House Concurrent Resolution 573 was referred to the Committee on International Relations on April 24, 1978. The committee was discharged from further consideration by unanimous consent on April 25, 1978, and subsequently, the resolution was passed by the House by a recorded vote of 388 yeas on the same day. On April 26, 1978, the resolution was referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Legislative history Apr. 25, 1978-Committee discharged from further consideration by unanimous consent. Apr. 25, 1978-Passed House by a vote of 388 yeas. Apr. 26, 1978-Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. 7. Human Rights in Uganda-H. Con. Res. 612 (by Mr. Bonker, for himself, and Representatives Pease, Diggs, Fraser, Bingham, Solarz, Whalen, Buchanan, Harrington, Rosenthal, Derwinski, Goodling, Ireland, Fowler, Cavanaugh, Lehman, McKinney, and Mikulski) House Concurrent Resolution 612 condemned the Government of the Republic of Uganda headed by President Idi Amin for gross violations of human rights, and other acts which suppress freedom of political thought. It urged the President of the United States to take appropriate measures to further discourage United States support of the Government of Uganda, and the resolution further urged the President to encourage and support international efforts to investigate and respond to conditions in Uganda. House Concurrent Resolution 612 emphasized the possible use of economic sanctions against Uganda, both by the United States and other nations. On December 1, 1977, a resolution (H. Con. Res. 426) condemning the Government of the Republic of Uganda for consistent human rights violations was introduced. This resolution was referred to the Committee on International Relations and subsequently to the Subcommittees on International Economic Policy and Trade, International Organizations, and Africa. The three subcommittees held five joint hearings (February 1, 2, 9, 22, and April 6) to consider House Concurrent Resolution 426 and related resolutions and bills condemning the Amin regime, and proposing to prohibit U.S. exports to Uganda. The subcommittees met jointly on April 26 to markup the pending proposals. A compromise resolution was unanimously adopted and reported favorably to the full committee. This subcommittee resolution subsequently was introduced in the House on May 9, as House Concurrent Resolution 612. The full committee ordered House Concurrent Resolution 612 reported favorably to the House without amendment by voice vote on May 16, 1978. The resolution passed the House by a vote of 377 yeas under suspension of the rules on June 12, 1978. Legislative history Dec. 9, 1977-H. Con. Res. 426: Referred jointy to Subcommittee on International Organizations, on Africa, and on International Economic Policy and Trade. Feb. 1, 2, 9, 22; Apr. 6, 1978-Considered in open session by subcommittees. Apr. 26, 1978—Considered in open markup session by subcommittees, and text of compromise resolution, incorporating key elements of H. Con. Res. 426 and H. Con. Res. 394, approved for full committee action. May 16, 1978-H. Con. Res. 612: Considered in open session by full committee, and ordered favorably reported by voice vote. May 31, 1978-Reported. House Report 95-1233. June 12, 1978-Passed House by a vote of 377 yeas under suspension of rules. June 13, 1978-Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. 8. Soviet Helsinki Groups-H. Con. Res. 624 (by Mr. Zablocki, for himself, and Representatives Fascell, Fraser, Rosenthal, Wolff, Bingham, Ryan, Solarz, Bonker, Studds, Pease, Beilenson, Cavanaugh, Buchanan, Winn, Lagomarsino, Yates, Simon, Fenwick, Rousselot, Lehman, Pepper, and Dodd) House Concurrent Resolution 624 expressed the sense of the Congress that, in conformity with the Helsinki Final Act, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Groups, and basic standards of justice, the unjustly imprisoned members and affiliates of the Soviet Helsinki Groups should be granted their freedom and allowed to pursue their lawful activities on behalf of basic human rights without further harassment. The concurrent resolution also urged the President and executive branch officials to continue to express the opposition of the United States to the imprisonment of members of the Helsinki Groups. Legislative history May 18, 1978-Committee discharged from further consideration by May 18, 1978-Passed House, amended, by a vote of 399 yeas. 9. Testimony of Kim Dong Jo-H. Res. 1194 (by Mr. Wright) On May 18, 1978, the majority leader of the House introduced House Resolution 1194, and it was referred to the Committee on International Relations. The committee met on May 22, 1978, to receive testimony on the resolution from the Deputy Secretary of State, and from the Special Counsel to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Subsequently, on May 23 and 24, 1978, the committee met to markup House Resolution 1194. In its deliberation on House Resolution 