{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2012-12-31-pt1-PgH7474-2", "2012-12-31", 112, 2, null, null, "BELARUS", "HOUSE", "HOUSE", "ALLOTHER", "H7474", "H7475", "[{\"name\": \"John Shimkus\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "158 Cong. Rec. H7474", "Congressional Record, Volume 158 Issue 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012)]\n[House]\n[Pages H7474-H7475]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                                BELARUS\n\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from\nIllinois (Mr. Shimkus) for 5 minutes.\n  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, it's good to come down for morning-hour,\nespecially today, to hear my colleagues come down and thank staff and\npeople who've been important in their lives, especially in their\ncareers. Jason Altmire, what a great job he did thanking his staff. My\nfriend, Russ Carnahan from across the Mississippi River, thanking\nfamily, wife, sons, and staff. For the work we do here, too frequently,\nmany go unappreciated.\n\n[[Page H7475]]\n\n  But, Mr. Speaker, I did break the code on why we're here so late\ntoday. I know a lot of people want to know. We can blame Jay Pierson\nfor that. Jay is retiring today. This is his last day, and we wanted to\nmake sure that we got the last ounce of flesh and blood from him. So if\nthe American people want to know why we're here, it's Jay Pierson's\nfault.\n  Jay Pierson is Speaker Boehner's floor assistant. He obviously\ncarries around a copy of Jefferson's Manual. He has been a servant of\nthe House of Representatives for 34 years. He's a truly dedicated\npublic servant. I thank him for his friendship and his support to this\nbody and especially to me personally.\n  Mr. Speaker, I also wanted to take time out, as I do, to speak about\ndemocratic movements around the world, especially in the former captive\nnations of Eastern Europe, and remember those who are jailed just\nbecause they want political freedoms and liberties.\n  Two years ago after the brutal and bloody crackdown on peaceful\ndemonstrations after the 2010 presidential elections, the human rights\nof ordinary Belarusian citizens continue to be violated by the\nLukashenko government. One candidate who ran against Lukashenko during\nthat election, Nikolai Statkevich, remains in jail. The other jailed\ncandidate, Andrei Sannikov, was pardoned earlier this year and is in\nexile in Britain. Ales Byalyatski, the head of Viasna Human Rights\nCenter, also remains imprisoned after being convicted to a 4\\1/2\\-year\njail sentence for trumped-up charges of tax evasion. These are two of\n12 political prisoners who today remain behind bars under deplorable\nprison conditions in Belarus.\n  The general human rights situation in Belarus has not improved since\nthe events of 2010, despite international condemnation and sanctions on\nthe regime. In its 2012 report, Freedom House ranked Belarus as ``not\nfree'' in the categories of civil liberties and political rights, and\nBelarus ranked 193 out of 197 countries on Freedom House's 2012 press\nfreedom index. The Reporters Without Borders press freedom index ranks\nBelarus 168 out of 179 countries.\n  Laws have passed that regulate demonstrations and political\ninformation, stifling freedom of assembly. Independent journalists and\npolitical activists are under a constant threat of intimidation and\narbitrary detention.\n  Belarus held parliamentary elections on September 23, 2012.\nUnsurprisingly, the elections failed to meet international standards\nand were widely condemned as not free or fair. While some democratic\nopposition parties boycotted the elections, the candidates who did\nattempt to run were denied registration by election authorities,\nintimidated, and given unfair access to media resources. No opposition\nfigures were elected to the 110-seat legislature. Official turnout was\nreported as 74.3 percent, although observers claim the turnout was\ncloser to 30 percent of eligible voters.\n  Belarus remains mired in its worst financial crisis since\nindependence, which has put Lukashenko under increasing pressure. In\nthe past month, he has reshuffled several top figures in his government\nand made some controversial economic decisions that have been met with\ncriticism in the international community. This includes signing a\npresidential decree making it illegal for workers in Belarus' wood\nprocessing industry to quit their jobs, and announcing that Belarus\nwould begin shifting its exporting business from ports in the Baltic to\nRussian ports. This will only strain the relationship between Belarus\nand its democratic neighbors and increase Russia's stronghold on key\nBelarusian markets.\n\n                              {time}  0940\n\n  Belarus already depends on Russia for nearly all its energy supplies.\nThe United States and the European Union must remain united, impose\neconomic sanctions, and have a single plan for action regarding the\npromotion of democratic process in Belarus.\n  So again, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this time coming down, and I wish\neverybody a Happy New Year.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2012-12-31-pt1-PgH7474-2"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.4281640285626054, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}