation to Prague Conference on Holocaust Era AssetsSubcommittee on Europe
June 19, 2009
[PDF] GAO REPORT HIGHLIGHTING PROBLEMS IN U.S. EFFORTS TO COMBAT ILLEGAL GUN TRAFFICKING TO MEXICO RELEASED BY CHAIRMAN ENGELSubcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
June 15, 2009
[PDF] Wexler to Chair Europe Subcommittee Hearing on Obama Administration Policies in EuropeSubcommittee on Europe
Subcommittee News
Friday, June 19, 2009
Remarks of Rep. Gary L. Ackerman in support of H. RES 560
Chairman
Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
June 19, 2009
I want to express my appreciation to the Chairman and to Mr. Pence for the resolution before us. I think it’s critical for the House to address the remarkable events that are taking place in Iran.
We are seeing a nation—an entire nation—rise up. What is happening in Iran is an inspiration to all of us who believe that there is such a thing as universal human rights.
We do not want—and we are not attempting—to choose Iran’s rulers. Who rules Iran is a question for the people of Iran. And as we expect all nations to respect our sovereignty, so too must we respect the sovereignty of other nations.
But we are not blind. And we must not be mute.
We have seen gunfire and truncheons deployed against peaceful protesters and marches. We have followed the wave of repression against activists, reporters, and all forms of communication. We know about the crackdown and arrests of Iranians who call for freedom and reform. We have watched mobs of thuggish enforcers terrorizing students and citizens in their dorms and homes.
But we have also watched the unbelievable, quiet courage of millions of Iranians marching, and we have watched their numbers growing every day. We have seen them insist on non-violence in the face of provocation and assault. And we have heard their impatient but persistent call for justice.
And this nation knows what that call for justice sounds like. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote from the Birmingham jail that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Bound up in the revolutionary documents of our founding, and in our nation’s unique role in the struggle for human freedom, is a special responsibility. We have an obligation that the resolution before us answers. We are all witnesses. And we are bound to support the courageous and decent people in Iran who are struggling for their rights and their freedom.
This resolution is measured and careful, but meaningful. And it deserves the strong support of every Member.
Lynne Weil at (202) 225-5021