Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
SENATE
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. HAGEL, and Mr. LEAHY):
S. 2720. A bill to provide assistance for the crisis in Sudan, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act. This bill is intended to address both the immediate crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and to support a comprehensive peace in all of that country. It would authorize $300 million to respond to the unfolding catastrophe in Darfur for the next fiscal year and to provide additional funds to begin reconstruction in Sudan upon the conclusion of a viable, comprehensive peace.

Events in Darfur constitute a moral and humanitarian tragedy of incredible proportions. The people of the Darfur region of Sudan are experiencing the full force of an ethnic cleansing campaign by the Government of Sudan. Numerous credible reports by U.S. and U.N. officials indicate that the Sudanese Government has armed and employed a militia of Arab Sudanese, called Janjaweed, to join it in a coordinated effort to kill and rape Darfur inhabitants and systematically destroy homes, villages, and all means of subsistence. This campaign has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 1.2 million African Sudanese of which 200,000 are now refugees in Chad. A second phase of this campaign may prove to have the most devastating effect through the onset of famine and disease-unless, the international community responds quickly.

The United Nations is meeting significant obstacles to providing life-saving food, medicine, and shelter to the displaced Sudanese. The Sudanese Government has established bureaucratic and administrative obstacles to the provision of assistance. In addition, the international community has not provided adequate resources given the magnitude of the human suffering in Darfur. The United States has been pressing for a more vigorous response to this humanitarian crisis. This bill would support diplomatic efforts already underway and ensure a significant flow of funding.

I am hopeful that Senators will join me in passing this bill quickly.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows: