PRINTER'S NO. 3988
No. 741 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY VITALI, BELFANTI, BEYER, BISHOP, CALTAGIRONE,
CLYMER, CRAHALLA, DENLINGER, DeWEESE, FREEMAN, GABIG,
HERSHEY, JAMES, JOSEPHS, MANN, McGEEHAN, PARKER, ROEBUCK,
RUBLEY, SHAPIRO AND TIGUE, APRIL 27, 2006
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
APRIL 27, 2006
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the President and Congress of the United States to take
2 immediate action in assisting with the peacekeeping mission
3 and efforts to resolve the conflict in the Darfur region of
4 Sudan.
5 WHEREAS, The people of Darfur have suffered for decades from
6 the devastating effects of drought; and
7 WHEREAS, In 2003 a crisis associated with drought conditions
8 and limited food production was further compounded by a campaign
9 of violence in the region; and
10 WHEREAS, Since 2003 an estimated 300,000 people have died as
11 a result of the genocide in Darfur and approximately 3.5 million
12 men, women and children in the region continue to face violence
13 and starvation; and
14 WHEREAS, A separate Sudanese conflict lasting more than two
15 decades ended in 2005, raising hope in the country, but
16 conditions have worsened; and
17 WHEREAS, Recently the scope and degree of violence has
1 escalated, leading to the arrival of tens of thousands of people
2 at refugee camps in Sudan and Chad; and
3 WHEREAS, Civilians are unable to grow food and sustain life
4 as roving government-sponsored militias systematically beat,
5 rape and kill the people of Darfur; and
6 WHEREAS, The United Nations refugee agency, the United
7 Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, recently announced it
8 will be cutting refugee assistance funds to Darfur by 44%, which
9 adds to the urgency of the situation; and
10 WHEREAS, On February 17, 2006, President Bush stated that he
11 would push for additional United Nations and North Atlantic
12 Treaty Organization (NATO) assistance to protect the people of
13 Darfur; and
14 WHEREAS, On March 24, 2006, the United Nations Security
15 Council adopted a resolution to further support assistance
16 efforts in Darfur; and
17 WHEREAS, Intervention by the United States and the United
18 Nations may take time to implement; and
19 WHEREAS, If the security situation continues to deteriorate
20 and the humanitarian life-support system fully collapses, the
21 casualty rate could rise as high as 100,000 per month; therefore
22 be it
23 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
24 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the President of the United
25 States to push for:
26 (1) immediate assistance to the African Union
27 peacekeeping mission to improve their civilian protection
28 capacity until the United Nations can fully deploy a capable
29 peacekeeping force;
30 (2) a United Nations peacekeeping force to take over the
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1 African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur; and
2 (3) greater United States involvement in the Darfur
3 peace process and urge the President to use the power of his
4 office to encourage other world leaders to do so as well;
5 and be it further
6 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge members of
7 Congress to:
8 (1) support short-term supplemental funding for
9 peacekeeping and humanitarian aid in Sudan, a minimum of
10 which should include the $514 million requested by the
11 President in the Fiscal Year 2006 supplemental appropriations
12 bill;
13 (2) support long-term Fiscal Year 2007 funding for
14 humanitarian aid, NATO and United Nations peacekeeping and
15 reconstruction assistance; and
16 (3) pass the strongest possible version of the Darfur
17 Peace and Accountability Act, which includes placing
18 additional penalties on the Government of the Sudan and on
19 those persons complicit in the genocide; and be it further
20 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
21 the President, to the presiding officers of each house of
22 Congress and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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