madam chairman , i rise to address h.r. 2601 , the foreign relations authorization act for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 . 
this legislation is far reaching and will have a broad impact on the direction of our foreign policy . 
i hope that this authorization act will serve as an instrument for international cooperation , instead of the administration 's current policy of antagonizing the international community . 
this authorization act funds the department of state at virtually the same level as the administration 's request , representing a substantial increase from fy2005 . 
minor cuts to the request were made to substantially increase funds for refugee protection and to increase funding for the asia foundation . 
this bill funds international broadcasting , international exchanges , u.s. dues for international organizations , u.n . 
peacekeeping , and the national endowment for democracy at the fy2006 request level . 
to be specific , this bill authorizes $ 10.8 billion in 2006 and $ 10 billion in 2007 for the department of state , international broadcasting activities , international assistance programs , and related agencies . 
the bill includes the following authorization levels : $ 3.77 billion for fy06 and $ 3.89 billion for fy07 for diplomatic and consular programs ; $ 1.52 billion for fy06 and $ 1.55 billion for fy07 embassy security , construction and maintenance , and $ 689 million in fy06 and $ 710 million in fy07 for worldwide security upgrades ; $ 1.3 billion in fy06 and fy07 for contributions to international organizations ; $ 955 million in fy06 and $ 985 million in fy07 for migration and refugee assistance ; $ 661 million in fy06 for international broadcasting activities . 
i am heartened that this bill contains a number of democratic initiatives that were either included by chairman hyde or were added by amendment in committee . 
this bill funds virtually all of the president 's requests for the state department , including funding for embassy security and expanding the u.s. diplomatic corps . 
the bill includes provisions to strangle nuclear black markets ; to provide an institutional framework for the promotion of democracy ; and to provide the state department with tools to confront the alarming spread of ballistic missiles . 
in addition , this legislation includes provisions related to creating a more formal structure for the promotion of democracy at the department of state . 
it also requires a report on administration strategy and efforts to advance democracy around the world , and it increases funding for the state department 's human rights and democracy fund , which currently faces a 20 percent decrease in the fy2006 budget request . 
it is my sincere hope that these provisions will actually take our talk of promoting democracy through peaceful means and make it a reality . 
i appreciate the fact that this authorization includes a sense of congress that the united states should render assistance to the efforts of the international criminal court to bring to justice persons accused of genocide , war crimes , or crimes against humanity in darfur , sudan . 
however , this nation must do more to stop the genocide in darfur . 
the genocidal regime in sudan has left 2.5 million people displaced and at least 380 , 000 people dead in the darfur . 
due to increasing violence , 15 , 000 innocent civilians continue to die each month . 
tragically , many of the women and young girls have been raped . 
in addition , water and food supplies have been completely destroyed making it impossible for many sudanese to survive . 
furthermore , under the u.s. refugee admission program for fy05 , up to 20 , 000 refugees from parts of africa may be allowed to enter the u.s. as of may 31 , 2005 there have been 10 , 326 the war in iraq continues unabated and yet this administration finds the need to hide the true cost of this war from the american people . 
i wrote a letter to president bush on memorial day along with my congressional colleague to ask him to allow the public to once again view the flag draped coffins of our soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to their nation . 
i find it sad that this president has changed a long standing precedent of showing the flag draped coffins when they return to be buried here in the united states . 
this ceremony is a true sign of honor , which should be shared with the american people , both young and old as a reminder of the bravery of our armed forces . 
i truly hope that president bush will change his policy and allow americans to once again pay proper tribute to our fallen soldiers who we hold dear in our hearts . 
i am disappointed that this authorization act does not address the deteriorating situation in haiti . 
i am also extremely disturbed by the role our own administration has played in suppressing the voice of the people of haiti . 
the bush administration has given tacit approval to the current haitian government in their efforts to impose their regime . 
it is time for our administration to play an active role in restoring real representative government in haiti . 
we can not continue to turn a blind eye to the needs and desires of the haitian people . 
the haitian people were already suffering after the illegal overthrow of president aristide and the subsequent unrest . 
today they are faced with a new challenge of trying to hold their nation together in the face of an illegitimate and collapsing government . 
the united states must play the lead role in rebuilding the institutions and capabilities of the nation of haiti . 
i am pleased that this authorization contains support for famine relief in ethiopia up to $ 4 , 000 , 000 for fiscal year 2006 . 
ethiopia is another nation in which we must support democracy and give the people reason to hope . 
recently , the first official results from ethiopia 's disputed may elections show the ruling party and the opposition won roughly the same number of seats . 
the national election board said it was investigating allegations of fraud in up to 200 seats . 
the united states must support free and fair elections regardless of who may eventually win . 
i hope that all cases of election fraud will be properly investigated and that the final results will reflect the will of the ethiopian people . 
it was an honor today to welcome such a distinguished guest as prime minister singh to the united states capitol . 
i am pleased to have signed a letter to speaker hastert requesting that the prime minister be able to address a joint session of congress . 
i must say that the international development that i feel most positively about is the continued peace talks between pakistan and india . 
i was heartened to see the effort made by prime minister singh and president musharraf in april , when they managed to turn a small visit to india to watch a cricket match into a three-day summit that yielded a series of agreements.together these two nations agreed to set up a joint business council to improve trade and open more meeting points and travel routes for divided families along the line of control , which divides the region of kashmir between india and pakistan . 
both prime minister singh and president musharraf declared that the peace process is now `` irreversible. '' in addition , they agreed that they would continue talks on kashmir in i do have concerns about china and especially its bid to purchase unocal . 
i am satisfied that the house of representatives recently voted to not approve any sale of unocal to china based on national security grounds . 
in addition , the chinese yuan continues to be undervalued in relation to the u.s. dollar.the yuan has been pegged to the dollar at an exchange rate of about 8.28 yuan for 14 years , a rate which gives china an unfair edge in the export market . 
at its current level , china 's goods are very inexpensive relative to american products , which ultimately threaten u.s. jobs . 
i am not asking to close our relationship with china , but only to have some reasonableness in our dealings with them . 
this foreign relations authorization act addresses a number of international issues . 
however , i feel it does not go far enough on many vital international issues such as the genocide in darfur and the deteriorating situation in haiti . 
i hope that this congress and this administration will sincerely work to address these pressing international issues . 
truly , those conflicts , which we ignore , will only be to the detriment of our nation later . 
