adriatic, an iron curtain has fallen. in its joining together of themes to a climax, chump hill's theme may be regarded -- churchill's theme may be regarded as one of the finest in the 20th century. it changed the way the west viewed the communist east. the standing achievements in churchill's life is a testament to his dedication to protecting liberty for all people. he not merely hated tyranny, he despised it understand -- he despised it. the contempt he breathed for dictators renewed his iron curtain speech, strengthened the west's faith in the superiority of democracy and the inevitability of its success. the winston churchill memorial library was founded in 1969. it's a church designed by christopher wren that was relocated from england to

fulton, missouri. it's the only place in the united states that exists solely to honor winston churchill. the bill we consider today recognizes this museum as the world-class facility it is and the significance of the site. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from the northern mariana islands rise? mr. sablan: does the gentlewoman have any other speakers? mrs. mcmorris rodgers: i have no further speakers. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: as i was listening to the gentleman from missouri make the statement, i couldn't help but notice that the winston churchill memorial library is a source of trial tride for him and his

constituents in missouri and i encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support passage of house resolution 390. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the yes, -- the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 3890 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are uh is spended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, madam, this letter serves as my intention to resign the house committee on oversight and government reform effective today. thank you, signed sincerely todd russell platts, member of congress, 19th district of pennsylvania. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resignation is accepted.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise?

mr. d >> mr. speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 530. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. clip resolution 530, commending the purpose of the third annual civil rights baseball game and recognizing the historic significance of the location of the game in cincinnati, ohio. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott and the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: i ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the legislation under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: this resolution recognizes the historic significance of the civil rights baseball game in

cincinnati, ohio. i want to commend my colleague the gentleman from cincinnati, mr. driehaus, for introducing this legislation. the civil rights baseball game is an important event and deserves to be recognized by the house of representatives. the third annual civil rights baseball game will be played in cincinnati, ohio the great american baseball ballpark on june 20, 2009, between the cincinnati reds and the chicago white sox. many celebrities will be in attendance, including hank aaron, muhammad ali, bill cosby, and b.b. wayans. this game was created to honor those who fought both on and off the field for equal treatment of all people. the first civil rights baseball game was played in memphis, tennessee in 2007 between the st. louis cardinals and cleveland indians. wfs organized as a preseason game, sfwended to commemorate the civil rights movement in the united states.

memphis was selected for its important role in the histthroif civil rights movement. this year's city host, cincinnati, ohio, has a long and rich history in both the game of baseball and the field of civil rights. cincinnati was an important stop in the underground railroad and is the home of the national underground railroad freedom center located adjacent to the ballgame. it's also the home of the negro league cincinnati tighters from 1934 to 1937, and it was in cincinnati that the first night baseball game was played in 1935. mr. speaker, baseball has long been considered the great american past time. it was part of our culture. it reflects the values of team work, competition, fair play and the pursuit of excellence. baseball was once segregated, as was most of the rest of the country, until branch rickey signed jackie robinson to player in dodgers in 1947. the rest of the nation would follow in time but thovense die

mnd we made the most important steps toward ending jim crow. as mr. rickey said, prejudice has no place in sports and baseball must recognize that truth if it's to maintain its sfalstature as a national game. mr. speaker, i'm joined -- i'm pleased to join my colleague from ohio in honoring the baseball civil rights game. i urge my colleagues to support this important resolution and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i support house resolution 530, commending the noimp third annual civil rights baseball game. third annual civil rights game will be played as indicated by my friend from virginia, by the reds and the white sox on june 20 at great american ballpark in cincinnati. it serves as a celebration of the roll of sports and the the role they played in advancing

equal rights in america. as port of -- part of that celebration, three great americans will be honored in the game, muhammad ali, bill cosby, and hank aaron. they will receive awards as individuals who, quote, whose lives are emblematic of the spirit of the civil rights movement. mr. ali was 10-time heavyweight champion boxer. since he left the sport, he's engaged in many humanitarian efforts and traveled the world on good will missions. mr. cosby has spent the last five decades as a comedian, entertainer, and i would add philosopher. his life has been a testament to proper handling of race issues. this extraordinary man just went about being the extraordinary person he is he has entertained he has inspired and he has taught me, for one. for most of my life.

he is the first comedian from whom i bought an album, as i recall, it was "co-russell, my brother, whom i slept with." and i throveed man ever since. got to see him recently in concert in tyler and was as excited as ever. what a delightful man. the way he causes us to realize we all have the same -- so many of the same strange enigmatic traits, fears, aspirations, hopes, his television show was certainly inspirational. he makes us laugh at our faults and makes us want to improve them. as a great american, i look forward to his being recognized there at the hall -- at the civil rights game as well. mr. hank aaron, a hall of famer

who was once the all-time home run leader with 755 home runs. parenthetically, i might add, he'll always be my home run leader. he was a negro league baseball player before he played for the braves in both milwaukee and atlanta. mr. aaron formed the chasing the dream foundation with his wife in 1994 and has given financial support to hundreds of youths that enabled them to pursue their talents in music, dance, art, science, literature and athletics. his wife, by the way, attended texas college in tyler, texas, where she is on the board of directors and it has been one of the highlights of my life to get to meet mr. aaron on more than one occasion. it's heartbreaking, heart rending to hear some of the hell on earth he was put through simply because of race.

