sistance to Iran. The second requirement directs our Secretary of State to review IAEA programs and ensure that they are consistent with U.S. nuclear non-proliferation and safety goals. Based on that review, the Secretary shall direct the U.S. representative to IAEA to oppose establishing any programs that would not be consistent with U.S. policy.

Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support the bill. Are there any other Members seeking recognition? The gentleman from Nebraska, Mr. Bereuter, is recognized to offer a motion.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I move the Chairman be requested to seek consideration of the pending bill on the suspension calendar.

Chairman GILMAN. The question is now on the motion of the gentleman from Nebraska. As many as are in favor of the motion signify in the usual manner by saying aye.

Those opposed say no.

The ayes have it. The motion is agreed to. Further proceedings on the measure are postponed.

We will now turn to H. Res. 362, commending the visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Cuba. The Chair lays the resolution before the Committee. The clerk will report the title of the resolu

tion.

Ms. BLOOMER. "H. Res. 362. Resolution commending the visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Cuba."

Chairman GILMAN. This resolution was considered by the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and reported with an amendment. Without objection, the language recommended by the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere which is before the Members will be considered as the original text for the purpose of amendment. Without objection, the clerk will read the preamble and operative language of the Subcommittee recommendation.

Ms. BLOOMER. "Whereas Pope John Paul II recently completed a 5-day first-ever Papal visit to Cuba to speak directly to the Cuban people; Whereas the Pope led the Cuban people in celebration throughout the island, including"

Chairman GILMAN. Without objection, the Subcommittee amendment is considered as having been read and is open to amendment at any point.

[H. Res. 362 appears in the appendix.]

I now recognize the gentleman from California, Mr. Gallegly.
Mr. GALLEGLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Six months ago, His Holiness Pope John II undertook a historic pilgrimage to Cuba. His primary mission was to reassure the faithful of this island nation that the open profession of their faith and the active practice of their religious beliefs was an important right that they as Catholics should not be afraid to exercise.

While there, the Pope took a number of opportunities to highlight the important role of the church in Cuban society, and also to point out some of the failures of the Cuban regime to permit the free expression of views and the unwillingness of the regime to permit the faithful to practice their religion.

The issue of Cuba is never easy around here. But I introduced this resolution because I did not feel such a historic event and the consequences of such a visit should go unrecognized. I appreciate

the Chairman's willingness to consider this bill today, but in some ways it is unfortunate that the Committee had to wait almost 7 months after the visit to give the Pope the recognition he deserved for his visit and for his strong political words to the Cuban dictatorship.

The bill before us today is a compromise effort which received unanimous support in our Subcommittee. For that, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida, my good friend, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Menendez, for their cooperation.

In just a few moments, an amendment will be offered by the other original sponsor of the bill, the Ranking Member, Mr. Hamilton, which is again a product of compromise. While I would have hoped that this bill could have been adopted without further politicalization of this issue, I understand the interests of those who wish to speak on the bill and who may still have reservations about its need. However, when all is said and done, I urge my colleagues to pass this bill to give the Pope the recognition he deserves for his visit to Cuba and to send a message to the Cuban regime that the Pope's message about truth, freedom, and religious expression should be honored. I urge the adoption of the bill and yield back the balance of my time.

Chairman GILMAN. Thank you, Mr. Gallegly.

Mr. Hamilton.

Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Chairman GILMAN. The clerk will distribute the amendment. The clerk will read the amendment.

Ms. BLOOMER. "Amendment offered by Mr. Hamilton. Strike the preamble and insert the following: Whereas Pope"

Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Chairman, I ask that the amendment be considered as read.

Chairman GILMAN. Without objection.

[The amendment appears in the appendix.]

Chairman GILMAN. Mr. Hamilton is recognized for 5 minutes on his amendment.

Mr. HAMILTON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee for bringing this forward. We have in my amendment a compromise. It has been worked on very hard. We have had excellent cooperation from Mr. Menendez and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. I think it is fair to say that the compromise is not the way any one of us would have drafted it. Each of us has language in it that we think is very important and strongly support. We have language in it that causes us some concern. But there has been a process here that I think has worked. It is a genuine compromise.

