{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2012-12-31-pt1-PgH7498", "2012-12-31", 112, 2, null, null, "CONDEMNING NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCH", "HOUSE", "HOUSE", "ALLOTHER", "H7498", "H7500", "[{\"name\": \"Ileana Ros-Lehtinen\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Howard L. Berman\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Edward R. Royce\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", "[{\"congress\": \"112\", \"type\": \"HCONRES\", \"number\": \"145\"}, {\"congress\": \"112\", \"type\": \"HCONRES\", \"number\": \"145\"}, {\"congress\": \"112\", \"type\": \"HCONRES\", \"number\": \"145\"}]", "158 Cong. Rec. H7498", "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 H7498-H7500]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                 CONDEMNING NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCH\n\n  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and\nagree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 145) calling for\nuniversal condemnation of the North Korean missile launch of December\n12, 2012, as amended.\n  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.\n  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:\n\n                            H. Con. Res. 145\n\n       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695,\n     unanimously adopted on July 15, 2006, following a series of\n     North Korean missile firings on July 5, 2006, specifically\n     condemned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (North\n     Korea) recent test-firing of a series of missiles, and\n     demanded that the North-East Asian country suspend all\n     ballistic missile related activity and reinstate its\n     moratorium on missile launches;\n       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695\n     also required all Member States, in accordance with their\n     national legal authorities and legislation and consistent\n     with international law, to exercise vigilance and prevent\n     missile and missile-related items, materials, goods, and\n     technology being transferred to North Korea's missile or\n     weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes, and to prevent\n     the procurement of missiles or missile related-items,\n     materials, goods, and technology from North Korea, and the\n     transfer of any financial resources in relation to North\n     Korea's missile or WMD programmes;\n       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718,\n     adopted on October 14, 2006, decided that North Korea shall\n     suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile\n     programme and in this context re-establish its pre-existing\n     commitments to a moratorium on missile launching;\n       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718\n     also imposed a ban on the sales of military equipment and\n     luxury goods to North Korea as well as a ban on technology\n     transfers;\n       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718\n     further required Member States to prevent the travel of North\n     Korean officials connected to the ballistic missile or\n     nuclear programs, the inspection of cargo from North Korea to\n     assure it was not missile, WMD, or nuclear-related, and the\n     immediate freezing of funds, other financial assets, and\n     economic resources that support these illicit North Korean\n     activities;\n       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874,\n     adopted on June 12, 2009, called upon Member States to\n     inspect, seize, and dispose of proscribed illicit North Korea\n     items related to its missile, nuclear, and\n\n[[Page H7499]]\n\n     WMD programmes and to prevent the provision of financial\n     services or the transfer to, through, or from their territory\n     of any financial or other assets or resources that could\n     contribute to North Korea's nuclear-related, ballistic\n     missile-related, or other WMD-related programmes or\n     activities, and by denying fuel or supplies to service the\n     vessels carrying them;\n       Whereas, on December 12, 2012, in flagrant defiance of past\n     United Nations Security Council resolutions, the\n     international community, and its Six-Party partners, North\n     Korea launched a three-stage, long-range missile, which\n     overflew Japanese territory near Okinawa and dropped debris\n     into the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and waters adjacent\n     to the Philippines;\n       Whereas North Korea's latest provocative and defiant action\n     represents a direct threat to the United States Armed Forces\n     in the Asia/Pacific region and regional allies and friends,\n     including Australia, Japan, the Philippines, the Republic of\n     Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan and is a potential future threat\n     to the United States and its people, including those residing\n     in Guam, Hawaii, Alaska, and the west coast of the United\n     States mainland; and\n       Whereas there has been extensive cooperation on missile\n     development and military cooperation between the Governments\n     of North Korea and Iran that dates back to the 1980s: Now,\n     therefore, be it\n       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate\n     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--\n       (1) the North Korean missile launch of December 12, 2012,\n     represents a flagrant violation of United Nations Security\n     Council resolutions 825 (1993), 1540 (2004), 1695 (2006),\n     1718 (2006), and 1874 (2009), that North Korea continues to\n     defy the United Nations, its Six-Party partners, and the\n     international community, and that the Member States should\n     immediately impose sanctions covered by these resolutions