1194, the committee attempted to reconcile two divergent goals: one, to obtain direct evidence and corroboration of evidence disclosed to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct in its investigation of the Korean Government's alleged efforts to influence improperly Members of the House, and the other, to preserve diplomatic rights, privileges, and immunities protected by international law. During markup, the committee, by unanimous voice vote, amended the resolution to prevent any interpretation that support by the United States for the security of South Korea was weakening. House Resolution 1194, as amended, was ordered favorably reported by the Committee on May 24, 1978, by a recorded vote of 37 yeas. The resolution was passed by the House, as amended, by a vote of 321 yeas to 46 nays on May 31, 1978, under suspension of the rules. Legislative history May 22, 1978-Considered in open session by full committee. May 26, 1978-Reported with amendments. House Report 95–1222. 10. Condemning the Trials of Anatoly Shcharansky, Viktoras Petkus, and Aleksandr Ilyich Ginzburg-S. Con. Res. 95 (by Mr. Byrd, for himself, and Senators Baker, Sparkman, Case, Cranston, Javits, Inouye, Packwood, Moynihan, Danforth, Bellmon, Percy, Hatch, Lugar, Garn, Schweiker, Hayakawa, Wallop, Heinz, Griffin, Bartlett, Goldwater, Sarbanes, Brooke, Williams, Dole, McClure, Domenici, Pearson, Bayh, Ribicoff, Roth, Chafee, Jackson, Nelson, Durkin, Thurmond, Tower, Stone, McIntyre, and Melcher) The purpose of Senate Concurrent Resolution 95 was to express the sense of the Congress that the trials of the three Soviet dissidents, Anatoly Shcharansky, Viktoras Petkus, and Aleksandr Ilyich Ginzburg, were of deep concern to the American people, and that the events concerning the trials could inevitably affect the climate of the relationships between the United States and the U.S.S.R. The concurrent resolution also urged the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet and its leadership to seek a humanitarian resolution to the cases and to work toward improving the climate in U.S.-Soviet relations. Senate Concurrent Resolution 95 was passed by voice vote by the Senate on July 11, 1978. On July 12, 1978, the resolution passed the House by a vote of 380 yeas to 10 nays under a unanimous consent request by Mr. Zablocki, Chairman of the International Relations Committee. Legislative history July 11, 1978-Passed Senate, as amended, by voice vote. July 12. 1978-Passed House without reference to committee, by a vote of 380 yeas to 10 nays. 11. Camp David Summit-H. Con. Res. 715 (by Mr. Zablocki, for himself, and Representatives Wright, Fascell, Fraser, Rosenthal, Wolff, Bingham, Ryan, Solarz, Meyner, Studds, Ireland, Pease, de la Garza, Cavanaugh, Yatron, Broomfield, Findley, Buchanan, Burke of Florida, Winn, Pettis, Anderson of Illinois, Hyde, and Yates) The purpose of House Concurrent Resolution 715 was threefold. First, the resolution commended President Carter, President Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Begin of Israel for the courageous steps that they had taken to resolve the differences between their nations and to bring about a comprehensive, just, and durable peace in the Middle East. Second, the resolution expressed the sense of the Congress that the framework for Middle East peace embodied in the two agreements reached at the Camp David Summit provided the basis for peace treaties among the parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Last, House Concurrent Resolution 715 further expressed the sense of the Congress that the United States should continue to pursue further direct peace talks among parties in the Middle East in order to build on the momentum created by the Camp David agreements. Legislative history Sept. 20, 1978-Considered in open session by full committee, and ordered favorably reported by voice vote. Sept. 21, 1978 Committee discharged from further consideration by unanimous consent. Sept. 21, 1978-Passed House by voice vote. Sept. 22, 1978-Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Sept. 28, 1978-Senate Committee discharged from further consideration by unanimous consent. Sept. 28, 1978-Passed Senate by voice vote. 12. Nobel Peace Prize-H. Res. 1372 (by Mr. Waxman, for himself, and Representatives Broomfield and Gilman) House Resolution 1372 expressed the support of the House of Representatives of the Nomination of the Public Groups to Promote Observance of the Helsinki Agreement in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the Nobel Peace Prize awarded on December 10, 1978. The resolution also directed the Clerk of the House to transmit a copy of the resolution to the Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway. Legislative history Sept. 29, 1978-Referred jointly to Subcommittees on Europe and the Oct. 4, 1978-Considered in open session by full committee, and ordered Oct. 10, 1978-Passed House by voice vote under suspension of rules. |