I will speak to the resolution from my point of view. I am sure that others will speak to it from their point of view. I pushed for the resolution because I believe that the Pope's visit to Cuba was very important. From my point of view, his remarks there were right on the mark in all respects. They were profound, they were balanced, they were constructive, they were realistic.

His criticisms of the Castro regime were frank and sharp. There can be no mistake in his message in support of human rights and

democracy. The Pope demonstrated a new and more effective way, I think, to push for change in Cuba. He did not hesitate to criticize the way we have chosen to deal with Cuba. He pointed out, I believe, that our embargo of Cuba hurts the Cuban people, crowds out room for independent actors in Cuba. It gives the Castro Government an excuse to exercise arbitrary power the Pope found unacceptable.

Rather than isolate the Cuban people, he spoke directly with them. In so doing, I think he carved out a role for a more independent and a more powerful church. I believe that the Cuban people are more hopeful for change in the aftermath of his visit. I know there have been disappointments, some of which I share, as a result of that visit, but we are taking the right step today to highlight his trip and his message of hope.

The compromise substitute reflects the importance, I believe, of the Pope's visit. The two whereas clauses that this amendment adds to the resolution recognize the Pope's frank criticism of the Cuban Government, that the Cuban Government is isolating its own people, gravely limiting Cubans' freedoms and basic human rights. This isolation is unnecessary. It is counter productive. It stands in stark contrast to trends throughout the hemisphere.

These two whereas clauses also make clear that the Pope was critical of U.S. policy toward Cuba and he has challenged us to consider the costs of that policy. The policy that we have undertaken for more than 30 years unnecessarily isolates the Cuban people who are made to bear the brunt of our opposition to the Castro regime. That isolation is counter-productive to our shared goal, all of us agree, of bringing freedom for the Cuban people.

Finally, the compromise adds a resolved clause simply congratulating the Pope for his visit and for his message of hope to the Cuban people. The Pope was right to do what he did and to say what he said. He spoke directly to the Cuban people. He engaged them, as he did the people of Eastern Europe. He is not trying to isolate them or coerce them. On his return, he said that the purpose of his trip was to promote the same changes in Cuba as took place after his trip to his native Poland. Thus, I think the trip of the Pope was remarkable and admirable. We should not only commend him for it, but we should be wise and follow his example. I urge the adoption of the substitute.

Chairman GILMAN. Thank you, Mr. Hamilton.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Hamilton, for your patience as we worked out the language on this resolution which appears to be a simple resolution, but I know from firsthand experience that the word of the U.S. Congress to oppressed people, wherever they may be, in this case the island of Cuba, carries a lot of weight. It does have a lot of significance to them, as it does to the oppressive regime which dictates its policy on a day-in and day-out basis.

Six months after the Pope's visit, we look at the situation in Cuba and we sadly conclude that nothing has changed. As recently as yesterday, Fidel Castro expelled the few foreign journalists that are allowed to operate on the island from the coverage of the first day's session of the National Assembly, which is kind of ludicrous

because it's not a truly elected body since there's only one party that is allowed to operate in Cuba, that's the Communist Party, and the people are hand-picked and selected by Castro himself. But even that kind of opening he doesn't allow.

I have here a two-page list of all of the dissidents and religious activists who have been jailed and harassed in Cuba since the Pope's visit. So unfortunately it's a list that continues to grow, but we thank Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Gilman for their patience in working this language through. I thank Mr. Menendez as well for his leadership on this effort.

Thank you very much, Mr. Gilman.

Chairman GILMAN. Thank you, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen.

Mr. Menendez.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in the interests of time, I would ask that my entire statement be entered into the record.

Chairman GILMAN. Without objection.

[The statement of Mr. Menendez appears in the appendix.]

Mr. MENENDEZ. I want to make two points beyond thanking Mr. Hamilton for his willingness to work with myself and the Chairman and the gentlelady from Florida on the language.