and\n     censure North Korea;\n       (2) all current restrictions against the Government of\n     North Korea, including sanctions that ban the importation\n     into the United States of North Korean products and goods,\n     should remain in effect until the Government of North Korea\n     no longer engages in activities that threaten United States\n     interests and global peace and stability;\n       (3) the Government of China should cooperate with the\n     United States in pursuit of a new round of United Nations\n     Security Council sanctions, to pressure its North Korean\n     partner, redouble its efforts to prevent Chinese companies\n     from transferring military and dual-use technologies to North\n     Korea, and to crack down on transshipments through China that\n     relate to North Korean military, missile, and nuclear\n     programs and proliferation activities; and\n       (4) North Korea should abandon and dismantle its\n     provocative missile and nuclear weapons programs, cease its\n     proliferation activities, and come into immediate compliance\n     with all relevant international agreements and United Nations\n     Security Council resolutions.\n\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe of Texas). Pursuant to the rule, the\ngentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from\nCalifornia (Mr. Berman) each will control 20 minutes.\n  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.\n\n                             General Leave\n\n  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all\nMembers may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks\nand to include extraneous material in the Record on this bill.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the\ngentlewoman from Florida?\n  There was no objection.\n  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.\n  I rise to support this strongly bipartisan measure which condemns the\nlatest provocation by North Korea. Pyongyang has once again flagrantly\nviolated past United Nations Security Council resolutions and the\nassurances given to Six-Party partners.\n  I would also like to take this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to sincerely\ncongratulate President-elect Park for her victory in South Korea's\nhard-fought presidential election.\n  The Republic of Korea is one of our Nation's closest friends in Asia.\nOurs is a steadfast alliance forged in the crucible of war. Two decades\nago, with all eyes on Europe, the United States prematurely celebrated\nvictory over communism and an end to the Cold War. But in 1989, the\nsame year the Berlin Wall fell, tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square,\ncrushing, in a bloody massacre, the democracy movement of the Chinese\npeople. So while communism fell in Europe, it was revitalized in the\nworld's most populous nation and preserved in North Korea and in my\nnative homeland of Cuba.\n  Pyongyang's recent missile launch awakens America to the fact that\nthe shadow of communism still casts a long shadow over Asia. North\nKorea's expanding nuclear and missile proliferation threaten not only\nour allies in the Pacific, but potentially our own people as well. In\nAsia, the Cold War never ended, and the United States and South Korean\nforces stand guard together on this last frontier.\n  Attempts to engage Pyongyang over the past 4 years have been met with\nrepeated provocations: the kidnapping of two American journalists,\nrepeated missile launches, one more nuclear test, the sinking of a\nSouth Korean naval vessel with the loss of 46 lives, and the shelling\nof a South Korean island.\n\n                              {time}  1210\n\n  How much more should we endure before we say, Enough is enough?\n  Sweet-talking Pyongyang only seems to inspire further belligerence.\nOur extended hand is met not only with a clenched fist but a fist\ngrasping a knife. Those who had hoped for openness and reform from this\nnew generation of the Kim dynasty saw their dreams go up in smoke on a\nNorth Korean launch pad. The only answer appears to be a coordinated,\nfirm, international strategy in which current sanctions are reinforced\nand strengthened. This, of course, requires the cooperation of Beijing,\na U.N. Security Council permanent member who deceptively seems to tell\none thing to Washington and yet another to Pyongyang.\n  Press articles hailed the fact that China, in anticipation of the\nrecent launch, had begun inspecting cargo on North Korean ships in\nsearch of contraband. The question this raises is: Why has China not\nbeen inspecting North Korean ships since 2006, as was first called for\nin a U.N. resolution, which was reinforced by another resolution in the\nyear 2009? If U.N. member states would only enforce the sanctions\ncurrently on the books, North Korea would be unable to ignore the\ninternational community and the civilized world.\n  The time for coordinated international action is now. The time, in\nfact, is long overdue.\n  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.\n  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res.\n145, as amended, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.\n  I would like to thank the sponsor of this legislation, the chairman\nof the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, for her leadership\non this issue and for her work in addressing the North Korean threat.\n  Earlier this month, North Korea carried out a missile launch using\nballistic missile technology in direct defiance of the international\ncommunity. This important resolution condemns North Korea's launch, and\nit calls on the North to live up to its commitments, to adhere to its\ninternational obligations and to deal peacefully with its neighbors.