Tony Hall: “I want to also stand up, like the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) has just done, my friend, and talk about conflict…”

“I want to also stand up, like the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) has just done, my friend, and talk about conflict diamonds. There is a section in the bill that deals with the issue, section 406. It is an amendment that is supposed to eliminate the problem. I do not think that it will, although I support it. I regret that an alternative that I negotiated and all sides agreed would be preferable, but it was not included in the conference report. Conflict diamonds or blood diamonds are diamonds that are sold in the United States. They are sold in great numbers. The problem with it is that these conflict diamonds come from countries like Sierra Leone, the Congo, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Angola. What they do is they arm the rebels. They make the civil war go. What has happened over the years is that they have killed people. They have maimed all kinds of children. We have actually had hearings here in the Congress. They go to disrupt society. Sierra Leone is still disrupted as a result of these conflict diamonds. Today the industry is trying to play catchup, and they are acting like they are trying to play catchup. They have come up with a solution to this problem. For years, it has ignored the rebels' role in overthrowing the democratic government; but over the same period, the diamond industry has raked in phenomenal profits.”