Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - March 15, 2007)

By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Feingold):

S. 888. A bill to amend section 1091 of title 18, United States Code, to allow the prosecution of genocide in appropriate circumstances; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

S. 888

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Genocide Accountability Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. GENOCIDE.

Section 1091 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:

``(d) Required Circumstance for Offenses.--The circumstance referred to in subsections (a) and (c) is that--

``(1) the offense is committed in whole or in part within the United States;

``(2) the alleged offender is a national of the United States (as that term is defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101));

``(3) the alleged offender is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States (as that term is defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101));

``(4) the alleged offender is a stateless person whose habitual residence is in the United States; or

``(5) after the conduct required for the offense occurs, the alleged offender is brought into, or found in, the United States, even if that conduct occurred outside the United States.''.

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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Harkin):

S. 903. A bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Muhammad Yunus, in recognition of his contributions to the fight against global poverty; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Dr. Muhammad Yunus for his contributions to the fight against global poverty.

Today, joined by my colleague Senator Bennett of Utah as well as Senators Clinton, Kerry and Harkin, I introduced the Muhammad Yunus Congressional Gold Medal Act.

This bipartisan bill would award Dr. Yunus a Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his efforts to fight poverty and promote economic and social opportunity.

Along with the Grameen Bank, which he founded, Dr. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for developing the concept of microcredit. Through the Grameen system, Dr. Yunus created an economically sound model of extending very small loans, at competitive interest rates, to the very poor. Through this system, he has been transforming lives, one loan at a time.

He began in 1976 with a loan of just $27, out of his own pocket, to 42 village craftspeople in Bangladesh. Over the past 30 years, his model has been emulated around the world.

I met Dr. Yunus on my first trip to Bangladesh, and there I saw firsthand the economic miracle that microcredit can help create.

Nearly half the world's population lives on less than $2 a day. We can not hope to achieve lasting global peace and stability until we find a means by which the world's poorest can begin to lift themselves out of poverty.

The microcredit movement that Dr. Yunus pioneered has made enormous strides towards that goal. Over 125 million households have already been transformed by microcredit loans, and more are joining them every day.

Dr. Yunus' work has had a particularly strong impact on improving the economic prospects of women. Women disproportionately shoulder the burden of poverty. They also make up over 95 percent of microcredit borrowers.

I have long believed that if you want to predict the economic prospects of a country, ask how it treats its women. If a country sends its daughters to school, if its wives and mothers have economic and political rights and opportunities, then it is likely to prosper. But if it treats its women as second-class citizens, its chances for development diminish dramatically. Microcredit opens doors for women and in so doing it creates new opportunities for their sons and daughters alike.

Muhammad Yunus's work has also affected the lives of millions of Americans. Although Dr. Yunus launched his movement in 1976 in Bangladesh--a long time ago and a long way away--it as come home to us here in America and is still relevant today.

There are now an estimated 21 million microentrepreneurs in the U.S., accounting for approximately 16 percent of private employment in the country. Over $318 million worth of microloans have been made to American entrepreneurs in the past 15 years.

Culminating with his Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Yunus has been recognized around the world as a leading figure in the effort to fight poverty and promote economic and social opportunity.

It is time that we properly recognize him here in Congress with our most distinguished honor.

Dr. Yunus would join a long and illustrious line of Congressional Gold Medal recipients that stretches back to 1776, when the award was created. Although most of the recipients have been American, many have not: Prime Minister Tony Blair, Pope John Paul II, and His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, are just a few. We hope that Dr. Yunus will join them.

I want to thank Senator Bennett and my other colleagues for joining me today in honoring Dr. Yunus. Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a great man who deserves our admiration and our thanks.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

S. 903

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