mr. berman: mr. speaker, i yield myself four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. berman: mr. speaker, the conference agreement for h.r. 2194 is by far the most comprehensive iran sanctions legislation congress has ever passed. this legislation greatly strengthens our nation's overall sanctions regime regarding iran, enhances the prospect that we will be able to dissuade teran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions in blatant defiance of the international as reaffirmed once again this month in u.n. security council resolution 1929. like the house bill passed in december, the conference agreement imposes sanctions on foreign entities that sell refined petroleum to iran, assist iran with its domestic refining capacity, plugs a critical gap now sanctions rejet stream by imposing sanctions on foreign entities that sell iran goods or services to help it develop its energy sector. some believe iran has prepared itself for tougher energy sanctions by reducing its dependence on the

mr. berman: mr. speaker, the conference agreement for h.r. 2194 is by far the most comprehensive iran sanctions legislation congress has ever passed. this legislation greatly strengthens our nation's overall sanctions regime regarding iran, enhances the prospect that we will be able to dissuade teran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions in blatant defiance of the internationa . . like the house bill passed in december, the conference agreement imposes sanctions on foreign entities that sell refined petroleum to iran, assist iran with its domestic refining capacity, plugs a critical gap now sanctions rejet stream by imposing sanctions on foreign entities that sell iran goods or services to help it develop its energy sector. some believe iran has prepared itself for tougher energy sanctions by reducing its dependence on the import of refined petroleum to ensure that our sanctions are as effective as possible, we added a potent new financial measure in conference that, if applied effectively by the admin

mr. berman, and other committees of jurisdiction. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of this joint resolution, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, this resolution before us today, house joint resolution 86, recognizes the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the korean war and% reaffirms the strong united states-republic of korea alliance. this resolution ill help ensure that the bonds we forged in blood during the korean war will never be forgotten. today, the united states and the republic of korea's relationship is stronger than ever, encompassing social, economic security and diplomatic relations. last year's joint vision statement between our two nations provided an important reminder to the importance of the bilateral relationship between our two countries. our two countries are working as closely as ever on the problems of north korea, which is critically important since north korea continues its fabrications, in

mr. speaker, i'd like to begin by thanking the committee chairman, howard berman, and the chairman payne and my good friend, congresswoman watson. i also thank congresswoman clarke and congressman royce on their constant leadership on african issues. this year, mr. speaker, 17 african nations are celebrating the anniversary of their independence. 1960 was an important year when the french, british and italian colonies. they won hard-fought victories that led to independence on january 1, a nation of cameroon and -- in 1960 was a nation of mauritania securing its independence from france. the resolution i'm bringing to the floor today will honor the sacrifices of the fallen fathers of these african nations. little did they know then that the u.s.a. would enter into its nation's permanent history the tribute to the thousands of unsung men and women who gave their lives based on the simple game of freedom and a desire to assert necessities from a nation . we in the u.s. of a know something about that freedom and that determination. chief of all, these visionary african leaders are in cameroo

berman, assistant secretary of state cohen. all of these people and many others along with our staffs -- and i'm particularly grateful to my staff, mr. president, for the work that they have done here led by colin mcinnis in my office did a remarkable job of pulling this together to see to it that we work with our counterparts and many others of my staff as well i should be mentioned. neil from my office here of course deserves great credit as well for his work. it has been a great pleasure to work with rick kessler, shannon winters, allen mikulski, ranking member richard shelby along with his talented counsel john o'hara, margaret roth warren, a brilliant detail-oriented legislative counsel who spent weeks on end here working with my staff and us to make this hopefully the most comprehensive and effective sanctions legislation that we can -- that we can include. i believe i have hopefully mentioned all of the appropriate members of the staff. if i have left anyone out, i will ask permission to revise these comments to include others. there is always the danger of leaving someone out,, and i dont want to do that. they have worked ve

berman d i want to talk to you, as wl,o that we can determine what is the best course of action for us to take. mr. ntor: again, mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman f his continued commitment and shar with him the commitment to strengthen t allian beeen ourselves, the united states, and israeand thcontinuing struggle that all of us have in the terrorist threat, ate sors of terror a their proxies in t middle east and as they pose threat to our ally, israel, as well athe u.s. interests in the renal. i look forward to work with him -- interests in the region. i look forward to work with him on that. i go back to the gentleman's statemen with rega to financial rulation and a conference report. and i knowhere's been a lo of indication, especilyn the part of chaman fra about the willingness to be open and make surehat-span cameras are there sthe public can understand and hav access. i wasomewhat alarmed, tgh, with the statements made by e chairman aseported in the ess when he said some negotiatis will take place more publicly than others an just wanted the gentleman to assure us that there will be negoti