yet he never wavered. he continued to give everything he had to those tasks put before him. people remember the home run record, but many do not realize he had over 300 bush over .300 batting average, .305 lifetime. it was incredible. i once asked him, for someone who was a home run hitter to hit over .300, most players only dream of hit .300. how did you do that? was there some secret ability you had? and in his typical, humble style, mr. aaron said, i was a good guest hitter. typical hank aaron. humility completely. for such an extraordinarily

gifted man who used his talents, developed them and we all know he didn't get where he was without working, persevering, and the heartbreaking part, the assaults, verbally and in other ways, the threats that the man endured simply because of the color of his skin, i look forward to him being honored at that game as he rightfully should be. the civil rights game also includes a round table discussion and youth summit that highlight the role of baseball -- that baseball has played in the civil rights movement. the game has had only a short history itself as a civil rights game, but i would expect it would develop into a fine tradition. with that, i would urge my colleagues to join in supporting this resolution and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: i yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from ohio, mr. driehaus, who

represents cincinnati and is the chief sponsor of the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio. mr. driehaus: it is my privilege to rise today and bring to the floor this resolution. honoring the third annual civil rights game. s the third annual civil rights game, but it is the first time that this game has been played during the regular season. and we are honored in cincinnati to have that game at great american ballpark. i know congresswoman jean schmidt and myself will be looking forward to that event. as was mentioned earlier, by several of my colleagues, it's not just a baseball game. it's also recognizing great leaders. great leaders who have broken down barriers. that includes, at the luncheon that we will be holding, muhammad ali, hank aaron, and bill cosby. three giants, three giants who have broken down so many

barriers amongst them system of i applaud major league baseball, i aplude the cincinnati reds for choosing cincinnati as the host of this event. i would draw your attention to one other aspect of the game, mr. speaker, that is to the underground railroad freedom center, and the understood ground railroad freedom center is a stone's throw a baseball's throw, if you will from great american balk. the underground railroad freedom center, founded in 2002 in cincinnati is all about discussing freedom, all about being the champion of civil rights and while it was established to draw attention to the role the city of cincinnati played and the people of cincinnati played, in the underground railroad, today it serves as the vehicle. it serves as the convener of conversations around injustices today. and freedoms which are challenged today.

making it relevant to you and i and all americans as we discuss civil rights. so, i'm proud to have the underground railroad freedom center to be a part of this celebration. i think it's very much appropriate that the freedom senter is participating in the luncheon celebrating our heroes and i am proud to be a cincinnatian and to welcome this game to the city of cincinnati and i join with the cincinnati reds in thanking major league baseball and with that, mr. speaker, i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. gohmert: i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas continues to reserve his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, who represents memphis, the location of the first civil rights baseball game. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. cohen: thank you, mr.

speaker. and i want to thank mr. scott for the time. i would like to congratulate cincinnati on their good fortuner to the -- to be the host of this game. memphis was the host of the first two games. the final exhibition game of spring training, the only game tell advised on espn and a great event in our city where the national museum -- national civil rights museum exists. we really enjoyed the opportunity to have players honored there, willie mays, my hero and others over the years who have brought great pride to the city of memphis where we have the finest minor league baseball park ever constructed, auto zope park. and we felt that -- autozone park. and we felt that the game should permanently stay in memphis but it's moved on and i want to congratulate cincinnati for having such a game. jackie robinson has been immortalized as a here. his number was retired. there were many great players in the kneeingow baseball team such

as satchel page who was written up in today's "the new york times" and the great careers they had and great ball players. so the appropriate that civil rights which baseball and sports have contributed to so much, be remembered by major league baseball. i congratulate major league baseball and the city of cincinnati and i just want to say to my colleague from texas, noah. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. gohmert: mr. speaker, i don't have any additional speakers and i'll be ready to close whenever -- my friend indicates hass no other speakers. apparently -- indicates he has no other speakers. just in conclusion, i would encourage my colleagues to support house resolution 530. my friend from tennessee mentioned satchel page. he had some great quotes, many

people quote him as saying, don't look back, they may be gaining on you. but i read a quote that i like even better than that, attributed to him. and it was later in life when he said, it's ok to look back, just don't stare. and it seems to me that that's what this bill does. we look forward but we look back. we don't stare but we recognize the greatness that has gotten to us where we are today and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. and thank the gentleman from ohio for introducing the resolution, urge my colleagues to support it and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 530. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.res. 309 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2765 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2765, a bill to amend title 28, united states code, to prohibit recognition and enforcement of foreign defamation judgments and certain

foreign judgments against the providers of interactive computer services. pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, and the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: thank you. first i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cohen: and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. cone con thank you, mr. speaker. it -- foreign defamation judges or fundamental due process. this legislation addresses what has come to be referred to as liable tourism. during an end run around the first amendment by suing american authors and publishers for defamation to the courts of foreign countries with more friendly defamation laws, particularly britain.