\n  North Korea's missile launch is a blatant violation of U.N. Security\nCouncil resolutions 1718 and 1874, and we urge the Security Council to\ntake strong and concerted action to demonstrate that Pyongyang's\nactions are completely unacceptable. In particular, we call on China\nand Russia to work constructively with other members of the Council to\nshow that the international community is united in condemning North\nKorea's provocative behavior.\n  North Korea is only further isolating itself with its irresponsible\naction, and the development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons\nwill never bring the real security and acceptance by the international\ncommunity that the regime so desperately wants. Instead of pouring\nhundreds of millions of dollars into its so-called space program,\nnuclear programs, and massive military, North Korea should instead work\nto feed its own citizens and improve its dismal economy.\n  We must continue to remain vigilant in the face of North Korean\nprovocations and fully committed to the security of our allies in the\nregion, so I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.\n  I reserve the balance of my time.\n  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I would like to yield such time as he may consume\nto the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the chairman of the\nForeign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade\nand the chairman-designate of the full committee in the next Congress.\nI thank\n\n[[Page H7500]]\n\nhim for his leadership on this and many of the issues that are facing\nour Foreign Affairs Committee.\n  Mr. ROYCE. Thank you very much, Chairman, for yielding.\n  I rise in support of this resolution, of which I am an original\ncosponsor.\n  I think Members are very rightly concerned now, as the same\ntechnology that's used to put a satellite into space is also used to\nlaunch a ballistic missile. This experiment by North Korea is\ndefinitely an advance for them. It is definitely a threat to the\nregion. It is definitely a threat to the United States because what\nwe're talking about here are three-stage ICBMs.\n  It is estimated that North Korea has spent $3 billion since 1998 on\nthat missile program, which is the amount of money that would have\nbought enough corn to feed that country over the last 3 years. I have\nbeen to North Korea, and I've seen the malnutrition. Instead of feeding\nits people, it continues to plow billions of dollars into its military.\nThat's the type of despicable regime we're dealing with--where $3\nbillion went into this project instead of feeding the population. This\nis why the House has passed legislation to prohibit the United States\nfrom giving food aid to North Korea. When we do so, money is fungible,\nand we have found in the past that that aid is both used to feed the\nmilitary and it's sold on the exchange for hard currency.\n  U.S. policy towards North Korea--hoping that North Korea will give up\nits weapons for aid--has been a failure. It has been a bipartisan\nfailure, frankly, for decades, and it has gotten us now to this point.\nThe hope that North Korea can be induced to abandon its ambitions for\nnuclear weapons and missiles distracts us, unfortunately. It distracts\nus from pursuing the very policies that might actually change the\nbehavior of the regime and support its people.\n  In going forward, we need to move away from an unimaginative policy\nhere to one with energy and creativity and focus. Let's tackle North\nKorea's illicit activities--its missile and drug proliferation, its\ncounterfeiting of U.S. currency. This regime will do anything for\nmoney. As many North Koreans who have left will tell you, this is a\ngangster regime. Let's interfere with those shipments and disrupt the\nbank accounts that are used. Let's ramp up radio broadcasts into the\ncountry where there is evidence that the information wall is cracking.\nWe see that with the defectors who are telling us about how much they\noppose the regime now. Let's help the refugees who are literally dying\nto escape the prison north of the 38th parallel.\n  Severely weakening the regime is the only way to make the Korean\npeninsula secure. Until it was dropped in favor of a failed diplomacy\nprogram several years ago, the Treasury Department went after North\nKorea. If we can remember 2006, we went after North Korea's ill-gotten\ngains that were parked in a Macau bank. We put the brakes on North\nKorea's counterfeiting of U.S. currency. We cut the flow of currency to\nthe regime. The head of state could not pay his generals. It created a\ncrisis inside North Korea.\n  That policy was mistakenly dropped. I'd like to see it reapplied.\nLet's go back to where we are proactively defending U.S. interests\ninstead of just condemning another North Korean provocation every few\nmonths. Let's do something that has been proven to work in terms of\nputting the pressure on North Korea.\n  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I\nyield back the balance of my time.\n  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I also have no further requests for\ntime, and I yield back the balance of my time.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the\ngentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the\nrules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 145, as\namended.\n  The question was taken.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds\nbeing in the affirmative, the ayes have it.\n  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a\nquorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not\npresent.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further\nproceedings on this question will be postponed.\n  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.\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-PgH7498"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 21.394785959273577, "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"}