Mr. President, I want to call attention to language in Senate Report 111-237 accompanying the fiscal year 2011 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations bill, which passed out of the Appropriations Committee on July 29, 2010. That language notes the committee's concern with recent events in Nepal, where Tibetan refugees have been forcibly turned over to Chinese border police. This contradicts Nepal's long and generous history of providing safe passage for Tibetans on route to India, and it is inconsistent with international law. In the past, Nepal has provided safe haven, and the United States, the United Nations, and other donors have provided the funds necessary to care for these people in transit. This is a matter of grave concern to the Congress and to people everywhere who know of the danger of arrest and imprisonment and the physical hardships Tibetans face, fleeing their homeland by crossing the Himalayas with little more than the clothes on their backs. I hope the Nepali Government will take note of the committee's concern and take immediate steps to reaffirm its policy of permitting Tibetan refugees to travel safely to India. I ask unanimous consent that this language in Report 111-237 be printed in the Record.…
Share & report
More from Patrick Leahy
Mr. President, in reserving the right to object, if the Senator from Florida's bill were to pass, it would make routine domestic spending bills nearly impossible to be passed in the U.S. Senate, freezing spending at current levels. I worry…
Madam President, on May 19, I echoed Secretary of State Blinken's call for an ``independent, credible investigation'' of the violent death of widely respected Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. At that time, several Members…
Mr. President, the passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or PACT Act, is an example of what can happen when the Congress puts aside partisanship and comes…
Mr. President, I understand the floor vote is going to be soon. I ask unanimous consent that it be after I finish my remarks. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.