britain has become a favorite destination for liable tourists for a number of reasons. first, british law lacks our constitutional free speech protections and instead specifically disfavors speech critical of public officials and public figures. second, british liable law places the burden of proving the truth of the allegedly defamiliartory statement on the defendant. this has grown criticism not only from american defenders of free speech but also from the united nations and also from some members of the british parliament. and third, britain takes a very expansion of view of personal jurisdiction. a british court can exercise personal jurisdiction over a liable defendant if his or her statement, wherever it was made or aimed, is said to cause real or substantial harm or injury to reputation of britain. combined with the internet, this expanse of view has rendered american authors and publishers liable to lawsuits in britain.

in the internet tainl, -- age, the british liable law can bite you wherever you live. h.r. 2765 will deter liable tourists from taking advantage of these differences in the laws of britain and other foreign jurisdictions and our precious first amendment by imposing important limitation on the enforcement of foreign defamation judgments in our courts. under the bill, a u.s. court cannot enforce a foreign defamation judgment inconsistent with the first amendment of our constitution. or when the foreign courts exercise a personal jurisdiction over the defendant does not comport with our due process requirements. and a u.s. court cannot enforce a foreign defamation judgment against an interactive computer service if doing so is inconsistent with section 230 of the communications act of 1934. this will ensure that liable tourists cannot chill speech by suing a third party interactive computer service rather than the

actual author of the statement. finally the bill allows a court to award attorneys fees to the party resisting enforcement of the foreign judgment if that party prevails. this puts some added teeth in the bill that was a recommendation at our hearing on the bill. this will not only compensate the american author or publishers for the expense of defending a nonmeritorious action but will help dissway the would be liable tourists. i'm joined in introducing this legislation by my colleague from california, mr. issa. last year our bill passed the house overwhelmingly and i ask my colleagued to support it again this year. i'd like to thank our judiciary committee chairman, john conyers, and ranking member lamar smith, and all the co-sponsor of this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker.

i recognize myself for such time as i may consume. thank you, mr. speaker. thomas jefferson observed that, quote, the only security of all is in a free press. the agitation it produces must be submitted to, it is necessary to keep the waters pure, unquote. were he alive today, jefferson would not take too kindly to liable tourists. the subject of h.r. 276 5 -- 2765. oh, it seems true that some u.s. media more recently have become fan clubs rather than objective pursuers of truth, there's still some very dedicated journalists in the united states who should be free from harassment from inappropriate liable suits in overseas courts. in the wake of 9/11, the american media have been -- become increasingly alarmed over a phenomenal called liable tourism. the term refers to a subject of critical -- of a critical news story suing an american author

or reporter of an article, story or book for defamation in a, quote, plaintiff-friendly, unquote, overseas or foreign forum. these suits are filed mostly in great britain as its liable and slander laws provide journalists with less protection than those under the u.s. system that honors a first amendment and a free press. persons identified in news stories as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers have brought some of the higher profile suits. so how would american courts treat foreign judgments that clash with american legal values under this bill? a foreign judgment will not be enforced in the u.s. court when the foreign judgment is offensive to state public policy or the constitution. and that's what this bill does.

last september, as my friend from tennessee indicated, the house passed a liable tourism bill that codified existing u.s. treatment of the subject. the other body did not act on the measure, so we revisit the issue today. better informed thanks to a subcommittee hearing, full committee markup and substantial input by legal experts on the subject matter. h.r. 2765 contains four mainly provisions as my colleague from tennessee has outlined. mr. chairman, this bipartisan legislation provides appropriate and necessary protection for u.s. journalists and authors and represents the strongest constitutionally-sound policy in response to liable tourism. the issue has been thoroughly considered by the judiciary committee and i would urge the members to support h.r. 2765 and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance

of his time. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: i likewise reserve my time. goal gem mr. speaker, i have no further -- mr. gohmert: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. when mie colleague across the aisle is ready to close, well, i would likewise be ready. mr. cohen: mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. cohen: thank you, i would like to withdraw the mokes and move to suspend the rules and pass it as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the motion to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2765 is withdrawn.

mr. cohen: and now i'd like to move and suspend the rules as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2765, a bill to amend title 28 united states code to prohibit recognition and enforcement of foreign defamation judgments and certain foreign judgments against the providers of interactive computer services. the speaker pro tempore: the question is -- pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, and the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i once again ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include ex trapious material on the bill under -- consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cohen: and i'd like to reserve my time and ask if the gentleman fromas