But I take great objection to the categorization of this issue as politicized. You know that for those of us who hold deeply held principled views, a charge of politicalization is not taken lightly.

I don't appreciate it because those of us who hold these views hold them not because of politics, but because of a principled view that the policy that we seek to enforce is in fact the one that can bring freedom and democracy to the people of Cuba.

I share Mr. Hamilton's same goals and desires. We differ as to how we accomplish. I share the view that the Pope's visit was a good thing. But I want our colleagues to recognize, however, that while his visit was successful in opening a window of opportunity for the Catholic church, as we sit here today that window is slowly closing. The absence of world attention from Cuba since the Pope's visit is largely responsible for allowing the window to close. Even the Pope has expressed concern and frustration that the initial opening for the church provided by his visit is quickly receding.

Since January, the Cuban Government has continued to block church access to mass media, limit public masses, and deny permits for masses, expel American priests, specifically Reverend Patrick Sullivan, and force others to flee under harassment. It has continued to deny autonomy to Caritas, the church's humanitarian relief agency, restrict visas for clergy to enter and preach in Cuba, and severely limit the ability of Cuban Protestants to worship in Cuba.

Last, although political prisoners were released at the Pope's petition, once the Pope left what happened? The same number of political prisoners that were released by the Pope's petition were subsequently arrested, and 110 new political prisoners languish in Castro's jail. That is not the type of opening that we were hoping for. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. HAMILTON. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. MENENDEZ. I would be happy to.

Mr. HAMILTON. I just want to commend the gentleman's statement. I think it is absolutely correct that we have had disappointments since the Pope's visit. We in the United States and the international community must continue to keep our eye on what happens there and push for the kind of direction that the gentleman has indicated in his statement. I concur with it.

Mr. MENENDEZ. I thank the gentleman. I yield back the balance of my time.

Chairman GILMAN. Thank you, Mr. Menendez, and I thank Mr. Hamilton.

Is there anyone else who would like to be heard on the amendment? If not, the question is on the Hamilton amendment. As many as are in favor, signify by saying aye.

Any opposed, say no.

The ayes appear to have it. The ayes have it. The amendment is agreed to.

With regard to the measure, I would like to note that His Holiness Pope John Paul II quoted from the New Testament in Havana, communicating this message. "The spirit of the Lord has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, to set at liberty those who are oppressed."

Although Cuba's dictator, Mr. Castro, cynically sought to manipulate the Pope's visit to perpetuate himself in power, I believe that the Pontiff's messages about hope and truth were not lost on the Cuban people. The most telling moment of the Pope's visit occurred at the beginning of his public mass at Havana. The Pope greeted Cuban Cardinal Jome Ortega, the cardinals and the bishops and the priests and assembled faithful to repeated applause from a crowd that filled the Jose Marti Plaza. The Pope then respectfully greeted Fidel Castro, apart from the tiny sound of polite applause drifting from the stage over the loud speakers, a sprawling crowd of ordinary Cubans stood in spontaneous purposeful silence and no one applauded.

Sadly, the Catholic church and other Cuban religious leaders and the laity continue to face intransigence and repression from the Cuban regime, its state security apparatus. Church officials have publicly criticized the Cuban Government for doing little since the Pope's visit to resolve issues that the Catholic church considers essential. Despite requests from the Pope, Fidel Castro continues to block church access to mass media, limits visas for church workers, and has even expelled priests, including an American, Reverend Patrick Sullivan.

Moreover, Castro still refuses to allow autonomy to Caritas, the church humanitarian relief agency. While the ordinary Cubans who heard the Pope were clearly touched by his message, the Castro regime remains unmoved. Today we have before the Committee a resolution commending the visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Cuba introduced by our colleague, Mr. Gallegly, who chairs our Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. Our Ranking Member, Mr. Hamilton, has been a strong supporter of the resolution. I am pleased to be able to honor his request to mark it here in the Committee. Mr. Hamilton has introduced an amendment to the resolution and we thank the gentleman from Indiana for his efforts to secure consensus on his amendment.