Eliot Engel: “Mr. Speaker, I want to echo the words of all the eloquent colleagues who have spoke before me on both sides of the…”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to echo the words of all the eloquent colleagues who have spoke before me on both sides of the aisle. The gentleman from New York (Mr. King) has it exactly right, the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998 was a compromise, and that compromise established a framework for the peaceful settlement for the conflict in the North of Ireland. Once you start to unravel a compromise, then everybody wants to change it, and that is why it is important that we stick to that compromise and not let one side try to blackmail everybody else into getting their way. I rise in support of H.Res. 547. This vital accord which was negotiated by former Senator George Mitchell provided for the establishment of an independent commission to make recommendations on how to fix the problems and abuses that have plagued policing in the North of Ireland. The commission lead by Sir Christopher Patten concluded its work on September 9, 1999, and proposed 175 recommendations in its final report. In May of this year, the British Government published a bill which purports to implement the Patten report. Unfortunately, the draft bill certainly does not live up to the letter or spirit of the Patten report and dilutes many key recommendations of the Patten Commission.”