Frank Pallone: “While I understand that this important war summit will take up much of his time and energy, it is my hope that the…”

“While I understand that this important war summit will take up much of his time and energy, it is my hope that the President will take some time to discuss with Prime Minister Blair the current peace process in Northern Ireland. Mr. Speaker, later this week, April 10 to be specific, will mark the fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Accords which set up the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, this power-sharing government has been suspended since October. Prime Minister Blair and his counterpart in Ireland, Bertie Ahern, have been negotiating for months with the representative parties to come up with an agreement that will allow for resumption of the Belfast Assembly. As reported in today's New York Times, it seems the two prime ministers are planning to unveil an emergency formula that they hope will break the impasse and put the power-sharing government back on track. Mr. Speaker, while this is obviously good news, I worry that Prime Minister Blair will not go far enough to ensure that there is a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.”