"Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act.  Passage of this bill, which is long overdue, will help fulfill the U.S.’s role in ending the genocide in Sudan. 

"More than a year and a half ago, Congress voted unanimously to condemn the genocide in Darfur.  Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell declared the atrocities in Darfur to be genocide, a statement that was hailed as significant and meaningful coming from the highest echelons of the U.S. government.  Despite these clear pronouncements, however, more people die every day and the slow genocide in Darfur persists unabated.

"It is beyond imagination that the collective might and concerted will of the nations of the world cannot find a way to end this daily toll of human misery.  I hope and pray that Sudan will allow the proposed UN peacekeeping mission to move forward so that we can end this devastation.  While we wait, however, we must find ways to make the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) stronger, and to bolster these efforts with a NATO support. 

"We must also send the message to those who perpetrate genocide that there will be consequences.  The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act would impose harsh sanctions against those who are complicit in or responsible for acts of genocide, freezing their assets and restricting their ability to travel, and would block the Government of Sudan’s access to the oil revenues used to fund the ongoing genocide.

"The bill also properly recognizes that ending the genocide in Darfur is not a challenge to be solved by the United States alone.  It provides clear support for efforts to establish a U.N. peacekeeping presence in Darfur and other multilateral initiatives to pressure the Sudanese government to end the genocide. 

"My colleagues, 'Never Again' is a phrase we have all heard before.   We have all said it before.  It is one of the most powerful expressions of the natural human inclination to stop suffering, to end the death and destruction that stems from senseless hatred and indifference to human life. 

"Never Again will we let 6,000,000 Jews perish under the noses of the civilized world.  Never Again will we let Rwandans be rounded up and indiscriminately killed because of their tribal affiliation.  Never Again will we allow ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. 

"The problem with the phrase 'Never Again,' however, is that it is usually uttered after the violence is over, as a rallying cry against history repeating itself.  We have seen, time and time again, that history does repeat itself, and it is simply not enough to say that we will prevent it next time.  We must end the genocide in Darfur now.

"The Darfur genocide is not a Sudanese problem or an African problem.  It is a human tragedy, and it is ours to solve.  If we are serious about “Never Again,” let passage of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act today be just one step along this long and arduous road."